Ash, and any mentioned Pokemon is from Gamefreak/Nintendo and Cartoon Network

Bleach is from TV Tokyo

Chapter 4:

Ichigo becomes a Hollow, but what of Ash?

As Ash and Ichigo were dealing with their cylinder chasm Rukia was dealing with her own troubles in her homeland. "What? What did you just say, Captain Kuchiki?" Renji questioned to his leader while griping Rukia's cell bars for balance. "What do you mean?" He added to his first questions.

"It is as I said. Do I need to repeat my self? Twenty-Five days from now she'll go to the Central Execution Grounds where she will suffer the ultimate punishment. That is the final decision of the Soul Society." The man questioned and repeated what he had said earlier.

'This can't be. He is her sister – this has to be him actually pulling my leg...right?' Renji thought to himself as he was really trying to make heads or tails of any of this.

"This will be the last time that you and I will ever exchange words." The older of the two informed before walking away while slipping the note back into his outfit. "Rukia, the next time that I see you will be at your execution." He added before leaving the room to the two of them.

'We are taught never to shed tears. For to shed tears means that the body has been defeated by emotion, and to us: that simple act of crying – only proves, without question, that the existence of emotion is nothing but a burden.' Rukia thought to herself of an rule that the Soul Society had drilled into their skulls. Back in the land of the living Ash listened to what Tessai had to say.

"Lesson 2: Shattered Shaft." The tall man said as he held been sitting there with his hands in the same position as before.

"May I have your attention please?" Their teacher shouted out from high above them causing the raven haired one and the orange haired one to look up at him. "You have a period of Seventy-Two hours at the bottom of Shattered Shaft you two. That is how long it will take for the chain of fate to become completely encroached by the end of that time if neither of you have returned to the top of the shaft as a Soul Reaper then we will have no other choice but to kill you." Kisuke reminded them of the danger of this particular lesson.

"You bastard! So, you intend to kill us?" Ichigo shouted up at him. The blonde one was about to reply, but the other student spoke up first.

"Only if we fail this lesson. Come on, surely you have more hope in you then that." Ash said to him while still carrying that blue light within him. As the two sat there in the near darkness across town were a couple more of their party.

'It's official – Dragon Ball Z kills braincells.' Yoruichi thought as the feline had been watching the two students scream as loud as they could and motion their arms in the same way as the fighters did when they needed to power up. "You're both completely hopeless." Their mentor spoke out which caught their attention. "At this rate: I will never be able to let you into the Soul Society." Their mentor added which hurt them emotionally a little bit.

"Wait. That's not fair." Orihime informed the feline of how she felt about those words.

"Quit it. Stop whining. Unless you can activate your powers at will you will die like a dog in the Soul Society. Do you understand me?" The sensei informed them bluntly and then questioned to make sure that the words were getting to them. "It's not that hard. Just remember the first time you used your powers and retrace those steps." The teacher instructed to them in hopes that would get their training rolling.

"Well, that's easier said then done. I was so desperate that first time." The orange haired young woman informed the feline before her.

"What were you so desperate about?" The black furred beast questioned back which caught the girl off guard. "Think about it this way: a person picks up a sword when he's trying to protect something. Perhaps its your life, or social status, maybe a reputation, a loved one, or personal beliefs. The motives may be completely different, but in the end it is the same desire to protect something. Think back, what were you trying to protect when you first called upon your powers ?" The house cat informed and then questioned to the two young heroes.

"Let's see." Orihime stated while crossing her arms. The first time that she did such a thing was going so fast that she didn't really know what she was doing.

"Hmm?" Chad muttered out loud before thinking, 'I...I was trying to protect Ichigo's kid sister.' He then began to think of what the sister looked like. 'A red cap, long hair, and since she's Ichigo's sister – she looks like Ichigo, but she's still a girl.' He thought then added those images together to make him almost vomit outright.

"It seems you failed to remember." The feline pointed out before turning to the other one. "And what about you?" The cat questioned in an annoyed tone: expecting the same epic fail as with Chad just then.

"Well, I...I...uh...at that time." She began to answer, and then recalled her encounter with the squid-like hollow with that puppet power. "I was so desperate. So desperate." She muttered out loud as she recalled trying to talk her oldest friend to fight the fiend's influence.

"It shined." Chad informed her which caught the orange haired one's attention.

"Oh, really!" She shouted out with joy and just like that her hair clips split into six different creatures. "Hey, guys." She stated with a big smile on her face.

"You summoned. If you ever need us – don't hesitate. Just call on us for help." A small human like creature with blonde hair and a red kimono informed her before being kicked from behind by the brash warrior in black.

"But considering the situation. For what possible reason would you need our help." The black themed man with a white scarf over his mouth informed while gesturing to the human giant and the cat. He did feel a lot of power from the cat, but also knew that it meant no harm, so his argument still stood.

'Was that an insult?' Chad thought if the tiny creature was poking fun that he wasn't a threat.

"Cause that's our job." The informative one informed him: reminding him of their main purpose.

"I'm sorry. I was remembering all sorts of things. So then...ow!" Orihime tried to explain herself, but the aggressive one kicked her in the head out of rage.

"You weren't even in danger, and yet you called for us? You terrible little hussy." The black themed one shouted out and then proceeded to pull on her long orange hair which caused her to run away from him; not knowing that another one of the six were on her head – just enjoying the ride.

"Tsubaki, you stop that, right now." A purple haired one shouted out in Orihime's defense.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm pissed off." The puller shouted back at her in anger. This mostly ended up being annoying for others to watch with their teacher scratching itself on the ear to try to pass time.

"Well done, Orihime. Although it seems to me that your going to need a bit more practice when it comes to taming your own power." The cat informed and then decided to go back to her other student since he had not tried anything since Orihime's awakening began. "What about you? Any luck yet?" The feline questioned before adding, "Tell me: why are you going to the Soul Society." The man in question just stood there. Back at the cylinder chasm Ichigo and Ash were still having a spot of difficulty.

'The fifth encroachment has just ended. There seems to be a cycle to all of this. First they stomp chomping then they fall asleep. During these periods of encroachment neither of us can move an inch. The chains...are so painful.' Ichigo thought to himself before his friend on the wall spoke up.

"Quick. Let's make a move before the chains wake up." As the two rushed off Ichigo got the feeling that Ash understood the pattern, and was acting on it. Both students charged up as fast as they could, but after a while their momentum stopped causing gravity to take over. Before he fell Ash was able to nick where his foot was last. Back at the tip their spectators of three continued to see the chaos.

"It makes no sense what they're doing, but somehow those two are able to run up a practically straight wall. For a pair of humans these two sure take chances." Jinta pointed out

"Oh, you don't say?" Kisuke questioned with a smile hidden by his fan.

"Idiots." The quiet girl muttered out.

"Damn it." Ichigo muttered in anger, but once again Ash still try to remain the symbol of hope.

"Don't quit just yet. Just look up. I have been marking where we stop before gravity pulls us back down. We are making progress." Ash shouted out with joy in his voice. It was then they heard the voice of one of the people above them.

"Are you getting hungry down there yet?" Jinta shouted down at them.

"Not yet, Jinta, but thanks for asking." Ash shouted out at him which annoyed the red haired one of how happy-go-lucky Ash was, and how his comments didn't annoy him...the other one on the other hand.

"Besides, jerk, we're in our soul forms! Why the hell would we be hungry?!" Ichigo shouted out since he was starting to loose it: between this chasm's hopelessness, Ash's optimism, and Jinta's voice he couldn't tell what was worse.

"Well, that's great to hear. Cause I'll let you two in on a little secret. If you're in Soul Form and then you start to get hungry: it's a dangerous sign. It just means you are just one step away from becoming a hollow.

'That sounds pretty bad.' Ash thought to himself and then wondered what was going on with his body since both men did just leave their shells up there – totally helpless. As he thought of that Jinta and Ururu began drooling on Ichigo while Ash got up, with his arms firmly behind his back, and walked to the chasm wall.

"Wonder if it's dark outside? In this room it's difficult to tell the time of day." Kiskue questioned and informed after finishing off his eleventh apple. Down in the shaft Ichigo was giving up while Ash focused on their other factor to consider.

"I wonder how much time has passed. I can't tell at all. Even if I did carry a watch, it would be kind of pointless with my arms behind my back." Ash pointed out to his friend.

"More to the point – how are we expected to get out of here." Ichigo pointed out which was a genuine point. The two then saw a figure come down. Despite not having his arms Ash got ready for a fight – sort of like a muscle memory only to discover that it was Jinta...with a plate of food.

"Thought I'd bring you two a little food down here. I figured you two would be feeling a little bit hungry right about now." The red haired one informed them even though he just wanted to get down to something more fun then just watching these two.

"Excellent notion, Jinta. A celebratory feast for our success, but a little early." Ash informed which again was not what he wanted to hear or see.

"You must be nuts. Neither of us are getting hungry at all. Take a good look. The way I see it. There's still a few links to the chain of fate." Ichigo pointed out while motioning to Ash's chain as well.

"Well, that can't be helped. You will find that you will loose track of time in a place like this." He informed the two which concerned them a bit and watched as he placed the dish down. "You know you two have been down here over seventy hours. I'm just thinking – some of the other souls have been turned into hollows by now." He informed the two.

"Other souls?" Ash whispered under his breath since that got his attention.

"One more thing, the final encroachment – it's nothing like the other ones." He informed them darkly which only excited Ash.

"You mean there's a bigger challenge within this challenge – awesome!" Ketchum shouted out with a big smile on his face.

'Seriously, what is this guy?' The young man questioned to himself before leaving the two of them. After he did the cause to this calamity looked over his shoulder to see his work.

"All right, looks like they are going to become hollows after all." Jinta informed as he heard loud screams of torture at the base of the shaft. The other helper, who actually liked the two new comers decided to do something about this.

"I've got to help. It's time I rescued them." Ururu stated with an outstretched arm, but her boss spoke out before she could do anything.

"Hold it." He instructed, and after he got her attention he added, "Watch them closely: nothing more. Usually when a hole becomes a hollow first the spiritual body explodes, and then it reforms, but in his case the order is all mixed up. The mask is being created while the body is still a hole. This is a sign that he is resisting. There is still a strong possibility that in time the two will become Soul Reapers, so let's watch a while and see." Kisuke informed the two young helpers about this part of his plan. "If they truly become a pair of hollows...just a little longer." He added and this caused the two to look down with a bit of fear in their eyes and body language. It was then that the two realized that nothing was happening to Ash...at all.

"So, what's the deal with Ash? He doesn't have a chain of fate anymore, but nothing is happening to him?" Ururu pointed out which caused their boss to look down and saw what they were talking about, and then he saw something in the hole itself.

'I see, so Ash has a bit more protection then I thought.' The shop owner thought to himself as he looked at the object in the hole. As Ichigo talked to a elderly looking man, and was falling off of the side of a building Ash had a different experience in his mental plane. In the trainer's world it was mostly like home.

"I'm home, but how can that be?" Ash asked as he scanned the area and saw that it was exactly like his hometown of Pallet, and that was when he saw someone to his right. The bearded figure said nothing, just motioned for the trainer to follow which he did.

'There is a possibility that he can hear me, but I want to test him first.' The figure thought to himself as he continued to walk. Eventually the two made it to a Pokemon Stadium, and once inside Ash stopped at his spot of the dueling field.

"I've followed you long enough. Now tell me what's going on here." Ash shouted at the man before him. The man stopped at the other box, turned to face Ash, and then pointed at the jumbo-tron. Ash looked at it and saw several icons from left to right, and then he saw the word hollow on the far right.

"Your other selves are buying you some time for you to find my power, but once the final layer of defense falls – nothing will protect you from the life of a hollow." The man informed and even though Ash didn't understand the other hims part he got the gist of it.

"How?" Ketchum questioned, and with a snap of the fingers their battlefield was surrounded by a sea of white ribbons.

"All you have to do is pull one ribbon and we will be free, but fail this and the shields will all vanish." The man informed which scared the trainer a bit since he did not really like that idea one little bit.

'Maybe if I go up high?' Ash thought and raced off up the flight of stairs that caught his eye. Once on the high level he could see that another icon, of a hallow and wings, shattered meaning that another layer left him. "Come on, there has to be a way to fix this." Ash muttered to himself out loud.

'It looks like he could use a bit of help.' A watcher thought to himself thought before setting his own plan out. It was then that a concession stand lit up with a beverage and a cup full of white straws sitting there.

"That's odd." Ash muttered out, but went over there anyways. "I wonder if that mystery man is the one that did this?" The hero questioned to himself, and unconsciously grabbed a straw while looking over at the next barrier that was starting to crack. When the trainer felt his wandering fingers had something he pulled and saw something odd.

'Excellent. He did exactly as I was hoping he would do.' The watcher thought to himself as he saw that Ash had picked up the right straw.

"This wrapper is red, but all of the others were...white." Ash muttered and understood what was going on. He rushed to the ledge of the level he was in and saw in the sea of white a sliver of red. "All I have to do is go down there and grab it." The out of towner proclaimed before hearing a voice.

"You might want to look carefully at the screen." The voice warned and the trainer saw that he was down to three shields.

"The voice is right. I have to take a leap of faith about this." Ketchum mutter before racing back as far as he could, race to the edge, leap off with an outstretched hand, and at that same moment Ichigo was grabbing a red strand as well. Unknown to either of the two young heroes was the fact that their bodies were exploding with a new power already which worried the man in the shaft with them.

"He's at their absolute limit boss. I am switching to suppression mode." Tessai shouted out before plunging his index and middle finger from both hands into the earth. "Bakudo 99 Part 2: Bakei - 1st incantation: bandage, 2nd incantation hundred deadbolts..." He informed as white wrappings and sophisticated needles jabbed and wrapped around both Ash and Ichigo.

Hey, be careful down there Tessai. If you do all of that there is a good chance that the two could die." Jinta shouted out as a way of warning the older man that what he was doing was a bit reckless.

"I can't hold them down any longer. They must be destroyed immediately. Right now – before they become hollows. Final incantation: Fatal Seal!" Tessai informed them before slamming his hands together. At that point two large crates appeared and were heading straight for the two new warriors.

'That won't stop me.' The two thought as they saw the containers above them, and attacked them without a second thought. Up on the surface Kisuke was shielding the two young ones with his own body.

"Whoa! Look up there! Something's shooting out of it!" The red haired one shouted out as he saw two fireballs flying out of the explosion. After some bouncing around the two balls of fire crashed on the ground. "Those things. Just what the heck are they." Jinta shouted out as he looked at the smoke before them.

'Did that fool think such a spell would work on me?' A voice somewhere within Ash thought before sensing the eyes on him. With that he de-powered Ash's right arm to keep everyone, including Ash himself, of his presence...at least for now; Ichigo wasn't as fortunate.

"Hey, is that you? Answer Carrot-Top. You too Charcoal Head. If you're alive answer me." Jinta shouted out to them as he got away from his boss. The first thing that greeted were a pair of glowing red eyes, but when the smoke cleared... "A shihaksho and a mask? Or is he a Soul Reaper?" Jinta said as he looked at Ichigo while the young girl saw Ash's condition.

'Ash has a shihaksho as well, but his face is covered in bandages, so does he have a mask as well.' Ururu thought to herself and saw that Ash was answering her question by removing the bandages, but her attention was drawn back to the other student when she saw him go for his sword.

"I may be small, but I'll fight ya." The boy shouted out as he stood ready to attack. To their surprise the man turned his handle on the mask, and smashed it. By the time Ash got his bandages off Ichigo had his mask resting on the side of his head. Now seeing that neither of them have changed confused Jinta completely. "Hey, aren't you two supposed to be hollows?" He asked in complete confusion.

'So, I guess this is what the power of a Soul Reaper is supposed to feel like.' Ash thought as he started clenching his right fist. The orange haired one to Ash's right was having a similar thought, but was clenching his left hand.

"Congratulations. It seems you two are now true Soul Reapers. Well done. Lesson Two: completed." The shop owner shouted happily while fluttering open his fan.

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted out while slamming the handle of his sword into his teacher's face. "Ha! Well, well, well, I bet you weren't expecting us to come back alive, were ya? I swore to myself that if I made it out of that hole I would kill you the first chance that I got!" Ichigo shouted out with an evil smile.

"This is perfect. With all of your spirit we should be able to get you started on lesson three." Urahara informed them as he stood back up.

'Should have seen that coming.' Ash thought to herself, and saw that his fellow hero was completely angered/surprised by this piece of news.

"And the best news is. Lesson three has no time limit. Knock off my hat with your Zanpakto, and the lesson will be cleared." The man with sandals informed and with that Kurosaki took a single sword slash from bottom to top which gave him a hairline crack on his hat. "Not bad. Considering your Zanpakto is broken." The teacher commented with a smile.

"I wouldn't be so smug. Because I haven't gotten down to business yet. Look: why don't we forget about your concept of no time limit. I bet between the two of us we can end this lesson in five minutes." Kurusaki shouted out with a big smile on his face.

"Sounds good. Five minutes? You said that's all the time you need, right?" Kisuke questioned to them as he unsheathed his sword from his cane, and stood ready to fight.