He couldn't have heard that right. There's just no way. All that Spiritual Pressure that was being released must be making him hear things, somewhat like what Kenpachi's did before their battle. But… the fact he wasn't on the ground breathing so heavily disproved that. He heard what Aizen said loud and clear… he just refused to believe it.
"All the battles that happened…" Memories began to flood back to him; the first time he became a Soul Reaper, his battle against Sora, his humiliating defeat at the hands of Byakuya, and so on and so forth. 6 months of battles as a Soul Reaper, and every single one of those was planned? He knew from first-hand that Aizen was extremely intelligent, the man being the mastermind behind the attempt of Rukia's execution. But to the point of planning… all of that? "...Took place… at the palm of your hand?"
His mask began to dissipate. When he meant all his battles… no, he couldn't have possibly gone that far, could he? The Hollow mask was gone, and the color of Ichigo's eyes returned to normal. "What do you mean by that?" he glared at the current Chrysalis form of Aizen, to which he didn't say anything, as he gave him a blank stare instead.
The silence was killing him. This wasn't something he could just let go. He needed an explanation. No, he wanted an explanation immediately. You don't just tell someone you planned their life and death scenarios without explaining themselves. It couldn't be. He remembered Aizen saying he was aware of him since the night he met Rukia before having the Hogyoku put in her. "I JUST ASKED YOU WHAT YOU MEANT!" Ichigo screamed at Aizen, as no matter what he thought of, it all traced back to him. "NOW FUCKING ANSWER ME!"
After 16 years it was now time to let the boy know some of the truth that was hidden from him. "Your voice…" Aizen raised his index finger, as though he were a grown-up scolding a child for doing something bad. Ichigo remained confused. "There's no need to raise your voice, Ichigo Kurosaki. I believe I made my point clear enough, but if you cannot understand this then allow me to explain it in more simple terms. The moment I was aware of your existence, I made a conscious decision to assist you in accelerating your development, because I believed you would be an excellent research subject. That is all I am saying. There's no need to overthink this."
Ichigo couldn't believe this. Was he some sort of guinea pig he hadn't even been aware of? It sure sounded like one, but it didn't seem like the mad scientist type like Mayuri Kurotsuchi. It didn't sound as shady like Kisuke's when he trained him. So what was it? "Research… subject?" In order to fit that description, there had to be something for him to take such an interest in. Was it because he was a Substitute Soul Reaper? It definitely wasn't because he was a Vizard, if that were the case he would have gone after Shinji and the others. What was it that made him stand out so much compared to others?
"Didn't you ever think it was strange? You have never met or even heard of a Hollow, yet you were attacked by one right after you met Rukia Kuchiki. How do you suppose a Menos Grande was drawn by a Quincy bait, which is only attracted by low level Hollows? You didn't find it convenient how Rukia Kuchiki's previously undetectable Spiritual Pressure was suddenly found by the Soul Society when you were getting used to fighting as a Soul Reaper?" Ichigo didn't want to admit it, but the more Aizen explained the more it made sense how some of those events transpired. "Renji Abarai, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Byakuya Kuchiki… didn't you ever question how these formidable warriors, who trained for over a century and longer, that your power surpassed all of theirs in a matter of days?"
He was aware that he did learn faster than most Soul Reapers, but he didn't bother to question that. All that mattered was just getting stronger. "Did you really think all of that was some big coincidence? That it was all just fate?" Aizen lowered his arm, and with the cocoon-like mask covering his face, his expression was practically unreadable. "I was in charge of everything."
This was insane. The way he talked was as if he manipulated all the things that transpired for the past 6 months. How? Why him of all people? "Hang on…" Ichigo needed to think, but it was difficult to do so.
"Your victories weren't because of your own efforts. So then… would you believe what I am telling you is the truth?"
Ichigo grit his teeth in response to such a question. "You're out of your mind if you think I would!" he yelled at the transformed Aizen. It didn't help that his overall tone was more arrogant than it had been before. "You're standing there, telling me that all the battles I've been through were your doing?! You controlled them?! Without so much as anything going wrong?! You're insane if you think I'd believe all that!"
"Wrong." Was Aizen's reply, and the word alone confused Ichigo even more. "I would be insane to consider you would believe me without doubting me. Your reaction to all this is natural, as expected. But do not take my words lightly, everything I am telling you is the truth."
"Like hell! In case you forgot, you said it yourself that when you found Rukia, it was after she went missing in the World of The Living! Now you're talking as if you've known me before I met her! That doesn't make any sense!" Ichigo refuted, as he seemingly pointed out a contradiction in Aizen's words.
"I knew you'd say that." Ichigo widened his eyes from Aizen's response. "But now you're the one not making sense. You heard what I said and refused to believe what I shared. But you believe what I said back then was the truth? What about when Halibel gave you that hard drive? From everything you've known about the Arrancars since then, do you believe that's a lie as well?" Ichigo hadn't said anything. When thinking about it all, the information he learned was accurate. "Are you absolutely certain you know the truth yourself? Do you know who stationed Rukia Kuchiki in Karakura Town? Who gave Renji Abarai the gear to detect Spiritual Pressure? And then, who was it that added the information on your whereabouts to that report that was sent to the Lieutenants? Did you really think I couldn't find the Hogyoku for over 100 years? And who was it… that gave you a school assignment to take care of that spider I gave you?"
Ichigo gasped when he heard this. The school assignment for the spider? No, that was impossible. He couldn't have actually been involved even on that. But how?
In the outskirts of the Fake Karakura, a Senkaimon gate opened up, and from it stepped Kisuke, Isshin, and Yoruichi. The trio looked around the damage that had been caused by both sides, and checked to see how many Spiritual Pressures were left. Surprisingly, it was more than what Isshin and Yoruichi expected it to be. From where they were at, they stood farther than where the Captains were at, and even farther than Ichigo and Aizen were.
"What gives? Did we arrive too late?" Isshin asked, already getting a feeling that something was off. There were some Spiritual Pressures from Lieutenants and Captains he didn't recognize, but other than that it seemed like the Soul Reapers had beaten their enemies… but where was Aizen?
The 3 of them widened their eyes when they sensed Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure all the way from here. "What's going on?!" Yoruichi exclaimed, both in worry and confusion. "Why is Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure under so much strain?!" she looked over at Kisuke, whom she could tell by the look on his face was thinking of something else. "Kisuke…?"
"Something is wrong here." Kisuke tipped his hat, as a bead of sweat was on his face. "I'm sure you noticed the obvious, but can any of you sense where Aizen is?" he asked in a serious tone, and that worried Yoruichi even more. "More importantly… What's happened to Head Captain Yamamoto?"
That's right. They couldn't sense where the Head Captain was at first, and their worry grew even more when they expanded their sensory capabilities to find the Head Captain had been severely weakened. If the battle had already been won, why was Ichigo under so much strain? What happened to the Head Captain? Why were the others separated? Kisuke grit his teeth, as deep inside he feared he made a miscalculation. If that really did happen, then they were in bigger trouble than he anticipated. If the worst scenario had come true…
There won't be any arguments over this. "I'll go over and see what's happening with Ichigo. Yoruichi, you go and see Captain Unohana and have her inform you of everything that's happened. Isshin, try to find what happened to Aizen and the Head Captain." Urahara gave the order, and the two immediately nodded their heads before Flash Stepping.
"Hold on a minute…" Ichigo murmured to himself, trying to come to terms with what he just heard. "You're saying… you even went as far as to give me that spider? You're telling me that… you were that teacher?" he thought back to the day when he and the rest of his classmates were given various animals to take care of. His anxiety increased, thinking if he and the others have been affected by Kyoka Suigetsu without even being aware? Did Aizen really release his Shikai back at Soukyoku Hill?
"I know what you must be thinking, but you needn't worry. I never used my Kyoka Suigetsu to begin with." Aizen predicted Ichigo's reaction. "There was no need to use my Shikai for something as small as that."
"How…?" Ichigo needed to know. He questioned how he hadn't been able to sense Aizen's Spiritual Pressure, even if a little. "Why?"
From this, Aizen simply couldn't help but be amused. "If Kisuke Urahara was able to put the Hogyoku in a Gigai that drained Rukia Kuchiki's power, then surely I was more than capable of making a Gigai for myself that suppressed my Spiritual Pressure."
"I remember…" Ichigo thought back to when one of his teachers said that Connors was transferred from somewhere else, from where he couldn't remember specifically, but he knew it was outside Japan. "But then how did you—"
"Impersonate a real life figure known in the Western side of the world? You'd be surprised how easy it was to contact your school and make them believe that I was the spitting image of Curtis Connors. While I was taking over, the real Connors was still in New York, as though he never left to begin with. By the time I got what I wanted, I simply put memories of your teachers and classmates that Connors was there the whole time." Aizen answered what Ichigo was about to ask him. "And the so-called spider you had to take care of? You should have kept up with your studies, there's no spider on the planet that would cocoon themselves. And you can't believe there's one that just so conveniently gave you powers in your human form."
"No shit." Ichigo glared at the mastermind that seemingly planned everything there is about him accordingly. "If you really were disguised as Connors then I already gave the bloody thing to you a while ago. What even was that spider to begin with?"
"You still have much to learn. As you are aware, I told you once that the Hogyoku breaks down boundaries between Soul Reapers and Hollows. Once I finished watching your battle with Jin Kariya, I thought to myself… what if I could accelerate your development even further?" Aizen was pleased that Ichigo was able to resist his Spiritual Pressure for this long without the use of his Hollow powers. He watched the boy quirk his eyes in confusion. "Originally the Bounts were never supposed to be involved in your development, but when you encountered them, I was curious to see where it would lead to. In doing so, I focused on making a Hollow of my own creation based on your powers once the Bounts were finished."
Ichigo was still wondering just what it was about him that picked up on Aizen's radar. With this much detail he went over, saying it was a lie was practically impossible. He knew too much. "It was certainly an interesting task. Normally the conduct of my experiments in the subject of Hollowfication were, admittedly, straight forward now that I look back on it. And when I looked at your development and decided to ensure the success rate would increase, I had a discovery..." What was it this time? Come to think of it, why a spider to begin with? "Utilizing an earlier project and even some samples of your Spiritual Pressure, I decided to delve into a new branch that I believe scientists in America call Neogenics. Getting samples from you was simple with how much Spiritual Pressure you leak out of your body. Those samples held traces of Hollowfication in you." Aizen remembered back when he nearly bisected Ichigo during their first encounter at Sokyoku Hill, who recently Hollowfied at that time. "As a result, the bite you sustained mutated your Hollow powers, giving you the powers of a Hollow in your human form, and increasing your powers in your Konpaku body."
It was devastating enough that none of his victories were worth any hard work, but not even this so-called accidental bite was just planned. All plans and nothing else. Ichigo's pride was already on the verge of breaking. "A combination of different Hollows into one, giving you different abilities. Unfortunately, I couldn't go anywhere higher than that. Your human body can't take the punishment your soul can, if I were reckless then your body wouldn't have been capable of handling it. Just as when you passed out minutes after obtaining Rukia Kuchiki's powers."
That was it. He didn't hear Aizen explain anything else as of now. He couldn't think of any more questions to ask either. Ichigo lowered his head, taking everything Aizen said into account. Despite all this, there was still at least one thing that bothered him. "Aizen… you told me earlier that I would be an excellent research subject. Why? What did you base that thinking on? What is it about me that caught your eye?" Ichigo moved his head to look Aizen in the eye again. "You implied that you've known since I first met Rukia. If that's true… then at what moment in time did you think I would become a science project?"
Aizen only stayed quiet for a moment before speaking. "Since the beginning." he vaguely replied.
Ichigo didn't like the response. He's already come this far, he wanted to know more. "Cut the bullshit…" he said, leaving a small growl in his tone.
"Listen to me…" Aizen's tone raised only slightly, becoming more serious than he was minutes ago. "I've known you since you came to be." Ichigo's face expressed small confusion. "When I said since the beginning, what I meant was I've known about you since the day you were born."
Ichigo's eyes widened as much as they possibly could. At that moment, his whole world turned upside down, and after that it felt as though it was shattered to pieces. "What…?" his voice raised barely above that of a whisper.
"The truth is… I knew you were a special case when Masaki gave birth to you. And the reason is because you're not merely a human, but also—"
What felt like Ichigo's life could have changed at that moment was interrupted by a bright red beam of light coming through to cut Aizen, to which the newly reborn being casually side stepped out of the way, making the beam miss him in the process. "My, my… seems like I interrupted something important." Kisuke came down and stood between Ichigo and Aizen, with Benihime ready in his hand in its Shikai form. "Did I come at a bad time?" It couldn't be told whether he was being ironic or not, despite the smile he showed.
"Kisuke Urahara…" Because of the white mask that covered Aizen's face, it was almost impossible to tell what facial expression he held. "I believe you have. I was just telling the poor boy that he's been living a lie, and I was just about to reveal something important to him as well."
"Well, sorry about that. I couldn't help but be concerned over the raging Spiritual Pressure that Ichigo was releasing, so excuse my curiosity to check to see what was happening. Even though it's been about 101 years since we last met... I never expected you would have changed this much…" Kisuke analyzed the current form that Aizen took, and looked at the Hogyoku on his chest. "So I see you actually fused with the Hogyoku…"
"I prefer the term submerged. I submerged the Hogyoku that you yourself couldn't control."
Though it couldn't be seen, Kisuke grew worried. The seals he prepared to use may not work on Aizen if he really has tamed the Hogyoku. If that was true, then killing him would prove to be impossible. He questioned if Aizen had any Spiritual Pressure anymore. Not bringing Yoruichi and Isshin with him was a big mistake. His last resort would rely on that seal, but even then he wasn't sure if it would work. He arrived too late, that much was for sure. But the way Aizen spoke was different from what it was a century ago. He could use that to his advantage.
"Well what can I say? I was more foolish at the time, though the current me would have a much better understanding of the Hogyoku's nature." Getting Ichigo away from Kyoka Suigetsu seemed to be an impossible task, but he would be damned if he didn't do anything.
"Kisuke…" Ichigo couldn't believe that he couldn't sense Urahara coming here. "What are you—"
"As you should already know, Aizen and I have a bit of a history with one another. After all, if the Vizards could step in then I don't see why I shouldn't." Kisuke answered what Ichigo was going to ask. "I can imagine how confused you are, and chances are you'll be even more confused later."
"Either way you're a fool to have come by yourself." Aizen commented. "With intellect like yours, you should have stuck together with the others if you wanted to face me. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter whether you brought them here or not. The gap between us is far too wide to ever be closed."
"Is that so? Well, let's find out what you're capable of." Despite the fact he couldn't sense Aizen's Spiritual Pressure anymore, Kisuke wasn't a fool to think he could take him on alone. That would be suicidal beyond description. Kisuke raised his own Spiritual Pressure at its peak before firing a large beam of energy towards Aizen, who simply stood still and took the attack head on. But the cause of the impact destroyed the entire building the rest stood on, with Ichigo having gotten out of the way via Flash Step. Usually Kisuke didn't like using such big attacks in a battle, but this was necessary.
"No way…" Isshin murmured to himself as he stood in mid air, seeing the impossible sight of a defeated Yamamoto laying on the ground bleeding, his Zanpakuto broken at his side. He didn't appear to be in any critical condition, but medication was needed. "It's worse than I thought." He was hoping the old man was unconscious just so he couldn't be sensed. What bothered him the most was he couldn't find Aizen's body anywhere. "The others have to know this."
The moment he finished that sentence, he sensed a powerful attack from Kisuke, the sound echoing in his ears as the former Captain turned around to look at the destruction Kisuke's attack posed. "What the hell is going on over there?!" He was confused. Kisuke wasn't the type to just launch large attacks like those for no reason, especially when he couldn't sense any hostility coming from where he was at. He was worried about meeting with Ichigo, but at this point it was inevitable.
Yoruichi widened her eyes by the time Unohana finished her explanation of everything that occured since her arrival. "No way…" she murmured, not believing that the Head Captain could have been taken down so easily just like that.
"What's even more strange is that nothing else happened after that. Aizen hasn't come after any of us, nor did he do anything to prevent the Tenkaikechu." That was the last thing Unohana told the Shihouin woman. Truth be told, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Fear. While she was still healing the injured, she felt as though she could be killed at any moment without realizing it.
"This is a lot worse than we thought…" Yoruichi got up, looking at the rest of the injured Captains, Lieutenant, and even the Espada who were being healed. "I gotta head back and tell Kisuke about this." she left Isshin out of the equation, not wanting his identity to be exposed to the others. With that, the Flash Goddess left the others by using Flash Step.
"All that happened…?" Halibel was stunned by the whole thing the female Captain gave. "How long have I been out?"
"I haven't exactly focused on the time, but I know it's been far less than an hour." Unohana answered.
"What about Ichigo…?" Shinji asked as he sat on the ground, with most of his wounds having been healed by the Captain. "What's happened to him since?"
"I don't know, but from his Spiritual Pressure it's not good…" Unohana remarked, her sights being focused on Shunsui as she healed him.
"I didn't think you of all people would resort to such a reckless attack." Aizen commented as he stepped out of the smoke crater that was caused by Kisuke's attack. From his front view stood Kisuke and Ichigo, the latter shakily holding his Zanpakuto. "There is an old saying in The World of The Living that desperate times call for desperate measures. But even so, you couldn't succumb to pressure that easily."
Ichigo tried to think what could be done. If they ran then Aizen would easily catch up to them, but if they stayed and fought then they would die for sure. Although he wasn't sure if Aizen would be willing to kill him, as by his own words he wanted to see him grow. But with the gap between them, he didn't see how it would be remotely possible to match him.
Before he could register Aizen's movements, he heard a sharp sting coming in front of him. He widened his eyes when he saw Aizen's blade run through Kisuke, seeing the blade run through his back as well. "Kisuke!" Ichigo gasped.
But to both Ichigo and Aizen, they were taken by surprise when Kisuke's whole body grew outward before popping like a balloon. "Sajo Sabaku!" Kisuke exclaimed the Bakudo spell, as 6 energy-like chains wrapped around Aizen's body.
"Really?" Aizen was unimpressed by this. "A Bakudo from the 60's? Even a Kido in the 90's level means nothing to me anymore. Although… that trick you just performed…" the newly transcendent being thought back to the Kisuke that blew up mere seconds ago. "Come to think of it, I remember Yammy reporting something like this. I didn't think you would stoop so low to rely on petty tricks like that in the middle of battle."
Ichigo wondered just how Kisuke did that without either of them noticing it, watching the man who hovered in the air. "What? Not even gonna leave one compliment? I'll have you know that this is very difficult to pull off, even for me. Though I think I'm starting to get better at it…" Kisuke contemplated if this would work or not, but he had to give this a shot. He pointed his sword directly to Aizen. "The tips of a thousand hands, the protective hands, unable to touch the darkness. Destructive hands unable to reflect the blue sky."
"Did you not listen to what I said?" From the sounds of it, Aizen was growing bored. "Not even 90's level Kido has any affect on me anymore."
Urahara had to have something up his sleeve. "Bullet of light, eight bodies, nine passages, heavenly scripture, aligned treasures, great wheel, gray turret… the arrow flashes and disappears into the distance." multiple beams of energy popped in mid air and stood close to Kisuke. "Hado #91: Senju Koten Taiho!" the pink energy beams shot straight onto Aizen's whole body, causing an explosion to go off.
Ichigo put his right arm over his eyes to cover from the smoke. That was the first time he's seen a Hado spell of that level, and it felt quite powerful. "It would appear that you really have changed, Aizen. In the past you would have done everything you could to prevent me from firing that Kido on you. Not only that… but you never would attack me so carelessly without thinking things through."
Ichigo widened his eyes in shock when he saw Aizen standing right behind Kisuke. "BEHIND YOU!" Ichigo screamed in warning for the former Squad 12 Captain.
Kisuke gasped in shock, turning around to back away, but was too late to react as Aizen diagonally slashed Kisuke's chest just by swinging his left arm. "You're right. But what's the point of being cautious when you exceed everything. There is no need for me to stay on guard anymore." he watched as Kisuke fell in the air, only for his former arch rival to find his balance by backflipping next to Ichigo, holding his chest in pain as the wound bled out.
It was at that moment that Yoruichi came by and stood next to Ichigo, and seconds later Isshin came by and stood by Kisuke. Ichigo and Isshin exchanged eye contact with one another, and the former couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't know how much more shock he could handle. So many questions ran through his mind, but they'd be impossible to answer. "Dad…?!" Ichigo exclaimed, as the last person he ever expected to be a Soul Reaper appeared in front of him.
"Oh, uh…" Isshin wasn't sure how to respond. Originally he wanted to step in and prevent Aizen from telling Ichigo the truth, but arriving this late in the game already ruined that. But this wasn't the time now, he needed to focus on Aizen. "Listen... I can imagine you have countless questions running by through your head, but this isn't the time now. If at all possible, you can ask me after we're through with this." Isshin said, turning his head to look at the transformed Aizen.
That was easier said than done. How can you focus clearly when your own father appeared in front of you as a Soul Reaper. And judging from the sleeve that came from that shoulder pad, it was a Captain haori. But nevertheless Ichigo had to agree, this was the worst time possible to ask questions.
"That's Aizen?" Yoruichi whispered as she took a good look at him. "He sure looks a lot different since the last time I saw him." she remembered back when she met at the Soukyoku Hill, when she and Soi Fon seemingly cornered him.
"First time I ever met him myself. He looks a lot different than what you described him, Kisuke." Isshin said, as a bead of sweat ran on his face when looking at him. This must have been the man that injured him 20 years ago during that battle.
"Tell me, what do you all hope to accomplish here?" Aizen asked the trio in a bored tone. "Do you really think you can do anything to stop me? I have defeated the Head Captain in combat. If he couldn't stop me, then what chance would an army of ants have?" he looked at his left hand, clenching it into a fist. "With the power I have, not even the Zero Squad can stop me."
The others, excluding Ichigo, widened their eyes upon the last statement. "The Zero Squad?" Kisuke became suspicious of this. "You really think you've become so powerful now that you can take them on?"
"I don't think. I know." Aizen replied sharply, giving a small glare. "You can make as many preparations against me as you want. Take all the time you want. But I guarantee you... I'll crush all your plans one by one, until there's nothing you can do anymore."
Kisuke didn't reply, but instead he glanced at both Yoruichi and Isshin, giving each of them a nod. They understood what he meant, and with that all three of them came charging at him. Kisuke wanted to study the power that Aizen had, so if at all possible, the tiniest sample would be enough. Underneath that, however, he wanted to know that if Aizen was as powerful as he claimed to be, then why bother staying here anymore?
Kisuke used his Flash Step to get higher in the air before firing a dark net from Benihime to trap Aizen. Isshin was ready to unleash his Getsuga Tenshou to strike from Aizen's left side, and Yoruichi attacked from the front with her Anti Hierro armor.
"You're all fools." Aizen raised the tiniest bit of his Spiritual Pressure, and in doing so destroyed the dark net, and launched Isshin and Yoruichi back. Ichigo widened his eyes and saw Yoruichi coming straight at him, and reacted in reflex by catching her. Ichigo grunted when her body crashed against his, launching him back as well until he forcefully pressed his feet through the concrete ground, steering their crash through a building until they stopped. "None of you are of any use to help me evolve whatsoever. I have no use staying here anymore."
"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked as he helped Yoruichi get down.
"My hero." Yoruichi replied in a playful manner as she got her feet on the ground. "I took worse than this, I should be fine." when she looked back to see Aizen, she widened her eyes to see he wasn't there anymore. "Wait… where did Aizen go?!"
"If what he said was true…" Kisuke got down on the ground. "Then he plans on going to the real Karakura Town and make the Oken there."
Ichigo grit his teeth in fear from hearing that. "What?! What do you mean? Doesn't he need to destroy the Tenkaikecchu in order to do that?" Yoruichi asked in concern. She noticed that Kisuke didn't say anything that Aizen was going to destroy the Tenkaikecchu to expose the real Karakura Town.
"I don't fully get it either. While Aizen has become arrogant, that doesn't mean his intellect is gone. He can use the Senkaimon to travel to the Soul Society and find the real Karakura Town there. He never had the chance since the Head Captain was keeping an eye on him like a hawk, and having an interest in Ichigo for that matter. Since there's more souls in the Soul Society, it would be better suited to create the Oken there." Kisuke theorized his explanation. "If that's the case, we don't have much time left."
Gin waited the whole time ever since Aizen took Ichigo with him, and hasn't seen him since. As he's been waiting, he could feel Rangiku getting better and better, until she was practically back to full health.
"Hello Gin."
Gin was nearly startled when he heard Aizen's voice coming up behind him. "Yikes…!" Gin turned around to face the chrysalis form of his Captain. "You nearly scared me there, Captain Aizen. It's impossible to tell where you are now when your Spiritual Pressure is gone."
"My apologies. I didn't mean to give you a heart attack like that." Aizen replied. "If you may, I want you to open the Senkaimon." Gin was confused by this. "It's not necessary to destroy the Tenkaikecchu. It would be more convenient to create the Oken in the Soul Society to take down the Royal Palace."
"Well if you say so…" Gin wasn't fully convinced of the sudden change of going to the Soul Society, but he'd do it regardless. He held his Zanpakuto in mid air before twisting it horizontally. "Unlock." he commanded, and the Senkaimon was created, its gates opening before he and Aizen stepped inside, and in doing so the Senkaimon closed itself.
"This just keeps getting worse and worse…" Isshin grumbled, wincing from the pain he felt from getting launched back by Aizen's Spiritual Pressure.
"Unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of time for everyone to recover either. Ryuken doesn't know what he's up against either." Urahara said, tipping his hat as he gave a semi serious face. "At the level of power Aizen has, he can wipe out the whole Karakura in an instant."
"Either way we'll have to get there before he does. Let's hope they have a bad run in with the Cleaner to buy us time." Yoruichi said, folding her arms as the rest of her Anti Hierro armor had been completely shattered.
Ichigo stood still as he listened to the others talking amongst one another. To him, he couldn't believe that they were still thinking there had to be something they could do. They've seen it for themselves first hand just how powerful Aizen was. Couldn't they sense that Spiritual Pressure? In fact, how could they even handle that? "Hold on—" he tried to cut in, but he got interrupted.
"The Kido spell that I used was shot straight at him, that much I'm certain of. But whether it worked or not is an entirely different story."
"Question is just how much power does he really have right now?" Isshin asked. "I mean, to take on the Zero Squad is beyond imagination, let alone win…"
"Hang on a minute—" Ichigo tried to cut in. Tried to make them see reason that this was insane, flat out suicidal even.
"The only thing that comes to my mind is to take the Hogyoku from him. But that's easier said than done." Kisuke put his fingers onto his chin. "But how much control does he really have over it… cause the idea I had was—"
"LISTEN TO ME!" Ichigo screamed, completely interrupting the trio's conversation, his tone taking them by surprise. "Have all of you lost your minds?! You're talking as if there's a way to win! How?! I don't know how you guys can handle getting suffocated by that Spiritual Pressure of his, but even with the 4 of us together there's no way we can win against a monster like that!"
"Wait a minute…" Kisuke widened his eyes when he heard what Ichigo said. "Are you saying you can sense his Spiritual Pressure?" Yoruichi and Isshin were surprised to hear about this.
"I'm not in the mood for your pranks, Kisuke! That level of power he released felt like I was drowning underwater! So how the hell can you guys deal with…" Ichigo's tone began to get calmer when looking at their facial expressions. "Wait… you guys actually couldn't sense him?"
The trio looked at one another for a short time before looking back at Ichigo. "That's strange… you can sense him and yet…" Kisuke was running through possibilities in his mind. "Well, we aren't gonna accomplish anything if we stay here. Come on, we're opening the Senkaimon." Ichigo watched as Kisuke opened the Senkaimon with his Zanpakuto. "You asked me what exactly can we do against Aizen at this point, right? I'm still in the process of figuring that out. But honestly, what would you prefer? Would you wait and do nothing until Aizen achieves his goal, or go and fight him? Both options require you to die, but the difference is you go down fighting choosing one. I'd say that's better than being a coward."
Ichigo took Kisuke's words into consideration. If he stayed and did nothing, he would never forgive himself when his sisters, and everyone else became victims while he stood and did nothing. "Ok then…" Ichigo gave Kisuke a small bit of determination glowing in his eyes. "Let's do this thing."
"The Dangai Precipice World…" Aizen spoke the name of the realm that resides between the World of The Living and the Soul Society, as he and Gin took their steps to head to Karakura Town. "This place holds many memories…"
"It really does." Gin replied, as they continued to walk towards their destination. Suddenly, they felt a beam of light hitting their direction, and both men turned around to see that it was the all too familiar sight of The Cleaner coming their way. "Uh oh, guess we took the short end of the stick today. We better get moving, Captain Aizen." he told him, as he began to walk faster. But he noticed that Aizen didn't move from his spot. "Uh... Captain Aizen, we really should get moving right about now."
It's as though his words fell completely deaf on Aizen's ears, as he still didn't move from his spot. "That thing is like a law of nature, it makes it immune to Spiritual Pressure because it doesn't belong in that world. It's impossible to destroy it." Gin tried to reason with Aizen, but he refused to budge an inch. It didn't help that the Cleaner was getting closer and closer. "Captain Aizen…!" There was a rare hint of concern in Gin's tone.
When the Cleaner was about to hit Aizen completely, the transformed being thrust his hand and pushed the Cleaner away from them both. Its form was still intact, but now the distance between them was farther than before. Gin was dumbstruck by this. In some impossible form of miracle, Aizen struck the Cleaner with his bare hand and wasn't affected by it. If there was any further doubt about taking down the Royal Palace, then this wiped away any traces of that doubt.
"What is there to be afraid of, Gin?" Aizen heard everything Gin tried to warn him, he just simply chose to ignore it. The Cleaner came back again for another round, and just when it was about to make contact with Aizen, the being in question backhanded the Cleaner, hurling it away from trajectory. At that moment, Aizen's mask began to crumble away. "Laws exist only for those…" The Chrysalis stage of his form had been complete, thanks to the time spent in the Dangai. The mask crumbled away completely, revealing Aizen's face at last. "... Who cannot live without clinging to them."The Cleaner came charging one last time, and with a mere glare from Aizen, the Cleaner constricted itself, its shape expanding itself uncontrollably before exploding.
Gin didn't know what to say to perform like that. What could anybody say after seeing the Cleaner being destroyed in front of your very eyes. Aizen's form somewhat changed. The body remained the same as before, but his hair grew a mullet, reaching his waist, along with a long bang that rested between his eyes. The eyes changed in color, as the once natural brown eyes turned into a shade of gray, and the white sclera turned purple. "Come…" Aizen began to walk on the front path again. "Let us proceed, to the limit of nature's laws."
Rangiku could no longer feel Gin's Spiritual Pressure within this fake city. If that were true, he must have gone off with Aizen. But why? Where was Aizen anyway? Was he dead? If so, did Gin retreat on his own? If that were true, as much as Gin would be backed into a corner, he wouldn't flee, but he wouldn't have continued a fight like this so recklessly. And that other Spiritual Pressure she felt…
"Well, not to sound offensive but… why exactly are our enemies being healed?" Rangiku asked the medical division Captain, who at this point healed more than half their allies. What she didn't get was why were the Arrancars getting healed? Well, maybe not the teal haired looking one, but the one blond one that fought her Captain.
"They pose no threat to us anymore." Unohana answered in a simple tone. "Besides, the other Arrancar was kind enough to help me heal all of you."
"Well, sorry to bother with this, but it's not like I can do anything else here. However…" Halibel looked at the 4th division Captain. "Do you mind if you can do something for me?"
"Well, that depends on what you want me to do." Unohana was somewhat surprised by the request the Espada gave. She wondered what it would be.
"When you're finished healing all of these people, do you mind if you could heal my Fracciónes? They're still injured by your leader's flames." Halibel asked.
She didn't see a problem with that. "Very well then. You have my word." Unohana replied as she nodded her head.
"Thank you for this." Halibel bowed her head in gratitude, not detecting a hint of malice or lies in the Captain's words. She got up from the ground and stepped away from the rest of the crew.
"Wait, where are you going?" Nelliel asked in confusion.
"Back to Las Noches. I'm getting Orihime Inoue out of there, along with the rest of Ichigo Kurosaki's allies that came to rescue her." Halibel answered without turning back before opening the Descorrer. "After all, there's no point in letting her stay there anymore. And if Ichigo Kurosaki still wants to battle against Aizen, then he's not coming out unscathed." she said, right before she stepped inside, the portal closing itself in doing so.
Rangiku got up on her own, as she began to leave as well. "Where are you going, Lieutenant Matsumoto?" Unohana asked.
"I'm just… going out for a bit…" Rangiku replied without turning around.
But Unohana could clearly see that was a lie. "I don't know you very well, but clearly you seem to have a history with Gin Ichimaru." This made Rangiku stop taking her steps. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave here. If you're planning on going after him, then all you'll do is get in the Substitute Soul Reaper's way."
"I can't just stand and do nothing… I need to get some answers out of him." Rangiku replied.
A Senkaimon opened up, as both Aizen and Gin stepped outside to be surrounded by a scenery of green that was filled with life, with trees being everywhere from their point of view. What was supposed to be the real Karakura Town was instead a forest. "We seem to be far away from our original destination." Aizen spoke, who already noticed they were quite far from where they were supposed to be.
"Is that implying that I had something to do with this?" Gin asked in a playful hurt tone. "You're the one who decided to mess with the very fabric of reality itself."
"You're right. It seems my actions led us astray from Karakura Town. No need to worry, I'll get us there in no time." Aizen replied. It didn't matter how far the distance was, he was getting there regardless.
The Soul Reapers ran as fast as they could inside the Dangai, as the goal in mind was to head to Karakura before Aizen got there. With the space-time continuum, it gave Kisuke more time to plan ahead. But as they kept running, the trio noticed something was wrong.
"Hold on!" It was Yoruichi who exclaimed, making the rest stop their running. "Isn't the Cleaner supposed to have come out by now? I haven't heard the damn thing since we got here."
"The Cleaner?" Ichigo questioned in confusion. "You mean that weird train thing that chases Soul Reapers? Even then, what does that have to do with any of this?"
"Because by this point it should have long since chased after us… and yet it's not. Logically speaking, it's impossible for any Soul Reaper to fight against it due to its overall nature." Isshin informed him. "And yet nothing came out of it. Ichigo, can you sense any traces of Aizen's Spiritual Pressure here?"
"Well now that you mention it…" Ichigo looked around him. "It's… kinda everywhere… all over the place honestly."
The trio remained silent. Ichigo didn't like this. Judging by his answer, it wasn't something good. That's what he assumed at least. "So Aizen has really gone and done it…" Kisuke tipped his hat, speaking in a serious tone. "I never thought I'd witness the day the Cleaner was destroyed. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but it would appear that taking on Aizen normally is not possible anymore. The Cleaner wipes off lower beings like us, no matter how powerful the Spiritual Pressure. To be able to destroy the Cleaner… as of right now, Aizen's power now stands in a higher dimensional plane of existence."
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ichigo was already irritated by this. "Then what the fuck did we come out all the way here for?!"
"Let me finish." Kisuke looked at the boy with a cold look, prompting him to shut up. "I said our normal way of taking on Aizen isn't possible anymore. I never said it's all hopeless. Usually the Cleaner being gone for too long speaks of catastrophe. But conveniently enough… we could use this to our advantage." he looked over Isshin's direction.
"You read my mind like a book." Isshin replied before looking at Ichigo. "Right now this is a perfect chance to teach you. This is something that might just be enough to stop Aizen once and for all."
"Teach me? Teach me what exactly?" Ichigo asked.
"The Final Getsuga Tenshou." Isshin answered as he folded his arms.
Ichigo was stunned by this. He's already known about Getsugas, but what the hell was the Final Getsuga? "The Final Getsuga Tenshou? Wait, I'm confused, how is this a good place to teach me here?"
"The Dangai Precipice World is a dimension enfolded by layers and layers of high velocity time streams." Isshin gave his son the answer, but it was clear he was confused by it. "To put it in a nutshell, the time in here is extremely dense compared to the time outside. To be precise, it's by a factor of 2000. One year of time in the Living World is equal to 2000 years here."
Ichigo's mouth went agape from hearing this. "Not just that, but in ancient times this wasn't just a place to travel from the Soul Society to the World of The Living, but also a place of exile. That's why the Cleaner and the Restrictive Current existed in the first place. If you're caught by the latter, you die with no chance to escape in the Dangai. If you're caught by the former, you'll be hurled from the present and be thrown into a completely different time period, and in some instances, an alternative timeline different from our own. You remember when you first went to the Soul Society and got chased by the Cleaner?" Ichigo nodded his head. "When it came in contact with Orihime's Rikka shield, we were sent back in time several days before Rukia's execution during your Bankai training. Ordinarily we would have been flung off by centuries apart, and our bodies wouldn't be able to withstand the sudden temporal acceleration. That's why I was hard on her when we first made it to the Rukongai district."
"But since the Cleaner is gone, this is perfect to help you learn this technique. The temporal density inside the Dangai is 2000 times denser than it is outside. The Soul Society still doesn't have a way to restrict the Cleaner, but there is something to temporarily suppress the Restrictive Current. Now I'm glad I brought these with me." Yoruichi brought 4 small forked blades out of her uniform, getting these from the shop when she picked her Anti Hierro armor, as they needed everything they could. She tied the ropes around her wrists before firing them off and inserting them into the Dangai walls. "Usually it takes groups of a dozen Soul Reapers to do this, but with our level of Spirit Energy, we can do this single-handedly, and for much longer periods of time as well."
"I estimate that at most we can do this for about 2000 hours. That's nearly 3 months. However, since there's 3 of us, we'll switch places each month. We'll give you as much time as we can till you get an answer out of your Zanpakuto." Kisuke added. ''Since you're the only one who can sense Aizen, you have the most potential out of all of us who can fight the current Aizen."
"An answer?" Ichigo was confused by what that was supposed to mean.
"The only way to acquire the Final Getsuga Tenshou is by your Zangetsu. He's the only one who can tell you how to acquire this technique." Isshin told him.
"Wait… if you know this about so much, why not just give me the answer?" Ichigo asked.
"It's not that simple. If I had the answer, I would have given it to you already. Your Zangetsu is one of the only Zanpakutos that know the answer to that. It was the same with my Engetsu. But if yours reacts to anything like mine, it won't give you the answer that easily." Isshin answered, drawing his Zanpakuto slightly by pressing the hilt with his thumb.
Ichigo didn't fully understand it, but he sighed, willing to do it regardless. ''Ok fine… so how do I get Zangetsu to give me the answer?"
Isshin curled his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean? Just go to your Inner World."
"...How do I do that?"
"Ggh…" Isshin nearly choked on his son not knowing how to enter his own Inner World. Kisuke only chucked at this. "How do you not know how to get inside your Inner World?! You met Zangetsu there to get his name to begin with, didn't you?!"
"I know!" Ichigo exclaimed in agitation, looking at his black sword. "It's just that I never met up with Zangetsu when it's so quiet. Usually he's the one who meets up with me when it gets chaotic, or when I'm unconscious."
"You can do that and yet you can't talk with him peacefully?"
"Enough you two. Look, there's a simple method in communicating with your Zanpakuto. Sit down crossed legs and place your sword on your knees. Focus on the sword alone." Yoruichi remarked, sighing at the bickering between father and son.
"That's it…?" Ichigo went to do as he was instructed. "Well why didn't you say so." he placed his Tensa Zangetsu on his knees when he sat crossed legged.
In the real Karakura Town, everybody had been put to sleep so that there wouldn't be any disturbance for the spiritual activity that was happening at the moment, along with their hometown not being erased. However, those with a decent amount of spiritual power woke up far sooner than they're supposed to do. "What the hell is going on here…?" One of those individuals was Gwen, who kept running on the road, looking left and right to see if anybody was awake. "How did a whole city of people just fall asleep out of nowhere…?!"
It made no sense. How was it that people just suddenly slept on a road? How did this happen? And the worst part is that she couldn't remember how it happened. It just did. Gwen dug through her pocket to check her phone to see if she could call for help. But to her confusion, there wasn't any service. "No service?! How?!" This didn't make any sense. There had to be some explanation for this. She never heard of a city full of people falling asleep.
There wasn't anybody awake, no matter where she kept looking. Thinking she may be the only person who was awake scared her. She needed to get somebody, literally anybody else awake. "HELLO?!" Gwen shouted, screaming as loud as she could for someone to hear her. "IS ANYBODY ELSE AWAKE?!"
No response, as far as she can hear anyway. The fear of the unknown was getting to her. Though if others around her were asleep, did that include other criminals as well? Not even the vigilante that resides in this place responded. Was he asleep as well? As far as she was aware, there wasn't any murder taking place either. That was something at least.
The first thing Ichigo was met with when entering his Inner World was water. To be more precise, he was underwater, as if he was deep inside an ocean. That couldn't be right. Last time he was here the whole place was practically a forest. Did he do something wrong? No, that couldn't be. The instructions were so simple even he couldn't mess this up.
But the fact he was underwater reminded him he needed breath, as his lungs were going to be filled with nothing but water. Ichigo began to swim as fast as possible to see if he could get a breath of fresh air. However, out of nowhere he felt something grabbing his cloak and threw him all the way down till he crashed against a small building, causing a crater to be formed. Ichigo saw a black cloaked, hooded figure hovering far above him. "Please stop. You're embarrassing all of us here." the cloaked figure said. "You should be able to breathe without problems. After all, it's your world."
Now that he mentioned it, Ichigo didn't feel any water entering his mouth, nor through his nostrils. The logic here must work differently. Maybe it didn't affect him since it was in his mind? He would ask that later. "Oh… now that you mention it…" he looked back at the figure above him. "Hang on, aren't you…?"
"I'm relieved you remember me at the very least." the figure removed his hood, revealing himself as Tensa Zangetsu, before summoning his sword from out of nowhere.
"Zangetsu?!" All he was met with was an irritated glare. Ichigo realized the mistake he made. "No, wait, you're Tensa Zangetsu. Sorry, I'm so used to seeing you as the old man that I—" Ichigo gasped as he instinctively raised his sword horizontally to block a strike from Tensa Zangetsu, sensing hostility all over the air. "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? You should ask that yourself!" The hot headed Zanpakuto spirit pushed Ichigo through the building he previously crashed through, as their strike destroyed the whole thing in the process. Ichigo couldn't believe the amount of power, as he easily got pushed back like nothing. "You dare come in here and ask me that?!" Tensa Zangetsu pushed through, as he wildly swung his blade diagonally, cutting Ichigo's shoulder in doing so.
At the same time he in his mind, the same injury appeared on the outside world, this time with a burst of Spirit Energy coming out. "He's connected." Yoruichi commented.
"That was the easy part, now comes the hard part of getting the answer out of Zangetsu." Isshin spoke in a serious tone. "My Zanpakuto was merciless when I attempted to learn it many years ago."
"That reminds me… why exactly go with this method? Couldn't there be anything else?" Yoruichi asked as she looked over at Isshin. She already knew about the effects of the Final Getsuga, after all they've been around each other for practically 2 decades, no sense of sharing some of your history along with your abilities.
"If I told him the truth, there's no way he would accept doing this. As much as it pains me to say this, right now Ichigo is our only hope in taking down Aizen." Isshin answered with a sigh. "Because of what he really is, he should be able to tap further into his power."
"And there really wasn't anything else?" Yoruichi asked once more. When she looked over at Kisuke, she saw him hiding a goofy looking grin behind his never ending supply of fans. She didn't like that whatsoever. "What are you smiling about?" she questioned with a twitching eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing…" That was clearly a lie. "I couldn't help but notice how you seem to be quite concerned over Ichigo as of lately."
"What are you getting at…?" She didn't like what he seemed to be implying.
"Well with how you seemed to be so concerned with him…" Kisuke knew exactly how Yoruichi would react next. "And how you're asking if there's any other methods instead of this one... I'd say you've taken quite a liking to him."
That did it. That made Yoruichi's face tint a faint red blush. "Excuse me?!"
"Wait wha…?" Isshin became stunned. A catastrophe was heading its way and they were talking about Yoruichi's love sessions…? Not that he was complaining. "Is that true?" Before Yoruichi could refute, Isshin continued to speak. "Huh… never thought you would be the type to end up falling for somebody." This was when Isshin gained a grin. "Well I did always tell him to get a girl! Welcome aboard!"
"I swear… if we somehow get out of this alive, I'm cutting both of your manhoods off." Yoruichi's eyes twitched dangerously, making her threat clear.
How anyone else hadn't woken up from her screams was beyond her. She's been searching for 10 minutes, and still no signs of anybody else having woken up. One thing she did notice was how odd it was for vehicles to have stopped working… yet no accidents came by as far as she knew. "Nothing… no luck in waking anybody up. Let's see if there's anybody in school." Gwen had her hands on her knees, taking a few breaths before she started walking.
She then heard a light tap coming from behind, she turned around to see it was someone she didn't recognize, but the figure before her was Felicia. Gwen nearly yelped from being startled out of nowhere. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." Felicia apologized as she slowly approached the younger girl. "I heard someone screaming, a little faint from where I was but I heard it."
Since she herself woke up, and realized nobody else would wake up anytime soon, Felicia took her chance to leap from one place to another, not bothering to change into her costume as she saw no need for it. But she was surprised to hear somebody screaming, and checked to see what was happening, only to stumble across a blonde teenager. "Oh… I'm just glad I found somebody else." Gwen sighed in relief. "Do you by chance have any idea what happened?"
"No." Felicia quickly answered, making a slight frown. "I was gonna ask you that, but it seems you're as clueless as I am."
"And I'm not sure if anybody else is awake here. It's creeping me out…" Gwen said, putting her hand on her arm as her eyes kept dialing on her surroundings. "It doesn't help how I keep having this headache…"
"Well it's not like this is some permanent effect since we managed to wake up." Felicia folded her arms. "Besides, I'm sure others here will wake up soon… though it's better to check if anyone else is up. Not like we have anything better to do."
"Yeah, I was just about to check up on my school to see if anybody I know was awake." Gwen said, as she began to walk towards the direction her school was at.
"Sounds like a decent place to start." Felicia remarked as she followed the younger girl from behind. One thing she left out was when she stood on one of the rooftops, she saw that the location of Karakura wasn't what it seemed to be. From beyond its edge, she saw there were mountains standing by. She hasn't stayed in this place for very long, but even she could tell this wasn't how Karakura was like. 'Where the hell are you? Did whatever happened affect you as well?' she thought back to the vigilante. 'You've been gone for days, and without so much as a warning… what's going on here?'
Ichigo and Tensa Zangetsu clashed their blades with one another before the Zanpakuto spirit sent Ichigo crashing through a tree. Ichigo couldn't believe the difference in power between them. Compared to the old man in his Bankai training, that was a walk in the park compared to this. "Wait a minute! I didn't come here to pick a fight! There's something important I have to ask you!" Ichigo exclaimed, hoping that the younger version of the old man would listen.
Tensa wasn't interested in hearing it. "I know all about it. You came here to ask me about the Final Getsuga Tenshou." he said.
Ichigo was surprised. So he already knew? So why bother wasting time by fighting? "Wait, so you heard everything that was said outside? So does that mean—" Ichigo widened his eyes in shock when he saw Tensa's blade swinging horizontally right in front of his face. In less than a nanosecond, Ichigo bent his back to dodge the point blank strike as quickly as possible, his dodge being successful before he split the distance between them by standing behind. "Are you crazy?!" he called out, fearing how his face would have been cut in half if he hadn't dodged that.
"You have no right to ask me for such a technique." Tensa replied coldly. "I am not permitted to teach it to the likes of you."
"Is that so?" Ichigo was starting to see how his Zanpakuto was linked with him. The short temper was definitely a trait, but even so not to this extent. "I guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way. But I don't have time to play around with this, I need this technique to help me save everyone."
Ichigo charged at full speed ahead to swing his blade at his Zanpakuto, holding it with both his hands. Tensa was much faster than him, as the Zanpakuto grabbed his right wrist, preventing him from moving any further. "What of it?" Tensa asked in a disinterested tone. "What you want to protect is not the same thing I want to protect, Ichigo." he threw the boy all the way down on the ground level before crashing on it.
Ichigo got back up and glared at the young form of his Zanpakuto. He charged straight towards Tensa Zangetsu before using his Flash Step to appear above him, crying out in battle as he vertically swung his own black blade. Tensa Zangetsu easily blocked it with his own blade, before he skillfully pushed Ichigo aside as he twisted his handle. "What did you mean by that just now?!" Ichigo demanded to know. Tensa didn't give him an answer. "You told me before that you were willing to lend me your power to help me in any way you could. So was I wrong then?! What exactly have you been doing this whole time?!"
"It's exactly as it sounds." Ichigo didn't understand the answer he was given, as it drew confusion on his face. "Why you…!" Tensa had reached his limit. "TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THIS WORLD! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE FOREST THAT SURROUNDED THIS PLACE?!" he screamed at Ichigo, making it evident that he was livid. Ichigo gasped, remembering what it was like here the last time he entered. "The rain may have stopped, but what does that matter when this entire place has been filled like an ocean?! DO YOU KNOW WHY?!" Deep down, Ichigo began to realize what had happened. "ALL BECAUSE DEEP DOWN INSIDE YOU GAVE UP HOPE!"
Tensa Zangetsu used Flash Step to get right in front of Ichigo. The boy felt chills coming down to him when looking at the deep, seething look of rage. It scared him more than facing up to Aizen. "The only reason… why you bothered even coming here was simply because you were told to." the screaming stopped, as it dissolved into a certain sense of calmness. "I told you to move forward, to never look back. But do you wanna know what happened? You broke that, and this world became a sad, pathetic sight it is right now. And not only that, right? You didn't just stop there, you came into this place, and have the audacity to tell me to teach you the Final Getsuga Tenshou, you do this… AND STILL THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BEAT AIZEN WITH THAT MINDSET?!" Tensa was practically screaming right to his face. "This... I cannot allow you to be like this anymore." Tensa thrust his hand through Ichigo's chest, making the teen gasp painfully. "I will pull out the very roots of your despair!"
Tensa Zangetsu began to pull out what seemed to be some sort of white goo coming out of Ichigo's chest. "AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Ichigo let out the agony of screams escape his throat. Unlike with Ulquiorra where he was unconscious when it happened, he was fully aware of the excruciating pain. Tensa Zangetsu continued to extract the white part out of Ichigo until he freely pulled the entire thing out of him. "AAAAAAH!" Ichigo screamed louder than before, as blood erupted out of him, making it spill all over the ground.
The teen took heavy breaths as he held his chest, but shockingly enough there weren't any injuries shown despite what happened. He heard a thunderous foot crashing against the floor, far too heavy for it to be Tensa. "Well, well, well…" Ichigo widened his eyes in shock when hearing the voice of his Inner Hollow speaking. When looking up, he saw that it was indeed the Hollow, but his appearance was drastically different than the one he met before. The form he took looked exactly the same like the one he took in his last battle against Ulquiorra, but as expected the colors were in reverse contrast to his own. Another difference was the Bankai cloak wasn't damaged like his was. "What do we have here?" Hollow Ichigo moved the black mask away to reveal his face, showing off a sickening grin.
Well that about does it. I kept trying to think of what other scenes I could come up with for Soaring Fateful Night, but I kept having problems what scene I could come up with next. Since that was taking a bit too long, I got back with Overflow instead since it was a lot easier. I'll go back to doing the other story, if it still doesn't work then the next upload would have to be the Shine of New Miracle story instead.