Bleach: Dark Prophecies


Chapter 4: Soul Release! Full Potential Awakened!


Location: Soulscape Realm, Ichigo's Realm

"Hello king! Long time no see," said the ghastly hollow reflection of Ichigo. The mask was when Ichigo saw him the last time, before melding with Zangetsu into the embodiment of his power. With mask upright and his face visible, his keen yellow eyes bore at him with resentment and hunger.

"The feeling…is mutual, hollow," Ichigo said, choosing his words carefully as he eyed the powerful eminence his hollow had at the moment. Looking over at Zangetsu, he saw a defeated and caged man, who's eyes had mixtures of relief and regret.

Looking over the menacing presence's shoulder, Ichigo asked, "Hey, Zangetsu! How've you been?"

"Why would you ask me such a trivial and meaningless question when you know how I feel, Ichigo?" Zangetsu said coldly, his eyes now filled with anger and hurt. Ichigo softened his face, knowing that it was his own sacrifice that sealed him away. Someone that truly, whose sole instincts was to make him stronger, and to protect him, was cast aside for the sake of the world, for one battle. Now Ichigo, has to take up his weapon again, but for his own sake, and survival. But since he threw away his weapon, how can he hope to take what was once his. It then dawned on Ichigo something that Senna said.

"So," Ichigo said as he looked back at a particulary annoyed hollow, "how's it like, not having free reign in my soul? No possible way of capturing me and tossing me aside when you were part of my power?"

"Its. Been. BOR-ING!" The hollow said bluntly. But then a wicked smile came across his face. "Although, I never seen you in this form when you ventured here? Have you gotten stronger? Or weaker?" Ichigo looked down at himself and saw his school uniform and then looked back up.

"Yeah, it's a first for me too. But right now, my life is in danger and I need to restore my powers so if you could step aside…" when Ichigo tried to move closer, the Spiritual Pressure skyrocketed from his counterpart, as the hollow barred his way.

"You leave me here, to rot, after all this time and you expect that you can just take what was yours?" After clucking his tongue, the hollow stepped forward grinning maliciously as he drew closer to Ichigo.

"I will have your soul completely, Ichigo. Whether you want to or not, I'm going to take it, TODAY!" The hollow shouted as he snapped his fingers and a white blade that looked all too familiar, and cut the air horizontally, a large arc of black energy arcing towards Ichigo.

'CRAP! Couldn't do it the easy way, could you?' Ichigo questioned as he began to have the fight of his life for his Soul.


Location: Karakura Town; Karakura High School Airspace/Rooftops

"What the hell is she?" Asked Shinji as he struggled for footing in the spiritual plane against this Goth garbed girl that he was informed name Senna, by Uryu. Using just one hand she forced him back with enormous force until he flew back like a projectile, dozens of yards away from herself into a bunch of trees.

"Maaaaaan, this is going to be tough," Shinji complained, as he struggled back up, dusting himself of twigs and leaves. He looked up to see the girl smiling in an almost feral manner. Within a moment, she preformed a Flash Step to appear directly above Shinji, and swing her stiletto boot's heel towards his head, only to meet the sharp edge of his sword. The force that followed, caused Shinji to bend his knees and sweat in effort, realizing that her strength was physically on par with Hiyori's when using her mask.

"Whatever you guys are, you're no match for a Seer," Senna growled out, keeping her smile as she continued to press her boot upon her opponent's blade, funneling Spiritual Power through her leg and to the exterior of her boot, causing sparks to fly as Shinji struggled to ward off her force from crushing him outright.

"So, that's who're working for, eh?" Shinji asks with a toothy, overbite grin. Pushing his left leg back, within the indented earth, Shinji twirled his blade around to move the pressing boot aside, crashing directly next to him. With a one-handed slash, he nearly took off her head, before Senna bent down, side-flipping a good distance, scraping against the schoolyard's grass, kicking up dirt and debris in her wake as she prepared for then next encounter, "do you really think you can trust such a disreputable bunch such as them?"

"Shut your face, bucktooth!"

"Hey! I resent that! This here is a winner's smile, not a deformity!"

"Says you!" Senna shouted back, before charging back, swinging her blade with one hand to meet Shinji's two-handed style sword swing. With mighty clashes of steel, sparks flew loudly, as the force from their strength and spiritual power was put to the test, causing the wind to billow in their wake as they collided.

"You're good, I'll give you that. However," as Shinji held the sword lock, he raised his left hand above his face, "how do you think you'll fair against me, hollowfied?" With widened eyes, Senna saw a flourish of yellow-colored spirit energy manifest a pharaoh Hollow mask fall over the blonde's head and face, giving him a new menacing new look of a mask-donned Soul Reaper.

With a morphed grunt, Shinji pushed Senna back, her heels scraping across the Spiritual plane in the air. Senna swore as she deftly drew her Kido gun quickly before shouting, "Byakurai!"

Shinji put up a fist at the Kido firing up a Cero. A giant blue and red explosion ensued, both opponents shooting out of the edge like bullets, both narrowly escaping the blast.

Both stared each other down as they hovered in mid air over the school courtyard. Shinji's yellow eyes glared back at Senna's light chocolate ones. They would then disappear from view, and reappear in various places, clashing their blades repetitively and with incredible force, matching each other blow for blow, causing loud pops to blow throughout the school's airspace. Neither of them gave an inch, nor gave any quarter for an effective counterattack. It was just a matter of time until one wore down, or the other.

After meeting each other for another clash in the middle of the air, a resounding shock wave blew down to the ground and hit the glass of the nearby buildings, shattering it from the intensity. Shinji couldn't help but chuckle behind his mask, as Senna was still just using one hand to meet all of Shinji's Hollow-augmented strikes and movements.

"Who taught you? You're obviously a gifted warrior to hold your own against someone like me."

"You wouldn't know him, nor would you care, you masked freak!"

"Big talk coming from some little girl in a kinky outfit!"

"DO NOT JUDGE MY CHOICE IN FASHION, OLD MAN!"

"Hey! I'm not that old!"

Within a sudden flourish of her gun from her coat as her eyes glared heatedly and widely at her opponent, Shinji's eyes widened, realizing he was left exposed. Turning the blade to his right and her left, he allowed himself to Flash Step away from the sudden yellow raw burst of spiritual energy that discharged from her bayonet-toting Kido gun, and allowed him to land directly above a tree. He saw the burst of energy launch itself towards a distant set of trees outside the school, before a large explosion sent a geyser of flames up into the sky.

"You brought a gun to a sword fight? That's cheating, you little bitch!"

"You're the one who came to fight, its not problem I'm properly armed!"

"Well excuse me if I don't want things to explode around a school, little miss psychopath!"

"I'M NOT..." Senna shouted out, as she aimed her gun, and began pulling the trigger rapidly as a comically enlarged gleam exuded her eyes as her voice was filled with childish rage, "A PSYCHO!"

"Ah! Geez! Crap! Oh, c'mon!" Shinji shouted as he narrowly dodged, lurched, and avoided the series of yellow bursts of energy, each one causing an explosion of equal size and mass in the distance, with a few crashing through the school or hitting the grounds, creating smoldering craters in their wake and crackling energies from the unusual energies projecting from them, "y'know it would be nice if you didn't emotionally explode every ten seconds when I just say something!"

With a few deft clicks, Senna realized she ran out of ammo, having used too much raw energy in the process. She reverted back into a serious disposition when Shinji Flash Stepped behind her, swinging his blade at a diagonal arc that would sever her left arm, shoulder, head, and right collarbone from the rest of her body. Senna swore aloud as she swung her gun around to catch the sword's strike by the blade-attachment, stumbling back a few times before holstering it and meeting a few more aggressive strikes from Shinji, before he managed to get lucky enough kick her in the gut and send her spiraling down into a distant set of trees within the courtyard with a mighty crash.

"Y'know, if you just give up and tell us what we want to know, we don't have to play dance with the devil tonight," Shinji spoke in a nonchalant tone, placing the back side of his blade against his shoulder as he stared upon the young girl, wedged within the earth and debris.

Wincing slightly from the impact, Senna pushed any stray branches out of her path, before hauling herself out of the crater and stare back up at Shinji. Wordlessly, she enraptured her orange colored Spiritual Power around her body once more, as she mentally prepared to continue the battle with the Visored ex-Captain.

"I hope your doing better than I am Ryo," Senna spoke to herself briefly, before silently lunging into the fray once more and help protect Ichigo from the unknown threat.


Location: Karakura High School, The School Rooftop where Ichigo is.

"He's fast!" Uryu remarked as he shot for shot matched the speed of the dark cloaked man's Kido gun, as by information went was called Ryo. Ryo stabbed the sword in the ground from the beginning of the fight, using only his Kido gun to match Uryu's arrows. This particular gun seemed to have been sped up, in exchange less powerful attacks. However, Uryu knew power was not that all that matters, knowing one shot could be the end of the battle.

"Hold still!" Uryu shouted as they sped around the roof, firing at each other in rapid succession. The yellow bolts were the size of ordinary slugs, and each one had compressed spirit energy that allowed them to nullify each of Uryu's arrows with vibrant explosions that rocked the air from the constant contact. He showed the workings of a skilled marksman, matching Uryu's archery prowess with ease, unnerving the young man as he fought well.

"It seems you are very determined, to stop us, aren't you, Quincy?" Ryo spoke an ominous dark voice, making Uryu sweat nervously.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but," Ryo hopped off his Zanpakuto and swiftly drew it, holstering his gun within his dark cloak, "his success in this awakening, will make the difference to the survival of the human race and the Soul Society."

"H-How is that possible?" Uryu asked, even more unsure what was going on now, beginning to think that they were just a cult of Soul Reapers and Quincy's was a false presumption. Another earth shattering explosion sounded, shaking the air with spiritual pressure and air pockets bursting.

"Enough talk! My Seer is fighting you with purpose, so shall I fight you with purpose as well!" Ryo then raised his sword out of the ground with one hand and stood passively awaiting the first move.

With a sudden burst of movement, Ryo disappeared from the ground from sheer force exerted from his legs, before reappearing in front of Uryu, slashing his blade in a horizontal line. Uryu narrowly avoided receiving a grievous injury as the force of the Vanguard forced him back, but he opted to unsheathe his own Seele Schnieder, to retaliate, using his Ginrei Kojaku as a makeshift shield.

Ryo didn't change his stance but merely tilted his hooded head to the side, as if observing something. He then spoke darkly, "Ah, a Seele Schnieder. I've studied upon the arcane weaponry the Quincies once used thousands of years ago, but I'd never imagine I'd actually be faced against such antiquities," Ryo suddenly flash stepped out of view and in front of Uryu, "how strong is that sword-shaped arrow of yours?" With a swift swing, the long nodachi shaped Zanpakuto clashes against the light-based spirit weapon, causing orange and blue sparks to rain across the air, allowing Uryu to glare back at his knowledgable enemy.

"Strong enough, Soul Hunter!" Swinging his bow to smash directly into Ryo's exposed side, it met his forearm, but served its purpose in pushing him away. On the offensive, Uryu began swinging and thrusting with poise and precision, belonging that to a refined swordsman. Despite his use of using his cross, he has been shown time and again to be more than capable with using the Seele Schneider as an adaptable weapon.

After earning a few nicks from a few dozen clashes by his Seele Schneider, Ryo opted to Flash Step away from Uryu's relentless barrage of sword strikes and trade his sword for his Kido gun once more, firing a few stray shots to discourage Uryu from closing the gap. Instead sheathing his sword-shaped arrow, he predictably pulled it back...and shot narrowly close to Ryo's head, whom had dodged it with ease. Uryu would repeat this pattern, but firing from different angles, all intent on getting a shot at him. At least, that's what Ryo had thought...

After firing four of them, Uryu deactivates his bow outright, and uses the fifth one to close in on Ryo. As Ryo fires his Kido shots at him, Uryu slashes each one, nullifying and absorbing them into his blade, before striking with incredible force against Ryo, forcing him to slam into the middle of the of a field of grass proximate to the baseball field. Uryu presses his Seele Schneider against Ryo's blade for a few moments, before backpedaling with deft employment of Hirenkyaku. With a twist of his spirit weapon, Uryu drops his light-based spirit blade into the ground, promptly causing an activation of a large barrier to be erected, ensnaring Ryo at its epicenter.

"What is this? A Quincy trap?" Ryo asked, still calm sounding even though it didn't look good.

"I set this up during my narrowly misfires of the Seele Schneiders I fired earlier," Uryu explained casually, casually pressing his index right finger up on the rim of his glasses, causing to glimmer from the bright blue light being cast around his enemy.

"A Death Trap, Quincy? It won't hold me!" Ryo said confidently as he pulled out his Kido gun and was about to fire at one of the blades, when the energy began to forcefully drain out of the barrel.

"Your Kido energy is unique, in that its artificially refined, so it made it easier for me to absorb your spirit energy during our early clashes, and then divide them evenly among my other Seele Schneiders," Uryu explained, a narrowed glare projected from the young Quincy as he reached into the recess of his uniform, extracting a small silver tube, popping its lid off as he prepared to activate the barrier's true power.

"Ah…so this is a Death Trap," Ryo examined his gun, dropping it as it served no use and there was no legitimate way for him to escape it.

"Disappear, Soul Hunter!" Uryu shouted as he dripped his ginto onto one of the blades, igniting the pentagram into a mighty blue explosion, shooting up into the sky.

Uryu's cape fluttered from the wind and shock wave caused by the Sprenger's power, covering his eyes from the blast even as it skyrocketed into the sky, a dozen meters from the sheer intensity of it. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Ryo's cloak was incinerated in the blast, revealing some fresh scalding burns form and his eyes were black and yellow, his skin where not burned was pale and sickly looking. The man smirked at Uryu, who was obviously surprised from him standing up let alone survive.

Ryo peeled a bit of his skin off and tossed it to the ground until he smirked again asking in a dark voice, "Is that it? Is that all your, Quincy Death Traps are capable of?"

Uryu felt himself shaking from this man's spiritual pressure, even after being damaged so much from his Sprenger. At a time, he'd probably be confused by it being Ichigo's pressure with as much as it was bursting from the brim now. A dark blue aura surrounded Ryo as he held his sword high before lunging back at them, "Let's go, Quincy!"


Location: Soulscape, Ichigo's Realm

"Hold still!" Shouted the hollow, as he swung his Zangetsu bankai blade around madly, trying to cut Ichigo in two. Unfortunately for it, Ichigo dodged them easily.

"What's the matter? Has the tied horse gotten slower?" Ichigo mocked as he easily dodge his attacks, swing after swing destroying the skyscrapers around his realm. Eventually Ichigo managed to speed past the hollow and grab the center lock of all the chains.

"Let me get you out of here, Zangetsu," Ichigo said reassuringly, trying to pull the lock off but to no avail.

Tensa Zangetsu then coldly glared at him, "After all this time, you have no idea how to release me? You're not worthy to wield me again if that's all you got!"

"I agree, Tensa Zangetsu!" the Inner Hollow said aloud before stabbing Ichigo through the back, through his chest.

"Its high time I've taken over as King anyways, Ichigo," the Inner Hollow began to laugh at a shrill high pitch. Ichigo forgot he couldn't feel Spiritual Pressure as well as he used to, so he got careless and got attacked from behind.

He began to feel numb, the pain roared through Ichigo's body as he felt the blade that invaded his body take effect. The Inner Hollow then threw a white chain around Ichigo, tying him up as he laughed victoriously.

"Let's see how you like being chained up in here for eternity! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the hollow laughed maniacally as victory seemed to be within grasp. Suddenly, Ichigo heard a call, a call he hadn't heard in a while since he neared death at Ulqiorra's hands.

"ICHIGO! GET UP! FIGHT!" This voice was not Zangetsu's he knew that. He knew it was not the hollow inside him. It was his will to kill and live.

"Well shouldn't leave my sword in your…" the Inner Hollow began to say when suddenly he felt Ichigo's hand clench it with his hand, blood gushing from his palm now.

"Its…my…sword!" Ichigo spouted out with dark menace. Suddenly the chains around him began to blacken and burn. The chain happened to be connected to the hollow's back, causing him to catch on fire, black flames rolled all over him. He couldn't budge the sword from his gut either, Ichigo holding it fast.

"This…is…my…world, Hollow!" Ichigo growled darkly, his voice taking authority over the entire world, Spiritual Power rising to thundering state, as waves of distorting pressure blew back the background, crashing the structures, and electrifying the air all around him, with his body at its epicenter.

"You'repartofmefromnowON!" Ichigo uttered between gasps as the Hollow shrieked as the black flames devoured him, his form began to slip inside his sword and gut.

"NOOOOOOOOO! I'M KING! MEEEEEEE…!" The Inner Hollow was silenced when the last of him was absorbed into Ichigo's being. Ichigo's eyes glowed of blue and yellow as he took in the hollow's essence, feeling himself rejuvenated and alive. The power he kept dormant for so long was now free. The chains around Tensa Zangetsu suddenly blackened and shattered, dissolving into dust that slipped into Ichigo's sword and gut.

Tensa Zangetsu smiled, feeling free once more to fight not just as Ichigo's weapon, but as part of his being!

"Thank you, Ichigo," Zangetsu finished saying with gladness, as his head was the last to dissolve, forming a hood around Ichigo's visage, and a black cloak replaced his tattered school cloak, exposing his chest with chains wrapped around his mid-section and the sword now thrust free, came out as a midnight dyed blade that he had once upon a time, but now instead of wrapped bandages, were replaced with black chains around the handle and draped down dangling.

Ichigo smiled as he felt born anew with his powers restored and reborn.

"I'm back," he said ominously, as sudden as he came to his world, it became undone once more as he began to release his powers to his body in the physical world...


Senna continued to clash wearily against the Hollowified Shinji, as she felt pressured by the Visored ex-Captain's skill and prowess in using his augmented powers on top of his already substantial Soul Reaper powers. With visible cuts adorned across her coat and body, but thankfully none across her pretty face, Senna was starting to feel the strain of fighting within a restrained state. She didn't know them, but she knew they had familiar resonating Spiritual markers upon them, causing her not to want to kill them as much as she initially did. They were friends, allies of Ichigo. She knew how pissed he'd be if she laid a hand on them in the wrong manner...

Shinji panted behind his mask, glad to have slowed down the young prodigy. He knew despite the additional training of keeping his mask on longer, his time was almost up fighting her, and he knew he'd really feel the strain if he hadn't used it when he did.

"It seems you guys are tougher than you look," Shinji said, his voice distorted from the hollow mask he was wearing.

Senna spat out blood from the last hit the girl gave her, "You guys aren't too shabby, for ex-Soul Reapers," She glared at Shinji, really wishing Ryo was alright. Then suddenly Ryo's Spiritual Pressure busted to an all-time high as she heard more crashes and explosions.

Senna smirked back, "We're full of surprises!"

Shinji sighed before rushing back at through the air, "Don't underestimate us, Soul Hunter!" Senna gritted her teeth under the Visored's matching spiritual pressure at the moment, both of them clashing the Zanpakutos, sparks dancing, and the air growing heavy around them.

"RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Suddenly a mighty roar broke loose and the pair turned to see Ichigo's roof suddenly explode, black and red spiritual pressure rising to the skies, causing red lightning. The force of the release of such immense power exploded the gymnasium, and sent an incredible shock wave that nearly leveled the whole school, shattering the ground and cracking the earth with volatile and immense spiritual pressure, weighing the air with intoxicating levels.

"I-Ichigo?" Senna never imagined this could happen. She thought he would return to normal and be back to his old prodigious Soul Reaper self. Instead this was something new altogether.

Ryo had to Flash Step out of the blast radius, barely escaping the output of Spiritual Pressure enveloping the building. The black aura seemed to roar forever, red lightning streaking to and fro of the pillar of reiti.

Uryu, Shinji, and Senna all watched in amazement as the pillar of Spiritual Energy condensed, spiraling inward until it revealed a lone figure. He was garbed in black skirt hakama, his chest bare with the exception of black chains wrapped around his mid-section and around his shoulders, and he had a black hood covering his now mid length orange hair and his eyes were glowing bright blue from the release.

Uryu then gasped as he found out who it was standing there, "I-Ichigo?"

Ichigo's turned back to normal and looked around and observed the damage and chaos. After Ichigo observed what had transpired Ichigo looks at Uryu and scowls.

"Uryu! What the hell are you doing wrecking our school?!"


A/N WHEW! That took awhile! Sorry guys, lots of distractions with Christmas *jingle bells* and finals *whoo hoo!* coming and other cold *brrr* distractions.

Edit: -collapses- Man! That was a lot of work . I realized that while I gave Senna too much credit, I didn't give enough credit to either Shinji nor Uryu. So in this format, I made sure to give them plenty of room to show off and banter as much as they would usually ^_^

So what do you know? Ichigo's back in the Spiritual War! And now he's more awesome than ever. But why was Ichigo like this? What will Ichigo do now that his school was totaled? What kind of drama will take place? Will Ichigo's dad or Kon ever show their faces again? D:

Tune in next time (or read), Bleach: Dark Prophecies Chapter 5!