Coming at you live, from the author with ZERO self-control…

Yup, it's a Bleach fic, and HOT DAMN am I going to have a fucking blast with this one.

So, just some notes to get out of the way before we start.

This is an AU. That means I will change things at my leisure, so don't assume you know something just because canon did it. There were a lot of things in the canon story that I didn't like, and I'm not even talking about just the plotholes and retcons.

Ichigo does not have Zangetsu and in fact has an entirely different Zanpakutō. Several other Zanpakutō will also be completely different. Don't like it? Well, tough shit because I don't care. Move on.

This is a polyamorous fic. Or just call it a harem cuz that's simpler. Don't like it? Well, tough shit because I don't care. Move on. Those pairings are also pretty much set, and no, they do not include the vanilla girls like Rukia, Orihime, and Tatsuki. Fandom won't give me what I want, so fine. *Grabs Infinity Gauntlet* I'll do it myself.

This is the THIRD version of this fucking story concept I came up with and the second time I rewrote this fucking first chapter. I'm posting it before another fucking idea hits me in the muse.

Anyway, that's enough from me! Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter I: Embrace the Storm

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Kurosaki Ichigo flinched as the CRACK-BOOM ripped through the night, cutting across the loud pelting sounds of falling rain. Beside him, his mother put a hand on his shoulder and gave him one of her famous sunny smiles, despite the miserable evening. "There, there, my little man. The lightning won't hurt you." The orange-haired boy was wearing a yellow raincoat so that his mother didn't have to risk the umbrella not covering her fully.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile back, "I know. It was just really loud!" His mother's giggling was music to his ears. The sky could be pitch black. Thunder could be rumbling and lightning striking. It could be an utterly miserable day, but his mother's smile never failed to cheer him up.

"So how did it go today?" Masaki asked him curiously, "Was Tatsuki being mean again?" The two of them were walking home from his Karate classes that day.

He let out a little groan, "Tatsuki still won…" He almost-playfully grumbled. He'd yet again suffered a defeat by his best friend, but he felt that maybe soon he could get a win too. "I think I'm a lot better now though! Tatsuki-chan is still mean though." He grumbled, recalling how she yet again knocked him onto his butt.

Masaki giggled lightly, "So you're getting better? It's good that you've been having fun, my little man." She lowered herself down a little, and put a gentle kiss on his forehead, "Keep up the hard work and you'll be able to win against Tatsuki in no time!"

Ichigo closed his eyes as he smiled happily. They resumed walking and talking animatedly, but when he happened to look to the right something drew his attention. A little girl was standing by the raging river, looking longingly into it. They resembled rapids more than the calm waters he walked by every day. He could hear them roaring even from as far away as he was. Ichigo's eyes went wide. Didn't she realize she was in terrible danger? One wrong step and she would fall in! When he had been even younger than he was now, he had heard his father say the true meaning of his name. Some of the meaner kids at school claimed that it meant strawberry, but Ichigo knew the truth. He was his namesake: a protector. That was why he took his lessons. So, he could keep his mom and sisters safe!

When he saw someone in mortal peril, he didn't even stop to consider the consequences. He just took off yelling, "Hey! You could fall in! Get away from the river!"

"Ichigo, no!" Masaki yelled and ran after him. Her eyes widened as she saw what her little boy had seen. But she saw far more. She could see the little line of green flesh sticking out of the girl's head. Ichigo didn't stop, and the water erupted.

Ichigo's eyes widened in terror as a giant… hamster… thing… with a white mask burst from the river, mouth wide open and descending on him. It was covered in matted-down green fur and had tiny red limbs. Water started splashing down as Ichigo trembled, able to see another smaller set of teeth down its gullet. He backed up and started to fall, and just before he could scream as it started to chomp down, he experienced a great sense of vertigo. "Mom?" He gasped as his vision corrected itself. He wobbled precariously as he realized the two of them were now far away from the river. Ichigo looked back, and saw the creature howling angrily as it tore a chunk from the earth. "M-mom, what…?"

"Hush baby." His mother kissed him gently, "We'll talk in a little bit, my little man. It'll all be over soon." He watched as his mother's face hardened, a look he had never seen grace her features before. Still stunned, he watched as a bright light erupted from her left hand and formed into an ethereal-looking bow. The creature had started rushing over to them, roaring furiously. It's howl was so loud it made Ichigo cringe, though his mother stood steadfast. She raised the bow and in her other hand, an arrow formed through some blue energy. Ichigo watched in awe as she nocked it before her head snapped up and she looked to the sky. Before she could react, a bright beam of light engulfed her as the monster slid to a stop. Her bow and her arrow dissolved, and she showed signs of fear for the first time, "What?" Her head snapped to the monster, which had resumed its charge, "ICHIGO!" She screamed as she turned and dove on top of him. The monster descended.

An older Ichigo sprang out of bed, throwing his sheets almost across the room. He was covered in sweat and panting like he had run a marathon, his eyes wide with panic. Slowly, he recognized his room as his breathing slowed. He let out a troubled groan, hands going up to his head and pulling at his hair with tight fists. He clenched his teeth before smashing one into the side wall, regretting it immediately as his hand began to throb. He exhaled slowly as he gripped his now-tender fist and got up, grabbing his sheets, and getting back into bed, "That damn dream again…" He sighed as he looked at his alarm. Three-thirty in the morning. He closed his eyes in frustration. He called it a dream, but a memory would have been more accurate.

He still wasn't sure he believed what he had seen. Since that fateful day when his family had lost their shining star… Ichigo had come to learn that he could see things no one else could see. When he was younger, he had thought he might have been imagining things. He had cheerfully spoken to a little girl about his age years ago, only for others to ask him why he had been talking to himself. But as time went by, Ichigo started to see the truth.

He could see spirits. The dead. A bloodied man had shown him the truth. There was no way that man could live with that much blood outside his body. The mangled arm didn't help either. Ichigo had learned that the man had died in a car accident. Neither of them could say why he had a chain on his chest either.

After that revelation, Ichigo had made sure to pay closer attention to who he was talking to. It wouldn't do to think a dead person was alive and attempt to introduce them to his friends. But even with the knowledge that he could see spirits… he still didn't believe his memories. That day couldn't possibly have happened the way it had. Ichigo had bumped his head pretty hard when his mom fell on him and he had convinced himself that he had been seeing things. Spirits were one thing. Monsters and his mom having magic powers were an entirely different thing. He had never told anyone what he had seen. Convinced himself that his mind had made it up. Made it all up… so that he could forget the horror of the brightest light in his life being extinguished. Anything to escape from the anguish he felt when his unmoving mother's body lay on top of his.

And yet the nightmares wouldn't leave him alone. It was as if something didn't want him to forget. They had just seemed so real. He cursed to himself, feeling nasty and sticky. He flung the covers off his body and got up for another shower. He probably wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon anyway.

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It had taken a very, very long time for Ichigo to be convinced that his mother's death hadn't been his fault. Even while denying the memories he held of the event, the one thing he knew had happened was that he had run after that girl. The vivid nightmares he had over the years had more than shown him the truth. He had been worried for a spirit. His mom had died because he hadn't been able to recognize the fact that the girl had already been dead.

And that had been a bitter, nasty pill to swallow. Like any who suffered from survivor's guilt, he had believed it was his fault mom had died. His fault their dad would never hold her in his arms again. His fault that his precious sisters would never see her sunny smile again. It hadn't been immediate. Some days he hoped he would wake up and his mom would be there. That it had all just been a really bad nightmare. But time had gone by, and Ichigo was forced to face the truth. She was really gone, and she was never coming back. He stopped crying as often, feeling more and more dead inside.

Rudeness started to seep into his voice. He stopped respecting many adults, especially when he started to see in their eyes that they thought he was bad just because of his hair. His temper started getting the better of him. Where once he would have cried his eyes out at an older student insulting his hair, now he retaliated. He started coming home with bruises and scrapes. Then he started sending them home with what they once gave him. He started being distant with everyone but his sisters and sometimes his goof of a father. Tatsuki began to worry for him but he just closed off. They began talking less, though not from lack of effort on her part. He started to wear an almost permanent scowl and started gaining a reputation for fighting. He started becoming nothing like the happy child his mother saved, and every nightmare he had just made it worse.

It was a lonely and self-destructive mindset to have, and after almost a year of surly attitude and depression, his father seemingly turned into a different person one day. He had never seen his father in anything but a jovial mood. Not even during mom's funeral had Kurosaki Isshin worn a defeated look on his face or a cloud over his head. And that more than anything had made Ichigo sit down and listen. It was only after their talk that Ichigo realized the truth. His dad had just barely been holding it together. Putting on a front to keep some semblance of normality in their lives. To see him so incredibly serious without a hint of bravado had been so out of character that Ichigo had been forced to listen.

"Ichigo." His father knocked on the door. Yuzu and Karin were at a playmate's house, so it was only them inside the house.

Ichigo looked up from where he had been laying – doing nothing more than staring at the ceiling – with a somewhat raised eyebrow. The very fact that he had been allowed to lay there without his goofball of a dad play-attacking him like usual was already strange enough. And now the eldest Kurosaki was knocking at his door? What game was he playing now? "What?" His voice was brusque and gruff at the moment. Almost reaching the point of being rude. Just as it had increasingly been since that fateful day.

His father opened the door, and his eyes widened as he took in the sight. No smile. Eyes deadly serious. There was an air of authority around the man that made Ichigo stiffen for a moment. He knew he had nothing to fear from his dad, but something set him on edge at the sight and he couldn't figure out what it was. "Is that any way to talk to your dad, Ichigo?"

And like that, the moment was gone. Ichigo went back to being mulish, "…"

Isshin sighed and pulled up his rolling chair, "It wasn't your fault, Ichigo. No one blames you for what happened." He sat and put his arms and chin on the backrest, "You do know that, right?"

Ichigo stiffened and unbidden, tears started coming to his eyes, "What do you know!" He spat, lips trembling and throat closing up, "You weren't even there!" His voice trembled, "You didn't even cry when we… when we…" He broke down and began to sob.

"Something that will haunt me to the end of my days." Isshin said evenly. He had been a Captain for a long, long time. And not the drill-sergeant kind of Captain either. He had dealt with a couple breakdowns and insubordination before. Ichigo looked at him and his eyes widened. Isshin's eyes were shiny. Suspiciously so. Ichigo had seen crocodile tears from the man before, but never had his father looked so utterly destroyed. "Do you really think I didn't break down Ichigo? That I haven't cried myself to sleep?" Ichigo stared at his father, wide eyed, "If I was constantly turning into a mess, who would take care of you and the girls?"

Ichigo looked away, completely ashamed of himself, "Dad, I…"

"Son, your mother loved you and your sisters far more than she loved me." Ichigo stared at him dumbfounded and watched as his father smirked. It wasn't a cocky one. No, his father looked as heartbroken as he had ever seen the man look, "And let me tell you… before you were born, her happiest day was the day I proposed to her." Ichigo sniffed – eyes red and puffy – and let out a shuddering breath, "No one blames you, Ichigo." His dad clapped a hand to his head and started ruffling up his hair, "Not me. Not your sisters. And definitely not Masaki. She loved you more than anything but your sisters." He leaned back and said solemnly, "Ichigo, a parent's worst nightmare is to one day bury their child. Nothing terrifies any real parent as much as that thought. I can say with a hundred percent certainty that Masaki did not have a single regret. She kept you safe! The way any real mother would do. The same way that I would have done, had I picked you up that day instead."

"Dad…" Ichigo's voice trembled.

"Come here son…" Isshin said gently as he stood and caught Ichigo as he sobbed into his midsection.

"I miss her!" He bawled brokenly, "I miss her so much!"

"I know, kid." Isshin's voice warbled for a moment, and he had to clear his throat, "We all do. But she wouldn't want her death to break any of us. I can promise you that. She would give her life for you and your sisters any day of the week. But she wouldn't want to see you close yourself off and push everyone away. She would want you to be happy. It would hurt her more to see you throw away all of your friends." Ichigo stiffened in his arms, "She would want you to live, understand?"

Ichigo sniffled, "Yeah… and I'm sorry for what…"

"Don't be sorry." He cut his son off, and ruffled his hair again, "Be better. I know it hurts. God, I KNOW it hurts. I know how much this was eating away at you," He took his hand off his son's head and gave him a little glare, "But you should never take your problems out on others. That's not the son Masaki and I raised."

"Yes dad." Ichigo said contritely.

Isshin smiled, "Good. Just don't let it happen again." And then he was back to Goat Chin, "Now you better go and apologize to Tatsuki-chan! You've been ignoring her for long enough! And I better not see you moping around anymore, or else Masaki is going to come back to life just to kick my ass!"

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled indignantly, "What happened to 'no swearing?'"

"Do as I say, not as I do!" Isshin declared imperiously.

"Goat Chin!" Ichigo yelled irately and tackled his father, who went down into a cackling heap.

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Days went by, then weeks, and it was to Ichigo's relief that the nightmares had finally stopped. Even if he had finally pushed past the guilt and forgiven himself for his role in his mother's death, reliving it almost weekly – if not more – for almost a year had done nothing but make him hate himself. It was really no wonder that he had turned so gloomy and almost permanently lost his friend Arisawa Tatsuki. The damage to their relationship had almost been irreparable. He really thanked his lucky stars that she had a bigger heart than that.

The pummeling she gave him before she forgave him was legendary though.

Things started slowly returning to normal. He started sparring with Tatsuki again, though this time he didn't limit himself to just karate. Where before he had joined his class out of a childish sense of wanting to protect his sisters and mother, he now knew what that vow actually meant. He quickly started gaining on Tatsuki's heels even when they limited him to just the one martial art, forcing her to improve just to stay on top. He became focused and driven, and always made sure to spare time for his family and to keep his grades high. He strove to become someone his mother would have been proud of.

Things would have been completely normal if it weren't for the elephant in the room. Said elephant currently being the floating middle-aged spirit following him around, "Got another one, Ichigo?"

"Yeah…" Ichigo groaned as he listened to the spirit babble about some forbidden love or something of the sort. He wasn't sure if Tatsuki actually believed him about the spirits, but she was at least humoring him. He had no idea that she had started to see some strange heat hazes around him at times.

She grinned lightly, "What is it this time?"

"Waxing poetic about some forbidden love or whatever." He deadpanned and was about to go on when another thing to annoy him appeared.

"Oii! Kurosaki!" A loud and boisterous voice rang through the air, making both him and Tatsuki groan.

"Hideki." Ichigo deadpanned as he turned around, looking at the bully as though he were a bug. Just because Ichigo had regained much of the inner peace he had lost didn't mean he had regained the long fuse he once had. Nor did the older teens and adults stop thinking he was going to be a delinquent. Even now when he consistently placed in the top five in his classes, most of the teachers sneered at him when they thought no one was looking. Ichigo sure as hell wasn't about to go back to blindly respecting people who clearly had it out for him. The only thing that changed was that he now had skill to back up his brawling rather than just increasingly absurd strength.

"My name is Ichiro, ya asshole!" Ichiro was a repeat customer of theirs, as it were, and he was currently practically spraying them with spit, "Akiyama Ichiro! How many fucking times are ya gonna forget it?! It's one letter off from your name!"

Ichigo ignored him, which just got him even angrier, "How many did you bring this time? Let's see… one, two, three…"

"Seven high-schoolers to beat up a couple of early-middle-schoolers?" Tatsuki had a grin on her face, "Man you guys suck."

"Shut it bitch!" Tatsuki's eyebrow twitched, "I got a bone ta pick with ya, Kurosaki!" The kid had bleached-blonde hair and piercings on his face.

"Not interested." Ichigo said flatly, "Let's go Tatsuki." He muttered as they turned and started to walk away.

"Oi, don't you go ignorin' me you hair-bleaching bastard!" He ran at Ichigo, looking to pummel him into the ground. Ichigo rolled his eyes and whirled around, dodging around the fist, and grabbing the fool's arm. He tossed the bully to the ground and listened as the air left his lungs.

"Ichiro!" The idiot's gang yelled, "Now you've done it, Kurosaki!" They all charged. Tatsuki stepped forward and nailed the leader in the face with a spinning-back kick. Not wasting a moment, she nailed another with a roundhouse with her other leg. Ichigo caught a punch and wrenched the arm to the side, creating a major opening. He grabbed the rather dirty-looking teen by the back of the neck with his other hand and brought a knee forward, crashing it into his sternum. The gang member crashed down to the ground, wheezing and practically vomiting.

A kick caught him in the side, making him grunt for a moment before Tatsuki smashed her fist into the guy's face, breaking his nose. He spun around and his eyes widened as Ichiro had leapt to his feet, a set of knuckle dusters on his hand. Ichigo caught the arm with his left hand and drilled him in the face with his right.

"Alright there Ichigo?" Tatsuki called out as she dropped the last of the gang members and walked over to him.

He fell in step with her as they left the gang moaning behind him, "Yeah, I'm fine." He said, cracking his neck carelessly. He was about to continue when a voice rang in his head.

"Careless of you, boy. How can you hope to protect your loved ones like that?"

His eyes went wide, and he started looking around, "Wha?" The guys on the ground were still groaning, and the voice certainly hadn't sounded like any of them. Was there another spirit around?

But the voice didn't sound off again. "You alright Ichigo?" Tatsuki looked at him in bewilderment. She didn't see any hazes so there weren't any spirits around. What the hell was he doing?

"Nothing." He said, though he sounded unsure of himself. "Let's go. We're going to be late."

-]|[-

It took a few months more before Ichigo ever heard that voice again. So long in fact that he had actually forgotten about it entirely.

"Why am I back here again?" Ichigo groaned to himself. He was aware that this was a dream, but it had been one he had thought and hoped long-gone. But there was something different about the nightmare this time. For the first time, he was an outsider looking in, rather than reliving it in his younger self's shoes. He stood on top of a building – being pounded by the rain – and watched himself stroll down the riverside with his mother. It was an outcome he knew. One he had known a thousand times over. And yet he would not look away. Could not turn and just walk off. He felt more than he knew that he would be able to. But to turn his back on this moment would go against who he was. "Damn it all. If only I…"

"If only you what?" He jerked and whirled around, eyes going wide as he caught sight of the speaker. And then he looked up. And up. The man smirked down at him, "What's wrong? Never seen a guy before?"

"You're a bit bigger than just a guy!" Ichigo blustered, taking him in. He was massive. No, massive might have been an understatement. If Ichigo had to make a guess, he would put the man close to two-and-a-half meters tall. He was heavily muscular too, though he had a bit too much weight on him for Ichigo to consider him 'chiseled.' He looked more like a strongman than a bodybuilder. He was clad in what looked like leathers and furs, with some kind of armor on his arms. And despite wearing leather armor on his torso and even around his waist… he was still bare chested, revealing some strange script tattooed all over his exposed body. He was sure that his cloak was just hiding more. To top off the barbarian look, he had red hair, a full, matching beard, and utterly piercing blue eyes. He shook his head, "Great. I'm going insane."

"Heh. Jury's out on that." The man laughed at him, "Though I suppose you're right. Few get as big as me."

"Hey! You could fall in! Get away from the river!" Ichigo turned back around as he heard his younger self call out. Again, he felt that he would be able to go forward, but was there really a point? Even if he saved them here, she was still gone in real life.

He heard a grunt from behind him, "Am I really stuck with a coward like you?" He asked, and again his eyes widened. Stuck with him? What did he mean by that, "Aren't you strong now? Aren't you going to go save them?"

"Save them from what?" He looked at him, "This is just a nightmare. Besides, what the hell am I going to do to that giant-"

"You…" The man took a step forward, and Ichigo wobbled, "Have more inside of you than you think. You're only too blind to see it." His eyes glittered as he locked his gaze with Ichigo, "We both know you want to rip that thing limb from limb! Go and save her! Wasn't she important to you?!"

"Of course, she was!" Ichigo spat at him, "But what the hell could I even do to that thing? This is just a dream!"

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean dreams can't be real." He replied, "And you'll never grow past this nightmare as long as you keep being a coward." He shrugged off his cloak, and Ichigo's eyes zeroed in on the large, ornate hammer hanging from his hip. It had an extremely large head with more of those strange markings carved into it, and the handle looked rather undersized for it. "And frankly…" He snapped his fingers and the hammer lit up with blue electricity, before flying into his hand. Ichigo was put on guard immediately, shivering slightly, "I'm tired of your bellyaching!" He threw the hammer at Ichigo.

Ichigo rolled to the side, and let out a frightened yelp as a loud crash sounded from behind him. He was on the ground, and he looked stunned as he saw the damage to the building they were on. A crater had replaced much of it, and he could hear bricks and mortar crumbling to the ground beneath them. "What the hell?!"

"Come on, boy!" The man yelled, "On your feet! Otherwise, I might just crush you!"

"You…!" Ichigo snarled, getting to his feet, and running forward. He leapt, planting his feet in the man's gut in a dropkick. He didn't even budge. "Damn it!"

But the man only laughed, "Finally!" He raised his foot, "Let's have some fun, boy!" He stomped, and Ichigo rolled out of the way. He yelped as the entire building trembled, but got up to his feet and got into his stance. "None of that fancy shit, boy! You're like ME!" His grin was savage as Ichigo unleashed a roundhouse right into his calf. He boomed, "Oooh, it tickled! Is that how you're going to protect your family? Your friends?! YOUR SISTERS!" Ichigo snarled and abandoned his stance, charging forward, "That's right! Get angry! You're a storm, boy! Unleash it! Control it!"

"Rargh!"Ichigo roared, charging forward and trying to tackle the man, "SHUT UP!" He actually managed to get the giant to take a miniscule step back.

"Ahaha! Good!" He roared in approval, grabbing Ichigo up like he weighed nothing and tossing him across the roof.

"FUCK!" Ichigo swore as he landed roughly, hitting his forehead, and making him feel a bit woozy. He tried to get up, but everything hurt.

"Heh. Not enough, huh?" He kicked Ichigo gently onto his back, "Come on boy, you have more don't you?" He reached down and grabbed Ichigo by the shirt, hauling him up.

"Who the hell are you?! What do you want with me?!" Ichigo struggled to get him to let go, but he may as well have been trying to move a mountain.

"Oh, that hurts more than your punches, boy!" He let Ichigo go, and the boy fell about three feet to his feet and wobbled, "I've been with you all your life, after all!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about! I would remember a damn giant!" Ichigo snarled, clenching his fists, and swinging at the man's thigh. He hit his leather with a loud clap, and let out a yelp as he drew back, shaking his aching fist.

"HA! Not a Jotun, boy! Though I suppose you're too tiny of a little shit to know the difference. Or give me an actual fight, it looks like. Thankfully, pain can be an adept teacher," He grinned nastily, before reaching down and flicking Ichigo in the stomach. Ichigo collapsed, holding his belly, and gasping for air, "I suppose that's why such a tiny, little baby Hollow scared the piss out of you."

His body protested as he forced himself to his hands and knees, "What the fuck are you talking about?! Who the hell are you!?" He finally burst out furiously.

"The Hollow, boy." He pressed down on his back with his boot and forced him back down, "The 'monster' as you like to call it, when you're not pretending that it doesn't exist." He eased up, "As for me… I'm ▅▅▅▅▅▅."

Ichigo blinked stupidly, "What?" Whatever he had said had just been lost on the wind.

"Heh… Couldn't hear it, huh? Shouldn't be surprised." He groaned, cracking his back, "That's a shame, but I guess you're just not ready. You're still a child. Too afraid to hear my name."

"What the fuck do you mean?!" He groaned out. "How can I be too afraid to hear a name?"

"If you don't understand, I won't waste my time explaining. Though I suppose you'll need something to call me until you're ready… so let it be… Thor." Ichigo went very, very still. That… that was a name even a young Japanese boy like him would have heard of. And several things he had ignored slid into place. The hammer. The lightning. His eyes started to widen to the point they may have fallen out of his head if they went any wider. Thor grinned, "I see that got your attention, didn't it?" He snapped his fingers, and a quick rumble heralded his hammer's arrival. It crackled lightly with electricity in his hand, "But as for what I am… now that I can answer!" The crackling intensified, "I'm your strength. Your power! I'm your instinct! I'm everything you repress! I'm your desire for victory! For violence! To protect!" He raised his hammer, "And I'm SICK of seeing you be such a coward!" During their 'fight,' Ichigo hadn't noticed that the scene from his memories had seemingly paused. But he definitely noticed it starting back up. He watched as the Hollow continued its descent onto younger Ichigo, only this time Ichigo got to watch his mother flash to him and pick him up before flashing away. And as for the Hollow?

Thor threw his hammer so quickly that Ichigo barely realized it had left his hand before it had impacted the Hollow. A veritable lightning storm erupted from the point of impact, thundering BOOMS echoing throughout the land, and bright flashes blinding him. And then it was over. He didn't see a thing that happened, until his vision cleared of spots. But then he started to gape, open mouthed. Where the Hollow had stood was instead a deep crater several meters wide, with large cracks ripping the earth up in lightning-like patterns around it. The crater must have been 4 meters deep, and was rapidly filling with water. The last thing he saw before the world went black was Thor's savage grin.

Ichigo gasped and sat up in bed. He groaned – feeling aches that hadn't been there when he went to sleep erupt around his body – and clenched the sheets momentarily. Finally, he unclenched and began to pant, "What the fuck was that?" He asked the empty room, before falling back onto his pillow. He took in a deep breath and started to center himself. After a few minutes of calming down, he got up and went into his bathroom to wash his face. Only the water kept running unheeded as he stared at the mirror in shock.

In the center of his forehead there was a light bruise forming. When he raised his shirt, a matching one where Thor had flicked him had also started to purple.

-]|[-

Unfortunately, after that first night, Ichigo had gotten little reprieve from the man claiming the Norse God of Thunder's name. At first, Ichigo had been able to put it from his mind. Days passed, then weeks, and then months with no sign of him in his dreams. But those halcyon days ended three months later, with his second appearance. It wasn't the same dream, but Thor had seemed delighted to see him. Very delighted. Which he had shown off with another beating, and if he had needed any more proof that Thor had just been playing with him in their first round, he got it that night. Thor had spent the night beating what he'd called 'bad habits' out of him, snarking at his karate 'forms.' And then taught him many more things, including some wrestling moves. He'd been shocked to discover that Thor had been a god of wrestling too! About the only saving grace was that Thor hadn't tried to hit him with what he assumed was Mjolnir.

The dreams had been sporadic thankfully, with him seeing the crazy-strong asshole only once every two or three months… That is… they were sporadic until they weren't. Once every two or three months had become once a month. Then twice a month. Once a week. And every time, Ichigo had a beat-down delivered that made him feel like his and Tatsuki's usual human-shaped stress balls. All of them. At the same time.

The more shocking thing though, was that Ichigo began to feel stronger in the waking world as well. By the time he was just a bit over twelve, he actively had to hold back against Tatsuki. Not his skill – she was extremely gifted in her own right – but his power. The first time Ichigo had broken a bully's ribs with a half-assed back-fist made him realize that he was becoming far stronger than he thought was physically possible.

He didn't know how it was possible… but it was quite clear that his dreams weren't really dreams. They were real. And then it got worse. 'Heh, look at the ass on that one! Doesn't it just make you wanna go over and-'

Ichigo groaned as his eyes were forcibly drawn to the beautiful older girl's yoga-pants clad behind. 'Shut up.' Ichigo's eyebrow twitched, even as his face flushed a little bit. The lady in question must have been in her college years, and her tight shirt also did nothing to hide her body, even if he couldn't see her chest from behind.

'Don't act like we both don't know what your internet history should look like, boy. You started early!'Thor roared in laughter,'Denial of self isn't healthy!'

'Shut. Up.' Ichigo ground his teeth, 'Just because I'm not a-' He yelped in shock as a hard punch to his arm drew his attention, "What was that for Tatsuki?"

"Pervert!" The black-haired girl growled.

"I'm not a pervert!" He was proud he didn't stammer in response to her accusation.

"Oh, then I suppose your eyes were just glued in her general direction then?" She smirked, "It's okay Ichigo. I'll still love ya even if you're a pervert."

"Oh, shut it." He growled and looked away, hiding his blush.

She smirked in satisfaction, "Heh, you always say that when you don't have anything else to say. No denials either."

'This is your fault, you horny lump!' He growled at his inner headache.

'Lump? Get in here and I'll give you a few, little bitch!' Thor cackled some more, and Ichigo winced. He just knew he'd be paying for that later.

He shook his head and addressed his friend, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow?" He looked back at his partner, who nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Later!" She waved over her shoulder as she turned down the street to the Karate Dojo.

Ichigo had stopped attending lessons, since basically everyone was afraid to fight him but Tatsuki. Even the instructors had started to feel wary of him, which made any improvement a hassle. The only real action he got nowadays was against the demon bitch in his dreams.

He had his hands in his pockets as he walked off towards his home, his hair still damp from the workout he and Tatsuki had just finished. He had been barely ten minutes from his house when it happened. "What the?!" he yelled aloud and shielded himself with his arms, protecting his face and chest from the shards of concrete that had suddenly exploded in his direction. A large cloud of dust and grit was floating in front of him, "Did a water main explode or… some…" He trailed off as he made out a shadow in the smoke. A terrifying shadow.

And then came the sound. A horrific roar – sounding like the soul-torn wail of the damned – erupted in front of him. Ichigo broke into a cold sweat as the deep bellow seemed to tear right through him. His legs wouldn't move, and he trembled as the smoke cleared. At first, Ichigo thought he was having a nightmare again. That he was about to see the mask and body of that hamster son-of-a-bitch that had stolen his mother away.

He was wrong. The scream had blown the dust cloud away, and this beast was nothing like the one he practically knew by heart now. It had a solid body – no fur in sight – and its mask certainly did not look like a hamster. It looked vaguely like a humanoid lizard with a large hole near its navel, rather than the center of its chest. It had deadly-looking antlers and its mask looked vaguely like a cross between a reindeer and a monochrome Tiki mask. It had only three toes and fingers and was massively muscular.

'It's huge!' Ichigo screamed in his head. He tried to back away, but it was as though his legs were frozen. The day felt cold, despite it being the middle of summer. The beast looked right at him and roared once more, the shockwave blasting loose grit at him again. It started to charge, 'Move…' he thought to himself, 'Get away!' He half-figured Thor would have been calling him a bitch again, but the man was silent for once. He tried to run, but it was like his legs didn't want to respond. 'Move!' The beast was almost on him and it lunged, its gaping maw opening impossibly wide and revealing that second set of teeth in its gullet. "MOVE!" He roared and finally was able to move his traitorous legs.

He rolled under the bite and tumbled to his feet, watching as it crunched down on the concrete before roaring furiously and turning. Ichigo panted as though he had run a marathon, sweat pouring from his body. Unknown to him, a slight crackle of electricity was surrounding his body. His eyes – which were normally brown – were now a deep blue as well. "What the fuck do you want with me!" He yelled at it, finding his second wind. It roared mindlessly in his direction again and began ambling towards him.

Since it was so huge, it took a while for it to build up any speed. When it reached him it was still slow, and Ichigo ducked under its claw-swipe. With a roar of fury at all of the strange things that always happened to him, he unleashed a full-force punch for the first time in months. There was a large crunch as the beast's body contorted from his strike, and for the first time its roar changed. Before it had been mindless. Now it was in furious agony. Its muscles bulged as it started swiping wildly, and Ichigo made the mistake of blocking.

"Gah!" He spat as the air was forced from his lungs, feeling like he'd been hit by a car. The two gashes on his back from where its claws had grazed immediately started to bleed. A second swipe had him flying through the air and landing on the pavement. He rolled multiple times before crashing into an inconveniently placed fire hydrant. He let out an agonized groan, clenching his fists and trying to get to his feet as the beast lumbered slowly towards him. He couldn't even feel any satisfaction as he eyed the deep fist-shaped indentation that was on its side. 'Is…is this it?' He ground his teeth together as it started to run towards him, 'I can't die here…' He closed his eyes and roared, "I WON'T DIE LIKE THIS!"

…

"Heh. Better, kid. Much better." Ichigo's eyes snapped open as he stared at a grinning Thor, "Still a bitch though."

His jaw dropped. "Wher-" he looked like a goldfish as he stared around himself. Where… where was the monster? Where the hell was he?

Everywhere he looked seemed to be made of mountainous terrain. The valleys were filled with pristine rivers and surrounding vegetation, and he even spotted a forested lakefront off in one direction. Snowcapped peaks topped the tallest mountains, which melted into the rivers. The skies were mostly clear, with the sun peeking through one of the fluffy white clouds, with fewer light gray ones. It almost looked idyllic…

Except for the massive fucking spires of rock that were floating in midair with crackling lightning striking them every few seconds. He gaped, staring at the formations which had to weigh hundreds of tons each bobbing gently up and down, every few seconds getting struck by another bolt of lightning.

"Home sweet home." Thor rumbled, his grin not dimming in the slightest.

"…" He continued to gape, slowly turning around, and looking everywhere, taking it in, "Where the hell am I?"

"You're usually not this slow on the uptake, boy!" Thor boomed in laughter, "Am I really going to have to spell things out for you?"

Ichigo clenched his fists, "Can you fucking SPEAK CLEARLY for once?! Is this another fucking dream!? Where's that fucking THING I was fighting?!" Thor sat with a heavy thump, and Ichigo couldn't help but grind his teeth as he realized he was still shorter than the man. Thor reached behind him, and pulled a bottle out, which he tossed at Ichigo. The boy fumbled with it but managed to keep it from falling. He read the label and started to sputter, "Mead? IS THIS ALCOHOL?!" He turned to the huge idiot in outrage.

"Aye!" Thor bit the stopper off his own bottle and started to down it, "Damn good stuff too! Skol!"

"I'm twelve, you asshole!" Ichigo protested immediately.

"Bah! You modern folk are such infants." Thor waved him off, "Back in my day we drank it like it was mother's milk. Fucking take a sip. Maybe it'll get that fucking stick out of your ass."

"You son of a-!" Ichigo cursed, "Can you PLEASE answer my damn questions?!"

"Take a sip, boy, and I just might." Thor turned lidded eyes to him, and Ichigo growled.

"Asshole." Ichigo successfully popped the stopper and cautiously took a sniff. It had a pleasant and pretty sweet smell, surprising him. Cautiously, he took a small sip, and then his eyes widened. He sputtered and choked as the strong flavor caught him by surprise, and he managed to swallow. It burned a bit going down, and he started to cough, "You people drink this for FUN?!" He managed to rasp out.

"Hahaha! You get used to it." Thor downed another gulp of it, "Burns nice and good, don't it?" He shook his head as Ichigo death-glared at him, "Anyway, good fucking punch boy. Shitty follow up, but you nailed that thing good."

Ichigo stared at him, before cautiously taking another sip. Clearly he was going to need it. Thor's smile widened, "So that was… real?"

"Aye." Thor nodded, "And you know what it is. I've told you before."

Ichigo pursed his lips, "Hollow?" Thor nodded again, "What the hell is it?"

"Hell's the wrong word there, boy. Not all of them are destined for that place." Thor said, and Ichigo's eyes widened, "Hollows are corrupted Souls that didn't quite make it to the afterlife. Something kept them chained to the earth, unable to move on. Or sometimes, they just didn't know how to move on to the other side." Ichigo's hand with the bottle slowly lowered in shock, "And eventually, if someone doesn't help them move on, they stay here too long. They become filled with despair. Those chains in their chests erode completely, and they lose their hearts. Their hearts become the masks they wear as their bodies warp, and leave behind a gaping, cavernous void they're desperate to fill."

Ichigo trembled minutely as he thought back to the holes in both of the Hollows he'd seen, "And I'm guessing they're not looking for McDonalds." He quipped weakly.

Thor chuffed, "No. No they're not. They're starving." He whispered, "Starving with hunger for what they lost. For souls. Anything to fill the gaping void inside of them. And the more potent the soul, the more spiritual power infused within it, the better." His eyes glittered brightly with inner lightning, "And there are few souls tastier than yours, boy."

Ichigo ground his teeth, "Because of you?"

Thor dropped his hand and let the bottle clink on the rock he sat on, "No, boy. Because of you. I couldn't have been born if you hadn't already been special."

Ichigo stared at him, before growling, "Fuck it!" He brought the bottle to his lips and threw his head back, downing the drink.

Thor burst out laughing, "That's the way, boy! SKOL!" He polished off his own mead.

Ichigo stopped drinking with a gasp, stumbling slightly, "…I can't get drunk in a dream, can I?"

"If you take bruises with you, why wouldn't you get drunk?" Thor laughed at him. Ichigo started looking panicked, so Thor waved him off, "Bah, don't worry about it, boy. Yours is watered down. You know… since you're a little bitch." Left unsaid was that Thor had already calculated how many of those he'd need to drink to actually get plastered.

"Fuck you." Ichigo growled at him. They went silent, before Ichigo sighed, "…Where the hell am I? Who ARE you?"

Thor shook his head, "Are you being fucking slow on purpose, boy?" He spread his arms, "We're inside your soul, boy! Your Inner World!" Ichigo's jaw dropped, "Everything the light touches is your kingdom!"

Ichigo stared at him in disbelief, "Did you just quote Lion King at me?!"

"Ha! Couldn't resist!" Thor dropped his arms, "It is unrecognizable from that time, so long ago. Storms pounded these lands every single day. Black clouds blotted out the sun. Now I love me some storms-" Yeah, a God of Thunder probably would, "But even for me, it was a bit much. The entire land, all the flowers, the grass, the trees… all of it drowned beneath unforgiving waves. Do you understand?"

Ichigo swallowed as his fists clenched, "Mom's death…" Even as he thought it, for a brief moment, the sky darkened with a dark gray cloud above them. His eyes widened. That could have been a coincidence, but it felt awfully…real.

"It was real." Thor said, "I told you, didn't I? You are a storm. And it's high time you learn to control it."

Ichigo took a deep breath, "I… I still don't understand. If this is my soul then…"

"Who am I? Why am I here?" Thor asked.

"Yeah…" Ichigo replied after a moment, and felt his stomach twist just a tiny bit when Thor let out a heavy sigh.

"Boy… you didn't think a regular human would be able to see spirits and Hollows, did you? How many of your peers thought you crazy, all those years ago? You're about as 'normal' as a Kirin." Thor said, making Ichigo flinch, "I am the physical representation of the powers you were born with." He stood, "You were born with an unusual amount of Reiryoku. Even had you been born in Soul Society, your potential would have been abnormal. For a regular human, your potential is ridiculous! That makes you a magnet for those things. The only thing surprising me is that it took you this long to run into another one. It's a good thing I've been kicking your lazy ass into shape, otherwise that little baby Hollow would have eaten you in one bite." He grinned viciously, leaning down, "Course, you might have had a few more years before that happened, if I hadn't gotten involved. Our training has just made your soul stronger and stronger after all, and therefore even tastier to them. But even if I hadn't, they would have come, and you would have been defenseless. Just like you were that day."

"But how is that possible?! Why me?! What makes me so special?!" Ichigo cried out, his heart rate rising rapidly.

"Does it matter, boy?" Thor raised an eyebrow, "Is knowing why going to change a fucking thing? No. No. This is who you are. This is who you always were. And this is who you'll always be. The only thing left to do is move forward, or die."

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to calm his hammering heart, "Then what can I do?"

"When was the last time you cleaned those fucking ears?" Thor rolled his eyes, "Or is fear still clogging them up tighter than a virgin's asshole?" Ichigo blushed hotly, "I already told you, boy. I'm your power. You didn't think I just made you tastier to Hollows, did you?"

"But I don't HAVE any powers!" Ichigo yelled back, "I've never used any powers! I don't have a clue how to use any powers!"

"Course you do. I'm fucking here, aren't I?" He patted the hammer by his side, "The soul always grows stronger when it is put in mortal peril. That's why I was able to bring you here for the first time, rather than coming to you in your dreams. I'm here, as I've always been, boy. Waiting to be drawn out. Waiting to be used." Lightning crackled from his fingertips, arcing to the hammer, "You're a storm, Kurosaki Ichigo. It's high time you unleash it. And that little baby hollow is still slavering for a tasty meal out there. Time only slows so much in here." He grinned viciously, "Which means it's time for you to go and show that Hollow what you're made of. Be the storm, boy!" A crackle of lightning blinded him, and he closed his eyes. Before he could say a word, he almost felt the world dissolve around him. "Be the Storm!"

…

The Hollow practically had its tongue lolling out of its jaw as it approached the downed Reiatsu sink in front of it. It was most definitely salivating at the thought of consuming such a powerful soul. Though this particular Hollow was practically mindless, it could have achieved sentience if it succeeded.

It didn't.

Just as it was lunging for its meal, Ichigo's eyes snapped open, and lightning started to crackle along his form. His fist snapped up and a tiny crackle of lightning leapt from his limb, spearing the hapless Hollow through the gut, and sending it flying backwards. Had any spiritually aware person been within half a mile of Ichigo, they would have felt the crushing pressure of his Reiatsu.

He slowly stood, looking at himself in awe. Tongues of lightning crackled all around his form. He examined his fingers, where little sparks arced from digit to digit. Under the skin itself, he could see his glowing veins, and almost felt like he could distinguish every little bit of blood in his body. The wound on his back was no longer bleeding, though it still left his white shirt red and torn. "This… this feels…"

'Hehehe. Like that, do you?' Thor sounded incredibly smug, 'Try concentrating it on those cuts on your back.'

Ichigo swallowed and did as he was told, clenching his fists, and directing his… Reiryoku? at the wounds with a grimace. Unknown to him, Thor gave him a hand since he was practically a baby at the moment. With what looked like a heat haze, his wounds rapidly closed. He blinked, reaching behind him, and feeling smooth skin, "Oh fuck the hell yes." His eyes practically glittered as he smirked viciously.

'Good, your wounds are healed. Now why don't you go return the favor?' Thor sounded just as eager as Ichigo had.

Ichigo's eyes snapped up, landing on the growling Hollow who had just managed to get to its feet, howling painfully. "My pleasure." He snarled, and launched himself forward. His eyes bugged out as he crashed right into it in barely a blink, with an accompanying BOOM sounding like thunder. The hollow roared as it flew back, impacting the ground and rolling, "Holy shit! What was that?!"

'Bwahahaha!' Thor roared with laughter in his head, 'What, the lightning crackling wasn't a good enough clue?'

'That's going to take some getting used to…' Ichigo groaned, before launching again. This time his eyes kept up a bit more since he was expecting it, and in a flash, he kicked it in its side. A massive amount of saliva erupted from its maw as Ichigo physically lifted it into the air with his kick, and his deadly smirk was back. "What's wrong? Weren't you going to eat me?!"

The hollow roared, drawing its hand back with its fist clenched. It punched forward, but it seemed to be moving almost in slow motion. Thor spoke up again, 'Take the hit, boy. Got something else to show you.'

Ichigo grimaced, and raised his arm to block. The attack, one which was stronger than the one that had left him feeling like he'd been hit by a car just minutes ago, impacted his block. And this time… Ichigo stopped it dead. His eyes widened, having not felt the hit in the slightest. It couldn't even budge his feet.

Even the Hollow looked bewildered. It let out a sound of surprise. Why was the tasty bug not smashed? It punched again, but this time his block knocked the Hollow ass-over-teakettle and sent it rolling away.

He pushed the limb away, 'Holy hell, this is amazing!'

'And you're still just a baby. You're going to get even stronger.' Thor grinned inside of him, 'Enough playing around now. I've shown you all you need for now. Destroy its mask. That'll purify it and then we can go home.'

'Gotcha!' Ichigo yelled back, putting his hands up and rushing for the Hollow. It had just gotten to his feet when Ichigo landed a thunderous haymaker right into its side, causing it to sink to its knees in pain. The second haymaker cracked its mask, and it desperately swiped at him with its claws to try to take him out. Its claws screeched and sparked on Ichigo's skin, failing to penetrate. Ichigo grabbed its arm and bodily lifted the beast, throwing it at a wall. "Whoops…" Ichigo grimaced as it hit a fire hydrant and now water was shooting into the sky. "…My bad." He mumbled to himself.

"I told you to stop fucking around, boy. Remember, it's a corrupted soul. That means it very likely was an innocent one before it died." Thor said, and Ichigo froze, 'It very well could have been a serial killer in life, but it is even more likely it was a child. Or a kind old man. Stop toying with it and kill it already, so that it'll move on and release the souls it already consumed to the afterlife.'

Fuck. Fuck. Ichigo felt horrible now. This could very well have been someone his sister's age… Just the thought of him beating on Yuzu or Karin without knowing any better almost made him vomit. He flashed over with a crack of thunder and quickly pierced its mask. A scream of lightning rang out and the Hollow started to dissolve around his limb. It rapidly turned into particles and simply vanished.

He took a breath and sagged, the crackling electricity around him receding. 'Thank you, Thor. I'll remember that for next time.' And he grimly realized that there definitely would be a next time.

'Aye. I'm sure you will. Having fun is one thing." He started to chuckle, "Far be it for ME to tell someone not to enjoy a fight. But make sure it's a fight and not a slaughter unless you run into one of them. Some of them are intelligent, and some of them definitely were evil monsters even before they slipped a mask on. Those? When you kill them, they'll go straight to Hell.'

'Right!' Ichigo straightened up, and started to walk home.

'Might want to get rid of the shirt.' Thor reminded him.

"Fuck…" Ichigo let out a tired groan as he ripped the shirt away, "I loved this damn shirt." He mumbled sadly, before unleashing his Reiatsu for the last time. It took a second for him to unleash it once more, but the shirt in his hands rapidly burned away after being engulfed with his crackling Reiatsu.

-]|[-

"Ichi-nii!" His little sister Yuzu gasped (with a very light flush) as she saw Ichigo's increasingly chiseled chest bare, "What happened to your shirt?" The little dirty blonde was cute as a button in her little apron. Kurosaki Yuzu had taken it upon herself to be the 'lady' of the house after their mother had died. He was rather surprised she didn't have a ladle in her hand as she greeted him.

"Don't want to talk about it. I'll be right back." He deadpanned and sped past as fast as he could. He was up the stairs before she could even turn around, which stopped her from seeing the dried blood on his back. He washed it quickly and dried himself, before slipping a new tee on and going back downstairs. He smiled at his little sister, "How was your day?"

Yuzu puffed up a little bit, "The teachers are piling on the homework." She pouted while they heard Karin shout 'hear, hear' over from the kitchen table, "You sure you're okay, Ichi-nii?"

Ichigo chuckled, "Yeah, I'm fine. They pile on us too." And then he got kicked in the back.

"Hah!" Isshin cackled, "You let your guard down!"

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched, "Damn it Goat Chin!" He roared as he flung the man off of him, watching as he spun comically in the air, "What kind of dad attacks his son from behind!"

"The kind who wants his son to always be sharp!" Isshin declared as he landed perfectly unharmed on his feet from his forced quintuple somersault through the air.

"Sharp? I'll show you sharp!" Ichigo dove for Isshin and executed a perfect German Suplex on his father.

"Ichi-nii! Dad! Can't it wait till after dinner?!" Yuzu stomped her little foot, looking utterly adorable.

"Ehh, let 'em play." Karin called over with a deadpan expression, "I think you need to stir anyway." She took a sip as Yuzu panicked and dove for the stove. Karin had black hair like their father and dark gray eyes. She eyed the two men goofing around, "Hmm, nice ankle lock Ichi-nii. You might wanna call uncle, dad." The man was crying crocodile tears as he tapped out. Ichigo pretended not to hear him. She blinked, "You have another one, Ichi-nii."

Ichigo blinked at the young woman floating nearby, "Another one?" He asked, "Go home! I'll see what I can do tomorrow." He waved his hand irritably in her direction, though she ignored him.

"You two are so lucky." Yuzu pouted from her place at the stove. "I can only see a blur. Only daddy can't see them at all."

"You're not missing much." Ichigo deadpanned, thinking back to the mess he was now in.

"I don't believe in 'em anyway." Karin threw out lackadaisically.

"Huh? But you can see them! You even pointed that one out to Ichi-nii!"

Karin snorted lightly, "I'm in permanent denial." She said coldly as she took a sip of her drink, "If I don't acknowledge them it's like they don't exist." Yuzu and the lady stared at her in shock. The lady even had a little bit of snow settling on her shoulders at the rejection. Then a timer went off and Yuzu snapped out of it, going back to the stove.

"Dinner is ready!" Yuzu called out a few minutes later, making Ichigo realize that he was starving. He finally broke his hold on his dad and went to the table.

…

'Alright.' Ichigo thought as he sat cross-legged on his bed, 'So how do I get in there?'

'Close your eyes and start focusing on your Reiryoku. Easiest place is the center of your chest. Focus inward and let everything fall away.' Thor instructed.

He closed his eyes and reached for that power. The power he had never known he had. His body started to glow very lightly again, as his breathing evened out. Down below, Isshin furrowed his brows and turned his head in the direction of his son's room, extremely confused.

…

He opened them again when he felt a slight breeze, and he was once again in his Inner World, as they had called it. "Haha! Welcome back, boy!" Thor was grinning like usual, sitting on a big rock, "Hopefully now you'll be able to make me break a sweat once in a while!"

Ichigo huffed, but he was smiling, "I'll lay you out before you know it, big guy."

Thor barked out a huge laugh, "Ha! That'll be the day!"

Ichigo fixed his face, "Thank you." he bowed.

"Bah, none of that shit, boy." Thor grimaced, waving him off, "We both know it doesn't suit you."

Ichigo smirked, "Don't get used to it." His smirk dropped, "Now what the fuck am I? Why do I have these powers? WHAT are these powers?"

Thor snorted, "Well, I suppose those would be the questions, wouldn't they?" He took out another set of bottles of mead, and Ichigo blanched as he caught it.

"Why do you keep trying to get me drunk?!" He asked in annoyance. He definitely wasn't drinking this one entirely this time. Yuzu and Karin would be so disappointed if he even had a hint of being drunk.

"T'get that stick out of your ass. Didn't I tell you?" Thor snickered before taking a drink, which Ichigo followed, "So here's the deal, boy. I'm not exactly omniscient so I don't have all of the information you want. Near as I can tell, you're a bit of a mutt."

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched, "The fuck does that mean?"

"Well, I can tell you that what you saw that night was very real. You saw ma about to open up a can on that nasty Hollow, only for her to get hit by that light from above and then panic. I have no idea what any of that was, but I can tell you that I don't come from her. On the other hand, those glowing lines under your skin when you were fighting do. Those were some sort of defense-boosting ability, and I can feel that they don't come from me. Not directly, at least, even if I know them. I don't know WHY I feel that, but I do."

Ichigo took a deep breath, and then a sip of his mead. He scrunched up his nose a bit as it burned going down, and he hoped he'd bloody get used to it sooner rather than later. "Right, so mom was a magical girl. Fine. Fantastic. How does that make me a mutt?"

"Well for one… that healing, and that steel-like skin?" Thor's grin dropped and he looked serious for one of the only times Ichigo had ever seen him, "Them's Hollow abilities."

Ichigo stared. Then he shook his head minutely, "What?" he couldn't believe the sounds that had just entered his ears.

"You fucking heard me." Thor said heavily, taking another drag from his bottle.

"What the fuck?!" Ichigo yelled, "How the fuck?! H-" he cut himself off, before glaring at the bottle in his hand. "This is your fault." He told it, before tossing his head back and gulping a quarter of it down.

Thor snorted, "And then there's me. I make up the bulk of your power, to the point I manifested knowing all of the instinctual abilities you could know, even if I don't know what they're called. Unlike the other powers, I know what I am, and therefore what you are." He grinned, awaiting the explosion he knew was coming, "I am a Zanpakutō, and you are a little baby Shinigami."

Ichigo's jaw dropped, "Shi-Shini-Shinigami?! Wha-" A God of Death?!

"Aye." Thor cackled at the dumbfounded expression on Ichigo's face

"But that's fucking crazy!" Ichigo yelled at him.

"So is everything we can do." Thor deadpanned, "Moving on. Every Zanpakutō is capable of two main tasks… sending Souls onward to the next life… and purifying Hollows."

Ichigo immediately perked up, "So I won't have to deal with those annoying ass ghosts?"

Thor burst out laughing, "Hah! How did I know you were going to say that!"

"You live in me." He deadpanned in response. "Wait…" He stopped abruptly, "You said I was a mutt. If YOU didn't come from Mom, where the hell did you come from then?!"

"You have two parents, dumbass." Thor replied, and Ichigo looked like he suffered a catastrophic brain freeze.

"No." Ichigo said. He started shaking his head, "No. Nope. Not happening. Fucking Goat-chin? Not fucking happening. Does not compute."

"Don't be a fucking drama queen. Not too long ago, you believed ma was a normal human." Thor rolled his eyes, "He may act the fool, but that doesn't mean you have to be one too."

"But he can't even see ghosts!" Ichigo protested, "Yuzu has more ability than he does!"

"I don't fucking know. I told you I don't have all the answers." Thor took another swig, "But where else could those powers come from? Shinigami don't grow on trees, and they especially don't come out of the human world. Don't discount the idea just because he likes to act like an idiot. We both know he can be serious as needed."

Ichigo winced lightly as he remembered the 'talking to' he had received, "I…guess…" He said unsurely. He shook his head, "Look, this was all a lot to take in, yeah? I'm going to go do some thinking."

"HA!" Thor bellowed a laugh as he stood to his full height, "Like hell you are." He drained the rest of his bottle and tossed it over his shoulder, "You finally unlocked your true potential, so…" He cracked his knuckles, "Time to beat the bitch out of you." He lunged towards the smaller boy, who could only scream,

"GOD DAMN IT, THOR!" As he dodged out of the way, "FINE! TIME TO GIVE YOU SOME LUMPS OF YOUR OWN!" He was engulfed with lightning and flung himself at his Zanpakutō.

He was glad he was somehow always rested despite the bruises because he sure as hell got no actual sleep that night.

-]|[-

And done!

Man, can anyone tell that God of War Ragnarӧk just came out? No? No one?

Kek

Okay, so first thing's first, my Thor is a bit of an amalgam of different incarnations of him, drawing mostly from Marvel and from God of War. The appearance is basically GoW, just without the beer gut. Think more The Mountain from Game of Thrones crossed with Ragnarӧk Thor.

Also, you can consider Ichigo's inner world to be a mix between Midgard and Habitat 7 from Mass Effect Andromeda.

Now to clarify, Ichigo is still a mutt, and still has all three major powers in him from his heritage. Unlike canon where Old Man took over and faked Shinigami powers, here, his Shinigami side was the dominant one and therefore absorbed the other two. He'll be capable of using abilities and powers from all three, though he and Thor can only use the instinctive ones for now. Thor doesn't know any Kidō to teach him, for example. That's all I'll really say on that for now.

And hey, this is fucking great. I'm actually starting on chapter 4 tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to get a bit of a backlog going before the muse muses. Drown me in those reviews while I'm at it!

Till next time!