"Ichigo. Wake up, Ichigo."
As he opened his eyes, he came face to face with the manifestation of his Quincy powers. The old man looked concerned, but relaxed when Ichigo's eyes opened and focused. Sitting up, Ichigo looked around to find himself in his inner world.
"What's going on? Why did you bring me here?" The Substitute Shinigami slowly sat up.
"I didn't." The old man shook his head, then looked past Ichigo. Turning around, he was confronted by his colorless double.
"I did." Zangetsu held a hand down to him, helping him to his feet. "The war is going badly. The nine days are nearly up, and the Quincy army has nearly conquered all of Soul Society."
"I know... There are too many of them! Where am I, outside?" Ichigo asked as he accepted the hand and stood facing his Inner Hollow.
"Safe. Orihime is healing you right now. You're in the Urahara Shop basement. Rukia is hurt as well, but she will recover. Unless the Quincy win, in which case all Shinigami and Hollows will be wiped out." Zangetsu reported, taking a few steps away from Ichigo.
"What can we do?" He was out of ideas. He had become so powerful, but he still could not fight an entire army that was made to destroy him.
"You don't have the power to take back Soul Society on your own, but you could retake Hueco Mundo and bring the Arrancar to help us. It may be our only chance for victory. Halibel won't let a debt like that go unpaid. The Visored would follow you too. An army of half hollows would be the best defense against the Quincy army." The white haired Ichigo spoke calmly, waiting on the King to yell at him. To his surprise, he nodded.
"You're right. They've moved most o their army to Soul Society. With the help of the Visored, I could take back Hueco Mundo and free Halibel. With the help of her Arrancar, we would stand a chance against the Quincy. Old Man, what do you think?" The orange haired Soul Reaper asked the manifestation.
"It is a risky plan, but I agree, it may be the only chance of success."
"Then we'll do it. And..." He turned back to his Inner Hollow. "... When we're in Hueco Mundo, you're in charge. Protect those I care about and you have free reign on this mission. It was your idea."
Both Zangetsus stared at him in shock. The Inner Hollow was the first to find his tongue.
"You've grown up, King... I promise. Your friends and family will come to no harm by my hand. I'm not sure I could hurt them if I wanted to. Protecting them has become a part o you down to the level of your instincts. Thank you... For trusting me."
With a wave of parting to the manifestations of his power, Ichigo awoke in a dim room, the glow of Orihime's power focused on Rukia's leg.
"How is she?" He asked. Orihime jumped a little, then smiled.
"She's doing well. She has not woken up yet, but her injuries were mostly shallow or far from her vital regions. Were you really in your inner world?" The woman asked as her hair clip reformed, Rukia's healing finished.
"Yeah... And I have a plan. Urahara still here?" Ichigo stood and stretched. The newly recreated flesh was stiff and sore, but whole.
"He's upstairs getting food." Orihime said.
"Ichigo!" Rukia sat up, blinking, then calming when she caught sight of the tall man. "You're safe... I don't know how much of what I remember was the fight and how much was a nightmare..."
"I'm fine, Rukia. I'm glad you're okay." Ichigo went to her side and knelt down by the futon she was sitting on. "I have a plan, Rukia. It's dangerous, but it might be our only chance. Please, stay here in the living world and look after my sisters."
"I will... But where are you going?"
"I bet I can guess." Urahara grinned from the doorway. "You want to go to Hueco Mundo, don't you?"
"How did you know that?" Ichigo asked. Had the man been hiding in his inner world? Was that possible?
"I bet you're wondering if I can break in to your inner world, huh? Well, I can't. Yet, at least. I could tell you were in your inner world though, and that meant you were thinking or training. There isn't much more training you could do, so you must have been thinking. You woke up and I heard you say you had a plan, so that means your power manifestations had some say in it. And I had been thinking over the idea of going to Hueco Mundo myself. It was the logical conclussion." Urahara laughed and handed a tray of food to Orihime and then sat another on the low table for the others. "The Visoreds are on their way."
"Thanks... But if you had this plan already, why didn't you mention it?" Ichigo asked.
"Because I was hoping a better option would present itself. The Arrancar will be grateful, certainly. But getting them to follow a shinigami instead of a hollow? That's not going to be easy. Some would follow us, but not enough. To beat the Quincy army, we would need all of them. And for that, we need a hollow to lead them. Do you have a way to guarantee Halibel will take our side?" Urahara's smile had not gone away. Ichigo guessed the man knew what he was thinking, but wanted him to confirm it and tell the girls as well.
"My Inner Hollow will take over and lead the attack. They'll follow him. As soon as we set foot in Hueco Mundo, he's king, and I'm the horse." He explained. Orihime and Rukia immediately began to protest, but he shook his head. "It's the best option. He won't hurt you. He is me. Protecting you has become an instinct to me, and my inner hollow is my purest instincts."
"I think we have a chance, then. Tessai! Get in here!" Urahara shouted. The large man was at his side in a matter of moments. "Now, Ichigo. Will you turn over control to your Inner Hollow now? Between Tessai, Orihime, Rukia and I, we can contain you even if he chooses to betray your trust. I believe you're actions will carry more weight if you can open a Garganta yourself."
Ichigo took a deep breath, then nodded. He closed is eyes, slipping into his inner world.
"It's your turn. Remember your promise." He held out his hand, and his counterpart shook it.
"I will remember. Keep him safe, Old Man." The hollow spoke to the manifestation beside them, then vanished as he took control of their body.
In the basement of the Urahara Shop, the Shinigami were immediately able to feel the riatsu of a powerful hollow. Ichigo's eyes opened, but the colors had changed.
"I've never opened a Garganta before." He spoke directly to Urahara.
"Descorrer should come to you as instinctively as Sonido did. Just reach out to Hueco Mundo and open the passage. I have never encountered a more powerful hollow. It should be an easy task for you." Urahara had drawn his sword when the hollow's riatsu appeared, but kept it pointed low. He would not be the one to start a fight.
"Hollow... Is Ichigo safe?" Rukia looked at him intently. She was surprised when he smiled at her.
"Yeah. He's just in our inner world with the old man. And I will turn control back over to him after we have reconquered Hueco Mundo and brought the Arrancar to fight for us." He stood up and then paused. "It would be confusing to call us both Ichigo, and he still refers to the old man as Zangetsu out of habit, but it is kind of rude to just call me Hollow. How about Shirosaki, since my form in our inner world is pure white? I am just the other side of him, after all."
"Shirosaki, then. Let's go meet the Visored." Urahara motioned for him to take the lead, not entirely comfortable turning his back on the hollow.
The pair left, followed closely by Tessai, leaving the two women alone.
"Orihime, you saw his hollow side more closely before... Was that really him?" Rukia asked. Orihime nodded.
"It didn't look the same, but it felt the same. That was definitely his hollow side. The same one that destroyed Ulquiorra... Do you think we can really trust it?" The taller woman asked. Hesitantly, Rukia nodded.
"Yes. I think we can. Ichigo and Shirosaki has changed. Ichigo has accepted his Inner Hollow, and in turn, his Inner Hollow has accepted him. They can cooperate now." Rukia finally smiled. "I could still see Ichigo when I looked into his eyes."
Outside, Shirosaki was surprised tof ind a very small group.
"Hiyori, Love, Hachi, Lisa... This is it? Rose and Kensei are dead... Shinji is missing, and Mashiro is still fighting in Soul Society. I guess it will have to do. Alright! Will you follow me? Will you help me take back Hueco Mundo, and bring the Arrancar to the aid of Soul Society?" Shirosaki addressed the four Visored. Hachi, Love, and Lisa nodded. Hiyori glared at him, but did not shake her head in denial.
"I'll be joining you for the initial assault, then moving on to Soul Society ahead of you to clear a landing place. Aim for Soukyoku Hill when you enter Soul Society." Urahara said to the powerful hollow.
"How are we getting to Hueco Mundo?" Lisa asked. Shirosaki smirked.
"Like this." He turned away from the group and reached out into the air. Immediately, the world seemed to crack and open, falling away to reveal a dark passage. "Descorrer."
- Line -
The assault had started off poorly, with their entry directly in line of sight of one of the few guards remaining. The six of them fought their way closer to the head quarters of the Quincy, only to have their way blocked by a group of Arrancar.
When reasoning with them was not enough to sway them to their cause, the stubborn Arrancar determined to be on the stronger side, Shirosaki took action. The sight of his full Vasto Lorde form was enough to make the Arrancar kneel before him. The blast of his Cero annhialating more than half of Las Noches sent the Quincy running. It took six hours to reconquer the world of the hollows and free their leader.
Halibel was shocked, but grateful to the group that had come to her aid. Urahara had left by that time, seeing Vasto Lorde Shirosaki as his cue to return to Soul Society.
With an army of Arrancar at his back, along with the four Visored, Shirosaki opened the Garganta to Soul Society and turned control back over to Ichigo. They joined forces with the remaining captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13, pleased to find Shinji and Mashiro still alive and fighting. With the combined forces, they were able to win the war in three hours, killing Yhwach nine hours after he had declared the world to be his dominion.