I've had a lot of inspiration this week. Here's to hoping it keeps up.


Part 12

Zangetsu was unbothered by the falling debris from the crumbling skyscraper; his Hierro protected him from any flesh wounds. Ichigo, on the other hand, was forced to dodge the falling pieces of building that were steadily increasing in size and frequency. He began to use Shunpo, and quickly started to fight Zangetsu once more despite the obstacles falling through the air.

Ichigo suffered several minor cuts and scrapes but he paid them no mind and he and Zangetsu entered a dance of sorts, dodging and attacking in tandem while they avoided the larger chunks falling from above. More than once Ichigo lunged forward with the intent to spear Zangetsu through only to leap back when a steel beam careened through the area he had just occupied.

Both combatants began a dangerous game in which they attacked each other while moving between the small gaps in the falling pieces of skyscraper. The noise was deafening, nearly drowning out the ringing of Zanpakutō crashing against Zanpakutō.

"Getsuga Tenshō!" Ichigo roared, releasing the energy blast. Zangetsu's eyes narrowed and he swung his own blade.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

The two crescents of energy raged against one another until they imploded, creating a massive plume of dust as the crumbling skyscraper took the collateral damage.

In that moment, the damaged building gave one last metallic screech before it fell apart, the top half falling over entirely as cables and beams and glass snapped and shattered.

Ichigo cursed and tried to Shunpo out of the way but Zangetsu caught him mid-step and threw him back into the skyscraper with enough force to create velocity rings before using Sonido to get away. The hollow watched from a distance as the skyscraper crumbled completely and released a massive explosion of dust upon impact with the ground. The dust flew into the air and obscured Zangetsu's sight, but the Zanpakutō spirit was perfectly capable of sensing Ichigo via his ever-present Reiatsu. There was no way that a falling building would be able to down Ichigo, and an instant later Zangetsu's expectations were proven right.

Zangetsu sonidoed out of the way of a sudden Getsuga Tenshō, bringing his blades around just in time to block a subsequent overhead strike from Ichigo.

"Nice try," Zangetsu said. "Ya were close. But yer still thinkin too much!"

To emphasize his point, Zangetsu charged his swords with a silent Getsuga Tenshō and then pushed Ichigo away, easily injuring the substitute Shinigami with the rush of energy that followed. Ichigo scowled as he solidified the air beneath him, slight amounts of smoke rising off his tattered Shihakushō.

"Honestly," Zangetsu drawled, grabbing his cleaver by the cloth attached to the hilt and spinning it around, "I don't understand ya sometimes. Why are ya takin this so seriously?" He grinned widely, gesturing with the hand holding the trench blade. "Ya should be havin fun! This is what fightin's all about! Dominatin yer opponent, livin in the fight—ya can't have fun if yer takin yer time and thinkin about things! Ya gotta trust yer instincts!"

Zangetsu stopped spinning his blade and pointed it at Ichigo. "Instinct, King! I've said it before and I don't like repeatin myself; in order for beings ta get stronger they need ta fight! But that ain't the whole reason ta fight and ya just won't realize it!" Zangetsu slashed the blade to one side for emphasis, the shockwave from the simple movement blowing away most of the lingering dust. "Ya enjoy battle! Ya may not want ta admit it but ya live for the thrill of killin and slaughterin and destroyin yer enemies! Ya don't necessarily care whether it's for the best or not! You're a fighter, King, always have been, always will be! Forcin yerself ta stop and think now just 'cause ya got some fancy new powers is stiflin yer instincts! If ya do that in a real fight, you're gonna get yerself killed and that's the last thing that I wanna have happen!

"So," Zangetsu's voice dropped, his words low and carrying undertones of urgency. "Ya can either stop usin yer brain ta fight or I can gut ya and take your crown until I think you're ready for it."

Ichigo's expression darkened, Zangetsu's words hitting home. His Reiatsu began to rise, swirling around him in a blue cloud that rapidly gained swirls of red and black. Zangetsu grinned, bringing his blades up once again.

And then the hollow darted forward, throwing his cleaver and holding it by the hilt wrapping while swinging with his smaller sword. Ichigo dodged the first and second strikes and then parried the cleaver as it returned to Zangetsu's hands, only to gasp as a kick from Zangetsu connected with his abdomen. Automatically—instinctively, Zangetsu noted with a burst of satisfaction—Ichigo ducked a follow-up from his Zanpakutō spirit and charged his blades with Reiryoku. Zangetsu jumped back but Ichigo suddenly demonstrated new speed, catching up with Zangetsu and momentarily surprising the hollow.

That moment of surprise was enough for Ichigo to release the pent-up energy. His eyes practically glowed with resolve and determination as he brought his swords down.

"Getsuga Jūjishō!"

"Well, damn," Zangetsu muttered, pouring Reiryoku into his Hierro in hopes of absorbing most of the attack. The crossed energy waves slammed into Zangetsu and the hollow put up his swords to block, the weapons held in place by the sheer power and force behind the attack. The hollow gritted his teeth, pushing harder and feeling a grudging respect for Ichigo's current power level and his ability to use that power.

With a shout of glee, Zangetsu broke the Getsuga Jūjishō and let the two halves slam into the building behind him, decimating it. "Yes, King! Finally, you're using your instincts!"

Zangetsu's grin became bloodthirsty. "So don't stop, or I'll kill you."

Ichigo scowled and the pair darted at each other again, rapidly trading strikes and counters until they locked blades, daishō pair struggling against daishō pair. Zangetsu attempted to break through Ichigo's guard with brute force and nearly succeeded but Ichigo managed to twist to one side, his arm already moving, bringing the cleaver down on Zangetsu's exposed wrist and Zangetsu hadn't expected the speed, the instant reaction Ichigo hadn't demonstrated minutes before and he tried to sonido away but it was already too late and the cold metal bit into his skin, severing his hand from his arm.

The hollow spat a curse that made even Ichigo pause and raise an eyebrow. The white cleaver – with Zangetsu's right hand still holding the hilt – fell quickly, rapidly disappearing between the skyscrapers. Ichigo grinned.

"Not so tough now, are you?"

Zangetsu laughed in his king's face. "Not so tough? King, ya have no idea what yer talkin about!"

The hollow concentrated, shunting Reiryoku to his bleeding wrist and watching in satisfaction as a new hand quickly formed with a rush of white material that vanished soon after. Ichigo stared.

"That's not fair."

Zangetsu's grin never wavered, and he shot out his right hand, mentally calling to the blade that was an extension of him, that was him. A second later, a white blade came flying from where it had fallen, the hand that had held it long gone. It slammed into Zangetsu's palm with a resounding smack and Zangetsu's grin became savage. His blades began to glow with power and Ichigo's face paled as the air trembled around him.

"Shit," Ichigo began, but it was already too late as his Zanpakutō spirit let out a war cry that sent a shiver up Ichigo's spine before suddenly freezing, looking at Ichigo with a gaze so cold it could have extinguished the sun. "Getsuga Jūjishō."

Ichigo tried to run, tried to Shunpo away but even with his speed he was not fast enough and the substitute Shinigami did everything he could to defend himself from the doom blast, putting everything he had into toughening himself so he could weather the attack.

Zangetsu watched from a distance as Ichigo was completely swallowed by a white ball of destruction. The skyscrapers behind him were utterly, completely, and totally decimated, nothing but their first few floors remaining.

In a few seconds, it was over. An unusual silence descended over Ichigo's inner world, completely at odds with the roar that had filled it moments earlier. Zangetsu looked around, his eyes easily finding the orange-haired figure crouched a few feet away, his entire body smoking. Ichigo tried to stand, staggered, and fell.

Zangetsu blurred forward with sonido, sheathing his blades in an instant and appearing just in time to snag the back of Ichigo's Shihakushō and prevent him from plummeting sideways into one of the skyscrapers far in the distance. Ichigo didn't even have the energy left to protest, everything spent in staying in one piece.

The horse carried his king to one of the few skyscrapers within a reasonable distance that was still standing. He carefully set Ichigo down on it, mindful of the burns stretching up and down Ichigo's forearms. Incredibly, however, the burns were mild, far more so than Zangetsu had been expecting. The hollow frowned for a moment before he made the connection and grinned broadly.

"I know you won," Ichigo grunted, twisting onto his side and paying no mind to his injuries despite the sluggish blood still flowing from his wounds, "but I don't get why you're smiling so much. Take my body and do whatever the hell you wanted to do." He gave Zangetsu a glare that was withering despite his worsening condition. "But I will be back, and if you do anything to my friends or family before I am I swear I will drag you to the depths of this world and chain you there for the rest of your life."

"No need ta be so tense, King! Loosen up! Ya just used yer hierro – celebrate!"

"Shut the hell – wait, what? Hierro?"

"Hi-er-ro." Zangetsu pulled out his trench knife and ran it down Ichigo's forearm. The substitute automatically flinched and then froze when he saw the sparks rising from his arm instead of blood. The blade wasn't piercing his skin. After making sure that Ichigo had seen it, Zangetsu sheathed his sword once more and stood, still grinning. "And there's yer first hollow technique. Not bad, King. Not bad at all."


"So . . . this hierro—it's an extra layer of defense, right?"

Zangetsu nodded. "Yeah. Remember when ya fought Zaraki and yer first few attacks did nothin? It's 'cause his Reiatsu overwhelmed yours. Hierro is kinda like that but yer Reiatsu doesn't necessarily hafta overwhelm the other person's—it just hasta be close. Some hollows have stronger hierros than others; it all depends. But if ya try hard enough, ya can overwhelm a powerful hierro by sharpening your Zanpakutō with yer will and reiatsu."

Ichigo absorbed the information while absently rubbing the bandages on his chest that Zangetsu had created from the cloth on Ichigo's Zanpakutō's hilt. Ichigo noticed Zangetsu giving him a glare and stopped. "And hierro is instinctive?"

"Yeah."

"So how do I stop the Shinigami from noticing it?"

Zangetsu raised an eyebrow at Ichigo. "And just why the hell would ya need ta stop them from noticin?"

"It's pretty clear that Soul Society isn't a fan of Shinigami-hollow hybrids," Ichigo said sarcastically. "I mean, we're in a warehouse full of ones that were nearly executed for it."

"Che. And yer worried about bein attacked by Soul Society? Don't be stupid; yer too strong and ya helped them uncover a traitor, not ta mention that ya seem ta have a few allies there now. They'd be stupid ta attack ya just over some hollow powers."

"Yeah, you're right."

Ichigo lay down on his back, throwing one arm over his face so the light of the sun of his inner world wouldn't blind him. Zangetsu, sitting beside him, abruptly glanced up, sensing a minute tremor through the world around him.

"King, ya gotta go."

"Time's up?"

"Yeah." Zangetsu stood and stretched, offering a hand to Ichigo. Ichigo grabbed it, only to get dropped a second later. He glared at Zangetsu as he got up the second time and ignored the snickers coming from his oh-so-mature Zanpakutō.

As Ichigo vanished from his inner world, Zangetsu let out a sigh and collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily. Splitting his focus between keeping some semblance of control on the hollow instincts that had taken over Ichigo's body while they "fought" (not an easy task) had exhausted him, on top of making sure that the hollow form the Visored battled wouldn't completely mop the floor with the ex-Shinigami.

And then Ichigo had actually proven how strong he was, making Zangetsu work even harder.

"I'm just gonna take a short . . . nap," Zangetsu muttered, his eyes drifting shut. A few meters away, the manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers watched with some amusement as the hollow curled up into a ball and began to snore.


"I can't believe you snore."

Zangetsu scowled, throwing a rock across the river and watching it skip several times before sinking. "Shut up. I do not."

Ichigo scoffed, throwing a rock of his own and looking pleased when it bounced more than Zangetsu's. "Oh yeah? I could hear you when I was talking with the Visored. I felt like my head was going to explode. If you weren't snoring, what were you doing? Destroying the entirety of my inner world?"

"That's an exaggeration."

"Not by much."

"Asshole," Zangetsu muttered, rolling his eyes and grabbing another rock. "Anyway, we need ta talk."

"About what?"

"Aizen."

At the mere mention of the traitor's name, the sun seemed to shrink just a little farther down the horizon, darkening the sky even more. Ichigo paused in his rock throwing, glancing at Zangetsu instead. "What about him?" The substitute's voice was flat, his expression unreadable. "You killed him, didn't you?"

Zangetsu winced, a reaction that Ichigo didn't miss. "Yeah, I killed the bastard. But I wanted ta explain somethin ta ya."

"Let me guess: something bad is going to happen because you killed Aizen."

Zangetsu rolled his eyes. "I've got no fuckin clue, King. I'm talkin about somethin else—the future. The one I come from."

"What about it?" Ichigo finally threw his rock, watching it skip over the shining water before it finally sank beneath the surface.

"Ya got strong 'cause of Aizen," Zangetsu said simply, though it sounded as though every word was burning his mouth and throat. "Much as I hate ta admit it, Aizen made the circumstances that originally let ya unlock yer Shinigami powers before ya died. Without that, ya wouldn't be the person ya are today."

"What are you saying?"

"With Aizen gone, ya aren't going ta get as strong as quickly as ya would've before."

"I can—"

"Train?" Zangetsu interrupted. "King, there are some things out there that trainin can't do shit ta match. Trust me."

Ichigo scoffed but said nothing more. Zangetsu shot him a sideways glance before continuing.

"Don't fuckin laugh, King. I'm bein serious." Ichigo sobered, sensing that his Zanpakutō was about to say something rather important. "Aizen and his cronies made ya strong, real strong. I was happy about that; hell, it was the greatest thing ya coulda done. I am yer strength, King. Problem is, right now I ain't really yer strength, not in full."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying you're not my Zanpakutō?"

"'Course not, dumbass. Are ya stupid?"

"You're not just saying things simply; you're making everything complicated. It's not my fault!"

"Tch. Whatever. As I was sayin, you and I aren't where we were—are going to be. My power is separate from yers."

"How is that possible? You're a part of my soul—"

"I told ya about how ya kicked me out, King. Don't make me repeat myself. When I came back here I formed a connection with ya instantly; I'm still just a piece of ya manifested inta a separate form. 'Course, 'cause ya severed that bond in my timeline, the connection here is takin longer ta build up ta what it was before. Or will be."

"You're implying that there's an 'and' in there somewhere."

Zangetsu nodded. "I can't fully come back inta yer soul yet, King. It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous? How? I can handle it, if that's what you're thinking."

The Zanpakutō spirit sighed, hating the way he wanted to capitulate under the determined light shining in Ichigo's eyes. Honestly, the guy had so much charisma and he wasn't even aware of it. Shame, too. He could probably get anything or anyone he wanted if he tried—but those were thoughts for another time.

"Ya really can't handle it." Ichigo tried to speak but Zangetsu talked over him, drowning out his partner's words. "Yer sixteen. Yer body ain't ready for the power of a twenty-nine-year-old, much less one with a growth rate as insane as yers. In a few years I think you'll be able ta handle all of it. Now, ya can barely handle part of yer shikai."

"Part?" Ichigo repeated, his hand automatically reaching to where his Zanpakutō's hilt would have been had he been in his soul form.

"Yeah. Part. This is barely a tenth of what ya can actually do."

Ichigo's eyes went wide from shock and he turned away from Zangetsu, staring out over the water as the words and their meanings rolled around in his mind. "A tenth . . . not even," he muttered, the words almost too quiet to hear. He glanced at Zangetsu, and there was sudden pain in his eyes and Zangetsu's chest clenched uncomfortably as he realized that Ichigo had connected the dots to come to a horrifying conclusion. "Zangetsu, what the hell happened? How—why—what would drive me to do that? I—was it my family? My friends?" Zangetsu must have flinched because Ichigo froze. "No. Karin and Yuzu?" He swallowed, taking a deep breath. "Damn. I—I—I'm sorry. I didn't . . ." Ichigo trailed off, his train of thought abandoned. Instead, the substitute drew his knees to his chest and bowed his head, no doubt thinking of the deaths that had yet to be if they were to be at all.

Zangetsu watched, his expression full of pain and sorrow that was potent enough to saturate his normally wild and overwhelming Reiatsu with a more solemn tone. "That's why I killed Aizen," he said after a pause, his words sounding almost brittle. The Zanpakutō spirit's hand twitched, almost as though it were trying to wrap around the hilt of an invisible sword. "I couldn't let that bastard live and risk you goin through that again." He looked at Ichigo then, taking in the boy's hunched posture. "It's bad enough just hearin 'bout it, ain't it?"

"Yeah."

Ichigo said nothing more for a while.

After a few minutes of relaxed yet somber silence, Ichigo uncurled and took a deep breath. His words broke the thin veneer of calm that had settled over their area of the river, startling Zangetsu, who had been lost in thoughts and memories. "So . . . what are you planning on doing?"

Zangetsu blinked, uncharacteristically expressionless for a second before a grin split his features that sent a shiver down Ichigo's spine. "Oh, you'll see, King. You'll see."

And Ichigo had to admit that he did not like the sound of that.


A/N That's a wrap for today. The next update will probably be around the next time Rewind is updated if all goes as planned.

Reviews:

Krazyfanfiction1: Theoretically, he probably could. However, Ichigo doesn't have the training or skill with his Quincy powers to do something like that. Most Quincy probably don't.

QueenKarin13: I'm working on humor. It won't be as common in this story as in some of my other ones purely because of the serious nature of this one. I do appreciate the advice, though.

Heavenly God: You'll see.

Zaralann: At this point, I'm not sure what I'll use since I have no solid plans for this story. I'm kind of winging it, though I know I'll be using the Zanpakutō Rebellion arc. I will probably use the movies as well.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed as well as those of you that simply favorited and/or followed!

Until next time,

-RoR

Please review.