The Promise of the Shield

(Late one night)

Three people gathered together near a construction site, two normal everyday teens and one of worthy note, sitting around a small bird cage housing a small yellow parakeet. The two others were discussing what to do with the helpless bird, one that was apparently cursed as every owner it had had died, while the large half Mexican watched the bird with a curious gaze.

'There's something odd about this bird.' He thought to himself, sensing another presence nearby. 'Maybe Ichigo will know something.'

"Hey Chad," one of the other kids said, "why don't you take him? Isn't he cute?" He teased the more spiritual aware man, hoping to pawn the possibility of the curse on someone else.

"Hey man that's not fair." Said the other while Chad heard a strange groaning. "You know Chad's got a weakness for small animals." The bird began to freak out suddenly, causing Sado to look up and see a thick steel beam falling towards them. It was times like this that he was grateful for joining his orange haired friend in his training. With the heightened physical abilities he gained through that intense training he caught the falling metal with little trouble. Holding the mass of steel in his hands, resting on the top of his spine, he saw a shadowy figure quickly flee the scene.

'I recognize this aura.' He thought to himself as he threw the steel beam away, feeling no strain from the normally demanding task. 'I definitely need to talk to Ichigo about this.' "Are you guys okay?" He asked his two friends.

"Uhhh, yeah."

"Are you fine Chad?"

"Thank you for saving me." The small bird said in a young childish voice. "My name is Yuichi Shibata. What's your name mister?"

"Sado, Yasutora." He told the little parakeet, unsurprised by its display of intelligence. 'Maybe that Soul Reaper can help too.' He thought before picking up the cage and leaving for his home. "See you guys."

(The next day at school)

"So how was your first outing as a normal girl?" Ichigo asked Rukia. They were on the roof of the school for lunch, passing by the time by cloud watching and some light conversation.

"We talked, had dinner, and went to bed." She quickly responded, somewhat agitated. "Nothing much." She didn't want to think about the night before, that she enjoyed herself more than she'd like. Obsessing over Orihime's adorable plushies, hearing some of Ichigo's own embarrassing past as a crybaby. She had fun but at the cost of neglecting her duties, even if it was just for one night. She felt like she failed in a big way because of this. She did understand Ichigo's reasoning but it still left a bad taste in her mouth. Here she was, a Shinigami many times Ichigo's age, one of the top of her class at the Shino Academy, someone that should not be having this much trouble, and she's just as helpless as she was back in the slums of the Rukon district. She can't even figure out how to drink her juice box.

"Here, watch." Ichigo said as he showed her what to do. There it was again, that feeling like a helpless child, but she didn't mind the teen, she liked and hated how much he was like her old mentor. It helped and it hurt. "Hey Mizuiro." Ichigo greeted his black haired friend.

"Looks like you two are together again." The named Mizuiro greeted. "You two seem pretty chummy."

"I told you already. She's an old family friend that's staying with us for the time being." Their cover story, Rukia's family were close with Ichigo's and they used to spend time together. Seemed lazy and that no one would buy it, but they were dealing with teenagers and they usually don't care anyway. "Do we look like we're 'chummy'?"

"Maybe." He responded with a blank expression. "You do seem pretty close, and you're living together. People talk and fun rumors replace a boring truth Ichigo. They might think you're an item."

"And when did I care about other people's opinion?" He asked his ever curious friend.

"Good point." He then turned to Rukia who was contently watching them while sipping her drink. "Hello, I'm Mizuiro Kojima." He greeted himself enthusiastically. "My hobbies are-"

"Womanizing." Ichigo finished for him, shocking his friend in embarrassment "Careful with him Rukia, he's a big playboy."

"No I'm not! I only go after older women!" Mizuiro cried, not exactly helping his case.

"Like I said Rukia, watch out." He said, confusing Mizuiro. That's when another of Ichigo's friends showed up.

"Looks like Chad still isn't here." A taller, lankier brown haired individual noted as he got on the roof. "Hey guys." He greeted his companions.

"Hey Keigo." Ichigo noted to his more... enthusiastic friend. Then Keigo noticed the new cutie of the group.

"OH! The hot new transfer student is here? How did this happen?" Keigo asked in loud shock and surprise.

"Ichigo asked her out." Mizuiro said, trying to get a little payback on Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Keigo rushed to his 'best bud' and gave a tearful congratulations. "Good job! Welcome Rukia! To this garden of men! I'm Keigo Asano!" He told Rukia, unknowingly making the girl uncomfortable. "Now to celebrate with a Lunch Party!"

"With sandwiches and juice?" Mizuiro asked incredulously.

"It's not the food that makes a party, it's the mood!" He declared before getting kicked in the back.

"Yo, Kurosaki." A random punk growled at the teen. He was accusing Ichigo of copying him and ignoring any claims otherwise. He was going to start a fight before getting blindsided by a giant fist.

"Hey Chad." Ichigo greeted his old friend. "Did you remember to hold back?"

"I did but he's going to be unconscious for a while." He said while fishing out his own lunch.

"So what kept you?"

"I was almost hit with a motorcycle." He explained. "He fell off and slammed into a wall, passing out from the collision, so I carried him to the hospital."

"That explains why you were late." Keigo said. Chad then showed the bird cage he was carrying. "What's with the bird?"

"Hello, my name is Yuichi Shibata." The bird greeted. Ichigo and Rukia recognized that something was up almost immediately.

"What do you think Ichigo?" Chad asked his more learned friend.

"That bird is certainly possessed." Ichigo answered. Keigo and Mizuiro learned about Ichigo's spiritual awareness after a dare gone wrong one time and never doubted the existence of spirits since. "Should be easy to fix. Bring him by later and we'll figure out what to do." Rukia looked at Ichigo with a sense of pride that he's growing into the role of a Soul Reaper so well. The lost soul of the child however, did not look so pleased. In fact, it looked scared.

(Later that day at the Kurosaki Clinic)

Ichigo and Chad were helping to carry people from the streets and into the clinic. As they neared the Kurosaki home they were almost crushed in a sudden car accident, bringing several more people into the mix. Karin and Yuzu frantically tried to get the injured the help they needed while Isshin was trying to get more cots and beds to house the influx of patients.

"This is becoming more of a headache than I would have liked." Ichigo growled as he and Chad brought in the last four people. "We better get some answers about this now." Ichigo would have liked to help his family but he did not have much in the way of human medicine and care. Even his healing kido was pathetic compared to his sister Yuzu. All he could do was the heavy lifting grunt work and stay out of the way. Himself, Sado, and Rukia then went up to Ichigo's room with Yuichi in hand to ask him a few questions. No one noticed Karin's own shaken form as she watched them ascend the stairs.

"The barrier around the house seems different Ichigo." Rukia noted as they walked into Ichigo's room. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, there was a minor hollow attack so Kisuke made it so hollows can't enter." 'Except for me, but that's just fine tuning.' Ichigo thought to himself as they set Yuichi down and sat around him. "Now, what should we ask first?"

"Why is that hollow chasing you?" Chad said out of the blue, surprising Rukia and Yuichi. The small bird looked down in shame as he relayed his tale. How he was just a little kid, living alone with his mom, when somebody broke in and began to attack them with a knife. His mother died trying to protect him and he made the bad man fall to his own death. Some time passed after that he ended up in the body of that bird while a monster made a deal, that if he could run from him for three months he would bring back his mother. Ichigo was seething after hearing this story, so much so that his head was throbbing. Chad clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. Rukia looked sick to her stomach in rage and disgust.

"I'm sorry to say this Yuichi, but that monster was lying to you." Rukia said, as gently as she possibly could given the situation. "There is no coming back to life. Once you die your can't go back to the world of the Living." Yuichi could only look downcast, feeling the last shred of hope fail.

"I know." He said, about to break into tears. "In a way I already knew. I just wanted to see my mommy again." They watched the bird, seeing a silhouette of a small child, breaking down into tears with pity in their hearts. Chad rose to his feet and made his way to the door.

"Chad! Where are you going?" Ichigo asked. He didn't need to, he knew his friend enough to know what he was thinking here.

"I'm going to find that hollow, and break him." He said very calmly, like a prelude to a storm. Rukia looked at him like he was insane. She was about to protest when Ichigo gave him the go ahead.

"Okay. Save the finishing blow for me though." He said causing everyone to look at him. "I want to be there to watch him get dragged to Hell." He grinned darkly, letting a little of his inner hollow out just enough to darken one of his eyes. Chad nodded in affirmation as he left to fight that monster.

"Ichigo what are you thinking?" Rukia cried. "He's just a human!"

"Rukia." He said firmly. "Chad made his decision. He'll be fine." He told her having full faith in his friend. "Let's just perform the konso." Rukia recognized that Ichigo wasn't going to budge and resigned herself, slipping on her 'soul ejection' glove to bring out Ichigo's Shinigami form.

(With Chad)

The streetlights and moon illuminated the city, giving a sense of eerie life and stillness to the city, direct contrast from the day. He was wandering the streets in a sleeveless gray shirt, proudly displaying his arms, waiting. Waiting for that monster to show up, waiting for his fight.

"You've certainly been a stubborn one, haven't you." He heard a warped voice speak, floating around him. "Of all the people I've killed while chasing that brat, you've been the hardest one yet. You've got great reflexes and instincts, but I've grown weary of this." He kept talking while closing in on Sado, believing he couldn't see or hear him. "You smell odd, but so tasty at the same ti-" He got too close and was met with a large fist hitting him like a freight train, causing a spiderweb fracture in his mask and flying backwards, tumbling to a stop.

"The way you're talking is annoying." Said Chad, cool and collected as he glared at the bluish green frog and a gray mane around his neck. "And you've targeted the wrong prey." He said, cracking his knuckles while stalking toward his enemy. "I'm the one that's going to make you pay for your crimes."

"You! You're no ordinary human!" The hollow called Shrieker yelled out in shock that he was hit and so hard too. "You're not a Soul Reaper either, I'd recognize that scent. So what are you?" Chad kept walking toward the downed hollow that was shaking in fear, completely unaware of the small creatures surrounding him.

"To be honest, I don't really know myself. I'm not an ordinary human and I'm not a Soul Reaper." He saw Shrieker's expression change back to his previous cocky attitude.

"But you're still just as careless!" He yelled in triumph as Chad got sprayed with slime and thick leeches.

'What the?' Chad wondered in surprise as the fleshy worms latched onto him.

"Now die and feed me your soul!" The murderer cried as he extended his tongue and acted on his name, covering the giant in explosions.

(With Rukia and Ichigo)

The two Soul Reapers watched in their Shinigami forms, watching the confrontation between Ichigo's friend and the hollow he wanted to crush. They sent the young Yuichi to the Soul Society after assuring him that Chad would be safe and that his mother would be waiting in Soul Society. Rukia was still concerned for the giant and to simply calm her down, Ichigo followed his friend's ribbon just in time to watch Chad get consumed in fiery explosions.

"Sado!" Rukia cried out as she tried to rush toward Chad, only to be held back by Ichigo. "What are you doing you fool!? He's going to get himself killed!"

"Rukia," Ichigo said while keeping his attention on his friend, "we're staying out of this because Chad's my friend." He felt the air change as the hollow doom was closing in. "Besides," a blast of light and power shot out from the dust cloud that enveloped Chad, "Chad's more powerful than you think."

(Back with Chad)

Shrieker could only gape as his left arm was obliterated by whatever that blast was. The dust slowly settled revealing Chad, only slightly burned and bloodied with an entirely new right arm. Wings on the sides of his wrist and a protrusion at the end of his shoulder, black with a magenta stripe going down the middle outlined in white. This new development froze Shrieker so badly that he didn't react when Chad rushed him.

"I was careless." He admitted, shoving his fist into the hollow's mouth. "But so were you." He pulled out the monster's forked tongue before delivering a brutal uppercut, making the killer bite off his own tongue and fly into the air. When he came back down, Sado proceeded to stomp the arrogant hollow under foot. Ichigo decided it was his turn, and there was something he wanted to try.

"Alright Chad, that's enough for you." He said, dropping down to his friend. Chad looked over to his long time friend and ceased his actions, leaving a bloodied and broken monster. "Besides, now Rukia's curious about that arm of yours." He saw the smaller of the two Soul Reapers scanning him, studying him.

"Alright." He replied, letting his right arm shift back to normal and gesturing for Rukia to follow him before leaving.

"You must be pretty pathetic." Ichigo heard the hollow at his feet groan. "Having someone else fight your battles, do your job as the Shinigami." Shrieker attempted to cackle, refusing to die without some victory, any victory. His only hope for that was humiliating the Soul Reaper before him. Ichigo grabbed the near dead hollow by the fur of his mane and threw him upright against a wall.

"To most it would seem like that." He told the killer. "But we learned the story about you and that boy Yuichi Shibata." Ichigo unsheathed his massive blade and stabbed into the hole on the hollow's chest, the blade facing upward. "You put my friend in a very rare mood. Chad doesn't get mad easily, and you pissed me off a little too." Shrieker watched helplessly, feeling an odd sense of dread falling over him. "So we agreed that he would beat the crap out of you, leaving you helpless for me to... well, test something out." Shrieker felt the energy around the young Shinigami change, getting darker and darker, until he recognized the feeling. Fear. "Tell me. How does fear taste?" Ichigo asked in a warped voice behind a mask.

The air was filled with the sounds of sickening crunches with screams of terror and agony.

(With Chad and Rukia)

The two were quite the distance away and so focused on their conversation that the sounds behind them was little more than background noise.

"So, what's with that arm of yours?" Rukia asked, curiously touching and examining the giant's right arm.

"To be honest, we don't really know ourselves." Sado replied, looking down at it himself. "One day a hollow attacked myself and Ichigo during Hakuda practice in some random field and it appeared while we were fighting." Chad told her about the pact between himself and Ichigo, how they swore to watch the others back and fight for their sake. How he was pulled into similar training Ichigo was doing. He remembered that day in particular, when his first hollow fight happened.

(Flashback, last year before High School)

Ichigo and Sado were sparring against each other, exchanging quick and heavy blows on the other, a film of sweat covering the two combatants as they struggled against the other. The sun was setting as their fight spanned for hours with Ichigo slowly getting a lead on his friend. That's when it first showed up. Sado could barely see the monster, a hazy distortion in the air, while it was clear as day for Ichigo. A large drider* with four arms that was yellow and green with an upside down mask. It aimed to crush them at the same time but the two separated as the beast struck.

"Chad! Run!" Ichigo called out, dodging another sweep from the hollow as it tried to grab him. Chad dodged as well, barely seeing the attack coming.

"Ichigo what is that thing?" He asked, barely able to keep his calm.

"It's called a hollow!" He told his friend, the need of secrecy gone in favor of survival. "A corrupted soul that feeds on other souls to ease their eternal hunger." He dove under another to get in enough to kick the large beast in the neck. The hollow staggered from the spiritually enhanced kick, but not enough to completely stop it. The hollow managed to reach out and grab Ichigo while he was still in midair. Chad watched his friend being suspended helplessly in the air and instantly remembered his promise. He ran at the beast with new found strength and speed and broke the hollow's elbow, making it drop his friend.

"Are you alright?" He hastily asked as he helped Ichigo up.

"I'm fine. I thought I told you to run?"

"Sorry Ichigo, I can't do that." He got into his fighting stance as he stared down the hollow. "I watch your back and you watch mine. Remember?" Ichigo could only shake his head and smirk at his friend's response.

"Right. I'll handle the top half, you mess with his legs." Ichigo said before disappearing and delivering kick to the hollow's chest, just above the hole.

"Got it." Chad managed to keep his focus and charged at the spider half of the corrupt soul and started punching the legs out from under it while Ichigo kept flashing around its arms. As the beast stumbled on top of Chad, Ichigo flashed to the back of its neck and got ready to throw it over his shoulder as Chad punched the beast over top himself. The hollow lay stunned as the duo prepared for the next strike.

"Let's go!" Ichigo yelled as they ran toward the downed hollow, red energy gathering in his fist as he prepared his finishing blow.

"Right." Chad followed suit, finally seeing the monster before him in all its horror as did the same unconsciously. With a roar of triumph they slammed their fists into the now obliterated corrupt soul in a torrent of energy. "So that's what a hollow looks like? Weird." They finally relaxed in their victory, ready to collapse.

"Yeah, nasty." He said before realizing Chad's arm changed. "What happened to your arm?"

"Hmm?" Chad finally noticed his arm changed forms. "I don't know." They looked at each other for a few seconds before they decided to ask Urahara.

(Present day with Chad and Rukia)

"Not even Urahara knows what it is for sure." Chad told her as he finished his story. At that same time beam of light shot up as a large pair of doors with half a skeleton each on their faces.

"The Door of Hell." Rukia told Chad as she watched the gates open to welcome its new victim. "That monster is getting his just punishment for his crimes." They heard the demented laughter as the hollow was ran through on a giant blade, curiously missing more of his body, as the former serial killer was dragged into the burning abyss. Ichigo finally came by after the deed.

"I'm going to bed. This is enough for one day." Before making his way home. Chad said his goodbyes as well while Rukia joined Ichigo.