Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Bleach or anything affiliated with it. Anything not from Bleach, rights go to the designated owners. As I've said, I only own the Black Hollow, it's 'abilities' and the OC.
I got the idea when I was walking to school a while back, but I've finally formed a story about it. Hope you enjoy!
Brief: Karakura's had some strange things happen to it before now, but nothing on this scale. How will Ichigo and Rukia defeat the menace when their very allies could be against them?
Warning(s): Swearing and cursing throughout, unsure how frequently.
10: Tearing Them Apart
Karakura High, Next Morning
The group gathered around Ichigo's table, talking in hushed tones that went unnoticed in the buzz of the conversations their classmates were so intently in. Ichigo looked to Kai.
"So, how does this work?" he asked. Kai gave him a confused look.
"How does what work?" he replied.
"The Neo-Vizard stuff, how does that work?"
"Oh, right. Well, you say your release command and the Shikai II comes up. For Overdrive, wait for your Bankai to dissipate so that it has shape but the panels in your wings vanish, then say 'Overdrive', and it'll take hold at its best form. It's the same for Max. Overdrive."
"Anything else you're hiding from us, Friel?" Uryu hissed. The Quincy didn't really like Ichigo as he had been, let alone when Kai had come along.
"A magician never reveals his secrets, I'm sure a sneaky son of a bitch like you can appreciate that." Kai smirked tauntingly at Uryu, who glowered but moved to his desk as Miss Ochi came in. Kai sprawled lazily in his seat, bored out of his wits already. Ichigo followed suit with boredom, glancing to Kai and noticing his iPod in his hands. The headphones went up his shirt and into his left ear.
Urahara's Shop
Yoruichi pricked up her ears and frowned. In her cat form, her hearing was far superior to as a human, and she could hear something strange. Outside the window, dark clouds gathered over the park and lightning cracked the fragile sky while thunder roared at passers-by. Something was happening, and she didn't know what.
"You can sense it too, can't you?" Urahara said, yawning.
"Yes. What the hell is that?"
"Who knows, but Ichigo's bound to notice it and get over there. Don't worry about it."
"Kisuke, I'm going to check it out anyway, just to be sure."
"*Yawn* Fine, but there really is nothing to fear."
Yoruichi nodded and leapt from the window, bounding to the disturbance.
Karakura High Rooftop
Kai frowned, gazing at the thick black clouds. He had been munching on a Sushi pack but had forgotten it for some time. Orihime looked at him, laughing from Ichigo's joke. She turned serious instantly.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"That storm..." Kai mused, before turning to Rukia. "Can you feel it?"
Rukia's brow furled in confusion.
"Feel what?" Ichigo asked.
"It can't be..."
"Kai, what is it?"
"I've gotta go check this out."
"Not on your own you aren't."
Kai stood up, turning to Ichigo.
"Yes, on my own." he said firmly. "I know that energy. It's the same thing that I saw a year ago when JX disappeared."
"Who in hell's name is JX?" Uryu asked.
"It's a long story, and I can't tell it now." Kai kissed Orihime on the cheek. "I'll be back later."
He slipped a Gikongan into his mouth and flash-stepped towards the spot.
"Rukia, we'd better give him some cover." Ichigo said. Rukia nodded and both swallowed their own Gikongan. "You guys stay here, we'll keep him out of trouble."
And with that, the pair chased Kai towards the blue electricity that pulsed over the park.
Karakura Park
A bolt of blue lightning burnt a smouldering hole into the green of the grass in the desolate park. From the crater climbed three humanoid shapes. One of these was the dreaded Hollow 666 and another was the Master, JX himself. The third was an arrancar with a segment of a red mask around his eyes and over his nose. The arrancar looked around the area and scoffed.
"Tch." he growled. "Damn co-ordinates must've been wrong."
"And whose fault is that, dip-shit?" 666 sneered. The arrancar readied himself to use a Cero on 666, but he was stopped by JX.
"None of that, you two," he said. "They're up there."
The arrancar looked up and smiled.
"I'll deal with the girl." he purred, drawing his zanpakuto.
"Taichi, remember what I told you." JX said, spotting Kai.
"I know, keep her busy for a while."
Taichi thrust his blade into the ground and the earth cracked, releasing a swarm of Hollow.
"Hollows," Taichi yelled. "Attack!"
The swarm leapt toward the newcomers, waiting to welcome them.
Near Karakura Park
"Kai, who's this JX guy, anyway?" Ichigo asked as the three hurried to the now still park.
"Remember that scar on my chest?" Kai asked.
"The one you said was from another part of you?"
"Yeah. Well, JX is the one that gave me it. He's got an inner hollow as well, and holy shit is he strong."
"Incoming hollow!" Rukia alerted them as a swarm of twenty hollows flew at them.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled.
"Chaos Wave!" Kai yelled.
The two ripples spread over the swarm and punched a hole for them to get through, but Rukia was cut off from them.
"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled.
"Keep going!" Rukia urged. "I'll take care of these guys!"
Ichigo nodded and followed Kai, until the pair stopped before three beings. In the middle was a spitting image of Kai but with much more dark emotion within him. On the evil-Kai's left was 666, Destroyer drawn, and on the right was some kind of arrancar with a red mask fragment. Kai growled.
"Ichigo, you see that guy in the middle?" Kai said, his voice full of rage. "That's JX."
JX smiled maniacally.
"Ah, Kai, long time no see." JX growled in a regal yet dark tone. "You've already met my little project, I assume." 666 glared at the man but said nothing. "This is my second in command, Taichi, my own arrancar."
"You always were a twisted bastard." Kai spat.
"Shall we get down to business then?"
"If by business, you mean you're ready for me to kick your head in, then yes, let's."
Kai used his Shunpo and vanished with JX to fight. Ichigo glared at the two before him.
"So, which of you wants to die first?" he asked.
"I wouldn't give you then satisfaction of dying by my blade, human." Taichi growled. "I'm gonna slaughter your little girlfriend."
Taichi vanished, but Ichigo couldn't follow as 666 flew at him, roaring as he did.
"Rise and kill, Destroyer!" he yelled, swinging in.
"Zangetsu!" Ichigo yelled, the zanpakuto becoming laced in red energy. The swing was bounced off with ease by Ichigo's zanpakuto. Hollow 666 was flung back, growling.
"Impressive," he mused. "You've gotten stronger. But it won't help you."
"I know your secrets, you don't know mine."
"Oh really? Bankai!"
Black energy erupted from 666 as he took on his Bankai.
"Bankai!" Ichigo yelled, his blue aura leaping upward in a pillar of energy.
Ichigo swung his blade and the smokescreens disappeared. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw the Bankai of the Black Hollow.
Two large wings had extended outward, his left arm had become like a dragon's and the hollow mask had changed to look more demon-like. The fiend's right arm had spines on the shoulder and a long chain locked around its wrist, ending in a red and black blade of sorts. All these changes were pitch black, and the hollow growled, spinning the blade above him.
"This is my Bankai," he said. "Obsidian Destroyer. It seems you've also changed your own Bankai. Let's see if it makes a difference."
"Yeah, let's." Ichigo said, flying forward towards the incoming hollow.
Above Karakura Park, Rukia's fight
Rukia flung blasts of ice at the hollows as they swarmed her, but they pulled back a bit, leaving her enclosed inside a sphere of hollows. Taichi appeared before her, blade drawn. He smiled evilly at her.
"You're kinda cute." he said. "It's almost a crime to kill you, but there's no choice in the matter."
"Keep dreaming, arrancar!" Rukia spat, running her hand over Sode no Shirayuki. "Bankai!"
Rukia's Bankai solidified and she flung herself at the arrancar while bringing the blade into it's side. Taichi grunted, swiping with the zanpakuto, but doing little as Rukia dodged it. Another stray swipe was deflected off the shield and followed with a counter-strike, ice blossoming from the arrancar's chest. The arrancar backed off, clutching the bloodied icicle that hung from his chest.
"You bitch." he growled. "How dare you wound me, General Taichi?"
"With ease, arrancar." Rukia said. "You aren't much past a regular Gillian class arrancar."
"I'll show you power. Smash and crash, Taichi!"
Rukia raised an eyebrow at the lack of a name for the arrancar, who seemed to be going by his zanpakuto name. The actual form was, however, huge, in all fairness. The red mask extended to cover the forehead and a set of white lower teeth sprang outward over the lower jaw.
The body itself was now 10 feet tall and half as wide, with two hulking white arms and legs. The back had a series of red tentacles, eight in all, and in the massive hands were two war-hammers of stone. The arrancar smirked.
"Didn't expect this, did you?" Taichi growled. "Now we'll see what you think."
Kai's fight
Kai blocked another swipe from JX's vicious zanpakuto, Hellraiser. It's Shikai was a large scythe with a long curved blade as it's main attack, and a smaller blade on an extending reiatsu tether for longer reach. Kai threw Supernova upward, grabbed the chain and used the zanpakuto at mid-long range in an attempt to catch JX before he could move in again.
It didn't work. The blade was slapped away by the scythe and JX flew in to try to catch Kai, but he backed off in the nick of time, grabbing the grip of the zanpakuto instead of the chain.
"You've gotten better, I'll give you that," JX purred. "Nevertheless, you are a threat I must deal with or turn to my side."
"I'll take death over siding with you any day." Kai spat. "I didn't want to do this, but oh well. Reveal your true power, Supernova Dragon."
A blue flame swarmed up the chain from the pendant, consuming it. The dragon's eyes turned from red flame to blue, fire pouring out and over the blade. The chain vanished and two pistols appeared around Kai's waist, holstered but ready. Kai's spiritual pressure shot up as the full form of Supernova took shape. JX smirked but narrowed his eyes.
"So, that's why it's called Supernova Dragon, is it?" he mused. "I did wonder."
"You haven't seen anything, yet." Kai snarled. JX always brought out the worst in him.
Kai drew his left pistol (Note: When I say left pistol, it's the right hand pistol but Kai draws it with his left hand. It's the same for his right pistol, but in reverse.) and aimed the pistol at the fiend, easing the trigger back. A ball of flame hurtled towards JX, but the hollow mask of Depsigh blocked it. Kai grinned, drawing out Rertyan's mask and holstering the left pistol. He switched the sword to his left hand and grabbed the right pistol and fired it, a beam of Rertyan's reiatsu striking the mask and shattering the left side of the mask. JX growled.
"Hollow, now!" he yelled, springing back from Kai.
Hollow 666 appeared from nowhere, heading for Kai with something in it's hand. Kai couldn't see what it was, but he didn't feel it make contact. Instead, he felt Ichigo's head slam into his nose, forcing him backward.
Ichigo clutched his face for a reason Kai couldn't work out. But then Ichigo turned as a chain fastened itself around his head.
Ichigo's face was covered by a metal mask that was locked onto his face, his eyes turning black and amber. The mask that usually was on Ichigo's face partially appeared, the left side only, leaving the right of the iron mask revealed.
"What the hell is that?" Kai asked.
"This is the Iron Mask," JX said, opening a portal. "And Ichigo Kurosaki, is now under our control."
The portal closed around the Black Hollow, JX and Ichigo, and rain began to pour as Kai sheathed Supernova and Rukia stared at the space Ichigo had been moments ago.
"No..." she said weakly in disbelief, the arrancar dead below her and its minions surrounding it. She threw back her head and yelled to the grey skies above. "ICHIGO!"
Tears trickled down Rukia's cheeks and from the clouds that looked sadly upon the scene. Kai walked to her and hugged her, knowing she'd need everyone to be there for her.
"We'll get him back, I promise." he whispered as Rukia's knees buckled. "Let's get to Urahara's."
To be continued...
Yeah, I know, this is probably not what you expected.
Don't worry, though, Ichigo won't die... Or will he?
I can't ruin the tale, so I'll let you muse over it.
JX and 666 will make another appearance with Ichigo soon.
For now, read and review!