Here is the new and improved chapter 2, hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is licensed by Madman Entertainment, Viz Media and Manga Entertainment, and is owned by Tite Kubo, TV Tokyo and Studio Pierrot.
A lone boy walks the length of a river within Karakura Town. His spikey orange hair singled him out, though it wasn't needed being the only one there. He walks back and forth. It would seem like aimless wandering to onlookers, but those that knew him know what drives him to come out here like this. Even as his stomach growled, and he felt tired from walking, he kept looking.
Mom, come back...! I didn't want this!
His mind berated him, reminding him of the grizzly sight that he woke up to. It was still raining when he opened his eyes, letting him know it hadn't been too long. Though what knocked him out was unclear. He had thought back to how he ended up unconscious in the first place. His mother and himself were on their way home from his karate practice. His friend Tatsuki had beat him again in their match, but he was getting better. With his boosted confidence in his martial arts skill he offered to walk on the side nearest the river to protect his mom, living up to his name that meant 'he who protects'. Nothing was as satisfying as hearing his mother mention how brave he was.
He had seen a girl standing too close to the raging river. Worried that she would fall in, the young boy had let go of his mother's hand and rushed over to the girl. Just as he was getting near it looked like the girl had lost her footing, and he had felt something collide with his side. After that... nothing. He had woken up to a weight on his chest. The orangette winces as he remembers the sight of just what was covering him. More precisely... who.
The corpse of his now dead mother, cold and wrapped around her son to shield him from danger.
He remembers it as clearly as when it happened ten days ago. He had yelled, begging his mother to wake up as he crawled out from under her. His tiny hands tried shaking her awake, his fragile mind not wanting to accept that the center of his world was now gone. "Mom...!" His call echoes in his own mind, the need for her to come back still just as strong over a week later.
It's my fault... The boy thinks to himself. He kneels down and pokes his finger into the sandy riverbank. He had been out here for a few hours now, and though he was thirsty he didn't want to go home. What would his sisters think, or his dad? He tells himself that they don't blame him, but the trauma of his mind isn't so easily swayed. It tells him that they blame him for what held them all together being gone, their Sun.
"Ichigo!" The boy, named Ichigo, jumps up at hearing the familiar voice of the Kurosaki patriarch.
He looks around and sure enough sees his dad, accompanied by his two younger sisters. The two run up and hug their brother tightly, crying from how worried they were. Ichigo can do nothing but stand in shock. They're hugging me... don't they hate me? His dad is soon to follow, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around all three of his children. Ichigo's mind cannot comprehend the comforting words that his father speaks, tears trailing down all of their faces, but he does know one thing. He can feel the warmth of his family's love. Like a dam his emotions burst out, and little Ichigo's arms just can't seem to hold his family close enough.
As this happens, James awakens with a start. Just as when he first had found himself in the world of Hollows, James find himself having to adjust to a new body size that was an a completely new scale.
As he stands James finds himself towering over most of the hills and cliffs, along with a good number of trees. His ascent is painfully slow, thanks to his new stature, but he could feel a significant swell to his spiritual force. This size, and this ascended power... He knew exactly what he now was. When he had claimed the power of that centipede Hollow, all the thousands of souls now powering his body needed a new vessel. He had evolved into one of the Menos Grande class of Hollows, a Gillian. He had the inky black body that all Gillians shared, pointed white feet, massive bone-white hands and a white Hollow mask to match. He couldn't see what it looked like, but he assumed it to be just like any other Gillian.
And just like last time, a painful reminder of his hunger floods his body all at once. This time though it was accompanied by the yells of the thousands of Hollows now within his soul, yearning to take control. James takes a sharp breath before letting out a challenging yell, alerting all those who would dare challenge him that he was there and ready to feast. After, he picks a random direction and begins his march. If he didn't find something to eat soon then he would no longer be the dominant personality, and someone else would take over.
Lucky for him, James could see a small group of mindless Gillian in the distance. They look to be in the process of changing who was dominant in their soul, which would make for easy feeding for James. Mindless Gillians wont put up a fight. It was now a matter of slowly making his way over with his painfully slow steps. It was a good thing that his longer legs could carry him over longer distances.
In what felt like a matter of minutes James had finally made it to the group and wasted no time digging in. As his teeth sank into the flesh of the first Gillian it let out a pained cry that made the others stir. They made no move to attack, only move away in reaction to their animalistic instinct to survive. It did little to help other than delay the inevitable by a few minutes, at which point their power would feed into James' ever-growing pool of spiritual energy.
Over a period of weeks, this process would repeat without rest. Simple Hollows remained out of his way while Gillians either tried to fight James off or remain stationary, not having the mental capacity to defend themselves. Each time he would feast on his fellow Gillian he could feel his power grow, and the voices slowly began to get muffled as his own soul and personality established its dominance. It continued until he came across a rather large group of dormant Hollows.
Currently, James is making his way closer, not caring that the group was so large. There are nearly twenty of these Gillians here, surely eating them all would give him quite a boost. If he had thought this over, he would be more cautious. He bites into the first one he reaches, devouring flesh and absorbing it's essence. That is when he feels it, a surge of power so much greater than his own from the opposite side of this group of Gillian. Fear for survival crashes over his mind, screaming at him to run, but he doesn't. Instead his feet take him through the group of mindless lumbering giants and to the source of this terrifying power.
Before James stood the next step in the Menos evolution, an Adjuchas. These Hollows were extremely powerful, having forms that are vaguely more humanoid and were much smaller than their Gillian counterparts. The one before him now looked to have the mask of a boar, though the tusks are much longer than one would expect. Prickly quills are layered on the Hollow's head instead of hair, and while he was certain it was there for self defence he didn't want to know what else this Hollow could do with it.
The Adjuchas had been staring at him this hole time as he approached. "Well, seems the group I gathered attracted someone who's awake. And I can feel..." The Adjuchas goes silent for a moment, and James assumes that the Hollow was using his Pesquisa to tell just how strong James was. "You're close to evolving. Though I have to say, that last bit to reach your peak as a Gillian will take much more than you think."
Some coughing from behind the boar Hollow prevents further conversation. "Damn... so you wont make it after all. I was afraid you wouldn't heal from this..." It was only then that James could make out a second Adjuchas, laying down behind the first. It looked to have fins in place of arms, and it definitely had a slimmer build than their tusked friend. "Damn it! If only we didn't end up running into that mantis, we'd be up there running things by now!"
James steps closer as to better hear what was said. The boar turns it's masked face to look at his previously addressed guest. "Well, you seem to understand what I say well enough." The boar lifts the body of it's companion and holds it out to James. "Here, eat her. Better that her strength goes towards someone's evolution than for her hard work to go to waste."
Wait... is he going to just let me evolve?
As far as James knew, this wasn't something Hollows did. Well, not Hollows that were Adjuchas did. They were in constant fear of regressing back to a Gillian and forever losing their chance at remaining dominant. The final evolution of a Menos Grande though, a Vasto Lorde, was definitely much more likely to empower their partners just to ensure that they could properly serve. So what was this Hollow doing then?
He can work this out after he silenced the voices that, while not as loud were constantly clawing at his mind, for good. He reaches out and tenderly grasps the Adjuchas between two fingers, then lifts it up. If this Adjuchas was going to let him evolve, James would just have to take him up on that offer. His mask parts to let him place the small fish-like Hollow into his mouth, at which point he needs only chew a few times before swallowing down. He felt the same for a bit after. He looks down at the other Adjuchas and sees it standing there expectantly. Seems this didn't happen right away.
It isn't too long after that James begins to feel something stir within the core of his body. It was small at first, almost like things were beginning to collapse inward. His bones were shifting again, though the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when growing to this colossal size. His form glows with a bright light, signalling his evolution to a new level of Hollow.
When the light died down, James took a moment to adjust to his new stature. It felt different to the first Hollowfied form he had woken up to months ago, when he was first pulled to the Hollow realm. He felt a bit taller, bulkier, and his skin felt tougher. Looking down, he notes he has regained his boney exoskeleton. He has claws on his hands and feet, though he notices that his body has much more canine traits to them. Though he is fine walking on his hind legs, walking on all fours felt more comfortable. He is unsure what his mask looks like at this point, though notices that the top of it has quite a bit of weight to it. Did he grow horns? He'd have to ask the other Adjuchas about it.
Speaking of, the other Hollow hadn't moved once since James had evolved. He was simply watching, observing the freshly evolved Menos before him.
"Well, you're much stronger than I expected you to turn out. And I must say, those horns are pretty intimidating." Well, that answers that. He had horns, and the fact that he couldn't see them meant they curved back and were meant for ramming instead of impaling. "Although, it is unusual for a mask to have any color... yet yours has black going down those horns of yours. What's your name?"
Odd still, this Hollow wasn't trying to make a meal of him. It was trying to talk. Why would it want to know his name?
He was about to answer, if it kept him from fighting so soon after evolving. He could feel his dense spiritual energy flowing through his body, but he was physically recovering from the drastic change. Wait... this is a chance to completely be who I want.
James would be the name of his past. A past that was nothing but torment. This was to be a life of his own choosing, where he could live his fantasies.
So, with a deep voice he hadn't used once since coming to Hueco Mundo, the new Adjuchas speaks it's new name. "I am... Mephisto."
At the same time, within the realm of the Soul Society, two men sit at a bar. Sake stings at their throats as they sip down the alcoholic beverage. "It's been too long since we've shared a drink, Jushiro, my friend! I'm glad Unohana has you stable again." The man who spoke wore the regular Soul Reaper attire, an all black uniform coupled with his white Captain's Coat with the symbol of the 8th Division on it. Over this he wears a flowery pink kimono that rests casually on his shoulders. A long black ponytail sits comfortably on the back of his head. This was Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of Squad 8 within the Gotei 13.
His drinking buddy, Jushiro Ukitake, had smooth white hair that partially went down his back, flowing and free. He shares a smile with his sworn brother. "It has indeed, Shunsui. Luckily I didn't have too much paperwork backed up." It was during times like these that he felt the most free from the sickness that troubled him. "It reminds me of when miss Hathenway and Captain Lazuli would drink with us."
The two toast to their now gone friends, one having been killed in an attempted uprising and the other leaving in a self-imposed exile. Kyoraku is the first to continue their talk. "If they were here, maybe something could have been done to prevent that situation with Urahara and those Hollowfied Captains. You remember how much of a genius Hathenway is, only one who could outsmart her was Urahara himself." Both felt... off at how the trial for Urahara went. Sure, he was accused of giving Hollow powers to Soul Reapers, but none of it added up. How could he have fought off multiple Captains and Lieutenants on his own to do what he did?
The two share another toast, a silent promise to bring these answers to light. Who knows, maybe someone could come along and give them the perfect chance.