Ichigo Awakens

(Karakura Hospital, June 17)

Six years ago she almost died for him. Six years ago, he learned about his potential. Six years ago, he swore to destroy the Quincy King with his own two hands. Six years since she last opened her eyes. Six years since he last heard her voice. Six years since she fell into a dreamless sleep, hanging on to life by a thread. These were the thoughts of two sons in particular, visiting their mothers in a specially made room of the hospital. The one day that their teacher would permit them to skip school, if only for a scarce few hours. For the simple pleasures of comfort they could find. A trace of a smile or a slight grip of the hand, letting the sons know that they are still alive.

"Six years Ichigo." Uryu said to his cousin, overlooking his own sleeping mother. The effects of time and atrophy being waylaid by a device Urahara made to keep their bodies active enough while unconscious. Both Kanae and Masaki looked virtually the same as when they fell asleep so long ago. "Only three left, and we still have this Aizen fellow to be wary of."

"I know Uryu." He told his cousin. "Aizen is after whatever Urahara made and he claims to have hidden it in a 'safe place'. Chances are Aizen will be a concern before Juha Bach, in which case I can hopefully get the help of the Gotei 13." It was a long shot, but they all decided to choose when a ready threat was presented to show the Captain Commander the whole issue.

"Right. I just think we should step up our training." Uryu was doing his father's training to the letter, but he was yet unable to join Ichigo on the front just yet. Urahara was fixing up new equipment for him to use in order to exorcise the hollows instead of outright destroying them. Unfortunately this was actually a difficult process that Urahara was all to eager to make possible as one of the few real challenges he's faced, he had to split his time between training his students and preparing Uryu's upgraded equipment.

"We can't bring overly unwanted attention to ourselves Uryu. We're already pushing it as it is." Rukia told him that she was reaching the time limit of how long she could be in the Living World and no matter what she tells Soul Society, they would come investigate. Best to prolong that as much as possible. "Let's keep as we are until necessary."

"That's time boys." They heard a stern voice tell them. They turned back to see their fathers, Ryuken and Isshin, waiting for them.

"You two should get to school." Isshin said as he walked into the room.

"And Uryu," Ryuken said, catching his son before he left. "I'll push you when you are ready." He assured his son, letting him know he should have more faith in his father and allies as well as himself.

"Understood." He said before the cousins left to attend their final classes. "So I heard you have a date...or is it dates?" He said, trying to put up the image of an average teen in spite of reality and his own apathy.

"I think it counts as dates." Ichigo groaned, still somewhat annoyed that he was forced into this situation. He had nothing against Orihime or Tatsuki, but he would've preferred to face them personally. This would give a blow to his image, but he also couldn't afford any distractions for when the battles come. As such he confronted them again and accepted the date like a man and of his own volition. He just wished that it wasn't to some hack spiritualist medium. He also hope his teachers won't find out but he was a realist in that regard. As if his dad clamoring for his new daughters and grandkids wasn't bad enough.

(Urahara Shoten)

"Ichigo!" Cried his dark skinned martial arts master. "Why!? I thought we raised you better than this! You should have five girlfriends at least!" He was doing everything he could to ignore Yoruichi while Tessai was finally teaching him the 90+ level Bakudo spells.

"Now now Yoruichi, we can only teach him so much." Urahara tried to calm his old friend. "Ichigo still just an innocent kid, we can't expect him to be an instant play boy." He whipped out his fan. "But he is well on his way to that isn't he?" The two friends laughed as Ichigo failed an incantation, distracted by his teachers antics.

"Well, I could give that final push." The mischievous cat said as she pulled her student's hand to her breasts. "What do you say Ichigo~?" She sang seductively into his ear. "Shall I teach you the pleasures of a woman?" This time the spell exploded and pinned Ichigo's hand in place while tying everyone else up.

"Hmmm." Tessai growled. "Ichigo you can't allow distractions to affect you like this." He scolded his student as they freed themselves from the botched Bakudo. "Maybe you should sleep with Yoruichi, if only to help your concentration." He suggested casually, making Ichigo turn redder than his namesake.

"I'm in!" She cheered, already starting to pull off her top while Kisuke went to get a camera.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Ichigo cried, backing out of the store slowly.

"Never! I called on your first a while ago!" She yelled, looking at him hungrily.

"What purpose does this serve!?" Ichigo asked.

"Stupid slapstick." Kisuke said while he set up the camera with Tessai holding a reflector board, with Jinta and Ururu behind Ichigo with rope and tape. Fortunately, Ichigo was prepared.

"Bakudo #21, Senkienton!" He yelled while pushing off the ground and into the vacant lot, shielded in a massive cloud of red smoke.

"Get back here!" Yoruichi yelled as she managed to find and tackle her quarry, only to see him fade. She was positive she manage to grab him, but it turned out to be an illusion. She wasn't sure whether to feel pride or annoyance. He was progressing splendidly, but it was rare for anything to escape her. "Nice job Ichigo." She complemented. "But that certainly wasn't Utsusemi, so how did you do that?"

(Kurosaki Clinic)

"What did you do to yourself Ichi-Nii?" Yuzu cried while applying her healing kido with Rukia's to heal her brother's legs.

"I pushed myself too hard with an experimental move." It was a mix of his Hirenkyaku with Shunpo and that skill his hollow Zangetsu called, Sonido. The result was an overexerted body with most of his muscles torn from the pressure and friction. He almost fully recovered from the attempt and could get back to the important matters, his upcoming date.

"This is your first date Ichi-Nii. You need to impress." Stated Yuzu firmly as herself, Karin, and Rukia rummaged through his clothes to find a proper outfit.

"He's going to watch a hack, he can go normal." Karin retorted, knowing that Tatsuki wouldn't really care.

"And you're here because?" He asked Rukia, who proceeded to put chappy bunny ears on him.

"For my own entertainment." Ichigo responded by throwing her out of his room. His sisters ended up with getting Ichigo a casual get up after a few arguments.

"Remember Ichi-nii. You have to join the fun to enjoy it." Yuzu told her stubborn brother before crossing her arms over her chest and laughing. "Bohahahaha!" Ichigo looked over to Karin for help, but she could only shrug. "Now you."

"No."

"Ichigo! It's your responsibility to make sure they enjoy it!" She scolded, pouting at her older brother.

"We also want you to have fun too Ichi." Karin said, sitting next to her brother. "You should take some time off. Relax. We just want to see you happy." She leaned against him while Yuzu was giving him puppy eyes. Ichigo sighed in annoyance that he made his little sisters worry so much, gesturing Yuzu to get closer before wrapping his arms around the twins.

"Fine. I'll take it easy and have fun you two." He reassured his sisters. "I'm supposed to worry about you two, not the other way around." He said making the siblings giggle as they fell asleep in his comfortable embrace.

(Karakura's abandoned hospital that weekend)

The place was filled with people, either to see the show or setting it up for the live broadcast. Ichigo found out that Orihime and Tatsuki knew about him being a Soul Reaper and what his training was for. They were now using this time to talk about whether this show had any validity to its name, 'Ghost Bust'.

"So is there really a spirit here?" Orihime asked, eating some candy they brought from Urahara's shop where they met.

"Feels like it." Ichigo said, feeling a familiar malice that was born from a hollow. "Probably an earth-bound spirit. One that's tied to a particular location." One of the stage crew got too close to the old building and angry screams filled the air, surprising Ichigo's dates but not himself. "You can't tell until someone trespasses though." Orihime and Tatsuki were suddenly more glad that Ichigo decided to come, latching onto him for a sense of security and warm. "Don't worry, he's not a hollow." 'Not yet.' He thought, looking at the man wrapped in chains, the hole in his chest almost opened. His cries of greed gaining no sympathy from the young Soul Reaper.

"Listen up everyone!" The broadcast had begun, hyping most everyone up for the show proper to begin. "Here he is! The Spirit Medium of the new century! The Messenger of Hell! Don! Kanonji!" He yelled, bringing everyone's attention to the helicopter the supposed spiritualist jumped out of.

"The spirits are always with you!" He cheered, free falling before using his parachute. The crowd roared in approval, while a scant few who could truly see the spirit remained silent. Urahara and Yoruichi silently came up behind their disciple to sooth the worries he might be having.

"Don't worry Ichigo." He said as carefree as ever, bringing the trio's attention to the exiled Soul Reapers. "It takes a long time to become a hollow on one's own. I'd give him another six months, tops." He told Ichigo, making the substitute feel somewhat better. Until Orihime asked a very good question.

"Um, Urahara-san? Is he supposed to be doing that?" She asked worriedly, pointing at Don Kanonji who was stabbing his staff into the demi-hollow's chest, trying to force it open. All the experienced spiritually aware beings present let out a sigh of annoyance.

"No Inoue-san." He replied before pushing Ichigo's back with his cane, ejecting his student's soul. "No he is not." Ichigo wasted no time rushing over to stop the man from making a terrible mistake. "Maybe you should just go to an arcade next time." The shop keeper suggested.

"Yeah." The girls agreed. Ichigo made it between the demi-hollow and the tanned skinned spiritualist and managed to throw them apart, surprising the audience.

"What's this!?" The announcer cried out. "Don Kanonji was thrown back! What kind of spirit is this!?"

"Hey!" The shaded man yelled out. "What's the big idea! You're just a ghost!" He was surprised, this had never happened to him before. All the spirits he exorcised before were all chained down, but this one was free of those chains.

"So you actually can see spirits." Ichigo said to the man. Tanned skinned, fanning dreads, rather thin mustache, and he dresses like a dorky superhero but without the spandex.

"Of course I can!" He retorted. "I'm the premier spiritualist of the new century." Then he came to a rather absurd conclusion of Ichigo being a fan despite being dead while the Soul Reaper choose to focus on the turning hollow. Unfortunately, he was too late. The damage was already done as the earth-bound soul exploded. Don Kanonji announced his success, Ichigo kept on the lookout for when the hollow appeared.

"Not out of the woods yet Kanonji." Ichigo told the faux exorcist, grabbing his attention before putting to the roof of the building. The hollow appeared as a humanoid frog of a sickly green color.

(With Tatsuki and Orihime)

"Yoruichi sensei?" Tatsuki asked her teacher, feeling a hollow's dark energy for the first time of her life. "Ichigo will be alright. Right?" Yoruichi looked down on her other disciple before breaking out a confident grin.

"Don't worry Tatsuki!" She said, wrapping an arm around the young girl's shoulders. "A hollow like that is nothing for Ichigo! Have more faith like your friend here." Tatsuki looked over to Orihime and saw fear and unease, but not concern. Orihime could feel Ichigo would be alright. She was so embarrassed, she should've known Ichigo better than that. She watched her future boyfriend with renewed confidence and felt gutsy enough to cheer him on.

"Yeah! Kick that monster's ass!" She yelled out, giving Orihime confidence to do the same.

"Go! Win!" Orihime squealed.

(With Ichigo)

"The cheers of the fans give me strength to purge this evil before me!" Kanonji yelled out proudly, causing more cheers as the hollow descended. Ichigo could only smirk as he heard his friends and family cheer for him instead. The hollow was swiftly descending on the two with Kanonji bravely challenging the monster while Ichigo stood off to the side a little, waiting for a chance. When the hollow came close enough to snap the foolish human in his jaws, Ichigo then delivered a spinning kick into the hollow's back. The result was a gaping hole in the building with Ichigo nailing his landing.

"Let me guess," Kanonji looked at the boy in amazement at his display of strength, "you're not going to run no matter what I say are you?" The man looked at Ichigo in shock and disgust.

"Run? How can I run? Do you know what my ratings are?" He said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "One in every four households watch my show and most of those viewers are children." A silence washed over the crowd as they listened. "That means I have to be brave. I have to show courage. I have to be a good role model." He lost his showman attitude and felt more like a person rather than a celebrity to the audience at that moment. "Sure I get scared, finding dark and malicious spirits like these. But if I run, what would that tell the kids? That there is no hope? I can't allow something like that!" There was a pause of silence before the crowd roared in approval, seeing Don Kanonji in another, better light. More than just a fun program, but as someone who tries to bring smiles no matter what because it's right to do.

"That means your only fault here is ignorance." Ichigo said, keeping the exorcist's attention while the hollow made it's way back to them. "Hado #1, Sho." He pointed at the mindless hungry beast and shot a pulse of force at the creature, sending him to the back of the hospital again...and collapsing the front gate in the process. "Really need to work on that. Come on, there's something you need to see." He told the spiritualist as he blasted the rubble away with another Sho.

"Very well." He said, recognizing that whatever this boy was going to show him was for his eyes only. They entered the abandoned, decrepit hospital, searching for the monster that was their prey. Ichigo unsheathed his zanpakuto and took a few experimental swings.

"Damn. It's too cramped in here." He realized before gripping Zangetsu with both hands. "I guess now's a good a time as any." His blade began to glow as he started to focus on his reiatsu and blade.

"Everything alright partner?" Kanonji asked, feeling a camaraderie with the youth. He gaped in amazement as Ichigo managed to turn his massive blade into a pair of katana, one in each hand. He twirled the blades in hand to get a feel for the new style he put upon himself. 'Amazing. What is this boy?' He could only think to himself as his world began to expand with every moment he was with Ichigo.

"He's coming!" Ichigo yelled as the wall burst out with the hollow charging at them. Kanonji closed in and caught the hollow's mouth open with his staff. Ichigo quickly got into it's space and made two swift slashes, severing the hollow's limbs. The monster roared out in agony as it collapsed, having no support to keep it upright. The beast lay before the two, helpless as Ichigo made the final blow through the hollow's mask, ending it's cries and struggles.

"Great job partner!" Kanonji cheered, celebrating what he felt was a hard won victory. Ichigo did not allow for this man to live in his ignorance anymore.

"Don't celebrate Kanonji." Ichigo said, pointing at the disintegrating hollow. The form of the monster dissipated, revealing the broken man inside.

"Wait..." The exorcist said brokenly. "He was... I thought I..." He was stunned, feeling everything he thought he knew crumble around him.

"Hollows." Ichigo said. "Corrupted souls of those that lost their hearts, had their chains that kept them peaceful removed." Kanonji gasped in shock, remembering every time he believed he purified a lost or bad spirit, breaking chains he thought were their torment. He's made monsters out of innocents.

"What have I been doing?" He asked, not to Ichigo but to himself. Tears flowing from his eyes as his unintentional crimes came down on his shoulders.

"You've been acting out of ignorance." Ichigo said, making the near broken man look back at the true exorcist. "I don't blame you for your actions. You never knew nor had a chance to know. You wanted to be a hero so you became one."

"How can I still be a hero?" He demanded. "How can I possibly call myself that now!?" Ichigo shrugged and brought them both back to the cheering crowd, hailing their hero 'Don Kanonji.'

"I say keep doing what you've been doing." Ichigo snatched a pen and paper and began to write. "Only now, you do it right." He gave the spiritualist the note with his quirky teacher's address. "Go to this man before attempting anything like this again. He'll help you on your road of redemption." He gave the man one last smile before disappearing in a burst of speed back to his own body. Kanonji looked down at his note and felt himself change into a new man.

"Bohahahaha!" He laughed out, cherishing the crowds roars of approval. 'Thank you, boy.' He thought while announcing his full triumph. 'You've shown me what I really need to do. I won't let you down...my friend.'

(A few days later)

"You still put too much energy into it." Scolded Tessai as Ichigo finished up his training with the Kido masters. "I almost shudder to think what might happen if you go all out."

"He's right Ichigo." Kisuke drawled as he rose from his nap. "You want to make allies of the Soul Reapers, not kill them. You need to be able to hold back more."

"The building stayed up didn't it?" Ichigo shot back at his teachers, referencing the abandoned hospital from earlier.

"No, it collapsed after Tessai and I stopped keeping it upright." The resulting shockwaves from his Hado did so much structural damage the building was going to fall apart with him inside. Ryuken was quick to purchase the land and start another project there. "Anyway, don't you have another date with Arisawa-san and Inoue-san?" Kisuke teased as Ichigo ran out the door, passing a man in a trench coat who entered the store. Kisuke smile at who would become another regular at his store. "So, how can I help you? Don Kanonji?"