Chapter 2

Ichigo woke up slowly to the sounds typical of battle echoing throughout his broom closet. He turned over onto his side and tried to ignore the sounds of steel clashing with steel coming from the warehouse's main floor; unfortunately, he couldn't manage to fall back to sleep. As he crept out of bed, he realized he had no other clothes other than his Shinigami kimono, could he wear anything other than this in his Shinigami form he wondered. His thoughts were interrupted however by a sudden shout and a loud crash from the main floor. Ichigo jumped at the racket, swung the door of his room open, and ran into the main floor; in the large space, two of the Vizaird were sparring, one of which Ichigo recognized as Dell, surrounded by a few others who were cheering them on or simply watching. Ichigo realized he had been holding his breath and took a sigh of relief as he walked towards the fight. He passed through a ray of morning light and bathed in the warmth for a moment before catching the eye of his teacher. Dell stopped for a moment to wave but was quickly put on his ass by his opponent. Ichigo wasn't certain, but he thought for a moment he had seen a tooth fly across the room after the punch.

"AUGH! Kensei, you bastard," Dell shouted from his seat on the ground, "I think I might've lost a tooth."

"Stop whining and stand up." Kensei said without hesitation.

The fight continued as it had before Ichigo's arrival and after a few dramatic slashes from Dell and solid punches from Kensei Ichigo's teacher ultimately yielded victory to his opponent, who had locked Dell's arm behind his back.

"Uncle! Uncle! I said 'uncle' you dense bastard!" Dell yelled. Kensei smirked and let his fellow Vizaird up and slapped Dell's shoulder as he left the ring and made his way to Ichigo. Ichigo, who was about to make a smart comment about Dell's lose, was grabbed by the shoulder and swung around and led to the door by him.

"Where the hell are we going?" Ichigo asked annoyed.

"Urahara's Shop." Dell answered.

"Why?"

"Training."

"Stop giving me one word answers!"

"Stop asking me obvious questions." And with that said, Dell pushed Kurosaki Ichigo out of the door, patted his shoulder, and directed him to follow as he strolled down the sidewalk. Ichigo wasn't happy in the slightest to be pushed around by Constantine; the man annoyed him almost as much as Kon, the perverted mod soul that was possessing Ichigo's body so his family didn't notice his absence. However, Ichigo could feel something about Dell that felt similar. Something about his power that reminded him of his own, so he reluctantly followed and both student and teacher made their way through Karakura Town in the waning morning hours.

About thirty minutes of almost silent walking later, the two had arrived at Urahara's Shop. A large mustachioed man pointed Ichigo and Dell to a backroom, where Urahara sat waiting for the two.

"Welcome back, Dell." The shopkeeper said, "What can I do for you?"

"We need to use your underground training… thing." Dell said. Urahara nodded and stood and kicked over a nearby rug to reveal a ladder leading down into a surprisingly well lit and massive space. It seemed to be modeled after a rocky desert or something of the sort; Dell had decided it'd be the perfect place to train Ichigo's Hollow mask duration. After all three of the men had climbed down into the training grounds, Dell walked over to a spot that seemed suitable and yelled to Ichigo.

"Get over there." He pointed to a spot opposite himself, Ichigo obliged, "It's about time I formally introduce you to someone."

Ichigo watched curiously as Dell brought out his own tiger-esc Hollow mask.

"Who is it you're introducing me to?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"We fought and you do not remember me, young Kurosaki? I am disappointed." Dell spoke in the growly voice Ichigo had heard in their first spar.

"What the hell happened to your voice?"

"My name is Akuma," it announced, completely ignoring Ichigo's inquiry, "I am the Hollow that resides within Dell Constantine."

"The hell?" Ichigo asked, his confusion growing.

"Young Kurosaki, calm yourself. I am certain you felt my presence earlier, so do not be surprised."

"B-but how in the hell?"

"Do not ask questions, young Kurosaki. We are not here to talk but to train you, so take up your zanpakuto and summon your mask."

Ichigo took a breath and tried to put his mind and his many questions to rest for the moment. He raised Zangetsu and took an offensive position as Akuma did the same. The Vizaird's zanpakuto in hand, he and Ichigo launched themselves at one another, roaring in unison. Urahara watched silently from his perch on a nearby plateau as teacher and student's sword strikes echoed throughout the open space. He was judging Ichigo's growth, Ichigo was concentrating on the training, and Dell was allowed to take a back seat as Akuma fought.

Constantine sat in his mindscape, an empty and almost completely silent country side. The only sounds being that of a light breeze and those accompanied by one. With a few hours of free time ahead of him, Dell took this chance to reminisce about his own training to control his Hollow powers; all of the Vizaird had trained, but their experiences were a slightly different from one another's. Dell remembered that the others didn't have a Hollow within their souls, simply Hollow Reiatsu injected into them by Sosuke and his posse, so, unlike them, Dell was forced to deal with a new tenant that had made itself at home in his soul. He remembered fighting Akuma for days in his mindscape till both he and the Hollow were both exhausted to the point of collapse. Having fought to a standstill, the two of them agreed upon their current terms, being that Akuma will consent to lending Dell his power but can refuse to if he sees fit. 'I wonder if the kid had to go through something like that.' Constantine thought.

Back under Urahara's Shop, Akuma had Ichigo pinned with his back to a large stone, his broadsword grinding against Ichigo's Zangetsu. The substitute Shinigami, who's mask had dissipated, could feel himself losing against Akuma's strength, so he gritted his teeth and shouted,

"BANKAI!"

Bloodied and bruised, Ichigo Kurosaki stood on shaky feet and gasped with equally shaky breath. He had managed to block another swing from Akuma, but only barely; his opponent wasn't completely unscathed either but he was much less injured than Ichigo. Akuma lowered his zanpakuto and spoke,

"You did well today, young Kurosaki. We will continue this when you recover." The Hollow mask dissipated and his sclera returned to their original white. He breathed a pained sigh and stretched before speaking again in Dell's voice.

"Oh shit, Akuma what did you do?" Dell leaned forward with his hands on his knees, "Ooooh, everything hurts."

"That was… crazy." Ichigo said through pained gasps. Dell took notice of Ichigo's poor health and led him away to a nearby man-made, or rather Urahara-made, spring, and while Ichigo undressed and eased himself into the comfortably hot waters, Dell went and made himself comfortable on a rock. "I think the time I could keep the mask on got longer."

"Probably, it's almost dark out after all. We've been at this for hours."

Ichigo sighed and looked down at his slowly healing wounds. He had bathed in a similar spring back in Soul Society when he trained with Yoruichi, and Ichigo was more than glad to have such a convenient way of bouncing back from his wounds. He zoned out and could feel himself dozing off, but he was shook awake by Dell.

"You're looking better, so get your clothes back on and come on." He ordered, "We're going to grab a bite on the way back to the warehouse."

"Go on without me, I'm not done in here yet." Ichigo tried to wave away Dell. Who, annoyed with his pupil, grabbed Ichigo by his arms and lifted him from the spring.

"He-HEY! LET ME GO, BASTARD!"

"No, I don't think I will." Dell said with a smirk.

"AT LEAST LET ME GET DRESSED DAMMIT!"

Ichigo managed to convince Dell that he needed a few more moments in the healing springs before the two left Urahara's underground training ground. As they were leaving, Ichigo took notice that Urahara had stopped Dell for a moment; he couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Dell seemed happy to hear whatever it was Urahara had told him. Ichigo waved it off and walked with his smiley mentor until they found themselves in front of a very common fast food restaurant.

"Come on. I'll pay." Dell said as they entered the doors.

After an awkward encounter with a child that happened to be able to see Ichigo as a Shinigami and an obnoxiously long line teacher and student left the humid atmosphere of the restaurant with two paper bags, sporting large golden arches in the shape of an M. Dell made himself comfortable on a nearby bench and motioned for Ichigo to take a seat beside him.

"I hate McRonald's with a passion." Dell said as he took a large bite from his burger.

"Then why are you eating it?" Ichigo inquired.

"Okay, it's super convenient, right? This type of place is just a tra-." Suddenly Dell stopped, his rant cut short by something that had sent a chill up his spine. It wasn't an overwhelming feeling, but it was noticeable. The presence he felt made him stand up cautiously, after everyone's experiences with Arrancar in the past week or so Dell was having a hard time deciding whether the Hollow Reiatsu he was feeling was either really close or really powerful. He motioned for Ichigo to follow him as he ran down the sidewalk towards the source of whatever it was that had shown up.

The spiritual pressure became stronger as they went and was at its strongest as they entered a forested area off of a hiking trail. Dell stopped Ichigo as he slowed down to a brisk walk and, as they entered a clearing in the forest, found the source of the Reiatsu. An extremely large man stood silently in the center of the clearing, wearing a similar white and black outfit to that of the other Arrancar they had seen. He gazed over his shoulder to look at Dell and Ichigo, his eye only opened slightly before closing again. Turning around, Ichigo and Dell could see just how massive this man was. His arms dwarfed the trees surrounding them and he himself made both the Vizaird and the Substitute Shinigami before him look like garden ornaments in comparison. He looked down at the two and his long face showed no emotion as he spoke.

"I, Choe Neng Poww, have been tasked by Lord Barrangan to swat whatever flies have proven themselves a nuisance." He said evenly as he stood imposingly, "Are you the annoying flies I have come to crush?"

"Maybe," Dell said, "but I promise you, we'll put you on your ass faster than you can say 'shine'."

"Shi-?"

Dell hurled himself toward the giant and opened his mouth to speak but was quickly swatted away by monster's hand. He collided with a few trees on his journey towards the ground, splintered wood marking his trail. Ichigo stared up at the massive Arrancar with Zangetsu drawn and Hollowfied. With a yell, he charged forward and swung at the Arrancar's leg, only to be blocked by its open palm. Ichigo jumped back to avoid the fist that was flying into the ground where he was standing not a second ago, and only barely managing to escape the collision. The dust thrown up by the fist hitting the ground blinded him for a moment, but he was quickly brought back to the fight by another fist that he could not dodge. Instead he used Zangetsu to block the monster's punch. He pushed back and launched himself forward, slamming his shoulder into the stomach of his opponent. Poww was thrown back a few feet but he was still standing, but not for long. Dell flew out from the forests surrounding the clearing and connected a kick with the Arrancar's jaw, cracking and shattering a portion of his mask fragment.

"Yes! Take that, fucker! That's what you get for throwing me through like a dozen trees!" Dell screamed triumphantly.

Poww slowly rose from the ground, blood running from his mouth down his chin and staining the chest of his coat a bright red.

"Ichigo, take the left and I'll take the right!" Dell shouted. Ichigo nodded and both teacher and student charged the Arrancar. They both swung and jabbed but could not puncture the monster's palms and forearm that met them, yet as they began to pressure the beast and push him back their swings and stabs began to leave shallow wounds. Poww's hands and forearms were now stained with the blood from many shallow wounds, and his breath was becoming quick and labored.

"Enough!" He shouted as he pushed the two back with whatever strength he had remaining. He quickly pulled out his own zanpakuto, which might as well have been a pen in his hands, and as he unsheathed it he shouted.

"Breath! Calderon!" A sudden and unnaturally strong gust of wind shoved Ichigo and Dell back, Ichigo's kimono flapping violently in the wind and the tattered remains of Dell's jacket flying off him. Soon, the dust settled and the two looked up at the now skyscraper sized monster before them. As they backed away to take in the sheer size of the beast, their eyes widened as they witnessed Poww's now massive jaw unhinge to reveal the endless abyss that acted as a throat. In this void, they took notice of the ball of light that was building in the back of the monster's gullet.

"Ichigo, use everything you have left and wound him! I have an idea." Dell yelled over the sound of the Poww's Cero humming as it built up. Constantine leaped into the air, using Shunpo to jump to reach the Arrancar's face. He needed to be level with its eyes if this were to have any effect. On the ground, Ichigo thought back to his first encounter with Ishida and the Menos. He tightened his grip on Zangetsu's hilt till his knuckles turned white, and lifted it over his head. All his energy built in the tip of his blade and as he swung he shouted with everything he had left.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" The arc of spiritual energy smashed into the left side of Poww's body, leaving a deep slash on all of his body as Dell finally reached Poww's face; he hovered there and held his zanpakuto in front of himself, both hands tightly gripping the hilt.

"Shine, Hikari no seiken!" The zanpakuto shone brightly and a sudden flash of brilliant light that could be seen for miles encompassed both Dell and Poww's face. The brilliantly bright light and the scorching heat emitted blinded and burned Poww, leaving him in agony; and to add insult to injury, Dell Hollowfied and reached out his hand. A Cero quickly grew in his palm and, as the dim red light could barely contain itself, Akuma whispered, "Die."

He released the Cero and Poww, blind, charred, and bleeding, was bathed in the destructive power of Dell's own ability; as the Cero dissipated, all that was left of Poww was a mountain sized and headless corpse. Dell fell back to the ground and silently patted Ichigo's shoulder. As his and Kurosaki's Hollow masks dissipated, exhaustion over took Dell and he collapsed face first into the dirt.

"What a flashy asshole." Ichigo muttered as he dragged his mentor's unconscious body back to the warehouse. No one else had arrived so Ichigo decided to not tell anyone about this little encounter and if anyone asked, he'd tell them he kicked Dell's ass during training. As Kurosaki muttered to himself, not too far away, Kisuke Urahara was standing before two cylindrical pillars in the space beneath his store proudly. He knew Ichigo, probably more than Ichigo knew himself, and Urahara knew Ichigo would want to save Orihime, so, as the air distorted between the columns, Kisuke opened his own homemade Garganta for the first time.

"Tessai, is it supposed to be sparking?"