Darkest Blue

Chapter 9: Lights

"I had a way then, losing it all on my own

I had a heart then, but the queen has been overthrown.

And I'm not sleeping now, the dark is too hard to beat.

And I'm not keeping now, the strength I need to push me.

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone

You shine it when I'm alone

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home."

- Ellie Goulding

'And now, I'm taking back my throne.'

Ichigo supressed a gasping cry as his pale parody growled a threat, the twisted face mere inches from his own. He would never get used to that face, a distorted mirror image of his own, hair and skin bleached white as bone, those sickly yellow irises floating in the dense blackness of his sclera.

'Yer weak!' it spat, 'Too weak!' the hollow tightened its grip, pulling on orange hairs as though it were trying to wrench them free from the scalp, reaching up to grasp Ichigo's neck with its other cold, white hand. 'Too weak to save that girl, too weak to save any of them... Too weak to help blondie out there.' It grinned at the pain that shone in ochre eyes at the mention of the shopkeeper, licking its lips as it spoke again, leaning in close to drive the knife in deeper. 'He'll die because of you.' It whispered in that harsh, rasping voice. 'Everyone you've ever loved will die because yer too busy cowering in Aizen's shadow.' The black nails dug into the soft flesh of Ichigo's windpipe as it began to tighten its grip.

'What's the matter Ichigo?' it taunted as he began to choke, his breath coming in shorter, harsher gasps as those freezing hands tightened around his throat. 'Yer pathetic.' It spat, dark eyes narrowing in disgust. 'How can it be that I've been bowing to such a weak king?'

Ichigo cried out, the world was turning black and fuzzy, the hollows frenzied grimace blurring as those terrible eyes looked desperately back at Ichigo, as though it were searching for something, waiting for some glimmer of resistance that the shinigami was yet to display.

The fear that gripped Ichigo's mind was all too common; the feeling of powerlessness was sickeningly familiar as he felt his consciousness slipping away. How could this happen? How could he allow the hollow to dispose of him so easily – he'd beaten him before, he'd turned the creature to dust and crushed the threat to his sanity, so how could this same creature overpower him now? How could he let it happen? How could he, whom had sworn upon his life to protect everyone, be so weak?

'N-no.' He choked, gritting his teeth against the blackness that was clouding the edges of his vision, against the helplessness that he was drowning in. 'I'm not…'

'What!' the hollow growled, squeezing tighter, pressing its strong thumbs into the hollow of his collarbone, pushing painfully against his windpipe.

'I'M NOT WEAK!' a strangled scream forced its way up from the abused throat, frustration and an almost forgotten pride building until it began to overwhelm the fear and pain.

Ichigo reached up and grasped the pale hands around his neck, a little surprised at the ease with which he was able to force them away. There was a sudden rush within his body, a warm sensation spilling from his neck and flowing down into his fingers and toes. It took him a moment to recognise that familiar feeling as the rush brought power to his trembling form. His reiatsu. The hollow laughed, its mocking voice a dry and broken cackle.

'Figured it out have ya?' It gestured to Ichigo's bruised neck with one long finger. 'Here there is no collar, no physical limiter. Nothing holding you back but that disgusting fear.' Pale lips curled in a sneer as it questioned, 'Since when did ya ever let anybody control ya like that?'

'I… I won't.' Ichigo wheezed as he pulled himself to his feet, blood pumping hard as it shot through his body to the rhythm of his beating heart. 'I won't let him control me anymore.'

The hollow scoffed with a sense of barely disguised amusement.

'So what are you going to do?" it questioned, its cruel smile widening in anticipation.

'I'm going to fight!' Ichigo roared, the fire returning to his mind and body, 'I'm going to save Urahara. I won't let Aizen hold me down any longer… I won't let him defeat me. I'm going to stand up and fight again, and I'll destroy anyone who threatens my world...' He paused as he raised his head to lock eyes with the pale creature, predatory yellow clashing with rich brown irises which sparked with re-awakened determination and power, 'Starting with you.'

White lips twisted into a challenging smirk as the hollow reached out in front of him with his arms, and began to summon power into the palm of his hands. Forming in the grasp of the creatures pale fingers two identical objects began to materialise. The air around the albino shimmered with power as the objects took form, one light, one dark. Both Zangetsu. The very atmosphere seemed to shake as the daylight drained until the only light left seemed to be emanating from those shimmering swords, black and white colliding as the hollow roared,

'Then fight me!'

It lurched backwards as it thrust Ichigo's sword at him. He barely had time to move as the black Zangetsu came shooting towards him, sidestepping ever so slightly to avoid the blade flying past him and clutching his fingers tightly around the hilt, bringing the massive sword around in one swift movement to point at the creature in front of him. His own lips curled into a smirk to match his imitation, the muscles in his face twitching as they remembered how to smile.

'I thought you'd never ask.' He grinned almost manically at the hollow, and the creature shot back an ever more insane expression as it cackled to the open sky. Ichigo saw an opening and shot forward, kicking out against the building beneath him as he propelled himself towards the hollow. Metal screamed as their inverted swords collided, their faces once again mere inches from each other, the hollow grinning and still laughing that insane laugh.

The atmosphere had changed with the drawing of the swords, the sky darkened and heavy raindrops began to fall from clouds that slugged along through the tar-like sky. Ichigo felt the first few drops hit him and frowned, lowering his guard momentarily to glance upwards. He felt a familiar searing pain as the hollow pushed back against his sword and brought its own round to cut a glancing blow against his side. It snarled at him,

'Surprised Ichigo? You shouldn't be. It's been raining here every single day since you've been captive. It's pathetic.' Ichigo narrowed his eyes but said nothing, replying only by charging forward to clash swords with the hollow again. 'Not in a talkative mood anymore?' it taunted, 'Good, I'm sick of hearing you whine anyway.' It flash-stepped and in an instant was gone from Ichigo's sight in a blur of white. Instinctively he twisted around to meet the blow coming from behind him.

The sky began to rumble and crack, thunder shook the buildings beneath the battling figures as they danced in a duel. Swords clashed as thunder clapped and lightening split the sky to light the scene as they fought. The rain grew heavier and soon both the shinigami and the hollow were completely drenched by it. Water ran down Ichigo's face and into his eyes as he received blow after blow from the pale monster. Soon the rain ran red as it intermingled with his open wounds and fell from his body to be washed away in a river of down pouring water. Before long Ichigo was supporting himself on his sword with the blade dug into the ground. His opponent stood tall a mere few feet in front of him, the white zangetsu slung across its shoulders, white robes stained with blood, most of which Ichigo was sure was his own.

'Why don't you just give up?' it asked, its voice strangely free of its usual mocking tone. 'Look at you. You're pathetic. You're a disgrace. Why don't you just give in to me, to him?'

Ichigo's breath came in shorter and shorter gasps as he struggled to stand, his blood was flowing more freely now and he could feel his energy draining away once again.

'Because… I can't afford to give up.' He wheezed. 'Not now.'

'Why!' the hollow snapped, anger flashing in its eyes. 'Why are you so fucking relentless? Ichigo! Answer me!' White teeth flashed as the creature curled its lip. Ichigo sucked cold air into his lungs as his eyelids drooped close. His head was dizzy, his limbs ached but he could not stop now. And they both knew the reason why.

'Because I have to save him.'

Ichigo's eyes snapped open and even from where the hollow was standing it could see the silver light that had flooded the eyes of the shinigami, completely bleaching out the brown warmth of his irises. Using all the power he had left, Ichigo flew forwards, moving faster than the hollow could flash step. Before it could even begin to swing its sword downwards the hollow could tell that its attempt was in vain. Zangetsu slashed in a horizontal motion across the creature's body, tearing blood stained robes and white flesh all at once. The hollow fell to its knees, the white sword shattering as it made contact with the ground.

As soon as the fatal blow had been struck, deep black fissures splintered the sky all at once, the buildings started to crack and crumble beneath the two figures as the hollow himself dissolved and faded, his image twisting and cracking like a broken videotape.

'Tch… just like last time, eh king?' the hollow grinned weakly at the shinigami, its eyes still dancing with fury and insanity. 'Kill him.' It whispered, reaching up to grasp the neck of Ichigo's robes as its body disintegrated into the dark sky. 'Prove to me that you're still a king worth following…' The last part of the creature to fade was that awful smile, and Ichigo could still feel it like an imprint on his memory for a long time afterwards.

Suddenly he once again felt the swelling of a horrible pressure inside his body. It flowed through him like blood through his veins, spreading overwhelming heat right down to the tips of his fingers and toes. Ichigo let his eyelids slip shut as the pressure began to build in his head again, but this time he felt no pain. He exhaled, and as he did so the very time in the space of his inner world seemed to slow. There was a roaring in his ears like the muffled shouts of an angered crowd, like his soul which was bursting to be free.

At the edge of his hearing, just rising above the scream of his soul like an important whisper, he heard a voice. One that he recognised like an old friend,

'I am with you, Ichigo.'

And then, the noise stopped.

For a moment he was in limbo, suspended between two worlds. There was no sound, nothing for his skin to touch and even if he had opened his eyes there would have been nothing for him to see. Then his body trembled and his nerve endings lit on fire, his skin sizzling with the force of the power released within him.

Like a burst dam the reiatsu contained within his body for so long was set free all at once. The band around his neck shattered beneath the incredible force, and his eyes flew open instinctively as his senses returned. He felt a weight leaving his body as reiatsu outpoured into the room in one massive burst, excess energy escaping and burning up in the cold atmosphere, leaving destruction in its wake.

All at once he felt the coldness of the marble floor upon which he crouched, the pain of his wounds flared again but that didn't even register in his mind, cuts which caused him agony before now felt like the merest pin prick upon his skin. He could feel in his hand the familiar weight of an old friend who had passed through the void with him. The roaring noise was replaced with silence for a moment as the newly re-awakened shinigami took in his surroundings.

The throne room was all but destroyed, though how much of the damage had been caused by the reiatsu shockwave he could not tell. Black cracks splintered the once pristine walls, and fissures had opened in the floor and ceiling, scattering rubble and debris across the room. The ceiling, cracked and damaged, trembled above him as though it could collapse in at any moment, and increasingly large amounts of dust and stone trickled from the roof to envelop the room. He neither see nor feel no presence to suggest that he was not the only person present in the room. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as dust as he raised a hand to sweep away the dirt cloud from the front of his face, his senses both confused and hypersensitive from the massive shock of reawakening. He blinked as he regarded his hand as though it was some unknown object; his very skin was buzzing and almost glowing with renewed power.

Something shifted at the corner of his senses suddenly, an attacker moving at an incredible speed, coming at him from behind. It took Ichigo a mere fraction of a second to react, twisting his body around so fast he almost stumbled as he tried to adjust to his rediscovered speed and power. He felt his hand contact with the skin of another, and as his muddled brain caught up with the reactions of his body, he realised that he was tightly gripping a pale wrist which had shot towards him with the intention to grasp him.

It was not just the firm and sudden grip on his wrist which startled Urahara enough to let out an audible gasp, but the sight of the orange haired boy in the first place was enough to knock the wind from his lungs. He had seen the boy collapse upon the floor, followed almost instantly by a massive outburst of spiritual power which had thrown both the shopkeeper and his opponent clear across the room. As he regained his senses he had lunged to take a pre-emptive strike on the massive pulsing and twisted source of power which in his confusion and the sheer volume of reiatsu present he had thought to have belonged to Aizen.

Now he saw the eyes of the shinigami fly wide open as he realised whom he was grasping so tightly. Those brown eyes were pulsing with a confused mixture of emotion, fear and joy and a strange power burning renewed behind those irises. Energy seemed to be shooting through every inch of Ichigo's body, the very colour of his hair seemed to have intensified, burning brighter as it stood up on end like the hackles of a startled animal. His skin was flushed, blood filled vessels painting his cheeks and lips an intense red to clash with the orange of his hair. His white robes were torn, the entire right arm ripped away, the hems tattered with deep gashes running along the dirtied material. Glowing with power, in that moment he was more intensely beautiful than Urahara had ever envisioned.

'Ichigo…' His voice was barely a whisper but to Ichigo it registered as the only noise in the room. As soon as he had seen blonde hair fill his vision his senses had narrowed in to focus only on the green clad man whose wrist he grasped. He blinked rapidly, fearing that at any moment the figure before him would disappear like one of Aizen's illusions. He tried to swallow the lump which had settled in his throat but found himself unable to. He opened his mouth but no words materialised.

They remained in limbo for only a mere fraction of a second, but to both men the time seemed to draw out into hours. Dust danced in the air, aglow with the light of the reiatsu which had been released into the atmosphere, burning up the cold air. Both choked on words which would not come, and instead settled for studying the others face as intently as though they were trying to distinguish reality from a dream.

'Well, isn't this just a touching scene?' a cold voice shattered the momentary spell which hung in the air. At the interruption Ichigo released the blonde's pale wrist as though he had received an electric shock, and they both spun to face the enemy. Urahara instinctively swept in front of Ichigo, sword drawn, ready to fight to the death to protect his student. Fear had already began to flood the mind of the vulnerable shinigami, the feeling of invincibility that came with the return of his powers faded like the flick of a lightswitch as his tormenter swept into view.

'Sosuke…' Urahara's voice was low and threatening now, his pale fingers turning white as they curled around Benihime's hilt. 'This has gone far enough, it ends now.' All trace of joviality had vanished from Aizen's voice as he confronted the shopkeeper.

'No, Kisuke. It's not gone nearly far enough.' Malice glinted in the bottomless pits of his dark eyes. 'Did you really think that you could come in here, into my realm, and just take what is mine?' He sneered, a venomous sound that sounded frighteningly like the cackle of the hollow. 'What makes you think I'm going to let either of you leave here alive?'

'What makes you think you can stop me?' the ex-captain challenged, never breaking eye contact with the demented lord. Ichigo quivered behind his teacher, trying desperately to overcome the fear and horror that was beating in his veins. Aizen scowled, his patience wearing thin at the defiance that he was met with. His hand flew to draw his sword, and both men felt the terrible power that was about to be unleashed upon them.

'There's one more thing that you should probably know.' Urahara stopped the lord in his tracks as he spoke, this time more confident than ever before. 'I'm not like you Sosuke, because, I didn't come alone.'

Suddenly, a thundershock split the room, shaking the already unstable walls. Even bigger cracks began to open on the floor and explosions rang from the four corners of the palace. The ceiling collapsed in between them and in an instant Aizen was gone from their view.

Ichigo could not see through the dust and debris that enveloped the room, but when he felt a hand grasp his wrist and pull him away, he did not struggle against the tight grip. He could feel warmth emanating from the palm of the one who held him and knew that it was not the sickeningly familiar, icy grip of Aizen. Running blindly, he allowed himself to be pulled along by the hand gripping his own. He felt like he was moving faster than he had ever before, all of his power was pushed to his legs as they bolted through the white hallways of the palace. In an instant they escaped from the dirt cloud and, blinking the dust from his eyes, Ichigo could see the extent of the destruction that had been wreaked upon the once pristine building. He swallowed again and found that though his throat was clogged with dust he was once again able to speak.

'W-what was that?' he stammered in confusion as they ran, looking around as though the cause of the explosion would make itself known to him.

'I'll explain later.' The soft voice of his teacher floated back to him, instantly putting him slightly more at ease. 'Right now we just have to get out of here.'

'Wait!' Ichigo almost shouted as an important fact crossed his mind. 'Orihime! We can't leave her!' He almost stopped mid run as the horror of leaving her presented itself as a possibility.

'Ichigo!' Urahara spun around to face him, planting his hands on the shaking boy's shoulders. 'She's being taken care of. We're going to get both of you out of here, but only if we go right now.' He spoke as though he were addressing a child, taking care not to frighten Ichigo in his already fragile state. 'Just, trust me, Ichigo. Please.' His grey eyes pleaded with the redhead, willing him to get a hold of himself. Ichigo bit his lip, suddenly ashamed that he had doubted his teacher even for a moment. He nodded, his face pale and drawn with worry and streaked with blood and dirt. Nodding back at him, the blonde turned and the two men continued on their journey through the foreboding hallways.

The sounds of fighting and further explosions rang out from all sides, and Ichigo wondered why Aizen had not yet caught up with him. Panic pushed in around his senses but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Urahara had told him to trust him, and though it felt like he could never fully trust another soul again, he was the one person that he knew he could always count on. So he surrendered his body to the flight along bleached floors as they ran for their lives.

It felt as though they had run for miles, and perhaps they had, when Urahara came to stop at what seemed to be a dead end. Panic signals once again began to spark in Ichigo's nerves, but he forced himself to be still and silent as the blonde traced his fingers over invisible markings in the wall. Whatever he was doing, he seemed to be doing it painfully slowly and Ichigo was sure that at any moment Aizen would come swooping up behind him, pulling him back to hell to torment him until he became as insane as his hollow.

'Here.' Urahara tapped the wall with his long fingers and took a step back, 'Stand back Ichigo.' He commanded as he summoned reiatsu into the tips of his fingers. The shinigami barely had time to move before Urahara released his power into the thick stone wall, shattering it into a million pieces beneath his fingers. They fled through the gap in the open wall, out onto the gritty sand of the desert. As soon as Ichigo felt his foot sink into the sand his heart jumped into his chest. They had done it. They had really done it. They had escaped from Las Noches.

'We're not out of the woods yet.' Urahara murmured, his eyes darting from side to side as though he could not quite believe that they had managed to emerge unchallenged. 'Stay close to me Ichigo, and run like you never have before.' They sped off again across the desert, fuelled by one objective only – escape.

'We're almost there!' Urahara cried, looking ahead as though he could see something which Ichigo could not. Those words struck a chord deep within the frightened boy, and tears of joy and fear and repressed emotion began to leak silently from his eyes. Then, just as they were about to reach their unseen goal, Ichigo felt himself pushed to the ground as Urahara came to an abrupt stop. They were travelling at such a speed that when he hit the ground the air was knocked from his lungs and he struggled to pull himself upright again. As he tried to force himself into a standing position he felt himself pushed down again by his teacher. Confused, he rubbed sand from his eyes and blinked up at the scene before him.

Urahara stood tall, green robes dirty and tattered, striped hat gone somewhere in the scramble to escape, face drawn and tired. He was looking more the worse for wear now, the battle with Aizen had certainly taken his toll and he was bleeding from open wounds on his arms and sides. He had drawn Benihime once more, and stood facing a new opponent.

The 4th espada.

'So, it's you eh?' Urahara managed a tired smile. 'I was expecting someone of a higher rank.'

'My power is sufficient to deal with trash like you.' Ulquiorra responded, showing no sign on his impassive face that he was effected by the remark. He stood straight-backed and tall, white clothes pristine, the blankness of his face interrupted only by the teal tear tracks running down his cheeks. His zanpakutō remained sheathed at his hip.

'You can't defeat me.' The shopkeeper stood his ground, towering over Ichigo in a protective stance.

'I don't need to,' the cold reply came in that same emotionless tone. 'I just need to keep you here until Aizen-sama arrives.'

Urahara cursed silently. The arrancar was right, they were running out of time and soon Aizen would be upon them. And then there would be no escape. Ichigo slumped on the ground, feeling exhaustion set in. The massive outpouring of power had drained his reiatsu almost to the brink of his consciousness and he once again felt utterly powerless, lying there while the man he loved fought to protect him. It was all backwards, since when did he become the one needed protected? The hollow was right, he really was pathetic.

'I won't let you.' The ex-captain grit his teeth and kept his blade trained on the enemy as he turned his head to look at the shinigami on the ground. 'Ichigo.' his voice was a steady whisper now, 'Keep down and cover your eyes and ears. Do not look up or move until I say so. Understand?' Ichigo swallowed hard and nodded his head ever so slightly in response.

'It is useless…' Ulquiorra sighed a little as he spoke, cocking his head in anticipation of his opponent's next move.

The last thing Ichigo saw before he complied and threw his head down, squeezing his eyes shut tight, was Urahara raising his blade into the air above his head, knuckles white and determination burning in his eyes.

The last thing he heard before white noise eclipsed him and stole away with him into the blackness of unconsciousness was the steady voice of the man he loved as he played his final card.

'…Bankai.'