Chapter 2: The Village of Konoha

"He will awake very soon."

"Who do you think might have done this, Tsunade-sama? And who is he?"

"I don't know who he is, Shizune. However, there seems to be a curse mark on his neck - definitely Orochimaru. It seems that he is going to have the same fate as Uchiha Sasuke..."

"Tsunade-sama! He is waking up!"

The two women quickly turned towards Ichigo, who was slowly waking up from unconsciousness. "Hello there," Tsunade smiled, "glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open at the woman's words and immediately rose up from his bed as though he awoke from a nightmare. Tsunade gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but Ichigo was still in a bit of a panic. "What the hell? How can you see me? Where the hell am I? What did you do?" Before he could continue with more questions, Tsunade smiled reassuringly and replied, "You really need to take it easy. You are in the medical ward at the Konoha hospital. Now then, get some rest. My assistant, Shizune, here, will watch over you until you have recovered. She will then bring you to my office so that I can explain everything to you."

"That still doesn't explain why you are seeing me right now!" Ichigo snapped, "Usually no normal human being can see me unless they have spiritual energy..." Ichigo slowed down as he stared at the blonde woman in front of him questioningly. "If that is what you are asking," Tsunade replied, "all of us here at Konoha are beyond normal, so of course we can see you. You could say that we have some spiritual energy. Like I said, you need to get some rest and not to worry about anything until Shizune takes you to see me at my office. I will see you two then." As she stood up and walked to the door, Ichigo lay back down and slowly closed his eyes.

Several hours later, Ichigo woke up once again to find Shizune sleeping on her chair beside his bed. He let out a long sigh as he tried to recall what happened.

The last thing that he remembered was the looming, elongated form of Orochimaru, the sick and twisted ninja whom he was on a mission to hunt down, biting into his neck after Kabuto disappeared before he was defeated. With that memory in mind, Ichigo reached behind his neck as though he was feeling the strangely shaped mark engraved onto his skin. He cringed at the thought about what will happen since now he has this mark. He already had a hollow within him; will he have another dark presence within him? He thought about how his hollow would react - he probably wouldn't let that shit happen, or could he?

"Hello, king. Lost in thought are we?"

Ichigo winced at the voice of his hollow, which laughed his eerie and maniacal laugh.

"I never knew that such an opportunity would be so wonderful! Guess what? I want to try to take over again!"

The laugh echoed through his mind once again. Oh shit... Ichigo remembered the last time that his hollow had threatened to take over his body and had to ask the viazards' assistance to assist him in controlling this hollow. He had barely managed to push the hollow into the very core of his soul and it worked for a while - at least until now.

"You remember how much I tried haunting your very life in the past? Well, I am going to continue doing it again, and this time, mark my words, your body and all of your powers will be MINE!"

Ichigo closed his eyes as tight as he could to drown the horrible laughter, and eventually the laughter stopped but the fear still remained. He swallowed as he tried to calm himself from the horrible shaking that his body was enduring.

At that moment, Shizune awoke from her nap and smiled when she noticed the shinigami wide-awake. "Ah good morning," she greeted, "or should I say good afternoon. I suppose you are ready to talk to Tsunade?" Ichigo nodded as he managed to drag himself out of bed and follow the kind kunoichi out of the hospital ward, eager to know what was going on and what will happen to him now that he has this mark on his neck.

Ichigo stepped onto the hardwood floor of the large, spacious office, mesmerized by the area as he looked around. "Tsunade-sama will arrive very shortly," Shizune announced from behind him, "please have a seat."

Slowly, he pulled up a chair next to the hokage's desk and sat down, thoughts of previous events running through his mind. First, he receives a curse mark from an adversary whom he was supposed to hunt down; now his hollow is haunting him again - what next? He thought about how this would affect the relationship that he and Rukia had and his career as a lieutenant. He had always wanted to become a captain ever since the war with Aizen, but he was not sure how he would be able to achieve such a level now that he was affected by this curse. At first, he thought that this mission was a waste of time, but he understood the warnings that his friends, captain and subordinates, family, and girlfriend had given him. Burying his face in his hands in frustration, he sighed deeply, worrying about what would happen next and cursing himself for taking such a mission lightly.

His head snapped up when Ogichi's laughter rang in his head again. "You're such a nave fool, king. Thinking that such a mission would be EASY!"

"I never said it was going to be easy," Ichigo growled.

"Yes, but you said it was going to be a waste of time! Now, look at you - under a curse mark! What a pathetic idiot you are!"

"Heh, that's what everyone else says."

The hollow laughed again. "Damn straight, Ichigo. Why don't you ever listen to anyone's warnings instead of being a stubborn bastard all the time? Oh well, it doesn't matter for I'm still going to take over that body of yours. Mark my words, king." The laughter continued as Ichigo dug his fingers in his temples, trying to drown out the screeching laughter. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

But the hollow kept on laughing, getting on the young lieutenant's nerves more and more. "I'm going to enjoy haunting you every chance I get. You know what I'm going to do after I take over your body? Tear everyone in this town to shreds!"

Ichigos eyes opened wider. "You wouldn't?"

"I sure would; just try me."

He just could not take anymore of this. "Look, you leave these people out of this! This is between you, me, and...Orochimaru."

"Wow, looks like kingie is trying to play hero again. You know, you don't even know these people so why bother protecting them?"

Does this bastard understand that it was a part of Ichigo's destiny to protect everyone, no matter what? This was really aggravating the lieutenant more. "Just shut up already! As your king I "order" you to shut the hell up!"

Finally, the laughter stopped when the door to the office started to open. Ichigo whirled around only to face the hokage herself. "Hello, Ichigo," Tsunade greeted as she walked over to her desk with Ichigo's eyes following her. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to take care of other important matters. Now we will have a chat. May I offer you anything? A cup of tea maybe?" Ichigo shook his head, and Tsunade smiled and sat down at her desk facing him.

She folded her hands in front of her as she stared at the young man in front of her, whose eyes were fixed downward. There was silence for a while until she broke it. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess..." Ichigo looked up to face the hokage before him. "I want to know how I got here, about this curse mark, about this Orochimaru guy. Please tell me what you know."

Tsunade sighed. "First of all, I want to ask you a few questions." The lieutenant gave her his attention to show that he was listening. "Who are you and what business do you have regarding Orochimaru? The reason why I'm asking these questions is so that I can get a better understanding of this whole situation that you're in."

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and believe it or not, I am a shinigami."

Tsunade winced, slightly surprised. "A shinigami? You mean, a death god?"

"Yes."

Tsunade nodded her head. "That makes a lot of sense as to why you were confused about us seeing you. Anyway, go on."

"This badge here," Ichigo slightly rotated his badge so that the hokage can get a better look at it, "indicates that I am a lieutenant of one of the 13 protection divisions in the Soul Society, a spirit realm above this world."

"Very interesting."

Ichigo nodded. "I was sent here on an assassination mission to defeat Orochimaru. At first, I didn't listen to my captain and subordinates, family and friends, and girlfriend when they warned me about this guy. They said that he was dangerous and that I should be on my guard at all times. However, I took this mission very lightly and thought that it was a waste of time. That was a mistake. When I saw Orochimaru and fought his assistant, I was about to defeat his assistant when he disappeared and then Orochimaru gave me this curse mark. Now I know what everyone else was talking about, and I want to do anything I can to defeat this guy. The mission indicates that I can't do this with help, but if I get information on this guy then maybe I can have a better understanding."

Nodding again, Tsunade spoke up. "What these people said was correct: Orochimaru is dangerous; in fact, he is the most dangerous ninja in history. Your captain might have told you that he was a part of a legendary group of ninja called Sannin, am I correct?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, although this mission was actually given by our captain-commander."

"I see." Tsunade continued, "The 3 Legendary Sannin were all trained and brought up here in Konoha. Each had special gifts and was trained with one purpose: to protect the former hokage of this village, the one whom I had succeeded. Orochimaru was thought to have this potential until one day he started to learn forbidden jutsu, or techniques, and was responsible for many brutal murders and cruel experiments. He was cast out of Konoha for such criminal acts, but who knew that eventually he would return to destroy this village. My successor tried to fight him off, but his sacrifice was in vain.

"It has been said that he gathered the strongest ninja from various villages and stole their bodies for his own cruel benefits every four years. That mark, for instance, would force anyone to do his evil biddings and, when it was time, he would cast out the soul and take over without warning. He gave you that curse mark so that you can become his servant, and one day he would take over your body without further notice."

Ichigo winced in surprise when he heard this. He was afraid for if Orochimaru would take over, he would not be able to protect his friends from anything that would happen to them. Instead, he would kill them with his own hands. Oh great, what was he suppose to do now?

"Is...there any way to stop it?" He stammered softly as he lifted a hand up to touch the curse mark once again. "There is only one," Tsunade replied, "and that is to defeat him, which is what you were sent here to do. However, it is not going to be easy because he can control your body at any given time using that mark."

She noticed the guilty and worried look that was on his face and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I can send for a ninja who is exceptionally skilled at sealing jutsu. He can seal that curse mark for you just like what he did for a young man who used to reside here...before he took off to be one of Orochimaru's servants. What do you think about that, Lieutenant?"

Ichigo looked up to meet his eyes with the hokage's. "Do you think that can work?"

"It is the best that anyone can do."

His resolve returned to him, for there was a determined look in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. "Then it's settled. Thank you very much. However, please call me Ichigo."

"No problem, Ichigo. Call me Tsunade." She frowned for it was time for her to be serious again. "Now then, earlier you asked how you were brought here. Shizune and a couple other ninja brought you here after patrolling the Konoha forest. With my medical abilities, I was able to bring you back to full health."

"I see. Thank you so much, Tsunade. I owe you."

Tsunade laughed. "Once this mission of yours finishes, not only are you doing everyone in this Soul Society you speak of a favour but also everyone in this village a favour as well."

"As for this ninja you speak of, where can I find him?"

"Well, Kakashi is currently on a mission at the moment, but I will have him sent here right away. In the meantime, feel free to look around this village, and like I said before, everyone here can see you so you wouldn't need to worry about that. You're dismissed." Ichigo stood up from his chair and thanked the hokage as he was leaving the office.

Ichigo walked down the streets of the busy marketplace, watching all of the people preoccupied with their activities: sales people selling their wares, children laughing and playing, women sweeping their front steps, regular adult citizens just chatting amongst each other and buying whatever they needed. It reminded him of life in Rukongai, for there were some times in which he would walk amongst the busy street life in one of those regions. This town gave him a sense of enormous well-being with every step he took. In response to the waves and smiles of the people around him, however, he only smiled a little bit.

A small rumbling noise stopped his walking, however, and he looked around for a place where he might eat. His eyes stopped upon what seemed to be a noodle house with cloth flaps and bar-like stools in front of the kitchen area. As he walked closer to it, he suddenly realized that he didn't have any money for anything. Nice try, dumbass, he thought, they won't let you eat for free, not at a place like this.

An old man stepped out and waved him over. Ichigo stiffened as he hesitantly stepped over to him. "You look like a hungry fellow. How about you come over and eat? My daughter and I will fix you with something." Sweat dropping, Ichigo just shook his head hesitantly. "I-I dont know really. I didn't bring any money..."

"Nonsense," the old man shook his head and laughed, "it's on the house. Just choose what you like." The lieutenant just smiled as he followed the man inside the noodle house and was given a menu.

"So I hear that there was a shinigami in town and looked what just stepped in," the man said as soon as he stepped into the kitchen. Ichigo's head snapped up. "Excuse me? How did you know?" The man laughed again. "News travel fast, don't they? Especially when you are in a small village like this. I even hear that you're going to kill Orochimaru. Good luck on that." Ichigo went back to reading his menu. "So," the man continued, "what would you like?"

"I'll just have a bowl of ramen, please."

"Coming right up."

Ichigo stared into space while the man, along with a young woman that came out around the same time the shinigami made his order, prepared his food. He had so much on his mind ever since his meeting with Tsunade. So Orochimaru wants to take over his body, huh? Then again, it wouldn't be easy with the hollow spirit around. Speaking of which, Ichigo had to live with the haunting voice of the maniac inhabiting his body. If he were to choose, however, he would rather Ogichi to take over than have Orochimaru do that. He did not know what to do, and he was not sure how his family, friends, captain and subordinates would take it, any of this... The stress was unbearable and overwhelming; he needed to find a way to fight this off, but how?

"Excuse me, shinigami-san?" A voice awoke him from his daydream. Ichigo looked up to see the girl with a bowl of ramen in her hands and a smile on her face. "Here is your food, sir. Enjoy!" Ichigo thanked her, and started to eat quietly. "No, thank you for doing what you can about Orochimaru." Ichigo smiled shyly as he dug his chopsticks into the noodles, savouring every taste.

Just when Ichigo was finishing up with his ramen, a large hawk landed beside him with what seemed to be a rolled-up piece of paper attached to its leg. "I think there's a message for you, shinigami-san." The girl said as Ichigo carefully removed the paper from the hawks leg. As soon he removed it, the hawk flew away. "Call me Ichigo, miss." He said with a smile as he unrolled the note as carefully as he could.

This was what the message said:

Ichigo, Kakashi Hatake has returned from his mission. Please report back to the Hokage at once.

Nodding in understanding, Ichigo immediately stood up. "I have to go back to the hokage," he said quickly. The old chef smiled in reply. "Alright, don't worry about your bowl. We will take care of that for you, and remember that it was on the house so you don't need to worry about paying us. The only payment that you will give us is the successful assassination of Orochimaru. Good luck, young shinigami."

"Thank you." Ichigo smirked with determination as he ran towards the hokage's office.

He walked into the spacious office only to find the hokage, her assistant, and a tall man whose face was covered up to his eyes and silver hair protruding in spikes, reading a book of some kind. Swallowing a nervous lump in his throat, Ichigo cleared his throat to get their attention. Tsunade smiled in greeting. "Ah hello there, Ichigo. This is Kakashi Hatake; the jounin that I told you about."

She elbowed Kakashi in the arm, causing him to look up. "Ah hello there, you must be the shinigami that everyone was talking about," He said with not so much emotion as he put his book aside. "The hokage here said that you are in quite a pickle with Orochimaru. I can understand that. Come with me please." Without hesitation, Ichigo followed the ninja out of the office and into a large, pitch-black room.

Using multiple hand gestures, Kakashi created a brightly lit, green circle covered in runic symbols, which lit the entire room in its dim glow. The lieutenant was amazed by the grandeur of this power. Everything was silent for a while until Kakashi stood up and stepped towards the center. "Please come to where I am right now and kneel in front of me, keeping your neck exposed."

Ichigo immediately complied, and, using another series of hand gestures, Kakashi placed his finger on the curse mark and shouted the word "Seal!" Ichigo shuddered with slight discomfort as more runic symbols formed around the curse mark in a reddish glow.

Kakashi removed his finger as Ichigo rubbed his curse mark once again. "That should hold for a while at least." Then he stood up once again and gestured the shinigami to follow him, which he acknowledged. "Best of luck in trying to defeat him though, and please come back alive," Kakashi continued as he waved his hand and walked off, leaving Ichigo standing in the hallway.

Rubbing the curse mark, Ichigo sighed and walked back towards the hokage's office. So this should hold for a while, huh? Even though he did not like the sound of that, he was grateful to the ninja for sealing his curse mark for at least it was better than nothing at all. Now the problem remains of what to do about Orochimaru...and his hollow.

"Thinking about me again, huh King?"

Ichigo stopped in his tracks and grimaced at the maniac voice in his mind.

"Give it up. You won't get rid of me and you know it! Besides, earlier I had heard your thoughts that you would rather me take over than have this Orochimaru bastard take ya over. Hehe! So you would let me take over!

"Shut up," Ichigo snarled as he scowled into space. "I was thinking out loud. I know that there are other options than to have you take over my body. Don't take everything the wrong way."

Ogichi's laughter rang throughout the lieutenant's mind, giving him a headache. "Shut up! Just shut up!" Ichigo pleaded as he rubbed his temples, but his hollow would not respond. Suddenly, pain spread throughout the shinigami's body, paralyzing him and causing him to fall on one knee. "You're not taking over!" Ichigo hissed, as he held onto his head tighter, trying to fight the laughter and the pain. However, he could not fight the overwhelming pain much longer and collapsed onto the floor, panting and with his hands still clutching his pulsing head.

Well there you go, everyone! I hope that you all like it. Please review!