Dun Scaith, 2nd Test

(Dun Scaith, the Shadowlands)

It had been hours since Ichigo reached the mountain summit, hours since Scathach sent Ichigo back to the beginning, hours since she banned him from using any spirit related powers. Restricted to just his study on Rune magic and spear work, Ichigo managed to start healing his leg while limping up the mountain before hunting a demonic boar before the sun set. It wasn't anything big, a piglet the size of a bear honestly, but it still gave a hard fight before getting its neck impaled. That pig was roasting for the past hour and Ichigo was looking forward to some rest before continuing his trek back up the mountain until, just five minutes ago, he was attacked by another group of goblins.

"GRAAH!" The hybrid cried out as he clubbed one of the green brutes with the butt of his spear, dodging a slash from a second, and blocking a rock that was thrown at his head while another one struck his knee. "Ugh!" He grunted as the blow caused his knee to give out, dropping him to the ground while the goblins attempted to swarm him. Just before the group could fully converge on him he dropped a hand to the ground and quickly drew Kenaz(ᚲ), creating a massive flash of light. With the goblins blinded from the spell, Ichigo quickly thrust the blade of his spear into the goblin in front of him and charged forward, dragging the monster with him as he got away from the group.

"You freaks are such a pain in my ass!" He growled as he tore his spear out of the goblin's chest, blackish green blood spilling from the gaping wound, then jamming his fingers into the hole. "Maybe some fire will teach you to leave me be." He decided, drawing Othala(ᛟ) on the spear's shaft and causing it to light up with heat while the dragon tattoo on his arm began to glow. Hearing a shriek, he realized the goblins could now see again and he threw his spear into the ground before them. The moment the spear's blade sank into the ground, it exploded with so much heat that the remaining goblins were reduced to charred husks while the forest around him caught fire.

"Huh... that actually worked." The hybrid noted in surprise, grasping his right arm as the Kido seal burned in response to the power he invoked. "Guess Kagutsuchi being passed down to me made it count as 'inheritance' after all." He made his way to the spear, which began to crumble into burning ash from the heat it was releasing. "Mastering master's Zanpakuto just proves harder and harder... and I lost my spear." Ichigo groaned, examining the burning forest around him. Before he could take another step, a bolt of glowing crimson shot down before him and released a burst of cold wind that blew out the fire. Before striking him, the Isa(ᛁ) rune flashed before him as a red spear floated in front of him with a note tied to the shaft. Having gotten used to receiving messages from Scathach like this, he grabbed the spear and took out the note.

"Nice use of Othala(ᛟ), though that starter spear I gave you clearly couldn't handle that kind of power. Here's a Gae Bolg replica to replace the one you destroyed, hopefully it can withstand whatever energy you send through it. I recommend you experiment with finding a proper rune sequence to enhance your strength. Have fun and play nice with Cu and Diarmuid."

"Guess Cu Chulainn isn't the only one I'll have to look out for." Ichigo lamented as he returned to his dinner, now blackened from the earlier fire, and sat down to eat, tearing through the tough burnt and cracking flesh and ignoring the bitter charcoal taste in his mouth as he greedily devoured his meal. The dark pull of his instincts bringing his Hollow nature closer to the surface as he focused on survival.

(The next morning)

"Let's try... there." Ichigo said, using charcoal he made from all of the burnt wood around him to draw runes on his hands, arms, legs, and feet. It was definitely going to have major consequences if it didn't work but the climbing and many attacks had worn his clothes down to tatters, only really covering from his torso to his knees and even that was burned and frayed. After reviewing the different runes and their meanings, he decided to start with Thurisaz(ᚦ) on the back of his right hand for his first test. "Okay... take one." Ichigo said as he made his way to a large boulder, reared back his fist, and punched the massive stone with as much force as he could muster. The result was a series of spiderweb cracks, a few pieces being broken off, the stone rolling back a few feet, and Ichigo's hand being completely broken with some of the bones sticking out and his knuckles shattered. "AH! DAMNIT!"

"Yeah, you should've used some reinforcement runes first." Ichigo froze before immediately jumping back just as a familiar red spear embedded itself in front of him, followed by the hound himself appearing before the hybrid. "I'd recommend a mix of Uruz(ᚢ), Nauthiz(ᚾ), and Ehwaz(ᛖ) before you try using Thurisaz(ᚦ) again." Cu advised while Ichigo continued to back up, grasping for his copy of Gae Bolg. The moment his good hand wrapped around the shaft, he heard a crunching sound behind him and immediately dropped into a split while raising his spear to block... and ignore the tight pain in his groin due to a lack of proper stretching for a few weeks. The attack was a swing that went over his head, giving Ichigo precious milliseconds to roll back and kick his attacker in the face before jumping back to his feet. "Too slow kid. Ichigo's got good instincts."

"Guessing that's Diarmuid?" Ichigo asked, rushing to the side while Cu... just stood by, shaking his head at the kid Ichigo had kicked. He was young, about Yuzu and Karin's age, maybe thirteen, with wavy swept back black hair that had a single bang hanging in front of his face and wore a thin green tunic and dark green leggings wielding another Gae Bolg replica.

"Yep. Distant nephew to the cursed knight of the love spot, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne." The hound explained while Ichigo used Wunjo(ᚹ), Ansuz(ᚨ), and Nauthiz(ᚾ), to fix his hand. "Dude wanted nothing more than to be a loyal and proper knight, but he also had this cursed beauty mark that caused any woman that saw it to become madly obsessed with him. Didn't end well for him, especially when his lord's wife fell victim to it and forced him to try and elope with her. The master held a grudge after that."

"Seriously?" Ichigo asked, quickly adding the runes Cu recommended early to his hands and feet. "His master blamed him? Did he not know about the mark or-?"

"I think it was the humiliation and the fact that it would be in poor form to blame his wife... even though she's mostly to blame in that situation."

"The rest goes to that bitch that gave my ancestor that mark in the first place." Diarmuid added, having healed his own broken nose while Ichigo and Cu talked. "Luckily, it wasn't passed down in the family. Now," he got into his battle stance, "shall we?"

"One sec." The hybrid said as he drew Othala(ᛟ), Nauthiz(ᚾ), and Wunjo(ᚹ) on his Gae Bolg copy. "There... mind double checking this for me?" Ichigo asked, holding it out for the hound to examine but he kept his hold on the polearm.

"Sure." The more experienced celtic lancer said, looking over Ichigo's work with the runes. "Well, in theory, that spear should be able to withstand whatever power you put into that now."

"Cool... won't master Scathach be mad at you for not immediately attacking me?"

"Oh, she'll be livid. But what's the point of fighting if we can't enjoy it?" Cu asked the hybrid.

"Good point." Ichigo returned before swinging at the hound, who was able to block it thanks to his own well honed instincts. He was less prepared for the low kick to his shin, but he still managed to adapt enough to roll into it and pin Ichigo's leg with his own while quickly shifting his spear around to slam Ichigo in the chest and counter pin the hybrid. Diarmuid took advantage of this opportunity to jump in and try to skewer him from above. "Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo roared, swinging his spear at the young man and hitting him with a thin wave of blue energy that blew up on impact, knocking him aside.

"...I thought you couldn't use that." Chulainn said as the two laid there, processing that Ichigo just used one of his signature attacks as a Shinigami.

"Well, I was able to use the fire power from my Zanpakuto Kagutsuchi, which was an inheritance from my master, but that technique is actually one my father knew." The hybrid explained, himself surprised that it actually worked. "It's more of a family technique, so I guess it counts." Another few seconds passed before the two remembered that they were supposed to be fighting each other and separated before rolling back to their feet. Cu immediately charged and went on the offensive, forcing Ichigo to deflect various slashes and stabs but gain far more cuts as the hound let his fangs loose on the hybrid. 'He's being far more aggressive than before.' The hybrid noted as no matter what he did, he was failing to break Chulainn's attack chain.

"Come on Ichigo!" Cu roared as he forced them into a lock. "Can't you do any better by now?! Four days in and your instincts still aren't fully attuned to the spear?!" Ichigo was about to retort when he sensed an attack from behind again. In response, his Gae Bolg replica went from crimson red to glowing orange as heat radiated from the polearm. Cu felt this sudden heat and that distracted him enough to slip, letting Ichigo throw him back with his spear and leaving a trail of burning flames in its wake. That forced Cu to back up more while Ichigo continued his swing to send a wave of fire at Diarmuid, who tried to capitalize on the opening Cu made. He narrowly avoided the fire, but the bang in front of his face was burned off in the process.

"Damn you-" The youth cursed before noticing the sizzling, popping, and acrid smell of burning meat and seeing that Ichigo's hands were burning but he wasn't letting go. What he didn't notice was Ichigo's eyes turning black. "Hey Cu, maybe we should-" Before he could say anything, Ichigo stabbed his spear into the ground and quickly caused geysers of flames to erupt around him. All targeting the two spearman. Cu Chulainn ignored the flames and charged in at Ichigo, throwing a few rune tablets at the hybrid. Ichigo ripped his spear out and swung to knock the runes aside, but they exploded into light before contact revealing Mannaz(ᛗ), Laguz(ᛚ), Ehwaz(ᛖ), and Isa(ᛁ). As the light faded, the fires kept burning but were dying down and the spear in Ichigo hands stopped glowing, and his eyes were glossed over.

"Damn... that could've been much worse." The hound said, cautiously approaching the hybrid to make sure his magic took. "Good, utterly paralyzed and comatose." He then knocked the replica Gae Bolg out of Ichigo's hands, revealing that it was burned down to the bones with angry red and charred black all around his palms. "This guy did a serious number on himself. Go report this to master, I'm gonna patch him up... and maybe try to make sure this doesn't happen again."

(That night)

Chulainn stayed with Ichigo after that, trying to accelerate the hybrid's healing so that he could his hands again at the very least and making sure he doesn't lose himself to whatever darkness was possessing him. They continued to climb for a few hours before finally making camp by a large river with a waterfall, giving the pair a chance to drink and clean themselves under the falling stream. Cu also enchanted the waters to accelerate Ichigo's healing and to wash out any impurities, whether in his body or his soul. The concept was inspired by a set of healing hot springs within Soul Society that could 'wash' away any damage to a person. So there the hybrid sat, directly under the waterfall as the cold water washed down him from top to bottom, the pool below remaining unchanged despite the attempt to cleanse his being.

'What is it?' Ichigo thought as he continued his meditation. 'I was fine before, so what changed?' He began to feel out the energy around him, trying to see if the ambient energy of the Shadow Lands was what was causing it. While the world around him was indeed saturated in darker energies, it wasn't the kind that would influence his Hollow side to such a degree. 'Another dead end. Any idea you three?' He asked, reaching out to his Zanpakuto spirits for an answer but was met with only silence. 'Zangetsu? Zangetsu!?' Desperately he attempted to dive into his inner world but it was like slamming against a brick wall and then getting shot out of a cannon back to the outside world, but for a brief moment he saw what was happening. All three of his spirits were furiously attacking a barrier covered in rune magic with them concentrating on a spot that looked like the Othala(ᛟ) rune that seemed like it had cracks around it and it looked like it was scabbing over in a way. That was all he saw before shifting back to the outside world and falling to his hands and knees into the shallow water.

"So..." Ichigo turned to the sound of Chulainn's voice to see the spearman standing atop a dead wyvern with his spear lodged in its heart. "Did you learn anything?" Ichigo pulled himself out of the water and made his way to Cu while the hound began to cut up the dragon kin and peel away the inedible parts. As the hybrid did, he explained to Cu what he saw within his inner world for the brief moment he was there. "So what does that mean?"

"If I had to guess," Ichigo held up his spear and looked at where he once had the runes drawn down, "that my use of Othala(ᛟ) is what let this come to the surface." He used the blade to draw Kenaz(ᚲ) and start a cooking fire. "Scathach sealing away my Zanpakuto is the main issue."

"I'm gonna need more than that Ichigo." Cu admitted as he carved out some thick slabs of dragon meat for Ichigo to cook along with some wooden skewers. "I was more concerned with sparring with you and Ikkaku after the war ended rather than any learning on a Shinigami's Zanpakuto."

"Zanpakuto are reflections of the user." Ichigo stated. "Imagine if your Gae Bolg was alive and the soul inside knew you better than you know yourself, determining whether you were strong enough to utilize your power or testing your resolve." Cu looked to his spear, contemplating the difference between his relationship with the spear and the ones between Shinigami and their swords. "My original Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, is more intense than others. Zangetsu is a mix of Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow powers, and Hollows are beings of instinct. Imagine a beast of great strength being locked up against his will, with his lifeline in danger, and he can't protect it. Zangetsu is furious and all that rage is pouring through the seal every time I use Othala(ᛟ)."

"So basically, you can't or shouldn't use your strongest rune with that seal on." Cu summarized as he gave Ichigo a skewer and some wyvern meat, setting up his own to cook from the heat of the fire. "That's disappointing, I was really looking forward to a good fight once you fully recovered. But I guess it'll have to be put on hold for now."

"Well, we can still fight but... whether or not it can be a challenge to you is really debatable." The hybrid countered.

"Hold on." The hound said as he brought his finger up and drew Perthro(ᛈ), the rune appearing in a glow before dissipating with images of Ichigo fighting with a spear of gold against himself and a slightly older Diarmuid while holding his own. "Looks like you'll get up to par, master's a damn good teacher, but it'll be a while. Shame." Ichigo was more interested in the ability to draw that rune in the air, having never seen them written in the air like that. The extent of his experience were runes drawn on a surface of some kind.

"How did you do that?" Ichigo suddenly asked, surprising Cu.

"Did you not know you could do that?" The lancer asked, slowly realizing that Ichigo thought that Rune magic was far more limited than it actually was. "You can concentrate your mana, or... Reishi if that helps, to your finger to draw out the runes in the air."

'So it's like if Kido spells had specific symbols to use them and you used that instead of the incantation.' Ichigo thought to himself before attempting it for himself, concentrating his Reiryoku to his finger and drawing Kenaz(ᚲ) in the air due to its own simplicity. It was small and flashed like a small fire cracker, but it proved to Ichigo that it could be done.

"Now a question from me." Chulainn said, smiling as his fellow disciple made further progress in understanding Rune magic. "I've seen a few of your romantic partners, and most seemed to share similar sizes... except for one. That Rukia girl. She's clearly lacking in the chest department, so does she have some quality asset that isn't obvious?" He said, leaving an emphasis on the 'ass' and not losing that smile. Ichigo had a deadpan expression before calmly drawing Uruz(ᚢ), Nauthiz(ᚾ), and Thurisaz(ᚦ) on the back of his hand, and then tried to punch Cu who saw this coming and jumped away. "Come on! I'm just curious to know if she has a nice backside!"

"I'm going to beat your skull in, you dick!" Ichigo roared, drawing Haglaz(ᚺ) in the air and punching it to send out a powerful shockwave at the lancer. Cu easily countered with a quickly drawn Isa(ᛁ), freezing the air and knocking the attack aside before waving his hand. From that came a small sentence of runes that immediately coalesced into a group of fireballs that shot at Ichigo. The hybrid quickly dove out of the way of the flames and charged toward Cu once again, drawing the same three runes on his other hand in the process.

"I think you might be overreacting a bit!" The hound taunted, waving his hand again but with no runes appearing in front of him. Instead Ichigo was trapped in a ring of fire before a massive hand of roots rose up from beneath him, trapping him in its grasp as the fist closed around the hybrid. Invoking Thurisaz(ᚦ) gave Ichigo the strength to avoid getting crushed in the hand. "I'm just asking if you're also an ass man as well, no need to blow up."

"Really? How about this?" Ichigo freed a hand to quickly write Sowilo(ᛊ) and Haglaz(ᚺ) in the air before writing Inguz(ᛜ/ᛝ) on the wooden hand and letting himself get covered by its grasp. Cu saw what Ichigo did and immediately bolted before the entire area exploded into a dome of raging flames. Eventually the fires died down and leaving a circle of smoldering embers, the bright red and orange shimmering in the air with the wooden arm remaining largely unaffected. A breeze blew through to quell the remaining embers as Cu made his way through to the hand.

"You are one crazy bastard, Ichigo." The hound said upon reaching the wooden limb, making it lower its fist. "Hopefully you're still alive in that-" He was cut off as Ichigo popped out and slammed a haymaker into Cu's face, causing both of them to fall over.

"I... told you... I'd beat... your skull in." Ichigo panted out, covered in minor burns as he gulped down oxygen.

"You're definitely a man of your word." Chulainn said, spitting out a tooth. "Too bad that Inguz didn't hold up better. I think you could've hit me harder." The two laid there for a bit more, Cu just waiting for Ichigo to recover, before returning to their camp and eat their dragon meat. Unfortunately for them, Ichigo's fireball burned all of it to a crisp... Ichigo was too tired to feel hungry and Cu left him to get something from Scathach's castle.

(Timeskip: Scathach's Castle)

It took Ichigo using Othala(ᛟ) again and partially Hollowfying to finish out the trip this time. First he hunted down a large demonic boar and tore into while it was still raw and bloody, seeking only to sate his hunger before attempting anything on the witch that commanded the Shadowlands. After that meal and a minor rampage up the mountain to the summit, Ichigo managed to get enough control to throw his spear aside and be freed of the rune's influence. After an hour to recover and collect himself, he finally entered Dun Scaith's courtyard to find Scathach waiting for him again.

"Show me your back." The ageless warrior ordered, surprising the hybrid as he expected an immediate test but ultimately complied. Tossing the ruined rags of his top aside, he exposed his back as Scathach examined the runes and seals she carved into his flesh. "Cu told me about your talk earlier... and what I had done. I must apologize, I had forgotten some of the details Oetsu told me about the Zanpakuto and had done something rather cruel to your partners. But I won't apologize to you." she declared as she began undoing the magic she carved into him. "You needed to lose the swords and learn to become one with the spear instead and it looks like it worked. So I'm returning you to your proper strength and will leave you like that... provided you prove your ability." As the final rune faded away she immediately created a wall of ice with spears reinforcing it between herself and Ichigo, stopping a Khyber blade from running her through.

"Zangetsu. No." Ichigo ordered, having twisted around and caught the spirit's wrist the same instant he appeared. "This is my task."

"Ichigo!" The spirit growled as he slowly pushed his blade through the ice and spears with no effort. "This damn hag locked us away and virtually threw you to the wolves. Yes, Yamamoto was just as harsh but at least you could hear me and I could help. She made you vulnerable, put you in danger, and-!"

"ZANGETSU!" Ichigo shouted. "You are freed now. And with that Othala(ᛟ) Rune, I can use your power even without the blades. She's a master of her craft and wanted me to rely on spears and runes, which I've done. Calm down, return to my world, and let's focus on passing these tests." It was somewhat hard to tell through his skull face but Scathach could sense the glare the hybrid spirit gave her before fading back into Ichigo. "Thank you. Now master," Ichigo said before jumping back and drawing Othala(ᛟ) on his spear, "shall we?" The courtyard then felt the sudden crushing weight of Ichigo's Reiatsu as the spear now glowed and pulsated with power. Scathach smiled at the nostalgic sense of a heavy spiritual pressure, anticipating the battle ahead.

"Definitely." She purred before summoning a score of spears and immediately one shot to her student like a lightning bolt, which was easy to track and deflect now that Ichigo's restraints were gone, easily knocking the polearm aside. Scathach followed that with another and another at a rapidly growing rate with more and more spears until it was a constant barrage with more spears being shot at Ichigo at once. Being able to deflect all the spears was soon proving impossible for the hybrid, going from able to easily knock aside each spear to barely deflecting half of them. The six days he spent learning to utilize the spear was not nearly enough time to understand how to properly move with it, instead using it as a club to strike the shafts of the lances Scathach sent at him. Once she started shooting three at time, he started gaining a few cuts, and at five he was being riddled with gaping holes that immediately sealed back up.

'This seems familiar.' Ichigo managed to think before a spear tore through his left cheek, shattering his jaw and removing a chunk of his face before it regenerated. Just like that, he was reminded of his time with Hachiman and his archery training. Trillions of stones flying at him at speeds that would tear his flesh away if he failed to shoot them all, eventually learning to deflect most of them away by redirecting rather than strict brute force. With that memory he stopped swinging and switched to thrusts, pushing along the spear's blade and making it swerve around his person. As he recovered from the previous goring, while still fending off Scathach's barrage, he noticed a spear about to strike the spot in front of him. His instincts screamed to evade, to get away before it landed, but he had no room to maneuver and was helpless as the spear exploded into a wall of ice spikes that skewered him into the air.

'Okay,' he thought while coughing out blood, 'guess we're switching gears.' His spear and dragon tattoo on his right arm glowed with heat, the ice rapidly melting and his hands literally burning away. "NNNGGH! Forgot it did that!" He growled in pain and regret as he fell from the ice, and then a spear struck the ground next to him and exploded into a sphere of magical energy, sending Ichigo tumbling away. The hybrid rolled to his feet, looking up to see the witch of Dun Scaith bearing down on him with two spears glowing with energy and ready to slash him apart. Taking advantage of this moment, he disappeared from her sight in a burst of speed just as she swung her lances, the force of the attack tearing gouges into the courtyard. She didn't have to wonder where Ichigo went since she applied Perthro(ᛈ) to one of her eyes earlier, and foresaw Ichigo behind her and using Haglaz(ᚺ) to power a Getsuga Tensho. She turned just in time for him to swing his spear. "Getsuga Tensho!"

"Good boy!" She said before swinging her spear up and drawing Isa(ᛁ), freezing the wave of Reishi. "But not good e-" Her foresight activated again and she turned just in time to run through Ichigo with her spear while he wrapped a hand around her throat and slammed her into the ground, tightening his grip even as she summoned more and more spears to stab into his back. Ichigo's grip didn't slacken, even when she summoned another spear that was just inches away from piercing his skull. All Scathach did in this situation... was smile. "Lost points... due to... lack of magic... variety. But... a solid... B." She managed to choke out.

"Heh... I'll take it." He said before coughing up a bit of blood and releasing Scathach, who then dismissed the spears. Freed from the poles in his body, he fell to the side and onto his back to avoid falling on Scathach. "Ugh. That was rough."

"Indeed. It's been a while since I felt this much thrill!" The witch said, healing her throat before getting to her feet. "Well, time to send you back to the base!" She chirped in excitement while Ichigo bolted right up, any sense of pain or exhaustion instantly gone.

"Again!?"

"Yep! And this time you'll have the absolute worst of the Shadow Lands coming at you and only 24 hours to reach the summit!" She said, going from happy to serious as she created a portal that was sucking Ichigo in. "And this time, no hand holding from Chulainn. I'm going to try to kill you." She then went back to happy. "You start after my first attack. Have fun!" She then kicked the hybrid in the stomach and sent him back to the beginning. 'I'm going to have fun with this.'

(Illustrated Guide to... whatever at this point.)

Alternate Scene: Hag Comment

"Ichigo!" The spirit growled as he slowly pushed his blade through the ice and spears with no effort. "This damn hag-" That's when Zangetsu froze as Scathach's aura became something darker than shadows and filled with fury, freezing the Zanpakuto in fear.

"Hag, you say?" The witch asked with a small smile as an image of a monstrous cyclopes head appeared with the eye glaring at him with such malevolence that Zangetsu felt like he was going to be devoured. "I'm curious, how far does that regeneration go?"

"And that Zangetsu is why you never comment on a woman's age." Ichigo sighed as he was perfectly willing to abandon his partner to the fury of the Queen of the Shadow Lands.