—Changing Time—
For once, since the war with Aizen, Ichigo felt calm. He was completely relaxed in the Kuchiki's garden, by a pond, sitting underneath a large willow tree.
He felt a body shift besides him, but paid no attention and continued to meditate. He let his senses reach out to as far as they could go, a bit of a habit mind you, and sensed for any on coming danger.
It was when he reached over to where he was found by Urahara, the little desert area where he first fought Aizen, that he sensed something faint. It was too small to recognize, but large enough to be considered a threat if left unchecked. What it was, well, he'll have to find that out later. He was (read: still) too exhausted from closing the garanta to do any investigation at the time.
Though, that was his fault, wasn't it. Uryū, from his time line, had told him time and time again that if he were to use his own reishi, instead of the reishi from the environment, then he would be left exhausted. Adding the cero didn't really help either.
Not to mention that ever since the attack that impaired his eye sight, his physical health hadn't been at its best. It sort of reminded him of Jushiro, with how both he and the captain of the thirteen squad are both sick. Though, his wasn't as serious as the Captain's. Ichigo just had to make sure that he kept a certain amount of reishi in his body, to fight off the illness the poison caused, and to not exhaust himself.
Though, he supposed, using a cero and quincy arrow at the same time would put a monkey wrench into that system. Just one caused his (very) slowly decaying body stress, both at the same time would not only help the decay, but slow the recovery. Hanatarō had actually reprimanded him a couple times when he put a lot of stress on his body in his timeline.
Ichigo sighed and layed down on his back and put his arms underneath his head for a cushion. He, and couldn't believe he actually thought this, wished he could go back to his timeline. At least there he had come to terms that most of his friends are dead. Being here felt like ripping those healing stitches right off and opening the wound again.
However, he couldn't ignore this nagging feeling at the back of his skull. Too small to be a headache, but it was starting to feel like one.
"Hey King."
Shiro's voice broke him out of his musings, "yeah?"
"You felt that too, right?"
Ichigo paused and then took a moment to fan out his senses. There! On top of Sōkyoku hill, where the garganta had opened up, that's where the source is. The feeling of this thing's reishi made Ichigo feel nauseas. If it were for Shiro dulling the feeling with his own reishi, because he could feel what Ichigo was feeling, he would have possibly thrown up his lunch. (Did he even have lunch?)
"It feels, volatile. What is it?"
"I don't know, but once you recover, we'll check it out."
Ichigo gave a curt nod in acceptance since arguing with his counterpart was futile when he was in (what Old Man Zangetsu liked to call) "mother-hen mode". Shiro would fuss abut him and make sure he was alright. The behavior started just a little while after the incident that impaired the strawberry's sight, as well as health.
"I'm feeling better now, so let's go. The sooner the better."
Before Shiro could respond, Ichigo got up from his position and tried to stand. Keyword tried. Reishi exhaustion is serious, and though he knew that, his anxiety wouldn't let him be until he figured out just what that feeling was.
Ichigo swayed a little until Shiro caught him before he could fall. The albino was about to start arguing with the strawberry to stay down and heal, until the sounds of footsteps got louder and louder.
Both looked up to see (well, to Ichigo it was a blob) of a certain white-clad quincy.
Uryū adjusted his glasses and looked at his friend, "shouldn't you be resting Kurosaki? Captain Unohana had said that you had a mild case of reishi exhaustion."
Ichigo snorted while Shiro scowled, "and what are ya doin here? Thought you and the others might have gotten back to tha world of tha living by now."
Uryū looked at the spirit, "the shinigami are putting back Karakura town as we speak. We, as in the other humans and I, will be returning tomorrow."
"Sure, but that doesn't explain why you're here specifically. What business do ya have with the King?"
Uryū sighed and shifted a little, "though it may not be the right time, as you are still healing, I was hoping you could tell me what Quincy techniques you have learned. Though it is completely understandable if you do not wish to disclose that information at the moment."
Ichigo looked to the white blob that was Uryū and gave a slight smile, "sure, but let's sit down, might take a while." Besides, it's not like Shiro's gonna let me leave the estate anyway, he thought.
While Ichigo and Uryū were talking about techniques, Rukia watched the exchange from afar. She knew it was Ichigo Kurosaki, but-at the same time it wasn't him at all. It confused her to no end.
"Yo, Rukia."
Rukia looked behind her to see Renji, she gives him a nod of acknowledgement and goes back to watching her friend.
"He seems so different, yet- he's still the same. It's so, weird."
"I just hope that whatever happened, he moves past that and moves on. It seems like whatever happened has haunted him."
Renji paused a moment before taking a look at Ichigo. Said person was laughing at something Uryū had said, while the quincy had a feint blush coating his face. Shiro then said something the red head couldn't quite hear making the quincy blush harder and making Ichigo laugh harder.
A small smirk came to Renji's face as he watched the interaction. No doubt in his mind that Rukia was thinking of something similar.
"Yeah, but the idiot's strong, and he has us, we can help him get through this."
Rukia hummed as she watched the trio.
It was at the moment Ichigo stiffened and shot up to his feet, a far away look on his face as he stared at Sōkyoku hill. His eyes glazed over as he stared at it's peak.
Uryū looked with feint worry upon his face, eyes showing concealed concern.
"Ichigo, what's wrong?"
Ichigo's entire stance then changed into one prepared to run, his face then changed one to horror.
Rukia and Renji immediately walked towards Ichigo, slowly but surely. Rukia held out a hand towards Ichigo, hopefully to shake him out of his trance.
"Ichigo, what's going on? What's happening?"
Ichigo'seyes widened and he grimaced, "no, no, NO!"
Before anything else could happen, Ichigo left using a combination of Sonido and Shunpo. The speed was impressive, even Yoruichi would be impressed.
Though it was obvious to where he went, because not even a minute later, Sōkyoku hill exploded with reishi. One Ichigo's, the other unknown.
Just then the alarm blared, "ALL CAPTAINS REPORT TO SŌKYOKU HILL, I REPEAT ALL CAPTAINS REPORT TO SŌKYOKU HILL!"
Renji, Uryū, and Rukia looked at each other with worry in their eyes. Though they only called for captains, Ichigo was their friend, and they'd be damned before they let him deal with a threat alone.
—At Sōkyoku Hill—
When they arrived at Sōkyoku hill the captain commander and a handful of captains were already there, a few ways away from the peak of the hill. However, upon closer inspection they could see dust clouds and the lingering reishi of their orange haired friend.
The spiritual level continued to rise so fast and far, that the head captain and the captain of the fourth put a barrier around the shinigami, and quincy, who came.
"What's going on?!"
Renji's question was ignored at the Captain Commander called to the captain of the twelfth.
"Captain Kurotsuchi! Report!"
"There seems to be an anomaly. The spiritual levels are rising and decreasing at a significant rate, there also seems to be something that, what looks like poisoning, the reishi in the air. The only thing keeping it from infecting us is the enormous energy being produced by all the captains. The particles being emitted by us are so condensed that it acts like a barrier. Anyone with reiatsu less than a seated officer or higher would no doubt be infected."
All they could see was a blur of black and white, the sounds of steel against steel, and the sparks of the clash between blades. It was surreal.
Suddenly the two figures parted and they could clearly see who was clashing at the top of the peak. Rukia eyes widened in surprise, shock, and horror.
First she saw Ichigo, his back towards them, both blades brandished and pointed towards the enemy infront of him. His hair was actually really long, reaching down to the small of his back, a jutted horn pointed forwards from the too of his head.
His opponent, however, was not as distinguished. It looked like a black ink monster, streaks of a mercury white substance dripping down its arms and a shining metallic blade connected to its arm. The blade seemed to be dripping down the monster's arm, looking like it was in a perpetual state of flowing from solid to liquid then solid again.
Upon the monster's back were ripped butterfly-like wings, crumbling apart at the seams. In the middle of the monster's chest, however, was the shining blue orb of the hogyoku.
Rukia gasped and put her hands to cover her mouth in shock. Faintly she could hear the other's ripples of varying degrees of shock and unease as all eyes landed on the hogyoku.
Renji looked like he had the winded knocked out of him, "no way..."
There, standing (if a pile or goop and semi consistent bile could stand) off against one Ichigo Kurosaki. Aizen's new form reminded her of a video game Orihime once showed her. Bendy's Ink Machine she thinks it was called (it was strange but intriguing) and this monster reminded her of the tall inky monster-y version of the dancing demon.
Ichigo's face was contorted into rage, exhaustion, fear and so many more. It was strange to see so many emotions flash across her friend's face in one moment.
A distorted and watery chuckle came from the melting monster, "what's wrong Kur-o-sa-ki," he dragged out the syllables to emphasize what he was saying, "you think you've won. A little travel through the dangai won't be enough to kill me! You're all alone, just like before!"
Ichigo scowl deepens and anger could be felt flowing off of him in waves. Almost like he wants to say something, but can't choke it out.
"What's wrong Kurosaki, you think I'm wrong? You think that just because your friends," he spit the word out like it was poison, "will help you now that they are alive?!"
Aizen cackles like it's the funniest joke he's ever heard, and frankly, it was a but terrifying hearing a pile of goop laugh like that. With so much animosity.
"Do you really think they would help you, after they figure it out? After they learn what you did?"
Ichigo stills after hearing that. His entire form frozen at Aizen's words.
"Shut up."
His voice is so small, hardly anyone heard it. Aizen heard it though, and he just laughs again.
"Do you really think that they want to be allies with you after they learn about what you've done?"
"Shut up!"
"They will turn on you, outcast you just like they did in the previous timeline!"
"I said shut up!"
A large getsuga arched it way towards Aizen, who immediately flashed stepped out of the way. Ichigo wasn't thinking clearly, and that made him all the more easy to manipulate.
"Think about it, Kurosaki. History is doomed to repeat itself."
With those final parting words, Aizen flash stepped away, leaving the captains, two lieutenants, and quincy alone with the orange haired shinigami.