Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
For all those that have read the latest chapters of Bleach you are probably thinking that this story is finished and completely screwed up with the latest revelations. Well for a few minutes there I thought so to but amazingly I have come up with an excellent solution. So don't fear, this story will still be able to tie into canon while featuring my own AU elements. There is a teaser in my Spoiler Space for all those that are interested.
1.07.2013 - Update to Spoiler Space.
Chapter 12 – Ishida's New Technique
Ichigo landed calmly back onto the sandy floor with Nel tuck safely under his arms before gently placing her on the ground. He used the peaceful moment to focus on sensing his friend's reiatsu and he knew that Rukia was close to where Ishida and Chad were. Inoue was with her but he had no idea just who the other two that were with them were. He dismissed it quickly, he knew they weren't Hollow and so that meant that Rukia trusted them. So he focused on locating the exact location that Renji was currently battling.
"I've got to go help Renji..." Ichigo muttered after feeling Renji's reiatsu declining.
"Wha... What about me?" Nel protested, "Are you gonna leave me here?!"
"Of course not." Ichigo told her calmly, "It's far more dangerous if you stayed here..."
He was cut off however as he sensed the opponent that he had just defeated stand behind him panting heavily. Ichigo spun around just in time to see Grimmjow's Resurrección dissipate back into his sealed form. His Zanpakutō had returned back to his right hand.
"Grimmjow..." Ichigo muttered frowning at the sight of the defeated warrior. He had no desire to continue fighting him in his current state.
"Hah... Like I'd lose... There's no... Way in hell..." Grimmjow told him painfully before summoning every ounce of strength left and shot towards Ichigo and shouted, "I'D EVER LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"
He charged towards Ichigo intending to cut him to ribbons but Ichigo calmly grabbed his wrist and prevented the Espada from finishing his attack.
"...Stop already Grimmjow... you've lost." Ichigo told him, "I don't know whether you're a king or not... but crushing those who piss you off... and being the king by yourself... what's the point of that? If you loathe me so much... I will fight you as much as you want... but let it go for now...!"
Grimmjow's eyes lowered and dulled for a moment before the spark in his eyes came back to life. With a sharp tug, Grimmjow wrenched his arm free and brought it down towards Ichigo while shouting, "Fuck you! I will not lose to you! I am the King!"
Unfortunately for the panther-like Arrancar his attack hit nothing but air as Ichigo avoided it with his shunpo and appeared behind him. Ichigo then followed up by smashing the back of Grimmjow's head with the pommel of Tensa Zangetsu.
Grimmjow crashed face first into the sand and lost consciousness due to the blow along with his injuries. Ichigo stared down at the fallen Espada for a moment before looking up at Nel and told her, "Let's go Nel. Renji needs us."
Nnoitra vs. Ishida, Chad
"You alright Sado-kun?" Ishida questioned hastily as he slid back through the sand just managing to dodge one of Nnoitra's scythes. Chad was wounded only a few metres away.
"I'm... okay." Chad grunted as he grasped the area between his neck and right shoulder in an attempt to stem the bleeding from the cut he had received. Nnoitra had gone up to a level that he just couldn't fight against.
"What's wrong human trash?" Nnoitra called out mockingly while slowly approaching them. "Have you finally realised how futile your efforts are?"
'I need to think of something fast.' Ishida thought, he had already tried using the Sprenger on Nnoitra again but the Espada had been prepared for it. He didn't allow him to set up the pentagon of Seele Schneider's making the attack useless.
Ishida scowled when he sensed Kurosaki finish his fight with Grimmjow and he did it with only his Shinigami powers. For most part anyway, there had been a flash of Kurosaki's Hollow powers but it had only been momentarily.
Despite the fact that he was almost staring death in the face, Ishida's thoughts were elsewhere. Bitterly he thought, 'Just how wide has the gap between our powers become Kurosaki? I'm the last Quincy. The pride of my fallen race all rests upon me and yet... my friend... my rival keeps on growing in power at a much faster rate. How can I close the gap? I am the last remaining Quincy... I have to win!'
"You shouldn't be spacing out when I'm about to kill you!" Nnoitra shouted swinging one of his scythe's downwards at Ishida.
"Watch out Ishida!" Chad shouted hurriedly.
Ishida's eyes widened and snapped out of his thoughts. How could he have been so stupid to allow himself to be distracted by his own doubts in a middle of a life and death battle? He couldn't dodge in time and the scythe slashed down his right shoulder straight down to his right side of his waist.
Karakura Hospital – During the time Ishida was travelling through the Garganta
Inside the Karakura town Hospital, inside a basement that was deep underground stood a tall, fit, fair-skinned man with blue eyes and white hair. He wore thin and frameless glasses and a plain grey suit with a light blue shirt and a tie adorned with Quincy crosses. He was currently looking down at the folded note that his son left behind on a ledge.
"Yo... looks like he ran away... Ishida..." A familiar voice said from behind him causing Ishida Ryūken to turn around towards the intruder.
"How did you get in here, Kurosaki?" Ryūken questioned annoyed.
Standing in the doorway was Kurosaki Isshin in his Shinigami form with his hands in his pockets. He wore the standard Shinigami Shihakushō, along with a tattered captain's haori, worn like a sash and fastened over his left shoulder.
Isshin's eyes widened, "Oh? What the... That's the first time that you have called me that isn't it? What's with the change of heart?"
"Answer my question..." Ryūken retorted ignoring Isshin's hurt expression, "How did you..." It was then he noticed what Isshin was wearing, "That form... your powers returned then?"
"I guess... It looks good on me though doesn't it?" Isshin grinned.
"It makes me want to puke." Ryūken said disgusted.
"Well thank you very much." Isshin chuckled good naturedly before asking him, "Are you going to read that letter.
Ryūken turned his back on Isshin and lent on against the ledge. He lit a cigarette and replied, "I already know what it says without reading it. Uryu is so predictable."
"So you let him go on purpose." Isshin acknowledged.
"Why are you so positive of that?" Ryūken retorted glancing back at him. "I've trained him up and made him stronger. Since Uryu is a mixed blood for him to unlock certain talents as you well know, can only be access through training. I've done all I can, it's up to him now whether he awakens his true abilities or to die."
Isshin sat against the wall and commented, "What a shitty dad."
"I'm just trying to one up you." Ryūken snapped.
Isshin smiled sadly, "Yeah... I get it."
Hueco Mundo – Current Time
Nnoitra's bloodthirsty grin at slashing his enemy suddenly vanished when no blood gushed from the wound. It wasn't just Nnoitra that was shocked; both Ishida and Chad were flabbergasted at the sight. Gaining his composure quickly, Ishida jumped back using his Hirenkyaku and gained some valuable distance from the Espada.
'What just happened?' Ishida thought incredulously, 'Why wasn't I cut?'
With his mind focused on his predicament, he finally felt a slight change in his body. He quickly pulled off the lingering material leaving the right side of his body and arm naked and to his shocked he saw blue vein's of reiatsu covering his skin where he had been struck.
"What is that?" Chad muttered seeing the strange markings on Ishida.
"Human trash what the hell did you do?!" Nnoitra snarled. How could his attack have not penetrated the human's skin? He was fragile scum, cutting him should have been a breeze.
'What is this?' Ishida thought but thanks to his skilful reishi control he was quickly able to determine just how this power came about. 'I see. I've somehow instinctively made reishi flow through my blood stream to harden my skin making it hard for me to be cut. The real question is how was I able to do this? I've never heard of a technique like this before...'
He focused on the reishi that flowed through his system and discovered that the reishi was only flowing through one system. Taking that reishi he had gathered, he moved it into the other pathway and then he summoned his Heilig Bogen and fired a normally powerful arrow at Nnoitra. The blue veins had travelled down his left arm to his hand where he formed the arrow.
To Nnoitra's shock, when he blocked it with one of his scythes, the force sent him skidding back through the sand for a few metres. Worse of all, a large crack had appeared in the scythe.
'What the hell just happened?' Nnoitra thought furiously, 'Earlier I was batting those away with ease and now I'm being forced back and my scythe is cracked...'
'I see...' Ishida thought, he didn't know what this new ability was but he believed that he understood how it worked, 'When I focus the reishi through one pathway into my blood vessels then I can increase my defence or attack. However it seems that I can only choose one at a time which is risky if I screw up. I would rather not use this unless I have no choice; I need to train with it first. Still I need to hit him with one clean hit, one clean hit and I should win this!'
With a quick burst of Hirenkyaku, Ishida appeared next to Chad and whispered, "Sado-kun I need you to bring up as much sand as possible to distract him."
Chad nodded and punched the ground fiercely with his devil arm and the force sent a load of sand into the air surrounding Nnoitra. With a smirk, using Hirenkyaku, Ishida appeared a few metres behind Nnoitra thanks to his superior sensing abilities and charged his most powerful arrow thanks to this new ability of his.
Just as he fired it though and large yellow of beam suddenly shot out of the cloud of sand straight at the arrow and engulfed the Quincy arrow. Ishida quickly dodged the beam of reiatsu and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of his opponent once the sand had cleared. Nnoitra was crouching on one knee with his right index finger in the sand and his tongue sticking out in the direction Ishida previously stood. Ishida quickly glanced down to see a trail of yellow reiatsu connected to his feet and it connected with Nnoitra's right index finger.
'He used that to sense where I was.' Ishida thought. 'He is like Kurosaki somewhat. A large power but little reiatsu sensing skills, although I have to admit that Kurosaki is improving in that area. So to compensate for his lack of reiatsu skills, he has a technique that can lock onto someone's reiatsu.'
"You cannot beat me!" Nnoitra shouted standing back up. "I don't know how you got this power up but it doesn't matter! I am the strongest Espada and I've grown sick of playing with you!"
With a swipe of one of his scythes, Nnoitra launched a large wave of sand into the air blocking him from view however Ishida could still sense his opponent's reiatsu. The Quincy's widened suddenly when a scythe shot out of the sand straight at him and Ishida just managed to dodge it when his body suddenly stiffened.
'I can't move...' Ishida realised, 'Damn it, I shouldn't have overused something that I didn't quite fully understand!'
"You're finished!" Nnoitra shouted victoriously appearing in front of Ishida and raised three of his arms which still had scythes, "You've failed human! Die!"
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"
A large avalanche of ice suddenly enveloped a shocked Nnoitra and Ishida glanced to his right to see Rukia pointing her snow white Zanpakutō straight at the frozen Nnoitra.
"Sado-kun!" A familiar voice rang in Chad's ears as he struggled to get back up to continue the fight and suddenly an orange oval shield wrapped around him. To his surprise there stood Inoue before him and she begun healing his wounds.
"Inoue... How did you get here?" Chad gasped as his wounds began to heal.
"Kuchiki-san, Miyako-san and Shiba-san brought me here." Inoue answered calmly as she focused on healing Chad's wounds.
"Who...?" Chad muttered confused before he noticed the two Shinigami standing a few metres away from Rukia.
"I'll explain later... But don't worry. They are on our side." Inoue smiled at her tall friend.
"Kuchiki what are you doing here?!" Ishida asked startled before mentally groaning at the sight of two other Shinigami, "And who are they?!"
"They're friends." Rukia told him shortly, they didn't have time for this. They had to defeat this guy quickly and go help Renji and Ichigo. "We need to work together to beat this guy."
The wall of ice from Rukia's Hakuren suddenly shattered revealing an annoyed Nnoitra and the Espada commented angrily, "Now I've got to deal with some Shinigami pests."
Just above Nnoitra's hip on each side of his torso two arms suddenly burst out and each materialised another scythe. With a quick flick of his wrist from his only remaining free hand, the scythe that he had previously thrown flew into his hand.
"Time to die Shinigami! Humans!"
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!" Rukia shouted and fired a blue ball of reiatsu at Nnoitra but the Espada calmly blocked it with one of his scythes. Rukia mentally grinned when she saw that it was the one that had a large crack in it.
"Was that supposed to do something?" Nnoitra asked her mockingly.
Rukia didn't reply and instead kept on firing several more Sōkatsui's at the crack on the scythe while Nnoitra uninterestedly just blocked them with it.
"You pitiful Shinigami... What are you trying to accomplish?!" Nnoitra said annoyed calmly deflecting the Sōkatsui's.
Suddenly Nnoitra's scythe broke in half when the 6th blue ball of reiatsu hit much to his shock before Rukia used that distracted moment to launch into one of her signature attacks.
"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"
A white circle appeared underneath Nnoitra before he was enveloped in a large column of ice. Rukia quickly brushed away a bit of sweat that fell from her forehead and took in a deep breath.
"Good work Rukia." Sode no Shirayuki informed her wielder, "You have successfully depleted your reiatsu back to their original levels."
"If you two are Shinigami... then why haven't you both got Zanpakutō's?" Ishida questioned the two Shinigami suspiciously as a healed Chad and Inoue approached them.
Kaien and Miyako glanced at each other and then at Inoue and Rukia as they all remembered why they couldn't use their Zanpakutō's.
Flashback
Rukia and Inoue waited patiently for Kaien and Miyako to come out of their meditation and when they did, Rukia could tell from the scowl on Kaien's face that it wasn't good news.
"It didn't work?" Rukia asked them despite already knowing the answer.
Kaien shook his head and replied, "No, I was able to communicate with my Zanpakutō but I no longer have an Asauchi to imprint my Zanpakutō's abilities."
"It's the same for me." Miyako agreed with her husband, "When I encountered the Hollow that possessed me. I grabbed onto one of its tentacles and my Zanpakutō shattered."
Rukia looked away as the memory of Kaien's Zanpakutō shattering when he grabbed the Hollow's tentacle.
"What is an Asauchi?" Inoue asked them curiously.
"All Shinigami are given unnamed Zanpakutō upon first entering the academy." Rukia explained to her friend. "We must spend every waking moment with our Zanpakutō, and as we progress in our training, we slowly and carefully imprint the essence of our soul into the Asauchi. This is how we guide and mold our own Zanpakutō. Without our Asauchi we have no way to channel our Zanpakutō's power."
"No Shinigami in history has ever wielded the power of their Zanpakutō's without the use of an Asauchi." Miyako added.
"Well at least up until we 'died' anyway." Kaien said sheepishly. "But I doubt that has changed since then."
Inoue frowned, an unusual look on her beautiful cheerful face, "Kurosaki-kun didn't use one of these Asauchi's."
"What do you mean?" Rukia asked hastily, "Knowing Urahara, I would of have thought he would have supplied Ichigo with one."
Inoue shook her head, "No Kurosaki-kun told us all about how he got his powers and he said that he summoned his Zanpakutō from the broken handle of the katana he wielded using your powers."
"That doesn't make any sense." Rukia said thoughtfully, "I've never heard of that happening."
"What did you mean by him wielding your powers?" Kaien asked sternly.
Rukia looked away sheepishly, "I may have leant him my powers for a time."
Before Kaien could either retort or tease her about breaking the rules, something that a Kuchiki wasn't supposed to do, Miyako cut him off with a question of her own. "Who is this 'Ichigo'?"
"He is a friend... I'll explain more when we have time but we need to go help Ishida and Sado." Rukia told them, "Miyako-dono could you carry Inoue? We need to get there quickly and Inoue doesn't have any high speed movement."
Miyako nodded and after a brief hesitation from Inoue, the human girl timidly allowed Miyako to give her a piggy back and the group vanished in a burst of speed.
"It's been like over 40 years since I've used shunpo and I'm still amazing at it!" Kaien shouted with delighted arrogance as the group approached the location of Ishida and Chad.
'Ichigo... Just how were you able to draw upon your Zanpakutō without an Asauchi? And why does it worry me so much?' Rukia thought worriedly before glancing at Kaien and a lighter thought appeared in her mind, 'I so have to be there when Kaien-dono and Ichigo meet. That is going to be interesting.'
"Rukia... There is something important you should know." Sode no Shirayuki suddenly spoke up with Rukia, "I'm sure you have noticed the increase of your reiatsu."
"I have..." Rukia thought back, "But I don't understand how this happened. It's taking all I've got to keep it under control."
"Don't worry I am assisting you there." Sode no Shirayuki informed her, "Apparently when Ichigo gave you some of his power to free you from Homura and Shizuku's control and unintentionally gave you a portion of his reiatsu. It had been sealed away until you broke it during your previous battle against Aaroniero. So when you reach the battlefield, make sure you expend enough reiatsu back to their regular levels or you will be a liability in this fight."
"I know." Rukia replied, if she survived this war then she would have to continue her training on reiatsu control otherwise she wouldn't be able to wield her powers effectively.
End of Flashback
"It's a long story, suffice to say we are unable to at the moment." Kaien answered the Quincy, "For now all we can do is back you all up with Kido."
Ishida nodded before he was suddenly encased in an orange oval shield and with a glance to his left he saw that it was Inoue. The Quincy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the pain and pressure from the over use of his new technique began to fade away.
"Did you really think that this stupid slab of ice could stop me?!"
The group of humans and Shinigami suddenly spun around when the column of ice shattered revealing an unharmed Nnoitra.
The Espada glared down at his broken scythe and threw it away. It was of no use to him anymore.
"I'm going to kill you first Shinigami!" Nnoitra snarled pointing straight at Rukia with his spare hand, "I will make you suffer for breaking my scythe!" He then pointed at the other fighter that had been a thorn in his side, the one with the bow, "Then I'm going to remove each of your limbs and laugh when you beg for death!"
Ishida just smirked at the threat which further enraged Nnoitra. The Espada hadn't been humiliated like this in a long time, not since the time that woman was among the Espada.
"Kuchiki, Sado-kun and you other Shinigami..." Ishida addressed the group when his wounds healed and Inoue released her healing technique. "Can you all hold him off for a few minutes? I've got an idea."
Renji's Location
How did he find himself in this situation?
That was the thought running through Abarai Renji's head as he stood trapped inside a large building with an Espada standing only 20 metres away from him. Sweat and blood fell heavily down Renji's face while his opponent stood before him completely unharmed.
The Espada had shoulder-length pink hair with bangs on the right side of his forehead and two thin lines with no hair on the left side of his head, and amber eyes. The remains of his Hollow mask his rectangular-framed glasses and his clothing wasn't like the ones that the Espada usually wore. He wore a long shirt that covered his entire torso up to the top of his neck. He had three stripes on his uniform, each starting at his collar with one running to the left side of his chest, one to the right side of his chest, and one down the middle. He wore the regular pants with a slight length taken away he covering his hands were white gloves. He was the 8th Espada, Granz Szayelaporro.
Not long ago he and Rukia had been running along the corridor before Dondo suddenly appeared behind them screaming for Nel which scared the crap out of him. Unfortunately only moments after his appearance they all fell down into a trap and he and Rukia had been separated. Worst of all, he had appeared in another corridor with Dondo landing on top of him and the terrified screech from Pesche ringing in his ears. Of all the places he had to land it just hand to be where another one of those strange Hollow's was.
Embarrassingly he fell into another trap a few moments later along with the two Hollow and appeared in this large chamber where Szayelaporro laid waiting for him. The two Hollow landed on top of him much to his displeasure before finding a place to hide while he immediately unleashed his Bankai in hopes of ending the fight quickly. Just before he was about to his the Espada with his Bankai it suddenly vanished and his Zanpakutō returned to its sealed state.
Szayelaporro informed him that his older brother was Ilforte, the Arrancar that he and Rukia had killed back in Karakura town and that he spied on the fight. He learnt that Szayelaporro had planted Memory Spirit Bugs on Ilforte which gave him all the information about his Bankai and that while he was in this specially made room, he couldn't use Bankai.
Desperation set in when Szayelaporro informed him that thanks to Aaroniero all the Espada were linked and that before the 9th Espada's death, he had taken one of his companions with him. He didn't need the name to know who Szayelaporro was talking about; he had sensed the drop in Rukia's reiatsu. But his desperation and anger along with his Shikai wasn't enough to breach Szayelaporro's defences and now the 6th Division Fukutaicho found himself out of options. No Bankai, his Shikai was ineffective and Kido was out of the question, he was atrocious at it.
"Pfft! What a bore!" Szayelaporro exclaimed.
"... What was that...?" Renji muttered exhausted.
"I said that this is a bore. You can't even understand words anymore?" Szayelaporro retorted, "Your Zanpakutō is a power type. There is nothing else to it. My theory to how your transformation worked was proven quite easily, as well. This might sound a bit rude to you, but honestly, I really don't want to look at you anymore. Let's finish this."
The 8th Espada clicked his fingers and out of the wall crawled through many Hollow similar to the ones that Ichigo, Chad and Ishida had encountered when they first arrived in Hueco Mundo.
"Fracción... As a testament to our superiority, we Espada are allowed to choose any Números from #11 and below to become our subordinates. They are called Fracción. Some will only choose one while others have mountains of soldiers under their command. My Fracción are a bit unusual however, they were all once Hollow's that I had modified and then transformed into Arrancar through Aizen-sama. Well I suppose telling you all this is a waste. The point is... That I don't need to soil my hands in order to kill such an unworthy being such as yourself... Now here comes the finale!"
Before the Hollow could attack Renji, a blue crescent wave of reiatsu sliced into the largest hollow that had been directly behind Szayelaporro and purified it.
"What the hell Renji?" Ichigo said with Tensa Zangetsu resting against his shoulder and Nel tucked under his free arm. He stood in the middle of a large gap in the wall looking down at the injured Renji with a cocky grin. "This is the second time I've come and saved your ass."
Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.
So yes Ishida has unlocked Blut. Since he is a mixed blood that means that he can only learn it through training and since Inoue restored his powers before he trained with Ryūken, he was able to begin learning it. Of course, it had to come out during battle for dramatic effect.
Kaien and Miyako both aren't able to use their Zanpakutō's so how will they be able to help fight against Nnoitra and what is Ishida's plan?
Rukia has concerns about Ichigo's powers which will be explored later.
The Nnoitra fight will be wrapped up in the next fight and possibly the Szayelaporro vs. Ichigo and Renji. Sorry for skimming over the Renji and Szayelaporro fight but that is one of the fights that I wasn't fond of in the manga.
Answering the Readers:
C: I really don't like Ichigo and Rukia being together, but I will admit that this is probably one of the best Bleach fics I have ever read. The Growth rate you have all the characters on is almost flawless, and I like how you keep introducing things that make Ichigo get stronger, without it being a major power boost out of nowhere like the movie about hell. I will continue to read so long as you keep up the good writing, even if I must tolerate IchiRuki. I'll probably just replace a name in my head or something...
R: Thank you I appreciate the compliments towards my story. As for the IchiRuki, I understand. I can only read IchiHime fics if the story is written well. I can promise you that romance will not be a big deal in this story as it is an area that I, to put it bluntly, suck at writing so it won't have a major part of the story. This story wills primary focus on Ichigo growing in power along with his friends and fighting enemies that threaten them
C: Please don't make Ichigo part Quincy, I mean, what the hell? He's already a human/Shinigami/hollow who, despite having his powers for only a few months is already able to defeat beings who have been training for decades if not centuries. Now that's all fine, that's how he is in the show, that's just Ichigo, but now you want him to suddenly become Quincy too? Why not just give him Inoue's powers, or the Hōgyoku or I know, make him soul king! Now I'm not trying to flame, I actually really like where you've taken this story and it's a really good fic, I'm merely expressing my humble opinion on making Ichigo a god, that is, please don't.
R: I can understand where you're coming from. Now I can't say much without giving away any spoilers but I have made Ichigo part Quincy. He won't have the powers that the likes of Ishida have though. At the core, Ichigo is a Shinigami and so his Hollow, Fullbring and Quincy, it all has to revolve around his Shinigami powers. Ichigo will never possess the powers of the Hōgyoku or Inoue's and he won't become the Soul King. Ruling over everyone isn't something that Ichigo will ever do.
C: Aizen is always behind it all; freakin' god complex that he has probably adds to his need for control, anyway I'm favouring this story because it caught my interest. Kudos to you for writing such a good plot.
R: Tell me about it. Aizen seems to just somehow plan out every single possibility until he lost to Ichigo. For someone that had been watching and developing Ichigo since the moment Ichigo was born, he sure did miscalculate how strong Ichigo could become. I hope I can keep you interested in this story.
Q: Tier Harribel is a Vasto Lorde, you know that right?
A: Yes I do, but that we saw her in her Vasto Lorde form in the anime and not the manga. So what I meant is that this is the true pure Vasto Lorde without becoming an Arrancar in the manga. Unfortunately this wasn't true as Aizen revealed what that Hollow truly was.
C: I am absolutely in love with this story right now. You managed to do what the canon couldn't and that was to establish a great relationship and connection with Ichigo and Zangetsu.
So, because they are really close now, I'm guessing Ichigo's Asauchi test will be different. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Is the reason why Ichigo feels so safe on Bankai because, like Tensa said when they were battling for the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, that what he wants above all else is to protect Ichigo? Does Ichigo even have a hint that that is Tensa's true desire?
R: If Ichigo needs to go through the Asauchi test then it will be very similar for the sheer fact that Ichigo doesn't have an Asauchi. He may be able to seal up his Zanpakutō in this fic, but he still doesn't have the traditional Asauchi. As for his Bankai, Ichigo still doesn't know what Tensa's true motive is; it isn't something that he has thought about. I won't get into the full reason why Ichigo feels most safe in his Bankai quite yet, but one of the reasons is because he is at full power, not including his Hollowfication.
C: Also, will this have an Ulquihime pairing with Ulquiorra surviving and joining Ichigo's side this time. It would be so awesome to see 4 Espada (Grimmy, Ulqui, Starrk and Hallibel trying and fighting Aizen) and even more when Ichigo becomes a complete badass when he trains in the Dangai.
I hope you have him use everything in his arsenal, including his final hollow form, in his fight with Aizen before even considering Mugetsu.
One last question, will Masaki's soul make an appearance and reunion with her family? Maybe Sora as well so he can see how strong Orihime has become.
R: I haven't got a planned pairing for Inoue quite yet. As for Ulquiorra, have I stated that he would survive? Only I know what Ulquiorra's fate is going to be and I'm keeping it to myself. I won't reveal any details about the Ichigo vs. Aizen confrontation but I can guarantee, Ichigo won't be completely afraid of him like in canon until he did the Dangai training. I have no plans to bring Sora back. As for Masaki, I believe that in canon, Ichigo will meet her again. I think it is inevitable. Will he meet her again in this story? Maybe, no promises though.
C: This story is one of the best bleach ones I've seen really enjoying how you're dealing with character progression and using the filler arcs, and it nice to see some differences from cannon there like Hisagi making up with Kazeshini and the Visored's being put down about not training when there fighting someone equal to the captain commander and expecting to make the kill. Can you please show us how the Visored's, Ichigo and co matches up with captain or Hollow rankings? Oh and like how you've removed Inoue from the equation now never liked stories where she becomes obsessive over Ichigo as well as Renji over Rukia.
R: Yeah I will post something like that once I've completed the Winter War. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
C: He gave GREAT character development for Stark and Lillinette and then he kills them like THAT? After so much development they should've kept them.
R: Yeah I wasn't happy with the way Stark went down as I enjoyed his character. Sure he got beaten by one of the strongest captains, but considering he was the Primera, I thought that he would have done a lot more. He won't be so easily pushed aside in this fic.
C:Your chapters are awesome as always. I'm really enjoying that Orihime wasn't there. She always seems to be in the way of Ichigo's awesome battles and adding pointless drama.
R: Thanks. Don't get me started on Orihime in the Arrancar arc, she just pissed me off. Hopefully I can keep her in character yet make her less annoying.
Q: So you're saying that maybe Ichigo is older than he remembers? Or his hollow or something like that?
A: That Hollow is the Hollow inside of Ichigo that was passed down to him from Masaki. So the structure of Ichigo's Hollowfication is very similar to it with his own unique parts such as the stripes on the mask.
Q: In the manga the guy mentioned he knows where all the Asauchi's he makes have gone, but I don't reckon Ichigo ever got an Asauchi from him so... where'd his Zanpakutō come from? Certainly not him and thus repairing it would have to come from somewhere else also.
A: Yes Ichigo doesn't have an Asauchi for a simple reason; he isn't a Shinigami. Isshin strictly said that he wasn't a Shinigami and nor was he a human. So I am assuming that Ichigo is a Quincy. How Ichigo is able to use Shinigami powers, I won't tell you my theory as I am going to incorporate it into this story and I don't want to give away spoilers.
Q: So in this Ichigo is just about as strong (or comparable in strength) as canon Ichigo (using his mask with the extended time limit against Grimmjow) with this story using just his Bankai?
A: In terms of reiatsu, strength and speed, then Ichigo's Bankai is equivalent to canon Ichigo against Grimmjow. However if the two fought, my Ichigo would win because he has more variety to his moves with both the Getsuga Tentate and Getsuga Tenchēn plus a couple of Kido spells.
Q: I really like your story, and I'm interested in how the final confrontation with Aizen will play out. I was disappointed because Ichigo was dominating him and then he threw away his Soul Reaper abilities to do the Final Getsuga Tensho which I felt wasn't yet necessary in their fight.
A: Thanks I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for the final confrontation with Aizen, yes it will be different. As for Ichigo throwing away his powers, I've always thought that despite Ichigo knowing that he was stronger, he couldn't allow Aizen to keep evolving thanks to the Hōgyoku. I mean with a simple slash, it forced Aizen to transform. So Ichigo hit him with everything before Aizen could power up to a level higher than his own.
Q: What I find most interesting is the name of the chapters that have been explaining Ichigo's past; "Everything but the Rain." Doesn't Zangetsu make it a point that he hates it when it rains?
A: Yeah he does. Also this Hollow seemed to only come out during the rain. It really links up the connection between Zangetsu and Hollow Ichigo. Zangetsu hates the rain and this Hollow likes it. Links up quite nicely to my first chapter doesn't it ;)
C: Alright, first things first: Your story is fucking awesome. Consider this the opposite of a flame. You have good grammar, good punctuation, there are only a few flaws in tense agreement, and that's negligible in comparison to some of the stuff you have to put up with on this site.
Not only that, but your story is interesting, original, and fucking BADASS. I cannot wait to see what Ichigo will do, and how his powers will continue to grow. I do request one minor thing though - Please use Ichigo's demon/Viking mask. I was very sad to see that come and go so quickly, considering it was so amazing. I cannot wait to see the next chapter. Keep up the good work!
R: Thanks I really appreciate your comments. As for Ichigo's new mask, trust me, he will use it a lot more than in canon.
Q: Why did you have Dordoni say "Leave the chocolate here." in his final thoughts?
A: I got that quote from the manga and it is also the title of one of the chapters. It basically implies that Ichigo had to leave his sweetness behind since he showed Dordoni mercy. He believes Ichigo has to become ruthless if he is to survive against the Espada.
Q: A quick question, will Ichigo lose Zangetsu in this story...?
A: If I answered that it would ruin the story.
Q: Will Ulquiorra and Grimmjow turn good? I think that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, along with Stark and Hallibel, are the most likely to betray Aizen. So in this story will that happen?
A: Well Grimmjow is only unconscious, so he is still alive. Stark and Hallibel I have hinted that they will do more than they did in canon. As for Ulquiorra, I will keep that to myself for now. I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense.
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Masaki – First of all, I've read and heard about people comparing her to Inoue and/or Rukia and believe that Ichigo will be paired with them because of it. Now I find that bullshit. From what I took from her character is that she is a lot more like Ichigo. Well I guess technically Ichigo is more like her. I have to admit I didn't think that I would like her character, but in fact I love it. She isn't the strongest character and she isn't the best fighter. However she is brave and resourceful and that move of allowing the Hollow to bite her and then shoot it in the head with a small bow and arrow was BADASS! Also her reaction to Isshin after he had saved her from her Hollowfication was hilarious.
Isshin – While he tends to be very goofy, we also saw the side of him that Ichigo inherited. Giving up his Shinigami powers and admitting that while he would have regrets when he stopped being a Shinigami, it didn't stop him from saving the person that saved him. I reckon that is a pretty Ichigo thing to do. So I'm assuming that Isshin has learnt the Final Getsuga Tensho, so he knows what it will cost but he hasn't had to use it. So Engetsu is a fire element Zanpakutō... That's interesting... So is his Getsuga fire based or is just a genetic attack?
Juha Bach – You son of a bitch! Taking away all of the 'impure' Quincy's powers to help get his own back. So Masaki could have easily defeated Grand Fisher but because of Juha Bach she died instead. Have to say Kubo that is a very nice twist. I like it!
Ryūken – Had to feel for the man. He cared about what Masaki wanted but at the same time was concerned with the fate of the Quincy's. With Juha Back being able to take away the powers of all impure or mixed blood Quincy's that means that he can take away Uryu's. Perhaps knowing that is the reason why Ryūken wants his son to live a normal life since his powers could be taken at any moment.
Aizen – All I have to say about him was how epic was his face when he wanted to see what would happen when Whitey attacked Masaki?
Whitey – So it was created from the Soul of a Shinigami and could pass on the Hollowfication purpose. So when it bit Masaki, it made her Hollowfy. Have to admit that Hollow was pretty cool.
Chan-Ichi (LOL) – I love that new nickname for Ichigo. Learning about what and who he really was has had a huge impact on his character. He has a resolve about him that I haven't seen since he invaded Soul Society. When he finally gained his own Asauchi, I loved that fact that he didn't react at all when it had a Hollow Mask. Knowing that he got his Hollowfication from his mother had enabled him to accept that part of his soul instead of fearing it. Now when Chan-Ichi gained his true Zanpakutō does anyone else agree with how badass Ichigo looks without sleeves?
Zangetsu – Now we get to the major revelations except the truth about Masaki's death. So old man Zangetsu was actually the form of Juha Bach/Yhwach from 1,000 years ago and he was the representation of Ichigo's Quincy powers. Meanwhile Hollow Ichigo is the fusion of Ichigo's Hollowfication from White and his own Zanpakutō. Kubo certainly dropped enough hints, with Hollow Ichigo always being the one to either show Ichigo how to wield Zangetsu or save his life. So Old Man Zangetsu hadn't wanted Ichigo to become a Shinigami because the real version of him would eventually kill him, I can't blame him for that. However now he is stepping back and allowing Ichigo to use his full power. I take it by fusing with Hollow Ichigo back in the Deicide arc was him allowing Ichigo to become a Shinigami.
Zangetsu (Blades) – So Chan-Ichi decided that both the Hollow and Old Man were Zangetsu and altered the final form of his Zanpakutō. So now he is a dual wielder and I have to admit it certainly is like Ichigo to forgive and continue to accept Old Man Zangetsu's help. The sword that his Hollow represents is by far the best looking Shikai he has had. I reckon it looks awesome. The small sword representing Old Man Zangetsu I am a bit iffy about but I guess I will wait to see how he uses it in a fight before judging it. Seems like the big sword has a slot that perhaps the smaller sword can fit into and I am predicting that he will be back to wielding a single sword in Bankai.
Ichigo's Resolve – So Ichigo is no longer going to ask Zangetsu for help, or telling him to get out of the way or asking to fight together. He will fight alone since Zangetsu is him. So Ichigo is finally at one with himself, so now we get to see Ichigo kick some ass!
Update 1.07.2013 - I have just realized something about Ichigo's Shikai and Bankai that helps connect with the revelation that his powers are from his Hollow. Shinigami have three releases (With the exception of Kenpachi due to his uncontrollable reiatsu) and they are, the sealed state, shikai and bankai. Ichigo on the other hand just has the two which is like the Arrancar usually have (Again with the exception of Ulquiorra). All shinigami's bankai have some kind of large effect, sometimes their bankai is in the form of a large object, (Zabimaru, Senbonzakura etc) while others have large elemental effects (Zanka no Tachi, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū). Ichigo's on the other hand simply condenses his shikai into a small blade, condensing his reiatsu and his clothing changes. This is similar to the Arrancar's Resurrección's as they change the form of the Arrancar into a more Hollow like form.
Shinigami = 3 Zanpakuto states; Sealed, Shikai and Bankai. Bankai's have large affects either to form or area.
Arrancar = 2 Zanpakuto states; Sealed, Resurrección. Resurrección changes only the Arrancar's body. Has no area affects like Bankai's do.
Ichigo = 2 Zanpakuto states; Shikai, Bankai. Bankai's form is more similar to a Resurrección than a Shinigami's Bankai.
Here is a teaser of a scene that is still a few chapters away;
"What's with that look Ichigo?" Hichigo asked the former King. "Tell me Ichigo... Have you ever wondered just what you are?"
"What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned slightly intimidated from the Viking like mask his Inner Hollow now wore.
"What are you Ichigo?" Hichigo repeated, "I thought I was your dark side... The other half wanting to take over and wield Zangetsu... But I was wrong. Thanks to the hole in your chest from Ulquiorra... The influx of Hollow reiatsu has awoken my memories and I now know just who I am!"
"And just who are you!?" Ichigo retorted raising his Tensa Zangetsu.
Hichigo grinned behind his mask and in a burst of speed that Ichigo couldn't follow; he appeared right in front of him and grabbed his face with his left hand.
"I AM ZANGETSU!" Hichigo shouted and threw Ichigo into a building.