“AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!”
Kisuke shook his head, watching as the soul of the young boy struggled to find the power of a shinigami inside himself.
Of course, the screams were not pleasant to listen to, as testified by Yoruichi constantly holding her hands to her ears, trying to block out the sounds. It must be too much like that pit for her. My dear friend, will you ever be rid of such strong terror that resided in those memories.
“How long does he have left?” she asked, as Ranma quieted down, panting heavily.
“A few hours at most,” he said. “Though to be honest, I half expected him to try running up the walls again, or even to break the Binding Seal again.”
“He has a quick mind,” muttered Yoruichi. “Well, it is quick when he needs it to be.”
Inside the pit, the soul of the boy struggled to contain the pain. As a soul, he more resembled his former human self than he did in his body. But the Hollow taint was still there as well. Already, several patches of a Hollow mask had formed on his face, and while his size had returned to what would have been appropriate for a boy his age, his skin had an unhealthy hue to it.
What am I missing? he wondered, his mind trying to focus past the pain as another loop in his soul chain was consumed. I have to have the power in me! I refuse to think this is as far as I can go. I ain’t a weak little girl!
Pluto cringed as she watched him continue to try and tap into shinigami power. In truth, she felt weird that a small part of her hoped that he failed and became a full Hollow.
But that part was quickly squashed under several opinions. After all, Ranma’s destiny seemed to be tied into that of the Senshi. If he became a Hollow, then he would either come after the Senshi and most likely kill them or their families before they could grow in power, or somehow ascend to the level of an arrancar and draw one or more of the Senshi to his side.
It was impossible for her to do anything to help him now. She couldn’t separate time and speed it up for him to find what he needed while slowing down the degradation of his soul chain. Even if she could do such a thing, it would alert Kisuke to her presence.
And the absolute last thing she needed was that former shinigami on her case.
“I wonder if it would help if I prayed at this point.”
“Why do you seek such power, child?”
Ranma blinked, as he felt his hands become free. Standing up, he looked around, not seeing the pit where he was undergoing the Broken Shaft test, but a strange meadow. Half of what he could survey seemed to be bright, cheerful, and full of life.
The other half looked like a nightmarish wasteland, lightening constantly sounding, parched earth and blowing sand as far as he could see, but never seeming to intrude onto the bright land.
“Why do you seek such power, child?”
Ranma blinked, trying to find out where the voice was coming from, only seeming to end up coming to the conclusion it had come from the bright side. He wasn’t even able to tell if it was female or male. “I don’t wanna be a monster.”
“What’s wrong with being a monster? asked a similar voice, coming from the bleak side, also of indeterminate gender.
“Is that why you seek my power, child? Do you see yourself as becoming a monster?
“But why does my power make you a monster? Why do you reject what you cannot understand?”
Ranma shook his head. “Who are you?” he yelled out. “Where are you?”
The voices tried to tell him their names, but the replies were lost as a strong wind seemed to roar on both plains.
“I couldn’t hear ya!” he cried out.
“I see, then you are not ready to know our names.”
“Quite a pity. But then, I guess you’ll have to find out ... later.”
Ranma was about to ask what that meant, when two boxes seemed to rise from the ground on either side of him. “What the...?”
“You have to come to deciding point. You must choose which side you will wield. Will you wield the powers of a shinigami, or will you wield the powers of a Hollow.”
“You’ll have a lot of fun if you choose my side. After all, we have fights all the time, and that’ll help you with your Art,” teased the dark voice. “Unless of course, you’re a scared little girl who can’t handle dealing with a dark side.”
Ranma growled. “I ain’t scared of you!”
“You must do what is best for you, and allow what destiny has in store for you to come about in its own time. What is your decision?”
Ranma blinked. He had a choice between two powers. Each on had its benefits, but from what his new teachers had taught him, they were near opposites.
So it came down to simply one path or another.
Smirking, he yelled off into both realms. “I am Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes! I ain’t a coward, and I ain’t afraid of anything! That includes what’s inside of me!”
With that, Ranma grabbed the two boxes at the same time.
The pit became filled with power as Ranma’s soul accepted the two powers, sending both Kisuke and Yoruichi backwards.
“What the hell?” yelled out the part time cat, as a figure emerged from the pit, holding the bulky form of Tessai, who had been inside the pit to hold the binding spells.
But what caught her attention was not what was before her, but what was coming from behind her.
She turned, spotting Ranma’s Hollow shifted body, as it was slowly dissolving into a dark mist, which was then being pulled towards the still shadowed figure. What does this mean? Shouldn’t his body remain unaffected, no matter which path he chose? If anything, it would die the moment he became a full Hollow.
“Hey, can someone help me?”
Blinking, she turned back to the figure as the light died down, showing ... Ranma?!?!
“He’s getting kinda heavy,” said the pigtailed boy, looking human.
“Now this is quite unexpected,” said Kisuke as he observed the boy. While the boy’s clothes seemed to be in a shinigami style, the colors were off, as it appeared both light and shadow fought each other. Half was white, half was black, and where they met, it appeared as if the cloth itself was fighting.
And what more, he seemed to have two zanpakutōs strapped to his back, the hilts of which seemed to be shaped as dragons of opposite colors.
Ranma just chuckled. “Seriously, this guy’s heavy. Someone OOMPH!” he coughed out as said load toppled him and buried him.
Kisuke merely smiled. “And here I thought he would be boring.”
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(Posted Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:50)
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