AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I was watching a Sephiroth fight the other day and thought, "Hey, didn't I have to end that Ichigo story I was doing?" And so I thought I'd end it with a bang, by having Ichigo use a new move that he and his Hollow had devised. The name of the technique was to be the Hollow's name, but since I can't think of a name, I'll let you fill in the blank (smile).
I'm sorry I took so long to reply but I kinda hit a block, ran out of things to write, ran out of things to say... But this is the most intense piece of work I've ever attempted to do, so I hope y'all like it
Thanks to all those who bugged me to update this story, but alas, this is the end... So, here we go! Oh yeah, and check out the concluding note I put at the end. God bless y'all!
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"Shit," the Hollow spat as they stood over the crater.
"What is it? We won!" Ichigo turned to his negative self, puzzled.
"Are you deaf? That's the Sephiroth theme playing in the background… This is bad…"
The building shook and Zangetsu blasted out of the building, smoke trailing behind him. In his right hand he once again gripped Tensa Zangetsu and in his left he bore the cleaver Zangetsu. In the air Zangetsu spun and red reiatsu blasted forth from his two swords, screaming towards Ichigo and his Hollow, who both leapt out of the way from the blast, landing on opposite ends of the building. The red streaks cratered into the building and shattered all the windows, the shards flying into the air and up towards Zangetsu, whose blades now burned with a crimson flame. The Hollow growled and stretched out his hand, and with his reiatsu he formed a white daito similar to Tensa Zangetsu, the chain slightly longer to cater to his preferred fighting style. Ichigo stretched forth both his hands in gripped the hilt of his own blue daito, also similar to Tensa Zangetsu, formed by his own reiatsu, the blade slightly elongated to give him a larger range.
Both combatants unleashed their own slashes of reiatsu at Zangetsu and rocketed into the air alongside the blasts, preparing to meet Zangetsu in the air. Ichigo powered through the flying debris, his reiatsu forming a shield in front of him, pushing all the glass shards aside. The Hollow leapt and stepped on the debris as though they were a staircase, moving so quickly he looked as if he was soaring upwards solely by kicking his legs, the shards of glass he stepped on sometimes too small for the eye to see.
Zangetsu swept his daito in an arc, dissipating the two blasts, releasing the sword and sending it jabbing through the air toward Ichigo, a slender comet of crimson reiatsu. He saw Ichigo raise his blade to meet the comet, which struck into him and powered them back down toward the building, then turned his attention to the Hollow and dashed forward to meet him, their blades connecting and sending an earth shattering pulse of reiatsu throughout the inner world. Zangetsu broke the lock and flourished the blade, causing the Hollow to block to the side by reflex. Zangetsu ducked beneath the Hollow's guard, delivering an uppercut with a crimson trail of reiatsu behind his cleaver.
The Hollow raised his left hand above the strike and released a pulse of white reiatsu, leaving the cleaver suspended in the air for a moment as the white energy held it in place, while the Hollow swung his right hand in a diagonal slash at Zangetsu. The Old Man relinquished his grip on the cleaver and spun to dodge the blow, his left hand coming around to strike at the Hollow's face, his right preparing to grab his cleaver.
The left hand was grabbed from behind by Ichigo, who had finally knocked aside Tensa Zangetsu and rushed in to join the fight. The right hand grabbed the cleaver and swung it at Ichigo, who flash-stepped out of the way, releasing Zangetsu's hand in the process. Hollow Ichigo brought his own blade down on Zangetsu , who flash-stepped forward and spun, his cleaver now burning crimson red with his own reiatsu. The Hollow flashed stepped above Zangetsu and they locked themselves in a flurry of blows, diagonal, vertical, horizontal slashes, feints and jabs from every direction. Parries and flourishes galore as Zangetsu and the Hollow attempted to confuse the other, flashes of white and red streaks of reiatsu coloring the air about them, becoming a nimbus. The sphere of power shifted in its' course slightly as Zangetsu and the Hollow flipped over, or ducked under each other, each one attempting to gain the advantage over the other, power fueling their every strike, sending sparks flying everywhere, causing currents of air to form and kicking up the wind about them.
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Ichigo stood beneath the aerial battle, but he was not merely observing the battle, rather, he was preparing to end it. While both combatants were releasing titanic amounts of reiatsu, Ichigo was on the side absorbing the energies, drawing it into his make-shift sword of blue reiatsu, the blue building to a blinding white. Streaks of white and red separated themselves from the clash of powers and flew into the super absorber of energy that was Ichigo.
"Hollow!" Ichigo finally called out, "I'm ready!"
"About time," growled the Hollow as he sent a final barrage of strikes at Zangetsu before pushing himself away from the Old Man, towards Ichigo. As the Hollow fell, his figure began to glow, the distinctive features becoming a blur at first, eventually fading into nothing as the Hollow became pure energy, and began to fly about Ichigo, streaks of white curling both around the blade and about Ichigo, lashing out at the ground beneath and snapping at the air about them.
"Remember the technique, Ichigo!" said the Hollow's decapitated voice, "Call out my name, and unleash your full power!"
"The Hollow's name…?!" Zangetsu thought, outraged, "Even I don't know his name!"
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Ichigo smiled at the look on Zangetsu's face, "Shall I explain the technique to you beforehand, Old Man?"
"Ichigo's reiatsu is concentrated into whatever weapon he's carrying, causing it to burn bright blue, so bright that it appears to be silver," the decapitated voice of the Hollow explained for Ichigo, "Meanwhile, my own energies will swirl about him, cutting and destroying anything that dares to venture close,"
"The energies can be compressed into any form that I deem fit," smiled Ichigo, "And can even be used as projectiles, or a shield, if I require it. But the key is in the final strike!" With that, Ichigo kicked off the ground and flew towards Zangetsu, the white reiatsu lingering on the ground for a moment before torpedoing upwards like pillars about Ichigo. With a huff, Zangetsu threw his cleaver into the air and it spun about him, dissolving as well into a swirling red cloud of reiatsu, a harmless looking cloud of crimson surrounding him. Zangetsu raised his right hand and recalled Tensa Zangetsu back to him, the daito screaming towards him from a distance, itself still glowing with a red hue. All the while, Ichigo drew closer, and Zangetsu's palm began to glow with a maroon hue.
Zangetsu reached out, grabbed Tensa Zangetsu, and sent his own reiatsu powering into the blade, transforming it into a roaring inferno of crimson reiatsu. Ichigo continued to charge at Zangetsu, his own blade blazing with a royal blue. Zangetsu raised his blade and brought it crashing down, calmly reciting, "Getsuga Tenshou!"
Ichigo roared, "Kai! 0.0.0.0.0.0!"
"I can't hear his name…?" wondered Zangetsu.
And both blades met with a thunderclap.
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The resulting blast was so powerful that buildings about them dissipated into dust, the air was parted and tossed aside like a tangible object. Nothing was left in that void except Zangetsu, Ichigo, and their unbelievably powerful reiatsu clash, the blue and red blades forcing one another back, neither seeming to make progress, raw power making it near impossible to tell which would win. Around the two combatants, red and white streaks of reiatsu swirled and hissed, cackled and spit, as the Hollow's energy faced off against Zangetsu's own power. At times, blades would form in the air and invisible warriors would do battle, other times, lightning simply struck out and lashed at either combatant, only to be blocked by that combatant's own defenses.
Ichigo and Zangetsu continued to glare at each other past their blades, their eyes locking along with their wills, also locked in an endless struggle as neither was willing to give any ground at all, each warrior unlocking the deepest reservoirs of their souls and pouring all their energy into the battle. Current of reiatsu summoned the winds back towards them and tossed them about through the air, and yet neither one was ready to relinquish their grip on their swords, nor willing to break the lock. The swirling wind and hurricane of reiatsu caused a thunderous roar of the elements to emit from the battle, deafening to anything should they have ventured into Ichigo's inner world at that time.
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Zangetsu looked into the eyes of Ichigo, and smiled. In Ichigo's eyes, he saw a peace in his soul, a quiet understanding of who he was and what he was composed off. Yet, at the same time, that same dogged determination to protect his friends, and in the process gaining more power in order to protect them, and vice versa. Ichigo, Zangetsu, his Hollow, all three were part of Ichigo, and they would all be part of his power. Ichigo had been relying too much on Zangetsu's power, and through this battle he'd learnt to rely on his own strength, and to draw aid from the Hollow's own power as well when necessary.
"See you around, king," spat the arrogant voice of the Hollow, causing Ichigo to lose focus for a moment as he wondered what the Hollow was on about. His sword flickered and Zangetsu gained ground briefly, but Ichigo focused again and brought his blade down even stronger, intent on winning.
"Ichigo! You've done well, and have completed your training!" Zangetsu finally called out over the thunderous roar of the currents of reiatsu, smiling as he saw Ichigo's face shifted from one of puzzlement into one of utter bewilderment. "You've learnt to harness all aspects of your power… Now… Rest, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
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There was a final roar, and then there was no longer any light, no longer any sound. Where the three souls were, there was now air, and where there had been a titanic battle of reiatsu, there was now stillness. The buildings rebuilt themselves, the clouds righted themselves, and the air fell back into the once occupied space. It was over, and Ichigo's inner world was right again.
Yet, somewhere in the distance, the clash of blades could be heard all over again…
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CONCLUDING NOTE:
And that's the end! Hope y'all enjoyed the journey as much as I did. I was wondering what else I should write about so do drop a comment on what characters you'd like to see me write on and perhaps give me a possible story you'd like to see up there. Or better yet, write your own story and ask me to read it (smiles)
Thanks for posting comments, giving suggestions, and giving encouragement for me to continue writing this story, and err... Stuff like that. Yeap, hope y'all liked the story, see ya! God bless y'all