Disclaimer: I do not on Bleach only the story that I'm writing. Enjoy!

Ichigo felt a dull pain sear trough his chest, a pain all too familiar too him. He groaned as blood spurted out his mouth. It tasted cold, and metallic, but he didn't mind the taste he actually sort of missed it. As he fell slowly to the ground, he heard Chad call his name. Ichigo glanced at his friend's face. He saw fear…

…Damn it all, thought Ichigo.

…

…

…

Rain, there was rain. Rain engulfed Ichigo's numb body as he lay there staring at the grey skies. He struggled to remember what happened to him. Oh yeah, he thought, I got stabbed by that hollow. So, does that mean that I'm dead?

The thought of death did not scare Ichigo; he knew what lay before him. Pretty soon someone from the Seritei would fetch his soul, and he'll be transferred into the soul society. Ichigo smirked; it'd be funny if Rukia was the one to do it. He would actually want to see Rukia's reaction when she sees him dead. She'd probably say something like, "You ignorant fool!" or something.

"You're already giving up?"

Hell yeah I am, sighed Ichigo.

As soon as Ichigo's mind processed that someone spoke to him, he turned around.

"Long time no see…Ichigo…"

Ichigo eyes widened in shock, it was Zangetsu!

"Why are you surprised? I will never abandon you…we are inseparable."

Ichigo looked away. "…but my powers are gone…so why are you still here?"

Zangetsu took a step towards Ichigo, and now he could see his old blade properly. Zangetsu still donned his menacing black coat, and was as expressionless as ever. There was a slight change though, he looked older…almost tired. Ichigo also noticed that there was a hole forming on his chest…like a hollow. This bothered Ichigo.

"What's with the hole on your chest old man?"

Zangetsu gave Ichigo a sad look. "Ichigo, do you know what happens to a Zanpakutou when they're wielder dies or loses their power?"

Ichigo never thought about it. "Nope, what happens?"

Zangetsu stared at the skies. The rain was still falling mercilessly upon them. "The Zanpakutou loses its sanity and slowly breaks. When it shatters, the wielder will notice it, and they too will fall into a state of depression."

Ichigo flinched. That sounded brutal. He looked at Zangetsu with concern. "How are you doing old man?" Ichigo was worried, but couldn't help but wonder why Zangetsu didn't seem any different than usual. Well of course, Ichigo hasn't talked to Zangetsu for a while so he doesn't really know what was normal or not for his Zanpakutou.

"I am holding on for now, but my pain and misery is slowly taking over my body and overtaking my sanity" said Zangetsu who seemed to be in deep thought.

Ichigo can't help but feel sorry for the old man. Zangetsu has saved Ichigo from numerous predicaments. Without Zangetsu's power Rukia would be dead by now, he would be killed on the spot before he even got to the soul society never mind rescuing her. Aizen would have had it his way, and the end of the world as we know it.

Ichigo was still wondering about the hole on Zangetsu's chest. "You still didn't tell me about that huge hole…" Ichigo said, giving Zangetsu a probing stare.

"If inflicted with tremendous grief…even a Zanpakutou can turn into a hollow."

Ichigo frowned. "What the hell Old Man? Why didn't you say so from the start? Damn it!"

Zangetsu expected this reaction. They are one after all, one mind and one body. However what he didn't expect was what Ichigo was about to say next. Well, he probably did expect it, but he didn't know that Ichigo would say it so bluntly.

"So how can I stop this?" asked Ichigo, with a bit of the flame returning in his eyes.

Zangetsu paused. Allowing the temporary shock to settle in. "My emotions are directly linked to you Ichigo, you should know best."

"Huh?" muttered Ichigo said, his eyebrows shooting up.

"I do not lie. I am sure that you have seen this yourself Ichigo. You are grieved because if your inability to fight. You are filled with sorrow when you see the friends you used to protect fight for you. You are devastated at how weak you have become."

As soon as Zangetsu said those words, multiple mirrors formed around Ichigo showing him from the past months. Ichigo gasped in surprise at how his face looked. They were so pitiful, so weak, so oblivious at the concern his friends had for him. Then the mirrors flashed an image of someone watching over him. Day and night, seven days a week.

Ichigo felt tears forming on his eyes. "Rukia…" he whispered.

The mirrors exploded into a beautiful display of shards. They broke until they were merely nano size and miniscule. Ichigo was reminded of snow, as the extremely small pieces of shards fell upon him.

Zangetsu started to speak again. "Ichigo without power to protect you feel weak. Without a sword to wield you feel helpless. You are nothing without a sense of responsibility, without a sense of justice."

Ichigo fell on his knees. Zangetsu's words cut him like a knife.

"Ichigo cut this Ally of Justice crap. If you want to protect something…protect it with whatever you have. Power or not, gather whatever strength you have left, and fight for it. If you truly love something then put your entire hearth into protecting it, even if it cost you your life."

Zangetsu stood like a menacing tower. The whole world around Ichigo drastically changed. The rain stopped, and the clouds dispersed, revealing an orb of pure, majestic light. The building around Ichigo which were once skyscrapers shook, and grew so high that it pierced the heavens. Every ounce of darkness and fear that enveloped the place was gone, and replaced with an abundance of intense aura.

"Ichigo, Face forward! What do you see?"

Ichigo did as he was told, and turned to see the broken shards lying on the ground piece together, forming into a big dome of mirrors. Suddenly, Ichigo saw himself in the outside world with a sword stuck in his hearth.

Ichigo subconsciously touched his hearth. He remembered how it all started. He met a soul reaper, a soul reaper named Rukia. She risked his life to save him, and in order to save his family Ichigo had to make a difficult choice.

He had to be a soul reaper.

When he took Rukia's blade into his own hearth that was when it all began…and now it will be the same.

Zangetsu noticed the look in Ichigo's eyes. He knew it well. Ichigo was ready.

In mere seconds a door opened in front of Ichigo. A flash of blue light greeted the two.

"Ichigo keep on running, and never look back. Even if you fall climb back up, and even if you are heavily outnumbered with only your two fists to defend yourself, you must fight. That's what it takes to be a man."

There was silence between the two. Even without words they understood the answer. There was no question to begin with. They both knew what the answer was from the very start.

"Old man!" snapped Ichigo without looking back.

Zangetsu didn't bother replying.

"You bastard I already knew that without you telling me."

With that Ichigo dashed off into the blue light with the fiery determination in his eyes, a look that seemed to have died long ago.

Zangetsu watched him go. As soon as Ichigo left, he felt the whole in his hearth.

It was gone.

Phew! Now the real action begins! From this point onwards I will introduce some OC's, but trust me, they are very important to the plot. I expect this story to have a lot of chapters, but it depends on the free time I have. Anyways while waiting for the next chapter please review! Your comments are very much appreciated!

Cheers!

-MC Kun