A.N: This is a request by draxon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter Twenty

Ichigo & Halibel's Training Ground

The silence surrounding the mountain was shattered by an earsplitting roar. Barragan took a step back as a white mask began to form on Ichigo's face, his eyes turning yellow and black. Ichigo's spiritual pressure turned from a peaceful blue to a bloodhungry red and black, a wild shriek echoing throughout the mountain as Ichigo could no longer hold back his inner demon.

Halibel, nursing her enlarged stomach, looked on in horror at what her student and friend had become. "Ichigo! No!" she called out.

But it was too late. Ichigo had given himself over to his rage. The Inner Hollow had been clawing at his mind since Ichigo released his Bankai. Ichigo was able to keep him at bay with sheer force of will, thanks to his confidence in Halibel's guidance. But now, with Ichigo giving in to anger and feeling guilty for letting Halibel be put into danger because of him, the Inner Hollow became much stronger and took advantage of Ichigo's despair in the face of Barragan's power.

More and more of Ichigo's face became covered with white matter, becoming a white mask with red marks on the left side. The bones in Ichigo's broken arm started to mend thanks to the creature's High-Speed Regeneration. "Grrrrrrr!" the Hollowfied Ichigo growled.

"Hmph!" went the ancient Arrancar. "So this is your Inner Hollow, eh?" he said, not impressed by Ichigo's skyrocketing power. "It doesn't matter how much you look like a Hollow. You-"

Barragan was cut off when Ichigo suddenly lunged forward, his hand going straight for Barragan's throat. Thanks to his Senescence power, Barragan avoided the strike. Whirling around, he swung his axe at the Hollowfied Ichigo. Ichigo blocked the strike with his sword and was sent skidding away. "Pathetic," Barragan taunted. "Is that really all you can-"

Again, Barragan was cut off when Ichigo disappeared, his high speed enhanced by his sudden Hollowfication. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned in shock to see the leering face of Ichigo's mask behind him. "What?!"

This time, Ichigo was too close for Barragan's powers to help him. His black blade tore into Barragan's back, cutting a line of red through his white outfit. Enraged at having been wounded from behind, the irate Espada turned around and threw a punch at Ichigo, only to hit nothing but air as he darted away.

Suddenly it became a contest of who had the greater power: Ichigo's high-speed combat or Barragan's aging ability. Halibel watched helplessly on the ground, feeling pain in her stomach start to grow as Ichigo fought Barragan.

"You…impudent…whelp!" Barragan seethed, unable to believe that a lowly Hollowfied Substitute could push him like this. Unfortunately for Ichigo, the man was a master tactician and he soon became aware of Ichigo's movement patterns. When Ichigo disappeared with a burst of speed, Barragan reached out to his right and grabbed Ichigo's arm, stopping his downward swing. "I am the king of all Hollows. And that includes you! KNOW YOUR PLACE!"

"Gahhhh!" Ichigo screamed as Barragan crushed his arm with his powers and his strong grip. Letting go of his axe, Barragan punched Ichigo in the face, sending the wounded boy flying, his mask cracking from the strong blow.

"You're no Hollow. You're not even a Soul Reaper. You're just a Human pretending to be both," Barragan mocked as he grabbed his axe again.

The masked boy struggled to his feet, clutching Tensa Zangetsu with his unbroken arm. "I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!" he screamed, his mind lost to the rage within. Tensa Zangetsu pulsed as Ichigo focused his spirit energy into it. "GESTUAAAAAA TENSHOOOOOO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, hurling the massive blast of black and red energy at the Espada.

Barragan held a hand up, ready to block it like last time. But his arrogance caused him to fail to comprehend Ichigo's spike in strength. "Grrrr!" he grunted as he caught the blast, pushed back by the attack. "Gahhhh!"

Halibel watched Barragan disappeared in the blast, astounded by Ichigo's sudden power-up. She turned and saw her friend, slumped over and panting from exhaustion, blood dripping from his crushed arm. She knew that even with his Inner Hollow, Ichigo was barely hanging on. "Ichigo…" she said before cringing in pain again, the pain in her stomach growing more intense.

Barragan's massive form emerged, his arm bleeding profusely. If he was angry before, Barragan was definitely enraged now. "I am done…" he said. For him to be wounded to this extent, even in his sealed state, was unforgivable. "I will kill you, boy. And I'm going to make it as painful as possible." He held out a hand and an orb of red energy formed in his hand.

Halibel gasped in horror when she saw Barragan's blood mix in with the energy. "He can't be serious! A Gran Rey Cero!" She knew that if Barragan fired that, then the entire mountain would be blasted out of existence, if not most of Karakura Town.

Ichigo braced himself, his darkened eyes narrowing as he prepared to fight the attack.

Then Barragan did the unexpected.

Turning around, he pointed his Gran Rey Cero at the defenseless Halibel. "You die first, traitor!"

"NO!"

Halibel's world became a deathly red. She braced herself as Barragan fired the Cero at practically point blank range. However, when she realized that she wasn't dead yet, she looked up and saw something in front of her. When the dust settled, she saw that Ichigo had leapt to her defense in the nick of time to save her.

But he wasn't fast enough to protect himself…

Most of his Bankai jacket had been blasted off, only a tiny bit of the sleeves remained on his wrist. His body had been badly injured, taking the full brunt of the attack. He was bleeding profusely and terribly burned.

"Hmph!" Barragan scoffed, disgusted at Ichigo's compassion. "Pathetic. You had a golden opportunity to strike a decisive blow when I turned. Instead you threw it away to save her." Barragan's anger reached its peak when face with Ichigo's humanity. "You're garbage."

"Ughh…urghhh…"Ichigo groaned, his mask showing more cracks. It took all of the Hollow's regeneration power to keep Ichigo alive.

Too weak to defend himself, Ichigo was unable to move when Barragan appeared right in front of him and slammed his fist into his face. Ichigo coughed up blood as his mask shattered from the strike, falling to the ground.

Barragan did not let up. He would have used his axe to chop Ichigo to pieces but the boy had the audacity to seriously wound him. A quick death was not what he had in mind for Ichigo. He was going to make him suffer while making Halibel watched.

"Stop!" Halibel screamed as Barragan stomped Ichigo, cratering the ground beneath him as his ribs shattered.

"Stop! Barragan, stop!"

Barragan's next punch made Ichigo cough up more blood, feeling something break or rupture.

"STOP!"

A shrill scream filled the air as a heavy stomp crushed his left leg, breaking his bone and smashing sinew.

"STOOOOOOOP!"

Halibel's pleas fell on deaf ears as Barragan continued to punch Ichigo to death, taking sadistic pleasure in making Ichigo suffer. He reached for Ichigo's head and lifted the shattered boy up off the ground, his body hanging limply in his grip. Another scream left Ichigo's lips as Barragan squeezed his head, his skull on the verge of being crushed like an egg. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

"Scream: Benihime!"

Barragan heard the foreign voice and turned just in time to see a flash of red come at him. He grabbed his axe to block it but he quickly realized that the attack was just a diversion when Ichigo was yanked out of his grip.

Halibel turned around and saw Kisuke and Yoruichi standing at the edge of the forest, both ready for action. She saw Chad and Orihime running up behind them, both with panicked expressions, having sensed Ichigo's peril. "But wait…where's Ichigo?"

"I've got him."

Turning around, Halibel saw a pair of legs standing in front of her. Looking up, she was surprised to see Isshin Kurosaki standing in a Soul Reaper outfit. In his arms was the battered Ichigo.

Halibel, while relieved to see Ichigo alive, glared at the man. "You're late."

"I do like to make an entrance."

Ichigo opened his eyes, his vision blurry from the rampant beating. He stared with his one eye that wasn't swollen in disbelief at his father as the man cradled him in his arms. "D-dad?" he choked, though it was more of a gurgle since Barragan had damaged his windpipe.

"I'm here," Isshin told his son, frightened of what might have happened if he'd arrived a second later. "You're not seeing things. It's me."

"But…I…"

"Shush," his father told him. "Don't speak. Save what strength you got."

Halibel breathed a sigh of relief. When she'd felt Ichigo in danger, something she'd suspected had been confirmed…

"Here you go," Halibel said as she handed Isshin a plate. She was busy washing the dishes while Isshin dried and put them away.

"Thanks, Halibel," Isshin said, closing the cabinet after putting the plate away.

Halibel looked around and saw that Yuzu and Karin were nowhere to be found. Turning back to Isshin, her emerald eyes narrowed. They'd been alone quite a few times and Halibel was starting to get the impression that things were not what they seemed about Ichigo's father. Now that they were alone, she decided to take the initiative. "So when are you going to tell Ichigo?" she asked as she pulled the stopper from the sink, letting the hot water go down the drain.

"Tell him what?"

"That you're a Soul Reaper?" Halibel asked. When Isshin blinked in surprise, Halibel saw the hint of recognition in his eyes and knew she'd struck gold. "You've no reason to hide it anymore. Not at this point."

Isshin looked at the woman with his head cocked for a moment before sighing. He had to give the woman credit. She was smarter than he figured. But then, he expected no less of Ichigo's girlfriend. "When did you know?" he asked, a serious look on his face.

Crossing her arms, Halibel leaned back against the counter. "Since the moment we met. I knew something was off when Ichigo told me that he had natural-born Soul Reaper powers. The only explanation for that scenario is that he's the progeny of a Soul Reaper. I suspected it was his mother but when I met you I knew who the culprit was. You might be able to hide your Spirit Energy from him but you can't hide it from me."

"Hmm…" Isshin scratched his beard and frowned. "Clever. I'm surprised Ichigo hasn't figured it out."

"He has more pressing issues. But the bigger question is: why haven't you told him?" Halibel demanded to know. "You've no reason to hide it at this point. If anything you should have told him after he first got his powers."

"I had my reasons," Isshin protested, giving the woman a scathing glare. "Don't talk like you know everything."

"Maybe I don't. But it's high time you told him. Both you and Kisuke are two peas in a pod." Halibel's glare was unforgiving. "You knew he was in danger all those times and not once did you do anything."

Isshin stared at the floor, knowing he'd been caught with his pants down. He knew that one day would come when he had to tell Ichigo the truth about who he was. He just didn't think it'd be like this. "Tell me one thing. And I want you to look me in the eye," he said, crossing his arms. "Are you just here because of Aizen?" he demanded. "Kisuke told me everything but I want to hear it from your mouth."

"I-"

The two were interrupted when they felt a massive burst of spirit energy. Halibel felt it come from the direction of their sparring ground. "Ichigo!" she gasped. "And…" her eyes widened in terror when she felt who he was fighting. "Barragan!"

"Friend of yours?" Isshin asked accusingly.

"Barragan is no friend of mine!" Halibel said. Before Isshin could stop her, she put a hand to her chest, pushing herself out of her Gigai. "Put the shell somewhere safe," she told him. "I'm going to help Ichigo."

"Wait!" Isshin protested, grabbing the Gigai as it tumbled to the ground. "You can't! Kisuke warned you that if you fight-"

The Arrancar opened a window and turned back to Isshin. "What I do, I do for Ichigo. Maybe you should decide about what it is you're doing." And with that, Halibel disappeared, heading off to save Ichigo…

Isshin gently held his son and tried not to hold him too hard. He and the others turned to see Barragan stalk towards them.

"I take it he's one of the Espada?" Yoruichi asked, remembering what Halibel told them.

"Looks like it," Kisuke said. "This ain't going to be easy."

"More ants emerge to be crushed, I see..." Barragan said gruffly.

Both Chad and Orihime took up offensive stances next to Kisuke and Yoruichi. "So cocky," Yoruichi said. "In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered."

"But not outmatched," Barragan said, gripping his axe. "But I grow tired of this comedy. I will retreat for now." He knew that if his battle went on any longer he'll destroy Karakura Town, which would run counter to Aizen's wishes. His gaze turned to Halibel and Ichigo. "I swear, you two and your child will die by my hands. Know that you both have angered the God of Hueco Mundo," he threatened.

Kisuke scowled. "Running away? Seems a little undignified if you have the upper hand," he mocked.

"Don't get full of yourself, Kisuke Urahara. The only reason you are all still alive is because I will it. When we next meet, my mercy will have reached its end." He opened a Garganta. The others braced themselves when his defeated subordinates emerged from the forest. "And I am in need of punishing my men for their failures." All of his Fraccións gulped at this, knowing that Barragan's retribution for their defeat would be severe. Before the portal closed, he turned around and glared at Halibel. The two locked eyes and stared each other down as the portal close. "Till we meet again, traitor…"

For a moment all was quiet as the portal closed, everybody taking a moment to breathe. Chad and Orihime could finally relax. The sensed the monstrous power of Barragan and quickly surmised that they were no match for the man. Even Yoruichi was sweating from the man's overwhelming spirit energy. 'If he had decided to use his release…we might very well have all died.'

The calm respite was shattered when Halibel threw her head back and screamed in agonizing pain. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" she shrieked like a banshee, her hands going to her stomach again. But this time it was her entire body that was in agony. It felt like every cell inside her was being ripped apart.

"Halibel!" Orihime cried out in horror, rushing to her aid. "I'll heal you and-"

"Wait!" Kisuke told her, hurrying to the pregnant Arrancar. He took hold of her hand and examined her. It alarmed him to see what stage the baby was in and knew that Barragan had made Halibel's dilemma all the more worse. "This isn't good…"

"What's wrong?" Isshin asked fearfully. If Kisuke was concerned, then that meant that nothing good was about to come out of his mouth.

"I don't know how but Barragan aged the baby several months along," Kisuke told them. "Halibel's body was already taxed since most of her energy reserves were drained to support the baby. The sudden acceleration of the baby's development has caused the strain of carrying it tenfold. Halibel's body is devouring itself to try to keep the baby alive."

"Can't we do something?" Orihime asked, kneeling down next to Ichigo.

Kisuke thought for a moment before hanging his head in defeat. "No…" he said sadly.

"What do you mean no?" Chad demanded angrily.

"She needs spirit energy to sustain both her body and the baby. But because none of us have Hollow spirit energy Halibel's body would reject it. It's similar to a blood transfusion." He'd asked Chad since he knew that the boy's powers were more like a Hollow's but Chad lacked the energy sufficient enough.

A low cough broke his thoughts. "Use…my…energy…"

Isshin looked down at the battered Ichigo, who was looking at him with his one good eye. "Ichigo, you can't."

"I have…a Hollow inside me. I know she can…take my energy…" Ichigo wheezed, cringing in pain from his crushed ribs. He was pretty sure he had a punctured lung too. He coughed up blood, making everyone even more alarmed for his critical condition.

"Ichigo, listen to me," Isshin insisted. "You've just been beaten half to death. Your spirit energy is what's keeping you alive right now. If you give what little you have left then-"

"I…know…" Ichigo said. He reached over and grabbed Halibel's hand. He saw the pained look on her face and watched helplessly as she screamed in pain again, feeling her hand clench his in a grip tight enough to break it. "This…is…my choice…"

Kisuke looked at the boy forlornly before slowly reaching into his robe. He knew that Ichigo could give Halibel his energy but didn't voice the idea because of the reasons Isshin just said. "Alright, Ichigo," he told him as he pulled a small device with tubes and straps at both ends out of his jacket.

"Kisuke, you can't be serious! He'll die!" Isshin insisted.

"He's made his choice, Isshin," Kisuke said, full knowing this could kill Ichigo. "We have to honor it."

Isshin and the others watched helplessly as Kisuke hooked the device up to Halibel and Ichigo's arms. "Is there really nothing we can do?" Chad asked, feeling more helpless than ever.

"Pray for them." Kisuke closed his eyes as he hit the on button. Ichigo, still in his Bankai state, glowed blue and black while Halibel glowed a faint yellow, her body taxed to its limit. A stream of energy flowed from Ichigo's tube into Halibel's. After a tense minute, Halibel's screaming subsided and she passed out, Ichigo's energy feeding her hungry body. Tears ran down both Orihime's and Isshin's faces as Ichigo's glow slowly became weaker and weaker.

When Halibel's face showed peaceful slumber, Kisuke quickly turned off the machine. Isshin leaned down to check on Ichigo and it broke his heart to see his son's breathing so shallow, as if he was just moments away from the grim reaper taking his prize. "Can't we…"

"I'm afraid not," Kisuke said, knowing what they were all thinking. "The process of spirit energy transfusion can't be rushed. Ichigo needs time to build up more spirit energy before we can do the process again. If we were to do it now, the massive imbalance would surely kill him."

Orihime, crying tears of agony from seeing Ichigo and Halibel like this, looked up with sad eyes. "Can't I heal them?"

"You can heal Ichigo's wounds," Kisuke said. "But you can't heal Halibel. Not without putting the child at risk."

"Can't Orihime heal Ichigo's spirit energy?"

"From what Yoruichi tells me, Orihime isn't that skilled at healing spirit energy. The only thing we can do is wait and pray that Ichigo will recover."

"And if he doesn't?" Isshin asked.

"Then he'll remain in a coma," Kisuke said sadly.

Silence filled the air as they waited. They all gasped when Halibel's eyes fluttered open, weariness filling her entire body from the ordeal. "Where…"

Kisuke kept her from rising. "Stay still. You barely made it through."

"The baby?"

"Safe. Thanks to Ichigo."

Halibel's eyes widened. "Ichigo! Where is-" She turned her head and saw Ichigo lying next to her, wrapped in Orihime's barrier while the girl healed him. "Ichigo…"

To everyone's relief, Ichigo's eyes opened. "H-Halibel…" he choked. Even with Orihime's best healing, Ichigo's body was still wrecked and he could barely move. "You're alive," he breathed, joyful to see her alright.

"I am. And so are you. We're both alive…" Halibel said, lying her head next to him.

"We're alive."

To be continued