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Warning! Spoiler Alert! If you haven't read the most recent manga, read on at your own risk.
Disclaimer: I do not own bleach or any of it's characters.
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Fake Karakura town had turned into a pile of blood and rock. The bodies of all the captains were strewed about. Most already dead and fading, if they were still there at all. Tousen had been killed by his predecessor, and Gin had been killed by Matsumoto Rangiku, who then followed suit when she had succumbed to her own fatal injuries. The silence was deafening.
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Ichigo whipped his head around just in time to block the downward strike that would have tore straight through his body. Tensa Zangetsu shook in his hand as he gathered his reiatsu into his zanpakutou.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo's voice ripped through the silence on the battle field as he threw Aizen backwards with his attack. Only to have his own back suddenly gush blood into the air behind him.
"How utterly disappointing Ichigo-kun. I had the highest hopes for you, but it's no matter." The smugness in Aizen's voice was thick as he took the time to look behind him at the destroyed Fake Karakura town.
"Because you see Ichigo, I have already gained what I've desired. Take a look around! All of your friends are down for the count, all of your comrades have challenged God in order to protect their miniscule ideals!-"
"YOU ARE NOT GOD AIZEN!" The Substitute Shinigami's cry echoed off the destroyed ruins that held all his bleeding friends.
He burst forward and attacked Aizen with renewed anger and pain. The traitor just sighed and leaned away from the blade, every strike so close to cutting him, but never fast enough.
"If I am not god, then why do I have the power to destroy those who govern the dead?" Aizen kicked Ichigo's blade to the left, leaving him wide open."Hadou #4 Byakurai."
Ichigo's eyes widened as he tried to use the power behind Aizen's kick to maneuver away from the devastating beam of energy, it missed his heart but ripped his left arm off completely. His pain filled screams sounding more hollow then they should.
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Urahara coughed up blood as he shakily pushed himself up out of the rubble. Sensing, and hearing, Ichigo fighting he started to walk towards the battle, Benihime hanging in-between falling, and staying in his weak grip.
'I'm so sorry Kurosaki-san, I should never have gotten you into this. Your still young. No matter how much you've been through. Please forgive me, if we ever make it out of here.' Urahara's thoughts pounded in his mind as he closed his injured eye and aimed at the fighting pair. "This is the best I can do, maybe it'll help you, my orange haired student. Bakudou #63 Sajo Sabaku!"
The winding chains whipped around Aizen without any trouble, only to completely shatter as soon as he moved.
Isshin had lost almost all his powers as of now. The long wait before using them had slowly drained them away. Struggling to even remain standing under his own sons pressure.
"Move out of the way! Kisuke!" Isshin yelled from a couple hundred feet away.
A massive kidou spell started to rampage it's way from Aizen towards Urahara. He turned to his old friend and gave him a tired smile. "Not today, Isshin-san. I think now would be a nice time to...retire. Yeah, that sounds nice." His eyes closed and he was engulfed by the massive explosion that followed.
Isshin picked up an unconcious Yoruichi and shunpo'd away as best as he could manage with his injuries. His back and forearms still getting charred by the destructive energy.
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Aizen grabbed Ichigo by the front of his shirt, only to be restrained by the humble candy makers kidou.
His eye's tilted towards Urahara as he shattered the chain with a simple flick of his wrist. "A weak and desperate move. Your finished." Aizen lifted his palm to aim, taking a second to consider the pro's and con's, then fired. "Hadou #88 Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raihou." A resounding screech followed the attack as it decimated another sector of the fake karakura town. A pillar of dust rising from the crater.
Ichigo's tears flowed freely as he let his head bow down, the pain being too much to bear. "Why... why..." He whispered softly.
"Why?" Aizen questioned. Grabbing Ichigo's throat in a vice grip he lifted him up higher into the air. "Why are creatures of the night feared? Why are men born, but monsters created? Why does power always come with a price? I can't answer these for you my failed little project."
Ichigo's eyes widened, trying to keep the bleeding from his now non-existent left arm in check. "What the hell are you talking about Aizen?"
The look in Aizen's eyes made him seem genuinely concerned, but the look was ruined by the smirk that was plastered onto his face permanently. "Oh of course. I'm terribly sorry, I must not have mentioned it." His smirk widened as he leaned into Ichigo's ear, breathing softly. "Remember what I said about monsters being made, Ichigo?"
The substitute shinigami started to shiver as his life began to ebb away from him, along with his blood, and his determination.
The former 5th squad captain began to chuckle. More to himself then anything. Dropping Ichigo as he opened the Senkaimon to Soul Society. Looking over his shoulder he called out to the falling teen. "Take a brief second to watch your short life flash before your eyes. You were the monster all along, and I bet if you think really hard, you'll know who created you."
As Aizen walked through the gate, Ichigo screamed into the dead silence once more. A scream of pure sadness, that enveloped the entire area in his despair soaked reiatsu.
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