Written by: DamnHeFLy

A/N: Finally...Sorry for the absence. Doubt that this story will be update regularly due to time constraints. Also, I have not given my permission for anyone to use my original work. If you see anyone plagiarizing, please report to the moderators and do the community a service. A big thank you to jcampbellohten for once again reading and editing my work, making it 10x better.

As quickly as he could, he flashed open his eyes.

It was still dark though, but at least he could somewhat make out his surroundings again.

He looked around for any sign as to where he was, but he couldn't even see a meter ahead. The thought of venturing into the dark area did strike him, but his body could not keep up. Forcing himself to open his eyes was an accomplishment itself; standing up was going to take a miracle.

"You there, King?"

Glancing at the floor beneath him, he saw a reflection of himself, only it had bleached white skin and hair and yellow-on-black eyes. Of course, it had to be his Hollow that came to him in the worst possible situation.

"What are you doing here? Get lost before I get up and kick your ass."

His hollow gave a weak laugh, but it was nowhere near as intimidating as his usual maniacal laughter. "We both know you can't do that, and neither can I 'get lost.' I'm beat too, ya know?"

Ichigo gave his all to at least push himself up to a sitting position, but all he could do was twitch his finger. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. You did all the work and tired yerself out. All I did was try to keep you down."

If he wasn't so lethargic and the situation wasn't so grave, he might have laughed at himself. "Never do that again. Ever."

"Or else? Please... If you wanna threaten me, at least have something to back it up!" He could imagine the smug look on the Hollow's face. "Do you wanna get up or not?"

He knew the Hollow had something up its sleeve. There was no other reason it would have communicated with him in private. Honestly, he had no idea where he was, but he doubted that it'd be any better to get out of wherever he was with the Hollow's help. "I'm not going to ask you for help."

"Do you even know where you are? We could talk until we find the meaning of life and you'd still have no clue where we are!"

"I'd still prefer staying put. Now shut up, I'm trying to get some rest."

"Ya can't get any rest in this form, idiot."

As much as he wanted to deny it, he'd known this from the start. He probably wasn't in a physical form, since the lethargy and soreness didn't even begin to subside.

He reconsidered his options, but there were only two: take up the Hollow's offer, or stay trapped within this realm from which he had no idea how to escape. He considered the consequences of both options, but realized that he had no idea what would happen if he chose to take up the Hollow's offer.

"Wanna know what I did to Erza?"

As it spoke, Ichigo knew that all the Hollow was doing was egging him on. Baiting him was all it could do after all. If the Hollow could escape the realm they were in, it would have done so. "Shut up, I'm not falling for it."

"Can you imagine the whole of Fairy Tail succumbing to me? Not even their strongest could take me down. Phew...the best fight I've been in ages!"

He couldn't stand his Hollow any longer. It's only been a few sentences and he started to clench his teeth involuntarily. Over the millennia, he had honed his mind to block out anything his Hollow said to spite him, but why was it that at the mention of Erza or Fairy Tail, he was no longer able to hold in his rage? "What will it take for you to shut up?"

"If ya get me out of here, maybe you won't have to listen to me, ya know?"

Ichigo almost chuckled. Almost. "Even if there was the slightest chance that I wanted to get you out of here, I can't."

"Yes, you can. Because this is your mind, dumbass. If you wanted to leave, you could. You're just scared of facing the consequences."

He didn't know if learning that he was trapped within his own mind was a good or bad thing. Despite having a clue as to where he was, knowing that you are trapped within your own mind was... depressing. But how could he be afraid of facing the consequences? He had never run away from his problems before, no matter how big of a mistake he had made. His Hollow had to be spouting nonsense.

"Would you like a list of the terrible deeds ya're running from? You've caused trouble for the Council, Fairy Tail, Mira, Erza-"

"Shut up! It wasn't me! It was you!"

"I'm pretty sure it was you, King. You chose to get close to her, despite knowing that I was a part of you. Too bad you were human. Not even god-like powers can save someone so emotionally weak, Ichigo."

"Shut up..."

"You saw yerself in her, took her in before discarding her. You wanted her to miss you, crave you, just so you could feel needed. And you said you meant the best for her... What's best for her is if you hadn't met her, you idiot!"

"SHUT UP!"

...

His voice echoed in the darkness, ricocheting off walls he could not see. For the first time in a very long time, he heard the sound of himself screaming. He hadn't screamed for the longest time, as he'd never found a reason to. All this time, he'd thought of himself as a hero, but heroes don't scream. Right now, he was no hero. He was merely another human being. "... I'm just human."

The Hollow leaked a diabolical smile, something it did often when things started to go its way. "And what's wrong with being human?"

The Hollow's words caught Ichigo a little off guard. It was rare that his Hollow didn't take a jab at his "humane" nature, and it was just plain odd that his Hollow had spoken up for human behaviour. "You're awfully supportive today. If you have a point, just spit it out."

The Hollow let out a sigh, apparently giving up on beating around the bush. "The point is: if you know you're human, what's wrong with going after your human desires? Greed, pride, lust; ya gotta embrace it. It's part of who you are."

"Is that your best try at persuading me to do something messed up that you have planned?"

"Yep. That's it. Whether you wanna take my advice, that's up to you."

The silence that followed stiffened the atmosphere. As he leaned against a wall he could not see, and sat on a floor he could not identify, Ichigo took some time to digest his Hollow's words. Honestly, they did make sense, but everything coming from his Hollow's mouth did not have a good record of being sensible.

But as he thought about what he had been doing these past few years since meeting Erza, these facts started to become apparent. He had helped people all his life, and never had qualms about leaving within a blink of an eye. He used to think he could protect the world, but decided on protecting whomever he met, and now he was willing to go against the world to protect Fairy Tail. Then again, he could not even accomplish that much.

And here he was, protecting his own consciousness from his inner Hollow. Perhaps it wasn't a lack of power, but a matter of handing the power to the wrong person.

At least the power wasn't in the hands of his Hollow, he consoled himself with a thought.

Speaking of the devil, he had been way too quiet. Ichigo looked beneath him, only to realize that his Hollow was not silent, but absent. "Hey, you there?"

The only reply was his echo, and although it was good riddance, it perplexed him. Nevertheless, he could use the peace and quiet. As he let his body sink, he felt the ache from his body that bothered him moments ago subside, leaving a soothing feeling within him. Maybe he could take a nap. After all, he'd be trapped in here indefinitely.

Just as his eyes shut, an irritated voice pestered his slumber. "That's odd...He should be awake..."

He felt a slap on his face, one so sudden and forceful that it jolted him awake. But as he sat up, he found himself in an infirmary, one that he found too familiar. He turned to see an irritated Porlyusica, her face wearing a more troubled look than he had last seen. "Took you long enough to wake up."

"Wait...how did I...did you just...what?"

"You wore yourself out when you fought an internal battle between you and your Hollow. And so did your Hollow, so I removed it."

"Removed? I thought I said-"

"I know what you said." She took a mask out from a bedside drawer; a white mask with red marks. It did not take long for Ichigo to realize that this was the mask he wore whenever he lost control to his Hollow. "The Hollow is in here, but there's no magic. The magic was from you, and the Hollow was merely the catalyst. It warps and augments the person's own magical power."

"The magic...was mine?" It was true. The only thing holding him back was his contradicting human nature. "I... see."

Porlyusica didn't say a word, placed the mask on the side table and simply continued her cleaning. Something was wrong. "Aren't you going to chase me out?"

There was a pause in her cleaning, as if contemplating on an answer. "If you want to leave, go ahead."

The way Porlyusica was acting and speaking...he had a terrible feeling about it. But perhaps it was his all in his head; sleeping for quite some time may have messed with his head. Which reminded him... "How long was I asleep?"

"...Three years."

"What?! Damn, I gotta get going. Mira's gonna kill me for being away this long!" A part of him actually feared the punishment he would receive for disappearing for three years, but another part of him couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when he returned. As he re-quipped a shirt on, he hastily stumbled out of his bed, his muscles weak from being inactive for so long.

"There's no need." The tone in Porlyusica's voice as she spoke shook, and after knowing that woman for such a long time, it made Ichigo uneasy.

"Have you seen Mira when she's angry? It's quite something-"

"They're dead. Makarov, Mira, Erza..." A lone tear fell from Porlyusica's eye as she fell.

"They're all gone."

-3-

It was dark, even darker than night was supposed to be, as expected. It was merely a small village. It was unsurprising that there were no streetlamps, but why were there no shops or inns with the lights on? He knew the answer. After all, it was the reason he was here.

As he sat on a bench in front of an uninhabited shop, all that accompanied him were the cries of crickets and the hoots of owls. They were not exactly the best company he could have on this cold night, but company was hard to come by, and beggars can't be choosers.

On nights like these, he wondered why he had become like this. He had grown stubble, and it had made him look like a drunkard. Then he became a drunkard, trying to whisk away his troubles with whiskey. And now he was a mercenary, taking out dark guilds for a small payment. Some may argue that he was a vigilante, but his salary would suggest otherwise. Alcohol was expensive after all.

At times like these, he wondered if this was what Erza wanted of him. Then he threw those thoughts out of his head. Erza didn't want to die, but fate wasn't fair to her. Fate wasn't fair to him.

Fate, however, was far too biased towards evil.

That was why he was here, on this solemn night: to deliver justice, and also to get paid. It was the same old situation. A dark guild had been terrorizing the villagers via kidnapping and extortion, and according to the villagers they struck during the night. All he had to do was interrogate one of the members to find and destroy the guild's headquarters. That was if there were nothing out of the ordinary.

However, "out of the ordinary" came in the form of footsteps from the alley behind him, which was odd considering that nobody dared to come out of their homes at night. Even more surprising was that this person was a mere girl. Approximately sixteen years old, the girl wielded a sheathed sword, with a bandaged hilt. Her bangs hid her eyes, which Ichigo could tell belonged to that of a fighter.

Still, there was no reason for someone to be out at night alone in such a callous environment, fighter or not. Unless it was him, of course. He cocked his head to the side, giving the girl a stoic look. "What are you doing here, gaki?"

Though the girl was alone in an alley with a "strange" man in front of her, she did not seem afraid. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I asked first, so you'll have to answer me first."

The girl contemplated before giving him an answer with the most earnest tone. "I'm here to chase away the dark guild."

For a moment, the sounds of owls and crickets engulfed all sound.

"...But...I'll take care of it so...how about you go home for now?"

"Are you sure you can do it? They're pretty strong mages."

As the girl spoke, Ichigo almost burst an artery. Keeping his cool, he summoned Zangetsu, his imposing black cleaver. "I get paid to do this, so if you don't mind..."

"I don't know though...it looks pretty big but it looks easy to dodge. Maybe I should help you, just in case."

To be honest, Ichigo hadn't felt this irritated in years. "Okay, fine! Stay in the alley until I call for your help."

The quiet night continued, but with a new sound; the swinging of the girl's sheathed sword. Occasionally, he'd glance at her, watching the way she swung the sheathed sword, and surprisingly, she knew the correct way to use a sheathed sword without unsheathing. Back when people used swords over magic, this was primarily an assassination technique, since no one could predict the lethality of a sheathed sword. However, through quick movement, a swordsman could slice in a blink of an eye, using an old art known as the Style of the Undrawn Long Sword. The girl had almost refined technique, but she was swinging much too slow to make the technique effective.

Almost as if the girl sensed his occasional glance, she would turn around to look at him with a disgusted look. "Stop staring at me, pervert."

He wasn't very glad about being called a pervert, but he was glancing at her a little too much; he could handle a little verbal abuse. Besides, the alcohol wore him down too much to retort.

Before long, he heard the engines of magic carriers, which started as a grumble, growing louder and louder. The girl stopped her aimless swinging and leaned against the wall of the alley, trying to hide her presence. "What are you doing? Get into cover before they see you."

As the magic carriers came to a halt, a group of mages stepped out of them, all bearing a similar tattoo, the tattoo he was looking out for. It seemed that his bright orange hair was enough for the group of mages to see him in the dark, as they swaggered their way towards him. "What's a punk like you doing out here late at night?"

Ichigo had learned that there was no point in trying to give a witty retort to his opponents. All he did was skewer his blade into the mage's stomach and kicked the lifeless body off the blade, all the while remaining seated on the bench. As the leader of the pack fell, the other mages looked at each other, as if trying to figure out the next course of action as a group.

"Can anyone of you tell me the location of your headquarters?"

The group of mages glanced at one another, until one of the mages decided. "Fuck you. We aren't going to-"

The man promptly fell silent when Ichigo ran the blade through his back and throat, standing amidst the group of mages who instantly backed away. It was a method like this that gave him the fastest results. "Anyone else?"

"W-west of the village...in the woods..." one mage spoke with a shaky tone.

"I see. If I see anyone here in the next ten seconds, I will kill them. Nine...eight...seven." And by then, all of the mages from the dark guild were gone.

As the magic carriers carried the group of mages away, the grumble of the engines disappeared once more, and the mundane sounds of the night continued as if nothing happened. Other than the two bodies, that is.

And the girl...whom he just murdered two people in front of.

As the girl stepped out of her cover, she was expectedly displeased. Not repulsed, but displeased. "Listen, gaki. These two guys were bad guys and-"

"Why didn't you kill them all, then?"

For a moment, Ichigo didn't know what to say. "You know what these people have done, don't you?" he finally asked.

Ichigo could see in her eyes something that scared him. He was reminded of a time he'd had those eyes. Whenever Erza or Fairy Tail was in trouble, and when they died, he'd had those kind of eyes. The wrath he'd felt as he bore them, he felt it from this girl. It was the kind of wrath that chilled the spine.

The girl even went as far as kicking and stomping the bodies until Ichigo pulled her away. "Hands off me!"

"Hey, hey. They're already dead."

She turned and threw him an unhappy look as she shrugged off his grasp on her arms. "You're obviously a skilled mage, so why didn't you kill all of them?"

As the question circled in his head, he realized he didn't have an answer. He had been so used to killing anything and anyone that went against his moral compass. The "Ichigo" from a few years ago would have killed every one of those dark guild members. Was his drive weaker than he thought?

"...Sorry..."

As he muttered his apology, he could tell that even the girl was surprised. Without another word, he dashed towards the north of the village into the woods. He could feel his heart racing, beating the fastest it had for a long time. With every flash-step through the trees' branches, the blood flowed faster through his veins.

When he caught sight of the headquarters; a large wooden building that somewhat blended in the woods, he paused on the canopy of a tree. Why was he feeling like this; so excited, so driven to execute judgment of dark guilds? Was it the words from the girl?

"You're really quick."

Ichigo almost fell out of the tree when he saw the girl appear beside him. For the girl to catch up to him, she had to have some serious skill. There might be more than meets the eye about this girl. "What are you doing here?"

"Finishing your job if you fail to do it again. You look at me like I'm an ignorant kid. I'm more than that. I'm not afraid to kill. I'm not afraid to do what's right, no matter how people look at me."

Ichigo took a moment to glance at the girl, her eyes showing the weight of her words, and the hands on her sword with an iron grip demonstrating the anticipation for judgment.

It took only a flicker to get Ichigo through the window, crashing through the glass into the building. Candlelight lit up the astonishment on the dark mages' faces, only to be cut off by a swing of his sword. The room was pitch black, the kind of atmosphere Ichigo could perform in.

No faces, no expressions. Just his blade and things to slice.

With every swing, someone lost a limb or even a head. There was no discrimination between leader and follower. When the room was cleared, his instincts led to the next room, where his cleaver would take over his arm, driving itself through body after body.

What was this feeling? It wasn't bloodlust; he didn't take pleasure in cutting anyone, but in this case, he was cutting up dark mages. People who had murdered, raped, robbed...hearing a bloodcurdling scream, hearing a lifeless body fall to the floor like a sack...No, it wasn't bloodlust.

It was the sweet taste of justice.

Why did he stop doing his best to wipe out evil one swing at a time? It was clear when, but he didn't know why. In fact, Erza's death should have made him fight harder.

As his mind ticked and his blade swung, he found the room ridden of dark mages once again. With a quick flash step to the last room, he couldn't help but raise his brows. The room was full of corpses from head to toe, the only living being was the worn out girl, with her sword still sheathed. She wasn't kidding when she said she wasn't afraid to kill. He didn't know whether to be impressed or horrified.

"Are you doing alright?"

She took a few heavy breaths before replying. "Not...too bad."

-3-

The town was especially jovial the next day. He could hear the children playing and the celebrations even from the village head's quarters. Despite the atmosphere, Ichigo was wondering when the village head would stop praising him and give him his money.

"You have done our village a great service! Perhaps, when we have the funds, we could erect a statue of you!"

"That's great and all...but I would like to get paid and leave."

The village head rubbed his balding head with one hand, retrieving the pouch of jewels with the other. "Yes, of course..."

As Ichigo stretched a hand to take the money, he could see the reluctance on the village head's face. It didn't matter to Ichigo. Completing the job and getting paid is how it works. With no hesitation whatsoever, he snatched the bag of jewels, turning heel to be on his way.

When he got to the door, however, he remembered something that was on his mind the other night. "Is there a girl in your village who wields a sheathed sword?"

"Oh yes! That orphan... causes nothing but trouble! She was the reason we called you in the first place; she was the one who provoked the dark guild by retaliating...If she has caused you trouble in any way, my deepest apologies!"

"Because I'm not afraid to do what's right, no matter how people look at me."

Without another word, he let himself out the door. This village head was starting to annoy him.

-3-

He didn't know where the girl lived, but he didn't expect an orphan to have an actual address. His best bet was to retrace his steps, which proved effective. He found the girl, sitting in the alley with her knees in her face. "Hey, you."

It took a while for the girl to lift her head and notice that he was talking to her, and when she did, she reactively picked up her sword.

He tossed her a loaf of bread, which she caught swiftly but with great bewilderment. "There's nothing strange about it. It's just a loaf of bread."

"But why?"

Ichigo didn't know why he was doing this. It was out of character for him when he took in Erza, and was probably one of his biggest mistakes admittedly. "I can teach you how to swordfight."

There, I said it.

Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if she laughed at the idea of following a strange, alcoholic man who murdered people and worked as a mercenary as he hopped from town to town, village to village. Yet, she never failed to surprise him.

"Okay." She took no time at all to shove the bread into her mouth before getting on her feet. "Someone needs to clean your act up anyways. You smell like the personification of alcohol."

"I kinda do need to clean my act up, don't I?" As a reflex, he ruffled the girl's hair and gave her the warmest smile he could muster. And oddly enough, the girl didn't say a word. "But before we get going, what's your name?"

"Kagura. Kagura Mikazuchi." Almost as if she was the one wearing the pants, Kagura walked ahead of him, towards the exit of the village.

It was itching him. Something about this girl, not just her fighting ability nor her snarkiness, made fate bring them together. "Hey gaki, why did you agree to follow me?"

The girl skipped a step as she walked, but didn't turn to face him. "I need to become stronger, because there's someone I need to kill."

Ichigo saw it coming miles away. A girl who could make such a scary face would no doubt have someone that they wanted dead. He had been in those shoes once. It wasn't pretty.

"Have you heard of Crime Sorciere?"

As those two words reached his ears, Ichigo reflexively reacted. He felt his fist clench, and his eyes opened wider. He wanted to reply "yes", but knowing them would be an understatement.

Kagura, too, noticed his reaction. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the sheath of her sword looked crumpled by her iron grip. "So you want them dead too?"

Yes. This was what he was looking for. A reason to fight. A goal to work towards. He wanted his blood to boil like it had just now. He didn't want to drink till he forgot about his sorrows. He wanted whatever and whomever gave him his sorrows to pay.

"Dead? They'll be wishing."