Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read any of the reviews from Chapter 14 onwards until this morning. I'm not sure if it was just my computer, or if it was an issue for everyone, but even though it said I had more reviews, the reviews themselves weren't showing up...Oh well, at least everything's back to normal now.
Ichigo didn't know what was happening.
He only did know three things. One, he was already at full power. Two, he didn't have much time until his hollow mask would shatter into pieces. Three, by the looks of it, he wasn't causing much damage to Aizen at all at the moment.
He couldn't let those facts bother him, though. He had to beat him. He had to. If he couldn't, then he knew exactly what would happen - he would die, Soul Society would fall, and Hitsugaya would be trapped with this man forever.
"Something bothering you, Ichigo-kun?" came the taunting voice full of false concern.
"It's none of your business, Aizen," Ichigo shot back with a snarl, raising his blade for another strike.
"It is my business," Aizen answered with a smile. "And anyway, your hollow can't last much longer, can it? I was the one who perfected the process of hollowfication in the first place, so I know exactly how to counter your hollow powers. There's not much point in you continuing to fight now. Surrender to me now, and perhaps I will consider sparing your life."
"Never," Ichigo growled, swinging Zangetsu forward again, intent on slicing Aizen into pieces.
"You don't listen, do you?" Aizen asked impatiently, "You disappoint me, substitute shinigami. I thought, perhaps you may actually be worth fighting, but I see now that I was mistaken." Without another word, he reached out, catching Zangetsu's blade in his bare hands.
With another furious snarl, Ichigo tried to pull the katana free. He did not have time for this.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Aizen sheathing Kyoka Suigetsu and then reaching forward, towards his face. What the hell was he doing? What the hell was going on?
"Your time's up, Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Wha-?"
There was a loud crack, and the left side of Ichigo's face felt strangely naked. Then, he saw in Aizen's free hand a fragment of his hollow mask.
What the hell...!?
Aizen grinned, slowly and deliberately releasing hold on the mask fragment, letting it fall through the sky and towards the ground. He reached out again, taking hold of the jagged edge and giving it another pull. What remained of the mask cracked dangerously as Aizen tore another piece from its surface.
Ichigo was so shocked, he couldn't move. He could merely stare stupidly at Aizen, his mouth opening and closing. He could feel the presence of the hollow leaving his immediate senses, its power leaving him slowly as Aizen, with his satisfied smile, continued to rip the material away.
"Kurosaki!"
As the last remaining piece of his mask disappeared, Ichigo turned at the sound of someone shouting his name. His chocolate eyes widened the slightest as he saw Hitsugaya below them looking up at him, a panicked expression on his horrified face.
"Toshiro..."
"How touching," the traitorous ruler of Hueco Mundo sneered, "It doesn't matter though. You're in no more condition to fight me, Ichigo-kun." He then pointed a finger at the strawberry's chest.
"Bakudo #61...Six Rods Prison of Light."
The next moment, there was a blinding flash of light, and the next thing Ichigo knew, he couldn't move. He was trapped by a set of glowing beams of light, encircling his body in some grotesque kind of frame.
"You bastard! What the hell are you trying to do!?" the strawberry shouted, squirming, but to no avail. He was completely immobile.
"You should know by now, Kurosaki Ichigo, how I create my Arrancar soldiers," Aizen began, reaching into the folds of his robes and producing a small object that fit neatly into the palm of his hand. "I use this, the Hogyoku. Likewise, I can also use it to demote unruly Arrancar, or Arrancar who have proven themselves to be more of a burden to me than of good use and transform them back into hollows."
"So what?" Ichigo snarled, "What does this have to do with anything?"
"Similarly," the man went on as if Ichigo hadn't spoken at all, "As I already told you, I was the one who created and perfected the process of hollowfication, a process that you have undergone some time ago. With the Hogyoku, I can also reverse the effects of hollowfication if I so wish."
It didn't take a genius to figure out just what it was Aizen intended to do.
"There are so many things I can do to you. I could kill you right now if I wanted to, but now is not the time for that. Instead, I'll just make this easier for myself...and strip you of your hollow powers."
"Son of a bitch."
The smile on his face widening, Aizen reached downwards, holding the Hogyoku in front of Ichigo's forehead. With an angry growl, the strawberry tried again to free himself from the kido that was trapping him in place, but again, it was of no use.
"Now then, Kurosaki Ichigo...let's have some fun."
The Hogyoku began to glow, and Ichigo's eyes widened in panic.
As the glow intensified, he felt almost as if he was being swallowed by that painfully bright light. Slowly, it was engulfing him, numbing his senses, draining his mind of all thoughts.
Then, he felt it.
A searing, blinding pain exploded through his mind, rapidly spreading through his whole body. The light was now so bright, it felt like his whole mind was on fire and being burned to ashes. He felt like screaming, but his throat was dry and no sound came out. He was choking now, and he could feel a mix of blood and vomit surging upwards into his mouth. He was drowning in Aizen's devilishly delighted smile, the searing light, and the excruciating pain. It was like his soul was being torn in half, and he could hear the agonized shrieks of his hollow in the back of his mind, nearly deafening him.
"Stop it!"
Ichigo could barely see or hear anything, his senses were fogged by the pain.
But the white hair, the emerald eyes...they were painfully clear to him. He could see Hitsugaya running forward, grabbing Aizen by the arm, trying to wrench the Hogyoku away. The pain lessened slightly for a moment, but returned at full force.
"Aizen, stop!"
He could hear Hitsugaya screaming now, desperately, trying with all his might to stop Aizen from continuing this cruel process. His efforts did not get very far, though, as a moment later, two Arrancar appeared, grabbing the boy by the arms and pulling him away.
"How nice of you to join us, Hitsugaya-kun," Aizen laughed, "I'm sure your presence will please Ichigo-kun immensely."
"Stop," Hitsugaya pleaded frantically, "Please, Aizen, stop this...I'm begging you..."
Ichigo choked, his vision obscured by that dreadfully bright light, his throat felt raw now, and he dully registered the slick wetness of blood running past his parted lips and down his chin. He gasped out, but no words came out. It was getting increasingly hard to breathe, and his whole body was aflame with unimaginable pain, like thousands of little daggers stabbing into his head and carving his insides out.
"To...shi..." He choked out, unable to call out to his precious ice prince.
"Aizen, please," he could hear Hitsugaya continue to beg now, and he could vaguely see him struggling in the grip of the Arrancar restraining him, "Please don't hurt him anymore..." Barely, just barely, he could see tears streaming down the horrified young captain's face.
"As much as I would just love to grant your requests, Hitsugaya-kun," Aizen answered in a sickeningly sweet and affectionate voice, "You know I can't stop the de-hollowfication process once it has begun. All you can do know is watch your precious Kurosaki Ichigo suffer."
"Kurosaki...Kurosaki..."
Ichigo could hear Hitsugaya saying his name now, his voice trembling but firm. Even through the burning pain, this simple and small gesture was enough to comfort him somewhat. He opened his mouth, longing to answer, but could barely even form a complete word or sentence.
"Toshi...ro..."
The pain was increasing now, like something was splitting him in half. He would have screamed from the sheer volume of pain, but again, barely any sound could make it past his parched lips. He could only writhe in pure agony, the pain shooting through his whole body.
Hitsugaya turned his head away, unable to watch anymore, sobbing softly.
And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pain slowly seemed to die away. The shrieks of his hollow faded, and with a satisfied smile, Aizen placed the Hogyoku back into his robes. The kido holding the strawberry in place disintegrated, and the light slowly disappeared.
Panting, feeling drained of energy and frighteningly weak, Ichigo slumped forward, collapsing in a heap before plummeting from the sky towards the earth.
"Kurosaki!"
Hitsugaya struggled wildly in the grip of the Arrancar, watching as the helpless substitute shinigami slammed into the ground below. His panicked gaze moved towards Aizen, and he was so horrified that anyone would do such a thing to another person that he couldn't even find an insult to throw at the man.
"I have other things to attend to. You may let Hitsugaya-kun go now," Aizen ordered, and the Arrancar promptly released him.
As the man turned away and headed off in the direction of the sotaichou, Hitsugaya flash-stepped to Ichigo's side, reaching the motionless teen in a matter of seconds, thanks to the increased speed that shunpo gave him.
The prodigy knelt by Ichigo, placing a hand to his temple to feel for a pulse. Thankfully, he could feel it still going. A little weakly, but it was there.
"Kurosaki..."
Slowly, Ichigo forced himself upwards onto his knees, barely having enough energy or strength to hold this position. He looked at Hitsugaya with remorseful chocolate eyes. He hadn't been able to beat Aizen or save anyone. The strawberry knew he had failed him.
"Toshiro...I...I'm so sorry..."
"No," Hitsugaya whispered, "You have nothing to apologize for."
"I do," Ichigo answered, his voice hoarse and dangerously weak, "If only...If only I had more power..."
More power...?
Hitsugaya's eyes lit up for a moment before the gleam in the emerald irises simmered into pure determination. He knew what he had to do now. There was only one thing left he could do to help Ichigo, and he knew exactly what it was.
"That's right," he murmured, "More power...Kurosaki...I can give you mine."
"What?" Ichigo stared back at Hitsugaya, confused. "Toshiro, what do you mean by that? Give me your power? Can you really do something like that?" He thought about the time Rukia gave him her powers, and the thought of Hitsugaya getting in trouble for that bothered him.
Hitsugaya nodded. "I can."
"Toshiro, you don't have to...Won't you get in trouble?"
The snow-haired boy shook his head stubbornly. "No, this is different."
"Different?"
Slowly, the petite captain raised himself on his knees so that he was now eye-to-eye with Ichigo. He hesitated for a moment, breathing softly. He gulped, wondering how the strawberry would react to what he was about to do. And he wasn't even sure whether or not it would really work. But there was no time for those kinds of thoughts now. He had to do it. It was now or never, do or die.
Hitsugaya closed his eyes tightly, reached outwards, and placed his hands on the sides of Ichigo's shocked face before kissing him deeply on the lips.
