Author Notes: This is it, the final Chapter of the Hollow-Arrancar Invasion of the Karakura High School Arc. Next is the Xcution Arc. I'm so happy this arc is done, it's been a long process of rewriting material, but I've finally done it. It also gives some foreshadowing of the Dio Hueco leaders in my fanfic, Bleach Rinse.

I also gave Ichigo x Orihime a bit more background to make their connection stronger than it was in the original manga. It's also based a little on the Maya x Souichiro from Tenjo Tenge because not only does she share the same English voice actress, but she also like Orihime in some ways except a lot more assertive in her approach.

Chapter 15: The Rain Ends Part 4


Orihime turned to Rukia

"Did you kill my brother like she said," Orihime asked with an uncharacteristic seriousness.

After a pause, Rukia spoke with regret.

"You two have grown so much, that I didn't recognize you two (turning her face to be more serious), I caused Ichigo's worst day to become a nightmare," Rukia said with a calm voice of melancholy


The day that Sora died...on the rainy night

An burnt orange haired girl unintentionally brings a bright orange haired boy to her house. A wooly, white masked monster lurches in the corner with a fiendish grin

Ichigo was dragged into a room and flung on top of a bed. Not knowing that she had brought a boy to her room, she undressed herself until she was naked.

"Oh, I was bullied again today...I wish I could do something about that..Ah!," said the girl as she complained about her day. She then turned to see the boy she dragged in.

"Ah...my bad...I took you to my room by mistake...you're cute," said the space girl

"P-please cover up, it's improper for a girl l-like you to do this in front of a boy," said Ichigo trying to close his eyes.

She then smiled sweetly, walked to the bed and crawled towards Ichigo and kissed him on the lips.

Ichigo turned a bright pink as Orihime backed away.

"You saw me naked...so we've come to a closer understanding...it means, that even if other girls have their way with you, I'm the one that's at the end of whatever journey you'll embark, I'm Orihime Inoue...wow I'm much more assertive with you than with anyone else," Orihime said with a mature and playful tone that contrasted with her actual age.

"Huh...um, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki...what did you mean by that?," Ichigo asked.

"I'm saying you're obligated to marry me now," Orihime said cheerfully.

"HUH?!," Ichigo yelled in confusion

Suddenly a hellish sound was heard from downstairs.

"P-please, put on your clothes...something's wrong," Ichigo said bashfully

"Say we're engaged," Orihime said with a mean stare towards the boy.

"(cries)...Ok," Ichigo as he weakly agreed.

Orihime dressed up quickly, kissed Ichigo again and dragged him downstairs.

"What a lucky day, brother I found my future hus-," Orihime cheerfully said before stopping to look on a nightmarish sight.


She looked in horror, her brother's body was vanishing at an alarming rate.

Ichigo being more aware of spirits was more horrified-

A hairy Hollow was forcing something down Orihime's brother's throat, causing a hole to emerge in the center of his body and slowly become a shadowy Naga like monster. After removing his claw, he left by saying,

"Now you will die knowing that you caused another death due to your actions," the monster gloated behind him.


Ichigo now faced the now fully formed monster as it slowly turned its head towards the two children.

"Come on, where'd you go brother. I'm right-," Orihime said with a tinge of fear, to the currently unseen monster, unaware of what would happen.

The monster thwacked his sister his huge hand across the room, Ichigo managed to speed up unconsciously to catch her before she hit her head.

Orihime opened her eyes to look again- this time, the blow had caused her Spiritual Awareness to fully awaken.

It was a black bodied Naga with red sections around its muscular arms, it retained his chin length black hair of its human form

I failed to protect my Mommy, I won't fail to protect her, Ichigo thought to himself as he looked at the monster.

Ichigo gently placed Orihime down and ran towards the Hollow.

"Karate-," Ichigo yelled with determination, but instantly-

Ichigo was swatted away like a bug and was ignored as the serpentine monster started to circle around Orihime.

"Brother, you looked different...it's ok, we're family and we can move pass this," she told the monster as she tried to compromise in the situation.

"We're family...then help me...," said the Naga Hollow with a quiet voice.

"How," Orihime asked with her head turned to her right.

"I feel...empty...LET ME FEEL THE VOID BY EATING YOU!," the Naga monster screamed as he opened his mouth to swallow her- Orihime did something odd, she raised her hands to embrace him as he was about to chomp on her with a tranquil expression. This froze the monster with both guilt and fear of this odd girl.

"-Kick...Mother...Funnier!," Ichigo declared as he kicked the Hollow in the back of the head. The monster turned its head in annoyance away from Orihime.

"My Daddy and Mommy say that it's the duty of older brothers to protect the ones that come after- as an older man- you shouldn't be even thinking of hurt her," Ichigo said to the Hollow with a voice of courage in spite of being absolutely terrified inside

"Enough of your nonsense, 12 Voices...in my head...say I won't be hungry if I start eating and eventually rise to their level...SO BE MY SACRIFICE!," the Monster responded with a voice that almost seemed like it was fighting something from the inside.

"I lost my mommy today, so I need to be a strong man- for the sake of my sisters- and the girl who forcing me into marriage- to stand my ground. I will take your blows," said Ichigo in his attempt at manliness while his legs shook.


"So you've immediately become this far gone after becoming a Hollow," said a female voice of cold pragmatism.

A Shoji emerged from the celling and a woman in a samurai-eque outfit slashed the monster's head in half. The monster returned back to his previous form and said to Orihime,

"I'll be counting you to be the sun for that young man. He already lost one- you're the one who can fill the void," said the serene man as he floated into the Shoji, it closed behind him.

"What did you do lady. Y-you killed him- you're not a proper lady!," Ichigo said with a fury building up.

"Boy, I'm sorry, but to forget this nightmare, you two will need to be kept at a distance so that the memories won't resurface. And as a second precaution (pulling out a weird bird head on a spring device) you will forget everything," the woman said placidly to the boy.

"Is my brother ok?," asked Orihime worryingly.

"Forgive me," the woman with black hair with pointed ends and a single bang between her eyes with an expression of remorse.

Then the bird head activated a mist...


"So that's what happened," Ichigo said as he realized what had happened.

"Yes...nothing good came out of it," said Rukia with a tone of guilt.

"Well, I know now. I'm engaged to Ichigo," Orihime joked half heartedly while also feeling incredible anguish behind her forced smile.

"W-what," Ichigo said as he turned to Orihime

"Especially since I saved your life, I think you owe me your life...Grrr...," Orihime argued with a mean stare. Rukia was confused on why the orange haired girl abruptly spoke to Ichigo about a irrelevant topic to the battle at hand.

Better not argue with her, with all the things she can pull- I better fall in line, Ichigo thought worryingly as he avoided the stare.


"The Soul Reaper was right. I did try again, you were being taken away by a little girl...she's the one with the powers of Rejection that said you needed to cheer up after your loss..., you met with her brother and I needed to have you killed. I wasn't sure if the glass wearing man would track me...So I used one of the silver tongued Bastard's trinkets...to turn him into a Hollow while he was alive. He would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for that Soul Reaper butting in- the same one that butted in when Fishbone D, Shrieker and I decided to attack- killing him in an act of mercy and letting him pass into the Soul Soul Society...You caused two women to bare a burden in their hearts...how could you forcing that guilt onto them...you Hollow," Grand Fisher gloated spitefully to the three below.

Orihime gave an uncharacteristic glare of killing intent towards the puppet like being and whispered something to Tsubaki.

Rukia narrowed her eyes in disgust at the Hollow as she raised her Zanpakuto to prepare to kill the Arrancar.

Ichigo's expression was filled with anger as he without warning made a ripping gesture around his face- creating the horned mask from before and raised Zangetsu towards Grand Fisher.

"I'll...start my collection over again...with you two Soul Reapers...I'll make you lure prey to me until I get an even better collection than before," Grand Fisher screamed as his eyes darted in different directions.

"A good performer knows when to retire man," said a laid-back voice coming towards the cemetery that caught Grand Fisher's attention.


"Collapse, Sakanade (Counter Stroke)," said an Osaka accented voice. A pink mist surrounded the cemetery as Grand Fisher looked in shock as the mist rose to envelop him.

Suddenly, the Arrancar began to jerk in directions that were opposite of what his body wanted.

Grand Fisher looked in anger as he saw a blond man with his upper teeth showing, grinning as he looked up at him.

"I wanted to know why a new Visored showed up, but I got into this mess. Oh don't give that look, I'm not fighting you. It seems that you two have a grudge match- you were making this one sided too much on your half, so it was my way of helping a fellow Visored," said the smiling man as he looked at Ichigo, who looked shocked to see that man could see him.

"What did you do and what do mean a fellow Visored?!," Grand Fisher asked.

Manifesting a double-mouthed Pharaoh mask with a short-flowing hood beneath the back of his neck over his face, much to the Arrancar's surprise.

"I'll give ya a run down since ya just got more worthy of attention now that you're no longer just another Hollow runt and now an Fraccion bigshot for one of the Espada, his number 2 in fact. Welcome to Sakasama No Sekai, (Inverted World)- it's an illusionary mist that puts ya in an optical illusions. Up and down, left and right, forward and backward- everything is reversed. However, it ain't just the sense of direction that's changed; yer eyesight, direction of incoming attacks, and injury know-how are also inverted. Countering damage from inverted directions by simply thinking about how to do it within yer noggin is not possible. No matter how strong ya are, especially if ya are a fighting veteran, their body can't adapt due to reflexes stoppin' proper reaction, causing ya to continuously succumb to the Inverted World. What sucks for ya even more is that the effects of the Inverted World can be targeted at or neglected from specific opponents, making it ideal for team fights. It also severely affects the equilibrium of those its power is used on giving them vertigo, causing confusion, disorientation and/or nausea. I mastered it so much...I wonder if I'm not talking to myself because I can invert my words as well," said the Pharaoh-eque man as he explained his powers to the Arrancar before realizing that his power made it so Grand Fisher wouldn't understand anyway.

"What are you saying?!," asked Grand Fisher in irritated confusion.

"I was gonna ask you about that little stooge that's been helping you become pseudo-Soul Reapers, but it looks like somebody's blabbered about his name. I don't know about the Majesty I've heard from the Arrancar assassins that stooge sends after me and the other Visoreds- I'm just glad the stooge's plan is about to screwed over sooner than I hoped. Ya can't hear me...heh, just letting out some steam," the Pharaoh masked Visored said as he bemused himself.

Grand Fisher noticed two people above him, Rukia and the masked Ichigo lunging down with fury with their Zanpakuto. This was followed by a black Shun Shun Rikka zooming at top speeds to shoot through the skull of the Arrancar, causing his eyes to dart in opposite directions.

Ichigo proceeded to use a Getsuga Tensho to slash off his right arm and Rukia cut off his left.

"Orihime and I were too young to understand what happened...now that I know- I'm not just fighting for my own insignificant revenge- it's retribution for her brother- no for the Soul Reapers and people you've killed," Ichigo declared angrily towards his foe.

Grand Fisher then hallucinated a figure behind Ichigo- a tall man with a long face, broad chin, and pronounced cheekbone; he had long black hair, which reached to his lower back, and reddish-brown eyes with thin eyebrows- a well-kept mutton chops and a connected mustache, but was otherwise clean-shaven. The eyes were filled with multiple pupils.

I've felt Spiritual Pressure from the Silver Tongue Bastard and His Majesty...but this is abnormal...this boy...he has a Monster's Blood in his Veins! thought Grand Fisher in absolute primal fear.

Grand Fisher tried to react, but the Inverted World prevented him from using his body in the right directions- causing him to aim clumsily to directions opposite to Ichigo's line of attack. Ichigo was filled with rage so he attacked in a berserk wrath- which normally would've missed every shot. He remained focused enough to lethally precise as he put Grand Fisher in an extreme no holds barred beatdown. Grand Fisher tried to flee, but something was preventing him from fleeing- or rather modifying the future of his actions, so that he would remain to suffer punishment. Rukia was more graceful, she tapped the Arrancar's nose to break it out of amusement.

It was so severe that Grand Fisher's release form deactivated on its own to return to his regular state. This subconscious action made the onslaught even worse- a flurry of Getsuga Tensho, sword slashes, kicks and free handed punches reduced the Arrancar into a rippled pancake with scars as he dropped in front of Masaki's graveyard.

As the pink mist cleared, he suddenly saw the Pharaoh masked Visored, the latter gave thumbs up while Ichigo shrugged. Rukia looked with confusion at the Pharaoh masked stranger.

The rain finally stopped and the sky cleared.

Ichigo, the rain's gone..., Orihime internally thought

Yeah, I feel better now..., Ichigo internally thought as if he responded to Orihime's words


Rukia and Orihime watched from the side.

Grand Fisher back in his now jaw masked broken and body battered base Arrancar form lay on the ground with the blond man and Ichigo looking down at him.

"Inconceivable- I lost to a trick like yours...Soul Reapers...butting in when they're not wanted," Grand Fisher grumbled in annoyance

"I'd be mad at the interference normally, but you've crossed the line the point you deserve any honor. Time to die," Ichigo said coldly as he pointed his Zangetsu in preparation of decapitating him.

"I'll tell you one thing before I die," said the Arrancar with a serious tone.

"Enfer," Grand Fisher said with dramatic emphasis.

"Yes it is unfair that our fight ended like this," said Ichigo in a serious tone, causing Grand Fisher to do a face palm in frustration.

"Did you study French in class," said the Pharaoh masked man to the horned masked Soul Reaper with some annoyance in his words.

"No I just sort of study to get teachers to stop pestering me. What's that mean," Ichigo complained to the Pharaoh masked man.

"Hell...your mother's power of bow and special abilities involving a power was too much for me on my own," Grand Fisher explained

"Dad said something about that mom was an archer-wait- Does it have to do with Uryu?!," he asked the Hollow with more focus to his words.

"So you've met one of your Quincy kin- this fight would've been terrible for me if you did awaken those powers," Grand Fisher snarked, turning to the left.

"What did you mean too much on your own," Ichigo demanded.


"My partner...is from down there...where sinners go to suffer until they lose all sense of their lives...apparently, Quincies were a threat to their existence...so one decided to help me," Grand Fisher explained maliciously.

"What's his name," Ichigo demanded further.

"You'll never find him unless he decides to show himself- his name is Andromalius- the 72nd Royal of Enfer- the lowest of the 36 on the first level. He cut your mother in the back while I distracted you with my lure," Grand Fisher gleefully recalled.

"What does he look like," Ichigo remaining focused on the topic at hand.

"Exactly like you...your hair is orange because some former Soul Reaper implanted the powers he borrowed from the Royal into the Soul Reaper that would become your father- and he was pissed that he was cheated. So he tried to take it out on you," Grand Reaper mockingly told Ichigo

"So he killed my mother for that," Ichigo said angrily, finally losing his patience.

Ichigo decapitates him, causing a sword to impale the headless body from behind as the Gates of Hell pulled the Arrancar in- this sword was wielded by the Bankai arm of the 7th Division leader was dragged to Hell earlier.

"He'll come when you're at your happiest...and take back his orange hair," said the head as it too was impaled by smaller blade wielded by a black and white stripped arm with a gloved hand started pulling him into the gate.

Ichigo took a closer look into the Gates of Hell...he saw a single eye focusing on him as its owner dragged Grand Fisher's head into the Gate with its monochrome stripped limb, it had the same orange brown pupil as he did, but it was shaped like a pie that's had one slice removed from it, the missing slice being an exaggerated radial light reflection- like this person was an American Cartoon character from the 1920s to 1930s. Grand Fisher chuckled until he was inside the Gate- and a sickening chomp forever silenced the Arrancar as the doors completely shut.


Ichigo fainted from the extremely tense fight he had to endure.

Rukia and Orihime rushed to Ichigo as the Pharaoh masked man leapt into the clear night from the graveyard.

A single rain drop fell from the split grave of Masaki Kurosaki as if satisfied of being finally avenged.


Chapter 16: King of New York, Candy Shop for Masks