WARNING!
This chapter includes: cannibalism(?), blood and gore
The cannibalism is specifically a scene where Ichigo eats a living being which is not human, so technically it does not count as actual cannibalism, but because Ichigo is a hybrid, I putting the warning there.
Also, while these warnings aren't technically necessary for this chapter, I might be going to go pretty descriptive in within these subjects, so I am leaving the warning just in case.
Please and thank you for reading the warnings.
There isn't a single cloud in the night sky to shroud the few stars who managed to pierce through the light pollution. The full moon gave everything beneath it an eerie glow of a dead midnight.
Slitted amber eyes watch the silent streets of Karakura from the second-story window. Masaki taps a sharp talons against the windowsill.
She woke up almost five minutes ago. Isshin is still sleeping on the outside of her nest, blissfully unaware.
Something is wrong. Or it will be. Or it already is wrong.
You wish to go find your sons. Why are you not going?
Masaki sighs quietly and pauses her tapping before pressing her hand against the windowsill. She shakes her head quietly.
While all her children can handle an ambush of Hollows, she cannot leave her daughters alone while they sleep. If whatever happens, happens here, they will be in danger. She cannot leave, yet she cannot sit by and wait for her sons to come home, possibly be at the epicenter of whatever will go wrong.
Hm. Quite a predicament. And that husband of yours has only regained enough reiryoku to see these spirits.
Masaki bites the inside of her cheek before she opens the window. She sticks her head out, taking in the cool spring breeze and letting it dance with her hair.
"Solinus," She calls out into the too calm night. "I need you to do something for me."
Ichigo wraps his hand around the Shinigami's wrist and wrenches her towards himself. He wraps his free arm around her waist and leaps away before the Hollow's claw slices through them both, swiping at the asphalt instead. Two more Hollows screech behind the one attacking.
Everything stalls for a moment. Blood is splattered across the street and across Ichigo's person from the quick momentum. The Shinigami lurches forward with a wail as the pain registers to her side being completely shredded open. The spell breaks.
Ichigo places her on the ground, outstretching his hand to activate Blut when the Hollow charges forward. Blue veins sprout forward and pierce through the Hollow and the street around it before Uryū leaps forward with a Heilig Pfeil pointed directly at the back of the Hollow's head.
It doesn't get a chance to even scream, Uryū releasing the arrow to pierce completely through. It travels past Ichigo, slicing across his cheek, but he doesn't pay it any attention.
"Keep them busy!" Ichigo hisses through his teeth, an echo following his words, before he turns the Shinigami on her back and forces his hand against the shredded side. She screams from the pain, but Ichigo doesn't budge.
Uryū charges forward with another Heilig Pfeil formed.
Ichigo focuses on the Shinigami, glaring at his hand pressed against the grievous wound. Uryū can handle the Hollows; he must start healing this now, or the Shinigami will not survive.
"I'm not the best at it, so there will be scarring," Ichigo speaks quietly, glancing up to stare into violet eyes. He doesn't bother to wait for an answer before a green aura surrounds his hand.
Violet eyes widen and a gasp leaves pale lips. "Th-that... That is... kaidō!"
Ichigo winces at the name, but continues to heal the shredded wound as if he doesn't hear the Shinigami. Any questions can be answered later. Right now, he needs to heal the Shinigami and then figure how the fuck he hadn't been able to sense the first Hollow that attacked them.
Why are so many Hollows attacking them? There are five; all stronger than the usual Shinigami.
"It must be his little enemy!" Zangetsu shrieks within Ichigo's mind, stabbing his claws into Ichigo's psyche. A growl, low and guttural, starts at the bottom of Ichigo's throat before crawling up to the back of his mouth. He swallows back the growl and forces Zangetsu to release his psyche when his kaidō stutters.
HOLLOWHOLLOWHOLLOWHOLLOW
Ichigo snaps his head up with wide eyes before he turns with a snarl.
"ICHIGO, MOVE!" Uryū charges forward with an arrow forming, but he won't make it in time.
"ICHIGO!" A clawed hand pierces through his torso, bursting out from the other side.
Red alarms blare and light up. The darkened and low-light halls are filled with bright red lights. Everyone abruptly wakes up, save for the rare few who simply turn in their beds and go back to sleep, or the ones who were simply still awake doing some last minute work.
A room, filled with frazzled men and women all running around trying to figure out if what's happening is actually happening. All of them wore green-blue patchwork cardigans, white button-up shirts, and blue pants.
For the second time since dragons have appeared, at 04:54 AM, GMT9, in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan, a designated power flare of at least an Awful Dragon has been recorded. This has resulted in an immediate high-risk alert for Witches and Wizards of Levels 13 or higher.
The Patchworks are scrambling to figure out exactly why this has happened. Dragon alerts do not show up in Japan. Not when the East Branch kills their dragons. Or... what Wing Bind thinks is their dragons.
The double doors fly open and a person dressed in a colorful patchwork suit of different shades of green and blue matches in. Their long hair was frazzled and falling out of its bun and their thick glasses covered their eyes and most of their expression, but everyone in the room knew they were not happy.
"What the hell is happening?" Saka Rynn, the Director of the Patchworks, continues sauntering in. Everyone avoids walking into their path as a young woman nervously walks forward with a tablet. She squeaks in fright when Saka rips the tablet from her hands, but quickly scrambles away.
"A-an alert! From—from Japan—in the Tokyo Prefecture," Someone else speaks up while rushing past to calculate the exact power level on another screen.
"How the hell did this happen?" Saka asks while aggressively swiping through the information.
At least an Awful Dragon, but most likely around Punitive Dragon. It only flared up for a few seconds before disappearing. Just like the first time.
"W-we don't know, Director," A teenager, in her late teens, speaks up before she brushes some of her hair behind her ear. "The East Branch likely—likely had a dragon escape before th-they killed it."
"The East Branch doesn't let their dragons escape," Saka states before they turn off the tablet.
"Lala, the exact location of the flare. Beryl, I need those calculations and any kind of surveillance. Osnait, I need four coffees the way I like it, now." Saka walks over to one of the big screen tables near the center of the room and gets to work.
What the hell is the East Branch doing? They just made it to where Saka is actually going to have to go to the next Top of Horns meeting, goddamn it!
It was the day Auswählen had torn his mother's soul apart and Red Dress saved her when Ichigo first met his zanpakutō. He vaguely recalled the conversation and the gentle, and possessive, comfort they gave him before he was pulled back into reality. He hadn't been ready to be in his Inner World, but he wasn't quite ready to wake up either.
The only thing keeping his soul precariously stabilized in its patchwork until it grew into itself was Ohime-sama's crimson threads; the threads Ichigo would wear with pride if anyone else could see them. It hadn't been until he turned twelve that he was capable of meeting his zanpakutō again, this time without the risk of going into soul suicide.
His logic and his insanity; Tensa and Zangetsu. Ichigo loves them very much.
Oyaji says a zanpakutō is more than just a sword. A zanpakutō, especially one directly borne from a soul like Zangetsu, is more than a friend, or a lover, or even a soulmate. A zanpakutō and its master transcend all bonds and pretenses. Though, Oyaji's wrong about one thing.
Between a zanpakutō and a Shinigami, there is no master. There is only a dominant soul controlling the body which houses them both.
It's such a simple concept. After all, there's not that much of a boundary between Shinigami and Hollow like so many souls ignorantly believe.
His heart beats in time with every drop of his blood falling on the Shinigami. Ichigo breathes in deeply, feeling the phantom pain of his limp body as he stares at it. He breathes out slowly. His tongue peeks out and icedeathashiceash crawls across it. Bloodsandashbloodash follows after and Ichigo's eyelids flutter close.
He is... starving.
"Ichigo?! You—" Uryū's voice stutters to a stop.
Ichigo slowly opens his eyes and stands up from where he sat on one knee. He stumbles on his feet, a rush of power running through his veins.
He turns and stares down the Hollow who attacked him. His eyes practically glow beneath the full moonlight, wild and murderous. The Hollow cowers at the sight of him, not because he is an enemy, but because he is a far bigger predator than itself; a far hungrier predator.
"Ichigo..." Uryū speaks up again, much quieter than before.
Ichigo slowly turns his head and glances back at his brother. He tilts his head like a bird would, watching and tasting Uryū's apprehension and concern.
HOLLOW
Ichigo doesn't even turn his head back when he grabs the sword attached to his back and holds it out in front of him. The Hollow's claw creates sparks as it scrapes against the blade. It screeches and thrusts its other hand towards Ichigo's neck, only for blood to spray across Ichigo and the street.
The Hollow screeches in pain and stumbles back, its arm cut in half by another blade in Ichigo's other hand. He turns his head and stares at the screeching Hollow. The blood splattered across his face brings out the feral glow in his eyes.
He slowly lowers his hands, both blades pointed towards the street marred with blood. The black metal shines because of an absence of light rather than being directly beneath the full moon. One blade is over half of his height while the other is as long as his forearm.
Black fabric shrouds him as shadows, sinking him into the shadows cast below him. The billowing sleeves fall over his hands and merge with the black blades.
His physical body lay across the injured Shinigami, condemning her to bleed out. Ichigo clenches his hands and raises the blades—his zanpakutō higher.
"Kill it. Eat it. Kill it! Eat it!" Zangetsu's hiss reverberates in Ichigo's head before it escapes his mouth. His lips raise and he bares his teeth.
He is starving and... angry. Furious.
The Hollow he injured screams again before leaping forward in a frenzied terror. Ichigo slides his foot back before raising both of the blades up above him. He doesn't move an inch as he slices the Hollow completely in half.
Ichigo breathes in deeply, his eyes fluttering close at the taste of bloodsandashbloodash. He licks his lips and feels rather than tastes the reiryoku in the Hollow's blood shock across his nerves.
HOLLOWHOLLOWHOLLOWHOLLOW
He turns around and glares at the other two Hollows that attacked them. His mouth twitches into a deranged and hungry grin.
"...get... the Shinigami..." Ichigo clears his throat at the guttural words escaping his throat. "Get her to creepy geta-bōshi. I'll... catch up."
Uryū stays silent, watching his brother with a hard stare. He eventually nods his head before crouching down to pull the Shinigami into his arms.
He hides a wince when the Shinigami cries out in agony. "Apologies, but please bear through the pain. We won't let you die like this."
Uryū flickers out of sight with the use of hirenkyaku. He leaves Ichigo's physical body, trusting the orange-haired teenager to follow through with his word.
The Hollows screech and begin to chase after Uryū. Ichigo watches them for a moment before he races forward. His longer blade pierces through one Hollow's head, impaling it into the street. He leaps off of the Hollow and twists in the air, digging his shorter blade right in between the last Hollow's eyes.
Ichigo flips himself over the Hollow and lands silently on his feet. He tugs the blade out of the Hollow's head before it disappears. He swings it to the side, flicking off of the blood, before he turns around.
The Hollow impaled into the street screams and howls. It claws at the ground, trying and failing to escape. Ichigo watches it writhe like a bug.
Zangetsu growls and claws further into his psyche, almost shredding it. "Eat it! Ichigo—King, eat it. Eat it! You won! Eat it!"
They are both so... hungry. He hasn't—it has never happened like this before. He's had the... urges, yes. And creepy geta-bōshi always supplemented the necessary nutrients for Ichigo to survive, but... he's been so... insatiable. He's just so hungry. He's starving.
Ichigo blinks, realizing he's standing in front of the impaled Hollow. His hands twitch, but he doesn't reach down.
There's a hum in the back of his mind before a darkness fills his lungs and throat. Tensa grabs the back of Ichigo's neck and squeezes reassuringly.
"If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat," Tensa speaks calmly. Ichigo licks his lips before he crouches down, his eyes shining in frenzied hunger. Mom and Oyaji hadn't discussed this with him; it hadn't popped up, yet. Creepy geta-bōshi hasn't talked to him about it, yet.
But, if Tensa says it's okay, then it must be okay. It must be good for him; for all three of them.
Ichigo reaches down and grabs the Hollow's arm. It tries to swipe at him, but is a few inches out of reach.
He's so hungry.
WARNING: Level Adjuchas. Number 7465, Number 7466, Number 7467. Located in District 3600. WARNING: Level Adjuchas. Number 7465, Number 7466, Number 7467. Located in District 3600. WARNING—
"How can this happen? How can this happen?!" A young man scrambles around, trying to figure out exactly what is happening. The alarm continues to ring loudly in the empty room, stressing out the young man more and more.
There had been a confirmed Adjuchas-level Hollow in District 3600. Three confirmed Adjuchas-level Hollows. One is already rare without the necessary reiatsu to lure an Adjuchas... but three?
Tsubokura Rin laughs nervously while staring down at the previously confirmed locations. All three were surrounding the unseated Shinigami sent to the World of the Living last week before they completely disappeared one at a time.
What happened?
"Rin, are you lazing around again? The alarm is going off." Rin nearly screams at the new voice as the door slides open. He whips around with wide eyes before smiling nervously.
"U-um... no. It's just—there's—I'm figuring it out!" Rin stutters out before facing the tracking map. Akon, Third Seat of the 12th Division, walks over with an exasperated frown. He opens his mouth to berate the smaller researcher before the warning still blaring across the screen catches his eye.
He marches over, not so delicately pushing Rin out of the way. "What the hell happened?"
"I—I don't—the Shinigami recently stationed in District 3600—they were surrounded by Hollows. All Adjuchas, but then—well they disappeared! I'm trying to find them, but I can't—"
"They can't just disappear!" Akon states with a narrowed glare, typing quickly to try and find the Hollows. "And none of Ukitake-taichō's unseated Shinigami can fight and defeat Adjuchas Hollows all at once."
"Th-the Shinigami, they seemed to—to be injured. Someone took them away. Someone with an unknown reiatsu signature. I'm more worried about the Hollo—"
"What do you mean?" Akon snaps his head back to glare at Rin. The brunette squeaks at the sudden attention before he scrambles forward, tripping over his own feet and slamming his face into the metal monitor.
His nose slams against the screen and zooms in onto the basic information of the Shinigami's dot in the map. Akon curses under his breath before reaching over for the emergency phone.
"Niko! Send a Hell Butterfly to the Thirteenth Division! Shinigami Kuchiki Rukia has been ambushed by three Adjuchas-level Hollows!"
The day had been normal. A few human customers and a daily visit from Masaki. Ururu and Jinta had gone to school with Yuzu and Karin before finishing their chores. Tessai had worked in the front and gave Kisuke time to do a couple of experiments. Just a normal day.
So, why does everything feel off tonight?
There's something in the air—some kind of buzzing tension. He only took notice of it around five minutes ago when it spiked. It's a faint reiatsu signature.
Possibly a new Shinigami; it is time for a new rotation. But why would the Soul Society station such a strong soul for a month of living duty? Are they lacking in recruits that much? Or—
"He has finally taken his turn," Kisuke thinks solemnly, fanning himself while he relaxes on the engawa of his private courtyard. How surprising; Kisuke was sure another three years would pass before Aizen Sōsuke's patience grew thin.
A low hum resonates with his reiatsu. Kisuke gazes down at his disguised zanpakutō resting against his leg. He reaches over to caress the old wood before blinking.
The store's fusuma doors are slammed open. Kisuke sighs quietly at his relaxation being interrupted, but stands from his seat. He pauses as the low hum pitches louder into a croon from Benihime before narrowing his eyes.
"URAHARA!" The scream comes from Ishida Uryū, urgency smothering his fear.
QUINCYQUINCYSHINIGAMIQUINCYSHINIGAMI
Kisuke grabs Benihime and uses shunpo. Standing in the middle of his store is Uryū with his white modern Quincy uniform stained bright red. In his arms is a Shinigami, of at least 13th Seat reiatsu level, bleeding out from her shredded open side.
Uryū lays the Shinigami down, making her cry out in pain. Kisuke is already crouching next to her with his hands glowing with kaidō.
"There was a Hollow," Uryū speaks without waiting for a question. "None of us sensed it, then three more ambushed us."
"And Ichigo-kun?" Kisuke asks as his starts to knit the organs bag together.
Uryū stays silent. Kisuke looks up and watches Uryū hesitate to answer. He narrows his eyes, his lips thinning.
"Uryū, where is Ichigo?"
The black-haired teenager grimaces and gazes down at the Shinigami. He opens and closes his mouth before sighing.
He finally looks back up with wary eyes. "One of the Hollows attacked him from behind. It caused a significant enough injury for him to... leave his body."
It takes all of Kisuke's instinctual control to keep his kaidō up. He stares at Uryū with wide eyes before they narrow.
"Tessai!" Kisuke shouts over his shoulder and stands up. It takes a moment before Tessai runs out from the back. He takes in the scene for a moment before crouching where Kisuke had, already continuing the kaidō.
"Stay here," Kisuke orders the teenager before using shunpo. He widens his senses and takes off towards the direction of a familiar, and unfortunately fluctuating, reiatsu.
Kurosaki Ichigo, the selfless idiot who has, unfortunately, become Kisuke's all-time favorite. And Ichigo has used his own body to protect an already injured soul whom he has only just met. Which may cause his soul to go into another Soul Suicide; one he will not survive, even with Benihime's intervention.
He, nor Masaki, nor Isshin has committed to taking the next step in Ichigo's training. There was no telling when Ichigo's soul would be capable of being forced out of his body to "complete" itself. They couldn't rush it despite the looming war with Aizen, but they would have had to take a chance sooner or later because of it.
It seems Ichigo's decided for himself to leap headfirst without supervision to hopefully intervene before he kills himself to the point where he ceases to exist. Damn those Kurosaki genes! Kisuke will forever regret admitting it, but he wishes Ichigo took after the Shiba's hot-headed improvising rather than taking after the Kurosaki's obstinate pragmatism.
Benihime's croon pitches up into a song. Kisuke runs his thumb down her disguised hilt, calming her enough to allow him to handle this. He has to see what they are dealing with first.
HOLLOWHOLLOWDEATHSHINIGAMIQUINCYDEATHSHINIGAMIHUMAN—
Kisuke stops with a graceful and silent landing in the middle of the street. He stands up straight and freezes. Completely.
Goosebumps covered every inch of his skin and it made him almost want to claw it off. His instincts, the Onmitsukidō could never really condition out of him, awaken and rear its head. Benihime croon turns beautifully deadly and ruthlessly preying for spilt blood.
Blood covered the street like a crimson silk blanket. Bones lay astray around a Shinigami, forming a halo of violence and death. Sunset orange haired, dyed crimson from the blood, fell out of its French braids and pooled around the black fabric covering the human teenager.
Ichigo's head raises before he twists his body around. Blood fell from his chin like a small stream and his mouth was left ajar to show his unnervingly sharp incisors and canines. In his hands is what remains of the being's body. It was a partially eaten Hollow mask.
His eyes are glowing beneath the light of the full moon and his pupils were completely dilated. They slowly blink as a tongue peeks out and futilely attempts to clean the blood from his lips.
"...creepy geta-bōshi..." Ichigo's voice comes out as a humming purr before his lips stretch into a delirious grin. "H'llo!"
"...hello... Ichigo-kun..." Kisuke slowly greets back. He eyes the black blade sticking out of the ground in front of Ichigo before glancing at the smaller blade on his hip. Dual wielding zanpakutō. Understandable given the nature of his soul.
"Are you alright?" Kisuke asks, much too casual for having come across Ichigo eating a Hollow. He walks closer until he's right next to the teenager and places his hand on top of his head.
He knew of Ichigo's... urges when it came to fighting Hollows or any other kind of spiritual being. With the kind of Hollow transferred to him when he was born, it made sense. He kept them at bay or Masaki would come by to get a case powdered Hollow mask to supplement Ichigo's diet.
Masaki accepted almost immediately she would have to supply Ichigo with the necessary nutrients he needs by indirectly feeding him Hollows. Isshin on the other hand... well, he's accepted it now that Masaki had... helped him realize if their son didn't receive this supplement, he would likely grow ill and die.
There was always a chance Ichigo would take more after the Hollow transferred to him than any other part of his soul. Well, he should get hungry like this again for a while. Kisuke will need to do some tests though, and make sure Ichigo's soul is still balanced.
A gravel purr escapes Ichigo's throat before he leans up into the hand. "Fine. 'm full... and angry. Is 'ryū safe? The Shinigami?"
Kisuke smiles. Even when likely dealing with a temporary destabilization of his soul and the rush of new instincts, Ichigo is still so sweet.
"Tessai is handling it. How is your zanpakutō?" The exiled Shinigami continues his questioning. Now that he's touching Ichigo, he can tell his soul is going slightly haywire. He'll need to bring him to his lab. Now.
"Ang-ger-y," Ichigo puts emphasis on each syllable before he tilts his head back. "An' scared. I don't think I 's quite ready for this..."
"No. Not quite," Kisuke agrees before he smiles. "But, what's done is done. Let's get you to my lab."
Ichigo perks up at the mention and stares up at the mad scientist with bright eyes. He instinctively raises his arms and wraps them around Kisuke's neck as he's lifted up into a bridal carry. Ichigo presses his face against Kisuke's carotid artery and breathes in deeply. Kisuke, already used to the action despite his Onmitsukidō conditioning, stays completely relaxed as he begins to use shunpo.
"Does Ohime-sama have any new designs?" Ichigo asks, his words starting to slur together. He's about to pass out.
"Let's make sure your soul isn't going into Soul Suicide once again," Kisuke says instead of answering.
He doesn't actually know; Benihime has taken an immense liking to the orange-haired teenager and will do just about anything Ichigo asks of her. It's both fascinating and embarrassing having the deepest and purest part of your soul become heavily possessive and protective of someone who isn't you.
Benihime sings so loudly, it's nearly perceptible outside of her disguise. Ah, it seems she does have new designs. Ichigo purrs again as he closes his eyes, happy at her answer he can somehow hear.
Another fascinating thing about Kurosaki Ichigo, but something Kisuke has to put aside for the moment. Soul stabilisation first, theorizing and attempting once more to convince Masaki to allow him to experiment on Ichigo second.
Hey!!!!! I hope you all like the new chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, but I made it! I've been pretty busy, and I will be pretty busy from here on out, but I'll try and get updates out! I really, really will!
FINALLY! A scene of Wing Bind!!! Woo! And because we know very, very little of Wing Bind and the West Branch, I am going to be taking some liberties/making my own shit up. For example; what the Patchworks uniform looks like, what Saka Rynn looks like, and an entirely new danger ranking system based off of the top two levels we know of.
Anyways, before anyone goes commenting with their theories, I will not be putting any romance in this story AS OF RIGHT NOW (or ever, but it's undecided). Of course, you can comment your theories and your hopes, but I will not be giving any possible avenues away. Or, I'll try not to.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini