This is a quick first chapter to a fiction that's been plaguing me recently, and it'll probably be the fiction I spend most of my time on. I've kind of hit a writers block with my Naruto fics, so I won't update them for a while- not until I've got my mojo back. Rather than start on some new Naruto fic, I have decided to begin my first Bleach fic! Woo for me...yeah...
Bleach... DO NOT OWN.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I hope it's better than my other fictions...
Also, I have taken a few liberties with the Sokyoku...
Chapter One: Hollowfication and Aizens Plans.
Rukia looked upon the giant floating halberd which was to end her life- the Sokyoku. The giant blade had rested on Sokyoku Hill for as long as she could remember, and from what she could gather- as long as anyone else aside from the Captain Commander himself could remember, without taking a single life. It was normally kept restrained, but the pure force behind it kept it floating at all times, tied to the floor with ropes as thick as her arm. And now it was going to be used to end her life.
As she consoled herself, and accepted her fate, she looked upon the Sokyoku as the restraints burst, the people around the base of the halberd scattered, and it began to rise. As it rose, she took a deep breath, willing herself not to panic- it wouldn't help. Flames erupted from the bottom of the giant weapon, cn the Capn a layer of flames sosttrong, that even the Captain Commander himself gained a small sweat. It slowly built in size and intensity, with every Captain and Vice-Captain gathered gazing upon it in awe.
Eventually, the flames settling in the form of a giant pheonix, and scattered murmurs went through the crowd.
''This, is the true power of the Sokyoku!'' the Captain Commander declared. ''Once he has pierced the condemned, the sentence shall be complete.''
The entire crowd tensed as the Sokyoku began its forward march, slowly gliding up to the post where it was to commit its task. Rukia began to sweat harshly, as the flames neared her. She closed her eyes and waited, as the giant bird of fire drew closer. She heard the crowd draw a breath, and then moments later, as she began to truly feel the heat - her hair was beginning to burn from the proximity alone- the outraged cries of the Shinigami below. She opened her eyes to see Ichigo, the orange haired Ryoka clashing his oversized Zanpakuto against the beak of the Sokyoku...and successfully holding it back!
''What?'' Captain Soi-Fon of the 2nd Division yelled. ''He's holding back something with the destructive force of 1,000 zanpakuto's with his own, singular zanpakuto!''
Cries of outrage began to fly through the collected, and Aizen cursed in the back of his head. ''If her soul isn't vaporized here and now, then I'll have to get my hands dirty in order to acquire the Hogyoku...''
As the cursing reached outrageous levels, the Captain Commander raised his voice, immediately hushing everyone in the area. ''The Sokyoku has not been defeated. The Sokyoku is the most powerful blade in existence, and more importantly, the reason it holds the power of 1,000 zanpakuto is because it is over 1,000 zanpakuto. Its original blade was the blade of the first Shinigami, the first Captain Commander...since then, every fallen Shinigami's sword has been integrated in one way or another into the Sokyoku. As the first Zanpakuto, it has its own consciousness. And after all, what use would a Captain Commander be...if he couldn't use Bankai! The flames you have witnessed now are but the Shikai of the Sokyoku...''
The crowd fell hush again, but they were not the only ones to be astounded by these words. Ichigo himself was now in horror. It may have looked easy for him to hold back the Sokyoku, but in reality he was pouring his entire being into it...if it was capable of stepping up it's game, he knew it would be the end for himself and Rukia. He felt the flames against his blade begin to grow more intense, turning white and blue in most places due to the increase in heat.
''Behold! The Bankai, of the Sokyoku!''
The Pheonix doubled in size, turning a pure white and shifting shape. It took over a full minute, but the Sokyoku completely rearranged its form, transforming itself into a large white dragon, eyes filled with rage. Ever since its creation, the Sokyoku had no need to utilise its brutal Bankai, and he was not pleased that the situation had changed. Ichigo continued forcing as much of his powerful reiatsu into Zangetsu as possible, holding off the blade of fire as best he could. He roared out in pain as the fire began to slip past his barrier, and the edges of his clothes began to smoke. He could feel the sweat on his body evaporate before it even came out, and he could barely keep his eyes open gazing into the inferno of power. He watched in horror as his zanpakuto began to crack- it began with a hairline fracture across the length of the blade, and eventually spread out into a huge crack. It took only 20 seconds before his zanpakuto lost all resistance, and Zangetsu shattered against the force of the supreme method of execution that was the Sokyoku.
The heat engulfed him, and he felt everything being melted away. He screamed in pain, but all it did was allow the burning reiatsu to rush down his throat and into his lungs. It took only a further 4 seconds for Ichigo to pass into death. The Shinigami below watched in horror. The awe induced by the power of the Sokyoku was incredible...even those who had seen the Captain Commanders Bankai admitted that this made that strength look like a pathetic child.
Aizen watched in anticipation. To hold back the raw form of the Sokyoku was still incredible, not to mention the Ryoka's power he proved by defeating Zaraki and infiltrating Seireitei. He looked on as a secondary soul emerged from the roasted being of Ichigo, a soul which looked exactly the same except in inverted colours - and a Soul Chain! If he severed the chain and cowed it into accepting his leadership, with the correct training and the correct uses of the Hogyoku he would acquire from Rukia, he could have the most powerful warrior under his command. Using the illusiory effects of Kyoka Suigetsu he decieved all Captains present into believing he stayed where he was, but in reality he shunpo'd over to the Hollow-ish soul of Ichigo, and sliced the Soul Chain with a single blow. Then, before he could notify other Captains of his prescence, he opened a small Garganta and thrust the hollow through, into the Menos Forest. Taking his place back at the line of Captains, he released his newest illusion. Before him were the bodies of Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki.
Striding forward, Aizen broke ranks, and despite yells from other Captains and the Captain Commander to return to his place, he continued forward. Beckoning behind him, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen followed him forward. Aizen removed his glasses and swept his hair back as he approached the corpses. Everyones eyes focused on his hand as he plunged it forward into the dissolving soul-body of Rukia. When his hand was withdrawn, he was holding a small purplish item. He then proceeded to inform the other Captains of everything he had done leading up to this, and summoned a large Garganta above them. The rip in space held a giant pale purple crescent, from which hundreds of Gillian rank Menos practically paraded forward. Lower rank Shinigami were in awe at the display, and terror. The Captains were merely worried at the prospect of a deserter, let alone three CAPTAIN rank deserters. A pale yellow beam was emitted by each Gillian, and they covered the traitors. The vortex sucked up the defectors and they vanished into the Garganta, leaving Seireitei to clear itself up.
In The Forest of Menos.
A newly arrived hollow surveyed his new surroundings. His mask was skull shaped, nothing special, with three red lines coming down around his left eye. His body was grey and muscled, powerful looking and he had claws on the end of each limb. His legs were strong, and from mid-calf down there was an array of spur-like spikes which protruded outwards. His arms and legs had a red line carving a path down each thick, strong limb and his shoulders had large pointed crests on them. His once orange hair was now the pure white of his hollow, and descended past his shoulders, covering the back of his hollow hole which carved its path through his chest. There was a thick white tail sprouting from his tailbone, with more of the red flame-like patterns decorating the tip of it.
He roared to the sky, his pain and fury vibrating the giant trees which surrounded his location. He knew not where he was, or why he was there- he only knew that he was hungry, and there was only one thing that could fill him up now. Powerful enemies. Ichigo bounded off through the forest, his thick tail whipping back and forth, slamming into trees and branched, and more often then not, snapping them off. He traveled nonstop throughout the night, every hollow he found was devoured. Small hollows? Eaten. Hollows the size of a mountain? Also devoured by the ex-Substitute Shinigami. Unbeknownst to him, he had devoured a few newborn adjuchas as well, and he could feel his power growing. With each soul he ingested, he felt the energy within him grow, and before long, he began to slow down. After a night in which you've eaten over 150 souls, you needed a rest of course.
Stopping when he felt the hunger was satiated enough for a rest he stopped, and began to sort through his thoughts. He had also been observing others as he ran through the canopy of the Forest of Menos. He noticed that those who live on their power alone eventually get killed, no matter how strong they were. There were hordes of weaker hollow who teamed up to share in the reiatsu of a more powerful hollow they couldn't ever dream of defeating on their own. He had seen adjuchas be defeated by hundreds of smaller, weaker opponents who swarmed them and he had seen teams of small hollow devour a larger Gillian, simply because the Gillian was too stupid to stop them. He refused to fall because of his own idiocy. Despite the fact that he was not the most powerful hollow underground yet, and he was not the smartest, he was determined to live long enough to see himself become one. There was literally no way he would let himself fall.
He set out after resting for an hour, knowing exactly what he was going to do. He would find a weaker hollow, crush it down, have it feed him information, then have it feed him with its inevitably pitiful reiatsu. He knew the shrewd hollows who lived by being knowledgable weren't going to be the strongest meals, and he would probably not feel any advancement in his strength from it, but he needed to know. He needed to know how he was to live here.
He knew he was strong. From what he could tell, he was the strongest regular hollow beneath the surface of whatever was above the roof of the Menos Forest. From his own advancement, he would judge his current strength as equal to that of the smaller Adjuchas. But what if he actually came across a true adjuchas, nearing Vasto Lorde level? God forbid, what if he actually came across a hungry Vasto Lorde? He knew he would be annihilated, and the sort of weakeness was something he could not tolerate.
He stalked his way across the tree-tops, until he found a small hollow, shaped roughly like a large branch with elements of a praying mantis towards his front half and the claws of a crab. Trapping it beneath his large hand, he pulled it up to eye level and snapped its pincer-like arms to prevent it from retaliating. He growled in its face, and almost collapsed in laughter when he saw its eyes literally double in size.
''Now, pathetic hollow, tell me where I am, tell me how I am to get more powerful here and tell me how to get out.''
The hollow spoke quickly, almost falling over its words in its eagerness to get free- believing that if he answered the questions he would get let go. ''You're in the Forest of Menos, if Hueco Mundo! Hueco Mundo is where all hollow live...above the surface. We're below right now, which means either you were sent here as you became a hollow, or you fell in some way. You're only a Menos now so to get stronger you'll be wanting to become a Gillian. Keep eating, feed as much as you can, and when the time is right, jump into a gathering of hollow. Fight to establish dominance, then you will all become a single Gillian, and if you are the strongest, you shall become its true mind. After devouring enough Gillian, you become a proper adjuchas, like the legends, Grimmjow and Nnoitra! They used to live here too, but the left when they became adjuchas, then I heard a rumour that a creepy guy took them away to make them stronger...but that doesn't matter'' it squealed as a large claw neared its face.
''Get back to the subject...how do I get out of this hellhole?'' Ichigo roared at the small hollow, smirking as it actually squeaked in fear.
''Once you become an adjuchas, travel to the adjuchas subsection in the north...fight to become leader, and then you can ascend using their knowledge. But make sure you're strong, the hollow above the surface are ten times stronger down here. There are even several Vasto Lorde, and if you become too weak, they won't hesistate to devour your reiatsu.''
Ichigo looked contemplative for a moment, and set the small hollow down. He began to walk away, but before he had even gone ten steps, the creature jumped at him, aiming to take a bite out of his neck whilst he wasn't looking. What he hadn't remembered was the white-haired hollows tail. It flew up in an arc, wrapped itself around the hollow, and pulled it into Ichigo's field of vision. The much more powerful hollow looked curiously, head cocked to the side, for a moment, before biting off the detestable things little mantis-like head. Ichigo was surprised at the amount of reiatsu it held. It wasn't anything compared to his, but it was a lot more than he expected the tiny thing to hold.
With that, Ichigo Kurosaki set off to find more prey, in order to become the most powerful being he could be.
One Week Later
Ichigo pounced across the small clearing onto the back of a large adjuchas with a pumpkin shaped lower half covered in eyes. It had dark skin, and a surprisingly strong hierro for an adjuchas, so it must have been more than halfway to becoming a Vasto Lorde. He knew there was no chance of him killing it if it weren't for his element of surprise- he caught an incredibly amount of prey due to being as stealthy as possible. Ichigo devoured it along with its energy, and for the first time since he became a hollow, he felt his power geniunely rocket. Other hollows from all over began to swarm to the area, feeding on the ambient reiatsu Ichigo was pouring off of him. He had realised by this point, exactly what the conversion rate was with him.
As a regular hollow, he had the strength of a weak adjuchas. As a Gillian, he was sure he would have the strength of a high level adjuchas. From this, he surmised that as an Adjuchas newborn, he'd only be a few steps away from a Vasto Lorde, and as a newborn Vasto Lorde, he would have the power of older Vasto Lordes. From this, he concluded that by the time he supposed to be at high level Vasto Lorde, he would be the strongest hollow around...if he lived that long.
By this point, the hollows were carving vast pathways through the trees, and he could feel his mind being swamped by those of the other hollows. He also felt his being grow, his reiatsu skyrocket, and his control over his limbs weaken. It took 15 minutes for him to absorb every single other hollow in the clearing, and by then, he had become a Gillian. Looking upon his own massive figure, he saw that he was cloaked in the same black-cloth like material all Gillians seemed to be covered in, but his nose was different. It was curved downwards, and had a funnel type fixture attached. Along with the now four red stripes on his mask, he was sure he wouldn't be mistaken for the average Gillian.
And that was how the rest of his week went. He was slowly stumbling around the Menos Forest, having lost all of his previous stealthy features, feeding on hollows and other Gillians as much as possible. His large mouth became accustomed to ingesting much vaster amounts of reiatsu, as he was now used to absorbing Gillian and high level adjuchas, an upgrade from his previous diet. Using this factor, he could practically feel himself flooding with energy, and despite his slow movement, and constant struggles with repelling rebellion from within his own mind, he could tell he was only a few steps away from becoming an adjuchas, like the other hollows he had known and fed on.
It only took another five days of ripping the flesh from Hollows, Gilians and Adjuchas before he evolved again. His skin stretched and popped, his blood vessels felt like they were melting and he literally roared in pain and anger as he felt his entire body reconstruct itself. The only thing that kept him sane was the knowledge that he would be infinately stronger once this was over. He spent a full hour groaning in pain after the transformation was done, and as soon as it was complete, his hollow hole begged for even more reiatsu to fill it. Unable to resist, and refusing to return to the state of Gillian, he set out and within the next day devoured another 300 adjuchas.
On his 301st Adjuchas, he noticed the light filtering in from above. It provided a method of seeing, so he peered into the pool of blood at his feet, the remnants of his last meal. His mask was the same as before, the skull with the now five red marks around the left eye. His body shape was essentially the same, with the exception of the thousands of spines which covered his skin, like sandpaper or glasspaper. His hierro was also thicker, having taken two ceros in quick succession directly to the face and come out non the worse. His claws and hands had become bigger, and the claws had also become black. The red lines had spread slightly into his torso, and his hair had dissapeared. His tail had also begun a regression back into his body. All in all, he felt good, and he felt he looked good.
He looked upon the hole in the roof, and began climbing the numerous surrounding trees. He remembered the words of the small, angry hollow who had instantly become scared at his reiatsu levels back when he was a regular hollow...stronger meals above the surface...more reiatsu. He spent what felt like forever getting himself up to the hole, but when he burst out onto the cold sands of Hueco Mundo, he felt better than ever. Peering around his new home, he noticed one thing. Less meals...it only made sense, if they were more powerful it was because they ate the others, no? Therefore there would be less up here.
There was nothing but sand as far as he could see, with the exception of one or two small pitiful trees stretching up toward the perpetual moonlight. He felt a powerful reiatsu signature from behind him, and whirled around as quickly as his body would allow him to. Upon his arrival in the opposite direction, he saw one sight. A huge face covered in a small amount of silver hair, with closed eyes and a massive grin spread across it. He stumbled back, not in fear but in surprise. Never before had a hollow been able to sneak up on his without him noticing, and this one didn't seem to have a mask...so it was probably stronger than him.
He looked at in fear as it stepping back, and another hollow of odd description took its place. This one also had no mask, but its eyes were cruel like the hollows in the Adjuchas sector of the forest- if not worse. Its smooth brown hair was swept back over its head, with a singular strand falling down between his eyes. They were both wearing a white outfit which covered them all. Another hollow was further back, this one with darker skin and sleeveless outfit...its eyes were covered by some odd visor type device ''probably to enhance his cero'' Ichigo thought absentmindedly. It wasn't often he discovered a knowledgeable hollow, but he had met one before who had a similar vision and it let him fire cero in two directions at once- a handy ability. Of course, he had eaten it and taken the ability for himself, but that's not the point.
He drew himself up to his feet, and prepared a pair of bright red cero the size of basketballs. He took but a second to charge them, and launch them toward the silver and brown haired men. The dark skin man, he concluded, was less of a challenge- those visors always impaired vision. He was surprised when the two merely raised their hands, and blocked both ceros without even flinching. He realised quickly this would be a losing battle, and turned to run...there was no way he was getting killed on his first day above the surface away from the Menos Forest.
''Stop stop, we don't wish to harm you.'' said the brown haired man, who was now in front of him somehow. He panicked and struck out with a claw, only to have it blocked by a fingertip. ''I said we don't wish to harm you.'' he repeated. ''My name is Sosuke Aizen, and these are my friends and associates Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen. We aren't hollows like you, we are Shinigami. We defected from the Seireitei in order to help lead the hollows to glory. We believe the warfare and bloodshed the two have shared has gone on too long. We wish to grant you power in return for one thing.''
The hollow cocked his head, subservient to the man who had proved himself more powerful, as hollows are wont to do. He was curious, power was always something which appealed to a hollow. ''How,'' he said, voice raspy from not having spoken in a long time, and raw from the screaming of becoming an adjuchas only days ago. ''How would you give me the power to rule over Hueco Mundo.''
''It's simple my boy. I have a device called a Hogyoku. In fact, I have a pair of them. The first is less powerful, and therefore I am looking for a way to get rid of it- I don't want it, and I'm certainly sure no other hollow is worthy of it. The Hogyoku can bond with a soul when exposed to someone with twice the reiatsu of a Captain class Shinigami. Therefore you are the only hollow I can find who is worthy of its power. There are other hollows with the necassary reiatsu, but I believe you will be more suitable in the long run. You are not yet even a Vasto Lorde, and therefore you haven't yet awakened your full power. I believe when you bond with the Hogyoku, and become a Vasto Lorde, then you can properly help me in my plans. I will give to you the Hogyoku today, if you swear to me your loyalty. I shall return in six months to take you to Las Noches, my home in Hueco Mundo to become an Arrancar. This will further enhance your power. All I ask in return is your loyalty, and the promise that in six months time you shall make yourself a Vasto Lorde. Then we will lead a charge to eliminate the current Shinigami, in order to replace them with Arrancars who will uphold the balance of the world correctly.''
Ichigo weighed it up in his head...be subservient to someone strong enough to deserve it and gain power... or lose chance at power to retain a modicum of pride. It was a simple answer for the Hollow. He would take the Hogyoku, he would become a Vasto Lorde, he would be the most powerful hollow ever to live and then he would destroy anyone who got in Aizen's way. As a hollow, it was simply a matter of trusting in power.
Bam, there's the first chapter of A God of Hollows. I geniunely hope you guys enjoyed it, it will be my main project for a while. The next chapter will deal with Ichigo becoming a Vasto Lorde, fusing with the Hogyoku, Joining Aizen, choosing Fraccion and interacting with the other Arrancar.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE I'M TOTALLY NOT DESPERATE IN ANY WAY.
