"Ichigo… Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Brown eyes snapped open to a face he didn't recognize.
"Good. You're awake." The Shinigami gave a quick bow. "C-Captain Unohana, Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoroku need to speak with you immediately!"
Ichigo sat up in bed. He felt around his body but found that he'd been bandaged up and given new robes.
"Sorry for waking you, Ichigo…" The other Shinigami said. "But it's urgent."
Without wasting another second, Ichigo followed the Shinigami out of his room and down the hall to a meeting room. There he found the Captains waiting for him. He sat down and was soon busy answering all their questions. Ichigo explained what Muramasa revealed to him: how he was taking over the Zanpakutos and how Muramasa appeared to be searching for something. Ichigo also informed them that Zangetsu had been taken over.
An uneasy silence settled over the room.
"So… to review…" Unohana said softly. All eyes turned to her. "A Zanpakuto named Muramasa is the one controlling the Zanpakuto?"
Ichigo nodded, his orange hair rolling into his eyes. He brought a hand up from his lap in order to brush it back. "He can remove a Zanpakuto from a Shinigami's body. He can then use any of the Zanpakuto's suppressed rage against their Shinigami to convince them to turn against their Master. It's something like mind control, but closer to manipulation…"
A loud clatter was heard before the door across the room slid open. Ichigo recognized that red hair and face full of tattoos anywhere…
"So you called?" Renji asked as he entered, nodding to Ukitake. Behind him were two figures that Ichigo didn't recognize.
Captain Ukitake gave Renji a meek smile. "I did. You've fought and subdued your Zanpakuto… can you tell us anything about the battle that may aid other Shinigami?"
Renji frowned, "I wish I could. All I did was fight and defeat them… I'm afraid Zabimaru doesn't remember anything."
"Is this true?" Ukitake questioned.
Monkey, one of Zabimaru's spirits, spoke, "Yeah. We don't remember a thing from before Renji fought us. Muramasa… doesn't even sound familiar to us."
"Renji!" Snake, Zabimaru's other spirit, shouted, "Can we go now!? I'm starving!"
Renji snapped at Snake, "I already told you no! And I already gave you something to eat thirty minutes ago!" Renji and Snake began to bicker. Monkey sighed and grunted in annoyance. She tried separating them and an even louder argument ensued.
The pale figure sitting behind Ichigo snorted. "You're all pathetic."
Ichigo snapped a glare in his direction, effectively silencing Shiro.
Both Zabimaru's spirits screamed at him, "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"
Renji pushed them both back. "Damn, Ichigo. Your Zanpakuto thinks less before speaking than you do-" Renji stopped in his tracks at the sight of the figure sitting behind Ichigo on the floor. If the skin hadn't given it away, then those eyes definitely did. "That's…"
"My Inner Hollow," Ichigo stated.
"Isn't he… supposed to be… yanno…?" Renji drawled, making an odd gesture with his hands. "Inner?"
"You're just a regular detective, aren't you?" Shiro retorted. "Ain't yer Zanpakuto spirits s'pose to be 'inner' as well?"
Renji grumbled at Shiro's remark, but bit his tongue before another argument broke out. Unnoticed behind him was Zabimaru. Both spirits hadn't taken their eyes off of Shiro. They could tell, just by looking at him, that something was… off.
Muramasa could hear the echoes of the Zanpakuto below. He couldn't care less for their nonchalant bickering. He was aware they were growing restless, but his preparations hadn't yet been complete. For now, he'd chosen a handful of powerful Zanpakuto to keep safe. None of them held the power he desired, but each of them could prove useful in discovering that power.
Zangetsu marched behind him, a hard frown on his face. He wasn't scared of this place, but all the different presences were making him feel uneasy. Since he was technically part of Ichigo's powers, Muramasa did retain some basic control over him. For example, a week ago he'd never abandon Ichigo's inner world in an attempt to pursue his goals, now however… Zangetsu had a plan to test Ichigo's true abilities. If it meant that it was time to hand the torch over to the real Zangetsu, then so be it. He had to know for sure that Ichigo could defeat him, and then maybe Ichigo stood a chance against-
"What's going on here?" Muramasa spoke, his voice as bland as his care for the situation.
Haineko and Tobiume immediately turned around. Their eyes locked on Muramasa, ignoring, for now, the figure he'd brought down with him.
Haineko piped up, "Nothing! We're just… talking."
Zangetsu looked away, and then flinched as his eyes met the glare from another Zanpakuto. "Who are you?"
Zangetsu recognized that Zanpakuto's spiritual pressure. Hozukimaru… "Zangetsu-"
"Ichigo Kurosaki's Zangetsu!?" Another Zanpakuto laughed. "Good riddance to that Substitute Shinigami! What worthless trash! No fighting spirit, no clue on how to actually use his powers… just a big waste of spiritual pressure!"
Zangetsu found himself agreeing. Even though he knew it was due to Muramasa's influence, he still hated himself for it. He also knew the real him, Yhwach, would be thinking the same thing.
Muramasa spoke again. "I have the feeling Ichigo Kurosaki is still alive…" Zangetsu turned and looked at him, his expression unreadable. "I want you all to capture him, alive. He possesses an ability I want to look at further."
"His Inner Hollow…" Zangetsu murmured.
Muramasa nodded. "I've never seen a Shinigami save a Hollow before. I've also never seen a Shinigami with the ability of instant regeneration. I believe Ichigo Kurosaki and this… 'Inner Hollow' share a relationship that is uniquely their own. Am I right?"
Zangetsu shrugged. "I merely supressed the creature. What they do without me is of their own concern."
Ichigo sat in the back corner of the room, waiting for the doctor to finish examining Rukia. As the doctor left, Rukia spoke without looking at Ichigo, "I have a really bad feeling…"
Ichigo nodded, knowing precisely what Rukia was talking about. Byakuya had been defeated by his own Zanpakuto, and then disappeared. "Don't worry, Rukia. We will find him."
Rukia turned her gaze down to her feet. She slowly sat up on her bed, pushing the pillow against the wall in order to use it as a back rest. "Ichigo… it's my fault, isn't it? You lost Zangetsu because of-"
"No." Ichigo said sharply. "It's not your fault at all. I lost Zangetsu because I was reckless. I didn't know what Muramasa was capable of until it was too late." Ichigo stood and moved to sit at the end of Rukia's bed. "Now then, stop worrying about me and focus on yourself. You got really banged up… Try and get some rest, alright?"
Rukia had locked eyes with Ichigo at this point. She chuckled a little, and then smiled. "Alright you big id-"
"Halt! Right there!"
Ichigo spun around to look at the source of the noise. Shiro flew past the doorway, followed closely by Monkey and Snake. Six or seven Shinigami chased after them, one of which was Renji. Ichigo quickly grabbed him and yanked him inside Rukia's room. "Renji, what the hell is going on!?"
Renji sighed in annoyance, "I'm not really sure! Zabimaru said something about a rematch… and they're gonna fight your Inner Hollow. Unohana and I tried to stop them, but they just took off running!"
Ichigo groaned inwardly before following Renji to try and stop the disaster before it happened. Ichigo didn't want to think about what would happen if his Inner Hollow was allowed to roam the Soul Society freely, and he definitely didn't want to think about the damage a fight between Zabimaru and his Inner Hollow would cause.
Renji began to slow down. Ichigo stopped when he noticed a dark look on his friend's features. "What is it?"
Renji slowly looked at Ichigo. "How bad is it? Your Inner Hollow…"
Ichigo tensed a little at that question. "He's…" A hand moved to his stomach where Shiro had once stabbed him. Those memories came flooding back: the painful grip on his face before he was thrown through a building, getting hit by a full force Getsuga Tenshou, and even having Tensa Zangetsu speared through his body then slowly get pulled out. There was no denying that his Inner Hollow was his dark side, but the past few days… "He's been acting weird lately. Before, whenever he showed up, it was always destroy, kill, dominate… But he's been defending me, trying to protect me."
Renji nodded, "Listen, Ichigo… After you left to see Rukia, Zabimaru and your Hollow were moved to another room, you know, in case Muramasa came back for them… Well, I overheard them talking…"
"What are you staring at!?" Shiro spat at the other two spirits.
Monkey, with a scowl, and Snake, with a grin, replied, "Why are you holding back?"
"Tch…" Shiro looked away. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kinda surrounded by Captains. Even without their Zanpakuto, taking out a Hollow like me would be easy-"
Monkey lifted Snake by his chain and threw him at Shiro. "Idiot! You think we're gonna fall for something as ridiculous as this!? We know what you are, who you are!"
Snake spoke up, "So how about a rematch, huh? You were holding back before! Come on~ We've gotten stronger! We have Bankai!"
"We don't know why you're lying to everyone… but we'll promise to keep your identity a secret if you promise us a good fight!"
"Fine." Shiro's voice went smooth, silky… hell even sinful with blood lust. He slowly climbed to his feet. "May as well have some fun while we wait for the grownups to stop playing, eh?"
As you can see, I've started College and I haven't had much time to work on/update my fanfictions. I am still working hard on all of them, I swear! It's just that college work comes first now. ^_^
I've also got a question for ya'll that might keep you busy until the next time I update!
If Zanpakuto are supposed to reflect their Masters, then how exactly does Zangetsu reflect Ichigo? (Same question can be applied to Shuhei Hisagi and Kazeshini.) Now, I'm not kidding! I actually want your thoughts on Zangetsu. It'll help me with developing his character in the next few chapters.
Until then, thanks for reading and leave a review!
