Nighma: I am so damn proud of this chapter. :)

Chapter III: Of Course (feat. Why)

There was that accursed sound…again. It was a long, vibrating noise that seemed to come around to it every once in a while. It was closer than usual, this time. In fact, it never sounded so intense before. It was damn stubborn, that's what it was. But two could play that game.

It managed to ignore the sound, sinking deeper and deeper into the insipid world, wondering if it should divulge into the deepest parts of the inner world if that's what it would take to make the sound go away. But even it knew that going that far meant it'd probably never find a way out.

But it might try anyway. Kill some time…

"…"

…What…?

It opened its eyes upon realizing something it never noticed before about that damned sound. It didn't…really care…but as what it noticed, amiss its better judgment, captured its attention, it found itself listening just a…little bit more carefully…

"…!"

…What…? That sounded like…

"…ll…!"

…It knew that voice. Second voice it ever heard…

Suddenly, it was taken by a strong, profound sensation of being pulled. What the…? Was that…?

The voice was panicked, urgent in tone…What was it saying? Against its resistance to keep from being pulled, the Hollow listened even more closely…until it could finally make out:

"Hollow!"

A single echo. That one, single echo. Damn, it was persistent.

…"Hollow"…huh…

If it remembered correctly, that was what it was called by its King, since it didn't have a name…

The realization then dawned on it. It started so abruptly, it nearly gave in to the pulling.

King was calling it.

…King. Was calling. It.

Its King.

The pulling suddenly stopped, just as abruptly as it came. Something felt off.

The call could have been…might have been…was most likely…urgent. But why should it answer back? Oh…yes, of course. If the King croaked, it would disappear, too…and so would Zangetsu. But King did this, and that, and everything else to himself. They told him what would happen. And this…this was just…all his fault.

Besides, death was just another adventure...

Or so they said. Who are "they", anyway?

Bullshit.

So the Hollow decided to answer to the call of its King…perhaps what would be for the last time. Slowly, unsure of its own voice, it responded, "…King?"

Eyes widening, Ichigo let out a gasp of realization. That voice that had spoken within him…it wasn't Zangetsu's. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, but reeled it in as he called out in his mind, "Hollow...? Is that really you?"

The response didn't come immediately, almost sending him into a panic again. "Che…" the voice finally scoffed, almost sadly.

He suddenly felt himself being pulled down, down into himself. Opening his eyes, he was once again lying on a building in his inner world. Zangetsu stood to his left, not too far from him, facing the even drearier sky. There was a ghost of a relieved expression on his face as well.

"It's back?" Ichigo asked him anxiously, jolting into an upright position.

The zanpakutō spirit nodded, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "Your call broke through."

The first thing the Hollow noticed when it took control of King's body was…how bright everything was. Even behind its eyelids and even though the sun was setting, it could tell. It didn't like that. But beggars couldn't be choosers. When it opened its eyes, it also realized immediately that it was in a pool of blood, its King's blood, and this gave it a shock. King was still so powerful…how the hell did he wind up nearly killing himself this time? Then again, King could be really stupid, too. Suddenly spurred on by angered thoughts, it stood with a snarl and took Zangetsu off the ground the second the Menos came back to finish it off.

The cloth wrap touching its skin and the weight of the sword brought back a feeling of nostalgia. It gave Zangetsu a brief and fond look-over, as if saying hello. And in a second, it sliced that pathetic, flimsy arm off the Menos. Was that really all King did to it? Pa-thetic!

As the Menos let out a loud bellow of pain, stumbling back, it took notice of its hand, which didn't really belong to it. The hand had pigmentation, unlike its own which it knew had none. Its black —not white— shihakushō was also drenched in a beautiful, rich sanguine liquid; blood. It slowly clenched the hand into a fist, unable to stop itself from brandishing a grin long absent from its face.

This was the body of its King…Yeah. Even if it stayed in the inner world for years, it wouldn't trade death for a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to do this…or this…

Concentrating, it poured its energy into the blade in hand and called forth the assistance of Zangetsu. Sensing that the zanpakutō was more than happy to lend his power, it flashed its old signature, maniacal grin the very moment the enraged Menos was in an upright position and at last powered a cero.

"HA! Getsuga…" —the Hollow raised its hand, feeling the red and black reiatsu surge through it and Zangetsu before swinging down— "TENSHŌ!"

In its eyes, it was beautiful: mercilessly, smoothly, the Kuroi Getsuga cut through the cero and in turn sliced the Menos in half from its feet to very sky above. As it corroded away, the Menos' single wail rang out into the surrounding area. Such a beautiful echo…

The Menos' disappearance meant the twilight sun began shining directly at the Hollow. Hissing, it winced and turned away from the light, cursing under its breath. That seemed to remind it…how the hell did all of this start? Why was —is—King bleeding to begin with?

…Not that it really cared.

It was only the Horse, after all…

Replacing Zangetsu onto its —King's— back, it let out a sigh before taking in one more breath of fresh air…and then closed its eyes as it handed control back to King.

Back in the inner world, the Hollow opened its eyes to face the expanse that was a menacing dark grey sky. It scowled upon seeing it. Of course it was going to rain. Oh, no, not just rain, it was going to freaking pour. Monsoon season-like. It heard a slight exhale from behind it. Right. King and Zangetsu. Something was telling it King wasn't going to let it off so easily. If it had its way, it wouldn't be dealing with him at all. But no, of course, Zangetsu wasn't going to let it off so easily, either. Fine. It'll give King a piece of its mind.

Ichigo's eyes had widened and he inhaled sharply upon seeing the familiar white figure suddenly appear, standing on the lower end of the building. There it was. So it existed after all. Well, of course he knew that, but it was good to see it as confirmation. And judging by its rigid stance, it wasn't happy to see him. So much for being worried about it. And if it did exist, what was with all of the silence?

Furrowing his brows, he stood and approached it. "Oi…Hollow?" he called to it.

The Hollow winced. So that was King's voice after all, calling to it, that time. Refusing to answer, it slightly turned its head to the side instead.

Realizing it wasn't in a mood to cooperate, Ichigo stopped his approach, leaving a nice amount of space between the two of them, though he was still closer to it than he was before. "…Thanks," he said. Not much for a conversation starter, but better than nothing.

The Hollow seemed to tense up even more. Was that a slight tremble?

It swallowed, trying to ready its mouth to speak again. It felt like it had been so long since it had any real conversation, even though it wasn't that long at all, and it knew this. Didn't change the…the…feelings, damn them all.

After another short moment of silence, it finally spoke. "…What…the hell…was I supposed t'do, eh, King?" it responded slowly, quietly, practically spitting the last word. Its voice was low, more warbled than usual, and it sounded unsure of its own voice. "Let'cha die? Tch…it'd be…a shame," it continued, the exaggerated, cutting tone of its voice slicing through the tension in the air.

Ichigo's scowl deepened, but he decided to let its attitude slide. He had a purpose, here. "…I was wondering what happened to you. You seemed to have disappeared."

This was new to the Hollow. But then, of course, it had practically barred itself within the depths of King's soul. It wasn't even sure exactly just how much time had passed, though it was aware it couldn't possibly be as long as it seemed.

But that bastard…had the nerve…

"Bullshit, Ichigo," it hissed smoothly. Anger was so natural to it. "It's your powers you're really worried 'bout, righ'?"

"No, I'm not!" Ichigo shouted, surprised it would think that way. Sort of. "I thought something had happened to you!"

"Oh, sure, King's worried 'bout me…" it whispered, more to itself than to Ichigo. Its fists clenched at its sides. Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit…bullshit. Wisps of its black and red reiatsu began to form in a ring around it, but only for a second.

And in the next second, Ichigo's face was grabbed by its pastel white hand and, before he knew it, was thrown into the side of one of the buildings. He let out a violent cough upon impact, spitting out saliva, stuck in the spiderwebbed cracks made in the wall. Grimacing, he looked at it— and his eyes widened. And he stared.

Since when were its irises…white?

Having just thrown him, it remained in a rigid pose, slightly leaning over and with its right hand's fingers still bent from grasping his face. It was true. Its sclera were still black, as were its pupils…but its irises, instead of that familiar gold like other Hollows, were pure white. "You fuckin' disgust me," it growled at him, its top lip pulled back over its teeth in a snarl.

It looked positively enraged. The whites of its orbs, that is, its irises, seemed to glow menacingly from within the darkness that made up the rest of its eyes. The change made it somehow seem even more impossibly like a Hollow, even though Ichigo had never seen a Hollow with white irises before.

Upon noticing his scrutiny and the shock upon his face, it straightened out and made a mock smile, because that expression couldn't possibly be a happy one. "That's it, King!" It raised its arms and waved one hand over itself, as if on presentation. "I'm 'ere! Always been! But who th' fuck would wanna give a bastard like you their powers when y'don't even know how t'treat 'em, huh? Gotta be a better King than that!"

And its voice…It really was lower and more warbled. And…was it always that menacing?

"...What are you talking about…?" Ichigo asked, cautiously breaking away from the building's side.

It narrowed its orbs, then reached and took its Zangetsu off its back, grabbing the black wrap with its left hand. Ichigo knew that stance. He only had a moment to ready himself before it disappeared in a whiz of sonído or shunpō to appear closer in midair with its Zangetsu shooting like an arrow towards him. "I'm taking about your fucking arrogance! Your naïvety!" it yelled as the attack hit and broke through the building, causing it to fall.

Ichigo had dodged just in time, appearing behind it, but raised Zangetsu to block a second, rapid attack as it swung its white zanpakutō around to hit him from behind.

"It pisses me off!"

Rushing forward, pulling its Zangetsu back, it landed a sweeping kick into his chest, grabbing its Zangetsu at the same time it appeared at his side. As Ichigo flew into yet another building, it shot a Getsuga Tenshō after the wind knocked out of him. Ichigo had only the chance to see the attack coming before it landed on him and cried out from the impact.

Standing in midair, it looked down at the falling buildings, expressionless save the fury in its dark eyes. "So you thought'cha knew eve'rythin' there was t'know about your Hollow jus' 'cause you could use my mask?" it yelled after him. "Didn't you learn anythin' 'bout this with Zangetsu?"

The smoke cleared to find Ichigo on one of the lower buildings, his left eye closed from blood trickling down from his forehead. "What the hell are you doing?" he practically screamed at it. He didn't come to fight!

"HA!" It grinned at the expression on his face, quickly lowering itself and hefting its Zangetsu onto its shoulder.

Ichigo jumped to one of the other building and then back around to the lower half of first building they began fighting on, wiping his eye on his shoulder sleeve and as he looked around.

"Guard's down~!"

Again, his face was grabbed and, like reverse impact, was sent flying towards another side of a building. This time, however, he caught himself just before he could end up crashing into it, gathering himself so as to not fall for that again.

The Hollow appeared a distance from him, its face contorted with a passionate grimace, liquid eyes glowing as it glared at him. Its white Zangetsu was held tightly in its right hand, trembling as it asked, "After all this time, when'd you ever give two shits 'bout me? Why th' hell should I trust you? All you've ever done is fight me or abuse my powers," it suddenly narrowed its orbs into dangerous slants, "or d'ya know somethin' I don't? DOUBTFUL!"

"Abuse your powers?" Ichigo shouted back, only slightly confused now, but more angry than anything else. "When have I done that?"

A look of disgust crossed its face. "You fuckin' me?" It glowered. "Are you so stupid?" it bellowed, allowing Ichigo to truly hear that darker undertone to its voice. It shot out a commandless, discolored Getsuga Tenshō. "Do I have t'explain—

Ichigo dodged that one.

"every— Another.

"little— Another.

"thing— Again.

"TO YOU?" Holding its Zangetsu by the wrap, it swung it hard and rapidly over its head, shooting a volley of slanted, miniature Getsuga Tenshō from the blade in his direction.

It propelled itself through the air after the attacks still spiraling and shooting towards him; he had dodged the first and repelled the first of the others, but the smaller ones came like a hail of large bullets behind those.

He raised Zangetsu. "Getsuga Tenshō!" The attack cut through the first larger ones, causing an explosion where the Hollow had stood just seconds before as it hit the buildings behind. Grimacing, he used shunpō to move further up the building, now closer to where Zangetsu was. Sensing the Hollow approaching, he raised his sword, and in that second, they clashed.

White hit black as it swung down hard on his blade, still in midair and he still on the building. A slightly familiar smirk was on its face, but those eyes…

"I'm not here to fight you!" he said, causing the smirk to disappear from its face. "I want to talk t—"

Again, it ignored him. "Getsuga Tenshō."

"Agh!" One building, two, three, four Ichigo broke through from the attack, putting a hole in the one he had stood on a moment before.

It laughed humorlessly, but not that crazed cackle he was used to. This was a booming, echoing and short shriek. "It's your own fault you're so weak!" it shouted after him. "But to call me out? That's too far, Ichigo, too far…!"

Call him out…? Getting up from his position against the wall, his shihakushō beginning to become tattered, but surprisingly not bleeding anywhere else, Ichigo glanced up to it. It was still in midair, head suddenly lowered and holding its Zangetsu limply in hand. When had he called it…? Was it talking about that one time? He jumped into the air, on level with it from atop the building beside the hole he fell through.

"…That sound…" it murmured, but Ichigo could barely understand it over the low warbles of its own voice. "I wanted it t'go away…just shut up…! Wouldn't stop echoing, wouldn't go away…and these…feelings…" It placed a hand on its head, grimacing slightly.

Watching, Ichigo slightly narrowed his eyes, slowly connecting a few theories of his own together. Now that he thought about it, it was…No, that's impossible, right…?

Snapping its head up, it seemed to come out of a trance, pupils contracting to normal size as if they were previously dilated. "But like I had a choice, huh?" it asked him. "Even I'm not so thick in the head I'd let you die because of your own stupidity! So I helped out!"

"I know that!" he responded, going on guard when it had looked back up.

It suddenly and visibly twitched at his words, taking a step back and grasping its head again, eyes slightly closing as it softly groaned.

Concerned, Ichigo took a step forward, but it raised its Zangetsu between them in a shaking hand, growling at him. "…I hate…this…" it whispered, but Ichigo couldn't hear it. "I…hate this…" Reiatsu flared around it as the zanpakutō's black cloth began to wrap around its arm.

Eyes widening, Ichigo, too, went into the familiar stance, knowing he didn't have much of a chance otherwise. "Wait a minu—!"

"I HATE THIS! Ban—!"

"—KAI!"

Black-red and white-red reiatsu swirled around their respective owners as the cries rang out. Even before the reiatsu died down, the two doubles were already locked in combat, disappearing and reappearing in the sky as black and white streaks. Attacks rang out in the empty world, buildings breaking left and right. Ichigo was on the defensive, his Hollow purely berserk on the offensive.

Zangetsu watched them clash in the sky and all around him, still on his pole and following their movement when he could with his eyes. When they were out of his view, he closed his eyes and listened. This was purely between Ichigo and his Hollow. He was aware of the situation and had been for a long time, that Ichigo wasn't exactly the best…King, as the Hollow called him. That was the point it was trying to make. But there was also something else bothering it…

He knew what that was, too.

He opened his previously closed eyes as Ichigo was slammed onto the far end of the building. His Hollow was pressing its blade so hard against his, it was practically on top of him.

"You…arrogant…You think thanking me NOW means anything?" it shouted, eyes blazing white fire.

Ichigo shook his head, exasperated and angry that it wanted to continue this pointless fighting, and used all his might to push it away from him without making the shove an attack. "I don't want to fight you!" he said, letting down all guards. It was a risk, but he was hoping that would get it to stop.

Its eyes widened, seeming to find this and his action to be an insult as it made a sort of throaty clicking, almost sputtering sound, the ghost of a strange emotion flickering in its ebony pools. "No, Ichigo, you'll damn well FIGHT ME!" it snarled, stepping forward and grabbing him by his coat. "I've been bored shitless, I deserve a proper fight! FIGHT ME!"

He knocked its hand away, glaring at it. "I refuse. We don't have time for this!"

"Don't talk t'me…" its hand clenched into a fist "about time!" And its hand went out.

He wasn't exactly sure how it happened so fast. Ichigo held his breath, staring at the arm that now looked as if it was sticking out of the dead center of his chest. Huh. Well, wasn't this…ironic…To receive a hole in the same spot from the very creature that he turned into upon receiving a similar wound from his battle with Ulquiorra…

The Hollow, too, seemed frozen for a moment. And then, stoic in expression, it must have done something with its fingers, because a strange and excruciating sensation erupted in Ichigo's chest, causing him to grab the arm and let out a gasp in pain, his legs quavering to give out.

"…Hol…" he gasped, just as it forcibly pulled out its hand, causing him to groan. He stumbled back, placing his hand over his wound, but did not lower to his knees. No. That much he knew he could not do.

It glanced at him, and then to its bloody hand. Softly, it said, "…Still…you don't deserve my powers…"

Ichigo glanced up at it. It even felt as if the fight was finally over. Just like that. Just like that? But who won, exactly?

"Only time you ever did…was when you defeated me, but even then. You were missin' a vital piece to the puzzle…"

He then witnessed that strange emotion once again return to his Hollow's eyes, only this time, it stayed, held there in its gaze as it looked at him. What he saw shocked him.

"…What am I to you, huh?" it asked. It didn't sound angry. It didn't even sound bitter. Ichigo could only hear and see what he couldn't believe was sadness. "Y'got over seein' me as something you could get rid of, but what about everythin' else? A nuisance. 'That thing'. 'My Hollow powers'. 'My Hollow'." It shook its head, the lower rims of its dark eyes rising in a sort of squint as its head slightly tilted to the side. "Am I really?"

Panting heavily, he lowered his head for a moment. Why is it sad? "…Stop it with your riddles…" he breathed, looking back up, "and just tell me what I did wrong!"

The emotion in its eyes immediately disappeared, replaced with rage once more. "Everything! You don't use your head, you don't think about anything!" It lowered its hands, the white double of Zangetsu going limp in hand. Again it slightly shook its head, looking away. "Ichigo…Time after time…I heard it, felt it. 'I'm sorry, Zangetsu', 'I see, Zangetsu', 'Talk to me, Zangetsu', 'I'll get better, Zangetsu,' 'We did it, Zangetsu,' 'We will, Zangetsu', …'Thank you, Zangetsu'."

Ichigo's eyes slightly widened, but only for a moment. He slightly lowered his head, eyes downcast and he glanced away.

Its left hand clenched. "How am I any diff'rent from him to you?" it asked, looking at him again, even though he couldn't see it. He knew it hated it, just as much as he couldn't believe he thought he heard it, or maybe he did, but he could hear the honest desire to want the truthful answer to the question.

He had none.

Zangetsu closed his eyes, amiss the fact that they were within his eyesight.

Personally, it was glad he wasn't looking at it. Not while it was talking like this. It wasn't sure where these thoughts and feelings were coming from, but they needed to be let out. "You needed my powers an' I let you after you earned it. Gave you the right. And then what? Y'just use me an' then throw me away. Store me away, whatever, until you need to use me again. Rinse and repeat. An' what could I do? You're th' fuckin' King. Each time I tried to fight you, you owned me.

"You don't deserve the right to use my true power, power you've probably never even considered me havin'. Y'think Zangetsu's the only part of you that grows an' learns an' gets stronger? What did I tell you? I used Getsuga Tenshō in bankai first! And how th' hell do you think we defeated Ulquiorra?"

At this, Ichigo's expression changed to a look of surprise and he looked back at it. He was, in fact, confused. We?

The glower had returned. "But instead y'just think 'I've got to conquer it. I've got to subdue it. I've got to fight it.'" It scoffed, disgust and…hurt in its tone as it glared at him. "And y'got th' nerve to wonder why I wanna fight you.

"…I…hate you," it said slowly, enouncing every word smoothly. And did they bite. "I dunno why I kept thinkin'…kept believin' you'd wise up. Seems so stupid, now. And now that. It's creepin' up. You can feel it. We can, too, Zangetsu an' me, and it hurts us, too."

It glanced at Zangetsu for a moment, its gaze softening. But only for a second. Its gaze was even harder and harsher than before as it looked over Ichigo's whole form. "…So the Horse'll be put down after the King is sentenced to death…" it muttered, and then, again, that sadness returned to its eyes as it turned from him and began to walk away, "…alone…"

As it walked away, he reached out, as if that could stop it from going. "Wait! Hollow!" he called, taking a step forward.

It stopped suddenly. And it shook, literally trembling. For a second Ichigo braced himself for another attack. But to his surprise, nothing came. Instead, it lowered its head. "…Hollow…huh?" he heard it murmur. "Shallow, empty, violent…an' a pain in the ass, eh…?"

And then it slowly turned to face him. Ichigo's eyes widened in horror at that look. Its gaze was so intense, so full of unrestrained and pure hatred, he was finding it hard to believe they all thought it never had emotion before.

With a crazed but definitely not happy grin, it positively growled, "Fuck you too, Ichigo."

It then jumped to the next building at its right, using shunpō (…or was that sonído?) to move further away as fast as possible before he could form any words from within his mind.

Ichigo continued to stare at the void where the Hollow had stood, but his gaze went beyond that. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure anymore. Where should he start? How would he start? It was worse, much worse than he ever imagined…

Was it…always like that? Perhaps before it obtained emotion, it had these indications within it alluding to feelings that it couldn't express? And then…overload.

What had he done? How could he be so stupid? There were hints, weren't there, and he missed them completely. And like the idiot he was, he went on about his ignorant way…misusing it…neglecting it…ignoring it. It seemed so obvious, or at least a little like there was always something else, now, of course, but…was he too late?

His eyes at last flickered away from that spot as he glanced over at Zangetsu. The zanpakutō spirit's gaze was downcast, but his face was unreadable. Did Zangetsu harbor feelings against him, too, for doing what he did? Most likely. Ichigo's shoulders slightly slumped. This wasn't what he wanted at all.

And in a flash of thunder, it began to pour. Within seconds, he immediately understood why Zangetsu and, he figured, his Hollow despised the rain so. The rain was cold. So, so cold. So heavy. In the enormous world, he suddenly felt so lonely, amiss Zangetsu in his presence. Each raindrop contained the feelings causing the very rain itself to pour. Sadness. Anger. Guilt. So much guilt. Closing his eyes, Ichigo lowered his head. He would stay to experience this suffering he was inflicting on them. It was the very least he could do, not knowing what else to. It didn't feel right to leave his inner world just yet.

After standing in the rain for a few moments, he slightly opened his eyes and placed his hand over his slowly healing chest wound, but kept his head lowered. "…Was I…so wrong?" he asked softly, sadly, his voice drowned out by the sound of the rain and rumbles of thunder. But it was a rhetoric question, of course. He knew he was. Perhaps he was asking his younger self, from just months ago, that question.

Why was he so wrong?

Zangetsu indeed despised the rain. However, this time, it didn't seem as harsh and feel as lonely as it usually did. Ichigo was there, for one. He was now aware of his mistakes, his faults and more. And mixed in with those dreary, pitiful emotions, if he felt hard enough, was also one of determination, and for that, Zangetsu was proud of him and sure was the reason the rain wasn't truly as harsh as it seemed. Ichigo was determined, still, to somehow, someway continue to attempt to make this right. He wanted to, he truly did, and not just because of what the Hollow said, but that helped him understand. He needed to hear that.

Somehow, all on his own, he had truly begun to worry about it. That was enough, for the first steps.

He just didn't know how make it right.

…Why was he so wrong?

It was raining. Of course it was raining. It knew it would. Hard. That bastard was guilty. Angry…Sad? Why was he sad? Grasping its head with both hands, it let out a loud cry that mixed with the clapping of thunder. These emotions were driving it insane! Why did it care, anyway? Wasn't this all his fault?

Frustrated, it clenched its pale hands into fists, closing its eyes and crouched down. So why did it hurt so much? Why was it so angry at itself? It didn't do anything wrong, right?

Why?

Why?

Why?

It suddenly pounded its fists into the building, causing cracks to form down the building's side. With a shriek of anger, it continued to slam at the building below until it felt the ground nearly give away. It then abruptly grabbed its head with both hands, eyes wide as it suddenly realized something. Maybe that's what it was…Maybe it did do something wrong.

It was the Horse…so it was supposed to carry the King until death or let go, right? It had stopped lending Ichigo its power…and so it had failed him. But then again, was what happened, being ignored, considered being "let go"? Or maybe forget the fact that Ichigo rarely used its power at all…it was still supposed to be there, right?

The Horse that was let go…was still supposed to wait to service the King again…

…Right…?

Slumping down, the Hollow went to its knees and clenched its teeth as it grimaced. It was so unsure. These thoughts and feelings…This wasn't the way it normally would have thought before. It didn't need to think in the past, it just knew. But now…Something was hurting. It clenched a fist over its chest, directly where a heart would be, scowling darkly at the pouring, gloomy world.

Why…was it so hard to understand…?

Nighma: Who won this fight? Why couldn't Ichigo kneel?