Ichi Guo stood in the center of a small clearing surrounded by flowers that tended to ward away monsters who disliked their unstable aura. Ichi Guo himself felt a little uncomfortable there. The conflicting feeling was making it impossible to accurately use his sixth sense. But it was the safest place the village had to offer, and he knew he was supposed to be lying low.
The elder of the village sent him there the second people from Cang Hui Academy started to show up. They were looking for him, or whoever it was that killed the spirit beast, and would turn the village upside down in order to find him. So the only safe thing to do was to wait for it outside of the village, in a remote spot in the forest that only Ichi Guo, Rukia, and Juo Shin knew about.
Ichi Guo and Rukia had found this spot themselves and quickly realised its effects on the monsters. It was their play spot. The place they could go to in order to relax without having to worry about the outside world.
Ichi Guo closed his eyes and focused on his inner world. 'Old man, you there?' He thought into the vast sky-scrapper city. 'Old man!'
'He ain't here!' The Hollow shouted after a few seconds. 'I've been looking ever since he showed up earlier, but I can't find a trace of that guy. He left me here alone with your sorry ass again!'
Ichi Guo frowned. 'Why? Why did he just show up when I was absorbing the spirit halo? And why did he disappear?'
'Speaking of spirit halos, when you going to be getting me another one of those!?' The Hollow said. Ichi Guo could almost feel the monstrous grin on his white face. His black lips pulled back to show black teeth.
'We can't absorb another one until I hit rank twenty.' Ichi Guo replied roughly.
'Bull crap! You got two essences! One spirit halo a piece, now feed me before I starve away!' The Hollow shouted back. 'Come on, just hunt down one more high level monster. With this last power up, you'd be able to kill it with ease. Then we can devour its soul and become stronger.'
'I don't devour souls!' Ichi Guo shouted back, a shudder passing though his spine. That was exactly what he had done. Once he had gotten free of the Ghost Wolf's hypnosis, it had been so easy.
A spirit master wasn't supposed to be able to absorb a spirit ring that old until after they turned rank 40. It would have been rather weak to a rank 40 for it to be worth absorbing, but too strong for a rank 30 to safely absorb. And Ichi Guo had managed it with relative ease at rank 10.
He supposed it was because of his beast type spirit essence; the hollow.
Someone with a cat beast type spirit essence might find things that a cat does come naturally to them. They always land on their feet, have good night vision, gain a taste for fish. So what would happen if someone had the essence of a hollow - a monster that devours souls in order to absorb their strength? Would they find it easy to absorb even stronger spirit halos?
'Don't be so childish! This isn't like the last world you were born into!' The hollow shouts echoed though the boy's inner world. 'This is a dog eat dog world! The strong rule over the weak and a spirit master could kill off your entire village and not a single soul would give a damn! If you want to survive, then start eating! Because none of the people who are coming after your ass are going to think twice about killing and eating an essence beast's soul if it means getting the edge on you!'
Ichi Guo was quiet as these words sank in. People would come after him. He knew that. Whether it was because they covet his power or in order to eliminate him as a possible threat, he would be hunted down. The fact that there were spirit masters in the village at that moment searching for him was proof enough of that. As long as he was in territory controlled by Spirit Hall, he would never be free. And in one year's time, it would be her turn to get checked for spirit power. If he wanted to keep his little sister safe, he would need more power, and he would need to move her to somewhere the Spirit Hall couldn't reach her.
'There isn't even a spirit halo in this forest that is worth getting. We'll have to search for one further south, once we get to the Heaven Dou Empire.' He mumbled into the inner world, shocking the hollow into silence. 'I'll grab Rukia, and we'll run there together. Spirit Master's aren't owned by their country there, so I will be able to apply for a spirit master's allowance. One gold a month should be enough to get by on until I hit rank twenty and can get more money.'
'Are... please tell me you're serious.' The hollow said, his excitement easy to feel for Ichi Guo. But before the young boy could answer, the hollow changed the subject. 'Someone's coming!'
Ichi Guo's eyes shot open as he heard a twig snap nearby. From the sound it seemed like multiple people. He immediately Shunpoed up into the tree line, out of sight of any who might come in.
Focusing on his ears, he used spirit control to amplify his hearing. The sounds were still blurred by the thick trees and the wind in the air, but he could make out the voices of two men complaining, and the sounds of a weak whimper. It wasn't Uncle Shin, or at least, he wasn't alone, or just with Rukia. The old man would have never willingly led someone to this place. Where they just guards scouting the forest? Seemed unlikely that they would stumble across his hiding spot.
Ichi Guo's heart jumped up into his throat as four men in brown rain desert cloaks broke though the wall of bushes, the two up front hacking at the plants using claws from some kind of spirit transformation while the two behind them dragged the crumbled form of Juo Shin.
"So, where the hell is the kid!?" One of the leading men demanded as he looked around the clearing. He had been twisted by his beast spirit's activation into something halfway between a man and a wolverine. Large teeth flashed underneath his gums and his hair was striped black and brown. Each of his fingers ended in five-centimeter-long black nails which he had been using to rip apart the thick bushes and vines that covered the clearings walls. His legs were aligned differently than human legs, formed in a more beastly manner.
"You better not have been leading us on old man!" The second of the beast men shouted, this one possessed a kind of bear's spirit, though it didn't show as much. His hands were covered in thick brown fur and his teeth were sharpened, but other than that he seemed human. If you didn't count the two bear ears sticking up out of his hair.
"Xiao Guo... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Xiao Guo..." Juo Shin mumbled nonstop as the old man cried. It was as if he didn't even notice the four men. He just kept staring at the ground.
"Hey! Answer when we talk to you!?" The bear man shouted.
"Give it up, old timer probably can't even remember his name at this point." One of the people holding Juo Shin up said before they dumped him to the ground. The two guys had nearly identical military style hair-cuts, but they weren't related. Ichi Guo gritted his teeth as the man who had looked out for him all these years fell to the ground, not bothering to stop himself from landing on his face. He just kept whimper the same phase; 'Xiao Guo, I'm sorry'.
Ichi Guo wanted to rush down, but his sixth sense could now read these four. The two that had been carrying Juo Shin had three spirit halos a piece, meaning they were ranked in the 30s, while the beast people were both up in the 40s with four spirit halos. Even with the difference in power, he was sure he could take one or two of them down before they noticed him, but he wasn't so sure he could handle all of them.
"So it would seem we have reached the spot." A fifth voice said as another man stepped out of the bushes. This one was dressed in a white suit and had his hands clasped behind his back. This guy had strange dark blue hair and a neck beard, and by the way he walked, it was clear he was in charge.
Ichi Guo cursed at the sight of him. Six. The man had six spirit halos. Not only that, while the other were all off guard at the moment, this man seemed to be surrounding himself with spiritual energy in order to fend off any possible sneak attack.
"There isn't anyone here, sir. I think the old man has been leading us on." The wolverine man said, standing at attention and shaking slightly, as if afraid of addressing this stronger spirit master.
"Hm... no. I believe the boy is here." The neck bearded man said as he took a few steps forward and looked around the clearing. Ichi Guo pushed himself out of sight, losing his own vision in doing so. "But anyone would have heard you coming! The way you all complain!" The four flinched at the sight of anger. "No matter, we will just need to lure him out. Kill the old man." Ichi Guo's eyes widened and he tensed up in his hiding place, shifting around the branches in his tree so that he could see.
"Hah! Gladly!" One of the two who had been holding onto Juo Shin lifted up a hand. Spiritual particles started to condense until he was holding a stone hammer. His arm was held up, ready to bring it down and cave in the village elder's head.
"No!" Ichi Guo Shunpoed out of the tree and did a sort of reverse bicycle kick in mid-air in order to drive a heel into the man's nose, adding the speed of his spin to the force of the kick. The bone shattered and was pressed backward into the man's skull even as teeth were sent flying.
The fragments in his skull would kill the man, or at the very least leave him with permanent brain damage.
Ichi Guo then turned on the second individual who had been holding Juo Shin. The man was shocked, but was quickly trying to raise up a spiritual barrier around his body.
Ichi Guo moved in before the barrier could be finished. His open hand was sharpened with his own spiritual energy in order to smash through the beginnings of the shield and was driven hard into the man's stomach. His fingers pulled back and a second hit occurred using his extended knuckles, before those too pulled in to make a fist for a third hit. At each stage a burst of spiritual energy was being sent into the man's body. The man spat out a mouth-full of blood as his legs crumpled and he fell to the ground.
The damage to the internal organs would be severe. If the man managed to receive medical attention from a skilled healer within the next three days, he might make it. Otherwise, death would be slow.
"You brat!" The bear man shouted as the two beast spirit uses moved in. Ichi Guo grabbed Juo Shin and quickly Shunpoed to the other side of the clearing, out of reach of the beast people who looked around in shock for a second before turning to see Ichi Guo. They looked down at their companions who were slowly chocking out blood. "You little bastard! I'm going to..."
"Out of my way." The blue neck-bearded man said, pushing past the other two who immediately shut up. "So you are the rumored boy. Well, let's see what you can do." He said with a grin. Ichi Guo's legs faltered as a spiritual pressure suddenly surged out of the blue haired man and hit him like a hammer. The weight was intense. Enough to get Ichi Guo to fall down to one knee. "Hmm... at least you know to kneel before your betters." The man said with a twisted smile.
Ichi Guo gritted his teeth and pushed himself back to his feet. "No... I won't!" He shouted, before releasing his Zangetsu and using it to push away the spiritual pressure from him, the same way he had guarded himself in his fight against Zaraki Kenpachi. As he let his spiritual energy flare, the spirit halo he absorbed became visible, the dark purple ring floated around the body of Zangetsu; the sword having changed once again into a pitch black butcher's knife the size of your average full grown man, its white wrapping fluttering off to his side.
The two beastmen seemed shocked to see the purple ring, but the blue haired man was grinning wildly. "You really are talented, withstanding the pressure of my spirit like this. But even if you can, the old man can't."
Ichi Guo glanced back to see Juo Shin flat against the ground. His skin was paler than the boy had ever seen it. It looked as though he was dying.
He didn't have time to be careful. He had to stop the spiritual pressure before it was too late. He rushed forward as fast as he could and preformed a two handed slash, aimed for the blue man's head, only to stare in shock as his blade passed right through and the image evaporated like smoke. "Where did he..?" Ichi Guo started but then stopped as he noticed the forest around him didn't feel right. The shadows were too still and he couldn't smell the flowers.
He was trapped in an illusion. A nearly complete illusion. He blocked off all his reactions to his five senses, focusing entirely on his sixth sense. Though his eyes were telling him that the two beastmen were backing away, his sixth sense told him that one of them was getting into attack range.
He dipped his head back as he felt the spiritual energy in the man's arm swinging out to grab him and swung Zangetsu in a wide arc towards the energy mass.
The blade slowed in mid-flight as it hit the spiritual energy the man was using to protect himself, but the Zangetsu's blade was sharpened to the point where it could cut through stone. The blade passed through and blood appeared at the tip. Not a solid hit, but still a hit.
Ichi Guo danced back, putting distance between himself and his attackers, waiting for their next move while holding his sword at the ready.
But the next move wasn't an ordinary attack. The blue haired man threw a wave of spiritual pressure in the form of a bullet straight into Ichi Guo. The force was similar to the first level Kido spell and knocked the boy off of his feet and slammed him into a tree hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs.
"You are an obnoxious brat, but this is as far as that goes. Cruel Dream: Tier 6 Skill: Walking Dream!" Ichi Guo's consciousness faded completely as a powerful spiritual energy forced his mind into a hibernating state.
"Damn that brat... I'll rip his head off!" The bear-man shouted as he grabbed his bleeding side.
"No you won't. We are taking him with us." Shi Nian said as he looked down at the boy. His eyes were wide open, but there was no sign of life in them. "Stand up." He commanded, and the boy did. "Good, my hypnosis seems to be holding."
"Why take him alive!? We should kill him after what he did! He killed..!" The wolverine man started before shutting up at a glare from Shi Nian.
"His head is worth a thousand of yours. Considering how unique he is, and at such a young age, I can't imagine what Spirit Hall will give us for him. He is worth more than this entire country." Shi Nian said as he looked closer at the sword as the two minions looked on his surprise. Was the boy really that valuable? "Just look at his essence spirit; A long sword with no guard and can cut through spirit force. To think that a back water place like this was hiding a descendant of the Seven Kill Sword Clan, even if he is a bastard."
The beast spirit users' jaws dropped. "The Seven Kill Sword... are you sure?" The bear-man said dumbly. The Seven Kill Sword was one of the rarest tool type spirit essences, belonging to a sub-servant clan within the Seven Treasure Glass Tower Clan. The clan only had a few living members and its head was the Sword Douluo, Chen Xin, perhaps one of the most powerful individuals in the world. The Seven Kill Sword was widely considered to be the second most powerful tool type spirit essence, right after the Clear Sky Hammer.
"A boy as talented as this, with that kind of spirit essence and whose first spirit halo came from a two thousand year old spirit beast. If we give him to Spirit Hall, they will reward us generously. Rank, power, wealth, even spirit bones; they will all be ours." Shi Nian said, greed clear on his face, before turning to the path they had made on their way to the clearing. "We are going, follow." He ordered Ichi Guo who simply obeyed in his sleep walking state.
"What about the others?" The wolverine-man asked, looking to his two dying comrades and the still whimpering old man.
"The smell of blood is in the air. Let the beasts eat their fill tonight." Shi Nian scoffed before marching on. His two remaining lackeys shuddered before making to follow. Their boss was a psycho, and they didn't want to be on his bad side.
Dear Angry Review; I'm going to try to make this as clear as possible. Ichigo doesn't have a problem with killing monsters whenever he needs to. It is the idea of absorbing their spirits that makes him uneasy, because absorbing another's soul in order to become more powerful is a very hollow like thing to do, and he doesn't want to become a hollow. He's fine with killing shit, he just doesn't like to eat souls.
For those of you who don't know much about Douluo DaLu, Chen Xin is what you would get if you combined Lord Sesshomaru and Kuchiki Byakuya. The ultimate 'calm and collected' badass who acts as a grandfather type figure to one of the female main characters in the show. Though Chen Xin usually doesn't care as much for the trappings of Nobility as long as his charge, Ning Rongrong is happy.