(Authors Note- Hello again. Please read the chapter the whole way through before you judge it, since I could see some fans jumping ship for some of the early chapter material. It'll all make sense (hopefully) later. I hope you enjoy this odd little idea of my imagination. Thanks for the support and reviews, and please enjoy the chapter.)
Los Noches
Ichigo woke up to the screams.
He immediately jumped up and rushed into his room to find the bed slashed and covered with blood. Ichigo, thinking the worst, fell to his knees almost immediately.
"I . . . . She's . . . . . . . How?" He whispered. The sight struck him to the very core. Someone would pay, he'd make sure they payed dearly. Then he felt it.
He moved to it at his fastest speed, now completely filled with rage, as he sped through hallways filled with signs of fighting. He stopped as he came to the main gates of Los Noches, where he saw all his allies, some fighting against Shinigami, others lying about injured, or healing the injured.
At the center of the Shinigami he saw her, the one was responsible, she HAD to be. He barely noticed himself move as he launched across the battlefield field, howling.
"SOI FON!"
Her face had begun to widen in shock, but Ichigo was already upon her, not even bothering to draw his blade. His fist connected to her face with a deafening crack, sending her flying clear through three of the many pillars scattered around Los Noches.
"WHERE IS SHE SOI FON!" he roared in a echoing, hollow-like tone, as his black/gold seemed to shine with pure fury.
"S-she's . . . gone . . . Kurosaki" Soi Fon said as she staggered up, recovering from the surprise attack.
"no . . .no . . . no! . . . NOOO!" he howled as he once again dropped to the ground, bringing his fists down, severely cracking the ground around him. He sat there for a second, giving Soi Fon enough enough time to get behind him.
"Now you'll die, and it all will end." she said as she raised her sword.
Ichigo*
Pathetic
Why are you here?
What? You don't miss me king?
Your said you would disappear.
We did.
Zangetsu?
Is it me, or is this idiot even dumber than before?
Why are you back?
It's almost time Ichigo
Time for what? Rukia's dead. You heard Soi Fon. I couldn't even protect one person.
So you will simply fall apart, and let everything you both worked for crumble?
Of course he would, listen to him. Damned wimp.
What should I do.
Stand
Kill
SURVIVE!
The Battlefield
Ichigo stared at the sand before him, as he heard the muffled sound of Soi Fon Behind him. "No" he whispered, as he reached over and lightly laid his index and ring finger upon Zangetsu's hilt.
The familiar feel of his hollow-like reiatsu flooded over him, filling him with energy. He could hear muffled yells as someone, shouted a bunch of incoherent non-sense. Ichigo stood and slowly took in the full scene.
All of his allies were dead.
His Enemies surrounded him.
Their dark, shadowed faces and captain cloaks fluttered in the light wind.
"How could this happen." he thought to himself. "And when did Soul Society get so many captains?"
he looked down at his chest as a dark, blood red reiatsu began pouring from his hollow hole.
"I failed." He whispered
With this his head was filled with quickly passing images of his friends, family and allies. All dead and in places he had never seen. It saddened him . . . it angered him . . . . it enraged him . . a blinding, limitless rage.
"Soul Society will fall." he said, causing the large crowd of captains around him to begin laughing, a maniacal, maddening laughter.
The dark red reiatsu now flowed forth with more force, spreading itself as he felt a wonderful, intoxicating feeling come over him.
Power. Pure, unrefined power. It flowed through his entire body, and he realized he himself had begun laughing, a sinister and twisted version of his own laugh, tainted even further with his hollow tone.
He raised a pale, clawed hand high into the air, where pitch black reiatsu gathered to form a pure, energy created Tensa Zangetsu.
As he swung it down, still laughing uncontrollably, the captains were wiped away. Everything was cleansed from his sight, leaving him encompassed in a heavy, omnidirectional darkness.
"I ." " . igo" "ICHIGO!"
The darkness faded, revealing a white room, a white bed, and a porcelain skinned beauty, dressed all in black.
Ichigo's Room
"Ichigo? Are . . are you feeling alright?" Rukia asked with a worried look.
Rukia? Your alive!" He said, taking two steps forward before everything fuzzily went back to black.
Several Hours Later
" . . . be okay?" a females voice asked.
"I did everything I could Rukia, but he's been unconciouss for hours." another girl responded.
"R-Rukia? Orihime? What . . . what happened?" Ichigo said wearily. His head felt like it had been used as a practice dummy for the entire 11th squads training.
"You . . . well, you passed out." Orihime told him.
"But you all died." Ichigo mumbled, as he took a chance at opening his eyes. "Agghh!" Bad idea. Now his eyes stung as well. "Why is everything so bright!" he grumbled
"The lighting is normal? Do you want the lights off Ichigo?" Rukia asked quickly.
"N-no. Just give me a minute." He told her as he began sitting up, causing his head to spin once again.
As he began to fall back, a hand quickly caught him and set him back into a sitting position. He opened his eyes to a squint, and saw that Rukia and Orihime couldn't have been the one to grab him. He looked over his shoulder to see a grim looking, dark-haired arrancar staring at him.
"Well shit, when did Ulquiorra get here?" he grumbled.
"I have been here for almost three hours, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra said evenly.
"At least your not trying to kill me. Anything else I should know about?" Ichigo asked, now opening his eyes all the way. Everyone was there, either sitting on is bed, at a table, or standing somewhere around his room.
"Nothing too much to report other than Ulquiorra joining us and what caused it." Ryu said happily.
"What caused it?" Ichigo said with a grimace as he attempted to stand, before his legs began wobbling and he started to fall. He was immediately aided by Orihime, Rukia, Nel, and Halibel. All of the girls slowly stared at each other for a second before they all went different shades of red, then quickly let go, leaving Ichigo to fall with a thud.
Sofu let out a little chuckle as he quickly walked over and helped Ichigo off the floor.
As Ichigo got his bearings, he took his weight upon himself and stood, now only slightly shaky. "So," He said through gritted teeth, staring down all of the girls. "What caused it?"
"You, of course." Stark said tiredly.
"Huh?" Ichigo responded, his face now full of confusion.
"While you were . . . . we'll say 'sleeping', you sent out a what can only be called a shock wave of reiatsu. During this time I was on the roof, studying Ulqiorra's phenomenon. It was then, after your reiatsu burst by, that Ulquiorra's reiatsu spontaneously compacted into, well, himself."Ryu explained quickly.
"So it seems that not only are you responsible for my death, but my revival as well, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra said without any hint of emotion.
"Great, glad I could help." Ichigo said sarcastically through a scowl. "But I just watched you all die!" He roared.
"All of us, die? Are you insane Ichigo? And who did it?" Ichida asked, speaking up from near the back of the group.
So Ichigo retold his experience, and nearly an hour later, the tale had been told.
"Clearly, it was all a dream." Ryu said almost immediately.
"Not quite a dream." Ulquiorra quickly said, his voice hinting curiosity.
"What do you mean?" Rukia asked impatiently.
"Ulquiorra is right. It isn't a dream, but a sign, to Ichigo of course." Sofu said happily, a smile playing across his old face.
"What the hell kinda sign is that suppose ta be?" Grimmjow asked, leaning in as the conversation got interesting.
"What did you feel. What was the most overpowering thing you felt throughout the 'dream'?" Sofu asked, the smile now showing clearly across his face.
"I . . I don't know. . . Rage? Fury? Pure and utter hatred?"
"No," Ulquiorra said quickly, "Even more overpowering. The root of it all."
"I don't kn. . ." Ichigo's eyes began widening in shock. "It was my lack of power . . . I felt so weak and helpless that I couldn't stand it, and then, at the end of it all, I was more powerful than them all, and it felt . . . good." he finished, his eyes now open all the way in complete shock.
"So . . . that was it." Stark said quietly
"That much energy, for that?" Grimmjow said, a look of disbelief on his face.
"What are you all talking about." Orihime spoke up, causing all eyes to go on Ulquiorra.
He stared at Ichigo for a moment before he finally spoke. "All members of the espada rule over an aspect of death. The aspect may pass on to the next generation of espada, or skip a few before resurfacing. My aspect would be called nihilism, or, as some would say, the belief of nothing, While Stark embodies loneliness, Halibel embodies sacrifice, and Grimmjow is destruction." He said,taking a pause before e continued.
"Our greatest power is our greatest weakness, and the way we find these cursed gifts are diferent. I believe, and I think think the others agree, that Ichigo has found his." He finished.
"But I'm not an espada." Ichigo said Quickly.
It was Sofu who answered. "No, you are the king of the espada. You are the rightful Cero espada, king of the espada. It was Aizen who twisted the traditions, but with him gone, they will continue."
"I don't understand. What exactly is Ichigo's realm of death?" Rukia asked, thoroughly confused by it all.
"Isn't that simple?" Halibel asked her, in a slightly mocking tone.
Ichigo looked down at his hand as a blank look covered his face.
"My realm of death is . . . Power?"
* Ichigo Zangetsu Hichigo Hichi and Zangetsu
(Authors Note – So, how did you like it? I wrote it all between 3-5 a.m. in the morning (and checked it myself since my beta is on break, HAVE FUN SCHIFFER), so it may not be my best work, but I like it. It may be a little confusing to some, and crystal clear to others (if your head works in the same twisted way as mine) so I'll explain further next chapter. Please R&R! It's 5:30 am, soooooo goodnight!)