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It was raining. Isshin Kurosaki stood outside his home, soaking wet. It was late into the night, only the street light outside his home revealed something… someone, laying limp in a puddle at his feet. The rainwater beneath his shoes had blood swirling inside of it.
Isshin stared down at the Hollow that bore the face of his son with silent, angry horror.
The Hollow was laying on his side and had bags under his eyes. He looked oddly thin, and his clothing was dirty and tattered. He had strange scarring on his face, legs, and arms that radiated with strange spirit energy.
Isshin’s breath stuttered out in a fog; the air cold, and making him shiver.
“Oi,” Isshin said, wanting a response, but receiving none. The Hollow’s body lay there, unmoving. “OI!” Isshin shouted, falling to his knees; the water splashing around him. He grabbed the Hollow by the shoulders and shook him, trying to wake him.
“Where is he?!” Isshin shouted, his voice drowned out by the rain. “WHERE IS MY SON?!”
~~~
Ichigo was missing. Yhwach had attacked Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. He had killed Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryusai, and Ichigo… Ichigo had confronted him… then disappeared. Along with Yhwach and the rest of the Quincy.
That had been weeks ago. Urahara assured him that search efforts had left no stone unturned, but Isshin himself had to be held back from rushing into Soul Society to dig through the rubble himself. Captain Shiba showed up decades later, right after the massacre of the first Thousand Year Blood War attack on fellow Shinigami… it would not go down well.
Karin and Yuzu could tell something was off with him, especially since Ichigo hadn’t been gone that long before. Karin would beg him for answers, and Yuzu would cry. He couldn’t give them an answer. He didn’t have an answer.
Not until now.
~~~
“Wake up!” Isshin shouted, still shaking the Hollow to no avail. He watched as the rain dribbled down the Hollow’s face. He remained unmoved. Isshin shouted in frustration and scooped the Hollow into his arms, dashing off to Urahara’s store.
He had been bothering Urahara off and on for the past month, so when he approached the shop, Urahara opened the door with a frown.
“Isshin-san, I assure you, everyone is working hard, there’s been no news-“ Urahara’s words caught in his throat. There, in Isshin’s arms, was Ichigo Kurosaki’s Hollow, the Prototype Vasto Lorde White who attacked Masaki all those years ago.
They were soaked head to toe; Isshin’s breath was ragged, and the look on his face… Urahara couldn’t even describe it.
“Urahara-san!” Isshin urged, stepping forward.
Urahara snapped out of his stupor and stepped aside, allowing passage into his home. Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta all came out curiously, asking questions or complaining about the time of night, but all fell quiet at the sight of the pale figure in Isshin Kurosaki’s arms.
“Put him in the room to the left, down the hall!” Urahara shouted, rushing behind Isshin. Isshin turned and flung open the sliding door, shoving it to the side with his foot. He rushed over to a table and pushed miscellaneous items as they clattered to the floor. He placed the Hollow on the table. The Hollow still did not stir. Isshin forced himself to step back as Urahara stepped inside, and started turning on several machines that whirred to life.
The blonde ex-Captain noticed the grime and blood stuck to the Hollow’s body but had no time to clean it. He hooked up wires and various other testing apparatus to the Hollow’s head, wrists, chest, and many other body parts. Papers started printing, buttons beeping, lights flashing… Isshin felt his mind wander. The fears and impossibility of the implications at his fingertips…it was making him disassociate.
Urahara was urgently looking through the scans. “Kurosaki-san, where did you find him?”
Isshin blinked, barely able to focus on Urahara’s voice. “I found him on the ground… outside the clinic… He wouldn’t wake up.”
Urahara shook his head in confusion. “I’m getting strange data. I can’t decipher it.”
“What does any of that mean, Urahara?!” Isshin urged, confused.
Urahara held up his hands in defeat. “Kurosaki-san, I have studied many hollows. I have studied many Vaizard hybrids, but I have never studied an inner Hollow directly. Even if I could translate this data, I still wouldn’t know the norm for a being like this.”
Isshin clenched his fists and grit his teeth. He shook his head and stepped forward. “He’s covered in blood.” Isshin snatched a spirit reader device that was lying on the table. He had some training in healing at the Shinigami Academy. Training which he transferred to his patients at the clinic in the human world. There were always the basics. He switched the device on. “The least we can do is assess the damage, right?”
Urahara didn’t argue as Isshin scanned the Hollow from head to toe. It was gently beeping. A low, weak pulse of spirit energy throughout the pale Hollow’s body.
Urahara swallowed. “His energy is so low… Hollows consume on a daily basis, but he looks rather thin.”
Isshin sighed. “He’s got marks and burns all over him.” Isshin pointed to the Hollow’s wrists and neck. “Here and here, there’s rope burn. As though he were tied up, and struggled to escape.”
“Was he… kidnapped?” Urahara whispered. “But… something is strange.”
“What do you mean?” Isshin asked.
“If I recall, Hirako told me Ichigo’s inner Hollow has superb High-Speed Regeneration abilities. Marks like these… they should not have lingered.”
Isshin felt off about this information. He continued to scan the Hollow’s body. He slowly came over to the Hollow’s ribcage when suddenly the device started picking up in pulse. Isshin and Urahara both made noises of confusion. They saw no wound or spirit energy where the device was indicating. Isshin realized they’d only been checking his front thus far, and reached forward to turn the Hollow onto his back when suddenly the Hollow’s eyes shot open.
Isshin and Urahara darted backward as the Hollow swiped a claw at them. His eyes were wide and wild, and his teeth were bared and he was snarling. He awkwardly hunched over on his side, glaring daggers at the two men. He growled, trying to get into a stance that often a cat would do when threatened. He hunched his back, his long white hair spilling over his shoulders. But as soon as he had moved, he hissed in pain. His forehead smacked into the table as he partially collapsed, breathing heavily and whining in agony.
Isshin and Urahara just watched, eyes wide and slack-jawed, unsure of what to do.
Isshin stepped forward with his hands up. “Oi,” The Hollow looked back up and struggled to sit upright. He managed to back up, hitting the wall the table was lined up with. He was breathing as though he had run a mile. Dried blood on his left eye made it difficult to keep his eyelid open, and his body shook something fierce. He looked like he was barely alive, let alone able to be conscious.
Urahara gently stepped forward. “Easy now, easy now, Hollow-san. You are safe here.”
The Hollow only seemed to become more enraged at that, but the angrier he got, the more exhausted and shivery his form became. He did his best to calm his breathing out of necessity so he wouldn’t pass out.
Urahara placed his hand on the device that Isshin was holding and turned it off. “For now, let’s just get him cleaned up.”
~~~
Isshin had several bites and scratches on his body. It all ended with him finally managing to pick the Hollow back up into his arms, to carry him to the training ground beneath the store where the healing spring resided. The Hollow had stopped struggling a while ago, but his initial fight, despite his weakness, was quite fierce. Isshin himself felt like he needed to plunge into the healing bath after that.
As the lights flickered on in the training ground, Isshin rushed his way over to the spring. The Hollow was limp in his arms, barely conscious. “Okay, here we are…” Isshin whispered, lowering the hollow into the hot bath. The hollow separated from Isshin, sinking into the water with a hiss. Steam seemed to increase from the bath, and the hollow shouted in pain.
Urahara rushed over, stopping behind Isshin. “Kurosaki-san, what’s wrong? What happened?”
The Hollow hunched over in the bath, his long hair falling into the water, unveiling his marred back. Isshin and Urahara gasped. Horrid, marred wounds littered his back, as though they were carved there by a weapon laced with poison.
“THIS
PET
BELONGS
TO
- “
Isshin and Urahara couldn’t make out the last world that had been carved into the Hollow’s back. The steam and water obscured it. The Hollow hissed in pain, lowering his torso further, until the bubbling water reached his chin. Strange, blue spirit energy leaked out into the water, bubbling into charred black. Smoke seemed to rise and fill the air with a horrid smell of fire, despite the warm waters sizzling it out.
Isshin covered his mouth and nose while Urahara brought out his fan, trying to push away the offending air. They watched as the Hollow weakly attempted to wash the blood from his body. Tessai arrived with towels in hand. Ururu and Jinta were watching from afar, likely told by Urahara to stay back for their safety. After watching the Hollow struggle to wash his arm for more than ten minutes, Isshin couldn’t stand by any longer.
Isshin grabbed a towel out of Tessai’s hands and walked over to the spring. He got on his knees beside the bath and dipped the towel into the hot water beside the pale hollow. Ichigo’s hollow seemed to grumble and tried to move away, but Isshin placed a firm hand on his shoulder. The Hollow seemed to struggle more. Isshin frowned. “I’m going to help wash you. Don’t argue with me.”
The Hollow’s strength quickly left him and he gave up, sitting still in the bath as Isshin helped wash the grime and blood from his body. Isshin recalled a time when Ichigo was a kid. Masaki was out grocery shopping that day. Ichigo didn’t want to be bathed, so Isshin had to snatch him and toss him back into the bath to get the shampoo in his hair. Ichigo squealed and wailed, but eventually, he was cleaned. By the time Masaki got home and praised Ichigo for how nice he looked, Ichigo had happily exclaimed he took a bath all by himself. Isshin was pissed at that little brat for the rest of the evening, but Masaki saw through her son’s lies and thanked Isshin with a kiss later that evening. It had been worth it.
Isshin snapped back to the present. Ichigo’s Hollow was blinking a lot, as though he were struggling to not fall asleep. Isshin gently washed the Hollow’s back. Most of the scars seemed to have drained whatever poison had in them and healed for the most part. The Hollow’s legs seemed to soak well enough that the blood and dirt had dissolved naturally without much need for scrubbing.
The Hollow’s eyes finally closed shut, and he slumped backward, passing out. Isshin huffed and gently stabilized him in his arms. After a few final scrubs, with the help of Tessai, dried off the pale being and hoisted him back upstairs. Urahara directed Isshin into a different room with a bed set up on the floor. They managed to get the Hollow into a robe of sorts and gently positioned him on the bed. Isshin covered him with a blanket and sat on a cushion at his side.
Urahara watched from the doorway. “Kurosaki-san… his scar…”
“Yeah, I saw it,” Isshin said. “This guy’s been through some kind of hell.” Isshin swallowed and clenched his fists. “What does that say… for Ichigo…”
Urahara stepped forward with a notepad and pencil. “I think it best if we write our questions down. We’re gonna have a lot of them by morning.” Urahara lifted the pencil’s eraser to his chin in thought. “Like how an inner Hollow escaped from the Shinigami hosting him in the first place, where he’s been, whose side he’s on…”
Isshin shook his head. “I only want to know what happened to Ichigo. His safety is all that matters.”
Urahara was quiet the rest of the night.
~~~
Several days went by. The Hollow would go in and out of consciousness. Isshin was losing patience and often started shouting at him the moment he’d struggle to open his eyes.
One time Tessai even had to drag him out of the room out of fear he’d start getting violent with the Hollow.
Isshin called his tearful daughters and talked to them. Assuring them he was okay and close to finding Ichigo. It made all three of them a little more at ease.
After that talk, Isshin gave up his hatred for the Hollow. Seeing it so weak and abused from wherever it had been… and the fact it had his son’s face… he just couldn’t hate him.
Later that evening, Isshin was reading a book Masaki used to like when he heard a sudden gurgling noise. He looked up in surprise, eyes darting over to the Hollow, wondering if it had come from him. Sure enough, another minute later, a deep rumbling resided from beneath the blanket the Hollow slept under. The Hollow seemed to quietly groan, shifting with irritation.
Isshin’s eyes went wide. The Hollow was hungry. He mentally slapped himself. They had never figured out how to feed him.
Isshin leaned over to speak with him. “Hey, you’re hungry?”
He got no response.
“What do you eat? Tell me, I’ll figure something out for you.”
The Hollow opened his gold eye, tiredly glancing at Isshin, but still said nothing. Isshin huffed, glaring in frustration before he got up and left the room to find Urahara.
“Urahara,” Isshin called.
The blonde in question appeared from the doorway of another room. “Yes, Kurosaki-san?” He asked curiously.
“He’s hungry,” Isshin said, his tone nervous but serious.
Urahara seemed to bite his lip. “Hm. I knew it’d come down to this.”
“Have you figured anything out?” Isshin asked, slightly irritated from his lack of sleep.
Urahara sighed. “My equipment cannot pierce his steel-skin Hierro, so IV drips are out of the question. Feeding him human or Soul Reaper souls is off the table. I could get some Hollow bait, but we’d need to defeat the Hollows without a Zanpaktou so they don’t purify. We’d need to condense them into smaller, edible portions and practically spoon-feed it to him… but low-level Hollows to Ichigo’s inner Hollow are like a human eating a piece of stale bread. Hardly filling let alone anything to survive off of.”
Isshin looked away. “And bringing an Adjuchas or higher here as a meal for him… it's too risky.”
Urahara lowered his hat. “I could contact Grimmjow-san, to maybe retrieve one as a favor. Whether he’d follow through with it or not is a different story.”
“Hueco Mundo was attacked. I know they’re Hollow, but do we really think, after their numbers dwindled, they’d willingly throw away powerful soldiers for the life of another Something tells me even they wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that.” Isshin grumbled, becoming more frustrated by the minute. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. “So you’re telling me… we have no way of feeding him?”
Urahara was quiet.
“Tch.” Isshin closed his eyes for a moment. Then, out of the blue, he snatched Urahara’s cane from his hands.
“What-?! Kurosaki-san, what are you-?”
Isshin pointed the cane’s end towards himself and thrust it through his chest. His Soul Reaper form separated, allowing his body to drop to the floor. Tessai came in, curious what the ruckus was. Isshin quickly departed and rushed back to the room where the Hollow resided. “Kurosaki-san!” Urahara called out, rushing after him.
Isshin pushed the sliding door aggressively to the side and stepped back into the room. Only the Hollow’s quiet, but struggled breathing filled the room. Then came the familiar, agony-inducing growl of his stomach.
Isshin got down on his knees in a fierce sitting position, right next to where the Hollow rested. Urahara and Tessai entered the room from behind. “Kurosaki-san, really, what do you plan to do?!”
“Oi.” Isshin bellowed, ignoring Urahara and getting the white Hollow’s attention.
Ichigo’s inner Hollow slowly opened his eyelid and looked in Isshin’s direction. His back was turned to the Soul Reaper.
Isshin pushed back his sleeve and shoved his arm over the Hollow’s head and stared down at him. “Eat my arm.”
“Kurosaki-san…” Urahara whispered with shocked worry.
“Shop Keeper?!” Tessai looked to Urahara, waiting for orders, but the blonde said nothing.
The Hollow’s eyes opened fully. He glanced at Isshin’s arm, then looked back up to his face. He didn’t move.
“Eat.” Isshin urged with a frown. “You need your strength.”
The Hollow continued to stare at him.
Isshin glowered. “You are a part of my son. I can’t kill you. You also won’t tell me where he is, and you’re in no condition to move let alone speak. So eat. Eat my arm. Take a leg even, if you must. If I have to do this for my son, who I’ve let down, who I abandoned when he needed me most…” Isshin closed his eyes, retracting a little. Deep pain marred his face. “As a father… I can’t let things go on as they have.” He took another breath. “If finding and saving him means I must lose my limbs to you… then…” Isshin pushed his arm back towards the Hollow. “…Eat.”
The hollow stared. He stared and stared. A moment passed, then he shifted. He slowly turned so he was now facing Isshin.
Tessai turned to the shop owner nervously. “Urahara-san!”
Urahara said nothing as he felt himself sweat.
The Hollow shifted, exposing his pale arms and sharp claws. He grasped Isshin’s arm with both hands; fatigued. He slowly pulled Isshin’s wrist closer to his face. When it was close enough, he opened his mouth, revealing his sharp, sharp teeth.
Isshin had a feeling it would be painful. Agonizing, even. The Hollow was too slow to make it quick and painless. He’d take small bites first. He may not even be able to consume the entire arm. Isshin steeled himself the best he could; inhaling sharply in anticipation of the first bite. But the first bite never came.
The Hollow placed a single canine against the skin on Isshin’s forearm and closed his eyes. The air around them seemed to shift, and Isshin felt a pull.
Isshin gasped as his spiritual energy came into view, in brilliant orange. The Hollow’s jaw seemed to be making small movements but otherwise did not pierce the skin. Isshin felt a sucking sensation around his entire body, as though he were getting pulled in.
The Hollow… Ichigo’s inner Hollow… wasn’t consuming his body. It was consuming his spirit energy.
Isshin was in a shocked trance. He couldn’t pull away. After a minute had gone by, and Isshin felt his body start to weaken from exhaustion, the sucking sensation dissipated. The Hollow released his hold on Isshin’s arm and removed his tooth from Isshin’s flesh. The Hollow rolled slightly, collapsing onto his back. It sighed with tired satisfaction, then seemed to fall asleep. Isshin collapsed a little forward himself, woozy from what had just transpired.
Tessai rushed forward. “Isshin-san?! Are you alright?!”
Urahara stepped forward as well when Isshin sat up with the help of Tessai. Isshin composed himself, taking deep, ragged breaths. “Isshin-san?” Urahara asked, worried over Isshin’s silence.
Isshin’s voice shook when he finally spoke. “Consuming my spirit energy like that…It felt like…” he whispered, Urahara and Tessai still able to hear him. “Like my Engetsu…Like… a Zanpaktou.”
~~~
Isshin stared down at the Hollow. He had remained in Soul Reaper form the rest of the week, providing the Hollow with his spirit energy to feed off of to regain his strength. It seemed to be working. It was a slow process, but already both he and Urahara could tell the difference in energy the Hollow emitted. He was awake more often and even began moving around the shop himself for short periods of time. The first time he did, he spooked Jinta and Ururu, which caused a bit of a ruckus. He had to be monitored in case of an escape attempt, but every time they caught him wandering around, he didn’t seem to be going anywhere. It was more like he was practicing walking on his legs again after his body lay limp for so long. He was merely regaining strength. They could allow him that much.
But every time Isshin allowed the Hollow to consume his spirit energy, something like a gear in the back of his mind seemed to whir with thought.
“Masaki is currently a Quincy-Hollow Hybrid…”
“Your Soul Reaper powers will keep the Hollow in check…”
“You’ll never be a Soul Reaper again…”
“The connection snapped, and you were able to regain your powers…”
Isshin looked down at Engetsu. He knew. He knew that old man Urahara had talked about, the one who trained Ichigo in the ways of Shikai and Bankai… the one Ichigo claimed to be Zangetsu… he knew. He knew it wasn’t him. Did Ichigo know? Wherever he was now… did he finally discover it?
Isshin blinked. Unsure what he was feeling. He hadn’t been getting anywhere with Ichigo’s Hollow. But maybe, just maybe…
“Zangetsu.”
The pale Hollow’s eyes shot open, and he immediately turned in the bed, fully facing Isshin as his golden irises stared into Isshin’s soul.
Isshin sucked in a breath. So it was true. This Hollow was really…
Isshin stared into the eyes of the Hollow… no, Zangetsu. Zangetsu’s eyes. They were gold. When they had seemed so empty before, now, they looked at him alert and alive.
“It really is you, isn’t it? Zangetsu. My son’s Zanpaktou.” Isshin whispered. “You came from the Hollow that infected Masaki and fused with my Soul Reaper powers. Which passed down to my son.”
Zangetsu blinked at him but said nothing.
Isshin leaned forward with a determined sigh. “Zangetsu…” Isshin fell into a deep bow beside the Hollow; his forehead touched the cold wooden floor. “Thank you for protecting my son all these years when I could not.”
The Hollow’s eyes widened. Isshin looked back up. “I know it must have been tough. He’s real stubborn when he puts his mind to things, that kid.” Isshin’s face became pained. “So that’s why I…” He hesitated. “I want to help. So I’ll ask you again…” His eyes met molten gold when he pleaded for the last time. “Zangetsu… please. Where is my son?”
Zangetsu stared for a very long time. His mouth opened, and a rasp, echoey voice choked out of his throat: “Yhwach.”
Isshin’s eyes widened. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating. Did he mishear?
The pale hollow’s mouth moved again, “Yhwach has him.”
Isshin felt his blood run cold. “Has who?” He asked dumbly. He already knew the answer.
Zangetsu’s clawed hands gripped the pillow, tearing into the fabric. His pupils went sharp, and he bared his teeth, shaking with rage.
“Yhwach has Ichigo.”
~~~
“Ichigo!” Zangetsu screamed, trying to get his attention. Ichigo was locked in battle with Yhwach. He turned to the Old Man, the imposter in Ichigo’s soul. “Hey, Old man! What do we do?! How do we defeat you?!” The Old Man watched from within, right next to him, helplessly, quietly. Zangetsu then instead tried to focus on Ichigo, pushing his power out to help the red-headed teenager, but the depiction of Yhwach grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against a collapsed building in Ichigo’s inner world.
Zangetsu grabbed the large, calloused hands around his throat, clawing at them desperately.“Old Man!” He shouted again, seething with rage. “What are you doing?! I need to help Ichigo!”
“It’s pointless…” He replied. “There’s no stopping what is meant to be.” His Quincy spirit energy flared around him.
Zangetsu could sense the Blut Vene coursing through Ichigo to protect him, regardless of the Quincy’s hopeless insistence… but it was too late. Everything went black. Ichigo’s neck had been pierced with Yhwach’s blade. “ICHIGO!” Zangetsu choked out a cry, struggling like a madman, unable to thwart the Quincy inside holding him back.
He felt tears on his face. The Old Man was crying. “I knew this day would come, and yet I still let him…I still let him…”
“We can stop this!” Zangetsu pleaded. “We can stop this if we-!”
“No,” He replied, strangling the Hollow tighter. His eyes were a cold, ice blue. “There’s no defying the Almighty.”
~~~
“He’s still breathing. Let’s take him with us, and begin his re-education.”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
~~~
Zangetsu awoke to pain. He was no longer in Ichigo’s inner world. He screamed in agony as he felt like his body was being pulled apart.
“The new Medallion appears to be working, your Majesty.”
“Excellent. Continue with the procedure.”
Zangetsu thrashed, unsure what was happening. There was screaming. Screaming that was not his own. He felt like throwing up.
“Your Majesty, please, it hurts!”
Zangetsu looked up. It was another Hollow. A weaker Vasto Lorde, brainwashed into becoming a Quincy servant. They were trying to pull him out of Ichigo, to capture him, and use him for a different purpose. They failed to steal him before, and they’ll fail to steal him again if he had anything to say about it. He fought and snarled, refusing to go down without a fight.
The Vasto Lorde started to crack. Literally. Their body was slowly dissolving as they screamed in pain. Zangetsu was nearly free of them, trying to get back into Ichigo- but then he was grabbed. Yhwach pulled him out.
“Not so fast, parasite.”
Zangetsu growled, kicking and screeching as he was exposed to the air. He looked back and saw Ichigo strapped on a table. His eyes were rolled back, foam was leaking from his mouth, and he wasn’t moving. Zangetsu looked down. There was a chain on his chest like that of a normal soul, only the chain connected him into Ichigo’s chest. He struggled harder.
“Majesty. He’s still connected to Ichigo Kurosaki. The Vasto Lorde specimen was killed. What are your orders?” The blonde one asked.
Yhwach smirked down at the pale Hollow. He brought out a knife, embedded with Quincy glyphs and German writing. Zangetsu froze in fear. He could smell the danger of it.
Yhwach who looked so much like the Old Man stared down at him, his eyes a boiling blood red. He slammed Zangetsu face-first into the ground, holding his hands behind his back to prevent him from moving. He used the knife to tear open the cloth on his back, and smirked.
“Continue our research to get this Hollow separated from my son. In the meantime, in case he escapes…” The blade shone in the horrid light. Yhwach’s smile was wide. “Everyone should know who he belongs to.” Yhwach brought down the blade, and Zangetsu’s screams ricocheted, heard throughout the entire Sternritter Palace, making even some Quincy quiver in fear.
~~~
“My lord, the Hollow, he’s escaped!”
“Find him!”
~~~
“You-?! Where’s my son?!”
~~~
Zangetsu jolted awake in bed. He huffed, feeling sweat drip down his brow. He looked around in a panic. The room was dark, but he had night vision and could see everything. There was nothing, just an empty room in Urahara’s shop. Only one soul beside him, Isshin Kurosaki, fast asleep. The man was sitting upright, with his arms crossed, and drool dribbling out of his mouth. How he could sleep like that was anyone’s guess, but he must have been exhausted, what with Zangetsu eating all his energy on daily basis.
Zangetsu calmed himself and sniffed the air. Isshin’s spirit energy wasn’t nearly as good as Ichigo’s, but it was enough to get his strength up. It was familiar anyway. The first week or two, Zangetsu had refused to speak, his vocal cords already damaged from his capture and torture at the hands of Yhwach. There really wasn’t anyone else he trusted to save Ichigo either, especially seeing that traitor Uryu amongst them. And yet…
“Zangetsu…”
Isshin, of all people, had spoken his name. Zangetsu laid back down, facing Isshin, simply watching him as he slept. He was regaining his strength. They would leave tomorrow to rescue Ichigo. He would prove it. He would prove it to the Old Man that fates can be changed. That the Almighty’s many futures aren’t his to decide upon. That Ichigo can overcome them. If he could take this opportunity to prove to Ichigo his true inheritance, that Isshin should have explained to him LONG ago, maybe… Zangetsu could become his true Zanpaktou. Then maybe the Old Man wouldn’t cry or lie anymore. Maybe Ichigo could unlock the power he needs to overcome Yhwach.
…Maybe… just maybe…
Zangetsu’s eyelids drooped, and he fell back asleep.
~~~
The next morning, Zangetsu and Isshin were packed and ready. They were both wearing spirit-energy concealer cloaks, invented by Urahara himself.
The blonde waved his fan enthusiastically. “Alright, you two… remember! This is a stealth mission! Mr. Hollow here briefed us on the Citadel’s passages he committed to memory, and if calculated right, this will be easy. In and out.” Urahara hid his face behind his fan. “But if things go South… I’m afraid you’re on your own.” Urahara’s eyes shifted to Isshin. “Are you sure this is the right decision?”
Isshin’s expression was steel. “We won’t fail. It’s not an option.”
Zangetsu too was focused ahead.
Urahara sighed, knowing there was no changing their minds. He bowed his head and tipped his hat to them. “Very well then. Good luck, gentlemen.”
Isshin looked down at his closed fist and opened it, revealing a Quincy charm in his palm. Zangetsu noticed it, feeling the spirit energy of Ryuken Ishida swirling inside the object. Isshin looked over to Zangetsu and gave him a smile. “Favor from a friend.” Isshin raised the object and shouted, “Quincy Der Schatten!” A dark shadow engrossed them like a tsunami wave, consuming them in one fell swoop. Urahara and Karakura Town disappeared, and in their place, an icy palace came into view. Yhwach’s Silver Castle.
Isshin and Zangetsu braced themselves for a moment, then took off towards the palace.
“Hang on,” Zangetsu whispered to himself. “I’m coming for you, Ichigo. I’ll save you. No matter what.”
~~~
END