Chapter 4: Zangetsu

Darkness was all that Ichigo could see right now. He was completely enclosed in it and couldn't move his body at all. Everything felt so heavy yet so weightless all at the same time. He felt as if he had died right then and there. Had he died? Was this what death felt like? But if that's the case, then how come he doesn't appear as a spirit? Is the process of death different for a soul reaper who has died, or is it just Ichigo being a male and dying with these powers? Either way, he didn't know what was going on, but for some strange and vague reason, he felt at peace.

"Ichigo." A low woman's voice said to him. "Wake up." It was gentle yet full of power to it. "Wake up Ichigo."

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and was met with bright lights shining all around squinted so his eyes could adjust to the light, but what was very strange was the fact that when he looked up, he saw a tall building. He was wearing his regular clothes before he left his home as well. Ichigo sat up and looked around to see that he was in some strange world filled with blue skyscrapers. He was on the side of one yet he wasn't falling. He stood up and looked around for a brief moment before that voice started again, but this time it was weak and frail.

"Ichigo."

He turned and saw the woman from his dreams lying on one of the skyscrapers, covered in some kind of blue bindings. She was pale white with long black hair that covered her nude body. She was pretty stacked as well, with large breast and a very curvy and luscious ass. She looked over to Ichigo and had pitch black eyes with yellow irises to them. She looked like she was in pain as she was being held down by the blue bindings and had a face that looked borderline like she was pleading with him.

"Help me. Ichigo, please help me." She said in a frail tone as she lowered her head from what Ichigo could only assume was exhaustion.

Without a moments hesitation, Ichigo leapt off his skyscraper and went sailing over to her. He landed next to her and immediately remembered who this was. It was the woman from his dreams that kept calling him weak. He hadn't heard from her ever since he got his powers from Rukia. Ichigo simply assumed that he had proven to her that he wasn't weak and she stopped, but now that he saw her like this, something wasn't right. Ichigo shook his head and was going to figure that part out later, for now she needed his help and he had to help her.

Ichigo grabbed at one of the bindings that were wrapped around her left leg and pulled. She yelped in pain at his force, causing Ichigo to release the bind. Ichigo didn't know hoe to save her if trying to free her causes her pain. He was starting to get worried when she started to breathe heavily and looked as if she was hyperventilating. Ichigo started to panic and tried to think of what to do, but he was stopped when she started to talk in her weakened state as the bindings started to wrap around her body.

"Ichigo." She started, looking up to him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Ichigo didn't know what she was talking about, but knew that he couldn't lose her. She was a part of him somehow ever sense that night, and he needed to know just who she was. Without another moments hesitation, Ichigo grabbed at one of the bindings and clenched it tightly. He didn't know what this was or how it even was here, but he knew that he would have only one shot at this.

"This might hurt a little okay. Just bear with it." Ichigo said to her right before her face was covered.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and pulled on the bindings hard. The woman yelped in pain as the binding was ripped off of her. The second the bindings came off and were thrown to the side, they dissipated into the air. Ichigo started to pull at all the bindings, almost going deaf from her screams of pain, but he only had one more left. He reached for it but the woman stopped him.

"No Ichigo." She said with a little bit of power in her voice now. "This last one is mine."

Ichigo nodded to her request and backed away. The binding was attached to her neck so she grabbed it with both hands. After taking a moment to prepare she pulled at the binding and violently ripped it away from herself. She screamed in pain, this time louder than previous screams, and fell to her knees from the pain. Ichigo caught her before she could fully fall down to ground and held onto her. She breathed in and out slowly and tilted her head up to meet Ichigo's brown eyes. She smiled at him and shut her eyes before saying to him.

"Man that was painful."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ichigo asked her in a concerned tone.

Before Ichigo could even see it coming, she planted her lips into Ichigo's and held them there for several seconds. Ichigo was stunned at what she was doing but didn't bother to stop her. Something about this was so wrong to him yet felt so natural. He leaned into the kiss and deepened it for a little longer until she pulled away. She smiled at him and stood up without his help.

"Now I'll be okay Ichigo. Thank you." She said to him.

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked as he stood up.

Her smile grew even wider and she placed a finger on his lips. "Wish I could tell you, but right now those horny bitches are all over you. And I think you'll be surprised at who else is there." She waved her other hand to him and a bright flash appeared from it. "I'll see you in a bit, Ichigo."

Before Ichigo could even say a word, his eyes opened suddenly and scared the five sets of eyes staring down at him. He rose up quickly and grabbed at his left shoulder where Renka had cut him, but there was no scar or even a cut. He felt where he was stabbed at by the other woman and there was also nothing.

"Damn kid. Don't scare us like that." A male voice said from Ichigo's right.

He turned and only saw a black cat with yellow eyes staring at him. Ichigo would've been confused by a talking cat, but right now that was the least of his worries.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" A familiar voice said to him. Ichigo looked forward and saw that it was Orihime who asked the question along with Chad sitting next to her. They both looked visibly worried for their friend and Ichigo could tell that something was a little off about this whole thing. Ichigo turned to his right and saw two other woman sitting there with concern on their faces as well. One was a muscular woman wearing an apron while the other had on a green and white bucket hat.

"Yeah." He finally said to them. "I'm okay, but what happened? Where am I?" He finally registered an issue he had just ignored previously when he looked to the cat again. "And did that cat just talk to me?"

"Well to put it simply." The woman with the hat started as she took out a fan to cover her face. "You Ichigo Kurosaki are in my shop. My name is Kisuke Urahara. This is my assistant Tessai Tsukabishi." She motioned to the cat. "That's an old friend of mine, Yoruichi Shihoin. And you already know these two." She pointed to Chad and Orihime. "So tell me Ichigo, how do you feel?"

He had to think for a moment about the question. How did he feel? It was a strange mixture of relief, anger, confusion and anxiety. He had no idea just what happened to him when he was fighting Renka before. He remembered everything, but there was a gap in between when she cut him and when his sword was cut in half. What had happened in between then?

"Doesn't matter for right now Ichigo." The woman from before had said to him in his head. "Just hear them out first, then get Urahara to help you out. I'll take care of the rest afterwards."

Ichigo nodded which confused the five then looked over to Kisuke. "I'm fine, but I need to get my powers back."

This surprised the blond but also intrigued her at the same time. He must not know about how he somehow healed himself earlier.

"Wait a minute Ichigo." Orihime started, getting his attention. "You're not really thinking of going to save Rukia are you?" She was concerned for him, obviously, but her voice had power behind it. This wasn't the exact same Orihime that Ichigo's always known.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking Orihime." He said to her in a determined tone causing her to blush.

"Then we'll come and help you." Chad said in her usual tone. She gave him a thumbs up and smiled to him. Ichigo in turned smiled back at her, causing her to blush and look away.

"Well if that's the case, you two need to resume your training. I'll be waiting downstairs." Yoruichi said as she walked off. She stopped for a second and turned her head back to see Ichigo again. She smiled at him and said. "I'll enjoy breaking you in, Ichigo."

Ichigo felt a shiver go down his spine as she said those words. The cat walked off and left the rest there for now.

"Well you two." Kisuke started as she and Tessai stood up. I guess now would be the perfect time to explain yourselves to Ichigo here. It'll give me time to prepare to get his powers back." The two walked out of the room, leaving the two girls in there with Ichigo.

Ichigo looked at the two and waited for one of them to start. Orihime decided to explain herself first. She took a deep breath and started.

"My powers first started coming to me around the time my brother died." She started. "I didn't know what was going on at first. One minute he was gone, the next a hollow had appeared to devour his soul. He ran away but the hollow noticed me staring at it and went to attack me. That was when my brother decided to act and flung himself into the hollow's way. He was eaten, but something happened just before he was gone. He reached out for me and touched these." She motioned to her hair clips and they burst into light, revealing six small fairies, all female, floating right next to Orihime. "They appeared and helped me defeat that hollow. I've been training with Yoruichi to control it properly for the past two years now."

"Whoa." Ichigo said in surprise as he looked at the six fairies. They all looked at him with somewhat nervous expressions as they hid behind Orihime. "Are they afraid of me for some reason Orihime?"

"You could say that." She started while scratching the back of her head. "It's more of a reaction than actual fear. Your energy is kind of intimidating."

"Oh." He started as he looked to them. "Sorry about that." He turned his attention towards Chad and asked her. "So what exactly happened to you Chad?"

She looked away from him again and started to explain. "This happened when I was attacked by a hollow a few months before I met you. I didn't know what it was at first, but I just remembered what my grandfather told me about using my strength to help others. I fought the hollow for a short time before this happened." She extended her right arm and it was now covered in a blue armor with red highlights around it. There was a shoulder piece to it that was also blue. "Yoruichi and Kisuke have been training me for about as long as they've trained Orihime. I'm sorry I never told you after you got you're powers Ichigo." There was a hint of despair in her voice as she said those words.

"It's okay. I understand why neither of you told me." Ichigo said to them, getting their attention. "Ya'll don't have to apologize to me, okay."

They both smiled at him and watched as he stood up, revealing his toned and muscular body. They blushed and Ichigo noticed. He rolled his eyes and found his shirt on the ground next to the futon. Both of them regained their composures and led Ichigo to a trap door that had a ladder leading down. They went down and Ichigo was in absolute awe at how large the underground room was. He looked around and didn't even notice Kon as she ran over to him with fake tears in her eyes.

"Ichigo!" She yelled out as she jumped onto his chest and burst out in tears. "You scared me so much when I was told to bring your delicious body here."

Ichigo wasn't in the mood to question what she was doing with his body while he was gone, so he simply detached her from his chest and threw her off to the side. He saw Kisuke standing there with her cane in hand and a smile on her face. He had a bad feeling about this, but relented and walked over to her anyway.

"Alrighty then Ichigo." She said in a jovial tone as she raised her cane up. "This should be easy for you hopefully." She shoved her cane into Ichigo's forehead and his soul came out. He was wearing the same clothes as before and had a chain attached to his chest that was connected to his body. As Ichigo caught himself, he watched as a red haired girl cut his chain with a cleaver that was a little too big for her. Before Ichigo could protest, a hole appeared under him and he fell into it. Everyone looked down into it and saw Ichigo slowly stand back up.

"Honestly Kisuke." Yoruichi said to her friend. "You could've at least warned him you were going to do that."

"I know that, but I thought this would be better." Kisuke started as she looked down to Ichigo. "Alright Ichigo. You have to make your way back up her before your soul chain is devoured completely."

"What happens when that happens?" Ichigo asked her from the bottom of the hole.

Kisuke dropped her smile and sighed. "You'll turn into a hollow and we'll have to kill you." She said those words with a hint of disdain behind them.

Ichigo could see it in every single one of their eyes that they didn't want to do that. He didn't know how he was goin to do this, but he had to get out of this hole and fast. His chain started to come alive and devour at his chain at a quick rate, surprising everyone there.

"Ms. Urahara!" Orihime yelled out to the confused store owner.

"It's not supposed to be this quick for any individual." She said in a panicked tone. "Tessai, Yoruichi, we need to-" Before she finished her sentence, a white wall appeared around the hole and solidified. Everyone started to panic at just what happened and if Ichigo was okay.

Ichigo's Inner World

Ichigo opened his eyes and was back on a skyscraper in that world again. He looked around for that woman again and saw her lounging on a nearby skyscraper. She was clothed this time in an all whit soul reaper outfit, but she had the top opened up enough to show off her cleavage. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she was looking straight at Ichigo with a smile on her face.

"Told ya I'd see you in a bit Ichigo." She said as she stood up and leapt over to him.

"Wait a sec." Ichigo said as she landed in front of him. "Kisuke said if my soul chain was completely gone that I'd turn into a hollow."

"Yeah but you don't need to worry about that." She said to him with a grin on her face. "Like I said before, you don't have to worry about it Ichigo. Now then, lets get you back in the game."

Her smile grew as she held out her right arm and a sword appeared in it. It was a basic sword with really nothing too interesting about it. She tossed it to Ichigo and he caught it. He examined the blade for a few seconds before looking to her.

"What's this for? I thought my zanpakuto was huge." Ichigo said to her in a confused tone.

"Well someone is overcompensating for something that I actually know is there." She said to him causing him to blush for the first time since he's gotten into this whole world. "That sword you lugged around wasn't yours. It was Rukia's."

Ichigo perked an eyebrow to this. "What are you talking about hers?"

"Easy. She gave you her powers and you just so happen to have an extraordinary amount of spirit energy." She continued. "You've had this amount of power ever since you were born Ichigo."

Ichigo gasped at her words and even more when he saw pull out a massive cleaver from thin air. The cleaver had bandages for a around the hilt and no guard. It was white on the front side while being black on the back. She looked at the shocked look on his face and smiled again before planting the blade into the skyscraper.

"Now that that has your attention." She started as she leaned on the cleaver. "You need to learn my name and how to use my power."

Ichigo gained a smirk of his own face and took a stance with the blade in his hand. "Then lets do this."

She grinned and pulled the cleaver out. She rushed over to him and clashed her blade with his. The force of her blow pushed him back far as she flung him around with just that one blow. Ichigo was stunned for a second, but quickly moved out of the way when he saw the cleaver flying at him at incredible speeds. He continued to dodge and stood up trying to analyze her fighting style. It was strange to him. It was sporadic yet accurate, powerful yet deadly. He dodged several of her swift strikes and blocked a few of them only to be pushed back once again. He fell to one knee and watched as she twirled the cleaver into the air.

"Come on Ichigo." She said to him in a seductive tone. "Don't tell me that that killer instinct of yours just ran out."

"Instinct?" Ichigo asked himself in a low tone. He started to remember when he fought the mass group of hollows. Or the time when he first attacked the hollow that had his sister. And now he started to remember just what happened after Renka had cut him down so easily. It was his instincts that made him release that energy, but it was being constrained by Rukia's power. He stood up and looked at her as she caught the cleaver and placed it on her shoulder.

"So?" She started with a grin. "You figured it out yet?"

Ichigo looked at her then closed his eyes and let that instinct take over like before. He could feel it now. That power, that intensity, that will to defeat his enemies. It was incredible to him as he felt some kind of change in his body. He opened his eyes and saw the cleaver now in his hand and her standing directly in front of him. She was smiling at him as she saw that his eyes were now just like hers. She placed her hand on his face and he could feel a mask forming on him. The mask was white with a black wing on the right side that had a red highlight around it. The mask had white teeth to it that also had red highlights going around it. Ichigo could feel it, he could feel that power from before only now it was his own. He looked at his left hand and clenched it, seeing that it changed to that white color like it did before. When he unclenched it, his hand went back to its normal color. He looked back to her and saw her smile. She now had white eyes with yellow irises now.

"Well Ichigo." She said to him. "What's my name?"

Ichigo looked at her and then to his zanpakuto. He looked back at her and said in a distorted tone. "Zangetsu."

Underground Training Area

Everyone had been trying to crack open the shell that had formed to cover the hole for a few minutes now. Yoruichi had even went into her normal form and tried to her hand at it. This was all to no avail. Every time they would crack it, it would fix itself faster than they could react. After several minutes, Kisuke had assumed the worst possible thing that could've happened.

"Guys." She started in a grim tone. Everyone had stopped their assault on the floor and looked over to her. "I think that-"

An intense spiritual pressure suddenly dropped down on everyone in the room and the floor keeping Ichigo in the hole cracked.

"Everybody get back!" Yoruichi yelled out as they scattered.

The floor began to completely crack all around and a black energy seeped out of them. After a few seconds, the floor blew apart and the black energy flew out of it. The energy bounced off of the ceiling and landed hard on the ground, kicking up dust in the process. The group had prepared themselves for an attack as they saw red eyes through the smoke and immediately tensed up. For several uninterrupted seconds there was nothing but dust and those red eyes staring at them. Then the eyes started to move up as if the person was standing. A hand appeared out of the dust that was completely white and waved across the dust quickly. In one swift motion, the dust was gone and everyone got a really good look at Ichigo now. He was in his soul reaper uniform like how he should, but they also saw the cleaver in his right hand and the mask. Ichigo stood there motionless for a few seconds before moving his free hand to his mask. He grabbed at the eye holes and pulled to reveal his face to them. He placed the mask on top of his head and looked over to them with his new eyes. Ichigo saw the looks of shock in their eyes and smirked.

"Well." He started as he placed his cleaver on his shoulder. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

That's It For Chapter 4. The Next Chapter Will Have Them Going To The Soul Society To Rescue Rukia. I'm Very Excited To Write That.

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