Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Batman, The Dark Knight, The Joker, or anything DC Comics related or any of the following. All I own is the computer I typed this on.

Evolution

Summary: What if things went a little differently when Ichigo's mom died? What if there were others who died that day, including Ichigo? Follow Ichigo and company through their evolutions from hollows to arrancar. Ichi/Ori/Nel.

"Hello"- Ichigo, Orihime, Masaki, Sora Talking

'Hello'- Ichigo, Orihime, Masaki, Sora Thinking/Thoughts

"Hello"- Ichigo, Orihime, Masaki, Sora Yelling

"Hello"- Hollows Yelling

"Hello"- Hollows Talking

'Hello'- Hollows Thinking

Chapter 3:

Arrancars and Adjuchas

They trudged along. They always traveled in their little four-man group. They were never far away from each other, always hunting and devouring the other Menos. Because of their large bodies and slow movements, they relocated to Menos Forest. They wouldn't be noticed, and as such their was no reputation of them. No one knew of their little squad, all the Menos around them were stupid, and any intelligent ones found, challenged them like imbeciles. Of course, word never gets out about them. No hollows ever got away from them anyway. They liked it that way. No crazy ass hollows to hunt them for power and stuff. Right now it was good to stay unknown.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Ichigo lifted his enormous body, he stood and watched his family devour their Menos. He finished his. He enjoyed eating Menos because there was no mess. Menos didn't bleed for some…odd reason, and after they were devoured their bodies simply…disintegrated. Leaving behind no trace that anything went on. It was pretty cool, and it played to their secrecy advantage. He watched as Orihime lifted herself from the now disintegrating Menos. For some reason, he was attracted to her. He knew she was pretty, beneath all the hollow…stuff. And if they made it to the Arrancar stage, they would be human in form once again. But physical appearance wasn't just it, he enjoyed being with her. Her attitude about everything was phenomenal. She always thought the best of everything and everyone. And she was nice, her kindness appealed to him. Besides the emotions he felt with her, it was deeper than that, spiritual actually. When he was near her, their spiritual energies mingled and danced around each other. There was something there.

Sora was next to finish the Menos. Over time Sora and Ichigo developed a big-little brother relationship. They talked and joked around, with the way they acted, one would think they've known each other all their lives. They also had an unspoken agreement. Both Sora and Ichigo knew that Orihime liked Ichigo. So they pretty much agreed that if Ichigo hurts Orihime in any way, Sora kicks Ichigo's ass. But Ichigo would never hurt her, of course. Other than that, everything was great between Sora and Ichigo.

Masaki finished off her Menos, and looked upon the group. Their spiritual energies increased with every hollow devoured, except hers and Sora's. Ichigo's growth was phenomenal, it didn't matter what kind of hollow he devoured, it grew exponentially. Orihime's growth was just behind ichigo's. Not as much as Ichigo, but still above average. Masaki's and Sora's power grew equally and slowly. Masaki lost her position as leader. Ichigo now took on that role. He was intelligent, very much so. And wise, he made decisions based on knowledge and logic. Wisdom Masaki didn't know how he acquired. He had the disposition of a leader. And no one had any qualms letting him lead them. Ichigo didn't really seem to notice. He just voiced his thoughts and they listened.

Go figure.

Either way, everything was pretty routine. By routine, I meant boring. They all marched through Menos Forest, with Ichigo and Orihime leading the way, looking for a secluded area to rest, not that they needed it. It made them feel closer to human, doing human-like things.

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A small trio of hollows were wandering around the entrance to Menos Forest. The largest hollow was rather comic looking. His body was covered in what looked like a yellow jumpsuit. It was spotted in some areas with black polka-dots. The only things that weren't covered were his head, hands and feet. His hands and feet were a pale, chalk white. His hollow mask consisted of a large, colorful Tiki mask with large yellow eyes. The smaller hollow was thin and scrawny. He was absolutely purple except the whit "armor" that adorned his shoulders, waist, hands, and feet. He was also wearing a loincloth. His mask was insectoid and white, he also had his left eye covered with a purple cloth. The smallest hollow there was impossible to describe, for it wore a green sheet over itself. It was fashioned into a makeshift hoodie that hid it's face, and covered it's body completely. This trio had no idea they were being watched.

"Maybe we should get out of here, don'tcha know?' Asked the larger, tiki-hollow. "I'm getting the creeps, don'tcha know." He finished.

"I agree with Dondochakka, we should go." Responded the smaller, lankier hollow. Before he could lead them away from Menos Forest, a deep, wavering voice spoke up.

"Oh, you can't leave,"It said in a mock whiny voice, "We were just about to get to know each other." It finished. Out of the shadows stepped out four hollows. They varied in size, color, and shape but judging from their spiritual pressure, they were all Adjuchas. One of them stepped out to the center, obviously the leader. He was small, human sized actually. His body was purple, but he had some green on his torso. Despite his hollow heritage, he kept his human hair, which was green. It fell about his head, some of it covering his mask. His mask was simple, human in shape and white. What made it stick out was the black that decorated the area around his eyes. He also had what looked like a crooked red smile that spread across his face. It began on his left temple, curved downward then curling upward ending at the right temple (A/N: It's just the Joker from The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was phenomenal, WATCH IT!!!!)

Not missing a beat, the smaller purple hollow grabbed the smaller being and ran off into the forest, the larger hollow known as Dondochakka following behind them. The Adjuchas quartet watched them run. The leader cocked his head to the side, a pink tongue slipping out of his mouth then running quickly over his upper lip. He sighed wistfully. "Go get 'em." He stated. Instantly, the three adjuchas sped into the forest, while he skipped into the forest at a slow pace.

This was gonna be fun.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Ichigo trudged along. He left the others back at their hiding spot. He claimed it was to clear his head, which was true. He continued wandering and thinking. 'Why haven't any of us evolved yet? We're plenty strong.' His thoughts caused him to lose his focus on reality. He never noticed the trio of hollows running in his direction. Then he felt it. A quartet of Adjuchas class hollows were approaching, three of them very quickly. Then he noticed them, a small trio of hollows. They had apparently noticed him, as they were cowering in fear of his massive form. He didn't care about them though, he wanted the adjuchas. He established a mental link to the trio.

'You three, when the Adjuchas enter the clearing, you run in that direction. GOT IT?' He thought-talked to them. The trio dumbly nodded. He looked them over briefly. 'Such an odd trio of hollows.' As he finished the thought, the first three of the hollow quartet showed up. Instantly, the three hollows took off in the direction of the clearing that Ichigo had indicated before. The adjuchas took off in the same direction as the hollow trio, they would have caught up, but Ichigo was prepared. He charged up a Cero, and launched it the Adjuchas made their appearance. Ichigo's cero was different from the typical blood-red colored blasts. Whenever he used cero, it was black. A pitch black that appeared as though it were absorbing light instead of radiating it. It also growed crimson. The energy itself was black, while it had a crimson aura about it.

Weird.

The Cero made impact and launched the three adjuchas in various directions. Ichigo dived toward the strongest one, devouring it whole. He felt his body fill with energy. He immediately sped (A/N: As fast as a Menos Grande could run;) towards the second adjuchas which was still dazed from the attack. He looked it over. 'Man, for an Adjuchas this guys pathetic.' Ichigo thought. He devoured him. 'And then there was one.' He walked slowly to the prone form of the last adjuchas. It was a basic fish-type hollow. He walked on two legs and arms, but had the head of a fish, complete with the glowing lure sticking out of it's forehead (A/N: Think Ripjaws from Ben 10. Sorry about the poor descriptions.). Ichigo reached out and grabbed the fishy hollow. He lifted him until it was eye level with him. 'I recognize this spiritual pressure! It's that fucking Grand Fisher!' He immediately connected with Fisher.

'Hey Fisher, remember me?' Ichigo thought-spoke to him. The terribly frightened hollow shook it's ugly head. 'You killed me and my friends by the river, remember?' Immediately, it's eyes widened in recognition. 'I'm so fucked' Fisher thought to himself. He started trembling, in his fear forgetting his ability to launch a cero. Ichigo lifted his body to his mouth and ate the once grand Fisher. 'At least I got this guy over with.' Ichigo felt the power of three Adjuchas filling his body. Then pain took over his senses. It felt as though his body were being torn inside-out, then dipped in alcohol while being set on fire. His spiritual pressure began growing, and his body began shrinking. His body was shrunk down to at least eight feet tall. His body was lizard-like, with a long, pointed tail. He had three toes, which were bird-like, and five fingers, which were pointed out into claws. He kept his mask, which now covered his whole head, leaving him bald. His body was also bleached white, except for some areas. His tail was tipped blood red, which bled upwards along his tail towards his body a bit. He had blood red wiggly stripes on his arms, legs, and mask. He also had what looked like grey fur on both his wrists, and on his collar bone. He was also very well muscled (A/N: There's a link in my profile if you want to see him).

"Man, that hurt like hell!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Wait a minute, I can talk again!" Indeed he could talk, but his voice came out strange. It sounded as though he were gargling water every time he spoke. It was also very gruff, probably because he hasn't used it in months. THUMP! It sounded as though a couple people fell over. When he went to look, he found his assumption was correct. The three hollows he helped earlier, were approaching him cautiously. All three of them jumped in front of him, and gave deep bows, it was rather comical. The purple on raised it's head.

"Arigatou, Adjuchas-Sama!" The larger Tiki-hollow raised his head as well.

"Yeah! I thought we were a goner, don'tcha know!" It stated loudly. 'Don'tcha know!?' Ichigo thought. Only one thing went through his head at that phrase, 'WTF!' Finally the smallest hollow among them lifted it's small body. It removed it's green hood to reveal the face of an adorable four year old girl. She had teal colored hair, and a tattoo across her face and nose, just under her eyes. The tattoo was made to look like a hot pink blush. He also noticed that the incisors on her lower jaw were longer than average. She had a hollow mask sitting on her head. It was shaped into a cartoonish mask, which was cracked. It looked as though it's teeth were broken. She also had a scar that came down from her forehead, down across the bridge of her nose. She looked at Ichigo with large, expressive, light-gold eyes.

"Thank you for saving us, you was awesome!" She explained. Ichigo looked at her thoroughly. 'She looks exactly like a human. The only think that gives her away as a hollow is the mask, and her spiritual pressure. Is she an…Arrancar?' Ichigo thought to himself.

"So, what are your names?" Ichigo asked. Immediately, they stood up, as though addressing a military commander, and recited their names. The large Tiki-hollow went first.

"I am Dondochakka Bilstin, don'tcha know." He recited in his yakuza-style accent. The smaller purple hollow went next.

"I am Pesche Guatiche." He stated. Finally the little girl stepped up.

"I am Nel Tu!" She shouted with conviction. 'What a group of wierdos.' Ichigo thought.

"By the way, my name isn't Adjuchas, it's Ichigo, alright?" He informed them. It was weird enough with Orihime always saying 'Ichigo-Sama'. Now these guys were calling him 'Adjuchas-Sama'.

"Where ya from, Itsygo?" Nel asked in a child-like lisp. Immediately, Ichigo had a tick mark on his left temple.

"Oi! My name's not 'Itsygo', it's I-chi-go!" He yelled, emphasizing each syllable. Before Nel could respond, Ichigo disappeared.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The fourth hollow watched the Menos take down his group. He was excited. His little squad consisted of all Adjuchas, strong ones too. In terms of spiritual pressure, they were low captain, high lieutenant. In terms of fighting ability, well they were skilled. None of them had faced shinigami before. But they were skilled in combat. He, however, was high captain level, despite being an Adjuchas and not a Vasto Lorde. And that recently-turned Adjuchas was just as strong as him! He saw how he took out his men and protected the hollow triplets. Man, this was going to be a good fight, and if he won, he might just become a Vasto Lorde! He wasn't stupid though, he knew it was a fifty-fifty chance of loss and victory. Well, here goes everything. He charged a Cero in his left hand, and launched it. Instantly the white and red Adjuchas grabbed the three hollow and dashed away, taking them under a large stalagmite for safety. 'Great speed and reaction.'

Things just got a little harder.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Wut wuz dat?" Nel asked. "Is sumone attackin us?" She said. 'Man, why did this have to happen now.' Ichigo thought to himself.

"Yeah. You guys stay here, I'll deal with this." The three hollows nodded rapidly. Suddenly, a wave of dread washed over them. The air became thicker, and they could feel their knees shaking. Something strong was coming. Nel looked at Ichigo and saw he wasn't affected. He sensed the new presence, and looked behind him for the perpetrator. He entered the clearing, walking slowly. He walked aimlessly, yet with a specific direction at the same time. He was heading for Ichigo. He entered with a cackle, like a mad scientist.

"Ha ha ha," His laugh slowly dissolved into a mocking, half-hearted laugh. "Hee hee, hoo, ha, hee, ha, hoo, hee, ha." He finished. 'Something is wrong with this guy.' Ichigo observed. The hollow was constantly craning his neck, rubbing his shoulder against his chin, and he continuosly licked his upper lip rapidly. He seemed pretty weak, too. He was scrawny, and smaller than Ichigo. He couldn't really sense spiritual pressure from him.

"This is gonna be a cake walk." Ichigo stated. The hollow cocked his head.

"Hn, I thought my jokes were bad. What's your name, newbie?" The hollow asked.

"The name's Ichigo Kurosaki. What do you mean 'newbie'?" Ichigo questioned.

"You just became an Adhjuchas right now, didn't you? Your barely a newborn Adjuchas. After a couple hours, when your transformation finally sinks in, you'll reach your full Adjuchas power. Right now you're at about fifty percent." The hollow stated. 'That's why I gotta beat you now. To prevent someone as strong as you from getting stronger.' "Well, what are we waiting for! Let's fight!" The hollow screamed. They charged at each other. Both analyzing the other, looking for the quickest way to win. Ichigo was glad to be in a humanoid body. Now he could utilize his karate training. He managed to become a black belt before he died, so he had extraordinary hand-to-hand combat ability. But this guy…he was an awesome fighter as well. He moved with an unconscious grace. Every time Ichigo had an opening and exploited it, this guy maneuvered around it. Not to say he was doing any better. He couldn't touch Ichigo either. 'Well, I'll surprise him.' Ichigo thought. The hollow threw a punch. Ichigo wrapped his left arm around it, from underneath. When the hollow attempted to punch Ichigo with his other arm, Ichigo deflected it. Ichigo pulled his arm back, but instead of punching the hollow, he did something it didn't expect. Ichigo fisted his hand pointing at the hollow with his index and middle finger, charging a cero. 'Oh, shit.' The hollow thought. Ichigo unleashed the cero.

CRASH!

The blast knocked the hollow several feet away. It lay unmoving. Ichigo turned and walked slowly towards Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka. The hand to hand combat tired him out. And using that cero really took it out of him. Maybe that hollow was right, he wasn't at full power yet. He was too deep in thought to hear Nel calling out to him.

"I-itsygo! Wook out!" Nel called, but it was too late. When Ichigo turned his back on the hollow, it began to discreetly charge a Cero in his right hand, which wasn't visible to Ichigo at his angle and distance. When the hollow noticed Ichigo was too out of it, it fired the cero. And it hit Ichigo directly. 'Shit, this fucking hurts!' Ichigo laid on his back, unmoving. 'C-can't move.' Seeing it's chance, the hollow quickly pinned Ichigo down. He was straddling him, preventing any leg movement, and he pinned his arms down to prevent any cero attacks from Ichigo. It leaned forward.

"Well, look who's on top now, ha ha." It said in a mocking tone and laugh. "Y'know, I don't think I gave you my name. Before I died, my name was Red Hood. But, I haven't any need for that name anymore, so I've been going by The Joker." It explained, laughing. "Say, you wanna know how I died? Well, my father was a drinker, and a fiend. One day, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy picks up the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. NOT. ONE. BIT. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her. Then he turns over and looks at me, 'Why so serious!' He walks over to me, 'Why so SERIOUS!' He puts the blade in my mouth, 'Lets put a SMILE on that face!' And he cut me. I bled to death." Ichigo didn't make any outward indication that the story phased him, but inside he was cringing. 'This guy's life was FUCKED up.' "Well, I hoped I managed to entertain you before I ate you. Sorry, but your evolution ends here!" The Joker leaned down slowly, preparing to take a bite out of Ichigo's shoulder. He tried breaking out of the Joker's hold, but his attempts were fruitless. 'Come on! It can't end like this! How am I supposed to protect everyone if I stay like I am now. Move! Move!' Ichigo thought desperately.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"We've gotta get outta here before those two figure out were still here, don'tcha know!" Dondochakka whispered.

"He's right. We have to escape before those two decide to eat us." Pesche said, he went to grab Nel, but she evaded.

"We can't leave! Itsygo won't hurt us! If he wanted to he'd have hurt us by now. He saved us!" Nel screamed, trying to defend Ichigo. When she looked past Pesche and Dondochakka, she saw Ichigo walking towards them, tiredly. And behind him, was the Joker about to launch a Cero. "I-itsygo! Wook out!" She called, but Ichigo didn't hear. It was too late. The cero hit Ichigo directly on the back, launching him several feet, before finally stopping on his back. She watched in horror as the Joker pinned him down. They seemed to talk for a while before she saw the Joker about to eat Ichigo. She turned to Dondochakka. "Pwease help him!" Dondochakka looked at Pesche before turning back to Nel, and nodding. He opened his large mouth before charging a cero, he fired it just as the Joker was biting down on Ichigo's shoulder. He got a direct hit. Ichigo immediately stood up, and jumped into action.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

After that cero knocked the Joker off of him, Ichigo jumped up. This guy couldn't be taken lightly, he had to immobilize him. Ichigo launched another cero, hitting the Joker on the shoulder blowing his left arm off. He released a pain-filled scream. Ichigo was next to him in a heartbeat, tearing off the Joker's one good arm, and braking his legs. The now-harmless Adjuchas lay on the cold ground. Cursing, and yelling away. Ichigo ignored him, 'I'll just take this guy to the others, they can split him three ways, and he's super strong too. They might even evolve!' Ichigo thought nastily. He noticed the three hollows from before approaching him. Nel ran up and glomped him, the other two were more cautious, and they seemed to fear for Nel.

"ITSYGO! We thought you was a goner! Pwease don't fight no more!" Ichigo chuckled. He gently patted Nel's head. Normally, he just other hollows, but these guys helped him. 'I suppose I could make an exception.' He thought.

"You guys are coming with me. I know it's tough out there in Hueco Mundo, and I'm way stronger then you guys. As thanks, I'll protect you guys." Ichigo said. The two hollows looked relieved, and Nel was dancing around in happiness. Ichigo looked at the downed Adjuchas, he looked slightly pale and was unmoving. 'Well, let's get you to Orihime and the others.' He grabbed the Joker and motioned to Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka to follow him. They started off into the forest, Ichigo leading the way.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Where is He!?" Orihime thought-spoke to Sora and Masaki. "He's been gone for hours!" Her two companions looked at her.

"He's probably off venting on some poor Menos." Sora responded. Masaki nodded.

"He'll be back soon dear." She comforted. Orihime's massive form seemed to calm down. Suddenly an enormous amount of spiritual pressure filled the area. It was dense and heavy, it was difficult to breath.

"Hey! Did you guy's miss me!?" A voice yelled. The three Menos looked down and saw an Adjuchas. It was small, about eight feet tall. His body was lizard-like, with a long, pointed tail. He had three toes, which were bird-like, and five fingers, which were pointed out into claws. His mask covered his whole head, leaving him bald. His body was also bleached white, except for some areas. His tail was tipped blood red, which bled upwards along his tail towards his body a bit. He had blood red wiggly stripes on his arms, legs, and mask. He also had what looked like grey fur on both his wrists, and on his collar bone. He was also very well muscled. They all had one thought: 'ICHIGO!?'

"In case you don't recognize me, it's me, Ichigo. I brought a gift!" He said. He lifted the Joker's prone body. He tore off his head in a display of bloody carnage, and in an impressive display of strength, he threw the head one hundred stories up, which Masaki caught, and promptly devoured it. Ichigo then ripped the now dead hollows body in half. Across it's middle, a horizontal slice severing it perfectly. He tossed the two halves up in the air, one for Sora and one for Orihime. After they devoured it, the effects were immediate.

Masaki's transformation was nothing special. She simply reverted to her original hollow-fox form, only smaller. She was now no more than three feet tall, and four feet long (tail included). Same color scheme and everything. But her spiritual pressure shot up. She was weaker than Ichigo, but she definitely had captain level spiritual pressure.

Sora's transformation was on a grander scale. He didn't shrink much. All in all, he transformed into a giant King Cobra. He was pure white, no crazy colors or designs. Just white. He was fifteen yards thick, and one hundred yards long. One giant snake.

Orihime took on a humanoid form. Her body was covered in a feminine armor (A/N:Think Samus) that covered her head, chest, hips and groin, and thighs. The armor was orange, same color as her human hair color. Beneath the armor, her skin was white. White skin where there was no armor. Around her head was a thick ring, making it look like a halo of some sort. Behind her, sprouting from her shoulder blades, were large angel-like wings. They looked stiff; she probably wouldn't be able to use them for actual flight, they were for decoration. They all stood around, admiring their new forms.

"Well, what's it feel like to be Adjuchas?" Ichigo asked them. They looked flustered, as though not believing it.

"It feels amazing." They answered simultaneously. Ichigo nodded, that feeling was still coursing through him.

"Let me introduce you guys to some new friends." He turned and gestured for something in the brush to come out. "Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka get out here!" A little girl and two hollows came out, slightly fearful. "They're with us now. I owe them because they kinda…saved my ass." They looked at Ichigo and the three arrivals incredulously.

"They saved you!? Seriously!" Masaki yelled in shock.

"It's a long story." Ichigo proceeded to explain the story to the Adjuchas, the arrancar and two hollows listening intently.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N: Sorry for the wait you guys. I had other stuff to do.

Okay in terms of power Ichigo is the Strongest. He's about as strong as Byakuya Kuchiki. Orihime is second strongest, she's about as strong Gin Ichimaru(Yes I believe Byakuya is stronger Gin). Masaki and Sora are equal in strength. They're about as strong as Toushiro Hitsugaya. I hope my descriptions of the others Adjuchas form was good. Ichigo was easy, I just used his hollow form before his final battle with Ulquiorra. There's a link in my profile if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Adios