Kurosaki Ichigo, Master of Time and Space

Hello! As promised, here's Part 3 of Adventure 4, barely hours after Chapter 9 was submitted. As usual, there is a list of name pronunciations at the end of the chapter. Read on past that list for the Chapter 10 Special!

Adventure 4: Fionn's son and the Ice Dragon [Part 3 – The White Darkness]

"Hello, Captain Rose here, how can I help you?"

"Rose, it's, me Ichigo. I tried to stop the two wielders of Hyorinmaru from meeting, but they did."

"What? They met? Tell me exactly what happened!"

"Strangely, nothing big happened. The two wielders fought one another, but when they both released, their Shikai just disappeared! Nothing else happened!"

Rose calmed down, and said, "Oh, that's fine then. It's a surprise, but I'll get the Science Squad to do some research on it. They should be able to find something. But don't push your luck, Ichigo. We might not get off so lucky next time, so until the research is done, don't let the two wielders meet, ok?"

"Got it. Just one more question though. I never actually intended to come to Ireland. The four of us were just standing there when a crack suddenly opened up right above us and drew us in. I began to think about that, and I have to ask you, is it possible for the third-dimensional military to open portals like that and send people into different places or eras without those people's consent?"

Rose thought for a while, and then replied, "Technically, we, the Custodes Tempus, can remotely open cracks to other locations and eras. They can't permanently send you off, since you can use your own powers to come back. But they can open cracks remotely. Only the generals can actually do so, but they usually don't, unless it's a real emergency."

"I see. I wonder why someone would want to send me into the past just like that though."

"Oh, speaking of generals, the General of my squad has a small message for you. He wanted me to ask you to go to the monastery on the shore. He says that you'll understand once you get there."

"Last night, I saw a monastery, which was almost attacked by Vikings. I wonder if he refers to that Monastery."

"I don't know, but you should do as he says. He's a good man, and while his advice often seems to make no sense at the beginning, it's very good advice, usually."

"Ok, I'll go take a look."

Ichigo took a small bit of paper from his pocket and scribbled a note for the others saying where he had gone, and then he flash-stepped off, retracing his steps towards the shore. As he went, he pondered what had happened. This wasn't the first time he had run into a past wielder of a Zanpakuto. Exactly what was going on? The repeated encounters with past Zanpakutos, as well as the suspicious way in which he had entered Ireland were beginning to raise his suspicions. But since he was unable to find an answer, he let it go for now. After a few minutes of furious flash-stepping, he reached the monastery. He carefully approached the large stone building and knocked on the door a few times. The one who answered the door was a man dressed in the brown hooded robes of a monk. Ichigo greeted, "Hello, I am Kurosaki Ichigo. I come in peace."

The monk smiled and said, "Welcome, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am Brother Padraig. We have been expecting you."

"Have you?" asked Ichigo, surprised.

"Indeed. A month ago, a man came to us and asked a favour of us. He had previously helped us defend our monastery from the Vikings, so we were more than happy to repay his kindness. He gave us a description of you and asked us to pass you something."

"A man asked you to give me something? Was that man called Oisín, by any chance?"

"No, brother Ichigo. The man who asked us to do this was not Oisín. He did not tell us who he was, and we did not press."

Padraig led Ichigo to a small room, and opened a large cupboard. Reaching into a drawer in the cupboard, he drew a small item with both his hands, and covering it, he placed it gently in Ichigo's hands. Ichigo looked at it carefully. It was a small red cloth bag that was tied with a white string. Wondering what could be inside, he took the string and began to untie it, but for some reason, the string refused to come undone. Ichigo looked questioningly at Padraig, who said, "All the brothers in this monastery tried to open that bag, but none of us succeeded. One day, a druid passed by, and we asked him to look at the bag, for the druids know of strange arts that we do not. He tested it, and said that it had been closed by what he called 'demon arts'. Apparently, this bag will open on its own time, although nobody knows when that time would be."

Ichigo nodded and thanked him before putting the small bag in his pocket. He decided to leave, but then thought of something. He turned to Padraig, and asked, "Brother Padraig, I would like you to tell me everything you know about Oisín."

"Oisín? Sure, brother Ichigo. Are you familiar with the tale of Tír na nÓg?"

"No, I have never heard of it."

Padraig explained the tale to him, and Ichigo soon understood. He came to the same conclusion as Toshiro – that Oisín had come from Soul Society to protect Ireland. Padraig began talking about Oisín's character after shedding light on the Reaper's history.

"He may be an object of mystery to we brothers, and we may never tolerate the way in which he plays God, using strange arts to defeat the Danes. Of course, the Danes are enemies, but they are also human, and should be treated with that basic respect. I will never be able to respect Oisín for that aspect of him. But I do respect him for another part of his personality. Do you know why he came back from Tír na nÓg to protect Eire?"

Ichigo guessed, "Maybe he just likes fighting? Maybe he wants to protect this country because he feels attached to it, or because he has family here?"

"Actually, he wants to protect Eire because his lover Niamh loved this island. Niamh, it is said, died of sorrow in Tír na nÓg because Oisín had returned to Eire and was unable to come back. This news somehow reached Oisín, and when he heard of her death, he was saddened, and decided to fight on for the sake of the country she loved."

"So he fights for her memory then. A noble cause, I must say. Well, thank you for everything, Brother Padraig. I have to go now, my friends are waiting for me."

Padraig bid him goodbye, and Ichigo left the monastery to go back. When he returned to the hill, he found that Toshiro and the others were awake.

"Where did you wander off to, Kurosaki?"

"There was a Monastery on the coast which Rangiku and I saw last night. I visited that place, and a monk there gave me this."

He tossed the small cloth bag over to Toshiro, who tried, unsuccessfully, to open it. The captain closely examined it and commented, "This looks like it's held in place with a powerful binding spell. But that can't be the case given the complete lack of reiatsu on it."

Ichigo frowned, "But I can feel reiatsu on it. I guess that means that the spell was cast by a Custodes Tempus."

"Custodes what?"

"Custodes Tempus – It's what I am. That's the proper term for a third-dimensional being. One of them must have cast a spell on this bag. Now listen everyone, I just uncovered some worrying news. It turns out that someone from the Custodes Tempus might have been responsible for us ending up here. You might remember we were simply standing around in Seireitei when a crack opened up above us, sucking us in. That wasn't what I intended to do: that crack was opened by someone else."

Rangiku asked, worried, "Who could possibly have done that? And why?"

"The Custodes Tempus have a small military that is similar to the Gotei-13. They have four specialised squads that are led by a general, who is assisted by a few captains and other officers. Only the generals actually have the authority to open a crack remotely. Now, this military is usually neutral, so we can't jump to the conclusion that they're our enemy."

"But what could they have been trying to accomplish, sending us to the past?"

Toshiro realised it, and replied, "Kurosaki, what if these Custodes Tempus guys aren't neutral? What if they're working with Aizen, or have been tricked into doing so? What if Aizen is trying to win the War by sending important fighters like the four of us to another era and trapping us there, preventing us from fighting?"

Ichigo shook his head, "No, that's highly unlikely. Even if it were true, I can still manipulate the cracks and bring us back to our native era. Aizen hasn't trapped us at all."

Unable to come to any conclusion, they sat in silence for a while. Then, Ichigo remembered what the monk had told him, and recounted the tale to Toshiro. The captain snorted, "So he's doing it for his lover. She loved this place, and so he decided to protect it."

"Yeah, that's true. But then again, this should be familiar to most of us, shouldn't it? I became a Shinigami for that reason – to protect, and my friends opened up to their newfound abilities and developed them for that same reason. Oisín may be motivated by the desire to protect a memory of his lover, but he still protects the people of Ireland, and that makes him an honourable man, doesn't it?"

Toshiro looked away, not responding. But he knew that Ichigo was right. He himself had joined the Gotei-13 in order to protect. But unlike Ichigo, who always held his loved ones close to him, Toshiro was not afraid to push his loved ones away, and he had done just that when he first became a Shinigami - he had left the elderly woman who had taken care of him and Momo, who had been like a grandmother to them. He still cared a great deal for Momo, but he hardly spoke to her, even before Aizen's true intentions were revealed. She would be all cheerful when she spoke to him, and he would reply in his usual cool, aloof tone and give one-liners, sometimes even monosyllables. And here, Oisín was doing it too. Speaking of Oisín…

"Hey, I can feel his reiatsu!"

"Who? Oisín?"

"It's Oisín, alright. Shall we go see him?"

Ichigo replied, "Toshiro, don't! The meeting between the past and present versions of Hyorinmaru is potentially dangerous! I don't know how we managed to come off alright last time, but we may not be so lucky now!"

But Toshiro had already gone. Ichigo cursed and prepared to follow him, but his phone started ringing. It was from Rose. He turned to Yoruichi and Rangiku and cried, "Could you two please go and stop him?"

The two women flash-stepped off and Ichigo answered his phone.

"Ichigo! The Science Squad has found the answer: There was supposed to be a Paradox, but Hyorinmaru is a unique case, and so a disaster was averted."

"What do you mean by unique?"

"There has been a situation in which there were two versions of Hyorinmaru. That Zanpakuto spirit is able to deal with such situations better, and was able to shut itself off for a short while. Now the two Hyorinmaru have actually merged and are one. The modern version of the Zanpakuto, the one wielded by Hitsugaya Toshiro, is the dominant one, but Oisín can just as easily command his Zanpakuto."

"Oh…ok then. So everything's ok then?"

"Yep!"

"OK, thanks Rose! Talk to you next time!"

"Later sweetheart!"

Rolling his eyes at the last comment, Ichigo flash-stepped off and soon reached Toshiro. The captain was standing on one hill, and on another nearby hill, Oisín was standing. Fortunately, neither had made any sort of belligerent move. Ichigo stood back along with Yoruichi and Rangiku, and watched as Toshiro drew his sword and concentrated. After a few seconds, the spirit of Hyorinmaru materialised next to him. Oisín's eyes widened considerably as he saw this. Toshiro and the spirit moved over to him, and Hyorinmaru bowed to Oisín, saying in his usual calm, polite but distant tone, "Greetings, my old Master."

"Oighear Fáinne! But…how?"

Toshiro explained, "I did this to prove that I am as much a master of this Spirit Blade as you are. I come from the future, and in that distant future, I am the wielder of this Blade, which you are the current wielder of."

"You come from a different era? That's impossible," snapped Oisín.

Hyorinmaru interjected, "It is true, Oisín. Right now, there are two versions of me – past and future. I am the result of these two versions merging together. Earlier when you fought with Hitsugaya Toshiro, you found yourself unable to use your powers. That was when I had merged."

Oisín nodded, mollified by his Zanpakuto's words.

"I see. I never expected such a thing to happen, but I can see the truth now. Hitsugaya Toshiro, I apologise for my words earlier. I never expected you to be a man partnered in the future with the same Spirit Blade I wield now. If Oighear Fáinne has chosen you, then you are as worthy of his powers as I am."

Toshiro nodded respectfully, and said, "Thank you, Oisín. Now, I have some questions for you. Normally, people like us do not interfere with humans. So why do you interfere?"

With a faraway look in his eyes, Oisín said, "I do this for the sake of Niamh, who loved this country. It is also my homeland, and the homeland of my friends and my father. It is my duty to protect it."

Toshiro wanted to argue, as he didn't believe in interfering with humans, but Ichigo then spoke up, "That is an honourable thing to do. The villages on the coast rest easy at night thanks to your efforts."

Oisín smiled, "Ah yes, the Mac Cumhaill tribe – the descendants of my father and his comrades. They are always ready to take up arms and fight off the Viking invaders. Did you meet them?"

Rangiku quipped, "Yes, we did! Their coirm was great, even better than sake!"

"Matsumoto! Have you been drinking again?"

"Only a little, Captain!"

Oisín grinned, then suddenly, he gasped and looked towards the shore.

Ichigo looked at him, concerned, and Oisín said, "I have to go now. I can feel a powerful enemy coming in, and I have to stop him."

Without warning, he flash-stepped off. Hyorinmaru looked grimly at the others standing there and said, "The Vikings have returned, but now they have a powerful Arrancar on their side."

"Arrancar? Then we have to go and help them!"

Hyorinmaru disappeared in a flash of ice crystals and Toshiro's sword glowed bright blue for a few seconds as the spirit went back inside the blade. Then, Ichigo flash-stepped off, leading the way to the coast where the Vikings were attacking.

At the coast

It was daytime, and so many of the men in the village had already seen the Vikings approaching. Ronan mac Cumhaill, the leader of the village, eyed the Viking ships in apprehension. The Vikings always attacked at night, when they would be least visible. But here they were, attacking in broad daylight. Something was wrong. Suddenly, one of his warriors shouted, "Watch out! A giant wave comes this way!"

To Ronan's shock, the man was right: there really was a massive wave coming their way. This wave was easily more than a hundred metres high, and it could easily drown the entire village and its army. Ronan looked at it in fear, but suddenly, a voice cried out, "Reign over the frozen heavens, Oighear Fáinne!"

The villagers looked on in awe as a massive green-hued dragon flew high above them and into the incoming wave. The dragon dissipated upon contact, but then, the wave froze. Ronan and his men looked on in disbelief at the massive wall of ice that now stood a few hundred metres before them. The wall, unable to handle its own weight, cracked, and broke apart, ending up as massive chunks of ice on the ocean. The Viking ships continued their advance through the icy seas, but now Ronan had a renewed confidence. With a grin, he lifted his sword to the heavens and shouted to his warriors.

"Rejoice, my brethren! Today, Oisín, the son of the mighty Fionn mac Cumhaill, has joined us in battle! Today, we will fight like true warriors, and wash our blades in the blood of the Danes!"

His men cheered back, their blood boiling at the prospect of a battle alongside the legendary Oisín, and held their weapons at the ready. The Vikings soon reached shallow water and got out of their boats. The Irish wasted no time readying their bows and firing a volley of arrows at them. To their astonishment, the water itself rose up and formed a wall, deflecting the arrows. Then, the unthinkable happened: The waters receded suddenly. All the Viking warriors were in the exact same places, but the wavefront had receded to a point behind them, leaving them on the sand. The Vikings raised their weapons and ran straight at the Irish, who blinked in surprise and hastily defended themselves. The two sides fought blade-to-blade for a short while, then a powerful voice cried out, "Come and fight me, Oisín!"

And from the water itself, a man emerged. He was a very pale, middle-aged man, with pure white hair and icy grey eyes. He was dressed in a white coat over white trousers and a white top. He also held a double-edged sword that had a green handle. On his face, there was a very noticeable feature: a piece of bone that lined his jaw, and had teeth on it. It was as if someone had removed the jaw of a wild beast and attached it to this man's jaw.

At that point, Oisín stepped out in front of him, using spirit particles to stand in the sky before the man. The Irish men cheered loudly upon seeing him, and in their renewed confidence, they started overpowering the Vikings. The man in white grinned in a rather serpentine manner and said, "I have waited a long time to meet you, Oisín, son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. I am Hvítt Myrkur, and I have come to fight you! It has been a while since an honourable enemy fell to my blade, and I wish to savour the taste of victory once again."

Oisín said coldly, "I see. Come then. You will suffer defeat at my hands, I assure you of that."

Myrkur frowned, and attacked Oisín, with his sword still sealed. Oisín blocked it easily and pushed, sending the other man skidding backwards. Oisín took the opportunity to release his sword.

"Reign over the frozen heavens, Oighear Fáinne!"

He swung his sword repeatedly in the direction of Myrkur, and with each swing, a green-hued dragon composed of freezing water flew towards Myrkur. The white-clad arrancar simply used his sword to strike back at those dragons and with each stroke of his sword he took down one of the dragons, causing it to dissipate into water and shards of ice. Myrkur then swung down his own blade and a large amount of water suddenly flew from it and struck Oisín hard. The pressure from the water was great, and the blast did not dissipate upon contact. Oisín was pushed back, and when he finally came to a stop, he was breathing heavily.

Myrkur looked at him calmly and explained, "My power is to control water. That massive wave you froze earlier was created by me. I can overwhelm you without even releasing my sword, even when you are using your first release."

Oisín grimaced. Myrkur's words were right: He really was no match for the other man in this state. He replied, "Indeed, you are right, Myrkur. But you are gravely mistaken if you think this is my limit. Scaoileadh Iomlán!"

A great deal of icy reiatsu surrounded him and when it dissipated, there were two massive wings on Oisín's body. Ice also covered his arms and legs, and from the wings extended a long tail, also made of ice. Myrkur remarked, "That is impressive, Oisín. But remember that ice is also water, and it falls under my control as well!"

Myrkur held out his sword, and as Oisín sent out one of his dragons, it instantly melted into water and swirled around Myrkur's blade. Smirking, the Arrancar prepared to send that water back at Oisín, but before he could do so, Oisín flash-stepped over to him and used his powers to freeze the water vapour in the air and turn them to sharp icicles.

"Oighear Tread!"

At this command, the icicles turned towards Myrkur and flew at him. Myrkur gasped, and barely made it out of his tight spot. He was the one breathing heavily now, with multiple cuts all over his body.

"You were right…I shouldn't have underestimated you. But the true battle begins here! Bring the rain, Sjó Orm!"

Water flew upwards from the sea and surrounded his body. All the human warriors fighting on the ground stopped and slowly looked up. Even the Vikings looked afraid at the sight of Myrkur, their ally. When the water turned to steam and left, Myrkur had massive scaly green wings coming out of his back. His fingernails had gotten considerably sharper and his weapon was now a trident. Myrkur gave a serpentine laugh that sounded more like a hiss, and with that, he flew straight at Oisín and struck out with his wings. Oisín barely dodged, and his attempt to attack back was foiled by Myrkur's extra-hard skin.

The arrancar then held up his trident and pointed its prongs at Oisín and started charging up a pure white cero. To Oisín's shock, water from the sea flew upwards and spiralled into the white cero, turning it colourless like water.

Myrkur smirked, "Núll Sjó."

The cero released, but instead of moving like a regular cero, this colourless cero spread out over an extremely large area, and as it went, the waves of energy splashed about, just like waves in an ocean. There was very little chance of avoiding the blast by going up or down, and it was impossible to avoid it by going left or right. Oisín took the full brunt of this Cero of the sea, and was left with his ice wings more than half destroyed.

"Damn…he got me…I failed to protect my…country, even with all my power…"

What happened next was completely unexpected.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

A bright blue crescent of spiritual energy lashed out and struck Myrkur, who raised his trident just in time to block it. Still, the attack was devastating, and the Arrancar reeled from the force of the attack by a Custodes Tempus. As he stepped backwards, he experienced a powerful kick from Yoruichi and coughed up blood.

"Damn you, Reapers!"

Ignoring his rage, Rangiku attacked next.

"Growl, Haineko!"

The ash surrounded Myrkur and while it was unable to cut him, it managed to temporarily blind him, and that gave the last attacker all the time he needed…

"Sennen Hyoro!"

Myrkur gasped as he felt reiatsu all around him.

"W-What is this? What are you doing, Reaper?"

Toshiro remained silent as pillars of ice formed from the seawater and circled Myrkur slowly. The white-haired captain turned his sword 90 degrees, and locked his ice prison. The pillars converged, locking in Myrkur.

Oisín watched all this with awe. A group of youths had just taken down a powerful arrancar in a few seconds flat with minimal attacks. And now they had managed to seal him away. He glared at Toshiro and snapped, "Who asked you to interfere?"

"Sorry, but it looked like you were having trouble."

"I wasn't! Now open that prison, child, and let me finish my fight with Myrkur by myself!"

"Fine. Just for the record, I am not a child, Oisín. I am Hitsugaya Toshiro, and I am the Captain of the Tenth Squad in the Gotei-13."

The prison came apart, and while waiting for Myrkur to come out, Oisín closed his eyes and concentrated. Reiatsu flared around him, and water flew up from the sea to rebuild his damaged wings. Myrkur stepped out of the prison, looking slightly disoriented. As he stepped outside, the skies darkened considerably, and lightning flashed forth.

Oisín said softly, "Spéir Reoite de Sochraide Céad Bláth."

Myrkur grinned, "You shouldn't have let me out, Oisín! Now prepare to die!"

But as he said that, snow suddenly began falling from the sky. Toshiro looked up in shock.

"But that's…Hyoten Hyakkaso! Oisín, stop! You're going to kill everyone here if you use that!"

Oisín grinned back, "Oh am I? Watch on, amateur!"

The snow fell all around and fell on everybody. But strangely, it seemed most concentrated on Myrkur's position. The snowflakes blossomed into a flower every time it fell on somebody's body. One fell on Ichigo's arm, and he held it up curiously. Myrkur, on whom there were many flowers now, tried melting them, but it didn't work.

"Oisín…what did you do?"

"This is Oighear Fáinne's greatest technique. When a hundred flowers have bloomed on your body, your life will end."

"What? That is ridiculous! I will not die!"

"Believe me, so many enemies have said that before they died by my blade. You will die, so don't delude yourself. Take consolation in the fact that the souls you have eaten will be purified and sent to the afterlife, and you have a similar chance of purification too."

"No! No! Nooooooooo!"

With those screams, the hundredth flower blossomed, and instantly, Myrkur turned to ice and shattered. Oisín looked down, and all the Irish men, who had been looking to the sky in awe, unable to concentrate on their fight down below, let out a mighty roar of victory. Within minutes, they had mowed down all the remaining Vikings, and now stood victorious on the coast.

A short while later

Rangiku was at the village, happily drinking from a mug of coirm along with Yoruichi, and both were swapping stories with a group of men, who were laughing along and telling stories of their own. Outside the village stood Toshiro, Oisín and Ichigo.

Ichigo started, "Oisín, it has been good meeting you, and I have to say it was a great experience to be in this nation and meet its people."

"Likewise, I am honoured to have met people like you. It was a humbling experience meeting you, Hitsugaya Toshiro. I always thought that Oighear Fáinne was a power unique to me alone, but I now realise that Spirit Blades can pass on to new partners upon death, and this new wielder is every bit as worthy, if not more so, than I am. Also, I am grateful for the help you offered me back then. I would truly have died, but you prevented my death, and gave me sufficient time to use my technique to kill Hvítt Myrkur."

Toshiro, who had been quite silent up till then, spoke up, "Oisín, I have a request to make. We are currently preparing for a war back in our…homeland. Since we have the same Zanpakuto, I was wondering if you could train me?"

"Train you? Do you mean that you want to be trained in our Spirit Blades' powers and abilities?"

"That is right. Earlier during the fight, you used your sword's most powerful technique. I know how to use that technique as well, but mine is barely controlled. If I were to use it, everyone in the vicinity could die. There are two men I want to defeat in the war, two men who have harmed people close to me, and I need to get stronger in order to defeat them."

Oisín stroked his beard and said, "That sounds like a good proposal. Back when I was a normal human, I would value education and training highly. Besides, this is the least I could do to repay you."

"Thank you, Oisín. I am really grateful to you for accepting this request of mine. Now, Kurosaki, could you come back here in three years' time? I think that might be sufficient for me to finish my training."

Ichigo said, "Consider it done. In fact, I'll take Yoruichi and Rangiku back to our own era right now, after going two years into the future to collect you first."

"Whatever you want. Goodbye, Kurosaki, and thank you. I thought this little trip would be a waste of time, but it turns out to have been of some use anyway."

"No problem, Toshiro."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes, then sighed, "Ok, I'll let you off the hook just this once, but remember next time that I'm a captain!"

"Sure, sure," laughed Ichigo, as he went off to find Yoruichi and Rangiku. Once he found them, he opened up a crack and went forward two years in the future.

Toshiro walked up to the trio who had come to meet him, and Ichigo said, "It's been three years since you last saw us, but only barely minutes since we last saw you. Isn't time travel amazing?"

Toshiro cracked a small smile and said, "It's good to see all of you again. Thanks for this opportunity again, Kurosaki. I have finally mastered some of Hyorinmaru's new techniques, and I can now fight more efficiently in the war."

He then turned to Oisín and bowed.

"Oisín, thanks for everything. Under your guidance, I have learned much, and I can now confidently hold my own against most enemies. I am forever in your debt."

"It was my pleasure training you as well, and it was also good to have someone to talk to during these three years. I have come to regard you as a good friend, and I thank you, for you have opened my eyes to a whole range of new matters as well. Thank you, and farewell, Hitsugaya Toshiro."

"Goodbye, Oisín."

The two warriors smiled at one another, then Ichigo opened up another crack and stepped through with Toshiro, Yoruichi and Rangiku, back to Soul Society and their native timeline, and to more adventures in the future.

End of Adventure 4 – Fionn's son and the Ice Dragon

Padraig – Pronounced 'Paw-drig', and it is the Irish equivalent of 'Patrick'.

Hvítt Myrkur – Icelandic for 'White Darkness'. Any of you recognise this? I once wrote a story by that name, but I scrapped it. If I had gone through with that story, Hvítt Myrkur would have been the White Darkness, the main antagonist. It was unfortunate that I scrapped the story, but it still lives on as I use elements from it in my other stories. Come to think of it, I can use a plot element from that story for one of the next few adventures, and I probably will :)

Scaoileadh Iomlán – 'Full Release' in Irish. This essentially means 'Bankai'.

Oighear Tread – Ice flock. The Irish name for one of Hyorinmaru's abilities, Icicle Flock (Guncho Tsurara in Japanese)

Sjó Orm – Sea Serpent, in Icelandic. This is the Zanpakuto of Hvítt Myrkur, and when released, it makes him a hybrid of a human and a sea dragon, with enhanced water controlling abilities. The sword itself changes to a trident upon release.

Núll Sjó – 'Zero Sea' in Icelandic. This is the name of Hvítt Myrkur's special cero which he fires in his released state.

Spéir Reoite de Sochraide Céad Bláth – This means 'Frozen sky of a hundred flowers funeral' in Irish. Isn't that a mouthful? This is Oisín's version of Toshiro's 'Hyoten Hyakkaso' attack.

Hmm I think this chapter and the previous one were disappointing, but they're publish-worthy, at least barely so. Ah well. But at least I have now finished thinking about how the story as a whole is going to run, and my chapters can now be created to reflect the overall plot. The next adventure will be with Kurotsuchi Nemu and one or two others, but before Ichigo sets off on this adventure, he'll have to deal with some official business with the Gotei-13…

Tenth Chapter Special!

Feeling like taking a walk down memory lane, Ichigo opened up another crack in the air and set it's location to Karakura Town and the date to a month after his mother's death. When he stepped through the crack to the other side, he noticed that it was raining once again. Scowling, he walked through the rain, thankful that he was still wearing the coat he had worn to Romania a few days back. After walking a few minutes, he suddenly felt some hollow reiatsu a few kilometres away. He immediately flash-stepped towards the area, and was shocked by what he saw.

A nine-year-old Arisawa Tatsuki was backed against a wall, and in front of her, there was a Hollow. The martial artist defiantly kicked out with all her strength, and her foot cleanly connected with the Hollow. However, there was no spiritual energy in her kick, and the Hollow was unharmed. It laughed and prepared to eat Tatsuki, but before it could do so…

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The Hollow was sliced in half by the blue crescent of spiritual energy, and Tatsuki looked up in surprise. A black-haired man ran over to her and helped her up, saying, "You alright, Tatsuki?"

Her eyes focussed quickly, and she said in disbelief, "M-Mr. Shiba?"

Ichigo remembered that he had told her that his name was Shiba Kaien back when he met the younger Tatsuki on the day his mother died, and he said quickly, "Yeah, that's me. Good to see you again, Tatsuki."

"Uh…yeah, good to see you again. Thanks for helping me out here, and just what the hell was that thing?"

"Oh it's just a monster. It's my secret job to get rid of them."

Tatsuki giggled, "Secret job? Looks like the comics were right, there really are guys who secretly fight monsters!"

"Yup! Anyway, Tatsuki, where's Ichigo?"

Tatsuki's smile slipped, and she said, "Oh, Ichigo. Did you hear? His mother died a month ago."

Ichigo acted shocked, "Really? That's terrible! What's Ichigo doing now?"

Tatsuki muttered, "He's at the river, like he usually is. It's as if he's trying to find her again, even though she's…"

She broke off, not wanting to finish the rest of the sentence. The future Ichigo sighed and replied reassuringly, "Don't worry too much about him. He'll snap out of it soon. Even if he doesn't, his family will soon make him see sense."

"Mr. Shiba, do you think he'll ever recover?"

"I'm sure he will, Tatsuki. At any rate, this experience will make him stronger. I think that in his future, he'll become the sort of guy who'll always try to protect those close to him because he can't bear to lose them like he lost his mother."

Tatsuki smiled weakly at him, and he said, "Why don't we get you home now? We look like a pair of idiots standing out here in the rain."

"Sure!"

Ichigo took the younger version of his friend's hand and brought her back home. When they reached the Arisawa home, Tatsuki turned to him and asked, "I've been thinking, what if more of those monsters come back? Is there anyone in this town who can kill them? Any other secret superheroes like you?"

Ichigo laughed at her childlike question and answered, "Of course there are! As long as there are monsters, there will be heroes to fight them. So don't worry, Tatsuki. Someone will always be here to look after this town."

"Will you visit again, Mr. Shiba?"

"Umm…I may not have the time…"

Tatsuki held out a hand and said, "Promise you'll visit when you do have the time! At least you could see Ichigo again, since you're his friend!"

Ichigo looked at her in surprise, then gave in with a small smile.

"I guess you're right. Ok then, I promise to visit soon. See you, Tatsuki!"

Tatsuki grinned at him, waved and walked into her house. Ichigo smiled at the house and left, back through one of his cracks.

The end

What did you think of that? There is no romance here, just friendship between young Tatsuki and Ichigo, who's her superhero friend (known to her as Shiba Kaien, as revealing his true identity will cause a bit of trouble). What's your take on the 'Specials'? Should I continue them or not? I personally think I should, because I like Ichigo/Tatsuki friendship, and since Ichigo has been quite distant from her since his mother's death, it would be good for him to go back and visit her, at least to make up for the times when she was there for him despite their friendship becoming quite distant. Although, this is starting to remind me of The Time Traveller's Wife, except without the romance.