(Authors Note: I've reached my 10th Chapter! Thank you for your reviews because without them, I wouldn't continue writing. Please forgive all grammatical mistakes, I'm quite a lazy writer and don't edit much.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.
10. Friends or Foes?
"Let's get serious!" She shouted.
She jumped behind Ichigo and attempted to hit his spine, therefore paralyzing him. But before she could, Ichigo turned around and kicked her away. With a loud "thump" she landed in front of the other visoreds who had now drew their own swords.
"Stop it Hiyori!" Shinji bellowed. "You're going to solve nothing by fighting with this guy"
He turned to face Ichigo before speaking. "Let's get all the formalities out the way shall we? What are you and why have you come here?"
Ichigo hesitated before replying. "I have come to speak to a person called Hachigen Ushōda"
Hachi stiffened at the mention of his name and walked forward. "I am Hachigen Ushōda"
Ichigo stared at the all too familiar person standing in front of him. The tall Visored looked sceptical before opening his mouth to ask a question. "I'm going to echo Shinji's earlier question." He breathed deeply. "But I'm more interested in what you are, not who you are"
Ichigo inwardly sighed. He was beginning to get slightly frustrated at people asking about his lack of spiritual energy. It wasn't that he didn't have any. It was that it was too high for them to sense. He knew he couldn't tell them that at this moment though, for they would probably be insulted and attack, which would inevitably cause more problems that Ichigo, would have to deal with.
A thought came to Ichigo's head as he was brainstorming for things to tell the wary visoreds who looked about 2 minutes away from attacking.
"I'm a visored, like you. I…stumbled upon this place and thought I'd investigate." Ichigo quickly spoke the words to attempt to pacify the angered former Shinigami's.
Shinji suddenly broke out into hysteria. "Then explain why I can't sense any spiritual pressure coming from you, hmm"
Ichigo began to panic. "It's…because I'm, a different …type of visored."
"I don't believe you" Shinji said. He walked towards Ichigo and in the same action Hiyori had performed earlier, drew his hand across his face and formed a hollow mask that increased his power dramatically. The pure white mask resembled a pharaoh's mask. He stood about two meters away from Ichigo and stared into his eyes. He stayed that way for a few seconds before raising his sword and uttering.
"Collapse, Sakanade." Once the words had escaped his mouth his sword transformed and the hilt became a ring which surrounded Shinji's hand and rotated around his wirst. The blade became razor-sharp along with five holes that developed in the length of the sword.
Shinji smiled and advanced towards Ichigo. He spoke "Now I want you to tell me the truth. If you fail to do so this time, well, I'm going to have to kill you, aren't I?" Shinji's face remained unchanged as he advanced towards Ichigo.
"Can we take this elsewhere, for example, downstairs?" Shinji asked. Ichigo nodded in acceptance and flash stepped in to the familiar scenery. Ichigo was standing on a rock in a basement similar to Urahara's underground sanctuary. Shinji appeared before Ichigo on a rock about two hundred yards away.
"If you are what you say you are, then draw you hollow mask" He demanded. Ichigo froze. He didn't want to bring his hollow out after what had happened in Hueco Mundo and worried what destruction would be caused because of it. He decided against it.
"Force me to" Ichigo taunted. Shinji uttered something under his breath and attacked Ichigo from behind. Shinji flash stepped behind Ichigo and slashed at him. Shinji was under the impression that Ichigo was caught in Sakanade's ability to confuse the senses. But he was mistaken. As he swung at Ichigo, he turned around and caught the blade in his hand. The ground behind them shook and exploded. The rock below them collapsed under the pressure of the attack.
"Is that the best you've got?" Ichigo asked. Shinji's eyes had a look of pure confusion instead of his usual calm demeanour. He jumped to a rock about 10 meters away. Then, with a look of hatred, he shouted.
"Cero" Then a blinding red light shot from his blade and sped in his direction. Ichigo just waited for it to hit him. Just before it made impact, Ichigo punched through the wall of red energy and sent it flying back at Shinji. Shinji's eyes grew wide and he dodged just before the cero hit him. He flash stepped behind Ichigo and fired another one, which Ichigo sent flying back at him again. Shinji stopped.
"How can you even see the direction of my attacks? Sakanade's ability is to muddle up the senses of my opponent. You shouldn't even know which way is up or which way is left and which way is right." Shinji cried. He looked as if he was going to fire another cero before the other Visored's come and joined Shinji in the air.
They donned their own masks and readied to attack. Ichigo cried in frustration.
"I don't want to fight!" Ichigo shouted. "I just want to talk". Shinji cursed and fired another cero at Ichigo. He dodged it and gave up.
"Fine, I'll show you my mask" Ichigo put his hands at the top of his face in a similar manner to the way the other visored's had, and drew it across his face, forcing out a hollowfication.
Instead of a mask forming though as Ichigo expected, nothing happened. He became confused and time seemed to stand still.
Ichigo, it won't work. Trust me. The training you've done in the Dangai has increased your spiritual pressure too much. Hollowfication won't work anymore.
Ichigo scowled. Now he was out of options. In a quick movement he flash stepped behind the surprised visored's.
"Getsuga…tenshou" An arc of dark spirit energy flew from Ichigo's blade in a massive surge and an explosion like a nuclear bomb lit up the entire underground base and sent dust and debris flying in all directions. Ichigo stood and waited for the dust to clear. Coughs could be heard and Ichigo followed the closest one. He felt a breeze drift by and clear some of the dust away. Ichigo looked up to see that pieces of the ceiling were missing and light was streaming in through the gaps his attack had caused.
"Wha-*cough*-what are you?" A voice asked. Ichigo looked in the direction of the voice and reached out with his spiritual senses. He felt the scattered presence of the visored's around him and was surprised to find that the one closest to him was none other than Hiyori whom he had fought earlier.
"Just answer me that. Please." She coughed on the last word.
"I say we kill him right now. Come on Hiyori, this isn't like you" Shinji shouted from a distance away. A few other visored's shouted in agreement. But they now sounded more doubtful and wary of Ichigo.
A bright light in the corner of Ichigo's eye caught his attention and he noticed Hachi sitting in barrier that looked as if it was about to collapse.
"Very interesting, very interesting indeed, Shinji, I ask that you do not kill this man, we should help him." Hachi requested.
"But he just destroyed our home!" Lisa screamed, who had now joined Hiyori and the others.
"Well, I now know for sure that we cannot beat this man. I wasn't even at the impact zone and he managed to exhaust my kido that had been enhanced by my hollowfication." Hachi explained. Ichigo stared and waited impatiently for them to come to a conclusion. "Just take a look at the actual impact zone if it will speeds things up". Hachi pointed at the area where Ichigo had fired a low-level Getsuga Tenshou.
Ichigo and the others followed the direction of Hachi's finger and looked onwards to see the devastation that Ichigo had caused. He actually felt a tinge of guilt as he looked at the disaster he had unconsciously caused. But it was only a low level one. What the hell! In front of him was a giant crater, were the arc of energy had fell upon the ground. The crater spanned about 400 hundred yards long and smoke was still rising up from the hole. The ground around the destruction zone was burned and the once tall rocks that stood proudly around the area, no longer existed.
Ichigo, you may not have gained the Final Getsuga yet, nor will you, but your spiritual pressure has risen because of your time spent meditating in the Dangai Precipice world. You are now in a sought of "Transition Phase". Be more careful.
Ichigo inwardly thanked Zangetsu and waited for a response from the visoreds.
Once they had forced their eyes away from the blast zone, they focused their attention once more on Ichigo and Hachi.
"So" Hiyori asked "What is it you want, strawberry?"
"I just want answers" Ichigo explained.
Ichigo then spent the next ten minutes explaining his story, and just like he did with Unohana, he left out as much detail as possible.
"What a far-fetched story." Hachi stated after Ichigo had finished his story.
"Pfft, doesn't sound too believable" Shinji scorned.
Hachi looked to be deep in thought and after a few seconds of pondering, he spoke.
"I think I may know a way I can help you."
Authors Note: So what did you think? I may not release another Chapter for a while due to editing etc etc.
Thanks for reading
Gizmo, Out