The two of them started to fight vigorously and nearly destroyed the training ground in the progress Antono didn't even stop when he heard the sensei shouting that the training session was over. Suddenly Antono found he couldn't move it was like his body was in incredibly heavy and there was something pushing his body down, Ikkaku felt it as well though it didn't effect him the same way because he had been round this spirit energy for a long time. Antono was able to look at who it was, he was standing on the wall that ran round the complex. He was massive with a huge build his hair spiked up into long spikes he had an eye patch over one eye and countless scars, he was grinning down at Antono's reaction. Antono was able to focus his energy enough to form a kido he formed a cero and fired it at the stranger. But he simply disappeared and reappeared behind him. Suddenly all the weight and pressure disappeared, Antono stood up turned to face the stranger only to realise it was a captain he had seen before when he met the captain commander.
"Captain Kempachi what brings you here" asked Ikkaku
Kempachi didn't say anything he just stood there watching Antono.
"What?"
"Ikkaku, is he strong" asked Kempachi
"Quite, but a long way off your level"
Kempachi leaned towards Antono "Get stronger and when you do come and find me" he said with a massive grin then jumped over the wall and disappeared
"Random, who was that"
"That's Zuraki Kempachi captain of squad 11" said Ikkaku
"11 that's your squad isn't it"
"He's the reason I joined the 13 court guard squads, anyway see ya" and with that Ikkaku was gone too.
The next couple of days were very uneventful, Antono kept thinking about captain Kempachi and about the massive spiritual energy he had. 'that's it ill train enough to surpass him' he promised to himself.
Antono then threw himself into the studies off a shinigami he only really paid attention on the fighting parts of the studying and he practiced forming a cero in one hand as he realised that with one hand it was only half a powerful when he used two hands.
When suddenly he had an unexpected letter, he had been summoned to the squad 11 barracks Ikkaku came to so him the way to the barracks.
"So what's this about?" asked Antono
"You'll find out when you get there" Ikkaku replied grinning
When they arrived outside there was a little pink haired girl waiting for them.
"Kenny! Baldy is here" she shouted
"I've told you to stop calling me that" shouted Ikkaku but the girl just smiled
"Who's that" asked Antono pointing at the girl
"I don't think you'll believe me if I told you"
Antono looked at him.
"She's the vice captain of squad 11"
Antono laughed your kidding "This little runt" he said walking over to her and picking her up by her hakama, but somehow she broke free and jumped on his face and jumped unto the ground again giggling.
"Try to refrain from doing that" Ikkaku suggested
"I'm gonna kill that kid"
Suddenly the doors to the barracks flew open and there stood Kempachi.
"Your now part of squad 11, now shut up and get inside the barracks we're just starting our morning exercises" he said grabbing Antono throwing him inside
Three days passed Antono stayed at the squad 11 barracks training with them and getting beaten shittless by the more skilled members Ikkaku in particular but he was able to best the lower ranking members, but Kempachi wouldn't let go back to the academy Antono thought it would only be a matter of time before they came and found him.
On the forth day captain Kuchiki came to squad 11 barracks.
"I'm here to get Antono" he said
The room fell silent with Kuchiki's presence all of them bowed but none spoke, Kempachi then came in with his usual grin. "So what brings you here" he asked
"I've bin sent by commander Yamamoto to bring Antono"
As he said this Antono came flying through the bamboo wall, his Zampakto was in its released form he got to his feet as Ikkaku appeared the two started fighting. Antono charged Ikkaku but he dodged and Antono was heading right for Kuchiki, Antono tried to stop but couldn't. Kuchiki simply raised a single finger and the blade stopped dead.
Antono quickly bowed and apologised.
"Come with me" he said
Antono followed Kuchiki even Kempachi came walking next to Kuchiki Antono walked a couple paces behind.
"Oh shit imp in trouble, but he stopped my attack with only a single finger, is this guy stronger than Kempachi" Antono thought to himself
They arrived at Yammamoto's office quarters he sat behind a desk with his lieutenant standing next to him.
"Where have you bin" he asked
"Yeah about that you see captain Kempachi he made me a member of squad 11" said Antono with his eyes over his shoulder looking at Kempachi who was still grinning.
"What is the meaning of Kempachi"
"I want only the strong in my squad"
"It was agreed that he would enrol in the academy then join the squads if he graduated" shouted Yamamoto stomping his walking stick on the ground
"Well he has gotten stronger since he has been with squad 11" said Unohana
Everyone was surprised to see her because nobody heard or soar her come in.
"He is not ready to take on the responsibilities of a shinigami"
"Yes I am, in the short time I've bin with squad 11 my powers have tripled maybe more, all we do at the academy is read if can take on being a shinigami easily" shouted Antono
"How foolish to think that it is easy, a life of a shining is rife with danger, all the hollows you've fought have been small fry there are far worse hollows that you cant even begin to comprehend" Yamamoto replied
"Well we wont know until I try send to where these horrible hollows are ill bring back they're heads" Antono shouted
Yamamoto looked at him intently.
"Kuchiki was is your view on this matter?" he asked
"It is against the law for a student shinigami to go to the real world alone and unsupervised, only the extremely skilled have been aloud in the past" he said without even opening his eyes
Yamamoto looked at Unohana who just smiled and nodded to show she was in favour, he knew Kempachi wouldn't have any objections.
"If you think you can handle what the hollows have to offer, then I will send you to a town that at the moment is over run with hollow most being high level hollow if you can survive one week there I will deem you a graduate, but if you return at any moment other then after seven days you will be executed for stealing a shinigami powers"
"Commander isn't that a litt-" Unohana began
"Your on, but when I come back" he turned to Kempachi "I want the 4th seat in squad 11"
"You have to fight me to see if your worthy of that" replied Kempachi, Antono grinned with excitement at the prospect he knew that Kempachi could beat the crap out of him at the moment but if he can get stronger in this week to come he hoped he could give him a good fight.
"Then tomorrow-" started the commander
"Sod that I want to go today, right now"
Unohana looked a little concerned, Kuchiki looked at Antono, by rights he should have cut him in two for having interrupting the commander.
"So egger to die then go to your death"
Antono turned to leave.
"But before you do, there are rules, you cannot interact with the humans, you can only protect them from hollows and nothing else and no matter who the human is you cannot reveal you presence to them, think you can do that going back to your home town"
Antono froze, 'my home town ill see everyone there, Hideki, Yuna and Mother'
"Fine" Antono left
When Antono had gone Unohana spoke to the commander.
"There's another reason your sending him to that town isn't"
Yamamoto just looked at her
"What do you mean" asked Soi Fong who was standing by the wall
"The hollows in that town have been heard shouting out Antono's name and they at such a high level that 5 shinigami have already died there fighting them"
He arrived at the gate that lead to the real world, nobody had come to see him off, he didn't expect anyone anyway so it didn't bother him.
"So your really going"
Antono turned it was Soi Fong
"What do you want"
"I heard from Unohana what was going on I had to come and see this for myself"
"I was weak when you fought me, now I'm stronger now" Antono said clenching his fist
"Lets hope strong enough" she walked off
Antono ran through the gate, it was like a long tunnel that seemed to run on for ever but he kept going until finally he arrived at the end.
The second he arrived in the real world there a hollow right in front of him like it had been waiting for him he sliced it in two just before it struck him, he looked around when he was told that it was over run by hollows they weren't kidding he saw them everywhere he looked some were in groups of up to 10.
"This is going to be fun"
He charged right into the centre of them all slashing like mad, the hollows couldn't keep up with him when he used shunpo he then released his Zampakto.
"Roar Lucrecia" he skills then increased speed, strength. Suddenly a huge hollow the size of a house jumped at him. "Cero" he quickly finished him off "Great I can do it powerful enough with only one hand" he said to himself
The hollows started to scatter in every direction, Antono hunted after them cutting them down easily enough but then three high level hollows attacked him all of them coming for him at once.
"Finally some strong ones" suddenly they all screamed in monster voices
"Antono where is he" they all screamed, he then heard others screaming as well
"What the hell"
He took the opportunity to cut of the head of one of the hollows but it then grew an new body and the body grew a new head.
"Shit, here take this, Cero" he shot such a powerful blast that there was nothing left of it
"Now grow back"
He turned to face the others who were looking at him but weren't moving to attack him.
"Your looking for Antono, well here I am, I am Antono Rosamaro"
They let out a great roar greater than anything he had heard before, they then started to merge together like one was absorbing the other then other hollows appeared all being absorbed by this one hollow that wasn't getting bigger he was getting smaller it was holding its size at about ten feet tall till it eventually started to take shape. A hollow mask appeared but it was different to the other he could see its yellow eyes. It had a kind of human shaped body but its arms were out of proportion it had eagle like feet and claws that could rip through metal with ease and a tail like a lizard with a spiked end.
"What are you" Antono asked
"I'm not surprised you don't recognise me Antono" it said in a growling like voice
"Then who are you"
"Its me Hideki"
"What?"
"When you died I was so sad, one day when it was raining I was walking along the river bank I fell into the river and drowned, next thing I knew I was a spirit I thought I could find you but you were nowhere to be found I wandered for weeks then a hunger built in my body"
"You became a hollow" said Antono in disbelieve
"That's what they called me when they came to kill me, but I couldn't leave not till I found you so I devoured any in my path even the other hollows"
"So your no ordinary hollow"
"No I went beyond the grunts beyond Gillian, I'm an Adjuchas"
"My friend you've suffered for to long let me put you at peace" said Antono raising his Zampakto
"Peace? But I've found you so I am at peace"
"No your not, you haven't realised have you, look at what I'm wearing"
Hideki looked at his hakama
"Your one of those who hunted me down"
"I am a soul reaper I became one shortly before I died, but that's not why I have to slay you"
Hideki looked shocked by that comment.
"I need to protect the humans in this town, you say you only eat the hollows but you will eventually eat the humans but most of all I need to put you at peace this is no way for you to be" Antono pointed his Zampakto at him
"You think ill just let you slay me, did our friendship mean so little"
"This is out of friendship"
"Well I wasn't going to tell you this but I have eaten humans, many of them the hollows I devoured were not enough to satisfy my hunger and I've become strong because of it, I've already eaten 5 of your kind before so if you think you can beat me come and try"
Hedeki charged him.
"Roar Lucrecia"
Hedeki grew a blade out of his fore arm and clashed with Antono's blade, Hedeki was surprised that Antono was able to hold his ground the other shinigami he'd fought all stumbled after his charge.
Antono jumped away and countered, the two started exchanging blows, Antono was surprised how well Hedeki wielded his blade, suddenly Hedeki tail came round to stab him in the back, Antono swung around to slice it Hedeki tried to move it out the way Antono only just struck it but thanks to his blade ability it was cut right off.
"How the hell" said Hedeki stumbling back
"My blade cuts deeper the more times its blocked" said Antono "so block it enough times and I can finish you off in one swing even if it's a glancing blow"
"Ah so when a shinigami releases its sword it gains special abilities"
"You didn't know"
"The others I fought didn't release there's, Ill have to play this a different way, see if you can hunt me down" Hedeki then disappeared in a hole that opened up and swallowed him.
"Wait" Antono shouted but he was gone
Antono wandered the town trying to find him thinking he could arrive at any moment the mobile he had, showed all hollow activity had vanished "It seemed the hollows were being controlled by Hedeki" he said to himself
The next day Antono went by the school he stood on the top to get a view of the town he then heard a scream, he looked to where it was coming from. It was coming from out side the school along one of roads nearby, he arrived there to see a lost soul running in his direction, it was a little girl spirit being chased by a normal hollow.
Antono finished it off quickly enough, but then the girl screamed again, he turned around to see Hedeki eating her.
"Tasty, you should always be careful of what's behind you" he said
"Bastard" Antono charged him and Hedeki pulled out his blade and blocked it they started exchanging blows again but this time Hedeki was faster and stronger he hit Antono 20 feet away.
"Since we last met I've learned a new attack, its called Cero"
Hedeki raised his hand towards Antono and built up the Cero, Antono did the same but put his hand behind his back so Hedeki couldn't see it. They both fired at the same time.
"Cero" they both shouted.
The Ceros cancelled each other out, Hedeki stood confused
"What did you do" he asked
Antono started building up another one. "I can use Cero too"
"How?"
"I don't need to know all I know is I can" he fired it, Hedeki jumped to avoid it.
"That's not going to be enough to defeat me, but I haven't had this much fun in ages so I'm gonna keep this going" he said as he disappeared once more
This act carried on for 6 days neither was able to best the other Antono seemed to get better the more he fought Hedeki and Hedeki got stronger the more he devoured other hollows or souls and when the 7th day came since came into the real world, Antono felt obsessed with hunting Hedeki down he had also been slaying dozens maybe more of normal hollows that were probably sent by Hedeki. The sun was setting and he hadn't run into Hedeki yet.
"Come on what are you waiting for" said Antono as he waited on top of a phone poll
"Antono Rosamaro" someone called up to him
He looked down to see it was Soi Fong.
"What are you doing here" he asked
"With all the hollow activity they thought they should send a captain to see if you were still alive"
Antono jumped down in front of her.
"Ive had a member of the detection squad follow you, this is without Commander Yamamoto's knowledge, so I know what has happened this week and what happened to your friend"
"I still haven't finished him off, so I would like to stay until I do" Antono asked
"No, I have orders to bring you back if you want to come back here you'll have to take it up with the commander now lets go" Soi Fong turned and opened a door to the soul society Antono reluctantly followed.
When they arrived back at the soul society there was a lot of people there waiting for them, a lot of them academy students, they let out a cheer when he arrived.
"News spread fast about you going to the real world" said Soi Fong
Yammamoto was there as well waiting.
"I am true to my word, I name a graduate of the academy and a member of the 13 squads" he said
"Now you have to fight me to see if your worthy of that 4th seat position" said Kempachi
"Commander I have a request I would like to go back to real world" shouted Antono
"For what reason"
"I have unfinished business"
"We shall discuss this another time, in the mean time, go to the squad 4 barracks" said the commander
At the squad 4 barracks Antono was tendered to for his injuries after fighting Hedeki for so long there were quite a few, he was resting when a Kotaro came to see him.
"So what are you doing here?" Antono asked
"I'm here by orders from the captain of squad 2 Soi Fong" he replied
"Why"
"To tell you that she has informed the commander of what has happened in the real world and that he has refused to send you there to find him"
"What! Your kidding" Antono screamed
"Shh, be quiet" said a shinigami nurse
"What happened in the real world" asked Kotaro
Antono went silent and looked at the floor.
"My best friend has become a hollow" he muttered "He's the one responsible for the hollow activity in that town he's an Adjuchas a very high level hollow"
"That's why you want to go back to finish him"
"Of course the longer I wait the stronger he'll become"
"Its not like he'll become a Vastro Lorde only one in a million at least become one of them"
"That's probably his goal to become Vastro Lorde"
"Well to give you message wasn't the only reason I came here" said Kotaro "The head of research and development wants to analyse you, he thinks he's figured out of reason why you can use Cero, but he wants to do some tests"
"Who's the head of research and development" Antono asked
"The Captain of squad 12"
"Sod that! I've heard about him he kills nearly all his test subjects" Antono yelled
"No need to worry about that, I'll be there if anything goes wrong" said Unohana walking in.
Her smile seemed to calm Antono so he agreed under the condition that Unohana would be there, Unohana didn't tell him but she'd rather be there to keep an eye on what Kurotsuchi Mayuri did.