This War's Not Over: Chapter 14
Shattered Ignorance
Sorry again for the wrong update for the last chapter! My computer was having a breakdown and I was about to snap it in two XD
And sorry for Shiro being MIA in the past chapter and in this one. Will make it up to you in the next chappy! ^^
Agh, the explanation of the hogyoku theory will be so very complicated…I hope you understand it! XD
Here's another update and I'm thrilled by all your reviews! :D
"You're a human and a hogyoku."
Ichigo could only stare blankly at the ground, his body shaking with shock. "That's…that's…"
The traitor took a step forwards.
"Impossible?" Aizen smiled. "Let me prove it to you, Kurosaki Ichigo. The idea is perfectly plausible."
Ichigo lifted his wavering gaze up to look at the traitor, his eyes full of terror. "No."
Aizen stopped pacing towards Ichigo now that they were only a meter apart. The teen stumbled backwards into the rubble, edging away from the betrayer.
"In the beginning, the hogyoku was thought to be capable of dissolving the boundaries between soul reapers and hollows. However, its true power lies in its ability to sense the hearts of those around it, and to materialize their deepest desire. Does that sound familiar to you, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Aizen reasoned.
Ichigo raised his reiatsu threateningly, his yellow eyes flashing with newfound hostility, but anyone could tell that he was desperate not to listen to the truth. Aizen ignored this, because he was having the pleasure of breaking Ichigo into pieces.
Rukia gasped as she felt Isshin's heavy reiatsu hit her like a tidal wave. She turned, confusion plastered across her face as she glanced at Ichigo's father. "Isshin. What's wrong?"
Isshin raised his voice so that everyone could hear. "Guys. We need to move quickly. I'm pretty sure Ichigo's reached Aizen by now. We—we should go help him."
The team assembled, back to back as they watched the writhing mass of hollows scream for their souls.
"There's something you're not telling us Isshin," Uryu said, firing an arrow dead into a hollow's head.
"You're right. I'll tell you as we fight our way through," Isshin murmured, his eyes narrowing with guilt. "Some will have to stay behind and fight, because I don't think the opening Renji will give us will last long enough for all of us to get through. The hollows just keep coming."
With a determined nod, Renji let another blast of his bankai rip through the hollows, giving the group another opening. Isshin, Rukia and Nel split from the team, charging through the gap in the enemies' defenses.
As they made it to the other side, Isshin broke into a steady run, the two girls at his heels.
Nel spoke this time, her eyes serious and narrowed. "So tell us Isshin-san."
"We already know that you can sense people's hearts, can't you, Ichigo?" Aizen prodded, his eyes triumphant as he stared down at the defeated teen.
Ichigo was on his hands and knees, his head bent in loss. He wasn't sure what he'd lost though. Was it his bearings? His thoughts that had been so clear a few minutes ago? Ichigo's body shook.
"And I'm sure you heard from Urahara Kisuke how Inoue Orihime and Yasutora Sado received their powers. They received them—because of you. Both of them hated their helplessness, and as soon as they came in contact with you, you granted their wishes. Does that not seem plausible to you?" Aizen asked rhetorically, because he already knew he had won a long time ago. "Your reiatsu revived the Hogyoku's dormancy. And because your reiatsu is so much higher than Kuchiki Rukia's, you undermined the other Hogyoku that was in her body at the time."
Ichigo never had time to answer. He wouldn't anyway because he couldn't. He was simply too speechless for not noticing these evidences sooner. All this time—all this time they'd been searching for the second hogyoku, when it had been right underneath their noses.
Ichigo swallowed, his teeth grinding together with anger. "You…You did this!"
"It was only to assist your development," Aizen's eyes glowed. "Did you really think you improved so quickly because of the result of your hard work? Because you trained to become stronger? No. It was simply the hogyoku hearing your will to become stronger to protect those around you."
The teen let out an angry hiss. How could this have happened without him noticing? He uttered one word, his eyes narrowing. "When?"
Rukia and Nel both let out a gasp, their eyes as wide as their own mouths.
Rukia gave herself a good shake, frowning. "That's nonsense!"
Nel nodded to assert her agreement with the petite soul reaper, only just recovering from her own shock.
"It happened—when Ichigo's mother died. I didn't know it until Urahara explored Ichigo's reiatsu when he was unconscious with his fight with Grimmjow. He told me back in the Winter War. That's when we both realized what Aizen did back when Masaki died," Isshin hesitated.
"What did he do?" Nel's eyes narrowed angrily, her eyes eager for battle.
"Ichigo must have been unconscious for a short period of time when Grand Fisher killed Masaki. I think that perhaps Aizen attempted to use this opportunity and perform a test on Ichigo. By making him swallow the hogyoku, Aizen was testing whether the hogyoku was capable of having a host," Isshin said reluctantly, and rather painfully.
The trio kept on running through the corridors, Rukia and Nel holding their breaths as they waited for the reluctant father to divulge the rest of the story.
"But Ichigo's heart was so bent on protecting his mother and getting stronger, the hogyoku began to merge with Ichigo in order to grant his wishes. Aizen had to extract with great difficulty the hogyoku out of Ichigo's body. Aizen left after that, his question answered that the hogyoku would undoubtedly merge with its host."
Rukia shook her head thoroughly, puzzled. "I don't understand what this has to do with Ichigo being the second hogyoku."
Isshin swallowed uncomfortably, his eyes clouded with undeniable guilt. "When the hogyoku was extracted out of Ichigo's body, it left traces of itself in Ichigo's soul. When Rukia revived Ichigo's dormant powers, Ichigo's reiatsu nurtured the traces of the hogyoku within him, until they grew substantially—much more than Aizen expected."
"So you're saying that Ichigo's body itself is the actual hogyoku, and not just a host like Aizen is?" Rukia inquired, her brows knitted tightly together in concern for Ichigo.
"Yes," Isshin nodded, his eyes dark. "And Aizen will do whatever it takes to break him to get the Oken. Ichigo is not only the second hogyoku now, he represents the King's Key."
Ichigo stared at a point past Aizen, trying to keep his sanity with him. He took a deep breath. He felt so furious. He wasn't sure what he was so enraged at. But then he knew.
"Did my...father know about all this?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Aizen's lips twisted upwards in pleasure at Ichigo's pained and betrayed look. "Yes. And he refused to tell you."
Ichigo's yellow eyes grew eerily cold, and Aizen smiled victoriously. This was it. Aizen had finally won Ichigo over.
But Ichigo's heart was pummeling in his chest, his jumbled up emotions making the teen result to one thing: to run.
Ichigo turned tail from Aizen. With his face flushed with anger and his eyes full of confusion, Ichigo charged across the hole in the palace's wall that his crashing body had created and out into the sand of Hueco Mundo.
Ichigo didn't know why he was running. He felt like the whole world he had known so well had just crumbled to pieces. And then there were these confusing gushes of emotions. He was all over the place. The white sand of Hueco Mundo felt like quicksand under his feet, and at last he stumbled over, landing on his hands and knees, panting for air.
He closed his eyes, the emotion called pain spreading across his wounded gaze.
Why didn't you tell me?
Before Aizen made a step towards the hole that the flustered teen had escaped through, Grimmjow barred his path with a flash of sonido. "Oh no you're not. You're leaving Ichigo alone now."
"How touching, 6th Espada. Protecting your leader?" Aizen smiled, clearly unaffected by Grimmjow's interference.
"You ultimately want to fight this second hogyoku in the end, right? Well you're not going to. I'll kill you first," Grimmjow grinned, showing his teeth.
Aizen lifted his blade, his eyes calm and mocking. "Very well. I shall dispose of you like the insignificant insect you are."
Rukia panted as they turned another corner of the endless maze of corridors. They had continued the conversation about how similar Ichigo was to the hogyoku. They were in the middle of another revelation.
"What are you saying?" Nel asked, puzzled.
Isshin tensed. "Why Aizen chose Ichigo was because of his lineage. His vast amount of reiatsu was always destined to greatly exceed that of a captain's."
Rukia's interest was perked up about the sudden thought of Isshin's background. "Lineage?"
Isshin brushed off Rukia question, his expression uncomfortable. Instead he changed the subject, his expression surprisingly distraught. "Aizen didn't use Kyokasuigetsu's ability in their final fight because he didn't want to. It's because he couldn't. Thanks to Ichigo's unique reiatsu, Aizen was unable to hypnotise him since they had nothing in common. But now, with both hogyoku's resonating with each other, Aizen can use Kyokasuigetsu against him."
"That's why you seemed unaffected by Kyokasuigetsu's hypnotic powers when you fought Aizen yourself. Because of this… lineage of yours," Rukia was prodding him now.
But Isshin was good at ignoring these questions he didn't want to answer—he'd done it so many times. But this time, it was Nel who saved him from explaining himself. "So do you think Ichigo is under Kyokasuigetsu's power now?"
Isshin stiffened, before shrugging. "I hope we're not too late."
Why does it hurt so much?
Ichigo's teeth gritted, his eyes narrowing in pain. He'd been betrayed so many times before. What did it matter? Was it because…it was his own father? It didn't hurt when his father didn't tell him he was a soul reaper. Why does it hurt now? Does he really think I'll betray them if I knew the truth?
Ichigo let an angry snarl rip through his throat, his fist slamming on the sand. Bitterness swelled in his heart, and Ichigo realized that these unwanted emotions weren't because he had been betrayed, but rather, he had been accused of betrayal. And not only by his own father, but by Soul Society too. Even his friends had their doubts when he lost his temper and used his reiatsu to send them crashing down into the sand.
Ichigo could feel his heart being torn into pieces. He was so confused he wasn't sure which one was worse. Being betrayed or being accused of betrayal?
Either way, it was no longer a stone in the pit of Ichigo's stomach—it was a ball of ice. And the ice wouldn't disappear. Ichigo simply felt himself getting colder and colder, as if the ice was spreading slowly across his whole body. Ichigo almost felt like welcoming it.
Because these feelings and these bonds hurt so much, it no longer mattered to Ichigo which situation hurt more. All that was important was the fact that either way, they hurt—these feelings that he didn't want. He would be so much better off without them. He wouldn't have run away like a coward from Aizen if it weren't for them.
Get rid of them.
After all, this fear that he had, was an emotion too right? Hadn't he agreed with Zangetsu and his hollow that fear was a useless thing?
There was no point in having any of them at all. They were only thing that made you weak and scared. If Ichigo never had these feelings or these bonds, he would never have known this pain.
And a voice came, someone he hadn't heard for a long while. But the coldness and the bitterness in it made Ichigo shiver.
"Don't lose you head."
Resolute, Ichigo finally stood up; his yellow eyes frozen. The teen hadn't noticed that the chain wrapped around tensa zangetsu that halted the merging—was slowly beginning to melt.
Grimmjow drew in another ragged breath, his white uniform in tatters and the right sight of his chest clotted with crimson.
"I don't understand why you are supporting the very same person you were trying to kill a year ago," Aizen said, Kyokasuigetsu dripping with Grimmjow's blood.
"Ichigo values us. We're not just pawns to be used and thrown away," Grimmjow said simply, barring his teeth at Aizen. "And besides, Nel will never forgive you for killing her fraccion, Dondechakka and Pesche."
Aizen's eyes narrowed. "You are of no importance to me. You will meet the same end as they did."
Grimmjow let out a pained scream as he realized the real Aizen was actually behind him, running him through, the one in front of him only in illusion.
Hurry up, Ichigo.
"Are we there yet?" Rukia groaned impatiently.
Nel's eyes narrowed with thinning patience. "It seems an arrancar has been messing around with the arrangement of the corridors."
Isshin came to a stop, both girls halting abruptly a few meters away.
"What is it? We don't have time to be fooling around—Ichigo could already be under Kyokasuigetsu's spell. We need to go help him!" Nel said irritably.
Isshin beckoned them with a movement of his head, a triumphant grin on his face. "That wall. Behind it. It's Grimmjow's reiatsu."
Rukia paused, fanning out her senses, but her face became alarmed. "You're right… But it's almost gone. Let's hurry!"
Isshin took his stance to blast a Getsugatensho through the wall.
Ichigo raced through the hole in Las Noches' wall, making his way across the rubble and onto stable solid ground. Ichigo was sure something felt off.
The boy froze when he recognized it—the smell of blood. His eyes wide with horror, Ichigo charged across the middle of the room, letting out a chocked cry.
Ichigo was sure he had ditched all his emotions and feelings towards others.
Why was his heart pummeling against his chest, his bitterness replaced by anguish?
Ichigo paled too shades lighter that his previous skin tone, his body trembling all over. He staggered towards a familiar figure, which was lying motionless on the floor. Ichigo knew that pearly white face perfectly well—but the person's eyes were glazed over.
Ichigo knelt down, shaking the corpse, his eyes wide with anguish. "R-Rukia. Hey. Wake up. It isn't funny."
His voice came out hoarse and raspy, as if he hadn't use it in a thousand years. He touched her hand, which was stone cold. She was dead. And because of this bond he felt dead too.
When he looked around, his horrified gaze falling upon each one of his friends' corpses, unmoving on the ground, he knew they were all dead.
Ichigo's body began to shake violently, the teen clutching his sides as he began to breathe heavily. His broken gaze stared unseeingly at the ground, and Ichigo familiarized himself with the emotion that he had decided to abandon.
Agony.
Ichigo let out a scream of rage, his fury pouring into his reiatsu, which was beginning to turn blacker by the second. Ichigo was so blinded with hatred, he didn't notice that this was all just Kyokasuigetsu's illusion. That Rukia, Nel, Isshin had just come charging in, unaware of the situation. The orange-haired teen could only think of killing the very person who had killed his friends.
That's when the white chain around tensa zangetsu broke.
Ichigo's angry cries of rage turned into pain-filled screams as he rapidly began to merge with his inner hollow. He could just see the hollow now, hissing and spitting at him telling him he shouldn't have lost his head. But the chain was gone now, and there was nothing to stop the merging. Ichigo could do nothing as his sane state of mind was thrown into the very depths of his soul.
Rukia could only watch on in horror as Ichigo's body began to transform. The chain had broken, and Rukia could see Ichigo was slowly merging with his hollow due to the transformation Ichigo's reiatsu and body was performing.
"Stop, Ichigo! We're all here! It's an illusion! Aizen is tricking you!" the petite cried desperately.
Her plea went on unheeded, and Ichigo's yellow eyes were vacant as he called out in a trance like state: "Whiten, Cielo Sin Luna."
Gales of wind began to whirl around the teen, hiding him from sight. Isshin took a step forwards, his eyes wide with alarm.
"A ressureccion…?" Rukia heard Isshin gasp under his breath.
Nel was shaking an unconscious Grimmjow to his senses, but her eyes never left the 0 Espada as he lost control of himself.
When the teen reappeared from the risen dust, Rukia gasped, her hands clutching her sides.
The teen was still wearing his white espada uniform, yet the coiled tensa zangetsu around his arm had indeed become white instead of black. Another horn had grown on the top of his head and a hole had formed in his chest.
The additional thing that made Isshin stiffen was the waist-length black hair—and when the teen's eyes opened, the crimson coloured orbs he possessed.
Isshin took a step back. "It's like a hollowfied version of Mugetsu…"
Rukia gave him a disbelieving glance. "Did you say Mugetsu?"
She looked back at Ichigo, an unwanted pang at the pit of her stomach resurfacing again. Ichigo…black hair… She shook herself thoroughly. How could she be thinking of Kaien at a time like this?
"This time, I really can't sense Ichigo's reiatsu at all," Isshin said, his eyes torn.
Grimmjow's raspy voice sounded from the side. "I don't think this is Ichigo anymore. That espada over there looks like he's about to start World War III but in ten times worse."
Everyone bristled in agreement, but Rukia could tell they were all feeling the same way as she was. How could they fight Ichigo?
But to Rukia's surprise, Aizen appeared from wherever he had been concealing himself, a victorious smile on his face. The traitor had returned with a seemingly greater form than the one previously used against Ichigo the last time they fought, thanks to the hogyoku in his body.
What made the petite shiver was the familiar frozen wasteland in Ichigo's gaze.
"We'll see which Hogyoku is stronger. The hosted hogyoku or the natural hogyoku?" Aizen smiled.
To everyone's shock, Ichigo's voice was a mix of his own and of his hollow's. "The Final Getsugatensho. Remember, Aizen?"
Aizen said nothing, assessing the situation as Ichigo's white sword charged with black reiatsu.
Rukia could tell that whatever was left of Ichigo, it was long gone. The 0 espada didn't say a word as he raised his sword, a familiar evil grin making Rukia shudder once more. "I can do it now—as many times as I want."
Grimmjow moaned. "Holy shit."
Finally done!
I wasn't sure what format to use for Ichi and Shiro's intertwined voices so I just used regular format, cause no one is really in control.
By the way, I used the name "Cielo Sin Luna" because it means sky without moon, which means Mugetsu. ^^"
I promise you will get much more of Shiro in the next chappy, please review!