Editing/QC: Trolzylulzy
Blegh. Thats how I feel about the delays with this one. Just...blegh.
Some of you may remember that I had recently moved, but a bunch of irl crap that came up immediately afterwards was another heavy blow to my writing time. Don't want to bother you with all the details, but I will once again say this: I ain't never giving up, and this will be finished properly. Which I feel needed to be clarified due to the sheer amount of time it took me to get this out.
Again: blegh.
Anyways, here we are. I want to once again thank everyone who's still hanging on and waiting ever so patiently for my uploads.
Also, a small apology ahead of time to anyone out there who quite likes Lieutenant Hisagi...such as my editor, who was very annoyed with me once he looked over this chapter. It was necessary, I swear.
Enjoy!
Chapter 18:
"Hey, did you guys hear the news?"
Tatsuki raised her head at the question, frowning at Keigo for a moment before she remembered. "You mean the weird weather reports from last night?"
Her energetic classmate threw his hands up as if to say 'well duh', looking exasperated. "Do I mean the weird weather?! Of course I do, it's still happening! Sudden storms, crazy temperature changes – you know there were reports of an explosion overseas, out in the middle of nowhere? And they didn't find any cause for it!"
"Oh, yeah?"Tatsuki was trying to sound as if she was interested, she really was. She was just failing. Keigo seemed to pick up on this, wilting for a brief moment.
"Hey, Mizuiro, back me up here!" He pleaded, turning away.
Their black-haired classmate nearby glanced up from where he'd been tapping away at his phone, one casual eyebrow raised. "Not more conspiracy theories, I hope?"
He and Tatsuki smiled a bit at the aggravated noise their friend made before, surprisingly, he grew more serious, looking back down. "Actually, I think Keigo's right."
"I-I am…?" the boy in question said, sounding as if he could hardly believe what he was hearing.
"For once, yeah," Mizuiro nodded, sinking into a seat next to Tatsuki. "I've been getting messages from all over the place. Thunder without any clouds around in Africa, sudden hurricane-force winds over in America. An entire city in Europe just went dark, apparently enough electricity went through the power lines to take out the power plants themselves, they've never seen anything like it."
"Wha- how the heck do you know about any of that? It wasn't on the news earlier!"
Mizuiro shrugged easily, giving them a mysterious sort of smile. "You know…friends."
Tatsuki snorted out a laugh, shaking her head. "You have always been weirdly connected." The two continued to bicker casually as she found herself pondering the news.
Unnatural weather, random power outages? Not so long ago, we would have been seeing similar things here in Karakura. Although not on the same scale.
She frowned as a realization struck.
In fact, this town's been weirdly quiet compared to before Ichigo…
A sudden wave of sadness threatened to overtake her for a moment, but she resisted it – and the urge to look around for Orihime. Tatsuki sighed, turning slightly to see the noonday sun streaming through the classroom windows, casting everything in a warm glow. She thought, very briefly, that if it meant having the occasional oddity occur in the town, she'd much rather have her old friend back.
An odd noise from Mizuiro brought her back to reality as he frowned down at his phone again.
"The storms, they all just…stopped."
O--O--O
"Any update?!" Hisagi bit out, using the split-second he had a hand free to tap the communicator on his ear into life; the crackling 'negative' from the other end only deepened his exhaustion. Narrowly dodging several strikes, the agile man tugged Kazeshini into a whirling pattern behind as he darted away from the main group of Arrancar pursuing relentlessly.
In the many hours since the battle had begun their regular forces had been nearly routed, no matter how fiercely Captain Komamura and he had fought. Nearly three hours after the rest had been ordered to retreat back to the Seireitei only he, Lieutenant Iba, and the huge captain remained - and they were reaching their limit. The previously tranquil stretch of mountainous countryside that the conflict had drifted to was littered with the gruesome remains of both sides, bodies scattered and torn leaving trails of crimson in the wake of their struggle.
With a shout Iba leapt in behind the Arrancar closing in, scoring a deep cut on one with his oddly-shaped Shikai before whipping a devastating punch into the face of another; the meaty crunch of bone that followed made even Hisagi wince. Taking another moment while the Hollows scrambled to respond to the new threat, he managed to catch another glimpse of Captain Komamura's gigantic Bankai sweeping through another group of enemies a short way away.
The other Lieutenant dashed up to join him, breathing labored and favoring one hand gingerly.
"Tough bastards," he grinned ruefully, ever-present sunglasses glinting in the sunlight, "even their faces are harder to hurt. Worked though, eh?"
Hisagi let out a weary laugh, noting the rest of the Arrancar, nearly a dozen, circling the pair warily. Iba noticed as well, the humor fading from his expression. They traded a look before moving back-to-back, raising their Zanpakuto in readiness.
"Any idea on how much longer we have?" Iba muttered.
Hisagi shook his head, taking a moment to make sure the enemy wasn't attacking yet.
"Haaaa…'course not. Well, got any ideas? The Captain and I are tough, but I don't think this is going to last much longer."
"Yeah…" His eyes flicked down to the sickle in his right hand, the silent affirmation in his mind coming almost eagerly. "Iba, how much time can you buy me?"
The burly man scratched at his jaw.
"Against this many? How much do you need?"
"As much as you can give me."
Iba shot him a searching look. A slow, wide grin grew. "You got it." The Lieutenant let out a strange combination of laugh and bellow, leaping towards the tightest pack of Hollows as Hisagi raised both sickles in preparation, focusing inwards.
Kazeshini…it's time.
A low cackle echoed in his mind, a surge of energy rushing out from the poles in his hands. He moved the weapons up in front of him, one blade from each interlocked with its twin. Visible strands of reiatsu began to waft off the steel, and he heard the Arrancar shout a warning just before a shimmering yellow Kido barrier formed in the air around him, neatly diverting a cero that had been sent his way.
Still focusing, he sent a silent thanks to Iba as his power flared again. Hisagi let out a long breath, eyes snapping open as he spoke.
"Ban-"
"Oi!"
Startled, he looked around, just barely catching the signs of a garganta portal shrinking and fading into the air.
"Did you scare them off?" Iba landed nearby, rugged features looking as if he couldn't decide whether to be pleased or annoyed.
"Uh…"
Lowering his Zanpakuto, they both looked over to see Captain Komamura's Bankai slowly dissipating into thin air as well, not a single live Hollow left around him.
"...I don't think that was me."
O--O--O
--Hueco Mundo--
Three portals tore open, splitting the serene desert; five silhouettes emerged.
Nelliel sheathed her Zanpakuto slowly as she stepped onto the moonlit sands, hiding any outward signs of weariness and brushing at the scuffs and dirt on her clothes as she waved Pesche and Dondochakka away. Starrk followed after wordlessly, the man immediately heading to the side and plopping down in the sand some ways away, his tiny follower trailing along morosely. To her left Grimmjow stalked out of his own garganta, looking furious and showing visible wear and tear from battle; his entire right forearm in particular was coated in gore. Barragan ignored his fellow Espada and fracción both as he emerged looking none the worse for wear, stomping away to form his customary bone-encrusted throne and seat himself with a – also customary – huff of impatience. Ulquiorra quietly landing to her right she barely registered for a moment until a certain lack of something else caught her attention.
"Ulquiorra, where is Yammy?"
The Fourth Espada met her eyes with the same cold absence as always, but there was a faint tinge of annoyance in his voice when he finally spoke. "…Dead."
Grimmjow abruptly stopped pacing, while Barragan's wrinkled features scrunched together more than usual; even Starrk's head lifted up from his prone position in the sand so far away.
"How in the hell-" Grimmjow started to snarl before yet another portal split the air nearby, spilling out two struggling figures.
Harribel? And…is that..?
With a loud impact Ichigo was launched away from the portal as his and the Third Espada's fracción spilled out, all bearing the stains of combat.
Tier Harribel had released her Resurrección at some point, curved plates and a skirt of smooth bones covering her modesty while angular gauntlets and boots wreathed her limbs. Her Zanpakuto had converted to a somewhat nostalgic form; a massive double-edged greatsword in the shape of a shark's tooth that she fluidly swapped to her right hand, her eyes fixed on their young friend as he rose from the crouch he had landed in after his short flight.
Ichigo, on the other hand, was hardly recognizable. She had seen his Resurrección once before, but the man she saw now was something else entirely; his bright orange hair was matted with dirt and blood both, more coating his exposed arms and face, which was split in a wild smirk that seemed far too wide to be entirely natural. More crimson stained his hands, the fingers curled and twitching. His eyes, back to their glowing yellow irises and inky black sclera, darted around at each Espada before focusing again on Harribel; he let out an odd high-pitched giggle, vocal cords audibly strained and cracking, and pounced.
Nel immediately darted forwards, intercepting one clawed hand with her own blade. Wincing from the force, she managed to shove him away and shout for assistance. Harribel leapt in without hesitation, keeping Ichigo at bay for a precious few seconds before he blinked away with repeated Sonido, reappearing in the distance. With an echoing shriek, his blood-red reiatsu erupted with staggering force, whipping the desert sand into a whirling frenzy of sound. Nel grimaced, readying herself for another long fight – a low growling laugh from behind threw her off and Grimmjow rushed past, bloodied hand whipping out his sword, expression feral.
"Grind, PANTERA!" The Espada leapt, vanishing in a whirlwind and emerging covered in plate-like armor segments, feline tail and long blue mane of hair streaming behind as he collided claw-to-claw with Ichigo.
Surprising, but not unwelcome…
She turned away, looking to Harribel for answers as she stepped closer, lingering only a moment on seeing the blonde woman's face fully for the first time. Coming level with Nel on a slightly raised dune, she took several moments to lean on her massive weapon wearily.
"I'm not sure what brought this on," the Espada admitted once she had caught her breath. "It seemed like the longer he was in his released state, the more unstable he became. In the end, we had to force him to retreat once the order came. I managed to lure him through the garganta thanks to these two." At this she nodded to Yin and Yang nearby, who, while appearing just as tired as the rest, still inclined their heads respectfully. Her own followers approached as well, watching the two Espada in the distance clash with a metallic screech.
Everyone present started uncomfortably as another voice echoed in their minds, only realizing a moment later that it was coming through the telepathic link that the Ninth Espada, Aaroniero, maintained in times of urgency: "Are you all very done just letting him run around like that?"
The impatience in Szayelaporro's voice was apparent even in its disembodied form.
Nel's green brows furrowed in annoyance. "Can't you do anything yourself?" she asked, wincing some at seeing Grimmjow take a vicious slash to one shoulder – he rebounded a moment later, still grinning.
"I suppose I could."
There was a long pause.
"…And?"
"I don't, as such, care to."
Harribel frowned disapprovingly, while the tirade of curses Nel flew into that would have made even the most taciturn soul flinch.
"Fine then," Nel snapped, thoroughly exhausted of the entire situation, "we're stopping him ourselves."
Harribel nodded as if nothing strange had happened, straightening her stance. "Do you have a plan?"
The dark-skinned woman saw her expression darken moodily before Pesche suddenly stepped up, one finger raised and his pale eyes on the Third Espada's weapon thoughtfully.
"If I might suggest a rather, ah...blunt approach?"
O--O--O
Several minutes later they were set, their roles determined. The two Espada prepared themselves to intercept and deflect Ichigo's assaults as long as possible, while the seven fracción assembled to the side; the twin sisters still looked nervous, the Tres Bestias weary but grimly determined. Pesche and Dondochakka somehow appeared rather bored with the proceedings.
"We've been through worse," the pale-skinned man assured them with a roguish wink, while the larger of the pair had just nodded ponderously.
Lady Nelliel cast them a final look before nodding at her fellow Espada, darting forwards and into the fray – to Grimmjow's immediate and audible displeasure.
Their master let out another cackling laugh as the two flanked him on both sides, blades sweeping both at his head and legs. As expected, he evaded with an agile twist, vanishing in a blur and appearing to the side – just in time for the rest to act.
Yin and her sister dashed forwards, a salvo of fireballs and blindingly fast snaps of her whip catching the man off guard. Dondochakka suddenly reared from behind, his huge studded club descending at the back of Ichigo's head with startling speed. The same reflexes as before saved the young Espada, one clawed hand catching the weapon with a snarl, the other knifing in at the Arrancar's exposed stomach – Pesche appeared in between, his glowing Zanpakuto sending the strike aside with a deft parry. Lady Nelliel joined in as they backed off, the rapid exchange of blows between the two so fast it sounded like the metallic crashing of a cymbal. After she disengaged, Mila Rose and Apacci distracted Ichigo with a series of lunging feints long enough for Sung-Sun to dart out of the sand, the huge serpentine tail of her released form catching the Espada mid-jump and sending him into the desert with a colossal crash.
This exchange continued for a time, the two Espada occupying Ichigo enough to render his speed ineffective with the other Arrancar forming a sort of perimeter to hem him in. The increasingly frustrated sounds he was making attested to the effectiveness of the strategy, though all present had to wonder if the final stroke would be enough.
Finally he let out an inhuman howl of frustration, the force of which sent Nelliel and Yang flying. Dondochakka appeared far ahead of where Ichigo was running to, the jaws of his mask agape as he reared back, and with a bright yellow flash a small horde of insect-like Hollows erupted, temporarily hiding the Espada from sight as they swarmed over his form. Another loud screech and many of the beasts erupted into insubstantial vapor, disappearing just as quickly as they had appeared. Before the cloud dispersed Harribel appeared above with a Sonido, raising her weapon swiftly and crying out "Cascada!" With the titanic sound of rushing waves, a swirling mass of water erupted from the blade, condensing into a pillar and flooding the surrounding desert for several hundred feet with an earth-shattering crash.
Several long moments passed before Ichigo reared from a waist-deep pool, eyes crazed and snarling like a wounded beast – before he could react Yin appeared over a nearby dune, visibly crackling with power, and sent her whip into the waters with a shout.
All present were blinded as the electrical current leapt through the available liquid, the desert lighting up like day for several brief seconds until the inevitable happened: the area disappeared as clouds of steam violently erupted, sending a massive cloud as had never been seen before in Hueco Mundo into the night skies above.
Sudden, jarring silence reigned immediately afterwards, until a slight sound was heard from the middle of the mist; Ichigo appeared once more, chest heaving, his body scorched and twitching uncontrollably. His head raised, and they still saw the same crazed fervor as before in those yellow eyes –
Without a sound, Harribel once again appeared behind him, her greatsword raised at head height as she whipped the flat of the blade forwards as hard as she could.
THWACK
O--O--O
Ichigo held one hand gingerly to his temple, a groan slipping out as the spot – and consequently his entire head – throbbed painfully. An instant later he realized he was lying down, propping himself up on one elbow as gingerly as possible. It took another minute or so before he could manage to crack open one eye without even the slightest bit of light searing through his skull, but finally he could take in his surroundings, albeit very slowly.
Holy sh-
With several slurred curses and a healthy amount of panic surging through the mental fog, he flattened himself back down, desperately searching for better purchase. His initial surprise wore off while the adrenaline worked its way through his system, finally clearing his head enough to try and process the situation. He was, he saw, on a titanic skyscraper; the surface of which was made of thousands of identical, blue-tinted and mirror-bright panes of glass, impossible to see through and so uniform in their placement that even at the seams there was hardly anything to grip on to across the entire width.
Relevant, primarily, because he was currently trying his best to stick to the side like some ungainly starfish, belly first and spread-eagled.
With some annoyance tinged with panic he realized he was also out of his released state and his Zanpakuto was nowhere to be seen, so he didn't have any claws to help his tenuous hold. Carefully looking up only revealed more of the same until the structure cut off some several hundred feet above, an inky-black sky stretching away as far as he could see. Another cautious look over one shoulder, while causing another mild rush of vertigo, showed that he was what must be hundreds of stories high on the building. Otherwise, the entirety of the visible horizon was an unbroken expanse of featureless nighttime desert.
Is this Hueco Mundo? I vaguely remember coming back, but I've never seen this place...
Finally gathering himself, Ichigo dug his fingers into the tiny seams between the windows, preparing to jump off and land as safely as possible.
Okay. Three...two...one.
He inhaled sharply and let go.
A long few seconds passed before he processed the fact that he wasn't falling yet, and another long pause before he felt confident enough to try and figure out why. Hesitantly he pushed away from the glass, and only then did he realize that somehow, gravity was no longer pulling down to the ground, but instead horizontally to the surface of the building.
"What the hell...?" Ichigo muttered, still rather wary as he rose to his feet – sideways. The thought alone had him swaying, which to his chagrin didn't help his pounding headache in the slightest. He looked around unsteadily, still unsure of his footing on the smooth glass, when suddenly he realized he wasn't alone; there was another figure nearer than he to the top of the structure.
...Nothing else to do except try.
As he approached warily Ichigo began to notice something odd. The being was seated on the very edge of the corner, legs hanging off the edge dizzyingly, and stared off into the distance without having seemed to notice him yet. The strange thing was that he couldn't quite pin down even what it was; the silhouette seemed to waver and fade unpredictably, like tattered cloth twisting and furling in a slow breeze. Then, finally, it seemed to realize it wasn't alone. The figure half-turned while remaining seated, and Ichigo stopped in surprise some dozen feet away at the sight.
With the movement he could at last see that he wasn't seeing things, and in fact the being's entire body and dark hair, the same inky black color but tinged blue, were both trailing and shifting around its form unnaturally. The only real human features appeared as a pair of eyes and a span of pale white skin above; nothing lower was visible, the rest of its face hidden by the same shifting black mist.
He caught a flash of color from one flat blue eye before the figure turned away again, a low, male voice scratchy and rough from misuse barely audible: "Leave me be, creature."
Ichigo stopped, frowning at the defeated tone. Once he had, the strange figure slowly looked back over, angular brows raising.
"…No taunts today?" At this the being seemed to scrutinize him for a moment. With no reply forthcoming he sighed. "I won't complain, I suppose. Do what you will, just let me fade away in peace."
For some reason this rankled him, a scowl forming. "The hell do you mean by that?"
The man's angular brows rose for a moment. He then struggled to his feet unsteadily, eerily flat gaze never leaving Ichigo. Once fully risen it was even more apparent how insubstantial the man appeared; the odd fluttering effect of his silhouette and the inky black mist surrounding his lower face made it seem as if he would simply float away in a slight breeze.
He unconsciously took a step back at the intensity of the man's stare, which widened at the motion.
"It can't be…"
"Huh?"
The man wavered for several seconds. "Is that really you, Ichigo?"
What a weird question. "Uh…yeah. Do I know you?"
"I…I am-"
What the man said next Ichigo couldn't make out, as if the word had turned to noiseless static. Some of his confusion must have shown, for the figure nodded slowly. "I see."
"You see what?!"
The sudden outburst surprised both the mysterious figure – and himself – but at this point he was far too incensed by everything else recently to care.
"Cut the cryptic crap! Who the hell are you? Where is this? And why the fuck is everything god-damned sideways?!"
His shout vanished into the night sky without even an echo. The black-wreathed man blinked before the skin around his eyes wrinkled slightly, and Ichigo thought he might have smiled for a moment. The man began to speak after another long pause; Ichigo expected things to start making sense at that point.
They didn't.
O--O--O
--Soul Society, Fourth Division medical ward--
"Get this group to the intensive care ward, now."
"I need first aid here!"
"Where did Captain Zaraki run off to?!"
Raised voices and the clamor of the Fourth Division's medical center rang in his ears rather painfully. Spotting a temporary lull at the front doors, he made his way to them as swiftly as he could-
"Where are you going, Captain?"
A soothingly soft voice stopped him mere feet from the exit, but Byakuya Kuchiki knew better than to disregard the question. He turned just enough to see Captain Unohana stepping closer, her kind expression darkening somewhat as she saw the bloodstains still seeping through his Haori. Fighting the urge to leave regardless, he inclined his head respectfully. "I didn't think my injuries so severe as to bother your squad. I wished to recover at my own estate."
The elder captain frowned. "Preposterous, you are barely on your feet. You will stay here."
His lips parted to decline again, but she interrupted him swiftly. "I must insist, Captain. For your own good."
An involuntary shiver went down his spine at the expression that flashed across her deceptively warm face. He nodded begrudgingly and allowed himself to be led to a private room the next hallway over. Unohana murmured several quiet incantations as he reclined gingerly, speaking to the nearby attendants before extracting a promise from him not to leave without her permission – another two chilling smiles saw to that – and she left him to their care. In record time his injuries were cleaned and dressed in pristine white bandages, the last around his head to cover a particularly deep cut above one brow, and he was finally left alone with his thoughts.
The commander was right, Byakuya mused quietly, thinking over the exhaustingly long night. The Hollow forces were strong, but almost less so than we would have expected.
At first the enemy had seemed nearly endless in numbers, both hundreds of average Hollows and the much more powerful Arrancar, but as the fighting intensified, they seemed...unprepared for the level of resistance they encountered.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and a slim form entered.
"Rukia."
"Brother." his adopted sister bowed slightly before stepping to his bedside, appearing both happy to see him and distressed to see his extensive array of bandages. She, on the other hand, looked hardly the worse for wear other than the tired lines around her eyes. "Were the forces you encountered that dangerous?" She asked after a moment, watching him carefully.
"It would seem so," he admitted easily; there was no shame in the injuries he had sustained. "What of your own battle?"
To his faint surprise, Rukia's expression turned difficult.
"I...I'm not exactly sure. I faced the strangest pair of Hollows I have ever seen...two of my captors from before, actually. The thing is, I don't believe they were really aiming to kill."
Byakuya raised one brow curiously, remembering the tales of her temporary imprisonment in Las Noches. "I would not have expected leniency from any Hollow, no matter your familiarity."
Again, her expression tightened. "Neither did I."
Resolving to look into the matter at another time, Byakuya gave her a moment to shake away the memories before continuing. "I believe I faced another known enemy as well. The orange-haired boy."
Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, glancing again at his numerous wounds. She went to say something when a knock came at the door, and with the words forgotten she went to open it automatically. A Fourth Division nurse was revealed to be on the other side, dressed all in white and looking rather flustered – and, oddly enough, somewhat pink in the face.
"I apologize for the interruption, Captain, Lieutenant," the woman said while bowing to each in turn, "There seems to be an important visitor for you, here on orders of the Captain-Commander himself."
Rukia frowned. "In regard to what?"
"I believe it was about the Hollow you both encountered. Apologies, ma'am, I don't know much more." She then turned and held the door open for a much larger figure.
Byakuya's eyes widened at the sight, and with vivid clarity he remembered the old reports that Captain Komamura had brought to the Seireitei's attention in the past months. Rukia stood transfixed, as if she had seen a ghost.
It can't be…
O--O--O
Ichigo's brow dipped into a familiar 'V' shape as his mind worked away; a short distance away the strange figure was gazing back out over the desert without a word.
Okay...I think I get it.
"So...let me get this straight." he began hesitantly, causing the other man to glance over. "This place is my...what, 'inner world'?"
"Yes."
"And you were – er, are - my Zanpakuto?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Right. And you've been here since...?"
"The beginning," the man said quietly, sounding incredibly tired.
"And you know now – sort of – what happened to me. As far as I know."
"Yes. Normally those inside this world would always be aware of what is happening outside, but we were somehow...cut off."
Ichigo blinked. "What do you mean 'we'?"
The figure turned again in surprise before seeming to shake himself slightly. "Apologies, I forgot you don't know anything, even...as you are."
The odd statement had Ichigo frowning, but it was forgotten as the man gathered himself and continued.
"There were, in the beginning, three in this world. Myself as your Shinigami power, a strange aged man that represented your Quincy heritage – I never knew his name – and another creature who embodied your inner Hollow. When you were alive, we three existed here in a sort of balance; each was equal to the other, and your human self ensured that we remained separate, individual. With your...passing," he said delicately, "something changed. You said you were killed by a Hollow?"
Ichigo's expression tightened at the memory. "Yeah."
The man nodded. "I believe that to be the catalyst for what came next." He sighed as if the mere thought pained him. "All I remember is this world shattering, the very land and sky crumbling away. I knew at that instant you had left the mortal world, and somehow the Hollow inside of you was...empowered. In that instant, your soul was drawn not to the Soul Society as would have been expected, but flung away into the depths of Hueco Mundo. From there, I do not know what happened."
"I woke up in the Menos Forest," Ichigo provided.
The man's eyes narrowed in thought. "That should be impossible. Turning into a Hollow would typically reform the soul nearby, still in the mortal realm."
"I've been told that 'impossible' has never really applied in my situation."
"Clearly," he replied in amusement, though the levity quickly faded. "With that, this world became dominated by your Hollow self, as I assume you began to gain strength in the outside as a Menos?"
Ichigo recalled the voracious and unending hunger he had awoken to, replying with only a nod.
"I see. Then that is when things...diverged."
The dark change in the man's voice had Ichigo looking back up. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Ichigo, that I should not even exist. I am the incarnation of your Soul Reaper self, as such I should have been consumed by the Hollow without hesitation – and yet here I remain. Not only that, but I have been slowly growing stronger over time. I do not know how, and I do not know why. All I can tell is that you have gained control, and perhaps one day you will be able to hear my name. I cannot even begin to guess at anything else."
"Right..." Most things that the man had said made logical sense, but it was all going to take time to process. He suddenly realized that one detail had never been covered. "What happened to the other two that were here? Where did they go?"
His question roused the being from his thoughts, and those eerie blue eyes turned down to the distant base of the building they stood on. "The old man is still alive, but as the Hollow grew, he seemed to diminish...unsurprising, considering his origin." Ichigo squinted, barely making out a dark pool of shadow slightly out of place in the sand far below.
"As for the other, I'd hoped that would be obvious," he heard the Zanpakuto spirit say quietly, and Ichigo turned back to see it looking at him. Slowly, its gaze drifted down to the mirror-bright glass they stood on.
A nearly perfect photo-negative of himself stared back, eyes burning like yellow coals.