Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Bleach or anything affiliated with it. Anything not from Bleach, rights go to the designated owners. I only own the Black Hollow, it's 'abilities' and the OC (you'll see what I mean). Basically anything new is mine, feel free to use it but be sure to give me some credit!
I got the idea when I was walking to school a while back, but I've finally formed a story about it. Hope you enjoy!
Brief: Karakura's had some strange things happen to it before now, but nothing on this scale. How will Ichigo and Rukia defeat the menace when their very allies could be against them?
Warning(s): Swearing and cursing throughout, unsure how frequently.
2: The Aftershock
Ichigo winced as Orihime carefully unwrapped his wounded shoulder.
"Sorry," the girl apologised for the third time in five minutes. "Try to keep still."
The red soaked bandage came away, revealing a cut running from the top of his shoulder down to his chest, just slightly right of his armpit. The wound wasn't too bad, but it would be painful to live with. Orihime concentrated her powers on the cut, fixing it as if it were new again.
"Take it easy on that arm for a while and it should be fine." she said.
"You're lucky, Strawberry." Rukia said solemnly. Ichigo looked at her.
"I know that, Midget." he replied. "If it wasn't for Orihime, I could have died for blood loss."
Rukia brought her fist smashing down onto Ichigo's head.
"I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me that!" she said.
"I'll stop when you do."
The two glared for a while in silence before Rukia spoke again.
"Anyway, if it wasn't for that mask of yours, there would be nothing left for Orihime to heal in the first place. That attack had power that rivalled your own and you know it."
"What's your point?"
"Just be careful next time. I don't want to tell your family that your dead 'cause you were being an idiot as usual."
Ichigo didn't believe that fully but he didn't argue either, he was too drained, both physically and emotionally.
At that moment, Urahara walked in, his hat covering his shadowy eyes and his cane in hand.
"The Soul Society knows about the situation at hand and Captain Kurotsuchi is leading an investigation into the Hollows abilities." he said. "Also, Captain Hitsugaya is leading a team to the World or the Living to help with the fight against it next time it appears."
"Right," Ichigo replied, standing. "In that case, we should return home. It's getting late."
Everyone nodded and said their fair wells. Ichigo and Rukia walked back in silence. The raven-haired girl could tell there was something troubling her carrot-topped friend. He sighed.
"What is it?" Rukia asked softly.
"Huh?" Ichigo looked over. "Nothing. This thing's just a bit..."
"Strange?" Ichigo nodded. "Karakura always was a strange place."
"Yeah, but this is beyond strange like that."
Rukia nodded in agreement and the two continued to walk in silence, Rukia still uneasy about Ichigo's mood.
Unknown area, Unknown dimension
"Hollow 666, report to the master's quarters immediately." yelled the intercom.
The Black Hollow rose from the floor and cracked its neck in anticipation before leaving for the 'master's quarters'. The master was the shadowy leader of the experiments that created the hollow and ran the operations.
"Enter." the voice inside growled as the hollow neared.
"Master, to what do I owe this summoning?" 666 asked, eyes suspicious.
"666, you have violated one of my key rules." the man said, shrouded in the darkness. "I gave you explicit orders not to go to the World of the Living, but you disobeyed as usual."
"With all due respect, just who do you think I am?" the hollow growled. "I had to see what I was facing before the battle."
"That is why we have the simulators, to help you with learning."
"Simulators are inaccurate at any rate, and you know that. I had to witness the boy's power first hand."
There was a brief silence before the master spoke again.
"Have you unlocked your DNA fully?"
"No, because someone pulled me out of battle too early to."
"Very well. Go. You shall return there tomorrow."
666 growled and left. The master was always like this so he took no notice of the disappointed attitude the man had.
Ichigo's Room, Kurosaki house, Next morning
Ichigo awoke as Rukia, wearing a blue Chappy shirt and light brown ¾ lengths, was getting her shoes on.
"It's about time you're up." she said as he sat up. "Get dressed, we have to get to Kisuke's soon, Captain Hitsugaya's team are almost here."
Ichigo nodded and quickly began to dress in some casual attire (jeans and a black t-shirt) and the two hurried off before the other Kurosakis could intervene, for better or worse (depending on if it was the twins or Isshin).
"Ah, there you are." Urahara said in his usual laid back tone as the pair arrived. "You're just in time."
Sure enough, the portal into the Soul Society came into sight, the screen doors appearing from nowhere. Through it stepped Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku and Ikkaku in their gigais. Renji stepped out of the shop, completing the Soul Reaper group.
"Hey, Toshiro," Ichigo greeted. "Good to see you guys back here."
"How many times, Kurosaki," the squad 10 captain growled. "It's Captain Hitsugaya, not Toshiro!
"Yeah, yeah... Hey, wait, shouldn't their be four of you?"
"Well, yes, but we're getting the fourth here."
Ichigo frowned, giving everyone a confused look. Ikkaku sighed.
"You didn't know?" he asked. The teenager shook his head. "There's some 'Neo-Vizard' we're supposed to get as a secret weapon. Are you with me?"
"Well, no not really."
Urahara and Rukia disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a load of drawings and diagrams, obviously Rukia's.
"Right, so the average Vizard has a zanpakuto and a Hollow mask. The zanpakuto has three forms; unreleased, Shikai and Bankai, get it?" Urahara explained whilst pointing to the pictures of rabbits with swords and a mask while Rukia flipped between them.
"I knew that already, Mr. Hat-'n'-Clogs." Ichigo replied, staring blankly at the drawings.
"Well, this 'Neo-Vizard' works similarly but with some tweaks. In the process of becoming hollowfied, the Soul Reaper became stronger than before. Much like you, his weapon has no unreleased form, only a Shikai and a Bankai with his mask. Still with us?"
"I guess. It'd be better without the crappy drawings though."
Rukia took this opportunity to kick the orange-haired teen in the face for the insult before continuing.
"A new set of powers were unlocked when the Hollow inside was tamed. The Vizard was formed but he had two Shikai forms, a Bankai, a new ability called 'overdrive' and a final power called 'max. overdrive' along with the mask." More pictures appeared but Ichigo didn't look at them. "That's the Neo-Vizard."
"So, why do we need him?" Ichigo asked.
"Because you obviously can't do this alone, idiot." said a voice from behind him.
Ichigo turned to see a boy about 15 years old standing on the roof behind him. The boy had jet-black hair with a single white patch, too natural to be dyed in, and dark brown, hard eyes. On his back was a large zanpakuto, the blade a similar size to Zangetsu (but without the bend) with a grey dragons head at the hilt and a long black chain that wrapped around the blade like a sheath, ending with a gold pendant with a flame inside it. The boy himself was relatively tall and had a good physique, muscles showing through his Shinigami robes. He jumped down, performing three flips before landing perfectly, right knee, left foot and right hand on the ground, back arched over, head bowed.
"The name's Kai," he said, straightening up. "Kai Friel. Neo-Vizard."
"You're not from here, are you." Ichigo pointed out bluntly.
"Nope, pure English, not Japanese."
"We should discuss things inside the shop." Urahara said, breaking up the fight tension between Kai and Ichigo. "Tessai, prepare the back room, please."
"Right away." the shop assistant replied from within.
"Come, we have much to discuss."
The group nodded and walked inside.
Hope you liked this chapter. I know it's taking a while for this fanfic to expand, but I was away for a week and school is slowing me down big time.
Anyway, read and review please.
Let me know how you think it should progress (pairings (not including Ichigo or Rukia, they're set), fights etc.)
Constructive criticism is fine but don't go mad on the bad points please.
Enjoy!