Fear

Yamamoto watched with his eyes opened as the traitorous Aizen Sōsuke fought against the increasingly frighteningly powerful Kurosaki Ichigo. He was carefully watching his surroundings, analyzing the area constantly for any missing minute details… the leaves on trees being identical, for instance, or perhaps a road down below missing a few cracks.

It seems Shunsui and Jūshiro are done playing with their opponent… he noticed. Now… wait, why isn't their opponent dead? I can feel his reiatsu still, but it's dropped to the point of unconsciousness. Why haven't they finished him off? Perhaps the woman who was fighting alongside them has betrayed them? Yamamoto took a moment to deliberate on whether he should send someone to check on the situation, before he decided it was not worth it. The two of them are very strong, and not unintelligent. They will be fine.

Speaking of betrayals, Yamamoto reached out his senses for one of his most loyal, if relatively new, taicho - Komamura. The canine-like Shinigami was greatly weakened, but so was his opponent, the blind Tōsen Kaname. Recognizing Hisagi's strong reiatsu near, if not in, the fight, Yamamoto believed that their situation would be resolved in the Gotei 13's favor as well.

Only Aizen and Gin were left, then. Yamamoto-soutaicho's face darkened as he considered the two of them. At the moment, Gin seemed perfectly satisfied to watch Aizen just as the Gotei 13 was. Does he believe Aizen will triumph? Yamamoto's hand twitched, the cane holding his Zanpakuto blackening a little as it was singed by his fiery reiatsu.

"Relax, soutaicho. Ichigo's doing fine." a voice said from next to him. The person this voice belonged to was the reason why Yamamoto hadn't evacuated all the Shinigami from the area as soon as Aizen had evolved, and unleashed his last resort.

**Flashback**

Aizen had just been blasted away by Ichigo's first Cero, and Yamamoto was about to give the orders for all the available taicho to team up against Aizen and take him out, before a very surprising figure appeared before him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yamamoto-soutaicho."

"… Isshin," Yamamoto recognized. "Why are you here?"

Dressed in the traditional robes of a Shinigami, with a captain's vest wrapped around his left sleeve, Ichigo's father chuckled. "Why do you think I'm here? I'm here to help my son, as any good father should do."

"And why shouldn't I send my forces down to slay Aizen where he stands right now? Kurosaki Ichigo has weakened him."

"Look again."

Yamamoto did so, and to his consternation, it seemed Aizen had fused further with the Hōgyoku, gaining new strength and making it much more difficult to hurt him. The connotations made sense immediately – the fight just became that much harder, as a few of the taicho would now be useless. Soifon's Bankai, while strong, had failed to kill Aizen before and she had weakened in firing the first shot. Komamura, when he arrived, would be fatigued and his Bankai would not pierce the new shell. Hitsugaya was very powerful, but young and his powers were still maturing – it was unlikely he would have much effect either.

As Shunsui and Jūshiro were occupied elsewhere, that only left Yamamoto himself. Since he was still susceptible to Aizen's hypnosis, he'd prepared a failsafe in the fake Karakura Town prior to Aizen's arrival, his ultimate deathtrap of fire, Ennetsu Jigoku. With its power, anything within the flames would be destroyed… even Yamamoto himself, and he would need to stay in order to ensure that Aizen could not escape. Yamamoto had almost cracked a smile when he realized it would also utterly destroy the remaining Arrancar in the area, sparing Soul Society another threat.

Once again, he opened his mouth to give a retreat order to his troops – Soul Society would need to remain strong after he was gone, and Yamamoto would be damned if everything he'd worked for fell away after his death – but Isshin interrupted him again. "Let Ichigo handle Aizen."

"Do you honestly think he, a human who gained his powers so recently, can defeat a highly skilled Shinigami who has practiced for centuries?"

"He's done it before, hasn't he?" Isshin quipped with a grin. "Two words: Kuchiki. Byakuya."

**End Flashback**

"Do not presume to give me orders, Kurosaki Isshin."

"Wouldn't dream of it. But you have to agree, Ichigo's doing quite well against Aizen."

"If by 'quite well,' you mean that your son has fallen into his Hollow powers and has become a monster that may or may not be worse than Aizen himself, then I agree."

Isshin pouted a little. "You're so mean!"

Isshin's antics tempted the nearby Hitsugaya into staring incredulously at him instead of dutifully watching the fight. … If this is the influence Kurosaki's had growing up, I think I may need to congratulate him for turning out as well as he did, he decided, before turning back just in time to see Urahara turn up and complete a textbook-perfect combination of three high-level Bakudo and an impressive level 91 Hado, with Ichigo helping hold Aizen in place before blasting him with a Cero of his own. Note to self: never, ever piss off Urahara Kisuke. Or Kurosaki Ichigo for that matter.

True to form, the younger Kurosaki male had utterly impressed the stoic Hitsugaya Tōshiro. Gazing at the horrifying visage of Kurosaki's Resurrección mask, crooked horns aimed forward, combined with the sheer weight of his reiatsu, which had once again jumped to absurd levels… Hitsugaya shook his head. He'd been forced, along with whoever else could breathe in such dense reiatsu, to evacuate those who were in danger of dying simply from Ichigo's full presence to the Urahara shop, which was shielded enough to allow them to recover. As it was, Kira-fukutaicho, Omaeda-fukutaicho, and even his own Matsumoto had been overwhelmed. To Hitsugaya's mild embarrassment, the unseated officer Kuchiki Rukia had been perfectly able to breathe, though she was understandably terrified.

She and Inoue Orihime were watching from a distance as well, though judging by their expressions, Hitsugaya wasn't sure if that was a good thing. With every second that passed, he could tell that their fear was growing, though Inoue seemed to be handling it better. With good reason, Hitsugaya reminded himself. She just destroyed a veritable god of time.

Rukia, however, had never witnessed just how unbelievably destructive, how undeniably Hollow, how inspiring of absolute terror Kurosaki Ichigo could be. She had never crossed blades and experienced that precious glimpse into Ichigo's soul from the impact, had never seen Ichigo even pull off his mask and reassure her that he had been in complete control. Even if she had, Rukia wasn't sure that she would have been able to remain calm in the face of Ichigo's Resurrección. Is this why it's forbidden to give humans Shinigami powers? What have I done?

"Are you scared?" came a quiet voice. Rukia whirled, surprised by the unexpected presence, to see four of the Vizard she'd witnessed come to help earlier. "You should be," the one with white hair continued grimly. "We are Vizard, and there are times that we scare ourselves."

"Although we've never taken our Hollow powers to that level, Kensei…"

"No… we did not trust our Inner Hollows enough, Love." Kensei cast his gaze at Ichigo's new form, his face stern, his voice almost reminiscing in its quality. "In a matter of months, he has mastered his Hollow powers further than we have in a century. It makes me wonder what we could have done had we truly tried to do more than just ensure our sanity…"

"So Ichigo is still in there?" Rukia could not help but ask.

"Yep! Berry-tan's still in there!" the unexpectedly chipper, green-haired girl confirmed happily.

"Don't bother, Mashiro. The Shinigami have never understood," Kensei stated darkly, turning away.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked, confused, but it was not Kensei who answered, but Love.

"The Gotei 13 ordered our execution after we gained Hollow powers accidentally, believing that we truly became Hollows rather than gaining a dangerous power that we needed to master to keep from hurting everyone around us," Love explained. "Secure in their belief that they were right, they didn't bother to check it before they started teaching their ideas of what happened, so no one would question their order. What they don't understand is that we are, by our very nature, predominantly Shinigami ourselves. It's our default state, the form we return to when we're completely exhausted. Urahara stabilized us after Aizen infected us with Hollow powers, and gave us the ability to fight for our sanity and win."

That relieved Rukia far more than she cared to admit. "So, as soon as this battle's over, Ichigo will be able to pull off his mask and return to normal?"

"We don't know," the last of the Vizard admitted. "None of us have ever achieved Resurrección."

"Rose!" Love rebuked, seeing Rukia's fears rise again. "If he has trouble, all we have to do is break the mask and he'll return to normal, no problem. Just like a normal Hollow, if you break the mask, you break the power."

"Don't worry, Rukia," Inoue murmured, catching all their attention despite her soft voice. "Kurosaki-kun will be fine. Those Arrancar, they were able to turn off their Resurrección, right? So Ichigo should too, and then he'll be able to take off his mask as usual."

Rukia managed a tiny, reassured smile as she resumed watching her human-turned-Vizard friend beat the crap out of Aizen.

Soifon was watching as well, but her training was failing her. I need to be looking for an opening… But even if I did, can I even do anything?

Her mind flashed to when she'd used her Bankai, Jakuhō Raikōben. The blast had been beautiful in a sense, spectacular and so full of fierce hope that it would finish Aizen off. But it had failed… it injured him badly, but did not kill him. It provided the perfect opening for Kurosaki, but his forbidden power failed him at the last moment. Any experienced Shinigami could have predicted that result – forbidden powers are full of drawbacks.

"I swear I will come at you with all my power!"

Against her will, Soifon's gaze shifted to the horned Hollow mask of Kurosaki's Resurrección as it fought toe to toe against Aizen. She'd thought that Kurosaki in his mask had been intimidating and far too Hollow for any Shinigami to be… Now Soifon knew that she'd been wrong. This, this culmination of Shinigami and Hollow, this monstrosity… this is Kurosaki Ichigo. Surely everyone now can see why he has to die!

"If you ever come after me or my friends, you will need Yamamoto Genryūsai himself at your side to save you, because I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

Soifon could not repress a shiver. After seeing this display of raw power, after hearing Kurosaki defiantly call upon his inner demon by name, she knew that if he ever decided to back up his words, Soul Society would be in flames by the end of the day. She was starting to doubt if even Yamamoto-soutaicho could stop him before Kurosaki could kill her. But that's why we need to kill him! He's a threat to Soul Society!

"If you ever come after me or my friends, you will need Yamamoto Genryūsai himself at your side to save you, because I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

Soifon resisted the urge to clutch her head in her hands – largely because Suzumebachi was still released and it was likely she'd accidentally hurt herself. She had to admit it, if only to herself. She was scared. She was terrified because Kurosaki Ichigo had evolved in a way that was beyond her comprehension, because Kurosaki had proved himself ready and able to wage a war against Soul Society the likes of which would destroy almost everything, in maybe all the worlds.

"If you ever come after me or my friends, you will need Yamamoto Genryūsai himself at your side to save you, because I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

Soifon was trained as an assassin from a young age in service to the Shihoin family. She was now the Head of the Onimitsukido, and taicho of Squad 2 in the Gotei 13. She knew how to recognize when one's mind was entering a cycle that would leave her unresponsive until broken out of. She'd even fallen into it before, when Yoruichi-sama had abandoned her a century ago. The fierce, heart-felt threat that Kurosaki had given her…

"If you ever come after me or my friends, you will need Yamamoto Genryūsai himself at your side to save you, because I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

… was overwhelming her with fear. Soifon knew, just as powerfully as she knew her Zanpakuto's name, that she'd be seeing Kurosaki Ichigo's Resurrección in her nightmares. But just as she was starting to get a grip and quiet her instincts, which were screaming and begging to run, Soifon's eyes locked with the soulless eye sockets in Kurosaki's mask. The eye contact only lasted for a moment, less than a second, but time seemed to slow and Soifon felt as though she were gazing into an endless darkness.

"…I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

Soifon heard it in her head so clearly that time that she felt her heart stop for what felt like an eternity, but what was probably only a second. Suddenly, she was in a thick fog, thick enough that Soifon couldn't see anything more than a dozen meters away, and while that rang warning bells in her head, she couldn't seem to think clearly enough to figure out why. Turning around, she found herself within arm's length of Kurosaki's Resurrección, which scared her to the point of screaming. Or she would have, but the enormity of Kurosaki's reiatsu weighed too heavily on her to make a sound. She could barely breathe, let alone move, and her fear just kept rising. Then she saw the mask's mouth begin to open.

"I warned you."

Miraculously, the rush of adrenaline that accompanied those words let her spin around to move into a Shunpo, running away, but she froze in horror as another Kurosaki Ichigo seemed to appear. She looked over her shoulder, but the first one was still there, and now both were walking towards her with their blades bared. She Shunpo-ed in a different direction, but then a third walked out of the fog. More and more of them made their way out…. She was surrounded!

Each of the Kurosakis moved towards them, slowly, predatorily, Zanpakuto drawn. Harsh, Hollowified whispers reached her keen ears, and Soifon struggled not to succumb to her own fear as she heard them, growing steadily louder every second.

"I gained this Bankai to trample on Soul Society's pride…"

"I swear…"

"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu."

"…I will come at you…!"

"Angel or demon, those titles mean nothing to me…"

"…with all my power!"

"Blacken the night, Cazador de la Luna!"

As her stark terror reached new heights, Soifon's heart thundered in her ears and all else fell silent. One of Kurosakis stepped in front of the others. "Soifon, taicho of Squad 2 of the Gotei 13. I am coming for you."

"Stay away from me!" Soifon Shunpo-ed straight upwards, the only direction she hadn't tried yet, but when she broke through the top of the fog, Kurosaki was right there, a Cero in his horns, a Getsuga in his Zanpakuto, his mouth wide open as if preparing to consume her.

"I swear I will come at you with all of my power!"

In reality, Soifon's body stiffened, eyes glazed, as her mind locked up in a terrifying illusion as strong as any Aizen could devise within her own psyche.

Komamura glared up from his prone position on the ground, at the monstrous insect Resurrección form of his former best friend, Tōsen Kaname. His Bankai's chest had been crushed from the impact of Tōsen's newest Hollow technique, Los Nueve Aspectos. Of course, through the link to Komamura's own body, so too was Komamura's ribs broken in several places. Tōsen had grown incredibly strong, but if Komamura was seeing correctly – more than once he'd gotten a little blood in his left eye from the fight – something was about to make a difference in the battle.

"Pathetic," Hisagi's voice judged harshly, plunging his sealed sword into Tōsen's exposed neck from above. "Sight has made you blind, Tōsen. Before, you would have seen that coming and countered it without even trying. You are no longer my taicho. Reap, Kazeshini."

And with a sharp sound of a scythe cutting the air, Hisagi's blade shifted into its Shikai form within Tōsen's throat. Judging from the sharply dropping reiatsu in the air, Komamura knew the fight was over; Tōsen had been disabled in a spectacular fashion.

A moment later, Hisagi Shunpo-ed by his side. "I cut his spinal cord in three places. He should be unable to move."

But Komamura had a moment of doubt – Tōsen had regenerated his arm in the darkness of his Bankai, presumably thanks to his new Hollow powers. What are the limits of his regeneration? Is he really done? Leaning heavily on Hisagi for support, Komamura made his way to his old friend, who had by then released his Resurrección, and dispelled his mask. Tōsen was back in his Shinigami form, apparently uninjured if not for the fact that he wasn't moving and was face-down on the ground.

"Komamura…"

The anthropomorphic canine was unsurprised to hear his old friend's voice. While Hisagi turned over his old taicho, he spoke to his traitorous friend in the hopes of regaining his best friend. "Tōsen. Try to not speak too much, your throat was damaged. Since you're breathing, I presume you've regenerated enough to do so, but don't damage yourself further trying to speak just yet."

Tōsen remained silent, but turned his eyes towards his best friend.

"You said it was destined for us to cross blades… I knew that as well," Komamura admitted. "I'm sure Hisagi felt the same. But I do not want any of us to die today." Tōsen looked about to say something, so Komamura quickly continued. "I don't expect you to stop being angry, nor will I tell you to stop hating. You have that right. All that I ask is that you don't let revenge consume you, my friend. I do not want to lose you, like you lost your friend so long ago. To lose you, would break my heart, Tōsen."

Tōsen's face softened, an unexpected tear trailing down his face. "Thank you… Komamura. Hisagi… please, come closer. I don't have my mask on, but the Hollow powers remaining inside me allow me to see for just a bit longer, and I want to remember your face."

Hisagi silently did as was beckoned, standing beside Komamura-taicho and gazing into Tōsen's eyes.

After several moments, Tōsen let out a small smile of gratitude. "Thank you…" With that, his eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing slowed as the hybrid loosed his grip on consciousness.

Komamura turned his head slightly at Hisagi. "I don't believe I need to tell you what to do now, do I?"

Hisagi smirked in response. "No, Komamura-taicho." He knelt and scooped Tōsen onto his shoulder before flickering into Shunpo.

Despite the no-doubt pressing need for assistance against Aizen, Komamura took a moment to smile. He and Hisagi had succeeded in bringing their friend back from within the unrecognizable revenge-driven man that Tōsen had become. It's strange, but I may need to thank Aizen for killing the Central 46. Their views would have demanded Tōsen be killed, but perhaps I can convince Yamamoto-soutaicho to be lenient…

With that hope in mind, Komamura Shunpo-ed away to join the mass of taicho, hoping to be able to help in some fashion.

There were not many things that could leave Ukitake Jūshiro speechless. Watching Kurosaki Ichigo, in a completely Hollow form but still retaining his rather memorable Bankai, work together with Urahara to systematically demolish Aizen was something he was not quite prepared to see, however. He'd seen Ichigo pull on his mask earlier, but that mask was definitely NOT the same as what was on Ichigo's face now. The implication that now Ichigo had TWO sets of Hollow powers, or that his original set had undergone an extreme evolution, potentially mid-battle, was simultaneously frightening and humbling to contemplate. Ichigo's growth rate is, no other way to put it, outrageous. It shouldn't even be possible, but in a year's time he's grown from a simple human with high spiritual awareness to this? It was like the man was born for battle.

"So… why aren't we doing anything?" Kyōraku asked his best friend with a nudge.

"Do you want to try to interrupt Ichigo's fight with Aizen right now?" Ukitake replied back instantly, not moving his eyes from the battle.

The oft-drinking taicho took another look at the fighters before shaking his head in a negative fashion. "What happened to the kid anyway?"

"He called on his forbidden Hollow powers," Yamamoto intoned, his eyes opened slightly from the slits he usually kept them at. "He unleashed a Resurrección, and has not spoken since. His reiatsu and movements indicate that he is not in control any longer."

"But he's still only going after Aizen, even when the easier target Urahara is there?" Kyōraku whistled lowly at that. "Damn… He's a pretty interesting kid, don't ya think, Jūshiro?"

"Very."

"Of course he is! He's my son!" Isshin jumped in.

"Just what is he?"

"Ah, Komamura-taicho!" Kyōraku greeted. "I see you –"

"A nightmare."

There was silence for a moment as everyone turned to Soifon, who was still watching Kurosaki's fight with Aizen like her life depended on it. With a flash of guilt and self-reproach, Ukitake realized that she was not far off the mark – she was a relatively new taicho, being in the position for less than a century. Truth be told, Soifon was not an exceptionally strong taicho when it came to fights such as this – she was an assassin at heart. She sought ways to finish the fight quickly, always improving her speed rather than strength, as her Shikai allowed her to end anyone's life with two strikes. If Ichigo, who was far more suited for drawn-out wars at full strength, failed, then Soifon would have to rely on himself, Shunsui and Yamamoto, who had all been exposed to Aizen's Shikai. Nothing could be guaranteed then.

Of course, Soifon, being the perfect assassin, was waiting for an opportunity to stick her blade into Aizen's back. Ukitake smiled grimly – if there was nothing else he could count on, he could count on Soifon to remain as cool-headed and focused on the goal as Shunsui was casual and joking. "A nightmare?"

"Wait, I get it," Kyōraku spoke up. "I see what she means."

"Well?" Hitsugaya asked after a moment of silence.

"A human is never supposed to be given Shinigami powers, right?" Kyōraku pointed out. "Because the living aren't supposed to have the powers of the dead. And it's forbidden for a Shinigami to gain Hollow powers. Not only that, but he's advanced very high on the tier in both Shinigami and Hollow powers, with Bankai and Resurrección. All that power in the hands of a living human with no affiliation to any government. Can you see how hard it would be to defeat him if he ever decided we were his enemies?"

"We would win," Yamamoto declared, his voice low, "but it would likely result in high casualties."

"It won't happen unless you're all very stupid." Several pairs of eyes turned to Isshin, who had made that bold statement without hesitation. "Ichigo has friends in Soul Society all over the Gotei 13. Friends like Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji. And if there is anything that you should know by now about Kurosaki Ichigo, it's that he will defy any and everything to protect his friends. Why else would he come after Kuchiki Rukia? Now stop thinking the worst of my son and watch him win!"

"So he is not a nightmare of heaven, but of hell. Kurosaki Ichigo, Hell's Nightmare," Kyōraku dubbed him jokingly, but no one was laughing. Instead, they were all watching – Aizen had just been enveloped in a column of reiatsu.

Ichigo's Resurrección's grip on Tensa Zangetsu tightened as the pillar of light faded. Spotting this, Urahara smiled sadly, knowing that the fight was not yet over. "Yeah, it'd be too much to hope for Aizen to be finished off from just that. Then he'd just be a regular monster."

The light faded entirely, and Aizen emerged in a new, but somewhat familiar form. He appeared much as he had before the Hōgyoku had transformed him, but now he had long, sleek hair that reached down his back, and his uniform had apparently regenerated with some minor changes as to where the slits in the clothes were. Intriguingly, Aizen's eyes had also changed, now being grey with purple sclera. It reminded Urahara forcefully of Ichigo's own eyes when he donned his mask – amber with black sclera. While Ichigo took on the eyes of his Inner Hollow, a part of Urahara wondered where the grey and purple had come from. If the Hōgyoku was responsible as he suspected, was there an entity within it that Aizen was now calling on?

"That was a very good attempt," Aizen congratulated. "If it were anyone else, this fight would be all over in your favor. Or rather, had I not implanted the Hōgyoku into myself, then I would probably be dead, or powerless as my own reiatsu burned all my power away. But as it is, the Hōgyoku is beyond your understanding."

"Perhaps," Urahara conceded. "But even if it is, that doesn't stop one thing from being true."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You've got an enraged Vizard at his strongest right behind you."

Aizen merely smiled as Ichigo's berserk body once more threw his head back to scream his challenge to the heavens. "So I do. Come, Kurosaki Ichigo. Let's see how you do now that you've helped me evolve to this state."

Still watching from afar, Yamamoto's cane burned away, revealing his Zanpakuto. "Evacuate the area."

Isshin Shunpo-ed right in front of him, pleading. "You can't mean…! He hasn't lost yet!"

"Do you mean me to delay long enough for my trap to be ineffective?" Yamamoto replied coldly.

"But my son…!"

"He may still survive. I will not hinder his leaving the vicinity," the soutaicho promised. "But I will not wait any longer." He vanished into Shunpo, and the rest of the taicho watched Isshin's face turn cold and hard with determination until he too flickered away. Hitsugaya felt a chill run down his spine when he recognized the look – he had recently seen that look on Ichigo's own face, and he knew that the situation was about to get far more dangerous in the immediate area.

"Let's get everyone out of here," Kyōraku commanded, his voice and face devoid of their usual joviality. "Hitsugaya, you evacuate Matsumoto, Renji, Rukia, Chad and Inoue. Soifon, get Omaeda, Kira, Ikkaku and Yumichika, then check if anyone is at the Urahara shop and evacuate them too. Komamura, alert the Vizard and then fetch Hisagi – they aided us in this battle, so the least we can do is warn them. Bring everyone to a point five miles north of Karakura. Jūshiro and I will alert the Arrancar that defected from Aizen before doing a sweep of the area. Does everyone understand their orders? Go!"

All of them disappeared a moment later.