Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and RWBY. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum (rest in peace you saint of a man).

A question one would ask why type this up? Simple – why not?

Chapter 22: Team SIRR

(Que OP: Blizzard "Daichi Miura" - Dragon Ball Super: Broly)

"Ren," said Kisuke, waving his friend, "did I mention how scary you are that it's awesome?"

After the events of Ren's practical slaughter of the Dark Ones, Ruby, Ichigo, and Ren returned to Kisuke by the Remnantie ninja's order. The Dark Ones may be gone, but there were still Blanks and the Valley of Screams remaining. As one would guess, who better to solve this crisis then Kisuke Urahara, the benevolent owner of a candy shop with 'definitely' nothing shady going on in its walls.

"I mean," continued Kisuke in his praising, "I wish I saw the look on the shinigami's faces when they felt your spiritual pressure. I bet they pissed themselves and ran off scared."

"Well, you're not wrong." Ren confirmed, drinking a cup of tea. As always.

"Serves them right." Ichigo noted.

"Ditto." Ruby agreed.

"So then our little situation with the Valley of Screams." said Kisuke, turning his attention to Senna who was keeping quiet, "The obvious solution would be to bring our wonderful lady-" Kisuke paused a moment when he felt killing intent from the women in the room, including Yoruichi in cat form looking from the shadows. "-Er, I mean, this poor soul Senna to the Valley of Screams and restore the Blank's memories."

"But," Ruby voiced, "Senna is made of memories. If she gives them all away, she'll...die."

Kisuke folded his fan and his smile flattened. It was Kisuke's way of telling people thinking, and very thoroughly at that.

"Well, Senna's existence is not dependent on the memories since she is her own soul restored as a shinigami." Kisuke explained, "But since she won't have any control over the process and most likely will die.

Ruby was knocked out of her attention of the conversation by a cackle in her mindscape.

'After all that effort, she will still die.' Gruby cackled sadistically, 'I would cry if I didn't find it so hilarious.'

'Shut up and go away.' Ruby responded. She was going to call on Summer's presence to get the Grimm/Hollow suppressed, but outwardly gasped when she didn't feel Mazazoru at all.

'That's right.' Gruby sneered, widening a grin that Ruby could feel, 'I had enough of you and Mother keeping me down. So I just - disposed of the problem.'

'What did you do to her!?' Ruby demanded, only getting a cackle from the Grimm/Hollow.

'I would worry more about yourself.' Gruby said, 'Real soon.'

Ruby would persist with her dark side, but Ichigo snapped her attention back to reality with an elbow nudge in her side.

"You okay, Ruby-chan?" asked Ichigo in clear worry, then berated himself that he used the suffix with Ruby. He was supposed to be prude dammit.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby lied, turning her attention back to Kisuke.

Ichigo frowned. The strain on her face betrayed the lie she tried to play and he knew the exactly why.

'I can see it in your eyes Ruby.' thought Ichigo, 'That demon of yours is giving you more trouble than my own.'

'Hey!' cried Hichigo.

'Shut up and go away.' Ichigo said to his Inner Hollow and he was left with silence in his mindscape. For now.

"So I propose this." said Kisuke, unfolding his fan in front of his face, "The only way for Senna to stay intact while giving the Blanks their memories is for one of you to act as a tether for her. Since all of you are basically powerhouses in that field, it should be an easy process, and Senna will live."

"Really?" asked Senna with hope in her eyes. Kisuke eyes the girl and gave her a genuine nod.

"I promise it will work." said Kisuke, "After all, I'm your humble neighborhood candy shop owner."

The next he knew, Ruby latched onto him at speeds that shouldn't be possible by law of Kami. She was squeezing the life out of him with her hug while saying too many "thank you"s to count even for his brain.

'Yoruichi-chan, what did you do to put so much strength into this sweet girl?' thought Kisuke, barely getting the oxygen.

"Thank you." Senna praised, overflowing with joy at the chance to live a life.

"What do we do, Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked.

"First, let me ask Senna a question?" said Kisuke once he escaped Ruby's choke hold, "Senna-san, where was the first place you were in Karakura Town?"

(Time-Skip)

"Huh." Was Ruby's reaction after the recent events. At midday, they took high ground to find where Senna came from which would lead to the Valley of Screams. Low and behold, it was the bottom of a bridge in the same river where Ichigo's mother died. In the light of the sun, it was hard to see the alien shimmer in the water as the group stood above the portal.

"Alright," said Ruby, "let's start Team SIRR's first mission: Get rid of the Valley of Screams."

The remaining three had question marks over their head and looked at Ruby. Ren dropped his look when he realized what Ruby was up to.

"Team SIRR?" asked Ichigo.

"Don't you get it?" said Ruby while looking at Ichigo as though he had two heads, "We are a team. The most awesome team of shinigami."

"Okay, but what's with the name?" Ichigo wondered.

Ren explained. "It is how team names were made back in Beacon. Each one is different based on the first letters in the members' names. In all honesty, Team SIRR fits."

"I get it now." said Ichigo, "S for Senna, I for me, and the two Rs for you and Ruby. Clever."

"That's right!" Ruby perked up, suddenly jumping into the Valley of Screams, "Geronimo!"

Senna looked to the two male members of SIRR and gave a smile before falling with her back facing the portal. "WHEE!"

Ichigo sighed. "Do we know any girls that are normal?"

"Unfortunately." Ren said with a smile, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Ichigo gave Ren an agreeing smile before they too jumped after their comrades into the shimmering water. After sinking six feet, they suddenly felt the rush of air and an atmosphere. Soon, their feet stood on solid ground. However, looking up their breaths were caught in their throats at the sight.

The sky was made of branches from a tree of immeasurable size. It was the only thing in sight among the canyon that expanded forever to the horizon where a dull grey glow settled. There was also this strange feeling in the pit of their stomachs. Like the very air and ground was watching them.

"I assume we get to the big tree?" Ruby wondered.

Senna nodded reluctantly. "I feel them all... just get me to the base of the tree."

Ruby put a hand over Senna's shoulder and disappeared in her shunpo and Semblance combo. A few minutes later and Ruby stopped at the very trunk of the tree. Senna slowly approached the biggest root under the tree, drawn to whispers that called to her. She reached out her hand to give the whispers their wish, but shook halfway.

"Don't worry." Ruby voiced, putting a hand on Senna's shoulder and focusing her reiryoku onto Senna, "I'll be right here with you."

"Thank you." Senna mumbled.

She pressed her hand on the root and the surface glowed gold. Senna's reiatsu rose as she focused, and her hand sent a yellow pulse visible throughout the entire Valley of Screams.

"There are so many of them." Senna grunted, "So many. Their pulling me away."

"Stay with me." said Ruby, raising her voice while applying more reiatsu to fight against the pull on Senna, "You are not going away. You will never disappear."

The eyes of IRR widened when the Valley was filled with the howls of hollows. Outside, the canyon was flooded with black rifts in space pouring out hollows starting to feast on the Blanks that made up the valley.

"Holy crap, that is a lot of hollows." said Ichigo.

And of course, most of them were running to the tree attracted to the swarm of Blanks swarming around to Senna for their memories.

"Feast." cried a hollow of medium build, "Today, we shall become Vasto Lorde."

This hollow, a hulk with a lizard's skull and hulking arms was joined by other hollows of similar size. What stood them out among the rest was their reiatsu that reached to a lieutenant at most.

"Adjuchas." said Ren, unsheathing his zanpakuto.

"What the heck is an adjuchas?" Ichigo asked.

"Fight now, questions later." Ren said.

Ichigo sighed and drew Zangestu. "Fine. How do you want to do this?"

"You take the five hundred on the left." said Ren, "You take the five hundred on the right."

"What, do you want me to take on 501?" Ichigo said sarcastically.

Ren smiled before they raised their spiritual pressure. Ren activated shunko, and the cloak of green fire and nine tails appeared around him. He was the first to shunpo into the horde, cutting through flesh with ease.

"None of you are going to get to Ruby or Senna." Ichigo stated roughly, "Bankai."

Black and red reiatsu veiled away Ichigo. His spiritual pressure alone crushed lower hollows to the ground instantly dead. When he emerged, Ichigo's clothes took a closet change and Zangetsu turned into a pitch black daito with a chain.

"Tensa Zangestsu."

Without warning, Ichigo obliterated a high number of hollows with a single swing of his sword. He turned into a storm of afterimages of himself killing hollows multiple places at once. To his ire, not once did they fault in their advance.

Ichigo's instincts flared up and he raised Tensa Zangetsu to block a giant fist from an Adjuchas. It was short, but his distraction allowed tens to run to the tree. The pseudo-shinigami bit his lips and he shunpoed above the horde.

"Leave them alone!" Ichigo shouted, "Getsuga Tensho."

An arc of black reiatsu shot out of Ichigo's blade. The ground exploded on contact, kicking up dust and the body parts of hollows. He was about to continue with another blast when a familiar red glow caught his attention.

'Crap.' thought Ichigo seeing the Adjuchas from earlier directly below him.

"Cero."

(Back with Ruby and Senna.)

'Dammit, dammit, dammit.' Ruby cursed inwardly seeing a horde of hollows getting closer to the tree.

'Ooh, seems to be a lot of them.' said Gruby, 'That gives more ways for Senna to die, and fewer ways to save her.'

'Shut up.' Ruby snapped back, 'She is not dying.'

'Your optimism makes me want to vomit. Get real here, Senna will die.'

'She will live. I'll make it so.'

'Since when was the last time you ever saved anybody?'

'Go away.'

'Face it, Ruby, you will never save anybody. Penny, Pyrrha. They all died and you did could do nothing because you can never save them. Stop lying to yourself. You know it's true because I am you. You're just some girl playing fairy tale.'

'Shut up.'

'You can't save anybody. You never will. Lie all you want, but you have your doubts. And that is fueling me. Making me stronger. You can feel losing control of yourself as I crawl further into your mind till I get to snap you into an empty shell.'

'Shut up, shut up, shut up!'

'Ha-ha-ha. The more you resist, Ruby, the stronger I get. You won't save anyone because it that fear of their deaths working against you. I will kill everyone you love. That is the inevitable. They will all be dead, and it will be...all...your...fault...as...always.'

'It won't happen. I won't let it.'

'Senna is going to die. Ren is going to die. And Ichigo... I am going to make that prude scream your name in hate when I bring his whole life crashing down. And you'll be watching it all.'

'SHUT UP!'

"Ruby!" called Senna, getting Ruby out of her trauma, "Behind you."

Ruby had enough time to summon her aura to defend against a claw hand of a hollow. She quickly dispatched by cutting its head off with her zanpakuto, and bisected the next that came.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui."

Blue fire surged out of Ruby's hands and pushed the hollows away with a wall of fire. Looking back, she saw that the shoulder Ruby put her hand on was bruised from being squeezed tightly. Ruby cursed herself from falling for her dark self again like that.

"Almost... done." Senna panted.

Ruby held back more hollows with Kido blast, but was losing her hold on Senna. More hollows swarmed the couple, and Ruby wasn't sure if her Aura could withstand so many attacks. It left the scythe-wielder with a gamble. She paused her attack on the hollows and latched onto Senna's soul. She quickly went through a chant and a golden glow surround Senna giving her new strength.

"Ruby, what did you do?" Senna asked.

"I unlocked your Aura." said Ruby, unsealing Mazazoru, "Can you keep going?"

Senna nodded. "Just a few more."

Ruby dashed to bring the slaughter to the hollows. All they would remember was a glint of silver before the blade twirled through their head and limbs. It was becoming a haze the more Ruby fought. She felt strong, and her pumped a thousand times more. Her dance became more brutal and vicious, leaving some hollows alive but limbless. And the sight of blood was driving Ruby into a new kind of crazy.

'This feeling.' thought Ruby, 'I've never felt so - good in my life. I need - no, it's her. She's doing this to me.'

'Ha-ha-ha-ha. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Don't you see?! I'm already making myself home here!'

Ruby willed herself to ignore the rush in her head and quickly sliced through the hollows in quick kills. She felt a sting on her right eye like it was flooding with fire. It was far more vile than when she used her silver eyes. Ruby ignored it for now and took care of the last of the hollows.

"It's done." Senna breathed before collapsing on all fours in exhaustion.

Instantly, the Valley of Screams was shaking as the Blanks were no longer there to maintain the dimension. The earth crumbled and the sky split apart. Outside, Ichigo and Ren flew up to the portal to safety. Ruby pushed all her willpower from her internal conflict with Gruby to grab Senna and use her shunpo and Semblance combo to get to the portal. Unknown to Ruby, the stinging in her eye grew worse as the whites of her right eye turned pitch black and white matter formed at the right side of her face.

(Karakura Town)

Team SIRR emerged from the water and landed onto the bridge just in time to see the portal flash a brilliant light before disappearing. Ichigo apprehensively looked around him, and sighed in relief seeing Senna with them alive and well.

"Well, Ruby," said Ichigo, "I guess that means mission accomplish right. Ruby-"

Ichigo was interrupted when Ruby suddenly pushed Senna into him. Her body convulsed and twitched like she was in pain, and she buried her face in her hands. Ren stepped in a few paces back with a cold sweat on his neck. The orange head was about to voice his concern for Ruby but silenced sensing a familiar and deadly feeling leaking out of Ruby like a waterfall.

"Ichigo," groaned Ruby, swaying her head side to side, "you - have - to get away - from me."

"What's going on, Ruby?!" exclaimed Ichigo, but in the back of his mind he knew what was happening.

'This is bad.' thought Ren, 'Kisuke informed me of Inner Hollows, but this is sickening. I feel like the air was freezing around me.'

"I can't - control - her." Ruby groaned out as her voice became more demonic. She suddenly stopped twitching and convulsing. Blood red reiatsu laced in white exploded off of Ruby creating a wind pressure that slid Ichigo and Ren back. 'Ruby' lifted her head, revealing the same mask covering the right side of her face, the black eyes with red irises, and the maniacal grin that could give Ichigo's own hollow a run for his money.

"Guess who's back!" cackled the hollow of Ruby.

'Crap-' swore Hichigo.

"-baskets." Ichigo finished his hollow's curse.

Ren grabbed Senna and barely shunpoed away before Ruby's scythe crashed down forming a crater where the Huntsmen once stood. Those mad red eyes were locked onto the unconscious form of Senna. Ichigo could feel the dark malice from those eyes reminding him more of Grand Fisher than a normal hollow. There was an intelligence in her killing.

"Don't run!" 'Ruby' cackled, launching herself forward with speed faster than before, "Scream and bleed for me."

The hollow possessed Ruby was so much faster than before that Ren couldn't even get his body to move at his mental commands fast enough. Just a few feet before the massive blade of Mazazoru would cut into Ren's flesh, there was a clash of steel and Ichigo stood in the way. He was just fast enough in his Bankai to stop Ruby in her path.

But even in Bankai, Ichigo was being pressured by the rampaging Huntress. His expression didn't show the same face he would make towards an enemy, but instead had a sorrow look in his eyes that he was raising a blade that he, dare he would think, considered more than a friend since recently.

"Don't make me do this, Ruby!" Ichigo shouted.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" laughed Gruby as she jumped back, "Sorry lover boy, but you won't be seeing Ruby for a long time. Unlike that dumbass in you, I'm going to make sure when I take control, I - will - stay that way. Forever."

"Give her back!" Ichigo demanded, charging forward.

Scythe and daito clashed with sparks flying off from the steel. Ruby swung a quick overhead that Ichigo swayed aside with Tensa Zangetsu. He was going to punish but Ruby's moved faster and Ichigo was forced to faint a slash to block the scythe from the side that came with even more strength. Ichigo saw another swing with a low slash that Ichigo tried to parry, but he was shocked to the lack of ground he should've been awarded. Gruby's smile stretched to a length Kenpachi would be proud of, and the mask was growing passed her nose and covered her mouth in a maw of canine teeth of a wolf.

Soon, Ichigo found himself on the defense, testing the speed of his Bankai just to avoid getting cut in half by Mazazoru that twirled as light as a feather in Ruby's hands. Ichigo could use Getsuga Tensho, but he would damn himself first before going at the chance of hurting Ruby with such an attack.

Gruby's grin grew seeing the conflict of resolve in Ichigo's eyes. "What's wrong, strawberry? Too afraid to hurt innocent, little Ruby? Eugh, just being reminded of how she thinks of you makes me want to vomit. It will be so - goood~ to see Ruby tear you apart with her own hands while she can do nothing to stop it. Ha-ha-ha-ha."

"Quit talking like you'll ever take her life away!" Ichigo snarled, putting his reiatsu in Tensa Zangetsu to gain an edge of power. Once their blades locked again, Ichigo pushed his legs to the limit to force Ruby back. "Ruby, listen to me. You're stronger than this bastard. It can never control your life. It is beneath you."

'Screw you.' cried Hichigo in Ichigo's mindscape.

To Ichigo's relief, he could see conflict in Ruby's red eyes. The grin turned into a snarl as she broke the lock to tend to her own problems. Her right hand moved on its own and grabbed onto the mask to pry it off. Ichigo relaxed seeing that Ruby was gaining control until Gruby brought back her smile and raised Mazazoru.

"I don't think so." said Gruby.

In one swift motion, Gruby willingly cut off Ruby's right arm above the elbow. The limb fell to the ground with a thud and a pool of blood followed from the wound. Ichigo's eyes widened in terror. Not even his own hollow is that crazy to cut off his own arm just to stay in control. His terror only grew when a black tumor growth resonated from the end of the limb. Both Ren and Ichigo visibly paled holding in bile as Ruby's entire right arm regenerated from bone to flesh. The new arm was pitch black in color with white needle-like protrusions lining the forearm and black claws adorning the fingers.

'You have to be ####### kidding me?' thought the male members of Team SIRR.

The remaining fighters felt the air bare down on them in intense cold. Crimson and white reiatsu erupted off of Ruby's body and ever so increasing via her spiritual pressure. Bones were cracking, and flesh reconstructed, but those red eyes stared back at them through the dark energy. When it cleared, Ruby's human body had taken a drastic transformation. Her red cloak was now hung over her left shoulder. White needles covered her arms from shoulder to wrist where the hands had five fang-like claws each, and her feet were reformed to that of a black wolf. Ruby stood a foot or so taller with hunched back, her skin as black as ash with traces of crimson lining her body, and a white spot over her chest where a hollow's hole would be. Her red-tipped hair had grown passed her shoulders from behind her head. Finally was her face now covered by the skull of a wolf; an Alpha Beowulf in Ren's case with those murderous red eyes staring back at them with a curved horn over each of them. Ruby, now this creature, didn't give a roar but gave the same maniacal laughter that spoke volumes of torture and cruelty promising all in its sight.

Ichigo's sword arm was shaking. Not in fear of dying though, but a much worse fear. The kind of fear that one he held precious was probably lost yet again.

That's a wrap. Since this incident with Ruby's inner demon, she will have no choice but to go to the Vizards to help. This will also make Ichigo come along if only to look after Ruby. Also, what do you think Senna's Semblance should be? I want to revolve around how there are autumn leaves surrounding her kind of like with the roses of Ruby's Semblance.

Up next is Chapter 23.

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