The Whole Hollow
Chapter 4
Thank you to those who offered suggestions as to how Ichigo will reach Adjuchas level. I will put those suggestions to use this chapter, so look forward to it. I'm also open to suggestions as to how to have Aizen steal the Hōgyoku from Rukia. She didn't lose her powers this time, so Renji and Byakuya won't come to collect her for execution, unless something special happens.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
After getting thoroughly thrashed by the Visored during their training session, Ichigo was resting in the training area. He was interrupted however, when he felt a powerful Reiatsu and heard the bone-chilling roar of a Hollow.
"Just great," sighed Ichigo as he got to his feet, "so much for my rest."
"Be careful, Ichigo," said Urahara as he walked up, "that Hollow feels stronger than the ones you faced so far."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Ichigo as he leapt off.
"Be safe," said Urahara after Ichigo had left, "your father would kill me if I let you get killed. And that would be after your sisters tore me apart."
xXsceneXx
Ichigo leapt from roof to roof, following the intense Reiatsu toward his next prey. He could tell that Kisuke was right and this Hollow was far stronger than any he had fed on before. Nevertheless, Ichigo continued to head toward the source so he could do his duty and protect the town.
When Ichigo arrived at the location, he saw a hollow that looked like a human with grey skin covered in bone armor with the lower half of a white spider with a red skull design on it's abdomen. The Hollow's hands were razor sharp claws and a white mask with six glowing red eyes and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth covered its head.
"What are you doing in my city?" growled Ichigo.
"Hmph," scoffed the spider Hollow, "You're not even a Gillian and you think to demand answers from me? I am an Adjuchas, and you are a mere infant."
"I don't care what you call yourself," said Ichigo, "I'll still beat you."
Ichigo then charged at the spider Hollow, reading his claws to tear through the enemy Hollow, but he was knocked to the side by one of the Spider Hollow's claws, causing him to slam into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.
"Pathetic," said the Hollow, "you're all bark and no bite. Let me show you real power."
The Hollow raised its two front legs and pointed the tips of them at Ichigo. Crimson energy began to gather in between the tips of the two spider legs, forming into a sphere of energy that Ichigo recognized rom his training with the Visored. Ichigo could feel the power behind that attack and knew he'd better dodge or get blown away.
"CERO!" yelled the spider Hollow as he fired a blast of crimson energy at Ichigo.
The young Hollow barely had enough time to dodge out of the way before the blast tore through the street he had been lying on. Ichigo looked at the swath of destruction that had been cut into the pavement and snarled at the other Hollow.
"Do you understand now?" laughed the spider Hollow, "That's the difference between an Adjuchas and a puny Hollow like yourself."
"Just shut up!" Yelled Ichigo as he tried to slash at the Hollow again.
The spider Hollow blocked Ichigo's feral attacks with its claws and legs and threw him into a wall with ease. Ichigo pulled himself out of the rubble with a growl and attacked again. This time, the Hollow underestimated Ichigo, and the younger Hollow managed to tear a chunk out of the spider's legs that he quickly devoured.
"You bastard!" roared the spider Hollow in anger and pain, "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Now I'll never become a Vasto Lorde! I'll have to make sure you never do either!"
The enemy Hollow leapt into the air and began to charge numerous Ceros, one on each of his eight legs. The balls of energy then floated up and merged into a single sphere of energy in the Hollow' clawed hand.
"Tremble in fear, maggot," said the Hollow, "this is the difference between you and me! You'll never reach my level. Not in a million years!"
The spider Hollow fired the eight Ceros at Ichigo, the eight beams merging into a single, massive blast that streaked toward the One Guardian.
"Santen Kesshun!"
Suddenly, a triangular orange shield expanded between Ichigo and the blast, completely blocking and negating the attack. Before the Hollow could react, it was forced to dodge a punch from a red and black fist covered in a blue flame, leaving it open to a powerful punch and kick combo from Tatsuki as she appeared in a blur and attacked.
"You know," said Ichigo, "you were half right. I'll never reach your level of power. Not by myself. Fortunately, I don't stand alone."
"A few extra humans won't defeat me," snarled the Hollow.
"We'll see about that," said Tatsuki as she shot at the Hollow with her fist cocked back, "Ikkotsu!"
Tatsuki slammed the Hollow's body with a powerful punch, causing a chunk of it's armored carapace to be blown away. The Hollow roared in pain at the sudden injury and fell to it's knees. (or whatever spiders have for knees.)
"But how?" demanded the Hollow, "I am an Adjuchas! I shouldn't be beaten by a group of humans and a Hollow that isn't even a Gillian!"
"We fight together," said Chad as he charged energy in his armored arm, "that's why we won't be beaten. El Directo!"
Chad punched forward and fired a blast of energy from his armored fist that tore off one of the Hollow's arms. The Hollow grabbed the stump and roared in agony.
"This city is under our protection," said Ichigo as he walked toward the wounded Hollow, "remember that in the next life."
Ichigo grabbed the Hollow's mask and ripped its head clean off, devouring it and the rest of its body. As he turned to leave he suddenly felt a burning feeling where his heart used to be and he fell to his knees, letting out a roar.
"Kurosaki-kun!" exclaimed Orihime.
"Tatsuki," said Chad, "you're the fastest of us. Get Urahara and Tessai!"
"Got it," said Tatsuki as she disappeared in a blur of speed.
Ichigo continued to roar in pain as voices began to appear in his mind. There were voices of children, parents, men, and women. All the people that had been devoured by the Hollows that Ichigo devoured began to cry out in his mind. Due to the stress, Ichigo began to release a lot of his power, causing Orihime and Chad to falter a bit under the force of his Reiatsu.
"Kurosaki-kun," gasped out Orihime.
"Ichigo," said Chad, "hold on."
Ichigo began to thrash on the ground as the souls inside him began to fight for dominance. Suddenly he felt several chains bind him and saw Tessai and Urahara standing there, Tessai having just cast Sajō Sabaku on him.
"Ichigo," called out a familiar voice, "you have to focus. Focus on maintaining your sense of who you are among the souls that are crying out. You have to gain control of the storm!"
"I'm trying!" Ichigo ground out.
"Focus," said hte voice, "who are you? What is your goal?"
'Who am I?' thought Ichigo, 'I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, the one who protects. I will keep my family and friends safe!'
Ichigo roared again and the voices faded away. His body also began to change. He became a bit smaller, around Chad's size, and his mask design changed from red designs on the left half of his mask, to two red lines that went over his eyes down to the bottom of the mask.
"Well done," said the voice before it faded.
'Was that Zangetsu?' thought Ichigo.
"What happened?" asked Ichigo.
"Congratulations," said Kisuke as he walked up, "you've done the impossible yet again."
Kisuke then slapped a tag on Ichigo, causing the young Hollow to feel his power get sealed slightly, allowing Chad and Orihime to get to their feet.
"Let's get back to the Shop," said Kisuke, "we have some things to do."
xXsceneXx
When the group got back to the Urahara Shop, Kisuke pulled out a set of prayer beads that he placed on Ichigo's wrists. He told him that it would help him control his new Reiatsu so that he could continue to hang around his friends.
"So Geta-Boshi," said Ichigo, "what was it that happened to me?"
"Well Ichigo," said Urahara, "to put it simply, you evolved."
"Evolved?" asked Orihime, "Like in the video game Pokey Monsters?"
"Somewhat," said Urahara, "for a Hollow, when it hits a certain level of growth, it changes form. Usually the souls in its body go out of control and it becomes a mindless behemoth known as a Gillian level Hollow. When one soul in the Gillian takes control, the Gillian will advance to the next stage and become an Adjuchas level Hollow."
"That Hollow did mention something about Adjuchas," said Tatsuki.
"Yes," said Urahara, "I believe the power boost you gained allowed you to evolve, but instead of becoming a Gillian, you were able to maintain your sense of self and move straight to Adjuchas."
"What happens now?" asked Ichigo.
"Now you need to devour more Hollows," said Kisuke, "lest you regress into a Gillian state. Luckily, I know where you can go to do that."