White Sun Rising: Ultimate Rewrite Edition
Chapter 2: Plans do not survive First Contact with Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo was expecting something different.
Instead, he got a dark and creepy tunnel. "I was expecting something a little...brighter."
Ukitake gave Ichigo a smile. "The Dangai is a very dark place, but it keeps the Hollows from easily breaching into the Soul Society."
Ichigo snorted, and would have made a quip about the Dangai not being worth a damn in the world of the living, but the third seats walked past him.
He assumed staying here was a bad idea, and rightly so.
He followed Ukitake to the end of the tunnel, reminded of the old cliché of 'the light at the end of the tunnel'.
Not so much of a cliché if it had a basis in fact.
Not that anyone really knew that.
When they reached the end, Ichigo was in the middle of a square, with a LOT of shinigami facing the four. Six of them wore haori, and Ichigo wouldn't forget Byakuya Kuchiki if his soul depended on it. One of the shorter ones, a woman with twin braids and an orange-lined haori, didn't seem happy to see him.
"Before anyone thinks of making any rash moves, I've placed the young man under the protection of my division. Meaning, Captain Suì-Fēng, arresting him and throwing him into a cell is out of the question." The woman scowled at that. Ichigo got the feeling that she suffered something like what he did when Grand Fisher murdered his mother.
"That does not mean-"
"I'm happy to hear that, Captain Ukitake."
Ichigo looked at another captain, this one being a nondescript brown haired man with glasses. Something about him, though, yelled at Ichigo to attack and end him before he became a threat. He vowed to keep an eye on him.
"Really, Aizen?" The man, identified as Aizen, nodded in response to another captain, this one wearing a pink kimono loosely over his haori. "I would have taken him into my division's care had Captain Ukitake not done so first."
Ichigo didn't trust the son of a bitch.
Too oily, in his opinion.
Shirayuki seemed to agree, but said nothing. Ukitake led Ichigo out of the square, watched the entire time by Aizen.
"Did you mean that, Captain?" Aizen looked back at his lieutenant, Momo Hinamori. "Yes, I would have. He deserves a chance to speak on his friend's behalf."
Inwardly, Aizen was not pleased with Ukitake doing it first, however, but we'll come back on that later.
Momo smiled, and Aizen was reminded of how easy it was for him to manipulate people.
Ichigo, on the other hand, seemed...weary of him, judging from the look he gave Aizen.
Either Urahara had warned Ichigo about him or it was something else entirely.
Back in Karakura Town
Chaos. That was the only thing that Urahara could think of.
All of their plans to save the fucking universe hinged on Ichigo, and thanks to Ukitake, they were pulling what the RMS Titanic pulled 90 years before: sinking with no chance of recovery, only instead of 1500 people losing their lives, it would be all of creation.
To quote several people... "We're screwed."
Yoruichi (finally back in human form) smacked Urahara upside the head.
"We're not dead yet, you fool. Ukitake's not stupid: he'll keep Ichigo as far away from Aizen as possible. Just because he seems to be sunshine and lollipops personified doesn't mean he is and Ukitake knows that."
Small mercies were welcomed at this point.
"Still, we need to get him out of there, as well as Rukia." He glanced at Yoruichi. "Well, we should get his friends over here. We were planning on training them anyways, but plans don't seem to survive first contact with the enemy. And in this case, the enemy was Ichigo Kurosaki."
Yoruichi facepalmed.
With Orihime, Chad and Tatsuki
Orihime explained all that she knew to her best friend. Tatsuki knew Ichigo could see ghosts, but this shinigami business was new. "So, this 'Rukia' person gave Ichigo her powers-"
"She was hurt and he was the only choice, from what we've gathered." Tatsuki spared a glance at Chad, but continued. "And now these jackasses are going to try and kill her for a simple mistake? Fuck that: that girl saved our asses by giving Ichigo her powers."
She stood up, sore from sitting cross-legged so long.
"I'm going to help save her."
Orihime was happy she wanted to help, but she had little choice but to point out the one issue in her plan. "Uh, Tatsuki, you don't have any powers."
"Then I'll have Ichigo give me some of his or something!"
"I see."
All turned to face a dark-skinned woman with purple hair sitting in the windowsill.
"Well, this complicates matters."
Tatsuki got ready for a fight, as the woman clearly got there undetected.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Yoruichi Shihōin. I guess you could call me a friend of a friend of Ichigo's. I came here to get Orihime and Sado-kun, but it seems you want in on this, despite being kinda powerless."
Tatsuki snarled at Yoruichi.
"Hey, it's easily solved. I'll take you to Urahara's shop after I get the Quincy boy there."
Tatsuki was tempted to hit her, but somehow doubted she could.
13th Division barracks, Seireitei, July 20th, 2002, 2057 hours local time
Ichigo sat in front of Ukitake and the pink-clad Shunsui Kyoraku, scowling as usual. "So, you just want me to confirm her story?"
"Yes. She told us that she was wounded, and because you had enough reiatsu to see her and the hollow, she decided to risk giving you some of her powers."
Ichigo's scowl deepened.
"Did she bother saying that I was the reason she got hurt?"
Ukitake blinked. "Excuse me?" "I tried to offer myself up to the Hollow in exchange for my family's safety-don't give me that look; I had no idea what I was doing-and Rukia got hurt saving my ass."
Ukitake blinked in surprise. "Well, she didn't mention that."
Ichigo knew why. "She feels guilty, doesn't she?" If Ichigo's words were a hammer, they'd've hit a nail and drove it down in one strike.
"You are very perceptive, Ichigo." Ichigo gestured to Shirayuki, which was still fastened to his hip. "I've got her zanpakutō, remember? And she's kinda hinted about the guilt the midget feels: something about being afraid of her own sword."
Kyoraku nearly laughed, but he noticed Ukitake's expression and knew exactly why. Kaien Shiba died by Rukia's hands: 50 years could not erase that from her memories. And Sode no Shirayuki was in shikai when that happened.
"It is a long story, and deeply personal to both of us, Ichigo." Ichigo was curious, but he knew better then to pry.
If they needed to tell him, they would.
"Yeah, well, other then Rukia leaving out getting hurt saving me, her story's true. It's not like I wanted to take all of her powers. It just happened."
"But you accepted them, nonetheless."
Ichigo directed a death glare worthy of a certain Kenpachi (not the current one: manga readers know exactly who) at Kyoraku. To Ichigo's credit, Kyoraku DID flinch. "It was either that, or let my family die."
The glare intensified, and Kyoraku muttered something about Ichigo being related to someone.
"Ok, I get it: you wanted to save them, so you took the only option available." Shunsui added 'stop the glaring' under his breath. Ukitake shook his head, clearly amused, and Ichigo looked at him. "Your stories do match up."
Ichigo sighed. "Can I see her?"
Ukitake frowned slightly. "She is in the 6th Division prison, and her brother will not be pleased to see you."
Ichigo scoffed. "Like I give a shit. If he's not trying to save her life, then he doesn't deserve the fucking job. Elder brothers protect their younger siblings no matter what." Both had to admit Ichigo was right about that, however rudely it was said.
Byakuya might have cared for his adopted sister in his own way, but his vow to uphold the law was keeping him from doing what a brother was supposed to be doing.
Within Ichigo's mind
Shirayuki, meanwhile, had decided to find Ichigo's actual zanpakutō during this discussion. Something was off about the cityscape that was Ichigo's mind, mostly because it felt different then a normal shinigami's inner world.
Substitute or not, it should have felt like the reiatsu of a shinigami coursed through it.
Instead, it felt as though a shinigami and a Hollow were fighting, and something else...She couldn't put her finger on it.
Still, the Hollow part didn't make any sense at all.
Her musing was cut off as she sensed something closing in on her location.
Until Ichigo could return her to Rukia, this was both home and prison: if his zanpakutō was awake and discovered her there, he would not be happy.
She waved her hand, dispersing the snow in front of her for over 200 meters, revealing a white-clad figure.
If Shirayuki didn't know any better, she'd say she was looking at Ichigo. But it wasn't him.
This...thing looked just like him, but his skin and hair were as pale as hers, but when he turned to face her and she made eye contact with him, his eyes reminded her of a Hollow with the black sclera and burning amber irises.
He started clapping almost sarcastically.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to run into our uninvited guest. Bravo on findin' me." She almost felt insulted. Almost, because he looked slightly antsy.
"What are you? You aren't Ichigo, and-" "Give the girl a prize. No shit, I'm not Ichigo. But right now ain't the time for-" Not-Ichigo jumped forward, grabbing Shirayuki and leaping above a bolt of energy that would have skewered them both had the unknown spirit not moved them out of the way. "Fucking wonderful: he found us."
Shirayuki freed herself from the being's grip.
"What are you talking about?"
The white Ichigo looked at the source of the attack.
It was an old man with black hair wearing a slightly tattered black trench coat and orange sunglasses, holding a large sword that vaguely reminded Shirayuki of something Rukia once saw.
Not-Ichigo had a perfect copy of the same sword on his back: massive cleaver-like blade with a guard-and-gripless hilt, which was wrapped in cloth.
"An intruder. I will not tolerate this any more then I tolerate you, cretin."
The white-clad Ichigo copy finally drew the blade, clearly ready to duel with the being in black.
"Sorry, asshole, but she ain't getting hurt as long as she's here. She woke the King to my power, and I owe her!"
Shirayuki was confused.
Then she felt their reiatsu.
Each was dominated by shinigami reiryoku, but the one that saved her had traces of Hollow power.
The other one had traces of...Now she knew why it felt familiar. That fool with the bow, Ishida: the other's power was like the boy's, but far stronger. 'Quincy and Hollow within the same being? That is like putting together fire and kindling.'
The Quincy spirit clearly wanted to destroy both the Ichigo copy and herself.
She materialized her shikai. "I know not what you are, but I will not allow you to simply try and destroy me."
She glanced at the Hollowfied Ichigo.
"It seems you have a lot of explaining to do once we defeat him." He grinned almost psychotically, reminding her of Kenpachi Zaraki.
"That I do. The name's Zangetsu, by the way. Ichigo don't know my name yet, so I don't expect you to know it either."
That meant this was Ichigo's true zanpakutō. Another mystery for later. (AN: MORTAL KOMBAT! No, I'm joking. Play the OC Remix of The Doomsday here: more fitting) Golden energy built up along the blade, and he swung the blade at the dark-clad man.
"Getsuga Tensho!" Blue reiryoku built up along his enemy's blade before he swung it.
"Getsuga Tensho!" Wave hit wave, and Shirayuki was VERY confused. Then she realized why: they had the same ability because they had shinigami reiryoku within them, alongside their other energies. The Hollow Zangetsu was more accepting of her, however. That was enough for now.
"Some no Mai: Tsukishiro!"
She performed her first dance, forming a circle in the ground under the Quincy spirit's feet. He realized that this was dangerous and quickly moved away before the attack destroyed him.
All three spirits drew on Ichigo's massive power, but Shirayuki had one thing up her white sleeve: a completely unknown moveset.
Both Zangetsu and his Quincy counterpart clearly had the same attack, so Shirayuki might be able to tip the scales. "Nice trick, lady!"
She glared at him. "My name is Sode no Shirayuki."
"Fine, I'll call ya Shirayuki!"
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Both dodged another attack from their Quincy opponent, while Zangetsu returned fire with several weaker Getsugas.
The Quincy spirit hacked through them as if they were nothing, but he failed to remember that he was fighting two opponents at once.
"Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!"
The Quincy spirit was outflanked by Shirayuki, and was hit by snow, which froze him in a man-sized pillar of ice.
The Hollowfied Zangetsu used something akin to shunpo to appear in front of their opponent, then took the iced-over sword out of the Quincy spirit's hands.
Shirayuki shunpo'ed over and put her blade to Zangetsu's neck. "You owe me a number of answers."
The Hollowfied sword spirit showed no fear. "No need to threaten, Shira: I owe ya for saving me, so I was gonna tell ya everything."
No lie was in his eyes, so Shirayuki withdrew her blade. "What is happening here? Why was he trying to...What was he trying to do?"
Zangetsu chuckled as the second blade disappeared and he placed his cleaver onto his back. "It's a long story. You could probably tell that the King, er, Ichigo, has more then just shinigami powers."
Shirayuki nodded tersely, ready for combat if need be. "Yes, I have. You have Hollow reiryoku."
"That was a necessary evil to survive that son of a bitch. See, every soul's got two sides to them-"
"They can turn into either Hollows or shinigami, depending on the amount of reiryoku they have. Yes, that's basic knowledge."
Zangetsu narrowed his eyes. "What ain't basic knowledge is the fact that every shinigami can unlock their Hollow powers. It's just a super bitch to do it because they're buried so deep, it's not funny."
Shirayuki did NOT like that revelation. Rukia was at risk the longer she stayed with Ichigo. "And you?"
Zangetsu adopted Ichigo's signature scowl. "I had to merge with Ichigo's Inner Hollow just to survive him. And I barely stood a chance." He looked at Shirayuki. "Then you come in and knock both our asses out just being here. You saved me from being turned into a rabid dog. Doubt Ichigo'd like that at all while being spoon-fed this fucker's lies."
Shirayuki wanted to doubt him.
She really did.
But the fact that the other spirit would have usurped Zangetsu's rightful place as the source of Ichigo's power if she were not there AND that he tried to kill her forced her to believe him.
When the evidence was undeniable, doubt was impossible. "You have been at war with him for all of Ichigo's life?"
Zangetsu seemed pained to think about it. "For 11 years, I've been barely avoiding him, staying one step ahead. When I had to absorb the Inner Hollow, that showed how desperate I was not to be consumed by that bastard and turned into a mindless monster. I got my pride, Hollowfied zanpakutō or not."
The ice cracked, and both zanpakutō spirited looked at the pillar. "It seems we have bigger issues then just returning me to Rukia."
Shirayuki had been unknowing thrown into a war for Ichigo's soul the moment Rukia drove her blade into his heart, and she was going to make sure Zangetsu won for Ichigo's sake.
Both drew their weapons, ready to fight as the pillar exploded, and the Quincy Zangetsu (for lack of a better identifier) emerged from his icy prison.
And he was pissed.
Shirayuki adopted a kendo stance as she faced the enemy.
"You are outnumbered and outmatched. Surrender, and we will be merciful."
The Quincy spirit scoffed.
"I will never surrender to you."
He charged at Shirayuki while creating a reishi sword, ignoring Zangetsu. 'That is new.'
She parried the attack, but the blade snapped under the stress of his strike. 'Wonderful. I need to get Ichigo here to resolve this when the opportunity presents itself.'
"HEY, ASSHOLE!"
Quincy Zangetsu turned his head to face his Hollowfied counterpart, who charged one of his attacks at full power.
"GETSUGA TENSHO!"
The wave hit Quincy Zangetsu, but it didn't send him flying like Zangetsu thought. That was fine by Shirayuki, who shunpo'ed behind the Quincy spirit.
"You owe me for what you did earlier."
She thrust her blade close to his chest.
"San no Mai: Shirafune!" Her blade regenerated tip-first, and the Quincy spirit's chest was frozen from the inside out. She withdrew her blade, then kicked him back.
Right toward Zangetsu, who threw a Getsuga Tensho at the spirit.
Shirayuki, now fairly annoyed at being forced to use her third dance, took a small amount of satisfaction from the amount of pain her enemy was in now. Zangetsu, meanwhile, was damn near ready to start a victory dance. For the first time in over a decade, he had won a victory against that Quincy bastard!
"Fuckin' A! Take that, you son of a bitch!"
When the dust cleared, the Quincy spirit was revealed not to be dead.
Then again, he was part of Ichigo's soul: killing him was impossible. But now he had little choice but to retreat.
Not that Shirayuki was going to let him.
Hell hath no fury like a very pissed off female zanpakutō spirit.
Bet you weren't expecting THAT, were you?
Seriously, you all probably had the thought that Zangetsu and Shirayuki meeting would be like in SHSR.
Instead, I pull out a fight between Zangetsu, Shirayuki and Juhabach Zangetsu.
Speaking of which...
Ichigo is utterly clueless about the war within his soul: after all, he's been depressed since the death of his mother, and adding Rukia's job on top of that will add to the cluelessness.
Hell, he doesn't even know his mother was a Quincy at this point.
But he WILL be learning it long before the Winter War Arc even happens. Be sure of that.
Wilhelm Scream count: 4 (Wow, I didn't pull any out this chapter. Must be slipping)
Next Time on WSR URE: We find out what the hell's going on back down in Karakura.
Ja Ne!