Title: The Lost Soul Reaper

Series: Bleach

Summary: He has been away from Soul Society for a century. Thought dead after being overtaken by hollows during a mission, he has trained to control his new found power gained from the incident. How will everyone react to his return?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, the very talented man Tite Kubo does. I just own the story idea and the fictional character Ryakamanu Shirota. It took forever to finally publish something. I hope you all like it!

Many years ago, a soul reaper was sent on a mission to exterminate some Hollows in Nagasaki. Unfortunately, the threat was too great for him and he was killed and taken to the realm of the Hollows. However, he wasn't dead. Instead, he gained the power of the Hollows, but he also gained the hunger of the Hollows for human souls. His zanpuktoh had also changed. It possessed a strange release where more blades sprang out by the normal blade, similar to Yamachika, and the tips of the blades bent inwards to form a claw; plus, the zanpuktoh became two blades, one for each hand. At the same time, the hilt became a harness to fit on the hand of the wielder. The harness boar a sign of a Hollow mask making apparent the mark of the Hollow.

Over the last few years the reaper has trained to control his hunger. He has succeeded, only having to feed once every week. With his drawback taken care of, he heads towards Seiretei to prove that he is still an able shinigami.

Ah, the fresh air of Seiretei is pleasing. It's been too long since he lived the life of a normal person or of a soul reaper. He had been living in the hell that is Hueco Mundo. It took so long to control his newfound power, which is his curse as well. He must be careful with his feeding so that the other shinigami don't ever find out. He wonders, will anyone remember him? Hmph, doubt it. He wasn't of a worthy rank before he was corrupted. Although, this new power may give him what he needs to ascend to the top of Soul Society.

Upon his entry into Rukongai, he felt an overwhelming confidence that nothing would stop him from his dream. The people nearby looked upon him as some type of threat. He ignored them and continued toward the gate to Seiretei. He noticed standing at the gate was the titan, Jidanbou. He had seen Jidanbou before, but had never introduced himself to him. Jidanbou noticed him right away.

"Hey there! Who are you?" asked the giant of a man.

"I've been gone awhile, my friend. I am Ryakamanu Shirota, shinigami of the 2nd Division." responded the long forgotten soul reaper. Jidanbou thought for a moment.

"Hmm, wait. You're the one that was killed years ago on that hollow hunting mission. How many years ago was that?"

"100 years ago since yesterday. It took most of those years to regain my body and mind. I've trained in the last few years to be able to fight again. I can't wait to go through that gate. You will let me through, right?" eyed Shirota.

"Nah, I want to see what you can do. I challenge you Shirota! You accept?" Jidanbou readied himself. From his uniform he pulled an axe of gargantuan size. Shirota crouched down into a stance that was used for quick unsheathing of his zanpuktoh. His zanpuktoh in normal form was a long thin blade with a hilt that had a dragon's head on the end of it. Both men were ready. Jidanbou charged towards Shirota with an overhead swing of his axe. With a flash, Shirota was gone. Jidanbou stood motionless staring at where Shirota was crouched.

"Well, I guess this fight's over. Let me through, Jidanbou." Jidanbou looked behind himself to see Shirota standing facing the gate. Jidanbou's right leg split open and a sudden gush of crimson soared into the air. He winced in pain but did not yell. He turned towards Shirota with his head drooped.

"Yes, I'll open it." he muttered. Shirota shot him a glance.

"I would apologize, but you challenged me. I did what was needed to convince you to let me pass."

"You don't need to apologize anyway. It's okay." Jidanbou walked over and crouched down in front of the gate. With much effort, he raised the gate up above his head. Shirota advanced through.

"Hey, are things okay between us? I wasn't trying to make a rift in a possible friendship." said Shirota.

"No, we're allies. I'll see ya again." responded a pride lacking Jidanbou. Shirota waved as he headed for the main meeting hall.

Thanks for reading the first chapter! Please review and I'll try to have the next chapter up asap.