A Song for the Reaper

~XxX~

Khal of Khals

"Ichi-nii!" He heard a voice ring out through his mind.

"Come on Ichi-nii, wake up!" Again, a voice cried our for him, different than the first but familiar all the same. "Ichigo!"

Someone was shaking him at the shoulder, he groaned at that.

Fuck, his back hurt like hell!

"Come on Ichigo…" The voice sounded worried now, "we really need you!"

And then he heard..horses? Hooves stomping against the ground, many hooves, and the neighs and whinnies of horses overlapping in a cacophony of angry noise which served to make his headache that much worse.

What happened?

"ICHIGO!"

That blearing scream startled the teen so much that his eyes snapped open and he shot up in a panic. His body screamed against his actions, but once his eyes fell onto the forms of his twin sisters, sitting next to him on the ground, any discomfort or pain he felt became a secondary nuisance at most.

The faces of both twins looked frightened, and upon looking around he could all to easily see why. They were surrounded by a horde of horsemen, all of them screaming, hollering, laughing, circling them on all sides while set on their mounts.

Ichigo ignored whatever pain his body was in and rose to his feet. He looked at the horsemen, and he would not even attempt to put a number to them, he couldn't. The riders on their mounts looked like a single solid mass as they kept them in a tight circle.

The sound of the horses hooves was akin to thunder, sending tremors through the ground, and the neighs and whinnies of so many beasts made them sound like a singular, massive beast, and the laughter and hollers of dozens, maybe hundreds of men drowned out whatever other noise there was left to be heard.

"What the hell is going on?" He muttered under his breath, certain that his voice would be lost beneath the raging of the horde. He looked down when he felt someone press themselves against his form, and saw that Yuzu and Karin both were leaning against him. Their arms around his waist, and their heads pressed against his sides.

He placed his hands on their heads, softly scratching and stroking their scalps, while he himself had to stomp down on the urge to send a Getsuga or two into this horde for scaring the twins.

And then the circling horde slowed down and came to an unruly halt. The horses were turned and led inward to face the trio and the men riding them quieted down slightly.

Barbarians.

That word was on the forefront of him mind as he looked at the riders. They were the typical barbarian brought to life, and Ichigo briefly wondered if they had ended up in the middle of some fair.

Regardless, even if this was just play pretend, he wouldn't let this shit fly, not after still fuming from what that Quincy asshole had done. Right, that Quincy asshole. They had been throwing into the precipice world, hadn't they? Fuck. Just fucking great. If he understood the concept of the Dangai, that it was a place between space and time, then they could be fucking anywhere, at fucking any time.

He was just glad that Yuzu and Karin were here with him, that they hadn't gotten separated on their way. He didn't know what he would do if they had!

But that was something he could think about later, because it seemed that the spokes person of this horde came forward, riding out from between the countless horses that surrounded them.

He was a big one alright. Broad too, very muscular and with skin of a deep copper. The man looked at the three of them, his head moving from side to side, it let Ichigo see the long braid of hair that went down to the man's waist and then further down still, along the flank of the horse he was mounted upon.

Like Kenpatchi the man had bells threaded into his hair which chimed with every movement of his head as he looked at the three of them, his dark brown eyes finally meeting Ichigo's own.

"Qora oleth nayat." [Hand over the girls] The man spoke something, and Ichigo for the life of him didn't understand a single word of what was said. "Ma yeri laz atthirar." [And you may live]

The man stared at Ichigo, and he stared right back.

"What?" He asked, speaking his own native Japanese, although he thought that trying English may be something he should consider. Though seeing as whatever language they spoke was utterly foreign to him, it may be a wasted effort to try.

The horselord or whatever else the guy was to these riders gestured at one of the men to his side, another strange fellow that also had braided hair, shorter than the braid of the leader, and markings painted all over his bare torso.

"Fichat Mae." [Fetch them]

The other man nodded at the leader of this bunch of barbarians, and then jumped from his horse. He came walking towards them and then went to grab at the girls. He didn't get far though, before Ichigo's fist crashed against his head.

There was the crunch of bone breaking and the copper skinned man went limp, like a marionette with its strings cut. There was an uproar around the three siblings but the leader of these assholes held up his hand and everyone quieted down again.

Ichigo all the while just stared at the men that surrounded them. He didn't know what was going on or who these people were, and frankly he didn't care either. If any of them attempted to touch the twins, they would die, simple as that.

The leader of the bunch jumped off of his horse as well, all the while shouting out some words that were naught but gibberish to his ears. Then the man came walking towards them, strawy grass crunching beneath his feet as he walked. Once the man came upon the fallen form of his comrade he kicked the downed man's side, harshly, and shook his head. Muttering something or another beneath his breath.

The man looked up again, meeting Ichigo's eyes and then attempted to say something, his lips moving and words leaving his mouth, but the substitute soul reaper understood none of it.

Yet he did understand what the man wanted when he unsheathed the blade from his side, a sickle-like curved sword, looking to be similar to an Egyptian Khopesh to Ichigo's eyes.

"A duel, is it?" He muttered, "fine with me." He looked at his sisters who still clung to his sides and gently patted their heads, "just stay calm you two. I won't let anything happen to you."

He attempted to pull away from the twins but the girls were making it difficult, the horse-lord across from him said something which garnered a laugh from the surrounding horde but the orange haired boy ignored it easily enough and instead focused on his sisters.

"You need to let go of me." He said, softly.

"No, don't leave." Yuzu whimpered out, tightening her hold on him.

"I won't be long, I promise." Ichigo said, and after a bit of soft coaxing he managed to dislodge the arms of the twins and stepped away from them.

Bot Karin and Yuzu immediately hugged one another and shivered from the many leering gazes they received from the surrounding army of riders.

Ichigo noticed that, and God Almighty, that pissed him off something fierce.

The copper skinned man in front of him began to pace back and forth while holding some speech, throwing his hands up and shouting things to which the men still sitting on their horses cheered and shouted and laughed.

Then the man pointed his Khopesh looking blade at him, cocking his head to the side and seemingly asking something.

"I don't understand a word you are saying." Ichigo said, more for proprieties sake than anything else, because he sure as shit didn't expect any of these bastards to speak his language.

Anyhow, the braided man seemed to shout some other words at the men surrounding them, and one of them then threw a sword into the dirt, right in front of Ichigo.

He snorted. How kind of them. He bent down and took the sword from the dirt, well sword was a bit of a stretch. It was a half-moon on a stick, a far cry from the swords he was used too. A sickle, that was what he held in his hand. It was light and seemed sharp enough, there was no doubt in his mind that this thing could kill.

He swung the sickle-sword back and forth, while patting down his pants with his other, and sure enough, he didn't find his Badge. Fucking hell, when shit went pear shaped then it just head to be in full.

No matter. If these morons thought that giving him a weapon was a good idea, then he wouldn't disagree with their judgement.

His would be opponent continued to put on a show for his men, treating this whole thing as a spectacle of sorts, perhaps spouting some bullshit about making an example of him, or perhaps he was belittling him, he didn't know, and didn't care.

If he had it his way, then he would just leave, and damn, perhaps he should have used bringer-light to get him and his sisters out of here, but one couldn't fault him for being just a tad rattled after all the shit that happened.

Well, now he had a plan B at least.

Plan A was to use these fools to work off some steam.

As he was watching the man, the barbarian before him, talk to his horde, his patience was running thin.

"Are you done?" He stepped forward, towards his opponent, and the man smiled, stretching out his arms in a clear gesture of invitation.

Was this guy pulling a Kenpachi on him? Really? He felt tempted to just gut the guy, but held himself back. This guy wasn't Kenpachi, wasn't a Soul Reaper, he wasn't even a fullbringer, he was just a man.

'Instinct!' A familiar, and strangely calming voice rang from within. 'What is your instinct telling you, King!? Is it telling you to spare this idiot, or is it telling you cut him down like the pest he is! I can hear the Princessess crying from all the way in here, ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT!?

No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Karin, Yuzu…" He called out to them. "Close your eyes, and don't open them again until I tell you too, alright?"

He looked over his shoulder to see if they had heard, that they understood what he was about to do, and he only looked forward again once he received a nod from them.

As soon as he did, he bounded forward, crossing the small distance between him and his target in all the time it would take someone to blink, and then the 'duel' was over.

The curved, scythe-like blade bit into the other warriors neck deeply. Through skin and sinew it went smoothly and then it stopped, stuck at the spine. Ichigo let go of the blade and watched as the man stepped back, shuffled his feet against the grass with eyes wide and unseeing. Then he gurgled, blood bubbled out between his lips, just as it ran down the steel of the Khopesh stuck in his neck in thick rivulets.

Odd, Ichigo wondered, he could've sword that he should have taken his head with that swing. He would have taken that head with Zangetsu.

He watched the man stumble around, saw panic reflect in his eyes, and how his flailing arms went to the handle of the blade. Then he fell, twitching, legs kicking about until he went still.

All was quiet. Even the horses stopped their neighs and whinnies, only the quiet sobs of Yuzu could be heard over the breeze of the wind.

Then mutters began all around. Hushed whispers, and quick flowing words were told from one man to the other, and all Ichigo watched it all, looking around and trying to somehow follow conversations spoken in a language alien to him.

And then a cry. Loud, strong, and filled with torment and agony drew the orange haired teens attention to one of the riders.

Copper skin, thick muscles, long braid and mousy beard on a snarling enraged face. The man was mounted, and kicked his horse's sides. The animal cried loudly, neighed, kicked against the soil and then it moved.

Ichigo was faster still.

Before the great brown nag could gain any speed, Ichigo was in front of it, his palm against the animal's snout. The mount was made to stop; against its will, and against all logic. For the animal's hooves dug furrows into the soil, kicking with all its might, yet Ichigo was unmoved by it all. Holding back the steed as one would a mere child, with a single stretched hand and a bored look upon his face.

Then the boy stepped aside, released the horse and watched how the creature was let loose and raced right into the ring made of other horses. There were shouts and cries and hollers, whickers and whinnies as several men and horses jumbled together into a ball of fur and skin, of men and animal.

For several long moments, men fought against their mounts until they got their horses back under control, as for the fool that had attacked him, he should be somewhere in there, Ichigo thought. Perhaps he was smarter for it, though he doubted that.

"What is happening?" He heard Karin ask.

"Nothing." He said, "just keep your eyes closed."

And as it turned out, the man that had tried to run him down, did not learn from his follies. Not when he came scrambling out, on foot, bloodied and bruised, with his Khopesh in hand. The fool cried again, a battle-cry, and raced towards Ichigo.

Where was the form of this fool? Charging with the blade raised high? Ichigo shook his head, stomped against the ground, digging up the soil his foot pushed off of, and again, he was quicker than the other man.

Before the copper skinned idiot could react, Ichigo's palm was thrust against his chin, and the crunch of bone snapping rang out once more. The jaw beneath his palm felt like the shell on any egg and when the other man went flying back and Ichigo got a glimpse at what he had done, he could see that there was something utterly wrong with the riders face.

Again he watched how his latest victim tumbled back ass over tea-kettle, rolling over himself and stilled.

He didn't stand again.

"Anyone else!?" Ichigo shouted, then dug deep within to pull some of his power, some Spiritual Energy to the fore. The effect of which was immediate. There was a pressure in the air, he knew that it was there, even though he himself could not feel it.

He could see it though. Not just by the suddenly paling faces of the men that surrounded his sisters and him still. But by the distortions in the air, visible to the naked eye, like heatwaves that could be seen on the horizon, or thin wisps of silvery steam, wafting through the air.

And while Ichigo could not feel the effect of his reiatsu against his body, he could feel the pain in his chest. A reminder that he was indeed a human at this moment, but he ignored the feeling easily enough.

He scowled and looked around. His eyes went from rider to rider, from face to face, searching if there was still any fight left in their eyes. When he found none, only then did he pull his energy back inward.

He nodded, then turned on his heels and went to his sisters. He wrapped his arms around the girls and smiled when they both released each other only to wrap themselves around him.

"Hey, its alright. It's over now." He kissed the top of their heads, first Yuzu then Karin, and placed his palms against the skin of their necks. "Everything is alright."

"No its not!" Karin shouted, her voice muffled against his abdomen. "What happened? Where are we!? Who are these creepy fucks!?"

"Karin!" Yuzu cried out as well, "language!"

A snort escaped Ichigo's lips before he could even hope to stop it. Here they were, stuck God knows where, surrounded by budget Mongolians, and Yuzu still worried over Karin cussing.

He placed another kiss against the crown of the lighter haired twins head. "Never change, Yuzu, never change." He then addressed his other sister as well, "and I don't know Karin. We fell through the Dangai, into the void. Truly, we should be happy to be alive. From what I was told, it shouldn't be possible to survive."

"But...but what about home?" Karin pushed back lightly and looked up at Ichigo through watery eyes.

The oldest of the siblings swallowed drily and shook his head, "I don't know, I truly don't. But don't worry about that. We have people back home who care for us, who will notice that we are gone. They'll find a way to get us back home, trust in that, alright?" He lightly nudged her chin with his knuckles, "and we'll stay strong until then, right?"

There was still worry in her eyes, so much worry, but Karin nodded all the same, like the brave girl she was.

Karin then attempted to look around and Ichigo took a hold of her chin before shaking his head. "Don't, just keep looking at me." Perhaps that was wrong, but he didn't want the girls to look at the bodies of the men he's dropped.

He cursed himself. He should have just grabbed the girls and then flashed away from here. There was no reason for him to fight, there was no reason to face this horde head on, it was only his own stubborn anger that caused him to remain steadfast.

'Do not berate yourself, Ichigo.' The calm and collected voice of Old Man Zangetsu sounded from within. 'The storms have receded, and your sisters remain save. Standing your ground served you well.'

Ichigo closed his eyes, 'Thank you, old man.'

He opened his eyes again and looked out over the heads of the twins. The grand horde was still there, just standing and watching. Some shuffled in their saddles, looking uncomfortable, others looked downright frightened.

Looking over his shoulder at the body of the leader he killed, he saw that there were a few men there. Standing around the fallen, one was kneeling by his side, perhaps checking if he sill lived. Unlikely though it was.

The man kneeling at the dead leaders side, rose back up to his feet and then looked right at him. Their eyes met and the man said something to one of the others crowding around the cooling corpse. One of them then shuffled off, pushing through men and then through horses, vanishing behind the lines of animals.

Why were they still here? Ichigo wondered.

Couldn't they just leave already? Yet, at the same time Ichigo wondered if he could possibly try to communicate with them, now that they all seemed to be afraid of him. And he snorted at that thought. Cowards. He did what? Kill one man, possibly three, he didn't know, and then unleashed some of his reiatsu, and they just caved?

'Disgraceful.' The old man echoed his own thoughts, and he was sure that his Hollow was in agreement as well.

"What's going on, Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked, her head still buried against his stomach and her body still shivering and shaking.

"I don't know." He muttered those cursed words once again.

"Maybe you should try to talk to them?" Karin suggested quietly, "there are so many of them. There must be at least one of them that can understand us, right?"

"Yea, I thought the same already." Ichigo said before pushing away from the twins, "can you manage without me for a minute? I'll just be over there?" He thumped behind him.

Karin looked around his frame and saw the dead man lying there in a puddle of his own blood. "...Ichi-nii? Is that a dead man over there?"

Ichigo sighed and pulled Karin's head back at the chin, "yes, it is."

"Did you?"

He nodded, "I did."

"Why?"

He had no good answer for that.

Was it because he was so angry at everything? At himself for being an idiot? At the Quincy for sending them here? At these men for leering at the twins with lust in their eyes? Or was it because he was just used to it?

He almost wanted to say that he did it for them, for his sisters, for their safety, but he knew better than to burden either of them with that thought. No, they weren't at fault for anything, it was all him and no one else.

And he wouldn't make excuses for his actions either.

Before he could explain that though, he heard a ruckus behind him. Gazing over his shoulder, he noted that the runner from earlier was back, pushing before him a girl. Young, dark skinned and dirty, beautiful all the same.

He guessed that she was about the age of the twins, perhaps a year or two older, and dressed in clothes far too revealing for what her age would suggest. A dress, lofty and short, fastened to her body by the shoulders with her arms and legs left bare and cut out around the neck deep enough to reveal most everything of her dusky breasts.

The man behind her gave her shove and grunted some words at her, sounding more monkey than man to his ears, and the girl nodded before walking towards him. Ichigo let go of his sisters but didn't protest when they kept grabbing at his clothes.

He turned towards the dark skinned girl. She looked scared as she came walking closer, glancing at the men lying in the grass, brownish eyes flitting between the bodies on the ground, briefly locking onto the bloodied corpse of the Horse-Lord.

"Greetings." She said, and Ichigo was pleased to hear words that he could actually understand. "Do you speak the common tongue?"

Well, not the common tongue, but Ichigo could understand and speak English well enough.

"I do."

The girl nodded, her dark and curly hair bobbing a top her head. "My name is Sarea, may I know the name of the one who has slain the Great Khal?" Ichigo looked at the girl strangely, which seemed to make her insecure. "So that I may proclaim, to the riders, the name of their new Khal."

"What?"

The girl fidgeted and glanced at the body of this Khal once more. "Khal Drogo has challenged you to honourable combat. He lays slain, you are alive. All that has once been his, is now yours. That is the way of the Dothraki."

"What!?"

Ichigo could just stare dumbly at the girl standing before him while the twins held fast the back of his shirt, and his hollow was laughing his ass of inside…

~XxX~

A/N: Well that happened. What am I saying, ARISE Khal Ichigo!

But yea, Ichigo and the twins popped out in the middle of the Dothraki Sea, lucky them, and then things just went pear shaped. Happens to the best of us. Unlucky for Drogo though, he really was a stupid git; both in the books and in the show.

And I am aware that Drogo challenging Ichigo was utterly retarded, but it is something that he would do. Dothraki culture is all about that murder, you see. If you can murder real good, then you are the Khal, no questions asked, no fucks given. Everything I've read points to that being true. Single combat and facing someone in a 1v1 is also very cherished in their culture. So I think that any Khal that met Ichigo would end up challenging him to a duel, cause Ichigo is strong, and the Khals need to prove themselves or they'd be seen as weak by their men.

Its their culture, dumb though it may be.

And as for Ichigo killing Drogo, that too is I think very much within Ichigo's established character. Kenpachi made sure that Ichigo would never let an opportunity for a free attack slide, and Ichigo himself time and time again went directly for a kill, even if it didn't always work. Whenever he could really. Ichigo is one of the few Shounen Protagonists where I'm 100% sure that he would ice someone if a reason was there.

But more on that next chapter. I hope that you enjoyed the story so far, leave me review if you did, and I'll see you all next time!