City of Emptiness Chapter 5

[madimpossibledreamer]

On Shadowed Suspicion: The next chapter is written.  However, my beta is ridiculously busy at the moment and doesn't have time to look at it, so it'll take a bit for him to get to it.  Patience, guys.

Main Points:
Bleach AU
Chapter Summary: Ichigo and Shiro are getting a little antsy at the inaction.
Word Count: 1,328
Rating: K

 

They’d wandered almost everywhere, and even Shiro hadn’t felt a thing.  The inactivity was making King get a bit bored, frustrated, and antsy.  Not the best combination, either for saving people or their newfound…well, sort of partnership, anyway.  Shiro closed his eyes when they’d reached the next courtyard, while Ichigo paced restlessly.

“You’re sure you don’t sense anything?” he snarled, resting Zangetsu across his shoulders, rather than at his back.

His counterpart winced, fighting the urge to answer sarcastically or fight back.  He hadn’t felt that for a long time, but then, he hadn’t had to deal with an awake Ichi in…well, forever.  Or as good as.  And he’d missed it, but obviously he’d forgotten about this.  “I sense a few things, but none of them make any sense.  It’s like…this whole place is fogging up my senses.  Or something.  I dunno, I haven’t sensed anyone in a long time, and that’s actually kinda messin’ with me more ‘n anythin’.”  He sighed, then paused, settling himself by the base of the tree.  “I’m better ‘n you, but I still kinda inherited some ‘a your spiritual blindness.”

The flare in reiatsu hurt, mostly because he wasn’t expecting it.  His head snapped back so quickly it cracked against hard bark, tears swimming in his eyes, playing happily with the stars in his vision.  “Tch.”  He glanced away, baring his teeth, trying not to show how much he was in pain.  “Gotta do somethin’ ‘bout that temper ‘a yours.”

Ichigo was quiet for a while, maybe even considering his words for once, then grunted.  “It’s not like you’re not annoying.  Jerk.”  The quiet returned for another few seconds, then he crouched down.  “Let me have a look.”

“Wha-huh?!” He flared his spiritual pressure, trying, and evidently failing, to be intimidating.  (Then again, Ichigo had been learning for years how to intimidate, not being intimidated, so honestly it shouldn’t be that surprising.)

King snorted.  “At your head, idiot.  That sounded like it hurt.”

“I’m not a wuss!”  He wanted, badly, to flail his hands, but that’d make him that one idiot, and he wasn’t having that.  He was holding them in place so hard they were beginning to shake.

“Never said you were.  But fighting with a head injury is just stupid, and if we’re going to work together, I need to know if you’re wounded or anything.”  He yanked on a lighter hand, but not too hard, in case Shiro wasn’t expecting that either.  He was, but he was also putting all his effort into staying upright, which was counterproductive.

“Stop being a baby.  You’re reminding me of Kon.” 

That would get him moving, and surprisingly enough, after a few more seconds of resistance, it worked on his Hollow too, who yanked his hand out of the other’s hold, crossed his arms, and stopped fidgeting so he was actually within reach.  “Happy now?” Shiro snarled.

Expert hands probed the back of the head, but other than a slight bump, his counterpart appeared fine.  The pupils were the same size, and he didn’t have any of the other symptoms to worry about.  “How do you feel?”

The teeth flashed again.  Ichigo guessed he’d probably get used to that.  Eventually, the Hollow answered, sounding…well, a lot more human than he would’ve expected.  But this was true of the entire time since he’d come here.  “Humiliated.  And it hurts.”

“No dizziness or headache?” he asked, sounding distant.

Shiro snorted, but this time Ichi recognized the humor and lashing out as the Hollow feeling cornered.  “You’re soundin’ like that old goat.  And nah.”

Ichigo nodded, looking away again, moving, crab-like, to a place alongside Shiro, back against the tree, then stretching his legs out.  The Hollow was acting more like a brother than his worst enemy, which was weird.  But he could deal.  He’d seen a lot of weird things over the past couple years.  “So, what did you feel?  About this place.”

“You’re still oblivious, aren’t you, Ichi?” the Hollow asked, snorting.  “Have you bothered to look at where you are?”

King didn’t stop frowning.  His frown deepened.  “What, am I supposed to recognize this place?”

Shiro sighed loudly.  And no, he didn’t exaggerate it.  At all.  “Well, let me think.  Look around, genius.”

Ichi surveyed their environment, the blank frown on his face not changing at all.  “I don’t.  It’s kind of…boring, don’t you think?  And it doesn’t look like anywhere in Karak-”

He was interrupted by a slap on the back of his head.  “No, you idiot.”  Ungentle hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him toward the angle he was supposed to be facing, although he had no idea what he was supposed to be seei-

Oh.

One long, slightly pale arm pointed to a group of tall buildings on the horizon.  A group of very familiar buildings.

“…We-we’re…”

He couldn’t finish.  The thought was…

“Not exactly,” his Hollow shook his head, for once looking grim, not smiling.  “See, that’s the way this place looks.  But it ain’t Seireitei.  The feel of the place is wrong, and look at the people who’re here.  They’re not Shinigami, or the dead in Rukongai.  They don’t quite feel human, either.  They’re also not Hollows, Arrancar, Quincies, or Vaizard.  I’m pretty sure they’re spirits, not physical people, but I could be wrong.  Other than that, I can’t get much of a grip on their spiritual pressures.”

His fists clenched.  “What is this place supposed to be?”

Shiro shook his head.  “Not sure.  I mean, look at it.  Pretty much exact copy, and even the spiritual feel to the place is nearly identical.  But somethin’s just off.  No Shinigami, not even a trace of one anywhere, and believe me, I’ve been here longer than you have.  I’ve looked.  I haven’t found anything worth mentioning.  I definitely haven’t found any of those ugly shadowy guys before.  But the feel of the place…it’s familiar, but it’s putting me on edge.  And ‘cause I can’t figure out why, t’s buggin me even more.” 

He sighed, turned over a hand, staring at it, looking suddenly drained.  “Somethin’ you should know, King, those ‘people’, whatever they are, they weren’t here a few days ago.  The place was completely empty when I showed up.”

He glanced up, staring into the distance, with a look so…empty, so unhappy, that for a moment Ichigo felt himself feeling sorry for his Hollow until he remembered not to.  Just temporary truce, here.  It’s not as if they actually are brothers or anything like that.  “But whatever this place is, it’s dampening my senses.  I caught K-Asano-san, for a moment.  But I don’t feel him anymore.  Don’t feel anyone.  Chad was here somewhere, and I mighta caught one of your brat sisters, but it was so brief I don’t know anymore.  Only ones we know for sure are gone are Ishida and Kuchiki.  Hade, don’t even know if Orihime-san’s ‘ere or not.”  He sounded worried.  Hiding it, but still.

Then Ichigo rolled his eyes at an extremely obvious thought that occurred to him at the mention of Ishida’s name.  “How good is everyone else at sensing spiritual pressure?”

That earned him a cautiously curious look.  “…Depends.  Some of them, sure.  Better ‘n you, anyway.  But I’m not sure what they can feel through this.”

“Was it here when you first arrived?” he asked again.

Shiro blinked, eyes turning a little more golden.  Genuine surprise.  Then he snorted.  “I really am turning into you.  The oblivious one.  It was a little, I guess, but more…held in check?  I dunno.  It wasn’t nearly this active, just kinda…a power, waiting to be unleashed?”

“Hmm.”  He made it to his feet, scanning the environment, then shrugged mentally.  “It can’t hurt, I guess.  I mean, if we make ourselves noticeable, maybe the others will know to come this way.  And if anything else notices, we can beat it up before it gets the chance to do anything.”

A grin.  “Now you’re talkin’, King.”