Salty water was crashing against the cliffs again and again, in an endless dance. Wind blew fiercely through the woods, chasing the fallen leaves. Thunder rumbled somewhere far away.

Most of the sane people would have been asleep, but at least indoors at this time.

Unlike the two - a boy around seventeen to twenty and a girl, probably sixteen or seventeen.

"What the hell have you done to me?" he shouted angrily and meanwhile afraid. The girl smiled down at him pleasantly.

"You'll find it out soon enough, Kurosaki-kun. It should take effect within a minute or so."

The moon disappeared behind the clouds of the upcoming storm. Ichigo's eyes started itching like hell, as something began to flow out of it.

He quickly wiped it off with the back of his hand. It wa blood and some kind of strange liquid that hardened on his hands. He barely could resist the urge to scream as pain jolted through his whole body, starting from his chest. He glared down in terror.

His shirt was also covered in blood.

Something filled his mouth, so he tried to spit it out. As soon as he opened his mouth the thing inside started to flow out, but instead of falling down it started to practically fly around his head, blocking his view.

He fell to the ground, rolling around in pain, and desperately trying to remove the rapidly hardening liquid from his face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It won't stop otherways."

"Go... To... Hell!" He growled. His voice, he found out, now sounded like if two people were talking at the exact same minute. He was still trying to remove the liquid from his face, only to howl in pain as something cut his face. Through the holes he could see what - his own fingernails that has turned into strange claw-like things.

"Now, is that a way to talk to a lady, Kurosaki-kun? Although you've always lacked manners." asked the girl.

"Inoueeeehh..."

"Hurts, isn't it? At least you know how much did it hurt to me, when you turned me down. For that Kuchiki girl. She..." She stopped speaking as a hand found it's way to her throat. Claws cut into the soft skin, but she only smiled.

"You can't kill me."

"What makes you so sure about that?" whispered the young male in a dangerously low voice. The once brown eyes now were somewhere between yellow and gold, surrounded by black sclera.

"Others tried to kill me several times already. And I'm still here, am I not?" Yellow light flashed and severed the boy's hand from his arm. He fell back to the ground and glared at his reforming hand in horror.

"Strange. High-speed regeneration. I didn't know you'd be that type. Extra power would suit you more. Well, I guess, you already have more power that many of them does." She stood up. "Good luck, Kurosaki-kun. One advice - get indoors before the sun rises."

Orihime turned, but immediately stopped.

"Oh, yeah, I've almost forgot - your dinner. The appetite of the newly transformed is fascinating, as long as I know. We do not want you to make a carnage in the village, do we not?"

She snapped with her fingers, and a shocked young man appeared suddenly.

"Inoue-san? What..."

"Shhh, Hanatarou." She put a finger onto the girly looking male's lips. "We want to make his first hunt exciting, don't we?"

"Who... Whose first hunt?" Orihime turned, so Hanatarou would be able to see the now unmoving body behind her. Poor boy's eyes widened at the sight of the grinning, horned mask and the spikes that stood out of the thing's shoulders.

"I think, you should run. He's not awake at the moment, but he'll be in a few minutes."

She did not need to say twice. Hanatarou turned on his heels and rushed towards the trees. Orihime shot a last look at the "newborn" creature before disappearing in a golden glow.

Ichigo was sitting next to the poor boy's fresh corpse, feeling about to cry.

But he won't. That was one of the many few things he was grateful to his father for teaching him.

He cannot show weakness.

Hanatarou was one of the very selected five he'd really trust with his own life. Although he was a servant he wasn't polite because he had to be, but because he wanted to be.

He also did not look him down for having strange coloured hair. He knew well, that other servants did. They never said it into his eyes of course, as they knew well that he had a brutal kick. Which he wasn't afraid to use if someone offended his friends, family or hair.

They also talked a lot about Hanatarou's village - somewhere up in the mountains - which he promised to visit.

He won't be able to do that now. Not in the state he is now.

He knew well what did that witch transformed him into - a Hollow. A special type of vampires. They also drink blood, but not for the same reason as the latter species, but for the soulfragments in it.

Hanatarou's blood was pretty rich in it. It tasted quite good.

He mentally slapped himself. He can't think like that!

Something glowed with a reddish colour behind the mountains. Probably the sun.

The sun?

"Shit," he hissed as he jumped up and started running at a speed he didn't knew he was capable of.

.,s.,.s.,dgg..-ag

Thanks to some luck, that wasn't with him the previous evening, he managed to get inside his house and into his room without being noticed by anybody. He pulled the curtains together tightly, so that they wouldn't let the light of the sun in. He hissed as meanwhile the project a stray beam of the sun fell onto his arm and left a slightly burned mark on his now snow-white skin.

He sighed as he fell down onto his bed.

What is he going to do now? He cannot stay in there forever. But... He did not want to leave his family, either.

He cursed silently. The air did not move well inside the mask. If he would have been a common vampire, he would not have to worry about things like this... But no, that... Girl had to transform him into a hollow that has to feed on those damned 24/7 energy particles to keep up themselves.

Somebody knocked on the door.

"Ichigo-sama? Ichigo-sama, are you awake?"

"Ummm... Yeah?"

"Is everything all right? Your voice sounds... Strange."

"I feel kind of ill."

"Should I call the doctor?"

"Oh, no.. Just let me rest."

"O... Okay, Master."

The servant left.

First, somehow he has to remove this stupid mask. He knew that some Hollows have a way to do it, but he wasn't sure how. Probably...

He grabbed the very side of his mask and started to pull it. And also let go of it in the very same second.

It hurt like hell.

Not as much as the transformation, but it still did.

He took a deep breath before starting the procedure again.

He gritted his teeth. The mask didn't move a millimeter. Frustrated, he started banging his head against his door, then grabbed his mask's horns, trying to tear it apart from his face that way. Suddenly something cracked loudly - he glared at the piece of the bone-like thing in his palm.

And then his head felt much lighter.

He looked into the mirror. It showed his face, his own brown eyes. The only thing that remained was the impossibly pale skin of his.

Well, it's better than nothing. He laid back into his bed. Suddenly he realised how tired he really is - it did not take even a minute and he was fast asleep.

He woke up to a strange noise.

People yelling outside. He pulled the curtains apart and looked out. It was already late evening. But what shocked him was that under his window there must have been the whole population of the nearby city. The light of the torches made the trees glow red.

"Get your ass out here, you beast!" somebody yelled. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he saw Inoue on the front, standing completely silent, but as if she'd be the core of the whole thing.

"Kurosaki-sama!" somebody knocked on the door - or rather, banged on the door - repeatedly. He opened it. It was the butler. At first the man took a step back, as he glared down at him, eyes sparkling, but finally recovered. He did not seem to care about his brand new, snow white complexion.

"Kurosaki-sama... There are people outside."

"I've noticed."

"They say that you've murdered people from the town. I've kept telling them that it is not possible as I have the keys, the doors are locked from sunset till sunrise, and the only night when you've been out was the last one, but they do not believe me. They say that master is a... Vampire.

"You know what, Rikichi? Go out at the back door and live your life until you can. There is a box full of money under the last stair there. Take it with you."

"Kurosaki-sama..."

"I said go!" Ichigo turned his face away, feeling itching sensation on his face. He was sure that his eyes started to turn back into black and yellow.

"Yes, Kurosaki-sama..."

He listened to the butler's fading steps. A few people started beating the door with their fists, and fell back as Ichigo practically kicked them out. (The doors were four meters tall, with iron decorating elements.)

"I would like to know the meaning of this," he asked in an icy tone.

"We do not have to explains ourselves to you, monster!" yelled a woman.

"You're on my territory, trying to break into my house. I think I've got every right to..."

"You do not have right to do anything anymore, murderer! You were the one who killed Hanatarou, weren't you? Since how long were you praying on us?"

Ichigo did not answer.

"Get him," said Orihime.

The young man's insicts told him to flee, to run away from the angry crowd, whose goals melted into one - to get revenge on him.

And that's why he didn't. Because he deserved it. Something crashed into his skull, and saw no more.

-.d-.d-.s-.s-.s

He opened his eyes to darkness. Not a ray of light. He blinked. Did he go blind?

Then he realised that he was shaking, as if he was in a chariot. He tried to push his hands out, but something made it impossible.

He was closed into a box. From the touch of it, it must've been a coffin, made of metal or something like that.

Panic took over him, like never before. He is not dead! Well.. Not exactly, but he still breaths, he still feels!

"Let me out!" he roared and started banging the top of the coffin with his hands, which were held tightly together by a rope. "Did you hear me? Let me OUT!"

"Shut yer mouth, beast!" yelled somebody and something banged against the metal, making the young male hear nothing for a second or so. But he didn't give up.

Something landed on the coffin with a soft thump. And then another. And another.

Ichigo's eyes widened. They started to bury him!

"Stop that! Let me out!"

"And let's hope that his soul, that had lost in the darkness, may find peace..." He heard somebody's voice. What? They didn't knew the first thing about vampires and hollows? He gave a furious scream, but choked on something that started flowing out of his mouth.

The mask was reforming.

The villagers shuddered at the howl that slowly started to turn into from that of a human's into an animals, full of anger and the will to kill. They could hear it clearly, even if their ex-Lord was buried four meters down.

"And so let it be," said the priest of the village.

"So let it be," they echoed.

-.-.-.-.-

Kuchiki Rukia looked out to the scenery flashing by. She liked nature and at the place where she's going, she'll have plenty of chances to be outside, unlike her former job let her be.

She smiled as she looked at the two girls around the age of ten in the photo. Her next employer, Kurosaki Isshin sent the picture, along with many others. He seemed to be a kind man. There were a few where a bright haired boy could be seen, too - but he was missing from the newer ones. Well, that's none of her concern, right?

She sighed as the train started to slow down.

"Annd, here we go."

I'm not sure whether I'll continue it... *sigh* Because now that I had seen the film, I would need to try my hardest not to copy it. (Basically.) Probably yes. After I've finished Deathaura... But I have the first two and the last chapters... And have a kind of author's block with the remaining two... xD