InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Clash of the Egos ❯ Memories of Shiromori ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I would own Bleach or Inuyasha if I was super rich and bought them, but I'm not. And I doubt that Rumiko Takahashi or Tite Kubo would give them up.

 

Also Yoru Aruki and Chinatsu Nayuki were both created characters. Little do you know that they were made in an RPG group. The group is called Long Ago Destiny; Yoru Aruki was my own character along with my other character Raimei Hoshikage. Chinatsu Nayuki was the daughter of a rebel cat demon that Yoru Aruki was sent to kill. In the RPG she is represented to be foolish and somewhat small-minded. I don't like her that much so I killed her off to ease my own burning hatred. :D My cousin made Chinatsu and I don't really like him either… but oh well! Back to da story!

 

Blah…is when Yugata Utsuro commands the hollows.

 

`…blah' is when someone's thinking if ya got confuzzled.

 

 

Chapter 9:Memories of Shiromori

 

In the castle of the dark lord, purplish-black clouds hanging menacingly low in the dark sky. Most of the halls were silent, only the sounds of yells and screams could be heard. He punched the child, his anger rising. “You failed.” Naraku's voice was loud, booming, and angry. Yugata Utsuro kneeled at his feet, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead, where Naraku had hit him. The blood streamed down the right side of his face, giving the child an unearthly look.

 

“It was not my fault.” Yugata Utsuro answered, his face practically touching the wooden floor in fright. The boy's heart raced from the sudden anger his father had unleashed on him. His hands trembled and his body shook violently.

 

Naraku paced back and forth, “You've repeated that so many times and yet I still do not see the hanyou's head in my hands.” He looked upon the small being, his red eyes full of anger. “And now, you say you were captured? They apprehended not even Kanna. You are useless.” He walked over to the shelves where all of the incarnations' hearts were placed in large clay jars.

 

“You are lucky that I, being a hanyou myself has the time of weakness. That time being tonight.” Naraku said coldly. He looked down on Yugata Utsuro, taking the child's heart from the jar, applying pressure to the organ, making Yugata Utsuro scream in pain.

 

“There were…others.” Yugata replied with some difficulty, his breathing becoming short gasps as he looked up. “A Shinigami accompanied the group along with others.” The pain on his heart decreased from his words and Naraku dropped his heart back into he jar.

 

“A Shinigami?” Naraku asks, eyeing the demon child squarely. Yugata Utsuro's yellow-orange eyes widened from fear of what he might do next. Naraku circled him, staring him down, making the child flinch. “Tell me, when was the last time a Shinigami was in that area?”

 

Yugata started shakily, “Y-You've…told me, Naraku-sama. Fifty years, since you had first destroyed the hanyou's wench.”

 

Naraku nodded in approval. “Are you lying to me, Yugata?” he asked and Naraku stopped circling him. “Because, if you are, you know what happens. You've seen what happened to your sister.”

 

Yugata Utsuro shuddered, nodding solemnly. Naraku had caught Kagura conversing with the Inuyasha's brother about assassinating Naraku. He asked about it later, and Kagura lied about ever doing such a thing. Thus, for a half day, non-stop, Naraku tortured her and Yugata watched it all from the rooftop. “No, Naraku-sama. I tell the whole truth. A Shinigami, arrowsman and a witch now accompany the hanyou and his human priestess, along with a giant from whom I sense powerful spiritual powers.”

 

Naraku only nodded, “Leave me, Yugata Utsuro and bring Kagura in here.”

 

Yugata Utsuro stumbled back, scrambling to the door and sliding it open and running down the corridor. “Y-yes Master Naraku.” It was a terrifying sight to see his master angry. It never occurred to Yugata Utsuro that Naraku could be so angry after one failure; Kagura always failed so Naraku should be used to it by now. Did he consider his creation to be a threat?

 

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Yoru Aruki glared forward, his face turning a bright red from the gravity pulling the blood to his head. His feet were bound tight, hanging from a tree not far from the priestess's house. His hands were tied behind him, the spiritual power from the giant making his head hurt along from the pressure. It was morning and the humans began their shifts in watching the bounty hunter, each time he attempted to seep into their minds, but all the blood rushing to his head interrupted his concentration.

 

His sword and glaive sat next to the giant, the others called him Chad, under heavy guard by him with the monk, whom he presumed to be called, Miroku. The humans were annoying, particularly the infinitely talkative one that would not let her mouth rest for a moment.

 

He also found the presence of the orange-haired Shinigami somewhat disturbing. The boy looked upon him condescendingly, almost asking to be beaten into the dust. The others tried to stay away from him and avoid eye contact as if terrified that he might break away from his prison and slice them in half.

 

The human Taijiya had thought of this clever plan to interfere with his concentration and psychic powers. Yoru Aruki had to sadly admit that the plan was working almost perfectly. From moment to moment he would be able to move his glaive inch by inch towards the tree, but each time the giant would pull his weapon back.

 

Yoru Aruki cursed. If not for the sutras he would have broken free in less than five seconds and behead them all in association with their filthy and worthless village. He cursed again, his silver gaze never falling from the lummox, the boy was young, the demon knew by the way he walked and talked to his friends.

 

The unusual dark skin and strange shaped hair was nothing Yoru Aruki had seen before. He stood out among his companions, reaching a few inches above the bounty hunter's own height. Yoru Aruki was considered tall himself, but the boy seemed no older than sixteen years of age, his ancestors must have been colossal.

 

The giant's shift ended, and he and the monk left the spot as the Taijiya came out from the house, her eyes wary. Her black hair was let down and now she wore a pink kimono over her battle clothes. The bright color made Yoru Aruki frown in distaste. Pink was never a color he liked.

 

The short girl, the one with the black hair had also come, her eyes firmly fixed on Yoru Aruki and not leaving his face. Her hair was short and somewhat manly and so were her alert blue eyes. She wore some of the strangest and shortest clothes he thought he would never see. This made him frown even deeper. They were both strange looking.

 

“The Taijiya smiled at him asking, “How is your day so far?” He knew she felt pleasantly smug about her attempt to hinder him useless.

 

“Just fine until your face came into my view.” He replied coldly, eyeing his glaive and broad sword that sat next to the short one.

 

“Me too.” They sat before him, their eyes intently holding his gaze. He knew she felt pretty smug about her plan to render his psychic powers useless.

 

Yoru Aruki cursed under his breath. The small girl seemed to flinch at the sight of his glaive slowly inching its way to the tree, though the Taijiya saw it immediately and stood and grabbed his weapon, surprised by its weight. Lugging the glaive over to her guarding spot, the Taijiya set it on her lap with much discomfort. “How long have you been in the mercenary business?” the short one asked.

 

“Why should I tell you about my own personal business?”

 

“You're going to kill us right? I might as well know before I die.” She replied.

 

He sighed, “If I must. I've been a mercenary since I turned the age of seventy. Ever since my family was murdered.”

 

“Oh, so I guess you wanted to take your anger out on someone.”

 

“You could say I wanted to survive. Being a lord was never my true calling.” He replied.

 

“I knew you were a noble. Your speech patterns are highly sophisticated. Too sophisticated to be an average bounty hunter. Though how come you turned it down?” The black haired one asked. “The opportunity to rule over others would've been tempting to most.”

 

Yoru Aruki paused, contemplating on how he could put this into words. He could barely recall the `incident' with the oni army over one hundred years ago. “After my family was slain, I thought becoming a lord would be somewhat unfair. I was the youngest of the sons, nevertheless. My elder brother was injured severely and died after seven years of bleeding internally.”

 

“Ah, so it was guilt. You didn't want to enjoy a life denied by your family.”

 

Yoru Aruki twitched uncomfortably, the subject arising disturbed him greatly.

 

“But taking the lives of others cannot ease one's pain.” The Taijiya said. “One cannot live alone in denial and sadness like you.”

 

“Whoever said I was in denial?” he replied.

 

“Your bitter and you kill other people for money. Those are definite signs of denial to me.” She said, shifting in her seat uncomfortably.

 

“What about you? Your speech is unlike any of the villagers I have seen. You have also come from a high bloodline.” He answered, looking at the short girl.

 

The raven-haired girl seemed to be nervous. “Not necessarily. I was adopted by a noble family myself, so I was taught in the arts of speaking well.”

 

“Why do you wear your hair so short though? You make yourself look like a man or young boy.”

 

“To keep it out of the way of course! I can't have hair flowing about my head when I battle hollows.” She said, somewhat angered by the comment.

 

“Why would a mere scrawny human be fighting the evil spirits of the dead?”

 

“I'm NOT human!”

 

Yoru Aruki smirked, “I see. Twisting your mind is easy enough to have you spit out the truth. What are you then?” The Taijiya seemed to be surprised at the girl as well.

 

“I am a disempowered Shinigami. You don't need to know more than that. You are trying to avoid the subject of your family. Is there something you don't want us to know?” the girl asked. “If it is too personal then you don't have to tell us. I was just curious.”

 

Yoru Aruki growled in response, his eyes once more shifting to his glaive that sat in the Taijiya's lap. The demon slayer looked at him and smiled, “You're turning a bit red in the face. Is there something wrong?”

 

“I'm being held captive by a group of humans who don't know their place in the world.” He replied. “Along with a foolish hanyou.”

 

“I know my place very well.” The Taijiya replied. “It is you who seems to be lost. Be grateful we haven't killed you already.”

 

“You couldn't kill me. Your weapon is destroyed.” He retorted.

 

The short one looked to the Taijiya asking, “How long should we keep him here?”

 

“It depends how long he can last upside down.” She replied. Yoru Aruki reached out to his glaive with his mind. The demon slayer's head had drifted from the sutras and into the subject at hand. The staff wobbled, falling from her lap.

 

The short one looked back at him, “…concentrate Sango.” The other woman snapped back to reality and focused on the sutras, binding him once again.

 

“This is ridiculous,” Yoru Aruki said angrily. “I'll be here forever.”

 

“Not if you promise to forget this occurrence and leave us in peace.” The short one said, “Your own stubbornness is keeping you here.”

 

Yoru Aruki sighed, mulling it over. This was pointless and it was wasting his time, but his own regrets of defeat would not let him leave this incident lie. She said before standing and brushing her clothes. “If we let you down, and you promise us not to attack, you're free to go.”

 

Yoru Aruki grumbled to himself, both sides of his mind debating it over. He could always thought once she had him down, he could slice her in half, but then, his regrets would also annoy him with the fact he killed a human girl for her kindness. He reluctantly nodded, “Fine, I promise.”

 

The Taijiya and her glanced to each other as if uncertain. Then the Taijiya, with some difficulty, swung his glaive and in one motion, the rope was cut and he fell to the ground with a thump. The girls hesitated before peeling the sutras from his hands and face, jumping back when the bounty hunter was finally free.

 

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Their shift to guard him was everything but boring. Sango's plan to tie him upside down was brilliant, leaving him helpless. Rukia enjoyed it more than she thought. She was surprised to hear a piece of Yoru Aruki's past. His life did seem to be somewhat depressing and rough and she knew that his life was the reason for his cold and bitter attitude towards them.

 

When she and Sango freed him from the rope and sutras she leapt back, ready to call Ichigo if he tried to attack. When the bounty hunter stood at full height, he was almost as tall as Chad, she estimated him to be about six foot three. He didn't move though, he just stood as if puzzled at her actions, as if no one ever trusted him before.

 

Time to break the news to the others. Rukia turned to the house and was about to stride over until she saw Karin's face peek around the corner. Rukia froze, seeing the fright in the small girl's eyes as she wandered over. “Y-you let him go!! Are you guys crazy?” Karin screamed, loud enough to have the others hustle from the hut and stare at her doings. Kagome gasped and Ichigo frowned deeply at his displeasure.

 

Inuyasha snorted and pulled out Tetsusaiga, holding it out before him in a battle position. “I guess you guys are too stupid to know that this guy wants to kill us!”

 

Sango interrupted, “He isn't one of our problems now. He's vowed not to kill us.”

 

Inuyasha huffed and held his stance, “He's a deceiving bastard! We can't trust anything that comes outta that mouth!”

 

“How do you know that?” she argued. “We barely know him, maybe we can trust him.” Rukia rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's ego, which had become quite an annoyance since he didn't know what was really going on.

 

Inuyasha growled, “You guys might have not lived long as I have, but when I was a kid I heard all kinds of stories about this bastard. He's known to destroy whole villages and I heard he even killed his own family. No one can trust a psycho like that!”

 

Rukia couldn't stop him. Inuyasha had just struck a nerve that shouldn't have been struck. In a flash Yoru Aruki grabbed his glaive and the curve of one blade had suddenly found itself at Inuyasha's throat. Yoru Aruki looked down at the hanyou, his silver eyes burning with hatred. “You speak out of your place, half-breed.”

 

“Don't you dare call me that!” Inuyasha retorted but the blade was inched closer to his flesh and he quieted. Everyone froze, silence enveloping and thickening in the air as Yoru Aruki was perfectly poised to slice Inuyasha's head from its shoulders. Rukia stepped forward, grabbing the staff and pointing it away from the hanyou's body.

 

“We had a deal, remember?” she asked, looking straight into his eyes. “You cannot kill any one of these people. Even someone as small-minded as Inuyasha.” Her hand was tense, her fingers firmly wrapped around the cold black marble.

 

The hanyou snorted, sheathing Tetsusaiga and crossing his arms, “It's your funeral.”

 

Yoru Aruki yanked his weapon from her grasp and glared darkly at Inuyasha. “It is foolish to have someone so senseless in your travelling group.” He turned and picked up his broad sword from the ground by Sango's feet, whom flinched at the slight brush of clothing. “He'll get you killed before you know it.”

 

Rukia folded her arms and watched the bounty hunter as he slipped his sword into his belt line and strapped a piece of leather around the staff of his glaive. Inuyasha growled, “Say that to my face you bastard!” He unsheathed Tetsusaiga.

 

“I just did.” Yoru Aruki replied coldly. Inuyasha stepped forward growling.

 

“OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI!” Kagome screamed, the spell suddenly pulling Inuyasha into the ground, the dirt muffling his curses.

 

Yoru Aruki smirked and chuckled. “For one who talks so big, you are so easily subdued by a human girl. Tell me, Inuyasha, how's Kikyo?”

 

Rukia interrupted her gaze still not leaving the mercenary's face as she spoke. “Leave before you get Inuyasha even angrier than he is now. Go.” She never liked Yoru Aruki's attitude towards the hanyou and still wondered what grudge he was holding against Inuyasha, but then maybe it was because Inuyasha was so easily provoked.

 

Yoru Aruki growled as he turned, “I shall. The stink of human is killing me… Maybe I'll return to pay my debts.” He jumped into the shadows of the forest, disappearing from sight. They all stood there for a few long moments. The wheels in Rukia's head still worked out the problem that was bugging her. She seemed to have found the life of this bounty hunter interesting and wanted to have more knowledge about his past. You never know when he'll be back for revenge.

 

“Now that that's all over…I'm going to sleep.” Kagome said, scratching her head. She turned and trudged back into the hut.

 

Ichigo nodded and yawned. “Yeah, finally I can rest.”

 

“You can, but we,” Inuyasha said, gesturing to Kagome and him, “Have to go search for Shikon jewel shards!”

 

“WHAT?!” Kagome yelled, “ I haven't slept in two days!”

 

“Well, too bad! We've already delayed our search because of that bastard of a bounty hunter and that stupid whelp!” Inuyasha said.

 

(switching views)

 

Ichigo scowled, “I hope you don't mean me.” He glared at Inuyasha, “Because if you are I'll be happy to close the hole in your head.”

 

“If I meant you, I'd say the boy named `strawberry.'” Inuyasha spat back. “I meant the whelp who can control the spirits!”

 

“You mean Yugata Utsuro.” Supplied Rukia. “His name was Yugata Utsuro.”

 

“I don't care what his name is! If he works for Naraku then that's all I need to know!”

 

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Yugata Utsuro stood on the gates of Naraku's castle. He looked down upon a white figure heading his way. Her aura reeked of hallow and Yugata Utsuro smirked, it was that Kikyo woman. He knew she had come to see Naraku about her reincarnation. Suddenly, cold dark eyes looked up at him and he flinched slightly; he hadn't noticed that she had seen him.

 

“Where is Naraku?” she said from the ground. Her voice was cold and lifeless and held no tone. Yugata Utsuro looked down, meeting her eyes squarely. This woman did not scare him as much as the Shinigami he had fought.

 

“No where that concerns you.” He replied, just as cold. This woman's intentions were well known to him and Yugata Utsuro knew that she had already attempted to end his master's life. Naraku said that he had to protect the castle from all visitors.

 

Her black eyebrows furrowed and she threw a threatening look at the boy while she demanded again, “Where is Naraku?”

 

Yugata Utsuro glowered in return; “Master Naraku will not see a human. Especially a priestess.” His eyes narrowed, “A dead priestess. You have no authority to be bossing me around.”

 

“I will not be spoken to that way by one of Naraku's…experiments. Furthermore, is it your job to frighten away Naraku's visitors?” the woman scowled at the boy. Yugata knew he was beginning to get on her nerves. This, he enjoyed.

 

“I think he would not like hollows wandering about his domain.” Came the response. He eyed this hollow, looking her up and down. If he tried, he could definitely control her movements; this woman was nothing but an annoyance. The woman's eyes narrowed even more in anger. Yugata Utsuro knew he had touched a nerve with his last comment.

 

“Take me to Naraku.” She growled, enraged.

 

“If I must.” Yugata Utsuro said, sighing. Follow me, he ordered, snapping his fingers as he jumped from the top of the gates and landed in front of the woman. Kikyo gasped as his powers wrapped around her body to operate all of her movements. She followed him obediently through the gates, her hisses echoed in the empty courtyard as they walked through the corridors to Naraku's room.

 

“Master Naraku.” Yugata Utsuro called from the hallway. “The priestess known as Kikyo is here to see you.” A moment of silence hung in the air.

 

“Let her in.” Naraku replied, “Yugata Utsuro, keep a good hold on her.”

 

Yugata Utsuro sighed and slid open the door, walking into the master's room with his arms crossed and a scowl plastered onto his face. Follow me woman. He growled at Kikyo who was still struggling against his bindings even though it was useless. She followed. He looked at Naraku who sat at the far end of the room in his usual sitting place by the window. “I found her standing in front of the gates suspiciously. She asked to be in your presence.” He grumbled slightly.

 

“Kikyo…what do you want from me?” Naraku asked.

 

“A favor. Please.”

 

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The high noon sun beat down through the leaves of the forest; little spots of sunlight scattered across the ground and trees, tingeing the area with a green color. He sat in a branch, his silver eyes never leaving his sandals stretched out before him. Yoru Aruki could not believe he had exposed so many secrets to the strangers that had held him captive. His memories were only to himself, never to reach the public again. After the `incident', he had changed his name, occupation and life. After his family collapsed, Shiromori, son of the fire demon lord, was never the same.

 

Shiromori was known to cause trouble within the walls of the castle and was always punished by standing guard with the rest of the warriors even though he never let his father know that standing guard was his favorite thing to do. He was the youngest son of the nobles, behind his elder brothers Tsumetai and Kuroiha and elder sister, Shinju. In youkai years he was merely an adolescent even though in human age he was sixty-eight.

 

He and Tsumetai had been training all day long with their weapons, sparring with each other until both were out of breath. Shiromori and his brother were close; best friends ever since he could remember. They always had fun playing tricks on his sister when they were young and it was enjoyable for them, since Shinju was so easily angered. Though for some reason that day, he felt uneasy about sleeping.

 

This night, he had decided to sit upon the wall of the castle with the guards, waiting for his drowsiness to return as he and the warriors chatted away of nothing but battles and dreams. He wondered if his powers were just growing or it was true that he felt something tingling in the back of his mind. Shiromori held his glaive in his lap as he looked forward at the forest ahead of the walls, a disturbing aura leaking from the trees. His silver eyes narrowed… something didn't smell right.

 

“I'm going to check something out.” He muttered to one of the guards and jumped, landing on the outside of the gates. Was he imagining it…? No he could be. Shiromori squinted, to get a better look. It seemed that their foes blended almost completely with the shadows of the forest, hiding them from view. Shiromori pulled his glaive from its holster, spinning it in his hand a couple times. He looked up at the guards above him on the wall. “Sound the alarm! WE HAVE VISITORS!”

 

Instantly, the guards scrambled, one ringing the bell that echoed through the air. A few others leapt down from the wall beside the young noble, poised to fight. Soon, the oni rumbled through the trees, the ground shaking at their footfalls as they charged towards the castle. Shiromori whispered a hex under his breath, throwing a ball of energy at the enemy. It exploded, sending bodies flying into all directions. Tsumetai was the first to join him, his broad sword fully drawn.

 

“Oi, Shiromori! Let's see who can slay the most!” his brother yelled over the noise as he sped forward into battle.

 

“You're on!” Shiromori yelled back, slicing an oni in half. One after another, the oni fell to their knees, blood splattering against the cold dirt. Shiromori jumped up, swinging his body around as the blades of his glaive slashed down on the low beings, the silver cutting through flesh rapidly. The enemy was a mix of oni, obviously and mysteriously arranged in a manor that no simple-minded oni leader could accomplish.

 

He sidestepped out of the way of a mace, held by a giant one. The spiked ball crashed into the ground, sending up soil and grass. Shiromori ran up the creature's arm, his glaive cutting through its head. The oni never liked his family, one reason why they had become enemies. They fought for territory and revenge, something no heart can let lie. His glaive now covered in oozing black blood, Shiromori charged again, and in one smooth motion his total count of kills added up to a hundred.

 

Who could summon all of these beasts? He dodged the claw of another, severing its head from its body. Shiromori glanced to the side, seeing Kuroiha easily hacking away at the enemy along with his sister Shinju who gracefully defeated the monsters with her pike. They all were generals in their father's army, all highly skilled in the arts of battle.

 

There was another explosion of energy, the earth shaking from the terrible force. Wind raged around Shiromori as he tore through the bodies of oni, his clothes becoming drenched in blood. He presumed it to be his brother, the eldest of the noble children always had a knack of making things explode, but the eruption was too strong, it almost knocked him off of his feet. Shiromori jumped out of the way of a fist, and a mace before jumping back.

 

In the mist of an enormous cloud, an oni master stood along with an army of bat demons behind him. Shiromori's eyes widened in fear. His family's most hated enemies were there to see their downfall. A heavy body hit Shiromori, knocking him down into the blood covered ground. He looked at the corpse, his heart almost stopping at the sight of his brother, Tsumetai, lying in his arms, a hole dug into his chest. As if his heart had been ripped from the flesh.

 

Really, that was all Yoru Aruki could remember everything that happened after that was somehow erased from his memory, completely and totally gone. Everything was a blur, the only thing he could recall was maybe a day or two later from the incident. He was covered in blood sitting on the cliff of a hill over the ocean, miles away from where he was before. He suspected blinded rage was what took over him, for when Yoru Aruki had returned home, he found his castle in ruins and his family's bodies strewn across the ground along with thousands of oni.

 

Only Kuroiha was found and Shiromori has nursed him back to almost full health until he found out that his brother had been internally bleeding for some time. Kuroiha's lungs were filled with blood before he died, and whispered as the crimson liquid pour from his lips, “Live, Shiromori. Forget about what has happened here and save yourself…erase this from your memory and live to be a powerful and compassionate man. Promise… me…”

 

“I promise, and remember to tell Tsumetai I said, `hello.' And I promise you…I will live.” Yoru Aruki knew he had failed his brother and that he had broken their promise. He felt as if not being able to remember what he had done was a missing piece to his life and always will be. No matter the circumstances or how many he had murdered. He just wanted to know. A tear rolled down from his eye, sliding down his cheek and hitting Tsumetai's broad sword that lay across his lap. `I have failed…everyone.'

 

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Ichigo looked towards the sun, which showed a time of late afternoon coming fast. He sighed, glancing at the village that lay not far from where he stood. He glanced at the newly repaired well, dropping the hammer from his fingers along with the rusty nails. Ichigo looked it over, testing his weight on the lip of the well, making sure it didn't crack or splinter. Ha! Wait till Ishida hears about this.

 

He had been working on this new well for hours now, Karin and Rukia helping him cut and gather wood, but they soon abandoned him to go to the springs and relax to leave the work on his shoulders. Ichigo grumbled to himself, looking down into the dark depths of the well and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

 

Ichigo smirked, he had done pretty well, despite the uneven sides. “Hey, Ichigo! Good job on the well!” Orihime exclaimed when he showed his companions the finished well. Rukia nodded in agreement, and Uryu scowled, probably thinking that Ichigo would fail at building a new well.

 

“Who's going to try it out first?” Rukia asked, standing on the lip of the well and looking down. “It's a pretty deep hole. Maybe Chad should try it out first.”

 

Everyone murmured in consent and Chad sighed, being singled out must have made him uncomfortable. The tall boy jumped onto the edge of the well, and leapt. There was a -thud- and a grunt when Chad climbed back out the well, looking a bit frightened.

 

“It doesn't work.”

 

Ichigo groaned in frustration, clenching his fists. “You mean all that cleaning and building was for nothing!?” He had worked long hours, cleaning up the old rotten and burnt wood from the bottom of the hole, making sure it was all clean before beginning to build it. He couldn't believe that all his hard work had gone to waste.

 

“Like I said before, there might have been a spell that tied the two time dimensions together. We may not be able to conduct so much power.” Rukia replied, scratching the side of her head in confusion. Ichigo frowned deeply, kicking the well.

 

“Stupid piece of crap.” He grumbled.

 

Karin sighed deeply, running her hands through her hair as if trying to come up with a plan. “Now what are we going to do?”

 

“We must find another place that is connected to the future.”

 

End Chapter

 

A/n: Ok people! I know it's a cliffie but I must say that this was fun. I can't wait to write the next chapter this is getting interesting. And, some of you maybe shocked at Yoru Aruki's horrible and miserable life, but that's why I created him. To bring the funny to a low for now. Don't worry, the next chapter be funny.