The narrow streets were nigh empty as Ichigo, Trish and Lady walked down them. "So do think that this place is rather empty?" Ichigo asked. "You would think these guys would more alert for some ne'er do wells.
"Are you trying to jinx us?" Lady spoke, answering his question as they crossed into a four-way intersection.
"What if I am?" He answered. "Having a little brawl would make this walk more fun."
As if the Seireitei was sentient and able to directly command its inhabitants, several unseated officers began to pile through the four entrances.
"Looks like you got your wish sweetheart!" Trish declared as she cracked her knuckles.
The Shinigami soon began to unsheathe their swords and start running towards the trio.
"This is one hell of a horde!" Lady yelled as she pulled out her a pair of pistols and began to shoot the incoming Shinigami, hitting each in non-vital shots.
"Yeah! We kinda can't escape, so less talking more kicking ass!" Ichigo responded as he did a quick draw with Blue Rose and hit a Shinigami, though that did little to slow them down.
"Ragh!" Trish yelled as lightning came down in a diamond formation with her in the middle. The lightning soon struck everyone in the formation, with Trish acting as a lightning rod. They all fell to the ground twitching.
"Next time lead with that," Ichigo said as he dodged a sword and pistol bashed the offending Shinigami.
"Wouldn't really work that well with you guys in it," Trish responded back as she kicked a Shinigami in the abdomen, grabbed them by the legs, and tossed them at another group, knocking them down. "Besides, they were too far away to be stuck in the field."
"Thank you for the lesson, Trish!" Lady yelled as she emptied her magazines of her pistols, and in a show of talent, tossed her pistols in the air before grabbing two magazines and tossed them higher. She quickly grabbed her pistols in the air, with the grips upside down. The magazines soon came down and loaded themselves into the pistols. She quickly smashed her left pistol into a Shinigami.
'Shit!" Ichigo swore internally as they started to get closer together, the Shinigami tighten around them like a snake. 'Blue Rose isn't going to cut it!'
While Blue Rose was a superb weapon, it was better suited for mid to long-range, and the Shinigami were way to close for that to happen. And he couldn't use his Devil Bringer since Trish and Lady were to close.
'There is a solution.' Nero spoke up.
'Nice to see you're not moody.' Ichigo responded as he let off another volley from his revolver.
'Oh shut it!' Nero said irritated. He had a tendency of having mood swings and cutting off Ichigo's access from him. 'But as I said, there is a way for you to change Blue Rose into a blade.'
'That seems useful! Now spill it.'
'Hmm...fine' Nero sounded, hesitating for some reason. 'Just channel Reiatsu into the entirety of Blue Rose rather than just having it do it automatically and say, "Rev Up, Aka no Joe (Red Queen)."'
"Alright then!" Ichigo said out loud, earning the attention of Lady and Trish.
"What are you yammering about Ichigo!" Lady asked as she shot a bullet through a Shinigami the shoulder.
"Rev up, Aka no Joe (Red Queen)!" Ichigo yelled as he held Blue Rose by the barrels. It soon changed into a single-edged blade that curved slightly with a blunt protrusion near the handle and had a small motorcycle-like lever. 6 exhaust ports running along half of the back of the blade. The guard was a reversal of a regular basket guard.
"Now this is fun!" Ichigo said with a smirk as he instinctively smashed the blade into the ground and revved the handle, causing the blade to glow hot red. He then quickly removed it and dashed forward and swung, pressing down on the shift gear. The end result caused him to be propelled in a complete circle, taking out several Shinigami on the way.
"Nice to see he's having fun with his new toy," Trish said as she let off a bolt of lightning from her palm, which shocked a nearby Shinigami and arc to four more, knocking them out.
"Hell yeah, I am!" Ichigo responded as he slashed at one more guy before savagely smashed the blade into him several more times. "This thing is wicked!"
Ichigo's blade was ripping and tearing through the Shinigami horde, eventually defeating them all. He eventually rested Red Queen on his left shoulder.
"So how was the performance?" Ichigo asked as he walked up to Trish and Lady.
"Just wonderful," Lady answered as she breathed slightly, having been fatigued from dodging the sword swings. "Since when can your gun do that?"
"Since I talked to my Zanpakuto spirit," Ichigo said as he set the tip of Red Queen on the ground. "I guess you could say it's a special ability, to transform."
"That's nice," Trish said. "Now where do we go now? It's a bit difficult to see where to do go since the walls are so high."
"Give me a second," Ichigo answered as he eyed the wall and quickly grabbed onto it with his Devil Bringer, causing him to be pulled towards it. "We need to keep heading straight."
"Let's get going then," Lady said, finally catching her breath.
"Alright then." Ichigo agreed as Red Queen turned back into Blue Rose and was holstered on his left thigh.
They soon began walking towards the Senzaikyu in silence. That continued for a while until Ichigo asked, "I've been meaning to ask. What are you two planning too due after this is all over?"
By the time Lady and Trish stopped slightly because of Ichigo's question, the Sun was close to setting before Lady responded. "Me and Trish have been talking about that. We figured that we would be staying with you."
"Oh?" Ichigo sounded confused. "And why would you want to stay with me?"
"We'll be honest. We have nowhere to go." Trish admitted. "When we set out to kill Arkham, we didn't leave any family or friends, so we have no home to go back to." She draped her arm over Ichigo's arm. "Besides, would you want to get rid of ladies like us?"
"Tch, I see your point," Ichigo responded with a slight smirk. "So what your answer Lady?"
"Jeez, It's almost like Trish answered for me," Lady said sarcastically. "But...Yes, we'll be staying with you. But don't you think your father will freak out?"
"Not really," Ichigo said simply. "He is pretty much fine with you two for the two weeks. He'll probably bawl his eyes out, saying, "Oh Masaki! Our son has brought us two wonderful daughters for our home!"" The mocking of Isshin's voice caused Lady to laugh lightly.
"Since when has it been so foggy?" Trish asked randomly, noting that the surrounding area was drenched in fog.
"Now that you mention it, it's pretty hard to see." Ichigo agreed as he looked around. "But I think it's clearing."
As he said it, the fog started to lift, showing a stairway with a figure standing on it. When it finally cleared, it showed a man with red hair in a high ponytail with a sort of visor over his eyes.
"You," Ichigo said simply as he forced Trish off him. "Renji Abarai."
"I'm surprised you remember me," Renji admitted as he placed his visor on his forehead. "And I'm more surprised that you're standing before me. I was sure Captain Kuchiki would have killed you with his attack."
"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," Ichigo responded. "But I've got a bone to pick with you." He turned his head to Lady and Trish said, "Stay back you two. This is personal."
"I see that you have new allies." Renji noted as he walked down the stairs."And I'm glad they're here." He pulled out his sword and began picking up the pace. "Because they will see your death!"
Ichigo smirked widely as he matched Renji's speed and pulled out Blue Rose. "Let's go then!" He yelled as he fired off a shot, which was blocked by Renji's sword.
"You bastard!" Renji yelled as he attempted to slash at Ichigo. "You have some nerve coming here to save Rukia when you're the one who stole her powers! You're the one who has damned her!"
"Not really," Ichigo replied as he continually dodged Renji's blows before his opponent got lucky and he was slashed across the chest, though Ichigo grabbed the blade with his right arm. "Rukia gave them to me to save me and my family. I'm here to repay that debt!" He quickly yanked the sword towards him and let go, causing Renji to slightly stumble, which gave Ichigo an opening to launch him flying into a wall with his spectral arm.
"You...liar!" Renji called out as he struggled to get out. He eventually landed on the ground, eyes still locked onto Ichigo. Those eyes widened when the chest wound began to heal itself like that of a Hollow.
"You didn't just have your Shinigami powers restored," Renji said out loud with slightly wide eyes. "You've gained the powers of a Hollow!"
"Maybe I have," Ichigo admitted as he looked at his chest for a brief moment. "But I frankly don't care. I'm still here to kill asses like yours and save Rukia!"
"Tch...It doesn't matter." Renji muttered as he held his sword in front of him and held his other hand slightly over it. "I'll kill you and restore Rukia's power." He quickly slid his hand down the blade and said, "Roar, Zabimaru!"
The blade started to glow white and turned into a large, segmented sword with pick protrusions on the blade. "Now it is time for you to die!" Renji yelled as he launched his extending blade towards Ichigo.
"Heh, Rev up, Aka No Joe," Ichigo said as Blue Rose transformed into Red Queen, which was promptly swung in a counter strike to Renji's own. His feet dug into the ground as the blade began to push him back.
"I'm surprised you are able to transform your weapon." Renji complimented as he kept extending his blade. "But you won't-" He was interrupted as Ichigo smashed the blade into the ground and hoped onto it.
Ichigo quickly sprinted and slammed Red Queen down when he got close to Renji. He was unsuccessful as Renji quickly spun and retracted Zabimaru and swung down on Ichigo. Zabimaru came down hard as Red Queen clashed with its wielder being pressed into the ground by Renji's assault.
"Ah!" Ichigo yelled in pain as he was stabbed in his right shoulder and the wounder became deeper as Zabimaru speed across the wound, which caused his right arm to become useless.
"Don't you see?!"" Renji asked. "You won't win!" He retracted his sword and didn't let Ichigo recover as he swung Zabimaru again and struck Ichigo's chest again, and extended his blade into a building, the wall crashing as Ichigo was launched through it.
Red Queen was stabbed into the ground. Not as preparation to rev it up, but an attempt to stay standing. 'Damn!' He raged internally as he failed to stand. He was soon on his knees and supporting his weight on his sword. 'The damage is too much!' He could feel his wounds healing slowly, but his wounds were deep and was draining his Reiryoku quickly.
He guessed that reproducing cells was difficult and thus, took a lot of energy. He started to feel his eyes feel heavy and tried to stay awake. 'No! I can't lose here. I need to protect Lady and Trish!' He told himself. 'Now move!'
Despite his cries, his eyes began to close and he felt unconsciousness creep closer. He soon fell to the ground while thinking, 'I need help!'
He expected either Nero to speak up, or no one, but he was surprised when he heard an entirely new voice saying, 'Alright then kid.'
Ichigo gasped deeply as he found himself laying on a floor. A wooden floor if his back was still able to feel correctly. He sat up to see he was in some shop, with an old jukebox in the corner.
"About time you got here Ichigo!" A voice said, causing Ichigo to look at a pair of black military boots on a desk with a pair of tan jeans on the legs of the guy in front of it. His face was obscured by his boots.
"Whoa, who are you?" Ichigo asked as he got on his feet before remembering what happened a few moments earlier. "Shit! I got to beat Renji's ass!" He looked behind him and saw a pair of doors.
"Ah!" The man sounded. "You've got to hear me out first."
"And what preventing me from doing that?" Ichigo asked as he attempted to grab Blue Rose from his thigh. When he touched the holster, he felt nothing but his pants. "Where's my Zanpakuto!"
"It's right here." A familiar voice called out.
Ichigo looked up to see Nero standing on the landing of a stairwell on the left wall, spinning Blue Rose over the railing with his left hand. "Nero? What's happening?" He asked. "And who is this guy?"
"One question at a time kid." The guy at the desk said as he set his feet down, showing a face that looked unusually similar to Nero, even the hair was in a similar, brushed down style, though some of the bangs covered his eyes. His chest was also bare, with the exception of an amulet with a silver chain and a large red gem stuck in the middle.
"So what's the story?" Ichigo asked. "And why do you look similar to Nero?"
"Well kid," The man began as he sat up from his chair and started to walk around the desk. "I go by Dante And well, why shouldn't I look like my little bro?"
"Your Nero's brother?!" Ichigo asked incredulously. "How does a Zanpakuto spirit have a twin?"
"We actually have a third brother," Nero revealed as he leaned on the railing. "But he doesn't feel like showing himself."
"I don't care!" Ichigo answered. "Tell him to get his ass-Ah!" He was interrupted as he was pushed to the ground by Dante. Ichigo crooked his head to see an assortment of spectral swords randomly stabbed into the floor.
"That's why," Dante said as he got off Ichigo. "Unless he wants to, He isn't going to show up by you shouting your ass off." He stuck out his hand to Ichigo, which was grabbed and he helped Ichigo up.
"Alright." Ichigo relented. "I won't ask for him. But how do I have three Zanpakuto?"
"I'm not exactly a Zanpakuto spirit, but I'll give you a hint," Dante started, having a smirk on his face. "I'm the one giving you the ability to regenerate."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes in concentration for a moment before widening them. "You're…my inner Hollow?" He said unsure, earning a short clap from Dante.
"Got it in one, kid! Guess you're smarter than most people assume." Dante complemented. He was about to continue but jumped in order to dodge a swipe from Ichigo's spectral arm.
"You're going to die!" Ichigo declared as he took several quick steps forward, intent on "purging" the Dante. He would have continued, but he found himself held in the air by Nero's own spectral arm.
"Let go of me, Nero!" Ichigo demanded as he struggled to be released.
"I guess he's getting to be in his rebellious face." Dante joked as he landed on his desk.
"Calm down Ichigo!" Nero ordered. "If Dante wasn't here, you would be dead because of your wounds!"
"What!" Ichigo asked, calming down ever so slightly. "If he's a Hollow, why would he help me?"
"If you didn't try to give me a close shave, I would have finished," Dante said. "I'm your inner Hollow, but I'm more than that. I'm your hollowfied Zanpakuto."
"How does that make a difference?" Ichigo asked.
"If I were just a Hollow, I would be more bestial and lack a representation of my powers," Dante explained as he rolled behind his desk and grabbed a sword that was leaning against it.
It was a large broadsword with two notches near the end of the blade. The crossguard emerged from a skeletal guard, having a screaming skull on one side and a demonic variant on the other. The pommel was made up of several spikes.
"But since I'm a hollowfied Zanpakuto, I've got the powers of both worlds," Dante told Ichigo as he spun the broadsword in his hand.
Ichigo was let go by Nero and Dante walked in front of him, still holding his sword. He forced it's grip into Ichigo's left hand, positioning the blade right on his chest. "And since I'm still a Zanpakuto, I can purify myself. And if you want to, right now, you can do it."
Ichigo held the blade on Dante's chest for several minutes before putting his arm to his side. "No. If you wanted to harm me in any way, you probably would have done it by now." Ichigo rationalized.
"You got it in one Ichigo!" Dante agreed. "I'm your friendly Hollow/Zanpakuto." He grabbed his sword from Ichigo's hand. "Wanna see a magic trick?"
Ichigo didn't have a chance to say anything before Dante rammed his sword through his chest, the blade sticking out through his back. "Are you crazy?!" Ichigo asked as he started to shake Dante widely. "You just purified yourself!?"
"Oh, I'm melting! I'm melting!" Dante said dramatically as he went on his knees and raised his hand. "Oh, the humanity!"
"Just shut up Dante!" Nero said irritated as he chucked Blue Rose at Dante's head, which bounced into Ichigo's hands.
"Ruin my fun, spoilsport," Dante complained as he sat up and pulled out the sword and turned to Ichigo. "I was joking. You wouldn't be able to purify me with my own sword. It would be a paradox since it would also try to purify the Zanpakuto part along with the Hollow part."
"So why did you say you would be purified?" Ichigo asked, slightly amused by Dante's antics.
"A sign of trust," Dante answered simply as he tossed the sword back to Ichigo. "You probably will want to use that."
"Why wouldn't I just use Nero?" Ichigo asked. "Though I do like this. It feels a bit more familiar."
"If you want to feel familiarity," Dante began, not answering Ichigo's question, as he opened a closet and pulled out a tripartite nunchaku, with the tips of the metal rods being covered in ice. The rods themselves were connected to the ring by ethereal chains. "This will feel like a lost part of your soul!"
The weapon was tossed to Ichigo, who caught it and slipped his hand through the ring. "I feel like I wielded this before." He mused.
"That's because you have," Dante answered as he shut the closet door with one hand, the other holding two holsters with two pistols. Both resembled slightly bulky M1911s, one being black as night, the other being white as snow.
The pistols were tossed to Ichigo, who caught the holsters with his remaining hand, having stabbed the sword into the ground. He quickly put the holsters on and felt them adjust to fit him perfectly.
"As I was saying, you technically wielded Cerberus before." Dante started, naming the ice-covered weapon. "It was made up of Rukia's remaining Reiryoku that remained here."
"I thought I lost all of Rukia's Reiryoku after Byakuya kicked my ass?" Ichigo said confused.
"You would have if I didn't decide to take the small fragment and mutate it into that weapon, Cerberus." Dante answered, earning a look of understanding from his wielder.
"I see that you won't kill each other," Nero muttered to himself with a slight smirk. "What a tragedy." He then turned on his heel and left through the door connected to the landing.
"You know what Dante." Ichigo randomly said as he stood in front of the door. "I know the answer to my question from earlier. About using Nero. You want me to get used to using all of your stuff, right?"
Yea!" Dante answered. "Don't worry about training with them. They'll come by instinct, they're Hollow in origin. Now go out there and say my true name!"
Ichigo remained silent as he kicked open the door and walked out. As he was partially out through the door, he yelled, "You got it, Rebelión! (Rebellion)" With those words uttered, Ichigo left Dante's inner world.
"Kick some ass kid," Dante said to himself as he smashed his hand on his jukebox, causing it to start playing music.
Trish and Lady looked on as Ichigo was pushed into the building and didn't get back up. "Ichigo!" Lady yelled out in worry as she began to run towards Ichigo, with Trish following.
Their jog to help Ichigo was interrupted by Zabimaru smashing in front of them. "Where do you think you're going?" Renji asked as he kept his eyes on the duo. "You think that your friend is still alive? You are wrong then since he won't be getting up."
"You want to bet that?" Trish asked. "He's a fighter. Better than either me or Lady." She placed a hand on her hip. "So I recommend you be prepared to have your ass kicked."
"Oh really?" Renji asked with a smirk as he pulled back Zabimaru. "Let's see if he will save your friend then!"
Lady quickly rolled out of the way of the Zabimaru blade. "I guess your aim is a bit off." She taunted as the blade-whip was retracted.
Renji growled as he turned his back to where Ichigo still remained. "You have a loud mouth. But this is going to silence you!" He declared as he pulled his blade for a killing blow.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lady saw a red mass of energy originating from where Ichigo was and speed towards Renji, which smashed into his back, knocking him off balance and saving Lady from death.
"Ah!" Renji yelled in pain as he struggled on the ground. He managed to roll onto his back and saw Ichigo slowly walking out of the destroyed wall. In his right hand was a large broadsword with notches on both sides of the blade. The guard was skeletal with a rib cage having a screaming skull on one side and a demonic skull on the other. The grip was plain, but the pommel was several spikes. It was currently resting on his shoulder.
In his left hand was Ebony, his black pistol. Ichigo held it in front of him, showing that it was recently fired. "How about you leave those ladies alone?" He suggested as he continued walking forward. "And instead play with Ebony and Ivory!"
"You...will...lose!" Renji forced out as he got up on shaky legs. When he took a closer look at Ichigo, he saw two brown holsters on his chest which held one other pistol and kept together the scraps of his outfit slightly better.
"Let's find out then." Ichigo said with a grin as he holstered his pistol. He gave a slightly step with his right leg and disappeared with a boom of sound. Renji panicked, looking for Ichigo. He found him behind him and dashing towards him.
Renji swung Zabimaru, extending it while it swung, intent on slicing Ichigo in half. He was caught off guard when Ichigo pulled out Cerberus.
The nunchaku slammed into Zabimaru, freezing it to the ground and allowing Ichigo to hop over it. He quickly let out a deadly thrust with his broadsword, which carried him with it, hitting Renji in the back with it.
Renji yelled out in pain as the blade pierced his chest, causing him to bleed blood. "And that's the winning blow." Ichigo declared as he pulled out his sword. He pointed Ebony down and said, "And here the victory lap!"
Ebony's shot was severally weakened by Ichigo, having only enough strength to knock out Renji. "Oh!" Ichigo groaned out, supporting his weight on Rebellion. Despite his fight, he still had yet to recover all of his Reiryoku, and that fight didn't do him any favors.
"Thank god!" Trish spoke up as she hugged Ichigo, who was knocked onto the ground by her. "I thought you may have died!"
"Ah" Ichigo sounded as he weakly attempted to get Trish off of him, but failed. "I'm not dead obviously, so you mind getting off of?"
"Pfft, such a prune." Trish teased as she reluctantly got off of and helped Ichigo up. "So I see you've got some new gear.
"Ah yes, because you need more overpowered things." Lady said with an eyeroll, walking up to them.
"What, no thanks for saving you?" Ichigo asked, earning a blush from Lady.
"Shut up." She ordered as she gave him a hug. "But...Thank you."
"What's the deal with your new toys?" Trish asked, curious about the weapons Ichigo seem to pull out of nowhere.
"Let's get some cover first," Ichigo suggested as he narrowed his eyes for a brief moment and felt a pulse radiate from him. The pulse traveled outward until it reverberated against a tile. "This way!"
He made his way to the tile and grabbed it, pulling it up and revealing a small shaft with a ladder, bathed in darkness. "Lady first!" Ichigo said as Trish and Lady stood around the shaft.
"Why me first?" Lady asked. "Shouldn't it be you or Trish first?"
"You're wearing a skirt." Ichigo pointed out bluntly. "So unless you want me to see up your skirt, you're going first."
"Most guys would probably want to look up a hottie's skirt like Lady's," Trish mentioned as Lady began to descend the ladder, Kalina surprisingly not getting stuck.
"Who am I? Keigo?" Ichigo muttered, earning a confused look from Trish. "He's a friend of mine. Though he's a dumbass."
"I guess we'll meet him when we start school," Trish said as she went down the shaft.
Ichigo soon followed them, pushing the tile back into place and eventually hitting the stone floor. He looked around and saw it was a sewer of some kind. "I guess this will be a fine hideout." Ichigo commented, seeing that it was surprisingly well kept, if slightly dank and dark.
"So, onto the story about the new toys," Ichigo said as sat against the wall, Trish and Lady doing the same. "Turns out, I've got more than one Zanpakuto spirit."
"Why is that odd?" Lady asked, cradling Kalina Ann in between her legs.
"Normally, Shinigami only have one Zanpakuto," Ichigo explained. "But I have three. But what's weird is that he's also my inner Hollow."
"Is that dangerous?" Trish asked. "And how did you even get an inner hollow?
"He isn't dangerous, he was the one who gave my high-speed regeneration, so he's helpful," Ichigo explained. "And for where he's from? I had a hollow mask when I got my Shinigami powers back after I got out of the Shattered Shaft, so maybe he's from there."
"Huh, so what do you think Lady?" Trish asked as Lady had remained quiet.
Ichigo looked to his left, where Lady was, in worry. 'Does she hate me now?' He asked himself. He could see why she would, with how her father and mother turned out; the first turning into a Hollow and the other being killed by said hollow/father.
"I don't care," Lady said bluntly, slightly yawning at the end. "I'm too tired to care and besides, if that Zanpakuto-Hollow thingy didn't help, I wouldn't have my pillow." She promptly laid her head on his right leg and started to sleep.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo asked in a slightly irritated tone, though relieved that Lady didn't care about Dante.
"Just shut it," Lady replied with her eyes closed. "You were acting like a gentleman earlier, so act like it now."
"I have to agree with Lady," Trish said as she followed Lady's example, laying her head on Ichigo's other leg. "Be a gentleman to the ladies."
Ichigo just sighed in resignation, knowing that they were both too stubborn to move. And he himself was starting to feel sleep come to him. He soon passed out, hearing faint laughter that sounded like Dante, who might have been laughing at his situation.