'I've always wanted to protect, I always stood up for those that couldn't stand up on their own. And now, everyone is down, no one can stand, I'm the only one who can protect... My final act of protection, with the final method of protection; Aizen, now I see what I need to do to stop you.
'Tensa Zangetsu, I'm sorry; If I were to do what you wanted me to do, I would be safe, without powers, but safe, you would be gone, and I know Aizen wouldn't be dead. He needs to die, you would give up your existence to protect my life, please understand that I would do the same to protect all those lives depending on me... I can feel them, They're all there in the real Karakura, even the ones from Hueco Mundo came back. They are afraid, they know that this is a fight they can't help me with, they know that this is a fight I need to fight alone.'
As he finished his thoughts he closed his fist like he was holding a weapon in his arm and a spear made of black energy started forming in his hand. Before Aizen could even understand what was happening, Ichigo was in front of him, spear already piercing the Hogyouku, making it crack. As the hogyouku was destroyed, Aizen lost control of his powers, reverting to a human form, almost looking normal.
The spear was still in the same place, neither moved as the final pieces of the Hogyouku crumbled away. Aizen no longer had a Hollow hole in his chest, he now had a smaller hole made by a spear in the same place on his chest.
A small trail of blood found it's way downwards from the corner of his mouth as he looked into those emotionless red eyes; they were the last thing he saw, and would ever see; his soul was quickly following after the Hogyouku, crumbling away.
"Cold..." That was the last word Aizen said, Ichigo stood there contemplating for a few moments as to the meaning of his last word.
Maybe he was referring to the cold look in Ichigos eyes or the cold-blondness of his actions, either way he didn't want to dwell on it, his friends, his family, and all the other people that were important to him were only a few miles away, waiting and praying for his triumphant return.
He reached over to Aizens head and closed his eyes with his free hand, he was lifelessly hanging from his spear.
Ichigo decided against simply destroying his body or leaving him here, Aizens body would soon disappear on its own.
In an instant he was gone, along with Aizens body.
Back in the real Karakura, everyone was already here, Orihime managed to save anyone that was close to death back in the fake town and they all went here together, the ones that still had energy were preparing for a fight if it were to happen, the ones that couldn't even stand were silently hoping that there wouldn't be any sort of fight.
They were all gathered in groups, Yamamoto said that debriefing would happen later, so the only thing left to do was wait, and so they waited. Even Zaraki was silent, watching towards the place where Ichigo was fighting.
Many were thinking about Ichigo, especially after they found out what he was planning on doing, forever sacrificing his powers for the final attack that would hopefully destroy Aizen.
Yamamoto was berating himself for not trusting the boy more, if he had, maybe it would have made a difference somehow.
Sasakibe was silently praising him for his loyalty to his friends, regretting that he didn't get to know the boy better.
Soi-Fon was reevaluating her stance on the boy, admiring his courage and his sacrifice.
Omaeda was shivering somewhere in the corner, shaking after every slight tremor that came from the battle.
Kira was standing next to Matsumoto, comforting her and hoping that his captain would be rightfully avenged.
Unohana was healing any minor injuries around the groups, hoping that the young boy wouldn't come back barely holding himself in one piece, since that was usually how the hero would come back.
Isane was feeling sad that she couldn't have gotten to know him, since he seemed like a really nice guy and good looking too.
Byakuya was being treated by Unohana at the moment, thinking that he should check if Rukia had any interest in the boy, if he wins this fight, he might just prove himself good enough for his little sister.
Renji was already treated and was thinking about going to help Ichigo, and then he would feel the reiatsu from his fight and decide against it, and that would repeat every once in a while.
Komamura was thinking of the boy, hoping that he would win, since Komamura didn't want to fight Aizen again, he still had phantom pain from when his arm was cut off.
Iba was standing next to his captain, ready to assist him if necessary.
Hisagi was going around helping anyone who needed help, trying to keep his mind off of his ex-Captain.
Kyoraku was sticking around the group of humans, talking mainly to Chad.
Nanao was with her captain, answering some questions from Tatsuki and Mizuiro.
Hitsugaya was with the unconscious but healthy Hinamori, not taking his eyes off her.
Matsumoto was still clinging to Gin, although her eyes were dry now as Kira was trying to stabilize her emotionally.
Zaraki was, for once, not thinking about fighting Ichigo, the idea of sacrificing your power to fight to win a single fight was not very appealing to him; he thought it sucked, he wasn't supposed to fight his fellow captains, and they were the only ones that would have given him a challenge; Ichigo wasn't a captain but he was really strong, and that loophole brought him a lot of fun. The thought of never getting a chance to fight Ichigo again brought a sour taste in his mouth.
Yachiru was feeling sad for the same reason as Zaraki.
Ikkaku and Yumichika were standing close to their captain, silently waiting to see what happens next.
Mayuri was waiting for the battle to end so he could (hopefully) get a hold of the Hogyouku.
Nemu was waiting for orders next to her Captain.
Ukitake was speaking with Rukia, she was explaining him her fight with the ninth Espada.
Even the Vizards were there;
Shinji was watching over the unconcious Hiyori, Hachigen helping Orihime with healing Kensei and Mashiro, Love and Rose talking on the side. Lisa was hanging around Nanao after she managed to explain to her what happened.
Chizuru was keeping silent and soaking in all she heard, making sure not to be noticeable because she felt like an insect around all these powerful looking people.
Michiru was still out, Kanonji taking care of her. Keigo was doing the exact same thing as Chizuru.
Isshin was staying close to Yamamoto, since he was one of the few who knew him before his human life.
Yoruichi, Kisuke and Tessai were doing the same thing as Isshin.
Ishida was hanging around Inoue while she was healing everyone.
And then, after the battlefield was cleared of a few mountains, a large purple pillar emerged, and broke down not long after, but what came next was not something they saw regularly.
A giant mushroom-cloud explosion enveloped the entire battlefield. Whoever had any desire to help Ichigo lost said desire after seeing the devastating attack.
And then instead of all the destructive attacks with malicious reiatsu from Aizen in them, a single 'tower' of reiatsu emerged in light blue color, with the warm reiatsu belonging to Ichigo.
Not long after that, everything stopped, no more attacks, no more reiatsu flaring, no more gigantic lv. 90 kido, no more mountains disappearing.
"Isane." Unohana only had to get her attention, Isane already knew what she had to do.
"Kakushi Tsuijaku!" she didn't need an incantation, she only needed to see what was happening, why did the attacks stop, is the battle over, has Aizen been defeated?
"I think... Aizen Sousuke is...dead..." She didn't know who the person with the long black hair and the strange armor was, she couldn't get a better look at him.
Most were relieved at the news, although few of them knew better, Kisuke and Isshin were trying to figure out how Ichigo killed Aizen while Yamamoto thought about asking Kisuke if there was a way for Ichigo to get his power back.
Breaking all of them out of their thoughts, Ichigo landed right in the middle of all of them, his spear still carrying Aizens body.
Isshin was the first to react, since he knew about the Final Getsugatensho and its effects on the wielder.
"Ichigo!"
He didn't turn his head, instead he made his spear disintegrate, Aizens body falling to the ground in a heap.
After a few seconds of silence the body started dispersing into thin air, small spirit particles visibly flying up into the air before disappearing,
"Dad, everyone...I'm sorry." he said solemnly, looking up towards the sky.
"Ichigo...why are you apologizing?You did it, you've won!" Isshin replied slightly worried, no one else dared say anything, partly because of the sad look Ichigo had on his face, and partly because they didn't want to intrude on their talk.
"I couldn't do it the way you told me, sacrificing all my power wasn't enough... I had to go further... I had to make sure that he would never be a threat again..." His armor started cracking and pieces fell to the ground, revealing his bare chest and his face.
More than a few people were confused as his word sunk in.
"Tell Yuzu and Karin...tell them that I'm sorry, I didn't want it to happen like this..."
"Ichigo! What the hell are you talking about, you'll tell them yourse..."
"Stop it dad, I sacrificed my soul along along with my powers, this isn't something that can be healed, just tell them that I'm sorry, I didn't want to leave them like this..." His hair now returned to normal.
Gasps could be heard and many people were wide-eyed when what he told them sunk in. Yamamoto was among the few that managed to compose themselves, mainly because he saw people sacrifice themselves for the sake of others before, but he was on the verge of interrupting.
"I don't have much longer, I would love to be able to say goodbye to all of you, but I don't have the time.
Rukia, don't even think about getting depressed.
Chad, thanks for watching my back all this time, I'm sorry I can't watch yours any longer.
Renji, take good care of Rukia, she'll get depressed anyway.
Ishida, give your old man another chance.
Inoue... sorry for not figuring it out sooner.
Keigo, Mizuiro, Honsho, Tasuki, take care and... sorry for not telling you any of this stuff sooner.
And, dad, make sure I'm next to mom, ok?"
Another few silent seconds went by as Ichigo looked towards the sky again, this time with a calm smile on his face. Obviously glad that with his goodbyes.
'So that's what he meant...' Ichigo thought as he felt his end nearing.
"Ichigo..." Isshin was the one to speak, he was tear-eyed now, still not believing that his son would soon disappear forever from his life, just like his dear Masaki.
"It's... cold." and then he fell, before his face touched the ground his body started glowing and instead of crashing to the ground with a 'thud' his body disintegrated in the same way Aizens body did.
Tears were shed that day, as the greatest hero that ever lived sacrificed his existence in order to save them from the the greatest threat they faced.