To start, I'd like to thank gorguts5 and TheBretonBookDragon for their ongoing feedback, as well as everyone else for your patience with the relative slow progress on this story, sometime because of factors beyond my contol- working a job and having to move twice in the span of year (2018-2019), then all of the deaths in my extended family (2019 to early 2020), only to have to cope with living amidst the threat of a global pandemic and helping my dad to cope with the death of my stepmother and the aftermath... Well, I think you can see the problem(s).
With that out of the way, full disclosure: I'd like to state upfront that this chapter is kind of a 'deep dive' into some of the more fantastical aspects of the story- specifically, the more whimsical and metaphorical aspects of his sub-plot. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter.
TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW
Chapter LXXXI: "Enlightenment"
"From here on, this is where we part ways," Alistair had explained. "While the three of you continue on your journey." He went on to state. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I have a final bit of parting advice: You need to be ready to face your past, your fears, and most of all- the unknown."
He'd reflected on those words, even before he'd set out on the next leg of the incredible trek that he'd undertaken, as he'd made his way down along a winding path. Not too long after this, Ichigo began to hear the dual melody- formed by the combo of vocals and an instrument.
However, it wasn't long before the surrounding area soon became clouded and faintly damp, as a mist began to form around Ichigo and his black-furred companion.
"I've... never seen a fog like this." The teen commented. "This can't be normal."
"As you say, Ichigo," the Cat started. "This is no ordinary fog..." He paused. "There's something about it, something... I can't help but shake the sense that it's dangerous on some level."
Things were only further complicated once the two heard a melody played on a stringed-instrument, which was then followed by a voice singing "...the first thing that I'd like to do, is to save every day, 'til eternity passes away, just to spend them with you."
By now, the music and singing was getting louder...
"If I could make days last forever, if words could make wishes come true, I'd save every day like a treasure and then- again- I would spend them with you."
"Wait," the orange-haired teen asked. "What's that song?"
"If I could make days last forever, if words could make wishes come true." A familiar figure sang aloud as he sat upon a large rock, holding a guitar, with one leg hitched over the other.
The 'figure', dressed almost entirely in black, just calmly sat there and sang- seemingly purely for the benefit of himself- while he skillfully worked the strings of an acoustic guitar. "I'd save every day like a treasure, and then- again- I would spend them with you."
It wasn't much longer before he registered the sounds of the teenager's footsteps, prompt him to stop playing and calmly turned to greet the new arrivals with a smile. "I was beginning to wonder when the two of you were finally going to show up." He remarked as he set the guitar aside.
Moving to join the young man at his side, he draped an arm around his shoulders, while gesturing with his other hand. "Tell me, Ichigo," the lanky man asked. "Look, do you see that?"
Ichigo took in the sight that lay directly before him. It was a thick haze of fog, to the point that it was almost more akin to that of a miasma- dense, foreboding, and impenetrable- such that it looked less like some vaporous cloud and more akin to that of an actual physical barrier.
"I take it, from your tone, that this is to be our next obstacle?" The Cat inquired.
The spindly, black-clad man nodded. "Within that veil, lies a damned realm," he revealed to the teen and the feline. "Where the soil is cursed and the air is toxic and unfit to breath." Gallows explained to them in a uncharacteristic grim tone. "It's not to be tread lightly."
"What then?" Ichigo countered. "Are you trying tell me that we should just give up?"
The taller man shook his head. "No, not at all," he started. "On the contrary, we've made it this far, all the way to the final stretch of this journey, but we're still missing something..."
With that, the tall gangly man turned and happened to notice what appeared to be a lantern- hanging from a post fixed to the ground. "Oh! This must be it!" Gallows exclaimed, reaching to open the hatch and inserted his hand- snapping his finger and lighting the wick of the candle within.
Stepping back, he flashed a crazy smile as he watched the light from the lantern slip free of its metal and glass confines and float aloft in the air. "Much better!"
"What is it?" Ichigo asked.
"A will-o-wisp." The man replied. "It's what you might better know as a hitodama... But regardless of whatever you call it, it's a light, by any other name- a beacon to guide us onward."
"But what about Ichigo?" The Cat spoke up. "If that 'fog' is what I suspect it is, then it's hardly of any help for a living mortal being such as himself- he won't be able to traverse it."
"Wait," the orange-haired teen started. "It's dangerous... to me?"
"Very." The black-furred feline answered. "Almost certainly by intent... Everything here in this land serves a purpose, whether we know it or not." He spoke. "And this is said to serve as the final barrier between the power of ultimate enlightenment and those who seek it."
Ichigo nodded. "I'm guessing that living people don't normally come looking for it."
"And that's where I come in." Mister Gallows countered, still smiling as he brought his white-gloved hands up and seemingly causing an energy field to appear around him. "As long as he stays within the boundaries of this barrier, he'll be safe from the deleterious effects of the fog."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Soul Society, Division Twelve HQ...
"As Captain of this Division, the ultimate responsibility falls upon me... I will be the test subject."
"But Captain..." Akon started, rising to his feet, an uncertain look on his face.
He held up a hand. "Please." The bespectacled Arrancar responded. "We're all scientists here, and we enjoy the privilege of research by taking full responsibility." Szayel paused, smiling. "After all, it's only fitting that I be the one to take that last step- as, after all, it's my final frontier."
"Szayel-sama," Nemu asked. "What do you mean, when you say your... final frontier?"
"The drive to explore, to push beyond boundaries." He mused aloud. "For centuries, it's been the final link in the chain of exploration, just as the Northwest Passage, all the way to the depths of the ocean to the quest to put a man into space... and from there, to walk on the moon."
"And now, here I am." The pink-haired Arrancar continued. "I either make history, or die trying." He went on to state, stepping on to the platform. "Nemu, I hope you can understand, that for me, the worst fate that I could ever suffer is a life of safety at the expense of knowledge."
The purple-haired woman could only nod solemnly...
"Oh, and Nemu." He resumed, motioning her to him. "Should we face the worst-case scenario, you have all of my notes," Szayel recounted. "If something bad happens, I leave command of the Twelfth in your very capable hands." The golden-eyed man stated. "I trust you to see to it that they're delivered to Urahara-san, as he's the only one with a realistic chance of continuing my work."
"As for the other matter we've discussed..." The bespectacled man continued, resting a hand upon her delicate shoulder and drawing her in to plant a kiss on her lips. "My darling Butterfly, there's so much haven't said, but for now... I'll leave it to you, to ensure that certain things are able to continue."
Again, the female Shinigami nodded. "I... understand, Szayel-sama."
He smiled, drawing back. "And now, begin powering up the system." Szayel calmly instructed the others assembled in the room. "And in the mean time, run a cellular scan of me, to use as a baseline for comparison... That is, if things go well and I survive the transportation."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"To say that it's deleterious, well, is something of an understatement." The Cat remarked to the youth that he was currently perched on. "Ichigo, there are horrors in that fog, terrible things that you couldn't even begin to imagine," he revealed. "Tread with caution... If you should step outside of the barrier, I don't know what will be come of you, but I imagine it will be bad."
"Yes, I see... Point taken." Ichigo swallowed hard, then nodded. "I- I understand."
With that statement in mind, the teen- with The Cat seated on his shoulders- moved in close to Mister Gallows as the tall man lead them through the deadly fog...
"It's high time I stretched my legs." The Cat announced, leaping to the ground.
A moment passed, before Ichigo turned to the figure beside him. "There's something that's been in the back of my mind for a while now," the orange-haired youth started. "Who or what exactly are you?"
The man just smiled. "I'm Mister Gallows, you know that."
"No, that's not what I mean." Ichigo countered. "The Cat, we've met before... And even though I don't quite understand the deeper meaning, Alistair said that he'd been 'tasked' with helping me."
"But then, there's you." The teen continued. "From the moment I first saw you, I've been wondering what's your part in all this? Why are you significant to me?"
"We're closer than you realize." Gallows replied cryptically.
"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo asked.
The man, with his painted face, merely nodded. "I've known you for a long time, since you and I first met when you were merely young boy." He responded. "Still, it's hardly surprising for me to hear you don't remember me... since on that day, it wasn't you that I'd come to 'collect'."
"You're telling me we've met?" Ichigo asked him as they continued moving. "But then, you say that it wasn't me you came looking for..." He paused. "But then, who was it you were after?"
"Someone close to you." He answered smoothly. "I was there, along with the others- watching- on that fateful day when your life irreparably changed, more than ten years ago."
Ichigo paled at the implication of his words. "No, he's not a Shinigami, not an agent of death..." He thought to himself as he regarded the man beside him. "No, I see it now, he's- he's... death itself?"
"You," he spoke up. "Is it possible... a- are you?"
The individual in question simply smiled and nodded. "I am that which walks beside all men, the one thing that makes all people equal, beyond time and eternity," he replied. "And so, I continue onward, as the lone constant in life itself- the one factor that ties all living things together."
"In the end, everyone knows me." He continued. "But you, Ichigo, you're in a unique position, you're someone who has stood on the precipice, and yet, you turned back, and continued on."
"But why come see me now, unless...?" Ichigo started.
He shook his head, smiling. "Because, for the first time in longer than I can remember, you're the first person to capture my interest for a great while." The tall man explained. "Truth be told, I'd prefer it that people not live in fear of me, that they realize I'm a part of life, not the end of it."
Ichigo nodded. "I see..."
At the same time as this, the Cat was silently listening in on the conversation between the two of them and silently taking not of just shaken up the young man was...
And throughout it all, as the three of them continued on their trek, the black-furred feline couldn't help but observe the ongoing dialogue between Ichigo and Mister Gallows.
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
The Living Realm...
The blue-eyed fair-skinned man, with his short red hair and matching stubble, dressed in a pair of faded denim jeans and his iconic black hoodie, looked on...
"Amazing..." He spoke, under his breath, as he looked at the image- a three-dimensional hologram being projected by machinery concealed within the waste-high polished black octagonal 'table' that he was presently stood before. "Beholding it. It's simply... amazing."
Dario couldn't even begin to properly or effectively describe whatever it was that he was looking at... The multiple metallic wrings that were rotating on multiple axises, the sphere of energy nestled within network of metal wrings, the moving hexagonal columns surrounding it, or anything else...
Darkwood nodded. "It's heartening," he spoke, smiling to himself. "Seeing someone with the critical eye to appreciate the aesthetic aspect of the Magnus Machina." He replied with a smile. "The truth, my deer friend, is that I've been gazing upon it for a very very long time... However, it wasn't until roughly three years ago, when the perfect conflagration of events occurred, that it finally started to move."
The hooded man nod. "The 'perfect storm' indeed." He responded. "The upheaval of the Winter War, Aizen's centuries of plotting, Ichigo having the perfect combination of powers to stop him, and then- of course- the failure of the Oken to force open the Gates of Heaven."
"Yes, in that regard, everyone was lucky." Darkwood answered. "Even given everything that I've seen, firsthand, I can't think of a worse outcome to all life bending to will of such a thoroughly evil creature." The black-clad man added gravely. "Thankfully though, when his plot was thwarted in that critical moment... the massive feedback of energy created a entirely different kind of doorway."
"And now," Dario remarked thoughtfully, looking at the image. "Soon, that miraculous 'doorway' will at long last make it possible to realize the glorious dream of The Great Work."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
At last, the trio reached the other side of the barrier...
"This is it..." The Cat remarked as they emerged.
The three of them were standing at the foot of a path that appeared to wind its way up along the side of a rock-face, which then gradually flattened off into a plateau.
Just then, as Ichigo was taking everything in, a spectral form descended the path- like a cloud of dark-gray smoke- and halted its advance as it took shape, morphing into a cloaked figure.
"You've come a long way... Ichigo Kurosaki."
His brown eyes went wide as the stranger stepped forward, his face becoming clear. "You?!"
His face was pale and ashen, with his cheeks and the flesh around his eyes sunken and grayed, and marred by heavy lines. Additionally, what was visible of his hair was a dull gray color and hung limply around his face. He exhaled, and with effort, turned his gazed towards Ichigo.
The young man glared, exclaiming "Aizen!"
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"We're at full power, all systems are nominal." Kuna announced to the others. "We're good to go."
"Excellent." Szayel responded. "Sonata-san, what about your end?"
"Cellular scans complete." Akemi Sonata replied, looking from her monitor. "We have a control profile of your current genetic makeup for comparison to after the test."
"This is it everyone!" He began, adjusting his glasses. "Begin transfer- now!"
A blinding flash filled the lab, and the pink-haired Arrancar vanished from the first plate...
...Then reappeared instantly on the second plate, before staggering forward, into Nemu's arms!
"Quick, we need to get him onto the plate!" His Lieutenant instructed. "We need to run a scan of the Captain, in order to make sure that he wasn't affected by the process!"
"Er- right!" Akon replied, moving to help her situate the Arrancar back on the the platform.
"I'm on it!" Sonata stated. "Running scans, now..." The female Soul Reaper continued, looking to the screen in front of her. "No aberrations detected, cell integrity reads at 100%."
"Szayel-sama," Nemu spoke, looking into his eyes. "You made it, what was it li-"
He cut her off as he grasped her by the shoulders and pulling her in to kiss her. After a moment, he withdrew from her, smiling. "I... it was stupendous, it was like I became pure energy, it all happened at the speed of light- like moving at the speed of thought. ...A once in a lifetime experience."
"And yet," he continued, his golden eyes meeting her green ones, taking her small hand into his own gloved one, squeezing it gently. "It doesn't compare to this."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"...Aizen?" The pale figure repeated in a rasping voice, the fabric of his cloak shifting as he touched down before them. "A name, like any other, and yet..." The man hesitated, his withered hands reaching up to pull back his hood back. "When I look back... Yes, that was my name, wasn't it?"
"You can't be real, you're a figment of my imagination!" Ichigo responded. "I defeated you, and after that, you were locked away- whatever is left of you is in the Shinigami's prison!"
"At first, yes." The man replied. "But now... What remains locked away in the Mukin, is nothing more than the physical remains of what I was." He continued wearily. "While... I have... moved on."
The orange-haired teen glared at him. "Even if I was to accept what you've told me, that still doesn't explain why you'd show up here, before me- why me, of all people?!"
'Aizen' fixed him with a resigned look. "I don't know..." He uttered in reply. "But then, perhaps that's part of the point, as it were." The man mused. "What a perfect fate, that I- the fool who once believed that he knew everything- should now be left in a position, where I now know nothing."
"And so, you just happened to wind up serving as his guide?" The Cat asked.
He nodded. "It's all part of some sort of larger plan... far greater than myself."
"After all, to be powerless, left to drift on the whims of fate..." Aizen paused. "What has been for you only a scant few years, for me has been an eternity... An eternity to come to grips with the madness of depths of my vanity and the utter folly of my ego and unchecked ambition," the withered figure spoke aloud, as much to himself as to the others. "Only now to grasp the ultimate futility in it all."
"No, my punishment is far from over, and I deserve it all." The gray-haired man lamented, before he looked back over to Ichigo. "The most terrifying thing one can face is themselves, to see the darkness and the evil within you, to see everything- all your failures- with perfect clarity."
The teen raised a brow. "And I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?"
He shook his in response. "Your pity would be irreverent, when weighed against the magnitude of my vast array of crimes..." Aizen trailed off momentarily. "No, what I've become, what you see before you- this wretched specter of a man- this is the fate that I alone condemned myself to."
"However, for now, I would simply ask that you follow me." Aizen replied, as he gestured to Ichigo and his companions. "At the top of this summit... there, that is where your final goal awaits, where you must confront your greatest fears- the unknown and unanswered, lingering doubts and regret, unhealed wounds from the past, or perhaps something else entirely."
Ichigo gave a skeptical look. "And then what? Am I just suddenly healed?"
Aizen shook his head at this. "These are not things that can be wiped away- like treating a wound- rather, it's a matter of coming to grips with these unseen damages, finding some measure of acceptance or deeper perspective." He responded in the same detached weary tone. "And, if you are able to come to terms with this, then, you may yet find the clarity that you've been seeking."
It wasn't long before they'd arrived at the foot of a large black obelisk, its point rising up into the shroud of the darkness surrounding the area, just as night seemingly appeared to be falling all around them.
"Now, Ichigo Kurosaki," their guide spoke up. "You must place your hand upon the structure."
Ichigo looked to both the Cat and Mister Gallows, who both nodded, before approaching the pillar and placing his palm against the smoothed obsidian surface.
As soon as he did so, his eyes felt heavy...
The next thing he knew, the teenager was standing in the middle of a sprawling green expanse, filled with flowers of all colors. He instantly smelled their sweet scent as a comforting breeze washed over him...
"Hello Ichigo."
He whirled around, only to be greeted the sight of a woman with long wavy medium brown hair...
"It's been a long time." She offered him with a warm smile.
His eyes went wide, his lip trembled. "M- Mom?"
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Karakura City...
"You know, I never would have thought we'd reach this point." Tatsuki commented from her seat at the dining room table, taking a bite to eat before setting her fork down.
Setting his own utensils down, Ulquiorra smirked. "These last three years, I done my utmost to learn the craft of preparing human meals." The green-eyed Arrancar offered. "That said, just be grateful that it wasn't Orihime's turn to fix dinner, or you wouldn't be in such an agreeable condition."
"Hey!" The woman in question protested. "I can't believe you two!" Orihime went on. "First off, you can't stand him, Tatsuki... and yet now, now the two of you actually seem like friends!"
"But Hime, we are friends, even if only by necessity." Tatsuki countered, taking a drink. "Whenever I stop and think back on everything that we've all been through... I mean, I nearly died in the Wandenreich attack on the city during their attempted invasion." The raven-haired young woman commented.
"That said," Tatsuki went on to add. "I can't help but imagine I'd ever bee so positively predisposed towards Ulquiorra-san, if not for the fact that he bothered to check that I was still alive- in the middle of everything else that was going on- especially, given that he was about to go on a rampage."
Ulquiorra smiled at hearing this, setting his fork down. "Yes, life can be funny like that, sometimes." The Cuatro Espada added with a nod. "But then, conflict usually tends to have that sort of effect upon individuals, moments when we're forced to re-evaluate our priorities."
"Still, on a lighter note," Orihime interjected, eager to shift the focus of the conversation over toward something less grim. "Tatsuki, how are things going for you and Uryu-san?"
"We're doing well." Her friend responded casually. "It's been a little difficult recently, what with how busy he's contending with his Quincy duties," Tatsuki went on. "But, I think I can convince him to put all that aside, at least for a bit, so that the four of us can all get together."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"Mom...?" Ichigo started. "I- is that really you?!"
Before he could fully process what was happening, it was as if he was on autopilot as he flung himself at the figure standing before him, grasping her in a frenzied embrace.
Ichigo couldn't believe it, there she was, just as he remembered her!
Her long wavy brown hair was pulled into a ponytail in the back, while the locks in the front helped to frame her features- from her soft lips to her dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a long-sleeved blouse that buttoned up the front, with a long dark skirt and a pair of heeled shoes.
"Oh, my dear, I fear it's been far too long, for either of us." She commented idly, while she brushed her hand through his hair in a comforting manner. "I can't imagine what this must be like for you."
"Mom..." He uttered as he drew back. "This is crazy! I- I've missed you so much!" Ichigo proclaimed as he moved in to hug her once again. "Where do I even know where to start..."
"Ichigo, son." Masaki spoke in a tone that came effortlessly to her. "If only we had more time," the woman continued with a smile. "As much as I suspect that both of us might wish for it, the truth is that this reunion of ours is finite, that it's in the service of a purpose greater than either of us."
He stepped back and nodded. "All of my life, since then, when you... died," he faltered, struggling to maintain his already frayed composure as he went on. "That day... it's stayed with me. It happened in a flash, but for me, it was an eternity!" Ichigo explained. "It was seared into my memory..."
"I can still see it, in my mind, just as clear now as when happened- even after these years..." The teen continued. "There's still times, when it feels like it was only yesterday."
"Oh, Ichigo," Masaki offered. "I'm so sorry, that you've been carrying this with you."
"Yes, exactly!" Ichigo responded. "It's this- this pain, this wound that's never really gone away," he continue emotionally as he gestured to his chest, to his heart. "I'm starting to realize now, the reason why I was brought here before you... It's so that it could finally start to heel."
"You've taken the first steps in in finding the certainty you needed," she replied. "And the confidence to seek the answer to the question that first brought you to this realm- the ultimate question."
Ichigo nodded, giving a smile of his own. "Yes... What is life?"
She captured his hands with her own. "Ichigo, my sweet gentle boy," she began. "Look at you, you've grown so much!" Masaki declared happily. "Now I'm the one looking up at you!"
He managed to laugh a little, as she brushed the tears from his eyes. "By now, I'm certain, that you've realized that there is no simplistic answer to one of the most fundamental questions plaguing so many people, for so many years..." She elaborated as she leaned in to kiss him on the forehead.
"The truth is that Life is a Journey- it's THE Journey." The woman went on. "And so, for you, part of that journey is all of the hardships that you've experienced, and all of the people that you've met along the way, all the friendships you've forged... All of that is what's brought you to this point." She went on in the steady calming tone of a parent. "All that you need to do now is to look within yourself, and see that life is the freedom to make of it whatever we choose to."
"Mom..." Ichigo faltered, his eyes welling up.
"It's your choice, it's unique to you, in the same way that life is unique to everyone else." She went on to say, even as she pulled him into her arms as he began to gently sob. "In the end, all that we can really hope to do is to go forward, to experience life." Masaki offered her son. "It's that freedom that gives us meaning, that shows us that Life is the greatest adventure of all."
"Ichigo," a familiar voice spoke up, prompting Ichigo to turn to look as both Mister Gallows and the Cat appeared before them in a gust of wind, "...It's time."
The black-furred feline nodded. "It's time you returned to your own realm."
He looked over to Masaki, who only smiled. "I'm always going to love you, and you know nothing is ever change that, just as I know you can take that love with you." She told him. "But you can't live in the past, you have to move forward and cherish the present."
"But, Mom, I-" He pleaded.
She silenced him when she placed a finger on his lips. "Live, my son, promise me that you will live."
A moment passed, then he nodded. "I promise, and... I love you."
His mother smiled and nodded. "Just as I love you, know that I will always love you."
(- End of Chapter LXXXI... -)
As I alluded to in the opening comments, the Ichigo scenes in this chapter is pretty whimsical. But I'll add here that my intent was that it would ultimately come across to the readers as sincere in the final end result.