Substitute vs. Substitute

Rukia walked toward Sode no Shirayuki.

Kido gathered around her fingers as she chanted, but she did not slow down.

Sode no Shirayuki's expression changed.

For the first time, fear touched her cold eyes.

She fired a sphere of white frost.

Rukia stepped into it.

The cold tore at her body, but she completed the spell.

"Bakudo Number 61: Rikujokoro."

Six rods of light locked around Sode no Shirayuki.

At the same time, Rukia used herself as the anchor. The binding caught both of them together.

Sode no Shirayuki stared.

"What are you doing?"

Rukia's voice was calm.

"I give up Sode no Shirayuki. I give up the power of a Soul Reaper. I give up every burden I tried to carry by borrowing your strength."

She looked into the face of her own Zanpakuto spirit.

"If you want freedom, I will give it to you."

Blue fire gathered around her.

Sode no Shirayuki's eyes widened.

"Stop."

"Hado Number 73: Soren Sokatsui."

The twin waves of blue fire erupted at point-blank range.

Ichigo moved before the explosion swallowed them. He tore through the edge of the blast and dragged Rukia out, taking the worst of the heat and frost himself.

Sode no Shirayuki had also moved at the last instant.

She reached toward Rukia.

Then Muramasa appeared behind her and pulled her away.

"That is enough," he said. "Retreat."

Sode no Shirayuki looked shaken, but she obeyed.

Ichigo set Rukia down carefully. Her body was burned and frozen in places, but she was alive.

"You idiot," he muttered.

Rukia gave him a weak look.

"I had to do it."

"Sorry," she added, voice barely above a whisper. "Because of my stubbornness, you had to suffer too."

"Sleep first. Argue later."

Ichigo used Kaido to stabilize her as best he could before handing her to the arriving Squad Four members.

Then he turned toward Muramasa.

"So you are the one behind this."

"Muramasa," the white-clad Zanpakuto said. "I freed the Zanpakuto from their Soul Reapers."

"You let Rukia and Senna return to the Human World on purpose."

"Of course. I wanted you to come here." Muramasa's gaze rested on Zangetsu. "My goal is to release your Zanpakuto."

Ichigo looked at him for a moment.

"Honestly? I am curious what happens if you try."

That answer confused Muramasa more than resistance would have.

Most Soul Reapers feared losing their Zanpakuto. Ichigo looked as if he had been waiting to see what form his would take.

Muramasa smiled and reached into Ichigo.

...

Inside Ichigo's inner world, Old Man Zangetsu and White Ichigo looked at each other.

"So," White said, "which one of us goes?"

Old Man Zangetsu's expression remained grave.

"By rights, it should be you."

"Yeah, technically." White stretched his neck. "But if I go out, that explanation gets messy fast. He still does not know enough."

Old Man Zangetsu was silent.

White grinned.

"You go. Act properly."

"Thank you," Old Man Zangetsu said quietly.

White's smile softened for a heartbeat.

"Do not thank me like that. You are the one who gave me a name."

...

Outside, Muramasa pulled Zangetsu free.

Old Man Zangetsu emerged with a blade in hand.

Ichigo looked at him.

"Old man."

Old Man Zangetsu raised the sword.

"Ichigo. I will no longer return to you."

He attacked.

Old Man Zangetsu wanted to shoot Muramasa with a Reishi bow and end the nuisance on the spot, but the act had to continue. He swung Zangetsu instead.

Ichigo felt the slash coming and understood at once that neither Zangetsu would truly hurt him. At the same time, White Ichigo's voice rose from within.

"Let me take over. We will not hurt you. We are two sides of the same power. The truth can wait until later."

Ichigo closed his eyes.

"I trust you."

His body relaxed.

A Hollow mask formed over his face.

White Ichigo took control.

"Ha!"

He swung Zangetsu with wild joy and met Old Man Zangetsu's blade head-on.

The two of them clashed across the battlefield as if they had been waiting for this chance. Sparks and black reiatsu tore through the stone around them.

White fought like a storm, whipping Zangetsu around with loose, savage movements. Old Man Zangetsu held his blade in a calmer, almost ceremonial stance, every motion measured and efficient.

Old Man Zangetsu's voice remained low.

"Do not overdo it."

"Relax," White said. "I know what I am doing."

"You are thinking of using that form."

"Of course. A Hollow's version of Soul Reaper power should have a release too, right? Resurreccion."

Old Man Zangetsu frowned.

"It is too early."

"His power is growing anyway. Better that he adapts to it now than gets blindsided later."

Muramasa watched the exchange with growing confusion. The expression on Ichigo's masked face was too sharp, too amused, and too unlike a Zanpakuto spirit being newly freed.

Old Man Zangetsu pretended not to notice.

He struck White across the chest.

White laughed as the wound closed.

High-Speed Regeneration.

Then the two Zangetsu wielders raised their blades at the same time.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Black crescents collided and exploded against the stone of the Senzaikyu, the Palace of Penitence.

Old Man Zangetsu led White toward the high corridors of the Senzaikyu, where their impacts could tear apart stone instead of Soul Reapers.

White Ichigo's mask thickened. Hollow features spread over his body. His reiatsu rose, heavier and more savage with every breath.

He grinned at Old Man Zangetsu.

"Time to show him a stronger power."

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