TURN BACK THE PENDULUM PART 2: THE DARKNESS OF THE KING
"This is really good", the fourteen year-old Orihime said taking another spoon full of her ice cream. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with super short jean shorts that Ichigo made for her since the area they were living in was very warm during the day.
"I told you this side of the Rukon has the best ice cream", Ichigo said helping himself to his own bowl. The two kids sat together on top of a building with their feet dangling over the edge. Ichigo was wearing a tattered black cloak with a skull mask laying on top of his head while he ate. He stopped painting his face like a skull and started wearing a mask since it was less time consuming than putting on makeup. He used reishi to keep himself cool in the heat while wearing his cloak.
"Where are we going to live now Ichigo?" Orihime asked. Below their feet sat a couple canvas bags that contained what little belongings they had.
"We'll just head to the north districts I guess", Ichigo said thinking about what happened. They had been living together in a small village in the woods for a year now since he found Orihime. However just last night the village was attacked by a small swarm of hollows. Once again the shinigami didn't show up to help leaving the fourteen year-old Ichigo to deal with it by himself. He successful dispatched all the hollows with only a few casualties and a little bit of damage to the village. Ichigo still counted it more like a loss than a victory due to the few people who he failed to protect, not only that but their house was one of the ones destroyed in the chaos. The villagers regarded Ichigo as a hero and offered to rebuild his house for free, but he refused saying that they should use their time and money to recover and rebuild their own lives and homes. Ichigo and Orihime then travelled to the one of the busier areas of the Rukon looking for a new place to stay.
"I heard the north is where the American and European souls inhabit", Orihime said enthusiastically.
"Good thing language in soul society is universal", Ichigo chuckled. He remembered how surprised he was when he discovered that fact.
It took a couple days traveling north, but eventually they found a nice large community with shops and stores. There was an old man named Alaster who was selling small houses for people to live in. After some haggling Ichigo bought a house with the money he saved up from various jobs he did back in the village they lived in before. One thing Ichigo liked about this area was that the mountains were within travelling distance for him. It was the perfect place for him to do his secret training without being detected Gotei Thirteen. Ever since Yoruichi told him about the two forms of a Zanpakuto, Ichigo had been working to unlocking his bankai. Yoruichi said he wasn't ready for it yet, but Ichigo decided to go around her and unlock it himself.
FLASHBACK
"But why can't I learn bankai yet?" Ichigo asked.
"Because kid, your just not ready", the black cat said in a masculine voice. "Normally it would take a shinigami a hundred years to unlock his bankai, and that's if he has the potential for it, but what I have planned for you would help you unlock it in just three days".
"If it would take three days then why can't I learn it now?" Ichigo questioned again getting a little angry.
"Like I said, your just not physically ready to even attempt to unlock bankai", Yoruichi said while the fourteen year-old looked a little dejected by that. She sort of told him a half truth, while it was true that he wasn't physically ready, the real reason she couldn't help him achieve bankai is because Kisuke Urahara told her to wait until the crisis that Aizen would soon cause drew near.
"Alright I understand", Ichigo suddenly perked up when an idea came to mind. He had enough information to unlock his bankai on his own. He vowed to do just that, but he wouldn't tell Yoruichi or anyone, just so he could see the look on her face when he did unveil it.
FLASHBACK END
Now here he was, up in the mountains in a large quite area where he could meditate and enter his inner world. Sitting cross legged on the smooth rock floor with his Zanpakuto across his lap, Ichigo took a few deep breathes and let himself slip into a peaceful state. When he opened his eyes he found himself in the star cross shaped city in the sky, right atop the tower. Looking around at the European architecture for a moment, he turned around and headed towards the black building atop the tower with the broken arch over it. Reaching the top of the steps Ichigo was greeted by twelve knights dressed in silver armor and white capes. The knights kneeled before him with their identical angel winged swords in front.
"At ease gentlemen", Ichigo waved his hand with a smile. They stood back to their feet and parted allowing Ichigo to enter into the palace. Going inside he headed into the throne room and workshop he saw the spirit of his Zanpakuto sitting in the regal chair.
"Your back Ichigo", the spirit sounded like he didn't expect him to be here.
"Hey old man, I just wanted to ask about something", Ichigo began walking towards the throne. "I want to know how to go about unlocking my bankai", the middle aged man took off his sunglasses and looked at Ichigo with a solemn expression.
"Ichigo, you're not ready for that", he said.
"Don't tell me that, I know when I'm ready, and I'm ready now", Ichigo said growing tired of people telling him he wasn't ready. "The hollows I've been fighting are not that tough, but what happens when stronger ones come along. I need my full power before something bad happens or I won't be able to stop it", he said using the logic of a fourteen year-old. O no Kishi sighed before standing up from the throne, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him down he then teleported them both in a flash of light. They reappeared on one of the five ends of the floating city.
"Come Ichigo", the man walked over to the edge and pointed at the gray lifeless desert below. "Underneath the sand below you will find a cavern, in that cavern is a blade. If you can find and claim that blade as your own then you will achieve your bankai".
"Really you'll let me have bankai if I find it?" Ichigo asked with enthusiasm. The old spirit shook his head.
"It's not up to me, it's up to you and 'him'. Personally I think you're not ready to achieve bankai", he put his sunglasses back on as he looked at the sand churning with the wind. Ichigo wondered who this other person he mentioned was, but figured he would understand soon enough.
"What does the sword I need to find look like?" Ichigo asked getting more and more excited.
"You'll know it when you see it", was the old man's response.
"Alright old man, when I get back I'll have bankai!" Ichigo shouted pointing at him with a promise. He then leaped off the edge and descended to the desert below.
"I could have lowered him, he didn't need to jump", O no Kishi said to himself watching Ichigo get smaller and smaller. Once he reached the bottom the old man turned around and headed back to the throne room. He didn't expect Ichigo to achieve bankai now, no matter how confident he seemed.
"Ow!" Ichigo hit the sand creating a small crater. Dusting himself off he began walking the dunes looking for a way underground. He didn't have to look long, a hole opened up in front of him with stairs leading down in the dark. "How convenient", heading down into the dark Ichigo made his way deeper and deeper underground until the light from outside could no longer guide him. Luckily a lantern appeared next to him, just when he was wishing for one. Eventually he reached a gigantic open cavern with black stone pillars holding the ceiling up, little bits of light shown through holes in the ceiling, but what really caught Ichigo's attention was the millions of bones and skulls that covered the floor, even piling up in small mountains. Stepping out into the sea of bones he glanced around at the seemingly endless cavern with apprehension.
"This won't be as easy as I thought", Ichigo muttered to himself. Walking across the bones, he felt and heard some of the smaller more brittle ones crack and break under his weight. "Okay a sword, a sword, I'll know it when I see it he said", Ichigo picked up a skull without hesitation and began digging around in other piles of bones. After several hours of digging in random spots he stopped to take a break.
"This is ridiculous, like trying to find a needle in a haystack", he said with an angry huff. Ichigo soon made his way to what had to be the largest pile of bones yet. More frustrated than ever the teen kicked a random skull into the pile. The skull hit the pile and caused a small avalanche of bones revealing one giant black horned skull, well just the top corner of it. Ichigo gasped seeing through the hole and spotting a single pale closed eyelid, there was something living beneath that. He took a cautious step back, but luck was not on his side as one of the bones cracked rather loudly. The giant eye opened revealing a menacing glowing yellow eye surrounded by a black sclera. Ichigo dove behind one of the pillars to avoid being spotted by whatever this thing was. The giant creature now fully awake rose up out of the pile of bones revealing a giant white lean body, a black horned skull mask covered the thing's face with long stark white hair spilling out the back and over his shoulders, the only piece of clothing was the torn black hakama pants that barely reached his knees. The nails on his fingers and toes were black and claw like as they gripped the bone covered floor.
'Shit, shit, shit!' Ichigo was panicking not knowing what to do. The teeth on the mask parted letting loose a growl.
"Well, well, well, well, well….if it isn't the king himself", the giant chuckled in a deep distorted voice then took a deep breath. "I can smell you, I hear your breath, I feel your air", he hissed looking around for the kid.
"Hey, wait a second", Ichigo popped his orange head out from behind the pillar. "You stole that from Smaug!" the giant chuckled zeroing in on the fourteen year-old.
"You got me, but I got you", his words were followed by his colossal hand crashing into the pillar that Ichigo hid behind, crushing it into rubble.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold up, what's happening?!" Ichigo leaped safely away while the giant crawled towards him on all fours, kicking up bones and skulls.
"I've waited so long for this day!" The masked giant laughed, slamming his clawed hand down where Ichigo stood. The teen barely dodged the onslaught.
"Who the hell are you!?" Ichigo hid behind another pillar.
"I'm you! I'm your true self, what you really are. A big scary monster!" He shouted looking around for his prey.
"I'm not a monster!" Ichigo yelled back.
"Yes you are! You have vile creatures like me and his majesty upstairs inside you. Your power is potential limitless king, what else could you be?" The giant was trying to hurt him emotionally.
"I've never done anything wrong!" Ichigo hid behind one of the pillars trying to figure out what to do. He then remembered that he was here to look for a sword. If he found it then he could fight back against this thing.
"What about your mother?" He asked going for the lowest blow possibly. "Look what happened to her, you lured that hollow right to her", Ichigo started shaking when he remembered what happened.
"S-Shut up", the boy stuttered.
"That's why you took in that girl Orihime, to try and make up for your failures, but how long will it take until you get her killed I wonder", he laughed.
"You keep her out of this!" Ichigo shouted stepping out from behind the pillar. "I didn't come here to argue with you, I came to earn my bankai".
"And what makes you think your worthy of me king?" he asked in a mocking tone. The giant flicked Ichigo away with his finger making the boy crash painfully into another pillar. "Ah damn, I was hoping for a strike", he chuckled while Ichigo struggled to get back up. "Oh well, let's see if I can pick up the spare", he said with a sinister tone. The giant continued to knock the boy around like a cat toying with a mouse before he ate it. Ichigo tried to fight back, but he was practically a mosquito to this thing.
"Foolish child!" he yelled as he threw Ichigo into a pile of bones. "It looks like you still don't understand what I am, then let me give you a hint", the boy crawled out of the bones, bleeding and bruised to see the masked giant lean forward and open it mouth wide, its blue tongue slithered out touching the sea of bones and skulls. A smaller human sized version of the giant dressed in white robes, with a white horned mask, and a large hole where his heart should be that made it shockingly obvious what he was.
"A hollow", Ichigo said with wide eyes.
"BINGO! We have a winner here!" The hollow clapped his clawed hands together.
"Why!? How!? What!?" Ichigo didn't understand any of this.
"Simple one of your parents had me attached to them and when you were born I saw my chance to escape and jump ship, but unfortunately you ended up being stronger than both your parents combined", the hollow explained walking towards Ichigo.
"Which one? Which one of my parents had you?" he asked growing more scared the closer the hollow came to him.
"Sorry not telling", he laughed manically kicking Ichigo in the face sending the boy flying through the air again. "How about we raise the stakes king, if you can find your precious sword and beat me with it then I'll let you have the bankai, but if I beat you then I'll get control of your body and you'll be stuck down here", he waited for the boy to crawl out of the bones to give an answer.
"Deal!" Ichigo shouted running over the skulls and bones to kick the hollows ass. He may not have a weapon, but Yoruichi taught him to fight with fists before he learned to fight with a sword. Unfortunately the hollow seemed to know all of his moves before he even made them, dodging and countering each strike with ease while laughing with glee. Ichigo was then beaten down hard over and over, the hollow even made jokes and games while beating the shit out of the boy. Just when Ichigo thought he might be able to turn the tables, the giant that the hollow came out of, that he forgot about started moving again and attacked Ichigo. He didn't stand chance now and was completely torn to hell by the two opponents, Ichigo didn't even bother looking for the sword anymore.
"This is so pathetic it's not even funny anymore", the hollow spoke with disappointment in his tone as he looked down on Ichigo who now lay broken and beaten in a pile of bones. The giant reached over him and plucked the boy with his sharp fingers up by what was left of his torn shirt, lifting him up in the air. It then opened its huge gaping maw and tilted its head back. Ichigo could do nothing but watch as he was dangled over the open mouth. "I guess there's no point in wearing this mask anymore if you still can't understand", Ichigo looked down at the hollow and watched him pull his horned mask off to reveal.
"Me?" Ichigo was shocked to see himself, only older, eighteen years old to be exact. The hollow had the exact same features as himself except it was bleached completely white, had long hair, and yellow eyes with black sclera and an oddly shaped goat-like pupil.
"Goodbye my former king!" Was the last thing it said to Ichigo, before the giant finally dropped Ichigo into his awaiting mouth closing as soon as he was past the black sharp teeth and swallowing him whole. "I won, I won, I WON!" The hollow cheered laughing hysterically. While he was celebrating his victory the giant just stared unaware of what was happening in his stomach.
Ichigo sat in complete darkness, he knew he was in the giant's stomach, the belly of the beast, but he couldn't see or hear anything. He promised himself that he wouldn't give up, but he didn't see any way out of this one. Just for the hell of it he waved his hands around in the darkness to see if there was a wall or something. Ichigo paused when he felt his hand brush some sort of object, reaching out he grasped it tight. It felt like a…hilt, a weapon then? With his other hand he tried to feel for what kind of weapon it was only to accidentally cut his finger, so it was a sword then? Why was there a sword in this monsters stomach?
"Wait a minute!" Ichigo had a moment of realization. This was the sword he was looking for, but the only way to find it would be to get eaten by the giant. The boy then remembered the old man's words. He wasn't just supposed to find the sword he had to claim it. It all made sense now, he had to lose, to get eaten, it was the only way to win.
"Now let's head upstairs and eat the old bastard who fancies himself the king", the hollow said to the giant while it seemed to lose its ability to speak. "What's wrong?" He got his answer when the giant was suddenly sliced in half down the middle, the two halves fell opposite each other sending a shower of blood and organs everywhere. Ichigo stood there covered in red sticky gore holding a sword. This blade looked like the complete opposite of one of his shikai swords, the hilt was covered in gray bandages, the guard was shaped like a skull with black bat wings sticking out of its head, and the entire double edged blade was pure black now covered in crimson blood.
"Hm, so you found the sword, but do you think you can beat with it?" The hollow asked mockingly. Ichigo just grinned, not in his normal way, but with a much more sinister demeanor that was normally out of character for the kid.
"I've got a better question for you, how are you standing?" Ichigo asked still smirking. Before the hollow could even say what, he found himself missing a leg. The boy had flash stepped behind him and cut his right leg clean off with the new blade.
"GAH! Little bastard!" The hollow snarled falling to the bone covered floor. Ichigo pointed at him and just laughed and laughed. "You think this is funny?" He growled out.
"Yes, yes I do", Ichigo continued to laugh. The older hollow version of him just smirked back at him as he stood back up on his newly regenerated leg. Ichigo saw the limb return and just grinned right back. The boy then proceeded to mercilessly attack the hollow doppelganger, he stopped using trained fighting styles and only seemed to hack and slash randomly much like his enemy did to him in their earlier fight. Every time he landed a cut with his black blade he just grinned even more.
"Oh look, you've been disarmed!" Ichigo laughed as he watched the hollow struggle to stay balanced with both of his arms cut off.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked as his arms started to regenerate. Ichigo was acting so different now, almost psychotic.
"There's nothing wrong with me pale boy, I'm perfectly fine", Ichigo said walking towards him slowly. "I thought about what you said, you said that you were my true self, that we were one in the same", he stopped directly in front of the still regenerating hollow. "Well I agree now, we are the same, but you're just half of what I am. I won't deny that I have crazy tendencies anymore, there's always been that part of me that delights in making bad people hurt, so I guess I just have to accept and embrace that you will always be a part of me".
"And what will you do with these psychotic tendencies you have then?" The white hollow asked.
"Simple, direct it towards something positive, like protecting people I care about and try clean this world up a bit, I know it can never be perfect, but it can always be better", Ichigo smiled.
"Cute plan king, but you still have to beat me!" He shouted trying to punch the boy. His smile dropped when he found that his body was completely frozen, his fist stopped inches in front of the fourteen year olds face. "What did you do!?"
"You keep calling me king, I didn't understand why, but then I remember the old man told that I was the rightful ruler here, so that means I'm in charge and there's nothing you can do about it", Ichigo smiled pointing the sword at the hollow.
"Go on, slaughter me. I'll just reform in a few years and try to take control again", he hissed out as he was levitated above the sea of bones.
"I've got a better idea", using his will Ichigo levitated the hollow over to the two halves of the giant corpse that he cut his way out of. First the internal organs rose up and wrapped around the hollow's form tightly, regenerating and knitting themselves back together. Then the ribcage put itself back together creating a prison around the trapped being. The rest of the muscles and skin came next until the two halves of giant were fused back together trapping the hollow inside its body.
"You little brat!" The giant screamed using the hollows voice again. He tried to claw at the boy, but Ichigo just smacked the giants hand away with ease now that he understood the order of things here.
"Now then, let's talk about the bankai", Ichigo smiled sitting down and making himself comfortable on a pile of skulls.
OUTSIDE INNERWORLD
Orihime sat across from Ichigo while he sat in a meditative position with his Zanpakuto across his lap. He said he was going off to train in secret in the mountains, but what he didn't know was that Orihime secretly followed him there. She had watched him train with Miss Yoruichi before and it usually ended with him getting banged up, though he always had a smile on his face afterwards it still worried her greatly, especially since he asked that she keep this training to themselves. After everything Ichigo did for her, taking in her in, getting her food, protecting her, and promising to help her find her brother, Orihime vowed that she would always be there to help him when he needed it. Unfortunately she didn't have any powers like him so the best she could do was patch him up with a medical kit that she bartered from a shop owner in the Rukon district. While she watched him meditate she began to notice bruises and cuts appearing all over his body, so Orihime did her best to try and bandage him while he remained in this state. Eventually the injuries stopped and Ichigo remained still in the same position.
'Just what kind of training is this?' Orihime wondered as she continued to watch him vigilantly. Suddenly a powerful dark mass formed around Ichigo like a cloud.
"Bankai! O no Yami!" He shouted within the cloud, the darkness then exploded outward all around him. Orihime was unfortunately caught in the blast and was knocked to the ground by the black shapeless mass of energy. Ichigo was revealed a moment later with horns sticking out of his spiky orange hair, a red halo bent into a pentagram, a silver pendant with an eye carved into it around his neck and a black flowing cape that turned into a black goopy substance as it pooled on the ground behind him.
"Yes! Yes! I did it!" Ichigo held his hands up in the air and laughed like some sort of super villain. "Fuck you destiny, no one tells me what I can and can't do!" He shouted giving the sky the middle finger. Ichigo's eyes landed on Orihime who lay coughing and struggling on the floor. "Shit!" He immediately deactivated his newly acquired bankai and went to pick her up immediately noticing the black vein like pattern that was starting to envelope her skin.
"Oops, looks like your girl got caught in the release of your bankai", he could hear the hollow snickering within his mind.
"What's happening?" Ichigo asked frantically.
"Some of the dark omni energy of the bankai latched on to her, because she was standing to close", Yami explained.
"You son of a bitch, you better fix this or I swear by all that is holy that I'll rip your dick off and shove down your damn throat!" Ichigo screamed.
"Whoa, no need to get so hostile king. It can't be undone, but you can keep her from getting consumed by the power", the hollow said smoothly.
"HOW!? HOW!? HOW!?" Ichigo found himself shaking Orihime desperately.
"That old bastard, his majesty would know all about it", Yami spat the title 'his majesty' with venom.
"You know what you have to do Ichigo, you need to give her a part of your soul to balance out the darker power", O no Kishi said. "It's the only way to save her life at this point"
"I swore I would never give someone a part of my soul if I could help it, not after finding out what it could do to people", Ichigo sighed running his hand through his hair. "Alright how do I give a person a piece of me?"
"There are a couple ways, but the fastest way would be for the girl to drink a drop of your blood", the old man instructed. Ichigo didn't even hesitate in cutting the tip of his index finger with his Zanpakuto. While Orihime was still unconscious he tilted her head back and held her mouth open gently, being extra careful he let a single drop of blood fall into her mouth and down her throat.
AN HOUR LATER
Orihime slowly opened her eyes, her body felt sore all over. Looking around she noticed that she was back in the home she shared with Ichigo, on her bed. Speaking of him, Ichigo was sitting half asleep in a chair next to her bed.
"Oh good your awake", Ichigo said seeing her awaken.
"Yeah, what happened to me?" Orihime asked sitting up on the bed. Ichigo looked away with guilt. After a few minutes of explaining that the power of his bankai was killing her and that he needed to give her a part of his soul to balance out the dark malignant power. He then explained how he could split off part of his soul, turn it into power and bestow that power onto someone or something.
"So you gave me some sort of power?" Orihime asked only partially understanding how this worked.
"Not quite, normally I assign the power myself by inscribing the name of said power into whatever the target is, but with you Orihime, I was too concerned with saving your life that I didn't inscribe anything", Ichigo explained as best he could. "There's no telling what power you could develop, it could be anything", while Ichigo was busy tearing himself up inside for causing this Orihime was secretly excited. It seems in a twisted way she finally got her wish, now she could help Ichigo and repay him for everything he's done for her.
Chapter end. I might do another installment a part three of this that mainly focuses on Orihime and how Ichigo and her got together.
Not a whole lot of explaining in this chapter. This is mainly how he got bankai as well as how he gave Orihime her powers. Remember when Ichigo said to Ginjo that he was the second person that he gave power to, well Orihime was the first.
I cant wait to start the Quincy, Ichigo is going to have so much fun killing these bastards.
Thanks for reading.