Protector for all: Too early for this, but Ichigo will meet Mavis, right? I mean he sees ghosts for his entire life, I'm sure he would be able to see Mavis' spirit form regardless of whether he has the Fairy Tail Mark or not. Yes, I plan on having him know about Mavis being a spirit without the fairy mark.

SomethingAncient: I'm not going to put the entire thing you have said, but I have read it and I understand why you gave that review, I will try to work on that in the future. I'm not good at this but I'll try.

I didn't realize it had already been a week since the last post. I was a bit busy throughout the week. Anyway, I hope you understand and enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 5: A village?

"I'm fine… I'm… just… going to rest for a bit,"

"Wendy, you need to heal him!" Jellal shouted

"R-right" even though she was out of magic, she tried her best to heal Ichigo.

As their worries continued, their voices were getting quieter each time. Ichigo wasn't able to hear much of it as his consciousness slowly faded.

His eyes slowly flickered open while his fingers and toes were wiggling. His senses were coming back to him. However, he realized something was different. He wasn't with Wendy and Jellal. As he looked around, he saw many buildings destroyed and dispersed. He was floating there slowly sinking into one of the broken buildings. He was able to recognize where he was, it was his inner world but submerged in water. The environment reminded him back when he was training for the Final Getsuga Tenshou, however, the place now was much more broken. He heard explosions and swords clashing off in the distance. "What was that sound?" he questioned, he hurried to where it was coming from.

As he got closer, he saw a black figure in front of him off in the distance, while holding onto the sword. The boy was able to recognize who the figure was. It was his Zanpakuto spirit, Zangestu. However, he was in his Bankai form. He seemed to be injured with scratches displayed on his Shihakusho.

"Tensa Zangetsu?" he said quietly

As his name was called out. The man looked back at him, with a tired and alarmed expression. Ichigo was able to see more wounds covering him. Tensa Zangestu tried communicating, but Ichigo wasn't able to make out what he had just said. It was like their first meeting, how he wasn't able to hear his name. Unlike back then, however, his voice now is even more unclear. Full of glitches and screeches.

"I don't understand what you're saying!" he yelled, disturbed by what was happening.

Tensa Zangetsu was yelling at the boy, attempting to reach him. Ichigo was so confused. Zangetsu had never had that kind of expression before. He was usually calm and communal. Ichigo was trying to understand what he was saying. But was interrupted when a purple fist was on top of Zangetsu. Its arm was a hundred times bigger than the silver back he had encountered. What is that thing? The body was blurry, from Ichigo's perspective. Luckily, Zangetsu was able to avoid the attack and countered. Ichigo noticed the arm had purple markings on it. Was it the same as his? While he was fending off the creature, smaller ones quickly surrounded them.

He tried to bring out his Zanpakuto, hoping to help his Zanpakuto. He wasn't able to bring it out, his body quickly felt uncomfortable. The purple markings spread across his body faster than before. He cried in misery. He wasn't able to bring out his powers. Ichigo's body felt like it was twisting while being stabbed. Tensa Zangetsu had taken notice of the boy's cries and tried to make his way to him. But was stopped when more creatures spawned in front of him, blocking the path. As the monster quickly closed the distance, Ichigo jumped toward another broken plate in the distance. As he landed, he had better clarity of the monster's appearance. Their entire body was sluggish and disproportional, their size was different from one another. The creatures had the same markings as that arm before. It didn't look like any hollow or monster he was familiar with.

"What the hell are those things?!" Ichigo asks his Zanpakuto spirit.

His mouth opened but nothing could be understood. Seeming distracted, one of them spawned behind him. Its arm formed a sharp blade and thrust it at Ichigo. Ichigo was barely able to dodge it, only piercing his shoulder. He whipped out a punch at the creature. It launches off in the distance. But his attack wasn't able to stop it. He winced, the pain that was inflicted on him was much stronger. As the mob of creatures continued to make their way to Ichigo, a red beam was shot. Eliminating the creatures. A white figure appears in front of him. It was White, the hollow within him, for some reason he was also in his Bankai form. Ichigo himself wasn't in his Bankai, so why were they? He stood up and rushed to him.

"HEY JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" grabbing hold of his sleeve, angered and confused by what was happening.

Before he got the answer he was looking for. The hollow stabbed him in the chest with his sword. Piercing through his chest. The boy wasn't able to react. He looked at him.

"W-What are you-!?"

"Break the curse," The hollow said to him. Ichigo quickly took notice of how serious he was. He wasn't loud, insane, or even chaotic. He displayed a serious expression, he seemed tired. Ichigo's vision started to get hazy, he was losing consciousness.

A couple of seconds later. His eyes shot open, he was sweating heavily and was out of breath. His arm grabbed onto the wounded shoulder, but there was no wound. "What the hell was that?!" he thought to himself. It felt so real. There was no way it was a dream. Something was going on inside him, but what. He replayed what White had told him. Trying to fit together what he had told him. He was most likely referring to the purple markings. How exactly was he supposed to do that? He looked around him, he was near a tree, and the sky was not as bright as it was earlier. He was about to get up, but noticed Wendy next to him, sound asleep.

"You finally woke up" Ichigo was alarmed by the voice "You fell asleep for 3 hours". The voice had come from Jellal. He sat on a rock nearby, keeping watch.

"Did you have a bad dream? You're sweating quite a lot" he questioned.

"..." Ichigo slowly caught his breath.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." he continued "Wendy healed you up while you were resting, she used up quite a lot of magic"

"I see" he was thankful that Jellal didn't question too much about his situation. He looked over at Wendy with a small but warm smile and rubbed her head gently. Showing his gratitude.

"We should probably get moving, it's getting dark," Jellal said, interrupting the peaceful silence. He got off the rock and walked to his bag.

"...Right" he replied while slowly getting up, still sweating a bit.

"Are you going to wake her up?" Jellal said off in the distance, organizing his belongings.

"No, I'll just carry her," he stated "Don't want to disturb her sleep"

"What about your sword?"

Ichigo was still sensitive about his mention of his Zanpakuto. He felt the lack of clearness. He didn't know what was happening inside himself. He needed to keep it to himself for a bit, so others wouldn't notice. He didn't want to grab any attention or worry about his actions. Ichigo looked at Jellal's bag, it seemed to be heavy and he didn't want to wake Wendy up. He didn't know where he would carry his weapon. He thought to himself that it was easiest if he didn't need to carry his weapon. As he thought that, a blue light shined in the direction of the sword. It was covered in blue light before the entire sword vanished. Jellal was stunned by what had happened. Ichigo was on the same boat but played it off like normal.

"What sword?" he tried displaying a smirked

They both got readied and walked off. Jellal walked ahead of Ichigo, while Ichigo was giving Wendy a piggyback ride. The sunlight quickly faded, and the night drew near. The two quickened their pace. Ichigo was still tired, but still walking at the same speed as Jellal. Something was puzzling Ichigo, the three could just sleep for the night. He saw no reason to continue. However, it was Jellals idea. Due to the encounter with the monster and the aftermath, they have lost a lot of time. Ichigo had asked why they were walking faster than normal, but Jellal quickly avoided the question.

As they continued, Ichigo noticed a speck of light shining brightly in the distance. He stopped walking while further inspecting what was off in the distance. He further saw buildings. From what he could see, it looked to be some kind of village, It wasn't quite clear. Jellal, ahead of Ichigo, took notice of his friend's behavior. He walked to where Ichigo was and looked in the direction he was looking. Realizing that he has spotted a village the two both agree to make their way to their destination.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the village they saw an open gate. It didn't look secure, the gate looked to be broken and was unable to fulfill its purpose. The two chose to ignore it and went inside. Both walked around looking to see if they were anyone around. There were no signs of people. It was quiet and barren. From what they could see, there were many wrecked buildings. The state of the village resembles the aftermath of a long and gruesome war. The homes are damaged, crops are ruined, trees are destroyed, and much more. It was a scene he was too familiar with. Ichigo frowned but continued walking. As he continued to wander around the boy became aware of the atmosphere around him, someone was watching him.

Jellal spotted a decent-looking hut and entered inside with Ichigo following behind. Ichigo noticed that the hut Jellal had entered was not as damaging as some of the others they have walked past. Entering inside, the two were surprised by how organized the furniture was. Not many things were broken. They saw a table to their left, a kitchen on their right, and a bed a little further away from the kitchen. Ichigo walked to where the bed was and laid Wendy there.

"What is this place?" Jellal asked himself not sensing the hostility that Ichigo was feeling.

As the question was asked, he looked in Ichigo's direction and noticed that he was ignoring him and was instead readying his Zanpakuto. He displayed a severe face like he knew that something would happen.

"Kurosaki-san?"

"You should stop hiding," Ichigo said seriously overlooking Jellal's concern

"What are you talking about?" Jellal was confused by the boy's claim.

"Show yourself"

Slowly, quiet footsteps could be heard. Now understanding the situation, Jellal readied his weapon as well. Slowly a shadow of the individual can be seen near the entrance. Not long after, a silhouette of an elderly person met the boy's vision. He's short and has a long white beard complete with a mustache, which extended upon his face's sides. Making a large pair of sideburns and his two bushy eyebrows. He wore a large headgear composed of feathers, with more, lighter-colored feathers adorning the back of his waist. Jellal was confused, why would an elderly person be around here, and what was with his strange clothing. Ichigo on the other hand was confused for a different reason.

"A soul? But he doesn't have chains on his chest" The Shinigami was surprised.

"Who might you two gentlemen be and why are you here?" The man spoke with an unwelcoming voice.

The two heard the man's question and it was Jellal who introduced himself, attempting to correct any misunderstanding.

"My name is Jellal Fernandes, I'm here with these two in search of shelter. We came across this village a few minutes ago and were hoping to stay for the night"

"Why are you children out here in the dark?"

"Me and Kurosaki-san were traveling on our own, before meeting this girl. She is lost and we are looking for her mother,"

"…" he glanced at the sleeping Wendy "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding" the man spoke "My name is Roubaul"

"Do you mind if you could tell us why you're here and why is this place destroyed?" Jellal asked quickly.

"Why would you want to know?"

"We just want to know why this place ended up this way," Jellal answered honestly. Roubaul looked at Jellal's eyes. Throughout their short conversation, he didn't feel any lies were spoken.

"...To answer both your questions, I am not alone and this place is not what it seems" the man stated causing the two's confusion. "You guys can come out now, they're friendly!"

Soon a bunch of people appeared out of thin air. Children and adults could be seen in the distance. Hiding in nearby buildings and trees.

"This is the work of my magic," Roubaul explained. He snapped his finger and the village around them slowly faded and was replaced with a neat and more uplifting place. The two boys were astonished by what was happening around them. The depressing atmosphere that resonated in the village vanished. "I use illusion magic to make the village seem haunted and destroyed in hopes to drive people away from the village."

"Why do you feel the need to do that?" the oranged-haired boy asked

"...Our history with outsiders wasn't always the greatest at times" he replied sadly

"...Sorry"

"You don't need to apologize, you didn't know." Roubaul acknowledged the apology "You said you needed a place to stay, why don't you stay here for a little while."

"Are you sure? We don't want to intrude" Jellal asked politely

The older man was surprised by the blue-haired boy's concern. But decided to still help them. "Of course…I would be happy to help."

"Thank you"

"Have all of you eaten?"

A growling sound was heard as the question was asked. Both Ichigo and Jellal chuckled knowing who's stomach it belonged to. They both saw Wendy waking up. Rubbing her eyes while yawning. She held her hands on her stomach feeling the hunger. The three haven't eaten anything after the silverback incident so she couldn't help but be hungry. She glanced at Jellal and Ichigo, a happy expression displayed on her face. She was relieved to see that Ichigo wasn't hurt. She wanted to ask them where they were. However, the question was not asked when she spotted another figure in front of them. The girl's calm composure quickly decreased, she didn't know who this man was. She raced to Ichigo's side. Wendy held onto his back and peeked her head out.

"We have a shy one don't we," the old man said while smiling

"Deja vu," Jellal thought to himself after witnessing Wendy's behavior.

Another growling sound came from her stomach, her face quickly reddens due to the embarrassment.

"Would you like something to eat?" Roubaul asked with a smile

She hesitated. She wanted to say yes to his question, but she didn't know who he was. She looked at Ichigo to see if he was on board with this. Ichigo looked back at Wendy, seeing how she hadn't responded to Roubaul's question. He gave her a little smile before nudging his head in Roubaul's direction. Hoping for her to answer his question.

"Y-yes I would l-like some" Wendy replied shyly

"Great, we will prepare the food. My name is Roubaul. Who might you be?"

"W-Wendy Marvell"

"It is nice to meet you"

He went back to the other citizens and filled them in about their situation. The people were hesitant but seemed to understand. If Roubaul were to welcome them in, the rest will do the same.

The three were told to stay back and relax while some were preparing the food, and the others got back to their daily lives. After some time of preparation, the three were called upon by one of the civilians. The woman told them to follow her to what seemed to be the biggest building in the village. Inside, they saw a moderately long dining table, with Roubaul sitting on the left side of the table. There was food and tableware displayed to them. Wendy was very happy to see food in front of her. The three made their way to the seats. Ichigo and Wendy sat next to each other, while Jellal sat next to the older man. After taking their seats they made their way to the food.

"How is the food?"

"It's delicious, thank you," Wendy said gratefully.

"That's good to hear"

"Sorry to intrude, but how long have you traveled together?" Roubaul asked

"Roughly a day and a half" Ichigo answered

"I see, sorry, your name is Ichigo, correct?" Roubaul replied back

"Yeah…Kurosaki Ichigo"

"It's nice to meet you Kurosaki"

"Likewise"

"Were you able to find any clues that can help you find your mother?" Roubaul asked Wendy directly

"N-no," she said sadly

"I see, I am sorry to hear that"

"B-but we encountered a silverback on our way here!" Wendy said out of nowhere trying to stay positive, catching the three off guard.

"A silverback? Must have been scary for the three of you. I'm glad you were able to escap-"

"We defeated it," she said proudly interrupting him.

The old man was taken back by the girl's claim. A Silverback was said to be quite strong. And the fact that a Silverback was bigger and stronger than all of them was hard to believe. He looked at the other two, to see if it was true. The two boys gave him the signal that it was true. Ichigo didn't want to mention the silverback incident. He didn't want the attention. But seeing how happy Wendy sounded when she brought it up. He didn't mind much. The same could be said for Jellal.

"If what you said is true, that must have been terrifying. I am glad you three are safe. You can stay here for as long as you like." he offered

"T-thank you"

"You can take a bath once you are done"

After finishing up their dinner, the same woman escorted them to where the bath was held. They made their way to a large hut. In the front of the building, there was a red and blue flag. Which indicates the separation of the female and male bath. As the three made their way in, they were separated.

Entering the spring, the atmosphere around the two boys was warm and content. The water was at the right temperature. It was cozy entering the water. Entering the water, Ichigo's fatigued body was slowly fading away. He felt so relaxed.

"This feels nice," Jellal said with a comforting tone, while Ichigo agreed. The two enjoyed the peace.

"...I don't want to ruin the peaceful moment… but I have something to tell you," Jellal spoke in a serious tone.

Ichigo noticed his tone and waited patiently for him to elaborate. He can see Jellal hesitating, it probably wasn't easy to talk about.

"Does this have to do with this Anima you shouted earlier?"

Jellal's eyes widened "How did you-" He was surprised by the boy's knowledge.

"I heard you say the name" Ichigo interrupting Jellal

Jellal was just looking down at the water. Seeing Jellal's behavior, Ichigo thought he was onto something. Maybe he might be able to help.

"Is that why you were in a hurry?"

"...yes…I'm… I'm going to have to leave both you and Wendy" Jellal finally said

Ichigo was surprised but remained quiet. He must have a good reason why he wanted to leave.

"Anima is something I have to take care of alone," Jellal continued.

"If you don't mind…What is Anima?"

"Sorry… I can't elaborate" he said sadly

"If you're not asking for help, then why are you telling me this?" Ichigo asked. He thought that Jellal should have told both him and Wendy about this, why is he telling just him.

"I don't want Wendy to know the reason why I had to leave"

"..."

"Is it possible for you to help me convince Wendy why I have to leave?" he started "knowing her, she would probably refuse to let a friend go."

He continued "If a friend were to leave, she would be saddened by the event. I don't want that to happen"

"...Sure…I'll help"

"Really?!" Jellal was relieved that Ichigo would help.

"There must be a good reason for you to leave, not only that, you're asking me to help," Ichigo slowly explained. "I don't know what you have to deal with, but you probably don't want others to get involved. I understand why you would do that. But… Wendy will still be sad, that won't change even if I help. Is that still ok?"

Jellal absorbed the information but still thanked Ichigo for his cooperation. He was glad that he understood his reasoning.

"Yes…Thank you"