Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Shiro: Hi

Ichigo's thoughts: Hi

Zangetsu: /Hi/

Chapter 10—A Story Told in White

While King and Old Man Zangetsu stayed in the clearing, Shiro bounded into the forest for parts unknown. He ran as fast as possible without resorting to sonido, burning off built-up energy and occasionally slicing a tree in half. Shiro didn't have a set destination in mind, and after slowing to a light jog, he turned to head back. Shiro guessed, from the position of the sun, that he should head back to the clearing. It had taken an hour to get out there, and it would take that long to get back. Without resorting to sonido, which Shiro didn't want to do unless absolutely necessary. However, due to all the random turns he had taken, Shiro didn't have a clue which way to go. And the Sekki-Sekki was doing a marvelous job of blocking Old Man's and King's reiatsu. Shiro growled angrily. He would have to backtrack to the Academy, then make his way to the clearing from there, using landmarks glimpsed through King's eyes. And of course, King would be pissed that Shiro had passed so close to "all those talented reiatsu sensors!" Shiro rolled his eyes. King would be able to sense reiatsu that well too if he would only learn to feel past his own massive reiatsu to sense others around him.

With his thoughts lost in annoyance for King and/or gleeful bloodlust, Shiro set out towards the nearest and most powerful source of reiatsu he could sense. Since he was so lost in thought (an occurrence that rarely happened) he didn't realize that instead of heading to the Academy, Shiro was set on a course straight for Seireitei.

Zangetsu paused his inspection of the bakudo Ichigo was using on a dummy Zangetsu had made. Something didn't feel right. Shiro seemed to be heading straight for Seireitei. Zangetsu shook his head distractedly. Shiro would stay away from Seireitei. There was too much a chance of Shiro getting discovered by any random Shinigami that happened to pass by. No, the Sekki-Sekki just had to be messing with his senses. There was no way Shiro would risk going to Seireitei. Zangetsu resumed his inspection of Ichigo's aforementioned bakudo, occasionally pointed out mistakes in the level of reiatsu in a given area. He tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that was building.

Shiro stood hidden in the forest, barely a meter away from being discovered. He had stumbled upon Seireitei moments earlier and was inwardly cursing his carelessness when a squadron of Shinigami, most likely from the 11th squad, had settled down for a drinking fest. If Shiro tried to sonido away, his hollow reiatsu would be picked up by the 12th squad's sensors in an instant, if not by the Shinigami themselves. And simply backing up and running wasn't an option, as the ground was littered with small twigs that would make a horrendous amount of noise when stepped on. Climbing the trees the twigs had fallen from wasn't an option either, since debris knocked loose from the tree would fall onto the Shinigami. Which would of course cause said Shinigami to glance up and see the hollow hidden in the branches. So Shiro was stuck, locked in one place by the danger of discovery. King would be furious. Not that Shiro really cared. Perhaps he should wait until the Shinigami were too drunk to tell up from down. Then Shiro could sneak away as quietly as possible. Yes, that plan of action would go well.

(2 hours later)

Shiro was fed up. By now most of the Shinigami had drifted into a drunken stupor. But there was a small group of the Shinigami who really knew how to hold their liquor. Still, bored and stiff from two hours of doing nothing but watch Shinigami drink, all Shiro wanted to do was go and get back to the clearing. So that's what he did. Shiro tore through the underbrush as silently as possible. Unfortunately for Shiro, one of the Shinigami heard the bushes rustle and peered into them. The Shinigami caught a glimpse of something white, whose freakish eyes had gold irises and black sclera. Later, the Shinigami would only just remember the mysterious flash of white in the bushes, and believed it was just a mirage his drunken mind had created.

Meanwhile, while Shiro tore through the forest toward the Academy, he inwardly cursed his bad luck that he had been spotted by that one drunken Shinigami. King would kill him.

Shiro arrived at the Academy in good time, still sulking. He had arrived behind the boys' dorms, near the cafeteria. Shiro knew he wouldn't be able to hide in the bushes to get across the Academy. No, Shiro had to sonido across the grounds as quickly as possible to get to the next strip of forest. And hope he wasn't seen or sensed in the process.

Shiro gritted his teeth angrily. Why did crap like this always happen to him?

Shiro's eyes roamed the grounds, checking for Shinigami-in-training or teachers. It couldn't be that hard to make it across the grounds. Could it?

Shiro shook his head. It seemed all clear, both in sight and sense. It was now or never.

Of course, things like this never go as planned.

Hokkaido strolled across the grounds, completely undetectable by sight or sense. He had raided the 12th squad's storage and found and old, black cloak that looked completely unremarkable – except for the fact that it made the wearer invisible and blocked the user's reiatsu completely. Looking closer, one could see the unmistakable craftsmanship of Kisuke Urahara, and the signs of experimentation by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Apparently this experiment of Urahara's was left when the man fled, and later modified by Kurotsuchi. Hokkaido had no idea why a powerful item like this was simply left in storage, but left in storage it had been. Perhaps Kurotsuchi had been unable to duplicate the cloak, thus making it useless for further experimentation (in Kurotsuchi's point of view). (1) Hokkaido was also surprised that no one had discovered yet that the "failed" experiment had been stolen. Hokkaido had had it in his possession for at least a year, maybe more.

Oh well, Hokkaido thought. At least it's serving some purpose now.

Hokkaido had been traversing the grounds in search of Ichigo Kurosaki. Hokkaido's feelings about the freshman were confusing; he had never felt so suspicious and wary of a student before. Well, Gin Ichimaru came close, with his unnatural skills and creepy smile. But there was just something… off… about Ichigo Kurosaki, and Hokkaido wanted to find out what set off the alarm bells in his head.

Suddenly, something white crashed into Hokkaido with the force of a freight train, knocking the breath out of the man and sending him crashing to the ground. In the collision, the cloak slipped off his shoulders and tumbled to the ground beside Hokkaido. After recovering his breath, Hokkaido glanced at his assailant to find a confused... Ichigo Kurosaki?!

But wait… while the person Hokkaido ran into looked like Ichigo Kurosaki, some small details differentiated the two. For one, Ichigo's look-alike's hair was snow white… as was his skin! And this white doppelganger was wearing a shihakusho… inside out?! Wait, no. It was a white shihakusho!

His nickname's gotta be Shiro-chan, a small functional part of Hokkaido's dazed brain said.

Hokkaido's quick inspection of Ichigo's twin stopped at his eyes.

Those eyes were unreal.

The irises were a molten gold, revealing anger, confusion, and… was that a trace of hidden fear?... reflected in them. And the sclera… jet black. Hokkaido had never seen anything so bizarre.

Suddenly, "Ichigo" swore and shunpoed away.

Wait a second.

That person didn't use shunpo. That was sonido.

And during Hokkaido's physical inspection, Hokkaido failed to read the person's reiatsu. And it simply reeked of hollow.

Hokkaido's instincts kicked into gear. If there was a hollow on campus, it needed to be eradicated.

Hokkaido shunpoed after the hollow, grabbing an asauchi from a startled student. Hokkaido began following the faint trail of reiatsu left by the hollow. It seemed to be running haphazardly through the forest, trying to put as much distance between the two as possible.

But Hokkaido wasn't hoho teacher for nothing. He would catch up with this white stranger – no, hollow – if it was the last thing he'd do.

But in the confusion, Hokkaido didn't realize that he left his cloak was lying useless on the ground.

Shiro swore venomously. This was great. Just great. The hoho teacher (Hokkaido?) was following – no, chasing – him relentlessly. King would kill him, then resurrect him, then kill him again. The Old Man would reincarnate him, then resurrect his old body, then destroy them both.

Shiro's eyes narrowed. He could feel the teacher behind him, about 200 meters back. But why hadn't Shiro been able to feel him before?

The familiarity of Shiro's surroundings jerked him from his thoughts. Shiro was leading Hokkaido straight to the clearing!

Shiro immediately swerved away from the direction of the clearing. Time to begin evasive maneuvers.

Hokkaido frowned. The hollow had begun to duck and weave through the underbrush. It obviously wanted to be left alone. Hokkaido's frown deepened as he leapt over a fallen log. This hollow was odd. Its reiatsu was pure hollow, but its behavior was confusing, as was its appearance. Hollows mindlessly attack whoever they come across, regardless of strength. But this one was fleeing from him. And, from the brief glance at its face, it didn't have a mask. Was it one of those rumored Arrancar? No, Hokkaido had read that an Arrancar's reiatsu was a perfect, harmonized blend of Shinigami and hollow. (2) So what was it?

Once again in so many hours, Shiro was fed up. Really fed up. It was a miracle he hadn't attacked and killed anything human-shaped yet. But it was time to take drastic measures to get rid of Hokkaido. And if he got hurt badly, well, it wasn't Shiro's problem, was it?

Hokkaido paused. The reiatsu trail had stopped. It just abruptly ended. No warning, no foreshadowing, it just stopped. It was as if the hollow had just vanished. It certainly wasn't dead, else there would be a body. But Hokkaido didn't have time to ponder this new development. He glimpsed a flash of white followed by a gigantic sword, before pain exploded in the back of his skull and the world went dark.

Shiro stood over the unconscious Hokkaido. He didn't envy the man. Hokkaido would have a killer headache when he woke up. Shiro hefted the white Zangetsu over his shoulder before slinging Hokkaido onto his back. The man had been a great outlet to get rid of Shiro's anger. And if the man's memory had been distorted by the harsh blow, well, that was just a lucky bonus.

Shiro rapidly sonidoed back to the Academy. After unceremoniously dumping Hokkaido near where Shiro had first accidentally tackled him, Shiro sonidoed back through the forest, where Old Man and King were waiting.

Ichigo restlessly paced the perimeter of the clearing, waiting for Shiro to return. It was currently 4:00, about an hour after Zangetsu sensed Shiro attack an unknown person or thing. However, Zangetsu refused to disclose any details, and as a result Ichigo became increasingly tense and irritable. Suddenly, the undergrowth rustled and a windblown-looking Shiro stepped into view. Scratch windblown, Shiro looked like he had been through a hurricane. Random bits of leaf and twig were twisted into his snowy hair. His white shihakusho was torn and scratches mottled every square inch of exposed skin. Not at all reassured by Shiro's appearance, Ichigo began marching in Shiro's direction, opening his mouth with the intention of scolding/yelling/ranting at Shiro. However, he was cut off by a look from Zangetsu. Zangetsu strode over to the hollow and they began conversing in low tones, occasionally casting glances in Ichigo's direction. A vein popped in Ichigo's head. They were ignoring him. Or at the very least keeping him in the dark. And that just ticked Ichigo off.

"HEY!!! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Shiro stumbled into the clearing. He knew he must have looked like hell. When one is being chased through a thick forest, one doesn't pay any special attention to where one is going (except to prevent oneself from being knocked for a loop if one clotheslines a low-hanging branch). Ergo, one usually garners numerous scratches, torn clothes, and bits of the native flora in one's hair.

Shiro glanced around the clearing. He noticed Old Man Zangetsu and King standing under a clump of trees off to the side. King looked absolutely livid.

But that wasn't what caught Shiro's attention.

The clearing's size had doubled. It was obvious where King had been practicing his kido. Craters the size of trucks were scattered along the north and west. Some were still smoking. The rubble from the craters was spread throughout the clearing, giving it a speckled look. Felled and blackened trees lay haphazardly in the new area of the clearing. Some looked like they had been blasted apart from the inside. Shiro had a bad feeling that Old Man would eventually want him to help Ichigo move the Sekki-Sekki to encompass the new area of the clearing.

Shiro refocused on Old Man and King. He could enquire about the story behind the craters later.

King started stomping over to Shiro, opening his mouth and obviously about to deliver a verbal lashing. As King drew nearer, Shiro noticed the smoky smell that lingered around King and the scorch marks on what was left of his Academy uniform.

Old Man Zangetsu halted King's advance with a firm look. He approached Shiro and began interrogating him in quiet tones.

"Who did you attack?"

"The hoho sensei. Was his name Hokkaido?"

"Why did you attack him?"

"He started chasing me 'cause he felt my hollow reiatsu."

"You didn't cause any lasting damage, did you?"

"I only hit him in the back of the head. He's out cold. And I certainly won't complain if he has trouble remembering our encounter. I hope King is of the same opinion." Shiro cast a glance at said Shinigami.

Whatever Zangetsu was going to say next was cut off by King's loud exclamation.

"HEY!!! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Well, here's chapter 10. I got a new writing notebook for my birthday and it's so much better to write in than my old composition book. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often now.

Oh, and I know y'all were complaining about the omake in chapter 5 being before the actual chapter, not after. I fixed that, and so now the omake of chapter 5 is after the actual chapter.

I bet you were expecting a description of Ichigo's training in the clearing, weren't you? Don't worry, that'll happen in the next chapter.

Zangetsu has a rather straightforward method of questioning, doesn't he?

(1) It's the cloak used by Urahara to sneak out and rescue Hiyori during the Vizard incident a century before the main canon. For the purposes of this fanfic, it was left behind in the confusion, and Mayuri found it. Need I say more?

(2) Hokkaido didn't just raid the 12th squad's storage. He raided their database, too. Not many Shinigami knew what Arrancar were in those days. It was classified information, meant for captain and lieutenant eyes only. And perhaps some of the higher seated officers were told, as well.

-HM