Heyyy! Writing this nearly killed me, but, it's done. There's one chapter left after this. Thank you everyone so much who has stayed, supported, reviewed and everything else this fic. It's been a blast and I appreciate it so much. Thank you to ThroughTheGalaxies and X-Burner 27 for their last reviews! Thank you!
Climax and Annihilation of the World
Aizen stands, his back arched as a sword sticks him through the chest, the white substance coating his body clasping the metal like a parasite. He curses, staggering on the spot, his brown hair rolling down his face. Reaching forwards, he grabs the sword in his hand and clenches it, before turning his head to see the figure step into view behind him. Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise and Aizen splutters.
'You! What the hell are you doing here?' he growls.
'Ha!' the figure barks, whipping his sword out his foe, Aizen doubling over, blood pattering across the floor beneath him. 'You owe me a fight, Kurosaki!' Ichigo watches as Grimmjow sheathes his sword slowly, his face turning down from maniacal grin to a solemn watch as Aizen spins round to meet him.
'G…Grimmjow!' he curses, his fingers claw like as he seems to grasp the air. Grimmjow looks over at the man with blue eyes, his hair blowing softly in the wind. Finally, he points a blaming finger at Aizen.
'The rest of us are here to, except Ulquiorra after what you did to him. I've gotta say Aizen…' Grimmjow chuckles, flashing the man a toothy grin. '…you're not a popular guy.' Aizen straightens up as Grimmjow looks over the man's shoulder to stare Ichigo in the eyes. 'You're lookin' strong Kurosaki! So what the hell were you doing bowing on the floor to this dickhead? Didn't I tell you to crush him so we could have our battle here?' Grimmjow roars, his face angry now. Ichigo's eyes widen.
'Screw it. Beat Aizen kid. Bring that asshole down a couple of notches.' Grimmjow's eyes flashed open for the last few seconds, Ichigo still standing, solemn, a look of reluctance on his face.
'Kurosaki Ichigo!' Grimmjow screamed to him, the churning sound of the blast still racking their ears as Grimmjow, merely a face and a shoulder remaining now, barked out to him with a wide and cheeky grin. 'Kick Aizen's ass! Then get back to the other side and give me a real fight!' At this, Ichigo's lips turned up into a small smile and he brushed some of his white hair aside, his blue eyes lighting up.
'You got it.' He said simply, the little emotion he had left in him escaping his tongue.
Aizen watches Grimmjow, the brown haired man's eyes warping with hatred.
'You treacherous peasant…!' Aizen says scornfully. 'How the hell did you get that sword in here? Such a move is ill-…' Sosuke begins but Grimmjow merely laughs him down, shaking his mane.
'HA! You think I give a shit about the illegality of a situation?' Grimmjow howls, pulling his sword in front of his body. 'Let's go, Kurosaki! The first one to put this arrogant son of a bitch down gets to attack first in our fight!' Grimmjow screams, Ichigo's face creeping across with a smile, but then he remembers those behind him and he turns. However, Kisuke Urahara is kneeling over them all, their bodies encased in beautiful realms of light.
'I've got this, Ichigo. They will be fine. Go!' Urahara cries and Ichigo nods to him, turning back to face Aizen. Ichigo lifts his swords in front of him and spins them around, Aizen watching the two fighters smugly.
'Here's something you probably didn't know…' Aizen says calmly. '…my Hogyoku augmented suit gives me a full range of new abilities. Whatever chance you once had at victory is long gone. I will have no more openings.' With that, he vanishes on the spot, purple light flashing around him, Ichigo and Grimmjow backing up against each other, Grimmjow snarling as Aizen flitters around them, after images of the villain being left in his wake.
'Behold! My Hogyoku augmented suit even allows me this! Absolute transgression of the sound barrier itself!' Aizen laughs as multiple Aizen clones make their way towards the two fighters, noise completely dispelled from the area in a moment of surreal tranquillity. Ichigo merely steps forwards however and holds out his two swords, one on either side and begins to spin round slowly before picking up speed, becoming quickly a tornado of black and white reiatsu, a loud screeching sound heard before he disappears altogether, Aizen watching in horror as his clones shatter upon the ground. 'He…he broke the light barrier?' Sosuke curses, leaping away as Ichigo returns to the field, his hair strewn across his face, the boy panting.
'I'm ready for anything you've got Aizen. You're not going to hurt my friends again.' Ichigo warns him, Aizen cursing. Suddenly, Grimmjow appears behind the villain and aims an attack at his back, Aizen turning and grabbing his sword, a cruel sneer on his face.
'This is a battle of the gods. I'm not sure what you're doing here.' Aizen slices Grimmjow's chest with his bare hand, the blue haired man spluttering, blood spilling from his chest as he is flung backwards. Aizen turns, only for Ichigo to blitz past him, the man stumbling backwards as Ichigo twists on the spot, a wave of dust blasting out from around him as he runs at Aizen now, the brown haired villain readying himself as Ichigo aims to run him through with both swords.
'Kyaaah!' Ichigo roars, impaling Aizen on both swords, only for the body to explode, the real Aizen appearing quickly behind Ichigo and swiping out at him. Ichigo turns but Grimmjow leaps in the way, locking blades with Sosuke, the villain raising his eyebrows.
'Ho?' he chuckles, Grimmjow cursing, almost bowing beneath the enemy's crushing strength. Finally, Aizen pushes him aside and the man rolls over and flips upwards, landing beside Ichigo. Blood is running from his mouth and he wipes it away, panting, sweating dripping down his face. Ichigo looks over at him, concern in his eyes.
'Grimmjow…you don't have to do this…' Ichigo whispers but Grimmjow spits at the floor.
'Ha! Spare me your pity Kurosaki! Just focus on him. Don't let him out of your sight. Use all that damn power you built up in training!' Grimmjow purrs before rushing forwards, Aizen standing, a sly grin on his face, awaiting the two of them to come to him. Grimmjow leaps off of the ground, soaring overhead, Aizen unmoved from his position as Grimmjow flips over him, swinging his sword behind him, clashing blades with the villain before he even hits the floor.
'Back again?' Aizen leers.
'Your little orb has given you some interesting clothes!' Grimmjow laughs crazily, but the strain is evident in his face. Ichigo suddenly appears in the air behind Aizen, his swords out by his side. Aizen plants a heavy kick in Grimmjow's chest, the man spluttering as he is flung backwards across the hall, Aizen twisting, Ichigo smashing him with his black sword, the two of them flying backwards.
'And here's the real challenge.' Aizen says simply, eyeing Ichigo up and down. Ichigo merely kicks off of him and reaches out with one of his hands, his white sword disappearing into the air. Aizen gasps as Ichigo grabs his new, white collar, the substance hardened now to feel like bone. Ichigo speeds up into the air, the crushing weight of the rise pushing down on Aizen. 'Wha…what is this?' Aizen thinks as Ichigo flips over and with all his might, throws Aizen back down to the ground.
'Shit! I can't sort out my balance in time!' Aizen curses, his eyes rolling backwards to watch the incoming ground crash into him, the man hitting the floor with a sickening thud, Ichigo reappearing over the dust cloud and summoning his white sword in a burst of light as Aizen reaches out of the smoke and they lock blades again, sparks flying, the dust spinning around them. From behind Aizen, the floor splits, a chasm crafting itself through the halls, pillars collapsing, plumes of dust rolling across the marble. Kisuke appears at the edge of the chaos, watching the two fighters clash, explosions of reiatsu wracking the area, sweat running down his face as his green eyes watch.
'Paradise is a place of peace. It's not made to sustain battles of this magnitude! With their power…' Urahara thinks to himself, watching as Ichigo flings Aizen into a wall, the villain crashing into it, bringing down another pillar in a towering pyramid of smoke. '...they could destroy Paradise! Hurry, Ichigo!' Aizen emerges from the dust, wiping some blood from his forehead and watching as it dribbles down his arm.
'You seem to have an appetite for destruction.' Aizen observes, standing to his full height again, Ichigo touching down on the floor. Ichigo moves his orange hair from his eyes and Aizen smiles at him. 'Perhaps, you have an unquenchable desire for battle now that your power has accelerated to levels that can match your ambitions? Or…' Aizen whispers, Grimmjow appearing in the background, leaping over the man's shoulder. Aizen's eyes flick behind him and he swings outwards, slicing Grimmjow's arm straight off, the blue haired man watching it shatter and explode. '…you're just a careless fighter.' Ichigo runs at Aizen but the man disappears, a black and purple box of light shooting up, bursting out of the marble floor and encasing Ichigo inside, Grimmjow watching as Ichigo's eyes vanish from sight.
'You bastard…' Grimmjow splutters, cradling the remains of his arm. Aizen turns elegantly, staring down at the man through a hazy purple eye.
'You are already dead. Fighting so haphazardly on Paradise's rules. You should be more careful.' Aizen says softly, feigning sympathy. Grimmjow reaches out for his sword but Aizen steps on it with a white boot, splitting the blade in two directly in the middle. Grimmjow watches in horror as the metal seems to melt away, turning into burnt flakes on the ground before dissipating completely. A long shadow looms over the kneeling Grimmjow and Aizen looks down at him. 'You…-!' suddenly, a loud cracking sound is heard and Aizen spins round, watching as a split, like in glass, runs quickly up the side of the purple box.
'Kurohitsugi.' Aizen whispers and another box forms around the first one, towering over it in sheer size. Finally, he turns back to Grimmjow. 'Why are you fighting me? You don't have a purpose really, do you? You're like an unchained dog, beckoning to some master's call. Even if you were to somehow succeed, they'd never accept you. What reason do you have for turning against me?' Aizen ponders, Grimmjow struggling to breathe, a lot of blood is now leaking from where his arm once was.
'HA!' Grimmjow suddenly barks, Aizen taken aback. 'You think…you think you're so…powerful…but Ichigo will beat you…and then I'll get…my final battle…with that kid. You don't understand…anything, really, do you? You haven't worked at all to get…your strength. That kid…' Grimmjow breathes, staring into Aizen's complacent eyes now. '…that kid's been through hell and back to get his!' However his lament is met with a rough kick to the face, the man choking as he spits out blood, his head slamming onto the floor, Aizen's foot pressing down upon it.
'I have to say this idea of Kurosaki Ichigo's assured victory rather amuses me.' Aizen whispers. 'Why is it? Because he has the power of Meigetsu? No…' Aizen lifts his foot from Grimmjow and pulls his sword up above his head. '…NO ONE HAS THE POWER TO MATCH ME! GOD OF ALL WORLDS!' In a fell swoop he brings his sword down, Grimmjow's eyes widening as he watches his death fly towards him. Suddenly, shards of black glass are flung past Aizen and the man turns, watching in horror as both of his towers of black and purple are torn in half, Ichigo ripping through them both with his bare hand. He vanishes, reappearing beside Aizen, the brown haired villain wheeling around but not before Ichigo grabs Grimmjow and makes off with him.
The two of them flash back into reality, Ichigo lying Grimmjow down on a small, squat white pillar, the man spluttering, and blood trickling around his body. Orihime walks over to them and Ichigo nods, taking the girl's hand.
'Can you save him?' he asks and she nods. He stands to his feet, his orange hair whipping around his face as he turns around, the girl watching him move. 'I've had enough of this. I'm going to end it.' Ichigo vanishes in a crack, Orihime watching him go, summoning a veil of orange warmth around Grimmjow. Ichigo appears again before Kisuke and Isshin, the two of them stepping up to him.
'Kisuke, I know you can't use swords here. However, I need your help.' Ichigo barks, Urahara nodding his head, a small smile spreading across his face.
'You want to use that, eh? Alright, we'll give it a shot!' Kisuke looks up, his eyes gleaming. Ichigo and Urahara appear on the battlefield again, Aizen turning to face them, outstretching his arms.
'You kept me waiting. I thought for a moment you had forfeited.' Aizen leers, Ichigo lifting his swords.
'Yeah, sorry.' He says simply. Aizen's lazy gaze shifts over to Urahara.
'Come at me. Whether it's just Kurosaki Ichigo, or everyone here, the outcome will be the same. No…I doubt the outcome was ever in doubt in the first place.' Aizen glares, Kisuke raising his hands in a defensive stance.
'How conceited of you!' he chirps cheerily. Then, he looks up from beneath his hat, his eye glinting mischievously. 'But is it wise to brush off your opponents just yet?' Aizen doesn't answer; instead, he leaps at them, running straight for Kisuke. Ichigo bounds in front of him however and the two of them lock three blades, sparks flying. Aizen pushes down against the boy before skidding away. Kisuke darts to the side, Aizen's eyes following him. Suddenly, Ichigo appears out of a blast of blue light, swinging out at Sosuke, the man dodging narrowly.
'Where are you looking?' Ichigo asks, Aizen batting his attacks away.
'I was merely wondering what game Urahara Kisuke was playing.' Aizen says, Ichigo smashing him up into the air. Aizen turns to Kisuke again and runs at him, Ichigo blocking the attack once more. 'Surely he is more a liability than anything else?' Aizen asks nastily, Ichigo remaining silent. Finally, Aizen breaks away from him, Kisuke moving to another location. Ichigo rushes after Aizen and slams his foot into the rubble, swinging his white sword up behind him.
'Getsuga…' he whispers, his eyes flashing as he swings it, a blinding, colossal white blast of light flung towards Aizen. The brown haired man jumps, avoiding the attack as it explodes. Suddenly, he looks up, Ichigo directly in front of him, his black sword now ebbing with reiatsu. '…Tenshou!' Ichigo screams, a black blast slashing down the front of Aizen, the villain spiralling downwards as the black energy arc hits the floor, severing the marble. Ichigo lands softly atop a protruding piece of stone, his eyes unwavering. 'That wasn't my usual Getsuga Tenshou. In this form it's blue. That was my Getsuga Tenshou split in half. With two swords I can do that.' Ichigo says simply.
'Heh…but then, each arc's power is sliced in two?' Aizen wonders, standing, his hair falling down his face. Ichigo spins the black sword in his fingers.
'Not exactly.' Ichigo says bluntly, Aizen raising an eyebrow. Ichigo looks down at his hands, his eyes drifting dreamily. 'The size and force of my Getsuga Tenshou are determined by the amount of reiatsu I release into it. Usually, I use a fair amount, to get the right effect. But, in the form of Meigetsu, where I have so much reiatsu…' Ichigo whispers. '…I can send two out with alternate amounts of reiatsu, as easy as sending one with a set amount.'
'What are you saying? That one attack could be light, but the follow-up devastating and-…' Aizen begins, but Ichigo finishes.
'…and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference until they hit you.' Ichigo whispers. Aizen is staring at the floor now, at the thin crater he is standing in, smoke rising from it when he suddenly looks up at Ichigo, his eyes wide and full of insanity.
'I wouldn't be able to tell the difference? Me? You severely underestimate me, boy! Come! Let us see just how much control you have over your reiatsu, human!' Aizen cries defiantly and Ichigo lifts his black sword. Reiatsu begins to swirl around the blade's tip and Aizen takes up a stance. 'This one is coming from the blade forged from his mature stages…it will be a strong, offensive attack!' Aizen thinks to himself and Ichigo swings downwards, the black arc raging towards Sosuke. The brown haired villain stabs into it and, just as expected, the brunt force of the attack is amazingly powerful, streaks of power shooting off in all directions, splitting the floor when they hit it. Finally the attack dissipates and in its wake, Ichigo lifts his white sword, similar reiatsu gathering on this one. Aizen's mouth widens into a large grin and he leaps upwards.
'You fool! I've worked out how this split attack ability works! The attacks from your black sword are formed from your mature stages! They are the strong ones! But the ones from the white sword are your transitional stages! They are weak as-!' Aizen doesn't get to finish however as the white blast slams into him at a tremendous speed, stronger even than the first attack and he looks over the top of the attack, Ichigo unmoved. '…Wha…t?' Aizen chokes as the attack envelopes him and he crashes back to the ground, Ichigo sighing.
'What the hell are you on about?' the boy asks simply, watching the white light linger. The white light fuzzes out and Aizen is left sprawled spread eagled on the floor, his arm severed from his body, blood splattered across his white armour. He chokes and slowly lifts his remaining arm and sets himself up on it, breathing and panting slowly and heavily, his face dripping with sweat, his hair hanging down in front of him.
'No…no…no…no…no…I knew it, didn't I?' Aizen mutters, his shoulders heaving. Ichigo looks down at him, his fingers clenching around his swords.
'What are you muttering about?' Ichigo whispers.
'No…no…how could this be? This human, this boy? How could he…how could he…HOW COULD HE HAVE POWER ABOVE MY OWN?' Aizen screams, rising up on his knees, his eyes aflame and staring at Ichigo. Suddenly, three enormous triangles of yellow light shoot from outside the battlefield, impaling Aizen up against a large piece of debris, the man struggling to break free.
'Shitotsu Sansen!' Kisuke's voice is heard over the air, Aizen looking up to the see the man retracting a yellow triangle back into nothing before whipping his arms around him again, Aizen roaring, snapping the Kido spell. 'Bakudo 99, Kin!' Kisuke cries out and four, grey straps come flying towards Aizen, two of them wrapping around his neck before bringing his crashing down to his knees, the other two wrapping around his stomach and planting themselves firmly into the ground around him. From his kneeling position, Aizen looks up, Kisuke watching him through solemn eyes from above the crater.
'Dam…damn you…Kisuke…Urahara…' Aizen chokes, barely able to speak through the strangling spell. Urahara closes his eyes and sighs.
'You were rather easy to trap you know. Once I had set up the points for Kin, it was merely a matter of beating you down.' Urahara whispers. 'It's over for you, at long last, Aizen.' Aizen looks up; his eyes wide as Ichigo leaps up into the air, holding both swords above his head, his cold, steely eyes staring into Aizen's own.
'…Meigetsu.' Ichigo's swords suddenly vanish, shooting up into the sky as black and white sparks of light. Aizen watches as the entire hall is split into a monochrome colour, everyone becoming black and white. Urahara watches, covering his eyes slightly with his hand, the other spirits gathering in view to watch the spectacle. Aizen watches in horror as the sky above seems to open up, a white light spreading down upon them. Finally, something shoots out and strikes Aizen through the chest, the man looking down at it. It is a chain.
'Wha…?' he stammers. Ichigo reaches out and grabs the chain with his hand, a white and black light swirling up his arm. His hair suddenly grows in length, flowing all the way down his back, black with white streaks, his eyes glistening.
'This is for everyone you've hurt, Aizen!' Ichigo cries, the chain transforming around his arm into an enormous, celestial blade and, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. Ichigo ran Aizen through with it, the man's eyes widening as the pulsing blade plunged into him. 'Meigetsu assigns its target with the chain. Then, using my reiatsu, it forms this blade, without any restrictions on the size before piercing them through the chest, shattering all forms of their power…' Ichigo whispers as a blinding light covers everything. '…their heart.' Aizen watches as he is swallowed up by the light and, Ichigo closes his eyes, the blinding flash covering everything, the entire realm shaking and shuddering furiously.
'Heart?' Aizen thinks to himself as he disappears into the light. 'I need no heart!'
Ichigo's eyes shoot open to the sound of someone screaming. It sounded like his mother, but he isn't sure. He sits up a little and looks around. Colour has returned to Paradise, but not much. It feels…cold. There is no one around. No one at all. He stands up slowly and suddenly teeters on the precipice of oblivion, the ground millions of miles from the bottom, a sickly green glow; running far at the bottom of the chasms like veins of poison sends a vile hue to the surface.
'Beautiful, isn't it, Paradise?' a voice calls to him and he turns around, Aizen standing on the same pillar of marble, staring at the boy. Ichigo notices immediately that the man is pale, deathly so. In his forehead there gleams a diamond of purple and his eyes are those blank, hazy orbs that everyone else once had. Ichigo shakes his head slowly and Aizen opens his arms, two, enormous, angelic wings spreading out from his back, their feathers a grim black in colour, the man's brown hair falling down his shoulders once more.
'You should be dead.' Ichigo whispers. Aizen looks at him pitifully. There is a terrifying aura emanating from the man and he laughs a hearty, throaty laugh.
'When were you under the impression I wasn't already dead?' Aizen sneers, Ichigo watching him slowly.
'Then how…?' Ichigo begins, but Aizen holds up a finger. His nails are long and black and fashioned to a gruesome sharp point at the tip.
'As you activated your Meigetsu attack, I sold my heart to the Hogyoku.' Aizen whispers, opening his gown and revealing a sickening, gaping hole in his chest. He fastens his robe back up and smirks. Ichigo looks on in horror as the man unfurls his fingers in front of him and twists them round, generating a glistening purple ball of light in his hand, before it solidifies. Ichigo gasps.
'That's a…!' he cries.
'…Hogyoku.' Aizen says, his eyes gleaming greedily. Slowly, he crushes it back to nothingness in between his spindly fingers and the light fades. He watches Ichigo's shocked expression with bemusement.
'How can you just create them out of thin air like that? I thought Hogyoku needed souls, masses of reiatsu…' Ichigo begins but Aizen's soft laughter stops him, the laughing echoing around the ruinous hall.
'But it does have masses of reiatsu and it does have souls. Do you not understand? Look around you! When I offered my heart to the Hogyoku, it turned my reiatsu into the Hogyoku's reiatsu. I am the Hogyoku. As such, I absorbed the soul of every single spirit in this realm.' At this, Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat. Aizen's face darkens and he grins nastily, raising his eyebrows. 'It looks like you've finally caught on. Everyone that once was, is now…me!' Aizen gloats. Ichigo stands in his spot, mute, his eyes wavering.
'Everyone? Dad, Mum…Inoue, Ishida, Chad, Rukia…Kisuke, Yoruichi…Byakuya, Hisana, Renji…everyone…everyone!' Ichigo thinks, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. He sinks to his knees and collapses, sobbing, his teeth grit and he cries, his shoulders lurching up and down as tears hit the marble beneath him. 'I thought I'd won! After all that training I went through…Meigetsu failed me! It failed me! No…I failed it. After everything we've been through…Zangetsu, everyone, I've failed you all!'
Looking down at him, Aizen stands, apparently content. His face is solemn and unmoving and finally, he turns slowly on the spot, leaving the wallowing boy in his place.
'Hmm…you know I rather like this outcome. Not only am I stronger, but I can remember them and their vain sacrifices.' Aizen says simply, Ichigo cursing himself, his fists clenched on the marble. Aizen opens a door from the sky, a light appearing in the centre before splitting open and widening, revealing a gaping gateway from the cold, decaying Paradise. 'I have no use for you anymore. Be grateful that in the end, you were allowed to keep your memories of them. Be grateful that I gave you the chance to sit there and cry.' Aizen says darkly, not even looking back at Ichigo now. 'It is true that at one point you had me beaten. But it was never meant to be.' Aizen continues, the shimmering door of light standing, looming in front of him.
'Is this it? Is this the end? Is this really how it all ends?' Ichigo thinks to himself, shuddering now as the tears roll down his cheeks. Aizen steps up towards the door, his wings closing up behind his back.
'Now then, to finish the job.' He says darkly and Ichigo's eyes flash open. 'Karin, Yuzu Kurosaki. Yes, their reiatsu should be much like yours and your parents. Fantastic. You know I always wanted the set of you, but I never realised it would be this...' Aizen smirks, turning on the spot to see Ichigo pouncing, the boy practically on top of him, rage ablaze in his eyes and Aizen's face drops the smile. '…easy.' Aizen finishes, leaping out of the way as Ichigo slams his sword into the ground.
'Ha! Be careful boy! Kill me and you will kill everyone inside me!' Aizen sniggers, Ichigo straightening up, reiatsu dripping from him, his orange hair whipping around his face. Ichigo's eyes are still bloodshot from the crying but now, there is something else on his mind. He runs at Aizen, the villain lifting his hand in time to block the blade, battering it aside as he flies backwards. 'You fool! I do not even require a sword to duel with you anymore! Can you not comprehend the difference in our power? Can you not fathom the gap in our skill?' Aizen declares, Ichigo's face shadowed as he dashes for his opponent again, whipping his sword round with a tremendous slash, Aizen going to block it again with his arm, the sword deflecting from it.
'What's driving him to this new strength? Was it always stored within him?' Aizen wonders, leaping aside as Ichigo crashes forwards with his black sword again, the white one by his side. 'Do you not fear the death of those you care about?' Aizen cries over the sound of their clashes. Ichigo however, leaps forwards and brings his sword down with an almighty cry, Aizen reaching out to block again.
'I don't!' Ichigo roars. 'Because I know they won't die! They will always live on, inside of me and inside of everyone else who cared about them!' Ichigo screams, Aizen lunging for him.
'That's impossible! You speak the impossible!' Aizen shrieks but Ichigo's blade slices down his arm neatly, blood spurting out. The villain clutches his forearm and backs off quickly, Ichigo twisting his sword up and in front of his body.
'Don't you understand?' Ichigo roars, his eyes lighting up, full of life. In this instance, Aizen sees the maturity within the boy, the hairs on his chin, and the life in his face. The boy has come a long way from the young child in the burning house. 'Don't you understand the bonds we share with each other? Why do you have to take them away? Can't you realise you're just destroying yourself! Aizen!' Ichigo screams at him, Aizen watching him in awe now. In that moment, Aizen summons in his hand another Hogyoku and watches in shine. Then, he thrusts it out in front of him and opens his mouth wide.
'YES! THE ANSWER IS RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES! MY VERY EYES! IT IS YOUR SPIRIT I NEED, KUROSAKI ICHIGO! FALL INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE HOGYOKU!' Aizen screams and a bolt of purple electricity shoots towards Ichigo, the boy closing his eyes and raising his swords. Together, they meld together, like fires intertwining and he clasps them, a solid handle appearing, the very first sword he ever crafted inside Urahara's tower drawn from the fires, patchy and dirty, unrefined and inelegant.
'Getsuga Tenshou.' Ichigo whispers and he twists his hand, flinging a blue bolt of light towards Aizen. The two beams clash, sparks flying in between the two of them and Aizen collapses to his knees, Ichigo falling also, the two of them struggling. Aizen covers his eyes with one hand as he pushes on, Ichigo's eyes burning bright with an irrefutable resolve. Behind him, Aizen's wings crack and break, splitting apart before breaking away, blowing away in the furious winds.
'I…' Aizen grunts, pushing against Ichigo's blue light. In his hand, the Hogyoku cracks and Ichigo forces against him, the blue light now completely swamps the purple sparks. Aizen watches as his free arm begins to split apart, blue light filling his body. It explodes and he cries out, but turns his attention back to Ichigo, forcing the Hogyoku forwards even still. '…I…CAN'T LOSE!' Aizen screams, the sweat evident on both of their faces now, the wind sending their hair into frenzy. All of a sudden, the Hogyoku explodes in the palm of Aizen's hand and he watches it dissipate into the crushing blue light. Then, his arm breaks away in front of his eyes and he opens his mouth but no sound comes out. His robe tears away, revealing the gruesome hole in his chest.
'I…' Ichigo whispers, the blue light flooding Aizen now, the man on his knees as Ichigo slowly stands to his feet, swaying, his knees buckling but still he stands. '…I HAVE TO WIN!' Aizen looks at him through scared eyes now and Ichigo shakes his head. 'I'm sorry, Aizen. But I promised everyone I'd come back. And I will. It's over.' With that, he breaks his sword off at the handle and watches the reiatsu crash over Aizen, the man shrieking as his body is torn apart.
'DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN YOU, KUROSAKI ICHIGO! I…I…I AM…A GO-…!' he splutters, his voice suddenly choked out, his eyes wrangled. And then, an explosion of blue light shoots out across the room, enveloping everything in its path. Finally, there was silence.