Welcome back to the Strawberry Shinigami Network! Heehee, I can't wait! It's time to start a new story! Whether you are new or not hai! My name is Strawberry Taicho, (Berry-chan) and thank you sooo much for visiting. By accessing this story you have joined an eternal family that seeks to spread the love of our resident strawberry, Ichigo Kurosaki! Are you hyped?! Then without further ado, let's get this party started! Let the cameras roll!
Disclaimer: By the curse of Kami, I do not own Bleach. Damn it.
To Overcome the Heavens
Chapter 1- A New Time, a New Mission
Nothingness. It was the only word that came to mind as Ichigo Kurosaki looked around him. All he could see was blackness. No colors, no defining characteristics, no noise, and no people. Just Nothing. A truly fitting word for the 8th and final level of The Central Great Undergound Prison- Muken. Summoning the other half of his soul, Zangetsu joined him in the emptiness, and immediately socked Ichigo in the face.
"Shit, ichigo grunted, stumbling back. "What the hell Zangetsu?!"
"You idiot! Why the fuck did you agree to something so outrageous?! We could have fought our way out of there!"
Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo butted heads with his white doppelganger before responding.
"They took them all as hostages! As prisoners, and threatened them with death! You know what happened! You yourself threatened them! Are you saying I should have done something different?"
Zangetsu looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned slightly.
"No, I knew you would agree to protect those close to you. I'm just ticked the fuck off and there was nobody else around to hit. Still though, that trial was a fucking joke."
"True enough."
Flashback
Ichigo was bound tightly, glaring at the 46 assholes looking down on him, as if a mere title actually meant something. He knew it would come to this eventually, but it had happened a little sooner than he thought.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you stand accused of treason for breaking several capital laws of Soul Society"
One of them on the left drew out a small piece of rolled parchment, and began to bitch about his past achievements.
"It is against the law for a Shinigami to give Soul Reaper powers to humans, or vice-versa. To do so is treason.
It is against the law to attack a captain. To do so is treason.
It is against the law to commit terrorist action(s) or attempt overthrow of the balance of Soul Society. To do so is treason.
It is forbidden for a Shinigami to obtain or attempt to obtain hollow-like powers. To do so is treason.
It is forbidden for a Shinigami to intervene in anything that is related to hell. To do so is treason.
The man than passed the parchment to the apparent "head asshole," who looked at it, then sent a nasty glare at Ichigo, as if he was trying to skewer him.
"What do you have to say for yourself, ryoka trash? How do you plead?"
Ichigo adopted a thoughtful expression, as if he was actually thinking about it.
"Well shit, I'm not sure there. Apparently saving all worlds several times over is forbidden. What do you think Zangetsu?"
"That's a tough question there King," Zangetsu replied appearing next to his wielder, a shark-like grin on his face. "Sounds like the word treason," he said sarcastically with air quotes, "is the story of our lives."
"Hmm hmm, I agree." Ichigo said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"You infidel! You dare bring a hollow into these sacred grounds! We should have you killed!"
"Ooh, did you hear that King? Apparently these idiots have a spare transcendent being laying around to kill us off!"
Zangetsu then began to laugh his head off, and even Ichigo chuckled a bit.
"Back to your original question then people. Guilty…"
"As charged." Ichigo finished, now grinning fully.
The head judge looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel, as his face was redder than Ichigo's hair. All of them looked pissed off, but neither Ichigo or Zangetsu gave half a damn.
"You all should know by now. I will do whatever it takes to protect my friends and family, no matter what it takes."
"Speaking of your friends," the head judge stated, smirking at Ichigo. "Bring it in."
The door to the central chambers opened with a slow creak, and guard came in with a box. He handed it to Ichigo, then left right after.
"Open it," the head judge stated.
Opening the box, Ichigo's eyes widened in shock at what he saw. Inside he found Chad's favorite bracelet, Uryu's glasses, Orihime's hair pins, and a few locks of Tatsuki's black hair.
'They crossed the fucking line' Ichigo thought to himself,
"You dumbasses crossed the line," Zangetsu said, his eyes wild with anger. "Accusing my King wasn't enough. No, you just had to mess with his friends too. I should rip you all to shreds right now!
Drawing his dual zanpakuto, Ichigo pointed the weapons at the judges, Zangetsu doing the same.
"Listen up. You can accuse me all you want, but bringing my friends into this was a bad move. What have you done with them?"
Despite the threat, the head judge remained surprisingly calm
"We haven't hurt them yet. However, we put them someplace safe to ensure your own cooperation.".
"That's correct," said another. "Despite all the laws you have broken you were of use to use from time to time. Therefore, we hereby sentence you, Ichigo Kurosaki, to 5000 years in Muken. Your friends however, have rendered no such services, and if you do not cooperate, they will be sentenced to death. They will be executed tomorrow at Sokyoku Hill. However, if you cooperate they will be released right after you are imprisoned."
End Flashback
"So what now King? We can use our powers here as much as we like, but this place is inescapable from the inside."
"As if that's enough to make me sit in here and wait. We need to find a way out of here. Then we contact Kisuke and go from there. After all," Ichigo said grinning, "we have an impressive track record when it comes to achieving the impossible."
"Hehe, that we do."
"First let's see if this place is truly endless."
Zangetsu returned to their inner world and Ichigo automatically raised his reiatsu level.
"Resurrecion."
Ichigo's reiatsu exploded outward in a torrent of black and red. A bone like substance, covering his body and his limbs tapered into sharp claws. His shihakuso became tattered, only covering the bottom half of his body. His hair grew past his shoulders, and his hollow mask formed all the way around his head, complete with two demonic horns.
Ichigo lifted one skeletal claw and pointed into the void,
"Cero."
The doom blast flew into the void… and kept going, and going, and going until Ichigo could no longer see it. He then fired three more in other directions but got the same result.
'Well shit, that didn't work.'
Dropping his resurrection, Zangetsu reappeared at his side.
"So, it's endless. Obviously."
"Looks that way. Hmm… maybe we can" Ichigo stopped abruptly as something pierced his mind, and he narrowed hiseyes.
"Zangetsu."
"I felt it too. Seems somebody has intruded in our inner world."
"Well then, let's make them feel welcome."
Zangetsu nodded and disappeared with a grin, and Ichigo sat down cross-legged and entered into his inner world.
Ichigo's Inner World
Ichigo opened his eyes, and looked around the vast skyscrapers that made up his inner world. It was raining lightly, and probably would until they escaped Muken.
Sensing Zangetsu's reiatsu a few paces behind him, Ichigo turned and saw somebody he wasn't expecting.
"Well hot damn the CEO has come to visit us in prison. How nice," Zangetsu said sarcastically.
Slicked back dark hair, oval eyes with black sclera and that weirdly shaped pupil, floating white body, and no limbs, at least not here anyway.
"Soul King"
"Greetings, Ichigo Kurosaki. It has been a while."
"Normally when somebody intrudes into the inner world that we share we beat them down, but to be honest, I'm just glad to see somebody. I wasn't expecting you, but still."
At his words, the Soul King chuckled gently, amused
"This is why I like you, Ichigo Kurosaki. You have unshakable beliefs, when it comes to right and wrong, regardless of title, station, or power. Remarkable."
"That he does. It can be annoying at times, but I'm used to it. What I would like to know, is why the hell are you here?"
"I have come to free you from this place, Ichigo Kurosaki"
Zangetsu's mouth fell open and Ichigo widened his eyes. Not a lot surprised him anymore, but this certainly did. He then realized something, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"At what cost?" he asked, staring at the Soul King intently.
"I confess; I do have something I hope you will help me with. However, I'm hoping you won't decline. Ichigo Kurosaki, you know I have the power of precognition. I ask that you let me show you something. Allow me to explain, then decide.
"What do you think Zangetsu.?"
"Normally I would say hell no, but I want to escape this place as much of you. We have heads to roll."
"Fine then. We will listen."
Nodding his head, the soul king glowed brightly and a small glowing sphere floated out of his body. It glided upward for a moment before expanding into what appeared to be a large screen. When it flicked on, Ichigo widened his eyes in shock.
Fire, fire everywhere. Almost all the buildings were burned to the ground, and the air was thick with ash. Chaos, explosions… and hollows. There were hollows everywhere, devouring everyone they came across. There were soul reapers as well, but the number of hollows was too great.
'What the fuck?' Ichigo thought.
"What the fuck is this?" Zangetsu said angrily, mirroring his wielder's thoughts.
"This," the soul king said solemnly, "is the human world several hundred years from now."
"Why is this happening? How do we"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, wait. I have something else to show you."
The screen zoomed out, and Ichigo could do nothing but stare.
He saw the human world, engulfed in flame and ruin, but that was not all. To the left and right of the human world, seemingly touching it's sides, was…
"Soul Society."
"Hueco Mundo."
The spirit king nodded, as if to confirm their words.
"That is correct. This is what the future holds, if we do not stop it."
"How is this possible Soul King? The human world, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo cannot coexist in the same realm."
"I will be killed." He stated bluntly. "My power continues to wane, and will be killed by some of the very soul reapers that were meant to protect me. Ichigo Kurosaki, your imprisonment shifted the balance far more than you know. Aizen and Ywach are nothing compared to what will happen. And in here, you can do nothing to stop it. I will free you from this place and send you into the past. I want you to fix everything."
The screen disappeared, and Ichigo looked at the soul king in slight benmusement.
"You want me to save Soul Society again, from this new threat?"
No Ichigo, not save it. I want you to change it. The government. The Gotei 13. The Rukongai. The noble families. The captains. The human world. Hueco Mundo. Everything will become completely corrupt. I know things are already bad, but as it stands, I am powerless to stop it. Ichigo Kurosaki, I want you to change everything. Break it if you need to, and then rebuild it from the ground up how it should be."
….
Ichigo was silent for a few moments, saying nothing, but the soul king knew he would say yes, if only to save those dear to him.
"Listen up soul king," Zangetsu said, snarling. "I want to protect the king's family as much as he does, but to me, he is the number one priority. I'm all for kicking some ass to make things right, but that begs the question. What does the king get out of this? He never asks for anything, which is annoying, but if he is going to go so far out of his way, I expect you to reward him."
Zangetsu was obviously angry that Ichigo was being given such a monumental task, and the Spirit King couldn't blame him.
"I have thought of that, and have brought something to offer to you."
"Oh? And what's that?" Zangetsu asked sarcastically.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, the gift I bring you is not from me. You remember how you received the assistance of hell when facing the sinner kokuto?"
"I remember."
"I'm not sure if you know this but hell itself is alive. The gatekeepers of hell are only gatekeepers because hell deemed them worthy. Hell is a sentient being, and is aware of what will occur should the future not change. Not only that, but it's not only hollows that are sent to Hell. Evil soul reapers, can be sent there when they die, but it doesn't happen often due to their long lifespans. That being said, Hell has deemed you worthy of receiving it's power. You shall receive the judgement of Hell."
All of a sudden, Ichigo's right shoulder began to burn, and he clutched at it, hissing in pain.
"Gghhhh!"
"King!" Zangetsu shouted, flashing to his wielder. Ichigo was breathing heavily, but the pain subsided.
"I'm fine Zangetsu," Ichigo claimed, throwing the spirit king a look
"Warn me next time, damn."
Ichigo lifted his hand from his shoulder, and saw a golden skull tattooed into the skin. Zangetsu whistled.
"Nice tattoo you got there king. What's it do?", he questioned, glancing at the spirit king.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, that tattoo will allow you to summon the hell armor you used in hell anytime you wish. This armor has two powers. Harmonization and Judgement. Harmonization happens whether you are wearing the hell armor or not and increases your natural instincts, making them many times stronger. In this case, your hollow powers get the boost. Judgement will allow you to summon and use the flames of Hell to punish evil. There are people in Soul Society that will need to disappear if you are to succeed. After you defeat them, piercing an enemy with the flames of hell will immediately summon the gates of hell, and will hell chains will drag them in, just like they would a hollow."
"That's, really fucking cool." Ichigo said, making Zagetsu laugh.
"Hahaha, I'll say! I couldn't agree more!"
"Now Ichigo, I have something for you as well."
Ichigo stepped back as he felt a flash of warmth go through his body, vanishing after a few seconds.
"This gift is from me. I have done three things. First, I have maximized your control over your reiatsu, so you aren't constantly leaking it. Second, I have made it so you can seal your zanpakuto, and gave it a cool design while I was at it. Lastly, I have made it so you can easily manipulate reiryoku, so you can use all three forms of kido effortlessly. Your Bankai has changed in appearance as well, due to the boost of your hollow powers."
"Soul King, I accept your mission. Seing the past could prove interesting, especially if I can save everybody I care about."
"Ichigo, I must tell you something," he started, dropping the formality. I will be putting you in the timeline as a member of one of the four great noble houses to gain a foothold in the world. But because you will make so many changes, this timeline will cease to exist. Ichigo, if you succeed, although your family, Masaki, Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu, will still be together, you will never be a part of them again."
Zangetsu growled and stepped towards the spirit king angrily.
"What is with that bullshit! Why in the hell would-"
"I know."
Zangetsu's eyes widened and he turned to his wielder in shock.
"I already thought about that Zangetsu. But it doesn't matter. As long as they are alive and happy, I couldn't ask for anything more."
'Excellent,' though the soul king. 'Not a second of hesitation. His resolve and willpower is perfect.'
Zangetsu sighed, and rubbed his head.
"You know king, that part of you used to piss me off, it still does sometimes, but you are right. Making them happy will make you happy, which will make sure it doesn't rain in here."
Turning to the soul king, Ichigo gave him a slight bow, which shocked both of the other two present.
"Soul King-sama, I, Ichigo Kurosaki accept this mission and will complete it without fail.
"Good. You have my permission to do whatever you wish to do. Change the world for the better. Oh one more thing, which of the noble families would you like to be put into?"
Without missing a beat, Ichigo responded.
"The Shihouin."
"Very well then, Ichigo Shihouin. When you wake up, you will be in the past. There will also be a few other gifts waiting for you, and I may contact you from time to time. Farewell young soul reaper. I will be watching."
With a flash of light, the soul king disappeared, and Ichigo collapsed, exhausted.
"Hehe, see you soon king."
Soul King's Palace
A lone figure stepped out of the shadows as the soul king returned his attention to the soul palace. He bowed deeply, and then spoke, his voice monotone.
"Welcome back, Soul King-sama. I trust everything went will."
"Indeed it did Shen. He is perfect."
"And the other thing?" the figure asked, pushing up his glasses.
"I have not told him yet, Shin. He has enough to worry about right now. But soon I will. Ichigo Kurosaki will be the next Soul King."
Shihouin Estate Branch House, Soul Society
Ichigo woke up and himself in a large cushy bed. He immediately got up and stretched, decided to look around the room of what was supposed to be the past. The first thing he noticed was a mirror. Walking over to it, his mouth dropped open in horror at what he saw. While his skin had changed to the natural mocha of a Shihouin, that wasn't what surprised him. Apparently Zangetsu noticed it too because they both screamed the exact same thing.
"Why the fuck do I look like a child?!?"
End Chapter One
Oh my kami, I cannot tell you how happy and bubbly I am to start this new story! This is going to be so much fun! Please, please review. I'll keep cranking out the chapters as fast as I can manage, and this story is going to be really fucking long. Isn't that great! Like I said before, if you want to give me suggestions, need anything, or just want to chat, shoot me a mail. I love talking to my family! This is Strawberry Taicho, signing out! XD