Chapter 2: Instinct
"Ichigo! What a surprise," Urahara greeted, beckoning Ichigo in, though he didn't look surprised at all.
"Cut the crap, Urahara," Ichigo said shortly, stepping inside. "I think you have a pretty good idea why I'm here."
Urahara never lost his smile but tipped his head, looking a bit more mysterious in the process. "You mean your Inner Hollow problem."
This confirmed Ichigo's suspicions. "You knew," he said shortly, no longer having any doubts. "You knew from the moment I emerged from that pit with my Shinigami powers and that mask."
"Indeed I did. In fact, I counted on it," Urahara confirmed. "The Hollow would protect you while you gained strength, and when the time came, I have every confidence you will be able to master using its power, becoming strong enough to defeat Aizen in my worst-case scenario."
"Your worst-case scenario?" Ichigo repeated.
"Yes. The one where Soul Society fails utterly and Aizen manages to take over Soul Society entirely. You are the ace in the hole, so to speak," Urahara confessed. "The Vizard, as I said, are their own group, and as much as I would like, I cannot count on them. Your Inner Hollow problems were meant to lure them out of hiding to train you and add to their ranks, thereby training you and making you even stronger. I know you wouldn't let your friends in Soul Society die. Not all those innocents who would be doubtlessly brought into the war."
Ichigo clenched his fists. Damn it. "You're right about that. I wouldn't let innocents be brought into this war, and I'd do anything to save my friends. But I don't need the Vizard. My Inner Hollow and I are going to be fighting for control of my body tonight, so we have need of your underground training room."
"Indeed?" Urahara seemed slightly taken aback by that revelation. "Are you sure that's wise? Don't you want to wait until you can be trained by those who have mastered their Hollows?"
"What makes you think that the Vizard have any other way to control their Hollows?" Ichigo bit out. "Hollows are creatures of instinct and are constantly battling to get stronger, to prove their supremacy! Therefore the only way to make a Hollow respect you is to beat it down, again and again until it gets the message!"
Well said! Maybe this will be a good fight after all! Hollow Ichigo cackled.
Urahara slumped. "That is what my own research into Hollowification and my few encounters with the Vizard have led me to believe as well. I had hoped… never mind. You can use the training basement."
"Thank you." Ichigo began striding over to the trapdoor. He vaguely heard Urahara request Tessai come with them. With that, he opened the trapdoor and quickly climbed down the ladder, followed by Tessai and Urahara.
Having fetched his Shinigami badge earlier, Ichigo slammed it against his own chest, shooting himself out of his body. "Tessai-sensei… take care of my body, will you?"
Tessai merely nodded, picking up Ichigo's body and moving it well away. "What are you doing, Ichigo?"
"Fighting my Hollow for control of my body," Ichigo explained quickly. "If I win, great. If I don't, let my Hollow go. We'll fight again in two week's time, and he's promised to keep to Hueco Mundo in the meantime."
"Ichigo, what will happen to you out here while you're fighting your Inner Hollow?" Urahara asked nervously.
"I'm not sure. If I go berserk, hit me with a few high-level Bakudo," Ichigo suggested with a shrug. "Just try not to kill me."
"Understood," Urahara agreed.
Ichigo nodded. He took a deep breath. Ready. He closed his eyes, reached inside, and pulled himself into his mindscape.
Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself back in his Inner World, on one of the numerous sideways skyscrapers. Across from him, in the same casual stance, was Hollow Ichigo.
"Took you long enough, Ichigo," the Hollow said, but he didn't look annoyed. If anything, he looked excited.
Ichigo nodded seriously. He squashed down his fear of the Hollow. He'd had enough of being afraid. Instead, he did what he'd done with Kenpachi, Byakuya, and the various Bounto. He focused on the immediate goal, and his reasons for fighting. I fight for my friends, to protect them. I need to beat this twisted version of me. If I don't beat it, he'll have control, and I won't be here to protect them. Filled with determination, Ichigo drew his Zanpakto.
If possible, the Hollow's grin grew even wider, and its yellow eyes were practically afire in bloodlust. "Let's have some fun!"
A second later, they met, their twin Zangetsu – Ichigo's black one, and Hollow Ichigo's white one – clashing. It became a dance of death, slashing and blocking, dodging and countering.
Hollow Ichigo began to laugh maniacally, apparently having the time of his life. He glimpsed Ichigo's determined face and laughed harder for a second. "Why so serious, Ichigo? Get that chip off your shoulder and enjoy yourself!"
Almost against his will, Ichigo was starting to do just that. Sometime after the Zanpakto had begun clashing, Ichigo had started relying more on his instincts than trying to see where his Hollow self was striking next. Against someone who had, for all intents and purposes, the same amount of strength and power as oneself, there was no time to think and reason, only act and react. Only instinct would decide the winner. This fact, Ichigo knew from years growing up, and it was only reinforced by his fights with those stronger than himself. Slowly, Ichigo embraced that instinct.
It was working, and Ichigo could sense that he and his Hollow were on a more equal level. But there was another effect… Feeling adrenaline running through his veins, knowing deep in the fiber of his being that he was facing his hardest challenge yet, relying more and more on his instinct, Ichigo was beginning to feel the fire within, that primal lust for battle, to grow stronger and fight for its own sake. He'd mostly quenched that fire in the rain a long time ago, when his mother died, keeping only the embers so he could protect his friends… but it seemed the embers had gained fuel, and the fire was growing once more.
Ichigo smirked. "Maybe I am enjoying myself! I just don't show it as much as you, adrenaline junkie!" He slashed at his Hollow, and as expected, met the white Zangetsu in return. At that moment, Ichigo released the energy he'd built up. "Getsuga Tenshou!"
A large blue wave of energy emerged from Ichigo's Zanpakuto, slamming into Hollow Ichigo's version of Zangetsu and throwing him back into another skyscraper, creating a small crater in the process.
"Not bad," Hollow Ichigo admitted with a large smile. "What do you say we kick things up a notch?" He held Zangetsu out in front of him with his right hand, his left gripping his right bicep. Zangetsu's cloth flowed around his arm.
Ichigo felt his excitement build as he recognized the stance and assumed the same one. "Why not? BAN-!"
"-KAI!" they bellowed together, and twin explosions of energy surrounded them both.
Five minutes ago…
With Ichigo's living body safely out of the way, Ichigo was still standing motionless, his eyes dimmed as he entered his Inner World.
"What do you think, Urahara-dono?" Tessai questioned.
Urahara Kisuke could feel a rapidly growing sense of foreboding. "I don't like this… something's about to happen…"
A pulse of sheer reiatsu boomed from Ichigo's body a mere second later, coinciding with when Hollow Ichigo and Ichigo crossed blades. The pulse blew back everything not directly tied to the ground, excluding Urahara and Tessai. They watched in horror as in seconds, the left side of Ichigo's face was covered by a mask, white with three red tribal-looking markings originating from the eyehole, and his almost-permanent scowl was replaced by a monstrous grin. The whites of his eyes were quickly infected and overtaken by black, and the blues of the iris became the amber of a Hollow's.
"Tessai!"
"Yes sir, Urahara-dono! Get him in position and I'll bind him!"
Urahara's cane transformed into his Zanpakto. "Awaken, Benihime!" He had a feeling he'd need the extra boost of his Shikai soon enough.
He released his Zanapkto not a moment too soon, as the partially Hollowified Ichigo rushed him, aiming for a stab with Zangetsu. Fast! Urahara realized before Flash Stepping away. The horrible form of Ichigo merely changed directions and appeared in front of Urahara almost quick enough to cut him, but Urahara Flash Stepped away again.
The berserker Ichigo came at Urahara from the side this time, but Urahara was prepared. "Sing," Urahara murmured quietly, "Benihime."
A crimson shield appeared in front of him, protecting Urahara on all sides as it formed an oval shape around him. Ichigo struck it and stayed in one spot, trying to break that shield. "Now!" Urahara commanded.
"Yes sir! Bakudo 99: Kin (Seal)!" Tessai bellowed.
Out of nowhere, two spiritual fabrics with various runes appeared, snagging Ichigo's arms and pulling them behind his back before wrapping around his body, dragging him to the ground before rolling out more in an X fashion. Large metallic slabs appeared, apparently made of Tessai's reiatsu, and a dozen each landed on each unfurled part of the spiritual fabric, effectively tying the Hollowified Ichigo to the ground. It happened so fast, the monster had no chance.
Urahara sighed, releasing the shield, but keeping Benihime in her Shikai state as he walked over to Tessai. "Good thing you're so good at Bakudo," he said gratefully.
"Yes it is, Urahara-dono…" Tessai agreed, breathing out before viewing the berserker form of his would-be student. "…but I don't think we're done yet,"
"… I agree."
Warily, they watched the newly quiet Ichigo. They had a few minutes before another reiatsu pulse, several times stronger than the last, erupted from Ichigo, whose face was no longer in that fearsome grin, but almost seemed confused.
"Tessai, before he breaks free, please add another binding spell to him," Urahara suggested.
"Yes sir, Urahara-dono. Bakudo 75: Gochutekkan (Quintet of Iron Pillars)!"
As if the spiritually binding fabrics were not enough, five enormous towers of iron emerged from the sky, chained together at the top. One each landed on Ichigo's legs and arms, and the last between Ichigo's shoulder blades.
However, even the two Bakudo together threatened to not be enough – the pillars started shaking, their chains rattling. The spirit fabric was slowly starting to tear. "Oh dear," Urahara murmured.
Famous last words. The fabric tore, and the pillars fell behind Ichigo as he slowly stood up. His appearance was quickly changing again. In the exposed part of Ichigo's chest, a gush of white foam spurted as his face tilted upwards. The foam melted away and revealed a hole going all the way through clear through Ichigo's back – a Hollow hole. Zangetsu, who had been in Shikai, had changed into Bankai state, changing from the elegant oversized cleaver to the Japanese long sword.
Urahara suddenly remembered just what Ichigo's Bankai allowed him to do. Compression of reiatsu, giving Ichigo incredible speed and strength, not to mention how long he can keep it active… "He's gone Bankai. We're screwed aren't we?" Urahara continued. More famous last words.
"Perhaps, Urahara-dono. But we must have faith that Ichigo will finish soon," Tessai murmured, preparing himself. "Perhaps the greater form of Bakudo 99: Bankin (Great Seal) will restrain him long enough for Ichigo to win."
"This won't be as easy as last time," Urahara stated with a sigh. "I really wish Ichigo had waited for the Vizard, they are more numerous and undoubtedly know how to handle this better than we do." Nevertheless, he readied Benihime. "Come, Ichigo. Let me show you how far you have yet to go."
Within Ichigo's Inner World
The explosions died down to show Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo, both of them in their Bankai outfits. From the waist to his ankles, Ichigo was covered by the same garment he wore outside of Bankai. It was held up around his waist by a simple rope tied into a knot. Ichigo's torso and arms were garbed in a black, ankle-length, long-sleeved thin coat that closed at his chest an inch or two above his waistline. The coat's ends were jagged as it fluttered in the breeze. He wielded Tensa Zangetsu, his black Zanpakto in Bankai form.
Hollow Ichigo wore the same outfit, only completely white. Even his version of Tensa Zangetsu was white. Only the underside of his coat, as well as belt, was black. "You ready, Ichigo?"
Ichigo scoffed. "Bring it on, Mr. I-Love-Wearing-Blinding-White!"
Hollow Ichigo grinned as they clashed, their increased speed and strength evident even as both Ichigos never lost eye contact. "So says the man who has a fetish for black!" Hollow Ichigo returned the taunt as they held in a deadlock, each trying to overpower the other. "Wasn't black supposed to be the evil color?"
"It's also the color of mourning," Ichigo replied, breaking the deadlock himself to spin around the blade and managing to land a lucky slash into Hollow Ichigo's side. It was a shallow wound though, and he knew their fight was still on as Hollow Ichigo Flash-Stepped behind him and attempted a slash of his own. Ichigo dodged to the side, sacrificing a few strips of cloth from his coat to evade the blow. "And I'm certainly mourning your color-blindness! Seriously, I think I'm going snow-blind!"
Hollow Ichigo laughed insanely even as he lunged at Ichigo, who blocked, bringing them into yet another deadlock. "Point to you, Ichigo! I can safely say no matter who wins, I'll be satisfied knowing you can enjoy a fight like this! I never thought you had it in you to banter with such consequences if you lose!"
"Bah!" Ichigo smirked. "Do you know how hard it is to banter while you're trying to fight someone stronger than yourself? Never works, cuz banter loses power when you're obviously losing. But when it's an even match like this…" Ichigo, through a twist of his wrist, managed to deeply scratch the back of Hollow Ichigo's hand, loosening the Hollow's grip on Tensa Zangetsu long enough for Ichigo to disarm him, sending the white Zanpakto flying up. "… even I can have fun!" Predictably, Hollow Ichigo flew towards it to retrieve before Ichigo could do anything, only to hear those dreaded words. "GETSUGA TENSHOU!"
An enormous plume of black energy, with red flickering here and there, had been unleashed through Ichigo's sword and slammed into Hollow Ichigo, sending him flying through two and a half skyscrapers.
Hollow Ichigo grinned widely, as he got up, staring at the hovering form of Ichigo as he ignored the new cuts in his coat and skin, as well as the bleeding from his lip. "Pretty good, Ichigo, but you forget! I was the first one to use Getsuga Tenshou in Bankai form – you have no idea of its true potential! You're nothing but a copycat!"
"Ha! That coming from you! You couldn't even bother to look differently from me in any way but color!" Ichigo countered. "But alright, let's test our Getsugas against each other!"
In reply, Hollow Ichigo Flash Stepped up to Ichigo and slammed blades with them. In unison, they cried, "GETSUGA TENSHOU!"
In the real world…
Urahara was sweating lightly – Ichigo was getting more and more Hollowified as time went on, and he kept getting faster and stronger!
Ichigo now appeared as some lizard-human crossbreed. He had a very long, white tail who last foot and a half was colored a dark crimson. His shoulders had four spikes each, resembling almost a frill. His skin had turned completely white, with an ornate wavy pattern going down each leg and arm, the same color as his tail end. The top part of Ichigo's Shinigami outfit was completely shredded, as was the part covering his right leg. Only enough to cover his modesty and his left leg now remained, which allowed everyone to see how large Ichigo's muscles had become under the Hollow's influence. The mask Ichigo wore had grown to cover the majority of his face, only his right eye being left. It had gained another two red stripes, this time under the left eyehole. One of the last vestiges of Ichigo left was his spiky orange hair, which still poked out around the mask from where it hadn't melded with the back of his head yet. To top it all off, clenched tightly in this Hollowified Ichigo's right hand was Tensa Zangetsu, which was giving off a sinister-feeling black reiatsu.
"Sing, Benihime!" Urahara was just in time, as the monster struck Benihime's Blood Mist Shield technique, protecting Urahara, who Flash-Stepped away immediately. "Sing, Benihime!" Urahara swung his Shikai this time horizontally at Ichigo this time, and instead creating a shield, Benihime unleashed a wave of crimson energy, similar to Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou. It was shaped like a crescent in the direction Urahara had swung, but also had spikes of energy appearing at equidistant points from the center, the center having the largest spike. The ends of the crescent curved around Ichigo, making the attack look, all in all, like a blood-stained tiara.
Ichigo was hit dead on, and was sent flying, landing on his back and skidding. But even so, Urahara noticed that where Ichigo had been pierced, more foam-like substance appeared, quickly staunching and repairing the wound. High-speed regeneration! he realized. "Tessai! Before he gets up!" Urahara Flash-Stepped to Ichigo, only to Flash-Step immediately away when Ichigo launched some sort of white flesh attack at him. Nevertheless, Urahara had managed to buy enough time.
"Bakudo 99: Bankin!" Tessai roared. "First song!"
A testament to Tessai's incredible mastery of Bakudo, an extremely wide and thick spiritual fabric emerged from behind him and rushed to Ichigo, who tried to escape. However, the fabric caught Ichigo's arm, and having caught him, wrapped him from head to toe in the fabric, weakening Ichigo greatly and slamming him to the ground, unrolling much like Bakudo 99: Kin.
"Second song!"
Again, much like Bakudo 99: Kin, slabs slammed down onto the fabric, reinforcing them. However, these slabs were thicker, taller, and more numerous – there were twenty for each stretch of fabric. Ichigo was struggling, and slowly making progress to get out. Both Urahara and Tessai could hear the fabric starting to rip.
To add power, Tessai decided to include the incantation to the final part. "Final song: Bankin Taiho (Great Seal of 10,000 Forbiddings)!"
An enormous metallic cube materialized above Ichigo and slammed down upon him, and despite Ichigo struggling, there was no more sounds of ripping. Urahara and Tessai sighed in unison, glad they had finally immobilized the beastly Ichigo.
"The Vizard must be very powerful indeed," Tessai commented.
Urahara nodded with a small sound of agreement. "Such power, combined with practice and skill… I can almost see why Soul Society is afraid of them and tried to have them executed."
"You could say the same about most Bankai," Tessai countered.
"I did say almost." Urahara sighed, resealing Benihime into her cane form. "Yes, this wasn't so bad. Even though Ichigo had gone Bankai, this mindless form of him had no idea how to use it beyond stab and slash. I didn't have to go Bankai myself, which is nice." He tipped his head thoughtfully. "I wonder if the Inner Hollow can progress like normal Hollows… can a Vizard eat Hollows to increase its power? The scientist in me wants to know, but I'm afraid to find out… How will mastery over one's Hollow increase a Vizard's skill?"
Urahara and Tessai fell silent then, watching the struggling Ichigo, fearful that he had lost to the Hollow within.
Ichigo's Inner World
Both Ichigos' swords were engulfed in the dark flame of Getsuga Tenshou, struggling to overpower each other as the Ichigos poured their power into their attacks. They were as two unstoppable forces clashing against each other, and it created a black maelstrom of reiatsu around them, with Ichigo and his Hollow still in that deadlock, Tensa Zangetsu against Tensa Zangetsu.
Then Ichigo had an idea, a strange one, but his instinct told him it'd work. Keeping one hand his own Tensa Zangetsu, Ichigo grabbed the end of his Hollow's and forced his will down it. "This…" Black flame flowed down the white Zanpakuto like electricity down a wire, and Hollow Ichigo let go, jumping backwards before the flame could reach his hand, a look of uncertainty on his face. "… is MY sword!" Ichigo finished, now wielding two pitch black Tensa Zangetsus. "And I…"
Before Hollow Ichigo could move, he was stabbed through chest by both of the Zanpakto Ichigo wielded. "… am King!"
Despite having lost, Hollow Ichigo grinned. "Well done, Ichigo. As promised, I shall start to teach you how to use the Hollow powers my presence gives you." He started to fade away. "Just remember… we fight again, in two weeks time!" Hollow Ichigo was almost completely faded. "And thanks for the great fight!" And then he was gone, leaving only Ichigo.
Ichigo looked at the second Tensa Zangetsu he held with minor confusion. It hadn't disappeared when the Hollow had. Now what? Hmm, since I defeated the Hollow, old man Zangetsu should be back in control. "Oi, Zangetsu! You here?"
"Indeed I am, Ichigo."
Ichigo spun around and was very relieved to see the familiar face of his Zanpakto spirit. Zangetsu was once again crouching on a flagpole sticking up from a nearby skyscraper. Ichigo approached him. "Zangetsu, why didn't this disappear when the Hollow did?" Ichigo held out the second Tensa Zangetsu, the one he'd stolen from his Hollow.
Zangetsu looked over with slight interest, which was possibly the most emotion he'd shown in the entire time Ichigo had known him. "Because you claimed it as your sword. It seems you have a new ability, Ichigo."
"What, to steal people's Zanpakuto?" Ichigo was horrified at the thought. What if he accidentally stole some of his allies' Zanpakto on accident?
"No." Zangetsu looked almost amused at the thought. "Though company would be nice."
Ichigo stared. "D-d-did, did you just crack a joke?" The world is ending!
Zangetsu merely smirked, much the same way Ichigo had a tendency to. "No, Ichigo, your power is now to be able to wield both of them at once. However…" He looked seriously at Ichigo. "Be careful. It has been some time since you have hurt yourself using it, but Bankai is extremely stressful on the body. The second Bankai will grant you even higher levels of speed and power, but it comes with a price – your body will rip itself apart over time."
Ichigo nodded. "Thank you, Zangetsu. But how do I summon the second sword?"
"That is something you must discover for yourself."
And with that, Ichigo woke up, finding himself in total darkness, with something incredibly heavy on his back. He couldn't even move, and he could feel his arms bound to his body. "Well, fuck. Good thing I'm not terribly claustrophobic. OI! Urahara! Tessai-sensei! Let me out!"
"KAI (Release)!" Tessai's voice boomed, and suddenly Ichigo found himself on the ground, Tensa Zangetsu beside him – there was only one, thankfully; Ichigo had no desire to explain having two of them – with the bright light of Urahara's underground training area shining down at him.
Ichigo got up and brushed himself off. Lying beside him was a mask. He picked it up – it was white, with three long, wide red tribal marks reaching upwards from the left eyehole, and two more reaching to the side from underneath the same eyehole. It felt very brittle, but Ichigo could feel the power within. Without a second thought, Ichigo crushed the mask, letting it dissolve into reiatsu. He somehow knew how to summon it back if he needed.
Ichigo walked over to Urahara and Tessai. He glanced around at the nearby area – there was a lot of destruction. "I take it my body went berserk while I was busy?"
"You could say that," Urahara agreed easily.
Ichigo turned to Tessai. "Sensei, which Bakudo was I trapped in? I couldn't move or gather my reiatsu at all, so it must have been extremely high level."
Tessai nodded. "You were trapped in Bakudo 99: Bankin."
Ichigo blinked. "Such a high level!"
"It was necessary. Your berserk form broke out of a combination of Bakudo 99: Kin and Bakudo 75: Gochutekkan."
Ichigo cocked his head to the side. "Wait, I thought you said Bakudo 99 was Bankin, not Kin."
"Kin is the first part of Bankin," Tessai explained shortly.
"Ah, thank you sensei. Wait, did you say my berserk form broke out of two extremely high-level Bakudo at once?"
"Yes, it did."
"How?"
Tessai adjusted his black-tinted glasses. "A combination of immense spiritual pressure to weaken the Bakudo, and the brute strength of a powerful Hollow to finish the job."
"Color me impressed," Ichigo murmured.
"Don't be," Tessai advised. "Your berserk self was strong, but lacked most of your fighting skills. It was extremely easy to trap. Do not let yourself into that form in a fight – no matter how strong you are, you need intelligence to use it properly."
Ichigo nodded. "Yes, sensei."
"Ichigo, I find myself curious. I have never witnessed a Vizard actually use his or her Hollow powers," Urahara confessed. "Would you please give us a demonstration?"
Ichigo nodded – he'd been looking forward to seeing how much stronger he'd gotten as well. Keeping up the Bankai state, Ichigo spread his legs to a little beyond shoulder width, hunching over slightly. As Tensa Zangetsu was in his right hand, he brought his left hand up over his face, tensing up his fingers so it looked like he was about to tear the air in front of his face.
Black energy with hints of red trailed from his fingers as he dragged his hand through the air, and his mask materialized on his face as his hand moved over it. When he finished, he had to restrain the urge to gasp – he felt so incredibly strong. "I feel… incredible…" Ichigo announced, noticing his voice in this state was dually layered, with his Inner Hollow's voice speaking at the same time as his own. It sounded fairly creepy, even to Ichigo's own ears.
"How about a demonstration of your Getsuga Tenshou then?" Urahara requested eagerly.
Ichigo nodded, turned away and raised his Zanpakuto. "Getsuga Tenshou!" he yelled, swinging Tensa Zangetsu with all his might.
An absolutely enormous crescent of black reiatsu erupted from the sword's wake, speeding into and through several of the boulders, obliterating them without slowing down. It finally crashed to a stop a long distance away.
Urahara whistled. "Maa, Ichigo, I think I'll have to ask you not to do that here again unless you're willing to help reconstruct this place."
All of a sudden, Ichigo's mask shattered, and he fell to his knees, panting. "Wha?" he huffed. "What the hell?"
"My, it seems you have a time limit on how long you can use it," Urahara surmised. "You held the transformation for about nine seconds. You'll need to work on that if you want to maintain the advantage."
Ichigo nodded, agreeing. After several more breaths, he felt fairly recovered. "I should've known that such power had a price," he muttered.
"All power has a price," Tessai boomed. "Whether it is time spent training, or something else, something must always be sacrificed to gain power."
Ichigo nodded, knowing that particular lesson quite well. He had sacrificed his old life to gain Shinigami powers. He had sacrificed his time, blood and sweat to gain strength. He had even sacrificed the prospect to ever not have to fight, in exchange for his Hollow's cooperation. The ability to use a second Tensa Zangetsu would have a price as well – the price of his body's well-being.
He thanked Urahara and Tessai once more before returning to his mortal body and going home. However, despite how exhausted he was, he found himself awake and wondering, Shinigami… Hollow… Vizard… Arrancar… We all seek power, whatever our reasons. Some Shinigami seek power to protect their comrades… Ichigo recalled his own training, to protect and save Rukia. … others to fulfill their personal goals. Ichigo thought of Aizen with a scowl. Hollows eat other Hollows for strength, so they might avoid being eaten themselves. Ichigo looked out the window and felt a sense of foreboding. What do the Vizard and Arrancar grow stronger for? And what price do they pay for power?
Ichigo froze – he was being watched, he could feel it. He looked out the window, and there, on a rooftop, was a blond, skinny man whose bone-straight hair reached his shoulders. He was wearing the school uniform of the school Ichigo went to, but what drew Ichigo's attention was the white mask on his face, with a white hood over the back of his head.
The Vizard gestured for Ichigo to come outside, and after a moment, he decided to. Pressing his Shinigami badge to his chest, Ichigo left his body in bed and climbed outside in his Shinigami form, his hand on Zangetsu, just in case.
"What business does a Vizard have with me?" Ichigo asked neutrally – he'd felt firsthand the sort of power a Vizard could have, and he would rather not make an enemy of one, especially as he hadn't mastered the mask yet.
The Vizard started, surprised. He pulled off his mask, and gave Ichigo a bewildered expression. "Eh? How do ya know what we call ourselves?"
"Urahara mentioned you in passing when he was describing how Aizen has mostly likely used the Hougyouku to create Arrancars," Ichigo lied smoothly. "I pressed him on it, looking for allies against Aizen. He explained that you were banished from Soul Society at the same time he was, and that Aizen is the one responsible for your having Hollow powers."
"I see…" He paused for a minute. "I'm Hirako Shinji, Vizard."
"Kurosaki Ichigo, Shinigami Representative. But I think you already knew that," Ichigo said pointedly.
Shinji nodded. "Your reiatsu… it reminds me, and other Vizard, of our own. It has traces of Hollow reiatsu."
"What of it?" Ichigo asked, not bothering to deny it.
"I've been asked to bring you to our compound, to train ya and help ya control your Inner Hollow," Shinji invited.
Ichigo frowned. To reveal the mask or no… I should get more information first. "Let's say I go with you. What would happen then, and how long would I be training with you?"
"That really depends on you, Kurosaki," Shinji stated bluntly. "How quickly you learn will determine how long you stay. As for what would happen, we would help you bury your Inner Hollow far enough down it can't interfere, and then we'd train you in drawing out and keeping out the mask you don to access the Hollow's power."
Ichigo made a show of looking interested but trying to hide it. "Before I can join you, I need to know your priorities. The Shinigami serve the Gotei 13 in the interests of preserving the current status quo, though I'm not sure what Yamamoto-jii wants. Aizen is out there somewhere doing Kami knows what for some obscure purpose. I just want to keep my friends and this town safe. What do the Vizard want?"
Shinji smiled deviously. "Why d'ya ask? Are you concerned?"
Ichigo gave the Vizard a serious look. "You've been secluded, presumably training, for over a hundred years. I think some concern is merited."
"You don't really have a choice, Kurosaki Ichigo," Shinji countered, his smile falling from his face. "Without our training, your Inner Hollow will take over and consume ya. You've felt him before, I'm sure. Touching on your consciousness, getting stronger. I'll bet he's even taken over once or twice before you recovered. It will only get worse. You say ya want to protect your friends and this town. If ya don't come with me, and soon, you'll be their greatest threat. Hollows, as you probably well know, go after loved ones first."
If nothing else, I'll know where they are. Ichigo paused, and then nodded, darkening his normal scowl further, to show his dislike of not being answered. "Fine, but one of these days I'm going to want an answer."
Shinji nodded, acknowledging Ichigo's demand. "That's fair."
"And if something my friends can't handle happens, I reserve the right to leave and help them," Ichigo added.
"I expected nothing less." Shinji turned to leave. "Come, I'll show ya the warehouse we stay at."
Ichigo looked over his shoulder to glance at his body, and saw Kon – the mod soul he'd stuffed into a lion teddy bear – at the window, watching. "Alright," Ichigo agreed, "but I'll need to come back so I can arrange things without my family freaking."
"Fine, fine," Shinji agreed with a wave of his hand. "Now c'mon."
They began jumping from house to house, Ichigo following slightly from the side. "So, Hirako, how many of you Vizard are there?"
"Hmm, counting me there are eight of us," Shinji answered absently. "With you, there'll be nine."
"What're they like?" Ichigo pressed.
"Meh, you'll get to know them soon enough, but I suppose I should warn you about Hiyori… She's a shrimp, but very violent, and prone to kicking people in the face over the smallest of things," Shinji advised. "I'm her victim most of the time, but I do have such fun provoking her," he admitted with a mischievous grin.
Ichigo smirked. "I know the feeling. One of my friends, Rukia, is a shrimp too, and we insult each other all the time. She smacks me with her notebook when I point out her drawing sucks."
Shinji smiled broadly. "Good to see a brother in spirit. Pun totally intended."
Ichigo groaned as they stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. "That's gotta be the worst I've ever heard. Anything else I should know?"
Shinji paused and brought his left hand to his chin, looking up in thought. "Don't steal Love's manga, don't mess with Kensei, and whatever you do, do NOT piss off Hachigen. It's hard to do, but you will certainly regret it if you do."
"Got it," Ichigo acknowledged.
Shinji approached the door and stopped with his hand on it. "Know this, Kurosaki Ichigo," he said lowly, turning back to face the Shinigami Representative. "My friends and I are not Shinigami anymore. We stopped being Shinigami the moment they kicked us out of Soul Society. Do not ask us to protect them."
Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, but reconsidered. I don't want to antagonize them. They might still be neutral. He nodded.
Shinji, satisfied with the response, turned back and opened the door to the warehouse. They entered, and Ichigo took the opportunity to look around. The warehouse was rather Spartan – I'm not surprised, Ichigo mused. Most Shinigami don't seem to need much, and these guys have been focusing on their training.
There were seven others, doing various things. Shinji quickly introduced them. "We have Ushoda Hachigen over there in the corner." Ichigo glanced, and saw a rather large man wearing an odd-colored tuxedo was meditating in said corner. I would surmise he's the Kido specialist… Never seen anyone else meditating… or maybe he's talking to his Zanpakuto?
"Yadomaru Lisa in the chair reading her dirty manga." Her preferred outfit appeared to be a modest sailor-style schoolgirl one, with a skirt and a mostly white shirt over it. The area around her collar was turquoise, clearly highlighted by her dark hair, which was pulled back in a long braid. Dirty manga? Ichigo fought the urge to shake his head in bemusement. If only Dad could see this, he'd have a field day.
"In that chair over there, Rose." A rather effeminate man with long, wavy blond hair and a frilly shirt was lightly strumming a few chords on his guitar. He looked up and nodded at Ichigo and Shinji, both of whom nodded back.
"Muguruma Kensei with the punching bag," Shinji pointed to a tall, athletically muscular man with short cropped off-white hair. Kensei was busy practicing his punches – Ichigo saw where sand was leaking out of it where Kensei's punches connected. Very strong. I bet that the punching bag is reinforced with reiatsu as well… Looks like he takes his training very seriously.
"Aikawa Love's on the couch with his own manga." Ichigo looked, but this manga didn't have the adults only sign on it. The man had his black hair in a spiked afro, and in combination with the glasses and the green jogging suit, he looked pretty good. He had long sideburns, and a small amount of fuzz on his chin. Maybe trying to grow a goatee? He mentally shrugged. He looks rather relaxed…
"Kuna Mashiro's the one in the white bodysuit and green hair. I'm not sure I want to know what she's doing," Shinji deadpanned. Indeed, the girl's hair was so vivid a green that Ichigo was sure she dyed it. Wait, I'm not in any position to talk. My hair's orange for crying out loud. In any case, Mashiro was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. What little Ichigo heard made no sense, and he was strongly reminded of Inoue and her odd food combinations.
Shinji shrugged and turned to Ichigo. "And that's everyone." Ichigo could see the hint of mischievousness in his eyes, and turned around to see an incredibly short blond with an angry tick above the girl's left eye.
Playing along, Ichigo glanced back at Shinji. "Then who's the midget?" Ichigo noted with an internal grin that the tick had grown quite a bit.
"Ah, probably some kid who accidentally wandered in," Shinji replied, not even bothering to acknowledge the girl's anger… until her right foot managed a catch him right in the face, sending him to the floor.
Quick! Ichigo realized – he had barely even seen the girl move. I would need to use Shunpo to keep up with that.
"How dare you!" the girl demanded, kicking Shinji's ribs. "I was right there baka Shinji! You introduced everyone but me!" Her voice rose. "And then you pretended I was some stray kid?!" Another kick.
Shinji got up, holding his nose. "It was a joke, Hiyori! Besides, you're so small I couldn't see you from behind Kurosaki Ichigo here!"
"Baka Shinji! Stop going on about my height – it got old over a hundred years ago! Can't you come up with anything new?"
Shinji actually looked up and scratched his chin with a finger. "Hmmm… I could… nah, you react so well to it I couldn't bear to change it, you ugly girl!"
Hiyori growled and tackled him. "Ugly?! I'll show you ugly! By the time I'm through with you, your face is gonna look like a freaking blueberry, it'll be so swollen and black and blue!"
"There they go again," Love muttered, turning the page of his manga.
Ichigo found he had the perfect opportunity to one-up both the tussling Vizard. Walking over to Love, he made sure to say just loud enough for everyone to hear, "You know, it sounds like there's a lot of repressed sexual tension between them. Maybe that's why they fight – hoping for some good make-up sex?"
Everyone froze. Even Hiyori, who was about to punch Shinji in the face. The next moment, Ichigo had two feet to the face – one each from Shinji and Hiyori. "Baka Strawberry (A play on words – Ichigo has more than one meaning, one essentially means Protector; another meaning is Strawberry)!" they yelled together. "It's not like that!"
Ichigo picked himself up and grinned at them. "So quick to deny, and you reacted so well in unison. It's like you're in tune with each other. Is anyone else here seeing what I am?"
The two flushed red when they heard chuckling from Lisa and Love. "You might be right," Lisa admitted. "Would you like to borrow some of my manga, Shinji? Might give you ideas."
Shinji found himself completely caught off guard and gaped like a goldfish for a second. He glanced around and saw that everyone was watching him, except Hiyori, who wore the same expression he did – total confusion. He finally recovered enough to speak coherently. "No! I'm not into little whiny brats like her!"
That broke the tension nicely, as Hiyori was back in her element. "Says the man who makes faces when he knows he's lost a verbal war!"
Ichigo smirked. They're just giving me more ammo. "Definitely an old married couple," he said loudly. "They know each other way too well, push each other's buttons too easily. If they really hated each other, one of them would have killed the other by now. It's been over a hundred years of living together, for crying out loud. Betcha anything they don't act like that with other people normally."
"Kid's got a point," Rose murmured, looking up from his guitar.
Hiyori looked betrayed. "Rose!"
"What? You only get that pissed off at Shinji, and we all know Shinji does those antics just to get a rise out of you," Love said with a smirk, setting down his manga. This is way better!
"Love!" Shinji exclaimed, scandalized.
"I think you two would be a cute couple!" Mashiro jumped in, walking over and looking at the rapidly-blushing pair up and down. "Yep! I could see it!"
"Mashiro, don't you even dare trying to set them up," Kensei ordered from across the room, focusing on his punching bag.
"Aw, but why not?" Mashiro whined.
"You need to focus on your training first," Kensei reminded her, iterating it with another swift punch to the bag.
"Yes! Training!" Shinji seized on the topic. Anything to stop them from trying to get me together with Hiyori! "Ichigo, let's start your training now."
Ichigo finished chuckling and nodded. "Alright. Now that I'm here, could we go over the process of mastering my Hollow?"
"It's simple," Kensei said before Shinji could say anything. He stopped attacking the punching bag and approached Ichigo. "First we force you to let your Hollow have control, to get a grasp of its power. Then we measure your spiritual energy, make sure you have enough to survive. Finally we make you fight your Hollow in your Inner World, where it resides. You win, you can pull on its mask and use Hollow powers, and it doesn't bother you. You lose, you become a complete Hollow, and we kill you. If you win, we give you endurance training on mask usage."
"That it?" Ichigo inquired.
"In a nutshell, yes," Shinji admitted.
"I've already done most of that," Ichigo revealed. "I won against my Hollow."
"EEEEEEEEEH?!" came the startled cries from everyone save Hachigen, who was either still meditating or he'd fallen asleep.
"Prove it!" Kensei demanded, an angry expression on his face.
Ichigo crouched, summoning his reiatsu and focusing it to his hand, which he tore across the air in front of his face, materializing his mask. "Satisfied?" he asked with a self-satisfied smirk underneath the mask.
He was shocked when a moment later, he was knocked to the ground and there were seven Zanpakuto at his neck and mask.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone