Aizen's Bankai turns out to be a bit too much for Ichigo. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would probably be busy drawing instead of writing fanfictions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36: Requiem for a Dream
"Zangetsu, why?" asked a confused Ichigo.
Zangetsu smiled at this as he shouldered his blade. "You really are slow aren't you?" he mocked. "Oh well, I guess I might as well show you."
"What?"
Still keeping his smile, Zangetsu's skin began to melt, revealing Aizen standing in his place.
"Aizen? How did you get into my soul?"
"Is it really that hard to understand?" asked the traitor. "It is quite simply my Bankai's special ability."
"Special ability?"
Aizen sighed at this as he shook his head. "I guess someone like you needs a better explanation."
Without an explanation, a large rectangle appeared behind him in the sky. A picture then showed of Ichigo and Aizen standing in the middle of the mist, unmoving. "This is what we're doing right now," Aizen explained. "As far as everyone else knows, we're just standing still staring at each other. They would have no idea that a battle is going on inside of your soul right now."
"And what would happen if some of the other shinigami came and attacked you while we're fighting?" asked a grinning Ichigo.
"They won't be able too," Aizen explained, "the hypnotic powers of Kyoka Suigetsu hides our presence from anyone who steps into the mist. And even if they sense something is amiss, I can sense anyone within a ten foot radius and I can immediately leave and go back to my own body."
"You bastard…" Ichigo started.
"This is the power of God himself," Aizen explained. "You don't stand a chance against me."
Rage taking over, Ichigo suddenly appeared behind Aizen with his sword ready to kill. He struck dead on, stabbing his enemy right in the heart. After he did this, Aizen's form began to melt, trapping his sword.
Ichigo tried his best to pull his sword out of the melting form, but suddenly noticed Aizen was behind him with his sword raised high. Realizing the danger, Ichigo gave one final pull, freeing his sword and getting him out of the way of Aizen's destructive path, receiving only a small wound to his shoulder.
"Don't think you're safe from pain just because you're inside of your own soul," Aizen smirked. "You may not have any physical injuries when you go back to your own body, but the injuries your mind have received will be just as bad; and if you die in here…"
He was suddenly above Ichigo with his sword poised to strike. Ichigo jumped out of the way as Aizen smashed into one of the windows on the building they were fighting on. He rose up and finished, "…you die out there as well."
"Would it be too optimistic to guess the same works for you?" asked a panting Ichigo.
"I can get wounded just like you," Aizen answered, "but it is too optimistic to think that I could die in here. If pushed that far, I can leave whenever I see fit."
"I see…" Ichigo quietly replied. "Then I guess I'll just have to force you out of here!"
"If you can," Aizen coolly replied.
Ichigo quickly threw on his hollow mask and disappeared again. He appeared right in front of Aizen and yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!"
Aizen smirked and leapt into the sky and stayed there. He sheathed his sword and held both his hands out. White mist began to emanate from them. When he had enough, he closed his eyes and began to shape the mist. It suddenly took the shape of a familiar person.
"You!" Ichigo yelled to the smiling Aizen.
"Now go and destroy," Aizen commanded to the figure he created.
The person landed and revealed himself to be Ikkaku Madarame, shouldering his trademark spear.
"How's it goin' Kurosaki?" asked Ichigo's shinigami friend.
"I know this is just an illusion of yours Aizen!" Ichigo yelled as he leapt towards him.
Before Ichigo could reach him, Ikkaku intervened, blocking Ichigo's attack with his spear. "Stay out of this!" Ichigo yelled.
"I've always been lookin' for a rematch you know," Ikkaku simply replied, pushing Ichigo back to the ground.
"It's no use Kurosaki," replied Aizen from the sky. "These are not like the illusions earlier; it's like fighting a real person, and you'll have to treat them as such."
"Fine," Ichigo replied from behind his mask, "but I won't go easy on you Ikkaku!"
"Like I'd have it any other way," Ikkaku explained.
Ichigo was suddenly behind Ikkaku, causing him surprise. He turned around, but was deftly dealt a hefty slash across his chest. Blood sprayed, but Ikkaku kept his footing, swinging his spear-butt towards Ichigo's head, breaking off a corner of his mask. Ichigo's hand grabbed his spear-butt quickly and yanked, bringing Ikkaku closer towards him. He would have collided with Ichigo had he not met his sword first.
The pseudo-Ikkaku spat out blood and leapt back, panting heavily. He looked back to see Ichigo was gone. His blood ran cold when he sensed his enemy behind him. He turned around and brought his spear up, but it was in vain as Ichigo's sword snapped it in half down the middle, cutting Ikkaku's shoulder at the same time.
Ikkaku held on to both parts of his spear as he leapt a good distance away from his enemy. "Enough," Aizen yelled. "Stop fooling around Ikkaku, and finish him."
"Hear that?" Ikkaku smiled behind his blood. "Boss says I gotta finish you now."
"You don't stand a chance; just step down," Ichigo warned.
"Perhaps in my current state, but I assure you I have an ace up my sleeve. Are you ready Kurosaki?"
Ikkaku slammed both parts of his spear together yelling, "Bankai! Ryumon Hozukimaru!"
"Bankai?" Ichigo asked. "Since when did you have Bankai Ikkaku?"
"You didn't know?" Aizen chuckled. "Well I guess he did try to keep it a secret."
The smoke cleared and Ikkaku leapt out in his new form, both blades ready to kill. Ichigo quickly defended, putting a small crack into one of Ikkaku's swords. The shinigami smiled as he exerted more energy in the power of a blast towards Ichigo, sending him back. He barely had time to recover before Ikkaku was on him again, swinging both his blades in unison.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
The black blast hit both of his enemy's blades, causing an even larger crack. He barely leapt out of the way from the destructive attack, but was still hit with the recoil. Cracks appeared on Ichigo's mask as he leapt away from the next attack, appearing in the air.
Before Ichigo knew what to do, Aizen appeared behind him and kicked him in his back, sending Ichigo back into the ground. Ikkaku appeared in front of the grounded Captain and picked him up by his neck.
"Finish him," Aizen said coldly.
Ikkaku nodded and raised one blade high. Before he could strike, however, Ichigo stabbed his blade towards his opponent. Ikkaku reacted quickly by bringing his blade up, but the force was too much, and the cracks finally gave way, leaving the blade to stab Ichigo right in his heart.
"Well…done…" Ikkaku said, dropping him, before fading away into mist.
Aizen stared at this with impassionate eyes and landed gently on the ground. Ichigo smiled and started "Well Aizen, what nex—"
Ichigo was cut off as Aizen suddenly appeared in front of him and brought his sword crashing down on Ichigo's already cracked mask, shattering it completely. The surprised Ichigo retreated and stared at his enemy breathing heavily.
"I think it's time for a change of scene, don't you think?" Aizen asked.
"Does that mean you're finally going to fight me man-to-man?" asked Ichigo.
"You would think that," Aizen laughed. "Sorry, but no. Don't mistake me for a one-trick pony Kurosaki; I have many ways to destroy you. Physically…"
A large amount of white mist emanated from Aizen's hands again, enveloping him and Ichigo. "…and mentally!" he finished.
"What's going on?"
"One of the powers of my Bankai allows me to probe your mind," Aizen explained as he started to disappear from the thickness of the mist. "Let's just say I'm going to bring back some memories for you."
"You think you can beat me like that?" Ichigo asked with a laugh. "As long as I know they're illusions, I can easily shatter them!"
"Tough talk," Aizen calmly replied, "but we'll see how you think after you relive some of them." Before he disappeared completely, he gave his parting words. "Have fun…"
Everything around Ichigo began to darken, and rain began to fall. "What…?" Ichigo asked as the mist began to take shape.
Suddenly, Ichigo was holding the hand of someone. He looked around and saw he was on the sidewalk in Karakura Town, holding the hand of his very own mother.
"Mom…?" he asked slowly.
"Hmm?" she said looking down. "What is it Ichigo?"
Ichigo then looked down at a puddle on the ground and saw his reflection. It was him, but he looked nine years old. He suddenly realized what was happening and replied, "Nothing…"
Confusion ran through him as he realized what was happening. "Mom," he said, "what's the date?"
"Why it's June 17th," she smiled.
6/17! Ichigo knew everything now. Aizen had transported him back to the day his mom had died. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at this. "He thinks he can break me this easily?" he thought. "I remember everything about this day; I'll just do things differently than before."
Ichigo looked across the street to see a girl his age, with chin-length black hair staring out at the river. "I know that's Grand Fisher," Ichigo thought. "I won't run towards her this time!"
Despite thinking that, Ichigo began to go against his own will. "Wait here Mom!" he heard himself say against his will, and suddenly took off.
"Ichigo?!" he heard his mom yell.
"What's going on?" he thought as he ran towards her. "My feet are moving against their will. Stop damn it! Stop!"
"Don't Ichigo!" he heard his mom yell as she ran towards him.
When Ichigo was close enough, he saw the girl transform into the monstrous hollow known as Grand Fisher. "Looks like new prey!" he smiled while raising a claw to attack.
Ichigo couldn't move as he saw Grand Fisher's claw move quickly towards him. His mom suddenly leapt out and knocked him down, covering him and taking the hollow's attack on her own back, severely wounding her.
"Mom?!" Ichigo asked as he looked.
She lifted her head weakly and said through the blood in her mouth, "Why…did you move…you stupid…boy…"
Tears started to well into Ichigo's eyes as he realized what he did. Grand Fisher's laughter, however, brought him to look up at his grinning face.
"I guess I'll leave you alive for now kid," he mocked. "After all, your mother looks so tasty; I don't think I'd be able to eat you without getting full!"
"Not again…not again…" Ichigo repeated as his surroundings started to change again.
The entire scenario disappeared as the mist took a new shape.
Ichigo was suddenly on his knees in the middle of a street that was only lit by the single light hanging overhead. The moon shined fully as Ichigo looked forward to see Renji swinging Zabimaru with a grin on his face. Behind him were Rukia and Byakuya.
"When's this…?" Ichigo thought to himself.
"Sorry rookie," Renji smirked, "I don't have a personal grudge against you, but you're not fit for this world. I'll finish you slowly, and then I'll be returning!"
"Oh this is…when Rukia was being taken back to Soul Society," Ichigo thought through his muddled mind.
Before Renji's segmented blade came down on Ichigo, Rukia threw herself at Renji, stopping his attack. "What the!" said a surprised Renji. "Let go Rukia!"
"Run Ichigo!" Rukia pleaded while still holding onto Renji.
Ichigo then felt his hand move involuntarily to grip his fallen blade. "The hell?" Renji asked. "Still have the strength to move? Well that's good; giving the last blow to a guy who's nearly dead would be boring."
"Run Ichigo!" Rukia pleaded still.
Suddenly, Ichigo felt his spiritual pressure rising. "What's this?" Renji asked.
Ichigo felt himself leap, slicing Renji's shoulder as he sped past him.
"You bastard!" he yelled.
Renji suddenly felt his blade be pushed against his head, causing blood to run down. He leapt back and scowled.
"What's wrong?!" Ichigo heard himself say. "Your movements have become slow! I don't know what happened, but I feel great! I won't lose to someone like you now!"
Ichigo raised his blade and began to bring it down yelling, "I'm going to be the winner; this is the end!"
Before Ichigo could strike, he saw his massive blade was gone, cut off down the middle. He looked to see Byakuya holding the broken piece. Before Ichigo could react, Byakuya grabbed his sheathed blade and struck; he was behind Ichigo before he knew what hit him.
Blood sprayed out of Ichigo's newly acquired wound, causing him to collapse face-first on the ground. "You're slow," Byakuya said, "even when you're toppling down."
"Byakuya!" Ichigo heard Rukia yell.
Rukia then began to run towards Ichigo.
"Idiot!" Renji said turning around and pushing Rukia against a pole. "Don't go near him! Can't you tell he's dead?!"
"Of course I can," Rukia suddenly said coldly. "I just went to make sure."
"Rukia…" Ichigo said through his pain.
"Well what do you know," Rukia said walking towards him, "guess he's still alive." She knelt down by Ichigo and said, "I can't believe you would be beaten so easily; I guess I overestimated you. This has opened my eyes, I don't need you anymore."
"What…?"
"Maybe now I'll get my powers back and not have to worry about you," she smiled while standing up.
"HEY! RUKIA, COME BACK HERE!"
Renji stepped on his back saying, "Are you fucking deaf? She doesn't want any part of you, and I don't blame her. To her, you're just a loser. Now just lay there and die quietly; we're going."
Renji opened up a hell's gate and all three shinigami walked through it and disappeared, leaving Ichigo on the ground in pain.
"I know it's an illusion…" Ichigo thought, "But it still hurts even after all these years…"
The rain suddenly stopped falling on Ichigo as he looked up to see Mr. Urahara standing there with an umbrella.
"Mr.…Urahara…"
Urahara stared down at Ichigo with a cold stare. "I thought you'd be able to save Rukia," he started, "I had high expectations for you, but I guess you're just not up to par." He dropped the umbrella on Ichigo's back and finished, "Take it as a parting gift to hell. Goodbye Mr. Kurosaki."
Urahara then walked away whistling a tune, leaving Ichigo to die on the cold ground.
The mist began to change shape again, sending Ichigo into another one of his memories.
"Do you get it now?" Ichigo heard someone say. "No matter how much you look like an arrancar, or how similar your moves are, the difference between us is like night and day."
Ichigo looked on to see Ulquiorra in his released form, flying towards him in a pillar in Hueco Mundo. "It's natural that humans and shinigami should imitate hollows in order to grow more powerful," he said, "but humans will never be equal to hollows."
The arrancar picked Ichigo up by his collar and asked, "Why don't you let go of your sword? You can see the difference in our strength; do you still think you can beat me?"
"The difference in strength," Ichigo heard himself say, "what about it? Do you think I should give up just because you're stronger than me? I've always known you were strong; nothing I see now will change my mind. I will defeat you Ulquiorra!"
A surprised Ulquiorra dropped Ichigo saying, "Nonsense, those are the words of someone who doesn't know true despair. So I will show you; this is what true despair looks like!"
Ulquiorra transformed, exerting a massive amount of spiritual pressure, bringing Ichigo to his knees. "Resurreccion, Segunda Etapa," he explained. "I am the only arrancar able to achieve this state; not even Aizen has seen me like this."
Ichigo raised his sword in an attempt to defend himself, but was suddenly stopped by Ulquiorra, who appeared behind him, pushing his head to the side. "Do you fight because of the heart?" Ulquiorra asked. "Then it is the heart that causes you pain; it is because of the heart that you will die!"
"I fight because I have to win," Ichigo yelled.
"Nonsense," Ulquiorra said suddenly appearing in front of Ichigo and wrapping his tail around his neck, lifting him up. "You have lost, and you can do nothing about it," Ulquiorra explained. "You cannot rescue that girl, you cannot save your friends and family, and you cannot save Soul Society; Lord Aizen will be victorious. You are absolutely worthless Kurosaki, a true piece of trash, and now you will die like one."
He started charging a cero on the tip of his fingers. "Goodbye Kurosaki, let your last thought be how worthless you really are."
"He's right," Ichigo thought. "I really am worthless. I wasn't even able to beat him fairly; Ulquiorra won and I lost…I truly am…a worthless piece of…"
Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras then shot through Ichigo's chest, killing him instantly.
The mist began to fade away completely, revealing Ichigo back in his own soul on his knees with tears running down his face; Aizen was standing behind him with a triumphant grin on his face. "Not again…" Ichigo quietly stated.
"Don't worry, it's finally over," Aizen replied, "I'll put an end to your misery right now." He raised his blade right behind Ichigo and readied himself to behead him. "Goodbye Kurosaki; you really were amusing."
Ichigo continued to stand still, being completely broken by Aizen's memories. Before Aizen could finish him, however, another blade blocked his out of nowhere, saving Ichigo's life. Surprise showed on Aizen's face as Ichigo finally snapped out of his trance.
"Fucking idiot!" they both heard a voice say. "How can you let yourself be taken in by simple memories?!"
They both saw Hollow Ichigo standing there with a grin on his face. "Who are you?" asked Aizen.
"Me?" the hollow smiled, "I'm nobody. You must be Aizen though."
"Indeed," replied the traitor.
"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in an angry tone.
"That's no way to talk to someone who just saved your life," replied his counterpart.
Ichigo suddenly realized where he was and quickly grabbed his sword and moved away from Aizen. Rage showed in his eyes as he stared at his adversary. "You!"
"Did you like your stroll down memory lane?" asked a mocking Aizen. "You might have noticed, but I might have changed them around a bit."
"You despicable piece of shit," Ichigo said in a quiet rage. "I'll never forgive you for what you just did."
"I was never looking for your forgiveness," Aizen smiled. "No matter, I guess I'll just have to finish you the old fashioned way."
"You can't beat him alone," Hollow Ichigo said to Ichigo. "You'll definitely need my help with this one."
"While normally I'd disagree," Ichigo started, "I'm filled with too much rage to care right now."
Ichigo looked at Aizen and boldly stated, "Sorry to make you wait Aizen, but let's finally get this double-team started!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Ichigo and his hollow side vs. Aizen. Who will come out on top?
REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE! All reviews are greatly appreciated.