The Gold Pirate

Chapter 19: The Confrontation

A cold wind blew through the quiet Karakura Town, but it wasn't because of the temperature. The chilled feeling was coming from the two powerful individuals that were staring each other down. A cold, hard look coming from Ichigo as he steeled himself mentally for the battle ahead of him, knowing that this was an inevitable fight to free himself and move on to his greater foe. Ichigo had Zangetsu pointing at the Hollow, ready for anything it had in store.

The Hollow...looked like a giant hamster for it had a round body with brown fur covering it held up by four limbs that had red claws. It was a larger Hollow than normal, and its mask helped add to that feeling. The hamster-like Hollow had a wide mask with an equally wide mouth with its teeth showing and pink lips. It had red eyes with six pupils, three in each eye, and teardrop marks lining its face that led to the nostrils. It drooled while watching Ichigo, not making any sudden moves but seemed to be restraining itself from doing so in the first place.

Above the two, Naruto hopped onto a roof and sat over the edge, watching to see what would happen between the two and planned to jump in and help if Ichigo needed it. He was sure the orange-head would be upset if he knew the blond had come, but that didn't really matter to Naruto...if Ichigo needed his help he'd be there whether he wanted it or not.

Ichigo gripped his sword tighter and sighed, "I know you won't understand me, none of you ever do, but I try anyway," Ichigo started, bringing his head up with a hard face but soft eyes. "Make this easier on me...and let me finish this. I don't want this to drag out."

Ichigo's words fell on deaf ears as the Hollow screeched at him, clearly not understanding what was said and bum-rushed the teen. Its maw opened with a sickening crack as it seemed to unhinge its jaw to swallow Ichigo whole as it roared, flinging spittle all around.

Ichigo's hair shadowed his eyes as the monster closed in on him and he grit his teeth in frustration. Looking back up, Ichigo brought his other hand up to Zangetsu's handle and held it in front of him.

"Always the same," Ichigo mumbled with a scowl, hardening his eyes. "Even if you don't know it, this is for your own good!"

The hamster Hollow jumped into the air and landed where Ichigo was standing, only for the swordsman to disappear from its view as it bit into the ground where Ichigo once stood.

The teen had used his superior speed to appear above the Hollow and positioned his sword behind him as he fell, looking to slice into the mask from behind as he'd done so many times before over the years. Coming down on the creature, Ichigo swung his blade with all his might but rose his brow in slight shock when the hair covering the beast rose to meet his blade, and the two collided in an audible clang.

'That's some tough hair!' Ichigo thought, watching the strands wrap around his blade to hold him in place as the Hollow turned to sink its claws into him.

Thinking quickly, Ichigo brought his feet onto the back of the monster for a foothold and maneuvered himself out of its reach. Pulling his sword free from the powerful fur, Ichigo was slammed into the ground by it soon after when it wrapped around his legs.

Despite the pain, Ichigo ignored it and got back onto his feet after a painful bounce off the hard ground. With little time to shake off the pain, Ichigo brought Zangetsu's edge up to defend himself from the claws of the Hollow, catching the creature by the palm with it as the fingers came close to reaching the teen.

"You probably think that you've gotten me," Ichigo smirked while looking at the creature's left eye.

Suddenly, the creature's claws extended abruptly, attempting to pierce Ichigo's torso, but the astute eye of the teen was able to escape the deadlock with the Hollow and escaped its field of vision.