nameless_hollow | Application for entranceway

Name: Seme
LJ: ForgottenCG
E-Mail: zelda44[at]hotmail.com
IM: Lil Akureineko

Character Name: Hollow Ichigo (Shirosaki Hichigo – Common fan name, No official name released)
Series: Bleach
Timeline: Manga chapter 353 - The Ash (Mid winter war)
Canon Resource Link: http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Hollow_Ichigo

Character Background:

There are anime/manga spoilers ahead

Ichigo's Hollow was created when Urahara helped Ichigo regain his lost Shinigami powers by cutting his soul chain and quickened the hollowfication process. Ichigo, having an extremely stubborn will to live, was able to overpower the hollow transformation but didn't know that part of his soul was tainted from it and he didn't know of it fully until his first close battle with Zaraki Kenpachi. Until that point, a hollow mask seemed to save him from life-threatening blows in his mission through the Seireitei but Ichigo thought it was good luck that it saved him so many times.

When it seemed Ichigo was going to lose in the battle with Zaraki, Zangetsu had intervened and asked Ichigo if he really wanted to win. To prove that he did, he had to defeat 'himself' in battle to confirm for Zangetsu that he was worthy enough to wield the zanpakutou and overcome his enemy. He ended up defeating his hollow side for the right to wield Zangetsu in battle and the hollow seemed to be reabsorbed into Zangetsu since he was the weakest of the three.

Over time though, when Ichigo got stronger, his hollow side seemed to gain strength just as quick as he did, learning his new abilities automatically and soon proved himself to be a threat to his King during the fight with Kuchiki Byakuya. Once again, as resilient as Ichigo was, he was in over his head with Byakuya bringing on the final blow to finish him off and as he was going to black out in a moment of weakness, his hollow side intervened. In that moment of lost control, the hollow brutally battled Byakuya by possessing Ichigo's body, giving the Shinigami Captain little time to think as he critically wounded his opponent. When Ichigo found out what was going on, he ripped the hollow mask off of his face and was in control over his body once again after the brutal interruption.

The turning point for Ichigo was when the Arrancar started to cross over from Hueco Mundo into Karakura Town and in mid-battle, the Hollow was taunting Ichigo into letting him take over for just a while to take care of the Arrancar that was beating him so badly. The Hollow's interruption was enough for Ichigo to badly lose his focus on the outside world and was beaten horribly by Yammy.

The only way the Hollow was properly put in his place was during Ichigo's training with the Vizards. With a technique that forced Ichigo into his inner world, the boy and his hollow counterpart battled for supremacy over Ichigo's body. The Hollow proved more than a challenge for Ichigo and while his seemingly insane taunting had knowledge behind it, the boy didn't seem to understand. That annoyed the hollow that his King was lacking such battle instinct to know the things on his own and the battle turned to his favor with Ichigo moments from losing the fight for his body for good.

Unfortunately for the hollow, Ichigo managed to turn things around and defeat him and was acknowledged as King since he seemed to have a little bit of battle instinct after all... but the hollow promised that he'd return as soon as Ichigo showed the slightest weakness and crush him.

There was little to no sign of the hollow causing trouble for Ichigo from the end of the vizards training until his final battle with Ulquiorra Cifer, deep within Las Noches. Ichigo seemed to be gaining the upper hand while using the hollow's powers in battle but Ulquiorra was too much for him and seemed to end the battle with punching a hole through Ichigo's chest, causing him to nearly die. All seemed lost and as Orihime screamed in despair until Ichigo got up, his body transformed into a full hollow and went on a horrifying rampage to utterly tear Ulquiorra apart piece by piece.

Ulquiorra was saved from his own death temporarily from cracking one of the horns in half as the full hollow was going to finish him off with a cero blast, causing it to blow up in his face and shatter his mask. When Ichigo awoke from that ordeal, the hole in his chest healed by the high-speed regeneration from his hollow, he was mortified that his hollow side went on an insane rampage and not only ripped Ulquiorra apart, he injured his friends as well.

Abilities/Special Powers:

Hollow Ichigo is a representation of Ichigo's hollow transformation and since he's part of Ichigo's being, he automatically inherited Ichigo's Shinigami powers as he learned them: such as his Flash Step, swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand combat skills. Though the hollow mentions to Ichigo that they have the exact same amount of power, they have not so subtle differences:

- He is more insightful in battle than Ichigo and points out the errors in his King's ways, driven more by battle instinct than hesitation.

- His skills are described more as a berserker rather than fighting in a logical manner and he uses more seemingly reckless attacks than Ichigo, like using the zanpakutou as a flail by its cloth while controlling its direction for attack.

- He has more physical strength than Ichigo as he is able to throw Ichigo into a building in the Inner World and can deflect his Getsuga Tensho with one hand--an ability that Ichigo tried to mimic after his hollow first used it while possessing his body in the battle with Kuchiki Byakuya.

- He is able to possess Ichigo's body and fight through him when the substitute Shinigami loses consciousness in battle and during that time, he ignores any previous injuries Ichigo had received, attacking with more sadistic and brutal force.

- While in possession of Ichigo's body, the hollow transformation that was seemingly put to rest resumes, at first as only a mask and increased speed and strength, but during the training with the Vizards, the transformation is sped up and the hollow is able to use abilities such as: instant-regeneration to heal wounds that he received or to regenerate a lost limb, and a cero attack—a focused hollow energy attack.

-The full hollow transformation when Hollow Ichigo took over in Ichigo’s near demise with Ulquiorra shows just how horrifying it would be if Ichigo lost to his inner hollow and lost his soul. In that short battle, Hollow Ichigo goes straight for the kill, wasting no time in toying with his prey as he cuts Ulquiorra down mercilessly. His skin is strong enough to handle near point-blank range attacks, able to summon back the zanpakutou from a distance, his cero attack is more concentrated and deadly, the Flash Step technique that he originally learned from Ichigo is upgraded to Sonido—which allows him to move at an incredible rate of speed.

Relationships:

Ichigo's hollow has limited contact with the majority of the cast in the series as he exists in Ichigo's Inner World and briefly makes appearances through Ichigo during battles when there's a possibility of Ichigo dying.

Kurosaki Ichigo - The two of them are in a constant power struggle over who would end up the dominate soul in Ichigo's body. While Ichigo believes that reasoning with an opponent to get out of a fight is the right way to go about battle, his hollow side strongly disagrees and openly mocks Ichigo any chance he gets. Ichigo is constantly reminded by his hollow side that if he fell in a moment of weakness, the hollow would take over and devour his soul. The two of them have a complex King and Horse relationship while Ichigo is the "King" of the Inner World and his body, his hollow side is seen as the "Horse" which carries him. The Hollow makes it apparent that Ichigo's lack of battle instinct and inability to protect his friends and allies threatens his position on their power struggle.

Later on in the series as Ichigo seems to be losing control over his hollow side, the Vizards, led by Hirako Shinji, help him regain control over his hollow by forcing them to do battle in his Inner World. Though on the outside, it seems that the hollow transformation is nearly complete from Ichigo's near defeat, the hollow is put in its place but leaves Ichigo with the reminder that the next time he shows any weakness whatsoever, he'll pay for it dearly.

Zangetsu - Despite the hollow and the zanpakutou spirit reside in Ichigo's Inner World, there is limited interaction shown between them. Zangetsu, at the beginning, was in the middle of the power struggle as the hollow seemed to listen to him more when he was to fight Ichigo for the right to wield the zanpakutou but as time went on it changed. The Hollow's powers grew and soon Zangetsu seemed to be on the bottom of the power struggle as he made no appearance during the Inner World battle for Ichigo's body. Ichigo depends on both of them for their power but as more time passes, he's relying more and more on his hollow to lend him power to overcome his enemies rather than using Zangetsu's strength alone.

Third-Person Sample:
The Hollow sat on the face of a building in the lopsided inner world, an elbow propped up on a knee and a hand cradling his chin. He watched nonchalantly at the distant clouds passing by the edges of the far buildings from an invisible wind before a booming concussion from above shattered the quiet. Black and gold eyes narrowed as the echoes of the noise faded off but were soon followed by another.

Ichigo disgusted him.

Despite all the power his King boasted, he never used it in the right way and kept getting himself beaten and cut up when he damned well knew he was better than that. Then when the Hollow offered to help him, he got it thrown in his face. He knew that Ichigo's way wasn't always the right way if the brat wanted to stay alive. Hell, he wasn't about to let Ichigo get himself killed while playing the tragic hero; he had his own plans. When his King forced him into submission for supremacy over his body, the hollow relented and let him make use of his hollow abilities. He was mildly amused during the rest of his King's training with the Shinigami group that had 'the same problem'. At first he could only handle four seconds with using the hollow powers then the mask would shatter right away.

Now he was up to eleven seconds, trying to force his way through enemy territory... Eleven seconds of borrowing his destructive powers and not using them to their full potential.

The Hollow smirked to himself as another booming concussion faded away. If his King thought he could win a battle with a strong battle-bred enemy then he could go right ahead. He was too overconfident and he'd learn his lesson soon enough. He sat patiently as Ichigo continued to battle outside, just waiting for the inevitable crack in his defense to appear to allow the hollow to slip through and show him how to really make use of his hollow powers.

Eleven seconds.

The Hollow threw his head back and laughed.

What a fucking joke.

First-Person Sample:

Oi, Old Man.

Ya can't tell me that yer not at least a lil' pissed off at King.

What the hell does he find useful about tryin' to reason with the enemy when they're tryin' to kill him?! It's so goddamn annoyin'! He's not the only one in this body and I'm not gonna sit around and let him get himself killed because he's a fuckin' idiot.

Tch. It's a sign of weakness; tryin' to talk yerself out of a battle. King's got no battle instincts and we're the ones payin' for it.

If ya wanna stand around and watch him get his ass kicked, go right on ahead. I already warned him that if he screwed up and showed any weakness that I'd throw him off and show him how yer supposed to win a battle.

There's no way in hell I'm carryin' around a King who's weaker than his horse.