Chapter 1:
A new beginning
(Area Zero):
In a realm that was bleak and devoid of colour, two beings were engaged in a battle of titanic proportions. One was a humanoid figure that had dark grey skin and possessed features that looked slightly demonic. The other, which seemed to lack a definite and solid form, was what appeared to be some sort of shadowy serpent. It was around twenty metres long and five metres wide.
The two had been battling for longer than either could even care to remember, but they did remember their main purpose for the longstanding duel. The ethereal black serpent was a being that desired chaos and destruction indiscriminately, whilst the humanoid being wished to stop the serpent and keep peace.
Both were more-or-less evenly matched, however therein lied the issue. Neither was gaining a decisive advantage. Not for long enough to end the fight anyway.
'I have to put a stop to this!' thought the humanoid being as he skidded back across the flat stone ground, pale blue lightning crackling briefly around him. 'This endless stalemate needs to be broken. For that, I have to do something that's outside-the-box. No, I'll need to completely tear down the box!' He then envisioned a certain spikey, orange-haired teen within his mind.
It was nobody he knew personally, yet an unknown time ago he had gained information on the individual. Someone he felt a vague sense of resonant affinity with, one with firm convictions and unyielding willpower.
'I am sorry for this selfishness,' he thought. 'But it seems I must take you as my successor… Ichigo Kurosaki. May you succeed where I cannot young warrior.'
The being then looked up towards his opponent.
"I shall now put an end to this battle!" he declared, as he went into a stance with his legs slightly bent and his palms facing each other in front of his chest, as though he was holding a ball.
Rainbow-coloured energy began charging between the two palms, spiralling and twisting wildly. A grand-looking magic circle appeared beneath his feet, five metres in diameter.
"Be Bound! With your body Sealed and your might Scattered!" he roared before the circle under him glowed intensely.
Suddenly, countless white chains and countless black chains burst from the ground under the serpent and constricted its movement. Then, four large stone slabs rose up around it, followed by a flash of light and the serpent shrieking in agony.
Once the light had died down, the serpent was fractionally smaller and down to one quarter of its original power. The lost mass and might appeared as a large, shadowy blob, which then separated into two hundred pieces before they all vanished.
There was a poof of white smoke and the serpent was now encased within a crystalline substance with a texture similar to rock. It could still be seen through the brilliantly clear material. Frozen in place and bound by chains.
The other being lowered his arms and silently regarded his petrified opponent for a moment. Then, as a radiant glow shined from his body, he dropped to his knees, panting heavily.
"To break the boundaries of reality shall cause my demise. Ichigo, it won't be much, but I shall restore your powers and transfer my remaining strength to you. Please, finish the task that I couldn't," he said through his heavy breathing.
The being then rose to its feet as another magic circle appeared beneath it. It was then followed by one materialising in front of him and another behind him, with a final one appearing above his head.
"Let's begin..."
(Karakura Town):
It had been roughly two years since Ichigo had lost his soul reaper powers in the battle against Aizen, making him currently 17 years old. Two years of leading a normal life of an average high schooler.
Two years of a dull life.
He felt like he belonged in the world of the supernatural. After all, he had been able to see souls from when he was born, even before he became a substitute soul reaper. To be suddenly cut off from that world, he felt great, indescribable sadness within his very being.
But it had been entirely his choice. He knew what the consequences of the final getsuga tensho would be. That's why Zangetsu had tried to stop him from learning it. He had willingly sacrificed his powers to save everyone and everything he cared about, so he ried not to dwell on it too much.
Besides, his friends were still keeping Karakura town safe from any hollows. While he didn't fully like the prospect of leaving all the work to them, he knew that they were reliable and able to take care of themselves.
It was currently a Saturday morning, so he was free with nothing to do. His part-time job's boss, Mrs. Ikumi had given him the weekend off. Despite all that however, he was bored. He wanted something to do. Needed something to keep himself active and occupied.
He scratched his orange covered scalp as he pondered what to do. After coming up with nothing else, he just settled for taking a stroll.
'Who knows,' he thought. 'I might end up seeing Chad, Orihime or Uryu. Maybe even one of the others.'
As he walked down the stairs from his room, he saw his younger sister, Yuzu, at the bottom.
"Hey Yuzu," he greeted as he walked past her.
She turned to face him. "Hi Ichi-nii," she greeted back. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just going out to take a walk. I've got nothing else to do."
"Okay, make sure to come back before lunch, okay? I'll make something special!"
"Heh, sure," he replied with a rare smile as he put his shoes on.
"Bye! Take care!"
"Don't worry, I will."
He then opened the house door and stepped into the outside. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining down, but not too harshly. He placed his hands into his trouser pockets and walked along at a steady pace. It's not like there was anywhere that he needed to be, or anything.
Suddenly, Ichigo felt an extremely powerful pulling sensation all over his body.
"What the?!" he exclaimed before he began screaming in pain. He then seemed to burst apart and vanish.
(?):
Ichigo was surrounded by darkness when he awoke. He turned his head and looked around, but found nothing. There was nothing to see except swirling black.
"Where… am I?" he asked to nobody in particular. "Hey! Is anyone here?!"
A bright light that shone magnificently appeared before him. It slowly began moving towards him, but for some reason he never felt afraid. Ichigo actually felt a comfortable warmth radiating off the sphere.
He raised his right hand and began reaching out to it. He didn't know why. It just felt like the right thing to do. The moment he made contact, the light enshrouded him and he calmly fell unconscious.
(Ichigo's inner world):
Ichigo opened his eyes to see clear blue skies. Sitting up, his eyes widened in shock as he took in the large, sideways skyscrapers.
"No way," he said in disbelief. "This is…"
He then quickly looked at his clothes. Gone was his casual attire that he'd been wearing. Instead, there was the jet-black uniform of a soul reaper. He bolted to his feet and put his right hand behind his head. Sure enough, he felt it close around the handle of his oversized, constant-released zanpakto, Zangetsu.
"It is good to see you again, Ichigo," came a deep voice from behind him. He immediately turned around and saw the spirit of his sword standing on a flag pole, his clothes billowing in the non-existent wind.
"Old man… Zangetsu," he said in shock.
"Hey there, King"
Ichigo then noticed another being on Zangetsu's right. A white version of himself with black sclera and golden-yellow irises. His inner hollow.
"What the?!" Ichigo was stunned speechless. He was supposed to have completely lost all of his soul reaper and hollow powers. It didn't make sense at all for any of this to be happening.
"What's wrong King, cat got your tongue?" teased his hollow with a grin.
"B-but you were supposed to, I was meant to-" stuttered Ichigo, unable to form a coherent thought in face of these highly unforeseen circumstances. He drew in a deep breath and calmed himself. "What's going on? How is any of this happening?"
"Do not worry Ichigo," assured Zangetsu. "I shall explain everything to you. Instinctively, you already know due to what had been done, but I shall tell you everything none the less."
"Yeah Kingy, you're in for a real treat!" agreed his hollow, before laughing heartily with his head thrown back.
Somehow, that one action unnerved Ichigo about what was to come…
Chapter 2:
New world, new powers and new job
(Ichigo's inner world):
"So, what happened?" asked Ichigo. "How are the two of you here old man?"
"Heheh, brace yourself King," said his inner hollow. He craned his neck to face the older looking being atop the flagpole. "You want to do it, or should I do it, old man?"
Zangetsu nodded to let the hollow know that he'd do the explaining. "Ichigo," began Zangetsu. "We are no longer in your world."
One second went by. Then another.
"Haha, you're joking, right old man?" asked Ichigo, his voice strained. Zangetsu merely closed his eyes and shook his head at Ichigo.
"What?!" he exclaimed when he saw that his zanpakto was being completely serious. "What do you mean, 'no longer in my world'?" Even stranger was that, within his being, Ichigo felt like he knew that it was true.
"You were brought to this reality by a powerful being Ichigo. That being also restored your soul reaper and hollow powers, thus allowing us to return," explained Zangetsu. He then told Ichigo the basics of the new reality. About how there were various supernatural beings and factions that existed, like the angels, fallen angels and devils and their current standing with one another.
Ichigo listened to the spirit's words, his face a neutral mask. "How do you know all this old man?"
"It was the light, King," replied his hollow with a serious expression and his arms folded. A rare change from his standard, unrestrained and almost insane attitude. "The light that you touched before coming here."
"The light?" repeated a puzzled Ichigo. "How?"
"I suppose you could say that the light was kind of a gift package from the being that brought you here," his hollow clarified for him. "It fixed you up and more or less ingrained the basic information of this world into you, letting me and the old man gain that knowledge."
Ichigo took a second to let it sink in, nodding in acceptance of the response. "Where's this being now?"
"The being used up all of his strength to tear through the boundaries of reality to bring you here and restore your powers Ichigo. After that, he faded from existence," answered Zangetsu.
Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise at the answer. He then regained his composure and put his signature scowl back on his face "Why did it bring me here? I seriously doubt that it was just to give my powers back."
"It seems as though the being wished for you to finish what it had started. It made you its successor, so to speak." Zangetsu's tone wasn't analytical, as though he was guessing. It was sure and firm, as though he was stating a fact, which he was.
The young soul reaper felt some intrigue at that. "What was the being doing?"
"Similar to what you've already done. It was stopping a monstrous being from unleashing indiscriminate chaos and destruction. In the end, it sealed the chaotic being and fragmented its power into two hundred pieces. Now, it seems that the fragments have gained life of their own due to the creature's surprisingly strong will."
"So let me guess," said Ichigo after Zangetsu's explanation. "I have to now defeat these fragments and the original thing as well, right?"
"Right on the money, King. Somebody should give you a prize!" commented his hollow.
Ichigo huffed and decided to ignore his annoying white doppleganger.
"You are correct Ichigo. But there is one more thing," said Zangetsu.
"Oh he's gonna love this," said his hollow with a smirk.
"What is it?" inquired Ichigo.
"The being has also gifted you with new powers Ichigo," responded Zangetsu.
"New powers?" the yeen inquired, his interest piqued.
"Focus your mind Ichigo, feel for a new factor in your strength and will it forward," Zangetsu instructed. "Draw upon it and make it surface. This should make it materialise."
Despite not fully understanding what his zanpakto spirit was getting at, Ichigo decided to go along with it and follow his instructions. Zangetsu had aided him many times before and he trusted him, so why should now be any different?
Closing his eyes, Ichigo drew in a deep breath. He tried feeling around his power. His soul reaper powers were there, his hollow powers… and a new irregularity that had never been there before.
Though Ichigo couldn't see him, Zangetsu nodded in approval. His hollow also gave a satisfied smirk.
Ichigo deduced that the irregularity must have been what Zangetsu had been talking about. He began to draw it out, willing it to come forth and obey him. The new power seemed to happily oblige and easily flowed with no resistance. He felt a change.
"It is done Ichigo, open your eyes," instructed Zangetsu.
Ichigo did as he was told and opened his eyelids. He looked at his body to see if anything was different. He soon found his answer. His hands were now covered in identical black, vaguely skeletal armour with small and slight red highlights. The armour covered the space from the back of his hand up to just below his elbow on each arm.
"So, what does this thing do?" he asked.
"Alright King. Try not to get too surprised, alright?" began his hollow. "That nifty little thing there's called a sacred gear. They're supposed to be special powers given as a gift to some humans by God. Now, what's special about this is that it wasn't created by God. It was created by the being that brought you here, so it's a bit of an anomaly in the general system. Still with me?" Ichigo nodded affirmatively. "Good. Now, the powers of your sacred gear are lightning and fire generation and manipulation, which you can perform when you summon it. Apparently, it's called 'Shock Burner'. Don't ask me why, it just is," finished his hollow. He looked sideways and scratched his chin, a thoughtful look on his pale face. "Oh yeah, sacred gears have special modes too, called balance breaker. You get it after going through intense training with it, or when you experience a dramatic change with great emotion."
Ichigo scowled at his twin gauntlets. He then looked to his hollow.
"You know that's really great and all, but I don't see how that was supposed to be something so shocking that you'd warn me."
His inner hollow immediately gained a predatory smile. Ichigo found it rather unsettling.
"Oops, did I forget to mention it? No, your sacred gear itself isn't the 'shocking' thing, nope."
Zangetsu seemed to tense as the hollow was about to continue.
"No, what's really shocking, is that the god of the bible in this reality is DEAD."
Ichigo's eyes went so wide, a plate would have been jealous.
"Wait, WHAT?!" he shouted as his mind struggled to comprehend what he'd just heard. "Are you being freaking serious?!"
His hollow simply nodded with a smirk.
"Ichigo!" Zangetsu's tone was full of urgency, prompting said orange-haired soul reaper to immediately turn his focus to the zanpakto spirit. "That information that you just heard is highly classified. It is a closely guarded secret among the leaders of the three factions. You mustn't tell anyone, understand?"
Ichigo's face became serious. "Yeah. I won't breathe a word of it." He then gained a slight, contemplative look. "I guess it's only natural for something that big." He then looked to his gauntlets. "By the way, how do I get rid of these?" No sooner had he said that and the twin gauntlets vanished. "Oh, that's handy."
"Yeah King. You summon and dismiss your sacred gear whenever the hell you feel like it. Just by thought too, no need for any flashy call commands or motions. Hey, old man, wasn't there something else he should know?" spoke his hollow.
Zangetsu nodded at the hollow in appreciation for the reminder, not that he'd actually needed it.
"Yes. Ichigo, listen well. Your soul and your physical body have, to a certain extent, and for lack of a better term, fused in this reality." Ichigo's eyes widened yet again as Zangetsu let the revelation sink in.
"The result of this is that you can freely use your powers in your body, as well as switch between your casual clothes and your uniform whenever you want."
Ichigo's mouth formed a small smile. That sounded kind of fun!
"Well, that's actually kind of useful. Anything else I should know?"
"Yes. You've been pulled from our standard reality, but no one has noticed, due to the being's actions again." Zangetsu's face took on a sombre appearance. "I'm very sorry Ichigo, but we cannot return home. If it is any consolation, everyone's memory was altered. They believe that you sacrificed yourself in the fight against Aizen, rather than you simply being expunged from their lives."
A haunted look came over Ichigo's eyes. "What?" His shoulders trembled as he stared at Zangetsu. "Hey, there's got to be a way, right? Like, once I'm done with the task, I'll be able to return, right?" Unfortunately, neither occupant of his soul gave a reply. The spiky-haired teen's expression twisted with anger. "What the hell?! I didn't ask for this! I didn't want my powers back if it means that I have to leave everything behind!"
"The matter is no longer in our hands Ichigo," Zangetsu rebuffed with remorse. "The very existence that brought us here is irrevocably gone, destroyed by its own actions of tearing through reality."
"Why did I have to get involved in the first place?" Ichigo demanded with a shout. The sky overhead was beginning to darken, signifying the possible onset of rain.
"Quit your whining King!" his hollow suddenly countered fiercely, drawing his focus. "We know that this isn't ideal, but there's nothing that can be done!" He folded his arms and glared at the orange-haired substitute. "Now make your choice. You can either carry on snivelling like a pathetic insect, or you can walk on and make the best of what we've got."
Ichigo's eyes remained sad for a moment before he made an effort to school his features and reign in his negativity. "Well, at least I wasn't wiped out from their memories, or something," he replied with a noticeably strained, melancholic smile. "I suppose this could be used a fresh start. The lack of action was really getting to me too, I guess." Zangetsu nodded in agreement and to show his support for Ichigo. Even his hollow had given a single, resolute nod with his eyes closed.
His inner hollow then spoke to him.
"Hey, King. Once you wake up and go from here, you'll be in an apartment, more like a freakin' comfy house, that the being set up for you. He also got you registered at the local school as a transfer student. You know, if you look at it all, he's pretty much sorted out everything for you. You got enough cash to last three lifetimes."
"I guess I owe him thanks, even though he's not around anymore." Ichigo smirked. At least his forced translocation hadn't been a half-baked job that would have left him flying by the seam of his pants in a desperate scramble to secure himself a stable residence.
Suddenly, Ichigo became bathed in a blue light, signalling that he was about to leave his inner world. He looked to the two spirits residing within him. Each gave him a nod in farewell before he vanished.
"So," began the hollow. "A new world, new powers and new job, huh?"
"Yes," replied Zangetsu.
"I guess this could be kinda fun."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Ah, don't sweat it old man. I'm not gonna do anything. I'm just interested in this situation. I'll lend King my power when he needs it, after all, that's the horse's job, right?"
"…"
"Relax, I won't do anything to Ichigo. I haven't done anything to him in ages. I saved him against that Ulquiorra guy, remember?"
"Very, well. I'll take your word for it."
(Ichigo's apartment: Ichigo's room):
The orange-haired teen opened his eyes to find himself in a room identical to his original one. A smile crossed his face.
"My old room, huh? That's rather nice." He checked his clock. It was already Sunday night, 11:10pm. "I guess I'd better go to sleep. Don't want to be late on the first day of school after all."
He then changed into a set of pyjamas with the number 15 emblazoned on the back and climbed into bed. He thought over his current predicament. This place would be his home from now on. Swallowing the bitter taste from recalling the more negative aspects, he closed his eyes, then slipped into the world of dreams.
(Dimensional gap):
A black-haired girl dressed in a gothic Lolita fashion suddenly perked, ignoring the annoyingly noisy red dragon for once. Just moments ago, she'd felt around two hundred presences appear seemingly out of nowhere. Soon after, she felt another presence that seemed to just pop into existence. All were powerful existences of varying degrees. This confused the girl greatly.
"What… is going on?" she quietly asked herself.
The large red dragon who was performing stunts in the air had also noticed the numerous presences.
'So,' though Great Red. 'You split it apart and brought a successor huh?'
Chapter 3:
New student
(Ichigo's room):
Ichigo slowly opened his brown eyes as he returned from the world of sleep. Suddenly, before he could move, he felt a strong pulse-like sensation throughout his full body.
"Hey there King," came the voice of his inner hollow. "How ya doin'?"
'You!?' Ichigo thought back, replying mentally. 'What the hell are you trying to do?!'
"Relax King, relax"
'No, I'm not going t relax whilst you're-'
"I'm not trying anything, you idiot!" his hollow refuted in an annoyed tone. He then continued more calmly. "I just thought that I'd fill you in on something rather interesting that I discovered last night while you were dozing off." He seemed rather amused, Ichigo could practically feel his smirk.
His curiosity piqued, Ichigo asked, "So, what is it?"
"Haha, it's to do with your hollow powers," his hollow answered.
Ichigo became slightly tense and concerned. If it was regarding his hollow powers, then it could very well be something bad. He listened carefully as his inner hollow continued speaking.
"What I found, is that you can now successfully fully transform into your first fully hollowfied state, the one you went into when you were training with the visords, and keep full control of yourself. Before you ask if I'm serious about this, yes, I am completely, 100% serious. You can transform without losing your sanity."
What Ichigo felt after hearing those words was a mixture of surprise and relief. This was something completely unexpected, but by no means unwelcome. In fact, he was actually quite happy, because it meant that he had attained greater control over his power. He was less likely to run rampant and start hurting people.
He was brought out of his musing by his inner hollow's voice.
"Well, that's all to be honest. I guess you should start getting ready for your new school or something for now. Take care of yourself, King," he said before cutting the connection.
Ichigo gave a slight nod of acknowledgment before he sat up and got out of his comfortable bed. After a few stretches, he got changed into his new school's uniform. He believed that it was called Kuoh academy. He then proceeded out of his room. Though it was technically an 'apartment', it was apparently, according to his inner hollow, "a freakin' comfy house". From this, he guessed that it must have been either a small house, or a very large apartment.
Once he stepped out into the hallway, he turned his head right and left, looking down both ways. It seemed that his room was in the middle of the hallway, on the left side. There was another room on each side, and three rooms on the opposite wall. He walked to each one and had a look inside to see what they were.
The rooms on either side of his bedroom were guest rooms, containing a double-sized bed, wardrobe and desk with a swivel chair. The room near the end of the hallway and the room in the middle on the opposite side were also guest rooms, with the same arrangements. The one near the beginning of the hallway was the bathroom, with a luxury bathtub that could easily hold four people as well as a shower box that could hold three.
'Okay, scratch any thought that this is an apartment. It IS a freaking house. Old man Zangetsu and hollow didn't say anything about rent either, hollow just said that the being completely sorted me out. So, I'm guessing that I won't even have to pay rent for this place,' he thought.
After doing what he had to do and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs, proceeding to examine that too. There was the front door straight ahead from the stairs, a large living room and a large, excellent-quality kitchen, which led to a moderately-sized garden with beautiful greenery.
After checking the time and deciding to be a bit quick to avoid being late, he started making himself a simple breakfast of two slices of toast.
'I may be no Yuzu, but I can still make decent enough food to feed myself,' he thought. He then smiled sadly at remembering his younger sister. 'Yuzu, Karin, I hope you guys are alright and well.'
Ichigo then quickly ate his simple, yet fulfilling breakfast and drank a glass of milk before washing up and grabbing his schoolbag, conveniently located near the front door. He took the house keys and put on his white casual shoes. Opening the door, Ichigo stepped into the outside world, ready to get going after he locked his house door.
'No point calling it an apartment when it's really a house,' he thought. He turned around and began walking on, with his bag held by his right hand and slung over his shoulder. After about five minutes of simply walking forward, he saw other students wearing the Kuoh academy uniform, thankfully moving in the same direction as him, and decided to follow the way everyone else was going, since it was his first time attending and he didn't really know the way. Everyone else was talking to someone else, so no one really noticed him, despite his bright and rare hair colour.
(Ichigo's inner world):
"Hahahahaha!" laughed Ichigo's inner hollow whilst holding his stomache. Zangetsu looked at the other being with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you laughing so hysterically about?" he inquired to the white copy of his wielder.
Once the hollow had calmed down, he answered Zangetsu, but still had a grin on his face.
"I can't wait to see King's reaction when he finds out that Kuoh academy is a mostly GIRLS school!"
"…"
"Hahahahaha!"
(Near the gates of Kuoh academy):
'Is it just me, or is there an awful lot more girls at this place than guys?' Ichigo mentally asked, after he noticed the rather considerable female-to-male ratio.
By now, a few students had already taken notice of him and there were whispers going around, which kind of annoyed him. This caused his signature scowl to appear on his face as he just looked forwards.
'Someone's going to pay for withholding that bit of info from me,' Ichigo thought as he entered the school gates.
He went to the main reception office and told them that he was the new transfer student. The faculty member commented that it was strange for a third year to transfer in, as it was usually second or first years, but didn't question him. After receiving his lesson plan, he made his way to the specified homeroom.
"Okay, this seems to be the right place," he murmured to himself as he stood at the classroom's door. He knocked on the door and received an "enter" from the teacher, whose voice sounded rather feminine. He opened the door and walked into the empty class, since there were still a few minutes before school started.
The teacher was a young woman who looked to be in her late twenties and had brown hair that reached to between her shoulder blades. He walked over to her and told her that he was the new transfer student. She told him to wait outside whilst everyone came in and she'd call him to introduce himself. He simply agreed with an "okay" and stepped back out.
'Zangetsu, I can sense quite a few inhuman presences in this place,' he told his zanpakto spirit.
"Yes, we noticed Ichigo. They seem to be devils from the feeling of their presence," Zangetsu replied.
"You might wanna keep your guard up King," chipped in his hollow.
Ichigo nodded in agreement.
'Hey Zangetsu.'
"What is it, Ichigo?"
'You were telling me about the three factions yesterday and their current standing with one another, right?'
"Yes, why?"
'Do you agree that it's best I remain neutral and not aligned with any faction?'
"Yes, for now anyway, as the future is rather unpredictable. It will help you complete your task more easily."
"Yeah King," agreed his hollow. "You won't get tied down by faction rules, relations, or any of their other nonsense."
'Alright, thanks," said Ichigo before he cut the connection.
After waiting for a few more minutes as his soon-to-be classmates moved into the classroom, he heard the teacher speak to them once they'd all settled down.
"Alright class, we have a new transfer student coming in today, so treat them well," she announced. "Please enter."
Ichigo took that as his cue to act and opened the door, stepping into the classroom and moving to where the board was. As soon as he'd walked in, a few people had started whispering, which slightly irked him, but he didn't let it show.
"Okay, could you please introduce yourself?" the teacher requested.
'Might as well give a good first impression,' thought Ichigo. He gave a smile to the class and said, "Hi, my name's Ichigo Kurosaki, this is my natural hair colour and I hope we can all get along."
Due to his natural good looks and the fact that he was smiling, not scowling, many of the girls' hearts fluttered while Ichigo seemed to be surrounded by sparkles to them. Some of the guys started grumbling and cursing about another "pretty boy" arriving, but were immediately silenced when Ichigo sent them a brief death-glare.
Ichigo noticed the devil aura of someone in the class. It was a buxom girl with purple eyes and long black hair tied into a pony tail by a yellow ribbon. There didn't seem to be any others in the class.
'Hmm, so there's one in my class huh? Guess I'll have to be careful,' he thought.
The moment the new student had walked in, Akeno had felt something powerful from him. But he was only human, so how could he have such a strong presence? Plus, his aura was unlike anything she'd ever come across before. It didn't make sense.
'I'll have to tell buchou about this,' she thought.
Once the teacher had calmed the students' whispers, she spoke to Ichigo again.
"Feel free to take any available seat Mr. Kurosaki, no one is absent, so they're all vacant."
Nodding his head, Ichigo proceeded to take a seat in the middle of the class, similar to where he sat at Karakura high.
The lesson began and school went on as normal. When lunch time arrived, quite a considerable amount of his classmates (read as: girls) came to his desk and began asking him questions, which he replied to some and politely declined to others.
(Occult Research Club room):
"So let me get this straight Akeno", Rias asked her queen. "You're saying that the new transfer student has and incredibly powerful presence, yet is a human, but at the same time, he has an aura unlike anything you've ever felt before?"
Akeno simply nodded at her king. Rias rubbed her temple. Situations like this were also troublesome, and she'd already had enough trouble a few days ago with her new pawn and bishop.
"Alright, I'll look into it," she told Akeno. "You make sure to keep your eyes open as well."
"Yes, of course," Akeno replied before walking out of the club room.
'Ichigo Kurosaki, what are you?' Rias thought.
Chapter 4:
(Ichigo's inner world):
"I've gotta say Zangetsu, you've been doing a pretty good job, old man," said Ichigo's inner hollow.
"What are you talking about?" the zanpakto spirit asked.
"You know full well what I mean," replied the hollow with a smirk. "You may look like you're just standing around on that flagpole doing nothing, but what you're really doing is actively suppressing King's presence."
"…"
Zangetsu continued to look at the hollow in silence for a few more seconds before speaking.
"How did you know?"
"Oh please!" replied the hollow. "As if I wouldn't notice something like that. Don't forget that I represent a portion of his power too, ya know?"
"…"
"Besides, it's not like I'm against what you're doing old man, since Ichigo's spiritual pressure just leaks out all the time and would have made us sitting ducks with jumbo-size targets by now. Thanks to you, only people who are aware and can sense auras can feel something strange about him, otherwise he's just a normal human to most."
The hollow's mouth then formed into a wide smirk.
"What is so funny?" asked Zangetsu.
"Oh, nothing. It's just the fact that I've actually been suppressing Kingy's spiritual pressure too old man."
"!"
"Hahahahaha!"
(Kuoh academy):
School was moving on how any normal school would. After his little question and answer session at lunch break with some of his classmates (who, oddly enough, were only girls), he went to go eat and then explore the school grounds.
He'd come across some tall bald guy and a small guy with glasses who were peeping on the girls whilst they were changing. When he found out what they were doing… well, let's just say that he sent them to hell.
When the girls, who were the kendo club by the way, rushed out to see what all the screaming and commotion had been about, they saw Ichigo standing above the battered and broken forms of two of the perverted trio. He apologised to them for the noise and simply stated that he hated perverts and people who didn't respect a woman's privacy before walking off.
When the bell rang he, like all the others, went back to class. However, he didn't know that he'd already gained a reputation with the girls as a 'handsome champion of justice' who'd delivered 'divine punishment' to the infamous perverts.
As school had been going on, he had an almost constant feeling that he was being watched. At first, he thought that it was probably nothing, as it was normal for people to observe a new student. After some time though, he'd realised that this was not normal and he was being observed with a much deeper intention.
Putting two and two together, he came to the conclusion that it must have been the devil-girl who was in his class.
'So, I've already come under their radar huh?' he thought to himself. 'I guess I have my leaking spiritual pressure to blame for that, although it does seem… more contained? Must be old man Zangetsu's doing.'
When school finally came to an end, he casually left the grounds like everyone else and began making his way home. The feeling of being watched disappeared soon after he stepped out of the gates.
'I guess they're not completely stalking me,' he thought gratefully.
"You don't know King, you might like being stalked by a beautiful young girl," his hollow suddenly commented. Ichigo's eyes almost popped out of his head as he fought to keep down a blush.
'W-h-wha-Shut the hell up!' he mentally berated.
"Ha! Looks like you've got a ways to go if you wanna be a man King!"
Ichigo promptly cut the mental connection.
(Occult Research Club room):
Rias sat alone in her chair. None of the other members of her peerage had arrived yet. She was wondering what to do to search for info on the new student, Ichigo Kurosaki. She considered asking Sona to look at his student profile and/ or record(s), but didn't know how much she'd find.
The door creaked open as Akeno walked in. Rias turned her head to look at who'd entered.
"Hello Akeno, find anything?"
Her queen shook her head.
"Unfortunately Buchou, no. Although…"
"Although what?"
"Apparently he's become known by some of the girls as a "handsome champion of justice" since he delivered "divine punishment" to Ise-kun's two perverted friends."
"Is that so?" said Rias. She then put her palm on her forehead and sighed, but her mouth formed a small smile.
They heard the door opening again and turned their heads to see the rest of the peerage arrive, with the exception of the pawn, Issei Hyodou.
"Hello buchou-san, Akeno-san," greeted their new, gentle-hearted bishop, Asia Argento.
"Hello buchou, Akeno-san," greeted Yuuto Kiba, the "Prince Charming" of the school and the knight of the peerage.
"…Hello," was all their rook, Koneko Toujo, the unofficial loli mascot, said.
"Hello everyone," said Rias kindly. She then noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Ise?"
They all shook their heads to show that they didn't know. Rias sighed again.
"Well, looks like we'll have to start without-"
At that moment the door burst open as Issei came running in.
"Sorry I'm late buchou!" he shouted before he bent over and held his knees whilst gasping for air. "Some new guy… beat up… Motohama… and Matsuda… so I was… talking to them… for a while," he said between pants.
Akeno giggled at Issei's antics.
"Ara ara, and here I thought that you weren't going to come. We were about to start without you."
"Whaaa!" exclaimed Issei. "I'm sorry Buchou, I won't be late ever again! So please don't ever start without me and leave me behind!" He seemed to be on the verge of begging and crying. 'I can't afford to be left behind by these beautiful women and miss basking in their beautiful presence and beautiful oppai!' he thought.
"… I feel… like I want to hit you," said Koneko emotionlessly, making the resident pervert flinch.
Rias giggled at Issei.
"It's alright Ise, you're not in trouble and we won't leave you behind, just don't be late again okay?"
Issei immediately got up straight.
"Yess! Thank you buchou! I swear I won't be late again, even if Matsuda and Motohama are beaten up!"
The rest of the peerage, minus Koneko, all giggled or chuckled at Issei's funny behaviour. Rias then cleared her throat, catching their attention.
"Alright, we-"
She never finished her sentence as they all, even Issei, who lacked any talent whatsoever as a devil, felt an immensely powerful and evil presence suddenly appear. And it was right outside the old school building, which they were in.
'What is this?!' was the unanimous thought that ran through their heads. They rushed outside to see what was the cause for such a twisted presence to appear. All became shocked with what they saw.
There was some sort of creature that was easily five metres tall standing there. It had pure crimson eyes, obsidian black skin that seemed to shine green where the light shone on it. It appeared to be roughly humanoid in shape, with a very muscular build. Sharp grey claws adorned its eight fingers and two thumbs and its jaws were lined with multiple razor sharp, silver teeth. Its body seemed to constantly emit a thin, grey and smoky aura.
"Wh-what is this?" Rias asked in shock and fear.
The creature then threw back its head and roared. The sound sent deathly chills down their spines.
(Ichigo's house):
Ichigo was relaxing on his bed.
"Hey, hollow," he called out.
"Yeah, what is it King?"
'You said that I could transform into my first hollowfied state right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
'What about my second fully hollowfied state, the one from the fight against Ulquiorra?"
"No. You can't do it. Even if you do, you'll lose your sanity and just become a rampaging beserker from the sheer power of that form. It holds so much power that it was able to destroy the 'indestructible' chains of Hell, which is unheard of and really shouldn't be possible. You'll never be able to attain control over that form, and I seriously mean never."
'I see,' was all Ichigo thought in response.
"Ichigo!" Zangetsu interrupted, urgency in his voice.
"Oh, this is kinda bad," said his hollow.
'What's happened?!' Ichigo asked.
"It's one of the fragments King, it's showed up, and it's attacking."
'Fragments?' Ichigo asked.
"One of the two hundred fragments that were scattered when the chaotic being was sealed," Zangetsu clarified.
Ichigo stood up and changed his clothes into his soul reaper uniform and materialised Zangetsu on his back.
"Where is it?" he said seriously.
"At your school," replied Zangetsu and his inner hollow simultaneously.
(Old school building):
Soon after it had roared, the mysterious creature had charged at the Gremory group, making them scatter to avoid it.
"Yuuto!" commanded Rias.
"Right!" He then dashed to the monster before him, creating a demonic sword in each hand. When he was in range, he prepared to give it a powerful cross-slash.
However, Kiba's attack never connected. Instead, the creature swatted him away, as though he was an annoying fly. He impacted with the ground harshly, forming a crater.
"Yuuto!" screamed Rias.
"I'm… alright… buchou," he breathed before fainting.
"I'll heal him!" Asia said as she quickly ran over to him.
"Akeno!" Rias called.
"Right!" her queen replied.
Rias shot a blast of her power of destruction, whilst Akeno threw a thunderbolt at it. However, their attacks didn't harm the monster in the slightest. It simply shrugged it off as nothing, before moving with incredible speed and smacking both of them into the wall.
"Buchou! Akeno-san!" Issei screamed.
"We're okay Ise," replied Rias.
"But we can't move," said Akeno.
'This thing… it's easily a powerful high class creature!' she thought.
Issei and Koneko were frozen. If the two most powerful members couldn't do anything, neither could they. They watched the monster in fear.
Then, they watched in horror as a neon-green light began shining from the creature's mouth. It then opened its mouth and shot a laser-like attack (think cero) straight at Asia, who was frozen in place, near the unconscious Kiba.
"Asia!" screamed Issei.
(Ichigo):
Ichgo was flying through the air towards Kuoh academy. He was almost there. He could see the fragment (yes, that's what he, Zangetsu and Hollow decided to call them) fighting and beating some students, who he sensed were devils. He saw it charging a neon-green light in its mouth.
"Crap! It's gonna fire!" cursed his inner hollow. "King. Quick! Use your zanpakto!"
'I'm not close enough!' he thought back in frustration.
"Damnit! Just swing it like I do!" his hollow commanded him.
Ichigo remembered when he'd fought his hollow and his unique style of swinging his zanpakto using the extendable cloth wrapping. Acting quickly, he grabbed Zangetsu from his back, the cloth unravelling at his touch. He spun it a few times before launching it forward, the sword still spinning, just as the fragment fired a cero-like attack.
(Gremory peerage):
They all looked on in horror as the beam of death raced towards Asia, who was frightened and sure that her life would end here. Suddenly, a spinning sword came in out of nowhere and blocked the attack, negating it completely. The sword then stabbed into the ground.
"!"
The sword was large, very large. As long as someone's full body and looked like an oversized Khyber knife. They followed the cloth that was attached to the handle, looking in the direction that the sword had come from. They saw a figure with spiky orange hair dressed in a black shikakusho descend from the sky, holding the cloth in his hand.
"Sorry about that," he said, as he yanked the sword out the ground and it returned to him.
Rias and Akeno's eyes widened in shock as they recognised who this was. Ichigo Kurosaki. But how? Wasn't he just a human?
The fragment roared at Ichigo's arrival. It was angered that someone had blocked its attack, but it had also sensed the power of the being that had transported Ichigo within him.
"I think it might be a good idea for you guys to take a step back and stay out of the way," he told the others.
"What! You can't fight that! You'll get killed!" Issei shouted.
"Don't worry, this is my job."
"!?"
Ichigo rushed forward as the fragment brought its claws down. He held his zanpakto up and blocked them.
"You seem to be pretty strong," he commented. "Looks like I can't mess around, especially with these lot here in the danger zone."
He then pushed its clawed hand away, making it stagger. Taking the opening, he flash-stepped right up to it and slashed its exposed torso.
The fragment roared in pain and stepped back, out of Ichigo's range. Or so it thought. A blue energy charged around Ichigo's sword. He then shouted the name of his signature attack.
"Getsuga tensho!"
A cresent-shaped wave of light blue energy was released from the blade and severed the fragment's left arm, due to it moving at the last second.
"Your're quite quick," Ichigo stated as he appeared above the fragment via flash-step. "Getsuga tensho!"
The attack was released from directly above the fragment. It cut through it from above and travelled down, bisecting it from the head. As Ichigo landed, the fragment broke down into shadowy particles and vanished permanently. He then put Zangetsu back onto his back, the cloth automatically wrapping around it.
The Gremory group watched in shock as this one person took out a powerful high class monster. Ichigo didn't want to have to explain things right now, as he wanted to familiarise himself with the town, so he decided to make a quick retreat.
"I'd appreciate it if you don't tell this to anyone," he said before he promptly flew away.
"Wait!" said Rias, but it was too late. Ichigo had already vanished.
Chapter 5:
The truth?
(Ichigo's room):
Ichigo slowly cracked his eyelid open as the alarm clock rang. The orange-haired soul reaper reached out with a hand and turned it off before slowly rising to a sitting position. He was still feeling a little sleepy.
'Man, dad's a much better alarm clock. I never feel sleepy when he 'wakes' me up,' he thought with a smile.
All his tiredness vanished and his mind became awake and alert as he remembered what had happened the previous day. He'd encountered, and eliminated one of the fragments, but now had some explaining to do to that group of devils that he'd saved, since he just took off without explaining anything, because he didn't know how to explain to them at that point. Or that's what he assumed, as it seemed to be the most likely scenario.
"Geez King, you are really are totally incompetent when it comes to stealth, aren't ya?" sneered his inner hollow.
'Wha-shut the hell up! What did you expect me to do, let it kill them?' Ichigo mentally retorted. He then gained a smirk. 'In fact, wasn't it you who told me to act quick and save that girl by swinging my zanpakto how you do?'
"Crap"
"Ichigo," called Zangetsu.
'Yeah, what is it old man Zangetsu?'
"Be careful not to say too much when you are explaining to that devil and her peerage."
'Yeah, I know. I'm still thinking how much I should leave out.'
"You know what I think?" asked his inner hollow. "I say that you should just let them go with the bare minimum, speak ambiguously and let them assume whatever the hell they want, so long as it ain't too bad. After all, you don't want the big shots to get involved, do ya?"
'I'll think about it,' was all Ichigo thought back. He then stood up from his bed and proceeded to go to the bathroom in order to freshen up. Somehow, he had the feeling that today was going to be a long day.
(Occult Research Club room):
Rias Gremory sat in her chair, deep in thought. The subject of her pondering? None other than the new transfer student Ichigo Kurosaki. He was a complete enigma. He was supposedly a human, but just yesterday he'd easily defeated something that was a strong high class level being. Add the fact that he could fly, as well as seemingly disappear from where he was and reappear somewhere else. Then, there was that strange sword that he was using.
Rias let out a sigh.
'It's no good,' she thought. 'He's simply a complete mystery.' She wanted answers, but how should she obtain them? After all, this was her territory. She thought that her best chance would be to invite him to come to the clubroom, where they could talk face-to-face.
'Wait, isn't Akeno in his class?' Rias smiled as an idea popped into her head. 'Okay! I'll simply ask Akeno to invite him!' She stood up and left the clubroom in order to find her best friend and queen.
(Kuoh academy entrance):
As ichigo walked through the school gates, he was thinking about what the most likely questions were and how he should answer them. He and Zangetsu had agreed with the hollow on his suggestion. It was best for Ichigo to remain an irregular factor. It would prevent too much interference with his task.
Due to him being (deep) in thought, he failed to notice the happy smiles that quite a number of girls immediately sported upon seeing him, although he probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. He did however notice the glares that some guys sent him, as his fighting instincts that had been honed for years immediately picked up on the hostility. He responded by sending his own glare back at them, which left them feeling as though death itself had looked at them.
School went on as usual. Lessons took place, he made the necessary notes, then lunch break arrived. As he got up from the desk, he heard a voice call him.
"Excuse me, Kurosaki-san."
Turning in the direction that the voice had come from, he saw the black-haired devil girl who was in his class.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked. "And by the way, just Ichigo is fine, I'm not really one for formalities."
Their conversation (if you could call it that) had gathered some attention of a few students, particularly girls.
"Why is Akeno onee-sama talking to Ichigo-kun?"
"Do they know each other?"
"He just told her to call him casually! Do you think that…"
"What! Ichigo-kun is taken? Nooo!"
"That can't be! I don't want to live anymore!"
This all caused a certain orange-haired soul reaper's eye to twitch, although the last few had just downright confused him. Akeno on the other hand, just giggled slightly.
"Very well then, Ichigo," Akeno said. "My club president has asked me to invite you to our clubroom to talk after school."
Ichigo thought about it for a moment. So he was right, they did want answers.
'I might as well just get it over and done with,' he thought.
Meanwhile, Akeno wasn't sure how to take his silence.
'Is he going to decline?'
"Yeah, alright. I don't see why not," Ichigo told her, breaking her train of thought.
"Thank you. Our club is called the Occult Research Club and is located in the old school building. Please come once school is over." Akeno then walked out of the classroom, intending to tell Rias that Ichigo had accepted the invitation.S
"Well King, looks like you've been asked out by a pretty girl," his hollow spoke up.
'Shut up, I'm not in the mood for your annoying jokes.'
"Ha! If anyone's annoying, it's you. Anyways," said his hollow, taking on a more serious tone. "Make sure you're prepared, and remember not to give too much away. Especially the fact that you're really from another reality."
'Yeah, I know. But thanks for the reminder anyway.'
(Occult Research Club room):
"So he's accepted the invitation?" asked Rias for confirmation.
"Yes," replied Akeno.
"Good work Akeno."
"Ufufu, thank you buchou."
All the other members, who were also present, heard this conversation.
"Wait, so that guy, Ichigo, is going to be coming here?" asked Issei. He was actually feeling nervous about that, since that guy was crazy strong, but it was also because of something else. He'd heard that the guy apparently hated perverts, and as the one who beat up Matsuda and Motohama. In fact, some of the girls were actually wishing for him to receive 'divine punishment' next!
"Yes Ise, he's coming here," replied Rias. 'Or so I hope.' "We should be able to get some answers from him. I'm sure he has some idea of why we're calling him, so the fact that he accepted shows that he's willing to talk. I think."
"I see," said Kiba, seeming calm. In truth however, he was feeling slightly nervous too. While he might have been unconscious during the 'battle', the others had filled him in on what had happened.
Koneko, as usual, was silently eating a sweet. She looked like she didn't care, but on the inside she was confused. He seemed to be just a human, yet he had such a high amount of power. It didn't make sense to her.
Asia was also nervous, but a little happy too. This was because she could finally thank him in person for saving her life.
(Ichigo's classroom):
The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Ichigo packed his notebooks away into his bag and stood up as his fellow classmates started walking out the class.
"Ichigo, it is time to go," said Zangetsu.
'Yeah, I know.' He began making his way towards the old school building, where he'd been invited for a little chat.
(Occult Research Club room):
All the peerage waited anxiously for Ichigo to arrive. Hopefully, they would gain some answers about the enigma of a student. But they had to be careful, since they guessed that he could easily overpower them all.
The door creaked as it was opened and a spiky haired teen walked through. The Gremory group reflexively tensed up in anticipation as Ichigo entered.
"Man, what's with this atmosphere?" he murmured, but was still heard due to their enhanced hearing. "It's as though someone's died in here or something."
Seeing that he hadn't come with any ill intent, they all relaxed.
"Thank you for coming here, Ichigo Kurosaki-san," greeted Rias.
"You're welcome." Replied Ichigo. "And please, just Ichigo is fine. I'm not one for formalities"
'Wow, he sure is relaxed for someone so strong,' thought Kiba, whilst Issei was shivering slightly out of fear of receiving 'divine punishment'.
"U-um, excuse me?" Asia spoke up, trying to get Ichigo's attention.
"Yeah?" he asked whilst turning to look at her. ' For some reason, she reminds me of Yuzu.'
"U-um, I-I'd like to thank you for saving me yesterday," she said timidly.
"Oh, don't worry about it," he assured with a kind, brotherly smile. "I couldn't simply stand by and watch as someone died, whether they're a devil or not."
'So, he knows we're devils,' thought Rias. She cleared her throat to bring the focus back to herself, much to Issei's relief.
"Ichigo, I'd like to know what you are and what you're doing in my territory," she stated.
'Straight to the point huh?' Ichigo thought. "You'd like to know what I am, huh?"
Rias simply nodded, as well Akeno.
"Well, I'm just a human, as for what I'm doing here, I simply came to attend school."
Rias frowned slightly. She couldn't tell if he was toying with her or not, since his voice didn't hold any sarcasm.
"Well," she began. "Yesterday, when you intervened for us, you told Issei that getting rid of that creature was your 'job'. Care to explain?"
Ichigo looked at her for a moment.
"Oh, you mean the fragment. Well, it's simply just that. My job, so as to speak."
'Fragment?' Rias thought. 'I've never heard of them before.' "Would you explain in a little more detail please?"
Ichigo sighed before giving his explanation.
"There are two hundred of those fragments, well, one hundred and ninety-nine now, and it's my job to eliminate them all. I suppose you could say that I was selected to do it."
"Selected? By who?"
"My predecessor."
"You said that you're a human, but what you did shouldn't be possible for humans. Then there's your sword too. What is it?"
"If I wasn't a human, why would you sense me as a human? Also, I wouldn't have a sacred gear if I was a non-human, would I?"
This caught the peerage of guard.
'This guy also has a sacred gear?!' though Issei. 'It has to be that sword, right?'
'A sacred gear?' thought Rias. 'Is that what his sword is? No ordinary sword could do the things he did yesterday.'
"Is that what your sword is, as sacred Gear?" she asked Ichigo.
"Well, what do you think?"
'Well, I suppose that it's the only logical answer. I didn't see any magic cirlces, so I doubt that he's a magician. It would make sense if his sword was a sacred gear.' Rias furrowed her brow as she thought over it. She then looked Ichigo dead in the eye.
"Tell me," she said. "Which faction are you aligned with? And will you be a threat to us?"
Ichigo held RIas' gaze, looking her back in the eye as he answered her.
"Currently, I am aligned with no faction. I'm a neutral force and I intend to remain that way. As for the second part, I don't intend to be a threat to you. You simply stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I see." Rias continued to look at him for a few moments before speaking up again. "Well, that's all I have to ask you. Unless you want to tell us more, you may leave."
Ichigo took the opportunity and stood turned around to walk out of the room. Once he was outside, he heard his hollow speak up in his head.
"Well, I think that went rather well, don't you?"
'Yeah, I guess it wasn't too bad.'
"I have a feeling that things are going to get very interesting King."
'Funnily enough, so do I.'
Chapter 6:
Work-efficient
(Ichigo's room):
Ichigo slowly opened his eyes as he returned from the land of dreams and back to reality. The orange-haired soul reaper sat up and turned the ringing alarm clock off before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Ichigo," called Zangetsu.
Ichigo stretched as he mentally replied, 'What is it Zangetsu?'
"I would recommend that you train with your sacred gear and become more familiar with it."
Now fully awake, Ichigo remained sitting on his bed as he conversed with his zanpakto.
'Yeah, that would be a good idea,' he agreed. 'After all, I don't want to be in a situation where I need its power, but lack any experience with it.'
"My thoughts exactly," said Zangetsu proudly.
'Thanks old man,' Ichigo replied whilst smiling.
He remained silent as he thought over how his life had changed. It was now his third day in this new world. Once again, his heart ached a little as he remembered his family and friends back at Karakura town and how he wouldn't be able to see them again. He stopped his reminiscing to prevent himself from becoming a depressed heap. A thought then occurred to him.
"Hey Zangetsu," he called out.
"Yes?"
"How should I train with my sacred gear? Won't civilians end up seeing me?"
"That's why I was going to recommend that you use the basement of your house."
"Wait, there's a basement?" Ichigo wondered if Urahara had somehow followed him and modified his house.
"Don't be ridiculous King," rebuked his inner hollow. "It was there from the beginning."
"Seriously?" asked Ichigo.
"Of course I'm being serious!" his hollow replied in an annoyed tone. "What do you take me for? Actually, on second thoughts, don't answer that one."
Ichigo smirked at this.
"Anyway," he said, going back to talking with Zangetsu. "Will the basement be able to withstand it?"
"Yes, it should be able to. It has rather powerful and intricate glyphs and seals to prevent its destruction and allow it to repair itself if any damage does occur."
"Alright, thanks," said Ichigo.
"You are welcome Ichigo," responded Zangetsu before he cut the connection.
'Well, I guess I know what I'm going to do after school today,' Ichigo thought.
(Ichigo's classroom):
Ichigo sat attentively in class, taking any notes that were necessary.
Due to him being an above average student, he found the work rather easy to do. However, the same could not be said for quite a few of his classmates, particularly the males. In fact, the majority of males at Kuoh academy seemed to be rather dim-witted.
'They must have come here just because the girl-to-guy ratio is high,' he thought, rather annoyed at their reason for applying to the school. While he wasn't gay, or anything like that, he wouldn't go to a school just for the girls. That was the territory of a lowly pervert.
Somewhere in the school, a certain brown-haired, perverted member of the Gremory group cringed.
'Okay, what the hell was that?' thought Issei.
Once school came to an end, Ichigo was rather quick to make his way home (much to the disappointment of his admirers, whom he knew nothing about). He wanted to get this sacred gear training sorted out A.S.A.P and become more familiarised with his new power.
(Ichigo's house):
Upon entering his house, Ichigo took his shoes off and asked Zangetsu a question.
"Where is the basement entrance by the way?"
"At the far end of the living room, to the left if you enter the room from the kitchen."
"Aright, thanks"
Ichigo proceeded to go to where Zangetsu had specified. Sure enough, there was a door in the wall which was about a head shorter than him.
'How the hell did I miss this?' Ichigo thought.
"Because you're an incompetent idiot who doesn't deserve the right to be King," his hollow remarked.
Ichigo ignored his hollow, simply cutting the connection. He then opened the door and saw steps leading down. Oddly enough, it wasn't dark and gloomy. It was lit and rather visible, as though light was coming from the basement. Shaking off his surprise, Ichigo walked down the steps, only to enter what seemed like an open desert area.
'Okay, this just looks exactly like Urahara's place,' he thought.
"Actually, it's just like the place where you learnt bankai," corrected his hollow.
'What, is the healing hotspring here as well?" he asked sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact, it is."
'Wait, what?!' Ichigo hadn't expected that.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Anyway," said Ichigo out loud, trying his best to ignore his inner hollow's maniacal laughter. "How should I train?"
"Summon your sacred gear," instructed Zangetsu.
Ichigo obeyed and summoned his [Shock burner] forth, causing it to materialise on his hands.
"Now materialise the two of us," Zangetsu continued.
"Huh?" was Ichigo's intelligent reply.
"Materialise me and your inner hollow, so that we can assist you in your training," Zangetsu calmly clarified/ repeated.
"Oh, right."
Ichigo then closed his eyes and focused on bringing forth the two beings that resided within him. When he felt that he had done it, he opened his eyes and was rewarded with the sight of Zangetsu and his inner hollow standing before him.
"Alright King," said his hollow. "You need to learn how to use your [Shock burner] in battle. The best way to do that is for you to gain experience!" His hollow then charged towards Ichigo without warning, an insane smile on his face.
(The local convenience store [3 hours later]):
Ichigo paid the money for the drink that he'd just picked out. Upon exiting the store, he started walking to the local park. After a few minutes, when he reached it, he decided to confront whoever had been following him since he left the convenience store. They had a strange presence. It felt holy, yet tainted.
"A fallen angel," he muttered, deducing the fact from what Zangetsu had told him upon arrival to this new reality.
Turning around, he spoke out.
"You know, I really hate people following me and trying to be sneaky. I noticed you from before, but didn't say anything because you might have simply gone away without me needing to do so. Evidently, that's not the case."
A man who looked to be in his twenties, with straight black hair that was average length appeared from the alleyway. He was wearing a black trench coat and blue jeans.
"Well, looks like I've been caught," he said sheepishly.
"Let's cut to the point," said Ichigo bluntly. "I know what you are, fallen angel, so don't worry about dragging someone who's unaware into the supernatural. So, why the hell where you stalking me?"
"Ouch, stalking's a bit of a harsh word, don't you think?" Upon seeing Ichigo's fixed scowl not change, he sighed. "Fine, fine. I guess I wouldn't like it either anyway. It seems that you've caught our leader's attention. He asked me to observe you."
Ichigo's scowl deepened slightly.
"Well you can tell him to quit it. I don't have any intention of joining your, or any other faction. However, I don't intend to attack any of you either. Just don't bother me and stay out of my way, and I'll do the same for you."
The fallen angel nodded.
"Very well, I'll let him know," he said before revealing his black, feathery wings and flying off.
Ichigo sat down on one of the benches as he opened his bottle of drink. He gulped it down thirstily, savouring the cool refreshment that it brought him. When he finished it, he sensed a dark presence.
"It's another fragment," informed his hollow.
"I know," was all Ichigo said before changing into his soul reaper attire and flying off in the direction that he'd sensed it.
He arrived near a lake. Looking around for the fragment, he saw it about fifteen metres away from himself. It looked like a large, black scorpion with red eyes and red lines running along its body. Its pincers had silver edges and the tail had a silver sting. It seemed to roar upon catching sight of Ichigo.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to waste with you." He drew his zanpakto from his back and went into a stance. He had to quickly block, as the fragment had charged at him with great speed and attempted to impale him with its sting.
'Whoa,' he thought. 'This one's not as physically strong as the last one, but it sure is faster.'
He pushed the sting away, only to flash step a few feet back, as it immediately tried crushing him with its pincers. It then charged towards him again, forcing him to dodge.
'That thing's probably got venom in its tail, like an actual scorpion, so I'd better avoid it. I need to time it right. A well-fired getsuga should do the trick,' Ichigo thought. As he dodged its tail again.
He flash stepped a few metres back, hoping that it would fall for his trick and charge him. Thankfully, for him anyway, it did just that. Smirking, Ichigo held his zanpakto above his head as it drew near.
"Getsuga tensho!" he shouted, swinging his zanpakto down and releasing the crescent-shaped wave of light blue energy.
The getsuga successfully cut through the fragment with ease. Like the previous, it disintegrated into shadowy particles and vanished.
Ichigo then felt another, twisted presence. It felt like a devil's but was rampant and, for lack of a better term, corrupted.
"Geez, don't I get any rest?" he complained as he took to the air.
"Ichigo, that presence belongs to a stray devil," said Zangetsu.
"Care to fill me in?"
Zangetsu told Ichigo about stray devils as he flew towards its location.
"So they're just like hollows, huh?" Ichigo commented. "Killing or defecting from their masters, then running rampant and eating humans."
He arrived at what looked like a run-down, abandoned house. The disgusting smell of blood hit his nostrils. He entered through the open doorway, which didn't have a door. The inside seemed to have had all the walls between the rooms knocked down, making it a rather large space. It was pretty gloomy too.
"Well, what do we have here?" said a feminine voice. "It's a human, and he smells delicious." A figure then appeared. The stray devil appeared as a teenage girl who seemed his age, with light pink hair that reached er lower back. Except that there were bat wings protruding from her back, as in actual bat wings, not a devil's regular bat-like wings. Then there was her clothing, or rather the lack of it. She was wearing only black, skimpy under garments.
This caused Ichigo, who was fairly innocent and very modest, to blush like crazy.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed as he covered his eyes, whilst trying desperately to fight the blush.
"Oh, you've got to be freaking kidding me!" his inner hollow screamed in disbelief within his mind.
"Such a cute boy," she said with a deceptively beautiful smile. "I do love handsome boys, I get to have so much funwith them before, or while I eat them," she said as she licked her lips. Her tone was rather seductive and enticing. Seeing that Ichigo wasn't doing anything, she decide to claim her delicious-looking and smelling meal.
"If you won't make a move, then I guess I will!" she announced as she rushed towards him.
Ichigo snapped out of his embarrassed state and flash stepped out of the way.
"My my, what's this?" said the stray. "Looks like you're a feisty one."
Ichigo didn't reply. His head was down slightly and his hair was overshadowing his eyes.
"You…" he murmured as he slowly reached up and grabbed Zangetsu's handle. "For killing your master, and eating innocent humans… don't deserve to live." He raised his head and fixed her with a cold, steel stare. His eyes slightly shone blue with resolve as his heart burned with righteous fury.
"Looks like you like it rough," smirked the stray. "Not that I mind. I'll get to have s much more fun with you!"
Ichigo didn't respond. He silently raised Zangetsu above his head with one hand.
"What are you doing?" inquired the stray. "You'll never hit me from that distance."
Ichigo swung Zangetsu down with a call of "Getsuga tensho", releasing the technique from the blade.
The stray realised her mistake too late and couldn't dodge. The powerful wave of energy completely destroyed her. The gestuga hadn't even left a trace of her behind.
Placing his zanpakto back onto his back, Ichigo turned around and started walking out the abandoned house. As he came through the doorway, he that saw Rias Gremory and her peerage where there.
"Hey," was all he said as he walked past them, shifting his clothes back to normal.
The full peerage had just arrived moments before Ichigo destroyed the stray. They had no words to say. That stray was reported as highly dangerous and powerful, despite its appearance, yet he'd killed it just like that.