A/N: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.
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"Zangetsu no Ossan?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he stared at the man who looked identical to his Zanpakuto spirit. The Quincy King and the Grandmaster merely raised an eyebrow at the name the young man gave Yhwach.
'Zangetsu no Ossan?' Haschwalth thought to himself. 'If I recall, Zangetsu is the name of his Zanpakuto. However, it would seem that he has a closer relationship with his soul than other Shinigami not to mention the fact that he called His Majesty Zangetsu. Why would he call him that, when he has never seen His Majesty before? Unless…his Zanpakuto looks just like…' His crystalline blue eyes then darted to meet Yhwach's crimson-red ones. An amused narrow-eyed stare was what he saw. 'It would appear that His Majesty has also figured out.' He then briefly looked at the hybrid next to him and walked up to stand next to Yhwach.
"Interesting." Yhwach started. "It would appear that you see your Zanpakuto when you look at me, yes?"
Ichigo was confused. "What do you mean I see Zangetsu when I look at you? You're Zangetsu, aren't you? You said you were going to disappear after I used the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, right?! Answer me!" He yelled. He was about to say more when a cold glare from Haschwalth stopped him. The message was loud and clear. For your own sake, Kurosaki, I would advise you to not do that ever again, or there will be consequences.
"I understand that you are confused and angry over the situation you have found yourself in, but I warn you now, Kurosaki Ichigo." The air in the throne room suddenly became cold and an invisible pressure came down on him. The now powerless orange-haired young man was able to breathe, but it felt as if every breath he took required some effort. "I do not tolerate any misbehavior from or disrespect from anyone, regardless if they are my children or not. Do I make myself clear, boy?" He grunted with his calm expression and tone not changing in the slightest. He then reduced some of his reiatsu so Ichigo could speak clearly.
"Y-Yes, sir." He wheezed. He quickly took a huge gulp of air the moment the huge weight disappeared.
Yhwach let a tiny smirk appear on his face. "Good. Now I understand that you have some questions that need to be answered. I will start with the one you currently have: Why do I look like your Zanpakuto spirit, Zangetsu was it?' He received a shaky nod from Ichigo. "Very well. Before I do that, I would like to clear some things first, starting with a story."
Seeing his 'son' look at him intently, he started, "Approximately 1,200 years ago, a person was born to an unknown mother as the son of the Reio. As a baby, this person could not see, hear, speak, or even move. Despite this, he was not afraid and would not have cried even if he could because he knew that he would continue to live on despite having no means of survival. The people around him treated this person with great reverence because everyone who touched the child found that they gradually gained something that they lacked. This occurred because the person possessed the power to share his soul. Those who touched him received fragments of his soul, and those fragments healed the wounds that their souls alone could not. At the same time, as their wounds slowly healed, the various qualities of each person such as their knowledge, abilities, and talents, were all ingrained into the person's soul fragments that they carried until those fragments returned to the person at the moment of the carriers' deaths. Even though none who touched this unique person lived for much longer, the people continued to gather around him. As he regained the fragments of his soul that he had shared, this person's body began to gain function. In time, when his deaf ears became able to hear, the person realized the people had begun to call him by an unusual name: "YHWACH". He understood this was the name of the God whom these people worshiped, but he chose nonetheless to make that name his own. Yhwach became credited with being the progenitor of the Quincy, revered by them as their King, and his blood flows in every Quincy. In his youth, Yhwach discovered a much more potent way to impart his soul: by engraving a letter, signifying an ability, directly onto the soul of another, he could share out his soul more deeply and with greater power."
He then paused for a moment as he stared at Ichigo. It was interesting to see the young boy's reactions, to say the least. There was still a fragment of fear in his eyes, but now confusion and awe were accompanying it. "That man, Kurosaki Ichigo, is me." He grunted.
Ichigo stared at the middle-aged man with eyes widened in shock. Not for the revelation that the man who was able to share his soul with others was sitting right in front of him smiling condescendingly at him, but for the fact that he said he was the progenitor of the Quincy, meaning he was the very first one to ever exist and he was the son of the Reio himself?! If that was true, then that meant he was very powerful.
"Now, in regards to your question," The Quincy King continued, "Every Quincy has a fragment of my soul within them. That is what enables them to even have Quincy abilities."
"I-," Ichigo started, but then he remembered the blonde man's icy stare and Yhwach's ominous warning, so he decided to take a different approach. "Um, permission to speak, sir?"
Yhwach raised an eyebrow. "Permission granted, my child. Also, there is no need to call me sir. Your Majesty or Father will suffice."
Ichigo frowned. He could see himself calling this man His Majesty, what he was NOT calling him was Father. He already had a dad and his name was Kurosaki Isshin. "Okay, Your Majesty," His eyes darted to Haschwalth, who gave a very discreet nod of approval. "You said that each Quincy has a fragment of your soul in them. My friend Ishida Uryu is a Quincy so he has your fragment, I guess. But I am not a Quincy. I am a human with Hollow and-" He paused, but continued, even though the word boiled his blood, "Shinigami powers."
If the two men noticed the dark tone when he said the word 'Shinigami', they said nothing. Instead, they simply looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation with their eyes. Haschwalth then turned to look at the boy and said, "It would seem as though you were not told everything." When Ichigo was about to speak, the blonde man said, "You are a Quincy. Well, part-Quincy anyways." He then looked at the man sitting on the throne for permission. A nod was his answer. "For reasons unknown, your father has not told you your heritage." He pointed at the confused teen. "Let us start with your father's name. It is not Kurosaki Isshin, but rather Shiba Isshin."
Ichigo froze. "W-What…did you just say?"
"Your father, who claims to be Kurosaki Isshin, is a member of the Shiba clan, whom you are very familiar with through Shiba Kukaku and Ganju." Haschwalth continued mercilessly. "Have you ever wondered why you were told by Kuchiki Rukia and Ukitake Jushiro that you look exactly like Shiba Kaien?"
The hybrid's brain was beginning to shut down, but whispered, "Yeah."
A flash of light next to him lit up the room. He turned to look and saw, to his horror, a person who had his face with pitch-black spiky hair and wearing a Shinigami shihakusho, and he was scowling.
Just. Like. Him.
"This is Shiba Kaien. I trust you have heard about him." Yhwach grunted. A nod was his response. Normally, he would reprimand Ichigo for not responding to him, but he could see that the information was starting to become too much for the boy, so he merely continued. "This is the man who was infected by the Hollow Metastacia and was killed by Kuchiki. The reason for your appearance is that you are Shiba Kaien's reincarnation in the World of the Living and related to the Shiba's."
"Your mother, Kurosaki Masaki, was a pure-blood Quincy who resided in the World of the Living, and arguably one of the most, if not the most powerful Quincy at the time. The man you fought, Aizen Sosuke, once created a Hollow Tousen Kaname named White." Another flash of light appeared on the right wall, revealing an almost completely black Hollow. It had a white mask and its light white hair reached down to the middle of its back. It had two long, forward-pointing horns protruding from the sides of its head, and its Hollow hole which was located in its upper chest, was red and filled in. It also had two blades in place of its forearms.
Ichigo was now slowly beginning to panic. "Why, why does he look like my Inner Hollow? What's going on?!" He muttered loudly.
"That can easily be explained." Haschwalth continued. "After White killed several Shinigami in the World of the Living, your father, who was the 10th Division captain at the time, went to investigate the murders, when he was suddenly attacked by White. After a fierce battle, Isshin was attacked from behind by Aizen, who was wearing a reiatsu concealing cloak so he could not be sensed. Your father was about to be killed when your mother appeared and saved him. When the Hollow started evading all of her Heilig Pfeils, she had a crazy plan. She let the Hollow bite her, knowing full well that Hollow reiatsu could destroy a Quincy soul, and shot it in the head, destroying it in the process. However, what she did not know was that the Hollow's bite infected her and caused her to undergo Soul Suicide. Ishida Ryuken, your friend Uryu's father and the man who was supposed to marry your mother at the time, confronted your father and blamed her for Masaki's predicament when Urahara Kisuke appeared and offered a very risky solution. Using the Hogyoku he created, he was going to save your mother at the cost of your father's Shinigami powers. When she became pregnant, the infestation latched onto your soul and merged with your Shinigami powers, creating your Inner Hollow. The man who claims to be your Zanpakuto spirit is probably my fragment taking on a physical manifestation that looks like me." He paused so the boy could ingest all the information he was receiving. Too much information could be catastrophic and lead to extreme denial and madness.
Ichigo could not believe what the man was telling him. He could not comprehend what was being told to him. It had to be a lie, all of it. His mother was not a Quincy. She could not be a Quincy. If that was true, why was she unable to defend herself against Grand-Fisher? Was it because of him? Was he part of the reason his mother died? Why didn't Zangetsu tell the truth? Why did his dad not tell him about Mom?! A cold sense of dread and guilt began to rise within the depths of his soul. "Why?" He whispered brokenly as he sank to his knees in despair. "Why did he never say anything?"
Yhwach thought about his response for a moment. He could paint his father in a very bad light, tell him the truth, or… he decided to go with that one. "I believe the man believed that you would not be able to handle the news, thinking you were not mature enough, and to be honest, I have to agree with the man. Do not deny this," He interrupted the boy before he even spoke, "Look at you. When you hear anything that reminds you of your mother, you fall into despair. Admit that despair is a part of you, and move forward. Do not let it consume you and do not let anyone show you despair." He spoke in faux compassion. His thoughts were the opposite of what he was saying. 'Because I am the only one who will show you despair, my son born in the darkness.'
'He's right.' Ichigo thought sadly. 'He is telling the truth. I just don't want to admit it. I guess I never moved on from my mother's death. I tried to keep the incident at the very back of my mind, hoping to eventually forget it ever happened, but I couldn't.' He bitterly chuckled. 'It's time I stopped being immature, although that's something I have to do on my own.' He took a deep breath and nodded.
With a gentle smile, Yhwach gave his nod. "Good. I see you understand. I know that this is a lot of information that has been revealed to you, so go rest and think. Haschwalth will escort you to your room. I will see you soon." Next to him, Haschwalth bowed and gestured for Ichigo to follow him. Ichigo turned to walk out of the throne room…
…missing the evil grin on the Quincy King's face.