Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is the property of TV Tokoyo, Dentsu, and Studio Peirrot

A/N: Second chapter is up! I hope I did better on this chapter than on the first. Sorry if the combat scene isn't to good, I'm still learning how to write them.

Unedited Version

Chapter 2: Substitute Soul Reaper vs. Dragon Channeler

"What the hell just happened?"

The three mysterious teenagers had just left, leaving a wordless Ichigo. Blake Ryan? Who the hell was that. Dragon Channelers? What the hell was that? The orange-haired substitute scratched his head in frustration. 'I came all the way out here to kill a Hollow, meet a guy that insults, then challenges me to a fight tomorrow!' Ichigo rewrapped Zangestu in cloth before strapping him to his back.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned around and saw Uryu and Chad running towards him. "Hey guys this weird guy killed my Hollow before I got here. Then he took off with two other people." Ichigo said when they reached him.

"Yeah, that happened to me." Uryu said.

"Me too." Chad added.

"You serious?" Ichigo looked at them surprised. "Did either of you find out anything about them?"

Uryu shook his head. "The guy I met said his name was Ringo Fernandez and he said he was human. But I've never seen a regular human move like him. He used something like Flash Step when he left."

"I wasn't about to talk to the one I saw. He did have something that looked like a reaping blade that he used to kill the Hollow. He left before I caught up to him. Sorry." Chad apologized.

"Don't worry about it, I'll find out who they are tomorrow." Ichigo replied.

"What do mean?" Uryu asked.

"I crossed blades with the one that was here earlier. When his buddies showed up, he left but not before challenging me to a fight tomorrow afternoon." Ichigo tightened his fists. There was no way he was going to miss that fight. He wouldn't be called coward by that guy. "Right before he left, he said his name was Blake Ryan, and he was a Dragon Channeler. You guys know what the heck a Dragon Channeler is?"

"No, I've never heard of one?" Uryu said. Chad shook his head.

"Dammit." Ichigo kicked the ground. Not knowing who those people were was really ticking him off. Then something popped into his head. "Oh crap guys, lunch is almost over. We better get back." Ichigo used Flash Step, Uryu used Hirenkyaku, and Chad used his advance speed as they hurried back towards the school.

The last three periods were agonizing for Ichigo. Uryu, Chad, and him had barely made it back to class before the bell rang. After three frustrating hours the last bell rang and Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, and Orihime left. They headed towards the one guy that could probably tell them what going on. Kisuke Urahara.

On their way there, the guys brought Orihime up to speed with the latest events. They told her about their encounter with the three teenagers.

"All he said before he left was his name was Blake Ryan and that he was a Dragon Channeler." Ichigo finished.

"What's a Dragon Channeler?" Orihime asked.

"That's what I want to know. I hope Urahara knows who those people were."

"That name, Blake Ryan, sounds American."

"Yeah," Chad said. "The one Uryu met, said his name was Ringo Fernandez. The last name is Spanish, I remember it from when I lived in Mexico. Who ever they were, they aren't from around here"

"You also said they had weapons." Orihime said. "What kind of weapons?"

"Let me think," Ichigo scratched his head. "The blonde haired one Chad saw had a small reaping blade, I think they call them sickles. The Mexican Uryu met had a Chinese weapon called a guan dao. And the guy I crossed blades with had a katana."

"Was it a Zanpakuto?" Orihime asked curiously.

"I don't think so. The blade was completely silver-colored and the guy's spiritual pressure wasn't like that of a Soul Reaper or Arrancar."

"The sooner we get to Urahara's Shop, the sooner we'll get answers." Uryu said.

'Yeah,' Ichigo thought. 'And answers are what I want.'

"Well this is an expected surprise." Kisuke Urahara smiled at the group of four as he waved his fan. "How can I help you today?" The former captain of Squad 12 always seemed happy when the gang dropped by. With his striped hat, walking cane, and candy shop, you'd never know he was a powerful Soul Reaper.

"We have a couple of questions to as you Kisuke." Ichigo replied. "Something...happened today."

Urahara nodded as if he understood how important it was. "Come inside and have a seat then. We'll have some tea and you can ask your questions." The four humans followed the Soul Reaper inside and took a seat at the dinner table.

"Where's Tessai and those two kids at?" Uryu asked looking around.

"Their out getting supplies." Kisuke said as he poured each one of them a cup of hot tea. "It's just me holding down this busy fort."

"Yeah, busy." Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"You say something Ichigo?" the hat wearing store owner asked.

Ichigo's sweatdropped as he quickly replied. "No, I didn't say anything." He would never say it out loud around Kisuke or Tessai, but Urahara's Shop got little to no customers.

"Now what questions do have for me?" Urahara took a sip of his tea.

"O.K, this afternoon me, Chad, and Uryu met three new people. I got a call about three Hollows appearing, but when we went to fight them, these three guys had already killed them."

"And?" Urahara asked. "Who were they?"

"That's why we came to you." Ichigo explained. "The guy I met said he was a Dragon Channeler."

Kisuke's cup broke. Hot tea dripped down his fingers, but he didn't seem to notice. "Repeat that again. He said he was a what?"

The four humans looked at the shattered cup and spilled tea. Did he do that by accident? Ichigo cleared his throat. "He said he was a Dragon Channeler. Do you know what that is?"

Urahara pulled his hat over his eyes further. "Those people couldn't have been Dragon Channelers."

"Mr. Urahara, what's a Dragon Channeler?" Orihime asked softly.

Kisuke Urahara picked up another cup and poured himself another cup of tea. He took a sip and then took a deep breath. "I guess I should start at the beginning." He took another sip. "Couple thousand years ago, the human race was slaves to a race of ancient creatures, Dragons."

"What!" Everyone shouted. Ichigo shouted so loud that he spilled his tea on his leg. The orange-haired substitute Soul Reaper yelped in pain as he frantically wiped it off. He then looked at Kisuke. "Did you say that the human race use to be slaves to Dragons? As in dragons dragons?"

The former captain nodded. "A lot of things happened over the years that left the Dragons as nothing more than a myth. Even I'm a little hazy on the details. I'll tell you what little I know."

The four human teens slouched over to listen closely. Urahara cleared his throat before beginning. "Between eight and seven thousand years ago, Dragons ruled the World of the Living. Since they ruled Earth, they ruled every living thing in it, including humans. According to legend, the humans were a slave race. Many of the ancient monuments you see today were actually temples built for the Dragons. All that changed during the First Human-Dragon War. The humans rebelled against their Dragon overlords, but were defeated and reenslaved. For the next two hundred years the humans were slaves, until the Second Human-Dragon War. This time the humans were aided by several rebel Dragons. After many bloody battles, the humans became the dominant species on Earth and the Dragons were driven to extinction. Legend says that as the last Dragon died, he gave a gift to humanity called the Channeler ability. It gave several special humans the ability to merge with a Dragon's spirit. Humans able to this were known as Dragon Channelers. I don't know what a Dragon Channeler's powers were, but I heard that they rival that of a Soul Reapers.

"Wait a minute." Uryu interrupted. "If Dragons were real, how come scientists haven't found any evidence of them?"

"Dragon remains are very fragile. When I left the Department of Research and Development, the only Dragon remains we had were a tooth and a box of scales."

"So what happened to the Dragon Channelers?" Ichigo asked.

"Well," Kisuke continued. "They're call Dragon Channelers because they have the ability to channel a Dragon spirit's energy. I don't know what kind of powers they got by doing this, but even without a Dragon soul, Channelers were stronger, faster, and more durable than regular humans." Urahara finished his cup of tea and poured himself another. "It wasn't long after the Second Human-Dragon War, then things got real ugly. Soul Reapers continued regulating the souls of the dead between the Soul Society and the World of the Living. The Channelers however, didn't like the presence of the Soul Reapers in the World of the Living. They thought that Soul Reapers brought only death and destruction. A war broke out between the two races and the Soul Reapers were severely defeated and forbidden from coming to the Human World."

"The Channelers beat the Soul Reapers?" Orihime asked, her eyes wide with shock.

Urahara nodded. "This period of time was known as the Dark Age and not records of it survived. We don't know how the Channelers beat us, or how many casualties there were."

"What happened next?" Ichigo asked.

"Well a unknown amount of time later, there was rumors that the Dragon Channelers had erupted into a civil war will each other. When the Soul Reapers reentered into the Human World, they found no trace of the Channelers. They had just vanished. Now a days, if you went to the Soul Society and asked them what a Dragon Channeler is, they either wouldn't know or say they were a myth." The former captain finished his second cup of tea. "Well that's about it. How about you tell me about these three people you met today."

Ichigo and his friends began explaining what had happened. They told Kisuke about how the three teens had killed the Hollows, how old they looked, and how the one named Blake Ryan had challenged Ichigo to a fight.

"Whoa, that's something." Kisuke said. "He wants you to meet him on the outskirts of town tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "I don't like leaving things unfinished like that. If he's really who he says he is, I'd like to see a Dragon Channelers power first hand." Ichigo didn't like this guy and he sure didn't want him to think he was a coward.

Kisuke nodded. "Earlier you said that they didn't know what a Hollow or a Soul Reaper was?"

"Blake Ryan said he didn't know what a Soul Reaper was and he called the Hollow a Bone Head. I don't know if he was lying or not though."

Urahara stood up. "If you want my opinion, I'd say you all should go home. Especially you Ichigo, no point in worrying about them any more today. Just go home and get some rest, all of you. I'll dig around for some more information on Dragon Channelers."

"Alright Mr. Hat ad Clogs, thanks for the help." Ichigo and his friends stood up and left Urahara's Shop.

'How am I suppose to sleep with all this swimming around in my head?' Ichigo layed on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had given Kon to Yuzu so that he could get some peace and quite, but now he wished the annoying Mod Soul was around. At least he could help Ichigo get out of his thoughts.

Ichigo thought back about his last encounter with Ryan.

"Hey wait!" Ichigo yelled. "What's your name and what are you?"

The boy didn't even turn around. "Blake Ryan, Dragon Channeler." Then he was gone.

When Zangestu and Blake's katana had clashed, Ichigo had felt the power the boy was putting behind it.

Ichigo let out a heavy sigh and rolled over. Kisuke was right, no point in worrying about them now. He closed his eyes and finally fell to sleep.

School went by quickly the next day. Ichigo beat Kiego down during his morning charge. He went through the first half of school and ate lunch. Then after the last three periods of school, Ichigo left with Uryu and Chad. Orihime and Tatsuki went off their own way and Mizuiro went with Keigo to the game arcade. Ichigo and his group were half way to his house before they stopped.

"You going to meet him aren't you?" Chad asked.

Ichigo had stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk. His back was turned to them. "Yeah."

"We'll go with you." Uryu said. "There is three of them and three of us. It'll be an even fight."

"No, the way he talked, he wants to take me on one on one. I doubt those two will even show up. Much less fight." Ichigo pulled his substitute Soul Reaper badge from his pocket and looked at his friends. "Do me a favor and watch my body." He pressed the badge against his chest and went into Soul Reaper form. He looked at his body one more time before Flash Stepping away.

"Alright I'm here, where are you?"

Ichigo had arrived at the forest on the outskirts of Karakura Town. There were no people around for two miles. Ichigo had followed the same spiritual pressure he had felt the day before to this place.

Several tick marks formed on Ichigo's head as he got impatient. "Come on! Don't tell me you chickened out! You're the one that challenged me, Blake Ryan! Show yourself!"

"Would you quiet down. Geez, you trying to wake the dead?"

Ichigo looked behind him and out of the shadows of the trees, appeared Blake Ryan. He had the same scowl he had the day before on his face. "At least you showed up. I have expected you to walk out. At least you proved you have some guts."

The tick marks on Ichigo's head got bigger. "Oh yeah well, I expected the same thing from you." He grabbed Zangestu and pulled him off his back. "So what are the rules?"

"Rules? Hhm...let me think a moment." Ryan placed his hand on his chin thought fully before snapping is fingers. "How about this? I did a little research on Soul Reapers today and the day before. Soul Reapers, Shinigami whatever. We fight until one of us isn't able to continue. Sound good?"

Ichigo gripped his Zanpakuto and pointed it at Blake. "Yeah."

"Alright then." He drew his silver bladed katana. "But I'm not going to lose." He disappeared in a bur.

Ichigo had only second before he turned and Blake appeared. The black-haired teen raised his weapon and struck, which Ichigo blocked with Zangestu. He attacked half a dozen more times with amazing speed, but the substitute was able to deflected them all. Blake disappeared again and reappeared behind Ichigo. He barely had enough time to stop the silver blade from slashing his chest. 'Dammit, I can't stay on the defensive. I have to attack. He's attacks to fast.'

The two swords collide and the swordsman gritted their teeth. "How are you Flash Stepping like that?" Ichigo asked.

"You must be talking about my Mossa Veloce. I use my Dragon spirit energy to enhance my speed."

'Dragon Spirit energy. Then he must really be a Dragon Channeler.'

Ichigo deflected one more blow before slashing. Ryan jumped back, missing the blade my inches. "Good, about time you started fighting back."

"Oh I have a lot more than that." Ichigo raised Zangestu over his head. "Getsuga Tensho!" He swung is blade, sending a powerful blue spirit energy attack towards Ryan.

Blake gripped his katana with both hands as he intercepted the attack. The power of the attack threw him back several feet, but he managed to keep his balance. "Dammit." He breathed heavily as he raised his sword. "What kind of attack was that?"

"That's my Getsuga Tensho. It's basically a powerful blast of spirit energy."

'Yeah, but mines more powerful.'

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. Not him. 'What do you want?'

'That's how you greet me? Ha ha ha!' Hollow Ichigo laughed. 'I was just interested in your new friend. He looks like someone worth killing. Maybe you should let me handle him.'

'No.' Hollow Ichigo always had to appear at the worst times. 'I can handle him without you.'

'Fine then king. But remember whose power your using when you put that mask on.' The inner Hollow went silent.

"Why are you standing around like that. You daydreaming or something?"

Ichigo looked at the Dragon Channeler. "Sorry, I'll pay more attention to you." He gripped his Zanpakuto.

Blake nodded. "Good. That Getsuga Tensho of yours is real interesting. I have something that looks like it myself." He Channeler raised his sword over his head. "Charging Strike!" He swung his sword, sending a yellow lighting strike hurling towards Ichigo.

"Getsuha Tensho!" The two attacks collided, causing an explosion that filled the air with smoke.

"What the hell was that?" Ichigo asked when the smoke cleared.

"That my friend was my Charging Strike attack. Every Dragon Channeler has an element they can control and produce. My element is lightning." As if to prove his point, large amounts of static sparked off his body. Blake looked at the shocked expression on Ichigo's face for a moment. "I think it's time to take it to the next level." The young Channeler slid his fingers down the blade of his katana. "Engage, Lynsverd!" White light illiminated from the sword and engulfed Blake.

Ichigo shield his eyes as the light got brighter and brighter. Then suddenly it died. Ichigo lowered his hands and his eyes widened in shock. The katana that was once in Blake's hand was completely changed. Replaced in his hand was a longer and sharper looking weapon. It had a two foot long hilt with not guard and the silver blade was now four feet long.

Blake smiled as he gripped the hilt with both hands. "See my weapons true form." He spun the blade around easily before pointing it at Ichigo.

"You have a Zanpakuto?" Ichigo asked as he quickly got over his shock.

"Zanpakuto? It that what you Soul Reapers call your weapons? Dragon Channelers' weapons are called Santrama. We're given one at a young age and we fight with the same one, for the rest of our lives. Each Santrama has its own name and by saying its name, I unlock its true form." He spun the new sword in his hand. "Now I assume you have another level of power. Show me it."

Ichigo looked down at Zangestu. 'I can feel his spiritual pressure growing. I need your help again.' Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto up with both hands on the hilt and pointed it at Blake. "Bankai!"

A/N: Cliffhanger. Well guys, how was it. I hope to fight so far was at least halfway decent.

Thanks for the reviews so far, the more I get, the quicker I work. I'd probably have chapter 3 out Saturday.

Please leave a review and if you like the story, follow/favorite it. Later.