Arrancar: New Transfer Student
True to his word, even if it was unspoken, Sombra let Ichigo have the first day following their return to Karakura Town off, meaning that he didn't have to worry about doing any Shinigami related work at all, which he could do easily on his own and still have time left over to do whatever he wanted. At first Ichigo was surprised by his sudden decision, since he was used to being the defender of the town when Rukia, or whoever was bound to replace her in case she got reassigned, was absent or didn't have any powers, like how she had been when they first met her. After an hour, however, he had changed his tone, as the badge that he had been given would go off every now and then, exactly when a Hollow would appear, but Sombra, with his enhanced senses able to detect one before anyone else did, was able to leave the room or building they were in, find where the Hollow was located, purify it in seconds, and be back in time to hear the noise of the badge if he wanted to. As such Ichigo agreed to take the day off and relaxed with his family, who was happy to see him again, and Sombra upheld his side of the bargain by taking care of the Hollows that appeared throughout the day, though that was only two or three after not counting the first one he killed to prove his point.
On the second day, however, Sombra also remained true to his word and had Ichigo meet him in the underground training area under the Urahara Shop, arriving before the store actually opened so he could be let down into the area in question and slip into his Shinigami form without anyone seeing his body collapse, all thanks to his new badge, which he carried with him at all times.
"I came like you wanted." Ichigo said, to which he looked around, as he was fully expecting Urahara to show up with some idea on how to train him and increase his power, even though he was perfectly fine with the power that beat up a Captain, since he figured that Aizen was likely Soul Society's problem, "So, what did you want to do down here?"
"First off, I'm happy that you're willing to take an hour or two out of your time with your family to come down here and meet with me," Sombra replied, as he knew that it had to have been a hard decision for his friend to give up some of his time that he could be spending with his family, but this was for the greater good since Ichigo needed to be ready in case Aizen attacked Karakura Town, "Secondly, we're going to do some training to better improve how you handle your power, though I'm not referring to the current state that you are currently in at the moment. Ichigo, I know that you're body was in pain the last time you used your Bankai, so we're going to make sure that, by the time we're done with these training sessions, you won't cause your body any further harm when you activate your Bankai. Think of this as training to increase your endurance when you use your Bankai."
Ichigo shrugged and unleashed the power that he commanded when he was in his Bankai, though when he though about it he realized that Sombra's way of training was going to be identical to Urahara's method, meaning that it was going to be a bunch of fighting and likely him being hurt in the process. Of course he was expecting Sombra to come at him with either the sealed or the Shikai form of his Zanpakuto, though he had little time to prepare for the sudden shift into his Bankai form before he had to guard the incoming attack, which flung him back into one of the rock formations and shattered it into a thousand pieces. Ichigo remained in the hole for a moment, as he already knew that Sombra wasn't someone that he could fight seriously, because his friend was faster than him, smarter than him, and was even stronger than him, not to mention that his Bankai had offensive, defensive, and healing abilities, meaning that he was screwed the moment he asked him to come down here and train. Despite that fact, however, he pushed his body and got back up, to which he used his own speed and moved around the area that they were practicing, but, at the same time, he noticed that Sombra was able to track him easily and always kept him in his sights... even when Ichigo fired one of his Getsuga Tensho's at the Arrancar, the black variety that came with his Bankai after the Hollow inside him used it, Sombra was able to push the attack back and come at him again.
As time went on Ichigo found that he was unable to land a single blow on Sombra, as his opponent's speed was much quicker than his own, he could dodge really well, and his defensive abilities were able to stop his Getsuga Tensho in it's tracks, even though he left a small crack in the barrier that was used to defend himself... and the second time he tried the attack Sombra blew it out of the air with his own wave shaped attack, causing him to growl in annoyance as he continued his attack.
By the time the first training session ended Ichigo was exhausted and unsure if Sombra was doing this to help him or if he was doing this to mock him, like a sneaky way of saying that he was better than Ichigo, but then he sighed and realized that Sombra was only looking out for his well being, especially since his Bankai did hurt him the first time he had used it in battle. Ichigo was still sure that the reason behind the pain was because of how broken his body had felt because of the abuse Zangetsu had put him through to learn his Bankai in the first place, but regardless of that fact Sombra still insisted on making sure that never happened again. By the time the first week of training had ended, and he had time to go over what Sombra was doing, he discovered that Yoruichi and Urahara were right about his explosive growth, as it only took him a week to get over the painful effects of activating his Bankai, which had been the entire point of the training that his friend was putting him through. Ichigo insisted on one or two more days to be absolutely sure that he was at the point that Sombra wanted him to be at, to use his Bankai without the strain on his body, and he was pleased to find that the training had been successful, causing Yoruichi and Urahara to smile when they found that Sombra's sessions had worked... and, at the same time, Sombra smiled as he nodded his head, pleased that Ichigo was able to get to this point, making him ready for whatever came at them and the town in the future.
Sombra was sure that Aizen was doing something with the Hogyoku, since he went through all the effort to get the artifact from where Urahara had put it, inside that special gigai that Rukia was using, and he wanted to make sure that he and the others were ready for whatever happened next, especially since they had no idea what their foe was even planning at the moment.
Two weeks had gone by since the group's return to the World of the Living, allowing all of them to readjust to their normal lives while at the same time making sure that the Hollows and spiritual side of things didn't change things for each of them, despite the fact that Sombra knew that Uryu was the most changed out of all of them. He felt sorry for Uryu, since he had also lost his powers and had to gain the ones that he had now, but at the same time he had no idea if there was a way for him to regain his abilities, especially since he said that it was a permanent loss for him and that he could deal with it in time. Since he had no idea what to do to help Uryu he simply moved to the side and let him do what he wanted, as he might have better luck without someone constantly interrupting him, and he also found that Orihime and Sora were just fine as well, which was good news. He found that the trip to Soul Society had been good for Sora, as he trained day and night outside their house when Orihime was home, and when she wasn't home he followed her and made absolutely sure that his sister was safe from harm, allowing Sombra to focus on his task of dealing with the Hollows that invaded the town every now and then... and, at the same time, the Shinigami that was currently in charge of Karakura Town seemed to be a coward, as he or she refused to come out and deal with the Hollows, or at least that was his guess.
When the first of September came around, and they left August behind, Ichigo and the others returned to their high school, where Sombra followed after him and took his customary spot at the back of the room, before which his friends started to file into the room while the other students took their time doing the same thing... even though Keigo started to make a scene when he found Ichigo standing next to Chad, Orihime, and Uryu, only for Ichigo to poke fun at him a little before the young man stormed off, leaving Ichigo behind. Of course, in addition to Keigo acting like the fool that he remembered him to be, Sombra also spotted one of Orihime's friends, Chizuru, come up behind Orihime and hug her in what he knew to be a slightly inappropriate manner, prompting Tatsuki to kick her in the face and knock her away from Orihime, before Sora could do anything from his end.
"Morning, Tatsuki." Ichigo said, as it was good to see her again, especially after the experiences that they had during the break between semesters, and he knew that the others were thinking the same thing that he was thinking, while finding that she was slightly distracted by something.
"Morning, Ichigo." Tatsuki replied, though she kept the same frown on her face that she had the last time he had seen her, but that was likely because of Chizuru's stunt and how she acted around Orihime, before something came to mind as she stared at him for a few seconds, "How's that report coming? You know, the one that was assigned while all of you were on vacation earlier?"
"Report?" Ichigo commented, trying to remember what Tatsuki was talking about, though while he did eventually recall what she was talking about he knew why he might have forgotten about it after she told him about it, which was why he glanced back at Sombra for a moment, since his training had taken up so much time, "Honestly, I kind of forgot about the assignment altogether."
"Are you sure you're alright? It's not my fault if you don't get it in on time." Tatsuki said, though she was clearly a little annoyed with him at the moment, but not a few seconds later she noticed something, along with someone, that she hadn't seen before today, "What's that on your belt? And who is that person in the back of the classroom?"
"Oh, this is a good luck charm," Ichigo replied, though at the same time he had a slightly annoying story to tell, since it only happened that morning and it was fresh in his mind, before he sighed and focused on Tatsuki, "My old man gave me this before we went on vacation, and when I tried to return it this morning he insisted that he didn't need it and decided to stitch it to my uniform."
"I could have figured that out without you telling me what happened, since your father is the only person in your life that would do something like that." Tatsuki stated, showing that she knew more about Ichigo's life than what Sombra thought she did, even though he was curious if she could see him, which would make sense since she was attacked by a Hollow when Uryu and Ichigo had their contest, just as Orihime and Chad could fully see them after that event, "I was referring to the badge like thing with a skull on it, not the good luck charm."
"Oh, this is a completely different good luck charm I bought while we were on vacation," Ichigo answered, deciding to go with that, since he knew that there was no way he could tell Tatsuki the truth, especially since he was caught off guard by the fact that she could actually see the badge since it was supposed to be hidden by a barrier that prevented ordinary Humans from seeing it, if he believed what Urahara told him when he asked about it, before he glanced behind him for a few seconds, "Anyway, are you feeling okay? There's no one in the back of the room at the moment."
"What are you talking about? Of course there's someone sitting in the back of the room." Tatsuki said, to which she turned and looked right at the section of the room that Sombra happened to be sitting in, or, if Sombra was right about his thoughts, staring right at him and not the area around him, "Are you telling me that you don't see the guy with the odd clothing and the strange, curved horn on his head?"
Uryu, Orihime, and Chad were shocked that Tatsuki could see Sombra, if their expressions were anything to go by, and Ichigo noticed that they all quickly changed their expressions before Tatsuki could see them, as that would have clued her in and let her know that they could see him as well, all while Ichigo didn't know what to say about the fact... and, just before he could say anything, the instructor came in and started calling the rest of their classmates names, causing them to return to their seats in the process. Sombra sat there for a few seconds as the teacher said that two of her students weren't present, calling them punks at the same time, as he considered the fact that Tatsuki could see him, meaning that he'd have to rethink where he would wait while Ichigo was in school. As the teacher started to say that there would be a new transfer student starting today, however, his senses went off, indicating that a Hollow was in the process of invading the World of the Living, and he moved immediately, heading for the windows near where the teacher was standing, where an open one rested, and jumped outside before flashing through the air... all while Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu focused on what their teacher was saying, since they knew that he could deal with the Hollow and be back before they had a chance to leave the building.
It didn't take him long to find the Hollow in question, a humanoid one by the looks of it's body, though it insisted on calling out 'beef' and 'pork' as it attempted to attack him with small pink energy pellets, but all Sombra did was weave around the attacks and draw Shokyo from her scabbard, slicing the Hollow in half and purifying it's soul. A few seconds later he landed on the ground and looked around the area, as he was making sure that there weren't any additional Hollows in the area for him to deal with, before sighing as he slipped his Zanpakuto back into her scabbard and stood there for a few seconds. He knew that Soul Society had to be behind in choosing someone to replace Rukia, since he hadn't been approached by anyone from any of the Divisions claiming that they were working in the area, but at the same time he knew that there was a new Shinigami in town, one that was much weaker than Rukia and the others that he had encountered so far. At the same time, however, he glanced up at the sky and found someone in the uniform of Ichigo's school floating in the air, upside down as it turned out, though all the person did was stare down at him, his eyes and face hidden by the familiar newsboy cap that he had seen once or twice when he was first learning from Urahara and Yoruichi... but before he could say anything the person flashed out of the area and, oddly enough, his reiatsu vanished completely, making him wonder who the person had been.
After another minute or two he sighed and headed back to the school, so he could see what else happened today and whether or not he needed to go out and purify some more Hollows, though fortunately the class was still discussing something and Tatsuki didn't even notice him slip back into the room, allowing him to take his position without causing a scene or drawing attention to himself... all while Ichigo glanced at him for a moment and nodded his head, his thanks for him taking care of business while he was in school, before returning his attention to his teacher.
"Listen up, everyone. The transfer student I mentioned earlier is here." the instructor said, as she had started the lesson at some point and only stopped when there was a brief knock on the door of the classroom, though Sombra raised an eyebrow in confusion when Mr. Hirako, dressed in the clothing of a student while not wearing the familiar hat, walked into the room, "I'll introduce you all to him. Your name, please."
"The 'hei' in lewd, plus the 'ko' in Onono Imoko," Mr. Hirako replied, explaining to the class how to spell his name, using the kanji in the process, while at the same time Sombra noticed that he was starting with his last name before moving onto his first name, "The 'shin' in genuine worker, plus the 'ko' in spicy cod roe. I'm Shinji Hirako. Pleased to meet all of you."
"Huh, you told them your name in reverse." the instructor commented, as that was a first for her, having a student start with their last name and then state their first name, while at the same time noticing that some of the students had caught onto that fact as well.
"Pretty good, right?" Shinji asked, sounding pleased with himself all of a sudden, something that also caught Sombra off guard since this wasn't something he had heard when the man was visiting Urahara's shop for supplies, "Doing things in reverse is my specialty."
Sombra honestly wondered what Shinji was doing here, at the high school, and kept his mouth shut as the young man walked over to where Ichigo was sitting and took the seat next to him, where the teacher told him to sit, and he said hello to Ichigo while saying that they should be friends. The interesting part about this was that Shinji didn't even acknowledge his existence, like he was pretending to be a student that couldn't see the world of spirits and Hollows, so he decided that, until he got to the bottom of the mystery, that he'd remain silent and watch what was going on, even though Shinji was acting like a student and seemed to have many of the other students fooled. As he sat there he discovered nothing from watching Shinji's movements, as he couldn't figure out what game he was playing at the moment, while at the same time being a little concerned for the school since they seemed to be failures at checking people's backgrounds before admitting new students into the building, which meant that Rukia might have had a way around that annoyance. He determined that the same had to be true for Shinji, that there was a trick or something that allowed him to get into the school without anyone raising the alarms because someone like him entered the building, though since Shinigami seemed to age slowly, based on what he had seen, it was possible that Shinji was like Urahara... which was something that he was going to have to ask him about later, or maybe Yoruichi the next time they were together.
Eventually the school day ended and Sombra learned nothing about what Shinji was doing in the high school, though he did follow Ichigo home that night to be sure nothing happened, as some of the glances that Shinji had shot Ichigo had concerned him... though for the most part he had to listen to Kon's cries of boredom, as he hated being trapped in the body he was stuck in, before Ichigo eventually knocked the pill out of him and switched places, where he jumped out of the window and flashed up to where Sombra was standing, letting Kon control his body for a while.
"There's a Hollow nearby." Sombra said, as his senses had finally gone off while Ichigo was dealing with Kon, though the only reason he hadn't gone off to purify it was because Ichigo told him to take care of the Hollows that appeared while he was in school and that he should only take care of Hollows that appeared at times like this when Ichigo was busy with his family or some other matter, "Shall we go see what it wants?"
"Lead the way." Ichigo replied, knowing that Sombra knew exactly where the Hollow in question was located, but after a day like today he decided that he needed some time to relax, in a manner of speaking, and protecting the town for an hour or two was the best way for him to do that.
Sombra nodded and started moving towards the location of the Hollow he had felt, keeping his speed at a moderate pace so Ichigo could keep up with him as he made his way through the town, though fortunately the Hollow in question wasn't one of the ones that liked to hide, as that meant it would be in the same spot when they arrived. In fact it didn't take them very long to reach the area in question that the Hollow was in, as it was hanging on one of the roofs, roaring with all it's might, and Ichigo simply sighed as he jumped into the air and pulled Zangetsu off his back, before cutting the Hollow in half and purifying it as he landed on the roof. As that happened Sombra landed on the roof next to him and glanced around the area, his senses trying to pick up any additional enemies that might be trying to attack the town, before he spotted the Shinigami that he had felt enter the town some time ago, as a man, clad in the familiar black Shinigami attire, was standing nearby with a look of shock, fear, and annoyance in his eyes... and, to top it all off, Sombra noticed that the Shinigami in question had what was commonly referred to as an afro for his hair.
"Hey! Wh... Who are you two?!" the Shinigami demanded, having drawn his Zanpakuto the moment he spotted them standing on the roof, though at the same time the duo glanced at each other for a few seconds, as this wasn't what they were expecting to see when they heard that someone was coming to replace Rukia, "All dressed like a Shinigami, and a weird Shinigami with grey coloring! Very suspicious!"
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Sombra asked, as he knew that this had to be Rukia's replacement, making him wonder if Soul Society sent him because they knew that the town was well defended with a Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar standing watch over it, in addition to Ichigo, Urahara, Yoruichi, and the others, meaning that they wouldn't send someone strong when a lot of strong people were already there.
"Me? I am Zennosuke Kurumadani!" the Shinigami replied, pointing to himself for a moment, showing that he was happy and full of pride to have been selected to replace Rukia as the guardian for Karakura Town, "I'm an elite Shinigami tasked with watching this area in Rukia Kuchiki's stead, who was pulled out on account of some crime or something. Well, are you both surprised?"
"No, not really." Ichigo admitted, because he had been expecting someone to replace Rukia at some point in time, and the look on Sombra's face told him that his friend knew that the new Shinigami had arrived recently, but at the same time he held up the badge that he had been given, "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm the Substitute Shinigami that's watching over Karakura Town on Soul Society's behalf, while also working with whoever they task with guarding the town from Hollows and other dangerous spirits."
"And my name is Sombra." Sombra added, wishing that he knew what his memories would have told him, as he found it unusual to tell someone his name and not be able to tell them what his last name was, even though he guessed that at some point he could always add Yoruichi's last name if things really got serious between them, "I'm the Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar that's been living in Karakura Town for the last few months, dealing with Hollows that step into my domain and helping Soul Society whenever they need assistance."
"What the hell is this? I've never seen or heard of a Substitute Shinigami badge before today!" Zennosuke replied, to which he took a few moments to laugh at them, causing Sombra to sigh, as he knew that this would have happened since he had figured, based on Ukitake's words, that a badge like this wasn't used all that often, so it made sense that Shinigami weren't trained to recognize it, before their new friend looked at them once more, "I've also never heard of or seen an Arrancar before today, so that must mean that the two of you are pulling my leg! So, if the two of you are going to apologize for trying to trick me, now is the time for you to be doing that before I punish you!"
"Ichigo." Sombra said, as this time around his senses had finally picked up the same reiatsu that he had felt earlier, when he spotted that stranger floating in the air, and it was silently approaching the two of them, though not silently enough since he was still able to detect it.
"Yeah?" Ichigo inquired, though for the most part he was looking down at the badge in annoyance, while Zennosuke laughed at them some more, because he was annoyed that the badge was completely useless, save for the fact that it saved him time when changing from his Human form to his Shinigami form.
"Pick up Zangetsu and swing at the attack that's coming at us from behind," Sombra whispered, his voice low enough so that only Ichigo could hear him, as he felt that the reiatsu behind them was planning an attack and didn't want to alert whoever it was, as he was eager to unmask whoever he had felt earlier.
Ichigo, sensing that something was coming from behind like Sombra was saying, spun around and swung Zangetsu towards whatever was behind them, just as Sombra moved out of the way, and his sword collided with the blade that was coming at them, only for him and Sombra to be surprised when they saw who was attacking him... though at the same time the force of his reiatsu meeting the reiatsu of his opponent blew Zennosuke away from the area that the three of them were standing in.
"Shinji?!" Ichigo stated, surprise appearing in his voice as he said that, while at the same time Sombra stood nearby as he stared at the man that was attacking his friend, before he focused on his new opponent as he prevented himself from being pushed backwards, "You bastard. You have a Zanpakuto?! What the hell are you?"
"Don't make so much noise, Ichigo Kurosaki." Shinji replied, to which he raised one of his fingers of his left hand and made a shushing motion, while at the same time smiling at Ichigo for a few seconds, "Someone with so much reiatsu shouldn't create a commotion so easily. It will echo throughout the world and alert others."
"Others?" Ichigo asked, as he didn't understand what Shinji was talking about at the moment, regardless of the times that Sombra and Urahara had been trying to teach him about everything he needed to know about reiatsu control and how to improve that skill, "What are you talking about?"
"Geez, you really are a dumbass." Shinji said, to which he turned his head towards Sombra for a moment, as he easily remembered the time that he asked Urahara about the Arrancar that had been outside his shop the one day that he had come by for supplies and he was there, "How can you hang with someone who makes so much noise with his reiatsu?"
"Because I can deal with what comes from his actions," Sombra replied, as he could easily deal with whatever Hollows caught the scent of Ichigo's reiatsu and came looking for him, and so could Ichigo if the Hollow was weak enough, before he offered Shinji his other reason, "and besides, he's one of my friends. I'll figure out a way for him to get his reiatsu under control and not make so much noi... wait a second, I just felt something."
"Wait, already?!" Shinji asked, though he was surprised that Sombra, as that was the name that Urahara had given him when he asked who the Arrancar was, was already feeling the presence of Hollows invading the town, thanks to the echo of Ichigo's reiatsu, "How many are coming?"
"Three." Sombra stated, though at the same time he knew that one of them was near Kon, meaning that Ichigo's body was in danger of being attacked, and the other two were near Uryu, who might not be defenseless considering that he was a Quincy and had an intensive knowledge of how to deal with Hollows, along with the fact that there was a new reiatsu near him as well, "All Menos Grande from what I'm feeling... and, to be exact, they're all Gillian."
"Th... That's amazing!" Shinji said, as he wasn't expecting Sombra to have sensed how many enemies were invading the town, where they were located by the look on his face, and have already determined the power that all three of them possessed without being near them to get an accurate reading... and, while he was temporarily distracted by what the Arrancar was doing, Ichigo shifted his stance and forced the two of them to separate.
"Shinji, you didn't answer my question." Ichigo said, though at the same time he had to wonder who the Hollows were going after, as he had the feeling that Sombra knew the answer to that as well and likely wasn't telling him to keep his attention on the situation that he was in, which was why he focused on Shinji, "What the hell are you?"
"You really want to know what I am? Okay then..." Shinji replied, as this took all the fun out of the moment for a few seconds, because he had been hoping to do this another way, before he raised his empty left hand to his forehead and his reiatsu gathered, patching together what Sombra quickly recognized as a Hollow's mask, because that was the only thing he knew about that was bone white colored, "Do you see this, Ichigo? Do you recognize what this is?"
"A Hollow mask... and a Zanpakuto..." Ichigo said, to which he sweat for a moment as he thought about this, because it made him think about what happened back when he and Sombra were facing Byakuya with their Bankais, where his inner Hollow took control for a few moments and critically wounded their foe.
"That's right. I am a Shinigami that has stepped into Hollow territory," Shinji explained, though while all this happened he noticed that Sombra was looking at him with a look of interest in his eyes, most likely because this was the first time that he was discovering someone like him in the world, "Didn't I say that we 'should be friends' earlier? Anyway, the proper term for a Shinigami that has gained Hollow powers is Visored, just like the proper term for a Hollow that has gained Shinigami powers is an Arrancar... and I am your kin, Ichigo Kurosaki. Come to our side. You don't belong on the side of the Shinigami anymore."
Ichigo thought about saying something about the situation, but before he could do anything he noticed Sombra's ears shift for a moment as he focused on the fights that were currently happening around the area, though he smiled so he could turn back to Shinji, because the smile told him that whoever was under attack was okay, even though he'd have to ask Sombra about this later on.
"Do I even want to know what happened?" Shinji asked, because a few moments after Sombra had told them that three Hollows had appeared in the town, all Gillian ranked based on what he said, he had felt their reiatsu as well, once more surprising him by the sheer speed that the Arrancar had found them, and now his smile meant that something else must have happened.
"It seems that Uryu had some backup arrive, as the Gillian ranked Hollows that were attacking him are gone," Sombra replied, though he didn't say that the reiatsu that he had felt for a moment seemed similar to Uryu's reiatsu, meaning that it had to be a family member of Uryu's that they hadn't known about, before he focused on the area that Kon was in, as the other Hollow had a familiar feeling to his reiatsu, before he realized what it was, "I see that a new Arrancar has come to town, so they can play with Kon, and I have the feeling that the former Hollow was either tested on by Aizen, or they gained this power for themselves. Anyway, I can take care of it once we're done here, because I'm still interested in why you and the other Visored are bothering Ichigo... though I can hazard a guess, considering what I saw back in Soul Society when we were battling Byakuya."
"Sombra, I can handle Shinji." Ichigo spoke up, reminding the pair that he was still present, as he still had some words he wanted to share with the person who infiltrated his school to get close to him, before he glanced at his friend for a few seconds, "Why don't you go take care of the Arrancar that's chasing Kon? And tell him he's in trouble for leaving the house and likely damaging my body in the process."
Sombra simply sighed and flashed away from where Ichigo was standing, because it appeared that he was going to have to figure out who the Visored were and what their goal was, especially if they were willing to send one of their members out to meet Ichigo and attempt to recruit him into their group. He didn't like leaving Ichigo alone, as sometimes his friend was prone to making messes out of the simplest of things, and he had the feeling that talking with Shinji was going to end the same way, but Ichigo wanted to be left alone with the Visored and he guessed that he might as well let him have his way this time around. Besides, since there weren't any powerful reiatsu signatures near Kon, save for the Gillian ranked Arrancar, he knew that he'd be in for a short battle and then he'd be free to deal with the Mod-Soul that was running around in Ichigo's body, and then he could go ask Urhara about the Visored, since he had to know who these people were supposed to be. Fortunately, thanks to the speed that he had acquired from his training with Yoruichi, he was able to make great time and reached the area of Karakura Town that Kon was currently in, though as he came to a stop for a moment he noticed that Kon was running from the Arrancar that was chasing him.
Despite the more human shaped body that the Hollow possessed, a new mask that looked slightly different from the previous one, and the large sword that was resting in the scabbard on the Arrancar's back, it wasn't hard for Sombra to discover that the Grand Fisher had undone a transformation so he could kill Ichigo... though even as he pinned Kon to the ground, and prepared to finish him off, Sombra kept himself from doing anything as a charm, Ichigo's good luck charm, was thrown between them and threw up a barrier as the Grand Fisher's hand connected with it.
"My, my. I told you, didn't I? I told you to keep it on you at all times." a voice said, though as Sombra recognized it he glanced down and found Isshin Kurosaki walking out of the shadows, only this time he was wearing the standard clothing for a Shinigami, with a tattered Captain's haori worn like a sash and fastened over his left shoulder, where Sombra could barely make out the insignia for the Tenth Division, and he also had a Zanpakuto, "Sorry, Mr. Hollow, but Ichigo's not home right now. As a replacement or something, how about you play with me instead?"
"Who the hell are you?" the Grand Fisher asked, though even as he said that the barrier between his hand and Kon broke apart and the charm fell to the ground, but he made no move to continue his attack, as he was more interested in the person that had shown up and ruined his fun.
"My bad, I still haven't introduced myself yet." Isshin said, to which he looked into the Grand Fisher's eyes and stared at him, while at the same time Sombra descended down to where they were standing so he could see what was going on without having to remain in the air for so long, "My name is Isshin Kurosaki, and I am Ichigo's father."
"I see." the Grand Fisher commented, though his tone suggested that his transformation into an Arrancar had increased his ability to think, as he was considering what was going on at the moment, even though he was completely ignoring Sombra at the moment.
"Head's up, Kon." Isshin said, taking a moment to pick up the charm that he had thrown through the air and tossed it over to Kon, who caught it and stared at it for a few seconds, before something came to mind as he looked at Isshin, as he was completely caught off guard, "That's a protective amulet that I had made, one that was made for you to carry around whenever you were in Ichigo's body, in case something like this happened."
"When did you figure out that I wasn't Ichigo?" Kon asked, as he was completely confused and caught off guard by what was going on, because he had acted like Ichigo would when people that knew him were around and made sure to do that whenever his father was around.
"I knew you weren't Ichigo from the very beginning," Isshin stated, and that surprised Sombra for a moment, because Kon had done a wonderful job acting like Ichigo all the times he had watched over him, save for the very first day he had been inside his friend's body, though it was a shock to find out that Ichigo's father was smarter than what everyone was giving him credit for, "Ever since the day that we went to the cemetery to visit Masaki's grave, and I noticed for the first time that you were in his body. Think about this; I have never, not even once, called you 'Ichigo' while you were inside my son's body. I may look like a fool, and act like that at times, but my senses are quite keen... though I must admit, I was not expecting my son to find a friend in an Arrancar, much less a Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar."
"After hearing that you knew about Kon, I'm not even surprised that you know about me," Sombra said, to which he took a few steps and walked over to where Isshin was standing, where the man looked over him for a few seconds, once more confirming that his form was strange, even for an Arrancar, "My name is Sombra, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance at long last."
"Please, the pleasure is mine since you've been helping my son protect the town and make some new friends," Isshin replied, taking a moment to smile at Sombra for a moment, showing that he meant what he said, before he turned and looked at their current problem, who didn't seem to understand the danger that he was in.
"I see now... with a Shinigami for a father, Ichigo Kurosaki is of pure blood." the Grand Fisher stated, to which he rested one of his fists on the ground in front of him and stared at the pair that was currently blocking his way, even though he couldn't tell how powerful they were on his own, "If that is the case, then I am satisfied that I have fallen behind him. However, I have no interest in you or the person that is standing beside you. The reason I came here this evening is so I could hunt down and kill Ichigo Kurosaki, and one of you will point me to him."
"Sorry, but it's like Isshin said, Ichigo's kind of busy at the moment." Sombra stated, though he followed that up by staring at the Grand Fisher as he purposely increased his reiatsu, because he was going to try intimidation first, and if that failed he would simply slay the Arrancar where he stood, as he had a feeling that a fight would break out if intimidation didn't work for him.
The air around them shuddered as his reiatsu affected everyone around him, though while Kon was surprised by the sheer power he possessed, and Isshin was amazed by how strong he was, the Grand Fisher either seemed immune to his reiatsu or his eagerness to get at Ichigo was preventing him from actually thinking straight.
"He's too eager to find Ichigo and fight him," Isshin commented, to which he rested a hand on Sombra's shoulder, causing him to nod his head and reign in his reiatsu, as it was going to be hard for them to persuade the Grand Fisher to leave the area, "besides, even if you aren't interested in fighting me, as you say you are, I came out here tonight with the purpose of killing you."
"You came to cut me down?!" the grand Fisher asked, though that caused him to laugh for a few moments, as if he found something funny about the entire situation that he was in, before he stared down at Isshin, "You talk big for someone who looks like a Shinigami. Surely you didn't think that I was just an ordinary Hollow, did you?"
"No, I felt your power earlier," Sombra said, as that was the whole reason that he was here in the first place, because the Grand Fisher was the second Arrancar that he had come across in this town, before he glanced at the creature that was in front of them as Isshin readied himself, "You're an Arrancar."
"Yes!" the Grand Fisher replied, to which his body enlarged as the top part of his modified mask shattered, while at the same time a pair of horns grew out of the fur that was between his shoulders and his neck, though now he was roughly the size of the Menos Grande that Sombra and Ichigo had fought earlier, "I don't know how you knew what I was, but that doesn't matter in the end! Do you see the size of my sword? As you know the size of one's Zanpakuto is proportional to the reiryoku, or spiritual power, of the person that wields it, meaning that my reiryoku is far greater than what you two possess, since both of your blades are so small."
"Either way, I'm not backing down." Isshin stated, to which his hand moved towards his blade as he took up a stance that indicated that he was ready for battle, while at the same time the Grand Fisher finished drawing his own Zanpakuto and readied himself for what was going to happen next.
Not even a few seconds later Isshin jumped forward as the Grand Fisher started to thrust his sword down at the area that he was standing in, where he pulled his Zanpakuto out of it's scabbard, let loose a single swing that cleaved his opponent horizontally in half, and landed by his opponent's feet, only for the body to fall in a way that didn't crush him as he sheathed his weapon once more.
"All Shinigami, Captains and Lieutenants anyway, control the size of their Zanpakuto all the time," Sombra stated, to which he watched as the Grand Fisher collapsed on the ground and noticed that he was on the verge of falling apart and dying, though as his body started to break apart the gate to Hell appeared nearby, where the creature that claimed the mass murderer Hollow grabbed the Grand Fisher, pulled him into Hell, and let the gate shatter, before he continued what he was saying, "otherwise they would be wielding Zanpakuto that are the size of large buildings. One should never judge the strength of their opponent by the size of their weapon."
"I'm glad to see that one of my students remembers what we taught him," a voice said, to which Urahara stepped out of the shadows that he had been hiding in and approached the group, while at the same time turning his attention to the person he had come to see, "So, Isshin, have you avenged her at last? How was it, being a Shinigami again for the first time in twenty years?"
"It's alright, I guess... and I actually never held a grudge against that Hollow for what he did all those years ago." Isshin replied, seeming to think about what had happened and everything that he knew, while at the same time Kon got up and looked at them were worry in his eyes, as he was confused, and Sombra stood near Urahara, as he had the feeling that some important information would be revealed soon, "If there is one thing that I have regretted over these last twenty years, it would be my own lack of power... and the fact that I was unable to save Masaki that night."
Sombra didn't need to be told who Masaki was, as he had determined from the way Isshin had acted that Masaki was actually Ichigo's mother, the same person that the Grand Fisher had killed all those years ago, though at the same time he decided that it was time for them to get to the more serious matters.
"Urahara, I'm sure that you already know this, but Ichigo's been contacted by the Visored." Sombra said, to which both Isshin and Urahara glanced at him for a moment, surprise absent from both of their eyes, before they nodded their heads as he prepared for what he was going to say next, "Aizen told us that he experimented on Hollows and Shinigami, back before Rukia came to this world by the sounds of it, and Shinji Hirako revealed that he was a Shinigami that had gained the powers of a Hollow... does that mean that the Visored are some of the Shinigami Aizen had experimented on?"
"You know, I sometimes forget that you're good at piecing things together on your own," Urahara replied, as that was the interesting thing about Sombra, because out of the majority of the people that he knew Sombra was one of the few that preferred to consider the facts that he had been given, cross them with what he discovered on his own, and formed his own thoughts on a subject, and it was shocking how many times he hit the nail on the head, "but the answer to your question is yes. Aizen did experiment on several Shinigami back when I was a Captain and he wasn't, before Yoruichi, Tessai, and I had to flee Soul Society, and the Visored were the unfortunate Shinigami that got caught in one of his tests, and it was one of the only times I used the Hogyoku, as it restored the balance in the souls of the Visored... even though they had to flee Soul Society and come to the World of the Living with the rest of us."
"So that's the official story of what happened to them?" Isshin asked, because the teachings he had been given before he came to this world, and had become stuck here as well, was vastly different than what Urahara said, "Funny, the story I learned was that they were a group of outlaw Shinigami that had sought to gain the powers of a Hollow through forbidden methods, which weren't explained at all."
"Leave it to Soul Society to cover up what I tried to tell them," Urahara said, knowing that Soul Society disliked the idea of a Shinigami gaining the powers of a Hollow and usually attacked any Hollow that gained the powers of a Shinigami, but since Sombra was still fine he knew that they had to be keeping a close eye on him, as best as they could do considering the fact that the Arrancar was good at hiding his reiatsu to the point where it was like he wasn't there, "anyway, it appears that the Visored are preparing for battle, just like Soul Society and Aizen are doing. With the exceptions of Sombra and Sora, that was the most complete Arrancar that has come out of Hueco Mundo, meaning that Aizen must be using the Hogyoku to create them and is sending them out to run tests on how well they perform in battle. My guess is that he's trying to create something that can stand up to your sheer power and the abilities that your Bankai possesses, or at the very least an army that can slow just about anyone down, regardless of who their opponents are."
"Personally, I don't think there's an Arrancar out there that Aizen can create that can stand up to the sheer power of the Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar that's currently standing beside us," Isshin stated, to which he patted Sombra's shoulder for a moment and smiled, indicating that he remembered the power that he had displayed in his attempt to intimidate the foolish Grand Fisher, "and that's considering that he's using the power of the Hogyoku to create new Arrancar. Though you have me a little confused, what did you mean by his Bankai?"
Sombra started to open his mouth, to tell Isshin that his Zanpakuto was actually identical to a Shinigami's Zanpakuto and that his Arrancar blade was lost somewhere inside Hueco Mundo, but before he could actually say anything he felt a familiar reiatsu coming their way.
"Looks like Ichigo is on his way to investigate your reiatsu, Isshin." Sombra stated, turning towards his friend's father for a moment, who didn't even seem surprised that he knew who was coming this way, before he thought about what was going on at the moment, "I take it you don't want him to know that you're a former Shinigami, at least until you feel that he's ready to know the truth?"
"And the Arrancar reads me like an open book." Isshin said, to which he rubbed the back of his head for a moment, as he honestly wasn't expecting that to happen at all, before he stared Sombra in the eyes for a few seconds, "Can you promise me that you won't tell him anything about what you discovered here today? About me, I mean."
"Sure, if that's what you want." Sombra replied, though he found that even thinking of lying to Ichigo hurt a little, since there was no telling how long it would be until he found out that his father was actually a Shinigami, before an idea came to mind, "I'll even tell him that I took out the Grand Fisher, that way he might forget about your reiatsu and focus on the fact that he missed out on killing the Hollow that killed his mother."
In the end that seemed to appease Isshin, as the moment that was settled, and he promised Urahara that he would come by to discuss the things that they didn't have time to talk about, he, Urahara, and Kon went their separate ways and departed from the area that they were in, to which Sombra sighed and stood nearby, though he didn't have to wait too long until Ichigo landed nearby and approached him.
"Sombra, what happened here?" Ichigo asked, looking at the parts of the street and the buildings that were damaged, what little of them were damaged anyway, before facing the his friend, who seemed to be staring at a specific spot on the street for some odd reason, "Where's the reiatsu that I felt a few moments ago?"
"Oh, that was the Grand Fisher... I killed him and sent him to Hell." Sombra replied, because that was partly the truth, seeing how the Grand Fisher was now paying for the years he spent killing all those women, including Ichigo's mother, before he sighed and turned away from what he was looking at, "Come on, let's go home and get some rest."
What came next was exactly what Sombra was expecting, Ichigo complaining about the fact that he had gone off and killed the one Hollow that he had sworn to kill with his own Zanpakuto, completely forgetting about the other Shinigami reiatsu that had appeared and focused on how annoyed he was... though as they moved through the town Sombra hoped that tomorrow was better than today, all while wondering if any additional Arrancar would be coming to town on Aizen's orders and how strong each of them could be if they actually show up.
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Moar
yay no useless filler :D right to the good stuff.
Thank god you skipped the bount arc... thats the only part of bleach that I never managed to like.
I forget what the Bount arc was... Oh well.
9167367
Something about a kind of vampire race the Captains fought long ago. Lasted 2 seasons right? I know the boss had a Soul Reaper on his side cause reasons I can't remember.
9167494 Maki Ichinose, the Shinigami you're thinking about, joined Kariya, the Leader of the Bounts, because he essentially hated Kenpachi Zaraki, because he was in the Eleventh Division and his Captain was the previous Kenpachi, who Zaraki killed to gain the position of the Division's Captain when he joined Soul Society. Basically Kariya inspired Maki in the same way his former Captain did, which was why he betrayed Soul Society and joined the Bounts... and I had to look that up, as it's been years since I've seen the Bount arc.
9168100
I see, that's pretty interesting as far as motives go. Surprised you aren't gonna do it though given it'd be interesting how Sombra would react to the Bounts and everything. Who knows he might have found a way to reform them all since they died didn't they in the show? After all if you can get Frieza of all people to go hero on us why not something with the Bounts while making the arc play how YOU would've done it if you had a part in writing it?
Well, amnesia or not, an intellect of the former Shadow Overlord of Equestria is nothing to scoff at.
11109730 Indeed. I've always seen Sombra as more of the more dangerous and intelligent figures in Equestria's history... a shame that the canon material doesn't see him that way.
Ichigo: The Substitute Shinigami Emblem is vibrating there is a Hollow around.
Sombra: Already dealt with.
*Later*
Ichigo: The Emblem is vib-
Sombra: Two Hollows working together. Both defeated.
*shortly later*
Ichigo: Hey Sombra look...
Sombra: Strange... I feel no Hollows
Ichigo: If i press this indent it vibrates. Perhaps a battery testing function?
Sombra: Neat
Ichigo: It makes for a great massage device for once back.
Sombra: Can i borrow it for a day or two?
Ichigo: Sure
*3 days later*
Sombra: Thanks Ichigo we enjoyed the massage function a lot. Got to get one from Soul Sociathy or buy something similiar in a Shop.
Didn't know Yoruichi could purrr...
Ichigo: She is a cat when transformed, cat can purrr.
Sombra: As a human female...
Ichigo: ooo...
Less Arks are less changes to get Ichigo up to speed, give him combat experiences and give a certain Mad Soul Sociathy Sociopath time to have fun...