Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 76 - Destroying the Valley of Screams

"Ah, of course." Ichigo laughed, easy confidence in every line of his face, feeling the wounds inside him knitting back together. "You've gotten stronger again, Orihime."

"If I didn't get stronger, you'd leave me behind."

"Don't worry, that'll never happen." Ichigo's voice went serious. "I will never leave any one of you behind. Not a single one."

"I suppose that's true."

Ichigo, that's just the kind of person you are, strong and gentle, always holding everyone close...

Without making it obvious, Orihime glanced over at Senna, a quick sweep up and down, then squared up with a confident lift of the chest.

"That goes for you too, Senna!" As if sensing the look from the person in front of Ichigo, Ichigo spoke up suddenly. "Since the Valley of Screams is going to disappear, the Shinenju won't have a purpose anymore."

"So—what do you say? Want to join us?"

"...Huh?"

Senna, who hadn't said a word this entire time and felt like every one of her lines had been stolen, blinked. Her brain was still fully occupied with one thought: Ichigo actually has a cute girlfriend.

"I said, do you want to join us." Ichigo repeated. "The crew under Karakura Town's top guy is full of seriously impressive—and seriously weird—people."

"Your nature is that of a Shinenju. Not a Soul Reaper, not a human. That makes you pretty weird too." A beat. "Though you're still pretty weak right now, I won't lie."

"Ugh..."

"That said, your room to grow is genuinely massive." Ichigo glanced over at the Soul Reapers. "Put in the work, and you should be able to surpass Renji."

"I..."

The insult nearly flew out of Renji's mouth. Renji wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words, because a Shinenju, as a vessel carrying the memories of countless Blanks, really did seem to have staggering room for growth. After all, the thing had been born already close to lieutenant-level...

"Can I... really do this?" Senna asked carefully. "I'm neither human nor a Soul Reaper. I'm not even sure I qualify as a soul in any real sense."

"Hey, what's the big deal?" Ichigo waved a hand. "The weakest person in our crew is Yasutora Sado, and even Yasutora Sado reached Soul Reaper captain-level strength years ago." A sharp intake of breath. "Hss..."

"Uryu, wait, didn't you start training even earlier than Yasutora Sado? Does that make you the biggest underachiever here?"

"Stop messing around!" Uryu's eyebrow twitched. "I've been training longer, but I'm also stronger for it!"

"Sure, sure." Ichigo nodded. "The day Yasutora Sado stands shoulder to shoulder with you is the day it proves Yasutora Sado has surpassed you."

"Ugh..."

"I suppose that's right." Yasutora Sado gave an approving nod, tone completely earnest. "Then I'll train harder. I'll aim to surpass Ishida."

"Rest assured, that is absolutely never happening!" Uryu clenched a fist. "Damn it, Ichigo! Just hurry up and deal with things already! Ryuken said there's something needing your help."

"It involves Quincy matters!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it soon." Ichigo checked in with his body. "Good enough. Orihime, we're done here."

"Okay."

The curtain of light faded. Orihime stood apart from any comparison, the ability was simply too broken; in some respects it put Orihime on equal footing with Ichigo himself. After all, Ichigo was self-aware enough to admit that bringing the dead back to life was something Ichigo could never pull off.

"I'll be back in a bit." Ichigo walked to the water's edge, then at the last moment turned back around. "One thing, I'm confident in myself, but spatial manipulation isn't really my strong suit. There's a chance things get unstable after I finish up, and I might not be able to come back for a while."

"I'll leave Senna in your hands. Dad, Mom."

"...When did you notice us?" Isshin Kurosaki stepped out of the shadows nearby. "Your perception is a little too terrifying, Ichigo."

"It really is." Masaki Kurosaki nodded. "Isshin had a barrier up, and I don't even have spiritual pressure, how did you sense us?"

"Normally, I genuinely wouldn't have." Ichigo tapped the horn on his forehead. "But this is Trinity State. A barrier at that level can't hide anything from me."

"Work things out with Senna yourselves. Figure out what makes sense."

"Of course, of course." Isshin Kurosaki looked at the two young women and straightened up. "We'll handle it well. Trust the adults."

"Go take care of your business and come back, Ichigo."

"Then I'm off."

With that, Ichigo dove headfirst into the river, no ripple, no splash, not so much as a tremor on the surface, leaving behind only the people on the bank, their faces heavy.

The moment Ichigo entered, the passage felt wrong. Strange flowing light drifted through the corridor, and not far ahead a white brightness burned, the Valley of Screams.

"The space is about to collapse... I need to move faster!"

Murmuring, Ichigo quickened his pace. In an instant the entire passage was behind him, and the moment Ichigo crossed into the Valley of Screams, the corridor simply ceased to exist. At the same moment, the mist and projection on the river's surface vanished in sync.

"Tch." Ichigo clicked his tongue. "Worst case scenario. How am I supposed to get back after this..."

The Valley of Screams. Ichigo hung in the air and gazed down. A sprawling expanse stretched below, desolate in every direction, ridge after barren ridge. Right at the center, a conspicuous man-made structure jutted from the earth, and from it drifted the residual spiritual pressure of the Kototsu's remains.

"So that's where..."

The spiritual pressure emanating from Ichigo climbed. In Trinity State, even Soul Reapers of First-Class Spiritual Rank were struggling to perceive Ichigo's full output. Half a month had passed since the battle, and Ichigo's foothold within the Transcendent realm had risen again.

"First things first, I'll wipe the Valley of Screams off the map."

Golden light bloomed at the short blade. Black light coalesced along the long sword. Both colors of spiritual pressure poured toward the blade tips, converging, compressing. At this moment, only a being standing at the absolute apex of their kind could even sense what was radiating off Ichigo.

"Getsuga..."

Aimed downward, the short blade carved an arc through the air. A golden slash materialized horizontally in front of Ichigo, held in place, not yet released.

"Cross..."

The long sword swept down. The black slash and the golden slash folded into each other, condensing into a massive cross. The spiritual pressure alone warped space, and a crackling hiss rang out like the dimension itself crying out.

The moment the cross slash took shape, it began to expand. What had been two streaks of energy no bigger than the blades that made them abruptly swelled to the size of a grown person, and kept going. Seconds passed, and still the cross slash grew, as if it had no ceiling.

"Go!"

The words left Ichigo's lips low and unhurried, but they carried weight.

The enormous cross slash tore downward with world-ending force, still growing as it flew, still swelling with every meter it covered, boundless.

Szzz,

The spatial distortion deepened. By the moment of impact, the cross slash had grown larger than the Valley of Screams itself.

Hisssss,

There was no violent collision. Everywhere the cross slash passed, everything, as though it were scenery daubed on a canvas, was simply erased by some vast, invisible brush. No sound. Only silent dissolution.

Shff,

Moments later, the Valley of Screams was gone. The deep blue sky that had stretched overhead dispersed rapidly with it.

But Ichigo's brow furrowed.

"What's going on... the space is still in chaos?" Ichigo looked out at the churning, fractured air. "Does it even matter whether the Valley of Screams exists anymore..."

➤ Next: Bankai!! Bankai!!