Brief: With his Soul Reaper powers restored, and his hollow finally subdued once and for all, Ichigo Kurosaki thinks his life can finally go back to normal. However, a visit to Seireitei soon changes that theory for the young Substitute. Can Ichigo adjust to his new life, or will he give in and return to how it was before?

Warnings: Contains some aggressive language, possible violence and romance throughout. Reader discretion is advised if any of the above offend you.

Pairings: IchiRuki, may contain smaller pairings such as ByaHis or HitsuHina

SPOILERS from the Fullbring Arc and previous

Disclaimer: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo, not me. If I owned Bleach, Ichigo would already be with Rukia ;)

Bleach: Bonds Beyond Dimensions

Chapter 8: The Great Unveiling

The two silhouettes stood over the top of the cliff on the outskirts of Seireitei, each holding an item similar to the drinks cans found in the World of the Living, though without discernible markings or a top, as they peered over the sprawling built up area of Soul Society. This was not exactly a special place for them, but it offered the best view of the city-like realm. The taller smiled, sipping from the item in his hand, the two blades he had on his person glinting gently in the moonlight. The shorter took a few steps to the cliff edge and sat, her legs hanging in the void between the clifftop and the ground below.

"It's peaceful tonight," Ichigo said, his smile never wavering. "I see why you suggested this place now; you can see everything."

"That's not the only reason," Rukia smiled, looking down into the cool liquid in her hands, cradled over her lap. "It's a good place to think, to clear your head. I thought you might need it." Ichigo smiled, moving to her side and sitting down on her right. "I know it's been a tough two weeks for you, but you need to be confident in your abilities, Ichigo, and you have to have a clear head for that."

"I know," Ichigo nodded. The two week ultimatum he had been given was almost up, and his training was paying off, but he was still not as fluent as he had once been; like a sword left to rust and finally redrawn, he was working on his skills to make up for the competence he had lost in his time without his powers, but he was still not quite at the level he was happy with. "I appreciate it, Rukia," he added. "And I appreciate all your help getting me this far."

"Helping is what friends do, right?" Rukia smirked, sipping her drink. "There's no need for thanks or appreciation, you fool." She looked over the place she called home with a soft smile. "I meant to ask you, Ichigo, why haven't you shown your Bankai to anyone?"

Ichigo chuckled and ruffled his hair a little; in his two weeks training between his duties, he had managed to solidify his Bankai once more, and Rukia picked up on the shift in his spiritual pressure the day he had, so undoubtedly some people must have picked up on it too. Despite this, no matter how many requests he received, he had not yielded to anyone, and to this date only he and the beings sharing his form knew what it looked like in its new iteration.

"It would be no fun to ruin the surprise," he replied simply, smiling all the while. "After all, if someone saw me release it, there's a chance word of it would get out to the crowds, and the surprise would be ruined."

"I suppose that's wise," Rukia nodded, though the gesture held a little jealousy, since even she had not seen it. "I almost don't believe you thought of that; the you I met in the World of the Living would have kicked down every door to show it off."

"You're exaggerating," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Even then, I wasn't that brash. And I don't show off!"

"Whatever you say," Rukia giggled, finishing her drink. Ichigo did the same and leaned back on his hands, admiring the moon. Rukia stood finally. "It's a big day, tomorrow. You should get some rest, Ichigo."

As she started to walk away, Ichigo smiled at the moon; the chalky but bright satellite, so high above, forever watching but never touching the lives of anyone who witnessed it, it reminded him of Rukia in a way. Her soft porcelain features shone with a brightness few ever saw, yet it was as bright as the sun to him. When she had met him, she had been aloof, high above him, almost untouchable by the distance between them, yet she had always been there, watching over him forever. He stood and turned to her.

"Rukia," he said, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to him. He hesitated a moment, then smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Rukia smiled and waved goodbye, the two of them parting ways.

He had been warned of this over the previous two weeks as he trained and readied himself for this day, but he had not been prepared for this by any length. As Ichigo looked around, he found his eyes scanning through a number of Soul Reapers of all squads and ranks, from freshly recruited cadets to fully fledged Captains. He could make out a few faces, including Renji in the front, ready to cheer on his Captain, and Momo, looking somewhat more quiet and pensive than her red-haired friend.

The place they stood in was truly massive, able to hold so many people in one place was no easy feat, yet the huge stadium pulled it off, allowing adequate space for those present and leaving a large elliptical area in the centre for battles or other unknown activities. The ground was hard enough that movement was free and easy, but soft enough that falling would not be likely to be fatal. Ichigo swallowed at this thought.

"Members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!" a booming voice came from a booth housing thirteen chairs, silencing the crowd and drawing attention to the ever-terrifying Head Captain. "Welcome to this special event to showcase the true power of a Zanpakuto! Captain of Squad Five, Ichigo Kurosaki, and Captain of Squad Six, Byakuya Kuchiki, thank you for taking the time to organise this event."

A burst of cheering erupted from the stands. Byakuya bowed graciously, taking this in his stride, while Ichigo looked around aimlessly, a perplexed gaze scanning for any sign of her, yet his eyes failed to locate the raven-haired woman he searched for. He sighed a little and returned his gaze to Head Captain Yamamoto as he began to speak again and the cheering subsided.

"Now, as we are all aware," Yamamoto went on. "The form of a Zanpakuto changes based on its user and their reiatsu, and even more so when comparing Shikai to Bankai. Today, you will have the opportunity to witness both releases first hand by two experienced combatants, so do not waste the chance to learn!" He let out a murmur, opening one eye slightly to view the two combatants. "Captains, I permit you to use your potential as fully as you wish, provided that you do not go so far as to critically injure one another, nor to cause damage to the region outside of the arena. In the event it seems that these are being obstructed, the match will be halted. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Head Captain," Byakuya bowed his head slightly in response.

"Loud and clear, sir," Ichigo nodded, feeling the fire in his spirit ignite; it felt like he was back on Soukyoku Hill, where he and Byakuya first crossed blades on equal footing in his invasion to save Rukia. He almost smiled at the memory of braking apart the rigging holding Rukia ready for her destruction with only his sheer force. He turned to Byakuya, his blades in his hands. "You ready to start the demonstration, Captain Kuchiki?"

"I am, Captain Kurosaki," Byakuya nodded, drawing his katana gracefully and holding it ready. "Let us begin. Scatter, Senbonsakura."

The blade lit up a bright pink before scattering into a thousand petals, dancing in a vibrant display in the air around him, following the actions of the hilt. There was a brief moment of tranquil beauty as the deadly blossoms floated peacefully in the air as they awaited their orders, then, in a surge, the blades shot forward, intent on slicing their target and cutting him to ribbons, but Ichigo was ready. The young Captain sprung forwards, raising the larger blade and swinging it down forcefully and sending out a shockwave of his reiatsu without discharging a Getsuga Tenshou. The abrupt distortion threw the tiny petal-like blades aside and left an opening for Ichigo to force in a little way on the assault. He swung the smaller blade outwards, tracing a thin blue trail in the air.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" he bellowed.

The line he had traced flared briefly, then a great wave of reishi tore forth from it, much larger than the normal Getsuga from previous Shikai forms despite the small motion and blade. Byakuya's eyes widened a little in surprise at this development, but he angled his hilt to a blocking stance, swarming the bladed petals to the powerful wave to deflect or subdue it. The blast was more powerful than expected, and it took more of the petals than had been calculated to cease the attack, but Byakuya managed to quash the attack and evade any damages.

A murmur of surprise and awe rippled through the crowd as they watched the two Captains battling, a sense of unfinished business to their clash clear with every sword strike and special move the two of them made. Rukia felt a tug in her chest, recalling Ichigo's actions on Soukyoku Hill to save her from execution when she had lost hope of rescue. And the more she watched, the more she realised that this was in fact a way of ending the battle that had been started there.

Both Ichigo and Byakuya had grown much more powerful in the time since the first battle between each other, the first true test of their skills with one another. Ichigo's powers had changed and shifted several times to reach this form, but it was clear that he had more power now than ever before. Equally, Byakuya's intense trained had put him high in the ranks and allowed him to stand against opponents others would have fallen against. The real question in her mind was whether the two were on par now, or if one was stronger than the other.

Ichigo stepped back hurriedly as Byakuya's blades advanced on him, dodging back from the sharp petal-like metal shards. The pink blossoms danced furiously towards him, their dangerous edges slicing at air and rending the space between the fighters. Byakuya spoke up for the first time since they had begun.

"Come now, Kurosaki," he chided. "Surely you have a new ability to match your new Shikai."

Damn, he already caught on, Ichigo cursed. He smirked. Best not disappoint him.

Ichigo adjusted his stance, both blades glowing faintly blue as he channelled his reiatsu into the core of the swords. He swung his shorter blade first, tracing a long, thin trail of blue into the air where the tip had cut, then swung the longer blade, bisecting the first trail with the second. As he finished the arc, he yelled out two words.

"Getsuga Juujishou!"

Instantly, the two trails burst wide open and propelled forwards towards Byakuya and Senbonsakura, the attack taking the form of two Getsuga Tenshou merged at the middle and at right angles to one another. Byakuya scoffed and raised his guard to block with the blades.

"Your trump card is just another-" He started, seemingly unimpressed, but he stopped short and his eyes went wide as he witnessed what was happening. "Impossible."

The pink blades were not only being pushed back, but dispersed as well in the wake of the cross-shaped wave. The older Captain backstepped rapidly and called upon an alternate approach.

"Bakudo 88: Danku!" he called, setting up the splitting void, which paused the advance of the attack, but the Kido soon began to crack. "I have no choice then. Bankai."

As the Kido broke down, the vast tide of pink blades that formed Senbonsakura Kageoshi surged forth to meet the energy blast head on, causing a clash for a time before the blue energy was quashed and detonated inside the pink sea, sending a few dozen petals to be thrown out of the mass and flutter to the ground. Ichigo himself looked shocked by just how powerful the attack had been.

From the stands, stunned silence emanated, the crowd shocked by the sheer force of the attack, which raised the question of what the young Captain's Bankai would be like, and how powerful he would be. From his seat, Head Captain Yamamoto watched with tense features, his stoic features unmoved yet his anxiety towards the situation clear to all who knew him. Byakuya pulled back his blades, massing them behind him.

"Well, Captain Kurosaki," he announced. "I think you have kept us waiting long enough. I have released my Senbonsakura Kageoshi, is it not time for you to show your own Bankai?"

The stands murmured with interest at this bold challenge. Ichigo swallowed, feeling a bead of sweat run down his neck. He was being called out, and he knew that meant he could hold off no longer.

"Very well, Captain Kuchiki," he announced, raising both blades and touching them together lightly. A bright blue light energised the twin zanpakuto. "This is my Bankai; Kurokage Zangetsu."

The words were all that could be said before a huge cone of reiatsu burst out of Ichigo and his blades as his Bankai emerged, causing the air to light with static and the stands bristle with excitement. The ground shook as Ichigo's vast power reserves were unleashed, cracking the ground at Byakuya's feet. From the stands, Rukia felt her heart clench; even she, who had been helping Ichigo with this training, had not witnessed the full power release of his Bankai. She had seen pieces, but it had always been unstable and incomplete, changing style and shape with every appearance, but this time was different, she could feel it in her bones and throughout her being.

The energy displacement finally dispersed, leaving the new Bankai behind for all to see; Ichigo stood with no blades in his hands, but he was far from unchanged aside from being supposedly disarmed. His hair was much longer and tipped with black, and his eyes had a red glaze to them. His arms were bound in blue-grey bandages which seemed to be etched with black markings and appeared to bind across the torso and up his neck. Over his torso was a black shihaksho with the sleeves torn off and tattered looking ends. Seeping off the tops of his shoulders was dense black reishi. The crowd gathered in the stands stared in stunned silence at the sight as Ichigo's power levelled out.

In the stands, Rukia felt her breath catch in her throat as she laid eyes on the form Ichigo's Bankai had taken. She had not seen it before, but she recognised some aspects of the form to be that of Ichigo's previous Tensa Zangetsu, but other parts were completely new to the form. But what had her most concerned was the way that the release had not taken the form of a sword as it normally would, rather it had no discernible form at all, and had melded with Ichigo's body. It reminded her more of an Arrancar's Resurreccion in the way it melded to him, and that worried Rukia most of all.

"Well," Byakuya broke the stunned silence at last. "This is not what I had anticipated, Captain. However, we should not allow that to change this event."

Ichigo chuckled drily, smiling.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Captain Kuchiki," he replied, a faint echoing edge to his voice as he spoke. It sent a chill up Rukia and Renji's spines. "Let's demonstrate to this crowd what difference Bankai makes."

Ichigo held his hand out to his side and focused for a moment. From out of the dense black reishi which oozed off of his arm appeared a blade composed of shadowy energy, which he gripped tightly in his right hand, readying himself for his opponent's next move. Seemingly unfazed beneath his stoic manner, Byakuya raised his right arm and began to manipulate his swarm of razor sharp petals, aiming at the younger Captain, who made no actions to move away or dodge. Just as the blades struck their target, a rush of air and an accompanying buzzing sound brought attention to behind the nobleman. Ichigo stood there, unscathed and smirking, his blade resting on his shoulder tauntingly.

Byakuya had to admit, albeit to himself, that that had taken him by surprise. He was all too aware that Ichigo had potentially the fastest movement speed in Bankai, the compressed nature of the spiritual energies making it easy for him to move at high speeds, but that speed had been a shock regardless. If he did not know any better, he would have thought it to be Sonido rather than Shunpo, but he did not entertain the idea.

Using Shunpo to get some distance between them, Byakuya swarmed his blade in multiple areas, trying to funnel Ichigo to overcome his advanced mobility, but the orange-haired captain answered by staying put and swinging his blade in an arc.

"Getsuga," he murmured as he swung. "Tenshou."

From the tip of the sword erupted a wave of red-black energy, tearing through the air and cleaving the ground as it tore towards Byakuya. The pressure of the wave far exceeded what had been expected by anyone gathered there, and made the stadium shake and tremble as it approached.

Abruptly, a wall of flame erupted around the energy wave, detonating it and funnelling the explosion upwards to prevent the crowds getting hurt. The crowd turned to the main box, where they found Head Captain Yamamoto standing there, slowly sheathing Ryujin Jakka again after his interference.

"Thank you both for your demonstration," the old captain announced loudly and clearly. "However, I think it would be best to finish this demonstration before any damages befall the arena. Please seal your zanpakuto and bow to your opponent."

The two combatants sealed their weapons, with Byakuya's sword reforming from the pink scattered blades while Ichigo's dispersed in a mist of blackness, returning to the two swords at Ichigo's back and hip. The two turned to one another and bowed courteously. There was a short pause, then the crowd began to clap and cheer in excited enthusiasm over what they had witnessed. Some were disappointed that the fight had not continued, others relieved that it had been made to stop before it had gotten out of hand.

But for Rukia, she could only sit there in silence, clenching her fist tightly in her lap. Now she understood why Ichigo had not revealed anything of his Bankai before he had to, and with this revelation, she knew exactly what she had to do. The only thought in her mind was to confront Ichigo about his Bankai, and his hollow's powers infused into it.

Ok, confession time; I screwed up big time on this one.

I had planned to release this chapter around four months ago, but between procrastination and university work over the last few months, I lost track of progress and derailed. For that, I can only apologise to all of you who have been waiting for this.

I also owe thanks to a certain user, who submitted a review which reminded me how careless I had been with this; I saw the review the morning of a practice interview last week, and it inspired me to continue. So, to Vizual-Era and all those who were kind enough to review this story, and of course all of you who read and enjoy what I post, thank you for being patient with me.

I won't guarantee when the next chapter will be released, but I will try to stay on top of it this time.