Deceiving One's Heart

Chapter one: "Betrayal of friends"

Ichigo breathed gently as he felt the sand from beneath him start to levitate around his legs. The sand that levitated around his legs swirled in conjunction with his ever growing Reiryoku. He looked across himself in disbelief as he held up his black blade.

"You bastards! What do you think you are doing?! I need to save Orihime!" Ichigo yelled with frustration in his voice as he pointed his black sword at the figures in front of himself.

"Isn't it simple Kurosaki? The soul society has deemed you as a threat. Any threats that the soul society acknowledges must be eliminated. Do not worry though, your death will be quick and flawless by the slashes of my Senbonzakura," stated Byakuya Kuchiki smoothly.

Ichigo felt his eyes widen considerably as he looked over at the person beside Byakuya.

"Are you planning on eliminating me as well?" asked Ichigo with a slightly panicked voice.

"Hahaha. I can't say no to a fight to the death with you, Ichigo. This gives me a chance to fight someone strong. It will be a pity when you are dead though. I will have no one strong to fight me then," said Kenpachi Zaraki with a sinister grin.

Ichigo tightened his hand on his sword's hilt as he felt overwhelming rage flow throughout his being. Ichigo's face darkened as he looked at the two of them.

"What makes me a danger to the soul society?! There must be a misunderstanding.." Ichigo said with a low and angered voice.

"That's quite the question to ask. You should know that answer better than anyone else, boy. The threat is your potential. Your soul is the combined mixture of both hollow and soul reaper. Such power can not be tossed around so simply. Certainly not to a substitute soul reaper. We are in no need for people like you," stated Byakuya calmly as he held his zanpakuto upside down.

"Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi" Byakuya spoke quietly as he dropped his blade into the ground. Seconds later, many enlarged blades came out of the ground as they disintegrated into thousands of pink cherry blossom petals. Ichigo instinctively held up his sword as he used shunpo to get beside Byakuya. He swung his blade down quickly but his blade was caught by the barrage of Senbonzakura's pink petals. Ichigo pulled away as he flung backwards and away from the barrage of petals. He looked up and disappeared in a shunpo once more. This time he was in the air.

"Getsuga Tenshō" whispered Ichigo as a black Getsuga Tenshō rapidly flew towards the barrage of petals.

"Did'ya forget about me Ichigo?" asked Kenpachi from behind Ichigo. Ichigo felt his eyes widen as he felt a slash against his back. Ichigo winced in pain as he fell from the sky and onto the sandy floor. Ichigo without a seconds hesitation stood up and held his black sword more firmly.

'I have no choice. I need to save Orihime and the rest of my friends. The only way to do that is by using my mask.' Ichigo thought while he felt the blood from his wound drip down his back.

Ichigo moved his hand to his face as he gently swiped across his face. In that quick and smooth swipe, a hollow mask manifested itself onto Ichigo's face. Ichigo closed his eyes for a second as he felt the wind around him breeze against his body erratically.

'What should I do? They are slowing me down.' Ichigo asked himself softly as he opened his eyes.

"Boy, did you think that Getsuga would harm me? How foolish," said Byakuya as he shunpo'ed right in front of Ichigo. Ichigo followed Byakuya's footing perfectly as he evenly matched the strike Byakuya delivered. Ichigo pushed against Byakuya's blade as he sensed Kenpachi's presence behind himself. Ichigo forcibly kicked in the direction that Kenpachi swung his blade in thus catching Kenpachi's blade on the palm of his foot. Ichigo smirked softly behind his mask as he charged a silent Getsuga on his sword. Byakuya's eyes widened as he shunpo'ed away from the released Getsuga. This Getsuga tore the ground asunder from the power his mask gave the blast. In that short amount of time, Ichigo used the speed his Bankai gave him to vanish and reappear right behind Kenpachi. Ichigo without any hesitation sliced Kenpachi's back twice. These two slices left deep gashes in Kenpachi's back. Ichigo jumped away from the now collapsed Kenpachi as he noticed Byakuya direction his Senbonzakura petals towards him. Ichigo suddenly started to speed up as he left after images of himself in the wake.

"Last time we fought, you were able to evade my Senbonzakura's lethal petals. How about this time?" Byakuya questioned arrogantly as he used his hands to direction the swarms of petals. Ichigo moved throughout the air as if he were some sort of bird dodging the dangerous bite of a jumping tiger. Ichigo looked around himself as he just came to notice the many swarms of petals surrounding his body. In that split second of panic, Ichigo slipped past the building numbers of petals that surrounded his body and appeared right in front of Byakuya.

"This time is no different Byakuya," Ichigo said smoothly as he jabbed his sword into Byakuya's stomach. Byakuya felt pain swarm in his gut as he threw up some blood onto Ichigo's black shihakusho. Ichigo frowned at the sight of his old comrade bleeding.

"If it is true about what you and the soul society are trying to do...then I can't just sit around and be killed off. I still have things to do... saving my friends is a starting plac-" started Ichigo until he felt a ginormous amount of Reiryoku behind himself. Ichigo felt his eyes widen greatly due to the fact of Kenpachi still being up. The two slashes he delivered to Kenpachi's back severed the bonds to his spine. At least Ichigo thought he severed the spine. Ichigo pulled his blade but felt no release from Byakuya's gut. Ichigo looked at his blade and noticed Byakuya's firm grip on it. Ichigo pulled on it more but suddenly stopped tugging when he felt a tremendous amount of pain from his chest. Seconds after that burst of pain, Ichigo pitifully threw up blood onto Byakuya's white captain haori. Ichigo looked down at his chest slowly as he noticed Kenpachi's blade sticking out of it. He immediately felt another burst of pain. This time it was from his gut. He looked past Kenpachi's blade and noticed Senbonzakura sticking in his gut. Ichigo felt the breath from his throat catch in a squabble of frenzied panic. He looked up at Byakuya with disdain in his eyes.

"B-Byak-kuya-" Ichigo started with a raspy voice until he felt the two blades exit his body. Straight after the blades left his torn flesh, Ichigo fell to the sandy grounds of Hueco Mundo. His mask disintegrated straight after collapsing.

'Move! Dammit...I-I can't move my limbs. My body... it feels so cold...' Ichigo thought silently as his body started to go numb. Ichigo dug his hand into the sand in a fruitless attempt to get up.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. The sight of you like this is quite unsightly. The statement you said about this time being no different than last time is a statement you pronounced to try and scare your enemies away from fighting. It is simply pathetic. You may think you pierced my stomach on your own accord but you didn't. I let your blade pierce my flesh so I could grab your blade. This left you with no time to react to Captain Zaraki's attack. It was the perfect situation to stop your Bankai's monstrous speed boost. It was also the perfect situation to make you immobile. With this said, don't go around trying to shatter someone else's pride, boy. Even if you were giving a myriad amount of attempts at stabbing me, you would never hit me," stated Byakuya Kuchiki while sheathing his blade.

"I'm typically not a big fan of cowardly actions like this but it was a direct order from the head captain himself. Even I, Kenpachi Zaraki, wouldn't disobey a direct order," Kenpachi stated roughly while swinging his blade in the opposite direction of Ichigo. This was to get Ichigo's blood off the blade.

"O-Orihim-e-e... U-Uryu...C-Chad...I'm sorry," Ichigo stated in a hushed voice while his vision started to go black.

"Do not worry substitute soul reaper. Your friends have already been informed about this order. If they try and help you, they will be slain as well. Orihime Inoue is the only one to not be warned yet. That is because of the special situation of her being in Aizen's hands still," stated Byakuya coldly.

Ichigo felt his chest rack with anger and pain. Ichigo laid on the hot sand as his blood puddled around his dying body.

"I-Impossible," Ichigo said softly to convince his broken heart. He knew that Byakuya was telling the truth but he didn't want to believe it.

"It is very possible Kurosaki Ichigo. Now die alone in this dark and sandy world," stated Byakuya calmly as he started to walk away from Ichigo. Kenpachi followed closely behind.

'I...I don't want to die. I can't die now. I WANT TO SURVIVE!' Ichigo yelled in his head as his vision went black.

Inner World - With Ichigo ~

Ichigo felt his eyes open timidly as the numbness and pain he felt before was gone. He looked around himself calmly as despair and anger flooded his consciousness. His eyes opened even wider and emitted the sight of shock when he realized he was underwater. He quickly placed his left hand on his mouth as he started to swim up.

"Stop Ichigo," stated a figure from behind Ichigo. Ichigo stopped in his tracks as he looked behind himself.

"You look so pitiful, Ichigo. You should be able to breathe," stated the hooded figure with a smirk. Ichigo frowned slightly as he started to breathe softly. Ichigo scanned the surrounding area quickly as he came to notice that there weren't any skyscrapers. It was just Karakura town underwater.

"Who are you?! Only old man Zangetsu should be the only one here," Ichigo asked with narrowed eyes.

"Is that any way to talk to the person who taught you how to breathe? Nevertheless, I am not surprised you don't know who I am. This is after all your first time being here in your Bankai state," stated the hooded figure softly.

Ichigo stared in shock as he noticed the figure before himself peel his hood off. The figure had an almost eerie similarance to old man Zangetsu. There were only a few differences. The person before himself was much younger than Zangetsu. The figure had skin that was much paler than Zangetsu's. Lastly, the figure carried an eye color of blue. Old man Zangetsu's eyes were honey brown like his own.

"Tensa Zangetsu?!" Ichigo stated in shock as he looked at the figure for confirmation. The figure smirked almost arrogantly as he looked at Ichigo.

"You are correct. I am Tensa Zangetsu. Now the real question is what will you do?" asked Tensa Zangetsu smoothly.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ichigo with a curious tone.

"That's quite the question to ask, Ichigo. Look at this world! This world of yours used to be filled with skyscrapers, full of hope! Now it's sunken to look like that small town that is dear to you!" yelled Tensa Zangetsu angrily.

"The rain that continued to fall on this world has subsided, but in its place, everything has sunk into this ocean! This all happened because you lost hope and stopped moving forward! Now, I'll ask again. What will you do, Ichigo!?" Tensa Zangetsu yelled out towards Ichigo.

Ichigo looked down at his palms as he felt conflicted. What could he do? How could he do it? He is all by himself now. No one was there for him.

"I don't know what to do Tensa Zangetsu," stated Ichigo softly while looking at his hands. Tensa Zangetsu stared at Ichigo with a softened look.

"Do you want revenge? Will that make this ocean disappear? I can sense it. You are full of lidded anger," stated Tensa Zangetsu calmly. Ichigo felt his heart skip from that question.

"I do want revenge but I simply don't have enoug-" started Ichigo.

"Power? I can give you more power. You must promise me one thing though," stated Tensa Zangetsu smoothly. Ichigo looked up at Tensa Zangetsu quickly.

"What would I have to promise to?" Ichigo asked swiftly.

"Promise me you will never stop moving forward. Do you not remember the words Zangetsu stated? Abandon your fear. Turn and face your opponent. Don't back an inch. Now advance! Never stop! If you retreat, you will age. Be afraid, and you'll die. You may not have anything to protect but what I want to protect is different from what you want to protect," Tensa Zangetsu stated with a voice of inspiration and hope.

"I will promise after you answer one thing...what is it that you want to protect?" Ichigo asked while looking right into Tensa Zangetsu's eyes. Tensa Zangetsu smiled sadly.

"What I want to protect, is you, Ichigo. You may have no consciousness of it but your inner hollow behaves in the same way as I. He wants to protect you," Tensa Zangetsu stated with a high amount of sadness. Ichigo felt his eyes open wider than all the other times he felt shocked today. Ichigo looked at Tensa Zangetsu with sadness.

'I see. How could I be so foolish? This wasn't a war to fight against Aizen and his Espada. It most certainly was not a fight against the soul society either. This was a war against myself. I was distracted by the feelings of joy and anticipation...the feelings designed to be for my friends...but where are those so-called friends now?! I am left with myself. I still have Zangetsu and my hollow. They will never betray me. I know this to be a fact because they are me. They built my power. They built my resolve to live and fight. No one else has built upon my power and resolve. Only my inner beings have.' Ichigo thought to himself with sharpened eyes.

"Tensa Zangetsu, I promise to never stop moving forward and...uh," Ichigo started with resolve.

"...and what Ichigo?" Tensa Zangetsu asked with an understanding of what Ichigo was going to say already.

"...and I'm sorry. I was blinded by the feelings and hopes of other people. I let myself drown in despair for them. I let myself get carved to pieces for them! All throughout that time, I didn't even think about myself. I neglected the fact that it would rain and drench my happiness with droplets of despair. This feeble rain surely caused displeasement among my inner beings. Displeasement to you. I can't forgive myself for that. You deserve a world with little water to observe and skies that radiate the hopes of our combined soul. I promise to you, these oceans of sadness will soon be drained completely," Ichigo said with a smooth voice that echoed guilt but also strength. Tensa Zangetsu was speechless. He already knew what Ichigo was going to say because of their connection through soul but hearing Ichigo say his thoughts out loud was... well pleasing.

"I see. I'm quite content with that answer. It shows that you know the source of your despair. We'll fix that but for now, we have more important matters to talk about. The matter of your power," stated the blue eyed Zanpakuto. Ichigo nodded his head softly as he felt sad still. His friends and family were everything to him. He felt his chest ache at the word family. He stopped thinking about such things and turned to his zanpakuto.

"Tensa, what's your plan to drastically improve my power in such a short amount of time. I simply can't fathom how you plan to do it," stated Ichigo with determined yet confused eyes.

"A very great starting place, Ichigo. The answer to that is scrutinizingly yet complexly hidden in your heart. I will gouge out the roots to this power so you can see it for yourself," stated Tensa Zangetsu as he vanished a split second after stating his sentence. The dull colors of white and black blurred in Ichigo's peripheral vision thus signaling Tensa's arrival in front of himself.

"This will hurt a little," stated Tensa Zangetsu with a shadowed frown. Ichigo looked down at his chest as he noticed Tensa's hand enter it like a drill. Ichigo fell forward from the surprise but quickly caught himself by placing his hand on Tensa's shoulder. Some blood dribbled down his chin as he coughed up blood. Tensa gripped a deformed white blob from inside Ichigo's chest as he harshly yanked forward. Without any signs of remorse, Tensa slipped his hand out of Ichigo's wounded chest whilst pulling the said blob. A thick layer of crimson blood splattered against the floor while more blood from Ichigo's chest continued to spill out. Ichigo coughed roughly as he felt his chest burning. He wheezed a bit while looking back up at Tensa. To his surprise though, Tensa wasn't the only one there now. His hollow now stood next to Tensa with a grin that leaked poison. If this was before the soul society betrayed him, he would have been in disbelief. It was different now though. He remembered what Tensa said about his hollow caring about him. He knew Tensa wouldn't lie to him about that. This is how he knew he could trust his hollow. Through the words of Tensa.

"Ey, kingy. Long-time no see. Did'Ya miss me?" stated the white hollow whilst snickering to himself. Ichigo felt slightly agitated by the snickering but he smirked smoothly if not arrogantly.

"Hard to say. Last time we talked, it was about how you were going to take over my body next time you get a chance. What happened to that?" asked Ichigo sarcastically as he turned his attention to Tensa.

"Tch," stated his hollow with a grin. Ichigo ignored the snide remark as he felt obliged to talk to Tensa now.

"Tensa, if you don't mind me asking, how does pulling out my hollow give me power? Am I expected to fight him again? From what I heard earlier, you said my hollow wants to protect me. So it wouldn't make much sense for him to fight me. That's unless there is a hidden lesson behind such a ritual," Ichigo spoke with a calculating tone.

"Hah, since when did you start sounding so smart? You musta read a book and copied exactly what it said out loud," stated the hollow with a humored smirk. Ichigo was about to comment back until Tensa held up a disapproving hand.

"This isn't the time for jokes. If you have been listening the whole time, you must know that the soul society has betrayed Ichigo. Ichigo will need power if he plans to live. We are going to use that 'technique' to help Ichigo get enough strength to fight," stated Tensa with a voice of authority. The hollow bit back a sarcastic remark while gaining an expression of dead seriousness. Ichigo caught the hollows strange reaction but before he could comment on it, the ground started to ripple subtly. His eyes sharpened at the two spirits in front of himself. Without any explanation, the two spirits started to glow. Tensa glowed pitch black with a tinted vibrant blue while the hollow glowed pitch black with a hint of bloody crimson. Ichigo took a few small steps back because of the power the two spirits were emitting. Almost as if it were on cue, the two entities before him dissolved into reishi and merged together into one figure. This event was quickly followed by a blinding light. Ichigo covered his eyes for a solid ten seconds before the light died down. Ichigo glanced back over towards his inner spirits with an interested stare. Surprisingly, there was only one figure. He quickly noticed the appearance of the figure. The figure had one horn on its head. The same type of horn his hollow had on himself. What stood out the most was the uniqueness of the figures eyes though. The figure had one bright blue eye while it's other eye was that of a hollow. Ichigo felt his eyes widen when he finally came to a conclusion.

'This is impressive! An anomaly. I am not sure if I am correct but it would appear that they have merged their powers together. By doing so, they have become one solid entity instead of two.' Ichigo thought to himself while giving the figure a level look.

"You are partially correct but unfortunately, you missed a vital detail. We never were just two entities, we have always been one. By merging into our true form, we brought forth your true power. For an instance, your puny Bankai wasn't your true Bankai. The same thing can be said about your Shikai. They were just small fragments of your true power... which is no longer dormant," stated the merged figure that levitated down in front of Ichigo. Ichigo was slightly surprised that this figure could hear his thoughts but it was not enough to bother him.

"I see. Does that mean I have to relearn my Shikai and Bankai?" Ichigo asked with an almost annoyed tone. The figure stared at Ichigo emotionlessly.

"That depends on you, Ichigo. If you accept our blade and name, you won't have to relearn anything besides the techniques that come with your states of power. Your Shikai and Bankai are examples of this. There is but one downfall to all of this. That downfall would be your appearance. It may be altered because of the severe differences in our power," stated the merged figure. Ichigo listened patiently while noting all the facts being told to him.

"I do not care about my appearance anymore. I wanted to look as humanly normal as possible when I was around my friends. That was to reassure them that I wasn't a dangerous monster. That as you can see, didn't work. With that being said, I will accept your blade and name with open arms. I fear not of the differences in my appearance but of the consequences of not bearing such a difference," Ichigo stated nobly.

"As you wish," stated the merged figure promptly. With little to no time to react, the merged figure plunged his sword right into Ichigo's chest. Ichigo looked at the blade in un-dismissed confusion. He was not shocked in the slightest, however.

"Why... why is there no pain?" Ichigo asked calmly.

"If you accept me, you will never feel pain when you are run through by me," stated the merged figure with a small, almost unnoticeable smile. Ichigo gripped the blade that was pierced through him and was surprised to feel warmth through it. It wasn't just warmth that surged into him, power and facts rained into him as well.

"Ahh. So your merged name is Tsuki no Kagami. Fascinating. The mirror of the moon," stated Ichigo with a stoic expression. Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he felt the blade disintegrate into reishi. This reishi quickly enveloped his body until nothing was visible. In a few quick seconds, the reishi that was surrounding Ichigo got absorbed into his body as a huge pillar of blue and black energy ripped out of him. Unknown to him, the same thing happened outside his inner world. The now named Tsuki no Kagami jumped back with eyes of anticipation. Even he didn't know what would happen entirely. The pillar of energy that covered Ichigo quickly dissipated with a strong shockwave for a finishing touch. Tsuki no Kagami was surprised to see Ichigo's attire. Ichigo now bore a white hakama with a white Arrancar jacket. This jacket was tightly held against his body with a black sash. The jacket's sleeves which were purely white led down to the black gloves Ichigo wore. That wasn't all that changed though. His hair and eyes even changed a bit. His hair lengthened out to his mid back whilst his eyes gained a similar touch to Tsuki no Kagami's eyes. One eye being his own while the other eye being that of a hollow. The most shocking upgrade was the white horn that sprouted out of from the right side of his head. Ichigo quickly noticed the difference in his appearance as he didn't really mind. His altered appearance reminded himself of an Espada. He turned to Tsuki no Kagami with a blank expression.

[Author's note: The stories picture which is at the top of the page has the same appearance as Ichigo in this story. Just without the two purple wave symbols underneath his eye. I'll probably end up cutting his hair back to normal length if nobody likes it.]

"I understand this technique now. You pushed all your power into that blade... but not just that. You also filled the blade with memories and info. This info went directly into me. This made it so I wouldn't have to learn things that have not been told. Things such as suppressing energy and facts about my Shikai and Bankai. This means that I no longer will have to keep my Shikai out all the time. I now can carry a sealed zanpakuto. That is not all though. Due to having intellect on energy suppressing, I also will be able to learn kido and many other things. Am I correct to assume these facts, Tsuki no Kagami?" Ichigo asked with a dark eerie tone.

"You are indeed correct. Learning kido will be quite easy for you but first, you will need to find a source for learning kido. Perhaps one of the forbidden kido books hidden inside of the seireitei's library. Enough of this though. We can talk later," stated Tsuki no Kagami with a serious expression etched onto his face. Ichigo nodded softly knowing that he should get going.

"I'll make time to talk after, Tsuki no Kagami," stated Ichigo softly. With no other words being said, Ichigo closed his eyes and started to focus on the outside world.

Las Noches - With Ichigo ~

Sand whirled around freely and the clouds darkened to the tone of the world. Ichigo breathed in and out calmly as he opened his two colored eyes to this dark world. He stood up from his laying position as he took notice to his sword on the ground. It was now in its sealed state.

'Hm, interesting.' thought Ichigo to himself as he looked at the blade. The blade was most definitely a katana by the way it was moderately curved. That and the length of the sword was at least forty-five centimeters. He examined the appearance of the blade greatly. The blade's hilt was black with a grip that contained the colors white and black. The sword's square guard was colored black while the blade itself was silver. He bent down gingerly as he placed his nimble hand around the hilt. He tightened his grip on the sword as he casually stood up once more.

'It would appear more time went by than I thought. Kenpachi and Byakuya are completely gone from this location. I can vaguely sense their Reiryoku but it isn't close enough to me for it to be a threat. Although, it will become a threat soon. I still need to save Orihime before they get to her.' Ichigo thought darkly while disappearing in a static shockwave. This shockwave belonging to the technique called Sonido.

Las Noches - With Orihime and Ulquiorra ~

"Are you scared? Aizen-sama no longer needs you. There is no one left to protect you. You are finished. You will die here all on your own, without anyone to hold on to. I asked you if you're afraid," asked the green eyed Espada emotionlessly.

"I'm not... scared," stated Orihime hesitatingly. Ulquiorra felt his eyes widen as he looked at Orihime with a blank stare.

"Everyone came here to rescue me. My heart is already together with theirs," stated Orihime with a smile. She fidgeted her fingers together softly sensing that Ulquiorra was staring her down.

"Nonsense. You're unafraid because your friends are here? Do you seriously... believe that?" Ulquiorra asked coldly.

"I-I do," answered Orihime with a whisper.

"That's ludicrous. It's a form of instinct that prevents you from falling into the pit of fear and despair. In reality, it is impossible for people to truly share their feelings. It's simply a human delusion," stated Ulquiorra with a straight face.

"That may be true. It may be impossible for us to all share the exact same feelings. But when you both care for each other, your hearts are able to draw a little bit closer together. That's what it means when we say our hearts are one," stated Orihime with a smile that leaked a naive touch. A silent ten seconds went by as Ulquiorra just stared at Orihime.

"Your hearts? You humans say that word so lightly. As if it were something one can hold in the palm of one's hand. My eyes see all. There's nothing that escapes their sight. Nothing exists that they can't see thus making your puny concept of heart non-existent," stated the green-eyed Espada while walking towards Orihime.

"What is a heart? Could I see it if I tore open your chest?" asked Ulquiorra impassively as Orihime fidgeted her fingers a bit quicker.

"Could I see it if I cracked open your skull?" asked Ulquiorra once more as he levitated his fingers right above her temple. Orihime felt her eyes widen slightly as she glanced at the fingers that were levitating above her temple. Suddenly, a heavy Reiatsu came down upon Ulquiorra and Orihime. Orihime fell to the ground from how heavy the pressure was. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, turned around with a visible expression that was disturbed.

'This Reiatsu... it's extremely strong.' Ulquiorra thought to himself while drawing his sword. As Ulquiorra was drawing his sword, he suddenly felt resistance from his blade. He turned his head back quickly only to run into the figure that he was sensing. This figure was holding Ulquiorra's sword by the blade. Orihime looked on in shock.

"Is that you, I-Ichigo," Orihime asked softly. The figure turned away from Ulquiorra and glanced over at Orihime.

"Yes. It's me. Don't be scared or intimidated by my appearance. This is nothing but an evolution. So I'll ask you once, are you scared of me? Or perhaps, do you hate me? If you do, you can always go join the soul society," stated Ichigo coldly. Orihime shook her head negatively as fast as she could.

"I-I-It's not that Kurosaki-Kun. Your appearance was just shocking," stated Orihime with a bowed head.

"I see. I am glad to he-" started Ichigo until he was abruptly interrupted.

"You are a human with soul reaper powers yet you speak of your own kind as if they were treacherous. Why is that, human?" Ulquiorra asked coldly. Ichigo tightened his grip on Ulquiorra's blade as he turned towards him.

"Great observation Ulquiorra. I didn't believe you would catch onto something so small. Nevertheless, I'll answer that question. The answer is quite simple actually. The soul society has cut ties with me. They have deemed me as a threat that must be eliminated. I can only do one thing from here on out. That one thing is fighting to maintain my self-pride. Many categories fall upon this concept. Things such as my friends... and my family. That being said, I plan on eliminating Aizen and the soul society. I now carry the power to do so," Ichigo said with a smooth and arrogant voice.

"You are still a foolish human. You will need more than just yourself to confront both the soul society and Aizen-sama," stated the green eyed Espada darkly. Ichigo let a dark smirk appear on his face.

"I could contest to that statement, however I won't. I am not going to contest to that statement because I am going to have my own army. For an instance, Orihime is with me," stated Ichigo a bit warmer.

"Foolish. Do you really think that women could be useful in battle?" Ulquiorra asked with disbelief in his voice. Orihime flinched from that sentence as she looked over at Ichigo. Ichigo caught Orihime's eyes as he smiled warmly.

"Of course I believe so. I've known her since my childhood. The only reason she appears to be weak to you is because she has a heart. This heart prohibits her from hurting other people. I, unfortunately, am not like her. I'll kill and hurt people to protect what is dear to me. Orihime, that doesn't mean I want you to change into a person like me. I want you to stay the same. I'm sure Uryu, Chad, Rukia, and perhaps even Renji will join along soon. I hope they will at least," stated Ichigo with a saddened voice near the end of his speech. Orihime frowned at his voice. She could sense his unbearable sadness.

"Ridiculous. An army of two plus a few other humans? This must be a bad joke. Aizen-sama would crush this puny ar-" started Ulquiorra until the green eyed Espada felt more Reiatsu pushing down on him. So much pressure in fact, that he was pushed to his knee's.

"Ulquiorra. You will actually be joining my army so I wouldn't be talking to your leader with such a tongue," stated Ichigo emotionlessly as he exerted more Reiryoku than needed. Ichigo looked down on Ulquiorra as he lifted his Reiatsu. Ulquiorra started to breathe heavily with a few beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Ulquiorra looked up at Ichigo with a slightly shocked expression.

"What makes you think I will join you? You are naught but a human," asked Ulquiorra with a dangerous tone.

"You will join me for many reasons. One reason being that Aizen will undoubtedly kill you after he achieves his goal. If you believe otherwise then you are naive. A second reason is my power. Aizen isn't the only one with true power. One last reason if need be is how futile your attempt to kill me will be. You will just end up dying so why not join me and continue living?" Ichigo proposed while holding out a hand.

"For a human, you sure know how to talk," Ulquiorra spoke out quietly.

"Oh, that's quite interesting. Ulquiorra, actually complimenting me? This must be a bad joke. Enough of this small talk though, what is your answer?" Ichigo asked while still holding out his hand to Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra pushed Ichigo's hand away while standing up on his own.

"I want you to show me this so called power you have. You need to convince me it is superior to Aizen's," stated Ulquiorra coldly. Ichigo narrowed his eyes humorously.

'I knew he would ask for such a demonstration. It is quite humorous, to be honest. I'm curious if he even knows he is on my side yet. With the little effort of speaking Aizen's name like I do, he surely must know.' Ichigo thought with an intelligent stare as he softly gripped his Zanpakuto.

"Hmm, seems acceptable. I will demonstrate this power on the guests that will be here any second. Surely you've sensed their Reiryoku by now," stated Ichigo while looking over at Orihime.

"Orihime, could you move a bit back?" Ichigo asked with a soft tone. Orihime felt her stomach get all fuzzy by the way Ichigo asked her. His voice was so relaxing to her. She nodded her head quickly as she took a few steps back. Ulquiorra stayed in his original spot as he noticed the two figures appear. It was hard not to notice them. They sort of blew a hole through the tower and walked in like they owned everything.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. You are always so excruciatingly hard to get rid of. Even when it appears you are dead, you seem to just come back. It would also appear that you have taken on a new appearance. This appearance is something I haven't seen before but it will not stop your impending death," stated Byakuya calmly.

"Listen Byakuya. I'm just going to take on all of them okay?" Kenpachi asked with a sadistic tone.

"No, you will not. Have you already forgotten the head commanders order?" Byakuya asked coldly while pulling on his scarf a little.

"Tch. If you would just listen, you would know that I can take them all o-" started Kenpachi until Byakuya held his hand up.

"An order is an order. I do hope you aren't trying to break one of the laws of the soul society," Byakuya spoke out indifferently towards Kenpachi. Kenpachi groaned with an irritated tone.

"Pff, fine," stated Kenpachi with a bored tone.

"Are you two done squabbling? I would like to make quick work of you. I have things to do," Ichigo stated smoothly while pulling out his sealed sword completely. Byakuya felt his eyes widen. He quickly hid his surprise under a mask of ignorance.

'A new zanpakuto and a new transformation? His spirit energy has even increased. What does this mean?' Byakuya asked himself while holding his zanpakuto upwards.

"Scatter: Senbonzakura" Byakuya spoke out stoically as his blade disintegrated into pink cherry petals. Ichigo looked on with a bored expression.

'He is underestimating me. He knows nothing of this new transformation nor does he know anything about my new power yet here he is using only Shikai? He's planning something.' Ichigo thought to himself as he held up his blade.

"Bakudo #61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)" stated a feminine voice. With those words being uttered, six thin but wide beams of light slammed into Ichigo's midsection, holding him in place.

'Hm. It would appear more captains have shown up. Captain of squad four, Retsu Unohana and Captain of squad twelve, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Mayuri is still hiding which is not really surprising. Unohana, on the other hand, decided to show herself already. This is quite surprising. The captain of squad four fighting? It is simply pathetic. I was under the impression that squad four didn't fight. They just healed the wounded. This must mean something. Perhaps they have come to realize my power and now are frightened? They must be trying to seal me away right now.' Ichigo thought to himself while looking over at the now revealed Unohana. She stood next to Byakuya calmly.

"Using petty kido without incantation? How foolish. You'll need higher rated kido and power if you plan on sealing me away," stated Ichigo arrogantly.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san but this is an order. As for your statement about power, well we have enough of that. Look more closely at the kido binding you," stated Unohana softly. Ichigo looked confused as he looked at the kido.

'It's the other way around! This is a full incantation. When did she get the time to do this?' Ichigo asked himself. He looked over at the captains once more.

"Ah, I see. This is still not enough. I can easily break out of this!" Ichigo yelled with visible anger.

"Will you get the time to do so?" Unohana asked with a gentle expression while holding her left hand towards Ichigo.

"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes)" stated Unohana quickly as energy ropes manifested themselves from her fingers. They tightly wrapped around Ichigo binding his arms to his body.

"Bakudo #79: Kuyou Shibari (Nine Sunlight Traps)" stated Byakuya as soon as Unohana was done with her kido.

'I'm in trouble here. I need to end this quick!' Ichigo thought to himself while he started to levitate off the ground. Eight black holes suddenly surrounded his body while a ninth black hole manifested itself in the center of his chest. Ichigo looked down at the black hole which was centered on his chest. His eyes carried a shocked look. He started to pour his Reiryoku out of his body at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Oh great King whose blessings I seek! Thou who seeks the repentant man shall look no further! Your well-deserved wrath shall be extended one-hundred fold! Bakudo #91: Hyakubai Saikin (Hundredfold Golden Restrain)" whispered Unohana. Unohana with one last glance, shot the kido off towards Ichigo. This kido made it so that 10 golden light beams would hit the target. The ten light beams hit their mark while the whole room started to glow. A powerful shockwave followed shortly after. Orihime was tossed from her spot while Ulquiorra was watching with eyes of doubt. Orihime caught herself as she noticed the light was dying down. When the light died down, there stood Ichigo in the middle of the room with no injuries. Ichigo gave a chilling smirk towards the captains while holding up his sealed sword.

"W-what? How is this possible?" Unohana asked with a shocked tone. Byakuya was thinking the same thing when Unohana asked it.

"It was rather easy. All I had to do was push out my Reiryoku at a concentrated angle. This broke the binding almost instantly. If I had been any longer, I might've been seriously injured if not killed. I think I have played around too long. I'll show you the true meaning of power," stated Ichigo with narrowed eyes. He gripped his sword tightly while holding it up straight in front of himself.

"Relapse: Tsuki no Kagami (Moon mirror)" Ichigo smoothly uttered out loud while his sword disintegrated into a glass like substance all the way down to the guard. In a split second, his metal blade was quickly rebuilt into a black glass type of blade. Ichigo held up his sword towards the captains and smiled smoothly.

"This is my true Shikai. It may take on the appearance of a glass like object but it is much stronger than glass. Here, let me demonstrate," Ichigo said arrogantly as he stood in the same place without moving. Without any other words being spoken, Byakuya shunpo'ed right in front of Ichigo and stabbed his blade into his chest. Ichigo gave a look of shock before disintegrating into glass.

"Good try but you should even know that it won't be that easy. That is one down," stated Ichigo from behind Byakuya. Byakuya was about to turn around but before he could, he fell to the ground in pain. Instantaneously, many wounds opened up all over Byakuya's body.

"I-m-mpossible," hushed out Byakuya quietly.

"It is very possible. Sounds kind of familiar to what you said earlier. So..." Ichigo started while looking at the rest of the captains.

"Who is next?" Ichigo asked confidently.

"I don't know what type of cheap trick you are playing but silly tricks like this are nothing to me. I'll kill you," stated Kenpachi sadistically as he ran towards Ichigo. Ichigo blocked Kenpachi's strike while he effortlessly parried the next dozen swings. Ichigo quickly flipped back while he continuously blocked all of Kenpachi's strikes. Kenpachi continued running towards Ichigo until he noticed his vision was getting all swirly.

"What is this? More cheap tricks?" Kenpachi questioned with a hint of disappointment.

"Seeing how this fight is going, it would appear you are being a sore loser Kenpachi," Ichigo said humorously. Unohana noticed her vision getting muffled too. Instead of seeing swirliness though, she saw her vision being inverted. Everything was upside down. Even the sight of Ichigo and Kenpachi fighting was distorted to her.

'What...This is like Aizen's zanpakuto, Kyōka Suigetsu. It's a bit different though. It would appear it has more effectiveness. It works in a much different manner than Aizen's too. Just seeing the release will not make our senses be scrambled. It's something else that activates it.' Unohana thought calmly while sheathing her sword. Kenpachi, even while having his sense of sight tampered with, kept running towards Ichigo with the intent to kill. After a few minutes of fruitless fighting, Kenpachi sustained many injuries while Ichigo only carried two small scratches.

"I'm done with this skirmish. Let's end this, Kenpachi," Ichigo stated calmly while looking at his hands. Kenpachi grinned menacingly as he was in a hurry to take off his eye patch. As soon as he pulled his eye patch off, a pillar of golden yellow Reiryoku spilled out of him. Ichigo stood back with an unimpressed glare. The pillar died down, showing Kenpachi standing there with a grin. Kenpachi without any words, lunged forward and sliced Ichigo from his right shoulder down. Ichigo winced in pain and fell back a little. He was so shocked by the speed Kenpachi displayed that he wasn't ready for the next assault. Kenpachi ruthlessly started to slice and cut Ichigo down quickly. Ichigo fell to his knee's as he started to breathe heavily. Blood leaked out of his wounds as he looked up at Kenpachi.

"Damn you," stated Ichigo with a bit of humor in his voice. Kenpachi raised an eyebrow while grabbing Ichigo by the throat. He lifted him up and looked at him aggressively.

"See? Your damn tricks didn't work kid," stated Kenpachi with a tad amount of seriousness. Ichigo started to laugh a bit more mad as he looked at Kenpachi.

"What's so funn-" started Kenpachi until he felt a dozen slashes against his back. The Ichigo that Kenpachi was holding quickly dissolved into glass while the real Ichigo stood behind Kenpachi with zero injuries. Kenpachi fell to the floor as he struggled to get up.

"This display of yours is the source of my laughter. This time, I made no mistake in cutting the bonds to your spine. You won't be moving anytime soon so I recommend you don't strain yourself," stated Ichigo with a swing of his sword. This was to get off any remaining blood. He quickly followed this movement by sheathing his sword.

"D-damn. Survival of the fittest, I guess," Kenpachi said more to himself before passing out.

"Unohana. Take them and get out of my sight. That's unless if you don't want to live," Ichigo spoke out blankly. Unohana was surprised by his words. Unohana disappeared in a shunpo after grabbing both Kenpachi and Byakuya. After Unohana left, Mayuri's presence vanished as well. Ichigo turned to the only remaining figures there which were Orihime and Ulquiorra. Orihime currently was washed in the feelings of worry and confusion. She didn't understand what happened to Ichigo but she could feel his sadness. She ran up to Ichigo with a look of relief.

"Are you okay Kurosaki-kun? Anything I can heal?" Orihime asked quickly while hiding her embarrassment.

"I am perfectly fine Orihime. Also, don't worry about healing me now. They didn't even manage to scratch me," Ichigo said warmly while looking over at Ulquiorra.

"So what is it? Are you joining me?" Ichigo asked calmly. Orihime looked over at Ulquiorra while tightening her hands together nervously.

"I was going to say no to you humans earlier but you have proven to me your worth. I will assist you as I can, Ichigo-sama," stated the green-eyed Espada emotionlessly as he got onto one knee. Ichigo looked down on Ulquiorra with a calculating eye.

"I'm pleased to hear such words. So much in fact, that I want you to do something for me right now," stated Ichigo with a dark set of eyes.

"I'll do anything you wish Ichigo-sama. Whatever it may be," stated Ulquiorra.

"I would like you to go retrieve my friends. Do no harm to them. Just get them here. I'll stay here with Orihime. I've got some questions for her after all," stated Ichigo coldly. Orihime shuttered slightly from how cold Ichigo's voice got.

"As you wish," Ulquiorra voiced out before disappearing. Ichigo sighed softly as he looked at Orihime.

"Orihime. We are alone right now so I want to know something that is confidential. That confidential information that I must know is revolving around the Hogyoku. Where was Aizen hiding said item before?" Ichigo asked with a weird tone. It was a weird tone because it was filled with darkness yet it carried some light. Orihime swallowed nervously as she looked down at the floor.

"Uh-h. W-well... h-he... I-I mean Aizen... hid it in the fifth tower of Las Noches. He had this device that spiraled up to him. It opened up to reveal the Hogyoku," Orihime stated with a shallow voice. Ichigo could sense Orihime's doubt and sadness about him. This made him frown slightly thus making him look away from Orihime.

"I see. I know for a fact that Aizen must be fighting the captains right now. That means the Hogyoku is close to being at its full potential. I need to obtain the Hogyoku so the captains don't utilize it to seal us away in Hueco Mundo. I doubt they will be able to beat Aizen but I can. Or more like I have to beat him. It's that or he will become a god of these three worlds. That means we are doomed to die if I don't do anything," Ichigo said with a low voice. Orihime was about to reject his idea but before she could, Ulquiorra and many more presences appeared. Ichigo turned towards the presences and was surprised to see all of his friends. Chad, Rukia, Renji, Uryu, and Orihime off to the side.

"Ichigo-sama, I have compl-" started Ulquiorra until Rukia interrupted him.

"Ichigo!" yelled Rukia towards Ichigo. Ichigo felt a tick mark appear on his forehead.

"What is it midget!?" Ichigo asked playfully yet carrying an annoyed tone. Ichigo felt a foot connect with his leg painfully. He turned towards Rukia with an even more annoyed expression.

"What was that for?!" Ichigo asked with an exasperated tone.

"You called me a midget dummy. So I kicked you," stated Rukia softly. Ichigo caught the subtle difference in her tone as he looked into her eyes.

'She is trying to act playful and like herself. In reality, though, none of us are the same now. I am the perfect example. I was a human then I was a soul reaper. Now here I stand a monster. I know they want things to stay the same but can they? Only time can tell. Yes. Only time.' Ichigo thought sadly while smiling towards Rukia.

"Are you okay Ichigo?" Chad asked noticing Ichigo's long pause.

"I think I am. You asking that question must mean that Byakuya wasn't lying when he threatened all of you to not get associated with me again, huh?" Ichigo asked while he walked closer to his friends.

"Yes, Ichigo. You are sadly correct. We weren't just going to sit back and let you get killed though. My pride as a Quincy would never allow me to do such a thing," stated Uryu while pressing the bridge of his glasses against his nose. Ichigo smiled a bit like his old self.

"I see. Does that mean you all plan to stay here and fight the soul society with me? Even when I look like this," Ichigo asked with a doubtful expression. He drew out the last part of what he said more to himself. Rukia frowned gently as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"Even looking as you do now will not make us leave your side ever. That is a promise from all of us," stated Rukia with a warm smile. Uryu, Chad, Orihime, and even Renji smiled too.

"You look stupid in that outfit though," stated Renji with a laugh. Ichigo turned towards Renji with an annoyed glare.

"Renji you shouldn't talk when your head looks like a pineapple," Ichigo said with a smirk. Renji gained a challenging glare instantly.

"If you say so strawberry," Renji sarcastically bit back.

"Why you!" yelled Ichigo towards Renji. Rukia put her hands between the both of them to stop them from fighting.

"You two stop acting like children," yelled Rukia with an evil smile.

"Renji. Did you hear that? She is calling us children even though she thinks and draws about chappy the rabbit all the time," Ichigo whispered towards Renji. Renji held his hand up to his mouth to prohibit himself from laughing.

"I heard that. Say sorry to chappy now!" ordered Rukia aggressively. Chad sweat dropped from Rukia's order. Uryu tapped his glasses against his nose softly while smiling at the playful fighting.

'Ichigo must be having it hard right now. At least we are here to bring things back to normal if only a little.' Uryu thought to himself smartly. Before Ichigo and Renji could apologize to Chappy, Ulquiorra cut in.

"Ichigo-sama," stated Ulquiorra patiently. Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra while everyone else went silent.

"Yes, Ulquiorra?" Ichigo asked with a relaxed tone.

"If I may ask, what do you plan on doing about Aizen and the soul society?" Ulquiorra asked with an emotionless tone.

"Hm. I will explain my plan of action after we find a place to go over information. I believe they have a meeting room around here. We have at least an hour before Aizen awakens the Hogyoku. That is enough time to go over information and our strategy," Ichigo proposed smartly.

"I agree with Ichigo. The best thing we can do is go over information and other such things while we can," Uryu said with an agreeing attitude. Everyone else nodded their heads whilst Ulquiorra stood up.

"Shall I lead you to the meeting room, Ichigo-sama?" Ulquiorra asked with an almost kind tone.

"Yes, Ulquiorra. Let's get going," Ichigo said with a calm tone. Ulquiorra nodded his head as he started to walk in the direction of the meeting room. Ichigo sighed to himself as everyone walked past him and towards Ulquiorra. It was at least ten seconds later when he decided to start following Ulquiorra too.

It's the author here. I will be uploading on this story constantly so feel free to give suggestions. I will be doing some polls below. If one poll wins, it doesn't mean I will pick it. I am just curious to see what the viewers want.

Relationship with Ichigo

Yoruichi Shihouin - 6
Rukia Kuchiki - 4
Orihime Inoue - 2
Other - 4
None - 1
No Harems!

Also, you can recommend other pairings if you wish. That's your choice.

I haven't explained the theory behind Tsuki no Kagami yet but I will soon. Expelling that from your minds, what do you think his Bankai should be? Send me a private message or comment your idea in the review section below.

Thanks for reading.