No Plan Survives Contact

Ichigo wasted no time getting out of Karakura – Yamamoto was about to unleash a trap with his Ryūjin Jakka? Ichigo had SEEN the man's power, and he did not want to stick around and see if he could take it.

Ichigo wasn't quite sure how or why, but he was finding it far easier to detect other spiritual presences than he had before his Resurrección. In any case, he was able to locate his friends with only mild difficulty as he Shunpo-ed as fast as he could out of the false replacement of his home town. With them all was another familiar presence, a Shinigami whose reiatsu felt rather chilly. Tōshirō. Dad was right; they're being taken care of. He, at least, I can trust.

Ichigo adjusted course to meet up with them – they weren't far, and he would feel a lot better if they had his protection; while Ichigo was of the opinion that Soul Society wouldn't make any overt moves against him while he was still needed, there was still Gin out there, and he wouldn't put it past Soul Society to make some sort of preparation for after Aizen's death.

What the Vizard did not anticipate, however, was just how frightening his appearance currently was. He appeared a few meters away from the group as they fled from the area – Inoue was being carried by Rukia in the middle, while Chad was utilizing his newest skill, the air-walking technique, to keep up with his high-speed technique that resembled Sonido, but was not quite it… Ishida was cruising along on their right, riding what seemed to be a flying skateboard sans wheels made up reiatsu. Rangiku and Renji were flanking Rukia, while Hitsugaya Tōshirō led the pack.

"Hey guys."

Ichigo's casual greeting caused a multitude of reactions from his friends – Tōshirō had very nearly drawn his Zanpakutō, his hands still twitching towards it. Rukia gave out a yelp as Inoue's knees dug into her back as she stiffened. Renji nearly fell out of the air when he forgot to solidify the air beneath him for his next Shunpo, while Rangiku seemed to be holding her breath, looking at him with naked fear.

It was Ishida, however, who was the most calm of the group. "Kurosaki, cancel your Resurrección and take off the mask. You're a bit fearsome to look at like this, which I suppose is the point, but do you realize how hard it is to talk to someone when you can't see their face and their very reiatsu is enough to suffocate your comrades?"

Oh. Ichigo hadn't realized that Rangiku was not holding her breath on her own will, but that she was literally unable to breathe under the weight of his strength. Now, how to cancel this? Is it like my Bankai? Taking his Hollow powers under his mental grip, he dismissed the power.

It was a very odd sensation, Ichigo decided, to literally feel his Hollow hole close up, and his mask reverse its growth around his head until it was just that – a simple mask that covered only his face, and could be taken off. He quickly snagged off the mask and crushed it in his fingers, revealing his face to light once more.

Rangiku was very noticeably gasping for breath now, making Ichigo feel a little guilty. But I hadn't known that my reiatsu would have that much of an effect on her.

What did ya expect? Did you really think the power you needed to match Aizen wouldn't be too strong for most to handle?

I just didn't think of it. "You alright?" he asked, noticing Tōshirō's barely-masked concern towards the fukutaicho.

"I'm alright," she managed, as she stood up a little straighter, having apparently somewhat recovered from the experience.

"Where'd you get the vest?" Rukia asked, surprised.

Ichigo blinked and glanced down at himself. Indeed, he was wearing a strangely comfortable plain white sleeveless vest, one he'd never worn before…

But I have, Cazador finished with a serious tone.

The vest is a manifestation of your Hollow powers, a sign of your acceptance of your Hollow nature, Tensa Zangetsu explained. It serves a few purposes, not the least of which is another level of armor over your vitals. When your shihakusho is restored, the vest will lay underneath it.

Ichigo wasn't sure he liked having evidence of his Vizard status being on display so openly when he wasn't wearing the mask, but considering that everyone knew already, what could it hurt? "It's a remnant of the Resurrección," he half-lied to the others. "But don't worry, I'm fully in control."

"You better be," Tōshirō muttered. "C'mon, let's go."

At the unified nod of assent, the group once again made its way to the point north of Karakura that Kyōraku had designated as their meeting spot. "You went totally berserk, Ichigo," Renji accused. "What happened between you and Aizen?"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed in anger. "Aizen arranged for the Grand Fisher to kill my mother in front of me when I was nine years old."

There was a loud gasp from Inoue, and when the Vizard looked her way, she seemed to be holding back tears as she stuffed her fist in her mouth. Chad's left fist, currently untransformed, clenched and very audibly popped several knuckles. Ishida turned to look at him in shock – this was something he hadn't realized that he and Kurosaki had in common: the loss of an important parental figure from a young age, due to a megalomaniacal Shinigami. Ishida had lost his grandfather to Mayuri; Ichigo, his mother to Aizen.

"Why?" Chad asked simply, though his tone was thick in sympathetic anger.

"Because I am the son of a human and a Shinigami and he thought it an interesting experiment. Because despite my heritage, I was growing weak and content with life, and needed motivation to continue fighting, to grow as strong as I could." Ichigo's fist audibly clenched around the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu. "He killed her to test me!"

"So you gave yourself to the forbidden Hollow powers," Tōshirō murmured, not expecting Ichigo's sudden spin in his direction, eyes flashing angrily.

"And what would you have done, Tōshirō?" the Substitute Shinigami snarled. "What would you have done, if he killed one of your loved ones and you had access to Hollow powers? My mother was my life! She was everything to that little nine-year-old boy! And Aizen killed her! I wanted, and still want, vengeance, and I shall have it!"

"I'm not arguing he didn't deserve you going at him with full power, but you do realize that you have scared the shit out of pretty much the entire Gotei 13?" Renji pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, tell me something new already," Ichigo replied bitterly.

Bitter? Rukia thought in surprise. "Ichigo?"

"It's nothing. I'll tell you later. Besides, we're here."

Indeed, they had arrived at the designated reconvening point. The rest of the forces were gathered there, Shinigami, Vizard, and Arrancar alike, though each were subtly gravitating towards their own kind.

"Ichigo!" Shinji's voice called out. Ichigo quickly made his way over to the other Vizard and was taken aback at what he saw – Shinji had obviously been injured very heavily, judging by the bloodstains, but had evidently been healed. The others appeared fine, each having a few scratches and bruises, but they were being tended to by Hachi quickly enough. "Why didn't you tell us you had Resurrección?"

"Didn't know I had it until I used it," Ichigo said simply.

Hiyori got up and approached him, her eyes searching, but strangely not as aggressive as they had been towards him for as long as the Substitute Shinigami had known her. "How'd you do it?" she asked quietly.

Ichigo's mouth twisted into an unsure expression. "My Inner Hollow discovered his name. After that, I guess I just needed the right trigger."

"But how did he find his name?" Hiyori pressed, a flicker of her old anger lighting up in her eyes. "We need to know! Imagine if we all used Resurrección at once and attacked Aizen!"

"It was the moment he defeated me for the first time," Ichigo related. "I think… I think you can only gain Resurrección if you and your Hollow trust each other, if you work together like a Shinigami works with his Zanpakutō. Your Hollow is a part of you, it's born from your soul. Only in cooperation can you push each other to greater power."

As he spoke the last word, an intense heat washed over him. He slowly turned to see the facsimile of his beloved town engulfed in flames, higher than any skyscraper he'd ever seen. "Can Yamamoto finish him?"

"This is his trap, Ennetsu Jigoku. Everything in there is going to be destroyed, even Yamamoto himself," Ukitake replied from a few feet away. "If Aizen can survive that, then I fear we are doomed."

Ichigo's face twisted into an angry but determined expression. "No, I refuse to believe that. You've all used your ultimate moves? Your Bankai? Every last drop of your power? Because if you haven't, you haven't lost yet!"

"My Shikai changes battles into games with rules that everyone within range for me has to follow," Kyōraku told him. "How big do you think my Bankai's range is? My Bankai is meant to take out an army alone, not for a large number of allies against one enemy. That's how it is with most Bankai… it is a Shinigami's last resort, and has a large effect that is difficult to focus on just one enemy. For instance, Soifon's Bankai creates a huge explosion that will kill pretty much everyone in the vicinity. Tōsen's Bankai created a field of complete sensory deprivation, again focusing on an area, rather than an individual. Abarai-kun's Bankai creates a large bone-snake that would be very unwieldy in an area with allies, and is more than capable of attacking multiple enemies with its attacks. Komamura's Bankai creates a literal armored giant, which can easily accidentally or purposely crush nearby enemies." He sighed. "Like I said, most Bankai aren't designed to work with allies in the area, and it would be suicide to take on Aizen alone."

Ichigo gave him an incredulous look. "You're telling me that you can't use Bankai, or most of the more explosive Kidō, because it's too unwieldy around allies?"

Renji shrugged. "We can't all have tiny Bankai like you do, Ichigo."

"Don't say it like that. You make it sound perverse," the Vizard muttered at him. "Fine then. If Shinigami ultimates are out of the question, let's look at the Hollow side of things. I've got Resurrección. The rest of the Vizard have their masks. Nel? Harribel? Grimmjow? You three still here?"

"I am here, Kurosaki Ichigo," Harribel answered, stepping forward – she was still in her Resurrección state.

"Grimmjow left as soon as we evacuated. He said he'd fulfilled his end of the deal," Komamura filled in.

"Nelliel's gone too," Ukitake told him. "She actually had a message for you… 'Ichigo, thank you for showing mercy on a little girl Arrancar when she didn't know who she was. Thank you for being her friend after she found out. But most of all, thank you for treating me as human as you are, because that's what you are: human, no matter whether you are Shinigami or Hollow or anything in between. Don't ever forget that, Ichigo, because your greatest power lies in your humanity, your capacity to accept and understand anyone. Should you ever find yourself in Hueco Mundo, please know that you and your friends will be welcome with me and Starrk.'"

Ichigo tilted his head and looked up to the sky, eyes closed as he listened to the words spoken by an Arrancar whose own capacity for kindness had given her a blessing disguised as a curse – escape from Aizen in a form that let her enjoy childhood for a little while. "No… thank you, Nelliel…" he whispered.

"Ichigo." Chad's right arm, still transformed into his Brazo Derecha del Gigante, came to rest on Ichigo's shoulder. "What now?"

Ichigo took a deep, slightly shuddering breath, but when he looked around at his comrades, his eyes were focused. "Alright. I've faced Aizen in direct combat, he focuses a lot on speed and Zanjutsu in close-to-mid range, but uses Kidō in long range. He seems to like using Hado 90: Kurohitsugi when he's in a tough spot. What's actually hit him, aside from me?"

"Bakudō," Urahara revealed, stepping forward. "He was successfully held in place by multiple Bakudō, with some assistance from yourself, long enough for me to cast a full-incantation Hado 91: Senjū Kōten Taihō. The seals I've placed seem ineffective, though I have put one on that will take effect if he weakens significantly…"

Ishida's eyes lit up. "How many of you know high level Bakudō and feel capable of using it effectively after your fights?"

Ukitake, Kyōraku, Urahara and Hachi stepped forward. "I see where you're going with this," Kyōraku murmured. "If we can all bind him together, then…"

"Then that gives me enough time to end it," Ichigo finished. "Nice plan, Ishida."

"What if that fails? He's gone through another evolution since you last hit him with Bakudō," Hitsugaya pointed out practically. "And even then, if Kurosaki hadn't been there, he would have escaped. He might be immune to it now for all we know. We should have a backup plan."

"What would you suggest?" Komamura queried.

Hitsugaya shook his head. "I'm not skilled with making such plans. Soifon-taicho, you're the better tactician amongst us. Do you have any ideas?"

Soifon frowned pensively, doing her best to keep her eyes from flitting towards Kurosaki Ichigo. "If we prove unable to bind him long enough for Kurosaki Ichigo to kill him, or if Aizen somehow survives that, then we must force him to fight by other rules. Kyōraku-taicho's Shikai will be useful."

"If I can stay unnoticed, I can focus the effect of my Sakanade on him, reversing his perceptions," Shinji volunteered. "Everyone else would be unaffected."

"Useful," Soifon deemed, starting to pace. "Alright. Here's the plan for if the Bakudō plan fails. The Vizard Hirako Shinji will use his Shikai to create critical opportunities. Try to maintain as much distance as you can, so you may escape the effects of Kyōraku-taicho's Shikai. Kyōraku-taicho should move in and use whichever game you feel will give the most advantage. There is not enough time for us to become familiar with all of your games, so only you and Ukitake-taicho should meet him. Ukitake-taicho, please use your Shikai to redirect any Kidō that Aizen uses. Kurosaki Ichigo, you will take the opportunity to be healed and replenish your reiatsu using a Shinigami medic or Inoue Orihime, in preparation for the possibility of this plan's failure."

"What about the rest of us?" Ikkaku asked bluntly.

"The rest of us, myself included, will be focusing on the traitor Ichimaru Gin. He is the only threat here aside from Aizen himself."

"Wait!" Ichigo interrupted, having just remembered a very important point with a rising sense of horror. "The pillars, the ones that hold the real Karakura in Soul Society… will they be destroyed by Yamamoto's Ennetsu Jigoku?"

"Relax, Ichigo-kun," Urahara waved off his concerns. "Yamamoto had laid his trap before you returned from Hueco Mundo and verified that the pillars would not be in range. And even if they were, Tessai and I made them especially fire-resistant with multiple element-resistance barriers just in case, and we have backup rods that can reinforce them if we need."

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief – it would have been disastrous for the real Karakura to reappear in the middle of Yamamoto's trap. "Well, we have our plans… what now?"

"We get healed, and then we wait."

Aizen was very close to panicking at this moment. He was trapped in a dome of fire, and the very earth itself was aflame – it seemed Yamamoto had closed off any easy way out. The heat was intense, and Aizen found himself sweating heavily, cursing the old bastard. Damn it's hot… and it's only getting hotter. It won't be long now before the air itself catches on fire.

Aizen's only hope was to dash through the fire as fast as he could, and let the Hōgyoku heal him afterwards. But every time he tried, Yamamoto seemed to know exactly where he was and without fail fought him in the flames until Aizen was forced to retreat and heal from the burns he was gaining. It was galling to watch Yamamoto only be mildly burned while Aizen consistently suffered second and third degree burns! I suppose that's because the fire was created from his own reiatsu. But how do I get out of this?

Aizen had tried using his illusions on Yamamoto while trying to escape, to no avail. Yamamoto seemed to fighting with his eyes closed, and was constantly tracking him regardless of the illusion. He senses Kyōka Suigetsu, he said… Is countering me really that simple? Aizen had known for some time now that his Zanpakutō's weakness was someone looking past the illusion to sense it, but the normal five senses were far more compelling during a fight. Which is why Yamamoto's eliminated the most distracting sense. But this can't be the end!

Calm down, and think! Easier said than done, since every time Yamamoto sensed that Aizen was staying within his prison, he fed more reiatsu into the fire to make it burn ever hotter. Aizen knew he had mere minutes, if that. I need to get out. Yamamoto won't let me out. He ignores my illusions now, single-mindedly coming after me. Can I kill or otherwise incapacitate Yamamoto? After a moment of consideration, Aizen shook his head. Not in outright combat. Yamamoto is a skilled, powerful combatant, and is far more at home among the flames here than I am. I'll succumb to the heat long before I could kill him.

I need to get to the real Karakura so I can finish creating the Ōken! Wait. Aizen began to smile. "I've been going about this wrong. I know where the pillars are, and I know that Yamamoto won't let all those innocent humans in Karakura burn. All I have to do is destroy them from in here, and Yamamoto will put out his own trap!"

He spent several precious moments designing his illusion, the battlefield that was the fake Karakura shimmering and being slowly replaced by the real Karakura. He smiled as he swiftly but carefully crafted the screams of agony and the smell of burnt flesh. And then Aizen cast his illusion.

Yamamoto was taken by surprise when the air around him suddenly felt a little cooler, though it was promptly heated again by his flames, but when cries and pleadings for help reached his ears, his eyes opened wide in surprise. How can this be? Did Gin manage to destroy the pillars from the outside? Did he have help? Or is this yet another illusion?

"I know what you're thinking," Aizen stated from several yards away. "You're wondering if this is another illusion. I can see your brain working, you're thinking 'If it is an illusion, if I strike him down then the illusion will fall. But if it is not an illusion, then every second my fires are up, I'm killing innocent humans and evaporating their souls.' The problem is, old man, that you had planned on using this trap to kill me. So you have to make a choice. Risk killing tens of thousands of humans, which I will promptly use to create the Ōken, or quench your flames, and try to kill me another way?"

Yamamoto almost screamed in frustration. He was so close! Less than a minute and the whole area would have erupted into an inferno the likes even Hell would have envied! He would have ended the threat once and for all! But he knew he had no choice. With some concentration, and a great deal of his remaining reiatsu, he put the fires out. There was still some screaming down below, but that was to be expected – humans, sadly, could be very flammable.

"You really are so predictable," Aizen commented off-handedly, observing the scorched area. The air felt cooler now without the fires to constantly keep it hot, but he would bet that the ground would be scorching hot to touch for some time.

"Perhaps, but I will not let you make the Ōken here!" Yamamoto snarled, bringing his Shikai to bear. "I may have been forced to release my Ennetsu Jigoku, but we will see if you can survive without your head!"

"You no longer have the strength to defeat me," the Hōgyoku-infused Shinigami said bluntly. "Your reiatsu is extremely low, and I have evolved past that of Shinigami strength. You can sense my Zanpakutō, but not me, is that not true?" Aizen smiled. "You are finished, Yamamoto-soutaicho of the Gotei 13."

"We shall see!"

"We already have." And then Yamamoto felt a hand plunge into his already-wounded chest from behind, puncturing his lung and leaving a gaping hole. Before his eyes, the Aizen that he'd been talking to turned into Kyōka Suigetsu, levitating under Aizen's power. Below him, the real Karakura shattered and revealed the truth: the fake Karakura. Yamamoto had suspected, but to see it made him unbearably angry. He lashed out with his left foot, aiming for Aizen's neck, only for it to be effortlessly blocked by Aizen's arm, which did not even budge. No…

Behind him, Aizen smiled as he withdrew his arm and tossed Yamamoto to a nearby roof, scorched but still standing despite the Shinigami's power. How fitting that my first illusion, giving Kyōka Suigetsu my form, would be the one I use to defeat the greatest of Shinigami. "You are quite strong, Yamamoto. Thank you for giving me the chance to test my new powers. Stay alive as long as you can, and watch me ascend to the world's throne."

"Kami, how much reiatsu do you have, Ichigo?" Rukia demanded as she continued her healing spell, restoring the Vizard's reserves. She was being assisted by Hachigen, who was by far more familiar with Vizard reiatsu, and between them Ichigo's reiatsu was returning, but had yet to reach full.

"I dunno, a lot?" Ichigo asked. "It takes me a while to really run low…"

The others watched in fascination as Ichigo's Bankai coat regenerated itself as Ichigo regained his strength. "What's up with the coat, Ichigo?" Renji asked.

Ichigo glanced down at where the coat was growing down his left arm. He hadn't had a lot left after clashing with Aizen – scraps of his right sleeve, and his leggings were all that remained. "It's part of my Bankai. It acts as armor. Depending on how much reiatsu I have left, it can take a lot of damage. I guess I was down to about half, maybe a third of my reiatsu…"

All the remaining taicho exchanged glances at hearing that – before being healed, Ichigo had still easily had taicho-levels of reiatsu. "No wonder Kenpachi likes fighting him," was Kyōraku's sole comment.

"We've seen you with the mask, but does your Resurrección take you higher than that?" Shinji heard himself asking, though he felt rather detached and ready to faint. If anyone asked, he was ready to blame it on his previous injury from Aizen.

"Yeah, a lot higher."

"What ARE you?" Hiyori demanded. "That's insane! How long have you been a Shinigami?"

"He's been a Shinigami for about a year," Rukia answered with a smirk, turning her head to look over her shoulder at Hiyori.

"And I'm human," Ichigo stated firmly. "Though I suppose part of my high levels of reiatsu are due to Dad…"

"That's right," Isshin agreed. "That's what you get for having an ex-taicho for a father."

Soifon just stared at the younger Kurosaki. That, that nightmare was with only HALF of his power available to him? She was beyond fear. All she could do was stare in stunned disbelief.

That expression was quickly echoed by everyone else facing southwards. "What?" Ichigo questioned. "I mean, I know it's impressive, and I certainly didn't expect my Dad to be a Shinigami, but…"

"Ichigo… look behind you," Rukia whispered, her tone one of utter horror.

He did, just in time to see Yamamoto fall. "No way…"

"Yama-jii… defeated?" Kyōraku breathed. "How?"

"I don't know," Ukitake replied, drawing his own Sōgyo no Kotowari. "But he won't live to regret it. Shunsui! Urahara! Hachigen! Bakudō plan!"

The four of them leapt out with the speed of Shunpo, followed at a short distance by Ichigo. Ichigo had not been fully replenished – his Bankai coat still had a few parts of its sleeves and the upper part of its chest missing – but hopefully, it would be enough.

"Oh?" Aizen queried loftily. "What's this?"

Hachigen swiftly passed his hand over his face, palm inwards as he summoned his mask, a more colorful one than most of the other Vizard, Ichigo observed. The mask had curved tusks from either side of its mouth, which oddly enough had muscle-red "gums" around the teeth. The mask also had goggle eyes, with red on the outside and orange inside, and yellow feather-like spikes around the outside of the mask, resembling a Native American headdress. But his preoccupation with the mask vanished as soon as he heard the Vizard's spell: "Bakudō 99: Bankin! First song: Seiryū!"

An enormous amount of spiritual wrappings erupted from behind Hachigen, rushing towards Aizen at high speed. Aizen attempted to dodge, but… "Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō!" Ukitake and Kyōraku called out together, and the enemy was heavily surprised to find himself frozen in place by twelve bars of light that struck him in the midsection.

A moment later, the spirit fabric from Hachigen's Bakudō practically collided with Aizen, promptly wrapping him up several times over, but leaving the twin Rikujōkōrō spells alone.

"Second song: Hyakurensan!"

One moment, there was nothing in the air around Aizen. The next, Ichigo could hardly see Aizen through the cloud of metal bolts that promptly stabbed into the Hōgyoku-powered Shinigami. Wow. Brutal.

But oh so fitting, Cazador commented with a satisfied grin.

"Final song: Bankin Taihō!"

It was the shadow that suddenly appeared above Ichigo that alerted him that perhaps he should never piss off the good-natured Kidō master. But to Ichigo's surprise, Aizen let loose a scream of rage, and he could see the metal bolts popping out, the fabric was tearing, the bars of light were cracking!

"Hit him with another Bakudō!" he yelled to Urahara, who didn't appear to hear him. "Hurry!" Ichigo tried, yelling towards Hachigen, but he too gave no reaction.

Oh. Oh, no. Aizen's used another illusion on them! Ichigo rushed in, spinning Tensa Zangetsu on his finger as he charged a Getsuga as fast as he could, using his left hand to pull on his Adjuchas mask, his eyes on the target.

The enormous sealing cube meant to pin Aizen to the ground, helpless, began to fall, none of them noticing Ichigo's new peril, nor Aizen's progress towards escape.

And then all the Bakudō that had been placed on the man exploded outwards, vanishing into the air, and Ichigo felt Aizen's reiatsu, strange and alien-feeling from the Hōgyoku's influence and his evolutions, skyrocket. But still, his comrades noticed nothing!

Aizen and Ichigo spent a precious moment looking at each other, one smug, the other horrified, before both Shunpo-ed out of range of Hachigen's Bakudō. Aizen's eyes had lost their iris and eyebrows, but he otherwise looked no different from before.

Once they were hundreds of meters away from the others, Aizen turned around with a smirk. "So troublesome, to have to resort to a partial evolution to escape from there… the Hōgyoku wasn't ready for my next form yet. But, now I know that I can escape the highest levels of Bakudō, even layered and empowered by a pseudo-Arrancar."

"Even if Bakudō no longer works against you, I won't let you win and sacrifice everyone!" Ichigo growled.

"Is that so? Gin!"

A moment later, the other traitorous taicho appeared in a flicker of Shunpo next to Aizen. "Yes?"

"Open a Senkaimon. We're going to Soul Society. We'll create the new Ōken there while our foes rejoice having 'killed' us. My illusion should last until we have arrived in Soul Society."

He's going to sacrifice them all! Faces flashed in front of Ichigo's eyes, faces that belonged to people he knew, people he had sworn to protect! Yuzu, Karin… Tatsuki… Mizuiro… Keigo… Everyone… Ichigo's reiatsu manifested around him, flaring as a seething black-and-crimson Getsuga-like aura around him. Tendrils of his reiatsu writhed in the air under Ichigo's rage, his Hollow mask and Shinigami blade thrumming with power. "Didn't you hear me, Aizen?" he hissed. "I won't let you."

Aizen smiled at the human Vizard before him. "And how do you plan to stop me? You cannot be more skilled in Bakudō than a Hollowified fukutaicho of the Kidō Corps so you cannot seal me. You cannot physically subdue me, as the Hōgyoku will regenerate all my wounds. You have never killed, am I correct? You have never taken a life. To take it is no small matter, Kurosaki Ichigo. You, as all humans do, will hesitate before the final stroke. It is only natural, for as a thinking human being, taking the life of someone else is akin to taking your own. It harms your very soul, your mind, your body. And it is at that hesitation that I will kill you. So if you cannot seal me, cannot subdue me, and cannot kill me, how will you stop me?"

"Maybe you're right," Ichigo admitted. "Maybe every human would hesitate." He began to smirk behind the mask. "Lucky for me, I'm not just human. Tell me, have you ever seen a Hollow hesitate?"

Aizen blinked, and then instinctively dodged the Cero that erupted from Ichigo's fingertips. The Cero traveled for another hundred meters before striking a building, which promptly exploded in all directions. "Impressive, Ichigo…"

"Cero!"

Once again, Aizen evaded, and another building was reduced to flying remnants of metal, stone and glass. He ignored them – nothing without reiatsu could hurt him now. "What do you hope to achieve by doing this?"

"Tell me, Aizen… do your illusions account for being struck by rubble after you're dead?"

This must be what getting drunk feels like, Ichigo thought to himself with a wild smirk upon seeing Aizen's eyes, widened in shock.

Drunk at a stripper bar with the best one dancing for ya, Cazador amended, sharing Ichigo's fierce joy at having spoiled Aizen's illusion.

It took only a moment for Aizen's face to morph into a decidedly angrier look, one that made the Vizard begin to realize that perhaps taunting him might not have been the best idea. "Are you happy, Ichigo?" Aizen asked with a dangerous tone. "Do not forget, even if they realize that they are in an illusion, they cannot break it. Did you think that you could regain your allies so easily? You are alone, Kurosaki Ichigo. If you believe you can stop me, then come and try!"

Just then, a Senkaimon opened, and a Hell Butterfly, black as pitch, flew out, leading a figure that made everyone in the area freeze in surprise. The figure was decidedly female, her black hair tied back in a bun held by a white and very light blue cloth. She wore the standard Shinigami robes, along with an armband on her left arm that pronounced her a fukutaicho, though Ichigo could not make out the division symbol from his position.

But perhaps most prominent was her taken-aback, half-fearful expression as the Senkaimon closed behind her. "Aizen-taicho?