Death

A/n: I do not own bleach.

*Ichigo's POV*

Darkness and pain. Immense pain. That's all I felt. Well, that and horrible disappointment and guilt. I failed everyone. I'm sorry Orihime, Chad, Rukia, Renji, Nel-I won't be returning with you. I guess I'm dead. I was stabbed through the head by Nnoitra-so I should be dead, right? Then why are my eyes opening, and WHY do I feel so-so, hollow, that's the word.

"King, yer such a fool. Yer a hollow, dumb ass."

"Hichigo?"

"No shi,' dumb ass."

"Why should I trust YOU-you're just a hollow!"

"B'cuz I'm th' on'y one who won' kill ya when yer like this."

"Like what?"

"King, yer such an IDIOT-I told jer wha' ya b'came, bu' if ya don' believe me, take a look a' yer own body, and ye'll see wha' i mean."

Warily taking the Hollow's advice, I left my inner world, only to see that I had been transported to the outskirts of Hueco Mundo. I gasped as I looked down upon my body-I had been turned into a hollow. I recognized the form from when I had been training to gain control over Hichigo. It was reptilian, but feline. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming urge to...eat souls-human...-NO! I quickly overpowered the emotion, scared as I was, but I figured it was only a matter of time before my newfound hollow instincts overpowered my sense of self. I don't think I've ever been this scared, learning I've become my worst enemy, while hearing Hichigo cackle in the background.

X~X~X~X~~X~X~X~X~~XX~X~XX

*3rd person POV*

Orihime was crying uncontrollably, held in the arms of Ishida. After Ichigo had been killed, Kenpachi had shown up. Seeing Ichigo's disintegrating body, all thoughts of 'playing' with his victim disappeared, and, with a roar of rage, Kenpachi tore off his eyepatch and defeated his opponent in three seconds flat, grabbed Orihime, and ran. After leaving the girl with Uryu, he roared again and rushed off to find more Arrancar to kill. In ten minutes, all of the Espada fell under kenpachi and Yachiru's blades. Turns out, she's one hell of a fighter when pissed.

Aizen had seen the whole violent display, and realized it was a REALLY BAD idea to kill Kurosaki Ichigo, for it had gathered the rage of one of the best fighters in all of Seireitei. Since his own personal Army had been killed by one captain alone, Aizen decided to use his plan B: run like hell. But it was too late-Kenpachi, along with the Sotaicho were blocking his escape; Kenpachi with a manic grin hiding his sorrow, and Yamamoto's face beholding a stoic expression, though on the inside he was deeply upset: Ichigo had held a place in a lot of Shinigami's hearts, including the old man's.

The battle was short, but bloody.

As soon as Aizen saw the two, he knew didn't have a chance, if only because they were filled with righteous anger and a need for revenge. So he turned tail and fled, trying to use a different exit, but Yamamoto appeared before him, and before he could dodge, the Sotaicho used Ryuujin Jakka. And that was the demise of Sosuke Aizen.

And what happened to Tousen and Gin? Gin had fallen in love with Kira, so instead of continuing to serve Aizen, he became a spy for Soul Society. Tousen, on the other hand, was loyal only to 'justice' and was killed by his own subordinate Hisagi Shuuhei.

As Orihime thought about all of this, she was gently lifted, for they needed to go back to the living world, now that the crisis was averted thanks to Kenpachi and Yamamoto…

"Wait!" Orihime cried out as they turned to the Gargantua, startling the Shinigami surrounding her, and Ishida "What if Kurosaki-kun was transformed into a hollow?"

The others, startled at first by the sudden outburst, thought over the odd suggestion.

"It could happen," Ishida said evenly ,"I mean, he does have an inner Hollow, plus he was killed by a type of Hollow, an Arrancar. Should we perhaps search Hueco Mundo?"

Orihime started nodding her head in agreement so fast, she looked like a woodpecker, but her enthusiasm turned to horror at the Sotaicho's comment.

"Yes. And if you find him, kill him. For our sake, and his."

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Ichigo had noticed that there was something wrong with his hollow body-it had no hole. This little quirk gave him hope, though, because it meant that he might not be evil like all other hollows. But one voice had denyed him even this sliver of hope. Hichigo's words slithered through his mind like a poisonous snake-killing his hope, creating an angry and soulless feeling-trying to turn him into a true hollow. And currently, that voice was winning.

"King, you were worthless-no, you ARE worthless, managing to get yourself killed. Pathetic. Weak. Why do you even bother trying to win against me now? There is no reason to." Hichigo's words has lost there accent, making them deadlier.

"NO! Shut up, you stupid hollow! Even if I am...changed...I have a duty to protect my friends, my family, all the people that hold a place in my heart." Ichigo shouted back at his hollow, clutching his head in his..claws.

The hollow cackled. "King, you are a HOLLOW now, meaning you have no heart."

"Then why don't I have a hollow hole?" Ichigo questioned.

Shiro was about to respond, but suddenly he heard a voice calling out in the distance.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! It's me, Inoue! Kurosaki-kun!"

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Inoue, Uryu, Chad, Rukia and Renji protested when the Sotaicho first made the order, but then realized he wouldn't back down. He believed that this was for the good of everyone, despite what could happen and how uncertain they were about the situation. That's when Rukia and Renji decided to back down, and, if not agree, than at least be impartial towards the order. The other three, however, were not so complacent, but thought it wise to not say anything-for the time being.

Once the Shinigami were prepared to leave Hueco Mundo, however, Ishida, Chad and Orihime ran off, into the sands of the desert, to find Ichigo by themselves. Renji and Rukia wanted to go after them, but the Sotaicho deemed them traitors, and said "we'll find them when we search for the Ichigo boy."

And that was how Inoue got into her current situation: separated from the group, wandering blindly in the vast sands of Hueco Mundo, calling for Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! It's me, Inoue! Kurosaki-kun!"

She heard a noise, coming from her left, and went to see of it was Ichigo(because going toward an unknown noise in bloodthirsty monster territory is ALWAYS a good idea).

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A/N: Cliffy! I decided I wanted to start this story, because I originally wrote this earlier, and it has been gathering dust. The original plot sucked, though, so I changed it. Also, for those ShiroIchi fans out there, this is NOT a yaoi(I'm SOOOOOOO sorry), but I have a Vampire yaoi story in the works. Please review!

Shiro" That sucked, H. I'm a villian.

H: Sorry, but it was necessary.

Ichigo: let's get this story started! Yeah!

Shiro:...What's with your enthusiam?

Ichigo: I don't know but I feel great! Wooo!

H: *snicker* I gave him redbull. Anyway, sorry for any typos and I'll need 5 reviews to continue!