"Now then... let's go, everyone."
—Begin the counterattack!—
The moment Kugo Ginjo's command echoed through the air, massive tornadoes of light pierced the heavens, erupting from the tips of the chains he had fired in every direction.
At the center of those storms stood...
"No... damn it! Ginjo, what the hell did you do to them?!"
Ichigo Kurosaki, witnessing the situation from a distance, shouted his demand for an answer. But the man who had orchestrated this nightmare only twisted his lips into a cruel, jagged smile.
"You're as slow as ever. Even after having your power stolen, you still haven't figured out the true nature of my Fullbring?"
"...!"
Ginjo laughed at the stunned Ichigo. As if to flaunt the answer, the man reached behind him, grabbed the hair of the floating masked girl, and shoved her forward.
"The true value of my Cross of Scaffold isn't turning a necklace into a greatsword."
It is the power to steal an enemy's Fullbring... and distribute it!
+++
"Incredible! Simply incredible! Two years of preparation for this power was well worth it!"
In a corner of the forest away from Ichigo and Ginjo's duel, Karin Kurosaki—who had just defeated her opponent with her newfound strength—was horrified by the anomaly triggered by a single incoming chain of light.
"Wh-What...? What's happening...?"
"...Dammit... they got us...!"
Karin moved away from the storm of spiritual pressure, supporting a heavily wounded Jinta Hanakari. In the center of the light stood the boy whose chest had been pierced by the chain.
It was Yukio Hans Vorarlberna, the boy Karin was supposed to have defeated.
"Hahaha! That was a close one, you brats. Ginjo kept us waiting long enough, but now the game is ours!"
The blonde youth gripped his handheld console in one hand, approaching with a vein-popping grin. His aura and power were those of a completely different person. Even the wounds from the new technique Karin had finally managed to land were now perfectly healed.
...And Yukio wasn't the only one transformed.
"Oh! So this is Ichigo's Fullbring! What an immense amount of power...!" Giriko Kutsuzawa shouted. He had been downed by the five comets Orihime Inoue had launched.
"Sorry, kid. This was all part of Boss Ginjo's plan," Jackie Tristan remarked. She had been pinned by Uryu Ishida's arrows.
"Honestly, that Ginjo... I told him I didn't want it...!" Riruka Dokugamine muttered. The girl had escaped Rukia Kuchiki's ice at the cost of her own leg.
Some welcomed it with open arms; some rejoiced in the fulfillment of their wishes; others frowned with complex emotions. Driven by their respective motives, the Fullbringers—who had been pushed into a corner by the desperate struggle of Ichigo's friends—stood back up, possessing a level of spiritual pressure that defied comparison to their previous forms.
They had all accepted the power granted by Kugo Ginjo and were reborn as even more formidable foes.
+++
While his friends were shaken by the enemy's unexpected power-up, Ichigo was reeling from the sheer abnormality of Ginjo's revealed ability.
"...Transferring abilities..."
"That's right. But the greatest part of Cross of Scaffold isn't that. I can slice up the power I've taken like a pie and distribute its properties as I see fit."
Ichigo's throat clicked as he swallowed hard.
"Sealing" a power was one thing, but to "steal" it and then freely "distribute" its spiritual energy and traits... that was something even Sosuke Aizen, merged with the Hogyoku, couldn't do.
Ginjo might not have excelled in pure destructive power, but he was undeniably a monster—someone standing in the realm of a Transcendent.
"Hehe, you really are the Hero of the Spirit World... or should I say, the 'Goddess's Protection' is? I never imagined the scale of this power would be beyond even my total control. The excess alone buffed Giriko and the others far more than I anticipated."
The man checked his physical condition, a look of delight bleeding into his face. In his hand, the masked girl—suspended in the air by her hair—gasped weakly.
"Stop it! Let her go!"
Ichigo's roar only made Ginjo laugh eerily.
"You won't get an answer even if you call out to her. This was my first time getting a Fullbring with its own ego. It was a shame as a collector, but... to make her submit, I completely stripped away the elements of her ability that govern her will."
"Wha...?!"
Ichigo looked desperately at the girl who was simply enduring the abuse. Her pupils were fully dilated; there was no sign of consciousness in her eyes.
"You're... lying..."
The youth was aghast.
It can't be. Was everything this man said really true?
Was my precious partner... murdered as a "person"?
"...Don't... screw with me...!!"
He wouldn't believe it. He refused to believe it.
Something snapped in the back of his mind, and an unsettling noise began to stir deep within his chest.
"GINJO!!!"
Lost to his rage, Ichigo's power surged to its peak for the day. Swallowed by hatred and without a shred of hesitation, he swung his entire soul into a spiritual-pressure-laden Getsuga Tensho at Ginjo.
"Idiot."
But the moment Ichigo's full-power strike touched the chains of light that the masked girl had become...
...it vanished like a phantom.
+++
"Wh-What...?"
What was that? What just happened?
Unable even to lower his arm and with no understanding of the situation, Ichigo stood frozen as a wave of intense exhaustion washed over him.
"I told you, you moron. My ability is 'stealing the opponent's Fullbring.'"
"Gah!"
Ginjo's merciless blade cut Ichigo down while he was completely exposed. Looking down at the fallen youth, the man narrowed his eyes as if reflecting on something, then suddenly began to tell a story.
"...Our guy Tsukishima... as a side effect of his ability to manipulate the past, he can objectively re-experience the pasts he inserts himself into. Among the information he gained that way, there was obviously data on you from their perspective."
Ignoring Ichigo's confusion at the sudden mention of Tsukishima, the man continued.
"The time you fought Yammy Llargo in Karakura Town. Your Hollowfication training with the Visoreds. And the Fullbring you wear, which awakened with our help."
"...Ugh... what are you..."
"I couldn't be certain until I actually held your power in my hand like this, but I had a hunch from the start."
—The essence of your Fullbring is the seal on your inner Hollow.—
...That was the trick behind how Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho had been erased.
Come to think of it, something similar had happened before. Another version of her... Momo Hinamori, who had appeared in the World of the Living on Aizen's orders. She had also erased Ichigo's Hollowfied Getsuga when she fought Renji, Shinji, and the others.
The relationship between his Zanpakuto and his Hollow, which he had learned during his training for the Final Getsuga Tensho. His partner's words: "We are two parts of the same whole."
"Ah..."
And then, the youth realized.
If that's the case... then the source of this ominous stirring that's been crawling through my chest is...
"...Guh?!"
In the next instant, an intense shiver of terror struck Ichigo.
"So it came out the moment you realized it, huh?"
"Ah... ga... you don't... mean...!"
His body locked up. The edges of his vision were slowly being consumed by darkness. It was a terrifying sensation, as if he himself were being overwritten by something else.
...He could never forget this feeling.
It was Hollowfication.
"Were you too angry to notice? What you're drawing out right now isn't the power of a Zanpakuto. It's the power of a Hollow."
"D-Dammit...! Why...!"
"Don't ask 'why.' I stole the seal from inside you. It's only natural that the freed inner Hollow would be overjoyed and start going on a rampage."
The words struck Ichigo's mind like a physical blow. What was happening to his body now was exactly what that savior girl had once warned him about.
"Dammit... Give her back...!"
Ichigo glared at Ginjo, desperately trying to suppress the thing raging in his chest.
But.
"That's not like you, worrying about yourself more than your friends. ...Is it okay to take your eyes off the situation around you?"
"...?!"
"Those guys... are going to die."
Prompted by the man's gaze, Ichigo looked behind him and paled at the sight of the ongoing battle.
+++
"Honestly, I let my guard down. You're Ichigo Kurosaki's sister, so I should've expected you'd have a trump card or two up your sleeve for a pinch."
"Ugh... ah!"
Karin Kurosaki was sent flying by an enemy attack as she tried to shield the injured Jinta. The revived Yukio approached the tumbling pair with a leisurely stride.
"Still, I was surprised. To think your secret weapon was a Fullbring."
"Full... bring...?"
The girl asked in return, her face twisting in pain. But before she could learn the meaning of the word, the blonde youth prepared his major technique.
"But really... you guys underestimated us far too much!!"
"Guh?!"
"Wh-What is this?! Let us go!"
A black, pixelated cross suddenly appeared, binding Karin and Jinta. No matter how much they struggled, it wouldn't budge.
"You gave me a good hit earlier, so I'm going to return the favor by killing you as miserably as possible. With my ability... and the power Ginjo gave me—your brother's Fullbring!!"
—Digital Radial Invaders!—
With Yukio's shout, a vast array of monsters from within his game materialized in reality, surrounding the two.
...And as if in response to the boy's move, his comrades also revealed their new abilities one after another—
"—Perfect. Let us see how much the power of my God of Time has reached into this new realm, using you—who has stepped outside the divine laws—as a test subject."
—The Royal Carillon.—
"—You're probably exceptionally strong even among Ichigo's friends, but don't think you're getting to Ginjo that easily."
—Blot Clock Battle Dress.—
"—I'm sorry... I really didn't want to end it with a cheat like this."
—Tochka Toula Matryoshka.—
Glove-like control terminals engraved with game buttons. Asymmetrical, warped armor. A fur coat and garter boots themed after internal combustion engines. Heart-shaped gauntlets and breastplates...
The four XCUTION members, clad in their respective new Fullbring forms, were now cornering the bound Karin and Jinta, the stunned Orihime, the bracing Uryu, and the doll-trapped Rukia.
The scales of the war had completely flipped.
+++
"—Damn it...! You guys!!"
Ichigo roared as he sensed the situation. But his body, eroded by his inner Hollow, remained as heavy as lead.
"Hah! Pathetic, isn't it?!"
"Gah?!"
Ginjo followed up with another strike on the immobilized Ichigo.
"You finally get your Soul Reaper powers back, and Chad and the others are freed from Tsukishima's ability to fight by your side—yet the moment the Goddess's Protection vanishes, you're in this state! You can't even run to help your friends!"
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!"
"Do you understand now, Ichigo Kurosaki?! In the end, you're just Aizen's toy! This is your true strength—being beaten into the dirt by me like this!"
The echoing laughter of his enemy shook Ichigo's brain. Every time he was cut, the Hollow erosion grew stronger. Ichigo could only grit his teeth in frustration and humiliation as he crawled uselessly on the ground.
But after a few moments of being toyed with, the youth realized that Ginjo's attacks had stopped.
"...Tch. Even pushing you this far didn't work. At this rate, you really are going to fall into that Vasto Lorde state."
The man above him murmured, "I didn't really want to kill you, though." Shaking his head as if to clear a thought, he manipulated the chains of light swirling around him, wrapping them tightly around Ichigo's entire body.
"Ugh...!"
"Now your Hollow can't come out. Consider this a final mercy."
—I'll let you die as a human.—
With a face as expressionless as a mask, Kugo Ginjo raised his greatsword into the air.
There was no escape, and no help from his allies. He was at a total loss.
Ichigo watched in a daze as the blade, cloaked in immense spiritual pressure, began its descent toward his chest.
+++
The wind stroked his cheek.
The sensation of the Soul Reaper robes on his limbs reached his senses.
There was no pain. No impact.
...What on earth happened?
Driven by confusion, Ichigo opened his eyes, which he had squeezed shut in the blinding light.
The sight that burst into his blurred vision made him catch his breath.
"—It's been a while..."
...my King.
Countless blue skyscrapers towered horizontally into the distance. Standing on the wall of one of them, Ichigo saw a youth in pure white clothes standing before him with a bored expression.
"What's with that face? This is the 'long-awaited moment,' isn't it? Try looking a bit happier."
Ichigo ignored the question and scanned the area. But the other two who should have been there were nowhere to be found.
This was the second time he had found himself in this situation. Recalling what he needed to do, Ichigo leveled the Zanpakuto in his right hand.
"...Hah? What are you planning?"
"Don't play dumb with me."
Ichigo directed a quiet rage at the white version of himself.
"Old Man Zangetsu isn't here because you're the one in control of my power right now, right? Then I'll do just like last time—I'll beat you, bring the Old Man back... and take her back from Ginjo!"
That's right. I don't have time.
He had to defeat this annoying rebel quickly and go help his struggling friends and his suffering partner.
"...'Help' her?"
In response to Ichigo's boast, the Hollow youth frowned in confusion.
"Who are you helping?"
"Don't mess with me! My Fullbring, which has been sealing you all this time—and my friends, too!"
When Ichigo roared, the youth snorted in exasperation.
"Well then. You really haven't noticed?"
"...What?"
"Seriously, you're still as slow as ever. That woman is still coddling this guy..."
Ichigo flinched at the reaction. Seeing this, the other spoke as if reciting something.
"Unlike me, who fights with raw instinct, you had the 'power of the heart.' It's something I can't understand... but the fact remains that it has the power to control me. That's why, before that final battle... she released my seal just once."
"...What are you talking about..."
"She went so far as to create the strongest Hollow to be your power before you were even born. A woman like that wouldn't miscalculate Ichigo Kurosaki's limits. At that time, you were certainly capable of controlling me—even if it was only just barely."
Ichigo grew more confused by the uncharacteristically positive words. They felt less like this man's own words and more like those of the other resident...
"—Don't you understand, Ichigo?"
Then.
A familiar, low male voice echoed from the white-clad youth's mouth.
"...Think back, Ichigo. Think about why she sent her alter ego 'here.'"
"!"
Ichigo gasped. In the midst of his shock, a black shadow extended from the hem of the other's white robes...
"...Zan...getsu..."
The partner in black—the one he had parted with at the moment of that final battle—materialized.
+++
The final secret technique developed to defeat Sosuke Aizen: Mugetsu.
It converted every shred of spiritual talent sleeping within Ichigo Kurosaki into pure spiritual pressure, literally consuming himself as a single Getsuga—the "Final Getsuga Tensho." But by a stroke of luck, his immature control of spiritual pressure had worked in his favor, and not all of his power had been expended.
The remnants of power left behind were then stimulated by the awakening of Ichigo's Fullbring, absorbing the massive amount of Soul Reaper spiritual pressure poured into him from Kisuke Urahara's Kido-enchanted blade, leading to a miraculous revival.
The Zangetsu he was reunited with in his mental world told him as much.
"...But for our revival to be complete, there was one more thing. A massive sacrifice that you had to overcome."
"!"
"...No, 'sacrifice' is the wrong word. Unlike us, that girl was an existence destined to vanish from your side from the very beginning."
There was no time to savor the joy of their reunion. Ichigo paled at the sudden revelation, and Zangetsu's eyes narrowed with a look of pity.
—Keep that charm safe until you're a full-fledged man.—
It was a childhood memory. A spell cast by a mysterious girl who had sent the masked partner—who should have been in this mental world—to him as he stood alone in the rain of sorrow.
The scene from that rainy day and Zangetsu's words about a "destiny to vanish" finally connected into one.
"B-But she... my Fullbring was taken by Ginjo...!"
Driven by lingering sentiment, Ichigo spoke up to argue. But Zangetsu shook his head quietly.
"No. That which was applied so that you, an infant, would not destroy yourself with your own power, has fulfilled its role alongside your growth."
"Its role..."
As Ichigo stood there dazed, the white-clad youth added a blunt clarification.
"I told you at the start: it's the 'long-awaited moment.' The fact that Big Sis, who was always here, has vanished means that you've finally been acknowledged."
—As a "full-fledged" King who can master this horse—meaning me.—
That was the truth Ichigo had long awaited, yet a terrible price had been hidden behind it.
Zangetsu explained.
The Fang-Locking Seal she had placed on Ichigo was created with a forbidden technique that could shake the order of the spirit world. It was something that absolutely could not be allowed to fall into the hands of another; therefore, the caster had to always be aware of its status and condition. That "charm" was that valuable.
But...
"Despite that, she allowed Kugo Ginjo's scheme to proceed. The girl who is said to see into the future."
"You mean..."
Ichigo caught his breath.
"Yes, Ichigo. The fact that the masked girl looked just like her, that she cared for you like an older sister, and that she was taken by Kugo Ginjo... all of it was her final act of 'tough love' to make you discard your dependency on her."
The words pierced deep into his heart.
The mysterious person who called herself the "Big Sister who loves books" had a massive influence on Ichigo's life. Looking back, his ability to overcome his mother's death, survive his Bankai and Hollowfication training, and fight on equal terms with Aizen—her support was always behind it. And he had continued to accept her kind hand, even while being confused by it.
He couldn't deny that it was "dependency."
"Kugo Ginjo's ability has properties that place it at the very top of all Fullbrings. It would be difficult for even the most skilled Kido master to create a spell capable of withstanding his control. Much less an incomplete artificial soul that cannot even speak with those outside this mental world."
"...No way..."
The image of the masked girl's tears just before she was taken by Ginjo flashed through his mind, and Ichigo's face twisted in grief.
Did she know? Did she know she was an existence that would eventually have to vanish? Is that why she sounded so happy when she was hunting Hollows with me as my Fullbring?
To enjoy those precious memories as much as possible before the inevitable time of parting...
"This is no time to hang your head, Ichigo."
Suddenly, Zangetsu touched the massive blade the youth held.
"You cannot get that girl back. But you can save her heart."
"...!"
Ichigo snapped his head up.
"That girl was prepared for her destiny. But to be used by an enemy and forced to turn her fangs on her master... for her, who was born to protect you, that would be the ultimate humiliation."
Humiliation. It was likely true. Recalling the many acts of kindness she had shown him, Ichigo clenched his fists.
"Stand up, you who carries our weight! If there is anyone who can protect the honor of the one who has become a silent tool, it is you, Ichigo..."
...and no one else!
The strong, piercing encouragement struck his chest. Zangetsu's words—the man who had once prepared himself for an eternal parting just like she had. No one here failed to understand the weight of them.
In the eyes of the youth who looked up, there was the light of a true warrior who carried sorrow on his shoulders—the light that had once made Sosuke Aizen marvel at him.
It was time to end this.
***
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