AN: Happy Holidays everyone. This is something that I've been working on while I was writing the 11th and 12th chapters for my other story The Holly Devil Pawn for High School DxD. Like it, hate it, that's ok. Its just something I was doing so I could think for The Holly Devil Pawn. Anyway, enjoy.
He looked up. The pitch black sky and the barren pale land of dust and sand shifts as he slowly moved forward. The sound of rattling chains echoes from his waist.
'Where am I?' He asks himself.
He looks down at his pale hands. Bringing them up to his face, he feels his skin, rough and hard, but yet smooth. Then he feels something stinking around his face. It felt like clay...or bone. Something that felt a part of him, so he didn't try to take it off.
Continuing to cross the desert, he felt empty inside. Not emotionally, but physically. Like something that was taken from his long ago, and he now noticed it's gone. He lifted his hands to his chest, and felt an odd indentation just between pecks. Looking down, his black and yellow eyes widen. A large, fist size hole ran straight through him. Poking at the hole felt strange and foreign to him. He soon stopped to continue walking.
'Where am I going?' He asked himself again. Walking straight, he finally notices a building in the distance. A very large one at that. He drew closer and closer. He stopped just a few feet from the wall. He looked up, no longer seeing the dome that capped the structure. Putting his hand on the wall, he frowned.
'Not it...' He turns and walks away, until a voice called him.
"Hey." The voice said lazily.
He turned to see a man, with long hair and a necklace that looks like it's made of teeth. He also takes note of the hole, same place as his, but slightly higher.
"Who are you?" He asks.
The man looks at him. "My name is Starrk. And you are?"
He looks at Stark for a few moments before answering. "I...I'm Ichigo. Ichigo...Kurosaki..."
"Welcome, Ichigo. To Las Noches." Ichigo looks up to the grand structure before him. Starrk leans up against the wall. "Now, what's a Hollow like you doing here?"
Ichigo look up at the structure."Las Noches?" He narrows his eyes. "I'm...looking for something." His eyes meet back at Starrk's.
"Looking for what?"
"I...don't know."
Starrk looks at the boy up and down. From his feet, to his mask, this looked odd for someone like him. Then the sword at his waist caught his attention. The slick black blade, with black and red wrapping around its hilt, and an odd looking guard at Ichigo's waist, hiding itself for those that looked on it. Starrk had the idea that maybe he should ask one very important question. "Do you what you are?" Starrk narrows his eyes.
Ichigo looks back at him. "I..I'm a Hollow."
Starrk smiles. "But do you know what type of Hollow you are?" To this,
Ichigo nods no. "Well, you are a rare form of Hollow. An Arrancar to be specific. A Hollow in the Adjuchas class or even Vasto Lorde that removed part of its own mask and gains a Zanpakuto of a Shinigami."
Ichigo reaches down to his sword. "An Arrancar...Zanpakuto...mask?" Ichigo reaches up to his face and feels the hard bone like material on his face.
"Come, it would be best if you rest here." Starrk motioned to the small door in the wall. Ichigo nods and follows Starrk inside. The inside of Las Noches what just more tall buildings, connected by bridges and walk ways. And the ceiling looked like a clear blue sky, with moving clouds and a sun.
Ichigo covered his eyes, not used to the bright light.
They walk around for a bit, passing by many beings that generally all look the same, broken mask, mostly human form, and a hole somewhere on their body. Starrk leads Ichigo inside the middle building in the complex. Inside was a giant room, with columns on each side, and an empty throne on the top of a hill of stairs.
"You're lucky. Aizen isn't here." Starrk opens a door of to the left side of the throne room.
"Who's Aizen?" Ichigo asks.
Starrk closes the door after Ichigo and narrows his eyes. "A very dangerous man."
Ichigo stops and looks back him, as
Starrk walks past him, he mutters, "An evil man indeed." Ichigo nods and follows him.
Soon, Starrk lead him to a room and tells him to rest here, and he'll be back soon. Ichigo nods again and looks around the room. There's a bed in the fat, right corner and a table in the far left corner with a mirror and a sink to next to that. He walks aver to the mirror and looks at himself.
His face look stern and angry, pale sink, his irises were an amber like color and his long, spiky, orange hair that goes all the way down his back. But what he was looking at more was what was attached to his face. "My mask." His traces the oddly shaped mask on his face, it didn't cover the back of his head, just around his face, leaving a gap where his chin is. It's made a 'M' like shape as it runs up the side of his, in front of his ears, over his eyebrows, then bending slightly down to meet just a few inches above the space between his eyes. The part of the mask, near his jaw, looked like a few sharp teeth, and a pair of sharp angular horns, jut out from the top sides of his head. Two, thick black lines, coming from his between his horns, go down his mask, stops at the edge near each eye and then travels down the side if his mask making it half white, half black. Next, he looked at his body, four thick black lines converge at that hole I his chest, two coming for his shoulders and two coming from the back of his neck and two thin black lines, coming down his neck, joining thing lines coming from the back of his neck.
He sighs and backs away from the mirror to the bed. "What am I doing here?" He lies down and closes his eyes and rests.
-Ichigo's Dream-
Ichigo stands alone, rain falls on him as looks to the raging river in front of him. He looks to the other side, to see a girl wearing a white dress with black hair, standing on the edge of the bank.
"Hey." He called out to her. She didn't move.
After few moments, she started to fall into the river. He was about to react, until he heard a women's voice that he remembered.
"No, Ichigo! Stop!" The women yelled.
He looked passed the girl, to see a little boy, running down the hill to the girl, and the women running after him. "Mom." He mutters.
He watched the boy grab for the girl, but in that instant, she faded away and the boy was about to fall into the river.
"Ichigo!" The women yelled, but then, as the sound of a train's horn blared, everything went foggy. He heard scream of a woman and a child, as well as an evil, laugh.
"What going on!" He yelled, he tried his best to go across the river, to where he couldn't see, but as reached the other side, everything became clear again. But this time, the scene had changed. Both the little boy and the women were lying in a pool of blood on the wet grass. He rushed over to them and found they were dead.
"Mom?" His eyes widen as he looked over his right shoulder, to see the boy, standing. He looked alright. Ichigo looked back at the bodies. "How the hell?" The boy was there too. Dead. As he looked by at the boy behind him, and finds one key difference between the two. The one standing behind him has a soul chain attached to him.
"Mom." The boy says again.
Ichigo backs away from the women and the boy. "This can't be happening." He yells. "It's...it's all my fault." He says to himself.
"Hehehehehehe." The laughter is heard again.
Ichigo turns slightly to see a Hollow, his body is covered in what looks like green/drown hair, and a mask with a large, creepy smile. Ichigo's eyes widen as he grabs for the black sword at his waist, charging at the Hollow.
"Ahh!" He yells. As he slices the Hollow, but then he fades away like mist in a breeze.
"It's ok Ichigo." Another voice calls to him. But it's a man's, and it sounds old, but very familiar.
"Who are?!" He yells.
"I name is /$:%*&-]!„" man wearing a black and red coat and dark glasses appear in front of him.
Ichigo looked at him for a moment. "What?"
"I've been calling you for a long time now, Ichigo."
"How do you know my name!?"
"I am a part of you." He steps forward.
"What?!" Ichigo's eyes widen as he steps back.
"I am you Zanpakuto." Then his disappears.
Ichigo feels the ground beneath his feet give way like glass, and he falls through a sideways city. "The hell?" He looks in front of him to see water. "Don't let him control you. Find your peace." The old man says in the distance as Ichigo splashes in the water below.
-End Dream-
Ichigo jolts up and swings his sword to his left unconsciously.
"Eep!" A female voice makes.
"Calm down." Another voice says.
Coming to his senses, Ichigo lowers his sword and grabs at his head.
"It's ok. It's just me, Starrk." Ichigo look up to see Starrk in the corner of his room and a little girl wearing a helmet, like mask.
"Why are you here?" Ichigo asks.
"Well you've been asleep for a few days now! And Starrk and I have been keeping the other Espada from killing you in your sleep. I swear, where did you find this guy?" She looks over to Stark.
"Quiet down Lilynette. Your voice is to loud." He glares at her lazily. "And she is right." Starrk sits down in one of the chairs.
Ichigo relaxes a bit. "Why?"
"Hmmm?" Starrk looks back.
"Why did you take me hear and give me this room?"
"Why you? You should be.." Lilynette stomps her feet and forms a fist.
"Silence, Lilynette. It's a reasonable question. And to answer, I've been watching you for some time now."
Ichigo's eyes widen and he grabs for his sword, not noticing that it changed from its black blade, to a normal looking one with a silver blade and a dark red wrapping around the hilt, with the guard having a fancy design engraved in it.
"Calm down. I'm not going to kill you. I was ordered to watch you, because your power is too great for the other Espada not to attack you and kill you."
"Espada?"
"Yes. They are a group of the ten most powerful Hollows at the moment. We change in rank if one does or gains more power...at the moment, I'm one of the most powerful out of the Espada, and labeled the Primera Espada." Starrk takes his glove off to show a number one on the back of his hand. Ichigo looks at it, before Starrk puts it back on.
"Anyway. You are a weird Hollow." Starrk said bluntly.
Ichigo's vein pops out of his head. "Oh, how so?"
"Well, since I've been watching you, you have kept a sword around you, even when you were one a mere Menos. And had has a great amount of reiatsu at that. Easily able to bring down a Gillian and put up a little fights with an Adjuchas. And then, not long after I started watching, you evolved into a Gillen, and then a few years pasted, an Adjuchas, then finally a Vasto Lorde, which only a few Hollows achieve. And then a natural Arrancar...with a reiatsu level well over the Arrancar created by Aizen."
Ichigo contemplates what Starrk just said. "Who is this Aizen, exactly?"
Both Lilynette and Starrk go quiet. "Aizen is a Shinigami."
Ichigo's eyes widen at this news.
"He created us, the Arrancar, using something called, the Hogyoku. He says it just a replica and is searching for the real one. His power is very dangerous. Him and his Shinigami friends."
"Then why do you follow him."
Starrk lowers his voice. "He promised me of never being alone again. And he was right. In the process, I gained a lot of power too. But in the years follow, I've noticed how evil this man really is. And even though he says he wants to help us, I can tell that he will only betray us all in the end." Starrk looks out the window.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ichigo asks.
"Because I believe that you can stop him. Aizen is away right now. Where? I don't know. But he only knows what I've told him about you." Starrk sits up. "It's not just me that thinks Aizen will betray us. The third Espada, Harribel. As well as the second Espada, Bataggan. Sadly, they don't wish to prepare for if he does. And they don't like the idea of you."
Ichigo looks back at him. "And why should I trust you?"
Starrk sighs. "I don't expect you to, but I wanted to give you at least a warning. Stay away from Aizen as much as you can." Stark stands up and tosses a bundle of white clothes to Ichigo, who catches it. "These are clothes of the Arrancar, where them and some hollows will stay clear of you. You may leave whenever you like, but once you step out of this room. Prepare for a fight or two, if you can run." And with that, Starrk walks to the door and opens it. "Come Lilynette." She follows him.
Just as the door is about to close, Ichigo whispers. "Thanks." After laying out the bundle of clothes, Ichigo finds its a few sets of them. Three torso pieces, two legging and pair of white with black accent boots. Ichigo choose the torso piece that resembled a shirt with a large V-neck that showed his hole and the sides and back, extend down to the back of his knees that is pure white and black accents and standard hakama that are the same color and a black fabric belt, tied tightly around his waist. (AN: Bankai clothes) After putting his sword into a black scabbard, then placing it inside his belt he opens the door and walks out into the hall.
Surprisingly, Ichigo didn't see one other hollow on his way out of Las Noches. After leaving the gate, Ichigo formed a Garganta and walks inside. "I know where I must go." leaving Hueco Mundo for the first time since his arrival six years ago.
"Have a good day!" A teenage girl yells as she exits a dojo. The short and spiky black hair gently flows in the wind as she walks to her destination. Her dark blue eyes reflect the colors of the clear blue sky.
"I'll visit Orihime later." She says to herself as she swings her bag over her shoulder. She is average height and an above average build for a girl her age. She travels till she finds the river that runs through the town of Karakura. She follows the side walk that is parallel to the river, until she sees the land mark, a large bridge that carries a train during the evening and night hours. Before getting to the bridge, she walks down the steep slope, till the gentle water's edge. Dropping her bag, she sits down and brings her knees to her chest. "I'm here again...Ichigo. I'm sorry." She makes a sniffling sound. "I'm so scared to go to your grave in person, to see your family. But I always come here. The place where I last saw you."
-Flash Back-
A younger version of the girl walks along with her mother.
"You alright, Tatsuki?" Her mother asks.
The little girl, named Tatsuki look up to her mother. "I'm just worried, that's all." She looks back in front of her.
"Oh, is it because of yesterday? I know you where waiting from the Ichigo boy. It was a shame he didn't come by for your birth day."
Tatsuki blushes. "It's not like that mom! I don't care him anyway, that crybaby." She mutters the last part.
Her mother giggles. "Shame though. He seems like a nice young man."
As they enter the dojo, the Sensei is talking to a man around his age, with a trimmed beard and two little girls around his waist.
"Maybe you might have two new partners, Tatsuki." Her mother walks up to the Sensei.
"I'm sorry to hear that. He was progressing very well." The Sensei said in a sad tone.
Tatsuki's noticed this and intervened. "Is everything alright gentlemen?" She asks politely. Both men look to her.
"Ah! Miss Arisawa. Well, was tells us some bad news." Sensei turns to the man.
"Ah, you're Masaki's husband,
Isshin." She says.
Isshin puts on a smile, but can't hide his despair. "Yes. Masaki is my wife. Though, I'm sad to say not anymore."
This grabs at her full attention. She turns to Tatsuki. "Dear, why don't you go a get ready for today's lesson, ok?" She says with a smile.
"Sure.." Tatsuki goes get ready, but keeps her ears on the conversation.
"Did something happen to her?" Tatsuki's mother asks.
Isshin puts his hand on his daughters. "By the river, near the train bridge, there was an accident the left both Masaki and my son, Ichigo to leave this world." He says solemnly.
Tatsuki's mother gasps and brings her hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry." She says, before all three hear a loud bang coming from the door.
"Sensei! Tatsuki ran off!" One of the other children asks.
Tatsuki's mother was about to run after her, but is stopped my Isshin. "Let her go. I have an idea where she's going."
Outside, Tatsuki runs as fast as she can to the river. Leaving a trail of tears behind her, passing people by people shoving them out of her way.
'No.' she yells in her mind. 'Please don't be true!' She continues to run. As she draws near her destination, she sees yellow tape and tire marks on the road. Once at the edge of the side walk, she looks over the scene.
Yellow police tape outlines the area by the river in a square. In the center, a few patches of a dark brown and red substance. Blood. She falls to her knees in the grass and cries her eyes out. 'Why?' She thinks back to a few days before, when she asked him to come to her birthday party. He would be the only one that was going to come. Because her tomboyish and tough demeanor, not many girls talked to her or liked her to become friends. And the boys always wanted to fight her or pick on her for being 'non-girl' like. Ichigo was her first real friend. Even though she made him cry all the time, she felt a connection with the orange haired strawberry. That was her nickname for him. He told her his name meant 'one who protects' but she kept calling his strawberry for being weak. She was saddened when he didn't show up to her part yesterday...her birthday. She was going to beat the crap out of him today for not coming when he promised to.
Always having a smile on his face no matter what she did to him. Beat him in a fight and call him names, he cried, but soon put on the annoying smile of his. She wished to wipe that smile off his face, to show how much it bothered her that he was always happy. But she was glad too, that he smiled. He didn't hate her when she beat him or call him names. He would cry them smile and act like it was all fine. Part of that that was due to his mother.
Every time he saw his mother, he smile would always surface. No matter what he was feeling. She removed the first fight they ever had. The first punch in his chest made him fall to the ground crying, but the moment he saw his mom, he got back up and smiled again. He didn't go back to fight Tatsuki, but ran to his mom and hugged her. During her time with Ichigo, she learned that his family revolved around her. She made everything better and happy. Not once did his parents argue. Unlike her parents. Her father left her and her mother when she was young. Another thing she loathed him about.
'I promise to come. And I'll give the best present ever!' He said to her when she invited him. A little warmth formed in her that moment. She felt happy about him coming over. Ichigo Kurosaki, her first friend, her best friend, her only friend, and her first crush...gone. Tatsuki cried harder as she thought about him.
*jingle*
Her eyes looked around when she heard a clear sound of bells. Looking around to find nothing. Tears still in her eyes, she looks up to the sky, a black and blue butterfly flies down to her and lands on her knee. This shocked her as she had never seen a butterfly do or act like this.
"Hey." A faint voice says. Looking from the butterfly, Tatsuki looks to the river. There, standing by the river's edge, is a figure with orange hair, and an odd chain hanging from his chest. She quickly brings her hands to her eyes and wipes them to clear her vision, but in that instant, he was gone. Becoming saddened again, she looks down the butterfly, but to find it had flown off.
"Idiot." She whispers as she brings her knees to her chest and looks out to the water. A few times, she had heard that Ichigo could see ghosts, but when she asked him about his, he denied have that ability. Did she just see Ichigo's ghost? She didn't know why, but she felt that he was there watching her and wished she wouldn't cry. "Come back to me Ichigo." She whispers again.
-End Flashback-
A tear falls down her cheek. Today was her birthday. She was turning 16. And she wanted to spend at least a part of it here. She always has. She was thankful to have met Ichigo, to become his friend and him becoming her friend. "Thank you, Ichigo. No matter where you are at the moment, I hope you are doing well." She hoped that one day, they will meet again. She knows that one day they will meet again.
"Thank you. See you soon." Tatsuki stand up from her position on the grass and starts to meet a couple of her friends. After walking around the town, she arrives as an apartment complex where her best friend lives. Walking up the stairs and down the hall to her friend's door, she knocks.
"Coming!" Says a cheery female voice from the apartment. Tatsuki smiles as she hears her friend rush to the door, with loud bangs and crashes. 'Oh Orihime.' After a few seconds, the door opens to reveal a brown haired girl with a round face and brown eyes. (AN: Orange hair and gray eyes if you go by the Anime) Tatsuki smiles at the sight of her.
"How have you been Orihime?" She asks as she walks in to the dark room. "Hey, why are all the lights out?" Once Orihime closes the door and turns on the lights, Tatsuki can clearly see the banner hung from the ceiling with the words 'Happy Birthday!' on it.
"Happy birthday!" She hears from the table to her left. Sitting down at the small table in the center of the room is her recently acquired 'friend' Rukia. Rukia has a small and fragile looking stature, with short black hair and purple eyes. Tatsuki looks over to her and smiles
"How did you guys..? What about school?" Tatsuki asks franticly.
Rukia speaks, "Well I'm making an excuse to unpack off the stuff and get completely settled in her, Orihime though did go to school. So I went out to get you a cake and stuff that Orihime said is needed for a party." Tatsuki smiles. "So Orihime. Where should I put up the squid?" Rukia asks as she pulls a squid from a bag next to her.
"A Squid?! Where did you get that idea?!" Tatsuki yells as her.
"Oh, Orihime said that you can have a party without a celebratory squid." Rukia says without the slightest hint of a joke.
"Orihime?!" Tatsuki stops to her. "Why?"
Orihime puts on a smile, "Well, I thought that maybe you might like to have a sea themed party, and I know one of your favorite foods are fried squid, so I got a squid that I can cook into delicious food for us."
Tatsuki looks to her and then to the squid in Rukia's hand. 'Please be a normal dish.' Pleading to herself.
The next couple of hours went by nicely, Orihime made some cucumber and fish sandwiches, which she only ate. The three girls talked about the culture for the world of the living, since Rukia 'was' a Shinigami.
"So Tatsuki, you said before that you've been able to see souls for a long time, correct? So I was wondering. How old were you when you started to see them." Rukia asks.
Thinking nothing of it, Tatsuki answers. "Yeah, at first I could only see little ripples in the air, and then later as I got older, I could start to see them clear and clear." She leans back and looks to the ceiling.
"When did you see your first soul?" Rukia asks, not knowing she struck something inside is Tatsuki. Tatsuki leans back forward, but starts to bend down and let's her hair cover her eyes.
Orihime leans over to Rukia. "It would be best not to ask that."
"No, it's fine." Both girls look to Tatsuki with a surprised expression.
"But Tatsuki..." Orihime tries to calm her down.
"It's ok. This is actually a good time to ask." Tatsuki looks back up to Rukia with a fake smile. "Well...Today, six years ago...my best friend died." Rukia's eyes widen, and Orihime gets sad. "His name was Ichigo. He was the most annoying guy in the world. And I hated him. But he was also my first, only, and best friend as I was growing up. When I was turning 9, I invited Ichigo to come over to celebrate my birthday with me. But he never showed up." She tensed up. "The next day...I find that both him, and his mother had died by the edge of the river." A tear flows down her face as she brings both hands to her mouth. "I ran to the place where I hear he had died. After seeing a dried pull of blood, where his dad said they had died. I knew it was true. I lost him." She wipes the tears away. Orihime moves over to Tatsuki's side, and held her gently.
"Do you know what happened to him?" Rukia asks with a saddened tone.
Tatsuki clams down a bit before answering. Wiping her tears, "No, the police reports say something about slash and burn marks on their bodies, but other than that, no." Rukia leans back.
"You know, it was funny. There was a rumor going around that Ichigo had the ability to see ghosts. He denied it everyone I asked, but I knew he was lying. The first soul I saw was my best friends." This gets Rukia's attention.
"What did he look like?" Rukia asks. "Like any features about him that looked out of place."
Tatsuki chuckled. "Well, aside from his abnormal orange hair color, he had a chain, attached to his chest. Right here." Tatsuki pointed to the middle of her chest, between her breasts.
Rukia contemplates what she just heard. "You saw a soul alright. You said before that he could see souls?" This part bugged her the most. She had never heard of a human, until she met Tatsuki and Orihime that could see spirits.
Tatsuki looked as her confused. "Yes..do you think that's what got him killed?" Tatsuki almost yelled.
"Some what. From what I gathered from you two.." Rukia began.
"You make it sound like we're test subjects." Orihime interjects.
"Sh! From what I 'found out' from you two, you both have very a high concentration of reiatsu, so the ability to see spiritual beings but be because of that. So if your friend had that much reiatsu at a young age. It is very likely he was killed by a Hollow." That last part sounded more dreadful to Tatsuki then it really was.
Her eyes widen as she stands up. "A Hollow...killed Ichigo...so them...he's gone." Tatsuki walks over to the window. "Tell me, Rukia. What happens when a Hollow kills a human?" She asks dreadfully.
"Well...if a Hollow had the urge to kill a human to get its soul, then the Hollow would have eaten it." Rukia looks down.
Tatsuki smashes her fist into the wall, "Damn it!" She looks out the window. "So, he's not in the Soul Society."
Rukia stands. "Wait, there is still a chance that Ichigo got away and was taken to the Soul Society by the previous Shinigami. If I get the chance, I'll ask him and I'll look into finding him. More than likely, he's in the Shinigami Academy trading to become a Shinigami anyway if he had that amount of reiatsu." She puts her hand on Tatsuki's shoulder.
Tatsuki looks over her shoulders at her. "You think so?" Orihime walks up to them.
"Yes, you'll see him again Tatsuki. I promise." Rukia smiles.
*Beep* *Beep*
Everyone tenses up as Rukia's phone beeps. Rukia backs up and pull out her phone and stairs intensity at it. "Hollow...and a powerful one."
Tatsuki looms over too. "Where?"
Rukia hits a few buttons on the keyboard. "The local cemetery."
*Beep* *Beep*
"Another one?!" Rukia says surprisingly. "It's pretty low, by the river."
*Beep* In that instant, the second one disappeared.
"It left, probably because it's scared of the other one. Let's go." Rukia puts on her glove and pushes her hand through Tatsuki and a second Tatsuki appears in a black kimono and a katana on her right side. The other Tatsuki falls to the ground. Once putting the body in a safe place and head out the door to the local Cemetery.
When they get to the Cemetery, they hear two young girls scream. "Yuzu, Karin!" Tatsuki yells and Orihime gaps. In a flash, Tatsuki jumps in the air and rushes to the girls aid.
Rukia looks to Orihime, "Who are they?"
Orihime looks to her. "Ichigo's two younger sisters. They come here to Custer their brother and mother every year. Tatsuki and I saw them once."
Rukia looks to her then runs after Tatsuki.
Tatsuki pulls out her katana before she lands in front of the scene of Yuzu, a light brown haired young girl with brown eye wearing a yellow sundress, is suspended on the air and her twin sister, Karin, a black haired girl with grey eyes, unconscious on the ground under her sister.
"YUZU!" Tatsuki yells.
Holding Yuzu up is a large Hollow with a creepy mask, having a large smile. Its body is hamster like with bird like hands and feet. The most noticeable feature is the red tentacle hanging from his mask, the free dangling end has two ribbon like features it, one black and the other pink.
"Hehe, look what I have here. A Shinigami. I'll get to you after I'm done with these two." He says with a deep and horrid voice.
"I won't let you take them!" Tatsuki yells as she jumps and aims her slash for the mask. As her blade is about to striker he mask, another red tentacle come out of nowhere and blocks the blade.
"What?!" Tatsuki struggles to cut the tentacle, but is pushed back and forced a few yard away.
"Bakudō, #9: Geki!" Rukia yells as she makes a symbol in the air. The Hollow soon gets covered in a red hew and freezes up. "Now!" She yells to Tatsuki.
"Right." Tatsuki jumps to Yuzu and takes her from the Hollows grasp, as well as getting Karin out of the way.
"Tatsuki! Over here!" Orihime yells.
Tatsuki lands next to her and hands her the twins. "Take them to their father, he should be around her somewhere." Orihime nods and summons a very small triangle and sets the two girls on it. "Thank god you awakened this after the fight with your brother." Tatsuki comments to herself.
"Hurry! I don't know how long this will hold!" Rukia yells to Tatsuki. The latter look over to the Hollow and finds the red glow fading.
"Crap. Get those girls away from here. Find their father." Tatsuki says to Orihime.
"Right!" And with that she runs away with the girls. Tatsuki rushed to Rukia's side as the Hollow breaks free from the Kido.
"Impressive." The Hollow says with his sinister and bone chilling voice. "I've yet to meet a Human or Soul get away from me, that I haven't let go on purpose. Those two girls don't matter anymore, now that I have two Shinigami in front of me." The Hollow stands on its hind legs, revealing how tall and large it really is.
"You won't be taking anyone today Hollow." Rukia yells.
"Ah, but you don't realize how I am." The Hollow brings his red, hamster like hand to his chest. "My name is Grand Fisher, and I've killed many Shinigami before you." The main tentacle moves from left to right as it shifts to it look to any Shinigami's appearances.
"No way." Rukia looks over to Tatsuki. "We need to run."
"What?!" Tatsuki yells.
"I've heard about this Hollow. He has the ability to make the end of his tentacle look like anyone, it's like a lure. And he can switch his consciousness from his main body to the tentacle at will, so to defeat him, you need to get to both the large mask, and the lure." Rukia informs.
"Ah, smart girl. But even if you know my abilities, that doesn't guarantee you'll get out alive." Getting back down on all fours, Grand Fisher shoots its lure at Tatsuki.
Surprised by its speed, Tatsuki was barely able to dodge, but it made a cut in her arm. "Shit." She cursed. As Tatsuki land, Grand Fisher appears behind her with great speed and slashes at her with his claw. Tatsuki quickly reacts and blocks three of the four fingers and the fourth hangs down in front of Tatsuki's face.
"Transcribe." At the moment Grand Fisher says those words, each finger extends, curves and impales itself inside of Tatsuki. Three in her back and one in the middle of her breastplate, splattering blood on the ground. A moment later, Rukia comes in and kicks the Hollow in its mask, forcing it to let go and moves out of the way.
"Tatsuki!" Rukia yells as she rushes to her side.
Getting up, Tatsuki looks at the injuries to find that they only scratch the surface. But she felt that it did more than that. She gets pissed. "That crazy Hollow! I'll get rid of you for sure!"
"Wait!" Rukia tries to stop Tatsuki from advancing, but fails. The latter brings her blade up high and moves with amazing speed, but before she get to close enough to bring her bald down and kill Grand Fisher, her body slows down, until she comes to a stop with her mouth open. "I-Ich-Ichigo." She says quietly.
There, in front of her is a young boy with orange hair, and a bright smile on his face. The only odd thing about his is the large red tentacle coming from his back that connects to Grand Fisher.
"Hiya Tatsuki." The young Ichigo says, brightening his smile and walking closer to Tatsuki. She gets on her knees to match the height of her long lost friend.
"Tatsuki! Don't!" Rukia's words fall on deaf ears and Tatsuki reaches out to the boy. As the Ichigo gets closer, his hands open and he sticks his arms out, getting into the hug with Tatsuki. The two embrace for a few moment and ends when Tatsuki's neck feels tight.
"Wha.." Tatsuki's sentence is cut off. Looking down, Ichigo holds his hands around her neck, chocking her, and crushing her neck.
"Tatsuki! It's just the Lure! It isn't really Ichigo!" Rukia yells as she runs to her aid, but is thrown back by a tentacle protruding from Grand Fishers mask.
"Away, girl." Grand Fisher says, retracting the tentacle. Then looking closer to the boy that he Lure turned into. "Ah, I remember now. This boy, I let him go. After I killed him and ate his mother, so many years ago. I haven't seen him in a long time. I had plans for him, but he disappeared before I could do anything."
The strikes at Tatsuki's attention. Her reiatsu slicked up high, causing Grand Fisher to flinch and loosen his hold a little. That was the perfect moment of Tatsuki to get the Lure to let go of her. "BASTARD!" With great force, Tatsuki grabs hold of the Lure and rips it right off with her bare hands.
"AAAAH!" Grand Fishers screams in agony as his Lure is striped from his being. Knowing full well it can regenerate, it isn't much of a loss, but at the moment, he's best ability is gone. "You bitch!" He yells as he is about to strike, but is stopped by an overwhelming amount of reiatsu and the light sounds of footsteps coming up one of the stone stair cases. Tatsuki looms over her bent self, filled with pain from the chokehold.
"Who's there?!" Grand Fisher yells to the figure. He soon backs away once his gets a look at the figure. Human in shape and height, but the white outfit, hole in his chest, broken mask with two horns sticking out, and the katana on his hip makes him a thing to be fears by a lesser Hollow. The orange colored hair is not that much of a sight to Hollows, but still odd. Grand Fisher knows what wears that type of clothing and the Zanpakuto solidifies his judgments. Quickly, Grand Fisher kneels.
Curious, but not showing it, the new figure walks up to Grand Fisher. Speaking in a hard, and firm, but a hint of decency, he says, "What are you doing here, Hollow?"
Grand Fisher looks up. "I'm just here to feed. I'm sorry if I have angered our Lord." Putting on a joking tone.
"You haven't, but you have me. Leave here now. I'll take control of the situation, you just get back to Las Noches." He says with a glare.
"Yes." And without question, Grand Fisher opens a Garganta and leaves. Leaving the Tatsuki and Rukia astonished.
Picking up her own Zanpakuto, Tatsuki get back into a battle stance, ready to fight.
"Lower your weapon, I'm not here to hurt you Shinigami." The figure looks to Tatsuki dead in the eyes. Tatsuki looks over to the Hollow in front of her, the hole in his chest and the mask along his face, though more human looking, she could tell this was a Hollow. She gripped her Zanpakuto, and charged at it with as much speed as she could muster. She gets close, and swings her Zanpakuto down on the Hollow, but is stopped when another blade comes out of nowhere and blocks her strike. She looks down the blade and found it in the hands of the Hollow. This surprises her and the hollow gains this opportunity to push her back. She slides across the ground and is stopped my Orihime, who seems to have delivered the girls and can running back, based on her breathing.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!" Rukia yells as pale blue bolt of lightning shoots from her finger tips, straits at the Hollow, but misses when the figure steps to the side, dodging it effortlessly.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'm looking for someone." And with that the figure used a technique like a Shinigami's Shunpo but is known to the Hollows as Sonído, disappearing in a flash in a fade of white and orange. Tatsuki looks around franticly, searching for the Hollow.
"He's gone Tatsuki." Orihime cuts him with her polite and nice voice. Tatsuki turns and looks at her.
"Who do you know?" She asks.
Orihime shakes her head. "I'm not sure, but I can tell he's gone. Besides, something seemed off with him, he came here and saved us."
Tatsuki thinks for a second. "You're right. He just walked out of nowhere, got rid of the other Hollow and then leave saying he was looking for something."
Rukia hits Tatsuki in the back. "Never trust a Hollow. I don't care if he 'saved' us; he probably had a grudge with Grand Fisher. What bothers me is that Hollow made Grand Fisher bow to him, saying something about 'angering out lord'. I must look into this." Rukia pulls out her phone and stares typing, making beeping noises.
Tatsuki sighs. "Anyway, let's head back home. I have to get into my body. There is somewhere I need to go." She starts walking towards Orihime's house, where her body is. The other two girls nod and walk behind her.
Tatsuki walks along up a steep hill in a tight purple shirt and grey shorts. Her destination is where she stood not an hour ago, the graveyard. She gently walks past the stones, knowing where to go. She stops in front a pair of graves. 'Ichigo Kurosaki' on the grave to the left and 'Masaki Kurosak' on the grave to the right.
"Hey there, strawberry. How are things in the Soul Society? I hope it's good. That Hollow said he let you so go I hope you're ok. I'll be seeing you as soon as I can little buddy." she smiles to herself, unknowing of the figure behind her.
"I haven't seen you her is ages miss." The figure says, startling Tatsuki to turn around swiftly and graving at the non-existing Zanpakuto at her waist. Looking closer, she relaxes at the smiling face of Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father.
"Oh, it's you." Tatsuki moves her hand from her waist, trying to be quick not to make him question her.
"Ah, it's just me." Isshin said in his usual relaxed tone and manor. He pulled a cigarette and box of matches out of his pocket and likes one. "Do you mind?" He asks before bringing the flame to the cigarette between his lips.
"Of course not." Tatsuki nods.
"Thanks. I don't usually smoke, but this day, every year, I do." Isshin calmly lights the cigarette and puts out the match. "So what are you doing here little missy?"
Tatsuki turns to the graves. "I've come to talk with him." She stares at Ichigo's gravestone.
"Ah, as do I. But he can't hear us. He is in another world right now. Well seen him again someday." Isshin blows out a cloud of smoke.
Tatsuki fidgets. "You think so?" She asks.
"Of course. This world works in mysterious ways. I'm sure you'll see him sometime, somewhere." Isshin turns and starts to walk off, but continues to speak. "A place like this world, but with a large maze as its center, with white walls surrounding it. A place were all go when we pass." His walks down some steps and he head is only visible to Tatsuki's eyes. He turns to her and smiles. "A society, just for souls." And he walks off.
Tatsuki's face looks too dumbfounded for words. Questions running through her head like mad. Questions like, does he know, how much does he know, as he been to the Soul Society, and if he himself is a Shinigami. But, in the end, she concluded that it's just words from a morning father over her son and wife.
She looks back to grave, where her friend now lies. And the Hollow she saw before, stands right in front of it. Orange hair flowing, white coattail blowing and his brown eyes looking down at the name. "Here I lay."