Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo and whoever else actually owns it and I make no money from writing this. This story however is mine and is not to be replicated, reposted, or copied in any way without my consent. Thank you.
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The Second Form
…
Tatsuki was bounding beside Ichigo as they patrolled Karakura Town. They figured since they had transformed already they might as well make the jolt to their bodies worthwhile. She could only thank God Ichigo wasn't using Shunpo or there would be a serious problem. No matter, to her the abilities of Soul Reapers were just incredible even if she wasn't capable of Shunpo consciously yet. They were jumping over houses at a time and this was only the barest extent of their power used. To her it was nothing short of awing even after seeing what some Soul Reapers were
truly capable of.
Still, the patrol was doubtlessly unneeded, and that fact was only becoming more prominent the longer they spent jumping about.
"So, grad's tomorrow I guess. Already have what you're going to wear?" Ichigo asked to make some conversation.
Tatsuki grinned knowingly. "You bet! My mom would've killed me if I didn't have it ready the day before grad." That got a snicker from her orange-haired partner.
"I think I'd pay to see that," he replied smartly.
She made a face and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Reeeally mature," he mocked sarcastically. He was very nearly thrown off balance from her playful punch to his shoulder and he had to flip during his jump's descent to make sure he didn't make a nice stain on the concrete with his body. "Oh, so that's the way you want to play, huh?" He smiled and easily redirected his fall's landing to pounce on the unsuspecting body still falling to the ground. He could see the understanding dawning in her eyes as he flew towards her but it was far too late to do anything about it by then.
She yelped when the air was forced from her lungs as he collided with her in a full football tackle to her midsection and they both went falling towards the ground. Somehow he managed to roll them into a painless landing and launched himself up with his arms still around her waist until he had pinned her to a wall. She glared half-heartedly at him as he kept her pinned there with his body while he held her arms above her head easily.
"You seem to be getting a bit cocky there lieutenant. What would you have done if your captain fell and hurt himself?" He asked with a smug smirk as she struggled against his grip just for show, testing his strength even though she already knew she it was greater than hers. Her eyes gradually darkened while their eye contact was maintained; desire and playfulness slowly shading her senses.
"
Well," she began with a mocking edge as she started slowly widening her legs so he wouldn't notice. "I would probably laugh my head off for a little while…" She saw his lips quirk back a little farther into his smirk and knew she had his full attention. Exactly what she wanted. "…then I'd probably have to kiss it better now wouldn't I?" She saw those lips fail in the extension just momentarily, likely because of the memory of the last time she had said those words, and knew this was the time.
With no warning she had hopped up and brought her legs around his waist tightly before wringing them to the side and throwing him off-balance. She could see the shock in his eyes as he spied the concrete nearing them out of the corner of his eyes and all too soon he was flat on his back, Tatsuki sitting victoriously on his chest as she held his arms where hers had been previously.
"I think this jacket is making you a bit cocky yourself,
Captain."She motioned to the white garment just for emphasis as she smirked. "But after I finished those things I'd probably do this to be honest," she completed with a rueful smile where her smirk had once been.
She
almost had enough time to register the same smile on his face before his arms broke free of her hold effortlessly and brought her face down to meet his. Their soft lips caressed each other as their rhythm was found unconsciously and it was only seconds later that they forgot entirely why they were in their Soul Reaper forms in the first place. Regardless, the moment soon ended and yet Tatsuki felt no need to do anything but continue to lie on his chest as he relaxed back onto the ground.
"Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" he asked casually, yet still unexpectedly.
She smiled up at him. "I'd like to go to Soul Society. I've been there before but I've never had the chance to actually explore it. That'd be nice…"she pondered aloud.
"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing much exploring with what I had in mind…" he insinuated smartly and she punched him in the chest playfully.
"God you're insatiable, you know that?"
"And you aren't?"
She could only blush.
"A-Anyways, I'm sure we could do some exploring
after, couldn't we?" she stuttered back into their old conversation.
Ichigo just chuckled softly. "Yeah Tatsuki, I think that'll be perfect."
"Good."
And so they laid there, watching the clouds go by overhead with no worries plaguing their minds. There's a first time for everything.
…
He couldn't believe how fast the days had gone by, yet at the same time he couldn't believe how much he had accomplished in that time that was really so little. It seemed like yesterday that Rukia had stabbed him with her zanpakutou, and here he was getting ready for graduation from high school while in his second life he was a full-fledged
captain of Soul Society's elite divisions.
He knew for things like this it was usually called for to wear ties, but he had never been one to conform and ties bothered him. He liked tight clothes, but that didn't mean he liked tight fabric wrapped around a major living necessity. Besides, he always had the top button undone anyways, so putting on a tie would just be a huge hindrance. Other than that he had donned a normal formal suit of a color that had become very associated with him, especially in the spiritual realm. With his black blazer, black pants, and polished black shoes, he had to admit he could have passed for a modern day Shinigami. The thought made him chuckle unwittingly. His white dress-shirt was exactly how he liked it; done up all but the top button. Adjusting the boutonniere pinned to his lapel and studying himself in the mirror one last time just to be sure, he headed down the stairs to walk over to Tatsuki's.
It was a sunny day, and for once it seemed like the weather-people would be right, as it was warm but thankfully not too much so. Otherwise their outdoor grad ceremony held right outside the school would be a fantastic failure. He chuckled. It would actually be funny if that had happened. He was going for one reason and one reason only: to get the piece of paper that held his future opportunities in it and say goodbye to the institution that had mocked him over his entire life for something he had no control over.
Well, at least he had shown them regarding
that matter.
He was walking out his door when he quickly jerked back as if caught on a leash.
Whoops, almost forgot something. And he carefully picked up the white rose corsage he had bought for Tatsuki. It wouldn't do for him to forget
that.
As he descended down the stairs from his room his family was already waiting for him. Isshin was as jumpy as he always was, proudly snapping picture after picture of his son walking down the steps, while the people beside him were just as entertaining to watch. Karin was in the simple black dress she had been forced into and she looked like she was going to kill the first person that made a snide remark; knowingly picking at the dress way too confining compared to what she was used to. However, that didn't mean in any way that she didn't look beautiful. In fact, even through her obvious discomfort she looked every bit the developing young woman she was. Ichigo couldn't help but cough back a chuckle else his sisters hear it at the thought. Yuzu on the other hand was happy to be wearing the new cream-colored dress she had been bought for the occasion, and she was waving excitedly at Ichigo from the foot of the stairs.
"Well, I guess I'll see you all at the ceremony. I'm going to pick up Tatsuki," he said casually as he walked right by them and out the door, leaving a sobbing Isshin behind.
He didn't know how well it would work in a suit, but apparently Shunpo worked just as well even in the classy clothes he was wearing. In less than three flash steps he was at her front door and for some reason he coughed nervously before knocking on said piece of wood. He just had the feeling that something was…odd.
Mrs. Arisawa answered the door and he could tell she had been rushed. That was probably easiest seen because she was trying to put in her earrings and put on a shoe at the same time as opening a door. She too was in a dress and it was the first time Ichigo could remember himself seeing her in one before; then again he didn't see her as often as he used to but that was beside the point. She was black haired and black eyed, just like any typical Japanese woman, but unlike Tatsuki her hair was longer and held in a simple ponytail.
"Oh, Ichigo! Come on in, Tatsuki'll be right down!" she said quickly as her shoes were finally put into place and she was able to quickly do up her earrings. "It's been so long since I've done this I'd forgotten how long it takes to get ready!" she exclaimed with a laugh, and Ichigo joined in just because of how absurd her situation was. Her husband was sitting calmly at the table, already ready to go and reading the newspaper.
He chuckled inwardly. Guys really did get the better deal when it came to prep time.
However that was the furthest thing from his mind a few seconds later, when he looked up to the top of the stairs going to Tatsuki's room bidden by some unknown instinct.
His mouth suddenly went dry.
There…
…at the top of the stairs…
…was Tatsuki.
And she was wearing a dress.
Not a miniskirt type dress that the school had forced her to wear, but an actual
dress dress.
The black material clung to her curves and only went down to her knees, while the simple straps over her shoulders hung their material down like a slit t-shirt sleeve. That wasn't even the most surprising part, it was the fact that the straps only started at her ample cleavage was what had his attention. Her hair was the same as always but he could see the sparkle of the earring studs in her ears. She was wearing a light shade of lipstick and she was even wearing
high heels. Ichigo had to think of everything he possibly could to keep down the arousal that was suddenly coursing through him.
Ganju in a dress! Kenpachi trying to kill me! My Hollow
trying to kill me! Dammit what else is there! Ah! That Tessai freak naked! That certainly killed a lot of it.
Who else! Kenpachi naked! There went some more.
Tatsuki naked! Oops.
DAMMIT! When he finally came back to himself after fighting off the urge to punch himself in the face, he saw Tatsuki still at the top of the stairs, shuffling her feet nervously. She was visibly struggling to keep her balance on the unfamiliar footwear, even as she looked uncertainly between him and whatever else her eyes could find. She almost looked
afraid. "So…how do I look?" she asked at last, with the same uncertainty that was written in her actions.
He tried to speak but no words would come out of his parched throat. He gulped numerous times to try and get any moisture back but to no avail. "God…" he rasped. "…you look…
gorgeous." He coughed embarrassedly at the way his words had come out, but from her radiant smile he took a stab in the dark that that had only given the words even more appeal. He could hear her parents trying to muffle their laughter at his reaction but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.
His tomboy wife-to-be was wearing a
dress and hot damn did she look
good.
He was startled out of his trance when she started walking down towards him, and it was slightly amusing—even he had to admit it—that she had to stop every now and then to regain her balance on the heeled shoes. Like most of their kind what they lacked in functionality they more than made up for in style, and they showed off her feet wonderfully from under the thin straps that held them in place. "Dammit I'm going to
kill the person who made these shoes if I ever meet him," Tatsuki threatened irately as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Ichigo muffled another chuckle. She looked the part of the perfect little lady until she spoke.
"Hold out your hand Tatsuki," he requested softly, causing her to look at him questioningly; but she did as she was asked. It was then Ichigo took the corsage he had bought and slipped it onto her wrist, where she looked down at it in shock. Ichigo may know her body intimately, but he had no desire to put himself through the embarrassment of trying to put a pin corsage on his fiancé while her parents watched. That had disaster written all over it. He held out his arm for her to take and she took the unspoken question for what it was happily, winding her arm into his.
All of a sudden Mrs. Arisawa was in front of them, and a bright flash temporarily blinded the duo followed by a great many more. When they finally stopped the couple could see she had a
camera in her hands. Well, that was what they
quessed it was, because right then there were so many spots over their eyes they could have sworn the sun had exploded in their faces.
"MOM!" Tatsuki shouted. Ichigo merely snickered and he received a punch to the shoulder for that.
"Oh well, I'm sure there'll be plenty more pictures at the ceremony."
He heard her whine in torment beside him briefly.
"You better enjoy this, because this is one of the only times you'll see me in a dress," she whispered angrily. He only nodded and kissed her cheek innocently, which caused another blush to rise on her cheeks.
Once again coughing down a chuckle at her actions, he prepared himself. "We'll see you there!" Ichigo called over his shoulder to his future mother and father-in-law. Before Tatsuki had any say in the matter he had eased the arm winded with hers around her waist and the other scooped her up into his arms before they both vanished in a burst of reiatsu. That didn't mean her parents didn't hear her surprised yelp before Shunpo had whisked them both away.
They both laughed at the sound their daughter had made and grabbed their car keys to follow them. The vanishing act might have disconcerted them before, but they were sure they were going to have to put up with a lot stranger things than that in the coming years so they might as well get used to it.
…
Ichigo suddenly
appeared with Tatsuki in his arms at one of the more secluded sections of the school. Setting his fiancé down nimbly, she instantly set to work straightening out her dress.
"You just
had to do that, didn't you?" the young woman accused playfully. Another reason for her to never wear a dress again: Shunpo sure made wind go fast and it went very fast up places she usually never left uncovered. She liked pants because of that protection.
Her orange-haired counterpart shrugged lackadaisically. "Otherwise we would have had to walk here. I for one don't want everyone ogling my future wife…unless of course you
want people to see you." Another blush rose on her face and she looked away embarrassedly.
"You…you really think people would…
ogle…me?" she asked with the same un-Tatsuki-like uncertainty that had come into her voice ever since she had been seen in the dress.
Unexpectedly, she felt Ichigo's hand at the back of her head before his lips were upon hers once more, coaxing all the stress out of her body. Already a conditioned response, her lips took the cue right away and responded back with the same loving force he was putting on them. Their hands went to each other's hips as they simply stood there, easing the tension with the act of love. When he finally pulled away, Tatsuki was so relaxed she could have fallen asleep right there.
"Tatsuki, the moment I saw you in that dress I could have taken you right there. I know for a
fact that people will be ogling you. Now get rid of that doubt right now, it's not like you," he answered vehemently and she smiled up at him. He looked so serious, and every word he had said was said with the finality only Ichigo Kurosaki could give it.
She straightened up proudly like her usual self.
Screw them all, let them ogle. She had her fiancé's approval and that was all she cared about. And hey, she had always wondered what Ichigo would look like in a jealous rage. The thought alone made her snicker inwardly in delight.
She took the arm placed once again out for her and they walked over to the stage set up for the graduates.
…
Rukia was sitting in the stands, calmly plucking at a flower while Uryuu and Orihime talked casually beside her. Her white dress was elegant, but then again she hadn't expected anything less, considering even if she
did ask Renji to pick her out something simple he would give her no less than a masterpiece. She looked up and waved at the man that stood out like a sore thumb with his long red hair, who was sitting proudly in the one of the front rows, those reserved for escorts of the grads. He wouldn't have missed this for the world.
Besides, she liked it when he dressed up anyways, and the tux was a lot better than the garish Seventies clothes he had once worn in the Living World. He knew better than that now. He waved right back at her, but then he saw her head turn and the reason was obvious. He could feel the reiatsu coming into the air just like she could, and so he looked over to see the fellow captain approaching.
His mouth fell open just like he could see Rukia's had done.
All of a sudden Rukia had Orihime right beside her and they could only stare at the approaching couple; though there were some doubts in their minds that who he was with was actually who they thought it was. They both looked like the proud warriors they were, and for a second the two watching them approach could see the regality they both held. It wasn't even nobility, it was the aura of two extremely powerful beings in love.
Not nobility, the aura of a King and his Queen.
That was what had the cold sweat breaking out on their skin unbidden, but what caused their surprise was the clothing on them both. They had never seen Ichigo dress up before; even when they went to his mother's grave he had remained in something he would normally wear; but now his sleek suit matched his personality perfectly and the woman beside him was acting her part for once. Tatsuki looked like a woman. All curves, long legs, and slender face, she looked every bit the beautiful woman she had been hiding under her tomboyish tendencies. They could only gape in awe.
They saw her stumble slightly as they made their way up the stairs but Ichigo was right beside her to help her stay upright, and for that moment Rukia only saw Ichigo's profile against the light of the sun behind his head. For that moment, for that one single moment in time, Ichigo's slightly longer hair made the last remaining part that separated him from his look-alike click into place. For that lone instant, Rukia Kuchiki saw Kaien Shiba looking down on his smiling wife. Then just like a dream, the seemingly subliminal image vanished, placing Ichigo and Tatsuki back in front of her eyes.
"Rukia?" Ichigo asked worriedly. "Are you okay? You're crying…"
Indeed, the invincible Rukia Kuchiki had become unaware that tears were falling from her eyes. Instantly she reached up and wiped them away, letting loose a laugh that was hoarse for some reason. "I don't know why…it's just…I got the strangest feeling…No, never mind," the adopted noble said at last and smiled up at the man that always towered over her. He smiled back and went to sit down by Chad with Tatsuki right beside him.
Why…did I get that feeling…again…? Rukia clutched her arms around her at the sudden chill that entered the breeze.
…
And so their names were called one by one, and each time one student got up and received their diploma from the elderly principal before they sat back down. It truly was a beautiful day, and Ichigo and the others had no trouble with the long wait for their names to be called. For once they could simply relax, even if the chairs were a tad uncomfortable. It was warm, they were happy, and Hollows had yet to make any kind of appearance in a good while.
Peace.
Such a wonderful thing, and yet so hard to obtain. The world strives for it, and yet in order to do that, many times war has been waged. A contradiction in terms. For the sake of peace, people make chaos, and for the sake of getting rid of chaos, people wish for peace. Even in Soul Society the souls ravage, hurt, and murder each other, and there exists an army to help balance the souls of the dead and dying in both worlds. Maybe the world never will know peace, but for Ichigo Kurosaki, who was something human, something otherworldly, and since Hueco Mundo: something forbidden, he would forever try his hardest to maintain the calm that he and his friends had allowed the world.
He would enjoy it while it lasted.
Just as his name was called out he heard the explosion and saw the smoke. In fact, everyone did. Something in the school had exploded and now the fire was threatening the lives inside.
"Dammit, the elementary schoolers are still in school today!" Miss Ochi cried as she saw the fire spreading over the crumbling part of the building, wracked from the explosion.
In the mind of Ichigo Kurosaki, this was like 'Game On.'
No more deaths. I won't allow it! In an instant he had slammed his medallion against his chest and taken off in his captain form as his body slumped lifelessly in its chair. Tatsuki didn't even have any time to react to the change, he was just
gone. She wasn't given anything to help, she was just left on the stage while her fiancé disappeared into thin air. The people in the audience of course panicked when they saw the fire and state of distress the building holding children was in, but that was when they started seeing children appear out of nowhere by the front lawn. They stared in stupor as they saw the children still cowering in fear look up and notice that they weren't where they had been anymore, and like a protective blanket the crowd started herding the kids farther away from the building while checking for injuries. To their amazement, there were none.
There was no explanation for what started the fire, but right then all that mattered to Tatsuki was that her future husband was rushing into a burning building. She ran as fast as she could with high heels on to as close to the building as she could get before the heat held her at bay. She wanted to do
something, but Ichigo had taken the medallion with him and given her no way to follow him into the blaze, with the clothes she was wearing it was impossible.
Damn you Ichigo! What if something happens to you! She kicked off her shoes and started running around the building to what seemed to be the fire's origin, and along the way she looked over in surprise to see the Soul Reaper forms of Rukia and Renji right beside her while Orihime struggled to keep up.
"My powers could come in handy if anyone's injured!" Orihime said seriously with an equally serious face as they ran, regardless of the busty airhead's dress.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the area they were approaching and lo and behold, they witnessed Ichigo standing protectively among a group of kids, holding up part of the roof that was threatening to crush them all from the explosion that had destroyed more of the building. They could see his eyes blackening as his transformation started to give him the extra strength he needed but the group didn't dare dwell on it, instead they instantly rushed in and grabbed the kids before running back out.
"
That should be the last of them!" Ichigo strained out as they looked back at him.
They all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing their help had been useful, even if it wasn't entirely needed.
"The King's as soft as ever. Pathetic."
And they all bore witness to the red beam that suddenly ripped through Ichigo's chest from behind.
The reiatsu that had been in the air, the reiatsu that had
always been in the air ever since that chance meeting with a little girl's soul; the reiatsu of the most courageous, loving, idiotically stubborn person they had ever known, flickered, sputtered, and finally…
…disappeared.
They watched—stunned—as Ichigo's body, a hole replacing where his chest once was, fell under the weight of the giant portion of roof he had been holding up, and an Arrancar was revealed behind him. Most of his face was uncovered, and in fact it was surprisingly handsome for such a monster. This was a humanoid Arrancar, a being fully aware of the consequences set out by the King.
One by one, the people that had been watching finally reacted to what they had seen with their own eyes. Rukia took a step back in shock as tears started gathering in her eyelids, until eventually they fell under the finality of it all and she collapsed to the ground in tears. That chill that had entered her bones earlier was back, and her whole body felt numb as she was forced to remember that feeling once again. "No…not you too…not you too…DAMMIT ICHIGO YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TOO STUBBORN TO DIE!"
Renji simply stood there in shock, unable to believe his once-rival and fellow captain had been felled by such an underhanded blow. It was obvious this Hollow's power lied in his ability to hide his reiatsu,
that was why none of them had been the wiser to his involvement in the explosions.
"You bastard…you started the fire knowing he'd be here, didn't you?" he gritted out through his anger, even as his vision blurred from the tears that had started forming in his own eyes.
The blonde-haired Arrancar flicked some hair out of his face. Just from how human he looked, he could have easily passed for one of the Espada. "Of course. That idiot of a Soul Reaper didn't deserve to be our King. The Espada grew soft under his influence, and because of him we were no longer allowed to kill anything but other Hollows. He was too soft. If he had just let me eat these children he wouldn't have died, but I like they way it worked out nonetheless. So predictable."
Renji's hands tightened angrily into fists at the uncaring explanation as he saw his lover break down beside him. Over to his other side he could see Orihime's disbelieving face as she cupped her hands over her mouth to stop the sobs breaking free of her as her sad gray eyes lost their vision to tears.
"You bastard…"
Thu-Thump His eyes opened wide as he looked over to the one person he never should have forgotten about in the first place, the one person affected the most by this. His anger was nothing compared to hers, and he could see that reflected in her cold transforming eyes. Without any aid, inexplicably, her body fell to the ground and her Soul Reaper form stood angrily above it, glaring down the monster that had dared take her husband away from her.
"You bastard…"
Thu-Thump They all were looking at her now, as her vocabulary was reduced to those two words. They watched, horrified, as white trailed its way up from her sandals, going up over black socks, and continuing on, turning everything in its path into its inverted color. It continued slowly as she repeated the words over and over again and her heartbeat became the only thing she heard.
Thu-Thump She pulled her white sword from its sheath, and through the black tears falling from her transformed eyes, she glared with a face lengthened and thinned by her maskless transformation.
Thu-Thump "
You bastard…you bastard…" She threw her white zanpakutou up into the air like she usually did when preparing to release it, but this time the others were unprepared for what came out of her mouth.
Thu-Thump "
Prepare to KILL: Hakujou Kouki!" "It's just like Tousen's…" Rukia murmured as she beheld yet another shock. "It has more than one release command…"
They watched as the light of Kouki enveloped Tatsuki's arms and fists like it usually did, but this time it also trailed down to her legs, until when the release was finished, they could only tremble.
Thu-Thump Instead of the four knuckle-mounted blades on each hand, now one large blade had replaced that and extended from her forearm to well beyond her knuckles. Of course, with the White Transformation, her blade too had inverted and now a blade as black as hell was what was mounted on the arm armor of purest white with not gold, but silver intricacies. However, when they finally took a look at the other area that had been covered by the light, they noticed what else was different. Instead of her regular sandals, now armored greaves that went up to her knees like that of a knight of old rested on her feet; and their sleek white forms looked as sharp as swords even through the beautiful silver designs covering them.
"No way…" Renji whispered.
Thu-Thump Thu-Thump Thu-Thump Thu-Thump Thu-Thump Thu-Thump! "
YOU BASTARD!" She charged at the Arrancar that had shot the killing Cero, and it became obvious what the greaves did right away. She
flew towards him. Not just using Shunpo, not just running, but
hovering above ground as energy was forced from the greaves out behind her to shoot her forward at terrifying speeds.
The Arrancar had frozen in shock upon witnessing a transformation similar to the one he had once seen the King do, but that was gone the moment she flew forward. He instantly put up his sword to block the swinging bladed arm from chopping off his head, but was unprepared for the blast of wind that followed the impact, which shot him away from her and into the side of the school. His parry had managed to block any damage from the swing, and for that he was thankful, however, he hadn't managed to come out unscathed from colliding with the unforgiving concrete of the building.
But just like before, suddenly the tear-streaked, ashen face was right in front of him and she attacked without mercy, trying blow after blow on the Arrancar using Sonido to the best of his ability to dodge them. He needn't have bothered; she kept pace with him with no trouble at all. As the fight progressed it became apparent how far she had degenerated into anger, and he couldn't understand how she still stood. He was landing strike after strike on her and her white garments were wet with blood, yet she never stopped or staggered in her attempts to kill him. He could see the others out of the corner of his eyes, and they were all still crying, but they were looking at him with expressions of the calmest seriousness. They knew she was going to kill him. They
knew it.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
In fright, the one who had assassinated the King of Hueco Mundo frantically released his zanpakutou and the fight was renewed with increased vigor as blood and reiatsu flew around in the air. This time Kouki's shockwaves were more like blades of air released from the long blade that rested on each arm, and they were far more dangerous than any blunt-force shockwave. Needless to say the Arrancar's Hierro helped him escape death many times from those blades, but he never went undamaged. No matter where he went, no matter how fast he ran, the enraged white body followed him and the attacks were renewed.
He tried to fight, tried to run and hide his reiatsu like was his specialty in doing, but even that had no effect. He had no way of knowing he was dealing with an expert in tracking reiatsu, tracking
presences in general, and with her Hollow so close to the surface—equally enraged by the loss of her King—that tracking was enhanced to an almost prescient level. Almost like she knew where he was going to be before he was even there.
"What the hell is wrong with you, woman! Why are you acting like this over the King!" he yelled in terror as he struck out blindly at the opponent as fast as the wind. One whose feet now dealt just as much damage as her fists were they allowed to make contact, one whose anger burned brighter than the glowing eyes radiating it, one who had just lost the most important thing in her life.
Tatsuki screamed in rage, a scream from a feminine throat ravaged by anger and grief.
"He was going to be my husband! He gave me control over my Hollow! HE LOVED ME!" Her white face was streaked black from the oddly-colored tears from the eyes of the Vizard, but she could see her enemy's face clear as day.
The Arrancar she must
kill.
Then, she pulled back her bladed fist and prepared to take vengeance, taking sweet bliss in the look of horror that came over her enemy's face as he saw the inevitable end approach him.
"
No Tatsuki, I still love you."
…
In his shop just a short distance away, Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin looked up in terror at the ominous reiatsu that had suddenly entered the air.
"Oh God…" the usually calm shopkeeper muttered. "It still exists."
…
The battle about to end froze.
Bloodstained and tear-soaked, Tatsuki witnessed an alabaster man step in front of her in the air, as menacing as the Grim Reaper himself. Chest bare from the explosion of reiatsu that had torn through him, his shirt and his captain's robes were a thing of the Past. Yet, where there should have been a hole was instead black crystal; endless, seemingly sentient wisps of energy circling the innards of the blue-tinged onyx molded in the exact shape his body would have been in had it still been there. Still reeling from shock, the young woman was able to pay no mind to the horned mask covering nearly all of his head.
She witnessed a miracle as she watched her thought-dead fiancé walk towards her enemy. The black, unearthly crystal melted inward like water into soil and revealed perfectly healed, albeit still white, flesh underneath. She could see the Arrancar's eyes wide with terror on an unimaginable scale, and she could only imagine the look on Ichigo's face. No, at this point she couldn't even imagine it. She hadn't noticed his hand was bleeding, but that soon became a very prominent detail when it was raised at her enemy's head, but not before he had moved so quickly it was impossible to see and had grabbed him by the throat with his other hand.
The look held by his masked face couldn't be described in words, only the enemy Arrancar's face truly did it justice, that of the only emotion it was made to invoke. Fear. True, primal, fear.
"The Hougyoku won't be destroyed so easily, scumbag, especially not with my powers. You not only tried to kill me, you made Rukia, Orihime, Renji…you even made my Tatsuki cry! I wish I had Uryuu's powers right now bastard, but seeing your destruction will be sweet regardless of your trip to Soul Society. Goodbye." With that, not one, not two, not even
three Gran Rey Cero's were released; they simply
kept on firing until the only remnant of what was once in his grip was nothing but a slight breeze that marked the destruction of the source of reiatsu.
He turned around and faced the still-transformed Tatsuki, and she stiffened at the mask so much deadlier than anything she had ever seen before. Markings so much more complex than his original decorated the bone with an eerily beautiful quality; a mask so much more defining than the one she knew. This was something she had never seen before, a reiatsu she had never
felt before, and she saw that his equally transformed eyes were fading from ice-blue even though his sclera remained black as coal.
"I'm sorry Tatsuki, it took longer than normal for me to use that power this time. I've never really used it in actual combat before, I wasn't even sure it would work…" he explained lamely as he rubbed the back of his masked head. Well beyond the strength of the Segunda Resurreccion release, possibly even the White Transformation, he had forbidden himself from going that far again. It was moot point in the face of the previous scenario.
The black tears had never stopped falling, but this time they were out of sheer relief as she threw herself at him and he caught her just in time before she started sobbing into his chest louder than he had ever heard her cry before. He held her as his eyes softened while radiating heartache as his soul felt the pain she had gone through thinking he had died. Her fingers scraped at his steel skin as she cried her eyes out and the deadly blades attached to her arms went to either side of his head in the way she held him. He had no fear of the blades however, he knew they could never hurt him, even though they were still plenty far enough away.
Her zanpakutou was just like her Hollow in that respect.
"
I thought you died! I thought you died! How could you do that to me! How!" The alabaster King simply wrapped his arms around her and held her closer as he returned to normal, his ever-feared mask returning to obscurity. "I'm sorry Tatsuki. I'm really, really sorry. I never meant to put you through that." He couldn't stop his own tears from falling at his own inability. "Everyone, I'm so, so sorry."
Tatsuki had forgotten about the others that had witnessed Ichigo's 'death,' but apparently he
had noticed the mourners who were now crying the same tears of relief she was. They were all nodding happily though and their smiles were genuine even though they wanted to
genuinely kill him themselves for making them worry so much.
"You idiot!" Renji and Rukia shouted at once, even though their voices were filled with so much happiness the insult it was meant to be was hardly noticeable. Orihime could only smile at him with identical tear-stains to everyone else.
That was the hardest thing they had went through since Rukia had been near death in Hueco Mundo.
"Yeah yeah, I know I'm an idiot. Come on Tatsuki, we still have a grad to go to, but I'd make a pretty safe bet that it'll be postponed until the kids are all home."
Tatsuki could only smile and nod her tear-streaked face into his chest happily.
…
And true to his prediction, the grad ended late in the day. That was because everyone, from the elementary school students to beings of another realm, were able to witness the graduation of the two most powerful beings the worlds would ever know, even if they went unaware, passing for regular humans.
And now life after school would begin, and a wedding loomed in the near future.
…
Author's Notes: A bit more editing than normal this time, but thankfully I updated the whole thing on FF.net, so it's easily done. Can you spot the differences? Thanks for reading.
