First off, I am so sorry I took this long to write this chapter (and it's not even that long!). Writer's block hit me hard and I've been struggling to write this story, but I'm hoping that my brief burst of inspiration will carry me through the rest of it. Second, this story got way more support than I was anticipating, which really motivated me to write, so thanks! And last but certainly not least, it's been a long time since I watched Soul Eater, so I apologize if the fighting seems a bit off.


Chapter 12

The following morning, after reviewing the layout of the enemy army and general information about the upcoming fight with his group, Ichigo prepared himself for the fight ahead. It wouldn't be nearly as difficult as some of the fights he had participated in before—since this time he had backup and had actually slept and eaten the day before—but it was going to be a battle of endurance. Luckily, Ichigo had that in spades. He wasn't so sure about the meisters, but there were more of them and they certainly didn't appear to be weak.

Hollow Zangetsu might as well have been singing with glee in Ichigo's inner world; the hollow's bloodlust was infectious and after so long a period of inaction he was anxious to fight. In his eyes, the previous battles against the witches were nothing more than warm ups. His Quincy counterpart was far more reserved but Ichigo could tell that he wasn't altogether against the upcoming fight.

After checking that his Zanpakutō was firmly secured in its sheath across his back, Ichigo glanced over at the meisters. Maka was checking the cuffs of her jacket and Soul was watching with his hands in his pockets. He appeared calm, but Ichigo got the feeling that the weapon was well aware of the situation and probably knew what would happen if they failed. They wouldn't fail, of course, but Kisuke had drilled into Ichigo's head that anticipating the worst-case scenario would keep him alive more often than not.

Kid, Patti, and Liz were talking amongst themselves, all their expression serious—though Liz's was occasionally replaced by a bright smile that seemed entirely out of place. The Shinigami caught Ichigo's look and nodded once, a gesture that Ichigo returned before moving on.

Tsubaki was quietly talking with Black Star, using soft but emphatic movements to emphasize whatever points she was making. Ichigo watched as Black Star's expression went from smug, to petulant, to annoyed, and then to accepting. The substitute Shinigami came to the conclusion that Black Star was actually a lot smarter than his boisterous demeanor let on; it had been hinted at in their earlier interactions, but now Ichigo was far more certain.

Maka and Soul had switched to talking to each other, none of the lighthearted yet violent banter they had demonstrated the night before showing. Maka's expression was drawn and serious, while Soul's contained an interesting mix of anticipation and barely-visible uncertainty. Even the normally laid back weapon could tell that the upcoming battle wasn't something anyone could take lightly.

"Well," Ichigo muttered under his breath, "here we go."


Deafening roars tore through the air, carrying messages of pain and rage and fury, only to be abruptly silenced by a flashing scythe blade, a gleaming sword, a hail of glowing gunfire, or a great variety of ninja tools. Blood splattered on the ground only to evaporate into mist a moment later while the hollows' souls self-destructed, creating blasts of smoke and dust that drifted across the battlefield, obscuring the true scale of the fight and making the combatants themselves appear to be shifting shadows, never maintaining a completely distinguishable form for any length of time.

The entire canyon smelled of dust and blood, while the ringing of weapon against weapon carried even over the roars. The sun weakly attempted to penetrate the haze permeating the area but failed, making the scene all the more confusing and chaotic.

"Black Star! Behind you!" Maka called while ignoring the way her throat was already scratchy from the dust she'd inhaled and ducking a swipe from a hollow looming above her.

The blue-haired boy acknowledged Maka's warning and flipped into the air, neatly decapitating the hollow before it could do any more damage. Both Maka and Black Star found a moment of reprieve when Death the Kid temporarily forced the hollows back with a storm of bullets.

"There are so many of them," Maka said, adjusting her grip on her scythe.

"It's why we did endurance training, Maka," Soul replied, his face briefly reflected in the scythe's blade. He smirked. "Plus, this is fun. Cool, even."

Black Star grinned; he was sweating and breathing just as heavily as Maka, but if that bothered him he didn't show it. "You two'd better step up your game if you wanna be on the same level as a big man like me! I'll take on all these monsters!"

Meanwhile, Death the Kid was giving the nearby hollows his most withering glare. "None of these horrid creatures have any sense of symmetry. It's disgusting. They're disgusting. I want them gone."

Maka could almost hear Liz sighing. "That's your reason for fighting? Honestly, I really shouldn't be surprised by now."

"They're coming again!" Soul warned, spurring the three duos into action once again.

Maka rolled under a swooping hollow with oversized wings and immediately countered a punch from another hollow when she got to her feet, only to turn and slice the two attacking hollows apart with a neat spin, her scythe easily breaking the hollows' skin.

She kept her eyes open, her awareness stretched to its limit to take in as many details as possible. She brought her weapon down hard against a tank-like creature, only for the blade to glance off its armored hide in a shower of sparks. Before the hollow could take advantage of the opening, Black Star descended from above, Tsubaki already in her chain scythe form. He crashed down on the hollow's spiked appendage, which had been about to impale Maka, crushing it and drawing blood.

The hollow shrieked in rage, its eyes burning hatefully behind its mask, but Black Star and Maka were unfazed.

"Tsubaki! Ninja sword mode!"

"Right!"

Roaring, the hollow raised its injured limb to swat Black Star, but the small boy darted out of the way with surprising speed and leaped up, landing almost lightly on the beast's neck.

"Way of assassination rule number three," Black Star said calmly. "Strike your target before he notices you."

Blood shot from a deep cut in the hollow's mask and the monster let out a dying shriek as it faded, its soul imploding a few moments later.

Both Maka and Black Star came under attack by a veritable swarm of weaker hollows but held them back. Death the Kid took action, mowing down several hollows with his twin guns before joining his classmates in close-quarters combat.

Around them, the massive army of hollows seethed and roiled, bloodlust practically twisting the air around it.


Ichigo resisted the urge to look in the direction in which the meisters and their weapons were battling the seemingly endless forces of hollows. He settled for keeping a mental eye on their Reiatsu, which was a pretty good indication of their conditions on its own. Judging by the periodic spikes, all six were intent on fighting.

The substitute Shinigami sliced apart another series of hollows, cutting them apart like paper. The creatures, quickly figuring out that attacking Ichigo with any less than ten hollows at the same time was pointless (the realization was probably spurred by primordial instincts and the fact that Ichigo had already carved up every hollow that approached him), began swarming Ichigo with every single creature nearby.

They buried him in a dog pile, and for a moment it appeared that Ichigo had been caught, but muffled words emanated from beneath the pile and then a wave of power shot out from under the pile, followed by a wave of blue energy that completely evaporated the hollows within thirty yards of Ichigo.

The orange-haired boy stood still for a moment, his newly released Zanpakutō's two mismatched blades gleaming with dark light. Then he blurred out of sight, his skills in Shunpo far outstripping the nearby hollows' speed.

Several judicious uses of Getsuga Tenshō later, Ichigo resumed darting across the battlefield, his swords two blurs in his hands as they sliced through hollow after hollow. He left a trail of imploding souls in his wake, and even the two Adjuchas that had come to challenge him had fallen within moments.

"King!"

"What?" Ichigo grunted, weaving through a tangle of flying hollows and cutting through their masks with little effort.

"Most of the Adjuchas are gathering by the Garganta. Looks like they're all charging a Cero."

"I can deal with that," Ichigo said. Then he frowned. "But—"

"Your allies will likely be in the line of fire if you don't do something to stop or at least alter the course of those attacks."

Ichigo picked up his pace, only to pause when he saw a massive group of hollows heading to the forests.

Energy swirled around the teen's cleaver blade, and Ichigo brought the weapon down in a motion as familiar as breathing. "Getsuga Tenshō."

The blue crescent raged and tore into the group of hollows, scattering them. Ichigo then released a Bala, followed by several more, to thin the ranks of hollows advancing to the right flank. He was distantly aware of Hollow Zangetsu's burst of smug pride at Ichigo's skills with his hollow abilities, but ignored it in favor of heading for the Garganta.

A surge of Reiatsu from ahead alerted Ichigo to incoming danger and he ducked, seeing a stream of what he guessed was acid of some sort shoot over his head. He bisected the hollow responsible and continued moving, quickly landing in front of the Garganta, frowning when he only saw eight Adjuchas standing in front of it. Upon realizing he had arrived, the eight Adjuchas stopped charging their attacks and the malicious Reiatsu faded, though it didn't disappear entirely.

"Are you guarding this thing?" Ichigo asked bluntly.

When the hollows offered no replies, Ichigo let out a breath. "Well, I tried."

He raised his weapons as though to strike, but a voice interrupted him.

"Hold on! You can't attack before I've even made my appearance! That's rude on an incredible number of levels!"

Ichigo blinked, raised one eyebrow, and lowered his weapons after checking that there was no need for him to keep them raised in a defensive position. "Who're you?"

"She looks like a twig."

Ichigo had to agree with his inner hollow. The witch—because there was nothing else that this woman could be—had long pink hair that was ramrod straight, almost defying the laws of physics with the way it remained still even with the dust and shockwaves occasionally battering it. The hair's lack of volume was reminiscent of the witch herself; her arms and legs were little but skin and bones, and her face was sharp and angular, though her bright green eyes were no less piercing.

"Seriously, she could probably stab someone with her elbow."

"You need to get better at reading the situation."

"Am I wrong?"

Ichigo heard the older of the two spirits sigh in resignation.

"No. You're not wrong."

"Stop staring at me," the witch snapped. Even her voice was sharp; it sliced the air, making Ichigo want to wince. "It's even ruder than what you were doing before."

"You're . . . calling me rude," Ichigo said slowly, still mentally recovering from the ridiculousness of the witch. She was several feet shorter than the shortest Adjuchas, and the contrast was almost funny.

Almost.

"Yes, yes I am." She frowned imperiously. "Do you have any idea how much damage you've caused to my army? They can be replaced, of course, but my fun little toy is disappearing at a rapid rate and with you and your three little friends here my day is getting . . . well, crappy. So you should leave. Or switch to my side." She smiled winningly. Ichigo suppressed the urge to wince; it really didn't suit her face.

"Not happening. Call off the hollows."

"Not happening."

"Then I'll make you call them off."

She laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "As if a brute like you could possibly make me do anything. I'm a master of manipulation, I'll have you know."

"According to who?"

"Whom."

Be quiet.

"Myself. I got that stupid space witch to hide my army when she could barely remember to put one foot in front of the other, and look how great things turned out!"

"Are you—wait, are you being sarcastic?"

"Possibly. Now, aren't you going to ask how I did that?"

Ichigo blinked, glanced around at the battlefield, and then returned his gaze to the witch. "No. I'm going to beat you, defeat these hollows, and make sure no one else can do something this incredibly stupid."

"You wound me."

"That's the general idea, yeah."

The witch huffed. "And you don't even have the decency to ask my name."

Ichigo frowned. "If you want a formal introduction, you start. I'm the one at the mercy of your hospitality, after all." Ichigo indicated the surrounding hollows with a slight tilt of his head, his scowl even more pronounced than normal.

"Oh, fine. I'm Até."

"Ichigo."

They were silent for a moment, distant screeches, shrieks, and roars overriding the lapse in conversation. After a moment, Até spoke.

"You know what, I don't like you."

"A lot of people share that opinion," Ichigo drawled, recalling the thugs that had constantly targeted him when he was growing up. They had never really learned their lesson, actually.

"I'm going to kill you."

Instantly, Ichigo brought his swords up, eyes smoldering. "Just try it."


A/N This chapter felt . . . well, flat. Hopefully it's better than I think.

Reviews:

Krazyfanfiction1: The hollows can eat one another, but it would essentially be like ingesting a grenade. Messy for all creatures involved; you know, internal damage, the like.

Zanka no Tachi 31: Really? I was under the impression that some hollows just didn't have it, or it's so negligible it might as well not matter. After all, when Ichigo was first starting out as a Shinigami, he was (in comparison to how he is later in the series) weak, and he could cut through hollows with no problem.

JJN37: It would be a bit of a disappointment if the ending isn't epic, honestly.

For the other reviewers, I am still working on this story, if that isn't already clear. Anyway, the next chapter shouldn't take three months to write. I hope.

-RoR

Please review.