Aspect of Blades
A Bleach fanfic
Chapter 1
This begins where Byakuya and Renji come to retrieve Rukia from the world of the living.
Ichigo POV
-zanpakuto speaking in the inner world
-zanpakuto speaking outside the inner world
-Ichigo's Thoughts or speech in the inner world
"What the hell?" I think to myself. I was just in Karakura Town, fighting Renji, and now I'm in some strange sideways city, with six odd looking people in front of me. A samurai in full armor, wielding a blade of cherry blossoms, speaks.
"This meeting of the Sixth Division Branch of the Zanpakuto Society Against Neglectful Shinigami will now begin. Senbonzakura-sama will preside. Are there any objections?" The samurai asks.
"There are none, though did you have to refer to yourself in the third person, Senbonzakura?" A woman mostly covered in green fur, her long hair a dull mix of red and purple, asks.
"I have one. You're using my realm for this meeting, and I'm not a part of your society, Senbonzakura," says a middle aged man in a billowing black coat.
"Noted and ignored, Zangetsu-san. Zabimaru, my thanks for your comment. I will now proceed to state the reason I have called this meeting. I have found a solution to our problem," Senbonzakura, as I guess the samurai's name is, says. "As you all know, we cannot tear ourselves free from our Shinigami. We do not have the ability. However, in one way or another, our wielders have mistreated us. So, we cannot put up with them any longer, but neither can we find a solution. But now, there is a solution, and the Shinigami who can provide it is right here, in this realm with us. Kurosaki Ichigo-sama, if you would please join us in this meeting?" Senbonzakura asks.
"Fine," I say. I step forward to join this little gathering, and have the uncomfortable feeling of having other people staring at me.
"Excellent, we are all here now. Kurosaki Ichigo, you have encountered the Hollow known as Grand Fisher twice before, correct?" Senbonzakura asks.
"Yes, I have. Why?" I respond.
"That is why, Kurosaki-sama," Senbonzakura says, pointing to a vast white space beyond the city. "When you first encountered him, Grand Fisher killed your mother and left you alive, without harming you. Or so you thought. Before he was forced away, he got a bite of your soul. You were powerful then, and are even stronger now. You are stronger for a very simple reason, and that is that you have been developing that power in subconscious attempts to fix the gaping hole in your soul," he elaborates, causing my eyes to fly open wide in near panic.
"However, that is impossible for you to do. Besides that hole forcing you to grow stronger, you are naturally predisposed to power as well," Senbonzakura muses. "Your father was a Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. I can see it in your power, and I remember him from his time among the Gotei 13 as captain of the tenth division, where he was recently replaced by Hitsugaya Toshiro. He was too late to save you mother, sadly. Also, he has lost much of his power recently. However, he passed that power on to you. Mention that you are half Shinigami to Byakuya Kuchiki, and he will likely either leave you be or let you have a fair hearing before Yamamoto-soutaichou," he says offhandedly.
"But we are not concerned with your heritage right now. We are concerned with the absence of part of your soul, which can never be retrieved, which has already turned you into a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, though your Hollow half hasn't yet developed due to not having used Shikai yet, and which provides myself and my comrades with a chance to alleviate our suffering under our current wielders," Senbonzakura finishes.
"How?" I ask. I'm shaken by this string of revelations, but I am determined not to show it.
"Simple. We require a new place to take up residence. Normally, a Shinigami has only one space in their soul, and that is occupied by their zanpakuto. However, that is a relatively small space, compared to the hole you have. That hole destroys any possibility for you to ever control your reiatsu. But with our help, that hole can be filled at least partially. You could learn to control your reiatsu, and grow much more powerful than you normally would have," Senbonzakura begins his sales pitch.
"You could protect even more people. The things you wish to protect are not what we wish to protect. We wish to protect our wielder. But I see no reason why we cannot protect you as you protect others," Senbonzakura continues when power doesn't seem to be a sufficient offer to catch my attention. "I am Kuchiki Byakuya's zanpakuto. However, he has neglected me. My realm is an orchard, filled with cherry trees. The blossoms, when properly tended, are beautiful. However, I cannot tend them on my own. I require at least some aid from my wielder. Yet Kuchiki Byakuya has failed to aid me. He rarely speaks to me, treating me as a tool to uphold his pride, rather than a partner who will stand by him without even having to think about it," Senbonzakura almost snarls out the words.
"I will give you my power, if you swear not to neglect me. I do not require much help, but I require a little at least. A few hours of your time a week, and I will lend you my power readily. Do we have a deal, Kurosaki Ichigo-sama? I am proud, but if it is required to end the torment I undergo at Byakuya's hands, I will beg for your aid," Senbonzakura says. I don't even have to think anymore. I would be protecting someone. I would keep them from suffering, as I have sworn to do.
"We have a deal. Stand by me, and I will spend at least an hour a day tending those gardens with you. I will need aid entering this world until I learn how to do it myself, but I will never forget," I decide.
"Thank you, Kurosaki-sama. My blade will be at your side when you leave. Draw it, then say Scatter, Senbonzakura. You must use the hilt to control how the thousand bladed blossoms my blade will become moves," Senbonzakura's voice is filled with gratitude as he bows. Senbonzakura's armor vanishes, leaving a woman clad in a kimono embroidered with images of cherry trees and blossoms. She lifts one hand, and a stream of cherry blossoms sweeps forth into the white area, taking over part of it, creating a giant orchard, filled with cherry trees.
"Ichigo, I am Zangetsu. I will not object to your actions in accepting these zanpakuto, as they will protect you as I would. I also do not object to you lessening this gap in your soul. I just ask that you do not forget me and that I was here first," the long-haired man speaks now.
"Of course not. You were born from my soul, and I will never neglect you. The others are here to flee neglect, and I would hardly allow myself to be a hypocrite by promising them shelter and not extending it to you. Can the wielders of the other zanpakuto still use them?" I ask, curious, getting a slow nod from Zangetsu.
"We're Renji's zanpakuto," the green-furred woman speaks, pointing to the red-haired, white-clothed boy beside her. "The idiot is a decent sort."
"And we're not sure about you yet," the boy speaks. "Senbonzakura is far angrier with Byakuya than we are with Renji."
"So we're not going to establish ourselves here yet," the woman speaks again. "But we'll be watching what you do with Senbonzakura's power."
"Just to see if one day we might find ourselves in your hands," the boy shrugs. "Otherwise, the idiot will get it eventually. He's being really stupid right now though, so we won't mind too much if you kick his ass."
"I am Sode no Shirayuki. Rukia's zanpakuto," the second-to-last of the spirits murmurs. "I am already tied to you, until Rukia's power is yours no more. But I do interfere with the power of the other zanpakuto. You won't be able to release them until my power is either purged from you or accepted into you."
"And will you accept me?" I ask, her eyes considering.
"You could demand that I accept you. It would save your life, and Rukia wants you to live. I would accept you for that," Sode no Shirayuki is calm as she mentions the idea. I scoff in disgust.
"If you want to accept me, that's that. I'll manage no matter what you decide," I answer. "It's your choice, not mine. It's your power to give or withhold. If I die, I die. But I'm not going to force someone to serve me. That's not my style."
"Then I accept you….Ichigo," Sode no Shirayuki smiles, and in that moment a cold wind blows through the city, forming into a vast plain of ice and snow, dotted with glaciers, bordering on the city and the orchard.
"Only I remain then, and I have already accepted you. In your previous life, I was your zanpakuto," the last of them speaks now. A black-haired woman, fine-boned, her movements flowing and elegant, she sweeps forward, embracing me. "I thought I had lost you when I found myself in an endless void, only the blackness to greet me. But now, I have you back. I have my companion returned to me. Perhaps not as Shiba Kaien, but I don't care. You are still yourself. And I am still your zanpakuto."
"Nejibana," I breathe as her name comes to me, and her smile is radiant. Blue silk robes wisp around her, and I smile slightly at the lotus flowers and water lilies braided into her hair, her sword at her side as always.
"Yes," she murmurs, and an ocean appears next to the icy plains of Sode no Shirayuki's realm. At points, there are islands, which I know are dotted with lakes, marshes, and swamps. She loves her mangroves as much as the lotuses that she cultivates in the lakes and rivers of those islands. She'll spend hours in the swamp tending mangroves if left to her own devices. "It is good to be with you again, Ichigo. It is good to be with my companion again. You need me now….my release command is…."
"Rage through the seas and heavens. I sensed it the moment you established your realm here. Now I believe I have a pair of Shinigami to deal with?" I say. She nods, and I return to the outside world. I see Renji's blade heading for me, and I react. "Rise, Zangetsu!" I command. I hear his voice in my mind.
"As you command," he says calmly. My blade flares with a blue light, and it takes on the appearance of a cleaver. Then Zangetsu speaks, and Byakuya and Renji clearly hear it from their looks of shock. "Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu," he says. In response to his words, a tornado of black and red energy erupts around me. His blade becomes a black daito, ready to slice apart my foes.
"A zanpakuto spirit. How is this possible, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Kuchiki Byakuya asks.
"Rukia didn't give me her powers, she awakened my own. My father is Kurosaki Isshin, once captain of the tenth division," I say.
"Liar, there has never been a Kurosaki Isshin as a captain," Renji says.
"There was, actually. He was indeed captain of the tenth," Byakuya nods. "He vanished at about the right time for Kurosaki Ichigo to be his son. It would also explain the human's power."
"However, his name then was not properly Kurosaki Isshin," Byakuya continues. "It was Yamamoto Isshin, and he changed his name when he entered the Gotei 13, wishing to make his way on his own merits. If this is his son, he is the soutaichou's great-grandson, as his father is the son of Shiba Raiden and Yamamoto Tsume. (My OCs. Don't expect to hear much about them.) However, there is a simple way to test this. A kido that can determine his heritage. If he is truly the soutaichou's great-grandson, then Rukia committed no crime. Also, it is no surprise in that case that his zanpakuto spirit is developed enough to activate his Bankai," Byakuya says, then vanishes.
He reappears in front of me, and his blade is suddenly dripping blood. I feel a burst of pain, and grit my teeth. He raises a finger glowing green with energy to his blade, and touches the blood. It flares, then the name Yamamoto Isshin appears in green light over the blade, with a line extending to it from the names Shiba Raiden and Yamamoto Tsume, which are linked together. Byakuya nods in satisfaction, and the names disappear. "Abarai-fukutaicho, prepare to escort Yamamoto-san and Kuchiki Rukia back to the Seireitei," he says.
"Yes sir. Yamamoto-sama, if you would please accompany me? Your great-grandfather will be most pleased to know you exist, and would likely roast me alive if I don't return with you, sir," Renji says.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Abarai Renji. His father has no wish for him to be going to the Seireitei anytime soon, so he will be accompanying me," Urahara says. The world then goes black, and the next thing I know, I'm in Urahara's shop with memories of a life I never lived filling my head.
In the Seireitei, at a captain's meeting
Byakuya's POV
"Why did you call for this meeting, Kuchiki-taicho?" Yamamoto-soutaichou asks.
"I have good news and bad news for you sir. I found that Yamamoto Isshin, former captain of the tenth division, is alive. However, he has lost his powers and is stuck in a gigai. However, he has three children, and one of them, the eldest, his son, has inherited his abilities as a Shinigami. His zanpakuto spirit activated his Bankai for us to buy him time to explain. I also noted another zanpakuto sheathed at his hip. It very clearly radiated the reiatsu of Nejibana. Given his resemblance to Kaien Shiba, and after interrogating Rukia for knowledge on your great-grandson, I can only conclude that it was passed through the soul rather then born anew," I say. All the others at the table are clearly shocked, save for Zaraki-taicho and Kurotsuchi-taicho. Zaraki is grinning, clearly anticipating a good battle. Kurotsuchi is muttering about experimenting on the soutaichou's grandson.
"A descendent. Powerful, and with his powers clearly those of a Shinigami?" Yamamoto-soutaichou asks, hope clear in his tone.
"Indeed. Rukia awoke them, but his powers were those of a Shinigami. I tested his blood myself to determine his lineage, and his reiatsu to determine his powers. Yamamoto Tsume was your daughter, and married Shiba Raiden. Yamamoto Isshin, now Kurosaki Isshin, was their son. Kurosaki Ichigo, properly Yamamoto Ichigo, is his son. I preserved a sample for Unohana-taicho to test as well," I say, drawing a vial forth. I pass it to her, and a minute later, in green light, is the confirmation of what I already knew. Yamamoto-soutaichou has a living descendant in Kurosaki Ichigo.
"Then where is he?" Yamamoto-soutaichou asks. " I am very interested in meeting him, my only descendant who has powers."
"That is the bad news. Urahara Kisuke was also in Karakura Town, and he says that his father's will is that Yamamoto Ichigo not go to the Seireitei. If it had turned into a battle, I could not have guaranteed his safety, as I would be facing an opponent who equaled me, while having to protect your great-grandson and Rukia from his attacks as well. Myself and a fukutaicho would not be sufficient to both protect those two and defeat Urahara," I say, now feeling the soutaichou's reiatsu flaring. The heat is immense in the room, burning and furious. I am not sure if I will be leaving this room as anything more than a pile of ashes.
"Kyoraku. Ukitake. You will accompany me to Karakura Town. You will not be sealed, and neither will I. If Urahara Kisuke peacefully surrenders my great-grandson, he will live and we will leave him unharmed. However, should he resist, Bankai is authorized. Kurotsuchi-taicho, arrange for the Senkaimon and a spiritual area freeze immediately, so that we need not worry about destroying innocent souls should we fight," Yamamoto-soutaichou says.
"Yes sir. I will see to it immediately, so I might return to much more interesting experiments. Though your grandson will be very interesting to experiment on once he returns with you," Kurotsuchi-taicho says. Yamamoto-soutaicho is not amused. His reiatsu crushes Kurotsuchi into the ground as he rises, and leaves the captain's meeting to prepare for his journey.
I'm sorry for the long hiatus. I really should have gotten back to this before now. However, there have been issues with writer's block and with college. The writer's block was finally shaken free today, and I got to work. This rewrite is going to be somewhat different, as I can't look back at my writing from back in high school with any pride anymore. If I'm going to write this story, I'm going to do it right.