Chapter 1: The Dream
"Orihime. Wonderful day, isn't it?"
It was a beautiful day out, and Kurosaki Ichigo accompanied by Inoue Orihime, were out for a walk in a small forest just outside of the Karakura District. It was a nice day indeed, for the breeze was nice and calm, and the temperature outside was nice and warm with minimal humidity.
Earlier that day, Ichigo had asked Orihime to take a walk with him after school, so he could discuss the changes they've experienced in their lives. He also wanted to admit one other thing to her: Ichigo had never realized it before, but he has had very strong feelings for her ever since the day they met. He just didn't realize it.
"You been keeping busy?" he asked, trying to break the ice.
"Umm, yes, I guess so, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime responded, almost a little startled.
About a half mile down their current trail, Ichigo came to an abrupt stop.
"Orihime. Did you hear that?"
"Huh? Umm, no, what was it?"
"I don't know, probably nothing. Let's keep going."
Up until now, neither one of them had noticed that they were under constant surveillance by a shadowy figure in the branches above. Reaching for his pocket, Ichigo attempted to pull out Kon, planning to use the mod soul to release him from his body, allowing him to reveal his shinigami-self, and fend off whomever this eavesdropper was. Unfortunately, Ichigo got as far as reaching in for Kon's plushy self before getting pinned by to a tree by large chains exploding from the ground.
Attempting to run towards Ichigo, Orihime is tripped up by a tree root, followed by the large chains also pinning her to the ground where she fell.
"Who are you, what do you want?" Ichigo screamed, now enraged.
No response.
"I said, WHO ARE YOU, coward?! Show yourself!"
By this time, Ichigo was so fiercely angered that he had let down any remaining defense he had left.
"Well, Kuroaski Ichigo. Looks like you've got yourself in a bit of a bind, so to speak."
The stranger, wearing shinigami robes with his right sleeve torn off, wearing a bandana on his head covering his right eye, with shaggy brown hair underneath had now dropped down from the tree he was slouched in. Appearing almost instantly behind Ichigo, the stranger slowly puts his face almost directly against Ichigo's left ear.
"Hi," he says in almost a whisper. "I've been waiting for you to notice me, Mr. Kurosaki."
"What do you want?!" Ichigo asks with a large hint of anger in his voice.
"Well, since Mr. angry-pants here wants to just cut to the chase, we'll start with a quick introduction. My name's Kuchiki Xiang. Don't worry, I'm not here to kill nor hurt you. I'm here to heed a warning: Ever since you have received the Vaizard ability, there's been a man on a hunt for you. I'm expecting him to be here in the next few days. Be very cautious, Kurosaki-san. There is a very big responsibility that comes with that mask of yours. Don't let it gain control of you."
With that said, the stranger releases both of them and disappears almost instantly. Hearing this warning, Ichigo instantly walked Orihime home. At the stoop to her apartment, Orihime stopped Ichigo before he could duck and run without saying goodbye.
"Ichigo-san. Be careful, and listen to what that strange man said. I have a feeling he wasn't lying."
"Will do, Orihime. Take care. See you at class on Monday."
After finishing their goodbyes, Ichigo instantly ran home and went straight to his room and didn't leave it all weekend.
***Three Days Later***
After a long weekend crammed in his bedroom, only leaving to eat and use the restroom, Ichigo trotted off to school. About halfway along, he met up with Sado Yasutora, probably his best friend, and the two ventured off to class together.
"How was your weekend, Chad?" Ichigo asked, breaking the long silence they had endured.
"It was fine. Nothing too crazy.-- How about yourself, Ichigo-san?"
Ichigo replied, filling in Chad on everything that had happened to him on Friday, and how he was warned to be very cautious.
As the two of them reached the school grounds, Ichigo noticed a familiar figure laying on the ground ahead of them.
"Chad! That's him! The guy from Friday!" Ichigo yelled, very excitably.
The two of them instantly ran to the injured man to see if he was alright. After a few moments they were able to awake him, but the only words Ichigo was able to understand from the man were "Above you."
Almost instantly, Ichigo looked up and had barely enough time to pull Kon out of his pack, removing the mod soul's spherical shaped candy, holding his every being. Ichigo instantly stuffed the Kon's candy in to his mouth, revealing his shinigami self, instantly dodging the pouncing pursuer above him.
Skipping the conversation, Ichigo instantly unleashes his bankai, Tensa Zangetsu and applies his hollow mask. After the smoke and dust that was kicked up from the one-man ambush, Ichigo is able to see his opponent. A seemingly younger adult wearing shinigami robes, torn at the bottom and all over both sleeves, long blonde hair, and a demon-like vaizard mask, stood opposite of Ichigo, almost glaring in to his soul. Skipping the short-talk the opponent took the first strike.
"CERO!"
And with that, everything in Ichigo's view became a red blur only abrupted for a short moment by a shadowy figure. After a few moments, Ichigo realized the Cero was being blocked by the strange man from 3 days ago!
"Ichigo, we don't have much time! I came here not only to warn you of the attacker, but also of the beast growing inside of you! Take great caution in your power, Kurosaki-san, for the hollow inside you will never back down. As of this moment, you only have partial control. Unless you can take full control of it's powers it can and WILL destroy you from the inside out."
With that, everything in Ichigo's mind instantly went black, and he fell unconscious.
