Big shout out to Lily D. Cave and her story "The Meaning of Being King" for inspiring me to write this! (Go check it out, it's good!)
- EOE
Hollow!
Rukia woke up with a start, nearly smacking her head against the wall as she fought against the tangle of sheets. She had been having a wonderfully dreamless sleep when the sudden oppressive reiatsu of a powerful hollow invaded her senses and forced her awake. The feeling was already fading quickly, but the lingering sharpness was still undeniable. She forced her frazzled mind to slow for a second, choking back her fight-or-flight reflex. She checked her phone, dimly noting that no alerts had come in.
Did I dream that? She blinked a few times. No, if she concentrated, she could still feel the echoes of the sinister energy buzzing in the air. There was definitely a hollow nearby, and it felt terrifyingly strong. She forcefully slid open the door to the closet she was staying in, mouth open to call out "Ichigo!" and wake the teen to deal with the new threat. The words caught in her throat as she stared at the empty room. Ichigo was gone.
Fear crept into her veins and she wasted no time ditching her gigai and leaping out the window in a burst of shunpo. Ichigo's energy hung over the town like a dense fog and it took Rukia a second to locate its source: somewhere just outside of town to the south. It flickered and roared in a way that only happened when he was in battle. Rukia poured every ounce of speed into her flash step, forcing aside her rising panic as she felt hollow reiatsu- the same hollow reiatsu- pulsing ominously in the same direction.
The sight that greeted her when she arrived in the small forest clearing instantly put her on high alert. Her sword was drawn before she could think about it. Ichigo was leaping around the trees, dodging and evading a small blur of white and black. Occasionally he would chance a swing with one of his blades at his opponent, though the swipe was easily deflected. He was gasping for breath and blood ran down his skin from multiple injuries. Rukia winced in sympathy at a particularly deep cut on his left arm. The black and white hollow was ruthless in its attack, barely giving Ichigo time to react to the onslaught.
How long has he been fighting? How did I not notice this threat earlier? Why didn't that idiot wake me up!? I could have helped him! Despite her racing thoughts, she frowned. If Ichigo was having this much trouble, what use would she be- No! She wouldn't allow herself to think that way. She couldn't afford to doubt her abilities. Not when there was a threat to deal with. Firming her resolve, she released her sword, feeling the cold seep through her body. A light breeze picked up, fluttering the snow white ribbon as she prepared an attack. She only had one chance if she wanted to maintain the element of surprise. All she needed was an opening.
Rukia's eyes narrowed as the hollow hesitated for the briefest of moments. Now. In a flash, she released all of her stored energy in a devastating Hakuren. Wide-eyed, Ichigo barely managed to evade the sudden rush of snow and ice. The hollow was less lucky, being encased entirely in the attack.
"Ichigo! Hurry! Finish it!" Rukia yelled. It wasn't over. She had made that mistake before with hollows far weaker than this one. Hopefully, the ice would delay their foe for a few precious seconds.
"Rukia? Wait-" Ichigo's voice called out, finally noticing her presence.
The sound of shattering ice filled the air as the hollow broke free. Their chance to end the fight quickly had passed. Unfortunately for Rukia, her annoyance at the missed opportunity was quickly replaced by something darker and far more primal. Faster than she could blink, the hollow had vanished from her vision, appearing right behind Ichigo, running him through with a white sword. Ichigo sputtered and cursed at the blade protruding from his chest, the fire fading quickly from his eyes.
The scream tore its way through Rukia's throat before she could stop herself. The hollow roughly kicked Ichigo off of his sword- Sword! How does it have a sword!? It's wearing white. Arrancar?- and the teen collapsed unceremoniously to the ground. Faster than she had ever moved, she lunged forward, grabbing him as he fell before continuing past the hollow to stop at a (hopefully) safe distance. Carefully, she laid Ichigo down while trying her best not to aggravate his wounds. Judging from the blood gushing out it looked like the wound hit his heart. His breathing was shallow and obviously pained.
NO NO NONONONONO!
Her hands trembled as the hollow slowly turned to face her. The black skull-like mask presented a mocking grin. What is this monster!? The pure killing intent pouring off of it made her feel like there was a knife already at her throat. Her breath was ragged with barely-restrained panic, made only more obvious by the cloud of frost it condensed into.
The hollow started walking towards her with a casual stride. The bloodied tip of the blade dragged against the ground.
Rukia forced her breathing to even. If she were to die, she would do so with pride and dignity. She was a Kuchiki. Cowering was beneath her. Now standing, she stared at the hollow in front of her, her sword gripped firmly in her hand. Defiant.
The hollow stopped, tipping its head to the side at the sudden change in her demeanor.
Another deep breath. It'll be hard not to hurt Ichigo with him so close, but I have no other choice. "Ban-"
"Knock it off!" Ichigo's angry voice shouted out from behind her.
Both Rukia and the hollow froze.
Rukia chanced a glance behind her, startled to see the orange-haired man pushing himself up to a standing position. "Hold on! You're injured! I need to-" Her eyes widened as she watched the devastating wound begin to seamlessly stitch itself back together. Ichigo took a step forward, bringing him in-line with Rukia.
Then he took another step.
What?
Steadily... Confidently... Without his swords... Ichigo approached the hollow who had begun growling deeply.
"What are you doing!?" Rukia's pleas were ignored.
"I said... Knock it off!" With a frustrated snarl, Ichigo gripped one of the angular horns, leaned back slightly, and promptly headbutted the hollow.
...WHAT?
The hollow stumbled back, bringing a hand up to cup its injured head. With that seemingly taken care of, Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Hey. Sorry about that."
She couldn't resist the urge to punch him in the face.
It was Ichigo's turn to lose his balance as a hand shot up to his bloody nose. "Hey! What in the world was that for!?"
"Idiot! That's my line! What's gotten into you? We don't have time to relax!" She stole a glance at the hollow. It hadn't moved much. Instead, it gingerly prodded at the newly-formed cracks in its mask. The growling hadn't stopped.
Ichigo glanced between them for a moment before narrowing his eyes at the hollow. "Will you shut it!?" He threw a half-hearted punch that was easily dodged. "Quit laughing at me."
Laughing? That scary growling sound is laughing?
"What are you doing here?" Ichigo's question was directed at Rukia.
She just about lost it, her own hysterical and panicked laughing threatening to break her Kuchiki facade. "There was a hollow. You were injured. I-I felt your reiatsu. You..." You almost died... "...you just headbutted it. Why is it laughing? What is happening?"
Ichigo couldn't help the nervous blush that spread across his face. "Oh. Uh. Guess I should explain." He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to ignore the absolutely murderous glare from Rukia. "...Yeah. There's a simple explanation but you're probably not gonna like it..."
"I like being in the dark even less."
"I'm training."
Rukia eyed the hollow suspiciously, still wary. It hadn't moved an inch but the growling- laughing had finally stopped.
"Look, I'm sure I've told you about my sword before but I know it's pretty jarring to see in person, so I can't fault you for reacting so negatively to him." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the hollow. "Believe it or not, that hollow bastard is my zanpakuto. Well, he's part of it at least."
She couldn't help it. Her composure shattered. Collapsing to the ground as the tension left her body, tears ran down her face as she failed to stop the broken laugh that barked out of her. The stupidly simple explanation to a situation that had thrown her into nearly a blind panic grated on her mind.
"You gotta admit, it is pretty funny." A warbled voice spoke.
"I thought I told you to shut up." Ichigo snapped back, bending down over his fallen friend. "And take that stupid mask off. I can barely understand you with it on."
Rukia managed to look up in time to see the hollow scoff and wave a dismissive hand. Nevertheless, the black and white mask instantly dissolved into nothing. Piercing golden eyes bore into her. The predatory gaze made her feel even more vulnerable than before.
She sucked in a gasp and took in the being in front of her. Hollow eyes. Long hair. White everything. It was terrifying. But that face... that scowl... it was all so familiar. She knew it wasn't, but she couldn't stop her voice: "...Ichigo?
A wild grin split the hollow's face, instantly destroying the resemblance. "Not even close! Come on now... that idiot even told you who I am." His voice still held the hollow echo, but without the mask the whole tone became brighter.
She bit back a scathing retort. As much as her instincts were screaming to run or fight, she once again leveled her gaze. This was Ichigo's zanpakuto; he should be given the same respect as any sword spirit was owed. "I apologize... Zangetsu-sama."
The sharp grin softened marginally as the hollow was named. He folded his arms, radiating smug pride. "Sama, huh? That's more like it!" He turned to his wielder, "Hey King! You should learn some manners from your girlfriend!"
The two shinigami flushed red. "She's not my girlfriend!"
Zangetsu rolled his eyes.
"-And I am not calling you Zangetsu-sama."
"Ass." His voice was flat but amusement flashed in his eyes.
"Shut up."
Rukia watched the exchange in stunned silence. Ichigo had told her the truth about his sword before they had left the Zero Division to fight against the Quincy ruler, but she personally hadn't given much thought on what the specifics of all that entailed. She hadn't expected the reiatsu to feel so completely hollow. She hadn't expected him to have a human form either. She hadn't expected- though she probably should have- for the two of them to be so seemingly antagonistic. She cleared her throat to bring the attention back to herself. "So. Care to tell me why you're in the middle of the woods at night training with your hollowfied sword without telling anyone?"
"One word: Bankai." It was Zangetsu who answered, slinging the large white blade over his shoulder.
How had I not recognized that sword earlier? She realized it probably had something to do with the shock of seeing Ichigo impaled. Her brow furrowed as she finally processed what Zangetsu had said. "Bankai? Don't you already have bankai?"
Ichigo dropped his gaze, looking like he would very much rather be anywhere else. "Yeah... about that..."
"Not anymore, he doesn't!" Zangetsu took a closed fist and thumped the top of Ichigo's head, his grin replaced by a snarl. "Sure, he got his sword re-forged with his proper source of power. But then he went and fought those Quincies..." Zangetsu continued his minor abuse as he spoke "-and he-" thump "-kept on-" thump "-breaking me!" THUMP. Genuine anger seeped into his voice like a poison. He hit his wielder a few more times to emphasize the point. Ichigo stood and took the punishment.
"I said I was sorry, alright!? It's not my fault Yhwach used some crazy time-magic to keep snapping my sword!"
Zangetsu ignored his wielder but mercifully ended his assault. "Anyway, I revoked his bankai privileges until he learns to appreciate it properly. 'Sides, he never really earned bankai from me before. The Old Man did what he could given the circumstances, but I was never really happy with it."
It didn't take a wild imagination for Rukia to figure out what "the circumstances" were. She suppressed a shudder at the memory of her almost-execution.
"Even then, he had to use that weird doll thing that Urahara made, which is basically cheating in my opinion."
Ichigo finally spoke up. "I'm doing it right this time. No shortcuts. No interference. Just me and him." His head tipped sideways as a sudden thought came to him. "Oh, by the way... how did you find me?"
Rukia blinked, once again stunned at how someone with so much reiatsu seemed consistently clueless of his impact on the world around him. Really, she should be used to this by now. "I could feel the energy from the battle. Well... I mostly felt hollow reiatsu." She glanced at Zangetsu who seemed to beam with pride as he took her statement as a compliment.
"Guess we blew the barrier. I told that shopkeeper it wasn't strong enough!" Zangetsu said, still grinning.
"You're the one who thought it was a good idea to fire off a freaking gran rey cero!"
"Would you expect anything less? I told you: it's a fight to the death. I'm not gonna hold back." A sadistic smirk flashed across his face as his gold eyes narrowed.
Rukia shook her head. The two in front of her seemed almost designed to get on each others' nerves. Honestly, trying to get them to hold a steady conversation with her was like dealing with children. "Your bankai trail is a death match?" The incredulous question was aimed at both of them. She remembered her brutal training: Sode no Shirayuki forcing her to endure fighting in rapidly decreasing temperatures, pushing her limit lower and lower until she finally could survive it without even a shiver. Her sword had had a very good reason behind her harsh demand for perfection: without learning that control and resilience, Rukia's own power would have destroyed her body.
Zangetu's smirk turned murderous, the air became heavy and harsh. "That's right. I told him: 'you'll get bankai back over my dead body.' and I mean that literally. So far though, he's barely even scratched me."
A sigh escaped Ichigo. "We've been going at it every night for two weeks now. If I've seemed off lately, this is why. I haven't really had time to sleep. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't think you'd like the idea of me nearly dying night after night." Absentmindedly, his hand rubbed at the spot where Zangetsu had pierced him earlier.
"Honestly, I'm just glad I can go all-out. It's almost like when you challenged me for my mask. I guess it's a bit less fun now that you know I can't actually kill you."
"Doesn't stop you from trying." Ichigo muttered under his breath. At Rukia's concerned expression, he elaborated. "I can't die by my own blade- I figured that out when I learned Mugetsu. Doesn't mean the cuts don't hurt though. Zangetsu even figured out how to manipulate the hollow powers to make me kinda fall unconscious when he lands a hit that would be fatal."
"I make him hollowfy a bit." Zangetsu stated plainly.
Rukia looked at him with horror. Ichigo flinched slightly
"What? It's just a bit. Only enough to stop his heart for a second or two. He's fine. As if that would kill him. He needs to learn that his mistakes have consequences. He's a slow learner though. Oh! King! I got an idea to speed this up!"
"Oh no."
"Oh yes! Maybe you'll be more eager to fight with your full strength if you have to beat me before you go full hollow or something."
"No."
"Come on, I'm getting tired of facing off against your half-hearted attempts. I gotta do something up the stakes a bit. I'll drag those instincts out of you if I have to."
"Absolutely not."
"You're no fun, King."
"Why does he call you 'King'?" Rukia interrupted to finally ask. It was a dumb question, but one that had was on her mind nonetheless.
"Because my wielder is a petulant child who somehow inherited more power than he knows what to do with."
Ichigo scowled, "I thought you said it was because of instincts! You had that whole speech about being a horse and stuff! Wasn't that the reason?"
"Neigh."
"...Was that a freaking horse pun!?"
Rukia shook her head. She had known Zangetsu for a relatively short amount of time and already she was getting a headache. Sudden sympathy bloomed for her orange-haired friend for having to deal with this constantly. The buzz of her phone didn't help her growing pain in her temples.
There was a text from Ishida: 'Are you ok? Felt that powerful hollow from all the way across town. Standing by as back-up.'
She quickly tapped out a reply: 'I'm fine. False alarm. Ichigo was just training without telling any of us. Again.'
'That idiot. I'll let the others know.'
Rukia mentally agreed with the Quincy's assessment of their friend. "Ichigo. Next time you go off training like this, you really need to tell us. We're your friends and we get worried about you. You're never doing us any favors running off like this."
Ichigo lowered his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry."
"Fool! Feeling sorry for yourself now won't help anything! Just do better next time!" Rukia snapped. She always knew how to help her friend before he fell into a rut. "Besides, how do you expect to attain bankai with such a sour attitude?"
"Your girlfriend is right, King."
"She's not my-"
Zangetsu narrowed his eyes at the light creeping over the horizon. "-Anyway, looks like we talked up the rest of our time. Guess you'll have to try again tomorrow, Ichigo. I'll certainly be looking forward to slicing you up again." He placed a pale hand on Ichigo's shoulder. His eyes found Rukia and he gave a lazy salute with two fingers. "It was nice to finally meet you, Rukia. See ya." In a flash, he was gone, returned to his rightful place in his wielder's soul.
Silence settled on the clearing. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair with a deep sigh. "Sorry again, I know he can be a bit... much."
"Is he always like that?"
Ichigo offered a weak chuckle. "Yeah. It was certainly worse when he was threatening to take over my soul. Glad he got over that idea. Still, he really has no patience for any hesitation and wants me to be as ruthless as I can be. I just... I dunno... I don't think I'll ever be good enough for him."
Rukia was glad too.
"Judging from your face, I'm gonna guess your relationship with Sode no Shirayuki is a lot less stabby."
Rukia laughed, "Oh yeah. Anyway, I'm sure you'll get your bankai again in no time. You've never been one to give up against seemingly impossible odds. Don't worry about being good enough. Just worry about winning."
Ichigo blinked at her a few times before smiling softly at her encouragement. "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"Of course I am! Now let's get out of here."
The two began a comfortable walk back home, enjoying the sunrise of another new day.