Chapter 6: The Way To Death

Chapter 6 here. Hope it lives up to your expectations. Pay attention to things as some parts will be relevant for longer than just one Arc.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did.

Protector Of The Fairies

The Way To Death

Era. It was a town unlike any he had been to. While the others had a calmer and casual charm, this town was instead more of a majestic feel. Each building had been built to stand out and to shine and they weren't even the main attraction.

In the centre of the town was a rocky mountain, stretching high above the rest of the city.

Resting on the top of that mountain stood a solitary building. It was the home of the highest power in Fiore. The Magic Council.

It was exhausting work climbing up to it. He obviously wasn't needed urgently enough to spare him from the torturous stairs so he had been left to walk up them. Every single one of them.

What possessed them to build up so high? He supposed it was probably in case of attack as few rogue Mages would be able to launch attacks up at them from the ground at that distance and few Mages had the ability to fly in the first place.

It also seemed to have a secondary purpose. He had noticed that people in the city looked up at the building in awe and respect. The Council was essentially using the height to make them look superior, almost out of reach of the residents of Fiore. It made it seem like they were important.

They were but they didn't have to show off about it.

The headquarters for the Magic Council was made from pure white stone, with areas of light blue bricks in places. It was very elegant in its design, resembling a church in some ways because of its central tower and its arched covers.

There were some more towers at the sides of the building, rectangular in shape. They connected to the main building and balconies could be seen above the entrance to the building itself. Just outside were lush gardens, casting shadows from the few hedges around the area.

A guard opened the door for him as he approached, allowing him entrance to the establishment. The Council must have realised that he was coming and had alerted the guards to prepare for his arrival. Smart. It meant he wouldn't have to wait long if they were in a meeting or something. They were showing him a lot of courtesy here. They must have really wanted him to take the request and had made a show of how important they saw him being.

The inside was just as majestic as the outside, though there were a lot of corridors in his opinion. It took a good five minutes of searching, and the occasional guard's help, to find where he was aimed for.

The entrance to the Magic Council's meeting room was gigantic. In the centre of the door was the ankh symbol the Council used to identify themselves. As if on command, the door slowly swung open, a loud creak filling the air.

Ichigo slowly entered the room, keeping his eye out for any danger. You could never be too careful

It was just paranoia talking as no danger presented itself. Instead, he found himself in a massive room, ten seats present behind a talk barrier where the Council was present. It seemed to also double as desks for them.

Just in front of them was a smaller table that contained another ten seats. Ichigo quickly grabbed one, ignoring the gasps from some of the Council. It was just a chair and they didn't expect him to stand while they sat did they?

One of the Council members was examining him closely. The man was definitely very old, but unlike Makarov, he hadn't shrunk. He had a long gray beard and moustache with his hair combed back behind his head. His ears were pointed and he only seemed to have his right eye opened. On the top of his head was a strange bat like creature.

"You are Ichigo correct?" the Council member said, confirmed his identity. "No surname known? Mage of Fairy Tail?"

"Yes." A simple replied. They already knew all this anyway and they knew his answer.

"Good. I assume you have accepted our req-"

"What's the deal with this item you want me to retrieve anyway?"

"How dare you." Ichigo looked over towards a cat like old man, surprised at his appearance. "Such blatant disrespect."

"Now now Michello." A man with a three spiked black hat stopped the Council Member's rant. "There is no need to get mad at Ichigo here. You know how youngsters are."

"Don't defend him Yajima." A dark haired man wearing shades joined the argument, the hood from his cloak over his head. With his small eyebrows and long black sideburns, it made the man look angry and serious without any effort from the man himself. It must have been infuriating outside these meetings.

"Enough." The Council member in the centre quieted the three without any argument. "Michello, Yajima, Leiji. Please settle your problems later."

Ichigo eyed the man who had spoken. He looked younger than he probably was but he still seemed very old. His long white hair stretched behind him and he could spot the hilt of a sword by his side. And even when he had spoken harshly to the other members, he still looked kind, only frowning slightly as he spoke to them.

His presence was tremendous. Even the other Council members were paying respect to him, despite his appearance. It was clear who he was from how they listened to him. He was the Chairman of the Magic Council.

"Now then." The Chairman offered a serene smile towards Ichigo. "I trust you are curious about the item that was stolen."

"Chairm-"

The Chairman silenced the Council member with one look. It was the same one who had spoken first to Ichigo when he had arrived.

"Come now Org. I don't believe our young friend here is stupid by any means. We did say that we wanted the item returned to Era. I trust that you remember that?"

The Council member, now known to be Org, grumbled quietly but didn't say anything else.

"Great then. Well now Ichigo. I can call you that can't I? I don't exactly have a surname to go by."

Ichigo could tell the man was subtly fishing for information. "Just Ichigo. And should I just call you Chairman?"

Michello looked outraged and as if he wanted to protest about his attitude again.

The Chairman laughed. "Juushirou. Juushirou Ukitake."

Ichigo gave a brief nod at the man in respect. He hadn't entirely expected the man to actually give him his name. Then again, the Chairman seemed to have this friendly aura about him. He almost seemed like he was harmless. Almost.

Juushirou reached under his desk and pulled out a slip of paper. He held out his hand and the paper was surrounded by a golden light as it was lowered slowly down to Ichigo. Before it reached him though, it stopped as Juushirou gave him a scrutinising look.

"Before you see this, we need to know for certain that you are willing to go along with this. Now will be your last chance to back else. Doing so after reading this will result in… disastrous consequences."

He didn't know how Juushirou managed to seem so kind yet could instil so much terror in his words. Ichigo didn't think for a moment that the Chairman was joking. No one joked about something like this, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he accepted and then backed out.

This didn't chance his answer though. He stared back at the man who smiled at his courage. It was as if he had been tested and had been found successful.

The paper finished its descent towards Ichigo who grabbed it before scanning the contents. It didn't explain too much but it said that it was a ring that allowed the user to drain the life from around the wielder and use it to power the ring's death attacks.

It was horrible to read about it. And Zeref had created such a tool? Why? Wasn't he meant to have a mastery over Death Magic? Was this meant to amplify them or did it serve another purpose?

"It is a horrible thing isn't it."

Ichigo looked back up to Juushirou. "Yeah. But how was something like this stolen? Shouldn't it be under maximum protection?"

"We don't know," said Yajima. "Something like this can only be accessed by at least five members of the Council together or by the Chairman himself."

"Yajima is correct." Juushirou coughed suddenly into his hand and the Council turned to him in worry.

"I'm okay," he managed to say. "As I said, Yajima is correct. And since none of us took it, it means that someone in Poison Viper stole it."

Org spoke up then, taking over for the Chairman to recover. "We believe that Poison Viper possess a Mage capable of either teleporting past the ring's defences or an ability to disguise himself as one of us and disable the security."

"Thank you Org," said Juushirou. "That brings us to the hard part of your mission. Loathed are we to condone such an action, it is not enough for us to just retrieve the ring. If the Mage who stole it managed to get the ring in the first place, they could do so again."

"The safety and security of our prisons are also at risk. We cannot know for certain if it would be enough to hold such an individual, and we cannot risk their escape. Any number of their Mages could be capable of it. One, twenty, the entire guild, there is too much risk involved."

"As much as I hate to do this, the Council cannot allow this guild to become free and we cannot allow the other Dark Guilds to get the same idea. We need to send them a message, for the sake of peace in the Magical World."

Ichigo was almost afraid to ask. "What do you want me to do?"

Juushirou gave him a sad smile. "You are a Shinigami. Normally, we do not condone killing but here, it is a necessary evil. Since long ago, people have always been lenient with Shinigami because of how useful they are. Once again, we must invoke this practice."

"You want me to kill them all."

"Yes."

"I see."

Ichigo clenched his fists in anger. Why couldn't they have told him this before hand? It wouldn't have been too much to give away if they had done so.

He couldn't back out though. Not now. Juushirou knew that and had offered him that chance but he had denied it. The advantages had outweighed any dangers.

Could he really do as they asked? Could he kill? And if he refused, what would happen? He knew though that he didn't want to find out what the consequences would be. He was trapped, and the only way to get out was to eliminate the Dark Guild, once and for all.

"Where do I go?"

Juushirou eyed him carefully before he sent down another sheet of paper.

"Here is the latest report of their hideout. We have one of our trainees watching them, a few years older than you I believe. He should be returning here in about an hour or two, maybe longer, and will be able to transport you to their current hideout. I warn you though. Once he returns, you will be leaving shortly afterwards."

"I will be ready."

"Good." Juushirou clapped his hands, a sign that the session was over. "There are rooms nearby you can wait in. It doesn't matter too much which one you pick. Your Magical Power makes it easy to work out where you are."

Ichigo scowled but got the message. He left silently, finding a room and resting down onto one of the few chairs available. He had time and what he was about to do sounded like it was going to be taking on his very soul. For now, he would rest. Maybe some sleep would do him good. Just for a little while.

Protector Of The Fairies

"Wake up."

That was what Ichigo found himself waking up to. He had to rub his eyes a few times before they managed to identify the man trying to wake him.

"Org?"

"Who said you could address me so casually?"

Ichigo shrugged it off. He was never good at addressing people with their titles and would most likely end up continuing to do so even in the King's presence of someone else of equal status. The only one he actually called by his title was the Master and that was more because he actually belonged to Fairy Tail. He didn't owe any other organisations the same level of respect.

"Why'd you wake me up? Am I heading off?"

"Soon," Org said as he pulled himself down onto one of the chairs nearby. "I went to wake up when we heard of our man's arrival. After he has finished reporting to the Chairman, he will meet you here to take you to Poison Viper."

"I see." Ichigo stared at the man curiously. "You could have sent anyone to wake me up. Instead they sent you, a distinguished member of the Magic Council."

"Perceptive aren't you brat." He seemed to have gained some sort of approval from the old man. "I'm still assessing you."

"Assessing?"

"Analysing your character, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and deciding whether you will be useful for future operations."

"And you think I'll be useful?"

"Of course." The man gestured towards the sword on Ichigo's back. "Look at that. It's a sign that you are a Shinigami. It's exactly why you're useful."

"I'm still not sure why that makes me useful."

Org sighed. "The Chairman didn't make it completely clear to you. It's that status of yours that is important."

The Council member pointed to himself. "I'm just a normal Mage. So are many people in the world. If someone killed another person, they get punished dependent on the situation. If we allowed someone to kill another though, why do they escape justice? Why is there one rule for the Council and another for the rest of the world?"

"These questions… They could tear the Council apart. We must set an example, and it is rare that we need to order the death of others, and even then it is debated heavily and done as a last resort."

Org turned his hand till he was pointing at Ichigo. "The Chairman said that there has been leniency for Shinigami before. That is why we wanted someone like you. You not only have the required strength for this mission but you also have the Shinigami label."

Ichigo shook his head. He still didn't get it. "Why do Shinigami get leniency though?"

"Because Shinigami got their name from their past."

"Their past…"

Org looked at the boy like he had grown a second head. "Do you not even know the past of your Magic? Wielders of it in the past were known for their brutality, taking the lives of people without remorse, just like true Shinigami. One day though, one of them decided to end it and helped create the foundations of the Magic Council."

"Do you want to know what he asked in exchange?" asked Org. "Nothing. The man said nothing, just leaving and never being found again. Both the old reputation of the Shinigami and their old services with the Council made us decide to allow leniency for those who use Shinigami Magic, as long as they do not abuse the power. One way we made sure of this was to only allow this action on missions where there was no other choice, like the one you are taking today."

"I understand." Ichigo couldn't swear that he completely did but he understood enough. The Council wanted a way to act without looking like hypocrites, and as a Shinigami, he could act for them.

"Still though," continued Org. "We didn't choose you for no reason either. We got a message from an old Rune Knight of ours. Kisuke Urahara."

Ichigo froze, looking at the man for any signs that he was lying. There was none. But what was the man talking about? Kisuke had been a Fairy Tail Mage hadn't he?

"I can see from your face that you are familiar with the man."

Ichigo could only nod.

"I see. That's good then. The Council trusts him a great deal for his past services so his recommendation carried a lot of worth for you. I saw another reason."

"And that is?"

"Fairy Tail." Org looked angry to even say the guild's name. "Currently, Fairy Tail is an upstart, causing problems as they become more and more destructive. We have no control over that strength and that worries us all a great deal. They could go to war and we would have a powerful force to deal with."

"I partially don't like them because we are tolerating something we won't get anything back on. They will cause problem after problem and we have to put up with their attitude. But I don't like shutting down guilds. The members will scatter before joining new guilds, possibly spreading the problem."

Org once again pointed to Ichigo. "You are a Fairy Tail Mage alongside being a Shinigami. With you taking missions from us, it allows us to get something back from tolerating Fairy Tail. An exchange."

"And if I said I don't want to take any more missions."

Org gave him a grim look. "Then we have no reason to tolerate Fairy Tail."

Ichigo contemplated what the man had said. It all made sense. The Council couldn't afford to be nice in the face of harsh problems and as long as he gave them a reason for them to keep Fairy Tail around, they would leave the guild alone.

First though, he had to prove himself on this one mission. And to do so required him to kill the entire Dark Guild.

Org patted him on the shoulder as he hoisted himself to his feet. "The trainee should be here soon to take you there. His name is Doranbolt."

Org walked to the door and was about to leave when he decided to give Ichigo a few last words of advice.

"Good luck. I rather hope you succeed."

Ichigo watched the man leave before the room was cast into silence. He was left with nothing but his thoughts, and they all were focused on the task ahead.

He would have to embrace the trainings Kisuke taught him more than ever. He couldn't afford to waste Magic shielding his sword's blows. He had to fight with the intent to kill his opponent, just like he had to do when he fought Kisuke. He had to treat everyone there as a threat and remove them.

He didn't have to wait long before a boy of about fifteen entered the room. The boy had short black hair, almost shaved off completely, with three scars decorating the left side of his face. On the boy's left ear was a small earring with an elongated pendant handing from it.

"Ah," said the boy slightly nervously. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah."

"Ah… Good." The boy shuffled slightly on the spot before realising he hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Doranbolt. I'll be taking you to your destination."

Ichigo tilted his head curiously at the trainee. "How are we getting to Poison Viper? A Magical Vehicle of some kind?"

Doranbolt shook his head. "Sorry. That takes a bit too long. Poison Viper was getting ready to move out soon. They could be leaving as we speak. We can't travel normally or we'll lose them."

"Then how are we getting there?"

Ichigo stared out at the hand that was suddenly extended in front of him.

"You want me to take your hand?"

"My Magic allows me to teleport to a destination of my choice. I already marked out where we need to arrive to so we should get there accurately, despite the distance."

"Instantaneously?" Doranbolt nodded. "Cool."

"Yes," said Doranbolt, happy for the praise. "My mentor said I'm extremely advanced for my age."

Ichigo stretched out his hand and grabbed hold of Doranbolt's own. "You better not miss."

Doranbolt gave him an uneasy smile before the surroundings changed. The stone and marble changed to soil and trees as the world spun and they found themselves at the edge of a forest, a small pattern of runes sketched into the ground.

Ichigo stared at them, wondering what the runes meant.

"Anchor points." Ichigo glanced over at the trainee. "I'm not skilled enough yet to use it in combat as I still need somewhere to lock on to. I'm getting better though. That pattern of runes was a lot bigger when I started."

Ichigo nodded before he let his gaze wonder around the area.

There, on the edge of his senses. What was it? It wasn't evil so much, rather it radiated Death in a way he didn't know he could recognise, and it was strong too.

He didn't bother looked at the forest. His eyes had already locked onto the ring's location. Just a bit further away in the distance, he could see the signs of an abandoned building, perhaps a research base or something similar.

Doranbolt had chosen a good point to teleport them to. While they had a decent view of the guild's current base of operations, it didn't work both ways. The Dark Guild would have only found Doranbolt when they decided to scout outwards, and it didn't look like they had done even that.

They seemed to have found a base and gotten arrogant that they were safe. Anyone would get an ego when the managed to bypass the Magic Council's security so he could understand their arrogance but they should have at least kept a lookout. From Doranbolt's position, he must have been able to keep an eye on the base to make sure they stayed there without any resistance from the Dark Guild itself.

Ichigo gave Doranbolt a half wave as he walked towards the base. The trainee didn't look like a fighter so he seemed to be staying far away. Better that way. He wouldn't let anyone else taint their hands with this job if he could help it. It made him glad he hadn't brought Laxus along, though he would have probably been sent home if he had come anyway.

Had Poison Viper become aware of him yet? He knew he gave off a powerful presence to people because of his Magical Power. Laxus said he could find him easily because of it since he was so familiar with it, but it was also because it was so large. And if a large source of Magical Energy suddenly appeared near their base, he knew the Dark Guild would be on guard.

As long as they didn't escape, it was okay. And he couldn't risk it happening.

Kisuke had taught him something in case of a situation like this long ago. Not all Bakudou Spells were just to restrain the enemy and he would use one right now to ensure they couldn't escape. He would seal them inside a barrier with him.

He held out his hand behind him and an orange light stretched outwards towards four corners. The lights then extended out into transparent orange walls. The light then kept stretching out till the entire area had been sealed within a cube.

Ichigo pressed a hand to the barrier, happy with his handiwork. The Spell worked just as intended. It wouldn't stop anything big and was rather flimsy but it served its purpose. It was to ensure no one got out and no matter what the Mage had done to bypass the Council's security, it wouldn't work here.

It wasn't arrogance speaking. The barriers of Shinigami weren't meant to be slipped past. They were strong, and the only way out was to break the barrier or wait for it to wear off. One good hit on this barrier would break it if the Mage was competent but if it broke, he would know someone was trying to escape. It would serve as a warning system too.

Now all he had to do was get them out of their little bunker. He had no doubt that the place would be littered with traps of all kinds, and it would be perfect for ambushes. He needed to bring them out.

He closed his eyes in thought, making sure to also count the number of people he could sense. Fifty. Not many of them were particularly strong except for the select few so the majority was cannon fodder material for the guild. He would need to shorten their numbers quickly.

A strong Kidou would draw them out. Blast open their hideout and charge in before they can stop him.

Shakkahou would be a good choice normally but he wanted the blast to continue much further than Shakkahou did, and Soukatsui was two levels higher than it for a reason.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws."

Unlike before, this time he wouldn't fire it as a wave. That was good for crowd control but he needed to blast his way in. He would pour as much Magic as he could into the Spell and then fire it as a direct blast at the target.

He would have a few moments in the confusion to find the leader. The few time he and Laxus had faced Dark Guilds, they had noticed that their leaders were always very arrogant. It also made them overconfident sometimes and if he challenged the leader there and there, he would accept the challenge.

Plus, if he had the ring on him instead of stored away, he would want to have someone to test the ring's power on. Who better than the guy who just knocked down you hideout's wall.

"Hadou Number 33: Soukatsui."

The blast tore straight through the wall and he could hear some of the cries of pain from the ones unlucky enough to be standing in the way. He ignored them though as he charged into the guild, weaving past the Dark Mages before they even realised he was there.

He drew his sword and was already striking at the leader when the leader spun around, dark energy swirling around his right fist. He struck out straight at Ichigo, the orange haired Shinigami barely having time to dodge and get some distance between them.

The Dark Mage stared at him in shock. He must have acted on instincts that would have been developed from years of experience.

The dark energy wasn't his though. As the energy dissipated, a black ring could be seen on the leader's finger.

A sinister smile filled the man's face as he took in Ichigo. "Well well boys. Looks like someone decided to pay us a visit."

The men around him recovered from the previous distraction before breaking into laughter, all at Ichigo's expense.

They weren't making any movements to flee yet. That was good. They were instead blocking off his escape, trying to box him in.

"I sensed you earlier when you arrived but I lost track of you in that distraction. You have skills kid but it takes a lot more than that to kill a Viper."

"Is that the ring you stole?"

The man looked surprise at his question before a switch seemed to be flicked in the man's mind. "Ah. I get it now. That sword of yours isn't an ordinary one is it? You a Shinigami? The Magic Council send you?"

Ichigo nodded, answering all those questions.

"So that's it is it? The man held out his hands out wide. "So the Council seeks to subjugate us once more? And what if we refuse?"

Ichigo raised his sword, aiming it squarely at the man.

"Death? They thought a kid would be enough? You may have a lot of Magical Power but I have something to equal that power."

The leader raised his arm as the ring glowed brightly, a Magic Seal appearing over the ring. Around the man, men started falling, clutching their hearts.

Ichigo stared at the man in shock. "They were your allies."

"They were my subordinates." The man laughed at Ichigo's furious expression. "We're a Dark Guild. Few of us have any loyalty to one another in Poison Viper. This is a den of snakes, all seeking their own goals. We just happen to have the same destination in mind currently."

Ichigo charged the man, his sword swinging down at the man's head. He wasn't even thinking any more. He was angry, and he was going to make this man pay.

The man laughed at Ichigo's attempts before a wall of darkness appeared in front of the two. Ichigo paused mid charge before he jumped, Magic amplifying his legs.

He cleared the wall in one moment and stabbed downwards. The leader of the guild rolled to the side, bringing the ring back before he launched another blast of darkness straight at Ichigo.

He couldn't move in mid air and he couldn't counter with a Kidou in this short of time. Instead, he channelled as much Magic into his sword as he could and swung.

He had been attempting to blast the attack away with the force of his swing. Instead, he launched a wave of blue energy at the Mage, shaped in the form of a crescent moon.

The eyes of the Dark Guild's leader bulged as he took in the attack. It cut straight through his own attack and kept on going. He barely dodged himself before the attack sailed past his head.

Ichigo was still staring in shock. He hadn't even used an attack like that before. The closest he had ever gotten was to disperse attacks with enhanced swings of his sword, but never something like this. The attack had continued on much further than he had thought and had even managed to cut into the stone floor.

The leader stared at Ichigo in worry, his hands grasping at the ring in worry. His eyes would keep jumping between the new small gorge in the ground and at Ichigo himself.

"Say kid," he said nervously. "What says you join us? We could use someone of your talent."

Ichigo ignored him, slashing at the man with his sword.

He didn't expect the attack to simply send the man flying backwards. What happened? He didn't even inflict a wound.

A cry of laughter erupted from the leader as he pulled himself up, the ring glowing brightly on his finger.

"We'll look at that. I'm perfectly fine."

Ichigo watched the man reach into his pocket before he pulled out a knife. It glowed a bright green as the blade extended outwards till it resembled a proper sword.

The Dark Guild leader gave the sword a few test swings to make sure it was working fine before the ring activated again, stealing the life of two more of the guild. The energy then flowed down the blade till it was covered in darkness.

"Do you know what your mistake was?"

Mistake? What did he do wrong?

"You showed mercy."

The man shot forward, bringing the sword down on Ichigo's with a surprising amount of force. The darkness on the blade tried to stretch across his own blade before he managed to pull away in time.

He wasn't sure what would happen if that energy touched him but the ring was suppose to give the user the ability to use Death Magic. One hit and who knows how much damage that darkness would do to him. It could even kill him instantly.

"I wonder if you have noticed that you are still shielding your blows."

He was? A subtle glance confirmed it. He had gone to try and take the man down and because of such, he had subconsciously dulled the edge of his blade. He hadn't tried to kill the man, and his Magic had responded in kind.

"You're a naive kid. You aren't a killer. But I am."

The man charged again, swinging the blade like a madman. He wasn't acting cautiously anymore, and Ichigo knew why. He could obviously take the power of a dulled strike and knew that Ichigo wasn't trying to kill him yet. Worse, as long as the blade made connection, he would do a lot of damage instantly.

"Where did your spirit go? Come on. Give me a challenge."

If he didn't manage to kill the man soon, he would die. There was no other way out. But first, he had to break away.

The leader however had another surprised planned. As he attacked with one sword, another knife slid out of his sleeve and hit Ichigo in the side.

He almost lost focus as the knife connected, the leader's sword coming too close for comfort. His left leg spun out and kicked the man, using the temporary distraction to pull back.

He glanced at his side. The wound wasn't serious. No veins had been cut and it looked to only be a flesh wound. It still hurt though.

"Looks like the little Shinigami is losing. What should I do fellas? Maybe he's nervous. Should I let him fight someone more recognisable?" The guild broke out into cheers at his words.

"Recognisable?"

The leader held up the small knife. "See your blood here? That's how I do it. Just a little blood and I can transform into either yourself or anyone you have ever met. Anything works as long as it has your DNA. I just need to see those memories of who you cherish, and pick one to become."

That ability… It was so much like the Hollow that killed his mother. Did the Hollow have this Magic before in turned into a Hollow?

"Shall I show you?" The leader didn't wait for an answer. He lifted the knife to his mouth and licked off the blood, every feature on his body changing. When it ended, Ichigo came face to face with a familiar face. Really, who else would have a hat like that?

The leader finished his transformation into Kisuke before he looked at himself in surprise. "That's odd. Wasn't going for this guy. Doesn't matter much though. Let's see you fight your own mentor."

The fake Kisuke charged again at Ichigo, swinging his sword in a familiar Kisuke manner. He doubted he could use Kisuke's Magic but he could still fight like Kisuke. The feints were there along with the sudden counters.

The leader had improved dramatically by becoming Kisuke but he had gained his own problems it seemed. Every so often, he would prepare the motions that would fire a Kidou before he had to stop himself, solidifying his theory that Magic wasn't carried over. It wasn't working out well for the leader as it kept giving him plenty of opportunities to launch a few surprise strikes of his own.

The ring glowed brightly suddenly as darkness suddenly shot out in a massive wave.

Ichigo took his sword and raised it up high, remembering the feeling of the strike he had used before. It was almost like someone was whispering the secrets to it in his ear.

Then he swung. The energy flowed out and blasted into the opposing dark energy, the two exploding as they cancelled each other as they collided. Ichigo shot through where the two energies collided and swung his sword.

Thin air. The leader wasn't there. Where did he go?

"GOT YOU!"

Ichigo froze, his eyes sliding towards the voice. The leader had jumped and was now falling straight at him, his sword ready to slice him in half.

The leader should have never have transformed. He gained Kisuke's fighting style and he had become much stronger but if he had paid more attention, he would have noticed that the attacks he had been inflicted had left cuts. They hadn't been dulled.

So as the sword began its descent down in an arc, Ichigo acted. Familiar instincts sounded in his head and he did what he would have done if he had been fighting Kisuke.

He went to kill.

He barely recognised the sword passing straight into the leader's chest. Only when the clang of the opponent's sword hitting the ground finally brought him back to reality.

The transformation wore off and the leader returned to his original appearance, a blade pierced through his chest.

"Well look at that," he muttered quietly. "I got the one guy you could actually kill."

The reality of the situation suddenly hit Ichigo as he watched the life disappear from the man's eyes. He killed the man. He had known that was what he needed to do and had prepared to do so but actually doing so…

"He killed him."

"Don't let him get away."

"Revenge will be ours."

Ichigo wasn't listening to the voices, even as he sensed all of them getting closer to him. He was too lost in his own thoughts.

One of the Dark Mages swung a weapon at Ichigo before he felt pain erupting through his body. All he saw as he died was the lifeless eyes of Ichigo above him, still lost to his surrounds.

Ichigo didn't bother fighting his body's instincts now. He let the rest of the guild charge him, and then he let his instincts take over.

Protector Of The Fairies

I hope the second chapter of this Arc lived up to your expectations. That ring is a deadly weapon yet how would it help Zeref though?

I know a lot of you thought it was something to do with Hollowfication so I'm sorry to disappoint you all. Don't think this is all there is to this Arc. Things happening now impact the future in many ways, some you will see next chapter and some that will be far into the future.

The Mage's transformation abilities were by reasoning for Ichigo to kill here originally. He is a protector and we've seen how he leaves enemies alive in canon. Kisuke taught him to kill though but never exposed him to it. Against Kisuke, he reacted as if he was in a life or death situation. And the real Kisuke would have dodged that attack.

Org. He's an interesting character and while some people may be corrupt, he seems fairly reasonable. He came to like Fairy Tail as they proved themselves but at the start, they were nothing more than a headache. He wants something in exchange as we saw, and that is Ichigo's help.

I choose Doranbolt here for his Magic and I only just realised Ichigo would encounter him later in canon. I will leave you guys wondering about how that encounter will happen.

Juushirou was my best choice for Chairman here. In canon, the Chairman was sick during the Jellal Arc which fits will Juushirou and I liked the idea of having a Captain from Bleach as the first chairman that we see.

Next chapter is the end of the Arc and has a guest appearance from Gildarts. Look forward to it.

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.