Tamed Hollow
It started when Ichigo lost his powers.
The ultimate technique, Mugetsu, crippled Aizen and allowed Urahara's powerful binding spell to take effect. But this left our hero comatose for an entire month. When he awoke, he saw the smiling faces of his nakama.
And then one of them faded away.
Then everything went back to normal. Soul Society picked up the pieces and got back to doing what they did. Ichigo and his friends went back to school.
At first, it was ok for the boy. Suddenly not being able to hear, see, or sense spirits... well, it was rough on him. It was like losing his sight and his hearing all at once, making him stumble around blindly in a fuzzy, unclear world.
But he could deal with that. This is what he'd wanted all along, right? A normal life where he could focus on school and video games and being himself.
His friends would sometimes get up in the middle of class and run off somewhere. Afro-san didn't always get the job done, after all. They would come back, tired and maybe a bit scraped up, but happy. The orange-headed boy never followed; he knew what they were doing, and he didn't need details. Didn't want them.
Ichigo could deal with that, too.
But there was something he couldn't deal with.
A year and some change after Aizen's attack, on a Saturday afternoon, Ichigo was doing homework in his room (what else was there to do?). He heard voices downstairs; one, his father and the other... well, it sounded like Ishida-san? But why would Ryuuken be there? Either way, the both of them left in a hurry.
Half an hour later, Ichigo was called down to help with three critically injured students in the clinic. He was shocked when he saw the familiar faces of Chad, Inoue and Uryuu. Even his father and Ryuuken were beaten pretty badly.
Come to find out, a small but powerful and organized group of Adjuchas-class Hollows had infiltrated Karakura Town for an unknown reason, and the five of them had been injured. Badly. More than likely would have died, had Isshin and Ryuuken not come to back them up.
And Ichigo wasn't there. He couldn't protect them. He hadn't even known they were in danger.
He couldn't deal with that. Everything else was fine; preferable, even. But he couldn't stand by, helpless, when his friends were in danger. He just couldn't. He had to do something.
-----------------------------------------------
Ken-zen worked a lot better when one had a zanpakutou to meditate over, but Ichigo was stubborn. He was going to get into his inner world, one way or another.
He managed to convince Kon to offer his special skills in return for a stack of special dirty magazines. Kon would enter Ichigo's body and force his soul out. It was... different, than when Ichigo had been a shinigami. It hurt, and it didn't always work. He was a normal Plus, soul chain keeping his spiritual body and physical body linked. And he would meditate. Focus. Usually, eventually fall asleep.
On the fifth night he got in.
The world was the same as it always was; a sideways city under a blue sky. Well, not blue today. The sky was gray and rain misted down, making the glass of the buildings slick. Ichigo walked "down", down towards the darkness at the bottoms of the skyscrapers. If any of his powers could be found... this is where they would be.
When he stepped into a pitch black alleyway, gravity shifted. Suddenly he was walking on the ground again, and the buildings stretched up to the sky all around him. He felt around, unable to see in the darkness, and nearly tripped over something.
A white figure lying prone on the ground.
The Hollow stirred and sat up with much effort. He looked like shit, weak and injured and without his weapon. A shadow of his former self. He still managed to snark at his other and pulled one of those insane grins, but it faded fairly quickly.
Where is Zangetsu?
He's not here.
Where is he?
How should I know!
...
...
Will you help me?
Why should I?
You want him back too, don't you? If we combine what little power we've got left... maybe your hollow regeneration will help...
That's far-fetched, my fallen King. You know what'll happen to you if we do this. You aren't going to like it.
... Please. We've gotta protect them. If you let me keep control, I'll let you do whatever you want to my... our... body. Please.
... alright.
The sky of the world went dark, blue and grey turning to a fiery red and orange. And Ichigo sat up in his bed like a shot, screaming in intense pain.
His chest felt like it was being ripped apart, the soul chain dissolving into thin air and a hole opening up where it was once attached. He clutched his head and tried to keep himself from screaming more and calling attention to himself, but it was no use. His entire body was on fire. His eyes were the first to go, sclera darkening and pupils turning the color of bright, liquid gold. Claws burst from his fingers and toes, hair grew to waist length, skin blanched to white and his spine pushed out at the base into a long lashing tail. Kon had scrambled out to get help. Someone was pounding on his locked door, screaming his name, but he couldn't hear.
By the time Isshin and Kon kicked down the door, Ichigo's spiritual body was unconscious, bleeding sticky red-black ichor from a few places and almost completely Hollowfied.
Everything except for a mask.
-----------------------------------------------
Ichigo's next conscious thought was simple; "Ow. Fuck. Ow... everything hurts.". He opened his eyes to see an inner room of an all too familiar place; Urahara's shop. He was laying down, or so his inner ears told him. As the bleariness of sleep wore off, he pinpointed the source of the now dulling but still intense pain coursing through his nerves; his chest. He went to move a hand to touch it, but found they were paralyzed.
No, not paralyzed. Bound, by kidou. Gotta escape! Gotta get free! Get out of here!. Ichigo struggled and growled against the bonds on his hands, feet and... tail? When did... oh.
He remembered now.
He bowed his head, letting now long orange hair fall into his face.
Then, an all too familiar voice. "Ahhh~, Kurosaki-san. So you're awake finally." Ichigo looked up at Urahara Kisuke, dressed in his usual green outfit and looking down at him from under his hat and behind his fan. Next to him were Tessai, Yoruichi and his father; all looking very grave.
"You have a good bit of explaining to do, Ichigo."
--------------------------------------
"Explaining" was more like an interrogation. Ichigo had been propped up in a chair and questioned relentlessly. How did you do it? (I don't know.) WHY did you do it? (I had to.) How do you feel (OK, I guess.) Are you hungry at all? (Well, yeah, now that you mention it...) Where's your mask, Hollow? (Don't call me that.)
Eventually, it was determined that, against all odds, Ichigo had retained his original personality and humanity. Did it have something to do with him lacking a mask? His body was that of a Hollow, but his mind was still the same 17 year old boy, seeking only to protect his friends. Eventually, trust was regained, even if it was tenuous.
"I'd like to keep him for observation for a few days."
"Soul Society won't like this, not one bit."
"They don't need to know. Besides... he's not dangerous. Equivalent to a Menos or a low level Adjuchas, at best. Probably a third of his original power."
"Uh, hello? I'm sitting right here, I can hear you!!"
And so it went. Kisuke eventually developed two medicines for the strange Hollow. One he called "Reishi Vitamins" ("With these, you won't have to eat other souls to keep your energy up!! Great huh? But you should probably still eat a lot of reishi-rich foods. I can provide them for you at a discount!"). The other he simply called "Stabilizers" ("Just in case. They should also dull your pain.").
Kisuke also recommended Ichigo not spend a large amount of time in his body; while he WAS curious how a human body would fare with a Hollow soul inside it, Isshin and Yoruichi convinced him that this was a very bad idea and Ichigo should not be used as a lab rat any more than he already was. Urahara would produce a stronger gigai in Ichigo's image; until then, he should try and stay in his body for no more than 6-7 hours at a time, or else something bad might happen to the body.
Most importantly, Ichigo was not to consume souls of any kind, Hollow or Plus. Urahara wasn't sure what affect it would have on his fragile psyche, now held in a delicate balance between human and beast.
---------------------------------------
It didn't take long for Ichigo's friends to notice something was up. Ichigo was looking sick, pale, during class. He had bags under his eyes and his irises were a slightly different color than usual. He looked awful, to be honest. Oddly enough, though, he was chipper, more cheerful than he'd been in a long time. Not because he had powers, per say, but because if he needed to, he could protect everyone. It offered a sense of peace, and an end to the helplessness he'd denied.
Uryuu, who was in the same class as Ichigo, noticed first. He confronted his orange-headed friend on the way home one day.
"You sure look awful. Are you sick, Kurosaki?"
"Me? No! I'm great."
"Hm... I see," Ishida closes his eyes and pushes up his glasses, "I can tell, you know. I can feel your reiatsu."
"... Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. You didn't have any for so long, and suddenly it's back? Faint, but there," he then added, severely, "And different. Chad also told me he spotted a strange Hollow the other night. White skin, orange hair... about your height, actually."
"... Well, maybe I've got some explaining to do."
And so he did. A pow-wow of sorts in Ichigo's room. Ishida cursed under his breath when he saw what Ichigo had become. Chad said nothing, merely looked away. Orihime made a small noise of surprise. But somehow, it wasn't nearly as horrifying as that time on the dome. Maybe because there was no mask blocking the view of his face. But mostly, the girl thought, it was because she could see his eyes; eyes that, despite their color, were still Kurosaki-kun's. She was the first who approached him, broke the silence and stroked the fluffy red fur around his neck with a bright smile.
"I think he's sort of cute! Like a puppy!"
"I-inoue..."
"I wouldn't say a puppy, Inoue-san. I'd say he's more like... a giant lizard."
"Oh, shut up Ishida!"
"He's right."
"Not you too, Chad!"
"Ah! Kurosaki-kun's hair is so long and pretty! Can I braid it?"
"Eh...Uh... if you... really want to..."
Chad and Orihime didn't seem to care, and for that, Ichigo was intensely grateful. Inoue even made him special bentos with the food from Urahara's shop (though sometimes they were... uh... questionable, Ichigo never complained). Ishida took a little more convincing. But, a few battles in the field changed his mind. Or, at least, made him less abrasive towards the Hollow. Ichigo never attacked Pluses, or consumed the Hollows they killed. He showed more self control than he had even when he was a Shinigami. He had to.
Urahara finished Ichigo's gigai and put his real body in stasis ("It'll age normally in there, no problem!"). There was more good news, as well. Months after Ichigo's Hollowfication, there were faint traces of Zangetsu in his reiatsu signature. Apparently what he had done was working after all. Of all the half-baked ideas, it had actually worked.
Then an all too familiar face showed up in Karakura Town.
-------------------------------------
Weird reports had been coming into Soul Society. A strange Hollow-like reiatsu signature that moved around a lot, but never really went away. During the day, it would all but vanish, occasionally popping in and out. At night, it was active and moved around. The reiatsu signature was fairly weak, but... strange. Soul Society took notice, of course. Wasn't the local Shinigami supposed to take care of things like this? And if not him, then the Quincy? So they sent a Shinigami who was well acquainted with the area and its human residents; Kuchiki Rukia.
Rukia examined her Hollow tracker carefully. Where could this thing be? She wasn't reading any signals, much less-- wait. There! The signature they were tracking. And it was...
Oh no, she thought, that's...!
She hurried as fast as she could to the source of the signal; the Kurosaki Clinic.
----
Ichigo had been going out on patrol, as he usually did, and felt someone coming. He panicked a bit, even though the reiatsu was familiar. Soul Society sent someone?! How did they find out? He was so screwed! He hid his reiatsu as best he could (not well) and ducked into some bushes near the clinic.
The small shinigami landed nearby silently, her hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou.
"Hollow! I know you're there! Show yourself and stay away from the family that lives here!"
That voice. That's why the reiatsu felt so familiar. Ichigo debated with himself what he should do. Hide? Run away? No. He wouldn't do that. This was Rukia. She would understand.
... Wouldn't she?
"Hold on!" he called out from the bushes, "Don't attack, it's me!" He stepped out of the bushes and held his clawed hands up in a show of peace, "It's Ichigo."
Rukia's eyes widened and she nearly passed out at the sight. This... this Hollow was Ichigo?
"Ichigo. What have you done to yourself?!"
----
Ichigo was getting a little sick of telling the story over and over again, but hey. If it kept Rukia's zanpakutou out of his gut, he'd tell it a thousand times. The girl looked saddened, distraught.... maybe hurt? But--
"I understand why you did it, Ichigo, but it was very risky, and very, very stupid."
"I know that. I know that! But with this weird influx of adjuchas and menos into Karakura lately..."
"Yes, the Soul Society doesn't know why that is... there have been high-level Hollows appearing in other spiritually active zones as well..."
"... Listen, Rukia. You can't tell anyone. Alright? If you do, they'll..."
"They will likely destroy you, yes. I will... not tell anyone, but I can't guarantee they won't send someone else. Be ready, Ichigo."
"Aren't I always? Heh!"
------------------------------
Rukia had been right. She didn't tell anyone, not a soul. Said that the Hollow had evaded her.
So they sent someone else. Specifically, they sent a few members of the 2nd Squad. After the Aizen fiasco, they couldn't afford to take any chances. They found and captured the Hollow, later identified as Kurosaki Ichigo, dragging him to the Soul Society bound by high level kidou spells. He wasn't even given the luxury of a real jail cell. No, he was tossed in a dungeon with other Hollows used for... God only knows what. He imagined Mayuri probably did horrible things to them.
Oh God, Kurotsuchi. He'd want to dissect Ichigo for sure. A maskless Hollow with the self-awareness of a human? Oh god oh god oh god...
As for the Hollows, they all showed signs of experimentation. They were all jerks, too.
"Man, you're a small one!"
"Bite sized, I'd even say! Hehehehehe!!"
"I'll take one of those juicy legs."
"Are you kidding? hah! There's not enough of him to go around! What a twerp!"
They shut up after the tiny demi-Hollow killed and ripped apart the Hollow he was sharing a cage with. Even with the patience of a saint, there was only so much taunting he could stand.
Of course, when the Captain Commander found out what Kurosaki Ichigo did to himself, he was more than furious. He was outraged. How could he betray the Soul Society like that, after all that had happened?
Luckily for Ichigo, Yamamoto was reminded of how instrumental the Vizards had been in the battle in Fake Karakura. Part Hollow, all of them. Ichigo was granted an audience with the three senior captains; Kyoraku, Ukitake and Unohana.
One meeting turned into two, two into four and four into about twenty different meetings over the course of a few months. Why? The senior captains did not have Yamamoto's searing temper and fast judgment. They needed to know for sure. After all, without this boy, all of existence may have been wiped out.
The three captains pleaded Kurosaki's case to Yamamoto and the Central 46. He was no beast, despite appearances. He could prove to be a useful asset again in the future. He is no harm to anyone. He is still the boy who saved us. After much deliberation, he was granted leniency, under a few strict conditions.
First, he was to work under the watchful eye of the Soul Society. If he ever consumed a soul, Hollow or otherwise, without explicit permission from the Captain Commander, he would be executed. He was to wear a unique collar created by the 12th Division. This collar would provide the same stabilizing effect as Urahara's medication. The collar would also act as a magnet, drawing in free reishi from the environment to keep Ichigo stable and unhungry. Third, he was to continue taking Urahara Kisuke's reishi vitamins. Fourth, he was to report back to Soul Society once a month to keep track of his form and the progress of his zanpakutou regeneration. Fifth, he would be assigned a shinigami "handler" at all times. Kuchiki Rukia was chosen, given her closeness to the boy and her familiarity with human life in Karakura Town. He had a one-strike policy; mess up once, and you're done.
That was the judgment. He was given the official title of "Kurosaki Ichigo, Tame Hollow" by the Soul Society. Ichigo, of course, wanted to protest ("That makes me sound like some kind of pet!!") But Rukia, thankfully, talked him out of it.
-----
A year into his new life, Kurosaki Ichigo is now a college student. According to his most recent physical, his shinigami powers are at 24%.
It's not much, but it's a start.
The ultimate technique, Mugetsu, crippled Aizen and allowed Urahara's powerful binding spell to take effect. But this left our hero comatose for an entire month. When he awoke, he saw the smiling faces of his nakama.
And then one of them faded away.
Then everything went back to normal. Soul Society picked up the pieces and got back to doing what they did. Ichigo and his friends went back to school.
At first, it was ok for the boy. Suddenly not being able to hear, see, or sense spirits... well, it was rough on him. It was like losing his sight and his hearing all at once, making him stumble around blindly in a fuzzy, unclear world.
But he could deal with that. This is what he'd wanted all along, right? A normal life where he could focus on school and video games and being himself.
His friends would sometimes get up in the middle of class and run off somewhere. Afro-san didn't always get the job done, after all. They would come back, tired and maybe a bit scraped up, but happy. The orange-headed boy never followed; he knew what they were doing, and he didn't need details. Didn't want them.
Ichigo could deal with that, too.
But there was something he couldn't deal with.
A year and some change after Aizen's attack, on a Saturday afternoon, Ichigo was doing homework in his room (what else was there to do?). He heard voices downstairs; one, his father and the other... well, it sounded like Ishida-san? But why would Ryuuken be there? Either way, the both of them left in a hurry.
Half an hour later, Ichigo was called down to help with three critically injured students in the clinic. He was shocked when he saw the familiar faces of Chad, Inoue and Uryuu. Even his father and Ryuuken were beaten pretty badly.
Come to find out, a small but powerful and organized group of Adjuchas-class Hollows had infiltrated Karakura Town for an unknown reason, and the five of them had been injured. Badly. More than likely would have died, had Isshin and Ryuuken not come to back them up.
And Ichigo wasn't there. He couldn't protect them. He hadn't even known they were in danger.
He couldn't deal with that. Everything else was fine; preferable, even. But he couldn't stand by, helpless, when his friends were in danger. He just couldn't. He had to do something.
-----------------------------------------------
Ken-zen worked a lot better when one had a zanpakutou to meditate over, but Ichigo was stubborn. He was going to get into his inner world, one way or another.
He managed to convince Kon to offer his special skills in return for a stack of special dirty magazines. Kon would enter Ichigo's body and force his soul out. It was... different, than when Ichigo had been a shinigami. It hurt, and it didn't always work. He was a normal Plus, soul chain keeping his spiritual body and physical body linked. And he would meditate. Focus. Usually, eventually fall asleep.
On the fifth night he got in.
The world was the same as it always was; a sideways city under a blue sky. Well, not blue today. The sky was gray and rain misted down, making the glass of the buildings slick. Ichigo walked "down", down towards the darkness at the bottoms of the skyscrapers. If any of his powers could be found... this is where they would be.
When he stepped into a pitch black alleyway, gravity shifted. Suddenly he was walking on the ground again, and the buildings stretched up to the sky all around him. He felt around, unable to see in the darkness, and nearly tripped over something.
A white figure lying prone on the ground.
The Hollow stirred and sat up with much effort. He looked like shit, weak and injured and without his weapon. A shadow of his former self. He still managed to snark at his other and pulled one of those insane grins, but it faded fairly quickly.
Where is Zangetsu?
He's not here.
Where is he?
How should I know!
...
...
Will you help me?
Why should I?
You want him back too, don't you? If we combine what little power we've got left... maybe your hollow regeneration will help...
That's far-fetched, my fallen King. You know what'll happen to you if we do this. You aren't going to like it.
... Please. We've gotta protect them. If you let me keep control, I'll let you do whatever you want to my... our... body. Please.
... alright.
The sky of the world went dark, blue and grey turning to a fiery red and orange. And Ichigo sat up in his bed like a shot, screaming in intense pain.
His chest felt like it was being ripped apart, the soul chain dissolving into thin air and a hole opening up where it was once attached. He clutched his head and tried to keep himself from screaming more and calling attention to himself, but it was no use. His entire body was on fire. His eyes were the first to go, sclera darkening and pupils turning the color of bright, liquid gold. Claws burst from his fingers and toes, hair grew to waist length, skin blanched to white and his spine pushed out at the base into a long lashing tail. Kon had scrambled out to get help. Someone was pounding on his locked door, screaming his name, but he couldn't hear.
By the time Isshin and Kon kicked down the door, Ichigo's spiritual body was unconscious, bleeding sticky red-black ichor from a few places and almost completely Hollowfied.
Everything except for a mask.
-----------------------------------------------
Ichigo's next conscious thought was simple; "Ow. Fuck. Ow... everything hurts.". He opened his eyes to see an inner room of an all too familiar place; Urahara's shop. He was laying down, or so his inner ears told him. As the bleariness of sleep wore off, he pinpointed the source of the now dulling but still intense pain coursing through his nerves; his chest. He went to move a hand to touch it, but found they were paralyzed.
No, not paralyzed. Bound, by kidou. Gotta escape! Gotta get free! Get out of here!. Ichigo struggled and growled against the bonds on his hands, feet and... tail? When did... oh.
He remembered now.
He bowed his head, letting now long orange hair fall into his face.
Then, an all too familiar voice. "Ahhh~, Kurosaki-san. So you're awake finally." Ichigo looked up at Urahara Kisuke, dressed in his usual green outfit and looking down at him from under his hat and behind his fan. Next to him were Tessai, Yoruichi and his father; all looking very grave.
"You have a good bit of explaining to do, Ichigo."
--------------------------------------
"Explaining" was more like an interrogation. Ichigo had been propped up in a chair and questioned relentlessly. How did you do it? (I don't know.) WHY did you do it? (I had to.) How do you feel (OK, I guess.) Are you hungry at all? (Well, yeah, now that you mention it...) Where's your mask, Hollow? (Don't call me that.)
Eventually, it was determined that, against all odds, Ichigo had retained his original personality and humanity. Did it have something to do with him lacking a mask? His body was that of a Hollow, but his mind was still the same 17 year old boy, seeking only to protect his friends. Eventually, trust was regained, even if it was tenuous.
"I'd like to keep him for observation for a few days."
"Soul Society won't like this, not one bit."
"They don't need to know. Besides... he's not dangerous. Equivalent to a Menos or a low level Adjuchas, at best. Probably a third of his original power."
"Uh, hello? I'm sitting right here, I can hear you!!"
And so it went. Kisuke eventually developed two medicines for the strange Hollow. One he called "Reishi Vitamins" ("With these, you won't have to eat other souls to keep your energy up!! Great huh? But you should probably still eat a lot of reishi-rich foods. I can provide them for you at a discount!"). The other he simply called "Stabilizers" ("Just in case. They should also dull your pain.").
Kisuke also recommended Ichigo not spend a large amount of time in his body; while he WAS curious how a human body would fare with a Hollow soul inside it, Isshin and Yoruichi convinced him that this was a very bad idea and Ichigo should not be used as a lab rat any more than he already was. Urahara would produce a stronger gigai in Ichigo's image; until then, he should try and stay in his body for no more than 6-7 hours at a time, or else something bad might happen to the body.
Most importantly, Ichigo was not to consume souls of any kind, Hollow or Plus. Urahara wasn't sure what affect it would have on his fragile psyche, now held in a delicate balance between human and beast.
---------------------------------------
It didn't take long for Ichigo's friends to notice something was up. Ichigo was looking sick, pale, during class. He had bags under his eyes and his irises were a slightly different color than usual. He looked awful, to be honest. Oddly enough, though, he was chipper, more cheerful than he'd been in a long time. Not because he had powers, per say, but because if he needed to, he could protect everyone. It offered a sense of peace, and an end to the helplessness he'd denied.
Uryuu, who was in the same class as Ichigo, noticed first. He confronted his orange-headed friend on the way home one day.
"You sure look awful. Are you sick, Kurosaki?"
"Me? No! I'm great."
"Hm... I see," Ishida closes his eyes and pushes up his glasses, "I can tell, you know. I can feel your reiatsu."
"... Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. You didn't have any for so long, and suddenly it's back? Faint, but there," he then added, severely, "And different. Chad also told me he spotted a strange Hollow the other night. White skin, orange hair... about your height, actually."
"... Well, maybe I've got some explaining to do."
And so he did. A pow-wow of sorts in Ichigo's room. Ishida cursed under his breath when he saw what Ichigo had become. Chad said nothing, merely looked away. Orihime made a small noise of surprise. But somehow, it wasn't nearly as horrifying as that time on the dome. Maybe because there was no mask blocking the view of his face. But mostly, the girl thought, it was because she could see his eyes; eyes that, despite their color, were still Kurosaki-kun's. She was the first who approached him, broke the silence and stroked the fluffy red fur around his neck with a bright smile.
"I think he's sort of cute! Like a puppy!"
"I-inoue..."
"I wouldn't say a puppy, Inoue-san. I'd say he's more like... a giant lizard."
"Oh, shut up Ishida!"
"He's right."
"Not you too, Chad!"
"Ah! Kurosaki-kun's hair is so long and pretty! Can I braid it?"
"Eh...Uh... if you... really want to..."
Chad and Orihime didn't seem to care, and for that, Ichigo was intensely grateful. Inoue even made him special bentos with the food from Urahara's shop (though sometimes they were... uh... questionable, Ichigo never complained). Ishida took a little more convincing. But, a few battles in the field changed his mind. Or, at least, made him less abrasive towards the Hollow. Ichigo never attacked Pluses, or consumed the Hollows they killed. He showed more self control than he had even when he was a Shinigami. He had to.
Urahara finished Ichigo's gigai and put his real body in stasis ("It'll age normally in there, no problem!"). There was more good news, as well. Months after Ichigo's Hollowfication, there were faint traces of Zangetsu in his reiatsu signature. Apparently what he had done was working after all. Of all the half-baked ideas, it had actually worked.
Then an all too familiar face showed up in Karakura Town.
-------------------------------------
Weird reports had been coming into Soul Society. A strange Hollow-like reiatsu signature that moved around a lot, but never really went away. During the day, it would all but vanish, occasionally popping in and out. At night, it was active and moved around. The reiatsu signature was fairly weak, but... strange. Soul Society took notice, of course. Wasn't the local Shinigami supposed to take care of things like this? And if not him, then the Quincy? So they sent a Shinigami who was well acquainted with the area and its human residents; Kuchiki Rukia.
Rukia examined her Hollow tracker carefully. Where could this thing be? She wasn't reading any signals, much less-- wait. There! The signature they were tracking. And it was...
Oh no, she thought, that's...!
She hurried as fast as she could to the source of the signal; the Kurosaki Clinic.
----
Ichigo had been going out on patrol, as he usually did, and felt someone coming. He panicked a bit, even though the reiatsu was familiar. Soul Society sent someone?! How did they find out? He was so screwed! He hid his reiatsu as best he could (not well) and ducked into some bushes near the clinic.
The small shinigami landed nearby silently, her hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou.
"Hollow! I know you're there! Show yourself and stay away from the family that lives here!"
That voice. That's why the reiatsu felt so familiar. Ichigo debated with himself what he should do. Hide? Run away? No. He wouldn't do that. This was Rukia. She would understand.
... Wouldn't she?
"Hold on!" he called out from the bushes, "Don't attack, it's me!" He stepped out of the bushes and held his clawed hands up in a show of peace, "It's Ichigo."
Rukia's eyes widened and she nearly passed out at the sight. This... this Hollow was Ichigo?
"Ichigo. What have you done to yourself?!"
----
Ichigo was getting a little sick of telling the story over and over again, but hey. If it kept Rukia's zanpakutou out of his gut, he'd tell it a thousand times. The girl looked saddened, distraught.... maybe hurt? But--
"I understand why you did it, Ichigo, but it was very risky, and very, very stupid."
"I know that. I know that! But with this weird influx of adjuchas and menos into Karakura lately..."
"Yes, the Soul Society doesn't know why that is... there have been high-level Hollows appearing in other spiritually active zones as well..."
"... Listen, Rukia. You can't tell anyone. Alright? If you do, they'll..."
"They will likely destroy you, yes. I will... not tell anyone, but I can't guarantee they won't send someone else. Be ready, Ichigo."
"Aren't I always? Heh!"
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Rukia had been right. She didn't tell anyone, not a soul. Said that the Hollow had evaded her.
So they sent someone else. Specifically, they sent a few members of the 2nd Squad. After the Aizen fiasco, they couldn't afford to take any chances. They found and captured the Hollow, later identified as Kurosaki Ichigo, dragging him to the Soul Society bound by high level kidou spells. He wasn't even given the luxury of a real jail cell. No, he was tossed in a dungeon with other Hollows used for... God only knows what. He imagined Mayuri probably did horrible things to them.
Oh God, Kurotsuchi. He'd want to dissect Ichigo for sure. A maskless Hollow with the self-awareness of a human? Oh god oh god oh god...
As for the Hollows, they all showed signs of experimentation. They were all jerks, too.
"Man, you're a small one!"
"Bite sized, I'd even say! Hehehehehe!!"
"I'll take one of those juicy legs."
"Are you kidding? hah! There's not enough of him to go around! What a twerp!"
They shut up after the tiny demi-Hollow killed and ripped apart the Hollow he was sharing a cage with. Even with the patience of a saint, there was only so much taunting he could stand.
Of course, when the Captain Commander found out what Kurosaki Ichigo did to himself, he was more than furious. He was outraged. How could he betray the Soul Society like that, after all that had happened?
Luckily for Ichigo, Yamamoto was reminded of how instrumental the Vizards had been in the battle in Fake Karakura. Part Hollow, all of them. Ichigo was granted an audience with the three senior captains; Kyoraku, Ukitake and Unohana.
One meeting turned into two, two into four and four into about twenty different meetings over the course of a few months. Why? The senior captains did not have Yamamoto's searing temper and fast judgment. They needed to know for sure. After all, without this boy, all of existence may have been wiped out.
The three captains pleaded Kurosaki's case to Yamamoto and the Central 46. He was no beast, despite appearances. He could prove to be a useful asset again in the future. He is no harm to anyone. He is still the boy who saved us. After much deliberation, he was granted leniency, under a few strict conditions.
First, he was to work under the watchful eye of the Soul Society. If he ever consumed a soul, Hollow or otherwise, without explicit permission from the Captain Commander, he would be executed. He was to wear a unique collar created by the 12th Division. This collar would provide the same stabilizing effect as Urahara's medication. The collar would also act as a magnet, drawing in free reishi from the environment to keep Ichigo stable and unhungry. Third, he was to continue taking Urahara Kisuke's reishi vitamins. Fourth, he was to report back to Soul Society once a month to keep track of his form and the progress of his zanpakutou regeneration. Fifth, he would be assigned a shinigami "handler" at all times. Kuchiki Rukia was chosen, given her closeness to the boy and her familiarity with human life in Karakura Town. He had a one-strike policy; mess up once, and you're done.
That was the judgment. He was given the official title of "Kurosaki Ichigo, Tame Hollow" by the Soul Society. Ichigo, of course, wanted to protest ("That makes me sound like some kind of pet!!") But Rukia, thankfully, talked him out of it.
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A year into his new life, Kurosaki Ichigo is now a college student. According to his most recent physical, his shinigami powers are at 24%.
It's not much, but it's a start.