(Yhwach's Throne Room)
"That damn brat." Yhwach growled, angry at using much of his regained energy to fire an attack capable of killing his target and having victory ripped away from him. "There is no bringing you back to your family, is there? Not when you've perverted the most holy rite of the Quincy." He watched the fight between Ichigo and Aizen, initially unconcerned since Aizen bore some of his Quincy Reishi since the first time the Soul Reaper fought his lost child, until Ichigo used his own Auswahlen. The brat dared to sever his bloodline and declare himself on par with the Quincy emperor! He used his own power over his children to gather enough power to smite the heathen traitor, then Aizen did a most unexpected thing and sacrificed his life. Now Ichigo was the single most dangerous being to his goal and his failed effort has set it back greatly. Jugram soon entered to give the report on the state of the Vandenreich.
"Your majesty, here's the report." He said, bowing to his lord while carrying some singed cloth. "Your children are in mourning that their brothers and sisters lives failed to give you the power necessary to slay their traitorous brother and have vowed to strengthen themselves for the assault." He rose to his feet and made his way to the foot of the throne to present the cloth he carried, the burned remained of a Zero Squad Haori. "The Sternritters that accompanied Ichigo Kurosaki and the others were unable to recover Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki from the constant watch of Ichigo's allies, but they did recover this." Yhwach took the Haori and examined it.
"This belonged to the head of the Royal Guard, Ichibe Hyosube." The emperor said, recognizing the power in the cloth. "It holds the power of the Oken within. Maybe this trip had some worth after all." He mused, now that he had a way into the Royal Palace as soon as that damned seal of Urahara's weakens enough to allow the entire army to escape this prison world of theirs. "Let them know that I am pleased with this accomplishment. They made the best of a failed mission, and I reward worthy contributions to our cause." Jugram bowed again and left the throne room to let his lord sleep.
(With the Gotei)
The assembled captains, lieutenants, Arrancar, and others waited for the final battle to end. For the hybrid to defeat the traitor and bring about another great change to the Gotei. Genryusai himself narrowed his eyes as he recognized the sensation of an Auswahlen in the air, followed not too long after by a powerful Quincy shot that could only belong to Yhwach himself. Ichigo soon appeared before them, with Kyoka Suigetsu and the other Hogyoku in hand.
"Aizen is dead." He said, holding out the blade hilt first to Yamamoto and tossing the sphere to Kisuke. Tessai and Urahara wasted no time taking the Hogyoku and putting it behind a seal until they could properly lock it away. Yamamoto reached out and took Kyoka Suigetsu, examining one of the most deadly Zanpakuto he's seen in recent years. A grimace from Ichigo and a sense of distress from the sword itself gave the old dragon an idea of what happened. He returned the sword to Ichigo and addressed his student and the group.
"This war is now over." He announced loudly. "The remaining Arrancar here are to return to Hueco Mundo, your king will join you in due time after we decided our future actions." The Espada looked to Ichigo, who nodded in confirmation, and prompted the return to the endless desert. Ichigo rose back to his feet while Ulquiorra and Grimmjow appeared by their master's side again.
"Nice job boss." Grimmjow congratulated, aiming to give Ichigo a pat on the back, only to have his hand disintegrate when it got within half a foot of Ichigo's being. "AHHH SHIT! That stings!" He roared as his hand regenerated.
"After absorbing Aizen's soul, my Reiatsu became too strong." The hybrid explained, knowing what that much power in one being does from sheer instinct. "It's taking all my concentration to hold it back this much." Not too long after that, Masaki, Ryuken, Kanae, and Sora appeared, with Masaki jumping toward her son.
"My boy's so strong now!" She cheered, with Isshin catching and holding her back. "I'm so proud of you honey!" She continued, trying to hug her child before slamming an elbow into Isshin's head. "Let me congratulate my little protector!" She roared, before Isshin explained the dangers in getting too close. Meanwhile, Ikkaku was snickering about the 'little protector' comment, which led to Masaki to stomp his head into the ground. And Kenpachi gave no shits, heading over to pat Ichigo on the shoulder.
"Two things." He said, his hand rapidly smoking from the contact. "One, you owe me a fight, and two, I'll show you how to restrain yourself. I'm very familiar with the practice." He then went over to Unohana, who began to heal her husband's hand. While Masaki was beating Ikkaku to near death, Ryuken went over to Ichigo to explain that the four of the empowered humans were in charge of protecting four major structures that protected the real Karakura with the fake Karakura. Ichigo nodded in understanding before offering the dust he gathered from Aizen's body to the senior Quincy.
"That's Still Silver alright." Ryuken confirmed after examining the dust. "Good that you remembered to get it." He said before pouring the material into a vial and pocketing it away.
"Still Silver is a rare mineral that comes from the victims of the 'Holy Selection' that aren't immediately incinerated." Kisuke explained for the rest of the Gotei. "If left alone, it coagulates in the heart and would still kill the victim. Masaki and Kanae would've died if Ryuken and I didn't extract it while they were still comatose."
"And it's the only thing that can render Yhwach powerless for the briefest of instants." Ryuken finished. "However, I am unsure whether this would affect Yhwach or not, but it would most certainly threaten Ichigo. I do have an idea of what to do with this however."
"We will trust you to handle that." Genryusai said, wanting to return to Soul Society so that they could begin the next great changes to the afterlife.
(In Soul Society)
The Senkaimon closed behind the Gotei members while Masaki and the others returned the real Karakura Town back to the world of the Living. Ichigo kept a safe distance from his allies while Gin was in shackles. Before the group left the world of the Living, the rest of Ichigo's allies that invaded Hueco Mundo appeared, sans the Sternritters. Something that Uryu said he would explain at the meeting later. The group didn't take ten steps before Senjumaru appeared in front of Ichigo and instantly stripped, measured, tailored, and redressed Ichigo so quickly that barely anyone could follow what happened.
"What just happened?" The hybrid asked with Ulquiorra getting between his king and the strange woman.
"Osho said we should be down here for when you get back." The seamstress answered, rubbing her skeletal hands. "I prepared a special fabric that could help restrain your power. A mere prototype until I can refine and add more features to it." The hybrid finally took a chance to look over himself to find he was covered in black. A black Haori with a new black form fitting shirt and pants with belt fasteners on his forearms and calves, all of which he could feel were holding back his Reiatsu. "The fabric itself is the seal while undoing one of the fasteners is like opening a valve.
"Huh, neat." He said, getting accustomed to the sense of wearing a seal. "By the way, did you grope my butt?" Ichigo asked, making Senjumaru avert her eyes and blush while smiling.
"Just getting accurate measurements." She muttered, slowly walking away and disappearing before Ichigo could demand answers. Soon after that, Ichibe and Oetsu appeared with the smith holding out his hand and summoning Kyoka Suigetsu to him while the monk stood in front of the hybrid.
"After seeing your Tensa Zangetsu, I had a feeling the fight would end with you absorbing Aizen." Osho explained as Ulquiorra took his place behind his lord and Yamamoto coming up next to his student. "The reasons why we're here is to see how much stronger you would become as a result of that. Senjumaru made that outfit while Oetsu had a theory he wanted to test, and you said you'd return my Haori." The leader of the zero squad looked around, but saw no trace of his cloak. "Where's my Haori?"
"So that was yours?" Uryu asked, having been looking over Ichigo's new outfit since he saw the seamstress display her skill. "Guess it was really important then. Yeah, that's gone." He told them before getting back to his study of his cousin's clothes, completely ignorant of the rising anger of the Captain Commander.
"A Haori, the symbol of strength and accomplishment, reserved for only the most worthy of the ranks of leaders, and you lost it." He calmly stated before raising his cane.
"And then Ichigo blew up, which almost burnt it away completely." The Quincy finished, prompting Genryusai to bash Ichigo's skull in. The resulting shockwave blew Uryu away, left a small crater in the ground, and made a lump grow on Ichigo's head.
"Those aren't just given away casually!" The dragon roared at Ichigo, who backed away from his sensei's anger. "When you return to Hueco Mundo, you find that-"
"It's with the Vandenreich." Uryu interrupted, earning a more infuriated look from both Yamamoto and Ichibe. "The main reason the Sternritter spies came with us was because Yhwach gave them orders to kidnap Yuzu and Karin, which they refused to do. Knowing they couldn't just return empty-handed since Yhwach would kill them, they took the next best thing. The Haori of a Royal Guard member. I'm guessing that it has some special properties?"
"They are made with Oken fibers and properties." Senjumara said, giving a sense of how serious the Quincy situation became. "We must begin preparations. Yhwach has a way to access the Royal Palace."
"That upstart Quincy would still need to get through Yamamoto and Ichigo first." Oetsu called from his place, rubbing his fingers along the body of Kyoka Suigetsu's blade while water dripped from the steel. He moved his away to reveal very small polishing stones on his fingers. "This girl needed a good polish. That bastard Aizen, treating her like a tool." He muttered as he dried off the sword before going to Ichigo. "But now, Yhwach should be more cautious of Ichigo than ever. As well he should be since this happened." He stated while tossing the blade to the hybrid, which transformed mid-flight into the Zanpakuto spirit of the sword. Something that resembled a shimmering female Aizen, as if she was simply a mirage, surprising the whole of the Gotei.
"You have a really spacious inner world Ichigo." She said, getting directly into Ichigo's personal space. "When you infected Aizen, you infected everything, right down to his Zanpakuto." She turned away with a blush. "It hurt at first, it was so rough, but I couldn't help but enjoy it." Ichigo and several other members of the Gotei developed a blush, Gin was snickering while Urahara and Yoruichi planned to milk this for all it was worth, and Isshin was proud that his son could even seduce swords. "Yes, Zangetsu was an amazing lover!" She proudly declared, causing several to face vault. Zangetsu himself appeared next to Kyoka and covered her mouth with his hand.
"Bottom line Ichigo, you absorbed Kyoka Suigetsu's Zanpakuto spirit as well." The Zanpakuto explained. "Meaning you now have the power of one of the strongest Kido type swords. For the time being however, you're going to have to work to gain and master that power." Ichigo nodded in agreement, preferring to earn his strengths by learning them. "You better get ready for the new training partner." "Meanwhile, I have no idea how Shiraiyuki and Haineko are going to react to this!" He said, out loud and mentally to his master, as both spirits returned to Ichigo's inner world with both blades appearing at his hip.
"At least that was addressed." Yamamoto said, already thinking of ways to help train his student in his new blade. "But, there is still more to take care off." He turned to his soldiers. "I call for a captain's meeting, we shall decide the fate of Gin Ichimaru."
(Gin's Trial)
The captains assembled in the meeting hall, with Gin in shackles before them all. The whole trial was a farce and they all knew it. Gin was an ally, but he acted of his own accord. They needed as many strong soldiers as they could get, but they still had to punish Gin for his actions. For the first time since Genryusai took Ichigo in as his disciple, he forbade Ichigo from playing any part in this meeting.
"Gin Ichimaru, you stand accused of treason." Yamamoto called out, moving quickly to avoid a waste of time so they can make preparations for the Quincy. "You've stated your sole mission was to slay Aizen for his actions, but it was all of you own accord. How do you plead?"
"Guilty, Captain Commander." Ichimaru said with a smile on his face. "I did not care how or how much blood I'd need to spill. So long as Aizen died, I would be content." He bowed before the captains and knelt, ready to receive his punishment. "I only ask that you let Rangiku visit me in the Maggot's Nest."
"You jump to conclusions, Ichimaru." The dragon said, making Gin look to Yamamoto in surprise. "You are not sentenced to the Maggot's Nest. You are banished from Soul Society as a whole, to return to the deserts of Hueco Mundo." Gin ground his teeth, about to lash out to the ancient captain before the man continued. "Once there, you are to establish a new squad 16, meant to hunt and regulate the number of dangerous Hollows."
"You want me to be in charge of the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo?" He asked, now more confused than angry. "Why not send Ichigo? He's their king now and they would obey him. More importantly, this seems more like a slap on the wrist than what I expected."
"You've committed some serious crimes while getting close to Aizen." Urahara said, earning nods from some of the more level headed captains. "But Ichigo is still training, now more than ever since he now has new powers to master, and you are a capable warrior. We can't afford to lose any of those." The scientist explained as Gin wondered what that could mean.
"Aizen is dead, what else could..." Gin's eyes opened in shock. "That arrow that killed Aizen! That's what Ichigo meant!"
"'I was going to tell him about an actual threat.'" Toshiro quoted, back from when he and Gin watched Ichigo during his first fight with Aizen. Something he barely heard during the fight. "His name is Yhwach."
"The ancient Quincy emperor that necessitated the creation of the original Gotei." The Head Captain continued. "He has spent the last millennium preparing an army to attack us."
"This actually explains a lot now that I think about it." Gin admitted, rethinking his stance on his punishment. "But why are you creating a squad in Hueco Mundo? More than that, a squad made solely of Arrancar?"
"Tests done by Kurotsuchi revealed that Quincy are actually very vulnerable to Hollow Reishi." Urahara answered. "It's like their main weakness. Hence why we want a squad of Arrancar." Gin thought for a moment before rising back to his feet.
"Very well. I'll become the captain of this squad 16." He said before giving another fox like grin. "But first, there's something I want done."
(With Ichigo)
The hybrid stood in front of the sealed meeting hall, waiting for the other captains to finish. In the short time Ichigo studied under Genryusai, he's been able to pick up on a few things. In this case, he was forbidden from getting involved with Gin's trial despite Yamamoto's insistence that Ichigo watch and learn the burdens of leadership. That meant that they already knew what they would be doing to Gin, that Ichigo might disagree with some aspect of it, and he would argue against it. Whether he made any good points or not was irrelevant, they could now focus on the Quincy threat and everyone wanted to prepare for that. He continued to stand there, until he got a visitor.
"Hey there hero!" He turned to see Rangiku heading towards him. "How's it going? I figured you'd be in there with them."
"Not this time apparently, meaning whatever they're planning is something I might argue against." Ichigo returned, facing the meeting hall again. "He didn't do a lot to help, needing to be as discreet as he could, but he did help with what he could. Besides, if anything bad happened, you'd be sad." He said, reminding both himself and Rangiku of what Gin asked. To Ichigo, that meant securing her happiness, which meant keeping Gin around. He stiffened up when he felt her hug him from behind.
"You've already done so much." She told him, making him question how much he actually did. "You were there when I was depressed that he left Soul Society, you made sure my current captain returned during the Oin incident, you kept Gin alive, you see more to me than my boobs, I was actually okay with the lack of one on one time because you were always so busy between and during the various crises, and I'm closer to Haineko than I've ever been before." He turned to face her again. "I'll admit, for all the teasing and flirting, I wasn't ready to really fall for you... but now..."
"Rangiku." Ichigo said, smiling down to the now blushing lieutenant. The two began leaning in to kiss each other when they were interrupted by a silver fox.
"Well, nice to see you two getting along!" Gin called out happily, shocking the two into separating away from each other and burning with embarrassment. "Well, now that I've had my fun, I figure I should tell you what's going on." He said, losing his smile and becoming more serious than his usual self. "I'm banished to Hueco Mundo to turn your loyal Arrancar into a whole new squad." The announcement surprised the two, Ichigo admitting to himself that he'd probably protest that simply because of the whole 'banished' part. "You'll need to return to Hueco Mundo as well Ichigo. Let the Hollows and Arrancar see their new king. I'll wait till you're ready, I need to see Urahara at the R&D department anyway." He said as he began walking away. He suddenly stopped to wave Ichigo over to him.
"Yeah, what is it?" Ichigo asked as he got closer to Gin, who wrapped an arm around the hybrid and started whispering in his ear.
"I do trust you with her, but remember this." He spoke with a deathly calm tone that promised a slow end. "After Aizen got her hurt, I spent centuries getting into the perfect position to kill him. It may have failed, but you now know how patient and determined I can be. If you hurt her, I don't care how long it will take, I WILL find a way to kill you. Do we have an understanding?" He finished with a predatory smile... which was ruined with a loud crack on his head.
"I'm sure he knows, now stop threatening my boyfriend." Rangiku deadpanned, her sheath resting on the lump that was now on Gin's head.
"Sorry, sorry. Just being a bit protective." Gin apologized, walking away from the two. "Go and be happy, Rangiku." He waved goodbye, flashing the pair a smile before disappearing.
"Only took a few centuries for him to give me a proper goodbye." She thought with a smile as the two leaned against one another again.
"By the way, what was with Toshiro?" Ichigo suddenly asked. "I show up and he was an adult?"
"The true power of his bankai." She answered. "Takes a while to mature like that."
(Squad 12: With the Fullbringers, 3 days later)
"So you managed to find another level to the Fullbring." Ginjo said while Chad was getting a few tests done. "And you didn't come up with a name for it in all this time? Why not 'Full Power' or 'Full Release'?!" He ranted, slowly listing off more names while the other Fullbringers ignored him.
"Ignoring the terrible naming idea, I'm sure you're fine Sado." Jackie said, patting the big guy on the back. "You were already pushing your limits and just went too far too fast. These guys can fix you right up." Chad gave the dark American a smile, Tsukishima and Giriko trying to stop Ginjo from embarrassing himself with the names he was thinking of while Riruka ignored them, when Urahara came back with a clipboard in hand.
"If you still want to give that Fullbring stage a name, I have a suggestion. Forbidden." Kisuke said with no cheer and none of the laid back attitude. "Sado, you burned through at least twenty years of your life with that and actually increased the chance of Soul Suicide upon your mortal death." The rest of the Fullbringers froze in shock while Chad seemed resigned, like he knew that was the case. "I'm not sure if this will be the case with the others, but from now on I never want to hear you using that if you can avoid it Chad."
"Understood." The Fullbringer nodded. "If it's not too much trouble, don't tell the others. Especially Ichigo." He asked, making the captain raise his eyebrow while the others still tried to process the news. "I don't want him to worry about me." There was a long pause before the scientist sighed.
"Fine, but if you use that power again, I'm telling him." He said as he left the group, heading to the basement to continue the Arrancar experiments.
(Squad 12 Underground Facility)
"Mayuri! How's progress?" Urahara called out as he entered the chambers housing the more questionable experiments of squad 12. Most of the squad took to calling it 'Mayuri's Playground' where the usual ethics and morality Urahara imposed on the man were gone. There's some debate among those in the know about it, but he gets away because of one thing. The benefits outweigh the cost.
"I can hate you all I want Urahara, but you always bring the best things!" The modified man said with glee. "The tests showed positive and Ichimaru is ready, he's got what he wanted." He handed the file to his superior, who skimmed through with approval. He figured a merged Hogyoku would be easier to control and sealed it away with its own power. The only thing left was to try and sever the connection to Ichigo, but everyone thought it would be best if it stayed connected to the hybrid.
"Hopefully this can keep Gin's bankai safe from the Vandenreich's medallion as well." Urahara mumbled as he turned back to his lieutenant. "What of Ashido and the twins?" This earned a tired groan from him.
"The three are being kept in stasis until I can figure that puzzle out. He insists they stay together, and I haven't figured out how to give their Zanpakuto soul cleansing properties."
"I remember that particular headache with my modified Quincy bows." The captain agreed, shuddering at that week of sleepless nights. "Any theories?"
"Merging with Asuachi, rewriting the blades at the soul level, figuring out how Kurosaki can eat Hollows and purify them in the process, none of which I really want to test and lose my test subjects." He said, and interrupted when Urahara opened his mouth. "I'm never going to use that damn ball of yours, that's cheating." The scientist turned to his superior, disgust obvious in his glare. "There's no denying that the Hogyoku is indeed a marvelous creation, but as a scientist I cannot tolerate its use or existence. You made the ultimate tool of creation and innovation, but what use is any of that if you just gain the results you want right away? Scientists must embrace the struggle of dead ends and failures, always finding a new way or a new possibility. Even Ichigo Kurosaki, the closest that any of us have seen to a perfect being, still strives to become stronger. Ever growing, ever improving, even if he becomes the most powerful being in existence, he'd still look for a way to improve himself. If the Hogyoku just gives us the end result, then what is the point? Where's the knowledge, or even the discovery? How are you still a scientist if you still use it?" He demanded, leaving Urahara without an answer.
"Different subject then. What have you done with Yammy?" Urahara asked as Mayuri handed him another file.
"Not sure if that Quincy was lucky or one of the best shots ever." He said, holding up a pill the size of a grape. "He severed everything short of being lethal when he carved up that lug's brain. He's still alive and stuck like he was when those three dropped that giant off. He regenerates and now serves as a constant supply of tissue matter, that we've used to make these. Just one pill can increase an Arrancar's strength by ten percent. Would be more, but I think they'd prefer a pill that's easy to swallow."
"And Ichigo can use these to reward the Arrancar loyal to him." Urahara said, already thinking of ways to use them to gain loyalty.
"And I might have some of his Reishi." Mayuri finished, earning a look from the captain. "Just in case there's a few rebels that can be put to better use." Urahara shrugged and began to leave.
"Keep on the Arrancar Zanpakuto Mayuri. That's your top priority. Yamamoto wants that squad ready ASAP." He said as he left.
(With Gin and Ichigo)
"Everything ready?" Ichigo asked his silver haired companion, still bearing his ever present smile in his Arrancar robes with a haori with a 16 on the back. "We've put this trip back to Hueco Mundo off for long enough."
"Patience your majesty." Gin said, putting an emphasis on 'majesty' while knowing Ichigo would hate it. "I'm willing to bet that the Espada have restored ordered and are merely waiting for your return." Ichigo rolled his eyes before opening a Garganta leading into the endless deserts of Hueco Mundo.
"Now, are you sure you can handle this?" Ichigo asked again, for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Gin's answer was to raise his hand and summon a white fox Hollow mask.
"I'm certain I'll fit right in." And with that, the pair jumped into the void of the Precipice World and began the journey to Ichigo's new kingdom.
(Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers)
What Happened to Tousen
The fight was immediately out of Tousen's favor the moment he gained eyesight with his Resurreccion. He kept all of his focus on Grimmjow, which left openings that Komamura and Kensei capitalized on without mercy. Soon, the vengeance fueled man was beaten and restrained by his former friend and former captain while they watched Ichigo destroy Aizen.
'My sight... it's fading.' Tousen thought as the vision he once enjoyed was fading away again. 'But... I refuse to acknowledge your justice Grimmjow!' He glared at the panther, charging a Cero Cornea that he aimed at Grimmjow's head. Without looking back, Grimmjow pointed his elbow at Tousen's head and fired one of his bombs. He intended to cancel out the coming Cero, but he shot it too soon. The wet squelch let Grimmjow know he made a mistake.
"This guy was wanted dead or alive.... right?" He asked as the two captains gaped at him and the now headless body.
Senjumaru gets a Request
"Excuse me!" The seamstress heard as she and the other Zero Squad members were getting ready to depart for the Royal Realm. She turned to find Rangiku Matsumoto heading for her.
"Yes? Can I help you?" She asked as the lieutenant caught up to her.
"Yeah, I noticed there's a problem with Ichigo's new outfit." Rangiku said, earning a slight ire from the seamstress as she takes great pride in her craft. The glare directed at the lieutenant was enough to make her realize she needed to hurry up. "It's just that, Ichigo is not single and has a lot of women he needs to keep happy. Which means a certain part needs to...." She trailed off, hoping that the message got across. The blush on Senjumaru indicated that it had.
"Give me a minute." She told the gathered group as she disappeared. Seconds later, they heard Ichigo yelling again. She reappeared with blood dripping from her nose. "There's a zipper now. Have fun." She said, getting a thumb's up from Rangiku, which she returned.
Realizing Helplessness
"This is unacceptable!" One of the judges of the new Central 46 roared. "That boy is becoming far too dangerous!" Before they nearly filled all the seats of the body, but with the Purge of Nobility after the Kasumioji incident, they were back to barely a fifth of their number.
"Stop wasting your breath." One of the sages told him. "There's nothing we can do. We're still under martial law until the Quincy War is over and even after that, Yamamoto has made it clear that the Central 46's power will be severely crippled."
"We are the true authority of Soul Society!" Another sage argued.
"And under the rule of our predecessors, look at how much damage was wrought." Another judge argued. "Most of Ichigo Kurosaki's tenure as a Shinigami was spent undoing the most severe of Soul Society's mistakes."
"The Central 46 is an outdated system that only leads to more problems than it resolves." Another judge said.
"You speak of blasphemy!" Another judge yelled out while another sage stood up.
"No, we speak of change." A majority of the judges and sages stood up with him. "We presented a new idea to the Captain Commander of a new system. Some new councils for the civilians of Soul Society that would render this body moot. And he approved."