A.N.: This is a request by lasherluke.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Chapter Nine: Death of the Family
Ichigo vs. Yuzu
Wahrwelt
Rukia once told Ichigo that his merged Hollowfied form was rather eerie while they were training together with Osho. But as Ichigo stood there in bewilderment he came to a horrifying conclusion.
Yuzu made his final form look haunting.
"How?" Ichigo gaped. Kisuke told him that Quincies had no resistance to Hollows so it boggled Ichigo's mind to see Yuzu take a mirror image of his merged Hollowfication form.
Yuzu reached up and touched the horn on the right side of her face, finding it to be rather repulsive. She could hear something within her mind try to speak out to her but she ignored it. She knew that it was simply the voice of Ichigo's Inner Hollow. Haschwalth warned her that might happen. Because Ichigo had another entity dwelling within his soul Yuzu had not only used The Attached to bind herself to Ichigo's soul but she'd roped in his Inner Hollow as a consequence.
Seeing the stunned look on her brother's face, Yuzu formed another evil grin. "Did you forget my power, Ichigo?" She held up her arm and the ribbon that connected them appeared, pulsing white. "My soul is a part of your soul and your soul is a part of mine. I don't have the necessary antibodies to survive the corruption of a Hollow. But you do. And now that our souls have been attached, now so do I." She summoned her bow, the silver weapon having turned bone white thanks to the corrupted power of Hollowfication.
Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, to tell his sister that it wasn't the Inner Hollow that caused their mother's death but Yhwach who was responsible. But Yuzu fired before Ichigo could speak, a huge arrow erupting from her bow. Ichigo dodged the strike, the blast blowing a huge hole in the wall behind them. Looking up, he saw Yuzu hovering in the air in front of him.
Like a ballerina Yuzu spun around and kicked Ichigo in the face. The force of the blow made Ichigo's mind momentarily go numb from the pain, sending him flying. Before he smashed into the wall he regained focus and rebounded off the wall, charging his sister.
'I don't have to choice. I have to knock her out. With force!'
The determined look in Ichigo's eyes told Yuzu that he was finally starting to get into it. Bracing herself, she fired another huge blast. Ichigo Flashstepped away from the blow and flanked Yuzu, swinging hard. Yuzu's trained reflexes kicked in and she ducked, losing a few strands of her beautiful hair as the blade swung over her head. She fired another arrow at Ichigo's bloodstained stomach only for Ichigo to block it with his shortsword. When Ichigo swung his sword down, she grabbed his wrist. Yuzu let go of her bow and formed another minibow in her hand to shoot Ichigo, only for Ichigo to let go of the smaller of the two blades and grabbed her wrists.
The siblings grappled with their inhuman strength. The ground rumbled as they struggled against one another. "Yuzu!" Ichigo grunted. "I am not your enemy!"
"Yes. You. ARE!" Yuzu shouted. Ichigo cringed as Yuzu squeezed his wrist, the bones in his arm creaking from the strain. Gritting his teeth, Ichigo kneed her in the stomach, sending her skidding away. When Yuzu bent over in pain Ichigo grabbed her by the hair and hurled her away. The Sternritter slammed into the wall, momentarily dazed before Ichigo grabbed her by the neck and kept her immobile. "Yuzu, listen to me!" Ichigo shouted into her face. "This is not right! We should not be fighting! Think about what you're doing! You attacked Dad! You hurt Chad and Yoruichi! You're helping Yhwach destroy everything! What you're doing is wrong!"
Yuzu's head started to hurt, her emotions conflicted as the voice inside her mind grew louder.
'Yuzu…'
"NO!" Yuzu shouted into her brother's face. "I am a Quincy! I exist to serve His Majesty!" Tears ran down her face as the pain in her head became agonizing. In addition to the dark voice of Ichigo's Inner Hollow, the voice of Yhwach boomed in her voice, keeping her subservient to him. "YOU'RE JUST A MONSTER!"
Yuzu blew her brother backward with a large release of spirit energy. Summoning her bow again, Yuzu drew back on the drawstring. "I'm going to kill you, Soul Reaper!" Yuzu said adamantly. "And I'm going to kill you with your own power."
At the tip of Yuzu's arrow glowed a red cero, combining with her blue arrow to form a new, purple colored, razor-tipped arrow.
Ichigo braced himself but even with his speed and reflexes he was completely overwhelmed by her attack. The arrow flew out of Yuzu's bow faster than Ichigo could react. Before he had time to block it, it hit him square in the chest, the explosion shaking Wahrwelt in its entirety.
His body badly injured, Ichigo was blown backward and smashed into the wall, creating a Ichigo-sized dent in the stone. His Zangetsu blades slipped from his grasp as he fell to the ground, blood spilling from his grievous injury as he collapsed onto his knees, wheezing for air. 'I…I can't do it…' Ichigo knew that he couldn't overcome Yuzu; not because he was weaker than her, but he couldn't bear to use full force on his sister. If he did, Yuzu would assuredly die. 'Dad…Karin…I'm sorry…' Ichigo struggled to get up but Yuzu's attack took its toll. 'I can't hurt her.'
Yuzu smiled as she prepared to give the final blow. She drew back on her bow and created another arrow. "Goodbye, Ichigo," she said as she readied herself to finish Ichigo off. "I'd say you were a good brother but you weren't."
"Yuzu…" Ichigo looked up and stared at his sister, knowing he was about to die at the hands of his brainwashed sister.
Brother and sister locked eyes, time standing still. Sweat dripped down Yuzu's face as she stared down Ichigo. Just as she was about to release her bow and kill her older brother she heard a voice. She went rigid when she recognized who it was. It wasn't Yhwach nor was it the voice of Ichigo's Inner Hollow. No, it was a voice she hadn't heard since she was a little girl.
'…Mom?'
Her eyes blurred and she no longer found herself standing in Wahrwelt, her wounded brother vanishing before her eyes. Yuzu found herself floating inside a sea of white, wondering what was happening. She looked down at herself and discovered that she was no longer Hollowfied nor in her Sternritter uniform, finding herself dressed in the clothes she wore the day Yhwach stole her away from the World of the Living.
"My voice finally reached you. Thank goodness."
Turning around, Yuzu gasped and began to cry tears of joy when she saw Masaki Kurosaki floating in front of her. "Mama!" she cried, hugging her mother. "It's you!" She buried her face in Masaki's bosom and cried. "Mama!"
Masaki held her child while patting her head. "There, there, Yuzu. I'm here."
"How…how are you here?"
"Because the Hollow that Ichigo inherited came from me, a tiny part of myself became a part of it. When you became a part of Ichigo's soul I was able to reach out through your Quincy blood to speak to you."
"Mama…" Yuzu sobbed. "It's Ichigo's fault…it's his fault you died."
"No, it isn't. Ichigo had nothing to do with my death."
Yuzu looked up at her mother confused. "But-"
"Shhh…" Masaki shushed, putting a finger to her daughter's lips. "Yuzu, I want you to try to calm down and think. You're letting others tell you how to think and feel. Ask yourself, has Ichigo ever acted like a monster?" When Yuzu failed to answer she continued, "Your brother and your Daddy love you with all their hearts, Yuzu. Try to remember that."
Closing her eyes, Yuzu steadied her breathing and remembered a time when their family was together. She remembered sunny days with Masaki, Isshin, Karin and most importantly, her older brother Ichigo. The more she thought about her brother, the more her Quincy indoctrination crumbled away. "Ichigo…" She remembered how kind and caring her brother was. "But…but right now he's…"
"Yes, he's fused with his Hollow but that doesn't make him a monster. He's doing what he's doing to protect everyone he loves. His friends, your father, Karin…" she lifted her daughter's head up and smiled, "and you."
Yuzu's lower lip trembled as she realized what she'd done. She remembered the pain that Haschwalth put her through, torturing her as he forced Yhwach's education upon her. "I don't know what's what anymore!" she cried, sobbing into her mother's chest again. "It hurts! My head hurts!"
"Shhhh…" Masaki said soothingly, running her hands through her daughter's hair. "I know. I know it hurts, sweetie. But I want to ask you this," she smiled down at her daughter with a smile only a mother could give, "do you know who your family is?"
Staring into her mother's eyes, the spell that Yhwach had over Yuzu was finally broken. "My family…my family is with you! And Daddy! And Karin…" Squeezing her eyes shut, Yuzu cried out finally, "And Ichigo! My big brother!"
Masaki kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. "Go, Yuzu. Your big brother needs you now more than ever."
Yuzu hugged her mother back. "I love you, Mama."
"I love you too. And I always will."
The sudden shift from her Inner World to reality made Yuzu stagger. Her conversation with Masaki had felt like minutes but it had happened in the timespan of only a second. Ichigo, still grievously wounded, was perplexed with Yuzu dropped her bow, staggering backwards. The programming that Haschwalth and Yhwach drilled into her brain soon faded and through the blistering pain she remembered who she really was. She wasn't a Sternritter. She wasn't a Quincy.
She was Yuzu Kurosaki, a young girl who loved her family.
The realization caused a massive pain to shoot through her mind. Screaming in pain, Yuzu continued to stagger backwards, her hands going to her head as if someone was putting an icepick into her ears. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" she screamed loudly. Finally, the pain subsided and she looked up. "Ic…hi…go…" she mumbled as her vision cleared up. When it did, she was greeted with the horrifying sight of her brother, bleeding and on his knees. "Oh my god! What have I done?!" she screamed in horror.
Ichigo, not knowing of Yuzu's inner turmoil, blinked in confusion but was relieved to see that his sister was had snapped out of her murderous brainwashing. "Yuzu…"
Tears ran down Yuzu's face as she realized what she'd done to her brother. As quickly as she could, she detached her Spirit Ribbon from Ichigo. The horn on the side of her face crumbled away and she returned to normal. "I'm so sorry! Ichigo, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Big brother, please forgive me!"
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo smiled. "It's okay, Yuzu. You weren't yourself."
Yuzu ran to her brother, wanting to bring him aid. "I love you, big brother! I'm sorry!" she shouted, nearing her brother…
…before the white light of Yhwach's Auswahlen came down and consumed her.
Ichigo stared in abject horror at what was happening. "YUZUUUUU!"
Meanwhile…
Wahrwelt; Throne Room
Sitting on his throne, Yhwach felt the part of his Soul that he'd given Yuzu Kurosaki return to him. "You may rest in peace now, Yuzu. Your part in this is over. You've fulfilled your duty to me." His lips formed a maniacal grin. "Your duty was to send your brother into a pit of despair!" he laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
To be continued
A.N.: Oh I'm sorry. Were you expecting a happy ending? Well I'm afraid life doesn't work that way, pal!
