Author's Note: Le sigh. One review for the last chapter… oh well, maybe I'll get some more for this one.

Disclaimer: Yeah, whatever

Chapter Seven: An Old Friend

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has, Akiko-chan. Over a few centuries, I imagine."

"That's not what I'm called, this incarnation… How come you don't get a title?"

"My boy's just so simplistic that I didn't get a new name. I guess your girl's a little more complex."

"Yeah… you're a lucky one. Always have been, Zangetsu."

"This incarnation of my boy hasn't been so lucky, Hogosha. Mm… do I really have to call you that? Akiko is much cuter."

Akiko smiled. "I guess, while it's just the two of us. You know what else we can do while we're alone?"

Zangetsu returned the smile, leaning in. "I can guess." The two Zanpakutou shared a kiss. After they parted, Zangetsu said, "Your girl's pretty strong this time around, stronger than usual. But I suppose that's due to Ichigo's insane reserves."

Akiko nodded. "I can't wait for her to achieve my final release."

Just then, a riff of light appeared between the two. "They're waking up," said Zangetsu. "I enjoyed this… reminds me of old times."

"Me too. I'll see you, next opportunity." With a wave and a flash of light, the two had disappeared.

Ichigo awoke inside of the training room under the Shoten, a sleeping Orihime beside him. "What a weird dream," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Zangetsu was there, but… it wasn't my world."

"Ah! Kurosaki-san, you've awakened!" Urahara said, stepping over cheerfully. "You passed out after the last attack and it was so late that poor Inoue-san had to stay by you and fell asleep. It's a shame that the more you become resistant to Benihime's assaults, the more terrible they become."

"Yeah…" Ichigo said, standing up. The last one had been extremely frightening. Ichigo had dreamt that he'd killed Orihime with his own sword. "Let's… let's just go, one more time."

"You're getting closer!" remarked Urahara. "Your last time, before you passed out, was just over five minutes." Swining Benihime, he rushed at Ichigo.

Ichigo felt the familiar pain of the attack encroaching on his psyche when suddenly… he felt he could move. With a powerful cry, he swung back, effectively blocking the strike.

Urahara was nothing short of stunned. "Wow," he said simply. "Well, that's it. After a month and a half, your Bankai training is complete. Congratulations!"

Smiling, Ichigo swung his sword over his head in satisfaction. He felt lighter than the air, felt that everything around him was moving in slow motion. Disengaging his Bankai, he felt a rush of joy overcome him. But before he could celebrate, however, he had a few questions. "But… does that mean that Tensa Zangetsu will never become more powerful?"

"Oh, of course not," replied Urahara. "Only for now. As your powers grow, so will your Bankai. This just means that your Bankai is at its proper level. The same goes for your Hollow mask."

"But… I haven't trained with my Hollow mask… wait." The gears cranked in Ichigo's head. "Does that mean-"

"That your mask's ability can grow too? Of course it can! That's why I've brought over someone to help train you."

Ichigo gasped. "You don't mean…"

"Yo, Ichigo!" said Shinji, mask on, waving as he leapt towards Ichigo with his Zanpakutou.

"Woah!" Ichigo pulled Zangetsu in front of him, ready to re-engage his Bankai, but Shinji smacked the sword away.

"Nope! Ya don't get to use that… only your mask for now. Your mask augments whatever your base power is tremendously, and since your Bankai is so powerful, I don't think I could take both that and your mask without using… well, let's just say I'd have to put in some more effort, eh? But… since I've been usin' this mask for a long time, I think I could take your Shikai."

"You got it," Ichigo replied, pulling the mask in front of him. "Here I come!"

"Ooh, spooky," Shinji said mockingly. "Don't get cocky, now!"

Instantly, the high-speed battle became increasingly intense. As he fell back into his gigai, Urahara watched the two Vizards and slinked back over to lie down in Yoruichi's lap. "Who would've thought those two would ever meet?" he asked, removing his hat.

"How long has it been since you've seen him?" Yoruichi asked, stroking Urahara's hair.

"Well… we escaped about a century ago… and he did the same about seventy-five years beforehand, so it's a century and three quarters of one."

"Wow."

"Prepare yourself!" roared Shinji, flying at Ichigo, his arm extended. "Cero."

"What? He can fire Cero… of course, he is wearing a Hollow's mask," Ichigo thought, dodging the deadly strike. "I should be able to do the same!" "Cero!" he cried, aiming at Shinji. However, nothing came out except a puff of smoke.

"Ah, and now ya see why you have to train your mask some more! There are two parts to the Vizard training. The first is training to use your mask for long periods of time, like you can do now. The second is to train it fully, fulfilling its potential. It works like… a Bankai, if you think 'bout it."

Understanding, Ichigo leapt once more at Shinji, who easily blocked, yawning. "I dunno how you defeated Aizen Sousuke with this pitiful hollow mask. I guess your Bankai must be pretty amazing."

"Shut up!"

"Come and make me!"

The battle raged on for a while until Shinji decided Ichigo needed a break. At that point, Ichigo finally noticed someone who'd been watching them. "… Why did Hiyori come with us?" he asked, pointing at the nearby girl.

Hiyori, with a tint of blush in her face, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and reopened it, saying, "Shut it, baldy! I just came to watch you get humiliated over and over!"

"Why you-"

"Calm down," Shinji said, knocking Ichigo in the back of the head. "Hiyori. Go hang out with Orihime-chan."

"Screw you, Shinji!" she said, but wandered off to the girl who'd just woken up anyway.

"Hey," Ichigo said grumpily, "Don't go calling her 'Orihime-chan' like that. She's mine, understand?"

Shinji looked genuinely surprised. "So you mean you two are-"

"Yes"

Tilting his head to one side, Shinji said, "Well that's hilarious."

Remembering what he'd wanted to say originally, Ichigo let this comment pass. "Hey, Hirako… how do you know so much about bankai and all that?"

"The thing is," Shinji began, taking a more serious tone, "Out of all the Vizard, Hiyori and I are the only ex-Shinigami."

It was now Ichigo's turn to be surprised. "You… were Shinigami?"

"Yeah. We were even part of the thirteen court guard companies until… something happened."

"What was it?"

Shinji sighed. "It's painful to remember, but here goes. We were high-ranked officers in the court-guard companies, but suddenly, we began to develop symptoms of hollowfication."

"I didn't know souls in Soul Society could become Hollows."

"Normally, they can't. But every so often, something goes awry in the cosmic stream or whatever you wanna think of it as and a soul develops an active inner Hollow. Do you know how they treat it?"

"How?"

"Execution." As he saw the horrified expression on Ichigo's face, he continued. "You see, we're defined as those who have obtained Hollow powers illegally. But the truth is that there is no legal way to do so. It's considered a disease with one cure: assisted suicide. So Hiyori and I were lined up to be pierced by the Soukyoku. We decided that that was bullshit and made a break for it. We manifested ourselves in human bodies and tried to lead a life there, but things weren't so smooth here either. Nearly every human hated us for our abilities. That's why… Hiyori, at least, hates both Shinigami and humans.

"Woah…" was all Ichigo could say, having heard the story. "But… what about the other Vizard? You said they weren't Shinigami. How'd they become Vizard?"

"Before I tell you that story, lemme explain something to you. Having been kinda a bookworm, shocking, yes, I know, but everyone in my company was, I know a lot about Hollows and Hollowfication. So here's the dirty little secret that Soul Society doesn't want you to know: Everyone has an inner Hollow."

"What? How's that possible?"

"Usually, they lay dormant until after death, but in the case of those with exceptionally high spiritual power… they often become attracted to the power. Hollows are creatures born of negative emotions; Fear, anger, jealousy, hatred, sadness, and even greed. In life, they become greedy, attached to the joys of the human body, and if there's enough spiritual power, they can awaken."

Suddenly, Ichigo understood why his Hollow had been able to come so close. His own power had tremendous reserves, so it should only stand to reason that his Hollow was extremely powerful, yet extremely greedy. "Wait… does that mean that everyone who has strong spiritual fortitude will get a Hollow?"

"Eventually, yeah. Some might be lucky enough to wait 'til after death, where the likelihood becomes close to zero. Everyone in this room, save the Shinigami and that big guy, is vulnerable to Hollowfication."

Everyone in the room? But… that only left… "Orihime?"

"Yeah, but don't worry," Shinji answered, waving Ichigo off. "If she were in any real danger, she'd already be a hollow. Luckily, it was your powers that awakened hers, not her own inborn powers. And besides, I'd bet she'd win her interior battle, and after that, it'd be a breeze."

"Why?" Ichigo asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"She's a carefree girl, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, but what's that have to do with-"

"You know Mashiro, right?"

"Sure, but what does-"

"Also pretty carefree, eh?"

Ichigo was becoming angry. "Just tell me what the hell your point is!"

"Mashiro was able to use her Hollow mask for about fifteen hours without breaking it the first time. 'Cause I've studied Hollowfication a lot, I know that it's about how carefree your mind is that determines your Hollow's interior battle and the amount of endurance training needed. You and Hiyori, for example, both took about the longest in your inner battles. But at the time of your mastery of the Hollow mask, you only had one thing on your mind: Killing that bastard, right?"

Ichigo suddenly understood. "Wait… you're saying I'm not carefree?"

"Ichigo, you have so many issues that if all the psychologists in the world teamed up, they would barely know where to start."

Ichigo had to laugh… things were going too well not to. "I got something else to ask you," he continued.

"Hit me."

"How did you find out everything you guys know about me? You knew when I'd obtained my powers, my Shikai, and my Bankai. How and why were you guys watching me for so long?"

"I thought I told ya. Those with sufficient spiritual power have their souls sniffed out by their inner Hollows, and buddy, you have got some spiritual power. We've been watching you for a long time, Ichigo," Shinji said, a devious grin on his face. "We watched as you found Zangetsu. We heard through our channels that you'd mastered Bankai. One of us was right outside your door on the night Kuchiki Rukia gave you her powers. We were even there the day your mother died."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Wha… why didn't you do anything? Why?" He found that was the only sentence he could muster.

"We did do something," Shinji returned, "We weren't fast enough to save your mother from Grand Fisher, but we were able to chase him away from eating you."

Though he didn't want to, Ichigo accepted this. "Okay… so why didn't you guys act earlier?"

"Originally, we were going to get ya as soon as you started feeling symptoms, but Kuchiki Rukia circumvented that. We knew that you were untouchable as a Shinigami, and that if we tried to help you, it'd be our own asses. Our only choice was to watch you and your inner Hollow develop until you would definitely search for us. Worked pretty well, didn't it?"

"Sure, I guess if you count nearly being stabbed to death by your own soul 'pretty well,' then that was great."

Shinji could only smile at this. "Alright! That's that for talking today."

"Back to training?"

"Nah, we're done today. You had to ward off Urahara's Bankai, and that's a mighty difficult feat. You neeed your rest, Ichigo."

"How… would you know that?" Ichigo asked, confused. Then, he recalled Urahara's words.

"…you are quickly becoming immune to the attack of Benihime, subjugating it to your will. There has only been one other person to do that... the man who was captain of Twelfth Company before I."

"No… No way… Hirako, you're-"

"Catch ya later, Ichigo," Shinji said, picking up his Zanpakutou. "Hiyori! We're getting out of here!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Baldy!" she replied, and together, the two were out of there, leaving a very stunned Ichigo in their wake.

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Oh geez! Did I just blow your minds? Well, maybe I did, and maybe I didn't. You'll have to review more to find out.