Urahara's store, Karakura town

Ichigo didn't think it was possible to smell emotions. He didn't believe he could sense just how deep in the darkness people can actually go before it became difficult to pull them out. As he sat in a room in Urahara's store, surrounded by his friends, all he could smell was despair. No one was talking, no one was smiling. They just sat there…faces down and fists clenched.

He hated it.

After the doorway opened and Hood got away, the world felt like it had stopped spinning. At least for Ichigo. The walls felt like they were closing in on him. Suffocating him. He felt sick. He felt evil. He had actually attacked Orihime in the sewers. Why couldn't it all have just been a nightmare?

When they'd left the old building, they didn't find Misaki outside. Hood must have taken her. Thinking about Misaki just made him livid. Backstabbing soul reaper. How could she?

Ichigo didn't feel like being in the Soul Society anymore, the shadowy creatures were nowhere to be seen. The portal was being monitored by the Kido corps and they were working around the clock to contain it. With some luck, no more unwanted visitors would be coming out of there anytime soon. The Head Captain had allowed him to leave and live, the damage was already done. Killing him wasn't going to solve anything. For some reason, they didn't even ask him to act as a key and close the archway up. Wouldn't it have been more productive and helpful if they just closed that thing up before more harm was done?

Captain Soi Fon was still on the hunt for Captain Hitsugaya. Ichigo had to admit the woman didn't know the word quit. So far his whereabouts were still unknown though. That some good news at least. Ichigo couldn't live with himself if Toshiro was punished because of him.

When he told everyone that Hood was Aizen, no one believed him. They assured him that the crazy immortal was still in the deepest, darkest prison. There was no getting out for him. Ichigo was confused. He was sure the face he had seen had been Aizen's. Just what the heck was going on?

Rukia had been distraught after her encounter with Hood and she wasn't talking. Part of him thought she wasn't even listening. She hadn't even come back to Karakura town with him. It upset him that this was what the psycho bastard was doing to his friends. He needed to be stopped.

When he had gotten back to the world of the living and found out that Hood had transported Kisuke back there, the first place Ichigo went to was home. He had to know his family was okay. They were all doing fine. Chad was still nowhere to be found. The hollow attacks had minimized drastically though. Captain Kurotsuchi's barriers were still working and though they didn't fix the torn veils completely, they aided in minimizing on the hollow attacks. For the time being, the people of Karakura town were safe. Safe from hollow attacks, that is. There wasn't much anyone could do to protect them from the darkness within themselves.

Ichigo knew all too well about battling the darkness within oneself. Maintaining control and not letting the dark consume him was something he had experience with.

The veil on hell, however, had everyone worried; the world of the living was being contaminated by hell's presence and people were really causing panic in the streets. Their powers manifesting and them developing worrying abilities was cause for even more panic. Most were still trying to adjust to suddenly being able to see masked beasts.

There was a period when the streets where full of looters and violence but the soul reapers had come on the scene and helped maintain an ounce of order. All that, plus the opening of the unknown realm was the reason why everyone was gloomy and felt somewhat defeated.

Ichigo had been told about the land of the leviathans and how he had powers and presence in all the realms. It upset him even more. Damn it all. He didn't ask for this.

He had even bigger problems; his first kiss came about because he had been too weak to fight the darkness of his hollow self and planted one right on Orihime. To make matters worse, he had handled her with too much force and craziness. He cursed himself for it. How is it that she didn't hate him? He hated himself.

"So, what now?" Renji's voice finally broke into the silence and every low-spirited person in the room raised their head and looked at him. Ichigo wasn't shocked that Renji would still have it in him to push forward. He felt pathetic for the way he was feeling. Uryu had recovered completely thanks to Orihime yet he kept quiet through it all.

Orihime. Ichigo thought about her and a knot formed in his throat. Damn it. Will that image ever go away?

"Well, once the Kido corps have stabilized the portal we can close it up permanently but before that, we have to make sure that all the escaped leviathans are…taken care of." Kisuke said as he sipped on some tea, "We just have to find them first."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Renji asked, "Because unless I'm mistaken we can't pick up on their presence either in the world of the living or the soul society. How do we find something we can't sense?"

"I have no idea."

"Um… how sure are we that those black things were the leviathans?" Orihime said, "What if they were just souls getting out?"

Ichigo heard her voice and couldn't even face her. He just kept his head down.

"Yeah." Renji agreed, "If the levia-things are supposed to be dangerous shouldn't the world be experiencing some kind of apocalyptic event. It just seems too normal and too quiet."

"Don't let this quietness fool you. We are hardly out of dangerous waters yet. This is just the calm before the storm." Kisuke explained.

The room got quiet as everyone wondered just what was to come. Ichigo especially.

"So what, we just sit here like a bunch of losers while that psycho does more harm?" Ichigo voiced his opinion. His crossed legs and hard facial expression letting everyone know just what he thought of their plan. "We can't just sit around."

"We know that Ichigo." Renji said.

"Is that so? Because it seems to me like you guys are happy with just sitting around here sipping tea and looking like it's a funeral."

They didn't understand how Ichigo felt; he blamed himself. Because of him that hooded bastard had managed to open that damned door and now who knew what was to come. They had to do something before it was too late.

'Ichigo…" Orihime said, her voice so low.

He didn't look her way but he could feel her eyes on him. Damn it! Why wasn't it all just a bad dream? He wished he could look in her big eyes and not feel shame and anger towards himself for being weak.

"I will not let any more innocent people get hurt." He gritted his teeth as his nostrils flared.

"I'll second that." A feminine voice came from the open sliding door.

Ichigo lifted his head. "Yoruichi…" Ichigo stared at the purple-haired woman, glad that she almost always made her appearances in human form now. He remembered the first time she'd transformed from her feline form and stood in front of him in all her naked glory. Damn it. What a perverted way to think of it. Naked glory? Goddammit.

"I have some bad news." She said as she walked in the room and leaned against one of the walls so that all eyes were on her. She had her arms folded and when she was sure everyone was attentive, she continued, "I've been going around the town and there are many reports of human disappearances. At first I thought they might just be casualties due to the hollow attacks but many eye witnesses are claiming that they saw black smoke entering people before they simply vanished…leaving nothing but their clothes behind."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo couldn't understand what he was hearing.

"I think the shadow entities you guys saw coming out of the archway have made it into the human world and are now consuming humans. I'm sure they're worse than hollows."

Worse than hollows? What the actual hell?

Just how bad was it going to get before they got a break? All this bad and losing was really pissing Ichigo off.

"So, what do we-" Ichigo was cut off as a large rumbling sound followed by earth-shattering vibration was heard and felt. The room started shaking and it looked like the roof would come crashing down on them all.

"What the hell?" Ichigo looked at his friends as they all stood up. Grabbing their shoes, they all ran outside. Jinta and Ururu were already outside when the others made it there. Was there no end to the surprises?

"What's going on now?" Renji asked and Ichigo couldn't have thought of a better question himself.

Looking up in the sky, none of them could believe what they were seeing. Or maybe they just didn't want to. There were Garganta like openings in the sky. Only they were bigger and less menacing. Everyone could see them the in clear blue sky. In them they could see the soul society and what Ichigo concluded was Hueco Mundo and the hell verse. One of the small openings showed a place Ichigo could not recognize but if what he had heard so far was anything to go by, he was going to guess that it was the beast realm.

The veils were completely disintegrating and the different worlds appeared to be merging. It did not look good.

"Oh boy." Yoruichi stood with her hand on her hip. Ichigo knew a rough road was ahead for all of them. He just wasn't sure if he was ready to take a step in that direction.

"Remember that storm I told you guys about?" Kisuke looked up at the sky and then at the fighters around him, "I think it's about to begin, say goodbye to the calm."

~xoxo~

Soul Society

The ground in the Seireitei shook and rumbled. All those who were standing staggered and almost toppled.

"What in the hell?" Ikkaku said as he tried to balance himself. He looked up. He had been sparring off with his best friend when he felt the ground tremble. He saw the sky open up to reveal the human world and Hueco Mundo.

"That sounds about right. Unless I'm mistaken, that is hell we are seeing up there in one of those openings." Yumichika said when his gaze followed Ikkaku's.

They both jumped on the roof to get a better look. "This does not look good." The bald soul reaper commented.

"It's about to get a whole lot worse." Yumichika said when he saw the many Hollows that were now making their way into the Soul Society from Hueco Mundo.

The familiar alarm went off and its equally familiar voice telling all the members of the 13 Court Guard Squads of the breach followed thereafter.

"Do you still have energy for what's to come?" Ikkaku faced the man by his side. He was wearing his famous I-am-about-to-do-some-major-butt-kicking smile and he needed his friend to be on board with it.

"You know I do." Yumichika gripped his Zanpakutou and took a battle position.

"Extend. Hozukimaru!" Ikkaku said as he soared for the first hollow he saw. A crazy grin on his face and his spear Zanpakutou gripped firmly in his hands.

It was a great day for a work out.

~xoxo~

Central 46 meeting, Soul society

"Head Captain Yamamoto, the situation has become dire. This calls for desperate measures." A member of Central 46 said.

"I understand the situation better than all of you. We must do what we must…there is no time for second thoughts." The old Captain's voice resounded. He knew just how much chaos was to come if the veils were not mended. He should have acted sooner.

"Is it really him?" a female voice asked. "We may not have met him personally but we have heard the stories and read the Central 46 records. The former central 46 were thorough in their reports. Has he finally made his move?"

"It appears so. After all these years, Usui Kazehaya finally made his return." Yamamoto said, feeling upset about the fact that the man actually had the audacity to wreak such havoc. He may have adopted the Hood persona but the Head Captain wasn't fooled. He knew who the man in the hood was-Usui Kazehaya. He knew all too well just how far the man called Kazehaya could go. "It appears he is still holding a grudge with the soul society and the world."

"How do we stop it? Your Soul reapers failed to capture the human abomination before this disaster occurred and now the gateway is open. They failed. Now, unless we are mistaken, the key can only be used once-To open the realm but not to close it up again. So, how do we stop the realms from colliding and destroying us all in the impact?"

The Head Captain held on to his staff as he listened to their worries. He had them too. There was too much at stake.

"It is like you said, the situation calls for desperate measures." The head Captain said. Now was a time to make hard decisions and not falter. The decision was final. "There is a way to minimize the casualties and stop this apocalypse."

"What choices do we have?"

"We have no choice but to use the Kido Canon. It must be fired straight into the open archway and destroy the land of the leviathans and all those who have been tainted by their evil. Karakura town has been tainted and must also face destruction." Yamamoto looked up and faced them head on. Such words could not be said follow ed by showing weakness.

They all looked at him in silence and he looked back at them, unyielding. They all knew just how Karakura town was when it came to attracting hollows and other spiritual pressure loving creatures. The leviathans had all gathered there. The town had to be blasted off the face of the world. If the contamination spread, balance would be lost and it would mean death…to all.

"Is the decision unanimous then?" A cold harsh voice asked. All 46 men and women nodded in agreement. This Central 46 was just as strict and unwavering as the old. The Head Captain knew that they would all agree to the measures taken to save the worlds.

Karakura town was a small sacrifice when compared to how many lives would be saved.

~xoxo~

Outside Urahara's store, Karakura town

Ichigo and his friends had their hands busy with trying to rid the town of the hollows that were now roaming the streets. When the sky opened up and Hueco Mundo was seen, hundreds of hollows started making their way into the world of the living.

Ichigo was glad that despite the spear that Hood had pierced in his chest and used his powers to open up the archway, he still maintained his abilities. He was putting his twin war cleavers to good use and cutting down any hollow he saw. When he had returned to Karakura town, he had gotten enough rest and was now fully pumped and giving this battle everything he had.

Renji was in the far distance. He was in the air and dismembering the hollows in his path with his peculiar serrated Zanpakutou that kept extending and retracting as he willed it. Limps and heads were dropping to the ground before they dissipated entirely.

Uryu was on Ichigo's right and had no problem finishing off dozens of hollows at once with his spirit arrows and bow. They shot out in numbers and any hollow that was hit was instantaneously killed off. That was the power of the Quincy.

Kisuke and Yoruichi were both up in the sky hovering as they fought, much like Renji and none of the hollows they encountered gave them any problems. They were expert fighters and deadly when the need arose. Ichigo had seen them in action first hand, had been trained by them to become the warrior he now was; he felt pity for anyone unfortunate enough to battle either Kisuke or the purple haired lean woman.

The one person, who he was aware of, who was stalking his mind, was the one person he didn't want to be thinking about. The tricky part was that she was fighting on his left. Covered in a purple protective barrier that nothing could penetrate and firing projectiles to maim and kill the hollows that were underestimating her and attacking her in swarms. Orihime sure had advanced in her fighting style. The girl she was now was nothing like the timid girl she used to be who couldn't even hurt a fry. He had to give her that.

"Just how many of them will we have to kill?" Renji asked as he cut down one humanoid hollow.

Ichigo had just been wondering the same thing. Well, the time when the curvy girl wasn't flooding his mind. He really had to be focused.

"It looks like Hueco Mundo is being emptied." Uryu fired some more arrows as he spoke, "The rise in the towns spiritual energy must be attracting them here more than usual. This doesn't look good." he switched the direction his bow was facing and fired even more blue-white deadly arrows.

Ichigo had to admit it was a very bad situation. If the people couldn't fight back, it would have been even worse. But as it was now, with the people's new abilities, those who were brave enough to stand up to a hollow were standing their ground and actually killing some.

"For crying out loud!" Ichigo looked up at the sky where black smoke figures were flying around.

His first guess was leviathans… and he knew he was right. They started descending and entering the mouths of the people that were brave enough not to lock themselves up indoors. As soon as one was completely swallowed up, the human shook furiously and then just vanished, leaving nothing but the clothes they wore. Then the dark smoke would move on to the next people.

He had been too busy looking at the confusing scene that was happening that he lost sight of the other creatures that were terrorizing the town. A shark-head hollow swung a sharp hand for him and the impact resulted in his left shoulder being viciously wounded. Blood splattered to the ground.

"Damn it!" He swore as he dove away from it and then charged for it. He swung his right arm and cut it down. Another one was about to do a surprise attack on him and he was about to turn.

"Reign over the frosted heavens. Hyorinmaru!" The hollow was frozen solid. And Ichigo's lips curved into a smile. He looked up in the sky and he was glad he had friends who had his back.

"Toshiro." Ichigo said.

The white haired Captain was with his Lieutenant and she quickly switched into battle mode as she leapt to take care of hollows of her own. How come Rukia hadn't come with them? Was she still in shock? Hitsugaya moved his sword in the air and moved to cut the hollow to his left. The hollow was done for and he didn't even break a sweat. That was the power of a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Captain Hitsugaya." His features were stern and he looked down to where Ichigo was standing. Some things just never changed but Ichigo was glad to see the young Captain. So, he had evaded execution. How had he done it? "It appears the situation here is just as bad as the Soul Society."

Ichigo highly doubted it. Unless the Soul Society was being attacked by hollows and having innocent people being finished off by black flying smoke, there was no way that they had it similar.

"How is the soul society holding up?" Renji shouted his question out.

"Not good. We have a huge problem and not even my boobs can get us out of this fix boys." the response came from Rangiku. Three hollows surrounded her, they were all bigger than her and looked frightening to a lesser female but she wasn't fazed. She was a trained warrior, "Growl. Haineko." Her Zanpakutou transformed into deadly ash-like blades. She flicked the hilt and the hollows stood no chance. The ash engulfed all three hollows and the hollows where killed. Ichigo always saw Rangiku's weapon like a lesser Senbonzakura. But it was still something not to be taken lightly. The ash cut down anything it touched.

"Yeah, we can see. The hollows have kind of given us a clue." Uryu said. "We're in trouble."

"It's bigger than that, four-eyes." she used her mind to control the deadly ash and it killed off some more hollows, "The Head Captain has given an order to prepare the Kido canon. It will be fired into the open portal so that the new realm can be destroyed. Blown up like it never existed."

Ichigo heard that and felt like it was good news. What was the catch?

"Rangiku, I feel like there is a 'but' coming up after that." Ichigo said as he flew towards a spider hollow and beheaded it without wavering. Her hesitance after his statement only confirmed what he suspected. Some bad news was about to follow.

Captain Hitsugaya stopped his fight and stood for a second, he looked at Ichigo seriously before he said anything, "He has ordered that Karakura town be destroyed as well."

"WHAT?!" Ichigo felt his heart sink and bile started rising up his gullet. It made him sick. That couldn't be right. The Head Captain couldn't be that barbaric. It was inhumane killing off people in a whole town. "We have to stop it. Don't tell me you are all on board with this."

Uryu had stopped producing arrows long enough to look at Toshiro. He was obviously as dumbfounded as Ichigo. "We can't let that happen."

"That's just crazy." Renji put in his opinion. "They can't do that. What is the Head Captain thinking? There are innocent women and children in this town."

"According to word in the squads, this town has been contaminated and to save more lives this has to be done." Hitsugaya said but Ichigo could hear the reservation in his voice. The young Captain also didn't agree with the order. "That's all I know and that it's final."

"Bullshit!" he swore. The soul society disgusted him. "That is murder and you know it."

The people of the town had to be saved. There had to be a way to reverse the effects of that first surge of spiritual energy without killing anyone. It wasn't their fault that a mad man had messed with their lives. They didn't deserve to be killed. He thought of his family and his knees grew weak. Poor innocent Yuzu and Karin and his silly dad didn't deserve this.

"I have to check on my family." He finally said. With everything that was going on, he couldn't trust that they were completely safe. Hollows were one thing, the leviathans he did not want to risk. How does one defend against something that is neither solid nor liquid?

"Go." Uryu told him as he once again started killing off hollows. "We have it covered here."

"I'm coming with you." The sweet voice of Orihime reached him and as Ichigo saw the expression on Uryu's face change all he could do was face down. Could he really allow her to go with him? How sure was he that he wouldn't hurt her again, or worse?

"It's okay, Orihime." His voice came out low, "I'll be fine."

"I know, but I'm still coming with you." She clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer as she moved to his size. He didn't dare look at her but he knew she was staring at him. She could feel it. Ichigo thought about standing his ground and telling her 'no' but then Renji also offered.

"So am I." he smiled at Ichigo, "You know, so I can keep you from doing something stupid or getting yourself killed."

"I don't need a damn body guard!" He retorted.

"Tell that to your bleeding shoulder." The redhead switched his gaze and stared at Ichigo's bleeding shoulder. Then his smile grew bigger.

"Screw you. Whatever." He finally gave in. They had to hurry. "Let's just go." He started running towards his house and Orihime and Renji were right behind him.

The Soul Society had lost its mind and was actually going to bomb a town. That was something that could make anyone switch sides. He thought about his friends and family. He thought about all the other innocent people and he knew the Kido canon had to be destroyed somehow.

But first he had his family to think of.

xoxo~

A cave shrouded with a barrier.

"Oh wow, just awesome." Misaki grumbled as she looked at the surroundings she was in, "This is what we are reduced to now…living like pigs." The cave was clammy and smelled of bats and shrooms. There was green moss hanging on the walls and in the really moist parts fungi grew like it was the freaking shroom valley.

"Don't exaggerate, Misaki." The man called Kazehaya said as he took a seat on one of the many boulders in the cave. His scythe was resting by the right cave wall. "This is just a temporary setback but believe me when I say everything else is going according to plan." A leer formed on his face and Misaki couldn't help but notice how he looked so much like a black haired Ichigo.

"So, what now?" she kicked a large spider away and folded her arms, "My cover is blown, I can't feed you with any more information from the 13 Court Guard Squads"

"At this point, I don't need you to. I know exactly what that old man will do. As we speak he is probably asking his squads to begin emergency procedures and taking the most desperate of actions. He will be forced to use the Kido canon to destroy the land of the Leviathans." He sounded so sure of himself. Misaki had to wonder.

"How do you know this?" Misaki looked intently at the man currently looking like a Shiba.

"Because I know him. I know how he thinks and it is what I would have also done…under different circumstances."

"That's great and all but what does that mean for us?" She wasn't just going to sit around and wait until the Soul society got away with it again. They were not going to win this time. Not when she was so close to righting all the things that were wrong with this wretched world. Hood looked too comfortable for her liking.

Yeah, she was going to keep referring to him as Hood. It sounded better to her than Kazehaya. There was a time when she thought of him like a father. To be honest, she kind of still did because heaven knew she needed a father figure in her life. He had been there for her when no one else was and she loved him.

He smirked in her direction as he ran his hand through his black mane, "You don't really think I'm wearing this gorgeous face for nothing, do you? Like I said…everything is going according to plan. This face will get me everything I need. Love is such a dangerous emotion."

That was comforting. She liked the sound of that. She liked it a lot.

"By the way," She cleared her throat and looked at him with an upset expression," were you really going to chop of my head that time you were fighting with the Strawberry?" She had to ask. His scythe had come dangerously close to her neck for her to not get curious.

"Who?" he looked genuinely confused as his forehead furrowed.

"Ichigo. You were using me as a human shield and threatened to kill me if he didn't listen. The time we were in that crazy scientist's lab."

He flinched. "Oh Misaki" Shaking his head and looking hurt. He jumped off from the boulder where he was perched and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he started walking towards her. His gloved hand touched her cheek and he smiled. It oozed of care and all the things Misaki knew the world took from her.

"I would never hurt you. We needed to sell the act and if he suspected for a second that you weren't who you said you were, all our plans would have been ruined. Would you have lived with yourself if everything we have worked for, for so long, got ruined because we went at it half way? Mm?"

Misaki didn't want to think of failure. She leaned her face into his hand and felt comfort. "No. It would have destroyed me. This has to work."

"And it will." He gave a gentle peck on her forehead and moved away to grab his scythe, "Whichever way this goes, our plan will open everyone's eyes. Then Soul Society will crumble." He turned to look at her and the smile on his face left no room for doubt in Misaki's mind. He was certain of the outcome.

"So when do I get to meet a badass leviathan? Thanks to that big breasted bitch that knocked me out, I missed all the good parts." Misaki asked. She imagined they were some badasses and she wanted to see one in action.

"All in due time, my sweet." He said and she wrinkled her nose at the mention of her as his sweet, she wasn't a fucking kid anymore. "For now, the people of Karakura town have their hands busy with these…badasses. I have told you before. They cannot materialize in the world of the living so they have to take possession of human bodies. I imagine they are going through bodies looking for the right ones. Trust me, once they find vessels strong enough to house their power, you will definitely meet one."

"Nice." Misaki couldn't wait. She had to meet and thank the beings that would eventually help her get everything she had ever wanted since she met her savior.

"But until then, you and I have a date at the Kuchiki Manor." He held out his hand for her to take, "Shall we?"

She gave him one of her smirks and took his hand.

~xoxo~

The Kurosaki household, Karakura Town.

"Yuzu! Karin!" Ichigo budged into the house, breathless and panting like a dog. He frantically started searching like a mad man. Orihime and Renji right behind him. He prayed they were all okay. He didn't know how he would react if anything happened to them.

He was about to run upstairs when he saw Karin standing on the top most step, her head cocked and her dark tresses covering her face.

"Karin?" Ichigo started running up, two steps at a time. He was about to crouch down and take her in his arms when her small fist crashed into his face and he was sent flying back-blood splashing from his cut lip. Damn, beaten up by his little sis.

"Ichigo!" Orihime tried to stop his fall but she was too slow. He hit the bottom really hard and the floorboards smashed. He grunted as the pain seared in him.

Renji rushed to Ichigo's side on the smashed floorboards and put out his hand to help his friend out. Ichigo took it. Damn.

"Karin, what're you doing?" Getting back on his feet, he asked, "Where's Yuzu? Where's dad?" He wiped the blood from his lip.

The girl at the top of the stairs gave out a laugh so alien it came out like a screech. "I'm afraid Karin is no longer here." The voice sounded like Karin's but it wasn't completely hers because when she spoke, the words were said by two voices. The familiar one of his sister and a shrill one that made Ichigo's skin crawl. It reminded him of how people described his voice when he was in his hollow form. It unnerved him.

The girl lifted her arm slowly and used her hand to move the black hair from her face. It was then that Ichigo saw her eyes. There were no whites present anymore. Only pitch black pools stared back at him and he knew without any doubt that his sister's body housed something else, something dark and ominous.

"Karin…" he almost slumped back to the ruined floor. He was too late.

"Not anymore." The piercing voice mixed with his sister's reached his ears again. He hated that sound. He hated those eyes. He hated everything that was going on.

"Get your vile self out of my sister's body!" He leapt up the stairs. What exactly could he do? He couldn't exactly punch the intruder without harming his sister's body.

"Get out of your sister's body?" she laughed, "Yeah, I kinda like this meat suit,"

Shit! Damn it! What should he do? He was heading straight for her?

This was one pickle Ichigo didn't appreciate being in.

The leviathan must have guessed what he was thinking and his sister's face twisted into a disturbing smile. Her white teeth showing, it pissed off Ichigo even more. There was no time for him to duck or avoid the attack that was to come.

Dark Karin parted her legs in a battle stance before she jumped in the air and dealt Ichigo one mean round house kick straight to the gut. As Ichigo went flying off to the far wall and crashed painfully into it, she landed on the hard floor in a low crouch. Her hands were on the floor in front of her, with one leg straight and almost meeting the ground while the other was bent at the knee. She looked straight at the mess she had made and gave a wicked smile. She lifted herself swiftly and stood up straight before she turned back and ran.

Ichigo leapt to his feet and ran after her. "Damn it, stop!' he commanded as he tried to keep up, maneuvering his way in the passageway. "Yuzu…" He found his sweet innocent sister passed out in the passage. "Orihime, please look after her." He shouted out. Knowing that she was right behind him, together with Renji.

His ran after dark Karin, straight to the twin's bedroom "Give me back my sister!" But he was too late, she jumped out the window and landed safely on the ground before she leapt onto the nearest roof and kept on running and jumping from roof to roof until she disappeared entirely.

"KARIN!" No. this wasn't how it was supposed to go. His sister was innocent.

His world suddenly became dark. He needed more strength than he possessed. He screamed out with everything he had and the familiar color of red and black started oozing out of him. It surrounded him and he screamed some more.

"Ichigo, calm down." Renji tried to penetrate his dark thoughts but Ichigo thought only of his sister-Her body being possessed by some evil ancient creature from another world. Ichigo let go of everything.

The Soul Society was planning on obliterating an entire town, killing thousands of innocent people. He didn't even know how long they had. The people of Karakura town were fighting each other and now his family was put in the middle of all of it. What sane person wouldn't let all that get to him? What man wouldn't want to do everything in his power to save his loved ones?

His spikey orange hair grew longer as it draped down to his back and a white mask and horns appeared on his head. The dark hole present on all hollows appeared on his chest and his scream became a high-pitched howl.

A hollow now stood in the bedroom by the window and its growl penetrated all who heard. Hollow Ichigo wasn't holding anything back. Between his horns a cero started being formed. The crimson colors of it make the small room glow. It was foreboding.

Woe to anyone who dared to stand in his way.

~xoxo~

Author's Note: So yeah, I know I'm beyond late with this one. A huge sorry to those that are still reading this fic and a HUGE "Thank You" to ElevatedJewel…your reviews and support with each of my chapters really help move this story forward. Its great knowing someone is enjoying my story. To the guest reviewers, thanks a bunch too .

I hope you like what I did in this chapter (despite the plot holes lol).

What do you think of the Captain's decision to destroy Karakura Town?

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