Note: The English language and I have a love hate relationship. On the one hand, I hate all of its crazy rules and obsession over 'correct,' spelling. On the other hand, it is my native tongue and I do prefer it to other languages. So I'm only calling things, soul slayers, attacks, techniques, ect. By their Japanese and or Spanish names once. After that we're going with the loose English translation (Provided in parentheses such as this).

Chapter 7: The First Skirmish.

Ikkaku had forgotten just how hectic crossing the gap between Soul Society and the earth could be without a hell butterfly to guide them. They were lucky though that a janitor didn't try to sweep them away. Funny, that was one of the things he had been looking forward to, today was the day they were scheduled to run after all. It seemed like this was going to be a boring end to a rather boring day. Then that thing burst past him.

He felt it enter the portal just a few moments before rushing ahead him. He had no clue where it could've come from, but he soon saw where it was going. All he could see of it was a white blur. He almost stumbled, but quickly regained his composure and took off after it. He had no idea what it could be, but he had his hopes.

Ikkaku made his way out of the portal a few seconds after that thing did. It was already gone, and so was everyone else. The whole district was quiet. This was strange, wrong even. He was getting excited. He grabbed his sword and did a quick inspection of his surroundings. There was blood on the side of a wall nearby. He smiled, his blood started to boil. All the signs were adding up, this was going to be a good day after all.

He rushed after the blood trail. He ducked around a nearby corner and looked about again. There was blood on a door across the street and he could hear a woman sobbing. He crossed the door and followed the scent of blood to the next street. Then he saw it.

"Lucky." He said, and drew his sword. At the sound of metal sliding across his sheath, the beast turned to face him, dropping the bloody corpse it had been carrying.

"You're a bit larger than we were told." Ikkaku complimented, as he took his sword in one hand and held it before him while he held the sheath in the other behind him. "You're also very late. Don't worry about it though; soon you won't have to worry about any other appointments, ever."

"Name…" The hollow growled.

"Madarame Ikkaku, The Eleventh Squad's Third Seat." Ikkaku said when the hollow paused.

"…It…" The hollow finished, ignoring what Ikkaku had just said.

"What?"

"Name… Your… Sword…" The hollow slowly chanted.

Ikkaku smiled and thought to himself, 'this little bugger has fought Death Gods before.' Then he added aloud, "No."

The hollow growled deeply, Ikkaku could hear all the human souls around them, watching from the shadows and their houses, shudder. It was angry at the thought of not getting to fight his soul slayer. This was exciting.

"If I use my soul slayer then the two of us will have to fight at full strength from the get go, one of us will prove to be stronger and the fight will end. It will be more fun if we take this slowly and build up to the climax."

The hollow recognized Ikkaku's eyes; the madness in them was only a few steps removed from his teacher's. He had no time for this. The hollow turned and walked away towards the massive tower in the distance. Ikkaku was stunned.

"Hey! Hey! Where are you going? Your foe is right here! Don't turn your back on me!" He shouted as he leapt into the air, raised his sword and came down at the hollow. When he was still a few feet away from his target; the world turned sideways. He could feel claws pressing against the side of his head. He looked from the corner of his eye and saw that the hollow had grabbed him with its feet. The claws released a fraction of a second before he hit the ground, and an instant later he bounced off the ground, ever so slightly. When he reached the apex of that bounce, the hollow snap-kicked him and sent him flying into the side of a building.

"NAME IT!" The hollow screamed as Ikkaku broke through the wooden wall, shattering it and sending many splinters flying around him and into his arms and back. He struggled to get back up, he was bleeding from a half dozen places and his ears were ringing. Still he held on to his sword and smiled.

"MAKE ME!" He cried back and charged.

The hollow kicked at his head again, but this time he was ready for the speed that the damn thing moved at. He brought the sheath in his left hand forward and blocked the blow. The force of it stunned him; he had to shift his footing to keep from being knocked over. Once steadied, he lunged with his sword at the hollow's leg; he snapped his leg back and met the sword with his knee. A moment before the blade cut into its flesh energy surged around the hollow and canceled out the motion of the sword.

Ikkaku twisted on his legs and brought his sword back down with a wide slash at the hollow's chest. The hollow stepped back to avoid the hit. An instant later he stepped forward again and clawed at Ikkaku's face. He jerked his head to the side to avoid losing his eyes, taking a cut to the forehead instead. He flipped the sheath around in his hand and pulled it into the hollows back, holding him in place while he slashed at his head. The hollow broke free, but not without taking a gash of his own.

Ikkaku reclaimed his old stance, sword forward, sheath behind him. Ready to attack or defend in an aggressive manner. The hollow stood a few yards away with his hands at his side. He had no stance, but he did have good footing. This hollow was used to fighting on instinct, Ikkaku surmised, he could dodge, but he didn't know how he did it. He smiled and popped off the bottom of his sword's handle.

"That's a pretty open stance you have there." He said as he touched a cream set in the bottom of his swords handle and swiped it across the gash on his head, stopping the bleeding. "Head wounds never really close up and they can blind you, can really afford a seconds hesitation against me when were this close?"

The hollow watched him curiously as a bead of blood made its way down the eye holes in its mask. The hollow wiped the blood away, and the wound was closed up. Ikkaku watched and realized that this thing could use high speed regeneration. He thought for just a moment that this was cheating. Then the hollow vanished again with a slight thump and appeared right in front of him, inside his guard. The hollow grabbed his outstretched arm, wrapped it up with his own and smiled.

"Do you think the distance really matters?" He demanded to know, and then kicked Ikkaku in the chest. It was a Greco-Roman lunge kick, designed to shatter iron shields. Ikkaku's ribs didn't stand a chance, three of them at least broke beneath the hit, and his arm was pulled from its socket. That could have ended his life and their fight, but the hollow let go and let him step backwards, struggling to keep the screams of pain within.

"Name it!" The hollow ordered once more. Ikkaku grabbed his dislocated arm and forced it back in place. He coughed up a bit of blood, but his smile never faded.

"You are one tricky little son of a bi—" He coughed up more blood before he could finish. "Fine then! Grow: Hozukimaru! (Demon Light)" As the words left his mouth he brought the front of his sheath up to the handle of the sword and held them like they were a single tool. As he did a grey whirlwind erupted around the weapon and hid it from the hollow's sight. When the winds subsided the sword had been replaced with a long tan Yari spear with red tassels on its end.

Ikkaku held the spear proudly, his smile as bright as ever and wounds and pain forgotten. The hollow was taken by surprise not expecting such a drastic change in the weapon. Yet the smell hadn't changed, this was a Soul Slayer in all of its glory, if he could crush this one he could crush any of them. The hollow returned Ikkaku smile and leapt forward in a sonic burst.

Ikkaku also vanished in a flash just before the hollow reappeared behind him. Ikkaku took a stance right in front of the hollow and jabbed at his face with his spear. The hollow jerked his head to the side and rushed straight ahead with its claws ready to strike either at his foe's head or chest.

"I'll admit I've never seen a hollow who can move like you can!" Ikkaku cried as he fell back and spun his spear around to drive the hollow's hands away from his body. "But You're not the only one who can move in unexpected ways! I can Flash Step!"

Ikkaku vanished with his last words and reappeared right behind his enemy, already in mid swing. The hollow turned and moved towards the attack as he did, catching the blade on the arm rather than on the back. The spear's head left a deep cut and set the blood rushing from his arm. The hollow ignored the wound and the pain and moved in for an attack of his own. He threw his wounded arm backwards to move the bladed part of the spear as far away from him as possible and turned his body to punch with his good arm.

"And my Demon Light can extend." Ikkaku all but whispered as his spear broke into three separate pieces linking by long chains. With an expert flick of the wrist he brought the bladed section of the spear back around at the hollow's back. The hollow leapt into the air to avoid being hit twisting about as it did. Ikkaku didn't waste the chance, but grabbed the back end of his spear and threw it at where the hollow would land, catching him in the gut. The hollow was knocked further back by the blow, and bent slightly.

Ikkaku held his three part spear by the middle part and spun the two ends around him like a helicopter blade. Faster and faster they moved till they were all a blur and the hollow couldn't tell which was which. Then Ikkaku attacked, he grabbed one end and spun the other at the hollow. Unable to tell whether it was the bladed or the tasseled end coming at him, the hollow jumped to the side. It had been the tasseled end, and Ikkaku lunged at him with the bladed end. The hollow blocked with its wounded arm and taking another deep gash to it, but he swung a punch at Ikkaku's open body, catching him in the shoulder and cracking a bone.

Ikkaku flicked his weapon once again and brought the solid end back around and hit the hollow in the back of the head. He fell, and as he did, his foe recombined his weapon and swung down at the hollow's back. He leapt away and only took a light cut to the back this time. Still Ikkaku pursued him; swinging his weapon around and around, swiping at the hollow with blade and butt.

As more of the instincts attention was focused on Ikkaku, more and more of the souls that had been subdued regained their voice. They cried out in fear and hatred, filling the hollow's inner world with a great cacophony. Some wanted to die, some wanted to be free, some simply saw a chance to gain a little power at the expense of everything. The first voice was strangely silent.

This didn't seem right to him. He wanted to crush the power of the Soul Society, but for some reason, to fight a soul slayer like this seemed wrong. He wasn't sure how to react. He was so troubled that he didn't hear the chaos rising around him. Then he felt his inner world shake as his outer body was hit once more.

"We're losing." The instincts admitted when the first voice looked up.

"We might soon be free!" A voice declared from below.

"We're going to die!" One said joyously, while others wailed in fear of death.

"This is the end for you boy," The last remnants of the Grand Fisher announced quietly, "All your power and this is where it gets you. To think I was consumed by this."

At the fisher's words the thought occurred to the first voice that if this kept up he would never see that black haired girl again. For the first time, since becoming a hollow, the first voice faced a legitimate chance of dying. That didn't frighten him, but the thought of failing did.

"I WON'T LOSE!" He declared drowning out the other voices, with such power that the words were carried out his inner world and into the mouth of the hollow. Power followed those words, power the coated the hollow's body in a faint white light; and soon that power radiated off of his arms in dark black lines. As the words passed his lips he brought his teeth down and caught the butt of his enemies' spear in his mouth.

The tasseled end of the spear shattered under the force of the teeth set in that mask, those the mask also cracked under the power that drove it. For the first time, Ikkaku's smile left him, now he was seeing the hollow at full force, and wasn't certain that this would be as fun as he had hoped. The hollow leapt at him, like a tiger at its prey. Ikkaku brought the two remaining sections of his spear back together and lunged at the hollow.

Bright white light gathered around the hollow's hands and it drove one of the forward as his enemy, his claws and fingers held together like a karate chop but moving straight ahead. Claws met blade. The blade shattered, the wood behind it spit, the chain at the end all but exploded and the flesh of Ikkaku's shoulder offered about as much resistance as tissue paper. The hollow plunged his whole hand down into Ikkaku, he could all but touch his foe's heart deep within. Then he pulled back and let the blood flow. Ikkaku fell to his knees before his enemy.

"IKKAKU!" His companion cried drawing his sword and leaping down the street. The hollow glared at him but made no attempt to move. Ikkaku threw the remnants of his sword as his friend.

"Yumichika! Don't you dare interrupt this!" Ikkaku ordered, Yumichika froze in his tracks. "Run."

"No I won't leave you like this!"

"Get out of here! It would kill you effortlessly! Don't waste my life as well as yours! Get back to the Court, tell everyone what you saw!"

Pain covered his friends face at those words, but it was the pain of knowing the right thing to do, and being unwilling to do it. Finally he nodded and turned to leave.

"And Yumichika?" Ikkaku asked with the last of strength, as the hollow grabbed him and lifted him up off the ground and level with his face.

"What?"

"Tell the Captain, I found a good prey for him." Then he turned to the hollow and with his one good hand grabbed at the hollow's throat in one last suborn and futile act of defiance.

"What are you waiting for you over-glorified skeletal zombie? I can still fight! Let's finish this!" And with that the hollow bit down on his unwounded shoulder, and Ikkaku blacked out from pain.

Skip

Far away within the high towers of the Court of Pure Souls, the center of Soul Society and barracks of all Death Gods, an old man took a seat. He was a very old man. His head was bald and he had a long white beard. His weathered eyes lazily closed as he rested for just a moment. Despite their relaxed appearance his old muscles held great power within them. This was no ordinary old man, he was the Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard. He was the most powerful man in all of Soul Society, and the most powerful to ever live within the last thousand years. He was getting old for this job. But there was no one strong enough to replace him. Yet.

There were a few men he had his hopes for. Two of them had been like sons to him, and had attained great power without being swallowed up by it. Yet they had been with him for hundreds of years now, their growth had long since stalled out. Now he had to look to a younger generation to provide the leadership for tomorrow. He had his hopes there as well. There was the latest captain he had approved to the guard, Toshiro Histugiya. The heads of the academy called him a genius and his Soul Slayer was the most powerful ice type of this age, and one of the strongest to ever exist at all. He looked barely older than twelve, yet he already had more than enough power to be named a captain. It would be interesting to see how he grew up. The commander would have to pay careful attention, otherwise he would miss it.

As he considered these things, there was a knock at the door. He nodded in that direction and it soon slid aside. The man standing behind was quite handsome. He had a kind face, with light, brown hair and soft eyes: hidden behind simple glasses. He wore a captain's cloak and held himself quite well in it. This was one of the other men that the Captain had high hopes for: Senoske Aizen.

Aizen was one of the strongest men to come to Soul Society in quite some time. He had already been with them for over a hundred years and held the rank of captain for eighty of them. His growth when young had been explosive and impressive, yet had seemed to mellow out lately. Still, the commander often wondered what it would take to defeat someone like him in battle. He nodded to him ever so slightly to recognize him, Aizen returned the bow but with greater respect.

"What brings you here to the First Squad barracks Captain Aizen?" The commander asked in well weathered, patient voice.

"I thought I felt something strange in the air and wanted to check if another captain had felt it, your barracks was closest. I hope I am not interrupting anything." Aizen answered in a lighter more hopeful and enthusiastic voice.

"My squadron runs itself quite well, Aizen, there is little I really have to do in a day. What was it exactly that you felt?"

"I'm not certain; it seemed like a deep sense of foreboding or dread. I guess you didn't feel it did you?"

"I felt nothing of the sort."

"Well it's probably nothing."

"I would not be so quick to judge, what's on your mind? Is something troubling you?"

"Am I that easy to read? Well I will admit I am troubled about this case with the Kuchikis."

"Are you worried about the coming execution?"

"Not as such, the execution itself seems strange to me. Why is a common Death God being killed in a means reserved for Captains?"

"She is a noble."

"An adopted sister of a noble, and there are other unusual things as well. Why such a short grace period? Twenty five days is hardly the custom? Why death for an offence typically punished with a few decades in prison? It all seems quite strange to me."

"Do you question the wisdom of Central Room 46?" The commander asked in a voice that suggested Aizen was treading on thin ice.

"Not as such it's just that—" Before he could continue they were interrupted by a messenger at the door.

"What is it?" The Commander demanded to know.

"Captain Gin Ichimaru has reported that he has engaged and repulsed a group of intruders trying to force their way through the east gate!"

"The east gate?" Aizen asked, "Isn't that Jidombo's territory?"

"It is," The messenger answered, "They overpowered him!"

"I assume Gin has dealt with them?" The Commander asked.

"No he only repulsed their assault."

"The fool; how could a captain allow intruders to escape? I will have to deal with this in the next meeting."

"Did he provide any description of the intruders?" Aizen asked.

"He claims there were three of them: one Hispanic man, one Japanese man in a white and blue suit, and one girl with orange hair and Japanese complexion."

"Is that all?"

"He also says that there was a black cat with them."

"Oh yes, don't forget about the cat. Of all the insanity, trying to invade Soul Society with three kids and a cat." Aizen ridiculed, the Commander was inclined to agree. This only made Gin's failure all the more notable. The Commander paused to consider how best to deal with this when another messenger entered the room.

"SIR! Eleventh Squad's Fifth Seat Yumichika has just reported a hollow attacking the outer southern districts of the Court of Wandering Souls!"

"WHAT?"Aizen and the Commander chorused.

"He says that Madarame Ikkaku engaged the hollow in battle and was defeated, he is withdrawing from the area and awaiting orders."

"A hollow powerful enough to defeat a third seat? That is worrying." Aizen analyzed.

"True. Dispatch Captain Kenpachi Zaraki to the area along with a full attack force from the Eleventh Squad. Find and eliminate that hollow before it can harm the souls living there."

"Yes sir!" The messenger responded and left.

"What about the intruders!" The other messenger asked.

"Hardly consequential. Turn the matter over to the Tenth Squad and spread word of this hollow attack, we can deal with these intruders after we have weathered this crisis." The messenger nodded and left.

"Do you think it is right to call this a crisis? Its only one hollow after all."

"Hollow haven't attacked Soul Society in almost a thousand years, the last time any of them set foot here it was as the vanguard to a much larger army. Many lives were lost because of hesitation in those dark days. We will deal with this hollow as swiftly as possible and restore the peace."

"As wise and concise as ever Commander. I will go and prepare my Fifth Squad for battle."

"Good hunting Captain Aizen."

"Fair well Commander."

As Aizen left the room he thought over Gin's message. Something was off. Not by much he had to admit, but something was off. This might change things.

Skip

The hollow bit down into Ikkaku's remaining leg. Death Gods were surprisingly hard to eat. Their bodies couldn't be broken like a hollow's could with sheer spiritual pressure, and they couldn't be swallowed whole like humans were. Each part of their bodies had to be bitten and chewed individually by his jaws. It was tedious. But it was worth it.

The taste was unimaginable. There was so much variety to it! Some bites were sweet, others were salty, others were spicy. It was delicious. The blood itself could've been a meal on its own. And then there was the power!

As he ate all of Ikkaku's power flowed into to him. All the power and fury he had ever possessed, even the power of his Souls Slayer was now at the hollow's disposal. As he ate the wounds he had received in battle healed, his muscles tightened, and his claws sharpened. The power filled him like no hollow ever had. Despite the look of pure joy the dominated his face, the hollow's inner world was troubled.

"Are all our fights going to be this difficult?" The first voice asked the instincts, as they strangled and dispersed the soul of Ikkaku that had just entered him.

"Do you mean are all our fights going to be this amazing?"

"We came within a hair's breathed to death!"

"We didn't die. We won't. Don't tell me you're afraid?"

"Of death? Not really, but if these fights keep up like this it will take forever to rescue her."

"Sounds good to us. These fights really get our blood rushing, and they're making us so much stronger. Besides it's not like we can avoid them."

The first voice groaned. The instinct looked down on him. To be honest, this voice annoyed the hell out him. The world would be much simpler if he would just sit down and shut up. But the instincts had to admit, the voice made things more exciting.

"You have a better idea?" The instincts asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Do you remember how the fisher was going to turn that boy into a hollow?"

"No. If we're going to remember anything I use your memory."

"Do you think the Fisher remembers?"

"Probably, what are you suggesting?"

"Things might go faster with a good distraction."

"And miss all those fights? Why would we want to do that?"

"We want her as soon as possible."

"True," The instincts admitted with a sigh.

"Don't worry, this will be fun. Trust me."

End.