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When Muramasa pulled out Zangetsu out of Ichigo, fear gripped him, expecting to see the familiar old man before him. However, upon opening his eyes, he first saw white. Instead of the usual black coat, there was a white shihakusho. Ichigo blinked, his gaze shifting upwards until he saw the white face, eerily similar to his own.
"W-what?" Ichigo blinked in confusion. "What is he doing here?!"
Even Muramasa seemed taken aback by this appearance, frowning as he looked at Ichigo's hollow.
"A Zanpakutou with the Spiritual Pressure of a Hollow", Muramasa mused. "Just what are you?"
"Me?" Ichigo's hollow replied with his usual sharp grin. "I'm his real self. You could call me his true instinct."
"Very well", Muramasa said slowly, grinning again, seemingly accepting the hollow's word and pleased by it.
"Wait a minute!" Ichigo protested, finally finding his voice. "He's not my Zanpakutou, he's my hollow!"
Muramasa glanced at him in surprise, furrowing his brow in confusion.
The hollow's grin faded, replaced by a scowl as he glared at Ichigo. "You and that old man", he gritted out. "You pushing me out, as if I don't belong..."
Suddenly, he flew at Ichigo with his Zanpakutou. Ichigo barely managed to throw himself to the side.
"I am Zangetsu!" the hollow screamed as he turned to him to continue his assault.
Ichigo barely blocked the attack from cutting into him, feeling the pressure as the hollow pressed closer, pushing hard, their faces inches apart. The hollow’s usual grin had vanished, replaced by fury. Almost an anguish. But Ichigo didn't understand.
"What are you talking about, you nutjob?" Ichigo shouted back angrily. "Old man Zangetsu is Zangetsu!"
"I am Zangetsu!!" the hollow screamed louder and angrier, unleashing a Getsuga Tensho that threw Ichigo into a wall, crumbling it.
Ichigo groaned as his whole body hurt, but he had to get up. Muramasa seemed to control Zanpakutous, so it stood to reason that he was controlling Ichigo's Zanpakutou as well. But his hollow was outside instead of the old man. Did that mean that the hollow actually was ... his Zanpakutou? But that wasn't possible. Zangetsu was the old man, he was the one who had helped him with his powers…
Ichigo looked up, confusion swirling in his head. He didn't understand. But suddenly the old man Zangetsu stood there, by his side. Like he usually did when Ichigo needed his guidance and help during a battle.
"Old man..!" Ichigo cried out.
The hollow, now standing in front of the broken wall with the shikai thrown over his shoulders, frowned deeply, and Muramasa appeared both confused and intrigued.
"Ichigo..." the old man responded with a troubled frown, watching the hollow carefully, a rare conflict within his eyes, worrying Ichigo.
"Old man, what..?" Ichigo started, but he didn't know where to begin. "I.. I don't understand!"
The old man looked at him, and Ichigo's breath caught in his chest when he saw the pain in those familiar eyes. Suddenly he realized what the hollow was saying was the truth. A despair threatened to overwhelm him, had everything been a lie? Who was old man Zangetsu?
"You finally understand now, Ichigo?" the hollow (Zangetsu?) pointed his Zanpakutou at them. "I am a part of you. Your Shinigami powers come from me. You never acknowledged me. You ignored me, pushed me down, all while using my powers! I’ll show you my real power!"
"Ichigo!" the old man suddenly shouted at Ichigo, urgency in his voice. "There's no time to explain, but he's not clear in his mind, he’s not in control! But I'm a part of you and him, you can still use your powers. Stand up and fight back!"
Ichigo blinked in confusion but when the old man glanced to him, he noticed a hint of fear in those familiar eyes. Like the old man feared that Ichigo wouldn't trust him, but Ichigo knew him. The old man had trained him, helped him achieve Shikai and then Bankai, encouraged and helped him. No matter what, Ichigo knew he could trust him. He tensed up, preparing himself, and nodded at the old man, who seemed to visibly relax, as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders.
Muramasa frowned in confusion as Ichigo looked back at them. However, Ichigo’s focus was on his hollow, or Zangetsu, who glared at them, a familiar grin starting to form on his lips.
"Fine", the hollow said, raising his reiatsu until it filled the atmosphere. "It doesn't matter. You won't win against me."
---
After the fight, his hollow lay defeated on the ground while Ichigo stood over him, barely upright, leaning on his Zanpakutou and struggling to catch his breath. The old man was also there, standing by their side. Muramasa was gone, having left toward the end of the fight when it seemed like the hollow was losing. After that, his grasp on the hollow had seemed to weaken, aiding them in breaking through to him.
It hadn’t been easy; it had been a hard fight with the hollow transforming into his hollow form using his hollow powers, giving Ichigo an understanding of what his friends might have felt like when they saw him like that. It was only thanks to the old man that he had been able to use Bankai, and even then, it had been close. Too close.
“Zangetsu”, the old man suddenly addressed the hollow. Ichigo looked up in surprise and saw that he had reached out a hand to the hollow. His eyes held a strange pain, an expression that seemed filled with regret.
“Fuck you”, the hollow panted, visibly exhausted. He glared at the old man, but the latter kept his hand extended. With a roll of his yellow eyes, the hollow grabbed the old man’s hand, allowing him to be pulled up.
“So”, Ichigo started, looking between them before he continued. “What the fuck?”
The old man appeared guilty, avoiding Ichigo’s eyes. The hollow glared at them before he rolled his eyes again, he seemed to have reverted to his usual demeanor already.
“We are your powers”, the hollow stated simply. “Both of us are Zangetsu.”
The old man looked to the hollow in surprise, and Ichigo thought he could see a glimpse of surprised gratefulness in his expression. The hollow simply snorted and crossed his arms. Ichigo knew that wasn’t the entire truth, but looking at the old man it was obvious he wasn’t ready to tell everything.
“… What should I call you then?” Ichigo decided to ask instead of all the other questions that he had.
Both the hollow and the old man looked surprised, exchanging glances.
“I can’t call both of you Zangetsu”, Ichigo pointed out.
“Why not?” the hollow said, probably just to be annoying Ichigo thought.
“That’s confusing!” Ichigo responded, annoyed.
“… You can call me old man”, the old man said, surprising both Ichigo and the hollow. “And call him Zangetsu.”
“… Don’t expect me to be grateful”, the hollow-… no, Zangetsu muttered after a moment, slightly embarrassed. Ichigo couldn’t help but grin.