b"Hole in Chest, not in Heart"

Chapter #10: „Master of Badassing"/b

-W-what? - Renji gasped. - Why... How!

The motionless corpse fell to the ground and a flow of blood escaped from Ichigo's neck. Eien avoided it fluently and jumped away. Grimmjow and Neliel both in their Ressurected forms stepped back too. When Rukia looked at their faces, she saw...stones. Their perfect poker faces didn't let a piece of emotions to be seen.

-Well – Eien got rid of blood from her claws. - If we're finished here, we shall take care of our uncoming guests, should we?

When Eien and remains of the New Espada took a few steps forward, their way was suddenly crosse by three lieuntants.

-You're just going to leave? Like that? - Hisagi Shuuhei asked Eien.

-Wasn't he your companion? - Kira Izuru glanced at Nel and Grimmy with a disgust.

-How could you...? - Rangiku whispered in shock. - Without any remorse!

Eien's eyes shined and an evil grin appeared on her face again.

-I thought you didn't belive that, that person – she pointed at bloody body – was your beloved Kurosaki.

Rukia noticed it. Rukia noticed, that Eien used past tense. Was. Beloved. Kurosaki.

Damn.

She felt how remains of her shivering world fell apart ince again. Her mind reminded a mirror – it was reflecting back everything. But now, that night, the mirror broke. Pieced dipped, showing crying and lost little girl. Little girl called once Rukia.

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

She heard voices around her, but she had heard that familiar shout. Maybe it was hers?

Everything she had barely belived before, now crashed and bursted. Rukia didn't know anything any more. If Ichigo is dead, if he was dead, if he was a fake, if she didn't live, if she loved him.

If? If! If?

-I told you already. I warned you – Rukia felt a hot breath on her face. - Maybe it's not too late. Maybe you can still save him.

After a while, or after an eternity, Rukia started to get what's happening around her. She released, that she was sitting on the ground, nii-sama was next to her. He was calling out her name.

-Rukia! Rukia!

She blinked a few times to clear her eyelight.

-Nii...Nii-sama?

-That's right, Rukia – it was surprising, but he seemed kind of relieved.

-Byakuya-nii-sama, what happened? - she asked.

He stared at her for one good minute and then asked slowly, emphasizing every word:

-How. Do. You. Feel. ?.

-Quite good – Rukia shrugged. - Maybe a bit confused...

-What do you remember?

-What do I... - she repeated the question, but suddenly tide of memories over-flowed her. - I-Ichigo!

-Easy, easy – Byakuya gripped her arms. - You were in shock for about twenty minutes. You didn't respond to any of my callings and just staring into space.

-Where're the others? - Rukia asked, couldn't see anyone on the hill.

-Renji called me but he had to go. There's a big fight down there. It seems that...that person's sun can shine really far. We don't have to fight in darkness.

-New...Espada. Are they...there? - It was still pretty hard for Rukia to get her thoughts together.

-They're fghting as well. At least, the one who can.

That's when they heard a huge explosion, somewhere behind them and a loud laugh, which could be recognised as Eien's one.

-Rukia, please stay here – Byakuya looked in her eyes. - I have to go and help out there.

-I'll go too! - she said and started to get up.

-Forget it! - Nii-sama said harshly, but then he reflected and added in a softer voice. - Your mind is in a mess. Even if you don't want to live, there are still people who want you to stay alive.

Byakuya leaned closer and whispered:

-For Ichigo.

Rukia fell down, hearing that painful name. It was too much for her... But then...

-Wait...Wait, nii-sama! - she called to stop her brother, who was about to leave. - Where's...Where is...

-Yes?

-Where's the b...b...b-body? - Rukia almost spat out the last word.

Byakuya looked around and all surprised stated:

-It's...It's gone!

-Wooo-hooo! - a few more slaughters fell down, Eien jumped into air, turned around and finished a cleaning.

-Che – she smirked. - Bunch of losers. Aizen, come on, show up!

Then she sensed something. It seemed that group of Shinigamis, some of them might be the ones who crossed her way earlier, had a pretty much trouble. It was an invasion – Hell Lords opened for Aizen a lot of Gates, something about 10 or 11, it had never happened before. Eien was thinking about closing one of them, but without Ichigo she would have to realese more power. It wasn't the time yet, and the show must go on.

That was all. Grimmjow and Nel were managing pretty well, but Shinigamis from Kuni-kun's 'army' (if she could call crowd of resigned and bad-trained losers an army) didn't even realesed shikai forms.

Eien jumped into air, going to help that bunch of losers, when she sensed, that help was in no need anymore.

-Damn it! - Renji yelled and slaughtered a few more togabitos. - As always, there are too many of them.

And as always, they couldn't manage with it. Somewhere above, Eien was fighting using her claws. Renji was surprised – he thought, her only weapon was „Soukyoku". Yet, it seemed that girl, or whoever she was, had a lot of mysteries.

For example, why did she kill Ichigo? Maybe it wasn't really Ichigo but... some remains of him. Even so, fake or not, Kurosaki was dead to Renji. No matter how many times he comes back, he made Rukia cried once and it was a once too much.

Renji still remembered that terrible period after Shiba Kaien's death. Rukia was blaming herself for his death and until she went for a mission to the Real World, she couldn't put herself together. But when Kurosaki died it was far way worse. He was afraid to look into her eyes. It was like some part of her died with Ichigo, and that part was responsible for her happiness.

When Renji heard her scream before, he thought that she had died too. It went through his bones and made him shiver. It was a scream full of pain. Full of desperation.

That's why Renji hated Eien. She was always so full of herself, so arrogant and imperial and acting like she would own everything. She seemed to know pretty much about Soul Society and Winter War. And about relationships between some people. But her biggest sin was bringing Ichigo back to life.

-Abarai, watch out! - Renji heard Hisagi's scream.

Renji could stench of dead, stench of hell and a togabito raising a sword. Too late. There was no way for him to stop it. For a while, time seemed to stop and Renji suddenly felt all his surroundings. Tiredness coming from his companions, ground covered in blood, his own blood...

A presence.

Loud roar made ground shiver and air almost got heavier. Renji thought, that if it were going to carry on like that, they all would get involved in the end if the world. Darkness fell and then the light showed again.

A white mask was illuminated.

Hollow growled and rushed on the Hell Gate. It was huge and terrifical amount of reiatsu could be felt. It reached its teeth on Hell Monsters, snapping. They avoided it, but hollow moved faster than they had expected. In a short time, it pierced Hell Monsters' bodies like they had been just pathetic sticks. When it spitted out last of the dead bodies, the voice came out of nowhere:

-Good boy! Such a good boy!

Hollow purred – yes, it purred. It started to moving towards Renji, but it passed by without paying any attention. Renji slowly turned around, as he recognized the voice. Once again.

-Why the hell you did not release your shikai! - Kurosaki Ichigo asked, patting the hollow on the mask.

Eien's sixth sense twitched and called to her from the depths of her mind. She slashed the enemies once again and ended their lifes. It's time to go.

Good timing, Aizen. Eien thought. Just when all from my New Espada are present.

She whirled in the air and disappeared, becoming one with all the heat around.

Ichigo's long fingers were petting the hollow slightly behid the ear. It was purring and searching for more pleasures, like a spoiled cat. He gave him only some more fun and then rushed towards Shinigamis.

He was hoping he must see these expressions for a last time, but he knew it's just a dellusion. Those faces full of fear, surprise and even angst were like daggers. Eien loved it; but Ichigo hated it by all his heart.

Sorry. No-heart. Oh, these human habits still remained.

He got closer to Renji. The man stepped back. Ichigo caught him by his left arm.

-Fool. What were you thinking? Fighting without releasing shikai forms. Have you completely gone nuts? - Ichigo yelled.

He forced Renji to stretch out the arm and Renji shouted because of pain the movement caused it.

-See? - Arrancar grunted. - It's broken.

Renji looked at him wide-eyed – in his eyes was fear. Ichigo, without caring about anything, caught a grip on Shinigami's arm and raised a hand above his injury. Green light flowed from Ichigo's stretched fingers, illuminating the wound. They heard loud „crack" noise, Renji's face frowned in pain, but then it relaxed, feeling the warmth. It was like someone had been healing him with kido, but it felt different in some way. Like it wouldn't be kido, but...but... something other. Something different.

He finished after about 3 minutes. Ichigo let him go and Renji, glancing at him suspiciously, curved his elbow a few times. To be honest, he didn't really know when he did breake it. Hisagi and Matsumoto, who had been fighting along with him before, gasped, knowing that Ichigo had never been good at things like kido.

But...it wasn't kido, was it?

Ichigo turned to the hollow and it welcomed him with a loud „pruuueeeuurr" or something like that. He patted it on it's mask.

-It's quite a big rush, huh? - he asked rhetorically. Well, that creature wouldn't answear him.

Ichigo was patting it for a longer while, thinking. That scream. It was still echoing in his mind, like a little bird caught in the cage. He knew, he knew too well, it was all his fault. He was a monster and mosters are suppoused to make people cry, right?

So he should have got used to it pretty quickly.

But why he couldn't forget that heartbreaking scream?

-Do I want to know why you are alive? - Renji stood behind him with Hisagi and Rangiku by his side. Hollow glanced at them and made a questioning noise. Ichigo quieted it down and gazed at Shinigamis via the left eye, the one covered with remains of mask.

-No.

Renji nodded. - That's all I wanted to hear.

Ichigo turned his head and didn't say a thing. Everything was illuminated by Eien's fake sun and the view he was looking at, wasn't a nice scene. Skeletons were literally flooding out of the Gates, tired and distracted Shinigamis couldn't stop them any more. It seemed like the Hell had thrown all its forces and wanted to make a hell out of SS.

That was bad. Really bad.

Ichigo stretched out his hand to the left. He murmured to Renji to step back. Shinigami fulfilled it; he had no more questions.

Air whirled around Ichigo's fingers and it made a growling sound. The space separated, showing chaotic and mysterious darkness, full of strange flashes. By looking at that, you might see some bizarre things, or not things, but memories of past, future and reality. The eye seen here and there, an old ruined city, metal constructions. It all could be seen in the gap between dimensions – Garganta.

Then it moved. One movement, another. Abnormally quickly. There weren't any memories there any more – there was only terror. Terror of white masks, howling voices and the no-heart creatures.

Hollows came out of Garganta like an inflow. Pterosaurs, lions, dragons, wolfs, horses, tigers, bears and at last ordinary hollows; all creatures from nightamres and dreams gathered in one place and time. They were made of human's misery and pain, the incarnations of heart-piercing sorrows.

I'm no different than them, Ichigo thought. Well, I used to look like a lizard. And I still can.

Grimmjow's appearance interrupted his admirations of destruction and distress. His companion came closer and patted Ichigo on the back. Or rather – hit.

-Haha, Kurosaki! - Grimmy shouted with a wide demonish smile. - Welcome to hell! Again!

-Yeah, hell, indeed – Ichigo snorted. - Esspecially, when I brought our own 'hell' here.

The hollow, which first appeared, growled happily and jumped. It joined to thousands of its kind, rushing towards Hell Gates and togabitos. They hit the enemy like a wave, crushing, ripping and pushing the creature back where they came from.

-Beautiful – Grimmjow said, enjoying the sweet scent of death. - Just beautiful.

Something curled inside of Ichigo. Macabre.

Suddenly, they heard the tramp. It was coming closer and closer and after a short while, Nel turned up next to them.

-Wow, Neliel, why so sudden...

-Shut up! Aizen's coming!