I've decided to hold off on posting my second Bleach story, until the next update for this one, as my focus has shifted somewhat, from Bleach for the time being, back to my Fairy Tail stories. I'm also starting to regain my Dxd kick and also put up a new Naruto story, with Naruto being modelled, at least in terms of ability and attitude, on Aizen, so give that a read if you like the idea.
Also, at this point, I'm shamelessly endorsing myself, please have a look at some of the stuff I've posted on Journalister. There is no one giving me feedback on my original story and makes my motivation for it 0, so please have a read.
Oh, and I finally got my stolen PS4 back… but the police still have the game that was with it; Dragon Ball Xenoverse… which has not dropped in price like I would have thought, so hopefully I can get that back too.
Also, as an update, I've now written fairly deep into the Soul Society arc and am almost up to the execution. It is actually going way faster than I would have thought, since I'm being original and not ripping off canon… although, I just had to put in Ichigo VS Kenpachi, but I did change a lot about it.
Interestingly, I watched all the Bleach movies to keep my motivation going for that little bit longer, and I've noticed one recurring theme in all of them: Soul Society hates things they don't understand and almost always reacts with violence.
Possible spoilers for the movies, but I'm pretty vague.
Memories of Nobody, which is an excellent movie, even though it lacks all the fighting and bleeding that makes Bleach, Bleach, has them all show a kneejerk response to the blanks and try to capture, if not kill Senna. I can understand it somewhat, with the fabric of worlds at risk, but at least give Senna a break and not send a bunch of Captain's after her, to intimidate her and fight Ichigo.
Diamond Dust Rebellion, which I actually like the least, mostly because of the rubbish of two souls, having the same SOUL cutter, which comes from one's SOUL… ridiculous… well, they go out to kill Toshiro, almost instantly, and lock down the Tenth Division. Even when he is confronting the bad guy, not saying who because spoilers, they still go for him, even with the bad guy being RIGHT THERE. It was a good movie for Toshiro and Ichigo's mutual respect for each other though.
Fade to Black, and I have no idea what they did with the animation in this one, seriously, their faces were all ridiculously contoured… but basically, Ichigo recognises them and they don't remember him, first response, kill him… seriously? If a Shinigami is claiming he is your friend and not being hostile, why not hear him out first?
Then Hell Verse, which was by far the best in terms of action, although I rate MoN equal in terms of enjoyment, had them all ease up a little… but Yamamoto blaming Ichigo for what happened to Yuzu, when THEY are the ones supposed to regulate Hell, really annoyed me… although, it was refreshing having a somewhat more IchiHime themed movie, given the other three were essentially IchiRuki. To be honest, I like both IchiHime and IchiRuki, as both of them have their appeal to me… but Ichigo's Final Hollow form is always awesome.
In any case, I will definitely being using MoN and HV in my story, but probably won't use DDR and FtB.
Anyway, that's all for now, and thanks for the Bleach fanfic suggestions, to those that gave them. I was already reading most of the fics suggested, but some were new to me and a nice change of pace. Once again, if you know of any good Bleach fics, please let me know. I'd also like to give an honourable mention to Shadows of Deceit, which is currently the most frequently updated Bleach fic I'm reading right now and is overall pretty good, so I recommend giving it a read.
Well, with that all said, enjoy the chapter.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Bleach anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Hollow, Inner Hollow or Zanpakutou talking'
"Hollow, Inner Hollow or Zanpakutou thinking"
*expression*
Flashback
Chapter 4 – Hunger
Ichigo held onto his sword, currently still embedded into the mask of his recent enemy.
"Crap! What happened Zangetsu?" Asked Ichigo in agony.
'Ichigo there isn't much time! Do you trust me?' Shouted a panicking Zangetsu.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Questioned Ichigo in confusion, as his body trembled.
'Let me take over, I'll keep you safe!' Demanded Zangetsu.
Ichigo mulled the choice over for a minute, before another wave of pain washed over him.
"Ok, just do it." Thought Ichigo, before his consciousness left him.
Zangetsu, now in control of Ichigo's body, gave a wry grin.
'Well, here we go.' Said Zangetsu, before undergoing a transformation.
Ichigo's body erupted in a burst of white energy. A Hollow mask, resembling a human skull, complete with a jaw joint, rounded forehead, with dark red stripes on the left side, appeared on his face. His body changed to take the form of a white humanoid lizard, with three-toed feet and a tail, with black marks all over his noticeably, more muscular body. He now possessed long orange hair and reptilian eyes, seen through the eyeholes of the mask.
'Since you're the reason we are in this mess, you're first.' Growled Zangetsu, before rearing his head back and quickly bringing it down, biting into the mask of the Gillian, Zangetsu's own mask stretching and expanding, allowing the mouth of his mask to open as he did so. The Hollow could only roar in pain weakly, before it was absorbed by Zangetsu.
Zangetsu took the time to observe his surroundings, noticing a forest, which was filled with large trees, made of a silvery quartz substance. Looking around, Zangetsu saw many Hollows coming towards him. Zangetsu merely smirked at this.
'You guys are unlucky… because I'm hungry!' Roared Zangetsu, as he leapt upon another Gillian and bit into its mask, consuming it. A few Gillian gathered together and charged up a Cero, hoping to overwhelm the new threat.
Zangetsu cackled in amusement, as he raised the blade with his namesake up to face level, before swinging it down, releasing a crescent shaped blast of white energy, with a red outline, that swiftly tore through the combined Cero and annihilated one of the Menos.
'It's feeding time! You can run, but you can't hide!' Cackled Zangetsu, as he rushed at the Hollows that had just attacked him, and quickly consumed them each in turn.
-line break-
'Well Captain Aizen, I bet you didn't expect that to happen, did ya?' Questioned a silver haired man teasingly.
Sosuke Aizen appeared to be a mild-featured man, with brown scholarly hair, enhanced by square glasses, along with soft brown eyes. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform, with a captain's haori as well, along with his partner.
'Well, Gin, this is unexpected, but not altogether unpleasant.' Said Aizen calmly.
'How so?' Questioned Gin curiously, his smirk shrinking.
'Ichigo is currently in Hueco Mundo, given his current growth rate, this could be quite interesting. There is also the fact, that so many of my pieces are present in Hueco Mundo now… just what would happen should he meet one? Would he rise to the occasion, or fall?' Said Sosuke pleasantly.
'Are you going to, uh, facilitate things? I mean, using the Hougyoku to enhance that Menos, well that was certainly unique.' Questioned Gin, as he gazed at the particular screen Aizen was looking at, which showed a currently Hollowfied Ichigo, devouring his tenth Menos Grande.
'Perhaps. Then again, he may just find them on his own. Who do you believe would be the most entertaining to confront young Ichigo, Gin?' Questioned the brown haired captain, as he watched Ichigo tear into another Menos.
'Ah, asking little ol' me, I feel special. Well, given his current mindset, I would recommend two in particular.' Said Gin, his grin returning.
'Please, do tell.' Prompted Aizen.
'Number four and seven would be my picks, mostly because of how strongly their views would clash with Ichigo's mentality.' Suggested Gin cheerfully.
'Hmm, rather unique choices. However, I believe you are entitled to some fun, Gin. Although, make sure that they know: killing Kurosaki is not an option.' Replied Aizen airily, as he watched in interest, as Ichigo batted aside a Cero with his tail, before pouncing on the Hollow who had released it.
'Also, Gin, see to it that Grand Fisher, is alerted to the fact that young Kurosaki is in Hueco Mundo.' Added Aizen.
'My, my, you sure do want to give him a hard time.' Commented Gin.
-line break-
'Oh, this is very bad.' Muttered Shinji quietly.
Uryuu and Rukia were still in shock and although he couldn't see them, he was sure that Yasutora and Orihime, were no doubt shocked as well.
'You're not wrong.' Commented Kisuke.
'What are you going to do now? Something like this is going to bring attention, you know? That girl is going to be in trouble soon.' Said Shinji plainly.
'The only thing I can do I suppose: prepare.' Said Kisuke, before turning on his heel and leaving, along with his little team.
Shinji sighed at this, before walking over to the downed Shinigami.
'Oi, girl, you okay?' Asked Shinji.
'I got my powers back.' Muttered Rukia.
'Hmm, is that so?' Muttered Shinji in boredom.
'Don't you understand… this means Ichigo lost his powers!' Muttered Rukia, before standing up and shouting.
'I get that.' Said Shinji disinterestedly.
'He'll be consumed in there! Hueco Mundo is no place for a new Shinigami!' Shouted Rukia, tears beginning to come to her eyes.
'He'll be fine.' Said Shinji uncaringly, which caused Rukia to grab his shirt in frustration.
'He's going to suffer a fate worse than death and IT IS MY FAULT!' Shouted Rukia, now openly weeping.
'First Kaien, now Ichigo too.' Muttered Rukia weakly.
'You know, his Soul Chain wasn't struck, that was pretty clear, since he didn't collapse right there. Even if you got your powers back, it probably just means his Soul Sleep was damaged enough, that, with you being in your Shinigami form and in close proximity to him, your powers returned to you and left him, with only his remaining. Plus, Menos aren't exactly accurate, so there is a good chance he would have recovered from an attack like that, even if he was normal.' Said Shinji apathetically, getting Rukia to look up at him.
'What do you mean? What powers?' Asked Rukia in confusion, before a mask was knocked against her head.
'We aren't normal. Neither is Ichigo. His Hollow powers are his and his alone, not related to the Shinigami powers you gave him at all. Worst case scenario, his Hollow just takes over for a while until he can regain his Shinigami powers and control. I dealt with it before, and I'm pretty sure a guy who could reach Shikai, in just a few short days, will be able to as well, even with your powers being gone. An Inner Hollow melds with your Zanpakutou for your information, he'll get them back.' Said Shinji, as he removed Rukia's hands from his clothes and straightened them with a quick pat down.
'That being said, when he shows up, if ever, is a mystery. Unless of course, there is a Hollow feeling particularly charitable enough, to open a path back to the living world… well, bottom line, he might be there for a while.' Said Shinji, before turning on his heel and leaving.
Rukia watched Shinji take three steps away, before he disappeared in a burst of speed.
"What am I supposed to do now though?" Thought Rukia in dismay.
Strictly speaking, if no one knew she had given her powers to a human, she could return to Soul Society without issue. Her staying longer than she should have, could easily be explained by the high influx of Hollows, not to mention the Menos appearance. She hadn't overstayed the two month limit yet and if she returned now, she would be completely fine. Logically, Rukia knew the choice she should make: return to Soul Society at once. However, she wouldn't, or rather, couldn't, not knowing what happened to Ichigo.
"I got him into this mess… I need to get him out… but how?" Thought Rukia desperately.
-line break-
Ichigo had finally woken up and found himself surrounded by skyscrapers, most of which, were cracked and damaged. Ichigo groaned and rubbed his eyes, sitting up as he did so and looking around.
'Wait a minute! Where the hell am I?' Shouted Ichigo in shock, turning around frantically.
'Sheesh, you're too loud. Can't a guy kill and consume Hollows in peace?' Muttered a voice from behind Ichigo, which caused him to whirl around.
'Y-you… me…' Stuttered Ichigo in shock.
'Well, did you expect me to look like your dad? I'm part of your soul after all.' Replied the figure, which had caused Ichigo's shock.
Standing across from him, Zanpakutou and all, was a bleached white copy of him.
'You're Zangetsu?' Asked Ichigo curiously.
'Yep. You look surprised though. Were you expecting someone else?' Questioned Zangetsu, with a smirk.
'I guess not… so what happened exactly? Where am I?' Asked Ichigo.
'Where are you? Or, where is your body?' Queried Zangetsu teasingly.
'Both.' Replied Ichigo.
'Well, you, are currently in your mind. I told you I'd take over to keep you from losing your powers and luckily I managed to, after consuming over a hundred Hollows to stabilise your powers, two dozens of them being Menos Grande I might add. That though, leads to where your body is right now… to be honest, I'm not precisely sure where we are exactly, but I'm pretty sure we are in the land of the Hollows.' Said Zangetsu, with a grin.
'What do you mean?' Asked Ichigo, with narrowed eyes.
'Well, since I've stabilised your soul for now, why not have a look for yourself?' Teased Zangetsu, before Ichigo's vision went dark.
-line break-
An orange haired Hollow, had just bit into the mask of a feebly struggling Hollow, trapped between its grasp, before suddenly freezing. The Hollow walked away from the slowly disappearing foe it had just consumed, before looking around in shock.
"What the hell is this?" Questioned Ichigo, as he examined his claws.
'Whoa, that was intense, all those Hollows I ate just got purified from our body when you switched back with me. That's quite a handy trick. I was just shoving them all into a corner of your mind, but at least this way, we don't have to worry about overcrowding.' Commented Zangetsu in awe.
"What do you mean?" Asked Ichigo curiously, as he made his way towards a light.
'I was sure I mentioned this before… maybe not though.' Muttered Zangetsu thoughtfully.
'Basically, if you and I consume Hollows, we will get stronger as well. However, it seems when you are the one in control, your Shinigami powers take over and purify any Hollows you've consumed, while leaving you with the power-up, pretty sweet right?' Chortled Zangetsu.
"How can consuming Hollows make me stronger?" Questioned Ichigo in confusion, as he continued towards the light, nearly reaching it.
'Remember what I told you, that I'm both your Shinigami and Hollow powers? Hollows get stronger by consuming other Hollows. What is really lucky for you though, is that since your powers are merged, you get the boost of a Hollow from consuming them and in the process, purify their souls. In other words, you get the best of both worlds with none of the drawbacks. I mean, having a couple of voices in your head would be annoying, but a couple thousand would be maddening.' Said Zangetsu calmly.
"That… honestly sounds amazing." Said Ichigo in awe.
'Well, that being said, your Shinigami powers are shot to hell right now. If it wasn't for me being both a Hollow and a Shinigami and us being able to communicate like this, you probably would have died.' Said Zangetsu flatly.
"How did I survive anyway?" Asked Ichigo, as he reached the rocky exit and walked out of the forest, shielding his eyes from the light.
"If there is one thing every Hollow knows, consuming others makes you stronger. The air here is also rich in energy, which will slowly help you regain your strength. As long as we keep this up, you won't lose your powers, but it will take some time for your Shinigami powers to come back and be usable, and even more for you to look human again." Explained Zangetsu.
"Well that sucks." Thought Ichigo dryly.
'The alternative is you being dead.' Cackled Zangetsu, with a grin.
"… Point taken. What now though?" Asked Ichigo curiously.
'Now, we go hunting for… what the hell is that?' Said Zangetsu eagerly, before adopting a tone of confusion.
Ichigo and Zangetsu both gaped at the display in front of them. Three comical looking Hollows, were chasing, what appeared to be a small girl.
"Does consuming Hollows cause hallucinations or something? This is by far one of the weirdest things I've ever seen… how is a girl here anyway?" Questioned Ichigo in shock.
'…I am lost for words.' Said Zangetsu flatly.
"Well, might as well figure out what is going on." Thought Ichigo, before he suddenly disappeared in a burst of static and appeared in front of the group of four.
Ichigo and Zangetsu were both floored when the three assumed attackers, quickly jumped in front of the girl they had been supposedly chasing and took defensive positions around her.
'What the hell did we just stumble into? Does consuming Hollows make a Shinigami crazy or something?' Asked Zangetsu in shock.
"Like I'm supposed to know, you're the part Hollow!" Retorted Ichigo.
'Hey, it is rude to interrupt a game, don't cha know?' Admonished the large heavyset Hollow.
'A game? I thought you guys were chasing a little girl.' Said Ichigo in confusion, his tail twitching behind him.
'We were playing tag of course.' Commented the much slender Hollow.
'And she was crying why exactly?' Asked Ichigo curiously, scratching his head with his clawed hand.
'That's because I'm an extreme masochist and it isn't fun until they chase me until I cry a little.' Explained the green haired child.
Ichigo and Zangetsu both stared dumbly at the four, not knowing what to say.
"What…" Thought Ichigo.
'…the hell?' Finished Zangetsu.
'What's wrong mister Hollow, do you want to play with us too? We're all Hollows after all.' Said the girl.
Ichigo blinked at this.
'You're a Hollow?' Questioned Ichigo, in his warbled voice.
'Yep.' Said the girl, before pulling her hood back and revealing a childish-looking Hollow mask missing a few teeth, along with a long crack, going through the left side of the skull.
'Who are you guys?' Asked Ichigo curiously.
'I'm Nel Tu the Arrancar.' Said Nel.
'I'm Pesche, Nel's older brother.' Said the slimmer of the Hollows.
'And I'm his big brother Dondochakka.' Said the larger Hollow.
'And the big one behind us is our pet Bawabawa.' Said the three, gesturing to the worm-like Hollow.
'What…' Said Zangetsu.
"…the hell." Finished Ichigo.
'What's an Arrancar?' Asked Ichigo, after a minute of stunned silence.
'An Arrancar is a Hollow that removed their mask, to gain Shinigami-like powers.' Explained Nel.
'Really? In that case…' Said Ichigo, before raising a clawed hand to his face and tearing off his mask.
'Idiot! Are you completely brain dead! What did I just say one minute ago? If we hadn't consumed enough Hollows you would have died from that!' Shouted an irate Zangetsu.
As Ichigo's mask came off, the rest of his Hollow features crumbled into dust, until he was back in his Shinigami form, Zangetsu on his back once again.
'Whoa, I feel really weird now.' Said Ichigo.
'Ahhh everything disappeared!' Shouted Nel in surprise.
'Huh? What's wrong with that?' Queried Ichigo.
'You're not supposed to lose everything, otherwise, you aren't even a Hollow anymore.' Explained Nel in surprise.
'Well, I wasn't a Hollow in the first place.' Said Ichigo, as he pulled Zangetsu off his back and examined it.
'From your clothes and that sword, you almost look like a Shinigami.' Nel pointed out cheerfully.
'Well I kind of am.' Said Ichigo.
Nel's hand dropped and she looked at him in shock, before jumping back in fear.
'Oh no, the bad guys are going to kill us!' Shouted Nel in fear.
'Um, why would I kill you?' Asked Ichigo, only to have his question answered by someone new.
'Because you Shinigami cut us down, as though it were simply the natural way of things!' Shouted a tall, muscular, dark-skinned man, as he appeared to the left of Ichigo.
Ichigo observed the man and noticed a row of bony spikes on the top of his head, similar to a Mohawk.
'What do you mean? Aren't you guys in pain or something and a Zanpakutou purifies you guys so you can move on?' Questioned Ichigo in confusion.
'Is that what you believe? Do you truly think yourself gods? Who exactly gave you the right to cut down the Hollows?' Questioned the man, as he approached Ichigo, neither noticing, nor caring, that Nel and her group were backing away discretely.
'I don't know?' Replied Ichigo.
'You Shinigami cut us down, but no one ever gave you the right to do that. Do you do it because we feed upon the humans? Why? Who gave you the right to protect those humans?' Continued the man, standing less than a metre away from Ichigo.
'Well someone has to do it!' Defended Ichigo.
'Why? Who decides? You kill animals for food, how is what we do any different? Are we not allowed to live as well? Who decided that you had the authority to cut us down? Do humans cut down other humans for consuming animals?' Growled the man.
'We do actually. There are humans who do exactly that, however, it isn't the same. The souls you all consume, suffer in eternal torment!' Shouted Ichigo.
'And what of the creatures you consume, do they not have souls? You are just as selfish as us! Nobody has granted you the right to undertake any of this! You Shinigami label us as evil, and thoughtlessly slice us down, purely because in your arrogance, you fancy yourselves to be the purveyors of some great 'justice' of your own making!' Shouted the man in anger.
'Well who gave you the right to consume souls? You can't say that it is in your nature, because not all humans consume animals either! Why do you get to consume souls with free reign, but label a Shinigami evil for cutting you down for doing so? If someone tries to cut down an animal, others are perfectly justified in stepping in. Who decides that you are right and we are wrong?' Shouted Ichigo, not realising that he had started to accept the ideals of a Shinigami.
'Arrogance! You have no right to cut us down either!' Shouted the man, drawing his sword.
'Ichigo you aren't fully recovered yet, let me take over.' Said Zangetsu.
"Fine, but kick his ass for me." Growled Ichigo, before relinquishing control to Zangetsu.
Ichigo glowed for a minute, before a wave of energy exploded from his form, cratering the ground around him and sending a wave of dust outwards. The dark skinned Hollow, raised his non-sword holding arm upwards and blocked the dust.
When the dust and sand had dissipated, Ichigo was revealed in his previous form, however, his mask was now much more different. It now covered Ichigo's entire head, and its markings, were now different. It had four spike-shaped marks, two of them stopping by the forehead and the other two stretching past the eyes and teeth, going past his chin. Extending from the inner corners of his eyes, there were small marks resembling a heart, but with the top and bottom open. The mask also featured two long forward-pointing horns, with black strips extending from their centre towards the tips. All things considered, Ichigo looked downright fearsome now.
'Zommari Rureaux: Septima Espada. Remember that, as I will be the one to put you down here today.' Said the dark skinned man.
'Hahaha, I don't care about any of that. I don't even know what an Espada is, but I do know, I'm going to crush you here and now!' Cackled Zangetsu madly.
'Come creature, allow me to educate you.' Said Zommari, before charging Zangetsu.
Zommari appeared in front of Zangetsu in an instant and slashed his sword down, aiming to cut off Zangetsu's right arm. Zangetsu easily dodged it, before swinging the blade with his namesake at Zommari and grinned when he cut through him, spraying blood onto the sand, only to scowl as it was revealed to be an afterimage of some sort.
'You cannot catch me with feeble speed like that. Of all the Espada, I have the fastest Sonido.' Said Zommari, appearing a fair bit away from Zangetsu.
'Really? That's very interesting.' Said Zangetsu, before disappearing in a buzz himself and appearing behind Zommari, nicking his shoulder slightly before he could escape.
'Because speed is my speciality.' Grinned Zangetsu, which caused Zommari to harden his expression.
While this was occurring, unknown to Zangetsu, a pale, melancholy appearing figure, with two teal lines descending from the lower part of his eyes, was watching them from a distance.
"So this is the one Lord Aizen wishes us to examine." Thought the man, as he watched Zangetsu manage to land another cut on Zommari.
"He seems to be better than most trash, but I fail to see what could be so special about him." Thought the figure.