Askand
10-03-2006, 12:23 AM
Hello people!
Well finally it is here my fan fic I hope you like it. Critics are welcome good or bad.:)
Editor : Undying (Thank you so much for the help *Bows*)
Prologue
The night was a tranquil one, with a slight breeze being the only movement. The moon shone bright and strong, like a huge light-bulb illuminating the entire city. The season was just between spring and summer, and so the night was still cool, though it held a hint of summer’s heat. Suddenly, a lone wolf appeared on the streets of Karakura Town, disturbing the calm of night. This creature that should’ve been extinct in such populated places roamed it as though it all belonged to it. However, had any happening passerby looked at it, they would’ve immediately realized how unusual this wolf was. From the shoulders to the ground it was about 4 feet in height, and it was almost five feet from snout to tail in length. Its hair was snow-white, and its paws were covered with some strange, arcane symbols. Its glacial blue eyes scanned the area, searching for a sign of its prey..
”It is strange…” said the wolf, searching, “Why have I now seen any sign of them since I followed them from Soul Society?”
He was sure he was on the right trail. The rancid stench of the Hollow stung its nostrils more and more. It kept on smelling it until he reached the origin of the scent, a closed alleyway, shadowed by the buildings by it. At first, nothing was out of the ordinary there, and then, a lone shadow extended from the wall, taking on the shape of a man.
”Hey, Okami, it is I, Z-Blitz," said the shadow, materializing.
But Okami wasn’t fooled. There was something strange about all this, and the stench only grew stronger.
Suddenly, he charged. “You are not him!” he roared, and with a single strike took a chunk out of the man’s hand. “You cannot fool me, Hollow!” with that, he stopped at a distance, waiting for the creature’s move.
The man was bleeding quite a bit, but appeared not to have noticed anything. He laughed.
“My, my… none can fool the great Okami, eh? Why don’t we just talk instead of fighting?” although the blood flowing from his hand already made a pool on the ground below him, the thing didn’t appear to even realize it lacked a limb. Nor was it showing any signs of getting weaker.
”Talk? With an enemy? Are all Hollows as stupid as this?” Okami’s roaring tone didn’t seem to affect the creature at all. Then, something seemed to have struck home. “Where is Z?” he demanded forcefully, “What have you done with him?!?”
“Z…? Oh, you mean the person whose image I am burrowing...” replied the Hollow, still with the same calm tone. “But, I would like to ask you, something, Okami. Why is it that a god like you serves these wretches? Why is it that a being as superior as you work with this lowly scum? Why have you cast away your title, your glory, oh great lord Okami?”
Okami growled deep in his throat. “It’s none of your business, scum,” he growled, “You’d better have not harmed Z or I…” suddenly he felt dizzy.
“Is something the matter, Lord Okami?” asked the Hollow with mock concern, and took a step forward. Okami took a step back.
”What… what have you done to me?” he growled, shaking his head futilely. The dizziness and the weakness were steadily growing worse.
”Done something? To you? No… I would never presume to hurt the great Lord Okami, but well, you should always watch what you bite…” the last words were accompanied with an insolent grin.
By the end of the sentence, Okami was already on the verge of collapsing. A pool of blood formed under him, and the poison was working fast.
”Da-damn you, Hollow…” Okami growled “I-I-I will…” he suddenly gasped and spewed blood as his left lung was pierced.
”Oh, is that so…” the Hollow’s human-visage melted, and only the white mask of the Hollows remained. The smile remained, though. Okami felt a shudder course through him, though from fear or from pain he couldn’t tell. “I don’t think you’d be able to, my lord,” said the Hollow, now completely inhuman in shape. “You see, we Hollows are planning to return to Soul Society, and we can’t afford to have you against us… Oh wait, the best part is… you get to lead us, Lord Okami!! I shall take your form after I devour this physical manifestation of your, and then I shall take upon your form, and lead our forces to battle. And as for your soul… well, they say that the souls of gods taste the best. I’ve never had the chance to test to see if this saying was true…” his maniacal cackling sounded like bones grinding.
Okami was terrified, and powerless to do anything. Even as the Hollow was finishing his grand speech of conquest and destruction, he felt the pain and blackness of death creep over him. A few moments later, the huge wolf collapsed, dead. The Hollow snatched the soul of the deity before it could escape, and trapped it in a tiny pearl. He then placed it in a small satchel on his waist and, smiling with victory, he proceeds to feast upon the wolf’s body. The soul it kept for later, as it knew that the soul of a god would be a most delicious dessert. Having finished the wolf’s body, it moved to return to Hueco Mundo, thinking it has won. Unknown to the Hollow, though, the satchel had a tiny hole, from where the pearl soon fell and rolled on the street, finally setting within a small hollow on the road. Soon, it was covered with dead leaves, as though nature was paying its final respects to Okami.
Weeks passed. People went here and there on the street, moving with their own purposes or lack thereof, but nothing seemed to have changed for that tiny hollow in the road. But then, one shiny and quiet day, the wind suddenly blew the leaves away. It was that time of the day during which, in summer, most people either sleep or try to cool themselves with a nice shadow and a cold drink. Yet a young boy, no more than ten years of age, was outside, walking. The sun’s light was just perfect, and the pearl glittered. The noticed the small shiny object, and stopped to pick it up.
”Wow, how pretty! Neechan would love this!” he said, holding the beautiful pearl against the sun’s light. He then pocketed it, and turned back to the direction he came from. He never realized that his fate has just been decided.
Here is chapter 1
Enjoy it!
The almost silent fall of a drop sent ripples across the night as it might across a pond. This was just that kind of background music that sent shivers down anyone’s spine. The woman stood there, in that one spot of light in a huge abyss of motionless darkness. She had no idea why she was there, waking beside a huge white wolf lying in a pool of his own blood, or why did it feel so… right. Suddenly she realized that the wolf’s breath was fast and shallow, as though he was dying. He was dying. As though waking from a trance she moved closer and began healing the wolf, pressing her hands against his paws, a glowing blue aura surrounded them, and as time flew by, his wounds slowly closed. After what seemed an eternity she leaned even closer, exhausted, to check his breathing and wounds. He was going to live, she saw. And satisfied with that, she leaned against him to sleep… until the alarm clock went off.
Startled, she tried to shush it. “Wait, don’t make any noise, he’ll…”
She suddenly realized where the noise came from, she turned to shut it off, promptly falling off the bed and bruising her shoulder. Groaning, she got up, put on a shirt – it actually took her a moment to realize she was trying to do it on her legs – and she went downstairs. “I’m going to be late again… come one, Tommy, we’ll be late…”
”Surprise!!!” the unified shout made her stumble. She caught hold of herself in the middle of the room, staring at her neighbors and friends.
”What?” she asked no one in particular, a bit flushed since she wore nothing more than an over-sized t-shirt that was not quite opaque, and hardly hid her ample bosom, and pajama pants, which weren’t the perfectly respectful garb you wore when meeting friends.
”Eh, Askand? Did you slide over the wrong bush or something? Or have you been drinking lately? It’s your birthday, dummy.” Gien, the 5th floor neighbor, said.
”Yes, dear Tommy wanted to give you a surprise party in the afternoon, since you work so hard during the night,” Mrs. Fuji, the resident of the 2nd floor, had a very sweet, grandmotherly voice.
”Oh, yeah, I completely forgot… too much to do…” Askand was a touch embarrassed, “where’s Tommy?” she asked, noticing her little brother was nowhere in sight.
Just then a little kid walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray of sweets.
As he saw Askand, his face brightened. “Onee-chan, this is for you! Happy birthday!”
Askand couldn’t help but smile, despite the lump in her throat. Ever since the accident five years past, when their parents were taken away from them, she has never seen Tommy so cheerful. That he actually bothering to set up a celebration for her, with all the neighbors… that lump was getting bigger by the moment. Suddenly she became aware of everyone staring at her, obviously awaiting her birthday speech. She took hold of herself, steadied her voice, and began.
“Thank you very much, everybody… truly, thank you…” she closed her eyes, and tried to hold her tears of happiness. Suddenly her eyes popped open as she remembered that she was going to be late for work. “Tommy, please take care of the guests… and again, truly, thank you very much, everybody…” she said while getting to her room for a shower and putting on some proper cloths.
Askand’s work in the hospital as a nurse is simple, mainly checking everyone were tucked in nice and comfortable. Even as she checked her shirt for what seemed to be the hundredth time, she noted the brightness of the pearl she was wearing in her necklace. Two weeks ago, before her birthday, her little brother gave it to her as a surprise, though he would not say where had he gotten a pearl so bright – it must’ve cost a fortune. She tried not to remember that it was the same night that her strange dreams about the huge wolf sitting on her bed began. She looked closed at it. Yes, very bright. She closed her eyes, and silently gave a prayer that she would have a quiet, peaceful night’s work. As she opened her eyes, the wolf was there. That same huge, white wolf from her dreams was there, sitting on the bed as if the place belonged to him, and staring at her lazily. Her scream stuck in her throat, she whirled about, and to her immense relief and worry - was she going mad? – The bed was empty, and so was the room. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she thought it might burst straight out of her chest – or throat, it seemed to have decided to settle there – and very nearly screamed again as Mrs. Fuji’s sweet voice called her from the doorway, asking if she was ready. She relaxed almost at once, though. That voice really was like a grandmother’s.
”Dear Mr. Wataru will be taking you to the hospital in a minute. Are you all set?”
”Yes, in a minute,” Askand kept her voice as normal as possible. Well, maybe she did not completely relax. Not wanting to waste time she took her belongings and glanced fearfully at her mirror again. Nothing; the wolf wasn’t there, only her pale face and the rest of the decoration of the room. Making a fast inspection Askand made sure her fiery red hair was in place in the tight bun she made. Her brown eyes were a strange contrast with her skin and hair. Since she was making some room for practicing martial arts with her brother she was losing some extra pounds she had. Her uniform was conservative, not letting her show her body and the curves she was getting in the process. “Ok, here we go,” it was the last thing she said before leaving for work
.
It was six o’clock in the morning when she came back from work. The night had been nothing but mayhem and chaos, with several serious accidents reported from all over the city, and many casualties, many of whom even the hospital could not tend. Even Askand, untrained as she was, was called into the emergency room. At the short break she had, she was so thoroughly exhausted that she ate nothing more than half a sandwich a small cup of tea. Finally, at the end of the shift, the situation seemed to have calmed, and Askand somehow found herself by her apartment. She was so dizzy and tired she never realized how did she get there, even though she somehow managed to get there right at the time to wake little Tommy and send him to school. And then she would fall asleep. Blessedly asleep… As she opened the door of Tommy’s room she heard him already getting up.
‘G;morning, Tommy,” she said, yawning ”Come one sleepy guy, time for school…” another yawn nearly split her jaws.
“Otaru is taking me to school today, so you can just go and sleep,” replied her little brother.
”So, what will you have for breakfast?” she inquired.
”Don’t worry about that,” replied Tommy, “Mrs. Fuji left me some rice-balls and miso, so you don’t have to cook. Just go to sleep.”
Askand felt a little bit left off, but didn’t show it. Maybe it was the exhausting from work. A hot bath and nice rest was all she needed. She stood up to help her little brother but he was already heading for the bathroom. Askand felt suddenly sad, her brother was turning into a fine young man and she was missing it. It was just her imagination, she was sure of it. She sighed.
“I guess that’s how it feels when you’re almost 30…” Not waiting too long Askand went to the kitchen and served the breakfast. She waited till Tommy was gone to take a good hot bath. Finally able to relax, she fell asleep without removing the necklace. And almost at once, she was there again, in that dream. The same unmoving darkness, the same stillness. But no wolf. No, no wolf. She was alone, completely alone. It made Askand almost sad; she wanted to know how he was. The sound of the water droop was no longer heard. The silence was suddenly more profound, more palpable than before. She shivered. Suddenly, a thud echoed through the darkness. It drew closer and closer, until Askand had to cover her ears. The thudding stopped before her, to reveal a monstrous shape of a strange monster.
“Shinigami! Shinigami! Food! Food! I need food!!” It roared straight into Askand’s astonished face.
”Whoa, who…is….who is or what is a….shinigami? What’s going on?” Asked Askand. She knew she had to move – and fast.
The monster suddenly seemed to have registered her existence. “FOOD!” it roared even as it reached down and grabbed her in one massive arm.
“Somebody help me! PUT ME DOWN!!!” Askand screamed at the monster, which just went on screaming “food”. Totally terrified she felt the grip of the monster tighten. It was very difficult to breath while the hand squeeze more and more. Then it tried to put her into his mouth, but then his arm was no longer attached to its body. A white blur had severed it. Askand fell on the floor, gasping from breath. A quick scan on her body let her know her ribs were lacerated but not broken. Still the task to stand up was really difficult.
”Go, I will take care of this Hollow” said the wolf standing in front of her
Askand couldn’t believe the wolf was actually talking with her. “I said Go!!” roared the wolf going for a frontal attack.
The roar scared Askand and she turned around to escape, but then stopped as an unseen hand grabbed her heart and squeezed. Hard.
”Going somewhere?” the haunted voice asked..
When the hand squeezed again, Askand woke up with a scream of pain. Sweating profusely and holding her heart she vaguely saw a black silhouette in front of her bed. It looked like a warrior drawing his sword. Panting and unable to shout for her help Askand followed the movement of the warrior as he raised his katana and prepared to strike. The sword went down and in slow motion. Closing her eyes while waiting for the blow the first thing she remembered was her little brother Tommy. Who would take care of him? How he is going too survived without her. No, she couldn’t end up like this. She needed to do something. She never knew how she did it but in an instant her hands hold the blade of the katana a few centimeters before her head.
”This is a dream and you are not real. So I will wake up and you will be gone.”
”Really? I will prove…” began the voice.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!” Askand began to glow, a white light illuminating the room. The light grew brighter the entire place was lit. The shadows were gone leaving a nothingness. The sudden pain in her heart let her know she was wounded. Touching her chest she felt a wet sensation and took a look at her hand. Blood covered her hand was enough to finally wake her up in her room.
Staggering to the bathroom she took a look at the mirror to see she was totally fine. Still her heart was hurting which was totally absurd except for the pain that was real. Looking at the wall clock she saw she had only slept four hours. Not knowing she would be able to sleep again she dedicated the rest of the day to do some chores that were pending. Without knowing she was being watch by the same shadow she dreamt of.
A God’s downfall Chapter 2
As the days flew by Askand kept having the same dream over and over again, with the same characters acting the same roles like in a bad movie. Monsters, darkness and that huge white wolf, battling in that weird for the lack of a better term to describe it, and no matter how hard she tried, she would always have the same dream. Always finding herself and the wolf in the same lonely spot of light available inside a never ending darkness, looking to the vast abyss in hopes of seeing the monsters before being attack. And always, the same repetitive scene occurred: Askand, curious, tries to ask the wolf what on earth is going on, but before she can utter a word something attacks them and the wolf, like a gallant warrior, jumps in front of her, defending. After one glimpse into those glacial blue eyes, Askand would run away, running headlong into nearly tangible darkness and silence pierced with shrill and hollow cries of monsters. After what seemed an eternity, her body would give in to exhaustion and fear, and she usually collapsed, no strength remaining in her body. As painful as it was, this was the sign for her awakening, each time bathed in sweat and tears of frustration, her heart pounding in her ears and her throat as dry as a desert.
Mrs Fuji, being a believer in the supernatural and dream premonitions, suggested that the dreams signified a great challenge yet to have been presented in Askand’s life. And although she somewhat agreed with it, she was still busy trying to figure out why was that wolf present in her waking too, and in the hospital to boot. It was one thing to have the same dream over and over again like a video stuck on “repeat”, but to see the characters from it in real life? She sure hoped she was not going crazy or something. Discreetly, Askand had herself examined, and the results were both good and bad. No, she was not sick or physically unfit, and no, she was not going through any physical changes that might cause her illusions. On the other hand though, if there was nothing physical to cause it… she was not going insane! Her investigations led her to the conclusion that she maybe suffered of exhaustion or maybe overstress due to the hard years of raising her little brother Tommy. Shaking her head in disbelief Askand refused to deliver the fault to her parents or Tommy. It wasn’t their fault that she was having strange dreams or visions of big white wolves. As she was pondering her situation she didn’t noticed the young nurse approaching.
“Oh, but look who is here all alone in this lonely hallway,” said a masculine voice.
Askand thought her soul just decided to take a walk, outside, given the shock. Turning around she found herself near Ted Hinata. Trying to be polite Askand just gave him a soft, tense smile and at the same time she retreated a few steps to put some distance between him and her. Along with Trev Dounick, Ted Hinata was probably the wrost prankster ever to exist, and that included the elves from German fairy tales. Both were nurses and known as “the headache of the administration” at the hospital. The only thing that kept them on the job was the fact that their pranks never actually hurt anyone, or ever put someone in more danger than having a white face and screaming for a couple of moments in fear until they decided to reveal themselves. In Askand’s estimation, though she had nothing against being funny and playing a prank or two once every while, they were both pitiful. Most of their pranks only made the immature enough laugh, and even that was short lived.
“Hi Hinata-san, How are you?” her voice was perfectly calm and icy, with no anger or dislike on the surface.
“Ah, Aska-chan why are you trying so hard to hide the fact that you are still mad at us?” said Hinata, his face filled with strange delight. Who was happy being the subject of another’s anger?
“I’m not hiding anything. I-” was her confused reply before Hinata interrupted her.
“But you are an open book honey. You are still mad about the prank we made. Come on it’s all written in your lovely face. And on those lovely hazel eyes.” He said with a mocking grin.
Why is always the same? Why is it that anyone can read me like an open book? Was Askand’s frustrated thought before Hinata’s playful voice brought her back into reality.
“Oi, Aska-chan…” she cut him off.
“Excuse me, Hinata-kun but my name is Askand, not Aska. And please, I’m very busy right now and behind schedule. So unless there is something I could help you with…” her tone now was sharp and cold, making it quite clear that there was not something she could help him with.
“Oh, okay, calm down. I just wanted to see if you were alright. Something had been going on the first floor and the supervisor wanted to make sure if some of us had seen something or heard something irregular. Have you?” replied Hinata, gesturing with his hands to emphasize the words.
Askand eyed him suspiciously. After the prank they pulled on her she only talked with him and Dounick when it was work related. She knew they weren’t really bad guys, but their immaturity caused more trouble than their worth. Then again they were committed to their job so it was a hard time for her to decide whether Hinata was telling the truth or not.
“Everything is all right so far. The patients are sleeping and no one is roaming the hallways…” Askand was cut off as the sound of a glass breaking shut her up. Hinata and Askand looked at each other.
“What was that?” said Hinata sounding uneasy.
“Maybe one of the patients left the glass on the edge of the table and it fell down. Let’s check it out…”
“You know what I remember that I have to check with the others, see ya later.” Said Hinata with a scared voice at the same time he turned around and disappeared into the hallway.
Coward, she thought before quickly walking in the direction of the noise.
The silence was deafening, an almost palpable sensation. Her muscles were tensed until the pain signified her that she should calm down. Taking a deep breath she reached the last room of the hallway.
“Hmms, this room wasn’t occupied yesterday. Maybe is a new patient had arrived during the day.” She tried to answer herself, for she was puzzled.
Knocking softly she entered the room, silently approaching the two beds. One was near the window, empty, while the second bed had a big package, almost human sized on it. The blankets concealed what was beneath them, unless… unless she took them off it. Her hands trembled slightly by the time she reached the bed, stopping next to it, twitching her fingers while she was reaching the blanket; Askand began to lift it when an horrible mask of a demon appeared in an instant and the shriek of his wielder paralyze her in a heart beat.
“MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!” it screamed into her face.
Taking off his mask Dounick watched how Askand’s pale face contrasted visibly in the dark. She was frozen, not moving, silent, doing nothing until her eyes rolled and she fell down on the floor like a dead weight. Dounick laughed out loud when he saw Askand fall on the floor. The prank was a success and she fell for it, completely. After a couple of minutes he saw she wasn’t moving at all.
“Aska-san, the show is over…. come on stand up, I know you want to try to scare me. But is not going to work,” said Dounick in a singsong voice. Still she didn’t move.
“Aska-chan?” asked Dounick suddenly alarmed.
“Come on, it’s me, Dounick, Askand? Oh no, no come on answer me damn it.” At the same time he dropped quickly from the bed and checked her vital signs.
Her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow. Breathing a relieved sigh Dounick took her in his arms and rushed to the nurse station, pleading for help. Trying to put things mildly, Dounick made it sound like he just tried to do a little joke. Knowing that Askand’s shock was caused by another prank from the dynamic prankster duo the nurse station nearly brakes into a rage. Kia Alice and Daphne Urusai nearly killed the guys when they found out about it.
“Come to me boys Kia and Alice will show you the true meaning of life…” said the diminutive blond nurse holding an aluminum cane in hand.
“You should be ashamed, Hinata, Dounick. Why did you do it? You know she still resents the last prank you pulled on her,” Urusai was speaking mildly, but that was probably only because he was straining to hold Kia by the waist. Small she was, but strong enough to pound Dounik and Hinata both barehanded.
“We are really sorry; please forgive us it was just an innocent joke. We thought…” their voice trailed off when they saw Kia jerking free of Urusai’s hold
.
“RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!” screamed Dounick, truly scared, before both vanished in the hallway.
Kia Alice went walking calming with a psychotic inward smile. Her face looked so freighting that everyone who saw her quickly scurried away, trying to avoid her noticing them. Urusai turned to Askand who was resting in one of the hospital beds. His concern grew when she saw that Askand was sweating and her breathing was becoming even shallower than before. Again checking at her pulse she found that it was nearly gone. Alarmed, she decided to call for backup before anything could get worse.
Askand heard voices. At first, she couldn’t distinguish them, could not understand what they were saying. But as she came to realize that she was unable to stand up quickly enough or move at all, she began listening, and then she managed to hear them more clearly. Some of the fog clouding her brains seemed to have dissipated, and she recognized Hades-sama, one of the doctors. He finished his examination of her by snapping his fingers. She did not respond, though.
“She is not responding. The surprise and shock, along with emotional stress must’ve been too much, so she’ll probably not wake anytime soon.” He said with a soft and neutral voice.
“But I AM awake, doctor! Please don’t leave me…just…” Askand didn’t notice the chain tied against her chest until it pull her back after walking a couple of feet.
As she felt the pull she finally noticed it, silver in color and stretching from her to the room from whence she came. Following it, she entered the room, and on the bed… A lump of pure fear formed in her throat silencing the scream of panic that rose in her throat. Because on the room’s hospital bed a person lay like a sleeping beauty, a young woman looking as delicate as a doll made of porcelain. The chain began on the bed, and she followed, tracing it. A lump formed in her throat. Gulping, Askand made herself reach the bed. The woman lying there, white and peaceful, and perfectly still, made her take a step back. For the second time in the same night, she found herself shocked beyond belief. Wanting to scream at the top of her lungs she opened her mouth but no sound escaped her mouth. Nothing prepared her to the sight she was seeing, because the woman lying dead on the bed was her.
A God’s Downfall Chapter 3
The streets of Rukongai were empty, like a scene from an old western movie where the good and the bad guys are about to clash. Silence presided there, disturbed by nothing save the howling wind, as it made its way around the empty streets. A lone figure appeared there, disturbing the same stillness that was filled with the howling and movement of the wind. The figure took seemed to change shapes, any figure or appearance possible, and the way it moved clearly showed it did not care about the emptiness. The martial law that was announced but a week ago forbade walking alone unless it was broad daylight, and the citizens were confused at first – but when the invasion began, they followed it. As day took yet another step into the night, the people hurriedly closed the doors and barred themselves inside. As the streets filled with strange fog, they realized it was happening again. The Hollows were back again, in greater numbers, like an army of ants charging on a fallen candy. Taking any shape or form imaginable – and some unimaginable – they came, with new abilities and powers. Within this hellish army there were many who had the power to transform or take over souls, and these creatures devoured the souls, leaving no safe haven. Like a cancer in a huge body, they slowly spread throughout the streets, and if any foolishly went outside, nothing save clawed death waited. To those who escaped death, an even worse fate waited: they became mindless killing machines, worse than the Hollows, even. Sniffing out souls, these creatures of destruction were the Hollows’ hunting dogs. Their only mission was to cause panic and destruction, and capable of tearing through any resistance that stood before them, they succeeded in fulfilling that gruesome role. Soon, a barricade was set up to try and stop them, though with little success.
The numbers of evacuated citizens grew and grew, filing the other parts of Rukongai to bursting. With the thinning of populations, a better fighting field was created there, and it was discovered that these hunting dogs could be fully destroyed if they were decapitated, though that was no easy task, as they only moved and attacked in large packs. Another problem was the fact that those monsters usually began decaying as soon as slain, spreading corrosive acid and becoming a severe pollution. Also, the acid and decayed remains carried a deadly virus, which upon contact caused a quick destruction of the victims’ brain cells and spinal fluids, morphing them into a hunting dog.
The Gotei 13 was at a loss as to how to deal with this new threat, as most believed that the Hollow threat was eliminated for good ten years ago, after the Great Winter Battle against Aizen Souske and his ilk, as this war decimated a great number of the enemy, nearly annihilating them. Kurosaki Ichigo and the rest of his friends were heroes now in the history of Soul Society, shrouded with legends and stories. But the price they paid was a great one: some of them, along with the nearly entire array of the former Shinigami Captains and vice-captain vanished from this plane of existence completely, leaving no trace of them. After the Winter War, new members joined the Gotei, restoring peace and order, and though some were grateful and happy after the victory, others were reticent about this outcome, but still they welcomed the peace with reserved expectations. The present however, was a nightmare, and yet it was real. Their casualties increased with each attack, and slowly their number diminished to the point where it was no longer possible to survive another attack. And at this critical point of the war, in a manner more reminiscent of a cloud of smoke than an army of monstrosities they vanished, without so much of a trace save the destruction they wrought.
At the aftermath of this mysterious vanishing, the leaders of the Gotei called an emergency meeting.
“This meeting is held in response to the new threat that has arisen in our lands,” said DragonBlade, the main leader of the great 46, the second big branch and the one on charge of enforcing the rules and laws of the Soul Society.
“Don’t you mean “the old threat”? The Hollows are back and that’s not new. They are always the same savage monsters in search of souls and power,” Said Tofu, her irony just hidden enough so that it would not count as an offense.
“It’s a real threat, and new, like I said. This is new since they came with a different modus operandi.” He turned to Sacred-kun, obviously intending to speak, when he saw the way he was dressed.
“For God’s sake would you mind dressing according your stature?” his voice was weary and with a hint of boiling anger.
Sacred-Kun, the captain of the 12th Division, in charge of the scientific research and investigation took a look at his clothes. The traditional uniform distinctive of the Captain was gone. Instead a pair of jeans and t-shirt was his attire. The clothes fit snugly, showing his lean figure. His black hair was cut with the Earth’s latest trend of being combed with intended disorder. His earthly appearance would pass him for no more of a teenager, rather than a well respect captain of one of the legendary divisions of the Gotei 13. Of course, he wasn’t prepared to be summoned to an emergency meeting, as he was working undercover on earth ever since the supernatural attacks began in Karakura City. As a matter of fact that night was karaoke night and since he was working so hard he thought about a little spare fun time. Since discovering the fine arts of loosing up some tension, Sacred became really excited even at some extent addicted to the karaoke nights. He wasn’t prepared for the meeting but he knew already that messing with DB was an automatic dead sentence, and not wanting to have a discussion he jumped on the advantage of the situation gave him and began to talk, quickly trying to explain himself before something unpleasant happened.
“I was called on an emergency. I barely arrived and the meeting was on already. Well the situation is this….”
“Wait a minute Sacred, just because you are undercover doesn’t mean…” began Dragonblade, obviously intending to lecture, when Lunar’s voice took all the present by surprise.
“I think a sermon on the dress code is uncalled for at the moment, DB. Kun-taicho is undercover and that means he has to play the part to perfection, including the dressing style. Now let him fill us with his findings on Earth. Go ahead, Kun-taicho.” Lunar’s tone clearly sent a message of “don’t you even dare trying to challenge me” to DB.
Dragonblade was silent for a moment, probably counting to 10, and then stayed quiet some more to calm down and let Sacred give his report.
“Fine, go ahead Sacred… later we’ll talk about the dress code.” He said the last bit in a whispering tone that only Sacred and those very close to them could hear. Then Sacred proceeded to give his report.
“As I was saying the situation in Karakura City is getting worse by the day. Hollows have been lurking around lately but it is only now that they began to be more violent and aggressive. Other undercover shinigami from my division reported something quite interesting: it seems that quite a fight took place in the north part of the town. The humans are ignorant of this, of course, but sources say that Okami, the demigod, was there. After the fight he could not be found though, and thus far, his whereabouts are unknown.” Z_blitz took the opportunity to ask a question, his voice urgent and maybe even panicked.
“Where…where did they say he was?”
“The north district, but his reiatsu is no longer felt in the area. Maybe he’s wounded and is recovering somewhere, still….” Z_blitz grabbed Sacred’s t-shirt, anger plain on his face.
Z_blitz was a plain man with a general “nice-guy” attitude, almost always a very nice, lively man, always with a bright smile on his face that even the most serious person could hardly resist and not smile back. Now, though, his anger and concern were plain on his face and in his actions. This was quite concerning to most captains as it was quite a contrast to his usual behavior.
“Z calm down, this is not going to help us in nothing,” said Thing, trying to calm him by putting her hand on his shoulder.
For a couple of seconds that stretched to eternity Z seemed as if he was on the verge of a very sudden and violent action, but then he released Sacred and stepped back with a stern face. His best friend’s disappearance was obviously taking a toll on him.
“My apologies, Sacred,” he said with a bow. Then he lowered his eyes and stared at his feet.
“Is there something else you want to say, captain?” Asked Lunar, still with the same calm voice.
“Yes there is more,” replied Sacred.
Sacred went on with the report. The details were his typical precise and dry facts, and almost like a surgeon, he covered everything without letting out anything… almost. He did leave out a very curious thing that he found out. A woman with quite a special aura was spotted in the hospital in Karakura. Following her for quite a while, he still didn’t manage to place her in this entire mess. She was quite an unusual thing in this entire unusual occurrence, and her mystery intrigued him. He will make the arrangements to solve this mystery later, he decided. He will know what she was and what her part is in this grand play. After he finished the report, dead silence ensued. They all realized how deadly their enemy was, how efficient. The plague it spread, making any soul it encountered into a zombie-like being, made it all even worse. This enemy could make short work on the entire world. Dragonblade had no intention of letting that happen.
“All right, here’s the plan: 5th division is in charge of getting all the refugees to someplace safe. They will be supported by 6th and 11th. Z_blitz - your division with the help of Sanzora and the 9th will be in charge of searching for Lord Okami and destroying any Hollows you encounter due course. 1st division will be scouting the area for any potential allies. All other divisions and unemployed Shinigami will help the 4th with the sick and injured. As of this moment Soul Society is on red alert. Until further notice all Shinigami are to report to these missions regardless of whatever missions they were previously assigned to. Dismissed!” With that the meeting was dismissed.
Sacred remained after the others left, knowing that he had to speak with DB. By the time the latter turned to him, he was almost dancing with impatience, his face a mask of dead seriousness concealing a boiling kettle of emotions, ranging from anger to curiosity.
“DB-sama, there is one detail that I didn’t mention. But it’s important that you know it. After Okami’s disappearance avatars have been spotted in the city. Most of the time they’re inactive, and yet…I think there is something wrong here.” He said, hesitant and ready to retreat if Dragonblade exploded.
Yet nothing happened, and DB, quiet as ever, motioned to Sacred to join him by the window overlooking Seireitei.
“In this case, it is imperative that we trace and make contact with Okami, before this explodes in our face. The avatars are a serious game. Almost always a battle with them ends with the attacker dead, and they are the sons and daughters of the gods. I would honestly like to know… how many are there…?” Dragonblade’s tone hinted at something… but Sacred could not place his finger on it.
Sacred left DB some time later, after a gesture from DB that the conversation was over. He was very intrigued by the avatars’ movements. They were the elite force of the gods, the best of the best mobilized only in cases of extreme emergency – and this was one. Usually, a god’s death signified their appearance, and they usually also spent several months deciding what to do with the remains. This time, though… if his data on the avatars was to be believed, battling one was an automatic death sentence for a Shinigami. An avatar was capable of using any known element with the mastery of a god, and their endurance and powers were legendary. Yet, there was nothing to hint at Okami’s death… no remains, no high concentration of reishi at a given spot, where the soul of the god left its physical manifestation. Nothing. And yet here they were, the avatars, mobilized. He wondered if the gods knew something he didn’t. And if they did, how. Obviously something was very wrong with the situation, and it seemed that it was Sacred’s turn (again!) to figure it out, all by himself. As he walked through the street, he took a turn, approaching a massive brick building. The dark grey stone seemed dull, and it did not hint at the knowledge hidden within. The Library of Seireitei was the greatest source of knowledge in all of Soul Society, guarded by an elite force of the most powerful Shinigami, trained especially to guard this treasure. As he entered, he made his way to the Inner Sanctum, where in a hidden spot, shrouded by shadows, sat the man he was searching for.
“Oh no. What do you want this time, Sacred?” the unwelcoming tone clearly showed this person was unhappy to see the Captain.
That didn’t dishearten Sacred though, who spoke matter-of-factly. “Nothing much, actually. Say, shouldn’t you be at the front? People are losing time and patience looking for books here, you know.”
“Bleh… say, aren’t you dressed badly for a Captain?” was the reply.
Sacred grinded his teeth and studied the man sitting on the floor. Almost nothing of Undying’s fair features was visible, but his grey hair – despite his youth – was clearly visible, spiked in every possible direction. He wore the typical Shinigami attire of a black kimono and a wide, white hakama, and also added a wide, sleeveless haori to it, with a Yin and Yang symbol on each shoulder. Undying took that moment to study Sacred and sense his anger. Yes, just as it should be. No one would will bully him around and get away with it. Lazily he got up, and standing he folded his arms on his chest.
“Okay then Sacred, let’s get straight to the point. What the hell do you want to know?” Undying hoped that it will be something simple and short, so that he could catch a good nap before his superiors decided to land another order on him. He hated work.
“I want you to tell me everything you know about avatars. And I mean everything.”
Undying couldn’t believe what ears heard. Silently cursing the star he was born under, he took a couple of steps forward, the frowned.
“Well in that case…” he replied, “come with me to the café. Because just so you know, what you’ve asked me here isn’t just a short cozy story. It’s a whole friggin’ history lesson. Come.” With that, they both exited the Library, turning towards the café and completely ignoring the annoying yapping of one of the supervisors who demanded Undying’s attention.
Chapter 4
The trip to the café was quite long. Located in the near center of Rukongai, that place was known for letting anyone in. Surprisingly, any incident was reported at once, which made it rather quiet, and also into a natural place for nearly all of Soul Society. Gangs, Shinigami, and others met there, and astonishingly did not try to kill each other on site. The place was known for treaties that were signed there. Inside, this was an incredible construct. Merged together were all types of different styles, ranging from Japanese, through Irish, to Norse, and to the Western Movie bars with the huge amount of beverages. Sacred and Undying walked side by side without talking or even bothering to look at each other. They knew their presence would be recognized here, and so kept the discretion at minimum – the less hiding they will appear, the less attention they will attract. The door to the café was built in Western style, with twin small bars that could be freely pushed in and out by exiting or entering customers. Entering, both noted the unusual emptiness of the place – two, maybe three tables were occupied. With only a slight glance at each other, they entered, immediately moving for the farthest table form the entrance, only stopping by the bar for a bottle of sake.
Tending the bar was a man they both knew from a time long ago, when they were companions, comrades, and maybe even friends. This was such a distant time, though, that now it seemed but a distant memory, barely cared for and certainly irrelevant to the present.
“How may I serve you today?” said The Supervisor.
“Meh, just a bottle of sake,” said Undying still upset for losing his nap.
“And some dumplings may be a good idea,” added Sacred, ignoring Undying’s glare.
“Well you are going to pay for those and the sake,” said Undying as a final argument while exchanging a knowing look with Suppy, as he liked to call the owner of the Café.
Sacred noticed the exchanged of looks and then took a good look at The Supervisor. The man was now taller and better built. But if his memory didn’t fail him that body was just maintained through maximized economy of energy possible, or in other words, by putting the least effort possible. Super was the laziest man on the group, even as one of the more formidable fighters amongst them. His look of “Who the hell invented the work? I’m so gonna kill him” was still there in those brown greenish eyes. His hair was in a serious mess as always, as he didn’t even bother to fix it or comb it. The looks also revealed that he was not ever a member of the Gotei 13, but always a regular citizen. Super took a look at Sacred and the two of them seemed to have said something without words. Now it was Undying’s turn to look at them. With the formalities done the three men nodded in acknowledgement to each other. Sacred and Undying, who took the bottle of sake, went on their way to the table. Once they were seated, drinking, and eating dumplings, the conversation began.
“So why is this sudden urge to get my knowledge?” asked Undying, trying to sound casual.
Sacred looked to all sides and in a whisper he said, “I can’t tell you, it’s confidential dude.”
“Then I can’t tell you anything, “dude”, ‘cause last time I made that mistake it nearly cost me my life and my marriage,” said Undying in the same whispering tone, mocking.
They began eating faster and faster, as though trying to prove something. Chopsticks moving in a blur, they caught a dumpling between them and tried to wrestle it from each other. The direct result was that they soon tossed the dumpling straight up. Undying made the first strike with his pair of chopsticks, trying to poke Sacred’s hand, for if he managed to immobilize it he would’ve gotten the dumpling. But Sacred was as fast as Undying, and he evaded most of the attempts, countering with similar moves. The scene was bizarre and yet funny. The exchange of blows was so fast that no one around them seemed to perceive the battle that was going on. The dumpling reached as high as it could and began falling down. Both men tried to make a move faster than the other when a blur passed between them. A solid sound of a butcher knife getting stuck in a wall made both men glance at it and then to the dumpling cut in perfect half on the plate. The chopsticks were intact. Looking at the only possible direction were it could come from Sacred and Undying saw Supervisor giving a sip to what it seemed is sake bottle number five. Sensing the opportunity Sacred tried to make some peace.
“I know about what happened 10 years ago Undying and I’m…”
“Don’t you dare to say it Sacred or I will kill you right here and now,” hissed Undying, his anger plain on his face.
“Ok guys this is a neutral place don’t make a scene and everyone could leave today in one peace,” says Supervisor passing by, his tone laced with warning. On the way he took the butcher knife and began whistling.
After Supervisor passed both Undying and Sacred sat once again, and glared at each other for what it seemed an eternity. Finally Sacred gave a weary sigh and said: “Alright Und, I will tell you what’s going on, but promise me that you would not tell anyone about it. Deal?” finished with his eyebrows raised.
Undying only smirked and replied, “Well let’s see if I think is worth keeping the secret. And by the way it’s Undying to you okay?”
Sacred knew he was cornered, but Undying was a vast pool of knowledge, of many topics and an immense book collection that competed with Seireitei’s archives evenly. No, he was alone and without any options. Knowing the risk he was taking, Sacred began telling Undying the account of events until that day, without knowing that a third party was overhearing their entire conversation.
End of Part one
Part Two
Askand was paralyzed with fear, staring at the shocking sight before her. On the hospital bed was her body, lying dead with a chain coming out of the chest, the same silvery, shinning chain that was attached to her chest, if I t was possibly to be in two places at once.
“What’s going on? How….how could I be here and there at the same time?” she whispered, trembling in shock and fear.
Not knowing what to do she remained standing by the bed, staring at her own body – or what looked like it, after all, she was inside her own body, right? Nothing else could be… or could it? She had no idea how long had she stood there, staring, until she heard a soft thud in the distance. She started, only to realize that the air in the room was frozen, her breath coming in white mists, and she was not shivering. She did not eve feel it, in fact, her breath being the only indication. By the time she registered that, her shock was so great that she thought she was about to faint any moment.
“Why the shocked face my lovely dear? You are only looking at your own body, it’s no biggie,” said a voice behind her, playful, and savoring every word he said.
Jumping and turning around, Askand found herself looking at a doctor standing calmly at the entrance of the room. Still confused she opened her mouth to ask him a question, when a soft voice suddenly spoke to her ear.
“Please stop. It’s a Hollow. If you get near him he will devour you. Go back to your body and run away. Please it’s the only way for you to survive this.” Sincere concern laced through the soft words.
Fighting against the fog that was clouding her mind, Askand hesitated before deciding. Unfortunately for her, she made her decision a hair too late. She was just a few steps of reaching her goal; she only needed to stretch her arm and grab her own hand. So close, yet so far, she never saw the shadow bursting from the floor. One step from reaching her body, she found herself face to face with the doctor, smiling like a lunatic. Slowly his smile turned into a sneer, and slowly became a decaying mockery of a smile. Pieces of flesh began to melt off and fell bubbling on the floor as if they were sprayed with acid. Taking a step back, Askand tried not to touch the melting stuff. The hissing and sizzling of melting flesh combined with the smell of burning skin was the scenery for this dreaded play. Trying to step backwards Askand felt a tug at her chest. At first she ignored it, but when she felt her strength leaving her, she glanced at her chest. There, in the middle of it was a fist-sized hole, with a tiny pearl floating in the middle where the chain linked to where her heart should have been. Unable to register the chain of bizarre events happening, Askand tried to find a logic explanation.
“If it is of any consolation, be happy that you were the vessel for one of the most powerful gods of our history,” said the shadow, completing the transformation. Askand opened her eyes wide when she saw his deformed hand taking the pearl out of her empty chest.
“Good. Now, our master will be happy. Let’s see what we can do with you…” the said the Hollow, starting yet another transformation
Part 3
Ai thought it was a nice place to take a nap. No one would know that hideout and the tranquility, the key ingredient for a perfect nap, was in abundance there. He just needed a couple of hours’ rest before returning to the human world and resuming his battle with the Hollows. What a troublesome bunch, never a moment of rest, he thought to himself. He was just fine doing a few errands and lazing about, and now he was forced to fight. He didn’t mind a fight from time to time but the more physical activity he avoided the better. After getting in a comfortable position Ai began to drift into sleep when he the sound of chopsticks clashing.
“Great now I won’t be able to rest. Damn it!” he thought wryly.
“So, the avatars are on earth as well?” said one voice in a low whisper.
“Yes, they are. They are the most powerful force from the gods’ army. But, they will do the job for us, at least for now,” replied a second voice.
“So can you tell me more about them? What are they really?” asked the first voice, exited from hearing about them for the first time.
Waiting for the conversation to finish, Ai took note of everything they said. Maybe this would help him get a higher position in the Gotei. Yes! It would be perfect for his rising. A lazy smile spread across his face. Soon he will have all the time in the world to rest and his only job would be bossing around.
Part 4
The night seemed to change its atmosphere faster than roulette. The stench of death could almost be tasted in the air. It was clear that blood was the main course on the menu tonight. A storm started out of the blue, lightning and thunder flashing bout with abandon. Following them came the soft rain, quickly becoming not at all soft. By the time Z_blitz and his party reached the edge of the Karakura Hospital building, the visibility was almost zero.
“Blitz-Taichou! We need to rest. It’s been hours and this heavy rain is almost unbearable,” said BeeCrest, trying to walk with her Shihakshio and hair almost as heavy as a cement block.
“She is right, taichou, we have to go someplace dry and get this water out of ourselves. In this rain it is almost impossible to keep searching,” this time it was Supersaiyanmugen who spoke.
Z looked at them. For nearly three days they searched like mad dogs under his command. Not all of them were from the same division, but all shared one thing in common: all were volunteers. When they heard Z_blitz needed help in his search for Lord Okami, none of them hesitated a second before offering to volunteer to be part of the search party. BeeCrest, Supersaiyanmugen (or Mugen for short), Icchymaru and Night Prowler were part of the main search party. They were the lucky ones to be in his group. Good people with great hearts. He never thought that they would just jump right out to the boat and help him. He knew he was a nice guy but now he discovered just how respected and loved he was. In this group and the other search parties he saw a union that he thought was nearly impossible to achieve. Maybe miracles could happen, he thought for himself.
“Alright people let’s rest on that place over there, and then….” Z stopped dead.
Faint as a whisper in the wind, the sensation covered Z from head to toe. Without hesitation he used his shunpo to cover the distance all the way to the hospital. The faintest trace of this reiatsu was like a golden brick road to him. Okami. His dear friend, was there, and in dreadful danger. As he searched, as fast as he could, he began getting frustrated. After a short while, his party caught up to him.
“Taichou what is it? Are you alright?” asked Night Prowler
“Come on Z, I’m not gonna move again under that rain if this is another dead end,” said Bee already getting upset for moving around all wet.
“Okami is here! I can feel his reiatsu, we need to look here! I’m certain of it,” said Z, turning his eyes from his party to the dark hallway in front of them.
“Yeah you feel Lord Okami I feel Hollow stench and it’s getting stronger by the instant, so let’s stop wasting time here,” said Icchymaru.
Suddenly a howl resounded through the building, shocking them all. Not wasting another moment all shinigami ran towards where it came from. In a room located by the end of the hallway they found what they were looking for. Z stopped on his tracks at the terrible sight before him. A woman in her early thirties was floating in the air while a hollow was trying to rip her soul out. Her Chain of Fate had been severed and her body was being consumed by another hollow.
Suddenly, Z heard a whisper in his mind, “Z, please save that girl. She must live.”
“O-Okami? What’s going on? Where…” Z asked mentally.
Two Hollows tried to attack Z while he was distracted with Okami. That was their first and last mistake. The third Hollow, hiding in the darkness, stared as he saw his two comrades disintegrate before the strange man. How? Who was he? The Hollow took a closer look at Z, whose wet hair hid his eyes. His reiatsu began to glow around him until it was a huge white aura filling the room. Lifting his face a bit, he revealed his blank, white glowing eyes. The feeling of that reiatsu was of a fearsome beast, ready to strike as it master commanded. Then the Hollow realized with what it was dealing. No ordinary Shinigami, that, but a Captain, a captain-class Shinigami from the Gotei 13. It remembered the stories told in Hueco Mundo by Hollows who confronted these fearsome opponents, but it was not them which made him cringe in fear. The power and the killing aura were so overwhelming it could not stand it. No, fighting this would not be a good move, it knew. Something that could take out two of the fearsome Shadow Warriors without even moving was not something to face like that. Grabbing the agonized woman he threw her at the man.
“Well Shinigami, it’s time for choices. You can get me, but if you do who would save the woman? And if you unleash this reiatsu other humans in this place will be hurt. Oh, what a great dilemma. How is it going to be?” it said, each word dripping of sarcasm and evil intentions.
Z hesitated for a moment, realizing that the Hollow was right. He needed to restrain his power or people could get hurt. The woman was already lost without her Chain of Fate attached to her heart. It was matter of seconds for her to turn into a Hollow. Still, he needed the pearl Okami’s soul was inside of. He was preparing to daringly strike at the Hollow, hoping that he would manage to get that pearl and reinsert it before the girl was Hollowfied, when suddenly Okami’s reiatsu appeared again, this time emitted by the woman’s soul.
“Could it be? But how? Z was confused.
“Z there is no time! If she dies I will die too. Take her to Soul Society; there is no time to lose.”
The Hollow chuckled as a ball of black reiatsu generated in its claw-like hand. Z hissed and ignored the ball, looking down at the woman in his arms. She was top priority, he realized. Okami’s life was on the line here.
“Leaving so soon? Then I must at least give you a farewell gift,” said the Hollow, throwing the ball at Z.
Too distracted, Z did not realize what it was until it was too late to dodge or block.
Night tried to run as fast as he could. Z vanished into the building with the rest of the group, and he lost them while following with all that reiatsu hanky panky. Finally he caught up with them, fearful that something might be happening. He was right, it seemed. As soon as he reached the last room a huge wave of black reiatsu was dead on the others standing in the doorway. Apparently they did not realize how dangerous it was until they felt it’s pressure.
“What is that terrible force?” asked Mugen.
“Everybody behind my back, NOW!” said Night with seriousness in his tone that wouldn’t take no for an answer. As they stood behind him, he stood with his left side facing the incoming wave and unsheathed his katana and whispered.
“Rise above Darkness my Lord Okami.”
Immediately Night’s left arm began to burn away the sleeve of his kimono, revealing a glowing crimson tattoo. Glowing with power and fire the tribal tattoo shone like the sun, illuminating everything in the hall. BeeCrest, Mugen, and Icchymaru covered their eyes, trying to avoid looking at the brightly glowing tattoo. The last thing BeeCrest saw before covering her eyes was the growing of a fiery wing coming from Night Prowler’s back. The wave of darkness smashed against the wall of fire and light Night Prowler made, and the brightly glowing, hungry light quickly devoured the wave of darkness. When the danger passed Night gave a small prayer of gratitude and the fire disappeared without leaving so much as a singe mark on the floor. As soon as he adjusted his sight to the dim light, he recognized Z_blitz’s silhouette before him, glowing with white light. It was then that Night realized that the whole floor was contained inside a dome made of Z’s reiatsu.
“Taichou...?”
“We don’t have any time to waste. Contact Soul Society, we need Orihime-sama immediately.” Was all that Z said before his reiatsu subsided and he stepped outside into the rain.
Part Five
Thelindra woke with her body trembling and covered in sweat. Her dreams were always an omen for future events, and this time was of no difference. The calmness of the night was another sign, it’s feeling like the quiet before the storm. Death was riding free this night, searching for yet more victims. A soft whimper made her jump on her bed nearly making her fall face first into the hard floor. After regaining her balance she took a look at the beautiful white wolf that was lying by the edge of the bed. Lei Wei, her loyal companion. Breathing a relieved sigh, she called him to her and softly scolded him for scaring her like that. Still, she couldn’t resist and gave him a few soft and loving pats and a hug and a kiss on the nuzzle. Her long, silvery hair was all damp with sweat and turning into dreadlocks. Feeling uncomfortable she quickly took a bath and put on her shinigami clothes, doing it all automatically in well practiced motions. Suddenly a knock sounded at the door, straightening, she looked at her wolf friend who was sniffing at the door. Instead of growling, it moved its tail to indicate a friend. A moment later a voice sounded a familiar, friendly voice.
“Lindra-chan? It’s me, RedXMaverick. I need to speak with you urgently. Are you awake?”
Thelindra’s heart began to pound fast hard and fast. This was a bad sign, if she was called at this time of the night. Not delaying she opened the door surprising Red.
“What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“We need to fetch Orihime-sama. They found Lord Okami and things aren’t looking good,” he replied, his voice concerned.
Thelindra noted that he was also fully dressed with the shinigami clothes. Not wasting any more time they headed into the forest to look for Inoue Orihime, who now lived a secluded life somewhere deep in that forest. On the way they met with Z’s party, and immediately Thelindra noticed the woman in Z’s arms, all bloodied and so pale she almost seemed a corpse. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her face move a fraction, and her eyes seemed to open a touch, pleading for help. Thelindra had never seen such pained eyes, with such sorrow and fear in them. Blinking and shaking her head she stopped after another few steps, trying to erase those feelings from her heart that were giving her real trouble.
“Lindra-chan? Are you okay?” said Red’s voice, somewhere in the distance.
“Huh? Sorry Maverick I just got distracted, we need to get going she doesn’t have too much time,” she replied in a reassuring tone.
RedXMaverick followed her, silent. He too saw the look in the girl’s eyes. His heart was touched too and for the first time since 10 years ago he ran with all haste to the forest, just like then, when he ran and ran for his best friend before he died in his arms.
Well finally it is here my fan fic I hope you like it. Critics are welcome good or bad.:)
Editor : Undying (Thank you so much for the help *Bows*)
Prologue
The night was a tranquil one, with a slight breeze being the only movement. The moon shone bright and strong, like a huge light-bulb illuminating the entire city. The season was just between spring and summer, and so the night was still cool, though it held a hint of summer’s heat. Suddenly, a lone wolf appeared on the streets of Karakura Town, disturbing the calm of night. This creature that should’ve been extinct in such populated places roamed it as though it all belonged to it. However, had any happening passerby looked at it, they would’ve immediately realized how unusual this wolf was. From the shoulders to the ground it was about 4 feet in height, and it was almost five feet from snout to tail in length. Its hair was snow-white, and its paws were covered with some strange, arcane symbols. Its glacial blue eyes scanned the area, searching for a sign of its prey..
”It is strange…” said the wolf, searching, “Why have I now seen any sign of them since I followed them from Soul Society?”
He was sure he was on the right trail. The rancid stench of the Hollow stung its nostrils more and more. It kept on smelling it until he reached the origin of the scent, a closed alleyway, shadowed by the buildings by it. At first, nothing was out of the ordinary there, and then, a lone shadow extended from the wall, taking on the shape of a man.
”Hey, Okami, it is I, Z-Blitz," said the shadow, materializing.
But Okami wasn’t fooled. There was something strange about all this, and the stench only grew stronger.
Suddenly, he charged. “You are not him!” he roared, and with a single strike took a chunk out of the man’s hand. “You cannot fool me, Hollow!” with that, he stopped at a distance, waiting for the creature’s move.
The man was bleeding quite a bit, but appeared not to have noticed anything. He laughed.
“My, my… none can fool the great Okami, eh? Why don’t we just talk instead of fighting?” although the blood flowing from his hand already made a pool on the ground below him, the thing didn’t appear to even realize it lacked a limb. Nor was it showing any signs of getting weaker.
”Talk? With an enemy? Are all Hollows as stupid as this?” Okami’s roaring tone didn’t seem to affect the creature at all. Then, something seemed to have struck home. “Where is Z?” he demanded forcefully, “What have you done with him?!?”
“Z…? Oh, you mean the person whose image I am burrowing...” replied the Hollow, still with the same calm tone. “But, I would like to ask you, something, Okami. Why is it that a god like you serves these wretches? Why is it that a being as superior as you work with this lowly scum? Why have you cast away your title, your glory, oh great lord Okami?”
Okami growled deep in his throat. “It’s none of your business, scum,” he growled, “You’d better have not harmed Z or I…” suddenly he felt dizzy.
“Is something the matter, Lord Okami?” asked the Hollow with mock concern, and took a step forward. Okami took a step back.
”What… what have you done to me?” he growled, shaking his head futilely. The dizziness and the weakness were steadily growing worse.
”Done something? To you? No… I would never presume to hurt the great Lord Okami, but well, you should always watch what you bite…” the last words were accompanied with an insolent grin.
By the end of the sentence, Okami was already on the verge of collapsing. A pool of blood formed under him, and the poison was working fast.
”Da-damn you, Hollow…” Okami growled “I-I-I will…” he suddenly gasped and spewed blood as his left lung was pierced.
”Oh, is that so…” the Hollow’s human-visage melted, and only the white mask of the Hollows remained. The smile remained, though. Okami felt a shudder course through him, though from fear or from pain he couldn’t tell. “I don’t think you’d be able to, my lord,” said the Hollow, now completely inhuman in shape. “You see, we Hollows are planning to return to Soul Society, and we can’t afford to have you against us… Oh wait, the best part is… you get to lead us, Lord Okami!! I shall take your form after I devour this physical manifestation of your, and then I shall take upon your form, and lead our forces to battle. And as for your soul… well, they say that the souls of gods taste the best. I’ve never had the chance to test to see if this saying was true…” his maniacal cackling sounded like bones grinding.
Okami was terrified, and powerless to do anything. Even as the Hollow was finishing his grand speech of conquest and destruction, he felt the pain and blackness of death creep over him. A few moments later, the huge wolf collapsed, dead. The Hollow snatched the soul of the deity before it could escape, and trapped it in a tiny pearl. He then placed it in a small satchel on his waist and, smiling with victory, he proceeds to feast upon the wolf’s body. The soul it kept for later, as it knew that the soul of a god would be a most delicious dessert. Having finished the wolf’s body, it moved to return to Hueco Mundo, thinking it has won. Unknown to the Hollow, though, the satchel had a tiny hole, from where the pearl soon fell and rolled on the street, finally setting within a small hollow on the road. Soon, it was covered with dead leaves, as though nature was paying its final respects to Okami.
Weeks passed. People went here and there on the street, moving with their own purposes or lack thereof, but nothing seemed to have changed for that tiny hollow in the road. But then, one shiny and quiet day, the wind suddenly blew the leaves away. It was that time of the day during which, in summer, most people either sleep or try to cool themselves with a nice shadow and a cold drink. Yet a young boy, no more than ten years of age, was outside, walking. The sun’s light was just perfect, and the pearl glittered. The noticed the small shiny object, and stopped to pick it up.
”Wow, how pretty! Neechan would love this!” he said, holding the beautiful pearl against the sun’s light. He then pocketed it, and turned back to the direction he came from. He never realized that his fate has just been decided.
Here is chapter 1
Enjoy it!
The almost silent fall of a drop sent ripples across the night as it might across a pond. This was just that kind of background music that sent shivers down anyone’s spine. The woman stood there, in that one spot of light in a huge abyss of motionless darkness. She had no idea why she was there, waking beside a huge white wolf lying in a pool of his own blood, or why did it feel so… right. Suddenly she realized that the wolf’s breath was fast and shallow, as though he was dying. He was dying. As though waking from a trance she moved closer and began healing the wolf, pressing her hands against his paws, a glowing blue aura surrounded them, and as time flew by, his wounds slowly closed. After what seemed an eternity she leaned even closer, exhausted, to check his breathing and wounds. He was going to live, she saw. And satisfied with that, she leaned against him to sleep… until the alarm clock went off.
Startled, she tried to shush it. “Wait, don’t make any noise, he’ll…”
She suddenly realized where the noise came from, she turned to shut it off, promptly falling off the bed and bruising her shoulder. Groaning, she got up, put on a shirt – it actually took her a moment to realize she was trying to do it on her legs – and she went downstairs. “I’m going to be late again… come one, Tommy, we’ll be late…”
”Surprise!!!” the unified shout made her stumble. She caught hold of herself in the middle of the room, staring at her neighbors and friends.
”What?” she asked no one in particular, a bit flushed since she wore nothing more than an over-sized t-shirt that was not quite opaque, and hardly hid her ample bosom, and pajama pants, which weren’t the perfectly respectful garb you wore when meeting friends.
”Eh, Askand? Did you slide over the wrong bush or something? Or have you been drinking lately? It’s your birthday, dummy.” Gien, the 5th floor neighbor, said.
”Yes, dear Tommy wanted to give you a surprise party in the afternoon, since you work so hard during the night,” Mrs. Fuji, the resident of the 2nd floor, had a very sweet, grandmotherly voice.
”Oh, yeah, I completely forgot… too much to do…” Askand was a touch embarrassed, “where’s Tommy?” she asked, noticing her little brother was nowhere in sight.
Just then a little kid walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray of sweets.
As he saw Askand, his face brightened. “Onee-chan, this is for you! Happy birthday!”
Askand couldn’t help but smile, despite the lump in her throat. Ever since the accident five years past, when their parents were taken away from them, she has never seen Tommy so cheerful. That he actually bothering to set up a celebration for her, with all the neighbors… that lump was getting bigger by the moment. Suddenly she became aware of everyone staring at her, obviously awaiting her birthday speech. She took hold of herself, steadied her voice, and began.
“Thank you very much, everybody… truly, thank you…” she closed her eyes, and tried to hold her tears of happiness. Suddenly her eyes popped open as she remembered that she was going to be late for work. “Tommy, please take care of the guests… and again, truly, thank you very much, everybody…” she said while getting to her room for a shower and putting on some proper cloths.
Askand’s work in the hospital as a nurse is simple, mainly checking everyone were tucked in nice and comfortable. Even as she checked her shirt for what seemed to be the hundredth time, she noted the brightness of the pearl she was wearing in her necklace. Two weeks ago, before her birthday, her little brother gave it to her as a surprise, though he would not say where had he gotten a pearl so bright – it must’ve cost a fortune. She tried not to remember that it was the same night that her strange dreams about the huge wolf sitting on her bed began. She looked closed at it. Yes, very bright. She closed her eyes, and silently gave a prayer that she would have a quiet, peaceful night’s work. As she opened her eyes, the wolf was there. That same huge, white wolf from her dreams was there, sitting on the bed as if the place belonged to him, and staring at her lazily. Her scream stuck in her throat, she whirled about, and to her immense relief and worry - was she going mad? – The bed was empty, and so was the room. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she thought it might burst straight out of her chest – or throat, it seemed to have decided to settle there – and very nearly screamed again as Mrs. Fuji’s sweet voice called her from the doorway, asking if she was ready. She relaxed almost at once, though. That voice really was like a grandmother’s.
”Dear Mr. Wataru will be taking you to the hospital in a minute. Are you all set?”
”Yes, in a minute,” Askand kept her voice as normal as possible. Well, maybe she did not completely relax. Not wanting to waste time she took her belongings and glanced fearfully at her mirror again. Nothing; the wolf wasn’t there, only her pale face and the rest of the decoration of the room. Making a fast inspection Askand made sure her fiery red hair was in place in the tight bun she made. Her brown eyes were a strange contrast with her skin and hair. Since she was making some room for practicing martial arts with her brother she was losing some extra pounds she had. Her uniform was conservative, not letting her show her body and the curves she was getting in the process. “Ok, here we go,” it was the last thing she said before leaving for work
.
It was six o’clock in the morning when she came back from work. The night had been nothing but mayhem and chaos, with several serious accidents reported from all over the city, and many casualties, many of whom even the hospital could not tend. Even Askand, untrained as she was, was called into the emergency room. At the short break she had, she was so thoroughly exhausted that she ate nothing more than half a sandwich a small cup of tea. Finally, at the end of the shift, the situation seemed to have calmed, and Askand somehow found herself by her apartment. She was so dizzy and tired she never realized how did she get there, even though she somehow managed to get there right at the time to wake little Tommy and send him to school. And then she would fall asleep. Blessedly asleep… As she opened the door of Tommy’s room she heard him already getting up.
‘G;morning, Tommy,” she said, yawning ”Come one sleepy guy, time for school…” another yawn nearly split her jaws.
“Otaru is taking me to school today, so you can just go and sleep,” replied her little brother.
”So, what will you have for breakfast?” she inquired.
”Don’t worry about that,” replied Tommy, “Mrs. Fuji left me some rice-balls and miso, so you don’t have to cook. Just go to sleep.”
Askand felt a little bit left off, but didn’t show it. Maybe it was the exhausting from work. A hot bath and nice rest was all she needed. She stood up to help her little brother but he was already heading for the bathroom. Askand felt suddenly sad, her brother was turning into a fine young man and she was missing it. It was just her imagination, she was sure of it. She sighed.
“I guess that’s how it feels when you’re almost 30…” Not waiting too long Askand went to the kitchen and served the breakfast. She waited till Tommy was gone to take a good hot bath. Finally able to relax, she fell asleep without removing the necklace. And almost at once, she was there again, in that dream. The same unmoving darkness, the same stillness. But no wolf. No, no wolf. She was alone, completely alone. It made Askand almost sad; she wanted to know how he was. The sound of the water droop was no longer heard. The silence was suddenly more profound, more palpable than before. She shivered. Suddenly, a thud echoed through the darkness. It drew closer and closer, until Askand had to cover her ears. The thudding stopped before her, to reveal a monstrous shape of a strange monster.
“Shinigami! Shinigami! Food! Food! I need food!!” It roared straight into Askand’s astonished face.
”Whoa, who…is….who is or what is a….shinigami? What’s going on?” Asked Askand. She knew she had to move – and fast.
The monster suddenly seemed to have registered her existence. “FOOD!” it roared even as it reached down and grabbed her in one massive arm.
“Somebody help me! PUT ME DOWN!!!” Askand screamed at the monster, which just went on screaming “food”. Totally terrified she felt the grip of the monster tighten. It was very difficult to breath while the hand squeeze more and more. Then it tried to put her into his mouth, but then his arm was no longer attached to its body. A white blur had severed it. Askand fell on the floor, gasping from breath. A quick scan on her body let her know her ribs were lacerated but not broken. Still the task to stand up was really difficult.
”Go, I will take care of this Hollow” said the wolf standing in front of her
Askand couldn’t believe the wolf was actually talking with her. “I said Go!!” roared the wolf going for a frontal attack.
The roar scared Askand and she turned around to escape, but then stopped as an unseen hand grabbed her heart and squeezed. Hard.
”Going somewhere?” the haunted voice asked..
When the hand squeezed again, Askand woke up with a scream of pain. Sweating profusely and holding her heart she vaguely saw a black silhouette in front of her bed. It looked like a warrior drawing his sword. Panting and unable to shout for her help Askand followed the movement of the warrior as he raised his katana and prepared to strike. The sword went down and in slow motion. Closing her eyes while waiting for the blow the first thing she remembered was her little brother Tommy. Who would take care of him? How he is going too survived without her. No, she couldn’t end up like this. She needed to do something. She never knew how she did it but in an instant her hands hold the blade of the katana a few centimeters before her head.
”This is a dream and you are not real. So I will wake up and you will be gone.”
”Really? I will prove…” began the voice.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!” Askand began to glow, a white light illuminating the room. The light grew brighter the entire place was lit. The shadows were gone leaving a nothingness. The sudden pain in her heart let her know she was wounded. Touching her chest she felt a wet sensation and took a look at her hand. Blood covered her hand was enough to finally wake her up in her room.
Staggering to the bathroom she took a look at the mirror to see she was totally fine. Still her heart was hurting which was totally absurd except for the pain that was real. Looking at the wall clock she saw she had only slept four hours. Not knowing she would be able to sleep again she dedicated the rest of the day to do some chores that were pending. Without knowing she was being watch by the same shadow she dreamt of.
A God’s downfall Chapter 2
As the days flew by Askand kept having the same dream over and over again, with the same characters acting the same roles like in a bad movie. Monsters, darkness and that huge white wolf, battling in that weird for the lack of a better term to describe it, and no matter how hard she tried, she would always have the same dream. Always finding herself and the wolf in the same lonely spot of light available inside a never ending darkness, looking to the vast abyss in hopes of seeing the monsters before being attack. And always, the same repetitive scene occurred: Askand, curious, tries to ask the wolf what on earth is going on, but before she can utter a word something attacks them and the wolf, like a gallant warrior, jumps in front of her, defending. After one glimpse into those glacial blue eyes, Askand would run away, running headlong into nearly tangible darkness and silence pierced with shrill and hollow cries of monsters. After what seemed an eternity, her body would give in to exhaustion and fear, and she usually collapsed, no strength remaining in her body. As painful as it was, this was the sign for her awakening, each time bathed in sweat and tears of frustration, her heart pounding in her ears and her throat as dry as a desert.
Mrs Fuji, being a believer in the supernatural and dream premonitions, suggested that the dreams signified a great challenge yet to have been presented in Askand’s life. And although she somewhat agreed with it, she was still busy trying to figure out why was that wolf present in her waking too, and in the hospital to boot. It was one thing to have the same dream over and over again like a video stuck on “repeat”, but to see the characters from it in real life? She sure hoped she was not going crazy or something. Discreetly, Askand had herself examined, and the results were both good and bad. No, she was not sick or physically unfit, and no, she was not going through any physical changes that might cause her illusions. On the other hand though, if there was nothing physical to cause it… she was not going insane! Her investigations led her to the conclusion that she maybe suffered of exhaustion or maybe overstress due to the hard years of raising her little brother Tommy. Shaking her head in disbelief Askand refused to deliver the fault to her parents or Tommy. It wasn’t their fault that she was having strange dreams or visions of big white wolves. As she was pondering her situation she didn’t noticed the young nurse approaching.
“Oh, but look who is here all alone in this lonely hallway,” said a masculine voice.
Askand thought her soul just decided to take a walk, outside, given the shock. Turning around she found herself near Ted Hinata. Trying to be polite Askand just gave him a soft, tense smile and at the same time she retreated a few steps to put some distance between him and her. Along with Trev Dounick, Ted Hinata was probably the wrost prankster ever to exist, and that included the elves from German fairy tales. Both were nurses and known as “the headache of the administration” at the hospital. The only thing that kept them on the job was the fact that their pranks never actually hurt anyone, or ever put someone in more danger than having a white face and screaming for a couple of moments in fear until they decided to reveal themselves. In Askand’s estimation, though she had nothing against being funny and playing a prank or two once every while, they were both pitiful. Most of their pranks only made the immature enough laugh, and even that was short lived.
“Hi Hinata-san, How are you?” her voice was perfectly calm and icy, with no anger or dislike on the surface.
“Ah, Aska-chan why are you trying so hard to hide the fact that you are still mad at us?” said Hinata, his face filled with strange delight. Who was happy being the subject of another’s anger?
“I’m not hiding anything. I-” was her confused reply before Hinata interrupted her.
“But you are an open book honey. You are still mad about the prank we made. Come on it’s all written in your lovely face. And on those lovely hazel eyes.” He said with a mocking grin.
Why is always the same? Why is it that anyone can read me like an open book? Was Askand’s frustrated thought before Hinata’s playful voice brought her back into reality.
“Oi, Aska-chan…” she cut him off.
“Excuse me, Hinata-kun but my name is Askand, not Aska. And please, I’m very busy right now and behind schedule. So unless there is something I could help you with…” her tone now was sharp and cold, making it quite clear that there was not something she could help him with.
“Oh, okay, calm down. I just wanted to see if you were alright. Something had been going on the first floor and the supervisor wanted to make sure if some of us had seen something or heard something irregular. Have you?” replied Hinata, gesturing with his hands to emphasize the words.
Askand eyed him suspiciously. After the prank they pulled on her she only talked with him and Dounick when it was work related. She knew they weren’t really bad guys, but their immaturity caused more trouble than their worth. Then again they were committed to their job so it was a hard time for her to decide whether Hinata was telling the truth or not.
“Everything is all right so far. The patients are sleeping and no one is roaming the hallways…” Askand was cut off as the sound of a glass breaking shut her up. Hinata and Askand looked at each other.
“What was that?” said Hinata sounding uneasy.
“Maybe one of the patients left the glass on the edge of the table and it fell down. Let’s check it out…”
“You know what I remember that I have to check with the others, see ya later.” Said Hinata with a scared voice at the same time he turned around and disappeared into the hallway.
Coward, she thought before quickly walking in the direction of the noise.
The silence was deafening, an almost palpable sensation. Her muscles were tensed until the pain signified her that she should calm down. Taking a deep breath she reached the last room of the hallway.
“Hmms, this room wasn’t occupied yesterday. Maybe is a new patient had arrived during the day.” She tried to answer herself, for she was puzzled.
Knocking softly she entered the room, silently approaching the two beds. One was near the window, empty, while the second bed had a big package, almost human sized on it. The blankets concealed what was beneath them, unless… unless she took them off it. Her hands trembled slightly by the time she reached the bed, stopping next to it, twitching her fingers while she was reaching the blanket; Askand began to lift it when an horrible mask of a demon appeared in an instant and the shriek of his wielder paralyze her in a heart beat.
“MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!” it screamed into her face.
Taking off his mask Dounick watched how Askand’s pale face contrasted visibly in the dark. She was frozen, not moving, silent, doing nothing until her eyes rolled and she fell down on the floor like a dead weight. Dounick laughed out loud when he saw Askand fall on the floor. The prank was a success and she fell for it, completely. After a couple of minutes he saw she wasn’t moving at all.
“Aska-san, the show is over…. come on stand up, I know you want to try to scare me. But is not going to work,” said Dounick in a singsong voice. Still she didn’t move.
“Aska-chan?” asked Dounick suddenly alarmed.
“Come on, it’s me, Dounick, Askand? Oh no, no come on answer me damn it.” At the same time he dropped quickly from the bed and checked her vital signs.
Her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow. Breathing a relieved sigh Dounick took her in his arms and rushed to the nurse station, pleading for help. Trying to put things mildly, Dounick made it sound like he just tried to do a little joke. Knowing that Askand’s shock was caused by another prank from the dynamic prankster duo the nurse station nearly brakes into a rage. Kia Alice and Daphne Urusai nearly killed the guys when they found out about it.
“Come to me boys Kia and Alice will show you the true meaning of life…” said the diminutive blond nurse holding an aluminum cane in hand.
“You should be ashamed, Hinata, Dounick. Why did you do it? You know she still resents the last prank you pulled on her,” Urusai was speaking mildly, but that was probably only because he was straining to hold Kia by the waist. Small she was, but strong enough to pound Dounik and Hinata both barehanded.
“We are really sorry; please forgive us it was just an innocent joke. We thought…” their voice trailed off when they saw Kia jerking free of Urusai’s hold
.
“RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!” screamed Dounick, truly scared, before both vanished in the hallway.
Kia Alice went walking calming with a psychotic inward smile. Her face looked so freighting that everyone who saw her quickly scurried away, trying to avoid her noticing them. Urusai turned to Askand who was resting in one of the hospital beds. His concern grew when she saw that Askand was sweating and her breathing was becoming even shallower than before. Again checking at her pulse she found that it was nearly gone. Alarmed, she decided to call for backup before anything could get worse.
Askand heard voices. At first, she couldn’t distinguish them, could not understand what they were saying. But as she came to realize that she was unable to stand up quickly enough or move at all, she began listening, and then she managed to hear them more clearly. Some of the fog clouding her brains seemed to have dissipated, and she recognized Hades-sama, one of the doctors. He finished his examination of her by snapping his fingers. She did not respond, though.
“She is not responding. The surprise and shock, along with emotional stress must’ve been too much, so she’ll probably not wake anytime soon.” He said with a soft and neutral voice.
“But I AM awake, doctor! Please don’t leave me…just…” Askand didn’t notice the chain tied against her chest until it pull her back after walking a couple of feet.
As she felt the pull she finally noticed it, silver in color and stretching from her to the room from whence she came. Following it, she entered the room, and on the bed… A lump of pure fear formed in her throat silencing the scream of panic that rose in her throat. Because on the room’s hospital bed a person lay like a sleeping beauty, a young woman looking as delicate as a doll made of porcelain. The chain began on the bed, and she followed, tracing it. A lump formed in her throat. Gulping, Askand made herself reach the bed. The woman lying there, white and peaceful, and perfectly still, made her take a step back. For the second time in the same night, she found herself shocked beyond belief. Wanting to scream at the top of her lungs she opened her mouth but no sound escaped her mouth. Nothing prepared her to the sight she was seeing, because the woman lying dead on the bed was her.
A God’s Downfall Chapter 3
The streets of Rukongai were empty, like a scene from an old western movie where the good and the bad guys are about to clash. Silence presided there, disturbed by nothing save the howling wind, as it made its way around the empty streets. A lone figure appeared there, disturbing the same stillness that was filled with the howling and movement of the wind. The figure took seemed to change shapes, any figure or appearance possible, and the way it moved clearly showed it did not care about the emptiness. The martial law that was announced but a week ago forbade walking alone unless it was broad daylight, and the citizens were confused at first – but when the invasion began, they followed it. As day took yet another step into the night, the people hurriedly closed the doors and barred themselves inside. As the streets filled with strange fog, they realized it was happening again. The Hollows were back again, in greater numbers, like an army of ants charging on a fallen candy. Taking any shape or form imaginable – and some unimaginable – they came, with new abilities and powers. Within this hellish army there were many who had the power to transform or take over souls, and these creatures devoured the souls, leaving no safe haven. Like a cancer in a huge body, they slowly spread throughout the streets, and if any foolishly went outside, nothing save clawed death waited. To those who escaped death, an even worse fate waited: they became mindless killing machines, worse than the Hollows, even. Sniffing out souls, these creatures of destruction were the Hollows’ hunting dogs. Their only mission was to cause panic and destruction, and capable of tearing through any resistance that stood before them, they succeeded in fulfilling that gruesome role. Soon, a barricade was set up to try and stop them, though with little success.
The numbers of evacuated citizens grew and grew, filing the other parts of Rukongai to bursting. With the thinning of populations, a better fighting field was created there, and it was discovered that these hunting dogs could be fully destroyed if they were decapitated, though that was no easy task, as they only moved and attacked in large packs. Another problem was the fact that those monsters usually began decaying as soon as slain, spreading corrosive acid and becoming a severe pollution. Also, the acid and decayed remains carried a deadly virus, which upon contact caused a quick destruction of the victims’ brain cells and spinal fluids, morphing them into a hunting dog.
The Gotei 13 was at a loss as to how to deal with this new threat, as most believed that the Hollow threat was eliminated for good ten years ago, after the Great Winter Battle against Aizen Souske and his ilk, as this war decimated a great number of the enemy, nearly annihilating them. Kurosaki Ichigo and the rest of his friends were heroes now in the history of Soul Society, shrouded with legends and stories. But the price they paid was a great one: some of them, along with the nearly entire array of the former Shinigami Captains and vice-captain vanished from this plane of existence completely, leaving no trace of them. After the Winter War, new members joined the Gotei, restoring peace and order, and though some were grateful and happy after the victory, others were reticent about this outcome, but still they welcomed the peace with reserved expectations. The present however, was a nightmare, and yet it was real. Their casualties increased with each attack, and slowly their number diminished to the point where it was no longer possible to survive another attack. And at this critical point of the war, in a manner more reminiscent of a cloud of smoke than an army of monstrosities they vanished, without so much of a trace save the destruction they wrought.
At the aftermath of this mysterious vanishing, the leaders of the Gotei called an emergency meeting.
“This meeting is held in response to the new threat that has arisen in our lands,” said DragonBlade, the main leader of the great 46, the second big branch and the one on charge of enforcing the rules and laws of the Soul Society.
“Don’t you mean “the old threat”? The Hollows are back and that’s not new. They are always the same savage monsters in search of souls and power,” Said Tofu, her irony just hidden enough so that it would not count as an offense.
“It’s a real threat, and new, like I said. This is new since they came with a different modus operandi.” He turned to Sacred-kun, obviously intending to speak, when he saw the way he was dressed.
“For God’s sake would you mind dressing according your stature?” his voice was weary and with a hint of boiling anger.
Sacred-Kun, the captain of the 12th Division, in charge of the scientific research and investigation took a look at his clothes. The traditional uniform distinctive of the Captain was gone. Instead a pair of jeans and t-shirt was his attire. The clothes fit snugly, showing his lean figure. His black hair was cut with the Earth’s latest trend of being combed with intended disorder. His earthly appearance would pass him for no more of a teenager, rather than a well respect captain of one of the legendary divisions of the Gotei 13. Of course, he wasn’t prepared to be summoned to an emergency meeting, as he was working undercover on earth ever since the supernatural attacks began in Karakura City. As a matter of fact that night was karaoke night and since he was working so hard he thought about a little spare fun time. Since discovering the fine arts of loosing up some tension, Sacred became really excited even at some extent addicted to the karaoke nights. He wasn’t prepared for the meeting but he knew already that messing with DB was an automatic dead sentence, and not wanting to have a discussion he jumped on the advantage of the situation gave him and began to talk, quickly trying to explain himself before something unpleasant happened.
“I was called on an emergency. I barely arrived and the meeting was on already. Well the situation is this….”
“Wait a minute Sacred, just because you are undercover doesn’t mean…” began Dragonblade, obviously intending to lecture, when Lunar’s voice took all the present by surprise.
“I think a sermon on the dress code is uncalled for at the moment, DB. Kun-taicho is undercover and that means he has to play the part to perfection, including the dressing style. Now let him fill us with his findings on Earth. Go ahead, Kun-taicho.” Lunar’s tone clearly sent a message of “don’t you even dare trying to challenge me” to DB.
Dragonblade was silent for a moment, probably counting to 10, and then stayed quiet some more to calm down and let Sacred give his report.
“Fine, go ahead Sacred… later we’ll talk about the dress code.” He said the last bit in a whispering tone that only Sacred and those very close to them could hear. Then Sacred proceeded to give his report.
“As I was saying the situation in Karakura City is getting worse by the day. Hollows have been lurking around lately but it is only now that they began to be more violent and aggressive. Other undercover shinigami from my division reported something quite interesting: it seems that quite a fight took place in the north part of the town. The humans are ignorant of this, of course, but sources say that Okami, the demigod, was there. After the fight he could not be found though, and thus far, his whereabouts are unknown.” Z_blitz took the opportunity to ask a question, his voice urgent and maybe even panicked.
“Where…where did they say he was?”
“The north district, but his reiatsu is no longer felt in the area. Maybe he’s wounded and is recovering somewhere, still….” Z_blitz grabbed Sacred’s t-shirt, anger plain on his face.
Z_blitz was a plain man with a general “nice-guy” attitude, almost always a very nice, lively man, always with a bright smile on his face that even the most serious person could hardly resist and not smile back. Now, though, his anger and concern were plain on his face and in his actions. This was quite concerning to most captains as it was quite a contrast to his usual behavior.
“Z calm down, this is not going to help us in nothing,” said Thing, trying to calm him by putting her hand on his shoulder.
For a couple of seconds that stretched to eternity Z seemed as if he was on the verge of a very sudden and violent action, but then he released Sacred and stepped back with a stern face. His best friend’s disappearance was obviously taking a toll on him.
“My apologies, Sacred,” he said with a bow. Then he lowered his eyes and stared at his feet.
“Is there something else you want to say, captain?” Asked Lunar, still with the same calm voice.
“Yes there is more,” replied Sacred.
Sacred went on with the report. The details were his typical precise and dry facts, and almost like a surgeon, he covered everything without letting out anything… almost. He did leave out a very curious thing that he found out. A woman with quite a special aura was spotted in the hospital in Karakura. Following her for quite a while, he still didn’t manage to place her in this entire mess. She was quite an unusual thing in this entire unusual occurrence, and her mystery intrigued him. He will make the arrangements to solve this mystery later, he decided. He will know what she was and what her part is in this grand play. After he finished the report, dead silence ensued. They all realized how deadly their enemy was, how efficient. The plague it spread, making any soul it encountered into a zombie-like being, made it all even worse. This enemy could make short work on the entire world. Dragonblade had no intention of letting that happen.
“All right, here’s the plan: 5th division is in charge of getting all the refugees to someplace safe. They will be supported by 6th and 11th. Z_blitz - your division with the help of Sanzora and the 9th will be in charge of searching for Lord Okami and destroying any Hollows you encounter due course. 1st division will be scouting the area for any potential allies. All other divisions and unemployed Shinigami will help the 4th with the sick and injured. As of this moment Soul Society is on red alert. Until further notice all Shinigami are to report to these missions regardless of whatever missions they were previously assigned to. Dismissed!” With that the meeting was dismissed.
Sacred remained after the others left, knowing that he had to speak with DB. By the time the latter turned to him, he was almost dancing with impatience, his face a mask of dead seriousness concealing a boiling kettle of emotions, ranging from anger to curiosity.
“DB-sama, there is one detail that I didn’t mention. But it’s important that you know it. After Okami’s disappearance avatars have been spotted in the city. Most of the time they’re inactive, and yet…I think there is something wrong here.” He said, hesitant and ready to retreat if Dragonblade exploded.
Yet nothing happened, and DB, quiet as ever, motioned to Sacred to join him by the window overlooking Seireitei.
“In this case, it is imperative that we trace and make contact with Okami, before this explodes in our face. The avatars are a serious game. Almost always a battle with them ends with the attacker dead, and they are the sons and daughters of the gods. I would honestly like to know… how many are there…?” Dragonblade’s tone hinted at something… but Sacred could not place his finger on it.
Sacred left DB some time later, after a gesture from DB that the conversation was over. He was very intrigued by the avatars’ movements. They were the elite force of the gods, the best of the best mobilized only in cases of extreme emergency – and this was one. Usually, a god’s death signified their appearance, and they usually also spent several months deciding what to do with the remains. This time, though… if his data on the avatars was to be believed, battling one was an automatic death sentence for a Shinigami. An avatar was capable of using any known element with the mastery of a god, and their endurance and powers were legendary. Yet, there was nothing to hint at Okami’s death… no remains, no high concentration of reishi at a given spot, where the soul of the god left its physical manifestation. Nothing. And yet here they were, the avatars, mobilized. He wondered if the gods knew something he didn’t. And if they did, how. Obviously something was very wrong with the situation, and it seemed that it was Sacred’s turn (again!) to figure it out, all by himself. As he walked through the street, he took a turn, approaching a massive brick building. The dark grey stone seemed dull, and it did not hint at the knowledge hidden within. The Library of Seireitei was the greatest source of knowledge in all of Soul Society, guarded by an elite force of the most powerful Shinigami, trained especially to guard this treasure. As he entered, he made his way to the Inner Sanctum, where in a hidden spot, shrouded by shadows, sat the man he was searching for.
“Oh no. What do you want this time, Sacred?” the unwelcoming tone clearly showed this person was unhappy to see the Captain.
That didn’t dishearten Sacred though, who spoke matter-of-factly. “Nothing much, actually. Say, shouldn’t you be at the front? People are losing time and patience looking for books here, you know.”
“Bleh… say, aren’t you dressed badly for a Captain?” was the reply.
Sacred grinded his teeth and studied the man sitting on the floor. Almost nothing of Undying’s fair features was visible, but his grey hair – despite his youth – was clearly visible, spiked in every possible direction. He wore the typical Shinigami attire of a black kimono and a wide, white hakama, and also added a wide, sleeveless haori to it, with a Yin and Yang symbol on each shoulder. Undying took that moment to study Sacred and sense his anger. Yes, just as it should be. No one would will bully him around and get away with it. Lazily he got up, and standing he folded his arms on his chest.
“Okay then Sacred, let’s get straight to the point. What the hell do you want to know?” Undying hoped that it will be something simple and short, so that he could catch a good nap before his superiors decided to land another order on him. He hated work.
“I want you to tell me everything you know about avatars. And I mean everything.”
Undying couldn’t believe what ears heard. Silently cursing the star he was born under, he took a couple of steps forward, the frowned.
“Well in that case…” he replied, “come with me to the café. Because just so you know, what you’ve asked me here isn’t just a short cozy story. It’s a whole friggin’ history lesson. Come.” With that, they both exited the Library, turning towards the café and completely ignoring the annoying yapping of one of the supervisors who demanded Undying’s attention.
Chapter 4
The trip to the café was quite long. Located in the near center of Rukongai, that place was known for letting anyone in. Surprisingly, any incident was reported at once, which made it rather quiet, and also into a natural place for nearly all of Soul Society. Gangs, Shinigami, and others met there, and astonishingly did not try to kill each other on site. The place was known for treaties that were signed there. Inside, this was an incredible construct. Merged together were all types of different styles, ranging from Japanese, through Irish, to Norse, and to the Western Movie bars with the huge amount of beverages. Sacred and Undying walked side by side without talking or even bothering to look at each other. They knew their presence would be recognized here, and so kept the discretion at minimum – the less hiding they will appear, the less attention they will attract. The door to the café was built in Western style, with twin small bars that could be freely pushed in and out by exiting or entering customers. Entering, both noted the unusual emptiness of the place – two, maybe three tables were occupied. With only a slight glance at each other, they entered, immediately moving for the farthest table form the entrance, only stopping by the bar for a bottle of sake.
Tending the bar was a man they both knew from a time long ago, when they were companions, comrades, and maybe even friends. This was such a distant time, though, that now it seemed but a distant memory, barely cared for and certainly irrelevant to the present.
“How may I serve you today?” said The Supervisor.
“Meh, just a bottle of sake,” said Undying still upset for losing his nap.
“And some dumplings may be a good idea,” added Sacred, ignoring Undying’s glare.
“Well you are going to pay for those and the sake,” said Undying as a final argument while exchanging a knowing look with Suppy, as he liked to call the owner of the Café.
Sacred noticed the exchanged of looks and then took a good look at The Supervisor. The man was now taller and better built. But if his memory didn’t fail him that body was just maintained through maximized economy of energy possible, or in other words, by putting the least effort possible. Super was the laziest man on the group, even as one of the more formidable fighters amongst them. His look of “Who the hell invented the work? I’m so gonna kill him” was still there in those brown greenish eyes. His hair was in a serious mess as always, as he didn’t even bother to fix it or comb it. The looks also revealed that he was not ever a member of the Gotei 13, but always a regular citizen. Super took a look at Sacred and the two of them seemed to have said something without words. Now it was Undying’s turn to look at them. With the formalities done the three men nodded in acknowledgement to each other. Sacred and Undying, who took the bottle of sake, went on their way to the table. Once they were seated, drinking, and eating dumplings, the conversation began.
“So why is this sudden urge to get my knowledge?” asked Undying, trying to sound casual.
Sacred looked to all sides and in a whisper he said, “I can’t tell you, it’s confidential dude.”
“Then I can’t tell you anything, “dude”, ‘cause last time I made that mistake it nearly cost me my life and my marriage,” said Undying in the same whispering tone, mocking.
They began eating faster and faster, as though trying to prove something. Chopsticks moving in a blur, they caught a dumpling between them and tried to wrestle it from each other. The direct result was that they soon tossed the dumpling straight up. Undying made the first strike with his pair of chopsticks, trying to poke Sacred’s hand, for if he managed to immobilize it he would’ve gotten the dumpling. But Sacred was as fast as Undying, and he evaded most of the attempts, countering with similar moves. The scene was bizarre and yet funny. The exchange of blows was so fast that no one around them seemed to perceive the battle that was going on. The dumpling reached as high as it could and began falling down. Both men tried to make a move faster than the other when a blur passed between them. A solid sound of a butcher knife getting stuck in a wall made both men glance at it and then to the dumpling cut in perfect half on the plate. The chopsticks were intact. Looking at the only possible direction were it could come from Sacred and Undying saw Supervisor giving a sip to what it seemed is sake bottle number five. Sensing the opportunity Sacred tried to make some peace.
“I know about what happened 10 years ago Undying and I’m…”
“Don’t you dare to say it Sacred or I will kill you right here and now,” hissed Undying, his anger plain on his face.
“Ok guys this is a neutral place don’t make a scene and everyone could leave today in one peace,” says Supervisor passing by, his tone laced with warning. On the way he took the butcher knife and began whistling.
After Supervisor passed both Undying and Sacred sat once again, and glared at each other for what it seemed an eternity. Finally Sacred gave a weary sigh and said: “Alright Und, I will tell you what’s going on, but promise me that you would not tell anyone about it. Deal?” finished with his eyebrows raised.
Undying only smirked and replied, “Well let’s see if I think is worth keeping the secret. And by the way it’s Undying to you okay?”
Sacred knew he was cornered, but Undying was a vast pool of knowledge, of many topics and an immense book collection that competed with Seireitei’s archives evenly. No, he was alone and without any options. Knowing the risk he was taking, Sacred began telling Undying the account of events until that day, without knowing that a third party was overhearing their entire conversation.
End of Part one
Part Two
Askand was paralyzed with fear, staring at the shocking sight before her. On the hospital bed was her body, lying dead with a chain coming out of the chest, the same silvery, shinning chain that was attached to her chest, if I t was possibly to be in two places at once.
“What’s going on? How….how could I be here and there at the same time?” she whispered, trembling in shock and fear.
Not knowing what to do she remained standing by the bed, staring at her own body – or what looked like it, after all, she was inside her own body, right? Nothing else could be… or could it? She had no idea how long had she stood there, staring, until she heard a soft thud in the distance. She started, only to realize that the air in the room was frozen, her breath coming in white mists, and she was not shivering. She did not eve feel it, in fact, her breath being the only indication. By the time she registered that, her shock was so great that she thought she was about to faint any moment.
“Why the shocked face my lovely dear? You are only looking at your own body, it’s no biggie,” said a voice behind her, playful, and savoring every word he said.
Jumping and turning around, Askand found herself looking at a doctor standing calmly at the entrance of the room. Still confused she opened her mouth to ask him a question, when a soft voice suddenly spoke to her ear.
“Please stop. It’s a Hollow. If you get near him he will devour you. Go back to your body and run away. Please it’s the only way for you to survive this.” Sincere concern laced through the soft words.
Fighting against the fog that was clouding her mind, Askand hesitated before deciding. Unfortunately for her, she made her decision a hair too late. She was just a few steps of reaching her goal; she only needed to stretch her arm and grab her own hand. So close, yet so far, she never saw the shadow bursting from the floor. One step from reaching her body, she found herself face to face with the doctor, smiling like a lunatic. Slowly his smile turned into a sneer, and slowly became a decaying mockery of a smile. Pieces of flesh began to melt off and fell bubbling on the floor as if they were sprayed with acid. Taking a step back, Askand tried not to touch the melting stuff. The hissing and sizzling of melting flesh combined with the smell of burning skin was the scenery for this dreaded play. Trying to step backwards Askand felt a tug at her chest. At first she ignored it, but when she felt her strength leaving her, she glanced at her chest. There, in the middle of it was a fist-sized hole, with a tiny pearl floating in the middle where the chain linked to where her heart should have been. Unable to register the chain of bizarre events happening, Askand tried to find a logic explanation.
“If it is of any consolation, be happy that you were the vessel for one of the most powerful gods of our history,” said the shadow, completing the transformation. Askand opened her eyes wide when she saw his deformed hand taking the pearl out of her empty chest.
“Good. Now, our master will be happy. Let’s see what we can do with you…” the said the Hollow, starting yet another transformation
Part 3
Ai thought it was a nice place to take a nap. No one would know that hideout and the tranquility, the key ingredient for a perfect nap, was in abundance there. He just needed a couple of hours’ rest before returning to the human world and resuming his battle with the Hollows. What a troublesome bunch, never a moment of rest, he thought to himself. He was just fine doing a few errands and lazing about, and now he was forced to fight. He didn’t mind a fight from time to time but the more physical activity he avoided the better. After getting in a comfortable position Ai began to drift into sleep when he the sound of chopsticks clashing.
“Great now I won’t be able to rest. Damn it!” he thought wryly.
“So, the avatars are on earth as well?” said one voice in a low whisper.
“Yes, they are. They are the most powerful force from the gods’ army. But, they will do the job for us, at least for now,” replied a second voice.
“So can you tell me more about them? What are they really?” asked the first voice, exited from hearing about them for the first time.
Waiting for the conversation to finish, Ai took note of everything they said. Maybe this would help him get a higher position in the Gotei. Yes! It would be perfect for his rising. A lazy smile spread across his face. Soon he will have all the time in the world to rest and his only job would be bossing around.
Part 4
The night seemed to change its atmosphere faster than roulette. The stench of death could almost be tasted in the air. It was clear that blood was the main course on the menu tonight. A storm started out of the blue, lightning and thunder flashing bout with abandon. Following them came the soft rain, quickly becoming not at all soft. By the time Z_blitz and his party reached the edge of the Karakura Hospital building, the visibility was almost zero.
“Blitz-Taichou! We need to rest. It’s been hours and this heavy rain is almost unbearable,” said BeeCrest, trying to walk with her Shihakshio and hair almost as heavy as a cement block.
“She is right, taichou, we have to go someplace dry and get this water out of ourselves. In this rain it is almost impossible to keep searching,” this time it was Supersaiyanmugen who spoke.
Z looked at them. For nearly three days they searched like mad dogs under his command. Not all of them were from the same division, but all shared one thing in common: all were volunteers. When they heard Z_blitz needed help in his search for Lord Okami, none of them hesitated a second before offering to volunteer to be part of the search party. BeeCrest, Supersaiyanmugen (or Mugen for short), Icchymaru and Night Prowler were part of the main search party. They were the lucky ones to be in his group. Good people with great hearts. He never thought that they would just jump right out to the boat and help him. He knew he was a nice guy but now he discovered just how respected and loved he was. In this group and the other search parties he saw a union that he thought was nearly impossible to achieve. Maybe miracles could happen, he thought for himself.
“Alright people let’s rest on that place over there, and then….” Z stopped dead.
Faint as a whisper in the wind, the sensation covered Z from head to toe. Without hesitation he used his shunpo to cover the distance all the way to the hospital. The faintest trace of this reiatsu was like a golden brick road to him. Okami. His dear friend, was there, and in dreadful danger. As he searched, as fast as he could, he began getting frustrated. After a short while, his party caught up to him.
“Taichou what is it? Are you alright?” asked Night Prowler
“Come on Z, I’m not gonna move again under that rain if this is another dead end,” said Bee already getting upset for moving around all wet.
“Okami is here! I can feel his reiatsu, we need to look here! I’m certain of it,” said Z, turning his eyes from his party to the dark hallway in front of them.
“Yeah you feel Lord Okami I feel Hollow stench and it’s getting stronger by the instant, so let’s stop wasting time here,” said Icchymaru.
Suddenly a howl resounded through the building, shocking them all. Not wasting another moment all shinigami ran towards where it came from. In a room located by the end of the hallway they found what they were looking for. Z stopped on his tracks at the terrible sight before him. A woman in her early thirties was floating in the air while a hollow was trying to rip her soul out. Her Chain of Fate had been severed and her body was being consumed by another hollow.
Suddenly, Z heard a whisper in his mind, “Z, please save that girl. She must live.”
“O-Okami? What’s going on? Where…” Z asked mentally.
Two Hollows tried to attack Z while he was distracted with Okami. That was their first and last mistake. The third Hollow, hiding in the darkness, stared as he saw his two comrades disintegrate before the strange man. How? Who was he? The Hollow took a closer look at Z, whose wet hair hid his eyes. His reiatsu began to glow around him until it was a huge white aura filling the room. Lifting his face a bit, he revealed his blank, white glowing eyes. The feeling of that reiatsu was of a fearsome beast, ready to strike as it master commanded. Then the Hollow realized with what it was dealing. No ordinary Shinigami, that, but a Captain, a captain-class Shinigami from the Gotei 13. It remembered the stories told in Hueco Mundo by Hollows who confronted these fearsome opponents, but it was not them which made him cringe in fear. The power and the killing aura were so overwhelming it could not stand it. No, fighting this would not be a good move, it knew. Something that could take out two of the fearsome Shadow Warriors without even moving was not something to face like that. Grabbing the agonized woman he threw her at the man.
“Well Shinigami, it’s time for choices. You can get me, but if you do who would save the woman? And if you unleash this reiatsu other humans in this place will be hurt. Oh, what a great dilemma. How is it going to be?” it said, each word dripping of sarcasm and evil intentions.
Z hesitated for a moment, realizing that the Hollow was right. He needed to restrain his power or people could get hurt. The woman was already lost without her Chain of Fate attached to her heart. It was matter of seconds for her to turn into a Hollow. Still, he needed the pearl Okami’s soul was inside of. He was preparing to daringly strike at the Hollow, hoping that he would manage to get that pearl and reinsert it before the girl was Hollowfied, when suddenly Okami’s reiatsu appeared again, this time emitted by the woman’s soul.
“Could it be? But how? Z was confused.
“Z there is no time! If she dies I will die too. Take her to Soul Society; there is no time to lose.”
The Hollow chuckled as a ball of black reiatsu generated in its claw-like hand. Z hissed and ignored the ball, looking down at the woman in his arms. She was top priority, he realized. Okami’s life was on the line here.
“Leaving so soon? Then I must at least give you a farewell gift,” said the Hollow, throwing the ball at Z.
Too distracted, Z did not realize what it was until it was too late to dodge or block.
Night tried to run as fast as he could. Z vanished into the building with the rest of the group, and he lost them while following with all that reiatsu hanky panky. Finally he caught up with them, fearful that something might be happening. He was right, it seemed. As soon as he reached the last room a huge wave of black reiatsu was dead on the others standing in the doorway. Apparently they did not realize how dangerous it was until they felt it’s pressure.
“What is that terrible force?” asked Mugen.
“Everybody behind my back, NOW!” said Night with seriousness in his tone that wouldn’t take no for an answer. As they stood behind him, he stood with his left side facing the incoming wave and unsheathed his katana and whispered.
“Rise above Darkness my Lord Okami.”
Immediately Night’s left arm began to burn away the sleeve of his kimono, revealing a glowing crimson tattoo. Glowing with power and fire the tribal tattoo shone like the sun, illuminating everything in the hall. BeeCrest, Mugen, and Icchymaru covered their eyes, trying to avoid looking at the brightly glowing tattoo. The last thing BeeCrest saw before covering her eyes was the growing of a fiery wing coming from Night Prowler’s back. The wave of darkness smashed against the wall of fire and light Night Prowler made, and the brightly glowing, hungry light quickly devoured the wave of darkness. When the danger passed Night gave a small prayer of gratitude and the fire disappeared without leaving so much as a singe mark on the floor. As soon as he adjusted his sight to the dim light, he recognized Z_blitz’s silhouette before him, glowing with white light. It was then that Night realized that the whole floor was contained inside a dome made of Z’s reiatsu.
“Taichou...?”
“We don’t have any time to waste. Contact Soul Society, we need Orihime-sama immediately.” Was all that Z said before his reiatsu subsided and he stepped outside into the rain.
Part Five
Thelindra woke with her body trembling and covered in sweat. Her dreams were always an omen for future events, and this time was of no difference. The calmness of the night was another sign, it’s feeling like the quiet before the storm. Death was riding free this night, searching for yet more victims. A soft whimper made her jump on her bed nearly making her fall face first into the hard floor. After regaining her balance she took a look at the beautiful white wolf that was lying by the edge of the bed. Lei Wei, her loyal companion. Breathing a relieved sigh, she called him to her and softly scolded him for scaring her like that. Still, she couldn’t resist and gave him a few soft and loving pats and a hug and a kiss on the nuzzle. Her long, silvery hair was all damp with sweat and turning into dreadlocks. Feeling uncomfortable she quickly took a bath and put on her shinigami clothes, doing it all automatically in well practiced motions. Suddenly a knock sounded at the door, straightening, she looked at her wolf friend who was sniffing at the door. Instead of growling, it moved its tail to indicate a friend. A moment later a voice sounded a familiar, friendly voice.
“Lindra-chan? It’s me, RedXMaverick. I need to speak with you urgently. Are you awake?”
Thelindra’s heart began to pound fast hard and fast. This was a bad sign, if she was called at this time of the night. Not delaying she opened the door surprising Red.
“What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“We need to fetch Orihime-sama. They found Lord Okami and things aren’t looking good,” he replied, his voice concerned.
Thelindra noted that he was also fully dressed with the shinigami clothes. Not wasting any more time they headed into the forest to look for Inoue Orihime, who now lived a secluded life somewhere deep in that forest. On the way they met with Z’s party, and immediately Thelindra noticed the woman in Z’s arms, all bloodied and so pale she almost seemed a corpse. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her face move a fraction, and her eyes seemed to open a touch, pleading for help. Thelindra had never seen such pained eyes, with such sorrow and fear in them. Blinking and shaking her head she stopped after another few steps, trying to erase those feelings from her heart that were giving her real trouble.
“Lindra-chan? Are you okay?” said Red’s voice, somewhere in the distance.
“Huh? Sorry Maverick I just got distracted, we need to get going she doesn’t have too much time,” she replied in a reassuring tone.
RedXMaverick followed her, silent. He too saw the look in the girl’s eyes. His heart was touched too and for the first time since 10 years ago he ran with all haste to the forest, just like then, when he ran and ran for his best friend before he died in his arms.