Author's Note:
I'm so sorry for the delay in this story. Frankly, I was fresh out of ideas and this one was written in a moment of inspiration, so I still consider this chapter a work in progress. This doesn't have the "Final Battle" feel I wanted, and to me, it felt a little bit lame. So, this is what I wanna try and do:
Drop a comment and speak out as to what scenes you'd like to see in this story. Who knows? Maybe with abit of refining, everyone's suggestion can be integrated into this story.
I know the ending is kinda lame, and the fight descriptions are fairly disappointing... Well, that's how I felt anyways. So, I won't be working on the next chapter, but rather I'll be working on this chapter itself. Cos I think everyone pretty much has an idea of how I wanna conclude this thing huh 0...smiles...0
So, I beg you, PLEASE comment and lemme know what you liked about this, and what you thought can be improved on (a.k.a: Not so great)
God bless, enjoy!
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"Brute strength should not win this," Zangetsu muttered as he withdrew his tendrils and landed on a building before Ichigo, his own dark reiatsu building from within, preparing for the onslaught to come, "Ichigo… Please, learn to harness that power of yours,"
Ichigo could not hear the old man, and the blue nimbus about him continued to burn brighter and brighter, as if he were unable to control his reiatsu output. But really, the naked eye was so deceiving. Smiling, Ichigo raised a balled fist, and opened it, shattering the nimbus of blue reiatsu about him, sending shards flying outwards and hurtling at Zangetsu, who raised an eyebrow in amusement, hiding the joy that blossomed within.
"Ichigo!" Zangetsu called out after swiping away the shards, "Do you now understand how to control your power?"
"Yes," Ichigo replied grimly, "Why is it I only discover the technique when pushed to the limit?"
"Because it is how you are!" laughed Zangetsu, "Now, we may begin the true test! Use your newfound power against me, Ichigo, with your Hollow, and attempt to defeat me!"
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The Hollow groaned, shaking his head to clear the disorientation. Zangetsu had smashed him into a building and neglected to thrust him all the way through, leaving him in a heap of rubble. With an annoyed wave, the Hollow batted aside several chunks of cement and heavy pipes that lay on top of him. He took a moment to catch his breath, cursing himself for being so hasty in his attack.
"Maybe that punk has rubbed off some of his stupidity off me," smiled the Hollow. The smiled quickly turned into a frown as he sensed the sudden increase in reiatsu levels, "Hmmmm? He has learnt to control his reiatsu? But how… And in such a short span of time…"
"Perhaps I should've expected it," growled the Hollow as he shifted his weight between the balls of his feet, "He has an annoying habit of learning quickly at the last minute…" With a grunt, the Hollow kicked off the building and zoomed into the distance, joining the battle of souls.
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"Getsuga…"
"Tenshou!" Zangetsu completed the attack the same time Ichigo did, and a black reiatsu met blue as the two souls did battle. The blasts met and shattered the air, causing the two combatants to separate for a brief moment before they joined battle again. Ichigo launched a roundhouse kick, but Zangetsu reached up at grabbed him, spinning and tossing Ichigo about. Just as he released Ichigo, the shinigami reached down with his hand and grabbed hold of Zangetsu's arm, shocking the incarnated zanpakuto. Ichigo took advantage of his momentum and hurled Zangetsu outwards, who let out a blast of reiatsu to halt his decent. Ichigo wasted no time and flash-stepped in front of Zangetsu punching at his solar plexus and throwing an upper-cut at his chin. Zangetsu spun, dodging the blows, and chopped at Ichigo's neck, who flipped forward to avoid the blow. Zangetsu let out a bark of laughter and used his other hand to strike at Ichigo's exposed torso, his palm glowing with a black reiatsu as Ichigo now hung upside-down, defenseless.
"Getsuga Tensh-" Zangetsu never completed his attack as the Hollow appeared at his side, slamming his elbow at his chin. Laughing, the Hollow spun and raised his left leg, bringing it slicing down at Zangetsu's head, which sent the old man rocketing downwards, as he cratered into a building, sending a cloud of dust up, effectively cloaking his location. Meanwhile, Ichigo finished his flip and looked sheepishly at the Hollow. "Thanks for that,"
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The Hollow grunted in reply and jabbed both his arms downwards, crying out, "Getsuga Tenshou!", and two pillars of white reiatsu exploded from his fingertips, blasting towards the building Zangetsu had landed in, piercing through the cloud of dust. A dark figure flew up from the clouds and weaved its way through the two pillars of light, the movement so elegant and strange that it seemed to tangle up the eyes of both Ichigo and his Hollow. Zangetsu appeared between the two souls and kicked out at both of them, doing a side-split in mid-air. Even so, the kick was strong and sent the two combatants flying in opposite directions, a trail of smoke from the dust cloud following them. Zangetsu now eyed the two trails with caution as they suddenly shifted course and moved towards him in a curious pincer movement. Ichigo arced toward his front, while the Hollow curved to his rear, both rocketing at high speeds, their reiatsu building and burning, their intensity and ferocity increasing with each second.
The blue and white streaks of reiatsu that were Ichigo and the Hollow suddenly shifted course and began to circle about Zangetsu, whose eyes their movements closely. The two raced about the lone Zangetsu faster, their forms barely recognizable, shifting to a blur, and finally ceasing to exist altogether, streaks of blue and white coloring a circumference about Zangetsu, who huffed and released his own black reiatsu, causing it to fly forth and stretch outwards, a tinge of red hanging in the midst of the darkness. The black reiatsu eventually grew and pushed against the blue and white reiatsu ring, and the struggle for power began. Lightning of every color and shade shot forth from the border between the rings of reiatsu, lashing out like tongues of fire at the nearby buildings, each lick shattering windows and crumbling the metal within. The rings became one, forming a disc of immeasurable power, the battle raging on from within, as Zangetsu combated against the two souls. Eventually, a tug began on both sides of the disc, pushing upwards and outwards, until a sphere of pure untamed reiatsu formed in the air, hovering above the buildings amongst the clouds. Colors of every hue and shade played across the surface, symbolizing the battle within as the three did battle.
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Within the sphere of darkness, a battle raged on.
Zangetsu kicked out with his left leg, a strike that was deftly dodged by Ichigo, swinging around and bringing his own arm swinging at the head of Zangetsu. The Hollow also lashed out with his own fist, and Zangetsu dropped down, causing both Ichigo and his Hollow's attacks to meet with a thunderclap in the air, sending a shockwave throughout the sphere of power. Ichigo and his Hollow now danced in synchrony, their attacks complementing and building on one another. When Zangetsu dodged Ichigo, the Hollow was waiting. When he leapt above the Hollow, he met Ichigo. Anywhere he moved, his exits were blocked by the two unstoppable opponents. The battle concluded thusly:
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Ichigo chopped his hand downwards, releasing a Getsuga Tenshou at Zangetsu, who spun and dodged the blow. The Hollow moved forward and intercepted the Old Man with a kick to his back and left Zangetsu suspended in the air for a moment, the wind knocked out of him. Taking advantage of the pause in battle, Ichigo struck out with his fist, while the Hollow swung around and threw another kick at Zangetsu. Both attacks connected with Zangetsu's torso and sent the Old Man flying backwards and out of the sphere. A trail of reiatsu followed Zangetsu out as he bulleted out of the sphere, shattering the nimbus of reiatsu and leaving Ichigo and his Hollow standing on thin air. Zangetsu's fall carried him far over buildings, his arc never seeming to end. He connected with several buildings of course… Once, twice… And then he stopped, crashing through one building and burying into another. Both crumbled under the might of impact, and dust blew up and soared to the heavens. There was a silence, the battle was over.