"There is something here, something important enough for Aizen to target. We don't know what that is but-"
"We're here to prevent it." Toshiro finished her words. His cold blue eyes stared straight at Shirou's, who met them with equal intensity.
How soon would it come to an end? Shirou wondered.
***
In an undisclosed location, a group of men were gathered in a dark room.
The air was thick and oppressive. Everyone had their heads down, looking at the half-masked orange-haired boy in the middle held by Hiyori, Love, Kensei, and even Hachi.
"He lost control." Shinji said from where he was sitting on the sofa. "How disappointing..."
"Argh!" Ichigo screamed with a distorted voice, an apparent sign that his hollow had gone rogue. His reiatsu, which felt like pure hate and despair, spread throughout the area.
Hiyori scoffed, "Damn brat! If you don't cut off your power, you will kill everyone in the room, you know!?"
"Should we kill him?" Kensei asked, his tone was serious and he wasn't joking around. His eyes narrowed, showing a glimpse of murderous intent.
Hiyori's expression hardened as well, "I would like to. He's too much trouble." She muttered bitterly. "If you ask me-"
"We can't, Hiyori, Kensei." Shinji sighed. "At least not yet. He's still fighting it."
"He is. For now." She grunted, "But what if he loses against his hollow?"
Shinji shrugged his shoulders, "Then, we have no choice but to do it. For now, just wait a minute."
The blond Shinigami closed his eyes, waiting for something. The tense silence was broken when a sound came from Ichigo.
Fighting against his inner hollow wouldn't be easy. He had to maintain control and not give in to its influence, no matter how powerful or seductive it may seem. Ichigo knew this but it was much easier said than done.
He struggled against its will, trying to hold on to his sense of self.
But it proved too difficult, and his consciousness began to fade into the dark abyss that was his inner world. As his strength waned, the hollow took control once more, forcing him to watch from within while it wrecked him inside.
"Huff...huff..."
Standing on the tilted side of the building inside his consciousness, Ichigo looked at the enemy in front of him.
Maybe calling the hollow version of him an enemy would be rude. After all, he had the exact same appearance save for his white hair and pale skin.
His shihakusho, Tensa Zangetsu, everything was like a perfect copy of him. They were the same. There was nothing to distinguish them apart, aside from their appearance and voice.
However, his eyes were what made them different. Ichigo's eyes had always been filled with determination, hope, and strength; whereas the other's eyes were cold, cruel, and filled with malice and insanity.
Ichigo gritted his teeth.
"Hey, King! Just give me your body and I will kill those arrancar for you!" His hollow taunted him, grinning from ear to ear. His voice was deep and mocking.
"Like I will let you, you damn bastard!"
He had to fight his hollow. It was his duty as a Shinigami and brother. He couldn't allow himself to be controlled by it. He needed to maintain control of himself, to resist its will.
"Can't you see your condition? Your body is battered and you are in pain, right? Come on, King, just let me handle it and rest for now."
His hollow continued to taunt him, trying to break his resolve and force him to submit. Ichigo knew better than that, though.
"I am fine, bastard!" Ichigo growled back at him. He was still determined to defeat this hollow once and for all.
Just like what he said, Ichigo was far from being out. His injuries were healed already thanks to his regenerative power from his hollow side.
"Are you sure? You don't look so hot to me." His Hollow said mockingly, "I am just concerned for my king. That's why I am taking control from you. Just leave it to me."
"Fuck off! I will never leave it to you! You're invading my body, asshole!"
His hollow just shrugged and shook his head.
"Just relax and let me take care of everything, King."
"You want to take care of it by taking my place? Do you think I will just let you have my body? No way! You won't be able to do shit with my body, bastard!" Ichigo yelled, his face contorted in rage and frustration.
He stood up and gripped his sword tighter, his reiatsu flared like a wild flame.
The Hollow stared at his angry expression, his lips curled upward and formed a smile. He chuckled and pointed at Ichigo's face.
"Can you stop yelling and calling me a bastard? That's not very nice, you know."
Ichigo's anger only intensified at his words.
"I am the reflection of you. If I am the bastard here, that means you are one as well. Hahaha, what a funny joke!"
Hearing that, Ichigo immediately rushed forward to swing his blade. He slashed down, aiming to decapitate his opponent. But his hollow simply moved out of the way, dodging easily without even bothering to raise his blade to parry or counter attack. He continued talking like they were having a casual conversation.
Their swords clashed as Ichigo swung his Zanpakutou towards the Hollow's head once again.
However, the Hollow just laughed at his attack and blocked it with his own weapon. Their weapons locked together, creating sparks and clanging sound that reverberated throughout the whole inner world.
Ichigo pushed himself away from his hollow and distanced himself.
Without even making a plan beforehand, both of them covered their sword in reiatsu and swung them.
"GETSUGA-"
"-TENSHO"
Black and white arch of energy clashed with each other in an explosive collision. Their attack met halfway through and exploded upon contact, creating an explosive wave that shook the entire area and caused the ground below to shake violently.
Ichigo and the hollow flew back, avoiding the blast and landing on the opposite ends of the building they were standing on. Both of them looked exhausted and were panting hard as they tried to catch their breath.
However, there was no time to rest. Ichigo used Shunpo to get behind the Hollow and slashed downward.
But before the blade could connect, the Hollow turned around and grinned. His white sword had moved to intercept the attack.
"Getsuga-"
He fired the attack again. This time it was a close range shot.
"-tensho."
An explosion of reiatsu covered Ichigo's whole body, sending him flying backwards through the air like a ragdoll. As Ichigo fell to his knees, he coughed blood. His vision blurred as he tried to stand up, but the pain prevented him from moving properly. His body screamed at him, telling him not to push himself anymore.
He had been using his power recklessly without caring about the consequences.
Still, his technique seemed to fall short to his hollow. He raised his head, looking at his hollow.
There was not even a single scratch on him. There was only a slight burn on the cloth of his white haori.
"Damn bastard." He cursed, spitting the blood in his mouth.
His Hollow just laughed at his plight. "Come on, King! Is that really the best you can do?" he asked mockingly, "You've been fighting for so long already, yet you're still unable to defeat me! Is this the extent of your power?"
The hollow raised his sword and aimed at him. He smirked, knowing that Ichigo had reached his limit. He was about to use a finishing blow when...
"You know, King." The Hollow paused as he noticed something strange, "Your eyes are getting better."
"What are you-"
"Just look around you."
Ichigo was confused but he did as told. He looked around him, and his eyes widened as he noticed the difference between what he had been seeing. His inner world had began to be destroyed, with cracks appearing on every building. It seemed like an earthquake happened and the destruction continued.
Everything was shaking and falling apart.
"I have been doing nothing, yet it's all coming down, and your inner world is breaking apart." His Hollow said. "What does that mean? Don't tell me you can't see it, King."
The orange haired teen was speechless as he looked at his surrounding.
"You have begun to think that it's better for me to be the one fighting rather than you. That's why I have more power now, and that's the reason your inner world is being destroyed."
"Shit." He muttered. Ichigo realized his hollow was right, his control was slowly slipping away and his hollow was gaining more power by the second.
"Right, shit." The Hollow grinned widely, showing his white teeth and sharp fangs. "Goodbye, King."
A Getsuga Tenshou came rushing to him. A torrent of black reiatsu, filled with hatred and murderous intent, was heading towards him at a high speed.
There was no time to react.
"..."
Raising his sword was the last effort he could think off. At least he wouldn't get hit directly.
But, it didn't change anything as his sword got shattered by the attack, his arm was blown away and blood poured out like a waterfall. He felt an immense pain throughout his whole body.
Everything hurts. Every part of him hurt.
He couldn't even scream in agony, all he managed to do was gasp and breathe heavily.
His eyelids felt heavy as if he could pass out anytime soon. Maybe it was better to give up, to let everything go.
This was just too painful, too hard to bear for a single teen. No one should experience such pain, such suffering.
No one except Ichigo.
He opened his mouth but couldn't speak as blood gushed from his mouth instead.
His vision darkened as his mind wandered off somewhere far away.
"I am sorry, everyone... Rukia... Chad... Orihime..." Ichigo muttered, "I am sorry, Dad... Shirou..."
His eyes closed and he passed out.
Darkness took over his entire world. His body felt as light as a feather as he descended further into the abyss. His mind drifted away from reality.