I'm Not A Hero

Welcome back ladies and gentleman. I've had a rethink on this story and I hope that you enjoy the change of direction. Of course it won't be revealed for a while.

For all intents and purposes, Old Man Zangetsu is his zanpakuto and his hollow is the hollow inherited from his mother and given shape during the shattered shaft. More on what he is exactly as we move on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

"Normal Speech"

'Inner Speech/Thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto Speech"

"Hollow Speech"

XXX

Chapter 3:

Returning to the Fourth Squad barracks in the dead of night, Ichigo frowned as he tried to remember what room he had leapt out of. Growling in agitation, he leapt into the air and as quietly as possible cracked one of the windows open and stepped into the room, cursing internally as he realised it wasn't his own. As he snuck towards the door though, he was halted by a familiar flat tone.

"Sneaking around the Seireitei again Kurosaki?" Byakuya Kuchiki spoke from his bed where he sat, calmly reading a book in his hands, his stern grey eyes narrowed at Ichigo.

"And if I was?" Ichigo shot back, crossing his arms in challenge against the Captain.

"You would do well not to test the patience of Captain Unohana if you are a patient under her care Kurosaki," he replied before turning back to his book. "She has…unpleasant means of ensuring you make a full recovery."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Ichigo grumbled back, making his way towards the door, before pausing and turning back to Byakuya. "You know something's been bothering me since we first met back in the World of the Living and every time I've brought it up you brush if off as inconsequential. But now…now I think you'll answer me."

"And what makes you think I'll answer you now of all times?" Byakuya asked as he raised an eyebrow at the sheer audacity the teen was displaying.

"Cause if we don't settle this now, you and I are going to end up getting into a fight to the death again and Rukia won't want that," Ichigo retorted, dragging the wooden chair left for guests over to Byakuya's bedside, before spinning it on the spot and sitting down so that his elbows could rest on the spine of the chair. "Why were you so set on executing Rukia?"

"She had broken our law by transferring her powers to you."

"She did it to save the lives of my family. The law is irrelevant when the lives of innocents are on the line."

"Her execution had been ordered by Central 46, our Governing Body."

"And we've just discovered that it was all Aizen's plan."

"I was a Captain bound to uphold the law."

"You're right, you are a Captain and that should mean that you looked into it further and fought the law if necessary."

"Everything you're suggesting would lead to anarchy," Byakuya muttered in exasperation, his patience dwindling the longer they talked.

"Anarchy is the absence of law and order in a society and when law and order are in favour of the execution of good people saving the lives of others…then maybe anarchy should reign," Ichigo shot back, his voice rising in volume as a soft voice began whispering in his ear to crush the man in front of him.

"Why is this so important to you? Rukia and I have made our peace and I've begged for Rukia's forgiveness and vowed to treat her as a sister should be."

"Because I don't buy that bullshit Byakuya," Ichigo spat, the voice winning out as he stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over and storming over to the Captain and grabbing him by the front of his nightgown.

"Unhand me Kurosaki," Byakuya whispered, glaring straight into the unflinching eyes of the substitute soul reaper.

"Just shut up and listen first. You asked why it matters to me? It matters, because Rukia changed my life for the better. She gave me a purpose in my life that I've been sorely missing for the longest time. If she believes you…great, use the chance she's given you to be the brother she deserves, but I don't think that you just apologising and promising to change mean shit all things considered. And believe me Byakuya, if I ever get wind that she's hurting because of you…the entirety of the Seireitei won't stop me from coming back here and killing you. That's a promise," he muttered, letting go of him and allowing him to sink back into his bed.

"Is there a problem here?" a chilling voice spoke from the doorway, causing both Ichigo and Byakuya to turn and see Captain Unohana observing the pair of them.

"No Captain Unohana," Byakuya replied, smoothing out the creases in his bedclothes and picking up his book again. "Kurosaki and I were having a simple chat, but I believe that he was beginning to complain about feeling exhausted. Perhaps it's time he returned to his room."

Glaring down at the Sixth Division Captain, Ichigo felt Unohana place her hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Looking her in the eye, he saw the warning look in her eyes and scoffed, before shaking her off and heading for the door. "Yeah, guess I'll turn in for the night. Nice talking to ya Byakuya. Don't forget what we talked about."

Sparing Byakuya a brief look as he set his book down and stared wistfully out the window, Unohana left the room and headed after Ichigo, catching up to the teen as he continued to wander aimlessly down the halls. "You would do well not to antagonise him Kurosaki-san," she spoke, surprising Ichigo as she took the lead and began to lead him back to his room. "As Captains we have responsibilities that extend beyond caring for the wellbeing of our friends and family."

"That sounds like a pretty weak to me Unohana-san. Those two Captains that destroyed the Sokyoku, I know Yoruichi mentioned that one of them was Rukia's Captain, but they both were willing to take a stand against her execution. They both fought against it and they both showed that they didn't believe in her execution. They showed me that there's at least some hope for the Gotei 13, even if it's only a sliver."

"You are young and thus that's understandable," she said as she stopped outside his door. "The Gotei 13, despite all its flaws, still works for the betterment of souls, both living and dead."

"Yeah, I don't buy that completely either," he said as he brushed past her. "The others told me stories about some of you Captains and from what they said; I can't help but feel that Aizen wasn't the only monster hiding amongst you. I just had to make it abundantly clear to Byakuya and I'll make it clear to anyone else…that when it comes to protecting my friends and family, I'll protect them against both hollows…and soul reapers if necessary," he said, before shutting the door on the stunned Captain. As he walked towards his bed, he stopped at the sound of applause from behind him.

"That was very amusing Ichigo. You let your anger and pride do all the talking and angered not one, but perhaps two very powerful people,"his colourless copy said mockingly as he smirked at him. "If you don't get that temper under control, you're eventually going to anger the wrong person and we might very well die."

"You're not exactly helping with that. Why is it that you show up not long after I lose my temper at someone?!"

"I told ya didn't I? I was born from all the negative emotions ya buried deep inside ya soul and when you give in to them, I get to come up and have a chat with ya." Watching Ichigo lie back on his bed with his arms behind his head, he sighed and made his way towards the window. "Back to the topic, ya might have put a good showing of yourself against Kuchiki, but you know he's not the top dog here don't ya? If ya continue to mouth off against the other Captains, who knows what they'll do to us."

"Are you going to do anything other than state the obvious? I know I can't afford to keep doing that, but you're not exactly helping the situation. Ever since you showed up…my temper's been hovering at just below boiling point almost constantly. I can hear a voice…my voice, whispering to me edging me on to do…things that I know I would regret."

"So shut'em up then! If you don't find a way to silence ya own frustrations, the voices ain't gonna stop. They'll keep shaving away at your sanity until there's nothing left. And believe me Partner, that's not something you want."

"So what would you do then huh? Again you're perfectly capable of pointing out the problem, but it's not like you're giving me a solution."

"What do ya want from me? Should I solve the problem of World Peace and Hunger while I'm at it too? Start a fight, mediate till your covered in fucking nature, or better yet fuck a chick until neither of you can walk. I know that's what I'd do," he said with a demented chuckle.

"You…you idiot," Ichigo spat, red-faced as he threw his pillow at his counterpart, only to watch as it sailed through him harmlessly.

"Yeah pick a fight with someone in ya head, that seems smart,"he chuckled as he stalked closer towards Ichigo and thrust his hand clear through his head. "Until ya figure out how to bring me out here like ya did with the old man, we can't touch one another. But you best understand this now 'Partner', if you decide to fight me, know that I don't pull punches, I go straight for the kill. You'd do well to remember that too." His piece said, he vanished into the ether, leaving a shell-shocked Ichigo behind.

XXX

Days later, when he was finally discharged from the Fourth Division's care, his group of friends found the orange-haired teen decidedly hard to find. Wary of what he might say or do in their presence, he found himself staying isolated on the outskirts of the Seireitei, working himself to the point of exhaustion each day to avoid dealing with his newfound emotions.

No matter what he did though, he found them increasingly hard to bottle up. To his delight though, he found the perfect outlet early one morning.

Finding himself near the Eleventh Division's barracks, his ears perked up at the sound of harsh grunting and pained yells. Thinking that having an actual opponent would be more effective, he strode through the double doors of their grounds and made his way towards the sounds.

Opening the door, he had to quickly lean out of the way as a soul reaper went flying past him. Sparing him half a glance, he peered into the room, to find Ikkaku sans the top half of his shihakusho, with a bokken resting on his shoulder as he taunted the others. Seeing that he was getting no takers though, he glanced towards the door and smirked as he found Ichigo watching him.

"Yo Ichigo, finally decided to stop hiding like a bitch and be a bit sociable eh?" Ikkaku said with a smirk, causing Ichigo to frown at him.

"Maybe I was just giving you all a chance to get some training in so you could make up for getting your asses kicked so easily," he replied with a grin, getting a few glares from the assembled soul reapers. "After all, Chad took out almost your entire division didn't he?"

"He got lucky Ichigo! Do you honestly think he'd have a chance against me, let alone the Captain?!"

"Maybe not, but what you have to remember is that we're only fifteen and even Kenpachi was down if only for a moment. So what does that say about the Eleventh Division, the so called strongest Division in the Gotei 13, when they got beat by two teenagers?" he continued with a grin, enjoying how the vein on Ikkaku's forehead throbbed.

"You trying to start something here Ichigo?" Ikkaku ground out, grinding his teeth in frustration, even as his grip on his bokken increased.

"Just pointing out the obvious Ikkaku, care to prove me wrong?" he muttered, setting his zanpakuto down against the wall and moving towards the centre of the room with a bokken in hand.

"Gladly," Ikkaku responded in kind, taking his stance and waiting for Ichigo to do so too.

As the two squared off against one another, the tension in the room seemed to grow heavier by the second, until at an unspoken signal, the two charged at one another. As their wooden swords clashed, an ear-splitting crack echoed through the air, causing nearby soul reapers to wince and cover their ears as they were repeatedly assaulted by the sound.

Uncaring of the din they were creating, Ichigo and Ikkaku continued to go back and forth, battering one another's guard far more aggressively than one would expect from a friendly spar. Catching Ikkaku slide his foot around to try and trip him, Ichigo forced him back and smacked him along the inside of his ankle, drawing a hiss from the Third Seat.

"Cheating to try and beat a teenager? How mighty the Eleventh Division must be to resort to such tactics," Ichigo said with a smirk as he disengaged from Ikkaku for a moment.

"I told you before Ichigo," Ikkaku spat out through gritted teeth, "it's simply being well prepared!" Charging forward, he locked blades with Ichigo again, before delivering a vicious head-butt to the teen that left him staggering. Not allowing him to recover, he thrust forward with his blade, throwing Ichigo back through the onlookers and into the wall with a thud. "Where's all that big talk now Ichigo?" Ikkaku taunted him with a grin, while the teen slowly got to his hands and knees.

Glancing up and revealing his bloody nose, Ichigo grit his teeth and surged to his feet, before shifting his grip on his blade and holding it to his side as he slid his foot back. Leaping back into the fray, he lashed out repeatedly at Ikkaku intent on wiping the damnable smirk from his face.

Grinning at how Ichigo was allowing his anger to dictate his offense, Ikkaku's eyes widened in slight surprise as he saw several splinters break off from his blade, a near impossibility as they normally held up to Kenpachi's relentless assault. Ignoring that fact for the moment, he ducked under a swing aimed at his neck and slammed his blade into Ichigo's now unprotected torso. Instead of sending him flying to the side like he'd done just moments ago, Ichigo only grunted and glared down at him.

Left exposed, Ikkaku could only raise his blade half way up his chest, before Ichigo delivered a two handed strike that caused it to snap in a shower of splinters and send him flying back through the walls of the practice room they were in.

Panting heavily, Ichigo turned his glare on the other Eleventh Division members in the room, causing them to avert their eyes and shy away from him. Before he could move to retrieve his zanpakuto and leave though, he was frozen in place as a large shadow loomed over him.

"Well, well, well Ichigo, how nice of you to visit today," Kenpachi Zaraki said with a sadistic smirk as he stared down at the shuddering teen. "Now that you've gone and warmed up, maybe you'd be willing to give me a rematch…with our zanpakuto of course."

Ichigo could do nothing but stare though, as Kenpachi's nodachi swept down towards him, the impact creating a shockwave that ripped both the windows and doors of their hinges and left everyone coughing within a cloud of dust.

XXX

Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.