Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or have any rights to it.


Ichigo wiped the blood from his bruised face as he stood back up to face Grimmjow. What's going on? He was firing off Cero like it was nothing. Is he really that powerful?

Grimmjow couldn't help but laugh at Ichigo's clueless expression. "I guess you don't know what Bala are."

"Bala?"

"Bala are like Cero, but they're not as powerful and take less time to charge. You might be able to dodge a Cero with ease, but if I keep firing off Bala, I'm bound to hit you!" Grimmjow went into a laughing frenzy as he let loose a barrage of Bala attacks.

Ichigo ran, and looked over his shoulder to see the Bala blasts tear up the pavement. This isn't good. I've got to put a stop to those or they'll wreck the whole town!

Leaping onto a rooftop, Ichigo moved his hand over his face, forming a hollow mask. It was the same mask that had mysteriously appeared on him when he was in the soul society, but this time it was firmly secured on his face. Ichigo could feel the extra power surge through him. It felt unlike anything before.

Grimmjow's eyes went wide as he stared at the new Ichigo. What…what the hell? That weird mask's increased his power!

Ichigo shunpoed in front of Grimmjow and swung his sword. There was a powerful gust of wind as his sword collided with Grimmjow's, however, Ichigo held the advantage in power. As Grimmjow struggled to hold his sword back, he calmly said, "Getsuga Tensho."

Grimmjow was sent flying through the air, but caught himself before he started to fall. Just as he recovered his bearings, he felt a sharp pain across his chest. His eyes widened as he saw blood spurt out of the large gash.

"You're no match for me at my full power Grimmjow," said Ichigo coolly.

Growling angrily, Grimmjow took his sword and used it to make a small cut in his own palm.

Ichigo was taken aback by Grimmjow's actions. "Why?"

"You will not defeat me Ichigo! You will not defeat me!" Grimmjow began to form another Cero, but this one looked blue. "Taste my Gran Rey Cero!"

Ichigo moved out of the way, but the shockwave sent him flying a few feet. After he had recovered, he stared in horror at the rooftops, which had been damaged by shockwave.

Grimmjow chuckled. "That's an espada's Gran Rey Cero. It's a Cero that's unique to the top ten Arrancars in Aizen's army."

"So it's basically just a stronger version of the Cero?"

"Don't underestimate it!" Grimmjow laughed like a maniac as he formed another Gran Rey Cero. "Let's see how you handle it the second time. If you dodge, the buildings behind you will be destroyed!"

As the blue Cero rocketed toward him, Ichigo held his ground. A black aura surrounded his blade as he raised it to strike. When the Cero was within a few feet of him, he fired a powerful, black Getsuga. The two attacks collided in a midair explosion, but the Getsuga had cancelled out the destructive force of the Cero, leaving the environment mostly unharmed.

Grimmjow gaped at what had just happened. He beat it…he beat the Gran Rey Cero!

"It's time I end this Grimmjow," said Ichigo seriously. "I've got places to be."

Grimmjow let out an angry yell as his reiatsu spiked. "So you think you've got me with that little trick of yours? No way! It's time I showed you my true power."

"Bring it on," replied Ichigo confidently.

Grimmjow's maniacal grin reappeared as he started laughing. "Grind! Pantera!"

Powerful gusts of wind surrounded Grimmjow as his transformation began, and the injuries he had received healed up. His body became more feline as his clothes changed into white hollow armor. His hands became black and clawed and his teeth became sharper. His hair and ears became longer. A small crown appeared on his forehead, and he grew a tail.

Ichigo had to shield himself from the debris. Then force the reiatsu he felt made him feel uncertain. This power…it's so huge. I'm not sure I have what it takes to deal with this, even with my hollow powers. When Ichigo peeked from behind his arms, he was surprised by Grimmjow's physical changes. "What the? What happened to you?"

"It's what we Arrancar call Ressurreccion. It's what happens when we Arrancar release our zanpakuto. This is my true power!"

Ichigo's eyes widened as he processed the enormous reiatsu. He could cause a lot of damage in his current form. Ichigo looked around at the area they were in. It had been damaged by Grimmjow's transformation. If we fight here, this entire area will be leveled. I have to take this fight somewhere else.

"So Ichigo, are you ready to continue our fight?"

"No," replied Ichigo.

Grimmjow became annoyed. "And why not?"

"This isn't the place to fight. If you want to fight me at my maximum, you'll follow me out of the city."

"Fine," replied Grimmjow. "Lead me to a more suitable area."


Rukia successfully cut through the mask of a Menos. The giant hollow let out a piercing shriek as it vaporized. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Rukia turned to see three more Menos advancing on her.

At this rate, I'll wear myself out. I'll have to take them all out at once. "Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!" A fog descended upon the area as a ribbon emerged from the back of her sword.

The Menos were closer together, making them an easier target. However, they all opened their mouths and began charging Ceros.

I'll finish them now. "Tsugi no Mai." She stabbed the ground in front of her a few times, forming a semicircle. "Hakuren!" A wave of as encased the Menos, freezing them in their place before they could fire off their Ceros.

Rukia then proceeded to shatter the ice, killing all the Menos within. However, she sensed some more, lesser, hollows down below and descended into the city streets to find them.

Weaving through the streets and alleyways, she came upon a hollow that was about to devour a human. The poor man didn't know what was happening to him. He was lying helplessly on the ground as the crab-like hollow hovered over him.

With a grunt, Rukia leapt into the air and in one swift slash, cleaved the hollow's mask in two. She sighed as she checked the man to make sure he was okay. However, her eyes widened as she sensed another hollow behind her. It was literally on top of her now, and she had not time to turn around and attack it.

No! How could I have been so careless? She thought she would die.

A white arrow pierced the hollow's mask from behind, shattering it and killing the hollow. A shocked Rukia turned around to see Uryu stepping into the alleyway. "Uryu? Why are you here?"

"Ryuken agreed to train me under the condition that I never get involved in a soul reaper's battle. However, this battle involves all of us."

Rukia smiled. "Good."

Uryu also smiled. "So where's Ichigo. I thought he'd beat me here to rescue you."

"Ichigo is fighting a stronger hollow. I'm sure you've sensed the two reiatsu that have spiked."

Uryu nodded. "By the way…" he seemed hesitant to ask the question. "Is Ichigo…involved with someone?"

Raising an eyebrow, Rukia gave Uryu a confused look. "Why would you think that he's involved with anyone?"

"I don't know…just his strange behavior, and I guess you figured out by now that Orihime has a crush on him. I may not be one of her closer friends, but I can tell that she's fretting about something."

"Don't worry," replied Rukia. "Ichigo isn't involved with anyone, though I don't think he'll notice any advance from Orihime."

Uryu gave her a sad smile. "I guess Ichigo will always be thick headed that way."

Before they could continue talking, they both sensed some more hollows nearby and went to check them out.


Ichigo and Grimmjow arrived at a barren, mountainous area. It was an uninhabited place, allowing them to fight at full power without hurting anyone.

"So now are you ready to begin?" asked Grimmjow eagerly.

"I am," replied Ichigo seriously.

A psychotic grin appeared on his face before he used sonido to get behind Ichigo. Ichigo turned around to attack him, but was sent flying back by a mighty roar. He recovered and tried a to cleave Grimmjow's head in two, but was sent back by yet another roar.

"Time for some fun," said Grimmjow as he fired darts out of his elbows.

When he saw the darts coming at him, Ichigo immediately knew that they were trouble. "Getsuga Tensho!" The black wave of energy collided with the dart, creating a black explosion, which obscured Grimmjow from view.

Grimmjow sonidoed behind Ichigo and sent him flying with a blow to the back. He then appeared above him and sent him towards the ground with a vicious kick to the back. Then he went below Ichigo and sent him back up with another kick, to the gut.

Ichigo grunted and gagged in pain as Grimmjow volleyed him around. Fast…too fast?

Catching Ichigo by the collar of his cloak, Grimmjow chuckled sadistically before slamming him into the mountain with his tail.

Ichigo coughed up blood through his mask, but the impact helped him overcome the dizzying sensation from when he was volleyed around. With his bearings clear again, he caught Grimmjow's paw, as it was about to stab him in the chest.

A weak smile crossed Ichigo's face. "Sorry Grimmjow, but I can't afford to lose. There's someone I have to find."

Grimmjow's eyes widened as Ichigo slashed his chest with Zangetsu, creating a deep gash. Freeing his hand from Ichigo's grasp, he backed away several feet, growling in anger. "You...will not defeat me!"

Ichigo leapt out of the way as more darts pummeled the mountainside. He then raised his sword to block a punch from Grimmjow. Charging a black aura around his blade, he swung at Grimmjow, successful landing a blow to his side and cutting a deep gash in the process.

Grimmjow doubled over and coughed up some blood, but was far from his breaking point. He grabbed Ichigo's blade, holding it in place. Then he stabbed Ichigo in the guts with his paw-like hand.

Grimmjow backed up several feet and the psychotic grin returned to his face. "You're getting tired, aren't you Ichigo?"

Ichigo panted as part of his mask began to crack. His eyes then went wide as the entire upper left portion shattered. He still had his hollow-eyes, but he could feel the power draining out of him. He's so strong. Even at my full power, I don't know how much I can take.

Grimmjow started laughing like a maniac as the nails of his paws began to glow a bright blue color. "It's time to end this Ichigo!" Soon, there were tall beams of blue energy extending from the back of his fingernails to several feet in the air.

Ichigo felt a slight twinge of fear as he stared at the ten blue pillars of light. What's he doing?

"This is my most powerful attack. Desgarron!" He swiped his right paw, sending the five pillars of light from them, at Ichigo.

Holding Zangetsu with both hands, Ichigo braced himself as the five pillars collided with his sword. It felt like five sledgehammers slamming into him, pushing him back up against the mountainside.

Clamming his eyes shut, Ichigo focused his energy, causing a black aura to appear around Zangetsu's blade. "Getsuga!" The aura expanded as Ichigo slowly started pushing the blades back. "TENSHO!"

Grimmjow was stunned as Ichigo shattered his attack. However, he also noticed that only the upper right portion of Ichigo's mask remained. He's weakening. I doubt he could do that again.

Ichigo's lungs burned as his panted heavily. His body felt ready to turn to mush as he floated, hunched over in the air.

"It's over for you Ichigo! I can attack again!" Grimmjow let another Desgarron fly.

Time seemed to slow down for Ichigo as he saw his death coming towards him. This is it? I guess I'm going to die whether I like it or not.

"Need some help King?" asked Hichigo.

"What are you talking about? I've been using your power."

Hichigo broke out into laughter. "You naïve fool. You haven't even begun to tap the power I could provide you with. Allow me to give you a taste of what you're truly capable of."

Ichigo felt a tremendous power surge through him as his mask reformed. However, in addition to reforming, the mask also extended up his head and formed two ram horns.

"What?" Grimmjow was utterly shocked as he saw Ichigo hold his Desgarron back without any effort at all.

Raising his sword high into the air, Ichigo disrupted Grimmjow's attack. He then phased behind Grimmjow.

A startled Grimmjow turned around. That wasn't shunpo! That was sonido!

Without so much as a word, Ichigo stabbed Grimmjow between the eyes. He then cut down Grimmjow's body until he reached the hole in his belly. Pulling the blade out, he watched Grimmjow vaporize.

The victorious Ichigo then descended to the ground, however, when his feet touched down, his hollow features immediately disappeared, and he felt the power drain out of him. He collapsed, and lay helplessly on the ground.

That battle drained me completely. I'm not sure if I can make it. Ichigo slowly shut his eyes. Y-Yoruichi…I'm sorry…

However, a few minutes later, Rukia, Orihime, and Uryu appeared.

"We're not too late," said Orihime as she walked up to Ichigo's body and proceeded to heal him.

"Ichigo defeated one of Aizen's most powerful Arrancars," said Rukia in a serious tone.

"You don't sound too happy about it," said Uryu.

"I'm sure you sensed the change in his reiatsu," replied Rukia in a voice that Orihime couldn't hear. "It felt hollow like."

"We'll have to ask him about that later," replied Uryu.


For anyone who is unsure, Grimmjow is now dead in this story. Also, I have an important question, is Gin Ichimaru stronger than Grimmjow?