AN: A somewhat lesser response to the last chapter, but those who DID review were more or less on crack… I believe… Also, I saw that ONE person decided to check out Scion's Grimoire and leave loving reviews… You all could learn something from BleachedRed… Who is now a devout fan of the story. Please go look at it and review it after you're done here. Also, there is going to be somewhat of a time skip from Ichigo's spectacular victory to where the story picks up here. Not a big one, about the same as the others I use…
On a side note, my dividers aren't working! WHY WON'T THEY WORK? UGH! DAMN YOU FFNET! DAMN YOU AND YOUR LITTLE BUGS!
Bleach: Rise of the Fallen Emperor chapter 7: Promotions and Demotions
Ichigo Kurosaki had long since annihilated the fifth espada, Nnoitra Jiruga in battle with his ressurecion, Sangrienta Emperador; changing the landscape in the process. Halibel walked up and sat next to the ex-shinigami, having dismissed her fraccion a minute ago to go bicker about something or other.
"That was impressive." She stated. "Not many can permanently alter the landscape of a desert, but you have achieved that feat with flying colors." Ichigo didn't respond, or even acknowledge the female espada's presence. Halibel frowned underneath her collar; cheering someone up was not her forte, but Lilinette was busy at the moment.
"Ichigo, what is the problem?" She asked after a moment. "You won, quite easily. Aizen and the rest of the espada were impressed with your performance, though many of them may not admit it, even on their deathbeds." Ichigo finally looked at Halibel from his hunched over position, eyes devoid of life.
"I lost control…" He mumbled, turning back to sulk. "He was supposed to be gone, but I went and acted like him… Me…!" Ichigo put his hands on his face.
"What…?"
"I lost control of that power… It was like I became HIM…!" Ichigo admitted, saying 'him' with no small amount of venom. "It scares me… Because I enjoyed it!" Ichigo was breaking down. Halibel finally understood what was wrong. She gently put her hand on his shoulder.
"I think I know what was wrong, Ichigo." Halibel announced. "I may not be Szayel, but I am not stupid." Seeing that she got his attention, she smirked a little, and continued.
"You are only one soul, correct?" Ichigo nodded. "Well, hollows act based on emotion. And since you are only one soul, an extremely powerful one at that; all of that took hold of you when it was brought forth."
"So… What about the rest of you guys…?" Ichigo asked timidly. Halibel looked off to the desert.
"I, like most high ranking hollows have consumed many souls in our existences. All of those extra souls balance our power out when we bring forth our hollow powers." Halibel explained. "Our dominant soul does come forth when we release, but the souls keep it from getting out of control."
"So… Are you saying I should…" Ichigo gulped. "Eat… Souls…?" Halibel tensed. She forgot that he had never devoured a soul, regardless of the fact that he admitted it not two minutes ago!
"Perhaps I may be of assistance…?" Szayel had made himself known, after hearing Halibel's explanation. Ichigo shrugged, and Halibel nodded.
"Well, I agree with your hypothesis, Halibel; but there is also the fact that he had never been a hollow up until three days ago, being conscious during two of them." Szayel said. "He may have also been power drunk at the time from never having used those powers before, and got lost in it, similar to being high on a drug…"
"So, you think it's a combination of those two things that made him act like that?" Halibel asked. Szayel nodded.
"Precisely. I think that given more time, Ichigo will be able to keep sane whilst using his release without problems. Consuming some souls before then may aid in that process, given how soon the upcoming war is." Szayel explained. "If you need souls, I have some hollows that I would have used for experiments that I could convert to an edible substance for you, Kurosaki."
"I…"
"Believe me, it isn't as bad as you might think. You are not going to become addicted to them like a regular hollow would." Szayel said with distaste at the end. "Arrancars do not have that problem. But think of it this way, since you clearly are not going to be devouring any shinigami or human sould anytime soon, I believe you should accept the offer of the souls I am giving you. They already have a concentration of souls in them as it is, so you wouldn't need to eat very many."
Ichigo sighed. There was no escape, was there?
"Fine. I'll do it…" He said with resignation. "I'm not going to like it though…"
"Oh, it didn't even cross my mind…" Szayel said, smiling, before getting serious again. "The real reason I'm over here is because Aizen has called a meeting. If you would…?" Halibel nodded, and Ichigo sighed, both of them getting up to go to see whatever Aizen wanted this time…
Espada Meeting Chamber:
All of the espada, including Ichigo, were seated at a long table, with Aizen at the head. Ichigo looked nervous, but Halibel put her hand on his shoulder without looking to calm him. It worked, somewhat.
"Everyone, I'd like to welcome the newest addition to the Espada ranks." Aizen announced, with a flourish. "Ichigo Kurosaki, the Fourth Espada." The hollows at the table minus Ulquiorra gasped in shock.
"Now now, don't get excited." Gin said. "Ichi-kun's going to be takin Ulquiorra's place, while he gets moved up to fifth. He already knows, and does not care what happens to his number."
"What he says is true." Ulquiorra said emotionlessly, eyes closed. "I already have had my tattoo changed. As long as I serve Aizen's will, my rank matters little, if any."
"Now, Ichigo-kun, where would you like you tattoo placed…?" Aizen asked smoothly. Ichigo thought for a moment.
"My left shoulder, please." He answered. Aizen nodded with a smile, and asked him to remove the clothing from that spot. Ichigo complied, and Aizen held his hand up to the shoulder. Ichigo felt a light burning sensation, but when it stopped, Aizen had already sat down. When he looked at it, in gothic numbers was 04. Yammy's eyes widened, but kept silent.
"Now Ichigo, it's up to you, but you are allowed to have a number of fraccion to serve under you." Aizen explained. "I recommend Tesla at the moment, since he is no longer attached and can assist you in picking more, if you so wish." Ichigo nodded.
"Also, Ichigo-kun, I have considered a fitting aspect of death for you, based on your performance in the deathmatch earlier." Aizen added. "Your aspect is the aspect of Despair."
"Aspect of… Despair…?" Ichigo said, frowning in thought. "Whatever, I guess I'll worry about the meaning of that later…"
"Very well, I do believe it is time for tea, then…"
The Quarta Espada's Palace Wing
Ichigo had picked his fraccion… A lively bunch, to say the least.
"Is this revenge…?" Luppi asked. "I knew I promised I'd get you back for calling me gay… But why are you doing this to me…!"
"I dunno. You seem pretty strong, and since I know you a little bit, I figured that you would be a good choice." Ichigo shrugged. "Why, do you not want to be?"
Luppi froze in place. He was thinking of a response when a loud male voice nearly blew out his eardrum.
"Magnifico, niño! I am mui honored to be jour fraccion! Jour battle was spectacular!"
"Agh… Quiet, Panini!" Ichigo yelled, annoyed.
"AH! No, no no no no no! My name is not Panini!" The arrancar exclaimed in despair.
"Oh no, not again…" A female arrancar in a gothic lolita dress moaned. "Why did you have to get him wound up, Ichigo-sama…?"
"A Panini is a delicious grilled sandwich…" The male arrancar pointed out. "And my name is Dordonii Alessandro del Soccachio…!"
"SHUT UP!" Luppi screeched, tackling Dordonii from behind, latching on to the larger man's neck in an attempt to strangle him. "I DON'T CARE IF YOUR NAME IS CAPTAIN CRUNCH!"
"DO I NEED TO WHIP YOU BOYS INTO SHAPE?" Cirucci Thunderwitch threatened. "CUZ I WILL!"
Cirucci snapped her whip in both hands, and jumped towards the two, resulting in a ball of dust as the three proceeded to bash each other's heads in, all in an extremely comical fashion. Apart from the occasional random limb poking out of the dust cloud at an awkward angle, Ichigo could see nothing of his new fracciones… He sweatdropped at the scene and looked at Tesla, who merely shrugged silently.
"Um, tell me Tesla…" Ichigo says. "Why did I choose them again…?"
"Upon retrospect, I'm finding myself at a loss as to why I pointed them out for you…" Tesla said to his new master. "Should I intervene before they injure each other too much…?"
"No, you'll end up hurt." Ichigo said. "Two of them are ex-espada, and one of them is an Espada hopeful… No offence, but I think you'll just be a flea biting them on the ass cheek."
"Noted…" Tesla said pensively. "Then, what am I needed for?"
"Well, brains and level headedness." Ichigo stated. "Someone needs to use enough reason to point those three in the correct direction. Hell, I would probably be in that dust cloud whupping ass if they had yelled something at me."
"Ah, I see." Tesla said, a slight smile forming on his face in relief. "But shouldn't something be done to stop them…?" Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes before clearing his throat. He took a deeeep breath, and….
"KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF!" Silence… Even the random cat that was making noises shut up. The dust cloud cleared to reveal Dordonii pulling Cirucci's hair, with Luppi biting Dordonii's head, and Cirucci with one of Luppi's legs in an armbar. Overall, Ichigo gave the awkward pose a nine out of ten. Though worse for wear, the newly conscripted Fracciones lined up in a split second, looking quite the worse for wear.
"Perdon, Niño-sama…!" Dordonii exclaimed. "We were just, ah… Wrapped up in the moment, is all."
"Eh? Huh? Oh! Yeah, we were just wrapped up in it as all…" Luppi said, chuckling nervously. "Right, Cirucci…?" Cirucci, grunted, scowling off to her side, blowing loose hair out of her face.
"Psh. Yeah…" She muttered. "Sorry bout the mess."
Ichigo sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head. He pondered how the hell he was going to make this work… Because obviously, it wasn't right now…
AN: Yay! It's done! I'm sorry if Tesla was ooc… I'm really not sure about his character… But I'm going with what I could remember from the manga…
As for Ichigo giving in to eating the souls that Szayel is providing him so easily, it's due to Ichigo's new state of mind, as well as seeing his situation from a logical point of view. Also, I hate an indecisive Ichigo. I don't want to come up with pointless dribble in between his angst filled moments of trying to convince himself to do something, like I see in other fics. I'm trying to get the story moving along at a respectable clip, especially since I type such short chapters. Sure, I enjoy the humor quite a bit… (with Luppi chewing on Dordonii's head, think back to a little pre-shinigami Toshirou eating a Watermelon with Momo in front of a building… Maybe have him growl at the time like a small dog for a few seconds… Use your bizarre imagination!) Especially since humor is what keeps stories from getting stale. I like a good laugh or six, and making other people laugh (for the right reasons) is something I enjoy doing, as well as writing a compelling story that will just draw you in… So, yep! That's it for me!
Laterz, yo! Read and Review!
