Unity

Fire. There was fire everywhere, everywhere that Ichigo could see. But he couldn't pay attention to that, not now. There was too much on the line. He had to push Hell back into his own dimension, or the living world would be conquered entirely, fire or no fire. He dashed forward with the speed of Sonido, holding Tensa Zangetsu with both hands as he once again engaged in combat with Hell.

A black Getsuga writhed against Tensa Zangetsu, strengthening it, empowering it as Ichigo struck again and again, but Hell continued to simply dance out of the way of each attack. Buildings crumbled from the sheer reiatsu unleashed with every swing of Ichigo's blade, but to his fury he just… couldn't… HIT HIM!

"Does it feel good, to let loose like this? Do you even care about all the humans who die every time you try to hit me?" Hell taunted. "How many have you, personally, killed so far? I'd guess around two or three hundred so far, just from the people trapped in the last few buildings. And those were by accident." He laughed cruelly. "And you still think you don't deserve a place in my realm."

"No, I know exactly where I'm going when I die," Ichigo spat. "But that's fine, as long as you die first! Getsuga Tenshō!"

Hell stood still that time, and the technique separated his torso from his legs… before his body shattered like a mirror, revealing Kurosaki Masaki. "Ichi… go…" she breathed, blood dribbling from her lips. "W-why…?"

Ichigo's Resurrección crumbled as sheer horror overwhelmed his senses, and he fell to his knees. "No! Mom, don't go! No! Stay with me! I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"That's always your excuse," a voice behind him chided. "You didn't know. Cold comfort when the Grand Fisher killed her, wasn't it?"

Ichigo leapt to his feet and spun on his heel, Tensa Zangetsu at the ready despite the tears in his eyes. "AIZEN!"

"You didn't really think that I would die so easily, did you? With the power of the Hōgyoku, I cannot die. But… I can be enslaved, it seems. I apologize for the illusion. It was not my choice." And chains erupted from Aizen's chest, forming a collar around his neck, with the leash being held by Hell, who stood several meters away.

"You cannot win, Kurosaki Ichigo," Hell told him with a slight smile. "Not when you delivered such a wonderful power to me. If only you hadn't killed him, then maybe the two of you could have bound me… but we'll never know. Now come, Aizen. Let us finish what you started. Create the Ōken, and we will conquer the Reiō as well."

"Ichi… go…" Masaki whispered. "Wake… up…"

"What?"

"Ichigo! Ichigo, wake up!"

Ichigo's eyes flared open, lunging from the bed and pinning Nelliel to the wall by her neck with his left hand while Zangetsu leapt into his right. He blinked, awareness returning to him, and a moment later he let go of Nelliel and lowered Zangetsu. "Sorry," he mumbled.

The Arrancar rubbed her neck lightly. "We can talk about this later. There's no time. Hell has launched an invasion force. It's large – several hundred Togabito according to Pesche. Starrk and Harribel are already there, fighting. Ulquiorra is gathering some of the Vasto Lorde. We need you to lead the charge – all Hollows respect the King, but if the King won't fight, why should they?"

Ichigo's expression hardened as he nodded. "Take me there."

In response, Nelliel vanished in a burst of Sonido. Ichigo followed with Shunpo. Moments later, they emerged from Las Noches, and they made a sharp left. Several moments later, they leapt into the sky, and as they passed over one of the countless sand dunes of Hueco Mundo, Ichigo could suddenly see them. Dozens of Adjuchas were fighting, but they were losing ground quickly from the sheer numbers.

There was no time to think. There was only time to act. With a swipe of his hand, Ichigo materialized his Adjuchas mask and flared his power, thrusting his left hand forward. "Cero!"

"CHAINS!" someone called from the back, and suddenly every Togabito crouched down and materialized their Chains of Hell, forming a protective shield over the front of the army. Ichigo's Cero impacted, but failed to cut through.

"Hollows! To me!" Ichigo roared. Materializing the white Zangetsu in his left hand, he held both forward, ribbons wrapping around his arms as he assumed the familiar stance. Black and white fire erupted from each, enveloping his swords and his body, and when they faded, he was in his Resurrección with Tensa Zangetsu. "I SAID! HOLLOWS! TO ME!"

Barely a moment later, all the Adjuchas that had been fighting the army had vanished and appeared behind him. Ichigo could sense a few Vasto Lorde-class Hollows a small distance behind them. Ulquiorra succeeded, then, he thought in satisfaction.

Then Ulquiorra, Harribel, Nelliel, Starrk and Lilynette appeared in front of Ichigo, all kneeling respectfully. "My king, your orders?" Ulquiorra requested.

Ichigo took a precious moment to think and observe. The Chains of Hell were nigh-unbreakable, and having such an army so well-trained to utilize that to their advantage meant that they had an ultimate defense. He would have to think about how Hell had such a trained army so quickly later.

But they had materialized the chains in only one direction. Could they do it in all directions…? There was only way to find out. "Surround them, and on my command, everyone use their most powerful Cero! Former Espada, each of you take a side and a legion of Hollows to attack with. I've got the front alone. Ulquiorra, I want you to use your Segunda Etapa and Lanza del Relámpago from above."

"YES, SIRE!" came the overwhelmingly loud response, and the Hollows quickly began rushing to follow their orders.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ulquiorra's eyes betrayed nothing, but Ichigo got the sense that he approved of the tactic. "My liege, please be aware that if you mix your blood with a Cero, it becomes far more powerful. We call it the Gran Rey Cero. It was one of the two things Aizen forbade his Espada from using within Las Noches. As the king of Hueco Mundo, you will be expected to use this."

Ichigo nodded, accepting the knowledge. With his message received, Ulquiorra vanished with Sonido to follow Ichigo's orders.

"They're surrounding us!" the same commanding Togabito as before bellowed. "Formation E!" The army of Togabito quickly shifted, forming four ranks in each of the four cardinal directions.

Huh. They're accustomed to such tactics, eh…? Let's see if it'll protect them. Ichigo began to charge a Cero between his horns, and watched in satisfaction as every other Hollow there began to do the same. There were a myriad of colors, everything from canary yellow to primrose pink to royal purple.

Heeding Ulquiorra's words, Ichigo brought his left hand up to his left horn and pierced his palm, letting blood drip into the Cero. He almost stumbled when the Cero grew both in size and raw power, changing from a bloody crimson to a swirling mix of pitch and azure. But a moment later, he was ready. "Now! Gray Rey Cero!"

"CERO!" came the answering scream from every Hollow there. The ensuing light was nearly blinding, and Ichigo resisted the urge to close his eyes as lights of almost every possible color erupted simultaneously before him. The dark color of his Gran Rey Cero helped, shielding his sight with the cool embrace of darkness.

"CHAINS!" the Togabito roared.

The damning chains materialized, protecting the Togabito from the onslaught of Hollow power… except Ichigo's blast carved right through them, obliterating the entire side that had attempted to stop him, as well as one of the ranks on the opposite side.

"What the…?" the commanding Togabito breathed, staring at the solitary Hollow who had wrought so much destruction with a single attack. Who was this Hollow, that could obliterate his master's chains so easily? His horrified brain memorized the mask, the horns, the simple black longsword, the black coat… this could only be Kurosaki Ichigo. And now he understood why Hell was so interested in him.

"Lanza del Relámpago." The words were quiet, but even so they echoed in the battlefield, making every being look up at Ulquiorra, his black wings almost invisible against the night sky of Hueco Mundo, just as he threw the glowing teal javelin straight down.

Sudden, desperate understanding filled the Togabito, and he began to panic. "CHAINS! GET THOSE CHAINS ABOVE US!" the Togabito in charge screamed, but it was too late. The javelin struck the desert sands, and promptly exploded. The explosion almost instantly expanded to encompass all the Togabito in the army, but was ironically held in by the Togabitos' own chains, preventing it from hitting the Hollows that had surrounded them.

However, Ichigo had destroyed the chains that would have protected him. The explosion rushed out at Ichigo, who merely drew Tensa Zangetsu and held it at the ready, charging it with a minor amount of power. Just as Ichigo was about to be engulfed, he swung his sword downwards. The silent Getsuga carved the explosion in half, sending it to either side of him. The waist-length hair that graced his Resurrección flew backwards wildly as the fiery air rushed past him, but Ichigo gave no visible reaction as he waited to see the results of Ulquiorra's attack.

Finally, the air cleared, and Ichigo could see that there was hardly any trace of Togabito remaining. Hundreds of bodies could be seen falling into miniature portals back to Hell, while chain fragments littered the landscape for mere moments more before they disappeared. However, there was something… wrong about a spot in the air where Ichigo's Gran Rey Cero had impacted the chains of Hell. The air itself was twisted, somehow. It wasn't the air ripping open, like a Garganta or one of the Hell Portals. No, it was… like a spiral almost, and fading fast, curling in on itself. Frowning, he vanished and reappeared close to the aberration.

He reached forward with a single claw and reached out with his spiritual sense, but he couldn't make sense of it. "Ulquiorra."

As if his mere name were a summons, Ulquiorra Sonido-ed next to him, already back in his base form. "Sire?"

"What am I looking at?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"A small tear in the fabric of space-time. This is one of the reasons why Gran Rey Cero was forbidden – its power has the potential to warp and tear space. However, all such tears are inherently unstable. In another moment, the wound will heal."

"I see." Ichigo lowered his claw and turned away just as the wound to the air itself finished healing. He would have to be careful about using Gran Rey Cero in the future.

"I have news, my liege. It appears that my Lanza del Relámpago has a limited ability to cut through the chains. I was able to determine it was able to cut through four chains on any of the given sides before losing enough energy to be restrained by the others."

"That's excellent news."

"I highly suggest you address your subjects now. They will require confirmation of their achievement and this would be an excellent time to recruit them."

Looking at how the Hollows were now approaching him, he nodded. "Agreed." Taking a moment to figure out the general message he wanted to give to the Hollows, Ichigo raised his voice and spoke as loudly as could without screaming. "Hollows! We have won this battle, but the war wages on! Too many of these Togabito have already returned to Hell, and Hell will know what we can do! The next time he attacks, he will send more at us, wanting to conquer us and our world! Or he may decide to pick us off one by one! We must stand together!

So far, so good, Ichigo mused. It was impossible to tell if he was getting through so far, as the Hollow masks made it difficult to tell facial expressions. "So I invite you now, to join me at Las Noches! Let that be our castle, our home!"

"Isn't that cowardice, hiding while Hell takes over the rest of Hueco Mundo?" one of the Vasto Lorde Hollows demanded. Immediately, angry mutters began to make their way through the crowd.

"We are NOT HIDING!" Ichigo roared, angry at the accusation. "We are grouping together, pooling our strength! By working together, we can find and destroy Hell's forces wherever they appear! But for us to do that, we must have a place of operations! Let Las Noches be that place!"

"What guarantee do we have that we won't be eaten?" one of the more wary-sounding Adjuchas questioned. All talk was instantly silenced – it seemed that was the major question most of the Hollows had.

"If anyone is eaten while in Las Noches, I will purify the offenders. Personally," Ichigo promised, his voice lowering as it became clear that he would be heard. "But I do not require an answer now. All Hollows are welcome in Las Noches as long as they follow my rules. Whether you accept my invitation or not, be ready for the next invasion."

With that, Ichigo flashed away with Sonido. Reappearing at the entrance to Las Noches, he released his Bankai and Resurrección, sheathing Zangetsu and removing his mask. Feeling Nelliel appear next to him, he opened the doors. "How many do you think will join us?"

"A fair number, I think. One or two Vasto Lorde looked interested. Some of the Adjuchas and natural Arrancar. Nowhere near all of them, though," Nelliel assessed.

"That's fine," he muttered. "It's not like we have room for all of them just yet anyway…"

"Are you alright?" Nelliel asked, hearing a strange note in Ichigo's voice.

"I'm fine. Just… a little tired and overwhelmed, I guess," he admitted. "I know I'm the king of Hueco Mundo, but I don't really know how to rule. All these expectations… it's a bit much, on top of the whole Hell situation."

"You're doing well," Nelliel reassured him. "They are beginning to respect you. It was a good plan out there, and you prevented the loss of any more Hollow lives."

Ichigo paused and looked at her. "Yeah… I did, didn't I? Let's hope things keep going well."

They walked in silence through the halls of Las Noches for a few minutes. "… do you want to talk about your dream?" Nelliel queried quietly.

The Vizard glanced at her, or more specifically, her neck. Luckily, it seemed it hadn't bruised, but he could still feel her neck being slowly crushed underneath his grip. "It was just another nightmare." Ichigo laughed bitterly. "At least I can understand those."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been having strange dreams lately. Every time I close my eyes, I'm dreaming of a couple of guys called Ayumu and Akio, discussing philosophy of all things!" Ichigo growled in frustration. "It's just so confusing! Who are they? Why am I dreaming of them?"

Nelliel frowned, concerned. "I take it that this isn't normal for Shinigami?"

"No, not that I know of anyway. Is it normal for Hollows?"

"No. But if it's neither Shinigami nor Hollow…" The Arrancar trailed off, uncertain.

"I don't know either. But I can't focus too much on it. I need to train."

"No," Nelliel argued quietly. "You need a chance to relax."

Ichigo barked out a laugh. "And how exactly can I do that? There's too much on the line! Every day I delay is a day that Hell gets stronger! I need to figure out how to seal him!"

"Have you forgotten, Ichigo?" Nelliel whispered. "Your power responds to your emotions, and the more turbulent they are the harder it is to control your power. And without control over your own power, you can't hope to seal the power of others."

She is correct, Zangetsu murmured. You made good progress with your chains when you were calm and felt the stress lift.

Ichigo's shoulders slumped as they approached the door to his quarters. He hadn't even known that was where his feet were taking him. "Yeah. You're right. I guess I can take a few hours off and try to get myself together."

Nelliel suddenly stepped in front of him and turned to meet his eyes. "Ichigo, I was once in a similar position to you," she told him, eyes soft with understanding. "When I was one of Aizen's Espada, I was forced to fight for something besides self-defense or protection of those I cared for. And I hated it, despite knowing of its necessity. And if I wasn't sent on a mission from Aizen, Nnoitra would try to fight me. And even if I managed to get out of that, I always had to act as everyone else expected: like the aloof, powerful Tercera Espada. I had to act my station, both to the lower-ranked Espada and to all the Fracción, every day. I constantly felt like I was under pressure to do this, don't do that. And I was afraid every single day that if I screwed up, my Fracción, Dondochakka and Pesche, my beloved friends, would be killed as an example."

Ichigo looked at her, eyes wide. He was speechless – did Nelliel truly understand?

"It was truly a blessing when Nnoitra and Szayel cracked my mask and reduced me to a child. I could live and be with Dondochakka and Pesche without any further obligation to Aizen. But while I served Aizen, I retreated every day to my quarters to spend time with my Fracción, some of the only people who knew me for me. With them, I could relax, I could express all my frustrations and anger and grief."

"But I can't go home to my family," Ichigo whispered.

"No, but you do have someone here who understands you, who you can let your guard down around," Nelliel whispered back, coming closer and pulling him into a hug. "You don't have to be the king of Hueco Mundo to me. You don't have to be the Substitute Shinigami or the transcendent Vizard. You don't have to be a hero or the only one with the power to fight Hell. You don't have to be anything you don't want to be. Not to me. Let me help you."

His throat closed up, but he jerkily nodded, hugging her back. As they parted, Ichigo opened the door to his quarters and led them both in, closing it behind them.

"Do you think we'll win?"

Zen'i was sitting quietly opposite her, meditating with the Zanpakutō that Hell had given him, when he heard the quiet question. "There's a good chance. It depends on Ichigo."

"But you still haven't told me what your plan is!"

"And I'm still not going to," he answered easily, still not opening his eyes.

Masaki looked at Zen'i searchingly. "Maybe you're Ichigo's smugness."

"Nope."

"Self-assured confidence?"

"Nope."

It was a game they had taken to playing. Ever since Zen'i had revealed that he had originally represented some aspect of Ichigo, Masaki had taken to trying to guess it in her free time. Zen'i humored her partly for something to do, and partly because he was curious what she'd think if she knew the truth.

"Ichigo's brilliant inner mastermind? I always knew he'd turn out to be pretty smart."

"Good guess, but no. Ichigo is pretty smart, though. He does well in school, but it doesn't challenge him much."

Masaki nodded pensively. "Hmm… sense of chivalry?"

"Nope. Do you really think that chivalry has the capacity to send someone to Hell?"

"Good point. I just have a really hard time imagining how Ichigo could ever go to Hell. I know I haven't been there much for him, and I know he got into trouble with bullies before he ever got his powers, but what could there be that would send him to Hell?"

"Many things." Zen'i opened his eyes and looked piercingly at Masaki. "If a man knowingly sends a legion of men to their doom, knowing that not one of them will survive, but does he deserve to go to Hell?"

"Sure."

"Even if he knew that it served a bigger purpose? What if their sacrifice will ensure peace for a hundred generations?"

"Ah… hmm."

"Exactly. He would have done great evil, in the name of greater good. Perhaps he would go to Hell, perhaps not." Zen'i shrugged. "Let's try again. There was someone that Ichigo met while trying to rescue you. Kokutō, a Togabito, was damned here because he took pleasure in killing the people who murdered her. It's understandable, sympathetic even. And he never regretted it. Who would? But he was damned regardless."

"Why?" Masaki asked, her face clearly showing a lack of understanding. "Did he go on to kill innocent people, or do anything else evil?"

"Not to my knowledge, but it doesn't matter. All Togabito know what sin damned them here. It's a quality of this dimension – those who are damned for their actions in life know what they did wrong, tormented with the knowledge that they could have avoided this fate if they had just avoided that action." Zen'i shook his head. "That one action damned him."

"But why?" Masaki repeated. "I mean, I don't approve of killing when it's not necessary, but I can hardly condemn someone for not being able to cope if a loved one is murdered."

The fragment of Ichigo sighed. "When his sister was murdered, Kokutō had a choice: vengeance or justice. He chose vengeance, out of hatred for those who had slain her, and never regretted that choice. He never looked back at that choice, was never sickened with himself for having made them suffer before death purely for his own satisfaction. He never acknowledged nor repented the sadistic pleasure he felt. Of course he was damned. Hell is home to thousands, millions of murderers who still feel completely justified in their actions but in reality did it simply for their own pleasure. What makes Kokutō any different?"

"How can you know such things?" Masaki whispered.

"Because I am tied to Hell," Zen'i replied coldly. "Because I was formed from both Ichigo's soul and Hell's power. I wield Hell's own Zanpakutō. Since Hell's power is the force of this realm, I have greater understanding than most on what can damn a man here."

"You are all the traits that Ichigo has that could send him to Hell." Masaki's voice was barely audible in her horror. "You are his rage, his hate, his pride… You are the little evil thoughts that everyone has but good people don't act on!"

Zen'i nodded, a wry smile on his face. "All true, but you're missing the most important part."

"And what's that?"

"That would be telling." Zen'i closed his eyes once more, communing with the Zanpakutō and ignoring Masaki's frustrated demands for answers.

That wasn't nice.

No, but she needs to understand that Ichigo is not perfect. And that Ichigo could in fact go to Hell, if he's not careful. And she has to learn that she can't always trust me, either.

Hmph. You are more interesting than I thought.

Zen'i mentally rolled his eyes. It is a PLEASURE to entertain you.

The sarcasm does not become you. Despite the words, the Zanpakutō spirit sounded amused.

And suddenly, his communion was broken. "ANSWER ME!" Masaki screamed, tears of frustration forming in her eyes as she pulled against her chains, trying to break free.

"No!" Zen'i snapped in a tone that brooked no argument. "Only one being has the right to understand me in my entirety, and you are not that being!"

"I am your mother! I may not have been there to raise Ichigo and by proxy you, but I gave my life to protect you because I love you! Why can't you let me get to know more about my son? If you are truly more than just the sum of Ichigo's possibly damning traits, then who are you?"

Zen'i's face twisted with a swath of unrecognizable emotions, and for a moment Masaki had the wild thought that his eyes looked hurt before he turned away, hiding his expression. "You do have the right to some answers," he whispered heavily. "But I cannot give them. I am a fragment of Ichigo's soul. If he is to fully accept me back, he must come to the realization himself about who and what I am in my entirety. No one can know until he does."

Masaki's mouth dropped. "You want to be reaccepted into his soul," she breathed, "because then you won't have to rely on Hell to exist. You could cut all ties and save me then."

Zen'i said nothing.

"That's your plan, isn't it? You want salvation from Hell, the same as every Togabito." Masaki's voice was full of understanding, with just a hint of pity.

"It's more than that!" Zen'i suddenly snarled angrily, whirling on her. "You don't know what it's like, to be so intrinsically tied to the core of someone's being, and then ripped out! I was part of Ichigo, a part that he knew and accepted! He was me, and I him! WE WERE ONE!"

Zen'i visibly shook with fury, his voice lowering. "And then Hell separated us, but that was fine because I was still part of his soul, just more visible than before. And we fought, yeah, but we had come to an understanding. It wouldn't be the same as before, but maybe one day it could be. But NO!" he shouted, punching into and through a nearby wall. "Hell tried to use me to control Ichigo, so Ichigo cast me out! I understand why it was done, but I hate him for that! I want to forgive him, but I can't!" He twisted back to stare accusingly at Masaki. "He damned me to Hell, and didn't even manage to get you out in the process!"

Zen'i's eyes burned with hate and anger and desperation and something that Masaki couldn't immediately identify. "I want to go back to the way things were before Hell fucked everything up," he hissed. "If I can save you, then maybe he'll fully accept me and we can go back to being one."

Masaki was speechless. But before she could do anything more than begin to lift her arm in a comforting way, another voice rang out. "There's more than one way to go back to being one." Hell stepped into the room slowly, deliberately.

"What do you mean?" Zen'i demanded.

"Simple. If you kill Kurosaki Ichigo, then the fact that part of his soul is already tied to me will draw the rest to do the same. While you were under my power, I tore you apart. Once he's under my power, I can put you back together." Hell smiled, his eyes betraying only a spark of malicious intent. "Instead of relying on what-ifs and maybes, or on the fickle nature of a human soul, just trust me to keep to my word."

Slowly, to Masaki's horror, Zen'i began to smile. "Alright."

"Excellent. As it happens, the initial force sent to Hueco Mundo was completely decimated. But the commander did see Kurosaki Ichigo there, leading the Hollows. How about you lead the next charge tomorrow?" Hell sounded positively pleasant, as though offering to treat a friend to a meal.

"Sounds perfect." Zen'i bowed. "Thank you, Hell-sama."

"And of course, our special guest will be protected," Hell assured the fragment of Ichigo, turning to Masaki. "After all, I still have plans for you."

Ichigo's mother could not help the cold chill that ran up her spine at that smile.