A/N: Guys, I'll admit. I'm friggin' pumped. And I'll tell you why – my favorite band is coming to Augusta, GA and my mom said I could go! O.o It's two hours away but totally worth it. I've been driving my friends crazy because I can't stop talking about it. I don't get to go to concerts that much because of money issues but my mom met the lead singer over the summer when he came to the hospital that she works at and I think I kind of made her feel bad that I wasn't there…the guy I'm telling you he is a sex god. The band is the Ready Set, look them up when you get done here. It shouldn't be legal to be that hot.
Ulquiorra: Can I come to the concert…?
Me: Sure you can, Ulquiorra! /ruffles hair But only if you're ready for pure awesomeness!
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to the amazing Kubo-sama and This Is War belongs to "30 Seconds To Mars".
foxfang: Always nice to hear people say that XD I do it all the time but don't expect people to do it for me…O_o I guess I'm a better writer than I think…
moonlightrurouni: If Ichi was my stalker, I'd…I'd…I'd probably die of a fangirl-induced heart attack. /clutches chest
himelove22: Yep he's gonna get his ass handed to him by Ichigo…ahaha
Veraozao: Yep he did! /has another heart attack
nypsy: Yeah I felt a little guilty about shortness of chapter…/-: But it had to be done! This chap should be a bit longer…
whitechan16: Tell me about it, everyone hates her /makes angry face She's my favorite character, down with the haters! Hime's amazing!
MiszIceQueen10: Breaking Benjamin is amazing, sadly no one I know agrees /tears Thanks for the compliments
Misha: Yay thank you!
.saint: Oh, my God you are amazing. It is so rare that people will join onto a story late and review (almost) every chapter as they catch up…! I love it soo much. Thank you, you're amazing, I love you :)
KurosakiCrystal18: Same to you, (almost) every chapter wow :D It really really makes me happy, thanks for making my day! Now to the story guys!
A warning to the people, the good and the evil: this is war! To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim: this is war! It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie, the moment to live and the moment to die - The moment to fight…to the right, to the left, we will fight to the death! To the edge of the Earth! It's a brave new world! It's a brave new world!
That bastard was dead.
Ichigo had never been angrier in his life. How dare a lowly third seat mess with him like this? Hadn't he ever heard of him? The fool should have known better than to mess with Ichigo Kurosaki like that. And anyway, where in the world had he gotten the power from? The guy was a friggin' third seat. And of squad 4, no less. He probably had power that was marginally more than his sister Karin's. And Karin would never be able to dupe the entire Soul Society like Iemura had. Not that she would ever want to. Hopefully.
He felt the wind rush through his hair. Unfortunately the breeze wasn't doing a whole lot to calm him down. He didn't even have time to spare to be irritated by Ronin, who was flashing slightly behind him, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Ichigo had no idea of how to get to Ronin's house, but he wasn't about to let the ruby-haired punk take the lead. Instead, he tried to focus his concentration on finding the bastard's Spiritual Pressure. It was regrettable that he was so damned angry. It was hard for him to focus.
But then he picked up on another wisp of reatsu; the last one he was expecting to find in a place like this. His anger exploded over the top; he was seeing red.
Iemura could wait.
The Hollow was going to have to die first.
Luckily, the Hollow seemed to be in about the same direction as the faint sensation of Iemura. He was biting his tongue. Fury was making him shake; his Flash step exploded, leaving Ronin behind.
It took him about one more minute to make it to the place where the Hollow was. To his confusion, it seemed to be somebody's house; just on the outskirts of a market. It was surrounded by other, identical-looking houses. He didn't see the Hollow, but he sure as hell sensed it. And for some reason, he also sensed the cockroach Iemura.
Good. They were together. Maybe he'd be able to get it all out right away. Maybe he'd even be able to kill them both in one shot.
Ichigo landed neatly on the grass. His hands were shaking with anger. He strode furiously inside the house.
"COME THE HELL OUT!" he shouted. "WHEREVER THE HELL YOU ARE. GET THE HELL OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!"
It didn't take long. He saw the blond man approach from behind the corner, pushing up his glasses smugly.
"Hello, Kurosaki," he said. "I knew you'd figure it out eventually."
Rage filled Ichigo. He drew Zangetsu and readied it. "I'm going to kill you," he uttered; it was a promise to himself, a promise to Iemura.
"Not just yet," said Iemura pleasantly. Ichigo didn't even blink.
"Why the hell not?" he growled.
"Well, don't you want to deal with him first?" said Iemura, gesturing. He smiled, and his glasses flashed. Ichigo followed his hand and saw the Hollow outside in the backyard.
The Hollow that had killed Orihime.
He didn't think twice. With a roar he charged away from Iemura, bursting through the window, headed for the pig-headed Hollow that he had taunted that day in the park. Its words rang in his head; I'll be seeing you, Shinigami. Ichigo noted this with grim satisfaction that it was seeing him. Three weeks later, but he was there.
Ichigo would have his revenge.
With a roar, Ichigo made a mighty swing towards the Hollow. Again, it ducked. Ichigo kicked off of its tail and went for the arms, figuring that he could put the beast through as much pain as he possibly could before he finally killed it. But the Hollow had other plans. He sent his arm swinging towards Ichigo, sending him flying backwards and rolling through the grass. He flung his sword away from his body so that he didn't kill himself on accident, but the Hollow had used more force than he thought, and Zangetsu went spinning away from him.
He groaned and stood shakily, spying the glint of his blade far away, on the other side of the Hollow, who was grinning.
"Not so hot now, are you, Shinigami?" it roared at him. Ichigo swiped blood away from his eye. He didn't know when it had gotten cut, but he was sure wishing for Ikkaku's Hozukimaru medicine now.
"How the hell…are you so powerful?" Ichigo groaned.
The Hollow laughed in a manner that sent chills down Ichigo's spine. "Recognize this?" he cackled, holding up something that was clutched in his talons. Ichigo squinted through hazy eyes. He gave a start when he realized what the Hollow was holding.
It was his Substitute Shinigami badge!
"A little warning would be nice!" Kon muttered, picking himself up. "Plus, what's with the harsh treatment? You could have used your special Deputy Badge or whatever the hell it's called!"
"I told you, I lost it," Ichigo muttered. He took a look around his room. "Be ready to act. I might be away for a while."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get Orihime."
But then he realized that something was different. He peered closer. The thing appeared to be broken in half.
"How it that helping you?" he said. "The thing's useless. There's no power in it…barely. Not enough to make you this strong."
The Hollow laughed again. "So naïve!" he shouted. "Clearly you've never tried breaking it before. This badge is sealed. All the power is locked inside. But the seal is only surface-deep. Break the badge, and you break the seal. Break the seal, and you get the power."
His next laugh made sweat roll down Ichigo's face.
"Where's the other half?" he managed.
"Right here."
Iemura's voice was right in Ichigo's ear. The boy spun away from the blond man, gasping for breath. Iemura's voice was amused as he drew his sword and held up the hilt for Ichigo to see.
Bound to the handle was the other half of the badge.
"So that's how you did it."
Ichigo and Iemura jumped apart from each other and turned at the sound of the voice. It was Ronin, standing just outside the door to the hut, his braid whirling behind him, the tiny frizz dancing on his head. He had his sword in front of him and at the ready; his violet eyes were full of anger.
"Spread your wings, Rubitori."
The sword melted on the seam, the inside part forming the smaller hawk, detailed down to every feather and marking on the claws; the outside part making a slightly larger, equally detailed hawk. The two birds settled on Ronin's shoulder, their razor-sharp talons making creases on his robe. Their ruby eyes glinted at Iemura dangerously, but the blond man didn't even flinch.
Is that how brave my power is making him? Ichigo thought. Does he really think that those birds can't hurt him as long as the badge is attached to his blade? If so, he's wrong. That'll be the last mistake he'll ever make.
Next second he felt the wind of a blade whistle past his ear. Unarmed and not expecting, he dove to the side and rolled away from Iemura's blade. He then scrambled up in time to see Ronin direct the smaller bird with his left hand toward Iemura and saw the blond man turn and block it easily.
"You go get your sword and kill that Hollow!" Ronin yelled. "I'll deal with him!"
Ichigo hesitated. He wanted to kill Iemura so badly. However, the Hollow was the one who had killed Orihime. Actually he really wanted to reap both of their heads and hang them on a spit over a campfire and then do a primal war dance around said campfire. But if that happened, his dad would undoubtedly feel the need to join. And that was unnecessary.
"GO!" Ronin roared, so Ichigo meekly went.
Just seeing the Hollow sitting there smugly made Ichigo get mad all over again. He dropped into a fighting stance, wanting to leap over the pig-faced creature and grab his weapon. Only problem was, was that he was so out of breath. The Hollow noticed his heaving chest and let out a blood-chilling cackle.
"Feeling a little off?" he roared. "Want to know why? We broke the thing that transformed you into a Soul Reaper. Soon you'll begin to be a normal human again. The fighting you're doing is speeding up a process that would normally take weeks. If you take too long, you'll –"
"SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared. He charged at the Hollow, leaping into the air. "I don't care about that!" he yelled. "I'll just have to beat you and then fix everything all nice!"
"Easier said than done!" the Hollow laughed, and swiped Ichigo from the sky, making the boy land on the ground, all the wind getting knocked out of him. He lay panting on the ground like a fish out of water.
I'm getting beaten by bacon, was all he could think.
Then he remembered something.
"I think you forgot," Ichigo said icily. "Zangetsu's not the only one living inside me."
The pig looked confused. "What?" it roared.
Ooh. Letting us out, now, are you, King?
Slowly, the Vizard put his hand to his face and then yanked down with the force of all his anger. His mask appeared, melting from his fingertips, solidifying with his determination. His fingers trailed away from his face, his now yellow eyes meeting the Hollow's.
"You're done, pig." His voice rasped from his throat; shuddering, dark, dripping with intent. He vaulted easily over the Hollow, quickly drawing his blade from the ground and facing the now hapless Hollow.
"I think you forgot." His eyes stared unblinkingly into the Hollow's now fearful ones. "You stole that badge from me when I was human. How could it have made me into a soul reaper? I used Kon to help me. And that was your mistake. Your last one."
He was at the Hollow's throat in mere seconds. It took him but a single slice to finish the existence of the one who had ended Orihime's.
Putting his sword away, he turned around and froze.
Ronin was lying on the ground, his hair unbraided and splayed around him. And above him was Iemura, his blade high in the air, reflecting the sunlight.
The blade came down on the redheaded boy lying in the grass.
"STOP!"
I do believe in the light. Raise your hands up to the sky! The fight is done, the war is won. Lift your hands towards the sun. Towards the sun…towards the sun.