SAVIOR IN THE DARK

BLEACH x GARO crossover

"Now then, where were we?"

The arrogant boy in the Shinigami garb cocks his head to the side, idly spinning the sword with ease as he heaves a put upon sigh. The defeated form of his prey lays prone to the ground, its labored breathing the only indication the feeble creature is still alive.

ZERO FOR CONDUCT

"That's enough of that."

Blood spurts from the Substitute Shinigami's mouth, fine tuned reflexes have him gripping the offending blade buried in his chest.

The Cero charged on his fingertips dimming into nothingness.

Ichigo's face contorts with rage at the interruption, retaliating by having his arm jab at the throat of the backstabber. Calling upon his counterpart's special ability to close up the wound in seconds, he bits back a pained hiss from the backlash of using something so dynamically opposed to his own and forcefully breaking the balance that makes them one being.

Dislodging the attempted murder weapon from his back, Ichigo slides the short sword against the metal surface of his skull ring to set it aflame, gives it a quick twirl and then flicks it right back to the owner with unerring accuracy.

A dazed Sora watches as the man catches the speeding knife millimeters from his face between two fingers, extinguishing the flame as the makeshift projectile transforms into a bookmark. There's tear marks at the corner of its side, like it was torn in half.

Wiping off the dried bloodstains on his mouth, Ichigo sneers at the newcomer. "Et tu, Brute? You've got zero conduct."

'Brutus' laughs at the teenager's snark, the torn bookmark in his hand reverting back into a short sword. "It did catch your attention tho?"

Not to be outdone, Ichigo summons his Zanpakuto to his side with a mere hand gesture. "You bet it did."

In an outspoken signal, they begin their duel. The clash creating sparks of friction as they go head to head in a flurry of sword strikes. Until the man's short sword cleaves through the broad sword, the blade breaking as it got cleanly separated from the hilt.

'Flimsy shit.'

Undeterred, Ichigo uses the pommel of his broken sword to hit 'Brutus' on the jaw and score in a hit. The Zanpakuto wielder only then spares a second to eye his useless sword with disgust, about to swing down and unleash a powerful blast.

An action which is immediately negated by the short sword knocking the hilt out from his grasp, Backstabber 'Brutus' taking a page from his book with the knife throw trick.

He snorts. "Copycat."

"Where is Kurosaki Ichigo?" 'Brutus' the Backstabber (with the newly gained title Swordbreaker) demands, gaze sharp and assessing as he takes in the gradual transformation of his opponent.

Ichigo's healthy skin color gradually turning into a disturbing likeness to a corpse in its paleness while his fingernails sharpen into black claws.

The question effectively brings the Substitute Shinigami in a fit of hysterical laughter, the tone high and piercing like he just heard a fantastic joke. Recovering from his sudden fit, he jots a clawed thumb to his chest. "Sorry to break it to you, but I am Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"Fess up, Hollow." Conjuring another blade from his person, Swordbreaker 'Brutus' levels a sword at the teenager's throat.

Ichigo neatly blocks the sword with his arm, the blade straining against the gauntlet. "Nice try, Brutus."

Vivid green flames roar out in response to its owner's will, encircling them like an infernal barricade. The eerie glow drawing attention to the gold irises and black scleras of the monster masquerading in human flesh.

A maniacal gleam in his eyes that were absent from the softhearted boy who hesitated at the thought of bringing pain to Sora's sister once the true identity of the lizard monster was revealed.

Drapped in the ragged black clothes of a Shinigami encased in bone white armor, Hollow Ichigo's mouth stretches into a predatory grin at the prospect of a challenge.

"I wasn't really thinking of butting in but I couldn't resist slipping through the crack in his defenses. That idiotic King is just full of holes!"

The possessed teenager barks out a deranged laugh, relishing the taste of freedom at emerging triumphant in that split second battle of wills while his host got distracted.

That single moment of weakness is all it took for him to swoop in and take charge.

"Thanks by the way" The Hollow voices his offhand gratitude to a bewildered Sora, the incapacitated spectator and oblivious accomplice to the whole shebang. "You're a real pal."

"Kuchiki-san." Inoue Orihime pipes out after silently letting the transfer student use her mysterious powers to do her magic.

Kaido. The Shinigami Healing Arts.

Rukia have been so patient with her curious questions, the indulgent attitude as she explained everything reminding her a bit of Tatsuki. And Kurosaki-kun.

A tough exterior hiding a soft heart.

'It explains why they're close.' Orihime thinks with a mortified blush, remembering how she ran off and made a big deal out of an innocent spar.

She felt even more embarrassed when Rukia had laughed herself hoarse, the elegant transfer student wiping the mirthful tears at the corner of her eyes as she gave context to the park incident.

Rukia had also scrunched her nose in disgust upon hearing the rumors floating around their school, firmly denying any romantic inclinations towards her teenage Shinigami protege.

"What is it, Inoue?"

Orihime's train of thoughts screeches to a halt, bringing herself back to reality.

"It might be presumptuous of me, after everything you've already done to keep me alive" Orihime starts then takes a lungful of air and breathes out, meeting Rukia's curious gaze as she continues. "But I need to ask you a favor."

.

.

.

"I want to talk to my brother."

The hairpins clipped on Orihime's hair flash gold in response to her firm resolve, an untapped potential lying in wait to be let out.

"The hundredth day after a person is stained by Horror's blood...surely you know how they die, right? Unable to pass out, they suffer through the painful symptoms. They release a terrible odor, their muscles crumble and eventually die howling like a beast."

- GARO: The Golden Knight

A/N: The chapter title serves as a neat little reference to another GARO character that I've retrofitted into BLEACH, Zero the Silver Fanged Knight as the enigmatic Tsukishima Shukuro.

Fujita Ray (actor of Suzumura Rei) is perfect for Tsukishima so this combo was a no brainer. They have distinctly different personalities tho since Zero is more of a playful strawberry sundae loving devil hunter ala Dante.

Got the title from the debut song of BLOCK B sub-unit BASTARZ. Though you can interpret it as a reference to the french film if you want.

2022/01/01 - SO BABY NOW YOU FEEL LIKE NUMBER ONE SHINING BRIGHT FOR EVERYONE LIVING OUT YOUR FANTASY THE BRIGHTEST STAR THERE'S EVER BEEN!!!

BLEACH Thousand Year Blood War trailer unleashed an unholy screeching demon from the depths of my very soul. I might have replayed the trailer from different channels just to satisfy my cravings because the new remix of Number One goes hard. I love it. I also love how they visually used colors as motif for Ichigo's powers. REVERT YOUR ROOTS indeed.

Getsuga Tenshou was so beautiful. Also Orihime's eyes! I am in love.

Here's hoping the color pallete from the trailer gets to stay in the final production since its obvious they just cobblered together a quick presentation for the eager fans to chew on.

So aside from the fantastic news, I figured I should clean this chapter up a bit and actually refer to characters by their name.

Except Tsukishima because he never bothered to introduce himself so I had Hollow Ichigo strick a random name on him just to keep up with the classic tradition of Ichigo never bothering to remember anyone's name.