Chapter 27: The Broken Scythe

"Wait wait wait!" Akatsuki wailed in annoyance as she dodged blow after blow that Soi Fon rained down on her. "I'm telling you that's not right!"

Soi Fon grinned as she saw an opening past the scythe's defense and attacked it without hesitation, her legs arching towards Akatsuki's exposed side. However again Akatsuki saw the attack coming and was able to roll out of its way. Soi Fon gave her no quarter and jumped towards her before she had even finished rolling, her heel slamming into the place where Akatsuki's shoulder should her been.

Soi Fon quickly looked up to find Akatsuki falling towards her from the sky with yet another crushing scythe blow. Soi Fon jumped clear of the attack just as it turned the floor around it into shattered earth. The attack itself was rather slow and crude but she did not doubt its destructive power, one direct hit would probably defeat her outright. And her speed was troubling but her fighting spirit seemed far too weak.

Akatsuki looked up sharply towards Soi Fon as she brought her body back into an upright position. Soi Fon expected her to step straight into another attack and raised her guard in mid air to counter it.

Soi Fon gritted her teeth as too late she realized that she had made a mistake. Akatsuki drew her scythe behind her in a huge arc and gathered Cero energy around the blade, then in one powerful sweep she attacked.

"Claw Cyclone!" Akatsuki yelled as she sliced towards Soi Fon. As the blade moved through the air it generated a harsh screaming sound which was all but deafening to all but the user, red and black Cero energy screamed from the blades surface and raced towards Soi Fon in three different directions.

"Shit," Soi Fon said as she quickly realized that all three of the spinning Cero blades were all homing in on her. At the speed they were moving she had no way of outrunning them and she didn't have the kind of techniques that could be used to bloke them at such short notice. "No choice then," Soi Fon said under her breath as she felt her feet touch the ground.

Without even stopping to take a breath Soi Fon ran towards Akatsuki with no hesitation. Time felt like it was slowing to a standstill as all blades of Cero energy converged on her but Soi Fon's determination didn't waver, either she broke through or she didn't.

Akatsuki watched in admiration as Soi Fon charged straight for her. At first she wondered what Soi Fon hoped to accomplish by such a dangerous act but quickly realized what her intentions were. It was true enough, it was very hard to out maneuver the Claw Cyclones once they were all locked onto you and you needed a large, broad weapon to block the majority of the damage. But you could outrun them by charging straight towards them, if you could get past them before they reached you they would cut straight into the ground behind you.

Soi Fon felt the tips of the rapidly rotating blades cut into her shoulder and thigh as they whirred past her into the ground, a sharp, burning sensation that made her cringe despite herself. Dust exploded into the air and Soi Fon charged out of it towards Akatsuki's last known position. However Akatsuki was not there. Soi Fon's instincts made her turn her head while she was still moving as a blur behind her quickly materialized into Akatsuki, her scythe held behind her ready to slice into Soi Fon's back.

Soi Fon quickly twisted her body in mid air as Akatsuki started to swing her blade forward. Soi Fon readied herself for the attack. A split second later another Akatsuki appeared where she had been when Soi Fon had aimed for her, her weapon still in the middle of its swing. Soi Fon was still facing her after image as both images attacked in one, perfectly timed motion.

Soi Fon grinned and pointed her finger towards the image behind her. "White Lightning!"

Hollow Ichigo watched with glee as a small figure dressed in white descended towards the witless Shinigami ranks. She landed heavily onto the nearest Shinigami's shoulders with her knees and gripped tight, then in a series of motions twisted his body so that it was sent spinning into the air behind her. She was still falling back towards the ground when she brought her small body around full circle and caught the nearest three Shinigami in a explosive circular kick.

Before her feet had even touched the ground Hollow Ichigo felt the strength of the seal fail again and instantly launched himself into the Shinigami in front of him, who still in the process of reacting to the attack going on behind them had no way of defending themselves. Hollow Ichigo came to a stop a few moments later with his guard raised half hardheartedly. Behind him the small girl landed behind him in a seemingly relaxed manner.

The stealth corp quickly recovered and gathered around them. Hollow Ichigo dropped his guard and stood relaxed, back to back with the one Ichigo vaguely knew was called Yami. Yami leaned her back against his and in a unperturbed manner brushed her fingers through her hair and flicked it outwards. Her determined eyes however darted from Shinigami to Shinigami. Hollow Ichigo grinned maliciously at the nearest Shinigami's.

"What do you want?" he said harshly over his shoulder to his would be rescuer. It was a little annoying to be bailed out but he was also aware that it wasn't done for his or Ichigo's benefit. That intrigued him enough to play along.

"Your not doing so well I dare say Kurosaki Ichigo," Yami said sarcastically. She felt his back muscles tense slightly at the name but she lacked any other name to refer to him by.

Hollow Ichigo let the name slide and turned his head slightly to look back down on her. She really was small compared to him, in fact he felt he could snap her neck like a twig but that wouldn't be any fun. "Heh! What business is it of yours!"

Yami flashed from Hollow Ichigo's back, causing him to stumble slightly due to the weight he was resting against her. Before he could make this body of flesh and blood react she appeared in front of him, her hair still moving in the direction she had been. He grimaced as he realized that Ichigo's living body wasn't fast enough to deal with a real opponent like this Arrancar girl. He tried to grab towards her but her hand was far quicker.

Yami's hand cut into Ichigo's body, straight into the center of his chest and out of the other side. However rather then blood the sides of both wounds were covered by a flame like green light which burned lazily. Hollow Ichigo felt his body become paralyzed and he looked down at her with abject anger. The Shinigami still kept their distance, Ichigo's apparent savior had now appeared to turn on him but they kept their guards up none the less, the Arrancar were still the enemy.

"What the?" Hollow Ichigo said in two voices as Ichigo's original voice blended into Hollow Ichigo's, causing a echoing effect. Yami looked back up at him with no fear or concern, in fact she looked determined and angry.

"Will you keep your promise?" Yami asked stoically.

At first Hollow Ichigo was confused but he quickly remembered what Ichigo had said on more then one occasion. He considered trying to deceive her but realized that in such a unfamiliar body and with Ichigo's voice bleeding through he would easily betray himself. "Why would I protect her for you? Why don't you do it yourself? If you could you would do right? Or maybe its that you can't?" Hollow Ichigo's echoing voice said with arrogant conviction.

Yami looked down and smiled with satisfaction. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Huh? I never promised to-!"

"I'm not talking to you," Yami replied with a evil smile and before Hollow Ichigo had time to react she launched her hand into his chest and into the seal, she clenched her fist and pulled.

Akatsuki's eyes opened wide as all before her became a searing white inferno of light. The explosive force sent Akatsuki's body spinning limply through the air until it came to an abrupt stop as it hit the ground with a sickening thud. The scythe slammed into the ground blade first a good distance away.

Soi Fon regarded her carefully for a few moments before assuming the attack had defeated her. In truth she had had to tone down the power of the attack to ensure that Akatsuki survived the hit. But even so the amount of damage at such close range would have been overwhelming. She started to to walk over to the unmoving Akatsuki.

"Damn it," Akatsuki mumbled to her self as she managed to push herself unsteadily to her feet where she stood with her side exposed to Soi Fon, her hand on her head.

"What the-" Soi Fon started to say as she now realized that Akatsuki's hair had started to change color. Her long pale red hair was starting to change to a vibrant gold on the side facing her.

"I'm sorry but not this time, this time I can't help you, its something that has to happen," Akatsuki appeared to be saying to herself in two different voices. Soi Fon recognised the first voice as the girl she had been fighting a moment ago, however the second voice had a far more confident tone to it. Soi Fon didn't wait for an explanation and charged straight towards her exposed side, her body spinning to release a kick.

Akatsuki came to her senses at the last moment and barely managed to step out of the way, Soi Fon's foot inches from her chest. With out looking back Akatsuki ran to her Zanpakuto and picked it up before turning to face her relentless opponent. She had felt Hakumei presence enter her the moment that bright light exploded into her but already she had left her. She couldn't help, she had said it so coldly. Akatsuki didn't understand. Even with Hakumei in her hand she suddenly felt so alone. She felt abandoned. Her hands failed her and Hakumei clattered to the ground heavily.

"It that all Arrancar! Is that all you've got traitor!" Soi Fon shouted as she launched into a dropping kick from above Akatsuki. Her kick landed heavily as Akatsuki raised both her arms up in defense completely stopping her momentum and flipped herself away before Akatsuki realized she could easily counter from such a position. Soi Fon landed several meters away and stood ready, her posture and stance still in perfect form. The traitors arms barely moved when she blocked despite the look of strain of her face. No where in her files did it mention that she had experience as a hand to hand fighter.

But the look on her face made her grin. She was panting terribly fast and hard now. Even though Soi Fon's attack had technically been blocked she had still taken a huge amount of damage. 'So she's just trying to stop the worst of it huh? There's no way she can win like this, I'll finish this up now. Without her weapon she can only defend.' Soi Fon launched herself towards Akatsuki and launched into a series of powerful, accurate kicks, spinning kicks and punches.

Akatsuki was still able to block each and every attack but that was fine with Soi Fon. Whether she blocked or not she was weakening with every blow. Each time her arms fell a little more after each kick. Akatsuki's face winched in pain with each and every attack that she blocked.

"You may be good enough to block my attacks but with a body as weak as that you can't hold on for long. Without your weapon your just buying time! There's no point! Kurosaki Ichigo's powers have been sealed away long enough for us to capture you. There's no one coming to save you!" Soi Fon roared as she kicked down hard. Her eyes narrowed as the opening appeared. Akatsuki's block had been broken completely by the downward force and Soi Fon immediately kicked through the opening, the force sending Akatsuki flying backwards.

Akatsuki felt the air forced out of her lungs as the kick exploded into her defenseless stomach. Time seemed to slow for a moment as was sent flying backwards. She watched helplessly as Soi Fon flashed towards her. She tried to guard but her arms were on fire with pain and wouldn't responded. She winched just before the kick hit her square in the chest. Akatsuki cried out in pain as time seemed to return and everything accelerated again as she was sent slamming into the ground and rolled until she came to a stop. Her body started to feel numb as she lay on her front and watched with one weak eye as Soi Fon stopped and walked over towards her.

"That's it then huh? Hardly worth all the effort," Soi Fon said not unkindly as she walked over towards Akatsuki and stood over her. Soi Fon's harsh expression softened to one of apathy as she looked down at Akatsuki's body. Akatsuki, with great force of will had managed to twist her head enough to glare up at Soi Fon with eyes full of anger and grim determination. She must of known it was over. Only one of her eyes could still stay open, her arms would be burning in pain and blood leaked from her nose, mouth and her closed eye. But still she looked up with the burning eyes of one who never accepts defeat.

"That's enough right? You don't have to keep fighting any more. Even if your body would obey you its all over," Soi Fin said almost kindly as she knelt down next to Akatsuki and looked down into those burning eyes. Eyes that would never give up until they could no longer stay open. At the very least her enemy had impressed her with her attitude. It was different to the childish person she had been talking to before. At the end Soi Fon got to see this Arrancar's true self.

"I won't give up!" Akatsuki manged to say in between harsh, rasping breaths. Her body wouldn't listen to her anymore and she could barely keep her one good eye open but she refused to give up. She realized how ironic it was that now that she had nowhere left to run too that she found the confidence to fight for herself. Her body was shaking, her vision red with her own blood and she admitted to herself that she was scared but she still wanted to stand. Even if it was just to be pushed over again. "Looks like he was right, guess I really am a masochist huh."

"I see," Soi Fon said apathetically as she reached down and wiped some the blood from Akatsuki's open eye and stood up slowly and turned to walk away. "Bind her and then treat her injuries. Don't be too rough," Soi Fon commanded to her subordinates and she walked away. It was at that very moment that she felt a huge pressure bearing down on her.

Above Karakura town two figures stood in mute, concentrated silence. It was important that they remained undetected for as long as physically possible if they were to keep the advantage which they now had. At a moments notice they had orders to interfere should events start to take a turn in Soul Societies favor. Ulquiorra watched the chaos below with barely a flicker of interest in his eyes. Grimmjow on the other hand knelt on his haunches in mid air and watched the ground below with a grin of blatant amusement. Things were starting to get interesting.

They had been given very strange and vague orders but both of them could feel the weight of those orders and had little doubt that Aizen was deadly serious. They had received orders to advance to Karakura town and observe the ensuing chaos. Only in one circumstance were they given permission to interfere, if it looked like Akatsuki was in danger of being captured or killed. Neither had questioned the logic of protecting a so called reject deserter but both of them had suspicions.

"What kind of game is Aizen trying to pull anyway?" Grimmjow grunted to Ulquiorra casually.

"It is not my place to say," Ulquiorra replied unemotionally.

"Ha! So you have no idea at all whats going on either huh! That's funny as hell man! I thought you were Aizen's most trusted pet," Grimmjow replied mockingly. Even though Ulquiorra gave him no reaction what so ever he smiled in amusement.

"Its not important, we just need to follow his orders. Aizen-sama's plan will become clear soon enough if we wait," Ulquiorra replied tactfully as he watched the chaos below.

"So your satisfied with that huh?" Grimmjow replied apathetically.

Ulquiorra said nothing for a moment and carried on watching the events taking place far below him. Grimmjow was actually right and this concerned him. Aizen's movements and plans were usually logical enough to determine after some observation of events by himself but this time he was truly out of the loop. It must have had something to do with those ruins in Hueco Mundo's vast desert he was asked to find. He remembered talking to a person he could neither see nor here and he looked over towards Grimmjow. "I suspect it is a ploy."

"No shit smart ass! I worked that out myself! I knew that bitch, she used to visit my territory far too often, no matter how many times I tried to get rid of her, her and that damn Yami. I may not know her as well as you think but I reckon I know her better then most of you. She's not brave and she's not very clever, even though she refused to leave whenever I confronted her she was always shaking and the fear was obviously in her eyes. But you know, that's just it, she's not the kind of person to just up and run like that, she's just not that brave." Grimmjow watched the scene below with a look of apathy worthy of Ulquiorra himself.

"Fear can often masquerade as courage," Ulquiorra replied by way of an answer. It was true he knew, people would do brave things through the influence of fear, it was something he understood how to use all too easily. It had worked so well on Orihime Inoue.

"Ha! You don't get it! Akatsuki was Aizen's little pet servant, he doted on her and she adored him for it. She was no less loyal then you. Something must of spooked her pretty bad to pull that kind of crap in Soul Society. Fleeing from Las Noches and breaking into the Seireitei and then fleeing into the world of the living, it takes a special kind of insanity to pull that off like she did."

"You believe that she is unaware that she is an actor in this unseen play?" Ulquiorra said guardedly. Though he could not disagree that he shared Grimmjow's suspicions he was still weary of his reasons for talking about this. It was far too open for him.

"Lets just say that whatever it was that brought about that special kind of madness was not found by her by accident."

Ulquiorra said nothing and returned his gaze to the task at hand. Aizen obviously needed Akatsuki to believe that she had indeed been declared an enemy of Las Noches but it was also apparent that the Hollow under his command had to believe it as well. As a weak Arrancar with unstable powers her close position to Aizen had always attracted the jealousy from those who deemed themselves more worthy, all it would take was a little push to turn them against her completely. But why was it important that the Espada be kept out of the loop as well. Did they need to believe in the farce just as much as everyone else?

"I see," Ulquiorra said to himself quietly, causing Grimmjow to glance up at him inquiringly. Normally Ulquiorra would be loath to discuss his thoughts with someone like Grimmjow but he had helped him realize something. His faith in Aizen's action was now completely restored. "The best actors are those who don't even know they are part of the performance."

Soi Fon turned around just as Ichigo's reiatsu bore down on them. The feeling was crushing and overwhelming. She spun around just in time to see a huge explosion of black and red energy erupt from where Akatsuki and her subordinates had been. Her eyes opened wide in shock.

Hollow Ichigo emerged from the center of the burst of energy as it roared around him and grinned manically towards Soi Fon. In his arms he held a very surprised Akatsuki and Soi Fon noticed that she seemed no less surprised to see Ichigo then she was. In fact, she looked almost like she was deciding whether to cry or shout at him. Hollow Ichigo ignored Soi Fon completely and stared down into Akatsuki's one good eye and his grin softened in the smallest possible way. "Yo! Who said you could have all the fun around here anyway?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, no, how did he break the seal?" Soi Fon mouthed quietly to herself as she found her eyes locked onto Ichigo's. Part of his chest was visible where the seal should have been, even if he had somehow managed to release his spirit form the seal should still have held back a lot of his power. But the seal had been completely erased. She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. "He broke the seal already? But that's impossible."

Akatsuki found herself being held tightly in Ichigo's arms and looking up into his far too triumphant eyes. "Ichigo? No, not Ichigo,?" Akatsuki said in genuine surprise. "Why?"

"What? Is that it? After I go through the trouble of saving your sorry ass this is all the thanks I get?" Hollow Ichigo said mockingly as he smiled evilly down at her. Akatsuki really looked like she had taken a beating, in a way this made him think a little bit better of her. He could tell she had stood her ground until her legs had given up from under her. He respected that kind of determination.

Akatsuki laughed nervously as a sweat drop rolled down her forehead. "Well, its not that, its just that I didn't really think it would be you that saved me is all, I mean, its not that I'm not grateful but still," Akatsuki's voice trailed off as she laughed nervously to herself again.

"Heh! Well maybe I should get you to thank me later!" Hollow Ichigo leered at her.

"Ah, well that's not really going to happen," Akatsuki replied irritably while trying to sound cheerful. Hollow Ichigo grinned at her and turned to face Soi Fon. Soi Fon raised her arms into a defensive stance and stared back angrily at Ichigo. Hollow Ichigo was pleased at the reaction.

"This is my woman so I suggest you back off Shinigami scum!" Hollow Ichigo said happily and his eyes shone with barely restrained violence. Akatsuki coughed politely but wasn't sure what to say and just looked towards the floor in embarrassment. She hated herself for it but she felt herself blush. At least no one who notice under all that blood.

"No, your not Kurosaki Ichigo at all, your that other thing, the source of his Hollow powers, the Hollow mask!" Soi Fon stated with as much authority as she could muster. On anyone else it would have sounded forceful but against this overwhelming presence her words started to sound tame and powerless. Hollow Ichigo sneered at her command and tightened his grip on Akatsuki's shoulder which caused her to look up towards him curiously.

"So what about it?" Hollow Ichigo sneered as he spoke.

It was strange Soi Fon thought, ally or not, she should be feeling the same pressure that she was. Hollow or not it was soul crushing to the core. Not only did she show no sign's of fear but she seemed completely at ease. It was almost enough to make her drop her guard but his eyes twisted to look into hers and all she saw was amusement. All around the unconscious forms of her subordinates littered the area and she nodded to herself and tensed herself for the attack.

"Hand over that woman Ichigo! She's not what you think she is! A hundred years ago a Shinigami disappeared from the Seireitei mere months before Aizen started his experiments on his own allies. This girl is that Shinigami, her name was, is Hakumei Suika. Whatever she's told you its a lie Ichigo. She's Aizen's ally."

Hollow Ichigo looked at Soi Fon with narrowed eyes and then glanced down at Akatsuki before looking back at Soi Fon. He considered her words as he trawled through Ichigo's memories for anything of interest. "So what?" Hollow Ichigo replied with a arrogant smile.

Soi Fon backed off slightly but forced herself to hold her ground. This wasn't Ichigo, it was that thing inside him. That source of power. It wouldn't listen to reason, no, rather, it didn't care about reason. Only its own whims.

"That true?" Hollow Ichigo said without taking his eyes off of Soi Fon.

"No! I keep telling her that I have no idea whats she's talking about! Do I look like a Shinigami?" Akatsuki snapped back as tried to look indignant. However with her body it the state it was she just ended up making herself look more even more pitiable.

"To be honest you don't really look like much of a Hollow either."

"What did you just say!"

"You can thank me physically later but right now I think this one wants to play with me, so that will have to wait," Hollow Ichigo sneered as he walked over towards a tree and propped her up against it with surprising gentleness. He looked at her with an apathetic expression as he brushed some hair away from her open eye and stared at her for a moment with emotionless eyes. "Your a mess, make sure you tidy yourself up first, I have standards."

Akatsuki's eyebrow twitched angrily as she forced herself to smile, fighting back the urge to snap back at him. She narrowed her eye and glared up at him. "Is that so!" she said as her brow twitched irritably.

Hollow Ichigo stood up slowly and reached up to the weapon on his back. Akatsuki's eye opened wide at his expression. He wrapped his hand tightly around Zangetsu's hilt and looked up towards the sky. Any minute now it was going rain. In more ways then one.

Soi Fon knew that Ichigo was no push over even without his Hollow powers. But without the mask she was sure he wasn't anywhere close to full power. She couldn't defeat him head on, but if she could create an opening then maybe. Soi Fon leaped into the air and bore down towards Ichigo with her Zanpakuto aimed at the small of his back. Just as she was about to strike Hollow Ichigo turned up to look at her.

He smiled as he brought Zangetsu round with eye watering speed and slammed the blade straight at Soi Fon's Zapakuto's needle, brushing it aside before it made contact with his skin. As powerful as he was right now he still understood that Soi Fon's needle could probably kill him. Of course, first she had to hit him with it, never mind twice in the same place.

Soi Fon found herself thrown to the side with great ease and before she could react heflashed into view in front of her, striking down hard with a crude but effective slice. Soi Fon flashed from view and appeared behind Hollow Ichigo's exposed back and thrust forward with the needle. Hollow Ichigo grinned and then laughed hysterically as he felt the sharp pin pirick sensation burn its way into his back. he slashed around in a wide arc but met nothing but thin air. A black butterfly spread across his shoulder blade.

Soi Fon flashed behind him again. Hollow Ichigo was fast but he was easily distracted and this she took full advantage of. As long as he thought he had the upper hand he refused to take the fight seriously and that gave her the openings. She aimed for a point just to the side of where she had stabbed him the first time, her intent was not to kill him but to weaken him enough to break free and grab the weakened Akatsuki. Hollow Ichigo reacted with devastating speed and accuracy.

Soi Fon's eyes opened wide in surprise as Hollow Ichigo vanished from view with a movement far too quick for her eyes to even begin following. She felt a sudden pressure against the back of her neck but was unable to react as Hollow Ichigo's hand wrapped around her neck and slammed her face first into the ground. Soi Fon waited for the end to come, his weight and strength keeping her pressed against the ground hard, the impact with ground almost knocking her completely unconscious.

"That's enough right?" Hollow Ichigo asked her just as she had asked Akatsuki, only his voice was bereft of pity.

"Bastard!" Soi Fon managed to say defiantly but all she received in response was another fit of laughter before being lifted into the air and held aloft. Then without warning or reason she was thrown away at great speed towards the distant ground. With the pressure now gone from her neck she felt her body come alive again. Using her hand she flipped herself over hitting the ground and flipped so that she landed facing her opponent.

"Wahahahahaha!" Hollow Ichigo screamed as he flashed towards her just as she hit the ground. He raised Zangetsu above his head and cut down heavily. Soi Fon was taken by surprise and was forced to guard the attack rather then dodge it. Metal screamed against metal as one blade passed over the other. Blood flowed as the edge of Zangetsu cut into Soi Fon's shoulder.

Pulling the blade free Hollow Ichigo started to cut at her again and again with nothing but heavy, inaccurate cuts. Soi Fon managed to block and dodged each and every blow but every time she blocked she felt her arms shake in exhaustion and her shoulder scream out in pain. She realized that he wasn't even trying to cut her anymore, he was just hammering her Zanpakuto like she had hammered Akatsuki's arms. Was he getting some kind of revenge for her.

"Gah!" Soi Fon screamed as another heavy blow smashed her guard completely. Her muscles were screaming and her bones were going to break if this kept up.

Hollow Ichigo watched with amusement as her guard was shattered so very easily. However instead of attacking her exposed body he let her retreat, albeit a lot slower then before. She stood opposite him, her hand reaching up to her bleeding shoulder, the other hanging by her side. The look on her face reminded him that she was not to be taken too lightly, it looked like she had a lot of fight left in her. That pride would keep her fight till the death. He smiled and lifted Zangetsu into the air. Soi Fon started to sprint towards him with the needle aimed straight at his neck.

"Getsuga Tensho," Hollow Ichigo said casualy as he cut down towards Soi Fon.

Hollow Ichigo stood over the defenseless body of Soi Fon and he laughed in triumph. She had managed to resist the attack but only barely. She knelt on the ground with barely the strenth to look up. Her head fell to her chest as Hollow Ichigo raised zangetsu over her one last time. As he was about to end it a weak but persistent body slammed into his and wrapped her arms around him.

"Ichigo no!" Akatsuki screamed as she wrapped her arms weakly around Hollow Ichigo's chest, hopelessly hoping to hold him back as he held Zangetsu raised over the kneeling Soi Fon's head. Her body shook violently but she refused to let go.

"Ha! Why should I let her go?" Hollow Ichigo said with manic happiness as he looked down at the all but unconscious Soi Fon.

"This isn't you Ichigo, you would never kill an enemy that was already defeated, your too kind for that. Its your biggest weakness after all," Akatsuki said in a voice full of trembling. If not for Hollow Ichigo's body she would have already collapsed and was holding on by sheer willpower.

Hollow Ichigo turned to look down at her and changed his mind, she was too annoying to deal with so he would shut her up. Maybe not kill her, after all she was far too interesting to him right now to kill but she was getting on his nerves. He wanted to knock her off of him but the sight of that weak, frail body barely clinging onto his strong body made him hesitate. "Damn you," he snarled.

At that moment he felt Ichigo's presence flare up from deep within his body. It was so strong that Hollow Ichigo knew that like always he would have to relent against such determination. Only this time he didn't try to argue it out. Color drained back down Ichigo's face, his skin regaining its healthy color and his hair its orange luster. As the change swept past his eyes they too regained their natural color.

"Next time," Hollow Ichigo said just as the last of the change occurred, his voice trailing off as if the speaking were disappearing into the distance.

"Welcome back," Akatsuki said kindly in a soft voice as she slid down the side of his body onto the floor.

"Ugh!" Ichigo moaned as he took back control of his living body. It was a completely new and alien experience compared to having his spiritual body taken from him. He fought against an overwhelming feeling of displacement, just like he had felt in Akatsuki's inner world. But he had heard Akatsuki's voice in that dark place full of anger and desperation. She had reached out to him and pulled him back once again.

"Akatsuki? Akatsuki!" Ichigo turned to see her laying on the floor at his feet and reached down to pick her up. She was asleep in his arms, her face and body blooded but not fatally. But something didn't feel right. She looked like she was in great pain, like she she was having a nightmare. He looked down at Son Fon and cursed under his breath before picking her up as well.