Author's Notes: And here we, nearing the end of 2018 with the final chapter of the year. I thought I would post this as an early Christmas present. I want to thank everyone for their reviews and their responses.
I actually got a few early Christmas gifts in Bleach Brave Souls, as I managed to pull Rukia, Riruka and Nemu from the current Christmas banner. Sadly I can't say the same for the other mobile game I frequent, Fate/Grand Order. Dropped 100 Quartz trying to get Gorgon and came up empty.
Adapting the Thousand Years Blood War arc is going to be a very time consuming process as I don't want to just shove my version of Ichigo into the War and see what would change. Sufficed to say, the Awful Truth's version of the Blood War will unfold in a very different way and will have a very different outcome from what happened in canon.
For now, I hope you enjoy the final chapter of year and let us look forward to 2019.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
The Awful Truth
Chapter 5: The Truth Worse than Hell
Ichigo was frozen, the face of the woman before him had brought forth such powerful emotions that he couldn't do anything but look on speechless. She looked exactly like his mother, in every single aspect he remembered she was the spitting image of the woman that raised him.
"Ichigo—"
"No," He said, shaking his head. "Change. Be someone else. Whatever kind of manifestation you are, make yourself look like anyone else but her. You are not my mother."
"Have I ever said I was your mother? I would never seek harm you this way Ichigo." The manifestation stated, looking back at him with a compassionate expression. "I am not Masaki Kurosaki. However, that does not mean a part of her is not a part of me."
Ichigo blinked, surprised by her statement as he tried to unravel the meaning behind her words, yet failed to. "Then who or what are you? Why do you look like my mother?"
"Your soul etched upon me the name Sagiso," the Fullbring manifestation said, walking towards him. "As to how I can hold a part of your mother, it would be easier if I can help you to remember."
"Remember?"
"You were so young when I was born, you have repressed the memories of that day as much as you could," Sagiso said sadly. "But if you wish to understand what is to come, then I require your permission to continue. I will not subject you to the truth without your consent."
Ichigo watched her closely, he had some reservations. But he would admit that his resistance stemmed from this unknown figure wearing the face of his mother, although he didn't know if his desire to accept her request was because of the same reason.
But there were truth he wished to know, things that he had to understand. It was time he learned, so fighting down these warring feelings he steeled himself and nodded his head.
Without a word she reached forward and placed her thumb against his forehead, immediately a bright light blinded him. His eyes shut instantly, but still the radiance piercing through his eyelids and burned his retinas. It lasted for a moment, his entire world going dark.
His eyes were open, looking around frantically for any light. He felt the pattering of rain upon his head, the echoing taps of droplets hitting the ground. Then his vision slowly returned, yet darkness was still smothering his vision, the world around him was dark. Only when a flash of lightning sailed over them did Ichigo finally see.
Ice filled his veins, blood going cold as he recognized where he had been brought.
"What? What are you—" Ichigo stepped back, only a firm hand on his wrist halted him from retreating any further.
"I told you, you suppressed the truth of this day," Sagiso responded, holding him in place and ensuring he wouldn't run away from this.
How could he not. This was the moment where he lost his mother.
Playing out before him like a recording, him a helpless bystander watching something he could never hope to change. His past self, a young boy, laid there on the ground and unmoving, his mother hovering over him. While slowly approaching was a Hollow he would never forget, never forgive.
Grand Fisher.
Ichigo reached for his Zanpakuto, ready to strike, only to be held back by Sagiso. Her hold on his wrist was strong, and the determined look she gave him was just as steely.
"This but a memory," Sagiso said to him. "You can do nothing here, only watch."
"Watch what! My mother dying again!" Ichigo snapped, he threw her arm away. "What the hell is the point of this? What is the reason you would drag me back here to watch this!"
"Haven't you ever wondered why you were spared?" Sagiso asked.
"What?"
"A hollow like Grand Fisher out and about in the World of the Living, consuming your mother's soul with impunity? Do you honestly believe he would have just eaten her soul and left you, a defenseless child, alone instead of devouring you?" Sagiso posed to him. "Everything you have seen until now has been your own memory. Now, it is my memory."
Ichigo looked back towards his mother, the guttural roar of Grand Fisher taking his attention. She seemed ready to defend herself, and even in the dim light Ichigo saw the glint of something silver on her wrist.
Then something flashed before him, falling from on high and slamming into the ground with tremendous force. The pillar from the heavens looked almost liquid with how it flowed and pulsed, and even with the brightness he could see the dark shapes within. It covered him and his mother, while Grand Fisher was struck mid-swing of his clawed arm.
The Hollow screeched, falling back and collapsing to the ground, clutching at its burnt arm that started to crumble as if turned to ash. It fled without a fight, running as fast as it could away on its remaining limbs, with it gone Ichigo focused back on his mother.
"I know it is difficult, but please, endure it," Sagiso said, his mother's body had fallen to the ground, blood seeped from her chest as she lay there beaten on the ground.
To his shock, he watched what he assumed to be his mother's corpse slowly crawling towards the unconscious child. She... she's still alive! Ichigo thought in disbelief, moving closer to see his mother, to see the determined look in her eyes as she was now within arm's length of her boy.
"Oh, thank heavens. You are alright... I'm so sorry I let you get hurt, Ichigo," Masaki cried, the tears flowing down her face. Painfully, she put her right hand toward the bleeding wound in her chest, covering her hand in her own blood. "I'm sorry… but I don't think I'll be getting through this."
She reached forward and wrapped her bloody hand around his smaller one, squeezing it almost reassuringly.
"I wish I could be with you always like your father and I had always dreamed... to see you grow up with your sisters… go to school… meet girls… have a family of your own… but that will never happen... not now..."
Ichigo felt her pain, to know that you were going to die and leave behind so many, his mother knew she was going to die. Yet still surprised him by putting her bloody hand on his past self's forehead and drawing a symbol there in her own blood. She spoke in a language that he could not understand but as she did, her hand glowed blue as did the bloody mark on his forehead. Both eventually faded away, as if they had never been bloodied at all.
"But at least now, a part of me... will always be… with you," With those words spoken, she lay herself down on his chest, Ichigo watched the light fade from his mother's eyes. He saw his younger self wake up, seeing her body and desperately trying to wake her even though she would never open her eyes ever again.
"Mom," Ichigo breathed, his voice hoarse and strained by emotion. "What did you do?"
"She engraved a portion of her soul onto yours. She engraved me."
Ichigo turned back to Sagiso, and as he did the area around them vanished, in the blink of an eye they were back in the desert with the others. He stared at the manifestation of his Fullbring, now in front of him with new eyes. "You've been with me, ever since that day?"
Sagiso nodded. "I am a fleeting shadow, lingering within you yet unconnected to your Quincy, Shinigami or Hollow powers. I could do not much, I was simply an echo." She paused for a moment and her face softened and for a moment, Ichigo could feel as if it his mother looking down upon him. "But on days when you were at your lowest, I did my best to help you. To give you a sense of comfort, of love that Masaki would given to you if she were still alive." Sagiso put her hand over her heart. "She loved you so much Ichigo and I feel that love every single day. I am the memory of her love for you."
Ichigo thought back to those early days after his mother's death. Days where he felt like he was being crushed by a sorrowful darkness all around him. How he blamed himself, even as a child for her death. How he hardly spoke to anyone that first year after she died. And yet during the darkest of those days, when he felt so utterly alone, he felt what he thought was his mother's presence with him. Over the years he had felt that, even though it had become less and less the more adjusted he had become, he could still at times feel her presence.
Now he understood it wasn't just his imagination. His mother had literally left a part of her soul within him. As he felt a tear go down his face, Ichigo knew this was the most purest expression of love he had ever experienced. That even as she lay dying, his mother had only thought about him and her family.
Sagiso looked on at Ichigo, waiting long enough for him to be composed and take her words to heart before continuing. There was still so much more he needed to know. "When you manifested your Fullbring, I found something that I could truly latch on to. Something that I could use to manifest into an actual being and so I became a part of it but I never had chance to come to you."
"Because soon after I completed the Fullbring, Ginjo took it from me," Ichigo stated. "But how is this possible?"
"All Quincy transfer a portion of their soul onto their children, this fragment carries the knowledge and wisdom of all previous generations. 'Zangetsu', the Old Man, is that Fragment," Sagiso explained. "Usually a Soul Fragment would weaken if bred between a Quincy and Non-Quincy. But circumstances favored you, turning that fragment into a sentient being, no different than a Zanpakuto Spirit."
Ichigo thought for a moment.
"So you latched onto my Fullbring, why not merge with 'Zangetsu'?" Ichigo asked.
"Because of what killed me," Sagiso said, a scowl marring her face, before she corrected herself. "No… what killed Misaki… sometimes it is hard to differentiate myself from her. The fragments sometimes conflict."
"Fragments?" Ichigo questioned.
"We will get to that," Tensa stepped forward, taking over the conversation as Sagiso seemed to be lost in her own thoughts for a moment. "But in response to your earlier question, Sagiso was wise to do so. Latching onto my former self would have doomed her to a much darker fate. It was because of her, her lingering presence and will, that gave me the means to break free. If not for her, I would have remained as I was and been unable to truly help you as I did now."
Ichigo looked at Tensa. "What do you mean Sagiso would have been doomed to worse fate?" he asked as he saw the twisted version of the Old Man, still struggling to free himself from the bonds holding him down. "I don't understand, Tensa."
"There is much about Quincy you do not know, only a very few know the whole truth. Not even the Shinigami know the true scope of what it means to be a Quincy, and what hardships we endure to have this power, what it costs them," Tensa answered. "I am sure by now you are aware of several facts about the Quincy correct?"
Ichigo knew a few. The Quincy were nearly wiped out two hundred years ago. They were hunted to extinction because their powers destroyed Hollows and caused an imbalance in the Cycle of Reincarnation. The Quincy's use Reishi domination to form their weapons and use their abilities, they take it from the world around them.
That was the gist of it, whatever deeper secrets there were he did not know.
"There are three hidden truths about the Quincy race, each one more horrifying than the last," Tensa told him. "First: When a Hollow is killed by a Quincy, their souls are not destroyed. What is destroyed is their Saketsu."
"Their Chain of Fate?" Ichigo asked, knowing that the Saketsu was the main tether between the soul and body. "How does that factor into this?"
"The Chain of Fate serves a major purpose. While it does serve as a connection between the Soul and the material form, that is not its true purpose. The Saketsu is the tether of the Soul to the Cycle of Reincarnation, in which all souls flow. Human, Shinigami and Hollows all maintain this." Tensa said. "But what Quincy do when they kill Hollows is break that connection and instead tether it to something else. They tether it to Yhwach."
"What?" Ichigo staggered back in shock. He had been told by Urahara and others that the Quincy destroyed souls and left unchecked would cause the worlds to collide, it was the reason why the Quincy had been killed by the Shinigami, to protect the Cycle of Reincarnation. But this, stealing the souls from the cycle to give to Yhwach? There was no way of telling how many souls over the centuries the Sealed King had taken for himself. "That's insane! Don't they know the damage that can cause, that the imbalance of souls could cause untold devastation? Do they even know?"
"It is only part of the reason, but deep down the reason they exterminate Hollows is because they have to," Tensa stated. "In all Quincy there is Silver, this silver is what gives us our ability to harness reishi, without it we would be normal humans. But this also leaves us vulnerable to Hollows, if we are infected by their taint and presence a Quincy will die."
Then it was a choice, either kill Hollows on mass to protect themselves or die, Ichigo understood. Not a decision most would have trouble deciding on.
"It was programmed into all Quincy I am afraid, a weakness embedded by the Progenitor of the Quincy," Tensa said. "But more than that, all Quincy are connected to Yhwach. Through that silver in the blood of all Quincy lies that connection, one that assures them of sharing the same fate as any Hollow they slay. That is the second fact."
That itself was not what Ichigo expected. He views his own people as nothing more than expendable tools for him then? Used and discarded when they had done their service? "All Quincy suffer this fate when they die?"
"No afterlife, not even oblivion," Sagiso said somberly. "Yhwach takes the souls tethered to him within himself. These souls still exist but are trapped within his being, their power siphoned off and only a shell remains within. It is an ocean of dead, unable to do anything but live in their own memories, recounting random parts of their lives without control. It is the only solace a soul trapped within him could endure, but not all memories are pleasant. For these souls are but mindless shadows that know nothing of their own existence, and tormented by these visions of a world they can never return to, or escape."
"That... that's insane," Ichigo sputtered.
"That is not the end of it," Sagiso said. "For there is the final, awful truth and relates to Yhwach other method of taking power for himself." She looked to Tensa to continue.
"There is a folklore among the Quincy, a song written over a thousand years ago, and destined to be fulfilled a millennium after its first utterance," Tensa explained. "This song is known as the Kaiser Gesang: 'In Nine Hundred Years he would regain his heart beat, in ninety years he would regain his intellect, and in nine years he would regain his power, from the impure Quincy that roam the earth.'"
It took only a moment to reflect on the final verse, and what it meant until now.
"Mom…" Ichigo said, realization and horror grasping at his chest. "She was…"
"Yes, to regain his lost power he must take back his Fragments. Just as I am a single fragment so too were many others in other Quincy. He killed those of Gemischt Blood, impure in his eyes and a divergent from the pure bloodline of the Quincy," Tensa explained.
"That night… why that night?" Ichigo asked.
"She would have perished regardless if you met Grand Fisher that night or not," Tensa answered. "Her death at that moment was not without purpose, for in his eyes all Quincy are expendable. Impure, pure, it does not matter; all he cares for is his goal. Truthfully he wished to use that moment to his advantage."
Ichigo looked to Tensa not understanding what he meant. What could be so advantageous about using that horrifying moment to his advantage? What could he possibly hope to gain from it?
"He means me."
Ichigo looked towards Zangetsu, his Zanpakuto standing there. It was a strange sight, one that nearly had Ichigo do a double take, gone was the sinister smirk and cocky attitude. He looked almost normal, as normal as it was to be Ichigo that was, the Hollow's scowl almost make him look like a true reflection.
"That pain and despair, it was a perfect ground for me to grow and feed. I thrive in environments like that. It's simple symbiosis. It makes me stronger, and in turn, makes you stronger," Zangetsu said, oddly neutral in his explanation. "He wants your power, something that transcends the natural barriers of Hollow, Shinigami and Quincy, something like that is unnatural. You, Ichigo, are an impossibility."
Ichigo had heard of something similar to this, how Hollows and Shinigami becoming one was impossible. Even the Visored say that their powers are still unstable and not easily used, for they cannot risk using their powers for too long without danger.
How many times has he been regarded as unique and abnormal for his abilities and how quickly he could grow in power. Many times he heard them comment about him, Urahara and Yoruichi, Rukia and Renji, all of them showed amazement for how quickly he could develop.
"That is correct; we are two halves of your power. Shinigami and Hollow as one, and Quincy as the other, together they could not function. But if they did, the amount of power you could wield, if aware and trained, would be phenomenal," Tensa stated. "A Shinigami's ability to manifest their inner power, a Hollows instinctual nature to draw upon their entire well of strength, and a Quincy's power without to take from the world around them. Power like that, would be invaluable to Yhwach and to his mission."
Ichigo struggled to contain this, hold back his frustration and anger. How could it be true? Again he was faced with the reality that his own life was the play thing of another. That another chess master had come along to make a game out of his life.
He had been fighting through pain, facing all these struggles, because of the machinations of others. How much longer would he have to deal with this? Who else was out there toying with him without his knowledge? It was maddening to know that he had yet to escape being the pawn to someone's plans and schemes.
"It is not so terrible as you might believe." Ichigo turned in the direction of the Old Man, smiling as he made the comment. "What was given to you was a will to push forward, through pain and tragedy and to never be shackled down. To resist, to fight, to kill those who would threaten your existence. What was given to you was true freedom."
"A lie," Sagiso countered. "You seek his demise."
"It is an inevitability that he will die, I cannot change that, and neither can you. But to give him the strength and power to become more than he is, even for a short time is a gift few can say they have earned. For Yhwach wishes to remake this broken and dilapidated world into something better; the Shinigami would do the opposite, they would subjugate him to a horrifying fate undeserved for one who sacrificed so much for them." the Old Man said while spitting the utterance of Soul Reaper. Without warning he eyed Sagiso critically before looking to Tensa. "So, that is what you did. You pulled another part of the mother from his Majesty through the source and stuck it to the shadow."
Ichigo said nothing, only listening on to this as he understood that his mother's soul was trapped within a monster.
"What did you hope to accomplish?" the Old Man sneered. "Did you honestly think her soul would learn something by being a part of his Majesty after all these years? Do you really believe she would make a difference in changing Ichigo's fate of dying? Just like all those who are destined to die in the Crusade that is about to unfold?"
"That will never come to be," Tensa said fervently. "We will not allow him suffer."
"And again, you are all delusional children. You care not for his life, for if you did you would spare him from this," the Old Man said, the chains around him beginning to shake. "But fear not...for I intend to save him from that fate."
The explosion of spiritual pressure from the Old Man caught them all by surprise; his three spiritual manifestations were nearly thrown off their feet. But that was likely not the intent of the outburst, it caught them off guard but it was only meant as a distraction from the true attack.
Zangetsu and Sagiso were forced back, the former having a blade carve through his chest and the latter being thrown back by a powerful burst of spiritual energy. Both of them flew away and limply fell to the ground, in that split second the Old Man attacked again. Tensa was only able to raise his sword in defense, but it was taken hold of by the Old Man and forced aside.
Tensa didn't have a chance. The blade punched through his chest and left him hanging there. Then a right hook knocked him from the sword, sending him flying away – blood and viscera were sailing with him through the air.
"Their mistake was holding me," the Old Man said mockingly. "They should have known I would not be held down forever."
Ichigo looked on shocked, the speed and precision of the Old Man's moved were greater than he could recall. He was more powerful than he realized, and that was proven a moment later when he had to block the large blade. He staggered back, before he was seized by the throat.
The world went weightless as he was thrown into a building, and then something slammed into him as the hand returned to his neck.
"I wished for you to grow, to become stronger than this. But because of the meddler I am forced to take matters into my own hands," the Old Man said, his grip beginning to tighten. "To think he thought he was protecting you; all it did was leave you vulnerable and less valuable. Strength and ability is what Yhwach desires, and if you did not perform he would have killed you himself. Or done worse to move along your development."
Ichigo grasped the hand and tried to pry it from his neck, he failed as the Old Man's strength was greater than his own. Instead he punched at the limb and buckled it, before backhanding the Old Man across the jaw. He staggered slightly, and Ichigo grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face into the building.
Dazed, Ichigo pushed him off and leaped forward, towards the falling man. Swinging down he caught him along the arm, a shallow wound forced along the edge of his blade, but it was superficial and ignored.
"Look how pitiful your blade is, still a fragile pointed piece of steel that cannot harness the full might that still remained chained down," the Old Man sneered, casting aside the blade and attacking. "They have kept you on a leash too long! Instead of giving you proper aid they ensure you do not gain the strength to oppose them!"
Ichigo attempted to raise his arm and catch the Old Man's wrist, hoping to halt the blade swing but again he underestimated the strength behind the swing. He was thrown back, a gash moving along his shoulder and arm, he was lucky it had not taken his entire arm.
"You would not believe how many years it took to cultivate you, to make you come into existence, how long it took to make sure you came to be the man we wanted you to be." the Old Man said as casual as could be.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo hissed, glaring up at the man.
"Do you think your birth was by chance? That your existence came to be by random coincidence?" the Old Man scoffed. "No, your life was conceived over a thousand years ago. Every detail, carefully chosen and thought-out. Every potential problem and hindrance were removed from your path. In spite of our best efforts some still attempt to hold you back."
The Old Man attacked, summoning several arrows to his side and casting them towards Ichigo. The substitute retaliated, a single nameless Getsuga colliding with the projectiles and cancelling them out.
"You think I care?" Ichigo yelled back, launching upwards and towards the Old Man.
"As expected, youth and inability to conceive the truth have blinded you to true Wisdom," the Old Man sighed. "Your birth was a great gift to the world; your coming had done so many great things and has yet to fully accomplish to great deeds yet to come! If only you were not so blind!"
They clashed, circling the air as their blades collided together and forced one another back. Ichigo did not allow him to gain the upper hand again, he would not be beaten back.
"I don't care what you say!" Ichigo shouted. "If you think I will be taken in by your words, then you have another thing coming!"
"You prove to me your weakness! Unable to do anything and accept the truth when presented to you!" the Old Man responded, slashing forward and forcing Ichigo back. "From the mouths of those that you trust! They speak truth and yet you do not believe me when I utter them! What does that prove Ichigo?"
"That I know you would twist that truth to try and get me to believe in whatever garbage you are selling!" Ichigo replied, blocking a strike meant to take his head. "I don't care if I was planned out! I choose my own fate! As does everyone else!"
"There was no choice given, only strings pulled to make the desired effect occur. Do you not know how many generations of Quincy needed to be created? How many lives needed to be controlled, corralled and guided through every day of their lives? How the lives of the Shinigami, Humans and so many others must be controlled to see to your birth?" The Old Man said. "Your birth was destined, meant to end this long-standing war and see to the fate of this world. To save it from the eternal suffering that its occupants are forced to endure for the last million years."
Ichigo did not respond with words, but with swings of his sword. The force of his strikes upturned stone and displaced sand all around them, building all around cracked and broke apart. The Old Man was momentarily forced back.
"We are not so different you know. The line that separates us is only time and understanding, and I sense now that you are close to seeing the truth," the Old Man said, stepping forward and retaliating.
"I know enough!" Ichigo yelled, clashing with the Old Man in a flurry of strikes. "I know Yhwach killed my mother! That is all I need to know, all I need to understand!"
"You do not understand anything! Not yet! Still too blinded by personal loss and pain to truly know what must be done! We are no different!" The Old Man said. "Yhwach wishes for the same thing as you, to save everyone from pain and suffering! So that no one may lose those they love to death, so that despair cannot consume them! This world is in a perpetuity of pain and suffering, with fate dictating who lives and dies. That must be changed!"
The Old Man forced him down to a knee, blade holding down his own sword. "How many people have died because of that desire for change?" Ichigo asked, struggling to push off the sword on top of his own. "How many more like my mother had to die for that madman to get what he wanted?"
"Many, but you should know that the benefits of sacrifice are greater than one would admit." the Old Man responded. "Every bond that is severed, is like a chain that breaks one's restraints, do you not admit that your mother's death was not for your benefit? That the pain it caused you, the rage and desire, only magnified as you grew in strength and age."
Ichigo kept his head low, his muscles straining to lift his sword.
"Do you think he is not unsympathetic, that he does not care for the lives of his people and servants? He does, they are comrades and allies. They must work together and become one. But he knows that for every bond he is forced to sacrifice he will grow stronger, and their deaths will help achieve his goals and dream. Your life is no different than his, if you understood that, you would accept all the pain and suffering you have gone through and harnessed it for your purpose." the Old Man said, attempting to press down further. "Now stop resisting, and do what you have always done, protect those you want, because in the end, you only want to protect others. Do this. Sacrifice yourself. Save everyone and know your reward will have you be finally reunited with your beloved mother."
For a single moment, a single split second Ichigo felt something. Like white noise, it was a faint blank tremor of nothing within him. No despair, no anger, no uncertainty. He felt nothing at that moment, completely detached.
It lasted only a moment, but it was long enough for him to come to realize something profound.
"No."
There was an explosion all around them, many ruined buildings crumbling and exploding from unknown source. The cause did not show itself, but Ichigo reacted accordingly, he threw up his blade and forced the Old Man back.
"I won't abandon them, I won't forsake them," Ichigo said, standing in place, as more buildings turned to rubble and disappeared within the swirling sands. "The people I fight to protect I will never let die! We are not the same!"
"There is no choice in the matter. In this moment or in the not so distant future, this is the end that is always meant to come to be. You are to follow in your predecessors' steps, only your destiny is to have a much grander purpose than theirs. For your death, will bring about a better world," the Old Man said with a smile, charging forward and slashing towards Ichigo.
Only for the substitute to reach out and grasp the Old Man's wrist, stopping his sword swing cold and the smile vanished.
"A better world?" Ichigo growled, and slowly twisted the limb away.
The Old Man seemed surprised by the sudden strength that seized him, Ichigo himself would have shared that same surprise had he not felt such burning fury within his heart.
"What kind of world would it be," Ichigo began, tightening his grip on the Old Man's wrist as he looked his opponent dead in the eyes. "if it required so many to die?!"
With that declaration, Ichigo twisted sharply without hesitation and snapped the Old Man's arm in half.
The doppelganger staggered back, blade falling from his hand, and he looked in shock at the injury. As he fought against the pain, he heard another series of explosions resounded through the Inner World, more buildings collapsed to the ground and were reduced to dust. What is this? The Old Man asked himself with wide eyes. What is causing such devastation? Why are the remnants of the old world collapsing? They should remain strong and stable and able to aid me in. How—
"Everything I do, everything I have done, is to protect those I care about!" Ichigo yelled, lunging forward and slashing the Old Man across the chest, the blade digging deep into his flesh and actually making the manifestation gasp in shock.
The Old Man clutched his chest, feeling the wound, feeling the 'blood' coming from the cut. "This cannot be… how did you…?" he gasped, before he was pushed back by a single punch.
"Shut up," Ichigo looked to his Zanpakuto, glowering for a moment before he planted the blade into the ground. What he wanted to do next, he wanted to do with his own two hands.
The Old Man staggered backwards, coming back to his feet. Yet the confusion on his face was clear as day. He could not understand how this was happening to him, how his body was taking these wounds and not recovering as he had earlier. "Why are you still fighting me?" he asked the advancing Ichigo in disbelief. "You understand now! I can see it in your eyes! You understand why I am doing this!"
"I don't understand!" Ichigo yelled, throwing a punch to the Old Man's jaw. "I will never understand!"
Ichigo threw a punch, and another, and many more. He kept punching, drawing blood and tearing skin. Eventually he picked up the Old Man, lifting him overhead and throwing him through a nearby structure, the building crumbled on contact.
"I have faced all manner of enemies since I gained these powers; I felt their hearts through my blade!" Ichigo yelled, lunging forward and delivering a punch to the Old Man and forcing him to the ground.
The Old Man attempted to retaliate, but when he created a sword and tried to string Ichigo blocked the limb and then backhanded the Old Man aside.
"Enemies and friends, I could feel everything intention they had, their desires and dreams! I knew them better when I crossed blades with them, when I was fighting them with all I had and they did the same!" Ichigo yelled.
With each punch someone flashed before him, a face and feeling punctuating his heart.
"I sensed their regret!" Byakuya did not wish to sacrifice his sister, but a sense of duty forced him to hold back his personal feelings to see the law fulfilled and a promise kept.
"I felt their anger!" Renji hated him, when they first met, hated him with such a passion.
"The desire for vengeance!" Gin, a will to make someone he hated pay, and his unwillingness to involve others.
"I sensed their loneliness!" Aizen, for all his evil and cruelty, he was a man that was without equal or friend. A man alone in the world.
So many faces, so many emotions that played through their heart and guided their actions and who they are. He sensed it all; he felt it and knew them well.
But here, Ichigo sensed nothing.
"But not you!" Ichigo said, hauling the Old Man up by the collar, looking him dead in the eyes. "I feel nothing from you! No regret! No pity! Nothing! You killed my mother and felt nothing!"
The Old Man let out a roar of anger, breaking free and creating another reishi sword. He attempted a stab to the chest, only for Ichigo to twist around and kicked in the fragment's leg and forced him down, then delivered a knee to his jaw, which made stunned the Old Man.
Ichigo looked down at him in contempt. "We are nothing alike! Nothing you say will change that! You think that sacrificing the bonds I have will make me stronger?" With a scream, he kicked the dazed manifestation to the side of the head. The amount of force used with that one kick caused the Old Man's body skid across the ground until it collided with rubble, impacting with back against it and his head hanging. "It is the only thing that has ever given me strength, to know that I have something left to protect! That I am not alone in this world!"
Ichigo waited patiently, knowing that this was not over. He waited for the Old Man to move and continue the fight. Finally, he slowly raised his head. Only this time, Ichigo no longer saw the face of the manifestation; however distorted he had been since arriving here, he had helped him through so many trials and tribulations. The Old Man had been a guiding hand, a comrade he could count and depend on.
Now instead of seeing Old Man Zangetsu, he saw the true face of Yhwach.
"You think that they are the reason you have this strength? I made you into what you are! Not them!" 'Yhwach' cried out, a righteous anger showing on his aged face. "Everything you are is because of me!"
That stopped Ichigo for a moment, a calmness fell over him. Gone was the righteous anger and hate, left in its place a tranquil calm that allowed Ichigo to think clearly. It took a moment for him to process what was said, and in a way he did understand something now. "You're right, you're absolutely right."
'Yhwach' let a smile form on his face, believing that his son finally understood as he was walking slowly to him... until Ichigo was suddenly in front of him, burying his fist into his stomach, taking his breath away.
"You made me into what I am," Ichigo hissed, stepping close and delivering another hit. "You took my mother from me, from my family. You made me understand despair and the dark pain it brings. But with that pain, comes the strength it can give."
He delivered another punch, ducking under the retaliatory swing, before slogging him in the jaw.
"Because of you, I overcame that darkness and never let it consume me," He continued to punch and kick, forcing 'Yhwach' back. "I stepped into a world I did not know, a world that few gave me a chance to understand. But I didn't need that, you held back my power and because you threw me to the wolves at every turn and made me realize that I need only my own strength to survive."
'Yhwach' attempted to block the strikes Ichigo sent his way, furiously trying to understand how his misbegotten son was overpowering him, forcing him down to a knee.
"You gave me the drive to keep going, the will to never back down. Always moving forward, to never surrender, to never give up," Ichigo continued his assault, giving no quarter, no chance to recover, forcing 'Yhwach' down both knees.
"You may be responsible for my birth, that I am here now because of you, but you will never be the one that turned me into the man I am today," Ichigo stated. "I never had a moment in my life where I did not want to protect something, never did that change, and never did that desire come from another. I sought only the strength to do what I wanted, and you showed me that way."
Raising his hand, Ichigo called to his Zanpakuto, and in a moment the blade was back in his grasp. "I reached this peak, the height of my power, thanks to you." Ichigo said to a broken and bloodied fragment of Yhwach.
"This... has never happened," 'Yhwach' rasped, blood dripping from his mouth. "No Quincy... can dominate me. This world... this world is mine."
"No. This is my world, my soul, and you have no claim to it. I forge my own way now, and I do not need others to lay the road to that destiny," Ichigo stared defiantly at the Quincy King. "I don't understand you, but I never needed to. I have seen the hearts and souls of many people, I understood their motives and desires, even if they conflicted with their actions. But you, we are not the same as you claim."
The Old Man before him was so different than what he thought he knew, it wasn't a man driven by desire and purpose. It was driven out of fear, a fear that had festered and created a delusion that did not accept the world for what it is. They were not the same.
"You are a delusion, built on fear, suffering and ego. I will never be like you, because I will not sacrifice all those around me. I will not give up the one thing that gives me true strength," Ichigo stated resolutely. "I am not a man built around a lie, who uses words and power to justify he is right. I know where I stand and where you do. That alone makes us enemies, because you stand against what I want as much as I stand against what you want."
"Then there is no change in what is to come," 'Yhwach' spat in disgust. "This will be the end of you. No matter what you say, the world is mine!"
Ichigo lowered his head for a moment, as if paying respect. "Old Man. If any part of you, even a sliver, is still the same man I met in the shattered shaft, know that I thank you for all you ever did for me. I am grateful." He raised his head, his eyes full of conviction as he raised his sword, "Farewell, Old Man Zangetsu."
He swung his sword down from it erupted a Getsuga Tenshou unlike any before it. A wave of power so massive it rocked the very world.
A power so great it swallowed up 'Yhwach'.
'Yhwach' stared in fascination of the Getsuga that Ichigo had launched at him. It was neither blue or nor black. Rather it was a mix of four colors: white, black, red and blue. Colors associated with all of the powers he had inherited, and a mix of powers that wished to expel him for good.
Incredible how powerful he has become. But it is useless. I am a part of him. Using this against me will do noth—"ARGH!"
'Yhwach' let out a scream of utter pain. A scream could not stop as he felt himself being torn apart.
How? How can this be happening! I am a part of his majesty! His power flows through me and this child! 'Yhwach' asked himself as he saw his right hand breaking apart into nothing. Fear gripped him as he felt a specter he wished to destroy, his reason for existing.
The Specter of Death.
I must get more power from his Majesty! The corrupted fragment furiously thought. I must be able to let him know of this! He must accelerate plans to harvest the boy! I will…
Enough.
'Yhwach' blinked as in the corner of his eyes he saw something that was impossible. Who are you! What are you doing!
Old Man Zangetsu was restraining him from acting, a look of finality on his face. I am an echo of what you once were, when you were whole and one. I am the once whole piece of 'Zangetsu'.
The whole? Could it be this echo was what he was before Tensa split himself away from the whole? If so why was he resisting? Why was this greater part of himself fighting to hold him back.
Do not interfere then! Step forward with me and fight back this wave that would see us cleansed! 'Yhwach' attempted to pry the hand from his shoulder, but it remained in place.
No. There will be no more running from this. The Old Man's arm snaked around 'Yhwach's neck, holding him in place.
What are you doing! 'Yhwach' tried to fight back, free himself but it availed him nothing. Where is my power? Where is Yhwach?
Ichigo is right, you are a coward. I too was a coward. The Old Man tightened his hold. I did all within my power to restrain Ichigo's growth, my fear stopping me from letting him grow beyond his means. My fear in betraying Yhwach. I am that unfathomable fear of defeat, of loss, of certain demise.
'Yhwach' struggled against the alternate spirit that kept him immobilized, the fear of death making him panic. You fool! Don't you understand! The boy could kill us with this power! We can die! Do you want to die!
If it will save Ichigo you, then yes. I would gladly die. And now so will you. The Old Man looked on. How is it that you do not realize that Tensa was once a part of me as well? How do you think something so small and minuscule as he, breaking from this greater part could do so? He was small and insignificant even before you gained Yhwach's power, and yet he held greater strength than you. Do you know why?
'Yhwach' did not respond, only hastening his attempts to free himself, violently trying to force the Old Man off him.
Ichigo has grown beyond what I expected of him. He has faced many challenges and suffered through many defeats and victories. I watched, with pride, as he grew into a weapon, into a warrior. Into someone that I see now, had the power. To destroy the one man that I feared could not be resisted. The Old Man said. Tensa is not some minor form of resistance. No, he is what I had felt and given me the courage to believe it is possible. Hope.
You would die for that? 'Yhwach' asked incredulously. You stupid fool! You die out of hope! HOPE!
My hope lives on, and with the courage it has given me, I kill the fear that remains.
'Yhwach' shook his head in disbelief. No! No you fool! Stop! Let me go! He screeched at the top of his lungs, no longer showing the malevolence or the arrogance he displayed when he had the advantage earlier. Now was merely the sniveling cowardliness of a being that clung desperately to life and threw everything aside to try to survive. I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Please don't let me—
Old Man Zangetsu watched as the fragment of Yhwach was erased from existence before his eyes. Even as he felt himself being erased as well. Even through the darkness, he could look upon the boy, no the man, that he had helped and hindered all this time.
And yet knowing what he did, Ichigo still thought well of him.
You will survive. Never doubt that. Never succumb; you have lived through so much already, that nothing can stop you. Those were Old Man Zangetsu's final thoughts before he was erased out of existence.
Ichigo stared at the damage that he had unleashed with that one Getsuga Tenshou. It felt different. It looked different. Everything was different. He couldn't feel his presence any more. Gone were the towering skyscrapers that once had been dominant in his Inner World.
Those buildings were said to represent hope, a desire to see his dreams come true. They were instead chains, massive weights that held down his true power and might so that he could advance along the path another set out for him. Only with their collapse could he free himself from that illusion, and with this final piece removed he was unbound.
Before he could give any more thought on it, there was something that caught his eye. Where Yhwach had stood only moments ago, there were wisps of blue spiritual energy just floating around. It was not long until these blue wisps faded to nothing.
"So this is it then," Zangetsu said grinning. The Hollow stepping forward and shouldering his Zanpakuto. "Finally free to do some actual good huh?"
"Don't become overconfident," Tensa warned. "We have a long road ahead of us, one that will be marked by death and pain."
"But with Yhwach gone, we don't have to worry about the looming threat of death over our heads," Sagiso replied.
"We aren't out of the woods yet," Zangetsu added. "Yhwach is going to come for us, with everything he's got."
Ichigo had no intention of dying any time soon, but he did have a strong desire to see one man dead. With what was left of Yhwach's influence in his soul gone Ichigo had nothing else to concern himself with here, now it was his playground, and he intended to use it.
"Let him come then," Ichigo replied, facing the manifestations of his powers. "We'll be ready for him."
They remained silent, looks of determination and excitement could be seen across their faces, one he himself shared. For the first time ever, he felt like he truly understood himself. All of himself. They all shared the same goals. There would be no more bargaining or calls for help. Everything would be used at their fullest to defeat their enemy.
Ichigo could not help but allow himself a small confident smirk. "Now then, shall we begin?"
It was a strange occurrence, one that had not occurred ever in his mind.
But as the Sealed King opened his eyes within his throne room in Silburn, he felt a shock run through him. It was a feeling he could not put into word, for he had never felt such a sensation in recent memory.
He sat in his throne, pondering it taking well over an hour till he could finally place the feeling he was feeling.
Loss.
For the first time in over a thousand years, he felt the pain of loss. The loss of a fragment of his soul. He had split his soul so many times over the millennia, those fragments going to his followers. He always knew that when his followers died, those fragments would find their way back to him and it would continue until the day he was truly whole once more. That day that was fast approaching, the day when he ended the lie of death and brought forth his vision for a better world.
A vision he now realized would never be as envisioned it, for a piece of him would never be able to be experience it.
He felt a fragment of his soul be erased from existence and he would never reclaim it. But worse than that, he knew who had that fragment.
"My son borne in the darkness," Yhwach said, with a tear running down his face as he asked sorrowfully to no one. "What have you done?"