Bleach Veiled Moon Chapter 4 WIP
- Thread starter Ghostface
- Start date
Well, the Sekirei are psychically linked to their Ashakibi. Zangetsu is a part of Ichigo, so they're psychically linked to him as well, so at the very least he'd be able to appear to them the same way he did to Ichigo prior to the bankai training.
Which is part of the reason I'm hoping he gets <a href='http://sekirei.wikia.com/wiki/Oriha' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Oriha</a>. She calls out "Zangetsu!" and then she gets a <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McipoqQz-uc' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>response</a>.
Which is part of the reason I'm hoping he gets <a href='http://sekirei.wikia.com/wiki/Oriha' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Oriha</a>. She calls out "Zangetsu!" and then she gets a <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McipoqQz-uc' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>response</a>.
Yeah, just a voice in their heads, just like Zangetsu was in his fight against <a href='http://youtu.be/4BiSvKPYzfA?t=6m6s' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Kenpachi.</a> 
Also, given that the nature of Ichigo's power is something like "being wrapped in power", I wonder if his Sekirei will be acquiring any additions to their outfits when they use a Norito or they've had sex with him, like Uzume having her white veils replaced by lengths of black chain.
<a href='http://youtu.be/ykaBVE85Eww?t=4m39s' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>This</a> is probably also relevant, given that the Sekirei gain their power from the love in their hearts and their connection with their Ashakibi. Once Ichigo realises this he'd probably do his best to warm up to Uzume, too. Possibly after Zangetsu scolds them both.
Also, given that the nature of Ichigo's power is something like "being wrapped in power", I wonder if his Sekirei will be acquiring any additions to their outfits when they use a Norito or they've had sex with him, like Uzume having her white veils replaced by lengths of black chain.
<a href='http://youtu.be/ykaBVE85Eww?t=4m39s' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>This</a> is probably also relevant, given that the Sekirei gain their power from the love in their hearts and their connection with their Ashakibi. Once Ichigo realises this he'd probably do his best to warm up to Uzume, too. Possibly after Zangetsu scolds them both.
And now we return to our regularly scheduled fan fiction...
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The sun was disappearing amongst the taller buildings as Ikki and Nanaha walked throughout Teito. The short haired girl was still rubbing her head tenderly, her movements causing the kodachi blades that rested on the holdings at the small of her back to move slightly. Nanaha sighed as she looked at her sister, honestly sometimes it was as thought all the pain went straight to that hard head of hers.
It had been several hours since Nanaha had let her sister Sekirei have it, and with that she had returned to normal. Though much of her frustration had been abated, she still couldn't help but shake her head at Ikki. "Feeling better Ikki-chan?" she asked.
"A little," she sighed. She winced a little as she touched the bump once more, a small welt on her head being the only sign of damage from her improvised crash. "I'm sorry about what I said before."
Embarrassment still weighed her down a bit, one part of it due to her earlier actions and the second being from the looks she got over the last few hours as the welt had only slightly gone down from earlier. The last place they had eaten at a much less grande place than the large restaurant Ikki had dine-and-dashed at earlier that day, however the difference in taste of several Lil' Macs from the WcDonald's was a far, far cry from the meal they had eaten earlier.
Nanaha shrugged indifferently, knowing from all the stares and being left alone to her thoughts Ikki had learned her lesson. Still, she was the 'younger' sister after all... "So long as you don't slip up again we're good," she said and giggled at Ikki's pout. "Still, I can't believe you said something so foolish. That's the kind of stuff a manga hero would say."
"It's not funny," Ikki muttered. "And since when does a little sister pick on her big sister so much?"
"When their big sister makes it so easy Ikki-neechan, it's kinda hard not to."
Ikki's pout deepened as Nanaha's giggles increased, "Ha ha, Nanaha-chan. Just wait till I'm feeling better. I'll get you for this."
"I'm shaking, I'm sure," Nanaha giggled again.
"Fine then," Ikki snorted. "I think I'll just look for MY Ashikabi alone. See ya."
Nanaha's giggling slowed as Ikki leaped up towards one of the smaller buildings and away form her, "Oh come on Ikki-chan!," she cried as she followed the short-haired sekirei. "Don't be so sensitive!" The two continued to chase each other atop the roofs of Teito, with Nanaha wincing a bit as she continued to apologize to deaf ears as the roofs got all the higher. After a while, the chase ended atop a particularly high building, Ikki standing near the edge of the roof looking outward at the lights of the city. Seeing Ikki bathed in the light of the city below Nanaha smiled and walked towards her friend. "Feeling better?"
Ikki turned around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow and smiled, the night air ruffling her hair a bit. "Yeah... I am. She then raised her arms and stretched, softly moaning in satisfaction and grinned. "Ok, I'm totally calm no....," she trailed off, something catching her eye.
"Oh dear... I hope you're not too calm," a voice called out.
Nanaha frowned as she turned around to face the unfamiliar voice as the figure came walking out of the shadows into view, her eyes close and a cheerful smile on her face. "Who are you?"
Karasuba's smile grew as she continued to calmly walk towards the pair, "No one special. Although I was wondering..." She paused as she pulled out her blade, the soft sound of sharp metal scratching against the sheath unusually loud and the light of the city dancing off the sword ominously. "...if you might keep me company for a while," she finished as a gust of wind stirred her coat
Beside Nanaha, Ikki sucked in a breath as recognition set in and paled. "No, oh no," she murmured breathlessly over and over again, her small voice trembling with fear and hopelessness. "No. Oh, please, not her . . ."
Nanaha blinked as she realized who this person was and growled as she pulled out her spear and held it out in front of her, "Well... if you're not the last person I wanted to meet." Her eyes quickly flickered over to Ikki, "Ikki-chan, we gotta get outta here. Now." When Ikki didn't respond, her frown deepened. "Ikki-chan," she spoke again. A bit of panic creeping into her voice when she realized Ikki wasn't listening.
Karasuba raised her blade, reflecting enough light that it bounced off of her face, her bottom chin and left cheek aglow while the rest of her face was still dark, adding to the horror that she was already emitting.
Nanaha took in a shaky breath and gulped, closing her eyes before reopening them, looking as well as she could into Karasuba's own. For a moment, she thought she could see what her shaken mind knew what was in those frozen silvery gray orbs: Death. Seeing that they were fixed on herself and Ikki malevolence and murder she turned her head slightly towards Ikki, her eyes never leaving Karasuba. "Ikki-chan," Nanaha spoke up again as more. "Snap out of it Ikki-chan! We need to run now! Right now!"
"Oh no," Karasuba said to them, her voice a soft, sibilant whisper that touched both their ears and their minds. "No that won't do at all little ones. I have an itch that really needs to be scratched. And you two look to be some lovely backscratchers."
Nanaha paled more so at her words. That was all she was able to get out before Karasuba lunged at them, and by sheer luck the lower number sekirei was able to get her spear up high enough to block the initial strike, the strike nearly causing her legs to buckle as Karasuba skidded several yards away, slowly rising back up and turning her head back to them with a smile. She paled even further as she realized that had she not blocked the attack it would have pierced her heart. Not only that, but realizing from the look on Karasuba's face that she wasn't even trying. "Ikki-chan," she hissed at her, trying not to notice how hard her heart was pounding in her chest. "Ikki-neechan, help me!"
Ikki shook at the panic in Nanaha's voice, "Nanaha-chan..." she whispered.
Karasuba hummed, amused as she heard Ikki's voice, "Oh? Decided to join us?" Karasuba drawled. "How nice... you may learn something about those things on your back before you die." Ikki gulped as Karasuba turned her attention back to Nanaha, "As for you...do be a good girl and stay there hmm?" She lunged at Nanaha again and the spear-wielding sekirei's froze for a moment. Flinching in fear.
She heard an impact, a sound that reminded her of steel clanging on steel and found her vision encompassed in green, "Ikki-neechan?" she whispered.
"Now isn't this interesting." Karasuba said softly, "Though you should feel lucky, I'm in a rather playful mood right now. Then again, maybe not as death would be quicker. Please...," Karasuba asked. "Bleed for me?"
"Run, Nanaha-chan," Ikki whispered. A small part of Nanaha noted the fear that was present in Ikki's voice, and her eyes noted that the higher numbered sekirei's body was trembling. "I can't hold her off for long... get out of here!"
"Ikki-neechan?" she whispered, relieved and a little shocked at Ikki's reversal from a moment ago.
Karasuba sighed, and shook her head at her new opponent. "Foolish bird," she said softly. "Time for you to pay for your false bravado, wouldn't you think?" At that, Nanaha's mind idly noted that time seemed to slow to a crawl. A dazed part of her mind noted that Karasuba's free hand formed a fist and shot forward, slamming up to the wrist into Ikki's unprotected abdomen. Ikki's eyes snapped open, her pupils drawn to tiny pinpoints; her body bowed outward, as if in slow motion.
And that's when time went back to normal as her body flew backward, singing through the air as she shot off into the distance. "Ikki-neechan!!" she screamed out, hot tears streaming down her face.
"Now," she said softly. "Your turn." She smiled, her lips drawing slowly back from her teeth. "Pretty bird."
Karasuba, still grinning her terrible, nightmarish grin, charged.
And desperately, hopelessly, Nanaha gripped and raised her spear.
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"The Black Sekirei..." Uzume breathed yet again, voice no louder the a whisper. "I can't believe this..." she breathed again and gulped down the fast forming saliva as she walked besides Ichigo hand in hand; or more appropriately seemingly drifted along and being pulled by Ichigo, as the encounter had shaken her more than she had liked. Her breathing was soft but shallow and her eyes while wide were not overly so as her eyes looked forward but didn't really see anything as she kept replaying those few minutes over and over again.
By her side, Ichigo frowned in concern at her reaction to their encounter. "You ok, Uzume?" Uzume mumbled something so low that Ichigo could not make it out as the girl continued to simply be pulled along. "Uzume," he called out again in a firmer tone.
She blinked and some semblance of awareness of her surroundings returned to her haunted eyes. She turned her head to face her ashikabi. "Ichigo?"
"Back to earth now?" he grunted out. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
She suddenly stopped, her hand still entwined with Ichigo's and brought a halt to his forward momentum, causing him to slightly stumble backwards. Uzume then let go of his hand and placed it near his shoulders. "Do you know what you did?," she asked, worry still in her eyes. "Don't you know who that was....," she asked before she stopped and mumbled that he probably couldn't before taking a few deep breaths again. "Ichigo you were almost...," she said as her shoulders began to heave a bit more.
Ichigo was startled slightly by his sekirei's attitude. She was shaken badly. "Uzume, calm down. It's ok."
She took a few more deep breaths before finally being able to talk. "That was very stupid Ichigo," she said, her mind again replaying the scene of Karasuba's blade at his throat and her ashikabi's life hanging by that narrow thread. As fast as she was, with the blade that close and the wielder being Karasuba she knew what the results could have been and images of Ichigo being beheaded had replayed over and over in her mind.
Ichigo looked at her curiously, "Stupid?"
"You could have been killed," she said, the thought twisting her features to a pained one. "Why didn't you stay behind me?!"
Another issue she was angry at, this one more to herself than anything. Why did she simply let Ichigo take the lead like that? Why did she let him hold her back when she could have simply shrugged him off and shield him? She didn't care if she died if he could live, but his grip on her had seem unnaturally strong and he had been so confident that she had found herself grounded as the drama played out before her. Her pained face twisted further as she scolded herself again at her stupendous lapse of judgment.
Ichigo sighed as he looked at her face, and the pain and anger that flashed on her features. "Oh, that." he grunted, rubbing his forehead slightly.
"That?" Uzume spat out. "That's all you have to say? The Black Sekirei had a blade to your throat and all you can say is 'Oh, that?'"
"Hold up a sec, Uzume," Ichigo replied, holding a hand up for emphasize. "Let's not get into all that here."
"And why the hell not?" Uzume asked, careful not to let more panic enter her voice.
"I'm not sure if you noticed," Ichigo answered as he pointed around them, "But this ain't exactly the most private of places to be talking about MBI stuff, you know."
Uzume blinked and looked around at the people passing around them, some stopped to watch the drama unfold and wondered how the heck she could have missed them. "Ah, right."
Ichigo sighed again as he took her hand and resumed his pace, "C'mon. If I remember right there's a place were we can get into this more. Besides, I got some questions for you myself."
A quick walk brought sekirei and ashikabi to a familiar park they both had sat in three months prior. Sitting at an empty park bench, Ichigo was grateful and a little surprised to note that this area of the park was still low on traffic. Even with the Sakura trees preparing to bloom in less than a months time, this park was still as empty as it was in that early winter day when he and Uzume first began to know one another. He sighed as Uzume took her seat nest to him, it was something he could ponder later if he felt like it. Right now, it was Q&A time once again.
Uzume had her head lowered before taking an audible breath. With her head still tilted forward she turned to face Ichigo. "You could have been killed Ichigo... Why didn't you let me shield you?," she asked again.
"I can't do that, Uzume." he answered. "I won't let you lay down your life for me." He leaned forward and met Uzume's gaze. "It wouldn't be right."
"It would," she said. "You are my husband... I would have gladly died to keep you safe. Why did you let Karasuba get that close?! Why wouldn't you let me...," she trailed off as the images replayed in her head.
"It wouldn't," Ichigo replied. "I told you when we first met, I'm a protector. It's in my freaking name. So tell me, wife of mine, why is it that my life is worth more than yours?"
"And I told you. I am yours. I will fight for you and to protect you. I love you Ichigo, and would die for you...," she looked away. "She could have killed you... and I couldn't have done a thing about it..."
"First off," Ichigo began as he leaned back on the bench. "She wouldn't have killed me. She was just trying to scare me is all."
"You couldn't have known that," she quipped back.
"It's a feeling I had, let's just leave it at that." His gaze hardened as he turned to lock his eyes with hers, "And you still didn't answer my question, Uzume."
She looked at him for a moment, his stern eyes boring into her own shaken ones. After a moment she finally answered. "I am a sekirei, and you are a human. Your life is worth more than mine. I won't let you die if I can help it, and would happily die in your place."
Ichigo looked at her for a long moment after that response, "Uzume... If I gave you an order, how well would you follow it?"
"To the letter," she immediately replied, confusion entering her eyes.
"Good," he nodded. "Uzume... this is the first order I'm giving to anyone, much less you. So I want you to listen to it very, very, VERY carefully. Because this order... I want you to follow it until the very end." He raised his index finger in-between her eyes, his gaze becoming very hard as he did so. "From this second onward... don't you ever... EVER... think my life or any human's life is worth more than yours. Every single life is of equal value, and just because you're a sekirei and I'm a human it don't mean anything unless you make it mean something, understand me?"
Uzume's eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly as she processed what she was told and looked downward. Though a warm feeling had spread within her what he had just said had been against everything she had been told and adjusted to, so his words felt some resistance as it waged against those teachings. But for her ashikabi...
Her mouth quivered a bit as her mind whirled with several scenarios, many of them involving Karasuba or even the other Disciplinary Squad members, who she knew of based on their reputations. Even so, mulling his words over she could - no, would, follow those words...
"I would still place you ahead of me if it couldn't be helped," she whispered to herself. Turning back to Ichigo, she thought for a moment how to exactly word what she wanted to say. "Ichigo... you have.. you have no idea how... how much those words mean to me. How happy they make me feel. I can do that for you, Ichigo... but..."
"But what?" he asked.
"If you are ever in danger... I can't promise not to save you... and if it means to lay my life for you...," she trailed off.
"Uzume... If you think like that... you'll lose everything you would have been fighting for. Do you understand me?" He took her hand, noting how her small hand was shaking slightly in his grasp. "If I really thought she was gonna kill us, I would have ran. The way I am right now... in such an environment... I'm not stupid enough to think I would have won a fight with that woman."
He tightened his grip on her hand slightly at the thought, his mouth tightening. If he had his power... he was sure that she would have been a minor threat at worst. But still...
"But I know she wasn't looking for a fight, she was looking for intimidation. And I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction. So I stood my ground, and she left. Simple."
Uzume gaze lingered on him for a moment before she sighed, leaning back on the bench. "Simple he says," she grumbled to herself. "So easy he think this is... what kind of a man have I gone and married?"
"And what is that supposed to mean exactly?" Ichigo asked, surprised at himself for how non-nonchalant he seemed to be taking Uzume talking as if they really were married. Just how comfortable was he getting with this girl anyway?
"What it means, is that you're about to get a crash course in what it means to get Karasuba on your case." She gave a small smirk as she continued, "And yes, there will be a test later."
"I'll be sure to take notes," Ichigo replied, smirking himself as he noted the shaking in Uzume's hand had almost stopped now. "So tell me who was that woman?"
Uzume's eyes sharpened as she sat straight up and spoke in an even tone, "Number Zero Four... Karasuba is the leader of the 'third generation' Disciplinary Squad, also known as the "Black Sekirei" and 'MBI's dog.' She's been in the Disciplinary Squad since it's inception, and is easily one of the most dangerous sekirei in the game today."
Ichigo frowned and focused on Uzume as she went into as much detail as possible with what she knew.
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She hurt.
For a long moment, that was the only thought Ikki could manage, as she gradually groped her way back towards consciousness; that and the fact that her mouth was full of something. Some kind of liquid, which was odd considering she hadn't drank anything that she could think of recently. And she would remember drinking something so nasty, so coppery...
Copper...y?
Oh, so that's what blood tasted like.
Mechanically she moved her leaden arms to push herself up even before opening her eyes, spitting out the blood from her mouth. She had to have had some internal damage, and wasn't that going to be fun to figure out she thought sarcastically. After coughing a few times to clear her windpipe, she cracked open her eyelids and tried to get her bearings. For a moment, she couldn't recall how she had gotten there . . . but then memory returned, and she let out a groan that had little to do with pain.
Karasuba... The Black Sekirei.
She wanted to laugh at the cruel luck. She had been so focused and determined to find her ashikabi and her sister's ashikabi she never even imagined that they would cross the path of such a monsterously strong sekirei. Now for whatever reason she had decided to attack them and it seemed that the game would be over for her long before she could even hope to find the one just for her. It was so unfair.
It was at this point her vision cleared and she saw a sight that damn near stopped her heart.
There was Karasuba, the monster in black herself. A small, cruel smile, spreading briefly across her lips as she held her opponent. The katana she had before was now sheathed as she held her opponent high above her, helplessly twitching and clawing at the silver-haired demon in a futile struggle for survival. Gasping pathetically for air, Ikki was able to make out one phrase. A small, pleading cry that found it's way into the sekirei's heard and filled her with power she thought long faded.
"Ikki...neechan..." Nanaha let off in a choked whisper.
"Is that all my little bird?" she asked softly, and her smile grew as Nanaha's eyes glared fiercely at her, despite the life leaving them. "Is this all the fight you have inside? I will admit, that spin and block with the blunt end of your spear to stop my blade was most impressive, and the follow up nearly took my head, but all it seemed to do was excite me all the more. That can't be all? Don't tell me this really the best you can do to scratch my itch? Your sister must be terribly disappointed in you, if that was your best."
"Damn... you.. you bitch..."
"Save your breath," Karasuba warned as she squeezed her hand tighter. Nanaha let out a painful gasp at the pressure and her lips drew back from her teeth in a silent snarl of agony. Karasuba's grin grew all the more, "I will give you points for guts, but it is a pity you weren't strong enough to satisfy me."
"Get away from her..."
Karasuba rose an eyebrow slightly as she peered around Nanaha's body to spot Ikki shakily getting up to her feet. "Oh, still awake? How nice, you'll be able to see this little bird's wings plucked live."
Ikki didn't realized that her head was lowered, her breath hissing between her clenched teeth and her heart pounding; only rage and worry pulsed in her mind. Intermixing like red and white blood cells in her bloodstream, filling her body with adrenaline and numbing whatever pain racked her body. "I SAID GET AWAY FROM MY LITTLE SISTER!!" she screamed. Her fear banished from her mind as she saw her little sister near death's door and only one thought filled her head.
'Protect Nanaha-chan!'
That thought brought a surge of incredible strength from some unseen reserve blasted through her body as she charged Karasuba; it surged through her limbs and her aura and drove away the last of the weakness that had affected her as if it had never been. Karasuba tossed Nanaha away and redrew her blade. Their swords clashed, the sound of steel meeting steel reverberating, and Ikki let out a wordless scream as she pressed a flurry of attacks.
'You hurt my sister!'
Ikki's attacks grew all the more relentless, her furry forcing the strained tendons into action to make the dark Disciplinary squad member feel her sisterly rage.
'She tried to kill Nanaha-chan!'
Karasuba continued to grin as she parried and avoided the mindless furry. Now this bird... this one was managing to scratch her itch. Not enough to really satisfy the Disciplinary Squad leader, but enough to keep her entertained for a while. Her opponent's blue eyes filled with merciless rage... her blades screaming with hate... it was almost enough to make her laugh in delight.
'And she has the gall to smile about it!'
Ikki leaped back and put her blades together in an X formation in front of her. 'I don't care if I die,' she thought as a small aura formed in the center of the blades. 'But I won't let Nanaha-chan die on my watch!'
"Well," Karasuba said softly as she took up a defensive stance. "This has been quite an unexpected pleasure."
"Pleasure my ass," Ikki growled. "You're gonna pay for picking on my little sister!!"
"Am I now," Karasuba asked in amusement. "Well here I am, little bird. Punish me."
"Fine by me! TENRYUU NO FUU!!" she cried as pushed the blades towards Karasuba, the aura that formed in-between them rocketing towards her enemy at a breathtaking pace. Ikki grinned in assumed victory.
Until Karasuba effortlessly dodged the attack, the energy blasting forward towards the building behind them. Where it managed to cleanly slice brick and mortar before it dissipated halfway through the building. The black baroness of the MBI lifted a hand to her cheek, feeling a small nick on her flesh. "Interesting... a wind based attack I assume?"
"I missed," Ikki gasped as she felt the adrenaline fade. "Dammit I missed!"
"I suppose it's my turn then," Karasuba mused. "Try to stay awake for more than a few moments, hmm?"
Ikki clenched her jaw, and crouched, readying herself. She had only an instant to take in her opponent's small, cold smile before a fist pounded into her head so hard that she literally saw stars. She felt herself fall and slam into the roof so hard she bounced. 'So fast..!' she thought in shock. 'How is she..?'
Her thoughts paused as Karasuba lifted her up by her mane of black hair. "Now then," she whispered as she sheathed her sword. Ikki found herself shuddering slightly as she felt the sick delight in her voice, "I'm going to be testing your reflexes for a bit. Scream and I'll kill your sister if she's not dead already, ok?"
She didn't give Ikki a chance to respond as she curled one hand casually into a fist. And slammed it into the sekirei's back. The woman's eyes flew open in shock, her body arching forward; and Karasuba nodded approvingly. "Not bad... not bad at all, little bird. But...," Karasuba narrowed her eyes clinically at Ikki's unguarded back. "I think I could do better, don't you?"
Lifting her body a little higher she hit her again, targeting her blow carefully. Ikki gasped in pain determined not to scream, lest she tempt her opponent to live up to her warnings. Karasuba chuckled softly and hit her again. It was clear that Ikki no longer had the strength to fight back; indeed, it might only be the pain, perversely, that kept her conscious.
Still, as Ikki coughed after one vicious blow, trickles of blood running from the corners of her mouth; it was probably time to end this. "Well little bird, I suppose I should be going now." She switched her grip to make sure Ikki was facing her, and licked a splotch of blood from her cheek. "Thank you for keeping me company for a spell.... and farewell."
And as she finished, she once again casually tossed Ikki aside like a pile of trash.
Right over the edge of the building.
Grinning, she turned back to see the other little bird struggling into a crouching position, moving ever so slowly towards her dropped weapon.
"Oh? Still around?" she called back, a thrill racing up her spine as she saw the hurt sekirei's outstretched had stop in fright.
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'Typical, absolutely typical.' Reflected Ichigo as he and Uzume made their way out of the park. He glanced up at the darkening skies, his mind going over the things Uzume had said about the 'Mad Dog of MBI,' Karasuba. 'Would have been nice if this had come up sooner,' he thought irritably. He scowled, unawares and uncaring of the way he looked as the people around him and his sekirei gave a slightly wider berth at his look. 'Everything about this damn thing always seems to get more complicated the more I learn about it."
Why couldn't things be simple? Ichigo liked simple more than anything else. Hollows hunt and eat strong human souls? Find and cut down Hollows before they can do that. Rukia was kidnapped by Soul Society? Go save her and kick everyone's ass who gets in the way. Aizen kidnapped Orihime and wanted to be god? Save Inoue and kick the crazy butterfly guy's ass.
Good, clean, and oh so simple.
Two years later, here he was with a girl who was living proof that extraterrestrial life existed. And all it caused him to do was get them involved in some crazy billionaire's plot to make some sort of life or death game with these people. Not to mention now one of the strongest of these Sekirei was sent out to try and keep them in line, to say nothing about the lingering question of how long was this going to go on and if he could find any allies or enemies lurking in the mist.
Decidedly un-simple.
'Ugh, I'm getting a headache," Ichigo thought irritably as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. 'At this rate not even dinner is gonna-,' he thought as he felt Uzume slow down and pull on his hand. Slowing himself he turned to see what caused Uzume to slow and now stop. "Uzume"?
"Look over there Ichigo," Uzume answered and pointed to her left. A crowd of people were gathered around a small cluster of buildings about a block from where they were standing, eyes looking upward towards something that held them at rapt attention. "What's going on over there?"
Ichigo turned to where his sekirei pointed, and shrugged indifferently. "Beats me." He tugged on Uzume's hand to get her to come along again and both were once more on the move, and before long he realized that they'd have to go past the crowd to get to where they were going and his scowl deepened. "Great," he grumbled irritably. "We have to wade through the rubberneckers."
And with that, a large gasp echoed throughout the crowd as many began pointing upwards. Finally giving in to curiosity Ichigo stopped himself to look upwards. And his mouth fell open slightly as he saw a body being thrown off the edge of one building, the prone figure disappearing out of sight, blocked by the angle of the building she was to land upon but the sound of it loud enough that it reverberated loud enough for all to hear.
"What the hell was that?!"
Looking up to where the body had fallen he blinked as he saw a brief flash, almost like a mirror catching the light and reflecting it, or something metal...
And then he saw what he thought was hair whipping in the air before disappearing out of his line of sight.
"Karasuba...," Uzume whispered.
Ichigo's head whipped to Uzume, "What did you say?"
"It's Karasuba," she whispered to him, still looking upwards but her eyes wide with the knowledge of who she had just seen.
"The hell is she doing?" he whispered back. He looked around briefly, making sure the crowd attention was on the skyline before he turned back to Uzume. "Isn't she supposed to be all secretive with the MBI stuff?"
"Karasuba doesn't care about a lot of things," she told him back.
"Clearly." Ichigo whispered as his scowl deepened. "But who is she attacking?"
"Sekirei..." Uzume guessed.
"Sekirei? Why? Did they break the rules or something?"
Uzume looked downward, a bit of a pained expression on her face. "Likely not," she said, knowing all the stories she had heard and in a few cases had seen early on. "She doesn't need much prodding if she's in a mood."
"Mood?" Ichigo growled. An image of Karasuba's smile and almost twitching figure as she turned away and briskly walked off from earlier came to mind. "You mean..."
Uzume kept her silence as she raised her head upward again. Ichigo's lips thinned at Uzume's unspoken answer. "Uzume... let's go."
She turned her head to him. "What? Where?"
He turned to her and simply pointed to the rooftop with his free hand.
Her eyes widened. "You're not serious!?"
He nodded, "Fighting dirty sekirei or ashikabi is one thing... but if she's beating on innocent sekirei..." He grit his teeth. "I've got to stop this."
"How?," she asked flabbergasted.
"We'll figure it out when we get there," he replied. "Now let's go!"
For a brief moment Uzume stared at him before taking a breath and steeling herself. Moving a bit closer to Ichigo, she put an arm around his waist and he an arm over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath and giving a brief prayer, she launched upwards, ignoring the new gasps of disbelief below her.
=========
Uzume and Ichigo landed on top of the smallest of the surrounding buildings in a crouch. The crowd gasped at the unusual sight, already shocked at what they had witnessed and gobsmacked anew at this new addition. Uzume had Ichigo to her right, her right arm tight around his waist and his left arm snaked over her back and over her left shoulder. In their hands they still carried the bags and luggage they had brought.
Rising from their crouch, both she and Ichigo let their belongings hit the floor as they began to race where what was hopefully still a live body had landed. As they raced, Ichigo subconsciously rubbed his wrists as the sudden lift had pulled on the luggage that had been in both hands. For Uzume the weight had been nothing, easily lifting the combined weight of herself, her ashikabi and luggage as she triangle hopped up the sides of the building.
Both however found their hearts racing. Uzume due to not only what she, Ichigo and the small crowd had witnessed but Ichigo's stubbornness in wanting to interfere in this. She had seen the worry and what looked to be a brief moment of self-loathing in his eyes as he demanded to be taken up.
For Ichigo it was not just the matter of the state of the two that were fighting that Karasuba, but the feeling that this was his fault in some way. The look and smile in her eyes as she had turned away from them and the way she almost trembled with an energy that had been struggling to be let loose was something that he had witnessed and felt in the past.
And now two innocents would be paying for that release.
From below, Uzume had said that these two were most likely Sekireis that were fighting, and being tougher than a normal human, had some better chance at surviving something as brutal as this. However they had been facing Karasuba, the Black Sekirei that Uzume had described as being merciless and terrifying. That she had said that it would likely already be over for the two Sekirei had got his hackles up.
Dammit.
It was easy to see where the body had landed. The roof had cratered near the opposite end, sinking a bit but not giving as the surrounding area had spiderweb cracks that testified to the impact.
Finally reaching the body after Ichigo got a good look at who had fallen and his eyes narrowed and grit his teeth harder. A young girl it seemed. Her arms were spread out and she had one leg that looked like it had been trying to get her up, being raised and bent back down, the sole of her heeled shoe sitting on the ground. She had short dark hair, some of it matted to her forehead in sweat, but even in the dark he could make out a few bruises. Her clothes, or uniform, if what was left of it if it could be called that was torn in several places, some of it looking like it had been blown off and others where there were obvious cuts. Blood had fallen or streaked from a few places. It was then her head turned a bit, her closed eyes had tightened and her mouth opened to let loose a whimper before trying to breath, her breath stuttering as she tried to suck in air. "Na.... Nana...ha...," she barely whispered out.
*Dammit!*
Above them on the next roof two eyes had taken leave of her prey as they noted two more insects below had appeared and widened as she saw who it was.
Said prey was currently being held off the ground by her attackers left hand by her neck. Short, dry gasps for breath permeated the rooftop, though the normal noise of traffic below could still be just barely heard. Nanaha's eyes were barely open, and did little to convey the pain other than the trail of tears that had run down her face. Numerous bruises and what felt like a few broken bones continued to sting her in her forced position. Cracking her eyes open as best she could, Karasuba's visage blurred in and out of focus, unable to do a thing besides feel as her throat was slowly crushed in the vise of the Black Sekirei's grip.
Her tears flowed more as she spotted the raised arm and shining blade in her other hand that had been poised to strike yet had not.
As her eyes focused, she noticed that Karasuba was no longer paying attention to her, looking away and downward. Despite this, she had no power to take advantage of the situation.
Below as Ichigo had knelled to the girl, trying to think of what to do first he felt the hairs on the back of his head stand. Turning and looking up he sucked in a breath. Seeing her ashikabi's attention Uzume turned up as well and gasped. Ichigo rose and turned to face the building that Karasuba was on, his head raised as he kept his eyes on her.
Above Karasuba continued to look down at the strange yet interesting ashikabi. She snorted as she saw his face, lips pulled back in a snarl and his brows furrowed, eyes that she could just make out challenging her. In that second she knew that had he been up there with her he would have charged her. Stupid and suicidal, yes, but his eyes still held no fear as he all but attempted to burn her with his gaze. She then closed her eyes as the rush and excitement that had been feeling then left her.
Letting her left hand open, she turned to face the boy properly and ignored the sound of the body that hit the ground. Flicking her and and wrist she whipped her blade to the side, the blood that had been gathered on it being flecked away to spot the ground. Her left hand reached for her scabbard and turned it to face the blade as she re-sheathed it silently without hurry. Smiling at the interesting ashikabi she turned and hopped away.
"Uzume," Ichigo said through gritted teeth as he continued to face upward. "Go up there and check the other one," he said and she blinked.
"But-"
"She's gone," he said with certainty. The Black Sekirei seemed to be the type who didn't carry out sneak attacks. Given her attitude and what he had seen, she struck him as the type that felt assured by their strength and likely felt that gave her control of any situation that could arise. If she had wanted a fight she'd have come down and brought it to them. "You'll be fine," he said before turning his head to her and blinked. She stared back at him with wide eyes, her face a bit flush as he could feel the worry she conveyed.
"You'll be fine, but the other one might not be and we're wasting time here," he said and turned to the fallen girl behind them. "We've gotta get them to a hospital."
Uzume nodded as she then took a few steps to him and before he could do anything she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. The light of her wings illuminated the area briefly before they disappeared. "Just in case," she told Ichigo before he could ask and suddenly took off, bounding up the side of the buildings as she triangle hopped off the walls in her climb. Quickly turning he went back to kneel beside the fallen Sekirei who continued to moan and whimper.
"Na....Nanaha...chan," she whimpered again, doing her best to push herself up with her elbows before feeling something press on her shoulders and gasped. "D...damn you...!"
"Shhh, it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," she heard a voice say. A male voice. Wait... Did they? Wasn't Karasuba just...? "That other one's gone, its going to be ok," she heard that voice say again.
'Ok,' he said. 'How'? The Black Sekirei didn't -.' Her thought processes went on hold as she again felt herself slowly being pushed back and allowed herself to again lay in what she thought would be the place where everything would end. Before she and Nanaha could find their ashikabi. She bit back a cry as feeling herself settle back on the ground sent flashes of pain throughout her bruised and cut body. Feeling a few tears fall she opened her eyes, and saw an orangish blob hover in front of her. "Just stay still," it said and she tried to focus past the pain and finally after squeezing her eyes shut she opened them and her vision cleared.
Her mouth opened but no words came as her breath got caught in the sight of two intense brown eyes bore down on her.
"Can you understand me?" the orange haired man asked of her and she wordlessly nodded as best she could.
"Good. Just stay still. We're going to try to get your friend before we try to get you some help," he said. 'Friend?'
"N...N...Nanaha...chan," she bit out, trying not to moan as pain shot through her and she teared up again.
Ichigo grimaced as the girl whimpered out what he concluded to be the name of the other Sekirei. That she was a Sekirei was easy to spot, noticing the remains of the logo that was imprinted on the girls shirt, which looked to be some kind of tailored china dress top. The logo was the same as the one that remained on Uzume's back when he had winged her all those months ago.
Before he could say anything else he heard a light thump and turned to find Uzume rise from a crouch with a body in her arms. Ichigo rose up as Uzume approached him and gave the girl a quick look-over before quickly turning away. The girl had been bruised and cut, but unlike the other girl that laid before him the one in Uzume's arms had had her top shredded, exposing herself and her wounds for one an all to see. "Uzume," he said as he quickly looked up and forced the image away. "How is she?"
"Its pretty bad Ichigo," she replied solemnly, the worry in her voice easy to hear.
"Okay," he said in acknowledgement and bent close to the sekirei that laid on the floor. "Hey," he said as gently as he could, the adrenaline still coursing through him making him a tight ball of energy that wanted to be cut loose making it come out more as a grunt. "We have your friend, so we're gonna get you two the hospital now," he continued as he moved into position to pick her up.
"Ichigo?" Uzume questioned.
He turned to Uzume, displaying a frown deeper than usual on his face. "What?"
"You can't carry her like that, its too much for-"
"The hell it is!" he cut her off. "I'll be fine, she needs help. They both need it quickly!" he got out as he maneuvered one arm around the fallen girls neck and moved his other arm to her legs so he could lift her.
Ikki sucked in a breath as she felt an arm slide under her neck and she concentrated as best she cold on what the two were talking about. Her spirits rose as from what she gathered through the pain Nanaha was still alive. They'd be taken to a hospital...hospital? Wait... MBI controls nearly all the hospitals here. If they went.... MBI would know... and then Karasuba would....Karasuba would...
"No..." she croaked out, halting Ichigo and Uzume's argument. "no..." she croaked out again. "no hospital..."
"You have to go," Ichigo bit back, halting in his efforts to lift her briefly as the girl began to squirm, breaking the brief hold before he could lift her. "Your injuries-"
"At least... at least not... not an MBI hospital... please!" she pleaded. "The Black Sekirei... Karasuba... she'll finish us!"
"Calm down," Ichigo said, trying to get through the distraught girl. "All you're doing is making it worse. And the hospital won't-"
"She'll finish us!" Ikki insisted as she slumped to her knees. "Anywhere but there... I can't... we can't... go there..."
Ichigo shook his head, whatever Karasuba did scared the girl completely. Again he got in position to get his arms under her to lift her up. "Its a hospital, you'll be safe," he said.
"Ichigo," Uzume said.
"What?" he replied a bit tight.
Uzume closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly, "That's....not entirely accurate."
He turned and gaped at her. "What are you saying?"
"The closest hospital is MBI owned. If Karasuba were so inclined to, she would kill them and the hospital wouldn't do a thing to stop her."
"You're can't be serious," Ichigo replied shocked. "No hospital would-"
"If they were human," Uzume said, her voice falling. "If they were human," she repeated, "they may have been safe. But...." she rose her head and gave Ichigo a sad smile. "But we're Sekirei."
Ichigo looked at her in confusion, his mouth slightly open. 'Why should that matter...?'
"We're not people," Uzume supplied sadly, knowing what Ichigo was thinking. "Not as far as they're concerned anyway."
Ichigo's eyes lowered, fists clenched as he trembled at what she told him. "I thought I told you," he said through clenched teeth as he turned to face her again. "to never... EVER say that again," he declared with finality.
Uzume's eyes widened at the intensity his eyes had as he said that and felt her heart begin to pound despite the situation. "You did didn't you?" she asked him, and pushed down as best she could the warm feelings that had begun to well up. Now was not the time. "But we need to make a decision now Ichigo. From here the closest non-MBI hospital is Hiyamakai but we may not have the time."
Ichigo's frown tightened, "Then what do you suggest?"
Uzume did some quick calculations before making a decision and looked back to Ichigo. "We can take them to Izumo," Uzume said softly.
"That's not a hospital," Ichigo immediately replied a bit angered.
"Of course not, but Miya can dress their wounds. This one here," she referred to the one in her arms, "has numerous cuts and bruises but it's not something that Miya can't handle. And from what I can tell her friend is in slightly better shape."
Ichigo continued to look at her, still not quite believing what he had been told.
"Ichigo. Trust me," she asked.
"But they're Sekirei, right?" Ichigo reminded her. "We can't just-"
"Miya's husband..." Uzume cut him off, biting her lip as she didn't really want to voice this, however time was short. "Miya's husband was once with MBI. It's not my place to say anymore other than she's not entirely uninformed about us."
"But then-"
"Ichigo, please understand... It's not... it's not my place to say. And these two are running out of time. Please. Trust me."
Ichigo blew out a breath and turned to again attempt to pick up the other Sekirei. "Then lets get going."
"Ichigo," she said and he turned back around. "We're six stories up and while Izumo is close you won't make it." She then continued before he could protest. "I can make it there and back before you would, but..."
"But?" he asked, feeling the burn of truth to her words as he thought of it. The flight of stairs, not to mention the locked doors, or the police when he broke through.
Damn it.
She frowned at the thought, "You'd have to stay here unguarded. And if Karasuba comes back..."
"I'll be fine. We'll be fine," he amended through gritted teeth, hating his powerlessness. "Which one's worse off then?" He saw Uzume nod toward the one in her arms. "Then get your butt in gear!"
Nodding she briskly made her way to him. "To keep me going," she then said before she puckered up.
Blinking Ichigo realized what she meant before bending down to kiss her again. He had no issue with this, especially if it would help in this situation. He pulled away and she smiled but he then frowned. "Uzume, your wings...," he said in concern as nothing happened.
She grinned. "You can say I'm still charged. You just reset the timer," she winked at him before becoming serious again. "Be careful," she said before turning away and jumping from her position off the building and into the night.
He then turned back to the fallen Sekirei and knelt beside her and pressed his lips together. She moaned as she opened her eyes at him again before taking another shuddering breath. His eyes narrowed as in the near silence as he wondered what he could do in the meantime to help her, noticing the small pool of blood.
'Damn it all to hell,' he thought again, cursing himself.
=========
====================================================================================================
=================================
The sun was disappearing amongst the taller buildings as Ikki and Nanaha walked throughout Teito. The short haired girl was still rubbing her head tenderly, her movements causing the kodachi blades that rested on the holdings at the small of her back to move slightly. Nanaha sighed as she looked at her sister, honestly sometimes it was as thought all the pain went straight to that hard head of hers.
It had been several hours since Nanaha had let her sister Sekirei have it, and with that she had returned to normal. Though much of her frustration had been abated, she still couldn't help but shake her head at Ikki. "Feeling better Ikki-chan?" she asked.
"A little," she sighed. She winced a little as she touched the bump once more, a small welt on her head being the only sign of damage from her improvised crash. "I'm sorry about what I said before."
Embarrassment still weighed her down a bit, one part of it due to her earlier actions and the second being from the looks she got over the last few hours as the welt had only slightly gone down from earlier. The last place they had eaten at a much less grande place than the large restaurant Ikki had dine-and-dashed at earlier that day, however the difference in taste of several Lil' Macs from the WcDonald's was a far, far cry from the meal they had eaten earlier.
Nanaha shrugged indifferently, knowing from all the stares and being left alone to her thoughts Ikki had learned her lesson. Still, she was the 'younger' sister after all... "So long as you don't slip up again we're good," she said and giggled at Ikki's pout. "Still, I can't believe you said something so foolish. That's the kind of stuff a manga hero would say."
"It's not funny," Ikki muttered. "And since when does a little sister pick on her big sister so much?"
"When their big sister makes it so easy Ikki-neechan, it's kinda hard not to."
Ikki's pout deepened as Nanaha's giggles increased, "Ha ha, Nanaha-chan. Just wait till I'm feeling better. I'll get you for this."
"I'm shaking, I'm sure," Nanaha giggled again.
"Fine then," Ikki snorted. "I think I'll just look for MY Ashikabi alone. See ya."
Nanaha's giggling slowed as Ikki leaped up towards one of the smaller buildings and away form her, "Oh come on Ikki-chan!," she cried as she followed the short-haired sekirei. "Don't be so sensitive!" The two continued to chase each other atop the roofs of Teito, with Nanaha wincing a bit as she continued to apologize to deaf ears as the roofs got all the higher. After a while, the chase ended atop a particularly high building, Ikki standing near the edge of the roof looking outward at the lights of the city. Seeing Ikki bathed in the light of the city below Nanaha smiled and walked towards her friend. "Feeling better?"
Ikki turned around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow and smiled, the night air ruffling her hair a bit. "Yeah... I am. She then raised her arms and stretched, softly moaning in satisfaction and grinned. "Ok, I'm totally calm no....," she trailed off, something catching her eye.
"Oh dear... I hope you're not too calm," a voice called out.
Nanaha frowned as she turned around to face the unfamiliar voice as the figure came walking out of the shadows into view, her eyes close and a cheerful smile on her face. "Who are you?"
Karasuba's smile grew as she continued to calmly walk towards the pair, "No one special. Although I was wondering..." She paused as she pulled out her blade, the soft sound of sharp metal scratching against the sheath unusually loud and the light of the city dancing off the sword ominously. "...if you might keep me company for a while," she finished as a gust of wind stirred her coat
Beside Nanaha, Ikki sucked in a breath as recognition set in and paled. "No, oh no," she murmured breathlessly over and over again, her small voice trembling with fear and hopelessness. "No. Oh, please, not her . . ."
Nanaha blinked as she realized who this person was and growled as she pulled out her spear and held it out in front of her, "Well... if you're not the last person I wanted to meet." Her eyes quickly flickered over to Ikki, "Ikki-chan, we gotta get outta here. Now." When Ikki didn't respond, her frown deepened. "Ikki-chan," she spoke again. A bit of panic creeping into her voice when she realized Ikki wasn't listening.
Karasuba raised her blade, reflecting enough light that it bounced off of her face, her bottom chin and left cheek aglow while the rest of her face was still dark, adding to the horror that she was already emitting.
Nanaha took in a shaky breath and gulped, closing her eyes before reopening them, looking as well as she could into Karasuba's own. For a moment, she thought she could see what her shaken mind knew what was in those frozen silvery gray orbs: Death. Seeing that they were fixed on herself and Ikki malevolence and murder she turned her head slightly towards Ikki, her eyes never leaving Karasuba. "Ikki-chan," Nanaha spoke up again as more. "Snap out of it Ikki-chan! We need to run now! Right now!"
"Oh no," Karasuba said to them, her voice a soft, sibilant whisper that touched both their ears and their minds. "No that won't do at all little ones. I have an itch that really needs to be scratched. And you two look to be some lovely backscratchers."
Nanaha paled more so at her words. That was all she was able to get out before Karasuba lunged at them, and by sheer luck the lower number sekirei was able to get her spear up high enough to block the initial strike, the strike nearly causing her legs to buckle as Karasuba skidded several yards away, slowly rising back up and turning her head back to them with a smile. She paled even further as she realized that had she not blocked the attack it would have pierced her heart. Not only that, but realizing from the look on Karasuba's face that she wasn't even trying. "Ikki-chan," she hissed at her, trying not to notice how hard her heart was pounding in her chest. "Ikki-neechan, help me!"
Ikki shook at the panic in Nanaha's voice, "Nanaha-chan..." she whispered.
Karasuba hummed, amused as she heard Ikki's voice, "Oh? Decided to join us?" Karasuba drawled. "How nice... you may learn something about those things on your back before you die." Ikki gulped as Karasuba turned her attention back to Nanaha, "As for you...do be a good girl and stay there hmm?" She lunged at Nanaha again and the spear-wielding sekirei's froze for a moment. Flinching in fear.
She heard an impact, a sound that reminded her of steel clanging on steel and found her vision encompassed in green, "Ikki-neechan?" she whispered.
"Now isn't this interesting." Karasuba said softly, "Though you should feel lucky, I'm in a rather playful mood right now. Then again, maybe not as death would be quicker. Please...," Karasuba asked. "Bleed for me?"
"Run, Nanaha-chan," Ikki whispered. A small part of Nanaha noted the fear that was present in Ikki's voice, and her eyes noted that the higher numbered sekirei's body was trembling. "I can't hold her off for long... get out of here!"
"Ikki-neechan?" she whispered, relieved and a little shocked at Ikki's reversal from a moment ago.
Karasuba sighed, and shook her head at her new opponent. "Foolish bird," she said softly. "Time for you to pay for your false bravado, wouldn't you think?" At that, Nanaha's mind idly noted that time seemed to slow to a crawl. A dazed part of her mind noted that Karasuba's free hand formed a fist and shot forward, slamming up to the wrist into Ikki's unprotected abdomen. Ikki's eyes snapped open, her pupils drawn to tiny pinpoints; her body bowed outward, as if in slow motion.
And that's when time went back to normal as her body flew backward, singing through the air as she shot off into the distance. "Ikki-neechan!!" she screamed out, hot tears streaming down her face.
"Now," she said softly. "Your turn." She smiled, her lips drawing slowly back from her teeth. "Pretty bird."
Karasuba, still grinning her terrible, nightmarish grin, charged.
And desperately, hopelessly, Nanaha gripped and raised her spear.
=========
"The Black Sekirei..." Uzume breathed yet again, voice no louder the a whisper. "I can't believe this..." she breathed again and gulped down the fast forming saliva as she walked besides Ichigo hand in hand; or more appropriately seemingly drifted along and being pulled by Ichigo, as the encounter had shaken her more than she had liked. Her breathing was soft but shallow and her eyes while wide were not overly so as her eyes looked forward but didn't really see anything as she kept replaying those few minutes over and over again.
By her side, Ichigo frowned in concern at her reaction to their encounter. "You ok, Uzume?" Uzume mumbled something so low that Ichigo could not make it out as the girl continued to simply be pulled along. "Uzume," he called out again in a firmer tone.
She blinked and some semblance of awareness of her surroundings returned to her haunted eyes. She turned her head to face her ashikabi. "Ichigo?"
"Back to earth now?" he grunted out. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
She suddenly stopped, her hand still entwined with Ichigo's and brought a halt to his forward momentum, causing him to slightly stumble backwards. Uzume then let go of his hand and placed it near his shoulders. "Do you know what you did?," she asked, worry still in her eyes. "Don't you know who that was....," she asked before she stopped and mumbled that he probably couldn't before taking a few deep breaths again. "Ichigo you were almost...," she said as her shoulders began to heave a bit more.
Ichigo was startled slightly by his sekirei's attitude. She was shaken badly. "Uzume, calm down. It's ok."
She took a few more deep breaths before finally being able to talk. "That was very stupid Ichigo," she said, her mind again replaying the scene of Karasuba's blade at his throat and her ashikabi's life hanging by that narrow thread. As fast as she was, with the blade that close and the wielder being Karasuba she knew what the results could have been and images of Ichigo being beheaded had replayed over and over in her mind.
Ichigo looked at her curiously, "Stupid?"
"You could have been killed," she said, the thought twisting her features to a pained one. "Why didn't you stay behind me?!"
Another issue she was angry at, this one more to herself than anything. Why did she simply let Ichigo take the lead like that? Why did she let him hold her back when she could have simply shrugged him off and shield him? She didn't care if she died if he could live, but his grip on her had seem unnaturally strong and he had been so confident that she had found herself grounded as the drama played out before her. Her pained face twisted further as she scolded herself again at her stupendous lapse of judgment.
Ichigo sighed as he looked at her face, and the pain and anger that flashed on her features. "Oh, that." he grunted, rubbing his forehead slightly.
"That?" Uzume spat out. "That's all you have to say? The Black Sekirei had a blade to your throat and all you can say is 'Oh, that?'"
"Hold up a sec, Uzume," Ichigo replied, holding a hand up for emphasize. "Let's not get into all that here."
"And why the hell not?" Uzume asked, careful not to let more panic enter her voice.
"I'm not sure if you noticed," Ichigo answered as he pointed around them, "But this ain't exactly the most private of places to be talking about MBI stuff, you know."
Uzume blinked and looked around at the people passing around them, some stopped to watch the drama unfold and wondered how the heck she could have missed them. "Ah, right."
Ichigo sighed again as he took her hand and resumed his pace, "C'mon. If I remember right there's a place were we can get into this more. Besides, I got some questions for you myself."
A quick walk brought sekirei and ashikabi to a familiar park they both had sat in three months prior. Sitting at an empty park bench, Ichigo was grateful and a little surprised to note that this area of the park was still low on traffic. Even with the Sakura trees preparing to bloom in less than a months time, this park was still as empty as it was in that early winter day when he and Uzume first began to know one another. He sighed as Uzume took her seat nest to him, it was something he could ponder later if he felt like it. Right now, it was Q&A time once again.
Uzume had her head lowered before taking an audible breath. With her head still tilted forward she turned to face Ichigo. "You could have been killed Ichigo... Why didn't you let me shield you?," she asked again.
"I can't do that, Uzume." he answered. "I won't let you lay down your life for me." He leaned forward and met Uzume's gaze. "It wouldn't be right."
"It would," she said. "You are my husband... I would have gladly died to keep you safe. Why did you let Karasuba get that close?! Why wouldn't you let me...," she trailed off as the images replayed in her head.
"It wouldn't," Ichigo replied. "I told you when we first met, I'm a protector. It's in my freaking name. So tell me, wife of mine, why is it that my life is worth more than yours?"
"And I told you. I am yours. I will fight for you and to protect you. I love you Ichigo, and would die for you...," she looked away. "She could have killed you... and I couldn't have done a thing about it..."
"First off," Ichigo began as he leaned back on the bench. "She wouldn't have killed me. She was just trying to scare me is all."
"You couldn't have known that," she quipped back.
"It's a feeling I had, let's just leave it at that." His gaze hardened as he turned to lock his eyes with hers, "And you still didn't answer my question, Uzume."
She looked at him for a moment, his stern eyes boring into her own shaken ones. After a moment she finally answered. "I am a sekirei, and you are a human. Your life is worth more than mine. I won't let you die if I can help it, and would happily die in your place."
Ichigo looked at her for a long moment after that response, "Uzume... If I gave you an order, how well would you follow it?"
"To the letter," she immediately replied, confusion entering her eyes.
"Good," he nodded. "Uzume... this is the first order I'm giving to anyone, much less you. So I want you to listen to it very, very, VERY carefully. Because this order... I want you to follow it until the very end." He raised his index finger in-between her eyes, his gaze becoming very hard as he did so. "From this second onward... don't you ever... EVER... think my life or any human's life is worth more than yours. Every single life is of equal value, and just because you're a sekirei and I'm a human it don't mean anything unless you make it mean something, understand me?"
Uzume's eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly as she processed what she was told and looked downward. Though a warm feeling had spread within her what he had just said had been against everything she had been told and adjusted to, so his words felt some resistance as it waged against those teachings. But for her ashikabi...
Her mouth quivered a bit as her mind whirled with several scenarios, many of them involving Karasuba or even the other Disciplinary Squad members, who she knew of based on their reputations. Even so, mulling his words over she could - no, would, follow those words...
"I would still place you ahead of me if it couldn't be helped," she whispered to herself. Turning back to Ichigo, she thought for a moment how to exactly word what she wanted to say. "Ichigo... you have.. you have no idea how... how much those words mean to me. How happy they make me feel. I can do that for you, Ichigo... but..."
"But what?" he asked.
"If you are ever in danger... I can't promise not to save you... and if it means to lay my life for you...," she trailed off.
"Uzume... If you think like that... you'll lose everything you would have been fighting for. Do you understand me?" He took her hand, noting how her small hand was shaking slightly in his grasp. "If I really thought she was gonna kill us, I would have ran. The way I am right now... in such an environment... I'm not stupid enough to think I would have won a fight with that woman."
He tightened his grip on her hand slightly at the thought, his mouth tightening. If he had his power... he was sure that she would have been a minor threat at worst. But still...
"But I know she wasn't looking for a fight, she was looking for intimidation. And I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction. So I stood my ground, and she left. Simple."
Uzume gaze lingered on him for a moment before she sighed, leaning back on the bench. "Simple he says," she grumbled to herself. "So easy he think this is... what kind of a man have I gone and married?"
"And what is that supposed to mean exactly?" Ichigo asked, surprised at himself for how non-nonchalant he seemed to be taking Uzume talking as if they really were married. Just how comfortable was he getting with this girl anyway?
"What it means, is that you're about to get a crash course in what it means to get Karasuba on your case." She gave a small smirk as she continued, "And yes, there will be a test later."
"I'll be sure to take notes," Ichigo replied, smirking himself as he noted the shaking in Uzume's hand had almost stopped now. "So tell me who was that woman?"
Uzume's eyes sharpened as she sat straight up and spoke in an even tone, "Number Zero Four... Karasuba is the leader of the 'third generation' Disciplinary Squad, also known as the "Black Sekirei" and 'MBI's dog.' She's been in the Disciplinary Squad since it's inception, and is easily one of the most dangerous sekirei in the game today."
Ichigo frowned and focused on Uzume as she went into as much detail as possible with what she knew.
=========
She hurt.
For a long moment, that was the only thought Ikki could manage, as she gradually groped her way back towards consciousness; that and the fact that her mouth was full of something. Some kind of liquid, which was odd considering she hadn't drank anything that she could think of recently. And she would remember drinking something so nasty, so coppery...
Copper...y?
Oh, so that's what blood tasted like.
Mechanically she moved her leaden arms to push herself up even before opening her eyes, spitting out the blood from her mouth. She had to have had some internal damage, and wasn't that going to be fun to figure out she thought sarcastically. After coughing a few times to clear her windpipe, she cracked open her eyelids and tried to get her bearings. For a moment, she couldn't recall how she had gotten there . . . but then memory returned, and she let out a groan that had little to do with pain.
Karasuba... The Black Sekirei.
She wanted to laugh at the cruel luck. She had been so focused and determined to find her ashikabi and her sister's ashikabi she never even imagined that they would cross the path of such a monsterously strong sekirei. Now for whatever reason she had decided to attack them and it seemed that the game would be over for her long before she could even hope to find the one just for her. It was so unfair.
It was at this point her vision cleared and she saw a sight that damn near stopped her heart.
There was Karasuba, the monster in black herself. A small, cruel smile, spreading briefly across her lips as she held her opponent. The katana she had before was now sheathed as she held her opponent high above her, helplessly twitching and clawing at the silver-haired demon in a futile struggle for survival. Gasping pathetically for air, Ikki was able to make out one phrase. A small, pleading cry that found it's way into the sekirei's heard and filled her with power she thought long faded.
"Ikki...neechan..." Nanaha let off in a choked whisper.
"Is that all my little bird?" she asked softly, and her smile grew as Nanaha's eyes glared fiercely at her, despite the life leaving them. "Is this all the fight you have inside? I will admit, that spin and block with the blunt end of your spear to stop my blade was most impressive, and the follow up nearly took my head, but all it seemed to do was excite me all the more. That can't be all? Don't tell me this really the best you can do to scratch my itch? Your sister must be terribly disappointed in you, if that was your best."
"Damn... you.. you bitch..."
"Save your breath," Karasuba warned as she squeezed her hand tighter. Nanaha let out a painful gasp at the pressure and her lips drew back from her teeth in a silent snarl of agony. Karasuba's grin grew all the more, "I will give you points for guts, but it is a pity you weren't strong enough to satisfy me."
"Get away from her..."
Karasuba rose an eyebrow slightly as she peered around Nanaha's body to spot Ikki shakily getting up to her feet. "Oh, still awake? How nice, you'll be able to see this little bird's wings plucked live."
Ikki didn't realized that her head was lowered, her breath hissing between her clenched teeth and her heart pounding; only rage and worry pulsed in her mind. Intermixing like red and white blood cells in her bloodstream, filling her body with adrenaline and numbing whatever pain racked her body. "I SAID GET AWAY FROM MY LITTLE SISTER!!" she screamed. Her fear banished from her mind as she saw her little sister near death's door and only one thought filled her head.
'Protect Nanaha-chan!'
That thought brought a surge of incredible strength from some unseen reserve blasted through her body as she charged Karasuba; it surged through her limbs and her aura and drove away the last of the weakness that had affected her as if it had never been. Karasuba tossed Nanaha away and redrew her blade. Their swords clashed, the sound of steel meeting steel reverberating, and Ikki let out a wordless scream as she pressed a flurry of attacks.
'You hurt my sister!'
Ikki's attacks grew all the more relentless, her furry forcing the strained tendons into action to make the dark Disciplinary squad member feel her sisterly rage.
'She tried to kill Nanaha-chan!'
Karasuba continued to grin as she parried and avoided the mindless furry. Now this bird... this one was managing to scratch her itch. Not enough to really satisfy the Disciplinary Squad leader, but enough to keep her entertained for a while. Her opponent's blue eyes filled with merciless rage... her blades screaming with hate... it was almost enough to make her laugh in delight.
'And she has the gall to smile about it!'
Ikki leaped back and put her blades together in an X formation in front of her. 'I don't care if I die,' she thought as a small aura formed in the center of the blades. 'But I won't let Nanaha-chan die on my watch!'
"Well," Karasuba said softly as she took up a defensive stance. "This has been quite an unexpected pleasure."
"Pleasure my ass," Ikki growled. "You're gonna pay for picking on my little sister!!"
"Am I now," Karasuba asked in amusement. "Well here I am, little bird. Punish me."
"Fine by me! TENRYUU NO FUU!!" she cried as pushed the blades towards Karasuba, the aura that formed in-between them rocketing towards her enemy at a breathtaking pace. Ikki grinned in assumed victory.
Until Karasuba effortlessly dodged the attack, the energy blasting forward towards the building behind them. Where it managed to cleanly slice brick and mortar before it dissipated halfway through the building. The black baroness of the MBI lifted a hand to her cheek, feeling a small nick on her flesh. "Interesting... a wind based attack I assume?"
"I missed," Ikki gasped as she felt the adrenaline fade. "Dammit I missed!"
"I suppose it's my turn then," Karasuba mused. "Try to stay awake for more than a few moments, hmm?"
Ikki clenched her jaw, and crouched, readying herself. She had only an instant to take in her opponent's small, cold smile before a fist pounded into her head so hard that she literally saw stars. She felt herself fall and slam into the roof so hard she bounced. 'So fast..!' she thought in shock. 'How is she..?'
Her thoughts paused as Karasuba lifted her up by her mane of black hair. "Now then," she whispered as she sheathed her sword. Ikki found herself shuddering slightly as she felt the sick delight in her voice, "I'm going to be testing your reflexes for a bit. Scream and I'll kill your sister if she's not dead already, ok?"
She didn't give Ikki a chance to respond as she curled one hand casually into a fist. And slammed it into the sekirei's back. The woman's eyes flew open in shock, her body arching forward; and Karasuba nodded approvingly. "Not bad... not bad at all, little bird. But...," Karasuba narrowed her eyes clinically at Ikki's unguarded back. "I think I could do better, don't you?"
Lifting her body a little higher she hit her again, targeting her blow carefully. Ikki gasped in pain determined not to scream, lest she tempt her opponent to live up to her warnings. Karasuba chuckled softly and hit her again. It was clear that Ikki no longer had the strength to fight back; indeed, it might only be the pain, perversely, that kept her conscious.
Still, as Ikki coughed after one vicious blow, trickles of blood running from the corners of her mouth; it was probably time to end this. "Well little bird, I suppose I should be going now." She switched her grip to make sure Ikki was facing her, and licked a splotch of blood from her cheek. "Thank you for keeping me company for a spell.... and farewell."
And as she finished, she once again casually tossed Ikki aside like a pile of trash.
Right over the edge of the building.
Grinning, she turned back to see the other little bird struggling into a crouching position, moving ever so slowly towards her dropped weapon.
"Oh? Still around?" she called back, a thrill racing up her spine as she saw the hurt sekirei's outstretched had stop in fright.
=========
'Typical, absolutely typical.' Reflected Ichigo as he and Uzume made their way out of the park. He glanced up at the darkening skies, his mind going over the things Uzume had said about the 'Mad Dog of MBI,' Karasuba. 'Would have been nice if this had come up sooner,' he thought irritably. He scowled, unawares and uncaring of the way he looked as the people around him and his sekirei gave a slightly wider berth at his look. 'Everything about this damn thing always seems to get more complicated the more I learn about it."
Why couldn't things be simple? Ichigo liked simple more than anything else. Hollows hunt and eat strong human souls? Find and cut down Hollows before they can do that. Rukia was kidnapped by Soul Society? Go save her and kick everyone's ass who gets in the way. Aizen kidnapped Orihime and wanted to be god? Save Inoue and kick the crazy butterfly guy's ass.
Good, clean, and oh so simple.
Two years later, here he was with a girl who was living proof that extraterrestrial life existed. And all it caused him to do was get them involved in some crazy billionaire's plot to make some sort of life or death game with these people. Not to mention now one of the strongest of these Sekirei was sent out to try and keep them in line, to say nothing about the lingering question of how long was this going to go on and if he could find any allies or enemies lurking in the mist.
Decidedly un-simple.
'Ugh, I'm getting a headache," Ichigo thought irritably as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. 'At this rate not even dinner is gonna-,' he thought as he felt Uzume slow down and pull on his hand. Slowing himself he turned to see what caused Uzume to slow and now stop. "Uzume"?
"Look over there Ichigo," Uzume answered and pointed to her left. A crowd of people were gathered around a small cluster of buildings about a block from where they were standing, eyes looking upward towards something that held them at rapt attention. "What's going on over there?"
Ichigo turned to where his sekirei pointed, and shrugged indifferently. "Beats me." He tugged on Uzume's hand to get her to come along again and both were once more on the move, and before long he realized that they'd have to go past the crowd to get to where they were going and his scowl deepened. "Great," he grumbled irritably. "We have to wade through the rubberneckers."
And with that, a large gasp echoed throughout the crowd as many began pointing upwards. Finally giving in to curiosity Ichigo stopped himself to look upwards. And his mouth fell open slightly as he saw a body being thrown off the edge of one building, the prone figure disappearing out of sight, blocked by the angle of the building she was to land upon but the sound of it loud enough that it reverberated loud enough for all to hear.
"What the hell was that?!"
Looking up to where the body had fallen he blinked as he saw a brief flash, almost like a mirror catching the light and reflecting it, or something metal...
And then he saw what he thought was hair whipping in the air before disappearing out of his line of sight.
"Karasuba...," Uzume whispered.
Ichigo's head whipped to Uzume, "What did you say?"
"It's Karasuba," she whispered to him, still looking upwards but her eyes wide with the knowledge of who she had just seen.
"The hell is she doing?" he whispered back. He looked around briefly, making sure the crowd attention was on the skyline before he turned back to Uzume. "Isn't she supposed to be all secretive with the MBI stuff?"
"Karasuba doesn't care about a lot of things," she told him back.
"Clearly." Ichigo whispered as his scowl deepened. "But who is she attacking?"
"Sekirei..." Uzume guessed.
"Sekirei? Why? Did they break the rules or something?"
Uzume looked downward, a bit of a pained expression on her face. "Likely not," she said, knowing all the stories she had heard and in a few cases had seen early on. "She doesn't need much prodding if she's in a mood."
"Mood?" Ichigo growled. An image of Karasuba's smile and almost twitching figure as she turned away and briskly walked off from earlier came to mind. "You mean..."
Uzume kept her silence as she raised her head upward again. Ichigo's lips thinned at Uzume's unspoken answer. "Uzume... let's go."
She turned her head to him. "What? Where?"
He turned to her and simply pointed to the rooftop with his free hand.
Her eyes widened. "You're not serious!?"
He nodded, "Fighting dirty sekirei or ashikabi is one thing... but if she's beating on innocent sekirei..." He grit his teeth. "I've got to stop this."
"How?," she asked flabbergasted.
"We'll figure it out when we get there," he replied. "Now let's go!"
For a brief moment Uzume stared at him before taking a breath and steeling herself. Moving a bit closer to Ichigo, she put an arm around his waist and he an arm over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath and giving a brief prayer, she launched upwards, ignoring the new gasps of disbelief below her.
=========
Uzume and Ichigo landed on top of the smallest of the surrounding buildings in a crouch. The crowd gasped at the unusual sight, already shocked at what they had witnessed and gobsmacked anew at this new addition. Uzume had Ichigo to her right, her right arm tight around his waist and his left arm snaked over her back and over her left shoulder. In their hands they still carried the bags and luggage they had brought.
Rising from their crouch, both she and Ichigo let their belongings hit the floor as they began to race where what was hopefully still a live body had landed. As they raced, Ichigo subconsciously rubbed his wrists as the sudden lift had pulled on the luggage that had been in both hands. For Uzume the weight had been nothing, easily lifting the combined weight of herself, her ashikabi and luggage as she triangle hopped up the sides of the building.
Both however found their hearts racing. Uzume due to not only what she, Ichigo and the small crowd had witnessed but Ichigo's stubbornness in wanting to interfere in this. She had seen the worry and what looked to be a brief moment of self-loathing in his eyes as he demanded to be taken up.
For Ichigo it was not just the matter of the state of the two that were fighting that Karasuba, but the feeling that this was his fault in some way. The look and smile in her eyes as she had turned away from them and the way she almost trembled with an energy that had been struggling to be let loose was something that he had witnessed and felt in the past.
And now two innocents would be paying for that release.
From below, Uzume had said that these two were most likely Sekireis that were fighting, and being tougher than a normal human, had some better chance at surviving something as brutal as this. However they had been facing Karasuba, the Black Sekirei that Uzume had described as being merciless and terrifying. That she had said that it would likely already be over for the two Sekirei had got his hackles up.
Dammit.
It was easy to see where the body had landed. The roof had cratered near the opposite end, sinking a bit but not giving as the surrounding area had spiderweb cracks that testified to the impact.
Finally reaching the body after Ichigo got a good look at who had fallen and his eyes narrowed and grit his teeth harder. A young girl it seemed. Her arms were spread out and she had one leg that looked like it had been trying to get her up, being raised and bent back down, the sole of her heeled shoe sitting on the ground. She had short dark hair, some of it matted to her forehead in sweat, but even in the dark he could make out a few bruises. Her clothes, or uniform, if what was left of it if it could be called that was torn in several places, some of it looking like it had been blown off and others where there were obvious cuts. Blood had fallen or streaked from a few places. It was then her head turned a bit, her closed eyes had tightened and her mouth opened to let loose a whimper before trying to breath, her breath stuttering as she tried to suck in air. "Na.... Nana...ha...," she barely whispered out.
*Dammit!*
Above them on the next roof two eyes had taken leave of her prey as they noted two more insects below had appeared and widened as she saw who it was.
Said prey was currently being held off the ground by her attackers left hand by her neck. Short, dry gasps for breath permeated the rooftop, though the normal noise of traffic below could still be just barely heard. Nanaha's eyes were barely open, and did little to convey the pain other than the trail of tears that had run down her face. Numerous bruises and what felt like a few broken bones continued to sting her in her forced position. Cracking her eyes open as best she could, Karasuba's visage blurred in and out of focus, unable to do a thing besides feel as her throat was slowly crushed in the vise of the Black Sekirei's grip.
Her tears flowed more as she spotted the raised arm and shining blade in her other hand that had been poised to strike yet had not.
As her eyes focused, she noticed that Karasuba was no longer paying attention to her, looking away and downward. Despite this, she had no power to take advantage of the situation.
Below as Ichigo had knelled to the girl, trying to think of what to do first he felt the hairs on the back of his head stand. Turning and looking up he sucked in a breath. Seeing her ashikabi's attention Uzume turned up as well and gasped. Ichigo rose and turned to face the building that Karasuba was on, his head raised as he kept his eyes on her.
Above Karasuba continued to look down at the strange yet interesting ashikabi. She snorted as she saw his face, lips pulled back in a snarl and his brows furrowed, eyes that she could just make out challenging her. In that second she knew that had he been up there with her he would have charged her. Stupid and suicidal, yes, but his eyes still held no fear as he all but attempted to burn her with his gaze. She then closed her eyes as the rush and excitement that had been feeling then left her.
Letting her left hand open, she turned to face the boy properly and ignored the sound of the body that hit the ground. Flicking her and and wrist she whipped her blade to the side, the blood that had been gathered on it being flecked away to spot the ground. Her left hand reached for her scabbard and turned it to face the blade as she re-sheathed it silently without hurry. Smiling at the interesting ashikabi she turned and hopped away.
"Uzume," Ichigo said through gritted teeth as he continued to face upward. "Go up there and check the other one," he said and she blinked.
"But-"
"She's gone," he said with certainty. The Black Sekirei seemed to be the type who didn't carry out sneak attacks. Given her attitude and what he had seen, she struck him as the type that felt assured by their strength and likely felt that gave her control of any situation that could arise. If she had wanted a fight she'd have come down and brought it to them. "You'll be fine," he said before turning his head to her and blinked. She stared back at him with wide eyes, her face a bit flush as he could feel the worry she conveyed.
"You'll be fine, but the other one might not be and we're wasting time here," he said and turned to the fallen girl behind them. "We've gotta get them to a hospital."
Uzume nodded as she then took a few steps to him and before he could do anything she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. The light of her wings illuminated the area briefly before they disappeared. "Just in case," she told Ichigo before he could ask and suddenly took off, bounding up the side of the buildings as she triangle hopped off the walls in her climb. Quickly turning he went back to kneel beside the fallen Sekirei who continued to moan and whimper.
"Na....Nanaha...chan," she whimpered again, doing her best to push herself up with her elbows before feeling something press on her shoulders and gasped. "D...damn you...!"
"Shhh, it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," she heard a voice say. A male voice. Wait... Did they? Wasn't Karasuba just...? "That other one's gone, its going to be ok," she heard that voice say again.
'Ok,' he said. 'How'? The Black Sekirei didn't -.' Her thought processes went on hold as she again felt herself slowly being pushed back and allowed herself to again lay in what she thought would be the place where everything would end. Before she and Nanaha could find their ashikabi. She bit back a cry as feeling herself settle back on the ground sent flashes of pain throughout her bruised and cut body. Feeling a few tears fall she opened her eyes, and saw an orangish blob hover in front of her. "Just stay still," it said and she tried to focus past the pain and finally after squeezing her eyes shut she opened them and her vision cleared.
Her mouth opened but no words came as her breath got caught in the sight of two intense brown eyes bore down on her.
"Can you understand me?" the orange haired man asked of her and she wordlessly nodded as best she could.
"Good. Just stay still. We're going to try to get your friend before we try to get you some help," he said. 'Friend?'
"N...N...Nanaha...chan," she bit out, trying not to moan as pain shot through her and she teared up again.
Ichigo grimaced as the girl whimpered out what he concluded to be the name of the other Sekirei. That she was a Sekirei was easy to spot, noticing the remains of the logo that was imprinted on the girls shirt, which looked to be some kind of tailored china dress top. The logo was the same as the one that remained on Uzume's back when he had winged her all those months ago.
Before he could say anything else he heard a light thump and turned to find Uzume rise from a crouch with a body in her arms. Ichigo rose up as Uzume approached him and gave the girl a quick look-over before quickly turning away. The girl had been bruised and cut, but unlike the other girl that laid before him the one in Uzume's arms had had her top shredded, exposing herself and her wounds for one an all to see. "Uzume," he said as he quickly looked up and forced the image away. "How is she?"
"Its pretty bad Ichigo," she replied solemnly, the worry in her voice easy to hear.
"Okay," he said in acknowledgement and bent close to the sekirei that laid on the floor. "Hey," he said as gently as he could, the adrenaline still coursing through him making him a tight ball of energy that wanted to be cut loose making it come out more as a grunt. "We have your friend, so we're gonna get you two the hospital now," he continued as he moved into position to pick her up.
"Ichigo?" Uzume questioned.
He turned to Uzume, displaying a frown deeper than usual on his face. "What?"
"You can't carry her like that, its too much for-"
"The hell it is!" he cut her off. "I'll be fine, she needs help. They both need it quickly!" he got out as he maneuvered one arm around the fallen girls neck and moved his other arm to her legs so he could lift her.
Ikki sucked in a breath as she felt an arm slide under her neck and she concentrated as best she cold on what the two were talking about. Her spirits rose as from what she gathered through the pain Nanaha was still alive. They'd be taken to a hospital...hospital? Wait... MBI controls nearly all the hospitals here. If they went.... MBI would know... and then Karasuba would....Karasuba would...
"No..." she croaked out, halting Ichigo and Uzume's argument. "no..." she croaked out again. "no hospital..."
"You have to go," Ichigo bit back, halting in his efforts to lift her briefly as the girl began to squirm, breaking the brief hold before he could lift her. "Your injuries-"
"At least... at least not... not an MBI hospital... please!" she pleaded. "The Black Sekirei... Karasuba... she'll finish us!"
"Calm down," Ichigo said, trying to get through the distraught girl. "All you're doing is making it worse. And the hospital won't-"
"She'll finish us!" Ikki insisted as she slumped to her knees. "Anywhere but there... I can't... we can't... go there..."
Ichigo shook his head, whatever Karasuba did scared the girl completely. Again he got in position to get his arms under her to lift her up. "Its a hospital, you'll be safe," he said.
"Ichigo," Uzume said.
"What?" he replied a bit tight.
Uzume closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly, "That's....not entirely accurate."
He turned and gaped at her. "What are you saying?"
"The closest hospital is MBI owned. If Karasuba were so inclined to, she would kill them and the hospital wouldn't do a thing to stop her."
"You're can't be serious," Ichigo replied shocked. "No hospital would-"
"If they were human," Uzume said, her voice falling. "If they were human," she repeated, "they may have been safe. But...." she rose her head and gave Ichigo a sad smile. "But we're Sekirei."
Ichigo looked at her in confusion, his mouth slightly open. 'Why should that matter...?'
"We're not people," Uzume supplied sadly, knowing what Ichigo was thinking. "Not as far as they're concerned anyway."
Ichigo's eyes lowered, fists clenched as he trembled at what she told him. "I thought I told you," he said through clenched teeth as he turned to face her again. "to never... EVER say that again," he declared with finality.
Uzume's eyes widened at the intensity his eyes had as he said that and felt her heart begin to pound despite the situation. "You did didn't you?" she asked him, and pushed down as best she could the warm feelings that had begun to well up. Now was not the time. "But we need to make a decision now Ichigo. From here the closest non-MBI hospital is Hiyamakai but we may not have the time."
Ichigo's frown tightened, "Then what do you suggest?"
Uzume did some quick calculations before making a decision and looked back to Ichigo. "We can take them to Izumo," Uzume said softly.
"That's not a hospital," Ichigo immediately replied a bit angered.
"Of course not, but Miya can dress their wounds. This one here," she referred to the one in her arms, "has numerous cuts and bruises but it's not something that Miya can't handle. And from what I can tell her friend is in slightly better shape."
Ichigo continued to look at her, still not quite believing what he had been told.
"Ichigo. Trust me," she asked.
"But they're Sekirei, right?" Ichigo reminded her. "We can't just-"
"Miya's husband..." Uzume cut him off, biting her lip as she didn't really want to voice this, however time was short. "Miya's husband was once with MBI. It's not my place to say anymore other than she's not entirely uninformed about us."
"But then-"
"Ichigo, please understand... It's not... it's not my place to say. And these two are running out of time. Please. Trust me."
Ichigo blew out a breath and turned to again attempt to pick up the other Sekirei. "Then lets get going."
"Ichigo," she said and he turned back around. "We're six stories up and while Izumo is close you won't make it." She then continued before he could protest. "I can make it there and back before you would, but..."
"But?" he asked, feeling the burn of truth to her words as he thought of it. The flight of stairs, not to mention the locked doors, or the police when he broke through.
Damn it.
She frowned at the thought, "You'd have to stay here unguarded. And if Karasuba comes back..."
"I'll be fine. We'll be fine," he amended through gritted teeth, hating his powerlessness. "Which one's worse off then?" He saw Uzume nod toward the one in her arms. "Then get your butt in gear!"
Nodding she briskly made her way to him. "To keep me going," she then said before she puckered up.
Blinking Ichigo realized what she meant before bending down to kiss her again. He had no issue with this, especially if it would help in this situation. He pulled away and she smiled but he then frowned. "Uzume, your wings...," he said in concern as nothing happened.
She grinned. "You can say I'm still charged. You just reset the timer," she winked at him before becoming serious again. "Be careful," she said before turning away and jumping from her position off the building and into the night.
He then turned back to the fallen Sekirei and knelt beside her and pressed his lips together. She moaned as she opened her eyes at him again before taking another shuddering breath. His eyes narrowed as in the near silence as he wondered what he could do in the meantime to help her, noticing the small pool of blood.
'Damn it all to hell,' he thought again, cursing himself.
=========
And thus Ichigo gets two more members for his harem. I'm surprised he didn't pick her up and carry her, though, while Uzume got underway with the more badly injured one. Even if he's six stories up there's probably a fire escape somewhere.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if this incident led to Ichigo attempting to regain his power. After all, if he had had the power to fight Karasuba, they wouldn't have gotten hurt; he would have been able to protect them. If anyone mentions how Sekirei get their power from the heart and their connection to their Ashakibi, though, and that the power of an Ashakibi increases as they wing more Sekirei, I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to try meditating to get in touch with his Ashakibi power, and thus meet back up with another incarnation of Zangetsu.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if this incident led to Ichigo attempting to regain his power. After all, if he had had the power to fight Karasuba, they wouldn't have gotten hurt; he would have been able to protect them. If anyone mentions how Sekirei get their power from the heart and their connection to their Ashakibi, though, and that the power of an Ashakibi increases as they wing more Sekirei, I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to try meditating to get in touch with his Ashakibi power, and thus meet back up with another incarnation of Zangetsu.
Eh, I'm thinking of somethin' similar, except that even if Ichigo can make contact with Zangetsu and/or Hichigo and regains access to shinigami/hollow abilities, any usage of such would be extremely limited by both operational duration, as well as a forced/mandatory period of non-use, unless Ichigo's willing to risk his physical body's death at a very early age.
Well, that's my own approach on how not to make Ichigo a complete story suspense-breaker, anyways. He'd have to pick and choose the fights in which to get involved in directly, as opposed to the rest, where he must place trust/faith in the abilities of his Sekirei, which will be a proverbial <s>tough</s> bitter pill for Ichigo to swallow, really, even over time.
I don't really see anything Fullbring-related making an appearance here, at all.
Well, that's my own approach on how not to make Ichigo a complete story suspense-breaker, anyways. He'd have to pick and choose the fights in which to get involved in directly, as opposed to the rest, where he must place trust/faith in the abilities of his Sekirei, which will be a proverbial <s>tough</s> bitter pill for Ichigo to swallow, really, even over time.
I don't really see anything Fullbring-related making an appearance here, at all.
Getting a blade into the Teito ward ain't simple, but hardly impossible. Finding out, and paying off the right people to smuggle the weapon(s) in will be the biggest issue (unless Urahara has contacts in the Living World's black markets).
As for training? Oh, how very convenient that the landlady appears to be a rather skilled practitioner of kendo (from Ichigo's perspective, as he'll find out sooner or later). Whether Miya will interpret his desire to 'grow stronger to protect others' seriously, OTOH, is another issue altogether.
As for training? Oh, how very convenient that the landlady appears to be a rather skilled practitioner of kendo (from Ichigo's perspective, as he'll find out sooner or later). Whether Miya will interpret his desire to 'grow stronger to protect others' seriously, OTOH, is another issue altogether.
I think Ichigo would probably have to learn to trust them. After all, as Zangetsu said, "When two who do not trust each other fight together, they can only harm each other's power." This is, of course, more easily said than done; something similar to this is probably why the Inner Hollow caused his powers to fluctuate so badly, because he didn't accept the parts of himself that the Hollow represented.
Well, unless MBI has outright bought out every last politician of influence (a disturbingly possible scenario, actually) in the Japanese Diet, and got them to overturn the various weaponry possession/control laws (not just firearms, but bladed weaponry as well), MBI selling lethal weaponry to civilians without an appropriate license would cause one hell of a political shitstorm.
EDIT: ...or, yes, there's nick's suggestion. Apparently my sense of lateral thinking is highly impaired at the moment.
Still wondering WTF happened to all the various politicos, local and/or international, who would cause a loud ruckus over MBI's sheer heavy-handedness in Tokyo over the Sekirei tournament in the first place... this remains one hell of a pet peeve of mine over the Sekirei manga/anime to this very day.
EDIT: ...or, yes, there's nick's suggestion. Apparently my sense of lateral thinking is highly impaired at the moment.
Still wondering WTF happened to all the various politicos, local and/or international, who would cause a loud ruckus over MBI's sheer heavy-handedness in Tokyo over the Sekirei tournament in the first place... this remains one hell of a pet peeve of mine over the Sekirei manga/anime to this very day.
Personally, I still think it's too early for Ichigo to get his powers back. Yea he wants to help, but he hasn't reached his desperation point yet. He may feel something for Uzume, and it is in his nature to help people, but I don't think he's gotten to the point where he's willing to ask someone else to help him regain his abilities.
Hell, he mayu have already convinced himself that there's no chance of him regaining his abilities any time soon. Hence, it'll take something more before he drops down in front of Urahara and asks for his help. Just something to allow him to protect the people he cares about.
Until then, he'll just make do with things how he usually does, with stuff he has access to.
Hell, he mayu have already convinced himself that there's no chance of him regaining his abilities any time soon. Hence, it'll take something more before he drops down in front of Urahara and asks for his help. Just something to allow him to protect the people he cares about.
Until then, he'll just make do with things how he usually does, with stuff he has access to.
True but what if he accidentally discovered his fullbring. Here me out lets say after not being able to help the girls he accidentally grabs his badge which brings out the memories of him being a Shinigami. Along the way a remembers moments where that he take great pride in doing. This accidentally activates the first stage of his fullbring.
I agree that his Shinigami powers would be to great of an advantage. but even fully developed his fullbring couldn't compare to his old powers. I mean when he first got his powers back they confused his practice swing getsuga.
I agree that his Shinigami powers would be to great of an advantage. but even fully developed his fullbring couldn't compare to his old powers. I mean when he first got his powers back they confused his practice swing getsuga.
He may not regain Shinigami powers back just yet, but, say, gaining ability to see spiritual power, for example, wouldn't change much, besides showing that powers are returning.
Or, as said above, activating Fullbring by accident. It's first form was mostly useless, and Ichigo won't figure out how to use spirits of world for some time, but that's just a beginning.
Or, as said above, activating Fullbring by accident. It's first form was mostly useless, and Ichigo won't figure out how to use spirits of world for some time, but that's just a beginning.
dr.michael92 said:
You're right. I've just forgotten what the different stages of full bring are. And tbh, I have yet to go through sekirei yet headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
the DragonBard said:
dr.michael92 said:
You're right. I've just forgotten what the different stages of full bring are. And tbh, I have yet to go through sekirei yet headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
the DragonBard said:
dr.michael92 said:
You're right. I've just forgotten what the different stages of full bring are. And tbh, I have yet to go through sekirei yet headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
headbanger: I know, I know, I should have but no time), so I haven't got a grasp of the power scales yet.
Battleship? Please. That ship was closer to a destroyer or frigate, or maybe a light cruiser at the very most.
And there's one HELL of a difference in the armor strength/density between an actual battleship and the aforementioned ship classes.
[/Pedantic]
Still one hell of a physical feat, but <s>nowhere near</s> not quite as awe-inspiring as much of the Sekirei fandom seems to consider it.
Miya is the alpha and the omega in Sekirei. She's far beyond every other Sekirei there is, including Karasuba. The only reason she has not ended the whole game is because she chooses not to. The fact that even a lunatic like Minaka won't mess with her proves how scary she really is. The man thinks his whole plan is the will of the gods and he still will not cross Miya directly. When you can scare a fanatic into acting sensibly, you're damned scary.
So yeah, training with her could significantly impact Ichigo. However, the big issue isn't power with Ichigo, it's willpower. You have to make him want to regain what he lost more than anything because he needs it. Look at his past. Every time he jumped in power it was because he was backed into a corner and had to fight out of it to save someone he cared for. The problem up to this point is his nakama could take care of themselves so he lacked that driving need to protect. Give him that back and watch the sparks fly.
So yeah, training with her could significantly impact Ichigo. However, the big issue isn't power with Ichigo, it's willpower. You have to make him want to regain what he lost more than anything because he needs it. Look at his past. Every time he jumped in power it was because he was backed into a corner and had to fight out of it to save someone he cared for. The problem up to this point is his nakama could take care of themselves so he lacked that driving need to protect. Give him that back and watch the sparks fly.