Impressions

Standing in the Taicho Assembly Hall, various taicho began coming in and lining up in their customary places in two lines facing each other. However, there were several exceptions for this meeting. Kyōraku Shunsui, taicho of the 8th Division, instead stood apart from the two lines, standing at the head of the assembly where Yamamoto-sōtaicho normally addressed his troops. In his place stood his fukutaicho, Ise Nanao.

Similarly, Kira-fukutaicho stood in place for 3rd Division, Hisagi-fukutaicho for the 9th Division, and Sasakibe-fukutaicho for 1st Division. The 5th Division stood unrepresented, as both its former taicho, Aizen Sōsuke, and its current fukutaicho, Hinamori Momo, were dead and incapacitated respectively.

Once everyone arrived, Kyōraku nodded. "As acting sōtaicho, I call this meeting to order. Unohana-taicho, report."

"Hinamori-fukutaicho will make a full recovery in the next few days," the healer began. "It appears she was knocked out with minimal force."

"And Yamamoto-sōtaicho?" Kyōraku had to fight not to call his sensei by his usual nickname, "Yama-jii". As the acting leader, with all the potential disasters just waiting for someone to step badly to go off, he stood in an unenviable position. He acted with the authority of his sensei, but he was not nearly so respected and had to fill the old man's shoes, so to speak, until Yama-jii could recover… His reputation worked against him, and so Kyōraku could not afford to act in his usual manner. He had to remain firm and serious, and make sure that everyone knew that he meant every word he said tonight. How troublesome… Maybe Nanao-chan will let me have more sake tonight…

"Yamamoto-sōtaicho suffered serious injuries from his fight with Aizen. His chest had been punctured by what appears to be Aizen's hand, grievously damaging his right lung. He also acquired minor burns from his own flames, though they were easy to heal. His reiatsu and blood were low, but it seems there was some first aid administered to keep his reiatsu levels up.

"Physically, he has been almost completely healed. Seventh Seat Yamada Hanatarō's Zanpakutō was extremely helpful in that endeavor, and I suggest that Ukitake-taicho request his service in the near future to determine if his illness can be alleviated in any way," Unohana finished with a hopeful smile.

"Noted. What of Gin and Tōsen?"

"Tōsen is merely exhausted. My medics are delaying his recovery by draining his reiatsu as it returns and keeping him under a sleep Kidō until he can be tried. Gin, however, suffered massive injury, and despite being near death summoned his Bankai. As a result, his strained his body and reiatsu even further, and whether he will heal completely is still unknown. Given the state of Gin's reiatsu, it was unwise to use traditional healing Kidō on him. As a result, we were forced to rely almost entirely on Yamada's Zanpakutō, which healed the body directly rather than restoring the subject's reiatsu."

"An interesting ability," Kurotsuchi observed. "And quite suited to your division. One must wonder why he has not risen in rank."

Unohana merely smiled slightly at the man. "He requires more experience, Kurotsuchi-taicho, and has little confidence in his ability to defend himself. It will come in time."

Kyōraku nodded. It was good to have such promising Shinigami in the ranks, especially the healing division of the Gotei 13. "Soifon-taicho. I know you have assigned some of your Onimitsukidō to monitor the Kurosaki family. What have you gleaned so far?"

"Nothing from them," Soifon answered truthfully. "They will report back in two days. However, I overheard a private conversation between Kurosaki Ichigo and the manifestations of his Bankai spirit and his Inner Hollow before he returned to his family."

Murmurs of interest arose, with all the taicho looking at her interestedly. Soifon had to hide a smirk – she was damn good at her job. "Tensa Zangetsu, Kurosaki's Bankai, takes the form of a young man with mid-length dark hair. He called Kurosaki 'extremely overstressed' and advised him to take a vacation. Kurosaki's Hollow is largely identical to Kurosaki himself, save for being much paler and having a mask fragment on his forehead. He too seemed concerned about Kurosaki's mental state, and suggested the vacation be to a beach in order to partake in typical male teenage actions."

"And Kurosaki himself?" Byakuya asked.

Soifon frowned. The information she was about to relay was important enough that it could not be left out, but would remind everyone that Kurosaki was human and quite young at that. "He expressed a desire to 'feel like a teenager again, rather than a war veteran.' He also repeatedly verbalized his worry concerning his reiatsu accidentally harming his family, specifically his mother."

There was silence for a few moments. "I'd forgotten," Ukitake murmured, "that he was so young."

"It is a shame," Komamura declared somberly, "that we had to rely on a child to kill our foe for us."

"Why was Kurosaki's mother even there?" Hitsugaya asked quietly.

"Simple," Kurotsuchi answered the young taicho in a dismissive manner. "Aizen had hoped to gain a psychological advantage over Kurosaki Ichigo."

"She was killed and eaten by the Grand Fisher several years ago when Kurosaki was nine years old," Soifon contributed. "It's likely that Aizen wanted to use her as a deterrent, and possibly to persuade Kurosaki to join him."

Kyōraku frowned. Soifon's last sentence had planted an idea in his head. One way or another, at least one taicho spot needed to be filled, and that was Aizen's. Kurosaki Ichigo had killed Aizen in one-on-one combat, in full view of all the taicho and fukutaicho that were able in Soul Society at the time. While it was not the required 200 witnesses from the 5th Division that would allow Ichigo to be automatically promoted by trial of combat, it was still five taicho and several fukutaicho.

Maybe… Kyōraku quickly counted – there were nine taicho in the room. That was just enough to approve Ichigo's promotion to taicho by way of personal recommendations… if all of them agreed, which was hard enough to do on subjects that weren't so controversial.

"It seems to me," he began, and silence fell immediately on the conversation, "that regardless of what happens to Tōsen and Gin, we have a taicho position empty. According to the report I received from Soifon-taicho earlier today, Hinamori-fukutaicho went against orders and went to the living world to help against Aizen, only to be swayed by the traitor's words and illusions. Does anyone disagree that her mental state is now extremely perilous?"

The room was silent. Everyone there knew of Hinamori's devotion to Aizen before the man had betrayed them all, and her desperate belief that Aizen was somehow still a good person. If her beliefs had been verified by Aizen himself, then perilous was putting it lightly.

"I could, ah, make some mental adjustments…" Kurotsuchi offered after a few moments.

"Denied," Kyōraku said instantly. "However, the 5th Division is now in a rather poor position, is it not? Its taicho a traitor, its fukutaicho mentally unstable… it requires new leadership. Someone charismatic, someone undeniably strong, but someone who is as different from Aizen as it is possible to be. Someone who embodies the traits defined by the 5th Division's flower – sacrifice, danger."

By now, everyone knew what Kyōraku was going to suggest, but as Kyōraku was acting sōtaicho, it would be a very large breach of decorum to interrupt him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is charismatic; He has swayed even Aizen's own Arrancar against him. Kurosaki is strong; he defeated Aizen even after Aizen's Hōgyoku-induced evolutions. Kurosaki is as different from Aizen as it is possible to be; Aizen was subtle, Kurosaki is blunt. Aizen lacked empathy, Kurosaki apparently has too much of it to be able to sacrifice those he deems his own. Aizen preferred to sacrifice others… Kurosaki would rather sacrifice himself.

"With this in mind, I would recommend Kurosaki Ichigo be promoted to the position of taicho of the 5th Division. However, he is a still-living human, and we are sworn not to interfere with human lives whenever it can be avoided. So, I propose a new solution: I, Kyōraku Shunsui, taicho of the 8th Division, recommend Kurosaki Ichigo be promoted to part-time taicho in preparation for his eventual death, at which point he will take on the position in full. Are there five others who will recommend him as well?"

Soifon could hardly believe her ears – she'd been thinking about ways to induct Kurosaki into the Gotei 13 prior to his death, but somehow she'd not thought of that solution. It bound Kurosaki to the Gotei 13, and gave them further rights and abilities to bind his power if need be. Barely suppressing a smile, she nodded. "I, Soifon, taicho of the 2nd Division, give my personal recommendation."

Unohana shook her head. "I have not known him long enough, nor seen enough of his skills to be able to say one way or another. I cannot give my recommendation."

Byakuya's expression did not change. Upon his return, he had immediately had his fukutaicho, Renji, brief him on what Kurosaki had accomplished since their fight. Mastering the mask, Resurrección, Cero, Garganta… Learning Bakudō and new techniques with his Getsuga Tenshō… Kurosaki Ichigo is certainly strong enough to be a taicho, and has the drive to improve himself. He may be disrespectful at times, but he is certainly better than Zaraki. And… - his mind flashed to Rukia's face - …I owe him more than I care to admit. "I, Kuchiki Byakuya, taicho of the 6th Division, give my personal recommendation."

Komamura was a hard person to read at the best of times, considering his bestial appearance. However, now his face could have been carved from stone and studied for months without revealing his true emotions. He didn't know what to think – he'd only really met the boy during the battle in the Fake Karakura, and had observed Kurosaki's fights carefully when he'd had the opportunity.

What he had seen, however, made him uneasy of the idea of recommending him. Kurosaki Ichigo had gone completely berserk in a Bankai-Resurrección hybrid form, going toe to toe against Aizen. A berserker taicho was not necessarily a good idea. However, if Komamura was thinking clearly then Kurosaki could hardly be blamed for relying so heavily on his Hollow powers – it was not as though Kurosaki had asked for them, and they had indeed provided the edge the Substitute needed to not only survive, but win. And Kurosaki had recovered his sanity and regained control of the new form.

But what truly weighed heavy on Komamura's mind was a conversation from when the pair of evolved juggernauts had warred against each other in Soul Society.

**Flashback**

"Have none of you thought about the implications for after this is all over?" Soifon demanded heatedly. "None of us can sense either Kurosaki or Aizen! If Aizen wins, he could just as easily disguise himself as Kurosaki, though he likely won't bother since his goal is to replace the Spirit King. But if Ichigo wins, there's a rogue, unstable Vizard that we cannot sense, cannot defeat, and cannot control!"

"Unstable?" Abarai hissed in disbelief to Soifon's cool, if slightly cruel assessment of the situation. "What has Ichigo ever done to us? He broke into Soul Society for the purpose of saving someone who saved him and his family. Name one other time he has done anything against Soul Society!"

Despite himself, Komamura had to admit that the fukutaicho had a point. Thus far, Kurosaki had been an extremely valuable ally and the ace in the hole needed to fight Aizen. And even his previous transgression could be forgiven – Kurosaki had acted with honor, and not taken any lives despite having the opportunity.

"It's not a chance we can take," Soifon countered coolly.

Unfortunately, Komamura was also forced to recognize the assassin's point. To let Kurosaki live would be an incredible risk. It was practically a given that the boy would grow even stronger, and it seemed extremely unwise to let the still-living Vizard become too powerful.

"So you would imprison or kill him for saving you, saving all of Soul Society and the living world?" Abarai inquired incredulously. "Some justice system we have. Should I go ask him to back off then, and let Aizen do what he wants?"

The words struck Komamura as though they were a physical slap to the face. Not only was Abarai questioning Soul Society's honor, but such words were treason! "Abarai!" he rebuked. "You are out of line!"

"Even so, he has a point," Kyōraku pointed out with a stern look at Soifon.

Though Abarai turned his head to resume watching Kurosaki, Komamura could not help but look at him for another few moments. The fukutaicho's words were digging painfully at the anthropomorphic canine's sense of justice.

**End Flashback**

Abarai had made his point – it would be extremely unethical to act against Kurosaki, who had done nothing to deserve it thus far. But there was still the question of Kurosaki's character. Komamura knew very little about Kurosaki's personality, though Soifon's report did provide some valuable insight. However, the way he'd taken charge and insisted there was still a way even if Yamamoto were to fail… It was obvious that Kurosaki kept a cool head in stressful situations, and was unafraid to do what he felt had to be done. Those were qualities that Komamura could respect in anyone, and qualities that would serve him well as a taicho. "I, Komamura Sajin, taicho of the 7th Division, give my personal recommendation."

Kyōraku had to fight a smile. There were four of the requisite six recommendations already out there, and still a few taicho left. So far, so good. Though, in order for his plan to work, Unohana would need to approve the recommendations after they'd been gathered.

Hitsugaya's frown deepened. He was uncertain whether Ichigo would actually want to be a taicho…

**Flashback**

Ichigo scoffed. "Soul Society might try to tolerate the existence of a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami, since humans live for such a short term anyway compared to you. But a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami, and then have an additional power to push himself beyond taicho level? They'd assassinate me, or wear me down, or seal up my powers given the slightest excuse, because they'd be afraid I would come into their town and do the same damn thing. Preemptive strike my ass. And then to top things off, they'd try to recruit my power for the Gotei 13!"

**End Flashback**

Well, Ichigo, it seems that it's come to pass, he mused with a hidden sigh. Hitsugaya hadn't thought that his own trial of loyalty would come so soon… What was best? Ichigo rightfully held no love for the Gotei 13, and probably feared for his own life now that his Vizard abilities had been revealed. If I give my recommendation, and it goes through, Ichigo will have the choice to accept or not. If he accepts, then it provides a level of protection against the Central 46's rulings, and relaxes those afraid that he will turn against Soul Society. But if he turns it down, it may be considered spurning the Gotei 13 and could be taken as both an insult and a threat, considering how strong he is.

On the other hand, Hitsugaya reasoned, if it doesn't go through, Ichigo will be left for the Central 46's judgment regardless. Not for the first time, the ice-wielder decided he hated politics.

After another few moments of indecision, he decided honesty was the best policy. "Before I give my recommendation," he stated clearly, "I must remind you all that Kurosaki Ichigo has little love for Soul Society's government. So far, we have brought nothing but woe to him and his friends and family."

"What do you mean?" Kyōraku queried, interested.

"Allow me to list the offenses in chronological order," Hitsugaya began. "During my assignment to the living world, Kurosaki informed me that one hundred years ago, Soul Society attempted to execute Shinigami who had illegally acquired Hollow powers against their consent. Yamamoto-sōtaicho has confirmed this. As Soul Society has not publicly changed its stance, Kurosaki Ichigo can be quite sensibly afraid for his life now that he has irrevocably revealed that he is the same.

"Soifon-taicho has just revealed in this meeting that Kurosaki's mother was killed and eaten by the Grand Fisher six years ago. According to Kurosaki himself after regaining control of his Resurrección form in the Fake Karakura, he went berserk due to Aizen's revelation that he had sent the Grand Fisher to do the deed. However, it is Soul Society's responsibility to cleanse all Hollows, especially those who have slain Shinigami, such as the Grand Fisher. Soul Society has failed to kill the Grand Fisher for fifty years, and can therefore be held liable.

"Several months ago, Kurosaki's family was targeted by a powerful Hollow that proved itself beyond Kuchiki Rukia's abilities to purify. This should not have happened – Soul Society has had policies in place regarding humans with reiatsu since before the Quincy Massacre, and the 12th Division had monitors in place in Karakura Town as soon as we were aware that it was the jūreichi. We are all well aware of the Hollow-luring effect when a human's reiatsu is greater than normal, and according to Kuchiki-san's report, Kurosaki broke a Bakudō… before gaining any Shinigami powers."

One could have heard a pin drop in the silence left after this most recent revelation. Seeing that most understood the implications – Hitsugaya wasn't quite sure about Zaraki, but was not about to stop to explain it – he continued. "Not to disrespect Kuchiki-san's skills, but a more skilled Shinigami should have been sent to handle the inevitably stronger Hollows. However, this did not happen. As a result, Soul Society is directly responsible for failing to protect Kurosaki's remaining family, and this failure forced him into a do-or-die situation that resulted in his becoming a Substitute Shinigami.

"To make matters worse, Soul Society then punished him and Kuchiki-san for choosing the only option left to them, by having a taicho nearly kill Kurosaki while taking Kuchiki-san to be tried. Soul Society then allowed itself to be fooled by one of its own taicho to the point of nearly executing Kuchiki-san with the Sōkyoku, which required Kurosaki's literally direct intervention to stop. After Aizen escaped, Soul Society proved itself incapable of handling the Bount situation on its own and required Kurosaki's assistance.

"Just today, Soul Society has also proven to Kurosaki that it cannot be relied on when Kurosaki's allies requested assistance of their own – namely, regarding the brief capture of Inoue Orihime. And finally, Soul Society was unable to deal with Aizen on its own and even blatantly requested Kurosaki to sacrifice his town to finish Aizen himself. All said and told, I would not be surprised if Kurosaki was unwilling to work with Soul Society much longer," Hitsugaya concluded. "The only reasons I can think of for him to continue would be to maintain the safety of those he has befriended in the Gotei 13, and if I may be blunt, some of them are becoming quite disillusioned with Soul Society as well." Myself included.

There were several mutters in the room at the last statement. "Wow," Kira murmured, "I hadn't realized… How could we have screwed up so badly? Aizen had a hand in several of those, but others were all us…"

"Be grateful that Kurosaki-san either is unaware of the depth of Soul Society's failure, or is more forgiving than most," Unohana advised from next to him.

Kyōraku cleared his throat, silencing the room once more. "Where are you going with this?" he asked pointedly.

"If you want Kurosaki to join the Gotei 13 as taicho of the 5th Division, then he will need reasons to feel that doing so is a good idea," Hitsugaya said simply. "That said, should Kurosaki be persuaded, I, Hitsugaya Tōshiro, taicho of the 10th Division, give my personal recommendation." There. Assuming Kurosaki's problems are addressed to his satisfaction, he gains protection from the Central 46. Not to mention, with so many fukutaicho here, the information is bound to spread. He barely kept a smirk from forming on his face. With any luck, he will gain even more public support.

Kyōraku nodded gravely. Of course, things just can't ever be simple, can they? "And you, Zaraki-taicho?" This was the taicho he knew for sure would recommend Ichigo – the boy was the only one who had been able to defeat Zaraki in many years, and Zaraki loved a good fight more than anything.

"Hmm…"

Everyone, except Yachiru atop the taicho's shoulder, looked at Zaraki with shocked expressions. To see him actually thinking it over could be nothing but a sign of the apocalypse. "What are your thoughts, Zaraki-taicho?" Ukitake asked diplomatically, though inwardly still astounded.

"The way I see it, Ichigo's more than strong enough to do the job, and he'd probably be better at it than Aizen anyway," the enormously tall taicho admitted, his face lacking its typical maniacal grin. "If it were just that, I'd recommend him right now. But after what ice-boy said, it seems to me that it'd look like we were just asking him for more permanent help, like we ain't able to do anything without him. Makes us look weak, and I don't like looking weak."

… One of these days, I will stop being so surprised when Zaraki points out something we should have already known, Kyōraku swore silently to himself.

"But Ken-chan!" Yachiru whined with all the cuteness of the child she resembled. "I wanna see Ichi-kun again! Besides, you want to fight him again, right? He got so strong he beat Aizen, didn't he?"

"Hmm, you've got a point…" Zaraki mused. "Plus, things are never boring when he's around, are they?"

"Nope!" Yachiru chirped.

"I suppose it doesn't matter whether we look weak or not, as long as we keep getting stronger." Zaraki gave a predatory smirk up towards Kyōraku. "Alright. Ichigo's got my recommendation."

Yes! Kyōraku mentally crowed. Six recommendations! Now for the three approvals… In order for Ichigo to be made taicho, all three of the remaining taicho – Unohana, Kurotsuchi, and Ukitake – had to approve the recommendations. "We now have six recommendations. In order for Kurosaki Ichigo to be promoted to taicho, we now require approval from three other taicho." His formality slipped a little, and he couldn't help but quirk his eyebrows and let his voice lilt a bit in amusement in the next line. "Fortunately enough, we have three here. What say you?"

Kurotsuchi-taicho stroked his chin as he thought about it. "It would be rather interesting," he thought aloud, "to have a being whose reiatsu transcends that of our understanding. It provides a unique opportunity to study the reiatsu, and perhaps upgrade some of our technology. Having easy access to the subject by keeping him in Soul Society would be best, after all…" He began to grin widely, thinking of the possibilities. "Yes, yes… I do believe I approve the nomination."

Ukitake sighed. He was rather fond of Kurosaki Ichigo for a number of reasons, not the least of which was how he'd helped Rukia regain her old spark of life and confidence that she'd lost after killing Shiba Kaien. Ichigo was strong, and stood by what he felt was right. And though he'd apparently abandoned the Rukongai to Aizen to protect Karakura, Ukitake found he couldn't really blame Ichigo for it… though that might be because Ichigo had gone on to kill Aizen anyway. No, Ukitake didn't retain anger towards the young man, nor was he bitter that Ichigo had, in the span of a year, become stronger than Ukitake had in centuries. No, the sickly taicho was proud of the boy for having managed to achieve his goal – acquiring the strength to protect his town.

But the emotion that Ukitake held most regarding Ichigo… was sorrow. It wasn't right, he felt, to have forced Ichigo into such a position. It wasn't right that despite all the good that Ichigo had done, despite what the Substitute had sacrificed, despite what he'd gone though, that Soul Society now had to consider him a potential threat. It wasn't right that Ichigo now had the choice of either joining the same Soul Society that had done him so much wrong, as Tōshiro had artfully illustrated, or face the likelihood of aggression.

Ukitake knew what Kyōraku was trying to do. He was trying to give Ichigo a chance to avoid another struggle for survival, another clash of titans. Both taicho knew that Central 46 feared what it could not understand, and Ichigo himself had grown into a presence that literally could not be understood by any of the Shinigami in Soul Society, if his reiatsu was any indicator. Their fear would lead them to order the Gotei 13 to take action against Ichigo. But if the Gotei 13 could legitimately claim with evidence that Ichigo was one of them, then it was possible for Ichigo to not only survive, but continue to protect his family.

When thinking about it that way, Ukitake knew there was only one decision he could make. "I approve the nomination." And if, somehow, it still came to be that the Central 46 ordered Ichigo's demise… Ukitake knew who he'd be siding with. Ichigo had earned that much.

All eyes turned to Unohana. It was now up to her whether Kurosaki Ichigo would become a taicho. But the healer wasn't sure at all. She had had minimal experience with the boy, only really interacting with him while Kurosaki-san was recuperating from Aizen's brutal attack. What she had seen then was promising, but still not enough.

Unohana recognized that it was a good solution to have the one who killed Aizen take his place – it would fill up the hole in the ranks, and would aid Kurosaki-san in various ways. However, not one of the taicho had considered what it would mean for everyone else. Namely, Hinamori Momo.

The 4th Division taicho mentally sighed. The poor girl. Hinamori-chan had only just begun to recover mentally from what Aizen had done to her, and now she was only going to be worse if what Sado-san and Ishida-san had said was true. If Aizen had personally convinced her once again that he was a good person, then Hinamori-chan is going to snap after learning that he's dead, Unohana thought sadly. To put Aizen's killer as Hinamori-chan's superior is just asking for her to gain a mental disorder.

The Gotei 13 would lose a valuable Shinigami if that happened – Shinigami who were unsafe to the rest of the Gotei 13 were put in the Maggot's Nest where they couldn't hurt anyone outside it. However, if Kurosaki Ichigo were to not become a taicho, then Hinamori could have a chance to recover, and it was not as though the boy could not take care of himself…

But that led to another problem. Unohana had been a taicho for just as long as Ukitake Jūshiro and Kyōraku Shunsui, and she too recognized Kurosaki-san's situation. If Kurosaki-san did not become a taicho, then it was rather likely that the Central 46 would demand they execute him. Even from the little experience that Unohana had with the Substitute Shinigami, she knew that Kurosaki-san would never simply let that happen. His will to live was too strong. And with his powers having transcended all of us… we would be forced to war. And Kurosaki-san has so many allies, from all kinds of beings… Vizard, Arrancar, even in our own Shinigami ranks… So many would die.

In comparison to that, what was the value of Hinamori-chan's life? Hinamori Momo, devout follower of Aizen, who was going to go after Kurosaki Ichigo one way or another… But Unohana was a healer, and it went against her being to sacrifice someone when it wasn't absolutely necessary. The future was always changing, especially with so many variables – there was no way to tell for sure what was going to happen. And Unohana Retsu was not going to sacrifice someone for a mere possibility that it would save other lives.

"I'm sorry, but I do not approve the recommendation."

"Did you really think you would win against me, Ichigo-kun?" Aizen asked with a smile. He seemed to be in his pre-evolutionary state, human and all, though Ichigo could see a shine in his stomach that indicated the Hōgyoku was there still. Even so, much to Ichigo's horror, he could not sense Aizen's reiatsu.

"I did win! You're dead, Aizen!" Ichigo insisted.

"Am I? Then how am I standing here?"

Ichigo had no answer to that. Not daring to look away from Aizen for even a moment, his left hand reached behind him, searching for his Shinigami badge so he could release himself from his body.

But a second later, Aizen calmly brought his own left hand up, dangling the badge from his index finger. "Looking for this?"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Bankai."

Reiatsu swirled, obscuring the Vizard from Aizen's sight, before Ichigo dashed at him with his Adjuichas-masked Bankai form, Tensa Zangetsu already in motion.

However, he had to hold back his reiatsu from forming the instinctive Getsuga, from crushing everything – he could still sense his families' lives, and Ichigo refused to sacrifice them to kill Aizen!

However, Tensa Zangetsu struck not flesh, but simple air. The image suddenly shattered into a thousand shards, crumbling into spirit particles in midair. An illusion? "But I never saw Kyōka Suigetsu's release!" Ichigo protested aloud, searching through his memories for any instance of something, anything to indicate a change in Aizen's Zanpakutō.

"Have you forgotten, Ichigo?" Aizen's voice said kindly from right behind him. Ichigo spun and cut right through him, and this image too shattered. "When a Shinigami learns Bankai, they no longer need to speak to release their Shikai. It was simply a matter of sealing and releasing it too quickly for you to tell the difference."

It was a horrifying realization. "When…?"

"Does it matter?" Aizen rebutted, materializing from Ichigo's left side. "But surely you can figure out what happened. After all, Karakura is alive and well in the living world. I kept my word, and used parts of the Rukongai. I have the Ōken."

"No! I killed you! I obliterated your head with a Cero, and felt your reiatsu fade away!" Ichigo denied, stepping back and shaking his head violently. "You can't be alive! You just can't be!"

"Do you really think it beyond my skills to create a fake corpse?" Aizen asked slyly. "I have done it before, you know. As for how I did it this time, it was quite simple, really. I regenerated quickly enough from your Cero, and felt another evolution from the Hōgyoku beginning. I took the opportunity to overlay an illusion on a rock and used the Hōgyoku's power to imbue it with its own reiatsu." The evolved Shinigami smiled. "I knew that it would be sufficient to fool you and Urahara."

"You're lying!" Ichigo claimed. "The Shinigami would notice if you used part of the Rukongai!"

"Ah, but you see, they haven't, and they won't. Kyōka Suigetsu allows me to control the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell of those it has hypnotized, as you well know. But that's only Shikai. To hide something more massive, something more was required. My Bankai."

Ichigo could feel his world crumbling around him as his mind reeled from the realizations. His Adjuchas mask broke, falling into pieces as the Vizard lost his grip on his Hollow powers. "Your… Bankai?"

"Of course. Did you think I didn't have it, Ichigo-kun?" Aizen said in a gently teasing voice which infuriated Ichigo. "My Bankai allows me to create a self-sustaining illusion that affects those same senses, but for anyone who enters that area, even those who have not seen my Shikai release. And on those who have, my Bankai has an additional effect: it dampens the ability to doubt what they see is anything but reality. There are downsides, of course. It takes an extremely large portion of my reiatsu to create, and it will not start to regenerate until I break the illusion." The traitor's smile grew somewhat. "That's why I never used it earlier – I couldn't create an illusion wide enough to encompass all of Karakura without killing myself with reiatsu depletion, and it does take some time to set up. But now, with the Hōgyoku evolving me as it has…"

Ichigo felt like his brain was shutting down. I… I failed to protect everyone? He got me? Tensa Zangetsu! Cazador de la Luna! Help me!

"Don't worry, Ichigo-kun," Aizen suggested with that same reassuring smile. "I have what I wanted, and I have no intention of harming you or Karakura. I want to see if you can reach my level, after all. Grow stronger, Ichigo. I'll be waiting for you."

And then the Substitute's sight went black.

Ichigo woke up with a gasp in his bed, panting and sweating like mad. It was dark out, and his clock read 1:03 AM. "Aizen…!" There wasn't time to waste. He reached for his badge – which was laying right on the desk where he'd left it the night before – and pressed it against his chest, pulling himself out of his human body, which fell backwards with a thump into the bed.

He leapt out his window into the chilly night air, his eyes wide as he searched for any trace for the bastard. Zangetsu, please, PLEASE tell me that was just a nightmare, Ichigo begged.

There is no way for me to tell, Zangetsu admitted. I am part of your soul, Ichigo. Everything that you see, dream or otherwise, can be seen by myself and Cazador de la Luna if we are unsealed, especially if you call upon us. I do not know if it was a nightmare, or if it truly took place.

Is it even possible for Aizen to have done everything that he said he did there?

Though I do not recall seeing it, he is correct in that he would not have needed to call out his Shikai verbally. And his Bankai does sound plausible…

Is there any way for you to prove one way or another that what Aizen said was true? Cazador queried.

Ichigo blinked and honestly thought about the question. It'd be too much of a coincidence if I imagined Aizen's Bankai power.

But Soul Society doesn't know Aizen's Bankai, Zangetsu pointed out. He hid even his Shikai's true nature from them.

What about checking Aizen's corpse? He said it was fake, and he had to do a rush job in order to evade us. If anyone could tell for certain, it'd be Urahara and maybe that healing taicho, Unohana.

Ichigo perked up. Great idea! Knowing he wouldn't be able to rest until he knew one way or the other, he rushed to Urahara's and banged on the door loudly. "Urahara! It's Ichigo! Let me in, it's important!"

A bleary-eyed shopkeeper came to the door, opening it slightly. "Ichi… go?" he asked in a confused manner, yawning. "What's wrong?"

"It's Aizen."

Several minutes later, Ichigo was watching Urahara and Tessai, both awake and fully alert by the idea that Aizen could be alive still, both going over the headless corpse with medical Kidō, searching for any hint of deception. After a tense half-hour, Tessai nodded to Urahara, who halted his Kidō and turned to an anxiously-waiting Ichigo.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the corpse," he concluded. "It's exactly what we expected to find. Even so, I would suggest bringing Inoue-san over for an inspection with her own abilities… if Aizen has somehow managed to fake his death, Inoue-san should be able to dispel the illusion."

Somewhat reassured, Ichigo nodded. "Thanks for taking the time to check…"

"It was no problem – I am glad you came to me," Urahara responded, beginning to lead Ichigo back to the door. "It would be a disaster if Aizen survived. Like I said, bring Inoue over tomorrow at some point to verify, but for the moment I suggest you try to get some rest."

Nodding tiredly – how had he not noticed his own exhaustion before? – Ichigo mumbled an agreement and began making his way home. It was just a nightmare, he rebuked himself. I can't be jumping at shadows anymore… Aizen's dead. He's dead and can't hurt anyone anymore. Just gotta relax…