Chapter 36: You Got Stronger But Your Mind Got Weak

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Zanpakutō"
"Hollows/Vizard"
"[Reading/listening to a message/letter]"
"{Speaking a different language}"

-]|[-

Like a hypersonic missile, Eien-ō Tenmai flew towards its target, radiating with power and overflowing with wrath. Aizen allowed the attack to strike true, not even bothering to dodge. He had countermeasures in place, after all. Mere centimeters before the spear would have struck true, Aizen's Millón Escudo revealed itself and expanded to its full size. The green hexagonal shield was both larger and wider than Aizen himself, covering his back entirely. Aizen barely had time to smirk in satisfaction before a sound like thousands of windows shattering at once reached his ears. Reflexively dodging, Aizen managed to avoid being more than grazed by Eikō no Yari, the blade barely nicking his left shoulder.

Then the pain hit, worse than anything Aizen could remember in his long and illustrious career. A shaky look at the offending appendage showed it was completely gone, along with a significant chunk of his chest. It looked like someone had taken a burning hot spoon and simply scooped out the missing material, leaving behind a perfectly smooth section of flesh and bone. Even as the Hōgyoku began mending his flesh, it occurred to him that if he hadn't dodged, that attack would have taken most of his upper torso, including his head. Aizen had no idea if the Hōgyoku could fix that and he was certainly in no rush to find out. 'I need to make certain he can't do that again.'

As if summoned by his thoughts, Ichigo appeared before him, Eikō no Yari back in hand and shining with Reiryoku as he thrust with it with both hands towards Aizen's chest.

-]|[-

Starrk and Lilynette didn't waste their chance. While Ichigo was confronting Aizen and Unohana was gathering up her allies, they split their soul into a wolf pack once again and began searching for survivors. In the back of their minds, they pondered how the battle was almost over already. Starrk was certain it couldn't have been more than an hour or so since everyone had left. 'How could both sides have been functionally wiped out already?' While a great deal of Shinigami were still alive, they weren't in any condition to keep fighting. Something that was obvious as one wolf passed by Unohana grabbing a green haired woman and Hitsugaya, both missing a leg (as well as an arm in the latter's case).

The first Arrancar found was one of Baraggan's fraccion, Nirgge if he remembered right, but the bloody mess that was his skull made it obvious that it was too late for him. Next was another fraccion, Abirama. Besides the bleeding chest wounds, which were admittedly critical, he didn't seem too bad but Starrk couldn't sense any Reiatsu from him at all. The wolf began moving away when the apparent corpse gasped. Whipping back around, the construct saw Abirama's eyes flutter. They didn't open, at least not fully, but the movement still confirmed it: He was alive, for the moment. The wolf split in two before one deformed, elongating its body to wrap around the critically injured fraccion and place him upon the other's back. Once he was mostly in place, the first wolf moved beside its partner, helping to support their wounded comrade.

Another wolf found Halibel's fraccion. The trio were missing their right arms but were otherwise unmarred. Despite this, their Reiryoku levels were shockingly low, barely there even. They too were gathered up as quickly as possible once more wolves arrived. As the only major injuries seemed to be their arms, which had stopped bleeding, the trio were moved much more quickly than their male counterpart.

By the time they made it back to Starrk, the Primera was carrying the final survivor he had managed to find: Halibel. Despite her missing arm and section of her abdomen that had been sliced clean through, she was arguably in the best shape of the survivors. She at least had the Reiryoku necessary to heal on her own with time. In contrast, he wasn't sure if Abirama could be healed. He didn't even know why the other man seemingly lost all his power. Still, he'd get them home and hopefully, Roka could work her magic to fix everyone. "Don't worry so much, Starrk. We'll get them fixed up. Betcha that one human could help," Lilynette's voice came from one of the fragments of their soul that was carrying Sung-sun.

Starrk nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Still, for these to be the only survivors…" Looking out in the distance, he spotted Unohana gathering up her own allies. She made eye contact and they shared a nod. Starrk turned back to his comrades and quietly offered, "Let's go home." A gesture opened a new Garganta through which the seven stepped, leaving the war behind them both physically and metaphorically.

-]|[-

For her part, Retsu was helping the survivors in the fastest method available to her considering their numbers. That is to say, she had Minazuki flying around in its maximum size and was throwing any Shinigami she found into its mouth. Once everyone still alive, for a given definition of the word, was gathered, she'd worry about adding her own power to heal them more thoroughly. It might be cramped inside but so far most were too unconscious to complain. Anyone who wasn't simply knew better.

There hadn't been many, but the few corpses she found still hit her. For all she was the most prolific murderer in history, these people had been comrades, friends even in some cases. Whether it was Ōmaeda's repeatedly impaled corpse or Kensei's destroyed chest cavity, such losses hurt. In contrast, the critically injured such as Hinamori, Madarame, or Zaraki were a blessing. If they weren't dead when she reached them, then they would survive; she would guarantee it.

Glancing towards where her lover and student fought Aizen, Retsu's sword hand twitched. He had gotten the better of her last time because she had tired herself out fighting Ichigo. Though she had slaughtered the teen, it was still an exhausting experience. However, given the nature of Aizen's Shikai, she would admit that it was unlikely she'd be able to stop him now. No matter how her blade ached to taste his flesh, the risk of being fooled by his illusions was too great. Besides, if she didn't heal the injured, who would?

-]|[-

The battle between the two titans had become something like an extremely high stakes game of tag where a blow landed by either could be crippling even if it was blocked, forcing both to dodge or parry every attack. A swing of Ichigo's spear was ducked under and Aizen fired a Byakurai at him with his newly regenerated arm, now covered in a hard white substance. Ichigo leapt upwards and stabbed down at Aizen with Eikō no Yari. When the man merely hopped backwards, Ichigo used his planted spear as a pivot and utilized his momentum to swing his body around, aiming to kick his opponent in the head. To his surprise, Aizen caught the kick with his left hand, ignoring how his bones shattered with the force of the impact. His smirk firmly in place, Aizen squeezed down with his broken but regenerating hand as he uttered, "That was a mistake, Kurosaki. Hadō #11, Tsuzuri-"

Letting go of his Zanpakutō with one hand, Ichigo punched towards Aizen, firing a bala at his face. Though far weaker than a cero or Tenka-Ichiken, the impact nonetheless broke his nose and shattered several teeth as it sent the man flying backwards and forced him to release Ichigo's foot. The teen winced slightly as he tested the appendage; it wasn't broken but it was probably cracked. Thankfully, his own regeneration would take care of that in time. An idea occurred to him. With a thought, he created a quintet of Yūrei no Heishi to attack Aizen. Much like their creator, all five were wielding Eikō no Yari, giving them improved attack power but negligible defense without a Hollow mask to shore it up. Pulling Eikō no Yari free, Ichigo summoned a duplicate in his other hand. As Aizen cut through his soldiers, much faster than he had hoped, Ichigo threw first one spear than the other at the other man. As soon as he threw one, he conjured another, slinging a barrage of dozens. Quite a few missed, but one caught Aizen in the knee, pinning him to the building behind him and staggering him long enough for another to land. Then another. And another. Soon Aizen was completely pinned, barely able to move more than his head. With his foe pinned, Ichigo summoned one last spear and repeated his opening move. "TENKA-ICHIKEN!"

Despite the incredible pain he was in, Aizen still realized the flaw in Ichigo's strategy. With a great heave of effort, he ripped one arm free, ignoring how his actions resulted in his limb being nearly shredded by the blades piercing it. His free hand pointed a single finger towards the incoming attack while the one still pinned made a slight gesture using his first two fingers. "Hadō #1, Shō. Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi." The conjured Eikō no Yari shattered like spun sugar from the Kidō, destabilizing Ichigo's attack and causing it to explode directionlessly and prematurely. The explosion was so great that Ichigo nearly missed the black box forming around him. Moving as fast as he could, he managed to make it out before the high level Hadō would have closed fully and impaled him.

-]|[-

As Urahara's group went over their final preparations, Tessai looked upwards, a frown on his face. "The barrier separating the fake Karakura from the rest of the Living World has vanished. You three will need to go ahead while I replace it."

"Should we worry about the real Karakura returning from Soul Society?" Yoruichi asked. She idly gestured, causing Isshin to duck with a squawk as she nearly clocked him with the armor Kisuke had made her.

Tessai paused as he considered something before shaking his head. "No, that barrier is still fine. But at the very least, my plan will require the false city be separate from the Living World. The collateral damage otherwise would be… unfortunate." Everyone winced, knowing just how much of an understatement that was.

Kisuke nodded in understanding. "Do what you must. We can hold Aizen at least that long on our own. The kids are bunkered down and will be safe from any incidental damage." With a look at Yoruichi, he asked, "Though did you need to hit Kai so hard?"

The werecat shrugged carelessly in response, "He got a handful and so did I. It's a bargain at twice the price. Besides, he'll live. Now, we ready to move out or not?"

A quick look around received nods from everyone. "I do believe we are," Kisuke answered.

-]|[-

Ichigo gritted his teeth angrily as he summoned the original Eikō no Yari back to his hand. He could tell Aizen hadn't died in that blast. But the man felt… different than before. And he wasn't attacking for some reason. The violet flame like Reiryoku gradually died down and revealed Aizen, his body now transformed. His entire body was covered by some kind of white armor or canvas, leaving only his eyes, now a solid purple, exposed. Further down his chest, the covering split open to form a cloak. To top it all off, the Hōgyoku was prominently displayed in the center of his chest. "What the hell is this?" Ichigo demanded.

"This? This is the power of the Hōgyoku," Aizen replied with a lecturing tone, gesturing at his chest. "This is the reason I implanted it within my body. As the Hōgyoku grows to understand my desires, it grants my wishes. You've already seen its power in action before; why are you so confused?"

"The hell nonsense are you spouting now?"

Aizen tilted his head. "Did you not wonder at the events that have happened around you and your friends? Nemu, who wished to escape her father, lost her powers entirely. Your friends, cursing their own helplessness, gained powers to fight Hollows. And you, the one who wanted to protect everyone so much. You fought enemies strong enough to challenge you but not powerful enough to kill you out of hand. Then you faced your lover's tormentor and found the strength to kill him." He made a sweeping gesture with his arms as though trying to indicate everything around them, "All of it, by the will of the Hōgyoku. The same Hōgyoku which now obeys my will."

"You seem awfully certain about that," A new voice called. Both combatants turned, one more surprised than the other, to witness Urahara casually walking up to them. Coming to a stop near Ichigo, the scientist casually leaned forward on his cane. "The Hōgyoku's such a willful thing in my experience. Like a cat that refuses to wear a collar no matter what you try. Yet you claim you've gained ownership over it, that it obeys you like an eager dog."

"So, in all those decades, you never managed to control the Hōgyoku. How disappointing," Aizen said, "I thought you lacked the insight to attempt it but I see now that you lacked the power and will to succeed."

"Perhaps," Urahara allowed, "Or perhaps I understood how foolish it was to stick a reality altering marble in my soul and hope for the best."

"Those who lack vision call it foolishness," Aizen retorted disdainfully. "But you didn't come here to discuss the scientific method with me. So, Urahara Kisuke, how do you intend to stop me?"

The blonde tipped his hat forward slightly, shadowing his eyes. "Oh I've got a few ideas. For starters, Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō." Six wide flat beams slammed into Aizen's midsection. "Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku." A heavy chain wrapped around his body. "Bakudō #79, Kuyō Shibari." Eight black holes formed around Aizen's body before a ninth formed directly over his chest. Despite his face being completely covered, he managed to convey an air of arrogant amusement.

"Bakudō #63, Sajō Sabaku." Ichigo contributed his own Bakudō. He didn't know what Urahara was planning but he figured a little extra couldn't hurt. His chains were considerably larger, binding Aizen from his shoulders to his toes.

Urahara gave him a nod of thanks then picked up his cane and pointed it towards Aizen. Pausing to take a breath, he chanted, "Limit of the thousand hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders." As he spoke, ten bright pink spears of Reiryoku formed in front of him. "Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired. Hadō #91, Senju Kōten Taihō!" All ten points were fired towards Aizen at once, impacting him all at the same time in a colossal pink explosion of energy.

After a moment, Ichigo asked, "You know that didn't get him, right?" He trusted Urahara but he couldn't see why he'd use something so basic to start. "Aizen's grown too strong for that."

Peering from beneath his hat, Urahara remarked, "Of course it didn't. I was merely testing the waters. More than his power, I was determining his state of mind." The smoke explosion faded entirely, revealing Aizen was unscathed from the high level Hadō and the Bakudō binding him were dissipated. A moment later, his sword was buried in Urahara's chest. The scientist appeared next to Aizen unharmed as the one impaled by him deflated. "You've grown careless, Aizen," the former captain chided him, "To think you'd allow me so much time to act without retaliating."

"I must say I didn't expect you to use that toy of yours. But why shouldn't I be careless? I've transcended the power I once possessed, which itself already transcended that of anyone within Soul Society. Even a Hadō in the nineties cannot give me pause any longer."

Urahara pouted childishly at the remark about his invention. "It's hardly a toy. My portable Gigai is quite marvelous; it even fooled you, after all. But I wasn't talking about my Hadō. The old you would have never gotten so close to me without a plan." A pair of glowing circles appeared on Aizen's wrists, much to the man's shock. "I sealed the spiritual vents in your wrists. You'll be incinerated by your own Reiryoku." Once more, Aizen was consumed by an explosion of power, this time coming from within.

Yet Urahara refused to relax. Instead, he stared impassively at the place where he last saw Aizen. His paranoia was unfortunately rewarded as Aizen strode from the flames, seemingly unharmed. Casually, he removed a circular device from where it was buried inside his wrist. "You embedded this inside me while launching your previous attack. The me from before would have perished to such a trick. I should commend you. But what will you do now that this trick has failed?" His arms open in an almost welcoming gesture, Aizen insisted, "Come. Throw every one of your plans at me. So that I might crush each of them along with your hopes of victory."

-]|[-

Kilometers away, Tessai carefully constructed the barrier around the city, along with an additional one around each pillar. With the addition of Jikanteishi to the pillar barriers to freeze them in time, they should be almost completely invulnerable to damage for as long as the Kidō lasted. While he could sense the others fighting, he knew better than to rush his task. A shoddily made barrier would be worse than none at all, if only for the false sense of security it would give and the time he'd have wasted crafting it.

Besides, he couldn't utilize his own trump card without the barrier. The Kidō master had spent decades creating and perfecting it and knew its destructive potential very well.

-]|[-

"Flank him when you see an opening," Urahara ordered Ichigo. He rushed in without waiting for a reply, wordlessly unsealing Benihime as he went. His initial slash was effortlessly blocked by Aizen's bare hand. When the traitor tried to counterattack with his own Zanpakutō, Urahara called, "Sing, Benihime!" An arc of energy leapt from his Shikai and slammed into Aizen, pushing him back slightly but leaving him unharmed.

Aizen relaxed his stance, changing from guarded to almost lazy. "I confess myself disappointed. Only a single plan defeated and you've already resorted to brute force. I expected more from you, Urahara Kisuke." An instant later, he spun to block a Getsuga empowered slash from Isshin. "Ah, and I see you're here as well, Captain Shiba."

"I haven't been a captain in twenty years, as you well know. I'm Kurosaki Isshin these days," Isshin corrected his former colleague.

Aizen didn't get a moment to reply before he had to use Kyōka Suigetsu to block another attack from Urahara. As soon as his arms were both occupied, Ichigo appeared behind him, thrusting Eikō no Yari towards his skull. In an impressive display of acrobatics, Aizen bent backwards, allowing the spear to pass overhead as he kicked it up and away from himself. His new posture meant he was perfectly positioned to see yet another opponent arrive.

Yoruichi appeared from above, the second level of her Shunkō already active. With her Reiryoku forming Raijin's drums upon her back and her bangs rising to form horns, she let out a mighty battle cry as she punched Aizen directly in the chest with a lightning infused gauntlet. Though the shockwave of her attack leveled multiple blocks around her, she didn't stop at a single blow. Instead, she kept pummeling her target, striking him hundreds of times every second. Accompanying each punch was a loud crack as her limbs broke the sound barrier, though it was drowned out by the following boom as she beat Aizen into an ever-growing crater.

Even as she struck him, Yoruichi noticed that his body didn't bleed: it cracked. By the time she paused to take a breath, Aizen's form resembled a windshield that had lost a fight with a sledgehammer. Yet he still didn't bleed. "Tough bastard. I'll just have to-"

"Look out!" Both Ichigo and Urahara shouted at the same time.

Her incredible reflexes saved Yoruichi's life. Dodging at a speed only the Goddess of Flash could manage, she almost completely avoided a massive blast from Aizen. One leg was barely grazed, shattering her armor but leaving her unscathed. "That armor is quite special to take an attack like that and still save your limb," Aizen remarked. "But I only need to hit you three more times and your armor will be no more."

Yoruichi panted for breath as her Shunkō deactivated. The power boost was incredible, but she couldn't maintain it for very long, the second level even more so than the base version. However, she didn't care about that. Not when she spotted a twinkle in the sky. "Fucking run!" Yoruichi shouted as she passed Ichigo. The teen didn't ask questions, hearing the urgency in her voice, simply following after her as fast as he could. The pair were joined by Isshin and Urahara as they all but stampeded towards the barrier holding all the injured. As they arrived, Ichigo's concern only grew as both Retsu and Urahara layered barrier after barrier in the direction they came. Aizen watched them flee in amusement. 'Do they really think such weak Kidō will be able to stop me in this new form?' As he lazily made his way towards them, his ears picked up a new voice growing ever louder.

"Come winds, come lightning! When the morning star shines, let all know the sun's light reaches every corner of the earth! Hadō #100, Taiyōreki Ishi!" His fist engulfed in flames, Tessai crashed straight down into Aizen and struck him in the head. The resulting explosion was akin to a meteor from heaven; everything for miles was consumed by the fiery blast. The first several barriers shattered without putting up any notable resistance. The next few lasted a couple seconds before they broke. Finally, all that was left between them and the rampant destruction of Tessai's Kidō was the single Bakudō engulfing them from all sides. The jade barrier shuddered, it cracked, but it ultimately held. As the explosion died down, Ichigo could finally see what was wrought. The fake Karakura was gone; all Ichigo could see for miles was smoke and lava from the obliterated city.

"Holy shit!" Ichigo gasped in stupefied awe. "Did that get him?"

Urahara stepped forward, leaning on his cane almost casually. "Not a chance. If he died to something so simple, he'd be just another monster. Nothing special." Tilting his head towards Isshin, Urahara asked, "You think this will be enough for you?"

The Kurosaki patriarch scratched his beard idly as he considered the molten wasteland that was a city. "Yeah, it'll do. Can't say this will be healthy though. I'm almost fully recovered after all." His eyes focused on distant movement within the burning field. It was faint and indistinct, but definitely there. "But hey, fortune favors the bold, right?" He offered with a cheeky grin. Isshin pointed his Zanpakutō straight out before him with his arms fully extended as he called, "Bankai!"

-]|[-

Aizen found himself grateful to the Hōgyoku. 'Had I not already begun my ascension, that attack would have likely killed me,' He silently mused. As it was, his shell-like form was scorched black and nearly a third of his body was burnt off entirely. The Hōgyoku quickly worked to restore his body while further strengthening him. 'What doesn't kill me, truly does make me stronger.' His new form wasn't ready yet within his cocoon but he could feel the time approaching. He could also feel… the temperature dropping? A look around showed that while the smoke was still present, it was steadily decreasing, and the molten rock and metal around him had already solidified.

The reason became obvious as Kurosaki Isshin appeared before him in a burst of light, or at least, Aizen assumed it was him. The figure standing before him was a shining gold so bright it was almost white. It was almost impossible to make out further details due to the light washing out such things but the figure was roughly Isshin's height and build. Just standing near him was like sticking his arm into a fire. In his hand was a naginata that radiated just as much light and heat as the man himself. "Using Bankai against me?" Aizen questioned, "Do you truly think something so pedestrian still matters to a being like myself? I will crush this plan as ruthlessly as I crushed the others."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Isshin grinned ferociously. With a flourish, he swung his naginata at Aizen. The transformed Shinigami blocked with Kyōka Suigetsu, only for his eyes to widen behind his shell as the burning hot blade slowly melted its way through his Zanpakutō. He quickly leapt backwards to disengage, only for Isshin to pursue.

-]|[-

Ichigo couldn't help but be awed by his father's strength. He thought he understood how strong his old man was after learning he was a former captain. But he should have realized that not all captains are equal. "Damn, dad's badass," He muttered at seeing Isshin deliver a burning headbutt that actually drove Aizen backwards.

"Isshin was a prodigy unmatched except by his cousin, Kaien," Retsu offered. "While Kaien grew and learned faster, Isshin had much greater power. Furthermore, his Bankai allows him to absorb heat and flames to empower himself further. Right now, he's probably running near his limit."

"Then why the hell aren't we helping him?!" Ichigo demanded, "Let's go!"

"Because," Yoruichi explained as she suddenly returned with Tessai over her shoulder, "What Isshin plans to do next has a blast radius. It's smaller than Tessai's but arguably more destructive within that range. You doing alright, big guy?" She addressed the last to the former head of the Kidō Corps.

"I will be fine, thank you, Yoruichi-san. I'm just exhausted," He reassured her, "That particular Kidō I had designed to not have an upper limit to how much power could be put into it and I used almost all I had. I might be able to help heal the wounded, but I'm afraid that's all I will be up to for the next few days."

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo insisted, "Fine. If I can't help dad up close, I can at least support him from a distance. If nothing else, I'll keep that fucker pinned." In his left hand, a rod of light formed and with a great heave, he threw it towards Aizen. "Bakudō #62, Hyapporankan!" Despite the name, Ichigo's sheer power caused the rod to split into hundreds as it flew.

-]|[-

Despite himself, Aizen actually was paying little enough attention to his surroundings that he was caught off guard when the first rod struck his foot, pinning it to the ground. Scores more followed, hitting every part of his body and holding him in place. A brief moment of effort revealed that the Kidō was almost certainly from Ichigo, given he couldn't shatter it nigh-effortlessly.

With his opponent briefly halted, Isshin took the opportunity to activate his final trump card. His naginata dissolved into motes of light that flew into his skin. Isshin's hair grew into an inferno as golden-white Reiryoku gathered around his arm until trying to look at the limb was like staring into the sun. "I never thought I'd have to use this," Isshin mused, "But I can't think of a better reason to sacrifice my powers than to kill the bastard threatening my family."

"Sacrifice your- what are you talking about?!" Aizen demanded, his voice full of confusion.

"One way or another, our fight ends now, Aizen." A blade formed in Isshin's right hand, one composed of pure, burning, shining Reiryoku. With all the inevitability of a tidal wave, the blade was brought up and swung downward towards Aizen's bound form. "Mugetsu."

-]|[-

Urahara was the only one to realize what his former colleague and old friend was up to. "DON'T LOOK AT IT!" The scientist bellowed at the top of his lungs, desperate to warn the others of the danger. Taking his own advice, the blonde shopkeeper closed and covered his own eyes even as he spun to face away from Isshin's usage of the Final Getsuga. Even through his eyelids and facing the opposite direction, Urahara swore he could see the bones of the arm he had thrown over his face. If Tessai's trump card was like a meteor striking the Earth, Isshin's was akin to a second sun exploding into being on the planet's surface. Fortunately, his was at least more discriminate.

After several seconds, the light died down enough for him to risk opening his eyes. A quick peek confirmed that yes, the barrier Tessai had replaced around the (completely devastated) city was still in place. Looking at his comrades, it seemed they had heeded his warning. Tessai and Yoruichi had naturally obeyed anything he shouted in a panic without question, both having decades of experience with why a panicked Urahara was something to worry about. Ichigo didn't have that much experience but he was still a fast learner. That just left… he almost sweatdropped at seeing Unohana regenerating her eyes. "I believe I warned you not to look," He found himself snarking.

"So you did," Was the calm reply, much calmer than he'd have been at getting his eyes burnt out. His time as a Shinigami might have given him an impressive pain tolerance, but some kinds of pain never stop hurting.

Ichigo's incredulous, "You've gotta be fucking kidding!" drew the attention of everyone present. Urahara had realized that he stopped being able to sense Aizen from the moment he transformed, but it had slipped his mind for a moment that it'd mean being unable to sense him now didn't mean anything. Whirling around, his eyes widened at what he saw.

-]|[-

Isshin's sun-clad form broke apart, leaving only his Shinigami robes behind. Engetsu's sealed blade reformed briefly before shattering to pieces. "Well, that's me done," He chuckled ruefully. Even his shihakusho was bleaching itself white with his powers gone. A bit of movement within the colossal crater formed by his attack caught his eye. The former Shinigami found himself unknowingly echoing his son. "You've gotta be fucking kidding," He groaned.

Floating in the center of the crater, Aizen looked more monstrous than any Hollow. His outer shell had caved in in multiple places, but what was inside was not a human being. Within the gaps of his armor was something purple and shiny that appeared to be neither liquid nor solid. It was almost like a void. "That was a magnificent attack, but you still don't understand my power. I think it's time I showed you." Aizen's entire outer form shattered like spun sugar. Underneath, his form looked bizarrely similar to his original appearance with minor differences. His hair was much longer, his sclera had turned purple, and his clothes were ragged at the edges with the Hōgyoku implanted in the center of his chest.

-]|[-

What happened next was almost too fast for Ichigo to follow. He and the others had rushed Aizen to save his father. While Ichigo grabbed Isshin, Yoruichi's furious combo of strikes had been casually slapped aside, each blow destroying another piece of her armor and a final strike mangling her unarmored leg. Urahara used another of his Shikai's special techniques, only to be cut down before he could finish. Tessai and Retsu had each gotten a sword buried in their gut. Aizen didn't even bother using Kyōka Suigetsu for it, instead stealing Minazuki and Benihime to impale them.

Now the man smirked at Ichigo as the teen tried to carry his father and wield a spear at the same time. "It seems you've failed, Kurosaki Ichigo. You, your friends, your allies. You all gave everything you had and it was only enough to briefly slow me down, and only because I allowed it. Like the others, I'll let you live with your failure, so you can witness my apotheosis as I claim heaven's throne." With that parting speech, he opened the Senkaimon and headed for Soul Society.

Rather than shaking in fear, Ichigo found himself shaking with frustration and anger. "Goddamnit! That damn bastard! All of that and he just shrugged it off! What are we supposed to do now?!"

"Help me up, for starters," Yoruichi called. "My leg's shot but I'm not done yet." Ichigo looked at his father, who simply nodded. Putting him down, the young man used Shunpo to arrive next to Yoruichi then leaned down and looped one of her arms over his shoulders. "C'mon," The former noble insisted, "We've gotta get you to Soul Society. There's one last group ready to fight but we can't pin all our hopes on them. And I for one ain't pinning my hopes on the Royal Guard."

"Why not? Shouldn't they want to stop Aizen from killing the Soul King?"

Yoruichi snorted with such force, it was a wonder she didn't get a nosebleed. "Oh, they'll absolutely stop him from killing the Soul King. I'd stake anything on it. Problem is, they don't leave the Soul King's Palace for any reason, meaning they'll let him massacre Karakura then kill him once he invades the Soul King's realm."

"Too late to do any damn good, gotcha. Hang on, this isn't working. You're too short."

"Who are you calling- hey now. Oh my~ A princess carry, really Ichigo?" Yoruichi teased once Ichigo had her secure in his arms, Eien-ō Tenmai held in her hands. It was lighter than she expected it to be.

To her disappointment, he didn't react to her teasing. "Better than wrenching your arm out of its socket trying to carry you the other way." With Yoruichi more secure, he looked around at the others. The vast majority of them were unconscious and everyone was sporting visible injuries. "Will they be okay?"

"For now. Shinigami are tough. Anyone who isn't dead already will survive long enough for the less injured to patch them up." Nodding her head forward, she said, "C'mon. I'll open the Senkaimon. We've got a wannabe-god to murder."

Just before they walked through, a thought occurred to Ichigo, "All that for a mullet." Yoruichi's surprised cackle echoed across the ruined city as they vanished through the Senkaimon.

-]|[-

'That's your last chance, Kurosaki,' Aizen thought to himself as he walked away from the exploded remains of the Kōtotsu. Destroying the Kōtotsu actually served more than one purpose. Yes, it offered his chosen opponent time to train himself more, but it also reaffirmed what he had already believed: His power truly had transcended beyond anything a mere Shinigami could ever dream of. He had long since gone beyond the laws of the Seireitei. Now he had gone beyond the laws of reality.

He stepped out of the Senkaimon to find himself in an open field at the edge of a forest. Far in the distance, near the horizon, he could make out the edges of the real Karakura. While he could get there almost instantly via Shunpo, doing so would waste the reason he had so carefully groomed Kurosaki. He could take his time and walk. Besides, he had guests to greet.

The two new arrivals appeared not with the Shunpo or Sonido, but with Hirenkyaku. Clad in their personalized Quincy uniforms, Ishida Ryūken and Kanae stared down Sōsuke Aizen. "I must say," The traitor offered, "This is something of a surprise. I believed you had a policy of not interfering with matters pertaining to the dead, did you not?" Idly, he wondered if they knew their son was dead. They probably didn't, which meant he got to break it to them himself.

"Let the dead save the dead," Ryūken confirmed.

Kanae picked up where her husband left off, "But we are not saving the dead. We are saving the living from the dead."

"And you Quincy believe yourselves capable of that? Even knowing that I have transcended Shinigami?" If so, Aizen would be impressed by either their bravado or their delusion.

Kanae smiled; it wasn't a nice smile. "We shall see. You are a Shinigami who has gone beyond the limits of Shinigami. We, however, are Quincy who have gone beyond the limits of Quincy." As one, husband and wife raised their right hands, revealing the Sanrei gloves they wore. With their uncovered hands, they tore their gloves and were engulfed in a titanic eruption of power.

-]|[-

AN: First of all, Aizen's claim about what the Hōgyoku has done is actually a very common technique called "talking out his ass". In between Urahara leaving Soul Society and Aizen acquiring the Hōgyoku, only one person ever managed to "make a wish" on it, and that's Ichigo. This Hōgyoku requires three things for it to grant someone anything: Proximity, Power, and Purpose. In other words, they have to be close by; they have to be strong enough to fuel the change they want; and they have to possess a defined goal. So the canon of "Rukia felt guilty so the Hōgyoku caused her to lose all her powers from kilometers away"? Wouldn't work.

How did each of the survivors live? Canon showed the power loss from having your powers taken like Abirama did is fast but not instant. He had just enough to survive his fall before they faded. The Tres Bestias survived as Yumichika had never tried draining multiple opponents at once and his Shikai was "full" before they were drained entirely. And Halibel was simply critically injured but not dead.

Yes, Tessai's Hadō #100 Taiyōreki Ishi is in fact Quetzalcoatl's Piedra Del Sol, just using the Japanese name for it. In this fic, it is his personal creation and if a bullet has a name on it, Hadō #100 is an everyone. We also got to see Isshin's Bankai, which in canon we know nothing of beyond "Places heavy strain on his body" so I went with one that changes him. Isshin's Bankai currently doesn't have a name but I'm open to suggestions. As you can see here, his Bankai absorbs sources of heat in order to empower him further. Why didn't Isshin's Final Getsuga kill Aizen? Well, Ichigo in canon was far stronger than Aizen (as in "transcended beyond a being who had already transcended") and his didn't even kill the guy. It fucked him up but it didn't kill him.

So funny thing a reviewer made me realize unintentionally: Start of series Uryū was basically a League of Villains member from MHA. Something sad happened to him when he was a kid (namely, his grandfather dying) and he since responded to it with mass murder of people who had nothing to do with it (slaying Hollows, thereby erasing their souls). Though, credit to Kubo, I don't believe that (outside Filler) Uryū ever killed anyone after his introduction mini-arc. Sure he destroyed the powers of Cirucci and that Shinigami who looks like someone set the Oblivion character creator to "Random", but he never actually killed anyone that I recall.

Lastly, "Kon" has officially been named now, if only because I needed one for that joke. He is named Kai (as in Kaizō Konpaku), much to the displeasure of my bud Kairomaru.

Next time on Vow of the King: How to make a threeway with busty older ladies last for months.