A Common Enemy

by fokker333

As the Battle of Hogwarts is lost, the Ministry falls, and the world is on the dawn of war, three vastly different groups unite against a common enemy. Determined to exact their vengeance against the one who destroyed their worlds, they fight. As they battle against the most powerful Dark Lord alive, they must deal with their own personal demons. Who will survive, and who will not?

5. The Fall of Soul Society

Chapter 4: The Fall of Soul Society

"Dammit!" Ichigo yelled as he sent another Getsuga Tenshou smashing through a group of Hollow. Flash-stepping into the air and standing there on a platform of reishi, he surveyed the Seireitei. The sekki-seki walls had long fallen, crumbled to pieces by the forceful pounding of thousands upon thousands of Hollows. The battle for the Seireitei had been raging for hours, the entire Gotei 13 mobilizing to defend the center of the Court of Pure Souls, the Soukyoku hill, where the surviving Rukongai civilians were huddled, clutching each other in fear as the shinigami fought for the civilians', and their own, lives.

"Ichigo!" A familiar voice called out, and Ichigo turned to see a blinding wave of snow wash over a dozen hollows, freezing them solid and shattering them to pieces. "They need your help over by the Second Division!"

Ichigo nodded, grimacing. The Second Division and the Onmitsukidou, although highly effective fighters, were not up to full strength like the other divisions, which were spread around Seireitei in a defensive ring, which was slowly being compressed inward by the sheer number of Hollows.

Leaping into a flash-step, he saw Rukia freeze another group of Hollows with her shikai. Taking just a moment to admire once more the beauty of Sode no Shirayuki and its wielder, he vanished with a whoosh, dropping out of the flash-step near the Second Division barracks, where a group of black-clad Onmitsukidou members were busy fighting off about a hundred Hollows. They were struggling, and Ichigo dove in, cutting through four of then in the blink of an eye. Taking a defensive stance in front of the Onmitsukidou members, he called to them, "Hey, are you guys alright? Who's in charge here?"

"That would be me, Kurosaki-sama," a lithe figure that reminded Ichigo somewhat of Soi Fon replied. "I'm Kawamura Tomoe, Third Seat of the Second Division and de-facto head of the Onmitsukidou. Thanks for the backup."

"Don't mention it," Ichigo said as he blocked a swipe and slashed off the arm and leg of the Hollow in front of him. "Also, none of that 'Ichigo-sama' nonsense. It's just Ichigo."

"Yes, Ichigo," Kawamura acknowledged, darting forward in surprisingly fast flash-step, leaving three disintegrating Hollows in her wake. "Onmitsukidou, formation three!"

The Onmitsukidou fighters spread into a wide arc with the outer edge facing towards the center of Seireitei and the Soukyoku Hill, with Ichigo at the center of the arc, leading a devastating charge through the Hollow horde. Smashing through dozens of Hollows, the shinigami slashing, punching, and kicking their way through the crowd, leaving the air blindingly bright with dissolving reishi.

As the Hollow numbers in the area dropped, Ichigo felt a surge of reiatsu towards the West. He had gotten better at sensing reiatsu signatures, and he quickly identified the source as Hitsugaya Toushiro. Flashing next to Kawamura, he quickly explained, "I wasn't assigned to a particular section of Seireitei to fight, so I've been mostly roaming about. I'm going to go help the Tenth Division now, alright? You should be able to handle this area without me now."

Kawamura nodded, and Ichigo flashed away. Landing on the crumbled remains of a roof, he looked around at the scene of destruction that used to be the Tenth Division barracks. With a growing sense of dread, he frantically looked around for any shinigami to help. There were none. "Toushiro!" he shouted.

Another explosion of reiatsu caught his attention as a huge group of Hollows burst out of a building Toushiro recognized as Toushiro's office. "Shit," Ichigo cursed, flashing downwards to confront them. "Ban-"

"Bankai!" A furious shout came from behind him, accompanied by a rush of freezing cold reiatsu. "Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" A familiar white-haired Captain with ice coating his arms and legs, frozen wings protruding from his back, blew past Ichigo, sending pieces of debris scratching at Ichigo's skin.

Ichigo covered his face with his arms, wincing as stones bounced off his face. He watched as Toushiro dived straight into the group of Hollows, blade extended before him in a deadly charge.

"Ryuusenka!" Toushiro growled, his blade sinking in up to its multi-pointed star hilt. His icy reiatsu flared and ice burst from his blade, encasing the first Hollow and stabbing through the rest of the group, freezing all of them into a deadly and beautiful ice statue. He barely noticed Ichigo standing to the side as he flew into the remains of his office. Dodging broken beams and chunks of stone, he desperately cast his gaze around the ruined building. "Kagawa!" he shouted, extending his senses in an attempt to search for the civilian for whom his Vice-Captain had given her life.

"Captain!" The feeble shout reached his ears, and he whipped around to see the girl pinned under a large crossbeam that had fallen from the ceiling.

"Hang on!" he shouted, rushing towards her. In a flash, the beam was gone and he was clutching her shoulders. "What were you thinking?" Toushiro admonished angrily. "Didn't you hear the orders for all the civilians to get to the Soukyoku Hill?"

Rina looked down at her feet ashamedly. "Y-yeah," she said in a small voice. "But I didn't want to leave here. You and Momo-san are the only friends I have left. Everyone else is dead. I didn't want to be alone again."

Toushiro's angry gaze softened as his grip became gentle. "I understand," he said, "but you need to be more careful, alright? You could have been killed."

"Alright, Hitsugaya-san," she said quietly. Suddenly her eyes widened, and Toushiro spun around only to see a massive Hollow disintegrate into reishi as it was slashed in half by a familiar giant cleaver-like blade.

"Touching as this scene is," Ichigo said sarcastically as he locked blades with another Hollow, "Can't it wait? We've kinda got a bunch of Hollows on our hands here."

Toushiro rolled his eyes at the Substitute Shinigami. "This is Kurosaki Ichigo," he said to Kagawa. "He's loud and obnoxious, but he's a good friend."

Ichigo was about to protest when he looked more closely at the girl Toushiro had just protected. Realization dawned. "Oh," he said, looking at Toushiro sadly. "She's the one Matsumoto-san saved, isn't she?"

Toushiro silently nodded. Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his messy orange hair. "I see," he muttered. "I see."

His head shot up as a wave of ice flew past his ear. "Oi, careful where you chuck that stuff!" he yelled irritably at the white-haired Captain. Turning, he took in the frozen Hollow behind him. "Although the new ice sculpture isn't bad."

"Don't let your guard down, Kurosaki!" Toushiro ordered as he scooped a protesting Kagawa up. "I'm going to take her to the Soukyoku Hill to the rest of the civilians. I'll be back in a few minutes, you can hold here without me for that long, can't you?"

Ichigo scoffed. "Of course I can," he said. "Don't underestimate me!" As Toushiro flew off towards the center of Seireitei, he turned to look at the horde of Hollows swarming the area, focused completely on him now, since he was the strongest reiatsu signature in the area. "Alright, you bastards," he said, placing both hands on his blade and flaring his reiatsu. "Let's dance. BANKAI!"

"Captain Hirako!" Hinamori Momo yelled, sending a fireball from her shikai crashing into a small group of Hollows. "Are you alright?" she asked her Captain as he staggered out from beneath the remains of a dozen Hollows, blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead.

"I'm fine, Hinamori," Captain Hirako Shinji of the Fifth Division said, turning to glare at the masses of Hollows gathered around the Fifth Division barracks. He gritted his teeth as he saw another Division member fall. "Brace yourself," he warned his Vice-Captain, raising a hand to his face. Momo's eyes widened at the action.

Dark reiatsu permeated the air as black reishi coalesced under Shinji's hand. In a sharp downward pulling motion, Shinji materialized his Hollow mask, causing his reiatsu to skyrocket. Glaring at the rest of the Hollows with glinting golden irises and black sclera, Shinji flashed into battle, his sealed blade a blur as he cut through dozens of Hollows at a time.

Momo took a deep breath and sealed her zanpakutou, sheathing it at her waist. Holding up her palms to face the Hollows, she began gathering reiatsu in her hands. "Hadou number thirty-three, Sokatsui!" Blue flame roared from her palms, incinerating the Hollows on either side of Shinji's path of destruction. Shinigami looked on in awe as they watched one of the strongest kidou masters of the Gotei 13 display her power.

Fire roared from her palms in a continuous stream as she followed Shinji's path, mopping up any Hollow that survived the Fifth Division Captain's onslaught. Despite their combination, however, the Hollows still came, pouring into the area from the Rukongai.

All around the Seireitei, the scene was the same. Despite the power and strength of the Captains, Vice-Captains, and seated officers of the Gotei 13, the overwhelming, unending numbers of the Hollows began overwhelming the shinigami. Slowly but surely, the shinigami defensive lines began to crumble as soldiers fell, leaving gaps that had to be filled, leaving the ranks thinner than before.

Over time, the Gotei 13 was forced to tighten their defenses, retreating back towards the Soukyoku Hill. Trying to defend a larger area with so few forces would be futile. Even as the Captains one by one went into bankai and all capable shinigami activated their shikai, it was not enough.

Almost fifteen hours after the walls fell, the surviving shinigami found themselves ringing the Soukyoku Hill itself, many battling exhaustion. By now it was the Captains and Vice-Captains bearing the brunt of the battle, despite several casualties among their ranks already. Captain Soi Fon and Vice-Captain Marechiyo Omaeda of the Second Division had fallen during the scouting mission to the world of the living. Vice-Captains Izuru Kira and Matsumoto Rangiku of the Third and Tenth Divisions had perished defending the Rukongai, early on in the battle for the Soul Society.

Several more had been killed during the battle for the Seireitei itself. Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his Vice-Captain, Kurotsuchi Nemu, had sacrificed themselves to destroy the valuable information contained in the databases of the Research and Development Institute, leaving the rest of the division and the RDI researchers to join the battle.

Third Seat Madarame Ikkaku and Fifth Seat Yumichika Ayesagawa from the Eleventh Division, along with most of their battle-crazy division, had already fallen as well.

Vice-Captain Hisagi Shuuhei of the Ninth Division had sacrificed himself to buy time for the evacuation of the Fourth Division's infirmary. His death allowed every single one of the injured shinigami, including those in the intensive care units, to be transported to the Soukyoku Hill, where Captain Unohana and the rest of the Fourth Division medics continued treatment on them and the recently injured shinigami.

Third Seats Kotetsu Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentarou had been overwhelmed as they escorted a violently ill Captain Ukitake Juushiro from his quarters. They had barely managed to get him to a first-aid station before falling.

The Visored Captains had only begun using their masks in conjunction with their bankai when a glowing Senkai gate appeared on the Soukyoku Hill, a single solitary figure dashing through before it slammed violently shut behind them. Urahara Kisuke's tattered green haori fluttered in the wind as he looked around with growing dismay at what remained of Soul Society.

Without a moment's hesitation, Urahara leapt to Yamamoto's aid as the Captain Commander, along with Vice-Captain Sasakibe Choujiro, Captain Komamura Sajin, and Komamura's Vice-Captain Iba, where they faced off against the largest force of Hollows, leaving the rest of the Captains and Vice-Captains to battle the rest.

"Sing, Benihime!" The crimson wave of energy slashed through a dozen Hollows as Urahara landed in a crouch in the air, kneeling on his own platform of solidified reishi. "Captain-Commander!"

Looking up, frowning, from where he had been incinerating hundreds of Hollows at once with his shikai, the Captain-Commander glared at the shopkeeper. "Urahara Kisuke," he rumbled. "What are you here for?"

"I need to tell you important information, Captain-Commander Yamamoto!" Urahara said breathlessly.

Yamamoto's frown deepened. For the usually cheery ex-Captain of the Twelfth Division to be so flustered… this information had to be important. "What is it?" he asked. "As you can see, we're somewhat busy."

"It pertains to what happens if Soul Society were to crumble," Urahara said as he sent another wave of energy slicing through the Hollow army. This got the oldest shinigami's attention.

"What is it?"

"I'm sure Mayuri-kun brought it up," Urahara grunted as he blocked an attack. "He probably theorized that it was possible for the world of the living to still exist even when Hueco Mundo and Soul Society don't exist. Now, normally this wouldn't be possible. But there is a certain condition in which it can happen."

"Spit it out!" Yamamoto growled impatiently. "We hardly have all the time in the world to talk here, Urahara!"

It was a testament to the seriousness of the situation that Urahara did not smile a goofy smile or whip out his paper fan to hide his face. Instead, he only looked at the Captain-Commander grimly. "The King's Realm has to be destroyed."

In over two thousand years of existence, Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryuusai had never been so shocked. After a moment of silence, during which Hollows almost managed to swarm the Captain-Commander before they were destroyed in a wave of fire, Yamamoto finally spoke. "Impossible."

"Not at all, Yamamoto-soutaicho," Urahara said blithely, reverting back to his old self. "It's simply a possibility that's never been considered before. Who in their right mind would even think about the possibility that the Soul Society might collapse and fall apart? We never thought that something could happen in the living world that had the potential to cause such massive Hollow levels. It was foolish of us, cutting ourselves off completely from living world affairs, and now we're paying the price."

Yamamoto growled in frustration. "Very well, Urahara Kisuke. If this is true, what do you suggest?"

The mood instantly turned serious again. "Statistically, The realm with the greatest chance of being saved if we carry out this plan would be the world of the living. The Soul Society would collapse, and Hueco Mundo would follow almost immediately, since the flow of souls between the world of the living and the Soul Society would be cut off."

"What about the King's Realm?" Yamamoto asked, smiting another Hollow into ashes.

Urahara smiled bitterly. "Well, that's what I came to tell you. Approximately eighteen hours ago, Karakura Town was destroyed. That's why Kurosaki-san and his sisters are here in the Soul Society, and Isshin and the others aren't."

"Your point is?"

"My point is, the Hollows slaughtered a hundred thousand souls in Karakura Town. Somehow, the King's Key was manifested and the King's Realm was opened. This all happened after Ichigo-san and his sisters evacuated, so he doesn't know anything about what happened afterward. The Precipice Realm has been unstable since the initial invasion of Soul Society, and I wasn't able to fix it sufficiently to get through until now. The Hollows invaded the Kings Realm and overwhelmed the Zero Division, killing the Spirit King. The King's Realm immediately fell apart. I believe it was a fail-safe to ensure that the only way to establish a new Spirit King was if the old Spirit King nominated someone of his choice, or if he died of natural causes."

"So this is an opportunity for us," Yamamoto concluded. "With the King's Realm destroyed, there will be no Zero Division coming to our aid. Then the only course of action to take is to evacuated everyone to the world of the living and destroy the Soul Society in a desperate gamble to see if your theory pays off."

"That's correct, Captain-Commander," Urahara said, obliterating another group of Hollows with Benihime. "Unfortunately, there is yet another snag. The Precipice Realm is unstable and requires somebody to stay in the Soul Society to keep it from collapsing by constantly pouring their reiatsu into it. The only reason I was able to come here and deliver this message and information to you is because Yoruichi sacrificed herself to keep the Precipice Realm stable. I must do the same in order to ensure the relative safety of all the souls remaining in the Soul Society. How many are there left?"

Yamamoto sighed heavily, the weight of the world on his shoulders again. "The Gotei 13 is reduced to about two hundred."

Urahara started in shock. "That's barely a full division's complement!" he exclaimed. "This is not good. We need to do this as soon as possible, preferably now. How many civilians are there?"

"At last count, the civilians numbered to about twenty-thousand. The rest were lost during the Rukongai attacks."

"Damn it," Urahara muttered. "Alright, no time to worry about that now. Bakudou number seventy-seven, Tenteikuura!"

"Attention all shinigami of the Gotei 13. This is Urahara Kisuke. There is not much time to explain, but the Soul Society needs to be evacuated. Please escort all the civilians first through the Precipice Realm. Captains and Vice-Captains, please converge on me. There is important information I need to tell you. Carry out the evacuation as quickly as possible."

Urahara sighed as he finished giving the message. Nodding to Yamamoto, who began blasting Hollows with fire indiscriminately to buy the ex-Captain time, he flash-stepped to the Hill itself. Thrusting Benihime into the air, he gave his zanpakutou a quarter turn. "Unlock." The glowing set of Senkai gates materialized in the air.

As the doors slid open and civilians and unseated shinigami began rushing through, the Captains and Vice-Captains appeared around Urahara. "What's the problem?" Ichigo asked, casting a worried look at his sisters. "Why are we evacuating?"

"I have bad news and good news," Urahara began, before getting cut off.

"Just get to the point!" Ichigo shouted.

"Fine, just calm down, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said placatingly as he continued to pour reiatsu into the Senkai gate, keeping it stable. "The King's Realm was destroyed shortly after Karakura Town was. Luckily, this was an opportunity for us to save the world of the living. If we destroy the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, the living world will still maintain its existence. I don't know what will happen to the cycle of reincarnation, but at the very least the souls still alive in the world of the living will be saved. Captain-Commander Yamamoto is going to release his bankai, annihilating the Soul Society and the Hollows simultaneously. With the Hollows dead, Hueco Mundo will fall apart and this whole ordeal will be over. I don't know what will happen to your spirit-based powers if the spirit realms don't exist anymore, but you'll have to find that out yourselves. I have to stay here to keep the Senkai gate stable. Don't worry, the Cleaner got destroyed when the flow of souls was disrupted."

"I'm staying," deep voice rumbled. "I at least owe Captain-Commander Yamamoto this," the fox-headed Komamura Sajin said.

"I'll stay with you, Captain," Iba immediately followed up.

"Hahaha!" Kenpachi laughed maniacally. "This is gonna be the fight of a lifetime! I just have one request." The berserker Captain turned to Ichigo. "Ichigo, take care of Yachiru. Treat her just as you would your sisters."

The substitute shinigami looked at the pink-haired Vice-Captain and his eyes hardened. "Done."

"Alright!" Kenpachi roared. "Eleventh Division! We're gonna die today, but we're gonna fuckin' die fighting!"

"Very well," Urahara said gravely. "Everyone else, please escort the civilians through the Precipice Realm. We will try to buy as much time as we can. Once in the world of the living, you must find your own way. There is a man named Tom Riddle, the self-styled Lord Voldemort, who is the cause of all this destruction. He will undoubtedly continue killing. You must stop him. Only then will there be peace in the world of the living."

"But-" Ichigo began to protest, but Urahara interrupted him.

"But nothing, Ichigo," he said seriously. "Too many people have already given up their lives for this chance. Several more are going to do the same. This is the only way, so don't waste the sacrifices of your father and your friends."

"Fuck," Ichigo swore. "Alright." A sudden thought struck him and he turned to the ex-Captain. "You're going to die, aren't you, keeping the Senkai gate stable. I assume Yoruichi-san did the same thing."

Urahara nodded sadly. "That's right. Yoruichi sacrificed herself to get me here, and now I'm sacrificing myself to save the world." He smiled bitterly. "And destroy two others, I guess."

Ichigo was silent for a moment. "…Thank you, Urahara-san," he said, bowing deeply to the startled shopkeeper. "Without you and Yoruichi-san, I would never have attained the power I have today. I owe everything to what you two did, and I'll avenge your deaths by killing this Tom Riddle myself. You have my word."

Urahara grinned. "Heh," he chuckled. "You've never bowed to me before. It's a fitting end, I suppose. Whatever happens, Ichigo, always remember. As your teacher, I'm proud of what you've done."

The shopkeeper could have sworn that he saw a tear rolling down Ichigo's cheek, but he blinked and it was gone, and Ichigo's face was hard again. "Thanks, Urahara," the substitute said.

By now most of the civilians were already through the gate, and the shinigami were following. "Well, that's my cue to go," Ichigo said. "Whatever happens, I'll see you in the next life." He grinned. "Despite the fact that it already is the next life. Goodbye, Urahara."

The orange-haired substitute leapt through the gate, disappearing into the Precipice Realm, leaving only Yamamoto, Sasakibe, Komamura, Iba, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, and Yumichika behind. The battle-thirsty members of the Eleventh Division grinned ferally before letting loose their reiatsu. Komamura and Iba prepared themselves as well, and Komamura, Ikkaku, Sasakibe, and finally Yamamoto roared, "BANKAI!"

Sprinting through the Precipice World, his tattered bankai outfit flapping around his legs, Ichigo brought up the end of the pack of souls as they headed towards the world of the living, the last safe haven. A shudder ran through the entire Precipice World, and Ichigo knew without looking that the Soul Society was burning.

A stronger tremor ran through the passage, and Ichigo stumbled as he felt the ground behind him start to give way. A quick glance towards the front of the pack of souls told him that the exit was in sight. "Faster!" he roared in an attempt to speed up the pace. "The Precipice World is crumbling! Urahara must be running out of reiatsu!"

Finally, after running nonstop for fifteen more minutes, Ichigo burst out of the rapidly disintegrating Senkai gate. His relief of feeling firm ground beneath his feet was quickly overwhelmed by the sadness for Urahara and the others' deaths. This sadness only increased when he realized where they had exited the Precipice World.

The familiar river running through the center of Karakura Town, the place where his mother had been killed by a Hollow, the place where it all began. The sudden rush of emotions quickly brought a lump to his throat as he gazed at the ruined landscape that once was his hometown.

A strangled sob tore from his lips as he thought of his friends, who had fallen in battle only a day earlier. He hadn't been there at the end. He hadn't seen his friends die. And yet he knew that they were gone. His mind conjured images, horrifying images, of Chad, Ishida, and Orihime, torn to pieces, mangled limbs strewn haphazardly across the pavement as the Hollows trampled over their disfigured bodies to destroy Karakura Town. Another image flashed up, that of his father, zanpakutou shattered on the pavement, his head bent at a horribly unnatural angle to the rest of his body, sightless eyes staring into the air as Yuzu and Karin screamed in horror-

Ichigo shook his head violently, dispelling the things his cursed mind came up with. Sucking in a few deep breaths to calm down, he reached a shaking hand to his face and found, to his surprise, dampness on his cheeks. "I'm… crying?" he muttered in confusion. He hadn't cried since… when was it?

"It was that night," a soft voice said behind him. Karin walked up to her brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at his sister's face. Tears also stained her cheeks, and he knew that she too was remembering the destruction of Karakura Town. "Dad…" her voice shook. "Dad said that the last time he'd seen you cry was when Mom died."

"You were crying the other time too," another voice said. Rukia. "When Ginjou took your Fullbring and you'd thought that Tsukishima had turned me against you. That was the first time I'd ever seen you cry. You thought you had lost everything."

"Weeping is not a shameful thing." A male voice this time. Byakuya. Ichigo was surprised. "Weeping is a sign of sorrow, a sign that you love the ones who were lost. Mourning is good. It honors the memory of the dead. And yet, always remember this, Kurosaki. Although you may mourn, never let yourself get caught in the past. Always remember that those for whom you mourn would always wish the best for you. Honor their memories by fulfilling their last wishes for you."

"Karin… Rukia… Byakuya…" Ichigo murmured, his voice choked with emotion.

"Captain Kuchiki's right, Ichigo," yet another new voice cut in, this one youthful, but still mature. "The things of the past are gone. Even we 'Gods of Death' can do nothing against the flow of time. Even Kami herself can do nothing. There is no past, there is no future. There is only the present. We shinigami, who have lived many lifetimes, know this well. We look to the future, yes, but we live in the present. If we wish to change the future, we start in the present. That is all there is to it."

"Toushiro too…" Ichigo sighed heavily, sitting back against the grassy hillside. "Man, I've really become a wet blanket, haven't I?" He chuckled, wiping his eyes roughly with the back of his hand. "You're right, as usual, all of you. Chad, Ishida, Orihime, Dad… they all gave their lives to protect mine, and my sisters. Now it's my duty to pay back that bastard Tom Riddle who did all this."

Rukia grinned. "Now there's the Ichigo that we all know and love."

"Don't get tired of it, this Ichigo's here to stay," Ichigo said determinedly, a familiar light shining in his amber eyes. The same light that had shown when he defeated Aizen, the same light when he defeated Ginjou, the same light that shone in his eyes at every challenge, every obstacle the world threw against him, every obstacle that he subsequently crushed to smithereens.

Standing and dusting off his clothes, Ichigo wrapped his gloved fingers around the hilt of his zanpakutou, the chain clinking softly against the steel as he tugged it out of the ground. With a small pulse of reiatsu, he sealed his zanpakutou into shikai, tossing the now-broad cleaver into its bandage sheath over his shoulder. Shaking his head again to clear his mind, he gazed up at the dark, star-studded sky. "I guess we've got work to do then, huh."

They nodded, but before anyone could say anything, something happened. The shinigami all felt it. A tremor went through the air, and something inside them changed. Their bodies once composed of reishi, merely conglomerations of spiritual particles with their souls holding them together, slowly became solid.

They stared as their bodies became flesh and blood, becoming human again. As the transformation finished and the two hundred shinigami and twenty thousand civilians stood, silent, marveling at the fact that they were, for the first time in many years, living, breathing humans, not just souls in the afterlife, Byakuya heaved a sigh, something that Ichigo had never seen the Captain do before. "It appears that the Soul Society has finally fallen."

The noble Captain began walking through the crowd, never once losing his commanding visage, until he stood before the entire crowd of souls-turned-humans. "Inhabitants of Soul Society," he announced, his voice quiet but carrying so that every person standing in what was left of Karakura Town could hear. "This transformation can only mean one thing. Soul Society has fallen. I request that we pay our respects for those who have fallen in defense of our destroyed homes. Let us remember the loved ones whom we have lost, and to forever keep them in our hearts." He bowed his head, and everyone followed suit, and a few sobs could be heard as people began realizing the implications of what had happened.

After a minute, Byakuya continued firmly, "We do not yet know the details of this change in the very nature of our existence. We are humans now, living humans. But we shinigami retain our abilities and our zanpakutou. Even now I still feel Senbonzakura within my soul. I do not doubt that if I tried, I could still release shikai, and bankai. But the world is different now. There is no Soul Society, no Hueco Mundo, only the world of the living. And so we shall adapt. Humanity's greatest strength is to adapt, and we are humans. We shall survive. We shall grow strong. And we shall defeat the one who is responsible for the mass murder of millions of innocent human lives, who caused this imbalance in the flow of souls and whose actions led to the destruction of the Soul Society and the permanent loss of millions of souls. We shall kill the man known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, the self-styled Lord Voldemort. I, upon my honor as Captain of what remains of the honorable Gotei 13, and my title as the head of the noble Kuchiki Clan, which was destroyed, do swear."

---

This one was a doozy to write... So now you know what Ichigo was up to, and what happened to the Soul Society. I apologize to those who complained about how the backstory was dragging on a bit, but it's really necessary, or else the present story won't make any sense at all. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Shameless plug time! If any of you watch/read Naruto, I've published a number of oneshots on my profile centered around Neji (RIP). They're called Hand in Hand in Death and Never Ending Story. The latter is actually a series of oneshots that I'm collaborating on with my sister. Go check them out if you want!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter of A Common Enemy. Drop a review if you would be so kind, add it to your favorites/alerts if you feel inclined to, and I'll see you next week for the next update!

~fokker333