Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Of Demons and Death ❯ Ah, the Life of a Schizophrenic ( Chapter 3 )

Once again, I DO NOT and WILL NEVER own any part of Bleach or Inuyasha. I merely beg the forgiveness of the authors for twisting their characters and ideas to fit my sick needs.

 

NOTE: NO INUYASHA CHARACTERS WILL BE DEPICTED IN THIS WORK! I MERELY TOOK SEVERAL IDEAS TO SUPPLEMENT MY OWN!

 

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Several well placed curses and much discussion later found me running around the Rukongai trying to gather some information about the Seireitei. I was pretty sure Ichimaru's shift from Lieutenant to Captain wasn't the only thing that had happened since I left, and I wanted to be as prepared as I could be for our next attempt at entering the Seireitei. Before I had left Yoruichi had told me she planned on searching out Shiba Kuukaku and use her cannon. The only problem with that, she had said, was that she wasn't exactly sure where Kuukaku was at this particular moment in time.

Shiba… that name brought back memories. I wondered how Kaien was doing and if he had made it to Captain yet. Knowing him he had probably stayed a Lieutenant like I had wanted to.

I slipped in and out of flash step, quickly making my way across wasteland that would have required days of travel if the others had come along. Ichigo had been pissed when Yoruichi gave me the job of gathering information, saying he wanted to go along as well. Thankfully it hadn't been just me and Yoruichi who had seen that I could travel a whole lot faster if I didn't have to baby-sit the agitated teenager.

I picked up my pace as I looped around the North Gate, eager to avoid a confrontation with another Guardian. The watch I had borrowed from the village showed I had been traveling for several hours now, and the setting sun was beginning to attest to that. Even with my level of skill I didn't want to be out alone in the Rukongai at night, especially in the village I was headed towards.

My paced slowed to a walk as I entered Kusajishi, not wanting to broadcast my status as a shinigami. As I looked around I noticed a lot of people were clutching makeshift cloaks around themselves, hurrying along their way in silence. Wishing for a cloak myself I made my way through the streets, careful to avoid any dark areas where ambushes probably waited for any stupid enough to venture near.

When I reached the local bar I ducked inside, looking around for the one person I had come here for. Disappointed that he wasn't here I made my way to the bar, the bartender avoiding my eye as he dried clean glasses with a rag.

“Hey, do you know if Seikyuumaru's been around here lately?” I asked, my voice lowered for privacy.

“What's your business with him?”

“If you see him, tell him Flash is looking for him.” I said before turning and exiting the bar.

I muttered a curse under my breath as I ducked out of the bar, looking both ways before continuing on my way. If I couldn't get a hold of him soon I would have to go back since we didn't have any time to waste. Hopefully the head villager could find out where Kuukaku had moved. I gritted my teeth at the thought that I had come all this way for nothing when a little kid ran up to me and tugged on my pant leg.

“Are you Flash?” asked the boy, his breath coming in short pants.

“Who wants to know?” I asked carefully as I cast a look around to see if anyone was paying too close of attention to our conversation.

“Master Seikyuumaru wanted me to give this to Flash. He gave me a description of you.” said the kid and I quickly nodded. “This is for you.”

He handed me a heavy envelope before disappearing back into the crowd towards the bar. I ripped open the envelope, revealing a rather long letter and several smaller envelopes that looked as though they had been labeled hastily in Seikyuumaru's neat script. Opening the letter verified what the kid had told me and it read:

 

Reijin,

Inside this envelope you should find anything you want to know about Soul Society since you left. Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

Seikyuumaru

 

P.S. Nice try with Jidanbou. Next time try to be a little more discreet.

 

I frowned as I folded up the letter and placed it back into the envelope. Though I had wanted to see Seikyuumaru again I could see his prudence in sending everything to me via messenger. If he was caught helping me, his head would be on the chopping block next to mine.

Quickly tucking the envelope under my arm, I turned and started back the way I came. Now, the only thing left to do was return and show this to Yoruichi so we could put the finishing touches on the new plan.

“That didn't take very long.” came a familiar hiss from the back of my mind.

“What do you want now?” I asked.

“If I were you I would dump the kids and go it alone.”

“I'm never alone.”

“Very funny.”

“Wasn't meant to be.”

“You know those kids are just gonna end up getting in your way.”

“What's your obsession with those kids?”

“I know how sentimental you can get. If Aizen decides to take one of them hostage I can't have you giving up at the first threat. After all, his death is in both our interests.”

“I'm sensing that's not all.”

“That orange-haired one, Ichigo… I have a feeling he's just like us.”

“You mean he has a Hollow inside of him!?”

“I can feel it, although his must be a product of his training. Its energy feels much the same as his. I also feel that he doesn't even know of its existence.”

“How do you know that?”

“You keep my energy hidden underneath your own so it's undetectable by other Hollows. His… it flows and intermingles with his own, almost as if it's trying to overpower him. No one could ignore that if they knew it was there. Hell, I could barely see it there.”

“That changes a lot.”

“I figured it would only be fair to warn you.” said the voice as it closed the door and disappeared to its dark corner in the back of my mind.

I muttered a curse under my breath as I reached the edge of Kusajishi and slipped back into flash step. If Ichigo had no control over the Hollow inside him it created problems for me since it could interfere with my mission. Maybe it would be better if I went on alone…

“I knew you'd see it my way…” said the voice lazily, almost appraisingly as I slammed the door shut again.

“Shut up.” I said aloud as I drew Honorable Ruler.

Without slowing my pace I began chanting the spell that would allow me to temporarily turn the spirit of Honorable Ruler into a physical manifestation. When I was finished the sword in my hand disappeared as Honorable Ruler drew up beside me.

“Having second thoughts are we?” he asked, his silver hair whipping out behind him as he easily kept pace with me.

“I don't know if this is the right way to do this.” I admitted.

“Well, I've been with you since the beginning and I have to say you've proven the best choice, for you at least, is to go with your gut instinct.” counseled Honorable Ruler as he stared ahead. “Although I have to say I'm still having second thoughts about teaming up with Ryuujin.”

“That again?” I asked as I looked over at him.

“Hollows and Shinigami were not meant to exist together separately, let alone in the same body.” said Honorable Ruler, using the same argument from all the previous discussions we'd had about this. “Besides, she's a Vasto Lord. A Vasto Lord! That alone should have been a huge red flag.”

“Are you just going to keep repeating yourself?” I asked angrily as I glared at him, his golden eyes looking sadly back. “Yes, like I told you before, I see the sense in your argument but we need her! Aizen is much too powerful to be taken on alone! I need her power if I'm ever going to last five seconds against his stupid illusions!”

“You know I'll follow you to the end.” he said quietly, his way of saying he was willing to end the conversation.

“And I thank you for that.” I said as I flashed him a smile. “Now onto something new. What do you think of Ichigo and the others?”

“I think you and Yoruichi have a lot on your hands.” he said jokingly as he scratched the side of his face with his clawed hand. “Ichigo… I can see that he has a lot of potential but he needs to get his reiatsu under control. With all that loose energy we're just going to be a walking target. But he does remind me a lot of his father.”

I nodded, seeing the sense in that, before asking, “Inoue?”

“Her powers, I don't understand them.” said Honorable Ruler, obviously stung by that simple fact. “But I sense that she cares for Ichigo and the others. She reminds me a lot of you except without all the swearing and innuendos.”

“Ha ha.” I said sarcastically as he started snickering.

“Sado, I can't really read much. Although, he did agree to come even though he barely knows this Rukia that we're trying to save.” continued Honorable Ruler. “He's got to have some sense of honor. And Uryu… well… he's a lot like his father.”

“I could tell that much. A lot of Quincy were that way.” I said with a flick of my wrist. “Although I do find it quite amusing that he and Ichigo have a relationship similar to Isshin's and Ryuken's.” Honorable Ruler just shook his head and smiled. “What?” He just continued to smile and shake his head. “What!?”

“I'm just surprised that you can talk about Ryuken that way. I mean, after all, you did go out with him for a little bit.” said Honorable Ruler.

“We weren't looking for anything long term, you know that.” I said as I looked away. “Nothing but simple sex.”

“Simple sex!? You call that simple sex!?” asked Honorable Ruler, almost laughing. “You're in deeper denial than I thought!”

“Do shut up.” I snapped, not wanting to talk about the issue. “Besides, denial has nothing to do with it.”

“If you say so.” said Honorable Ruler diplomatically.

We continued on for a little ways before I muttered, “I'm sorry.”

“Don't worry about it.” he said as he waved his hand. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm getting a little tired. Nothing major.” I said as I casually checked my borrowed watch, the hands reading 7:00. “All that training with Yoruichi is really paying off. I can remember when I could barely do a hundred flash steps in a row, let alone a thousand.”

“Just remember to play it safe. Not even Ryuujin can get you out of everything.” said Honorable Ruler and I nodded before letting the spell unravel, his spirit taking the form of a sword again.

I put him back into his sheath before rolling my shoulders, a dull ache beginning to form between them from the constant pressurized reiatsu. I was going to so happy when this whole thing was done and over with.

 

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Remember, reviews are welcome!! Seeing that over a hundred people have already read what I have so far makes me think I'm doing something right, but I NEED input!