Chapter Eighty One:

Ichigo dropped to his knees, releasing a small gasp as he watched Kyoka Suigetsu snap, the sudden wave of relief he felt was enough to render him dizzy. Surely it was a sign that he had won. That he had ended everything with a final swing. Scarlet eyes watched as the brunet Shinigami began to squirm, pushing up onto his hands and knees, Aizen was alive and his wounds had healed. But his reiatsu was fluctuating, uncertain and lacking its usual confidence.

"What is the... Meaning of this?" The brunet asked, picking up the two pieces of his Zanpakutō and staring blankly as they began to crumble in his palms, flaking away into nothingness.

"She is rejecting you." Ichigo breathed, his head spinning so fast he was sure he might be sick. He crawled to one side, leaning heavily against a fragment of broken rubble, he slumped against it and allowed the brick to take his weight, eyes closing, "The Hōgyoku will reject you next."

"Do not be ridiculous. I have subjugated the Hōgyoku! It answers me, it's master."

"You're not it's master." He muttered, his voice low as he felt fatigue wash over his entire body, making his muscles and bones ache, "Not anymore."

"What have you done to me?" Aizen's voice was barely above a hiss as he demanded an answer.

The now black haired Shinigami sighed deeply, eyes fluttering open to glare over at his former flame, "The Hōgyoku... It has a will and personality all of its own. It's like a living person contained in a ball. The only way to defeat you... Urahara-san said I had to make your Zanpakutō and the Hōgyoku reject you. Both only work for you because you're the strongest being around them. To stop you... I had to prove I was stronger. Prove I was more worthy. Mugetsu... This form... Was the only way." He whispered, "It's over. Aizen."

"Over?" The brunet growled, slowly pushing himself to his feet, "This... Is not over."

Scarlet eyes revolved around and fixed onto chocolate brown ones, a frown on his face, "What can you do? Without your Zanpakutō? Without the power of the Hōgyoku?"

Aizen lifted a hand to the single trickle of blood that had dared to break free from between his lips, swiping in one swift motion, "I can still make you suffer. I can still strip you of the town you seem to love so much, before your very eyes I can still sacrifice the lives of every living creature inside this barrier. I can still make sure you die knowing you are nothing more than a failure."

Ichigo tensed as fingers gripped his long black hair, yanking his head back with painful sharpness. He was forced to glare into brown eyes, the eyes of a man he had once vowed to follow to the very end. And here they were at the very end, the end of everything they had shared. There was no going back. There was no changing his mind.

"You're right," he breathed, "You can still make me suffer. Still take away everything I have left. You can kill me. Shame me. Hurt me. You can make me feel the same failure I've felt ever since remembering what happened to my family. But there is one thing you can't do."

"Oh?" Aizen spat, "And what exactly is that?"

Ichigo clenched his teeth so tightly that his jaw creaked quietly in protest, he narrowed his eyes and glowered up at the face of the man he would have died for once, "You can't stop me." He threw his head forwards with all his might, smashing the crown of his skull into Aizen's nose.

He felt the satisfying crunch and the splashing of warm wet blood hitting his hair and face, Ichigo immediately forced himself back up onto his feet despite the pain which was beginning to spread up from his fingers and toes. Swaying momentarily as his head spun and his vision blurred, he felt the urge to be sick rise.

"As long... As there is breath... In my body..." The former strawberry panted, shaking his head to clear his mind, hand flying up to block a jab from his opponent, "... This town... Will carry on..."

"You're getting weaker by the second." Aizen growled, striking out and landing a heavy blow against the other's shoulder, "You can't hope to win."

Ichigo fell, knees grazing on the floor. He instantly pushed back up, spinning on his heel and kicking dirt up into Aizen's face. When he heard the grunt of discomfort, he turned. Pounding at the man's chest and face. He pulled him closer, almost tearing the collar of his shihakusho... He heard the slight rasp of the material ripping under his fingers but he didn't care. The only thing he could bring himself to care about in that moment... Was the glistening town at his back. The lives encased within the barrier. The lives he'd sworn to protect.

He felt his head snap back and his body followed, Aizen's fist had clipped him under the chin sending him roiling into the rubble. The cry of pain that followed was barely muted by the feeling of several more punches and kicks striking deep into his chest and stomach. He spat blood and saliva and his vision blackened.

The pain had spread to his shoulders, to his hips. Coldness. Tingling. An ache he couldn't ignore. A throb. A growing sensation of frigid burning.

Scarlet eyes flew wide as he felt his reiatsu deplete suddenly. Eyes rolling, but his vision intact enough to see his long locks of black hair rip away from his natural spiky style. His breath hitched as he watched untidy orange fall into his eyes, his fingers twitching at his sides as he witnessed the black swirls of hair crumble into tiny orbs of reiatsu.

His mind was solemn. Silent. Empty. There was no voice inside his mind except his own. Tensa had gone silent. Shiro had gone silent.

The grey bandages surrounding his torso and his lower face cracked and crumbled, opening him up to another strike from his assailant. Panting heavily and unevenly, skull bouncing off the rocks as he received a blow to the face. His reiatsu was beginning to dwindle. He could barely lift a hand to try and block.

Aizen stopped without warning. His own breathing harsh. The brunet straightened up and brushed down his clothing, straightening his collar, "Now stay down." He growled, stepping over the crumpled Shinigami.

Ichigo gargled, rolling onto his side lethargically. The air was growing more and more difficult to inhale. Every breath felt like microscopic slivers of glass clawing at his throat and his lungs. He knew why. His body wasn't processing reishi properly anymore because his reiatsu was going lower and lower. He was becoming a normal Human.

Allowing his eyelids to slip closed for the briefest of moments, he sighed at how heavy they felt. His will to fight was dwindling. He ability to fight was almost gone. Somehow Aizen was still on his feet, still capable of slaughtering Karakura town.

Had Urahara been wrong? Had Urahara's calculations been incorrect? He had done what he'd been told to do. He'd proved to the Hōgyoku that Aizen was not the strongest, he'd created that divide and as a result Kyoka Suigetsu had also turned on her master, so why... Why was he still moving?!

He was drifting. He could feel the darkness creeping closer. He could feel the tendrils of surrender clawing at his ankles. Sleep was calling his name. Or was it death? He could feel the blossoming injuries across his skin, bone deep bruises, his tanned skin was mottled and blackened in places, blood vessels broken beneath Aizen's violence. His eyes were slipping shut... He couldn't stop it...

"Goodness me," Orihime's voice was soft but full of amusement, "I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun! They've been excited to meet you all day!"

"It's fine." he found himself grinning, allowing his hands to rest on their heads as he ruffled their hair gently.

His childhood friend walked over, giggling softly to herself, "The little one is my daughter, Kaida. And the other is my son, Hotaru."

"A little dragon, and a firefly huh?" he asked, amused by the meanings behind their names, "They're gorgeous."

"Ichi-ji!" Kaida released his leg and held her arms up, a hopeful smile on her face.

"You are a natural, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime clapped her hands happily at the sight and hastily led them into the house.

Ichigo's eyes flew open. A raspy breath bursting free from his lungs. He couldn't give up. He couldn't surrender. There was a little dragon, and a firefly on the other side of the barrier who needed him to protect them. Orihime would never muster a barrier strong enough to stop Aizen. Ishida's arrows would never penetrate Aizen's skin. Chad would be too slow to land a hit. They'd die. All of them.

He clenched his teeth and let out a low groan, digging his fingers into the sand and dirt beneath him as he forced himself to sit up. Every fibre of his being, every tendon, every muscle and every bone protested. Insisting he remain down. His groan grew to a shout as he forced himself to stand up. Ichigo flipped around, staring at Aizen's back as the brunet continued to make his way towards the barrier. There couldn't have been more than a few feet between the man and his goal.

Looking down at his hands, they shook viciously, the pain was not forgotten but he managed to ignore it for the time being. Pushing it aside, just as Aizen had trained him to do. There was almost nothing left that he could do... Aizen suspected everything, knew everything, knew him... He needed something new... Something fresh... To gain the upper hand... But...

His eyes widened only a little as a wicked grin stretched across his lips. Maybe it was time he tried something he had never been able to do.

"You shouldn't doubt yourself. Doubt is the only thing which can limit latent talent." The Kuchiki heir smiled softly, "Believe in yourself Ichigo, and others will do the same. Believe in yourself, and I know you will accomplish anything you desire."

"Except Kidō." He grinned.

Releasing a never before heard snort, Byakuya's eyes warmed, "Well, everyone needs a flaw."

"There... Is still... Reiatsu in me... Enough for this..." The strawberry snarled, clasping his hands together in front of him, "Bakudō 4: Hainawa!"

He could have cried as he watched the golden rope of reishi shoot forwards, winding around Aizen's body, forcing him to a half mid-step. Never in all his dreams, never in all his years, never in all his training had he managed it... Kidō!

"I'm not done yet!" He barked, "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!"

Aizen's midsection was impaled by the beams of yellow light, the brunet had managed to turn just slightly, enough to fire a deathly glare towards the quivering, weakened Shinigami, "What do you think you are doing?"

"We both knew... Kidō was my biggest weakness... So it seems kind of fitting... To use it against you now." Ichigo was gasping for breath, sweat rolling down his face, "You will not... Set foot... Over that barrier..."

"You think this pathetic level of Kidō can bind me?"

"No... But it can slow you down! You never should have taught me everything you knew!" Ichigo held his palms away from himself, eyes slipping shut with the force of his focus, he extended his arms out at his sides, bringing them in sharply to slap his hands together. His fingers intertwined, " Bakudō 99, Part 1: Kin!"

Aizen's eyes widened sharply and he released a sharp hiss of pain as his arms were forcibly bent up behind his back, he watched as thick wraps of spiritual fabric wound around his body. His body stiffened further, if possible, the feeling of the iron shafts impaling the fabric into the ground, dragging him to his knees despite his struggles to remain standing.

Fingers trembling with exertion, his skin cold and clammy despite the heated sweat soaking through the remnants of his shihakusho, Ichigo dropped to his knees, fingers slamming into the ground, "Bakudō 99, Part 2: Bankin! Prologue – Halting wraps!"

His head was spinning as he watched the brilliantly blinding white reiatsu explode from beneath his hands, swirling and transforming, bending to his will to become dense white fabric. Aizen's face was encased first, forcing an enraged roar from the man.

"Refrain – Serial Hundred Bolts!" The strawberry set his jaw tightly, feeling the drain on his remaining power as he activated the secondary incantation, he stared ahead as Aizen was impaled by numerous metal bolts, piercing the fabric to keep it in place as he swallowed his body entirely.

"Finale – Fully Prohibited Great Seal!" Scarlet eyes that were slowly bleeding chestnut flicked to the sky as the immense metal cube formed above them both, he let out a small breath as it began to fall, gaining speed as it hurtled towards the ground.

He dived out of the way at the last moment, rolling onto his back as he watched the cube hit its mark, landing squarely on Aizen's entrapped form. The strawberry laid still, staring just in case the brunet came at him again.

For the briefest of moments he thought it was over again, but then the cube was illuminated with a bright blue glow and Ichigo felt the familiar wash of Aizen's reiatsu buffering against his skin. The cube crumbled.

"I have had enough... Of your games." Aizen's voice was low, it was dangerous and it was deadly, "Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!"

Ichigo leapt to his feet, throwing his hands up in front of himself reflexively, "Bakudō 81: Dankū!" He flinched as the electrified reiatsu collided with his barrier, he could still feel the singes of heat rippling over his bare arms, and watched as streaky scalds appeared on his skin.

"Santen Kesshun!"

Ichigo lurched back as the triangular barrier formed in front of him, it took the brunt of the electrical current, buffering against the enormous explosion that followed. His head instantly snapped around, the breath leaving his chest as he saw Orihime stood behind Aizen, just beyond the barrier, her hands outstretched, Ishida stood to her right, and Chad on her left.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled, wincing as the barrier shattered, "Run!"

"No, Kurosaki-kun!" His childhood friend barked back, her expression fearful but determined, "You are not alone!"

"How heart warming." Aizen breathed, eyes narrow.

"No..." Ichigo breathed, he could almost see how the man's thought process was moving and it turned his blood to ice.

The strawberry haired Shinigami released a breathtaking roar, adrenaline pumping through him with abrupt certainty, thrusting his limbs into nimble action as he sprinted forwards, bursting into a severely slower Shunpo than what he was normally capable of.

His right hand flew out to his side, fingers tensed as energy began to crackle in his palm, "Hadō 63: Raikōhō!"

Ichigo slammed his hand directly into Aizen's chest, forcing the orb of yellow lightning to chafe against the Hōgyoku. He made eye contact with the man, his mouth opening as he released another roar, thrusting his left hand forwards, "Hadō 32: Ōkasen!"

He felt the burn of the Kidō surround his body. He was certain that for a moment he had blinded himself permanently. The horizontal arc of yellow that he released mingled with the power of the lightning in his right hand, exploding between their bodies with an intensity he'd never felt from Kidō before.

The detonation was calamitous. Ichigo felt like his body was being torn apart. He could feel the heat of blood washing over him and he wasn't sure if it was his own or Aizen's. Or a mixture of both. He heard the brunet release a cry of pain, but his own seemed to drown it out as he hit the floor. He skidded, the grit and rocks cutting into his skin as he came to a stop face down in the dirt.

He wasn't done... He couldn't stop... He had to make sure... Had to finish... The job...

Weak arms pushed him up, each tiny movement created a new and fresh agony that ripped into him. He could feel his wounds stretching. Gaping. Tearing. He could feel his energy sapping with every fraction of a second. His eyes were focused on the slump of white ahead of him.

His fingertips brushed the crumpled, burnt textured fabric of Aizen's tattered coat and he used it to pull himself upwards. He climbed over Aizen's motionless form, straddling his waist and using his chest to push himself into a seated position. He was drooling, saliva dripping free from his chin in a mingle with fresh and old blood. He didn't care.

Ichigo clenched his right fist, drawing his arm back as far as he could as he watched brown eyes open slowly to stare up at him.

"I would... Have followed you to... The very end of the world... I would have sat at your feet... I would have cut down anyone... Who dared get in your way... But then I remembered something... Something important..." He didn't care that his blood splattered Aizen's face as he spoke.

"And what... Was that?" Aizen rasped out, throat sounding raw.

"I remembered my vow."

The impact of his fist connecting with Aizen's face sent shock waves up his forearm and left his fingers numb. He sat back limply as he watched Aizen's eyes roll up into his head, the man was finally unconscious.

Finally.

He collapsed only a foot away, arms and legs spread wildly as he stared up at the blue sky overhead. As the adrenaline began to fade and his mind slowed, the pain of his injuries began to make sense and he felt himself shaking. He didn't dare look down to assess the damage for fear of what he would see. On top of that pain, he could feel the last dregs of reiatsu beginning to seep away from him. He lifted his hand up over his face, watching with a sluggishness as thin wispy tendrils of black and red reiatsu began to coil their way free from his fingertips. His eyes sliding to his arms, his heart sinking as he watched his Clan tattoos lifting free from his skin and dissipating into the air.

"Kurosaki-san." Urahara's face appeared over his, the man's expression was solemn.

"I-It's over... Urahara-san..." He croaked, "It's over."

"Yes... It is. I have activated a Kidō seal which I stored within Aizen's body earlier today... It would not activate until you had weakened him enough for it to work. Because of you... He will face the justice he deserves."

The blond glanced towards where Aizen had been, Ichigo's eyes followed sluggishly, blinking twice in quick succession as he found himself staring at a single, vaguely start-shaped white barrier, Aizen's form hidden from sight. Ichigo could no longer feel his reiatsu, he wasn't sure if it was because of the seal or because his own powers were fading.

"You saved them, Ichigo." Urahara swallowed, "You saved them all."

"What wouldn't I do... For the people I love..." The corners of his lips quirked into a lazy smile, "You knew... Didn't you? About the Final Getsuga Tenshou..."

The man's head lowered, eyes shadowed with guilt, "Yes... I knew. I could think of no other way to stop him. And so I manipulated you... Because of me you are losing everything..."

"I'm not... Losing everything..." He said softly, "Losing everything... Would be... Failing to protect my family... And forgetting about them... That... Was everything..."

"You've grown wise, Ichigo." Urahara took in a sudden breath, "We need to get you beyond the barrier, you need healing urgently or... Or you may still die."

Ichigo cried out as he was scooped off the floor, his body limp as he felt Urahara's arms holding him close to his body, seemingly not caring about the blood or the mess. He felt strangely safe. The sunrise haired Shinigami felt the brief change as they passed through the barrier and soon after he felt the coolness of Orihime's tears hitting his face as she summoned her healing powers.

"Urahara-san..." He winced, squinting up at his Godfather as he was passed into Chad's stronger arms.

"Yes, Ichigo?"

"I... I don't want to just... Disappear..." He felt a pang of panic, "I don't want them wondering... What happened... When they get here... I-I... They need answers... They need to know... Byakuya..."

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw tears in the man's eyes, "I will stay and wait for them. I will wait for them, you have my word."

"Thank you..." He gasped out, his eyelids growing heavy, the throbbing in his head increasing, "Thank you."

As Ichigo gave into unconsciousness, the darkness swallowing him away into a pit of crippling pain as well as the soothing touch of Orihime's powers, his head lolled back over Chad's arm and his kenseikan slipped free from his hair, landing at Urahara's feet. Breaking on impact.