Ichigo felt odd. As if the entire world around him and shifted and turned into clouds. There was a rush of heat through his body that thrummed pleasantly, as well as a delicious breeze. Considering Ichigo's last vague memories, he was probably dead.
Before the pleasantness turn to black ashes, and someone gently shook him awake.
His eyes shot open and batted the hand away. He looked at the figure, and saw it was once again the man from last night, but up close he could see the jagged white jaw-bone like mask his had above his sternum. It vaguely reminded him of that monster.
"Where... what happened?" Ichigo asked, slowly sitting up. He was in a room of nearly all white, that had pillows strewn across a corner of the room, as if a makeshift bed, that he was currently laying on.
The brown-haired man frowned.
"I'm not sure." He said. Ichigo scowled.
"Well, for one, where am I?!" Ichigo asked impatiently.
"Right now you're currently in Hueco Mundo- no longer within the World of the Living." The man explained, a half-sheepish, half-lethargic look on his face. Ichigo's head bowed. While he was able to save his sisters, he hadn't been able to save himself...
"What am I now?" Ichigo asked, fingering the skin around the hole in his chest. "What is this?" The brunette sighed.
"Don't take this the wrong way, kid. But you're what most would call a hollow, a version of that monster who killed you. They have lost their material 'hearts', hence the hole. The heart then becomes the mask that a hollow wears por shame. Hollows are the souls of people who haven't passed on to the next life, which is the Soul Society. In the event a soul is forcefully ejected from the body by a hollow, or left to roam on earth they eventually become hollows. I am also a hollow... in a sense. Like you, arrancars. I was a hollow who regained a semblance of humanity and a mind, causing a piece of my mask to break and become my zanpakuto and other half, Lillinette." He jammed his thumb in the direction of a young passed out girl on another set of pillow-beds. Ichigo frowned.
"So... I'm dead? But, why didn't I become like that... hollow? Why am I still me?" Ichigo asked, refering to his human form.
"Because I gave almost half of my own energy. You practically sucked it out of me, kid. This in turn skipped that whole monster stage, straight to know. You already had spiritual pressence, which enabled you to see hollows in the first place, so that might've effected something. No one knows you're here yet, or that I'm back." Starrk explained, his eyelids lowering further, making him muggy.
"What's Soul Society then, if Hueco Mundo is a realm for hollows?" Ichigo asked, pining for information.
"Soul Society are where all the other souls go-, the ones with the chain in their chest still, before it gets pulled off." Starrk explained. But before Ichigo could ask anymore questions, the guy was out like a light. And Ichigo didn't even know the guys name...
However, it seemed that as soon as the guy fell asleep, his zanpakuto- er, other half, woke up. She looked around from her pillows, and her eyes locked onto him as he sat awkwardly on the pillows. She cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing.
"Who are you and why are you in Starrk-sama's room!" She said, her voice, and nagging. Ichigo winced, he was feeling very... out of character he supposed. He was going to recitify that...
"Hey, I don't even know, one moment I'm in my room at my house, alive, and the next I'm dead, a hollow, or Arrancar or whatever!" Ichigo yelled right back. The girl blinked, before his evil gaze turned towards the sleeping man. She went and picked up the white wooden chair on the other side of the room, slamming it over the guy's- Starrk's sleeping body. He instantly woke up, rubbing his head, and saw Lillinette up and awake.
"What's he doing here!? You're aren't REPLACING me are you? Your reiatsu is all over him, and your practically half drained! You did not split us again!" She said furiously kicking his head.
"And what's worse, you didn't bring back Fishbone, but this... boy! And I thought I told you to stay away!" She screamed. Starrk grabbed her by her ankle, and held her upside-down.
"One, this kid isn't another one of my splits, two, no one CAN replace you. And three, I'm half-drained because I found a way to skip the hollowfication process for a plus soul apparently, he some kind of arrancar now, I guess." Starrk explained, dropping her in the sea of pillows, getting her effectively incapacitated. Ichigo blinked. If Starrk and this girl Lillinette were arrancar, and arrancar were hollows with a broken mask... why did they act so.. human? Like him and his father, or his father and Karin.
"Um... what happens to me now?" Ichigo asked quietly. Starrk looked at him, and collapsed on his pile of pillows.
"I don't care. Just- don't go to the human world and slaughter everybody. And don't get killed." Starrk motioned to the two swords at his belt.
When in the world did he get those? He sighed. If he was dead... he was going to make the most of it. While Starrk fell asleep, Ichigo began to leave the room, before Lillinette's head popped up under her other half's sea of pillows.
"What's your name?" She asked. Ichigo smiled a bit.
"Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki." He said, giving her a small salute and walking out the door. Softly closing it behind him, he made his way down the halls, exploring his new surroundings. There was lots of white everywhere, white walls, ceiling, doors... the only things that weren't white were the hollows (or arrancar... maybe) he saw in the hallway, and the black numbers that went down from 1, from Starrk's room on the doors. Suddenly, as he was passing door number 6, it was thrust open, and Ichigo barely got hit. The man that came out was... odd.
He had bright light blue hair, including his eyebrows, and even some chest hairs that were seen from his open vest/shihakusho, indicating it was his natural hair color. He also had teal, or... cerulean colored eyes, that were bursting full of anger. He had a jawbone mask on his lower... jaw, that appeared to be feline-ish, and snarling.
"Who are you, and why are you in the Wing of the Espadas. Only Espada and their fraccion are allowed in here." He drawled, sending out a pulse of energy. A little voice in Ichigo's head called it his reiatsu. Ichigo sweat dropped. He had fought bullies like this before easily, but... this was a new kind of world that he didn't even know existed (consciously), and he had no idea how well he could fare against this guy. But, as we all know, Ichigo wasn't much for restraint way back when...
"Espada? Really? Does that make you feel special? I can be in whatever hallway I want, I was just walking!" Ichigo snarked back. The man's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You are so going to regret ever saying that strawberry-head." He growled. Ichigo watched, almost in slow motion as the bluenette's hand went up to his neck. Ichigo, although he knew he could stop him, and had the power to do so deep inside of his instincts, he let the man grab his neck, and hoist him into the air.
"I'm going to crush your head like a grape." The man growled. Ichigo gave a light smirk. This guy was nothing. He ahd dealt with thugs worse than this before.
"Which is it kitty? A strawberry, or a grape?" Ichigo said smirking.
Enraged, the bluenette threw him over at the wall, a loud smacking noise filling the room. Ichigo stood up clumsily, and narrowed his eyes at the bluenette. He had dealt with thugs far worse than this noob before in ego. He was so going down.
Feeling a surge of power building within him.
Letting instinct over come him, he felt his own powers rise up to the challenge of the bluenette's. The other man growled at him.
"Prepare to die orange-head, you're gonna wish you didn't mess with the sexta espada Grimmjow Jaegarjaques!" He yelled, throwing a punch in his rage. Ducking quickly, Ichigo threw a kick at the guy's chin, as he dodged his head to right, and swiveled in to head butt him.
Ichigo, expecting the move went with his instinct, and punched the guy in the face before he could. The bluenette was sent flying away from him, and blasted through the door he had previously came through. Ichigo growled silently. The nerve. He knew that he was stronger, and still people pushed down on him.
He WAS the intruder however...
He watched as the arrancar called Grimmjow pulled himself out of the wall, a little blood dribbling down his lip. His hand came up and wiped it away.
"I don't know who you are, carrot-top... or why, or where you came from, but you're strong. Definitely. And so, I promise you now that you will be lucky to die at my hands." He said, drawing his sword. Ichigo gave a slight scowl. He didn't have much expierence with swords, but he trusted that his instincts would show him the way.
He drew his black sword with his right hand, and the white one in his left. They were complete opposites.
"So, Grimmjow... is it? You keep calling me names... strawberry, grape, orange, carrot... it seems like you can't figure out which poison you've picked. The names Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki, and I will not lose to blue-haired arrogant prick like you." He set up in a left stance, his swords down but steady. He watched as the arrancar lunged at him, and slashed downwards towards his torso.
Ichigo lunged to the side and slashed upwards twice, his blades' blunt sides launching Grimmjow into a wall away from him.
...or to be more specific, the door to room number 5.
A loud crashing noise, was heard, and a tall, 7'2'', lanky figure with a spoon hood on his clothing, walked out, holding Grimmjow by the scruff of his neck (very much like a kitten).
The lanky man rubbed his one eye that wasn't behind an eye patch, and glared at the sexta espada. He lifted his leg up and launched the blue character away through the wall and outside.
"Idiot." He muttered. His gaze locked onto me.
"Who're you? Haven't seen your face before." He drawled, as he sneered down at me. He looked at the two blades that were still held lacadaiscally in my hands.
"Fighting Grimm-kitty? Interesting... you wouldn't happen to be an intruder of some sort... would'ja? Because then... I get to kill some weak trash like you!" He yelled. He pulled a double-cresent moon like blade off his back.
"Prepare yourself, arrancar, for Cinto Espada Nnoitra Gilga (Giruga)!"
'Giruga Gilga?' Ichigo wondered. He shook off the thought, drawing his sword once again.
"Fine, let's dance, slim." He teased back. He watched as the fast Cinco espada rushed forward with his heavy cresent blade forward.
Ichigo flipped over, and planted a kick on the Espada's head, and Nnoitra got shot into the floor creating a crater.
A series of explosions went off, and a cloud of dust covered Ichigo's vision.
When it cleared, Grimmjow and Nnoitra were clashed head-to-head.
"I don't care if you started fighting him first. You're trash, besides, I deserve to fight! You always get the good missions, and I'm always stuck with that wench Neliel! Let me kill the intruder!" Nnoitra, who was seriously pissed tried to argue with Grimmjow.
"No way! I'm not going to let someone like you push on my pride and steal my pray you stupid mantis!" Grimmjow fired back. Nnoitra scoffed, and pulled Grimmjow into a fast arm lock.
"Beat it, cat, before I kill you too!" He hissed, kicking Grimmjow through 10 walls downward, to Privaron arrancar. Nnoitra looked back up at Ichigo, and gave a wicked smirk.
"Let's have some fun strawberry!" He shouted, jumping forward again. Ichigo, who was amused by the earlier skirmish, dodged out of the way quickly, and hit him with the hilt of his black bladed sword, throwing the spoon-headed espada to be shot back. His feet skid across the ground, and Nnoitra was angry. With a flash of speed greater than before catching Ichigo off guard, Nnoitra strung him up by his neck, and they both went flying through a hole in the wall, onto the white dusty sands of Hueco Mundo 10 floors below.
Ichigo had the breath knocked out of him and his grip almost loosened on the marble-white and obsidian-black blades he held. Almost on instinct, he tightened his grip again, and slashed upwards at the mantis-like espada.
Two thick bloody lines marked his skin, and Nnoitra shot himself off of the smaller orange haired teen. Ichigo pulled himself up from the sand, and dusted off his grey hakamas, glaring at Nnoitra. This guy was definitely getting on his nerves, and the pulsing of his two blades almost reassured him that he could beat this guy. He began feeling power rise up deep within him, and the word reiatsu floated through his mind. It rose and rose, until his entire body had the colors black, white, red and blue swirling around him angrily. Nnoitra stood with a disgusted scowl on his face, and looked on at the orange haired boy.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted, and a huge blast of the mixed spiritual energy shot at Nnoitra in a wave he knew he couldn't dodge, so he did the next best thing. Return the attack.
"Cero!" Nnoitra shouted back, a large beam of yellow energy flying off of his tongue and colliding with the huge grey and purple beam. They battled for power, until Ichigo's engulfed Nnoitra's, and a huge explosion went off. Ichigo lightly panted. He had never felt anyting like this before... power. Raw, unadultered power. And he was strong, too. He saw Nnoitra gasping, leaning against his weapon, and severely singed. Ichigo sheathed his two swords, and began walking towards the Cinco espada, when someone flashed in front of him.
He had brown tousled hair, and wide square glasses, and an unnerving smile.
"Hello there, young man. Care to tell me who you are?" He smirked devilishly. Ichigo was instantly put on guard.
This guy wasn't to be trusted.
And done! Voila!