The Forgotten Heir

Okay, to those of you who are still faithful, thank you so much for the constant waiting. Finals were slowly killing me on the inside, which is why I’ve been away for so long. Now I am back, and we will now issue more action and drama.
Disclaimer: Don’t own Bleach or Freezing!
Chapter 5: Secret
“I know you said you’d tell me what I wanted to know, but where exactly are we going?”
Cars honking and people laughing passed the estranged couple as they walked down the busy sidewalk, glowing lights from buildings and lamps gleamed their way across town. The late night air of an early spring delivered a cool breeze as they silently pressed onward, while Arnett’s annoyance towards the young man in front of her heated her skin.
After finally catching him in the cafeteria booth, guzzling down a cup of tea like it wasn’t anyone’s business, it still seemed like he slipped through her fingers again. Arnett remembered he took one long look at her, and then gave a teasing smile, saying how much of a slowpoke she was. He didn’t give her a chance to retort when he suddenly stood up, after she sat down of course, and told her to follow him.
“I don’t know about you Arnett,” he began, noticing the slight flush on her face as he spoke her given name, “but I’m more of a visual learner. It’s such a pain to try and learn something you’ve never seen before. Besides,” he outstretched a large hand towards her, waiting for her to grab it, “it’d be better if I just show you.”
That was two hours ago, she grumbled to herself as they continued walking, another breeze shocking her system. One thing she was grateful for was him allowing her to change before they set off, which was a good and bad thing for Arnett. The good news was she wasn’t cold anymore, but was still plenty embarrassed she forgot to change due to her hastiness at the gym.
The bad news-he also took that time to change as well.
Arnett figured Akira was tall, but it seems the loose school uniform didn’t do his body justice. Midnight hairs meshed with the pitch black long sleeve shirt he donned, the fabric loose enough for comfort, but plenty tight enough to display taut shoulders and lean muscles. Navy blue jeans gently fit around his hips as one bronze toned hand shoved itself deeply into a pocket, while the other held a similarly black-colored phone. She couldn’t help but watch the form in front of her as she walked, but she wasn’t the only one who got a good look. Through her peripherals, she saw women decelerate, even fully stop their stride just to stare. Even through all the whispers, she noticed Akira still staring intently at his mobile phone.
Suddenly, Akira unexpectedly stopped, quickly closing the onyx phone in hand as he shoved it back into his jeans pocket. Arnett stopped as well, mere inches away from almost colliding into his large back. Folks passed them by like a mere block in the road, numbly going to their next destination. He quickly turned to face her, a light frown held in place as he leaned his head downward. A pregnant pause passed between them before he released a nervous laugh, nearly shocking Arnett and other pedestrians as he rubbed his dark hand against the back of his neck.
“Sorry about that,” he glanced at her hesitantly, “I was so focused on getting here I forgot you came along.” Arnett only raised a confused eyebrow at him as he laughed again, unsure if he was just teasing her, or if he was always like this. Suddenly, Akira stopped laughing, and turned his head to another direction.
“Over there,” Akira pointed out to other end of the street. Arnett turned to where his digit landed to see a small fountain set at the entrance of a park. She noticed him quickly cross the street, paying no mind to blazing horns and angry curses as he approached the structure. After he crossed over, Akira motioned her towards him, until she speedily closed the distance. Confusion still set on her face, Arnett only watched as Akira hurriedly sat down on an empty bench, gently patting the empty seat beside him. Unsure why he decided to stop here, she gave a light shrug as she too sat down, her legs crossed in a relaxed pose.
Akira glimpsed at his cell phone one more time before placing it on the cold wood, his full attention set on the redhead next to him. Arnett looked at him in surprise as he rubbed his hands together, his frown replaced with a tiny smile and curious eyes. Her brow furrowed once more as he looked back to the fountain, a grin etched onto his features.
“I’d say in about ten minutes, another creature similar to last time will head towards us. I’ll answer as many questions you want answered,” Arnett almost let the questions flow until he immediately stopped her, “but…on one condition.” He didn’t notice Arnett raise her eyebrows, her muscles tense as he looked back at the fountain.
“Condition?” A quick smirk flashed across his features, only to be replaced once again with the small smile. “Oh it’s not a big deal,” he began, paying close attention to her actions, “it’s just that I need to explore some places in the school, but I don’t have the correct access.” Arnett only gave him a blank look as he continued on, “It seems in order to obtain that access, I need to…be with someone, if you catch my drift.” Arnett almost asked him what he meant until it suddenly dawned on her.
In exchange for information, he would more willingly than not, be her partner.
Arnett should be jumping at the chance. Here it was, this golden opportunity of a lifetime staring at her like a goose laying golden eggs, and yet…she was actually second-guessing herself?
Was she seriously thinking of saying no?!
Rushing water was the only sound they heard until Akira raised an eyebrow at the perplexed Arnett. “So do we have a deal or not?” he coaxed, crossing his long arms over his chest, “or are you starting to have cold feet?” Slowly placing a stray strand over her ear, unwavering copper orbs sparked up to him, her decision ready.
“I’m in,” Akira made a silent victory, glad the plan worked, “but I have my own condition.” The victory music that started to play in his head abruptly halted, curiosity getting the better of Akira. “Alright, what’s your condition?” he asked, waiting with bated breath at the gleaming young woman. He quickly noted the street lights gave her features a soft glow, but the blazing copper orbs appeared brighter than usual sending a light tingle down Akira’s spine.
Arnett gave a smirk of her own, set on playing Akira’s game. “I’ll let you be my partner, but I would never stoop so low as to play some fake couple,” she slowly edged towards him, her voice beginning to lower to a husky whisper, “No…I would never forgive myself if I let someone like you slip through my fingers.” Lithe fingers gently grazed Akira’s hand, moving upward in a slow, almost tortuous pace up his forearm, his shoulder, up to where it finally stopped to his neck, the intended target. “If you’re that intent on getting that information, you’d better be ready for the whole nine yards…Akira.” Another tingle went down his spine, much stronger from before as her voice became softer still, her warm hand gently caressing his neck. He didn’t realize he moved his head downwards until he could literally feel feather-soft lips graze his ear, his one hand clenched tightly to regain his control.
“I underestimated you,” a deep rumble escaped him as a chill ran through Arnett’s system, “you’re quite the spitfire, aren’t you?” He gently brought his head back up, losing the warmth from her fingers as his molten amber orbs stared into shining copper. “You have a deal, Arnett Mcmillan,” he began, his own smirk etched onto his features. With a small gasp, Arnett felt a warm hand on her waist as Akira moved closer once more, this time his lips almost on hers.
“Just want to let you know,” he whispered, almost touching the soft pink, “I never back down from a challenge. Ever.”
A shrieking ring had the couple immediately distance themselves, Akira loudly cursing at the black device while Arnett blushed as dark as her hair. Quickly standing up to pick up the phone that carelessly fell to the ground, Akira flipped it open, only to curse once more as he shoved it back into his pocket.
“Looks like time’s almost up.” He exhaled a deep breath, the substance now visible as he felt the cold seep in. Looking back, he noticed Arnett also rub her arms with her hands, feeling the cold as well.
“I guess a quick explanation is in order before they arrive,” he said while digging his hands into both pockets as if searching for something, “what your friend became was a Hollow, more specifically a soul filled with regret,” Mentally cursing it wasn’t in his front pockets, he switched to his back, “when people die, they pass on to the next world…my world…but sometimes when people feel like their life wasn’t fulfilled before they die, they remain here until people like us come and fetch them before they start turning into these…things,” He let out a small sigh of relief as he pulled out what looked like a stuffed lion from his back pocket, and placed it onto the bench.
“We, the Shinigami, are sworn to protect the human from the Hollow, to prevent the destruction of innocent souls.” Gently squeezing the stuffed toy’s stomach, a turquoise orb the size of a gumball came out of the thing’s mouth. With no signs of disgust, Akira swallowed without hesitation. Arnett quickly covered her eyes from the blinding blue light, only to open them once more to have them become as wide as saucers.
There was not one, but two Akira’s that stood before her.
The one she assumed was the real Akira stood before her in a black gi, the jacket sleeves completely ripped off, the belt holding the jacket and pants together was tied fairly loosely, leaving a strong chest and well-toned arms for her to see. Looking down at the pants Arnett realized he was barefoot, shocked at how he appeared alright with her feeling so cold.
“You get used to it,” He spoke, as if he could clearly hear her thoughts, “Usually first-timers actually feel cold when they sense them. You build immunity of it over time.” Arnett only nodded in understanding as Akira gave her a small smile, before it immediately changed into a deep scowl. He looked down at the other Akira, clothed in the street clothes he previously wore, who looked like he was just about ready to piss himself in fear.
“Hello Kon,” an aggravated tone left Akira’s lips as he continued to glare at himself, “I’m sure you remember the rules when we switch bodies, right?” he growled, angry golden orbs pierced into fearful ones, as ‘Kon’ began to stutter away.
“Y-yes sir.” Akira frowned as he watched the mod soul do whatever it took to not directly look at him, absolutely sure to just look down at the floor. “Are you sure?” Akira questioned, a suspicious eyebrow raised itself, “remind me what the rules are, just in case before I decide to let you go.”
“I-I-I swear on my life to not touch anything I’m not supposed to.”
“Or anyone.” Akira quickly deadpanned.
“O-or anyone.”
“Good,” Akira let out a large grin, “Because I’m sure you remembered what happened last time you disobeyed the rules, right?” Kon shivered at the memory, his fists clenched together as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
“Right?” Kon quickly nodded in agreement, glad his toy body was nowhere to be found. Looking at his surroundings, his eyes instantly fell upon Arnett, not even stopping the hungry gaze that gleamed onto his face. Akira instantly took notice and grabbed the back of Kon’s neck, not paying attention to the sharp cry that escaped from the Mod Soul.
“She’s off-limits,” he murmured into the mod’s ear as he tightened his grip, already knowing the area will bruise, “Make sure she doesn’t leave your sight until I get back, understand? If I hear a single word about you doing anything funny, I know Natsu is still looking for a test subject for her brand new chemistry set.” A light whimper only came from Kon as Akira released him, looking back to Arnett as she stood up.
“Kon will be with you until I get back. I’ve made you two can watch what they’re like as long as you keep a safe distance. If you feel you might be in any danger, let Kon know immediately, and he’ll take you to safer ground. Although Kon here should know if things get out of hand.” Akira gave one final glare at the kneeling individual, who finally stood up and rubbed off the invisible dirt from his clothes, his face held a disgruntled look, while Akira paid no mind.
“I should be back in a few minutes, so you just stay tight, and we’ll get right back to where we left off.” Akira let loose a big smirk at Arnett’s blush before he walked off, until his form instantly disappeared like a flash of lightning.
o.O.o
“Hmph, don’t look down on me you stupid brat,” Kon huffed, using Akira’s body to fold his arms together once the man left, stamping his feet in a minor tantrum, “just because you picked me up back then does not give you the right to abuse me like some chew toy!” With an exasperated whine, Kon only crouched in defeat while being silently watched by Arnett through his whole performance. Arnett couldn’t help herself but giggle at his antics, much to the surprise of Kon as he perked up from the sound.
“Hey missy,” Kon started, his attention on her as she stopped her giggles, “what makes you so special to get boss’s attention? It’s very rare for him to actually smile for people he just met.” Arnett didn’t really understand what Kon meant by that. She thought Akira was always like that, always smiling and laughing and being annoyingly goofy.
“You mean he’s not like that when he’s at home?” she asked, watching Kon raise Akira’s eyebrows before letting out a hearty laugh. Arnett could get used to the sound, if only it was made from the right person.
“He can be a jokester at times, but he’s been through a ton of shit over the years,” Kon murmured, “I remember him being such a sweet kid. Smart, too, although he did use his brains for not so smart ideas. Over time, he forced himself to become this other being, as if the person I came to know was completely wiped off the face of the earth. I remember him telling his sister once his main goal in life was to restore his clan’s honor. Honor, honor, honor, that’s all I ever hear him talk about, besides military tactics. I don’t really know why though, but to each his own I guess.”
The two of them only sat in silence as Arnett blew warm air into her hands, her cheeks tinged pink by the cold air around them. She had a feeling Akira wasn’t here just to play around in the human world as he called it, but then why did he come here, to West Genetics of all places? What was so intriguing about a simple military school?
Absentmindedly, she began to fiddle with the small chain wrapped around her neck in thought, fingering the intertwined metal crescent moons as she waited for Akira. What she wasn’t expecting was a tall body come extremely close to disturbing her personal bubble, golden eyes unwavering as he zoned in on the metal jewelry.
“Hey missy,” Kon whispered, as if he was afraid of what he was going to ask, “Where…did you get that necklace?”
“What, you mean this?” Arnett asked holding up the metal pieces for him to see, a warm smile graced her face, “my mother gave it to me a long time ago. It’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember. In fact, I don’t remember ever taking it off as a kid, so I know this piece and I’ve been through a lot together.” Suddenly, without warning, Kon quickly pulled Arnett up off the bench, and pulled her away from the fountain area as quickly as he could.
“Hey, what’s going on?! Do you sense something?” Arnett angrily cried out while Kon paid her no mind, loud mutters leaped out from his mouth at a mile a minute, with no intention to stop.
“He should’ve made you stay home, missy,” Kon said, his iron grip held fast to Arnett’s wrist, “that stupid brat. He doesn’t realize you’re in a lot more danger than he thought.”
“Wait, stop!” she forcefully grabbed her wrist back from the intruding hand, which she received a very harsh glare. “What the hell’s your problem?!” Kon shouted out, reaching to grab her hand but failed at his attempt, “we need to keep moving. We’re sitting ducks out here if you’re thinking of playing twenty questions!”
“My problem?! What’s your problem?! And what do you mean I’m in more danger than he thought?” Arnett watched as Kon began to pace, rubbing the black hair into an even bigger mess.
“The necklace…why didn’t I see it before…oh Nee-san what do I do?”
“What the hell does my necklace have anything to do with this?!”
“That necklace,” Kon began, his patience near his limit, “is a very powerful spiritual charm. If you say you’ve had it for as long as I think you’ve had it, then that piece has been protecting you for all these years. Until now that is.” Kon quickly looked up towards the sky, muscles completely tense before successfully grabbing Arnett’s hand once more as he began to run off. “He didn’t tell you a damn thing about spirit pressure or any of the like am I right?”
Arnett forcefully shook her head no to escape the rush of cold air from her face as they ran faster down the street, not realizing the bustling crowds from before had vanished, as if the whole city was a ghost town. With even breaths, Kon tried to explain as quickly as possible, in the most simplest of terms.
“Like Akira said before, Shinigami are supposed to be the protectors of humans against the Hollow. Why, because Hollows will eat anything that has spiritual presence in their system. They’re like sharks, a simple drop of blood gets them rushing to the scene. They don’t care if you’re living or just a soul, any type of spiritual power is just food to them, a source of power for them to feed on until it gets hungry again.” Kon quickly stopped at the main road’s intersection, glancing back and forth at the perpendicular lanes. Refusing to stop moving, he kept straight, much to the chagrin of Arnett’s burning calves.
“In your case, the necklace was protecting you like a seal in a way. Based on its design, it’s used not only to hide your presence, but also prevent you from even figuring out you had spiritual power in the first place. For the charm to weaken, it could be one of two things. One would be after a certain amount of time, the seal begins to weaken, which is more likely the case. On the other hand, it could also mean…” Kon quickly stiffened in horror from realization, which let Arnett yelp out as she hit the man’s back. He quickly turned towards her as he slowly scanned her features, the skin he was wearing becoming paler and paler with understanding.
“It could also mean…there’s nothing wrong with the seal at all. Your spirit pressure may be too much for it to handle, and now it’s leaking all over the place. If that’s true,” Kon grit his teeth as he let his arms slump to his sides, “then we’re fucked.”
Arnett almost asked him to elaborate when a blood-curdling scream stopped the breath in her throat, her body frozen to the core from the familiar sound. Her brain literally screamed at her to keep running, but her body refused to move as she slowly turned towards the sound, her heart rate increased exponentially to the figure.
Swiveling black substance covered the figure as the white skull she memorized from before gave a sickly grin. It opened its mouth very slightly, emitting a chilling white vapor towards the frightened duo.
“Well, well, well,” the Hollow drawled out, its razor sharp teeth gave off a toothy grin, “looks like tonight’s a party for me and my buddies.” With an impossibly long stride, the distance between they and it were instantly cut in half. “Having one Soul Reaper in our midst is a treat in itself…but two? Well, that just means more for me.” With a shrieking roar, Arnett had to cover her ears as the sound reverberated through the windows, effectively shattering the glass above the two. She froze as she looked up at the sharp shards cascading down to the sidewalk like raindrops. She didn’t even notice the hard push she received to head to the center of the road, listening to a strangled cry as she unceremoniously fell to the ground.
Not caring about the scrapes on her hands, she quickly stood up from her spot to look at where she once stood in horror, sound had completely escaped her.
Kon kneeled on the cement in a semi-conscious state as glass shards stuck in his body in abnormal angles. Deep red steadily seeped from him as he absentmindedly watched the flow in mild curiosity before looking up to the redhead. A small goofy smile escaped his lips, somewhat glad he was able to help the missy out, although he already knew Akira would have his hide for ruining the gigai.
He just hoped the punk had enough sense to at least save a damsel in distress.
“Kon-san!” Arnett cried out as she watched the figure close his eyes, the tall body simply fell over onto hard cement, typically dead to the world. She couldn’t help but let hot tears escape her as she saw the man stop breathing, the heavy pants from his chest gone to a standstill. She wasn’t able to move as the Hollow edged towards the man’s body, giving him a small whiff before rearing back.
“Disgusting,” it said, giving the body a hard kick as it watched the body blend in with the night sky, “I hate mod souls.” Arnett didn’t even blink as she felt chilling breath on her skin, the thing’s mouth smelled like blood and death to her nose.
“Oh come on, my pretty,” it drawled once more before going in a fit of giggles, “at least put up some kind of fight before I eat you. Your taste will be much more satisfying for me anyway.” A shrieking cackle escaped from its mouth while Arnett clenched her relaxed hands together into fists. Without thinking, her weapon was already swinging downwards, slicing opening the Hollow’s mask.
A piercing scream echoed throughout the night as black ooze escaped from the wound, a noticeable gash was spread from one side of the mask to the other, its empty sockets slanted down in fury.
“YOU BITCH!” it screamed out, covering a hand over his mask in pain, “I’M GONNA RIP YOU UP PIECE BY PIECE!” Arnett didn’t hear the screams anymore, she only watched in silence at the monster’s agony as if it was crying over spilled milk. She immediately charged, easily noticed by the Hollow, who swiftly moved away, but was shocked to be sliced once again.
This time Arnett was able to cut its abdomen, watching as more black ooze pooled on the main road, wondering if that would stain in the near future. Never in her Pandora training had she felt so light, so free, as if she suddenly grew a pair of wings and started flying. She readied her stance once more, not noticing her form glowed a fluorescent blue.
Gurgling from the pain, the Hollow grimaced at the young woman before it, as it felt something he thought to have never felt again.
Fear.
It waited for her to pounce, its claws extended and ready for an attack. It silently snickered as it watched the blue light flicker around her. It just needed to be patient with this one, and she’ll be putty in its hands. The way she was using her energy, it would only be a matter of time before-
All thought process was gone as it felt an unnerving pressure from the back of its head, not understanding until the fist went straight through his skull and shattered its mask. Horrific screams escaped him as he immediately turned to dust, not before letting out one more burst of black ooze escape from his mouth, effectively soaking its killer with putrid filth.
Akira let out a snort of disgust as he casually shook off the blood from his arm. He should’ve seen this coming. Instead of just the one he thought was going to be there, it suddenly changed to five Hollows, which began the annoying game of hide-and-seek. Somewhat relieved they were all eliminated, he sighed at the mess around him, quickly noticing the large amounts of shattered glass, a pool of blood and a missing gigai. He was almost ready to stalk for Kon when he saw the blue light, his golden orbs filled with shock as he saw Arnett still in her fighting stance, her killing intent rolling in waves.
Grasping the situation, Akira slowly walked towards her, careful to look at her feet in case she began to attack. “Arnett,” he called out as he came closer to her, “it’s over. You can put your weapon down now.” Coming closer, he saw her still ready to fight, the blue light was so bright even he needed to squint to see.
“Arnett.” Akira called to her again, this time within arm’s length of her. As soon as he touched the enlarged scythe, the blue light suddenly vanished, as if it evaporated into thin air. He would’ve taken the time to be amazed by it, if not for the small body that suddenly hit his chest. He immediately took her into his arms, taking note of her weapon as it too evaporated in the distance. He easily lowered himself to the ground, placing himself in a sitting position while he carefully set her on his lap.
He gave off a sigh of relief he didn’t know he held that she was still breathing, her pulse slowed to a normal rate. Checking for wounds, he quickly saw the light scrapes on her hands and set straight to work. Placing his hand onto her warm one, he murmured a chant as green light flowed from his hand onto her wound, watching without concern as the cut slowly disappeared. Doing so with the other hand, he wasn’t satisfied until both were hands were just like before.
Calloused but incredibly soft.
Akira immediately shook his head of the thoughts, in time to hear a small groan come from the young woman. Copper orbs fluttered open to look into relieved golden, a small smile graced his features as he looked at her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, not noticing the concern that left his voice. Arnett said nothing as she fell back into his warmth, not caring the young man immediately tensed at her closeness. “Tired.” She answered, her head gently rested against his neck as her breath evened out once more, sleep completely overtaking her.
Akira stayed in this position for a few minutes before slowly standing up, careful not to move too much in fear of interrupting her slumber. He would deal with Kon later. He figured he must be healing up somewhere out of sight if he left her alone. For now, he held Arnett bridal style as he swiftly shunpoed back to West Genetics.
Hey, you made it! It’s a long one this time, but be sure to look forward to the next chapter. Everything will now be placed in the current Freezing timeline, so I hope you enjoyed, favorite and/or review, and PM if you have questions.
Thanks for reading!