Chapter 31 – Prelude to Lucifer's Deception (Lunar Maria)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

'Inner spirit speech'

'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'

xxx

Several long minutes later, Ichigo found himself walking in front of Sui-Fēng with his hands bound together with an exceptionally powerful Bakudō. There were multiple Onmitsukidō troops guarding him from all sides and a few members of Kido Corps were keeping close eye on the durability of the binding spell. All in all, he was surrounded, rendering any potential escape attempt practically pointless. In a group, they all walked towards the large room in the 1st Division barracks that served as the place for any and all Captain's meetings.

The large doors opened and Ichigo's guards stopped moving. Only he and Captain Sui-Fēng entered the room full of Captains, all standing in two separate rows, one on the left and one on the right side.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Receiving a slight poke to his backside, Ichigo walked further into the room, until he was standing right in front of the Captain Commander and between the two rows of Captains. Behind him, Sui- Fēng moved away and joined her colleagues. From the corner of his eye, Ichigo noticed his father looking at him with a worried expression.

'Sorry, dad.'

"Kurosaki Ichigo. You are here today because of your transgressions. Are you aware of what you have done?"

Ichigo kept his gaze pointed at the Commander but on the inside, he felt incredibly nervous.

"I am."

The Commander slightly opened his eyes and looked at him through tiny slits.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Ichigo slightly nodded his head and turned towards his father.

"I'm sorry."

When he said that, Isshin looked like he got hit with an arrow and a pained expression crossed his features. Ichigo turned back towards the Commander, who stared at him emotionless.

"Anything else?"

Gathering the last bit of courage, Ichigo released a short snort.

"Not worth it. Nothing I say will change your minds. I was guilty before I even did anything."

Several murmurs came from both sides and the Commander tapped the floor with his cane.

"What are you implying, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Nothing."

He could feel the Commander's reiatsu rising and fought the urge to wipe the one bead of sweat from his forehead that formed because of it. He couldn't afford to lose his grip, not yet. The game had only just begun.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. In the past instances where individuals gained powers of a hollow, these individuals have always been sentenced to death. A Shinigami that has broken the boundary of his soul with the use of a hollow is an exceptionally unstable being that quickly regresses into an animalistic state where it can no longer distinguish between an ally and a foe. It's a being that is powerful and dangerous to everyone around it." The Commander lengthily explained as he cast a stare at his fellow Captains.

"You are the first exception to the rule as you appear to be in control most of the time. By not forfeiting your life, I'm making you my responsibility and believe me when I say, Kurosaki Ichigo, that if you ever lose control and turn into a mindless beast again, I will not hesitate and use all of the power at my disposal to disintegrate you. Is that clear?"

There was a short moment of deafening silence after which some of the Captains started to whisper among each other with greater vigor than before. Ignoring those murmurs, Ichigo opened his mouth to speak but the Commander prevented him from doing so with another tap to the floor.

"However, your existence is not the purpose of this meeting. Because the Central 46 won't be renewed for some time, it is I who will decided in matters such as these. You have still broken laws and so you are to be punished. We are at war, though, which means incarcerating a potential asset would be counter-productive. Therefore, at the very least, you are to be carefully examined so that the Captain of the 12th Division can create an antidote that will prevent you from excessively tapping into your hollow powers and threatening your allies whether on battlefield or during peace times."

Somewhere out of his vision, Ichigo could feel Kurotsuchi Mayuri rubbing his hands and licking his lips in state of absolute excitement. It made his skin crawl. He shuddered and quickly took a carefully hidden peek to Sui-Fēng's face. She appeared to be not looking at him but as soon as his eyes found her, he could see her stealthily giving a short nod.

He gulped and then looked back at the Commander, who was penetrating him with a powerful gaze. Inhaling deeply, Ichigo forced himself to stay calm. Then he opened his mouth and formed a distressed expression.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know what will that freak do to me?! What he does to his own men?! I'll be left drooling and unable to form a coherent thought for the rest of my life! You can't do this!" He rapidly exclaimed, causing other Captains to look at each other, at him and at Kurotsuchi Mayuri as well.

"He's right, Commander! There's no telling what-" Isshin tried to support his son but the cane of the Commander hit the ground with enough power to create sparks and release a blast of air.

"Silence!" He stated loudly and then looked down at Ichigo.

"Tonight, you will be escorted to the laboratory of the 12th Division. My decision is final. Guards, take him away."

Ichigo growled and when he felt unknown hands touching his shoulder, he began to struggle. However, in the room filled with the upper echelon of the Gotei 13, he was eventually restrained with multiple layers of Kido spells that rendered him immobile and silent.

He could hear his father loudly protesting and, in his mind, he prayed for the man's safety. Before he was finally knocked out, he managed to sneak a glance at the Captain of the 2nd Division.

She was grinning.

…

Coincidentally with the Captain's meeting, a meeting of the Vice-Captains and some other important officers took place not that far away. If only because of the gravity of the situation, everyone was present and they all quietly discussed the current situation, eagerly awaiting any news from their respective Captains. Eventually, they waited long enough and, truth to the word, the news about the development of Ichigo's case were passed onto them.

Those news came like a corroding bullet that creeped into the officers like poison, developing a discord fast.

"Like I said before, my Captain thinks highly of him, but I think this punishment is way too lax." Nanao Ise, the Vice Captain of the 8th Division, suddenly broke the quiet murmurs with a loud statement. Almost immediately, she encountered different reactions.

"Do you have any idea what you are talking about?" Hisagi asked and stared at her as if she just grew a second pair of arms. Seemingly offended by the accusation, Nanao pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Of course I do."

"Have you ever been to the 12th Division's laboratories?" Kira asked her in his usual quiet demeanor and he, along with the rest, turned their heads to look at the Vice-Captain of said Division, Nemu. The young woman took the stares with grace and simply shook her head.

"I cannot speak of Mayuri-sama's experiments and projects."

Nanao glanced at Kira.

"Well, no. I haven't. What is your point?"

"His point is that you think you know what you are talking about, yet you clearly don't, Nanao-chan. Being sentenced to undergo an examination at 12th Division is worse than being incarcerated. I'd say it's even worse than being just outright executed." Rangiku explained in Kira's stead, causing Nanao to look at her in slight disbelief.

"I heard he doesn't treat his men very well but I think you are overreacting. He was told not to harm Kurosaki. Besides, this is for the good of the whole Seireitei. I, for one, can't imagine what it would be if a Shinigami-hollow hybrid ran amok in the middle of the Seireitei." She said, prompting another person to come to her aid.

"I actually agree with her." Tetsuzaemon Iba, the Vice Captain of the 7th Division, stated roughly. His attitude quickly caused more officers to join the great debate.

"Seriously? I thought you of all people wouldn't hold prejudice against those that differ from the others, Iba-san." Yumichika quipped from behind him as Ikkaku, who was sitting next to him, joined him with a nod. In response, Iba reached for the dark sunglasses he wore all the time and took them down, allowing them to see his narrowed eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's no longer a secret that Captain Komamura is an anthropomorphic wolf, so it stands to reason that you would agree with not discriminating against Ichigo." Renji called out to him with his eyes narrowed as well. Before Iba could react, Nanao spoke first.

"But it's not a discrimination! We are talking about somebody that could potentially turn out to be a great threat for dozens, if not hundreds of officers or innocent souls!" She exclaimed, her voice slowly gaining an irritated tint.

"I'm actually surprised Captain didn't kill him on the spot." The Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, lazily said from his soft-looking couch.

"Don't speak of death so easily. Killing should be the last thing you do. What you should speak of, is the reason behind him actually turning to a hollow. Most of you know Kurosaki, you know how he is. He managed to control his hollow part for so long, yet now he snapped? We should be helping him, trying to understand his reasons, not immediately disregarding him as an inconvenience." Hisagi stated in a quiet, yet powerful voice, that briefly silenced all of them.

"Y-You haven't seen him going berserk, Hisagi-san. I was there, after his last spar with Captain Zaraki, when he argued with Captain Unohana. I haven't seen anyone so… scary. And it wasn't his hollow, it was more of a… it was the look in his eyes. It was like looking into an endless abyss, something so dark it could swallow you whole." The one who dared to break the silence was the Vice-Captain of the 4th Division, Isane. She spoke quietly, but the expression on her face as she spoke told more than she could with words alone.

"He's not a monster." Rukia protested but her words were unable to get through to the gentle medic.

"Wait, so you actually agree he should be given to the 12th Division so they could experiment on him?" Renji asked, not even realizing his voice was getting louder. His face was twitching as his anger became obvious. Rukia placed one of her hands on his in an attempt to calm him down.

"Experiment is not the right word, though we should have something that could stop him as soon as he starts showing symptoms of turning again. Or would you like to use your approach and just talk to him while he's mowing us down one by one?" Nanao retorted and took a few steps to stand next to Isane.

"No. We should talk to him before that happens." Hisagi argued in an even voice.

"Where's the guarantee it will help?" Ōmaeda inquired.

"Where's the guarantee experimenting on him will help?" Renji glanced at Rukia and, after she took her hand away, crossed his arms so he could show his protest.

"But this is more than just him being partly a hollow. Do you think it's a coincidence that those students vanished exactly when he wasn't here?"

The discussion lasted for more than an hour, both sides unwilling to let go of their arguments. It only ended after the meeting was officially dismissed and everyone went their own ways. They managed to remain civil but the discord did not disappear. The corrosion was still flowing within their veins. The fear of unknown and uncontrolled was far too powerful for some of them to just let go.

As they slowly departed, two officers walked away together, whispering to each other in turns. The two of them strongly believed in their truth and in their opinion and were reluctant to just let their mutual friend go to the pits of hell called Laboratory of Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

"They did say they are going to escort him, so I think that's our only chance." Renji whispered while carefully watching his surroundings. Next to him, looking straight ahead, Rukia shivered.

"You know this is insubordination, right? We'll be in a lot of trouble for this." She muttered.

"I know but, like I told you, I owe him. I can't just let him go to that madman. He'll butcher him, turn him inside out and then throw him away, unable to form a single thought."

Rukia formed a tiny smile.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Renji."

When he heard the gentle tone of Rukia's voice, Renji's legs shook and he almost tripped. A smile formed on his own face.

"Like I said, I owe him and I will make it count. I didn't do anything when they threw him in prison but now it's different. I have to do this." He stated, his voice filled with determination. He could feel Rukia's hand lightly touching his elbow.

"Thank you." She muttered.

Then, the two of them stopped moving and their expressions froze. There was a cold steel of a blade pressed against Renji's jugular and a stealthy Kido bound Rukia's hands behind her back. Alarmed, they glanced at each other but the movement caused the sharp blade to draw a drop of blood from Renji's neck.

"What is this that I hear? Two officers of Gotei 13 conspiring together to help a criminal?" Sickly sweet voice whispered to them from behind, causing both of them to stiffen in fear.

"C-Captain Sui-Fēng…" Renji gulped and tried to ignore the unpleasant sensation of steel digging into his skin.

"Quiet. Do you see that abandoned shack on the right? Go there and wait."

And just like that, the pressure on Renji's neck disappeared along with the binding spell on Rukia. The two of them shook and glanced at each other. There was no need for words. They both knew they were in big trouble but they also knew it was pointless to try and run. The Captain of the 2nd Division could run circles around them in time it took them to even blink. Wordlessly, they nodded to each other and walked over to the shack. Hesitating just a little, they entered.

"Good."

The voice of the Captain came so suddenly, they both jumped in surprise. The building was devoid of any source of light and so they couldn't see a thing.

"Now, you will both listen to me very carefully. I have no intention of arresting you so relax. It's actually the opposite…"

…

Three hours later, Renji and Rukia stealthily approached their destination, clad in full cloaks that obscured their faces to the point it was impossible to recognize them by anything else but their spiritual energy signatures. Even that was difficult as they both kept it as low as possible. With the help of the night cloudy sky, they moved through the Seireitei unseen and unheard. It didn't take them long before they landed on the short wall on the side of a long walkway that went all the way to the 12th Division barracks, hidden in a distance.

"They should be here in a few minutes." Renji whispered as quietly as he could.

"I just hope they really will be alone." Rukia retorted quietly as well.

They glanced at each other and took a few calming breaths.

"She promised they will."

"That she did."

In just two minutes, they noticed a small convoy slowly getting closer. Straining her eyes, Rukia visually confirmed their suspicions and she gave Renji a short nod. The Vice-Captain of the 6th Division nodded as well and prepared himself. When the convoy got on a speaking distance, they both acted.

"Hmm?" A member of Kido Corps raised his eyebrow when he felt a light breeze blowing past him before something hit him hard and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. By the time his body hit the ground, the rest of the guards realized the situation and took their positions to release a barrage of spells, only to experience the same hits. Two of them managed to form spells but they were too slow in firing them and the accumulated energy in their hands slowly dissipated into the air.

"Phew, that went well." Renji muttered and then he, along with Rukia, looked at the person the guards had been guarding and escorting.

"Ichigo." Rukia whispered and hurried towards him to release all the bindings that prevented him from moving only to see him forming an apologetic, sad smile.

"I'm sorry, guys."

Confused, Rukia felt something hitting her in the back of her head and she immediately lost her consciousness. Widening his eyes, Renji grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto only to receive the same hit and his body slid to the ground just when the light vanished from his eyes.

…

Blinking, Renji felt himself slowly gaining his consciousness and when he opened his eyes and the sunlight entered his vision, he groaned in discomfort. Then he recalled what happened and frantically tried to get up, only to find out he was unable to move.

"What the?"

Then he noticed Rukia lying next to him, with her eyes opened and giving him the same look of anxiety he felt himself.

"Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Rukia. You were both caught trying to set free a known criminal, Kurosaki Ichigo. For this crime, you are to be judged and punished."

They both widened their eyes and tried to look up, to see the Captain of the 2nd Division standing above them, with a crowd of other people staring at them in disbelief. Almost immediately, Renji felt a burning fire spreading within his body and his face twisted into an angry grimace.

"You! You tri-" He was unable to finish his sentence because Sui-Fēng placed her foot on his head and pushed his face into the ground. Rukia tried to protest but met the same fate.

"Get them up." Sui-Fēng said and a handful of Kido Corps members forced both Renji and Rukia on their feet but not before throwing a multitude of restricting Kido spells on them.

"Good. I will escort them personally." Sui-Fēng said authoritatively, so that nobody present could object. As soon as she said that, she pushed the two bound officers and forced them to walk in front of her. Because of the spells, they were both unable to talk or concentrate on using their spiritual energy and the only thing they could do was to move their legs.

When they were far away from the crowd, Sui-Fēng rotated them just a little bit and forced them to move in a different direction. Forced to be silent, neither Rukia nor Renji could speak their minds but they could still alter their expressions.

They were severely confused.

After another fifteen minutes, they reached the bridge to the Central 46 Compound. It was guarded by several guards and so Sui-Fēng placed a hand in front of Rukia and Renji so they would stop walking.

"Captain Sui-Fēng." The guards bowed a little and stared at the two prisoners with questioning eyes, prompting the Captain of the 2nd Division to quickly form a friendlier expression. She pointed at Rukia and then at Renji.

"These two have broken the law and are to be judged in the Underground Assembly Hall." She said. The guards glanced at each other.

"Uh, sir, but the Central 46 hasn't been reformed yet."

"Yes, I am well aware. However, the Captain Commander managed to create a small assembly and wants these two to be judged by them as a test of their reliability. This should suffice." Sui-Fēng replied and handed the guards a small piece of paper. The guards narrowed their eyes but moved their sights on the paper. After a few seconds, they bowed and allowed the Captain a passage. She nudged both Renji and Rukia to move. Once they entered the building and the elevator in it, she pressed a single button. The elevator began to move with a low humming. When they reached the wanted floor, she pushed both of them out of the elevator.

Then, all of a sudden, every single Kido spell placed on both Rukia and Renji vanished. The two of them blinked in surprise and glanced at the Captain of the 2nd Division. Then they looked back at the place in front of them.

"T-This isn't the Assembly Hall."

…

Landing head first in an endless sea of sand, Ichigo coughed and rolled over on his back. For a moment, he spat away all the sand particles that got into his mouth and then, while looking at the never-ending night of the Hueco Mundo and its persistent Moon, he released a deep, heavy sigh.

"I hope she won't hurt them."

Then he just breathed in silence. As far as he was able to tell, there wasn't any spiritual signature in his vicinity, which meant either he landed in an empty part of Hueco Mundo or hollows didn't smell him yet. It somewhat calmed him down and he allowed himself to close his eyes and just ponder about the thoughts that plagued his mind.

'What should I do now?'

It all happened so fast. It had been only a few days but here he was, once again, in the land of the hollows. Once again, against his will.

Technically.

However, there wasn't much to think about. Even if his mind was filled with weird conclusions and ideas, Ichigo knew he had other things to do. With that in mind, he opened his eyes and slowly got back up on his feet. Unsteady on the sand dune, he dusted himself from the sand and looked into the distance. As he glanced from one side to another, there was only a large mass of sand that could fill entire oceans. With no landmarks and no stars, there was nothing he could use for guidance. Ever so rare, there were some ashen-looking tree constructs but they were far too small to be considered important.

Another sigh was digging its way out of his chest and Ichigo couldn't help but to release him. It was all just so overwhelming.

"Yeah, I don't think we thought this through." He muttered with his head lowered in defeat. But the emotion was fleeting and lasted for just a few seconds. Then his face hardened in concentration.

'I guess I'll have to widen the amount of space I can cover with my spiritual energy sensor. I just hope I won't get immediately swarmed.' He thought and slowly brought his hands together. Squinting at the moonlight, he closed his eyes and the crease on his brow grew profound.

A light, weak pulse of spiritual energy exploded from within him and travelled across the dunes of sand like a gentle breeze, blowing few sand particles along its way. Ichigo remained in his pose for a while longer and released another pulse, this one even weaker than the first. Then he waited and concentrated on his senses.

After more than half a minute, one of his eyes opened, followed with the other one only mere seconds later. There was a thoughtful expression forming on his face and his glassy stare gave away no thought. This state lasted only for a while and, once it ended, Ichigo turned slightly to his right.

"I suppose I have to start somewhere." He stated and started walking in the chosen direction with his head high and his shoulders tense. It was practically his first time in Hueco Mundo while in control of his own self and he wasn't really sure what to expect from such a place. Only thing he knew, he knew from the academy literature, and that wasn't much.

However, he was sure he shouldn't lower his caution and expect anything good. While not exactly a hellhole, Hueco Mundo was the world of hollows and that spoke for itself. Therefore, Ichigo moved at brisk pace but kept glancing at his surroundings, in case a hollow decided to try itself out on him and attack him from a blind spot.

"I should have borrowed one of Amagai-san's energy bars because I have a feeling I'll be stuck here for a while without any food or water." He muttered, disgruntled. Then he guffawed.

"Hah! Like I'd eat that stony brick. My teeth still hurt from the last time I took a bite."

Unaware of just how ridiculous he must have seemed to an outside observer, talking to himself in a land devoid of life, Ichigo continued his stride without lowering his swift pace. Hueco Mundo was a land of eternal night and so he didn't have to think about the sun suddenly rising and animals waking up.

'If there is anything in Hueco Mundo that resembles life, it is most likely not asleep.' He thought. Then he felt a foreign spiritual signature closing in on him. He shook his head.

'Me and my big mouth. Though, technically, I didn't say it out loud.'

"YIEEEAAAH!"

A large hollow that reminded Ichigo a mixture of a bear and a praying mantis appeared in his vision just after it leaped in the air. Ichigo watched its trajectory very carefully and realized he had to alter his own. The creature was clearly aiming to crush him under its weight.

He waited till the last moment and only when the large body was about to hit him, he swiftly hopped away. Once the hollow hit the ground, Ichigo waited no time before jumping above it and reaching for his zanpakuto. In mid-air, he pointed his sword down and then let himself fall down. Before the large hollow realized what happened, Ichigo's zanpakuto pierced right through it and pinned it to the ground.

"Gyaaaah!"

It roared in pain but Ichigo quickly dragged his sword through the creature and cut through most of its body, causing it to spasm in shock and then disintegrate into spirit particles. Brutal, but effective - purification was complete. Without giving the slowly dissipating reishi any attention, Ichigo turned away and leaned into his feet to continue walking but then felt something odd. He glanced back, but the hollow's corpse was already gone and there was nothing else that could cause the sensation. Ichigo blinked multiple times and his eyes darted back and forth, though he was still unable to determine the origin of that weirdness.

'Hmm.'

Narrowing his eyes, he slowly turned his head and started to walk. The sand dunes beneath his feet regularly gave away under the pressure of his weight and soon, Ichigo couldn't help himself but growl in frustration. The sand was ever present and because of his footwear, he could feel it under his toes, between his toes and on his toes. It was almost as if his socks didn't exist. At first, it was annoying but the more distance he covered, the more sand got caught between the fabric and the surface of his legs and the particles irritated his skin. When he was about to snap, he sensed two hollows approaching him at a fast pace.

A nasty grin formed on his face and he reached for the hilt of his sword. When the hollows entered his vision, he readied himself. Just like with his previous victim, he waited until the last moment and moved away only when the hollow was almost in his face. Brandishing his zanpakuto along the hollow's side, he ripped the creature open. Without losing his momentum, he spun around it and slashed against the second hollow that jumped at him from the opposite direction. He barely felt the resistance of the flesh and, before the creature realized it, he cleaved it in two halves. Both hollows were dead before they even hit the ground and Ichigo's stopped moving.

"Hm, no wonder it's so easy. These are just regular hollows." He muttered when to took a closer look at the creatures that were slowly getting purified. It was then when he felt another odd sensation and he quickly looked around to find the source of it. When he did, his eyes bugged out.

"What the hell?"

As the hollows' corpses turned into spiritual particles, some of them found their way to the tip of Ichigo's zanpakuto and, at the point of contact, the particles dimly glowed and seemingly entered the steel of the sword. Watching it unfold before his very eyes, Ichigo tilted his head and tried to think of an explanation but drew only blanks.

'If only I could speak to Zangetsu.' He thought. Then he realized what his words meant and felt himself getting sad. Inhaling sharply, he sheathed his zanpakuto and resolutely shook his head. Then he looked into distance and exhaled.

'I still have a long way to go.'

With that in mind, he got moving once more. However, the problem of the annoying sand returned in just a few minutes and turned his journey into one of constant swearing, angry scowls and occasional kicks in the air. It didn't take long before Ichigo declared a total war on the dried land and took his zanpakuto out of its sheath. Putting all of the frustration into the sword, he swung as hard as he could and watched in satisfaction as the wind pressure blew large amount of sand away from him. But the elation from victory lasted only for a moment and a sour expression crawled onto his face.

"Son of a…!" He blurted when he realized his attempt had been completely pointless as beneath all the sand he had just blown away, only more sand awaited. Cursing his own naivete, he stomped on the dune and then let himself fall down. After his ass hit the soft ground, he stuck his legs forward and decisively took off his sandals and then the socks as well. He dusted his feet and felt an extreme bliss spreading all the way from the soles of his feet to the tip of his head.

"Ah, freedom." He moaned in satisfaction and closed his eyes. For a while, he just sat there and let the moonlight tickle his body. A smile of a man that had fought against the windmills and won spread across his face. Many things happened and many things were about to happen, yet for just a fragment of time, he felt good. Then his eyes snapped open and a heavy sigh escaped his lips.

"Is five minutes too much to ask?"

Four spiritual signatures blinked into existence way closer than he would have been comfortable with, leaving him with no other choice but to interrupt his rest. Like a squashed spring, he sprang into action in a split second and so when the hollows reached him, he was already prepared.

What he wasn't prepared though, was the ground giving way under the weight of all four creatures hitting it at the same time. In a terrifying groan, the earth collapsed and opened up a large hole so dark, Ichigo couldn't even fathom just how deep it was. He tried to get away, to somehow leap away, but one of the hollow's claws found him and the weight of the hollow snatched him from the air and forced him to experience a free fall.

"Oh shit!" He screamed and felt his breath getting faster from the sheer fear of potentially falling to his death.

'I can barely see anything!' He thought in alarm and prayed there wasn't anything he could hit on his way down, aside from the inevitable bottom of the abyss itself. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he thought about it, a sturdy looking spike rose from the darkness right below his legs. Because of the lack of light, he spotted in far too late and even though he tried to bring his knees to his chest, he felt the tip of the protrusion tearing through his left calf muscle. Tears immediately formed in his eyes.

"Oh crap…" He whispered when something briefly illuminated the area below him and he saw dozens of similar spikes scattered all around.

'I should have learned more Kido.'

His eyes widened as a desperate thought entered his mind and offered him a crazy solution to his deadly problem. Knitting his brows together, he quickly focused on his spiritual energy and began to pump it into the palm of his outstretched hand. When the spikes came into his vision again, he knew he had gathered way too much of his energy. But that was intentional.

"Hadō #1. Shō!" He exclaimed and, from the palm of his hand, fired an extremely overloaded basic Hadō that snapped few of his fingers in several different directions but also released a large wave of kinetic energy that demolished everything in its path while also slowing him down with the recoil. He was still falling at high speed but, because he fired the spell not that far away from the bottom of the abyss, his body was unable to accelerate to the previous speed.

"Gah!"

Like a sack of stones, he hit the ground painfully and far too rough to not receive injuries. He felt and heard several bones creaking in protest, his backside was killing him, he sported multiple small cuts but the worst was his calf. It was missing half of its original muscle mass and was bleeding quite heavily.

"Son of a-argh!" He growled in pain and bit his lips in order to stay quiet.

'Damn that hurts! If only I knew Kaidō.'

Looking around himself with clenched teeth, he tried to study his surroundings to determine where he was but the pain was too sharp and so he glanced back at his leg and frowned deeply. In an act of random thinking, he pushed a big amount of spiritual energy into the wound in hope it could numb the pain. To his surprise, as soon as he did that, the muscle tissue along with the skin began to regrow at the rate that was clearly not humanly possible.

"Huh. I knew I could regenerate fast but this is… wait."

A several similar instances of such regeneration came to his mind and a particular thought occurred to him.

"Is this… high-speed regeneration?"

He watched his calf muscle slowly gaining volume with a questioning gaze but then his eyes fell upon his zanpakuto. Something in his mind clicked.

"Right, I'm part hollow. Makes sense."

When the regeneration of the muscle ended, new skin began to envelop it and Ichigo nodded to himself with his lips pressed together in a sign of amazement.

"Neat."

Since the pain was now bearable, he took the moment to glance around himself. The four hollows that had attacked him earlier were nowhere to be seen. Though when he glanced at the numerous sturdy spikes that he now realized were just tree-like structures he had seen before, he came to a conclusion that the hollows were most likely dead.

"Still, where the hell am I?" He asked himself in an uncertain but also aggravated tone. Only thing he could see so far were the odd ashen tree structures and dark moving pillars.

'Wait a minute. Pillars don't move.' He thought and squinted his eyes to see better. Then his spiritual sense sent him an alarming report of a myriad spiritual signatures scattered all around. The realization dawning upon him, he cursed under his breath.

"Damn it."

'Those are Menos Grande, the Gillian type hollows.'

When he tried to count all the signatures, he soon became aware that it was pointless to do so. It would take him minutes if not longer to finish. Not thinking twice, he lowered his reiatsu to try and not attract attention. He could handle a few Menos, a dozen or maybe even a bit more.

'I can't handle this much, though. I doubt even the Commander could. It's like there are hundreds, thousands of them here.'

He licked his dry lips.

'It was kind of odd, to know that there are three evolved types of hollows yet I couldn't see, hear or feel any of those when I was above this abyss. Is this, perhaps, their hiding place? Why though? Or are these just a large group that decided to live underground? Not one of academy books mentioned this.' He thought and carefully moved from one shadow to another, using as little energy as he could. But luck didn't stay on his side for very long and, not even realizing it, he bumped into something that felt softer than the petrified trees.

"Huaaaaaaa."

Ichigo jumped in surprise and quickly spun around, only to notice a large Menos Grande towering above him. The large hollow was staring right at him and Ichigo had to make a split-second decision.

'Crap.'

His body tensed in preparation to make a fast escape but he didn't move an inch.

'I know… I know I shouldn't stay or else they'll all swarm me.'

The Menos began to slowly open its mouth and Ichigo clenched his teeth. There was something primal, something beastly emerging from within his consciousness and it caused his heart to beat faster.

'But I don't want to run. I want to fight!' He mentally exclaimed and hurriedly unsheathed his zanpakuto. When the creature started to gather energy around its mouth, he leaped in the air. Once he reached the peak of his jump, he pressed his feet against a tree branch behind him and shot even higher. When he was just above the hollow's head, he tightened the grip on the hilt of his sword and slashed downwards. The steel of his blade cut through the large masked head and, letting himself fall down, Ichigo kept it within the hollow's body. When his feet touched the ground, the Menos began to fall to both sides in an eerie squelch, his body vertically cleaved in two.

It wasn't over though, as Ichigo spotted another Gillian that had been standing behind the first. Its mouth was already opened and there was bright energy already forming in front of it. With no time to lose, Ichigo raised his free hand and pointed his index finger at the creature.

"Hadō #1. Shō!"

The kinetic energy produced from the spell hit the hollow right in its head and caused the energy to dissipate and the hollow to topple over. During its fall, Ichigo stuck his sword into its lower body and ran along it, matching the creature's falling speed with his steps. As soon as the large head hit the ground, he sliced upwards and caused his zanpakuto to rip through the mask and to come out in the open.

Something approached him from behind and Ichigo used his momentum to turn around and slashed. Just like a kitchen knife dipping into butter, his blade cleaned through the unsuspecting hollow before it realized it was dead. Blood spurted from the creature and splatted against a nearby tree.

The corners of Ichigo's mouth curled upwards and he felt something within him waking up. Adrenaline spread through his body and his heart pumped blood in haste, almost like it was afraid. His pupils dilated slowly but steadily.

In the darkness, he noticed slow movement and squinted his eyes to see better. A moment later, a row of Menos Grande came into the moonlight, with their mouth opened and bright red energy humming in front of them. Without hesitation, Ichigo raised his free hand and opened his palm.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hadō #63. Raikōhō!" He quickly chanted and, just as the hollows were about to release their attacks, a massive lightning strike shot from Ichigo's palm and crashed into them.

A series of explosions reverberated through the area and Ichigo stared at the result of his spell with a satisfied grin. His Hadō obliterated the whole group of hollows and opened up a path. However, the red energy the Gillians succeeded in gathering didn't just vanish like before and, instead, drilled holes in multiple trees and caused their large branches to fall down like harpoons.

Ichigo struggled to maneuver through them unharmed but, once he did, he realized the consequences of his actions. Slowly turning around, he noted that dozens of Menos Grande were now aware of his presence and started to advance towards him in their typical, slow but loud fashion. The sound they made only further alerted more and more Gillians and Ichigo pressed his lips together.

Then he stopped and formed a grin instead. Some of the reishi from his dead opponents once again travelled towards the tip of his sword, but he no longer cared.

"Screw caution. It's time for some fun." He said and rested his zanpakuto against his shoulder. For a few moments, he waited until the Menos closed some of the distance. But when he saw them opening their mouths, he acted.

End of Chapter 31.

Well, well, well, I'm actually keeping my word and posting regularly. Shocking, I know.

There's not much I want to say about this chapter. I think it speaks for itself. Hope you like it. Though I'm curious about one thing. I always talk about my chapters' titles and subtitles and that I always choose them carefully, so that they aren't just a cool phrase but so that they encompass the chapter itself with an intention to give you a hint or two. Do you think about them or just skip them entirely? Just curious.

To reviews:

MugetsuIchigo - *cough* nope *cough*

Danget the critic - happy to hear you still like it even after rereading. Ichigo's luck is a mysterious thing indeed. I agree with the Yuno part and regret ever creating her in Yuno Gasai's image and not a completely separate OC and that I handled her kind of poorly. Vaizado will appear in the story in the future chapters but frankly speaking, Bleach has way too many characters to focus on each so I have to make sacrifices if I ever want to finish the story. And I'm glad you think so too, shorter chapter really do help.

Cyboshi & Darkness in shadowland- don't die yet, I have many more cliffhangers in store for you.

The Last Kenpachi - Aizen-senpai is just way too dreamy.

blarg7865 - I thought about Shinto and there will be parts of it featured in the story but probably not as many as from the other mythologies. Also, I have Hell already thought out (not Shinto but something else). Soul King is the only God currently active in this story. Gin will do a creepy moonwalk though I don't plan on focusing on it. About Aizen - wouldn't you like to know, huh? xD. I'll just say that the part with Quincies is in the planning stages and everything will come down in it. If i can manage correctly, all the mysteries, hints, foreshadowings and small details I already put into the story should collide there as well. I'm having a blast just outlining all of it.

- about other stories (I think it deserves its own paragraph), I do have many ideas I'd love to turn into actual stories on but I don't think I can do all of them. After I finish this story, I may return to my Naruto story to finish it but with the arrival of Boruto, I kind of lost the inner flame for Naruto world I used to have. I thought about another Bleach story but from Aizen's perspective that would be partially crack fic about the shenanigans with his zanpakuto spirit. I also thought about doing story from To-Love-Ru fandom. During the latter parts of last year, I also fell back into Harry Potter fandom and read about fifty stories and came up with one of my own (featuring Harry with brain damage that renders him mute and emotionally dead). There are more but these ones are the best thought out atm. Maybe I'll start one of them but even if I did, it wouldn't be for many months.

NinjaFang1331 & Scarease - thank you.

With that out of the way, I wanted to let you know about the structure of this story. I posted it on my profile, but here it will be seen by more people. Basically, the story is divided into 8 arcs, with the chapters of the 4th one being currently posted. It goes like this:

1. Perdition Arc - (Prologue to Chapter 4)

2. Rebirth Arc - (Chapter 5 to Chapter 15)

3. Conspiracies Arc - (Chapter 16 to Chapter 25)

4. Enlightenment Arc - (Chapter 26 to Chapter 41) - current arc

After this, there will probably be four more arcs, which corresponds with me saying we are reaching half of the story.
Also, right now, these arc names are temporary and may change in the future.

5. Agent of Judgement Arc

6. Fake Arc

7. Sins Arc

8. Apocalypse Arc

Well, that's all, this AN is already too long so with that, peace out!

Next chapter -

Chapter 32 - Lion in the Lion's den (Frontier of the Ancients)

- should be posted 1st/2nd February!