Heroes

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“You thon of a…you ripped out my thonge!!”

Strawberry ignored him and shoved his giant sword into his enemy’s leg.

“GRAH!!!!! My leg! My leg!!” he called in agony. 

“Now you can’t move…or use your bombs. You’re helpless.” Ichigo glared at him angrily, fire in his eyes. “Feels bad, doesn’t it!? THAT’S WHAT YOUR VICTIMS FELT!!”

The Hollow struggled until he eventually ripped his stabbed leg off and flew into the air. 

Ichigo just continued. “Fear’s a terrible thing! Makes you want to hack off your own leg to escape it!” He jumped into the air, following in pursuit. “Don’t forget that fear!! Drive it deep into your brain and disappear!!!” A long swipe hit the Hollow, finally extinguishing him and ending the battle. 

But it wasn’t over yet.

A crack appeared in the sky, right where Ichigo cut. That crack extended into the sky and formed two HUGE double-doors, each with a skeleton torso extending from it, its head wrapped in bandages and prayer slips. 

My knees went weak at the absolutely terrifying sight before me. “W-what is it?” I asked, my voice shaking a bit. 

“It’s Hell.” Rukia said bluntly. “I told you guys, the zanpaku-to cleanses a soul of its crimes so it can enter the Soul Society. But not all Hollows make it in. The zanpaku-to can only wash away the sins a soul committed as a Hollow! Those who committed heinous crimes while they were alive…we hand over to Hell!”

The doors started to open with a loud, ear-piercing kreek.

The Hollow was consumed by a crazy light, his figure gone, but his screams were still easily audible. Once the smoke and light receded, I saw a horrifying sight: the Hollow was stabbed through the middle by a giant kitchen knife held by a disembodied, armor-coated, tattooed arm. Eyes could barely be seen in the background, and a dark chuckle was heard. 

With that the doors slammed shut and started to dissolve. 

“He was cast into Hell?” Ichigo asked. 

“Yeah…” I said dazedly. I regained my composure quickly and rushed over to Yûichi to see how he was handling everything. Rukia and Carrot soon followed. 

“Is he gonna be okay?” I asked, afraid; I’d really grown attatched to the little booger and wanted to make sure he’d be alright in the end. 

“I’m sorry…” Rukia said unemotionally, a skill she must’ve gained from seeing so much death over the years. “The Chain of Fate has long been severed. It’s gone. Too much time has passed. It’s too late to get his own body back.”

“No…” the little boy whispered, making me want to cry. 

“It’s okay…” Rukia comforted. “Don’t worry! The Soul Socitey is a nice place! You’ll never be hungry, and you’ll be happy. It’s better than here!”

“Anyway…” Ichigo said soberly. “If you go there, you can see your mother.”

The parakeet started happily. 

“We can’t bring her back to life, but…you can be with her there….” Ichigo smiled. “This time it’s true. It’s waiting for you!”

Yûichi chirped with joy. 

“Ichigo…” Rukia said in disbelief. 

“All right…shall we start the Konsô?”

“Yeah!” the little boy squealed. “Chad…” he said, looking at his friend. “Thanks for everything!”