Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Hell Butterfly ❯ Tenebra Shirojos ( Chapter 8 )

 

Hell Butterfly

 

Tenebra Shirojos

~08~

 

o)0(o

 

 

"What the hell is this?" asked Ichigo, walking slowly into the centre of the amphitheatre. High above him white clouds were skidding beneath the surface of a bright blue sky. The vivid colours were almost blinding after the countless hours of monotone darkness. His hand stretched back, anchoring itself to Zangetsu in the face of a thousand enemies. They surrounded him, reclining on the white sandstone steps of the arena, relaxed in their home environment. Some were whispering to each other. They chattered behind their hands as they watched him gawp.

 

Ichigo was tall, young, and had hair that would put a freshly peeled carrot to shame. He was in the somewhat early-to-arrive prime of his life; or afterlife, considering that he was in soul a vaizard already. He had shot from terrifying rookie to intimidating elite in the space of a few months.

 

But when the opponent was Aizen, and the battleground was his fortress, the shinigami substitute no longer found that impressive at all.

 

His reputation in battle could not possibly be the reason for this shower of attention. Realising that his friends had been separated from him during the mad dash away from a hundred-odd Exequias, the fifteen-year-old Kurosaki came under the distinct impression that he had been singled out.

 

Singled out for a particularly nasty death.

 

Ichigo spotted his waylaid friends among the crowd. Renji was being held by Grimmjaw, though the glare on the arrancar's face made it clear the blue-haired brawler would rather be fighting Ichigo right then. Chad was restrained by a dark-skinned man with white thorns tracking the centre line of his bald head. Ishida had an Espada's arm round his neck; the flamboyantly pink-haired Hollow seemed to wear purple opera glasses in place of a mask. Every one of them had a proto-Cero burning in their hands, ready to rip straight through the spines of his comrades at the slightest struggle. About to race to their defence, Ichigo realised a lull had fallen over the stadium and swivelled back to find out why.

 

His host had arrived. Flanked by Tousen and Gin, alongside a selection of elite Espada, Aizen strode into the arena with his usual air of calm control. How he enforced it was another matter. There - there behind Ulquiorra and in front of some imposing blonde woman - was Inoue.

 

He felt a simultaneous rush of relief that she was alive, and horror at the opponents he would have to go through to reach her. Perhaps he had signed up for this but still...all at once? That was...not healthy.

 

Her ginger hair was how he recognised her in the strange white dress, because her face was no longer that of Inoue Orihime, scatterbrain extraordinaire. Her face was a black and blue mess. From the way she hunched and flinched with every step, he guessed the rest of her was the same. His stomach twisted a little. He couldn't imagine her doing anything to deserve such brutal punishment, which meant mindless violence was the source of the injuries. Right hand tightening on Zangetsu's bandaged hilt, the other drifted up to shadow his eyes. Or so it seemed.

 

From nought to bankai vaizard to halfway out the door with all friends in tow in half a second, the fifteen-year-old had elected flight over fight for the first time since karate lessons against Tatsuki when he was seven. Forget fighting an entire army of hyper-powered zombies single-handed, Ichigo just wanted to survive the next ten seconds.

 

Sadly ten seconds is more than enough time for sonido to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

It was as though nothing had happened. Chad, Renji and Ishida were back under the watchful eyes of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Espadas, whilst Inoue had been retrieved by Ichimaru-taicho.

 

Ichigo glared hotly, dropping the shards of his mask on the stone floor. So they would have to fight it out. Well, he'd done it before; and he was just going to have to do it again. But for god's sake, he came away in more pieces every time. One of these days the cost was going to get too high.

 

But as he watched his friends struggle so far away from freedom, he knew that day had not come yet.

 

Gin had returned to Aizen's side, studying the enemy reaper in a relaxed fashion through nearly-closed eyes. He smiled pleasantly; chin resting on Inoue's hair and arms hanging loosely over her shoulders. She seemed alarmed by the familiarity of the dangerous man behind her.

 

"Whatcha doin' takin' my Ran-chan replacement away, Ichigo-kun?"

 

Hearing this, Aizen gave them a sideways glance, noting that Inoue did indeed resemble Matsumoto-fukutaicho. "Regrets, Gin?" he asked quietly, also smiling.

 

"Naw, just nostalgia..." The pale head tilted up in Kurosaki's direction. "You gotta stick around, Ichigo, or the fun part won' happen."

 

As Tousen muttered that the roundabout manner of killing him was unnecessary, said teenager began to scan the arena for danger. Ha. It would be quicker to look for where danger wasn't. Whatever the traitors of Soul Society and leaders of Hollows considered fun could only spell agony for him. Though, to be fair, he too had consorted with arrancars for his own ends. The only difference, he supposed as he examined the endless ranks of white-clothed human shaped monsters, was whether the arrancar was Grimmjaw or Nel.

 

Who, come to think of it, seemed to be standing between Aizen and a gormless-looking blond kid. He blinked. Straight after killing Nnoitra, she'd run straight back to her master's side? It made some kind of sense...after all, she would never have been accepted back in Soul Society with him, nor could he have brought himself to 'purify' her soul... but still the image was a little disturbing. Nel beside Aizen. What if she puked on him or challenged him to Eternal Tag? Her child persona wouldn't last five seconds in Las Noches.

 

"At least you had the sense not to challenge me head-on," said Aizen suddenly, jogging Ichigo back to full attention after the revelation that Neliel Tu Oderschvank had abandoned him. His eyes were condescending, and as his opponent had never seen him play the personable captain, that came as no surprise. "Your caution is promising, though I see you are now considering taking on all of us at once."

 

Ichigo was almost surprised, but then again there were few other options for getting out of there. Aizen's apparent precognizance was probably nothing more than a gimmick to scare his enemies.

 

The guy hardly needed the gimmick for that. He was doing fine with just the horde of arrancars.

 

“Fear not, ryoka boy. I only have one opponent for you. I picked her personally. After all, your little gang has taken out several of my pawns, a tower and a bishop.” He referred to Iceringer and Demoura, Cirucci, Gantenbainne and Dordonii, Aaronieres and Nnoitra. Patting Nel's skull-mask with a slight smile, he continued his chess analogy. “And although my knight has been returned to me, I believe it's time to send out the queen. Please do not take this as a compliment, though.” The smiled tightened into something cruel and empty. “You may have incredible potential, but it is still just that - wasted potential. Your death now is in the name of entertainment only.”

 

Ichigo gulped in slight horror and wished they would get on with it. Fighting was fine; it was the suspense he hated. The longer he spent imagining a bad end, the less resolve he would have for Zangetsu to draw strength from.

 

Gin pretended to search the room for something, not finding it. “Shame. Rukia-chan must've popped her clogs.” He sounded chirpy, just like the day when he had reminded Rukia how to feel terror on Penitence Bridge.

 

And now Ichigo felt the blessed release from fear, and the welcome rush of livid rage. It flooded him.

 

"Bring it on then," snarled the reaper, pointing Zangetsu at his enemies as though he were the one calling all the shots. "I'll kill anyone you think you can spare."

 

"I'm not expecting to lose. It would be traditional to make you a wager, such as 'kill so and so and I'll let you all go'. But honestly, you have no chance. So I merely ask you to give us a show." With a nod to his Quatro Espada, Aizen signalled that Ichigo's newest nemesis should step out from the crowd.

 

The arrancar moved forwards and sideways, another chess move as the queen was revealed. The boy stared from one to the other.

 

They both had pale skin, though Ulquiorra's was ashen whereas this new Hollow's was blinding paper-white. They both had jaw-length black hair, and morose eyes. Neither smiled. The only differences were height, gender, age, and the fact that Schiffer's smaragdine irises and tears were nowhere to be seen. There was no emerald to make up for the lack of colour elsewhere with this arrancar. She was completely monotone.

 

"Who's this," scoffed Ichigo; "Ulquiorra's little sister?"

 

The Espada paused. "Not mine," he answered quietly, as Inoue jerked against Gin's suddenly choking grip. "This is Tenebra Shirojos."

 

Several of the Hollows were grinning widely now, leaning forwards in anticipation. It made their target feel claustrophobic with so many enemies to keep track of. But the new member of their ranks remained passive, lifeless.

 

Ichigo made an uncertain movement, and tossed a slow Getsuga Tensho from the tip of Zangetsu. The spaced-out child-Hollow frowned slightly and flickered away. Behind her, Ulquiorra dispelled the blast with a cero of equal mass.

 

Growling, Ichigo decided to get this over with. There was no point in waiting for her to show off her skills, and there was no point in being merciful when every defeated Hollow would have a replacement in millisecond. His reiatsu began to gather and swirl, trapping him in a twister of blue energy. Fighting a child was despicable, but in Hueco Mundo there was nothing to say she wasn't a thousand years old already.

 

The empty girl blinked, sensing his intent, and stretched out a hand like a blind man groping for support. A shadow whistled past his ear and exploded several metres behind him.

 

What was that? Was that bala? Or a cero, or some unique power? Growing a little more serious, the shinigami substitute kicked off into shunpo, circling her in an instant and firing off a quick succession of blazing blue arcs. They converged in the centre, right on target with a resounding sonic boom. When the air cleared no remains were visible. But the Kurosaki had been in this game long enough to know people were never that lucky. He turned on the spot, searching her out.

 

At the far end of the stadium, Tenebra Shirojos rubbed her arms uncomfortably, still deciding whether to fight or not. The choice was barely conscious. Rather her instincts sought out danger, and if there was sufficient she would destroy it by reflex.

 

"Do you even speak?!" taunted Ichigo. "Have you got a brain, or is that Hollow too?!"

 

The arrancar turned, the face became visible, and Ichigo was reminded of the hole bored straight through the centre of the girl's forehead, and out the back of her skull. He laughed briefly. Perhaps that had been in poor taste. But then he was barely paying attention, completely distracted by the knowledge that he would never be allowed to walk out of here. He was more interested in scouting for another opportunity to steal his friends back and run.

 

He was certain he could do it. He'd moved fast enough to parry a million cherry blossom blades before now.

 

It just didn't help that Zangetsu's bankai only awarded him that level of speed...if the direction was towards battle. The stoic man despised retreat, no matter how insane the opposing force was.

 

"...One..." croaked the girl. It was the croak of a person who had just crawled out of a waterless desert.

 

"We couldn' really teach 'er ta talk..." mentioned Gin cheerfully, still gagging Orihime with the crook of his elbow. "She's pretty recent, ya know, it might get better in time."

 

"One two..." whispered the child mournfully, though her eyes were detached and her expression blank. Shirojos did not seem to realise she was speaking. "...One-two...?"

 

"The next word's 'three'," hollered Grimmjaw, punching Renji to illustrate the point. "One, two, three, ya geddit!"

 

Hallibel smirked behind her collar. "She only needs to know 'zero'," said the woman in a low voice. "Her name is all she needs to respond to."

 

Yammy overheard her and grunted, expression ugly. "Espada Zero ain't no way her name. The Cero Espada position is taken, for fuck's sake."

 

"Get over it," replied Stark genially, putting an end to the matter.

 

"One-two...three..." said the arrancar slowly, sprinting towards Ichigo with an echo-step and drawing a short dagger-like zanpakuto. He blocked just in time, surprised to feel little force behind the blow. The girl darted away again.

 

Out of patience, Ichigo planted his feet on the floor and shoved his reiatsu into his black sword. Zangetsu began to hum, bloodthirsty and eager to throw itself into a proper fray. He dragged a claw-like hand over his face, gleaming white bone and the red slashes of his mask left behind.

 

Tenebra Shirojos picked up on his change in attitude, and the white eyes glared in answer. Shadow-matter began to flicker around her small form. The right hand held the taito dagger uselessly, but the left was moulding a silver-grey Gran Rey Cero.

 

Inoue wrenched herself away from Gin and shouted desperately to Ichigo through lips that cracked and bled. The former captain let her go. Perhaps he was looking forward to the boy's reaction when she told him…

 

"DON'T!"

 

The zanpakuto had already bit deep into Tenebra's sword when the voice rang out. Shards of metal screeched and snapped off the arrancar's short blade. Alarmed, he spun to face Orihime; afraid they might be murdering her right under his eyes. Instead she was trying to run towards him, screaming, frantic. When she told him just who he was fighting…

 

"KARIN! IT'S KARIN!! DON'T KILL HER KUROSAKI-KUN - SHE'S KARIN-CHAN!!!"

o)0(o

 

It was soft, smoother than spider-silk, and the shimmering mint-green of frosted mistletoe. Rukia moved her head slightly to nuzzle into this delicate fabric - so heavenly after her harrowing battle - but the movement send a jagged lance of pain shooting through her neck and into her body, where it only multiplied.

 

Oh yes. That harrowing battle. The one in which she had been spitted like a hog roast. How was she still alive again?

 

The fabric was the answer. The fabric, with its refreshing fragrance and healing touch, was her Nii-sama's highly treasured and immensely expensive Scarf of Something or Other.

 

Her head was muggy. She didn't have to remember. Said scarf had saved Renji's life at some point, anyway. The important fact was that Nii-sama was here, and that meant she was safe. So long as he didn't make a habit of endorsing her death. Nii-sama...would protect her...

 

She began to drift asleep, when a shadow fell over her.

 

"Nii-sama?" croaked the woman, peeling a darkly shadowed eye open. She looked horrendous, blood loss had sapped her of all colour; her torso was oddly swollen. All muscles had attempted to constrict and stem the flow of her life essence along the path the trident had taken through her. As a spirit being, a shinigami could survive a great deal of damage, but today was pushing it. Pooled blood on the floor around her was staining the edges of Byakuya's carefully draped veil.

 

"As soon as you are capable of standing we will be leaving." He did not waste time in greeting her or asking how she was taking the pain. With back ramrod straight and arms folded in something approaching insecurity, he was preoccupied by their hostile environment. When she whimpered in a premature attempt to sit up, he frowned and knelt beside her on one knee. "All of Aizen's forces are currently gathered in the epicentre of the castle. Among them are the auras of all your friends. Whilst our presence is shielded we remain safe, however inattention is a flimsy defence to rely upon."

 

She had rarely heard him speak so much. It was a pity her exhausted brain was garbling most of what he said. She felt like her head was underwater.

 

"Kurotsuchi-taicho is stationed by the faux-Garganta we used to reach Hueco Mundo in preparation for our escape. Zaraki-taicho is waiting within a special barrier in case his brute force is required." Byakuya was debriefing her in the manner of the efficient captain he was. More used to his aloof fraternal behaviour, Rukia could barely understand what was making him so talkative. "Unohana-taicho, as the most experienced and skilled captain on this mission, will be undertaking any rescue attempts should that become an option."

 

His sister blinked. Anything else hurt too much. His attitude suddenly grew far more chilled. "Your companions are surrounded by Hollows in the heart of Aizen's territory. You will be our only recovery from this shambles. Do not expect to see them again."

 

Rukia clutched at his arm and spluttered, attempting to say the precious names Renji, Inoue, Ichigo, Ishida; Chad all through a mouthful of stale blood.

 

He looked down at her, and there was no softness in him, yet unimaginable words still crept from his mouth. "At least it was you, if any."

 

Byakuya almost felt guilt at her distraught face. He stooped to pick her up, eliciting a damp scream. She was in no way ready to be moved. But there was no safety here, so he cradled her as gently as possible and flash-stepped out of that blood-slicked and icy chamber.

 

o)0(o

 

Ichigo stared at his foe again in total disbelief. Short, Karin's height. Black hair, a little more ragged, but similar. But the eyes weren't lazy and sarcastic, they were sharp and angular. The mouth was overly wide and filled with needled piranha teeth - Karin's smile was relaxed and warm. Her skin was tanned and scuffed from football, not this blank geisha-white. But none of that was proof of anything.

 

Most importantly, vitally crucial…Karin was alive. Karin was alive and safe at home and far, far from Hueco Mundo and monsters and Aizen-fucking-Sosuke. His sister did not have a gaping hole in her head, nor a tiara-like mask remnant fused to her head, nor a zanpakuto she didn't even know how to use. Karin was at home, with Yuzu and Oyaji.

 

One-two. One two. The numbers echoed in his head, familiar.

 

Ichi ni.

 

Ichi-nii.

 

It was her.

 

The happy illusions came crashing down, and Ichigo crumpled into the white dirt with them.

 

o)0(o

 

He had fallen into his inner world, clinging to the slippery windowpanes as the wind whipped up a storm.

 

"Why?" roared Zangetsu, eyebrows furrowed and black robe billowing in the gale. "Why do you hesitate, Ichigo? Why do you falter? Why do you doubt me?"

 

Zangetsu's voice was harsh, angry; Ichigo could hear an immense tide of disappointment rolling beneath the words. "Have I bound myself for all eternity to a coward? Did you lie when you showed me your soul was courageous?"

 

But the boy was frozen. "I...I can't! That's my sister!"

 

"All the more reason not to abandon her to a thousand years of despair, Ichigo!"

 

Ichigo screwed up his face and screamed in refusal. "I've already stabbed my mother for you! I can't do this again!"

 

Zangetsu was now sombre, a shade closer to comforting. "You knew that was only an illusion, and you know that this is only a shell."

 

He shook his head, black sword slipping out of his weak grip. "No. No, that's Karin. She's not just a Hollow, she's an arrancar. And that means..."

 

"It doesn't mean anything!" cackled his bleached mirror image, thrashing a white blade around cheerfully. Some small part of Ichigo recognised this as a bad sign - he was losing control. They were falling out of balance.

 

"A big brother can never tell his little sister, 'I'll kill you'." He was recalling those life-ruling words he had shouted at Inoue Sora when it was Orihime's life at stake. "I was born first so that I could protect her and Yuzu." The inner and outer worlds seemed layered. `Tenebra Shirojos' was visible, reflected in the glass all around him. He stared at his washed-out sibling helplessly. To be honest, there was little recognisable as Karin, because even if the face and height were the same; Karin was defined by her vivacity. This ghost had none.

 

But the knowledge built an impenetrable wall in his mind. He could not pass it. He could not bring himself to hurt Karin.

 

"Fine," hissed his Hollow self, sounding far too eager. "I'll do it for you."

 

"Is it better to be wielded by a fearless monster than a cowardly knight?" The zanpakuto's question was not rhetorical. He truly could not decide.

 

o)0(o

 

At a short distance, Aizen watched Ichigo's internal turmoil with gloating eyes. "As predicted, his energies have gone haywire." Ulquiorra looked at his master with his typical stoic expression, nodding silently. The ryoka Kurosaki made no secret of the fact that the various divisions of his soul were currently at civil war. Each of their distinct auras was flaring out of his body in a disturbingly independent manner. The Plus, the Minus, and the Blade.

 

"I expected the trash to tear itself apart before we had to stoop to killing him," murmured the Quatro Espada.

 

Barragan rumbled an agreement, examining the boy's spirit with his Soul Inspection ability. "His Hollow is far stronger than he is."

 

Aizen gave this one moment of consideration. “Worth recruiting?”

 

“Raw power aside, I doubt it has the mental capacity to fight for any other king but itself.”

 

In the centre of the coliseum, the fighter seemed to have overcome his shock.

 

Ichigo staggered towards his little, fragile sister, a puppet with frayed strings. She was still waving her taito uselessly - she had never held it before - and he was still oozing three separate reiatsus that should have been fused as one. For that reason, and quite simply the immense gap in power between the two Kurosakis, Aizen was unconcerned as Ichigo stumbled within striking distance of the vulnerable Ojos.

 

Until the brat suddenly got his act together and slammed Zangetsu into her side. There was an explosion of perfectly melded Hollow, Shinigami and Zanpakuto synergy.

 

o)0(o

 

Arrancar Cup!

 

Aizen: This sunny dome in a world of darkness may remind you of the Truman Show.

Ichigo: *non-committal grunt*

Aizen: Well it's true! Your entire life has been an orchestrated, choreographed, farcical construct!

Ichigo: THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Aizen: You've been risking death trying to save perfectly safe actresses!

Ichigo: THAT'S MADNESS!!!

Aizen: You're only here for entertainment! You have fangirls that enjoy watching your pain!!!

Ichigo: THAT'S…actually that explains a lot…

Aizen: But the bad news is - your inner Hollow Hichigo has even MORE fangirls than you!

Ichigo: ...N O O O O O O O O O O O!!!!!

 

o)0(o

 

GLADIATOR GAMI

 

My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, commander of the ryoka soldiers, substitute shinigami for Karakura town, brother to a dead sister, son of a murdered mother and I can't remember the rest of the damn quote.

 

o)0(o

 

Chapter Notes: It got huge again! This chapter has actually been split in half. Shout outs to Pippin's Socks for the Gladiator omake, and to Nezzie (OhBreadsticks) for helping me figure out Karinspada's name.

 

Tenebra is Portuguese for shadow, Shirojos is shiro - white in Japanese and ojos - eyes in Spanish. So Karin's arrancar name means white-eyed shadow. : )