Yeah, nothin' much happened in the last chapter. It was there for Ichi and Kuro to make amends. ;D
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Chapter 13
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Ichigo jumped across the buildings, searching for a large group out of the many that seemed to have invaded the city. After a couple of minutes of searching, he came across a group of six. He stared at them for a few seconds, deciding on how to approach them. A small grumble emitted from Ichigo's stomach, and his choice solidified.
His eyes turned yellow and black, a look of hunger overtook his features. The hybrid's body started spreading black reiatsu over itself, widening, lengthening, and growing where needed. Within a minute, a lizard like hollow crouched on the roof was where the hybrid once stood. His tail swishing back and forth in excitement.
'Hang on. Those are...'
'Adjucha... King.'
'They smell good...'
'They should. They have more power than a menos.'
'Perfect...'
Ichigo climbed down the wall of the building, his nails digging into it. He stayed there, half-way down, his head facing the group. They all looked supplemental. Which one to eat first? Hm... Oh well.
The orange haired hybrid pushed himself off the wall and into the center of the group, attacking an adjucha that looked like a demonic unicorn with claws instead of hooves, and deer antlers. A quick slash with his pale talons, and a bite to its neck. It quickly fell over, and gradually disappeared.
'It's loaded...!' Ichigo thought in excitement.
He turned around just in time to see another adjucha jump at him. This one looked like a deformed ballerina, all puffy in weird places and pointy feet and hands. Its fist rammed into Ichigo's left shoulder before ripping itself out, covered and dripping in black blood.
"That hurt, adjucha..." Ichigo growled quietly.
Black reiatsu filled the hole, and pale skin formed over it. The wound was healed, and Ichigo jumped at his new prey.
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Rukia ran through the city, killing the hollows she came across. Her focus landed on a certain hollow, its mask appeared to be fused with its body. It had an animalistic figure, like the combination of a crocodile and a large wolf.
'An adjucha?!'
"Shinigami..." It said.
Without warning, a large amount of pain erupted in Rukia's right leg. A quick glance down showed the large amounts of blood seeping out of her leg, four large gashes in her pants. She turned her attention back to the first threat just as its jaws were about to rip her head off. Shirayuki's clean white blade became wedged in its muzzle. A paw came up in an attempt to break it.
"Dammit..."
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Ichigo ripped the arm off another adjucha, its piercing cry sounded off just as it was eaten. The orange haired hybrid blasted a cero behind him when he felt a rapidly approaching reiatsu. Then a small wave of pain swept through his body as his arm flew off and forward a few feet. His spine-tingling screech filled the air before his arm was back again. This time, ripping the offending adjucha's head off and swallowing it.
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Just as the crocodile wolf chimera adjucha was about to snap at the black haired shinigami again, a blast of glowing black energy shot through its head. The shock wave sent its body about a meter away as it dissolved. A loud scream echoed through the city.
Taking advantage of the situation, the other adjucha lashed out at Rukia from its hiding spot. Only this time, she was able to stop it from causing her harm.
"First dance; Tsukishiro."
She jumped out of the circle, as the large pillar of ice shot up and around the adjucha. It then shattered, as did the creature inside it.
Rukia turned towards the source that had killed the adjucha that went after her head. A mass of about three or four abominations were (what looked like) arguing... or was it fighting? She couldn't tell, nor did she care. The black haired shinigami charged at the group, Shirayuki and her wielder ready to cut down anyone or anything that stood in their way.
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Ichigo's head shot up when he felt Rukia's approaching reiatsu. He had a limb from a fourth adjucha in his mouth, dangling. The other two on his right front and back left. Within a second, the one to his right ran towards the rapidly nearing foe, and jumped at her.
Rukia raised her blade, and slashed at the adjucha. A small fight breaking out between the two.
The orange haired hollow hybrid took the initiative, and attacked the last adjucha. Within seconds, Ichigo was swallowing the last one that posed a threat to him. He then turned towards Rukia and her problematic adjucha. That was when an idea popped into being.
Rukia brought her blade down on the adjucha again, missing yet another shot at killing it. This one was much more agile than the other ones she had fought. It had avoided getting fatally wounded with each stroke she had sent to it.
A loud screech once again ripped through the air, and the adjucha started vanishing. Rukia couldn't drop her guard though, as pale claws came hurtling towards her head after going through the adjucha. Rushing wind wept past her, the lizard-like hollow sliding to a halt behind her. Small streams of blood trickled down her cheek; two of the nails had touched upon her face, about a centimeter under her right eye.
The black haired shinigami turned around quickly, a silent and unofficial staring contest starting between Ichigo and Rukia. Rukia lost, when Ichigo started talking. His voice recognizable to only those who had heard it when he was in this form before.
"Shinigami..."
He was doing his part.
Ichigo licked the blood off his fingers, stopping midway. A shiver of anticipation went through his body at the taste of highly concentrated reiatsu in her blood. His eyes showed only happiness and eagerness.
"You will die. The natural order will be carried out."
"Wha-what?!" Rukia's eyes wided. "There's no way a hollow is going to kill me!"
"Oyatsu (1)... You will be tasty."
He was playing it well.
Rukia charged at Ichigo, her blade ready to kill for the insult so easily thrown at her. He dodged the blade as if he saw it coming from a few kilometers away. Ichigo used shunpo, and landed on the side of the building he came down originally.
Enraged, Rukia went after him, using shunpo as well. Her blade hit the building with great force, frost starting to grow from the deepest part of the damage to the building. A quick glance up gave Rukia a view of the lizard-like hollow 'smirking' down at her.
"Ne, shinigami. Too bad I have other things to do. I'll be back later."
Ichigo turned around, and shunpo'ed away from the pissed shinigami. Vanishing completely from sight and sense. It was as if he was never there. The only proof was the two scratches on Rukia's cheek.
Too bad he played the role perfectly.
"Fucking hollow," Rukia mumbled to herself, following the trail of another adjucha invader.
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Isshin fought against the last adjucha that came out near his home and clinic. Yuzu watched the patients inside, knowing something threatening was outside and being dealt with.
When he was done, he informed Yuzu and left. He had a couple other things to attend to.
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Dusk hit the worn city of Karakura seemingly way too late. Adjucha kept popping up just about every hour. All shinigami and those with usable spiritual abilities were exhausted from the reiatsu spent keeping the city safe from too much harm.
Rukia slowly limped to the Urahara Shoten. The blond shop owner and his close friend – Isshin - were talking on the porch. Isshin was in his shinigami form, a few scrapes here and there, but looking fine otherwise.
"Ah, Kuchiki-san. Welcome back," Urahara greeted, waving his fan along with his hand. "You look like you had a busy day today. Have you seen Ichigo-san? I forgot to talk to him this morning as he ran out the door."
"What do you need, Urahara?" A syrupy voice questioned from the roof of a neighboring building. He was lying down like the Sphinxes of Egypt; legs tucked into his stomach, arms out directly in front, head looking down at the shinigami below him.
All three outside occupants looked shocked at the hollow subtly claiming to be Ichigo, who was lying on the roof without a care. Urahara and Isshin didn't seem too surprised though. However, Rukia recognized him immediately and drew her zanpakuto.
"I'll kill you this time, you fucking hollow!"
She jumped at Ichigo, who simply rolled to the side to avoid the white blade.
"Calm down bitch. I ain't gonna hurt you."
"Like hell! I bet you were planning on eating me the first time you saw me!" Rukia's voice was filled with rage and impatience.
"Really? I never planned on eatin' you the first time I saw you walking through my wall."
The black haired shinigami charged at him, thinking the key he gave her to his identity was a lie.
Ichigo grabbed her blade, black blood flowing slowly from the small cut it caused. He brought the blade down, gold eyes staring through the mask at Rukia. His reiatsu increased, applying enough pressure to let her know that he could kill her if he felt the urge to do so.
"I'll fucking kill you, you damned hollow."
"Now, now. I don't think killing Ichigo-san will solve your stress problem Kuchiki-san," Urahara said, appearing behind the black haired shinigami. His fan hiding his face, but his eyes bearing down at the two on the roof.
Ichigo let go of Shirayuki, his forelegs landing on the roof of the building. Rukia's head jerked from Ichigo to Urahara in a repeating pattern.
"Why are you protecting it?!"
"Because he doesn't want you killing me; stupid, aristocratic shinigami."
"Ichigo..."
Isshin landed next to his son, a warning glare sent his way. Said son rolled his eyes – if that is possible for hollows.
"Why not join us in your usual form, this looks a little awkward."
"Since when are you one for caring about your appearance?"
A punch came out of no where, landing on Ichigo's mask. It slowly cracked, the left side (the one with all the red lines) falling apart. His visible face presented the usual annoyed scowl, his eyes still black and yellow though.
"That's what you get for lowering your gaurd!" Isshin laughed triumphantly at his son's pissed expression.
Slowly, Ichigo transformed back into his human-shaped form. Calling it a shinigami form was incorrect, as his hollow hole was there in his stomach, hidden at the moment it may be. His expression remained unchanged after the change.
"I-Ichigo?!"
The orange haired hybrid's attention was turned towards the small shinigami. "What?"
"You...? How...? Why...?"
"Complete sentences Rukia." He said quickly, while knocking on her head as if it were a door. "Those make communicating easier."
A swift punch went through Ichigo's clothes, stopping midway through his hollow hole. An even more shocked expression printed on Rukia's face at the lack of contact with flesh. Ichigo rolled his eyes while pulling her fist out of his stomach.
It took a few seconds for everything to get back into gear. "What the fuck was that, Ichigo?!"
"Your fist going through my gut?" Ichigo asked in mock innocence.
That earned his a smack to his skull. "Why didn't my fist hit your stomach?! You may be in spirit form, but I can still touch you!"
"Ne, Kuchiki-san. Haven't you figured it out yet?" The blond shop owner questioned, a tone that says 'how oblivious are you?'.
"No..."
"How do you think I was able to turn into a hollow? Magic? Concentrating my reiatsu? Well, yeah, I gotta do that, but... c'mon Rukia use that 150+ year old brain of yours! You know I have a hollow."
Her face remained in its shocked expression, the information slowly sinking in. Unfortunately, it was sinking in too slow for Ichigo's liking. He took off his black hooded haori and let his gi fall and dangle over his obi and hakama. The hole sat there proudly against the tan skin.
"When did... this happen?"
"You remember the last time I went to Soul Society?"
"Kurotsuchi-taicho did that?!"
"Encouraged it is probably more appropriate. Remember those experiments he did on me?" Ichigo asked, a hint of accusing sarcasm in his voice.
"Me and Renji tried to get you out of there before it got too drastic!"
"Really now? That's new."
"How could you not assume we'd try to help you?!"
"Well, we can start with: you didn't seem to be!"
"That doesn't mean we weren't!"
"Ya could've tried harder! You have no idea what the hell happened in that damned place, do you?! You have no idea what happened afterwards, do you?! Hell, you haven't even seen me in half a decade!"
"Who's fault do you think that was?! You threatened us with death if we followed you!"
"Yet you still didn't follow?! Inoue did something similar in the past, what changed your mind?!"
Rukia's blade flung out from its resting place, millimeters from Ichigo's nose. Tears were welling up just below the surface. All three males had their full attention on both Rukia and Shirayuki.
"How dare you say I didn't care...! I broke in twice into the 12th division labs searching for you! And twice they attacked me as if I was a ryoka. Nii-sama almost killed me the second time!"
"What got shoved up his ass? I thought he turned over a new leaf."
"Not with this, he didn't."
"Huh. I owe him a good kick in the ass when he leaves Seireitei..."
"Why the hell are you picking a fight with Seireitei now?! All these fucking hollows and what-not are starting to emerge, yet all you can think about is going against your side?!"
"My side isn't Seireitei's side, Rukia!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"I. Don't. Care. What. Happens. To. Seireitei." Ichigo dragged the sentence out as if the black haired shinigami was only 4 years old.
"How can you not care?!"
"Simple. I'm not a shinigami. I want nothing to do with the place that helped carve a hole in my gut."
"So... who are you with...?"
"No one."
An uncomfortable silence claimed the area. Glares being sent from the orange haired male as well as the black haired female. Isshin and Urahara glanced at each other, each thinking a similar thought: Let's stop this before it gets worse.
"So... Ichigo-san... what do plan on doing now that you're healed up?" Urahara asked, hiding behind his fan.
"Don't really know. I still have to get back at Aizen for almost killing me again."
"So...?"
"I'll stay here a while. Once he's gone, I can finally relax at home."
"You mean you're coming back here after this?" Isshin asked his son, a bit surprised.
"No. I have a small home in HM. No one bothers me there except for Aizen. He's found it extremely entertaining watching my every move."
"So, you're going to help Soul Society then?"
Ichigo thought for a moment. Unfortunately for him, his goals and Soul Society's goals intertwined. However, the (modified) saying: The enemy of my enemy is my friend (for now). bubbled into his thoughts. He'd kill Kurotsuchi if he ever saw him again, regardless of who he was siding with at the time.
"Unfortunately, that's what it looks like. However, there are certain people I will not hesitate to turn on if I ever see them. I warn you now."
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Haha, chapter 13 is late... big surprise! xD
Well, things should start to pick up next chapter. Hopefully. I'm not gonna give you guys an approximate deadline, as I'll most likely miss it.
(1) Oyatsu : snack inbetween meals - correct me if I'm wrong or off a little
Please note that Rukia hasn't seen Ichigo's completed mask in a while. Her mind was in the fight and her temper is therefore short, she did not realize it was Ichi.
On the topic of me having Ichi stand on all fours as a hollow, that's just how I see him when he's calm. I drew a picture of it actually, it's on my DA (I think it's my homepage in my profile). I see Ichi fighting on two legs, but wandering and what-not on four.