A warm breeze caressing his skin is what nudged Ichigo to awareness. With caution did he part his eyelids, carefully not to blind himself by the light of the sun his body bathed in. The initial brightness had him turn his face down into the grass to protect his vision, the small blades tickling his cheeks and nose. His world took pity on him, guiding a cloud towards the source of his discomfort, granting him a shadow to rouse in.
Ichigo took the mercy for what it was, enjoying the weather while he waited for the remnants of his sleep to lose their hold on his mind. He rolled back on his side, eyelids falling open slightly. His vision was blurry and unfocussed but Ichigo didn't mind, watching the expanse of green move in the gentle wind. The mass grew more defined over time, individual blades of grass forming before his eyes.
He came to find he was surrounded by trees and shrubbery, sprawled out upon a blanket of grass and flowers on a bed of soft earth. It was nothing like the simple bedroom he had gone to rest in. Yet, it didn't spark panic. While he didn't recognise this exact place, he knew where he was.
His Mindscape.
Having lounged long enough for his mind to be fully awake, a slight frown formed on Ichigo's face. He sat up, looking around for a sign of either of his spirits but finding none. It had been decades since he had been brought to his Mindscape in his sleep. Zangetsu simply didn't have to. Ichigo came down every week - if not more - and he manifested his Zanpakutō just as often these days. Even then, they could talk whenever any of them desired.
Which led to the question of "why?" What could possibly be so urgent that it couldn't wait until he woke up?
And more importantly, if it was so important, why weren't they here?
A bit confused, Ichigo got to his feet. The use of Pesquisa was instinctive, the echo reaching country-wide - had he been in the World of the Living. Still, even with this range, all he caught was a sliver of his spirits Pressures. Fortunately for Ichigo, a sliver was all he needed.
They're together, he found. Their Pressures were calm, neither concerned about hiding it and allowing it to flow freely. And they're not fighting. If Ichigo had to guess, he would say the two were just "chilling". Which wasn't a rare occurrence by any means, the two got along better than anyone would expect. However, to have the two just relax when they had brought him here was a little odd.
Oh, well. There's only one way to find out the reason, wasn't there?
With a single jump, Ichigo broke through the canopy. His eyes scanned the horizon until they locked in the direction he had sensed his spirits to be. Once he reached the zenith of his momentum, he leapt forward with a single step of Sonído. He covered kilometres of distance before gravity could get a hold of him. Ichigo waited for the last possible moment - when the soles of his feet brushed the highest reaching leaves - before continuing his journey with a lazy Shunpo.
It took him well over an hour before his destination came into view. It was a tall building that rose high above the trees. The walls were covered in vines and moss, drawing it in with the expanse of nature around it. The windows, however, were suspiciously clean, giving a clear view of the neat room inside.
But it wasn't inside where he needed to be. No, the two Pressures he had been tracking originated from the top.
With a single step, Ichigo stood on the ledge of the roof and discovered it wasn't a bare surface as he had expected. There was a bar to his left and a large hot tub to his right. Chairs, tables and lounges were scattered around, parasols erected to cast shadows and provide protection from the sun.
It was on one of those lounges that Ichigo spotted his Quincy Zanpakutō. Not bothering to announce his arrival - for it would be an insult to their ability to sense their wielder's presence - Ichigo walked over.
Zan was seated in the corner of the lounge, legs resting on the empty cushions. He had taken off his boots and coat, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and the first three buttons were left undone. The brown waves had been gathered into a high bun, keeping the long strands away from his eyes. A pair of normal glasses replaced his sunglasses, aiding him in reading the print of the puzzle book he was working through in the shade of one of the parasols.
Now he was closer, Ichigo discovered Getsu was there as well. The Hollow Zanpakutō was sprawled out on the same lounge, his body bathing in the warmth of the sun while his head lay in the shade, resting on Zan's thigh. His pant legs had been rolled up to the knee, boots nowhere to be found. Only the black vest was there to cover the chest.
A hum reached Ichigo's ears, growing louder with each step he took. On a second look-over, it was Getsu who made the noise. The spirit had been reduced to a purring mess under the skilful fingers of his counterpart that carded through the short white tresses.
Even though it had been his spirits who had brought him here, Ichigo felt like he was intruding on something.
There was a rumbling string of sounds that came close to forming words. Ichigo looked at Getsu, who was watching him with pleasure-clouded eyes. He had a lazy smile on his face, one hand gesturing at the seats across from them.
Even though the message was clear, Ichigo stayed standing. 'Sorry, I didn't catch that'.
Those sinful fingers removed themselves from Getsu's scalp. Taking the pen from behind his ear, Zan scribbled down some answers in his book, granting his counterpart another chance at speaking.
'I said…Ya can sit if ya wanna', Getsu forced out through the lingering vibrations in his chest and throat. 'S nice weather'.
Raising a brow, Ichigo did as offered and sat down across from the two. The sun hit him in the back, a comfortable warmth that was complimented by the gentle breeze.
After placing one last stroke of ink, Zan clicked the pen. Placing the pen in the crevice where the pages met to mark his progress, he closed the book and laid it on the broad backrest.
'Our apologies for bringing you here unannounced', Zan began, hand resting on Getsu's head. 'We have been discussing this for a while and only now have come to the consensus on how to tell you'.
'It's about our Bankai', Getsu added, voice still containing a light tremor. 'And the side-effect we mentioned before'.
That does ring a bell. 'You mean that side-effect that "may or not may" be permanent?' Ichigo asked.
'Yeah, that one'.
'I was wondering about that', Ichigo said. 'What happened the first time? You know it better than I do, so if there was a drawback you would've told me before I used it'.
'It was something we only realised afterwards when we had time to recollect ourselves', Zan told. 'When you— When you fought against—' he stopped, eyes averting from the pair of brown. Even after decades, those pages in their history hadn't ceased to be a painful subject.
'When you fought against Yhwach', Getsu continued, giving the knee of the leg he rested on a light squeeze. 'We didn't exactly have the time ta reflect on all the differences, ya know? Kinda had bigger things ta worry about'.
Zan hummed in confirmation, the hand he had on Getsu's head resuming its lazy petting. The Hollow Zanpakutō responded with a rumbling hum of his own, drawing a softer expression onto Zan's face. 'It was only weeks after the fight that we realised the truth that had inadvertently been brought to light'.
'Truth?' Ichigo echoed. 'What truth?'
The hand moved to Getsu's shoulder and stayed there, the purr dying down. Sapphire blue met with sterling silver, a silent conversation taking place that Ichigo wasn't privy to. They nodded as one, having come to an agreement of some sort. The hand was removed and Getsu pushed himself up. Once seated, they turned to face their wielder to answer him in unison.
'We were never meant to be apart'.
Ichigo blinked, 'What?'
'The zanpakutō you wield. The part of your soul that goes by the name of "Zangetsu" was never meant to be represented by two separate spirits', Zan elaborated.
'Personally, I think that whole Encroachment thing caused this', Getsu said, lazily gesturing between his counterpart and himself. 'Fucked us up before we woke up…split us up'.
'Another possibility may be that our different aspects - Hollow, Quincy and Shinigami - had to reach a certain point of growth', Zan added. 'Which would explain why we did not have this realisation during our fight in the Dangai'.
Ichigo raised a hand, 'Wow, back up. I'm missing something here. What does the Bankai do?' He had a suspicion but it was better to make sure.
'Like what happened during our fight in the Dangai, our forms merge to become one', Zan told.
'Though it's not like before', Getsu said. 'It's different'.
'Different how? In appearance or experience?'
'Yes'.
'Both'.
Ichigo gave Getsu a look, which was met with an amused grin. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Ichigo leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He brought his palms together, pressing the tips of his fingers against his lips as he mulled the information over in his head.
'I think I understand, though, I am unsure on one front', Ichigo said. 'You merge when Bankai is released and separate when it is sealed, correct?'
Zan nodded, 'Yes'.
'And I assume you have a way to stay merged even if I were to seal it'.
'Actually, we don't know', Getsu admitted. 'We're pretty sure we can, though'.
Can. The word bounced in his mind as if knowing there was a hidden meaning in it that he had to shake out. They don't know but are pretty sure they can. Pretty sure they…can.
'You aren't telling me this so I won't use it, are you? You are telling me this because you want me to use it', Ichigo said. 'You want to stay merged'.
Neither spirit objected to his words nor opened their mouth to confirm them. Not that they needed to, their silence was all Ichigo needed. All at once, single instances that had raised question marks in the past finally made sense.
The way their signatures mixed so well together.
The instinctive manner in which they always reached out to one another with their Pressure when upset.
Why they had become so much closer - literally and figuratively - since the fight with Yhwach.
In one fight the truth had made itself known and they had kept it to themselves. Not because they believed their wielder would be upset and deny them. No, if that had been the case, they would just never have spoken of it again in the hope Ichigo would forget about it. No, the real reason was much simpler.
"Our true Bankai. I am fairly certain Hell's atmosphere will barely—"
"Wow, we ain't using that Bankai!"
Ichigo let his eyes slide over to Getsu, who was leaning slightly against Zan's shoulder.
He isn't ready yet.
And to be honest, neither was he.
'I won't lie, that is quite the bombshell you dropped on me', Ichigo admitted. 'To be sure, you aren't ready to take that step now?'
'No', Zan answered. 'We are not'.
'But there will come a time you will be', Ichigo continued. 'And I'll have to be prepared for that. Preferably before you'.
'Don't make it sound like we're terminally ill', Getsu said. 'We may not be "us" but we'll still be there, just...different'.
'I know. That doesn't mean I won't miss you, though. I am kind of used to having two voices in my head', Ichigo said with a chuckle, tapping his temple.
'We can make noise for two, don't ya worry bout that'.
'Based on our short experience, I am certain you will not come to miss us as much as you may believe now', Zan assured.
'If you say so', Ichigo said. 'I haven't seen you while I was in that Bankai, so I have no idea'.
'That would make three of us', Getsu mumbled. 'Didn't really had the time ta look for a mirror'.
That was a fair point. Having escaped death at Yhwach's hands only a second prior, both of their priority lay with surviving.
'So... how do you want to do this?' Ichigo asked. 'Can you merge on your own?'
'We should be able to, however, we have not attempted it', Zan told.
'Then I take it you want me to use that Bankai when you're ready'. Problem is, I don't need to use it that often. Ichigo let his hand go through his hair, 'Okay, I... I think I got a solution'.
'What do ya mean?'
'From now on, I will ask which Bankai I can use', Ichigo said. 'Even when I don't need it'.
'You serious?'
Ichigo nodded, 'This is something you shouldn't have to ask for. And for that to happen I have to create as many opportunities as possible'. He shrugged, 'And hey, I know it has been a while since I used Bankai in general. It would be nice to let loose more often even if there is no need for it'.
'I would not be opposed to that', Zan said, the smile on his face letting Ichigo know it applied to both statements. He may be the representation of his Quincy powers but Zan was just as much a Zanpakutō at heart. One that revelled at the rush of power and the closer connection with his wielder that Bankai granted.
'When was the last time ya used it, anyway?' Getsu asked. 'It was during a fight with Kitty, that's for sure'.
'Four months ago', Zan supplied. 'And it was my Bankai'.
At that, Getsu looked at his wielder in silent demand, causing Ichigo to give Zan an accusatory glare. The Quincy Zanpakutō only smiled, almost smug with the way his eyes shined with amusement.
'I am certain I used Hollowfication the last time I fought with Grimmjow so you have no right to complain', Ichigo responded.
'Hollowfication and Bankai are different and you know it!' Getsu argued. 'Sides, it ain't half as much fun with all those damn seals on our power'.
'It is either the seals, or we will never fight Grimmjow again because he evaporated under our Reiatsu, take your pick'.
Getsu sat back into the lounge with a huff, arms crossed and brows knitted slightly in annoyance and to protect his eyes from the sun that still shined brightly overhead.
'Thought as much', Ichigo said. He put his hands on his knees with a pat and rose from the chair. 'Now, if you would like, we can go a round or two outside. A few of the Togabito have been getting mouthy with me lately and I think a good fight would be a nice reminder in manners for them'.
The pout morphed into a smirk, silver eyes shining with growing excitement. Getsu uncrossed his arms, placing a hand on the cushion at either side of his hips and pushed himself up.
'Well, we can't have the common folk disrespect the King now, can we?'
Ichigo's brow twitched, a gust of wind messing up Getsu's hair. 'I'm gonna beat your ass so bad you will actually feel it'.
Getsu chuckled, unbothered by the gentle tugs on his hair. He slowly rounded the coffee table that stood between them, coming to a stop before he had to look up to meet his wielder's eyes. 'Oh, is that a promise?'
Noticing the small distance, Ichigo took one step forward, using those few inches he had to tower over his Hollow Zanpakutō. He grinned, brown eyes gaining a golden under glow as they met the confident smirk of the spirit.
'A goal to strive for'.
Ichigo grabbed Getsu by the front of his vest and pulled, dragging the spirit with him to the outside world.
Zan shook his head, the small smile never fading from his face. It still filled him with such content to see his counterpart and wielder get along so well. To see them both happy and actively seek out one another for company.
How far we have come.
He picked his puzzle book and pen back up. He hadn't finished his nonogram yet. Afterwards... maybe he would join them in a good spar.
#
END
BLEACH - Tite Kubo
