Chapter Three

Strength (the Fullbringer)

He sat on the wall, looking at the brown haired man running past him without noticing his presence, soon followed by the hollow that chased him. The parakeet sitting on the man's shoulder urged him to go faster, the shaking boy's soul attached to it emitting the tastiest kind of fear. He had been watching the boy for quite some time, wondering if he would turn into a hollow or not, whilst its chaser killed every human that tried to help him. Would he fall into despair soon? The hollow swung forward and struck the human, sending him flying across the street whilst the parakeet worriedly flew around its fallen protector and perched itself on a nearby wall. The tall man laboriously got up, looking all around him in search of what had attacked him.

Incredible. That human truly was tough. He had been chased and attacked for one full week by a hollow and he was still alive. And the hollow wasn't even a stupid new-born. He may not understand why the other was still clinging onto the possessed parakeet, even after learning that it was the source of his problems, but that human did deserve his respect for surviving so long. No matter what the other hollow did, car crash, steel pipes, even direct attacks, he always got back up as if nothing had happened. And he even managed to fight back in some way. His fists flying in the air, missing the hollow most of the time yet still managing to land a hit from time to time, sending the hollow flying with each hit. Absolutely fascinating.

It might even be worth meddling with their fight. Which might procure him some new form of entertainment. His decision made, he jumped on the wall just behind the man and leaned toward him. The distraught parakeet trying to warn his friend while avoiding the other hollow's attacks.

"3 meters straight ahead." Were his only words, his breath on the human's neck, watching closely for his reaction. He wasn't disappointed: the human followed his directions and ran straight toward the hollow and hit him head on, sending him flying away from the parakeet with the sheer force of the impact. The hollow looked at him with a murderous look.

"Traitor! Are you out of your mind? Why are you helping that human?" shouted the other hollow at him.

"You had your chance and you missed it. Seriously, you've been after this child for weeks and you haven't managed to eat his soul yet? How pitiful. And if a mere human actually manages to beat you up, then it simply means that a hollow as incompetent as you doesn't deserve to exist."

"You! I'll show you if I'm incompetent!" roared the other hollow as he opened his wing and started flying above the human. "Even if you tell him where I am, he won't be able to touch me!"

He ignored the hollow and got closer to the human once again.

"Up in the air, at nine." The man looked around but couldn't see him so he simply went for the nearest telephone pole and uprooted it, which greatly amused him. This human really wasn't like the others. The other hollow didn't even have the time to fly away before the pole struck him down.

"Hahaha! I'm not defeated yet! Do you really think I fight alone?" shouted the other hollow, trying to get up from under the pole.

"No. But your little friends won't come. I got bored while watching you so I ate them." he simply answered.

"What?!"

"And I'm gonna eat you too very soon. For now, shut up." he finished their conversation by striking the fallen hollow with his scythes, decapitating him before turning toward the human. The parakeet landed on the human's shoulder and looked at him apprehensively.

"Be careful, mister! The other monster is still here!"

"Where?" asked the human to the parakeet.

"Right!" answered the parakeet and the human swung at him. He barely had the time to dodge the man's fist aimed at his head.

"Is that how you thank me for helping you, human? Without me you two would be dead my now, eaten by the other. Or by me." was his fierce reply.

"You're the one who told me where to hit?"

"Yes."

"Why can't I see you?"

"Average humans can't see the dead."

"So you're a ghost?"

"The boy inside your parakeet is a ghost. I'm some kind of evolved ghost. A hollow to be more precise."

"Hollows eat souls!" interrupted the parakeet.

"And? Humans eat animals, hollows eat human souls. To each one his own diet."

"Then why didn't you eat us?" asked the man.

"Good point. I found you interesting, that's all. The exact same reason why you would choose to keep a pet instead of simply eating it."

"Every human has a certain ability engraved deep into his or her soul, but most live their life without ever awakening it. It is what makes a shinigami's zanpakuto or a hollow's abilities. It's something that can't be separated from you, no matter what. If a human has prolonged contact with spiritual energy, be it that of a ghost, a hollow or a shinigami, they become receptive to spiritual energy and can see spirits. Some can even awaken their ability during their lifetime. Those who do so call themselves fullbringers."

"So you think that the guys with the parakeet could achieve that, Shirosaki?" asked ichigo, sitting on the side of one of the skycrapers with Shirosaki, looking at the moon's reflection in the ocean in front of them.

"Most likely. That strength of his isn't completely natural so it must have already begun." answered the albino, throwing a piece of steel in the ocean and looking at the waves it made expand and reflect at the buildings' feet.

"Should I eat him like the shinigamis, then?"

"I don't think so, it would be more useful to have him as an ally. The ghost as well. The shinigamis can't attack them. And they owe us."

"Okay."

The human turned around and tried to locate his enemy, in vain, and his effort were rewarded by a second slash on the chest. He tried so hit his enemy but his fists encountered only air. He was beginning to tire, his eyes hurting from trying to focus on something he couldn't see. He jerked around when he heard claws clicking on the ground somewhere on his left and he hardly had the time to guard himself before having to face the full power of the hollow's charge. He stood his ground and tried to seize his invisible opponent but the hollow had already backed off and all he caught was some more air.

"Come on, Chad, you can do better than that. Or maybe you want me to eat you?"

"But I can't see you!"

"Well, try harder! Spending your time with the parakeet-boy should have augmented your sensibility to spiritual energy. You managed to hear me, why are you still unable to see? If you don't make any progress anymore I'll be forced to eat the bird to vent out my frustration. What do you say, Mr Shibata Yuuichi the flying snack?" taunted the hollow.

"Don't eat my soul! Please, Mr Hollow!" shrieked the bird, flying everywhere in the room to avoid the hollow's tail trying to catch it.

"Well, at least you did improve at dodging." stated the hollow, turning back to the black haired human just in time to see the dark skinned fist collide with his mask, sending him flying across the room.

"Does that count as an improvement, Mr Hollow?" asked the dark skinned man while contemplating his fist.

"You got me because I wasn't paying attention to you and because I was talking to the boy, that's all." answered the hollow while checking his mask for any cracks.

"But I still got you." said the human, sitting down on one of the warehouse's crates.

"That trick wouldn't have worked in a real fight."

"You insufferable bird! I'm going to eat you up, you'll see!" shouted the huge spider-like hollow while trying to shake off Shibata who was picking at every uncovered space of skin the hollow left unguarded. He watched as Chad used the distraction the bird had created to locate the hollow's voice and attack it, cracking one of it's legs with a well placed fist.

He had found a wandering hollow not far from here and had dared his new pets to try and defeat it. For now the fight was going well but he was sure the other hollow had something up its sleeve. Well, maybe getting roughed up a bit would speed up the development of their abilities. Weaklings were of no interest to him. He stayed crouched up on a nearby roof and watched the fight unravel in front of his eyes.

As he had guessed, the other hollow did have a trick up its sleeve, as proved the bloodied form of Yasutora Chad not far from his watching spot. When the hollow had started to take the human and the bird seriously, its legs had grown, turning into long tentacles ending with deadly scythes, and it had flung one at Shibata, sending him crashing straight into the ground. The bird-boy had survived solely because Chad had caught him before he hit the ground. After that, the other hollow had decided to shut up and attack from a distance, leaving the brown haired man with the only option of trying to block the hits. And trying to block or avoid four attacks in different spots at the same time was complicated, even for someone as sturdy as Chad.

"If you don't wake this ability now, you'll both end up eaten by that hollow." he informed the human. And he was right, the tall man was back against the wall, his bleeding arms trying to shield his body from the other hollow's attacks. Sending concerned looks to the nearby unconscious form of the parakeet. He taunted the human.

"If you fail, not only you will die, but the boy too."

The hollow struck one last time, aiming to end the fight by sending several of its tentacles toward Chad and around him, embedding themselves into the wall and cutting all retreat for the human, lifting up a cloud of dust and rubbles. When the cloud finally settled, the human's right arm had turned red and black and his forearm resembled a shield.

Surprised, the hollow took a step back but the brown haired man caught one of its tentacles and strongly pulled it, making the hollow fall down closer to him. He then punched it right in the mask, or more precisely, through the mask, and it fell down like a broken doll.

AN:

Reviews are welcome! :)