(With Esdeath)
"So these are Hollows." She said, watching with a sense of awe at the many different sizes and shapes of the masked creatures. How did they fight, how did they determine strength, would any of them present as challenge, these thoughts flowed from her mind as she continued to watch the sky fill with them. It was only when she saw some begin to attack each other that she felt a sense of kinship among them, that the weak are the food of the strong. Their howls resonated within her and her heart leaped in her chest when a minotaur like Hollow set its eyes on her, roughly three times her size. Her first hunt of the creatures of the spirit realm. Instinctively, she held out her hand and summoned a barrage of ice shards to pierce the monster. But nothing happened, shocking her that the long time power she wielded was gone.
"What were you expecting?" Ichigo asked, gaining her attention. "You're a spirit now. You've lost your weapons, why are you just standing there?" Almost immediately, she turned back to the Hollow and received a hard punch to her gut with a fist that was half the size of her torso. She was sent flying a few dozen feet before the chain connecting her to her physical body ran out and stopped her momentum. It was a few feelings that she forgot over the years; pain, vulnerability, she was no longer the strongest predator. That said, she refused to be prey.
'I will dominate!' She thought, charging back at the Hollow. It made another swing with its fist, only for the general to dodge it and show that she was used to being a spirit. She closed the distance and thrust a kick into the Hollow's knee, creating a sickening snap as the limb shattered. 'At least I still have my strength.' She thought while the Hollow toppled over, howling in pain, before she caught the beast by the throat and threw it over her shoulder with the mask slamming into the ground. She turned for her next opponent, only for something to wrap around her leg and swing her about like a ragdoll. While she could, she trailed the tentacle back to the Hollow it can from and found a ball of tendrils with sharp pointed teeth and naught else in the wriggling mass.
"There are as many different Hollows as there are flakes of snow, general." Ichigo told her, standing next to her mortal body. "Many have unique abilities or different attributes to their beings. You must be ready for any possibility." She didn't even see him unsheathe his blade as the tentacles holding her suddenly went slack, cut from the main body. "That's your one time Esdeath! Try to survive!" He ordered as she fell to the ground, the Hollow seeming to be frozen in fear looking at Ichigo. She took her chance.
'Just like any other hunt. Kill or be killed. Torture would be pointless.' She reminded herself, charging forward and grabbing onto the tendrils of the Hollow. 'This is MY hunt!' She pulled and spun, twisting the Hollow along with her, throwing it into the distance. She was about to continued her assault, but something sharp cut at her side and she found a huge crab like Hollow trying to pin her down with its feet and it was still stabbing at her. She felt pain, she felt vulnerable, she was without her power and her weapon, she felt... afraid. She wouldn't be able to beat the armored tank above her, and it wasn't even the biggest Hollow there. She had to run.
A boar masked, multi-armed gorilla Hollow tackled the crab, goring its mask with a tusk, and shoved it aside before tearing into it. She took the chance to try and run, only to be stopped by the chain connected to her body. She turned back, embarrassed by this defeat, but also finding hope in a possible escape as the Hollows continued to attack each other. She had to return to her body, that's how she'd escape, then she'd train herself to be able to stand against these monsters. But the moment she got within arm's length of her body, Stylish quickly patching up the injuries that appeared on her body while the others try to help however they could, she was caught. Another tall, lean, gangly Hollow with a weird tusked fish mask had her in its grasp and began to squeeze her, bringing the general to its waiting maw.
'So this is how I die?' She thought, finding it somewhat fitting that only the monsters of the dead would be the one to finish her in this world of the strong devouring the weak. She waited for the snapping of jaws like a falling guillotine blade, only it never came. Instead, she was pulled away from the Hollow's mouth before being dropped unceremoniously on the ground. When she looked back to them, they began bowing, praying, and singing some twisted hymn of worship, all directed to another Hollow. A massive pillar cloaked in ragged blackness that stood taller than any tree or tower she saw in her life with a long spike nose on a white mask, but it wasn't that Hollow the others seemed to be praising. It was the small humanoid figure, seated like a king, in the hands of the massive Hollow that all the others seemed to worship. That figure's mask may have had horns, but she recognized everything else about it. Ichigo was acting like a king and the Hollows were revering him like a god. "HOW!?" She called out, hoping he could hear her over the warped symphony of the Hollows.
"You've seen it for yourself, have you not?" Ichigo answered, moving his hand and having the Gillian lower him to speak easier with the living soul of Esdeath. "The rule of the Hollows is that the strong devour the weak, but they are cursed with an endless hunger for other souls. Some successfully evolve into a new state, very few are ever freed from their hunger, but only the strongest rules them all." He said, just before unleashing his Reiatsu and forcing Esdeath and dozens of the weaker Hollows to their knees. She tried to get up, only for the pressure to grow as more and more Hollows were forced to submissive positions. Now she understood a fraction of the kind of beast the Shinigami was. "I took the throne of the Hollows, and I have only a select few Hollows turned Arrancar to serve at my side. They are Hollows that were granted the powers of Soul Reapers." He held out a hand and an Asuachi covered in black and red flames came out. "Catch." He said before flicking his wrist and sending the blade to her, and the general managed to catch it effortlessly after he released the pressure.
"What is this?" She asked, feeling a dark power coursing through the sword. Vast and consuming, not insane like her Demon's Extract, but terrifying in how it burned.
"Take that sword and thrust it into your heart." Ichigo ordered, the sadist looking up to the hybrid. "Once you do, you will take a portion of my power into you. It will transform you into a Shinigami and I will train you to be one of my soldiers. But understand Esdeath." The chain connected to her chest rattled and went taunt, as if Ichigo was pulling it to him. She could even see tiny threads from the links going to him. "I can take that power back. You may train with me and battle Hollows, but break my rules, and I WILL take my power away. Do I make myself clear?" He asked as she examined the blade, still burning with his power. To accept was to have a guarantee of more battles and the promise of greater power to fight, at the cost of her freedom. With Honest, it was easy. She had more sway in that deal, more power, so long as he could give her fights than she'd support him. Here? Ichigo had all the power. She played nice, or she'd lose it and her chance for a grand war. Course she could walk away... but could she really?
"I'll follow your orders." She finally said, taking up the Asuachi and stabbing it into her heart. It was followed by a shockwave with a flash of light, with Ichigo flashing down and catching her hand before she could do anything. "Aren't Shinigami meant to kill Hollows?" She asked, in traditional Shinigami attire with a low cut top that would've displayed her Teigu if she still had it, wielding a long and thin Nodachi Zanpakuto with her clan's symbol as the guard of the blade.
"You against this many? Even with the small amount I gave you, it wouldn't be enough." He said, just before the giant Hollow opened its mouth and stabbed through all of the smaller Hollows with its tongue. "Just wanted to remind you." Ichigo flicked his wrist and destroyed the Menos' head with a quick Bala. "The difference in power. Now get back into your body." He ordered before looking out to the distance, Esdeath complying with his order. 'Were those Quincy I felt? Better step up security just in case.' He decided as Esdeath returned to the realm of the living and was welcomed with joy by her subordinates.
(Time skip: With Ichigo)
It was an entire day after the siege on that bandit fortress and Esdeath becoming a Substitute Soul Reaper, whether or not that was legal was not a concern to the hybrid as it was the only way to keep a leash on the sadist. She still didn't know that if he took back the power he gave then she would die, now was not the time for that. Eventually, but not at the present time. When the Jaegers returned to the Capital that night, Ichigo went out to search. Hunting for whatever spiritual disturbance that was during the Hollow attack, but found nothing. Almost as if it was both there and not, like a spirit Schrodinger's cat dilemma. After searching for most of the night, he returned to the Jaeger HQ and slept while in spirit form. When morning came, he tried talking to some of the Jaegers to get a better idea of who they were.
Run was the first, and his questions really threw Ichigo through a loop. 'If I sacrificed my life, would you help me kill a monster?' No one else was in the room or the base, so it was likely the question that Run tried to ask him yesterday before the mission interrupted him. He didn't even hide much else, so either he really hated whatever this monster was or he believed he wasn't strong enough to fight it. Ichigo had to explain that he didn't take offerings like that, Run nodding in understanding before asking if he'd kill a human if they were vile enough. Ichigo didn't answer, he wasn't supposed to make those calls. If he did, what gave him the right to do so? Run changed the topic after a bit of silence and they spoke of different matters. Ichigo got a sense of righteousness from the man, someone that would be a better teacher or politician than special forces soldier, but beneath that was a burning hatred of something or someone. What did this would be monster do to the man?
Next was Bols, who arrived and prepared lunch for his teammates. Despite an appearance that would scare off a lot of people, he had the impression of a gentle giant despite his job and weapon. He purposefully avoided topics that related to his time in the incineration squad of the army and spoke fondly of his wife and child. Ichigo guessed that he was haunted by the lives he took, likely screaming they were innocent if the corruption of the empire had any part. In a way, Bols reminded him of his teacher Yamamoto, a man that felt his list of sins far exceeded any good he may have done. Likely thought that he might go to Hell for the things he did in life. The hybrid wanted to free him of that fear, but put it on hold. Would Bols even believe him if he told him the true requirements to go to Hell, or does he wish Hell upon himself?
Wave was next and Kurome was with him, hiding behind the former Navy officer the moment she saw the Soul Reaper. That... was not a productive conversation. Wave continued to prove himself similar to Tatsumi in so many ways, the two could be brothers. He was even the butt of a few jokes from the other Jaegers and the universe's sick sense of humor. Kurome, however, admitted to being Akame's sister and that they were part of the same assassination training course and that was all she said before munching on some of her candy. Which Ichigo took it and scolded her for her unhealthy eating habits before returning it after getting called a bully by everyone else in the room. Though he did keep a few pieces of candy for himself, wondering about the sweets after eating nothing but Akame and Tatsumi's cooking all this time.
Seryu and Stylish came together as well, though Seryu did most of the talking. She wanted to know what happened to sinners, how justice is done in the afterlife, and if he already sent captain Ogre to heaven yet, to which he responded with asking if she remembered every criminal she killed. When she went silent, Stylish changed the topic to how she's helped people as of late. That actually gave him some new insight into the girl; someone that wanted to help, but then why did she have the face of a savage in battle? What kind of damage must she have to be the way she is? Stylish... kept observing him, and he spent enough time with Kisuke and Mayuri to know that look. Dissecting, examining, undoing a puzzle and hypothesizing, he only asked Ichigo one question and it was to confirm his own suspicions of the relation between the Soul and the Body after Esdeath's injuries.
'And back to the hideout.' The Shinigami thought as he flew back to his and Night Raid's base. First thing he did was break the seal on the underground base and check on things there. Sheele was developing nicely, her blade changing to match her body with the guard resembling... scissors? Looks like that Teigu of hers left quite the impression on her soul. Bulat and Daidara were sparring and recovered their Asuachi, so all that was left was for the blades to change to their wielders. Maybe he'd let Sheele perform Konso unsupervised in the city soon. But for now, he shared a glance with Marik and put a stronger barrier over the underground and added an illusory concealment Kido to keep it hidden. "Now, time for us to talk Akame." He whispered to himself, but someone heard him.
"About what Ichigo?" Akame asked, appearing right behind the Soul Reaper. Ichigo looked to the girl in surprise and shock by how she pulled that off.
'I know she can mask her presence and remove killing intent, but how did I not sense her Reishi?' He wondered as he stood back up. "You have a sister." He said, making her nod.
"And I have to kill her." She admitted, throwing Ichigo through a loop. The way she said it carried a tone of sadness and regret, anger and hate, but also pain. None of which Ichigo cared about because she just said she was going to kill her little sister. "I tried to convince her to come with me when I chose to defect, but she chose to stay. She would probably say I abandoned her. Was she constantly eating something while you were there?" Ichigo pulled out some of Kurome's candy, which she sniffed and tasted before sighing in disappointment. "Drugs. She's too far-" Ichigo didn't let her finish, slapping her really hard with a furious glare.
"What the hell is family to you Akame?" He demanded, the assassin looking at him in shock. "Do you really think you can just give up on your sister like that? How close were the two of you before you defected? If the answer is that you relied on each other, then how the hell can you just give up on her like that!?"
"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER WAY!" She answered, crying out in anguish with tears running down her face. "I'd do anything to save her if I could, but I can't if she won't let me. The only way I can think of is to give her a quick end, not letting those drugs destroy her."
"Then you aren't trying hard enough." He growled, making her look at him. "The job of an older sibling is to protect the younger ones. When I have the time, I'm dragging the both of you to a neutral space, and you WILL talk it out. As for the drugs," Ichigo looked at the candy, "I'll see what I can do." Now Akame was stunned.
"Can... can you save her?" Ichigo merely looked at her and nodded. He was about to dispel the barrier and head down when Akame told him something else. "Last I heard, Kurome should have a Teigu called Yatsufusa. It reanimates the bodies of those killed by the sword like puppets." That actually explained a lot to Ichigo, and became another matter on his to-do list.
"Then you can tell Night Raid this, the Jaegers number of six consist entirely of Teigu users. Not including Esdeath." He warned, dropping into the underground cavern and heading for his lab station. Time to put Mayuri's chemistry set to work.
(Some time later)
'Almost... there.' The hybrid thought as he prepared to add a new chemical to a possible detox cure that would clean out Kurome's system from the 'performance enhancers' that the Empire created to make her even with the other top candidates in that assassination program Akame told him about. He put the candy in the scanner, was told the exact chemical composition, and was given instructions on how to counteract it with easy to follow tips... almost as if Mayuri and Urahara were contacting him through the other side. Wouldn't surprise him if that were the case and he's not sure how he should feel about it, he's just happy to nearly be done with making the medicine. It had been a long time since he did anything chemistry related and it was NOT like riding a bicycle, muscle memory played no part in it. He did keep a steady hand, thanks to all the calligraphy practice with Yamamoto, now to add the final few drops to complete his project... then the ground started shaking.
"What the-?" He asked before a couple glass containers fell over and broke, mixing together haphazardly. "Oh no." He said before it quickly blew up in his face, a flash of light, heat, and minor chemical burns that he healed from pretty quickly. His budding squad of spirits rushed to his side, about to ask what happened, when Ichigo silenced them with a single raised finger and they listened as the shaking continued. The hybrid flashed to the exit and left the underground chamber, soon coming to face a rather large army of large thick muscled humanoids with what he could only describe as 'melted faces'. "Relief. Good." He said before holding out a Zanpakuto lengthwise. "Hado #32, Okasen." A ball light appeared before spreading along the blade and shooting out a beam of Reishi, cutting through many of the freaks of nature. When he did, he heard a multitude of voices calling out.
"Thank you." He saw dozens of human souls appearing and fleeing from the battle, drawing a sickening conclusion of what this was to Ichigo. These used to be people and only one person had the means and ability to do something like this in the Empire. Next time he saw Stylish, would likely be the last. He sensed Night Raid's members coming out, but he sealed them and the base behind a barrier with a flick of his wrist.
"I'm cutting loose. Stay." He ordered, releasing the Shikai of Zangetsu and facing the misshapen horde. He could sense that there were more, many more, this was just the mindless cannon fodder to start. If that were to be the case, then they would die as such. "Let's see if I can't get this right." He said, sticking the Khyber blade into the ground and raised his hand for a chop. "Ura Hado: Sannodo, Teppusatsu!" He called out, an eastern dragon's head with puffed up cheeks appearing as he chopped down. The dragon blew out a gust of wind that blasted most of the abominations back, along with a few broken bones if those snaps were any indication, but Ichigo felt his arm go numb and the creatures got back up and kept coming. "Should've practiced that more." He sighed as feeling returned to his arm when he picked his blade back up. "Getsuga Tensho!" He roared, swinging a wave of black destructive energy that vaporized the horde.
"Impressive." He heard from behind as a blade hit the back of his neck. "But you left yourself exposed." The voice sounded cocky, before gasping when he noticed Ichigo wasn't bleeding. He remembered a lesson continuously drilled into his skull.
"Never drop your guard." He said before twisting his Trench knife blade and stabbing back, impaling whoever on his Zanpakuto. "That's something I learned the hard way." He tossed the body back to the horde remains and threw another Getsuga at them, just to ensure the abominations were destroyed. That's when Stylish's army appeared all around him and swarmed the Soul Reaper, catching nothing when he flashed above them with his bow at the ready and unleashing a barrage of arrows. The results were gruesome as the gathered pawns were shredded and then pulped by the arrows, Ichigo soon landing in the torn up and bloodied ground. Stylish's army was now fleeing, but before Ichigo could give chase, a large and thick muscled man with a dapper mustache, green jacket, and armored hands with a familiar pair of scissors on his back.
"Sorry, 'Soul Reaper', you won't be getting-" He started to say before Ichigo appeared in front of him, punching with both fists. The result was a massive hole in the man's body as he fell dead, Ichigo continuing to his intended target.
"You made a bad mistake doc." Ichigo said to himself, seeing Stylish with three others. A man with a ridiculous nose, a man with giant eyes, and a girl with giant ears... Ichigo may have been wrong about him having Yumichika's aesthetic sense. The mad doc seemed to think that now would be a good time to run, but Ichigo removed his Gigai Ring and cut off his escape route before reappearing on the physical plane. "Did you really think you could run?" Stylish now looked scared.
"P-Please, lord Shinigami... I just wanted to research the spiritual plane! I couldn't resist coming!" He pleaded. A weak defense, the both of them knew it was. "A-and why are you protecting Night Raid? I heard that your weren't planning to involve yourself." He tried desperately for any way to avoid his coming doom.
"Same reason why I bother with Esdeath. We made a deal." He answered before swinging his blade and letting the wind pressure from the swing send him and his cronies flying off into the forest. After that, he dispelled the barrier around the base and erected another few to box Stylish in. "Night Raid, your own monsters, or me! Pick your poison you bastard." He roared, clearly not happy with the doctor after fighting his army. All those people that were modified humans, how many still had their minds or survived compared to how many must have been failures in comparison? He personally didn't want his own discount Mayuri, no matter how useful he may be. He watched as the Danger Beast humans charged at the doctor's location, what remaining soldiers he had trying to fight them off with one that looked like a cyborg with multiple weapons hidden in his body, but that was a losing battle. Stylish seemed to noticed that and did something Ichigo didn't expect to happen, he pulled out a syringe and injected himself with whatever chemicals was inside. The effects were instantaneous as his body mutated, the upper half of his torso taking the place of a head and the rest appearing to be a crude suit of a monster's body that continued to grow larger and larger.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!" Stylish roared as the change continued, starting to eat his own forces for 'nutrients' as he grew bigger and bigger. When he stopped, he was the height of a Gillian Menos with the muscle of that Ayon chimera that Halibel's girls showed him some time back, a robot arm... that made no sense of how it was there but the Goliath monster had mechanical parts, and Stylish himself like a zit on the creature's forehead. "I will not fall here!" He turned to face Ichigo, who was concentrating his power.
"Just what is humanity to you, Stylish?" He asked silently, flashing away at the last second when Stylish brought his fist down and was now standing level with the sole remaining human part, that bore a rage filled look at the Soul Reaper. "Just a word? Something to experiment with? To easily throw away?" Ichigo's arms glowed red as he channeled his Blut Arterie and got into a quickdraw stance. "You make me sad." He whispered before the upper half of his clothes were shredded by pure energy. "Hitotsume: Nadegiri." He then slashed so quickly, no one saw it and he dispelled his poor attempt at Shunko, grimacing as his body stitched his muscles and bones back together with his clothes doing the same. Stylish's body split in half seconds later, along with leaving a gash in Night Raid's mountain base.
"Wow, what did I miss?" Najenda asked, flying in on a manta-ray with two cloaked figures at her side.
(Illustrated Guide to Assassination)
Where was Night Raid?
"So Ichigo is basically going to force you to make amends with your sister?" Tatsumi summed up after Akame told the group what the resident Soul Reaper told her. "And that the Jaeger's police force is entirely made up of Teigu users. Does anyone else feel that he's doing more than he said he would?"
"Ah, leave him to it!" Leone shouted, drinking a pint of beer because why not. "He's just doing whatever he wants and it's not like we can really stop him." She downed about half her drink when some of them noticed something off. "Hey, is something shaking?"
First Impressions
Susanoo: He is certainly powerful, I wonder if that is even his full power. Are his clothes... regenerating? I MUST GET THAT FABRIC!
Chelsea: So that must be the guy that the boss says is the Death God and a neutral force. Gotta say, he's certainly impreHOLY ABS! ABS! ABS FOR DAYS! ...I think I'm completely straight again. It's a miracle.
Najenda Catching Up
"I know we have that agreement with Ichigo where he protects our base and all. But WHY DIDN'T YOU LOT DO ANYTHING!?" The former general exploded at her team while her new humanoid Teigu, Susanoo, packed the base up for the move to a new location. "I know we're still reeling from the loss of Sheele and Bulat," Said spirits looked at their former team while getting plenty of practice in Konso, "but that is absolutely NO EXCUSE to just sit around and do nothing!"
"Not like there was much they could do Najenda." Ichigo said, coming to their rescue. "I sealed them behind a barrier so they wouldn't get involved. I had some..." Ichigo looked to the lab kit briefcase Marik carried along with a restrained Stylish, "aggression to work out. By the way, I need Spectator back. I told Makoto I'd get it to him."
"WHAT!?" The boss roared, looking furious at Ichigo while he pulled out the Emperor's seal.
"It's so he can keep Chouri alive." Najenda looked at the seal, back to Ichigo, and sighed.
"I'll see what I can do."