Inside the Chamber of Trials

"Oh, Ichigo…." Yoruichi felt her eyes became wet as she looked at his bloody fingernails. "What happened to you?" She brought his body closer ignoring the warm liquid spilling all over her clothes. She just couldn't believe that something like this could happen. Even at his worst Ichigo never had such an expression. The sheer of agony and terror on his face almost forced her to wail loudly.

"Don't worry we'll make it better I promise you." She whispered gently rocking him.

Tia on the other hand just stood petrified by the horrific sight of Ichigo's face. Deep bloody gashes were all over his face. The blood was sliding down to his open eyes, and then down his cheeks, so it looked like he was crying crimson tears. Her body went from hot to freezing cold. Her mind felt dizzy, almost like she was about to faint. She was briefly aware that tears were sliding down her face.

"He's made it," Tessai uttered in relief.

Which turned out to be the horrifically wrong thing to say. Tia spun around on her heel and punched Tessai square in the jaw. She winced in pain upon the collision. The man's face felt as if it was made of pure steel. Tessai's face shot to the side, but he looked like he expected something like this to happen.

Deep inside he was happy that it wasn't Yoruichi who punched it.

"He's made it?!" Tia repeated in a furious whisper. " You call what happened, making it?!" She roared letting the emotions take control of her. "How could you throw him in there knowing what they'd do to him!?" Tia started to emit an ungodly amount of reiatsu, mindset to shed blood.

"Vice Commander Halibel! Stand down!" Captain Commander ordered firmly. Tia grit her teeth read to ignore the order but luckily Yoruichi intervened.

"Tia please calm down." Yoruichi choked through the tears. "Don't undo all of Ichigo's effort...he wouldn't want it."

"How can you say that?! Aren't you furious too?! Look…what happened to him…look!" Tia's voice cracked. "He deserves it…."

"I do," Tessai whispered. "If you wish to take my life, then you may. After I teach Ichigo how to use this power, that's all I ask." He said calmly, shocking all occupants of the room.

"Tessai…" Yoruichi muttered. She was furious with her childhood friend, but not to the point she wanted to take his life.

"Is that a promise?" Tia asked coldly.

"Yes, I promise that I will offer you my life after I train Ichigo," Tessai uttered looking her dead in the eyes.

There was no deceit there.

Tia was conflicted inside. She wanted to hurt this man so badly for subjugating Ichigo to suffer such pain, yet on the other hand, he looked to be suffering for his actions as well. The regret was written all over his face.

Tia felt all her powers leave her. She walked to Ichigo's side and fell to her knees, hugging his body protectively.

"Captain Unohana stop Kurosaki's bleeding. We're leaving this accursed place as soon as possible." Yamamoto told his companion.

"Hai, Yoruichi-san, Tia-san, can you move? I need space." She asked gently. Both ladies moved, albeit grudgingly. Unohana went about working her magic.

That gave Yoruichi and Tia time to look around.

"Tessai..." Yoruichi spoke, her voice hoarse from her emotions. "How do you know that he will be all right?"

Tessai waved his hand so the balls of light moved to the fifteenth statue…the statue of Ichigo. The sight made Tia and Yoruichi gasp.

The sculpture showed Ichigo standing in his Bankai mode, with Tensa Zangetu in his hand. But what shocked them more was that half of his face was covered by his Hollow Mask, like he was just losing control over his Hollow.

"If such a statue appears here it means that Ichigo was deemed worthy of being a true Kido Corps Commander…If he lost his mind in the process we would've just found his body here…" Tessai explained quietly.

"But why? He was tortured so much that he wanted to claw his eyes out!" Tia asked trying to reign in her fury.

"Because this is the price of power…As I said, the test was to break him…to humble him, and to deprive him of his arrogance. So he won't use that power in the wrong ways…To make him realize his powerlessness." He muttered.

"That's bullshit!" Yoruichi yelled. "Ichigo would never abuse his power!"

"Can you guarantee it?" Tessai asked. "Can you guarantee that Ichigo will remain the same after one hundred years? That he will never change for the worse?"

"I…" Yoruichi trailed off looking at Ichigo. She couldn't fathom him being a monster, the very thought made her heartache painfully. "I won't let him…" She muttered.

"I believe that you and Tia-dono will do everything in your power to never let him stray off his current path…But sometimes, despite our best efforts, people you care about and love change, and you can do nothing about it…." He finished sadly.

The mood worsened, even more, when everyone remembered the people that had betrayed them.

"That's why he needed to understand it in such a harsh way…The power he received is both a blessing and a curse."

"How can you even say something like that?" Tia spat. "For him to go through such pain…He didn't deserve it." She felt her tears gather in the corners of her eyes again.

"Because I understand the pain of losing someone you care about better than you think…The day I had taken the test was the day I lost my two most precious people….One was killed by the other, and the other was killed by my hands…So trust me Tia-dono, I know how much power can corrupt and change…If there was another way to do it I would have never subjugated him to that…" He choked. "This boy only did this because he was worried about you two, his family and the rest of his friends."

"Tessai shut up…" Yoruichi felt tears sliding down her cheeks again. "Just shut up..."

"I'm done," Unohana said. Ichigo's face was still scarred, bloody red tears on his face, but none of them were bleeding. "Let's go."

Tessai moved to Ichigo's body and lifted him bridal style. "His sword is in the vestibule…Retsu can you take my staff?" He asked. The 4th Division Captain nodded.


Above, Ichigo's Office

A pregnant silence fell over the occupants of the room, as Ichigo's Reiatsu heightened to the very limits. All Captains, excluding Mayuri who had a look of sick fascination on his face, had a grim look.

Even Soi-Fon who, putting it nicely hated his guts to the core hoped that he would come out of it alive. His death would be too much for Yoruichi.

'You'd better survive this Kurosaki, or Lady Yoruichi will be devastated.' She thought. While she hated him, she didn't want to kill him. Humiliate him and throw him and his Hollow bitch in prison yeah, but killing him was too much, despite everything.

"Ok that's enough, I'm going down there," Toshiro said walking forward.

"Me too," Rukia said with teary eyes.

"The Captain Commander ordered us to say here," Byakuya said calmly, but his face was tense.

"Well, he said that he would go down himself, but he said nothing about us going down there," Kyoraku stated.

"He's right, we should check on what's going on there," Rojuro said.

Before anyone managed to say anything a single pulse of energy went through the room. The seals started to glow so brightly that they almost blinded for a moment, then they returned to normal…but no one could feel Ichigo's Reiatsu anymore.

"It's done," Hachi said. "Now we only have to wait for them."

"But what had happened to him? I can't feel his Reiatsu anymore!" Rukia asked frantically.

"Calm down Rukia-san." Ukitake said gently. "It's Ichigo-san we're talking, about I'm sure he's alive."

"Don't worry Rukia, I'm sure that Ichigo-san will be ok," Ashido said. He was standing at the back of the room, so she hadn't noticed him before.

"Ashido?" She uttered incredulously. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, Ichigo-san brought me back and was about to introduce me at the earliest Captain's meeting, but…" He trailed off.

"Then who are you that you need to be introduced?" Ukitake asked eying his unusual outfit.

"I am Ashido Kano, former Fourth Seat of the Six Division." He stated.

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"What do you mean by former?" He asked. Ashido quickly summarized his story. "I see, so you have been fighting in Hueco Mundo for over five hundred years."

"Yes, I have…Captain, I know that I shouldn't do it so suddenly, but I request a transfer to the Kido Corps?" He asked.

"Why do you want to do this?" Byakuya replied.

''I owe my life to Ichigo-san for bringing me back here when I lost my will to come back…I'm only here thanks to him." He replied honestly.

"Very well. Since you are listed as dead there would be no need for me to reinstall you in my Division. So you may join his Division as soon as he agrees to it." He told Ashido.

"Thank you for your understanding, Captain Kuchiki." He bowed.

"I'm really glad that you are here Ashido." Rukia put her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah me too. Glad to see you alive." Renji added.

"Thank you…and don't worry about Ichigo-san, he'll survive whatever is down there," Ashido said with confidence.

"I know but…his Reiatsu was so…" She hesitated. "Painful…"

After her words, silence fell on the gathered again. After a few minutes, they started to hear steps. Everyone close waited impatiently for the group.

The first one to emerge from the stairwell was the Captain Commander his eyebrows frowned and his face emitted nothing but deep thought. He was followed closely by Unohana, who shared the grim expression with him. The next ones were Tia and Yoruichi, it was painfully obvious that they had cried their eyes out.

Tessai was the last one to come out. As soon as he stepped out, the stairs behind him began to close, but no one noticed it. Everyone's stares were glued to the Ichigo's face.

Or rather the barely dried mass of blood that covered it. Even his orange hair had a shade of crimson in it. Quiet gasps escaped their throats.

Everyone was shocked into silence. None of them could imagine who or what was able to cause such damage to the young Kido Commander. Even those of the Captains who hated him knew that his strength was something to be reckoned with.

"Who did that to him?" Rukia asked with a dry throat, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"He did it himself." Toshiro suddenly said, his voice filled with terror. "Look at his fingernails."

"Just what happened there…." Shinji said in an unusually serious voice.

"We don't know…" Yoruichi said meekly. "But he saw something that made him want to claw his eyes out." Adding more shock to the group.

"But what happened down there?" He pressed.

"Nothing that concerns you." The Captain Commander said bluntly. "Commander Kurosaki will be now transported to the 4th Division barracks, make some space." The Captains and Vice-Captains parted, making way for the group to pass.

The group silently made their way to the doors. When they opened it they saw Ichigo's Division, with the remaining seated officers, waiting for the news.

"Move." The Yamamoto ordered shortly. Ichigo's men quickly moved, letting them pass. As the group went through gasps and sharp inhales could be heard. The whole Kido Division was shocked their Commander was down and looked like someone tried to claw off his face.

When the group left the building they Shunpo'ed to the Unohana's barracks. As soon as they arrived she took him to the Captain's quarters and ordered a bowl of warm water and towels to wash the blood off his face.

But before Unohana began, the Captain Commander spoke.

"Wait, I want to see the contract."

"Understood," Tessai said, and started undressing Ichigo. When he removed his shirt, it revealed the medium-sized tattoo of the Kido Corps insignia, surrounded by a perfect circle of Kanji signs in the middle of his chest. But that was not the thing that caught their attention…

"What is that?" Yoruichi whispered feeling dead creep up her spine.

Ichigo's whole upper torso was covered by black hands prints. What was disturbing about the hand's prints was that they were disfigured, deformed, and bent at odd angles or inhumanly long fingers.

"Just what in the name of God is that?" Tia whispered with terror.

"Those are the Marks of Shadows….they will fade in a few days," Tessai said quietly. "Don't ask anything more."

"I see, then he is finally a legitimate Commander…Report to me as soon as he wakes up." With that the Yamamoto. Shunpo'ed away.

Unohana began to clean his face-off and soon made another startling discovery. A thirteenth black handprint was on his face.

Undeterred, she proceeded to heal his wounds. After about twenty minutes Ichigo's face was completely healed, leaving it without the slightest scar…which made the black handprint look even worse.

"My job here is done." She said wiping her hands. "He will stay here until he wakes up. I'll take my leave now, farewell." Then she left the room, leaving Tessai, Tia, and Yoruichi in uncomfortable silence.

"I'll go as well." He stood. "I know that you two are furious with me, but let me give you a piece of advice…He will be traumatized after that, and his mind will be very fragile…He will do and say things that will hurt you, but know he won't mean any of it…Surround him with love and understanding, but also give him space if he asks for it…Don't try to force him to do anything, he will react with aggression,…but don't worry he will get better in time." He walked to the doors.

"How do you know?" Tia asked.

"From my own experience." He replied, and looked at her with sadness.

"Was it worth it? Is this power worth it?" She inquired with a hoarse voice.

"You can do wonders with that power…. If I had it then, maybe a few things would look differently…But I guess I would never understand the necessity of the test." His face twisted in pain.

"What happened when you took the test Tessai?" Yoruichi asked. "You changed after that."

"Yoruichi…trust me that if it wasn't for 'that' person, I wouldn't understand it…" He walked back to his seat. "I guess I owe you an explanation, so you can see my point of view…Yoruichi do you remember when we first enrolled at the academy?"

"Sure I do." She smiled a bit. "Those were good days."

'Yes, you and Kisuke managed to get into the first group, while I ended up in the second." He smirked. "You mocked me for years for that…Anyway, there I met a guy that I considered my best friend, a brother at some point, his name was Daiki Goto. We found a common ground of understanding since the day when I accidentally cast a Sai on him."

"Yeah, I remember that guy was almost as tall as you, but quite scrawny, with brown hair and green eyes," Yoruichi said.

"Yeah, that was him. Well unlike you or Kisuke we weren't generally good in everything, but there was a subject that we excelled beyond any of the students seen in the academy for a few hundred years. As you can guess it was Kido, so much that we even invented a few lesser spells. In our third year, we were noticed by the current Kido Corps Commander." He hesitated, a flash of pain crossing his features. "Kyoko Idane, the thirteenth Commander…In case you forgot she was the sun-kissed blonde, with long hair, and sky blue eyes with slightly tanned, but flawless skin. She was a midget like Rukia, but much more endowed." He smiled sadly. "Her personality was wonderful too. She was kind and caring, but also strict and harsh when necessary, not to mention fun to be around…" He paused, forgetting himself in memories.

"Was she your lover?" Tia asked quietly.

"Wasn't that hard to guess, eh?...But I'll get to that. When she noticed how we handled Kido she immediately took both of us with her."

"Yeah, I recall that you disappeared at that time, we kind of lost contact," Yoruichi said with a slight pout.

"Sorry about that, but I guess for such Kido passionate people, a whole library filled with nothing but Kido books was too much." He chuckled. "Daiki and I drowned in books, and quickly climbed the division hierarchy, and I guess that somewhere at around this time a mutual attraction between Kyoko and I began to form." He smiled. "We were spending more and more time together, speaking about stuff unrelated to Kido, and I guess at some point things just happened." He sighed. "But because I was blindly in love, I also overlooked that my Brother started to change… The darkness grew within his soul…He became driven, obsessed with knowledge about Kido…He began learning the forbidden arts, and honing his skills to terrifying levels…After about thirty years I became the Third Seat, while he became Vice-Commander. Our relations were still good, but something was amiss…Looking back, I could see that he envied me. My relationship with Kyoko,…but he restrained himself because of our friendship….until a certain event came….


Flashback 205 Years Ago-Kido Corps HQ

Kyoko was sitting in her office, filing various paperwork, to her dismay. She wished for something to happen. Anything to save her from this torture.

"KYOKO!" A shout came from behind her.

"KYAAAA!" She screeched, jumping to her feet, knocking all the papers on the floor. She spun around, red from anger and embarrassment.

"TESSAI! How many times have I told you to not scare me like that!" She yelled, pouting.

"Haven't bothered to count!" He replied with a boastful laugh. "It's just that your reaction never gets old!" He caught her by her sides and lifted her to his face level.

"Let me go!" She huffed. "Or I'll..mmm!" She was interrupted when Tessai pressed his lips to hers. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but his physical strength was far superior to hers.

"You're too cute." He grinned. Her response was to chop hit him on the top of his head. Tessai collapsed, a trail of smoke coming off his head.

"No fooling around during work hours!" She nagged him. "If you spent half of your time training, instead of plotting on how to give me a heart attack, you would be a decent Kido master by now." She smirked.

"Decent? You are the only one that can beat me in the straight-up fight!" He shouted.

"And what about Daiki? He mopped the floor with you during the last bout?" She laughed at him.

"I let him win," Tessai mumbled, crossing his arms. "There's no way a nerd like him can beat me!"

"Orly?" A voice came from behind them. "Care to back those words up, Tessai?" Daiki said, entering the room, followed by Hachigen the Fourth Seat.

"Daiki my men! How are you!? I see that you still force Hachi to carry your paperwork." Tessai boomed.

"Aside from that lame attempt to change the subject, Hachi needs to improve his skills and I'm helping him do that." He crossed his arms. "Unlike you. What happened to that educational drive you had when we were at the academy?" He lamented.

"Well, I had a drive for something else now." He winked at Kyoko. Daiki's smile became a little strained, but no one noticed.

"Tessai, you're crossing the line." She gave him a very threatening smile. "You know how I am when I'm…Cough!" She started to cough violently. Soon blood started to trail out of her mouth.

"KYOKO!" Tessai shouted, his face filled with concern. "Hang in there, I'll take you to Captain Unohana!" He lifted her bridal style, and Shunpo'ed away followed closely by Daiki.

He arrived at 4th Squad in record time, and ran into the barracks, straight to the Unohana's office. He burst into her office.

Unohana was about to politely explain to him why such behavior was unacceptable when she saw Kyoko in his arms. Wordlessly she threw everything from her desk, and Tessai gently put Kyoko on it.

Unohana began stabilizing her, and soon her coughing stopped. In the meantime, Daiki arrived at the office.

All the time Tessai was holding Kyoko's hand, and mumbling comforting words. When her state was stable enough, he nagged her for her foolishness.

"Kyoko why haven't you taken your medicine?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"I did." She replied weakly. "It just...stopped working."

Tessai looked pleadingly at Unohana.

"I'll start preparing more potent medicine right away. Don't worry Tessai-san, she'll be fine…Now take her to her room, she needs rest." Unohana went to fix some new medicine.

Tessai gently lifted Kyoko and carried her to her usual room. He put her on the bed and pulled up a blanket over her. He saw how pale she was. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead he let her sleep.

"Tessai lets go to the garden, we need to speak," Daiki said. Tessai followed him, and they sat on one of many benches in the 4th Division garden. For a few moments, they stared in silence at a pond filled with Koi fish.

"You know that she will have to resign from her position soon." Daiki started. "Her illness is far more destructive than Captain Ukitake's."

"I know…but she's happy where she is…She enjoys doing it." Tessai sighed.

"But the job it to task for her. It would be better for her health if she resigned, and gave the mantle to someone else…" He trailed off.

"And that someone would be you I guess." He smirked.

"Point out a better candidate." He challenged him.

"How about the tall, handsome, dark-skinned guy who..." Tessai started.

"Got owned by the former the last time they sparred." He grinned.

"Fine, you have a point. I'll settle for the Vice Commander for now, but be wary my ambition is as big as my d…"

"So it's pretty small then." He deadpanned, making Tessai face-fault.

"Asshole. Anyways go check on the Division they are probably worried sick. I'll go to Kyoko." He stood.

"Ok see ya later." Daiki Shunpo'ed away.

Tessai moved to Kyoko's room and sat at her side, taking her hand. He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. He was thinking deeply about what Daiki said. It sounded reasonable and looking how tired she looked, Tessai was certain that he would have to persuade her to step down. He sat there till it got dark, and somewhere along the way, he dozed off.

He woke up a few hours later when he felt tugging. He saw that Kyoko was trying to free her hand from his grasp. He instantly unclenched his hand.

"Owww what is your deal Tessai! You almost crushed my hand!" Kyoko seethed. He said nothing, he just pulled her into a gentle hug, holding her small frame protectively in his arms.

"Never worry me like that again." He muttered.

"I don't think that you should be the one giving me orders." She joked with a smile.

"Kyoko…we need to speak," Tessai said. "I'm being bold, but I think that you should resign from your position."

She looked at him, shocked and hurt.

"Tessai…is it because of my illness? You think that I'm not good enough?" She whispered sadly. Being a Kido Commander was a fulfillment of her dreams, and to hear such words for her lover…

"Of course not! You're the best, but…I worry about your health…I see that you're struggling with keeping the façade, but the illness is getting worse isn't it?" He asked. Her response was only gripping the sheets tighter. "I don't want to lose you Kyoko…. I can't stand by and watch you work yourself to death." He caressed her cheek.

"But I love doing it." She mumbled.

"I know…" He sighed. "But please, think about it…You can't imagine what I felt when I saw all that blood…" She put her hand on his and pressed it to her cheek.

"I'll think about it…Can you leave me alone?" She asked.

"Ok, I'll come for you later." He stood and placed one last kiss on her lips, then Shunpo'ed out of her room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Later, Kido Corps HQ

Daiki briefed the rest of the division about what occurred, trying to calm them down. The Commander's state was no secret, but rarely she got this bad. After the commotion was settled Daiki waited for news from Tessai.

He was currently playing Shogi with Shiro Kuni, the Fifth Seat.

"Well, it seems that Kido is the only thing you're good at." Shiro grinned, checkmating him.

"Damn…I lost again." He mumbled, handing over his bet money.

"Don't worry, only Hachi can beat me in this if he's having a good day." He smirked. "Oh look, it's Tessai."

"Hey, guys," Tessai said sitting next to them. "I spoke with the Commander, she'll consider our proposition."

"So you finally decided to reveal your cards eh?" Shiro asked.

"How do you know?" Daiki asked with suspicion.

"You're not the first one to consider telling her to step down. We're all worried about her, and if she continues to force herself, she will die." He said grimly, making Tessai cringe. "I guess that either You or Tessai should take over."

"But who would you prefer to see as Commander?" Daiki asked innocently.

"Well if I looked at Kido skills, it would be you." Daiki grinned at him. "But with your lack of people skills, you bookworm, the chain of command in the Division would be in shambles." His smile turned into a scowl.

"Come on Shiro, he's not that bad," Tessai said, putting a comforting hand on Daiki's shoulder.

"I'm just stating the facts. Daiki you have no problems with speaking to us, but I can see that you look down on the other Divisions. It would cause problems working with them." Shiro stated.

"Now you're exaggerating." Daiki huffed, crossing his arms.

"Ok guys that's enough. We don't even know if the Commander will agree to it." Tessai said.

"Then we'll just have to wait," Shiro said.

And indeed Commander Kyoko came back on her own and called Tessai and Daiki to her office.

"I thought about what you said Tessai…and I think you're right. I'm no longer fit to lead the Kido Corps…" She sniffed almost inaudibly. "I have thought about my successor, obviously it was a choice between you two… Daiki you're a marvelous Kido master, with vast knowledge and understanding of the art, rivaling mine. I guess that with this pace you will surpass me completely in a few decades. Tessai, while you're slightly...cough much cough… inferior to Daiki, you possess the inner talent to draw people to your side, and organize them. Not to mention your high diplomacy skills…and those were the perks that convinced me to nominate you as my successor." She finished.

A tense silence fell after her words. Tessai and Daiki were stunned silent, but for different reasons. Tessai couldn't believe that he was chosen. Daiki was far better than he was, not to mention he didn't think that he was worthy of such honor.

Daiki, on the other hand, was furious.

'That bitch…Not only does she suck his cock, but now she's promoting him over me!' He seethed. "Commander, isn't your decision biased? Your relation with Tessai after all." He spoke through his teeth.

"I understand your concern Daiki but trust me it has nothing to do with my relationship with Tessai. Being a Commander is not about being the most powerful, but the ability to lead. Which you sadly lack. That's why Vice Commander is a perfect position for you…And also you wouldn't survive the test to become Commander." She said cryptically.

Daiki's face turned red.

"Bullshit! I should've fucking knew that you would give the position to your damn lover!" He shouted, and stormed out of the office.

"Daiki wait!" Tessai shouted, running after him.

"Tessai sto...Ugh!" She coughed again. "Not now…" She forced herself to stand. She knew that Daiki was ambitious, and with such a slap to his ego, it might end badly. She moved as fast as her weak body allowed her.

Tessai chased after his friend, they had already left the walls of the Seireitei. They were nearing the nearby forest when he finally caught up to him.

"Daiki stop right now!" Tessai yelled. To his surprise, he stopped. "Let's talk about it…I can even give you the position if you want that so badly!"

"And what then? Everyone will just say that you handed that over to a poor bookworm!" He spat. "NO, Tessai we will solve this once and for all."

"What do you mean?" He asked carefully, not liking the look on his best friend's face.

"Well fight, no holding back this time." He growled. "I know that you weren't giving your all in our spars."

"I will lose to you! You're stronger than me!" He yelled. "We will achieve nothing this way."

Daiki looked at him darkly.

"Then you will die, and the Kido Corps will be mine…All of it will be mine!" He shot a Byakurai at him. Tessai evaded it with ease.

"Daiki please stop it! It doesn't have to end like this!" Tessai yelled.

"Too late for that Tessai!" An insane grin blossomed on his face. "Hado no 71: Hyōga Seiran!" He shot an enormous wave of ice at Tessai. It broke all trees on its way, dashing towards him like an avalanche. Tessai clasped his hands and created a barrier in front of him, blocking the ice.

"Bakudō no 30: Shitotsu Sansen!" Tessai shouted, drawing a glowing yellow triangle in the air.

"Bakudō no 39: Enkōsen!" Daiki intercepted the attack with his shield. "Bakudō no 21: Sekienton! Hadō no 58: Tenran!" Combining the spells, he shot a cloud of red smoke, blinding Tessai momentarily, but it was all he needed. He jumped above and extended his arm. "Hadō no 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!" A beam of blue electric energy shot down at where his ex-friend was.

The beam hit the ground creating an enormous crater, sending debris in all directions.

Daiki landed on the ground and waited for the smoke to dissolve. Seconds later Tessai jumped out of the smoke. The upper left side of his robe was missing, and his skin was burnt.

"You almost got me." He breached. "Guess my skills with a barrier aren't rusty at all."

"You just had a bit of luck, I'll fix that soon." He replied.

"You know there was always a department of Kido that I was superior to you…" Tessai made a few hand seals.

"Oh yeah, what was it?" He snarled.

"Seals." He disappeared with that. Daiki looked around, and to lately realized that Tessai was already onto him. A fist slammed in his back, sending him flying. He hit the ground painfully, but jumped to his legs immediately, only to fall back again. His back felt incredibly heavy.

'Damn his gravity seals!' He broke Tessai's seal and again stood up, only to be met again with a fist, sending his crashing into the tree.

Not taking any chances again, he broke everything Tessai could place on him and counterattacked.

"Bakudō no 63: Sajō Sabaku!" A golden chain appeared out of nowhere and was about to wrap itself around Tessai. He tried to dodge but was a second too slow. One edge of the chain wrapped around his leg. The other one was being held by Daiki. "Hadō no 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" He said with malice, sending a current of electricity into the chain, shocking Tessai.

The dark-skinned man roared in pain and fell to the ground. But Daiki wasn't taking any more chances.

He clasped his hands together, and soon small five small yellow orbs, with skinny tails, emerged from between their clasped hands. He moved his hands above his head.

"Bakudō no 75: Gochūtekkan!" Five iron pillars connected to the chain fell from the sky and pinned Tessai to the ground. He grunted weakly in response.

"That's it? It was just slightly more challenging than spars… you're pathetic Tessai." Daiki spat. "Now I know that she chose you because you fucked her."

"Daiki please…whatever you're planning to stop it.." Tessai muttered. " It's not too late…"

"It is far too late…The Division can't be led by weaklings or ill women. We need strength!" He roared.

"Why are you so obsessed with it!" He grunted.

"Despite being an orphan like me Tessai, you lived in the Shihoin mansion while I groveled on the streets, begging for scraps." He clenched his fists. "Always weak, always looked down upon. I hated it, I hate it!" He roared. "Power is the answer to all problems. If you're strong no one can harm you! No one can ridicule you! No one can torment you!" He gasped for air.

"Oh, Daiki why have you never told me this…I never looked down on you…I admired your drive for knowledge and proficiency in Kido…I respected you." He said with sadness.

Daiki's just shook his head.

"I have to do this Tessai. I'll beat Kyoko, and take leadership…Don't worry, I won't kill her." He reassured him.

"NO! Wait! Her state is too fragile right now!" Tessai yelled, thrashing against his hold.

"You know that she will always be fragile…" He was interrupted when the pillars holding Tessai broke. Not even noticing, Daiki was thrown backward by a ridiculously powerful Hado no 1: Sho.

"Always fragile? You don't know me then Daiki." Kyoko landed next to Tessai. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I am, what about…" He paused when he looked into her eyes. The usual sky blue orbs were now dark green, which soon turned into brown, and then to almost back. Not to mention they glowed slightly. "Kyoko?"

"I'll explain everything later, now I need to punish a naughty boy." She marched forward.

Daiki's world just stopped spinning when he saw his Commander advancing on him. He jumped to his feet.

"Daiki gives up now, and I promise that you will survive your punishment," Kyoko growled, with a pissed-off expression.

"I'll take my chances. I've wanted to fight you for some time now." He replied with confidence. "When I beat you, I can finally prove myself to everyone."

"When?" She almost laughed. "For starters, it's if, and you still have a lot to learn to challenge me." She waved her hand, and suddenly Daiki found himself in the air.

'When?' He thought, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Out of nowhere ice spikes appeared around him. Thinking fast he surrounded himself with a barrier. The spikes crashed against it, but the barrier held.

Not wasting time he created a slide made out of the barrier and slid down toward her.

"Hadō no 73: Sōren Sōkatsui!" Pushing both of his arms forward, he shot a beam of blue energy at her. Looking almost bored, she created a barrier in front of her, remaining motionless.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Not yet!" Daiki growled and started to snap his fingers. Suddenly Kyoko found herself surrounded by barriers from every side. If you looked at it from above, she would've been standing in the middle of a labyrinth.

"Ah, I knew that you were talented with barriers, but to create something like this." She marveled. "Pity that your heart is so rotten." She added with genuine sadness.

"Well let's see how you handle this!" He yelled. Snapping his fingers, dozens of spikes all at once shot out of the walls at her. Just before they connected they started to crumble, and turn into blue Reishi particles. "Impossible." He uttered.

Now his entire construction was crumbling, and turning into pure raw Reishi. Said energy gathered inside an orb above Kyoko's head.

"I have to admit, If I was using only basic Kido I would be defeated by you. The thing you did with the barriers was simply ingenious." She praised him. "As a reward, I'll show you what True Kido looks like." The orb around her head grew larger. "Don't worry, I won't kill you." The energy from the orb shot at him.

Form the place Daiki was standing, it looked like a wave of light was about to fall on him. He created the strongest barrier he could muster, but when it contacted with the energy, it broke like glass.

Daiki hadn't even managed to scream.

Tessai watched in awe as Kyoko almost effortlessly beat Daiki down. It was simply astonishing how far apart they were. His heart skipped a beat when his friend was swallowed by the energy. But soon the attack ended, and he came out only slightly burned.

Daiki fell to his knees. He was totally and utterly defeated. He hadn't felt so powerless since before he joined the academy. Kyoko advanced on him, almost glowing with energy. He looked at her with a mixture of awe and admiration. She was all he wanted to be. She was all he wanted to have. She was all he hated.

Feeling fury boiling his blood, he stood on shaking legs.

"Daiki stop this." She said sternly, but he could see the pity in her eyes. It enraged him even more.

"Never…I'll never be defeated! Never again!" He roared.

Kyoko sighed.

"Then I'll just have to put you do…Ugh...Cough!" She spat out a large amount of blood. The strain of using Pure Kido finally took a toll on her body.

"KYOKO!" Tessai yelled, running to her.

'Now's my chance!' Daiki thought. "Hado no 75: Gaki Rekkō!" A second later a green disk appeared in front of him and started to shoot out green projectiles.

Kyoko, even in her state, managed to deflect a few, but three pierced her straight into her chest. She made a gurgling sound and fell to the ground.

The battlefield fell silent. Only the sound of the wind blowing at the sight of the former forest could be heard.

"Hehehe…HAHAHAHAAH!" Daiki burst out laughing. "I did it, I DID IT!HAHAHAHA!" He cackled. Walking closer to her body. "I'M THE STONGEST!HAHAHA!"

Time seemed to slow for Tessai. The moment Kyoko fell to the ground, everything went blank. His best friend, and brother, just killed his lover…and was laughing about it.

Not even noticing when he moved, he was on Daiki in the blink of an eye, slamming his fist against his temple, sending him flying.

Hate-filled him so much of him that he trembled. Tessai never loathed anyone in his life as much as he did Daiki now. Fury boiled out, his teeth were clenched so tightly the words barely escaped his lips. He extended his hand into Daiki's direction and began to chant.

"Raging fire of nether, burning demon of flame, blacken the flesh, turn the soul into ash, there is no innocence, devour, annihilate, the vengeful spirit of darkness! Oh ever ablaze insanity, darken the sky…Hado no 100: Kuro Inferunoreijingu!" He roared with fury.

To say that Tessai unleashed a storm on his opponent, would be the understatement of the century.

Daiki could just look like the wall of black flames dashing towards him. It was so gigantic that it obscured the sky. The world started to fade into burning darkness. He didn't even bother to defend himself, he was spent after the last attack. He just admired that majestic sight.

'To have something like that hidden from me…heh.' With that thought, he embraced the flames and was turned into ash.

Tessai looked at the devastating sight, but that was the least of his worries. He instantly kneeled next to his love and took her into his arms.

"Kyoko! Kyoko come on, don't do this to me!" He felt tears sliding down his cheeks. Then he saw her eyes starting to glow from under her eyelids.

"T-Tess..ai..." She muttered.

"Don't speak, I'll take you to Unohana immediately!" He was about to Shunpo when she stopped him.

"No!" She said more sternly, as the glow in her eyes became brighter. "I'm done for…I'm only living now thanks to Pure Kido."

"To what?" He asked.

"I don't have time to explain. Take me to my office now!" She ordered.

"What…" He started.

"NOW!" She yelled, coughing up blood.

With a heavy heart, he obliged. Running as fast as he could, he reached the Kido HQ in record time. Passing countless shocked Shinigami, he walked to Kyoko's office. She whispered a few words and sealed the room off.

"Let me touch the floor." She whispered. Tessai kneeled and her hand brushed the floor. He gasped in shock when suddenly the whole room was covered in seals.

The stairwell opened beneath him. She told him to go down, and so he did. He walked and walked till he reached the place that would give him nightmares for the rest of his life…

"Tessai put me down." She said when they reached the vestibule of the Chamber of Trials. "Now listen, you will have to go to that other room, and face a test to became worthy of being a true Kido Commander." She took a deep breath. "Nothing you will see there is real…" The glow in her eye started to diminish. "Believe...in your…self…and you will…be alright." She cringed when the glow died out completely, showing her tired blue eyes. "One…more…thing." She gently cupped his face, wiping his tears. "I….love…you…Tessai." She pressed her lips to his, kissing him gently.

Breathing her last breath into his mouth…

"Kyoko?" He asked when her body went limp. Realization fell on him like a hammer. He cradled her small body in his arms, letting a long sad wail that echoed through the empty halls.

After an unspecified amount of time, he gently put her body on the ground and walked stiffly to the Chamber of Trials.

The doors closed behind him with a dull thud.

If someone was listening then he/she would hear blood-chilling screams and sobbing...


Flashback End

Present

"After three days The Captain Commander came down there and retrieved me. I gave Kyoko proper burial….and thus I became the fourteenth Kido Corps Commander." He finished. A pregnant silence fell over the room. Yoruichi moved to his side and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Oh Tessai, I didn't know." She let a few tears out.

"It's ok, I never told you." He muttered, his voice wavering.

Tia looked at the picture and suddenly felt horrible for hitting and threatening him. She hung her head in shame.

'I should be more level headed….I pray something like that would never happen…thank you, Ichigo." She thought humourlessly. "Tessai-san." She said attracting his attention. "I apologize for striking you earlier….I had no right to do that." She blushed embarrassed.

"No need Tia-dono. I would be furious too if someone did something like that to my loved ones." He replied with a small smile. He signaled for Yoruichi to let him go. "I'm off them…When he wakes up tell him that I'm sorry."

"Ok, but can you go to the Division to calm things down," Yoruichi asked.

"No, my presence would only undermine Ichigo's authority among the older generation. Don't worry Hachi and Shiro probably have everything under control now." He said. "Farewell Yourichi-dono, Tia-dono." He Shunpo'ed away, leaving the two of them alone.

"I guess now we understand why the test has to be so drastic," Yoruichi said. "If people like Daiki got a hold of this power so easily, it would be catastrophic."

"But it doesn't make me feel any better," Tia said.

"I know what you mean…" Yoruichi sighed. "It seems that we're about to sit a few days at his side again."

"I agree. He does stupid things that cause him to go to coma way too often." Tia replied, shaking her head. "He wants us to start pre-mature greying."

"No shit. I'm getting tired of worrying about him, troublesome apprentice." She caressed his cheek, carefully avoiding the areas of black. Somehow they were disturbing. Unnatural, like something that shouldn't exist just marked Ichigo.

She felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Is everything all right?" Tia asked, noticing her shiver.

"No, it's just those marks creep me out for some reason." She said furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah…I would prefer it if some strange creatures refrained from touching him." She muttered angrily.

"Only we have that privilege," Yoruichi said with a small smile. "But I guess any fun time will be in the faraway future."

"I guess you're right." Tia stood. "I need to go to check on the Division."

"They'll be fine. Hachi and Shiro surely will take care of things." Yoruichi said, but Tia just shook her head.

"I'm the Vice Commander of the Division, and I have duties…I don't want to leave him even for a second, but he also trusted me with the squad. So I won't disappoint him." She stated firmly. She bent and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I'm leaving him in your care…Remember that he is in a fragile state." She said leaving.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"


Kido Corps HQ- Common Room

The news that Commander Ichigo Kurosaki was wounded spread like the wildfire through the Soul Society Members of the Kido Corps. Many dropped their duties and ran as fast as they could to HQ to confirm this information. Shouts and murmurs filled the room. Neither Hachi nor Shiro managed to calm the squad down.

"It's complete chaos." Shiro rubbed his temples. "Just like 110 years ago."

"Let's not exaggerate, at least they don't want to disband the Division this time." Hachi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but I bet that they all felt the agony in his Reiatsu, and are worried for their Commander. The brat is popular among them." Shiro replied.

"Hehe, I agree. Ichigo-san has a talent to make people follow him…Oh look it's Tia." Hachi said. She was making her way to the place where Hachi and Shiro were standing. On her way, a random member pestered her for answers, but she remained silent. When she finally got to them, she turned her attention to the crowd below.

"Can I have your attention?" She asked. The crowd fell silent. "Thank you. As you probably know Commander Kurosaki was wounded today and is now in Captain Unohana's care. He's alive, and nothing threatens his life, but he's in coma…We don't know when he will wake up, but everything indicates that it will be soon." She lied or rather voiced her hopes.

"But what happened to Commander-sama!" A random Shinigami yelled. "We all felt his Reiatsu, and it was like something was torturing him!"

"I'm not liable to say, my apologies," Tia replied. "But he will get better in a few days, and everything will be back to normal. Now please, return to your duties. Your concern for Commander is admirable, but we all have work to do…Now Hachi, Shiro, Hashiro and Ashido please come with me." Tia said, walking out of the common room. They walked in silence to Ichigo's office, and as soon as the door closed behind them Shiro spoke.

"So how is he?" He asked.

"As I said, physically he's fine, but we don't know when he will wake up…or if he'll be suited for active duty…" Tia bit her lip.

"Vice Commander what do you mean?" Hashiro asked.

"He might be traumatized after his experiences…We don't know by how much." She said with worry.

"I hope not as severely as Tessai-san…He was suicidal after that." Hachi said sadly, making Tia gasp.

"….I guess that's not surprising…He told Yoruichi and me about the previous Commander to him and his friend." Hachi and Shiro cringed, while Hashiro and Ahido shifted uncomfortably feeling out of place.

"Hashiro you are to calm the rest of the men and prevent unnecessary unrest." She ordered.

"Hai." He replied shortly.

"Ashido, the Captain's meeting will be in two days, so if Ichigo isn't awake by then you will go with me, and then we will install you into the Division." She instructed.

"I understand." He said.

"Hachi, Shiro, since you are trusted by the older generations, you will do the same thing as Hashiro, and convince them that everything is fine." She ordered." Make sure that the squad is back on track and there is no delay in their duties.

"Ok, but you know that we can't stall forever. They will demand answers sooner or later." Shiro told her.

"Then let's hope it will be later, hopefully, Ichigo wakes up soon…"


A Week Later

Ichigo's state remained the same, with the only exception that the handprints faded. During that time Tia and the rest of the members that knew tried to calm the growing dissent in the Division. While it worked, it was obvious that Ichigo's men were worried about him.

One of the few good bits news was that Ashido was accepted into the Division without any hitch. Tia accompanied him to the meeting where he once again summarized his story. Even the Captain Commander was impressed by his resourcefulness and survival skills. The rest of the Captains still wanted to know what had happened to Ichigo, but Yamamoto shot down all attempts to pry any info from Tia.

During that week Tia and Yoruichi took shifts at Ichigo's bedside, so he was under constant close surveillance 24 hours a day. That was until Unohana limited the visiting hours to two hours a day, not to mention she told them to get a life.

So once again Tia and Yoruichi were sitting at his side, the latter playing with a strand of his hair.

"Come on wake up already," Yoruichi growled. "You've slept long enough."

"If it worked so easily…" Tia mused. "I think I'll soon be going back to the Human World to break the news to his family."

"I doubt that Isshin will take it…" She paused when she looked at Ichigo's face….He was crying. "Call Unohana now!"

Tia jumped to her feet and ran to find the Captain. After a few minutes, she came back with Unohana. She quickly moved and examined the young Commander.

"He's dreaming…It means that he will wake up soon." She said looking sadly. "I'll leave you two alone."

And so both ladies waited for a few hours, watching his facial expressions. Mostly anguished and terrifying ones, but it looked like he was slowly waking up. He started to stir in his sleep, and mumble some incoherent words.

Tia and Yoruichi crept closer, trying to make something out of his mumblings when suddenly his eyes flashed open, startling them.

Ichigo jumped up, looking around the room in wide-eyed terror, like a cornered animal.

"Ichigo! It's alright you're safe!" Yoruichi said quickly raising her hands before her.

"No! You're just another illusion, go away!" He snapped, retreating from her. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Ichigo please calm down." Tia pleaded. "It's over, you passed the test."

Ichigo shook his head frantically.

"No…" He grabbed his head. "It's not real, it's not real…." He moved his hand to his face in scratching motion. That move set all the alarms off in both ladies' heads. They both jumped at him and tried to restrain him, but he struggled violently.

"Let me go! Haven't you tormented me enough!?" He yelled flaring his reiatsu.

"Ichigo stop!" Tia urged him. "Just calm down!"

"Oh screw it!" Yoruichi lunged forward and slammed her lips against his. Ichigo's eyes widened in shock, and his struggles ceased.

After few seconds Yoruichi pulled back. She looked at him with hesitation.

"Is that really you?" He asked in a voice that broke their heats. He sounded so vulnerable, so fragile. His face was twisted with fear and grief. "Please…."

"It is us Ichigo, you're safe." Tia choked, her voice hoarse from emotions. "You're safe."

Relief washed over Ichigo like the wind. He fell limply to his knees and started to weep.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" He chanted. Yoruichi and Tia instantly hugged him tightly, whispering soothing words to his ears. Ichigo buried himself deeper into their embrace still apologizing.

"Why are you apologizing Ichigo?" Tia asked gently.

"Because I killed you."


A/N

Guess who is back! Yes it's been a while ride all those months but I think I have slowly come back on the right trails. I hope you guys are all healthy and well in all this pandemic!

During my prolonged absence from the site, I have done a bit of soul searching and I guess I decided that I would like to take writing more seriously. I hope to succeed in that manner. That is why I decided to make a P-A-T-R-E-O-N account and get some real support to help me fulfill that, My first goal is to be able to afford the Grammarly tool to increase the quality of my work.

So if you're willing to support me, check my profile and go to my and toss a coin to the writer!

Peace out,

Night Hunter