I own none of the rights to bleach, those go to Tite Kubo
As for some of the things Shi says they're from fable 3, thank you darkness incarnate :L
shi kurai akuma - means something like, Death, dark evil spirit
'Ichigos thoughts'
-Shiro talking in Ichigos head-
* Zangetsu talking in Ichigos head *
"Normal Speech"
"Shiro talking"
"Zangetsu talking"
Tainted Darkness
'How long guys?'
*I'm afraid that your time is now less than 45 minutes, Ichigo.* Zangetsus solemn voice was barely reaching Ichigo now that the time had become so short.
'Where did it all go?'
-Well there was that fight, you probably didn't realise it kingy but your left legs now fully hollow and the right is almost done.- The hollows voice reached him louder than normal but Ichigo couldn't care nor find any other emotion to perk interest in what was going on, his hope was gone, his caring nature was gone as were any other things that made him Ichigo.
'I see, well I guess this is it.'
*Do not give up Ichigo don't let-*
-Don't worry king, ya're doing everything exactly right- Shiro cut over Zangetsu, Ichigo could sense a faint smirk from the hollow but nothing more.
"Are you going to make me carry you everywhere?" Suì-Fēngs stern voice asked him as she let go of him.
"I was checking how long there was left." Emotionless and cold the words made their way from Ichigos mouth, a hint of the hollow distorted voice was barely audible behind the words but it was still there. Suì-Fēng picked up on this and deduced that the boy probably had about just over 30 minutes until he was done for.
Nodding Suì-Fēng indicated for him to continue as they followed the trail of the strong unknown spiritual pressure that was their enemy.
It didn't take long to reach the source of reiatsu. It had probably been 5 minutes due to the caves elaborate design. Ichigo could sense the clashes of reiatsu from the others but had little care for it.
The source of reiatsu was behind an old wooden door, Ichigo reached for the handle but the door swung open before his hand could grasp the corroding metal handle. Ichigo and Suì-Fēng walked in, both had their zanpakutos drawn ready for an attack. But no such attack hit them as the crept into the darkened room. There was little light. Two sources of it were in the room. One hung freely from the roof while the other was an eerie light pool of icy looking water. In front of said pool was the thing they had been looking for, the Oni.
"I'm glad you could make it to my humble abode." The Oni said, it had no singular voice, but many. They all moaned and wailed when he spoke, echoing his words round the room, "My name is shi kurai akuma but seeing how its soon long you can call me Shi."
The entity that was the collection of voices stepped out from the shadows where it'd been standing to reveal what could have been the personification of death itself. Shi had a black skeletal body that was shrouded in a loose black and smoky green cloak. His hood had been pulled down to reveal a hollowed face which blackened skin stretched over and was illuminated by plain green eyes. The rest of the face was how all the others looked but worse; the lack of flesh left the angry expression pulled taught over all the features making it look like it was about to rip open, the rotting bone tusks were sharpened to a point and attempted a smirk that the skin shouldn't have allowed. The figure held only a single slither of metal that glared a sickening green and yellow.
"I've come to take back what was mine!" Ichigo demanded, he tried to keep his cool but it felt like something was pushing him to get angry, and it wasn't the Oni.
"What is that that I have taken which you miss so? You are darkness now, there is nothing more to want." Shi said, his eyes flickering into a cruel white.
"My soul! You stole my soul!" Ichigo roared at him taking deep calming breaths afterwards to quell his rage.
"But you still have your soul do you not? You would be dead otherwise." Shi turned to the pool of water and seemed to coax something from it, "Do you mean this? This disgusting light that will soon disappear?"
A white smoke wrapped itself round Shis thin robe covered arm. Voices sounded from the smoke, voices that were Ichigos from the past. Of when he'd been there caring or protecting his friends and his family. One particular wispy voice stood out from the others.
"Give me your sword soul reaper," was all the voice said, but Ichigo knew it was where it had all started. It was the night he'd meet Rukia, and gained his soul reaper powers in order to save his family from the hollow who'd been there for him.
"You Oni scum, your foolish ideals end here!" Suì-Fēng yelled before shunpoing at the Oni. She appeared right in front of him but he appeared not to be fazed. Even as she raised her blade Shi stood there staring down at her like she was no more than an annoyance. She brought her blade down on him. And it passed right though a cloud of smoke. Using Suì-Fēngs confusion Shi appeared next to her, his sickly blade was raised and he promptly stuck it through her gut. Lifting one of his bony legs, Shi kicked her just below the laceration sending her crashing into the wall next to the luminous pool. Suì-Fēng crumpled to the ground apparently out cold and critically injured.
"How stupid!" Shiro to cackled out before Ichigo shoved him back down into his mind, "Quiet Shio."
Ichigo gazed at Suì-Fēngs form on the floor, empathy failed to stir in the recesses of Ichigos soul and he felt nothing but the dregs of rage for what'd Shi had just done.
"Well now that she'd gone why don't we get down to business?" Shi asked like nothing had happened.
"I want back my soul," Ichigos voice was a monotone demand.
"We've been through this. We did you a favour by taking that part of your soul away." Shi smirked, again indicating to the pool where a white smoke clawed at the surface.
"I believe I need it."
"I assure you the light is not all that illuminating nor is it necessary," another smirk for Shi.
"Why?"
"Because, you can never escape darkness, it flocks to you always." Voices said around Shi without him moving his lips.
"That is not an answer. Why can I not have it?" More raged crawled into Ichigos voice as it became more hollowed by the second.
"It would be pointless, the darkness shall flock you always. It has always been in your heart and soul Ichigo." Shi paused, then as a familiar unwanted presence settled over the soul society he smiled, "He is free."
"Who?"
"Who took you everything you had? Who cannot die? He who shall bring the purity of darkness to everything, he shall strike down 'that thing' and we as well as shinigami shall be free." Shi proclaimed as he glanced to the door way, to children stood there watching from the shadows thinking they were hidden. How wrong they were.
"NO! NO! NO! Not him!" Ichigo roared, "I may be unable to kill him, but the pain he shall feel will be unimaginable!"
The fight for control was written over Ichigos face, which was all hollow apart from the lack of mask that was currently forming. He soon regained his composure but that reformation was about to be shattered.
"I believe we have some children who are playing hide and seek. I'll be a moment." Shi disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared a moment later, grasping Akira and Kasumi by the neck, their eyes unfocused "I haven't told you about my ability have I?"
Ichigo nodded, Akira and Kasumis eyes became focused just in time for their end point.
"What would happen, dear Ichigo, if I were to show you how I can expend my power? How about on these two?" Shi still had his grip on their necks but something had stabbed into them, then Ichigo saw it. Shadows broke through the front of their chests in the place where their hearts were. Blood poured out the wounds as the children began to die. Ichigos rage filled the room, no not just the room but the whole cave. Everyone could feel it. Everyone feared it. Kasumi looked at Ichigo a plea in her eyes.
"Don't….angry…no…..hollow.." Kasumi coughed out before her gaze left his and lingered on Akira as they both fell to the floor limp and lifeless. The plea only quelled Ichigos anger for a second, but their death toppled his resistance making it weaker for only an instant. But it was just that instant that Shiro needed to take what was his.
-Looks like it's my time to shine! Shame your master was too weak to stop me, eh? Zangetsu?- The hollow looked down at the zanpakuto he'd rendered unconscious only seconds beforehand. He was strong enough now, strong enough to bring Ichigo down. So he pulled. He pulled Ichigo into the mindscape, stabbing him though the gut before the weakling knew what hit him. Ichigo crumbled to the floor of the sideways skyscraper silent, for the moment.
-I'm sorry king but I'm fed up of being the horse, your emotions make you weak. So weak I can easily squash out you and Zangetsu.- Shiro cackled to the forms that lay in front of him, a smirk evident on his face. Everything had happened just how he expected, Ichigo had never realised and now he was in control.
"Let's get this started, shall we? I haven't had a proper fight in ages!" Shiro screeched an insane smile creeping onto his ice white face as he covered it with his mask.
"Oh yes, you're not going to ask me for this back anymore then?" Shi gestured to the light, which was still clawing at the surface of the ever darkening pool.
"I won't need to ask, 'cause you'll be dead." Shiro sneered. The thing the Oni held wasn't just Ichigos emotions. It was also his power. If he could get that power no one could stop him, he would be invincible. Except against one man, but that wouldn't matter. He would get stronger, what was the rush. People may die in the time it took but who cares? Shiro certainly didn't.
"A challenge against death itself? The darkness shall show you how blind you are." Shi chortled happiness dancing in his eyes. He turned towards the pool and began chanting and murmuring words that were illegible to Shiro. While the chanting commenced, wisps of darkness crawled out of the pool clawing the ground as they did so. They had no proper form and appeared fragile but Shi wasn't finished as he kept on chanting. The obedient darkness started to creep towards Akira and Kasumis dead forms that should have already disintegrated. Something was preventing them from doing so.
When the shadows reached the bodies they climbed into them, through the hole where their heart was. It took only a second before the puppet bodies were up. No blood poured from their wound as there was nothing left to bleed. What they had bled lay on the floor beneath the shadows of Akira and Kasumi. None of it fazed Shiro, he was a hollow and he had no heart. Why would he give a damn about Ichigos friends? He didn't even stop himself when the newly risen bodies called to Ichigo.
"Ichigo? Why are you killing us?" Kasumis dead voice whispered.
"Didn't we help you Ichigo? And this is how you repay us?" Akira mock slurred attempting to put of Ichigo. It failed to have the effect Shi wanted. Shiro simply cut down the moving lumps of flesh that had once been alive and strolled over their now headless bodies.
-They won't be getting up any time soon-
In quick succession Shiro appeared before the Oni and shoved the giant cleaver into its chest. Nothing happened, the blade cut through nothing and the illusion of Shi disappeared into wisps of smoke that retreated back to the water.
"They were tainted, as are you," a voice whispered from the shadows, ""You and all others are tainted. The stains shall never wash out. The sun will never shine upon you all again. Tainted...broken little toys..."
Shiro turned and Shi was leaning on the wall a smile stretched across his face. Shiro smiled as he looked back at the pool of water, the light of his power was there and now he could take it! He was about to go and grab it when someone interfered. Ichigo.
'NO! You can't have it! It's my body! I won't let you.' The mask on Shiros face began to crack. Damn that Ichigo, he wasn't about to let him ruin it for him now! Bringing his hand to his face like Ichigo had done so many times before him he repaired the mask. A quick low-level sondio and he was at the pool. Without thinking Shiro shoved his beastly hand into the pool.
"NO!" Shi screeched, "You fool! Do not taint the dead water with the light that clings to you!"
"I don't give shit to what you think!" Shiro snarled over his shoulder. His hand felt cold in the water, the things that swirled in it started to seep into his skin sending chills up his arm. His arm prevailed as it reached the centre. He grasped at the white mist that was his and it too seeped into his skin. He was done here, now was the time to leave, and now was the time to get strong. He'd acquired more power than he had intended, power that be had to learn to control. Standing up right he casually flicked his hand up and down, opening a garuganta. Shiro looked up to see the seven who had accompanied Ichigo here on the now pointless mission burst through the old wooden door. He knew what their orders would be and he had no intention of dying just yet.
"It will not matter what you do Ichigo. Aizen-sama has regained all of his powers. And his first target is the Seireitei then it shall be the world of the living where he will finish what he started." Shi hissed, before leaving in a pool of black tar that sunk into the ground, "We will meet again Ichigo and when we do you will be grateful to have me wipe you from existence."
"I wouldn't bother," Shiro yawned to those who were left, "You just heard what it said right? Looks like you best go crawling back to your beloved Seireitei before it's gone. You won't be able to catch me anyway!"
The had little time to reach before Shiro jumped into the garuganta and closed it instantly so they couldn't even try to follow. As he ran to Hueco Mundo he smirked at the thought of their faces. They'd looked so devoid of hopeit cracked Shiro up. They were just like Ichigo, weak and dependant on their emotions which only ever got the better of them. How pitiful.
After running for ages Shiro finally made it to the permanent night that was Huceo Mundo. The sand stretched out as far as the eye could see and if he listened carefully Shiro could hear the roars of hollows in the distance. Night was now his domain and those who shared it would bow down to the new king.
Thi hollow infected sand was to be his home now, his new kingdom.
Time to greet the neighbours and make them his subjects.
Who knew it was Aizen hummm? What about the 'creepy' death guy, was he a good I suppose you'd call him a mini boss. There are more to his powers I just decided to keep them a mystery so don't worry its not just raising the dead :D
I hope it was worth the wait :/ probably could have been better somehow, ah well.
It's a hollows life, shall be the next chapter
Thanks for reading :)