Author's Note:
Hey guys, I'm soooo sorry for taking so long with the recent chapter. I had to study for my O levels and didn't have much time to do it up. Here's the continuation of his training. If you guys have any comments on how I can improve the story or descriptions, don't hesitate to let me know, and I'll see what I can do.
Also, this chapter may seem slip-shod but I spent 5 hours working on it, cracking my head on how the heck Ichigo and his Hollow were supposed to defeat THAT many Zangetsu... I've been making this up as I went along since the 2nd Chapter anyways LOL... So, I hope you enjoy. I believe the next chapter will be the last one with fighting, then the one after that will be the concluding chapter. Have to figure out a way to close this thing... So, enjoy smiley
0...0...0...0...0...0...0
"Tsk," the Hollow smirked and twirled his twin daitos about him and became a tornado of blades, the swarm of Zangetsu about him charging forth only to be diced into pieces. The Hollow ended his attack and leapt into the air, releasing his two blades and grabbing their chains, spinning the blades furiously, causing wind to pick up speed about him. Cackling, the demon arced his fall and landed in the midst of several Zangetsu and proceeded to allow his twin death-blades to do their work, cutting neatly into the flesh of the enemy and leaving the body little more than an empty shell. The more death he caused, the more power the Hollow seemed to gain, his manic laughter rising in pitch and his eyes glowing with joy. Indeed, the corpses of the men he killed began to disintegrate and dissolve into black shards of reiatsu and poured into the Hollow. Finally, the Hollow released his left daito and sent it spinning into a group of Zangetsu a little way off, just to buy him sometime to check on his partner.
"Ichigo!" the Hollow called out as he spun his remaining daito in his right hand and stabbed it backwards into the Zangetsu behind him, "Tired yet?"
"You wish!" Ichigo muttered as he swung his cleaver side to side, each slash sending forth a Getsuga Tenshou that shattered at least three Zangetsu. Not that it mattered, their numbers were overwhelming and with the over-sized katanas they were wielding, it was impossible for Ichigo and his Hollow to defeat them, only to hold them off. They had been fighting for hours on end without rest, and this had to end. Soon.
Ichigo's right foot lashed out behind him, catching the face of Zangetsu, and leapt off, reversing his grip on his blade and causing the elegant blade to follow the shape of his body, itself becoming a cacoon of silver light coving Ichigo as he spun rapidly in the air, his cleaver glowing with an eerie silver hue as it gained reiatsu. The light grew brighter and brighter as Ichigo's spin picked up speed, and the Hollow below turned and looked up in amusement, beginning to understand what Ichigo was trying to do. He was becoming a nexus of reiatsu, a super-absorber of energy, drawing all power to himself. It was one of the few techniques that they had devised while training to battle Zangetsu.
Ichigo cried out, his eyes burning with a silver power, reiatsu pumping through his veins and blasted forth, begging to be released to cause the destruction it was destined to wraught. The Hollow slashed at a Zangetsu and leapt into the air, following Ichigo's attack and spinning as well, doubling the power of the attack with his blade, Tensa Zangetsu in his hand, his own white reiatsu pouring from his blade. The two ovals of white spun in synchrony and continued to draw in reiatsu, the swarm of Zangetsu being drawn in as well from the sheer force of the vacuum of power that was Ichigo and his Hollow. The two ovals spun quickly and soon, it appeared to be one pure circle of white light, the only hints of the two partners within being the currents of reiatsu if you looked closely.
Energy built and cackled, lightning spurting out from the dance of the two blobs of light that were now one, striking a Zangetsu each time and causing the enemy to blow up into shards of dark reiatsu, only to be absorbed by the power that was Ichigo and his Hollow. The power continued to build and increase, the electric buzz in the air now rising to a shrill whistle, the wind spinning about them, becoming a cyclone. The turbulences caused by the force of the attack drew every Zangetsu close to the two dancing lights, where their bodies were scorched from the sheer, unadulterated power radiating from it.
"GETSUGA!" with a single attack, Ichigo and his Hollow combined. With a single strike, Ichigo and the Hollow were one. They were unstoppable. "TENSHOU!"
0...0...0...0...0...0...0
"They are powerful indeed," muttered Zangetsu several miles away as what was no more than a nuclear explosion of reiatsu went off. "Perhaps they've finally learnt to tap into my power… But that is not the point of this exercise, is it?". The dust settled, and only the two combatants, the black and the white, where left standing in the midst of the debris. Nothing was left but for the pathetic platform they stood on, held up by a single pillar of stone.
"Yes," Zangetsu mused, "I do believe it is time for them to tap into their own power,"
0...0...0...0...0...0...0
"ARGH!" Ichigo fell backwards and landed on his back, the cleaver falling from his lifeless fingers, numb from the physical exertion. "That was close…"
The Hollow turned and glared over his shoulder down at Ichigo, "Buck up, you wimp. The battle has only just started!"
"WHAT?!" Ichigo bolted upright and stared unbelieving at the Hollow, "Are you serious? What are we supposed to do now?" His reply was silence as the Hollow ignored him and turned to face the distance figure.
"Ichigo, Hollow!" Zangetsu called out from afar as his figure slowly drifted over, his feet never touching the ground, "Very well done. I couldn't have done it better myself. With that many of my duplicates, I expected the two of you to crumble under them. Especially since I removed most of the power in your blades before the battle itself..."
"What?" Ichigo was taken aback, "You mean, you actually cheated?!"
"Now, Ichigo," chided the Hollow, "Don't tell me you didn't notice it got harder to fire off a Getsuga Tenshou after that swarm showed up, did you?"
"Enough!" Zangetsu snapped his fingers and caused Ichigo and his Hollow's weapons to disappear into nothingness, "Ichigo, Hollow, I applaud you in that warm-up exercise. Now, the true battle begins!" Zangetsu began to rise in the air, his cape bellowing out behind him and growing in size, and his own black reiatsu a swirling vortex beneath him. With a cry, tentacles of darkness exploded forth from the vortex and climbed upwards, licking the air and seeming to emit a hissing sound. "This is my true power!" Zangetsu called out, his voice magnified by a hundred-fold and causing the platform beneath them to tremble at it's sheer might, "You were still wielding some of my power before, but now, I take my powers back. Let's see if you can defeat me by yourself!".
Ichigo stared at the massive figure of power that lay before him now, Zangetsu in all his might and glory. The dark reiatsu his crown, his tendrils his cape of authority. Like a slap across the face, Ichigo came to the sickening realization that he simply could not win against such a foe. Here, Zangetsu was king...
"Snap out of it, fool!" Ichigo awoke from his shock and turned to see the Hollow already charging up with white reiatsu, his yellow eyes locked on his enemy, his obstacle, "If you wanna gain full power, this is the way to go! So quit standing there and start fighting!" The last word was punctuated as Zangetsu swiped at them with one of his massive tentacles, and Ichigo leapt into the air in time, barely avoiding the blow. The Hollow, however, had different plans. He latched onto the tentacle as it struck and followed it's arc into the air, determined to hold on no matter what. Even if it meant being crashed into several buildings.
"NO!" Ichigo cried out at the sight of the Hollow disappearing into the distance, the tentacle rising further and further out of reach. "Damnit..." Ichigo's fists clenched and unclenched, his own blue reiatsu beginning to form about him, even as Zangetsu sent several tentacles in his direction, eager to pierce his flesh.
"Damn all of this! DAMN IT ALL!" With a final cry, Ichigo's power was brought full force, and a nimbus of blue reiatsu covered him and burnt the attacking tendrils, the sheer force of the blast sending Zangetsu away by a short distance. The nimbus of blue reiatsu continued to build and grow, increasing in size and might as it began to push downwards, shattering the platform beneath Ichigo and destroying it completely. But even then Ichigo remained level, his nimbus of reiatsu holding him up in the middle of the air as power continued to flow from him, pouring forth from the reservoirs of reiatsu within himself. Reservoirs untapped till now.
"This ends now!" Ichigo glared up at the dark figure of Zangetsu, his eyes burning with a brilliant blue colour, the fire in his soul and heart growing, "ZANGETSU!"