AN: First of all I'd like to thank Tanka no Zachi 31 for their review! They had a really good question I should address, shouldn't Ichigo have Final Getsuga Tensho by now? Well no not really, because the invasion of Heuco Mondo and fake Karakura Town were two separate events which kind of messed with the cannon plot and the War takes place independently from those two events. Basically I broke down the three battles that were linked in the cannon plot into independent events so I just pushed back Ichigo's Dangai training until now.
As a little side note the title of this Chapter is a lyric from Linkin Park's song "I'll Be Gone" and I just really like the line. Onto the warnings:
1. Plot Developments(seriously, yes. There's a lot in this chapter)
2. Fluff
3. Blood/Violence/Fighting (more than usual because of the fact it's the War)
4. Just an added warning, this chapter and the next one will be considerably long. This one because it contains the majority of the events surrounding the Winter War, the next one though it long because it has a Lemon! Too bad it's in the next chapter :P
Chapter 35: The Sun Will Fade Out but another Will Rise
Recommended Song: "Just a Little Faster" by There For Tomorrow
(Sokyoku Prison, Mizuki's POV)
Jumping back to avoid getting cut by Nnoitora's sword that smashed into the ground I once stood, I glanced over at Kira who was lying on the floor bleeding I shot him a worried look as I jumped to avoid another one of the swings from Nnoitora's sword. There was no way that I would let my friend die protecting me when he wasn't even supposed to be here. Narrowing my green eyes at the Espada I saw his eyes widen a little as he saw me run towards him before he smirked. "Eager to play girl?" He yelled out to me with a chuckle as he assumed that I was walking right into an attack, pulling back his sword over his head. I ran up to him and I was quick to fall to the ground as he swung his sword down at me, sliding between his feet as his sword lodged in the ground I once stood. Before he could turn around I kicked him back as I stumbled to my feet and I ran as fast as I could muster as I looked over at Kira. I might not be able to help heal him but my eyes were focused on his sword that I knew would help both of us survive if I could just get to it. I heard the Espada behind me and I lunged for the sword and I felt hope when I saw my fingers were only a few inches away from it.
Suddenly the Espada stood in front of me and I saw him smirk widely at me as he kicked Kira's sword out of reach and swung his sword at me. Glaring at him I was quick to think on my feet and silently I thanked Captain Kenpachi for all of my time at the 11th division as a lower ranked officer where I learned hand to hand combat. Since I was already basically to the ground I pushed all my weight against his legs to push him back to the floor, his sword falling from his hand. Without even thinking I straddled him and punched him in the face before he could reach for his sword. Pulling back my arm I punched him a few more times before he kicked me in the stomach to send me flying backwards.
I heard him pick up his sword and immediately my eyes shot open and I sat up to see him swinging his sword at me. I pushed myself back against the floor to get some distance between us and I managed to push myself to my feet and jump to the side as the Espada swung his sword at me again. Clenching my jaw in annoyance as I saw him use sonido to appear in front of me and I immediately jumped back while his sword swung at me and I pushed my shoulder back more as I watched his zanpakuto get close to hitting me. However I saw Nnoitora smirk as he pushed his sword forward so his blade came within inches of cutting my shoulder, making me jerk backwards so I tripped and fell back to the ground loudly in the quick movement.
With my face in the dirty ground I almost felt like crying as I heard him approach me before I could even sit up. I almost wanted to lie there and die when I knew I had made it so far only to fail in the end and I felt so angry at myself for failing even when I knew I had given it my all. Every battle from when I left the soul society to now flashed through my mind and I knew in each one of them I put every bit of my soul into fighting so that I could get my old life back and protect my friends. But now when I found myself on the ground in the prison I felt that it was all wasted efforts and like none of that even mattered and that it just took one battle to mess up and it was over. But I still found hope as I thought of my friends and my old life, all of my dreams that seemed crushed pushing me to fight until I was dead and never giving in. With a wince to push myself to my hands and knees mentally I promised Captain Ukitake, Renji, Rukia, Ichigo, I promised everyone I wouldn't fail as I managed to push myself a few feet away from the Espada. However I didn't get very far in the blink of an eye I was pushed back against the closest wall and held there by my throat. Glancing up at the Espada I glared at him and tried to break free and get his hand off my neck before he chuckled and smiled suggestively. "Go ahead and fight, I know you're basically powerless now." Nnoitora taunted me as he grasped my throat a little tighter.
My glare didn't falter the least at the statement and neither did my efforts to escape. "Let me go you pervert!" I snapped back as I tried to kick him but he just stepped forward to trap my legs between his and the wall as he grasped my throat tighter and I started to feel a little light headed. I fought to keep my consciousness and Nnoitora must have noticed since he laughed sadistically.
Looking up at him as I tried to pry his hands off my neck I saw him looking me up and down with what I could only have assumed was a lustful look. I gave him a disgusted look that he smiled at before leaning a little closer to me. "Is this all the soul society has its prisoners wear? Tell you what, I might just let you keep it on if you tell me where your zanpakuto are." Nnoitora offered with a laugh.
At the comment I held back spitting in his face for some reason and instead took advantage of the small amount of space between us. As soon as he leaned close enough to my face I tipped my head back before I slammed my forehead against his face to make him stumble back and get some space between us. I managed to push him far enough away that he let go of my throat and I gasped out for breathe the first chance I got. "You bitch!" The sound of his palm making contact with my cheek rang through the room, the hit making me tilt my head to the side. Ignoring the slight sting in my cheek I glared up at him even as he placed his sword against my neck. "Tell me where your fucking sword is now or I'll kill you!" Nnoitora yelled at me, I rolled my eyes at the demand.
"I don't know!" I yelled right back at him even though it was the honest truth with a glare. He pushed my head back against the wall hard.
Nnoitora scoffed at the answer as he pressed his sword against my neck firmly as a twisted smirk appeared on his face. "I guess it doesn't matter, Aizen told me I could…hm how would you people put it? I guess you could say that I can use whatever method's I see fit to make you talk." He explained suggestively with a smirk that I glared at, feeling utterly repulsed by this point. Still I found myself unable to find a single part of me that wanted to give up and I fought against him, refusing to give up on myself or let my friends down any more than I already had.
He pulled back his sword to cut my neck and I glared up at him without looking away as I tried to struggle. I would rather die by execution than have to play to this freaks sick fantasies of pain and most likely other perverted things. Before the Espada's sword could hit me a flash of a figure appeared and pushed Nnoitora out of the way in the blink of an eye. I fell to the ground against the wall looking up my eyes widened when I saw a familiar head of spikey orange hair. "Ichi…go?" I asked in surprise that he was actually here standing a few feet in front of me.
Ichigo glanced back at me and smirked no doubt at the surprised expression on my face, I was mildly shocked to see his hair had grown out a little longer since I had last seen him and that he was definitely taller too. His hair hung into his eyes and I had to hold back blushing when he looked at me from behind his bangs. "Are you alright? This freak didn't touch you or anything right?" He asked seriously, glaring as he glanced over to the Espada that was getting to his feet.
I nodded. "Yeah I'm fine but Kira isn't." I told him as I glanced over at the Lieutenant slumped against the wall not too far away unconscious. The substitute soul reaper glanced over at Kira before looking back at me.
"I'm going to take care of this guy, you should heal Kira." Ichigo told me as he turned to face Nnoitora as he raised his sword.
"Just be careful, alright? I don't think I can heal the both of you." I told him in a half serious and half joking voice before I ran over to Kira and placed him on the ground. I held out my hands above the wound in his chest, glancing down at him worriedly. "Kira wake the hell up." I told him, narrowing my eyes at him a little when I noticed him continue to sleep.
The sound of swords clashing together caught my attention, I glanced up to find Ichigo standing a few feet in front of me and Kira as he held back Nnoitora's sword with his own. As I continued to heal Kira with kido I watched as the orange haired substitute soul reaper pushed back the Espada before holding out his zanpakuto in front of him. "Getsuga Tensho!" I heard Ichigo yell out as a ray of black reitsu jumped off his sword and hit the Espada and even destroyed most of the wall with the attack too. My eyes widened a little when I saw the Espada hit the floor unmoving and looked over at Ichigo who still stood with his back to me.
I wondered how he got so strong in the few weeks that I had last seen him, the orange haired man turned to face me before he walked over to me and Kira. Ichigo kneeled down next to me and glanced down at Kira before he looked at me. "Are you okay?" I asked, glancing him up and down for injuries but was surprised to find none.
He scoffed at my question. "Yeah I'm fine, shouldn't I be asking you that?" Ichigo asked as he watched me continue to heal Kira's wounds but I saw him stare at my face and I glanced up at him. I saw him frown before raising his hand he raised reached towards me and I found my breathe hitch in my throat as he gently pushed away some of the dirt that got on my face from my fight with Nnoitora. Pushing back a blush I raised an eyebrow at the question but didn't glance away from the unconscious Lieutenant as my hands glowed green.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering why I wouldn't be okay. He was the one off fighting a War that I helped cause, just the thought made me glance away from him in guilt and look down at Kira.
"I'm not the one who's been locked away for her execution for a week." Ichigo retorted, I shrugged in response to the statement.
"I was fine until that stupid Espada came." I told him with a sigh, glancing over at him to find him looking like he was thinking of something a lot. I raised an eyebrow at him and wondered what it could be. "What's wrong?"
The substitute soul reaper gave me a serious look before he asked me a question I never expected I would hear from him. "Why didn't you tell me your Captain is also your uncle?" At the question my eyes widened and I looked over at him shocked, but he didn't seem too surprised by my reaction.
With a sigh I glanced back down at Kira, away from Ichigo's brown eyes. "When Aizen told me my Captain died it hurt just that much more since he was my uncle. I'm not sure why I didn't tell you, I guess since people usually treat me different when they figure out I'm a noble or whatever. It's never really meant much to me, nobility." I told him honestly.
Ichigo scoffed at my answer, I glanced over at him to see him roll his eyes at me. "You really think I'd treat you any different because of your family? I'm not that shallow."
I sighed. "Yeah I know you're not like that, it just never really came up I guess, it was nothing against you." I told him, I saw him nod and I looked at him suspiciously. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be fighting with everyone else?"
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Ichigo smirk at my question. "Isn't it obvious? I'm getting you out of here." I looked over at him confused.
"What are you talking about? I can't leave, besides don't think that Yamamoto will let you help me out of here without some sort of punishment?" I told him in a slight joking manner that I saw Ichigo narrow his eyes at me and I quickly moved on. "Why would you even waste your time even trying to get me out? I have a ridiculous limit on my reitsu right now so it's not like I can help you, I can barely heal Kira."
Ichigo scoffed at my answer in annoyance as I saw him cross his arms over his chest. "Because I need your help fighting Aizen idiot, I thought that's what you wanted." He told me.
I opened my mouth to retort back at him when I felt the Lieutenant in front of me stir, I glanced down at him and found his eyes trembling. "Kira, hey wake up!" I told him loudly, the next moment he woke up and sat up right as I withdrew my hands. "How are you feeling?" I asked.
Kira glanced at me and Ichigo before sighing as he grasped his head. "I feel okay, what happened?" He asked as he pushed his blonde hair out of his face.
"Nnoitora broke in and knocked you out but Ichigo got here and took care of him." I explained to him as I glanced over at Ichigo.
Kira sighed and looked up at the damage from the fight before looking at me. "We need to the battle, the soul society needs us to fight." He told them and Ichigo smirked.
"How am I supposed to go? I'm a prisoner." I told him flatly.
The blonde rolled his eyes. "I can lift the limit Yamamoto put on your powers, where is it?" Kira asked, I hesitantly held out my wrist for him and watched as his hand glowed with a blue reitsu. When he touched me my reitsu shot out in all directions at what felt was crushing limits. My eyes widened and looked at Kira confused as I roped in my reitsu to an acceptable level.
"I didn't think you'd lift the limit completely." I told him as I got to my feet and helped Kira up.
"I wasn't planning on that, it just happened but it's not important now. Where are your zanpakuto?" Kira asked me and I shrugged.
I opened her mouth to tell him I had no idea like I had told Nnoitora when a voice cut me off before I could say anything. "I have them." I heard Ichigo say and I spun around to find him holding out my swords to me. He smirked at the confused look on my face when I saw him with my swords. "After you fought Aizen I took you outside and forgot to give them back to you before your Captain came."
I gave him a shocked look for a moment before I laughed and smiled to Ichigo. "Unohana told me they were in safe hands, and to think I doubted her for a minute there." I reached out for my swords and grasped them tightly before tying them at my side before looking up at the substitute soul reaper. "Thanks for taking care of my zanpakuto, Ichigo." I thanked him sincerely as I glanced down at them. Mentally I tried to talk to the spirit in my sword. Garasu? Are you there still? I asked her seriously and was disappointed not to hear her immediately respond as she usually did.
"Well?" I heard Ichigo ask, I lifted my head to see him smirk at me. "Are you ready to help me fight Aizen or not?" The orange haired man asked me and I wanted to scream out yes to him but was hesitant.
If my zanpakuto spirit wasn't with me anymore then there was no point in trying to fight Aizen, I knew I needed at the very least to use shikai to kill him. I was about to tell Ichigo about it when I was stopped when I heard a faint but still taunting and childlike voice in the back of my mind. Just do it four eyes. Garasu told her and I could hear the smirk in her voice that made me smile in relief to hear her annoying, taunting voice again. Picking up my head to answer Ichigo, when my eyes met Ichigo's brown ones he noticed the spark of confidence was back in my eyes as I nodded. "What are we waiting for?" The substitute soul reaper smiled at my expression and what I said, feeling everything shift back to normal even if only a little bit.
(Soul Society, 3rd Person POV)
"Captain!" Rukia called out worriedly as she saw an arrancar jump towards Ukitake from behind but she was relieved to see him spin around and slash through the arrancar easily. She turned to her own opponent and was quick to swing her sword through it before she looked over at her white haired Captain again. He was panting lightly for breathe as he glanced around at his subordinates to make sure they were all doing alright and he was relieved to see them all okay.
"Rukia are you alright?" Ukitake asked as he blocked an attack from an arrancar as she fought herself a few feet away.
"I'm fine." She told him as her sword froze her enemy. She had been fighting for a while and it was starting to get to her but she was happy that her Division was mostly taking care of the arrancars instead of the few remaining Espada or Aizen. Looking over at her Captain she was relieved to find that his illness wasn't hindering his fighting yet but she was worried at the same time and wanted to finish the fighting before he was too weak to fight.
However she froze when she felt a familiar reitsu faintly and she noticed that her Captain didn't notice since he was too absorbed in his fight with an arrancar nearby. Looking over her eyes widened when she saw a familiar blonde haired girl flash stepping along the battle field with an orange haired man following closely behind. She couldn't hold back a smile at the sight even though she felt worry knowing that they were going to fight Aizen. Rukia felt hope for the first time that day when she saw her former Lieutenant out of prison and with her reitsu back and closed her eyes for only a moment to wish that she and Ichigo would be alright. "Lieutenant…" She whispered out as Ukitake finished with the arrancar he was fighting and looked over at her once he heard her voice.
He noticed Rukia gazing out to the battle grounds, to what he couldn't tell but he could see her purple eyes filling with hope. For a moment they had a second to collect their thoughts and the white haired Captain saw the dark haired girl place her hands over her heart as she gazed out to the battles as if she was wishing for something, closing her eyes for a moment as she hoped.
(Soul Society, 3rd Person POV)
With a flick of his wrist Aizen swung his sword forward, pushing back Urahara and Yoroichi and stopping their attacks with a smirk from the brunette haired traitor as they both jumped back a few feet to avoid the attack. A spark of victory was in Aizen's eyes as his eyes scanned over the area, noticing how most of the Captains and Lieutenants that had been fighting against him were defeated and injured. Now in an advanced form of his transformation he was confident he would win soon, even if he had been separated from Gin and Tousen for some time now. He wasn't sure how they were doing but to be honest he didn't care much, he was anxiously awaiting for Nnoitora to return his true swords to him. The Espada had the, in Aizen's opinion, easiest job out of all of them which was to take a pair of swords from a girl with no spiritual pressure since he was aware that Yamamoto would take away her powers.
Captain Kyoraku flash stepped up to the former Captain with a glare as he pulled back his sword, his signature hat long gone from the battle. His smirk widening on his face Aizen raised his hand towards him to shoot out a cero, giving the Captain barely enough time to dodge the powerful reitsu. Looking around him the brunette haired traitor chuckled at the scene of so many Captains and Lieutenant's injured and unable to fight any longer because of him. He felt excitement to unleash his even more powerful abilities but he told himself mentally that he would have to wait for only a little longer and destroy a few more obstacles. Turning his head to look over to one of the said obstacles as he took a step towards Urahara who had finally gotten to his feet once more, his hat gone as well as he glanced up at Aizen calmly.
Aizen's smirk enlarged once more as he took a step towards the blonde haired former Captain wordlessly, noticing how Urahara tensed at the action. However in his evolved form Aizen felt a couple of powerful reitsu approaching quickly that made him pause midstride. Instead of stopping from worry the traitor smirked at the reitsu's strength, thinking to himself that he would have some fun with a little challenge while he waited for Nnoitora's return. Turning his head when he felt how close the spiritual pressures had gotten he looked over in amused surprise as he saw Ichigo flash step down to one of the streets of the soul society that was partially destroyed already. A moment later the blonde haired former Lieutenant appeared at his side, still in her execution outfit the sight of which made Aizen smirk widen.
"Well I was wondering when you would come to confront me Kurosaki, but I didn't expect you to hand deliver my zanpakuto as well." Aizen commented with a cocky smirk as he glanced over at Mizuki, noticing the swords at her side.
Ichigo took a step forward, narrowing his eyes at the former Captain from behind his bangs. "Mizuki, where did you say that a good Rukon district to fight in was?" He asked as he recalled some of their conversation from on the way to find Aizen. The brown haired traitor smirked at the fact that the substitute was mad at him as to ignore him at the comment that he made, not taking Ichigo's threat seriously.
The blonde haired girl took a step forward as well, not looking over at Ichigo as she glared at Aizen. "Straight ahead." Mizuki answered seriously.
Aizen chuckled at their conversation, abandoning all attention towards Urahara as he grasped onto his sword tighter. "I'm glad you both came to me it makes killing both you and taking my prize so much easier-." He went on gloating but was cut off as Ichigo grasped his forehead in his hand and flash stepped back continuously to Aizen's shock. Out of wide eyes he saw Ichigo stoically look past him to the empty Rukon district outside the soul society, Mizuki flash stepping behind them.
Quickly after getting past the walls of the Seireitei and finding the heavily wooded district Ichigo pushed Aizen to the ground with a loud crash that cleared most of the nearby area. Both Mizuki and Ichigo flash stepped down to the ground as Aizen got to his feet and glared at them, not amused with being caught off guard as he realized that Ichigo had gotten more powerful since the last time they fought. Moving his eyes over to the girl in her white execution outfit Aizen decided to go after her thinking that she wasn't as powerful. With a quick flash step towards her Aizen pulled back his sword to cut her and Ichigo was about to stand in front of her and cut him when Mizuki took a step forward, drawing both of her swords.
Mizuki glared at Aizen and pulled back her swords and let her reitsu loose as it destroyed the ground around her, effectively pausing his attack. "Bankai!" The blonde girl yelled out as loud as she could as a cloud of dust formed and blocked all visibility for a moment. As the smoke disappeared Aizen lifted his head and noticed a figure through the cloud of dust that was fading quickly. The ex-Lieutenant stood in the same place as before, the white execution outfit she wore was gone and replaced with a normal shinigami uniform without the right part of her top and she wore no shoes and only a pair of socks. A crimson strap crossed her body that held the much longer sheath to her back, she raised her thicker and longer sword that now had a different hilt with a piece of metal that curved at the top of the hilt and ended at the but of the sword. Mizuki pointed her sword towards Aizen and glared at him. "Garasu Bakuhatsu." She said.
Aizen smirked. "So you do have a bankai, it'll be good to know when I get my zanpakuto back. Now it'll just be too easy to kill the Spirit King." He chuckled in a taunting voice as he flash stepped towards her.
Mizuki winced, reaching up and ignoring him for a moment with a sigh. "Damn, I always forget how strong these things are." She said as she took off her glasses before looking up at him dead in the eyes, smirking at his shocked expression. The blonde former Lieutenant flicked her glasses at him and watched calmly as they shattered into pieces and cut through his chest and shoulder to throw him back nearly a hundred feet. Stepping forward she swung her sword forward with a glare at Aizen, the sword shattering down to the hilt and the shards circling around faster than in her shikai. He smirked at the sight of her without a blade and decided to take advantage of it and charged up a powerful cero quickly with his wings before it rushed towards her.
Ichigo's grip on his sword tightened about to go help her when he noticed that she was purposefully not getting out of the way. Abruptly the shards rushed over to Aizen the majority hitting him all at once and maybe one or two missing him. However as soon as the shards touched him there was a blinding white light across the entire area and it felt like a dozen huge explosions went off at once, Ichigo was about to jump back from shock when he noticed a faint silver reitsu surround him and block all of the effects of the explosion around him. The ground under his feet trembled and cracked violently and it took a few moments for the explosions to stop but the smoke took longer to be blown away with a few gusts of wind. The landscape was devastated for miles around, the small mountain that once stood in the distance was a mere pile of rubble and the destruction nearly reached the soul society. When the smoke cleared Ichigo saw Aizen's wings damaged and bleeding a large wound across his chest as he fell to the ground on the other side of the newly enlarged clearing.
Mizuki glanced over at Ichigo and smirked. "You don't have to worry about getting hurt from the explosions, I can manipulate my reitsu to protect a few feet in the explosion. It's how neither of us got hurt." She told him and he nodded as they both glanced over at Aizen as he got to his feet.
He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering how she managed to look him dead in the eyes without being able to see sure she could tell what direction he was in but it didn't make sense for her to be able to make such a lucky guess. "Wait, you can see me?" Ichigo asked confused as the Hogyuko regenerated most of Aizen's wounds from the attack.
The blonde former Lieutenant smiled at the question. "Only when I use my bankai, it's kind of weird." She told him and he wanted to ask more about it but they both noticed Aizen get back to his feet.
The traitor glared at the two of them before he smirked which made Mizuki grasp the hilt of her sword tighter in her hands. "If you two want to fight together so bad then why don't you two die together too?! Hado #90 Kurohitsugi!" He called out loudly and Mizuki noticed a faint purple and black reitsu materialize around them.
"Ichigo-." She started to say to try to warn him to get out of the way, not completely sure that she could destroy his kido completely before it took effect. Raising her hand to try to push the orange haired man out of the way she kept her eyes on Aizen but she was mildly surprised to feel him grasp her wrist inside his hand. She stared at their hands intertwined for a few moments as she felt her heartbeat stop momentarily before beating faster at the sight. The blonde former Lieutenant glanced up at Ichigo confused as the black box of kido continued to build itself up around the two of them.
"Thanks to my new form and the Hogyuko's powers I don't have to use the incantation to get the kido at full power!" She and Ichigo heard him yell out arrogantly but Mizuki's green eyes never strayed from Ichigo. The blonde haired girl watched Ichigo give Aizen a blank look as she noticed the shadows across his face get bigger as the box of kido was nearly complete. She was still very aware that he hadn't let go of her hand yet but she didn't say anything about it as he tilted his head to look over at her past his bangs.
"It's alright Mizuki, I've got this one." Ichigo told her calmly, giving her hand a small squeeze of reassurance as the kido was just about to be completed. He noticed an emotion he couldn't place spark through her eyes before she nodded to him confidently and he nodded back and he let go of her hand. Her green eyes watched as the kido finally completed itself and she let her reitsu flare to negate the kido from hitting her and she noticed a faint blue reitsu surround Ichigo before he swung his other arm that wasn't just holding her hand to swing it out and break the black box into pieces.
Mizuki noticed Aizen's eyes widen at the sight of them unharmed and she herself was a little taken back by how strong Ichigo had gotten since she had last seen him. "I guess you still don't get it," she heard Ichigo tell Aizen and she noticed him take a step forward. "I'm stronger than you are Aizen, this isn't like the last time." He said and as he flash stepped forward towards Aizen Mizuki swung her sword forward too, ignoring the light dust that had accumulated from Ichigo's flash step. Aizen stepped back as the wound in his shoulder spurted out blood and before he could reach to hold his wound he noticed something shine out of the corner of his eye.
Ichigo flash stepped back a few feet when he noticed Mizuki's shards impale to Aizen and watched the explosion that went off in front of him and waited for the smoke to dissipate. Through the smoke and debris from the explosion Ichigo and Mizuki both noticed Aizen flash step away and the blonde haired girl stepped forward to stand next to Ichigo. She and Ichigo both noticed Aizen reappear on top of a nearby cliff that was unstable from Mizuki's explosions, a deep cut on his shoulder and half of his arm that didn't hold his sword was crushed from the explosions. Aizen glared down at the two of them angrily. "I bet you two are happy with yourselves! Aren't you happy you stopped my zanpakuto with your hand? That somehow you could destroy my kido? And that you think you could scar me? Don't get too confident you children!" Aizen yelled out angrily as they noticed his wounds regenerate and heal themselves and how a third eye opened in Aizen's forehead.
Mizuki noticed the blood run down his face before his purple and white eyes rolled back and she grasped her sword ready to attack but she hesitated only momentarily when she saw his face crack before tilting his head to the side. A blue and purple reitsu expanded out in all directions and Ichigo and Mizuki held their ground as they watched a column of reitsu solidify around Aizen before it cracked and blood sprayed out of it, coating the cliff. They both noticed how Aizen had transformed once more but neither Ichigo nor Mizuki looked worried any more than they were before. "You're right, it isn't excusable Hogyuko. That I've let a substitute soul reaper and a Lieutenant get in my way." He said and Mizuki narrowed her eyes in disgust how he referred to the stone like it was a person almost.
They both noticed Aizen throw a purple cero towards them and Mizuki was quick to flash step away, but when she didn't notice Ichigo near her she looked over. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Ichigo standing in the same place as before as the cero hit the area he stood in. The force of the impact blew her blonde hair over her shoulders and out of her face as she looked on with worry as she noticed a fire emerge from the cero when it exploded. Shifting her eyes to the side she flash stepped to Aizen and swung her sword at him but she only managed to hit one of the little creatures on his wings that regenerated itself quickly. Narrowing her eyes at Aizen she swung her sword forward again and it broke into shards and they all collided with Aizen. The explosion blocked out all noise for a moment and Mizuki used reitsu to stay standing as the ground beneath her feet merely turned into a gaping hole. Aizen was on the ground a few hundred feet away from her between the two holes, one from Aizen's attack and the other from hers.
She narrowed her eyes at the sight of his wounds healing themselves and watched him get to his feet with a smirk at her as he raised his blade. "Still not quite good enough Mizuki!" He yelled out and she noticed him about to charge up a cero to hit her with when they both noticed some movement from the fire still raging from Aizen's attack. Glancing into the flames Aizen smirked at the sight of Ichigo through the dying flames but Mizuki was relieved by the sight in front of him. "Looks like you took my attack with only some injuries, although it does look like your left arm is useless." Aizen said and Mizuki noticed that his arm was pretty badly burned, before the blonde girl could raise her blade she watched Aizen jump off the ledge towards Ichigo, through the flames. She swung her sword again and the shards followed after him but the flames stopped her from being able to hit him.
Aizen grasped Ichigo's neck as his wings surrounded him, Mizuki clenched her jaw in anger at the sight jumping through the flames and through Aizen's reitsu as it expanded out and put out the flames. "Can you hear me?" Aizen asked the orange haired man whose face was mostly hidden by his longer hair. "Maybe for a moment you had the power to defeat me but that is no more! Now I can kill you and get rid of all the annoyances that stand in my way, it's over!" Aizen yelled out, pulling back his blade and tightening his hold on Ichigo's neck.
Mizuki cursed mentally to herself, not wanting to use her zanpakuto or use explosions since she knew she would hurt Ichigo in the process. She opened her mouth to yell out to the orange haired man to move when she noticed a smirk appear on Ichigo's face that made her eyes widen a little. Aizen's eyes widened at the sight and he hesitated before freezing in place when he heard the substitute soul reaper speak. "Over huh?" He asked, glancing down at Aizen before swinging his sword forward to cut Aizen's chest and push him back, narrowing his brown eyes at him past his bangs.
Aizen's jaw clenched with anger at what Ichigo said, pulling his zanpakuto back above his head when he saw Ichigo jump back to step on solid ground, confusing the former Captain. His eyes widened when he felt a strong spiritual pressure, looking up his eyes widened even more in shock and he didn't have time to dodge. Mizuki smirked widely as she sped down towards Aizen, piercing her sword down to cut him as Ichigo's feet finally touched solid ground around the edge of the huge hole. The orange haired man stood confidently as he watched Mizuki's explosion stretch up towards the sky and destroy most of the landscape around them, sending out heat and powerful reitsu in all directions for miles.
When he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye he looked to his side and found Mizuki lightly panting, her sword still tightly in her hand. Ichigo relaxed without realizing when he noticed that she was unharmed and he was about to ask her if she was alright when she stood up straight and narrowed her eyes as she looked over at his injured arm. Before he could say anything she walked up to him as the flames from her zanpakuto that still engulfed Aizen and Ichigo saw her eyes gain a tinge of sadness as she looked over his burned arm. She reached out with both of her hands and he watched as they glowed with a faint green reitsu before she carefully placed them over his burned arm. "You know if you needed help you should have just asked, these burns look pretty bad." He heard the blonde girl lightly scold him but he was aware of the worried tone in her voice more than her scolding.
Ichigo nodded, letting his attention focus on her for a few moments. "Sorry, I guess I got a little too arrogant I thought that I had it under control." He told her truthfully and he noticed her nod but saw how her eyes never strayed from his arm that she was quickly trying to heal. The orange haired man tilted his head down to watch her as he noticed her hands a hair length's away from his slightly stinging burns that covered his left arm. However he didn't find himself wincing as her hands got close to the wound actually he was surprised to feel his arm begin to get partially numb. Glancing back up to the blonde girl's face Ichigo noticed her concentrating on healing his arm but he saw her eyes look over to the dying flames for only a second before looking back to his arm. As he saw the reitsu around her hands start to fade he knew that they had to get back to fighting Aizen and he glanced up at her as she still stared at his arm carefully. "Thanks Mizuki, it feels a lot better." He told her as she pulled her hands away from him and looked up at him.
She sighed as she looked away from him. "You shouldn't thank me, I didn't have time to heal the wounds so you still have to be careful. Hopefully it'll stay numb for the rest of the fight." Mizuki told him and he noticed how she seemed upset that he was injured and he wanted to tell her he was alright when she turned and gazed out towards where Aizen once stood watching the smoke dissipate. "It's not over yet." She said and Ichigo glanced back, glaring at the sight of Aizen past the flames as his wounds started to heal themselves again.
(Soul Society, 3rd Person POV)
Standing up straight as he finished his battle with an Espada, Yamamoto looked up as he felt a strong shift in spiritual pressure and he immediately recognized the two reitsu's. Glancing up he saw the reitsu far off from a Rukon district and he narrowed his eyes at the sight. "Lieutenant Sasakibe would you like to tell me how our prisoner escaped?" He asked as he looked behind him and Chojiro seemed confused by the statement like he didn't know what the Captain was talking about. However then he glanced up and saw in the distance the reitsu's and his eyes widened and he wondered if they were alright absentmindedly.
"Captain I had no idea." The Lieutenant explained honestly, unable to take his eyes off of the fight in the distance as he saw explosions go off from Mizuki's bankai. However the Lieutenant couldn't help but feel worried about her and Ichigo when he saw how powerful that Aizen was but his thoughts were cut short.
Yamamoto sighed, understanding his Lieutenant had no information as he nodded. "Send some of the Omnimatsukido to bring her back." He ordered out coldly without a thought otherwise.
Chojiro's eyes widened at the order and he was hesitant to agree and the Captain Commander looked over at him confused. His Lieutenant had never hesitated in all of his years working under Yamamoto to take an order and the sight took Yamamoto back a little with surprise. "Wait!" They both heard someone yell out and they looked up as someone flash stepped up to them and they both recognized Kira as he panted to try to catch his breathe. "Forgive me Captain for cutting in but you can't stop Mizuki."
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What are you talking about Lieutenant? Are you suggesting that I let her aid Aizen and destroy the soul society?" He asked bitterly.
Kira opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal however he was cut off by a calm voice. "Actually Captain," a calm voice started out and Yamamoto and Kira turned to face Chojiro as he stared off at the fight. "It appears to be that Yasuko is fighting with Kurosaki…against Aizen." He clarified for the Captain Commander.
The older Captain's eyes widened at the statement. "Chojiro…" He said in surprise however then he thought for a moment and glanced over at the fight once more. As he looked closer he could see from the distance how his Lieutenant's words were true as he noticed her sword cause explosions to go off around Aizen. "I see." He said lowly and Kira and Chojiro looked over at him shocked by how he seemed to understand for once.
There was a loud crash before a large explosion of reitsu rippled over the Rukon district, destroying the landscape for miles. The orange haired substitute soul reaper flash stepped down to the ground to glance around, taking in the damage as he looked for Aizen. As his chocolate brown eyes looked over the area he saw Mizuki's feet touch the ground once more through the fading smoke and he was glad to see that she wasn't badly hurt. He was grateful that they were doing well so far but he was still frustrated that Aizen's regeneration was working so well.
Noticing Mizuki turn her head Ichigo followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes when his eyes fell to Aizen, who she was looking at. Clenching his sword tighter in his hand the orange haired man tried to contain his frustration as he watched Aizen's wounds heal up quickly and heal themselves from Ichigo and Mizuki's attack. The former Captain glanced over at the two of them, narrowing his own eyes at them in annoyance as he walked towards them, charging up a cero.
Ichigo tensed as he wondered if Aizen was going to try to hit him or Mizuki with the attack and he took a step forward, readying himself for the attack but he stopped when he noticed the older man turn away from him. Pulling back his sword he flash stepped towards Mizuki to try to get there before Aizen released his cero at the blonde former Lieutenant but he didn't manage to get there in time. Swinging his sword forward Ichigo let out a Getsuga Tensho with his zanpakuto as he tried to hit the cero and cancel it out but he narrowed his eyes as he noticed his attack only weaken not stop Aizen's attack.
The blonde former Lieutenant stood her ground carefully as the cero shot towards her, destroying the area around it as the light from the purple sphere lit up her face in shades of purple and blue as she held her zanpakuto in front of her. Ichigo noticed her stop trying to control her reitsu and her blue and silver reitsu destroyed the ground she stood on and expanded around her. With a flick of her wrist she swung her blade upwards, cutting straight through the cero without much trouble at all. Raising her green eyes to look past the clash of reitsu before her she narrowed her eyes at the sight of Aizen flash stepping down towards her quickly and with a quick jump and a flash step she shot up towards him, the ground that was once beneath her feet destroyed from the force of her reitsu. Pulling back her sword once more she swung it at him and their blades clashed with a shockwave of reitsu rippling over the ground for miles.
Ichigo flashed stepped towards the two as he noticed Aizen smirk as the dark haired man charged up a powerful cero with his wings as he blocked Mizuki's sword with his own. Her green orbs narrowed as she pulled back her sword quickly before swinging it forward as Aizen released his cero at point blank range. The orange haired man swung his blade forward at Aizen when he stood next to the man in a flash step but the former Captain just flash stepped out of sight and Ichigo looked over at Mizuki. He noticed her reitsu destroying some of the cero but he frowned as he noticed the cero hold strong and he was about to help her when he noticed her swing her sword through the cero.
Her blade and reitsu cut through the cero and made both halves dissipate under the pressure of her strong reitsu and Aizen's attack was destroyed. As the area cleared from the colorful spiritual pressures both Ichigo and Mizuki glanced around the destroyed landscape to try to see where Aizen was. The orange haired man's eyes widened when he saw Aizen use flash step to appear behind Mizuki and he was quick to use his own flash step to appear next to Aizen. Swinging his sword forward that Ichigo hoped would stop Aizen from attacking the blonde girl but to his shock the dark haired man never moved out of the way or even attempted to. The former Lieutenant was quick to spin around as she felt Aizen's reitsu, swinging her sword with her as she spun around.
Both Mizuki and Ichigo's swords hit Aizen at the same time as the former Captain's sword hit the blonde girl, making an enormous explosion of reitsu rush outwards over the ground and up towards the sky for miles from the mere impact of it all. Ichigo stepped down to the ground and he immediately looked around the smoke filled area to try to see where Mizuki was, worry pounding through his chest as he wondered if she was alright. Through the debris and smoke his brown eyes saw a small figure in the distance and he immediately flash stepped towards her once he felt it was Mizuki's spiritual pressure. As Mizuki got to her knees with her sword on the ground in front of her she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye and she looked up and relaxed when she saw Ichigo standing in front of her. "Mizuki, are you alright?" He asked in a concerned voice as he recalled how he had seen Aizen's sword cut her.
Before she could even say anything she watched the orange haired man as he stared down at her for a few moments, his eyes stopping when he noticed her clutching her side with one of her hands. He kneeled down in front of her and gently he took her hand and carefully pulled it away from her side, his eyes narrowing with anger when he saw that the side of her stomach had been cut. Ichigo's brown eyes looked back up at her and she managed to force a small reassuring smile for him when she saw the worry and anger in his eyes. "I'm alright, my reitsu stopped most of the impact." She told him and he frowned at what she said as his eyes glanced to her hand in his that was stained with blood.
"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked in an unconvinced voice but he was surprised that she only had a shallow wound as he remembered Aizen's powerful attack. Both of them heard Aizen getting to his feet as his wounds regenerated but neither of them rushed to get back to the fight.
"Yeah, I'm positive." She told him as Mizuki pushed herself to her feet as Ichigo got to his own as he watched her carefully as she picked up her zanpakuto as she caught her breathe and held onto the hilt of her sword tightly as they turned to face Aizen a few hundred feet away. "Ichigo, if you have any aces up your sleeve now would be a good time, I'm only going to have the chance to hold him back once." She said in a quiet voice so Aizen wouldn't hear, her eyes never straying from the former Captain.
His thoughts went back to what Zangetsu and his hollow had taught him when he took the Dangai to get to this soul society this morning. For only a moment he hesitated as he looked down at the blonde girl at his side that was glaring at Aizen, worry shooting through him at the thought of him hurting her in the process of his attack. But he was quick to mentally scold himself for thinking that Mizuki wouldn't be able to protect herself, pushing the thought of hurting her out of his mind. He nodded to the blonde haired former Lieutenant confidently. "Alright, I'm ready." He told her and watched as she nodded and tilted the hilt of her sword forward, her swords shattering into pieces before the shards of her sword all shoot towards Aizen.
The dark haired man flash stepped forward to try to dodge the attack, charging up a cero as he got around the shards but Mizuki was quick to tilt her hilt so the shards would hit him from behind. Another giant explosion went off and the blonde girl held still as the smoke began to dissipate, ready for him to attack. Her green eyes saw some movement behind the smoke and she had the shards rematerialize into her sword again. Aizen flash stepped past the wall of smoke, pulling back his hand to hit her with a cero when she jumped back. In midair she narrowed her eyes down at the former Captain, pulling her sword back and swinging it forward towards him to trap him in an illusion, pouring as much reitsu into the attack as she could.
As her feet touched the ground her eyes widened as she felt his reitsu try to throw off her illusion. Ichigo noticed her wince and fall to her knees a few hundred feet in front of Aizen and he was about to call out to her. The blonde ex-Lieutenant ignored how difficult it was to keep Aizen contained in her illusion but she continued to put most of her reitsu into the effort, looking over at Ichigo and nodding to him when she saw him hesitating. "Just do it!" She yelled out to him, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold back the former Captain for long. However her eyes slightly widened and mentally she cursed as he started to use the reitsu from the Hogyuko to break past her illusion. Looking up she saw reitsu begin to flow again outwards from him, Aizen's eyes all opened and he chuckled as he looked over at her as he took a step forward towards her. To buy Ichigo time she poured the majority of her reitsu into another attack as Aizen was still held back by the illusion. "Saigo no Bakufu." The blonde girl said under her breathe letting go of her sword.
As the zanpakuto hit the ground a huge explosion went off like all the shards of her sword had exploded at once and it took some time for the smoke to clear as Mizuki took a few steps back with a grimace as she grasped her zanpakuto. Her bankai's special ability took a lot out of her and she glanced up, squinting past the smoke as she saw Aizen's silhouette as he regenerated and she took a step back as she smoke disappeared and he smiled at her. "Too bad, your illusions are barely anything to me now that I've fused with the Hogyuko." He smirked at the expression on her face that stayed serious even as he taunted her, knowing that the illusion had taken a lot out of her. Calmly Mizuki got to her feet, her sword firmly in her hands as Aizen went on. "You would have gotten so much farther but you went wrong when you started trusting a human to protect you." Her eyes narrowed at what he said and he smirked at the reaction, a cero charging up from his wings. "Don't you see? I've been watching you the entire time, even with him protecting you I could have taken you from the human world easily if I wanted to back then. With or without him protecting you, from the beginning I knew I would kill you! Nice try to beat me Lieutenant but you fail!" He yelled out, about to let loose his cero to shoot towards her.
Aizen was cut off when he heard a familiar voice, his eyes widening when he realized he had overlooked Ichigo. "If you're going to call me weak then at least have the guts to say it to my face." The brunette haired man heard Ichigo's voice and looked away from the blonde girl and saw Ichigo standing a few hundred feet away. Mizuki felt his reitsu beginning to spike and she was quick to flash step back as she watched worriedly waiting for Ichigo's attack. "Final Getsuga Tensho." Aizen and Mizuki heard him say.
The next moment Mizuki's eyes widened a little as she saw a powerful blue and black reitsu go off and almost scrape against the sky, she tightened her hold on her sword, not taking her eyes off of the attack as she managed to keep her balance and not let his reitsu push her back. From where she was standing she could see Aizen standing in front of the enormous reitsu and she was surprised when she heard him speak. "What is…that form?!" The blonde girl heard him ask himself in shock as he looked into the reitsu.
In her own confusion to what Aizen meant Mizuki looked into the light blue reitsu with black swirling around it. Squinting her eyes a little she tried to see past the dense almost smoky reitsu she could only make out the outline of the substitute soul reaper's figure. As the reitsu became more transparent Mizuki's eyes blinked in confusion as she saw Ichigo's hair was long and black and how his outfit had changed as he stood in the middle of the blue and black reitsu. The reitsu extended outward in all directions powerfully and the former Lieutenant noticed Aizen put his hands up as the reitsu collided with him. She winced a little at the force of the reitsu as it washed past her but she stood her ground and kept her balance, her eyes stuck to Ichigo and she felt nervousness begin to develop in the pit of her stomach. Mizuki was confident in his abilities but still she was worried that something may go wrong but she forced herself to stay on the sidelines for once and watch the fight instead of jumping in too early. "Ichigo…" She whispered to herself before she could stop her lips from moving.
As the reitsu cleared Mizuki blinked in surprise as she clearly saw Ichigo for the first time as a smoke like black reitsu emitted from him. "The Final Getsuga Tensho is me becoming the Getsuga itself." Ichigo explained briefly and Mizuki wondered vaguely in the back of her mind when he had gotten so strong. They both could both notice Aizen thinking hard before his body started to shake with what they assumed was rage.
"It's absurd! It couldn't possibly be!" Mizuki grasped onto her zanpakuto harder at Aizen's angry outburst. "A mere human can't surpass me!" Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ichigo beginning to raise his right arm that was almost engulfed by the black reitsu. "It can't be possible!"
Mizuki swallowed hard as she saw Ichigo raise his arm, knowing that his next move would probably decide the battle. "Mugetsu." She heard him say as the black reitsu around his arm expanded and she noticed Aizen try to jump back and avoid the attack. With a twist of her wrist to swing her sword shattered into tiny shards and shot towards Aizen without him noticing, the shards hit him and exploded stopping him from moving to get out of the way. Her zanpakuto didn't affect Ichigo's to her gratefulness and she watched in almost awe how his black reitsu shot up from the ground towards the sky, cutting through Aizen. As Ichigo's attack was fading away the shards of her sword put themselves back together at the hilt of her zanpakuto and she let out a sigh of relief as she thought to herself that it was over.
Looking around her to try to find Ichigo her hand put her sword away as she deactivated her bankai, her cloths turning back to normal as she flash stepped towards Ichigo. He drifted down to the ground and he opened his eyes about to glance around to make sure the former Lieutenant was alright. "Ichigo!" He heard a familiar voice call out his name and he looked up through his still black hair and saw a familiar blonde haired girl flash stepping towards him quickly. As his feet touched the ground the bandages around his body cracked and fell to the ground and he expected her to stop running when she was standing in front of him. However he was surprised when he saw her run up to him and felt her arms wrap around him tightly, he was a bit caught off guard by her action as his heartbeat picked up and didn't hug her back immediately. "Idiot, don't make me worry about you like that." Ichigo heard her mumble into his chest as she held onto him and he smirked, knowing that she didn't mean it when she called him an idiot.
After a moment he chuckled at her statement and overlooked how he was tired from the fight to wrap an arm around her waist and the other on the back of her blonde head and pull her closer to him. "Alright I won't." He told her with a smile and they stayed contently but after a few seconds they reluctantly pulled back from each other when they heard something hit the ground close by. They pulled back and looked over curiously as they saw some of the smoke clear and they both noticed Aizen on the ground close by and they tensed at the sight. Mizuki and Ichigo noticed how somehow his wounds seemed to heal themselves over again making them both a little uneasy at the sight. "He's still able to regenerate?" Ichigo asked under his breath before he flash stepped down to the ground before Mizuki followed him and they walked over to Aizen who was still on the ground.
Aizen pushed himself to his knees and Mizuki grimaced when he raised his face for them to see and she noticed how his face was a mix between his Hogyuko form, an Espada and even a soul reaper. Ichigo cursed mentally since he knew the Final Getsuga had taken a lot of his strength and energy, knowing he wouldn't be able to fight much. His eyes widened as his hair reverted back to orange and his appearance went back to normal, falling to his knees and he held out his hands to stop himself from falling to the ground. Mizuki was surprised when she saw the movement out of the corner of her eyes and she immediately fell to her knees next to him without thinking, placing a hand on his back as she looked down at him worriedly. "Ichigo? Are you alright?" She asked and frowned when she noticed that his Final Getsuga didn't fully heal all of his wounds.
His brown eyes narrowed into a glare as he stared down at the ground, realizing that the technique had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought at first. Ichigo couldn't find the words to answer her question but he did tighten his hands into fists against the ground. "Crap…" He mumbled out under his breathe, Mizuki frowned at the sight. She and Ichigo both noticed some movement out of the corner of their eyes and they both looked up and saw Aizen standing to his feet in front of the two of them his head tilted up towards the sky.
Aizen lowered his head revealing a smirk still on his distorted face and Ichigo felt Mizuki grasp him a little tighter at the sight, they both knew that her bankai had taken a lot out of her as well and that the battle had made her weak. "Ichigo Kurosaki, Mizuki Yasuko you both lose. It must be my lucky day, killing two birds with one stone." He told them in a calm voice, Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him wishing that he had the energy and strength to fight him still. "Watch," Aizen explained as he held out his blade and the soul reapers watched as his sword crumbled away. "My zanpakuto is fading away. You two should both know what that means." Aizen explained in a cocky voice with a chuckle as he continued on. "The Hogyuko has determined that I no longer need a zanpakuto. Like you Ichigo, I've become one with my zanpakuto and its powers. Now I can reach a level beyond yours!" He yelled out with a victorious smirk as his zanpakuto continued to disappear and crumble to dust, Ichigo narrowed his brown eyes at him wishing he had the energy to fight still.
Aizen smirked as his eyes moved from Ichigo's to meet Mizuki's gaze that was again hidden behind her glasses once more, smiling wider at the sight of her weakened from the battle. The substitute soul reaper narrowed his eyes at Aizen when he looked over at her like he was plotting something. "And then there's you Mizuki, I think I'll go through with my original plan and take your zanpakuto back just in case the Spirit King decides to be an issue. You've been an obstacle standing in my way for far too long, now I can finally get rid of you and take my prize too." He said with a chuckle and watched as she glared at him as he reached out to try to grab her and before Ichigo could stop her she forced herself to her feet quickly about to draw her swords once more.
Her green eyes widened when Aizen punched her stomach hard enough to make her entire body freeze before she leaned forward and coughed violently enough to cough up some blood. She only had a moment to open her eyes and noticed her glasses falling off her face that was tilted towards the ground. Before she could even inhale Aizen's hand grabbed her by the throat and squeezed hard enough to stop her breathing, picking her up off of the ground easily. Her eyes opened and through blurred and doubled vision she could barely see Aizen and she tried to reach for her zanpakuto but he just squeezed her throat tighter to make her efforts that much more futile. Her lips parted as she tried to call out for Ichigo but she panicked as she never heard her voice, unable to even gasp out for breathe her ability to speak was long gone. "Mizuki!" She heard Ichigo call out to her as she noticed something gleam in her vision and she knew it was Aizen's sword. Closing her eyes the former Lieutenant put most of her strength into trying to kick him off of her but when she kicked his stomach he didn't even wince.
Aizen smirked widely as he watched her struggle, her face going red from her efforts to escape and breathe before tightening his hold on her neck. In his other hand he pulled back his cracked and crumbling but still sharp zanpakuto, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ichigo try to get to his feet. He glanced over at the orange haired man for a moment with a pause wondering if he would need to kill Ichigo first but smirked when the substitute soul reaper couldn't get to his feet since the battle had taken so much out of him. "Well looks like it's over for you Mizuki. You're done being useful to me, you have no more use to me as a pawn. Think of it this way at least you managed to live for longer than anyone ever expected you to!" He yelled out as he swung his blade forward as she continued to try to escape.
Ichigo's eyes widened at the sight screaming at himself mentally to protect her, he had come so close to winning and he refused to lose her. He couldn't let her die after protecting her for so long and after how far they had made it. He refused to give up and let her go after he had just gotten her out of prison, when they were in the home stretch to finally being done with all of this. "No!" He yelled out trying to get up once more. All he had thought about during his training with his hollow in the Dangai was how he wanted to defeat Aizen with Mizuki and end all of this crap that Aizen had started and he refused to have it any other way. She wasn't that same girl that he met months ago that was so secretive to him, she was far more than that to him and he couldn't stand to watch her die after how hard they both worked to get this far.
Abruptly pink spikes shot through Aizen's chest, the sudden action making him let go of the blonde girl without thinking. She immediately gasped out for breathe her nearly blind eyes widening when she realized she was falling and she tried to distinguish which way was up from down to try to catch her fall. Mizuki froze when she felt warm arms catch her before she hit the ground and even without her glasses she could tell it was Ichigo by how his arms felt around her. She heard Aizen yelling out in pain and she opened her mouth to ask the substitute what was happening when his arms tightened around her before he pushed them back a few feet. Once they were a safe distance away, she assumed, Mizuki could hear Ichigo panting for breathe the small action taking a lot of his already nearly depleted energy.
She still tried to find the air to fill her lungs but when she felt Ichigo's fingers against her cheeks and she found breathing get even harder and she wanted to blush but was wondering what he was doing in such a serious situation. She wished that she could see what he was doing and a moment later she got what she wanted as she felt her glasses fall back onto her face in place. Blinking a few times Mizuki got used to the fact her sight was back although she was confused how he had gotten her glasses back. She found his face right in front of hers as she got her sight back getting herself lost in Ichigo's brown eyes staring down at her, his arms still around her waist since she was still in his arms facing him. Her lips parted to ask something when she and Ichigo both heard Aizen cry out in agony from the pink reitsu.
Ichigo and Mizuki both heard Aizen yell out and they glanced over at him, knowing it wasn't over just yet.
AN: Cliffy once more! Sorry about that, this chapter was just getting to be a little too long. I hope you enjoyed this and that you don't feel I butchered the amazing fight with Ichigo and Aizen by adding Mizuki and changing a few things. Stay tuned to the next chapter for the Lemon that I'm obviously really excited for!
Chapter 36 Preview:
After a moment they both noticed Urahara smirk widen as he turned around and started walking back towards the soul society confusing Ichigo and Mizuki. "Looks like you've still got some loose ends to tie up though." He remarked as he walked away and they looked over at each other to confirm that they both didn't know what he meant.
"Yasuko." They both abruptly heard a voice call out her name from behind them and they both recognized it immediately. When she and Ichigo turned around to face Yamamoto the urge to run was screaming at Mizuki in her head, telling her that he was just going to throw her back in prison for her execution.