"Well, Ichigo, while I can't say I don't appreciate the help, it seems a little odd you'd offer it to little ol' me," Gin starts.
"You want to know what I want from you," Ichigo translates.
"Yes."
"What is Kyōka Suigetsu's weakness?"
Gin's eyes widen. "Aizen's zanpakuto? What makes you think I know that?"
"Oh, Gin, just tell him what he wants!" Rangiku pleas.
"What?" He frowns.
"Look me in my eye and tell me you didn't leave me for Aizen's godly ascension."
The ex-captain looks away. He can't say it.
"No? Then give Ichigo something! We need to kick Aizen's ass while we still can!"
Gin groans in frustration. "I'm going to regret this."
"What is it?" The ginger demands.
"You have to grab the blade. It cancels out the illusion."
Ichigo takes the information in. He did but didn't know the zanpakuto's name and power. It must be Shiro feeding the ginger the information again.
So Aizen has illusions. It makes sense. The man kept up a pretty good illusion as a kind captain loyal to the Gotei 13 for decades. But one has to grab the blade to cancel out the illusion?
"Does it only cancel out the one illusion?" He asks.
"No, it's more like immunity." Gin shakes his head.
Immunity? Now that's more like it.
A grin pulls at Ichigo's lips. "Let's go kick some ass."
Renji and Rukia shout in agreeance, following closely behind Ichigo as they shunpo back to the fight. Ichigo can sense the other three staying back, yet he leaves it be. There's a fuck ton of drama that he is not apart of.
The battle field is a mess when they get back. Inoue is unconscious and being dragged away by Mizuiro while Keigo watches his six. Tatsuki and Chad are staying true to their names of heavy hitters as well as doing whatever it takes to shield their fallen comrade. Uryū is trying to distract by shooting a volley of bright arrows in his direction, but it doesn't seem to be working.
What really catches Ichigo off guard is who his fracción is fighting.
"Why are they attacking your friends?" Renji asks slowly.
"I don't know," Ichigo blinks. "What do you think happened while we were gone?"
"Are you serious? It's probably one of Aizen's illusions. We have to stop them from killing each other," Rukia proclaims, Sode no Shirayuki at the ready.
"No, wait. If this is an illusion, we need to find Aizen first. We don't want to get caught up in the mess if it is," Ichigo argues.
"He's right," Renji replies. "We have to find him soon or else your friends will be killed by the Gotei 13."
Uryū releases more arrows onto Ukitake. He dodges them with an ability Ichigo didn't know he still had. Shunsei leaps over Ukitake, and goes in for the kill. Nel catches the captain by the sword.
"I will die before I let you hurt Ichigo's friends!" She roars.
"Wait, where are the rest of the Espada?" The ginger finds himself asking, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his gut long enough to turn to Renji.
"I don't know. We gotta move. And fast."
Hard to argue with a man who is right.
They stray to the sidelines of the battlefield, searching for one crazed megalomaniac. Aizen stands beside Yamamoto, and they appear to be fighting. It consists mostly of Aizen using shunpo to get away from balls of raging fire the head captain is throwing at him.
Ichigo ponders on Aizen's actions. Why isn't he using his zanpakuto? Why is he going against Yamamoto bare handed? He already used Kyōka Suigetsu to put the others under illusion. Why not Yamamoto, too? What's his end game?
"The Hogyoku," he realizes.
"What?" Renji furrows his eyebrows.
"You were having a conversation in your head again." Rukia flicks Ichigo's chest plate.
"Oh."
"What about the Hogyoku?" Renji presses.
"I'm just thinking about why Aizen isn't using his zanpakuto against Yamamoto."
"You think he's going to use the Hogyoku on the head captain?" The redhead inquires.
Ichigo hums in thought. "No. That would only make Yamamoto more powerful. But Aizen has to be using the Hogyoku for something right?"
"He said he plans on using the Hogyoku to take the souls of Karakura Town's people," Rukia reminds.
They watch the two continue their battle as they ponder. A building close by is lit on fire as collateral of the fight.
"The Hogyoku grants wishes. It has a mind and a drive. It's like a genie in a bottle, per say. Even with something that powerful, how would it be able to absorb a city full of souls?" Ichigo wonders aloud.
"Maybe Aizen would need to build a machine or something? To channel the power?" Renji guesses. "Ya know, some weird Urahara level shit."
"Kurosaki-sama!"
Menoly and Loly run up to the three with Isshin and Ryuuken in tow. There's no sight of the other two adults from their group.
"Where's Yoruichi and Kisuke?" Ichigo asks.
"The shoten. Kisuke says he has something he can use on Aizen. A weapon of some kind," Isshin explains.
"Of course he does," Rukia rolls her eyes.
"What's happening here?" Ryuuken asks. "Where's my son?"
"He's a little busy. We are trying to figure out what the fuck Aizen is doing," Ichigo reports.
"What do you mean?"
"Look at him. Why isn't he using his zanpakuto? When does he plan on using the Hogyoku? What's he going to do with that power?"
"Well, how much do you know?"
"That he..." Ichigo trails off. "Son of a bitch."
"What?" Renji asks.
"He's going to absorb the souls into himself," Ichigo gawks, staring at Aizen in both horror and respect.
"How can he make the oken with the souls inside him?" Rukia quirks an eyebrow.
"He's going to make the what?" Isshin blinks.
"He must be planning to use kidō. He has to have all the souls collected, so the kido must be how he plans to concentrate that power," Ichigo explains.
"Alright. Makes sense to me," Renji shrugs.
"But why not use his zanpakuto?" Rukia redirects. "What is he trying to prove?"
Ichigo hums. "Maybe he has to prove himself to the Hogyoku?"
"That wouldn't be so far fetched. The thing does have a mind of its own."
"It respects power," Isshin nods. "So Aizen probably has to show power."
"Alright. Everyone, get back to the others. I need my fracción alive and well to take down Aizen. I'll also see if I can get Aizen to drop the illusion while I'm at it."
"Illusion?" Ryuuken frowns.
"I'll explain on the way," Rukia promises, prompting the three men away.
"What shall we do?" Menoly asks, her sister standing beside her impatiently.
"You're with me. I need you to get Aizen's zanpakuto."
"What! You're not serious?" Loly roars.
"I'll separate Aizen from Kyōka Suigetsu. All you two have to do is grab it and bring it to me. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Kurosaki-sama!" Menoly exclaims.
"Let's get this over with." Loly rolls her eyes.
Ichigo draws Zangetsu. The large blade unravels itself, and the white wrapping waves in the raging Reiatsu currents. The sisters draw their own weapons, waiting on Ichigo's orders.
Perhaps using a sprinting shunpo at the two powerful beings who are in the middle of an intense battle wasn't necessarily the brightest idea the ginger has had, but it definitely wasn't the worst. He ducks underneath a flaming Ryujin Jakka, and trips the oldest man he's ever seen onto his ass. If Ichigo still had a full head of hair, he'd be missing a good chunk of it from the fire. Thank god for Szayel and his talent with scissors, Ichigo thinks.
He kicks the zanpakuto out of the old man's weakened grasp before going for Aizen. Yamamoto is not even a little okay with Ichigo's actions. He stands and threatens the ginger Espada without batting an eye.
"Stand down or meet your mother in the after life!" Yamamoto roars.
Ichigo holds in his anger long enough to send a harmless attack. He swings Zangetsu up, having the sword assist his one eighty turn. A strong wave of Reiatsu is shot at the head captain. It catches Yamamoto off guard, and he's struck in the middle of the chest. He crumples to the ground unconscious.
"Here to take me down yourself, Ichigo?" Aizen asks.
"Enough talk. Give me the Hogyoku, Aizen. You don't deserve it," Ichigo snaps.
"And you do?"
"Of course. You need to prove your worth to it, right? But what worth do you have without your zanpakuto?" Ichigo starts.
"Without it?"
"You put the Gotei 13 under an illusion to distract my fracción from stopping you. How can you prove your worth when Kyōka Suigetsu is doing all the heavy lifting? I, however, not only got your entire army to abandon you, but am evolving faster than you. Why shouldn't I get the Hogyoku?"
Aizen bares his teeth at Ichigo. Ichigo bares his fangs back into an aggressive hiss.
"I'm faster and stronger than you, not to mention smarter. If I need to prove more of that to the Hogyoku to earn its loyalty then so be it."
Ichigo stabs Zangetsu into the ground. Aizen growls, but follows Ichigo's lead. He stabs Kyōka Suigetsu down without second thought.
"Now what?" Aizen snaps. "You reveal to me your super secret special move you've been waiting to use for this moment?"
Ichigo laughs. He can't help it: the man caught him off guard. "Do you read manga, too?"
"What?" He wrinkles his brow.
"Ah, makes sense."
Ichigo whips his arm up, summons his bow, and pulls back an arrow. He releases the string. Aizen just manages to duck. They run parallel to each other, the both of them throwing power of the glowing variety.
The ginger keeps repeating Uryū's lectures in his head whenever he releases an arrow. In times like these, he typically does. Uryū doesn't quite understand how seriously Ichigo takes him.
"Quincys have to be flexible. They have to be able to shoot an arrow anywhere and anytime with any circumstances. I don't care if you're sprinting. I don't care if your opponent is an arm's reach away. You should be able to shoot that damn arrow and meet your target."
Ichigo bobs and weaves the kidō. He doesn't let the arrows stop raining down on the murderous bastard regardless of what is being thrown at him.
"Quincys have to be fast. Nothing stops you from moving. And I mean nothing. Not the wind or fire or number of obstacles in your way will stop you from firing that bow."
Ichigo jumps onto a large piece of debris, arrows flying at speeds he didn't know he was capable of. Aizen dances around the attacks and battle field like a ballerina. He works best on his toes, apparently.
"Quincys have to be agile. When an obstacle gets in your way, get around it. There are no exceptions. The mission doesn't allow exceptions."
Ichigo leaps into the air, going over Aizen. He sends more arrows with his new vantage point. One hits Aizen in the shoulder, but the rest miss when he moves out of the way.
"Quinces have to be smart. Come up with a plan your enemy will never see coming. Take advantage of their confusion. Out smart them. Snuff them out before they get you."
Ichigo lands right on the arrow in Aizen's shoulder. They stumble to the rubbled ground into an awkward landing. Ichigo's bow flutters out, and the two Shinigami get to their hands and knees. The ginger rolls away and jumps up to his feet.
"I never thought of you as a cheater," Aizen quips, tending to his wounded shoulder.
"Yeah, well, not my fault you let me outsmart you."
"I should rip out your tongue."
"What's stopping you? Come get me," Ichigo prompts.
"I will not fall for anymore of your tricks."
"Who says you haven't already?"
Aizen's eyebrows furrow. He goes to open his mouth, but the appearance of Menoly and Loly makes him pause. The sisters stand on both sides of Ichigo.
"Kurosaki-sama. Kyōka Suigetsu as you requested," Menoly bows her head.
She presents the sword to him. Ichigo takes it gently, and runs a fingertip up the side of the blade. Aizen involuntarily shudders at the touch.
"Good job, guys. Get this to Renji. Tell him he needs to use it to save my fracción," Ichigo orders.
"Yes, Kurosaki-sama."
The girls take the sword and are off with it before Aizen gets a word in. The megalomaniac sends Ichigo a glare, his body shaking with wrath.
"You," he growls. "You've stolen everything from me. My Espada, my army, my assistants, and now my zanpakuto."
"For someone so dismissive of such a prize weapon, you seem rather upset," the ginger grins.
"I will kill you!" He roars.
"I wanna see you try."
And then they charge.