Yuka tore through Karakura town at speeds he hoped would give him the required leverage in order to escape the beast that was kurosaki Ichigo, or to put it into current context was once Ichigo. Yuka made a one hundred and eighty turn and faced his opponent again seeing only a white blur he raised Chamelos after a few seconds only just parrying one of Ichigo's punches. In doing so however he was blasted away due to the spiritual pressure built up in his fists. Ichigo had indivertibly created a bala and was not even trying to the rage and excitement his hollow was feeling was showing fully. Yuka tore off again up a destroyed pathway created by the earlier cero, Ichigo in hot pursuit.


Ichigo's Inner World

Ichigo looked around his surroundings trying to put together where he was but not at all coming to any conclusion. Fires of red, orange, purple, blue all kinds of colours were burning around him. Reflected in these flames Ichigo knew almost instinctively the fury and desperation in those flames. Ichigo's hollow had taken the initiative when Ichigo began to despair. Once he fell onto that path the shackles that had bound Ogihci were finally undone and he was released to let loose 3 years of boredom and irritation in one go. Ichigo decided this time he would not intervene and allow his hollow this freedom to let loose. The flames around him seemed to rise up even higher after he began to think about that, the feeling Ichigo began to feel was pride and acceptance. This was a surprise he never thought he'd gain any such kind of emotions from his hollow which seemed to despise him with their soul.

Ichigo stood in position for a while just caught in the embrace of the flames that lined his inner world and closed his eyes allowing all these emotions to flood into him accepting them for the first time. Ever. He felt complete he felt like a piece of him was now replaced and he felt whole now. He found it ironic that it was his hollow and its basic instincts and emotions that finished him.

"Why's that so funny eh king?" a voice was then heard asking Ichigo

"I find it amusing the one thing I feared for so long while being a shinigami is the one thing I had to embrace in order to finish myself" Ichigo answered him his face plain

"Remember I am a part of your soul king, even if it is the primal and animalistic part of it" Ogihci finished smirking towards Ichigo

"Yes I suppose that is true, say where is Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked his hollow ponderously

"He will not be out for some time now king, he requires more coaxing than myself to be awakened, where I require only your basic emotions to be displayed, he will need you to find another way back to him" Ogihci finished his smirk gone

"But how am I supposed to fight in future battles? I cannot possibly save Tatsuki and Inoue without my shinigami powers, how am I supposed to be able to save them?" Ichigo asked his hollow desperately

"Consume me" Ogihci answered simply

"What?" Ichigo asked his hollow dumbfounded

"I said consume me" his hollow reiterated. The flames around them had died down somewhat and in the multicoloured flames absence the sideways skyscraper landscape could start to be discernable. Ogihci stood opposite Ichigo in his usual attire except it was a black shinigami uniform with all the trimmings as if he were a regular shinigami. The only difference was his ashen white appearance.

"But how I mean surely I don't have to just eat you whole do I?" Ichigo half joked

"No channel your thoughts about adding my power into your own body allowing me to become part of you again that is a form of consumption, I suppose" Ogihci finished uncertainly

"Okay then after this we shall be one soul again yes?" Ichigo asked almost excited to get rid of this burden"

"In essence yes, you'll be able to use my powers again as well however, you don't need to call it out like you used to have to do with Zangetsu, just simply apply my power the way you'd bring your hollow mask on and my power will be yours" Ogihci explained to Ichigo


The Real World

Yuka was beginning to become breathless, his attempts at escaping Ichigo so far had ended in failure. Every time he believed himself to be safe from the beast that was Ichigo he found himself again losing distance from the creature. Yuka looked back at him again stopping where he stood. He watched as Ichigo ran past what was once a bridge and grabbed some of the metal wires sticking out of the ground, pulling them out alongside a massive chunk of concrete. Charging towards Yuka full force, his hands holding his makeshift club above his head Ichigo seemed to become a blur to Yuka. He had to admit it this Ichigo kid was in fact something else. Just as Ichigo re-appeared in front of Yuka he raised his sword just in time to stop the majority of the attack. Unable to stop the attack entirely his right shoulder was shattered with the force of the club connecting with it. Yuka dropped his zanpaktou unable to hold onto it any longer. He kneeled in front of Ichigo and looked up at the creature that stood above him.

Ichigo stood there the makeshift club hanging limply in his left hand by his side. He brought up his right hand to his mask and made a small laugh. Grabbing the forehead of the mask Ichigo pulled the mask off and looked directly at Yuka. Yuka felt horrified those eyes were changed they were no longer his brown eyes nor even the eyes usually associated with hollowfication with the black sclera and golden irises. These eyes were icy blue. His hair was still as long as it had been when he went into that form and whipped around in the winds caress. His body regained its usual tan and appeared to be unaltered. "Now tell me" came a very authoritarian voice from Ichigo "Just where have you taken my friends?" he finished looking at Yuka very bored like.

"They are hidden away in the Karakura high school" Yuka told Ichigo defeated

"Why there?" Ichigo asked his defeated opponent

"I knew you would at least know that place very well and have a good idea where to look" Yuka admitted to Ichigo

"Then what was the point in telling me that your master had them?" Ichigo asked raising his eyebrow

"Simply in order to re-awaken your shinigami powers, I see I managed to fail even that but I do believe I awoken something with much more kick" Yuka finished of smiling up at Ichigo

"Why are you smiling?" Ichigo asked the man getting irritated with the stupid smile on his face

"You are perfect" Yuka stated to Ichigo simply

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked worriedly

"Nothing like that my friend, you see I was sent here by my master in order to find a means to re-awaken your powers, this was in order to help him in his quest for something" Yuka stopped for a second groaning in pain about his shoulder and missing arm

"You really know how to cripple a man…. Anyway my master is someone to watch out for Kurosaki Ichigo, in order to give you a small understanding Aizen was only the equivelent of a seated officer in the army of Tirol Bori" Yuka told a shocked Ichigo

"B. it took my shinigami powers just to defeat him and only seal him away, how can I hope to face anyone with much more power than Aizen?" Ichigo asked annoyed at the man again

"Quite simply my friend you do not" was Yuka's very simple answer Ichigo just looked at him dumbfounded. Yuka was obviously in immeasurable pain because he had one less arm and a crushed shoulder but was still able to smirk?

"then what was the point in me getting back my shinigami powers then?" Ichigo asked the crippled man in front of him after a few moments of silence

"Well it was because he hoped they would have increased over the three year gap, I hoped so also but for another reason" Yuka finished

"And what was that" Ichigo asked him scowl in place

"To defeat my master" Yuka looked away again after saying that


"What? But you said it was impossible!" Ichigo yelled at his face

"Without proper training yes it is" Yuka explained

"Oh and who is going to train me then? Urahara I doubt he can train me in this form I don't even have a zanpaktou" Ichigo growled

"Do not count Urahara out of the equation he knows a lot more than he lets on, alas you are correct I did not mean him, I meant myself" Yuka said bowing his head

Ichigo was unsure what to do, his enemy was now bowing his head to Ichigo as if he were a king or a noble. "What're you doing?" Ichigo asked the man

"offering you my help, and switching allegiences, I had heard about you from Aizen, you sounded quite the fair man and one I can happily die for" Yuka said in all earnest

"But look at what I have done to you" Ichigo pointed out

"This physical body will heal my friend, so long as my soul survives, so shall I" Yuka replied

"I don't trust you" Ichigo stated quickly, Yuka chuckled

"I would not expect you to, in which case I have a proposition for you I shall be in Karakura town for at least an other two months, you have until then before I have to report back to my master, if in that time you accept my offer I shall become your teacher and subordinate" Yuka said looking up again

"Very well I shall think on it, but do not think you are off the hook for taking my friends just yet"

"My friend although my actions were harsh I can assure you those friends of yours are fine" Yuka smiled before struggling to his feet. Ichigo just stood and watched as he got up and slowly walked away

"I am going to try and find a hospital, any idea where I can find a good one?" Yuka asked looking over his shoulder at Ichigo. Ichigo just stood watching him still while he could now see his hair flowing in strands in front of him. Paying no attention to this he looked towards Yuka and could see him unstable on his feet and felt a small pang of guilt. His hollow had run rampant on this man and in stead of killing him had only played around with him. Coming to a mental conclusion Ichigo motioned over to the man "Hey come with me Inoue can heal you properly, but after that you leave got it?" Ichigo demanded of Yuka. Somewhat surprised with the offer Yuka looked down to himself "Hardly going to be able to get there in this state now am I?" Yuka asked a small laugh escaping him eventually ending in a cringe of pain. "Cant believe I'm helping you but I feel I owe you for taking the brunt of his frustration" Ichigo explained to Yuka before walking up to him and hoisting him over his shoulder. "I don't know if I can flash step anymore but I'll try" Ichigo said as he jumped from his position upwards into the sky.


Tatsuki woke up feeling very dazed and looked around her surroundings, whiteboard, desks, chairs even some books. She was in school? But it was dark outside. Had she collapsed and slept once everyone had left or something? Then she heard another groan and turned around to see orihime lifting herself up from the ground aswell. Orihime too? "Orihime! Are you ok?" Tatsuki asked her friend

"Huh? Tatsuki? What are we doing in school this late in the day? Aaahh did I fall asleep in class again and miss out some of the lesson and some of the day?" Orihime fretted suddenly to herself

"It's okay Orihime I'm sure we never fell asleep in class, in fact I do not remember ever being in school" Tatsuki pondered this to herself. She remembered walking to school with Orihime then some guy approached them from behind and the last thing she remembered was him askin….

"Bastard" she cursed under her breath

"Tatsuki?" Orihime asked her friend confused

"Orihime I think that guy we met this morning is the reason we are here, I think this also has something to do with Ich…" before she could even finish her sentence the very building itself shook.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Orihime screamed diving under a desk. Tatsuki stood up unable to comprehend what had just happened. She looked out of the classroom window to see nothing but she could feel something alright.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Tatsuki heard Orihime say


"What is that Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked worriedly

"No this isn't all Ichigo part of it is his hollow, the majority of it is actually" Orihime gasped bringing her hand to her mouth

"What is it Orihime?" Tatsuki asked her friend even more worried now

"He should not have this power he was supposed to have lost it after his fight with Aizen all of those powers should be gone, but now I think about it closely, his shinigami powers are gone but it looks like his hollow is still there" Orihime talked slowly not wanting to say what she knew. Over the years she had managed to get very good at spiritual pressure recognition.

"That's bad isn't it? I can tell simply by the way you are talking that it is bad" Tatsuki looked directly at her friends eyes. She could see fear reflected in those eyes.

Before she could even ask any more she felt a draining effect as if the whole area were being drained of something. "Orihime what's going on!" Tatsuki screamed over a whistling noise that had started and grown louder than anything she had heard before.

"He's making a hollow's attack" Orihime could only whisper only too well able to remember the last time Ichigo had done that, he had almost killed Uryuu that way. Both girls looked out the classroom window and could see a small black flash appear not too far away from them and watched as it tore through some nearby buildings. "Wow that's some power behind that" was all Tatsuki could whisper

Then a couple of seconds later they could feel the draining effect again only this time it seemed to be much more and the period it went on for was much longer. Orihime gasped as she could see the physical spirit particles flowing to one area of the town and a black glow. After a few more seconds it was released and both girls were almost blown off their feet from the sheer force of the blast, they watched as the attack blasted through all in its path even going as far as to destroy buildings all the way up to the bridge on the other side of the town. Tatsuki and Orihime felt something else in that attack also however, they felt unaltered hatred rage and guilt. Both girls were too afraid to move from where they were after that attack they felt glued to the spot. More to the fact they were stuck to the spot the spiritual pressure had raised to such a degree that they were stuck in position unable to move their bodies in any way at all. They could only watch as they saw nothing in particular, every once in a while they may glance and see a spark but it quickly faded. However, one time they looked they could see what looked like a man running up to where the bridge was and was again out in the open where he suddenly stopped and turned around. Both girls looked back up the path he had just come from and one was more horrified than the other.

Orihime watched as the demon that was Ichigo raced towards this other man, picking up something jutting out of the ground while still running. They watched in horror as the bleach white man ran his makeshift club above his head and struck down on the other man, by the looks of it bringing him to the ground. Suddenly Orihime and Tatsuki could move again, but neither took the opportunity to move at all unable to look away from the sight in front of them due to relief. They watched as the pigmentation of the man returned to that of a very tanned one.


After a while of Ichigo and the man talking, Ichigo placed the man over his shoulder and jumped upwards, disappearing. Before they even had time to register his disappearing he was there in front of both of them outside the window carrying a heavily wounded man on his shoulder. Coming in the window he looked around and found what he was looking for in the safe forms of Tatsuki and Orihime. Their faces did not give him any comfort however both of them were looking at him scared to death by the looks of things. He guessed he should not be surprised, they had probably just witnessed the animalistic side of him unleash. The fact he was also carrying his mutilated enemy on his shoulder done nothing to make things better. "Uhh Inoue could you heal this man for me please?" Ichigo asked her politely. She was unable to move more from admiration than fear, this was the second time she was able to see his chest for all its glory. The abs were rock hard and the same went for the six-pack and his shoulders seemed to make him look even more powerful. Tatsuki was also mesmerised by this show of his attuned body, what was wrong with her? She had seen Ichigo's body before. But she conceded the last time she had the opportunity she was too trapped in his eyes to notice, looking up to where she expected those mahogany orbs to be she was taken aback by the change in colour, they were blue now, ice blue.

"s… sure Ichigo right away" Orihime answered as she dragged her eyes away from Ichigo's perfectly attuned body. Ichigo noticed Tatsuki looking directly into his eyes and gazed directly into her own, this earned a blush upon the girls face. "Sorry about what you might have seen you guys I thought you were both taken away from me, and I kinda lost it a bit" Ichigo said while awkwardly running his hand through his now long orange hair. "It's ok Ichigo its nice to know we mean as much to you isn't it Orihime?" Tatsuki tried to get her friends attention but failed since she was healing the man presented to her. "Good then, well I suppose you may as well know what I think I know" Ichigo said to them this time Orihime turned her head

"I have powers again but from the sound of it they are not shinigami, they are more hollow I suppose you could say since myself and my hollow fused back together" Ichigo tried to explain

"So you're a hollow essentially?" Tatsuki asked him quickly

"Well I guess so yes, but since we were originally the same soul I think things should be ok" Ichigo answered her somewhat unsure

"What about Soul Society wont they take you having hollow powers pretty negatively? You told me that the visoreds were shunned because they harnessed hollow powers" Tatsuki finished off tears starting to well up in her eyes. Orihime watched her friend start to lose control of her emotions, she knew this day would come she only hoped that for her friends sake it did not have to happen in this way. Ichigo noticed those tears starting to form in Tatsuki's eyes and never expected to ever see such a thing, Tatsuki doesn't cry for nothing. "Ichigo I just got you back as my friend after years of us not seeing each other, I can understand that we have had three years of excellent friendship together so far, but I'm selfish I want to keep you with me forever" Tatsuki admitted to Ichigo. Ichigo could only stand there unable to comprehend what Tatsuki had just revealed to him. "What do you mean Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked looking intently into her eyes

"I mean I l…" before Tatsuki could finally tell Ichigo what she had been wanting to tell him for months, a glowing white light appeared behind him and Japanese style doors appeared behind him. Ichigo turned around to watch as the gates opened revealing those who had come for him. Standing ready in case he was to attack were Zaraki Kenpachi, Byakuya Kuchiki and none other than the Captain Commander himself between the two. "Kurosaki Ichigo we are here to imprison you in the Soul Society, you can either come peacefully or we will use force if necessary" the captain commander stated plainly. Orihime finished her healing and allowed the man she was healing to get up. He looked at the group of people and then to Ichigo again "Sorry but my offer can only stand for two months otherwise I do have to report back" Yuka told Ichigo while climbing out the classroom window. Byakuya went to release his zanpaktou but was stopped by the captain commander "He is not our concern right now, Kurosaki is" he explained to Byakuya. Zaraki stood there with a grin "Wanna have a fight right here right now Ichigo?" he asked through an evil grin.

"That will be ill required also" the captain commander said to Zaraki making the latter sigh in disappointment.

Tatsuki could not take it anymore she had to tell him before he was taken away from her she could not allow him to go on not knowing.

"Ichigo I lov…" she was cut off by Ichigo before she could finish

"Don't say it Tatsuki" he replied coldly not even turning to look at her but she could see from how his shoulders were tensed this was hurting him too "I am going to be away for a long time now it seems, I'd prefer you did not have to wait for me and be in pain because of me" Ichigo added turning around to look at Tatsuki finally his long hair swishing behind him. She could see the tears forming under his magnificent blue eyes and saw the sad smile he had on his face. Before she could help herself she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly not wanting to let him go. The moment was cut short when Ichigo could feel a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see Yammamoto looking at him sympathetically "Sorry Kurosaki Ichigo but it is time to go" Yammamoto indicated towards the gateway where Zaraki and Byakuya had split to leave the way open. "Goodbye Tatsuki and Orihime" and everyone else he thought to himself, before walking through the gateway followed by Zaraki and Byakuya and eventually by the captain commander after he had one last look at the broken girl who was left on the floor.


I don't know if this story is doing too well or not I do require feedback from you guys who are reading this so any advice on how this story can be improved or if I should even go any further with it would be very highly appreciated - Varrukh