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.
Chapter 4: The Curious Butterfly
- X -
Sonido is amazing. There's just nothing more to say about it. With the static noise you make when reappearing, how could you not love it! Starrk makes it look badass with the way his Sonido works; which makes him seem to teleport because he appears solidly instead of the shimmering effect problem he seems to have. Honestly, it is the most badass thing in the world!
Okay, Ichigo was lying to himself on that last part. Cero will be the most badass thing in the world the moment he learns how to use it. The redhead just doesn't know why the stupid thing won't come naturally to him the way Sonido did. He would have asked Starrk for tips, but the man would just reply with his stupid when-you're-older-excuse.
After they returned from their little adventure in Menos Park, the redhead had been busy using Sonido non-stop. That is until his appetite came back to him and boy did he eat a lot again. Starrk said to him how much he had been using Sonido, he probably went low on energy. Apparently, since he's so inexperienced with it, he has been using an unnecessary amount of Reiatsu towards it.
Well, at least Starrk gave him a tip on how he can work on it. He thought the man would have let him figure it out by himself, but turns out he just gave him the tip so he can learn and make him stop going out for more food. Lazy jerk.
Their relationship seems to be mostly unchanged. After the way he could have gotten himself killed back in Menos Park, Starrk has just been more, eh, overprotective? When Starrk's hunting, he makes it fast and now the brunette makes sure for both him and Lily to hide inside or by caves that Starrk makes sure it is safe for them, or any place someone won't see them while he goes out to get food. Honestly, his turning into a mother hen with them.
As of now, while Starrk's out getting something to eat, both children were waiting for him on what seems to be some kind of strange ruins. Who knew such things could be out here? They only stay in the desert, so Ichigo has seen none of this before. He guesses something good came out from that little incident. He and Lily have been exploring the ruins. They look a lot like pillars and with broken-down walls.
"Using Sonido must be nice, huh?" Said Lily who was sitting on top of a fallen pillar.
Ichigo turned around from inspecting a pillar—which has what he could guess were drawings of some sort—to look back at her. "Yeah, it's cool, but you tired up fast." He tries to make it sound like no big deal since Lily has been trying to use Sonido ever since he could, but she just couldn't get a hold of it. He only explains that it requires Reiatsu to use, but besides that, he couldn't elaborate more on it. It all came instinctively to him the same way it does to Starrk, and all they had to work with was that it involves Reiatsu. He stops using Sonido after the way her face becomes crestfallen when she sees him use it.
She said nothing back, and that just made it worse for him.
"Don't worry about it. You'll get it one day and when you do, we can start bugging Starrk together." That brought a small smile to her face.
"Thanks, Ichigo." Pushing herself off, Lily walked towards the redhead. "So have you found anything interesting so far?" With her hands behind her head, she looked over his shoulders when he went back to inspect what she could guess was a circle. 'Wow, so interesting...' She didn't get what the big deal was about the circles found on all the pillars, but it got Ichigo's attention.
Ichigo turned his head and scratched the back of it. "Yeah, I think I got something." He turns back around and points at the circle. "It looks like this represents Hueco Mundo's moon."
With a blank stare, Lily says, "Yeah... no." She points up to the moon in the sky. "It looks nothing like what we always had." She was talking about the never, ever changing phase of the moon that's above them. While the moon seems full, there seems to be something else in front of the moon. It was basically a lunar eclipse, but who knows what's the object that's blocking the moon.
"I mean, what else could it be that's circular around here?" The redhead pointed down at the random drawings of different Hollows. "No matter how many pillars we have found, we see the circle above the Hollows." He knew they were Hollows with the way the bodies have holes in them. "What else would that mean?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know? Maybe they worship a circle as a god?" She only got a deadpan look from him. With a mock glare, she pointed to the figures way above the circle. "All right, genius, then tell me what that is supposed to mean."
Looking at where she was pointing, Ichigo frowns. No matter how many pillars they find, all of them show the exact things. Hollows who are looking up at the moon, the moon itself and the humanoid figures above it. He doesn't know if the figures are Hollow or not. There was no hole shown in them, but they all have a full mask on. Another weird thing about it was the swords and shields above them. The left side comprises 5 figures and 5 swords above them, a middle figure that has both, and the right side that has 5 shields with 5 figures.
A sigh escapes his lips. "I don't know about that, but that's what I will find out about it."
"We're."
Ichigo looks back at her, locking their eyes together.
"You and I will find what this all means together." Lily said, causing a blush to appear on both their faces.
Looking away from her, the redhead stutters. "A-a-and what about Starrk?"
That got Lily's face redder. She completely forgot about him. Before she could say anything another voice spoke up.
"My, why isn't this such a cute scene."
Forgetting about their embarrassment, they both turn around to stare at the Hollow sitting on top of a pillar.
Its mask had a strange design from most Hollows. Instead of being round, it had a strange, almost rectangular-like shape, but it still kept the skull-like appearance. Amber color eyes, with shoulder-length pink hair with bangs coming out from the right side of the mask. That was strange for a Hollow to have hair. All the ones they ate didn't have any. While it has no arms, the Hollow instead has six large, gray branch structures on its back, three on each side, which form a shape similar to a butterfly's wings. Each branch has twelve equally spaced red strands that resemble falling drops. Its chest is normal until you get to his waist. They couldn't see his hole since a multitude of purple tentacles reminiscent of a sea anemone covered it. No legs, but it has a long tail which seems to end in a purple tear-like shape.
They both stare at the Hollow. Starrk made sure that no one was here before he left. So how did this Hollow not only dodge Starrk's senses but also found them when Ichigo's natural cloaking ability should still be up? Unless.
Ichigo's eyes open wide. 'Did it go away with me using so much Reiatsu?' Before using Sonido, he did nothing that would make him run low on Reiatsu. 'No, that can't be. If that was true then Starrk would be here the moment he felt us.' So what's going on? How did this Hollow sneak up on them?
The horrified looks on both kids' faces made the Hollow release a small laugh. "My, my, it seems you both don't know how I could find you, eh? Ichigo-kun. Lily-chan." The way their face turned pale and shocked made him release another fit before calming down so he could explain. "Oh, don't worry about that interesting ability of yours Ichigo-kun, I can safely say it's still active even after how much you use that amazing speed of yours."
They couldn't see the facial expression because of the mask, but the way his eyes twinkle made it unsettling for them.
How did this Hollow know that? He knew their names as well! Ichigo remembers how Starrk told him about feeling a set of eyes on them. Is this the Hollow he meant by it?!
Seeing the way Ichigo's eyes seem to calm down and take a more calculated look on them, Szayel decided it was time to stop playing with them and explain before the girl remembers about how she could bring back the man. 'And with the way he kills all Hollow by his presence alone, I won't stand a chance.' With a bow, he introduces himself. "The name is Szayelaporro Granz, or you can just call me Szayel for short." Well, at least they now have a name, but still, they have no answers to what he wants and how he found them. Before the girl could say anything, Szayel finally decided to at least get one of their worries out of the way. "Don't worry about it. I won't eat any of you." That seems to do the trick since they both release a breath.
"How were you able to find us? You say Ichigo is still covering us. So how come Starrk never sense you before?" No point for Lily to not mention him. She and Ichigo always talk about the fun pranks they pull on him, and if the pinkette knew their names, he probably knows Starrk at this point.
"Oh yes, that's a very interesting ability. No one can feel your presence without being inside a good 30 feet of Ichigo-kun's radius. No matter how good your senses are, it's still impossible to find you... but there's a minor flaw in an almost perfect ability. You yourself can't feel anyone outside of it." Szayel waited for them to understand the information, and it was no surprise that he noticed how Ichigo figured it first.
Now the redhead understood everything. It explains so much now. All those years ago when Starrk tried to reach out and could only sense himself. The way he said about sensing someone on them, but then the presence would disappear. Szayel has been testing out his ability all this time. "You say you won't eat us. How do we know you're not lying about it?" There was no way for someone like Szayel to not try to eat them. This Hollow was able to figure out his own ability.
The Hollow releases an empty laugh. "Oh... there's no point for me to eat you when I won't be able to reach the next level of evolution." The way he spoke made him sound so depressing.
"What do you mean? How could you not evolve? All you need to do is keep eating and you'll reach for it." Never going through the Hollows' stages, Lily pretty much only knew that eating should keep developing you no matter what. There shouldn't be anything to stop you if you just keep eating.
Releasing another hollow laugh, Szayel said. "And that's where you're wrong." Using one of his branches, he raises the pink bangs, showing the way his hair comes out from a crack on his mask.
That got an empty look from Ichigo and Lily, looking at each other and then back at Szayel. The redhead points at the crack. "Umm, what does that mean now?"
Szayel lets his hair drop and looks at Ichigo, with what the redhead could best describe as a stupefy expression. "Do you truly not know what this means? It's almost common knowledge to all the Hollows about what it means to have their mask cracked." The only thing he got from both kids was a blank stare. "Do you really not know what it means?! You must have felt it at least through some point in your evolution to protect your mask from every danger!"
Lily let a sigh escape her lips before staring at the Hollow. "Yeeeaaahhh no... you're asking the wrong people about that. I'm not even a simple soul while Ichigo here pretty much never went through the steps of Hollow evolution." She was expecting Szayel to freak out and she would get a merry laugh from him, but his eyes gleam with an almost teacher-like expression.
"Well, you see, every Hollow must protect his mask because of what it represents!" He even started speaking like a teacher would to a student. In no way of being rude, more like... trying to make it feel like they're about to learn something exciting. Szayel waited for one of them to ask.
"And what does it represent?" Ichigo needed to know. Starrk wouldn't know anything about it, even though the man promised to tell him. Besides, this could probably lead to a way to solve one mystery surrounding Hueco Mundo!
Looking at Ichigo's face, the pink-eye girl facepalm. The look on his face was one of excitement. 'Did this idiot forget the position we're in?' Before she could scowl at him about forgetting what exactly was going on, Szayel answered him with a too eager voice.
"Why I'm glad you asked Ichigo-kun! Ever wonder how we can live with let us say; a hole in our body?" Getting a "yes" from the boy, he continues. "Well, since you never went through the stages of evolution like your little girlfriend here—" "She's not my girlfriend!/I'm not his girlfriend!" Ignoring that outburst, Szayel went on with his explanation. "Our masks represent the heart we lost when the chain that once covered our hole either wears off or is pulled off." He notices how the kids didn't miss that last comment; He went back to the topic before the memories of an older blonde got out. "Because of the heart it represents you could say once a Hollow has his mask destroy the Hollow himself dies also, but if a Hollow gets a crack on his mask, then one can't reach the next stage of evolution because think of it as an unhealthy heart and because of that, one won't be able to grow... and because of that they permanently cease evolving and stop regressing into a Gillian. Understand everything?" Getting a nod from them, he waits for questions they may have.
Ichigo took everything Szayel said to his heart or… mask? Wait. "You said our mask represents our heart! But how does that work for me when I don't have a mask?"
Szayel looks back at Ichigo with a gleam in his eyes. To him, the group was a complete mystery. He has never seen Hollows like them, but the boy himself was of a bigger mystery, with the lack of a mask, white skin, and yellow and black eyes. But he was a mystery he was all too eager to get his hands or his branches on. "Oh, and that's why I wish to meet you already Ichigo-kun. You're one giant puzzle I wish to solve."
Trying to ignore that last part, Ichigo asks another question. "You said repressing into a Gillian? How does eating keep you away from turning back to those giant guys? Don't you just stay as you are?"
Szayel likes the way the boy seems to think about everything he says... 'If only HE would have listened to me.' Forgetting about that bastard, the pinkette went into teacher-mode again.
"You see Ichigo-kun when a Gillian evolves, they become an Adjuchas. Know it or not, we still need to eat to grow even further because that's what drives us, but, there's another reason we must continue devouring Hollows..." Stopping for a dramatic moment he waited for Lily and Ichigo to move in closer. "and that's because if we don't, our mind becomes absorbed by the other Hollows comprising our form, and then you will revert into a Gillian, and when that happens the subsequent lack of an individual's will prevent the reverted Gillian from becoming an Adjuchas again."
That finally makes sense about all the dumb Gillians that bump with each other when they visited Menos Park. They were just empty shells with no guidance. So Szayel can't go any further, but he can't go back either. He almost felt sorry for the guy. There was something nagging in the back of Ichigo's mind. The way he says everything about chains and no longer evolving when you break your mask. "How do you know all this?" He regrets asking that question when he saw the look in his eyes. He saw hurt, pain, and betrayal.
Szayel lets out another hollow laugh. 'You got that, huh Ichigo-kun? You're an overly observant kid.' Done laughing, he looks down to the kids. Even Lily was paying attention at this point. 'I gain nothing by neither telling them nor telling them at all.' It wouldn't hurt him if they knew. So why not humor them about his sad brief life? "That's because it was my own older brother, who not only turned me into a Hollow but also broke my mask..."
That completely caught them off guard. His own brother did this to him? Why would he do that? Before they even voice their thoughts, Szayel starts explaining everything.
"You see when a Hollow's mask cracks it doesn't just stop the evolution but one could also gain memories from their human life... Well, I guess I should start from the very beginning." Taking a break, Szayel prepared himself for the painful memories that he made sure to never look back at.
"It all started one day when my older brother came and picked me up from college so that I could visit our parents back home. I don't know where we live at since some memories still haven't returned to me, but we were driving our parent's car down a road on a mountain when an argument broke out between us. My brother didn't go to college and was unemployed. He blames me for it since our parents always seemed to give me 'everything' I ever wanted, but I work for everything I had. My brother calling it utter bullshit completely went under a road rage and ignored the fact that we moved out from our lane. Looking back at the road, I pointed out the upcoming car when my brother took a sharp turn to bring us back to our lane, but he lost control and we ended up driving off the mountain and dying." He said that last part with a shrug from his branches. Like what happened didn't matter anymore, and it didn't. He got over that already. Taking in a small breath, he continues. "I don't know how long it took us to find out we died, but we still didn't get along as a ghost. A fight again broke out between us… That's when my brother notices the chain. He made a quick grab for it and completely pulled it off, and my Hollow transformation began but I made sure I took him with me when I pulled his chain too. After that, my memories aren't clear. I don't know how I got here. All I was doing was listening to my hunger."
"Wait, when did your brother ever have the chance to break your mask for you to remember all of this?"
That was Lily's curious voice that Szayel heard. He would have thought Ichigo would've asked instead. Taking a quick glance at the boy, Szayel noticed the lack of emotions on his face, but his eyes told something different. He looks back at Lily's pink eye and goes back to his story. "Not so long ago. I say about two years ago because that's when you appeared, Ichigo-kun. You saved my life." That got an expression from the redhead. "I just became an Adjuchas and came up from the Forest of Menos, hunger still driving me. I was eating when I got hit from my right side by something with significant force. Standing up, I noticed a pack of Hollows surrounding me. Getting ready to flee, a giant Hollow with blonde hair and a minotaur-like appearance came at me and cracked my mask. My memories came back to me right at that moment. Then maybe I let out a small hissing fit and started cursing my brother, but believe it or not I heard him calling me out—"
"What's his name?"
Szayel stops to look at Ichigo. The boy seems ready to lose it. But why? What's the point? He guesses it won't hurt to tell him. "His name is Yylfordt Granz." The boy nods and goes back into controlling his temper. The pinkette wonders if what he'll say next would be the breaking point to the redhead's upheld rage that was locked behind his eyes. "Anyway, after I curse Yylfordt and I heard my name. I started looking back at the Hollow who punched me when he started laughing like a maniac. Turns out this Hollow was my brother. Who would have known, huh? After that, I had hoped he would listen to me and let me go when he said this was his way of a payback. Heh... would you believe me if I told you that my brother would have been ready to kill and devoured me?"
That seems to be the last straw for Ichigo. Next thing Lily and Szayel knew, they felt a weight on their backs that forced them to their knees. It wasn't the Reishi that became heavy; they could still breathe normally and weren't dying. 'That's because it's the surrounding gravity that got heavier!' Szayel looks at a pillar break apart because of the weight. He looks around and notices that only the things inside of Ichigo's cloaking radius seem to be the only things affected.
"ICHIGO, STOP!" Lily yelled.
Looking around, the redhead notices the way everything seems broken. He subconsciously stops what he was doing when he saw both Lily and Szayel press down on the white sand. Helping the limenette up, Ichigo started apologizing to her.
That was new to Lily. Ichigo has never done this before. Are there more abilities hidden inside him? Before the limenette could ask, Szayel spoke up first.
"Why... Why does it matter for you to know my brother's name... why be mad about my life?" He was still lying down on the sand. He felt the boy's anger with what he just did. But why, though?
"I was an older brother, too."
Szayel raises only his head to look at Ichigo. Lily already knew about this since Ichigo has already told her this part of the memories that came back to him.
"I had two little sisters before I died. My parents told me that as a big brother, I'm supposed to be their guardian. Someone not just to protect them but to encourage them. You're supposed to teach them too, you're supposed to be there for them, no matter what you go through because you're all family, no matter what."
Szayel wanted to cry. Why wasn't his own brother like the boy in front of him? To help him when instead he wanted to kill him for good. "You're a good older brother, Ichigo-kun. When my brother and his pack sensed a powerful Reiryoku nearby, they ran away. When they left, I soon started searching for who it was that just saved me. That's when I discovered you and your little pack. You saved me without even knowing about it. I tried to reach you, but the power alone you show scared me. So I followed you around for two years, hoping that one day I could find the strength to get close to you. Forgetting to eat, I learn how not only does a crack mask bring back memories but also the whole devolution."
So that's why Szayel has followed them for so long. "You're welcome." Ichigo sends the pinkette his best big brother smile; a weird thing to do. "So now what? You finally reach me, so what are you going to do?" Szayel must have had some kind of plan at this point.
"I wish for you to eat me." He knew saying that wasn't what he originally wanted to do. Szayel stares at the shocked look on both their faces. "Ichigo, now that I can no longer evolve, there's no point for me to keep trying in a world like this. I wanted to learn everything I could about this world, but now I should probably help you instead. You protected me with your power, so I wish to protect you by becoming strength for you." He finishes with a bow.
This is not what Ichigo was expecting from him! He wouldn't do that to him! There must be some way to help him. Millions of thoughts ran through his head when he heard a voice, and he listened to it. It was telling him that there was a way to save him!
"I know how to fix your mask."
Both Lily and Szayel stare at him in shock. Fix his mask? How can you fix someone's heart? Before he could ask, Ichigo started walking up to him and stood right in front of him. They both stare at each other's eyes. Amber met Yellow. "Do you trust me?" He said this while bringing up his arm to the upper right side of Szayel's mask.
He kept looking back at Ichigo. He had nothing else to lose. Szayel slowly nodded. "I do, Ichigo-kun."
Ichigo let his body guide him. He gathered Reishi in his hand and swiped it down in the air in front of Szayel's mask.
The pinkette felt nothing, but he noticed the way Lily kept staring at him in shock and the smile on Ichigo's face. Using his branch-like arms to touch his right side, Szayel noticed the lack of hair and, 'The crack!' The crack on his mask was absent. But that's not the only thing about it. He couldn't see it, but his mask has changed colors. It was now pitched black.
Lily looked at the black mask. How the hell did Ichigo know how to do that?
Before she could ask, Ichigo spoke up first. "I don't know how I did it. I just follow my instincts."
'The hell? He could read min—'
"No, I'm not reading your mind." A smile came to his face. "Your eyes are showing all the confusion in them."
Oh, so that's what it was. Lily rolls her eye. 'Cheeky bastard.' Before she was ready to tell him how corny he sounded, Lily stopped at the sound of sobbing. They both turn back to Szayel, who just seems to let everything out at this point. Before she knew it, Ichigo went up to the Hollow and gave him a hug.
"Is okay now Szayel, I know you were alone before but now you don't have to be." He remembers how Starrk promised him a pack but together for 2 years. It felt more like a family. "You don't have to be alone anymore. You can become a part of our pack. A part of our family." Those words did nothing more than just make Szayel cry harder.
Going up to the pair, Lily went in for a hug too. After a while, Szayel lets go of Ichigo and Lily when they all notice the blue Cero.
"Looks like Starrk's done. I hope he got enough food." With that being said, Ichigo put a hand on Lily and Szayel.
Before they left, Lily mentioned the one little detail about weak Hollows getting too close to Starrk. "Umm Ichigo, I don't think it's a good idea to bring Szayel."
"I agreed with her, Ichigo-kun. I might end up dying. I have seen how Hollows die by being near that man." The only thing they got from the redhead was a smile and a quick 'trust me' before they vanished with a Sonido.
In the distance away, Starrk stood with a good amount of food. 'I guess moving around helps with the food supplies.' He already fired his Cero and was now waiting for Ichigo to come and bring Lily. When the brunette hears a Sonido, he turns around, ready to greet them when he notices, what he could best describe it, a moth-like Hollow. 'I know I told him how my power is like fire to moths, but c'mon! How the hell is there such a thing as a moth-looking Hollow!'
Starrk kept staring at the redhead. He just knew it was him that did something about this Hollow because only Ichigo brings these many headaches to him. Actually, he notices something about the new Hollow. He wasn't dying by being around him! How come? Is it the mask?! With the way Lily seems to look shocked, he supposes she didn't see this coming either. Great. Ichigo just kept staring at him with a smile on his face. He lets out a long sigh. 'Well, might as well get this over with.'
"So... something interesting happened to you two, I assume?"
- X -