799This is my first fanfic, so please go easy on me. I don't own Bleach or Highschool DxD
Chapter 1:
A new beginning
(Area Zero):
In a realm that was bleak and devoid of colour, two beings were engaged in a battle of titanic proportions. One was a humanoid figure that had dark grey skin and possessed features that looked slightly demonic. The other, which seemed to lack a definite and solid form, was what appeared to be some sort of shadowy serpent. It was around twenty metres long and five metres wide.
The two had been battling for longer than either could even care to remember, but they did remember their main purpose for the longstanding duel. The ethereal black serpent was a being that desired chaos and destruction indiscriminately, whilst the humanoid being wished to stop the serpent and keep peace.
Both were more-or-less evenly matched, however therein lied the issue. Neither was gaining a decisive advantage. Not for long enough to end the fight anyway.
'I have to put a stop to this!' thought the humanoid being as he skidded back across the flat stone ground, pale blue lightning crackling briefly around him. 'This endless stalemate needs to be broken. For that, I have to do something that's outside-the-box. No, I'll need to completely tear down the box!' He then envisioned a certain spikey, orange-haired teen within his mind.
It was nobody he knew personally, yet an unknown time ago he had gained information on the individual. Someone he felt a vague sense of resonant affinity with, one with firm convictions and unyielding willpower.
'I am sorry for this selfishness,' he thought. 'But it seems I must take you as my successor… Ichigo Kurosaki. May you succeed where I cannot young warrior.'
The being then looked up towards his opponent.
"I shall now put an end to this battle!" he declared, as he went into a stance with his legs slightly bent and his palms facing each other in front of his chest, as though he was holding a ball.
Rainbow-coloured energy began charging between the two palms, spiralling and twisting wildly. A grand-looking magic circle appeared beneath his feet, five metres in diameter.
"Be Bound! With your body Sealed and your might Scattered!" he roared before the circle under him glowed intensely.
Suddenly, countless white chains and countless black chains burst from the ground under the serpent and constricted its movement. Then, four large stone slabs rose up around it, followed by a flash of light and the serpent shrieking in agony.
Once the light had died down, the serpent was fractionally smaller and down to one quarter of its original power. The lost mass and might appeared as a large, shadowy blob, which then separated into two hundred pieces before they all vanished.
There was a poof of white smoke and the serpent was now encased within a crystalline substance with a texture similar to rock. It could still be seen through the brilliantly clear material. Frozen in place and bound by chains.
The other being lowered his arms and silently regarded his petrified opponent for a moment. Then, as a radiant glow shined from his body, he dropped to his knees, panting heavily.
"To break the boundaries of reality shall cause my demise. Ichigo, it won't be much, but I shall restore your powers and transfer my remaining strength to you. Please, finish the task that I couldn't," he said through his heavy breathing.
The being then rose to its feet as another magic circle appeared beneath it. It was then followed by one materialising in front of him and another behind him, with a final one appearing above his head.
"Let's begin..."
(Karakura Town):
It had been roughly two years since Ichigo had lost his soul reaper powers in the battle against Aizen, making him currently 17 years old. Two years of leading a normal life of an average high schooler.
Two years of a dull life.
He felt like he belonged in the world of the supernatural. After all, he had been able to see souls from when he was born, even before he became a substitute soul reaper. To be suddenly cut off from that world, he felt great, indescribable sadness within his very being.
But it had been entirely his choice. He knew what the consequences of the final getsuga tensho would be. That's why Zangetsu had tried to stop him from learning it. He had willingly sacrificed his powers to save everyone and everything he cared about, so he ried not to dwell on it too much.
Besides, his friends were still keeping Karakura town safe from any hollows. While he didn't fully like the prospect of leaving all the work to them, he knew that they were reliable and able to take care of themselves.
It was currently a Saturday morning, so he was free with nothing to do. His part-time job's boss, Mrs. Ikumi had given him the weekend off. Despite all that however, he was bored. He wanted something to do. Needed something to keep himself active and occupied.
He scratched his orange covered scalp as he pondered what to do. After coming up with nothing else, he just settled for taking a stroll.
'Who knows,' he thought. 'I might end up seeing Chad, Orihime or Uryu. Maybe even one of the others.'
As he walked down the stairs from his room, he saw his younger sister, Yuzu, at the bottom.
"Hey Yuzu," he greeted as he walked past her.
She turned to face him. "Hi Ichi-nii," she greeted back. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just going out to take a walk. I've got nothing else to do."
"Okay, make sure to come back before lunch, okay? I'll make something special!"
"Heh, sure," he replied with a rare smile as he put his shoes on.
"Bye! Take care!"
"Don't worry, I will."
He then opened the house door and stepped into the outside. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining down, but not too harshly. He placed his hands into his trouser pockets and walked along at a steady pace. It's not like there was anywhere that he needed to be, or anything.
Suddenly, Ichigo felt an extremely powerful pulling sensation all over his body.
"What the?!" he exclaimed before he began screaming in pain. He then seemed to burst apart and vanish.
(?):
Ichigo was surrounded by darkness when he awoke. He turned his head and looked around, but found nothing. There was nothing to see except swirling black.
"Where… am I?" he asked to nobody in particular. "Hey! Is anyone here?!"
A bright light that shone magnificently appeared before him. It slowly began moving towards him, but for some reason he never felt afraid. Ichigo actually felt a comfortable warmth radiating off the sphere.
He raised his right hand and began reaching out to it. He didn't know why. It just felt like the right thing to do. The moment he made contact, the light enshrouded him and he calmly fell unconscious.
(Ichigo's inner world):
Ichigo opened his eyes to see clear blue skies. Sitting up, his eyes widened in shock as he took in the large, sideways skyscrapers.
"No way," he said in disbelief. "This is…"
He then quickly looked at his clothes. Gone was his casual attire that he'd been wearing. Instead, there was the jet-black uniform of a soul reaper. He bolted to his feet and put his right hand behind his head. Sure enough, he felt it close around the handle of his oversized, constant-released zanpakto, Zangetsu.
"It is good to see you again, Ichigo," came a deep voice from behind him. He immediately turned around and saw the spirit of his sword standing on a flag pole, his clothes billowing in the non-existent wind.
"Old man… Zangetsu," he said in shock.
"Hey there, King"
Ichigo then noticed another being on Zangetsu's right. A white version of himself with black sclera and golden-yellow irises. His inner hollow.
"What the?!" Ichigo was stunned speechless. He was supposed to have completely lost all of his soul reaper and hollow powers. It didn't make sense at all for any of this to be happening.
"What's wrong King, cat got your tongue?" teased his hollow with a grin.
"B-but you were supposed to, I was meant to-" stuttered Ichigo, unable to form a coherent thought in face of these highly unforeseen circumstances. He drew in a deep breath and calmed himself. "What's going on? How is any of this happening?"
"Do not worry Ichigo," assured Zangetsu. "I shall explain everything to you. Instinctively, you already know due to what had been done, but I shall tell you everything none the less."
"Yeah Kingy, you're in for a real treat!" agreed his hollow, before laughing heartily with his head thrown back.
Somehow, that one action unnerved Ichigo about what was to come…
So, what do you think? The next chapter will be Zangetsu explaining Ichigo's situation to him.