A Black Heart

Well I certainly didn't expect quite so many pleas to leave the stories up and while I don't like the idea of caving in, if you guys and girls want it to stay up, then by all means it will (well for as long as this site exists at least I hope). Anyway thanks for the support everyone and enjoy today's chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto Attacks/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto speech/Inner Power"

"Hollow speech"

XXX

Chapter 10:

Slicing through another weak hollow, Ichigo barely flinched as the creature's blood splattered across the bridge of his nose, the acrid, bitter taste no longer a concern of his. Seeing another horde charging at him, he calmly held his palm up towards them, a red orb sparking to life. Watching dispassionately as the beasts continued to clamber over one another in their haste to devour him, he continued to funnel his reiatsu into the spell, feeling the heat as it continued to grow in size and power. "Hado no. 31, Shakkaho…" he whispered under his breath, releasing the orb as it fired in a straight line through the middle of the group, burning through everything it touched and knocking the rest back through the sheer force of the spell. As the stragglers began to recover from his attack, he charged into the fray, a scream of joy emanating from his zanpakuto as it was bathed in blood. When the last hollow was dispatched, he took several slow, deep breaths, feeling parts of his body twitch ever so slightly.

'I've lost track of how many I've killed up to now…how strange of me to forget,' he thought, glancing in the direction of his friend's spiritual signatures, some being harder to find than others. 'But why do I feel like I'm growing weaker? The spells…they can't be tiring me that much more can they?' Hearing the howl of more hollows, he turned his tired gaze in their direction, holding his zanpakuto at the ready as they drew nearer. 'Whatever happens…I won't die till I beat that piece of shit into the ground!'

XXX

Elsewhere, Chad, Rukia and Ryo were running for their lives, the distant howls causing the two humans to sweat slightly, while Rukia maintained her composure. When the hollows had first started appearing, causing a very real shiver to run down Rukia's spine, they had barely escaped injury as a lumbering claw pierced the wall of the club, sending debris flying everywhere and causing everyone within to panic. As it reached in to grab them though, it cried out in anguish as it was cloven in two. "Well what are you waiting for? Get out of here!" Ichigo's voice cut through the din, the substitute soul reaper appearing for a brief instant, before disappearing after his next target.

Following his warning, Rukia began ushering their group out, dodging the rampage of the invading horde. It wasn't long though before they found their small group separated, with Rukia, Ryo and Chad being forced down one path, while the mod soul in Ichigo's body, Tatsuki and Orihime were forced to continue on.

Now though, Rukia cursed her luck and her lack of power as they found themselves faced with a gargantuan, grey skinned hollow. "Move!" she shouted at the two behind her, just as a fist crashed into the ground in front of them. Stealing a glance in the teen's direction, she found Chad shielding Ryo with his own body, his gaze sweeping the area in confusion. 'Of course, he can't see it,' she thought with a grumble, dodging to the side as another fist was sent her way. It was just her bad luck though, as the hollow followed through on its attack, delivering a vicious backhand to her that sent her flying back with a cry of pain.

As she awaited the inevitable sensation of her body being ripped apart, she was stunned to hear a masculine grunt instead. Looking up through half lidded eyes, she could just make out Chad struggling with the hollow's fist, his instincts obviously helping him to predict where the strike would've landed. He was proven to be nothing more than a nuisance though, as he was effortlessly kicked away, his body skipping along the pavement. "Please just get away from here!" she screamed at them, even as Chad began to stand once again. Seeing his act of defiance, the hollow howled in anger and began to advance on him.

For Chad though, he ignored the cries around him and the dull lumbering footsteps of the monster he could barely see, his mind recalling a similar situation to this just over a year ago.

XXX

"Why didn't you fight back…" a mocking voice asked him, prompting Chad to look up at his saviour, from his prone position on the ground. Staring down at him with a scowl on his face was an orange haired teenager, a bloodied bat in his gloved hands.

"I made a promise not to use my strength for my own sake…" he grumbled, his body aching from the beating. Looking around him, he was surprised to find each of his assailants laid out around him, some moaning in pain.

"Idiot…they would've probably killed you if I didn't step in," Ichigo scoffed as he began to rummage through their pockets, tossing their wallets and jewellery into one pile and their drugs and weapons in another. "You're…Yasutora Sado if I remember correctly. Big Mexican looking guy sticks his nose in places it doesn't belong."

"I won't sit back and let people get hurt…" he mumbled in reply, drawing Ichigo's attention again.

"A noble goal, but foolish if you don't fight back to protect yourself. What would your parents say if they found out their son died in such a stupid way?"

"They wouldn't say anything…they're dead," Chad whispered, unsure why he was answering each question so readily. He must've taken one too many hits to the head this time.

His words had an effect on his saviour though, for he turned to look at him over his shoulder again, almost as if he was re-evaluating him. "So you know just how much life sucks too." Pulling a cloth bag out of his inner pocket, he began to pocket everything worth keeping, while destroying the rest. "Now what to do with you…" he said as he began to circle him, cupping his chin with his fingers. "If I don't call you an ambulance, you might die from your injuries and you won't be able to tell anyone who did this." Chad grunted at his observation, forcibly trying to lift himself off the ground, despite his body's protests. "Tough…but not tough enough sadly," Ichigo muttered, as Chad fell back, his chest heaving.

"Option two…you promise not to breath a word of what happened here to a soul and in return I get you the help you need." Looking at the bodies of the fallen, he gained a contemplative expression. "Also, any time you feel like being a hero…you tell me and I'll help you."

Staring between the thugs and Ichigo, Chad couldn't help but feel he was being offered a deal by the Devil himself. Reluctantly, Chad found his hand reaching out, accepting the offer.

XXX

Now here he stood once again, putting his body in the way to protect someone, using his strength for the sake of others alone, even if it was useless. 'If I die…I'll at least die knowing that I only ever fought to protect others,' he thought, just as he felt a whisper of wind signalling his death was approaching.

"Idiot…" he heard a voice mutter in his ear, sounding eerily familiar to Ichigo's tone of voice. Looking up, he was astounded to see the hulking grey beast frozen in front of him, fist outstretched. Looking around, he found Rukia and Ryo frozen too. "What use is your power to protect if you are dead? Where did you even find such a ridiculous notion to begin with?" Searching for the source of the voice again, he was surprised to find a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring back at him.

"When you protect someone, you are actively placing their welfare above someone else's. When a mother protects her child, she actively placed her child above her attacker and if given the means, she would kill him to protect them. When a country places the lives of its citizens above those of another, it too will kill hundreds, thousands, millions of other souls to protect itself! Why then do you deny this basic law of nature?"

'My Abuelo never fought back against the people that attacked me…he denied this….nature as you call it.'

"True…but you were the instigator weren't you? If he fought back, he was just as bad as you. Now though, that monster is the instigator and it won't regret killing you. It won't hesitate to consume you, or either of those girls. It will NEVER be satisfied. So now that you know…what do you plan on doing about it?"

Debating what the voice was telling him, Chad found himself slowly coming round to its thinking, similar to the same way he accepted Ichigo's offer so long ago. What could he do though? He was nothing more than an insect to the monster in front of them.

"Yes you are, but with my help…you could be so much more. All I want from you is for you to serve your King."

'My…King?'

"Yes, the one to whom you owe your life too. Your powers will be your own, but they will be his to command. Are we in agreement?"The voice was given no discernible answer, but seeing him nod his head after a moment caused it to grin. "Good choice, now protect your King's possessions."

And with that, time seemed to slowly advance again, the fist still on a collision course with his torso. Rearing his own fist back, he uttered a guttural roar as a surge of power coursed through his being. As both attacks collided, Rukia and Ryo raised their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding clash. When the light finally died away, they both gasped as Chad stood standing over his opponent, his right arm encased in a black gauntlet with crimson markings. As the gentle giant collapsed onto his back though, they both rushed over to his side.

"He is merely unconscious Snow Queen…rest assured that I will not allow those who serve the King to pass on without his approval,"the same disembodied voice spoke in Rukia's mind, causing her to shiver at its pleased tone.

"It appears we did not arrive in time to help you defeat it," a brusque voice spoke, causing Rukia and Ryo to turn in the direction of the speaker. Standing there observing them was a tall, muscled man with tanned skin and black cornrow styled hair with a handlebar moustache. "Allow me to take care of your friend," he said, easily lifting the large unconscious teen with ease, despite his size and weight. "Miss Kuchiki, my employer has informed me that Ichigo is in pursuit of the Quincy responsible for this, he suggests that you reach him first."

XXX

Elsewhere, Tatsuki and the unnamed mod soul in Ichigo's body stood back to back, with Orihime in-between them, surrounded by a horde of late night partygoers. Far above them on a nearby building stood a squid-like hollow, acted as the puppeteer of the unfortunate souls below.

"Trust us to get in trouble the minute we're out of the boss's sight," the mod soul grumbled, its eyes scanning the crowd of unwitting assailants.

"Believe me I'm not at all pleased that you're here instead of him, especially after everything you've done in his body," Tatsuki growled back in response, glancing over her shoulder at him briefly.

"Still sore about that kiss huh? Guess I can understand. Think you can drop the subject until we're out of this situation though? I'm all for taking a pounding when we're not in a life or death situation."

"I don't suppose you can kill whatever's controlling them?"

"Probably, if I could get to it. Looking at our current situation though, highly unlikely."

"Then we clear a path to it and you end this nightmare we're currently in."

"Heh, you make it sound so easy." Glancing at Orihime over his shoulder, he whispered so that she alone could hear him. "Just stay in between us Princess; we don't need to be worrying about you more than necessary."

As one, the two of them began to forge a path towards the hollow, incapacitating any and all that came within their range. No matter how many they fought though, there was always one more person standing in their way, until at last, one lucky puppet got past their guard and grabbed Orihime, yanking her back into the throng of puppets.

"NO ORIHIME!" Tatsuki cried out, breaking from her position and charging into the clump surrounding her friend.

"That's exactly what they wanted Tatsuki! To break our formation!" the mod soul screamed at her, just before it was swallowed in a dog pile of bodies.

"Ichigo!" she screamed back, growling as she felt her arm grabbed, before punching her attacker out with a single blow. As impressive a martial artist as she was though, it was no surprise that she succumbed to the horde a few seconds later, her body unable to keep up anymore.

"No," Orihime choked even as her assailants mercilessly groped her, while the others continued to beat Tatsuki and Ichigo to a pulp. "Tatsuki-chan…Kurosaki-kun." Hearing Tatsuki cry out as one of her ribs broke, Orihime shut her eyes and turned away, praying for a miracle.

"You know…this is all your fault, you know that right?" a female voice spoke, its tone sounding…aggravated. "Your friends are getting the shit beat out of them and all you can do is stand here whimpering. Isn't that what you've always done?! What's so hard about helping them out to defend you?!" Memories of when Tatsuki and occasionally Ichigo defending her, began to flash across her mind and in each one, true to the voice's words, she was cowering in the corner as they fought her battles.

'But…I'm not as strong as they are,' she replied timidly, trying to justify her actions.

"Bullshit! Tatsuki pummelled those basic defence lessons into you, till she was confident that you could hold your own in the future. Yet at no time have you ever, EVER used them! You get groped on a daily basis and still unconsciously expect Tatsuki to save you! So again, why won't you defend yourself?!"

'I…I…' she tried to mutter, only to find the image of her brother in her mind, his hurt expression on the day of her birthday when she said that she didn't like the hairpins he bought her. 'I don't want to add any more hurt to this world, w-what if the last thing a person remembered before they died, was how I hurt them?'

Stunned silence answered her and for a moment she thought the voice had either disappeared, or was appeased. That was until…"Are you fucking kidding me?! That's even more fucked up than your last reason! What makes you so special that you won't take responsibility for your actions to defend yourself? What gives you the right to force that burden on Tatsuki?! And if you haven't already noticed Princess, the world's a shithole where bad things happen to good people. ARGH do you have any idea how badly I want to beat your head in right now!"

"I think we've given you long enough," a new voice spoke, her tone less than pleased.

"Tch…you fairies can have her, she's useless to me." To Orihime's surprise, a sudden lightness washed over her, soothing her frazzled nerves. The surprises didn't stop there, as she heard the people holding her cry out and release her. Looking around, she watched in bewilderment as six golden lights floated around her, before one broke off from the others and flew towards her and from it what could only be described as a fairy revealed itself to her.

"Hi, perhaps we can help?"

XXX

As Uryu fired another arrow, adding one more hollow to his tally, he let out a ragged breath, shaking his right hand to rid it of some of the blood that poured from his fingers. To his mind there were far too many hollows for such little bait and slowly but surely, he was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Feeling a shiver run down his spine, he spun on his heels, arrow nocked and at the ready. To his dismay though, there were several hollows scant feet away from him. Even as his mind rushed through several plans of attack, he was struck from his thoughts by a shout.

"Hado no. 32, Okasen…" Ichigo roared, just as a bright yellow energy arced along the length of his zanpakuto, before firing in a wide arc at Uryu and his foes.

Dropping to the ground, Uryu was narrowly able to avoid the deadly barrage of yellow flame, feeling some of his hairs being singed away. When the roar of the kido finally died away, he glanced up and found the street entirely devoid of hollows. "What the hell were you doing firing without warning!" he yelled, getting to his knees as he rounded on Ichigo. He couldn't get much higher though as Ichigo's foot connected with his face, sending him flying onto his back.

Struggling to get back to his feet, he was knocked back to the ground again as a fist connected with his cheek with bruising force. Feeling a hand grab his collar, he finally caught a glimpse of Ichigo, his expression contorted into fury as he drew his fist back again.

"Are you satisfied now?! Did this prove your superiority?! Do you think the people who've lost their lives tonight feel better knowing that you are here to 'protect' them?!" he screamed at him as he punctuated each sentence with a haymaker. So lost in his bloodlust, Ichigo barely acknowledged Rukia, even as she screamed his name and ran up to him, grabbing onto his arm in an attempt to stop him from pummelling the Quincy into oblivion.

"Ichigo please you have to stop. Just please stop for a second!" she screamed into his ear, even as he tried to shake her off of him.

"NO!" he roared back at her, dislodging her and sending her tumbling backwards. "I felt everyone's reiatsu flicker and almost completely disappear…and it's all this bastard's fault." As he was about to continue pummelling the boy though, they all felt an icy cold shiver run down their spines as a crushing presence made itself known.

Looking up into the sky, the three of them watched as countless smaller hollow converged on a crack in the sky, before being swallowed by a gaping white maw.

"What kind of fucking hollow is that?" Ichigo muttered under his breath, his entire being shaking as a hollow the size of a small skyscraper emerged, its entire body covered in what looked like a black cloak.

"A Menos Grande…impossible," Rukia whispered, drawing his attention to her. He was disheartened though as he found her openly shaking, her eyes wide.

"I'm guessing that it's kind of a big deal then?"

"It's a hollow that I've only ever seen in illustrations, created when countless smaller hollows combine and form into that mass. It is a hollow whose elimination is handed to our elite. For a lone soul reaper to go up against it…is futile."

"Hey, hey stop with the negative bullshit! After everything we've seen and done over the last few weeks, can you honestly tell me that we don't have a chance?"

"You don't understand Ichigo, the power you wield is great…but I can feel that you've spent a lot of it already. Even if you were rested, you would have a difficult time against it." Hearing a dull buzz, they both turned to look back at the Menos, where a crimson orb began to gather at its maw. 'A Cero?! If it fires…there won't even be a trace of us left!' Opening her mouth to warn Ichigo to run for it, she was stunned to find him charging towards it. "No you fool; you'll die if you try to fight it!"

Her words though were ignored as Ichigo skidded to a halt fifty meters away from it, panting heavily. Stabbing his blade into the sheath at his back, he braced his right arm with his left, palm aimed at the hollow's mask. "Ye Lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" he chanted, causing a brilliant blue flame to ignite in his palm, fuelled by every ounce of energy he could gather. "Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado no. 33, Sokatsui!" he shouted, unleashed the azure wall of flame straight at the hollow. Grinning as his attack flew closer and closer, his eyes widened in surprise when the hollow released its own attack, a crimson beam of energy that seemed to scream across the air towards him. To his horror, his spell only held for a handful of seconds as they collided, before being overwhelmed and leaving him exposed to the full brunt of the attack.

Drawing his blade from his back, he grunted as the Cero connected with his zanpakuto, the sheer force of the attack pushing him back bit, by bit. As the two continued to struggle against one another though, Ichigo cried out as the vicious energy began to tear away at him, burning away his skin and clothing. Desperately seeking his soul for what little power he had left, he breathed a sigh of relief as he found a fount of power that he didn't even know existed within him. As he tried to access it though, he found himself abruptly rebuffed. Gritting his teeth as he began to become overwhelmed, he mentally rammed into the barrier separating him from that power, his frustration growing with each failed attempt.

"You know you're not going to be able to break through…"the same feminine voice from before interrupted him, just as he was about to throw himself at it again.

'You! What do you want?'

"Well that's quite rude of you, you're knocking on my door and asking what I want, when instead I should be asking you what you want?"

'That power…its yours?'

"Yes…far more impressive than what you've been using up to this point isn't it?"

'But…it's within me?'

"True, tell me what do you feel coming from it?"

'It…it feels…right.'

"Mm, that's good to hear. Now tell me…why should I let you in?"

'Other than the obvious, if you don't I'll die, which if I'm correct means you'll die too since you're a voice in MY head.'

"Good point, but still not good enough for me. Let's try asking this a different way, if I give you the power behind this door…what are you going to do with it?"

As he was about to snap at her, his anger at how shit his birthday was turning out to be, he paused to consider her words briefly. What would he do with more power? When he first gained Rukia's powers, they were a means to kill that monster. Yet slowly, he'd begun to…incorporate them into his everyday life. The ability to kill and get into places and almost no one would know. 'To kill for the sheer fucking pleasure of it, to crush any that might stand in my way, that is what I would do,' he whispered back.

Hearing her take a slow steady breath, Ichigo could swear that she was quivering in delight. "Oh how I've longed to hear those words from you my King. Very well then…if that is your wish, allow me to fulfil it." As she finished speaking, Ichigo was drawn back to the fight he was in, just as the power he sought washed over him, energising every cell in his body.

Feeling the sudden pulse, Rukia turned her attention away from healing the near death Quincy, her eyes wide as she watched Ichigo continue to struggle against the Cero. Whilst the area was bathed in the crimson glow of the attack, she could clearly see his body become wreathed in pure white energy. "Ichigo…" she whispered under her breath, watching in complete disbelief as he deflected the attack towards the sky with a scream of rage. 'He overpowered it…a soul reaper barely 4 months into his power and he overpowered an attack that even soul reapers with decades of experience would think twice of getting hit by.'

He was nowhere near done though, as he quickly leapt up towards the hollow's mask, the ground splintering from the force of his leap. As he drew closer and closer to it, she watched as pure white flames ignited along his blade's length, before with a mighty swing, he bifurcated the hollow from head to foot. Watching in awe as he landed amongst the ashes of his kill, she shivered at the sheer aura of indomitability he presented, before it shattered as he collapsed to his knees. Crying out to him, she rushed over and quickly applied a healing kido to his injuries, wincing as she took each of them in. 'No one else that I know can claim to have gotten off so lightly against a foe that clearly outmatched them…but you did Ichigo. Just what are you that you continue to grow so strong, so quickly?'

Emerging from the shadows, Kisuke was unsurprised that Ichigo had won, but he was intrigued by the way his zanpakuto reacted. Scooping up the fallen Quincy without either of them noticing, he quickly disappeared in a whisper of shunpo, his mind already taking this new development into account.

XXX

And that's the end of that. Now I know that he didn't run out of reiatsu like this in canon, but assume for a moment that he's been using Rukia's powers this entire time and that they have been replenished slowly after each battle. Now with a lengthy battle like the one we witnessed today, they simply could not keep up with the pace and he was forced to try and access his own. Of course the reason why it caused him pain could be guessed, but I will explain it later.

Till next time, enjoy.