Disclaimer: Bleach and anything related to the bleach world is not mine, I wish it was but sadly it isn't. Oh well. Enjoy.

Rated T- for TEEN!

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A Black Dawn

Chapter 3

Yami was mad. That insect had stopped his strongest cero. He stood there trying to control the anger welling up inside him. 'How am I losing to this pathetic excuse of an arrancar?' he thought 'I should be winning, I am espada 0! I am the strongest of my kind!'

Yami let out a great roar, one that pierced the heavens. He started to glow in a dark light; his spiritual pressure began to increase without stop. Everyone but the hollow warrior was shocked at this great change.

" I can't lose to you shinigami! I won't! I am Yami Rialgo! The strongest espada!" yelled Yami, who vanished out of the hollow's view.
"Over here, you scum."

Before Ichigo could retaliate he was pummeled down to floor by the espada's large tail.
He was sent into the ground; face first, by the espada's strike. It seems Yami had used sonido to get behind him. Yami continued his attack by lifting him off the ground and sent him right back down with a strong punch.

"I can't believe a big guy like him can move that fast." said Renji

"I guess Ichigo underestimated him, I think he's become stronger than before." Said the Quincy who was trying to stand steadily, he was still felling a bit disoriented from the last fight at the top of the dome.

"No, Yami mentioned that he was the only espada that reached full power when he transforms. Maybe he's just isn't playing around anymore." said Rukia

Chad just watched the unyielding battle; he didn't feel like talking at such a critical moment. He left like this fight could decide their fates. If Ichigo lost this fight, Yami would take the opportunity to kill all of his opponents, which would naturally mean them.

Another member of their little group had also decided to stay quiet at the moment. Orihime stayed by Rukia after she had finished with her crying. She felt scared; it took all her will power to not begin to cry again, even with that she was on the verge of tears. She worried about her friends, and about Ichigo. She worried about his safety and about how he would be after they were finished in Hueco Mundo. She remembered how he had changed when they returned from the soul society, how he had become much more violent and distant. But eventually, Ichigo went back to being his old self, strong and confidant. She just couldn't help wondering if he would go back to being the closed off Ichigo.

Their thoughts were interrupted by a small sand storm created by the giant in front of them. Yami did a full 360 and lifted hollow Ichigo up once again, but this time he grabbed him with his remaining arm and threw him into the building that they were just in. Due to the force Yami exerted, when Ichigo collided with the building, the whole thing collapsed on him.

"Hahaha! What did you think about that shinigami? Did it sting?" Yami asked as he enjoyed the wave of pleasure that ran through him.

His excitement was short lived as the debris of the structure was blown away. There stood the hollow Ichigo, he had gained several gashes on his body, and a part of the mask was blown off near the jaw line, which reveled apart of his human face. The wounds immediately closed up, but the mask stayed damaged.

Yami's eye flew open. 'Instantaneous regeneration? But how?'

The hollow began to chuckle.

"Not bad. I'm starting to enjoy myself. And here I thought you were just a weakling who was all bark and no bite!"he exclaimed as he flew towards Yami at blinding speeds.

The hollow savagely attacked the espada, from top to bottom. He used his blade in combination with his speed, attacking several parts of his body at a time. Yami retaliated with strikes from his tail. His tail missed the hollow a few times, but when it did land a hit it would smack him around and push him away.

"Heh. How annoying, I don't want that disgusting thing interrupting me!"

The hollow cut off the tip of Yami's tail and he sent a getsuga tensho to his chest. The black energy formed a large cut on Yami's torso; he backed up and swung his arm towards Ichigo, swatting him to his left. As Ichigo flew towards the left, Yami conjured up a large red cero and fired it straight at him. He saw the cero fly right towards him, Ichigo tried to stop himself, but to no avail. The cero made a direct hit exploded on contact. The hollow moved away from the smoke, the injuries he received were not too severe but they weren't anything to laugh about considering that his regeneration was not taking effect. Yami used sonido to get in close and continue his rampage, but his opponent fired a cero right back at him, stopping him from going any further.

"Just die you damned shinigami!" yelled Yami as he created another large cero.

"Hah! You just don't understand, I won't be the one who dies today, it will be you!" he yelled in response, as he created a cero of his own.

The two fired their rays at the same time, both colliding with one another. They held their ground as they used the ceros help decide this battle. The beams struggled to overwhelm the other. Both combatants roared at each other as they gave it their all.

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Even from this distance, captains Unohana, Kuchiki, and Kenpachi were able to see the battle unfold. They had regrouped after Kenpachi defeated his opponent, Nnoitra the 5th espada. Maiyuri and Nemu were nowhere to be seen, they had probably gone to search for Szayel Aporro's laboratory.

"Aww man, it seems Ichigo has found a strong opponent. What I would give to be in his shoes right now!" exclaimed captain Kenpachi as he senses both Ichigo and his opponent's spiritual pressures.

"With your injuries, you're not going to be participating in any fights for a while, captain Kenpachi." Said Unohana, who was at the moment treating Kenpachi wounds, despite his refusal for her help.

"Shut up! You're not going to tell me what to do! The minute you finish patching me up, I'm going to march straight down there and kick some major a-" Kenpachi was silenced by Unohana's smiling face.

"Captain Kenpachi, please lie down and rest, I would want to have to force you down right?" she said in a gentle voice. For some odd reason, the members of the 11th division, minus Yachiru who at the moment was messing with Byakuya's hair, were always paralyzed with fear whenever the sweet captain made that face and their captain was no exception.

"Uhh...Fine..." said Kenpachi, lowering his head in defeat, you should know this doesn't always happen.

"Thank you very much captain." Replied Unohana.

Byakuya sat silently, watching the battle while the small pink haired lieutenant played with his long hair. Despite the small distraction, he was able to focus clearly on the battle; He noticed that Ichigo's spiritual pressure resembled what it was like during the end of their last fight against each other. The only difference was that it was stronger, much stronger. He wondered if that pressure would be the deciding factor in the battle.

Suddenly the lieutenant of the 4th squad, Isane Kotetsu, came up running from the other side of their small makeshift base.
"Captain! He's awake! The arrancar who was found with Yasutora Sado has woken up!" she exclaimed.

Gantenbainne Mosqueda slowly walked up to the captains; he was obviously still groggy from his defeat. He made his way to the captains, before setting himself down before he strained himself.

"It seems that you have finally woken up, mister arrancar. Did you enjoy your nap?" questioned Unohana who had just finished Kenpachi when he had arrived.

"Thank you for your assistance. But may I ask you a question?"

Unohana waited a moment before responding.
"You may." she said, wondering about what he would ask.

"Why did you save me? I am your enemy, what would you gain from helping me?" the privaron espada inquired.

"there was no reason to not help you and you seemed like a trustworthy person, I was just following my judgment." Unohana said, with a tone of wisdom running through her words.

The privaron espada stood there for a minute, mouth agape. He never would have thought that he would receive such kindness from his enemies. He bowed out of respect and gratitude.

"Thank you! Shinigami captain, to repay you for help, I will do all I can to assist you in your fight!" Gantenbainne said.

Byakuya walked up to them and began to speak.

"If you are willing to help us, then you can start off with telling me about that monster Kurosaki is fighting" he asked coldly.

Gantenbainne nodded and looked over towards the battle field. He analyzed it quickly, identifying both of the combatants.

"The large one is Yami Rialgo, the 10th espada. He's different than the other espada. He has the ability to change his number when he releases his zanpaktou; his real identity is not the 10th, but the 0 espada." explained Gantenbainne.

Both captains were immediately struck with surprise; they quickly gathered that Ichigo Kurosaki was fighting the strongest of Aizen's army. Byakuya remembered that Rukia had gone to the area to assist Ichigo and the others. He quickly turned and began to walk towards the direction of the fight. Gantenbainne was the first to respond to Byakuya's movement.

"Mister Captain, it seems that you want to go to your allies Huh?"

"…that is none of your concern." Byakuya responded in a cold tone of voice.

"Let me come with you, I said that I would try to help in any way I can." said the former espada, he showed a look of seriousness. Byakuya just watched him from the corner of his eye and then he turned back in the direction of his current destination.

"Do what you want. I'm not holding you back." Said Byakuya before he begun to flash step towards Ichigo's battle.

The privaron followed him at a slow but steady pace with his sonido. Isane was about to say something, but Unohana stopped her.

"You can't stop them right now. They are going over there with a reason to fight. We can't stop people with that kind of determination." Said Unohana as she watched them go into the distance, quickly making their way to their comrades.

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Ichigo ducked when the white Zangetsu tried to cut him down. His hollow had begun to strike with unyielding attacks. It took everything Ichigo had to dodge and block the attacks. There was never an opening; he just didn't give him the sufficient amount of time to look for one. The hollow laughed as he was able to cut Ichigo's side with an arching slash, his blood littered the floor. He flash stepped away from his opponent and sent a getsuga towards the hollow, in hopes of slowing him down a bit. The hollow swiped the attack away with one hand and dashed towards Ichigo once more, his strikes only getting more powerful. He fought with such ferocity that he was able to get another wound on Ichigo, this time cutting his chest. He watched the young substitute jump way to prevent another attack.

"Ha-ha! What's the matter Ichigo? Where was all that spunk from a couple of minutes ago? Fight me like you mean it you piece of shit!"

Ichigo stared at him; he tried to get himself together. They were evenly matched at the moment. They were both were wearing the hollow mask and he was still able to hold his own. So why was he losing? Before Ichigo could contemplate the answer, the hollow sent a getsuga towards him. He dodged it by flying upwards, but the hollow was already on top of him, sending him crashing into the ground.

" Heh…so much for a good fight. It's time for you to die!" yelled the hollow.

With one smooth swing, he threw Zangetsu into Ichigo's chest, impaling him. At the moment of impact, white spirit energy flows out of the blade further harming him. He yelled in pain and watched as his counterpart laughed from above, mocking him. The mask on Ichigo's face broke away, he laid there looking upwards. The other Ichigo slowly dropped down; his face was cover with that evil grin from ear to ear.

"Geez, king I thought you would put up a fight more of a fight. Well you can't get everything in life. Oh did I mention what I was going to do once I took control of your body?" asked the hollow, who's smile was growing with every word that came out of his mouth.

"It's better if you don't tell me, because you are never going to get control" retorted Ichigo who was struggling to get out of his current position.

The hollow laughed and continued with his train of thought.

"Whatever, but you want to know ahead of time. My first act as the new king of this world will be....' The hollow got closer to Ichigo; he wanted him to hear his words. He wanted him to feel their full impact.

"The death of all the ones you love."

Ichigo's eye went wide open. He couldn't believe what he just heard. That monster would try to kill his friends and family? No, it won't happen. No matter what, Ichigo would let him touch them. He vowed to protect them with his life!

Ichigo began to glow in crystal clear light, the hollow jumped away in surprise. Ichigo's spiritual pressure went through the roof; the buildings around them began to shake as Ichigo stood up from the floor. He grabbed the white Zangetsu and threw it back at the hollow. The hollow caught it with one hand. Ichigo stood in his stance and his eyes began to glow the same crystal clear color as his body.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that. I will be the one to stop you here and now!"

Ichigo dashed towards the hollow, holding his sword up to fight against him. Their blades collided once more. The hollow chuckled at him.

"What is a scared kid like you gunna do to me? Huh?! Don't make me lau-" he was interrupted by Ichigo overpowering him sending him into the other building.

He continued his assault by slashing with great speed! The hollow blocked most of his attacks. Ichigo got through his blade and was able to slash his torso. The hollow moved out of the way of another attack that followed the previous one. Ichigo appeared right next to him, knocking him into another building. The other Ichigo stopped himself from crashing into the structure. He looked at Ichigo with a menacing expression.

"What just happened!? How did you get so powerful all of a sudden? Tell me!" he yelled, obviously confused at what just happened.

Ichigo stared at him and said "This power comes from my will, the will to protect my loved ones, something you will never understand. All you care about is taking a hold of my body. I fight for a cause that is actually wroth something."

"God you piss me off! Just die!" yell the hollow as he gathered all of his spirit energy together. He created the strongest getsuga tensho he had ever made, and he was aiming it straight at Ichigo.

"You don't stand a chance against me you fool! I will be the king of this world! You're mine! Ichigo!"

He launched the attack at Ichigo who stood there, calm and collected, as the large wave crept closer with each passing second.

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The cero struggle ended with Hollow Ichigo as the victor. Yami was still up; he was just bleeding from all of his wounds that were inflicted earlier. Yami was at his breaking point. He couldn't believe that this boy was stronger than him. The power he demonstrated was that of an espada class arrancar. He let his guard down too early in the fight; if it wasn't for that he might have been able to kill him.

"I guess that's it. Well it was fun while it lasted. But now it's time to say good bye."

Hollow Ichigo gathered all of his strength into one last attack. His blade was covered in an ugly black; he held it up in the air.

"Goodbye scum."

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Ichigo headed into the blast, stopping it with Zangetsu.

"w-what? But how!? You shouldn't be able to with stand that!" yelled the hollow in defiance to Ichigo's display of power.

"Like I said, I won't let you hurt the ones that I hold dear to me. Now go back to where you came from." Said Ichigo as he forced the blast out of his way, he headed toward his hollow at full speed. It was over. Ichigo stood behind him. He had cut his entire body in half; the hollow had begun to disappear like before.

"Why? Why is it that you always pull through in the end?" question the other Ichigo as his body faded away.

"Well, whatever. Just know this Ichigo. No matter where you go, I'll always be right here. If you give me any chance, I will use that chance to kill you and drag you down to hell. I will kill you, my king."

Ichigo watched as the hollow faded away, he began to return to the real world. Before his conciseness gave way, he saw the old man return to his world, he was glad that things were starting to get back to normal.

As hollow Ichigo spoke his good bye to Yami, something strange happened. Ichigo's body started to crack. It broke into piece that fell to the ground. The monster that stood before Yami was gone, in its place stood Ichigo Kurosaki, Shinigami substitute. Yami was confused for a moment, he thought that he was about to die.

"Uhh... What the hell is going on?" asked a confused Ichigo. He looked at Yami and realized that he was still in the middle of battle. The bad thing was that Yami had noticed that too.

"Ha-ha-ha! Yes! It's time for you to die!" yelled Yami as he threw a punch straight towards Ichigo.

He dodged it quickly and proceeded to flash step all the way to his friends. When he had arrived, he received strange looks from everyone except Uryu and Orihime.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that for?" asked an oblivious Ichigo.

"Well you dumbass we were worried about you, so we wanted to know if you were fine." Said Renji.

"Well as you can see I'm doing great for the most part, sure I'm a little cut up but-"

"A little!?" Rukia exclaimed "you covered in sword cuts and your clothes are still wet with your blood!"

"Will you stop worrying Rukia I'm fine! It's not like I can't take care of myself."

"By the way you look right now, I would say that you couldn't be more wrong." Retorted Rukia who dawned annoyed facial expression.

"What was that you midget!? Are you trying to start something with me right now?" said as he yelled at Rukia, who kicked Ichigo in the face.

This started a little mini war between them; Ichigo had begun to pull Rukia's hair while she kept kicking him. Even though they were fighting at the moment, Rukia was just showing how much she cared for him the only she can. It didn't last long though.

"Hey guys. I think we should be more interested in the hundred foot monster heading towards us." Chad had quietly entered, interrupting their little battle in its tracks.

As Chad said, Yami was slowly marching towards them with a smile on his face; he thought that victory was his when Ichigo reverted back to normal.

"Well, well it seems like your back to your senses, eh shinigami? I guess it's time I finish you all off!"

Yami charged toward the small group. Anger overwhelmed him as he approached them, he didn't prepare any attacks, and all he did was charge forward. His spiritual pressure build around him on instinct, the crimson glow was almost blinding.

Ichigo and the others watched him get closer to them. Ichigo stood in front of them and tried to activate his mask, but as the mask materialized it broke away at an instant.

"Damn it, we need to stop him!" yelled Ichigo. He kept trying to use his mask but to no avail.

Yami was finally about to reach, he stuck his fist out to land the final blow until…

"Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!" The large Zabimaru stopped Yami's initial charge, it was followed by,

"Licht Regen!" a volley of a thousand arrows flew out of Uryu's Ginrei Kojaku, all heading towards Yami.

"El directo." A large blast of spirit energy flew from Chad's arm and was trying to hold Yami in place.

"Next dance, Hakuren." Ice flew towards Yami, using its force to back him away from them.

Ichigo stared as his friends sent out whatever they had left to stop Yami. All of their spiritual pressures shone in their own specific color. Renji glowed in a light, crystal like red. Uryu appeared to be covered in a crystal blue. Rukia looked like an angel with a snow white aura. And finally Chad was covered in a bright yellow like gold. They had begun to push Yami back.

"What are you guys doing? You can't hold him back." Yelled Ichigo, he began to worry about his friends' safety. Renji turned his head to address Ichigo.

"Ichigo! Trust us; we want to pay you back. You held that guy back for a good while and now it's our turn."

"He's right Ichigo. Please just let us do this." added Chad; he gave Ichigo a small smile.

"Ichigo let us protect this time." Rukia was the last one to speak as Uryu just nodded and continued to fire arrows.

Yami was laughing at them. He knew that these brats couldn't do anything to him, even if he was severely injured. He pushed back and slow but surely began to move forward. The others began to falter under Yami's pure strength.

"Dios, luego nos perdone!"

A large yellow beam of light struck Yami in the gut and pushed him back several feet. Gantenbainne Mosqueda had gone into his release, Dragra, to fire that attack. The attack had stunned Yami, but he did not expect what came next.

Byakuya had angel like wings and a halo at his back, in front of him was a large, white sword and he had it pointed at Yami.

"Shukei: Hakuteiken." Said Byakuya as he cut Yami's entire body in half from head to toe with one slash of his bankai. Yami's body fell to ground. He had died after being attack by the 6th division captain of the soul society.

Byakuya dispersed his bankai, reverting Senbonzakura to its katana form. He landed on the ground and looked at the weary warriors.

"It's time to go back." Was all he said as he turned back to the direction of the camp.

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Several hours had passed since the battle against Yami had been resolved. Everyone had their injuries healed by Isane, Unohana, and Orihime. They had to return to the world of the living, they needed to report back to the head captain as soon as possible. All preparations were made and Gantenbainne was going to open garganta for them that, until some unexpected visitors made an entrance.

"Yo Ichigo!!!!" yelled the arrancar brothers, Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Bilstin, as they slid down one of the sandy hills in the area. They ran up to the group, almost crashing into Ichigo.

"You guys? What are you doing here?" asked Ichigo as notice that the two were a little tattered, clothing wise.

"We wanted to see you off. Don'cha know!" yelled Dondochakka

"We also wanted to let you know that she was okay." Pesche mentioned as he pointed to the little bundle in his arms.

Ichigo and the others gasped as they saw little Nel sleeping in Pesche arms, looking content in her slumber.

"Nel. How is she doing Pesche?" Ichigo asked looking concerned.

"What happened to her? She looks like she has gone through an awful ordeal." Rukia said worriedly.

Pesche and Dondochakka looked her and responded.

"That will be a story for another time, Rukia-san! Anyway, I guess you should get going. Time's awastin'!"

Ichigo looked guilty, as he remembered he had to leave Nel behind as he went to rescue Orihime.

"Take care you guys. Don't do anything reckless." Ichigo said.

And with that, Gantenbainne opened up the dimensional rift, and moved out of the way for them to enter. Ichigo and the others waved one last good bye to Pesche, Dondochakka, and the sleeping Nel. He finally turns to the gateway, ready to go back home.

"Let's go."

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Here it is , I forgot to finish it up yesterday. Thanks for your support! Read and review people! Domo!