Binding

Ichigo scowled in concentration, studying a strip of spiritual fabric. After a couple of hours of general practice and examining his student's new abilities with the chains, Tessai had performed the first part of Bakudō 99: Bankin so Ichigo could examine it and hopefully duplicate its ability to simultaneously seal both reiatsu and physical movement.

"I don't get it," Ichigo muttered. "I feel the power in the fabric… but I don't understand how it would seal reiatsu."

"It is not easy to understand," Tessai agreed. "Tell me, where does reiatsu come from?"

The Vizard blinked. "Our reiryoku?"

"To be more precise, reiatsu is the pressure that is exerted through reiryoku," Tessai corrected. "But if our reiryoku is inside us, then how does reiatsu exist?"

Ichigo furrowed his brow. He'd never had to think about that before. "Well, it leaks out of our bodies, or we can push it out more."

"Yes. But where does it come out from?"

The Substitute Shinigami blinked again, taken aback. "I… don't know," he admitted.

Tessai stepped closer and took Ichigo's right hand, holding it so his palm was facing up. "Reiatsu comes out through tiny vents all over our body, Ichigo. Even your eyes can release reiatsu. However, the largest vents are here, in the wrists. This is why Kidō spells are cast with your hands – it's the easiest place to gather energy. Urahara-dono used this fact to create a seal against Aizen, to seal Aizen's immense reiryoku inside his body and let it burn him from the inside out."

Not really remembering the event, Ichigo nodded nonetheless.

Seeing his student's understanding, Tessai continued his lecture. "The knowledge of where reiatsu leaves the body is one of the keys to true seals, Ichigo."

"Because true seals are powered by the sealed, right? So we have to tie the seal to those vents at the wrist?"

"Right." Tessai gave an approving nod. "The fabric from Bankin is meant to wrap you up entirely and feed on the reiatsu from your wrists to maintain itself. This is not to say that seals are infallible, however. They can still be overloaded by large enough quantities of reiatsu. You did just that when regaining your Shinigami powers in the Shattered Shaft, enough to break through the first two parts of Bankin."

Ichigo brought his hand to his chin, thinking deeply. "Well, how did you set up the fabric so it can connect to and use the victim's power?"

Tessai gave a wan smile. "That would be the second key to true seals, and it is only taught to the brightest and most powerful in the Kidō Corps. All others have discovered it independently. The answer is deceptively simple in concept, but very difficult to actually perform."

Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment, his face growing more serious.

"Recall how you sealed your own power away," the Kidō master instructed. "Walk me through the process."

Ichigo took a moment to compose his reply. "I had to trace the strands of reiatsu that naturally emanated off of me, then compress them into a single spot inside of me with an image of how I wanted it."

"Precisely. You had to prevent your power from leaking through your reiatsu vents and store it in a different form. So, for you to seal someone else's power…?"

"I would have to control their power?" Ichigo answered uncertainly.

Tessai shook his head negatively. "It's almost impossible to directly control the reiryoku of another being. But we can guide it with our own."

"So… I'd need to push my own reiryoku into the other person's reiryoku, and use that to guide their power in the way I want?" Ichigo tried again. "Either to bind the power away or to 'encourage' it to power the seal?"

Tessai smiled in an approving way and nodded. "Yes. Naturally, as the wrists are the largest vents, it's the best target for reiryoku insertion. The next largest vents are in your ankles, which is why Shunpo and the air-walk technique are relatively easy to learn. Some truly complex, and truly powerful, seals use both wrists and ankles as entry points."

"What prevents someone from pushing the sealer's reiryoku out before the seal is complete?" the Vizard asked with a grimace. He had a feeling that any seals he made would take a while to perform.

"That is an excellent question," the former taicho of the Kidō Corps acknowledged. "Nothing prevents it except the strength of the sealer. Frequently, seals are used as a final technique, only performed after Bakudō has been applied to prevent the sealer from being physically attacked. Since most mid-to-high level Bakudō also inhibits reiatsu use to some extent, it proves useful in giving the sealer an advantage."

Ichigo nodded thoughtfully. So far, everything made sense. "Okay, then… are there any situations where a seal can't be applied?"

"Technically? No. Practically?" Tessai snorted. "Successful seals typically require the sealer to exert more reiatsu than his or her opponent. Note that the sealer could have less reiryoku, as long as they could match or exceed their opponent's reiatsu for the time needed to enact the seal. For example, Urahara-dono had set up a seal to be enacted when Aizen's reiatsu grew weaker than his own. If Aizen Sōsuke had not perished, you would have seen it in action."

Ichigo frowned pensively. "I can't say with any degree of certainty that I have more power than Hell," he admitted quietly. "I couldn't sense him at all. Guess that means I need to practice with my reiatsu."

"I think you'll find Hueco Mundo an appropriate place for that sort of practice," another voice cut in. Ichigo turned to see Urahara walking his way. "Did I hear correctly that you've made a breakthrough concerning Bakudō?"

In response, Ichigo smirked and whipped his arm up to aim his palm at Urahara. It was so nice to finally get him back for the pranks Urahara had played on him in the past. A long chain erupted from his palm, flying at Urahara at high speed. The shopkeeper unsheathed Benihime a split second later and cut through the chains as they flew towards him, only to be surprised as Ichigo directed the two chain fragments to wrap his arms to his body regardless, the broken links falling away as the chains rejoined.

Urahara fell backwards from the impact, Benihime falling to the ground. "Yare, yare," he muttered. "Question answered." Taking only a moment to gather his strength and reiryoku, he broke free and got to his feet, dusting himself off casually. "Not bad, Ichigo-kun. In fact, that was unexpectedly quite good."

Ichigo's jaw dropped, then he scowled and looked away in disappointment. "Damn. Nelliel wasn't able to break free of my chain at all, but you managed it so quickly. Looks like I need more work on it."

"Oh, your spell was well-cast," Urahara hastened to correct his colleague's pupil. "Especially for being cast with neither the spell name nor incantation, and working despite my damaging their physical form. But I've worked with Tessai for decades on Kidō, and don't forget that I was once the 12th Division taicho and founder of the R&D Institute. Do you really think I didn't know how to quickly identify weaknesses in spells and techniques?"

"That said, you will want to strengthen it before you fight Hell with it," Tessai added sternly. "Work on adding the number of chains you use, and their strength."

Ichigo nodded, still disappointed but resolute in his desire to improve. "How would you suggest?"

"Currently, your chains don't inhibit my reiatsu at all," Urahara replied. "Has Tessai-san told you about reiatsu vents yet?"

"Yeah."

Urahara nodded with a smile. "That's good. Work on using your chains as a way to connect to your opponent's vents."

Suddenly, alarms started blaring, and a Garganta opened right next to Ichigo. Turning, the Vizard saw Ulquiorra standing within the Garganta, making no move to step into the living world. "Ulquiorra?"

"Kurosaki-sama, your presence is needed in Hueco Mundo immediately. Another invasion force has arrived in Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo's expression hardened. "Understood. Let's go." He stepped into the Garganta without hesitation. Urahara opened his mouth to say something, but the Garganta closed before any words could be spoken.

Vizard and Arrancar hurried through the void between worlds, entering Hueco Mundo at the top of Las Noches. Sure enough, Ichigo could see in the distance an even larger force than the day before steadily approaching Las Noches, and he scowled. No Hollows were fighting them at the moment, it seemed. "Another test? The Hollows are waiting for me to respond?" Ichigo half-asked.

"Yes, sire. The king of Hueco Mundo is expected to be able to kill any force that conspires against him without assistance. The fight for the right to be king tested your strength in one-on-one combat. Yesterday's fight tested your leadership. Today you will prove your lack of fear. If you fail, the other Hollows will likely band together and try to kill you."

Ichigo blinked. "Abandon your fear," he murmured, so quiet he could barely hear himself. "Look forward. Always move forward. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die." It was strange… it was as though Zangetsu had always been preparing him for this role. Or perhaps it wasn't so strange – Ichigo had been part Hollow since his mother had died so many years ago, so of course those values would be imprinted onto his vision of true strength. "Alright then." Rolling his head from right to left sharply, he was gratified to hear his neck pop. "Let's give them a good show." With that, he flickered away.

He took his time getting behind the group, sealing Zangetsu on the way there; Ichigo wanted to catch them by surprise so they wouldn't have a chance to pull out their Chains of Hell. It hadn't mattered when there were a lot of Hollows firing Cero blasts at the last invasion force, as they had been forced to stay on the defensive, but Ichigo didn't know their offensive abilities.

Of course, Ichigo could go all-out and try to decimate them all in one blow of his Bankai-and-Resurrección-powered Gran Rey Cero, and he had to admit that the thought was tempting. But it was probably better to deprive Hell of his subjects as well. So Ichigo needed to break the chains before killing them.

Ichigo paused, a new thought almost making him stop in his tracks. But what if killing them just sends them back to Hell anyway? The purifying process of a Zanpakutō could send souls either to Soul Society or to Hell, depending on how evil the soul was in life, but would it take into account any repenting the soul did in Hell? There was no way to know, especially when Ichigo had no idea the mechanics behind Konsō. He'd have to ask Urahara the next time he saw the man. But what alternatives did he have? He couldn't let them go, but he couldn't kill them. That left… what? Imprisoning them?

The Vizard blinked. That… actually wasn't a bad idea. Las Noches was a fortress, and as Inoue once been kidnapped and held by Aizen, there had to be places that prisoners could be kept. Ichigo frowned. Probably should have done that with the last invasion force as well, he mused. Then again, the Hollow didn't really know me and complete annihilation makes a nice impression. Perhaps it was for the best.

Regardless, the choice was made. Ichigo would bind them, cut away the Chains of Hell, and then imprison them until Hell was defeated to ensure he didn't get any of his foot soldiers back. Finally arriving at a decent position behind the invading force, Ichigo took another few moments to work out his battle plan.

I don't really have any wide-scale binding techniques… or do I? His lips quirked into a triumphant grin his Inner Hollow would have been proud of.

The troop of Togabito marched forward in relative silence. They'd all been briefed that Kurosaki Ichigo, someone that their master was very interested in, was in Hueco Mundo protecting the Hollows. They all knew that the chances of successfully capturing or killing the hybrid were tiny, especially as Kurosaki was able to cut through their master's chains. The biggest question on the mind of every Togabito there was a simple one. Will I be set free?

Most of the Togabito had long since lost hope that they would ever be free of Hell. Only the strongest had ever managed to fight the Kushināda, and even they were unable to set themselves free. Suicide was futile – they would either resurrect in Hell once more, or dissolve into sands to join the Desert of the Damned, as it had come to be known by the lesser Togabito. No one until Kurosaki Ichigo had ever even been rumored able to cut the chains.

Tsuki, who had long ago forgotten her last name, looked up at the moon of Hueco Mundo. If she ran away from the rest of the troop, could she make it to this mythical Kurosaki Ichigo? The human – and how unbelievable was that? – who had the power to cut her bonds? Even if she could, even if she dared, would he free her?

How long ago had she first woken in Hell? Months? Years? …Decades? Tsuki no longer knew. But it felt as though she'd lived lifetimes, constantly running for her life from the Kushināda, taking shelter where she could with the other Togabito, eyeing everyone distrustfully. And then Hell had been reborn. Tsuki still had a hard time understanding – Hell was both a man, and the dimension? Did he create the dimension? If so, how unreal was his power?

As soon as Hell had risen, he had begun building an army. She'd almost immediately been drafted, where she had a place to rest and enough food to fill her stomach. Tsuki had been so grateful that she put her everything into learning the techniques that Hell and his lieutenants had drilled into them on how to utilize Hell's chains.

But then she'd learned that the army was meant to invade the rest of reality. The living world, and two places called Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, home to Hollows and Shinigami. From what Tsuki had understood at the briefing, they were the other two possibilities that her soul could have taken after she'd died. But they were going to war? They were going to take over all of reality? It reminded her of half-forgotten memories of watching apocalyptic films with her children. But in those films, the good guys almost always won, or at least survived. It was very unsettling to know Tsuki was fighting for the demons instead of humanity. But was there even a choice? If she didn't obey, Hell would kill her.

Why oh why had she framed that poor man? Why had she ever thought that it was alright to let someone else take the fall for her own mistake? She'd killed that man's child! On accident, sure, but she knew better than to drive drunk. Tsuki had thought herself lucky that the man had had a history of being a violent drunk, and that he too had been driving drunk on the night of his son's death. Why not let him take responsibility for it?

Tsuki had had children of her own to take care of, and her family couldn't afford for her to go to jail, not when their own father had passed away years before. Surely it was alright to prioritize their welfare over some stranger's, especially someone who wasn't a particularly good father anyway? Surely it was alright to feel a sense of relief and satisfaction when her plan worked and the court sentenced the man to prison? Surely it was alright to let out a smile of relief and happiness after the man died in prison, knowing that her secret would go with her to the grave?

Tsuki snorted, the noise hidden in the sounds of countless feet marching on uneven sands. Her secret had gone with her to the grave, and now look where she'd ended up. She'd been a selfish fool, and she'd eventually come to realize that she truly did deserve Hell, where there were hundreds, thousands of stories just like her own. She hadn't understood the true value of life, she hadn't realized that every debt had to be paid. She'd owed that boy and his family penance. And she'd spat in their faces, going on to live her own life without paying the slightest of attentions to the family she'd utterly ruined. How could she have been such a terrible person?

But… Tsuki had prayed a lot since then. She'd prayed for the souls of the boy and his father. She'd prayed for the souls of her own children. She'd prayed for guidance, and for her own salvation. It had never come. Perhaps she didn't deserve it. Tsuki had begun to come to terms with that, begun to accept that she would spend the rest of her life repenting until her soul was scattered into the Desert of the Damned, but then Hell had risen, and whispers of the man who could cut the chains and free them all had sprung up as if out of nowhere.

But maybe, just maybe, this Kurosaki Ichigo was an answer to her prayers? Could he purify her of her sins, and send her on to the other afterlife, the place where Shinigami resided, Soul Society? Or even straight to her next life? Tsuki wanted to know, very badly in fact, but did she dare? What if Kurosaki laughed at her and cut her down, sending her back to Hell? And then, there was the more terrifying possibility.

What if he loosed her chains and purified her… and she woke up in Hell again? Tsuki didn't think she could bear it if that were the case. She'd spent so long regretting and repenting for the sins she'd made in life. If she were sent back to Hell, then… then it would be time to think about casting herself into the Desert of the Damned. Oblivion would be preferable to knowledge that her soul would never, ever be forgiven for a stupid mistake made by a foolish woman in life.

Tsuki was still trying to decide if it was worth begging for Kurosaki's mercy when they were attacked. It had come without warning, soundlessly and invisibly. The first she knew of it was when her arms were suddenly bound to her sides, held there by a yellow-orange chain that crackled with energy. A panicked gasp and a glance to either side showed everyone else in the same predicament. But then she noticed that all the chains were all linked. Tsuki looked around, then over her shoulder, visually tracing the glowing chain back… to a single man who held the end of it with his left hand.

Orange hair. White vest, black hakama. And obviously very powerful. Could it be Kurosaki Ichigo? They'd not been told about any abilities with chains, but this was likely what some of the other Togabito had called Kidō, some form of Shinigami magic. She hoped it was. Maybe, just maybe, her nightmare was finally over.

Ichigo smiled despite the strain. He'd cast his chain variant of Bakudō 9: Hōrin, since it had the capability of handling multiple prisoners at once. But there were several dozen people here, and it was draining him faster than he'd like, both in mind and in power. Regardless, he had them captured, and it was quite clear that none of his prisoners could move very much at all.

Using Shunpo to reappear in front of the troop, Ichigo took a deep breath, taking a few moments to decide what to say. He needed something powerful, but simple. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo," he called out calmly. "And you have all been captured." With a sharp twist of his reiatsu, he channeled Bakudō 4: Hainawa down the existing chains and released the Hōrin spell, stabilizing the spell enough that it didn't require further feeding from his power. "Ulquiorra!"

The Arrancar materialized next to him. "Yes, Kurosaki-sama?"

"These are our prisoners. Take them to Las Noches and get them under confinement – under no circumstances are they to be killed or eaten. Destroy the chains that bind them to Hell after they've been situated."

"Yes sir." Ulquiorra took the chain from Ichigo's hands and began to lead the silent troop back to Las Noches.

After they'd left earshot, Ichigo sighed. He'd used more of his reiryoku than he'd wanted to capture them. He'd need some time and rest, and preferably food, before anything else happened.

"That was well done."

Ichigo almost jumped – he recognized that voice. He slowly turned to see his Togabito aspect standing across from him. So much for time and rest. "You." He said it quietly, without anger or hate, just a simple confirmation.

"Me," Zen'i agreed. "I go by Zen'i these days."

Ichigo nodded, making note of the name. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

"Hell sent me."

"I figured as much," the Vizard admitted calmly. "Did he send you here to fight me?"

"Yeah. He wants you dead." Zen'i smiled as if sharing a private joke.

"Figured that too." Ichigo assessed Zen'i carefully. "But you're not here to fight." It wasn't a question.

"No. No I'm not," the Togabito agreed. "Not if I don't have to."

"So I ask again. What do you want?"

Zen'i shifted. "I was part of you, you know."

"Yeah. I know now. Didn't back then, but I do now."

Zen'i sighed. "But you don't know what I am, do you?"

Ichigo knew that he wasn't asking about his form, or even his race. Zen'i was asking about the traits that he embodied. "I know a little. You're my anger, my hate, and my pride. You're the calculating part of me, the part that ignores my conscience and figures out the best move. I know you care about most of the things I care about."

Zen'i shook his head mournfully. "There's far more to me, Ichigo. And I can't tell you. And I can't be accepted back into your soul until you know me for who I am."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed only slightly. "You're still tied to Hell. I cast you out for a reason."

"A stupid reason!" Zen'i cried out, his voice suddenly raised, slicing through the calm of their previously quiet conversation. "Why didn't you just cut your own chains? We had the power! Instead of being stupid and cutting your soul apart, why didn't you free yourself of your bonds?"

"I wouldn't have been able to cut the bonds that Hell was focusing on! He knew our power, he knew how much power would be needed to maintain the chains!" Ichigo replied back heatedly.

"You could have done it if you had released your full power!" Zen'i argued with an ugly expression. "Our power was still bound by Gentei Reiin! If you'd released your own seal we could have escaped and gone unbound by Hell!"

"And then Mom either would have been disintegrated by our power, or she would have been killed by Hell again!" Ichigo snarled back. "Maybe permanently this time! Neither of us want that! As long as Hell believes that we're so weak we couldn't possibly stand a chance, he'll keep her alive just to torment us!"

"You cast me out because you couldn't accept that I was part of you!" Zen'i accused. "Are you scared by your own dark side, Ichigo? You saw an opportunity to be rid of me, and you took it, whether it was the right thing to do or not!"

"Is that what this is about?" the Vizard demanded incredulously. "Your hurt feelings? I cast you out because it made the most sense at the time! The chains were tied to you, I couldn't go full power, and if you possess even a scrap of my motivation you'd protect Mom! If you didn't, then I would know for sure that you were just a piece of Hell, which would have meant I was better off without you anyway, and casting you out was a good prelude to killing you! In either case I won!"

"In either case you won?" Zen'i whispered harshly. "You fool! By handing me over to Hell on a silver platter, you negated any advantage you had! He's going to send me against you over and over until you die! Even you can't fight yourself forever! All you have done is give him another weapon!"

"But Mom is still alive, is she not?" Ichigo pointed out with a hard expression. "I don't care if I have to fight you over and over for a thousand years, as long as she lives."

Silence fell. The two of them stood and stared at each other for several long moments. "And what happens if Hell is defeated?" Zen'i's voice had fallen to just above a whisper. "We can't trust Yamamoto or the rest of Soul Society to keep her safe. We can't keep her in the living world because it can't provide the reishi she needs to survive, and there's no way we'd keep a powerless soul in Hueco Mundo. The temptation would be too great; she'd be eaten sooner or later. Maybe Hell's our best bet for her."

"… I hear you," Ichigo said heavily, his posture sagging slightly. "But Mom wouldn't want her safety to be at the expense of every other soul in the living world."

The Togabito closed his eyes tightly, and his voice was tight when he managed to whisper, "Yeah, I know."

Once more, silence reigned between Ichigo and Zen'i as they just watched each other. A minute had passed before Zen'i opened his mouth to speak again.

"Ichigo, you damned me to Hell." The Vizard opened his mouth to reply, but Zen'i cut him off. "Let me finish! I understand the reasons why you did it. It was the best move, but it also cut away a part of you that you didn't understand, a part of you that honestly scared you. I hate you for that, and I don't know if I can forgive you. But I've always been a part of you, and I feel that one day we can go back to the way things were before Hell pulled me to the surface. If you feel the same way, then… then I'll help you. We share the same goals, after all."

Ichigo was suddenly reminded of his first fight with Zen'i, back before he had a name. He closed his eyes, quietly recalling the words…

"I want the same things you do! I want to protect my family, I want to make sure they can't be hurt anymore!"

"Don't you want to prevent more Quincy Massacres? More Bount and Mod Soul exterminations?"

"Why do you fight your destiny to rule, to protect your family? Don't you want to keep them safe by any means necessary?"

"Work with me, Ichigo! Between us, we can keep them safe!"

The only difference between them was that Zen'i had no resistance to murdering in cold blood and carving a bloody path to the top to ensure their desires came true. Ichigo didn't know if he could ever be pushed that far, but Kami help him he had been close when the Berean had banished his mother to Hell. He had been even closer when Yamamoto had refused to help him, and closer still when Yamamoto had tried to stop him. He'd even drawn Tensa Zangetsu on the Shinigami, and had been almost itching to crush the sōtaicho.

"Well, Ichigo?"

Ichigo took a deep breath and let it out slowly, opening his eyes to stare into Zen'i's blood red orbs. Did he feel that Zen'i could rejoin him someday? "Yeah. You're a part of me, Zen'i. I hope one day I can reabsorb you entirely into my soul."

Zen'i smiled, and reached out to Ichigo for a handshake. Ichigo glanced down at his Hell aspect's hand, where a short chain dangled from his wrist, and clasped it with his own hand. They shook firmly once and let go. Zen'I smiled, and drew his sword. "Alright then. Now we need to fight."

"Huh?" Ichigo blinked. They'd just agreed to work together, and now he wanted to fight?

"Hell sent me here to fight and try to kill you. It'll look suspicious if we don't create a titanic battle," Zen'i explained. "We gotta fight, and you've gotta kill me. And we need to do it now. I can explain the delay as me trying to find a way to sneak up on you, or waiting for you to recover a little power so I can crush you properly, but the clock's ticking."

Ichigo blinked. It was a bit of a mental shift, trying to go from soul-searching to battle-ready, but after a few moments, he shook his head and leapt back, drawing his blade. "Fine then. Let's get this over with."

"Get ready, Ichigo!" Zen'i warned, letting loose a burst of reiatsu.

Ichigo's face hardened and he began channeling his power to his blade. Across from him, he could sense Zen'i doing the same. "Don't complain when I kill you quickly."

"Tear the sky asunder, Zangetsu!" they roared together.