Chapter 2: Going the Distance
Isshin was on his knees, in pain and near death. He looked up defiantly at the man in front of him. The man, Juha Bach, merely smirked at Isshin. Isshin spat at his feet, dirtying Juha Bach's boots with his blood mixed saliva.
"I see you still have some defiance in you. Perhaps if you surrender I shall let live your last moments thinking of your precious whore." Juha Bach said with venom as he spoke of Masaki. The statement sent Isshin into a rage as he tried to slash at the man with his Zanpakuto. Juha Bach stepped back and kicked Isshin in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"I may die here, but I won't die without fighting until my last breath." Isshin stated with all his hatred towards the Quincy King. "Then allow me to speed up the process." The patriarch of the Quincy race said coldly, walking over to the former 10th division captain and stomping on his chest. Isshin coughed up blood and groaned in pain. Juha Bach's face twisted into a sadistic grin as he ground his boot harder into Isshin's chest. The sickening crack of ribs snapped Isshin's eyes open wide; he began to scream in agony as Juha Bach continued to crush the shinigami's ribs.
Juha Bach was about to finish the weakened man off when he felt it, the power of one worthy to face him. "Ahh, so he has arrived. Well I hope he makes it in time, Shiba, for if he doesn't you will die here like the dog you are."
Ichigo crashed into the ground, the ground crunching under his feet as he hefted Tenrai Zangetsu onto his shoulder and ran towards Juha Bach's reiatsu. He noticed that there was another reiatsu signature there, but it was so faint he couldn't tell who it was. He narrowed his eyes at this, they wouldn't last much longer, and he had to hurry.
Renji was only a step behind as he followed Ichigo to Juha Bach. They were blurs among the people in the street. Wait, people in the street? Oh no, the two shinigami thought. They pushed themselves into shunpo and raced to the location.
Only a few seconds passed as they arrived, Ichigo notice Juha Bach smirking at him, but he also noticed something else. There was someone kneeling in front of him. His eyes widened in realization. The one kneeling in front of the Quincy patriarch was none other than his own father.
"DAD!" Ichigo shouted in worry and went to rush to him, but was stopped by someone. He was shocked at the one who stopped him though. It was Ishida Uryu. Ichigo was shaking in rage as his former ally formed his bow and aimed at him. "Kurosaki, I will be your opponent. His Majesty is preoccupied at the moment." He said calmly. Ishida fired multiple arrows at Ichigo, who just stood there. "You don't get it do you? 'Your Majesty' ended both of our mothers' lives, don't you want to make him pay!" Ichigo swatted the arrows away with his bare hand. He was furious at how Ishida could just join that bastard of a man, after everything he had done; he was just so confused by his rival's choice.
Ichigo charged Ishida with Tenrai Zangetsu held out to the side. Ishida went to dodge to the right, but Ichigo was faster and he shunpo-ed to Ishida's right side and grabbed him by the head and threw him into a building, causing part of it to crumble at the force of the impact. "I know that wasn't enough to take you out, Ishida. Come on out!" Ishida came out of the ruble and dust, his uniform a little dusty and tattered at the edges on the left side, but he was visibly unharmed. Ichigo frowned and held his Zanpakuto out in front of him. The two former allies stared down one another for what seemed to be a life time. Suddenly they vanished and appeared high in the air. Ishida drew a Seele Schneider and charged Ichigo. Ichigo parried the blow and countered with a horizontal slash, only for Ishida to jump back and fire his Seele Schneider with his bow. Ichigo side stepped the attack and sent an unnamed Getsuga at the Quincy. Ishida barely had any time to dodge the attack as he fired several hundred arrows at the strawberry Substitue.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes once more and shunpo-ed behind Ishida and went down into a full vertical arc. The attack hit its mark as blood sprayed from Ishida's back. "Sorry, Ishida, but I have to save my dad." He grabbed the Quincy before he fell from the attack and laid him down on the ground within a moment's notice. Ichigo looked over to Juha Bach and glared at the man and turned his entire body to face him.
This is where it all ends
Renji was locked in combat with Haschwalth. The two warriors seemed to read each other as each parried or blacked the other's blade. Renji got back into his stance and watched the Quincy for a moment. Holding out his sword he gripped it tighter. I'm gonna have to take it up a notch, He said to himself.
"Howl! Zabimaru!" Renji roared as his sword became larger and segmented into six sections. Haschwalth jumped back several feet as Renji made a wide horizontal arch. Renji grinned ear to ear as his opponent dodged. He thrusted his blade forward, making it extend towards Haschwalth.
Haschwalth side stepped the attempt and charged forward, his blade held to the side ready to cut into the shinigami. Renji smirked and flicked his wrist to the right. The extended blade bent to its wielder's actions. Haschwalth's eyes widened in surprise, he narrowly blocked the attack meant to cut him in half. He was slammed into a building. "You're not as strong as Ichigo said you were, or are you holding back?" Renji questioned the Quincy as he brought his shikai back together.
Haschwalth exited the hole of the building, a trail of blood over his right eye. "I was merely caught off guard. It will not happen again." He said rushing forward. Renji narrowed his eyes and charged to meet his enemy.
Ready, Zabimaru?
Of course, Renji, let us show him the results of our training!
Ichigo continued to glare at the King of the Quincies, he was holding in his fury, but was about to lose his patience as he decided to break the silence. "I'm going to kill you, Juha Bach." He said in an even tone. Juha Bach smirked at the Substitute's statement. "Is that right? Then do tell, how do you plan on accomplishing that, boy?" Juha Bach asked, his smirk still in place.
Ichigo scowled and pointed Tenrai Zangetsu at him. "I will do it by piercing your heart with this blade, and if I have to I'll drag you to Hell myself."
Isshin was the one to smirk now. It seems that you have surpassed even the old man, huh, son? Isshin questioned to himself, but already knew the answer. He watched as his son charged the first Quincy. Juha Bach kicked Isshin away and swung his sword down, meeting Ichigo's Zanpakuto in a shower of sparks. Juha Bach started to push Ichigo back as they both fought for dominance in their dance of blades. Ichigo gritted his teeth and pushed back and with a surge of power he flung Juha Bach back from his position. Juha Bach landed on the side of a building and immediately used it to launch himself at Ichigo. The two warriors again clashed resulting in a stale mate.
"You have gotten much stronger from the last time we saw each other," Juha Bach stated, although he was curious. "But it's only been a day since then. So how did you manage to get this strong?" Ichigo stayed silent as Juha Bach tried to push him back, but the Substitute wouldn't budge. Ichigo scowled at his opponent. He charged his blade with some of his reiatsu and with a whisper released his attack. "Getsuga Tensho."
A blue white crescent fang enveloped the two combatants, causing an explosion and shockwave. The shockwave threw Isshin a few meters away from the battle. He groaned from the pain of his wounds. Isshin coughed a little, he looked up to see Ichigo on the ground without a scratch while Juha Bach was missing the top to his uniform, bloodied from his son's attack, and he was holding two things. His sword was in his right while he held a medallion in his left.
Juha Bach lifted his left hand and smirked. "Feel the power of the former Captain-Commander! BANKAI!" Flames erupt around Juha Bach causing Isshin to cover his face at the sight. As the flames died down, Juha Bach is holding a scorched katana in his left hand and is in a white flame garb. "Zanka no Tachi." He said with a sadistic grin on his face. "This is the end Kurosaki Ichigo." He then used the Quincy equivalent to shunpo, hirenkyaku, to get behind Ichigo. Juha Bach slashed at Ichigo with a vertical arc, but he is parried by Ichigo's blade. "Impossible, you should be incinerated. You should be a pile of ash before my feet, you GEMISCHT!"
Ichigo's head is held low, hiding his eyes behind his now long hair from his nine months of continuous training. Juha Bach slashes again, but his blade is stopped by Ichigo's bare hand. Juha Bach's eyes went wide at the boy's action. "Th-this is i-im-impossible." Ichigo lifted his head, his eyes steeled with his resolve, he raised Tenrai Zangetsu's bladed form. The magnificent blade looked like Zangetsu's fullbring infused form, but with a longer chain and two holes on the lower part of its back. Ichigo slashed across Juha Bach's chest. Blood sprayed from his wound, coating Tenrai Zangetsu's blade, as he jumped back. Juha winced at the pain of his wound.
"See I've transcended the old man's powers. He couldn't even hold a match to me now." Ichigo told Juha Bach as he pointed his blade forward, the chain on the hilt wrapping around his arm. "BAN!" He then held it, with his arm still held out in front of him, vertically, he then pointed it down. "KAI!" In an explosion of power, blue and black reiatsu swirled around where Ichigo's position, Ichigo cleared the dust and smoke with a single swing of his newly formed weapon. "Tenrai Goon-o Zangetsu." (Roaring King Divine Slaying Moon)
Juha Bach stood wide eyed as he saw Ichigo's bankai. He was in his bankai's fullbring infused cloths, along with some additions. He had shoulder spaulders, pitch black in color. On his back two thin, black metal protrusions extended a few inches behind him. The most noticeable addition was the skull like helmet that was black with two silver bars going down both sides of his face and two horns that started from his temples. His sword was still a black daito as before, but the prongs of his tsuba were slightly extended and the chain had become long with a scythe blade attached at the end . Ichigo stared at Juha Bach's shocked form and smirked under his helm. "It's over, Juha Bach." He said in a watery echo.
Juha Bach gritted his teeth and charged the being in front of him. Ichigo stood motionless as he let the blade hit him, but nothing happened as the blade dragged across his form fitting shihakusho. Ichigo gave the man a blank stare with his new forms eyes. His irises were silver white with an azure blue lining the edge of them while overlapping black sclera. Juha Bach slashed over and over, but not one attack left a scratch on the strawberry substitute. "I told you, it is over, Juha Bach.
Haschwalth had tried multiple times to get close to Renji, but each attempt ended with the Quincy slammed into by the extendable Zanpkuto. Haschwalth was getting agitated by the man he was fighting. He used his hirenkyaku to get close again, this time the blade didn't hit him. He let a small smirk grace him as he neared the shinigami. He raised his own blade to cut him down, but his eyes went as wide as dinner plates as he saw a flash of red.
"Hado #31: Shakkaho!" Renji shouted out. The red ball of energy shot out toward the Quincy with blinding speed. It hit Haschwalth with such force he was thrown through several buildings. Renji shunpo-ed to where his enemy had landed, or was going to land after he stopped skipping over the pavement. Renji watched as his opponent came skidding to a stop right in front of him. "Oh, is it Christmas?" Renji asked as he raised his blade to deliver the final blow. Haschwalth's eyes went wide once more as he tried to move, but was unable to do so.
"Bakudo #9: Geki!" A voice called as Renji's blade came down, splitting Haschwalth's skull.
Renji looked over to see a petite raven haired shinigami standing a few feet away smirking at him. Renji gaped at the shinigami that was in front of him. "R-R-Rukia, what are you doing here?" Renji asked comically. Rukia scoffed and puffed her cheeks. "Oh your welcome Renji!" She said in an angry tone. Renji rubbed the back of his head nervously as she walked toward him.
"So where's Ichigo?"
Ichigo deflected another blow with easy. He was growing bored with Juha Bach and was ready to end it. He parried the Quincy King's blade and used the moment of vulnerability to slice his chest perpendicular from his earlier wound. "Give it up, Juha Bach. It's over." Ichigo told him once more. Juha Bach was frustrated by the boy's power, he was easily overpowering him as if he was nothing more than an ant. Ichigo decided to take a quick glance at his father. He was alive, at least for now, but if he didn't finish this quickly he would die. "Worried boy?" Ichigo shifted his gaze to the Quincy. Juha Bach smirked at the young substitute. "Then perhaps," He vanished and rematerialized in front of Isshin. "I should that worry and replace it with," He raised his blade, making Ichigo's eyes widen. "HATE!" He finished as he pierced Isshin's chest. Isshin coughed blood out of his mouth.
"DAD!" Ichigo cried out in anguish. He rushed toward his father as Juha Bach retreated. He caught his father just as he started to fall. Isshin chuckled weakly, coughing more blood up. "Guess this is where it ends, huh, Ichigo?" He asked so low that it was almost a whisper. Ichigo lifted his helm and held his father tightly.
"Don't you die on me, old man." Ichigo told his father, his voice shaking from the fear of losing his father. Isshin smiled at his only son, the son that had made him so proud to be his father. "Ichigo, I made Engetsu promise me that when I die that he would go to you. Use him wisely, or-" Coughed up blood once more. "Damn… it." Isshin cursed. He was at his limit. He gave his son a sad smile. "Goodbye, Ichigo… Tell the girls that…I'm..sorr…" Isshin went limp in his son's arms. Ichigo's eyes went as wide as dinner plates as his father died in his arms. He shut his eyes tight, in an attempt to stop the tears that had formed, but failed as a slow stream ran down his cheeks. Ichigo then let out a wail of agony.
Renji and Rukia had only just appeared as they saw the scene before them. Ichigo was mourning his father while Juha Bach grinned. Renji shook with anger and charged the man, but was stopped by Ichigo. He appeared in front of the crimson haired shinigami, his Zanpakuto and Engetsu in both hands. Ichigo glared at the man before him. He pulled down his helm and rushed forward only to miss his target. Juha Bach used hirenkyaku to get behind Rukia and grabbed her from behind. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but this is where we part ways." He opened a portal of darkness and entered. Ichigo shunpo-ed to it and jumped through it just as it was about to close. Before the portal fully closed he heard Renji call out to both Rukia and himself.
You are Going to pay Juha Bach! Ichigo thought as he followed the reiatsu signature through the portal. He saw a light and went toward it and exited to meet the night sky. "Where am-" He was interrupted as he saw Juha Bach standing not too far away from him. "Ahh, so you did follow me, Kurosaki?" He again smirked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. "Let her go or are you as much of an idiot as I thought." Ichigo saw Juha Bach release Rukia and ready himself. Ichigo did the same as he charged the man and slashed at him with his bankai blade.
This new world would be in for a battle unlike any other