I leaned to the side, easily avoiding his dive. Stepping around, I brought the shadows up and around my hands to cover my blade. I made a jab at him, slicing into his heel as something primal in me smirked.
He sneered, obviously used to the pain, before flash stepping away. Wait. No, that's not flash step. He had disappeared from my senses briefly, and I had been left looking at an afterimage of where he had been. I remember this from my original timeline.
"What was that?" My voice fell up and down with a small laugh as I took in his brief anger.
"Sonido?" he answered, making a face like I was an idiot. "It is the equivalent of flash step for hollows. I'm surprised someone with powers as dark as yours doesn't know about it," he mocked me, trying to get another rise out of me.
I stretched my shadows behind me, taking gentle care to wrap up the two injured men and at least try and staunch the flow of their blood. His yellow eyes carefully followed my movements.
"What a flexible power," he remarked, almost to himself. "It's a shame I won't be able to collect more data on you!" He charged again, throwing his power around as he tried to speed up his sonido.
Again, I easily slid out of the way.
"I don't have time for this," I hissed, the tip of my long sword catching on the fabric of his white shirt before sinking in.
Crack!
Something cracked in the poor man as his chest hissed around my blade, leaking air. I watched as he dropped to his knees and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword.
"I can't-can't see you!" he exclaimed, staring straight at the ground. Our levels were just too distant from each other for him to recognize it. A sad realization.
Disconnecting my shadows from the blade, I went to the two men and knelt next to Renji. His condition is more serious. He needs to go first.
Holding up my hands, I began to gather the healing energy above his wounds as something pulsated within me.
Who…Who am I?
"What?" I looked around, hearing a voice.
It's inside, Shiro's statement made something crawl along my spine.
Who am I? the voice asked again. Loneliness dripped off of it, small waves upon the shores of the lake of reiatsu within me.
I looked toward my long sword, still lodged deeply in the now collapsed man's chest, hope gleaming in my eyes. Is this it? Is it time? I had promised to myself that I would wait as long as it needed. If it's finally time…I couldn't contain my excitement.
Am I…you? the voice questioned, and I felt that it was not directed toward me.
My eyes flicked to look at the paling face of the Espada. He was choking on his own blood, barely managing to form words as he slowly relaxed down more and more.
"Am I…who?" he questioned, ears cupped by Death and closed off from the world.
He can hear it too. That was a big shock. How could someone else hear my sword?
Gritting my teeth as I realized the blood wasn't slowing, I was forced to turn my attention to the wounded Soul Reaper and Quincy before me.
X
"Thank…you…" Uryu sighed painfully as I finish healing him.
"You're welcome. You should rest now," I demanded as he tried to sit up.
He ignored me, forcing his still hurting body upright. Renji lay unconscious next to us.
"Ichigo…Where's Ichigo?" Uryu suddenly questioned, and my face fell.
"While I was healing you, his energy went massive before it fizzled out." I looked down, feeling conflicted on having stayed to heal him while my own family suffered. "But it's slowly coming back now. I think he might have found Orihime," I confessed cautiously, not wanting to get his hopes up.
His face seemed to lighten at this, a few years falling away as his eyes shone brighter.
"I'm not for certain." I tried to bang the possibility of a worse outcome into his head.
"No." He was sure of himself. "If anyone can do it, Kurosaki can."
The amount of belief that these two had in each other was simply staggering to me.
X
"Oh? What's this?" Aizen calmly watched us from upon the top of the grand stairs, a portal to the World of the Living shimmering behind him.
"Aizen!" Ichigo called next to me, Orihime hiding behind us both. His reiatsu was mounting, a suffocating black beast that was leaning toward the snapping maw of a rabid animal. "Fight me!" Ichigo demanded.
I looked at him wildly. "Ichigo!" I tried to stop him, my focus split between the two males.
"Fight you?" a light chuckle in Aizen's voice as he imagined it. "You still…can't even stand up to me."
Aizen flash stepped toward us, likely faster than Ichigo could see, and I dived in between them, dagger raised this time instead of my long blade.
A izen smiled at me like this, at my snarling face and upturned lips, at my hollow blackened eyes. His lips moved just barely. "Byakurai."
Raising my hand, I managed to get a seki barrier up just as the spell flew over my shoulder. My barrier pulsated, my raw emotions destabilizing it.
Bad aim?
I only had a moment to question before a solid palm strike shattered my weakly summoned barrier.
A strong, firm hand gripped my throat as I flinched back from the flying reiatsu shards. "I missed this…" he murmured, leaning down to my ear. He breathed me in deeply.
Lust. Its stench was thick on him, weaving into his hair and splaying onto his skin like a lizard to bask. He lifted me up, and I began to struggle.
"I missed you, Keisei." I stilled at my name, no longer struggling. He chuckled at this. "Enjoy the briefcase." He slowly relaxed his grip, setting me down. My rushed small breaths tried to save my panicking, frozen mind. He began to walk away. "Oh." He remembered, flash stepping to the portal. "You might want to heal Ichigo…before it's too late."
I flew around with a gasp, not feeling it as the portal closed around him, swallowing him into the void. "Ichigo!"
Aizen's aim had been true.
The poor teenager was laying on the ground behind me. The kido spell had a shot straight through his throat, and he gurgled in response to his name. His eyes were wide, begging me for comfort as his hand flopped in an attempt to move. My hands shot out, ready to heal him, when an orange light encased him.
"Let me." Orihime surprised me with the order. "I can save Ichigo," she told me with surprising firmness. I could only nod and sit by his side, not having seen this side of the gentle girl before.
Turning to look at where the enemy had disappeared to the World of the Living, I let out a true hollow hiss as I contemplated.
This is where it all went wrong before.
Aizen had to come out of the portal so confident, so sure of himself. His most powerful underlings had come out next, the strongest three Espada and their strongest fraccion.
The captains and lieutenants hadn't stood a chance. Grievously sliced, hacked, and mutilated, it had been a final trifecta of the Head Captain, Kisuke, and Shunsui to even injure the madman.
Out of desperation at that point, after being ordered to stay on the sidelines, I had used my bankai. Then everything really went to Hell.
My tears started to gurgle up as I watched Ichigo slowly heal. "Fuck…!"
" It'll be okay, Koi." Orihime surprised me, making me look up. She was covered in blood, the proof of those she healed. Her clothes were stained with dirt and sweat. Her hair was wild, half long and half short from a wayward blow from Grimmjow.
She looked impossibly strong.
"Thank you…" My voice broke. I can't let everyone die again…I can't fail again!
I squeezed my long blade. Who am I really?
My crisis set in deeper.
X
"Orihime," Ichigo croaked as soon as he could.
"Save your strength!" My voice was raw with emotion.
He ignored me, and I felt a madness spike from within. "Let's go…" He gently reached out as the last bits of his injuries disappeared.
The deep scores in his back, likely from two sets of claws, faded away. The deep bruising on his left leg lightened. The blood running from his head stilled.
Her powers must be from being around the Hogyoku, I decided. This level of healing should be impossible.
As the last bits of Orihime's healing technique faded, I felt a sudden power lurch beneath our feet.
"Watch out!" I tackled her out of the way as the floor broke apart under us.
"Oof!" she gasped at the heavy impact. We landed harshly, Orihime yelping out involuntarily when we hit the floor hard.
I drew my blade, leaning into a low fighting stance as I looked at the newcomer.
"Ulquiorra…!" she gasped behind me.
Emerald eyes empty as the sky of Hueco Mundo turned to her. His skin was pale, paler than the castle itself.
I crept my shadows closer, intending to take the Arrancar's head off, when Ichigo yelled at me.
"Stop!" I froze at the tone of his voice. He stood on the other side of the enemy, his sword already drawn. "This…is my fight," he insisted.
I half glanced back at Orihime, who met my eyes. These stupid kids!
Not saying a word, I tucked my dagger away. I have to protect Orihime. I thought of Uryu back in that now deceased Arrancar's lab, guarding Renji's still unconscious body. I can't fail again.
" So be it." The Arrancar turned away from us and focused on the youngest. He was quick to fire off a unique high-powered cero at the teen, who barely dodged it.
"Ichigo is…still injured on the inside," Orihime confessed quietly.
I turned back to her to respond when we were suddenly blanketed with the enemy's strong powers. I watched as her throat closed off, eyes watering as she couldn't breathe. Pitiful noises came out as she choked on the black reiatsu.
I gestured around us. "Kurotsugi."
A black box formed around us, eating up the interference between us and the outside world. As it closed, the powerful energy was cut off. Holding out my hand, I summoned a weak Shakkaho to bring us some light. I placed it on the ground before her, knowing that it was easy to lose yourself when everything looked this bleak.
"Orihime." I frowned. "I need you to stay here. You're not strong enough for this battle." The truth made my throat raspy. "I need you to take this." I handed her the briefcase I'd kept ahold of.
She teared up but nodded. "I understand." She gave in, eyes carefully blank. "Please…please protect Ichigo," she begged me, a single tear falling.
"I'm sorry." My eyes tightened.
Dropping the spell, I summoned a smaller version around her. Her emotions snagged at her face as it disappeared, tears falling.
Another blast of power had me turning around. This spell is good. It'll protect her until I can't hold it anymore.
White shoes twirled around the floor, steadily encroaching on traditional Soul Reaper sandals.
Bang! Skree! Metals met, singing a hardened duet of passion.
"Not enough," the Arrancar told Ichigo's poor block. A green beam of light flew from his finger, hitting the same mark his master had.
Crying out, Ichigo backed off momentarily while he grabbed at his neck. I could only eye the new deep gash on his back, already matted with crust. He must have gotten that while we were hiding.
I debated using my bow to assist, my still weak Quincy powers lending an edge in distance combat. They're still so hard to draw on. I squeezed my fist as I tried to summon them, straining somewhat. It feels almost as if they're preoccupied by something.
Swinging again, the black-haired monster threw the teen back several meters. My foot pressed down as I appeared between them, my blade raised.
The Arrancar raised his blade to meet me, and I easily blocked him.
"Stop!" Ichigo's voice yelled. The Arrancar kept the pressure up, sparks flying between our blades as I listened.
" This is my fight!" Ichigo insisted. "He's the one who took Inoue!" Dashing around me, he tried to get a cheap slash at the enemy, who easily dodged.
"Ichigo, stop! You're not strong enough!" I yelled after him as he charged headlong into the battle.
"Stop protecting me!" His scream made me stop as I dashed after him. He attempted to block another blow only to get thrown again. "I'm…strong!"
I stabbed my long sword into the floor, frustrated. "This stupid kid!" we hissed to ourselves, Shiro's energy gathering heavily in the air like condensation.
Resolving ourselves to at least give him a shot, we continued to watch the fight.
Ichigo was spun around like a rag doll, unable to keep up with the monster. I watched, eyes narrowed, as Ichigo brought forth his hollow mask to boost his powers. This seemed to give him the edge he needed.
He was able to start meeting the enemy's attacks, not faltering when the darker powers pressed down on him, begging his feet to slide again.
"Getsuga…Tensho!" His blade glowed briefly before shadows, not mine, wrapped around it. His reiatsu tightened around his zanpakutou. As he swung, the energy left his sword in an extended swing.
The Arrancar, looking as though he had expected this, stepped out of the way with practiced ease. The technique barged into the wall, easily slicing through. The bright lights of a false sky burned me, and I pulled my shadows up for shade.
Sonidoing to Ichigo, the Arrancar gripped his blade. Refusing to let go, Ichigo was thrown out of the hole easily. The hollow wasn't even breaking a sweat. I jerked, wanting to catch him, before his words echoed in my ears.
The Arrancar was quick to pursue, flying out of the gaping hole and following after Ichigo.
I found myself at a standstill. I could stay and continue to feed the Kurotsugi that protected Orihime. I could leave her unprotected. I could keep the spell up and go after Ichigo even though he would reject me.
Or…
My eyes turned to look at the portal where Aizen had gone through. It was different than Kisuke's. Instead of an earthly, natural look, this portal was all fine lines and swooping steel. I could go to the battlefield.
My world shifted as I considered my options.
Blood slitted down through my hair, catching the wound on my lower back as it dripped. It's not my blood. Something was fried onto my zanpakutou, muting the reflections of the midday light. It's not my skin. Something squelched beneath my steps. It's not my innards. A deep, moist smell gathered around the fallen. It's not my decomposition.
I walked through the bodies of Soul Reapers, splashing softly as I stared up at Aizen's back.
H im.
I shook my head back and forth viciously, grabbing my forearm and digging my nails in to bring myself back. "I can't—that can't happen again!" I screamed, trying to force what I wanted.
Something sparked in front of me, making me flinch. Dropping to my knees, I dropped my blade. My eyes felt hollow, a thick black layer of dark energy covering me head to toe.
"No…" My voice cracked.
The portal technology had caught fire. I watched as one of the beams that had held it up failed, half the invention cascading to the floor.
There's no way back. Shiro was horrified. None of us can open a garganta.
Above us, we distantly felt Ichigo release his bankai. We let the black energy fall around us, mixing with our shadows until it was hard to tell which was what.
I coughed, sadness clogging my throat. "That's not…That's not the fight that matters!" I screamed to whoever would listen, looking up at where I sensed the two men to be.
"We…We need to go fight Aizen," I begged, holding myself up with my hands on the floor as my body shook. "We need—"
X
"Koi! Koi!" Something tugged at me. Batting at it, I was aware of the cold, hard floor. I slowly pushed myself up, scrubbing at my hurting eyes, while the annoying voice continued.
"Ichigo! He needs your help!"
Uryu. I looked over. He was kneeling next to me, Orihime standing over us with her hands poised to heal. "What happened…?" I asked slowly, feeling my head ache.
"We found you like this. There's no time!" Uryu rushed me, pulling me up. I stumbled. "Ichigo needs your help!" he reminded me.
"Ichigo?" I asked.
Oh, my brother. I stumbled to the gaping hole in the wall as my senses started to reach out.
Huge amounts of reiatsu were being pitted about above us. Every so often the entire building would shake from a particularly forceful blow.
Ichigo…Ichigo?! I took a quick breath, realizing how small his powers felt compared to the monstrosity.
Taking a poor step, I faltered before I floated out from the building. The light was blinding. A false blue sky hung overhead, unmoving clouds poised perfectly. White sand reflected the light back into my eyes, hurting me. A mocking copy of what Kisuke had created. "I'm going up," I told Uryu.
S tones carved onto his face as he stood by looking grave. "Be careful," his cold voice warned me as I flew away.
Up, up, up to the roof. I could see it, the hole Ichigo had made to escape the confines of the palace. Flying through easily, I felt his still panicked, leftover reiatsu around the rim.
It's so much heavier now. So much more dangerous. It was sharper now, hacking away as it panicked between highs and lows, stressing itself to grow larger before collapsing repeatedly.
Lightly landing on the roof, my vacant eyes took in the Arrancar vaulting Ichigo's body to and fro.
"I—Ichigo!" I screamed as I felt his powers suddenly collapse again. His bankai began to dissipate as the young man fell from the highest tower, unable to manifest it in his weakened state. I flash stepped, intending to catch him. I gasped when the Arrancar spread the new midnight black wings on his back and flew straight into the teen.
"No!" I watched silently as Ichigo was folded in half, far too gone to even scream. My hands reached out, mind frozen.
Feeling something cold in the pit of my stomach, I released control as Shiro took over. I let myself fall into my inner world, black smoking my vision as I felt her squeeze our hands. Claws began to protrude as the hollow mask spilled out of our eyes, forming solidly.
I fell into darkness. My zanpakutou, the cataclysmic neuron of the universe, touched me gently as it slowed my descent. It whispered to me quietly, reassuring me gently.
I looked forward, a small light coming toward me. It swung side to side like a lantern. Small clicks could be heard as the form approached, small details such as a leather jacket, spur boots, and a wide-brimmed hat standing out more as he approached.
He knelt in front of me, face blank of eyes, mouth, and nose. "Am I…you?"
Silver glinted in my palm as our hands brushed.
X
Three figures perched atop the castle of Las Noches. Two bore wings. A fur-tipped black tail whisked around one. A lizard-like white tail swayed behind the other. The darker bore no mask. Instead, malachite eyes glistened, nullified of emotion. The other wore a white bone mask that pointed forth to a sharp edge as a bird.
The white maw opened, black liquid pouring through the deeply set razors.
White limbs wetted into black shapes, clouds circling and agonizing into claws.
The bird hollow hissed, the sound reverberating deeply as it struck the black bat hollow.
Sensing danger, inky wings wrapped around their equally as dark owner. Staying still, he closed his eyes in the hopes that his form would fade into the background.
W hite mask touching the ground, the female breathed deeply as she tasted what had happened. Blood. Blood that she recognized. The shadows seemed to pull around her, twisting, screaming, before they froze.
In a heartbeat, they flung toward the male as she screeched, inhuman and grating. Ulquiorra flapped, spinning out of the way barely in the nick of time.
Appearing behind him, white-stained-black claws circled around his neck. Sonidoing into a duck, she sliced his longer locks as he evaded.
Tipping his head, a cero began to charge between his long bat-like ears. Hissing, the white hollow charged one of her own.
Releasing simultaneously, the two beams of energy met and shattered the air. Thrown backward, the white hollow recovered faster. She was on him, disappearing one moment and reappearing the next, a single claw spearing him through the air.
A popping noise as the claw emerged from the back of his head.
Crying out, the man blindly waved his glowing green spear before she disappeared again. "What… What are you?!" He fired off ceros indiscriminately, sensing where she had just been.
"Protect…them…" the raspy voice spoke clearly as she flash stepped circles around him. "Protect…Ichigo…" Her voice was automatic, hitting the right tones, yet emotion had been locked out.
A long blade was pressed against his throat. Desperately, feeling it slice into his skin, he struck her with his spear. "Die…!"
She caught it with one hand, high notes straining as the bomb was handled roughly. Blinking, her yellow eyes leveled him. "No."
He released the green energy.
The world held its breath. The sandy tears falling down the castle stilled. The occupants within the castle looked up and froze. The chilled wind subsided. The moon stepped away, never to return.
The detonation was a coloratura, complicated, fast winding rhythms breathlessly paring down to a single high note.
X
"Lie still. You're injured," a familiar, ageless voice instructed me.
I groaned but obeyed. My body felt like it was on fire. "What-What happened?" I gave control to Shiro, then…I crackled a small eye open.
I'm sorry. A quiet whisper in me. I reached out, questioning, and she retreated farther in.
Confusion settled in me. We were surrounded by black, the fake sky looking like it had crumbled like broken puzzle pieces around us. The sand under us still felt warm from the artificial lights.
"A bomb went off." I felt Unohana healing me, hands firmly on my upper back. "Luckily, we were able to get to you in time," she informed me.
"The others?!" I asked, springing up wildly. My hands buckled under me, a strange, foreign weight holding me down.
Unohana released me, allowing me to squirm until I reached for my back in question. What is this? Twisting around as my hands curled in something warm and soft, I froze. "Wings?"
Experimentally stretching the new muscles, they fluttered.
"These are a result of your transformation," Unohana taught me. "I believe…these are permanent." She held up a hand, and I felt her gentle powers poke and prod at the base. "They do seem to be part of your soul," she assessed.
"Ichigo?" I asked, head swiveling as I moved on to more pressing matters. There wasn't time to think.
"I'm afraid…we were too late."
What?
"Too late?" I didn't understand.
Unohana pointed at a grouping of people not far away. Various Soul Reaper captains and lieutenants were in a circle with Uryu and Chad. Orihime's powers glowed in the center, illuminating their somber faces. "She won't be able to save him." She pulled me up as she stood. "Say your goodbyes." Ichigo's power could barely be felt from here. The normal bonfire had simmered down to black embers.
"Ichigo?" I weakly asked, taking an awkward step toward the group. "Goodbye?" Another. "He's…" I flash stepped to the group, startling several of them.
He was laying there, injuries grievous. I could see that he had lost a lot of blood. My eyes resolutely stayed above his shoulders, avoiding the worst of it. Orihime softly sobbed next to me, her hands shaking against her warm light. Uryu's shoulders shook. A little bit away, Renji comforted Rukia in his chest. Ichigo's embers started to flicker.
"Koi…" I read his lips. His eyes had long glazed over and clouded, but yet he still looked to me. Looked up to me, as he should have been able to. "Protect them," he settled on, his embers glowing brighter at the thought.
Orihime's barrier shattered as the last of her reiatsu reserves ran out. A staggered breath, and Uryu was wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Ichigo…" I gripped his hand, hissing at how cold it already was. His eyes shifted slightly to see something over my shoulder. I glanced back, not sure what had captured his attention.
"Mom…" The flame went out.
T he world had shrunk suddenly. Everyone was too close. The sand was pressing against me too much. The wind was curling around my hair too aggressively.
My power must have fluctuated as everyone was quick to back off. "My…little brother!" I pressed fists into my eyes. I was supposed to protect him!
"Koi?" a tentative small voice asked me. Sniffling, I peeked an eye out to see Orihime offering me the case from earlier. "Is this…important for…Aizen?" she asked me quietly, hopefully.
"I don't know." The sudden downturn in temperature matched my words, my reiatsu wanting to freeze up everything around me.
"There is no time to mourn." Unohana stepped up behind me. "We need to go to the battlefield."
I growled at her, summoning Shiro despite her reluctance. "Give me a second to mourn! My brother just died!" I yelled, making Orihime jump and then stumble off back to Uryu. He held her close, staring at me in shock.
"There is no time during war," she frigidly told me.
Letting out a loud sob, I twirled on my heel and approached Uryu. I shoved hard silver into his shocked hands, both him and Orihime gasping as they saw it.
"We need to hurry," Unohana pressured, voice sinking over and covering up my quiet words to him.
X
The midnight Precipice World was lit up by Unohana's glowing reiatsu. The golden light formed a dreamlike pathway under our rushing feet. The soft lights swam in my eyes.
"I'll kill him," I swore to myself.
"I know," Unohana answered.