InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Clash of the Egos ❯ Sesshomaru and Santen Kesshun ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: It's kinda obvious that I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach, considering my name isn't Rumiko Takahashi or Tite Kubo.

Also, just to clear it up, in the manga Ichigo has orange hair, and in the anime he has blonde hair {hence the name “Bleach”}. We are goin for orange!

In this fic, I'm going to put in some romance, but I hate all the out-of-character-lovey-dovey-ness! I had to say this because people are asking for romance.

Oh, and thank you everyone for reviewing our fanfic. Write more reviews to motivate me!

Chapter 4: Sesshomaru and Santen Kesshun

Ichigo was running late at night in a park. The moon glowed eerily as if it were an eye watching Ichigo's every move. It was dark and very hard too see even in front of him. He had been running…but from what? The gravel crunched under his feet and pain started to grasp him. He was losing his breath, but still didn't dare to stop, not even for a moment. He was nearing the playground when he heard it.

It was a high screech, “Shreeeeee, shrreeeeeeeeee.”

Ichigo looked to his left and swinging on one of the metal swings was…Rukia?! She wore her Shinigami outfit, a black, unarmored samurai suit. Her short black hair hung freely to her shoulders. He saw her mouth moving swiftly in the dark, as if whispering an incantation.

“Rukia?” Ichigo approached her cautiously, “Hey?”

She mumbled something unrecognizable in return.

“Are you okay?” He waved a hand in front of her face. Rukia's strange behavior didn't settle well with him.

She looked up. Her eyes were crazed with insanity and she spoke finally, “CHAAAAPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ichigo backed away in horror. Out of nowhere, thousands of Rukias emerged from the shadows and he could only watch helplessly as they bombarded him, causing him to fall over. They all screamed the same word, “Chappy!!!” while trying to choke him.

“Ichigo…” One the many Rukias said.

“Nooo! Don't kill me!”

“Ichigo!”

“No!”

“Ichigo wake up!!!”

Ichigo bolted upright from his blankets and threw Rukia across the little room. He gasped for breath, having broken into a cold sweat. What a nightmare.

“What's wrong with you?” Rukia asked rubbing the back of her head where she hit the wall.

“You were trying to kill me!” Ichigo half expected to wake up in his room at the Kurosaki clinic, but the sight that greeted him was the inside of a wooden house. He then remembered, `We're not in my world anymore.'

“Huh?” She stood up and walked back to him, “Were you having a dream?”

“Yeah. You were screaming “Chappy” in my face. It was scarier than it sounds.” Ichigo blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the light streaming through the window. He felt rather groggy, seeing as he hasn't changed for a whole day. Not to mention he hadn't ate since lunch yesterday. The emptiness of his stomach gave him a throbbing headache.

“Well, anyways, it seems everyone has left this place to fight a demon.” She informed him. Ichigo opened his mouth to speak when they heard a howl.

`HWOOOOOOOOOOOO'

They seemed to be thinking the same thing; the others were fighting not a demon but a hollow. Ichigo swallowed the soul candy and his soul ripped from his body. He and Rukia ran out of the house and down the small dirt road to the edge of the village.

“I'm starving! Do we have to fight NOW?” Ichigo whined, “I can't believe I haven't eaten in a day.”

“Quit complaining! Get that hollow!” Rukia yelled as they ran. “Hurry up!”

A scream echoed in the air when all of a sudden one of the village's houses collapsed completely. A woman screamed as the villagers scattered. Ichigo whirled around and jumped out of the way in time to escape from the clutches of two giant (colossal) talons.

“OH MY GOD!” Kon yelled while he cowered behind Rukia, “What the hell is that?!”

“A chicken.” Ichigo said frowning, “That thing is huge and you expect me to be able to kill it?”

Rukia slapped Ichigo on the back of the head; “I SAID QUIT COMPLAINING! INCOMPETANT FOOL!”

“No need to be so rough.” Ichigo replied and unsheathed Zanpaku-to.

“The longer you hesitate the more people will get hurt!” she said pushing Ichigo forward, “Now GO!”

“Fine, fine, fine…” he said, stepping forward and bringing Zanpaku-to before him, “Here it goes…” He jumped, swinging his sword down on the crow's left wing. The blade bounced off, the wing as strong as steel. `You have GOT to be kidding me…' he thought. Ichigo was repelled backwards a few feet away. He landed on his feet, pain shooting up his ankles due to the impact. `SHIT.' He thought.

The crow hollow finally noticed them, and dropped the boy's limp body from its beak like a bug. It screeched, flapping its wings and sending up dust and debris. “Great! Now he sees us!” Kon yelled frantically. “What're you going to do now Einstein?”

“Shut up you! I don't see you doing anything!” Ichigo yelled back.

“Imbeciles…” Rukia mumbled. She grabbed Kon and threw him forth and said, “You fight too! This hollow isn't normal!”

“Rukia-nechan! How could you be so cruel!” Kon cried as he stood up.

Ichigo ignored the two and jumped, Zanpaku-to aiming for the hollow's mask. He hadn't noticed it until now but the mask wasn't white but a blood red. He hesitated, uncertain if it was real. The crow took advantage of this moment and slashed down on him with a wing. Ichigo grimaced in pain while he fell to the ground. That felt as if he had been cut by something really, really sharp. “DAMMIT! YOU STUPID CHICKEN! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!” he yelled.

“Ichigo!” Rukia yelled, “If you keep shuffling and yelling like that it'll be able to fight you!”

“What?” Ichigo asked.

“It doesn't have any eyes!” she yelled. “SO BE QUIET!”

Ichigo looked up at the hollow, where its eyes were supposed to be there were round, and black-painted places. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He carefully got up and silently ran around the crow, trying not to breathe too loudly. But it didn't make a difference. People were still running round and screaming at the top of their lungs so Ichigo had a better chance of getting to it.

Ichigo lunged, but then he forgot that the feathers were steel blades and had to rotate out of the way when Zanpaku-to had clanged against them. He landed on a house rooftop with a light bump. `Damn…' he thought. The crow paused for a moment before beginning to take the souls of the little boy it was eating. Ichigo jumped and seized this moment to diagonally cut the vulnerable spot on the mask.

“CRWAAAA!!!” The crow screamed, blood flowing from the mask in gallons. Ichigo gagged as he was splattered by blood. It flung its wings around before falling into the dirt. Ichigo gasped as it burst in flames, its cry still echoing in his ears. He started to feel woozy. Maybe it was because he was starving. The hollow turned into ash and his vision became blurry.

“ICHIGO! WATCH…” the voices died and Ichigo felt the gravity pulling on his back. He felt himself wandering from consciousness.

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Orihime smiled as she strolled down the sidewalk on her way to a nearby shrine. She had run out of incense that morning while she was praying for her brother. The usual shrine she went to had closed down about a week ago; their business hadn't been the best. She was one of their only customers. She hummed to herself happily while she jumped up the steps of the Higurashi Sun Shrine.

The steps were a bit tiring and she was almost out of breath when she reached the top. She wandered among the series of small buildings wondering which one was as and where she could buy something. Then she spotted a small, hut-like building to the far right. `I wonder if it is that little place…' she thought. It certainly looked like a stand, but when she slid open the door it was surprisingly empty and dark.

“Helloooo!” Orihime called as she wandered in. Then she was hit by echoes.

“HELLOOO!”

“helloooo…”

She blinked a couple times, startled by the noise. Then a familiar scent came to her nose. STRAWBERRIES! IT SMELLED LIKE STRAWBERRIES! Ichigo had been here. She jumped down the small steps onto a dirt floor. In the middle of the room there was a dark well opening. `Oh, so this is a well house…'

Orihime approached the well and peeked over the side. She could not see anything but darkness. Curiosity got the better of her, and she leaned more fully over the side. “HELLO! ICHIGO?” she yelled. There seemed to be no water in the well. “I wanna check it out!” she said before climbing over the lip of the well and jumped.

The well was much deeper than it seemed. She felt as if she would fall forever. And then a daydream hit her.

Ichigo and Rukia were standing over the well, looking down. “I DROPPED MY BACKPACK!” Rukia yelled and jumped into the well.

“WAIT FOR ME!” Ichigo said, jumping in with her.

But her daydream was interrupted. Her surroundings began to glow an eerie purple as she fell. Orihime squeaked when she hit what seemed to be the bottom. Light hit her face full on and she squinted as she stood. `What?' she thought, `The well was in a room! And it was dark!' she thought as she looked around. Vines she had never noticed before crawled up the walls of the well, entwining themselves into the stone.

Orihime shrugged and climbed up the vines. They seemed to be pretty sturdy. She pulled herself up from the well's rim and looked around. Birds chirped in the distance and a forest surrounded her.

“Where am I?” she mumbled as she wandered farther away from the well and into the woods.

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“Ugh…” Ichigo groaned as opened his eyes, his vision still blurred as he looked up, seeing two blurs hovering over him.

“Is he dead?” a child's voice asked.

“Of course not, Shippo, he just…um. Is he dead?” Kagome's voice said.

“No, I see him breathing… I guess he was just fatigued.” He recognized Rukia's voice.

“Look Kagome! He's coming to!” Shippo said as his small hands rested on Ichigo's forehead, “He's burning up though!”

Ichigo mumbled something he lusted for, “FOOD…”

“I knew it. He's just lacking nourishment.” Rukia said, “Get up you idiot if you want food!” she growled, grabbing Ichigo's shirt and shaking him violently.

“You're gonna make me throw up!” Ichigo yelled in complaint as he got dizzy again. He pushed Rukia and grabbed his head as if trying to stop making his head spin.

“Drink!” Kagome said, thrusting a water bottle in his face, “You're probably dehydrated from all that work.” Ichigo somehow managed to take the bottle and binge on the water.

“What the hell happened?” he said, sitting back against one wall of the room. “God my head hurts.”

Rukia crossed her arms, “You passed out after you killed that hollow. We had to carry you back.”

“What about the boy?”

“His soul is still wandering out there. We should try to find him and perform Konso.” Rukia replied, “This village is littered with souls. I didn't notice until now. It seems a Shinigami never visited these people. You must purify every single one.”

Ichigo nodded, and took the bowl of soup Kagome handed to him. He looked around the room, realizing everyone had been watching him as he moved. “…Hi.” He said quietly before turning to his food and gobbling it down.

“How did you learn how to master that sword?” Sango asked looking at Ichigo suspiciously, “It seems to be a demon sword like Tetsusaiga.”

“Wrong!” Rukia interrupted, “It is the Zanpaku-to, the ghost cutter. It is used to purify the souls of the dead. Though they're not always the same every Shinigami has their own.”

Sango cringed, “Interesting.”

“Hmm, how does one get to be a Shinigami?” Miroku asked.

“Usually you are born into it. But in Ichigo's place, he inherited his powers from me.” Rukia seemed as if she would supply a never-ending list of answers.

“Keh…”

Ichigo rolled his eyes, `Here he goes again…' He looked at Inuyasha, “Have you made up your own little language here?”

Inuyasha snorted, “Keh, like you would know.”

`Oh my God this guy is an idiot.' Ichigo thought. “Are you aware that some things you say make no sense?”

“Now, now. Don't fight, after all we just finished eating.”

Rukia nodded, “You're right. We must gather our strength. I have a feeling our day is going to be very long.”

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Sesshomaru stared blankly at the forest before him. His arms were crossed and he sat atop Ah-Un. His quest to dispose of both Inuyasha and Naraku hadn't proved very fruitful recently. Rin, as always, chattered endlessly about random things. Jaken squawked at her to be quiet. Though his face showed no expression, angry thoughts of the Kikyo woman who dared to insult him had gotten Sesshomaru in a bad mood. He added her to the list of people to get rid of.

“Sesshomaru-sama! I see someone!” Rin exclaimed. She pointed to a seeming human girl who didn't seem to be aware of them yet. Her back was turned and her brown hair poured down her back. She wore garments unlike any other human.

`She may be a demon…' Sesshomaru thought, while commanding Ah-Un to stop with a tug of its reins.

The human finally noticed them and spun around. Her eyes widened at the sight of Ah-Un, then she eyes moved to Jaken, then Rin, and then Sesshomaru himself.

“Wh-where am I?” She asked without hesitation in a confused voice.

“Are you a human?” Instead of answering, Jaken questioned.

She blinked and rubbed her eyes. The girl marched up to the toad demon and poked him as if testing if he was real. “Am I dreaming?” She sounded serious. “You look like a cartoon!” she yelled pointing a finger at Sesshomaru, “Or a drag queen!”

“Insolent fool! How dare you speak of Lord Sesshomaru in such a manner!” Jaken screamed, “Feel the power of the Staff of Heads!” The little toad demon raised his hideous deformed staff, depicting two human heads entwined together. The head resembling an old man screamed as its jaw opened and flames poured from its mouth.

The girl gasped and screamed, “Santen Kesshun!” Ornaments pulling her hair back glowed and it seemed like tiny balls of light floated around her and formed a shield, blocking the fire.

“Gyah! HUMAN! YOU'VE BLOCKED MY FIRE! NOW YOU WILL PAY!” Jaken shrieked and commanded the staff to attack again.

“Jaken…” Sesshomaru said quietly, grabbing his minion's skull and throwing him into the trees. `He is going to slow me down for his ignorance.' Sesshomaru thought as he looked down at the girl. Her child-like innocence reminded him of Rin whom now stood behind him peering down at the human over his shoulder.

“Sesshomaru-sama! She looks lost! Can we help her?” Rin said as she bounced up and down. “Ah-Un! Down!” Sesshomaru shook his head. How the little child ever accomplished taming the dragon was beyond his knowing. Ah-Un did as commanded and glided down to the ground.

Rin jumped off first, bouncing over to the stranger. “My name is Rin! That's Sessho-sama and Ah-Un. Nice to meet you!” She smiled widely and held out her hand. The girl seemed taken aback by the sudden approach but smiled back and took Rin's hand.

“Nice to meet you! I'm Orihime Inoue!” The girl said happily. Rin grabbed her wrist and ran over to Sesshomaru.

`Please… do I need another shadow to follow me around?' Sesshomaru thought as they advanced. If Rin had been absent from the scene he would've slain the girl already. He crossed his arms and refused to shake hands with Orihime. It seemed improper to touch a human woman.

“Oh Sesshomaru-sama!” Rin said as he tugged on his arms, “Say hello to Miss Inoue!”

“Rin let's go. We are in a hurry. A human girl can't come along.” Sesshomaru replied as he yanked his arm from her grasp and turned to Ah-Un.

“But Sesshomaru-sama!” Rin cried, tugging on his sleeve, “She's lost!” Sesshomaru looked up to Orihime, his gold gaze unwavering.

Orihime smiled, “It's alright. I can go by myself. Bye Rin!” She waved and walked of in her own direction. But then there was a crash and a…

“SESSHOMARU!!!!!!!!!!”

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Ichigo was performing Konso on the ghost of a departed villager when he heard the scream of Orihime. Now, he and Rukia were sprinting towards the forest.

“Do you really think it's Orihime?” Rukia queried as their feet crunched on the ground. They had managed to match each other's pace.

“Yeah. I could bet my life on it.” Ichigo answered, “But how could she?”

“I'm not sure.” Rukia replied

Speaking was hard to do as they hurried, winding through the green. It seemed like tension disturbed the otherwise peaceful scenery.

They heard voices shouting, among them was the voice of Dog-Boy. The others were unfamiliar, but one sounded like a shrill cackle. Ichigo and Rukia dodged some trees in their way. If they could follow the noise, Ichigo was sure they could find Orihime.

“There they are!!!” Ichigo spotted Inuyasha who had his sword pointed at a silver-haired woman wearing the gaudiest, most elaborate costume Ichigo had ever seen. The woman's get-up also seemed to have a fluffy, white, dead animal hanging on it. Behind the woman was a two-headed…dragon?! Standing awkwardly between them was Orihime.

“DON'T!” She screamed, “GET AWAY FROM US MONSTER!” Of course Ichigo presumed she was talking about Inuyasha who growled like a terrier.

“Orihime! What the HELL are you doing here?!” Ichigo yelled as he stomped over, stopping at Orihime's side.

“Ichigo! You saved me!” Orihime exclaimed as she glomps Ichigo. “I was looking for incense for Kakei and then I fell into this well and I'm here now!” Ichigo sweatdropped when he looked from the woman in white and the little girl who stood behind her.

“Who the hell is she?” Ichigo asked, pointing to the woman in white. “What the hell is she doing here and why am I here?!”

A/N: This has disturbed Sesshy greatly and now he is in a state of shock.

Inuyasha snorted in pleasure, “She's my brother!” and he cackled horribly, stabbing Tetsusaiga into the ground before collapsing in laughter.

“You mean…that's a guy?!” Ichigo yelled in horror. A moment of silence came down upon everyone.

“Sesshomaru-sama! Is the flame-haired person talking about you?” the little girl asked eyeing Ichigo. Then she laughed, “Sesshomaru-sama is a man! You have to be really stupid not to see that!”

Ichigo cringes while he says, “And you have to be really stupid to be so rude to a stranger RUNT….” He paused, “And how come she can see me? How come they BOTH can see me?” he demanded looking at Rukia.

“Perhaps she has encountered death….” Rukia replied, her chin between her index finger and thumb as if she was in deep concentration.

The “man” seemed to grimace as he looked down at his companion. Then Inuyasha seemed to still laugh at his “brother” “Sesshomaru's hanging out with a HUMAN? That's one funny joke there!”

Ichigo slapped his head in frustration. `I'm surrounded by idiots.' He thought frustratedly. “Ok, ok…I just want to get done with Konso so I can go back to bed! My arms are still aching from that free-for-all yesterday!”

“Are you the Shinigami, who attacked,” The Sesshomaru guy paused as if the next word burned his mouth, “Kikyo?”

“Who?” Ichigo asked but then remembered. Kikyo was that one girl. “Yeah, so?”

“I wanted to tell you that she is planning to kill you. ALL of you. One reason why I am here. Because I am the one to dispose of the imbecile, Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru implied, his arms crossed.

`Sibling rivalry…' Ichigo thought sighing. “Fine whatever. We'll heed your warning and all… Just go…”

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF LORD SESSHOMARU THAT WAY!!! DIE!” A little voice screamed as some toad-like little gnome, stood in front of Sesshomaru. “FEEL THE POWER OF THE STAFF OF HEADS!” it screeched.

“What the fuck?” Ichigo said staring down at the little thing. Even before it could do whatever damage it could on him, he smashed it with his foot. “God, that thing reminds me of Kon.”

Sesshomaru didn't seem to care he just turned his back on them.

“I've got it! You're a demon.” Rukia said crossing her arms and glaring at him. “You are probably half brothers with Inuyasha. I can tell by your aura! Somehow, death has come very near to that girl. And someone saved her. I bet it was you.” Once again, awkward silence filled the air. But the little girl didn't seem to care. She ran up to Orihime much to Ichigo's surprise and smiled brightly.

“Orihime! Maybe we can play sometime! Sesshomaru-sama protects me from any demon and he can protect you too!”

“I'm so sure…” Ichigo growled under his breath. But soon as he said it he was lying on the ground, clutching his knee in pain. “OW! YOU LITTLE BRAT!” But somehow he calmed himself, he tried to distance himself as far from the little girl as possible.

“Ok then, Rin! I'll teach you some games next time!”

The little girl smiled and headed back to Sesshomaru, taking his hand as they climbed back upon the two headed dragon which Ichigo seemed to still not believed it really existed.

“Sesshomaru-sama? What does, `dispose of' mean?” she asked.

“Nothing….”

Ichigo could still hear Inuyasha snickering under his breath.

“OSUWARI!”

Crash.

End Chapter