They kicked off the air at the exact same moment.
This world belonged to them. There were no obstacles to hinder their feet.
『—Your power has increased...! What has changed?』
To his opponent's question, the King—Ichigo Kurosaki—simply replied, "Who knows?" For the sake of what he wanted to protect, he could face any hardship. After all, the "power" standing before him was the very thing that had taught him that resolve.
With a single conviction in his heart, the blades of the strong and the weak crossed time and again.
A diagonal slash from a high guard, a rising strike from below. Ichigo used centrifugal force to parry a horizontal swing, meeting a vertical downward stroke head-on. He parried a thrust following a sweep and transitioned into a fluid horizontal cut across the torso.
Cutting, being cut; thrusting, being thrust. He poured his heart into every swing of the blade, and his heart mended every wound in his flesh. Their battle, a grueling test of endurance and skill, continued without end.
A day, a week, a month. An eternity passed without sleep or sustenance. Then, at a certain point, Ichigo felt a faint sense of dissonance.
What is this sword? This blade Zangetsu is wielding...
At first, he thought he was imagining it. His opponent was far stronger than him. In a state of tension where a single moment of distraction meant instant death, he shouldn't have had the mental capacity to read his opponent's feelings.
But with every clash, the sensation grew clearer. His hair grew long, his clothes were shredded, and through a blurred stretch of time that felt like forever, the King and the Horseman exchanged blows without a single moment of rest.
...Why?
By immersing himself in this superhuman world and honing his strength, Ichigo finally managed to touch their hearts.
Why are you wielding a sword like that?
What he felt was sorrow.
Even though they had been fighting for an agonizingly long time, there wasn't a single shred of hatred in Zangetsu's blade. There was only a bottomless, deep, deep affection.
And a loneliness so profound it felt like his chest would collapse.
—What you want to protect is not what I want to protect.
The words Zangetsu had spoken earlier flashed through Ichigo's mind. Those hostile words now carried a completely different meaning.
He wanted to know. He had to know. What was the difference between what he wanted to protect and what they did?
He was the King, and they were the Horse. They were the King's power. If he wanted to understand them, he had to reach out and touch them.
And in the midst of a clash he had lost count of, Ichigo finally felt he saw the light.
"I see."
Ichigo remembered. The first time he held Zangetsu. The first time he fought his inner Hollow. The first time he defeated him.
He had always accepted Zangetsu and the Hollow as his own power.
If that were the case, then the Final Getsuga Tensho must be...
『—Let's end this, Ichigo!』
The white Zangetsu kicked off a skyscraper. His movements, which had been a blur at the start, were now perfectly clear to Ichigo's eyes.
He had grown strong. Strong enough to fight his own power on equal terms. Ichigo Kurosaki had evolved in this place.
So, there's no need to fight anymore, right?
With that silent question in his eyes, Ichigo...
『—!!』
...accepted Zangetsu's blade into his chest.
***
Ichigo.
You are a child. Our treasure.
We wished for you to never know.
To never know conflict.
To never know tragedy.
Yet the rain in this land is cold and dark.
Therefore, Ichigo...
If you are the one to sweep away the rain...
Then we shall—
***
The battle was over. Zangetsu and the Hollow had returned to their respective places—likely some favorite spot with a good view.
Ichigo felt no regret. No sorrow. He had been an imperfect King who had caused the sky to cloud and the rain to fall many times. At the very least, at the moment of their parting, he wanted to show them the blue sky they loved.
"So, you're leaving, Ichigo."
Resting briefly to stabilize his spiritual pressure, Ichigo gave a small nod to the voice behind him.
"Yeah."
The last one remaining was the girl in the white mask.
It was a bit embarrassing, but since they were alone, Ichigo felt he had to say it. He apologized over his shoulder.
"Sorry for doubting you."
"What...?"
To her faint, questioning voice, Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly.
"You've helped me so many times, and I went and suspected you were one of Aizen's lackeys."
"That's... that's so mean! I've worked so hard all this time, always trying to keep White in check whenever he wanted to act up...!"
"Wait, what? Oh... I'm—I'm sorry..."
It was rare to see the girl so dejected, and Ichigo found himself bowing his head in apology. Her appearance—though he could only really tell her hairstyle and build—seemed to have a certain youthful innocence, just like her voice. Ichigo felt a sense of calm, having seen a slightly unexpected side of her.
After that, a brief silence fell between them.
This would likely be the last time they met. He still had endless questions.
But...
"Yuzu and the others are waiting. Send me back."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I worked this hard specifically to protect them. I have to do what needs to be done."
He didn't think about how much time had passed outside. Or whether his sisters, his friends, and his comrades were safe.
He had to believe. He had to believe they were all still alive.
"I understand."
As she spoke, his vision, hearing, and senses began to slowly blur. This would likely be his last visit here.
With a heavy heart, Ichigo shook his head and said his farewell. "See ya."
He was ready.
"Ichigo."
But then, the girl spoke one last time.
Looking back, he saw her disappearing into the light along with the world of skyscrapers. It was just moments before he would awaken.
"When you get outside, make sure to give 'that person' a piece of your mind."
"Give them a piece of my mind?"
Ichigo was puzzled by the sudden, parting request.
And at the very edge of his fading consciousness, he thought he heard her let out a sulky, wry chuckle.
"—Because that person is waiting for you."
***
Drip.
Ichigo woke up, startled by the sensation of something cold hitting his cheek.
He looked around to find a world of darkness, a stark contrast to the sea of light he had just left. Bones of humans and beasts were scattered at his feet, and an unsettling, viscous substance was hardened along the long walls to his left and right.
He was back.
Back in the Dangai—the space that both separates and connects the World of the Living and the Soul Society.
"Even my hair grew out here, huh...?"
Ichigo stood up, brushing aside the long, annoying orange bangs that obscured his vision. His body felt unsteady, but it wasn't just from the exhaustion of the battle with Zangetsu and the others.
"Wait... did I get taller, too?"
He tested his creaking bones with a few light stretches. He took a moment to confirm the changes in his body that he hadn't noticed in the inner world, letting himself settle.
He had crossed several barriers in that endless battle. He had obtained enough spiritual pressure to use that power correctly.
I'm fine. I can move. I can fight. I'm stronger than I've ever been. I'm on a completely different level.
But...
"Even with this... can I win?"
Was that sudden tremor a shiver of excitement? Or was it the opposite—a lingering, hateful weakness in his heart?
Even after all this time, Aizen's spiritual pressure remained thick in the air of the Dangai. Sensing it made that familiar terror slowly resurface.
"Even after all that training... can I still not catch up...?"
Because he had gained power, he could see it more clearly now—he could truly understand the sheer magnitude of his nemesis, Sosuke Aizen.
Had he made the right choice? What if his growth here was just another part of that man's plan? What if obtaining this technique—this single, ultimate strike of his entire soul—was just another tool for Aizen to overcome and use as a stepping stone?
Aizen was the one who had opened and then blocked this Dangai. He was the one who had brought together his father and mother, both of whom held the secret of the Final Getsuga Tensho. It was entirely possible that everything was still in the palm of his hand.
In terms of raw power, Aizen was like Ulquiorra. He could resist the fear and fight until the end.
But the terror of the Great Evil wasn't just his power. He possessed a different kind of strength—he was a Demon King with a god-like intellect. He would likely use any means necessary to nip Ichigo's victory in the bud.
That massive unknown, that irrationality—that was what was most terrifying.
"Am I an idiot...?"
Ichigo started running, desperate to shake off the rising anxiety.
There were no other options. This was the ultimate technique that sacrificed everything. If Aizen intended to use it as fuel, then Ichigo would simply have to pour even more power and conviction into it.
I can do it. I know I can. WE can do it!
He spurred himself on with those groundless words, racing toward the exit. If he didn't hurry up and fight, he felt he would lose himself in useless thoughts.
Ichigo dived into the light at the end of the Dangai.
"Am I... back?"
Emerging from the tunnel, he found himself under a cloudy sky.
Below the filtered sunlight stretched a modern-looking town. A scene that definitely didn't exist in the Soul Society.
"Is this... Karakura Town? This is bad...!"
Ichigo panicked, fearing he had been dropped directly into his hometown, which was supposed to have been swapped with the fake one. He reflexively searched for the spiritual pressure of Yuzu and Karin, only to freeze.
"There's... nothing."
It was true. There were no spiritual pressures.
Not just Yuzu and Karin. Not Tatsuki, Keigo, or Mizuiro. Not even Gin Ichimaru, whom he had just fought.
He couldn't even feel the presence of the monster-like Demon King, Sosuke Aizen.
"What... what is going on...?"
Ichigo ran frantically through the dim, silent town. There was no one around. He had heard that Karakura Town had been moved along with its inhabitants, but this didn't make sense.
"Wait... something's wrong..."
Scanning the area for anyone, Ichigo stopped, struck by a strange sensation. Something was off. Something beyond just the lack of people.
He focused on his memories and suddenly realized the truth.
"This cake shop... it's the one Mom used to love..."
It was a small, independent shop in a corner of the town.
But it shouldn't have been there.
"Why is this here...? It went out of business when I started middle school..."
Realizing the nature of the anomaly, Ichigo began to run again. The clouds shifted, and his vision grew dark as if it were night. One by one, the details matched his memories, leading his deductions toward a singular fact.
In that moment, a drop of water hit his cheek.
"Rain...?"
One by one, cold drops began to fall from the sky. As he stood there, the rain intensified until it was a steady downpour.
It was just a natural phenomenon, yet the unease in his chest only grew.
Right. This scene...
"No way..."
Giving in to the impossible thought, Ichigo began to run once more. He felt a desperate urge to reach that spot.
To someone who had stepped into the realm of the transcendent, the distance was trivial. It was a short walk for a child. A distance he used to walk with his mother after school. That was why it was a tragedy—it was the place that had left a permanent scar on a young boy's heart.
"..."
Ichigo reached the spot: the riverbank.
The turning point of his life, where his mother had been eaten by a Hollow six years ago. Ichigo Kurosaki had wandered into a version of Karakura Town where time had seemingly been wound back to that exact moment.
"Who... who could have done this—"
In that instant, something stirred within his chest. Ichigo clutched at his robes and remembered the sensation—the other turning point of his life that had happened in this very place.
Slowly, Ichigo turned his head.
The river, swollen from the long rain.
The faint mist hanging over the water.
The cold, drizzling rain.
The scenery changed as he turned.
He looked past the town on the other side, across the bridge he crossed every day for school...
And when Ichigo turned all the way around—he saw it.
"You..."
A small figure in white robes.
He would never forget her. The mysterious older girl he had met on that rainy day.
The girl in the inverted Soul Reaper robes, looking at him with a sorrowful expression, was celebrating their reunion after six years.
"You've become quite handsome, Ichigo."
"—I almost didn't recognize you."