"Juha Bach"

"Zangetsu"

"Aka-nee"

"Ao"

"Talking"

'Thinking'


Chapter 4: Squad Zero

Ever since his display of power in his transformed state, he had been visiting the Visoreds regularly and trained with them. Having learnt all of the abilities a hollow has, he ended up teaching them how to do the same. Since they weren't born with a hollow inside them, they could only tap into their artificial hollow's power and use them as a boost for a limited amount of time. Even so, he had the pleasure of teaching them everything about the powers of a hollow.

A few months of constant training against them had completed his hollowfied form. Now, he had two hollow masks which were missing their lower jaw as shoulder pads. The hollow masks each had a horn protruding from the center of their forehead and their eyes were painted red. His main mask now had two vertical black lines on both sides the mask which later joined with the tribal markings on his chest. His long orange hair shortened a little to his mid back and some of it fell over his forehead. The claws on his hand extended a bit more. His clawed feet also now had blades but they were at least a quarter the size of the ones on his hands. The blades were red with black tips. His tail now ended in a drill like shape which was red in color with black tip.

His clothes still remained the same however, there was a bit change to his zanpakuto. The base of the sword was now slanted and the blade continued with a section jutting out acting as a guard with a chain that looped over the top and attached itself right before the point of the blade.

His cero and bala were now more powerful and dense doing twice the damage it did before completion. Zangetsu said that he was proud of him but he wasn't prepared yet to unlock the second release or Segunda Etapa as he called it since it had to be achieved the same way as bankai. Ichigo readily agreed with him. He needed to get more familiar with the completed form after all.

After a few more months of training in that form, he had a proper grasp over how to utilize its power to the max. Soon after that he got into the final year of his middle school.

A month after becoming 14, he had a sudden growth spurt which now made him as tall as up to the chin of Yoruichi to which she pouted at the cruelty of the world taking away his cuteness. He now had a more muscular figure that attracted attention of both young and old women alike.

He had far more progressed in kido performing hado and bakudo upto 80s with out incantation. He had learnt the barriers and seals along with kaido from Hacchi.

Today was a free day for him. A day in which he'd do nothing spiritual world related. Relaxing and studying. That's what he was doing until Karin came to his room holding a letter. Orihime had gone for a sleepover at Tatsuki's so he was alone in his room.

"Ichi-nii, a letter has come in your name." She said in her usual bored tone as she handed it over to him and left giving him privacy.

Ichigo was confused. Who'd sent him a letter? And why? When he saw the sender, he nearly screamed. Squad Zero was what written there. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. He knew about squad zero or more specifically what Kisuke had told him about them as his previous captain is now a Squad Zero officer.

He shakily opened the letter and read the contents in it.

"Kurosaki Ichigo,

It has come to our attention that you are aware of the impending doom that is Yhwach. We, the officers of Squad Zero or rather the Royal Guard have been tasked by the Soul King himself to offer you the chance of special training for one to two years. We won't force you to come. It's a decision you'll make and whatever you choose, we'll respect it. We're giving you a week to respond. Should you accept our invitation, push a bit of your reiatsu into the insignia at the end of this letter and a special Senkaimon will open up which would lead you to the Royal Realm where we'll be waiting for your arrival.

Best regards,

Squad Zero"

Ichigo was shocked. A bit pissed that he was kept an eye on by people he didn't know. But he thought about the pros and cons of this training. He'd certainly be trained by those who were much skilled and stronger than his current mentors and sparring partners together.

He hadn't achieved Bankai and Segunda Etapa. Maybe he could achieve them there? He'll have to talk about it to his family and mentors. He immediately stood up and met his father at the clinic and showed him he letter. His father nearly died when he saw the sender. He read the letter with wide eyes and calmed down after he was finished reading it.

"What do you think I should do?" Ichigo asked feeling a bit lost.

Isshin looked at him and frowned. "What do you want to do?" He asked with a serious face.

Ichigo contemplated on what to do and took a deep breath. "I want to go, but…" he trailed off glancing at the kitchen where his twin sisters were.

"But you don't want to leave them?" Isshin asked to which Ichigo nodded. Isshin sighed and stood up. "Don't worry about them. Besides, they know what you're doing, so don't stress yourself."

"But what about my school?" Ichigo asked frowning.

"I'll have Orihime keep the notes for you and besides, the training is only for two years max." Isshin said dismissively. "But you better inform Kisuke about this. Maybe consult with him about it…?"

Ichigo nodded before turning towards the exit. "I'll be going to see him now then." He then outstretched his hand with his palm facing upward silently asking for the letter. His father handed him the letter and waved at him as he walked away.


A short walk later Ichigo arrived at the shop and knocked. The door slid open to reveal the 'humble shopkeeper' with his signature hat on and the fan covering his lower face.

"My my. What brings you here Kurosaki-san? Weren't you supposed to be resting?" Kisuke said in the same jovial manner. His smile dropped and closed his fan at the serious expression on the teenager's face. He turned and asked the teen to follow him deeper into the shop.

On the way, Ichigo had asked Tessai to come and bring Yoruichi as well. He nodded and said that he'd send her first and then come with tea.

Kisuke had many scenarios running through his head. What was the cause of his student's current predicament? He led the teen into the living room and sat opposite to him. A moment later a black cat appeared and made itself comfortable in Ichigo's lap. Tessai soon arrived with tea and sat down a bit behind Kisuke.

"So… what's the matter?" Kisuke asked.

Instead of answering, Ichigo simply placed the letter on the table and pushed it towards Kisuke.

As soon as said person's eyes landed on the letter, he jumped a bit in his seated position and looked at Ichigo with wide eyes. By that time, he had dropped his fan forgetting to hide his surprise to which Ichigo gave him a smirk. Seeing the wordless conversation, the cat reluctantly got off its makeshift bed and looked at the letter having the same reaction.

It looked at Ichigo and transformed to reveal a very naked Yoruichi who immediately latched onto him and started wailing with tears pouring out of her eyes like river. "NOOOOO! THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE MY ICHI-CHAN AWAY FROM ME AND PET HIM THEMSELVES! I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN! UWA!"

Ichigo didn't miss the jab though. "I'm not a pet, Yoruichi-nee. You're the one who's closer to a pet." He growled out as the woman continued to wail. "Besides, I'll be gone for two years at best."

"NOOOOO! WHAT IF THEY WANT TO KEEP YOU?! AT LEAST LET ME TAKE YOUR OH SO SWEET INNOCENCE!"

"So that's why you were crying?!" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"Yep!" She replied happily all traces of her 'tears' and sadness gone. Their play was put to a halt when a cough was heard. They turned to look at an amused Kisuke.

"Well well well! Someone's eager to get jumped on!" He jokes before turning serious. "What are you going to do?"

Ichigo took a sip of his tea and said, "That's the reason I came here. I haven't decided and thought it'd be better to discuss about this with you guys since you were and are my mentors. What do you think I should do?"

"NOOOOO! DON'T LEA-"

Thwack!

"WILL YOU CUT IT OUT?! I'M TRYING TO BE SERIOUS HERE!" Ichigo said hitting Yoruichi on the head.

"Ok ok sheesh. You're such a spoilsport. But… this is something you're going to decide."

"I agree. We've taught you most of the things except for the highest level kidos. And training under them isn't a bad idea." Kisuke said continuing where Yoruichi left off.

Ichigo frowned. On one hand he wanted to go and on the other he ddin't because of his family. If he was gone, then who'd look after the twins? His father could defend them and he didn't know how his departure would affect them. "What will I tell the others?" He asked meaning about Tatsuki who'd blow a fuse looking for him for his sudden disappearance.

"Well… tell them the military approached you for your reputation among the thugs. They saw your potential and wanted to recruit you." Kisuke said with a shrug.

"Yeah. The Gotei 13 is similar to this country's military, so it won't be a problem. Besides, they are going to train you for two years at best. After that…" Yoruichi paused and then whispered into his ears, "… you're mine." She grinned widely at Ichigo's red face before transforming back to a cat.

"Quite the excuse you got there... but wouldn't paperwork be needed to be done?"

"Leave those to me!" Kisuke said excitedly.

Ichigo sighed at his antics and stood up. He smiled and thanked them before leaving with the letter.


When he broke news to his family, the twins or rather Yuzu started crying about him leaving but after a bit of persuasion and promise of dropping by, she calmed down. Karin being the more spiritually aware one understood his need of getting stronger, so she didn't say anything and just wished him good luck.


Two days later, he was prepared to go. Before he left, he had told Yuzu and Karin to go to Tessai and learn kido so that they can defend themselves while he was gone. It wasn't like he didn't trust their father, it's more because they would sooner or later attract the attention of hollows and their father can't always be there for them. His father with a heavy heart agreed on the matter and wished him luck.

Orihime knew about the truth and was given the task of telling the others the reason of his absence being him training with the military. She didn't want Tatsuki to be left out of this but he again made his point across by telling her that Tatsuki would want to learn as well eventually leading to an accident which he would not take the responsibility of. Orihime reluctantly nodded and told him she'd keep this a secret as it was the least she could do for him and ended up getting chopped on the head.

Everyone, the ones in the shop, his family and the Visoreds were there to see him off at the Senkaimon leading to the royal realm to begin his training.

"See you in two years!" He said as he entered the senkaimon and headed for the royal realm.

After a few moments Shinji spoke up, "The kid's gonna return a hell lot stronger won't he?"

"Yup."


"Oh cap'n Aizen!" A silver haired man greeted as he walked up to said captain.

"Gin", the bespectacled man nodded in greeting before going over some reports made by Tosen. At this point he always had the dark skinned man prepare his paperwork.

"What're you up to?"

"Going over some various information on our experiments, do you have any news Gin?"

"Your pet project has been kidnapped by a shadow." Gin finished with his ever growing grin on his face.

"Explain." Aizen commanded.

"Well... I was stalking your pet project when he left school and was on his way home and out of nowhere his shadow rose and swallowed him up." Silence followed by his report which was broken by a sigh.

"So he made the first move?" Aizen said as he massaged his temples.

"What will you do now captain Aizen?" Tosen asked placing a cup of tea before said captain.

"We'll improvise."


"Isshin."

"Yeah?"

Kisuke sighed before continuing. "With Ichigo gone, he might target the twins. What will you do?"

"For now, train them in kido. Give them a zanpakuto only if their spirits try to talk to them or something similar to that of Ichigo happens." Isshin said after a while of thinking surprising the others.

Tessai and Hacchi nodded. Tessai then said, "Send them here after school. The two of us will train them."

"Thank you."

"Hey, maybe I could train them in using… what was that again the Quincy call?" Yoruichi said.

"Hirenkyaku." Kisuke answered.

"Yes that and Hakuda. How about it Isshin?"

"I'd like that." The father of four said as he left.


Ichigo stepped out of the senkaimon to see five figures awaiting him.

The bald man in middle spoke up. "Welcome to the Soul Palace Shiba Kurosaki Ichigo. I am Hyousube Ichibe 'Monk Who Calls the Real Name' and leader of Squad Zero or the Royal Guard." The man ended with a grin. He appeared to be a large and broad individual with a bald head, red eyes, bushy eyebrows and a long black beard. He wore the standard shinigami uniform beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the Royal Guard's emblem. The top of his uniform was open enough to expose his hairy chest. He also wore a large set of red prayer beads around his neck and a pair of single-toothed tengu geta.

The one to his immediate right said, "I'm Tenjiro Kirinji 'Hot Spring Demon'." The man appeared to be lean-built and very tall man with black hair arranged into an outlandishly large pompadour, or "regent" hairstyle, with tapered sideburns. He frequently chewed upon a small stick. Instead of the standard shinigami uniform, he wore a waist-length white jacket that left most of his chest exposed but still had the Royal Guard emblem on its back, as well as the alternating circle and diamond pattern of a captain's haori along the bottom. His attire was completed by a black hakama, a large yellow sash around his waist and a pair of sandals

The one after him said, "I'm Hikifune Kirio 'Ruler of Grain'." She appeared to be a plump, purple haired lady with styled swirl-shaped markings on her cheeks and black lips. She has a large silver adornment in her hair and wears the standard shinigami uniform beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the Royal Guard's emblem.

The one on Ichibe's immediate left said, "I'm Senjumaru Shurata 'Great Weave Guard'." She appeared to be a slender and very youthful woman with fair skin and long, black hair that was adorned at the back by a large golden ornament in the shape of a crescent moon with numerous small lines radiating outwards. She wore the standard shinigami uniform beneath a white long-sleeved haori, over which she donned a further white robe fastened at the front near the center of her chest. She also wore a pair of extremely thick-soled okobo

The last one exclaimed, "Yo! I'm Oetsu Nimaiya. 'God of the Sword'. I look forward to forging your zanpakuto!" He appeared to be a dark-skinned man with thick, black hair that was shaven and dyed green on the sides of his head. He wore a variation of the shinigami shihakusho, featuring instead a green undergarment, and a shortened hakama that exposed his lower legs. Worn over this was a white, sleeveless puffer jacket that had the Royal Guard emblem on its back, as well as the alternating circle and diamond pattern of a captain's haori along the bottom. His attire was completed by gold-framed sunglasses with blue lenses, and a pair of green slippers that were gold trimmed and had a shoe-like appearance

Ichigo dumbly nodded and bowed in respect. "Hello. Pleased to meet you. When are we beginning?" Ichigo was feeling awkward. These guys are on a completely different level than his former mentors, and if he is to become stronger, then he'd need their guidance.

The five exchanged looks among them and then Shutara said, "No need to be polite. Speak freely and don't hesitate." She received a nod and then turned to Ichibe who took the lead.

"Before we begin you're training, the Soul King wishes to speak with you. Follow me." He said and walked off towards the Greater Soul Palace where the Soul King resided. As they were about to walk, a group of men arrived and bowed before the two. "Ah, you'll be living with Shutara, so hand over your belongings to her men." With a hesitant nod, Ichigo did as instructed and followed the other man.

After a few moments, the two reached the gates which were opened by Ichibe and Ichigo as indicated walked in and looked back at him with a questioning gaze. "I cannot be present during your meeting with the Soul King. Do not worry and be formal with him."

Ichigo slightly nodded and walked in deeper into the place. After a minute he arrived at the throne room and he was shocked to see the condition of the Soul King. He was limbless encased in crystal and had galaxy like eyes. The Soul King looked at him and nodded.

"Do not fret Young Ichigo. Make yourself comfortable." As soon as he said that, a luxurious single person couch appeared out of nowhere waiting to be sat upon.

Ichigo took a few calming breaths and sat on the couch which then pulled him closer to the king. "Okay… so aside my training we were supposed to talk about…"

"The return of Yhwach. Surely you're aware of the prophecy about him?" The Soul King asked to which Ichigo nodded. "Good. Now you see…"


The meeting had gone for two hours and when Ichigo pushed open the doors looking tired, he came upon Tenjiro.

"You look like shit kid. Follow me." Tenjiro said and walked off with Ichigo closely behind.

"We're starting training now?" Ichigo asked tiredly rolling his shoulders.

"No. First I'll dunk you in my springs and then send you to Hikifune. You'll eat there and then you'll be sent to the crazy Nimaiya. After that you'll turn in for the night at Shutara's and the next morning you'll once again eat at Hikifune's. After that, your Shinigami arts and the other ones will be refined. Your training doesn't begin today."

"But everyday counts!" Ichigo protested to which he got a bored look from Kenjiro.

"Not my fault. The king himself doesn't want you to start training today. So we're beginning tomorrow." Kenjiro said.

"Fine. So, what does your hot springs do?"

Tenjiro glanced at him and thought, 'So he already knows about the one of Kisuke Urahara? Figures.' "Why don't ya check it out yourself?" He finished with a smirk as the two stood on a platform.

"Sure…" Ichigo said unsure of the situation as he was launched along with Tenjiro to his palace where the springs were stationed.


After dipping in the 'springs', Ichigo was as promised sent to Kirio Hikifune's palace where he ate to his heart's content and was even shocked to know about the woman's before and after cooking condition. Just as he stood on the platform that'd send him to Oetsu Nimaiya's palace, he was told about his increase in reiryoku which he in fact had noticed.

When he arrived at the palace of Oetsu Nimaiya, he was impressed with all the flashiness it had. He even shocked the man by noting that all of the 'women' there had the exact same reiatsu. Oetsu was crying rivers of happiness to see that the kid before him was able to determine what was what.

The man's ramblings were cut off by a girl very similar to Hiyori in the name of 'Mera-chan' as the man had called her. She then pulled him towards a rather 'impressive' hut where he was told to pass through the gate. Just as he stepped in, he fell crashing down to ground many feet below the door.

He was about to demand an explanation for the act but stopped in his tracks when he heard growls behind him. He turned around and saw multiple undefined men surrounding him. He then noted that they felt blank to which he was greeted to the sound of hands clapping.

"Well Ichi-chan, now that you've figured out that they are asauchis, your task will be to find your ones among the hundreds of them. Good luck!"

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow at the man and crossed his hands as he stared down at the asauchis. He released his reiatsu on them causing them to fall flat on the ground and heard cracking sounds from three different places. He immediately rushed and pulled those three from the horde and gently laid them before him. He reigned in his reiatsu allowing the three and the other asauchis behind them to bow down to him in three lines.

First line had 32 asauchis with the second having 33 and the last had 35. Then all asauchis in the three lines merged and leaving only three behind still bowing down to Ichigo.

Nimaiya on the other hand… well his brain short circuited at the view. Identifying an individual's zanpakuto by releasing their full reiatsu and picking them up judging from the cracks on the skin? Not only that, but they even bowed down to him?! All of them merged into three and bowed down before the child?! He knew that Ichigo had three zanpakuto spirits, but to think something like this would happen… He was brought out of his reverie when he heard Ichigo's voice.

"Oi! Mohawk-san! What now? I've found them but they don't look like I know they do!"

'Mohawk-san?!' Oetsu thought and then shook his head. "Touch each of them and push a little pit of your reiryoku into them."

Ichigo nodded and stood before the one on the left and placed his hand on its head and pushed a bit of his reiryoku. It was covered in white ice sculpture shocking Ichigo because he was sure he was a fire wielder. The ice sculpture shattered to reveal…

"Ao…" Ichigo breathed out surprised to see her smiling cheekily at him teen before standing a bit behind him on the left.

He repeated the same thing with the one in the centre and this time, it was covered in reddish-orange fire with blue tints. The fire dispersed to reveal…

"Aka-nee." He greeted at the gently smiling woman who hugged him before standing beside her counterpart.

He then repeated the same with the last and was thrown off balance at the burst of red tinted white reiatsu which then formed a solid sphere with red wisps of energy swirling around it. It then cracked to reveal…

"Shiro-nii." Ichigo greeted the masked man with a smirk before punching him and dodging the retaliation punch.

"Quite the greeting you got there kingy. The punch didn't hurt. Getting soft are we?" He jokingly said getting a smirk in return which then turned into a frown as he looked at the female duo.

Aka was the same but Ao... she now had long hair colored a mix of black, blue, and white with two wavy black horizontal lines along one side of her head. Her eyes are large and amber, with multiple rings inside them. She wore a scarf with vertical zigzag stripes and a furisode with a snowflake pattern along the hem and the bottom of the sleeves. [1]

"What's the explanation for that ice and the flip in personality Ao?" He asked confused.

Ao frowned and sighed but before she could reply, Oetsu spoke up. "I can explain that. Get up here and follow me!" The man exclaimed as he walked away with Mera. He was soon joined by the other four. "You see, all this time, you've been using a half active zanpakuto."

"You mean to say…" Ichigo trailed off only to be continued by Oetsu.

"Correct! You're the first shinigami to wield a zanpakuto of two polar opposite elements. Ice and Fire. I can guarantee you that your Ice will be stronger than that of Hyourinmaru but your fire… while it is greater and more powerful than your pops' it will be weaker than that of Ryujin Zakka."

"That explains the short temper you used to have!" Ichigo notted looking at Ao who looked away with a blush but nodded nonetheless. "I guess beating me to death was one way to let lose of your frustrations huh? Sorry about that." He smiled apologetically at Ao.

'The kid sure is close to his zanpakuto spirits. He'll be a fearsome opponent in the future.' He thought and then widely smirked, 'A mere kid is going to take your title Yamamoto. Get ready for the storm named Shiba Kurosaki Ichigo.'

"Well now what?" Ichigo asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We'll get down to forging them." The man said as he set up a slide and kicked Ichigo and three zanpakuto spirits into the deeper part of the palace and summoned his bodyguards to prepare the forge for him and tied his hair back while removing the sunglasses. "Mera-chan, do you remember how I forged her?" He asked as he lead the three spirits towards a group of girls were present along with Mera.

"You do know that she can't be sheathed in anything but that gel?" Mera asked to which she got a crazy grin.

"We'll be busy for a while my dear Mera-chan. As for you Ichigo-chan… I'll summon you when you'll be needed to put the final touch."

"I'll be needed for the final touch?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Your reiatsu signature is the final component. So… see you to tomorrow!"

He said before he suddenly launched Ichigo to Shutara's palace.

"So you've finally come?" Came Shutara's voice from behind him as he lied on the ground panting. 'That fool always does something like this.' She sighed before saying, "Come now young one. I need your measurements to make you a new wardrobe." She said as she walked away with Ichigo in tow.

'Why does everyone walk away when they're done talking to/commanding me?'


The next day Ichigo arrived at Oetsu's forging place and saw the man smirking at him. The man gave him three crystal spheres and said, "Use two for your shinigami zanpakuto while the other one for your hollow zanpakuto. Pour your reiatsu into them to the brim and give them to me."

Ichigo did as instructed and started pouring reiatsu into each. The first glowed reddish-orange with blue tints. Then an idea came to his head and he poured his Quincy reiatsu into it not without the consolation of his spirits. The now reddish-orange sphere had blue circuit patterns surrounding the sphere.

He repeated the same with the second one. It glowed blueish-white and at the end, the same but brighter circuit patterns appeared.

When he put his hollow reiatsu into the last one, it glowed white with red tints, however, the circuit patterns were black instead of blue. Ichigo asked why and spirits told him that it was due to hollow and Quincy reiatsu forcefully mixing.

With the task done, he handed the three spheres over to Oetsu who just raised an eyebrow and dropped the three in three different forge. And after that, explosions of reddish-orange, blueish-white and red-tinted white reiatsu occurred throwing all of them back.

When the force let up, Mera brought three identical hilts and handed it to Oetsu. Oetsu simply dipped them guard first and let them float. After a while he pulled them out and presented three glowing katanas in a line.

"The left and the middle ones are your shinigami zanpakuto amd the one on the right is your hollow zanpakuto. Now then let's see the changes shall we?" Oetsu got a confused look from Ichigo and sighed. "Grab them and put your own soul into them." He simply ordered.

Ichigo nodded and picked up the two shinigami zanpakuto and focused on them. The two katanas were covered in white flash of light before revealing themselves in their new appearance.

Both of them had guards that appeared to be five pointed cross inside a circle. The one on his left hand was blueish-white while the one on the right was reddish-orange.

The hilt of the one on the left had blue wrappings with white diamonds and a white tassel dangling on the buttend of the hilt. The hilt of the right one had red wrappings with orange diamonds and an orange tassel dangling off of it.

As for the blade, it was longer than a katana but shorter than a nodachi around 80 centimeters and had lesser curve as well. A hollowed-out portion was existent from the base of the blade to a few inches away from the tip. The blade like all others was silver but glinted blue and reddish-orange whenever light reflected off of its edges.

He observed the two with wonder in his eyes and the release commands in his mind. One for fire and the other for ice. Aka-nee was the one of fire while the newly shy Ao was ice.

"Good. Move onto the next one." Oetsu said as he handed Ichigo two sheaths blue and red. He stored 'Aka-nee' in the red whole 'Ao' was put in the blue one.

He then turned to the remaining single zanpakuto and grabbed it with the same process happening again.

The zanpakuto was now revealed to have a ocean-blue five pointed star in a circle guard. The hilt had white wrappings and the diamonds were blue with a blue chain of a length of a foot dangled. The blade was bone-white and straight with the same length as that of the other two. He was then handed a white sheath which had blue chains wrapped around it. When he sheathed the zanpakuto, the chains of the sheath and hilt linked together with a snap.

Ichigo then noticed that all three had the same guard and they looked exactly like a Quincy cross. Sensing his confusion, Juha said, "The three zanpakutos now are a shinigami-Quincy and hollow-Quincy hybrids. You'll be able to use Blut to enhance your sharpness and offensive prowess or the defensive making it harder for the opponents to win a stalemate." Ichigo nodded happy of such convenience.

"Well now, those are pretty great zanpakutos you got there and therefore go to Ichibe who will the give the name of their shikai and bankai." Oetsu said as he launched Ichigo up again now towards Ichibe's palace to properly start training as well as getting the names.


Ichigo in his flight to Ichibe's had a short conversation with his zanpakuto spirits. They said that there were slight changes barely noticeable but present nonetheless. He was excited to see their new form and raced to Ichibe as soon as he landed.

When he reached the man in question, he had given the zanpakutos to the man to name them. The man shook his head in amusement seeing how excited the teen was and got down to thinking of a proper name. When he was relayed information about the zanpakutos, he racked his brain and finally got down to name them.

"Done. Try releasing their shikai." Ichibe said as he handed over the three zanpakutos to Ichigo's hands.

He saw in amazement how Ichigo inserted the hollow zanpakuto into a void that appeared out of nowhere on his left. He shook his head at the enigma that is Shiba Kurosaki Ichigo.

Ichigo on the other hand stood in the centre of the dojo and held out his sealed zanpakutos. Right crossed over left in a reverse grip pointed downwards while the left was pointed upwards yet diagonally.

"Ignite and Disintegrate. Turn white and Solidify. Getsu no Ikari!"[2] With an explosion of fire, the blades glowed brightly and slowly started morphing and taking new shape. When the fire and light died, it revealed Ichigo holding two massive khyber knives nearly as big as him. Half of the blade was obsidian black while the other was white instead of silver. In the division of the two colors ran a thin and long hollowed-out portion near the back edge of the blade starting at the base of the blade to a few inches before the tip of the blade. From the hollowed-out portions, there were flames of reddish-orange licking across the dull surface covering the black part of the blade revealing little of said part. The most eye catching part were the barely visible yet glowing blue circuit patterns that ran throughout the whole blade horizontally and vertically crisscrossing over each other. The blade had a handle that was the length of Ichigo's forearm covered in white cloth that burned with blue flames not affecting Ichigo in the slightest. The grip between the base of the blade and handle had only little space for a single hand to be held in instead of two.

'So these are the changes you guys were talking about… and the circuit patterns are the Blut I suppose?' Ichigo asked to which he got a hum of affirmation from the spirits. 'But… this is the fire half… what about my ice half?' Ichigo asked to which he was shot dry looks from Ao and Aka. They sighed and pinched his soul at a way that gave him the command to switch elements.

"Schalten."[3] As he said that, the fire vanished replaced by ice. The heat was gone and now cold took its place. The flames licking the back surface of the blade were gone replaced with white ice stuck across the back edge of the blade starting from the hollowed-out portion. The circuit patterns were the same in color glowing dimly.

Ichibe on the other hand was impressed. When Ichigo released his zanpakuto, he tapped into the fire element first and the explosion followed by the release command completely scorched the wooden platform on the dojo along with several parts cracked and turned to dust. The heat was a lot. It was on par with Ryujin Jakka yet a far cry from Zanka no Tachi. And when the kid tapped into the ice element, the whole area's temperature dropped several degrees even more so than Hyourinmaru.

The zanpakuto was exactly worthy of the release phrase. Ignite and Disintegrate showed the part where fire exploded and Turn white and Solidify showed up at the drop in temperature and and white ice that covered the back edge of the blade.

It was truly a rare and special zanpakuto, one that will never show up again in the future nor did it in the past. Ichibe was looking forward to the Bankai even though he had an idea of what it'd end up as.


[1]- Tsurara Oikawa from Nurarihyon no Mago

[2]- Moon's Wrath

[3]- Switch


Author's note: I've been thinking of changing the pairing from IchiRuki to IchiYoru. Therefore I need your opinions with reasons. This will be an adventure type story with slight humor until further notice. And remember, this is just raw material being posted as trial since this is my first story. Once I'm done with this, I'll focus on its rewrite version.


Updated: 12-09-18