Disillusionment

Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō… Ichigo wasn't sure what to think. Why was it called "Saigo" (Final)? Why did his Zanpakuto seem so reluctant to discuss it? Ichigo looked at the pair of spirits that inhabited his Inner World. Even as he opened his mouth to speak, Tensa Zangetsu cut him off.

"Please, Ichigo… Do not ask of the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō. It is not something I can teach you, nor would I want to if I could. It comes with a terrible price."

Ichigo shut his mouth and merely nodded. "So then, let's get started on the training."

"But what are you planning to train in?" Tensa Zangetsu pointed out.

"We'll need to overwhelm him from the start," Cazador pointed out. "Otherwise he'll just evolve again thanks to that freaking god-mode stone. We need to be able to take him out before that can happen."

The Vizard nodded his agreement. "Speed and strength, then. Reflexes."

"The Getsuga Tenshō."

"Your Hollow powers, especially regeneration, Cero, and Hierro."

"With any luck, we can take him out in one hit," Ichigo suggested optimistically. "Then there's no chance of being affected by Kyōka Suigetsu. I wonder why he never tried to capture me in its effect… He should have resealed his Zanpakuto and tricked me into watching its release… Is he unable to control his reiatsu enough thanks to his evolutions?"

"Maybe," Cazador murmured thoughtfully. "You think that his rapid changes in reiatsu have changed Kyōka Suigetsu into being a permanent release, like Zangetsu is for you, or that blade of Kenpachi's?"

"Maybe… I mean, all of us have such incredibly large reiatsu, but his just keeps getting bigger and weirder. If he can't suppress it enough to reseal Kyōka Suigetsu…"

Tensa Zangetsu looked at his wielder piercingly. "There's something else troubling you." It was not a question.

Ichigo's lips twisted into an unsure expression. "I'm… there's just something off. All I felt from Aizen's sword was solitude. And why would he destroy the Kōtotsu? He must've known that I didn't know how to open a Senkaimon. When would I have learned? I would've had to continue on with someone else, and the only one nearby who could and would do it at that time would be Urahara or Dad, both of whom knew about the implications of there being no Kōtotsu. When I think about that, and how he hasn't tried to hit me with an illusion, I can't help but think that he wants me to reach his level, to see things from the same viewpoint as him."

"What're you getting at?"

"I don't know." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and rested it on the back of his neck. "I mean, why would he want me to be as strong as him? I feel like, like…"

"You feel as though he is looking for someone to kill him at his strongest in combat," Tensa Zangetsu finished.

Ichigo paused and looked up at his Zanpakuto spirit before nodding. "Yeah. Assisted suicide."

"Hold on," Cazador asked. "Are you saying you think that Aizen wants you to kill him?"

"Think on it, Cazador de la Luna. Why else would he do so much, give so much opportunity, means and motive to Ichigo? By his own admission, he's arranged for most of the experiences that forced Ichigo to grow stronger," the Bankai spirit pointed out. "The only one who has a reasonable chance of defeating Aizen at his strongest is Ichigo, thanks his Vizard abilities and his human nature. Why, then, would Aizen allow Ichigo to grow at all?"

"I dunno, he did say that he considered Ichigo an experiment on how far he could grow," Cazador replied back sarcastically. "Why does this even matter? We need to get strong enough to kill him anyway. If he's stupid enough to want us to kill him, even better."

"You're right," Ichigo concurred after a moment. "So how are we going to train all that?"

"By giving you an opponent that outclasses you in every way." Tensa Zangetsu placed his hand on Cazador de la Luna's shoulder. "Prepare yourself, Ichigo. We have precious little time to shatter any concept of limits you might have, and forge you into a true Kami of war." Before Ichigo's eyes, they began to merge once more to create the fusion spirit that he'd fought not even a day ago.

Cazador laughed as he rejoined the other half of Ichigo's power. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

"I don't doubt that for a minute." Well, this is going to hurt. Ichigo readied his blade and pulled on his Adjuchas mask, preparing for the fight of his life.

The fusion spirit opened his eyes, locking his mismatched Hollow amber and Zanpakuto blue eyes with Ichigo's Vizard ones. "Come, Ichigo!"

"Urgh…" Arisawa Tatsuki unsteadily got up, holding her head. Her senses felt as though there were a fog over them, but she knew that something wasn't quite right. She looked around slowly, not wanting to risk getting dizzy. She was inside her classroom with the rest of her classmates. Right… there was class today… and then that unexpected radio announcement… Tatsuki shook her head as the memories came back to her. The teachers had kept them inside after the emergency announcement had come through, in an effort to protect the students from what was most likely a crazy town trying to reach a spot to safely endure that strange airborne contagion. "That airborne whatever sure packs a punch."

"You're telling me," another voice groaned. Turning around, Tatsuki found Asano Keigo stumbling to his feet, also holding his head like he had a headache. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, idiot."

Keigo looked around the room briefly, his eyes lingering on Kojima Mizuiro momentarily before continuing. "Ah… everyone's ok…"

"We've got bigger problems, Asano," Tatsuki interrupted, looking out the window. "Look outside."

"Eh?" Keigo made his way over to Tatsuki, carefully stepping over the collapsed Honshō Chizuru, and looked outside. It took him a moment or two to realize the problem, but when he did… "EH? Why are there mountains outside? Karakura doesn't have mountains!"

"I don't know," Tatsuki answered quickly, trying to cut him off before he gave her a worse headache. "I think the whole town's been somehow transported."

"And where's Ichigo? And Chad, and Inoue, and Ishida?" Keigo went on.

"They weren't here before the whole contagion thing, Asano…" Tatsuki rubbed her eyes and the bridge of her nose in rising frustration. Though that is a very, very good question. Where are they? The four of them, being out at once means something very big, spiritually, is going on.

"D'ya think this whole problem has to do with Ichigo? And what most people can't see?"

Tatsuki whirled around in shock, turning to Keigo with wide eyes. "H-H-How did you know that?"

Keigo tapped his head with one hand. "I can see too, you know. I know that sometimes I can see Ichigo in strange black robes, and I pass this one afro guy dressed the same way that no one else can see almost every day on my way to school. I've even played host for a couple of Ichigo's friends…" He shivered.

"Which ones?" Tatsuki couldn't help but ask.

"A bald-headed guy named Ikkaku, and a beauty-obsessed one named Yumichika," Keigo answered quickly. "And to make it worse, my sister likes that Ikkaku! And I had to put up with so much, and they extorted me, and…" His voice was getting whinier by the second.

"Shut up, Asano." I don't know them… but it sounds like Asano's got a basic idea of what's going on. "Yeah, I think Ichigo's at the heart of this."

"What should we do?" Keigo was back to being serious.

Tatsuki looked out the window again to hide her uncertainty. "I… Let's get a radio," she decided. "Hopefully we can find out what's going on from the radio stations, if they're awake enough to broadcast."

Keigo frowned thoughtfully. "We should be able to get one from the principal's office."

"You go get it," Tatsuki ordered. "I'm going to try to call Orihime."

She pulled out her phone and made her call, but was disappointed to be immediately connected to her best friend's answering machine. Her phone is turned off, or out of reach… Tatsuki tried again with Ichigo's cell, but that too failed. In frustration, she called Ichigo's home, and to her relief, that rang and was connected.

A very much awake voice answered the call a few rings later. "Kurosaki residence, this is Karin."

"Karin!" Tatsuki seized. "Man am I glad to hear someone else out there. But I'm in a bit of a hurry, is Ichigo there?"

"No," came the answer. "He's been gone a while, though. But Dad's missing too."

"Huh?" That threw Tatsuki for a loop. Why would…? "Any idea why?"

"Not a clue." Karin's voice gave the impression that she was just as confused as Tatsuki was. "I'm sure he'll turn up, but I'm here with Yuzu, and here's where we'll stay. Maybe he just went out to get something, or maybe there was an injury he needed to go tend."

That seemed like a plausible explanation to Tatsuki – Kurosaki Isshin was a doctor, and given today's fiasco, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that the hospital had called him in for some extra hands to help out. "Alright. Thanks for the update, I'll let you know if I see Ichigo or your dad."

"Thanks."

Tatsuki hung up the phone, slowly putting it back in her pocket as she tried to figure out what was going on. But she was quickly distracted when she heard another almost inaudible groan. She helped Kojima Mizuiro up, and then Chizuru awoke as well.

A few minutes later… "So, to summarize, you're pretty sure the whole town's been transported because there are now mountains surrounding the whole town. Next, you think whoever let out the airborne contagion that infected the whole town has something to do with it, and you're positive that somehow, Ichigo's involved," Mizuiro repeated. "Along with Inoue-san, Ishida-san, and Chad."

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but…"

"Mizuiro!" Keigo cried out happily that his friend was among the alert. "I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Ah, hello again, Asano-san," Mizuiro responded politely. "It's good to see you as well."

"Ah! Why do you call me 'Asano-san'?" Keigo exclaimed dramatically. "I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"Of course, Asano-san."

Keigo glomped onto Mizuiro's leg, tears streaming down his face. "Why?"

But he was promptly kicked in the face by Tatsuki, making him roll backwards a meter or so. "Keep it down, Asano."

Wiping his theatrical tears aside and standing up without a mark on him, Keigo nodded and once more adopted a serious expression. "I've got the radio. Let's see if we can find anything."

Aizen made his way through the Rukongai without a care, with Gin following closely behind. Despite Aizen's hints, Gin still couldn't figure out who his former taicho was looking for. The Vizard, who knew the same difficulties as Ichigo of having undergone Hollowification, had remained in the living world. The same applied to Ichigo's father, his teachers Urahara and Yoruichi, and the humans with strange abilities that formed Ichigo's team.

The Shinigami forces that had come to defend the fake Karakura had returned to the Seireitei, which was in the general direction that Aizen was leading him, Gin supposed. But who among the Shinigami would Ichigo be especially interested in protecting? Kuchiki Rukia-chan, maybe? He did invade Seireitei just to save her… Gin shook his head lightly, dismissing the idea. If Aizen wanted her, then we would have taken her before they left. But who?

Looking around for some hint, Gin couldn't help but marvel at the stupidity of the Shinigami in general. There they were, two extremely dangerous intruders with taicho-level skills or higher, and not one of the people around them knew they were traitors. Hell, he'd been approached by a couple of people who recognized him, and been greeted warmly, and even been asked if his outfit was the new taicho uniform. Aizen, I could have expected to go unrecognized. He looks a lot different without his glasses, and with his new evolutions. But me? Why'd they not tell the citizens of Rukongai? Ah well, their loss.

Then Aizen stopped, and smiled. "There you are."

Gin's curiosity could not be contained, and he peered around his boss. What he saw, however, left him dumbfounded. It took him a moment, but he finally managed to get his thoughts together, and suddenly it all connected. "Aizen-taicho, you… You really did plan for every possibility, didn't you?"

"Of course."

Isshin watched his son worriedly – he was sleeping as much as he could to make his reiatsu last as long as possible, but every time he awoke he could not help but hope that Ichigo was finished in his Inner World. Every time, he was mildly disappointed.

Isshin winced as Ichigo's body coughed up more blood, and his left arm split open seemingly of its own accord. This was hardly unusual, but it was still emotionally agonizing for Isshin to watch his son motionlessly, silently take his injuries. Although Isshin knew better, Ichigo's actions – or rather, non-reactions – heavily resembled those of spiritually broken men, men who could not find it in themselves to care about their own well-being any longer.

At least he seems to be getting some good training in – it's not like he was weak before, and fighting someone who can do this to him will make him unstoppable. Isshin nodded to himself grimly. "Hurry, Ichigo. Everyone's counting on you!"

Meanwhile, in his Inner World, Ichigo breathed heavily as he collapsed to one knee on the skyscraper he'd been knocked into and halfway through, his mask and Resurrección crumbling around him. His Bankai coat had once again been reduced to scraps, reflecting Ichigo's exhaustion and state of heavy reiatsu depletion. The white vest that Ichigo donned when not in his Resurrección had a large pitch black circle right where Ichigo's Hollow hole had been mere moments ago, not that Ichigo knew this – he was somewhat preoccupied with the necessity of getting enough air. Even if he had seen it, he would not have known what it meant, so it mattered little.

His left arm had a large gash right down the bicep, from when Tensa Zangetsu had struck with his blade just before using Cero to utterly obliterate the mask. No other wounds were on his body, but that did not mean that they had not been delivered – Ichigo was getting faster in his regeneration, and the broken arms and ribs, the hundreds of cuts and bruises, none of them had so much as a mark remaining.

Blood flowed steadily from the wound onto the skyscraper, but it was ignored. Only one thing was going through Ichigo's head right now: Ichigo hadn't managed a single blow yet. Like Tensa Zangetsu had said weeks ago, the combined form outclassed him in every way.

"Get up, Ichigo."

His breathing slightly steadied from his precious moments of recovery, Ichigo got to his feet slowly, but determination shone in his eyes and face. "I'll beat you," he swore.

"Come and prove it, then!" the manifestation of Ichigo's powers demanded, before rushing at his wielder.

"Hado 4: Byakurai!" Ichigo screamed, his Bankai already moving to deflect Tensa Zangetsu's incoming counterstrike, the spirit having dodged with absurd ease almost before the spell had fired.

Tensa Zangetsu's expression didn't change even as he shifted the angle of his strike to lock blades with his wielder. "Getsuga Tenshō."

Knowing he didn't have the reiatsu or strength left to weather such an attack, especially at such point-blank range, Ichigo Shunpo-ed to the side, reflexively firing a silent Getsuga of his own at the fusion spirit. He was so very tired, but Ichigo couldn't give up! His town was counting on him, and he'd be damned if he let them die just because his arms and his legs burned like molten rock!

A thought occurred to him then, one that Ichigo felt should probably be addressed. "Oi! Got a question for ya!"

Tensa Zangetsu paused, lowering his blade for a moment. "What is it, Ichigo?"

"Well, I'm about out of reiatsu, right?" Ichigo indicated his scraps of a Bankai remaining.

"Yes."

"And you've done this several times before in this training?"

"That is also true."

"So, why haven't I needed to eat anything to regain my reiatsu?"

"This is your Inner World, Ichigo. Reiatsu used here remains in your soul, rather than outside it. With some time and rest, it will return to you."

"What about outside? How is my developing here going to affect me out there?"

"Your spiritual body reflects your appearance here, and vice versa. As you grow stronger here in your Inner World, your body does as well," Tensa Zangetsu explained. "You are a spirit, Ichigo. Is it so odd that as your spirit changes and develops, its form does as well?"

"I suppose not."

"Now then, enough talk. Raise your blade, Ichigo! You have far yet to go before you can tear the very skies asunder with me!"

In the short time that conversation had taken place, Ichigo had begun to feel a little stronger as his reiatsu returned, but he knew that he still had nowhere near half of his normal reserves. Even so, Ichigo knew he had no choice but to fight. Ichigo raised his Bankai blade and with a thought, lengthened the chain on its hilt and wrapped it around his arm and shoulder. Now, even if his arm and hand felt weak enough to give out, he would not, could not drop it. Preparations made, Ichigo looked at the fusion spirit with utter determination. "Bring it, Tensa Zangetsu, Cazador de la Luna!"

"Let me try!" Tatsuki shoved Keigo out of the way and fiddled with the dial for the radio they'd commandeered from the principal's office. No one else had awoken yet, to their knowledge, but they had Chizuru standing watch from the doorway just in case anyone stepped into the school corridors. Much to everyone's frustration, despite having searched for several minutes, not a single radio station was broadcasting at the moment.

"This doesn't make sense," Mizuiro commented with a shake of his head. "How is it that we're the only ones awake? Along with Ichigo's family, I mean," he added.

"I think you've hit the point on the head. Ichigo," Tatsuki answered grimly. She really didn't want to be the one to explain to Mizuiro the likelihood that he had somehow gained enough spiritual awareness to resist what had actually put them to sleep. It would be far too long, with no way to prove it, and there was too much of a chance the others would wake up.

Keigo nodded in agreement. "So far, everyone awake has some sort of connection to him. It's like he's some sort of super-human who provides immunity to his friends! We should kidnap him and see if he's the cure for cancer or something!" Tatsuki didn't even look at him as she whacked him upside the head, returning Keigo to a more serious mood.

Mizuiro frowned, ignoring Keigo's antics. "You're one of Ichigo's best friends, Arisawa. Keigo and I spend time with him almost every day at school. What about Honshō?"

"Good question. Chizuru?" Tatsuki called out. "Have you spent much time with Ichigo lately?"

"Nope! Besides, you know I have eyes only for Orihime," the lesbian responded, poking her head back inside with a grin. She either completely ignored or completely missed Tatsuki's grinding her teeth together at her.

"Maybe she's an exception?" Keigo suggested.

Mizuiro shrugged. "Maybe." Turning to Tatsuke, he looked pointedly at the radio. "I don't think we are going to find out anything from the radio stations, Arisawa."

She scowled, but knew that he was right. "So, what now?"

"Well, it's safe to say we won't learn anything here… how about we go explore a bit?" Mizuiro suggested. "Maybe check if the town's really been transported somewhere, see if we can find someone else who knows what's going on…"

"Shouldn't we stay here, though?" Chizuru asked hesitantly. "Our teachers and fellow students are here. What if they wake up while we're gone, or if something happens?"

"Let's split up, then," Keigo suggested. "I know someone who might know what's going on, if I can find him and if he's awake."

"So do I," Tatsuki admitted, thinking of Urahara. "How about this? Chizuru, you stay here and call us if something happens or if more people wake up. Asano and I will go check our sources, and Kojima, you go see what you can find out. We call Chizuru as soon as we find something, and she'll call us?"

The others nodded. Several minutes later, Tatsuki was staring open-mouthed at where the Urahara shop used to be. That's… that's not possible. "The shop is gone? What does this mean? Was it taken down or something?"

At the same time… "Afro-san! Afro-san!" Keigo yelled at the afro-haired Shinigami who was fast asleep on the roof of the building he usually perched upon while waiting for Hollows. "Wake up already!"

But the incompetent man would not wake up! Grumbling to himself, Keigo climbed up to the roof. "Stupid people who won't wake up even when they're supposed to be watching out for those monsters… making me risk my poor self to get up there… I ought to kick him."

But even as he prepared a good kick, Keigo's eye was caught by the sword on the Shinigami's waist. "Maybe it'll help if something happens? But what if one of those monsters comes by? But he's asleep, he wouldn't be able to help anyway!" His face was the very image of unsurety, but then he decided to compromise. "I'll carry him with me! That way if he wakes up he can explain, and if not the sword's there so we can use it!"

Mizuiro, meanwhile, had actually found someone awake, but wasn't sure that was a good thing. "Bohahaha! Spirits are always with you!" Don Kanonji exclaimed in his signature pose, his arms crossed over his chest and clutching the opposite shoulders.

It seemed like a silly question when he was sure what the response would be, but Mizuiro had to ask. "Don Kanonji, do you know what's going on here? Why is everyone still asleep, and why are there mountains around the city?"

"Hmmm…" To Mizuiro's surprise, it seemed the man was actually giving it some honest thought rather than just spitting out another catchphrase. "I was looking around the city myself, and the city seems to have been plucked right out of where it was and set down somewhere else. The roads end abruptly on the outskirts, and there are forests just beyond them. I'm positive spirits are involved."

The sad thing is, I'm beginning to think he's got a point, Mizuiro had to admit to himself. I don't know of any power that can just move an entire city in such a small span of time.

But what was perhaps a harder pill to swallow as that he didn't know anyone else better qualified to handle spiritual matters than the spirit enthusiast before him. "Don Kanonji…"

But Mizuiro was interrupted by an overwhelming feeling of terror! Something was coming, something whose very presence was triggering every survival instinct he had to run away, as fast as he possibly could! He looked up to warn the older man, only to see a grim look on his face as well.

"Yeah, kid. That's definitely a spirit, and it feels like a really bad one."

"Can you take care of it?" Mizuiro asked hopefully – Don Kanonji took care of spirits on TV, could he handle this one?

"I won't lie to you, kid. I don't know. Most of the spirits I deal with are small timers; I leave the big ones to the real professionals."

"Professionals?" Mizuiro seized on the word like it was a lifeline. "Like who?"

"Like other spirits. The Shinigami." Don Kanonji shook his head. "I really hope he knows what's going on and coming to help."

"He? Who?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Mizuiro's eyes were so wide that he half-worried they were going to fall right out of his head. "Ichigo?" he gasped.

"Yeah. If he doesn't turn up in time, I'll fight the spirit and try to buy some time. Kid, you need to round up anyone else that's awake and get as far away as you can, but don't leave Karakura unless you absolutely have to – I think we're in the spirit world. Who knows what could happen if you leave this island of the living world!"

Mizuiro's head was pounding, his mind trying to process everything he'd heard. It would be so easy to denounce Don Kanonji as a lunatic, but he had never sounded so sane, so serious and grim. And then, it all clicked in his head. That's why Ichigo's gone so often, why he has to leave class so often. Why even when he's here, he's staring off into space, why he sometimes jumps at nothing I could see or hear… Arisawa and Keigo suspect, if not know, that's why they think Ichigo's at the heart of this. He's a Shinigami, and he makes sure spirits don't kill and eat us. I bet Ishida-san and Chad are involved too, maybe even Inoue-san. Those four have been rather close lately.

It was as though he'd finally been given a key to open the door, to see the next level deeper in the world around him. "Come with me," Mizuiro urged. "You can protect everyone at the school! Just in case there are more spirits than just the one."

Don Kanonji paused – the kid had a point. He smiled. "You're getting it. Spirits are always with you! Alright, kid, I'm with you!"

As the two ran off, watching from a ways down the street, Aizen smiled. "Let's follow them, Gin. Let's see what kind of allies Kurosaki Ichigo has here. Perhaps killing one or two of them will hasten Ichigo's rise to power."

Meanwhile, Keigo and Tatsuki were both running as quickly as they could back to the school. Tatsuki had just gotten off the phone with Karin, who had also felt that pulse of reiatsu and was hiding with Yuzu. With that taken care of, the only thing left for Tatsuki to do was go back to the school and hopefully get whoever she could out before whatever was coming got to them. Chizuru had already been called and was working on waking up as many people as she could by any means necessary.

The pressure from Aizen's reiatsu had woken up the afro-haired guy on Keigo's back, so now both of them were running to the school. "What's going on, Afro-san?" Keigo demanded.

"I don't know! And my name is Kurumadani Zennosuke, not 'Afro-san!'" Zennosuke replied heatedly. He had given up on ignoring Keigo – which was how he'd dealt with the unusually spiritually aware human before – in favor of running from whatever monster was making the air around him feel so heavy and thick with reiatsu.

"How can you not know?"

"Well, apparently no one told me! I'm not exactly a taicho! I'm just a guy stationed here to purify Hollows and send newly dead souls to Soul Society!"

"WHAT? You're just a grunt?"

"Oi!" Zennosuke protested. "I'm not just a grunt!"

"What else do you call someone who doesn't know anything important and is given a low-level task?" Keigo screeched.

"Purifying Hollows is not a low-level task! It's a very important duty!" Zennosuke replied heatedly.

"If you're so strong, why don't you go 'purify' whatever's chasing us then?"

A bead of sweat ran down Zennosuke's face as Keigo looked at him expectantly. He knew perfectly well that he couldn't defeat the monster chasing them. "I… can't…" he bit out reluctantly. "It's too strong, stronger than anything I've ever known. The best I could do is delay it, and not for long."

Seeing the man's ashamed face, Keigo took pity and stopped yelling. "Well, can you call for backup or something?"

Zennosuke's face lit up. "That's a great idea!" Reaching into his shihakusho, he pulled out what looked like a cell phone, pressing a few numbers. "This is Kurumadani Zennosuke, stationed in the living world at Karakura Town. I'm with a spiritually aware human, and there is an enormous, strange-feeling reiatsu nearby." There was a short pause. "Wait, what do you mean, you're registering my call as being in Soul Society?" There was a much longer pause there, but though Keigo was paying close attention, he couldn't make out what the other end of the line was saying. "How come no one told me?" A few long seconds later, Zennosuke slumped. "Alright, fine. But there's still that reiatsu, and it's definitely coming closer… Yes, I'm sure that it's not a Shinigami taicho! Describe it? It's at least taicho-level, very heavy, alien-feeling, and not Shinigami and not Hollow! That means it's outside my range of skills and I need some backup!" Another several seconds later, Zennosuke screamed into the phone, "Yes, I'm very sure it's at least taicho-level! I'd stake my Zanpakuto on it! Just get someone out here!" Another few seconds later, he clipped out, "Thank you. Bye."

"So?" Keigo couldn't help but ask as the Shinigami tucked his phone back into his shihakusho.

"Well, someone's on their way," Zennosuke began. "But you're never going to believe the rest. Let's meet with your other spiritually aware friends and I'll explain what I can. I'd rather not tell the story twice."

Now that he'd delivered his old sensei, Yamamoto, to the tender care of Squad 4, Kyōraku walked slowly to the barracks of his own division pensively. They hadn't returned Karakura to the living world yet, leaving that to Urahara – after all, no one really knew if there would be any side effects that he needed to take care of, and the man was understandably busy looking for the Hōgyoku that Aizen had stolen. The last thing anyone needed was for a Hollow to get that aggravatingly powerful jewel.

Ukitake was right next to him, also deep in thought. "Penny for your thoughts?" he offered.

"I'm just worried… Ichigo's killed Aizen, a feat that even we couldn't accomplish. But he's an incredibly powerful combatant, with Hollow powers to boot, and he's not associated with us. What is the Central 46 going to do when they're reinstated? It'd be a poor thank you to force decisions on him after what he's done for us," Kyōraku explained.

"True," Ukitake agreed.

"And I'm wondering how the fight in Hueco Mundo's gone, why they haven't returned yet."

"Another good question."

"Not to mention, Gin's still out there somewhere."

"Sir!" a Squad 12 member sprinted up to him, dressed in the researcher's outfit that Kurotsuchi Mayuri-taicho had insisted on. "Kyōraku-taicho! Aizen is in Soul Society with Gin!"

"What?" Kyōraku exclaimed, shocked. "How do you know? And where is he now? Tell me everything!"

"Per Kurotsuchi-taicho's instructions before leaving, Squad 12 has been monitoring the Karakura replica, keeping track of reiatsu and such," the messenger explained quickly. "We gathered all the information we could on former taicho Aizen's reiatsu as the battle went on, until we could no longer detect it. However, we just received a call from Kurumadani Zennosuke, the replacement for Kuchiki Rukia stationed in the real Karakura, who has reported an extremely large, 'at least taicho-level' reiatsu of unknown origin. Per standard policy, we checked using sensors we left in the real Karakura Town, and detected former taicho Gin. It was then that another of our researchers found strange readings from the last few minutes the taicho were in the Karakura replica, and they matched the strange readings near Gin in the real Karakura. Sir, Aizen is there, right now!"

"Oh Kami…" Ukitake breathed. "He must have used another illusion on us to make us believe Ichigo had finished him off…"

Kyōraku tilted his head to the sky. "Nanao!"

As though her name was all that was required to summon her, Kyōraku's fukutaicho appeared in a flicker of Shunpo. "On it." Nanao's blue eyes were narrowed in seriousness behind her glasses as she pulled a small jar of black powder out of her shihakusho. Blazingly fast, Nanao drew several symbols on her arms, hands and the ground using the powder before throwing her arms up, generating a rectangular box of light. "Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line." Root-like tendrils of light spread from the box as Nanao made a few movements with her hands, focusing on all the fukutaicho and taicho in Soul Society. "Form a circle and fly through the heavens! Bakudō 77: Tenteikūra!" The tendrils shot out, forming a huge network that would transmit what Kyōraku had to say to everyone the spell had focused on.

"This is Kyōraku Shunsui, taicho of Squad 8, and acting soutaicho due to Yamamoto-soutaicho's incapacitation at the hands of Aizen. Aizen is alive, and he is in the real Karakura right now, with Gin! All fukutaicho, all taicho, travel as fast as you can to the real Karakura!"

Message delivered, he nodded at Nanao, who dropped the Bakudō. Then, in a unified display of Shunpo, both taicho and Nanao all disappeared at once.

Ichigo opened his eyes for the first time in almost three months. Blinking back his longer hair as it dangled somewhat in front of his eyes, he looked at his father, who was looking extremely exhausted, barely able to sit up. "I'm back."

"About… time…" Isshin breathed, disengaging his technique, letting the walls of the Kōryū flow once more. "Did you… get it?"

Ichigo ignored the question in favor of getting up and stretching his legs. He took barely a moment to rip off the right sleeve of his Bankai coat before channeling reiatsu into Tensa Zangetsu's chain, allowing the chain on the end of it to extend and wrap its way up his arm, leaving a length of chain dangling from his shoulder. That done, Ichigo channeled more reiatsu into Tensa Zangetsu's hilt, and before Isshin's astounded eyes, the blade oozed a black substance over Ichigo's hand, creating an obsidian glove.

Apparently finished, Ichigo glanced at his father. "C'mon, Dad. It's time." Without waiting for an answer, he easily reached down and picked up his father, carrying him under his left arm, before vanishing and reappearing at the end of the Senkaimon, at the entrance to Soul Society. Without a second thought, he stepped through.

Ichigo took a deep breath of the reiryoku-filled air of Soul Society, relishing the taste of fresh air entering lungs that had been breathing the stale air of the Dangai for three months. It was astounding, Ichigo mused, to realize that after that training, he had even more monstrous reserves of reiatsu at his disposal. It's quite convenient that Hollows can take energy from their surroundings, Ichigo thought in satisfaction as he felt the vestiges of Hollow power within him consume some of the reiryoku in the air. Otherwise, I'd be fighting Aizen with a handicap.

"Now then, where's Karakura…?" Ichigo reached out with his senses and nodded grimly. "Yeah, over there. And Aizen's there too, with Gin." He vanished again, using Shunpo to carry him at speeds that three months condensed into one hour ago he'd never dreamed were possible.

He arrived in front of his high school, Karakura High, and to his surprise, Aizen was approaching a few people he recognized – Keigo, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, and Don Kanonji, along with that afro-haired Shinigami who hadn't believed him to be a Substitute Shinigami shortly after returning from his mission to rescue Rukia. They seemed to be paralyzed by Aizen's power, and if Ichigo's newly-improved sensing abilities were any judge, if they got much closer they would die.

Ichigo's lips twisted angrily, and dropping his father, he Shunpo-ed ahead to be between his enemy and his friends. "You're not getting them, Aizen," he said calmly, but firmly, holding Tensa Zangetsu at the ready.

"Ah, you're here," Aizen greeted with a smile. "Excellent."

"I-I-Ichigo?" Keigo stammered in a low voice. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You guys need to get out of here," Ichigo urged. "This is about to become ground zero."

"We can't!" Tatsuki protested. "The whole school is full of people! I bet most of them can't even move right now!"

She's right. We need to move the battle elsewhere. "Let's take this somewhere else, then," Ichigo suggested to his nemesis. "Then you can test your new power on me knowing I'm fighting my hardest."

"An interesting proposal. Allow me to present a counter-offer. You allow me to create the Ōken, and I will spare any ten humans of your choice."

"And what happens if I don't?"

"Well, then you'll have to say goodbye to someone you care very much for," Aizen replied, still smiling as he stepped aside to reveal Gin holding his blade at the neck of…

Ichigo gasped, his heart seeming to have stopped beating in shock. "Mom?"

The unquestionable form of Kurosaki Masaki, looking no different from the day she'd died several years ago, looked at her son, all grown up but there was no mistaking the hair, the face, the eyes of her baby boy. "Ichigo?"