Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. All rights belong to the creator Tite Kubo. This is an AU story with some OOC.

And with nothing else, please read, enjoy and review.

- X -

Chapter 3: Welcome to Menos Park

Two years have gone by since Ichigo has been living in Hueco Mundo. Nothing special has happened since the eerie warning of the lizard Hollow. Just like Starrk stated, whatever Ichigo has been doing to cover them up hasn't gone away. They still go hunting, but Starrk had told them not to go too far. The redhead didn't understand why and when he asked the brunette about it; he said how he had been feeling a set of eyes on them. On another side note, Ichigo's glad that eating Hollows didn't stop his growth rate! He's getting closer to Lily's height now, just two inches shorter but at least is better than when he was a good five inches smaller. When he brought it up today, they at first looked at him weirdly before they realized what he said was true. He still remembers the goofy shocked look on Lily's face, even Starrk looks shocked, and that's a win in his book every time he sees it. While he was making fun of Lily, he never noticed how Starrk started overthinking... again.

Starrk should already be used to this by now, but still, this is new to him. He and Lily have never aged before, and if what he could see from the redhead, that's what's happening. When he asked Ichigo around what age he... umm died… Yeah, he tried to not use that word, but he couldn't put it in any other better way. Lucky for him, the kid seemed to be fine with it and told them he was around 9 when he died. Going with that information, he assumed Ichigo was probably 11.

When Ichigo heard that, an idea came to his mind. 'I know what to do for today!' So with a plan in mind, he'll wait to bring it up next time they eat again. His appetite seems at least to lower down throughout the years. Something Starrk was all too happy about. After a few hours and his hunger coming back, they started eating from a small pile of leftover bodies. Waiting for the opportunity to tell them his amazing plan. The redhead spoke up after just a few minutes of eating.

"So I was thinking…" Ichigo started while looking at Starrk.

The man stops eating to hear what the not-so-little-strawberry wanted to say. "Oh, and what would that be?"

"Well, remember how you told me how I might be 11 years old?" Ichigo said with a small grin on his face.

By just looking at his smile, Starrk knew that the boy was up to something. Could it be that the redhead was going to ask that question again? He looks at the boy's yellow eyes. "I told you when you're older. Just because you're 11 doesn't mean you're old enough yet."

Ichigo looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

Starrk rolls his eyes. 'Trying to act all naïve.' Swallowing the food in his mouth, he says, "I'm not teaching you how to use Cero. Is too dangerous for you."

Finally understanding, Ichigo made an 'O' shape with his mouth before clearing out what he meant. "What no! I mean, you'll be the coolest person if you would teach me it."

"Which I will not teach you until you're older." Starrk interrupted.

Ignoring his words, Ichigo continues. "But what I meant to say is that we should celebrate my birthday!"

Lily and Starrk share a look. Celebrate his birthday? Why would they do that? Looking at the redhead, Lily spoke up about what they just thought about. "Okay, and why should we do that?"

Looking back at the limelette, Ichigo shrugs. "It's just a thing people do when they reach their birthday."

"Do you even remember your birthday?"

"Yup! July 15!"

"Okay~ and what date do you think it is today?"

Seeing where she was going with it, he sighed and looked back at her. "Yeah, I don't know what date it is, BUT the point is I'm 11 now. So that calls for a celebration!"

Giving up already, Lily shook her head, 'He could be so stubborn sometimes.' Honestly, who did he get that stubbornness from? 'Oh well, better than just not doing nothing today.'

Starrk looks back at Ichigo before asking him what he wanted to do.

Ichigo thought about it. Well, they could just skip the food. So they should go for the presents and he knew what he wanted. Looking back at the man, he says. "During birthdays everyone has a gift ready for the birthday-kid, but since there's nowhere for you guys to get me a gift, I have a request instead."

"And that be what now?"

"I wanna visit the Forest of Menos." Even after all this time, Ichigo still remembers how Starrk had told him how they live above the Forest of Menos. With all the time spent up in the white sands, he's curious about how it looks down under.

It surprised Starrk at how the kid could still remember that. Ichigo never mentioned it again or asked about it. He took a moment to think about his request. He knows where the forest was, but he also knows about the much weaker Hollows that live there too. If they go, his Reiatsu alone will just kill the weaker Hollows and he couldn't let the kids go alone because if something happens, he won't be able to sense them. Well, thinking about it, he was no longer bothered with killing the weak. They now have Ichigo's company; besides, he's tired of looking at the same night skies of Hueco Mundo. Finally deciding, he looks back at Ichigo. "All right, kid, you'll get your wish." The way the redhead's face lit up brought a smile to his own. Honestly, how long would he and Lily survive their solitude without the little strawberry's happy attitude? Standing up and doing a quick stretch, he waited for Lily and Ichigo to stand up too.

Lily was curious about why Starrk would want to go there, the Hollows are weak down there, but when she noticed the way a smile stretched out through Ichigo's face, she understood why. 'You'll do anything to make him smile. Right Starrk?'

Looking at the brunette, Ichigo couldn't stop shaking around from anticipation. This was too exciting for him. Finally, something new and different!

"Okay, get behind me and get a good distance, you two." Starrk watched them follow his instructions, and making sure they were a safe distance away, he put one arm up before firing a strong Cero to the ground, making up a huge hole in the white sands.

Ichigo looks at how the sand surrounding the hole has turned to glass. 'Oh man, I can't wait until I'm older!'

Moving in close, Starrk puts a hand on both their shoulders. He prepares himself for the way Ichigo's Reiatsu will try to leech on to his own. Looking down at them and asking a quick: "Are you ready?" Starrk didn't even wait a second before he heard the exciting voices of Lily and Ichigo. With that being said, he Sonido into the hole.

When they left, a Hollow appeared nearby.

Its mask had a strange design than most Hollows. Instead of round, it had a strange, almost rectangular-like shape. One could see amber colored eyes behind it. It has shoulder-length pink hair with bangs sticking out from the right side of its mask. While it has no arms, it instead has six large, gray branch structures on his back, three on each side, which form a shape similar to the wings of a butterfly. Each branch has twelve equally spaced red strands that resemble falling drops. Its chest is normal until you get to his waist. Someone could see its Hollow hole just below it if it wasn't for the multitude of purple tentacles reminiscent of a sea anemone that covers it. It has no legs but has a long tail which seems to end in a purple tear-like shape.

The Hollow amber eyes stared down at the hole. Looking away from it, the Hollow started slithering some away, waiting to see if his newest interest would come up from it again.

"Come back soon. Ichigo-kun."

- The Forest of Menos -

The Great Forest of Menos is nothing but a giant buffet of who eats who. Many types of Hollows roam here. There's the giant Gillians that are walking around aimlessly; One could even find a special Gillian who has the strength to become an Adjuchas. The regular Hollows, who finally got a taste of another Hollow and went into a cannibalistic feeding fit and many level Adjuchas who rather stay down where it's safe.

Off into the distance one who could see a mass gathering of Hollows going into a mass inter-devouring feast. If left alone, the Hollows would then merge and form a Gillian. Too bad for them, they were right at the end of a blue Cero.

That got the attention of every Hollow around the area. Some came to investigate to find out what just occurred when out of nowhere they all started dropping to the floor dead. Not one of them could sense the powerful being.

Finally touching the ground, Starrk lets go of Ichigo and Lily. A shiver went down his spine. 'Kami, that always feels strange.' Honestly, he hopes he doesn't do that a second time today. Turning around to both kids, he saw the redhead go up to a tree and touch it.

"Are the trees here not made of wood?" The boy asks. 'This feels strange, almost feels like I'm touching a rock.'

The brunette and lime-haired shrugged in unison before they both said. "We have never been here before you know."

Looking around more, the redhead notices how everything seems to feel like a vast jungle instead of a forest. Following up to one tree, he notices how they extend to a surface. Pointing up, he asks what he hopes was the right answer to his own question. "That's where Hueco Mundo is, right?"

Following the kid's hand, Starrk gave him a nod. "That's right. No one knows how such a thing came to be, but right above here we have Hueco Mundo."

"How was Hueco Mundo made?"

Now wasn't that the biggest mystery to all the Hollows. No one knows how such a thing happens. How did Hollows know to come here after a time of living in the Human World? Who was the original Hollow? Who made Hueco Mundo...

Starrk looks at the boy before speaking. "No one knows that. It's this world's greatest mystery."

The redhead looks at everything around him. What does it mean to live a life as a Hollow in Hueco Mundo? A place without life, no hope for sunny skies, no form of water. Ichigo looks at Starrk with the most serious look a kid could pull off. "Then I'll solve that mystery."

Starrk didn't know what to say to that. Was this boy, who only just been a Hollow for two years, trying to solve the biggest mystery of their world? Why would he do such a thing?

While Starrk stares at Ichigo with a bewildered look. Lily was looking at him with a look of admiration. 'Would he really do such a thing to a world that he was just brought into? To find the answers that all Hollows seem to ignore?'

The redhead's words seem to leave the area with a heavy tension hanging in the air. After a while and the tension of Ichigo's words were long gone, Starrk turned around and just gave a lazy wave with his hand. "Well, Happy Birthday. Here's the Forest of Menos."

The way he said it completely killed the mood for Ichigo. Couldn't he put it in a more exciting way? Letting out a groan, Ichigo looks at Starrk. "Really!? You can't make it sound more exciting than that?" He ends with a small huff.

"Yeah! Starrk, say it again but make it sound better with a more enthusiastic voice!" That came from an angry Lily.

The man releases a long and annoying sigh. Clearing up his throat, Starrk walks up to an open field. Turning around in an over dramatic fashion with his arms spread out, he said, in a much more exciting tone, "Lily. Ichigo. Welcome to Menos Park." A distance away one could see the giant body of a Gillian walking by. Even let out a small roar. Quite the pleasurable touch for Starrk's over dramatic scene, but it sure brought their mood back. With the mood finally brought back to life. Starrk and Lily follow behind Ichigo, who's trying to see and memorize everything Menos Park offers.

'Menos Park. Yeah, I like the sound of that.' Noticing how quiet the park was, Ichigo turns around to ask Starrk when he remembers that Hollows are probably just dying around them because of the brunette.

Ichigo really likes the change of scenario. Don't get him wrong. Hueco Mundo has become a home to him, but watching the endless white sands could drive anyone insane. After a while of walking around and looking at the local wildlife—soul-eating monsters, the gang stops to rest on a down rock-tree. 'Yeah, rock-tree sounds about right.' Ichigo's yellow eyes spotted a group of Gillians; Starrk remembered the name and told him after he asked about it. He likes the way they walk around aimlessly and sometimes they end up bumping into each other, but these Gillians seem to be marching together in a group. Pointing at it, he looks at Starrk and asks about it.

The man didn't know either, and when the group went back to watching them again, they noticed one of the Gillian got cut in half.

"!"

Ichigo wouldn't mind about its death if it got devoured. That's kind of nature's way around here, but seeing it get cut in half made a deep part of his soul become enraged with hatred for some unexplained reason.

The group kept watching as the Gillians kept getting cut down when Ichigo notices a strange Hollow wearing what he could best describe as ragged-out clothes and a strange coat adorned with a bunch of Hollow masks. It had a gazelle-like mask on its face. The strange thing about it was how he couldn't spot a hole anywhere on its body. He kept staring as the strange Hollow killed the last of the Gillians. Everything it did just made little sense. Starrk once said that all the Hollows kill to eat and grow, but this Hollow didn't even eat them. It only just slaughter them. Watching the Hollow leave in a hurry, he then notices another Hollow appear.

This one was a large Adjuchas-class Hollow almost three meters tall. He had a large shell-like appendage on his back and had a grayish-purple skin color. Hollow hole in the left side of his chest and he saw what seems to be a large shell-like-skirt around his waist. He couldn't quite get a look at its mask since it seems to chase the other Hollow in a hurry.

"Get the hell back here Shinigami!"

The group heard the way it calls out to the other Hollow or... eh, Shinigami? Yet again, hate reached Ichigo's soul. That word seems to trigger something deep inside of him. Like natural hate. Turning to look at Starrk, the redhead notices how the man was walking the complete opposite direction the other two beings went. "Where are you going?"

Turning around, Starrk says. "Where does it look like? We're not gonna bothered with whatever problems are happening down here, so we're leaving. We could end up with a mark behind our backs." He turns back around and starts walking again.

"But no one can find us because of what I'm doing!"

"Yeah, well, it'll probably just give out soon."

"It's been two years now and I'm still going at it!"

Starrk stops at his tracks and turns around. He kept staring into Ichigo's eyes.

Lily's lone eye flickers between Starrk and Ichigo, hoping nothing too serious would happen.

Ichigo's serious stare lock-on to Starrk's lazy one. No one said anything until Starrk spoke again.

"Why do you care that a few Hollows just die, Ichigo? You have seen how I kill before and you said nothing. So why should you care about it now? How was that moment any different to what I do?" He spoke in an emotionless tone.

Ichigo stayed quiet and looked down at the ground, trying to think of the right words to say back.

Lily stares at the scene with a grimace look on her face.

Taking the redhead's silences as a defeat, Starrk turned back around and started walking, ready to call them when he heard Ichigo's voice.

"It's because I care."

Lily and Starrk went back to face him.

"I care about what happens here, in Hueco Mundo. I may still be new to all this, but if there's one thing I learn from you, is to follow your instincts and right now my instincts are telling me I should care about protecting the Hollows from pointless killing. You're right, I don't care when Hollows die when you kill them but that's because we… I need to eat, but that's because our instincts make us eat when we need to. We never kill in a pointless matter, Starrk." Finishing what were hopefully the right words, Ichigo looks back at the brunette.

It completely caught Starrk off-guard with the look on Ichigo's face. The serious look on the redhead's face made it seem like he was teaching him a life lesson. Before he could say anything back, Ichigo ran off towards the direction the Hollow and Shinigami went.

Watching him leave made Lily break out of her stutter moment. "Starrk, we need to follow him! He might end up in danger!" Ready to make a quick run after the redhead, Lily turns around only to see Starrk still glued to his spot. "Starrk, what are you doing? Ichigo might get hurt! Don't you care if something happens to him!"

That brought Starrk out from his shock. "I care." He stares into Lily's light-pink eye and says, in a sad quiet voice, "I care, for both of you, I don't want to see any of you two get hurt. That's why I will do anything to protect you, even run from a pointless situation."

This was a new side to Starrk. He said nothing like this before. To protect anyone. 'Ichigo has grown on you, huh?' Taking a breath, Lily looks at him. "If you care, then let's protect him then."

That seems to fix him right up and more because for the first time, Lily saw the most serious look Starrk has ever shown. There was a fire in his eyes, a determination she had never seen before.

Walking up to her, Starrk puts a hand on her shoulders. With a quick look to her eye, he told her a small thank you before they Sonido after Ichigo.

In the distance, Ichigo now wore a scowl on his face. Trying his best to find the Hollow and Shinigami. Why does that word trigger him so much? Shaking his head, he looked around him until he heard a Sonido behind him. Turning around thinking Starrk would take him back by force, he got scared when he saw the look on his face. Was he mad at him for running off? Opening his mouth to tell him off, he stops when Starrk's determined voice reaches his ears.

"Let's go. I felt they were not that far away from here. We can catch up with them."

Well, that's new. Taking back what he was going to say, Ichigo stares at Starrk before asking. "Are you not mad at me?" He had to say it. There's no way Starrk would take him over there. Maybe it's a trick from the brunette to take them back home. He looks at Lily's face to find any hint, but all he saw from her was a plain look.

"No, I'm not mad. If what you want to do is protect the Hollows from that Shinigami then I'll protect them with you."

The way he said it. Ichigo looks up into his eyes. They hold the same truth when he had promised those two years ago about being a part of his pack. To not be alone. He looks back at Lily to see a big smile on her face now. He was speaking the truth. With a quick nod, Ichigo lets Starrk rest a hand on his head.

Before leaving, Starrk looks down to the redhead. "I know you want to protect them and all but you have to take me into account too. My presence might kill off the other Hollow and I know you don't want that to happen so we'll look from a distance. Got it?" Finishing, he looks into Ichigo's yellow eyes. He saw how he didn't like it, but it is the only thing they can do. With a nod, they Sonido.

After cutting down the last of the Gillians that the Hollow was commanding and making sure it was following him. Ashido lured it towards the trap he had set up. A good isolated spot where others won't help the Hollow. That's how he usually kills the tougher Adjuchas that roam down here. Looking back to be sure that Hollow was still following him, he speeds up a little faster.

Reaching the trap zone; the bottom of one tree where its roots had shot up in twisted ways with no room for quick moments if you were big. That's why he brought this Hollow here. He turns around and aims with his right arm. He shot the Hollow with a quick Kidō. "Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" A small red orb gathers at the palm of his hand, and then he fires it at the Hollow. He's no expert in Kidō, but he meant it to be more of a sting to the Hollow than a killing blow. Hearing the scream of rage, he went inside the roots.

The Hollow stops right outside the trap. It had a strange, almost skull-like shape. Where its ears would stick out seems to be stump horns instead. Gray-purple stripes decorate the mask. Two coming up from the top of the mouth and ending by its eyes, two more came down from between the mask's forehead and ending in an outer spiral. The Hollow didn't even think twice before rushing in at the weird place. This Shinigami has been a pain in the ass these last few hours. He completely forgot how this little game of theirs has started, but now he will finish it. Running inside, he saw the Shinigami discard the mask it wore and finally saw his face. He has dark red hair, pale skin, and gray eyes.

The Hollow's yellow eyes stare down at the Shinigami's gray ones.

"Thought you could get away from me, huh?" A smile spread across the Hollow's face. It's time to finish this.

The Shinigami looked at him with a plain look. He brought out a Katana with a green hilt and a rectangular tsuba which he had inside his coat and just rushed to the Hollow.

The Hollow raises his left arm and slams it down with great speed at the Shinigami's straightforward attack but before being hit, Ashido uses a quick Shunpo to appear to the creature's far right side, landing on a root, and then came at him again using said root to push himself faster.

Raising his right arm to block the blade, he notices how the Shinigami once again used Shunpo. Turning around to his left side, thinking about how the Shinigami would strike his back, he readies himself to block. Expecting to see the Shinigami, he guessed wrong as Ashido's voice came from above him where he was upside down on the bottom of a root pointing at him with a finger. "Hadō #4. Byakurai!" A concentrated bolt of lighting came from his finger.

Thinking fast, the Hollow moves back and barely dodge the spell. Ready to shoot up at Ashido, the Hollow stops when he notices how the Shinigami vanish again. Looking around, he felt a cut on his left arm. Seeing the back of a coat he made a quick swing down with his right arm when again the Shinigami vanished.

"Stop running around damn it!" The Hollow screams while looking for Ashido.

With its back turn, the Shinigami went for a killing blow but stopped soon after the shell-like skirt unwrapped from the Hollow's waist. Ashido raises his blade to block the hidden sharp tail that disguised itself as a shell-skirt.

Turning around, the Hollow looks at the yet unchanged face of the Shinigami. "Tsk, I was hoping to have tricked you and finished this already."

The Shinigami just replied with a plain voice. "I have killed many Hollows who have hidden limbs and such before, trust me, your nothing different." Pushing the tail to the side, Ashido Shunpo back a few distances and watched how the tail followed him. Every time the tail was too close to him, the redhead moved a few more steps back, trying to see how far the limb could reach. Believing the tail finally reached its limit, Ashido uses a quick Flash Step to get right back at the Hollow's back.

Bringing down his blade to cut off the Hollow's left arm, he quickly noticed movements from the Hollow's back. Jumping at the last minute, he barely dodges several long appendages.

Once again, Ashido Flash Step on top of a root. Taking in everything the Hollow seems to have. A tail that only reaches a good 30 feet. Appendages on his back that can reach 10 feet and seemed to go back. 'Great. So his back is off limits. He can hardly move because of his size so I have the advantage there—' Breaking from his thoughts, he jumps to another root when the Hollow speeds up to hit him, only to hit an empty spot. '—Never mind, he's fast but can only seem to strike at a straight line because of the surroundings.' Still analyzing his opponent, Ashido notices the way the Hollow's arm got stuck to the root. 'Okay, so he punches hard enough to leave himself stuck for a few seconds.' With a plan made up, the redhead charged at the back of the Hollow who had finally pulled his arm off.

The Hollow grinned at the foolish mistake. 'Ha! I got you now!' The Hollow raised its tail before bringing it back down towards Ashido. He wasn't expecting to get the Shinigami; he just wanted him to move closer so he could use his appendages instead. Seeing him dodge and move in close to his back, he shot up his trap, hoping to get him.

Ashido, predicting his move, stepped to the side with his Katana already raised and he brought it down on the appendages; cutting off a few.

The Hollow screamed and used his tail to whip his left side when the redhead used a Shunpo to move in closer and cut the start of his tail. Screaming again, the Hollow took a swing with his left arm, but the Shinigami used a Flash Step to land into another root. Seeing red, the Hollow let out a scream and charged at him with his right arm up and bringing down on the Shinigami, only to once again miss Ashido and leave him stuck. Turning around and seeing the Shinigami going in for the kill, he uses the last of his appendages.

Predicting that move again, Ashido steps aside and cuts down the last of the Hollow's appendages.

Getting himself back unstuck, the Hollow charges a Cero in his mouth. Not even fazed about the attack, the Shinigami puts on one of the many Hollow masks on his coat and lets the attack hit him.

As smoke covered everything, the Hollow let out a sigh of relief and started walking away until he felt a cut on his right shoulder. Turning around, he saw the Shinigami unharmed. 'What the hell! He took a Cero head on and didn't even take damage!' The only damage he saw was on the mask.

"Again. Do you think I haven't seen everything from you creatures? I don't just wear your kinds' masks for nothing. They give me a Hollow presence and will also shield me from a powerful Cero." With one arm raised, Ashido fired another concentrated bolt of lightning at the Hollow's left leg. Watching the Hollow falling face down, Ashido Flash Step a few meters back and concentrated on another Shakkahō, making sure this one was strong enough to finish the job, he fires.

Just before the Hollow got hit, a small child steps in between the projectile. Both fighters' eyes shot open when the kid took the full blast.

From a distance, Lily and Starrk stared at the scene in shock.

A few minutes before that, the group caught up right before the fighting began. They had to stay hidden not too far away to look at the battle. Starrk told Ichigo that they would only do something if things turn bad for the Hollow. Watching the battle play out, Ichigo was silently cheering for the Hollow. He watches how the Hollow had the Shinigami in a tight end but the mood changes when the man starts cutting down the Hollow by using his surroundings to his advantage. He was ready to tell Starrk to do something when a voice in his head spoke. 'Sonido, child.' Not knowing what to do, he let his body guide him and before he knew it, he had used Sonido and gotten right in between the spell and Hollow.

Everyone was quiet. No one said anything until they saw the smoke clear out and Ichigo appeared with his arms crossed in front of him. No kind of scratch on him.

Ashido was the first one to recover when he saw the child. "Kid, what the hell are you doing here—!" He stopped once Ichigo's arms dropped, and the boy glared at him with those Hollow-like eyes. Getting a better look, Ashido notices the hole in his chest that the blast uncovered. The older redhead's shocked look changed to one of disgust. 'He's just a monster that looks like a child.'

The Hollow behind him was still shocked. This... Hollow save him. He would have said kid, but when the boy turned around and he saw his hole and eyes, he knew better. When he was about to say something, everyone in the area felt the most powerful Reiatsu ever.

Everything went quiet.

'How the hell didn't I sense this before!/How the hell didn't I sense this before!' Both the Shinigami and Hollow thought.

Everyone turns to where the powerful Reiatsu was coming from. Ichigo recognizes the figure that just Sonido into the field as Starrk. He would have said something if it wasn't for the look on his face. He was mad... no; he was furious, but not at him. His glare was set on the Shinigami. Each step he took, everything seemed to get heavy. Ashido and the Hollow barely could breathe while Ichigo felt fine.

Starrk walks up to Ichigo while glaring at the Shinigami and says in a commanding voice. "Get him out of here," he said with a finger towards the Hollow, "and take him over where Lily is at."

Not even thinking twice, Ichigo got a hold of the Hollow and Sonido to Lily.

Ashido just stares at the newcomer. Another monster that looks like a man. He was ready to tell him off when the brunette spoke.

"I'm going to kill you."

Ashido didn't miss the tone in the man's voice; the Hollow meant it. The Shinigami barely saw the man move, but he was already right in front of him. Using his fastest Shunpo, he moved back and was ready to make a run for it when he saw the man appear literally right in front of him. He didn't even raise a hand or did any gesture but a blue Cero form on his chest. Thinking he could dodge, it left him in shock at the speed Starrk launched it at. Not even the coat could save him. He left nothing of him. With that done, Starrk Sonido to Ichigo. When he got there, the brunette saw both children speaking with the Hollow. He kept his distance, making sure not to kill the Hollow.

Ichigo senses the man, and he locks his eyes with Starrk before walking up to him.

"He said thanks for saving him."

"Okay."

The way Starrk's voice sounded empty got Ichigo scared. "He says that eating Hollows will help him recover, but he's asking us if we can help him by hunting for him."

"That's fine with me."

Again, his voice lacks any emotion. Ichigo knew he did something stupid. Ready to apologize to him, he was left speechless when the man bent down to hug him.

"Please never do that again, Ichigo..."

So that's what it was. It scared him how he could have gotten hurt. Returning the hug, they both let a small silence fill the area.

After staying down in the Forest of Menos for a week to help the Hollow, they were ready to leave.

The Hollow looks down at the boy. "I know I said this a lot this past week, but thank you."

Ichigo just smiles since he was just glad to help. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

The Hollow shakes his head. "No, what you did doesn't just happen in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo-sama. My life belongs to you now." He finishes with a deep bow to the redhead.

That caught Ichigo off guard. Giving the Hollow a sheepish smile, the redhead rubs the back of his neck. "No, it's okay, there's…" Ichigo thought about something. "Do Shinigami come here often?"

Looking back at Ichigo, the Hollow replies. "Sometimes squads come here to make sure nothing gets too extreme, and when that happens they usually start killing us." He finishes with a disgusted look on his face.

With that being said, Ichigo thought about it. "If you want to repay me. Then become a Guardian."

That took the Hollow by surprise. Him, a Guardian? But if that's what the boy wanted. Giving Ichigo another bow, he spoke up again. "If that is your wish, then I'll be a guardian. Ichigo-sama."

"Ichigo time to go!" Lily shouted. She and Starrk were a suitable distance away so that her companion wouldn't kill the Hollow.

"All right, I'm going!" Ready to use Sonido, yeah he was loving doing that, another thing popped into his head. Ichigo looks back to the Hollow. "Hey, there's also another thing I want you to do." The Hollow looked back at him and waited for his master to give him another order. "I want you to spread a new name for this place. Start calling it Menos Park." Ichigo told him with a grin on his face.

Laughing at his master's request, the Hollow happily replied. "Very well, Ichigo-sama." With that being said, the redhead Sonido to his companions and up through the same hole they came from.

The Hollow kept staring at the hole. "Things will change around here soon." He left to do his job as a Guardian.

- Top of the Entrance -

The same Hollow who saw Ichigo and his company leave for the Forest of Menos was still there, hoping to see them come back. Ready to leave again, the Hollow stopped when he heard the static sound of a Sonido.

"Ah, so you're back, Ichigo-kun."

- X -