A Test of Mettle
"I have one word for you Ichigo... BAKA!" Rukia shouted, as she bent over him, eyeing the large gashes that covered his body.
"I... beat it..." Ichigo smiled up at her, Zangetsu lying beside him on the ground, the sunlight gleaming off its edge.
"Yeah, but you almost died!" Rukia said, flicking him on the forehead with her finger.
"OW! Hey! What was that for?" Ichigo demanded, giving Rukia a look, and trying to stand up.
"Don't move Kurosaki-kun! I haven't finished healing your injuries!" Orihime Inoue said, in a slightly panicked voice.
"Sorry Inoue, I didn't mean to scare you." Ichigo smiled at the orange haired girl, his amber-yellow eyes shinning in the light.
"WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WHERE DOING KUROSAKI?" Renji shouted from the door, Zabimaru flung across his shoulders, his red hair in a mess from the fight.
"Killing that Hollow..." Ichigo replied, making Renji even angrier.
"But you ran at it without even considering the fact that it beat two shinigami as easily as if they where dolls!" Renji sighed, shaking his head.
"So? I am twice as strong as them combined! I thought I could take the stupid thing down fast. You sure didn't manage to do it!" Ichigo said, smiling at Renji.
"WHAT! I WAS BUSY WITH THE OTHER ONE!" Renji screamed, glaring at Ichigo with a look of disdain.
"Well... Then there was no one else to take care of the second one! So I did it!" Ichigo said icily.
"But the way you did it was dangerous! Couldn't you feel the power coming off that Hollow? Its spirit force was huge! You don't rush into combat with an opponent of that power!" Renji retorted.
"Thanks for your concern Renji, but I don't need to be lectured on how to fight. I have been fighting things for almost my whole life." Ichigo said.
"Okay Kurosaki-kun! All finished! You look good as new now!" Orihime cried out happily.
"Thanks Inoue. I appreciate it." Ichigo stood up, lifting Zangetsu to his shoulders, and looked around.
The area in which they stood was completely destroyed, buildings where toppled, and the ground was full of holes.
"Wow, we really messed this place up didn't we?" Ichigo commented, as he surveyed the destruction.
"Yeah. It is a bit of a mess isn't it?" Renji nodded.
"Hey, you guys? Do you feel a strange pulse?" Orihime asked, looking at each of the others to see their responses.
"Now that you mention it Orihime, I do..." Rukia said, a shiver running down her spine as she recognized the source.
"Yeah... It feels like a huge energy coming from over there." Renji said, pointing west of their position.
"I don't feel..." Ichigo's eyes widened.
"You feel it now don't you?" Renji asked.
"Yeah... What the hell could make that?"
"I don't think we want to know." Rukia said, as the sky seemed to rip apart, and a large, white hand came out, gripping the edge of the tear like a curtain.
"It's just another Hollow. We can take this punk out in a flash!" Ichigo growled, holding out Zangetsu, and shouting, "Bankia!"
There was a massive blast of spirit force that caused the clouds above them to darken, and a huge vortex to suddenly spring to life.
Ichigo stood, garbed in a black overcoat, with a red lining.
Zangetsu's blade looked so frail, but anyone who has fought Ichigo's bankia knew that looks could be deceiving.
"Tensa Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted, holding the blade out, readying himself for the attack.
The Hollow stepped out, and looked down at Ichigo, mouth open, and claws ready.
Renji ran forward, and stood in front of Ichigo, facing him, a gleam in his eyes.
"No you don't! You can wait back there. You are injured, and not in any condition to fight, I'll take this one down."
"But."
"No buts! Binding Art 15: Paralysis of the Body!" Renji shouted, the spell hitting Ichigo in the stomach, binding all of his limbs in its power.
"Sorry... Don't want you interfering." Renji smiled, as Ichigo struggled to move.
Renji turned to the monstrous Hollow, and yelled, "Howell Zabimaru!"
Zabimaru's blade flashed, and shot at the Hollow, who caught it.
"Stupid shinigami! You can't beat me!" The Hollow said, as it started to swing its arm in a circle, still holding onto Zabimaru, which caused Renji to fly up into the air, to fly in circles above the Hollow's head.
It let go of Zabimaru, and Renji flew clean across the broken landscape, to crash into the remains of a building.
The Hollow laughed, and looked at Rukia.
"Your turn!" It shouted, as its fist came crashing down onto the ground.
"Blue Fire, Crash Down!" Rukia cried, pointing her fingers at the Hollow.
A blast of blue energy streaked from her fingertips, and hit the Hollow right in the mask, but the energy glanced off, not doing any damage at all.
"You shinigamis never learn do you?" The Hollow asked.
"Dance Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia said, her zanpakuto flashed in a bright white light, and as the light receded, it revealed a beautiful blade, pure white; a white ribbon flowed from its pummel.
The Hollow laughed again.
"You can't beat me with that pretty thing. I will crush you!"
"First Dance, White Moon!" Rukia whispered, Sode no Shirayuki glowed at the command, letting off a blast of energy that encircled the Hollow.
" Be chilled to the bones Hollow!" Rukia yelled, as the circle surrounding the Hollow began to crackle like ice that was tossed into a warm glass of water.
Suddenly, ice shot up from the circle, covering the Hollow entirely.
For a few moments it looked like the thing was frozen, but the ice cracked, and then shattered like glass, sending shards of ice into the sky.
"Is that all you've got?" The Hollow chided, leaping at Rukia.
She didn't move.
She couldn't, because this Hollow was too strong.
It had beaten her zanpakuto without even trying.
Its huge fist came down, but it was stopped by something black.
"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted, as the black crescent hit the Hollow's hand, stalling it in its downward course.
"WHAT!" Shouted the Hollow, confused by the sudden interruption.
"Oh, it is the pathetic bankia boy... I can crush you with my little finger!" The Hollow raged, sending its other fist at Ichigo.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu up, so that its tip was perpendicular to the Hollow's fist.
The impact was enormous, but when the dust cleared, Zangetsu's point had held back the assault.
Then in a split second the Hollow bellowed and fell back, a considerable gash cut into its body.
"Ha! That is all? Now let me show you my true power!" The Hollow said in a menacing tone, its voice shaking with pain.
In a blinding flash of spirit force, the Hollow disappeared.
What stood before Ichigo was a short, thin woman.
"So Ichigo? What do you think of me now?" Came a voice that was harsh and raspy.
Purple eyes flashed at Ichigo, as he stood dumbfounded.
"Will you kill this little shinigami to destroy me, or will you die quietly?" Asked the Hollow/Rukia.
"You are... RUKIA!" Ichigo's eyes widened, as he realized the situation he was in.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Hollow/Rukia laughed maniacally, a sound that was familiar to Ichigo.
"You! It is you! My... Inner-Hollow!" Ichigo was shocked and confused and about ready to just kill himself.
"That's right!" Hollow/Rukia smiled that maniac smile, which was a frightening thing to see Rukia do, because it was something she would never have done.
"But if you are My Inner-Hollow, how did you take over Rukia's body?" Ichigo asked.
"You unleashed me upon your friends! I would not have attacked, if you had just voluntarily given your body up to me... But you didn't! So I took drastic measures to get you to give me your power. So what do you say? Will you fight this pathetic excuse of a shinigami, and vanquish me, or will you let me take you over, so that you can see what true power is?"
Ichigo considered what the Hollow had said.
"No matter what, I can't kill Rukia... But I do not want to lose myself to that freak... What should I do?" Ichigo thought, as he dodged a rapid attack from his crazed inner-self.
"You will never stop me Kurosaki Ichigo! NEVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cried Ichigo's Hollow.
"Yeah, shut up you stupid Hollow! You don't know what life is, and you want to live a life though me, so come and get it!" Ichigo shouted, leaping up into the air, avoiding another attack.
"DO NOT RESIST KUROSAKI! I WILL EITHER KILL YOU OR OWN YOU BY THE END OF THIS!"
Then a thought struck Ichigo.
"If he kills me, wouldn't he die too? He is part of me... That means that he can't really be controlling Rukia either... But I don't know that for sure..."
"Your smart Kurosaki... I'll give you that... But you are pathetically weak! I'll take you over, and then you'll never want to let me go! I know what your potential is! I'll help you reach for the stars!" The crazed Hollow said.
"So Ichigo? What will you do?"
"DIE!" Ichigo shouted, flying at the Hollow, and slashing wildly.
It caught Zangetsu and laughed in Ichigo's face.
"You are SOOOOOOO WEAK!" It said, throwing Ichigo back.
Ichigo skidded to a halt, and stood tall.
"ZANGETSU! LEND ME YOUR POWER! Make me one with you!" Ichigo cried, a huge blast of spirit force shot forth, knocking trees and boulders flying.
When the spirit force died down, Ichigo stood in a wide crater, looking very differently.
He stood, in a long red over-coat, like Zangetsu's, except that it was not black on the inside, but grey. He also had wings now, they where too small for flight, but they where there none the less.
"This is your down-fall Hollow!" Ichigo's voice rang out, echoing even though there was nothing for it to echo off of.
The Rukia/Hollow stood in shock.
"You have learned to bind your power with your zanpakuto? When?" The Hollow asked, confused.
"I learned it before you took the final steps to take me over." Ichigo replied.
"So... You'll kill this shinigami then?"
"If I need too, I will!" Ichigo answered.
There was a small flash, and Ichigo's Inner-Hollow fell back, not understanding what had hit it.
A second flash, and the Hollow was on its knees.
A foot struck the Hollow in the jaw, sending it crashing into a ruined building.
Before it could even stand, it was lifted off the ground, and held there.
Ichigo's eyes stared straight into the Hollow's eyes, and the Hollow felt fear, a feeling it had not felt ever.
"Who is the pathetic one now?" Ichigo said, the hatred palpable.
The Hollow smiled then, its lips stretching too far to look normal.
"Your wrong Ichigo..." It said, pointing a single finger at him.
"White Fire: Flashbolt" The Hollow said quietly.
A massive blast of energy shot through Ichigo's stomach, throwing him back.
"Dance Sode no Shirayuki!" The Hollow whispered.
A blinding light flashed, and the white zanpakuto appeared in its hands.
"She can achieve bankia just like you! Through me!" It smiled.
"BANKIA!" Shouted the Hollow.
The spirit force that erupted from Sode no Shirayuki was amazing, Ichigo had to lean into the blast to keep his balance.
When the wave had passed, Hollow/Rukia stood and next to her was an angelic like being (I don't know what her real bankia looks like, so I made this one up... I think it is cool though...) that looked like it was made of ice.
It dove at Ichigo, and as it flew, the land froze as it passed.
It struck Ichigo, who deflected the attack with Zangetsu's blade.
He felt a cold thing strike him in the back, causing ice to form on his coat, but it just shattered off.
The ice angle dove again, this time with an ice sword.
Zangetsu and the ice-sword clashed, and spirit force exploded forth from the strike.
It swung a fast arc that was deflected as well, but instead of bouncing off, the ice-sword froze around Zangetsu's edge, and over Ichigo's arm.
The ice angle slammed a fist into Ichigo's chest, and again and again it did this, as he tried to escape.
"HAHAHHAHAHHAH!!!!" Screeched Ichigo's Inner Hollow.
"Gah!" Ichigo said, blood spilling from his mouth, as he tried to battle the frost angle.
"YOU ARE A FOOL KUROSAKI ICHIGO!"
The frost angle slammed its fist one last time into his body, sending a flash of blinding pain through his nerves.
"Getsuga Tensho!" He shouted, Zangetsu's blade sending forth a blast of black energy.
The ice shattered, and Ichigo swung Zangetsu in a wide arch, cutting deep into the frost angle.
Then he spun, and sliced clean through its neck like melted butter.
A large wave of spirit force shot from the thing's body, and the rest of the angle shattered too, ice chips glistened in the weird lighting.
Ichigo bore down on the Hollow, swinging Zangetsu in every direction.
The Hollow could not fight back.
Finally, Zangetsu's tip was against the Hollows throat.
"Die." Ichigo said in a barely audible voice, and slashed the Hollow's head in half.
There was a long laugh, as the Hollow's body slowly disintegrated into dust, and vanished.
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The world came into sharp focus, and Ichigo looked around.
Rukia lay on the ground where she had fallen, but she was still alive.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
When he came too about an hour later, he saw Rukia in the bed next to him.
He slowly got up, and went over to her, and looked down.
Her eyes where open, and he smiled, thanking the powers above that she was still alive.
"I have three words for you Rukia: I love you." He said.
Rukia's mouth curved into a smile, and Ichigo bent down, and kissed her.
"I love you too Ichigo." Rukia said when the kiss had broken...
The End!