Chapter 14

"We will now pass judgment! Former Squad 5 Taichou, Sousuke Aizen. We sentence you to the lowest level of the Underground Prison 8: Muken, where you will remain for 18, 800 years!"

Aizen, with all the seal that he had, still managed to smirk at his executors. "How ironic. You lowly scums will be the ones to give such punishment to me? You can't even protect yourselves from my sword."

"How insolent!!"

"You bastard!!"

"Make his sentence 20, 000 years!!!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He groaned and squinted his eyes when a light coming from somewhere stung them. He lay on his back and he knew he was in a very comfortable and soft bed if he felt like he had slept so much.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-san. How do you feel?" A voice said and Ichigo groaned again before he fully opened his eyes to scan his surroundings.

He was in a room painted in full white. There was a window on his right side where the light was coming from. The sun was already high up in the sky. He looked to his left side and saw Unohana-taichou by the doorway smiling kindly at him, still waiting for his answer. "I feel like I've slept a lot." He said after a while.

She chuckled. "Of course. You've been out for two weeks now."

His eyes widened at that before he blinked. "Two weeks?" He slowly sat up and shoved the cover off his body. He had no injuries left, not even a single bandage.

Unohana looked at the teen with barely concealed concern. "Kurosaki-san, I will be honest with you." Ichigo looked up at her. "You were barely alive in the first week, and although we had managed to suck out most of the poison from your system… we cannot undo the damage that it had done."

Ichigo scratched his head. Truth to be told, he expected that the next time he woke up, it would be Juushirou and Kaien's faces that would greet him. That's what Aizen said after all, not that he believed in the guy's words thoroughly. "Can you tell me more about it?"

Unohana sighed. "The damage to your organs was quite severe. Your heart has stopped beating thrice and we were afraid you couldn't make it. Right now, your heart remained weak and you will experience chest pains. The damage to your organs couldn't be thoroughly healed by kidou and it made your immune system so much weaker than ordinary Shinigami. Anything that can build up fatigue may cause you to cough up blood from time to time. Don't worry though, it is not life-threatening if you will not let yourself be fatigued too much. When that happens, you only need to fully rest, and your body will recuperate."

Ichigo looked thoughtful for a while. "Will I be like that forever?"

"Probably, at least until we find, or invent, an antidote for that poison." Unohana said calmly. "The poison is made from Aizen-taichou's evolved form with the help of the hogyouku. Kurotsuchi-taichou is having a problem in trying to look at the poison's potential content because it has some remnants of Aizen-taichou and the hogyouku's reiatsu which prevents us from even touching it. Right now, the sample of the poison is stored in the Shinigami Research Institute's lab. Until the reiatsu that protects it dissipates, we cannot do any form of study to make an antidote."

Ichigo looked outside for a while, obviously absorbing the facts that were laid down to him. "Have you told anyone about this?"

Unohana nodded. "Don't worry, aside from the Soutaichou, I only told those who are truly close to you, namely Kuchiki-san, Abarai-fukutaichou, Zaraki-taichou, Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san, Kyouraku-taichou, Hitsugaya-taichou, and of course, I planned on telling Kuchiki-taichou but I wasn't able to find a chance."

Ichigo arched an eyebrow at the last name. Since when was he and Byakuya close? He bet Byakuya wouldn't even bat an eyelid if he receives the news. Well, at least that made him feel less shocked by the news of his condition. "Eh… is everyone alright?"

"Yes, though while you're out, things have been rather problematic here." Unohana said seriously before she seemed to remember not to make the patient worry and smiled again. "Don't worry about it, Kurosaki-san. All you need to do is rest."

"Uhm… Can you tell me what happened when I was out?" Ichigo asked as he scratched his head, before he immediately stiffened at the gaze he received from Unohana. He felt himself shudder.

"What did I say, Kurosaki-san?" She asked, smiling, though Ichigo could feel himself tremble.

"Ah, 'd-don't worry about it and rest'." He repeated and Unohana gave him a satisfied smile before she left, saying she would ask the others to prepare some food for him.

'Man, that woman's smile is way fearsome than Aizen's.' Shiro snickered inside his head.

"You can say that again." He agreed.

'You need to take more care of yourself from now on, Ichigo.' Zangetsu said. 'Endless sparring sessions with Kenpachi will have to be avoided at all costs.'

'That sucks.' Shiro grumbled. 'That Aizen really did a good one on us.'

'There's no use on dwelling on that, Shiro.' Zangetsu said calmly. 'All we have to do is prevent Ichigo from overfatigue. That's all that we can do now.'

"Tch, you guys worry too much." Ichigo scratched the back of his head again.

'So, Ichigo, what do you think will happen now? You won't live here anymore, right? I mean, you're not a Shinigami and Juushirou is already dead. And not to mention you're a Vizard.'

"I don't know yet." Ichigo sighed. But the fact that he didn't find himself in some abandoned place in Rukongai when he woke up meant that maybe, just maybe, Seireitei didn't fear or hate his power that much.

After a while, Renji and Rukia came. Rukia was carrying a tray containing a very welcomed meal. Ichigo took it and uttered his gratitude before he started eating quietly. Rukia was a bit timid in his presence at first because of the fact that it was her fault that Kaien died, but Ichigo said that she was not at fault. She even hugged him tight for a while and told him how she missed him so much. She even thought she wouldn't be able to see him anymore what with the execution and all. After all that, Renji and Rukia chatted about the time that he was out.

Rukia told him of a heart-warming apology between her and her nii-sama. Byakuya, it seemed, cared about her after all. He was just blinded by his ideals and the clan's honor. She also told Ichigo how the other Shinigamis managed things after the fight, that so many were out cold and many more were heavily injured, but all of them lived.

Aizen was imprisoned and would stay there for 20, 000 years. Kaname Tousen would be imprisoned for 18, 000 years. Gin Ichimaru confessed a lot of things and thus would receive the lowest punishment out of the three of them, to be imprisoned for only 8, 000 years.

The former third Squad Taichou confessed many things – that it was Aizen who experimented on the Vizards one hundred years ago and not Kisuke Urahara. The latter was merely framed for a crime he did not commit. Aizen was also the one that had gotten Shiba-fukutaichou and several other Shinigamis from the 13th Squad killed. He's the one who unleashed the Hollow Metastacia, the Hollow that went inside the bodies of the humans it ate, for his Hollowfication experiment. He's also the one responsible for the deaths of many souls with high amount of reiatsu. It seemed Aizen used those people of Rukongai and fed their souls to the hogyouku.

Ichigo's chest tightened at that. He started to wish now that he should've killed Aizen. But he also knew that both Juushirou and Kaien, and even Miyako, would not be very happy if he did that. So he was still thankful that Byakuya stopped him.

There were several other crimes that Gin confessed to but none of them were familiar to Ichigo except the one that happened sixteen years ago. It seemed Aizen had hacked into the 12th Division's computer and took all the data about negacion, Gillian, about Karin Kurosaki, and a lot of other information. And the guy that Aizen killed that night, where Ichigo was a witness, was not his subordinate, yet, because the guy was still in the process of transferring from the 13th Division to the 5th Division.

They have also learned of Gin's true aim. He wasn't really on Aizen's side but was just taking his time to learn of the other man's weaknesses. Gin was still a child when he first became Aizen's subordinate. But it wasn't because he admired the older male. It's because of revenge. But Gin wouldn't tell anyone what happened and why he was exacting an act of revenge. Not even Rangiku could make him talk. And that would've helped in making his sentence even lower in years.

"Ichigo," Rukia called when he finished his meal. He looked up and saw that both Renji and Rukia wore a very pained expression. "Have you experienced something? I know you've been asleep and all so it might not even be possible. But… I mean, is there something wrong with your zanpakutou?"

Ichigo looked at them for a while before he shook his head. "Zangetsu-ojii-san is resting together with Shiro. Why?" His two friends looked at each other for a while before they settled that Renji would talk.

"Well, can you feel anything from our zanpakutou?" Renji asked.

Ichigo looked at Zabimaru for a while before he looked at Sode no Shirayuki, and true to their words, he couldn't feel anything from the swords, not even a speck of reiatsu.

"Aizen?" He asked tentatively but Rukia readily shook her head.

"We originally thought that it was Aizen, that it was the effect of his use of the Hogyouku. But the phenomenon only started a week ago. Our zanpakutous aren't sealed. It's materialized and is now having a rebellion against us Shinigamis."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Zabimaru immediately tried to attack me five days ago when I activated its shikai." Renji immediately said. "It has already been nine days then since Aizen's capture and the guy is already in the deepest chamber of prison in Seireitei's underground. Some of us immediately confronted him about it, but he merely chuckled saying we are weaklings and deserves not an answer from him."

Rukia bit her lower lip. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "One more thing, Ichigo. Soutaichou is missing and nii-sama… nii-sama is considered by everyone as a traitor because he is together with the zanpakutou in the rebellion."

"What!?" Ichigo exclaimed in utter disbelief. "Byakuya? But that's impossible! That stuck up will never break away from the rules and start a rebellion! You know how Byakuya worships the law!"

Rukia glared at his insults before she answered. "Yes, we all thought that way too. But three nights ago, he and the others attacked Seireitei and he… he broke Sode no Shirayuki…"

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing. But before he could ask some questions, he felt the familiar shudder running down his spines and he knew who was "smiling" at him right now. Both Rukia and Renji immediately gulped.

"What did I say, Abarai-fukutaichou? Kuchiki-san?" Unohana asked as she smiled at the two of them.

Renji gulped. "J-Just bring his food and don't make him worry." He then looked at Ichigo and grinned. "Don't worry, Ichigo. We'll be able to get past this. By the way, Karin, Orihime, Chad, and Uryuu had already gotten back to the living world." Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Rukia's question.

"She's your sister, isn't she? Karin, that is." Rukia asked. "I saw some of your photos in her house in Karakura Town. I couldn't believe it at first, but I'm pretty sure that was you when you're a child."

"She was here when you're unconscious by the way. She wanted to talk to you, you know. But you were sleeping the whole time and she still has to return to the living world to continue her life. Anyway, I'm sure you'll see her again sometime soon. It's a small world, isn't it, Ichigo?" Renji smirked before the two of them left.

Ichigo was overcome with a deep sense of longing and nostalgia at Rukia's words. He couldn't remember much of his home and he was a little envious that Rukia was able to see it.

Unohana saw Ichigo's expression and sighed. "I told them not to make the patient worry, and now…"

Ichigo looked up at her. "Sorry, it's not their fault." He stood up. "Anyway, what do they mean by Zanpakutou rebellion?"

Unohana sighed before she answered. It seemed there was no way to prevent her patient from worrying anymore. "It means that the swords suddenly materialized and attacked their masters, not listening to any of their commands."

"Much like what Zangetsu did when I came here before Rukia's execution." Ichigo shrugged before he froze and the two of them looked at one another. Ichigo was the first to speak. "Zangetsu also behaved that way back then!"

"But you can use him now, Kurosaki-san." Unohana felt like this might be the answer they were waiting for. "What did you do?"

"I fought him, of course. He wanted to fight me and I knew he was serious. So I fought him and I defeated him. After that, he came back to normal. He told me that he heard a voice." Ichigo said before his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, I was in that cave when it happened. First, I heard a voice. A male's voice, then Zangetsu started acting weird."

"I see." Unohana voiced, deep in thought.

"Is your zanpakutou fine, Unohana-taichou?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, Minazuki had been in deep sleep when the Rebellion happened." Unohana said. "He had healed so many injured Shinigamis then and slept. It seemed he was pretty tired because of everything that had happened. But he's fully awake now and healing the patients of the last battle once more." Unohana's eyebrows furrowed before she smiled. "Anyway, you better rest more, Kurosaki-san. I'll tell them of your words to make them come up with a proper solution."

"But I feel fine now, Uno–,O-Of course, I'll be resting now!" He immediately took back his words when he saw the smile again. He shivered.

After that, he felt the pull of slumber once more. He slept for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was pre-dawn when he woke up. He knew he heard something. It's what woke him up after all.

'So you can hear me after all…' Ichigo immediately sat up and looked around the room but found no one. He thought it might be a materialized zanpakutou, but he doubted that he couldn't see another's zanpakutou.

'Ichigo, it's the voice that called out to me that last time.' Zangetsu voiced inside his mind and Ichigo immediately remembered the voice as the one that he heard in the cave.

"Who are you?" Ichigo called again.

'I go by the name Muramasa.' The voice answered.

"Are you one of the zanpakutous rebelling against their Shinigami?" Ichigo asked as he removed himself from the cover and stood up. He opened the door of the room and went out quietly.

'I'm the one who leads the rebellion.' Muramasa answered after a while and Ichigo stopped in his tracks. He was already at the gate of the barracks.

His mind immediately reeled for something but all he could come out with was, "Why?" He knew that if someone saw him talking alone, they would think he hit his head pretty hard during his last battle.

'You Shinigamis need to learn that zanpakutous are not merely tools that you use for fighting. Now, you will know how it feels to live without them.' Just then, the presence of the voice disappeared. Ichigo immediately asked if Zangetsu was alright, but the zanpakutou said that since he already remembered the voice, he would not be fooled a second time. Ichigo smiled at that.

He stretched as he walked slowly on the road leading to his chichi's house. He had not been there for over a month now and he knew that memories of Juushirou would come flooding inside his mind the moment he entered the door. He knew it would rain heavily in his inner world and he knew that Shiro and Zangetsu wouldn't like it, but he knew he had to do this if he wanted to move on. He had not cried since Kaien's death and he didn't ever plan on crying now, at least not physically. He would let his inner world's rain serve as his tears.

He entered the house and he was not disappointed as he felt the remains of his chichi's reiatsu in everything. It's as if Juushirou had just been there. And it hurt so much… knowing that that wouldn't be true anymore… that his chichi wouldn't ever return and ruffle his hair again. He cleaned up some things and started to pack up Juushirou's things.

He sighed. He just woke up and now strange things were starting to happen again. He didn't even have time to mourn over his chichi's death. Seireitei was really a busy place to be in.

The sun was already up when he finished packing. He knew his inner world would be raining, maybe even having a storm, but a quiet one. He couldn't help it. He was grieving.

A knock came from the door and when he got it, Shunsui and Kenpachi grinned at him. Ugh. He arched an eyebrow at them but they didn't even seem to notice it as they passed by him like they were invited.

"So you packed his things away?" Shunsui turned to him when he noticed that there weren't much of Juushirou's personal belongings in the living room anymore.

"Yes. They will be choosing the next Captain of the 13th Squad soon. The house will be lived in again and I don't want Chichi's things to just be… you know… all over the place." Ichigo shrugged. If his two companions couldn't comprehend what he said, it was already their problem. But both Taichous nodded.

"How about we spar?" Kenpachi said as he grinned. Ichigo looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I just came out of the 4th Squad, Kenpachi." He answered, not even bothering to explain that he just snuck out of the place without Unohana's knowledge.

"Then how about a drink?" Shunsui asked as he slightly grinned. Ichigo felt sorry for the brunette because he knew Shunsui had just lost his drinking partner. Juushirou had probably been his drinking partner for many centuries now.

"Sorry, Shunsui-san. I don't drink." He wore an apologetic smile and Shunsui smiled in understanding. Ichigo knew that Shunsui missed Juushirou too. He could see it in the older male's eyes, and he really treated Ichigo as his best friend's real son. That's probably the reason why he was asking for a drink with Ichigo of all Shinigami, but Ichigo couldn't succumb to alcohol. No, he mustn't succumb to alcohol.

"Tch. But you know, Ichigo, I didn't think you hold that much power in you." Kenpachi said as the two Captains sat down in a seiza in front of the low table in the living room. "If you'd shown that to me while we're sparring, you would've become not only my favorite sparring partner, but my one and only sparring partner." He grinned as he nodded to himself, too busy to see the look that both Ichigo and Shunsui gave him.

Ichigo offered them tea and the three of them sat in silence as they sipped the boiling tea that Ichigo had prepared. Ichigo knew that the two Taichous were trying to cheer him up, because not only did his parent die, but it seemed he had managed to inherit Juushirou's weak body now too. But hell, were these two trying to kill him?! He understood the cheering part, but to ask him to spar and drink was way too soon for his recovering body!! These two Taichous were really idiots!

Then the brunette captain cleared his throat. "Zaraki-taichou, are you, by any chance, courting Ichigo?" The teen snorted. He doubted Kenpachi even knew what that meant. And he was not disappointed. The blank look that Kenpachi wore as he looked at his two companions was amusing.

"Never mind." Shunsui smirked. "Anyway, have you heard of the Zanpakutou Rebellion, Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked up from his tea and nodded. "Not in details though. I just learned that the one who started it was a zanpakutou."

"Yes," Shunsui answered as he sipped his tea. "A rogue zanpakutou by the name of Muramasa has started it. He has the power to enter our hearts, or our inner worlds so to speak, and turn our zanpakutous against us. Unohana-taichou told us in the meeting yesterday that your zanpakutou experienced the same 'brain-washing,' as we call it, but you still managed to get him back by fighting and defeating him." Ichigo nodded. "Well, the problem that we have now… is the fact these zanpakutous are nowhere to be found."

"Now you can see the advantage of not knowing your zanpakutou." Kenpachi said, looking all happy and proud. "I don't have to deal with anything of the sort." His two companions readily ignored his comment.

"Muramasa said that he started the rebellion because he wanted Shinigami to use zanpakutous not just as mere tools but companions." Ichigo said. "I think he meant that zanpakutou is not merely our power. They're beings that live inside our hearts. And thus, also need recognition from their masters." Kenpachi snorted at that.

"Muramasa said?" Shunsui's eyebrow furrowed. And Ichigo told him how he first heard the voice and how he heard it again earlier. The two Taichous looked thoughtful for a while before Shunsui spoke again. "Anything else, Ichigo?" The teen shook his head and Shunsui sighed. "Well, let's just hope it's not some sort of Aizen-like rebellion, part 2."

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.tbc.

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