To Undo it All

Chapter 2: Execution(Once Again)

"Is this the true power of your zanpakuto, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

'Not even close' Zangetsu and I growled simultaneously in my head.

"That's right." I had to force the words out of my mouth. It felt insulting to describe something so weak as my signature. "When I swing my sword, all of my reiatsu is absorbed by my zanpakuto then released in a super high-density beam. That gives it an incredibly amplified swing. That's Zangetsu's power." I had to pause and calm down, lest I accidentally say 'fuck it' and let loose my true power. Old Man Zangetsu supplied memories to work from.

"You know, this is the first time I've used this attack in combat. Until just now I wasn't really sure how to fire it. Kisuke Urahara told me, 'I can only teach you the stances'. Now I finally know what he meant. He was telling me that there was only one who could use Zangetsu. And that was Zangetsu himself. The name of that attack…" It felt wrong to call something so weak by the name of something so powerful. "…is Getsuga Tensho." I allowed a moment for him to take it in.

"I'll say it once more, Byakuya Kuchiki. Attack me with your Bankai now, or I'm going to destroy you completely." He said nothing for a couple seconds.

"'Piercer of Heaven', huh? What a pretentious name."

'For something like that, I agree. But say that about a real one, and it's joining that light-post up your ass.' I agreed wholeheartedly with my Zanpakuto.

"All right then. Since you're not willing to take 'no' for an answer, then see this: behold, my Bankai." He held his sword in the familiar position he took whenever he entered Bankai, and dropped his sword through the ground. I pretended to be shocked. "Do not worry. This will be over swiftly." Oh, I want it to be.

"You'll turn to dust and disappear before another thought passes through your head." Like always when his Bankai is released, a dozen gigantic swords rose out of the ground behind him. "Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." The blades exploded into petals, and I calmed myself down with the recollection that with the way this Byakuya used his Bankai, it might as well have been just a bigger version of his shikai, which was a hilarious thought. A Bankai is so much more powerful and effective than a shikai ever could be, it was sad that Byakuya originally perverted his so much as to treat it like his shikai. I grabbed the false Zangetsu and ran as what amounted to a million flying swords came at me like the world's deadliest tidal wave. I allowed myself to get in the middle of a trap and half-heartedly flung a fake Getsuga before I was overwhelmed by the petal-shaped blades.

"Think of Senbonzakura like this," the nobleman began to monologue. "A relentless barrage from all angles by billions of blades attacking simultaneously. The abilities of your zanpakuto are more than I imagined." 'You could never hope to take our true power on.' Came Shiro's growl. Only when the hollow was truly pissed did he forget to cuss. "However, your attacks are far too broad and clumsy. You could never evade the nimble assault of Senbonzakura."

'I can name so many ways why I don't care.'

"Yeah, well, you talk too much." I began.

'Are you ready?'

'To rip his head off? Yes.'

'For the fake Bankai.'

'Yes.'

"I said I'd beat you. If shikai isn't enough, I'll go higher."

"That arrogant mouth of yours is going to be the death of you. You talk as if you already achieved Bankai level." 'We did a long time ago, and we don't need it against you.'

"Yeah, you catch on pretty quickly, Byakuya." I shifted into my ready stance for activating my false Bankai. My feet were set shoulder width apart, and the fake Zangetsu was held out in front of me, with my left hand supporting my arm. The cloth that always hung at the bottom of the hilt automatically wrapped around my arm as my reiatsu skyrocketed, screaming to climb up to its true levels but being forcefully prevented from doing so.