Disclaimer: This man does not own Bleach.
Trascender
"Straight to the point, Kurosaki...?"
Ichigo glared at Juhabach from beneath his declining bangs. Holding his Zanpakuto towards the sky, he whispered, very audibly, the release for his Segunda Etapa, "Pierce the Moonlit Heaven... Luna Matador..."
Juhabach narrowed his eyes as Ichigo's form was encased in black Reiatsu. The explosion forced him to cover his face as the debris flicked against his face.
"...I'm going... to annihilate you...Juhabach."
The dust and smoke cleared, revealing Ichigo in the tattered black coat of Zangetsu. His skin had paled, contrasting the long dark hair upon his head. Juhabach narrowed his eyes, as he couldn't see Ichigo's pupil to determine his rival's emotions: His eyes were covered by a pair of orange sunglasses. Through them, Juhabach could see the flash of gold. He noticed, however, that the Reiatsu surrounding the area was blue.
'That's not Reiatsu... Reishi... That is definitely Reishi... How far have you come in your Quincy abilities, Ichigo Kurosaki?'
Before he could react, Ichigo was upon, dropping his large nodachi like a hammer. He raised his blade up to protect himself, clashing against Ichigo. He smirked as Ichigo as closed his eyes, "Are you struggling, Kurosaki? That new power of yours is nice, but it's not enou-
"Getsuga Tensho."
Juhabach was sent flying back towards the rubble behind him as he struggled to catch the blast. He grunted, stabbing his blade into it and absorbing it, "Right back at you!" and held his blade before slamming down, "Getsuga Tensho!"
"I'm sick of everyone trying to kill me with my technique."
As his blast went far astray, Juhabach's eyes widened as he felt Ichigo grab him and tossed him over his shoulders. Juhabach rebounded and bounced backwards, raising his hand and swiping, along with Mutteriel.
"Licht Regen!"
Ichigo twirled his blade on his finger as it circled around, stopping each arrow before they could touch him. Afterwards, he dashed forward, but directly into the hands of Juhabach. Ichigo cursed as the man gripped his face and slammed him back through the buildings. Ichigo was finally dropped onto hard surface with loud crash. He groaned as he picked himself back up, fingers gripping the dark-blue carpet beneath him. He gazed around for his lost blade until he recognized the area he was in.
"...The Royal Palace...?"
"This is it Kurosaki... The empty throne before you... has no ruler..."
Ichigo dusted his shoulders off as he watched Juhabach levitate towards the ground. He then gazed into the sorrowful face of his mother as her Reishi floated solemnly with her master.
"...You think to take this throne?"
Juhabach closed his eyes, sighing,"...As a Quincy who lived beneath the oppressed Soul Reapers... It is my right."
"...Then is my right... to show you that you're wrong!"
Juhabach snarled, then lunged at Ichigo with the blade pointed directly at his forehead. Ichigo flashed away, picking up his blade, before clashing against Juhabach's in the air. They both glared into the others eyes before flashing backwards into the air. Ichigo dropped into a stance as he yelled at Juhabach, "I'll end you here... and free my mother from your bullshit!"
"You said it yourself, Kurosaki! Enough talk... Have at you!"
Juhabach himself dropped into a two-handed stance, holding the Reiatsu like a spear. Ichigo tch'ed before flashing off towards him, his blade clanging against the Quincy's. Recoiling backwards, he slashed again, colliding with Juhabach once more.
"Die!"
The Quincy slashed at his sworn enemy, who jumped back and returned fire. Dodging away, Ichigo swiped above his head, which was promptly dodged. Juhabach returned by attempting a roundhouse kick before Ichigo flashed away.
"I can see you, Kurosaki!"
Turning around, he noticed Ichigo land behind him from a somersault and dashed at him as he landed, creating sparks from the contact of their blades. Rearing back, he twirled the spear before stabbing towards Ichigo, who spun and grabbed the blade, pulling him forward and thrusting his blade towards Juhabach's eyes.
'Shit! I have to move!'
He ducked under the blade just in time, as it cut minimally into his cheek. He turned and rushed at Ichigo, who did the same. The grinding of the blades create sparks, causing them both to flinch as the sparks landed on their face. The two resumed their clashing, screaming at the other as the building suffered from their abuse.
"Isshin!"
Kisuke rushed towards the area, where he noticed the Royal Guard all thrown about, like rag dolls in a child's room. He landed next to Isshin, who laid as if he was sleeping. Kisuke bowed his head as the area began to rain. He then noticed, however, that the rain wasn't natural, and that is was caused by the fierce clashing of two souls.
"...This will be over soon, won't it, Kisuke?"
He looked over his shoulder as Soryu walked next to him and stared at the fallen warriors in the area, "...No. Any one... A hero...A villain... Any one of them could easily be replaced..." He stated solemnly as he looked towards the Royal Palace.
"...But for our generation... it is... Our task is finally done..."
Kisuke gazed back towards the desolate area before turning on his heel and walking away.
"You're good, Kurosaki...! Much better than I expected of you!"
Juhabach reared back, Holding his blade towards the sky and screaming, "Minakanushi!"
As the blast raged towards Ichigo, he charged his blade up, swinging it with a scream, "Luna Camilla!"
The two blasts dissipated as they melded together in the air, creating an explosion. Not missing a beat, Juhabach followed up with a Licht Regen. Ichigo dodged, flashing through the incoming piercings of light. Flashing towards the ground, he prepared his blade for his trademark attack, "Getsuga Tensho!"
Juhabach flipped over the technique, landing behind Ichigo as he clapped his hands together, creating a large arrow between his fingers, "Massenvernichtungsmittel!"
The arrow was fired at Ichigo's back, who melded Reishi together to create a shield. The shield and the arrow collided, as the warriors attempted to overcome the other. However, the shield didn't last, and the explosion covered the entire room.
"...Heh, you still there, Kurosaki...?"
The smoke was then blown away by Ichigo's burst of Reiatsu, who confidently stood, completely unaffected, "At least you tried... You'll have to do better than that to end me."
Juhabach narrowed his eyes, snarling, "Don't get too cocky, brat!" He then suddenly grinned and reached his hand to Ichigo, "Capture him... Masaki..."
Ichigo was shocked as a pair of arms wrapped around him, gripping his neck tightly, "What the hell!?"
He struggled to glance over his shoulder, and into the dead eyes of his mother's Reishi.
"Damn you, coward! Don't hide behind my mother!"
"Sorry. I guess it's time to come out..."
Ichigo grimaced as he literally heard Juhabach's voice behind him, and felt the blade slice directly through his midsection, bifurcating him.
"It ends here."
"Uryu."
Uryu glanced over his shoulder at Rukia, who stepped next to him as she watched the Royal Palace's further destruction, "Rukia. Don't worry... Ichigo's not going to die. I have faith..."
"...Heh, you telling that to me, or yourself? I never said I didn't have faith in Ichigo."
Uryu nodded, pushed his glasses further above his nose, and looked towards the ground.
"...Are you mad?"
"...What?"
Rukia smirked as she elbowed him in the side, "Lemme guess... you wish you were one battling Juhabach instead of Ichigo...?"
Uryu grimaced and turned away from her. Rukia giggled as moved away from him and step closer to the edge of the platform, "Is it because of your grandfather? I know he-"
"...Quiet. I don't wanna talk about it."
"...Fine... But I believe Ichigo... probably wishes he wasn't the one battling either."
Uryu sighed and shook his head, "He knew from the start that it came down to him."
"...And I'm sure he spent forever... wishing that it didn't have to."
Juhabach stumbled forward as the slash appeared upon his back.
"You little...!"
"...Gemelos Sonido... I forgot I killed Quilge before he could inform you."
Juhabach narrowed his eyes at the mocking dual-tone of Ichigo, standing behind him and in front of him with a taunting smirk, and grounded out, "Damn you, heretic..."
He reached behind him, lifting his spear, and tossed it at full speed towards Ichigo, piercing though his arm and nailing him to the wall, causing the other clones to disappear. Ichigo grimaced as a hail of spears continued pinning him into the wall.
"You will never disrespect me again, Ichigo Kurosaki. Neither you, or your father, or any other Soul Reaper. I am the strongest in existence! There is no such thing as a 'Child of Prophecy'! You are nothing more than an average soul, witnessing several extraordinary circumstances!"
Ichigo struggled to move as he watched Juhabach pick up his spear, thrusting it towards his face, "Shit...!"
"Begone with you, Kurosaki!"
Before his face could be speared open, Reishi gathered in front of him, protecting his face as the spear collided with the powerful force.
"What the!?"
"I go to sleep for a little, and then I wake up to being speared in the face, Ichigo. What is this, Ichigo...?"
"I... I didn't mean to get pinned down, Kagura!"
Juhabach's eyes popped out comically as he he realized whose voice resonated through the halls, "La-Lady Kagura!?"
Similar to his own Vollstandig, behind Ichigo was a woman, who blocked the spears with her arm. The Reishi resonated through Ichigo's ears, "...Ichigo! Remember that I'm always here... Zangetsu and Luna Negra aren't your only companions! Now, don't lose!"
Ichigo glared into his adversary's eyes as the Reishi broke through the spears and wall, releasing him as he prepared himself, "Don't fret, Juhabach... this'll be quick...!"
"Quiet, ignorant fool!"
Juhabach flashed away and pointed at Ichigo, "Let this... end it all... Kirchenlied! Sankt Zwinger!"
"Shunsui..."
Shunsui turned as Retsu Unohana limped up to him, her hair returned to her trademarked braid. He turned back away from her, solemnly, as the blue flash of light razed the castle down, revealing both Ichigo and Juhabach in the center.
"...You don't look okay, Shunsui."
"...Isane told me... she's still operating on Jushiro... She doesn't know if he's gonna make it."
Unohana's gaze dropped back to the battle as she gripped Shunsui's shoulders. She whispered softly, "It's going to be okay."
"...It's not really bothering me as much as it should. Jushiro and I have fought... forever, it seems like... Ending the entity that troubled our master for so long... I guess it's worth it... He would have felt the same..."
"Then... what's bothering you?"
"Nothing really. I guess sitting here,watching young Kurosaki battle... Very similar to Old Man Yama, ain't it?"
Unohana turned towards the battlefield. She watched as Ichigo dashed in between the flashes of light trying to strike him down, and nodded, as she was compelled to agree.
"Strike him down, Masaki!"
"Get bent, old man!"
Ichigo dodged the lightning flash as he clashed with Juhabach and his mother. Using his Reishi, he dashed away before getting and turned, creating sparks with Juhabach's blade again. As Ichigo attempted to move, the arm of his mother stretched out, grabbing him.
"Got you."
"Not a chance, Juhabach!"
Before Juhabach could savor his capture of Ichigo, multiple Heilig Pfiel raining down and damaging the arm holding Ichigo. Juhabach was so shocked that he almost failed to dodge the blade aiming directly at his eye. Twisting, he allowed Ichigo the swoop by him and narrowed his eyes at him.
How...? I did so much... I gave it my all... I spent... so many centuries, so many generations... planning this... and this boy? This... His power... was supposed to be mine!
"Damn you, Kurosaki! Damn you!"
"And now, the old man's losing it."
Juhabach roared as he sent a flash of light from the sky. Kagura grabbed it, tossing away from Ichigo as he slowly walked towards Juhabach.
"You... You don't understand!"
No... You don't understand... I... I created you... my tool... I ordered Masaki to create you... you were mine... my power... My son, born in the darkness...
"That power you hold! That power you waste! That should have been mine!"
A power to match me... A power for me to own... A power that would follow me... A power that would rebel against the monsters that oppressed us... That was my goal... And because I created you... you were supposed to agree... You weren't supposed to rebel... against me...
"It's not... I'm not goin' to hand you power... when you and all the other Quincy planned on fucking over the world with it! That was where we drew the line that separates me and you. In rebelling against the 'oppressed', you suppressed everyone else!"
That's it... Kurosaki? Then... accept that as you will... Claim me as a dictator... Hate me, for I have never been more correct that I have ever been. You are wrong, Ichigo Kurosaki.. That is sole commandment of the world... When a predator takes his prey, he must always watch over his shoulder for another predator... but to never abandon the downed prey, as the role could easily be reversed.
"Then... Show me your way! Show me what you believe in!"
Ichigo held his blade up, pointing it towards the sky. He narrowed his eyes, and simply stated, "That has been my intention... from the very beginning..."
The Reishi woman behind him opened her arms, floating to the sky as if she was an angel, and the storm clouds spread, allowing light to shine through. The light flashed to Ichigo's Zanpakuto, creating a large blade. Juhabach gazed at the light with hollowed eyes. He sighed, leaning against his weapon.
"Ichigo...Kurosaki..."
"Why is the world like this... Bishop Vater?"
The old man looked down as the tiny, black haired child pulled on his pants leg. Months ago, they watched as the former Queen Hoshiihime carried the corpse of King Hogyoku and forced the entirety of the Soul Palace to witness it. Soon, Quincy and Soul Reapers fought, and bodies littered the ground. Eventually, as the battles came to a close, Lady Kagura abandoned her post as Queen, and took the Quincy to away, to the world they called Earth.
"...I don't know, little Juha... They had more power, so they took control..."
The boy looked down as he placed his finger in his mouth, as if he was thinking. He then faced up towards Vater, and he saw the innocence, and the cruelty behind them as the boy asked, "If I had power... could I take it back...?"
"If you had power... you could take everything back."
The next day, Juhabach joined Lady Kagura's guard as a squire. And even she knew he wasn't to be trusted. Soon, the rest of the guards became the first council of the Vandenreich.
"Juhabach... this ends here!"
Juhabach grimaced as the blade of the Head Captain slammed repeatedly against his own. He flipped away. Yamamoto pulled away, holding his blade down as the flames covering it faded.
"...This is where you made your mistake of challenging me, Juhabach. Bankai..."
Juhabach witnessed the flames of Zanka no Tachi and passed out from heat exhaustion, as the Reiatsu was too overwhelming for him to bear. Yamamoto deactivated his Bankai, glaring down at the fallen form of Juhabach, "... I left you alive... because I believe you fight for the same thing... to rid the world of the uncontrollable bloodlust of all Souls... Take this to heart, fool, and don't challenge me again."
Haschwald and Juhabach watched as the Stern Ritter marched into the Gate of the Sun, preparing themselves for the annihilation of Soul Society. Juhabach stood with narrowed eyes as Haschwald walked up to him and said, "...You... don't seem as happy as you were earlier, my liege."
"..."
"...Are we really invading because Ichigo is dead...?"
Juhabach scoffed as he walked towards the gate, "Of course. Don't be a fool, Haschwald."
"...I mean... You're not doing this to take advantage of the situation... You're angry that Ichigo is dead... So are you doing this because Ichigo is dead...? Or do you looking for revenge... for abandoning him... and for Masaki?"
Juhabach paused right before he stepped in, and turned his hollowed eyes towards his nephew, "All of the above... Haschwald... All of the above..."
For vengeance for my wife's child... and for abandoning him the same way as us... Soul Society shall collapse...
You.. were never supposed to rebel against me...
Ichigo narrowed his eyes as the beam of light grew stronger, and he uttered Juhabach's final goodbye with his new finisher...
"Zangetsu..."
The white light dropped like a curtain, enveloping the area in light, causing all others in the area to cover their eyes as the flashing blinded them all. There was no sound as the light finally faded away...
Notes:
-Whew! Only 2 more planned chapters to go!
Trivia:
-'Luna Matador' is "Moon Slayer/Warrior" in Spanish.
-Massenvernichtungsmittel is German for "Weapon of Mass Destruction". Powerful arrow, like the one Uryu uses of Mayuri to blow most of him up.
-Most of the battle was taken directly from Byakuya vs. Koga Kuchiki, with Ichigo and Juhabach alternating positions depending on the situation.
-Originally, I wanted Uryu to make an appearance during the battle, to help power up Zangetsu, but I figured that it was too forced, so that's why he just watches from the outside.
-Juhabach's flashbacks were shortened because I wanted to save Masaki's part of the flashback's for the next chapter, which is the first epilogue.
-Originally, I had the Royal Guard and Isshin kept alive, but I felt it made Unohana's and the rest of the Medical Division's reaction in the previous chapter meaningless.
-Battle sounds cooler when listening to music like Devil May Cry's Vergil Battle 2 or Combichrist's Empty. Considering I watched Byakuya vs. Koga, Bleach's Guitar III also works.