Chapter 10: Going Under

Weary eyes opened, heavy from too little sleep. Stiff limps cramped as Ichigo tried to move away from where he was, pushed firmly into grass and rock.

He could easily feel that he had not moved at all during his slumber. He had been sleeping as stiffly as the dead.

Lazy, cold winds met with his scrawny form and he hunched his shoulders, moved his arms together, over the abnormal nothingness in his bony chest and pressed what was left of his clothes around it. Ichigo closed his darkly rimmed eyes and tried to ignore its presence. He knew that it would soon start screaming again...

He was still cold and he could feel the very inside of his lungs freeze along with the rest of him. His breath formed steam-trails in front of his face and rose into the air until it faded into nothing. A shiver went down his spine and his chest ached. After struggling up from the ground, he started walking slowly forward. His back was hunched; the large cleaver on his back feeling too heavy for his body.

The tattered boy followed the walkway in front of him, not knowing where it led, dragging himself along the ground, through grass and gravel until his torn sandals and socks met with asphalt. There he turned to the right, walking down a deserted street. But suddenly he stopped, his bony arms cramping around his chest, his body leaning heavily against a cold wall and he sank to the ground as his body started twitching.

The hunger came like it did before, gripping him like an iron fist. It burned into the front of his mind until everything else seemed to fade and a hideous scream bubbled up the young boy's throat. He rocked back and forth on the ground, not wanting to feel the agony it brought with it, the pain it held as veins turned dry from lack of life and the darkness started to approach. He wanted someone to come and carry him away from where he was, away from the horrible, horrible feeling of turning into a corpse. Ichigo wondered why he had fallen into such ill fate, why did the hollowness in his chest have to be such a burden…? He didn't want it anymore, not one bit. He squeezed his eyes shut.

A wind met with his pained face that carried certain scent with it, a scent that made his eyes open wide. It was sweet and tantalizing, making him long for it enough for him to push himself off the cold ground. Thick puss like matter crawled over his face unwillingly; the mask forming as hunger grew, growing like a monster inside of him that wanted to burst out.

Ichigo turned his head around, the mask hardening on the boy's face and he knew he had no chose but to follow that smell, or he would end up following it sooner or later anyway, as he would loose control like he had done before. He closed his weary eyes again, the morning sun that was still rising stinging them. A soft, pained moan escaped him and with a sigh he wearily turned his body around, heading for the sweet smell.

At first he walked slowly, dragging his body with him, but as the hunger started to get in the way of all his other his thoughts, he started running. He passed a corner, knowing the source was near and let out a blood curling roar as the human in front of him escaped his reaching hand by mere millimeters.

The light from the man was overwhelming, the body shining like a beacon, obviously owning enough spirit energy to see the dead. Ichigo ran after the human that seen him, his mask and heard his roar.

Even if it was a mere human, it ran away fast, but still much too slow as Ichigo easily gained on him. The closer the boy got, the heavier and more uncontrolled his breath become, the mans strong sent making his mind reel, the small amount remaining blood from the cat he ate before rushing fast within him. Ichigo's thin legs took long lopes and his sinewy arm clawed after the human. He wanted the human now; he would not allow his word to become any grayer.

But somewhere in his mind he couldn't help but to cringe inwardly at the thought that killing had become so easy in a blink of an eye, that raging hunger could change a person so fast and so sudden. Or was he simply too easily influenced by its strong grip…? Still he jumped, high into the air like a cat and landed hands first on the man. The force of the impact made the human male fall hard onto concrete with scream. Ichigo pushed his knees into his back, immobilising his victim.

Without thinking anymore, getting lost in his growing hunger unwillingly, his fingers grabbed brown hair and smashed the skull hard against ground. Again and again. The bone cracked and bled, smearing blood over Ichigo's hands and arms. His eyes were wide as his head lowered, tongue darting out and his jaw closed around crushed bones. Greedily he swallowed it all. There was no caring for anything anymore; there was only instinct to stop the hole in his chest from getting anymore painful.

Teeth pushed into warm flesh, hot dark blood oozed out into his awaiting mouth, running past his, his dried lips and down his throat. His eyes widened, pupils instantly dilating as fresh blood coursed through his veins once again, sending a burning heat through it and awakening it.

Loud grunts escaped his body, the beast within being just beneath the skin. The blood was so invigorating he couldn't help but to smile as he drank, the euphoric feeling drawing near. It moved through his veins, tearing their shrivelled form open, filled them with new life and his hole started to shrink, the agony and hunger leaving his being.

But as he pushed his masked face deeper into the back of the man, another hungry beast approached. The creature resembled something of a canine, body rough and unformed, its beady eyes shining beneath an expressionless white mask. Another hollow had come crawling at the sent of spilled blood.

Ichigo instantly noticed its presence, his eyes glaring at it and he growled dangerously. But it slowly crept closer, looking like it tried to beg for a bite of the remaining body.

Ichigo wouldn't let it, his head leaving the dead human, biting off whatever was still hanging outside his mouth, thick dark blood running down his chin, dripping onto the ground or smearing over his torn clothes. He felt his anger rise, it was his prey, no one was going it touch it! Instincts ranged inside. His prey. His. His. His.

The blood smeared teen rose from the corpse he had been attached to like a leech, leaned forwards in an aggressive pose, his muscles flexing and his fingers spreading as if they were claws. Out of his throat a roar erupted, shaking the earth.

He lashed out as toward the approaching monster and hissed at it when it wouldn't leave. No one was going go eat what was his. He screamed at it again, warning it not to come any closer, the way of speaking forgotten in his blind hunger. But the creature did not listen to the warning scream, only looming closer, lost in its own need to feed.

Ichigo charged toward it, Zangetsu long since forgotten and he clawed at the monsters mask; tore at its flesh. He even sank his dull teeth into its rubber like skin. His punches were enough to create deep dents in the hollows flesh and its mask started to crack when Ichigo's fist met with it. The hollow roared, saliva flying from its mouth and its large fangs showed underneath the mask. It rose on its hind legs, claws extending from its paw. The monster swung it down hard, colliding with Ichigo's own masked face.

He fell back, his neck and head pushing back too far, his scalp slamming into concrete. Orange hair turned red as fresh hot blood oozed out if it. His body slumped to the ground, limp. Eyes stared blankly into the air, mouth lax.

The other hollow's attention left Ichigo's body as soon as it went down, the human one much more inviting. It quickly crawled over to it, long fangs sinking easily into the human body and the large deformed hollow started to slowly devour it whole, its tongue warping around the body to push it into its throat more easily. It grunted loudly, the blood from the body having the same effect on it as it did with Ichigo.

A sickening snap was heard. Bone crunched loudly, but not loudly enough to overcome the heavy grunts of the eating hollow as Ichigo's neck shot back up, his neck moving back into position. Pupils focused quickly and Ichigo gasped through a still blood filled mouth. The boy's body suddenly burned and twitched back into life, the neck connected with the rest of the body again. He stiffly rose from the ground, arms and legs still twitching. He felt the wind blow over his head, the blood on his scalp turning into white hardening bone that covered the once bleeding, crushed skull.

Ichigo moved around stupidly on the ground, limps hardly doing what he wanted, failing around him, stiff and clumsy. He fell to the ground again with a moan, his world swaying around him and he forced himself up yet again, his body getting easier to move as he healed. He staggered forward, a grunt of a scream escaping his throat as he approached the hollow that had taken his meat, his blood, his life. But the big monster in front of him ignored his presence and Ichigo screeched at it, stomped his feet, roared and waved bony arms.

"Take your fucking claws off my prey!" He roared, his rough twisted voice echoing. His mind was coming to its senses as a lot of blood had been used to heal his broken neck and head, taking the ecstasy away, but still leaving enough behind to make him a little clear headed.

He drew his sharp cleaver, its metal shining in the light from the street lamps. The other hollow immediately jumped back, hissing at the weapon more than its wielder. Ichigo hissed back just as fiercely, his throat vibrating.

Swinging the heavy blade, he released it at the end of the motion, sending it hurtling through the air, straight through the hollow's shoulder, into its lungs, making it collapse on the ground, roaring in agonising pain. Ichigo's breath heaved through his nostrils as he leaped upon its body, pulled out his cleaver and before the hollow had the time to heal, if it even could, he sank the weapon deep into its back, through its spine to render it defenceless. The monster stopped moving; its limbs no longer connected to its brain, its large body forming a massive heap on the concrete.

The smell of blood from the monster beneath the boy sent Ichigo's mind towards madness again and before he knew it he was tearing at the monsters flesh, to take back the human blood it had stolen from him. Fingers dug deep into its skin to tear and plunge though flesh, his entire arm sinking into the hollows body. He pulled it out quickly, drenched in blood and he couldn't help but to lick at his own hand.

There were no thoughts behind his actions as he hungrily ate the hollow, drinking the human blood that flowed within its veins. The meat wasn't good, dead and dry as his probably also was when he hadn't eaten himself, but he didn't care and swallowed it just as greedily as any meat, feeling the lumps of dead flesh and intestines fall out of the hole in his chest, as only the blood was absorbed.

Thin arms plunged the body further, digging deep in its organs to get every drop out of the other hollow and into his own system as fast as he could, the hole in his chest almost closing. He bit, tore and as his body shook violently when his hole forcefully slammed shut he fell to the ground. The beast swivelled away in front of him, the small teen having eaten all its life, making it die and disappear from the face of the earth.

Ichigo himself twisted on the ground, his fingers curled together in cramp like manners as all his veins were forced open again. His eyes were bloodshot, lips swollen and his entire body flustered with blood. Loud laughs burst out of his mouth again, his own grin wider than the one on his blood covered bone mask. Mad laughter echoed between the buildings that turned into hysterical giggles from time to time to soon heighten in melody and turned into pleased screams. His spirit energy burst out of him in the same way, unable to control himself as he felt so very complete and there was nothing else but purest joy.

As he lay there on the ground, smiling and laughing along with the hollow within him, happiness bursting through his being, something towered over him, something clad in black and with a shiny object in its hand. Ichigo's dilated eyes widened beneath the mask and he rolled to the side, still laughing madly while dodging an incoming sword.

He couldn't stop smiling or crackling frantically even as the shinigami stabbed after him, trying to hit him. But Ichigo easily avoided every attempt with sleek movements, his blood filled body making him faster, much too fast for the female shinigami. He twisted his body away and picked up the cleaver he had left unattended on the ground with one fluid movement. The woman went down immediately as her gut was cut open, organs welling out.

Ichigo's mad uncontrolled laugher increased as his fingers tore through skin, through flesh; his other hand dropping his weapon again before clenching into a first to collide with the shinigami's jaw. The woman screamed, choked to see her life end so fast and suddenly as her blood flowed out of her.

The light the spirit-energy gave off was intense, bright and warm to Ichigo's eyes, even when his own world had gained all its colors and life back. This was like an angel descending from the sky, not the humans. The blood-like substance of highly concentrated spirit energy was like liquid gold and its smell clogged Ichigo's lungs. Too bright, too sweet.

Some twisted sound between a primal growl and happiness burned from somewhere deep inside him. He was high, beyond anything he had ever been as he shoved his entire face into the open abdomen of the wounded woman, lapping at the innards, the energy sweeter than anything he had even tasted. He tore at the flesh and swallowed gulp after gulp. Ichigo understood why other hollows favoured shinigami above regular souls. He understood it very well.

The taste was better than best, better than anything he had ever tasted. The rush was indescribable and his body shook as he screamed more than laughed with joy. He didn't really hear himself this time either, his mind much too dazed. He couldn't consume all the energy and blood, his body filled up to the brim, but the smile on his lips never faltered even as he had trouble standing.

But as soon as he managed to focus enough to stand firmly, two more black clothes figures came. They seemed nervous as Ichigo turned to stare at them, drops of black ink poisoning the whites of his eyes as he did, brown turning into burning yellow as his inner demon fuelled his body for what he knew would become a fight. The teen grinned madly at them, the ecstasy still rushing through his body, his hollows laughter's echoing loudly within his skull.

Ichigo saw them move as in slow motion when they attacked and he easily blocked the downward swings and countered with a strike of his own, one of them falling to the ground instantly. Ichigo leapt up to the air, perching on the ledge of a building before he spun around to block another attack, his strength easily overpowering the other. But soon he realised, that the shinigami's where not there to strike him down, two were much too few to do so and he knew they knew it as well. Their attacks were not swung to kill, he could easily feel it, even whit his drugged mind.

Somewhere in the back of his psyche, behind his raging instincts and pressing urges, he could recognise one of the men. He had seen the man with blond hair over his eye, the long slim sad looking face, but he could not place it. But the screaming of his own hollow, laughter and the desire that ran hard in his veins was too strong for him to listen to his own thoughts and his body lashed out on its own, his legs colliding with soft body parts and he heard screams.

Old blood went flying from Ichigo's mouth as he screamed and his muscles flexed. He wanted more blood, we wanted to drown it the rush it gave him again, make the world disappear in thick happiness, even if the one from the female was still lingering in his body. He growled and quickly flash-stepped behind the weaker shinigami, black nailed fingers closing around his neck and with the other one he stuck his cleaver straight through the body and followed with it down as it fell to the ground.

Again he was lost in ecstasy, bathing in shining the energy, engulfed in it. His face was covered in its thick substance, mouth greedily swallowing it, his body bursting with life. It almost seemed to grow as he tore at the limp body's muscles. His eyes rolled into his skull and he moaned uncontrollably, the rush almost too much and he fell to the ground completely again, his body still shaking. He wondered if he could ever get enough...

But suddenly he started to get a regurgitating feeling and it wasn't long until his chest started to bleed; a thin beam at first then it grew violently. Ichigo started to vomit blood that was no longer needed and it sprayed out of his chest and mouth as he leaned forward. Heaps of blood splattered over the pavement.

Just as suddenly as he had started to vomit, he quickly straightened up in shock, his pupils contracting.

Shinigami. So many. He felt them clearly, ten folds of them, if not more.

"Shit!" He cursed loudly, sheeted his cleaver on his back for easier running and jumped high into the air, channelled spirit-energy into his feet to get even higher. But as soon as he was above houses, his eyes didn't meet an empty over view of the city, it met with a full shinigami squad. Ichigo gasped, even when blood still forcefully pushed its way up his throat or out of his growing hole.

He drew his cleaver again, its cloth swaying behind his thin form. He stood on toe, ready to avoid whatever was thrown at him. His eyes darted quickly back and forth in their sockets, careful not to miss anyone that may try to catch him off guard.

The shinigami moved closer as a mob, everyone of them bent on carrying out the order to put him down without a single word of acknowledgment, as if he was too simple to understand words.

The masked boy stepped back, his mind reeling between the options of what to do. All the while his hollow whispered of consuming them all alive, taking what was theirs for himself. The hole's pressing form was back after all.

The urge was strong, the will to taste that golden blood again, to feel it caress his insides, to make him more alive than ever. He wanted it, he wanted it now. So badly that he could not think clearly.

It was going to be all his as he jumped from the invisible ground of his own spirit-energy, cleaver ready to cut that light free for him to consume. But the mass of black clothed men were ready and blocked his black weapon with one strong gathered movement. Swords in all kinds of shapes flashed in front of his eyes and his cleaver moved with immense speed to block and defend its wielder.

But no matter how fast it was, ten folds of sword could not all be blocked at once. Dagger-, axe-, spear-, knife-like swords all pierced his flesh before he knew it. The world seemed to slow down as his already small pupils contracted in shock and his newly clamed blood started to pour out of the holes that were left behind as weapons were pulled back. He never had the chance to heal before he was stuck by them again; through his arms, abdomen, legs, neck; everywhere.

Ichigo screamed. Before his body fell to the ground, he felt his inner demon graphs control over his bleeding limbs and flash-step away from the glowing shinigami group. The metal blades in his body caused even bigger wounds as his body moved against them.

The boy didn't land gracefully or in any comfortable way to spare him pain. His body landed hipbone first on hard ground, his head almost bursting as it slammed into concrete. His skin on his arms and legs scraped against the building's roof, creating a trail of blood behind him.

Legs and arms pulled together into a fetal position when pain burned through his body. Ichigo's eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched tightly as he chocked on his stolen blood. He didn't want to open his eyes, didn't want to see the world grow black and gray again. His fingers twitched when he tried to get up blindly, his mind screaming at him to get away form the puddle of his own blood. His arms and hands almost slipped in the wet, thick substance when he pushed himself up on all four. His arms trembled, his legs wobbled as blood rushed out of his system from unhealed wounds, his healing skill not fast enough to prevent his body from loosing the life sustaining substance.

'Get up. Get up, get up!' He screamed at himself, a determined frown etching into his forehead when he moved up on bony legs. A rush of victory swept through him as he stood just barely on his feet, leaning slightly with a tight grip on Zangetsu.

'Now get out of-'

"Aaah!" A foot collided with Ichigo's back before he had the time to even react on what his hollow was telling him. His body hurled forward and his head collided with the wall in front of him with such force, that a crack appeared over the bone mask, dark spirit energy oozing out of it like a broken pipe.

Ichigo screamed, his eyes narrowing with intense pain and anger, his body pumping with new found hate as he swung himself around, cleaver ready to slice. His arm moved faster than he could see as he felt his hollow fuel him and his energy flared, black spirit-energy pulsing out of every pore.

The weapon hit its target, sending a head flying to leave a limp body behind. A snarl was heard from behind the mask and Ichigo crawled over to the beheaded body, thin fingers reaching for it as if it was the answer to all the mysteries in the world.

Ichigo's spirit-energy leaking mask met with spirit-energy that looked liked liquid gold to Ichigo's eyes. His tongue darted out and quickly set to work, sucking harshly at the wound he had created.

Yellow eyes gleamed as his hole wanted to slam shut in his chest again, to erase all memories of pain until it was opened again. But as the world disappeared around him and he couldn't focus on anything else but the substance in his mouth, he didn't notice the horde of shinigami that quickly approached. Not until they were close enough to touch him did he notice and his body flew back with a scream, skidding along the roofs surface from the force of a foot that had landed square on his temple, making him temporary blind.

Ichigo jumped up from the ground, feet first, cleaver swinging madly around him and spirit energy flaring dangerously again. He could hear screaming voices and he scrammed; knowing without seeing that they were all upon him, as he threw himself aimlessly off what he guessed was a ledge. In the middle of the air, he flash stepped away, running on pure instinct and memory of how things looked of a place he had unfortunately never seen. As expected just after a couple of seconds he collided with a solid object.

But even as his forehead and body seared with pain he had managed to get away. Far enough for the horde of shinigami to fall behind and he quickly masked the energy he had lost control over with the help of inner hollow, so they could no longer track him.

He was out of breath, in pain and yet the rush of pleasure lingered along with the burning feeling for more. It was driving him mad. It was so hard to focus on any of them, and all of them mixed up made it all too confusing. Ichigo rubbed his eyes furiously as tears fell from them, but it only increased the burning pain in his temple.

Ichigo wanted to scream, stomp and tear things that wouldn't fight back apart, the confused urges that raged within mixing into anger and hate when he felt the enemy once again approach. Why would they never stop…? Was his death worth so much, so important…?

The boy screamed and swung his cleaver again, panic starting to mingle into his burst of rage. His eye sight was returning in blurry dots, but much too slowly and he couldn't see the incoming blade.

It met with his wrist, pushed into his flesh and cleaved his bone. Blood sprayed out of his arm and his hand hung limply in only strings of flesh and bone. Ichigo roared and it escalated into a monsters harsh howl. Pain scorched through his body and he almost dropped his cleaver. He clenched his remaining hand around it, not wanting to drop his only defense.

All muscles strained in pain, as he twisted his body, pushed his limp hand close to his body, all while trying his best to avoid getting sliced worse.

But it wasn't easy with almost all of the shinigami trying to attack him at once. Steel went in and out of his body repeatedly before Ichigo could steady himself enough with sheer willpower to flash-step madly into the black clothed men.

Some swords went deeper into his soft body; some went out as he violently slammed himself into everything. All to make the circle around him shatter to create the little space he needed to get away appear.

Once he saw it he felt his hollow fuel his body once more, reading his intention and his spirit-energy grew thick once more and he let it pour out of his bleeding body; so thick it made all the shinigami slow down enough get away.

As if in slow-motion when he saw the small gap he had been looking for, he threw himself madly at it, forcing himself to flash-step again. It hurt, a lot, as he moved away from the steel in his flesh, the motion causing most of the wounds to grow larger. Blood poured out of the holes, some of it out of his mouth, the taste of old, dead blood repulsive.

As soon as the boy had landed on solid ground he started running again, but quickly forced another flash-step, even when his body screamed in pain as he did it, the power surge it brought with it harsh on his frail body.

Ichigo feared for the worst as he soared over the ground faster than the naked eye could see. His body wasn't healing anymore and he saw black dots in front of his eyes. His leg almost buckled beneath him and his hand still hung in thin threads on his arm, ready to fall off at any second.

That feeling made panic etch its way into his mind and hunger was crawling over his mind again. He had lost too much blood in his stupid decision to starting eating on his enemy in the middle of a battle. He cursed himself, loathed his being for falling for primal instincts so easily. He feared it would lead to his own death.

'Don't be stupid, Ichigo!' The voice of his inner demon that he had become so much like suddenly boomed, blocking out all other sounds.

'Hollow!' He spluttered out.

'Need some help, ne?'

"N-no!" Ichigo stammered his ever present reluctance to ask for help still there. He was answered with laughter.

'Hahah! I knew the King wouldn't bow so quickly!'

Ichigo kept on running, the feeling of shinigami moving in his direction clear in his mind, unlike everything else. But as he jumped up to run on the top of a roof, the large movements he had to do to jump so high was enough to make the arm that was almost cut away sway dangerously on the thin flesh it hang on to. Ichigo screamed as his left hand left his body, the soft thud of it as it landed on the ground below echoing in his ears. His eyes stared at the lost limp as he came to a stop a few meters away it, due to his high speed. He did not believe his eyes; even when the pain told him how very real it was.

'No biggie, partner, it's just a hand.' Shirosaki's voice chimed.

His hand had fallen off.

"No bigge!" Ichigo roared, panic filling his body. "Are you insane!"

'It will heal, stupid.' The hollow sneered, as if he was telling the simplest of things. 'Why don't you focus on getting out off the mess your in, like you use to, instead?'

"I am! Can't you see I'm running!"

'Tch! Even after running for, hell I don't know for how long, you still haven't figured it won't help?' Shirosaki spat.

"The what the hell am I supposed to do!" Ichigo asked, as he jumped off the ledge of a roof, the shinigami mob right behind him now, he could feel their swords split his clothes, missing his skin by mere millimeters. He was slowing down fast, the blood that fueled his body almost gone.

'Still so narrow minded?' The hollow sighed. 'Where is the place where there is no life, no water, no fresh souls, only monsters and a constant moon that makes sand white in its reflecting light?'

Ichigo couldn't think, the riddle not making any sense for him at all, he was too busy evading swords and running through the maze of houses.

'Hueco Mundo! Hueco Mundo you idiot! How thick can you get! Don't you think I know you thought about going there, but you've been too scared to try? Well, its time you stop being a coward and go somewhere where there are No. Damn. Shinigami!'

"How?" The boy roared at his inner demon as he counter attacked the enemy with spirit-energy loaded pulses, Getsuga's, that he shot away from his heavy weapon. It held the enemy at bay easily, but with every Getsuga he fired he caused himself to loose more blood and the thin layer of energy he tried to keep around himself to lessen his body's intense bleeding falter.

He had been stabbed through his left leg now and was limping severely. He was starting to receive more damage than he was dealing, but he wouldn't let himself budge, he was going to fight to the very end.

'You open the portal.'

"What damn portal!"

'Stop playing so fuckin' stupid!' His inner demon roared, pissed at his inferior King and before Ichigo got the chance to do anything more than stumble, he felt the arm with his hand missing twitch and his body suddenly burst with unexpected power. His body vanished in a forceful rush of black before he reappeared far away from the men hunting him.

"What are you doin'!" Ichigo questioned furiously, but the hint of being relieved was still there, meshed together with the anger and fight.

'Open the Gargantuan, Ichigo!'

Ichigo was bewildered; he had absolutely no clue on how to do what he was told. He stood lamely, looking at nothing until he started to focus furiously on Hueco Mundo, but nothing happened and he started to run again, afraid to stand still.

He scurried away to hide behind a large container, mind still set on the desert he knew existed on another level of the universe. Yet again nothing happened, not that Ichigo had expected it to. He waved his cleaver around madly, screaming for the gate to open for him. But no matter what he did, even if he started to let some of his spirit-energy slip did anything happen.

Ichigo started to become afraid and again he furiously slashed the air with his cleaver, eyes wide in desperation to escape. The men hunting him were quickly drawing nearer.

"Open you fucking shit! Open!" Ichigo screeched with a shrill voice.

'This is how you open the Gargantuan!' The voice of Ichigo's hollow roared, more than angry at his king's dreadful attempts at opening said portal.

Ichigo felt his arm move in front of him, where it glowed darkly, hollow energy engulfing it and he could swear he had felt his own hand change shape. He wanted to recoil, pull his hand back to his sword or just somewhere else; anywhere, but it wouldn't budge.

Images of white sand and a cold moon flashed before his eyes.

A thin almost invisible line appeared in front of his hand, a buzzing sound rang in his ears and the line exploded into a black gaping hole, tearing the air and space into threads. Strong hot winds blew through his hair and the hole stretched and ate itself wider. The black portal hung before him, waiting with warm winds blowing from it as if it was a breathing mouth for its summoner to go through its fangs.

Ichigo threw himself into its mouth, heading for the end of the world.

End of chapter