Chapter 10: Acceptance

A few days passed by after that night and everyone was still concerned. Well more so than before. Ichigo had gone to training in the underground area under the shop, but the way she moved and fought were completely different from before when she was a boy. She was faster, more viscous towards her sparring partners, and when she attacked, she attacked to kill. It was like she flipped the switch in battle. She was timid, calm and quiet when they were together just talking, but once she drew her zanpakuto, she changed into a heartless killing machine. The training grounds would always be a wreck after she finished using it.

Everyone was on edge with her. They feared that whatever Aizen did to her or allowed to happen to her affected her mind somehow. Whatever the case, so far only one person was able to calm her down to an extent.

That person was Yoruichi.

Kisuke was smart to let the former squad two captain stay close to Ichigo. Yoruichi had, on more than one occasion, stopped Ichigo before she went to far in her training or sparring. Ichigo would never raise her blade towards the woman for reason's no one knew. Sometimes Ichigo would tense up whenever Yoruichi stepped in and froze. It was almost like she was afraid of something.

Right now Ichigo had actually been on a walk with her father and Yoruichi. Said woman had been clung to by the arm the entire time they were out and about. Yoruichi didn't mind how close Ichigo was to her, but Isshin was having a hard time accepting things still. He just wanted his son back and it seemed farther and farther out of reach by the day.

The three walked along the streets of Karakura Town in their soul reaper forms. Well, Ichigo in her arrancar form to be more exact. As they walked, Isshin tried to entice Ichigo to open up about herself.

"Ichigo." He started in a stern tone of voice that caught both women's attention. "How are you feeling to-"

"I already know what you're trying to say." Ichigo cut him off as she looked up to the bright blue sky. She sighed. "If you really want to know how I feel, just ask me what you really want to ask me."

"Fair enough." Isshin started. "What did that bastard do to you, Ichigo?"

That 'bastard' had been the very cause for Isshin's blood to boil whenever he saw Ichigo now. He knew that whenever he saw Aizen next time, there would be nothing to stop him from tearing that man apart.

"He did a lot of things to me," Ichigo started, earning an angered glare from Isshin and a look of sadness on Yoruichi's face. "but he also did a lot to help me as well."

"What?"Yoruichi started this time as she looked to Ichigo with wide eyes.

"He may have changed me to this." Ichigo started once again as she noticed they were at the riverbank. "But the way he treated me when I earned something was different than when I first set foot in Hueco Mundo."

"What are you saying Ichigo?" Isshin asked fearfully. He was taken by surprise by what Ichigo said.

"When I finally unlocked what he was trying so hard to give me, the way he treated me changed." She stopped and let go of Yoruichi's arm. She walked over to the river and it was that moment that Isshin recognized where they were.

"Th-this is-" He stuttered out as the two joined Ichigo who was staring at the ground.

"This is where mom died." Ichigo cut him off in her still unchanged tone. "He showed me this moment over and over again for weeks on end sometimes. I had to watch as Grand Fisher killed her over and over, again and again until it happened."

"What happened Ichigo?" Yoruichi started as she went over and had to step away when she saw Ichigo's eyes. Nothing had changed, nothing physically that is. No, the reason Yoruichi stepped back was because Ichigo's eyes held nothing to them for this particular moment anymore. She didn't cry, she didn't mourn, she didn't even flinch at the sight of all of this, and that is what scared the woman the most.

"I finally let it go." Ichigo continued on. "I finally just let go of the guilt, the anger, the sadness, the sense of failure I felt that night. I just let it all go and moved on. Once that happened, I achieved what he wanted from me this entire time."

"And what was that Ichigo?" Isshin asked his son as he couldn't bare to stay here any longer.

Ichigo turned towards him and Yoruichi both as the air around her started to pick up. The pressure she released right then and there was massive and so sudden that it caused both former captains to fall to the floor from it all. They looked up towards Ichigo as a white substance began to flow around her body. More precisely, her face. The white substance began to form on the top of her head and traveled down along her body. Isshin and Yoruichi feared the worst as this looked like the same thing Ichigo was trapped in when she came back to them, but that fear changed when Ichigo's form shifted and morphed. They watched as she stretched her neck and her head began to morph into a mask of sorts. The mask had black streaks going down from the top of her head, past the eye holes and down the front. Two large horns grew from the top of the mask as the white substance started to take shape around her body. She was covered in a sort of white armor, not like the one she wore before that was bulky on her frame and constrictive, but tight and form fitting. A hole formed in her chest as more black lines came from it and stretched to her shoulders and down her stomach. The black lines continued down her legs and curled around them in a crooked pattern. The two were taken aback by what they were seeing and couldn't believe what was going on. They had finally stood up on their own volition but that all changed when the mask like head morphed once more and Ichigo's face was clearly seen through the substance. She lowered her head and her long orange hair came out, only there was a long black and white streak going down the middle of it. Ichigo raised her head and opened her eyes as they were completely blacked out, and that was when the pressure was kicked up to a limit neither two had ever felt before. They fell back to the ground with no hope of standing up this time. They were able to look and see that Ichigo's blacked out eyes started to show white pupils to them and the expression on her face changed to sadness. She turned away from them and the pressure quickly faded. The two quickly tried to stand, but only Yoruichi was able to do so for some reason.

"This is what he wanted." Ichigo spoke in a hollow like tone. "The perfect combination between a hollow, a soul reaper, and a Quincy."

Isshin went wide eyed at that last part. How did she know? How did Aizen know?

Yoruichi stood there as she admired Ichigo's new form. She felt weightless in front of it, almost as if she was standing in some sort of endless void. She didn't know why, but she felt safe despite the intense pressure from before. It was hard to describe for her in any way.

Ichigo reverted back to her old form as the white substance cracked and shattered at her command. She turned back to the two and saw the fear in her father's eyes, but what she saw in Yoruichi's was different. She saw compassion and understanding. This caused Ichigo to smile a small smile towards her. She didn't know why, but Yoruichi just reminded her of the first time she achieved this form in front of Halibel. The espada having the same reaction.

"So," Yoruichi started as she made her way towards her, "what happened after that, Ichigo?" Yoruichi stood in front of Ichigo and waited patiently for the answer.

"He started treating me like I was his own daughter." She started, causing Isshin to rise up quickly, albeit on shaky legs. "He told me truths I never would have accepted back then. He told me about my mother being a Quincy, my father being a soul reaper captain from a noble clan, everything. Whenever I had a question for him, he always answered me truthfully and without ever telling me a lie." She hugged Yoruichi as the woman did the same. "It's one of the reason's why, for that short of time after I achieved that form, I called him father."

Yoruichi and Isshin's eye's widened at hearing Ichigo's words. How? How could she say something like that? How could she say that the man who had her kidnapped and tortured for god knows how long her father?

How?

Aizen's room

As the brown haired man was going through his own devices, he felt a sense of pride all of a sudden. He felt an intense hatred aimed towards him and loyalty from another. This caused the man to smile as he left the room. He walked on for a short time before stopping in front of a door. He opened it and saw his third espada sitting in a chair with her own shark tooth necklace in hand. Halibel had been staring at it for who knows how long, especially after it had glowed for a short time. She didn't even notice the man until he chuckled a little under his breath.

Halibel jolted and turned to see who had entered her room when she specifically wanted to be alone. She saw the man she served and quickly stood up. "Lord Aizen?"

"I believe that it is time Halibel." The man started with the same smirk on his face. Halibel's eyes widened as she watched with bated breath and hope for what his next words would be. "It is time to bring my daughter home."

All Halibel could do was sigh. After all this time, she would be getting back her Ichigo. Her love. All hers.

"Finally."

Alright. The next chapter is gonna have an actual action scene in it. Still debating on how I want that to go, but I'll figure that out soon.

Hope ya'll liked that little transformation I gave to Ichigo right here. It is a combination of the vasto lorde form from the show and my own design that I may or may not draw an image of at some point. Who knows.

Anyway, you guys are awesome, and as always,

PEACE!