The Scrolls of Innen Chapter 1

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo

The Scrolls of Innen Plotline and all unrecogniseable content deviating from the series including characters, changes in design and setting belong to Sierra N. Michelle

Mood music: “I learned from you” by *shudders* Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus.


The Scrolls of Innen
Scripture: Serendipity
Scroll 1: Settling Scores


A man stood in the center of the large stadium-sized room. He is surrounded by men and women dressed in dull white-gray robes, his brilliant orange hair stood out, contrasting, stark.

One being stood tallest, mightiest. The soutaichou. He looked down upon the young man, not even tilting his head, just shifting his eyes, staring, and boring into his. He understood this boy’s power. This human boy who’s reiatsu even now leaked into the room letting the inhabitants know that he was not someone you wanted to provoke.

“Youngling, you understand why you are here.” It was meant as a question, but as Yamamoto stared appraisingly down at him, like he was inspecting artwork, critically, deciding his opinion; Ichigo couldn’t help but feel it was a statement.
He nodded.

“And you know that should you not plead your case I can eliminate you with ease?”

He didn’t nod. Ichigo merely glared up at the old man, engaging him in a fierce staring contest. “Look old man, don’t waste my time. You have no right to decide who lives or dies; you have no right to tell me I don’t deserve to live. You made this mistake with the mod-souls, Rukia and a bunch of others I’ll bet. So you senile old fart, I want you to come down here and tell me to my face that because I chose to save someone important to me I don’t deserve to live.”

“FOOL! WHAT KIND OF CASE IS THAT?!” A small figure appeared in the doorway of the massive room, she stood tall, despite her stature, and proud…and most of all furious. She leapt down the flight of thirty steps in one bound she flipped and landed and hard kick to the human boy’s skull.

“A compelling one Miss Kuchiki,” The old man couldn’t help but beam despite his distain on the issue. “But I stand firm before this council. A hollow resides within Kurosaki Ichigo; a parasite that lives of anger, hatred, chaos and fear. Our enemy lives in that boy, why Lieutenant, shouldn’t I condemn him to death?”

For the first time Rukia was able to hold the ancient man’s gaze. She did not fear him, she couldn’t, not today. Today she needed to save a life as the substitute shinigami has done numerous times for her. “Ichigo Kurosaki may be an idiot, a fool if you will-”

“Gee thanks, I’ll definitely go free now.” Ichigo got up off the floor massaging the back of his head, nursing a large bump. In reply her fist shot up and hit him under the chin.

She continued as if never interrupted, “But you owe the lives of many of your captains, lieutenants and countless other seated and not seated members to this very fool. Not to mention the immense power he holds that would slip through your grasp. Need I remind you that this is former Captain Aizen’s killer?”

Titters and whispers swept through the room like a sandstorm blowing over the desert, it stopped as quickly as it started; silenced when Soutaichou Yamamoto raised his palm.

“Miss Kuchiki, are you willing to back this human youngling completely?”

“Yes.”

“You are not biased in any way?”

“No, I have only soul society’s interests in mind.”

“Even though that hollow that resides within the chaotic mind of this teenage boy is the very thing that caused the scar across your face? That very nearly brutally massacred you with no remorse? Can you still defend him?” The General hadn’t raised his voice once, he had kept it civil and level throughout all of his questions. Yet it was after this succession that the air tensed.

Hackles rose on the back of her neck when she thought of that terrible night that seemed many centuries ago. Suddenly Rukia felt her age and at the same time she felt so much younger than she looked. She couldn’t draw breath, she could only remember.

A clap of thunder. Lightening flashing across crazed demon eyes. Eyes that were so wrong set into that familiar face. Fear. Screams. Her own. A laugh; high, maniacal, crazed…his.

She lifted her tiny hand to the long scar marring her features in a jagged bolt across the bridge of her nose; the evidence of what he had done.

His eyes were on her now, she could feel it. The guilt was almost tangible in the air. Thick as water, no…thick as blood, so much so she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t bring herself to try. Coralline liquid pounded in her ears like a pressure she’d never known.

“Yes.”

With that one word two hundred and one gasps of air filled the stadium, her ostentatious haired lover being one of them.

Yamamoto himself broke the silence, “And what do you propose we do to contain that monster?”

“I think I may be of service sou-tai-chou!” A familiar voice echoed through the hall drawing the unwanted attention away from the lady noble. Heads swiveled in a fast succession to the window where the completely conspicuous signature magenta hair blew in the wind. Yoruichi was perched on the windowsill, left foot swinging back and forth to the beat of a soundless song.

“What gave you the impression that you are welcome here, Yoruichi?” The level emotionless voice of the omni powerful (so he thinks) captain asked icily.

“Don’t give me that old man, you know you missed me!” with cat-like grace she hopped down and walked slowly, unrushed to stand in between Ichigo and Rukia. “I will help him suppress his hollow.”

“How do you propose you do that, insolent woman?” The team of two also turned towards his former ‘tutor’ for the answer to this eternal problem that caused so much strife throughout the past five years of his life.

“Two words ya ole coot; Urahara Kisuke.”

X x X

“Aw man.”

“You got off easy, what’s there to complain about?!” The raven haired girl shouted as she stepped up to the gate to the human world. “Count yourself lucky you aren’t dead.”

“No thanks to you.” He muttered stepping up beside his teacher.

“HEY! I defended you to the best of my abilities.” The tenseness of the courtroom forgotten, the shinigami and representative reaper were right back to what they always did to show their affection. Argue.

“Good thing you didn’t draw one of your stupid ass bunny drawings or I’d be dead for sure.” He jabbed.

“What’s wrong with bunn-” her angry retort was cut off by Yoruichi throwing an arm around each of their necks, which was hard considering the height difference.

“Neh, neh, calm down you two weirdoes.”

The trio was quite a sight, with the dark skinned woman slouching sideways over Rukia while still hanging off the almost illegally tall Ichigo’s shoulder, all three trying to fit through the sliding doors at once.


Three months later…

“Alright Kurosaki, you’re free to go for the day.” Urahara waved lazily, giving him that secretive I-know-something-you-don’t grin. Ichigo simply rolled his eyes and dashed out the sliding doors of the shop leaving the tiny looking, yet vast space filled with dusty boxes, old charms, pez dispensers and a large quantity of items Ichigo suspected were complete crap.

‘Dammit I’m going to be late thanks to that no good lazy idiot!’ he turned a corner quickly; leaving skid marks where he slid and continued sprinting towards the Karakura University.

Suddenly a yell broke through the air followed by a piercing scream, “YUZU!! Dammit get the hell out of here!!” The familiar voice had come from a short ways away.

His stomach dropped to his feet, his heart pumped adrenaline from its place in his throat, he wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and go back to sleep, today was turning into one of those days.

There was a hollow attacking them, he could sense it.

‘Not today, not today, not today!’ he shouted in his mind as he raced towards the sounds after swiftly depositing his human body behind a bush. But in truth he knew it was better today than tomorrow when he would be back in Sereitei patrolling the borders, or doing paperwork.

And Karin and Yuzu would be dead.

As soon as he turned the bend he saw it. It’s antenna holding Yuzu up by the neck…like last time. His heart formerly pumping adrenaline stopped completely, it didn’t beat, and the ghostly sound that usually drummed an erratic rhythm loudly in his ears while he fought stopped completely.
It was the grand fisher.

But where was Karin? Fear gripped him more fiercely this time, was she gone? Though his feet had carried him faster than he’d ever run in his life, had he already lost her? Was he too late? With that contemplation anger coursed through his veins, his heart beat came back to life as if a defibrillator has shocked his chest full power.

“Bastard, get away from my sister!” the voice that spoke was not his own, it was a woman’s. His head swiveled to the sound. There was Karin meters to his left, staring intently straight at the hollow, as if she could see it. Then he realized it; she could. His worst fears were confirmed; his little sister…was able to see the white faced monsters, but for how long? How long had these demons haunted her nightmares and waking moments?

He watched her draw a pocket knife from her sock, he would lecture her later on carrying dangerous weapons…okay, the hypocrisy doesn’t apply in this situation, but first he would get them all out of this.

He shot up and drew his sword, slashing the antenna holding his other sister. “Ahh, the substitute soul reaper, I was wondering when you would come.”
Said soul reaper caught his sister round the waist, noticing she had fainted he deposited her on a bench farther back.

“Ichigo, what the hell?!”

The redhead turned towards the 15-year-old girl, “So you can see me, Karin… that changes things. I’ll explain later, but I have a score to settle first.” He leapt at the hollow, memories of his mother, his family; happy times ran through his head. He would kill him.

And he did. Easily. Slashing time and time again, brutally slaughtering this creature that took everything away from him.

All the while Karin stood there expressionlessly, stoic, her usual façade yet different. This was frightening, not closed off, but dead. It was then that he knew what that expression meant. She was afraid. He found it didn’t suit her.

Ichigo first picked Yuzu up off the bench and hitched her onto his back in a careful, loving, brotherly way. In other words he threw her over his shoulder and hoped she landed on his back.

“Explain Ichi-nii-” She had been waiting for this moment for years, finally an excuse to ask him everything she craved to know.

Karin was suddenly cut off by a strong authoritative voice, “you won’t need our assistance then I assume, Kurosaki.” Ichigo turned towards Hitsugaya who had appeared in his shinigami form across the street, Rangiku standing ever by his side. After five years, no longer towering so much over him.

“No,” he muttered, noticing Karin had never taken her eyes off him, “that bastard and I had a score to settle.”

Karin stayed silent. Hitsugaya glanced her way out of the corner of his eye. He nodded his head towards her, “…can she see us?”

Fed up with being ignored and talked about like she wasn’t there, Karin stomped over to the two shinigami, she bent so she was nose to nose with Hitsugaya, “YES I can damn well still see you, clear as day To-shi-rou! Just like I’ve been able to for five fucking years! Now stop talking about me like I’m not here and someone explain to me what the hell’s going on?!”

In spite of the teenager nearly spitting fire in his face he remarked to himself dryly than even though he’d grown a great deal since he’d seen her last she was still several inches taller. He frowned and gave her a look.

Then she realized why he’d asked; her brother didn’t know they knew each other and that she could see them.

She glared back anyway forcing him to turn away from her smoldering dark eyes and focus on Karakura’s resident reaper. “I’ll leave this to you.” He turned to his lieutenant. “Matsumoto.”

“Hai.”

The two disappeared leaving Ichigo to explain to a very reluctant sister why she had to drag his body home…