Chapter Six – Fallout
It had been several weeks since the match between Ichigo and Shūhei, in which Ichigo had acquired his Shikai and mortally wounded Shūhei as a result. No matter what he did or how he thought, he could not get over the shame and self-hate over what he had done. He knew that he hadn't intended on cutting him so deeply, so why did it happen?
In the following weeks, he had distanced himself from his friends and everyone else at the academy, though the latter had been easier than expected. People would now look at Ichigo with contempt, disgust, malice… and fear. As he walked the corridors of the Academy, people would move out of his way, in fear of being hurt by him. This, of course, was all fuelled by nothing more than rumour and gossip. People knew about the bad blood between the two teens, so they used that as a reason for Ichigo's vicious attack that almost killed Shūhei.
Renji, at first, simply stayed out of it. He knew Ichigo would want space and decided not to force the issue. Izuru was torn as to what to do. He knew Ichigo was in a bad way and wanted to console his friend, but also wanted to respect his wishes of being left alone. Momo, on the other hand, was the most affected by these events. Ichigo had said next to nothing to her, Renji or Izuru since the battle, other than the words 'I'm sorry' and 'Do yourself a favour and stay away from me'.
This was obviously affecting Momo greatly. First she felt angry at Renji, who simply shrugged and acted as if it wasn't his problem. She was upset because her boyfriend, someone she cared about almost as much as her cousin, Tōshirō, was distancing himself from her. She was also incredibly worried as Ichigo has done nothing but train during his free time. She'd see him out on the training field in the afternoon, and come evening, she'd still find him there, all beat up and exhausted.
This had been going on constantly, so she decided that it was best to talk to someone who knew the situation better, or could at least give her insight into Ichigo's state of mind. This is how she found herself in the Squad Four Barracks with Izuru.
"Good morning, Momo. Izuru." Isane said, bowing as she greeted the two Academy Students.
"Good morning Lieutenant Kotetsu. Is it possible to see Captain Unohana?" Momo asked, bowing to the Squad Four Lieutenant.
"Yes, that should be fine. She's just finishing up an appointment with her patient, so she should be right out. Just take a seat and I'll let her know you're waiting." Isane said, smiling to the two students.
Momo bowed again and made her way over to the seating area to wait for Captain Unohana. Izuru followed and they both sat down next to each other.
"Don't worry, Momo. If anyone can shed some light on this, it's Captain Unohana. Not only because she's the greatest Medic in the Soul Society, but also because she's worked closely with Ichigo. Well, up until, y'know…" Izuru said trailing off as he referred to the fight.
After the battle, Ichigo had left the arena and disappeared for a week. No-one saw him and he stopped going to class. He even stopped going to see Captain Unohana for their weekly training sessions. He had also stopped going to Squad Thirteen to see Kaien and his wife, Miyako, twice a week. After he came out of hiding, he simply went to class, then went out to the training field and trained until his body was broken, healed himself with his knowledge of Medical Kidō and continued. Whether the training had paid off, Izuru or Momo couldn't say. They had hoped Captain Unohana would be able to tell them more.
For several minutes, the duo simply sat there in silence. Momo had her head hung low to the floor, looking at her feet. Izuru sat up in his chair, lightly tapping a finger on his knee in time with the ticking of the clock that was on the wall behind them. Eventually, they heard a door open and out walked Captain Unohana.
"Good morning, Momo. Good morning, Izuru." She smiled at the pair. "What can I do for you today?"
"Umm… I was hoping that… Well, what I wanted to ask you is…" Momo began, struggling to find the right words.
"We want to talk to you about Ichigo." Izuru said confidently. "We're worried about him and we were hoping you could help us." Izuru saw Captain Unohana frown upon the mention of Ichigo.
"I see… Come with me, we'll talk in my office." She said as she ushered the pair through the door she had come though and directed them to her office. "Alright, so what's been happening? I haven't seen Ichigo since the match between him and Shūhei."
"That's what we want to talk to you about. After the battle, he simply vanished and no-one saw him for a week. After that, he became distant and stopped talking. All he does now is trains until sunset and we don't know what to do." Izuru said.
"Well, I'm afraid I don't know much about the situation, as I haven't seen him since I took Shūhei away for surgery, but given how closely I worked with him for the past several months, I think I can speculate as to what he's feeling. In my mind, he's ashamed. Ashamed and frightened. I know he didn't intend on hurting Shūhei so badly. If he did, he wouldn't have started to panic and try to heal him. He simply would have stood there and watched his life ebb away. His actions there tell me that what he did wasn't intentional. Somehow, things got out of hand and that resulted in Shūhei being mortally wounded. I think he's ashamed that he let that happen." Unohana stated, basing her hypothesis on her relationship with Ichigo.
"That makes sense. Ichigo is a protector; a guardian. He wouldn't do such a terrible thing to someone, just because they were mean to him." Momo said, nodding her head. "But what I don't get is why you think he's frightened. He's so strong; what could he possibly be frightened about.
"To put it simply? Power. That's what frightens him. He is incredibly strong, there no doubt about that. I even have reason to believe his spiritual pressure rivals that of a Third Seat, if not a Lieutenant. But I think it's his incredible strength that scares him. You know the saying; 'with great power, comes even greater responsibility'. Ichigo feels that he is to blame for what happened to Shūhei, because he was unable to control his incredible power." Unohana said.
"So, do you think that's the reason he's training so hard? He's afraid of losing control of his power and hurting someone else?" Izuru asked, getting a nod from Unohana.
"I believe so. Ichigo is the sort of person who uses his power to protect people, not harm them. The fact he knows how much power he has right now, but lost control of it, it scared him. If he can't control his power, who's to say something like this won't happen again… Or worse?" Unohana said, causing Momo to gasp. She knew exactly what Unohana meant.
"You don't really think Ichigo is capable of doing such a heinous thing, do you?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Not deliberately, but if he can't control his power, then it's certainly a possibility we must address. I think this is why he's training so hard." Unohana said, trying her best to assure Momo.
"I almost forgot; how's Shūhei doing, Captain?" Izuru asked, trying to change the subject before Momo got upset over the fact her boyfriend could possibly kill someone.
"For the most part, he's stable and slowly recovering. He's still critical, but I'm confident he'll make a full recovery, and there should be no scarring. The wound was a clean incision, almost like it was made with a scalpel, ironically. There was little to no tearing of the skin or muscle tissue, just a straight, clean cut." Unohana said, smiling at the relieved looks on Izuru's and Momo's faces.
"Oh, that's good. Ichigo will be pleased to hear that." Momo said, her face and overall demeanour brightening considerably.
"Indeed. I think we should go tell him now, don't you think?" Izuru said, looking at Momo.
"I don't know… Is that such a good idea?" Momo asked, looking to Captain Unohana.
"I can't see the harm in it. I'm sure it'll do Ichigo a world of good to hear Shūhei will be alright. It might break him out of his feelings of shame." Unohana said, smiling.
"Great! Let's go, Izuru!" Momo said energetically. She stood up and before Izuru had time to react, he felt a hand on the shoulder of his robe, dragging him out of the office, causing him to protest that he could walk on his own.
Captain Unohana chuckled and walked over to a table in the corner of her office and poured herself a cup of tea. She made her way back to her desk and sat down. As she sat down, she let out a deep sigh.
She felt bad about not being completely honest with the two Academy Students, but there was nothing she could do. While what she said about Ichigo was true in her mind, and the fact Shūhei would make a full recovery was also true. She omitted a few facts of information from her examination.
What she didn't tell them was the fact Ichigo's spiritual pressure after releasing his Shikai was worrying. Frightening, even. While she saw his spirit energy was blue, she felt like it was masking an incredibly dark, heavy, underlying spiritual pressure. One that felt incredibly toxic and made her feel physically sick.
The other fact she left out was what she found in the wound Ichigo had left on Shūhei's body. When she was using her Kidō to heal the wound, she found the body was rejecting the spell. The more energy she used, the more the body rejected it and the faster Shūhei's health began to deteriorate. Upon closer examination, she found the entire wound was full of black sludge. At least, that's what she thought at first. She had extracted all the sludge and sent a sample over to Squad Twelve for a full analysis, and the results were terrifying.
Squad Twelve had examined the substance taken from Shūhei and determined it wasn't sludge at all. It wasn't even organic. It was pure, heavily concentrated spirit energy. What made this so terrifying was the fact it was so dense and so heavily concentrated, it actually had the ability to poison the host and break down the spirit particles and reishi bonds within the body, causing massive internal trauma by essentially liquefying muscle tissue and internal organs. Had Unohana simply closed up the wound and not examined the substance properly, Shūhei would have died and when she would have opened him up to do an autopsy, his internal organs would have been a thick, gooey pool of blood, stomach acid and muscle tissue.
As the most experience Medical Practitioner in the Soul Society, Captain Unohana learned her craft from none other than Tenjirō Kirinji of the Royal Guard. As a result, she had seen almost every kind of gory sight before and nothing shocked her. This, however, was a whole other kettle of fish. Just the very thought of opening up a body and seeing a vile sight such as that made her feel sick. Even thinking about the possible smell made her gag slightly.
Sighing, she pushed her cup of tea away from her. There was no way she was going to be able to drink it and keep it down now. Instead, she stood up and walked over to her window and looked out at the Seireitei.
"Oh, Ichigo… Just what kind of powers have you tapped in to…?" She said out loud to herself before returning to her thoughts.
Momo and Izuru arrived at the training grounds to see Ichigo practicing his Zanjutsu. They could see how beat up and exhausted he was. His hands were covered in bandages that were soaked in many layers of blood. His uniform was torn in many places and looked like Swiss cheese. His hair was soaked with sweat and it was matted and dirty. Ichigo was in a right state and seeing him like that broke Momo's heart.
"Ichigo…" Momo whispered, her eyes starting to sting from the tears that were welling up in the corners. She was about to go over to him when Izuru grabbed her by the shoulder and simply shook his head.
Ichigo was fighting against a training dummy when he slashed at it with his Zanpakutō, cutting it in half. Ichigo stabbed the tip of Zangetsu into the ground in anger.
"Dammit! It's still cutting too deep! Why is it doing that?!" Ichigo yelled looking at the massive blade that closely resembled a Khyber Knife.
Ever since his fight with Shūhei, he hadn't had any contact with Zangetsu and this angered him. He had questions that demanded answers, so he figured training hard would be enough to draw him out. Alas, this method proved to be fruitless.
Ichigo collapsed to the floor, panting in exhaustion, when he saw two pairs of feet appear at his side. Looking up, he saw Izuru and Momo; both had concerned, worried looks on their faces. As soon as he saw who it was, he turned to look at the ground again, upsetting Momo even more.
"What are you two doing here?" Ichigo asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"We could as you the same thing." Izuru said, clearly unimpressed by how Ichigo was treating himself.
"What do you think? I'm training." Ichigo replied, still looking at the ground.
"Have you lost your mind? This isn't training; this is punishment and self-torture!" Izuru yelled, losing his cool.
"What would you know?! You weren't the one who nearly killed someone because he couldn't control his own power!" Ichigo yelled back, standing up to look Izuru in the eye.
"I know you, Ichigo… I know that you would never intentionally harm others. I don't know what happened in your battle, but I know it wasn't intentional." Momo said softly.
"Momo's right, Ichigo. What happened to Shūhei wasn't done deliberately. We went to see Captain Unohana earlier… She believes your spiritual pressure can easily rival that of a Third Seat, or even a Lieutenant. Having access to such an incredible level of spirit energy can be frightening… Especially that kind of power is unleashed all at once." Izuru said calmly.
"You went to see Captain Unohana…?" Ichigo stared at the two blankly.
"Yes, and she said Shūhei is going to be fine. See, Ichigo? Everything's going to be ok." Momo said with a smile as she grabbed Ichigo's hand, only to have him pull away.
"No, Momo… Everything is not going to be ok… I still can't control my power. Every cut I make is far too deep and results in me destroying a training dummy. If these were real people, they'd be dead." Ichigo said, turning to look at the pile of wooden training dummies. Some were sliced in two, others had shattered into tiny splinters.
"Ichigo, have you considered that it's just because you're not used to your Zanpakutō's length yet?" Izuru asked, walking over to Zangetsu and pulling out his own Zanpakutō. "Look at the difference; your sword is more than twice the length of mine. Perhaps you're cutting too deep, because you're not used to the sheer size of it?"
"I thought that too, but I've been training non-stop for weeks now. I've got a perfect balance over how it feels and how it cuts, but it doesn't matter what I do, because it always cuts too deeply." Ichigo said.
"Have you tried communicating with your Zanpakutō?" Momo asked. "I know that you can communicate with it; maybe you'll find your answers there."
"I've tried that. No matter how long and how hard I train, I can't force the Old Man to tell me anything." Ichigo said, looking over at his Zanpakutō that was still stuck in the ground.
"Have you tried meditating on your sword as a means of communication?" Izuru said.
"Meditation? That stuff actually works?" Ichigo asked, causing Izuru and Momo to sweat drop.
"Of course it does. That's how you're supposed to interact with your Zanpakutō Spirit." Momo said.
"Really? I've only ever communicated with Zangetsu through combat. I figured that's how he works." Ichigo shrugged.
"Right, well how about you actually try meditation, enter your inner world and contact him like that? Honestly, Ichigo, do you ever pay attention in class?" Momo asked, shaking her head and smiling at the orange haired teen.
Ichigo simply grumbled as he walked over to his Zanpakutō, pulled it out of the ground and proceeded to rest it across his lap after he sat on the ground. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo began to meditate and enter his inner world.
"C'mon, Momo. There's nothing more we can do now. The rest is up to Ichigo." Izuru whispered, grabbing Momo's arm and leading her away from Ichigo.
It took a while, but Ichigo finally managed to enter a relaxed state and entered his inner world…
Ichigo had slipped into his inner world and opened his eyes. It was exactly the same as last time, except he noticed it was completely devoid of life, aside from him. He looked around and couldn't see anyone.
"Zangetsu?!" Ichigo called out, his voice rang out but was carried away by the wind. There was no answer. "Hey! Old Man Zangetsu! Where are you?!" Ichigo yelled out, starting to get irritated.
He looked around and found a very familiar object sticking out of the ground. It was Zangetsu in Shikai form. The Khyber Knife like Zanpakutō was just sat there, the cloth that was hanging off the handle was lightly blowing in the breeze. Ichigo went up to it and was about to take it when he sensed movement from behind him.
A black streak shot out from what seemed to be nowhere and before Ichigo could register what happened, he found the Zanpakutō was gone and standing before him was a truly shocking sight.
Ichigo was looking at… Himself. Except it wasn't him. It was someone who looked exactly like him, save for the fact he was pure white and had golden eyes.
"Who the hell are you? Where is Zangetsu?!" Ichigo shouted, demanding an answer from his white doppelgänger.
"What are you talking about…? I AM ZANGETSU!"The doppelgänger cackled, pointing the Zanpakutō directly at Ichigo.
"You're lying… You're not Zangetsu! Where is he?!" Ichigo yelled again, his anger rising by the second.
"The Old Man isn't here right now, so it looks like you'll have to deal with me." The doppelgänger said with a sadistic grin. "I know what you want, Ichigo. You want to know why you can't control your power, don't you?"
This took Ichigo by surprise. He had come to talk to Zangetsu and get some insight into why he couldn't control his Zanpakutō properly. How did this… Thing know that? His doppelgänger saw the look of surprise on Ichigo's face and smirked.
"Oh, don't give me that look. There's a very good reason why you can't control your power… YOU'RE NOT WORTHY OF CONTROLLING ME!" He roared, stabbing the Zanpakutō in the ground, causing a large fissure to appear.
"What are you talking about? If I wasn't worthy, why would the Old Man tell me his name and how to release my Shikai?" Ichigo asked.
"How the fuck should I know? All I know is that when you attacked that bitch when you used me for the first time, you used my power perfectly. YOU WERE MEANT TO CUT HIM THAT DEEPLY!" The doppelgänger yelled, looking at Ichigo with a wicked look in his eyes.
"No… It was an accident… I didn't know how strong I was… I never meant to hurt Shūhei…" Ichigo said, his voice barely a whisper.
"Just listen to yourself! You're self-pity disgusts me! You fail to embrace your true power and enhance it!" Ichigo's doppelgänger looked at Ichigo directly, rage burning in his eyes.
"Stop lying to me! You don't know what I'm capable of! I will become stronger and I will protect those I call my friends and those I care about!" Ichigo shouted, determination evident in his voice.
"Huh… Is that right…? Fine, I'll throw you a bone this time, because the stronger you get, the stronger I become, and I'm all about power and strength. That, and watching you wallow in self-hate and pity yourself is sad and it sickens me. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once; you're over extending your power. You're trying to execute something you don't know anything about. My advice would be to cap your power when you swing me, until you learn more about what it is you're trying to achieve." The doppelgänger said cryptically.
"What do you mean? What am I trying to execute?" Ichigo asked, confused by what his white counterpart had said.
"That's for you to figure out. Once you achieve it, return and I'll grant you the power you seek…" He said before turning away from Ichigo, indicating he had nothing more to say.
"I don't seek power. I just want to protect my friends… But fine, if that's all you're going to give me, I'll figure the rest out on my own!" Ichigo said indignantly as he vanished from his inner world.
"So, how did I do? Do you think he'll figure it out?" The doppelgänger asked, not turning around.
"Ichigo is capable and more than worthy of the powers he possesses, but he needs to learn how to tap into that power and not fear what he finds." A voice spoke.
"Tch, you always were too soft on him… The only reason I told him what I did was because his self-pity was starting to piss me off and I didn't want to look at him any longer than I had to!"He shouted, turning around to look at the person who had spoken. It was Old Man Zangetsu.
"Yes, and the world is made of rainbows and full of unicorns." Zangetsu said with an ounce of venom.
"Alright, fine! I told him what he needed to know so that he'd get stronger. There's no way I'm taking over his body when it's weak and pathetic like it is now." The doppelgänger said as he began to dematerialise and merge with Zangetsu.
Zangetsu said nothing more as he walked over to the Zanpakutō that was still stuck in the ground. He placed a hand over the handle and absorbed it.
When Ichigo awoke from his meditative state, he immediately stood up and picked up his Zanpakutō and faced a training dummy. He remembered what his white counterpart had said and he pulled back on his spirit energy's output before swinging. He sliced the training dummy and it cut through it far more shallowly than before. With a grin, he now knew what he had to do to properly control his sword. The cut was still far deeper than he had intended, but he didn't care; he now knew he could control his Zanpakutō's power and that's what mattered.
"Nice… It seems he's progressing faster than I had anticipated." Aizen commented as he watched Ichigo train on a monitor.
"How interesting… How do we proceed, Captain Aizen?" Gin asked from a seat on the other side of the room.
"I think we wait for now… I have an interesting idea on how we can speed up Ichigo's progress even more." Aizen said as he stood up and headed to the door.
"Oh? Do tell, I love hearing about what you have in store for him." Gin said as he followed Aizen out of the room they were in.
"It's very simple, Gin; as you have probably noticed, Ichigo's skill seems to increase from combat. The more he fights, the more he learns. The more he learns, the faster he will progress and mature." Aizen said as they ascended a long spiral staircase.
"Soooo… We're going to have him fight? How are we going to do that? Approach Captain Zaraki and convince him to fight Ichigo?" Gin asked.
"No, that wasn't what I had in mind, but the idea does sound beneficial. I'll make a note of it for later." Aizen chuckled mirthlessly before witnessing Kaname arrive in front of him, bowing to him. "Ah, Kaname. How are the preparations going?" He asked.
"They are underway, Captain Aizen; everything is running smoothly and I shall be returning to oversee the rest of the mission shortly. I assume this means Ichigo Kurosaki's progression is far more rapid than we had expected? I figured it would be another six years before we were to undertake this mission." Kaname said as he followed Gin and Aizen as they entered the outside.
"Yes, he's progressing much faster than anticipated. As a result, I've pushed things forward. It won't be long before he's a Soul Reaper with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Aizen stated.
"I'm sorry, I believe I'm missing something here. What is Kaname undertaking and what makes you think Ichigo will become a Soul Reaper with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads so soon?" Gin asked, looking to Kaname, then to Aizen.
"You'll find out all in good time, Gin. For now, just be patient." Aizen simply said, causing Gin to scowl a little. He never liked being left out of the loop.
"Well, do we at least know what Squad Ichigo should be put in?" Gin asked.
"It stands to reason that Ichigo flourishes most when he is with his friends; Momo, Izuru and Renji. I'll make arrangements for them to all be placed into Squad Five under my command after graduation. Ichigo, however… I don't see why he shouldn't be put in Squad Five too. That way, I can keep an eye on his growth and actively assist with it." Aizen said.
"A wise decision, Captain Aizen." Kaname said. "It would look odd if you were overseeing his training if he was with another Squad."
"But what if Ichigo wants to be put in another Squad, or other Captains request him to join their Squad?" Gin asked.
"An excellent question, Gin. It is obvious Captain Zaraki wants him to join his Squad. Perhaps Captain Unohana wants him in Squad Four for his skills with Medical Kidō, but I already have a plan in place for such an eventuality. By the time Ichigo's graduates, which will be very soon; of that I have no doubt, he'll request to join Squad Five over any other Squad – even Squad Thirteen with his cousin Kaien." Aizen said, a thin smile crossed his face.
"Let me guess, you're not going to tell me what this plan is, are you?" Gin asked.
"Not at the moment, as there are still a few knots that need to be worked out, but that won't be a problem." Aizen responded, causing Gin to sigh.
The day after her meeting with Momo and Izuru, Captain Unohana decided to keep a close eye on Shūhei. He had been in the Squad Four Medical Treatment Facility since his battle with Ichigo several weeks ago and she was confident he was going to make a full recovery, but her thoughts after yesterday's discussion with Momo and Izuru, she decided that it was best to not take chances and keep an eye on his recovery. She was checking on Shūhei when someone spoke, startling her slightly.
"How's he doing, Captain?" The person asked. Unohana turned around and saw it was Ichigo.
"Ichigo? It's been a long time. I've been worried about you quite a bit. Not only myself, but Momo and Izuru are just as worried." Unohana said, concern evident in her voice.
"I know, and I'm sorry for making you worry… But I'm fine now. I think I've figured out how my Zanpakutō works." Ichigo said with a thin smile.
"Really? That's good to hear. I'm pleased for you." She said with a warm smile.
"Yeah… So, how's he doing?" Ichigo asked, pointing over to Shūhei.
"He's doing well. He's a little slow to recover, so we had to place him in a medically induced coma in hopes his wounds will heal faster. I'm confident he'll make a full recovery." Unohana stated as she watched Ichigo walk over to Shūhei.
"I'm sorry… I should never have let this happen…" Ichigo said in a whisper. Unohana wasn't sure of he was talking to Shūhei or to her.
"Ichigo, I hate to ask this, but what did happen? I know what happened wasn't intentional and you didn't mean for it to happen, but… How did this happen?" She asked, moving over to Ichigo's side.
"I… I don't know. I attacked him with my Zanpakutō and slashed like I would normally, but for some reason, the blade cut far deeper than I had intended. I managed to enter my inner world and talk to… Well, I don't know what I talked to, but he told me that I was trying to do something I had no knowledge of, and that's the reason I cut Shūhei so deeply. In the end, I was told to simply cut back on my output of spirit energy while attacking until I knew what I was trying to achieve… Thing is, I don't know what that is." Ichigo stated, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed.
Of course! That explains why the cut was so deep and filled with that spirit energy. It still doesn't explain how it was so dense that it had the ability to break down reishi bonds, but this is a start. But I shouldn't tell him… He needs to learn to figure things out for himself… Unohana thought to herself, taking a seat next to Ichigo.
"I see… So, this advice from your time in your inner world has indeed helped you?" Unohana asked.
"Yeah, I can now control my attacks, but I have to cut back my spirit energy output considerably." Ichigo stated.
"Do you know how much of a reduction you have to use?" Unohana asked. She was interested in knowing how strong Ichigo is compared to how strong he could be.
"After careful tinkering and adjustment of my power levels… Almost ninety percent." Ichigo stated, causing Unohana to look at him with wide eyes.
"N-Ninety percent?!" She repeated, clearly shocked.
"Yeah…? Is everything alright, Captain?" Ichigo asked.
"Ichigo, it's no secret that you have incredible power, but the fact you can use a mere ten percent of your power and still be a powerhouse is frightening to say the least. Especially when you take into account you're power is still growing. It's very possible that your ten percent now could be comparable to one percent in the future, maybe even less." Unohana said, looking at Ichigo.
"What do you mean…?" Ichigo said, not really sure what she was getting at.
"What I mean, Ichigo, is that while you only use ten percent of your power in battle now, with your incredible growth rate, you could later on end up using a mere fraction of your actual power and still do the same amount of damage. By that estimation, you could end up becoming at least ten times stronger than you are already." Unohana stated. Take into account he has yet to learn Bankai… When he achieves that, he could end up being somewhere between fifty to one hundred times stronger than what he is already… I must notify the Head Captain of this immediately.
"Is everything alright, Captain Unohana?" Ichigo asked, looking at the Squad Four Captain.
"Yes, I'm fine, Ichigo. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I must leave you; I have a few matters I must attend to. You're welcome to stay here if you wish and if you need anything, Isane will be more than happy to assist you." Unohana said, standing up and bowing to Ichigo.
"Oh, yeah… Ok, I guess I'll see you later." Ichigo said.
"Yes, I hope to see you at our next session. You've missed quite a few and now you're back to your old self, I expect you to make up for the sessions you've missed out on." Unohana said with a smile. The way she smiled and spoke to him made Ichigo think that this wasn't a request.
"Uhh, y-yes, Captain." Ichigo said nervously before Captain Unohana nodded and vanished with Flash Step.
Captain Unohana left the Squad Four Barracks after telling Isane she had some business to attend to elsewhere and that she was in charge of things until she returned and headed to Squad One to see the Head Captain.
The Head Captain was going over some paperwork when Unohana arrived at his office. Knowing something must be wrong, the Head Captain didn't hesitate to grant Unohana her request to see him. Wasting little time, she told him what Ichigo had said to her and her thoughts on the situation. This resulted in the Head Captain calling a Captain's Meeting to discuss the matter with the rest of the Captains.
The summons were immediate. There was no time to pussyfoot around the situation. All the Captains were gathered and the Head Captain began the meeting, immediately opening the floor to Captain Unohana.
"Thank you, Head Captain Yamamoto. My fellow Captains, I have something to discuss with you all that is of the utmost important. It's regarding Ichigo Kurosaki and his potential as a Soul Reaper." She said, causing all the Captains to look at her with intrigue.
Captain Aizen was especially intrigued by what Unohana had to say. Did she know something he didn't? It was unlikely, but he was determined to hear what the Squad Four Captain had to say.
"As you all know, several weeks ago during his match with Shūhei Hisagi, Ichigo acquired his Shikai and the outcome of that was… Well, you all saw how it ended." She said, causing the Captains to nod solemnly. They didn't believe Ichigo to hold any murderous intent behind his attack and his actions after the fact proved such beliefs. "Ichigo came to me today to tell me that he's learned how to control his power. But the thing that frightens me is the fact he's only using about ten percent of his overall power."
This statement shocked several Captains. Aizen kept a straight face; this wasn't a surprise to him. He knew Ichigo had an immense amount of spirit energy, so him holding back a large portion wasn't that surprising to him.
"However, that's not my main concern." She continued. "It's his growth rate. I believe that, at his current rate, it won't be long before his power rivals that of most of us Captains; I expect it to skyrocket to at least ten times what its current level is at."
"Incredible! How can someone be that powerful?!" Jūshirō said, sounding rather shocked.
"It's not that uncommon, Captain Ukitake. Every so often souls come to the Soul Society that have large reserves of spirit energy. The most interesting part here is whether Ichigo will be able to harness that power or not." Captain Aizen stated, getting nods from other Captains.
"Forgive me, gentlemen, but I haven't finished. There's one critical element some of you might have not considered; Bankai. As Captains, we all know how powerful the Bankai Release is; it can amplify our power by as much as five to ten times what it normally is." Unohana said, watching the Captains do the math and all reach the same, somewhat horrifying conclusion.
"That's not possible! Are you telling us that, with the Bankai Release, Ichigo's power could increase anywhere from fifty up to one hundred times his current power level?!" Captain Komamura said.
"I believe that's a very good possibility, Captain Komamura." Unohana replied.
"I'm sorry, but why is this a problem?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked, looking rather bored.
"You can't be serious…" Shunsui breathed.
"Need I remind you, I am the Captain of Squad Twelve and the Head of the Department of Research and Development." Kurotsuchi said arrogantly.
"Well, you do almost every chance you get…" Soifon scoffed.
"Silence, neophyte! I'm not finished!" Mayuri barked. "As the Head of the Department of Research and Development, I create various tools and equipment to assist and monitor spirit energy levels."
"What are you getting at, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Captain Tōsen said, not liking how Mayuri was beating around the bush.
"Patience, Captain Tōsen. Need I also remind you that brute standing across from me is wearing an eye patch I created that absorbs extra spirit energy?" Captain Kurotsuchi said, pointing to Kenpachi.
"Yeah, and let me tell you, this thing is pretty good. I didn't think you eggheads could come up with something that can devour so much spirit energy." Kenpachi said with a grin as he tapped the eye patch.
"Petty insults aside… To create that, I had to extensively record and examine Captain Zaraki's spiritual pressure at its maximum level. As it currently stands, even if Ichigo Kurosaki was to fully develop and his power did indeed increase tenfold, it would still be weaker than Captain Zaraki's spiritual pressure and he doesn't even have Shikai, let alone Bankai." Kurotsuchi said.
"Really? I had no idea Captain Zaraki's spiritual pressure was so powerful. I knew it was immense, but that's on a whole other level…" Captain Aizen said. This is most interesting… I wonder what they'll think when Ichigo's Hollow Powers start to surface. It'll make Kenpachi's power seem a trifling thing… Aizen thought, inwardly smiling.
"Be that as it may, I'm curious to know how we'll handle this situation. What Squad will he be placed in upon graduation from the Academy, Head Captain." Unohana asked, turning to the Head Captain.
"While I understand that this boy is a special case, you know full well, Captain Unohana, that it is down to the person themselves to make a decision on which Squad they want to be placed in. It is then up to the Captain of that Squad to approve or reject the application. Should the application be approved, the final decision ultimately falls to me whether to grant the request or to place them elsewhere. You should know that it's protocol and we cannot simply make exceptions these procedures." Yamamoto said sternly.
"Fuck protocols and procedures, Old Man! Put the runt in my Squad! It'll be good to have new blood to kick around when I get bored." Kenpachi said with a dark grin.
"Absolutely not! Ichigo Kurosaki is a young man and should be place in a Squad that nurtures individual growth and not one that will turn him into a human punching bag." Jūshirō stated, sounding shocked at Kenpachi's comment.
"Oh, and you think your Squad of pansies would be the right place for him?" Kenpachi growled.
"Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt, especially with Kaien as the Squad Thirteen Lieutenant." Jūshirō said, rubbing his chin, causing Kenpachi to scoff.
"Might I interject, gentlemen? I believe Ichigo would be well suited to Squad Five. Captain Aizen is a very capable leader and what with Gin's recent promotion to Captain of Squad Three, he is without a Lieutenant, and it's no secret Ichigo's spiritual pressure is equal to that of a Lieutenant, if not slightly higher already." Captain Komamura stated, getting a few surprised looks.
"Has that helmet of yours completely starved your brain of oxygen?! You'd have to be insane to even consider Ichigo Kurosaki to become a Lieutenant right out of the Academy!" Soifon yelled.
"Why is that so ludicrous, Captain Soifon? Shūhei Hisagi already has a Seated Officer's Position in my Squad. While it's not a Lieutenant's Position, it's still a similar circumstance. Besides, Ichigo Kurosaki has already proven he's more than capable in battle and has the skills for the position." Kaname stated.
"That's not the point, Tōsen, and you know it! How can any of you even allow that bastard to become a Soul Reaper after what he did to Shūhei?! He nearly killed him!" Soifon yelled, looking around the room.
"Captain Soifon, you were there. You saw that his actions after the fact proved there was no malicious intent behind the attack. If anything, it was likely due to unfamiliarity with the power of a Shikai and he got a little overzealous." Ginrei commented. "While the situation was indeed regrettable it was not, in any capacity, deliberate."
"Be silent!" Head Captain Yamamoto roared, slamming his cane against the floor. "Captain Unohana hasn't finished."
"There is one more thing that I find troubling." She began, as all attention shifted back to her. "Captain Kurotsuchi, can you please explain to everyone what the substance I sent to you for analysis was?" She asked, looking over to the Squad Twelve Captain.
"Ah, yes… That was a most interesting substance that you brought me. At first glance, it looked like sludge; nothing more than bacteria that can be found from any infected wound. Normally, I wouldn't have taken an interest, as I'm much too busy on important matters. But when Captain Unohana told me that it was able to reject her Medical Kidō and cause cells in the body to break down at an accelerated degree, I decided to take a closer look at this strange matter." Captain Kurotsuchi said, revelling in the fact he was the centre of attention and everyone was interested in his scientific insight.
"Well, what did you find?" Captain Kyōraku asked, lifting his hat up slightly.
"Upon closer inspection, I learned that it was not bacterium at all. In fact, it had no characteristics of any organic, living matter. What I discovered was that it was actually spirit energy that was so dense and pure that it was like a poison and had the ability to erode reishi bonds within the body's cells. What this means is that, given enough time, this spirit energy would cause the muscle tissue of the body's internal organs to break down and liquefy, resulting in catastrophic organ failure and a slow, excruciating death." Captain Kurotsuchi finished, looking around the room.
The occupants in the room looked at one another with horror. They had no idea such a thing could happen.
"Are you saying Ichigo's spirit energy is toxic?" Captain Aizen asked. Even he had no idea this could happen.
"Not at all. What I'm saying is that this spirit energy was so heavily condensed that it needs more of it to grow. I think the boy had unknowingly charged an immense amount within his Zanpakutō but never discharged it." Captain Kurotsuchi stated.
"I'm sorry, but I still don't follow. How does this correlate with being able to 'poison' a person?" Captain Ukitake asked.
"Oh, must I do all the explaining? It's like I'm dealing with children. To put it simply, this highly concentrated spirit energy needs constant stream of it to survive. Normally, it's built up from the user and discharged in some way. As this was never discharged, it still needs spirit energy to survive. As it's no longer a part of a circuit, so to speak, it needs to find a source elsewhere. Since the soul is built up of spirit energy encased by reishi bonds, this substance forces the host's body to break down said bonds to absorb the spirit energy. That's why Captain Unohana's Kidō didn't work. Instead of healing the wound, she was giving the spirit energy that was already in the wound a healthy supply of her own spirit energy, ultimately speeding up the decay of reishi bonds within the body. Not that she'd have known that, so I'm willing to ignore that fact." Kurotsuchi explained. Several Captains who didn't understand what Mayuri was talking about now nodded their heads in understanding.
"Forgive me, Captain Kurotsuchi, but perhaps you can explain something to me." Aizen began. "If you're saying Ichigo's spirit energy isn't toxic, but rather heavily concentrated, then why has something like this never happened before? Why, for instance, has this sort of thing never happened with Captain Zaraki? Even you said his spiritual pressure was greater than Ichigo's predicted levels."
"To be frank, I can't quite understand it myself. I've never seen this kind of thing before in a Soul Reaper. In fact, I'm almost certain it's unheard of. The sheer density and the ability to break down reishi like this shouldn't be possible, yet here we have irrefutable proof that it can." Captain Kurotsuchi commented.
"Are you saying Ichigo isn't a Soul Reaper? How ludicrous; he's in the Soul Reaper Academy and we've all seen his Shikai." Captain Komamura stated.
"Please, Captain Komamura; the grown-ups are talking." Kurotsuchi said with an air of arrogant superiority, causing the Squad Seven Captain to growl. "We've all seen his Shikai, so there's no denying he's a Soul Reaper. I'm simply saying that there's a possibility his Shikai has a special ability that we don't know of, and by extension, that he doesn't know of either…"
"So, you're saying Ichigo needs to learn what this so-called 'special ability' he possesses is? Well, that seems easier said than done. This is something he needs to learn on his own and there's nothing we can do to force it out of him." Ginrei said.
"Actually, I wouldn't be so sure of that, Captain Kuchiki. I do believe I know a way to help him." Aizen said, pushing up his glasses.
"What do you mean, Captain Aizen?" Shunsui said.
"Well, as you all know, it's almost the end of the Academic Year, which means the Students will be going to the World of the Living to practice what they've learned by fighting Dummy Hollows. Since Ichigo seems to thrive in combat situations, I believe that will be the key to unlocking this ability of his." Aizen stated.
"Ah, so you intend for him to be pushed to the limit, in hopes he'll learn how to use this ability of his, much like the way he achieved his Shikai?" Shunsui asked.
"That is the general idea, yes." Aizen replied.
"Excuse me, Captain Aizen, but you seem to be forgetting something." Kaname said. "Shūhei was meant to be escorting the students on this examination, yet he's currently indisposed."
"That's not a problem, Captain Tōsen. Pardon me, Captain Unohana, but how long do you expect Shūhei to be out of action for?" Aizen asked, looking over at the Squad Four Captain.
"Well, he's been recovering well since the surgery, albeit slowly. I was going to bring him out of his coma at the end of the week and see how it goes. If all goes well, then maybe two weeks. If there are complications, then that window could expand from anywhere between five to eight weeks." Unohana stated, receiving a nod from Aizen.
"I see… Well, given the circumstances and the fact that in the worst case scenario, we'll still have a few weeks before the end of the Academic Year, I say we send Ichigo and his classmates to the World of the Living to practice with Dummy Hollows as soon as Shūhei is ready." Aizen said.
"What do you think of this, Head Captain?" Komamura asked, turning to look at his Commander.
"Given the circumstances, it would be prudent to have Ichigo Kurosaki learn this supposed 'special ability' as soon as possible. However it is up to you, as Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, to make this decision." The Head Captain said, looking at his subordinate Captains.
"I have to agree with Captain Aizen's proposal." Unohana said, raising her hand. Causing several other Captains to do so too.
Slowly, one by one, all the Captains raised their hands in agreement. Even Captain Kurotsuchi did, which came as a surprise to most, if not all the Captains. The only one who didn't raise their hand was Captain Soifon.
"Oh, well isn't this a shock? Once again, Captain Soifon refuses to be a team player. How disappointing." Gin said condescendingly, looking at the Squad Two Captain.
"Shut your mouth, Ichimaru! I just don't understand why this bastard deserves special treatment." Soifon bit back.
"How is this 'special treatment'? The Thirteen Court Guard Squads would benefit greatly from having someone as powerful as Ichigo within their ranks and he's light years ahead of the rest of his classmates. Oh, that's a thought…" Gin said, a large smile appearing on his face. "Might I request, Head Captain, that if Ichigo Kurosaki is indeed successful in this trip to the World of the Living and unlocks this special ability of his, whatever it may be, that he be allowed to graduate from the Academy immediately?"
"What?! You can't be serious?!" Soifon practically yelled.
"Oh, but I am… I would never joke about something as serious as this. Besides, it would be good to have someone else graduate from the Academy after a single year. I really don't like being the only one; let someone else share in that accolade." Gin said.
"This is not a decision that I can make lightly, Captain Ichimaru. Nor can I make it alone. The decision must be agreed upon by Lead Instructor Ōnabara." The Head Captain said.
"What if he was backed by several Captains?" Gin asked.
What are you doing, Gin? Don't try and push your luck… Aizen thought, staring at the silver haired Captain.
"Dammit, Ichimaru! This is not acknowledging a Soul Reaper's application to become a Captain; we're talking about some punk kid becoming a Soul Reaper after a single year at the Academy!" Soifon shouted angrily.
"So? I graduated the Academy after a single year and Ichigo is far stronger than I was when I was just, as you say, 'a punk kid'. Not to mention I served as Captain Aizen's Lieutenant for several years before I became a Captain myself. He and I are a lot alike." Gin said with his trademark smile.
"Just what the hell are you getting at, Ichimaru?" Soifon growled.
"What I'm 'getting at', Captain Soifon, is that Ichigo Kurosaki is more than capable of becoming a Soul Reaper and serving in Squad Five as its Lieutenant, at Captain Aizen's discretion of course. So what I'm saying is that everything you've said, all the decisions you've protested, have absolutely no merit and you were better off not even opening your mouth." Gin concluded, sticking his tongue out at Soifon, angering her further.
"Captain Ichimaru; while I agree with your assessment of Ichigo Kurosaki, there is no need to make such childish comments. Captain Soifon, I suggest you think very carefully about your next actions before I have you removed from this meeting and face a most severe reprimand." The Head Captain said, his voice like ice. Both Captain Soifon and Captain Ichimaru said nothing more. "If there is nothing more to discuss, I declare this meeting adjourned!"
"I must say, Captain Aizen, that was a very smart idea; convincing the other Captains to agree to allowing Ichigo to go to the World of the Living for this Dummy Hollow exercise." Gin said.
The Captain's Meeting had ended a few minutes ago and Gin, Kaname and Aizen were all together once again, discussing the finer points of the meeting.
"It's no secret that Ichigo thrives in a battleground environment. This seems like the perfect way to rapidly increase his abilities. I have to admit, I didn't expect you to appeal to the Head Captain for Ichigo's immediate graduation upon completion of this exercise and achieving this 'special ability'. That was a nice touch. Oh, Kaname; next time you meet with Captain Komamura, be sure to give him my regards for his recommendation that Ichigo join Squad Five." Aizen said.
"Of course, sir." Kaname said bowing to the Squad Five Captain.
"Everything is falling into place rather well. All that we need to do now is somehow convince Ōnabara to allowing Ichigo to graduate after this exercise, and I think I know how to do just that. Kaname, are you up for a little trip?" Aizen said, turning to the blind Captain.
"Tell me what I must do, and it will be done, sir." Kaname said with a bow.
"Very good. You are to go to Hueco Mundo and find several powerful Hollows, when the time is right, shadow the students to the World of the Living and summon the Hollows from there." Aizen said.
"Yes, sir. Are there any specific Hollows you have in mind?" Kaname asked.
"Hmm, no… I'll leave that decision up to you and Baraggan. He knows the Hollows better than I do. But bring no more than three. We don't want to run the risk of Ichigo or his friends dying before we arrive. However, don't let him walk all over you. If he tries to do as such, punish him however you see fit. Just don't kill him." Aizen said simply.
"As you command, Captain Aizen." Kaname said, bowing before removing a small device from his pocket and activating it. A second later, a gaping black maw opened and Kaname entered it before closing it again.
"Hmm… You certainly picked a fine hideout, Captain Aizen. This must be the only place in the Seireitei, if not the Soul Society, where a Garganta can open without it being detected by anyone." Gin commented as he watched Captain Tōsen enter the Garganta.
"Well, it would be rather foolish to have Kaname open Garganta where they could be detected by Squad Twelve. That was one of the reasons I picked this place, aside from the privacy it offers." Aizen said.
"Was this what you and Captain Tōsen were discussing the other day? The thing you wouldn't tell me about?" Gin asked, hoping to pry information out of the bespectacled Captain.
"No, that is something else I'm working on. A way to draw out and maximise Ichigo's full power. We can't move until we're confident he'll join us and I feel this is the best way." Aizen said cryptically, causing Gin to scowl. "Now, now, Gin… I have something that you can do for me…"
"Is that right? Oh, goody, I get to be helpful!" Gin said, clapping his hands together.
"I need you to go to Squad Twelve and… Acquire a certain item from storage there. Thing is, you can't be caught. I trust you can do that?" Aizen said, looking at Gin.
"Oooh, breaking and entering and stealing from Captain Kurotsuchi? Naughty, naughty. Not to worry, you can count on me! They don't call me 'The Silver Fox' for nothing!" Gin said with an over-dramatic salute before leaving via Flash Step.
"Here I was thinking the only person who called you that was Rangiku…" Aizen said with a slight chuckle as he got up out of his seat and made his way back to his barracks.
"What? You can't be serious?!" Ichigo said, sounding stunned.
"Yes, I am. In a few weeks, you'll be heading to the World of the Living to undertake an exercise in fighting Dummy Hollows. Come on, Ichigo; focus." Unohana said as she was overseeing Ichigo's training.
As promised, Ichigo began visiting Captain Unohana again to resume his Medical Kidō training with her. She decided to tell him this piece of information in hopes it would cheer him up. It turned out she was correct.
"I'm sorry, but that sounds awesome! I'll finally be able to fight at full strength and not worry about hurting anyone! But why is it not happening sooner?" Ichigo said, causing Unohana to smile.
"That's because Shūhei will be leading the exercise. He's the only one who's had experience fighting Hollows, so he knows how to teach this class effectively." Unohana said, noticing Ichigo's frown.
"Oh… I see. So, how is he doing anyway? Any better?" Ichigo asked.
"There's been no change since you were here the other day, but I plan on bringing him out of his coma soon and see how things go from there." She replied.
"Right… Well, even though we have our differences, I still can't wait to test my strength against Hollows! Even if they're not real ones!" Ichigo said with excitement.
"Yes, well as I said, that won't be happening for a while now. So, until then, please focus on what you're doing, you're making a mess of things." She said with a chuckle.
"Oh, shit, shit, shit!" Ichigo said trying to control his spirit energy.
Captain Unohana decided to teach him some cosmetic healing techniques she had developed; removing scars and various other blemishes that come from combat and medical treatment. This one, however, was a different case. Ichigo was treating a member of Squad Twelve for chemical burns. Captain Kurotsuchi got frustrated and threw a flask of acid and this unfortunate Squad Member got hit with some of it. Their entire right forearm had been badly burned.
The technique Ichigo was using was experimental. Unohana had used her knowledge of Medical Kidō and combined it with what Tenjirō Kirinji had taught her to develop it. As such, anyone who met the criteria for such treatment had to sign a waiver, stating that they knew it was experimental and Captain Unohana, nor Squad Four were liable for any further damages or unsuccessful treatment. As a member of Squad Twelve, this individual had been experimented on by Captain Kurotsuchi many times, so they had no issue with it.
"Hey, I think it's starting to work…!" Ichigo said as the burns seemed to be healing.
"Alright, stop it there, Ichigo. That'll do for today." Unohana said, putting one of her hands on his hands.
"Huh, why?" Ichigo asked.
"Two reasons, dear. The first is that this is an experimental Kidō, so we need to do it slowly. The second is that if we try and force the body's cells to regenerate while they're still being broken down by the acid, all you'll do is accelerate the decay of the damaged cells to the point where they amalgamate with the new cells, making it impossible to heal."
"Oh, right… Sorry." Ichigo said.
"Don't apologise. You're the first person to learn these techniques; not even Isane has been taught them yet, but that's because you have greater reserves of spirit energy, meaning I'll be able to see if it's possible for others with less spirit energy to learn them. Your spirit energy is equal to that of a Lieutenant, so if you can learn it, then Isane can too. It's possible Third Seat Iemura can as well, but we'll have to wait and see." Unohana said with a smile.
"Alright, so what do we do now?" Ichigo asked.
"I think we'll call it a day for now. You've done well; I think you deserve to have an early finish today. Just don't expect this to happen all the time." Unohana said with a slight laugh.
"I won't Captain, don't worry. I think I'll go find Momo and Izuru and tell them about this exercise we'll be doing in the World of the Living." Ichigo said, bowing before he left. Unohana simply smiled before returning to her patient and telling them to come back tomorrow and bandaged their arm before sending them on their way.
A/N; Another Chapter down! How do y'all feel about this one? I hope it wasn't too cheap and badly put together. I wanted to get the ball rolling for the future and didn't want to get bogged down with the whole 'Academy' thing, so I decided to speed things up, maybe expedite Ichigo's transition into a Squad. I'm still undecided as to how I wish to proceed with that bit. Also, I hope his meeting with Zangetsu in his inner world wasn't boring. I didn't want to have him enter ANOTHER battle so soon again. Seeing how Chapter Five was all combat and little else. I hope you all found this way acceptable and not poorly executed. I hope I haven't made Ichigo seem too OP. Yes, he's incredibly powerful but since I've only said he'll get up to 10x stronger (and 50x to 100x times stronger after Bankai) and given no specifics, it's not THAT ridiculous. Especially when you consider Zaraki is still stronger than him. Anyway, please leave a review. I like hearing your thoughts on the story, just don't be a dick.
I shall now proceed to reply to reviews from Chapter Five;
SwarmingShadow; Thank you for the kind words. I didn't expect my story to be this well liked, to be honest. I always have a high standard of grammar, as there are so many fics out there with poor grammar that it hurts me physically to read.
GrimReap3r; Thank you for the positive feedback. You're right that Shūhei will learn more humility from Captain Tōsen in future and as for 'Hollow Ichigo', if you're referring to the White Ichigo (Which is actually his Zanpakutō Spirit mixed with his Hollow Power), then you're correct. He appeared in this Chapter, as you saw. Though, was it really him that caused Ichigo to harm Shūhei? It's a shame you're not a fan of Momo, I think she's a sweetheart. But I can't please all tastes, so to answer your question; their relationship will last until Ichigo defects with Aizen, Gin and Tōsen, and that's all I'll say about that. The 'arcs' I'm using are in my Profile Description, but I might let you guys choose a couple as a way of giving you what you want to keep you interested in the story. I have no idea how long it'll be. I wanna aim for 1m+ Words (and make it the first Bleach Fanfic to reach that total, but we'll see). Yes, I've read some of the Manga and Ywhach is too OP. I'm going to adjust it slightly so that he's not so strong and at least make him care about his Sternritter. As he is the 'Father of the Quincy', he should act like a father who cares about his children.
TheStormWriter123; Thank you! I appreciate the positive review; especially since I was worried it was just being dragged out and repetitive. The last thing I want is from my story to become boring.
BigNickDiggers; Yes, with the help of Aizen, obviously. If he wants to become a God, he's going to need all the powerful soldiers he can create.
DRADX; I can't please all tastes, but I thought skewing the timeline and taking bits from Canon Material would be a good way to go, as it fills in gaps from the Canon Story (albeit not actually real, I like to think of ideas on what COULD have been, y'know?). I know the whole IsshinxUnohana Pairing is unlikely, but that's why I did it. How often do you see that pairing? I like to be unique and make up things/ideas no-one else has done.
Guest (Be nice to have an ACTUAL name to respond to, buddy); I appreciate your candour. But, please, allow me to set the record straight. Ichigo did actually have an Asauchi. Remember the big Zanpakutō he had that Byakuya destroyed? Well, that was it. It was a nameless Zanpakutō that he used, so it's still an Asauchi. The 'Hollow' is the REAL Zangetsu, merged with his Hollow Powers, but Old Man Zangetsu is actually his Quincy Powers and 'Old Man Zangetsu' is actually Ywhach from 1,000 Years ago. Why would his Quincy Powers die with him? If that was the case, his Hollow powers should die too, right? His Hollow always took over when he was at risk of dying because if Ichigo died, then he would die too. Unless it states in the Bleach Lore that a human loses their Quincy Powers if they die, then I'm going with the notion that they're tightly bound to his soul like his Hollow Powers that end up becoming prominent after he gains his Soul Reaper Powers. I don't believe I ever stated I'd follow Canon Powers. I said I'd follow Canon Material (such as events and things of the like), but if I did everything from Canon, then this wouldn't be a 'retelling' and it wouldn't allow me to spread my wings and be imaginative, would it? That's where you're wrong; having an Asauchi wouldn't give him his true Zanpakutō. Learning about his heritage and who is really is allowed him to achieve his true Zanpakutō. I read the Manga. He got his ass kicked by Asauchi and Ōetsu Nimaiya sent him back to the World of the Living where Isshin told him about Masaki being a Quincy. After learning 'Zangetsu' was actually Ywhach from 1,000 Years ago and finding out he was his manifestation of his Quincy Powers, he returned to the Soul King's Palace, defeated the Asauchi and had Nimaiya forge his true Zanpakutō. Hope that clears up the confusion, my friend.
Anyway, thank you for reading; please leave a review and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come!