Scratch Memory! Break the Lock

Title: Scratch Memory! Break the Lock
Chapter: 3
Author: Merci
Pairing: Chad/Nova
Rating: R
Source: Bleach
Wordcount: 2, 378
Summary: Nova confronts the Hollow that has possessed Chad.

Warnings: Yaoi (male/male relations), violence
Notes: I’m not too sure how I like the ending to this, but it’s going to stick. I did have an idea for a 4th chapter that essentially was an explicit account of how they consummate their relationship, but… well, I don’t know if it would fit in with this.

Again, I’m taking liberties with Nova’s powers, and if I’m violating some sort of space-time laws, I’m sorry. It’s just a fanfiction and I’m exhausted right now.

If you’ve enjoyed this, then I’m very glad. I know this pairing is a bit obscure, and I essentially wrote this for my own enjoyment, but if anyone else also likes the Chad/Nova pairing, and likes this, then I’m very happy to have made something that enjoyable.

I’m rambling, so will now shut up.

Thank you.

---

Scratch Memory! Break the Lock
Chapter 3

Nova lightly stepped onto the bridge from his dimensional gateway. The cement was solid under his feet and he could see the river meandering beneath. He snapped the gateway shut as he ran to the side, leaping over the railing and landing on the soft slope that led to the shoreline under the bridge.

He would have commented on the Hollow’s lack of creativity with the choice of location, if Nova could get over the rage that filled him. His feet sank lightly into the mud when he stopped. The shadows under the bridge were dark, shielded by the dawning sun overhead. The wind whistled across the water and Nova narrowed his gaze. “Come out!” he shouted, balling his fists.

“Ah, you remembered,” Chad’s voice purred from the shadows. It turned around, shrouded in darkness as its yellow eyes burned in the blackness. “It brings back memories, doesn’t it? I worried I’d only have this one’s soul to eat, when yours is so much… more interesting.” Its lecherous tongue snaked from its lips as it moved closer to Nova – it was alien to see Chad moving in such ways.

“I’m here, let him go.”

“I never agreed to that,” the Hollow said, snapping forward and grabbing Nova’s wrist. “I just wanted another opportunity with you. See,” it pulled Nova close, licking along his mask. “I wanted to drown you and then eat your soul the moment it came loose; when your soul chain cracked… but your brother disrupted those plans.”

“I had a brother?” Nova’s heart throbbed in his chest at the idea. He couldn’t remember anything.

“Had.”

Nova narrowed his eyes. If the Hollow had eaten his brother’s soul, then he was gone… and if it happened again, then Chad would be gone, too. He snapped forward, breaking the Hollow’s grip. “Don’t think I’ll make it so easy for you this time.” He teleported, appearing above Chad’s body and swiftly kicked it in the head. He’d seen Chad take devastating attacks and escape without a scratch, and he prayed he could hit hard enough to rattle the Hollow inside.

Chad crashed into the tunnel before turning back, a sick smile on its lips. “I’m not opposed to fighting for my meals…”

Nova teleported again, this time exiting inches before Chad’s face and head-butting him.

The Hollow bowed back, Chad’s eyes temporarily returning to normal just before the alien-yellow flared again, tainting his aura.

“Chad, if you can hear me…” Nova said, teleporting again and kicking him in the gut.

“Hii hii, he can hear you, Nova,” it charged an attack, letting it simmer for a moment. “But he can’t do anything to stop me. Hii hii, in over two-hundred years I’ve never met someone who could overpower me.” It punched out, firing the charged attack at Nova. “Even your brother couldn’t do it; he only staved off the inevitable!!”

Nova tripped as he spun out of the way. His feet skidded along the loose stones under the bridge and he pitched headfirst into the shallow water. He splashed about, fighting the panic that took hold as he fought to regain his footing. He didn’t see Chad rushing upon him, fist blazing with another attack as it connected with his chest, launching him further along the riverside and out from the shelter of the bridge.

The sun was just rising in the sky, painting the clouds a burning red that seemed to leak into the blue. Nova sputtered as he gasped for breath as he turned over in the shallow water. He coughed as some water trickled down his throat. He could sense the Hollow rushing in for another attack, and he ripped the shield off his back, just as Chad knocked him down once more and held him under.

Chad’s voice sputtered above him, filtering through the water in echoing waves as he pinned Nova to the riverbed. There was only an inch or two of water above his head, but it was enough. The red sky filtered through the water, casting a blood-red shadow over Chad’s poison-yellow eyes and he pried at the strong fingers that locked around his throat.

He flailed about wildly as his life flashed before his eyes and one in particular burned brighter than the rest; being with Chad. He’d found someone he could trust so wholly, someone he could be with, and it would all be torn away before he could act on his feelings.

His last breath burned in his lungs. It wouldn’t go quietly and it burst from him in a horrible scream that propelled him upward.

The water splashed about him as he pushed against Chad’s strength.

The Hollow wouldn’t do this to him. Not this time.

He grabbed Chad’s wrist with strength he didn’t recognize. He’d caught the Hollow off guard and he channeled his power through his shield. The Hollow may have shared his power, but it held no control over Nova’s gateway dimension. Nova could feel the portal open and draw him in, amplified by his shield, he willed it to close around his body and extend along Chad’s arm.

The Hollow’s yellow eyes widened as the flash of red and black light enclosed around it, leeching over its stolen body and drew them into the dimension between worlds.

+

They crashed through the gateway and broke apart. Nova coughed wildly, greedily sucking air into his lungs as the heavy reiatsu weighed on the Hollow, distorting its mind with vertigo, buying him a few precious seconds.

Black smoke hovered along the red walls of the corridors. The flooring moved beneath Chad, as if it was living or unstable, while Nova’s footsteps were sure and steady as he lunged, kicking Chad in the stomach and sending it flying.

“You…” Chad rasped in the Hollow-voice. “You’re stronger this time.”

Nova nodded, picking Chad up by the throat and slamming it against the wall. How much damage would he have to do before the Hollow left Chad’s body?

Would it leave Chad?

Nova concentrated, willing the corridor to solidify as he slammed the Hollow again and again. He pressed the it hard into the side, molding the walls around its limbs and holding it in place.

“Hii hii, you really are the king of his dimension. It’s like mine, I see,” Chad looked around, his yellow eyes burning in the crimson atmosphere. “You can teleport from one location to another in a second, or you can stay here for a while…”

Nova tightened his fists, glaring at the thing inside his friend’s body.

“This is similar to my dimension, only it lacks the pleasant blue and white atmosphere. I can stay there for years if I like. I can come and go as I please, popping out whenever I sense a tasty soul on the other side. I was enjoying the surge of Bounto that were appearing there for a while. They are difficult to catch, and put up more of a fight than regular humans, but… ah, when I finally catch one, they are delicious!”

“If you’ve been around for so long, then why attack us now?” Nova demanded. “If you’ve been stalking me, then why kill those other humans? You’re responsible for the murders, aren’t you?”

“Ah, those, I was feeling peckish,” he waved off the question, absently rubbing along its--Chad’s chest. “I was waiting for you, though. There was something about your soul that I liked. Even now, you’ve been modified by some Shinigami, but you still have this delicious smell.” He forced his way free, snapping pieces of the wall with his fist.

Nova backed away, but it was upon him, his fist jerking out and capturing his throat. He struggled for a bit, but the Hollow used Chad’s strength well and pinned him against the wall. It pressed intimately close, rubbing Chad’s chest against his body and smiling at the reaction it earned.

“What’s the matter? You weren’t adverse to this body pressed against you before.”

“…Chad…” Nova tightened his jaw, fighting the weight upon him.

“Don’t you love him?” It twisted Chad’s mouth into a sad grin, his eyes looking at him in pity. “Hii hii hii, that’s such an empty word; nobody understands it. I’ve watched humans and Shinigami say it so often…” it pulled back, turning its head awkwardly as if in thought. “‘Love’ is just like a sword that’s lost its sheathe; rusted and dull and can’t cut anything.”

“Don’t…” Nova lowered his gaze, feeling the wall hard and cold against his back. He never said words needlessly, and he didn’t need words to tell Chad how he felt.

He narrowed his gaze, looking into the Hollow’s eyes, only its eyes as he saw a familiar aura flit across the yellowed edges. “Chad?”

His breathing slowed to a whisper as he bent his powers to the extreme. The dimensional reiatsu flickered for a moment and he teleported – winking out from the Hollow’s grip and instantly reappearing behind it.

Moving within his dimension was… beyond chaotic. He bit back a groan of vertigo as emerged and kicked Chad face-first into the wall. The Hollow barely had time to turn around, when Nova poked a tiny exit hole behind it. The gravity from the opening snapped the Hollow back, just as Nova grabbed its wrist and pulled in the opposite direction.

Nova was the master of that dimension, but even he wasn’t sure if his idea would work. He strained, tightening his hold on Chad as the exit widened and the gravity intensified.

Chad’s head snapped back as the too-small opening fought to suck him through. His body struggled against Nova, against the pull, but it was a losing battle.

“I won’t let you have him,” Nova grunted, pulling Chad close. He wrapped his arms around his back, holding him tight, his heart leaping in his chest when Chad’s aura shifted and he returned the embrace.

He looked into Chad’s familiar brown eyes. The yellow tinge clung to the edges as an awful screaming seemed to echo around them.

The Hollow’s voice burned in their ears, warbled and gurgling as it shrieked, defiant in its defeat.

“Nova!” Chad called as the Hollow tore free, manifesting behind him and immediately snapping back against the exit.

“I’ll still come for you… Nova…!” it spread its arms wide, its spined hands digging into the walls. “This isn’t over!”

Nova tightened his grip on Chad, holding him close as he watched the Hollow struggling. He had no words for the feeling bubbling inside him. He’d never had so much contempt for something, but the feeling moved him to sedition.

The Hollow was struggling against the wall, trying to claw its way out, but it wasn’t enough. Nova narrowed his eyes and willed another opening to appear beneath its right arm, and then its left. He poked open a few more, only vaguely aware where they exited, but unable to look away as the Hollow struggled to escape.

It was hopeless.

It shrieked as the gates began to snap shut. One closed, and then another, severing pieces and limbs until the Hollow’s voice disappeared into darkness and the final gateway snapped shut.

Nova collapsed to the ground and panted heavily against Chad’s throat. Opening so many gates at once was so draining, but he couldn’t hold back his smile. He did it.

“Nova,” Chad whispered, pulling the mod-soul close against him.

Nova dropped his head against his shoulder, shuddering lightly as he gasped for breath. He pressed a hand to Chad’s bare chest, inspecting the damage he’d inflicted. He could see the bruising beginning to form across his stomach and he pulled back, wincing as he saw a dark mark forming around Chad’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he lowered his gaze.

“Don’t,” Chad caught his chin. He ran his finger along the edge of Nova’s mask and tugged it down, quickly stealing a kiss.

Really, it was all he needed to say.

+

They stayed like that for a few moments, letting the atmosphere settle around them and Chad seemed to become accustomed to it all.

Nova’s thoughts were preoccupied with the things the Hollow had said. His previous life and his family… his curiosity was piqued, but he was too exhausted to think more on it.

He stood, willing an exit to Chad’s room to tear beneath his fingers. Through the exit, the sun shone through the bedroom window and they stepped through the exit, appearing in Chad’s room before Nova snapped it shut behind them.

A school uniform hung over a chair, taunting them with obligations. Chad walked into his room and looked out the window. It was time for school, but instead of reaching for his uniform, he picked up his phone instead.

“Ah, Ichigo…” he began, followed by a long pause. “Nova got the Hollow.” There was another long pause, before he nodded into the receiver and hung up.

Nova watched all this, cocking his head to the side when Chad set the phone back on its cradle and shut the curtains, cutting out the light and leaving them in semi-darkness.

Chad approached him then, his aura vibrating with a touch more confidence as he stood there, finally glancing towards the bed.

Nova understood the look and nodded. He unzipped his hood, letting his mask fall away from his face. His jacket landed in a heap on the floor behind him, followed by his leather leggings and he stood before Chad with his heart pounding in his chest.

Chad nodded to him, having stripped down to his underwear. There silence between them thrummed with exhausted anticipation and they moved together, gravitating to the large futon and climbing under the covers.

The sheets were cool under their skin and the moved close together, the nervous air between them eased with the familiarity of their first tender kisses. Chad ran his fingers through Nova’s red hair and pressed a light kiss to his forehead before resting his head on the pillow.

Nova sighed contentedly and rested against the soft pillow as well. His soul was ready to explore his feelings for Chad, but his body was too exhausted to move. He smiled and shifted close, letting Chad’s warmth surround him as he drifted off.

+++

A/N: "All I Ever Wanted" is the followup to this story. I feel it stands on its own, so I've posted it separately here. Please visit my profile to see it.