A Boy and His Dog, or by its full title, A Brash Outspoken Youth and his Destructive Oversoul Giant, is a Bleach What If? fanfiction by Lethargy
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To avoid over curious rookies and to allow Rukia Kuchiki to help her sick captain, Captain Sajin Komamura offers to take over her mission to the Living World. There, he meets Ichigo Kurosaki, and when the latter's family is attacked by a hollow, Komamura gives his powers to Ichigo. With his powers drained, he picks Ichigo as his substitute and becomes the brash youth's mentor.
The author ended at three chapters, finishing with a series of notes of how the final portion of the Soul Society Arc and war against Aizen would have gone done.
You can read it on Fanfiction.net at here.
A Boy and His Dog contain examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Thanks to Komamura's training, Ichigo made contact with his Zanpakuto spirit before Kisuke's training, allowing him to escape the Shattershaft before the hollowfication and his powers undivided.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Captain Tosen and Lieutenant Hisagi are sent to bring back Komamura for trial.
- Badass Teacher: Komamura to Ichigo, as expected from the captain. Alongside explaining Ichigo's role as a Soul Reaper, he also has him contact his Zanpakuto spirit to access his true power.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Ichigo asks that if werewolves like Komamura are in the Soul Society, is the same true for vampires.Ichigo: ...So are they vampires in the Soul Society?
Komamaru: Don't be ridiculous.
Ichigo: That's a relief.
Komamaru: Soul Society is for the dead. Vampires can't exist because they're immortal. - The Chew Toy: Kon becomes a literal chew toy for Komamura.
- Exact Words: Komamura has his lieutenant Iba promise to watch over Ichigo when he arrives to the Soul Society. Of course, both of them expected that Ichigo would arrive after his death rather than invade to rescue his mentor from execution, though that doesn't stop Iba from helping him.
- A God I Am Not: Komamura tells Ichigo that while Soul Reapers may live for centuries and are far stronger than humans, they are not gods and are susceptible to death. In the author's notes, Ichigo recites the same fact to Aizen at the end of their fight in the Karakura War.
- Mistaken for Badass: A sequence of events ends up giving timid Hanataro Yamada a reputation of a Soul Reaper able to match against members of the 11th Squad and brave enough to travel without his Zanpakuto (in truth left behind because his work doesn't require fighting).
- My God, What Have I Done?: Byakuya and Rukia both confront Aizen after the former deduced that the latter has not only faked his death but been masquerading as the Council 46. But in the ensuring fight, Aizen uses his Zanpakuto to make Byakuya think Rukia was Aizen, nearly giving his sister a killing blow and causing the tropes effect.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Komamaura stop Uryu from the using the Hollow Bait by biting his leg, with Kon catching it when he lets go. However, after Ichigo gives a speech of how while he's not afraid to take on the Quincy's challenge, he won't do it in Karakura Town where it'll put his sisters in danger. Kon then claps in applause... while still holding the Hollow Bait.
- Rules Lawyer: Komamura doesn't intend to tell the Soul Society that Isshin Kurosaki is the missing Captain Shiba since he is off duty and that responsibility is towards his substitute Ichigo.
- Talking Animal: Because the Gigai Kisuke made for him was designed to look like a dog, Komamura appears like one.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Orihime doesn't react when Sergei/Komamura talk while healing heal, though justified since she's a Cloudcuckoolander and she just unlocked her powers, along with facing exhaustion.
