Hollow Invasion
"Grimmjow and Grand Fisher?" Ichigo spoke with dread and solemnness. Both were foes he had faced and barely defeated in the past. That these two would join up and attack his hometown with an army of hollows did not surprise him.
But when he and Bambietta emerged outside the town's barrier among the rest of the troops, what he saw instantly made his heart run ice-cold. Ruins of streets and buildings lay wasted across the terrain. Various trees, bushes, and weeds grew over the structures and the shattered and worn pavement, along with run-down, rusted cars scattered on the open barren field or piled up on abandoned roads.
Even more disturbing was the age of the ruins, as if they were built in the mid-20th century or older.
"Sad, isn't it?" Bambietta mused, looking over the desolate wasteland as she walked behind the soul reaper. "Over sixty years ago, this entire countryside used to be filled with traffic, business, and greenery. Now it looks no better than an open-cut corpse left to rot for too long."
Ichigo didn't say anything. He had always known that Hollows, or at least the strongest ones, could cause massive damage if left unchecked. But he had never realized the scale it could reach when not limited to his hometown.
"So, the raids..." Ichigo began to ask, his hands shaking with sorrow. "When did they first start?"
Ichigo knew he was potentially breaking his cover by asking such a troubling question. Luckily, the Sternritter didn't seem too bothered.
"You should have already studied this. But sure, I'll give you the short version, if only to keep your mind focused," Bambietta said. She then looked over to a pair of ruined buildings that had collapsed before recounting the story.
"In 1953, a massive wave of hollows numbering in the billions invaded the world of the living and began attacking all the human settlements at once. However, the Kingdom was able to organize a counterattack that pushed back the Hollows and forced them into retreat. Unfortunately, even though we were victorious, almost all human settlements were wiped out, with Karakura Town being among the few surviving cities. Since then, many have called the first Hollow invasion the Night of the Hollowing Dead."
Ichigo stood silent, taking in everything he had just heard before asking another question. "And who leads the Hollows?"
Bambietta's eyes darkened, and her mood immediately soured. "That would be Barragan Luisenbarn. A Vasto Lorde who deemed himself the god-king of Hueco Mundo. He stomped the rest of his competition to the ground and forced the other Vasto Lordes to swear allegiance to him. Eventually, he decided to conquer the Soul Society. When he heard about another god who ruled over it, Yhwach, he decided to challenge him personally and overthrow our..." she then used air quotes, "'pretender.'"
The Sternritter took a deep breath. "As you can imagine, it didn't turn out so well for him. In retaliation for his humiliating loss, the so-called god-king of Hueco Mundo threw a hissing fit... by sending his armies to devastate the entire world of the living."
"So that's who Barragan Luisenbarn is," Ichigo thought. "I heard that he was the second Espada in Aizen's army and that Soi Fon and Hachi nearly died trying to defeat him. For a guy like him to be so petty," Ichigo then looked over the ruins, "to the point of destroying the lives of so many people just because someone beat him in battle... and out of spite rather than asking for another challenge..." Ichigo bared his teeth in disgust. "What a fucking coward."
"And what about Grand Fisher and Grimmjow?" Kurosaki asked. Bambietta gestured her hand to the west.
"Those two have been harassing this town for years, mainly due to their grudge against you. Yet they always managed to escape or get bailed out by their cronies whenever we managed to beat them. Hopefully, this will be the last time they will ever fuck with us again."
"So, the grudges are the same here too... typical," Ichigo thought while Bambietta looked over to the horizon.
"Be ready. They may have been beaten many times before, but that doesn't mean they should be underestimated. Many of my men lost their lives to them before," Bambietta warned as she stared at the sky and gave a vicious glare. "They're here."
And just as Bambietta said, hundreds of Hollows began to descend from the sky, screeching and roaring as they launched their attack on the Sternritter. But she was more than ready for them. The female Quincy knight brandished her sword and launched a ball of reishi at the nearest target. The ball then merged into the Hollow and caused it to explode with such force that it simultaneously took out several dozens of Hollows.
Ichigo then stared towards the battlefield and saw the troops fighting against the corrupted spirits. Many of the Quincies shot arrows at the incoming enemies, while those in black shirts, who Ichigo assumed were other Fullbringers, launched themselves into the air and took down many Hollows with their weapons, ranging from swords, shields, guns, or even their bare feet and hands.
Ichigo, however, was in a crunch; while he could more than easily handle low-level Hollows, he could not use his Shinigami powers without exposing himself. Furthermore, he was still new with his Quincy powers and could barely form a bow.
Yet, he had to try to keep up the act even in this situation. Remembering his training with the Royal Palace and later with Uryu, Ichigo concentrated and formed a blue spiritual bow from his cross, firing at one of the Hollows coming at him. He also used Hirenkyaku to evade another Hollow coming after him.
"Geez, Ichigo, you are off your game if you can barely form a bow like that," Keigo shouted above, using Bringer Light to appear next to the soul reaper. "You can't exactly take it easy on these guys," Keigo critiqued Ichigo while a winged Hollow lunged at him. But before Ichigo could call out to his friend to warn him, the brunette Fullbringer swung a kick at the foul soul without even looking, and when he hit it, the Hollow immediately blew itself up.
Ichigo looked shocked and offended that Keigo, of all people, was criticizing him for not having his head in the game. "Hey, you are the one who is making jokes in this situation here, not me!" Ichigo retorted. But Keigo just smiled.
"Only because I can afford it, and you can too if you get your act together," the Fullbringer teased as he saw three Hollows coming above him and swung another axe kick, causing them all to explode on contact.
As the explosions of the enemies faded away into dust, Ichigo also noticed something different in Keigo's kicks—how they immediately caused the Hollows to explode upon contact and not by the sudden impact itself. Maybe it was the effect of Keigo's Fullbring, but whatever it was, Ichigo couldn't help but smile approvingly at his once seemingly cowardly classmate kicking ass.
However, any more thoughts Ichigo had were muddled when he and Keigo suddenly sensed two powerful enemies coming after them. The Espada and his Fracción.
Within an abandoned, ruined crossroad street, Bambietta, the Sternritter Quincy, and Grimmjow, an Espada of Barragan's army, stood outside the battlefield. Grimmjow wore a typical Espada outfit—loose pants and an unbuttoned vest over a white tie shirt. He had his hands in his pockets yet took a primal stance, readying for a moment to strike while Bambietta prepared her sword.
"Well, looky here, Ms. All High and Mighty has come to face me. Didn't think you were so willing to die!" the Espada Grimmjow mocked while Bambietta merely rolled her eyes.
"You know, if I hadn't beaten your ass several times already, that might have intimidated me, but now it's just subpar. So why don't you save us the trouble and drag yourself back to your master? Like the little scaredy-cat you are!" Bambi spat in a cold dismissive tone while twiddling her fingers before staring back at the Espada. "Not like it wouldn't be the first time."
Grimmjow growled at his opponent's insults, but suddenly regained his composure and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you could say if I had my past rank as the 6th, I probably would have... but not anymore!" Grimmjow cried out as he lifted his vest and showed off his new tattoo, causing Bambietta to narrow her eyes in concern.
"So... I see you've gotten yourself much stronger since your ass was handed to you," the Sternritter noted sternly while Grimmjow's grin grew wider.
"Well... I wouldn't say I was the only one."
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Keigo were still busy cleaning up the Hollows on the battlefield until they suddenly felt a spiritual power coming toward them.
"So, Grimmjow's lackey wants to take us on, Ichigo," Keigo said, cracking his fists. "Good, I always wanted to get a chance to kick that fish leg's ass!"
Ichigo was about to retort the same thing until he honed in on the Fracción's spiritual power more closely, and then, after a moment, a look of surprise and fear overcame him.
"Keigo, we need to get out of here now!" Ichigo cried. But Keigo gave him a confused look.
"What, why...!?" and then, as if Keigo just realized it too, he shared Ichigo's look of dread.
However, by then, it was too late.
Grandfisher's arrival on the battlefield brought an overwhelming spiritual pressure that nearly crushed the Quincy and fullbringers, causing them to sweat in fear. He was a giant covered in a brown fur cloak with a Hollow mask helmet. Using his massive muscular arms, he drew a gigantic Zanpakuto from his cloak and began slashing at the Quincy and fullbringers. His movements were so fast and precise that most of them didn't realize they had been cut to pieces until they fell to the ground. Those who managed to react and block his strikes found their weapons shattered along with their bodies.
Many troops tried to gang up on Grandfisher, but he was too fast, using Sonido to blitz all his attackers, cutting their bodies apart and leaving them to fall to the ground. One terrified male Quincy fired an arrow at Grandfisher, hitting him dead on in the face. However, Grandfisher wasn't fazed and continued rushing at the Quincy to slice him down like the rest.
Ichigo blocked the blow with his makeshift bow at the last second, causing Grandfisher to grin with excitement.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, the Black Prince... oh, what sweet delight we get to meet on the battlefield once more!" Grandfisher pressed further into Ichigo's bow, which began to crack under the strain. "For with the new power I have gained, I will take your head to King Barragan and rise further in rank than even my former master!"
Ichigo, however, didn't say anything. He was too busy maintaining his makeshift bow against the might of Grandfisher. While the Arrancar might not be as strong as Ichigo, he was at least as strong as Yammy in his sealed form. Ichigo's Quincy bow, though sufficient for taking down ordinary Hollows, was not enough against someone of this level. Even if he poured more spiritual power into his makeshift weapon, it would likely overload and collapse. What he had now wasn't enough to hold the Arrancar back.
Before Ichigo could decide how to combat Grandfisher without blowing his cover, Keigo appeared and kicked the Hollow in the head, sending him tumbling half a mile into a collapsed building.
Ichigo was about to thank Keigo, but the latter glared at him.
"Okay, Ichigo, it was funny enough when you held back against small fry. But now it needs to stop. Why are you not fighting properly?"
Ichigo froze, trying to find an answer to Keigo's question. Keigo then took one good look at Ichigo's bow and sighed.
"So... it seems you have trouble controlling your power now for some reason."
Ichigo grunted, frustrated at how easily Keigo could see the lack of control over his powers. Keigo looked over into the building where he had sent Grandfisher.
"Look, Kurosaki, I don't know what's going on with you today, and right now, I don't even care. Either you get over it or go home. I can't worry about you while dealing with old fish legs here... given that he has become an Espada since the last time I fought him."
Kurosaki took offense at that.
"Hey, look, I don't need protection. I need—"
Keigo shut him up by raising his left fist under the soul reaper's chin.
"Then why aren't you acting like it?" Keigo growled before steadily lowering his fist and then his head. "...I thought we moved past this... you promised me you would—"
Ichigo looked up at Keigo and saw tears coming down his face before the brunette rubbed them off and turned his back.
"Look... if your Quincy powers are on the fritz, then leave, okay? Besides, I have a bone to pick with that old fish legs anyway." Keigo said to himself before jumping over Ichigo and using bringer light to travel to the collapsed building.
After the fullbringer left, Ichigo turned around and saw that many of the Quincy and fullbringers were still fighting vigorously against the Hollows with everything they had. To his shame, he realized he had nearly become a liability to someone who depended on him. All because he was too afraid to go all out.
Ichigo realized that if he wanted to keep his cover without revealing his other powers, he needed to do much more than make a shoddy bow and arrows. He needed to fully embrace and control his Quincy abilities, not just to fight but to protect those who counted on him. With renewed determination, Ichigo focused on stabilizing his spiritual power, ready to face the challenges ahead.