Arancar amongst Humans Ch.1
I'm just putting a disclaimer here that I do not own any Bleach characters that normally appear in the Manga/TV Series. Flame is copyright to me, and Shizune is copyright to Shizu. All Bleach characters are copyright to the owner of Bleach, this is just a fan-fiction. If you do not enjoy such, then you should get away from this page.
He sat there on a mountain, feeling the cool, morning breeze as the sun began to rise over the horizon in the distance. It felt good for a spring morning to him, wearing his gi with his katana strapped to his hip. The light began to roll forward, illuminating much in it's path, except for those that were shadowed behind a rock or a small hill near the base of the mountain. He reached up and gently patted a small fox on the head, who looked like it was resting on his shoulders.
To many others, the fox looked like a taxidermed animal that he affectionately stroked to remind him of some other person he enjoyed being around. Only the latter half was true, the orange fennec fox was the person he enjoyed being around, and she wasn't dead either, she just slept alot. When she did wake up though, he had to try his best to keep Hell from breaking loose.
He stood up, letting the early dawn warm his fur as he stretched and popped various joints around his body before his third in command ran up, holding up a letter. He opened it and read it, nodding before gesturing him back to his post. Despite having worked hard to even get to this position, he was tasked to keep the other captains up to date about his squad. Personally, it was his squad, should any of them fault, they had to answer to him.
The fox yawned loudly as she finally woke up, looking up at him and blinking a little before giving the tiger an affectionate lick. She was his lieutenant, and was extremely skilled in matters of what the living called magic. While it's true she was almost an expert in it, he had to make sure that she didn't use her bankai, otherwise everything within a five mile radius would look like a nuclear blast occured, and that was before she even swung her blade.
After rubbing her head a little, he headed back down the mountain to rejoin with the other captains and lieutenants of the squads, looking at them with a curious look on his face. While it was obvious that both he and his lieutenant were from a different realm, he was strong, yet cunning and wise, despite his age before he died. He was never defeated in combat while he was alive, one of his pupils had decided to poison him for neglecting to even let any of them leave to go see their families. Truth was, he had told them that until their training with him was complete, their previous lives are forfeit. He may have been harsh, but he had a gentle side to him as well, and that gentleness was what got him killed, where as his lieutenant couldn't bear to be without him, so she drank what little was left in the cup, ingesting the fast venom as well.
"Captain Flame, I see Lieutenant Shizune is awake this morning." Captain Kenpachi noted.
"Lieutenant Shizune may be awake right now, but she's always paying attention to her surroundings. That's what a Fennec's ears are useful for." He calmly replied, the small fox leaping off his shoulders and returning to her anthromorphic form, complete with her lieutenant gi and her zanpakto.
"Nonetheless, we've recieved word from Uruhara that Kurosaki has confronted several Arancar, I'd like to send two captains and their lieutenants out to assist him."
"Is this Ichigo Kurosaki, or his father?" Flame asked, curious as to what the first squad captain had filled them in with this vague information. Even to one as skilled a swordsman as Flame was, he knew Arancar were extremely dangerous, some of them might even get Kenpachi to sweat.
"Ichigo's father, Captain Flame. He's powerful, yes, but his son, Ichigo, seems to be somewhere else, whereas Uruhara is keeping an eye on the realm of the living. Several Arancar have been sighted, and I'm pretty sure you and Captain Kenpachi would love to go out and enjoy taking these Hollows down, despite the obvious threat they pose."
Flame and Kenpachi exchanged looks, both of them extremely capable warriors, but Flame did like to think before acting, relying on his instincts when he needed to, whereas Kenpachi was all instinct, but he restrained his power to make the fights more 'enjoyable'. Also, the tiger was fully capable of using his bankai, whereas Kenpachi didn't even know the name of his zanpakto.
"Pah, Hollows are nothing, why are these Arancar worth our time?" Shizune spoke up out of turn, getting several glares from other captains before Flame stepped up to protect her.
"My lieutenant does not know the several levels of Hollows, the worst she's fought was a Menos Grande, so please, bear with her."
"Hmph, perhaps she will be willing to prove herself then. As with Hollows and Menos Grandes, Arancars each differentiate by strength, but Arancars also specialize in different aspects of fighting. Arancars are extremely powerful Hollows, who've somehow been able to use zanpaktos, but their special power, Resurrection, is similar to our Bankai. They are very powerful and have killed several Shinigamis in the past."
All the fox could do was nod, her eyes glowing briefly, relishing the fight almost. Flame and Kenpachi stepped forward simultaneously, looking at one another for a short moment, then kneel before their superior.
"I see you both are willing to fight these Arancar. Very well, both captains and their lieutenants should prepare to go and travel to the world of the living. Remember, you cannot use Bankai in that realm, only Shikai, if you've even been able to unlock your zanpakto's state."
They both nodded and headed back to their homes to prepare for the trip, knowing they'll probably need to visit Uruhara for gigais. This posed a bit of a problem for Flame and Shizune, since furres weren't even fathomed much in Kurosake's realm of existance. He looked at her as she smiled up at him, somewhat happily even. He had been at his side, even when her training was complete, when they were alive in their home realm, but for some reason, he couldn't fathom why.
Uruhara looked over and smiled under his hat as the two captains and lieutenants came through the gate, relaxing against a crate. When the gate closed, he tipped his hat a little to get a better look, his grin disappearing into a bit of a frown as he sees the two furres. He had four gigais prepared, but upon seeing the two oddballs, he knew they'd stick out far more than some sorethumbs, unless...
"I understand this realm has FurConventions, correct Uruhara?" The large tiger asked politely, which surprised the old man.
"Uh, yeah, but none of them are going on right now."
"That's fine, we can easily get by with saying that we prefer to show our Furre selves in public, whether or not they say otherwise."
"Hm... that might work. I haven't heard of you two though."
"Captain Flame and this is my lieutenant, Shizune." He replied calmly, obviously the one who thinks in complex ways.
"Well, I have four gigai's ready, I just hope everything get's sorted quickly."
"A... dress?" The fox asked in a bit of a shocked stare.
"Shizune, we don't have much of a choice, besides, it'll help with our cover."
"Fine..."
The merchant watched as the four slipped into their gigais, handing them soulmods in case they need to fight these Arancar. After being given instructions as to where Kurosaki lived, Kenpachi grinned a little, as if expecting a fight.
"Zaraki, we aren't here for Ichigo, remember this. We're here to deal with the Arancar, that's all." Flame reminded him, using his first name instead of his 'business' name. As they left, Uruhara couldn't help but stare in disbelief, wondering which captain was defeated to have this large tiger take over. Shaking his head, he went back to work, knowing that his young assistants, along with the Kurosaki girls, fought back some pretty nasty Hollows recently. Perhaps the combination of spiritual pressure allowed the Arancar to come through? He could only guess.