Chapter 48: Exposure of the Failure (Eclipsed charade)

xxx

"Incident?"

Ichigo met Ginjō's confused stare with a nod, though he also noticed Yukio and Jackie assuming their usual places in the dark corners of the room, opposite of each other, where light was so weak, it didn't allow him to see more than the outlines of their bodies. If they did it because they didn't want him to see their reactions, then it was an applause-worthy effort. But bringing his attention back to the topic, he focused on Ginjō and spoke.

"Yes. I think I mentioned it before but a few days ago, somebody attacked one of my… acquaintances."

In return, the man frowned.

"Sounds serious. Is he okay?"

A flash of surprise crossed Ichigo's features. Whether it was just a good guess or not, he decided to remember it for the future. To hide his thoughts, he dragged his eyes down to look at the counter and wordlessly ordered himself another glass of juice. He took a sip.

"Yeah, he's fine. But that's the problem."

He peeked above his shoulder to see the man's frown undergo a slight change.

"I think you just lost me, Kurosaki."

Nodding to himself, he moved his hands to his glass and enveloped it in a tight hug, almost as if he wanted to warm it up.

"Do you remember the first time we spoke?"

"Hm, yeah, sure."

With one finger, he circled its upper edge.

"Back then, I told you I can see ghosts and so I was somewhat aware of spiritual matters. You remember, right?"

"Yeah."

He raised his head and looked the man straight in the eyes.

"This acquaintance of mine… he can see ghosts too."

Turning his head maybe an inch to the side, Ginjō's frown deepened.

"Okay?"

There seemed to be no deception in the man's eyes and so he continued.

"The thing is, he claims he couldn't see the face of the person who attacked him but he's also sure it wasn't a ghost, because what ghost goes around carrying a sword?"

That got him a reaction.

"Huh? What?"

He continued without a pause.

"That's the most important thing. He says he felt a sword slicing through his body, yet he doesn't have a scratch on him. And as far as I know, there is no sword which can do that. At least, no normal sword. But what about a spiritual one?"

Since he kept the eye-contact, it was easy for him to see the shift in the man's mood.

"Where are you going with this, Kurosaki?"

He was surprised just how calm the man still was. A tiny crevice of doubt cracked open in his mind. Yet he didn't back down. Not yet.

"Nowhere. I'm only thinking out loud and pointing out what I consider to be an odd coincidence. I mean, look at it from my point of view. My acquaintance gets attacked with what seems to be a spiritual sword and a day later I learn there is a group of people who can use spiritual powers."

Like a flip of a switch, the air in the room grew heavy and suffocating. The stares pointed at him became harsh and a blanket of reiatsu pressed on his shoulders with a sense of distress. However, all was not lost, if only because nobody moved against him which gave him hope he could salvage the situation with a good choice of words. It was almost as if he got something right but also wrong at the same time and now they were waiting for his next move which would prove his identity, whether he was a wolf or a sheep.

For now, he settled for a sheep.

"So, after you explained that Fullbring is an ability you are born with, I wondered if there are others in this town who could have done it. Because it doesn't make sense. You were looking for me, so you definitely didn't do it and my acquaintance, aside from being able to see ghosts, is just a high-schooler. And why would anyone want to attack teenagers? What do you think? Have you met anyone that's not in Xcution but has a Fullbring?"

Once he finished talking, he took a long look around. He raised both his eyebrows, then blinked several times to appear surprised.

"Huh? What is it?"

The heavy atmosphere lasted for a few more seconds until Ginjō released a deep sigh and turned to the counter where he got Giriko to refill his glass. After he took three sips of whiskey, both Jackie and Yukio walked from the shadows and sat in a nearby couch. Both of them looked anywhere but Ichigo or each other.

"Kūgo…"

Raising his right hand, Ginjō prevented Jackie from speaking any further.

"I know. It's probably him."

His words came as an honest surprise for Ichigo.

'Huh?'

To mask it, he too, grabbed his glass and took a sound mouthful. Then he glanced at Ginjō's face.

"Him?"

Ginjō gave him a sideways glance.

"Tsukishima."

Sensing a delicate matter, he remained silent and let the man gather his thoughts.

"Tsukishima is a Fullbringer like us and… at one time, he was also our ally."

Since it had been a situational idea to talk about the attack on his Quincy associate, he hadn't actually expected to learn something new and so the way the situation was developing caught him by surprise which was growing bigger with every uttered word. It got to the point where was unable to hide it for any longer and his expression, so far a charade, turned into a genuine bewilderment.

"What the hell…?"

Ginjō released another deep sigh but also gave a short nod.

"Tsukishima, he… used to be our leader." He said and lowered his head to stare at the bottom of his glass.

"We came together with the same aspirations and combined our strength in order to get rid of our powers. He was the leader who worked out the plan for doing that and discovered that we could do it by passing out powers on to a so-called Substitute Shinigami. A human with Shinigami powers." He explained and turned his head to pin Ichigo with a pointed gaze.

In the process of digesting the new information, Ichigo's face remained frozen in bewildered expression.

"Somebody like me."

Ginjō nodded.

"Yeah. But after the Substitute Shinigami we finally located had accepted a few of our comrades' powers, Tsukishima changed his mind."

With a gesture, Ginjō let Giriko refill his glass. Once it happened, the man tightened his grip on the glass and took the whole shot in one gulp by tilting his head backwards which gave the liquid a smooth passage through his esophagus. Once it landed in his stomach, he grunted in satisfaction and returned to the topic. His gaze hardened.

"He killed the Substitute Shinigami as well as our comrades who gave him their power and then he disappeared. No." He paused and glanced at Ichigo again.

"That might have been his goal from the very start. Here, I'll show you something." He said and swayed when he stood up. Then he reached for his back pocket and took out something that looked odd, eerie even. Ichigo had no idea what it was but he could feel a faint stench of energy radiating from the object.

It was a pendant in an upside-down pentagon shape with two thick lines coming from its upper corners that were crossed in the middle and a skull-like shape covering the lines' intersection. It was tied to a sturdy looking cord and currently hanging from Ginjō's right hand.

"This is the Substitute badge the Substitute Shinigami carried." He stated and then lowered his hand.

"We don't know what Tsukishima is really thinking. He's not the kind of guy that tells you and he hasn't shown his face since all that went down, so the only thing we've figured out about him is that his objective is most likely to keep us from contacting somebody who has a similar power like the Substitute Shinigami had. You."

Pausing for a moment, the man returned to his seat.

"His actions suggest as much. He must have seen you hanging out with your… acquaintance and acted. By attacking him, he was making a statement as well as trying to scare you off. Not that it worked so far."

Another pause, during which he cleared his throat, followed.

"He's using different and more violent methods than we did but he's definitely trying to get your attention."

Ichigo saw him moving his eyes till the two of them made an eye-contact. He was still processing what he just listened to but felt like the man was waiting for his reaction, so he took control of the muscles in his face and frowned.

"Well, he got it but it's not enough." He slowly said and earned himself a frown.

"It's not?"

He shrugged.

"I admit, I am upset he attacked the guy I know and I wanted to know who did it but, like I said, we're just acquaintances, not friends. I won't go sniffing around the town and looking for this Tsukishima guy because of it. Besides, the only thing that got hurt during his attack was pride for not being able to fight back. This whole incident is a minor inconvenience at most. He needs to try harder if he wants me to pursue him."

Staring at him with intense gaze, Ginjō looked like he wanted to retort but before he managed to do it, the entrance opened.

"Oi, I'm here!"

Ginjō released a defeated puff of air and shook his head.

"Alright. Then I guess it's finally time for the second part of your training."

…

Within the confines of the second dollhouse, it took Ichigo a single glance to realize things were different. There were no frilly, cute things hanging all around, no furniture, no walls, no nothing. It was a simple square large open area filled with rocks, boulders and some stone formations and it reminded him the training area below Sōkyoku Hill. There was a small difference though. The ground beneath his feet seemed almost alive and it wasn't a tiled floor, a flat rock nor a regular soil; if he were to describe it, it was a mud covered with a few inches thick layer of water.

In other words, it was a miniature version of a fish tank.

'Interesting choice for a battlefield.'

Just as he analyzed his surroundings, he noticed Jackie landing in front of him on the opposite side of the area, looking at him with a neutral gaze but with a stiff expression which was something he had never seen her do. Was it because of the impending battle or was there something else on her mind?

"Not going to attack, Ichigo?"

To answer the taunt, he reached into the heart of his spiritual core and pulled out the tiny amount of hollow energy that he had used two days before. The dark cloak of unrefined reiryoku surrounded him once more and he looked at his opponent with a concentrated, though slightly amused, gaze.

"I was about to ask you the same."

Jackie took a step forward and crossed her arms.

"The element of surprise can be a very useful and powerful tool, Ichigo. Would you wait for your opponent to make a first move on a real battlefield too?"

Tilting his head, he concentrated and two blades made of pure black energy materialized in his hands.

"I'll share with you something I read not long ago - What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy and he who attacks first reveals his too soon - Besides, you talk too much, Jackie-san. That's not like you."

For some reason, the corners of Jackie's mouth curved upwards and her stiff expression became a thing of the past.

"Well said." She said and tapped the mud beneath her feet, buried under the layer of water. In return, bright sparks of energy surrounded her legs.

"Dirty boots."

Incantation or not, Jackie's words caused a vortex of energy to crawl from her feet all the way to the top of her head, transforming her attire while doing so. Her boots extended further up her legs, pieces of armor formed on her shoulders and forearms, a scarf appeared around her neck and a dark-colored hat came to life on her head with a cloth hanging in front of the right side of her face. It was a rather slow process and offered him a plenty of time to attack but, true to his previous statement, he decided to watch and wait.

Then, any water in a half-meter radius with her as the center ceased to exist as the pressure from her energy blasted it away and she vanished from her spot, faster than humanly possible.

In that brief moment, one corner of his mouth curved upwards.

'That's more like it.'

Battle was a full moon for his inner werewolf, a war cry for his instinct and a chance to let go of his innermost thoughts – it was an opportunity to let the chains restraining him corrode and allow him to go from static to dynamic. In fact, it had been so long since he could fight, his grin grew and he even considered not dodging the impending strike if only to feel more alive. But his reason didn't let him. His time to shine was yet to come. Still, nobody said he couldn't enjoy himself for a few minutes. And so, tilting his head to the side, he watched a foot clad in a boot pass his face with less than an inch to spare.

"You'll have to do better than that."

His movements were fast and precise and offered no space for error. Before his opponent could withdraw, his hands shot up and gripped her leg by the ankle. In the next second, he pulled forward and threw Jackie in the direction of a large boulder.

"Wha-?!"

Her honest surprise at being manhandled only increased the flow of blood in his veins. With a glint of satisfaction in his eyes, he watched her fly and, in the last moment before crashing in the rock, flip upwards in an impression show of agility. But as soon as she did so, he abandoned his spot and rushed forward. Bringing both his swords down, he smashed through the boulder and appeared in front of her. Busy shielding her eyes from the debris, she was an easy prey.

"Clench your muscles."

A simple advice later, he let his right sword dissipate into reishi and formed a fist which shot at her midsection with too much speed for her to evade. His knuckles connected with a soft, yet trained surface of her abdomen and sent her flying away.

"Gah!"

He waited.

'This should force her hand.'

His thoughts and actions, though undeniably villainous in nature, had only one purpose – to make his opponent angry enough to use all of her might. And when Jackie landed in a shallow water, splashing it everywhere, and he sensed a surge of spiritual pressure, he knew it worked.

"Where the hell did you learn that?!"

As the water calmed down, he saw her scowling at him while rubbing her stomach at the same time.

"Didn't Ginjō tell you? I used to attend a local dojo and get into fights because of the real color of my hair. I'm not a beginner in this, Jackie-san. If you want to push me to my limits, you have to take this to the next level."

Her answer was to stomp the mud beneath her feet, causing it to splash against her clothes and giving her 'dirty boots' the right appearance.

"You don't say."

At once, the muddy stains on her boots glowed and turned into pure energy. Her spiritual pressure rose even higher to the point when it caused his smile to widen. He voice came out as a whisper.

"Good."

The outline of her body turned into a blur, moving at speed well-above the possibility of a normal human and crossing to the realm of a low-ranking Shinigami. However, her attack pattern remained the same and when she appeared right above his head with her right leg cocked back and aiming at the top of his torso, he felt just a slight disappointment.

"Haah!"

Then again, he wanted to taste the power of her kick and so, instead of dodging, he brought his arms coated in reiryoku up to act as a shield. The force of impact lifted his body to the air and sent him flying backwards. At the same time, his disappointment faded into obscurity.

Her strength was good and he couldn't help but to turn his excitement into words.

"Nice one!"

Aware of his back approaching the sturdy wall behind him, he materialized the sword he had previously discarded and, along with the other one, plunged them both into the muddy ground to slow his flight.

"What's up with you?! It's like you're not even interested in figuring out my Fullbring!"

She was on him yet again and her foot flew at him from the side. In return, he put all of his weight to one leg, braced for the impact and raised both his hands. Similar to what he had done during her first attack, he caught her by the ankle and prevented her from hitting him. He winced and felt as his feet sank in the mud but kept his smile going.

"Who says I'm not?"

Releasing the grip on her leg, he tossed her away and watched as she landed on the other side of the area with a grace of a swan. He noticed her calculative gaze.

"This is not a game, Ichigo. We're harsh only because we believe you have the potential. But if you take too long, you'll get hurt."

He snorted. There was no humor in his words.

"Little less conversation and little more action, Jackie-san."

Just when he closed his eyes in order to blink, she vanished from his vision.

'It's slow but she's still gaining both speed and strength. Is there a limit?'

He sensed a sneak attack from behind on his left side. Without delay, he slid away from its reach but felt the rough surface of a boot licking his cheek. His skin stung and his smile turned into a predatory grin.

'I hope there isn't.'

With every intention of bringing the upper limit of her power out to the open, he spent the next minutes exchanging, dodging, parrying or blocking every single one of her attacks. He wanted her to get as annoyed, angry and frustrated as he could, so she would let go and truly try to hurt him and so he went even further and imposed a restriction on himself by discarding his swords and using pure hand to hand combat. Every time her foot missed its target by a hair's breadth, the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement. Every time he pushed or knocked her away, the joy in his souls rose higher. It had been far too long since he had enjoyed himself so much.

However, his dream crashed and burned when, after blocking another of her strike, powerful enough to cause the bones of his Gigai to vibrate, he took notice of the expression on her face. As he had intended, she looked annoyed and frustrated but, instead of her power going up, it grew stable. Dissatisfied, he tried to push her further with a series of hard punches only to come to the simple conclusion.

'Either this is her limit or she's consciously refusing to raise it. Why, though?'

Something landed next to him and splashed the muddy water to his face. Robbed of his vision, only thanks to his instincts honed to the perfection he sensed an incoming attack but could do nothing to prevent it from hitting him. In the last moment, he brought his arms up. Right after that, his feet left the ground and he was propelled backwards with enough power to make him wince from the pain in his forearms. It was a miracle the bones didn't break but his Gigai sent a signal of protest.

'Okay… maybe I need to step up the game and use a bit more reiry- '

His thoughts were cut off when he heard Jackie's voice coming at him in a form of a furious and just a little bit desperate yell.

"How long are you gonna keep playing it cool?!"

Surprised to the core of his artificial bones, he recovered from the attack and looked at her.

"Don't you get it?! This isn't some petty brawl between thugs! If you lose your focus for just an instant, you'll get crushed! You can't keep taking my attacks with your body! Your bones will break, your muscles will tear and your flesh will be ripped to shreds and-!"

She bit her lips and, to further prove her point, kicked a nearby boulder with all of her strength. Blasted into smithereens, the rock vanished from his sight.

"-and you will DIE!"

For a second, his eyes lingered on the remains of the boulder. The sight didn't scare him. But it did remind him of the memories of the past, of a brief but intense struggle between forces which left in their wake nothing but destruction of bodies and souls. It reminded him of mangled corpses, broken beyond belief and smothered the fighting fire raging in him, leaving him nothing but an empty husk void of feelings.

If he had felt warm moments ago, the sensation turned to ice and his grin withered.

"Don't worry. I get it. Do you, though?"

His tone, sharper than any blade, cut through the silence and caused Jackie to freeze in her tracks. Still, she opened her mouth but before she could utter a single word, he tightened the grip on his swords and slashed downwards. The muddy surface parted in two thick fissures running from the tip of his blades all the way to Jackie's sides, passing close enough to cause her to flinch from the water splashing around but far enough to cause her no injury.

"I understood my power as soon as I got it and you don't want me to go all out, Jackie-san. If I'm not careful, I can cripple you with nothing but a swing of these blades."

He saw a bead of sweat forming on her forehead and her eyes betrayed the uneasiness she felt.

"But I guess that's the point of this training, isn't it? To force me to solidify this power and make it mine. So, brace yourself, Jackie-san, because I will show you just that."

Without saying anything else, he focused and reached into his own soul. He was aware of the vast ocean of brimming power, pushed deep in the lowest levels of his core, but instead of pulling it all out, he touched just the fleeting layer of his hollow and let some of its reiryoku to flow into him. As a result, his spiritual pressure rose so fast, it pushed everything in his immediate vicinity away from him, creating an odd image of a man standing on a dry spot of land surrounded by body of water. And even though it was but a fraction of his might, it was enough to allow him to take a breath so deep, it felt like months had passed since he had done it before. But the oddest part was the wild energy so far dancing on his body solidifying into a blackish, full-body sturdy armor. It reached all the way to his neck where it rose even higher and to the sides, creating a collar impenetrable for any blade and making him feel like a knight from the medieval era.

'What is this appearance?'

A certain inner voice whispered to him.

'You used the purest form of your hollow reiryoku, Ichigo. What do you think it is?'

The answer came to him by instinct.

'My… hollow? But I've seen you before and-'

'Pure form, Ichigo. As I cannot separate myself from your hollow part, what you've seen until now was the merged form. But you, you can draw out every bit of your power separately. It is the first step towards greater things, and so I'm actually glad for this development.'

'Greater things?'

But the voice of his zanpakuto was already fading away.

'As Yhwach would say, all in due time, Ichigo. Until next time….'

In return, he closed his eyes and let out a quiet snort. Then he looked at his opponent who was eyeing him in a mixture of shock and acknowledgement.

"Good enough, eh?"

…

Back in the main room of the building, Ichigo listened to Jackie describing their spar in silence. Her explanation was fair and he had nothing to add, so he directed his eyes at the man listening to her. What he saw surprised him. He had thought Ginjō would be satisfied but the opposite was the truth and so, once Jackie finished her report, he spoke his mind.

"What's wrong?"

His question caused Ginjō to glance at him.

"Hm?"

"You don't look very happy."

Ginjō exchanged a brief look with Jackie and then scratched the back of his head.

"It's not that I'm not happy. You progressed and that's good."

He sensed a 'but' coming.

"Though it looks final, your Fullbring still has a potential to evolve."

Looking down, at the mostly solid armor on his body, he frowned.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. When the Fullbring's potential is fully realized and it evolves to its final form, it's accompanied with a violent burst of energy that has the potential to damage your own body. Because of that, we usually do it by having another Fullbringer who can suppress the explosion oversee the process, and we do it within the borders of an unbreakable pocket dimension which is Yukio's specialty."

Though the information made him throw a short look to one of the darker corners of the room, he kept his focus on the problem at hand.

"But there was no explosion."

Ginjō nodded.

"No."

At that point, Jackie abandoned the conversation and limped to one of the couches where she allowed herself a groan of content. She looked tired and it made him feel a bit guilty. She had been right, the Fullbringers were fighting with their fragile bodies and to them, every injury could prove fatal. Unlike him who, at the moment, was living as a ghost in the shell.

To mitigate these thoughts, he asked Giriko for a small cup of whiskey. He took a sip.

"So, what now?"

Ginjō, busy drinking from his own glass, shrugged. Once he swallowed whatever he had in his throat, he spoke.

"Nothing has changed. You have room to improve and that's what we need to use. Right now, you're going into Yukio's pocket dimension for a short exercise to get a better grasp on your abilities but after that, you have to let your body rest and adapt to the strain."

On cue, Yukio walked out of his shadow.

"Take a shower, watch some television, read a book or laze all day in a bed. It doesn't matter what you do, but you have to allow your body to relax. It took us years to get where we are, Kurosaki. There's no point rushing it."

He wanted to protest but one look in the man's eyes told him it was a lost battle. With a sigh, he nodded then turned to Yukio.

"Alright, let's go."

To his surprise, the boy smirked.

"Get ready for some high-level gameplay. Invaders Must Die!"

…

Peace.

Looking back at the moments he had spent in the company of Fullbringers Ichigo realized his days had been filled with so much fun and tranquility, it should have raised red flags long before the dawn of the judgment, the day where he had to take a difficult choice, came.

It started the day after his training with Jackie and Yukio.

The morning had been quiet. Lunch as well. The entire day seemed more peaceful than any before. But the irony of life was a powerful tool, and it struck at the most unpredictable moment, when he sat on the riverbank, immersed in on his books. He had chosen the place on purpose.

It was the exact spot where his mother had died all those years ago. Yet sitting in the shadow of a lone cloud, he felt no discomfort. The air was serene and the image in front of him a palette of colors, mixed in a collection of brushstrokes on the artist's canvas. At last, after almost a decade, his guilt had diminished to the point where only tiny fragments which served as the threshold for the future, remained. It liberated him and allowed him to move on to the next stage of his life.

His life after death.

But as he sat there, a book in one hand and a stalk of grass in the other, a rotten breeze tickled his nose and caused him to look up. He sensed no Hollows but the air stank. Wrinkling his nose, he took a sniff. The smell wasn't real but the decay already assaulted his stomach and ignited his instinct.

Something was coming and it wasn't good.

Not even a minute later, he detected a familiar man running towards him. Immediately, he stood up and prepared to fire half a dozen questions only to notice the expression on the man's face.

It was panic.

"What's wrong?"

Once he got close and came to a halt, Ginjō tried to speak but could only wheeze. Whatever was going on must have been quite serious if he was so out of breath. A few seconds later, when there was no possibility of him choking on his own breath, the man spoke.

"He got them… all of them…"

A vague message but it was enough to awaken Ichigo's curiosity.

"Jackie, Yukio, Giriko, Riruka… he got to all of them."

A frown found its way onto his face as he waited for further clarification. When it seemed Ginjō had no intention on continuing, his patience stretched way too thin for him to remain silent.

"Who?"

There was a brief moment of silence, during which Ginjō got his breath under control and looked up to meet his eyes.

"Tsukishima."

For a moment, Ichigo remained frozen in the spot, unblinking. He recalled what he had been told about the man behind this name and felt a slight tug on his conscience. Faces of the Xcution members played out in his mind, and despite his best efforts at staying cool, his adrenal glands released just enough adrenaline to throw his insides into disarray. He fought it with every ounce of his willpower but it was pointless. His hands formed fists.

He simply couldn't bring himself to not care.

"Got to them?"

"Got them with his Fullbring."

One of his eyebrows shot upwards.

"You know what it is?"

Instead of replying, the man nodded and waited for him to speak again.

"So, what now?"

"I'm coming after them. I found the address of Tsukishima's place about an hour before he took them. I think that's where they all are."

Ichigo looked him over. His instincts flared and flushed the effects of the adrenaline from his system. The eyes of the man in front of him held an honest emotion but something in his very being refused to believe it. He hadn't seen the 'kidnapping' happen with his own eyes and so, doubt set in. Truly, he felt bad for the Fullbringers but the uneasy knot forming in his stomach reminded him of a situation he had encountered before.

A trap ready to be sprung.

On the other hand, he was running out of time. Maybe, falling into a trap was what he needed. It was a perfect excuse to shuffle the chess board and promote his pawn without raising suspicion and forcing the enemy to use the castling move to hide his king behind a faceless rook.

But for now, he needed to keep the charade going. He was, after all, playing on multiple tables at the same time.

"Isn't this guy supposed to be stronger than any of you? You'll get slaughtered."

He watched as Ginjō narrowed his eyes at him. Clearly, the man understood the subtle message.

"…I think he's got your aunt too."

Now that was an unpleasant piece of information he didn't want to hear.

'Hm, maybe this Tsukishima guy isn't as clueless as I thought he'd be. Alright, I'll bite.'

Lowering himself, he picked up his book, put it in his bag, placed the bag over his shoulder and looked at Ginjō with a determined face.

"Lead the way."

However, even though he said, the first thing the two of them did was to make a short stop at Ikumi's house where Ichigo dropped his bag and made sure the woman in question truly was gone. Only then he let Ginjō guide them towards the supposed trap.

"First things first. What's Tsukishima's Fullbring?"

As they maneuvered through the concrete jungle of Naruki City, Ginjō glanced in his direction with a thoughtful grimace etched in his face.

"It's called Book of the End."

They reached a crossroads but it barely slowed them down and Ginjō continued.

"It should be able to confuse the target's memory but…"

They emerged from the core of the city and were about to enter a small forest, but the long pause made him look away from his surroundings and at the man. He frowned when he realized he couldn't get a read on the emotion in his face.

"…when I said he got to them, I didn't mention one thing."

"What is it?"

It took a slight shake of head for Ginjō to continue.

"I was there when it happened."

For whatever reason, the man looked up and met his eyes, as if trying to gauge his reaction but he kept his face locked in a neutral expression.

"I was just coming to our headquarters when I saw them leaving with Tsukishima. I tried to stop them but I couldn't bring myself to fight them. As they left, they told me one more thing."

Sensing a revelation coming, Ichigo kept his mouth shut. His only reaction was to nod.

"They said: 'Isn't it about time that we remember?'."

Whatever he had expected to come out of Ginjō's mouth didn't match any of his words and caused him to stop walking and stare at the man without being able to focus his sight. In his mind, gears spun at unmatched speed as he tried to understand what he just heard. It took him a second or two, but his thought process singled out a tiny detail which didn't correspond with the information he had gotten so far. He frowned.

"That's, huh. That doesn't sound like something a person with confused memory would say. It's more like…"

Ginjō seemed to have been expecting the reaction and continued for him.

"…yeah, it's more like they remembered him and their memory became 'clear'. That's why I'm not sure about Tsukishima's Fullbring anymore. Based on everything I heard, I'd say his ability is less about confusing a target's memory and more about rewriting their memories or, I don't know, maybe even manipulation of their past."

His frown vanished.

Instead, his jaw came loose and his mouth opened. Gears in his mind spun even faster, reaching speed he had never seen before as his whole being, consisting of several personas, did its best at figuring the situation out. He refused to move from his spot unless he got it. His instinct tickled his imagination and caused a shift in both his determination and mood. There was something about the whole situation that stank of so much shit, it was becoming unbearable, yet he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Meanwhile, Ginjō continued to speak.

"His 'Book of the End' is a Fullbring based on a bookmark. That's a fact and, until now, I always thought it served as an indicator for him as to which memory in the target's brain he should confuse. Now? I'm not so sure anymore. But whether it's an alteration of his old ability or if this is a new one born to his 'Book of the End', it fits with the bookmark motif perfectly. If I'm right, then Tsukishima is inserting his 'presence' into the pasts of the people he cuts with his sword and it leaves no injury. When I encountered him and the others, I've exchanged a few sentences with them and from what they said, it's like Tsukishima was always there. Whether it was somewhere in their lives, acting as a friend, lover or something else, he's entrenched in their personal lives on such a deep level, it is pointless to try and convince them of the truth. And it must be like that or there would no way that they'd recall those memories with such ease. They are not confused because to them, it's all a part of their memories."

The gears in his mind came to a screeching halt. With a strong headache threatening to overwhelm him, he managed to keep all of his thought intact and put them all into the kettle of his logic where he put them together the same way he'd play a puzzle with all parts analyzed and recognized.

'Damn it. I didn't want to believe him at first but it fits. Ishida said he felt a sword passing through him but there was no physical injury, only spiritual one. Then again, if his past has been rewritten, he should have known Tsukishima and our conversation should have gone differently. Unless.'

All of a sudden, his facial muscles relaxed and his face fell into a blank expression.

'Son of a bitch. Either Ishida is an amazing actor and bluffed his way through our entire conversation or there's something about Ishida that prevented Tsukishima's Fullbring from working properly. And there's only one thing that come to my mind. Could it be?'

He shook his head.

"If you're right… then we're back to what I said before. A human being should not have that kind of power."

"What are you saying?"

Ichigo's frown returned and this time it was deeper than before.

"His ability must be limited by something. You said a Fullbring is only as powerful as its wielder. So, theoretically, if the target of his ability is stronger than he is, then that somebody should potentially break through it, right? Or there may be somebody whose abilities can repel it?"

Instead of replying at once, Ginjō's right hand shot up.

"Slow down, we're almost there."

After several slow steps, the man continued.

"To answer your question – I honestly don't know, Kurosaki. Tsukishima is the strongest person I have ever met..."

His brow, furrowed in a frown, twitched at those words but he decided not to voice his thoughts. Coming to a halt, he watched the man take a few more careful steps until he reached a large bush where he lowered himself on one knee. He followed the suit and when the man reached into the bush and forced a small opening, he spotted a large mansion about a hundred feet in front of them. It looked distinct and he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. He inched closer to the man and looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"So? What's the plan?"

But Ginjō didn't look back at him and just stared at the mansion without changing his expression, causing Ichigo to come to a sudden realization.

"You don't have one, do you?"

A lone muscle in Ginjō's face twitched. Though he said nothing in return, that reaction alone was enough of an answer and made Ichigo sigh then rub his temples with the knuckles on his hand.

"Do you at least know Tsukishima's intentions?"

It took a few more seconds before the man finally let go of the bush. When he did, he massaged the root of his nose.

"I already told you, didn't I?"

If that was supposed to be a sufficient answer, it did nothing to change the question etched in Ichigo's eyes.

"You said he wanted to gain my attention. And sure, he got it when he took my aunt. But he also took the others."

This time, his reaction made the other man turn and direct his sight at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

While he did form an apologetic expression, Ichigo's words were hard as the steel blade of his sword. The game was still on.

"Why bother taking the others if he wanted only me? I think he's trying to lure somebody else too."

It was a gamble but he had to risk it. A whisper coming from the depth of his consciousness reminded him that taking gambles had been his main course of action ever since he had woken up from the coma. Though it changed nothing, it did manage to make him feel as if he just tasted a sour candy.

Staring at him with narrowed eyes, Ginjō nodded.

"Most likely, yeah."

"Which means he's planning something."

For a few seconds, the two of them just stared at each other locked in a battle of searching gazes in an attempt to spot a hint of any emotion. But before things could escalate, Ginjō looked away, though Ichigo noticed the man's right hand forming a shaky fist.

"Damn it, Kurosaki. I told you already. Tsukishima has always been a difficult person to read. I don't know what he's thinking but you know what? I don't care. He's got my people and that's all I need to know!"

What started as a whisper ended as a low growl but Ichigo listened to the entirety in silence and with a calm, controlled breathing. Then, with the only warning being his mouth forming a smirk, he stood up.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ginjō hissed and went to grab the hem of his shirt, but when Ichigo glanced at him with a grin so wide it threatened to split his face in two, the man froze.

"It's like you said. We don't know anything. So, let's ask."

With his true intentions hidden behind his grin, it took a little effort to state his answer as if it was the most natural conclusion to their conversation. In fact, it was so easy that when he turned to face the mansion, the realization took him by surprise and made him widen his eyes. Nevertheless, he didn't falter and pushed himself to stroll forward, forcing Ginjō to let go off him.

Though the air was light and fresh, as he walked he saw the sky getting riddled with tiny cloud blots somewhere near the horizon. It seemed the weather was finally catching up with the change of seasons and turned as predictable as a chaotic particle. Soon, it would rain. Thunder and lightning, the most prominent fighters of the battle in the sky, were already baring their teeth at him. They were the elements of nature raging within him, buried deep under the tiny fire, not yet fully ignited but ready to strike at the moment's notice. With his back straight and his posture screaming confidence, it was hard to look at him and see anything else but a warrior marching on to the battlefield. But to the eyes of his enemy, he was just a teenager willing to fall into a trap to save him comrades.

Behind him, the bush rustled in the evening breeze and revealed Ginjō rising from his knee. Without uttering a single word, the man grinded his teeth but followed in his footsteps.

He ignored it in favor of keeping his eyes set on the entrance. The spark of spiritual energy coming in waves betrayed the existence of at least one another person in his vicinity. It seemed to be coming from the building and when he crossed half the distance between the bush and the mansion, the sound of the doors creaking caused him to stop moving. A short moment later, he watched as a man he had never seen walked out to the open, seemingly without a care in the world.

The unknown man was tall, slim and had shoulder-length black hair. Any other detail of his appearance went unnoticed as soon as Ichigo realized he was the source of the spiritual energy. But the aura of wrongness radiating within it made Ichigo squint and take a closer look at the man's face. There was a smug, a sort of conceited smirk plastered across his face. It was easy to deduce his identity.

"Hello there."

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"And you are Tsukishima."

"Indeed."

With the introductions said and done, Ichigo resumed walking towards the mansion and whether it was due to his grin or the manner in which he walked, he saw Tsukishima's smug expression falter. But then the man's eyes slid from his face and at the person behind him. In an instant, the man's smug smirk returned.

"Ginjō. It's been a while."

Though there was no answer, the sound of footsteps behind him didn't stop, prompting Tsukishima to look back at him. For a single instant, their eyes met and Ichigo did a double take.

It was brief, incredibly so, but he swore he saw a flash of panic flicker in the man's eyes. But it vanished so fast, he doubted his own sight.

"Come, let's talk."

A mixture of an invitation and an order, Tsukishima's voice was both sweet and sharp. Within a second since he said it, the man turned around, pushed the doors open wide and walked inside.

For a fraction of a second, Ichigo thought about ending the whole situation with a precise strike to the back of the man's unguarded head. Then he shook his head and the thought disappeared. Taking such drastic action wouldn't have solved the puzzle.

'I want to know more.'

With that thought in mind, he stepped inside and immediately had to shield his eyes from an intense light coming from a chandelier situated high above him. He found himself in a large, spacious lounge room filled with aristocracy of the late 19th century Britain; ornamental furniture, porcelain cups, chalices, saucers, teapots and more. It was like a window to the past and the irony wasn't lost on him.

"Ichigo! I'm so glad you're okay! Me and uncle Tsukishima were worried sick!"

A loud exclamation was followed with a tight embrace. It took him a second to realize who it was but when he did, he first placated the person with a light squeeze of her shoulders then hit the spot where the back of her head connected with neck with a chop. Like flipping a switch, her lights went out and he had to catch her limp body slid to the floor. In his mind, he recited a short apology and carried the unconscious woman to a nearby couch.

"Well, that wasn't very nice. She really was worried about you."

After he made sure she was comfortable, he straightened his back and pointed a fleeting gaze at the man who just spoke.

"You shouldn't have involved her in the first place." He said in as non-threatening voice her could muster, though from the way Tsukishima's hands twitched, he didn't do a very good job. But since he didn't want things to escalate just yet, he walked to another couch and made himself at home. From his spot, he watched Tsukishima relax and then mirror his action by taking a seat in the couch opposite of him.

At the same time, he knew he succeeded in stirring the man's emotions as the hint of cold calculation flickering in his eyes overshadowed the pleasant smile on his face.

"But I had to. How else could I make you come to me?" Tsukishima said with a lazy shrug.

Sensing a movement, Ichigo observed Ginjō's steps as the man sat down in the last available couch in the room. Only then he looked back at Tsukishima.

"Well, I heard there is a polite method most people use. It's called asking."

Tsukishima's eyes too, had followed Ginjō, and so, when a snort escaped through his nostrils and one of his eyebrows rose, he had to turn his head to catch Ichigo's stare.

"And you'd have come?"

Instead of giving an immediate reply, Ichigo raised his right hand and rested in on the armrest. Then he smirked.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I?"

Tsukishima let out a long-drawn quiet chuckle.

"Surely, you jest, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo mirrored his chuckle.

"On the contrary. Conscience does not make cowards of us all."

The other Tsukishima's eyebrow rose and joined the first.

"Ah, pardon my surprise. I haven't met many who enjoy the great works of Shakespeare."

Erasing the smirk from his face, a light smile played on Ichigo's lips as he bent his right arm in the elbow and tilted his head to the side to rest it on it.

"You haven't met me."

"I have now."

It was a strange situation. Despite meeting the man's eyes for more than a minute of silence, Ichigo couldn't shake the amusement building up beneath his skin. He had, of his free will, arrived to a meeting with a man the others had painted as the devil himself, yet the conversation ventured into topics he hadn't foreseen. Was it just a false sense of security, created through the lullaby of civil manners which allowed him to relax so much? Strangely bewildered, he glanced in Ginjō's direction but nothing seemed out of the ordinary – the only thing the leader of Xcution had done so far was letting his leg jump up and down.

"You seem very relaxed."

He looked away from Ginjō and back at Tsukishima and challenged the claim with a twitch of his brow.

"Do I have a reason not to be?"

Tsukishima smiled and, raising both his arms, gestured at the spacious room they were in.

"Considering you are in your enemy's base, I would think so."

An imperceptible grin flickered on Ichigo's face.

"Am I?"

Satisfied with himself, he saw a confused frown form on the man's face.

"Come again?"

At last, he managed to steer the pointless conversation towards a relevant topic. And though he was very much aware of the increasing oscillation of Ginjō's leg, he shifted in his seat and, while pushing his backside further into the couch, leaned a tiny bit forward. As he did so, he also placed both his elbows on his knees and used both his hands as a support for his chin. Then he pierced Tsukishima with a searching but sharp gaze.

"Tell me, Tsukishima-san, are you my enemy?"

Reaction in the room was instantaneous. Tsukishima's smile withered, his mouth formed a thin line and his eyes widened. At the same time, Ginjō jumped on his feet and looked at Ichigo as if he suddenly grew another heard.

"What the hell are you talking about, Kurosaki?! He took Jackie, Giriko, Riruka, Yukio and even your aunt! Of course he's an enemy!"

But Ichigo's didn't even twitch.

"I know he took them. But I see my aunt and feel the spiritual energy of the others, hiding somewhere in the next room. Not one of them seem to be injured or otherwise harmed."

"He attacked your friend!"

Ichigo let out a brief humming sound and, after glancing at Ginjō, narrowed his eyes at Tsukishima.

"My acquaintance… and he's fine too. Which begs the question. What is your reason for doing all this, Tsukishima? You sure are sending mixed signals."

"There's no point in talking! As long as he lives, his Fullbring remains active! Kurosaki, if Tsukishima stays alive, your aunt will never return to normal!" Ginjō exclaimed, causing Ichigo's narrowed eyes to narrow even further.

"Is that true?" He asked Tsukishima.

The answer never came. A flash of light, accompanied with an angry roar, filled the room and Tsukishima was forced to dodge a large, wide, double-edged longsword. It seemed Ginjō had enough.

But his blade didn't connect with the living flesh of a human body. In its stead, Tsukishima's seat fell to each side, cleaved in half and the man himself landed on the lower part of a nearby staircase.

"Tsukishimaaaa!"

The battle was on. On cue, a loud thunder crashed outside and caused the entire building to tremble. However, Ichigo remained calm as a surface of a pond, touched by light summer breeze. His only action was to stand up, drag himself to the couch with Ikumi where he sat down and acted as a protective shield in case of a stray attack or debris. Careful to the extreme, he watched the fight unfold and analyzed as much as he was able to.

Soon enough the lounge room proved to be small to the two combatants and they both moved up the stairs and to the upper floor. There, Tsukishima forced Ginjō to retreat into a distant room and Ichigo was left with two options - either move from the spot and follow after them or stay where he was, observe the battle with his spiritual sense and hope for them to return.

He stayed, though one corner of his mouth curved downwards and his jaw muscles clenched. No matter how thin, the link he had formed with the Fullbringers refused to go away and clawed at his conscience.

The fight dragged on for another minute during which five other reiatsu signatures rose to prominence and clashed with the one belonging to Ginjō. Amid one of such clashes, Ichigo's eyes narrowed. It seemed the rest of the Xcution joined the fight and Ichigo knew it wouldn't take long before it was all over. As good as Ginjō was, there was no way he stood a chance in a one versus six scenario. Unless his strength was way over Ichigo's estimation.

But several explosions which caused the walls and the ceiling to crack later, Ginjō emerged through the smoke and sailed through the air, only to land in the middle of the room on one knee. He was bruised and out of breath, but otherwise surprisingly unharmed. His opponents landed right below the staircase.

"Kurosaki!"

It was only at that moment Ginjō realized where Ichigo was and what he was doing.

"Don't worry about her and back me up! I can't do this alone!"

For a second, a wave of pity swelled in Ichigo's soul but he squashed it with an iron fist.

"Eh, you're fine."

It was an unexpected answer and Ginjō flinched, as if struck by a bullet, and staggered backwards until his back collided with a wall. His eyes, until now filled with determination, showed utter disbelief an uncertainty. Then his expression hardened.

"I see. So, he got to you too, huh? He turned you against me before I found you?!"

Ichigo stared at him for a full minute. At the back of his mind, he was aware of the fact the others seemed frozen in place, their faces betraying their surprise. He ignored them. He had to. He knew he would falter otherwise. Then he released a deep sigh which crawled all the way from his abdomen and let his face undergo a drastic change.

Friendliness vanished, replaced with stare of a warrior capable to see through illusions of truth and his body, though relaxed, was ready to spring into action at the moment's notice. When he spoke, his voice carried the harsh undertone which promised suffering upon a recognized lie.

"Enough. Please don't insult me by continuing this charade. Or did you think I wouldn't notice the moment when your spiritual energy wavered and Tsukishima's reiryoku invaded it? He cut you but I get the feeling he didn't change who you are."

He didn't give Ginjō the time he needed to react. With narrowed eyes, his tone dropped an octave lower and he recalled the conversation with Kūkaku several days ago.

"What is your true aim, Kūgo Shiba?"

End of Chapter 48.

Apologies for the delay. I've been sick, lacked motivation and was dissatisfied with everything that I've written. If you want further clarification check out my profile.

I also apologize for any grammatical errors or misspelled words - I didn't want to push the release date any further.

Aside from that, we enter the final stage of this arc. Though some parts have been similar to the original due to obvious reasons, the arc as a whole is not. I said it before but my aim was to show a new side of our main character - the one capable of manipulating the events in his life. The hardships he had gone through weren't for nothing.

So, why is Ginjo a Shiba? How does Ichigo know about this? How does it fit into the narrative and where's the connection with the rest of the story? Well, since the next chapter is also the last one in this arc, you'll get some answers but not all.

But everything is connected and intertwined.

For reviews:

Dinner - that's a difficult question which touches upon the very concept of the Bleach world that I'm creating for this story, mainly what are Hollows at their lowest, basic level. But though he as a character doesn't know everything, Ginjo's remark about Ichigo not being normal is spot-on. It is not normal that he is able to produce a Hollow-based ability like Fullbring using his heart as the source and conduit. That is also why he called it 'primordial', as in something which may very well be the basis from which Fullbring was derived. Not to mention that what Ichigo created isn't a Fullbring in its usual form - he is no longer a living human and Fullbring is an ability of humans, after all.

Takei Daloui - rather recently, I read a great line about Ginjo - that he's what Ichigo would have turned into if he had learned about all the sins of the Soul Society and had decided to rebel against it. That's why though Ichigo lookes determined at the end of this chapter, he's aware he may end up doing something unforgivable.

lara5170 - things won't go that route. About the question - well, Ginjo is a very special case (very, very special) but yeah, I guess if there was somebody with an ability to absorb his powers, it wouldn't end well.

D - originally, I wanted to react to this but... you wrote is so well, I don't think I can say anything else.

As always, my thanks goes to the rest of the reviewers too, as well as all the readers! And that's all from me for now. Next chapter will deal with the resolution and Ichigo welcomes his spirits back.

Next chapter - Chapter 48: Agent of Judgement (Beyond Good and Evil)