Chapter Fifty-Six
Hueco Mundo
Gin vs. Rukia
Blood dripped down Gin's chest, mingling with the Rukia's blood as it pooled at their feet. Looking down at the blade of ice embedded in his chest, Gin coughed up more blood with a smile. "Well…now I guess we're even, huh?" he chuckled weakly.
Taking deep breaths while struggling to keep herself from fainting, Rukia gripped her sword and twisted, earning a cry of pain from the rogue. "That's…for my brother…you treacherous…snake!"
His eyes stared at Rukia. Whether it was anger or sadness, she couldn't tell. But she saw no fear in his eyes, even as his life bled out of him. "Heh…this makes things easier…"
"Huh?"
Before Gin could explain himself, two things interrupted the pair. The first was a large wave a water that threatened to crush them. Hurriedly, Rukia swung her sword to create a wall of ice to protect herself, and Gin unfortunately, from getting crushed.
Just as the wave died down and water started to pool at their hips, the sky lit up with bright red light and a shockwave hit the two. The force was so strong that the rebar Rukia was impaled on snapped behind her, the girl tumbling to the ground. Her sword slipped out of Gin's chest, the rogue struggling to stay upright.
"What…was that?" Rukia mumbled. She looked back up at the sky and saw only darkness. Only a dim light from the fragmented pieces of the shattered moon replaced the red glow Barragan was giving off. "Wait…what happened to Halibel?" Looking around the black sky there was no sign of Ichigo's mentor and lover.
Sadly, Rukia found Gin standing over her, his sword still in hand. Rukia tensed. She'd spent what little energy she had protecting herself from the wave of water.
Silently Gin stared down at her, his face still unreadable. Rukia tensed, bracing herself as he reached for her. She gave a cry of agony as he gripped the piece of rebar still embedded in Rukia's guts and pulled it out of her. She swung her arm to slash at him but her swing was weak and sluggish. Rukia was taken aback when she felt a pleasant tingling in her stomach and realized from Gin's glowing hand that he was healing her. "What…are you…"
"Shush now," Gin said, his smile dropping from his face. He only healed Rukia for a few moments before he picked her up out of the water that surrounded them and carried her over to a large slab of stone. Laying her down, Gin sheathed his sword and leaned forward. "Do me a favor, Rukia."
Rukia froze when Gin leaned forward, thinking this was some sort of trick. She gripped her sword, ready to make one last desperate stab.
"…"
The words shocked Rukia, who wasn't expecting them. "Huh? What do you-"
She didn't get any further. Gin put his hand on Rukia's head and muttered a Kidō spell to knock out Rukia. Once she was good and asleep, Gin looked around and looked to find Tosen in his Resurección. Sighing, Gin turned away and headed elsewhere. There was no point in trying to help Tosen. He knew better than anyone that Tosen was beyond help. Passing by Rukia, he gave her one last look and a sad smile stretched across his face.
"Sorry for all the trouble, Rukia."
And with that, he turned away and was gone.
Orihime, Yoruichi & Kisuke vs. Tosen
Orihime trembled as she stared at the thing Kaname Tosen had become. She hid behind Kisuke and Yoruichi, wondering what in the world possessed the man to let Aizen turn him into this.
Yoruichi was equally horrified by what Tosen had done to himself but a flare of anger flashed in her eyes. She didn't ask to be made into the monstrosity she'd become, Kisuke notwithstanding. And Ichigo never asked to be given the powers of a Hollow. But this, what Tosen had chosen to do of his own volition…
"You…dare talk about justice when you do this to yourself?!" she spat.
Grinning his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, Tosen leered down at him with his new eyesight. "I made my choices. I never cared about the dogma of the Soul Society that says that all Soul Reapers are good and all Hollows are bad. Are we not in our current situation because we know that isn't to be true?"
Kisuke mirrored Yoruichi's glare. "That doesn't excuse the fact that you let Aizen turn you into this monstrosity."
"Ah, Kisuke Urahara. I always wanted to put a face to that voice. You look rather…plainer than I imagined."
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment."
"Call me what you will. It matters little to me. I became a Soul Reaper to exact my revenge. Not once have I ever cared about the opinions, or even lives, of a single Soul Reaper."
"Wiping out Karakura Town won't bring your friend back!" shouted Orihime. "Revenge isn't the answer, Tosen!"
The mutant bug-Hollow's face flashed with anger. "SO WHAT IS JUSTICE, YOU STUPID GIRL?!" he shrieked. "YOU ARE A DELUDED CHILD! YOU, WHO'VE SEEN THE SAME INJUSTICES AS I! AND YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!" The black Hollow's hands squeezed into fists as his huge eyes stared glared at Orihime. "Your words are nothing but lip service. Suffer the sins of the world like I have. Then we'll see how long until your pathetic morality turns to dust." His body tensing, Tosen opened his hands to reveal his sharp claws. "More's the pity then that you will not live to see your childish morals die!"
Yoruichi acted swiftly. Jumping into the air, she intercepted Tosen before he could attack Orihime again. Her golden claw flashed brightly in the night and she slashed at Tosen. The huge Hollow blocked the attack, losing one of his arms in the process, batting Yoruichi away with his tail. Landing on a pile of rubble, Yoruichi responded with her own mechanical tail. The tip opened up and several grenades launched from it, exploding on contact with Tosen.
"Huh, you know, where are those balls coming from?" Kisuke pondered, wondering what was the extent of Szayelapporo's cybernetics implanted into Yoruichi's body and how much translated into her Arrancar form.
Through the smirk emerged Tosen, his severed arm and wounds quickly regenerating. Grinning, Tosen opened his eyes and a pair of Ceros formed. Gasping, Kisuke grabbed Orihime and ran for cover while Yoruichi jumped into the air. The blast was wide enough that it almost hit Yoruichi, surprising her with his speed. But she was in for more of a shock when Tosen moved faster than she thought, his massive body moving far faster than it looked. "Gahhhh!" she screamed as she was caught in the blast of another Cero.
"Yoruichi!" Kisuke and Orihime shouted, watching as the woman landed in some rubble.
Feeling Rukia's spiritual pressure start to dwindle, Kisuke gripped his Shikai. "Orihime, go help Rukia. I'll help Yoruichi."
"Are you sure?"
"Orihime, she needs your help more!" Kisuke insisted.
Tosen watched Orihime start to run away. "You think you're going to get away, little girl?!" He dive-bombed right at the orangette.
"Bakudō #81: Danku!" A transparent wall appeared in front of Tosen. The bug-Hollow slashed at the barrier with his claws and destroyed it with one blow. But the move gave Kisuke enough time to jump over his head. "Shibari." His red net covered Tosen's massive bug-like frame and pinned him to the ground. Kisuke wasted no time in stabbing one end of the net. "Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi."
The net exploded in a ring of cascading explosions. Kisuke kept his guard up, knowing that wasn't good enough to keep him down. His assumption was soon found correct when Tosen's lumbering mass rose up from the flames, barely singed by the explosions. 'He was already a powerful captain before he added Hollowfication to his strength. And unlike the Mejorada Resureccións the Espadas used, his body is completely stable. That's why Aizen sent the Espadas after us and not him. He wanted to keep his most reliant fighter off the field for as long as possible.'
Kisuke held out his sword. He didn't have a lot of strength left. Fighting the Espadas one after the other and surviving that massive blast Barragan sent their way took its toll. But desperate times called for desperate measures and Tosen was playing for keeps.
Tosen knew what Kisuke planned to do and grinned again. "Bankai? I think it's a little late for that. If you could still use that, you would have. I know as much as you that Bankai requires an enormous amount of spirit energy to use. If you could use it repeatedly, why didn't you use it against Zommari?"
His brow furrowing, Urahara decided to hedge his bets. Tosen was right. Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame was a massive drain on his spirit energy. Usually most Soul Reaper captains used their Bankai as a last resort because of the huge use of energy required. The rare exceptions were those gifted with large reserves of spirit energy they can draw upon for sustained use, such as Ichigo or Byakuya. And sadly while Kisuke was a very capable individual in combat, he didn't have the endless stamina that his pupil had. Still, Kisuke knew that without his Zanpakuto's Bankai, fighting Tosen would be a very hard task.
Thankfully, Kisuke didn't have to take that risk. A blinding flash of blue light flared behind Tosen and a flurry of arrows shot into his back. Tosen howled in pain and whirled around. There, standing on a platform of Reishi, was Uryu. Like the others he'd survived the explosion but the burns that blackened his back and his right arm told everyone he was far from unharmed. "Licht Regan!"
Uryu fired a massive volley. Tosen sneered at the Quincy. "You should have aimed for the head." He fired his double Cero technique, destroying Uryu's arrows and forcing the teen to escape before he was blasted to pieces.
Yoruichi, recovered from the blow she'd received, tried to take advantage of the distraction and lunged for Tosen, her claw glowing with more energy and her body beginning to crackling white lightning. Her glowing claw extended as she stretched out her arm and she took a chunk out of Tosen's side. Spinning in the air, Yoruichi kicked the giant bug in the side of his face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Pressing her attack, Yoruichi pounced onto him to tear his face off, only for Tosen to quickly regenerate his injuries and grab her by the waist with his massive hand.
The large hand squeezed, making Yoruichi scream in pain as she was crushed. Tosen's glee didn't last long when her mechanical legs suddenly opened up, cables shooting out to latch onto Tosen's hand. Grinning, Yoruichi lit up with her Shunko and let the electricity pass through her cables and directly into Tosen's body.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Kisuke's blade severed Tosen's hand at the wrist, freeing Yoruichi. Uryu appeared directly in front of the Hollow, his bow aimed right at the man's huge head.
Even as injured as he was, however, Tosen was just as nimble as ever. He flew up into the air and beat his wings, forcing everyone to brace themselves before they were blown away. Just as he was about to charge up more Ceros, however, he suddenly and unceremoniously crashed back to earth. "Huh?" went all three remaining fighters before they saw what made Tosen crash.
Groaning in pain, Tosen bristled at the ice that covered his wings. "I see that Barragan was so inept…that he failed to kill a single one of you," he spat. Hanging in the air was Toshiro Hitsugaya, still alive but bruised from surviving the blast.
"Tosen…" Toshiro looked at what his old comrade had become. Unlike Aizen and Gin, whom he felt nothing but murderous loathing for, Tosen didn't illicit the same rage. To see such a proud man reduce himself to this monstrosity was almost tragic.
Seeing the pitying look in Toshiro's eyes, Tosen bristled with anger. "Don't you dare pity me, boy."
"I do." Toshiro floated down until he found firm footing. "I was listening to you while I was digging myself and Uryu out of the rubble. I can understand why you're doing this, why you hate the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." He gestured to the direction of Ichigo. "I came here, defying a direct order from the Head-Captain to help Ichigo, because I saw how flawed the Squads and their methods are."
Tosen seemed to relax for a moment, interested in hearing what the small child captain had to say. "So why choose to fight me now? Is it simply revenge for what we did to your friend, Momo?"
"I won't deny it. I despise Aizen for everything he put Momo through. He is a monster that needs to be stopped. But that's not it completely. You're right, Tosen. The Soul Society has done terrible things. And you deserve retribution for your friend for what happened. But this…what you, Aizen and Gin plan to do…no, I cannot condone this."
"Why not?"
Toshiro held up his sword, the tip pointing at Tosen's face. "Just because the world is flawed doesn't mean it's worth wiping it away clean to start over. No matter how perfect Aizen's world is, it won't excuse the fact that it was born out of blood. Nothing can ever justify the amount of death and carnage you've wrought."
Sighing, Tosen tensed again. "I suppose we're at an impasse then. The only thing left…" His claws extended and he bared his teeth. "…Is to kill you all."
While Kisuke may not have been able to, Toshiro still had plenty of energy for another round. "Bankai: Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" The air around him exploded with an icy frenzy and he appeared in his ice draconic form.
The two took to the air again and battled. As the icy dragon and black cricket clashed in the skies of Hueco Mundo, Kisuke looked over at Yoruichi. "You holding up alright?" His concern over the extent of what Szayelapporo had done to Yoruichi had not abated even after using the Hogyoku, now tucked away in his robes after he nabbed it from Asahi, to turn her into an Arrancar.
Yoruichi shrugged. "I still feel terrible. I'm glad to be standing on two feet again but…" She put her claw over her belly. "I'm hungry…" she said with a hint of shame.
Kisuke understood. He had to remind himself that Yoruichi was a Hollow now, not a Soul Reaper. Then he had another thought. "Hey wait, what happened to your zanpakuto?"
"What about it?"
Uryu, standing nearby trying to get a clear shot at Tosen, knew what Kisuke was thinking. "Don't all Soul Reapers and Arrancars have zanpakutos?"
"I don't keep my zanpakuto handy. I'm more of a brawler. Or a scratcher now, I guess?" She held up her glowing claw. "I don't know what became of my zanpakuto after that freak turned me into his lab rat."
Kisuke's eyes narrowed as he stared at the claw. "I think I do…"
Over the rubble of the burning fortress, Tosen destroyed a wave of ice with a wave of his arm. Toshiro, on the other hand, did his best to avoid Tosen's Ceros and kept him at a distance. But Tosen's High-Speed Regeneration was highly advanced. He made sure that none of Toshiro's attacks hit anything vital and his wounds recovered almost instantly.
Desperate to end this now, Toshiro held up his sword. "Hyōten Hyakkasō!" From the heavens descended a flurry of ice flowers that surrounded Tosen's massive frame. As soon as they touched him, they began to freeze his body, leaving him trapped inside a pillar of ice.
Then he heard a very loud ringing sound.
The pillar of ice was destroyed with a burst of sound emanating from Tosen's cricket wings. "That was very foolish, Captain Hitsugaya. Ice and snow are always vulnerable to soundwaves. You picked the wrong opponent."
Cursing, Toshiro moved to attack before he was almost blasted out of the air by a large shockwave, the sky lighting up with a bright flash of light and then darkness returning to the skies of Hueco Mundo. Turning to the smoke in the distance, he could not sense Halibel's spiritual pressure and realized what'd become of her. "Oh no!"
"Let me tell you something…"
Spinning around, he saw Tosen beginning to weave green circles in the air in front of him, nine of them. "When your name was put forth for captaincy, I was among the few who objected. You were too emotional and let yourself be easily distracted. I can see now I was right." Tosen's toothy mouth grinned with sadistic glee.
"Los Nueve Aspectos."
Nine massive soundwaves reverberated out of the circles all at once, hitting Tosen with massive force. The ice Bankai surrounding Toshiro shattered and he screamed in pain, feeling like his every atom was being ripped apart by the sound. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, barely clinging to life.
Uryu, not wanting Toshiro to be killed, jumped forward and shot a massive volley at Tosen. The creature disappeared from sight and hovered over Uryu, who looked up in horror to see the monster's grinning face.
"Die, Quincy."
Tosen's claws swiped at Uryu, aiming to tear his head off. However, once again a bolt of lightning hit the Hollow Tosen in the side to stop him from killing. Howling with rage, Tosen looked past Uryu to find Yoruichi. His bug eyes grew wide, however, when he found that again, the Flash Goddess had undergone her own transformation.
Yoruichi's features were very jaguarish. The ground sizzled beneath Yoruichi's feet, her mechanical legs now returning to their more bestial shape. White and yellow armor covered up most of her naked body, lightning surging through the tips of her massive claws. Yoruichi's face was covered with black marks. Her once purple hair was now electric white, flowing all the way down her back. Her mask fragment was gone, cat ears of lightning replacing them. Behind her thrashed her tail, now split back into two.
"You…"Tosen balked at the realization for Yoruichi's transformation. "You used Resurección!"
"Not bad, eh?" Yoruichi grinned, her mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "Kisuke realized that Szayelapporo incorporated my zanpakuto into that big ass claw. Wasn't hard to release it once it was there. I just needed to say the name in the Espadas language."
"Grrr…" Bristling, Tosen stood upright while his wounds healed. "You call me a monster, yet you use the same powers as me? Don't you dare condemn me, you hypocrite!"
"Wrong." Yoruichi held up one of her massive paws and pointed a claw at Tosen. "There's no comparing the two of us. I furthered my Hollowfication to help those I care about. You did it because you wanted to watch the world burn."
Deciding he was done talking, Tosen charged again, ready to rip Yoruichi in two. Sadly, for all of Tosen's increased speed, Yoruichi's had gone through the roof. She disappeared with a bolt of lightning, appearing above Tosen's head. Her claws lit up with power and electricity. "Trueno!"
Yoruichi clapped her paws together, creating a large boom of thunder that sent hit Tosen hard. "You-" Tosen's words were cut off when Yoruichi appeared in front of him again and took one of his arms off with her claws. "Graaaahh!" he screamed as the Flash Goddess tore into his chest.
Blood spilling down his front, Tosen charged up two Ceros in front of his eyes. They merged together before blasting forth in one massive shot. Grinning from ear to ear, Yoruichi got on all fours and focused her energy through her Hollowfied bionic body. Her two tails arced overhead and opened up, creating two electric Ceros of their own. Opening her mouth wide, Yoruichi created a third Cero. Lightning arced between the three until it created one massive Cero. "Dios del Trueno Cero!"
The two blasts met, canceling each other out and resulting in a massive explosion. Had Barragan not already destroyed Las Noches, that would have been more than enough to level the place. Tosen braced himself from the shockwave and decided to use his ultimate move again to finish her off like he did Toshiro.
Then a Cero blasted him from behind.
"What the?!" Whirling his head around, Tosen was stunned to see who attacked him. "STARRK?!"
The Espada, in his Resurección form, held his smoking gun at Tosen. He hadn't bothered using the cube Aizen had given him. There was no point at this rate. "Sorry, Tosen," he said quietly. When Tosen raised a hand, Starrk shot it off.
"You…traitor!"
Starrk's face was sad. He knew what he was doing but made his choice. "I joined Lord Aizen because he promised me strong comrades." His eye narrowed at the memory of that fateful meeting. "I guess he lied."
"And it wasn't like Aizen needed us after he got his claws on Ichigo and Halibel!" shouted another voice that came from Starrk's pistol, Lilynette.
Cursing at Starrk's treason, Tosen regrew his hand and moved to hit him with his soundwaves…before a giant icicle stabbed him from behind. "You…Toshiro!" Tosen choked through a mouthful of blood.
Standing a distance away was Toshiro, his body covered with stitches after his injuries were mended by Kisuke's Bankai, the giant Benihime looming over the ice captain. "You really have fallen," the small captain sadly said. "The old you would have heard us a mile away."
"No…No!" Tosen choked before he saw a bright light. And it wasn't heaven.
Channeling the full force of her Resurección, Yoruichi created several orbs of lightning. Her robotic eye gleamed wickedly as the orbs, as well as the lightning crackling around her beautiful body, turned black. "This is for all the people you've hurt in the name of your sick vengeance." Her entire body glowed with black energy and her right paw became a giant claw made of black lightning. "Garra de Trueno!"
Unable to move, all Tosen could do was use his new eyesight to see his death come straight at him. He screamed as the black lightning claws tore into him, cutting him in half. "N-no…" His top half hit the ground with a loud thud, blood pooling around him. Yoruichi, Toshiro, Starrk and Kisuke all stood around him, watching as his body began to disintegrate. His head looked up at the empty black sky. "I…can't see…" he whimpered while his body turned to dust. "I can't see…at all…"
The four watched Tosen die silently until he finally faded away. "He hated being a Soul Reaper so much that he was willing to die like a Hollow," lamented Toshiro."
"I don't we ever got to see the real Tosen until now." Yoruichi clicked her tongue and stamped a puddle of blood. "He wanted us all to suffer for the sins of others. He deserved what he got."
Kisuke and Toshiro would have commented how dark and out of character Yoruichi was being but they knew she'd been through a lot of trauma and wouldn't deny her this.
Scratching the back of his head, Starrk sighed. "Well, guess I threw in my lot with you guys now. I suppose there's only one thing left."
"I suppose so." Kisuke turned around and saw Orihime healing Rukia. In an instant, the alarm bells in his head started ringing.
"Wait. Where's Gin?"
Ichigo vs. Aizen
Blood spilled down the front of Aizen's chest while he staggered backwards. Ichigo stayed where he was, satisfied with the mortal blow delivered. "Had enough?"
"Hardly." Regaining his composure, Aizen stood up straight and gripped his zanpakuto tightly. "I must admit, I don't think I've ever been pressed this far before." He raised a hand and shot a purple fireball at Ichigo, who merely swatted it away.
Ichigo gripped his white blade with both hands and readied to take Aizen's head off before a wave of water threatened to wash him away. "What the-" He jumped up onto a pile of debris, realizing this was Halibel's doing.
Then the sky lit up with a massive flare and Halibel's spritiual pressure disappeared.
Staring up at the empty sky to see nothing come out of the cloud of dust, Ichigo's eyes widened with shock. No sooner did the shock hit him did the realization of what must have happened. "Halibel! No!" he said, his voice a barely audible whisper. Tears started to run down the side of his face when he heard Asahi crying in the far distance, as if she too knew of her mother's fate.
"How tragic…" Aizen shook his head. "What a waste. All that time and effort and she committed suicide."
His back to Aizen, Ichigo started to shake with a burning rage. "Shut…your…mouth!" Whirling around, Ichigo raised his sword, tears running down his face.
Aizen brought his sword up to defend. "Didn't your mentor teach you not to give into anger?" he taunted.
"SHUT! UP!" Ichigo hauled back and readied another massive Getsuga Tensho.
Seeing Ichigo's vulnerability, Aizen decided to use his Shikai to put Ichigo under his spell. He raised a hand but Ichigo reappeared right in front of him once more and grabbed his sword with his bare hand, squeezing it hard. "Die!" Ichigo screamed as he brought Zangetsu down and-
Shunk!
Both fighters stopped dead in their tracks. Ichigo froze as he and Aizen looked down to see a sword sticking out of the rogue's chest. Aizen's head turned to see who attacked him. "You…" The man's eyes narrowed when he saw who had attacked him.
"So sorry, Ichigo…" Gin smirked, his Bankai still impaling Aizen from behind. "But I called dibs first."
"Gin?!" Ichigo looked confused. He took a step back, letting go of Aizen's sword while Gin retracted his blade. "What do you think you're doing? I thought you were on his side?"
"His side?" Gin staggered forward, a hand going to the wound Rukia inflicted. "Oh, Ichigo. That's where you're wrong. I was never on his side."
"Gin-" Aizen started before Gin cut him off with a dismissive hand wave.
"Shush now, Cap'n Aizen. You had your story time. Now it's my turn." Gin looked over at Ichigo and gave a sad smile. "You see, Ichigo, once upon a time there lived two little children in the Rukon District. A boy…and a girl…"
"Girl?"
"The two children lived in a rough part of the Rukon District but they had each other. And that was enough…until one night. One night, while the boy was out trying to scrounge for food, he discovered something. He found a group of Soul Reapers attacking the girl, using her for a diabolical experiment. Unable to help, all the boy could do was cower in the bushes while he watched in horror as the men gave the fruits of their sick experiment to their leader." Gin's blue eyes opened up and all of his hatred became directed at one man. "Wanna guess who their leader is?"
"Wait…the girl…was that…Rangiku?"
Gin ignored the question and walked closer to Aizen. "On that night, when I saw that man, I made a vow. 'I will kill this man'. No matter what I had to do, no matter how many horrific acts I would have to perform, no matter how many bodies I had to crawl over, I would kill this man. So I gained his trust, joined his cause, and waited to find the right moment to strike."
"I always knew you wanted to kill me," Aizen said, trying to heal his wounded chest. "I merely waited to see when you had the stomach to do it."
"Oh, cut the bravado, Cap'n Aizen. You've lost. All your pieces have been swept off the board. The Espadas are dead. Kaname's dead. Even your own home got wrecked to pieces. Ichigo got the better of you. You created him too well. Oh! That reminds me…" Gin held up his small sword. "You don't know this, Ichigo, but I often told everyone that my Bankai was the fastest in all the Soul Society, as well as one of the longest. However…" Gin's smirk widened and he became his most sinister. "Aizen isn't the only one who can fool others."
Aizen's eyes narrowed as he was confused by Gin's words. Then he noticed a particular detail about Gin's zanpakuto: there was a sliver missing in the middle.
"You see, my zanpakuto turns to dust in instant it expands or contracts. That dust is a lethal poison that dissolves and breaks down cells. And I left a sliver of my blade, a sliver of that poison, in Aizen's chest.
Reaching Aizen, Gin reached out to touch his chest. Aizen swung his sword to take his treacherous lieutenant's head but Gin's Bankai was faster. All Ichigo saw was a blur and Aizen's hand was severed at the wrist, his sword clattering uselessly to the ground.
"If you have any last words, I'd say them now." Gin's hand pressed into Aizen's bloody chest. "On second thought, never mind. Ichigo can agree with me when I say…" Gin's eyes opened up once again to show the malice he held for this monster in human flesh, "…You've talked enough."
"Kill, Kamishini no Yari."
In an instant, a massive hole opened up in Aizen's chest, his body dissolved by the treacherous Gin's poison. Aizen's eyes widened as he fell backwards, his hand reaching uselessly for Ichigo before he hit the ground, the life already gone from him.
Ichigo stood where he was in stunned silence, barely believing that just happened. "Is…is he dead?"
A tense moment passed as Gin waited, watching Aizen's body carefully. He didn't know if Aizen still had any tricks left up his sleeve. But after a minute ticked away, Gin looked up and smiled. "Sorry for stealing your kill, Ichigo. But I called dibs long before you were even born," he chuckled.
A wave of anger suddenly swept over Ichigo. After all he'd been through, all he'd suffered at Aizen's hands, to have his revenge robbed from him was a hard pill to swallow. But as much as he wanted to ram his sword down Gin's gullet, his anger faded away when he saw the man stumble and fall.
Realizing that his wound had been fatal, Ichigo rushed over to him. "Gin! Hang on! I'll get Orihime!" As much as he hated Gin for everything he helped Aizen do, he was too kindhearted to just let the man bleed to death after everything he said.
Gin's hand grasped Ichigo's arm, stopping him from getting help. "Don't. It's…it's better this way." His lips formed a sad smile. "After all I put you and poor Rukia through, this is the least I deserve."
"But-"
"Heheh, it's alright. Even if you saved me now, what life would I have?" His eyes glanced over at Aizen's corpse. "Even if you forgive me, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads never will. Even if it was for revenge, I…did terrible things." Gin's face turned somber, repentant at last. "Unspeakable things. Killing Aizen doesn't make up for any of it." His hand slipped to the ground while he panted for breath, blood pooling around him. "And a life roaming the wastelands of Hueco Mundo is no life at all. I never found much comradery with Kaname except…neither of us planned to live past our goals."
Ichigo stared down at Gin with sad eyes, now knowing that Gin never planned on living past killing Aizen. "Are you sure? What about Rangiku?"
Closing his eyes, Gin sighed. "I am sorry I didn't get to tell her goodbye in person. Could you…do me a favor?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell your dad…to look after Rangiku for me. She's…gonna need somebody after this." Gin opened his eyes and looked at Ichigo, at all the boy had become. "You're a good kid, Ichigo. Also…I'm truly sorry for bringing your baby into this…"
The light left Gin's eyes. Bowing his head, Ichigo closed Gin's eyes and laid him down on the ground. When he heard footsteps, he whirled around, Tensa Zangetsu in hand, but was relieved when he saw everyone running towards him. "You guys are okay?"
Orihime ran up and hugged him. "We're okay. We've been through a lot but we're alive."
Rukia stood over Gin's body, her mind heavy from Gin's last words to her. She glanced over at Aizen's dead body. "Is it finally over?"
"Yeah," nodded the horned Ichigo. "It's over."
Everyone ran up and hugged Ichigo, even Uryu. After they parted, Ichigo noticed first Yoruichi. "Yoruichi! What…what did they do to you?!"
The werecat Arrancar shrugged. "I've had a very long weekend…" she merely said. When she saw the look in Ichigo's eyes, she scowled. "Don't blame yourself, Ichigo. Like I told Kisuke, nobody is to blame for what happened except for myself for getting captured."
"Don't worry." Kisuke held up the Hogyoku in his palm. "Now that the Hogyoku is back in my possession, I should be able to undo her Hollowfication and-"
"No, you're not."
It was then that Ichigo finally noticed Toshiro. "Toshiro? What are you doing here?" He looked around in alarm. "Are the other captains here?"
"No, I came here by myself. I…I was ashamed of myself after what happened back in Karakura Town. And when Yamamoto wanted to pin the blame of your actions onto your whole family, I couldn't stand around and hide behind my 'duty'. I went to your father and warned him to hide and came straight here. But more importantly…" Toshiro drew his zanpakuto and pointed it at Kisuke's face. "Hand it over."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't give me that. The Hogyoku is too dangerous to be allowed to exist. In your hands, it would be as equally destructive just like in Aizen's hands. You're cut from the same cloth as him and Kurotsuchi. You decided to bend the laws of nature to your will and you created that. All of this is as much your fault as it is Aizen's." He gave Yoruichi a sad look. "And there's no telling how worse you can make Yoruichi, especially with all that's been done to her. No," Toshiro pointed his sword at the Hogyoku in Kisuke's hands. "You're far too proud to destroy something as valuable as this. Hand it over and I'll do what you should have done a hundred years ago."
Ichigo would have pointed out that Aizen confessed to making the Hogyoku first but Kisuke waved him silent. "As you wish…" Walking over to a large slab of stone, Kisuke set the Hogyoku down on the rock. "Go ahead. Destroy it."
Toshiro was taken aback. He expected the man to protest or at worst, draw his sword. Still, the small captain could not back down after what he just said. Hyorinmaru in hand, Toshiro stormed past Kisuke and swung his sword down onto the small glowing marble as hard as he could.
A bright flash emanated from the Hogyoku as the blade connected and Toshiro was sent flying, his zanpakuto shattering to pieces. Shaking his head, Kisuke tilted his hat back. "You're lucky. When I tried to destroy it, the blast cost me an arm and several organs. Glad I was able to stich myself back together at the time…"
Rukia helped Toshiro up. Sheathing what's left of his broken sword, Toshiro scratched his head. "Okay, maybe you were telling the truth."
"I do that a lot actually. Yet everyone is always so surprised."
Out of nowhere a baby's cry interrupted the group. Nel and her Fraccións rushed over to Ichigo, little Asahi wailing in Nel's arms. "Ichigo, thank goodness you're okay!" Nel breathed a sigh of relief. She held out Asahi. "Here. I couldn't get her to stop crying."
As soon as Ichigo laid eyes on his daughter his heart began to break. He took the little girl into his arms. But when Asahi looked up and saw the young man holding her, she didn't recognize his face thanks to his Hollowfication and cried harder. Tears ran down Ichigo's face while he gently tried to rock his daughter. "Ha-Halibel…" Clutching her tightly, Ichigo sobbed as he realized that his mentor, his lover, the woman who taught him to be a man and stole his heart, was gone. "She's dead…"
Orihime, Rukia, Yoruichi and Nel all hugged Ichigo, nobody knowing what to say that could possibly ease his pain. For a few minutes, only Asahi's wailing could be heard, a mournful cry for her mother that was long gone.
Uryu stared out at the desert, wondering if Halibel was well and truly gone. 'If there was a body left, even a small part of her, we could have Orihime revive her. But…' He shook his head. 'No, that blast would have destroyed her completely. We can't sense her spirit energy at all. Which means she's dead or was blown really far away.'
It was at that moment when Uryu noticed something. "Kisuke, look!" He pointed at the Hogyoku. His careful eyes watched the small orb as it pulsed in time with Asahi's crying.
Curious, Kisuke reached down and picked up the object. Looking back at the crying Asahi, a wide smile stretched across his face. "I have an idea…."
Meanwhile…
Darkness.
Halibel drifted in a sea of darkness. She could not hear or see. She recalled the last moments of her battle with Barragan. The Cube. The explosion. And then darkness.
Floating in the dark emptiness of the void, Halibel felt her mind start to fade away, resigned to oblivion. 'Ichigo…'
Sadness washed over Halibel at the thought of her student, her friend, her lover. They'd swore to return home alive with Asahi but she'd broken her promise. Ichigo would have to carry on alone. 'I'm sorry…I did what I had to do, Ichigo…I had to sacrifice the future we would have had…so that you and Asahi would have a future at all.'
The thought didn't bring her any comfort. Halibel knew that Ichigo would take her passing hard. He loved her too much. And her daughter, poor little Asahi, would have to grow up without a mother.
Halibel's heart throbbed with anguish. She would not see her daughter grow up to become a woman. Would she be kind and gentle? Or would Asahi be stubborn like her mother? Even more concerning, what did the future hold for her safety? She was a Human child born from a Soul Reaper and an Arrancar. Whatever challenges her birthright would bring, she would have to face them without her mother to guide her.
'No…' Halibel thought, the weight of her sacrifice too much to bear. 'I can't…I don't want them to go on alone. I gladly gave my life to save theirs but…their happiness is something I don't want to sacrifice!'
"-l!"
Halibel's mind was almost gone when she heard something that stirred the void, stopping her journey into the darkness. 'W-who was that?'
"-bel!"
The voice startled her. That voice…was it really him?"
"Halibel!"
Hearing Ichigo's voice pierce the void, Halibel opened her eyes.
"…nghhh…"
The Espada could see nothing but a bright light. At first she thought she had been blinded but as her sight came back to her Halibel realized she was within Orihime's healing barrier. "Where…am I?"
"Stay still, you were badly hurt by the blast."
Turning her head, Halibel's eyes widened to see Ichigo sitting next to her, their baby in his arms. "You're all okay…" she breathed when she saw everyone surrounding her.
"Had a few scrapes and bruises but we pulled through," Kisuke said with a smile.
"Aizen…Barragan…"
Kneeling down, Yoruichi smiled. "Dead. Stabbed in the back by Gin. And Barragan is gone, thanks to you. It's over."
"How…did you find me?" Halibel noticed that they were far, far away from the ruins of Las Noches. Seeing a faint glow in Asahi's hands, Halibel realized she was holding the Hogyoku. "Why does Asahi have that?"
"Not sure why, but the Hogyoku kept glowing in time with Asahi's crying. When we gave it to her, we found it glowed in a particular direction. So we rode on Bawabawa and used the Hogyoku like a compass to find you."
"There! All done!" chirped Orihime, finishing Halibel's healing. She lifted the barrier and watched with a happy smile as Ichigo handed Asahi over to her. Thankfully Asahi still recognized her mother and calmed down, burying her head in her mother's bosom. Patting her child's head, Halibel sat up and looked at Ichigo, giving her lover a happy smile.
"Let's go home."
To be continued
.
