"Mugetsu."
Ichigo slashed down with the blade of reiatsu he had created with his right hand and watched as a massive wave of pitch black reiatsu that went straight towards Sōsuke Aizen, who was quickly engulfed by the wave of reiatsu. The entire sky seemed to turn black for a couple of seconds before it became to change back to its original bright blue.
He then flew down and landed on one of the very few mountains that were not destroyed in their battle, looking at the rocky environment below as the mask he was wearing became to crumble, all its pieces disappearing into the wind as the rest of bandage-like armor began to follow. A loud "thud" was heard not far from where he was standing, the dust momentarily covering the object that caused that noise. As it settled, it revealed a white creature that had a Hollow mask fragment on the right of its face, long brown hair, eyes that were not the same; one was completely white while the other was purple with a white iris and a long, deep wound was stitching itself back to normal.
And it was glaring up at him as it tried to stand up.
The long black haired young man narrowed his red eyes as he realized that Aizen was still alive.
"You're still regenerating?" Ichigo asked, but he received no response; either Aizen did not hear him or he didn't want to respond. Nevertheless, Ichigo Shunpo'ed down to the ground and stood a couple of feet away from Aizen, intending to finish him off...
...only to feel his Shinigami powers disappearing at a rapid pace. His black hair disappeared and his armor crumbling faster, he fell down to his knees, barely holding himself up with his hands as the last of his armor that was on his hands crumbled and disappeared.
'Crap!' He thought. 'My Shinigami powers... are disappearing.'
"My, my Ichigo." The traitor spoke with some effort as he coughed up blood. "That was a really powerful attack just now, stronger than anything I've ever felt before. Had I not implanted the Hōgyoku in me, I most likely would have died." He rose to his full height and stared down at him, Kyoka Suigetsu in his hand and the Hōgyoku still embedded in his chest.
"Unfortunately, it would appear that you no longer have any Reiryoku in you. It seems that you 'becoming Getsuga' as you say, has made you lose your Shinigami powers." He then gestured to his zanpakutō. Ichigo looked at it and saw that it was crumbling, just like his Mugetsu armor. "My Zanpakutō is disappearing. You know what this means."
The blade continued to crumble until the guard and the hilt remained.
"The Hōgyoku has determined that I no longer need a Zanpakutō!!" He yelled. "I am like you now! I am one with my Zanpakutō and its powers! No! I will reach heights higher than you now that you have lost your powers!"
Ichigo was on the verge of panicking right now. This was really, really bad. Damnit! If only he didn't use the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō so soon! He should have weakened Aizen to the point where the move would kill him instantly. He stared at Aizen in anger, knowing that there was nothing he could do.
"IT'S OVER!! ICHIGO KUROSAKI!!"
A red light suddenly erupted from Aizen's chest, shocking both him and Ichigo. Circles of red began appearing across his chest and on his chest down to his stomach creating a T-shape, and Ichigo knew that this was not the next evolution as his opponent's face dictated.
"What?! What the hell is this?!" Aizen shouted. "A Kidō?! When did you-!?"
"It finally started working, huh?"
Both men turned to look at the source of the voice. Shock, anger and confusion were shared between the two men as Kisuke Urahara walked up to them and stood besides Ichigo.
Aizen glared at Urahara. "Kisuke Urahara! This is your doing!"
"It is." Kisuke admitted. "This is a special Kidō that I created just for you. I fired that Kidō into you in a separate Kidō before your metamorphosis was complete. When you were at your most vulnerable."
"Impossible! Even if what you say is true, when did you-!"
"Hadō #91, Sēnju Kōten Taihō. When I unleashed it on you, I hid that special Kidō inside it. If you fused with the Hōgyoku, I knew that it would be nearly impossible to kill you. So I developed this new Kidō to seal you up. The only way it would activate was when you would be weakened exponentially."
The former captain of the 5th Division widened his eyes in shock.
"You mean..."
"Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Luckily for me, the only one who could beat you or fight you to a draw," he glanced at his student. "was Ichigo right here."
"I see." Aizen spoke as he raised his hilt and guard. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid your plan has failed. I am about to evolve even further and-"
"Look at yourself." Kisuke interrupted. Confused, the former captain did just that and to his shock, he saw that his pale white skin was crumbling to reveal his normal skin. Furthermore, the Hōgyoku was no longer on his torso.
"What's happening to you now is the will of the Hōgyoku." Kisuke explained. "The seal that I fired into you is now taking affect because has been weakened thanks to Ichigo over there."
"The Hōgyoku is saying... it no longer recognizes you as its master."
"That's not possible! Its impossible, I tell you!" Red cross shaped spikes began to erupt from his body. Realizing he lost, he yelled, "Kisuke Urahara!!! I despise you! With a mind as brilliant as yours, why do you accept the status quo!? Why?! How can you let yourself be controlled by 'that thing'?!" Aizen yelled as he desperately tried to remove the red spikes that kept erupting from his chest with no succession.
Kisuke narrowed his eyes in realisation. "'That thing?' You must be talking about the Reiō. So you've also seen it." The light blonde haired man shook his head. "Here's something that you just don't understand, Aizen. The Reiō is the cornerstone of existence itself. Without that cornerstone, the structure that is existence will be rent asunder. That is simply... the way of the world."
"Preposterous!!" Aizen shouted. "That is the reasoning of a loser!! Victors must always speak of the way the world should be and not the way it is!! I-" He didn't get to finish his statement as he was completely sealed by the Kidō.
Silence ensued for a few moments as the men continued to stare at the seal. Kisuke watched as the Substitute Soul Reaper stood up on his feet and continued to watch the seal. Mr Hat-and-Clogs walked up to Ichigo and stood next to him.
"Ichigo."
Ichigo turned to look at his mentor, who had a serious face for once. He knew the question that he was going to be asked before it was asked.
"Where is the Hōgyoku? It was not embedded in Aizen's chest."
Ichigo looked at Kisuke for a few moments before raising his left arm and unclenching his fist, revealing a small blue orb that pulsated in his hand. Moments earlier, it had just appeared in Ichigo's hand.
Kisuke spoke, "It seems like the Hōgyoku has chosen you as its new master." When the orange haired young man didn't respond, the scientist softly sighed and extended his arm, opening his hand. "Please give it to me so I can seal it away, or destroy it if the first option doesn't work. I have to make sure that it is not used for evil ever again."
The orange haired boy just nodded and Kisuke carefully took the Hōgyoku off Ichigo's hand and put it in his pocket. Kisuke noticed that his student had reverted back to looking at the seal that held the man who was responsible for basically EVERYTHING that happened in his life.
'I'm surprised that he didn't tell you. He hid the truth from you, all the way until the end. I wonder why?'
"I'm sorry."
The sudden apology made Ichigo turn his attention to the man next to him.
"Why are you apologizing?" Ichigo asked in a monotone voice that didn't go unnoticed by the sandyw blonde haired man.
Kisuke seemed to hesitate for a moment, but continued, "I'm apologizing because I am the one responsible for your predicament right now."
"Kisuke-"
"Please, let me finish." Kisuke interrupted. "If I was not so selfish, you wouldn't be involved with the war with Aizen." To the Substitute's surprise, Kisuke got on both knees and bowed his head, his hair covering his eyes.
"If it wasn't for me, you would still have your powers right now. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't come across death and nearly escape multiple times. Because of me, you had to fix the mess that I created. So from the bottom of my heart, I truly am sorry for all that has happened to you." The battlefield became quiet for what seems to be the longest time as Kisuke waited for Ichigo to speak.
"Look at me, Hat-and-Clogs." Kisuke did just that and was surprised to see a hand in front of his face. He looked up at Ichigo, only to see a small but sincere smile on his face. "I don't regret the path that I have chosen, nor do I regret losing my powers. You have nothing to apologise for, so please stand up."
Kisuke was shocked at the response that he got, but nevertheless, grabbed Ichigo's hand and hoisted himself up.
'He truly has grown.'
Before he could speak, they were surrounded by the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads excluding Zaraki, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika. Renji, Rukia, Isane and Sasakibe (who was carrying Yamamoto's cane) had arrived with the captains. Ichigo frowned when he saw some of them were seriously injured, particularly Hitsugaya, but he was glad that they were alive, albeit barely.
Captain Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, an old man who was surprisingly muscular, had scars all over his torso and no longer had a left arm thanks to the usage of Hadō #96: Ittō Kasō, looked at the two in front of him, more particularly Ichigo as he felt nothing coming from him.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, why do I not feel any spiritual pressure from you?" The old man asked.
It was Kisuke who answered, "Ichigo no longer has his powers, Captain Commander. He lost them during the battle with Aizen." Upon hearing this, the old Soul Reaper slowly opened both his eyes.
'Interesting. If what Urahara says is true, then this would make things easier.'
Yamamoto looked at Ichigo and almost felt pity for what he was about to do. Key word here: almost. At the end of the day, even if it meant killing the man who saved the Sereitei time and time again in order to preserve the peace and prosperity of the Soul Society while also eliminating a potential threat, then he would gladly do it, over and over again. He glanced at everyone standing around the boy and all but Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai glanced back.
They were ready.
The Captain Commander barked, "Kisuke Urahara, you are to return to your shop and work on sealing or destroying the Hōgyoku. It must not fall into the wrong hands again." Kisuke nodded and used Shunpo to head back to the shop. Yamamoto then turned his attention back to Ichigo, who had turned to look at the seal again.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, we of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads extend our gratitude to you. I-"
"No need, Yamamoto." Ichigo interrupted the old Soul Reaper. Everyone except Yamamoto, his former students Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake and the 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki widened their eyes in shock while the four men just shook their heads.
The hybrid continued, "There is no need to thank me, Gramps. I'm a protector. It's in my nature to protect those I care about. That's all there is to it." Upon hearing this, everyone except Yamamoto, Kurotsuchi and Suì-Fēng looked down at the ground or looked somewhere else, something Ichigo immediately noticed, but whether it was from fear or something else entirely, he wasn't sure.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Yamamoto took a deep breath and sighed. "Alas, Kurosaki, it seems there is one more threat that must be taken care of."
That statement really confused Ichigo. He thought that every single Arrancar and rouge Captain that came to the fake Karakura Town was defeated and judging by the fact that Byakuya, Mayuri and Unohana were right in front of him when they were at Hueco Mundo, it seems like all the threats had been taken care of, so what or who was the old man talking about?
"Okay, who is it?'' Ichigo asked, thinking that it was an Arrancar that the Gotei 13 could handle. The answer that he received shocked him to the core.
"You."
Before Ichigo could even react, he suddenly felt intense pain all over his body. His eyes widened to the point where it looked like they were going to come out of their sockets when he saw that almost all the captains had stabbed him all around his body and punctured most of his organs. His mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour, trying to process what was currently happening.
Slowly, he turned his head to look at the people who didn't participate in this assassination. Unohana and Isane instantly found quite an interest on the ground when they saw that he was looking at them. His eyes darted over to Rukia and Renji, the former had tears in her eyes and the latter was looking at him with guilt. The captains removed their zanpakutō from his body and stepped back, letting his body fall as he muttered one word.
"Why?"
Small drops of rain hit the ground, quickly increasing until it became a downpour, as if the sky itself was crying over this betrayal.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, for the safety, peace and security of the Sereitei and the Soul Society as a whole, we the Thirteen Court Guard Squads have deemed you a potential threat and must be put down. 3rd seat of Squad 13 Rukia Kuchiki, as the one who is the closest to the boy, it will be you who shall deliver the final strike." The old Soul Reaper ordered.
Rukia instantly looked at the Commander with eyes filled with shock, disbelief and unshed tears. She quickly looked down when Yamamoto's ancient eyes stared at her, daring her to disobey.
Why her?! Out of all the people who were here, why did he choose her, knowing their history together?!
Eventually, she hesitantly and painfully unsheathed her zanpakutō and slowly walked towards Ichigo, who was struggling to get to get to his knees and looking at everyone he thought would stop the Captain-Commander's order with a certain amount of rage and hatred that he never knew he possessed. Why were they just standing there? Why were they doing nothing? Were they really betraying him?!
He knew that Kurotsuchi, Suì-Fēng, Ukitake, Kyōraku and Unohana were loyal to the the old man and would follow the orders that they were given, no matter what they are.
Those people however were not relevent at the moment. The only person that was relevent at the Shinigami-Hollow hybrid was the one standing in front of him.
The woman he had saved again and again.
The woman he loved.
Rukia stepped back in alarm when she saw Ichigo stare at him with different emotions fighting within his eyes: rage, shock, disbelief and confusion. Eventually, only one remained.
Sorrow.
"Rukia. Don't do it."
She didn't respond, merely looking at him with the most pained expression on her face and her hand was shaking, causing Sode no Shirayuki to shake.
Ichigo yelled, "Don't listen to him. Don't do this to me! You CAN'T do this to me!"
His voice then changed into a whisper, "After everything we have been through, are you really going to turn your back on me?" he asked, desperately hoping and praying that this was all a dream, and that he will wake up soon. The pain he felt however was slowly shattering that illusion.
He looked at Byakuya and Renji, who looked down. Well, the red haired man looked down while Byakuya merely closed his eyes.
"Byakuya! Renji!"
Renji opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it, shaking his head. Byakuya didn't hesitate to speak, "When we met on Sōkyoku Hill on the day of Rukia's execution, I told you that I would always uphold the law of the Soul Society." He then opened his eyes and Ichigo no longer saw Byakuya the stoic noble, but Byakuya the merciless killer.
"You are no exception, Ichigo Kurosaki."
The orange haired teenager then desperately turned to Yamamoto's former students.
"Guys! Talk to him! Don't let him do this to me! PLEASE!!" He pleaded, coughing up blood in the process.
Ukitake continued to look down with shame all over his face while Kyōraku lowered his hat to cover his eyes. In a somber tone, he said, "I'm truly sorry, kid. I really am. But Old Yama-jii's words are final."
Ichigo could not believe what he was seeing and hearing. The same organization that he had saved multiple fucking times had betrayed him. After everything that they had put him through! Kageroza. Muramasa. The Bount. The Dark Ones. Ulquiorra. Grimmjow, and now Aizen.
After all of that, they betrayed him when he was at the most vulnerable.
Ichigo turned to see Rukia and was taken aback by what he saw. The tears on her face were no longer there, although it was hard to tell because of the rain. Her expression however was stone faced, mirroring her older brother's. She then slowly raised Sode no Shirayuki above her head, looking at Ichigo with cold eyes.
"Goodbye, Ichigo." she said in a tone that eerily reminded the hybrid of Byakuya and sent chills down his spine, although the teen swore he could hear tiny bits of sadness in that tone.
"Rukia-"
"And I'm sorry."
Crimson red liquid flew everywhere as Rukia gave Ichigo two nasty cuts on his torso, creating an X shape. Ichigo looked at the scars and shed tears of blood, his brain still processing the fact that the woman he loved had just wounded him. He then saw her feet turn around and walk to the other direction.
"Rukia."
Silence.
"Rukia, look at me."
No answer.
"LOOK AT ME, DAMNIT! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?! RUKIA!!"
Rukia did not look back. How could she, when she just betrayed the person who had saved her multiple times in the past, the person who was indirectly involved with the reconciliation of her and her brother, and the person who just saved the World of the Living and the Soul Society? It was impossible for her, so she kept on walking back to the place she once stood and once she arrived, she just looked down, tears spilling out and her body shaking slightly as she tried to hold back her sobs. All while ignoring Ichigo's cries of her to answer him.
He was about to call her name once again and actually crawl to her, but Captain Suì-Fēng, a petite woman with two braid that had rings tied at the back, who was the captain of the 2nd Division and the Commander of the Omnitsukidō, appeared in front of him and with swift and great precision, slit his throat withSuzumebashi, having been annoyed that the boy was still alive after seeing the Kuchiki girl deliver slashes that should have been fatal.
Ichigo didn't move. He didn't choke on his own blood or try to stop the bleeding. He just fell on his face and a pool of blood oozed from under him.
'Finally, the boy dies. Good riddance.'
She had never liked that boy to begin with. She had begrudging respect for him for all he had done, but that's where it ended. She always wanted the Ryoka to be eliminated sooner than later before he became a threat and turned on them. Suì-Fēng hadn't even talk a step before she felt something loosely grab her ankle. Stunned, she turned, looked down and saw Ichigo grabbing her ankle with a bloody hand.
'Impossible! How in the hell did he survive that?'
She narrowed her eyes, angry at the boy for not dying.
'He truly is a pain in the ass, but Captain Kuchiki did tell us that he would be excruciatingly difficult to get rid of.'
Suì-Fēng the forcefully removed her foot with shock, anger and disgust evident on her face. Meanwhile, Captain-Commander Yamamoto reached into his pocket and pulled out an average amount of Hollow bait, crushing it. Immediately, numerous Gargantas opened as many Hollows, mainly Gillian and Adjuchas, made a beeline for the captains and lieutenants down below.
Yamamoto spoke, "It is truly saddening to see you like this, my boy. On behalf of the Gotei 13, we thank you for everything you have done for us." Then they all Flashstepped away as the Hollows closed in on them, leaving a defenseless and vulnerable Ichigo alone.
'They betrayed me. After all I've done for them, they betrayed me. Byakuya, Renji... you didn't even try to contest the order. You just stood there and watched. Rukia... after everything we had been through together, why did you do this to me? Why! Why!? WHY?!?'
He clenched his fist with the hand that grabbed Suì-Fēng's ankle.
'Those bastards! After everything I have done for them! They turned their backs on me! I hate them! I hate all those fucking Shinigami! I HATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!'
He tried to get up and defend himself against the Hollows but it was useless. He had no powers and he was slowly losing consciousness, so there was nothing he could do. Very quickly, he was surrounded by a LOT of Hollows who were looking at him hungrily, waiting to devour him, devour his soul. Knowing he was going to die, he began to think about his friends and family, the last thought being his mother.
'Everyone, I'm sorry. I won't be able to protect you guys anymore.'
A tear fell down his face.
'Mom, I'll see you soon.'
As the Hollows charged towards him, he saw a flash of light in front of him, almost blinding him and the Hollows around him. He then saw a small shadow come out of nowhere and felt small hands grab him. Before he lost consciousness, the shadow revealed a young teenager with red hair with a scowl on her face.
"Let's go."
That was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.
--
Schatten Bereich.
A dimension that was in the shadow of the Soul Society.
In the dimension, there was a wide, two-tiered building. The bottom tier was supported by six thick columns, while the upper tier was roughly half as wide and long, instead being held up by pillars; it also featured windows consisting of two thin slats in the wall on either side. The ground below it had a set of stairs leading up to the lower tier, and the entire complex was surrounded by an angular barrier with octagonal building was framed by two gutted, curving, tusk-like structures arching toward each other in front of it, and was dwarfed by a large, rectangular tower with a cross on each side rising up behind it. The entire area was covered in varying amounts of ice, giving every surface a jagged look with dozens of stalagmites.
This was Silbern.
When someone entered the building, they would find that the rooms within Silbern varied drastically in size and purpose, ranging from spacious assembly halls to training rooms and private quarters. There was one room that was different from the rest. In a dark medium-sized throne room, sitting on a throne was a man. He was tall with a long face, broad chin, and pronounced cheekbones. He had long black hair, reddish-brown eyes with thin eyebrows and a thick mustache. He also wore a tattered, ankle-length maroon-black cloak, which had a red ribbon near the neck and was fastened to the left with a single large button.
This was the progenitor of the Quincy and the son of the Soul King.
Yhwach.
The Kaiser Gesang: The Sealed King of the Quincy. After nine hundred years, he would regain his heartbeat. After ninety years, he would regain his intellect. After nine years, he would regain his strength and after nine days, he would regain the world from the power of all Gemischt Quincy in the world. Right now, he was just shy of 5 years before accomplishing the second to last and final verses. He was currently watching the assassination of Ichigo Kurosaki using devices to watch his enemies, the Soul Reapers, quite literally from the shadows. He didn't know how to feel about the sudden development.
On the one hand, he was irritated that he could not get talk to his 'son borne in the darkness' and take his power, making it his. On the other hand, he was, in a way, relieved that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had some of the first generation in them. He looked up at the ceiling as he thought about the very first Gotei 13. He very much respected the very first Gotei 13 because they were Balancers in name only. In reality, they were a bunch of ruthless thugs and killers who would do anything in order to win, even sacrifice their own family members. He despised the current version because it was weak, especially from the following members:
An old man who sat around and did nothing for so long, he became rusty.
A kind woman who hid her dark past very well.
A prodigy whose power was immature.
A bloodthirsty maniac who made himself weak so that he could enjoy the fight.
A sadistic and immoral scientist who sat in his lab all day and used poisons to win battles.
A Soul Reaper who disowned his entire clan because of how he looked.
He turned off the monitor because he didn't need to see what happened when someone gets devoured by a Hollow, and turned another one with a list called the Special War Threats. He decided to change it because of the recent events and a gut feeling that told him to not underestimate his enemies.
The original list was as followed:
Special War Threats
Ichigo Kurosaki (War Power: Latent Abilities)
Ichibē Hyōsube (War Power: Wisdom)
Kenpachi Zaraki (War Power: Combat Prowess)
Sōsuke Aizen (War Power: Reiatsu)
Kisuke Urahara (War Power: Resourcefulness)
The list now looked like this:
Sōsuke Aizen (War Power: Reiatsu)
Yoruichi Shihōin (War Power: Speed)
Tessai Tsukabishi (War Power: Kidō)
Ichibē Hyōsube (War Power: Wisdom)
Kisuke Urahara (War Power: Resourcefulness)
Kenpachi Zaraki (War Power: Combat Prowess)
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto (War Power: Fire)
The moment he finished updating the list, the door and in walked a tall, young-looking man with a thin build and long blonde hair, which descended past his shoulders, and blonde attire was a variation of the typical white uniform, consisting of the order's signature hooded-cloak, a calf-length trench coat commensurate of his rank with dark green fur running down from his left collar to the front of the coat, a green belt with a golden belt buckle, along with white trousers and shoes. This was Jugram Haschwalth, second-in-command of the Wandenreich and Yhwach's 'other half.' Haschwalth bowed his head upon reaching the throne.
"Your Majesty."
"Haschwalth." The elder grunted. "I have updated the list of the Special War Powers. Memorize the list and tell the other Sternritter."
The blonde haired man walked over to the list. He quickly noticed that Ichigo's name was not on the list. He tilted his head in confusion.
"Your Majesty, if I may, why did you remove Ichigo Kurosaki's name off the list?"
"He is dead."
Haschwalth whipped his head around so fast, it's a miracle he didn't get whiplash.
"What?"
"Yes, killed by the very same people he saved. I was surprised when they turned on him. He even pleaded for mercy but they gave none to him. It's good to see that the Gotei 13 still have some remnants of the first generation in them."
Haschwalth quickly snapped out of his shock and spoke, "Yes, but thanks to them, they have unknowingly eliminated one of, if not, the biggest obstacle in your plans."
"My thoughts exactly. That reminds me, why are you here?"
"I came here to tell you that we have found his location, Your Majesty."
"Good, bring him to me as soon as possible. All of my children must return to their father."