20. Punch Me If You Can
Finally, the time came to leave for the Soul Society. Ichigo had awakened with a feeling in his heart telling him to hurry up, despite the likeliness that they were leaving at a good time. It truly didn't matter. Who knew what the Soul Society was doing—had already done—to Gin, by now? It made Ichigo's heart beat several times faster at the mere thought.
But. Much as his blood screamed for...well, blood, he didn't want to kill anyone.
He didn't want to. Didn't mean he might not have to.
With that thought, his irises were silver by the time he arrived at the main hall, where the others of the rescue party were just entering as well.
Kisuke stood near a wall, where a portal was already waiting for them. "Thank goodness you won't have to go through the Dangai," he said, holding his cane before him.
As they approached, Rose asked, "Will it get us past the Shakonmaku?"
"Unfortunately, no. Sekkiseki is rare for a reason."
Shinji hummed. "As powerful as that portal is, it still can't get through, eh. Ah, well, we'll find some way in."
"Break the damn gate down, that's what we'll do," said Lisa.
Ichigo gave a firm nod. "Exactly."
He stood before the portal with his party. He gave a brief glance back at his friends who were staying behind. Nel, her brothers, the remaining Vizard, and Tessai were there to see them off. He gave a nod before turning to the portal.
"Thank you, Kisuke-san."
The scientist merely nodded.
In his mind, Ichigo also sent a word of thanks to Grimmjow. Much as he didn't want to.
Not wasting another second, he and his party stepped into the portal, leaving Hueco Mundo behind.
~:Edth:C:~
They exited to arrive at a reclusive area in the first Rukongai. Their reiatsu suppressed, they peeked around corners and scanned the area. Against his will, Ichigo took a good look around to reorient himself. It had been a while since he was last here...
But there was no time for nostalgic sightseeing.
They disappeared from sight, moving aerially towards the gate into the Seireitei. There was no point in keeping their reiatsu suppressed after this, but...
Ichigo drew his blade. Words manifested in his mind. "Hail the chains which bind the heavens..." His irises glowed a strong, shining silver. "Zangetsu!"
There was an explosion of power, so overwhelming it blew the Rukongai area they were at away. Ichigo appeared from out of the black energy wielding a massive but slender silver and black blade that curved inwards at the tip, extending over his hand at the bottom. It furthermore had a short black chain coming from the end of the handle. It wasn't his old Shikai, as it was drastically reshaped, but it was still familiar.
What wasn't familiar was a smaller blade, around the length of Ichigo's arm, that looked like his old Shikai from four years ago. The only difference was that it had the same rounded handle that the larger sword had and the black chain.
Not wasting a second, straight after his Shikai command, black wisps of a recognizable power encircled his blades as he shouted shout, "Getsuga...Jūjishō!"
The black, red-hued and cross-shaped energy hit the Shakonmaku point blank, but it only made it fizzle a bit—which was terrifying in its own right. Eyes went wide as everyone watched, and without hesitation, black and red enveloped him as he raised his reiatsu. With another sweep of his swords, he fired a massive Kuroi Getsuga Jūjishō that hit the Shakonmaku and the gate from top to bottom and side to side.
It shattered before their eyes, causing all eyes from below to stare up at the sky in terrified, confused awe.
Continuing along, the Getsuga Jūjishō cut a massive groove through the Seireitei until it finally dispersed at the halfway point to Sōkyoku Hill.
The group of eight dropped into the city, landing safely to the ground. As shouts of alarm and cries rang out, they traveled atop the rooftops and walls, moving as fast as they possibly could without losing each other by their individual speeds. Spread out, they kept their senses alert.
Despite what Ichigo had said earlier, they were each privy to some semblance of a plan. They weren't expecting it to be worth much of anything, however. They also had a one main rule imposed by Ichigo himself: Try not to kill anyone unless it was unavoidable. Just beat the ever-loving shit out of them or knock them out.
The number of true threats within the Seireitei was fortunately limited to only a few people due to their training—or raw power, in Ichigo's case. Even several of the captains could be easily disregarded for everyone except Chad, Uryū and Kon. Uryū and Chad might not be able to defeat just any old captain, but had a much better chance of holding one off together—so long as it wasn't a certain few. Kon could handle lieutenants.
They otherwise reasoned Shunsui Kyōraku and Kenpachi Zaraki were the biggest problems outside of Suì-Fēng's two-hit kill, Mayuri's unpredictability—and then, of course, there was Yamamoto, who was another category in of himself...
A small person with turquoise eyes shadowed by white hair caught sight of them. "Halt!" the boy shouted, beginning to pursue them.
Ichigo recognized that voice and reiatsu even after all this time. "Tōshirō..." he murmured, his forward gaze hardening at the memories that entered his mind.
It didn't mean anything, in the end. What he did for them, what he sacrificed, the bonds he made. It didn't mean anything.
So, he pressed forward.
Lisa stopped and turned to face the young captain. Her ghostlike Shikigami floated around her, softly tittering. "I'll take the rear," she called to them. "Keep going!"
They sensed reiatsu flaring up all over, but they weren't thinking twice about it.
"Let's split," said Shinji. "Less obstacles to deal with at once."
They nodded, and without hesitation, separated. They knew what had to be done: Take out and hold back as many people as they could. The only one who stayed with Ichigo was Chad. He nodded at his best friend, then looked forward, just as some lower-level Shinigami appeared before them.
"Think we should ignore them?" Ichigo asked.
Chad nodded with a sound of agreement.
Ichigo raised his reiatsu, causing them to drop like flies. They didn't have time to waste on the grunts.
They sensed even more captains approaching. Some split off towards the reiatsu of their companions, some came towards them. They were still a distance away, but nearing regardless. What really caught Ichigo's attention was the reiatsu of several lieutenants. Some ways off, he sensed Renji...and even Rukia. His teeth clenched.
It didn't mean anything. Not anymore.
A rapidly-approaching reiatsu came to their attention. Ichigo didn't recognize it, though it was distantly familiar. He was intending on ignoring it, but his instincts told him to confront it.
"Chad," he said, "go ahead. I gotta deal with this."
His friend glanced at him, but nodded in agreement. Their paths diverged, and Ichigo approached the new reiatsu. It was lieutenant-class. He just couldn't put a face to it, yet...
He came to a reclusive area that looked almost like a maze. It somewhat reminded him of the place he confronted Kenpachi when he first entered the Soul Society. Landing from the wall, he glanced around. Shortly after, a woman approached him using shunpo. The moment he saw her, he recognized her.
She was a moderately tall woman with long strawberry hair, her shihakushō opened at the chest, revealing her ample bosom.
"Matsumoto," he said in surprise. She readied to fight, grasping her sword, but he put his weapons away at his back and hip, respectively. He noticed she looked painfully weary. "I don't want to fight you."
Narrowing her eyes, she demanded, "Why are you here, Kurosaki Ichigo? There's no reason for you to be here, not after what happened."
Lowering his hands, he slightly glanced away. "There's every reason for me to be here." Looking back at her, he motioned towards the direction of Sōkyoku Hill with his head. "Why else would I come? The last time I infiltrated the Soul Society, what was my reason?"
"To rescue..." She trailed off, confusion slowly making its way into her expression. Steadily, her hand lowered from her sword. Her head tilted downwards. "You're...here to...rescue...Gin...?" Her words were almost a whisper.
A strange emotion overcame Ichigo upon seeing this reaction. Part of him was irritated someone else evidently had feelings—whatever they may be—towards Gin, and even more that Gin evidently cared about someone else other than him. But the rational side of him couldn't be angry at her. He just couldn't. Why should he?
"Yeah." His voice also lowered.
She looked up at him, even more confused, trying to fight the relief that was beginning to show on her face. "But...why?"
"He's...He means a lot to me." He smiled a small, sad smile. He honestly didn't want to explain just how much the man meant to him.
Yet, somehow, she seemed to understand to some degree. Her body relaxed, a similarly sad expression on her face. "Thank you," she whispered. She turned her head away, blinking. Ichigo could see she was trying to stop herself from crying from obvious relief.
Using sonído, he appeared behind her. "I'm sorry. I have to make this authentic."
Before she could ask a question or turn around, he struck her neck, just hard enough to knock her out. She fell to the ground, her head turned in such a way that he could see the beginnings of tears below her eyes.
For a moment, he stared at her. Whenever Gin spoke of her, it was always with a hint of sadness. He wondered if she knew how much she meant to Gin. Closing his eyes, he turned away, then used sonído to leave the area.
He locked on to Chad's raised reiatsu. He was fighting two people, a lieutenant and a captain. He seemed to be holding his own for the most part, but it was a setback. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo moved faster.
In moments, he crossed the half-mile or so Chad had covered. The captain fighting against him was entirely unfamiliar to Ichigo. He had dark brown hair combed back and reaching his shoulders, black wraps going up his arms up to his biceps. Judging by how his Shihakushō was sleeveless, and that Shūhei Hisagi was there, Ichigo figured this was the new 9th Division captain.
Said captain had a large Shikai, a three-bladed weapon connected with a straight pole, with two edges extending like arrow points and the third shaped like a fan in-between them.
"Chad!" Ichigo called. He then appeared before the captain, sliding low, and socked him in the stomach with his elbow.
The man's brown eyes went wide, and he spit up saliva as he went flying several feet away. Swinging his smaller blade, Ichigo fired another Getsuga after him for good measure. Seconds after, his reiatsu faded.
Shūhei's eyes widened. "Taichō!" He was using his Shikai, but now that Chad was solely focused on him, he began to use defensive moves instead of offensive.
Chad glanced towards Ichigo, charging a blast. "Go ahead, Ichigo!"
Ichigo didn't hesitate to do just that, moving too fast for Shūhei to do anything about it.
An explosion was heard behind him as he flew. He took notice that Kenpachi nearing where Chad was. His brows furrowed, but he didn't stop moving. He briefly closed his eyes. He was so close to the hill, now. He could sense Suì-Fēng exactly atop the hill, causing his eyes to narrow.
Suì-Fēng. The one who came uncomfortably close to killing him four years ago on the order of the Central 46 Chambers.
A low growl escaped him.
"Kurosaki!"
He glanced over to see Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa rapidly approaching from his left. Narrowing his eyes, he didn't stop, taking his smaller blade into hand, again. Not wasting a second, he shot a commandless Getsuga Tenshō at them.
What their reactions were, he didn't know, as he continued forward without looking back. He heard their shouts, only for their reiatsu to fade.
He covered some distance, taking out the low-level Shinigami with a death wish to face him, mostly with his reiatsu alone. Gin was right. Most of the Shinigami within the Soul Society were weak, far too weak in comparison to their numbers. They were unbalanced. But it worked to his favor.
Pausing, he looked into the direction of a certain someone who was nearing him, their violet eyes wide.
"Ichigo!" Rukia called, slowing as she came closer.
The two of them stared at one another for a good few seconds. She was panting, dirtied and badly injured, blood trickling from her forehead and had a gash on her cheek, bare arm, cuts on her legs. How she made it over was likely from determination alone. If he recalled, she had been fighting against Rose. Now he sensed that Byakuya was fighting the Vizard, instead.
Ichigo kept his expression a stoic mask, waiting for her to make the first move, to say something. It actually hurt to see her again. Of all the Shinigami, he had been closest to her. She had been a very close friend, and they went through so much. Bled for each other. Fought together. Laughed together.
But now...
He didn't know.
He just didn't know.
"Ichigo..." She took a step forward, a crease of concern, fear, and uncertainty between her brows.
He flinched, then turned forward and resumed his path towards the Senzaikyū. There was no time for hesitation. He wasted enough time, as it was. Yes, it seemed that they arrived early enough that the Sōkyoku wasn't even in the process of preparation, but there was no time to count blessings. He could relax after he had Gin in his arms again and out of the Soul Society.
He heard her call him, but ignored her. His reiatsu was suppressed, but hers wasn't, and he sensed her following him—or trying to. With a frown he realized she would probably continue to pursue him until the very end. Coming to another halt, he waited until she caught up to him before turning around.
His eyes were silver and black.
It was her turn to flinch, and she tentatively placed her hand on her katana. "Are...are you Ichigo's Hollow...or Ichigo himself?"
Instead of answering, he slowly narrowed his eyes.
She eyed him, as if seeing him for the first time. "Why, Ichigo? Why did you return...?"
He remained quiet, unmoved.
"Why didn't you remain hidden?" Her expression changed. "Safe? You were safe. We couldn't find you. And now...now you're here!"
His expression hardened. "You wouldn't understand," he said at last. There was only the slightest of a warble to his voice. "Couldn't possibly understand."
"But...But Gin is a criminal, Ichigo! We all know this...!"
His upper lip twitched, and he disappeared. He reappeared closer to her, so close she had to tilt her head back to look at him. Her eyes were wide. So confused. So sad.
Slowly, her eyes returned to normal. Guilt and yet understanding appeared on her face. "Are you going to kill me, Ichigo? For what we did to you...?"
He looked down at her, expressionless. "No. I don't want to kill you, Rukia. Truly, I don't..." He leaned down, and she slightly shrunk away as his reiatsu raised considerably. His eyes bore into hers, turning a menacing, glowing white and black. His voice warbled dangerously, the echo of Zangetsu's speech in his, as he said, "But if you get in my way...I will end you."
She swallowed, and her eyes became glassy. She didn't answer, lowering to her knees atop the wall from the pressure, but continued to look up at him. Leaning back, he stared at her for a moment longer before disappearing, getting away from her.
He doubted he could ever really hurt her too badly. Kill her? He didn't want to kill anyone.
His brows furrowed, and a feeling of dread, yet resolution, stirred within him.
He was legitimately unsure how he would react if Gin was dead...or if he died by the hands of the Gotei.
He didn't want to think about it.
Not a second later, he came to another halt. His head snapped back and into Chad's direction as his friend's reiatsu disappeared. His heart jumped to his throat, and he took a step off his course.
It was Kenpachi. Chad had been fighting against Kenpachi.
Chad...
Not a moment later, he sensed Hachi moving quickly into Chad's last known location. Grinding his teeth, he turned and continued. He had to keep moving. They agreed to move forward. That was part of the plan.
His head slightly turned to his side. Shinji was taking on two captains. Rose was handling several Shinigami, as well. Hachi was hopefully by Chad's side, and Lisa was still rather far back, taking up the rear, as she said she would. From what he could sense, she was dealing with Shinigami which Renji. Uryū seemed to be solo, now, as was Kon.
He then blinked. Kenpachi's reiatsu disappeared.
He didn't know how, but thank heaven for that.
But Chad had better be alright.
Jumping up, he finally reached the Sōkyoku. He landed atop the hill, and Suì-Fēng along with the same unknown female captain from Akazuki appeared, as well as Izuru Kira, Marechiyo Ōmaeda and several Onmitsukidō members. His eyes narrowed, and he looked past them at the Senzaikyū.
He was so close...
Suì-Fēng's arms were crossed, her expression twisted in its usual scowl. "Kurosaki Ichigo. You're—"
With a single sweep of his small sword, he fired a massive Kuroi Getsuga at the entire force.
He heard the cries of the Onmitsukidō troopers, as well as the cries of surprise from the captains and lieutenants. Not wasting another moment, he used sonído to run towards the Senzaikyū. He didn't have any time to waste on fights!
He suddenly halted, and he looked back to see the familiar kidō hōrin had ensnared his ankle, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. Before he could react, he was pulled back towards the steadily settling dust created by his attack. As he was pulled, from out of the dust, Suì-Fēng appeared.
Reiatsu in the shape of what almost seemed like wings enveloped her arms, and she moved extremely fast towards him with Suzumebachi ready to sting him. With mere centimeters before contact, he dodged in the air. Using that momentum, he grabbed the kidō and pulled hard on it. Flying out of the dust came the other captain, her green eyes wide, as she hadn't dispersed the kidō in time. As she came right towards him, she met his blade. He stabbed her in the chest, but not near her heart, then pulled out and slashed her with such force, she went flying away.
This all happened in seconds. As the kidō dispersed, he disappeared from view, missing Suzumebachi again by a hair's breadth. He appeared above Suì-Fēng, grabbing her by the throat, and threw her with reverse impact to send her diving into the ground. Landing on the ground the second she made impact with it, he fired another Kuroi Getsuga, but followed it up with one more for good measure.
Upon sensing their reiatsu fade from their injuries, he turned and dashed for the Senzaikyū. He easily broke the door down, then looked inside with the help of the light behind him.
A silver-haired form dressed in white laid slumped against the wall near the small slit of a window within the otherwise darkened room. There was blood on the floor, trailing from the center of the room to the body. Their back was to him, and he swallowed, afraid of what he would see if he came closer. He began to walk slowly, but then raced over, kneeling behind them.
"Gin...?"
There wasn't a response. Not a twitch. Nothing. He scooted closer, taking the figure by their skinny—so skinny—shoulders and turned them to they laid in his lap.
And his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.
It was Gin, of course. His eyes were closed, face expressionless, lips parted, and was so pale, so sick, that his veins were visible underneath his skin. Fresh blood mixed with old, dried liquid ran down from the corner of his mouth and nose. He was barely—just barely—breathing.
Letting go of his sword, Ichigo wrapped both arms around his mate, bringing him against his chest. He felt his eyes stinging, his soul screaming, his heart broken. Eyes closing, he lowered his head so it was resting against Gin's. Moving a hand to caress the man's cheek, he whispered his name. He reached and took the frail hand in his own, kissing it, then kissed the pale forehead, the pallid lips.
"Why would you want this, Gin...?" he whispered. "Why...?"
Gin's horribly pale complexion made it obvious that he had far too many scars left over from...surgeries. Being cut into. Too many. One was too many, as it was. They were at his throat, his hairline, the corners of his eyes...Ichigo's eyes realized in horror that only Mayuri could have done such a thing. Gin's arms, his legs...
Ichigo moved the yukata aside to reveal even more, larger scars, particularly the massive one from his lungs to his abdomen, and then across his abdomen. Tawny eyes watered. There was no, absolutely no telling what had been done to him.
His eyes then wandered to the mark on Gin's neck. It looked different...scarred, as if someone prodded and cut at it. His heart couldn't sink any lower. Ducking his head and slightly shifting his mate, he gave the mark a tentative lick. There wasn't a reaction. Swallowing, he gave a gentle nip, letting some of his reiatsu ease into the mark.
His heart jumped to his throat when Gin twitched, moaning soundlessly. The reaction brought a teary smile to Ichigo's face.
"A sorry sight, isn't he?"
He tensed.
"We let Kurotsuchi-taichō at him to get that thing out of his body, but no matter what was done, it didn't detach itself from him."
What thing...? Just barely, Ichigo glanced back.
"He screamed like nothing I ever heard before. It gave me nightmares."
He didn't recognize the voice, and felt his blood begin to boil.
"A few times he even called your name. It was baffling, really..."
Gazing over his mate, this made his heart ache.
"...until it was revealed that mark was embedded with your reiatsu."
His expression hardened into a murderous glower.
From outside the prison, an explosive, enormous wave of black cut through the building. Then there was another, creating a cross shape, and the building slid apart.
Ichigo appeared a moment later back on the ruined hill, carrying Gin over his shoulders with one arm, Tensa Zangetsu in the other. His Bankai took on the same form as his old Bankai, save for a different blade that was the even longer than his ōdachi. It had three jagged ends down the back of the blade, its groove was red, and the chain was much longer, wrapping around his right arm. His Bankai coat also had white underneath with four coattails, while an eerie, almost moving blackish-red was visible underneath the black in his coat.
Hollowfied black and white eyes glared at the sight before him.
Shinji had arrived, and he was fighting Jūshirō—or had been, until the display of power grabbed everyone's attention. Several other unseated officers of the Gotei were near, but didn't dare come closer. Suì-Fēng and the other captain Ichigo fought were lying unconscious on the ground, as were the Onmitsukidō troopers.
Another unknown person landed from out of the sky, their shihakushō and captain's haori severely ripped, and their right arm was bloody. Despite this, and their hard breathing, they wore a lackadaisical expression on their face.
It was a man of moderate height, his skin tone a tad darker than Ichigo's, and had very long black hair that was tied in a braid hanging around his neck. Going by the color underneath his haori, he was the new captain of the 5th Division. He motioned to his arm, whistling. "You...are a marvel. Easily above captain-class...I daresay you could...effortlessly kill most of the Gotei if you wanted to." He shuddered, but whether mockingly or legitimately, Ichigo didn't care. "That's terrifying."
Ichigo didn't respond. His eyes then glanced at Shinji, who jumped away from his clash from Jūshirō to come to Ichigo's side. Brown eyes glanced quickly over Gin's unconscious body before turning back to their adversaries.
"I can open a portal, but I'm gonna need a few seconds. Unlike Gin, I can't open one without an incantation," Shinji explained quietly to Ichigo. The teen didn't respond.
Black brows furrowed as Jūshirō addressed them. "Kurosaki-kun!" He seemed to fight for words, a crease of confusion and sadness forming between his brows. "Why...?"
Neither Ichigo nor Shinji responded, and the unknown captain scowled. "It's no use trying to get into the minds of Hollows...They're monsters, Ukitake-taichō. Only monsters."
Both hybrid and Vizard frowned deeply.
It looked as if Jūshirō was about to say something against that, but before he could so much as get the words out, an overwhelming reiatsu enveloped the area.
Knowing who it was, Ichigo's eyes immediately went to Gin, who twitched again, this time from the force against him. Ichigo's eyes then gazed at the last person he wanted to see in the Soul Society coming up from the side of the hill.
The Sōtaichō of the Gotei 13 approached with Shunsui Kyōraku at his side.
Shinji gave a heavy sigh. "Well, shit."
Ichigo scoffed, glaring at the new adversaries. "For them."