Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the long wait. It's been very hot where I live and I've had zero motivation for doing anything except melting into my couch. I've also been thinking about how to wrap up this arc since it's coming to the end. Unless I get sidetracked there will be 1 more chapter after this one and then a fan service one (I don't think I have to spell out what that's going to be 😉).
Many thanks to my beta Alysaldria for making my writing readable and giving many helpful suggestions! You've pushed me to go to further in my writing than I ever thought I could.
I also want to thank all of you for being such lovely people and making my heart swell with every comment, every kudos, every bookmark, every subscription. You mean more to me than I can every express. Whether you've been here from the start or have only just discovered this story, I love you all. It feels especially precious when I think about all the heartbreak I've gone through for this story and during period I've been working on it. Both this story and my life have seen many ups and downs. From being torn utterly to shreds for an admittedly bad chapter and giving up on this story altogether to getting out of an abusive relationship, almost bombing my final year at college because of how much of wreck my ex had turned me into to getting my life together and seeing this story get traction and love until it has become the most popular and most precious thing I've ever made. You lot have become my muse. I'm writing this, not just because I love the story myself, but because I want you to see how it ends.
Thank you for being with me on this journey and hopefully I'll continue to see all of you for what's yet to come. Just thank you.
Please enjoy and leave a comment on the way out 💙 I'm just going to dry my eyes.
Chapter 35: It's not the same as it once was
'This is stupid,' Shinji thinks to himself as he follows Ichigo's back through the narrow back alleys of Seireitei. 'The kid is gonna get us all killed.'
'And yet here you are, following him anyways,' a snarky voice responds in his head.
'Shut up, Sakanade,' Shinji snipes back. Yes, here they are. Oh, they'd all protested furiously in whispered voices about the madness of Ichigo's declaration. Taking on Central 46 is simply impossible. Everyone knows that. They are composed of retired high-ranking officers of the Gotei 13, all of them formidable opponents in their own right. With their seven, they are massively outnumbered. And that's without taking into account that they are still weakened and disoriented by having Hollows shoved inside their souls.
Sakanade is restless, he can feel her chafing at his control. She wants to fight, wants to taste blood, more so than usual. He doesn't feel comfortable bringing her to the surface by unsheathing his Zanpakutou, let alone activating it. Not now when he is uncertain he can stay in control. That one time in Kurotsuchi's lab is enough to last him a lifetime. The others feel the same. He knows this without having to ask. He can read it in their strained expressions, their hesitancy in handling their Zanpakutous.
And yet…they follow Ichigo anyways. Because what other option is there? To run? To flee until they have found the border of civilization and beyond? To hide until they've forgotten their own names? To behave like cowards until someone else takes it upon themselves to clear their names? It's not just Sakanade who balks at this course. Shinji too cannot imagine a more horrible future.
So here they are. Sneaking around in a place they should be able to call home. A place where only days ago they could walk the streets with their heads held high. On their way to confront the ultimate authority of Seireitei hoping they'll live to tell the tale afterwards.
Shinji is feeling strangely optimistic anyways. He is very well aware of the odds, but for some reason he doesn't care about them. For all his doubts and concerns there is this deep-seated awareness in his bones that in the end everything will turn out alright. A feeling he associates with Ichigo, and not for the first time.
All those months and he is still no closer to unraveling the puzzle that is Shiba Ichigo. Some days he wants to dissect him. Pry him open until his very soul is bared and Shinji can finally get an answer to all his questions. Watch him squirm and push his buttons until he knows what makes Ichigo tick. However, in the end it's so much funnier to let everything play out by itself. It's obvious Ichigo's secrets aren't meant to last. So Shinji will just go along with the ride and enjoy the show.
After a laughably easy walk through Seireitei, they arrive at Central 46's compound. Immediately several alarm bells go off, not just in Shinji's head but also his fellow officers. The guards have collapsed against the walls and the floors and are groaning in pain. Shinji knows only one person powerful enough to cause such an effect. 'Well maybe two,' he thinks with a speculative glance at Ichigo. It's a good sign, something that fills him and the others with hope. He can see it on their faces, plain as day.
Ichigo, on the other hand, doesn't seem to realise what has happened here as he stares, frowning at the prone bodies. After a few moments he shrugs and moves on, ignoring the guards the rest of the way.
The doors open easily under his touch and Aizen put Ichigo's hand on his own forearm to lead him in the right direction. The air is oppressive inside the compound. Shinji has to suppress the shivers wanting to roll down his spine. He's not the only one. Hiyori walks notably closer to him, not quite clinging to his legs, but certainly within easy touching distance. Shinji doesn't remark upon it for once. He doesn't feel like provoking her right now. Something is wrong. Deeply, deeply wrong.
The air down here is not just stale, it has a metal tinge that Shinji feels he should recognise, yet can't quite put his finger on. The dim blue light doesn't help either to put him at ease. Thankfully, they reach the Assembly Hall quickly. The smell only grows stronger and with it the realisation in the back of Shinji's mind. He pushes it away for now, not sure what to make of it.
Ichigo and Aizen descend first. Shinji wonders if either knows Ichigo is still holding onto Aizen's elbow. Probably not, he decides. Once this is over and things have gone back to normal — or as normal as it will ever get —, he'll have to lock them in a private room and distract Kaien for a day. For Heaven's sake! He could cut the tension between them with a knife. How Aizen hasn't shagged Ichigo into a wall yet, Shinji will probably never know. That man has the patience and willpower of a saint!
He steels himself as he walks down steps he'd never thought he'd see, Hiyori's hand clasped tight in his own. She doesn't protest, likely also knowing what they will see in a few moments and needing the support. Shinji can't begrudge her that, it's personal for her after all.
The smell is a shock to his senses, the blood smeared everywhere a second one. Shinji thought he was used to violence and death, but to see his own people laying there, death heavy in the air,… It's like a slap in his face.
He and Hiyori come to an abrupt halt just inside the hall. Her grip is painful but grounding at the same time so he doesn't complain. He feels someone bump against his back. Hears their complaints without truly registering them. He is staring at the bodies of the people that callously sentenced them to death. Staring at his fellow officers, Zanpakutous still drawn and surprised expressions on their faces. Staring at the Captain-Commander, who is looking more furious than Shinji has ever seen him, bare chest and all.
And all he can think is 'Thank you!'.
Nejibana sings as they cleave through body after body. The fight is over before it has begun really, however strong they might once have been, the members of Central have been lulled into complacency after their retirement and it shows. They don't stand a chance against the current generation of Captains and Lieutenants and certainly not against the rage of the Captain-Commander.
Kaien knows he should feel bad about this bloodbath. These people were once his superiors and colleagues. Yet, the guilt doesn't come and neither does the shame. He feels only anger for the bodies he's standing over. They sentenced his baby brother to death without even a trial! They deemed him less than shinigami without a second thought. And they let the true culprit off with barely a slap on the wrist.
He wonders if they were always this way. This corrupt and pretentious. So morally superior in their own minds they can't tell right from wrong and guilty from innocent anymore. It makes him think about his own future. He has many centuries to go yet, for sure, but he dreams sometimes about retiring to a lovely cottage with Miyako once their — future — children are grown and have started their own lives and families. Will he become this stagnant and stuck in tradition as well?
Kaien can't for the life of him imagine himself sentencing six high-ranking officers to be executed without even hearing their side of the story or a thorough investigation. Even with those things it seems like a huge overreaction. Maybe it's a product of being cooped up together in this stuffy compound and always seeing the same faces, maybe they always were like this. Kaien will never know. But he won't let himself become like this, ever.
Kenpachi is stabbing random corpses — presumably to make sure they are really dead, but who knows really — when Kaien, who is closest to the entrance, hears footsteps approaching. He looks up just in time to see Ichigo and Aizen walking through the curtain that marks the entry of the Assembly Hall. Ichigo is holding onto Aizen's arm with such an air of comfort, Kaien has to wonder if they even realise what they are doing.
One by one Kurotsuchi's other victims descend into the room and freeze at the sight that greets them. A quick scan reveals none of them are wearing the reiatsu suppressing bindings anymore. Not that he really needs his eyes to establish that. Ichigo's reiatsu is lazily curling around him, instead of being held tightly to his body like he used to do. It's still not full-on blasting everything to the world, but rather present and giving a vague impression of Ichigo's powers. A more subtle warning than Ichigo has been capable of before. And, most interestingly, it not so subtly covers the whole group that just entered. It seems Ichigo has been picking up strays again, huh.
Stepping forward before the silence can get awkward, Kaien envelops Ichigo in a big hug. "I'm so, so happy to see you safe." And he means that from the bottom of his heart.
As usual, Ichigo takes a moment or two to reciprocate the hug. Kaien ignores those moments and simply holds on until Ichigo does hug back. Once he steps back, he nods to Aizen. Even if he doesn't necessarily approve, the man is Ichigo's choice and he will respect that.
"Looks like we won't have to break you lot out after all!" Kaien grins at the other officers.
"Nah, Ichigo here did a pretty good job of that," Hirako-taichou grins back.
Several eyebrows disappear in hairlines all across the room. It shouldn't be a surprise, it really shouldn't. But it is. Because Kaien could reason out all the other incidents — mostly —, but this one is something else. Everyone knows those bindings are impossible to get out of without an experienced member of the Onmitsukido removing them. So how in the world did Ichigo manage such a feat without access to his reiatsu or his Zanpakutou?
Ichigo just shrugs, looking a bit sheepishly. "I couldn't have done it without Sousuke."
Which still doesn't make sense! Aizen would have been in the same situation. Those bindings aren't just handcuffs, which can be unlocked or slipped out of with enough tricks! Make it make sense!
The rest of the Captains and Lieutenants look as gobsmacked and confused as Kaien feels. Urahara-taichou appears a second away from pulling out a notebook and bombarding them with a mountain of questions. Kuchiki-taichou — the younger Kuchiki who has had to step up because of his grandfather's death — seems mildly impressed. Although, the fact Kaien can tell he is impressed is impressive in and of itself. Shunsui and Jushiro are exchanging meaningful glances Kaien can't interpret, and the Captain-Commander looks almost…proud.
In the end it doesn't matter all that much. Kaien will accept and love Ichigo anyways and this incident is just something else to file away in the back of his brain and worry over at a later time.
"So…wanna explain why you decided to redecorate this room with entrails and blood? Not that it's a bad look, but ya know," Hirako-taichou asks bluntly.
The Captain-Commander walks forward, casually crushing skulls underneath his sandals. "I disagreed with Central 46's ruling. They refused to listen to reason. Therefore I decided to deal with the corruption seeping into our midst at the root."
Ichigo gazes upon the Captain-Commander for a moment that stretches into eternity. Judgement weighs heavily in the room, a feeling only strengthened by the taste of blood on their tongues. Finally, he jerks his head upwards in acknowledgment.
"You idiot!" Ichigo nearly falls to the ground as Matsumoto takes a running jump at him that turns into a hug. He closes his arms around her more in an automatic reflex than anything else. The surprise brings him to a standstill and the sobbing against his shoulder is even more bewildering.
Another body slams into him from the side. "You could have died!" Ise shrieks into his ribs. Ichigo frees one arm from Matsumoto to put over Ise's shoulders and pull her closer. He is still baffled at their reactions but it seems the right thing to do.
Suddenly he's lifted into the air, Matsumoto and Ise still in his arms. Komamura has joined the group hug a bit too enthusiastically. It's only when Ichigo feels fur tickling at his cheek that he realises Komamura has taken off that bucket he calls a helmet. He studies the wolf's head for a minute or two to memorise its details, before going back to awkwardly hugging the girls in an effort to get them to stop crying.
It takes him embarrassingly long before he notices Tousen hasn't joined or is anywhere close by. Thankfully, Komamura understands his questioning look immediately.
"Kaname needed some time alone," he rumbles gently. "He's been forced to confront certain things he'd rather not think about and it has taken a toll. But don't worry, if he was here he'd certainly be scolding you for your reckless behaviour."
"Indeed I will," comes the sharp reply from some distance away. Tousen confidently strides towards them, seemingly having come from nowhere. "You are the most impossible person I have ever met! What in the heavens were you thinking? Charging in against the former Kuchiki-taichou? Getting kidnapped? Having a Hollow shoved into your soul and then fighting off 6 bloodthirsty Captains and Lieutenants on your own? Breaking yourself and those 6 officers out of one of the most secure prisons in Seireitei? Going to confront Central 46 without asking anyone for help? You are either a genius or the dumbest person I've ever met." He pauses his tirade for a second to breathe in deeply. "And…I owe you my thanks. Thanks to you the Central's corruption has become known to the broader public and they have gotten their rightful punishment. For that I can never repay you."
Ichigo taps Komamura to let him down and slowly detangles himself from the girls, who are still holding on tightly. He walks towards Tousen and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen, I'm sorry for scaring you. Scaring all of you. But I wasn't going to back down either when people I care about were in danger. And hey, I survived. But I'm glad something good came out of it for you."
Tousen looks at him with an indecipherable expression before shaking his head and pulling him in for a short hug. Or, at least Ichigo assumes it would have been a short hug, but the others join for another group hug and they are all lifted up into the air again.
It's not the same as it once was. The similarities are there for sure, sometimes so glaringly it hurts. But Ichigo has come to know them for who they are now. Their similarities as well as their differences. Their personalities, their quirks. It's not the same as it once was. But neither is Ichigo and he treasures this all the more for it.