Bleach Character Book 3: Unmasked
- Thread starter Knyght
- Start date
Eh? Apparently Harribel and her fraccion survive?
ôItÆs pretty quiet hereàö was the first thing Mila-Rose said upon exiting the Garganta.
Following her, Apacci, Sung-Sun, and finally Tier Harribel also landed on the desert. Behind them, the Garganta silently closed, and the rip in space suddenly vanished.
ôWhat a complete messàö said Apacci, looking at the destruction caused to Las Noches by heated battles.
ôIt seems like everyone used pretty barbaric methods to fightàö said Sung-Sun, hiding her mouth behind her sleeve and looking up at the sky. The ceiling had broken in many places, creating a mosaic out of the artificial blue sky of Las Noches and the dark sky of Hueco Mundo beyond.
Harribel stared silently for a moment at the battlefield. The three of them, despite squabbling all the time, also followed her example and stood there in silence.
Standing behind HarribelÆs right hand side, Apacci looked down at her own completely unharmed body, and clenched her fist.
(àBastard!)
She muttered in her heart.
Only a few hours before, every single one of them had been close to death. HarribelÆs body had suffered two wounds from AizenÆs zanpakutou Kyoka Suigetsu, one across her abdomen, and another pierced from her back through to her left chest. Apacci, Mila-Rose, and Sung-Sun had each lost an arm to create Allon, and had also suffered severe burns over their entire body from YamamotoÆs fires.
Apacci touched her left arm with her right hand. It felt completely normal, just like her original arm. There was also no pain remaining anywhere on her body.
(In the endà we still had to rely on the strength of humansà!)
She clenched her teeth.
The one who healed them had been Inoue Orihime. When the Fake Karakura Town had been switched back with the real one, the unconscious Arrancars had also been sent with the fake town to Soul Society. Apacci had asked her to come into the town to treat them, when Orihime came back from Hueco Mundo with Kuchiki Rukia and the rest to see Ichigo after his battle had finished.
The three of them that had been spared by Yamamoto were relatively fine compared to Harribel, who had suffered two life-threatening injuries. Apart from Orihime, there was probably nobody who could help her. Still, trusting her deeply revered Harribel to a human, for even one moment, was something that she could never forgive.
Apacci hardened her face, tightly gripping her arm.
(Such a bastardà!)
Her own undying feelings of gratitude to Orihime were something that she could never forgive
Not long after Kurosaki Ichigo met everyone again, he let out an anguished cry that seemed to split open his throat, collapsed, and lost consciousness.
"Kurosaki-kun!!"
"Ichigo!!"
"Kurosaki!!"
Despite rejoicing only a few seconds before, Rukia, Orihime, Renji, Uryuu, and Chad now ran to Ichigo, calling out his name.
"Everyone, please be calm," said Urahara, stopping Orihime, who had her hands stretched out, ready to use Souten Kisshun. He saw her extremely troubled gaze and nodded to her, turning to the rest. "Kurosaki is fine. What happened just now does not endanger his life."
Chad let out a breath of relief upon hearing those words and lifted Ichigo, so that he might sleep facing up. His body, though unconscious, continued to convulse, and he let out a painful groan.
"What exactly happened to Ichigo...?" asked Rukia, frowning at Ichigo's pained state.
"In order to defeat Aizen, he used the Final Getsuga Tenshou."
"...Final?" asked Uryuu.
Urahara calmly closed his eyes, and slowly sighed. "It is a technique called 'Mugetsu,' and using it will cause him to lose all his shinigami powers... it is such a technique."
At first, everyone seemed to not understand his words. Perhaps unconsciously, they did not want to understand.
A few seconds later, Orihime murmured, "How could this be...!" She immediately collapsed to the floor.
"Shinigami... powers..." Rukia looked as if she had forgotten everything and only stared, unblinking, at Ichigo.
"Are you saying that Kurosaki can no longer be a shinigami...!?" exclaimed Uryuu, as if venting his feelings.
Urahara nodded sadly. "Yes."
"...The bastard!" Renji felt in his heart a tumultuous brew of emotions, that they had no choice but to rely on Ichigo, who wasn't even from Soul Society, that he had use this kind of technique, and that he was himself so weak.
"Ichigo...!" Chad also lowered his head, shaking at his feelings of remorse towards his own weakness.
Urahara waited until everyone had calmed down, and continued, "Kurosaki collapsing means that the first stage of his losing all his powers has begun. With Isshin's help, he trained for three months in the Dangai Precipice World's timeflow, until he attained 'Mugetsu'."
"Three months?!" Renji couldn't help but ask.
"That's why his hair is longer..." Uryuu said to himself.
Rukia envisioned the Ichigo that she had parted from in Hueco Mundo, and the one currently sleeping before her, putting both together in her mind. His hair had grown long, and it seemed like he was a bit taller. Whether unconsciously or not, his expression also seemed more mature. It had only been a few short days between the time when they sneaked into Hueco Mundo to save Orihime and the conclusion of all the fighting.
(But for you, it seems like it has been a very long fight...)
Rukia gave him a comforting glance.
"Right now his body is undergoing the effects of reversed timeflow from the time when he was in the Dangai. It will cause extreme pain and loss of consciousness, but it will not endanger his life."
"Is there anything that I can do...!" asked Orihime, distraught.
"Unfortunately, no." Urahara shook his head. "There is nothing we can do right now. After the timeflow reversion is complete, Kurosaki's shinigami powers will disappear. This is the first stage."
"And then what?!" asked Rukia, surprised.
Urahara nodded to her and continued, "As for the second stage, when the rest of his reaitsu stabilizes, he will wake up... and then, his remaining spiritual power will completely vanish."
"If that's the case, Ichigo will..." Chad swallowed.
"Never mind shinigami and hollows, he won't even be able to see normal pluses."
Upon hearing Urahara's words, everyone fell together into silence. Being able to see spirits - this was the very essence of Ichigo's existence, something which every single person there understood.
Looking at everyone's pained and gloomy expressions, Urahara said brightly, "Anyway, let's first take him somewhere to get help! Until the first stage completes, we can't send him home. If his sisters saw him all grown up like this, they would be very surprised!"
"...That's right." Renji was the first to lift his head. ôThereÆs no use in us just sitting around and talking. Oi, bring a stretcher here!ö he called out to the Fourth Squad members who were about to take apart the town. Two of the closer ones came over with a stretcher. ôTake him to get help. Be carefulàthis is the great hero who captured Aizen!ö
ôOf course!ö The two of them replied excitedly and bowed deeply. As the hero who had finally concluded this battle, IchigoÆs name had spread in a flash throughout the members of the Gotei 13.
When they had carefully moved IchigoÆs body onto the stretcher, Urahara and Uryuu looked up at the same time.
ôSomethingÆs coming!ö
ôThis reiatsuà an Arrancar!?ö
The two talented at sensing reiatsu lifted their heads and gazed upwards. Everyone else followed their example, looking to the sky.
Suddenly in the clear blue sky, a figure appeared using sonido, something only Arrancar could use. It came quickly, almost falling out of the sky.
They looked at the Arrancar on the ground. It was one of Tier HarribelÆs fraccion, Apacci. Her skin was burnt, her left arm ripped off with blood still dripping from the wound, and it was all that she could do just to stand.
ôYou must not want to liveà!ö Renji fixed his glare on Apacci, his hand gripping his zanpakutou Zabimaru.
Still, Apacci did not even spare him a glance, as she had eyes only for Orihime. ôHey, womanàcomeàwith meàö Her shoulder shook violently as she breathed, her words coming out in short bursts.
Seeing her heading towards Orihime, Rukia quickly put herself between the two. But before she could do anything, Apacci took another step and lost her balance, falling heavily to the ground.
ôBasàtardàö Trying to lift herself up, she grabbed a fistful of dirt.
ôSouten Kisshun!ö Orihime stretched out her hands, using her Shun Shun Rikka technique. ShunÆo and Ayame flew to Apacci, surrounding her with a glowing healing field.
ôWait a minute, Inoue! ThatÆs an Arrancar! ThereÆs no reason to heal her!ö Renji shouted. Orihime had once been kidnapped by the Arrancar and Renji understandably hoped that she would have no further contact with them.
ôBut, I canÆt just do nothingàö Orihime walked past Rukia, coming closer to ApacciÆs body. Even though she was an Arrancar, Orihime could not just leave someone who was hurt.
As Orihime started to focus on healing, Apacci said weakly, ôDonÆt mind meà firstàsave Harribel-samaà!ö
ôBut, your wounds are also very seriousàö
ôPlease!ö Apacci lifted her head and grabbed OrihimeÆs hand, her own hand shaking, either from the pain or something else. ôPlease quicklyà save Harribel-samaà!ö Her eyes held no antagonistic, killing, or deceitful intent, only concern for her nakama, like Orihime herself.
ôàI understand! Please take me there!ö Orihime released her Souten Kisshun, and offered Apacci her shoulder.
ôIÆll go too. Take hold of me.ö Rukia stood to her other side, taking note of the wound to her shoulder, and carefully holding her up. RukiaÆs left arm was also wounded and in a sling, but her right arm was tightly gripped around Apacci. Surprised, Apacci widened her eyes but did not say anything, relying on the two of them.
ôWell then, I guess I have no choiceàcome on!ö Renji walked up to them and bent over. ôYouÆre in a hurry, right? Then let me carry you. It seems like IÆm the least wounded out of all of youàö
ôThank you, Abarai-kun!ö Orihime and Rukia carefully placed Apacci on RenjiÆs back. Renji stood up and started walking towards the fake Karakura town, with Orihime and Uryuu following behind him.
ôUrahara, Chad, IÆll just leave Ichigo with you then!ö Rukia ran off to join them, leaving Urahara to explain IchigoÆs injuries and Chad to nurse the wound to his leg.
ôItÆs pretty quiet hereàö was the first thing Mila-Rose said upon exiting the Garganta.
Following her, Apacci, Sung-Sun, and finally Tier Harribel also landed on the desert. Behind them, the Garganta silently closed, and the rip in space suddenly vanished.
ôWhat a complete messàö said Apacci, looking at the destruction caused to Las Noches by heated battles.
ôIt seems like everyone used pretty barbaric methods to fightàö said Sung-Sun, hiding her mouth behind her sleeve and looking up at the sky. The ceiling had broken in many places, creating a mosaic out of the artificial blue sky of Las Noches and the dark sky of Hueco Mundo beyond.
Harribel stared silently for a moment at the battlefield. The three of them, despite squabbling all the time, also followed her example and stood there in silence.
Standing behind HarribelÆs right hand side, Apacci looked down at her own completely unharmed body, and clenched her fist.
(àBastard!)
She muttered in her heart.
Only a few hours before, every single one of them had been close to death. HarribelÆs body had suffered two wounds from AizenÆs zanpakutou Kyoka Suigetsu, one across her abdomen, and another pierced from her back through to her left chest. Apacci, Mila-Rose, and Sung-Sun had each lost an arm to create Allon, and had also suffered severe burns over their entire body from YamamotoÆs fires.
Apacci touched her left arm with her right hand. It felt completely normal, just like her original arm. There was also no pain remaining anywhere on her body.
(In the endà we still had to rely on the strength of humansà!)
She clenched her teeth.
The one who healed them had been Inoue Orihime. When the Fake Karakura Town had been switched back with the real one, the unconscious Arrancars had also been sent with the fake town to Soul Society. Apacci had asked her to come into the town to treat them, when Orihime came back from Hueco Mundo with Kuchiki Rukia and the rest to see Ichigo after his battle had finished.
The three of them that had been spared by Yamamoto were relatively fine compared to Harribel, who had suffered two life-threatening injuries. Apart from Orihime, there was probably nobody who could help her. Still, trusting her deeply revered Harribel to a human, for even one moment, was something that she could never forgive.
Apacci hardened her face, tightly gripping her arm.
(Such a bastardà!)
Her own undying feelings of gratitude to Orihime were something that she could never forgive
Not long after Kurosaki Ichigo met everyone again, he let out an anguished cry that seemed to split open his throat, collapsed, and lost consciousness.
"Kurosaki-kun!!"
"Ichigo!!"
"Kurosaki!!"
Despite rejoicing only a few seconds before, Rukia, Orihime, Renji, Uryuu, and Chad now ran to Ichigo, calling out his name.
"Everyone, please be calm," said Urahara, stopping Orihime, who had her hands stretched out, ready to use Souten Kisshun. He saw her extremely troubled gaze and nodded to her, turning to the rest. "Kurosaki is fine. What happened just now does not endanger his life."
Chad let out a breath of relief upon hearing those words and lifted Ichigo, so that he might sleep facing up. His body, though unconscious, continued to convulse, and he let out a painful groan.
"What exactly happened to Ichigo...?" asked Rukia, frowning at Ichigo's pained state.
"In order to defeat Aizen, he used the Final Getsuga Tenshou."
"...Final?" asked Uryuu.
Urahara calmly closed his eyes, and slowly sighed. "It is a technique called 'Mugetsu,' and using it will cause him to lose all his shinigami powers... it is such a technique."
At first, everyone seemed to not understand his words. Perhaps unconsciously, they did not want to understand.
A few seconds later, Orihime murmured, "How could this be...!" She immediately collapsed to the floor.
"Shinigami... powers..." Rukia looked as if she had forgotten everything and only stared, unblinking, at Ichigo.
"Are you saying that Kurosaki can no longer be a shinigami...!?" exclaimed Uryuu, as if venting his feelings.
Urahara nodded sadly. "Yes."
"...The bastard!" Renji felt in his heart a tumultuous brew of emotions, that they had no choice but to rely on Ichigo, who wasn't even from Soul Society, that he had use this kind of technique, and that he was himself so weak.
"Ichigo...!" Chad also lowered his head, shaking at his feelings of remorse towards his own weakness.
Urahara waited until everyone had calmed down, and continued, "Kurosaki collapsing means that the first stage of his losing all his powers has begun. With Isshin's help, he trained for three months in the Dangai Precipice World's timeflow, until he attained 'Mugetsu'."
"Three months?!" Renji couldn't help but ask.
"That's why his hair is longer..." Uryuu said to himself.
Rukia envisioned the Ichigo that she had parted from in Hueco Mundo, and the one currently sleeping before her, putting both together in her mind. His hair had grown long, and it seemed like he was a bit taller. Whether unconsciously or not, his expression also seemed more mature. It had only been a few short days between the time when they sneaked into Hueco Mundo to save Orihime and the conclusion of all the fighting.
(But for you, it seems like it has been a very long fight...)
Rukia gave him a comforting glance.
"Right now his body is undergoing the effects of reversed timeflow from the time when he was in the Dangai. It will cause extreme pain and loss of consciousness, but it will not endanger his life."
"Is there anything that I can do...!" asked Orihime, distraught.
"Unfortunately, no." Urahara shook his head. "There is nothing we can do right now. After the timeflow reversion is complete, Kurosaki's shinigami powers will disappear. This is the first stage."
"And then what?!" asked Rukia, surprised.
Urahara nodded to her and continued, "As for the second stage, when the rest of his reaitsu stabilizes, he will wake up... and then, his remaining spiritual power will completely vanish."
"If that's the case, Ichigo will..." Chad swallowed.
"Never mind shinigami and hollows, he won't even be able to see normal pluses."
Upon hearing Urahara's words, everyone fell together into silence. Being able to see spirits - this was the very essence of Ichigo's existence, something which every single person there understood.
Looking at everyone's pained and gloomy expressions, Urahara said brightly, "Anyway, let's first take him somewhere to get help! Until the first stage completes, we can't send him home. If his sisters saw him all grown up like this, they would be very surprised!"
"...That's right." Renji was the first to lift his head. ôThereÆs no use in us just sitting around and talking. Oi, bring a stretcher here!ö he called out to the Fourth Squad members who were about to take apart the town. Two of the closer ones came over with a stretcher. ôTake him to get help. Be carefulàthis is the great hero who captured Aizen!ö
ôOf course!ö The two of them replied excitedly and bowed deeply. As the hero who had finally concluded this battle, IchigoÆs name had spread in a flash throughout the members of the Gotei 13.
When they had carefully moved IchigoÆs body onto the stretcher, Urahara and Uryuu looked up at the same time.
ôSomethingÆs coming!ö
ôThis reiatsuà an Arrancar!?ö
The two talented at sensing reiatsu lifted their heads and gazed upwards. Everyone else followed their example, looking to the sky.
Suddenly in the clear blue sky, a figure appeared using sonido, something only Arrancar could use. It came quickly, almost falling out of the sky.
They looked at the Arrancar on the ground. It was one of Tier HarribelÆs fraccion, Apacci. Her skin was burnt, her left arm ripped off with blood still dripping from the wound, and it was all that she could do just to stand.
ôYou must not want to liveà!ö Renji fixed his glare on Apacci, his hand gripping his zanpakutou Zabimaru.
Still, Apacci did not even spare him a glance, as she had eyes only for Orihime. ôHey, womanàcomeàwith meàö Her shoulder shook violently as she breathed, her words coming out in short bursts.
Seeing her heading towards Orihime, Rukia quickly put herself between the two. But before she could do anything, Apacci took another step and lost her balance, falling heavily to the ground.
ôBasàtardàö Trying to lift herself up, she grabbed a fistful of dirt.
ôSouten Kisshun!ö Orihime stretched out her hands, using her Shun Shun Rikka technique. ShunÆo and Ayame flew to Apacci, surrounding her with a glowing healing field.
ôWait a minute, Inoue! ThatÆs an Arrancar! ThereÆs no reason to heal her!ö Renji shouted. Orihime had once been kidnapped by the Arrancar and Renji understandably hoped that she would have no further contact with them.
ôBut, I canÆt just do nothingàö Orihime walked past Rukia, coming closer to ApacciÆs body. Even though she was an Arrancar, Orihime could not just leave someone who was hurt.
As Orihime started to focus on healing, Apacci said weakly, ôDonÆt mind meà firstàsave Harribel-samaà!ö
ôBut, your wounds are also very seriousàö
ôPlease!ö Apacci lifted her head and grabbed OrihimeÆs hand, her own hand shaking, either from the pain or something else. ôPlease quicklyà save Harribel-samaà!ö Her eyes held no antagonistic, killing, or deceitful intent, only concern for her nakama, like Orihime herself.
ôàI understand! Please take me there!ö Orihime released her Souten Kisshun, and offered Apacci her shoulder.
ôIÆll go too. Take hold of me.ö Rukia stood to her other side, taking note of the wound to her shoulder, and carefully holding her up. RukiaÆs left arm was also wounded and in a sling, but her right arm was tightly gripped around Apacci. Surprised, Apacci widened her eyes but did not say anything, relying on the two of them.
ôWell then, I guess I have no choiceàcome on!ö Renji walked up to them and bent over. ôYouÆre in a hurry, right? Then let me carry you. It seems like IÆm the least wounded out of all of youàö
ôThank you, Abarai-kun!ö Orihime and Rukia carefully placed Apacci on RenjiÆs back. Renji stood up and started walking towards the fake Karakura town, with Orihime and Uryuu following behind him.
ôUrahara, Chad, IÆll just leave Ichigo with you then!ö Rukia ran off to join them, leaving Urahara to explain IchigoÆs injuries and Chad to nurse the wound to his leg.