First of all, a shout-out to all who guessed that this was coming, some of you quite a while ago: Especially to MugetsuIchigo, Stormshadow13 and one Guest whose name I do not know and thus cannot list, because they're the ones who let me know what they'd guessed, and hit the nail straight in the head! I've no doubt more of you guessed, but didn't let me know. If I missed anyone who did let me know, give me a shout and I'll add your names to this little dedication of mine! I love you all, have white-moon and black-sun shaped virtual cookies!

Next, when I said that Bleach made me feel that "You have to be dead to have a happy ending" I didn't mean in real life, at all. I was talking specifically about Bleach. Because, and lets be honest here. I'm sure we're all Ichiruki fans, yeah? So, how was it supposed to work long term? Rukia was essentially dead, and Ichigo was still among the living. It's one thing when it's just for a while, but for a permanent relationship to work-out they'd need to be both in the same world. The 'easiest' way would be for Ichigo to die. This isn't exactly a new concept, not in Ichiruki fics, and certainly not in my own. I did it in "Choices of Life and Death" and there's a chapter called "Dying to Live" in my Everlasting series (the last chapter of the first part of the series actually) so...

Finally, I've gotta warn you right now that if you're expecting some kind of epic final battle... I'm really awful at those. I did my best, and I'm quite proud of how things turned out, but it's probably not what most of you might be expecting. Regardless, I hope you'll enjoy it. Also, I know not everyone will be satisfied, and I do have more to say, regarding why I chose to do things that way, but since I don't want spoilers, will leave that for the End Notes so. READ THE END NOTES PLEASE (after reading the chapter)!

And here we go, the second to last chapter of Nakama!


Chapter 49. Heaven's Throne

Ichigo didn't really know where he was going as he moved at his top speed in a mix of shunpo and sonido. He had to stop eventually, not due to exhaustion really, but because he realized he couldn't actually run away from his troubles, it was pointless in the long run, so he just stopped and dropped to the ground.

"Okay… let me have it." He muttered out-loud, not really caring what anyone might think if they were to hear him talking to no one.

There was no answer forthcoming, though he could feel the exact moment when the two spirits in his Inner World manifested. Zangetsu stood on the grass, head tilted upwards, clearly enjoying the sun and the wind on his face (Ichigo imagined his Inner World must have been having a bit of a storm, considering his current emotions). Shiro was crouched on his other side, balancing on the balls of his feet, almost dangerously close to the cliff Ichigo hadn't even noticed was there.

"How long have you known?" Ichigo asked next.

"We didn't know, per se…" Zangetsu began in a controlled tone.

"Oh come on Ossan!" Ichigo cut him off. "If you're gonna lie at least do it better!"

Shiro snorted but didn't disagree.

"We're your power Ichigo, we're born from your soul." Zangetsu explained. "We cannot really know something you don't."

"Huh… 'cannot really', don't bullshit me Ossan." Ichigo pressed. "If you didn't tell me for a reason at least tell me that. I thought there was trust between us!"

"There is." Zangetsu hurried to reassure him. "It was never a matter of trust Ichigo… I didn't want to burden you with something I couldn't be sure of." The spirit exhaled. "You've always been strong, for as long as I've known you, since you were a child, your raw power, your potential, have always been rather extraordinary. It occurred to me, like it did to you and your nakama, how your ancestry might be connected. And then… then Karin revealed her past, her status as a Celestial… and I began wondering, if there might be more to your power, to your infinite potential, than just you being the son of a shinigami and a gifted human woman…"

"I didn't care." Shiro scoffed. "What does it matter?"

"It does matter!" Ichigo snapped, sitting up abruptly, glowering at the other half of his soul.

"Does it?" Shiro challenged. "Tell me something aibou, before today, you'd have done anything to fight Aizen, to protect your people, has that changed?"

"Of course not!" Ichigo was offended by the mere idea.

"Then why does it matter?" Shiro retorted. "You are who you are Ichigo. Remember that."

"Never forget Ichigo, I may have given you the power to protect your family, your nakama, you're the one who chose to use it to protect the world, all worlds." Zangetsu added solemnly. "That's who you are. Regardless of names or titles. That's who You are Ichigo, the One Who Protects… the First Guardian…"

"Seems like you'll end up being called King after all, huh King?" Shiro drawled.

It took a few seconds for Ichigo to remember the conversation his hollow counterpart was alluding to, but when he did, he couldn't help the snicker, which turned into chuckles, and eventually full-out laughter for the both of them. Zangetsu just watched them, closing his eyes (probably to keep from rolling them) as he contemplated how he could have possibly been born of such a soul…

"Sounds like you're not sulking anymore."

Ichigo turned following the voice, to see his wife standing beside him, looking at him with a mix of concern and exasperation, neither of which truly surprised him.

In a quick move Ichigo turned, took hold of Rukia around the waist and pulled her to sit on his lap, his arms around her. She didn't even shriek, though she obviously hadn't been expecting it, she wasn't shocked by it either and just went with the motions, throwing her own arms around him, her head against his chest.

"Tell me what you're thinking Ichigo." Rukia requested gently.

"I'm thinking that our life is pretty insane, and it only seems to keep getting even more so with every new 'incident'." They could both hear the air-quotes on the last word.

"Is it so bad?" Rukia asked him, the slightest hesitation on her voice. "Do you… do you regret this life? If you had known where the path lead would you…?"

"No, I wouldn't have done any different." Ichigo cut her off before she could get into knots about it. "Well… I might have tried harder to kill the bastard ten years ago. But other than that? No, nothing different." A smirk tugged at his lips as he added. "At least I got you to marry me before all this shit, you cannot take it back now, the vows said till the end…"

He was cut off by a smack to the side of his head, which prompted a very dramatic 'ow' on his part, only that instead of berating him, the petite shinigami on his lap proceeded to kiss him to an inch of his life instead.

"Wow…" He couldn't hold back the exclamation when they finally had to break up for air.

"Idiot." Rukia's smile took any bite out of the word, then she smiled before placing her head over his chest again. "I will never regret marrying you Ichigo, even if you do drive me crazy at times."

"Well, at least you're getting a crown out of this." He said in a perfectly blasé tone. "Or half? Another half? To go with the one on your bankai?"

Rukia would have done more than snort if the matter weren't, deep down, as serious as it was. She was getting a crown… they both were, figuratively speaking at least, because they were going to be the next King and Queen of Soul Society… how the hell had they ended up in that position? Well, apparently they just were that good…

When they'd first heard the news: Aizen had attacked Soul Society, he had the Ouken… the first thing Ichigo thought was 'what the hell?!' (Shiro had actually expressed it in a much more… colorful manner, but still); the whole point of the Winter War, from what Ichigo understood, was to keep Aizen from getting his hands on that key, and he had it?! It didn't matter that they'd always known the day would come, that sooner or later Aizen would return and they'd have to fight him, it just didn't seem possible that things could go so wrong so fast… His next thought was 'fuck it' (that one he and Shiro shared), the Zero Division could deal with that one. They were supposed to be formed entirely of former captains, right? Yeah… not such luck.

"What do you mean that's not possible?" He asked, not understanding. "I remember someone distinctly talking about the Zero Division the Kan… Kon…"

"The Konoe Shidan." Karin corrected. "It wasn't a lie Ichi-nii. It's just… you cannot count on them. Not anymore."

Ichigo said nothing, just raised a brow, waiting for Karin to explain:

"There are a few things that we never went into, back when those things were mentioned, mostly because they weren't really important back then." The raven-haired Guardian explained. "You know that Toushirou and I are Royal Guardians, that we exist to guard the Royal Heir until he can take the throne, what you don't know, is how and why we come to be."

"We were told you have authority similar to that of the Konoe Shidan, but aren't actually a part of it." Sui-Feng pointed out.

"That's essentially correct." Toushirou nodded.

"The more detailed explanation would be to say that we're not part of the current Konoe Shidan." Karin added for good measure.

"Karin-chan, I think you need to explain everything from the beginning." Yuzu suggested.

"It's like this." Karin stated. "The Spirit King… beyond actually governing Soul Society, most of which he left in the hands of the Chamber of 46 a long time ago, what he does is keep balance. The balance between shinigami and hollows, between the living and the dead. He does this, in many ways, simply by existing. We'll go more into how later. That's the function of the King. The Konoe Shidan have two missions: the first is to guard the King, and the second to be… I guess you could call them his personal guard, almost like a secret service of sorts. When something happens that threatens to upset the Eternal Balance, the King will send them to… fix things."

"The Quincy." Uryuu spoke up in a grim tone.

"I… maybe?" Karin cringed. "I cannot know for sure, I didn't actually exist at the time the conflict took place."

"Doesn't matter, that's history. We should focus on the now." Uryuu stated.

"Right." Karin took a deep breath before continuing. "The thing is, no one can live forever. Even the most powerful individual will pass on one day, that's true for all souls, human, shinigami, even the King. There comes a time known as the 'decline', when the Spirit King begins to weaken, and thus the universe will seek a new candidate. An Heir to Heaven's Throne. That's when the Guardians are born. Once we are deemed ready we receive a sort of… I guess you could call it a 'spiritual-memory', we learn about our destiny, the task we must fulfill, and how to find the Heir. The purpose of the Guardian is two-fold. We are to find the Heir, and once he takes the throne, we're to be the heads of his Konoe Shidan. So you see, we're not part of the old Royal Guard, because we're meant to be the leaders of the next one."

"What about the current Guard?" Byakuya inquired, curious.

"Chances are they're all dead." Karin admitted with a shrug.

"What?!" Most of those present were shocked by that, most, but not all.

"When someone becomes part of the Konoe Shidan they go through a special ceremony, it binds them to each other, but most importantly, to their King." Toushirou explained evenly. "This is important because the Spirit King is so strong that if he's not careful his mere presence alone could destroy souls. The Konoe Shidan being bound to him serves a double purpose: on the one hand, they are capable of withstanding his reiatsu, no matter how much it spikes, and second, they become a conduit for his excess power, allowing him to go places without affecting others adversely. Unchecked the Spirit King's reiatsu would be enough to mark places and grant powers indiscriminately, and that's a risky business."

Brows began to rise slowly, as some of the most clever among them began slowly connecting the dots. However, their attention was derailed by Karin's next words and, especially, whom she directed them to:

"But you knew all this already didn't you, Soutaichou?" Karin asked, then revised. "Or should I call you Guardian Yamamoto-dono."

"What?!" Once again they were all shocked.

They'd gone into a bit of a tangent as Yamamoto's past was explained. It turned that he'd once been indeed like Karin and Toushirou. When the previous King had taken the throne, Yamamoto had been one of the Guardians to find him and helped him take his place on Heaven's Throne. It was also then that Yamamoto revealed something no one alive knew:

"Ou-sama was never a warrior, but he knew that it was important for the people to see him." Yamamoto explained. "It motivated the soldiers, even if he wasn't actually fighting, to see him among them… it was the end of the War against Hueco Mundo, the last time there were any Vasto Lorde-level Arrancars… at least until now. One of them got… too close. Ou-sama was almost killed, and suffered permanent damage. It's why the decision was made that he just couldn't stay anymore. Even with all of his power, his spirit body was just too fragile after that attack. A story was carefully concocted, with a lot of ceremony and protocol. Hideyoshi, my brother-guardian, left with him, and eventually the best among the shinigami joined them. I stayed, tasked with putting order to Soul Society in the aftermath of the War. I always knew the day would come when my King would die, when my brother too would die, and though it's been almost a thousand years… it still feels too soon."

For the first time those present could see Yamamoto as more than the oldest shinigami in Soul Society, as more than a grim old man who seemed to have been in power too long, who was quick to judge and hard to forgive. They saw a man who was forced to part from those closest to him in order to fulfill his duty, who never saw those he cared for again and only learned about their death when Karin (his successor!) stood before him announcing herself as a Royal Guardian, not knowing what that meant for the old man before her.

"How are you so sure they're dead?" Nanao asked, so very softly. "Isn't there a chance that… well, any other chance?"

"How long have you known Yama-jii?" Juushirou asked him in the same tone.

"I suspected since the moment Karin-san revealed herself." Yamamoto stated seriously with a shake of his head. "As for when I knew for sure… when the mess with Hell happened. The Togabito getting out? Being capable of coming and going? Of hiding from the Kushanada? Those were signs of a deep, serious imbalance; something that would have never happened had Ou-sama still been on his Throne."

There was a chance Aizen himself (and even the Hougyoku's existence) had only been possible at all because the King had been so weakened by then, the balance compromised by the absence of a strong King on the Throne.

"There's one thing I don't get." Ichigo stated. "There are moments when you make the Spirit King sound like an actual leader, regardless of whether he chooses or not to rule himself, at others like a mere figurehead… and then there are moments when you make it sound like he's actually necessary for the worlds to… well, exist."

"That's because he is." Toushirou stated. "Just by existing, the King keeps the balance. That's why it's so dangerous for him to not exist."

"How can someone manage anything just by existing?" Rukia didn't understand.

"Because of who he is." Karin explained. "Not just anyone can take Heaven's Throne. And Aizen clearly knows that. Though at the same time it's obvious he doesn't know everything. He thinks that just by killing off any possible candidate he stands a chance at claiming the throne for himself, but that's not how it works. If there are no candidates all that means is that things will worsen, until eventually we reach the point of no return."

"What do you suppose Aizen knows then?" Byakuya's eyes narrowed as his hand went to his wife, beside him. "And why are you so convinced he knows anything at all?"

"Because of his attacks today." Karin confirmed his suspicions. "The mess at the Squads would have been enough if all he wanted was to get the Ouken. He didn't need to attack the Noble Clans, but he did; and not just that, he even got a hitman to kill Ichigo, Yuzu and myself. The only reason for him to do that is that he knows. He knows that the Heir is someone from one of those Clans."

"The Heir is a noble?" Yoruichi arched a brow.

"He is." Karin nodded. "Though it has less to do with any nobility, and more with the fact that aside from some exceptions," she glanced at Rangiku and Gin as she said that. "It's usually the nobles that give birth to children here in Soul Society. That create New Souls… The Spirit King is a New Soul, because his soul must be pure. And the reason his mere existence will bring balance to the Worlds, is because he himself will represent that balance. Spirit and Human, Shinigami and Hollow, all the forms and all the powers will be represented in him."

Ichigo stopped breathing entirely, for a moment he was almost sure his heart must have stopped beating as well. All eyes were on him, he knew that even without looking, he could feel their stares. There could be no doubt, there was one person alone who combined all of those… he didn't even realize it when he started running.

It was obvious Aizen knew some things, but not everything. If he did he'd have realized from the start who his real target ought to be, he wouldn't have bothered attacking the other Clans, except… well, he wasn't actually the only candidate, was he?

"Ichigo?" Rukia noticed the rather penetrating stare from her husband and couldn't understand the reason for it.

"You know, I'm not the only candidate for the throne." Ichigo commented conversationally. "I know we joked about the crown before. But do you realize that you're as much a candidate for the throne as I am?"

"I don…" She broke off as she she counted it in her mind: new soul (her real father had been a noble: Kuchiki Sojun), human (her mother had been human), shinigami (Sode no Shirayuki), hollow (Kaijin). "Shit…"

Ichigo actually laughed at that, he'd never heard Rukia curse before, she was usually so composed… a learned behavior after being adopted by the Kuchiki…

xXx

Everyone was still together in one of the bigger training grounds that belonged to no particular division. It was where they'd all strayed to, after the destruction of the 1st Division. Where Yamamoto had related the battle that had taken place: Aizen and his group against the 1st Squad, a confrontation during which all the shinigami of his Squad had lost their lives; and while they hadn't been as numerous as the other Squads (the 1st Division had always had lesser numbers and that was the way Yamamoto liked it), they were still his men, and it hurt to lose them. It was also then that Yamamoto's own power had been stolen by a childish-looking arrancar.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Ichigo asked straight out the moment he and Rukia landed in the middle of the courtyard.

All eyes turned to him and Rukia instantly, the two were holding hands, like they'd been since standing, back at the cliff. As it turned out Ichigo had ended his run at the cliff near the edge of the Nagaken Estate. There was something about the place he just found peaceful, something that drew him towards it when he was at odds with himself. So once he and Rukia were ready, Zangetsu and Shiro had returned to their Inner World, letting the two soulmates make their way back to their friends.

"Are you ready for this Nagaken-Kurosaki Ichigo?" Yamamoto asked solemnly.

"Not at all." Ichigo answered, completely honest. "How can anyone be ready to become the King of all the worlds? To have the well-being of millions of souls on their shoulders? But we're going to do it anyway, because it's what needs to be done. Because we exist to protect, and if the best way to protect is by taking Heaven's Throne, that's exactly what we'll do."

"Uh… you do know this is only about you, right?" Yoruichi pointed out.

"Is it?" Ichigo actually smirked at her. "Are you sure about that?"

"There has never been a Spirit Queen." Yamamoto pointed out. "Ou-sama never married, and as far as I know, while the King before him was married for a time, she never held any title."

"That's then, this is now." Ichigo stated calmly but strongly. "There are two things you need to consider here. One: We're soulmates, where one of us goes, so does the other. If I'm to be King, she'll be Queen, and that's that. Second: she's as much a candidate for the Spirit Throne as I am."

That left everyone gobsmacked, all but Byakuya, who looked straight at his little sister and just… smiled. Rukia noticed, which made her smile in turn.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Rukia asked then.

"We… actually don't know." Karin admitted, looking into the sky.

"You… what do you mean you don't know?!" It wasn't only Ichigo and Rukia crying out in shock at those words.

"According to what we know, the Heir will have to undergo a series of tests, as his powers manifest and he reaches the height of his potential." Toushirou explained succinctly. "Then, once the last test is passed, Heaven will leave its mark that a new King has been chosen."

"A mark?" The questions came from every direction. "What kind of mark?"

"No idea." Toushirou deadpanned. "The tests are supposed to be something very private and personal, there are no records of them anywhere, or of the actual coronation, beyond what ceremonies might be conducted afterwards."

"So we have no idea how to even go about crowning them?!" Renji snapped.

The argument went on for several minutes, only one person apparently noticing that there were two people, two very important people, not taking part in it. Seren pulled on the sleeve of her husband's haori discreetly, and when he turned towards her she directed his attention in the right direction. To where Ichigo and Rukia were just staring at each other, seemingly having a whole conversation through a single look.

Ichigo looked away from Rukia eventually, looking around and finally realizing that they were all still arguing. He didn't see the point, it's not like they were getting anywhere. He also realized that if he tried to order them to shut up all he'd manage would be adding his voice to the arguing, and it was unlikely they'd pay attention anyway… so he went down a different route, taking a deep breath before letting his reiatsu spike sharply. Just for a moment, but it was enough. Everyone shut up instantly, eyes turning to Ichigo; though a few reacted further, their bodies straightening instinctively, at attention, like soldiers at the arrival of their general… or guards in the presence of their King…

Kisuke contemplated the proceedings, eyes sparkling as his mind recalled a memory, a scene that had taken place in the training grounds beneath his old store, where an orange-haired teen had sat in meditation, in the middle of a circle formed by his nakama, the very same who'd later come to be known by all three worlds as The Nakama… he remembered Ichigo letting his reiatsu expand, going so high all the adults had been worried he might hurt the other teens, except he hadn't, but he'd made them react, representations of their powers manifesting as if in response to a call only they could hear…

He couldn't know as he hadn't been there, but it was the exact same thing that had happened in Soukyoku Hill, the day of Rukia's would-be execution, the day when Yamamoto had flared his reiatsu, intending to show the Nakama how insignificant they were… only for them to fight back, the day when Rukia officially became one of them, embraced it, and all it implied, as their reiatsu, which had initially pushed her down, became a part of her, like she became a part of them. It didn't matter that Ichigo was so much stronger than the rest of them, always had been and always would be, his reiatsu would never hurt them, because they were all connected…

"You said there would be a mark." Ichigo stated, pulling everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "What kind of mark?"

Karin and Toushirou turned to look at each other, shrugged, and then turned his eyes at Yamamoto, who was looking at Ichigo and Rukia quizzically in turn.

"Could it be a skull?" Rukia suggested.

"You mean like the symbol on the badges?" Uryuu inquired.

Everyone knew the true purpose of the badges, even if they never talked about it. It wasn't important in the end. Not to them.

"Something like that, but in gold." Ichigo pressed.

"Sounds like you know more than you're saying, young man." Yamamoto stated, brow arched.

"We didn't know what they meant." Rukia explained. "Thought they had something to do with Hell, with the strange armor we got while we were there. Didn't even notice them until we were getting ready for bed that night."

As she spoke they both pulled off the tekkou on their left hands. There, on the inside of their wrists, just past where the armbands marking them as the Heads of the Nagaken Clan ended, laid a tattoo-like mark, a golden skull, small but noticeable.

"You say you've had them how long?" Karin blinked as she tried to comprehend it all.

"Since we came back from Hell." Ichigo answered. "Or probably since we were still in Hell, who knows? That whole mess was beyond freaky, however you look at it."

As the implications of that mark being on them, of the reality of them being who and what they were hit them, suddenly the events in Hell took a whole different meaning. Suddenly it wasn't just a coincidence, or good luck, that made the Kushanada leave Ichigo alone, that allowed him to manipulate the hell-chains as he did…

"Like Rukia said, we thought the tattoos were connected to the armor, and that the armor had something to do with the Kushanada, that they had granted us their power so we could handle the Togabito." Ichigo shrugged.

"It never made sense." Juushirou admitted thoughtfully. "For Hell to grant its favor to two outsiders, even two shinigami, regardless of how good your intentions might have been. But if Hell's Will sensed who you were…"

Yeah, suddenly some things made a lot more sense.

"So, what do we do now?" Rukia asked, still not quite clear on that part.

"Focus your reiatsu on your marks." Yamamoto instructed, probably thinking back to his own King. "Let the power manifest in you. Just follow your instincts."

Ichigo and Rukia did as told, hands extended before them, they focused their reiatsu straight into them, but nothing happened.

"Follow your instincts…" Ichigo muttered to himself.

He and Rukia turned to look at each other, the same thing occurring to them both of them at the same time. It was so obvious… without a word they turned to face each other, connecting their wrists, their marks touching, their free hands covering their soulmates wrist in turn. Then they took a deep breath, and let their reiatsu flow, connect…

There was an explosion of reiatsu and a cloud of dust formed, similar to what happened when a bankai was activated. With a second pulse, the cloud of dust was cleared, and everyone got the chance to see them again. While their spiritual bodies looked the same, their attires had changed entirely; instead of their shihakushou, or Ichigo's haori, they were wearing battle kimonos. Ankle length both, Ichigo's was completely black, while Rukia's was white, it made them look almost like how they did when they entered bankai, but more elegant at the same time. All that remained of their previous attires were the blue obis and the armbands that marked them as heads of the Nagaken Clan.

Karin and Toushirou were the first to react, automatically, as they took one step forward before dropping smoothly on one knee, right hands closed into a fist and pressed against their chest, left ones pressed against the ground, heads bowed in respect for a moment before they raised them again. Karin, taking the initiative as leader, was the one to call out then:

"All Hail the King and Queen!"

All shinigami went down on one knee almost in unison, the rest of the spirits and humans following them after a beat of hesitation, though neither stuttered as they responded to Karin's call automatically:

"Hail!"

xXx

As they learned, there was no such a thing as a Royal Dimension. Not even the Spirit King had the power to create an entirely new dimension, it just wasn't possible for any living being to manipulate creation to that extent. Powerful as some of them might be, they weren't gods. The truth was that the Royal Palace was hidden behind the most complex kekkai to ever exist.

"The Sky Palace." Yamamoto explained as he lead the group down the streets (while he no longer had reiryoku, Orihime had healed his spirit body so he was in decent condition regardless). "It's been called that from the start, and the reason should be obvious. No one knows how it is that the Palace can exist in the sky, with nothing connecting it to the rest of Soul Society except the Spiral Staircase. The palace has existed since long before my King took the Throne. Though in the past it was well-known that it existed, and the Staircase was the only way to reach it."

"What Staircase?" Renji finally asked. "I mean, if there were a Staircase literally reaching into the sky we'd know, wouldn't we?"

"Just like you'd think you should be able to see a literal palace floating in the sky." Ichigo deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "It's obviously been hidden, genius."

Renji opened his mouth to retort, then caught sight of Ichigo and closed it again. The orange-haired closed his eyes briefly, only his wife's touch keeping him centered. Renji wasn't the only one clearly having a hard time treating the two of them the same, but they could only hope that they'd all get past it soon. It was unnerving. Yes, they might be the Spirit King and Queen, but they still were Ichigo and Rukia as well, and they couldn't stand the idea of their friends, their nakama, treating them differently simply because they'd been chosen to rule over the Worlds.

"Where are we going exactly?" Rukia finally asked in an attempt to distract her husband.

"Where else?" Karin drawled. "Soukyoku Hill."

It made sense, it a very strange way, but it did. Soukyoku Hill, which stood at the very center of Seireitei, with each of the Noble Estates surrounding it… Clans that had reached such a position due to their service to the Spirit King, who were meant to serve him forever. There was a reason why the Shiba had lost their status, with Kaien and Miyako dead, Kuukaku with a missing arm, and Ganju hating shinigami like he did, there was no Shiba serving the King anymore, and thus they couldn't be allowed to keep their status. The injustice there had been that they should have been given more time, either for Kuukaku to have children, or for them to adopt some promising Rukongai citizen who might become a shinigami. Kuukaku claimed not to care, and to have no interest in bearing children either, but still, it hadn't been fair. The only reason the Nagaken hadn't fallen from grace entirely after Karin's death was because they were given that time, enough for Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu to arrive.

As they made their way up Soukyoku Hill Ichigo began considering possible strategies for the upcoming battle. He knew he had to go against Aizen, there was no one else strong enough for it, and like he himself said, between Rukia and him, where one went so did the other. So they'd be fighting Aizen… it was very appropriate, a two vs two battle… even if he couldn't picture it just yet, he didn't doubt the Soutaichou's account either:

"Two Aizen's?" Renji yelled in horror. "How the hell can there be two Aizen's?"

Shunsui had even dropped the hat in shock at that little revelation, and Juushirou himself… if everyone didn't know that he was cured of his sickness they'd have thought he was about to have an episode, he looked so pale…

"Let me guess, one of them was pale all over, except for the eyes, which were probably yellow, or gold, or something along those lines." Ichigo was the first to make the leap.

"Yes." Yamamoto blinked, staring at Ichigo in consideration.

"How did you know that Ichigo-dono?" Unohana asked, curious.

It had taken some effort for Ichigo to get everyone to treat him, more or less normally. All but his nakama insisted on using the dono suffix, but at least they were calling him Ichigo, rather than Nagaken, or worse 'Ousama'!

"Shiro." Ichigo shrugged, then explained a bit more for the benefit of all not his nakama. "As I'm sure should be obvious by now, I have hollow powers. Unlike the Visored, my Inner-hollow wasn't pushed into my soul from an outside source. My own soul split when I was nine, the night my mother was killed." He directed a reassuring look at his mom, not wanting her to blame herself, though they'd talked about Shiro already. "One half of my soul got the full weight of the grief, the guilt, the pain of that loss, and turned hollow, the rest remained human; it was also that sudden shift that caused Zangetsu to awaken. The half of me that became hollow, that was Shiro. Nowadays he grants me hollow powers and helps me fight."

"How did you survive that?" Rangiku asked, horrified.

"I'm human, or I was." Ichigo corrected himself after just a beat. "My soul was… flexible. It healed after the trauma."

"So… you think Aizen tried the same, and that's why there's two of him?" Gin guessed.

"How did he survive that?" Renji asked the question they were all thinking.

"A shit-load of power, probably." Ichigo shrugged. "It's not the healthiest thing, as I'm sure you can guess, but we know it can be done."

"We do?" Several brows were raised at that.

"It's how I got my own hollow powers." Rukia clarified. "Kaijin, my hollow, came into being during that mess with the hollow that had consumed Homura and Shizuku." Whom they'd thankfully managed to convince to stay at the estate. "It tried taking me over. Ichigo gave me the power I needed to take back control, and in the process my soul split in two, myself and Kaijin. The only reason I survived the experience was that, thanks to our bond, Ichigo was able to share his reiatsu with me. And even after that, it took us a while to get to the point where we could truly work together."

She hadn't actually fully trusted her hollow until the mess with Hell happened, until things got so bad, and Kaijin fought with everything she had to keep them safe, to keep them from dying while down there…

*It was only logical, we're one in the same after all.* Kaijin said easily. *You die, I die.*

Rukia rolled her eyes, while Kaijin wasn't exactly lying, the petite shinigami could tell that wasn't the only reason, but it was okay, some things were better left unsaid.

"So, Aizen tried to become like you two, and while he survived the experienced he didn't do it, whole." Shunsui summarized.

"Or sane." Renji interjected.

"I've a feeling Aizen hasn't been sane in a very long time." Renji muttered, half to himself.

"If ever." Ichigo added for good measure.

"So lets do a head-count, how many enemies can we expect?" Rukia asked.

"Well, we have the two Aizens, probably some Arrancar…" Thankfully not the one who'd stolen Ryuujin Jakka, that one had perished in the same fire that took out the 1st Division. "You think there might be any worse than the ones we fought years ago?"

It was a good question, and one they'd no idea the answer to. Though, considering it was Aizen and that it had been almost a decade… it wouldn't be surprising.

"There was another presence." Yamamoto murmured thoughtfully. "Though I saw no one else."

A presence no one could see…

"Kyoka Suigetsu?" Byakuya said what a few of them were thinking.

"It shouldn't be possible…" Urahara began.

"Muramasa." Byakuya, Rukia and Karin all said at the same time.

Yuzu's hand went to the hilt of her zanpakutou, feeling his reassurance.

"If it's her, we can handle that fight." She announced, strongly.

Ichigo turned in his sister's direction so fast his neck actually hurt. The mere thought of his little sister going into battle, against Aizen's zanpakutou… and yet she wasn't a little girl anymore, was she? She was a grown woman, twenty-five years old, as beautiful as their mother, and as strong as every single one of them. It didn't matter if her reiatsu might not have been high enough to allow her to create a zanpakutou, Muramasa was hers and had been for almost a decade, and Ichigo had no doubt that he would have Yuzu's back in that fight.

"Give her hell Yuzu." Ichigo let a smirk appear on his lips.

"Hai, Nii-san!" Yuzu smiled brightly, feeling emboldened by her brother's trust in her.

"I suppose we'll take on whatever Espada Aizen might have brought along." Karin said, speaking for herself and Toushirou.

"Yes well, taking your pick at opponents is all well and good, but has anyone thought about how you'll go about even fighting them in the first place?" Uryuu inquired seriously. "Particularly, how you'll go about fighting them without razing Soul Society to the ground."

"We'll need a kekkai." Rukia stated.

"There's no way any kekkai can be strong enough to take the power of all of you, and Aizen's own group at the same time." Urahara was quite certain of that.

"Perhaps not any single kekkai…" Kotori spoke up, thoughtfully.

As everyone took their positions, Ichigo could only take a moment to wonder at how far they'd come, from the day the Nakama had broken into Seireitei (though 'broken in' was perhaps too strong a term, considering they'd pretty much just walked in, thanks to the Nagaken passes they were carrying), intent on rescuing Rukia, willing to fight the whole Gotei 13 if necessary for her; to that moment, with all of them: Shinigami, Quincy, Visored, Fullbringers… living humans and spirits working together towards a common goal… all of them nakama…

They focused on creating a layered defense. The outer-layer was formed by the Kidou-Corps, and every shinigami who could be considered a Kidou Master (like Nanao, Kira, Juno and Masaki), lead by Tessai and backed up by Hachi, who was channeling not just his own power, but that of all the Visored. It was the best shield any of them could do.

The highest ranking shinigami (those who'd been part of the recent War Council) stood on Soukyoku Hill itself, where the second layer of protection was being prepared:

"Once they're here we can activate Seireitei's defenses, that will serve to protect Rukongai, at least for a while." Byakuya stated seriously.

"Yes, until the attacks get too strong for the sekkiseki to stand." Renji said, grim. "At which point the kidou kekkai will probably break too."

Byakuya raised a brow at his former lieutenant, wondering if the redhead had always been that much of a pessimist.

"That's why I'm here." Seren pointed out calmly.

It was until then that Renji realized a few things: like how Kuchiki Serenity was the only non-shinigami, non-Nakama (or Fullbringer) still with them, and even among the shinigami, only the captains, and bankai-capable lieutenants were still there (and Kotori and Isane, each for their own reason). Iba, Hisagi, Rangiku and Yachiru, lieutenants who didn't have bankai, had been tasked with standing guard at ground-level, to keep things under control from there. It was obvious it cost them, especially Rangiku, having to leave both her husband and son to risk themselves, but she was aware of her own duty (much like Masaki, when she took her own position), and that she'd have only caused them to worry and be distracted had she stayed.

"I am still a Síoraí." Serenity explained. "I will take the excess power and… transform it, for lack of a better word, into the kind of energy that might reinforce the kekkai, rather than destroy it."

"That cannot be easy." Yoruichi stated, worriedly.

"It's not, but she won't be doing it alone." Keeva stated. "She'll have us to back her up. Two Quincy and two Réalta."

Two Quincy: Uryuu and Nemu; two Réalta: Keeva and Kotori; with Serenity as the central point, the five of them would do their best to limit the damage caused by the upcoming battle.

The next layer were the fighters. The remaining captains and bankai-able shinigami formed a perimeter on the edges of Soukyoku Hill, their main objective was to ensure no enemy or attack got past them. Also, they were aware that a battle of the level that was coming, would call on hollows, they'd be the ones to take care of that, ensure that the main fighters didn't have to worry about being distracted or attacked from behind. Isshin and Ryuuken joined that particular group (and Ryuuken was incredibly lucky that Kanae was still in Rukongai, he didn't want to imagine how much worse it'd be if she'd been anywhere near, it was bad enough to know both his children were in the thick of things!).

Isane for her part, even without bankai, she was still a healer, one of the best at healing kidou (which was why she was lieutenant of the 4th); she insisted on staying with the fighters to act as their healer in case it was necessary, as the others who would normally handle that, like her captain, Orihime, or Yuzu, would be busy. Tatsuki and Chad were with her, to act as her shield while she worked, and to serve as defense in case any of the fighters were to become badly injured during the battle.

The second to last layer of defense was Orihime. Though they were waiting on Aizen and his group arriving before activating the last two, since her shield would encapsulate the fighters, rather than those they sought to protect. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were each at one shoulder, hands on her in order to be able to pour into her the reishi they collected from the atmosphere, allowing her to keep her technique going longer, while Sora had insisted on staying, zanpakutou in hand, and serve as his sister's bodyguard.

The final layer, consisted on the Fullbringers. They'd insisted on accompanying the Nakama who'd crossed into Soul Society after the attacks (Mizuiro, Keigo and Chizuru had opted to stay behind, not able to easily leave their jobs, and deciding they wouldn't be that useful in any kind of serious battle anyway). The plan was for Yukio to use his fullbring to push Aizen, Ichigo and their respective groups into a pocket dimension where they might fight. His teammates and Kuugo were all around him, touching some part of him in order to share their power with him so he might be able to endure more. They knew that his fullbring would only be able to handle so much, but the more he managed the better in the long run.

Ichigo, Rukia, Yuzu, Karin and Toushirou stood in the middle of Soukyoku Hill, at the foot of the huge stand, in the very same spot where the Nakama had stood that day… the day they faced the Gotei 13 for the first time, stopping Rukia's execution before it could even begin. It was oddly appropriate, for the upcoming battle, the last battle, to take place there…

Everyone felt the moment Aizen and his group left the Sky Palace and began making their way down the stars and towards Soul Society; the moment they crossed the kekkai, the stairs themselves materialized. That was Orihime's signal:

"Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily! Santen Kesshun! Nibankyuu! I Reject!"

The pillar of orange-golden light went up in an instant; though unlike the first time, this time Orihime used her will to close it at the top forming a dome instead of just a column. The area was close enough to allow those not part of the main fight room to maneuver when the time came, while at the same time not limiting too much the main battlegrounds.

"Interesting…" The two Aizens spoke in hear-sync.

To many of the shinigami present, it was jarring to hear; either due to the echoing nature of the hollow's voice, or the way the two voices spoke together, not quite aligning, it brought shivers to more than one. Only the Nakama remained impassive, they had heard Ichigo and Shiro when they worked together, when they spoke together, and the fact that Aizen not just existed in two bodies, but that their voices didn't quite sync… it spoke a lot of how far the man had fallen… and all the ways he'd failed his attempt at becoming the same kind of being Ichigo and Rukia were, at claiming Heaven's Throne…

The two Aizens looked disturbingly identical, except for the coloring, even their attires were the same. And it wasn't just them, two others were with them: the first a woman in a heavy-looking multi-layered multicolored kimono, with a big golden headdress and a semi-translucent veil that kept her face obscured, only allowing the vaguest silhouette and a sense of beauty to be noticed. The second was an arrancar, tall, with spiky turquoise hair that barely brushed his shoulders, small yellow eyes and a fragment of mask in between his left eye and jaw, that had the form of the upper half of a jaw, before opening up in a sort-of half crown up his left temple.

"Arturo Plateado…" Yamamoto snarled, hand instinctively reaching for a zanpakutou he no longer possessed.

Such a reaction was to be expected, the one before him was the very Arrancar who'd so injured his King… the reason so much had gone wrong a thousand years prior. Yamamoto hated so much not being able to fight the bastard himself. He hadn't even known the arrancar had survived the war! If he'd known…

Karin could see the emotions flashing across Yamamoto's eyes, and the mere fact that the arrancar affected him so much he wasn't concealing his emotions… the raven-haired Guardian swore to herself that she'd make the Arrancar pay, not just for herself and her duty, but for Yamamoto and his own King… A look from Toushirou was enough to know he agreed. They'd take Arturo, the oldest Arrancar in existence, down.

"Do you actually believe that you can defeat me?" The original Aizen asked, coldly.

"Do you believe your weak shields stand a chance against my power?" Hollow-Aizen demanded.

As if to prove his point, they each shot an attack, kidou and cero, at different areas of the dome formed by Orihime's shield. The attacks never made it there. Even though she remained behind Orihime's shield, in the same area as the fighters, Seren's power wasn't affected by it, and it was just a matter of her willing it to make both attacks dissipate.

"Fools!" The Aizens snarled in the same distorted mixed-voices as before.

"I will crush all your hopes!" The First Aizen said.

"And then… then I will devour you!" Hollow Aizen added.

"Yukio do it now!" Ichigo yelled.

Yukio's reiatsu spiked, followed by the rest of the Fullbringers and Kuugo's own, and then three pocket dimensions enclosed the nine standing in the middle of Soukyoku Hill.

Aizen laughed, loudly.

"You seem to have it all so well-planned!" He said. "I wonder, do you really think you can fight me? Me?! I'm invincible!"

"You're not invincible." Rukia shook her head. "No one is."

"And we know we can take you." Ichigo added for good measure. "We will."

Thanks to some fiddling with the Fullbring, those in between the layers could still see what was going on with the battle in the middle.

Yuzu's and Kyoka Suigetsu's fight was perhaps the oddest, as neither of them moved for the longest time, though when they did… it was decisive.

"Who dares stand against the great Kyoka Suigetsu?" The veiled zanpakutou spirit demanded. "You are nothing but a child, a commoner, there's nothing you can do against me. Me, the flower in the mirror, the moon in the water. I'm that which can be seen and desired but never held, unattainable perfection. You can never hope to match me!"

"I am Kurosaki-Nagaken Yuzu, and this…" As the dark-blonde haired young woman spoke she extended a hand to the side: "is my partner, Muramasa."

"You have no idea the kind of power I hold child!" Kyoka Suigetsu's voice was high, a falsetto that rang clearly false, with a cultured, practiced tone, like someone reading from a script. "I can turn the day into night, can make the sun rise at midnight, can kill you without ever laying a hand on you! My power is absolute!"

"Is it?" Muramasa challenged her. "If your power is so great, my lady, why did your shinigami choose to discard you?"

The female spirit shrieked in fury at the very accurate dig. Muramasa would know, knowing other zanpakutou spirits was his specialty after all.

"Yuzu-chan…?" Muramasa called in a questioning tone.

Yuzu closed her eyes, deep sadness in her expression, before she nodded, just once, but that was enough. Muramasa shot forward faster than most eyes would be able to follow. Kyoka threw one illusion after another at him, each bigger, harsher and more terrifying than the last, but Muramasa tore through them all like they were nothing more than smoke. By the time Kyoka realized her illusions would never be enough it was too late, Muramasa was right there, his nails tearing at her, hand burying right into her body and as it closed around her very core… with an ear-splitting wail Kyoka herself seemed to shatter; nothing more than a broken asauchi left in her place, and even that vanished into reishi particles a moment later.

"It's done Yuzu-chan." Muramasa announced.

The young woman opened her eyes then. It'd been planned, if they had to see Kyoka Suigetsu in order for her power to be used, then she wouldn't see it; as for Muramasa… he was strong, and his connection to Yuzu meant that as long as his wielder was immune to the illusions, so was he. It was a strange partnership, what they had, one that only worked because of how much trust they had on each other. Yuzu trusted Muramasa to fight for her, to wield himself, since she'd never been a swordswoman; and Muramasa trusted Yuzu to have her own strengths, to be able to look after herself, and after him when necessary.

Yukio let go of the first pocket dimension, glad that the fight had ended so quickly, and it had never gotten bad enough to strain him; he'd little hope that the others would be that easy. He turned his whole focus to the other two fights and the dimensions he'd created to hold them. He knew it was dangerous, that if things got too bad, too fast his fullbring could break. He could break. But it was a risk he was willing to take, they all were. They owed Ichigo and the others so much… not just for their assist with the Soul Society years prior, allowing them to finally stop running; but from the beginning the Nakama had befriended them, had accepted them, even with how bizarre their fullbrings could be, even with how unfriendly most of them were, that hadn't stopped Ichigo, or any of the others, from offering their friendship. So of course they'd help when given the chance.

Meanwhile, the other two battles kicked things up a notch, and as they did, the first garganta began opening across the sky.

"This is it." Yamamoto stated, even without any reiryoku or zanpakutou he refused to stand down. "Stand and fight! For the Gotei 13! For Soul Society! And For Their Majesties!"

As if carefully choreographed, all around the edges of Soukyoku Hill auras in every color of the rainbow seemed to materialize, zanpakutou unleashed. The first menos hadn't yet fully crossed the garganta when a rush of white-pink sakura petals took it down, the next one falling to a huge blade that was there one moment and gone the next; and when one fired a cero at the defenders yet another captain was there, catching the red shot of power with one blade before shooting it out of its partner and straight back the way it came.

Unohana Retsu was the only one who didn't call forth either shikai or bankai, instead she held in one hand her sealed zanpakutou, in the other a handful of kunai, and used those to fight the closest hollows with a speed, strength and viciousness many had never seen before displayed by her. Then again, most didn't know that before being Unohana Retsu, 4th Division Captain, she'd been Unohana Yachiru, the original Kenpachi…

It was precisely Zaraki Kenpachi who, once he saw her, couldn't seem to take his eyes away from her. It got bad enough that, after he was almost cut in half by one of the adjuchas, barely pulled mostly out of the way by Ikkaku, the other shinigami actually used one of his huge blades to bump him over the top of the head.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kenpachi snarled at his subordinate.

"I promised Yachiru I wouldn't let you get killed here, so you better stop acting like an idiot and focus on the fight at hand!" Ikkaku retorted. "You can focus on wooing Unohana-taichou when the fight is over."

Kenpachi seemed to be really partial to that plan, as he went back to cutting hollows left and right. Ikkaku was left silently wondering just what their world might be coming to, when the Head Healer turned out to be as vicious as the 11th Division Captain… A part of him also could not help but wonder how some of the members of their squad might react when they learned they couldn't bully the 4th division shinigami any longer… It wasn't that he'd ever agreed with that particular attitude, though he also believed that if someone wasn't strong enough to defend themselves it was their problem. In any case, things were bound to get mighty interesting…

"Bank-Kai!" Toushirou and Karin called in unison even as they gave a long shunpo-step back to put some distance between themselves and their opponent.

Going from sealed-form to bankai was something that not just anyone could do, but then again, they weren't just 'anyone'. They were Celestials, Royal Guardians and the leaders of the new Konoe Shidan, the most gifted shinigami of their generation… And the years hadn't passed in vain, when the ice-dragon wings appeared on Toushirou's back, they were no longer followed by the old ice flowers, his bankai no longer under a time-limit. While he might not look much older than he had during the Winter War (still looking like he was in his mid-to-late teens), he was older, more mature; his spirit-body might yet change in the years to come, but where the maturity of his reiryoku was concerned, he was fully grown. Karin's bankai had changed, if only slightly, with her own maturity, her clothes no longer changed from the modified shihakushou she typically wore, but instead she gained a pair of wings, made entirely of what looked almost like living flames and vaguely shaped like a bird's wings, like a phoenix's wings…

Karin and Toushirou flapped their wings in tandem, seeking to go after their enemy from opposite sides, they didn't expect just how fast he was, or when the strange greenish-tinted energy at his back took a form vaguely resembling wings, allowing him to fly as well.

What followed was the most intense battle Karin had ever been in her life, in either life. She was sure that even the fight that ended with her death hadn't been as harsh as that one. It didn't matter if there were two of them and only one enemy, Arturo was strong, stronger than any of Aizen's other Arrancar, probably stronger than even Ulquiorra! He managed to keep up with both Guardians at the same time, and might have even managed to seriously injured, or worse, one of them if the other hadn't been there to block, or at least distract him.

Two Aizens… it was like something out of a nightmare. What they could have never expected though was when, instead of attacking them, Hollow-Aizen turned on his shinigami counterpart and devoured him alive!

"Oh my god…" Rukia gasped in horror.

"What the fuck?!" Ichigo snapped, both Shiro and Kaijin agreeing with him completely.

It just went from there, as hollow-Aizen lost his humanoid shape almost entirely, his form blurring a bit, hair lengthening considerably and gaining what looked half like wings and half like tentacles on his back, six in total. His reiatsu was enough to make the dimension around them stutter and falter.

"Yukio! Drop it!" Ichigo yelled loudly, fearing the consequences to the young Fullbringer if he didn't do so immediately.

Nothing seemed to really change around them, but Ichigo knew something had, because he could sense Orihime's shield around them. He couldn't see any of his nakama, or the other shinigami, and supposed either Serenity or Kotori must have something to do with that, probably seeking to keep Aizen from focusing on them.

"I will devour you!" Aizen snarled. "Both of you! Then I will be the one and only King!"

For a moment Ichigo couldn't help but be reminded of Grimmjow, his rants about being King… though the blue-haired Espada had never sounded that insane. And to have devoured his own counterpart, someone who was, essentially, a part of him. Ichigo could tell both Shiro and Kaijin were horrified at the very idea. Even with all the threats Rukia's hollow-self might have hissed at her that first day, in the end neither of them could even contemplate doing something like what the hollow version of Aizen had just done.

"Lets show this idiot how foolish he's being, and what a true partnership's like, ne?" Ichigo proposed even as he dropped into a battle-stance, Zangetsu's bankai in hand and ready.

"Hai!" Rukia snapped, Sode no Shirayuki going into shikai the moment she drew the zanpakutou out of its scabbard. "Bankai…"

Bankai was good, but they didn't stop there. All it took was the same amount of time it took them to blink. The change was one that not many would have noticed, physically at least, not unless they were paying a lot of attention: at the way their hair lightened a bit, making them both look as if they had grown gray hairs all of a sudden; though the most striking change was the way the left eye of each of them changed into that of their hollow-selves. Their reiatsu told the story more clearly, as the two halves of each of them synced.

After that the battle went by very fast. Aizen was an incredibly powerful enemy, but he was quite clearly insane. Gone was the man patient and clever enough to create a plan that span centuries and hold onto it, keeping up a facade that was nothing like the real him, simply because it aided him in the realization of his goals.

Ichigo couldn't help but think that if the kind of man Aizen was back during Rukia's almost execution, or even all the way to the end of the Winter War, had had the power hollow Aizen held in that moment, it might have been next to impossible to defeat him. That much power, with the shinigami-Aizen's mind… he'd have been a formidable enemy. As it was, he was just one more hollow, and they were experts at handling hollows…

At some silent signal Ichigo and Rukia used their best mix of shunpo and sonido to flank Aizen, each on a different side, and then they sent their best attacks:

"Cero/Getsuga Tenshou!"

"Kuroi Kouri!"

Hollow Aizen fired half a dozen purple ceros at them at the same time, most of them missing them by a wide margin. It was until a moment later that they realized his real objective. As Orihime's shield shattered, making her scream before passing out.

"Orihime!" They both cried out in unison.

Rukia wanted so much to go to her, but knew she couldn't, not while still in bankai, it would be too dangerous for their friend, and she couldn't just drop out of bankai.

"Easy…" Ichigo was at her side in a second. "Slow and easy… Breathe… In and out…"

As they stood there, Ichigo guarding Rukia as she focused on dismissing her bankai and upping the temperature of her own body very slowly, they both looked around, at all their friends, their nakama, who were still battling hollows, there were a couple of small gargantas in the sky, but even those were closing already. Whatever hollows might have been attracted by the intense reiatsu being exuded, most had been defeated already, less than a handful remaining, and soon to be destroyed, and it was clear that they'd realized the futility of an attack.

It was satisfying for them all to see at least one part of their plan going as expected.

It had been some very long minutes when Karin decided that enough was enough. She couldn't even tell how the other battles were going, how her siblings were doing. They couldn't risk letting the battle continue for much longer, it couldn't be easy for those holdings the shields to do so against the kind of reiatsu they were expelling. So she'd rather the fight just reached its end, even if that meant using one of her most powerful attacks:

"Toushirou-kun!" She yelled even as she began focusing her reiatsu, raising her naginata with both hands and pointing it straight towards the darkening sky. "Honou no Arashi!"

A single look at the darkening sky told Toushirou all he needed to know about what was coming. In an instant his ice wings were closing, forming a tight shield around his body; and just in time too, as fire began to literally rain from the sky… blazing meteors falling one after the other, all honing on their enemy until enough hit him. Arturo crashed against the ground hard, but the attack didn't stop, the fire kept falling on him until there was nothing left but ashes.

On a corner of Soukyoku Hill Yukio winced as the pocket dimension around Karin, Toushirou and the Espada shattered, he'd been unable to keep holding it the moment Karin called on that fire-storm of hers. At least it seemed to have worked.

Ichigo reacted automatically as he sensed Yukio's last pocket dimension breaking and Karin's reiatsu spiking, he scooped his wife, not fully out of bankai just yet, and shunpoed out of the way as what looked like blazing meteors fell from the sky.

"There! Finished!" Karin announced in satisfaction as she flapped her wings a couple of times and then began gliding towards her betrothed.

The last thing she expected was when a reiatsu that had just vanished reappeared, big and growing with every beat, and then a huge attack came, straight at her. Karin barely even had time to mostly close her wings around herself protectively before the energy attack hit her. Even then it was bad enough that she went flying, an awful scream tore unwillingly from her throat.

"Karin!" Toushirou wasn't the only one screaming her name as they watched her fall.

The white-haired shinigami only just managed to reach her, to catch her, before her wings disappeared completely and with them her bankai. She'd been thrown straight past the edge of Soukyoku Hill, if Toushirou hadn't reached her in time… it didn't bear thinking about.

"Fenix, that is the name of my zanpakutou." Arturo informed them. "That is my true power, immortal and graceful, in my original form my body emerges even from the smallest of grains of ash. A beautiful power that mere shinigami like you do not deserve to witness, unequaled the beauty and fury released from my flames and grace." He sneered. "Aizen was only ever a means to an end. I always knew that one day he'd be useful no longer, and now that you've gotten rid of him all I must do is get rid of you. And that's what I'll do. For I am Arturo Plateado, I am the truest King of Hueco Mundo!"

Ichigo's hand was on the hilt of his blade before he even knew it, though a dainty hand over his own stopped him before he could even think of joining the fight.

"Rukia…" He began, confused.

"Don't." Rukia shook her head. "Let him handle it. He needs to."

Much as he might not want to, Ichigo did understand what his wife was saying. He had to let Toushirou finish Arturo, it was the only way he'd be at peace. He had to know he could do it, for Karin, and for himself. It was the white-haired Guardian's battle to fight, and to win.

"Do it Toushirou-kun…" Karin whispered, voice quiet and eyes half-closed, she was so drained she could barely stay awake. "I know you can do it."

He knew what she meant, it was something he'd only recently learned he could do, after Hyourinmaru judged him to be ready for the full power of his bankai. The kind of ability that was so powerful he wouldn't have survived it before reaching full maturity. And Karin, with her own power, if they weren't soul-bonded he'd have never dared use it so close to her; she was still in his arms even, as he didn't dare let go of her just yet. It also would have been incredibly difficult to do it, with Karin's own fire so recent, but Rukia being still not fully out of bankai meant that there was just enough cold and ice in the air that Toushirou's own bankai was reinforced.

Toushirou didn't even need to get his hands off her or touch his zanpakutou, Hyourinmaru was a part of him, born of his own soul, like all zanpakutou were:

"Shikai Hyouketsu…"

Nothing seemed to be happening at first and then… from one moment to the next there was ice everywhere: the ground, the Soukyoku stand, the huge sealed blade… but it didn't end there, as the ice rose from the ground, through the air, fast, so very fast… Arturo never got the chance to run, much less fight back. He was flash-frozen in a heartbeat.

Toushirou took a moment or two longer, ensuring that he wouldn't be breaking out of that, then let go of bankai, the ice not melting so much as shattering and then turning into reishi particles, Espada along with it. There was nothing left, not even ash…

On a corner Seren was on her knees, hands on her thighs, she was forcing herself to take slow, deep breaths; while she really felt like panting, she knew hyperventilating wouldn't help her, so she forced her body into cooperating. On one side of her Uryuu and Keeva were holding each other up, exhausted as they are. They way they each held a hand over the very slight bump on Keeva's belly almost made Seren feel bad about requesting their assistance at all… yet she knew she wouldn't have been able to do as much as she did, especially with Aizen's ceros and Arturo's last attack, if they hadn't been there to help her balance her power. As powerful as Seren might be (and she was almost sure that becoming a spirit only made her more so), something as big as changing the nature of reishi, dispersing it safely, etc., was incredibly hard, and not something any one person could ever achieve alone). Nemu was barely doing any better, even though her artificial body actually helped her, as it was stronger than a normal spirit-body. Kotori though was fully unconscious, then again, she'd been assisting Seren, while at the same time keeping an illusion up so Aizen and Arturo wouldn't see all the shinigami actually on Soukyoku Hill.

For a moment there was not a sound, it was as if everyone on that Hill, as if the Soul Society as a whole were holding its breath, waiting … nothing happened. Arturo didn't return, nor did Aizen. They were both well and truly gone… The cheers that followed that realization were deafening and, as they all soon realized, they were coming from more than just Soukyoku Hill… far more.

"Look down." Yamamoto pointed out as everyone looked around.

He was the first to notice it: the rooftops, they were awfully crowded. Every single shinigami in the Gotei 13 had climbed onto the closest rooftop, and from there (and with some help from a fair amount of kidou) they'd all borne witness to the triple battle that had just taken place. The battle for the future of Soul Society and, in some ways, for all the worlds. Even then, it took several seconds for them to make out what it was most of them were shouting most:

"Long Live the King! Love Live the Queen!"

The news were out. There was a new Spirit King, and for the first time in their history, there was a Queen as well. As Yamamoto watched them silently, watched the way they both blushed but stood tall, looking down at those who, from that day on, were their subjects (who, for all intents and purposes, had been thus for years!), not with dismissal or pity but with their eyes filled of decisiveness, protectiveness… Yamamoto could hardly believe his own feelings in that moment, to think that the first time he laid eyes on those two together, on all of the Nakama, all he could think about was the awful mess they were making of Soul Society. How hard it would be to make things right again, only, had they been right before that? Had they been right when the execution of a woman could be ordered and no one would stand up against it, would stand up for her, even when they all knew it was wrong? Yamamoto had a feeling that, if those two had anything to say about it Central 46 wouldn't be making an appearance any time soon, possibly not ever. He'd make sure that they knew it was up to them; no nobles would be pushing things this time; not that he thought Nagaken-Kurosaki Ichigo was the kind of man to allow himself to be manipulated… at least not by anyone other than his wife, but still. The boy was young still, he might not yet realize that being the ultimate authority of Soul Society meant exactly that, all the power was his… theirs. So much power… and yet Yamamoto was not afraid. He'd seen that boy attain a level of power so great it'd drive most men mad, it certainly had done that to Aizen Sousuke… but not him. It might seem strange to some, but for the first time ever when Yamamoto thought of the future, he looked forward to it with hope, rather than dread.

Ryuujin Jakka was gone, his reiryoku was gone, and while he mourned the loss, especially that of his companion, the piece of his soul that was there for him through the good times and bad, had his back through it all… the one who never abandoned him. At the same time, he was an old man, many times in the past few years (the past century) he'd thought about retirement, but never went ahead with it, because he felt like he couldn't. He had a duty to fulfill, a duty to the Gotei, and to his King… but now his King, the old King, was gone. The shinigami he'd trained (whom he still saw and cared for like his own) had lives of their own, duties they fulfilled wonderfully (he was so very proud of them, even if he didn't often say it, he knew they knew it). Perhaps it was time to leave things to the younger generation. To the new King and Queen, and their brand new Royal Guard (a part of him wondered if they actually realized it, the significance of their instinctive reaction the moment their King flared his reiatsu… if they hadn't it might be funny to stick around and wait for when they did… he hadn't had any fun in so long…).

Ichigo said nothing as he stood on the edge of Soukyoku Hill, royal kimono flapping softly in the breeze. He could hear all the shinigami below, hailing him as King, cheering for him… before he could lose his mind to it all a small hand slipped into his, the movement sudden but easy and completely natural. He didn't even need to turn to know who the hand belonged to. His Rukia, his wife, his soulmate, his Queen… his everything. Just like he was hers. If he didn't have her he'd no idea how he'd ever be able to handle the insanity that was his life. Thankfully, that wasn't something he had to ever find out. Because they're Ichigo and Rukia, they're the Black Sun and the White Moon… the Eternal Eclipse… and they'll be together to the end of time.


I know not everyone will understand why I chose to do some of the things I did in this chapter. And I'd like to give my reasons for some of it:

1) The lack of a previous King, and a Royal Guard... first, while I fully respect Kubo Tite, I've no idea what to think of the canon Division Zero, I honestly don't. All I can say for certain is that they weren't what I was expecting. (And if anyone's wondering what I was expecting exactly... maybe like Ginrei, or Yamamoto, or even Yoruichi or some of the Visored; older shinigami, some hard, some not, but people I could believe have far surpassed the Gotei 13... In any case, in the end I decided it was simpler to handle things the way I did. Also, it fit perfectly with everything else I've been building...

2) The two Aizens... it made sense. He wanted to be the strongest, believed he already was, until Ichigo. Also, here he doesn't have the Hougyoku anymore to fuse with. I imagine Aizen believing that if Ichigo can do it, so can he... except his soul isn't human, it's not 'bendy' and maleable, so it tore. It's only because of his power levels that he could survive the split at all. As for how they went from two to one... once again, it makes sense. Shiro and Kaijin aren't like that because they're still connected to their other halfs, so they essentially still have hearts. Aizen... I'm not sure he ever had one, even before that mess.

3) Yuzu's fight. She deserved to have her moment. But at the same time, I didn't want to make her the usual kind of fighter. I've seen it done before, and done well even. But I wanted to do things a different way. I have a great respect for Yuzu. As I've tried to show in this fic. Not just any child can push aside her own heart-rending grief at the loss of her mother in order to take that same mother's place and do her best to keep the rest of her family together. So, go Yuzu! She doesn't need to be a swordswoman, or a martial artist to be strong. Imagine Muramasa as his eternal bodyguard.

4) Arturo Plateado is from the video-games. I needed someone to be Karin's and Toushirou's last opponent, and he fit. It was easier than making someone up.

5) The name of Rukia's final attack means Black Ice, it's supposed to be hers and Kaijin's powers fused together, much like the red-and-black Getsuga is Ichigo and Shiro working together.

6) The kekkais... I needed to explain how they could possibly have that kind of fight and not level the whole of Seireitei, and it allowed me to give some of the other characters something to do...

I think that's everything, if you think I missed something let me know and I'll add it.

P.S. I had an entirely different version of this last fight in my head, came close to writing it, then decided not to in the end. If anyone's interested I'll explain it in the Initial Notes next week.

Next week, the Finale! See ya!