I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul

Chapter 2

Ichigo awoke on a bed of red.

A stream of liquid crimson had trickled from the bed overnight, flowing onto the wooden floorboards. His footsteps from the previous night were echoed in caked blood across the floor.

Ichigo's clothes were stained with dry blood, his hands were concealed beneath a layer of the liquid.

He awoke with a start after looking down and sleepily noticing his unusually red surroundings. The air was thick with the scent of rusty copper and decaying life.

Ichigo pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly as he stood. He remembered last night, the alley, and the ghouls. He hoped it had all been a nightmare but seeing his bloodstained apartment made it impossible to ignore what happened.

He called in sick to work and university. Ichigo figured he would need some time to get to grips with the situation.

Numbly, he tore the sheets from his bed, mopped the blood from the floors, showered, and changed into clean clothes before sitting down again.

Ichigo took a deep breath in. Then out.

As much as he wanted to just forget it and keep going, he knew he couldn't simply ignore that he had lost control. It was so unexpected that he hadn't even fully grasped what happened until now.

His inner hollow reappeared. Despite the fact that his shinigami powers were completely gone, the hollow had returned. But he hadn't heard its voice, there was no one whispering in his ear to give in. Ichigo had willingly given in. The ghouls would have devoured him if he hadn't gone berserk, that much was for certain.

The best course of action, he decided, was to return to his inner world. He hadn't tried it for a long time, but this was a sign of some sort, one he had understand before he lost himself to the madness.

Ichigo sat in a meditative pose on the bed, then he closed his eyes.

Zangetsu he whispered in his mind, the sound echoed like he was sat in an almighty cave. Ichigo pictured the blade in his mind, his brow furrowing in concentration.

A bandaged handle, the white coverings trailing from the edge of the handle, fluttering gently in an invisible wind. The sword widened at the end of the handle, expanding into a ridiculously thick blade. The sword was rather long and seemingly impossible for the average person to wield. The blade slowly tapered into a lethal point as it curved.

The end result was less of a katana and more of a vicious looking cleaver.

Zangetsu was the manifestation of his soul. He had thought the spirit had vanished with his powers but now he wasn't so sure.

Ichigo pushed deeper into his mind. Soon enough, he entered his inner world.

Before, his inner world had been a city of solid steel skyscrapers, built in uniform fashion for miles and miles. The sky was a pleasant light blue and white clouds drifted lazily.

Now, it was a dark moonless light, the clouds were a deep ominous black and clustered together like storm clouds. The steel was somehow rusty and the windows were cracked and broken.

Normally, the personification of Zangetsu would be awaiting his arrival in this world, but the spirit was nowhere to be seen.

Ichigo appeared standing on the side of a building, the laws of gravity had gone out the metaphorical window in this metaphorical world.

He warily glanced around the deserted city, taking in its decrepit state.

Ichigo didn't bother cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Zangetsu!" He called into the void. "Zangetsu! Come out!"

Nothing stirred in response to his shouts.

Ichigo frowned at the silence. He jumped slightly as a shrill sound reverberated from behind him. Turning on his heel, Ichigo spotted an old fashioned phone on the floor, unconnected, yet ringing all the same.

He crouched down and picked up the receiver. "Hello? Zangetsu are you there?"

Silence.

Until a deep, shaking breath sounded from the phone. Ichigo swallowed as whatever was on the other side continued to breath into the phone. He forced himself to listen despite the shivers running down his spine.

"Look." The voice whispered. "Behind you."

The voice hung up.

Ichigo dropped the receiver and turned again.

A door had appeared. Smooth and plain wood with a simple brass doorknob.

"Open." Ichigo looked down. The phone was gone but the voice still whispered in his ear, he stepped closer and gripped the door knob.

It was freezing cold and Ichigo gasped as he grasped it, turning the doorknob. He pushed and the door slowly creaked open.

He stepped into the doorway, into illuminated room.

Ichigo winced at the sudden contrast and covered his eyes. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

He was in a corridor. An incredibly long corridor that seemed to stretch for miles. Ichigo wearily looked behind him.

The door he had entered had vanished and a blank wall stared back at him.

With nowhere to go but forwards, Ichigo began walking down the corridor.

A chilling wind blew through the corridor, invisible fingers ran down his neck.

"Go." The voice whispered in his ear.

Ichigo turned on his heel to only to be met with another wall that had appeared behind him. A drop of sweat ran down his neck. He continued down the corridor.

The feel of smooth cloth on his hand suddenly caught his attention and he stopped.

On the wall was a cloth draped over something, dangling and gently swaying in the cold breeze. Ichigo reached up and grabbed the cloth, yanking it to the floor.

Concealed behind the cloth was a framed picture mounted on the wall.

He recognised the picture. It was of his family, a picture taken years ago, when his mother was still alive, when his sisters were still infants and Ichigo himself was a child.

He was grinning brightly like any other child would be in a family picture, his features far warmer than the ones he saw in the mirror now. Ichigo's father had his own goofy grin spread across his face as he had a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and the other around his wife's waist.

Ichigo's mother was just as he remembered her, warm and calm, looking positively radiant as she held her daughters in her arms. She was the epitome of motherhood. The twins were sleepily blinking and babbling as infants did.

The picture brought a warm feeling in Ichigo's chest. Memories he cherished. But there was something incredibly wrong with it.

He looked again and noticed something.

Their eyes.

The people in picture didn't have their normal eye colours. Instead, their sclera were a deep, endless black and their pupils were a bright gold.

Ichigo shivered when he noticed that little detail. It ruined the entire image, turning it from warm and homely to just disturbing.

As he watched, a red liquid bubbled and leaked from their eyes. Tears of blood ran down their cheeks and dripped onto the frame.

Ichigo jerked back when a drop of blood landed on his foot. He stepped away and began hastily jogging down the corridor.

It's just in my mind, he chanted to himself, this isn't real.

"Ichigo." He flinched as the voice spoke again this time in his mother's voice.

More portraits appeared along the walls, a timeline of his childhood, the little orange haired boy visibly changed when his mother disappeared from the pictures. Slowly more people appeared in the pictures as he aged. His friends.

And they all had those damn eyes!

His jog became a sprint as he passed each picture by. The rivulets of blood became a pool of blood that lapped at his ankles, red splashes erupted every time his feet landed.

"Ichigo." That wasn't his mother.

"Shut up!" He called back.

His panicked footsteps slowed as he reached the edge of the corridor.

Ichigo stopped. The wall before him was covered in a dark mirror. And as he approached, his reflection appeared.

Ichigo blinked in surprise. The reflection blinked back.

Then its mouth slid into a sinister smile. He froze as he watched the monstrous grin grow on his reflection's face.

Then its eyes changed. White became an endless dark void and brown irises became a shimmering gold.

His breath caught in his throat as the reflections skin paled rapidly, at the same time his hair turned from a vibrant orange to a ghostly white.

The invisible hands slowly wrapped around his neck and Ichigo choked in surprise, unable to move.

The reflection drew back and Zangetsu appeared in its hands.

Ichigo watched with a detached numbness as the reflection thrust the sword through the mirror. The blade burst through and pierced his chest. He screamed silently.

Ichigo forced himself to look down at the sword that now protruded from his back. To his horror, the hands that clutched at the wound were as pale as his reflections were.

He looked back at the mirror. The reflection that stabbed him was gone, replaced by a reflection of his current position, malicious smile gone and replaced by his wordless scream.

Just like before, his skin and hair had turned white. His eyes had become gold surrounded by black.

"Ichigo." He whispered to himself.

Ichigo opened his mouth to scream and this time a sound did come out.

It was high and distorted. A bone-chilling screech of abject terror.

Zangetsu protruded from his back and he held the handle.

"Ichigo!"

He opened his eyes.

The corridor was gone. The mirror was gone. Zangetsu was gone.

He was back in his apartment, sitting cross legged on his bed. Ichigo let out a deep shuddering breath. He sat there for a while, until his shivering subsided.

A glance at the clock revealed he had been meditating for three hours. He had been in that place for three hours. Ichigo wasn't an easily shaken person, but just the thought of that place sent a flicker of terror through him.

What scared him most about it, was that it was his inner world. It was a reflection of his soul. That his own soul scared him did not bode well.

Ichigo left his apartment for lunch. Obviously, he couldn't drop by Anteiku, so he'd go somewhere else. He had pulled on a deep black hoodie and lifted the hood to conceal his bright orange hair, it would be just his luck to be spotted by his co-workers. Winter was coming and temperatures slowly dropped, he figured a hoodie wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

Ichigo prowled the streets of Tokyo, searching for a decent meal. He passed the alley from last night.

The CCG had set up a crime scene in the alley and investigators were attempting to dismiss a crowd that had gathered. He decided to stick around and listen, he had to know if the CCG were onto him.

"Investigator!" A news reporter called out, waving her microphone at said official like a weapon. "Can you give us any information on the crime? Was anyone killed?"

"All I can say currently is that we don't have any substantial leads yet, but rest assured, the CCG will find the culprit." Ichigo felt a drop of sweat appear. In his rage he had completely forgotten about forensic evidence. "As far as casualties go, six ghouls were killed."

The crowd surged at the mention of ghouls being killed. "Ghouls, investigator?"

The investigator nodded. "So far all we can determine is that the ghouls were killed in a dispute, possibly territory with a rival gang of ghouls. The causes of death were typical of ghoul victims, blunt trauma especially. However, none of the corpses were devoured by the other ghouls."

Ichigo shook his head and pushed his way through the crowd, jogging away from the scene.

Wandering the streets of Tokyo, Ichigo felt oddly relaxed at the quiet reprieve.

Until he heard the scream.

Loud and definitely female. It was a scream for help.

His head whipped towards the sound. Ichigo ran to the origin of the scream. An abandoned construction site. Ichigo's instincts compelled him to find whoever screamed for help.

He turned corner after dark corner looking for the victim, vaulting across the unfinished walls. Ichigo arrived in a wide open room, where the sun barely reached and he had to squint to see.

Ichigo cautiously stepped forwards. The person screamed again from the darkness. He ran forwards until he could make out someone sitting in the darkness.

He approached slowly. "Hello? Were you the one screaming? Is everything okay?" Ichigo frowned as the person remained silent, head lowered and knees clutched to their chest.

Ichigo moved to touch the unresponsive girl's shoulder, when she grabbed him. He almost leaped back but halted when he realised she wasn't attacking him. She was bawling into his chest.

Incomprehensible babble muffled by his clothes as she cried. Ichigo uncomfortably patted her back before easing her away. "What happened?"

She sniffled. "T-there were some g-ghouls, a-and they tried to kill me!" She burst into tears again.

Ichigo frowned but allowed her to cry. "C'mon, we should get out of here." He reached for his phone. "You said there were ghouls, right?" She nodded. "Okay, I'll call the CCG and you can explain everything."

The girl shook. "I'm so sorry. They made me do it. I'm so sorry!"

"What are you talking about?" He noticed her looking fearfully over his shoulder.

Ichigo began to turn and as soon as he did something barrelled into him, sending him sprawling and his phone skittering into the darkness.

The thing pounced again and he lashed out, desperately swinging until a blow connected and the thing snarled before pulling him up and kicking him viciously in the chest.

Ichigo stumbled back and gasped in pain.

"So" Ichigo looked around, more people had surrounded him in the darkness, their red eyes glowing in the shadows. More ghouls. "You're the one that wiped out the Psycho's, eh? I gotta say, you aren't all that impressive."

Another ghoul snorted. "The Psycho's were pushovers, I'm surprised a weakling like this could kill them though."

"Yeah, I'd like to know how exactly you did that. The Psycho's were pretty pathetic but there were six of them and that alley was pretty damn narrow."

Ichigo spoke up, wincing as his now undoubtedly bruised ribs ached. "How do you know I did it?"

One laughed. "I'm the best tracker in Tokyo, your scent may be invisible for CCG but I found you no problem. All we had to do was set up this opportunity."

The girl from before was dragged closer by hair, sobbing in pain. "Yeah, we just got this little birdie to sing and you came a running. If you're a human, you'd hopefully come to see what happened. If you were a ghoul it would be a pretty great feeding opportunity."

"Considering she isn't dead, I guess you must be human. Or just a really stupid ghoul." They all laughed and Ichigo stood straighter.

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Why? Because I wanted to see if you were a threat." An authoritative female voice came from the darkness and the ghouls surrounding him parted as a new ghoul approached. "Well? Are you?"

"It was in self-defence."

The woman hummed. "We attacked you. Are you going to kill us now?"

"If you let me go I won't have to." He tried to bluff.

"Let you go?" She laughed as she called his bluff. "Do you really think you can kill us?" The female ghoul clicked her fingers. "I know. Hold him down."

A ghoul leapt from the shadows and wrestled him to the ground. Three more grabbed his arms and legs to the floor.

The lead ghoul approached and Ichigo could see her licking her red lips. He swallowed as she kneeled beside him. The ghouls were visibly salivating and Ichigo cursed as he realised what they wanted.

They were going to eat him.

Panic rushed through him as the ghoul leaned down and slowly opened her mouth. He breathed harshly through his nose. He tried to hold it back.

It clawed at him and he squirmed and twitched. Ichigo gasped as the darkness dug its talons into his mind, the ghoul leaned down to bite.

Ichigo gave in.

Suddenly he was back in his ruined inner world and the door was once more before him.

"Open." The voice whispered in the female ghoul's voice.

He reached for the handle, his palms sweaty and shaking uncontrollably.

Ichigo turned the handle and swung the door wide open.

The inner world was gone and he howled. The ghouls strained to hold him down and screamed as white mist leaked from his mouth, dripping from his eyes like gaseous tears. The mist wrapped around his face, solidifying until the mask formed over his face.

Ichigo roared in fury and lashed out, sending the ghouls flying as the lead ghoul hastily retreated. He jumped to his feet and stood opposite from the group of ghouls.

"So this is how you did it." The ghoul was looking him up and down. "Interesting." Her crimson eyes met his cold golden eyes. "What are you?"

He threw his head back and laughed his distorted laugh. Ichigo relinquished his control.

"Death."

Ichigo leaped and extended his fist, the ghouls scattered to dodge his attack and he snarled as his fist met empty air.

The ghouls backed away, they weren't fools. Biological weapons burst from their bodies. Kagune, the natural weapons of ghouls. Bloody wings and tails emerged, a few blades erupted from shoulder blades.

Ichigo faced them with his bare fists. They stared at each other in tense silence.

Then he cracked his knuckles.

Both sides burst into movement, lunging at each other, Kagune flying.

Ichigo grunted as he charged headfirst into a Kagune, ignored the deep cuts that formed along his arms as he swung at the offending ghoul who could only widen his eyes in shock.

The reckless charge paid off and the ghoul was sent flying with a satisfying crunch.

Immediately, another ghoul took its place and two more swiped at him from behind, digging deep into his back. Ichigo growled and batted one away as the other danced out of reach while another attacked his front again.

It was like trying to swat flies with his fists, they were always just out of reach and constantly went for his back. They were experienced as a group and easily slipped between each other.

Ichigo barely landed any of his ruthless swipes but those that hit, hit hard. But soon enough he was covered in cuts and his blood stained his clothes.

He roared in pain as a blade pierced his chest. He grabbed the Kagune and pulled it into himself, the owner unwillingly dragged closer.

A swift strike to the neck ended the ghoul that got too close and Ichigo pushed the limp blade from his chest. It was healing slowly but surely.

The other ghouls capitalised on his weakness and all lunged at once.

Ichigo bellowed as multiple weapons stabbed into his limbs, viciously swiping at anything he could.

It wasn't working. There were too many.

Deep within his mind Ichigo pictured the mirror. The reflection's golden eyes were the same as his own yet the other features were fortunately different.

He remembered the blade in his reflection's grip.

Zangetsu. His blade. It was his and he wanted it back.

"Zangetsu!" He screamed to the unseen heavens. He called out to his dormant soul.

And it answered.

Bandages slid from his sleeve, wrapping around his wrist, twirling past his fingers, a solid hilt appeared in his hands.

The linen continued past his hands, forming into a familiar long sword. Zangetsu.

Giant butcher knife in hand, Ichigo grinned madly as the ghouls watched in surprise as the bandages fell away and the blade was revealed.

He gripped the hilt with both hands. And swung.

Blood sprayed and limbs flew, Kagune split in half and heads were decapitated. Ghouls were bisected as they attempted to flee.

They screamed and he laughed in response, grabbing the tail of a fleeing ghoul that had stabbed him in the arm. Ichigo yanked on the tail and the ghoul was pulled through the air.

He lazily lifted Zangetsu to be parallel to the ground. The ghoul screeched as the blade pierced through their organs with ease. Ichigo allowed the ghoul to slide down the blade before swiping upwards.

The ghoul flopped to the ground in two halves.

He turned and looked for the survivors. The female ghoul that had prepared to devour him previously was stood behind the hostage girl, Kagune at her throat.

"Don't move or I'll kill her!" It wasn't a bluff.

But he didn't care.

He charged her, Zangetsu ready to stab. The ghoul cursed and sliced her throat in a spray of blood.

The ghoul threw the dying hostage at him and turned on her heel and ran.

Something in Ichigo twitched and he halted his sprint, allowing the body to miss his blade entirely. Beneath his mask, Ichigo stiffened.

She was dead before she hit the ground.

He could have saved her. But he didn't. The ghoul continued running.

A sneer was throw over the ghoul's shoulder as she disappeared around a corner.

Then her head came flying back out the corridor. It rolled to a stop by his foot, her sneer perpetually frozen on her decapitated head.

A man appeared from the corridor. He was elderly with long stringy white hair, he wore a grey trench coat and blood-red necktie.

His cheeks were sunken like a corpse, one eye bulged unnaturally while the other squinted. He carried a simple metal suitcase in his hand.

"Well. What do we have here?" He asked as another less remarkable dark haired younger man appeared behind him. "A little ghoul butcher?"

Ichigo stood in silence, glad the mask covered his head fully. They were CCG investigators. Ghoul hunters.

"Mr Mado, there's a human body." The younger man pointed out the corpse of the girl.

"Ah yes. She must have been the one to make the call." Make the call? Ichigo looked to his feet. His phone, the girl had taken it and called the CCG during the commotion. "Hm. But what are you?"

Ichigo didn't reply and his golden eyes glowed in the sockets of his bone white mask.

"His eyes, Mr Mado, they're not-"

"No. They are most certainly not red. But yellow instead. I wonder. . ."

They studied his mask and Zangetsu in his hand.

"Are you a ghoul?" The older man after he still hadn't attacked them. He almost seemed surprised to see a red pounce but Ichigo slowly shook his head all the same. "Were you the one responsible for the ghoul killings last night?"

Ichigo didn't reply.

"Ah well. I'm sure the boys at the lab can find out what you are." The older man reached for his briefcase. "Amon, aim to incapacitate."

Ichigo turned on his heel and ran. He sprinted down narrow corridors, following his footsteps from earlier. He heard the investigators giving pursuit, their loud footsteps slowly gaining on him.

As he approached a particularly narrow door way, Ichigo paused slightly and stabbed Zangetsu firmly into the ground, effectively blocking the doorway.

Ichigo heard the investigator curse. Zangetsu would hold, it wasn't like they could destroy it.

He ran through numerous alleys, slipping down side streets until he reached his apartment.

Ichigo allowed the mask to fade from his face and distantly he felt Zangetsu fade too. He panted with exertion and immediately stripped off the black hoodie and hid it under a loose floorboard. He was sure the CCG would now be more cautious of people matching his description.

He changed into a navy coat instead and groaned as he realised he still hadn't eaten. Ichigo hurried down to a local supermarket, bought a few cheap microwave meals and returned home.

He decided it was time to lay low, Ichigo planned to stay home for the next day. If the CCG were onto him, it would be pretty suspicious if he was on sick leave at the time of murders. Therefore he would stay home for another day. It wasn't great but it the best he could do to avoid the CCG

Ichigo groaned as realised he could potentially be a suspect for a crime he did commit, even if they were ghouls. Fighting ghouls, avoiding the CCG, when did his life get so screwed up again?

After finishing his meal, Ichigo pondered his fight with the ghouls and the late arrival of a "Mr Mado" and "Amon". They were most definitely investigators, fancy suits and briefcases, they must have been the response team for the 20th ward.

Mado creeped him out but he had that knowing look in his eye as well as the way he held himself just screamed professional. He would remember him. Ichigo didn't know if he'd be able to stop himself if they came after him.

The hollow had reappeared, he had regained some semblance of control and he had been able to summon Zangetsu, at least there was that. Ichigo needed this power, now more than ever. The fact that these ghouls had tracked him and that the CCG now knew of his existence, he needed to be able to protect himself.

Ichigo sat cross legged on his bed and tried to call back the mask. Risky, yes. But he needed to be able to control himself.

He pictured the mask, forming from mist, swirling into a skull-like form over his face. Ichigo gasped as the ghostly mist began to emanate from his pores, flowing over his skin, he could feel his eyes ache as they changed, his fingers curled like claws.

When it was finally over Ichigo panted for breath. The mask seemed to fit perfectly over his face yet it still felt uncomfortable. He looked to the mirror and traced his fingers along the red markings across the mask.

He could feel the hollow pawing at him, weakly vying for control. Ichigo repressed the hollow, allowing himself almost full control. He didn't know how long he could keep this control up in a fight, but by then it wouldn't matter.

Ichigo held the mask at bay, swallowed and held out his hands.

"Zangetsu." The blade materialised in his hand. Ichigo lurched forwards, feeling the mask push back with renewed force. He gritted his teeth and held Zangetsu tightly.

Ichigo dismissed the mask and Zangetsu. He gulped in air as the cold mask disappeared and the weight in his hands vanished.

At least he knew his limits now. The mask he could control with difficulty, but Zangetsu would push him over the edge. It would have to be a last resort for now.

Ichigo collapsed in exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep.

END

No. This isn't a one shot, but you already guessed that by now didn't you? I don't intend to drop this story at any time soon but you never know.

On the topic of OP: in order to balance out his power, Ichigo will lose control in proportion to his power. So far these ghouls are just fodder, more powerful ghouls await. Also, while he may be physically stronger in some instances, Ichigo is slower and is far less mobile than ghouls like Touka.

: You're right, chapter 1 was way more rushed than my usual work. I'm going to go back over it and do corrections in the future.

FoxyAtTheCorner: That was what I planned to do, so yes.