New Bleach fanfic. I finally decided to read the final arc through from the start. This story will not contain any of the Wandenreich, as it is set before the war, but it will contain some spoilers about certain powers, so don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled. Or, you could read the manga and then come back. This takes place between the Xcution and Thousand Year Blood War Arcs. Enjoy. :)

Ichigo and his friends were sitting in class just like any other day. The Ginjo incident had been only about a month ago, but it felt like almost a year had passed by.

"Okay class, school's done for the day." said their teacher as the bell rang. "Don't forget your homework."

"Man, that must have been the most boring lecture in the history of lectures." Ichigo mentioned to all of his friends. He was walking home with Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro.

"Don't tell me that you didn't pay attention." responded Uryu.

"Don't get me wrong, I took all the notes and everything, but it wasn't appealing at all."

"Actually, I have to agree with him this time. That was hard for me to listen to as well." commented Tatsuki.

"I think you guys should appreciate these little things more." said Orihime. "It's nice to have a normal day once in awhile without having to worry about hollows or Fullbringers." Ichigo's eyes narrowed. His combat pass went off.

"You spoke too soon, Orihime." Chad said.

"I'll go deal with this. I'll be right back."

X

Ichigo came back later on to find his friends in his bedroom.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, going back into his regular body.

"Oh, your father invited us over for dinner since it was the weekend." Uryu explained.

"Oh." was all Ichigo said before sitting down on his bed.

"We already had dinner, but your dad saved you some if you want it." Orihime told him, pointing to the door.

"Oh, great." Ichigo opened the door and went downstairs.

"Dad? Dad! Hey, Dad!" Ichigo called out.

"He went out." Karin told him from atop the stairs.

"Out?" he asked.

"Yeah. He went to meet with Mr. Urahara."

"Huh? With Kisuke? About what?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell us anything. But it seemed serious." Ichigo was silent, and simply took his food up to his bedroom.

X

"So, what did you call us here for?" Isshin asked, stepping into Kisuke Urahara's shop.

"You all are the people that I trust the most with this piece of information. Isshin. Shinji. Kensei. Rose. Yoruichi."

"Get on with it, Kisuke." Shinji said, somewhat irritated.

"Very well. You remember how we restored Ichigo's powers?"

"Of course. We injected that sword of yours with all of our spirit energies." Kensei answered.

"Yeah. Well, unfortunately, I've been realizing a certain drawback in that method recently. We only restored Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers. We didn't give him back his hollow powers. Rather, we couldn't. He's lasted so far, but...his powers are starting to become unstable without his inner hollow. If we don't replenish them soon, Ichigo's powers will tear him open from the inside out."

"So replenish them. I assume you've figured out how by now?" Rose asked.

"Of course I know how. But that's not the problem."

"After being away for so long, Ichigo's inner hollow is probably not going to just kneel down and continue letting him use his power just like before. Is that it?" Rose asked.

"That's right. Granted, he was able to defeat it before, but that was after it had been within him for a considerable amount of time, and he still had trouble. So now…"

"I get it. So you're worried that he'll lose control of it again, at least until he regains control, however long that will take." Kensei said.

"Right. But like I said, it's something that we must do. Otherwise, his powers will remain unstable."

"So what do you want us to do if he does lose control?"

"For the time being, I'd like us to take shifts with watching over him. Not up close, but from a distance, just keeping track of what happens."

"I'll start. I don't have much going on, and I'm sure Shuhei and Mashiro can handle any assignments directed to the squad."

"Alright then. But you're going to need to convince him to come here to get his powers replenished in the first place tomorrow."

"You can't do that yourself?"

"It'll be much faster without me having to take two trips."

"Alright, fine."

X

Ichigo woke up like any other morning. He got dressed for school, went off, and sat through classes. After he was done for the day, he went home and did his homework. Before dinner though, his combat pass went off.

"Another hollow, huh?" he switched into his soul reaper form and went out into the streets to find the hollow. And there it was, in the park. Thankfully no one else was around. Ichigo went towards it, and took out Zangetsu. He slashed at it, but it dodged. It then countered and knocked Ichigo back.

"Hm...this one's a little bit intelligent. Getsuga Tensho!"

…...Nothing happened.

"What? Getsuga Tensho!" Again, it didn't work.

"Zangetsu, come on! What's wrong!" The hollow kicked Ichigo back while he was looking at his sword. "Damn… I guess I'll just have to take care of it without that technique." He jumped up and slashed the hollow's arms off and then down the middle.

"I wonder what that was about? My Getsuga didn't work…" Ichigo was about to resheath his Zanpakuto, but it suddenly dispersed into spirit particles along with his Shihakusho. He was back in his regular clothes without any spiritual powers.

"Why?! I didn't deactivate my powers yet!" Just then, another hollow appeared behind Ichigo. He tried to re-activate his powers, but it didn't work.

'Damn it...why is this happening?' Just as the hollow was about to attack him, it was impaled through its head.

"..." Ichigo looked over to where the hollow used to be, and found Kensei standing there, holding his sword back-handed.

"Kensei? Why are you-?"

"Urahara wants to see you. I'm simply here to bring you there."

"He...wants to see me?"

"That's right. It's about your dwindling powers that you just saw for yourself."

"Yeah, that...Maybe it would be good to talk about this with him."

"Good. Now come on. I'll explain things along the way." They started walking towards Kisuke's shop.

"So what is going on with this? I can't use my Getsuga Tensho, and my powers disappear without my consent."

"That's right. When we replenished your Spiritual Powers, we were unable to restore your Mask. I'm sure you've noticed this by now. I'm not entirely sure that you can remember when you fully hollowfy, but Vizards like us need both aspects of our power to use them effectively. If our Inner Hollows suddenly up and left us, our Soul Reaper powers would become unstable and unmaintainable, just like yours have. On the contrary, if our Soul Reaper Powers were suddenly suppressed or taken away from us, our Inner Hollows would take over."

"So what are you saying?"

"Pay attention!" he punched Ichigo's head.

"OW! What the hell was that for?!"

"You want the layman's terms?! Since you don't have your Hollow powers anymore, your Soul Reaper powers have become unstable!"

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!"

"Because I felt like explaining it! I was hinting to when you fought us to control your powers. Because of the fact that your Inner Hollow was becoming stronger than your Soul Reaper powers, you became a full-on hollow for a short time."

"But you said that the other way around is also true. Wouldn't that mean that if I didn't have any Hollow Powers, that my Soul Reaper powers would become much stronger?"

"No." Kisuke said, coming out of the shop. They had arrived.

"Come on in."

"You were saying that my Soul Reaper powers aren't stronger than they used to be?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. Well, in truth, your powers are stronger, but that's due to the fact that your powers were replenished by every Lieutenant and Captain in the 13 Court Guard Squads. A Soul Reaper's true power is their Bankai. There is no third release for a Zanpakuto. So if a Soul Reaper wants to become stronger than that, they have to cross over into the Hollow world, there's no other choice. The same is true for Hollows. If a Vasto Lorde wants to become stronger, then they have to become an Arrancar."

"So where are you going with all of this?"

"That someone like you, who has already crossed over to the World of Hollows, is at risk of losing your powers entirely if half of them suddenly disappear." he said darkly. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Finally get it, huh? That's right. If your Hollow powers are not replenished soon, then your Soul Reaper powers will remain unstable. That's what I called you here for tonight. To replenish your powers so that you can continue being a Soul Reaper."

"...Fine."

"I'll have to put you to sleep for this. Here, take these." He handed Ichigo two pills. He stared at them for a few moments.

"Don't worry. They're just strong sleeping pills that take effect immediately." Ichigo looked at them for a few moments before swallowing them, and quickly falling forward, unconscious. Kensei caught him, and he took him down to where the underground training area was. They laid him down, and Kisuke put a large pill in his mouth, making him swallow it. After a few seconds, his body began shaking, and he began hollowfying. Kisuke and Kensei jumped back.

"So I guess he can't control it after all. At least not yet. What do you plan to do?"

"For now, I'll trap him in a barrier." He quickly stood up and rushed towards the two, attempting to take them down.

"Hado #58: Tenran!" Kisuke quickly unsheathed his Zanpakuto and kept it levitating in the air while spinning it around. He then caught it and blasted a tornado towards Ichigo, pushing him back a considerable distance.

"Bakudo #99 Part 1: Kin!" Kisuke clasped his hands together while moving his index fingers behind his middle ones, and used a powerful binding spell to restrict Ichigo's arms behind his back. He then used a spiritual fabric to bring his whole body down to the ground, and keep it there. But he still tried to break out.

"Bakudo #75: Gochūtekkan!" Kisuke locked his hands together and slammed them on the ground, causing 5 strong pillars to rain down and pin Ichigo further into the ground.

"Roppo Fujin!" Kisuke once again clapped his hands together, and a green barrier formed around Ichigo, keeping him there at last. (This is one of the barriers that Hachi used on Barragan.)

"That should hold him for now, but I may need to subdue him again if he breaks out."

"So you're just going to hold him here, like this?" Kensei growled.

"What else would you like me to do? Kill him? There's not many who can do that with that level of spiritual pressure. And besides, Ichigo will wake up in his Inner World, and fight to regain control of himself. But in the meantime, you're keeping an eye on him."

"Alright, alright." Kisuke walked out.

X

Ichigo wasn't in school. Since it was a Friday, most of the students just assumed he had taken an extra day off for a long weekend, but Orihime knew that wasn't the truth. It wasn't like him to miss anything. He hardly ever got sick. The only reason he would ever be absent is if he was on Soul Reaper business. But for a whole day? She was worried. But with all this worrying, it was already time to leave before she realized it.

"Orihime! Are you alright?" Tatsuki asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Just thinking about something."

"Are you coming or not? We were going to go the library after school, remember?"

"Oh...yeah, I'll be there. But first I have to make a quick stop. I'll head to the library after."

"Oh, okay. You want me to come with you?"

"No, it's okay. I don't want to be a burden or anything. Trust me, I won't take long." She gathered her things and quickly left. She needed to head to the Kurosaki Clinic right away. She knocked on the door of the Kurosaki Clinic when she arrived there, and after a few moments, Isshin answered.

"Ah! Orihime! What are you doing here?!" He asked excitedly.

"H-Hello, Mr. Kurosaki. Is Ichigo around?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. He wasn't feeling well this morning, so he stayed home for the day."

"Would you mind if I visited him?"

"Oh, I'm afraid not. He said he didn't want any of his friends to come by today. He doesn't want you to get sick either."

"O-oh. But he's here, right?"

"Yes, don't worry. We're taking good care of him." he smiled.

"Thank you for telling me."

He nodded and closed the door. Orihime smiled back, but then frowned as soon as he walked away.

"Something about this doesn't make sense...I don't sense Ichigo's spiritual pressure in his room. Mr. Kurosaki was lying…" Orihime turned around and started walking towards Urahara's shop.

"Kensei! Orihime's heading in this direction!" Kisuke called out.

"And what about it?"

"She's probably coming here because she sensed Ichigo, dumbass! So don't let her see him in this condition!" Jinta yelled down.

"Can't you stall her? I'm supposed to keep watch anyway!"

"You're more convincing! She knows me too well, she'll know I'm lying!"

"Fine! Then switch places with me! Someone has to watch him!" He climbed up the ladder into the main shop, while Kisuke climbed down to keep watch over Ichigo. Orihime knocked on the door before it slid open.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Orihime. Need something?"

"Oh! Mr...Um...I'm sorry...I'm afraid I never learned your name. The only Vizards I ever knew personally were Shinji and Hiyori…"

"It's Kensei. Kensei Muguruma."

"Nice to meet you, Kensei. What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing Kisuke a favor. Did you need something from him?"

"I...sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure here...He wasn't in school today. Is he training?"

"Yeah. That's what I'm here for. He wanted to train, so Urahara called me here to help him out. He doesn't really want to be disturbed, sorry."

"No, it's okay. I just wanted to make sure that he was okay." she smiled.

"Yeah, don't worry. He'll be fine."

"Okay. Say hi to him for me." She turned around and started heading home. Kensei sighed, and closed the door behind him. He climbed down the ladder.

"Alright, she's all...Kisuke?" He looked around before finding Urahara lying on the ground, injured.

"Kisuke! What happened?"

"His Inner Hollow's taking over." He stood up again and unsheathed his Zanpakuto from his Cane Sword. Kensei took his out of his sheath. Meanwhile, Ichigo, now in a fully hollowfied form, easily broke out of the barriers and seals that were keeping him bound. He became enveloped in light before Urahara's Roppo Fujin was sliced in half. What emerged from the barrier was no longer simply a hollowfied human. It was, in fact, Zangetsu. As in, Ichigo's Zanpakuto Spirit, his Inner Hollow, Ogihci. He looked over at the two before smirking.

"It's worse than we thought…" Kisuke muttered. Ogihci used Flash Step to stand right in front of them.

"Ichigo is locked away in our...or should I say, my, Inner World. He's now a part of me, unlike before when I was a part of him."

Kensei rushed towards him and clashed with his Zanpakuto, sending Ogihci back a considerable distance.

"Blast Away, Tachikaze!" Wind energy swirled around him and enveloped his blade before it transformed into its smaller, knife form. He slashed through the air, creating large green wind blades that went towards the white being. He quickly unsheathed his Zangetsu and swung it around, dispersing Kensei's attack.

"Awaken, Benihime! Scream!" Urahara launched his red burst of energy towards Ogihci, cutting through the ground with ease.

"Getsuga Tensho!" He used his Zanpakuto's signature technique, countering Kisuke's technique. It created a large explosion near the two, temporarily blinding them, leaving Zangetsu enough time to slip past them and exit into the outside world.

"Damn it! He got away!" Kensei cursed, the two of them quickly climbing the ladder and leaving the shop, searching through the street.

"We need to start looking for him right away. Who knows what he'll do while he's in control of Ichigo's body?"

"I'll do that. You contact the others and let them know." Kensei said, using Flash Step to teleport towards the main streets of the city.

X

"Huh? What happened? Ichigo's spiritual pressure just...disappeared...What happened to him?" Orihime asked, lying in her bed, preparing to go to sleep.

"Should I...go after him?" She asked herself, sitting up.

"Don't bother. I came to you." Zangetsu said, using Flash Step to appear crouched in her window, staring menacingly at her.

"Wh-Who are you?!" she cried out.

"I'm the guy that's going to kill you."

End.

What'd you think?