Well! After my first successful chapter, and a second which nobody seemed to notice except for a few favorites and follows, but no reviews (eh. Guess you can't control these things) I've got a third chapter! Disclaimer is in the first chapter, and in the last chapter you found out the reason for the title, didn't you?
Ichigo jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Ever since he found out about what the Flame Hazes do, he made up his mind to handle all Crimson Denizens himself. It's not too different from what Uryu did when we first met, he thought. I mean, he thought that Quincies could do the job better, so he did all my work for me in order to prove that. Or am I more like the Soul Reapers? I mean, they wiped out the Quincies because they thought their ways were wrong. Ichigo sighed. He'd never find the answer to that question. And he really didn't feel like thinking about morals or ethics after talking to Shana. She really got on his nerves back there. Any Soul Reaper would make the same decision as me, he thought. Those Flame Hazes aren't doing the job right, so I need to step in and do it for them. We're the real protectors of order. But this lifestyle was taking its toll on him—not only did he have to keep up with Hollows, but he also had to take care of the Denizens. In fact, it felt like he was never in his body for more than ten seconds. Dammit, he thought, at this rate somebody'll find out my secret! He thought it might have been easier had there been someone he could trust. Back in Karakura Town, there was always someone else, like Chad or Uryu, who he could trust to deal with Hollows. No, he thought, I can't trust the Flame Haze. He finally found another Denizen. This time, there were a lot of them. No way….are they following me? he thought. "There!" a familiar voice called out, "That's the orange-haired bastard who beat us up!" He looked behind him to see Skeleton Joe and the mobster chasing him. "What the hell, you guys again?" Ichigo shouted. "Not just them," another voice called, "I didn't like the way you destroyed my other body with such short work." A shadowy….thing approached Ichigo. "I'm sorry…do I know you?" Ichigo asked. "You don't recognize me?" the creature said, "Perhaps you'd remember…this?" he pulled out a clown mask. "No way…I busted that mask in two pieces!" Ichigo said. "A mask is simply something that a real being hides behind. And I am the being behind the mask. All beings wear masks…..but which one is real and which is the mask? Is it the one that hides your face, or the one that is your face? Even I don't know the answer to that question!" the creature laughed. "I do know, however, that my name is Mask, and that you're quite powerful….powerful enough to merit the attention of every Crimson Denizen that comes to feast on existences!" Ichigo looked around. Everywhere he looked, there were Crimson Denizens! Crap, he thought, are they all after me? He attacked one, but then another took advantage of it to attack him. "Getsuga Tensho!" he shouted, destroying several Denizens at once, but there were twice as many there to take their place. "Bankai!" he shouted, and transformed. But no matter how many he took down, there were always more, and using this much power was beginning to wear him out. "Dammit…" he said, out of breath, "Can't…..keep…fighting…." Suddenly Yuji and Shana came to the scene. "Finally caught up with that bastard!" Shana said. "But…it looks like he's in trouble!" Yuji shouted, "We've got to do something!" "It's too late now," Shana said, "with that much power being exhausted like that he's in no shape to fight back. He brought this on himself anyway. That incredible power of existence made him a target for all Denizens." "Are you…serious?" Yuji said, "You mean all of these Denizens here came specifically for him?"
Indeed, all of the Denizens seemed to be focusing solely on Ichigo. Just as he defeated several, another knocked him in the back, and carried him away. "No!" Yuji said, "we've gotta help him!" "It's too late," Shana said, "They've got him now. It's only a matter of time before they take his existence."
"But…"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! We can't help him! Serves him right, anyway. I never liked him."
"Hmmm," Alastor said, "I'm not quite sure of that. Those Denizens took his body away, rather than taking his Power of Existence. Of course, they may be doing it with the intention of eating it later, judging from that extreme amount of power he's got, but…"
"…No use arguing it further!" Shana said, "Now we have to create a Torch for him." She went to work creating one. Suddenly, another Ichigo appeared. "Hey, wait, what are you guys doing here?" the Torch of Ichigo shouted, "And how the hell did I change back?" "Hmm," Alastorsaid, "It seems that we've got no choice but to tell it the truth." Ichigo looked surprised at this. "Wait, 'it'?" he asked. "Oh, no, don't tell me…" he fell to his knees. "Am I….a Torch now?" Shana looked down. "Yes," she responded coldly (Note: Anyone who has a copy of Mega Man Megamix volume 3, flip to the part where Proto Man tells the copy of Mega Man that he's a copy, and you'll have a pretty damn good depiction of this part). "AAAAH! NO! NOOOO!" Ichigo cried. "All this time I was the protector of the innocent….and now I don't have my powers anymore!" he said, "I can't live the last moments of my life with that kind of knowledge!" Yuji knelt down to him. "I'm sorry about this," he said, "but I know you died a real hero." "Thanks," Ichigo said, wiping a tear, "But that doesn't make me feel any better." "How about this?" Yuji said, "I only saw them carrying you off. That might mean you're still alive." Shana scoffed at this notion. "It's not likely," she said, "They're Crimson Denizens. They've probably already destroyed the real you." "No!" Ichigo cried, "You're wrong! The real Ichigo…would never die so easily! I refuse to believe he's dead! If I can't do anything to save him, then I don't want to live!"
"That's impossible! Why would you want to try something like that?" Shana said, "He's dead! And going into the Crimson Realm on your own is suicide! You're going to fade in a matter of days, maybe even minutes! Why would you risk your life!"
Ichigo stood up. "That only makes me want to do this even more," he said, "I've got nothing to lose. I'm on borrowed—no. I'm on stolen time. Stolen from Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm a fake! I don't deserve to live! But I want the real me to come back, no matter what it takes!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Shana shouted. "Ugh, you're just like the real you. I can't let you go there." She reached for him. "Don't touch me!" Ichigo shouted. Shana recoiled in shock. Ichigo's flame was huge! It even towered over him.
Meanwhile, in the Crimson World, the real Ichigo was strapped to a table. "Well, well," said a man with a white suit and carrying a doll, "You're quite the interesting one." Ichigo looked up at his captor. "Aren't you a little old to play with dolls?" he said. "How dare you speak of my master Friagne like that!" a young female voice came from the doll. "Hush, hush, Mary Ann," the man said, "Mary Ann is so much more than a doll to me. She's my very life." Ichigo rolled his eyes. This guy was getting waaayy too creepy for him. "Hey, where the hell is my sword?" he said, suddenly noticing that he didn't have Tensa Zangetsu with him. "Ah, we've taken it away from you. I want to know why you're so full of energy. With power like that I could make Mary Ann into a true living being, just like a human or a Crimson Denizen. Can you think of anything more noble than helping to create a life?" "Not if it involves sacrificing millions of innocent lives!" Ichigo shouted. "My, such hostility!" Friagne said, "And to think we've only just met. Wolf, you can do as you please with him," he finished, gesturing to an actual anthropomorphic wolf, who grinned maniacally and pushed a button, causing Ichigo to get shocked. "Aaaagh!" he cried. The pain, he thought, he couldn't bear it…..but then if he didn't, then he would come out. "Too late," a warped and distorted voice came from inside Ichigo's mind, "I already have come out!" "No!" Ichigo cried. "Stay in! Stay back! Stay…..out of my business!" he finished, with an even more creepy and insane smirk on his face. Wolf backed away in shock as a white mask began to form on Ichigo's face.
Hoo boy! A lot of stuff I was going to put in here ended up on the cutting-room floor! Oh well! Next time: Hollow Ichigo goes rampant, and the Torch of Ichigo tries to contact Rukia!
