Author note please read
This is my first attempt at anything like this, so please don't be too harsh or flame me. As I wrote in my profile, I'm not really confident in my writing skills and I'm afraid the characters will act OOC or it will sound too much like similar stories, but I've had some idea's for a fanfic and I wanted to try it out. My story is partially inspired by my favorite Arrancar Ichigo stories: "To Find a Purpose in Death" and "Tyrant Lizard". Read them, they're awesome.
Theme of the story: Ichigo will become a hollow in the shattered shaft and the main story will be crossed over with Bleach The 3rdphantom and a few changes (for anyone who hasn't played the game, the storyline is a bit different from canon, for example, Urahara was a captain and Aizen was a lieutenant before Shinji became a captain in the game and while Yoruichi was captain of the Onmitsukido but not yet 2nd Division captain).
I do expect readers to know the series and know what the canon characters look like. I will include question answering author notes at the beginning of most chapters and character profiles for altered characters and OC's, as well as questions for readers at the end.
Also, is anyone interested in Beta Reading my story? I need may someone who will help me with characterization, romance, and possibly casual dialogue.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Urahara shop
Underneath the Urahara shop, in the secret training room, all eyes were on an orange haired boy at the bottom of a deep pit.
Ichigo Kurosaki was at the bottom of the shattered shaft attempting to regain his shinigami powers. The goal was to awaken his powers before all the links in his chain of fate corroded and he became a hollow. A few moments ago, Jinta had come down with food, asking if he was hungry because it was a sign he would Hollowfy soon. Ichigo thought he still had time as there were still several links left.
"It's already been about 70 hours since you came into the shattered shaft, you should be turning into a hollow right about now. One more thing, the final erosion is nothing like the others." Jinta said.
Almost immediately, Ichigo feels intense pain from his chest, stronger than any of the previous erosions. He looks down at the chain and his eyes widen in horror. All the links of the chain grow mouths and the chain begins to devour itself completely.
"All…all the chains!? No, stop! Sto-!" Ichigo yelled, but before he could finish all the links and the base were gone, leaving an empty hole in the center of his chest. Ichigo screams in agony as the pain intensifies to ungodly proportions and a white liquid pours out of his mouth and eyes, beginning to form a mask as his reiatsu spikes.
At the top of the Shaft, Kisuke Urahara's eyes narrow, now begins the real test. In the back of his mind, he wonders if he should have explained the purpose and possible consequences of the test more clearly and the fact that he most likely wouldn't be able to enter his inner world before this point. Either way, it didn't matter now, all he could do was put his faith in Isshin's son.
"Oh crap, he's really gonna turn into a hollow!" Jinta exclaims upon climbing back to the top of the shaft. He had just been trying to scare the guy, he wouldn't wish that fate on his worst enemy.
"I have to help." Ururu says.
"Hold it." Urahara states calmly, stopping her. "Look at him closely. Normally, when a soul becomes a hollow, the soul explodes and reconstitutes itself into that of a hollow, then the mask forms. But his transformation is out of order. The mask formed first, that is a sign of resistance." Kisuke explains. "So just watch and see if he really becomes a hollow, just a little while longer." Ururu and Jinta nod and look back into the hole, both trying to seem calm but you could tell they were concerned.
At the bottom of the shaft, Ichigo's screams become gurgled by the liquid, his mask half complete. Inside the teen's mind, the spirit of his Zanpakuto has told him how to save himself, to find his dormant Shinigami powers hidden within one of countless boxes created from the crumbling landscape of his mind, he had to find it before his world completely fell apart, but he was failing, struggling to think while time was running out.
At the top of the Shaft, Kisuke, despite his calm exterior, begins to worry. Perhaps he won't make it after all. Could he have just basically killed his old friend's only son?
The restraints created by Tessai's Bakudo #99 are blown apart by the ever increasing reiatsu and the mask is almost complete.
"This is the limit, Manager! I'm switching to suppression mode!" Tessai yells to those at top of the shaft. Kisuke nods and closes his eyes, there was almost no chance Ichigo would make it at this point.
"Bakudo #99 part 2 Bankin!" Tessai yells out.
"First song: Shiryuu!" As Tessai casts the kido spell, Ichigo is bound by countless threads of spiritual fabric.
"Second song: Hyakurensan!" Ichigo is impaled by a hundred metal bolts.
"Hey, Tessai, If you hit him with that, he'll die for sure!" Jinta exclaims
"At this point I have no choice. I can no longer restrain him, he must be destroyed before he becomes a hollow."
Ichigo's Inner World
Ichigo had finally found a way to find his Shinigami powers, quickly, he summons the reiraku, the spirit threads, as a Shinigami's will be red. Sure enough, within the countless threads, he finds one red one. But, unfortunately, its too late.
He reaches for the red spirit thread and grabs hold, only for it to disintegrate at his touch. He gasps and his eyes widen. He frantically looks around to see all the boxes disintegrating and his entire inner world fade to black. In a moment, his own body begins to disintegrate.
'No, I can't-, I can't die like this, I have to save Rukia, I have to protect my family, my friends…' He thinks as memories of his family and friends flash before his eyes. His last thoughts before his consciousness fades completely.
Real World
As Kisuke, Ururu and Jinta look into the pit, they gasp as the sheer reiatsu Ichigo is releasing tears apart the threads, revealing a complete hollow mask, a fearsome skull-like mask with piranha-like teeth and five red lines on the left side for a brief moment before Tessai completes his spell.
"Final Song: Bankin Taiho!" Tessai calls out.
A huge metal cube appears above Ichigo and crashes down, only to be blown away by an immense wave of reiatsu as Ichigo's transformation is completed. Immediately afterwards, a figure surrounded by white and red energy flew out of the shaft, landing on the other side from where Kisuke, Ururu, and Jinta were standing, the impact creating a cloud which completely obscured the figure.
All three watch as the cloud clears and look on in horror at Ichigo's hollow form. It appeared to be a large, white humanoid lizard with long, spiky orange hair, red markings going up its arms, legs, and tail, five tall spikes coming out of each shoulder, and a menacing skull like mask with five red lines on its left side.
'So, its come to this after all…' Kisuke thinks as his eyes narrow, he had been certain the teen would succeed. But, here they were, looking at a fully transformed Ichigo. The hollow roars and lunges at the three, raising its right claw.
The trio jump away as Ichigo brings down his claw, slamming it into the ground and creating another dust cloud. Kisuke draws his Zanpakuto from his cane the moment he lands and looks at to the children, seeing them prepare to fight.
"Ururu, Jinta, find a place to hide and stay there until this is over." Kisuke orders.
"But…" Jinta begins
"Listen, he's too strong for you, you'll just get in the way."
Jinta and Ururu, realizing Kisuke is right, decide to listen and flee after a moment of inner conflict. Hiding behind some of the nearby rock formations. As Tessai climbs out of the hole.
The hollow charges at Urahara with speed unheard of for a basic hollow and slashes at Kisuke who parries the strike, but is sent skidding backwards by the unexpected amount of power behind the hollows attack. The hollow, seeing that he is off balance, whips around and strikes Kisuke from the right with his tail, sending him flying into one of the many rocks in the area. The hollow lunges, stabbing at him, Kisuke Shunpos out of the way, the attack crashes into the ground and creates another dust cloud, but this time Kisuke keeps track of Ichigo. Re-appearing behind the hollow, he slashes its back. Blood sprays from the wound and the hollow roars in anger, as the hollow turns and counters with jab of his left claw, Kisuke's eyes narrow, he had meant for the cut to be much deeper.
Kisuke jumps out of range of the jab but the hollow charges and relentlessly slashes at him, after blocking several slashes Kisuke once more Shunpos behind the hollow, when he reappears his eyes widen, the wound he had made was gone. 'High speed regeneration?' Kisuke thinks.
The hollow, having anticipated he would try this smirks behind his mask, once more whipping his tail at the former captain. Kisuke, too close to dodge, blocks the attack and is sent flying.
Kisuke can hardly believe how strong the hollow is. He didn't think he would need to use his Shikai, but it was obvious now he had would have to put more effort into this.
"Awaken, Benihime(Crimson Princess)" Kisuke say calmly, releasing his Zanpakuto and firing a blast of crimson energy at the hollow who dodges and rushes towards him. Kisuke notices Tessai preparing a spell behind him and shunpos out of the way.
"Hado #63 Raikoho!" Tessai calls out, firing a lightning like blast of yellow energy which the hollow is unable to avoid, Kisuke immediately follows up with another wave of crimson energy. The dust cloud from the attacks hides the Hollow completely. Suddenly, both exiled Shinigami's eyes widen in shock as a large worm-like entity charges from the cloud towards Kisuke, its mouth wide open.
"What the hell!?" Kisuke exclaims. He blocks the creature with his sword but is driven back a few yards before he jumps backwards, putting distance between himself and the thing and swipes his sword, unleashing another crimson energy wave and destroying the creature instantly. its body disintegrates, revealing Ichigo, its source, standing where he had been hit before, growling. whatever wounds there attacks gave him already healed.
"It would seem we have underestimated him, manager." Tessai states as he watches the hollow recover.
"Yes, even so, we shouldn't be having this much trouble with him." Kisuke replies. "We've really gotten out of shape over the last 100 years, huh?" He says with a smirk which immediately fades, once more completely serious. "Lets stop playing around, Tessai."
Suddenly, the hollow points at them with two fingers of its left claw and a small but powerful orb of red reiryoku forms at its fingertips. Kisuke and Tessai are shocked by this.
'It can't be! A Cero!?' Kisuke thinks alarmed. "Shit!" Kisuke curses, raising his Zanpakuto, pointing the blade at the ground just as the Hollow fires the Cero and a powerful blast of pure reiryoku speeds towards them.
"Scream, Benihime!" Kisuke yells just before the blast hits. Ichigo grins behind his mask and laughs sadistically until the smoke from the blast clears and he sees that a cracked wall of what appears to be hardened blood shielded his targets from the attack, at which point the tilts his head back roars in frustration as the Shield disintegrates.
"Tessai!" Kisuke calls out and Tessai nods, understanding. Neither of them had ever heard of a Hollow outside Menos able to fire a Cero, let alone one that powerful. They shuddered to think what he would be like if he evolved. They had to end this now, before Ichigo realized he couldn't win and retreated.
With that, Tessai begins chanting an incantation as Urahara charges, the hollow does the same, not realizing the significance of Tessai's chant and ignoring him completely. Kisuke slashes at the hollow who jumps back, out of reach and roars as he lunges at Kisuke. Kisuke parries three attacks before deciding that he had given Tessai just about enough time and jumps back, the hollow jumps high and dives at Urahara who (A/N this move has so far only been used in Bleach: fade to black) raises his Zanpakuto and points its blade at the ground. Suddenly, a transparent barrier of red energy appears in front of Kisuke, which blocks the lizard-like hollow's attack. "Now shred, Benihime!" Kisuke calls out and immediately, countless small blasts of energy erupt from the shield and pelt the hollow, who snarls as he is driven through the air by the force of the attacks.
Once he is far enough away, the former captain Shunpos away as Tessai points his right hand at Ichigo and grasps his wrist with his left hand. Ichigo's eyes widen, remembering the last Kido spell, immediately gathering Reishi at his feet, jumping seemingly off thin air away from Tessai in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible and have a better chance of dodging, unaware there would be no chance of dodging this.
"Hado #88: Hiryu gekizoku shinten raiho!" Tessai yells. Ichigo's (who is still in midair) eyes widen once more as an enormous blast of blue energy erupts from Tessai's hand, far too big and fast to dodge. The hollow focuses all his reiatsu to shield him as best he can and braces himself, covering his face with his claws.
Kisuke watches the blast envelope the hollow and explode before closing his eyes and sighing. He stands there for a moment before turning toward the ladder that led to the actual shop as Tessai follows and Ururu and Jinta come out from behind a bolder nearby. Kisuke begins to sheath his sword.
"Lets g-" before he can finish their startled by a spike of dark, twisted reiatsu. 'Impossible!' They quickly turn around and are shocked to see Ichigo still standing, breathing heavily and covered in burns and lacerations from the blast, his right arm is limp and his mask cracked in several places. The hollow roars as white liquid pours out of the cracks in his mask restoring it and the wounds and burns begin to heal, albeit much more slowly than before.
Kisuke begins to rush towards the hollow to deal a finishing blow, but after that attack Ichigo realized they hadn't been going all out and he had little chance of survival if he stayed. Before Kisuke can take five steps, the hollow vanishes in a black vortex.
Kisuke halts and stands there in disbelief that he had actually gotten away. He begins questioning himself. Where did he go wrong? Was he wrong for not explaining the true objective of the shattered shaft and trusting Ichigo to figure it out on his own, or not telling him the consequences of failure before cutting the chain of fate. Ichigo had been stronger than most Adjuchas level Menos Kisuke had encountered over his long life, if he evolved into an actual Adjuchas, or, in the worst case scenario a Vasto Lorde, he may have just handed Aizen the war. He, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta stare briefly at the spot the hollow stood, then wordlessly head up to the shop.
As they make their way to up, Kisuke thinks to himself that they will need to send stronger fighters with Ichigo gone and due to the barrier, he and Tessai were unable to go themselves. Yoruichi would definitely have to go in her human form from the start and do her best to get back in shape before the Senkaimon was complete. As for others, he had two in mind, one would likely want to go when he found out what happened to Ichigo, his son, but the other one wouldn't be so easy to convince. He hoped if he made it clear how dire the situation was this man would come around, but he hated Shinigami, and wanted nothing to do with spirits, despite his power and skill.
In Hueco Mundo
Ichigo had just arrived in Hueco Mundo. An infinite desert of white sand and small tree's that seem to be made of a quartz like crystal, the only light coming from a large, crescent moon in the sky. He can't tell what it is but something in him feels as if he belongs here, as if this place has always been his home. The dense reishi filled air invigorates him and accelerates his healing. He also notices a strange feeling, as if something is missing from his very being, and a ravenous hunger.
Suddenly, a snake-like hollow rushes at him from behind but he senses it coming, he side steps and impales it at the base of its head, taking a bite out of its neck before it vanishes. He feels a boost in power and, for a moment, the hunger subside. After resting for a few minutes, recovering after his battle with the exiled captains, he goes off in search for more.
In the World of the living
There was silence in the Urahara Shop. Kisuke Urahara was sitting at a table with a serious and slightly remorseful expression. He had truly believed Ichigo would successfully complete the training, and still found it hard to believe their attempt to purify him and send him to Soul Society had failed, he had never seen a newly created hollow that powerful before. And now, because of his miscalculation Ichigo had suffered the worst fate imaginable to most and not only did he have to bear the guilt, he would have to break it to his family and friends
Not since 100 years ago, when he couldn't save the eight Shinigami who became the Vizard had he felt that he had failed so completely, but at least then he had seen it coming and planned for it. The moment the crisis began, he had recognized the signs of hollowfication experiments and predicted that the situation would spiral into the worst case scenario. Here, he had been totally blindsided. Not only had he expected Ichigo to succeed, he never imagined that he would fail to purify him should he become a hollow.
"Things sure are quiet around here, what happened?" Kisuke turns to find the black cat that was Yoruichi Shihoin. Kisuke sighs.
"Ichigo failed the shattered shaft training and we were unable to purify him." Kisuke states, causing Yoruichi's eyes to widen.
"What do you mean you couldn't purify him, how could a former captain fail to purify a newborn hollow?" Yoruichi questions, shocked.
"Well… the hollow he became was much stronger than I expected. He was stronger than most Adjuchas I've seen. He had a very tough hide, high speed regeneration, and he could use Cero. I underestimated him, and was put on the defensive, he even nearly got me with a few times. Tessai hit him with Hado # 63, nothing. We thought we had him with a Hado #88, but he survived and vanished before we could finish him. " Yoruichi's eyes widen more and more throughout his explanation, he was that powerful as a basic hollow?
"Oh god, Kisuke. If he evolves…" Yoruichi begins
"I know." Kisuke cuts her off, putting a hand to his forehead and closing his eyes. He was well aware of the potential Ichigo had.
"Do you want me to tell Isshin, or Ichigo's friend's?"
"No, its my fault, I'll tell Isshin tonight and Chad, Uryu, and Orihime in the morning." Kisuke responds, getting up. Deciding its time to break the news to his old friend.
Kurosaki Clinic
Yuzu and Karin, Ichigo's younger sisters were asleep in their room while Isshin, their father was awake in the Kitchen with a glass of water. He couldn't sleep and for the first time in a long while, the ex-captain Shinigami was afraid, but he didn't know why. He just had an ominous feeling, like he had the day his wife Masaki never came back. As a experienced captain, he had developed a sort of sixth sense about these things. About when something terrible had, or was going, to happen, and right now he was feeling it more strongly than ever before, he prayed that it was nothing, sadly, it wasn't.
There is a knock at the door, he hesitates for a moment before he gets up to answer it. It was Kisuke Urahara, and he had a somber look on his face. Now he know why he felt this way, he knew Ichigo had gone to Urahara to restore his Shinigami powers, something must have happened, the question is what?
"Kisuke, what happened?" Isshin questioned calmly. Internally, he was anxious to know if anything had happened to his son.
"…I put Ichigo through the Shattered shaft, and he failed…" Kisuke responds. Isshin takes it surprisingly well, merely sighing. In truth, this was largely because he could feel something terrible had happened and had been preparing himself for this all night.
"So, you purified him?" He asks
"I wish I had been able to."
"What?" Isshin asks, surprised.
"Because of the high reiryoku levels he had in life, he was stronger than we had anticipated, by the time we realized we would have to go all out, he fled to Hueco Mundo." Kisuke states, afterward going into detail about exactly what happened and how powerful Ichigo had become.
"I see…" Isshin responds with a low tone, staring at the ground with a contemplative and solemn look on his face. Looking up he sees an apologetic look on Kisuke's face. "I'm sorry about this Isshin."
"I don't blame you for this." He couldn't after all it was his son's decision, no, the one to blame for this was the one who was responsible for him losing his powers, the 6th Division captain: Byakuya Kuchiki.
"What are you going to tell the girls?" Kisuke asks.
"I'll think of something." Isshin replies. He already knew how to handle the body, call in a favor from Ryuken Ishida, as he runs a hospital, he could fake cause of death.
"You have a way to restore my powers right? I want to take my son's place and rescue Rukia, it was his last wish to save her." Urahara nods and leaves without a word. Isshin returns to his seat, silently grieving for his son and thinking of how he would explain his death to his sisters. They didn't know about Shinigami or hollows, not that he would tell them the truth anyway. He wouldn't tell them what their older brother had become even if they were aware of all this, he would have to think.
In Hueco Mundo
Ichigo had just killed and devoured a few hollow. At the moment he was alone and he had satisfied his hunger. He paused to think, covering his right eye with his claw, who was he? How did he die?
He knew from instinct what he was, a hollow, a human soul who had lost his heart and had to devour other souls to fill the void. But, he could only vaguely remember his life. He remembered his name: Ichigo Kurosaki. He remembered his family in a few brief, scattered memories, but in those memories, the surroundings were blurred, he couldn't see their faces, he couldn't recall their names. He also remembered fighting hollows, which didn't make any sense, how could a human fight and kill a hollow? He figured it likely had something to do with why he was so much stronger than these pathetic hollows he had slain so easily. There were a few other, scattered memories, mostly of others he assumed had been important to him in life.
He is broken out of his thoughts when another hollow strikes, it had hidden itself under the sand, it was weak, a lamb to the slaughter.
The hollow attempted to slash him as soon as it burst from the sand, which Ichigo easily jumps back out of range. It pulls it left claw back for another swipe, but Ichigo lunges forward and pierces its mask with his right claw, killing it instantly. He takes a bite before it disintegrates. Immediately, several more hollows burst from the sand. Ichigo smirks, too easy.
A lone figure walks across the white, moonlit desert of Hueco Mundo. This figure had near shoulder length turquoise hair, pale skin, yellow eyes and was wearing a standard Arrancar uniform with slightly shorter sleeves. His mask remnant was the upper right jaw of his mask which stretched around the back of his head in a sort of crest.
The figure was Arturo Plateado, the current Primera Espada, the strongest Arrancar in Aizen's army. The millennia old Arrancar was currently in search of Vasto Lorde and any above average Adjuchas to add to Aizen's growing army and was in search of a Vasto Lorde reported to be nearby. It infuriated him, to this day, the situation he was in. He was so close, he had almost wiped out the Shinigami 120 years ago, and, when it looked like his victory was assured, it was stolen from him by that pathetic flea and that accursed Shisui Mirror. It sapped him of his power, rendering him little stronger then a lieutenant, and then, when he had been moments from destroying it, it began radiating a strange, dark energy. He had sensed the danger and fled through a Garganta. At the last second before it closed behind him, he had felt a wave of power that seemed like it was ripping through dimensions.
In his weakened state, he had hid deep within Hueco Mundo, as he rested and fed upon any weak Hollows that had the misfortune of coming nearby, he reflected on how he had failed, twice now. After a few years, he realized something. All Hollows and Arrancar, including himself, were arrogant to the point that it would often lead to self destruction. He had seen two mistakes. One, he had made no investment in allies, bringing only mindless Hollows, a few Gillian and one intelligent Hollow, he should have gathered Vasto Lorde, or at the very least Adjuchas, with his power, it would have been easy for him, he just didn't bother. Two, overconfidence, the moment he realized the Mirror was stealing his power, he should have fled and regrouped or immediately focused all he had on killing the woman, guarded by only one captain, instead, he believed that no matter what, he still had no chance of failure and ignored it, intending to finish her off later and that cost him dearly.
Then, once he restored his power, he began to strengthen himself and plan his next move. But then, Aizen found him…
(Flashback)
Arturo was resting in a large circular chamber lit by an otherworldly pale green fire in the center, in a cave deep within the Menos Forest, . He had gathered a small number of Adjuchas who were standing guard outside. It had been 50 years since his failed attack on Soul Society, he still couldn't believe it, it had taken him years to fully recover while in hiding, whatever that mirror had done, it hadn't simply stolen his powers. It didn't matter now though, he had now fully recovered, and soon would take his revenge on the Shinigami for the wrongs done to him and Hollows, and for the fact that they dared to stand against him. This time, he would do it right, he would unite Hueco Mundo under his rule, not that difficult for him to do… he had just never bothered, and with the power of the Vasto Lordes added to his own, they would be unstoppable.
Suddenly, he frowns as he hears death groans outside and feels his minions reiatsu vanish. He activates his Pesquisa and his eyes shot open. 'What is this!? This reiatsu, its definitely that of a Shinigami, yet… its stronger than my own…this can't be! None exist who are stronger than I am!' Arturo thinks, shocked by this, he was a Vasto Lorde, and he had absorbed the power of captains. How could any Shinigami be stronger than him. Whoever it was wasn't alone either, there were two others, with reiatsu levels above the average captain. They were approaching the chamber. Arturo smirks as he stands and walks to the center of the chamber to greet his uninvited guests. He briefly wonders how they got there, no matter, he would kill the two lesser Shinigami with his Zanpakuto, Fenix, and with their power added to his own thanks to Fenix's ability, kill the stronger one, and with that power, he would be truly unstoppable.
The figures walk into the chamber, the three traitors, Sosuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen. Arturo stands by the flame casually, his hands in his pockets.
"Well well, this is unexpected, someone of such stature hiding out in a cave." Gin states with his usual mocking tone and fox-like grin.
"Indeed. I see I was not mistaken… it is good to see you have recovered, Arturo Plateado." Aizen states with a seemingly kind smile on his face. He had sensed Arturo's reiatsu from the currently under construction fortress Las Noches. and thought he recognized it. He was glad to see he was correct, Arturo would be a powerful ally, if he could be persuaded to join them, and Aizen didn't intend to take no for an answer. Arturo raises a eyebrow, this was not what he was expecting. He was curious.
"Hn… I'm surprised three Shinigami would seek me out knowing who I am." Arturo states speaking with a Spanish accent. "Who are you and why are you looking for me, to avenge the Shinigami I killed?"
"My name is Sosuke Aizen, and these are my subordinates, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen." Aizen states, indicating the other Shinigami. "You asked if we were here for vengeance? Nothing of the sort, quite the contrary, we wish for you to join us." Aizen states.
Arturo eyes widen slightly at that, a moment later, he grins and chuckles darkly "And why would I join with you and those little fleas you brought?" Arturo sneers
"How dare-" Kaname begins reaching for his Zanpakuto only to be cut off by Aizen. "It's alright, Kaname."
"Allow me to explain, I intend to overthrow the Soul Society, for that purpose, I am gathering the most powerful Hollows into an army."
"And what could you possibly have to offer the Hollow?" Arturo asks, skeptical of this.
"The power you possess, Shinigamification." Arturo's eyes widen. "You see, I have been experimenting in breaking the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow for quite some time, although I have had little in the way of breakthroughs, I have made progress. However, about 20 years after you attacked, a Shinigami captain and researcher named Kisuke Urahara succeeded where I failed, he invented a device known as the Hogyoku. With it, one can instantly turn a Shinigami into a perfected hybrid, or turn a Hollow into a completed Arrancar such as yourself and bring out their full potential." Aizen explains. Arturo can hardly believe such a thing exists, he can easily imagine what they could do with this. "I see you can tell how dangerous such a thing is, I don't have it yet, but I am searching and even if I don't find it, I should eventually be able to complete the research myself anyway. Furthermore, we already have a number of Hollow, including the current king of Hueco Mundo on our side. Among the army I intend to build, the ten strongest will be called the Espada, and lead the Arrancar, I want you to be the Primera, the leader of the Espada for now at least."
"…I must admit that is tempting…" Arturo states, not wishing to serve anyone, let alone a Shinigami no matter how strong they were, but knowing he would probably never find the Hogyoku on his own.
"I can see you don't wish to follow a Shinigami such as myself, how about this then, since you won't follow me unless I prove myself stronger than you anyway, we fight. If you win, you can absorb my power with your Zanpakuto, if I win, you join my army."
"Very well." Arturo responds with a smirk, confident in his skills as he reaches for his sword.
Aizen's smile widens as he draws his Zanpakuto "Allow me to show you my Zanpakuto. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
(End flashback)
He had lost, no, worse, for all his power, he had never stood a chance. He still felt the humiliation, still saw himself, kneeling, unable to stand before an unharmed Aizen. He had utterly refused to accept defeat and continued the fight until he lost consciousness. He awoke in a medical facility in an unfinished white fortress. He had been enraged beyond what he thought possible when he discovered that, while he was out, Aizen had analyzed his spiritual make up and found a way to disable his ability to absorb power. He swore that if he ever got the opportunity, he would make Aizen suffer dearly.
Arturo is brought out of his reminiscing when he senses something odd, a reiatsu signature that's strangely familiar. He locates it with Pesquisa and Sonidos to the top of a nearby rock formation to observe unseen, there he sees something odd, a hollow being attacked by other hollow and slaughtering them. That's actually pretty common in Hueco Mundo, except that the hollow being attacked seemed to be Adjuchas level, even at one point using Cero.
'Those lesser hollow are attacking an Adjuchas? That can't be, mindless hollow instinctively bow down to Adjuchas. They only attack hollow of their own level, and its reiatsu is too unfocused. So then this is a normal hollow, with Adjucha level powers?' Arturo thinks to himself. Even the ancient Arrancar had never seen a normal hollow this strong. It had the potential to be one of the greatest soldiers in their army. But why did this lizard-like hollow have a reiatsu signature that was familiar to him? In order to be this powerful when it was just 'born' it must have been very powerful when it was alive. Who did he know that fit that criteria? Then he notices its spiky orange hair and remembers that substitute Shinigami that Aizen had him watch after Rukia was located with him. A task his shape shifting powers made child's play for him.
'Ichigo Kurosaki.' he recalls. He had to admit the kid mildly impressed him. For a one who had only been a Shinigami for a month to drive back a Gillian without Shikai like he had done was impressive, he could see why Aizen had been interested in the strange substitute Shinigami. This also explains why he didn't recognize the reiatsu at first. Now that he had become a hollow, he had far greater potential. This needs to be reported to Aizen.
Deciding he has seen enough, he vanishes in a buzz of Sonido, returning to his search for other Vasto Lorde.
Character Profile
Name: Ichigo Kurosaki
Species: Newly created hollow
Appearance: muscular Humanoid lizard with a skull like mask that has 5 red lines on its right side, there are also red lines on his arm's and legs (same as when he was training with the Vizard in the canon)
Skills and abilities: Adjuchas level reiatsu and abilities (speed, strength, resilience, and cero), high-speed regeneration, abnormally thick hide.
Current activities: Devouring hollows.
Name: Arturo Plateado
Character history: Main antagonist of Bleach: Shattered Blade, and major antagonist in Bleach: the 3rd phantom
Species: self made Arrancar, Vasto Lorde class
Appearance: has pale skin, turquoise hair, and yellow eyes, the remains of his hollow mask are it's the upper right jaw which extends around the back of his head in a sort of crest. He wears the standard Arrancar uniform with a belt just below the sash. His Zanpakuto is a basic katana with an hourglass shaped hilt and a black sheath. His hollow hole is at the base of his neck. When he raises his reiatsu, he gains wings of green fire and when he releases his full power, they become multi-colored fire, primarily deep red and pale green. Pictures of him on bleach wiki.
Skills and abilities: Master swordsman, enhanced Hierro, Cero, Bala, Sonido master, Pesquisa master, skilled manipulator.
Illusion: Arturo posses the ability to temporarily shape shift as well as alter his reiatsu signature. He can also show others visions with his powers. He used this ability to manipulate the other characters in Bleach: Shattered Blade, the ability requires too much concentration to use in battle, gathered from the fact he never uses any illusion based abilities in combat.
Beam saber: a black and red sword of pure reiryoku that extends from his right hand. He can control the length of the blade. It will be referred to in this story as Espada Hueca (Spanish for hollow sword.)
Zanpakuto: Fenix: Spanish for phoenix, Japanese for immortal king. Its element is fire.
Known Zanpakuto Abilities:
Power absorption: his Zanpakuto can absorb the reiryoku of anyone he kills and permanently increase his power. Also constantly absorbs reishi and reiryoku to restore his energy while fighting. (partially disabled, still revitalizes him but cannot increase his power.)
Resurreccion: unknown
Occupation: current Primera Espada
History: Over1000 years before the storyline, Arturo, in an incomplete Arrancar form, attacked Soul Society with an army of mindless hollows to destroy it and dominate the world and all souls. After a long and fierce battle, Arturo was driven back after wiping out half of Shinigami(this refers to their total fighting power, meaning captains included). 120 years before the storyline, Arturo returned in as completed Arrancar, now overwhelmingly powerful defeat due to absorbing the power of those he killed the first time, combined with his Zanpakuto's ability, this made him too dangerous to fight head on. They instead used the Shisui Mirror to drain him of his reiryoku and render him powerless. The user died from the strain before this was complete and it looked as if he would destroy the mirror, regain his power, and win. But the mirror then went out of control and, realizing the danger, he escaped to Hueco Mundo. (Note: in Bleach: the 3rdphantom, he failed to escape and he and three Shinigami who fought him were trapped in the Wandering Spirit Realm, a space without time, and reappeared in the present storyline, in Bleach: Shattered Blade, he was sealed the first time he attacked. Also, he was apparently in complete Arrancar form during the first attack in Shattered Blade, but incomplete in The 3rd Phantom)
Current activities: As Primera, controls Hueco Mundo in Aizen's absence, but often does the work himself, monitors powerful hollows.
Author notes
And so ends chapter one. So what did you think? Personally, I don't think its that good. I would be grateful if you review and answer the following questions. Again, please don't be too harsh. Also, in case you are wondering about why I disabled Arturo's power absorption ability, its because, with his personality, he would simply go kill Vasto Lordes to increase his power until even Aizen could not stand against him, kill him and take over… I didn't want this to happen.
Do you think any characters were acting OOC?
What kind of ending do you want to see? I've already got a few in mind but I'm curious about what you want to see and I haven't made up my mind yet.
Any suggestions for anything I am doing wrong?
Does anyone have a problem with me calling Arturo's Zanpakuto by its Japanese name, which actually has a meaning? (The name in the English version is 'Fenice'.)
Also, a poll will open soon on who Ichigo's love interest should be. The choices are Rukia and Orihime. For plot reasons I can't continue until I get enough feedback on that so please vote.
Again, thanks for reading. Also, remember I will answer any questions you give me about the story, without spoilers of course.
