Hollowed By Thy Life.

Chapter 2: Tia Harribel; The Shark Empress.

Kakashi had seen his fair share of death over the years. How could he not have? But when his students arrived at the tower, weary, and looking half-dead he hadn't expected what they'd told him.

He hadn't expected Naruto to be more than unconscious in Sasuke's arms. Thinking back on it made it worse, he could never get that image out of his head and what made it worse was it brought back the last time he saw Minato and Kushina. Both pale, eyes wide open in death.

He'd failed as a sensei, and he'd failed his own sensei by allowing his daughter to die so young. In the life of a ninja death was something inevitable, but so young... while not uncommon he'd never thought it would or could happen to one of his students. Especially not Naruto.

"He'll pay for this."

Kakashi looked over, the words drawing him from his inner thoughts. The white haired man, older, with red markings on his face and cold, but grieving eyes had spoken. His fist were clinched at his side, and Kakashi could tell he'd been crying sometime in the past hour.

"We can't even bury her until after the exams," Jiraiya of the sannin spat out as if the words were venom on his tongue. "Orochimaru will pay for this."

"If Sasuke has his way you'll have to get in line behind him and myself," Kakashi said, his voice lower than usual. "If we can't bury her until after the exams... what will we do with her body? Usually the bodies are buried within a week or two, the exams could take up to two months."

Jiraiya looked away. He'd heard as soon as his old sensei, the Sandaime had heard that Uzumaki Naruto had been killed protecting her teammates in the Forest of Death from Orochimaru of the Sannin.

His first thoughts were to deny it, there was no way his goddaughter was dead. No way the Kyubi no Yōko had allowed his container to die, but the proof had been in front of him moments later along with Team Seven, and Umino Iruka who had met the genin at the tower.

When he'd seen her body, so small, her features so much like that of her parents, he'd went from denial to grief and quickly to anger. He'd wanted to leave right then and hunt down his old teammate, but common sense said he had to wait. So did the warning Hiruzen, who also looked terrible at the news and the evidence in front of them, had given him.

Now he was just sad, angry and numb all at the same time. Two days had passed since Team Seven arrived at the tower with Naruto's body and it seemed to have passed in a hellishly slow manner.

"I've put a preservation seal on her body," Jiraiya answered quietly, the words not coming easily to him. "She'll be cremated, her ashes buried between her parents. It'll be an extremely private affair, the grave-marker will be a simple thing, so those who hated her for what she contained won't desecrate her grave."

The words were a harsh reality.

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She didn't know how long she had wondered the white sands of Hueco Mundo.

As she stared up at the sky of the fake Karakura Town she couldn't help but see her life, both living and Hollow, play itself out before her minds eye. Unlike most Hollows she had held tightly to memories of her human life, maybe it was because she was once a sacrifice, just as she seemed to be again.

Tears built up behind aqua green eyes, eyes similar yet different from those azure eyes she had as Naruto – which felt like a millennium ago. She had trusted the wrong man, though if she were honest she hadn't trusted him completely, but she'd trusted him enough to believe he wouldn't kill her himself.

In the beginning he had been charming and kind, he'd saved her life as a Vasto Lorde, she'd felt indebted to him. Despite being a bit of a pacifist unless pushed she had placed her beliefs behind her in order to serve him.

Aizen Sōsuke had betrayed her, her and the other Espada.

Now here she laid on the ground, broken and bleeding. She'd already lost her released state, her bodies attempt to heal itself by preserving energy, but she knew, it was all for show. Even if her healing rate was nearly as good as Ulquiorra's had been, if not just as good, she doubted it would be enough.

She hadn't showed Aizen all her power, if so she might have been ranked differently, but even she knew she was only half as powerful as she once could be.

She could no longer use Chakra after her death. Kyubi was no longer with her, and what chakra from the Bijū she'd already absorbed through the seals purification process while living was added to her Reiryoku upon becoming a Hollow. But something had happened when her spirit was pulled into an afterlife not of her dimension, and Kyubi hadn't come with her.

She didn't know where the fox was, but she'd always felt as if something was missing, even as an Arrancar. Slowly her blurry eyes cleared, a single tear running down her face at the betrayal she faced by Aizen's hand. Rumors amongst the Espada ran around about her relationship with Aizen, and she would admit he was more to her than her master.

Maybe that was why she'd let her guard down around him, she had no heart to speak of, yet he'd somehow found a way inside it.

She was no fool, she could see before that what she felt for Aizen wasn't what he felt for her, and she wasn't even sure if what she felt was truly love. She'd never had much experience with it before her death and becoming a Hollow to compare it to anything.

Her eyes were wide open now though, and she could see clearly that to Aizen she was convenient, useful until no longer needed.

Emotions of hurt and betrayal ran into anger and finally hate and a thirst for revenge. Not only for herself but her Fracción which she could no longer sense.

Breathing in deeply Tia Harribel, the Shark Empress, rose her body up, a hand going to her abdomen where the worst of her wound rested.

She might survive, she realized, if she simply stayed down and feigned death, if she opened a Garganta to Hueco Mundo she had a much better chance of survival, but that didn't matter to her anymore.

She couldn't really sense either Aizen or Kurosaki's power anymore, but she had a great sense of smell. She'd follow the blood and their natural scent.

Her clothes were tattered, nearly unable to cover her modesty – not that she'd ever been worried about that. Her choice of uniform always left little to the imagination, but the important assets were covered at least.

The corner of her Hollow hole was even visible, which made her self-conscious. She'd always wondered why her Hollow hole was so low down, nearly where her womb would be, just a little higher at her lower abdomen.

She had figured it was because the one thing she'd always wanted was a family of her own. At her death not living long enough to have one had been one of her biggest regrets. It didn't matter though, the hole being there didn't mean she couldn't have kids as an Arrancar...though it made it a little more difficult.

She used what she could to Sonído closer to where Kurosaki and Aizen were located, and was sure she'd been seen if the Shinigami she sensed following seconds later were anything to go by.

She would have to be quick, if she was killed before she could help Kurosaki...well this would all be in vain.

"The final Getsuga...is me becoming Getsuga itself," she heard who she realized was Kurosaki speak as she came to a stop.

Her eyes widened at the two men facing off together. One was Aizen, that was clear to her, the other had to be Kurosaki Ichigo, but he looked so different. His chest had gray bandages wrapping around it and his lower face, similar to how her mask fragment was. His hair was long and black, his eyes red like a bloody moon.

She turned her attention back to Aizen, and clutched at Tiburón in her hand as her eyes narrowed, blonde hair falling down around her face, stained with a bit of blood from her wounds. She had to time this just right.

"Mugetsu," she heard him utter, and then a black abyss.

She moved putting as much power into Tiburón as she could, and even though the boys 'Mugetsu' would hit her as well, she proceeded to get behind her once master and lover, slicing her Zanpakutō through his body from collarbone to hip, and then beheading him to be sure.

Tiburón cracked, breaking in half moments after severing Aizen's head from his already severed body. She didn't know if the Hōgyoku could heal her first attack and damage done by Kurosaki's Mugetsu, so in her mind this was not overkill.

She was rewarded for her pain as she felt the affects of Kurosaki's attack on her person, when the Hōgyoku fell from Aizen chest, breaking into pieces like fine glass.

The darkness cleared as Harribel sank to one knee, what remained of Tiburón cracking even more. Her own body was wrecked, she was trying to regenerate but she knew better. There was now no chance she'd survive, so she stood, prepared to die on her feet and stumbled forward, barely able to control her movement.

Kurosaki had finally seen her, and she knew the Shinigami who'd followed had seen what she'd done. She'd insured that Aizen had died in the Winter War. From the shock on the Candy Store owners face as he came from the distance behind Kurosaki, she knew they'd never thought they'd be able to kill the man.

She smiled slightly, choking blood from her mouth, and she lost control of her body as it fell forward. To her surprise arms caught her, and she saw shoulder length hair, returned to a vibrant orange.

She liked that color, she vaguely thought to herself, she'd always had a soft spot for orange in life.

"Why...did you help me?" the boy asked, and she pulled her head from his shoulder, and as far from him as she could as she kept to her shaking legs.

"I may be a Hollow, and without a physical heart but I am still able to feel emotion," she said, her words quiet. "You've met my predecessor, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, you should know not all Hollows are mindless monsters. I was a fool to let myself trust Aizen...he betrayed me... and the other Espada, it was only fair I returned the sentiment in kind."

"Kurosaki..." she heard one of the Shinigami say from behind her, and she could almost feel the blade nearing her exposed back.

She chuckled bitterly, but was surprised when the boy loosing his power steadily but slowly, pulled her away from the threat, and closer to him. No one, not since she was alive, had tried to protect her.

"Don't, she's not a threat to anyone anymore," Ichigo said, looking down at the near lifeless Arrancar. She was as tall as he, maybe an inch or two shorter, but in her weakened state she looked shorter, smaller. "She helped us, she killed Aizen knowing my attack would hit her as well."

She gasped as Tiburón cracked even more, pieces falling from the Zanpakutō like breaking glass. Her mask cracking as well at the jawline. The part along her neck and chest were already shattered beyond recognition or staying in place, the part keeping her face from view was all that had remained. She choked up more blood, though not as much as before.

"We can get you some help," Ichigo said suddenly, the reality of why the girl who didn't look much older than himself was dying hitting him.

The wounds Aizen had given her obviously, while fatal, could have been healed, it was his attack that had made it so there was no other option. She'd sacrificed herself for strangers, for revenge as well he realized. He'd seen her eyes when she'd spoken of Aizen, she'd felt strongly for him maybe even loved him at one point, and he'd utterly used her.

Harribel shook her head, but decided to do one last good deed before she died for good, and pain coursed through her body, especially in the middle of her back and on her left side. Where most the damage from Mugetsu had occurred.

Pooling her remaining power she lifted her hand and placed it over the boy heart. It glowed a warm gold, the color of her Reiatsu.

"What are you doing?" an unfamiliar voice demanded, and it was only Kurosaki speaking that spared her from the pain of a sword through her throat.

"Dad, she's not hurting me," the boy said, and the taller, older man who was apparently Kurosaki's father stood down, a look of surprise on his face.

Her hand falling limp at her side, she felt her head fall forward to hit his chest as well, her breathing shallow but labored. She'd completed her task, she thought happily. She may never admit it aloud but the boy reminded her of herself when she was Uzumaki Naruto, a Kunoichi who's greatest pet peeve was being mistaken for a boy simply for her first name.

"Who are you, what did you do?" Ichigo asked.

"My name is Harribel...Tia," she said, looking up as she pushed herself away from the orangette. This was bringing back memories she wished left dead, and she didn't even know Kurosaki. "I gave you the power I have remaining, this way you'll not loose you powers as it seems you were. The marking will disappear when your own Reiryoku has returned enough to be safe to fight again. I recommend you not enter Bankai or fighting for a few weeks."

Ichigo's eyes widened, and he looked down to see the black spiral mark, like a whirlpool, over his chest which had finished glowing gold.

"How..."

"My aspect of death is sacrifice... I am unique, some of my abilities such as that shadow this aspect. Thank you, Kurosaki Ichigo, for defeating Aizen," she said, and the world went black as she fell forward, unable to keep standing.

Ichigo caught her, turned her over and on instinct lifted her bridal style. Her Zanpakutō was clutched in her hand but he saw as the remainder of the blade shattered like glass, and her mask all but fell away to reveal her completely bare face. She looked more human than before, though he noticed she had some markings, the least noticeable being very faint lines like whisker marks, or scars. They were unnoticeable unless one truly looked.

This fact shook Ichigo who didn't have the best track record with Hollows. He knew her words were true though, he felt his powers still within him, they were not going anywhere, as the power she'd given him, knowing she'd die quicker, stabilized them.

He could feel Zangetsu, and even his inner Hollow, as his Zanpakutō, which appeared on his back in it's Shikai, hummed with power. He hadn't even noticed his Bankai clothes returning to his regular Shihakushō.

"Urahara?" he began, turning to the still shocked man. "Is there anything we can do...Orihime maybe..."

"Son...it's too late, look..." Isshin spoke up, pointing, and sure enough the girl was disintegrating as Hollows did, starting from the bottom up.

Ichigo hung his head, his frown deepening.

"Thank you, Harribel..." he muttered.

It was only seconds before he held nothing in his arms, as the Arrancar who had dealt the killing blow to the worse enemy of Soul Society yet blew away with the wind. Her Zanpakutō hilt following.

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In the centuries that Tia Harribel had been around she had died twice, and in similar circumstances.

Her first death, her death as a human, was more personal. She remembered clearly why she had died, she'd died protecting her precious people, her teammates. It hadn't been her first sacrifice, but it had been her first knowingly.

The second was a bit more selfish as it was driven by a desire for revenge.

Her Fracción were gone because of her ignorance and trust in Aizen. She hadn't heeded her gut instincts as she should, and been made a fool out of.

Her second sacrifice, to help Kurosaki defeat Aizen, made her smile in a way her first did not. Bitterly. Bitter because a part of her would miss Aizen, and more so she would miss the life she had as an Arrancar in Las Noches. Ironic because most Hollows would do anything to get out of the endless white sands and night.

Her reasons were her own, she thought to herself as her eyes stared at the infinite whiteness which she assumed was purgatory - true purgatory not just what some would refer to Hueco Mundo as – or the place were Arrancar's were judged after their death. If such a place existed.

The place she now stood in was, of course, surrounded by bright white that went on forever. She had no doubt it was literally endless.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud, looking around her.

"That's a interesting question, don't you think so?" a powerful, echoing voice asked, but no matter where she looked she saw nothing.

"Indeed," a deeper, almost growling voice responded.

This time she saw the crimson glow as a large creature stepped from the white. A slightly darker orange-red than she remembered, but still large, grinning with razor sharp teeth, and gazing with crimson eyes.

Her eyes widened momentarily as she whispered, "Kyu...Kyūbi."

Harribel felt a thrill of warmth throughout her body, like a missing piece of her soul had returned, or was at least in touching distance. Looking up at the Bijū, she realized, maybe it really was.

"Hello Naruto, it has been a long time, hasn't it?" He almost sounded as if he missed her.

"How...I always thought you died or got consumed during my Hollowfication?" she couldn't help but ask.

Again the echoing voice spoke.

"Allow me to explain. You see, your arrival and Hollowfication were complete accidents. Your home world has there own afterlife which differed a bit from the afterlife of Hueco Mundo and Seireitei. Sometimes though, space-time rips are opened and deceased souls pass through and into an afterlife not of their own dimension. This is more common with souls such as yours, dying tragic deaths, in a dimension were humans are powerful in their own right. Add in the Kyūbi trying to help heal your wounds and failing, a rip was forced open and your sacrifice and soul just so happened onto the dimension's afterlife most like your own. This is why you are a Hollow, an Arrancar."

The voice took a moment to let her adjust to the knowledge, and she assumed to catch their breath.

"As for the Kyūbi, something such as Hollowfication couldn't kill a Bijū, in the definition of the word, but you would have absorbed the entirety of the Bijū' chakra and basically become the Nidaime Kyūbi. As it is Kyūbi got cut off from you when your soul was pulled through the rip. He was placed here, a purgatory of sorts, waiting. This action is why you've always felt as if something was missing, why your Zanpakutō felt incomplete. You only possessed barely more than a full tails worth of chakra you'd absorbed from Kyūbi in nearly thirteen years of life. In all honesty you've spent centuries at barely half power, while Kyūbi held the other half."

Harribel wasn't sure what to say. She was still absorbing everything said. In centuries as a Hollow she'd only been so surprised once before.

"I see," she finally said. "If I may...who are you? Are you the Spirit King?"

There was silence and some chuckles that sounded on the verge of giggles. Kyūbi seemed a tad annoyed at this all, basically being ignored for a disembodied voice he'd had to put up with for years.

"I suppose I am similar enough, but no, I don't necessarily have a name. But you may call me Truth."

"Truth, then." Harribel frowned for a moment before asking. "Am I dead?"

"You did die, brat," Kyūbi said. "I was watching everything, despite being separated we are still bound by soul and Shiki Fūjin."

"But you have a choice, Tia Harribel, or should I call you Uzumaki Naruto once more?" Truth asked, and the blonde shook her head.

"I may be Uzumaki Naruto, but that girl died a long time ago, the day I took the name Tia Harribel as my own. I've come to terms with it."

"Hmm..well maybe not completely lost. I am here to offer you a choice. You may continue on to Seireitei, seeing as you were purified by a Soul Reapers blade. You may choose to go straight to the Reincarnation cycle, or you can return to your home dimension, in your old body."

Harribel's eyes widened.

"That's possible, I could return to my body? Wouldn't it have rotted by now? It has been centuries."

Truth snorted, odd sound coming from a disembodied voice.

"Time moves differently between different dimensions, you should know that. While nearly nine centuries have passed for you as a Hollow, only a month has passed in the human world of your dimension. Of course, you would return as you are. Once your soul reenters your body it'll begin to adapt and change to mirror your soul. You will still be an Arrancar, though you'll notice a few things that differ. One such thing being the return of your chakra since you'll essentially be a living, breathing Arrancar. Similar to a whole new bloodline or race, or that is what your dimension could see it as."

"Before you make your decision though, you must know that if you choose to go back I won't return as I am," the Kyūbi began, gaining Harribel's attention. "I will finish the process of merging with you. You will basically take my place as the Kyūbi no Yōko."

"You're being unusually kind, Kyūbi," Harribel stated, unable to help the surprise she felt. She didn't know what she'd expected the Kyūbi to be like, but this wasn't what she'd imagined. She had to wonder if the fox was as monstrous as history dictated or if there was more to the story than anyone knew.

"It's not like I'm the same as I was when you were a naive twelve year old with dreams of being Hokage...Naruto. I have spent the last eight hundred and ninety years watching your life as Tia Harribel. I have grown to respect you, I must admit. Besides it was your father's doing that sealed inside you...you'll soon learn that things are not always as they seem."

"Fair enough," Harribel said, unable to think of what else there was to say.

"Once I blamed you for how the Village treated me, but even before I died I began to see that being sealed inside me wasn't something you asked for. In that regard you were just as much a victim as myself." She shifted on her feet slightly. "I've decided I wish to return to my dimension, but I have some questions."

"I will answer as best as I can, you have my word," Truth responded.

"My Fracción...can they be sent with me?"

"I am sorry, but the ones called Apacci and Mila Rose are beyond my reach, dead and in Soul Society," Truth began, a regretful sigh in it's voice. "The one known as Sung-Sun I may be able to send with you, she is not quite dead yet, but between life as she is and death. I will need time, as I have a body to send you back to but not her. Before it can be done I must first send you to get an idea of what I must do to create her a body corporal to the living."

Harribel let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, and smiled beneath her mask. She may have to wait, and have lost Apacci and Mila Rose, but at least she'd not be completely alone. There was also the fact that Apacci and Mila Rose could find some sense of peace in Soul Society. Chances were they'd have enough Reiryoku to become Shinigami, if they wanted to.

"Second, I wish to ask of Kurosaki Ichigo."

Truth seemed shocked at first, but soon began to speak.

"Ah, yes, the young Shinigami you sacrificed any chance of survival for. To help kill Sōsuke Aizen," Truth began, ignoring Harribel's wince at her former masters name. "I am not fate, or destiny, I can not tell you the boys future. I do know that your sacrifice was not in vain. Not only did you kill Aizen, helping the boy, but you taught him to be a little more accepting of his inner Hollow and helped him keep his powers, which would have otherwise been lost. Saving him from the suffering of loosing a part of himself in process."

She'd deny it, but hearing this made her feel better. Now there was just one more question to ask.

"One last question, then, Truth-sama; what of my son?" she asked, her voice so quiet a human would have strained to hear. Yet as quiet as it was it sounded so loud, and fearful of the answer.

"That is a complicated mater. He belongs to not one dimension, but two, much like yourself do, or did. Your path has ended in that dimension, his has not."

Harribel felt her throat close up.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"He still has a destiny of sorts in that dimension, but one day I will be able to send him to where you are, and you will see him again before you know it."

She pursed her lips, thinking over what was said, and though she didn't like it, she trusted Truth's words. That she would get to see her son again. For now, she'd hold onto that knowledge.

"Alright," she said, stepping closer to the Kyūbi. "How do we do this?"

The Kyūbi grinned, and suddenly a large fist was in front of her. Her first instinct was to attack, but she recognized he meant no harm.

"I believe this is a 'fist bump'," the fox said.

Harribel smiled slightly, curling her hand into a fist and without hesitance her tiny – in comparison to Kyūbi's – fist met his.

"It was nice seeing you again, Kyūbi," she said, and as they glowed crimson Kyūbi smiled.

"The name...is, or was...Kurama, kit," Kurama stated.

Harribel's vision was filled with red. It seemed to surround her and she felt as if what was missing had been returned. When it died away she felt the change, not only were her senses sharper, she felt more powerful, and in her hand – the one used to fist bump with Kurama – was a Zanpakutō.

This one was unlike Tiburón, as it was shorter than a wakizashi, but longer than a tantō. The blade was almost like crystal, and shimmered. The guard was that of a nine-tailed fox curled in on itself. The hilt was crimson and black with a flower-like pattern instead of the usual diamonds, while a golden chain fell from the pommel and wrapped around her wrist and part of her forearm. It felt similar to Tiburón but different.

"What is this?" she wondered aloud.

"All your power can not be contained in one Zanpakutō, such as Tiburón, which was created with little influence from Kurama. Think of Tiburón as the Arrancar powers you hold, and the new sword, formed from not only yours and Kurama's powers but souls as your Shinigami powers."

Seeing the bewilderment on Harribel's face, Truth added.

"I was under the impression that an Arrancar was a Hollow who gained Shinigami powers, am I wrong?"

"No," Harribel said, "but it has very little influence in our abilities and none have two Zanpakutō's."

"Well, the new blade, whatever it's name may be, is only similar to a Shinigami's blade since it has a spirit. Other than that it will work much as Tiburón does," Truth explained. "Now are you ready?"

Sighing deeply, Harribel nodded and without warning there was pain, though light, and the feeling of falling. Before warmth, ice and gasping as she opened her eyes to complete darkness. Looking around she realized she was in a dark morgue on a slab.

They had either not cared to bury her yet, or placed a preservation seal on her body until they could. As she stood up she realized she wasn't twelve going on thirteen. She still looked between the ages of eighteen and twenty as she always had.

Finding the light and a mirror wasn't hard. She realized as she inspected herself that her Hollow hole was higher up, where the Shiki Fūjin would have been. With a thought it closed up, and she felt the familiar weight of her mask fragment vanish from her face, neck and chest as if they'd sank below the skin.

With another thought she brought her mask back, but kept the hollow hole closed – something she didn't want the whole world to see, and her jacket didn't hide it from view being in a different location than before.

Tiburón was on her back as usual, the new sword, not much different in length, rested beside it, the golden chain seemed to have shrunk down to a few links unlike before. She wondered briefly if the chain was similar to her mother's chakra chains.

On her cheeks, she realized suddenly, were faint but familiar birthmarks that looked like whiskers. They were a lot fainter than in life, almost invisible unless first pointed out or you were looking for them. They'd been there even when she'd first become an Arrancar, but they were much fainter, mistakable for scars, they were barely darker now. Of course her mask fragment covered them up.

She'd caught a glimpse of them before when she realized she could choose to show her mask and Hollow hole or not. These must be the changes Truth spoke of. Last but not least, were her eyes.

While they still had green in them, they were now bluer. A bright blue-green, as close to their original color as they could get. Her hair was still the same golden blonde.

"It's time to leave, I need to figure out the exact date it is," she muttered to herself, and thankful her clothes had come with her, she left the downstairs morgue of Konoha's Hospital.

Tia Harribel, the Shark Empress, once known as Uzumaki Naruto, had returned to Konoha and from the grave.