Behind The Mask

Hello all. Just an idea I came up with here. I'm a big fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, and it got me thinking about an idea for a story, and well, here it is. For anyone who didn't read the summary, this is a hockey AU, with Ichigo as the starting goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers. There will be two quotes in this chapter as well, one at the beginning and one at the end. With that, read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

"Behind every mask there is a face, and behind that a story."- Marty Rubin

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"The Rangers rush down the ice in a 2 on 1! Stepan passes it over to Nash, who shoots and what a spectacular save by Kurosaki with the glove!"

Ichigo covered the puck with his glove and the referee blew the play dead. Ichigo got a round of applause at the amazing save that he had just made from the sold out crowd at the Wells Fargo Center. After getting a quick drink of water, Ichigo lowered his mask over his face and readied himself for the play to resume. The Rangers won the faceoff and got a quick shot off, which Ichigo turned away with his pad. Another Flyer quickly grabbed the rebound and skated the other way with the puck, Ichigo breathing a quick sigh of relief as the pressure was taken off of him for the moment. As Ichigo watched the Flyers put pressure on the Rangers, his mind began to drift to different thoughts, including how his good friend, a woman by the name of Rukia Kuchiki, who was slightly older than him, was doing. She had moved to New York City almost ten years ago, when Ichigo had just begun to play junior hockey and had aspirations to find his way into the NHL. Ichigo's dream had finally come true for him; however, even though he was proud for getting the chance to play in goal, he felt a pang of regret as he had no one to share it with.

"The Rangers regain control of the puck and the Rangers captain Mcdonagh springs Brassard on a breakway! Brassard shoots five hole and Kurosaki slams the door shut! Another outstanding save by the Flyers goalie!"

Ichigo was beginning to get a bit nervous as the Rangers began to pin his team in their own zone, and a Ranger was standing directly in Ichigo's line of sight, trying to screen him. Ichigo was able to look around the Ranger just as a shot came towards him, and Ichigo quickly made a blocker save, with the puck deflecting to the corner. As the Flyers finally regained control of the puck, Ichigo relaxed himself a bit until he saw a Ranger strip a Flyer of the puck and skated in on a partial breakaway.

"Nash strips the Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz of the puck and skates in on yet another breakaway! Nash makes a dazzling move, and Kurosaki stacks the pads and makes an incredible save! That's old time hockey in the making right there, people!"

Ichigo quickly got up just as another shot came at him, and he made another save with his pad. As the Flyers attempted to clear the puck out, a Rangers defenseman quickly stripped him of the puck and the Rangers set up in the Flyers defensive zone yet again.

'I have to admit, the Rangers are a really good team, even though I couldn't stand them since I was little.'

Ichigo was quickly snapped out of his thoughts as a slap shot from the Rangers defenseman at the blue line came at him, and he made another save with his blocker. Ichigo's eyes widened behind his mask as the rebound went right to another Ranger, who quickly took the shot.

"The shot from Girardi turned away by Kurosaki, and then a big rebound comes out to Zuccarello, who takes the quick wrist shot and Kurosaki makes an unbelievable save with the glove! Such outstanding goaltending from the Flyers goalkeeper has kept the Flyers tied with the Rangers at 2-2! The phenom from Philadelphia has been rock solid in net as he fills in for the injured Neuvirth!"

Ichigo quickly got into his stance and readied himself just as the referee dropped the puck, however the Rangers won the draw and quickly set up yet again. Ichigo took a quick glance at the clock and noticed there was just over one minute left in the third period.

If we can just hold them for another minute, we can force this game into overtime and get a point out of this, but that new 3 on 3 format is going to be tough.'

Ichigo made another save, this time with his shoulder, and the puck went to the corner. Ichigo took one last look at the clock and noticed there were only five seconds left. Ichigo then saw a Ranger beat a Flyer to the puck yet again, and Ichigo's eyes widened behind the mask he was wearing as the Ranger made a quick pass to the blue line.

'I have to make this save, or the Rangers will win the game.'

"Miller beats Couturier to the puck and passes it to Mcdonagh, who fires the one-time blast from the point and Kurosaki makes an amazing save with the glove through the screen! This game is going to overtime, with the score tied at 2! Can Kurosaki keep his incredible play up in overtime?! 3 on 3 overtime is up next. A fantastic hockey game has been played so far, but Ichigo Kurosaki, the rookie netminder for the Philadelphia Flyers, has clearly been the best player on the ice tonight. He's made 35 saves on 35 shots and is perfect through two periods of play! Can he steal this game for the Flyers? Find out after this break!"

Ichigo skated over to the bench to wipe his face and drink some water, after which some of his teammates gave him taps on his pads, and he nodded to them in return before skating back to his net and lowering his mask, readying himself for the trial of overtime to come.

I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter! I used real players for both the Rangers and the Flyers, which I will continue to do for the rest of the story. I know that AU stories aren't always as good as others, but I'll try to make this story as interesting as possible. Favorite, follow and review please, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.

"You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it." –Alan Moore.