Here's another chapter of Savage.

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Old man Zangetsu talking

Hollow Ichigo Zangetsu talking

Nejibana talking

"Come Forth, and Pierce the sky, Zangetsu!" Ichigo let go of his moronic method of repression, and felt a wave of relief wash over him as his senses expanded, his reiatsu flooding the area around him. Those in proximity to him felt the pressure build exponentially on their shoulders, following which it mostly receded, and left them staring uneasily at the Ryoka in front of them. Only two Soul Reapers were known to possess a two-blade release state, and the fact that they were also two of the most powerful captains did not bode well for the 10th divisioners in this fight.

The blades were intimidating to say the least. In the orange haired man's left hand, rested the shorter of the two; a pure black Trench knife around the size of its owner's arm, with an enclosed handle that provided protection for Ichigo's hand as he fought. The sword in his right, however, drew more attention from the enemies he currently faced. It was almost as long as he was tall, and had a hilt that was the length of Ichigo's forearm, bandages wrapped entirely around the handle. The blade was, like its fellow, pitch black, and had a hollowed out portion running along the back, from the base up to the mid point of the blade's length.

"You lot going to insist on fighting? 'Cause I'll give you one chance to turn around and run away. You have five seconds." Ichigo stated with a smirk, as he felt an excited energy to cut loose. A little bit, anyway. It was doubtful that any of them could rival Ichigo even at this level. And getting one of them to fetch their captain or lieutenant wouldn't be smart; what about if they brought reinforcements? "No one? Okay, then. Let's get started." Ichigo charged forwards, bringing the longer of his blades in a vicious arc, and sending a gust of wind strong enough to send half the unranked members to the ground in an instant. Had this been a serious fight, or had it been people he sawn as deserving, Ichigo would have unleashed what his genuine attack; but that would kill the majority of his opponents, and he may become the target for the Shinigami's big guns.

Instead, Ichigo sped towards the disoriented Soul Reapers, and the obsidian blades swung, each at a separate target. The two Kimono-wearing males were cut across the shoulder, and blood sprayed from the wounds.

Ichigo froze. That was far more blood than he had expected. Why would that quantity come from the cuts? Why was it so much more than the times he landed hits on his other sparring partners? The Zanpakuto, he supposed, could have a different physiology, but why would Urahara be so different?

'Because he's stronger, Ichigo. When it comes to Shinigami, the more pressure you have, the less susceptible you are to being cut. Think of it as a form of armour that they can create from their own Reiatsu.' Zangetsu explained.

'Really? Well, Shit.' He would have to be careful. He counted 4 that seemed to have substantial, though not all that significant, amounts of spiritual pressure. They must be the highest ranked. Most of the others seemed to have very, very little chance of faring better than the bleeders did.

As a result, Ichigo flipped the blades over in his hands so that he now held them with the back of the swords facing outwards. This would, hopefully, avoid any serious injuries for his weaker attackers. No matter whether or not he had the support of his partners in wanting to spare them.

The smallest, youngest captain, though he would explode at anybody that pointed it out, was currently moving at breakneck speed, barely stopping for a millisecond between Shunpos. He had been sent word that the Ryoka had appeared in his division and was dealing fatal blows to his officers. Toshiro Hitsugaya, unlike many of his fellow captains, cared deeply for the men in his division. They were some of the few that had accepted his authority, despite his being younger than many of them and having the appearance of a child. He would not let them be hurt by an intruder that was, by all accounts, a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, Captain Hitsugaya had been in the fourth Division, checking on his injured 6th seat, when he received the alert. Even then, the fight had begun before the captain Flash Stepped away from the medical division.

That explained why, as Hitsugaya, followed soon by his lieutenant, arrived on the roof of his barracks, he was greeted by an extremely unpleasant sight. There they were, each and every member of the Ryoka hunting task-force he had set up, lying on the ground unconscious with varying degrees of injury. 5 of them, Toshiro noted, had their torsos wrapped in bandages and the last of these quintuple had an intimidating, even to one of Hitsugaya's strength, figure stood above him.

Ichigo Kurosaki had sheathed his smaller Shikai blade, the Trench knife now sat on his hip, but had to use Hichigo's Khyber to bandage up his defeated enemies. That was why Hitsugaya's mind jumped to the worst conclusion; the orange haired man had a massive, unconventional sword resting on his right shoulder. Almost in the position to deliver a killing blow to the unconscious Shinigami.

"Sit upon the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" An ice-made Chinese dragon slammed into the ground, just behind where Ichigo had been standing a second prior. Out of instinct, Ichigo had Shunpo'd away. Thankfully, this time he had only chosen to Flash Step a small distance. And so, he had not gotten lost. Thank God.

"Why are you here, Ryoka?!" Ichigo turned and found the source of that yell; a childlike Soul Reaper dressed in a white Haori holding a released Zanpakuto that appeared to be affecting the area around wherever they were. That variation on the uniform meant that he must be a captain, based on what Yoruichi had told Ichigo, and so the Human-Shinigami made a conscious effort not to judge his opponent based on the boy's unimposing physical appearance. Nor did he let himself be distracted by the appearance of a tall, busty female, who's attire highlighted the fact, next to the Ice-Zanpakuto wielding Captain.

"Did you have to go so fast Captain?" She complained to the white haired boy next to her.

"Yes, I did, Matsumoto. If I had not, then our opponent would have executed Seventh seat Takezoe."

"He what?!" She turned, looking to the black haired unconscious Shinigami to check her comrades were okay, and let out a relieved sigh when she found none of them to have been killed.

"Yes. I got here to find him stood over our Seventh seat with his blade poised to kill the defenceless m-"

"Whoa! Whoa, wait a minute! I did no such thing! I'd just healed him, since the stubborn bastard refused to go down until I knocked him unconscious." The accused responded, calling to the Captain and who he assumed to be his Lieutenant.

"Healed him?" Toshiro called, back in a confused tone of voice.

"Well... I healed him as well as I could. Really, that was just to the point that his wounds aren't any real danger to his health and then wrapping him in bandages. But I still tried!"

"But why would you heal him, or any of us?" Rangiku called over, having noticed the Ryoka's presence.

"Why wouldn't I? I had no need to kill him. As you can see, for the majority of them I didn't even use the edge."

The two Shinigami shot each other a confused look, and began a hushed conversation.

"I thought that you said that the Ryoka was a bloodthirsty killer." Rangiku commented, having been told by her captain, not an hour prior, that they had found an entire village, that the invader had passed through, slaughtered mercilessly. They had only stopped themselves from putting him down on sight because the Captain-Commander had ordered Toshiro, and all the captains, that Kurosaki was to be caught alive if at all possible.

"That is what I was told, yes. And he matches the description that we were given..." Matsumoto gave a frown, and replied with a question.

"Who gave you that information?"

"Captain..." The small soul gritted his teeth. "Captain Ichimaru." He hissed. The busty Lieutenant's expression turned to an angry frown, and the two reached a conclusion that he had, at best, lied to the council. It was unfortunate, but the teal-haired man may have done much more than that. There was something very wrong with him.

"Fine. Ryoka, you will accompany me to meet with the Head-Captain. We will give this information to him to instigate a proper investigation into your crimes. Will you come peacefully?" Hitsugaya asked, a stern tone to his voice.

"No. Sorry, but I don't see how that would end well with me." Ichigo shrugged. "Besides, I'd prefer to avoid the Yamamoat guy as much as possible."

"I see." Hitsugaya's expression didn't change. "Thankfully, I did not expect you to comply. Prepare yourself, Kurosaki Ichigo. I will not hold back!" He exclaimed, raising his sword to prepare his opening attack.

"You want to fight?" Ichigo asked, scowling. "Usually, I would oblige you, but if we fought, I really doubt we wouldn't attract attention. So, I would like to say, I really am sorry." He raised the larger Zangetsu, as the Khyber knife glowed blue. With a swing, he sent the, underpowered, Getsuga Tensho at the grouped unconscious Squad Ten Soul Reapers. The two others' eyes widened at the attack. While a few seated Shinigami may survive, the weaker ones would perish. That explained Hitsugaya's priorities in his next move.

"Rangiku! Attack him!" The captain ordered, as he appeared in front of the energy wave with a burst of Shunpo.

"Right." She said in reply. "Growl, Heinek- Wait, where'd he go?"

"Well, Yoruichi wasn't there. But that's annoying more than anything else." The orange haired teen scowled. "I really don't feel like going all over the place trying to find her. I'll head towards Rukia, or where I think Rukia is, and hope that she's around there. Maybe if I get in a few fights, and cause a commotion, the cat'll find me."

Ichigo shrugged, his patience having worn thin, and turned to set off in the correct general direction. He had only travelled a little way away from the 10th Division barracks, and so was aware of where the main road was.

"...In the morning." The events of today had, apparently, taken longer than the Human-turned-Shinigami had thought. The sun was setting and, now that he thought about it, he was rather tired.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Head Captain of the Gotei13 and the most powerful Shinigami to have been born in more than 1000 years, was tired. So very tired.

Tired of dealing with the day to day running of... everyting. The squabbles of people far, far younger than him; those that had too much energy to waste on nonconsequental things. Things he just did not understand. He was tired of war, and also of peace. He wished there was something, anything that he still cared for. As it was, he cared for his children; not truly his offspring, but those he valued as though they were, he cared for the lives of those he protected. But he could not find it in himself anymore to understand why those youngsters ran around as they did, acting like they had too much to do, and too little time. Perhaps they did. Perhaps they would not live for the countless years he had.

But he could not... he would not abandon his duty. The safety of his people mattered too much for him to bequeth the duty onto a lesser being. One day, there would surely be a time that he was needed to lead once more, and that, if he was granted one boon for his lifetimes worth of service, he would give his life for. Preferably protecting those who needed life more than he.

At least, that had been his plan. What he had truly believed to be his destiny.

Until this... this human came. This human, a species that, by all accounts, was supposed to be unremarkable, came with power that he could see was special. That was vastly more unique than any he had seen before.

As Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood silently over the still, sleeping form of Ichigo Kurosaki, his eyes, usually so full of apathy, so far from a true reflection of his true nature, burned bright. His hands clenched over the knot at the top of his cane, and, beneath the mighty beard he sported, his scarred lips twisted into an imitation of a grin. This boy, he had more potential than even the Head-Captain himself when he was a youngster. Either he would be the greatest ally the Gotei 13 could possess, or he may be the very enemy against which Genryūsai gave his last, and greatest, effort.

But the oldest Shinigami in existence knew one thing. The Kurosaki boy would do what he thought to be right. And once this was over and done with, and the explanation for such a harsh crime to be dealt to Kuchiki was explained, Genryūsai would go about convincing the youngster that the Gotei 13 was always striving to do what was right.

Hopefully the boy would not sacrifice his happiness as his observer long since had.

"Well, you look rather... worse for wear." Ichigo commented, as he found himself greeted by the battered form of his inner Hollow/Shinigami.

"Fuck you, ya Rat Bastard." Hichigo growled out, running his hand over a spot in his pure white cloting that looked to have three holes, about the proportions of what would be caused by being skewered by a trident.

"I'm guessing you're blaming me for drawing Nejibana's attention to you, right?" Ichigo asked, having trouble keeping the smirk off his face. A fact that, based on his growl, Hichigo seemed to notice. "It's your own fault for interrupting... whatever that was."

"You can't seriously be that dense, King. After all, I'm a part of you, and I'm a pervert."

"Dense? I'm pretty sure I am." Ichigo shrugged. "But I realise that the way she kissed me had... connotations."

"Is that what you would call it, Ichigo-sama?" A feminine voice asked, from behind Ichigo. The Hollow let out a loud Eep, and took off at a run.

"Well, I think that it's a bad way to put it, but I'm really not sure why you did it." Ichigo said, as he turned to the female Zanpakuto with a slightly uncomfortable grin.

"I..." Nejibana seemed to visibly steady her restraint. "Apologees, Ichigo-sama. I did not intend to cross a line in my actions, and hope that you can forgive me." She bowed slightly in a formal manner.

"Forgive you? You don't need to worry about that, Flower." Ichigo commented, with a more sombre expression. "I didn't understand it, but it was... nice." He, unsurprisingly, reddened as he finished the statement.

"Nice? I was hoping you would consider it more than nice." She pouted. "After all, mittens are nice."

"No, no! It was... it was... I don't know how to describe it! I enjoyed it, but it was... surprising." The blue haired girl smiled softly at the, admittedly slightly awkward, compliment her wielder/crush had given her.

"I'm glad to hear it, Ichigo." She said, before returning to the topic that had been interrupted the night before. "But, I think we have more pressing matters to attend to. I feel I need to explain your Bankai to you."

"Oh, yeah. You didn't tell me how I can acheive it, did you?" Ichigo replied, with a thoughtful expression.

"No. I'm afraid my attention was pulled elsewhere before I could." Nejibana had an angry expression now; one that looked foreign on her ordinarily peaceful face. Ichigo didn't blame the Hollow for running. "But that kiss was my way of checking... I'd long since decided that the criteria for me giving you my Bankai form, would be trust. And I trust you, Ichigo. I trust you to never use me, to value me, unlike so many Soul Reapers, and I trust you to... live. To live for what is right, and to live for me. The same as I will live for you. And, so, we can truly be partners." Her expression shifted to one of real happiness. "And, hopefully, not just as Zanpakuto and Wielder."

"Where in God's name is everyone?" Ichigo wondered, very much confused He had been travelling on the main rode for a good few hours now; and yet he had encountered not a single Soul Reaper. He had been given a couple of theories by Zangetsu and Nejibana; the most promosing of which was the idea that those other than the highest ranked officers had been ordered to stay in their Division Barracks, but the absense made him uneasy. Like... the calm before the storm.

He had been flashing forwards every few steps for a half hour by now, covering a small distance with each Shunpo so that he would not lose control of the technique, and the massive hill that had become visible long before that seemed to be getting quite close. Before that, however, there was a massive set of stairs. One that, for reasons unknown, had the bottom portion engulphed in a thick mist.

Ichigo slowed to a cautious pace as he entered the fog, deciding quickly that charging blindly into it would be a bad idea, to say the least. Especially since his senses were blocked, once again, by his makeshift suppression technique.

This place just screamed trap and, so, Ichigo drew his, as yet, in his time in the Soul Society, untouched, katana, and advanced while maintaining his cautious pace.

'Oh?' Ichigo wondered. 'It looks like the mist is clearing.' A soft breeze had begun to blow through the courtyard-looking place that Ichigo was slowly moving through, allowing him to get a better view of the giant staircase he at the end.

With a whisper of steel-on-sheath, Ichigo drew Nejibana. There was someone at the bottom of the stairs.

As the mist properly cleared, he saw one of the two from the Human World. The one he had been beating with his non-Zanpakuto before the quieter of the two stepped in and stabbed him in the chest. Something, however, told Ichigo that there was more to him than had been shown in their first confrontation.

'This is one of the ones who attacked you, Ichigo?' Nejibana asked, her voice cold, as Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the sight of one of Rukia's kidnappers.

'That's right.'

'Well, then, I would ask that you crush him. If not for yourself, then for me.'

Ichigo smirked, as his soon-to-be opponent stood and began to approach the Ryoka he blamed for his friend's sentence.

"It has been a long time, Ryoka." The red, pineapple haired man began. "Do you remember my face?" The Shinigami asked, seriously.

"While I would rather forget, I still have business with you... Abarai Renji!" Ichigo snarled, as the two foze, in a standoff.

"You remember, not only my face, but my name as well?" The man gave a smirk. "You really are full of surprises And that is not even taking into account that you have somehow come back from the dead. After all, I saw Captain Kuchiki cut you down. Someone as weak as you could not possibly survive such wounds."

"Hmm. Which captain was Kuchiki, then?" Ichigo asked, filing the insult away for a moment.

"Captain of squad six. The squad where I serve him as Lieutenant!"

"Lieutenant, huh? I haven't fought a Lieutenant yet." Ichigo felt a grin spread across his face. "This should be interesting!"

"You cannot think that you stand on my level. After all, I can feel virtually no reiatsu coming from you. But I am glad you will fight. Because I am going to kill the one who stole Rukias powers!" He drew the katana resting on his left hip. "This is as far as you go! While you still live, Rukia cannot regain her powers!"

"Why would you care about that?! You have just sentenced her to die!"

The pair charged, each swinging their blade in a viscious swing. Nejibana and Zabimaru collided in mid air, pushing against each other in a test of strength. His eyes widening as he was forced back, Renji broke the stale mate first, forcing his opponent to break the hold with a shove against the blade. The red haired man grunted with the exertion, as Ichigo took a step back and brought up his sword again. Nejibana sliced through the air towards Renji's ribs. The Lieutenant brought his own katana up, blocking the blow from reaching its target, but sending himself flying in exchange. His path through the air sent him crashing into the wall across the courtyard, and Ichigo stopped, watching the area with caution; awaiting Renji's return.

"Bastard..." The Shinigami growled at his opponent, as he climbed out of the newly made hole. The tattooed man gripped the katana with both hands and vanished in a burst of Shunpo; appearing in front of Ichigo mid-strike, his Zanpakuto veering towards the Orange haired human's throat.

Ichigo ducked, avoiding the blow, and slammed his fist into the gut of his enemy. Renji gasped, a splatter of blood spraying from his mouth as he shot back yet again. This time, with Ichigo following in pursuit; his katana held in his right hand, while his left was still clenched into a fist.

As his back slammed against the wall, and Renji had a second of reprieve, he felt shock as the only emotion present. When Ichigo's foot slammed into the redhead's side, he could not understand how the human had grown so much stronger in such a brief period.

It was loking like he should use...

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji ran his hand down the length of the katana, the blade's width growing significantly from the hilt to the end, as the handle remained unchanged. The blade was slightly longer, and divided into six segments, each of which had two small blades portruding from the front and the back; the front being significantly longer than the reverse. Along the back of Zabimaru, it was solid black.

With a swing of the large blade, Renji showed its proper function; the segments lengthening out, with stretchable thread connecting them, as a deadly whip toward Ichigo.

The Orange haired hybrid quickly stepped to the side, avoiding the first blow, and brought Nejibana up hastily to block Renji's redirection. The red haired man swung the lengthy blade again, and it came down in an axe blow, trying to puncture, and then tear open, Ichigo's shoulder. Bringing up his Wakizashi, Ichigo knocked the attack off course, at which Renji growled.

"Where did you get spare Zanpakuto?" Ichigo responded with a slight smirk; glad that that was the conclusion Abarai came to. Had he realised Ichigo had more than one of his own Zanpakuto, Renji would be far more panicked than he was at the moment. And, so, Ichigo didn't respond.

Annoyed, Renji whipped Zabimaru back toward his opponent. This time, he was met by the standard-sized katana of his opponent, and Ichigo forced it off to the side, happy as he noted that the blade was retracting. As Zabimaru was recharged, Renji watched, eyes wider than normal, as he saw a release that he was sure he recognised.

Ichigo held the dark blue hilted katana upside down, and began to twirl it, the blade glowing golden as it span. In a second, the katana had transformed into a far longer weapon. Nejibana's Shikai appeared to be a trident at first glance, but also had elements of a spear and a Halberd. Below the trident, a tassle, that was a slightly darker blue than the length, swayed slightly in the soft breeze. On the opposite end to the trident, a drill, instead of the traditional spear head, sat.

"Surge, Waters and Heaven, Nejibana!" With a mighty swing, a wave careened towards the red haired Lieutenant, but was slow enough for Renji to dodge out of the way, Zabimaru finishing its retraction as he reappeared, only to notice that Ichigo had used the wave as cover to escape rom sight.

"Where the hell is h-eee!" The question was cut off as face of the trident slammed into his side, the flat of the three prongs sending the redhead flying. As though he was caught by an unbelievably strong wave. Well, as he noted while flying through the air yet again, that was exactly what had happened; a tidal wave carried him along, and smashed against the wall of the cliff off to the side of their battle. As Renji clawed his way out of the flood, he was pinned to the wall, and let out a gasp of pain, by Nejibana's three prongs stabbing through his right side.

"Y-You bast-ard." Renji groaned out, as he locked eyes with Ichigo. "Y-You... Save her..." He slumped, blood pouring from him as Ichigo yanked Nejibana out of the now-limp body.

Both Shikais faded away, as Ichigo resheathed Nejibana and drew the larger Zangetsu.

"Pierce the sky, Zangetsu." He whispered, and set to work applying bandages.