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 9: Decisions
-X-
A way to settle down their debt? Shinji didn't know how to feel about that. When Yoruichi came to their hideout yesterday to tell him and the rest of the Visoreds about how Urahara had asked for a favor that would pay off their debt, well, let's say that most of the Visoreds were a little puzzled. 100 years and Urahara finally decided? Something was telling Shinji that the shopkeeper thought about the most ridiculous way to pay off the debt.
As the de facto leader of the Visoreds, Shinji decided that he would be the one to talk to the shopkeeper alone. 'Just what are you up to Urahara.' While both of them were former captains, Shinji was wary around the shaggy blonde. Is not like he can't trust his fellow blonde, it's more like there's something about Urahara's personality that he just can't trust about.
Seeing the shop coming into view with 2 kids sweeping in front of the shop left Shinji a little puzzle. He doesn't remember Urahara having kids working for him. 'Now what's this about?' The closer he gets, the more he could hear them discussing something.
"Stupid geta-bōshi making us work." Lily muttered. 'Why the hell are we even sweeping in front of a shop that doesn't seem to get any customers!'
Ichigo releases a sigh upon hearing her. "You remembered how it was Tessai-san that asked us, right?"
"Doesn't mean I can't bl—" Lily stops talking when she sees a bob-cut blonde man wearing a black dress shirt, white tie, white pants, and a gray long-coat. She blinks a few times when she notices how the blonde was coming towards the shop. "Are you lost or something, blondie?"
Shinji looks from Lily to Ichigo before saying anything. "Not lost. Just came to talk with Urahara."
Both Arrancar look at each other before going back to the blonde.
"What for?" Ichigo asks.
"Not gonna answer that. It's a grown-up talk, kid." Shinji replied while walking around both kids. Coming inside, the Visored spotted Tessai behind the counter. "Oi, it's been a while, eh Tessai?"
"Hirako-dono." Tessai said while giving the blonde a bow.
Shinji waves off his hand. "No need to call me that, ya know?"
Tessai nods back before addressing Ichigo and Lily, both inside the shop now. "Are you two done sweeping the front of the store?"
Releasing a groan, Lily replied. "There's nothing to clean besides the dirt."
"She's kind of right Tessai-san. There's nothing but dirt out there. Plus, we kind of have been cleaning for a while." Ichigo added.
"I suppose you two could take a break." Tessai shook his head and waved them off when he saw the joyful look on both kids' faces.
The bob-cut blonde pointed behind him. "So who are those two? Last time I remember ya didn't have any kids workin' here."
Walking around the counter and heading towards the basement, Tessai answers back. "They're our guests." The tan-man looked back to the door and screamed. "Children, I will be down with Urahara-dono for a while! Look over the shop in the meantime!"
"What!? But we're on our break?!" Lily yelled.
Not even answering them back, Tessai lifts the basement's door.
The powerful Reiatsu attacked Shinji's senses instantly. He felt the way his body felt heavy too, as if he got thrown down to the deepest part of the ocean. "What the hell ya got down there." Sensing it more, the bob-cut blonde picked up something very interesting. "A Hollow? Ya got a Hollow down there!?" He doesn't know what to think. Was the Hollow a part of the deal?
Not saying anything, Tessai started climbing down.
Shinji watched as the ex-Kidō Chief kept going down and didn't even say anything about why they have a Hollow here. 'Damn it.' Releasing a sigh, the Visored follow behind Tessai. Once touching the ground, Shinji started looking around for the Hollow that was radiating all the Reiatsu and that's where he was mistaken.
Shinji was looking for some monstrosity of a Hollow, a big-soul-eating-monster of a Hollow, and not a man.
Shinji's brown eyes were looking at the man lying against a rock, sleeping. The sleeping man didn't look like a Hollow at all. Sure, he could sense how the Reiatsu coming out from the brunette was that of a Hollow. But still. The Visored turn to Tessai, ready to ask him what he was when he noticed the way the ex-Kidō Chief was already walking towards Urahara's lab. "Oi, Tessai!" The bob-cut blonde said while catching up to him.
"Come now, Hirako-san, Urahara-dono is waiting for you." Tessai said, not even turning to look at the blonde.
"Is Urahara also gonna tell me why ya got," Shinji stopped and looked back at the brunette. Can he really call the man a Hollow? "Whatever he is down here?"
"Arrancar."
Blinking a few times, Shinji repeated the word. "Arrancar? What the hell is that?"
Tessai looks over his shoulders. "Urahara-dono calls them Arrancar. A Hollow with Shinigami powers."
The Visored didn't know what to say to that. A Hollow with Shinigami powers?! "Wait. You just say 'em? As in there's more?"
"The children you saw are Arrancar, too."
Shinji stops in his tracks. The 2 kids up in the store are also Hollows with Shinigami powers? Shaking his head, the blonde started following behind Tessai. Saving any more questions for Urahara instead.
Walking into the shopkeeper's lab, the Visored spotted what he was expecting to see when he senses a Hollow's Reiatsu, a Hollow. However, what he wasn't expecting was how the butterfly-like Hollow was helping around the lab...
Spotting the blonde, Szayel stops at his tracks to give the man a small bow before going back into plugging in a new Gigai to the machine. After finally getting more Reiatsu samples from Starrk—the brunette kept accidentally destroying the glass flask—both he and Urahara were finally ready to finish Starrk's, hopefully, last Gigai.
Slowly waving at the Hollow, Shinji spotted the shaggy blonde behind his computer. "Urahara."
Hearing the Visoreds' leader's voice, Urahara turns around with a smile on his face. "Shinji-san! So good for you to have come." He notices Shinji staring at Szayel. "I see you notice Szayel, my new apprentice."
Making sure to not twitch from the shaggy blonde's comment, Szayel turns around to address him. "The Gigai's plugged in now."
Not seeing any of Szayel's appendages twitch, Urahara pouted. 'Seems I need to try something different.' Forgetting about the black mask Hollow for the moment, the ex-Captain looked back at Shinji, who was still staring. "Is not kind to stare at people, Shinji-san."
Shinji narrowed his eyes. "Start talking, Urahara. Why do you have Hollows down here in ya basement?"
Losing his playfulness, Urahara answers back. "Is actually quite an interesting story, Shinji-san. I could go over the long version of this story, but let us keep this short and simple." Looking over at Szayel, he says. "Szayel, if you don't mind, I have some important business to discuss here."
Understanding what he meant, Szayel and Tessai left the lab.
Watching the black mask Hollow finally leave, Shinji turns back to the shopkeeper. "Start talking. Don't leave anythin' out. So go with the long version."
Urahara turned around to face his computer. "You remembered Isshin's son?"
Shinji raises one of his eyebrows. Is that how he'll start things with? "I do. The boy died, didn't he?"
While none of the Visoreds had any connection with Isshin, most of them knew what happened to him two years ago. Yoruichi told them about it. Back then, everyone believed that it was one of Aizen's plans to kill the boy. But with no evidence found in why he would have done that, they dropped the case.
"You saw the boy in front of the shop with a lime-haired girl. Yes?" Urahara said while looking at Starrk's Reiatsu data. Frowning upon seeing an... interesting development.
"I did but what does that—!" Shinji stopped. There's no way Urahara is saying exactly that. "Is the boy..?"
"Isshin's son?" The shaggy blonde turns back to look at the Visored. "What do you think?"
"H-how?" Shinji asks with a surprised look on his face, thinking about it now. "Did the boy say who his father was?"
"Well, the only reason they're even here is because Ichigo remembered." The shopkeeper shrugged to the man before turning back to the computer. "From what Starrk-san has told me. He found Ichigo in the white sands of Hueco Mundo. A very interesting place, to be honest, is quite a hollow place, but let's get back to the story now. Starrk-san has been watching and protecting the boy for the past two years now. Just recently some events occurred that prevented them from going back home."
"Who's Starrk?"
Looking back to Shinji, Urahara waves his fan around the air. "Why, he's the one with the Reiatsu you're feeling." He started tapping the fan on his chin. "He's the man, if I guess right, is sleeping not that far away from here."
"That guy is the one with all this Reiatsu!?" Even from this far away could Shinji still feel the Arrancar. "How can a thing like him even exist?" During his time as a Captain for Soul Society, not once did a Hollow so powerful like Starrk appear. He was sure they had recorded nothing like this before.
"Would you believe me if I told you that there are two other Hollows, that at his current stage, are stronger than him?" Urahara said while still looking at the computer.
"There are two more stronger Hollows than him right now! An' wot ya mean by 'at his current moment'? Are ya saying that he can get stronger?" Shinji didn't know how to feel about that. The thought of more of those beings existing was a dreadful idea. It was even more dreadful if Starrk could get more powerful. With Hollows like them existing, how has Soul Society never heard of them before?!
"Well, one of those Hollows is a reason why they can't go back home." Urahara turns around to show his exciting face to Shinji. "Just yesterday I went into the world of Hollows, Hueco Mundo." He sends him a disappointed pout. "Sucks that I have to be the 4th Shinigami to go there."
"What do you mean by that?" Shinji narrowed his eyes. There's no way he's talking about—
"Why Aizen and his goons have already been to Hueco Mundo." Urahara returns the hard look. "He's another reason why Starrk and the others can't go home."
The bob-cut blonde frowned upon hearing his ex-lieutenant's name. "What does Aizen want with 'em?"
Urahara shrugged. "To be fair, I don't know. All I know, from what a Hollow told me, is how 3 Shinigami's Reiatsu had been sensed around Menos Park. It could be any other Shinigami, but let's be honest here. We both know how it's Aizen who has been going to Hueco Mundo."
Shinji's frown deepens. Memories of the night, when Aizen finally showed his true colors, came to his mind. "So if Aizen's one problem, what are the other ones?"
Hearing his computer finishing up with the data, Urahara looked back to the screen to make sure everything was right before unplugging the Gigai. "Well, one of the other problems involves one of the strong Hollows that I was talking about." Urahara walks around the Gigai, inspecting it before looking back at Shinji. "Starrk-san has made a very dangerous enemy. Unintentionally, he just became the enemy of Hueco Mundo's King."
"Hueco Mundo has a king!?"
The shopkeeper sends the shock bob-cut blonde a goofy smile. "I know right! Who knew that Hueco Mundo had a King? Anyway," the curves of his smile turned downward. "The King of Hueco Mundo is no joke. You think Starrk-san feels powerful? I was there when he challenged Baraggan, the king, as of right now Starrk-san has no chance because of... events that happened."
That took Shinji by surprise. Starrk easily feels like a Captain-class Shinigami, but now Urahara just told him how he doesn't stand a chance against an even more powerful Hollow? "Who's the other powerful Hollow?"
"Why, is Ichigo. Who else could it be?"
"Isshin's son?" Shinji said with a baffled look on his face. "How is the boy more powerful?"
Looking back at the Visored with his fan open up, Urahara says, "Were you able to sense the powerful Reiatsu that appeared 6 days ago?"
"Who couldn't?" Shinji grimaces upon remembering THAT power. "Spiritually aware or not. Anyone could have felt the change in the air 'cause of that." All the Visoreds could sense that Reiatsu. It was only for a split second, but in just that moment, they could sense it, not just through Hachi's Kidō Barrier, but down to the training grounds.
"What if I told you, I sensed that Reiatsu from here, all the way to Tsubakidai Park?"
Shinji's eyes gape at that. The Visored's warehouse was even farther away from Tsubakidai Park compared to Urahara's shop. "Are you saying that it was Isshin's son with that kind of Reiatsu? How can the boy be that strong?"
"Well, you remember who his parents are, right?"
Scratching the back of his head, the Visored tried remembering the boy's parents. "Umm yeah. His pop's a Shinigami and his mom's a Quincy."
"They weren't just some random Quincy and Shinigami," Urahara said while looking over at the Gigai. "His father was a Captain while his mother was a Quincy that survived Hollowfication."
Blinking a few times, Shinji says, "Wait. Are you sayin' that the boy inherited all of that? How can someone like that even exist? Shouldn't the boy's soul go through Soul Suicide?"
"That's where you're wrong." Pleased that the Gigai came out right, Urahara picked it up while walking towards the exit and answering Shinji. "Ichigo's soul is perfectly balanced. While his Hollow side is the most dominating one, it does not break the balance. Ichigo was born human, yes, but he was a human born from a Quincy infected with Hollowfication AND his father was the Shinigami who sacrifices his powers to save her by connecting their souls." Turning his head, the shopkeeper looks back to the Visored. "The opposite of a Shinigami is a Quincy, and the opposite of a Hollow is a Human. Ichigo is the ONLY one of his kind. The perfect hybrid."
The bob-cut blonde didn't know what to think about that. The kid could grow crazy strong. "How are you sure that he's stable?"
"Well, I asked Ichigo to give me some of his Reiatsu to create his Gigai. I worked with that sample for three days. The numbers were a little buggy, but still, the boy is stable."
"But how is that possible if he's a Hollow? Shouldn't that change the scales or somethin'? Does he even have any form of a human soul left in him?"
Urahara frowned at that. Yes, Shinji is right. Being a Hollow, Ichigo should have lost the balance, but he didn't. The shopkeeper just shook his head. "I don't know about that part; however, we both know how Hollows were human once, so Ichigo does still have a human soul in him. As for his Quincy powers, well... it's still there, that's all I can say about it." Urahara hides a goofy smile behind his fan. "Ichigo has shown a very interesting ability, Shinji-san."
"Oh? Such as?"
Urahara turned around for Shinji to see his expression. "Why, he can put on a mask!"
Stopping in his tracks, Shinji looked at Urahara with a deadpan expression. "Mask? Urahara they're Hollows. They have a mask."
"Again, that's where you're wrong. Well, you haven't seen Ichigo outside his Gigai, but the boy lacks signs of ever having a mask. Starrk-san and the girl still have fragments of their masks. But Ichigo doesn't have one. That is. Until he puts it on." Memories of when the redhead showed both him and Starrk on how he could don a mask reminded Urahara of the Visoreds. "Ichigo can don a mask the same way as you guys can."
"Us as in Visoreds?" By this point he thought he heard everything, but a Hollow Visored?
"Amazing, huh? Imagine what Aizen could have done IF he had someone like Starrk and Ichigo with him."
Shinji frowned upon returning to the topic of his ex-lieutenant. "An' why would Aizen want anythin' to do with 'em?"
Shrugging, Urahara says. "I don't know what Aizen would have done with them, but it's better that they stay away from the man."
"You told them?"
Spotting Starrk, who was talking with Szayel, the shopkeeper hurried a bit before looking back at Shinji. "Don't worry about it. I already told them about Aizen and I'm sure they won't bother with him."
Stopping in front of Starrk, Urahara drops the Gigai. "Well, here it is Starrk-san! Your new Gigai. Try not breaking this one." Turning around, ready to go back to his lab, the shopkeeper almost forgot about why Shinji is here. Pointing at the Visored, Urahara says. "That's right. This man right here is Shinji. He's the one who will train you!"
"Wait! What!? Train him!" Shinji yelled. "Ya haven't even tell me why I'm here an' you're just gonna drop somethin' like that on me?!" Looking over at the brunette, the Visored says. "Why should I train him?" His question hushed everyone. He doesn't see why he should bother training anyone. Especially a Hollow. "You better have an excellent explanation to why I should train him, Urahara."
Urahara lost all remaining playfulness so he can show just how serious he is about this whole situation. "Well, again, they unintentionally made another enemy. This enemy is the Gotei 13."
"What." Shinji looks to Starrk and Szayel, "Why the hell would ya do somethin' that stupid?"
The Hollow was the first one to reply. "It wasn't like we intentionally meant to do so. When we first came to Ichigo-kun's hometown, we weren't expecting to battle off Shinigami Captains. We were only sightseeing."
"And to be fair, it was the Shinigami that pushed one of us to take drastic action. All we wanted to do was save a Hollow and be out from there. Nothing else should have happened." Starrk said while remembering the thing Ichigo turned into because of what happened to Lily.
"This is the deal, Shinji-san," Urahara said, gaining the Visoreds' attention. "To pay the debt that you owe me, the only thing the Visoreds have to do is train Starrk." Urahara brought up his hand to stop Shinji from talking. "Yes, I know that the rest of the Visoreds won't like it, but this is how the debt will be payable. I want each of the Visoreds to help Starrk. If the Visoreds won't help, then I will call them back for a favor in a more... complicated time."
Closing his mouth, the bob-cut blonde frowned towards Urahara. So this is how their debt will be payable. By training a Hollow? Shinji is sure that he's going to get chewed out by the rest of the Visoreds. He looks back to Starrk. "Why should I train you?"
Starrk locks his blue-gray eyes with Shinji's sets. "It's because I'll be doing something right by getting stronger. I promise Isshin that I WILL protect Ichigo, not just from Baraggan, but from Aizen and from Gotei 13, too. I may feel strong, but I know little about fighting. The only thing I can do is shoot Ceros, and that won't be enough. I need to get stronger to protect him."
Shinji doesn't know what to think about this entire situation. These Hollows have an enormous mark on their backs. Should he decline the entire deal? Looking back at the brunette's eyes and seeing how serious he is about getting stronger to protect Isshin's son all because the man asked him too was just… just.
Releasing a sigh, he ran a hand down his face.
The... Arrancar wants to get strong to protect some boy.
A Hollow wanting to protect.
Taking another look at Starrk's eyes and still seeing the firm commitment made the Visored shake his head slowly. 'They're gonna kill me.'
Looking back at the shopkeeper, Shinji says. "Fine. I'll do it. How long is this going to take Urahara?"
"How much time do you think you need Starrk-san?" Urahara asked.
Scratching his head, Starrk thought about it. He needs to be sure to learn enough. "Six months should be enough for me."
Frowning upon hearing the due date, Shinji looks back at the brunette. "Six months? It takes the average soul, who wants to become a Shinigami, six years. Only a few of them being a special case finished in two or even one year. An' you, a Hollow who doesn't know much about fightin' wants to be at an even playing field to the Captain's of the Gotei 13, who have been trainin' hard even after their graduatin', in only six months?" He looked back to Urahara. "I think one year should do." Seeing him nodded, Shinji says. "But, gonna put some conditions." Making sure that Urahara was paying attention, Shinji went over his 2 terms. "I only got 2 things I wanna say. First, we'll do the training here and two, I can't force everyone to help train Starrk." Turning back to the Arrancar, the Visoreds say. "Your training will mostly be—" Shinji stops when something else comes to his mind. "You have a sword or somethin'?"
Blinking a few times, Starrk pointed towards Urahara."I will as soon as Urahara can get me one."
Now it was time for Urahara to blink a few times upon hearing what the Arrancar just said. "Umm Starrk-san. What makes you think I just have some random sword lying around."
Scowling at the brunette, Shinji says. "Aren't you half-Shinigami? Wait." turning to the shopkeeper, he says. "Can an Arrancar have a Zanpakutō?"
The air around the shaggy blonde became tense. Everyone could feel the change. "Yes, well. Here's something that I wanted to do about that." Urahara said as he slowly brought out a small, bluish-purple orb from inside his coat.
While the Hollows were looking at the orb with a puzzled look, it stunned Shinji upon seeing it. No one said anything.
Starrk kept staring at the orb. There was something about it that gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach. "What is that?"
"This right here Starrk-san is the Hōgyoku." Urahara lifted the orb a little higher, "Right now the orb is in a hibernation-like state, but with some time I can reawaken it again."
"What are ya plannin' on doing with that thing." Shinji narrows his eyes to the shopkeeper. Is Urahara planning on using the Hōgyoku on the Arrancar?
"Well. With this, I can hopefully stabilize Starrk-san's Reiatsu..." Looking at the Visored, Urahara continues. "I forgot to mention this insignificant fact about Starrk-san, but he used to be a single soul before splitting himself with the girl you saw upstairs. But some events have happened, and now Starrk-san will go back into becoming whole again." With a calculated look, he says. "If I stabilized the Visoreds when they went through their Hollowfication, then the opposite shouldn't be impossible. I can stabilize an Arrancar."
"Stabilize Starrk-san?" Szayel asks.
Starrk was about ready to question the shaggy blonde too.
Looking at everybody once before going back to the brunette, Urahara said. "Remember what I said about what you did upon becoming an Arrancar?" Receiving a nob back, he continues. "You store your powers inside Lily, but now they're coming back to you. You're definitely still not 'whole', but when you do, your body will be under some heavy strain. With the amount of Reiatsu that you will regain, we must try to stabilize your evolution."
Starrk's eyes widened. That makes no sense!
"What are you talking about Urahara-san!? Starrk-san has already finished growing! He is at the pinnacle of Hollow evolution!?" Szayel turns to Starrk. There's no way the brunette is at some form of faux evolution.
"Urahara, explain yourself. How is he not 'finish' growing?'' The Visored asked, doing a better job at hiding his shock. With all the news he received today, there's nothing that could surprise him at this point to make an expression.
Still looking at Starrk, Urahara said. "Just now while working on your Gigai did I find out how your Reiatsu levels are no longer stable. While there wasn't much of a balance between your Shinigami and Hollow powers, it wasn't much of a problem; you are balanced as an Arrancar should be. But now... it could be possible that you will regain far more Hollow Reiatsu from Lily. Before it was 55% Hollow and 45% Shinigami, however, now your Hollow's Reiatsu increased while the Shinigami percentage seemed to decrease."
"What could happen to me? Will anything happen to me?"
"Well... let us say that by the time you would become 'whole' again... you might be, eh, more Hollow."
While Shinji and Starrk didn't really understand what the blonde meant. Szayel had a guess where Urahara was leading to. "Devolution?"
Everyone's eyes went towards Szayel.
"With Starrk-san gaining more Hollow Reiatsu then he would go back into being more Hollow. Would he devolved?"
That was finally a shocker to Shinji. "Wow, wow, wait. Can a Hollow even devolve? We know that ya can evolve an' all, but can y'all also devolve?" Shinji turned to the Hollows.
Even Urahara turned to Starrk and Szayel. This was new to him too; The only information he has about Hollows is the common stuff. Ceros, Garganta, they eat to evolve, unique abilities, and that's everything he has about them. He never filmed an "in the life of a Hollow" documentary.
"Well..." Szayel took a peek at Starrk before going back to the two blondes, having Urahara's full attention, a bit of boost came to his ego. Szayel would never, and he means NEVER admit how much he looks up to Urahara. The man was a genius, something he admired about him, not like he would tell him that. While the whole "my apprentice,' joke was just annoying, he didn't hate it. Being called his apprentice made a tiny part of his soul happy. 'No! I'm just taking advantage of him.'
Shaking his head, Szayel said. "A Hollow can devolved. During our times as an Adjuchas, we must still eat because if we don't we would return into our Gillian stage and when that happens two things will occur, the first; one can no longer evolve back into an Adjuchas, and the other is that you will become an empty husk; there will no longer be a conscience in the devolve Gillian." The black mask Hollow looked at Starrk. "However, there's no telling what would happen to Starrk-san at all."
Urahara closed his eyes and thought about it. 'So there's no telling what can happen to Starrk-san. But it wouldn't be such a far-fetched idea for him to devolve.' Looking back to the Hōgyoku, the shaggy blonde decided. "Well, looks like we have no choice but to use the Hōgyoku now."
Shinji said nothing as he headed towards the exit. His only concern is to train Starrk, nothing else. No reason for worrying about Starrk's case. "So the plan is now what?" He called out as he looked up the stairs he came down from.
Taking a few calculated guesses, Urahara said. "3 weeks. I should be able to have the Hōgyoku activated by then."
"Then the trainin' will start once you do your job, Urahara." Shinji turned around. "Just send Yoruichi when things are ready."
That was all he said before leaving with his respective ability.
Starrk looked at Urahara before saying, "Will I make it for that long?"
Waving off his concern, Urahara says. "Ah, don't worry about it, Starrk-san!" he looked towards the black masked Hollow. "Come now, my young apprentice. We got work to do!"
Releasing a sigh, Szayel follows behind Urahara. Leaving Starrk alone with his thoughts. The brunette scratched his head before looking back to the Gigai and deciding to go inside it. Maybe he should take a nap or something?
- 3 Weeks later, Soul Society-
The rumors spread like wildfire.
It started right after Rangiku went to turn-in Tōshirō's report. Once done with that task, she was heading back to the 10th Division when she spotted one of her drinking buddies; Hisagi Shūhei. And he wasn't alone. Shūhei was with the company of Abarai Renji and Kira Izuru. Making a quick decision, not like she thought too much about it, she went along with them to a local bar and from there she spilled everything.
She told them about what happened in the Human World through her Captain's point-of-view. The entire bar was full of Shinigami that were on their break. Most of them were listening to the strawberry blonde's story with a thrill. EVERYONE wanted to know what occurred; and now they're getting the full story. Two particular men helped Rangiku with her story, and those were Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika; both were members of the 11th Division. They were 2 of the 3 people Zaraki shared with what happened in the Human World, the other was Kusajishi Yachiru.
Whenever the 10th Division Lieutenant took a break, Ikkaku then started saying some events from his Captain's point-of-view. As the story-telling went on, both Ikkaku and Rangiku started exaggerating the story, not like the rest of the Shinigami knew that. Once people headed back to their divisions, the rumors started spreading and becoming even more exaggerated as it kept getting passed on. By the 2nd week, over half Seireitei had at least heard of the rumor and the name that came with it.
Zangetsu.
Captain Hitsugaya just knew how right he was about letting Rangiku turn in his report. Just like he predicted, she started gossiping. Well, at least he was right about the Captain's meeting. They released the 6th Division Captain on the 3rd week and once he was out, with his hand completely re-attached, he wrote his report and turned it in. A week later, and here he was. Walking through the halls of the 1st Division, heading towards the Captain's Meeting, the Jigokuchō—a Hell Butterfly—announced.
As the white-haired Captain kept walking through the halls of the 1st Division, his ears heard two Shinigami talking about the "Hot Topic". He scowled upon hearing the Hollow's name.
"You should lose that look on your face, Captain! Heck, I think you need a vacation with how stressful these past few weeks have been to you." Rangiku said with a cheery attitude.
Tōshirō's left eye twitches dangerously. The Jigokuchō asked for the captains to bring their lieutenant with them, for whatever reason. He would have said something about it, but she was right.
After his visit to the 11th Division, the white-haired Captain locked himself back into his office and started repeating the Hollow's name. Sometime later, Tōshirō started training again.
When he became a captain, duty was always on the hour. He had paperwork of all kinds and because of this he no longer had time to train, he even had to do his own Lieutenant's paperwork because she never bothered either doing it or finishing it once she started with it.
Now, however, it was a different story. Tōshirō didn't have a reason to train before. He was a prodigy among his peers. Sure he wasn't among the strongest of the Captains, the older generation took those spots, but he was the strongest among the newest Captains. Actually, he's one of the newest captains. His old Captain, Shiba Isshin, disappeared around 30 years ago.
Captain Hitsugaya at least understood why she would ask him to take a break.
Releasing a sigh, Tōshirō looks at Rangiku. "Are you concerned about me or do you just want me gone so you can have another vacation?"
Only giving him a smile, Rangiku says, "Whichever sounds nice, but as a Captain, thinking about your subordinate first should always be your first priorities, so maybe going on a vacation would do us both a favor."
Before the white-haired Captain could yell, a voice spoke behind.
"My, my, is Rangiku-chan giving you trouble again, Tōshirō-kun?"
Turning around, both members of the 10th Division spotted a group of 5 people behind them.
The one who spoke was Captain Kyōraku of the 8th Division. A tall, light-skinned man with high cheekbones, grey eyes and long wavy brown hair tied in a ponytail. While he has the captain's uniform on, Kyōraku Shuinsui also wears a sugegasa straw hat and a pink, flowered lady's kimono. To his right was his Lieutenant; Ise Nanao. A slim and youthful girl with long black hair that she normally keeps pinned back and regular Shinigami uniform.
"Hello Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto." Says a man to the left of Shuinsui. This man is Ukitake Jūshirō; Captain of the 13th Division. He's a tall man, just a few inches shorter than Captain Kyōraku, and has white hair.
"Hello Captain Hitsugaya, resting like I have told you, right?" Unohana Retsu, Captain of the 4th Division, spoke in a motherly tone. She's a slender and youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair worn in a large braid down the front of her body. To her left was her Lieutenant; Kotetsu Isane. She is a tall, young looking woman with gray eyes and short messy silver hair with strands on the right side of her face that are shoulder length and styled as two thin braids.
Before Tōshirō could respond to any of the captains, Shuinsui spoke. "We should probably hurry to the meeting. I'm sure Yama-jiji would scowl at us for being late." Turning to his lieutenant, he says. "You should take Rangiku-chan and Isane-chan to the Lieutenant's waiting room."
Sending her Captain a nod, Nanao led the girls away and left the Captains alone before they started heading towards the meeting together.
Coming in front of the doors of the meeting, Tōshirō took a deep breath before opening them. Looking inside, the turquoise-eyed captain spotted both Zaraki and Byakuya, the latter looking healthier than the mess that he was in the human world. Going to his spot, he positions himself between Captain Kyōraku and Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Captain of the 12th Division; a man with his face painted entirely white with the inner portion of his face painted black except for his nose.
The captains were muttering among each other before the sound of a cane hitting the wooden floor echoed loudly. Captain-Commander Yamamoto came inside and took his spot in the center of the Captains. Tapping his cane twice, and all the Captains giving him their undivided attention, the ancient Shinigami started the Captain's meeting.
"This meeting is now in order." Yamamoto spoke in a strong and firm voice holding the tone of a leader. Looking at all the assembled captains, Yamamoto's eyes stop just for a few seconds on Captain Zaraki, Kuchiki, and Hitsugaya. "I'm holding this meeting because of the... interesting reports from the Captains sent to the Human World four weeks ago."
None of the captains said anything. Every single one of them has at least heard of the rumors already, but that's how they kept it as though. Just a rumor. Unless someone could backed-up if those rumors were true.
Yamamoto's red eyes stare at Captain Hitsugaya before asking the 10th Division Captain to go over the event.
Hitsugaya started recalling the events. "The mission was a simple one. Help the squad that got sent to the Human World because the Hollows turned out to be too much for them to handle. When only two Hollows remained, an unknown party made itself known. This party included a group of four members... three were humans with Hollow holes and masks. The 4th member was a black mask Hollow.
That got some Captains to mutter among themselves. Releasing a bit of his Reiatsu to quiet down the Captains, Yamamoto looked at Tōshirō, "Can you describe the... humanoid-Hollows?"
"One was a man with brown wavy hair, blue-gray eyes, a Hollow hole in his sternum and the remains of his mask around his neck. The last two were children; one girl and one boy. The girl has lime-haired, pink eye, Hollow hole in her stomach and a helmet-like mask. And the boy," the white-haired Captain frowned upon remembering Zangetsu. "The boy was different. Orange hair, pure white skin, the eyes of a Hollow but... no mask or a hole in him until his... transformation."
Once again, the captains started muttering until Yamamoto tapped his cane on the floor and got everyone to shut up. "Are you sure about the boy not wearing a mask, Captain Hitsugaya?" receiving a nod back, he asked for Captain Hitsugaya to continue.
"The man was powerful enough to keep Captain Zaraki, Kuchiki, and I busy while the two children went over to... save some Hollow. The black mask Hollow was distracting the rest of the squad."
"How is it that you three couldn't sense these Hollows? With the man being strong enough to hold all of you at the same time then his Reiatsu should have been easy to sense." Suì-Fēng said, the Captain of 2nd Division and the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō is a petite woman with gray eyes and black, short hair with two long braids bound in white cloth, each ending in a large golden ring.
Before Tōshirō could say anything, Byakuya spoke first. "Because we couldn't sense the Hollows, Captain Suì-Fēng." Turning to look at the petite woman, Byakuya says. "The boy had a strange ability that could hide Reiatsu."
"Sheesh, that sure sounds annoyin'." Ichimaru Gin, the Captain of the 3rd Division, spoke.
Different Captains wanted to speak, but the Captain-Commander's Reiatsu silenced them. Yamamoto asked for Hitsugaya to keep going.
"When Captain Kuchiki saw both children, he shot a powerful Kidō at the boy."
Two Captains frowned upon hearing this.
Jūshirō turned to Byakuya. "Did you really try killing the boy?"
"That's harsh, Byakuya-san," Kyōraku added.
"Children or not, they are Hollows. Our duty as Shinigami is to get rid of any Hollows that appeared in the Human World." Byakuya's words felt cold.
Before anyone else could say anything, Hitsugaya continued, "While he meant to send the Kidō spell to the boy, the girl, however, took the hit when she protected him."
Once again, Captain Ukitake and Kyōraku frowned.
A grimace expression coming to his face, Tōshirō finally came to the climax of the story. "With the girl out, I was ready to take out the boy when... his transformation happened."
Every Captain was paying attention now; here's the part that brought the rumors to life.
"The boy exploded in a storm of Reishi and when everything was over... something came out. A demonic looking Hollow, with a black horn mask, white skin, long orange hair, and strange blue-flame markings on his body." Captain Hitsugaya's frown deepened. "Out of all the Hollows, we only got the name of this one. His name is Zangetsu."
"How are you sure this is the Hollow's name?" The Captain-Commander asks.
Kenpachi was the one who responded. "Because he told me his name." He said with a grin on his face, remembering the wicked-looking Hollow.
"At first the Hollow was just fighting like an animal. No kind of experience."
"From what I heard in the rumors, they removed your Limiters, right? Captain Hitsugaya." Aizen Sōsuke interrupted; The Captain of the 5th Division was a man with brown scholarly hair, his looks enhanced by square glasses.
"You shouldn't be listening to the rumors, Captain Aizen." Said a man even bigger than Kenpachi—Komamura Sanji, Captain of the 7th Division. He wears gloves with bracer and a helmet that conceals his entire head.
Aizen sends Sanji a smile. "Well, Captain Komamura, so far the rumors have been spot on. Sure, they seem to have gotten exaggerated, but there is some truth in them."
The white-haired child turns to Captain Aizen and says, "That's correct. During the transformation of the boy, they removed them."
"And you all still couldn't take the Hollow down?" Suì-Fēng frowned.
Looking at the petite woman, Tōshirō says, "Is nothing like that. The Hollow fought like a beast, but it had some protection. The blue-flames that I mentioned were alive and hard to cut. They move around his body, protecting him. Our blades couldn't cut through the markings, and IF we damaged the Hollow, it would only just regenerate in an instant. Then when Captain Zaraki would try to combat him, the blue-flames turned into a blue sword that seemed to wrap itself around his arms."
The silver-haired man just whistles. "Man, y'all must have gotten yerselves one hell of a fight."
"You're damn right." Kenpachi said.
Tapping his cane again, Yamamoto asked for Captain Hitsugaya to continue.
"Because the Hollow fought like a beast, we pushed it down to a point where we almost had him until it seemed to go through another power-up of some sort."
"Are you saying that the Hollow evolved, Captain Hitsugaya?" Tōsen Kaname, Captain of the 9th Division spoke. He is a dark skinned man with dark brown braids. While he has the normal Captain uniform on, he wears an orange scarf around his neck, white boots (instead of the normal sandals), and black, fingerless gloves with a pair of goggles around his eyes.
"No, it was definitely not evolving. But... the Hollow seems to have gained a power-boost or something because we couldn't sense its Reiatsu or attacks." Reply the turquoise-eyed Captain.
"That's because of the Hollow's ability," Mayuri said, gaining the attention of everyone. "The Hollow's abilities are unique, well some of them." Turning to Captain Hitsugaya, he says. "The reason none of you sense the Hollow was because during the 2nd phase of his 'power-up' did the Hollow reveal an interesting ability. Just like Captain Kuchiki said, you couldn't sense the Hollow because of a cloaking-type ability." Captain Kurotsuchi's bare smile widened. "Before the 'boy' went through his transformation, my computers were picking some glitch, anything around the boy in a 30-foot radius seemed to vanish without a trace."
"Has a Hollow with any familiar ability appeared before?" Captain Unohana asks.
With everyone's eyes on him again, Mayuri says, "Actually, there has been one. I'm sure everybody here knows about Grand Fisher. Yes?" Receiving nods from the rest of the Captains, he says. "This Hollow has dodged most Shinigami for the past 50 years because, just like this Hollow, it had a cloaking ability of its own. It's nowhere near this other Hollow's ability."
"Could it not be the same Hollow?" Aizen asked, "The Grand Fisher disappeared 2 years ago. Maybe the Hollow evolved?"
Groaning and muttering a quiet 'idiot', Mayuri looked towards Aizen before saying. "The Grand Fisher was just a regular Hollow. If it evolved, then Grand Fisher should still be a Gillian. Evolution doesn't just happen in an instance for Hollows. They take YEARS to evolve."
"Captain Mayuri, you said that this Hollow's abilities were different, how so?" The Captain-Commander asked the mad scientist.
"Well, for starters. There seem to be two different cloaking-type abilities. One: when he appears to hide everything in a 30-foot radius. The second one, however, is much, much different. During the 2nd phase of the 'power-up,' it vanished. Nothing like the first." Turning to Hitsugaya, he asked, "Captain Hitsugaya, what were you able to sense during the 2nd phase?"
"Nothing," Tōshirō said with a plain voice. "I couldn't sense the Hollow or his attacks."
"That's because during the 2nd phase, the Hollow's ability took an interesting turn." Looking at Captain Hitsugaya's eyes, he said. "The Hollow was available to hide, not just his presence, but his attacks."
While the rest of the Captains started muttering among each other, Yamamoto frowned upon hearing the Hollow's ability. 'Troublesome ability.' This ability is the least to worry about. Looking back to the 12th Division Captain, the ancient Shinigami asked about the other ability.
"Ah, yes. This other ability is unique, even among other Hollows' unique powers. When the transformation first happened, the Hollow didn't have any form of cloaking ability on and my Division could record something very interesting. The blue-flame markings that Captain Hitsugaya said are actually Reishi."
"Reishi?" Yamamoto repeated back.
Nodding, Captain Kurotsuchi said, "The Hollow could gather Reishi around himself and have it flow around his skin, increasing his defenses. When they switch to the blades, they are still Reishi, just more durable."
"Have we documented this ability before in another Hollow?" Aizen asked.
Looking at the brunette, Mayuri said. "Well... not in a Hollow."
"What do you mean by that, Captain Kurotsuchi," Ukitake said, a worried expression on his face. The Hollow's Reishi ability sounded very familiar.
Looking at the white-haired man, Mayuri said. "The Hollow's abilities are familiar to, not of another Hollow, but to those of a Quincy."
"What!?"
"Is that even possible? I thought Quincy and Hollow couldn't mix!"
"Are you saying we have a Hollow-Quincy hybrid on the loose?"
Yamamoto flared his Reiatsu, silencing everyone again. Looking at the 12th Division Captain, he asked. "Are you sure about this?"
Scowling at the Captain-Commander, Mayuri spoke to his commander with disrespect. "Yes, I'm sure! I have the data and compared them both. What the Hollow used is Quincy's version of Blut Vene."
The ancient Shinigami frowned. "This Hollow cannot keep living. From this point on, we will have a three-Captain-cycle through Karakura Town."
"Why do you think this Hollow is still in Karakura Town, Yama-jiji?" Captain Kyōraku asked.
"The Hollow might not be in Karakura Town any more, true, but now we know where he might return too." Yamamoto replied, not even fazed with how his old student still calls him. "This meeting is now closed."
As the Captain's return to their Division, three captains had a meeting of their own.
"My, it seems like Ichigo-kun left a friendly expression, right, Captain Aizen?" Gin said.
"It would seem so. Too bad Gotei 13 now knows of his existence." Aizen commented back.
Turning to the brunette, Tōsen says. "Should we change our plans, Aizen-sama?"
Looking at the dark skin man, the 5th Division Captains said. "No, this changes nothing. We must just improvise."
- Urahara's Basement-
Starrk never felt the three weeks passed by. He already broke two more Gigai, and the dreams haven't stopped. At least he didn't devolve, but Urahara wasn't joking when he said about how his body would start feeling a strain. His muscles seemed to keep getting sore with each passing day. Tessai even told him how he's able to sense his Reiatsu up in the shop. Apparently, the underground basement has some Kidō spells around it that would prevent anyone to sense down below. A different routing than he did now, besides sleeping, was helping Ichigo practice Cero.
"Spread your Reiatsu around yourself, and then sense where the most concentrated amount of your spiritual energy seemed to center at. This is a hint to where you can shoot your Cero the easiest and fastest." Starrk said while watching Ichigo do as he instructed.
Ichigo's eyes were closed as he concentrated. The boy was wearing a black shitagi and tabi with white kosode, hakama, and zōri. The redhead still kept his grey scarf and black snowing goggles.
Opening his eyes, Ichigo looked at Starrk. "I can't feel the spot."
'Well, you ain't getting it at the first try kid. You need the instincts for it.' Zangetsu spoke.
'So what, I need to be in some sort of danger or something for it to come to me?' Ichigo replied.
They have been practicing for hours. First, it was just him and Zangetsu, but then came Starrk to help. Lily is down here too, wearing the same clothes as her Gigai. She tried helping, but Cero came naturally to her so she didn't have much of a clue.
Scratching the back of his head, Starrk tried to think of a different method for the boy. "All right, let's try this. I want you to visualize the accident at the park."
Looking at Starrk with shock, Ichigo asked. "Why should I do that?"
"Well, let us see if emotions can help you out a bit." Starrk said.
'You know kid, he's somewhat right. Cero is an attack based on your spiritual energy. Emotions could help you.' Zangetsu said, backing up the brunette's words.
'How are you sure about that?'
'What do you remember feeling when you saw Lily get hit by the Kidō spell?'
Ichigo frowned upon having Zangetsu remind him of that. 'You say I lost it. That I force my body to take action.'
'Yes, yes, that's what happened afterward. But what I ask is WHAT did you feel, though?'
'Rage.' Ichigo replied. Not wanting to admit that he wanted to hurt someone, and by someone, he means the Shinigami.
'Yep! You felt rage and your body instinctively decided what to do.'
Sighing, Ichigo closed his eyes again and thought back on that day.
Starrk watched curiously as the redhead's body started getting covered by his dark-red Reiatsu before it started storming everywhere around the boy, but right in front of the kid's chest and both arms, the brunette could see that most of Ichigo's energy was gathered there.
Unconsciously, Ichigo raised his right arm. Imagining the white-haired Captain in front of him. Instead of hearing how Captain Hitsugaya was going to kill him, he instead heard how he was going to finish Lily first.
Ichigo screamed. "NO!"
Starrk watched as a Cero formed and shot from the boy's arms. However, the boy's Cero did not take the same coloration as his Reiatsu. It had a black outline while the Cero itself was white. His worries that the boy had put too much power behind his attacks vanished when Ichigo's white Cero only seems to break a pillar instead of obliterating it.
Patting Ichigo's head, Starrk said. "Good job, kid."
"A good job indeed."
Ichigo and Starrk turn around to see Urahara behind him.
Opening up his fan, the shopkeepers say, "I was a bit worried that you may have overdone it."
Only giving the shaggy blonde a sheepish smile, Ichigo was about to apologize when he got tackled to the ground by an excited Lily.
Seeing the kids chat, Urahara turned towards Starrk. "It's ready, Starrk-san."
A dreadful tense filled the air around the kids. Starrk had told them what may happen to him.
"Well, let's get this over with," Starrk said while releasing a sigh. "You two stay here." He didn't need to turn around to see their worried expressions; he could feel it.
He followed behind the Shopkeeper towards his lab. Getting to the lab, Starrk found in the middle of the lab a cubicle glass that was big enough for a man to fit inside. He could see the Hōgyoku by one of the glass-wall sides. He also spotted Szayel, black-masked Hollow making sure that everything was right.
Ready to do this, the Arrancar turned around and asked the shaggy blonde one question that had been on his mind. "Why would you do this? Just like Shinji said. Why would you make me, a strong Hollow, even stronger?"
With the area gaining a tense moment, Urahara told the one lie that would later come back to bite him. "So you can protect Ichigo, not just from Baraggan, but from Aizen too."
Narrowing his eyes, Starrk said. "And what would Aizen want with Ichigo?"
A voice at the back of his mind told Urahara not to lie to Starrk, but the ex-Captain needed to be sure that Starrk would stay away from Aizen. Shaking the voice away, Urahara said. "It was because of Aizen that Ichigo died. The man has something planned for the boy."
Starrk walked inside the glass cube, understanding why now the shopkeeper would strengthen him.
Urahara went behind the wall the Hōgyoku was at. He looked at Starrk. "Are you ready?" Receiving a nod, Urahara activates the orb and watches as Starrk's body becomes engulfed by a light. After a few minutes, the glass cube exploded.
Starrk looks down at himself, unharmed by the explosion. "I… don't feel any different."
"Well, looks like it works!" Said a cheerful Urahara.
Looking at the shopkeeper, Starrk noticed how he was pointing at something behind him. Turning around, Starrk notices the silhouette of an object. When the smoke cleared, Starrk spotted a sword, no not a sword, but a Gunblade. The handle of the blade was that of a revolver. The blade, with the image of a wolf, replaced the barrel of the gun.
"Guess you are now a true Arrancar, Starrk-san." Szayel said.
-X-
And done!
Hmmm, so what to say about this chapter.
I guess that I should clear out the scene with Szayel admiring Urahara? To be fair we didn't really get told in the anime why Szayel was the scientist of the Arrancars. With this, I hopefully fill up the hole as to how he learned so much.
As for the training part, well. We must assume that Aizen has asked the Espadas to train or they train among themselves. With this way, I can build-up Starrk's strength. Is a year too long? Who knows. We know that it was around 5-6 months later when Aizen attack Karakura Town and if his Arrancars train during that time, then maybe they were strong enough to deal with the Shinigami. Yes, I know as Hollows they had already years of fighting in them. BUT with Starrk's case, he never had to fight anyone since he would just kill them.
I added that Soul Society scene and Mayuri basically explain all of the Hollowfied-Ichigo's abilities. Yes, the blue-flame markings are the Hollow-version of the Quincy's Blut Vene. And no other Hollows won't be able to do the same. This is basically only a thing Ichigo can do.
Also, I change Ichigo's Cero coloration. I mean the black and red Cero is nice but I wanted to give Ichigo a unique color. :D