Hello again my good readers! Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Got a little carried away with my other fics (My bad). Now, last time, we saw Link falling under a curse thrown on him by Ghirahim, giving Ichigo little time to think about his amnesiac partner. Also, I will be attempting a new fighting scene method, so I apologize in advance if it sorta sucks.

Right where we left off last time

Ichigo watched wide-eyed as Link's bone armor finished forming. Instead of piercing blue, the young Hero's eyes were now red. The Goddess Sword had gone from having a blue hilt and a silvery blade to an evil looking, ebony blade sitting on a blood-red hilt. Not only had the hero himself changed, but Fi had been altered too. The stoic, blue, know-it-all spirit was now as red as her Master's eyes, her usually non-existent arms now deformed, gnarled claws. Despite all this, Ichigo noticed one thing in particular…

… It was just like when his Hollow took over…

"Crap, this is bad!" The carrot-topped teen yelled as he unsheathed Zangetsu once more. The elderly spirit then materialized at his side, holding his own version of the sword.

~ Indeed, Ichigo. But how did that Ghirahim cause this? ~ Before Ichigo could answer, he felt a strange pull on his zanpakuto. He looked down and saw… the head of his Hollow, poking out of the flat side of the blade.

"Hey look! I CAN come out!" He exclaimed gleefully before popping out his arms and trying to push himself out.

"HEY! GET BACK IN THERE YOU INSUFFERABLE ASSHOLE" Ichigo yelled before smashing the sword (and Hichigo) into a wall, effectively pushing the evil spirit in with a massive headache for the poor hollow. "Now… how to we get him back?" Ichigo muttered.

~ Perhaps it is similar to your Hollow mask. All we have to do is find a weak spot or a core… Like that glowing red piece in the chest ~ Zangetsu pointed at the chest piece of the bone armor, which was glowing red with a small orb in its center. Ichigo also felt a strong reiatsu flowing from that area. ~ I shall help you in this fight, Ichigo. I'm getting the feeling this won't be a battle you can win two-on-one. If we can shatter it, I am sure your friend will return. ~ Ichigo nodded to the spirit, before shunpo-ing to the cursed Hero. He appeared right in front of him, and was just about to plunge the black soul steel into the armor… and was met by the sound of cutting air as Link vanished before he could hit, making a distinct buzzing sound.

'That was… Sonido!' Ichigo thought startled. His training with Yoruichi kicked in just in time to turn around and block an incoming slash, a power clashing sound echoing through the room. Ichigo was forced to emit a burst of Reiatsu to push Link away, before retaliating with a downward strike. Link rose his armored arm, blocking the incoming cleaver without as much as a scratch. The only sound that came was a screeching sound, distinct to when metal meets bone. Ichigo gritted his teeth as he pushed harder, trying to break through the armor. His efforts were rewarded when he heard a resounding crack, and a distinctive zigzagged pattern appeared on the arm guard. The accursed hero reeled back, screaming loudly. He pointed his sword to the ground, the same way Byakuya did when he was going to release his Bankai, only that Link had a sadistic grin plastered on his face. A black light climbed from the tip of the blade up to the hilt, the sound of damned souls echoing with every inch the light moved. When it was full, D-Link (Dark Link) swung his sword upwards.

"HELLBOUND SLASH!" A powerful disk of black fire launched from the sword, setting everything in its path on fire. Ichigo instinctively dodged the attack, before retaliating. His reiatsu flared around him as he raised his sword above his head. He knew that if he was to win, he'd have to stop holding back so much power. The Reiatsu gathered around the blade as he swung it down…

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" The crescent-shaped blast of reishi flew towards its intended target, who raised his demonized sword to block it. The attempt was failed, however, as the blast easily overpowered the sword that was not yet fully awakened. The hero fell unconscious as the hero of souls rushed in and hit the core of the armor, shattering it. Just then, Zangetsu walked towards him, holding the unconscious blue spirit over his shoulder. "Well, that went well…"

~ Indeed. They're not dead, so that counts as a victory. ~ Ichigo was unable to refute the spirit's logic. ~ But that armor is definitely sturdy. It didn't shatter even after taking a Getsuga Tenshou head on. Granted, you didn't fire it at full strength, but the strength you used was enough to knock out Mashiro's mask… ~ Ichigo's scowl deepened. He did kinda miss the Vizards, but he was thinking about that armor. Would they be able to pound it into the core of Link's soul like they had with Hichigo?

"Alright, let's wake him up and find his girlfriend." Sensing the incoming question, Ichigo continued. "I'll worry about that damned midget later, ok?" Zangetsu nodded, hoping Ichigo wouldn't feel his own worry… "And yeah, I can feel you're worried about Sode no Shirayuki."

For the first time in known history, Zangetsu blushed.

A few minutes later.

Ichigo had woken Link up (by throwing his unconscious form into the water in the main room) before continuing over to the next room of the temple, where they hoped to find Zelda. Ichigo was hoping the girl would know how to bring Rukia back, and Link was just hoping to find Zelda. However, he felt a nagging voice on the back of his head as they walked, and it didn't belong to Fi… it was like his own voice, only darker and evil.

~{ hehehe… Run and run while you still can, hero. The minute I get the chance I'll take over you again!}~ Link rubbed his temples as the voice rang out loudly. He had no idea where that voice had come from, nor what had happened a while ago. It was like a haze over his memory that prevented him from remembering what happened.

"Oi, Link! You alright?" The teen's head shot up to the origin of the voice, his current travelling companion, Ichigo, and nodded. "Good, 'cause I got news for you…" Ichigo had opened the door leading to the deepest part of the temple and started to look around. "Your girlfriend ain't here…" He grumbled out. Link barreled past him to confirm that, indeed, Zelda was not in the area. "Oi, old man! Can you feel her reiatsu here?" Ichigo said to his zanpakuto. The spirit popped out of the blade and began to look around, taking an occasional sniff.

~ She was definitely here, but if I were to guess, I'd say the sounds of the fight frightened her off. Understandable, considering she'd just been kidnapped. I also sense the presence of another reiatsu, but it isn't hers. It also just left. I believe we're not alone in our search for miss Zelda… ~ Ichigo scowled deeply at that, and got so immersed in his thoughts he ignored what fi had begun to say. He's thoughts were rather simple…

'I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT IS HAPPENING AGAIN!' Yup, very simple. 'Why the HELL DID SHE HAVE TO LOSE HER GODDAMNED MEMORY! AGAIN! THIS IS THE MOTHERF****ING HOMURA AND SHIZUKU EVENT (1) ALL OVER AGAIN!' Meanwhile, inside the young Shinigami's soul…

~ He isn't gonna shut up, is he? ~ Hichigo asked, just about ready to go out and smack the King hard in the head. ~ I swear, the more he talks the cloudier it gets in here… ~

~ That is likely… ~ Zangetsu muttered, standing on top of his pole. ~ It is understandable. For such a thing to happen twice already must be rather frustrating. Remember what happened last time? ~

~ Of course I do… man, Rukia-chan got turned into that hot-as-HELL Hollow version of herself. ~ The hollow was practically drooling at the memory. ~ Man, I was rather disappointed when the King vanished the Hollow from her. ~ Zangetsu watched the negative spirit in disgust.

~ You are a sad, lonely being, and I pity you. ~ Was all he said before leaving the hollow alone. (A/N I agree with Zangetsu on this one!). Back outside…

"HEY, ICHIGO!" Link yelled for the third time, effectively getting the Shinigami's attention.

"Gomen, got lost in my thoughts. What happened?"

"Well, according to Fi, Zelda purified herself in this spring and is now headed towards another one, probably on another area of the Surface. I guess we should go and find her." Ichigo nodded.

"Did Fi say in what direction she was going?" The Hero shook his head, disappointed. "Ok, then we should go to that old lady. She might have some sort of an idea of where to go." Link nodded, his cheerfulness somewhat recovered, and started walking towards the exit. Before he could reach the door, though, Ichigo grabbed him by the back of the neck and used Shunpo to quickly go back to the temple, eliciting a sound that was heard all around the forest…

"AAAHHHHH!"

3.5 minutes and 5 screams later

Hitsugaya Toushiro was sitting in a small clearing in the temple, meditating, with Hyorinmaru doing the same at his side. Sadly, trying to meditate would be a more appropriate term, since Matsumoto and Haineko were bickering loudly about clothes and (unsurprisingly) sake. Both the Captain and his Zanpakuto were just about ready to freeze them solid when they heard an approaching yell, followed by Ichigo crashing in through the hall in the roof, carrying a pale Link. The Captain of the Tenth squad noticed something had changed within the young hero, but couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"Oi, Obaa-san." Ichigo started talking. "We just learned that this Zelda girl travelled to some other spring, something about a fire mountain or something like that. Link wouldn't stop screaming like a little girl so I had a hard time understanding him." The hero's response was to release a low groan of pain and dizziness, his eyes completely blank. The old woman thought about it for a second before answering.

"Yes, yes, now I remember. You must travel north, to the flaming reaches of the Eldin Province. The slab you found in the temple should provide you a safe passage there." The elderly woman said with her tired voice. Ichigo then grabbed Link by the neck of his shirt again and shook him awake.

"OI! Lazy-ass! Wake up!" He kept that up until Link had recovered some semblance on consciousness. "Meh, this is good enough. Listen, go back up to that floating island of yours and activate the slab, ok? I'll meet you in the province when you land." These words finished waking up the Hero of the Skies.

"Huh? You're not coming with me to Skyloft?" he asked, confused.

"Eventually I will. But, there's no warranty that Zelda travelled through air to the province. For all we know, she could be walking there. You go through the skies, and I'll go through land. One of us might find her along the way." Link nodded, knowing that Ichigo's logic was sound. He also knew Ichigo could move way faster than him, so it'd be for the best if he took the land. "Good, now get going." Link nodded enthusiastically before running out the door to where he had seen a bird statue. The group waited until he had left completely, and as soon as he did, they all turned towards the old lady. Zangetsu decided to come out for this. "Now, how about you tell us who you really are?" The old lady chuckled tiredly.

"Nothing can get past you Death Gods, eh?" She said with a smile. "All will be revealed in due time, but I belief that if you were to leave now, things would become clearer. The Captain here can accompany you if you wish. Just know this: My name is Impa." Ichigo scowled at the lack of information.

~ Oh, come on, Old hag. Quit shitting us and give us a straight out answer damn it! ~ the members of the Tenth Squad and their Zanpakuto spirits snapped around when a new voice entered the fray. They all watched wide-eyed as a black-and-white version of ichigo popped out of the carrot-top's blade, who once again smashed it against a wall.

"I said STAY IN THERE!" He roared at the spirit. Only now did he notice the other Shinigami in the room gawking at him.

"W-was that…?" Toushirou asked in disbelief. He was still staring at the ichigo lookalike, who, although he had been stunned, was not fully forced back inside by the blow.

"Yup. Everyone, meet Hichigo. The worst pain in the ass you've ever had the bad luck of meeting." Ichigo introduced his hollow as he prepared to bat him against the wall once more, this time succefully pushing him in. "Anyway, I'll be leaving now. Wanna come, Toushiro?" The captain muttered 'It's Hitsugaya-Taicho…' before answering.

"No. You know full well I don't deal well with hot temperatures. Besides, I've got a lot of thoughts to sort out." Ichigo nodded at the captain before turning towards the door. However, he was unable to resist hitting the captain with one final jab.

"As long as my sister Karin isn't in too many of those thoughts, it's ok." He the smiled satisfactorily when he heard the captain sputter and even fall flat on his back. Even Hyorinmaru was blushing. 'Hmm… I wonder if Karin has a Zanpakuto spirit already?' He thought before Shunpo-ing northbound.

10 minutes later

Ichigo was traversing a heavily wooded area, but he could already smell the sulfur coming out of the active volcano. He knew he still had a long way to go, but at least he knew he was headed the right way. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he heard a high-pitched scream, most likely female. Forgetting all about his current task, he ran towards the direction of the scream. There he found a young blonde girl, dressed in a white tunic, being harassed by some Bokoblins. Ichigo couldn't stand the sight, especially since the girl was unarmed and completely defenseless. He rushed in and quickly executed the monsters with some expertly placed slashes with Zangetsu. After making sure they were all gone, he turned to the girl, who had tripped trying to get away from the monsters, and offered his hand.

"You know, it's dangerous to go alone." He said as she took his hand and stood up.

"I know, but I didn't expect to be attacked by Bokoblins…" She said nervously. Thinking she might have some valuable information on either Zelda or Rukia, Ichigo introduced himself.

"Name's Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki." He said, extending his hand for a handshake. Something about the girl made him feel at peace. She took his hand and shook it…

"My name's Zelda. Just Zelda."

BAM! Nice way to end it, if I do say so myself. I'll try to update faster next time. I am so, so very sorry about that, I really am. This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out.

(1) from the movie Bleach: Fade to Black