Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 54 - The Fading Cross

"Wha—what is this?!"

There was no one in front of him. The scene from just moments ago was still vivid in his mind, that image like a shattering mirror, filled with wrongness, yet leaving not a single trace behind.

"So Kisuke Urahara never told you."

Not far away, exactly as before, Rukia Kuchiki was still dangling in midair, held up by one hand gripping her collar. But the hand holding her had changed. It was no longer Kaname Tosen, Captain of Squad 9.

It was the supposedly dead Captain of Squad 5: Sosuke Aizen!

"My ability—Kyoka Suigetsu."

His free right hand crushed a small vial. Golden spiritual pressure coiled around Aizen's right hand, simultaneously dyeing it green, as six bamboo-like protrusions rose from the ground around them.

CRACK!

Eyes blown wide, Ichigo watched Aizen's green, withered-wood right hand drive straight through Rukia Kuchiki's chest.

Before he could move, an unnatural black void opened in her chest. Inside it sat an irregularly shaped rhombus gemstone, and within that gemstone floated a small black sphere. Aizen grasped the gemstone and drew his hand back out.

"What exquisite technique!"

As Aizen's right hand returned to normal, the black void in Rukia's chest slowly faded, and she looked no different from before.

"To extract it without damaging the spirit body itself." Holding the object in his hand, Aizen murmured, "As expected of Kisuke Urahara."

"You—what are you even talking about!"

His long blade came screaming in. With Aizen's appearance, Ichigo knew things were reaching their end, no need to hold back anymore. He'd cut this guy down hard, twice over!

CLANG!

The narrower blade met the long sword. Sparks flew everywhere. Ichigo's eyes went wide. He hadn't activated Blut Arterie, and he hadn't held back on that strike, yet Aizen deflected it with ease. That level of strength far surpassed the other Captains. It rivaled Captain-Commander Yamamoto himself.

"What are you so surprised about?" Aizen looked at the stunned face before him and smiled. "Ichigo Kurosaki, surely you didn't think you were the only strong person in this world?"

"You bastard!"

Golden spiritual pressure gathered at the tip of his blade, and Getsuga Tensho exploded outward, kicking up fierce white smoke. The terrifying crescent drove Aizen back. Ichigo seized the moment, grabbed Rukia with one hand, vanished in a flash of Shunpo, and reappeared behind the group.

"Orihime, I'm leaving Rukia with you for now. Make sure she doesn't have any lasting effects."

He set Rukia down on the ground, then turned to look back. His eyes were dead serious. The spiritual pressure inside him surged and boiled.

WHOOSH,

That powerful pressure swept outward and the white smoke dispersed, revealing three figures. Besides Aizen, there was Kaname Tosen, who had been doing the impersonating just moments ago, and Gin Ichimaru, who had been laid flat two days prior.

"My apologies, Lord Aizen." Kaname Tosen bowed. "Ichimaru's injuries were too severe. Even with the Hogyoku, the recovery speed exceeded all expectations."

"It's fine, Tosen." Aizen gave a small nod. "You made it in time. That's all that matters."

"Sosuke Aizen!"

Blazing flames surged upward. Captain-Commander Yamamoto arrived before the three of them, his terrifying spiritual pressure like something tangible, vast as an abyss, heavy as a prison.

"Was it you who slaughtered Central 46?!"

"Of course, Captain-Commander." Aizen smiled. "From the moment I confirmed that Kisuke Urahara had hidden the Hogyoku inside Rukia Kuchiki, I had already wiped out every last member of the 46."

"How did you manage it..." Through gritted teeth, Yamamoto recalled his recent visits to the 46, the near-humbling deference he had shown. "I went there multiple times. How did I not detect a single thing!"

"That is the ability of my Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu." Aizen seemed to warm to the subject, smiling as he spoke. "Everyone should already know, my Zanpakuto's ability uses the diffuse reflection of mist and water currents to throw enemies into confusion, causing them to turn on one another."

"But that is merely the cover. The true ability of my Zanpakuto is, Complete Hypnosis."

"...What does that mean."

"Exactly as it sounds."

The Captains' eyes went wide. Especially Retsu Unohana. She watched a corpse appear in Aizen's hands, a corpse that looked exactly like him, one she knew all too well. It was the corpse of Sosuke Aizen that she had still been examining just the previous night.

"What is this... when did he steal it... no, that's not right..." Retsu Unohana muttered to herself. "That's... his Zanpakuto!"

"Correct. Captain Unohana's judgment is accurate." With a slight smile, Aizen spoke slowly. "Complete Hypnosis. All it requires is that you have seen my Shikai, and you fall into it. It exercises complete dominion over a person's five senses, causing them to perceive things falsely."

"For instance, right now. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

A crisp crack rang out. The corpse in his hands transformed into a Zanpakuto. Aizen's smiling expression, paired with that ability that could only be called terrifying, sent a chill crawling through everyone present.

"When..." Retsu Unohana asked. "Those of us who are colleagues, that may be one thing. But when did you perform the hypnosis on the Ryoka from the World of the Living?"

"That is a fine question. I rather want to ask the same thing myself." His smile never wavered, and somehow that made it worse. Aizen spoke slowly. "From what point in time did you begin,"

", under the illusion that I had not used Kyoka Suigetsu?"

In that moment, every Captain present understood the true terror of Kyoka Suigetsu. There was simply no way of knowing when you had fallen under it, perhaps in the small moments of daily life, perhaps a chance glance from a roadside encounter. Anyone could fall prey, at any time. Even a monster like Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Preposterous!" Captain-Commander Yamamoto gave a dismissive cold snort. "No matter how powerful your Zanpakuto ability is, do you really think you can walk away from here?!"

"Of course."

WHOOSH!

"It's time."

A curtain of golden light descended from the sky, forming a square that enveloped all three of them. Everyone looked up and saw a pale hand tear the sky itself open, ripping a massive black void into existence.

"That, that's, Negacion, and Menos Grande!"

Countless jet-black gillian poured through behind the black void. That golden curtain was the Negacion, the power Menos Grande used to rescue their kin, something only Menos Grande could deploy. It sealed space completely. Nothing from outside could interfere with the people within.

"What do you mean, Menos Grande!"

Ichigo understood none of this so-called common knowledge. All he knew was that these Captains seemed to have given up entirely. He didn't care about any Negacion or any Menos Grande. Cut first, ask questions later.

"Getsuga..."

Golden radiance gathered across both blades. Branch-like patterns raced through his veins. The spiritual pressure inside him churned and surged without end. The assembled Captains watched with unease, especially Captain-Commander Yamamoto. At this moment, Ichigo's spiritual pressure had already reached the level of his Bankai.

"...Tensho..."

The short blade in his left hand swept horizontal. The long sword in his right came down vertical. A terrifying cross-shaped strike formed in full, its dreadful spiritual pressure sending a chill through every single person present.

"Wait?!"

The spiritual pressure, teetering on the edge of its limit, came to a grinding halt. The cross-shaped strike dissolved into the air. Ichigo stared wide-eyed, disbelief written across his face, watching Aizen slowly rise into the sky.

➤ Next: Use Bankai on Me—Yamamoto!