"You are from the Royal Guard, are you not? Why have you come here, and are you an ally or foe?" The person turned their head around and Yamamoto knew he was being glared at.
"Go." The man spoke in a distorted voice, pointing to a particular direction. Yamamoto quickly realized that he was pointing at the 4th Division barracks. "I don't need you distracting me from my mission."
"And what mission is that, boy?" The middle aged man could not help but ask, still being bothered by the fact that this person's reiatsu was unrecognisable. It felt dark and had no emotion, like the darkness… and it was easily above his own.
To answer, the man held up his hand and a standard Asauchi appeared out of thin air. Clutching the hilt, he swung it and a huge gust of wind suddenly appeared and almost blew both Quincy away. Once it subsided, he pointed it at Yhwach and said two words. Two words that stunned everyone into silence.
"Killing you."
X
"Is that so?" Yhwach could not help but chuckle at the audacity of the man. "That is a bold statement, boy. That old fool behind you," he gestured towards Yamamoto, who snarled in response, "has already tried and failed twice. What makes you any different? As a matter of fact, I did not even get your name."
The raven-haired man did not answer. He instead disappeared using a very familiar technique that made Yhwach blink, before reappearing behind him and would have decapitated him if it were not for his Grandmaster stopping the sword with his broadsword that had been subconsciously infused with Blut Arterie. With a push, the blonde man managed to make the man back up and land a considerable distance away. He did not have to do that, as the Quincy King's amused stare indicated that he was probably aware of the threat and could have avoided or stopped it, but decided to do it anyway. He then analysed the Shinigami for any sudden movements, but the man was just standing there with the sword at his side. For now. He may not know who this was, but he knew that this person was trying to kill His Majesty and disrupt his plans.
He had to be purged as soon as possible.
He turned to Yhwach and calmly spoke, "Your Majesty, please allow me to purge this man right here and now. He is an unknown element and must be stopped before he becomes too much of a security risk for your plans."
Yhwach thought about his 'other half's' request. On the one hand, he could fight this man himself and test his abilities, possibly find his weaknesses as well. On the other hand, he could grant Haschwalth permission to engage him and see what he was capable of. Perhaps finding a way to find out what his motives are and sway him to his side. He quickly made his decision.
"Very well."
And with that, the blonde man charged at the man with his Wogenschritt, (that was the name His Majesty insisted on using instead of Ishida Soken's Hirenkyaku), and swung his broadsword with as much force as he could muster at the hybrid's neck, intent on decapitating him. Alas, his broadsword never even reached its intended target because the strange man had stopped it with a single finger, with his head tilted to the side. 'Ok, this is cool. Now I understand why Aizen did this.' Ichigo thought as he stared at the broadsword with an emotionless expression within his mask.
Haschwalth could not believe what he was seeing. He quickly used Hirenkyaku to get away and create some distance from the man, right as black patterns disappeared. 'That… that was Blut Vene! It may have been black in colour but that was it. I would recognize that pattern anywhere! But how is that possible? He is a Shinigami, is he not?' Silently, he changed his footing and removed the broadsword from the man's neck seemingly creating some distance, before twisting his body around and swinging it to the other side of the Ichigo's neck. Ichigo quickly realized this and ducked down, causing the sword to fly past his head. He then clenched his fist and punched Haschwalth in the stomach, making him fly and crash into a pile of rubble.
He stared at the dust cloud for a moment, before turning his attention towards the Quincy King, who was a look of fascination and amusement on his face. That should have made him angry and charge at the middle-aged man with reckless abandon. However, he was older and wiser now so he did no such thing, he just simply stood there staring at him with a blank face behind his mask. Ichibēi and Juha Bach had taught him to always maintain a cool head before, during and after battle. He was also told by the Reio to never give into rage, as it can be dangerous and be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. He had taken those teachings to heart and was now calm, cool and collected.
'Shiro.' Ichigo knew that his Inner Hollow was listening. 'You know what to do.'
'On it, King.' The one half of Zangetsu responded. Ichigo then felt Shiro leave his soul and appear in another section of the destroyed Sereitei, doing his part. Thinking that the blonde man had enough of a break, Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of him while he was coming towards him with Wogenschritt, his fist going straight for his skull. Haschwalth, caught off-guard, brought up his broadsword in the nick of time to block the punch, only for the sword to break into pieces as Ichigo punched through the sword and punched the Sternritter in the face, once again sending him flying and crashing a couple of metres away, dust and debris following him and rising up. Haschwalth groggily got up, wiped blood of his mouth and glared at the man, whose expression was hidden behind the red mask. Creating a Quincy bow and arrow, he quietly unleashed over a thousand crystalline blue arrows that flew at Ichigo, only to dissipate as they came near the hybrid. The blonde man's eyes widened in shock. 'My arrows have disappeared! The only way for my arrows to disappear like that, would be if his reiatsu was very intense. He must have used his reiatsu as a shield! However, I still sense no emotion coming out of him. No ill intentions, no anger, nothing. It is as he has no emotions.' he thought.
Haschwalth charged at him with Wogenschritt and swung repeatedly at Ichigo, but the young man simply dodged every last swing with seemingly no effort while reading his movements like a book. 'How?' Haschwalth once again infused his arrows with Blut Arterie and shot them, with Ichigo just batting them with his hands as if they were nothing. 'How?' Ichigo used Sonido to appear at the blonde man's side and Spartan kicked Haschwalth away. 'How is he defeating me with no effort?' Ichigo caught up to Haschwalth in mid-air, grabbed his head and wrist and slammed him on the ground. Ichigo then took one look at him and started to walk away.
'I refuse to be humiliated by this man in front of His Majesty!' he thought as he got up with newfound strength and attempted to decapitate the boy, only to be stopped by the same exact finger. The raven-haired haired hybrid narrowed his eyes behind his mask at the shocked Haschwalth, who tried to mask his surprise as best as he could but was failing miserably, and slowly lowered his finger until it touched the broadsword. Crimson red liquid flew everywhere as a large gash appeared on Haschwalth's stomach.
Ichigo quietly spoke, "Huh, well would you look at that. I thought I cut you in half near the waist, but I guess my finger was just too shallow. Now listen here, Grandmaster of the Wandenreich." Haschwalth stared at Ichigo in pain and confusion, but Ichigo just continued, "I came here to kill that bastard standing in the distance. I have no intention of killing you or the other Quincy. In fact, I would prefer not to kill anybody outside of your parasitic King." He then leaned in close to Haschwalth's ear and whispered, "That being said, I will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands in my way between me and my goal, and I do mean ANYONE. But for now, I will spare your life so that you can tell the other Sternritter, Jugram. Now, get lost." He then grabbed Haschwalth by the hair and threw him to the ground like he was trash before turning his attention towards Yhwach.
Jugram Haschwalth had been loyally serving Yhwach and the Wandenreich ever since the Quincy King burned down his and Sternritter H Bazzard Black's home village. He did not have any skills as a young boy, being ridiculed by Bazz-B for his lack thereof. He could not even hit a stationary target. For the last one thousand years, he trained hard, eventually going from being scoffed at for being one of the weakest to being respected and feared as one of the strongest along with Yhwach's Royal Guard. But now he was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, feeling intense pain that was inflicted by this man, who defeated him by a finger. He did not even battle the stranger, he was toyed with. He was defeated by a finger. A single finger! This reminded him of what happened at Kuchiki Rukia's execution, how Aizen Sosuke beat Kurosaki Ichigo with the same method the man just used on him. And that enraged him. To be humiliated like this, in this fashion. It was infuriating. He would not die like this! He refused to die like this! Luckily, he still had his trump card he had not used...
While all of this was happening, Yamamoto-soutaicho and Yhwach had different reactions to the scene in front of them. Yamamoto, for the first time in centuries, was genuinely surprised at what he was seeing. 'Just what is he?' Yamamoto thought to himself. He dressed like a Shinigami, since he wore a captain's Haori, even though his version was black instead of white and had the emblem for the Royal Guard. But he had not received word from the Monk that a Court Guard had been promoted to be a member of Squad Zero, and he did not come down to tell him that. This man also used a Quincy's Blut Vene and an Arrancar's Sonido, meaning that he had the abilities of all three races. He made a mental note to ask this man about everything after this invasion ended. Yhwach however, was watching the 'battle' between his 'other half' and the stranger with rare shock and fascination. He could not believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. Haschwalth was defeated by this man in a couple of minutes? It certainly was an impressive feat. Speaking of the man, he was walking towards the Quincy King with a purpose on his step. The elder quickly manipulated reiatsu particles to create a sword, getting ready to confront Ichigo and test his strength, when out of the blue Ichigo, in a low growl, said, "You are going to die today, Yhwach."
This actually caught Yhwach off-guard. He was not expecting that statement right there. He did not tell the stranger his name, and yet he knew who he was. This was interesting to him, because this created the possibility that wherever he was, this man was studying and researching about him. Maybe he knew some of his abilities, strengths and weaknesses. And he did come out from the sky, which could mean that he was at the Royal Palace training with that man. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the man who was getting closer and closer. Ichigo just simply continued to walk towards his mother's murderer and calmly held the Asauchi with both hands in front of him. Before he could do anything else, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his abdomen. He looked down at his stomach and saw a large gash that had appeared out of nowhere.
'Oi King, turn around and look at Pretty Boy Blondie behind you. Something's off.' Zangetsu growled.
'Shiro? When did-'
'Later, King. Just look at him.'
Ichigo did just that and what he saw caused his eyes to widen slightly behind his mask. Haschwalth was standing up, he was holding a weird sword and shield and he had a look of confidence on his face. Oh, and his injury was gone too.
"You must be wondering what just happened." Haschwalth spoke. "Allow me to simplify it for you. All Sternritter, including His Majesty, have what we call 'Schrifts'. It is the letter that is carved into our souls after we drink His Majesty's blood." He approached the supposed to be dead man. "My Schrift is The Balance. By taking misfortune from those whom it befalls and distributing it evenly to the fortunate, I maintain a balance in this world. And what is more, any misfortune that befalls me personally, my shield, Freund Schild, will bear it in my stead." He then stopped 20 feet away from him and said, "You underestimated me, thinking that I was done after your attack. That was your biggest mistake." Haschwalth raised his sword to finish the stranger off. "Before I end your life, I would like to know the man who almost defeated me in battle." He was met with silence. "Very well. Now die knowing that your death will bring peace to the world-"
"So basically your Schrift allows you to shove your injuries onto someone else, right?" Ichigo interrupted him.
"Indeed."
Ichigo fought the urge to scoff at the confident tone. "Not bad for a trump card. It seems that I need to use my own trump card too then."
Haschwalth scoffed. "Arrogant fool. You speak as if you have a Schrift. You are not even a Quincy."
Suddenly feeling a weird sense of deja-vu, Ichigo replied, "Of course not, I'm not a Quincy. That was not what I had in mind at all." The blonde man suddenly felt the same pain he felt not too long ago. He looked at Ichigo and his wound was gone. That was all the warning the Grandmaster got before he was pinned to the ground by an enormous weight. 'What the hell is he?' Those were his final thoughts before he passed out. Ichigo stared at the unconscious man for a few seconds, before his instincts screamed at him to move. He could have, but decided to do something even better. All it took was one second, which was the same amount of time he had to move. Suddenly, to both Yamamoto and Yhwach's surprise, the spirit sword he had summoned while Haschwalth was 'fighting' him, somehow passed through the man instead of cleaving him in half. Ichigo decided that it was time to teach him a lesson. He grabbed his neck and intended to crush it, but was confused when the middle-aged man suddenly laughed.
"You should not have touched me." He grinned. Out of nowhere, crystalline blue patterns started crawling up his arm in a rapid speed. He removed his grip on the Quincy King, but the pattern was continuing to grow. Quickly having an idea, he covered his entire body with Hollow reiatsu, hoping it would work since Hollow reiatsu is poisonous to Quincy, and slowly but surely the Blut Vene disappeared. 'This has gone on long enough.' He darkly thought. Without a word, he raised his palm towards Yhwach and unleashed a huge black Cero. He noted with satisfaction that the parasite had a look of shock before he disappeared, but Ichigo knew that it was not going to be enough. When the dust cleared however, he was extremely disappointed when he saw that his left arm had been blown to pieces, but ropes of blue reishi erupted from his arm and began to create new bone, tissue, muscle, blood and skin, eventually creating a brand new arm. 'I never thought Ransotengai could be used like that.' Ichigo thought.
Yhwach flexed his new arm and was satisfied when everything appeared to be working well before glaring at the man. If he had not used Blut Vene Anhaben to block the deceptively powerful Cero, he would have lost more than just his arm. He had clearly underestimated this man, a hybrid if the use of a black version of Blut Vene and Cero was not evident enough, but that was not going to happen again. He prepared himself to attack him, before seeing a black substance ooze from him and hit the ground.
'What? My time out of the Schatten Bereich is already up? Impossible, I should have enough time to...' He paused, a certain man appearing in the forefront of his mind, smiling down on him as if he were inferior even though that could not be further from the truth. 'Now I see. Aizen Sōsuke, he must have slightly altered my senses in the few minutes that I was alone with him. That was clever of him. Well, no matter.' He then looked at the stranger. 'When we meet again boy, the power I will gain from you will be extraordinary, and your identity will be revealed to me. Until then, stay alive as long as you possibly can.' He then sank into the shadows with the unconscious Wandenreich Emperor Aide.
'Do you mind explaining to me why you let him go, Ichigo-sama?' Ayumi finally spoke in what seemed like forever.
'This was the Reiō's plan. I could have easily killed him, but the Reio said if I did that, I would be disrupting the future. Also, why have you been quiet all this time?' Ichigo asked with a hint of concern.
There was silence for a few moments, before she replied, 'I will tell you at a later date, Ichigo-sama. For now, I think you should pay attention to the Soutaicho speaking to you.' Confused, he brought his attention to the old man, who had been trying to getting his attention for a few minutes.
"Do you hear me boy? Do not ignore me." Yamamoto grunted as he stopped in front of Ichigo.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'll say this once and once only; you will never use that tone on me ever again. Just because I saved you, don't think that gives you the right to speak to me as if I were one of your subordinates. Don't think for a single second that you are my equal. I answer to the Royal Guard and the Reio, not the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and most certainly not you. You would do well to keep that in mind, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni."
Yamamoto's fist clenched around Ryujin Jakka at the gall of this boy, but he knew that he would be foolish to attack the same man who indirectly saved the Soul Society and drove the vile Quincy King and his forces out of the Sereitei. He also got the distinction that the man standing before him was holding back by a lot when he was fighting Yhwach and his subordinate.
"Very well." He grunted. "Then can I have your name?"
"No."
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Because you don't fucking deserve it." Ichigo growled, ignoring the laughter of approval from Shiro and deep chuckle from the Reio. "You may call me Mugetsu, and what I feel like telling you is that I came here by order of the Reio, to change the Soul Society, the same Soul Society that is governed by narrow-minded idiots like you." Without saying another word, he turned around and tried to walking away. Tried, as in Yamamoto stopped him by tightly gripping his shoulder and raising his reiatsu as high as he possibly could, thinking that it would choke him.
How utterly pathetic.
"You will go nowhere until you answer my questions boy." Yamamoto growled, before his growl suddenly turned into a loud groan of pain and agony as the arm he gripped Ichigo with, suddenly slid off from the elbow. He swung his Zanpakuto surrounded by bright red, yellow and orange flames at him in retaliation, but was shocked when Ichigo stopped it with one hand and with ease.
"You. Old. Fool." Ichigo breathed out every word as if it were a curse. "I fucking warned you." With movement so fast that Yamamoto was unable to see, the Soutaicho saw blood erupting from a large gash that was not there before, and fell backwards hitting the ground.
As Yamamoto lay there in a pathetic heap, Ichigo stared at the old warrior as he contemplated what he was about to do. A couple of years ago, he had imagined what killing the man who condemned him would feel like. Rage. Hatred. Adrenaline coursing through his veins as he delivered the final blow. But now, as he stared at the man who had been called the Soul Society's strongest Shinigami for a millennia, he felt nothing. No sadness and regret for what he was about to do. No happiness for giving the Shinigami what he deserved. Nothing. It was just an endless pit of emptiness that had no end to it. It had been like that ever since Ichibēi told him the responsibilities of what a Soutaicho does, and that was when he realized that Yamamoto was just trying to protect the Sereitei. In his mind, he was just doing his job in eliminated a threat before it fully manifested. He did not even hate the three oldest captains and most of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads because they were just following orders.
But four of the members of the Court Guard, those being Shaolin Feng, Kuchiki Byakuya, Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia…
He would never forgive, for very obvious reasons.
He then put his hand on his mask, and removed his red mask, revealing himself to the gravely wounded man. Yamamoto's reaction was priceless, but he could not bring himself to enjoy his reaction as he raised his palm and aimed it at Yamamoto.
"I-I-Im…possible." Yamamoto whispered as he could not believe what he was seeing. "You… died. The…Hollows…"
Ichigo did not respond immediately, instead he pointed at Yamamoto with his finger, and a purple orb appeared at the tip of the finger. "I did die, Yamamoto. I was brought back to life by my obsession to kill you and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Then the change, that should have happened a long time ago but was stopped by greedy selfish fools like the Central 46, will finally come, and I will be the one to initiate it." The orb on his finger began to grow. "The Rukongai will have access to everything the Sereitei has and more, and I will personally make sure that the higher numbered districts, will be some of the safest instead of being the most dangerous. Everything will change for the better while I'm here, and the corrupt nobles won't do shit to stop me. Unfortunately, you will not live to see that. Any last words?"
It took him a couple of seconds, but Yamamoto merely closely his eyes, accepting his fate. He had no regrets about all the things he had done in his long life. All of it was done for the sake of the Sereitei and the Soul Society. He had two students whom he considered his own sons, a captain who was the closest thing to a best friend he could ever have and a Court Guard original, and a fiercely loyal right hand man. He knew he shouldn't even be thinking of this, but he hoped that Kurosaki Ichigo was going to protect the Soul Society, and actually change it for the better. Perhaps he could protect it better than he ever could.
"I see then." Ichigo's chocolate brown eyes hardened. "Goodbye, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni." He finished, and unleashed a Gran Rey Cero that created a crater that was meters deep and very wide, killing Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, one of the most powerful pure Shinigami to ever exist.
'…King.' Shiro began. 'Why did you have to lie to the old fart like that? I get that you didn't like him, but…'
'I feel as though you were looking for something when you were doing that.' Juha Bach finished for his companion.
Ichigo did not answer. Instead he turned and walked in the direction of the faint reiatsu around the area. When he found the source, he frowned. Lying on the ground, Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11th Division, was unconscious. The side of his head was leaking blood and he had a deep cut on his chest. As he stared at the body of the man he respected, he did not know what to make of it.
'Do not worry.' The Reio reassured the hybrid. 'Zaraki was not a part of the assassination attempt on your life, along with Ayesagawa Yumichika, Yamada Hanataro, Madarame Ikkaku and Kusajishi Yachiru. If I remember correctly, he was beyond livid when he learned of your assassination and nearly came to blows with Genryūsai.'
Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief he had no idea he was holding. At least he knew that not all of the Shinigami he befriended were back stabbers. He then picked up Kenpachi, opened a Garganta and, taking one more look at the crater he created, went inside, quickly closing it behind him.
X
( 4th Division Barracks)
Kotetsu Isane, lieutenant of the 4th Division, watched with sorrow and heartache as the members of the division bring in many wounded soldiers and do their very best to heal them, or at the very least stabilize them.
They are going to die.
She had always been a hopeful person, but after seeing some of the wounded, she knew that they would not survive a single night. It would be a miracle if they did. Hoping for otherwise would be making herself delusional. That made her felt guilty. Guilty for not going out to the battlefield. Guilty for not aiding her friends in combat.
Guilty for just sitting in the hospital, safe and sound while her friends were getting slaughtered on the outside.
With those thoughts in mind, she silently turned around to see her captain standing in her office, staring at the raindrops that were hammering on the windowpane. "Captain, the transportation of the wounded had finally begun." She paused. "In the end... not a single patient was brought to us while the battle was in progress." Silence greeted her. Suddenly she was not sure if her captain was listening, but she had to ask the question that was currently bothering her. "Captain, do... do you think it was right for us to remain here in the Fourth Division building while the others were fighting for their lives? If we had set out across Sereitei ourselves, we could have saved more people and-"
"Isane." Unohana interrupted. "You must not let emotions cloud your words. It would all be too easy to abandon our station out of fear and anxiety. But I do not believe that you are so foolish not to understand, that this is a course of action that we must not take." The tall lieutenant stared at the raven haired woman as she processed her words. "But I do not believe that you are so foolish not to understand, that this is a course of action that we must not take."
She closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears from flowing, but it was no use as she cursed her own stupidity. 'How could I be so stupid? I should know that Captain Unohana, more than me, more that anyone, must have longed to save them all!'
"I'm sorry, Unohana-taicho." She sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm... sorry. So sorry. Please forgive me… please…" Her legs suddenly felt weak and gave way, making her fall to the ground, but she still continued to mumble and cry. She barely registered soft footsteps as they came close and stopped right in front of her, as well as the rub on her back courtesy of the captain.
"There is no need for tears, Isane. Do not leave the 4th Division building no matter what. That... was the final order left to us by Yamamoto-soutaicho."
After comforting her lieutenant and sending her to go heal the wounded, Unohana once again stood by the window and watched the rain, thinking about the last time she saw her comrade.
( Flashback)
"Unohana-taicho. Kotetsu-fukutaicho." Both women turned to look at the ancient captain who stood at the door, a grave look on his face.
"Yamamoto-soutaicho." Unohana responded. "What can we help you with?"
"You can help me by staying in this building, no matter what." He grunted.
Isane was confused. How could they help those on the outside if they stayed here? "B-But Yamamoto-soutaicho-"
"That is an order, Kotetsu-fukutaicho. Not a request." Yamamoto interrupted. "You two are the Sereitei's best healers. If you were to leave this building and enter the battlefield, and get yourselves killed, our soldiers would never properly heal, and our strength would be greatly diminished." He turned and began walking away from them.
"You are going to fight him, aren't you?" Unohana spoke, knowing what he was about to do.
Yamamoto stopped. There was no question as to who she was talking about. "Yes."
"...you do realize that you might not come back from this."
He turned his head around to look at her. "If it comes to that, I will make sure that man dies with me."
Then without saying another word, he disappeared right in front of their eyes.
( End Flashback)
She sighed heavily, feeling tired as she thought about the day's events. 'All this destruction, because that vile man was not killed a millennium ago. Can this day get any worse?' Suddenly she heard a noise coming from behind her. Sighing irritably that she had to jinx herself, she quickly unsheathed Minazuki and turned around, only to have the shock of her life.
Standing in the office was a tall man wearing a black Haori, had a huge X on his torso and was wearing a red mask. This man was carrying an unconscious and badly hurt Zaraki Kenpachi. No one said a single word as they stared at each other. As they were doing so, Ichigo was observing the older woman standing in front of him. Once upon a time, she was one of the people he wanted to kill more than anything else, but now she was nothing to him. He could have killed her right then and there (and it would have been so easy to do so), but the fact that she and her lieutenant did not bother hiding their shame and guilt on that day was keeping his hand.
"… Who are you?" Unohana spoke after a few moments.
Ichigo simply dropped the Kenpachi at her feet and creating a Garganta. Before jumping in, he decided to give a small hint. He could feel the waves of disapproval from Shiro, Ossan, and Ayumi, but the Reio seemed content to just watch for now. "A ghost from the past, Unohana Yachiru." He growled before jumping in and closing the Garganta behind him.
Suddenly the words came to the murderer-turned-healer. "Wait!" She yelled, but unfortunately, Ichigo was already gone. She looked at Zaraki and practically ran in order to help him. While she was tending to his wounds, she only had one thought in mind. She heard Isane and a couple of her subordinates barge in and asking her questions about the reiatsu they felt, but she only had one thought in mind.
'That man. He knows my real name, meaning that he knows my past as well.' She frowned at the notion . 'I need to alert the other captains immediately, because this man might be an enemy who might have all of our information and could catch us off-guard. He also said he was a ghost from the past. What could he mean by that?'
X
"Wait!" Ichigo heard the motherly captain of the 4th Division yell, but he ignored her and jumped into the Garganta. He then closed the Garganta behind and ran on the foothold of reiatsu he created. After a few moments, he widened his reiatsu road as he felt two presences on either side of him.
"Zangetsu." He greeted as he removed his mask and crushed it, not having a need for it for now.
" King/ Ichigo." The two spirits greeted. The hybrid looked at his left side and saw that Shiro was carrying two Zanpakutō and had a grim look on his face. Ichigo noticed the look on Shiro's face and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shiro answered, except it was more like a growl instead of an answer, "I'll tell you what's wrong. You didn't kill the old hag. Why didn't you kill that fucking old hag? And not only that, you gave her a hint about who we are. That could ruin the mission, you fucking idiot."
The young orange-haired man fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Not worth my time, Shiro."
"Not worth your time?!" The Inner Hollow sarcastically laughed. "She was there when all of those bastards turned their backs on us! She should have said something, done ANYTHING yet she chose to stand there and watch you get assassinated, along with that sexy lieutenant of hers." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his copy's last four words, but he motioned for the Hollow to continue. "Not to mention the fact that they betrayed us right after we sacrificed our powers to defeat our biological daddy." That last word made Ichigo glare at his Inner Hollow, but Zangetsu was seemingly unfazed. "Oh, glare at me all you want King, it ain't gonna change a damn thing at the end of the day. You know the truth even if it hurts. Our biological dad is the man who tried to kill us on multiple occasions, not Goat-chin. We are related to that nerd Four-Eyes and his dad. Whether you like it or not, Rukia chose the Soul Society and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads over us." He finished, before narrowly ducking a very fast slash from Ichigo's Zanpakutō. He looked up and saw Ichigo looking at him with said Zanpakutō at hand and a neutral expression, but his eyes were burning with hatred and resentment towards a certain petite woman.
He spoke calmly, "Shiro, never speak that woman's name next to, close to or in front of me ever again. I can't do anything to them because we have to finish the missions that we were given by Ichibēi and His Majesty. But I don't care how long it takes. She and those fucking Shinigami took everything from me. They will pay," suddenly black reiatsu with a crimson outline covered Ichigo's entire face. It quickly vanished, revealing a demonic looking mask that had horns and two crimson lines running through the eyes in a vertical line and the air was noticeably getting heavier and heavier, " and there is nothing in this universe that is going to stop me from killing every last one of them. Do you hear me, horse?"
It was very seldom that Shiro got scared easily, especially by his own wielder, but seeing that mask, his own mask, glaring at him with black and yellow eyes that seemed like they were boring into his soul made Shiro involuntarily get down on one knee and bow to the overpowered being in a young man's body. "Y-Yes, my liege." He replied, but he was grinning inwardly. Satisfied with that answer, Ichigo removed his mask and crushed it, and the air became light again. He then looked at Old Man Zangetsu, who was more quiet than usual.
He asked, "Is everything ok, Ossan? You are more quiet than usual."
The man just nodded. "Yes, everything is fine, Ichigo. Now let us go to our destinations. We are late enough as it is."
Ichigo nodded. "Ok, I'll recap the plan. Shiro, you take these two Zanpakutō to the Royal Palace and directly give them to Ōetsu. Do not show them to Ichibēi. Juha Bach, go to the Underground Chamber beneath Urahara's shop and flare your Reiryoku as high as you possibly can. That should get the attention of Kisuke and the others. Tell them about me, but don't tell them where I am, who I am, what or how I'm doing. Be cryptic, like you usually are. I need to do something here before I visit a certain person." He finished as he created another foothold for Ossan.
"What about those assholes King?" Shiro asked.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Sooner or later, they will know that I'm alive and they will come to me for help, but I refuse to be turned into a weapon ever again. Now go." The two spirits nodded and they both exited the Garganta towards their destinations, leaving Ichigo all alone.
'What are you going to do now?' The Reiō asked.
'For now, I am going to visit some people who have treated me like family.'
'I am guessing that these people are the Shiba clan?' Ayumi spoke.
'That's right, Yumi-chan. Can't wait to see the look on their faces when I show up.'
'What about HIM? You do need to confront him eventually, regardless of when the plan might change.'
Ichigo paused for a second as he thought about the Reiō's question. 'I'll find him soon enough and he will tell me the truth about that day, whether he likes it or not.' He answered as he was instantaneously engulfed in a black light and disappeared.