Echoes of the Soul

By Lysander45

A Ranma ½ Bleach Crossover with possible crossovers into other manga as the story unfolds.

Please note, knowledge of both manga/anime is compulsory. I don't intend to spend half of my time explaining rivalries and so on, it would just take ages. For timelines sake, the story begins one month before the Bleach manga begins, and one year after the Ranma ½ manga ends. Enjoy.

Chapter 1 – Painful Sacrifice

It is noon. The location is Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. Today is a very special day, the day of a long prepared and thoroughly overdue wedding. For over two years, Saotome Ranma and his father Genma Saotome have been lodging at the residence of the Tendo family. And during that time, a powerful love was born.

"Saotome Ranma, do you take Tendo Akane as your lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part" speaks the voice of an old man dressed for a change in the apparel of a priest.

"I do" intones a strong masculine voice, no hesitation whatsoever in his tone.

The small old man nodded, "And do you Akane take Ranma to be your lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part"

"I do" replied a female voice, happiness resonating in every word.

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The pair embrace, to a surprising roar of cheers. This is unusual if you know the history of this pair, Ranma and Akane. You see, all of his life Ranma has been fighting. Since he was six years old he travelled the world with his father on a training trip to turn him into a man amongst men, the greatest martial artist the world has ever seen trained in the Saotome family style of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. During this time his father, a greedy man by nature sold Ranma dozens upon dozens of times, to dozens upon dozens of families as a fiancée to dozens upon dozens of daughters for seemingly ridiculous prices.

To the latter part of his trip Ranma travelled with his father to the scared springs of Jusenkyo, a legendary training ground deep within the Bayankala mountain regions of the Qinghai Province, China. There during a training bout with his father, after being warned by their guide several times, the pair were placed under a terrible curse by the springs in which they each fell. Genma was struck into the Shonmaonīchuan and was cursed to forever transform into a panda when splashed by cold water, Ranma was hurled into the Nyannīchuan cursed to forever transform into a girl. And so the troubled life of Saotome Ranma was thrown from out of the pan and into the fire.

Not one year hence from that fateful time Ranma had found himself betrothed to several women and pursued by several men, the latter down to his attractive female half. He has accumulated rivals and fought off numerous challenges from other Jusenkyo victims, Amazons, the Musk and most notably the Phoenix King Saffron whom he was forced to kill. And finally there was the fabled marriage one year ago, when he and Akane first tired to join each other in matrimony only to be halted by the aggressive behaviour of their other suitors who destroyed the wedding day.

Since that day, Ranma underwent a sort of spiritual epiphany. He realized that all his life he had shackled himself with his pride, stopping himself from growing up and letting others into his life. Determined to settle his life into something more peaceful and marry the woman he had come to love, he began a long and hard journey to clear his past of all misgivings. He personally visited every family his father had sold him to and explained his situation, apologizing at not being able to marry their daughters and offering repayment (which few took, they approached his honesty more than anything). He made peace with every rival and fighter he had ever had a dispute with.

To Kuno and Kodachi he revealed his curse, and after several explanations and demonstrations he was able to force the truth through the siblings blissfully naïve and thick skulls. He made peace with the Amazons, undergoing an ancient ritual to make himself a brother Amazon and warrior of the tribe. This allowed Cologne the emphasis to nullify Shampoo's kiss of marriage, and though the young girl was terribly distraught Ranma explained that even if he did marry her, the would only hurt her by not being able to reciprocate her feelings. He was able to calm Mousse, who attacked him for hurting his Shampoo, by stating that Shampoo no longer has any claim on him and that if Mousse wanted her to love him, he would have to be patient and just try to be her friend first. This made the half blind Amazon completely forget his quarrel with Ranma quickly, and the pair developed a more healthy rivalry as warriors.

Ryoga was harder, since the Eternally Lost Boy had his heart set hopelessly on Akane. So during one his many attacks to try to win Akane, Ranma allowed his rival to beat him to within an inch of his life. He then began to question Ryoga, asking why he always blamed others for his own problems. If Ryoga loved Akane, why was he never honest to her? The only girl he had ever been honest to was Akari who loved him deeply, yet he scorned her. These questions confused Ryoga initially, leading him to get lost and spend a half a month in Russia thinking to himself. When he returned he had decided to give Akari a chance, but promised Ranma that he still loved Akane and that if he ever hurt her he would be there to kill him.

Ukyo was easier to convince, since they had been firm friends before their betrothal. Ranma explained to her how he had always thought her as a boy, never understanding the questions she asked him due to his naïve young age. She accepted that but asked for her dowry that Genma stole and the years she had lost seeking revenge. Ranma could only ask her forgiveness, reasoning that she already had the dowry back in the form of her restaurant that she opened to get close to him. After some time she was able to think of Ranma more as a friend, but the wounds still run deep.

Then there was Happousai. Trapping the old pervert in a net of his own stolen undergarments Ranma had a long hard chat with the Grandmaster of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. He promised to become Happousai's pupil and do the old mans bidding until he was worthy of succeeding him, only so long as he gave him and Akane five years of happiness. Impressed by the boys desire to be with Akane, Happousai agreed citing that in his old age he was beginning to feel a little weary, and looked forward to having a worthy pupil in Ranma.

Then there were the other rivals, Herb, Pantyhose Taro and so on. They each sorted themselves out in their own since he had already defeated them several times. To Taro he promised to reason with Happousai about his name, which pleased the Chinese martial artist greatly. Herb he promised to share a cure with when he found it, which was reason enough for the musk prince. Ranma spent a hard month with Ryu Kumon rebuilding the Kumon family dojo from its ruins, clearing the bad blood between them.

With all of that sorted, Ranma returned and in a quick and awkward exchange of sentiment admitted his love for her. This opened the path for an equally awkward courting process where the pair spent more time together trying to create something of a relationship. He also confessed both his and Genma's curses to his mother, who whilst annoyed at her husband was able to accept Ranma as a man amongst men and a woman amongst women. Time by now has taken its steady course and now, and they are both married before a quiet procession of their friends and family. A western ceremony like before, only this time there was no animosity in the air.

Ranma split from his kiss with Akane only to be tackled by his weeping mother. "Oh Ranma you have made me the happiest mother in the world. I can finally see my little man start a family of his own, with the family honour strong and untouched I might add. You here that Genma…" she growled, turning to look at her bald husband, who was busy gorging himself on the nearby buffet. "…Your son, o husband of mine, has single handily saved this family from the gutter no thanks to you. Now congratulate your son on finally fulfilling your damned pledge or I'll shove this katana so far up your flabby rear you'll taste steel on the tip of your tongue!!"

Genma quickly swallowed and complied, running to his wife's side muttering 'Yes dear' quickly. He turned to face Ranma and adopted a more solemn expression. "Boy, you've done me proud in ways I am unable to express. I only hope that they years you spend now with Akane are happy (and that you can keep me and Soun secure until old age)" he intoned in a faux-wise voice, whispering the last part under his breath to avoid the wrath of his wife.

"Uh, thanks pops…I guess" Ranma replied sheepishly, a little overwhelmed by everything that was happening around him. For him, it was a day he had been owed for a long long time, a day of peace and happiness.

"Indeed boyo, its good to see a little luck heading your way aye" came a voice from behind the group. Pushing past his former apprentice, Happousai looked up at Ranma and beamed a wrinkly grin that was thoroughly creepy to all. He was dressed in the traditional garb of a Shinto priest, as he had asked to perform the ceremony. "You two are the future m'boy, you two are the future. Us old folks built the foundations, and now its time for you and Akane to build one that and take the art into new heights.

Receiving similar speeches from several other guests, Ranma finally managed to move out of the way to Akane's side at the other end of the aisle. Wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her neck softly, he asked his new wife "You okay?"

Akane sighed at the contact, having long got used to the more sensitive side of her 'cross dressing pervert'. "I'm better than okay Ranma…I'm whole. This mess that we've lived in for so long, there's finally an end to it."

"Yeah, I can hardly believe it either. Everythin's lookin up Akane, I just know it. We've no longer got to go to Furinkan, Tokyo College accepted you..."

"Us, it accepted us" she corrected him, an air of her former haughtiness in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm in only on a sports scholarship. You got in on brains…who'd have thought it huh?" he joked, earning an elbow in the ribs.

"Don't push your luck…baka" Akane whispered, giggling at the end before pulling her husband into a kiss, which he accepted with vigour.

The kiss continued for a couple of seconds, during which Ranma could not help but think 'I am so lucky. Nothing can spoil this moment'. And at that moment, nothing decided to crash the party. A terribly bloodcurdling roar cut through the air, pinning everyone to the ground where they stood with fear. Ranma split from Akane and turned to face the source, his eyes bugging from their sockets when he saw it.

Climbing out of a black tear in the air above the dojo was some kind on oni, a demon of the darkest hell. Its body was that of a bear, except this bear was ten feet tall with blood red fur and a large hole in its chest. Spines of bone white jutted out into points from its forearms and back, and in the place of hands were wicked claws. Three 'fingers' and one 'thumb', each tipped with a claw of bone white like the spines, fifteen inches long. And its face, its face was a mask the same colour as its claws and spines. A jagged maw like a shark filled most of the face, with two serpent slits for a nose and a single red eye in the centre of what could be called its forehead. Dark red tiger stripes came up from the spiked chin to beneath the eyes, completing the malevolent image.

Breath came out of its jaw in deep ragged breaths, and its singular eye fixed itself on the party below. Its voice, like curdled blood and nails down a chalkboard rang clear. "So much condensed reiatsu, all in one place. Looks like I've hit the jackpot this time" and with a heave it pulled its body fully out of the black tear in the sky. Landing with a thud on the ground, it breathed in deep. "Which one shall slate my hunger first" it growled, seeming to take its time pondering the question.

"Akane…" a voice called from the group of wedding guests "…what's going on Akane, what was that sound?" Looking to see who was calling her, Akane saw Yuka looking puzzled. "You can't see it Yuka, that monster is right in front of you all" Akane shouted hurriedly.

"RUN!! EVERYBODY RUN NOW!!" called a wizened old voice. It was Cologne, hopping forwards on her cane. Most just stared at her dumbly, but a quick look into her eyes said she was serious. Quickly picking things up, the group of school friends, family members and other such guests began to run towards the exit.

"Kuno, Kodachi, get everyone out of here now!" Ranma called to the kendoist and his sister, who looked slightly affronted at being ordered by somebody. It was Kuno who spoke first.

"It shall be done Saotome; you have the word of the Blue Thunder that none of these lowly peasant folk shall be harmed by yonder demon. I shall return, and strike it down with mine blade of righteousness" the deranged teenager cried out, thunder sounding in the distance as it always did with Kuno's proclamations.

"Good now go! Old Ghoul what is that thing?!" Ranma shouted to her, frantically thinking of what to do. Some…beast…had interrupted his wedding party, and judging from it's appearance it was not friendly.

"I don't care what it is, it's dead! Shi Shi Hokodan!" roared Ryoga, pushing back a frightened Akari before throwing his cupped hands forward. A beam of powerful green ki fired from his hands, shooting towards the monster quickly knocking aside chairs and debris in its path. The monster looked at the projectile, opened its maw wide and proceeded to swallow the blast whole, sucking the energy down its gullet.

"So sad…so sweet. GIVE ME MORE!!" it roared, diving at Ryoga. Mid-air it was intercepted by another roaring noise. A great mooing bellow attached to a great black fist smashed into the side of the beasts face, hurtling it towards the Tendo's home. Crashing through the walls like they were paper (ooh I made a joke). It did not move from the debris, giving the Wrecking Crew a momentary breather. By now all of the normal guests had ran, what was left was the rag tag group of martial artists, cursed fighters and warriors.

A transformed Taro bellowed as it flexed its massive arms in defiance. Behind it a transformed Rouge had murder in her eyes as she prepared to bathe the creature in fire. Cologne waved them back, and turned to answer Ranma. "That monster is called a Hollow. An evil spirit rarely encountered by the Joketsuzoku, they are demons that devour the souls of the living and the dead. Normally most normal people are unable to see them since they are composed of a different energy to the living, but many martial artists have found themselves seeing hollows as a result of their training in ki and mediation. We must tread carefully or flee, they are terrifying opponents. You saw it devour your Shi Shi Hokodan Ryoga. That technique was merely a snack for it to feast on."

"Then how do we fight it!" demanded a shaky Ryu Kumon, invited to the wedding after Ranma helped him with his dojo.

"What I said, most warriors who encounter it run. Or at least hold it off until a shinigami appears" replied a watchful Cologne

"Shiniwhat" said Ranma, who was busy building up a steady supply of ki within his body to use at a moments notice. If the Shi Shi Hokodan served only as a morsel for the 'hollow' as Cologne called it, then his Moko Takabisha would do no different.

"Shinigami m'boy, death gods, soul reapers call them what you will. Legendary spirit warriors who appear to collect the souls of the dead and send them to heaven. They protect the world from any hollows that might appear to slaughter the innocent" supplied Happousai.

"You know your lore Happy" said Cologne with surprise.

"As you well know, live long enough and you learn a few things" Happousai retorted, pulling several bombs from within his Shinto robes. And only just in time, as a series of jagged shards of bone were fired from within the rubble of the Tendo's home. Most were able to leap clear, Taro however being not quite as agile as the others in his cursed form caught a shard in the stomach. It pierced clean through his body and out the other side in a shower of blood and gore. He moaned in pain and collapsed on the floor in a heap, bleeding heavily from his wound.

The hollow exploded out of the rubble, spines re-growing out of its left arm. 'It can fire the shards as weapons' Ranma thought, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He flipped backwards just in time to avoid a disembowelling slash from the hollows claws, landing on the roof of the dojo. The hollow gazed at Ranma with its one eye, and the pig-tailed martial artist could swear he saw the beast licking its lips. But before it could move several explosions impacted against its back, Happousai had thrown his cache of Daikarin at the hollow, and the rest of the martial artists followed suit with their attacks. Mousse began throwing his deadliest weapons at the monster, wicked blades, chains, chunks of masonry, etc. Shampoo had readied her bonbori and was watching for an opening, Cologne had initiated her Wareme Neko Hea technique to confuse the hollow, and Ryu was preparing to unleash a flurry of Kijin Raishu Dan to slice the beast to pieces. As one they attacked, projectiles and physical blows shooting towards the hollow and in a flash a massive explosion shook the earth.

Ranma covered his eyes and waited for the smoke to clear. In an uneven circle around the hollow the group of attackers stood, their attacks leaving a second or so gap. Ranma almost cheered, had they managed to harm the creature. A bloodcurdling roar answered him, and instants later he was jumping into the air again. A storm of bony spines fired out from the smoke, which cleared to reveal a slightly charred hollow with a large cut across its right arm. Cologne had managed to pull herself and Shampoo out of the way, although the younger Amazon had received a shard through the left thigh which stopped her from moving. Ryu was unconscious with a three clawed gash down his back, his skin and muscle shredded. Mousse was pinned to the Dojo wall by two shards, one through the left arm and another through the right shoulder, his blood pooling at his feet. Ranma looked at Ryoga who nodded, and the two martial artists leapt at the monster that had already decimated their group. They moved in tandem, one reflecting the moves of the other. Ranma shifted into a flying kick whilst Ryoga swept the hollows feet from under its body, and together they knocked the beast back one or two steps. Whilst Ryoga attempted to land some withering full strength blows to the back, Ranma was pounding the chest as fast as he could with his Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. Several blows ended up passing into the hole in the hollows chest, eliciting screams of agony from the beast.

They both dodged under the hollows return swipes and moved away to regroup. As the hollow turned about its axis as massive corona of flame and lightening. Rouge was attacking with both the fiery breath from her Asura forms three heads, and the lighting bolts she could fire from her fists. This caught the hollow off guard sending it flying through the air to impact in one of the walls surrounding the Tendo dojo complex.

Capitalizing on the weak point Rouge charged forwards at a blinding speed, fire surrounding her six arms as she prepared to eliminate the beast that had hurt so many around her. But she was so caught up in the moment she did not notice the hollows hands glow red. With a distinct booming sound, like a sonic boom, she was thrown back by the burst of red energy from the hollows hands that hit her like a steam train. Crashing straight through the dojo, taking Mousse with her as she went, Rouge collapsed under a pile of rubble and masonry unconscious and severely bruised.

'Shit that's Rouge down as well. Only me, Ryoga, the Old Ghoul, the pervert and…Akane. Oh my God Akane' Ranma thought with fear. The hollow shifted itself from its feet, growling like an animal. "So many strong souls, fighting Spinebear. But look, one is not moving…lets devour her first of all. The others are already beaten, taste her fear then eat them hehe"

Akane had been unable to move, pure terror gripping her heart. Ukyo was by her side, deciding to protect her since she was unable to move. She owed that much to Ranchan, to look after what he loved even if it was not her. She saw the monster called a hollow run at her bellowing like the beast it was. Ryoga attempted to halt it with a Bakusai Tenketsu, showering it with chunks of exploded earth. But as he did that he left himself open and was backhanded out of the way. Cologne moved in to knock it down with her staff, but the hard wood broke on impact with the hollows mask. She was knocked aside by a head butt, but was caught by Happousai before she could hit anything like so many others had.

Ukyo readied her battle spatula as it seemed the monsters attack was imminent. Doubt filled her mind; so many others had been beaten by this seemingly monstrous creature, so many others much stronger than herself. "Dammit Akane move, Ranchan's fighting why aren't you. Talk about a useless wife!" she spat, trying to insult the famously fiery girl into action. Akane looked up from her reverie, uttering a single word as she looked onwards "Ranma?"

This word made Ukyo look forward. Ranma was standing before them, poised to attack the hollow. "Stay away from my wife!!" he yelled, ducking beneath the hollows claw swipe his fist cocked back. "Lets see how you like this, Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" he cried out, his fist blurring as he pushed the technique faster and harder than he ever had before. Hundreds upon hundreds of times he struck the beast, and each time within the same spot, its hole. Every time his fist entered the seemingly vacuous space, Ranma felt a slight tugging feeling within his chest, like his soul itself was being battered coming into contact with the circular void.

The hollow roared in pain, pain that it had sworn to itself it would never allow itself to feel. Focusing all its malice it gazed with its one eye down at the human that had dared hurt it twice. The spines on its right arm flattened against the red fur and began to grow, spiralling around the limb until a long spear of bone was created in the place of a forearm. Roaring it drove the weapon forwards, intending to skewer the boy like a hog on a spit. Ranma was too busy to notice this, capitalizing as he was on his initial lucky attack. He knew he had one chance to kill it; he needed to blow it away. But he couldn't use his Hiryu Shoten Ha or any other technique, the only thing he could do was blast it with a Moko Takabisha. Ki blasts of such power that the hollow could not devour it, but it devour the hollow. Did he have that sort of strength…maybe, but it could kill him to expend that much ki in one attack.

'Gotta do it, Akane's counting on me' he thought, gathering everything he had into his hands. He felt the strain on his body, not since Saffron had he pushed his ki reserves to such a limit. But he pushed them to that limit and beyond, his body screaming in agony as it was drained of every last drop of physical energy. Forming a blazing aura around his fist, Ranma drove it into the hollows open mouth screaming at the top of his lungs "DAI MOKO TAKABISHA!!" And as the column of searing energy lanced from his palm into the hollows gaping maw, the hollows spear of spine and bone entered Ranma's mid drift. Both pierced straight through their targets, the hollows attack leaving Ranma with practically no innards, Ranma's attack destroying the hollows head shoulders and torso.

Nearby

Shuhei Hisagi moved quickly across the rooftops towards his destination. The hollow had emerged several minutes ago but not in the location that had been given to him by Kaname-taicho. He did not know why his captain had not sent a lower ranked member of the 9th Division, since it was quite rare for vice-captains to be dispatched to the real world because of their destructive powers and the effects their abilities had on the world as they fought. But he had not argued, since his captain had informed him that the hollow was marked to possess a particularly unusual strength, requiring an officer of his level to investigate and destroy it rather than a low level unseated shinigami. The hollow had appeared on the radar near the Nerima district of Japan, but he had arrived in the real world several miles from the target. He moved with haste mulling over the order wondering why it had come not just from his own captain, Kaname Tosen, but also from Sosuke Aizen, the captain of the 5th Division.

He sped through the field of what appeared to be a local schoolyard and moved as fast as he could towards the pulses of spiritual pressure in the distance. There was a large concentration of spirit energy where the hollow was, he could feel it even from his distance. He stopped suddenly as the reiatsu spiked, and the there was a large booming noise. A great column of energy fired into the air reaching upwards like a spear into the sky.

'What the hell' he thought, and raced even faster in the direction of the blast.

Back at the Wedding

Ranma looked at the hollow, or rather what was left of it. The entire upper body of the monster had been blasted apart by his enhanced Moko Takabisha. He had beaten the creature, he had saved Akane and Ukyo and everyone. He felt strangely numb, but put that down to using so much ki in one attack. Then he heard a voice, almost fuzzy, when did his hearing get so bad? Turning he saw Akane and Ukyo rushing towards him, and he felt his body falling to the ground. Hitting the earth with a thud, he wondered why he felt so weak. Then the pain hit him like a thousand red hot pokers being pushed into his guts, and he looked down at his stomach. Or rather where his stomach should have been. In its place was a ragged gaping hole almost as wide as he was, had it been any bigger and he would have been naught than a torso, chest arms and head. The Hollows spear-like arm had dislodged itself, taking blood and chunks of gory flesh and entrails with it.

All of the survivors rushed to his side, Cologne had regained consciousness and moved supported by Happousai, Shampoo hobbled along with Ryoga for balance, Ukyo and Akane running with tears streaming from their eyes.

"Do not worry mere mortals, for Tatewaki Kuno has brought his blade of holy steel and the local physician to tend your many wounds…by the gods" Kuno entered, ranting as usual until he noticed Ranma on the floor.

"Doctor Tofu, quickly help Ranma!" Ryoga yelled, and the good doctor quickly moved to inspect the damage, only to curse out loud.

"Why aren't you doing anything" Akane cried, supporting Ranma's head on her lap. Blood stained her white wedding dress crimson, but she did not notice nor care. All of her attention was on the man she had come to love.

"There's nothing he can do" said Happousai sadly, his head hung low.

"NO!! I won't believe that, there must be something there must..." she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks like small rivers. She was interrupted by a hacking cough and minute mumbling, coming from the man in her arms. Ranma tried to talk but found it difficult, eventually managing to croak out the words.

"It's…okay…Akane. I know…my time's…up…you know…my times…up. Typical…huh? My one…shot…at…happiness and…fate…has…another…kick in the nuts…for me. Dammit."

"Don't try to talk Ranma, save your strength. You'll be fine, I died once but you brought me back, remember. At Jusendo, you brought me back to life. I can do that for you…right?!" Akane babbled, her mind frantically trying to find an answer. The man she loved was clearly dying in her arms, and she was powerless to do a thing.

"Don't…worry…bout it. Kami…you're…so…beautiful…Akane…how did I…ever…get…so…lucky. I…love…you…so much…Akane…" Ranma muttered through bloody chapped lips, before with one great coughing hack he spat up a great wad of blood and collapsed, motionless, limp, and dead.

"Ranma…Ranma!! No, don't leave me you baka! Don't go!! RANMA!!" Akane screamed, clutching her dead fiancée tightly to her body rocking back and forth. All of the others looked onwards, each in various stages of tears. Even the two three hundred year old martial artists, Happousai and Cologne, had small dribbles of tears down their leathery cheeks. A great martial artist had died, and an even greater friend.

Running as fast as he could, Hisagi managed to clear the street and enter the household complex. He quickly looked at the situation and swore. He saw the hollow, dead, and the destruction it had caused, the people it had hurt. And what's more he saw the dead human, cradled in the arms of a screaming girl…in a wedding dress. 'Shit that must be they guys wife…that hollow, on their wedding day of all things' he thought, saving several choice insults for another time. Situations like this one affirmed in his mind just how much he loathed hollows, bitter spirits who do nothing but cause devastation and grief wherever they go.

'In a minute his soul will appear, I need to be ready to perform the burial' he thought as he approached the group. He was shocked to see the two troll-like…children notice his presence and stare at him in reverence. 'They can see me?!' he thought in shock, put after a brief check of their reiryoku he noticed that they had far more 'presence' than most normal humans. So he adopted a less serious expression and advanced, trying to look friendly. "Easy there. The hollows dead, but I need to perform the konso on his soul."

"Of course shinigami-sama, we understand" spoke out Cologne, who caught the others, attention. One by one they looked up from Ranma and noticed Hisagi standing there, hand on his katana.

"You…you're a shinigami? Where were you?!" demanded Ryoga, understanding the situation from what he had heard from Cologne earlier.

"I apologize, but I appeared off target and had to run to reach here. I moved as quickly as possible but…I was not fast enough. I am sorry for your loss" Hisagi spoke as formally as he could, unused as he was to being seen by humans.

"You're sorry. MY husband is DEAD you BASTARD! How can sorry bring him back! He's dead because you were not here to kill that monster! He's dead because you didn't do your job! He's dead…"

"That's enough Akane! Leave him be"

A familiar voice stopped the angry, grieving young woman in mid shout, venting as she was her emotions of the strange spirit who had appeared in their midst. Akane looked away from the man in the black hakama to see…"Ranma?" she uttered in disbelief.

Indeed, Saotome Ranma stood before the group, looking grimly down at his bloody corpse. No longer was there a gaping hole were his insides should have been but a chain dangling from his chest, his spirit reflecting the wholeness of his mind. "It's not his fault Akane…" he continued "…he was doing his duty, as I did mine. I knew what I was doing when I attacked that hollow. I used everything I had, every last shred of ki in my body to kill it. So you see, even if its attack had not hit me, I would have probably died anyway from exhaustion. The body can only take so much before it expires"

"How…why?" Akane replied, everyone else remaining silent as the lovers exchanged what would in all likelihood be their last words.

"Like I said before, because I love you, you kawaikune tomboy" he chided

"Baka pervert" Akane bit back, her voice quaking with held back sorrow.

Turning to the crowd Ranma spoke out "I'm sorry everyone. Seems once again my bad luck magnet brought you all nothing but trouble"

"Don't you dare say that" said Kasumi, who had come back with Doctor Tofu to help with anyone that was injured.

"It's true though. With me gone, you'll all probably get some peace and quiet. Anyway, I suck at goodbye's so…" he turned to look at Hisagi "…so how does this work then, you sendin me over? Not painful I hope" Ranma said laughing.

"Its simple really, I just tap you with the stamp on my zanpakuto's nakagojiri and you ascend to heaven" Hisagi replied.

"Oh, well just one thing before I go…" Ranma quickly moved over to Akane, who was still crouched on the floor holding his corpse, and kissed her on the lips. She could just about feel it, like an echo of something once held. "…I love you so much Akane. I hope you can move on and find love again, I can't bear to think of you being unhappy on my account.'

Breaking the kiss, Ranma moved over to the hollows body and bowed to it. "You may be a demon, but at least you were a worthy opponent to die by…merushi" he intoned, his honouring the body of his opponent.

'Wait a second, why hasn't the body of the hollow dissolved yet. It should have vanished the moment it was slain, how can it…' "…Quickly! Move away from the hollow" Hisagi shouted, moving quickly to pull the teenager away. But he was too slow once again.

A garganta ripped open behind Ranma and the hollow, exposing the blackness of a void best never thought about. Before he could move or cry out, Ranma found his and the hollows bodies dissolving into dust to be sucked into the open maw of the dark. He tried to call out 'Akane' but could not; he could only stretch out his hand as his body and it dissolved into nothing.

Soul Society

Within his private study, Sosuke Aizen was busying himself greatly. It would not be long before all of his planning; all of his work came to fruition. Tonight he had begun by entering the Central 46 chambers and slaughtered the judiciary there, freeing up the great libraries of information stored there. Now all he needed was to find out about the whereabouts of the oken and…where was that beeping sound coming from?

'I wonder what that could be…' he thought, crossing the room from his study to a computer panel he used to document his research. '…ah subject 113 has been killed in the human world, how interesting. And it appears that a whole has been caught in the garganta, how interesting.' Leaving the screen he returned to his papers, he still needed to keep the air of an obedient captain, if only for a few more months.

Human world

Hisagi cursed as he slammed his zanpakuto into the ground, grinding his teeth in frustration. This would need to be reported to Kaname-taicho at once, but he first needed to erase the memories of the humans present. It sucked a lot removing the last words of their friend and in one case lover from their minds, but it was protocol and protocol HAD to be followed. For the sake of peace.

"Where did Ranma go? What happened, ANSWER!" Akane bellowed, staring daggers of hate at Hisagi.

"I can explain everything, if only you can all look this way for a second…" he said, pulling out his kikanshinki. Before they could say anything, he pulled the release catch and in a poof of smoke the ducks head popped up and everyone present fell unconscious, their memories altered. Looking down at the overly cute object Hisagi muttered "Damn Women's Institution…" before leaving the blasted wedding ceremony to pick up the pieces and move on with their lives.

Hueco Mundo

Ranma opened his eyes and found himself looking up at black. Or to be more precise, a black nights sky. Painfully slowly, his muscles surprisingly difficult to move, he got up and looked around, gasping at the sight. All around him was miles upon miles upon miles of white desert, with the occasional tree dotted here and there. He remembered back to what had happened with the hollow 'What was that, where am I. And more importantly, how do I get back?' he asked himself, calling out into the wilderness.

"Hellloooooooo, anyone out there?" he cried, shouting and moving about for ages. He walked for miles in one direction, and then miles in another but found nothing. After a while he began to feel a sharp stabbing feeling in his chest. Looking down, Ranma noticed the chain on his chest and tugged at it a little. Finding it would not budge, he wondered what the pain was. Then he noticed the links at the end of the chain, they seemed to be eating themselves off…literally. Small mouths formed from the chain, causing the normally level headed(ish) martial artist to fall backwards in alarm.

"What the hellaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh…kami that hurts!" he writhed on the floor in pain. For hours he stayed in that one spot rooted in agony as his chain ate away at itself. He tried to tug it off to stop the pain, but that only accelerated the degeneration. Finally, in one final epic moment the last few links disappeared. And the true pain began.

The area on his chest that the chains had been attached to peeled away to reveal a gaping hole, just like the hollows. 'How the, how is this possible' Ranma thought frantically. Through the pain he began to feel an almost nauseous feeling at the back of his throat, like he was going to be sick. Clutching at his stomach, Ranma could only endure as his body burned. Then, in a final moment, a crescendo, he retched and began to vomit forth…white fluid. He tried to scream but was unable too, the white gushing from his mouth without end. It began to move from the floor and undulated, before suddenly shooting towards Ranma's face. 'Nooooooooooooooo' was his only screaming thought as the white covered him and he was engulfed in darkness. That thought, and the image of a girl whose name he could no longer remember.

'Akane…?'