CHAPTER 4

Ichigo was on the edge. He was angry, annoyed and stressed. It had been a few days since he had become a forced disciple. It had been hell itself and he finally understood why Kenichi seemed to be so stressed these days. It was about the same level of training that Urahara had done with him. It had been brutal and almost life threatened but Ichigo had survived. He had lived through worse. It also wasn't the training that made him annoyed and angry. It was the person that tried to follow him around and was miserable failing in doing it secretly. Ichigo noticed the stares that he got from him all the times and remembered the one time in school where he had felt someone stare at him like that. He was probably the same one but now he had gotten careless since he most likely thought that Ichigo didn't notice him. Ichigo was before the school gates when he shunpoed behind the person and grabbed him by the collar.

Ichigo looked at the being before him and wondered if it was really human. He didn't notice how he voiced his question out loud: "alien?" The boy, it was definitive one smiled at him and started to talk.

"Kurosaki Ichigo are you willing to join Shimpaku Rengou?" Ichigo just looked at him and let him go, after having confirmed that the being before him wasn't aggressive or threatening in the least.

"What's the Shi something thing?" Ichigo asked with a confused look in Niishima's direction. Niishima didn't see the look he got thought, since Ichigo had his scowl plastered on his face like always. Ichigo didn't even give Niishima time to answer before he asked: "Were you following me the whole time because you wanted to ask that question?" Niishima shook his head and said:

Niishima looked shocked for a minute before he quickly regained his composure and said: "Yes and no. I wanted to see if my guess is right. You are a material artist, or am I wrong?" Ichigo thought about it for a bit. Theoretical he wasn't a material artist, since he didn't really have a master till a few days ago and he wasn't really interested in material arts. He sighed and nodded his head. He was one now, even thought he had only started a few days ago. Niishima smiled devilish looking like he was in his own little world and nodded his head in self praise and satisfaction. He had been right like always. His information was never wrong.

Ichigo just waited for him to come out of this weird and satisfied looking state of mind. After a few minutes he decided to leave, since it didn't look like he would get out of this state anytime soon. It was about half an hour later that he finally snapped out of it. The bell was about to ring since the lesson was almost over. Niishima pondered how he would get Ichigo to answer him since Ichigo had left without answering his question. Still Niishima was sure, he would get Ichigo to join!

Ichigo sat in class and hoped that time would move faster. He was tired and he really just wanted to go home. The masters had pushed him to the extreme and Ichigo slowly doze off to sleep after having closed his eyes. If only it hadn't been for the bell, that had decided to ring at the moment. He opened his eyes again and tried to stand up. It was somehow harder since he felt a weight on his back. He opened his eyes and looked at the object that had caused his discomfort. His eyes caught the alien boy that was, for better use of words lying on him. Ichigo waited for him to go away, disappear or even disintegrated but nothing happened and the weight reminded on his back.

"Can you get of me?" He finally asked angrily. Could that boy not see that he was tired? The boy smiled at him and finally moved away.

"Have you considered joining?" Ichigo looked at him and thought back what the boy had asked in the first place.

"I don't even know anything about the club that you want me to join." The alien smiled at him (when does he not smile?) and answered: "You could say that it is a club for material artist!" Ichigo answered directly after having heard that. He didn't need any more problems and material arts. "No thanks!" Ichigo stood up from his seat and left, leaving an already scheming Niishima behind, that already created a plan to make him join. He needed background information for that thought. Blackmail was the easiest method after all.

Niishima had gathered all information that he could, but there didn't seem to be any dislikes or likes that he could use against Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo had two sisters and a father. His mother had died in a mysterious dead. Niishima never used other people as blackmail even thought that was very effective. He had pride as well and only scum would do that.

Ichigo seemed to have a weird group of friends. They were very different and Niishima was surprised to see them together. Ichigo seemed to have been the leader for better use of words. In the last year his attendands in school suddenly dropped but he still stayed in the best fifths of the school. Then he suddenly moved here without a real reason. Niishima would need to find that still missing reason. Ichigo was a very interesting person.

Ichigo wandered around a bit. He didn't want to go to the dojo directly. He was in a bit of depressive mood. Niishima had remembered him of his friends when he suddenly appeared before him in school. He missed everyone in school and now he wished that he had lost all his powers. Of course he was happy to have Zangetsu and even Shiro back but that still didn't mean that he wanted to leave all of them behind. He remembered how his sisters had cried. Even Karin had cried and said that he shouldn't leave. It had been so hard for Ichigo.

He went around a corner when he suddenly stopped. He looked around having felt another presence following him. One was from Niishima but he knew that already. Niishima had followed him around since school. The other was dangerous. It's aura was dark and it had killer intent. Ichigo looked in Niishima's direction. He knew that Niishima was the brain and not the strength. He wouldn't be able to defend himself from the attacks.

Ichigo turned around and went around the corner again. He crouched down to Niishima that was shocked at his appearance and said:

"You need to run away from here. I know you have been following me all day but it could get dangerous now." Niishima nodded a bit dumbstruck. Ichigo seemed to care for his wellbeing.

Ichigo stood up again and Niishima followed the example. They moved into a different direction as fast as they could go. At first it didn't follow but Ichigo didn't slow down. He had noticed that Niishima was a very good runner. They were pretty far away already when the thing started to move in their direction. At first it moved slowly and then more and more quickly. Was that thing really human? It moved at least as fast as him in shinigami form. It was then that he told Niishima to run into a different direction and he obeyed. It was too dangerous for Niishima to stay with him. Ichigo still run further away but the thing was closing in. It was a few minutes later that it caught up. Ichigo looked at it with shock. It looked human enough to count as one but how did it move so fast? Ichigo got into a fighting position and didn't wait for the human to make a move. He attacked, since he knew that the best defense was offense and that he needed to finish him soon or he would be the one to lie on the ground. He materialized Zangetsu, not caring if that was weird or not and attacked with full force. The human being seemed to be shocked at first before it reacted. It was too late since Ichigo had cut it. Ichigo didn't wait for it to fight back since he would be probably dead than and attacked with quick swords strikes. The person before him was bleeding profoundly but it didn't seem to mind. The grin that it had reminded Ichigo of Kenpachi and those enemies were the worse to fight. He only hoped that he would win before this monster (it wasn't a human anymore when he categorized it the same as Kenpachi) started to attack seriously. Kenpachi2 (Ichigo started to call this monster) had started to smile brighter and slowly started to attack back. Ichigo noticed the brute strength that Kenpachi2 used and that he was more and more pushed back. He was about to give up when he saw a small girl in his vision. It looked at them with fearful eyes and Kenpachi2 Also noticed her. He smiled and Ichigo could see how he licked his lips. That was all that Ichigo needed to strengthen his resolve. He pushed Kenpachi2 back and his eyes started to glow blue even thought he didn't let his reiatsu flow out. Kenpachi2 looked surprised when Ichigo suddenly started to push him back and started to attack him with seemingly new found power. The cuts that Kenpachi suddenly received were deeper and bigger. Kenpachi2 smiled insanely and started to fight back. Ichigo got his far share of cuts and soon the whole ground was overflowed with their blood. The last strike from Ichigo was then enough to finally bring Kenpachi2 down. He stood like a statue in all his bloody glory there. Not really having anymore strength to move or even talk. He let Zangetsu disappear and slowly moved toward the girl that he still remembered was there.

"Are you alright?" He asked after having crouched down before her. She nodded with wide eyes.

"You should go to your mother. She is probably worried about you." The girl nodded again but still didn't seem to move. Ichigo smiled at her even thought his vision was already fading from blood lose. The girl smiled back and asked:

"Does it hurt?" Ichigo only nodded when the small girl asked. He hadn't understood the sentences fully but it had been enough for him to gasp the meaning. "It does!"

"Can I do something for you?" Ichigo really didn't understand a word anymore. He was so tired and slowly began to close his eyes. His conscious slowly faded away and he didn't notice what happen around him anymore.

The girl didn't move away. She still stood before the bloody Ichigo that was crouched down before her. She became scared when he didn't answer or move. She touched his body and shook him a bit but nothing happened. She was scared and was already crying. She didn't know what to do and so she yelled out for help. It was loud and the masters heard it with their distinct senses. They started to move into that direction of the yell while at the same time the group of Shimpaku Rengou had almost arrived there as well. Niishima had called for help, since a 'comrade' was in danger. They arrived at the same time as the masters and were horrified at the sight before them. A pool of blood having gathered on the street with one man laying in it and probably dead and with a young man crouching before a crying girl who was hugging him, also losing blood and seemingly dead.

"Girl did you see what happened?" The elder asked her and she stopped crying and looked at him. She nodded but didn't let Ichigo go out of her grip. Only when Akisame and Kensei move to help him did she let him go. She had focused on Ichigo again when the elder asked her: "Can you tell us what happened?" She nodded and everyone started to listen intensely.

"That onii-chan seemed to be in a hurry when that bad man suddenly stopped him after having appeared out of nowhere. A sword suddenly appeared in onii-chan hand and he attacked the man. This bad man suddenly started to smile like crazy and onii-chan was slowly pushed back. He spotted me and the bad man also, but when the bad man licked his lips while looking at me the onii-chan's eyes started to glow blue and he started to push back. They soon cut each other everywhere and the blood started to spread. The bad man was the first to fall when onii-chan slowly came to me and crouched before me. He asked me if I am alright and I nodded. When I asked him if it hurt he nodded and answered with yes. His eyes slowly closed and when I asked him if I could somehow help him he had closed his eyes fully and didn't move anymore." She had started to cry at the last part. It was heart wrenching to see a small girl cry like that but they didn't know what to do.

It was Ichigo himself who stopped the girl's tears. He had regained conscious through the crying and had moved his hand to wipe away the tears. The girl stopped crying and took his hand into hers.

"How bad is it?" He suddenly asked the two doctors that were treating him. His masters looked at each other before saying:

"You have many deep cuts and one that even reaches your heart. I would say that a normal human would have died by now!" Ichigo nodded and was for the first time happy that he wasn't 'normal'.

"How is Kenpachi2?" Ichigo asked with a worried look toward the man on the ground. They all looked at him surprised but Akisame moved toward him and checked.

"He is still alive but he needs immediate treatment." Ichigo nodded. "Can you treat him?" Akisame nodded and without question started to operate on him. Ichigo looked down at himself. He concentrated on his wounds and everyone could see how bone white substance came out of the wounds and closed them. The all stared in wonder at it till Kenichi asked not being able to hold his curious back anymore.

"What is that?" Ichigo thought about it for a bit. Should he answer? He decided that they would find out someday anyway so he answered:

"It is a substance that my body creates to close wounds. It is a bit like the red blood cells but much more effectively. The wounds soon will be closed." They all stared at his wounds or more like the white bone like substance in disbelieve. It was a minute later that the white substance broke off and left healthy skin behind. There wasn't anything left, not even a scar that would have shown that he had been cut there. Ichigo became sleepy. He was very tired after having self regenerated himself and having fought like that in his human body. He slowly laid his head back down and fell asleep. He didn't notice how everyone stared at him in disbelieve. He also didn't notice how he and kenpachi2 were carried back to the dojo. The little girl had followed him till there before Apachai rought her back home.

It was a day later that he awakened again, or more like Shiro taking control of his body and wakening up. Shiro looked around and noticed the stares that he got from the masters. He smiled and lay down again. He wouldn't do Ichigo the favor to answer all their questions. That he would leave to Ichigo.

I changed this chapter since I didn't like the first one.

Hope you liked it!