Reborn in bleach as a hollow with a system

129 – Inner Conflict

=Earth, Karakura Town, Ichigo=

Ichigo had been going back and forth with Kariya. Neither side seemed to have the upper hand. To his surprise Kariya seemed to be able to be able to resist his Zanpakuto with his bare hands drawing the battle out far longer than he had expected.

He had been on guard the whole time as against his expectation Kariya had yet to summon his doll. Not knowing what to expect was slowly getting to him and he was surprised to find Kariya seemed to be able to keep up with him even without his doll.

"Why not meld your soul with mine?" Kariya asked.

Ichigo swung his blade sending a wave of energe flying towards Kariya, but Kariya managed to dodge it.

"If you do you will enjoy everlasting glory," Kariya continued.

Kariya dashed towards Ichigo and swung his fist. Ichigo barely managed to block it with his Zanpakuto, but it still sent him sliding backwards from the force.

"How about it? Won't your entrust yourself to me?" He asked.

"I told you! I refuse!" Ichigo shouted.

Kariya sighed. "I see... that's too bad," he said.

Kariya dashed towards Ichigo again.

Ichigo drew back his Zanpakuto and spirit power started filling it. Just before Kariya managed to reach him he swung his blade.

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"Getsuga Tenshō!" He shouted.

A large slash of energy flew towards Kariya.

He managed to raise his arms at the last moment to block the slash.

During the clash the ornate silver cigar tin Kariya was holding was knocked out of his hand  though and landed in the dirt not too far away away from them.

Before either of them could respond a hand picked up the crest. A bronze and black snake was wrapped around the arm.

The hand belonged to Ryō, the middle-aged male Bount.

He wore a light smirk while examining the ornate crest for a moment and brushed off some of the dirt. He looked up at Ichigo and Kariya.

"You know... Something interesting about us Bount. All of us have our own crest which is linked to our doll. Without our crest we aren't able to control our dolls. Without it we aren't all that different from those humans. " he said with a hint of disdain in his voice.

The other fights came to a hold due to the unexpected development.

Kariya didn't seem too concerned. "What do you think you're doing Utagawa?" He asked calmly.

Ryō smirked. "Kariya-san, I'll be holding on to your crest," he said.

He turned to face the male Bount with a mohawk. "Koga-san, do you think things will go well doing things Kariya-san's way?" he asked.

Koga remained silent though.

When he didn't get the response he was expecting and was ignored instead he turned to the young blonde male Bount.

"Due to Kariya-san's weakness we have already lost three of our own. If we continue under his lead how long before all of us end up like that?" He asked.

The other Bount seemed no more interested in his proposition though instead just watching to see what would happen.

Ryō started looking a little distressed. "Kariya-san was in charge until now because he had power. But without this crest he has none," he said raising the silver cigar tin for all to see.

"I was waiting for a chance to steal his crest. I never thought it would end up being this easy," he said.

Ichigo frowned. "What's this? A fight between allies?" He asked.

Ryō shook his head. "That's incorrect. Bount are independent. We rarely help each other. We are few in number, but in order to advance to a new stage we need an excellent leader... Someone like me, not Kariya-san..." He said.

He was interrupted by Kariya's slow clapping while wearing a languid smile.

"It seems you've been biding your time Utagawa," he said.

Ryō frowned. "Stop acting tough! I have your crest right here!" He shouted showing off the silver cigar tin.

"So what?" Kariya asked.

Ryō looked at him with surprise. "Have you become delusional? Your crest, your source of power, is in my hands now. In other words you are now powerless! Even that soul reaper boy could defeat you now!" He shouted.

Kariya raised his brow. "Utagawa, why are you panicking?" He asked.

Ryō narrowed his eyes. "I'm calm as always! You're the one who's panicking. Now kneel down to me as your leader!" He shouted.

Kariya glared at him. "Don't make me say it again. So what?" He asked again.

Suddenly a Shinigami with short black hair wearing a sleeveless robe appeared in front of Ryō.

His Zanpakuto was already unsheathed. He swung it around like the arm of a clock and the blade left behind after images as it did while spreading a radiant rainbow glow until he raised it straight up over his head.

The after images slowly disappeared, but after the last one disappeared so did the Shinigami.

Barely a second later the Shinigami reappeared beside Ryō, but the Zanpakuto was still missing.

Ryō looked over in surprise. Before he could do anything he fell to his knees with blood spraying from various parts of his body.

"W-What? Im-impossible..." He muttered.

"It's over," the Shinigami said. Finally the Zanpakuto appeared back in his hand.

Ryō collapsed and didn't seem to be breathing anymore.

"Who?" Ichigo asked.

The Shinigami turned to Kariya. "Master Kariya, I'm glad you're safe," he said.

"It's fine," Kariya said.

Ichigo frowned. "Hey! What the hell is a Shinigami doing here?!" He asked.

"It seems you beat Kenpachi Zaraki..." the Shinigami said.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

The Shinigami raised his Zanpakuto towards Ichigo threateningly "I'm Ex-Eleventh Squad, Maki Ichinose," he said.

"Then why are you helping the Bount?!" Ichigo asked.

"There's no need for you to know," the Shinigami said.

Kariya shook his head. "Things seem less than favourable. We're retreating," he said.

The Shinigami lowered his Zanpakuto with a sigh. "Understood," he said.