Aegis

Disclaimer:

BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite. This story contains spoilers for Chapters 420 and 421 of the manga; feel free to hit the back button if you do not want to be spoiled. I only own the introspective thoughts here. Thank you.

Full Summary:

[One Shot – Spoilers for Chapter 420 & 421] All they wanted was to be with him. To stay by his side for all time, so that they could always, always protect him. But he was their master, their King, and in the end, all they could do was to cede to his wishes. Even if it went against their own desires, even if it hurt to know that they would never meet again…

It was a wish, their wish. It was nothing grand or flamboyant, just a simple but deeply heartfelt wish.

("What I want to protect… is not what you want to protect.")

All they wanted, all they wished for was to be able to be by his side forever and always, so that they could defend him. To shield the one who risked life and limb to protect the people he held dear, to protect all the people that he could… except for himself.

They wanted to take on that particular role, the role of the protector… his protector. There was no one else in this world who was more important to either of them than him. To them, no one was more precious than one Kurosaki Ichigo.

Partner.

Master.

King.

Whatever the title bestowed upon him, he was unquestionably the center of their world. Without Ichigo, they would not exist. They were born from his soul; he had given them life. Their existence revolved around him. Thus, in return, they would do everything it took to make sure that this strong, pure and dear soul would not disappear. They would protect him, cut down all the enemies who threatened him in any way and make him strong enough that scant few would be able to harm him.

("What I want to protect… is you, Ichigo.")

In the end, Aizen Sousuke and the Hougyoku were the defining factors that tipped their world on its axis.

They were why Ichigo had had to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou – Muugetsu – and had then used it.

("If you use it, you will lose your shinigami powers.")

They were the reasons that right now, their special world of horizontal buildings was crumbling, that the blue sky was bleeding out into a white nothingness.

They were why they could no longer be by Ichigo's side.

("Farewell, Ichigo.")

"He did it, huh."

"Isn't it quite apparent, hollow?"

"Shaddup. O'course I knew that… It's so fucking obvious."

It certainly, most definitely was. Not only were the horizontal buildings that made up Ichigo's inner world slowly but surely crumbling and collapsing upon each other, both of them – hollow and zanpakutou – could feel their own forms gradually begin to fade and disappear. They were all clear signs that Ichigo had used the Muugetsu.

The hollow didn't even want to mention the strange ache he was feeling in his chest region. He didn't even have a heart, so there shouldn't be any ache there or anywhere for the matter.

He glanced at the other spirit that shared this now-dying world with him, wondering absently if the sword spirit was also feeling that same strange ache. Tensa Zangetsu was standing closer to him than the zanpakutou normally would. But they had not too long ago merged to fiercely refuse to teach Ichigo the Muugetsu (even if some part of them probably already knew the resistance would eventually be futile), so that could be the reason. Plus, there was nothing remotely normal about their situation right now.

"Idiot King… you better have killed that bastard, Aizen," the hollow muttered in a low growl.

Usually, he would be able to tell what was going on outside of Ichigo's inner world. But because of the after-effects of Muugetsu, he was now completely cut off from Ichigo. He wouldn't be able to know if there was anything still threatening his King. He was now helpless to do anything; he was utterly useless. And all of his instincts were screaming at him to do something when he couldn't.

Fuck. He really wanted to rip something apart. Too bad the only available option – which wasn't even really one – was Tensa Zangetsu. Strangely enough, the hollow also realized that despite his bloodlust, it wasn't directed towards the other occupant of this crumbling world.

"Ichigo will live," Tensa Zangetsu replied quietly.

Like the hollow he shared this plane with, he could no longer tell what was going on with Ichigo in the outside world. He didn't know where he had obtained the confidence to say that his master would live. But he had to believe that. Even if he was in the process of disappearing forever himself, Tensa Zangetsu had to believe that Ichigo would be all right. That he had still managed to protect him until the end of his existence.

He realized that he was standing a lot closer than he typically would to the hollow. He did not find the hollow repulsive, although he did take offence at the other spirit's choice of words at times. They were intrinsically different despite having both been born from Ichigo's spiritual powers, but as he had later found out, they shared a common desire to keep Ichigo safe from harm. They definitely expressed it in different ways – and it was clear which Ichigo viewed more positively – but in the end, they had had the same goal in mind.

The image they made now though, if anyone else were able to see, was one of desolation. Tensa Zangetsu was proud that his master had stuck with his beliefs until the very end, for it showed Ichigo's strength of character. However, he couldn't muster any energy to make himself be genuinely happy about this.

His only desire, their only desire… was to be able to protect their master forever. But now…

The only thing to complete this picture of slow, wretched demise was if it were to rain. But the skies remained free of those once-common rainclouds, and though the buildings were falling apart, they remained perfectly dry. The hollow thought that right now, he'd prefer it if the heavens opened up to drench them all. Or even to be submerged underwater like how it had been when Ichigo had first entered his inner world in Bankai.

A perfectly dry inner world meant that Ichigo had no regrets over his actions.

Somehow, though he was most definitely a hollow, it hurt a little to know that very fact… and somehow, he just knew that Tensa Zangetsu was feeling the very same way.

It was a strange sight to witness – a zanpakutou spirit and a hollow sitting side-by-side, leaning slightly against each other against a despairing backdrop of rubble and crumbling buildings – and it was even stranger to be partaking in such a scene.

Yet Tensa Zangetsu couldn't find it in his heart to really care about the overall oddity of his current situation.

Before the hollow had appeared as another entity living in Ichigo's inner world, he had occupied it solely. Even so, he had never felt truly alone even before Ichigo had learnt of his name. It was because he could still sense Ichigo and he could still take a look at what was happening in the material world through Ichigo's eyes. Which was not the case right now.

Hence, he found himself truly glad that he wasn't alone as his existence started to fade. The tactile contact he had with the hollow was also immensely comforting, possibly more than he had thought it would be. He was leaning slightly against the hollow's right arm and partly against the hollow's back. Their palms were both facing the ground, right next to each, one pale and the other pure white, fingers barely brushing against each other.

Then he felt the hollow's hand move and warmth descended onto the back of his left hand. He glanced down, surprised, and there it was… Instead of being beside his hand, the hollow's hand was now laid upon his own gently, almost… uncertainly.

Uncertainty was not what the hollow was known for. It was almost a complete change in the hollow's character to act that way.

Tensa Zangetsu moved his gaze away from their hands to glance at the other's face. He found the black and gold eyes staring at him, a defiant air about their owner. The hollow was clearly daring him to say something, to do something to reject the gesture. For a moment, Tensa Zangetsu felt very much like smiling but he bit it back. The hollow would probably take it the wrong way. Instead, he flipped over his left hand and carefully laced fingers with the hollow, all the while maintaining eye contact.

Black and gold eyes widened. To be perfectly honest, the hollow had been prepared for anything but what the zanpakutou spirit had just done. It had been on impulse that had led him to cover Tensa Zangetsu's hand with his. They were sitting so close to each other, practically had one of their arms plastered to the other's… and it had felt… nice. So he had done what he did, though he had been rather tentative about it, and was fully expecting a rebuff…

So the zanpakutou had completely surprised him.

He continued to stare into the light blue eyes, slowly feeling a sense of foreign calmness replacing the roiling despair and the urge to kill inside of him. The hollow exhaled, and allowed himself to put more of his weight onto the zanpakutou. He felt Tensa Zangetsu shift a little to accommodate him, so that his head was now resting against the zanpakutou's shoulder.

…you're such a big baby. Surprisingly.

The hollow twitched a little as he heard Tensa Zangetsu's words echo inside his head. The zanpakutou was one to talk. Besides, so what if he did like this? Seeking physical comfort was pretty much instinctive.

Tch' shaddup. You like this too.

So he did, Tensa Zangetsu could admit that. He had thought that it was soothing to have someone with him as he started to disappear. But it felt even better now with the hollow actually casually leaning on him, their hands still entwined.

…no regrets, I presume…?

We both gave our all. Think we could've out-stubborn-ed King?

They certainly had given everything they had, but perhaps both of them had already known from the start that Ichigo mastering the Final Getsuga Tenshou was only a matter of time. That said, the hollow was hard-pressed to say that he had no regrets at all.

Probably not…

The hollow wasn't really answering his question, Tensa Zangetsu knew that. But he also knew exactly why. To say that he himself had no regrets was just… not possible.

I regret not being able to continue protecting what I've always wanted to protect.

The same thought echoed loudly between them, between zanpakutou spirit and hollow. But it felt less stinging, this regret, now that they had someone who shared the same thoughts, the same feelings. As one, black-gold and light blue eyes closed as a slight smile curved each of their lips. They stayed quietly in this manner, trading thoughts fleetingly, spontaneously…

Until even thoughts and regrets ceased to exist.

Oh wow. It's been ages since I last wrote a fanfic for BLEACH! When Tensa Zangetsu-H!Ichigo confessed who they really wanted to protect, I almost cried at that scene. It was so very bittersweet, and I was so touched and became all wibbly. I had the greatest urge to give them both a hug. But I think they really rather Ichigo do it, or not use Muugetsu. So this fic was born because of the profuse amount of angst that battered me after the chapters to write them. That and I couldn't really find fics about Tensa Zangetsu and H!Ichigo...

Well, it seems that Ichigo would possibly get back his powers in due time... but I just wonder if his hollow will come back along too. Still, this idea was conceptualised before the new arc of BLEACH started coming out, and so I decided to just publish it!

Hope you enjoyed this!

carzla