Chapter 40: Lunar Dukkha (Fall of the Black Sun)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner spirit speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
In the center of Las Noches, Aizen stared at his Espada with an expression of smugness that surprised everyone around the table.
It had been one day since his forces had retreated from their positions in Soul Society and the World of the Living where they had suffered heavy losses. Only four members of Espada remained. All of them were seated around the table and the majority of them wore the same expression of displeasure. The one exception was the always impassive Cuatro Espada.
"Well then, Ulquiorra, how is young Orihime Inoue doing?" Aizen asked him.
"Zommari, Grimmjow and most of the dead Fracción have been already revived and should be returned to their original state in a few hours. Nnoitra and Yammy are alive and currently recovering their reserves of spiritual energy. Kurosaki Ichigo is physically fine, though seeing my new Fracción seemed to have… unhinged him?"
Seeing the disbelieving looks on the remaining Espada faces, Aizen smiled. They did not understand.
"Good, good. Though it seems our fellow Espada are having trouble understanding your words. Perhaps you should explain to them just who your Fracción are."
With a nod, Ulquiorra turned to his comrades.
"A few weeks ago, Aizen-sama ordered me to capture two hollows. As with every Hollow, these two hollows used to be humans, though the notable fact is that they used to be former friends of Kurosaki Ichigo while he was still living as a human."
At that point, Starrk glanced at Harribel. She gave no clear reaction to the words, though there seemed to be some sort of comprehension playing in her eyes.
"I found them and took them to Las Noches, where Aizen-sama turned them into Arrancars."
"Bah! Why waste time and the Hōgyoku with two weaklings, whoever they are?" Barragan grumbled with a slap to the table. Ulquiorra didn't seem perturbed and continued.
"During their life, they seemed to have possessed some sort of attraction towards Kurosaki. Apparently, both of them died in a violent manner during Kurosaki's hollow rampage in the Human World and, in their death, these emotions turned into something more dangerous. An obsession. From this obsession, through Hōgyoku, their abilities came into existence. I cannot comment on their emotions since they are a foreign notion to me, but Aizen-sama is certain that the nature of their abilities can help us understand them." Ulquiorra explained and turned to Aizen, who gave him the briefest of nods.
"One of them possesses a power of Event Rejection, which means she is able to limit, reject and negate any kind of event that has happened to her target. It is an ability that trespasses into God's territory, though its effectiveness is tied to her willpower and spiritual energy. With it, she can even resurrect the dead."
When he said that, the three top Espada looked at each other and then back at Aizen with shock in their eyes. However, he wasn't finished just yet.
"The other one possesses a power of Event Endowment, which means she is able to grant, bring forth and force upon her target any kind of event. It is basically an inversion of the first ability and together they form two sides of a coin. However, this one has harsher limitations based not just on her own willpower but also on her imagination, knowledge, the type of the event and the target's own spiritual energy. Basically, she cannot create what she doesn't understand."
Silence that followed lasted for more than a full minute. Eventually, Starrk was the first one to find his voice.
"How… how is that even possible? Together, they are practically omnipotent!"
Aizen quickly shook his head.
"Far from that, Starrk. Because of their spiritual power, their limits are, for now, very clear. Aside from that, they are unable to create new life, which is a true sign of omnipotence. Also, their obsession with Kurosaki is hindering their imagination quite severely."
Still in shock but apparently satisfied with the answer, Starrk backed down and simply shook his head, quietly whispering something to himself. Looking away from him, Aizen gave the rest of the Espada a quick glance.
"Well, enough of that. The important thing is that your comrades will join you in a few hours. We haven't lost anybody."
Not looking at Aizen, Barragan then let out a quiet mutter.
"Yes, Barragan? Something you want to say?" Aizen asked him in an even voice.
"I said we haven't lost but you did. Your abilities failed you."
Aizen's expression remained the same but, with a flick of a switch, the air within the room grew heavier.
"Ah, yes. It seems my informant wasn't aware that the new Captain of the 3rd Division is capable of negating any Shinigami powers. Still, his power doesn't seem to differentiate between an ally and an enemy. As you could have seen, using it didn't help them very much. Rest assured, Barragan, even without my zanpakuto, I am more than enough for the Gotei 13."
Barragan must have sensed the tiny shift in Aizen's demeanor and wisely decided to shut up. Once more, silence fell upon the area until the last person in the room who, so far, hadn't said anything spoke.
"What exactly did we accomplish, Aizen-sama? Risking my girls for nothing. That, I don't like." Harribel asked quietly.
The air within the room slowly returned to its original density as Aizen turned towards her.
"That, my dear Harribel, is a question our last two comrades will answer. You must have noticed the absence of both Szayelaporro and Aaroniero. Neither one participated in the battle, be it in Soul Society or Human World."
Starrk raised his head and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, joining Harribel in looking at Aizen with surprised eyes. The Primera slowly nodded to himself.
"I honestly believed them to be left behind in Las Noches. Szayelaporro is a scientist, not a front-line fighter and Aaroniero… well, while resourceful, I don't think he can match the power of Captains. Especially the stronger ones."
Instead of giving an immediate answer, Aizen smirked and grabbed the teacup in front of him. At an agonizingly slow pace, he poured himself a bit of tea and only after he took a short but loud sip, he spoke again.
"No. The mission in Soul Society and our battle in Human World, while serving many different and less important purposes, were mainly just diversions to hide my true intention. I was told they have been successful but they are yet to return." He announced. Only a few minutes later, when his teacup was still half full, the doors to the meeting room opened and revealed the two remaining members of Espada.
"Aizen-sama." They both greeted Aizen with a short bow.
"Good to see you back, Szayelaporro, Aaroniero. I believe you brought me something?" Aizen asked with a smile that widened as soon as he saw Szayelaporro reaching into his pocket. The man raised his hand and allowed Szayelaporro to place something small in his palm. Seeing it with his own eyes, Aizen turned to the rest of the Espada.
"This, my fellow Espada, is the Hōgyoku."
When he noticed their confused stares, his smile grew even wider. With his other hand, he reached into his own pocket and then raised his palm to show it to them.
Though different in appearance, there was another Hōgyoku resting in it. Confusion in Espada's eyes was replaced with bewilderment.
"This, my fellow Espada, is my own Hōgyoku that I have been using all this time. The one Szayelaporro and Aaroniero brought to me, is the Hōgyoku created by none other than Urahara Kisuke."
Slowly closing his palms, Aizen chuckled.
"Obtaining this means we are moving towards the last phase of the plan. Prepare yourselves, Espada. In less than a week, we move."
…
Ichigo was pacing through Las Noches like a hunted animal. He was breathing heavily and cold sweat poured down his forehead from the sheer amount of pressure building up within his mind. Parts of his clothes were torn, though there was no blood. Attack had come from nowhere, propelled by unexplainable anger towards his person, coming from two girls he had used to know. His lips were moving as he kept repeating the same thing over and over again, a mantra to keep his sanity intact.
"Why?"
He reached crossroads and turned left, without even knowing where it was going to take him. It didn't really matter, though. He wanted to go away. To be anywhere but there.
"Why!?"
His impassioned outcry resonated through the narrow hallway like a small explosion but there was nobody that could answer him. Because of the confined space, his voice turned into a repeated whisper that began to tear his mental defenses with each repetition.
Why… Why… Why…
"Why are they here?!"
Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa.
Bringing his forearm close to his forehead, he used it to wipe the sweat away. In his mind, he was trying hard not to panic. The two girls from his past came back to haunt him like agents of chaos, personifications of his worst nightmare.
They were no longer among the living. No longer human. Sometime in the past, they had died and turned into Hollows. Without his knowledge.
"When?!"
When… When… When…
He had tried to think about it rationally ever since he had woken up a few days ago. However, any logic that he had desperately to find in it had flown through the window barely a minute after that. It was just impossible to think about the current situation without getting his emotions involved.
"They were alive!"
…alive …alive …alive
True, as far as he could remember, the last time he had seen his human friends, they had all looked very much alive. Sad, mournful and grim but alive. His father had even told him he had been trying to keep them alive and unharmed. Then why? Did it happen after the man had fled the Human World and had returned to Soul Society to prevent Aizen from taking Ichigo with him?
"How did it happen?!"
How… How… How…
Even without Isshin, there were still others who had been supposed to keep an eye on things. Not to mention the Gotei 13 who was monitoring the Human World at all times.
Or was it?
A hand shot to his head and he used it to furiously scratch his scalp. It just didn't make any sense! Did anyone else know and just kept the knowledge about their deaths hidden from him? Who would do that? Why would they do that?
An image of a man popped into his mind and caused him to grit his teeth.
"Of course."
There was a certain man with a bad habit of keeping secrets. It was not Isshin, not Aizen nor anyone from the Gotei 13.
Urahara Kisuke.
"But why?"
…why …why …why
Large stairway appeared in front of him. Without as much as a huff, he blazed across the stairs like a gust of wind. His legs moved automatically and carried him as far as they could.
They had to have been dead for quite some time now. It was a morbid thing to think about but it had to be the truth. No matter how strong, simple hollows could not just become Arrancars worthy of Aizen's attention. And it had to be Aizen who had turned them into Arrancars. There must have been a long period of time after their deaths before they had been taken to Las Noches. Enough time for them to evolve into Menos.
His steps came to a sudden halt.
"He… knew."
Aizen had known about them. He had known but hadn't said anything. But why? To torment him? To keep him from spiraling down the torrent of depression? To help him or to wound him?
No. No. No, no, no, no, no.
"It doesn't matter. They died!"
…died …died …died
How come he hadn't noticed their deaths? There had been plenty of times he had been on a mission in Karakura Town. Sure, he had tried to keep away from any place and location that could have triggered a memory of his time alive but still, more than a few times, he had passed their houses and yet he had never noticed anything strange.
His whole body went stiff as a series of inexplicable emotions flickered through his mind.
"SHIT!"
He had noticed something strange! It had been after his rampage in Hueco Mundo and before he had found the Vaizādo. That time, he had taken a long stroll across Karakura Town and had passed near Orihime Inoue's house. That time, he had noticed it was dark and gloomy and had appeared not to be used for some time. That time, he had thought it wasn't strange.
But at that point, the girl must have been already dead.
He started to breathe fast and promptly began to move even faster than before. Something, something he couldn't name squeezed his insides with a cold hand and didn't want to let go. Was it fear? No, that couldn't be. He was no longer afraid! Yet with each step he took, the feeling of dread grew larger. Why?
What could have happened? What reason was there for not telling him? If Urahara Kisuke knew, then Yoruichi would have known as well. If those two knew, his father would have known as well. Why didn't they tell him? What were they afraid of? It's not like he was the one who killed them…
Cold, grim shiver ran across his spine and rendered him paralyzed. He froze in the middle of his step with his right foot hovering above the ground. His heartbeat became so pronounced, the sound of it turned into an echo that filed the air around him. It was painful. Almost as if his heart tried to jump out of his chest. His lungs seemingly collapsed and he found himself having trouble taking a breath. The inside of his throat dried to the point of being a desert of Hueco Mundo. It finally dawned upon him.
It had been him.
It was him who had killed them.
There was only one instance where it could have happened. During his fight with the Kasumiōji assassin, Hanza Nukui. Where he had lost control. The fight, after which he had been told there might have been human casualties.
There had been.
At least two.
Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa.
"I…"
His hand began to tremble and beads of cold sweat began to form not only on his forehead but on the rest of his body as well.
He didn't feel like a warrior anymore. Him being a fighter and a soldier turned into a nonsensical notion. With the death of his two human friends, he felt himself turning into something vile and dirty.
A murderer.
He was a murderer.
For a long time, he had been convinced that the only people he had killed so far had been those who deserved it.
Not anymore. He had killed innocents. Those who…
He could no longer even think. The realization of his despicable, horrid crime completely shut his brain down. He didn't even attempt to reject the fact. He made no attempt to deny the truth. Plain and simple, it was impossible to do so. The only one responsible for their deaths was him and him alone. He had done the one thing he had never wanted to do.
He became the villain of his story. The story of his afterlife. Being gray was no longer an option. Instead, he had joined the dark without even knowing it.
He felt guilt spreading within his chest. He felt rage burning his insides. He felt disbelief widening his eyes. He felt self-disgust churning his stomach. He leaned into the nearby wall and vomited.
He had killed them. He had really done it. There was no coming back from it.
From this point onwards, he couldn't be the hero anymore. He couldn't be the one on the side of justice. Creating a peaceful Afterlife, his little piece of heaven could no longer be done with him being allowed to live there. No, once he created it, he would have to forfeit from his current state of being a living-dead. From this hybrid existence as a wraith of evil.
A feeling of self-loathing overtook his senses.
He was the villain.
Strangely enough, admitting it gave him a tiny peace of mind. He could act like a villain and nobody could say anything.
Right?
"I can do something for them."
Yes, a villain like him could help them. He could save Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa. They wouldn't have to live as mangled souls anymore.
It was easy. It was simple. He just had to kill them.
He just had to slay them with his zanpakuto and purify their souls of any and all evil acts they might have committed. It would definitely help them. They could join the reincarnation cycle and be reborn as better beings. They wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He was going to make sure of it. With that in mind, his right hand slid to the hilt of his zanpakuto and gripped it tightly.
The thought, the idea of justice almost completely formed within his mind when an unexpected voice entered his ear from bare inches away.
"Careful now, little spy. Wouldn't want Aizen-sama to know about your true allegiance, would you?"
He froze. He recognized the voice. Quinto Espada. Nnoitra Gilga. A sexist. A chauvinist. A thin, skeletal pig of a man.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." He managed to say without allowing his emotions to flow into his words. In return, Quinto Espada chuckled with clear derision seeping into his voice.
"But you do. I heard you speaking with that little bitch-Captain. But don't worry. For now, I'll keep quiet but who knows, maybe a word or two will spill. It'll all depend on your willingness to cooperate. Talk to you later."
When he was sure the Arrancar disappeared, Ichigo allowed himself to swallow heavily. He was still a villain; therefore, he could do anything he wanted to do.
Or was he?
He was Kurosaki Ichigo, wasn't he?
What could Kurosaki Ichigo do?
…
Hanging by the thread, edging around the abyss of his sanity, Ichigo stalked his prey with glazed eyes. It had been two days since his run with Nnoitra, yet he was still alive and still shrouded in the shadow of a pathetic spy that he was. So far, the Quinto Espada had made no move and no further contact which was a fact that was driving Ichigo mad with dread and turmoil. There was no escaping it; his cover had been blown and it was just a matter of time before he'd wake up dead. Funnily enough, despite the fragile state of his mind, Ichigo was still aware of his impending doom.
Either Nnoitra enjoyed tormenting him or he was just biding his time for the appropriate moment. Both possibilities were more than just plausible. If he were to guess, Ichigo would think the man wanted to do something horrible to Nelliel; the animosity between the two Arrancars was always so palpable, it made the air around them heavy. But Ichigo didn't guess. He didn't need to. He wasn't going to wait until he was properly exposed in front of everyone.
He was going to act first.
For the past two days, he stealthily followed Orihime and Tatsuki everywhere they went and, in the insane part of his sanity, he quickly created a schedule of their habits. One would say it was borderline impossible; nobody was that predictable. But that was the problem.
Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa were anything but normal.
Without mentioning their abilities, about which Ichigo had just a fleeting idea, the two girly Arrancars had only one thing on their minds.
To find him, catch him, bind him, torture him, heal him, repeat the last two several times and then kill him.
In other words, they were obsessed to the brink of insanity. Why, he had no idea.
With that in mind, Ichigo quickly formulated a simple plan. Ulquiorra had rarely been seen in his Fracción company and that left the two girls open to a surprise attack, which was something Ichigo was planning on using to his own benefit. It was so easy to find the two girls and make them see him wandering through Las Noches without a care. It wasn't even that suspicious; he often did wander aimlessly.
Before doing so, though, he visited the door behind which a single prisoner of Gotei 13 sat within her cage. A short visit and a provoked quarrel later, he convincingly tripped over his own feet and bumped into a panel that was keeping the cage locked. Without looking back, he hastily stepped out of the room and slammed the door with so much force, it slightly bounced back to remain opened just enough for the lock not to work. Only then he proceeded towards the part of Las Noches where he allowed himself to be seen.
The bait worked flawlessly and, before long, he stood in a shadow while keeping his reiatsu as low as possible and waited for the two girls to step into his line of sight. And in a matter of seconds, they did.
Silently, he brought his released zanpakuto down on the closest girl. She didn't even have the time to move or scream. Two halves of her body fell on the cold floor with a sickening squelch, splashing blood and entrails on the nearby walls. When he saw what he had done, for just a split-second, the mist in Ichigo's eyes cleared and his sanity returned. It was enough to make him stop and stare. Barely, he forced back the urge to vomit.
However, the hesitation cost him dearly.
The second girl rapidly spun around and, seeing the gore, screamed. Only then he noticed whom he had slain.
Tatsuki Arisawa.
He cursed and quickly turned towards the other girl. His zanpakuto moved but before it could slice through Orihime, a translucent barrier appeared in front of him and something invisible blasted him backward.
There was no pain and Ichigo almost chuckled evilly. If that was the extent of her power, Orihime was only prolonging the inevitable. But then his eyes caught the translucent barrier around the dead girl and he felt a mixture of bizarre curiosity and horror.
The dead girl was no longer dead. She was still very much in two pieces but those pieces were quickly being sewn together as if the injury had never happened. The glazed gleam in Ichigo's eyes returned and grew more profound and the small part of his mind that was still intact send an important message to him.
He fucked up.
Panic seeped into his body and, with a resolute yell, he moved towards the girls with every intention of smashing through every and any barrier and killing them in one fell swoop. Like a blur of doom, he moved towards them with his blade already descending. Only a few inches separated his zanpakuto and the nearest girl. It was a small gap between life and death but he was unable to cross it.
A bare hand appeared in front of him and stopped him in his tracks.
"What are you doing, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Impassive voice filled his ears and he immediately recognized it. He shifted his gaze from his intended victim and towards the owner of that voice.
Ulquiorra.
"Heh, of course, you're here. The only time I decide to move and you have to be here. Heh, like the snake-face says, ain't that a bitch." Ichigo stated with a half-grin and a half-sneer.
Ulquiorra didn't reply. Instead, he looked directly into Ichigo's eyes and narrowed his own. Then, while still keeping Ichigo at bay with a single hand, he glanced at the two girls behind him and nodded to them.
"Go. I'll handle this."
His Fracción gave him defiant looks but didn't dare to resist. Meanwhile, Ichigo's whole expression twitched and, seeing the hand that had stopped his blade, he gritted his teeth. His spiritual energy responded immediately and leaked into his body until he felt the rush of power. He pushed.
His blade sunk into the opposing hand and drew blood. That brought an immediate reaction from the impassive Arrancar who quickly turned his attention back to Ichigo with one eyebrow raised. Ulquiorra casually eyed the blood flowing down his hand and then used his other hand to force Ichigo backward.
"Most impressive. I did not think you could cut through my Hierro."
Experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, none of which seemed pleasant at the moment, Ichigo could only grimace in return.
"I am the one who cuts down trash. Seems to me like I didn't do anything surprising."
Ulquiorra's emotionless masked properly slipped for the first time. A twitch of the nose betrayed his annoyance.
"Funny. I was just thinking it's time to get rid of the garbage we've been tolerating here for far too long."
For just a moment, the two of them stared at each other, Ichigo filled with immense hatred and Ulquiorra looking mildly annoyed. Then the moment passed and Ichigo shot towards the Arrancar with speed that allowed him to cross the distance between them in a blink of an eye. He brought both swords down on him hard but Ulquiorra raised his sword only casually.
A mistake born from obvious underestimation.
To Cuatro Espada's immense surprise, the blow from Ichigo carried too much strength and he found himself unable to stop the enraged teen. Together, they skidded along the hallway until Ulquiorra's backside collided with a wall. Even then, Ichigo's momentum couldn't be stopped and the wall shattered. Only then the Arrancar fought back.
Ichigo felt him pushing back and immediately stopped the onslaught. Instead, he spun around and sliced at his opponent with his large khyber sword. Just as he wanted him to, he let Ulquiorra block the attempt and forced the Arrancar to try and stop his other sword with just his hand.
The blade carrying his Quincy legacy glowed with power and sliced through Ulquiorra's palm cleanly, leaving nothing but a deep gash behind. When blood spurted from the wound, Ichigo used Shunpo to create a small distance between them.
"What was that?" Ulquiorra inquired with narrowed eyes when it became clear that his high-speed regeneration had some difficulties in healing the injury.
Ichigo did not answer and simply sneered at him.
"Let me pass and maybe I'll answer you."
In return, Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes even further.
"Cockiness is for those who carry power, Kurosaki Ichigo. Not for garbage like you." The Arrancar stated and flickered out of existence in a buzz of Sonído.
Thanks to his Pesquisa, Ichigo managed to react in time and brought both his swords in front of him to ward off the inevitable strike. His arms shook but did not buckle. Yet his feet left the floor and he found himself crashing through the walls until he realized he was no longer within the building. Flipping himself in the air, he landed on a soft cushion of a sand dune.
The battle continued outside.
Once again, his Pesquisa alerted him of a presence appearing above him. Hastily leaning backward, he evaded a vicious slash and retaliated with a powerful spinning kick. However, his opponent proved to be too fast and his foot hit nothing but air. Almost reflexively, he parried a sudden strike from his right side. He skidded along the dune but withstood the attack without sustaining injuries, just numbed hands.
"You seem to be under the impression that you are stronger than you think. Let me disprove this delusion."
Ichigo ignored the jibe and focused on the blurry series of strikes coming from every possible direction, from every impossible angle.
Slashing, slicing, and cutting, Ulquiorra attacked him relentlessly and Ichigo found himself on the defensive. Yet no matter how much his opponent tried, Ichigo remained standing with both swords held tightly in his hands. An occasional cut and bleeding incisions decorated his body but the blood was quickly drying up and wounds were quickly healing.
Ichigo's high-speed regeneration was working in overdrive. It was tiring but thanks to it, he was able to easily keep up.
When Ulquiorra came down on him from above, Ichigo quickly shifted his smaller sword to allow his index finger enough freedom that he could point it at his opponent before it was too late.
"Bakudō #1, Sai."
The lowest-level and slightly underpowered Kido spell did nothing more than jerk Ulquiorra's hands to the sides but that was enough for Ichigo to lower himself down and slash his zanpakuto along his shoulders before the Arrancar could defend himself. The tips of his blades slid across Ulquiorra's torso and few droplets of blood splashed against Ichigo's cheeks. Back of a pale hand hit him in the back of his hand and sent him rolling across the sand dune.
He managed to stop himself before he crashed into one of the few remaining pillars in the area. Not about to stop and dwell on the pain attacking his skull, he got on his feet with a jump. His eyes fell upon his opponent who stood a short distance away from him, giving him an even gaze.
"I see. Aizen-sama wasn't wrong. You did manage to raise your pathetic standard. Still, do not celebrate yet, Kurosaki Ichigo. Despair is yet to come." The Cuatro Espada stated and, once again, vanished from Ichigo's sight, only to appear behind him. Ichigo was already moving and he spun around to block the incoming strike. He was still blasted away.
The attack didn't harm him but that didn't seem to deter his opponent from repeating the same thing over and over again until they reached the edge of Las Noches. With one last strike, together they crashed through the thick wall only to land in the world of eternal night, Hueco Mundo.
Only then Ulquiorra stopped his pointless pattern and Ichigo sneered at him with all of his might.
"What, you don't like the sun?"
Instead of answering, Ulquiorra suddenly released a wave of green reiryoku that swirled around him until it created a blanket of energy. Feeling the formidable reiatsu coming from it, Ichigo's eyes twitched. Though he was still very much in his role of a villain, the battle brought back some of his senses.
"Any Espada ranked fourth or higher is not allowed to release his or her zanpakuto within Las Noches, as our power alone could destabilize its structural integrity. I brought you here so that I could show you the face of despair, Kurosaki Ichigo."
In front of Ichigo's eyes, a burst of black and green spiritual energy shot away from Ulquiorra, only to fall around him as green rain. The Arrancar raised his zanpakuto.
"Enclose, Murciélago."
So far, Ichigo had seen only one Arrancar's Resurrección, Dordoni's. Nelliel had repeatedly refused to use her own for training and Starrk with Harribel had enough power without it. In a sense, this was Ichigo's first time witnessing a proper release of a hollow's power.
And it was terrifying. Whether it was because Ulquiorra had that kind of effect by himself or because of the heavy, dense ocean of a reiatsu settling all around him, Ichigo didn't know. In his distorted state, he was unable to appreciate just how utterly grim it all felt.
The only thing he noticed was the drastic change in Ulquiorra's appearance. With large, bat-like black wings sprouting from his back, long hair and two horns extending outward to the sides from the remnants of his hollow mask, the Cuatro Espada was beginning to look like a demon.
'A demon for my villain.'
"Good. Keep your eyes on me, Kurosaki. Don't blink for a second…"
Ulquiorra flickered out of existence and reappeared right in front of Ichigo with something akin to a green energy javelin moving towards Ichigo's neck at a speed that even his Pesquisa had troubles registering. On pure instinct, Ichigo's hands twitched and brought his zanpakuto upwards.
A collision.
Blasted to the side, Ichigo smashed through several dunes with his mind slowly catching up with the fact that he had almost lost his head. Yet there he was, quickly getting back to his feet with his neck intact, though with his breathing increased and with a large bruise on his skin. Without thinking, he let his hollow reiryoku wrap around him and form the mask on his face.
"Impressive luck, Kurosaki."
With a short overhead throw, the javelin made of pure green energy left Ulquiorra's hand and shot towards Ichigo like a missile of impending doom. It was moving fast. So fast, it crossed the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Narrowing his eyes behind the mask, Ichigo jerked himself to the side and let the javelin pass him by, allowing it nothing more than to cut through his clothes.
However, after throwing his weapon, Ulquiorra did not stop and watch the scene unfold. In a buzz of Sonído, he was in front of Ichigo only a split-second after the latter dodged his strike. With a quiet hiss, another javelin formed in his hand.
Ichigo was ready. Immediately after donning the mask, he had increased the range of his Pesquisa and was aware of Ulquiorra's next move. Pushing his spiritual energy into his blade, he swung it upwards. As soon as his glowing sword met the javelin made of energy, a powerful explosion blasted both combatants away from each other.
"Was that your Getsuga, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo quickly got back on his feet, though he had to grit his teeth in order to block the pain from overwhelming him. Burns covered half of his torso and, until his high-speed regeneration kicked in, he was forced to endure the burn. Nevertheless, one glance at Ulquiorra affirmed his suspicion.
Even the Cuatro Espada did not escape completely unharmed, though his injuries were noticeably smaller.
"It does bear the resemblance to Cero but, in the end, you are still just a human and, no matter how much humans try to imitate our powers in a quest for more power, humans are still just that, imitations. Therefore, humans will never be equal to Hollow. Let me show you just how different we are, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra declared calmly, yet loudly. Raising his right hand, the Arrancar pointed his index finger and aimed it at Ichigo.
"Cero Oscuras."
In front of Ulquiorra's finger, black energy with green outline formed a small orb that explosively shot towards Ichigo in a large arc. Without a better idea of what to do, Ichigo raised his own hand and pushed as much hollow energy into it as he could.
"Cero." He muttered.
A bright crimson blast of energy dashed from his palm and met the opposing energy in a showdown of power. For a brief moment, it looked as if the black energy would easily overwhelm the crimson one. But then, the crimson blast grew and stopped the black energy in its tracks which promptly resulted in a substantial explosion.
"Impossible. That was a Cero. And a Cero powerful enough to offset my Cero Oscuras."
Ichigo heard the impassive voice getting a bit less impassive but ignored it. He had to focus. One misstep could have cost him more than just a limb or two. But Ulquiorra continued.
"This cannot be. No matter how similar you are to a hollow, a human firing off a Cero is…"
It seemed the emotionless Arrancar was at loss for words.
Nevertheless, he resumed the battle with another javelin already formed within his right hand. The buzzing sound of Sonído filled the area and soon forced Ichigo to play along with his Shinigami type of high-speed movement, Shunpo. It wasn't a domination but it wasn't a stalemate. The two combatants fought all over the battlefield, an area in front of Las Noches, with ferocity and power rivaled only by those at the top. Neither could gain the upper hand but either bore signs of injuries, though Ichigo definitely seemed to be in a worse condition. When one managed to score a wound, the other would soon pay it back with interest.
A gash for a cut.
A bruise for a contusion.
In a matter of minutes, the area around them consisted of blasted sand, craters and air filled with smoke. It was hard to see and hard to breathe.
Another clash reverberated through the area, the pure force of the blows forcing the sand to pull back in an attempt to escape the wrath of the fight.
A swipe of a javelin forced Ichigo to duck. He ignored the lack of oxygen in his lungs and twisted himself to slice upwards. His attack got blocked. Undeterred, he followed it with a second slice of his other sword. Blood spurted from the wound and let him taste it with his tongue.
Metallic.
Just like the blood of a human.
Another Cero Oscuras eclipsed the Moon but the Moon-Fang of Getsuga Tenshō prevented it from reaching its target. Hurled towards him, yet another energy javelin tore through space where the Cero and Getsuga exploded, tearing through the smoke at a speed that forced Ichigo to use his own hand to push his head away from its trajectory. Blood poured from a gash that formed on the top of his hand.
His brow twitched in annoyance and he immediately spun around just in time to parry a vicious slice of a javelin. Pushed several feet backward, he let out a quiet growl and freed his index finger.
"Hadō #1. Shō!"
The burst of kinetic energy hit his opponent in the right shoulder and broke his attempt to push Ichigo even further back. Still skidding backward, Ichigo brought his smaller blade upwards at the same time as his opponent was about to leave his reach. The tip of the blade, brimming with energy, cut through Ulquiorra's Hierro with surprising ease and opened a deep incision in the Arrancar's body.
Ichigo tasted his opponent's blood one more time.
Cold.
But he was unable to think of a comparison like he had managed to several seconds ago. Not a javelin but a thin, pale palm appeared in front of his eyes and he cursed himself for shifting focus from Ulquiorra to the taste of his blood. Before he could move out of the way, the pale palm struck him across his face with enough force to make him spin around. In mid-spin, he sensed the energy javelin approaching his chest and hastily expelled a burst of reiryoku from his body.
Though it worked and forced Ulquiorra to back away, it also robbed him of a portion of spiritual energy he knew he still needed. However, to his relief, it seemed his opponent took the moment to speak once more.
"Somehow, you are still somehow keeping up. The amount of power you can gain from donning your mask has increased dramatically, Kurosaki. But enough of this game. I have promised to show you what is the true despair. Look closely, Kurosaki, as not even Aizen-sama knows about this."
For some reason, Ichigo felt his body going stiff. He was tempted to try and go for a sudden strike but then it happened.
Ulquiorra's reiatsu that had been pressing on his shoulders ever since the beginning of their battle underwent a dramatic change. At first, it had been heavy. After release, it had become immense and incredibly dense. But neither could even compare to the reiatsu currently seeping from the Arrancar. It wasn't even about its volume. It was still vast but now it also became suffocating and almost tangible, like an ocean of despair washing over him with its dark intention.
But reiatsu was not the only thing that changed. Compared to his release, Ulquiorra's appearance underwent yet another transformation. While his black wings remained, the Arrancar lost his clothes and revealed his bare chest patterned in a way that his Hollow hole, which became larger, appeared to be dripping black, blood-like liquid. His waist became covered in something similar to black fur that covered both his arms and legs. His fingers grew claw-like extensions, and his feet now resembled talons. The tear-like marks under his eyes increased in size and turned black. His mask completely disappeared.
Ichigo had seen something similar before. It was an illustration from one of his books of western literature. Ulquiorra, intentionally or not, became the thing he had seen on it.
The Devil.
It was like a biblical scene of an angel facing the demon of hell. A former angel was cast from the Heavens and turned into Devil. A morning star shining brightly against the Moon. And if Ulquiorra was the Devil, then Ichigo had to be the angel. Yet, at that moment, Ichigo felt anything but that.
Inexplicably, Ichigo started to chuckle. In a matter of seconds, it turned into a series of guffaws and then into a full-blown laughter. He laughed so hard, tears formed in the corners of his eyes and his jaw became sore.
In a short distance away, Ulquiorra simply stared at him, seemingly confused.
Ichigo simply continued to laugh.
He laughed and laughed.
Guffawed.
Chortled.
Somewhere, on the brink of insanity, it all became all too clear.
He wasn't the Angel. He wasn't the Devil. At that moment, he stood at the crossroads, halfway between heaven and hell. It was the moment of his reckoning. He was the hero, yet he was also the villain. He was the one important. Ulquiorra was just a stepping stone towards his ascension, a preamble to his fall.
Or maybe everything he could think of was just a hallucination. A byproduct of his borderline insanity. By slowly descending into madness, he was unable to comprehend the situation and his brain offered him the easiest solution of rejecting the reality and withdrawing into his own world, his personal oblivion.
His little piece of heaven.
Then, as if time stopped, his laughter died and his body felt light. He was close. Close to something he couldn't explain, yet something he could feel. But he still wasn't there. There was one more thing he needed to do before he could cross the gap and become whole.
At that moment, Ulquiorra decided to ignore him and spoke again.
"Resurrección: Segunda Etapa. The second release of power. Among the Espada, I am the only Arrancar capable of it. I don't quite understand your reaction but you refusing to back down even in face of true despair is either brave or insane. Still, this is the end, Kurosaki. Like I said, even Aizen-sama doesn't know about this and so-"
But Ulquiorra was unable to finish his thought. A voice that both Ulquiorra and Ichigo recognized echoed in the air.
"Well, now I do, Ulquiorra."
Aizen had arrived.
End of Chapter 40
And so, the scene (and the current arc) is set for the finale; for the climax of Ichigo's stuck-in-the-middle situation where everything that went around will come around. Let's call it a closure of a cycle at the end of which is something that most people look for their whole life. Enlightenment.
Well, okay, let's not get too melodramatic. At the same time, the next chapter, which is the ending of the current arc, marks half of this story and I wanted to celebrate it with a push for Ichigo towards his uncertain future.
Small note about the title of this chapter:
Lunar - I often address Ichigo as either Black Sun (as you can see in the subtitle) or Moon and so... Lunar
Dukkha - is a term used in Buddhism and it roughly translates into "suffering" which is what I wanted to portray in this chapter. Also, dukkha is part of the Four Noble Truths, which are concepts you need to understand before ascending to Nirvana. This leads us to cessation, which is coincidentally a title of one of the future chapters...
To reviews:
*MugetsuIchigo - well, I guess this chapter answered your question.
*yes1234 - there's no way I'd ignore this big ass paragraph, especially when it contains a good point.
But there is a simple explanation. Even though Aizen trusts Ulquiorra more than the others, he's still Aizen.
Simply said, Ulquiorra was informed of the plan and so he knew that the Aizen that came with him to Soul Society
wasn't the real one and that it was actually Ichigo.
*Harbinger_of_Kaos - for Aizen, Orihime and Tatsuki are a simple assurance, a tool for making sure Ichigo
can't betray him without feeling extremely conflicted about it and so that he would have a reason for staying
in Hueco Mundo. Though, as you could see in this chapter, he didn't take into account Ichigo's mental state
and its possible corrosion.
*Selias - yeah, I actually agree. I may have overdone that last bit, so I made a tiny change and included another reason for him passing out - severe exhaustion.
*Zionchar11 - exactly. Like I said in the last chapter's AN, I wanted Ichigo to undergo one last test. And this is it. His last test before... let's say "ascending".
*Takei_Daloui - this is precisely what I thought when I was reading Bleach; the possibility of Orihime turning into Aizen's pawn. Without spoiling too much, I can say that right now (meaning current arc), Orihime and Tatsuki play relatively minor role but that may change in the future... I mean, their abilities aren't just for show.
*the_fandom_wolf - I'm glad you asked. Yes, I will include Hell in this story. A small detail about it has been already revealed early in the story, though I masked it in a way that there's only a slight chance that anyone could have noticed it. It will be different than the movie and will tie into my history of Gotei as well as the world in this story as a whole. But it'll take time before I get there seeing as the plan is for two different arcs to take place before Hell can come.
*kaxipoptos - thank you for noticing that detail. If you recall, there was an instance in the story where Yamamoto ordered a fake attack on Seireitei to test the teamwork between different divisions. It ended with him being disappointed and giving an order to make improvements in that department. I hope this chapter also cleared the question of Orihime & Tatsuki's hostility. Eh, yeah, about the fights. My first bleach story (Way of the Protector) regularly contained fights from different POVs and I feel like it made it harder to follow. Because of that, I decided that for the majority of time, I will focus solely on Ichigo in this one. But I'll try to include details about other events using conversations or background description.
*WhoFeedYasuo - I'm happy you decided to give it a second chance and that you like what I've done. I'll try not to disappoint until the end.
*Grocamol - a perfect question; one that I've been honestly expecting a lot sooner. As you may have noticed, Ichigo is still using only his Shikai and able to somewhat keep up with most of his enemies. Reason for it is that, unlike in the manga, I'm not playing switcharoo with his powers and, ever since the beginning, he's been training for his true potential. It'll take some time but he WILL be getting a Bankai. Eventually. Remember that it's normal for a Shinigami, no matter how strong, to train years, even decades before reaching Bankai (though, obviously, in Ichigo's case, it won't take that long).
We are, after all, only now reaching half of the story.
This AN is already long so that's all for now. Thank your for the support!
Next chapter: Chapter 41 - Doomsday, Seraphim of the Myō'ō (Soul Healing, part 4: The Awakening) - will be posted on 7/8th of June!