Lex Talionis
Chapter 16
After Urahara explained the implications of this theft, the Captain-Commander called for an emergency meeting for both Captains and Lieutenants. The Captain-Commander, Lieutenant Sasakibe, Captain Kyoraku, Captain Urahara, and Ichigo all made their way to the meeting room and in short time arrived before the remaining Captains and Lieutenants filed in place and the meeting began.
A resounding bang was heard as the Captain-Commander slammed his cane on the ground, signaling the commencement of the emergency meeting, "This emergency meeting will now begin! 12th Division Captain Urahara Kisuke, if you would," Yamamoto bellowed with authority as the attention was directed towards the eccentric scientist.
Urahara simply nodded in acknowledgement before he began, "During my research and investigation into saving the disappearing Rukongai citizens, I came across results that lead to the creation of an invention I dubbed as the Hōgyoku," he paused as every person in the room held onto every word he spoke, the recent betrayal of both Aizen and Amagai having put everyone on edge.
"Upon further experimentation I soon discovered that the Hōgyoku could not resolve the predicament of the vanishing souls, and as such I locked this invention away and pursued other avenues that may bear fruit. Of course as you are all aware, thanks to the hard work of Lieutenant Fushou we were able to reverse engineer a cure for those subjugated to Aizen-san's experiments with the samples retrieved from his quarters," Urahara explained.
"Get to the point," the new 11th Division Captain growled out impatiently.
Urahara glanced at the man briefly before continuing, "After I was confident that the Captains and Lieutenants infected by the hollow vials were in no immediate danger and the commotion surrounding Amagai-san's betrayal settled down, I took stock of my inventions and discovered that the Hōgyoku was missing."
"What's so special about this thing that we were called to a meeting for it?" Shinji asked lazily as his eyes were half lidded and shoulders slouched very much resembling a sloth.
Urahara looked directly into the 5th Division Captain's eyes before replying with deadly seriousness, "The Hōgyoku is capable of dissolving the boundaries between shinigami and hollow, allowing one to attain the powers of the other."
After this revelation, Shinji's eyes were wide in shock and his shoulders bolted upward, a reaction shared by nearly everyone in the room.
"And we have reason to believe that Aizen Sosuke is responsible for stealing this artifact," the Captain-Commander interjected while sparing a glance at Ichigo who calmly stood behind Yoruichi.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Fushou, and give my regards to Captain Urahara, you have both helped me immensely," Ichigo recalled Aizen's last words to him while every Captain and Lieutenant tried to digest the information being relayed to them.
The Captain-Commander slammed his cane on the wooden floor once again, effectively breaking everyone out from their thoughts and regaining their attention, "Aizen Sosuke has likely retreated to Hueco Mundo and as such 12th Division Captain Urahara Kisuke will be devising a way to open a gateway to the world of hollows," Yamamoto stated.
"Hueco Mundo?" the 3rd Division Captain repeated, clearly confused, "Why would Aizen go there? For all we know he's hiding somewhere in Soul Society," he asked.
Yamamoto glanced once more at Ichigo, who then walked forward and stood between the Captains before speaking, "Aizen was experimenting on citizens of the Rukongai, seated officers of the 9th Division, and eventually Lieutenants and Captains. Clearly he was attempting to succeed by exposing increasingly more powerful subjects for better results. Soul Society has no one stronger than a Captain, nor would you find anyone of greater strength in the World of the Living, which leaves only one world left for Aizen to find adequate test subjects," Ichigo explained as understanding soon shone on Captain Ōtoribashi's face.
"The theft of the Hōgyoku can mean only one thing if Aizen is involved: hollows being granted the abilities of shinigami," Ichigo concluded before taking his place behind Yoruichi once more.
"Prepare your divisions for war!" the Captain-Commander bellowed with a resounding thud from his cane as the emergency meeting was concluded.
The Captains and Lieutenants filed out of the room slowly as they all tried to wrap their heads around the situation, but not before the Captain-Commander spoke up once more, "Lieutenant Fushou, you are not dismissed."
Yoruichi quirked an eyebrow at Ichigo who merely halted in his steps and turned back around walking towards the Captain-Commander while the room was emptied of everyone except the two individuals.
Ichigo stood directly in front of Yamamoto with his arms held behind his back, posture straight and rigid, with eyes closed and face relaxed.
"I do not agree with your motives for joining the Gotei 13," the Captain-Commander stated with a neutral tone, a stark contrast to his anger from earlier in his office.
"Nor do I agree with your loyalties towards the Vandenreich," he continued as Ichigo remained unmoving at the Captain-Commander's comments.
"However…" the Captain-Commander said with pause, "your choice to reveal both your motives and loyalties despite knowing that I would disagree cannot be ignored. That choice alone is why you are not facing judgment by the Central 46. That choice alone is why you were not killed at the mention of the Vandenreich. It is that choice alone that I give you this opportunity to redeem yourself."
Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and was met with the hardened gaze of the Captain-Commander as they both stared unflinchingly at the other.
"Captain Kyoraku has vouched for you, Lieutenant Fushou," the Captain-Commander said with a sliver of emotion Ichigo barely detected, let alone able to decipher. Ichigo only knew that what Yamamoto had said held weight; there were implications to his words, unforeseen consequences Ichigo had yet been able to grasp.
"Captain Kyoraku will be held responsible for anything you do from this point on that does not fall in accordance with the law," the Captain-Commander explained, which caught Ichigo off-guard that Kyoraku would do such a thing for him.
Yamamoto did not miss the surprised expression on the Lieutenant's face, but was relieved if only slightly to know that Ichigo seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation.
Ichigo looked down in deep thought, concentration etched on his features, and with slight pause spoke, "To clarify on my…loyalties," he began, "I have only ever been loyal to my family."
The Captain-Commander considered Ichigo's words and their sincerity before deeming them acceptable, "The leader of the group you know as the Vandenreich," Yamamoto began, gaining Ichigo's attention once more, "is a great evil who goes by the name Juha Bach. He attacked Soul Society nearly one thousand years ago and upon learning of your past and these experiments I can only assume that he will attack again."
Ichigo paid attention to every single detail, from the words uttered from Yamamoto's mouth, all the way to the inflection of his voice despite how controlled it remained. He filed every piece of information away and made sure he didn't miss a single thing as some light was being shed on his past, albeit possibly indirectly related.
"Dying to exterminate great evil, know that this is the spirit of the Gotei 13, Fushou Ichigo, and in the coming time of war we will all have to make sacrifices to protect Soul Society," the Captain-Commander said with finality before dismissing the 2nd Division Lieutenant.
Ichigo left the meeting room deep in thought, muddling over the new bits of information he had learned from the Captain-Commander, but his musings were put on hold as he recognized the 11th Division Captain speaking with Yoruichi.
Yoruichi noticed his approach and beckoned him over, the 11th Division Captain grinning at the sight of the 2nd Division Lieutenant.
"Everything okay?" Yoruichi questioned, likely with regards to Ichigo's personal meeting with Yamamoto.
"Yes," Ichigo replied.
Yoruichi accepted his answer with seemingly no problems before regarding her fellow Captain, "Captain Zaraki here has requested my permission to fight you, Ichigo," she said nonchalantly.
Ichigo met Zaraki's gaze before returning his attention towards Yoruichi expectantly, "I have agreed to his request under the condition that no permanent damage is done," she said with a smirk on the corner of her mouth.
Ichigo simply raised an eyebrow at her answer, a bit surprised that she agreed to such a thing, but accepted her choice without complaint by nodding his head in compliance.
She walked past him but not before placing her hand on his shoulder and whispering in his ear, "I don't think you'll be able to manage fighting this Captain without drawing your Zanpakuto," she stated, causing Ichigo to remember the conversation following their battle for Captaincy of the 2nd Division.
"I'm curious though," she said while he adjusted the band, "why didn't you use your Zanpakuto?"
Ichigo paused in his adjustment, and slowly looked up at his Captain, "If I couldn't defeat you without my Zanpakuto, using it wouldn't have made much of a difference since you too have a Zanpakuto," he stated simply.
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at his reasoning, "Well, that's a habit we're going to have to fix," she said before walking away.
Yoruichi left the two men to stand there in silence, until the 11th Division Captain laughed excitedly, "Let's get this fight started already, we can use the 11th Division's training arena!"
Ichigo looked thoughtfully at Yoruichi's retreating form once more before gazing at the Captain before him and nodding his head, "Lead the way, Captain Zaraki."
After several wrong turns and dead ends, both Ichigo and Zaraki soon arrived to the 11th Division training arena, which happened to be filled to the brim with shinigami fighting one another. Upon Captain Zaraki's arrival, the fighting within the arena ceased and a hushed silence permeated through the air, which was soon replaced with anxious excitement as it became clear that their Captain would be fighting.
"Captain!" a bald man exclaimed running up to them, dirt and sweat littering his bare chest as it appeared he had just finished fighting a fellow member of the 11th Division.
"Clear em' out Ikkaku, I've got a fight," Zaraki said with uncontained excitement, his blood crazed grin stretching across his features as his eyes lit up.
Ikkaku seemed almost as excited as Zaraki did, and not a moment later began yelling at everyone within the arena to clear out for their Captain, which they did happily and sat in the stands.
Both Ichigo and Zaraki stood at the center of the arena. Ichigo was the appearance of calm tranquility, while Zaraki was like a raging storm ready to be unleashed.
Zaraki drew his jagged blade, "Loser buys the sake!" he bellowed before charging Ichigo who had yet to draw his Zanpakuto.
The distance between them was closing with every step Zaraki took, and when Zaraki was within a sword's reach he brought down his Zanpakuto with a ferocious amount of force; it almost sounded like the air was screaming at being cut through with such strength, but Ichigo remained unfazed.
Centimeters prior to Zaraki's blade striking his forehead, Ichigo pivoted his left foot backwards and turned his body accordingly to avoid the sword, which was now embedded in the dirt beneath their feet.
Zaraki wasted no time, however, and quickly brought his sword towards Ichigo once more in a sideways strike aiming to split him at the waist, but Ichigo jumped over the blade and avoided injury for the second time.
As Ichigo knelt down after landing, he spun his leg out towards Zaraki in an attempt to trip the Captain, but Zaraki jumped over the leg sweep and as he came back down brought with him another swing of his sword.
Ichigo rolled backwards and another crater was formed by the 11th Division Captain's Zanpakuto. The momentum Ichigo used to move backwards allowed him to push off his feet from a crouched position and with deadly speed kicked Zaraki square in the face with the soles of his feet. The Captain was knocked to the ground and Ichigo landed next to his head, but Ichigo quickly dove forward to avoid getting his feet cut off as Zaraki swiped his blade sideways while he still lay on the ground.
Zaraki jumped to his feet and rushed Ichigo once more, executing a combination of vertical and horizontal attacks in the hopes of cutting the 2nd Division Lieutenant. However, Ichigo was able to deftly avoid the Captain's blade and countered with punches and kicks when the opportunity arose.
As Ichigo discovered yet another opening, he outstretched his arm and landed a punch on Zaraki's ribs, but he is caught by surprise when the Captain grabs hold of his right hand; effectively holding him in place, Zaraki brings down a vertical slash aimed for Ichigo's left shoulder. Thinking quickly, Ichigo sidestepped the attack by pivoting his left foot backwards for a second time, and with impressive strength used his imprisoned hand to uproot Zaraki off the ground and slammed him into the ground.
Ichigo jumped backwards several yards and creates distance between himself and Zaraki. As the dirt settles and the image of the 11th Division Captain lying in a newly formed crater comes into view, laughter can be heard, and it continues to grow louder with each passing second.
Zaraki sits himself up and is soon on his feet, which his subordinates respond to with zeal and vigor, cheering for their Captain excitedly.
"Fucking awesome," Zaraki exclaims, "just like that, don't lose that strength!"
Ichigo was confused at his words, unsure of what exactly the Captain was trying to convey, but he soon discovers its meaning when Zaraki's spiritual pressure began to dramatically increase.
As the spiritual pressure continued to skyrocket, it soon dawned on Ichigo that with this level of strength anything less than his sword likely wouldn't impede the Captain's coming assault, and much to Zaraki's excitement, Ichigo drew his blade.
Zaraki charged once more towards Ichigo, and not only had the Captain's speed increased two fold, but the strength behind his attacks had as well, if judging by the amount of force he was feeling pressed down on his blade was anything to go by.
Zaraki was relentless. His attacks were everywhere, a barrage of strikes Ichigo was parrying with his own sword, or dodging with his nimble body. The fact that Zaraki had yet to cut Ichigo did not deter him in the least, in fact, it seemed to spur him on even more and the spiritual energy put into his assault only continued to increase over time.
Zaraki brought down another vertical strike aimed at Ichigo, which he avoided by jumping to the right, and while the Captain's left side was still exposed Ichigo funneled reiatsu into his right leg and landed a powerful kick on Zaraki's ribs. Upon contact, the momentum alone vaulted the 11th Division Captain across the entire arena and into the wall, much like their first meeting when Ichigo attempted to save the previous Captain of the 11th Division.
Ichigo noted a light sting in his leg, but Zaraki suffered far more damage as his ribs were in all likelihood broken from the attack. However, as Zaraki dislodged himself from the wall he certainly didn't express any pain in his ribs as he ran towards Ichigo with his sword reeled back.
Ichigo choose not to wait for the Captain to reach him as he had done previously, and instead opted to charge the incoming Captain with his sword drawn back as well, which only widened the grin on Zaraki's face.
However, as Zaraki brought down his sword in what he thought would be an exchange of blades, Ichigo flash-stepped behind the unsuspecting Captain moments before contact and landed a spin kick on the back of Zaraki's head. The momentum created by Zaraki in charging forward coupled with Ichigo's kick propelled the Captain once more, but instead of shooting into another wall at the end of the arena, the Captain dug his sword in the ground as he was propelled forward and turned his body before halting it altogether.
Zaraki was still grinning wildly. He pulled his sword out from the ground and held it up once again, ready for another clash.
The 11th Division Captain's strength and durability alone impressed Ichigo, he couldn't deny the newly appointed Captain that much, but he knew that more was needed to counteract his opponent.
Ichigo had two choices: increase his own reiatsu or release his Shikai. After weighing his options and possible outcomes, he opted for the latter.
"Hide, Gekkō" Ichigo said whilst his arm remained outstretched to his side. The familiar blue tinted, white wispy smoke began to envelop his blade, which soon revealed the black and silver scythe he had sparingly utilized in combat up until this point.
Zaraki licked his lips and his grin widened even more if that were possible, "That's your Zanpakuto? It looks strong."
Ichigo didn't respond to Zaraki's comment, he simply held his blade in front of him at a horizontal direction before quietly saying, "Tsuki no zetsubō," and slashing across the air towards Zaraki's direction.
Zaraki glanced down at himself as if expecting to be cut, but upon discovering no changes to his person he simply glanced up towards Ichigo, "Eh, was that supposed to hurt me?"
Ichigo didn't respond, he only sped towards Zaraki and began lashing out with his scythe and while some of his attacks were parried, Ichigo was carving into Zaraki's flesh with little effort.
However, Ichigo was a bit surprised by Zaraki's response, he was laughing.
His laughter grew into cackles of excitement, exclamations of adrenaline, and his ever present smile bared his teeth in a grin of happiness.
Ichigo's next strike was parried and met with equal strength, resulting in a standstill of blades both locked in combat as one man looked on impassively while the other smiled ecstatically.
"That's an odd shape, can't say I've ever fought someone with that kind of blade," Zaraki commented as he calmed his cackles down to small tremors in his throat.
Ichigo's eyes knitted together in confusion.
"I think I'm used to it now, let's go for round two you and I," Zaraki stated before pushing Ichigo's blade away and slashing the Lieutenant's shoulder, the Captain licking his lips at the first cut received by the Lieutenant. The cut was shallow as Ichigo had quickly leapt backwards to avoid further injury.
"Why does he seem unaffected?" Ichigo thought as they continued trading strikes with one another.
"Tsuki no zetsubō cuts light from the body. As we were once humans our dependency on light has carried over to Soul Society. Gekkō is able to rob his enemies of light and induce symptoms associated with light deprivation. So why…" Ichigo thought as Zaraki landed yet another shallow attack on his forearm, "Why has this man remain unchanged?"
Ichigo flash-stepped to the side in order to avoid an attack too close for comfort and launched himself forward offensively, bringing with him varying degrees of attacks that came at the 11th Division Captain from different angles.
"I was able to expedite the symptoms with Tousen by provoking him with taunts and certain keywords because of his lack of emotional control, while conversely Aizen succumbed at a much slower pace. But this man…" Ichigo continued to question as Zaraki responded very much in the same way he had at the beginning of their battle.
Realization dawned upon Ichigo moments before he leaned backwards to avoid a horizontal strike and flipped backwards away from the battle hungry man, "He's of singular mind. His range of emotions are so limited in battle that it's no surprise Tsuki no zetsubō had no effect."
His mind briefly drifted to something Nikkō had told him during their first conversation, "Zanpakuto are not meant to be divided into two beings."
Perhaps this division would explain these newly discovered weaknesses in Gekkō's special ability. However, he could ponder no further on these questions as he dodged another attack from Zaraki.
After two more hours of continuous combat, a visit to the 4th Division, and the purchase of several bottles of sake, both Captain Zaraki and Lieutenant Fushou sat beneath some trees outside the Seireitei trading swigs of the alcoholic beverage as they relaxed in silence.
Ichigo found that the spar, if one could call it that, did much to relieve some of the stress and tension in his body. Zaraki seemed sated for now, but had assured Ichigo that this was not their last battle against each other, and surprisingly Ichigo didn't mind.
They had drank the sake away rather quickly, and after enjoying the shade for quite some time Zaraki stood up with a yawn while stretching his limbs, "Thanks for the fight Ichigo, I'm gonna take a nap," the Captain said tiredly, the combination of battle, heat, and alcohol making him sleepy.
"Ah," Ichigo responded, and as Zaraki walked away, a thought entered Ichigo's mind, "By the way…" he said as Zaraki paused in his walk, "Captain Kyoraku is always looking for drinking partners."
Zaraki turned and began walking away once again, but not before acknowledging Ichigo's subtle suggestion, "I'll keep that in mind."
As the sight of Zaraki soon escaped Ichigo's range of vision, he remained seated on the ground and leaned against the tree he sat beneath before calming his mind and delving to the depths of his inner world.
He opened his eyes to see the vast ocean, vacant beach, and full moon in the pitch black sky. He was slightly disappointed that his inner world had returned to normal, but his thoughts were interrupted by a voice next to him, "You found her."
Ichigo glanced to his right side and saw what he now knew to be one half of his Zanpakuto, "Gekkō."
"We occupy our own worlds, Ichigo," Gekkō responded to his unasked question.
"They had been split," Ichigo remembered as Gekkō sat down on the sand, and Ichigo soon joined him.
"How did it happen?" Ichigo questioned as they both looked out towards the ocean and bright moon, enjoying each other's company and the calming night.
"Do not ask questions to which you already know the answer, Ichigo," Gekkō responded cryptically.
A brief image of the medallion he was forced to wear cropped into the forefront of his mind and a small wave in the ocean was made before settling to still water once again.
Ichigo considers his next question as Gekkō peers at him thoughtfully, "How can I reunite you both?" he asked, glancing down at Gekkō and meeting his gaze.
Gekkō blinks slowly before looking out at the ocean once more, considering the question as silence passes between them and he stands up, "In all likelihood that is an impossibility, the method simply does not exist."
"I see," Ichigo replied, not falling into despair, merely accepting the reality of their situation, "What of the weaknesses in your abilities?" he asked.
"While reuniting us may be impossible, establishing a relationship with her should be your top priority," Gekkō replied, whether he was answering his question or not was not clear at first, but speaking in riddles and vague estimations had been Gekkō's practice since they met.
Ichigo closed his eyes and stood up, before opening them once more and sharing a look with Gekkō, "I understand."
As Ichigo began walking away, Gekkō spoke out behind him, "You must accept that which was previously rejected. You must embrace that which was previously held at arm's length. For any meaningful connection between you and her to be established you must accept the truths in your heart, Ichigo."
Ichigo inhaled deeply with closed eyes, and as he exhaled and opened his eyelids, he was back in the outside world. However, as he looked up from where he sat under the tree, his gaze was met with a pair of turquoise eyes.
Ichigo closed his eyes once more so he would not have to bear looking into those orbs which stirred so much within him, and after calming the storm of emotions that welled up within him, he spoke, "Lisa."
While she walked forward and choose to sit next to him, he observed that while previously confronted with emotions such as these he would normally push them down, ignore them entirely, and do all he could to repress such feelings from ever resurfacing. Of course, this always had little effect as they always came back more aggressive than before. However, now he simply controlled them, harnessed their wild nature, and granted them space to move freely in his heart, which brought a unique feeling in and of itself that he had never experienced before.
He couldn't dwell any more on the matter though as Lisa began talking to him, "I heard you fought against the new 11th Division Captain," she stated, a hint of curiosity evident in her voice, which very much reminded him of when she wanted to spy on the emergency Captain's meeting during Aizen's betrayal, which almost brought a smile to his face, almost.
"That is correct," he replied simply.
"Who won?" she questioned absentmindedly while considering his appearance.
Ichigo took slow and deep breaths to help calm himself down, the whirlwind of emotions nearly overwhelming him as he could feel her gaze upon him, "It was a draw."
"Really?" she said in disbelief, obviously paying less attention to the conversation and giving more attention to his body with her eyes. He was surprised at how she managed to sound so convincing at being interested in the topic. Perhaps she was genuinely interested, but simply managed to multitask in this situation of socialization, the basics of which he fell short of understanding, giving Lisa the advantage under these circumstances.
"We could not deal permanent damage to the other, and neither of us could defeat the other without disregarding that constraint," he explained before turning his gaze upon her, meeting her eyes and maintaining eye contact despite how uncomfortable it made him.
Lisa only smirked, much to his confusion, before she looked out towards the hills and plains before them as they both sat there enjoying nature.
"The last time I saw you," she began after several minutes of comfortable silence, "you were quite upset with Amagai."
Ichigo looked at her once again. She was still looking forward at the scenery. He returned his gaze forward and considered his words before replying, "Yes, I was."
He could once again feel her eyes on him, and so he returned her gaze. She was waiting for him to elaborate, if he was reading her features correctly, and so he divulged a bit more to quench her thirst for more details, "There was something in him that I saw in myself."
He maintained eye contact for a moment longer before breaking his gaze and looking elsewhere. The silence only made him more uncomfortable, and before he could begin regretting telling her such a thing, she replied, "I'm relieved to hear that."
Ichigo looked at her with confusion, and curiosity now graced his features as she looked forward, "For a while I thought you were devoid of all emotion, I'm glad I was wrong," she said in all seriousness, but of course moments such as those only lasted briefly when it concerned Lisa.
"All that's left now is to figure out if you're attracted to women or not," she said with the same serious tone used moments earlier, but as she turned and looked at Ichigo she couldn't prevent the smirk, or the hearty laugh from surging out into the open.
The red tint on Ichigo's face couldn't be hidden, and attempting to do so would only add to his embarrassment, and so he settled with a slight huff before avoiding Lisa's gaze. Unfortunately, this only brought Lisa to a louder fit of laughter as she relished in Ichigo's discomfort.
His wounded pride and discomfort aside, a small part of Ichigo couldn't help but feel that it was worth it in the end. Listening to Lisa laugh right now made almost any kind of embarrassment worth it in the end, and upon reaching that conclusion he resisted the instinct to throw these feelings and memories away as the words of both his Zanpakuto spirits rang through his mind.
Their intimate moment was soon disturbed, however, as an alarm within the Seireitei rang loudly and could be heard from where they were seated. They both directed their attention towards the sound of the alarm and flash-stepped back towards the Seireitei.
As they continued closing the distance, they could eventually make out the words being bellowed, "Attention! Attention! Hollows have breached the Seireitei, we are under attack!"