Echoes of the Soul
By Lysander45
A Ranma ½ Bleach Crossover with possible crossovers into other manga as the story unfolds.
Please note, knowledge of both manga/anime is compulsory. I don't intend to spend half of my time explaining rivalries and so on, it would just take ages. For timelines sake, the story begins one month before the Bleach manga begins, and one year after the Ranma ½ manga ends. Enjoy…oh yeah, I don't own either manga but I can write about it so whatever. Disclaimer over.
Chapter 3 – Hunters
Moving through a kata, the silent warrior prepared herself for the battle to come. The group had received Cologne's warning and had decided immediately their course of action. They had trained relentlessly since that event four months ago, and now was the time to put that training to the test. Finishing the kata, the warrior calmed her breathing and felt her body hum with energy. She slid the door open to reveal a waiting cluster of individuals, heads turning to hear her signal.
"We move for Karakura town" said Akane with grim determination.
Later, Elsewhere
"We have a group of sixteen hollows clustered northwest Ranma, not far…" the inner hollow exclaimed, having opened its spiritual radar to scan for nearby prey "…also smaller groups west, south and southeast. Their appearing everywhere Ranma, where to first?"
Ranma did not answer, he merely opened his wings to with three mighty beats was in the air, flying in a north westerly direction. Ranma may no longer be a martial artist, but he still had the pride to seek out the greatest challenges. He would go where there were the most hollows.
Meanwhile
Ichigo's zanpakuto carved through the nearest hollow, a strange genie-like creature, which dissipated into nothingness. 'Damn it, that makes three. I need to think, Yuzu is at home with Pap, but where would Karin be? She's probably playing somewhere, but where? I have to protect her!' he thought, looking right and left for any other dangers. He continued along the street before the thought struck him, how could he find hollows in such a wide area?
"Kon..." Ichigo yelled at the doppelganger running behind him in his physical body "…I need you to find Rukia and get that phone thing from her!"
The modified soul argued a little, but after a stern scream to 'get a move on' from the irate shinigami he consented and sped off in the opposing direction. Ichigo meanwhile continued to hunt for his sister, not knowing that there were others that he knew that might be targets for hollows.
Ranma
Ranma roared like a lion as he tore through hollow after hollow, tearing chunks from their bodies with his teeth, rending limbs with his claws and otherwise causing carnage. The weaker predators stood no chance against the onslaught of righteous fury they seemed to be taking from one of their own, and within minutes of arriving from the skies above the flocking group of hungry spirits all of the hollows were gone. As their bodies began to melt away into the air, Ranma swallowed the flesh he had been chewing and took a massive inhale. The melting hollows suddenly became a mass of bright energy, which was sucked within the mouth of the cat-like creature standing alone in the empty field of grass.
Feeling the nagging hunger at the back of his mind dissipate, Ranma breathed a small bead of smoke from his mouth as he released his breath. "Feeling better Ranma?" came a slightly sarcastic barb from his inner hollow. It knew just how much Ranma hated sating his hunger for reishi, how it reminded him of just how far he had fallen. It also knew that, deep down, Ranma was also beginning to enjoy the rush he got whenever he sated the hunger, how it made him that little bit stronger than before.
"Shut up and find me another target" Ranma growled, kneading the concrete road surface beneath his feet with his claws. It did little to cool the adrenaline flowing through his form, but it was something to do.
"Oooh, touchy. Fine have it your way…but you know I'm right…" the hollow jeered. A moment later, faster than Ranma had expected, the hollow replied to his order "…Ranma, something's up. There's heaviness in the air and the number of hollows in the area is far more than it should be for the bait that was cast. I think it might be a Gillian Ranma, a real mean bastard."
Ranma listened to his partner ramble as he took into the air once more. He remembered the story of the Gillian's, massive hollows the size of tall buildings made up of hundreds of hollows all mashed together into one entity. Most were uniform, with a long nosed mask, but some had unique masks to represent the dominant personality of the beast. If one were here, Ranma prayed that it would be uniform Gillian with basic animal level intelligence. That he could take on, but if the Gillian had some intelligence behind it he would be in deep trouble.
Shaking the thought from his head, Ranma listened to his inner hollow calculate the amount of time they had before the Gillian would break through the sky. They had an hour or so before it arrived, and until then Ranma would track down and kill as many hollows as possible. His hollow self advised heading for the nearest high reiatsu signature, which was just what Ranma did, adding some haste to his flight as he sped through the air.
Elsewhere
Chad was panting; he had been running for a few minutes from…whatever it was that was chasing him and the pace he had to keep up had tired him out faster than he had thought it would. He was hungry after all, and all the evading he had to do to keep away from the invisible attacks aimed at him did not help a bit. He hastily climbed the steps to empty lot he knew was at the top of the hill, there he may have a chance at dodging the attacker better and fighting back.
But when he reached the top, Chad was shocked to see that the lot was not as empty as he had hoped, there was a group of kids playing soccer there. 'Oh no' he thought, recognising one of the kids, it was one of Ichigo's sisters. He heard her ask a question, but he did not here it as he was too busy diving forwards to avoid another attack. He grabbed Ichigo's sister, he couldn't remember her name, and rolled forwards as attack from whatever was following him caused a small explosion of dirt as it slammed into the ground.
"What is that?" came the obvious question from Ichigo's sister. Chad wished he could answer, but before he could speak another thudding attack hit the dirt. He pivoted to shield the small girl from the hail of dirt clods, before turning to look at the thing again.
'I don't see anything moving. Is it waiting for us? Or…shoot…If I could just see it more clearly' Chad thought, scanning the seemingly empty space for the familiar shimmering half-formed shape. Then he found it, and he kept his eyes trained on it warily.
Again he heard Ichigo's sister ask the question of just what was the shimmering cloud, could she see it? She sounded afraid, was this thing that horrifying? "You can see it?" Chad asked, only to get the reply "Are you kidding. Cant you? It's as plain as day."
Chad turned to ask another question, but all he saw was the girls scared eyes widen, and when he heard the cry "Look out behind you!!" he knew he had to move quickly. Grabbing the girl again, he felt her clamber up his back, and after a brief discussion they agreed on a partnership. She could see the monster, so she would be their eyes. He would be the legs, dodging the blows and keeping them alive. This worked for a while, until she asked him how Ichigo was involved in what was happening. That question caused him to pause, why would she ask about Ichigo. Had he been attacked? Was he being attacked?
"Quickly, right! Dodge right!" he heard Ichigo's sister cry out. Side stepping the blow, Chad took this opportunity to slam his own considerable fist onto the offending limb, feeling his fist hit something even if it appeared to hit air. But all this hit did was enrage the thing further, and before he could dodge again Chad felt an almighty thud against his skull. He hit the ground with a crash, rolling along the dusty earth for a couple of yards before coming to a stop. To his credit, he kept Ichigo's sister held tight, hopefully she was alright.
He heard footsteps, and the girl crying for someone to run away. Did she know these people, were they kids like her. Chad's mind was a blur of calm thought, despite the fact that he was bleeding from a head wound. He heard one of the boys call the girl mean, and unable to help himself Chad's mind journeyed back to a particularly strong moment of his own childhood.
'Why are you always so mean? What did it accomplish? You hurt those who hurt you…then what? You're very strong Sado…you're tall…you're handsome…you were born with all the things people wish for. People who are different get picked on. I don't know what it's like in other places, but in this world that's how it is. But Sado…learn to be kind. You've got big strong fists. You need to learn to use them for good.'
The voice of his Abuelo echoed in his head, and Chad knew his words were true. 'I know Abuelo…that my big fists aren't for hurting people. They are for protecting myself. I know that now. So please…give me the power.'
And with those words, an almighty feeling stirred within Chad, as if a sudden wellspring of power had been unearthed. Strength like he had never felt before flowed through his limbs, and on instinct he struck out. A great booming noise erupted across the vacant lot, louder than the beats of the monster, and Chad found himself standing tall and rejuvenated for the first time since this whole chase began.
"Hey mister, what's up with your arm?"
Chad heard Ichigo's sister asking him a question, and in reality he was in a bit of a daze. He was still buzzing with this strange energy, and when he heard mention of his arm he looked down. His right arm was now covered in some kind of armoured sheath, how had this happened. Chad did not have time to ponder as he heard the monster, for some reason he could see it now clearly, it was getting up and it was insanely angry at having lost an arm. It charged at Chad with mad eyes, and he charged it, for he knew with this new strength he could beat this creature. With a cry, he struck out with his armoured right hand, feeling the power flow through his limb.
Ranma
The sudden burst in energy drew Ranma spiralling through the clouds towards the location of a large energy source. It had been noticeable before, but now it had become a beacon of light. He could sense the nearby hollow as well, a growing pin prick as he shot through the air like a hawk. He saw the attack emanate from the big guys fist, it was like a fountain of reishi from a cannon, and it almost made him nostalgic for his own Moko Takabisha. He drew nearer as the hollow fell backwards down the hill, and he knew he had to be quick. The group of kids were preoccupied with the collapse guy with the large reiatsu, so if he was quiet maybe they would not notice him make his move.
With a growl he smashed into the falling body of the dead hollow and carried it into the sky. With a flick of his neck he threw it into the air and caught the body with his jaws. Using his forearms to grip his prey, Ranma felt the hunger rise up from within his gullet again, and with haste he tore into the hollows corpse. Even as it began to disintegrate he gulped down hunks of its body, before eventually inhaling the reishi remains as he did with all kills.
Scanning the horizon, Ranma checked on the progress of the Gillian as it slowly forced its way into the real world. The cracks in the sky were starting to converge; he only had time for one or two more assaults before he had to face the bigger challenge ahead.
Later at Urahara's
Orihime awoke with a start, the strange dream she was having disappearing in an instant. She felt a slight bumping sensation of her head, and with some closer inspection she came to notice Chad sitting not far from her with a bleeding nose. "Oh good morning Chad…" she said sheepishly, before it began to sink in that she was no longer at school "…Where…where are we?"
Chad pinched his nose to stem the blood flow, wondering just how Orihime managed to get such a hard head. "Goob borning Orihime. I heard you moaning and wondered if you were hurt, but it seems you were just dreaming. As for this place, I don't know where we are either. I only woke up myself a while ago. But what do I do about this place…" Chad said, motioning to the opening doorway where a strange man was entering the room "…is that he might have just saved our lives."
Orihime gazed at the man, dressed in simple white robe with a green haori draped over his back. She liked his taste in colours; the hat in particular seemed to suit him. But her attention was raised when she heard Chad question the man, something about new powers and the relation to Ichigo. Then the memories all came flooding back, the attack of that monster, Tatsuki getting hurt, and the appearance of those strange fairies who said they were her power. She remembered using each power in turn and beating the monster, then she could remember anything else. She must have fainted, the thought of which made her sigh inwardly.
With the memories all back and her wounds healed, Orihime listened intently with Chad on what the man had to say. He said his name was Urahara, and that the story he was about to tell was all true. As he spoke, Orihime could barely believe what she was hearing. Shinigami, gods of death who policed the afterlife. Hollows, evil misshapen spirits bound in torment that devoured souls. It all sounded so fantastical, and after it was all finished she found herself agreeing with Chad when he asked how all of it was possible.
"You doubt me? Is the story really that incredible?" Urahara asked. The pair nodded "Yeah, of course it is. Shinigami? Hollows? Do you expect us to believe that stuff without proof?"
Urahara's calm demeanour suddenly turned a little more serious, causing Orihime to gulp involuntarily. "You deny it? But you've seen proof. That monster with the hole in its chest that attacked you was a hollow. Before you reject my story, think of the pain and fear you experienced earlier and deny that first. Kurosaki Ichigo…as a shinigami he possesses an extraordinarily high reiatsu. But his ability to control that energy is very limited, and as a result it flows out of him at will. In fact, that energy is so concentrated that it can affect various other spirits. The same can be said of you two. Think back…on many occasions in the past, you two have come into contact with Kurosaki Ichigo when he was a shinigami. So your sudden supernatural powers that have lain dormant deep within your souls…were activated by coming into contact with Kurosaki Ichigo."
As the words swept over them, Orihime began to gradually piece the whole thing together. Despite what her outward appearance belayed, she was a pretty careful thinker, and she recalled all of the times she remembered seeing Ichigo as what she now knew were a shinigami. When he had saved her from her brother Sora, whenever he was forced to make on of his strange exits from class with Rukia, that time when Don Kanoji was at Karakura hospital. "Our abilities…were awakened through contact with Ichigo?"
"Yes" came the simple reply from Urahara.
"But I don't understand…" Orihime began, before Urahara cut her off in a soothing explanatory manner. "You don't have to understand. Your transformation is not a disease. You were merely given a key to the door before you. There's no need for sorrow or sadness, what comes next s up to you. You can use the keys to open the door or lock it tight, and if you do choose to open it you can still choose not to pass through."
A side door suddenly flew open beside Urahara, and a tall man with braided back hair and glasses knelt in the threshold. "Sir, the kumon, the sky ridges…they have begun to converge."
Urahara looked over at his assistant and long-time friend and merely asked "Okay…is everything ready?" Receiving an affirmative, he turned back to Orihime and Chad. "All right then…let's be going now."
As he turned to exit the room, Orihime chimed up, suddenly alert at the thought of movement. "Wait a second; we still haven't…" she began, only to be cut off once more. "Do you want to come along?" Urahara asked.
Unable to answer, Orihime and Chad gazed at the open door. Urahara continued "You desire proof for my story? Come see for yourself the world you are about to step into…and the enemy you have to fight." And with that they left the room and followed the strange man and his team, to where they were yet to see.
Elsewhere
Ichigo slashed through another hollow and rapidly scanned the surrounding area. 'Good…' he thought '…between the two of us we seem to have beaten most of the hollows. That means Karin and the others must be safe. Now with that dealt with, I can find Uryu…and clean his clock!'
Meanwhile, Uryu was still shooting down hollows wherever he spied them. His most recent target was a mindless hollow that looked like some kind of dinosaur. He fired an arrow at the mask with pin point accuracy and precision, ignoring the pain from his bleeding fingers. The bolt of reishi slammed into the mask, but rather than destroy it as had the previous hollows, the arrow simply stuck in the mask creating a crater-like crack. A second arrow followed, blasting the hollows upper torso into pieces. "I can't kill them with just a single shot anymore" the Quincy muttered.
'Something's wrong. There are too many hollows and my strength is beginning to wane. At this rate…' a painful memory, the reason for his crusade and his hatred of shinigami, forced his resolve to reenergise '…no! Why am I whining! I have to keep going, I can't lose! I'm…not wrong am I…sensei? I will avenge you!'
Meanwhile
As Ichigo and Uryu scoured the town for hollows to take down, a second shinigami (albeit a de-powered one) was fighting her own battle. "Hado N°4! Byakurai!" Rukia cried out, ignoring the incantation in favour of releasing a quick blast of power. She had been trying to find Ichigo when a hollow had attacked her, a great pig-like creature with a segmented body and whip-like limbs. The hollow repelled her shot and knocked her back in a single blow, and Rukia could not help but curse at her situation.
'Why wont my kido work? I cant shoot a strong enough blast, even though I have been in this gigai for two months now my strength is yet to return. This hollow is a pig, a pig that keeps repelling my attacks. Is this really all I have regained after all this time?' she thought, ignoring the wound on her leg.
She did not have much more time to think, as the hollow prepared another attack. Gritting her teeth Rukia prepared to dodge again, but a saving grace appeared in the form of a powerful kick that sent the hollow flying backwards. She looked up to see the body of Ichigo suspended briefly in mid-air, and she found herself whispering the boys name, until he came crashing down n her smothering her like a child desperate for attention.
"Rukia! I've missed you so much!" Ichigo seemed to cry, and the shinigami realised that it was not her Ichigo that inhabited the body. "Kon?! You must be Kon!" she exclaimed, trying desperately to force the enthusiastic modified soul off of her. The pair argued briefly like they usually did, until the sound of footsteps caught their attention.
"It looks like this place is safe as well, that's good…" came a familiar voice. Rukia heard Kon shout at the figure, whom she recognised to be the Quincy Ishida Uryu, that this situation with the mass outbreak of hollows was his fault. Gathering her senses she posed the same accusation to him and he replied back "…I suppose I should say nice to meet you, considering this is the first time we have talked one to one…Kuchiki Rukia…"
"…You in Kurosaki's body! Yes I was the one that caused this, but despite your accusations I did not do this to get people killed. Quite the opposite really. If Kurosaki runs out of strength, then I shall protect this town with my life! While the shinigami watch, I will protect everyone from the hollows! If I cant do that, then this whole contest would have been for nothing."
Rukia began to realise just what was going on. Uryu must have challenged Ichigo. "You…what were you trying to prove?" she asked, and Uryu was about to answer, when he noticed the hollow starting to rise behind the pair. Drawing his bow, he was about to fire a volley of arrows, when a slashing motion cut through the hollow. A small dust cloud was created by the blow, and as it cleared the trio could clearly see a figure standing atop the downed hollow with his sword resting on his shoulder unsheathed.
"I've finally found you…Uryu!" Ichigo began, gazing at the boy with a grin on his face. "If I could, I'd make you cry right now…but first, I have to kick this guy's ass" he said, grabbing a hold of Kon by the scruff of his shirt. "Kon! Where the hell have you been?" Ichigo shouted, and so began a quick fired argument between the two Ichigo's. Ichigo was mad at Kon for not getting back to him and Kon was defending himself by answering that finding Rukia was harder than he had thought it would be. Kon made an insinuation that he could find Rukia by her smell alone, and so Rukia joined the argument defending herself, telling Kon that she did not smell at all.
Uryu meanwhile watched the scene with a sort of detached bemusement, trying every now and then to get a word in but finding he was being ignored. Eventually he gave into some frustration and drew out his bow, preparing to fire and arrow to get Ichigo's attention. "I am you opponent Kurosaki!" he shouted, and was about to let loose his arrow, when the whole group heard what could only be described as an ear splitting roar.
The group turned to watch a large cat-like hollow with the wings of a bird land upon the bisected body of the hollow Ichigo had felled. They stood, dumbfounded by the sheer scale of the thing as it began to tear chunks of flesh from the dead pig hollow. It was a bizarre chimera of a hollow, made up of equal parts cat, lizard, bird and horse. Its body shimmered with different colours, its pelt a mix of feathers, fur and scales. They were mystified as the pig-hollow became a cloud of reishi that the cat hollow seemed to inhale. When it was done, the hollow looked up at the group and paused, as if it were analysing it.
The hollow remained perfectly still as Rukia and Kon backed up behind Ichigo, something told them that this hollow was different from the others, stronger. Ichigo, keeping his eyes on the hollow spoke to Uryu "You're right. This battle is between us. So how about we stop talking about who can kill the most hollows, deal with this guy together, and the fight already. Then this contest will be settled once and for all!"
"For once I may be inclined to agree Kurosaki" Uryu intoned, keeping his arrow trained on the hollow. He did not want to jump the gun on this one, especially not in his deteriorated condition. He had never seen a hollow eat one of its own, everyone he had come up against was after human souls.
Ranma gazed at the group, looking for an opportunity to make a move for the open sky. That kid with the glasses had a power he had not seen before, and the other sin school uniform had higher than normal reiatsu as well so they must have some tricks up their sleeves also. And then there was the shinigami with the massive zanpakuto, his reiatsu was off the charts. It almost burned Ranma's eyes when he opened his spiritual senses to look at him. Then a rumbling caught his attention, and he looked upwards. The converging cracks were starting to emit a rumbling noise, and what's more all of the hollows within the immediate area were starting to move in on the crack. They too were sensing the immanent arrival of the Gillian.
The quartet noticed that the intimidating hollow was gazing up, and as they followed its gaze they were staggered by what they saw. Up until now, none of them had noticed the cracks in the sky, and the sheer amount of hollows that ringed it added to the ominous effect. A humming sound drew their attention back to earth, where the hollow appeared to be charging some form of energy attack. Its body was hunkered down close to the ground, its wings extended for balance, and a ball of tri-focused energy was gathering in front of its mouth.
'Is that hollow firing a cero?!' Rukia thought in alarm. As the ball of energy reached a certain size, the hollow (still looking upwards at its kin) produced a massive roar that caused them all to wince involuntarily. The energy exploded upwards in a beam of raw power, flying through the air at supersonic speeds before smashing into a cluster of hollows. The creatures were utterly wiped out the moment the beam touched them, and for a minute or so the cat-like hollow dragged the beam of concentrated reishi across the mass of hollows wiping even more out. Nearly a quarter of the mass was destroyed by the one attack, their energy coalescing down to earth as the chimera inhaled again, feeding off its kills.
'Incredible, it wiped out so many…' Ichigo thought, and he was sure the others shared the same sentiment. The hollow breathed out a puff of smoke, gazed at the group and then turned away, running at a great speed away from them like a lightning bolt. They could hear its pounding limbs for a few moments afterwards, and were left staring at air.
"Ichigo, look! The other hollows are following that one" Kon said, pointing at the mass of spirits shakily.
Ichigo said nothing; he was still a little shaken by the display of power from the hollow. He was lucky that thing had not attacked them, that it seemed only interested in other hollows; otherwise he might not have been able to fend it off. His reverie was cut off by Uryu, who drew his bow and fired at the moving swarm of hollows.
"Wait Uryu! Look at how many of them there are…think before you attack!" he said, amazed that his apparent rival would take on such a force alone.
Uryu just looked at Ichigo out of the corner of his eye and smirked, firing another shot into the air. "What? Are you scared Kurosaki?" he chided, not giving Ichigo a chance to repute his claim. Uryu began moving in the direction of a nearby park he knew would be deserted. "Then it seems I have won the contest. If you're too scared to fight then I'll just have to deal with these hollows by myself…" he said, shouting loudly up at the sky "…Over here hollows! The last Quincy Ishida Uryu will destroy you!"
Ichigo watched as Uryu ran into the distance, asking Rukia without moving his head "Last Quincy? What's he talking about?"
Rukia stood, arms crossed and began to orate what she had learnt at Urahara's. "Two hundred years ago the Quincies were wiped out. All surviving Quincies despise shinigami…and the origin of that hatred lies in their annihilation. Two hundred years ago, the Quincies perished at the hands of the shinigami!"
This information made Ichigo take a double step, and Rukia continued unabated, recalling how Urahara had told it to her. "The shinigami wiped out the Quincy clan, though it was a hard decision to come to. It was a necessary evil, because the shinigami needed to eliminate the Quincies in order to prevent the collapse of the universe. You see, in the Soul Society, shinigami are often called balancers. An equal amount of souls must be maintained in the Soul Society and this world at all times…"
"…Otherwise the balance shifts, bringing about the destruction of both worlds, so it's the job of shinigami to adjust the number of souls in both worlds. The souls that are released from the Soul Society are accounted for by the shinigami when they are reborn as earthly creatures, and then the souls that die here are subsequently returned to the Soul Society by the shinigami…the same goes for hollows. By entrusting the transfer of all souls to the shinigami, the Soul Society can monitor the number of souls and maintain the balance between the two worlds…"
"…But then the Quincies appeared. Quincies completely eradicated hollows, they wipe them out and the souls that are released do not return to the Soul Society, they linger here creating an imbalance. This imbalance causes the position of the worlds to shift, and the Soul Society begins to bleed into this world. Life and death intermingle creating chaos, bringing about the destruction of the known universe…"
Rukia continued "…A few years after the Quincies were discovered; the Soul Society began pleading with them to stop, to leave the management of hollows to the shinigami. The Quincies stubbornly refused, and as their numbers increased the transfer of souls was disrupted to the point where a universal collapse was certain. So it was decided that the Quincies would be eradicated…" she finished with a sombre question "…do you think the shinigami were cruel in their actions. Its hard to say when you begin to think on it."
Ichigo did not answer; instead he set his head down and ran off after Uryu, leaving Rukia calling his name. After hearing that story, he had to go and confront Uryu himself. "Tch…were the shinigami cruel? How am I supposed to know…damn it" he muttered, heading off down the path that he knew Uryu would have taken.
Meanwhile
Not far from where Uryu was battling his small horde of hollows, Ranma was tearing through his own group, the total of hollows he had attacked with his Moko Takabisha having split whilst he was drawing them to a secluded spot. Why had that kid drawn away so many, even Ranma could tell that his bow was beginning to lack potency and he had barely gazed at the weapon. He needed to take these hollows out quickly before the Menos Grande made its inevitable appearance.
Rapidly gathering and hardening his reiatsu in his stomach, Ranma spat out a series of quick bala blasts, each azure ball of compressed energy smashing through a hollows head. But for each hollow he struck down, two more took its place as they gathered around him in an all encompassing circle. But Ranma battled on, utilising a rapid stream of attacks and dodges to weave between hollows of differing shapes and sizes, taking down one after the other. Pausing over the body of one to take a brief bite out of its hide, Ranma quickly thought over a plan.
Skidding across the dirt, Ranma took a deep inhale and began building a mass of reishi within his body. 'You always were a lying old goat oyaji, but you knew how to create a good technique. If I get this right I can take out all of the remaining hollows around me in one big attack!"
"Ranma…there's someone here" came the voice of his inner hollow. 'Quiet I need to concentrate' Ranma bit back, holding the breath in and waiting for the right balance of air and reishi to be found. His wings spread out in readiness to guide the attack, he was almost there. From the midst of the mob of hollows, who were all largely keeping their distance from this strong attacker, emerged a hollow larger than the rest. The tree's around it were shoved to one side as a huge hollow resembling a scaly ape shuffled forwards, ready to pound this nuisance into the ground.
"I mean it Ranma. I've been scannin these small fry and the surroundin area for anything out of the ordinary, and there's this big…void nearby. Its like a blank spot on the radar and its freakin me out!"
The notion of a void set Ranma's pulse racing, he knew a technique that produced that effect and by the kami he hoped the notion going through his mind was wrong. But there was no backing out now, he had reached what he believed to be the right balance of air and reishi, he needed to finish his fight now.
As Ranma exhaled, expelling the air from his stomach, he flared his reiatsu to cause the hollows to pause briefly, freezing them to the spot. With a mighty beat that brought up sparks of dust and he cried out the name of the new technique "Hiryuu Raishu Kamaitachi!" As he did so, he did not notice the small crimson bomb with a short lit fuse sail gracefully through the air towards him. A great tornado of compressed wind engulfed the surrounding area, sweeping up all of the hollows with it. Laced with hundreds of blades of reishi, the maelstrom slashed the hollows apart with dozens of strikes to the mask and bodies. They hollows roared as they were reduced to nothing, and Ranma stood within the eye of the storm pleased that his mass attack had worked.
Then he heard the hissing noise, and his eye widened as he saw a small bomb fly before it. "Kuso!" he swore, before the bomb detonated and ignited the wind storm creating a massive explosion of fire.
Elsewhere
A massive booming sound alerted Uryu to the explosion, which he saw the top of from his own clearing within the park woodland. The wind generated by the blast buffeted him for a moment, causing him to shield his eyes briefly with one hand. The wind blew away the remains of another dead hollow, its mask shattered at his feet. 'What was that explosion just now. Was it that hollow again?' he thought, surveying the mob around him with contempt. 'I kill and I kill but their numbers only increase…sensei!' he thought, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"Uryu!" came a loud cry from behind the hollows. The archer turned his head and watched in amusement as Ichigo barrelled with way through the hollows, kicking and hacking until a dog pile of them lay beneath him. "I know your story now Uryu! Were the shinigami or the Quincy right? I have no real opinion of that. But I do know one thing…Uryu, your way…" Ichigo began, only for Uryu to cut him off mid-sentence.
"That's all ancient history."
Ichigo paused, unsure of how to deal with this development straight away. Uryu pushed up his glasses with one hand, "I don't care what happened to the Quincies two hundred years ago. I heard all about that from my sensei and its nothing but an old legend to me. That is not why I fight…" he said, shooting another hollow through the head as it lunged at him. "…When I heard the story of the fall of the Quincies, I actually agreed with the shinigami. I'm not so sentimental that I'd hold that against you. That is…until I saw my sensei die before my eyes."
Flashback
Many years ago, atop a roof of a building. A master and student sit amidst lines of drying clothes, sheets fluttering against the breeze. "Sensei…" enquired a young Uryu "…when you told me that story, the one about the fall of the Quincy, you left a bit out."
"Hm, did I Uryu?" said the old man sitting opposite, eating from a small meal they had prepared together.
"Yeah you did. Were the shinigami wrong in the end?"
Souken sighed, "That's not it Uryu. I think…that the Quincies were wrong for failing to heed the admonitions of the shinigami."
"But it was the Quincies who were killed" Uryu argued back, unable to see his sensei's point this time.
"Exactly. Our people died, and after that it mattered little who was right and who was wrong. What we had to think about was how to make sure that such a thing would never happen again. That is all. Seeing the sad faces of humans or shinigami pains me deeply."
The young Uryu paused for a moment, taking in what his teacher had to say. "Master, I have one more question."
"What is it?" Souken asked again.
"Will this traditional Quincy costume ever be updated? Its really lame…the sensei's robes too."
End Flashback
"He was a kind man…" Uryu said after orating the small memory so Ichigo would understand what drove him better. "…My sensei never taught me to dislike or hate anyone. As one of the last remaining Quincies, sensei was under constant surveillance. But sensei kept arguing the case to the shinigami that Quincies were necessary, he thought of ways for the two groups to fight together. Shinigami, in the peace of the Soul Society are always slow to respond to hollow in this world. He argued that it would be better to have a contingent of Quincies in this world who would constantly be on the lookout for hollows, and able to deal with them quickly. But the shinigami's reaction was always the same, 'don't interfere with our work.'"
Ichigo listened to Uryu, watching as he shot down hollows even whilst in the midst of a story. Uryu kept on speaking "So my sensei was killed, one day he faced down five large hollows and it was obvious that alone he didn't stand a chance against them without the help of shinigami. But, as always they were slow to arrive. They showed up and slew the hollows, two hours after my sensei had started fighting. Sensei…had been dead for an hour before they arrived. In the end, sensei's philosophy never reached the shinigami. If they had embraced his ideals, if they had recognised the strength of the Quincies…they would have arrived in time to save him, and my sensei would not have had to die…"
"…So do you see Kurosaki Ichigo? I must demonstrate to you the strength of the Quincies. I don't want your help in this battle. You're a shinigami and I am a Quincy. Our ways of thinking are completely different. And if you think my way is wrong…then just stand there and watch as I prove its effectiveness." Uryu finished his speech standing stoically before the assembled hollows, and Ichigo shook his head, knowing exactly what to do.
Kicking Uryu in the back, Ichigo shouted at him "You talk too much!" The momentum carried in directly into a hollow, and Uryu promptly smacked his head against the hollows mask. This sent the beast back, allowing the Quincy to get up and shout back "What was that for!"
Ichigo didn't allow him to keep arguing, instead he slapped him around the head. "Just shut up! Man, your story was so long I forgot the beginning. The point is your masters number one desire, wasn't to prove that Quincies are better than shinigami, but to see them fighting side by side. If we don't do that now, we may never have the chance again. So shinigami and Quincy are bookends, fine! We'll just have to fight…" he took up a ready stance behind Uryu "…back to back."
Some distance away, having run after Ichigo to make sure he would be alright, Rukia and Kon stood listening for the sounds of fighting. Moments later, after Kon yet again tried to jump onto Rukia and hug her to death, Rukia was running through the park after Ichigo. Kon however, lay in agony on the floor holding his battered crotch, apologising in advance to Ichigo.
Ichigo and Uryu argued for a while over the idea of working together, until a series of moves later they found their partnership actually allowed them to take down hollows with practical efficiency. They stood back to back once more, and Uryu could help but talk. "Make no mistake I am not trying to help you. In this fight its kill or be killed and fighting alone against these odds is tough. We have no choice! We have to help each other!"
He had hoped (inwardly) for Kurosaki to rise to the bait and for their banter to continue, but instead Ichigo just smiled. "Isn't survival a good enough reason to overcome our differences…" he replied, which caught Uryu's attention a little. "…I'm originally a human. I don't even know that much about shinigami, and its not like I'm doing this job because I like it. But, I do want to defeat hollows."
"Why?" Uryu found himself asking.
"My mother was killed by a hollow…" Those words hit Uryu like a hammer, but Ichigo wasn't done. "…Now do you understand? But…I guess there is a little more to it. What I want…even though that's reason enough…is to make sure that no one else has to go through that. Since that hollow killed my mom, my dad and sisters have had it pretty rough. I don't want anyone else to have to go through that. I don't want to see that again, so I fight them…"
Ichigo slashed a hollow which came within reach in half "…I'm not superhuman. I know that I cant protect everyone in the world. But I don't just want to protect the few people close to me either. I want to protect as many people as I can. Uryu…whatever your reasons for it, this contest you challenged me to is endangering a lot of people. I was irresponsible and I wont forgive you. But now's not the time for that, there are too many hollows about and its kill or be killed. So lets work together and beat these hollows. I'll work with you even if you don't want me to. I can always kick your butt later! What do you say?"
Ichigo's reply came in an arrow flying centimetres past his face, which slammed into a hollow behind him. "Its funny…it seems even you can talk too much. But I understand…in other words, if we don't survive this we wont be able to fight each other."
Ichigo grinned, "That's the idea…but I'll still make you cry!"
Uryu smiled to himself, "You can try… if you survive." He then noticed something and called for Ichigo to wait a second, staring at the hollows who had started gazing into the sky. "Look at the hollows, they're acting strange. They're looking at the sky…as if they're praying."
They followed the gaze of the hollows, who turned out to be staring at the strange jumble of cracks in the sky. A rumbling sound began to become quiet clear to their ears, culminating in a series of loud cracks as the sky tore open. Actually, it was more like it was pulled open, as a massive face emerged from the crack. Great fingers twisted around the open hole in reality, pulling it further apart to allow whatever this thing that appeared was through.
"What the hell is that thing? Is it a hollow? I mean look at it its freakin huge!" Ichigo yelled, and before they knew it he and Uryu were bickering again. They weren't arguing for long, as a series of loud blasts impacted upon the hollows like gunfire. Through the smoke a small girl appeared, carrying what seemed to be a shoulder held canon.
"Oh Mr Kurosaki, we've come to help youuuuuu!" came a sing song voice from a little further away. Ichigo and Uryu stared at the new arrivals, and Ichigo could only mutter "Mr Hat and Clogs?"
Meanwhile
Ranma was hurt, he was hurt bad. He had not expected the bomb, and thus was unable to harden his body with his reishi to protect himself. It was another of the abilities gained from a hollow he had killed. He tried to stand upon the scorched earth, but his left foreleg was badly burnt, and a crack in his mask was sending agonising pain signals through his body.
He could feel it now, the void as he stretched out his spiritual senses. He recognised the feeling and knew who was behind it. He recognised the bomb as well, except this one was obviously a new and improved version. 'Please, of all the things to happen. Not them please kami not them' he thought desperately.
But for all Ranma's pleading, he was helpless as the spiritual void around him dropped and several familiar energy signatures appeared before his spiritual awareness. As if a curtain had been raised, now in a perfect circle stood his former friends and family, each in their own positions of readiness.
To his right stood his mother Saotome Nodoka and Tendo Soun, flanking an armoured Kuno. Each held a katana in a strong kendo stance. In front, Shampoo stood beside Mousse and Cologne with her twin bonbori resting at her side. The hidden weapons master has his hands held before him in a position Ranma had come to call the 'quick fire' pose. With his palms outstretched and fingers slightly bent, Ranma knew the Amazon male could throw a projectile faster than most people could blink. Cologne was perched atop her cane as always, except this time there was a tanto held in her left hand. To his left, Ranma noted Happousai, Rouge, Kumon Ryu and Taro standing side by side, which was odd considering the latter's hatred for the former. Happousai held his pipe in one hand and in the other a crimson bomb, his new and improved attack obviously.
"We have you surrounded…hollow" came a voice from behind him, which Ranma found oh so recognisable. The sheer volume of hatred and venom placed into the word 'hollow' made him feel like dying all over again. 'She is the last person I wanted to see me like this…' Ranma thought as he slowly turned his head to see the group behind him '…Akane'.
Yes, behind him backed up by Ryoga, Ukyo, Sasuke, Kodachi and his father stood Akane, dressed in a style of clothing that he had once sported in his lifetime. A sleeveless shirt and 'kung-fu' pants, with slippers on her feet, and Ranma even noted she had grown a small braided ponytail which hung down one side of her head, it suited her. It appeared to Ranma's sorrow that his pleas for her to move on with her life had been unheeded, and now she and the people close to him had set themselves on a path of vengeance against hollows, and since he now bore the form of a hollow it was obvious their intentions towards him.
His mind running in an attempt to figure out what to do, the despair he was feeling clouding his rational thought process. "Ranma snap out of it!" crowed his inner hollow, and for once Ranma was happy to hear its voice within his head. "We need to move now; the Gillian's arrival is imminent. We are regenerating but your mind set if affecting the process, if you lack focus it makes us weaker so buck up. If you don't get your head into game I swear I will take over and get the job done myself, even if that means hurting these humans you seem to care for so much. I will do it Ranma, do not test me!"
Hearing this, Ranma closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Feeling calmer, he opened his eyes and noticed the latent reishi in the air from the mob of dead hollows he had destroyed. He needed to create an opening to flee the surrounding hollow hunters, anything to make them pause. Recalling how effective flaring his reiatsu had been against the hollows, Ranma produced a great roar and from the perspective of the group the air became very heavy all of a sudden.
Everyone, even Happousai and Cologne fell to one knee for a moment. Ranma was still learning to control this new energy at his disposal so the pressure would last an estimated time of a minute. Taking in a deep breath he drew in all of the floating clouds of reishi in the air, absorbing it into his core. The new energy left a tingling sensation, as his regenerative abilities were turned up at the increase in power. The tingling faded as the scorch marks and damage caused by the explosion healed.
Looking up at the cracks, Ranma could see he needed to take to the sky to face the oncoming threat. Then, his danger senses screamed in alarm and by instinct he jumped left, knocking aside the Happousai and company with a sweep of his wing; He had reigned in on the power behind the move, it was just enough to send them flying a few feet.
Ranma turned to face who had attacked him, and saw his mother of all people gazing at him stoically. Unlike the others, who were sweating slightly from the spiritual based trick, Nodoka looked completely unfazed. In fact now that Ranma looked at her, he wondered if the move had done anything to her what so ever. Had she been playing possum to draw in off guard?
With the effect over, the group took Nodoka's move as the sign to attack. Ranma found himself facing the nightmare scenario he had always dreaded as a martial artist living in Nerima. His rivals and opponents coming at him in an actively coordinated assault. He had to push his natural speed to the limit dodging and weaving between attacks, his larger body at odds against the smaller fighters. He knew he could usually move faster, but his body had yet to regenerate to the point where he could go beyond basic physical limitations using his reishi.
He hopped backwards to avoid Shampoo's bonbori and rolled to the right to evade Kuno's katana swing, only to come into contact with a barrage of knives and shuriken thrown by Sasuke and Mousse. He blocked these using his wings as a shield, but this covered his eyes and enabled his father and Ryu to hit him with a barrage of vacuum blades. Though he could not see the attack the fact that they shouted their moves name was a bit of a give away, so when the jagged sonic booms of wind and ki impacted against his body Ranma was ready with a hardened layer of bone to absorb the impact. So rather than lacerating his flesh, the blades merely caused light surface wounds that healed quickly.
This pattern of dodge and defend continued for a couple of minutes, until a flaring warning on Ranma's senses shocked him stiff. A distant ominous rumbling could be heard; Ranma turned his head skyward and swore. The rumbling grew until the spiritually aware group attacking him began to hear it, pausing in their assault to gaze at the sky also. One by one they watched in growing horror as the face of the approaching Menos Grande tore a hole in the fabric of reality.
"What manner of devil be this?" Kuno said incredulously, backing away slightly before the new sight. The others muttered similar comments, and even the learned matriarch of the Amazons was clueless as to what this new terror was. The Gillian pulled the rip further apart, forcing its way into reality.
Ranma looked from side to side and his heart began to beat faster. The Gillian was here and everyone he cared about was in its line of fire. He had not wanted them to see him like this, that had been his fear, but now he was more fearful for their immediate safety. His breathing quickened until he could hear it in what passed for his ears, and without knowing he shouted out "Run! All of you run now!"
It was only when he saw their faces staring at him instead of the giant hollow emerging from the tear in the sky that he realised they had heard him. Normally when he spoke aloud only his inner hollow and other hollows could understand him; to humans all he was doing was roaring or growling. It took years for a hollow to gain the spiritual presence required for its voice to be heard by humans and other souls. At least that is what he had been told by his dark self. But regular hollows killed regular souls, or at least they did until regular souls no longer satisfied their hunger. But Ranma had hunted other hollows right from the beginning, so the speed of his development must have been altered and sped up.
Looking left and right and the bemused faces, he decided to add to the confusion in their minds by reiterating his strange plea. "I said run! That's a Menos Grande! Move or you will die!" With those words, Ranma knew he could spare no more time and took off with the beating of mighty flaming wings. He headed for the Menos, knowing that what he was about to try would either be the start of a new chapter in his crusade or his death.
Akane shook her head as she watched the hollow fly away, her surprise at its words and the sudden arrival of this…massive monster turning to anger. She turned to the others who were still either watching the hollow fly away or gawping at the…what was it the hollow had called it, a Menos Grande? "What are you guys waiting for? We need to follow that monster and kill it before it hurts anyone else! Remember the vow me made, that we would find these demons and wipe them out, so that no one else would feel the pain that we feel"
The words dispelled their doubt and galvanised their resolve, and without saying a thing the group ran off after the hollow. All except Nodoko, who slowed as the group reached their top speed before slinking into the shadows of the trees. There was someone she needed to see who would confirm a few things for her.
Elsewhere
Sometimes it was better to be unaware of what you were seeing, because the knowledge of exactly what dangers you may be facing could be enough to drive you mad with fear. This situation rung true for one Kuchiki Rukia, who stood paralysed by what she was witnessing. Kon was pleading with her, asking fearfully what it was they were looking at. She knew the moment her eyes had seen it, but she had not uttered its name, as if her not naming the beast would make it go away.
"That's…that's Menos Grande…" she uttered finally "…A massive hollow formed from hundreds and hundreds of ordinary hollows…but…until now I've only seen illustrations of it in textbooks. But it's impossible…whenever that thing appears the Royal Guard have to deal with it. Its way beyond the abilities of one shinigami!"
The Menos pulled itself through the tear in reality, its enormous black body revealing itself steadily to Uryu and Ichigo, who were still baffled by its enormity. It was almost comical in its size, and the remaining hollows left over raised their arms and howled before the behemoth like it were a god. The Menos noticed its smaller kin milling around it, staring out of the corner of one of its red eyes. Everyone watched in confusion as a long tongue snaked out of its mouth and speared through the bodies of several hollows, retracting to pull the catch into eager jaws. It munched and devoured the hollows without pause, continuing its slow movement through the rift.
"It eats other hollows…what a behemoth! How are we supposed to fight something like that?" Uryu asked, turning to Ichigo for an answer. The strawberry blonde haired teenager only laughed to himself, prompting Uryu to ask 'what's so funny'.
Ichigo shook his head slightly. "Its pointless trying to come up with a plan to fight something like that. What you do…is you keep on cutting until there's nothing left to cut! There's no other way! Come on Uryu lets go!" he yelled, running off towards the beast with his sword held high.
Rukia saw Ichigo heading for the Menos and began running to stop him, crying for him to halt, warning him he had no chance of winning. But she found herself stopped, held back by Urahara who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Urahara what are you doing? Do you want Ichigo to get killed?" she said accusingly.
"No…" Urahara replied, and as Rukia yelled for him to move aside he tightened his grip on her. "…I'm afraid I can't let you pass Ms Kuchiki, I am very sorry. Watch quietly…" he said, and Rukia felt her body go stiff as he gave her neck a slight jab with one finger.
'A bakudo…my body, I can't…' she thought, collapsing onto her knees.
"…This battle is necessary, for you and for him." Urahara finished, and Rukia found herself helpless as she watched Ichigo charge at the Menos as one of its great white feet took a step out of the rift. Ichigo's zanpakuto carved into the boot-like appendage, drawing some blood, but the Menos merely kicked him off as if he were an insect.
Uryu watched as Ichigo sailed through the air and landed beside him, firing his own arrow to see if it would have any effect. The projectile hit the Menos with ease but did little but create a small crack in its body, not enough to do any lasting harm. He cursed inwardly and called to see if Ichigo were alright, and was slightly relieved to see the shinigami stand up.
"Hey I'm fine…" he said, earning a harsh rebuttal for his strategy from Uryu. Ichigo explained that he had thought that if he kept hacking parts off the Menos then eventually it would fall like a tower and the head would be in reach. Uryu grabbed his sword and tried to pull him to one side so they could formulate a strategy, but stopped talking to Ichigo when he felt a sudden hot surge come from his active energy bow.
He looked at his bow and gulped. It had suddenly grown dramatically in size and strength, carving a hole into the earth with its density. He looked to his hand, resting on the blade of Kurosaki's zanpakuto and put the pieces together. 'Its flowing into me…Kurosaki's reiatsu. Even in this battle of spiritual powers, Quincy and shinigami are completely different. Shinigami materialize reiryoku from their own souls into a zanpakuto, they use the energy from within. Quincies gather random reishi from all around them, coat them in their won reiryoku and materialize them as hollow killing weapons. We use the power from without…so to speak…'
'…Just now when I touched Ichigo's zanpakuto, my weapon Kojaku the Lone Sparrow grew more powerful. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, reiryoku poured from his zanpakuto at my touch. If it flows like that involuntarily…' he thought, piecing together a flimsy plan that just might work in his head.
"Ichigo…" he said softly, trying to get the blondes attention quietly. Ichigo turned his head and was blown away by the sudden increase in size of Uryu's bow, and vocalized his surprise as such. "Woah! What the heck happened to your bow its freakin huge!"
"…Just shut up and listen. I may have a way that we can beat that guy" Uryu said, finally getting Ichigo's solid attention.
Meanwhile
Standing from another vantage point on a bridge not far from the park, Orihime and Chad stood gazing in wonderment at the sheer scale of the Menos Grande. Chad asked Orihime if she could see Ichigo and Uryu clearly, because to him they were a little blurry. She nodded and went over Urahara's words, that they were to watch from this vantage point and choose the path that they will take.
'The truth is…' she thought to herself '…I haven't forgotten a single detail. But…seeing my brother the monster and Ichigo trying to kill each other…I could easily choose to doubt my memory.'
"Chad…" she spoke up "…what are we supposed to do?" The question earned nothing but silence from her friend, but it did give him pause for thought as he watched Ichigo and Uryu.
Ichigo and Uryu
Ichigo stared at the rig that Uryu had set up, and unable to hide his cynicism said to his ally "You know you're an idiot." This elicited an incredulous 'what' from Uryu, who proceeded to explain why he had tied Ichigo's zanpakuto to his head and went down on one knee to hold his bow, whilst Ichigo stood behind him and held his sword.
"Listen to me! If you unconsciously release your reiryoku at maximum output whilst your sword and I are touching, I should be able to shoot an enormous arrow at that thing. Now hurry up and control your reiryoku. Let is build up and release it at maximum…" Uryu explained, but all that got from Ichigo was the following statement. "Um…I've never really controlled my reiryoku before" Ichigo said deadpan.
"…What! How do you fight hollows if you don't control your reiryoku?" Uryu asked, grabbing Ichigo by the front of his shihakusho. "Instinct I guess" Ichigo replied, eliciting another shout from Uryu who could not believe what he was hearing.
Ichigo shook off Uryu and tried to explain himself. "I mean how should I know? Controlling reiryoku means turning it on and off right? But what if there's no faucet? How am I supposed to control its flow? If I'm giving off a lot of reiryoku, then maybe it's on full blast all the time?"
From a distance Rukia watched, paralysed, and noticed that the fully emerged Menos had begun to increase its reiatsu. In the textbooks whenever one of these great creatures began doing this it only meant one thing, 'A cero? Its not going to discharge a cero here is it?' Her attention focused on Ichigo, who she silently urged to run, because she knew if a cero hit then there would be nothing left of him by the end.
Ichigo noticed the sudden rise in reiatsu and stared up at the Menos. "Look, there's no other way. Hurry Ichigo, touch me with your zanpakuto…again?" Uryu shouted, but all he saw as the last words left his mouth was Ichigo charging like a madman towards the giant hollow once more. "Wait Kurosaki! Come back here you jerk!" Uryu yelled, cursing Ichigo for his reckless fighting style. Even Uryu could tell that the sudden rise in reiatsu did not mean anything good.
As Ichigo charged, a red mass of reiryoku began charging up in front of the Menos Grande's mouth. A sharp keening noise could be heard as the energy coalesced into a ball, before with a bass-sounding thud it fired down at Ichigo in the form of a monumental tidal wave of red coloured power.
Ichigo gulped, but brought up his zanpakuto in defence by instinct, and with an almighty crack the discharge collided with his guard causing him to buckle and place his other hand on the flat of the blade for support. Uryu winced and turned to one side as the bright energy collided with his former opponent, and when he turned to stare at what was left he was alarmed to see that Ichigo had actually managed to deflect the brunt of the strike.
A vibrating keening noise could be heard and Uryu gulped as he realised just what was happening. 'That sound, it's like some form of sympathetic resonance. And what's this…abnormal reiatsu? Ichigo…is accumulating energy. This sound I am hearing…it's like a giant magnet pulling particles of iron out of sand. Maybe it is on full blast all of the time…yes, suddenly it all makes sense…'
'…No matter how much reiryoku a person has, if left unstopped to continuously spill out it will all drain away. If he cant even control his reiryoku, he must have an incredible amount to do what he does! If they turn on a faucet and the water gushes out in torrents, most people instinctively close the valve. But if Kurosaki Ichigo were to do that…if his reiryoku were to be contained, then the pressure would skyrocket! Then if the valve were suddenly opened wide…'
Throughout Uryu's deduction, Ichigo continued to push back against the tidal surge of energy pushing down on him. He could feel a sudden building pressure in his body as he raised his zanpakuto higher, and then all of a sudden he pushed up and with a great sweep a penetrating slash rose up the whole of the body of the Menos Grande, past the hole and through up to the shoulder.
The Menos meanwhile was taken aback by the sudden assault from the supposed gnat at its feet, and was left unguarded. This moment was to be used to astounding effect by something Ichigo, Uryu and the others believed they would never see again.
Ranma roared, releasing all of his pent up anger and frustration in a single controlled burst that forced a sonic boom around him. The Menos and all watching turned their gaze to focus on, in comparison a small hollow as it began charging up a surprisingly large reiatsu. You see Ranma had been watching the movement of Ichigo and Uryu as it had watched the Menos, waiting for the moment to strike, and when he had noticed Ichigo's surging reiatsu he knew that if he paused to allow the boy to work then he might have most of the legwork done for him.
Whilst Ichigo had tried attacking the Menos and working with Uryu, Ranma had been shooting back and forth around the Menos taking down the hollows staring up at it in worship. These kills had given him the boost in strength he had needed to perform what he knew was going to be a make or break move. Knowing he had the Menos attention, he sent out a pulse of reiryoku towards the great beast. As the pulse spread like the ripple on a ponds surface, clone images of his form began to appear all around the Menos head.
It was a technique he had acquired from one of the stronger hollows he had killed today, his body having finished digesting its form before adding it to his subconscious repertoire. The Menos looked left and right at the pests and fired forth its long tongue to skewer the interlopers, but all that happened was they fazed away to be replaced by two fresh after images.
Ranma used this time to begin charging an attack he hoped would be powerful enough to pierce straight through the Menos mask and head. His wings flared outwards, all his feathers blazing and standing on end as a ball of energy began coalescing before his mouth. The growing ball of reiryoku was sea green, and it was the beginning of what Ranma knew was his own cero. But then an additional energy began appearing as well, swirling around the growing cero in a tri-focused rim-like circle. The energies began to mix as the cero grew into the circle, and a dual coloured ball of sea green and azure began to swell and grow. The density of the coming attack would trump all his other efforts made today, and as Ranma chose to dispel the clone illusions distracting the Menos the ball fired.
"La Chimera Cero Muerte" Ranma said, the name of the technique forming naturally in a language he somehow knew all too well, despite never speaking it before as a human. A tremendous fountain of energy fired at the Menos like a spear cast down from the heavens, its blazing light a mix of sea green and azure illuminating the red and orange evening sky. It thundered through the air, breaking the sound barrier with its speed and leaving a crack of sound in its wake, and with a tumultuous crash like an atomic explosion it carved into the bewildered Menos face, pushing right through and exiting the other end.
Cracks from the gaping hole joined with the wound caused by Ichigo, and the Menos roared in anguish as it dropped downwards. All assembled gasped in fear as it seemed bent on crushing the nearby landscape with its massive bulk, but this was all for nought as it disintegrated into showers of reiryoku.
Ranma howled as his kill streamed towards him, taking in the energy of the downed Menos like a greedy baby suckling at mother's milk. Ranma had never felt such a concentration of pure power and strength, it was like a glorious drug making all of his pain go away and replacing it with something else he could not describe.
Below
Uryu and Ichigo, Rukia and Urahara, the staff of the Urahara Shoten, Orihime and Chad and last of all the Nerima Crew all gazed in their own levels of shock and awe at the sights they had witnessed. First came Ichigo's stand against the Menos, then the single hollows awe inspiring attack. One followed the other in a ballet that dazzled the senses and left their minds struck dumb.
Akane and the others had arrived just in time to see Ichigo's first strike, and from there had witnessed the hollow they had just tried to attack annihilate the gigantic demon that had tore its way into their world. The whole experience caused them to question what might have happened to them if the beast had decided to fight back rather than just dodge their seemingly feeble blows. 'If monsters such as these exist in the world, then we all need to be so much stronger to defeat them' thought Akane, clenching her fist in annoyance. She had believed their group to be ready, but this hollow had thrown their whole quest into doubt.
Rukia could not believe what she had seen. The spectacle with the hollow had been amazing, but even greater for her was Ichigo before that. 'That shouldn't have been possible! Ichigo cut the Menos from foot to head!' she thought, her hair blowing against the wind caused by the two attacks aftermath.
Ichigo meanwhile pushed up his hand into a 'V' for victory, yelling at the top of his voice. It gave Uryu some pause to take in what he had seen "What a guy? If that blow had been all, it would have certainly been enough to force that beast into a retreat!"
The Menos Grande was gone, but the crack in the sky remained from where it had forced its way into the human world. A gust of wind blew dirt across the open park as Uryu and Ichigo stood staring at one another. They exchanged some brief greeting before Ichigo held his thumb up to his chest. "You're supposed to say 'you're welcome' you know. I mean I just cleaned up your mess, so I think a thank you is in…order" he said, before collapsing onto the floor.
Uryu rushed over to see if he was alright, when against his will Ichigo's zanpakuto and right arm stood up in the air. Both watched in horror as the blade of Ichigo's zanpakuto began to distort and wave. 'His reiryoku is still overflowing; it's causing his zanpakuto to begin distorting. I have to do something or his spiritual body will explode from the pressure!' Uryu thought, and he began to move towards Ichigo. He felt a second surge of force as his bow engorged in size, the heat from the surge flashing over him like a hot wave.
Uryu was astounded, he wasn't even in contact with Ichigo and his bow had grown in size, it was hard to believe but it was even larger than before. A plan began forming in his mind, if he could siphon the reiatsu Ichigo was giving off and fire it into the air in the form of an arrow, he might be able to stabilize the shinigami's condition and save his life. He began drawing an arrow when he heard the sound of wings beating against the air. He looked up to see the hollow from earlier, the one that had left him so paralysed with fear that he could barely stand. The same hollow that had so spectacularly taken down that behemoth of a hollow not minutes before, Uryu watched it land a safe distance from him and Ichigo.
"I am sorry for before…" the hollow said, taking Uryu and the recumbent Ichigo back with its surprisingly calm voice and manner. Compared to other talking hollows they had individually encountered, this one was down right civil. "…I know this form is not the most welcoming one. Your predicament shinigami blazes like a torch before my senses, and I am here to help as much as I can. You…" it said, gazing at Uryu "…plan to siphon off the overflowing reiatsu to stabilise his form, am I correct? Please, allow me to aid in this task."
Ichigo tried to ask Uryu what the hollow was talking about, but he could barely move from the pain from his fall and the pressure on his chest keeping him immobile. He saw Uryu nod slowly, and the hollow take up a similar position he had seen before as it had absorbed the reiryoku from the massive hollow.
Ranma opened his mouth wide and took a firm stance, and began drawing in the reishi from around the downed shinigami. The archer opposite him moved closer to his comrade, wincing as the pressure of his engorged bow caused small cuts to slash across his bare arm. As he began firing off arrows forged from the spare energy, Ranma inhaled the energy he could from the atmosphere. He ignored the archer as he argued with the shinigami, saying that he was not saving his life for noble reasons, and that the shinigami must live so they may continue their rivalry. The words left Ranma nostalgic for the relationship he had formally had with Ryoga.
When Ranma sensed that the shinigami's life was no longer in danger, he closed his mouth and relaxed, turning around to use the tear caused by the Gillian to return to Hueco Mundo. "Wait…" he heard the shinigami named Ichigo call out, and Ranma turned to watch him slowly rise from his fallen position. "…there's just one thing I want to know. Are you really a hollow? I mean you look like one, but there is no way a hollow would do what you just did. I'm not saying I'm not grateful or nothing, I just want some explanations."
Ranma sighed to himself, he did not want to explain himself but he felt he owed something to the boy. Why he felt this he did not know, he just could tell that this teenage shinigami would be very important. "You are right in asking if I am a hollow. Though it pains me to admit it, I am a hollow. I became a hollow as my soul was dragged into Hueco Mundo, my body warped into this beast you see before you. But what I am not is a killer, I would never take a persons life by my honour as a martial artist. Some how I retained my sense of self when I changed, and now I must live out my life like this. I saved you because we have something in common, we both wish to protect those we love from hollows, and that is all there is to me."
Ichigo took a double take at the hollows words, suddenly feeling sorry for the feral creature. "You mean you were a soul who didn't go insane from grief or loneliness. I mean, that's how all the other hollows are born, that's what I've been told anyway. How is that even possible, do you even have a name?"
"My name as a man was Saotome Ranma. Now please…let me leave. My life is complicated enough without having to explain myself to anyone else" Ranma replied, not giving the boys time to ask anything else. With a leap he was in the air, within moments he was gone through the rip between worlds.
"I…know that name…" Uryu began, one arm supporting the other as he allowed is bow to dissipate. "…wasn't that the name of the groom killed in Nerima some months ago. I remember hearing about it on the news; his wedding ceremony must have been attacked by a hollow."
"Yeah, poor guy" Ichigo said, staring at the rip in which Ranma had disappeared. With that said he turned around and walked towards the approaching Rukia. This whole evening had just been an epic ordeal.
Uryu picked himself and watched as Ichigo began arguing with Rukia in the distance. 'It was all my fault for employing such reckless methods. Ichigo's overloading reiatsu nearly killed him. To avenge my masters I searched for shinigami, and when I finally found one I had to show him I was superior. So even though I knew it might endanger others, I chose this method. But that stupid shinigami asked me to join forces with him. I am sorry sensei…I knew that you never hated shinigami, that your dearest wish was for us to join forces with them. Maybe I was trying to forget my weakness…my weakness in not risking my life to help you. By blaming the shinigami I tried to forget my own shame. Sensei, today I helped a shinigami…can you…forgive me? I am a weak disciple…a weak disciple who could not die for you. Can you ever forgive me…sensei?'
Elsewhere
Having left his crew to clean up the damage and close the rip caused by the Gillian, Urahara Kisuke was slowly walking back to his shop twirling his cane in a circle. Things had proceeded exactly as he had hoped, and in Uryu Ichigo had gained a valuable ally. The only trouble ahead would be how the Soul Society reacted to the Menos appearance; Kisuke doubted that Kuchiki Rukia would remain hidden in her predicament for much longer. They would send shinigami from the Gotei 13 to take her back to Soul Society, and if that happened his special gigai would reveal a hidden motive for his giving her aide.
But he would be ready for that, Mr Kurosaki would naturally attempt to save her and he would be there to help him. Perhaps then he might atone for the unknown burden he had placed on the young Ms Kuchiki's shoulders. He paused down a quiet side street, a familiar presence making itself known behind him.
"You know its rude to follow someone unannounced…" he said aloud "…I had always thought that such an act would be beneath a noble of your stature."
Nodoka emerged from the shadows with a stern look on her face. "Kisuke…we need to talk."
Author Notes
Here we have it, a completely new chapter 3. After I returned to this story and re-read what I had done before, I felt that the previous chapter 3 really didn't fit the tone of what I was trying to do. Also it warped events in the manga a little too much. So I decided to move events to this, to make this dual between Ichigo and Uryu the right chance to reveal Ranma to the Bleach world, and it certainly seems to fit. From here I feel I can continue the story on a solid level, charting Ranma's evolution as a hollow and his quest to regain his lost humanity.
And what a chapter right? This averages a word count that is more than both of the previous chapters combined, setting a pretty high bar for me to follow. Will I stay on top, who is to say, but to my readers I say that this story is finally back. Stay tuned for further chapters over the summer, I shall try to update as often as I can, but there is my work of Legacy of the Hokages to consider, which is dragging a lot slower than I had thought.
