Chapter 18

Instantly a powerful wave of crimson energy separated me from Ichigo; he took the damage from the blast.

His left arm was covered with blood. I looked to see who fired the blast...

It was Kagine!

He leaped into the air, raising his sword high, ready to release another strike.

I jumped in front of him, hoping he would back off.

"What the hell are you doing Kagine! Can't you see he's my friend?"

"Friend? What the hell are you talking about! He's the Hollow Lord!"

No! Then doesn't that mean...

I looked behind me to find Ichigo standing calmly with a killer look in his eyes, his arm completely healed.

"My, my, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it, Kisuke?" Ichigo said in a dark voice.

Kisuke?

"What the hell is he talking about, Kagine?"

Kagine cursed and put his hand in front of his face.

"I hope you dodge this, Saidō! HADO 32! OKASEN!"

Kagine instantly fired an incredible beam of yellow light. Quickly dodging the blast, I was knocked back several feet into the air; the ground below me was almost engulfed in-

Suddenly, pure darkness instantly blighted out the light of Kagine's kidō and consumed him, resulting in a powerful explosion.

"NO! KAGINE!"

Amidst the destruction, Kagine somehow survived! Streaks of blood ran down his body; his zanpakutō must have blocked it, but not entirely.

"I take it that was your cero. Pretty impressive. Never seen a black cero before." Kagine said with a grin.

What! A cero! But how?

I now noticed that Ichigo wasn't the same. Deep dark lines outlined his face and his skin was pale; his eyes resembled those of a Hollow.

"What is he?" I thought, stunned.

"You catch on fast. That's what I get when I'm facing my old creat-."

"What are you doing here?" Kagine said bluntly.

"What? I can't just stop by and visit old friends?" He said sarcastically.

"We're not old friends. The Ichigo I knew died many years ago." He pointed his sword at him. "You're a shadow of him." His spirit energy started to glow violently. "Nothing more."

"Oh. Pity."

With a twitch of his fingers, a Garganta opened behind Ichigo.

"It appears time has caught up to me; hopefully our next meeting will be more pleasant."

"Yes, let us hope." Kagine said as his eyes flared with hate.

Ichigo left the scene.

Even though I was there, I couldn't comprehend what just happened.

Kagine then walked clumsily towards me.

"Kagine! What was-"

Despite his injuries, he grabbed me by the throat, slammed me into the ground, and started to choke me slowly.

"Why did you bring him here?" He said coldly.

I tried my best to form words.

"How... was I... supposed... to know...".

His grip became harder and his gaze more fierce.

"You fool! Haven't you realized that you've just given everyone here a death sentence?"

He could barely contain his anger. "I should kill you now!"

"Then.. go ahead... and do it! Kisuke!"

He was taken back by that comment, but he still didn't release his grip.

"Why didn't you tell me... your real name? And why didn't you tell me... who the Hollow Lord really was! AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME... YOU CREATED HIM!"

"Why didn't you tell me about your zanpakutō and it's power to travel through time?"

That stopped me. He knew! Since when? He shrugged and released his grip.

It felt good to breath again, but my feeling of relief ended shortly as Aiko came from behind me and smacked me on the back of my head with her zanpakutō. I lost consciousness yet again.