paixaorpg | Time to get the real party started. [Open]

Entry tags:

Time to get the real party started. [Open]

Character(s): Ichigo, Penny and everyone else at the Morem o Lisboa
Content: Penny's experiment which goes somewhat awry as most experiments do. And how the rest deal with it. 8D
Setting: Morem o Lisboa
Time: Midnight and early, early Wednesday morning
Warnings: Blood

Ichigo logged off the network and closed up his journal, tucking it safely back into one of his pockets. He found himself staring apprehensively at Penny's door a few minutes later, slightly nervous about the whole ritual thing. Trying to calm himself down by taking a few deep breaths, Ichigo steadied himself, and knocked sharply on the door twice.

The door was answered a few short seconds later by a rather grumpy looking catboy. The short, cute, lean man with spiky black hair looked the shinigami up and down a few times, then stepped aside to let him in.

"The ghost-thing is here to see you, mistress."

Penny was made visible as Mr. M stepped to the side. She was stripped of her gown from the shoulders to her waist, only her black bra covering her torso. Her skin was pale and soft from careful tending and her midnight hair hung in tendrils down her back. She was turned away from the orange-haired boy at the moment, sweeping her long hair into her hands and tying it up. She would need it out of her face.

"Come in Ichigo. I'll be ready in a moment, just take a seat on the bed. And be nice, Mr. M."

The catboy humphed and sat on the bed first, curling his legs under him. He had finally gotten used to sitting like a human, an accomplishment he was rather proud of since they had those silly round backsides.

Ichigo was about to protest against being called 'the ghost-thing', but on second thought, he decided to just shut up about it, nodding to both Mr. M and Penny as he entered the room. "Er, I suppose I'd need to get my shirt off now, huh?"

He coughed a little and looked down at the floor, slightly uncomfortable at being in the same room with a half-naked girl; even if it was the top half, and she did keep her bra on anyway. Ichigo was just a fifteen year old kid, after all.

Penny smiled and turned around.

"Please. And don't be nervous. Just think of me as a doctor. Besides, as handsome a boy you are you're a little young for me. Besides, it's not like we're alone."

Penny indicated Mistoffellees who was still making himself comfortable on the bed, and who was examining Ichigo rather closely. M's current form seemed pretty young, no older than Ichigo. Just as his cat form was a young, lean feline, his human form reflected that, Penny supposed.

The witch started to distribute candles on the floor in a small pentagon shape, then sat in a surprisingly good seiza form on the floor in front of them, the bowl of transmuted blood to her left.

"Please sit across from me when you're done."

The boy shrugged out of his jacket and proceeded to unbutton and remove his white school shirt, revealing a dozen or so scars running across his torso; souvenirs from his little heroic adventure in Rukongai, and his run-in with the traitor, Aizen. He folded them neatly out of habit, leaving them on one corner of the bed, and finally sat down cross-legged on the floor opposite Penny. "Okay... what's next?"

Penny rather unveiledly admired the boy's physique. He was certainly a warrior, and gifted with fine tan skin and handsome features. He'd make some girl very happy some day. Mr. M also looked both the boy and his mistress over.

"Human physiques... are more attractive than a cat's."

The closest thing to a compliment Penny had ever heard him say. The witch dipped her fingers into the blood, drawing the beginnings of a pentagram starting with one of the candles. She only needed to draw a short line of it, though, before her powers took over and the pentagram filled itself out, lighting the candles with sudden gouts of flame that slowly began to burn blue instead of red; a side effect whenever she tried to use borderline dark magic like this.

"I'm going to draw some symbols on our bodies using this blood, to connect us by body and soul."

She took a beautiful leather and jewelbound book from the desk, reaching back with surprising flexibility. Her Book of Shadows recorded both Penny's daily personal journal and her spell ideas. The symbols she decided to use for this particular spell were an interesting set composed of both kanji she had picked up from magic shops in Japantown and Aesir Runes from the nords. The symbols mostly meant 'blood,' 'energy,' 'connection,' 'transfer,' 'share,' and things like that. It had taken some extrapolation and adaptation, but Penny felt it was effort well worth it. If it worked, anyway. She also added some intricate looking tattoos of her own design, just a personal touch to make the magic connect more easily.

She started on herself first, drawing large runes and kanji on her own torso, then running her fingers down in lines on her arms.

Ichigo was startled when the candles all lighted by themselves, to say the least, but he reminded himself that this wasn't Japan anymore; in this place, anything could happen. The arcane symbols that Penny had begun to draw on herself seemed completely unfamiliar for a short while until he'd managed to make out a few words that he could understand-

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply again; this probably wasn't going to be very pleasant.

Penny finished with herself, then redipped her fingers, leaning forward over the candles to start spreading the cool liquid on Ichigo's chest and stomach. Her strokes were long and slow, careful, one smudge could potentially harm her vision of the spell and render the magic less effective. She folded her hands after the runes were finished, closing her eyes.

"Alright, now all that's left to do is for me to work my magic. Please stay still, don't try to flex those powerful muscles of yours and smudge the designs."

She thought for a moment on what an appropriate song would be. The power of songs were evident even when magic wasn't present in them. A good song... Yes, that one seemed appropriate. Devour by Disturbed.

" will devour you
Take all the pain away
I cannot stay my hand
From reaching out so that I can
Empower you
For all eternity
It seems to ease my mind
To know that you've brought
Meaning to my life"

Her singing voice was rich and beautiful, dipping low and reaching high. As she sang out her incantation, the markings writhed and glowed a deadly crimson light, tinting the entire room in the color of blood. Penny's eyes soon took on the same red light, overcoming the electric blue they usually shone, and M's emerald greens were dyed claret as well. The light reached into the young death god, pulling his power out from him and transferring it to Penny, who soaked it in like a hungry rose, curving her spine as Quintessence flooded her pattern and spilled out into her spirit companions. Totoro and Kermit made sudden jolts from where they lay in a cast iron lunchbox on the desk and Mr. M clawed at his own flesh, arching his back and making a helpless, breathy mewling sound.

From where she was lost in a near-painful red haze, Penny decided that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea... She reached out with her will, desperately trying to cut off the spell.

Ichigo did his utmost best to remain still while he allowed Penny's voice to wash over him, even as his vision clouded over with red as she continued, a blinding red that reminded him all too well of the bloodbath in Room 46. He wasn't quite sure exactly when it started, or where it originated, but Ichigo was suddenly aware of a fresh piercing pain as it shot through his entire body; something like Senbonzakura, only a couple of hundred times worse.

A familiar presence in the back of his head was starting to make itself known, and Ichigo tried to force it back out of wherever it was right now; fighting to stay conscious, knowing full well what would happen if it managed to take control of his body.

The boy gritted his teeth in a bid to keep himself from screaming as the pain seemed to climb a notch higher every second, already feeling his body weakening at an alarming rate. Ichigo could taste blood in his mouth- either he had already sustained an internal injury this quickly, or he'd bitten himself instead... and he was still hoping for the latter as the red started to fade to black.

Penny struggled through the painfully pleasurable crimson haze reaching into herself to find her magic, her Avatar. The spell had to stop now, despite how much she was compelled to never stop... With a snip-snap of her will, the thread tying the two of them together was broken and the runes decorating both of their bodies faded out of existence, exhausted. The light stopped shining, and Penny fell backwards, panting. Her fingers, her eyes, her toes were all crackling with quintessence, power concentrated. It was driving her mad. In a frenzy she stood and looked around the room, spotting the first thing she saw, her Journal, and grabbed it, discharging at least 15 measure of Quint into it. Even though Penny hadn't spelled it or anything, she could tell that it was now a Fetish of hers. The Quintessence would remain until she needed it.

Her work done, Penny collapsed onto the floor, eyes slowly lightening back into a normal color of blue. Mr. M was in a dead faint next to Ichigo on the floor.

ICHIGO.

"Ichigo? Are you all right?"

He wasn't dead, many thanks for that. Penny wouldn't felt a lot more than what she had, had he died...

A maniacal laugh from Ichigo's otherwise prone form face down on the ground was her only reply; and he seemed to be talking to himself, only the voice didn't quite sound like his own...

"I told you already, you are completely pathetic, Ichigo. What the hell are you doing, trying to get yourself killed?"

The figure fluidly drew himself up onto his feet, an impossibly wide grin spread across its face, or at least the part that wasn't covered by the beginnings of a mask that was somehow attached to the left side of once-Ichigo's face; eyes blazing. Only that his eyes were now a deep gold, and the whites of his eyes were, well, completely black. As soon as his gaze fell on Penny, an arm shot out, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her clear off the ground. "So... you're the one trying to siphon power from Ichigo?" It shook its head and tsk-ed, grinning even wider now. "That just won't do... Without his reiatsu I won't be able to show off, and I simply hate not being able to demonstrate my power..."

Penny grabbed the hand around her throat with suspicious strength, the Quintessence flooding her body relieving her of certain human frailties as her will began to take over. This creature possessing Ichigo had the gall to denounce HER? Well, she wasn't going to take that lying down, Pretty Penny was no pushover. She narrowed electric blue eyes at the creature. She could sense it's spiritual nature, a simple matter for her to dispatch, certainly. All it took was a little magic.

"Who are you to command me, who steals someone else's form? I'll just liberate Ichigo of you now. BY THE POWER OF CHRIST, I COMPEL THEE FROM THIS FORM!"

Silver light burst from Penny's eyes as she focused her will through the clause in the bible where Jesus gives all humans the power to exorcise demons and evil spirits.

As it came into contact with the power from Penny's exorcism attempt, the creature loosened its grip on her throat and dropped her with a yelp, yet recovering in seconds. "Nice try... but that's not quite enough to get rid of me, my dear."

Still grinning, it grabbed at the badge hanging from Ichigo's belt and forced his soul out of his body, which almost immediately lost the grin, the mask and collapsed on the floor, lifeless.

"Now, be honoured that you get to witness my true power..." it hissed, pulling Zangetsu off its back and pointing it straight in front of him, reiatsu gathering and concentrating until it resembled a blue flame that surrounded the shinigami's form.

"BANKAI."

Blue crackling reiatsu engulfed the boy, filling the entire room with a blinding white light, power and smoke-

As the light faded, a figure in a black tattered trenchcoat stood amidst the dissipating smoke, pitch black zanpakutou in hand. His eyes glowed an even more poisonous yellow as he took a step forward towards Penny, grin still plastered on his face, maniacal as ever, and almost 60% of the mask had reformed by now.

"Well then, let's all have some fun, shall we?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It was as if she'd gone deaf for several minutes to find the world had changed again. The plates she'd been ready to set aside (as she was now temporary under the employ of the hotel, having used her personal charms -- a pitch in tone here, the flutter of lashes there, a small sad frown on her lips -- to snatch herself and her companions a room in exchange of service in the kitchen as the staff was at a low point in the hotel. Apparently, some of their employees had been caught in the recent massacre and were now either recovering or dead) were now scattered shards of zigzagged china on the floor.

Cold sweat trickled down the side of her face and her pulse pounded hard in her ears. Something was very, very wrong.

In a heartbeat she was out of the kitchen and running quickly up the stairs, the knowledge that Kenpachi and Yachiru should have sensed that insane blast of power her only comfort.

She only hoped they would be enough. For whatever it was.

A lance of reiatsu went straight through Kenpachi's core at that minute, a power so raw and bold that even he had no problem noticing it. For a minute he went rigid, his eye widening. It felt faintly like Kurosaki's spiritual pressure, but ... augmented somehow. Whatever the reason, it wasn't normal.

The moment of alarm lasted only a minute, as Kenpachi suddenly smiled. The massive reiatsu was only one thing to him. The siren's call of battle. Turning on his heel, he burst into the hotel again - ignoring his duties, which included toting garbage. His zanpakutou was unsheathed as he rounded the corner and tore up the stairs, a broad exhilarated grin on his face. "Yachiru!" He boomed, seeing Matsumoto ahead of him. "Upstairs, quickly!"

This was the moment he'd been waiting for since being dropped in this godforsaken city - and he'd be damned if he wasn't enjoying every ounce of it.

The game of hide and seek that she had been playing with the hotel staff was interrupted by a sudden, piercing shock wave of power. Dark eyes flaring wide with surprise, Yachiru managed to smile even though the feeling of the sudden spike of reiatsu had been unsettling at first. The thought of meeting someone, or something so powerful so early into their adventure was invigorating, and she knew that Ken~chan would be only all to happy to find out who was behind the surge of reiatsu, and rise up to meet person in combat - and whoever was behind it was more than a worthy opponent for her Captain.

"Yachiru! Upstairs, quickly!"

The pink-haired girl didn't need anymore prompting than that. Dragging her zanpakutou by the piece of cloth it was attached to, Yachiru quickly headed for the staircase, moving so quickly that her sandals barely clicked at all on the wooden floors.

"Ken~chaaaaaaaaaan!" A gleeful squeal as the small Vice Captain caught sight of the large man, it had taken a lot simply to catch up to him, but somehow she always did, and she eagerly took her position on Zaraki's left shoulder. "You'll really have fun with this one, na!" The smile on her face grew wider with the anticipation of a fight, seeing her Captain this elated was enough to make Yachiru's usual good mood soar through the roof.

"No Usopp, I don't wanna play that game. No stop..!" the young pirate said in his sleep. Then started up a rumble from under him, and Luffy was slowly moved until he fell off his bed. Another few minutes or so, then he woke up, wiping his face groggily. There was no reason for him to be up this late/early and he was not happy.

"Argh! What is going on?!" he yelled to himself. Putting his ear to the floor, he could hear something that sounded like a fight of somesort. Knowing it was Ichigo under him(Ichigo had yelled at Luffy to go to bed) he knew he had to help. Too tired to actually run down the stairs Luffy simply pulled his arm back, then unleashed a rubber-powered punch at the ground under him. Forgeting he was standing where he punched, Luffy fell through the whole, directly above Ichigo.

Penny's Serendipity was on full blast at the moment, it seemed that every variable was going to swing in her favor, unless ghost-boy here had some luck powers of his own. This feeling was multiplied as the ceiling above the Shinigami collapsed, revealing none other than that cute little rubber boy. The witch used the momentary distraction to turn and open her lunchbox, reaching in and wrapping her hand around the first thing she grabbed.

She pulled out a chalice, an ugly thing forged from iron and a hollowed out human skull, with the face of a fierce woman inside of the bowl portion. She held the stem as if she was giving a toast, curtseying in Ichigo's direction.

"A toast, to my health!"

The chalice was one of the Tears of Kali, Entropic Wonders made by ancient Hindu priests. The followers of Kali would toast with them at banquets, the action triggering their magic to siphon off the energy from others and condense it into a rich red wine.

As it worked it's magic on Hollow-Ichigo, the eyes of the face within the cup snapped open, and began to cry the wine of life, sucking in his spiritual energy...

She turned the corner, feet barely touching the floor as her body propelled itself towards her destination. One word rang through her mind in the same manner that the spiritual energy seemed to crackle and snap against the air.

Hollow.

Hollow.

Hollow.

But it didn't make sense for her to feel a Hollow here -- unless it was one of those things that Kurosaki mentioned earlier. But no-- this was a HOLLOW through and through. She'd had enough experience with facing their kind to recognize it in the similar manner that she would know her own two feet. "Taicho! Yachiru! Hurry!" She called back to the two who were following in close pursuit, her hand resting on the hilt of Haineko, ready to draw the zanpakutou at any given moment.

Rangiku halted a heartbeat before the door to the room the presence was pulsing from, her hands turning the knob, opening it to reveal whatever was inside.

Her eyes widened. "No."

What in hell---?!?!!

Turning his menacing grin on Yachiru for a second to nod his vehement agreement at having fun, Kenpachi skidded to a halt beside Matsumoto as she opened the door. Most Shinigami would have a reaction like the Fukutaichou when they'd laid eyes on Ichigo. Then again, Kenpachi wasn't most Shinigami, and there wasn't a icy lump of dread in the pit of his stomach, or a panicked disbelief rattling his nerves. Instead Kenpachi's back went rigid, as he drew himself up to his full 6 feet 6 inches, his ever-present grin so wide it made his cheeks hurt. A low chuckle started to rumble in his chest as he drug the point of his zanpakutou along the ground, carving a deep gouge in the panelled floor. It ground to a stop, Kenpachi's shoulders hitching with the chuckle as it escalated in pitch.

This was just beautiful. Kurosaki? Part Hollow? It couldn't get any better, really. Wrenching the sword from the floor with a shriek of metal on wood, Kenpachi began to laugh. This wasn't his deep chuckle, this was a full-on cackle, his beady black eye wide and staring. "Now for some fun."

The creature tightened its grip on the handle of the zanpakutou, raising the blade to strike, but was rudely interrupted by a loud crash in the the ceiling above as Luffy punched through a hole in the floor; in an instant the Hollow had dodged the falling debris, as well as the rubber boy, now on the other side of the room, facing the door. It cast a brief but uninterested glance at Luffy, before focusing back on Penny as it felt something drawing out more of Kurosaki's reiatsu.

"Are you kidding me? Nice try, lady, but you gotta do better than that." A sneer, and a grin. "You didn't think I'd chosen this kid just because he was good-looking or something, did you?" Of course not; Kurosaki's reiatsu supply was practically endless, and that certainly would help in pulling off showy, powerful attacks.

Approaching footsteps drew nearer and the door slammed open, drawing the Hollow's attention to the three figures in the doorway.

More shinigami?

Two fukutaichous, one taichou. Excellent.

"I shoulda known that more of you scum would be here... Heh. Decided to join the party, did you? Glad you could make it," it snickered, raising the sword above his head once more and bringing it down swiftly, sending a pitch black arc of power hurtling towards the three at the door.

This was going to be so good.

((OOC: *swats at the chibi Kenpachi running circles in her brain throwing confetti and rejoicing* ... this is gonna be interesting. ^^; Edit: Repost because I hadn't realized Matsu~ had replied. :D))

Well, damn. Unfamiliar with the black zanpakutou Hollow-Ichigo carried, Kenpachi hissed a smile. He'd heard that Kurosaki had used Ban Kai on Kuchiki-taichou. Fascinating. Its rather handy ability to fire off ranged attacks could be a bit of an annoyance after a while, though. Time to see if the Ban Kai of a part-Hollow Shinigami was focused enough to peirce through his own reiatsu.

Momentarily surprised at the pain and the way the blast casually carved a sizable cut along his right pectoral, Kenpachi lurched forward to counter the blow, landing solidly in a wide stance with his zanpakutou held out before him. The wound sang, and Kenpachi almost started to laugh again.

"This one's mine." he snarled through bared teeth as he lunged through the door, the battered zanpakutou a shining arc as Kenpachi's mighty arms swung it to meet Kurosaki's black one. The Super Predator had been unleashed.

Rangiku's eyes widened as the beam of power was released towards them. She head Zaraki shout, and instinctively, she reached up, grabbed Yachiru by the wrist for fear for the little shinigami, and moved them both out of immediate harm's way. She heard the wall opposite the doorway shatter, splinters and whatever other debris a fountain overhead, and she ducked her head, hugging her pink-haired companion close, heart pounding, the buzz in her ears loud as adrenaline kicked in, poising her for battle.

"Yachiru, daijobu?" She murmured distractedly, not even looking down at her fellow fukutaichou as she straightened, eyes turning back to where the captain stood for a heartbeat, before disappearing into the doorway, a snarl cutting through the air. It had begun. And she was no longer stunned and afraid.

Kurosaki was a Hollow, the thought was a bitter taste on the tip of her tongue, but that hardly mattered as trust in a comrade was breached yet again. The boy would have a LOT of explaining to do. "Let's go!" She broke into shunpo and unsheathed Haineko, a cat thirsty for the kill.

Wow~ There definitely were a lot of surprises in this place, blinking once Yachiru peered over Zaraki's shoulder to look at the being that stood before them. Though the tuft of orange hair marked the being as none other than Icchi~Icchi, Yachiru couldn't help but feel that there was something ...off. It was Ichigo, but at the same time it wasn't, it seemed that the Hollow mask wasn't only thing that had changed about the teenager. Well, it didn't matter anyway, so long as Ken~chan had someone to play with, and the abrupt laughter that had echoed from the Captain showed nothing but the promise of a good fight.

No sooner than Ichigo's sword had been raised, Yachiru had been ready to abandon her perch on Ken~chan's shoulder (she would never want to hinder Ken~chan in a fight), but was surprised when she felt a strong grip on her wrist, and suddenly her small body had been tugged away, out of immediate danger. Through it all the pink-haired girl had kept her eyes on her Captain, watching as the black arc of power wounded the large man, though it was nothing serious - the fight was just beginning, and from what Yachiru could see, the small room wouldn't be able to contain the battle for much longer.

Matsu's question was left unanswered, Yachiru was sure that the blonde knew that she was okay, the question was likely asked out of formality. Small fingers were still entwined around the fabric that was attached to her zanpakutou as the Vice Captain idly watched Matsu move to the doorway, the look on the older woman's vaguely reminded her of Ken~chan's; in the sense that they both were battle-ready.

"Hmph~" A small pout graced Yachiru's features, this was Ken~chan's fight! But before Yachiru could part her lips to make a complaint, Matsuo had already unsheathed her sword and had broken into shunpo. Sighing lightly, Yachiru continued to look on, hoping that the blonde wouldn't interfere too much.

Luffy fell through the hole in the floor, landing on his head where Ichigo had been standing earlier. For a few moments the monkey boy laid motionless, that was until the clash of Ichigo and Kenpachi woke up him. He had fallen asleep. Somehow.

Strawberry-head was attacking Bell-guy. And was looking quite evil. Almost instantly Luffy knew who the bad guy was. It hurt him to attack a friend, but he knew what had to be done.

"HEY! Strawberry-head!" Luffy yelled at Ichigo, cracking his knuckles. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Luffy had pulled his arm back about two feet, then wich a crack he snapped it foreward aiming at the dark!Ichigo.

The awesome power that suddenly filled the room was almost nauseating in Penny's current state. It made her eyes dilate and her skin flush and her knees weak.

"M, get over here quickly!"

The catboy sprung forward from his perch on the bed as Penny grabbed her lunchbox and Journal. With a deft twist of her waist she spilled the Wine of Life in a circle around the two of them. It was Voodoo lore that alcohol, especially wines, could protect someone from spirits just like salt could when spread in a circle. She invested her will into the barrier quickly, praying it would hold.

"I bet you still don't know just how to use this power of yours, Ichigo! I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO WIN FIGHTS LIKE THIS, SINCE YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY TOO PATHETIC ON YOUR OWN..."

In less than a heartbeat the Hollow had deftly evaded all the attacks directed at him, utilizing the full power of Kurosaki's bankai, and with another few swift strokes, sent another three Kuroi Getsuga careering towards Luffy, Zaraki and Matsumoto. In their wake, it stood poised for another round of attacks, Zangetsu held high-

GO AWAY.

and it stopped in its tracks, its free hand seemingly forcing itself up to the mask, almost completely reformed by this time, grabbing hold of it and-

"LET GO, YOU IDIOT, WE CAN WIN THIS!!!!!"

The sudden mental troubles Kurosaki seemed to have didn't phase Kenpachi. The arc of black energy hurtled towards him, and he didn't bother dodging this one. Partially because he was over-confident in his ability to take the hit, and somewhere, back in his brain, because he didn't want to risk the other two Shinigami taking the blow. A sneer formed on his lips, even as a gout of red blood exploded from his chest as the Kuroi Getsuga collided with the near-uncuttable Captain. Tch. The pain that rocked him from nose to toes slowed his movements only a hair, even if now every breath and every move of his shoulder was screaming agony because of the two wounds he'd taken.

Heavy brow ridges lifted as Kurosaki seemed to debate with himself, looking like he was trying to remove the Hollow mask that was consuming his face. "Heh. And they say I'm the crazy one, ne?" At least it was apparent that the normal (and he used that term lightly) was still inside, and was battling for control of his body and zanpakutou.

Like that thought bothered Kenpachi. Yeah right.

A loud manic sound escaped him, a combination of his bloodlust and the injury to his shoulder, as he swung the battered sword for Kurosaki's midsection. Let's see how talkative he got while trying to hold his guts in.

Rangiku dodged out of the way once more, a curse on the tip of her tongue as the world seemed to swivel round until she was back on her feet again, and a distance away from Kurosaki. She glanced around quickly, as if to inspect the damage on the other people in the room, but her vision was a little blurry, given the crumbling bits from the ceiling as well as residue smoke from the release of power.

When an opening cleared, her brows furrowed, hand still clenched around Haineko's hilt as she watched in half-morbid fascination as Kurosaki's free hand came up to his face, as if to rip off the Hollow mask.

"LET GO, YOU IDIOT, WE CAN WIN THIS!!!!!" She heard him shout to no one in particular. Who the hell was the boy talking to?!?!!

The real Kurosaki Ichigo was still in there, somewhere, and fighting for all he was worth; knowing full well that if the Hollow completely took over... it would certainly spell the end for him.

And he wasn't about to let that happen, not so soon.

"CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M DOING YOU A FAVOUR HERE??"

You'd do me a huge favour by disappearing and giving my BODY BACK. Leave!!

"NO! I WILL NOT LET ALL THIS POWER GO TO WASTE!"

I said let go, you bastard!!!

As the shinigami fought the other consciouness for control, Zangetsu was swung around in blind and reckless frenzy, the walls suffering most of the damage as more Kuroi Getsuga were released in various directions. The sword caught Zaraki's attack in an upswing, causing the tip of the blade to plow directly into Ichigo's face, narrowly missing his hand, and essentially driving it straight through the Hollow mask; it crumbled to pieces, the creature emitting a single unearthly shriek as the force of the blow knocked him backwards with the blade grazing past his cheek as it continued on its path.

Ichigo landed heavily on his back, his eyes returning to normal, and his face, though now openly bleeding from the shallow wound, had lost its maniacal grin.

Finally, Zaraki did something that was actually /helpful/.

The boy pulled himself back up to his feet, breathing heavily with the effort and bringing Zangetsu up in front of him to block any attacks the rest might continue to pull on him. He couldn't say he blamed them; after all, he had been a Hollow a few seconds ago.

Without awaiting any orders that might have come her way Rangiku stood behind Kurosaki in a heartbeat, her fingers firm on her blade as she held the sharp end of it against his throat, her free hand catching one of the boys' to twist behind. The sensation of déjà vu that swept over her caused her to clench her fingers a little bit more tightly around the hilt of Haineko, a half-remembered situation nearly exactly like this still fresh in her mind.

"Explain yourself, Kurosaki." She hissed in Ichigo's ear, her tone dripping with impatience as her grip on his wrist tightened.

Ichigo froze as he felt the cool bite of metal on his skin, releasing his grip on the sword and cringing slightly as it landed with a loud clang; he hoped Zangetsu wouldn't mind.

Seeing that there wasn't anything else he could do, the boy took a deep breath and reluctantly began, "... I became a half Hollow in order to get my shinigami powers back." He failed to mention Urahara, knowing it would probably get the man in a lot more trouble than he already was. "I... did it so I could go to Soul Society and save Rukia. I'm sorry... I never told you guys earlier."

Short and convenient, Rangiku thought immediately in response to Kurosaki's explanation. She stayed where she was though, her grip not faltering on Haineko as she glanced up to check on the captain. The gash on Zaraki's shoulder and chest was bleeding badly, and despite the grin on his face, the look in his eye, Matsumoto was worried about the "patching" up that would be needed now that this affair was done. The wounds looked painful, and she wasn't Unohana-taicho. What little first-aid she knew made her feel incompetent, even now... and she disliked that feeling a LOT.

Rangiku resisted the urge to hit something. For one, they would need Kurosaki alive -- he was an asset to their motley little group... besides, the boy had earned a great deal of her respect in their previous encounter in Seireitei, and though she was loathe to think of it now, he was one of the few in this crazy, mixed up place that she would willingly call a comrade should push come to shove.

"I'll satisfied with that for now," she whispered under her breath, "but I'll be damned if that explanation's enough." She let out a breath and slackened her grip, lowering her zanpakutou from Kurosaki's neck. "Watch yourself." She stepped back with that last comment, eyes now not on Ichigo but on Zaraki instead as the fukutaicho prepped herself to come between them should the 11th Division captain decide to run the boy through.

How disappointing~ The fight had ended far too quickly, and the room was still almost intact (if one would ignore the various holes in the ceiling and walls). And it was all Icchi~Icchi's fault! Never mind the fact it had been Ken~chan's blade that had destroyed the hollow mask, and had apparently returned the orange-haired teen to normal, it was still his fault for being stopped by Matsu~ ...or at least, that's how the situation worked out in Yachiru's mind.

Not even sparing a glance at Ken~chan or Matsu she shuffled over to where Ichigo stood, and delivered a swift kick to the teen's shin. "Hmph~! You're really no fun at all~!" A scrutinizing glare was shot up at Ichigo, and though it was meant to look intimidating, it most likely would be cause for a few laughs from everyone in the room. Hands placed on her hips, she sighed lightly before she too turned away, and looked to Matsu and Ken~chan.

Where was Luffy you ask? Well the attack from Ichigo sent Luffy flying. That's right. Somehow the attack bounced off his rubber body and sent him into the air. He had shot right through the wall, and disapeared outside.

Hours later he would wake up in a small hole in the ground halfway across the city. Until then the pirate was asleep, snoring loudly in the middle of the street.

Luckily for the lot of them, the Captain had lost some steam after the Hollow mask had gone and Matsumoto acted. "Tch. Coulda told us earlier." The debris from the exploded door had left an abrasion on his scarred cheek. Rubbing it idly with the back of his hand, oblivious to the sluggishly-bleeding gashes on his chest and shoulder, Kenpachi stared down at Ichigo. "So you part Hollow now? Heh. I guess we'll be seein' more of that guy later then, ne?" His zanpakutou clacked as he sheathed it, cocking a brow at the orange-haired teen. "Can't say I ain't gonna look forward to it." Snorting in a mix of amusement and disgust, he turned his attention to his diminutive Vice-Captain.

With a flat-handed pat to the top of her head, Kenpachi looked down at her and gave a half-nod. "Y' okay?"

"Mhmm~! Just fine!" The pout quickly vanished from Yachiru's face, and was replaced with a bright, happy-go-lucky smile. "Ne~ But we should get you cleaned up," A hand was raised, and the gashes on Zaraki's chest and shoulder were taken note of by a small waving gesture, "Bleedin' all over the place isn't so good~" It wasn't that the sight of blood unnerved the girl, it was just a slight show of maturity on Yachiru's part - simply because she knew that if someone didn't point out wounds, no one else would; it had always been that way in the 11th Division.

A tin of of medicinal salve was retrieved from one of the pockets in her robes, "Ta~da!" Striking a very knowing pose, the pink-haired girl seemed to be impressed with her own brilliance of managing to remember that she had the tin with her.

Nevermind the fact that Yachiru was one small kid; her kick did more than just a little damage. The substitute shinigami bit his lip and resisted the urge to fall over clutching his shin, mainly because it'd have looked rather stupid to get owned by a little girl who was barely half his height.

Rolling his eyes at the 11th Division Captain's remark, Ichigo sighed and willed himself to keep his mouth shut instead. Given the fact that Hollows weren't exactly best of friends with shinigami, openly announcing that he was in fact part Hollow didn't sound like one of his better plans.

Then again, it might have been useful if the rest had known about it.

Bother.

Rangiku wasn't quite sure what to make of the complete one-eighty on Yachiru's part, but the shinigami figured it was for the best, considering the way the mood improved quickly enough, as though the tension had simply slipped away.

Looking back up to Kurosaki she gave the youth a once-over, a soft 'tsk' on the tip of her tongue when she noted the gash on his cheek. Reaching over as if to inspect the wound herself, she winced visibly, almost feeling sorry for the boy. Shaking her head, her own dark mood dissipating by the second, she sighed. "Looks like we better get you cleaned up too."

Sparing a glance over to the third female in the room she asked the witch, concern in her voice. "Are you alright Ms. Penny?"

His mouth twisting in an appreciative grin at Yachiru's display of the salve, Kenpachi shook his head, mock-offended. "Me? Why 'n the hell'd I need that shit?" Turning his face down to examine the wounds that had stained the white of his Captain's jacket and made the black of the Shinigami uniform shiny with blood, Kenpachi snorted derisively. "These things? Ssshiit. I'm fine." He turned a scathing smile in Kurosaki's direction. "Your precious Ban-Kai's not bad. Gotta admit, I was expecting something at least a little more impressive, though."

Sure, he was shrugging off the pain, combined with a distinct lack of food and proper sleep for the last few days. But in all honesty, this was one mass-murdering lunatic who was more than ready for a long winter's nap. He grumbled, shifting in his jacket, feeling the itch of the small clots of blood as they slowly bonded his clothing to his skin. It didn't help that his unusual hairstyle had managed to work him into a feirce headache. For a moment Kenpachi debated turning around and finding a nice quiet bed to pass out in, but it wouldn't be very nice to dump the aftermath of Kurosaki's little trick on the two Vice-Captains.

...
Wait.

Since when was he ever a nice person?

An indignant huff as small hands tucked away the tin of salve back into the pocket of her Shinigami uniform. True, she wasn't unfamiliar with being told things were fine when they weren't; in the 11th Division 'fine' could mean anything from 'perfectly healthy' to 'not quite dead yet', it was just a way of speaking. The pink-haired girl vaguely remembered Yumichika saying that it had to do with something called a bravado.

So, mannerisms aside, it was really the teasing that irked the Vice-Captain, though, that really was to be expected as well, but somehow it always got to her in the end. The little girl thought simply that she was the one to always have her way, and never vice versa. Still, Yachiru couldn't help but smile and nod in adoration to the Captain's comment toward Ichigo - she could always get Ken~chan back for teasing her at a later time, after all.

The teen met Kenpachi's smile with a glare of his own, unable to keep himself from replying to the other shinigami this time. "At least it got two hits instead of one," Ichigo smirked confidently, wiping the blood as best as he could from the open wound on his face with the back of his hand. "Better than some..." He got cut off as the room suddenly seemed to... tilt?

What the? He was getting dizzy.

... And being dizzy was not a good thing.

Nope... not good at all... This is... whoa... I can't... move...

The boy swayed on his feet once, twice, and was out of it even before he hit the floor.

One brow lifted an estimate of five whole seconds after Ichigo hit the floor. The sound had been solid enough to register to her as something rather painful, but the boy was conked out anyway, so she figured he probably wouldn't mind another bump on the head among the list of his other injuries.

Baka. Ran combed her fingers through her hair witha wry smile, and the shinigami shook her head to loosen her gossamer locks before she knelt down to push the teen back into his human body. When she managed to get Kurosaki back into himself, she turned the boy around and lifted one of his arms over her shoulder with the ease and familiarity who'd been through near-similar situations before. Her free hand caught the teen by the waist, shifting the boy's weight against her own body as she gained back the comfortable footing that would allow her to proceed with her task.

She frowned a bit, disgruntled at his weight. The boy was heavy... but then again, boys his age were meant to be.

Tch. She straightened, tugging on his arm to allow for a better grip on his waist. Just her luck, she supposed, to feel like a mother with sons. Thank kami she was doing a bang-up good job of resisting the urge to either shake her head again, snort or laugh. This was nothing new to her. Nannying the men she knew was an unspoken part of the job description as Vice-Captain -- especially if most of the shinigami that she knew were willing participants for a night out drinking. Though her own taicho never gave her cause to drag him back half-dead with drink from the food and beverage area of Seireitei, the fair number of youths under their division had kept her occupied at point one time or another. She'd blame it on the fact that they couldn't handle their liquor at all.

Rangiku was happy though to have this sort of "inconvenience" dumped on her lap. Keeping an eye out for her comrades was habit more than chore, and the truth was, she preffered it that way... there was an odd sense of normalcy at the sight of Zaraki going slightly mental as he was wont to do, Yachiru not that far behind given that the little Vice-Captain was never really very far from her Ken~chan. And even if she hardly knew Kurosaki, the kid was enough of reminder of Seireitei and everything that was in it.

Yup. This was the comfortable normal--

If a semi-shattered room with a hole in the ceiling and several scorch marks could ever count as normal.

Looking around she just smirked and nodded to the captain and Yachiru, Ichigo's weight not so heavy now that she was used to it. "I'll drag this one back to his room before I head over downstairs to talk with management. Can't have them revoking our room. And oh, I want the bed... or the couch. Anything soft to lie down on please. I don't mind sharing." And with a light (and albeit lazy) wave, the 10th Division Vice-Captain made her way out of the room, unconscious teen in tow, turning in the general direction of Kurosaki's room.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Time to get the real party started. [Open]

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