He looked left then right. Everything seemed so…new. The creature opened and closed its jaws, also new. He walked over to a still pond and looked at his reflection.
'Oh, badass!' his mind exclaimed. 'I'm a motherfucking T-rex!'
While most would agree he certainly looked like some kind of skull-wearing, ghostly T-rex, others who knew better would've immediately known that he was a Hollow, a twisted soul-eating creature. If the bone mask that made up his head didn't give it away, then the large hole going left to right where his heart should be would.
As he continued admiring his new form (he was sure it was new, he couldn't remember much), someone came along. He was wearing a black kimono and had a katana-like blade in his hand. The saurian Hollow looked at him then decided to speak.
"Hey, 'sup."
"Damn, you're a big one. You must be intelligent too, to be talking to me."
"I'd like to think of myself as smart."
The man, a Shinigami, raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to start taunting me and try to eat me?"
"Not really. You don't look very appetizing. Also, pretty sure I was a human not too long ago. Of course, I'm not sure how long it was. Can't really remember anything before five minutes ago."
The Shinigami shook his head. "I can't believe I'm having a conversation with a Hollow of all things."
A screech came out of nowhere and both beings turned to see another Hollow, this one red, boar-like, and with a tiki-like mask.
"Oh hey," the saurian said as his mouth began to water. "That over there actually looks very tasty."
This probably shocked the Shinigami more than anything else about the strange hollow. "Huh?"
Before he could ask anything else though, the predator had already launched itself forward to the unsuspecting Hollow and clamped its huge jaws onto its back. The Hollow cried out again before being bitten in three separate parts, one of which was immediately swallowed by the victorious beast. As he began munching down on the front half of the now dead Hollow, the Shinigami decided to report what he had just seen to his superiors. It was a good excuse to get away from a Hollow capable of killing another one that large in a single bite.
To say that the Gotei Thirteen were baffled was an understatement. It was known that Hollows would sometimes cannibalize each other, and that such was a part of some Hollow forms development, but for a Hollow to not only ignore a Shinigami but an entire Rukongai village was unheard of in even the wildest tales. But here it was, footage, compliments of Squad Twelve, showing the saurian Hollow actively chasing down and eating its brethren in favor of all the souls it was surrounded by. In fact, it wasn't even interested in the other souls when there weren't any other hollows to eat. It would just wander aimlessly until it sensed more prey, and then moved in to hunt.
"A most strange development," Mayuri Kurotsuchi commented. "A Hollow that not only prefers its own kind to other souls, but outright ignores the presence of said souls. It's as though he see them as insects at times. The only casualties he's caused has been those foolish enough to not get out of the way of being trampled."
"The hell's wrong with it?" Vice-captain Renji Abarai, one of the few Vice-Captains asked in to the meeting, said.
"The only physical defect I've discovered is that its hole is side to side rather than front to back. Of course, this could just be because of its body structure, as it still goes through the location of the heart. If I had samples I could probably analyze it. Of course, it'd be a waste to end such an amazing phenomenon if it can be helped."
The Captain General Yamamoto spoke up at this. "The fact that a Hollow-killing Hollow has appeared is not one of great concern, but rather one of curiosity. While I'd prefer to kill every Hollow in existence, this one's uniqueness has made me request the Central Forty-Six look into the situation and decide how we permanently deal with the beast."
"So, what do we do in the meantime, Yama-jii?" Shunsui Kyoraku asked.
"While it hasn't ever caused any Shinigami harm, it's proven itself powerful. Many Hollows who we've had trouble with for months were killed and eaten by the one now called the Cannibal Tyrant. Some of these Hollows were such a problem that I had considered sending high-ranked seated officers to clear them. One of them could've proved a challenge for a vice captain."
"Heh," Zaraki said, actually interested for once. "Say, if the eggheads upstairs decide we kill it, let me be the one to do it in. Sounds like this one might be interesting."
"If it comes to it, I will keep that in mind. For now though, I want all of you to keep one eye towards the Cannibal Tyrant. It is the biggest unknown any of us have seen in a long time.
Cannibal Tyrant was having fun. Three Hollows were running from him as fast as they could, but he was only going at about half speed.
"Hahaha, I hope you taste better than you flee! I can feel the fear radiating off of you! Give me a good chase and work up my appetite!"
"Damn bastard!" a gorilla-like Hollow yelled back at him. "We're not supposed to be eating each other!"
"Says you!" The saurian leapt forward and chomped down on the gorilla Hollow, its hands and legs being the only thing outside of his jaws. He swallowed, never missing a beat in his chase after the other two.
"Shit! He ate Zed!" the frogish one said.
"I can't run any faster! He's just playing with us at this point!" the white and black striped humanoid one said.
As their hopes of possible escaping the clutches of the Cannibal Tyrant vanished, they stumbled into a strange sight.
"What happened he- ARGH!"
Rukia and Renji were both on a joint patrol when they stumbled upon what looked like a field full of dead Hollows. Both were stunned at the sight of the carnage, and the one left standing above it all.
"The Cannibal Tyrant!" both yelled.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," the Hollow said cheerfully.
"Did you…" Renji looked around. The bodies were uncountable. "Did you do this?"
"Me? Nah. It was already like this when I got here. I chased two here and ate them, then four came up and actually tried to fight me. I ate them too. I was starting to eat the bodies here but I felt full. Feels weird here. Thought you Shinigami might've been the ones to kill 'em, but I guess not." He picked up a lacerated Hollow body then dropped it. "Eh, it's just not the same if I don't hunt them first."
"Are we seriously talking to a Hollow right now, Renji?" Rukia asked.
"Well, reports say he can be reasoned with to a certain degree. Some guys have actually pointed him in the direction of hard to track Hollows in order to flush them out. He's kinda like a bloodhound when he gets close enough."
"Ah, thanks!" the clueless Hollow said. "I've been meaning to ask you guys, any idea how- Whoa, this ain't normal!"
The two stared wide-eyed as the Hollow and the countless corpses around it began floating up and clumping together.
"I don't like this!" Cannibal Tyrant bellowed before the all started to fuse into one.
"You say you two saw with your very own eyes, Cannibal Tyrant was turned into a Gillian along with several dead Hollows?"
"Yes, Soutaicho," they both answered.
"And that Gillian almost immediately changed again into an Adjuchas?"
"Yes, Soutaicho."
The old man groaned. "And you're certain it was still the Cannibal Tyrant?"
"Yes, Soutaicho," Renji said alone this time. "It looked almost exactly like he did before, except he was twice as big and had larger arms with sharp claws."
"Before he stepped through a Garganta," Rukia continued, "he said something about being 'weirded out' and then looked at us and said good-bye. Honestly, I never expected a Hollow to act in such a…'friendly manner' is the only way I can describe it."
The two were dismissed and the captains all stood in silence for a moment.
"Well," Sousuke Aizen said, "It has certainly been an interesting few months. I'm sure we'll all miss Cannibal Tyrant cleaning up for us constantly."
"Yes. Hollow or not, the creature had put off a lot of stress made in the patrols. However, nothing will change with him gone. Everyone return to your duties, I will inform Central Forty-Six that there is no longer a need to worry over the Cannibal Tyrant. Dismissed."
AN: So it begins. These first few chapters are going to be pretty fast-paced, as it's not going to do much to change the main story of Bleach until the Arrancar arcs and I don't want to go off repeating what we already know. After the first two arcs though, chapters will get longer, descriptions will get a little more detailed, and it's pretty much going to become AU after the time of the White Invasion.
Also, I have no idea how to indent paragraphs here.