Disclaimer: This man does not own Bleach.
Trascender
...Pain...
The only thing Ichigo knew when he had finally awaken was the fact that his head felt like hell was pounding around in it.
"Ichigo."
Facing the lights of the medical ward once again... He was really getting annoyed with waking up in this room. His eyes fluttered open, gazing into the concerned pupils of Soryu Ishida.
"Did you come get me...?"
"Nope. It was those big ol' fellas outside your window."
"What?" Confused, Ichigo turned his head towards the window of the tower. Outside of his window, hundreds of Menos Grande were grouped together, pushing each other and groaning as they gazed into his window. Frightful, Ichigo jumped back and collided with the wall.
"What the hell are they doing here!?"
Soryu giggled as she gauged Ichigo's reaction. Pushing her glasses further upon her nose, similar to her son, she answered back to him, "They were just saving their new master, silly. I guess they're awaiting your next move, Hot Shot."
"New... master?"
Soryu stood up, clearly amused with her hands on her hips as she beamed down upon him with her eyebrows raised.
"You... do realize that most of Hueco Mundo is waiting for you outside this door, don't you? They all want to see about this new 'Primera' rumor that's been spreading around Hueco Mundo."
Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized that an entire army awaited him outside, and he had no idea how he was going to lead them all. He leaned over, burying his face into his hands as he groaned, "Oh, man!"
Soryu's response was to simply giggle as Halibel walked in, grabbed Ichigo, and tossed him over her shoulder, walking back out the door with no response as Ichigo dead-panned.
'This is so embarrassing...'
"I'm sorry to say that we will not be joining you as your subjects, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo stared at Realto Heavenworth, who took command over the Denego after the loss of Hoshiihime. The man gazed around the table room as he and the rest of the Denego were surrounded by many ticked off Espada and Fraccion. Before they could jump on him, he made his statement clear.
"However... we will be joining you as allies in the upcoming war. Lady Kag- I mean, Lady Hoshiihime, would have done the same, if she were still here."
"What he means to say is that we'll be back if ya'll lil' bitches don't finish Juhabach off properly!"
"...Nicholas, shut up."
"Make me, Emma! I'm sick and tired of you runnin' your mouth all the motherfuckin' time!"
William face-palmed himself before grabbing the two arguing Denego and dragging them out of the room. Realto turned around, following them out as the other Denego surrounded them. Ichigo leaned further into his chair, sighing in relief.
"Glad that's over with."
Before he could get too comfortable, Halibel grabbed him by his shoulder, lifting him up with a hand.
"We're not done yet. You need to go to the desert and address the Hollows stationed outside."
"But- but-!"
The stern look in her eyes silenced him as he allowed himself be dragged away.
"...Sup, guys... I'm... uhh... Ichigo Kurosaki, the new Primera Espada."
Thousands of Hollows littered the sand of Las Noches as they stared at the orange-haired Arrancar nervously fiddle around in place.
"...Yeah... Umm... and I defeated Aizen, like, two years ago."
That simple phrase had the entire crowd screaming, however, whether it was from joy or anger, Ichigo couldn't tell.
"And I'm not gonna let Juhabach do the same to all of you!"
Ichigo believed the screaming was for joy, as the cheering continued to echo across the sand dunes. Soon afterwards, Ichigo had the Hollows lined up, ready to be granted the desire of an Arrancar. While the events were going on, he was tapped in the shoulder by Sung-Sun.
"Lord Ichigo... we have returned. There is someone who wishes to speak to you."
Ichigo blinked once before following behind her to the infirmary. Arriving, he opened the door and peeked in, discovering no one was to be found.
"There's nobody here, damnit!"
Sung-Sun, extremely panicked, attempted to reach past him to look into the room.
"Wait, I could've sworn he was here just a second ago! We just brought him in!"
Doubting her words, Ichigo threw the door open, walking into the room as he spun around.
"There's no one here, Sung-Sun! You might have-"
"Come to 'Big Daddy', Ichigooooooo!"
Before Ichigo could react, a swift, jumping heel kick sent him flying into the curtains of another bed, crashing through the bed as he collided with the desk next to it. Shocked, Sung-Sun eyes widened from her skull as she watched the so-called 'Great Primera' accept a foot to his face so easily.
"Lo-Lord Ichigo!?"
"Boy, you've gotten soft on me! If you were normal like you used to be, you would've saw that one comin'!"
Ichigo jumped up angrily, rubbing his cheek as he glared into the smirking eyes of his father. He angrily reared his face against his father's bandaged counterpart as he argued him down.
"After months of not seeing me, your greeting to your only son is to kick me in the face!? Fuck you, goat face!"
After a drop-kick from Ichigo and an hour of tussling between the two men, Sung-Sun sweat-dropped and left the room, leaving the father-son duo to themselves. Soon, the two were panting as they punched each other in the face, ending with Isshin falling flat to the ground.
"You... haven't changed... much... my son...!"
Ichigo held his hands onto his knees as leaned over, panting from the workout against his father. He glanced up at his father, who was leaning on the edge of the bed as if he wasn't affected.
"Where... have you been... all this time... dad!? How did... Juhabach... get to you!? When did he...!?"
"...I let him take me..."
Ichigo's mouth dropped as he heard his father, whose uncharacteristically serious face set him on ease.
"Why would you...?"
"...Because you died. When the step-son of his beloved wife was murdered, I gave my life to him as tribute... But that apparently didn't work, as he still trampled over Soul Society to get to you."
"Get to me...?"
Isshin sighed as he walked over to the window, gazing out at the desert, now filled with newly-made Arrancars testing their powers and Menos Grande roaming over the land, marching together in groups.
"It was in Masaki's will... that she requested for your home... was to be with Juhabach... From the start of your life... you were always meant to be a Quincy. There's a reason you adapted to your Fullbring easier than the rest of Xcution... and the reason your Arrancar-state resembled humans more than the rest."
Ichigo stared at his father as his back was turned, trying to gauge the validity of his words, but saw no wrong in them.
"Then why...? Why did you never give me up?"
Isshin turned around, a humorless smirk upon his face.
"You don't wanna stay with daddy-dearest? You wound my aged soul, my boy!"
"No, dad, that's not what I meant..."
Isshin laughed as he sat back against the bed, leaning over and clapping his hands together as he continued.
"I know. You should know the answer to that, especially if Ryuken or Kisuke opened their big mouth to you..."
"You kept me... because you wanted a weapon for the Soul Reapers..."
"Partially. I didn't agree with that part of Masaki, no matter how much I loved her. But mostly... because you were my son... and the son of my wife."
Ichigo opened his mouth to blink, but stopped as he paid attention to his father's words.
"Wait... You loved her!? What the hell, old man!? After your arranged marriage to her, and all that bullshit 'bout giving me to the 'Quincy Cause', you loved her? Did she even love you back!?"
Isshin closed his eyes as he faced the ground, shaking his head at Ichigo.
"...Ichigo... I told you that a long time ago... I did fall in love with her... I first met her when she caught me smoking... and told me it was it cool. I didn't know who she really was at the time... I didn't really figure out till later... Afterwards, when the Quincy offered a truce after the massacre, I gave up my life in Soul Society for the cause. The love grew naturally after that."
"But you didn't answer whether she loved you or not."
"...I can't speak for the dead Ichigo. As much as I would like to believe Masaki loved me, and a small part of me does, I believe... No, I know, that she gave every ounce of her love to being a Quincy. Do you hate her for that, Ichigo?"
Ichigo's visage notably darkened as he turned away from his father.
"She was prepare to give me up to become a weapon... and so was you. Neither one of you are pretty favorable to me at this point."
"It's okay, Ichigo... I do love you as my son, but you may hate me for as long as you want... But I do implore you to change your mind for the dead, Ichigo. Your mother might have made some decisions I could not agree with, but there was no doubt about it... she loved you more than anything."
"More than the Quincy?"
Isshin paused as he stood up. Ichigo looked over his shoulder as he watched his father's hand grip it tightly, squeezing soft pressure into it.
"Yes. She would have used her powers to defeat Kisuke easily... if she really wanted you to go to Juhabach."
With those famous last words, Isshin left Ichigo alone in the infirmary to think to himself as he left. He walked past the hall, stopping when he felt a presence.
"You remind me so much of Ryuken... I'm sorry he died, Soryu."
Behind him, Soryu stood, shoulder against the wall, as she eavesdropped from outside the room.
"That doesn't explain... the reason Juhabach's Volstandig is Masaki... I saw it with my own eyes."
"Sklaverei... can work dark wonders, Soryu."
"...I shouldn't be here..."
"No worries, Aizen! You'll be fine!"
"No... I don't think this is a good idea, Urahara."
"Trust me, Aizen! What could go wrong!?"
"Everything."
Kisuke stood jovially as a disgruntled Aizen idled next to him. They were standing in front of a Garganta, waiting for the appearance of the Zero Squad to stop them from going into Hueco Mundo.
"They know I'm a criminal... and they know I tried to break in... I don't they would take to kindly to my presence."
"Nonsense! They'll let bygones be bygones!"
"Or you just want to see if they'll kill me or not."
Kisuke turned to peek at Aizen from behind his fan. Aizen knew that the darkest rape-face the ex-shopkeeper could muster was behind that fan, and sighed as he looked down. Urahara's eyes screamed out to him, "Oh, fuck yes!"
"Now who is being a troll, Urahara?"
"Me!"
Before long, a missile came flying down from the sky, parade music coming from it as it crashed into the ground, opening and revealing five silhouettes.
"Yeah, yeah, Motherfucka's! Big-daddy Zero Division is here to cause fear, ladies and gentlemen!"
Aizen stared as the clowns dressed in the Soul Reaper appeared, surrounded by music.
'...Did... Did I really... become frightened... of facing these... despicable beings?'
Before he could move, or do anything, his hand was twisted behind him by the Royal Guard with the exaggerated pompadour hairstyle, who suddenly appeared behind him.
"What the fu-"
"Ain't 'chu supposed locked behind bars, Sosuke Aizen? Did you not-?"
He was suddenly kicked to the ground by the bald man with the beard.
"We don't have the time, Tenjiro!"
"It hurts, damnit!"
Kisuke hid his face behind his fan further as he stared at the Royal Guard.
"Why, you guys are as lively as ever, eh?"
He was surprised when the chubby face of the the woman with the purple hair and black lipstick appeared in front of him, gazing at him intently.
"So you were my replacement, huh? How's my sweet little Hiyori doin'?"
"Well, hello there, Captain Hikifune. Sadly, Hiyori's gone to the human world. I'm sure she's fine, though."
"Man, nobody here's fine. Everybody got the shit kicked outta 'em... and the old man kicked the bucket, too. Shit's been-"
A wandering hand slapped Tenjiro for berating the Soul Society once again.
"Be quiet, Tenjiro. Stop being so mean. The Vandenreich is made up of wicked creatures, more so than our little Aizen here. A surprise attack such as that might have been too much..."
Kisuke let his bucket hat fall over his eyes, as he knew by her playful tone that she, too, was subtly disbelieving of them, unlike Tenjiro. Aizen appeared disgruntled as he straightened his Haori out. Kisuke coughed, bringing the conversation back to its serious roots.
"What are you really... Well, we know what you're here for. We're actually here to stop you. I'm sorry, but I can't let you kill Ichigo."
The subtle click of a katana appearing to be withdrawn set the entire atmosphere of the area to below zero degress. The bald guard, Osho, narrowed his eyes as he raised his Reiatsu to stop Kisuke and Aizen, who both appeared unaffected.
"You're not seriously thinking of challenging me, do you, Kisuke? We might have offered you a position , but don't think you can stop all of us."
"I'm not... at least, not alone. Aizen's here to back me up, right, Aizen?"
The tension in the air was sliced easily as Aizen clearly turned and walked away from the situation.
"No. You can die an embarrassing death by suffocating and drowning from your own saliva, for all I care, Urahara."
"What!? That wasn't the plan! Damn you, Aizen!"
The Royal Guard dead-panned as they stared at the two. Tenjiro scratched the back of his head as he continued to chew on his stick.
"Man, these mofos are weird as hell... The new Head-Captain and the biggest Villain ever are sorta... not what I was expecting."
Aizen and Kisuke both turned, angrily, at the same time as he commented.
"You took the words right out of my mouth!"
"So... I've been wondering... where is Yuzu and Karin? I was sure they were with you."
"Nah. I got them outta there as soon as possible. They've gone with Jinta and Ururu to the most trustworthy person I could think of!"
"Bwahahahaha! May the spirits be with you, my student!"
"May the spirits be with you as well, master! Bwaahahahahha!"
Karin sweat-dropped as she stared at Yuzu practice her medium powers with Dan Kanonji. Jinta smacked his forehead as his head fell and Ururu stared randomly into space.
"God, somebody kill me now. Why did dad leave us here...?"
"...Why... would you do that?"
"He's an old friend from sometime back. It's okay, their safe. Most of the other Tsukishima- influenced people have gone back to their lives. They can't travel Japan with such a large group of people, after all."
Ichigo nodded as he and his dad stood above the highest tower of Las Noches, looking across the distant sands.
"You know... I never really expected you to become an Espada, of all things. But I'd rather you be happy here than lost and confused about yourself as a Soul Reaper."
"I'm still lost and confused..."
"But as a Soul Reaper... and a Fullbringer... you have always been afraid of becoming a Hollow. You had always know you were different. You would have felt awkward if you knew you were a Quincy, as well. Being an Espada, and the Primera no less, have given you the definitive identity you've always wanted. You always said you just wanted to be Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo stared out into the distant sun, a slight smile forming on his face. Before long, he was left alone at the top of the tower. He shifted on his heels to return to his quarters, only pausing when a soaring pain roared at his Hollow hole. Putting a hand on his chest, he frantically tried to stop the pain.
"What... the... hell!?"
Ripping his collar down to see his problem, he was rendered speechless when the hole that signaled his empty heart was filled with a glowing blue light.
Note:
-Sorry took so long, got sick, then college exams, but that is over now. I don't think I'll finish before the year is over with like I wanted, but Tracender's end might be soon. I'm getting a bunch of ideas for other stories, both Bleach and others, that I want to do, but don't want to start because I want to end this properly.
-Changed mind about Tenjiro of Royal Guard. At first, thought he was gonna be an unfunny clown character, like One Piece dub type, but he was pretty damn funny in new chapter, though I still hate his hair. Still hating on Kirio, Osho(Until proven cool. Creepy pedo-bear rape-face don't impress me), and the last guy right now.
-Considering everyone hates the Fullbring arc, I'm pretty sure I might be the only person who was like "Fuck yeah!" when Ginjo, Tsukishima, and Giriko appeared in chapter. Thought it was also pretty cool seeing Kukaku and Ganju(Mullet Man!) again.
Trivia:
-As shown, Masaki is not evil, as she does love Ichigo and Isshin. Her relationship with Isshin can be best described as something of a big college sports rivalry. (Example from home state: Auburn fan marries Alabama fan, etc.) They love each other, regardless of the arrangement, but they have vastly different views on the world.
-Masaki is pretty powerful, as stated by Isshin. Masaki was absorbed by Juhabach, hence his Volstandig. Also noteworthy is that she can defeat Kisuke, meaning she's at the level of Ichigo, One-Armed Yamamoto, and Juhabach. (Two-Handed Yamamoto=Overpowered)
Note: Just figured out that it's Vollstandig(2 L's), not Volstandig, but I'm too lazy to go back through the entire story and change it, so I keep it Volstandig for consistency with the fiction)
Continuing with above point, since this the soon-to-be start of the Final Holy War part of the story, want to try and set tiers for the characters and their powers:
God Tier: Hoshiihime, Kagura(Weakest:Refuses to fight), Spirit King(Strongest), Old One, Two-Armed Yamamoto, Kisuke(Bankai), Juhabach(Volstandig), Vater(Volstandig)
Head-Captain Tier: Ichigo(Segunda Etapa), Juhabach, Masaki, One-Armed Yamamoto(Weakest:Weakened), Kisuke, Isshin, Vater(Letzt Stil), Royal Guard(Strongest), Aizen, Soryu(Volstandig), Unohana(Bankai), Ryuken
Top Tier: Ichigo, Soryu, Shunsui, Jushiro, Unohana, Viisored Captains, Kenpachi, Ginjo(Weakest), Yoruichi, Halibel(Segunda Etapa), Vater, Uryu(Volstandig)(Strongest: Spoiler), Nel(Segunda Etapa), Grimmjow(Segunda Etapa), Realto, William, Emma, Nicholas
Captain Tier: Halibel(Strongest: By skill), Nel, Grimmjow, Tsukishima(Strongest: Abilities can work on Halibel), Other Captains, Visored Lieutenants, Tesla, Luders, Rudbornn, Sung-Sun(Weakest: Lower Espada), Uryu
Certain characters I didn't judge by their transformations because I felt they were unimportant to list, as these are mainly the main characters and their transformations. Juhabach mentions that Yamamoto is weaker because he didn't heal his arm, so he's on two tiers.
-Denego are meant to be the Zero Squad of Hueco Mundo.
-Fight scene between Ichigo and Isshin is the same basis as their first fight in beginning of the series.
-Kisuke was offered a position on the Royal Guard during his exile. He met with the Spirit King there and refused.
-Don Kanonji has history with Isshin, which will be explained later. Whether it will be serious or not depends on what I'm thinking at the time.