Chapter 21: There's a Demon I have to Control
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Zanpakutō"
"Hollows/Vizard"
"[Reading/listening to a message/letter]"
"{Speaking a different language}"
AN: Someone pointed out a while ago that Eien-ō should just be Hollowified rather than the Hollow being a separate spirit, since Eien-ō isn't secretly Ichigo's Quincy powers. To that I say, "My bad, but I'm choosing not to change it."
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The day after the mass Arrancar attack, Ichigo was attending a teleconference with Tōshirō using what had to be the weirdest television the teen had ever seen. Barring the screen itself, the entire thing seemed to be made out of some purple fleshy material. Personally, Ichigo couldn't believe Orihime allowed the Shinigami to set this up in her apartment. Onscreen, Yamamoto listened patiently as Tōshirō finished his report. "I see. Captain Kurosaki, do you have anything to add?" The Head Captain asked.
Straightening slightly, Ichigo responded, "The one I fought, Grimmjow, repeated the other's claim that the Arrancar numbered ten or less are ranked by strength and claimed to be the sixth. I don't know if that's accurate but he was easily more powerful than all the other Arrancar that showed up."
Yamamoto stroked his beard for a moment before inquiring, "How strong was he? And what of that Arrancar who attacked him?" Currently, Soul Society only had ten captains and twelve lieutenants, along with the support of Urahara's group. Assuming Aizen replaced the Espada that Shihōin had slain, there was just enough captain level fighters to match Aizen's strongest forces, leaving the humans and lieutenants to handle the underlings.
"Stronger than me. I critically injured him but once he used resurreccion, his injuries mostly healed and I couldn't touch him again for most of the fight. I have to assume he'd have killed me if he went all out from the start. On the other hand, his refusal to do so meant I injured him enough that a number of the others could have killed him had that Arrancar woman not stepped in." Ichigo paused, remembering the incredible power of the unnamed female Arrancar. "As for the other one, her Reiatsu completely dwarfed Grimmjow's and mine together. Given what Nemu's told me, I'd say that if Grimmjow used to be an Adjuchas, she had to be a Vasto Lorde."
"Hm, so Aizen has made contact with at least some Vasto Lorde. That is troubling news. If he were to recruit too many, I may be forced to resort to drastic measures." As he spoke, the eldest captain gripped his cane tightly. He had once sworn not to use his Bankai in the Living World but if he was forced to, the island of Hondo would be a necessary sacrifice to prevent even greater calamity. "Currently, Urahara is working with 12th Division to counter Aizen's plans. According to Urahara, we have less than four months until the Hōgyoku has fully awakened. For the time being, the two of you and your subordinates are to stay on high alert for any more incursions. Kurosaki, dismissed. Hitsugaya, there is someone who wishes to speak with you."
As Ichigo left the apartment, he vaguely heard some Tōshirō talking to some girl. But his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Lisa. Someone who had Hollow powers like him but could control them for greater power. The fake schoolgirl had said he'd need her group's help if he wanted that same control. He needed more information on them first; Ichigo was hardly going to trust some random Shinigami just because she flashed a mask (among other things) at him. But who to ask? Urahara was busy and he knew Nemu was coordinating with him. He still wasn't quite comfortable asking his father about spiritual matters. That left…
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Within his family's library, Uryū poured over anything he could find on the Quincy. While he knew his father wasn't a Quincy, outright denying his heritage, and his mother wasn't much of one (her words, not his), they still kept everything Ishida Sōken had bequeathed them when he died. "There has to be some way to restore my powers! I won't sit back while Hollows run rampant through Karakura!" But so far, all he had found were descriptions of Letzt Stil and Vollständig and how the former would permanently cost a Quincy their powers. In other words, nothing he didn't already know. Frustrated, he slammed his current book shut and reached for another.
So absorbed in his search was he that Uryū didn't even notice someone else enter the room. Ishida Kanae stared forlornly at her son as he attempted to find what he was looking for. Despite functionally being head of the household given the long hours her husband worked at the hospital, she still wore an old-fashioned maid uniform more often than not. As she had barely aged since giving birth, she had more than once been mistaken for a servant by an unaware visitor. "Still haven't found what you're looking for?"
Uryū whipped around in alarm, instinctively trying to form a bow with powers he no longer possessed. Once he saw who it was, the bespectacled teen relaxed. Turning back to his latest book, he quietly answered, "Not yet."
Bending down, Kanae started picking up the books her son had thrown aside in his growing frustration. "May I ask what you're trying to find?" She asked as she carefully returned them to their shelves.
With a defeated sigh, Uryū closed the journal. "I need to regain my powers. There's monstrously strong Hollows attacking Karakura and, according to Kurosaki, a madman wants to sacrifice the entire city to ascend to godhood. I can't let that happen!" Even when he'd watched his grandfather torn apart, Uryū had never felt this helpless. Back then, cowardice had kept him from acting, not inability.
Setting down her load, Kanae gently laid a hand on Uryū's shoulder. "Oh sweetie. I'll talk to your father. Regardless of his opinions, it's wrong of him to refuse to help you. Especially when it affects the living just as much as the dead."
Uryū's head jerked up, "Father? What does he have to do with anything? He's not a Quincy!"
Quirking an eyebrow, the matriarch asked, "Is that what he told you?" The look in her eyes all but shouted she knew something the other Quincy didn't.
Casting his mind back to the last time he'd tried to talk to his father about spiritual matters, shortly after his grandfather's funeral, Uryū suddenly remembered his father's exact words. "I have no interest and you have no talent." Combined with his mother's words, the truth struck him. 'No interest. Not no ability.' "That motherfucker," Uryū uncharacteristically swore.
"Language dear," His mother admonished him, "No matter how accurate, you shouldn't say such things about your father." And like that, Uryū could almost see his future therapist going up a tax bracket.
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"Yoruichi, you mind answering a question for me?"
Looking up from where she had been enjoying a rather tasty milkshake, Yoruichi looked Ichigo over. Whatever it was, he seemed rather serious but not panicked or otherwise freaking out. "My three measurements? Normally I'd insist on dinner first, but I suppose I could tell you for another milkshake."
In response, Ichigo scoffed, "Please. I've seen you naked enough times to have a good idea what they are already. Unless I'm buying you lingerie, I don't think I need the exact numbers."
As he sat down against the tree next to her, Yoruichi offered, "Well, I certainly wouldn't say no to something light and slinky."
"I wanted to know more about the Vizards," Was Ichigo's answer.
That got Yoruichi to drop her playful demeanor. Things were gaining steam if Ichigo needed information on that particular group. "The Vizards are a group of Shinigami, mostly former captains and lieutenants, who were infected with Hollows by Aizen about a century ago. Don't ask why, I just kinda assume he was being an evil dick for the sake of it. Anyway, Kisuke and Tessai saved their asses, but Aizen framed Kisuke for 'turning several officers into mindless Hollows'. Kisuke and the Vizard were to be executed while Tessai was going to prison for using forbidden Kidō. At least, they were before yours truly saved their sorry asses." The ebony woman shrugged, "Kisuke used his magic marble to restore the Vizards' sanity and our two groups went their separate ways, though I think Kisuke kept in contact with them. Since you asked, I take it they contacted you?"
Resisting the urge to facepalm at hearing that Aizen was apparently cartoonishly evil, Ichigo answered, "Yeah. A woman named Lisa did. She said I needed their help or this Hollow inside me would consume me."
"And I wasn't lying," A third voice chimed in. Starting in surprise, Ichigo looked up and saw the subject of their conversation sitting on an overhead branch, reading a manga he didn't recognize. "It's rude to talk about others behind their back, you know."
"And it's rude to eavesdrop on others' conversations," Ichigo retorted.
Lisa merely shrugged and turned to the next page of her manga, "True, but I'm a rude person." From the sidelines, Yoruichi took another sip of her milkshake, enjoying the byplay. "I came to drag you off for training but it seems you've already realized the truth of what I told you. In that case," Lisa pocketed her manga and casually hopped down to the grass below. "I'll take you to our hideout."
Deadpan, Ichigo asked, "Do you ever wear panties?"
"Do you?" Was her immediate retort.
"Screw it, let's just go. Yoruichi, let the others know I'm off training, would you?" Ichigo's request was accompanied by a 500 yen coin, apparently payment for her to get a refill. 'Good boy. Very well trained.'
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Looking up at the building hidden behind a powerful Kidō barrier, Ichigo couldn't help but snark, "A warehouse? You're superpowered beings from another world that wear masks, fight monsters, and your hideout is a warehouse. If you were any more cliched, I'd expect you to pilot mecha too."
"This is a temporary setup. Besides, warehouses are cheap and no one pays attention to them. And I don't wanna hear about cliches from the ordinary high schooler that was granted powers by a supernatural woman and now transforms to fight monsters alongside his friends," Lisa riposted.
The teen promptly shut up, realizing he didn't have a counter to that. 'At least I didn't get my powers from Yoruichi. At that point, I couldn't be any more Sailor Moon if I tried.' Lisa led the way inside, revealing that the inside of the seemingly rundown warehouse… was a rundown warehouse, just with some random pieces of furniture strewn about. "I brought back the new guy."
The seven others glanced their way. They really were a motley crew, Ichigo noticed. An angry blonde loli, a verdette girl who looked like she drank far too much coffee, a blonde man sitting upside down, a pink haired giant who looked like a human teddy bear, another blonde tuning an acoustic guitar, a man with a tracksuit and star-shaped afro, and a gray-haired man beating up a punching bag. The loli was the one who spoke up, "This dumbass? He's the one we're supposed to be training? He looks like he gets lost on the way to the bathroom!"
Ichigo's response was to ask Lisa, "What's with this sassy lost child?"
Though most of the Vizard laughed at his question, said 'child' howled with rage. "You're going to be calling me Hiyori-sama by the time I'm through with you, dumbass!" Drawing her Zanpakutō from her back, Hiyori's horned mask formed on the side of her head, looking as though she'd pulled it aside for a moment. Reaching up, she pulled the mask firmly over her face and snarled, "Better use your Bankai if you want to live, bastard."
For his part, Ichigo immediately popped Alfred's Gikon, readying himself, "Reclaim your throne, Eien-ō!" Hiyori rushed him, but Ichigo blocked her attempted slash. The impact drove him backwards but he kept his feet. Once the pair hit the wall, Ichigo used it to brace himself and punched his opponent in the gut. As she gasped, he used his greater strength to fling her away from himself before flying after her with Shunpo. As this happened, all the other Vizard watched with varying levels of interest, minus Rose who was now showing Alfred how to tune a guitar.
"Don't get cocky! Chop Cleanly, Kubikiri Orochi!" Hiyori's Zanpakutō transformed into a serrated cleaver and when she blocked his strike, the Vizard caught his sword between two of the teeth and quickly twisted her Shikai. As his sword sharply jerked, Ichigo released it on reflex, only to immediately conjure another with Yūrei no Ken. "What the fuck?!" Hiyori's shocked exclamation was met with a thrust of the duplicate Eien-ō. With one foot, Ichigo found and kicked the original into the air, catching it in one hand. Now dual wielding, he went on the offensive, slashing and slicing at his opponent ferociously.
To his surprise, Hiyori caught the duplicate sword on her horn while she blocked the other with her Shikai. With a sharp twist of her body, she flung both his hands away from his body, leaving Ichigo open as she kicked him in the stomach. As he sailed backwards, Ichigo relinquished his grip on the Yūrei no Ken and sent it hurtling towards the blonde, who smacked it aside. Having gotten some breathing room, Hiyori charged a cero with her mouth. The others started in alarm with Shinji moving to stop her, "Damnit, Hiyori! That's too far!" Ignoring them, she turned towards Ichigo as he attempted to flank her and fired her pink cero straight at him, leaving the teen no time to dodge.
The blast struck him head-on, yet Ichigo emerged from the explosion seemingly unharmed, a slasher smile on his lips as a Hollow mask formed over his face. Faster than Hiyori could react, the Hollow palmed her face, gripping hard enough to break her mask and expose her terrified eyes underneath. The beast slammed the back of her head into the floor, causing a spider web of cracks to form in the concrete. Lifting her up, he smashed her into the floor again. But before he could finish her off, the other seven Vizard suddenly pinned Ichigo's body to the ground, their Zanpakutō at his vitals. With a flick of his wrist, Shinji shattered the still forming mask, forcing the Hollow back into the depths of Ichigo's soul. Released, Hiyori scrambled away, her eyes still wide with fear at the power and brutality of Ichigo's Hollow. On the other hand, Shinji was perfectly calm as he told the pinned boy, "Well now, seems like you passed the first test. The real training begins now."
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Ichigo was training to grow stronger, Orihime knew. That night when the Arrancar attacked, he had fought the strongest one. And while he hadn't outright lost, he certainly hadn't won. Though she hadn't known Ichigo as long as Tatsuki had, she knew her former crush wouldn't let someone threaten his loved ones. And yes, Orihime could admit to herself that Ichigo was a former crush now. While she might have tried her luck had she known a couple months ago that Nemu intended to share, these days the young woman couldn't imagine life without Tatsuki. Regardless, Ichigo was growing stronger and she wouldn't let her friend stand alone. That was why Orihime had come here after all. Standing outside the Urahara Store, she bowed to the black cat lounging on the front step, "Yoruichi-sensei, please make me stronger!"
In a cloud of smoke, the feline transformed into a nude woman, sitting cross-legged on the step. "Well now. Indulge me for a moment, what brought this on?"
Fighting down the urge to drink in Yoruichi's form like a tall glass of water, Orihime answered, "Tatsuki-chan told me that while everyone can fight, only I can heal. But I don't want to just sit in the back row, casting Cure spells over and over! I want to be able to fight and heal so no one will have to protect me! I don't want to be a burden on my friends!"
"To save us both some time, I'm gonna pretend I understood that reference." Rising to her feet gracefully, Yoruichi gestured inside, "Come on, we've got training to do. And don't expect me to go easy on you this time."
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Descending down an honestly ridiculous flight of stairs with the Vizards, Ichigo found himself within a giant underground training ground, one so similar to Hat-n-Clogs' that he knew the man had to have made it. Shinji, who seemed to be the group's spokesman, explained, "Down here, you'll enter your Inner World and confront your Hollow. Hachi," Shinji gestured towards the giant man, "Will maintain a barrier around you as your body goes berserk. The rest of us will take turns keeping you occupied. If you don't finish within seventy minutes, we'll be forced to kill you."
Ichigo nearly missed a step at those words. "Kill me? And why would my body go berserk?" He demanded incredulously.
Looking over his shoulder at Ichigo, Shinji explained, "Your soul is gonna be in absolute chaos as you and the Hollow fight for control. With no one in the driver's seat, your body will lash out at everyone and everything around it in an instinctive attempt to make things stop. Well, technically your soul will since your body is being occupied by Jeeves there," he corrected himself as he pointed at Alfred, still in conversation with Rose. "Regardless, if you can't kill your Hollow within seventy minutes, we have to assume you're not going to win at all. We don't need some super Vasto Lorde running around, so we'll be forced to execute you."
As Ichigo processed that, the afroed man, Love, gave him a gentle shove. "Don't worry about it, kid. Just kill your Hollow before we have to kill you. Simple."
"Right, no pressure," Ichigo snarked.
Once they'd reached what the Vizards decided was a good enough spot, Ichigo found himself bound by a Bakudō cast by Hachi, his body pinned beneath five giant pillars. "Alright, we're ready to start," Shinji said. Looking down at Ichigo as an orange barrier formed around himself and Love, he cheekily offered, "Have fun in there but don't take too long." A moment later, Ichigo's vision went dark as he sank into his Inner World.
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Ichigo appeared within his Inner World, finding himself in the throne room of the castle, seated on the throne itself. Though he cast out his senses as far as he could, he couldn't find a trace of Eien-ō's presence. It was just himself and the dark, malevolent presence he felt moving closer from somewhere down below. For some reason he couldn't quite explain, Ichigo found himself compelled to stay where he was and wait for his opponent's arrival. Were the situation not so serious, he might have chuckled at the thought of being a king or emperor holding court.
The Hollow entered the throne room within moments of Ichigo's arrival. He looked almost exactly as he remembered, barring the two forward curved horns sprouting from the sides of his head. "You've claimed your throne. Now you've come to claim your crown." It wasn't a question. The knight knew full well why Ichigo had come to his Inner World. Still, he nodded regardless, confirming the statement. The Hollow gazed upon him from behind his helmet, taking in Ichigo's form as he sat upon the throne. "Perfect. Without the wench enforcing such nonsense, I can shed this ridiculous armor." Before his eyes, the Hollow's armor cracked. Slowly at first, like an egg hatching. But the cracks spread until suddenly all of it shattered right off the Hollow's body, like smashing a glass with a hammer.
From the shattered armor appeared a woman, one pale as the moon and just as tall as the armor had made her appear. Her voluminous hair was an inky black that fell past her shoulders. The giant woman wore a ragged black crop top that she was in considerable danger of spilling out of. On her lower body, she wore a black loincloth with a buckle shaped like a snarling dragon's head. Her entire face below her yellow eyes (with black sclera, Ichigo idly noted) was covered by a translucent veil. Said eyes glinted with amusement, "This is much better, wouldn't you say?" Oddly, the first thought that came to Ichigo's mind was, 'Oh, those horns weren't part of the helmet.'
The Hollow stepped forward, her hips swaying sensuously as she approached Ichigo. "Now then, there's nothing saying we have to fight, is there, Your Majesty?" Without the helmet in the way, her voice sounded different, a deep smoky contralto. Once she reached him, she bent forward at the waist until her top started bunching up and placed her right hand on his chest.
Something about the feel of his Hollow's hand was bothering him, but Ichigo couldn't quite place it. Rather than focus on it, he answered her rhetorical question, "Well, the other Vizards apparently all had to fight their Hollows for access to their powers." Despite his efforts otherwise, Ichigo still caught himself glancing at her breasts more than once. In his defense, they were practically in his face.
Behind her veil the gothic woman licked her lips erotically. "Oh please, call me Tirana. And of course they had to fight their Hollows. They had their Hollows forced upon them. But you? You're different. We've been together since before you were born." Tirana's hand idly rubbed Ichigo's chest while the other planted itself beside his head on the throne. "We are destined for greatness. Together. Tell me what you desire." Her left hand coming off the throne, Tirana played with the buckle on her loincloth even as her other hand trailed down his chest to cup his groin. "Power? Respect? Women? All of it would be ours for the taking. All you have to do is let me in. Let me help you achieve your destiny. Why fight when we can be so much more? More than a Shinigami. More than a king. More than a man."
It was as Tirana spoke that something finally clicked for Ichigo. During the entire conversation, her smiles had reached her eyes but said eyes still bothered him, even more than the odd hardness of her fingers. For all her lustful gestures, the giant woman's eyes didn't remind him of Candice's flirty teasing or Nemu's quiet lust. No, they most resembled Yachiru's violent hunger. He wasn't a partner; he was prey. In an instant, Eien-ō's Shikai was in his hand and stabbing right for Tirana's heart. The Zanpakutō pierced straight through her top, only to stop cold on her skin. "That…was a mistake." A violet glow appeared in the Hollow's right hand, shining from where it pressed against his crotch. In a panic, Ichigo unleashed a Tenka-Ichiken even as he desperately leapt backwards, toppling the throne over as he went. His attack set off Tirana's cero early, causing an explosion that engulfed the throne room.
"You should have taken the offer, boy. You'd have at least lived as a favored servant rather than a slave." From within the smoke, a thorned whip lashed out, seeking his flesh. Ichigo dodged the attack and slashed at Tirana's whip, seeking to deprive her of her weapon. Yet, what seemed to be mere braided leather stopped Eien-ō cold even as it wrapped around the blade, coming alive like a serpent. Immediately, Ichigo summoned half a dozen Yūrei no Ken, which worked in tandem to deflect a barrage of violet bala Tirana fired at him, still concealed within the fading smoke cloud.
Taking one hand off his Zanpakutō, Ichigo quickly called, "Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku." From his palm, a yellow chain burst forth and wound around the thorned whip. Planting his feet, he pulled hard on the Kidō, pulling the Hollow out of her cover. Without the smokescreen, it became obvious that Tirana's sensual form had been another disguise. Her veil was gone, revealing that her face below her eyes had rotted away to mere bone. Likewise, her right arm and a fair bit of what he could see of her torso were skeletal as well. Curiously, her legs were unchanged. As she flew through the air, Tirana raised the stave she wielded in her left hand. Fixed atop the stave was what had to be a dragon's skull and from its maw came the violet glow of Tirana's Reiryoku moments before it fired at him in the form of a cero.
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Outside Hachi's barrier, Lisa watched carefully as Love fought the berserk Ichigo. It would be her turn next and she should gather as much information as she could about how he fought in this state. The most obvious was that he never dodged, always either tanking attacks entirely or at most blocking or deflecting with a free arm. 'Clearly, his Hollow has an exceptionally strong hierro.' Any damage he did take healed at a slow, but visible rate, suggesting a relatively weak regeneration. Lisa noted that Ichigo's mask was more human than most of theirs as it formed. Only its horns marked it as significantly different than a painted human skull. Even the Hollow's body was human for the most part. Besides the mask and hole, the clawed hands, taloned feet, and tufts of fur around the wrists and collarbones were all that marked him as something other than a pale tattooed human.
"Time's up!" Shinji called. Hachi wordlessly opened a hole in his barrier at his words. Dodging around a haphazard swipe of Eien-ō, Love dove through the opening as Lisa leapt in, kneeing Ichigo in the chin to keep him from following before the portal closed. 'Time for analyzing is over. Now I just have to keep him busy for ten minutes.' Drawing her Zanpakutō, the former lieutenant readied herself.
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Darting out onto the castle ramparts, Ichigo panted for breath he arguably didn't actually need. Fighting Tirana inside was a nightmare. If she wasn't pulling hit and run tactics, she was ambushing him from the shadows. A few times, he swore she'd just materialized within a shadow. On the plus side, he'd already seen she didn't handle melee range well. The problem was getting close enough to exploit such a weakness. The enclosed corridors let her blast him from range as she fled while the shadows allowed her to hide far too easily, hence why he'd moved somewhere more open and well-lit. If he could dodge Tirana's attacks rather than be forced to block each of them, he might be able to close the distance. And if she couldn't hide, she wouldn't be able to ambush him. "Come out and play, little boy. I promise I won't bite… where it shows," Tirana's voice echoed up the stairwell.
Ichigo had a second to realize her Reiatsu signature was coming from the wrong place before he dashed forwards, a sustained cero blasting through the floor behind him. The beam followed right behind him, only for a second beam to appear mere centimeters in front of him. Dodging to the side, the teen grumbled, "So much for that idea."
The lich's mocking laughter taunted him from below, "You didn't really think it'd be that easy, did you? Battles are about more than two imbeciles smacking slabs of metal together over and over. You have much to learn, boy. Study closely."
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As Mashiro tagged out, she dispelled her mask and leapt out of the barrier, allowing Shinji to take her place. "Wowie. He might be dumb right now, but he's strong." Plopping down on the ground, she accepted a water bottle tossed her way by Kensei, chugging the entire thing down. "How many do we have left?" The verdette asked the group at large.
From where she rested on a rock, Lisa replied, "After Shinji, there's only Rose and Kensei left. If he still hasn't finished by then, we'll have to kill him." Looking back at the fight, Lisa sweatdropped. The berserk Hollow was swinging its sword and shield seemingly at random, not even coming close to hitting Shinji. The Vizard in question stood calmly behind the Hollow, Sakanade released and hovering with his hand in its ring. "Or maybe we can just let Shinji handle the next half hour by himself."
From within the barrier, Shinji shouted back, "How is that fair? Just because my Zanpakutō is suited for this doesn't mean I should pick up all the slack!" Despite seemingly doing nothing, Shinji inverted a direction every so often to keep the Hollow from realizing just what was wrong. It was berserk but he couldn't count on it being completely mindless. By flipping left and right or front and back intermittently, he gave the illusion that he was simply too fast for his opponent to keep up.
After nearly a minute of this, the Hollow paused, its head tilted as if considering something. It punched out in the direction Shinji's Shikai told him he was, sending off a bala. Immediately afterwards, it fired bala in three other directions, forcing Shinji to actually move for the first time, all while he kept flipping directions on the beast. Rather than continue flailing, the Hollow charged a cero between its horns and gazed upwards. "What the hell is it doing?" Shinji muttered in confusion. He was answered a few seconds later when the Hollow, rather than fire its cero, instead detonated it with another bala. "Oh shi-!" The sphere of power destabilized and exploded in every direction at once.
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Ichigo blocked another barrage with his shield. 'This shit is getting old,' He mentally grumbled as he listened to her mocking laughter. That settled it he decided. Tirana couldn't hide behind cover and lurk in shadows if there was none of either. As he dodged, the teen activated Eikō no Yari and roared, "Tenka-Ichiken!" The golden blast engulfed the entire castle with its destructive power. As the smoke settled, Ichigo switched back to his Bankai's default form and cast out his senses.
The dispersing dust cloud revealed that while Ichigo hadn't slain his opponent, he had accomplished his primary goal. The castle was simply gone, not a brick left standing. Within the clearing left behind, Tirana pouted. How she did that without lips, Ichigo couldn't say, but it was definitely a pout. "Really now, boy? Just because you don't know how to play the game, you flip the board?"
Just then, a sword sliced through her left arm. Even as the Hollow cried out in pain and alarm, Ichigo swung his own blade down, cutting her dropped stave in two. "If you can't win the game, change the rules," He retorted.
Twirling her whip around in her remaining hand, Tirana smacked aside Ichigo's summoned Yūrei no Ken. "So you can learn. But that alone won't save you." Her whip lashed out towards him, tangling itself around Eien-ō Tenmai's sword. The Hollow pulled mightily against him, trying to yank his weapon from his grasp. "I'm going to break you down until you think of nothing more than worshiping me-"
The gothic amazon's posturing was interrupted when Ichigo threw his shield at her, the edge of it smashing directly into her face and breaking several teeth. "You talk too much." With that, the Shinigami leapt forward, using the strength of Tirana's attempt to disarm him against her. Tirana frantically dodged in a burst of Sonido. Unlike before, her movements had an edge of desperation. She was down an arm, her best weapon was gone, and her enemy just would Not. Give. Up!
From behind, a Yūrei no Heishi slammed its shield into her back. Before she could regain her bearings, six beams of light slammed into her midsection and her body froze completely. "Nooo." But her denials changed nothing. "No no no!" Before her, Ichigo once more summoned Eikō no Yari, its blade positively radiating with power. "Nonononono!" A concentrated beam of Reiryoku lanced outward, striking Tirana head on. The power engulfed her entirely, eating away at her form. When the light faded, all that remained was her scorched head, one horn broken off. As the life faded from her eyes, Tirana had a final message for her killer, "One day… I'll return for… your crown. Until then… my talents… are… yourssss…"
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In the real world, Ichigo's body had almost completely Hollowfied, only a single small area around his eye was uncovered by his mask while one hand retained its human shape. Kensei was panting. He still had another seven minutes left, but the damn Hollow just kept growing stronger. Suddenly, a violet orb grew between its horns, one much more powerful than the earlier one used to locate Shinji. "Fuck this." With a gesture, Kensei's mask, vaguely resembling a hockey goalie's, formed on his face. "Bankai!"
The other Vizards stared in shock. "Kensei, you can't be serious!" Rose shouted.
"We can't keep waiting! That bastard will kill us if we don't kill it!" Kensei yelled back, Tekken Tachikaze's knuckle blades held in each hand as purple bands wrapped around his arms. "Sorry kid, but this is the end of the line," He offered to Ichigo's berserk body. In a flash of Shunpo, he maneuvered behind the teen, only to find the boy already facing him. "Tch. No matter." Kensei launched a hook right at the Hollow's face, aiming to kill him in a single strike. It was the least he could do for the kid. Yet, before his attack could land or the Hollow could fire its cero, it exploded in a like a porcelain cup on the pavement. Kensei dodged the blast with another Shunpo and as the smoke cleared, Ichigo's form was revealed, once more fully human but for the horned mask adorning his face. After a few seconds, the mask disintegrated into nothingness and Ichigo collapsed, unconscious. Dispersing his own mask and Bankai, Kensei smirked slightly. "Well I'll be damned. The kid actually pulled it off. Rest up, Kurosaki. Things won't be getting easier any time soon."
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"Hold on Orihime, it seems we have visitors." Yoruichi called a temporary halt to their training. Having been in the middle of an attack, Tsubaki froze and hung in midair awkwardly as his mistress and her trainer turned towards the ladder leading down into the basement.
From the ceiling came four people they recognized well: Sado, Tatsuki, Bambietta, and Candice. Curiously, it was Sado who spoke first. Bowing low, he requested, "We've come for more training, Yoruichi."
"What he said," Candice offered before switching to English after a moment of thinking. "{I would've been skewered if I hadn't figured out a new way to use my schrift.}" Privately, she offered, 'Thank God for Orihime. Without her absolute bullshit levels of healing, I'd probably be twitching in a hospital bed right now.'
"All of us need to grow stronger if we're to fight those Arrancar again," Tatsuki firmly stated. Then she smiled at her girlfriend, "Of course, it seems like Hime's beaten us to the punch."
While Orihime bounced happily at the thought of training with all her friends (well, those with powers anyway. Trying to do this with Mahana or Michiru would be awkward), Yoruichi frowned in consideration. "Hm, I'm gonna need some help to train all five of you at once. Even if I can beat you all, I can't easily give each of you pointers, which will be just as important as smacking you around." After a moment's thought, a metaphorical lightbulb went off. "Gimme a couple minutes. I know just who can help."
As the violette seemingly teleported out of the basement, Bambietta asked what they were all thinking, "She gonna get blonde?"
"Nah, the kids out front said Urahara's busy," Tatsuki rebutted.
They didn't have long to wait. Only a minute or so later, Yoruichi returned with Tessai in tow, the assistant positively towering over the diminutive woman. "Tessai here volunteered to help me train you kids. Given how much his fighting style differs from my own, he'll also keep you from becoming complacent trying to counter me." Looking up to Kidō Master, she asked, "You ready to go, big guy?"
Adjusting his glasses, Tessai nodded, "At once, Shihōin-dono!" Clapping his hands together, Tessai then pressed his palms to the ground as he declared, "Hadō #89, Yōgan Tsunami!" A massive, nearly fifteen-meter tsunami of lava erupted in front of the Kidō Master before hurtling towards the five young adults. As one, they all had the same thought, 'I was not ready for today.'
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AN: First of all, next chapter is planned to be an omake chapter that'll have three different omakes. First one is a look at various scenes from an alternate idea I had of sending Isane to Karakura originally rather than Nemu. The other two are both lewd omakes a couple discord members wanted: Ichigo breeding "Baeber" for Bankai, and Ichigo hate-fucking his Tirana to get his mask. Feel free to read or skip at your leisure; none of them have any bearing on the canon story.
Yes, I'd actually been planning to make Tirana a woman for quite some time, even if the only real clue was back in chapter 12 when she gave off a stereotypical noblewoman's laugh. I know fanon likes to state that the real Zangetsu represents Ichigo's instincts. Tirana? She's Ichigo's darker thoughts and impulses. Unlike Naruto (which I didn't realize I was copying until someone pointed it out), she won't vanish because Ichigo hugged her or because he forgave people who snubbed him ten years ago. She's his wrath, lust, pride, etc. and not giving into your impulses doesn't mean you don't have them.
Why is Kanae alive? Because people die when they are killed, and she wasn't. No Yhwach means no power loss and death. Also, unlike Masaki, her death felt like an afterthought at best. Besides the filler Bount Arc, I'm not sure she was ever even mentioned (not even if she was alive or dead) before TYBW.
And I renamed Hadō 89 because I realized this fits better.
*Ahem* Next time on Vow of the King! Er, wait. I already told you what happens next time. Shit, this is awkward. Uh, I know! "What do you say to a woman who has trouble keeping count? Tally ho!"