Strawberry Protector

Chapter 11: Hollows and Mod Souls and Spiritualists... Oh My!

Due to the fact that Ichigo passed out nearly immediately after taking out the hollow Shiro was left a little in the dark of the teen's condition since he was distracted by the source of the teenager's power. It was obvious that the orange haired highschooler was still very much alive but he didn't know if his charge come out unscathed or not. It wasn't until the next morning when he finally found out the end results of the event. And the hollow was greatly relieved to see that no harm had befallen Ichigo or his family, just structural damage which could always be repaired. That left him with his current dilemma as he turned his focus to the brown haired shade wearing man standing on a flagpole not too terribly far away from him.

"So..." Started the hollow in the extended silence that fell between the two spirits, now that he knew that Ichigo was all right he decided to focus on other matters.

The unnamed man had been watching him the entire time but somehow he could tell the other was more focused upon him the moment he spoke despite the shades covering his eyes. "How exactly did I end up here?" There was no way he could miss the raised eyebrow as the other stared at him in silence. "I'm in this place, I know how I got inta Ichigo's soul but I was sittin' more towards the surface..." He wasn't sure how else to explain it so he settled with that explanation in hopes of the man would understand.

"Have you ever entered a Shinigami's soul before?" The cloaked man answered the question with one of his own, to which Shiro shook his head. "Then how do you know you wouldn't automatically enter the inner world of a Shinigami upon using your power? Beyond that I cannot say because I do not know how your power functions."

"Fair enough..." He said in a huff of slight irritation, expecting the conversation to end there.

"However, I am familiar with what happens with in Ichigo's soul since this is where I dwell." This caused the hollow to perk up slightly and tilt his head in curiosity, hoping that the man would continue to which he did. "Previously Ichigo's powers were locked away and thus the way to his inner world was also locked. This means you could not enter here previously. However when the way was opened, I dragged you here to confront you."

Clicking his tongue slightly while his tail twitched in regards to his thoughts and emotion, the corrupt soul stared at the other spirit for a moment before speaking. "So basically ya wanted ta try ta intimidate me inta leavin' or at the very least make me aware that I'm costly bein' monitored in hopes of unnervin' me and eventually makin' me leave." This was clearly a statement and not a question so the cloaked man chose not to respond. "Yeah not gonna happen..." Came the hollow's stubborn response as he lay down and curled up right where he was as if to make a point.

After that brief conversation silence once again fell between the two and Shiro returned his focus on the outer world. He watched in silence as Ichigo dealt with hollows such as the one that turned out to be the brother of one of his classmates, a girl by the name of Orihime Inoue. But for ones like the Shrieker he openly cheered without caring what the sword spirit might think of him. When the situation with the Mod Soul occurred, the corrupt soul couldn't help but find some small amusement with some of the Mod Soul's actions. Although the appearance of a certain hatted man was a brutal reminder that he was not only being watched within Ichigo's soul but without as well. However things took a very dark turn on the anniversary of the orange haired teen's mother's death.

The moment that Grand Fisher appeared in the graveyard Shiro knew immediately who it was despite having not sensed the hollow's presence in years. He also immediately knew how grave the situation was when it became strikingly obvious that Ichigo was outmatched. As he watched the downhill battle one question kept circulating through his mind... Should he intervene? To do so would not only reveal himself to Ichigo but to the little Shinigami as well.

When Grand Fisher used a replica of Ichigo's mother as a way of making him hesitate, the white guardian just about lost his composure. An aggressive growl of anger escaped from him and his tail lashed back and forth in response to his emotions as he prepared to throw caution to the wind.

A sudden steady hand on his shoulder caused him to pause and set his focus upon the old man who was staring at him steadily. "Have faith in Ichigo, he is more than capable of coming out of this alive." The words that were spoken, as well as the confident tone in which they were said with, caused Shiro to hesitate and rethink his actions.

However in his brief moment of uncertainty the course of the battle shifted in the teen's favor and the end result was not the death of Grand Fisher but at least his retreat. While Ichigo did not escape the battle unharmed, he was alive and that was enough for Shiro. In fact he was more than positive that the encounter was just what the teen needed to push his strength to even greater heights.

When the hollow had calmed and the battle had ended, the nameless spirit returned to his usual position. This shift in position returned the corrupt soul's focus back to the individual he was sharing headspace with. "Why did ya do that?" A raised brow was the only sign of the questioning look he was receiving but it was enough so he decided to elaborate. "Right when I was about ta reveal myself, ta leave here, ya stepped in and stopped me. Why?"

"While I do not trust you, that does not mean I dislike you. You protected and guided Ichigo in a time of need long before his powers were awakened. If you were to have gone out there now while Ichigo was in that emotional state then he most likely would've cut you down like any other hollow. So consider my stopping you as a way of repaying you for aiding him then, but do not expect me to do it all the time." The man explained, his tone of voice neutral towards the beginning but sounded more firm towards the end. "However I will give you some advice, do not reveal yourself while you are in a fit of rage because that will reflect poorly on you in his eyes."

Shiro knew exactly who the cloaked man was referring to and had no need to question that. Although he couldn't help but be silently thankful for the other spirit intervention and advice. The sword spirit was correct in saying he shouldn't reveal himself while in rage and certainly not when Ichigo was an emotional wreck on top of that, that combination would not mix well. So he would have to be very selective on when he finally revealed himself while doing his best not to act out in regards to sudden bouts of anger. But the brief conversation with the old man brought a new understanding to the hollow since he initially thought that the other spirit hated him and simply wanted him gone. Well the man DID want him gone from Ichigo's inner world, he just didn't want to see Shiro die needlessly.

Then the white guardian realized that the sword spirit was still staring at him intently as if waiting for an answer. "I got it. I got it..." He was quick to say while averting his gaze from the other and that was enough to satisfy the man for the time being.

The next major event to take place within Ichigo's life involve a strange character who referred to himself as a spiritualist. It became quickly obvious that the two spirits held the same opinion of the man, they both greatly disliked him. But during the man's spectacle that he called a show Shiro was once again reminded that he was being constantly monitored when the hatted man made another appearance.

Not too long after that downward spiral, a slightly unexpected encounter occurred that the unusual hollow didn't anticipate. It happened after a few false alerts, well that's what Ichigo and Rukia were referring to them as. However the white guardian could vaguely pick up the familiar, although subtle, spike in spiritual energy that would come just seconds before hand.

It took practically no time at all for Uryu make his dramatic appearance or more accurately his reappearance in Shiro's mind. However it quickly became obvious that the orange haired teen had forgotten about the little archer he used to spend so much time with. And it was obvious to the hollow from the subtle change of facial expression on the dark-haired teen that he was not happy at being forgotten.

However, the glasses wearing teen didn't come right out and say that they should know each other and in fact acted as if they never met before. Was the former little archer testing the waters with Ichigo? Pushing and prodding here and there to see if the other teen would remember? The hollow partly hoped that Uryu would spark some memories within the orange haired idiot but to no avail. And soon enough the two clashed which quickly led to a to hollow killing showdown and boy was Shiro tempted by the hollow bait himself. But unlike the mindless ones that were drawn in quickly, he easily withstood the intoxicating effects of the bait. Although he couldn't help but wonder if the dark-haired teen was trying to draw him out in hopes of sparking something within Ichigo.

From the moment that the hollow bait was broken, the corrupt soul immediately felt the more focused gaze of the sword spirit. It seemed that the old man was partly concerned that he too would be affected by the kid's trick. "I'm fine. I ain't nothin' like those mindless idiots bumblin' around out there." He assured the other spirit without turning his gaze to the other, his focus on the outer world. The old man made no comment to his words although he felt the presence of the other's eyes on his back lessen after that.

Then once again things became complicated when a Menos class hollow made an appearance, literally tearing the sky open to make a pathway. This of course greatly worried Shiro, however Ichigo's and Uryu's shenanigans made it hard for him to take the situation seriously. But once again his orange haired charge proved his worth by tapping into a deeper portion of his power and sent the hollow packing with a single attack.

Almost immediately after the Menos had retreated, Ichigo loss control over his spiritual energy and would have died if not for the quick action of the dark-haired teen beside him. And Shiro was certainly impressed by how strong the little archer had become. But at the same time he was angry at himself for not being able to help in this situation, he lacked the proper abilities to be of aid in this scenario.

Things calm down after that at least for a short period of time, a very short period. The newest crisis? The little Shinigami ran away and while his orange haired charge was trying to figure out why, the white guardian could sense conflict elsewhere in town. He was certain that Ichigo would be pulled into it and he knew from the level powers that Shiro could sense that he could not aid the teen. If the hollow tried he would certainly end up dead, so instead he shared a worried glance with the other spirit as the one they watched over ran toward a fight he certainly would not be able to win.

Far too soon for the corrupt soul's liking Ichigo was facing down with the two Shinigami that had come for Rukia. But even the bleeding form of the young archer laying on the ground did not deter him from facing off with the redheaded man. The pair traded blows and it seemed like they were on equal ground until the Shinigami released his Zanpakuto, then it became clear that the orange haired teen was outmatched.

A sudden realization occurred to the white guardian so he did the one thing he hadn't done in years, he stopped feeding off of his charge's energy. The difference was immediate as Ichigo's spiritual pressure began to rise due to the lack of draining that would've resulted from Shiro's feeding. But it was more than that and the hollow could tell, his charge was tapping into new levels of his power in the mid of combat. Now he was overwhelming the redheaded Shinigami before him.

Then once again things took a turn for the worse as the dark-haired Shinigami finally stepped in, snapping Ichigo's blade in two so quickly it took a few seconds for everyone to register it. Then the Shinigami struck so quickly that his charge was left wondering which way the attack had come from. Regardless, it still ended up with Ichigo bleeding on the street with his life slowly fading away.

How badly Shiro wanted to jump to the orange haired teen's aid but he knew better and instead waited. And the very moment that the Shinigami departed, he began using one of his abilities. His nails lightly digging into the building he stood on within Ichigo's inner world. Immediately after that he began to raise his spiritual energy, almost instantaneously he felt the presence of the sword spirit beside him.

"What are you doing?" The normally calm sounding voice held a bit of concern and warning in it but that did not deter the unusual hollow as he had one goal in mind.

"I'm gonna save him." The corrupt soul stated simply as he glanced over to the cloaked man who's name he still did not yet know. But upon seeing that clearly wasn't enough he decided to elaborate. "I possess the ability of instant regeneration and although I can't use that completely on him, I can at least use it from here within his soul ta at least stabilize him. That way he might at least live long enough for someone ta heal him up the rest of the way."

"I see." Was the only response he received before both their attentions were drawn to one of the buildings further away as it faded away completely, leaving a black void behind. Ichigo's powers were fading away and thus his inner world was fading away piece by piece. The opposing pair of spirits had only known each other for a little over a month now but this might very well be their last conversation. "Take care of Ichigo."

Upon hearing those words Shiro returned his focus back to the brown haired man with a small frown on his hidden face. "Course I will." The hollow stated without hesitation as he couldn't help but feel bad for the protector that Ichigo might not ever know was there for him.

And for the first time since the pair met the sword spirit gave him a slight smile and a nod in thanks as the world around them faded to black...

Cliffhanger! But anyone who knows Bleach should have an idea of what happens next. Originally I was going to stop this chapter around the Grand Fisher scene but decided against it since I left you guys hanging for so long. Needed a break from writing combined with real-life stuff...

On a different note, Enjali question Shiro's appearance in Ichigo's inner world and that was answered early on in this chapter. I was so focused on keeping the events accurate to the canon that I forgot to include it, so instead of altering the previous chapter I added it into this one. But as I see it when Shiro enters a Shinigami's soul, he goes right into their inner world. But if he were to enter a spiritually aware human he would simply float around in a black abyss and closer to their consciousness. By being closer to one's conscience that allows them to hear him when he speaks. However while he's in an inner world, only those also within the inner world can hear him. I hope that clears it up for anyone that was curious.

And one last note, here's where things are going to start to differentiating again so I hope you're already for the roller coaster ride! Until next time. R&R.