Don't you love it when you get back into your childhood hyper-fixation that you remember very fondly as an adult and realize how fucking depressing the actual story is now that you have the capacity to understand it beyond cool fighting and characters, humor, and awesome friendships?

I'm just letting "Bleach" play in the background while working on other things, but every once and a while, I look up at the screen in honest surprise. When Ichigo and friends go to the Shibas to get into Seireitei, so they can find Rukia and save her from execution, the Shibas are explaining how their firework cannon works and Ichigo basically says, "Wait, how do you channel spiritual energy?"

Made my brain go "?!?!?!" Ichigo is INVADING SOUL SOCIETY and HE CAN'T EVEN CHANNEL SPIRITUAL ENERGY. He's such a hothead! People in Soul Society are used to people looking younger than they are, so they're probably assuming Ichigo is older than he is, and I NEED them to get more context for this hothead (15-16 years old and just learned to channel spiritual energy yesterday), so they can properly go, "What the fuck."

Which may happen? Because Ichigo will INTRODUCE himself to anyone who asks. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo and I only trained for ten days with Urahara Kisuke," he says to the Squad 11 guys. ICHIGO?!?! Don't tell them your NAME?! If you manage to break Rukia out and run away, they'll be able to FIND YOU and your FAMILY in the living world now? (Okay, to be fair, I think Renji and Rukia's brother already know his name and they definitely know what town he lives in.) Does Urahara KNOW you're telling random people his name? What if they go burn down his shop and try to execute him next? (Good fucking luck to those soul reapers trying to bring Urahara in, honestly, but Ichigo doesn't really know that.) Urahara has KIDS, man.

(While trying to get his soul reaper powers back, Ichigo assumed it would be easy to fight Urahara because he "wasn't a soul reaper". Urahara showed off his zanpakuto and I'm pretty sure that Ichigo STILL doesn't know that Urahara is a soul reaper / was a member of Seireitei, because he apparently at no point seriously asked what Urahara's deal was?! I think Ichigo might still think that Urahara is, like him, a "normal person" who just happens to have spiritual powers.)

Ichigo is so lucky that he's like that fucking video game meme. "Wait, how do I channel spiritual energy again?" -> Ichigo killed his first enemy! -> Ichigo is on a rampage! -> Ichigo has achieved god-like power! -> "Never mind, guys, I figured it out."

It's been over a year, and I'm still never not thinking about the fact that that Hihiou Zabimaru was one man's unsuccessful forty-year project to beat Kuchiki Byakuya in particular. And, like, that sounds so pathetic and depressing, but it's really not! For one, the fact that Hihiou Zabimaru is designed to fight against Senbonzakura means that they also fight really well together, in the sense that they are both useful in the same conditions, and they cover for each other's weaknesses (Senbonzakura is faster, Zabimaru is more durable). Both of them can do offense or defense, but have trouble doing both at once. That's not a problem if Byakuya and Renji work together, and gives them a lot of flexibility.

Sometimes the way to defeat a sword is to create its opposite, but in this case, they're actually pretty similar, and if you think about the skills needed to wield them, they're very similar. For all that Byakuya and Renji butted heads in the Soul Society Arc, they get their shit sorted out pretty well, and by the TYBW, I think they have one of the best captain-lieutenant fighting partnerships, in terms of communication, trust, and sweet combo moves (Hitsugaya-Matsumoto is the other one that comes close, imo).

My thesis of this Tumblr post is that I think Byakuya spent a lot of time mentoring Renji, and the development of his bankai, specifically. From the first moment he sees it, Byakuya comments that Hihiou Zabimaru is Good, Actually.

He then immediately identifies how to defeat it:

I simply love whenever one slightly older Bleach character who is fighting a younger one cannot stop themself from giving battle tips and general life advice to their opponents (Ikkaku and Renji both do this to Ichigo and then Byakuya does this to Renji). I'm sure you could chalk it up to shounen manga using its characters as mouthpieces to explain what's going on, but in my mind and in my heart, it's because these dudes just love teaching!!! And you know why Byakuya was able to pinpoint Renji's weakness, just, immediately? Because that was him. You think Ginrei didn't do exactly this same thing to him a thousand times when he was learning to use Senbonzakura Kageyoshi?? (oh shit oh FUCK it's literally The Dodge all over again).

Anyway, you will never convince me that Byakuya doesn't love the fact that Renji picked him as his Favored Enemy and then went ahead and developed the Most Fun Bankai Possible for Senbonzakura Kageyoshi to Fight.

Just today, I realized that, while So-oh Zabimaru might represent Renji moving on from his rivalry with Byakuya, they also contain a very visible aspect of Byakuya's influence: the hand movement.

I'm not gonna lie, mostly I wanted to make this post because the idea of post-Blood War Byakuya and Renji sparring in bankai and waving their arms around like they're casting wizard spells is extremely hilarious to me. Do you think Byakuya could shape his petals into a giant hand so they can magically arm-wrestle? (RIP Komamura, this could have been you)

All jokes aside, though, the idea that it took Byakuya's help for Renji to learn to use The Grabby Arm--the thing that allows him to close distance, the thing that allows him to hold on to the things that matter to him--is honestly kinda poignant.

My theory on why IR didn’t happen…

I used to be an active IchiRuki fan. I no longer am. I did have a dream about tumblr the other day tho and when I was on here that’s 90% of what I posted about. After the manga ended I ended up deleting my account. I was not only done with Bleach but anime in general. I have not watched or read Bleach since it ended. Which is nearly a decade. So my arguments won’t be as solid as they used to be when I could literally recite that series like a souther Baptist preacher can recite the Bible lol. But while I’m here (as I just made a temporary account to look at things for nostalgia’s sake) I have decided I want to post my ultimate theory as why IchiRuki didn’t happen.

So, first and foremost I want to mention I am not liberal, why do I mention my politics? Because I am about to say some things that I’m sure I’ll get attacked for by people claiming I’m just a crazy liberal. But I am actually a moderate that leans conservative, a rare thing for tumblr I know. I don’t make accusations of sexism lightly. I don’t just willy nilly call people sexist because I don’t like them. But I do think some people are sexist. Sexism is real and it’s a prevalent problem in Japan. And I think Kubo may be a misogynist.

And before you start rage typing at your keyboards please hear me out. This isn’t my theory, it’s actually my brothers who is even more on the conservative spectrum than I am. He REALLY doesn’t make claims like this lightly, but I really think he’s onto something. He said basically he believes if Kubo is telling the truth that he never intended on IchiRuki and always planned Ichihime that it’s likely because he’s sexist. Rukia is Ichigos equal, she’s smart, strong, and she stands up to Ichigo and tells him off when he needs to be told off. Orihime is I’m sorry Orihime fans, but she’s dumb, ditsy, airheaded, and most importantly submissive.

In Japan traditionally submissive women were looked upon as ideal. Obviously I know that things have changed with modern times and it’s gotten a lot better. But echos of Japans former sexist past still is present within their modern society. As are echos of our former sexist past. As a student of anthropology I can tell you women are just f**ked in most societies. While the “tiger mom” stereotype is very real do not let that fool you. The ideal TRADITIONAL wife in Japan is still very much one who is submissive to her husband. This is why Rukia could never be Ichigos lover. She was not submissive enough.

Anyway, this is my brothers theory and I think he may be onto something. I used to think, we ALL used to think Kubo was foreshadowing IchiRuki, but maybe he wasn’t? Maybe he really is just that much of a talentless hack. I mean was any of Bleach even any good besides the first two arcs? After the Soul Society arc that entire franchise became a shitshow. And IchiRuki wasn’t the only thing he foreshadowed that never amounted to anything. See this is what I mean where my arguments won’t be as strong because I haven’t read the series in years, but I know y’all know what I mean. There’s a tone of shit in Bleach that he introduced that never got brought up again. So much lore that was never developed and in the rare cases when it was it never made any sense. So maybe he is just talentless.

I used to think he intentionally gave Bleach a shit ending because he was fired. If you remember Naruto ended a year prior and Shonen Jump used the popular Naruto pairings kids to make a sequel series to milk the franchise. I always wondered if Kubo knew no one gave a shit about IchiHime and that it would be impossible to make a sequel with IchiHime kids. So he sacrificed his series so his enemies couldn’t prosper off it. That’s what I used to think he did. But I’ve since changed my mind. I was giving that man FAR too much credit. I don’t think he’s that clever to think to do that. I think he’s kinda stupid tbh. Sorry but I do. Anyway. This is all I’m posting. I again just made this account because I wanted to say hi to an old mutual I was shocked to see was still around. You can reply but I’m not gonna debate y’all like I used to. I’m over that shit now. My opinion stands and you can’t change it. Like it or hate it it’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it. If you’ve gotten this far and read all my post I hope you have a lovely day!

Edit: I forgot to add that before you say “well Kubo can’t be sexist because he creates strong female characters” THINK AGAIN! I love Quintin Tarantino but the man has said very misogynistic things in the past including that he thought a minor girl could consent. And he literally created the most badass female characters of all time. Some of my favorite female characters. Beatrix Kiddo and O-Ren-Ishi. Yes men who create strong female characters can be sexist. Never underestimate a man’s ability to demean a woman smfh

Anyway I am serious this is just a throwaway account I made so this is my only post so it’s also my goodbye post so,

Sorry but I think you are seriously underplaying Ichigo´s and Byakuya´s bond.

Maybe they didnt interact much but its the quality of the interactions that matter. Ichigo shocked Byakuyas entire world view, he saved his sister and hes immensely grateful for that. Since then he became Ichigos silent ally, always supporting him in his own way, like when he abused a loophole to let Rukia and Renji go back to help Ichigo rescue Orihime. Or when fighting Yammy he indirectly told Ichigo he trusted him to deal with Aizen.

Saying Ichigo would be happy not having to speak with Byakuya again is just wrong. In this arc we saw Ichigo have dreams about Rukia, Renji AND Byakuya. He got so fucking pissed when it looked like the quincys killed Byakuya.

Byakuya could beat Tsukishima because he valued his bond with Ichigo over the bond Tsukishima userped.

Im not saying your version with Rukia doesnt have more value, but what we got with Byakuya doesnt lack value.

I don't think I am? Here is a summary of Byakuya and Ichigo's canonical interactions, up to this point in the story:

Byakuya abducts Ichigo's close friend and mentor and nearly kills him in the process, insulting him the whole time.

They briefly confront each other in Soul Society jail before Yoruichi stunts on them both and drags Ichigo away.

Ichigo rescues Rukia, provoking a civil war among the Soul Reapers, and Byakuya decides that killing the guy who saved his sister's life is a bigger priority then fighting any of the many traitors running around. Ichigo finds this immensely stupid and isn't shy about letting Byakuya know.

Ichigo and Orihime jumped into his hospital windowsill to ask Renji where Rukia was that one time. Notably, they didn't ask him, even though he's her brother...

He did help Renji and Rukia get to Hueco Mundo, but in the moment it seemed like he was doing anything but. And considering he didn't come until later, it's pretty clear he did it as a favor to Rukia and Renji, not Ichigo.

Finally, he does tell Ichigo to go fight Aizen, but in a weird way that is less "I trust you" and more a combination of "I don't need your help", and "saving Karakura is your job". The actual motive, as Unohana later explains, is just "you're the only one who's not under hypnosis".

So they've spoken six times. Three of those times Byakuya was trying to stab Ichigo with his sword. And in their interactions since, he's never said anything to Ichigo that another captain wouldn't have said in that same position.

Now, does Ichigo care about Byakuya? Sure! He understands that Byakuya is very important to Rukia and Renji, and wishes him well for their sake. But he's got no personal investment in the man himself.

And it's the same for Byakuya. Byakuya doesn't beat Tsukishima because of his strong personal affection for Ichigo, he beats him because Byakuya, at one point, was going to execute his own sister, and Ichigo stopped him eliminating the one avenue he had to start building personal relationships and making himself whole again.

Tsukishima, with his power, spent way more time with Byakuya than Ichigo did, considering he knew all of Byakuya's sword and kido techniques. But Byakuya didn't care, because the principle that Ichigo conveyed to him in Soul Society is worth more to Byakuya then his relationship with a man (he thinks) saved his life. He doesn't kill Tsukishima because he's closer to Ichigo, he kills Tsukishima because he trusts Ichigo's sense of right and wrong, and values those principles more than he values his own life, including the personal relationships within it. So if Ichigo is fighting Tsukishima, he must be the enemy.

Which is very flattering to Ichigo! But it's not really a sign of friendship, as much as moral admiration.

Thoughts and prayers for me because I just finished the Ichigo and Ulquiorra final fight part.

Here are a few thoughts because I HAVE TO:

1. This is practically the Pein vs Naruto sequence. Before his final gash, Ulquiorra explicitly states how Ichigo doesn't understand the meaning of despair. Heart is what makes the human weak because it doesn't let them act rationally (and so Ichigo should've withdrawn because he was weak. And Inoue should have been scared because she was weak).

Pein says the same thing about love, although words it a bit differently.

2. Aesthetically...I MEAN...It is insane how gorgeous the whole scene is. Crescent moon, and Ulquiorra's final form. He is beautiful. And I don't state that easily. He belongs to the high Greek tragedies, but is also a sheer symbol of rationalism and nihilism of our modern times.

Ul is beyond beautiful. Biblical. Loyal. Fallen creature.

I won't compare him to Satan because nobody is a better Lord of Pandemonium than Aizen (Chef's kiss) (I haven't finished Bleach yet but I think that's what Aizen is modelled after)

3. Heart of the matter: Ichigo and Inoue (hero and heroin with same one brain cell 😭) are people who believe in strong ethics of fair fighting and mercy.

And so Ichigo went: you can cut my arm and leg too! (Preposterous and hilarious, and not to mention extremely dumb)

Time and again, Ichigo has been told to let go of this hesistant moral side. But 👏he 👏simply 👏doesn't 👏

Now there is a way to look at it:

This "merciful" side is very unique to humans (so like 4 people in the show). Soul society does it, but not always. In most cases, they stop fighting when the opponent is weak as a sign of power.

But in Ichigo's case, it is never arrogance. He's not a soldier even if he tries to be. If Inoue will heal their enemies, Ichigo would cut himself up to make sure the fight is fair. It's the same idea: even though you're my enemy, you have a right to exist because hello, we're not barbaric.

BUT ALSO, ASIA'S BELOVED MIX: Self-sacrifice ✨

/Selflessness and Asian plots deserve a thesis and not a Tumblr post/

4. Conclusion:

I was stunned. The pauses. The disappearance. It was heartbreaking (well, literally for Ul). He's like Icarus. Flew too close to the sun (Inoue/heart) and couldn't take it.

I know that most people hate Orihime. It is understandable because Bleach is homage to Japanese art of war and royal military history, and Orihime can come across anachronistic. She's the only female character (so far) who is so relevant to the fight but cannot fight. However, as a character, she's a metaphor and not a fighter. She represents the sun/hope/heart. In terms of plot unity, I'm not sure if that's a great fit, because the message of hope/heart unlike Naruto is built up in a VERY scattered manner. Instead, fighting styles are valorized. So it's not an easy fit.

Having said that, I think it's a necessary fit. It's writer's safety barrier so that they may not go overboard with romanticization of fighting styles, which is essentially what makes Bleach.

Just fighting styles and aesthetics cannot make a plot, it would need a heart, sooner or later.

At what point can we admit without radical "fans" come crashing down on people with healthy critical thinking skills, that Inoue was fine as an initial concept but disastrous in her usage during the entire series?

Like, here's this girl that gets a hold of amazing powers and she just... Gets used as damsel in distress, is given a worrying level of Adoration™ and Knight In Shining Armour towards the MC, — whose only common points are the school they're in, the town and being colour coded (Which so much for Ichigo's uniqueness... Inoue also has orange hair. That's orange. )— that becomes highly detrimental to her own growth...

... which becomes inexistent...

Everything she does is for.... Ichigo?!? In a desperate way?!? Yikes?!?

Ichigo is shown again and again to not have any difference of treatment between her and the rest of the Karakura team. In fact, he will leave them all behind if needed to protect the Shinigami and the Soul Society whenever needed.

Yet, Inoue doesn't take a hint, doesn't focus on herself. She had dreams before she met Ichigo.

Ichigo is detrimental to her personality, her life and her growth.

And then there's the "Merciful healing of Ichigo's enemies" which is so absolutely twisted if we think about it.

I'm going for the Zanpakuto Rebellion right now because I'm on that part of BBS... Besides, it's almost canon with pretty much the majority of it's elements about the Zanpakuto being retconned in TYBW.

Muramasa appears in Karakura, right? Right.

He announces himself as the enemy. Inoue knows this. Anyone with critical thinking skills would be like "This is a foe. I will oppose him."

Inoue heals him...

Let me repeat that:

Inoue heals him!

Why? He warns her he's Ichigo's enemy and she still heals him so... he can...better fight Ichigo...? She heals him so they can still go on and fight them?

Healing an opponent just to keep on attacking him is technically a war crime... And there's the entire spiel of Inoue continuously healing people against their will which is deontologically wrong in every sense.

Healing an unconscious ally is one thing. Healing ANYONE who's aware and asking you not to? That's so many levels of wrong...

And Kubo keeps using Inoue's character like this.

Let's go over a list of things Kubo did to Inoue, shall we?

Took away her ambition to fulfill her own independent dreams

Gave her fanservice breasts that she would need to reduce surgically if she doesn't want hernias and severe back problems

Made her look weak and dependant of Ichigo

Didn't develop the full scope of her powers

Made her a crying damsel in distress with a short vocabulary

Gave her every single unhealthy stereotype Japanese men want to see in women

Gave her the wrong ending with a college dropout and a life that was the polar opposite of her initial dreams.

But no... The "others" are the ones who love Inoue. So much they give a round of applause for Kubo's chauvinistic, sexualising and demeaning characterisation of Inoue Orihime.

Wow... *Clap, clap*... So smart...

I never posted these, did I? Here’s some more of me re-reading TYBW from a bit ago.

Hmmm, sounds kind of like a vague way to answer. Like he’s trying to tell you something, mayhaps.

Also, it sucks that this just gets really lost in the TYBW sauce. This confrontation comes late in the arc and is SO quick. The logic behind minimizing this is really lost on me.

He literally starts this arc with the nakama and the switch to being with the Sternritter doesn’t feel mysterious, it just feels confusing. Like…..why are there sternritter who die shortly after getting introduced getting more panel time than URYU.

It’s sad this arc was rushed, because the charms of Soul Society arc and Hueco Mundo arc imo came from their build up arcs where Ichigo and his friends had legitimate focus on them before being flung into the arc proper. In other words, we got invested in Ichigo and his friends making it out alive with Rukia bc we had time to sit with them. We got invested when Orihime was kidnapped, when her friends came to rescue her, because we had time with them. We didn’t have that same time here and especially in no way that mattered toward this development.

This seems like a weird thing to say if Yhwach purely means ‘your child’ in a ‘child of God’ way.

And he was born in a way that would indicate he really is Soul King’s son. Like he couldn’t see or move or sense anything….like the Soul King.

It makes me wonder how Yhwach came to be? Was he a natural child or created as a successor to the peerless, motionless throne? Was the Soul King always meant to be contained as such or was he a moving, feeling person as Yhwach came to be? What would happen if his limbs were brought back to him in full? Why was he torn apart in the first place?

Like Yhwach and Soul King just have SO many similarities.

Why couldn’t he have seen that? Isn’t seeing the future….also seeing the difference in strength that the future brings?

The problem with a Soul King that can see the future is that 1. Yes he did see this and 2. How exactly did the soul king set up Yhwachs upcoming failure as seeing doesn’t imply action to stopping it.

He can’t move. He’s been taken apart and placed in the sky to sit pretty—he only got his arm back because Ukitake gave it back intentionally. What abilities did he have that brought about Ichigo and Aizen and Uryu to bring about the defeat?

So confused on why this is any different from what he’s been planning?

Like, characters have been very wishy washy on what ‘ending the soul society’ means. Some act like nothing will exist anymore, others say shinigami just won’t be in charge, and some imply it’ll just suck for the worlds to be gone?

What exactly is he taking from the soul king that he wasn’t already going to??? It’s clear Soul King isn’t chilling here of his free will—what else is there to take?

The fact that this is NEVER expanded upon is an extraordinary crime.

I would fucking devour anything that expanded on this and the original war 1000 years ago. I crave it so much.

He’s SO back handed. He’s a sentence away from saying he needs a thank you for her promotion lmao.

Also, yeah, this is the first time Rukia really comes face to face with Aizen since he left her face down in the dirt, huh? That’s rough, buddy.

Everyone being SO surprised about this move by Shunsui makes me wonder how classified Mayuri’s origins at the 12th are, and the R&D in general.

This institution is not a stranger to pulling resources from former enemies. The Arrancar seem to be easier to swallow because they’re seen as lesser, I guess? Same seems to stand for the full bringer. And vizards just kind of….come back no questions asked?

None of the above ever started a concerted rebellion that resulted in a full blown war against Seireitei, to be fair.

Once again, we see that sacrificing your beliefs in the name of duty? Fine.

As long as you don’t have feelings attached it IS justified. The evil just cancels right out!

Tosen? A blind animal. Komamura? A dumb animal. Gin? A tragic animal. Their actions are reduced to mindless revenge because they did it out of feeling.

Shunsui releasing Aizen is justified because he has forced himself to feel nothing (or so he betrays) other than the logic of his actions serving Seireitei.

His desire to kill Yhwach is likewise just duty. Which is coincidentally how Ichigo gets to dodge confronting his feelings surrounding Yhwach and the anger he feels toward him regarding his mother—it’s also his duty to the Seireitei.

I can appreciate a lot of what Bleach says about revenge but it runs into the same problem plenty of other media does by trying to quantify the problem as feeling too much. Swinging the other direction doesn’t suddenly make it all okay.

Like, cruelty is cruelty. Principles are principles. Cruelty out of duty doesn’t hurt any less. Principles left behind out of duty are just as gone. Systematic oppression is often built and fed by phrases like ‘just doing my job’ and feeling nothing for an enemy doesn’t make a war any less horrible or violent (which Shunsui has literally pointed out before).

But ‘as long as it’s against evil it’s justified’ is just lmao. Like, Tosen thought he was justified while fighting evil. So did Komamura. So did Gin. What is the difference here, when we remove the emotions? Komamura especially—if his reasons has been purely rooted in duty, and he had still gone to the extremes he felt necessary to find victory…what then?

Because the chances of Aizen breaking loose and causing harm to those under Shunsui’s care is absolutely there. The endangerment wouldn’t be any less real, would it?

All that said, I think Aizen being freed was inevitable and the only reason he was imprisoned instead of killed, in the first place. I also don’t think it’s an unreasonable move. Shunsui is a great character to do this too, since he is a pretty self-loathing guy and I’d bet he just doesn’t view himself as a man of principles to begin with so this justification seem more for the lieutenants than for himself.

Executioners hate him! This man stayed alive with these simple tips and tricks. Grow your spiritual pressure not in years but in MONTHS!!

‘sinners’ lmao. Remember where you crawled out of, Mayuri.

Also Mayuri is genuinely so thrilled to be in control of people. His favorite avenues of science are enacting power over bodies (dissecting and gigai and soul candy and regrowing limbs, ect). Like he will invent anything, get around any obstacle, to prove he can control someone.

Two men and their massive egos and their remote powered toys having a very normal conversation right in front of my salad???

Kind of feels purposeful on Aizen’s part. Like ‘either I’m shooting the palace down or you’re not getting up there’.

He’s smart enough to have realized his restricted spiritual pressure was going to result in restricted range. He was trying to force their hand on giving that range more slack.

It’s been five seconds since Shunsui revealed Aizen and he’s already caused problems.

i’m deleting this later.

so bleach used to be one of my favorite shows / mangas and i still have love for it but it’s LARGELY unsatisfactory when it comes to ichigo’s heroes journey ,,? does that make sense? i’m not going to get too technical, but he starts as a kid who’s got issues bc he lost his mom ( tragically ) and he’s living life with this chip on his shoulder. bla bla bla inciting action , transformation & boom . . . we’re on our journey with our magical aid. the soul society arc was one of the best pieces of story i have seen from any mangaka to date and that’s just bc it’s so interesting to me. you have this outlier ( ichigo ) busting into a stagnant world and completely shaking it to its foundations BY SHEER LOVE AND WILLPOWER, and his friends follow him for the same reasons! they clash with this society, meet people, understand their motives more, their lives. they make FRIENDS and ENEMIES and uncover heinous secrets, cruelties and injustice and actually stand up and say ‘ yo wtf? ? ‘

throughout the arc we see major figureheads ‘change sides ‘ / change their minds and stand up too and it’s just really cool to see the ripple effect ichigo has on things, he’s a shaker and a mover. this arc ends with aizen’s betrayal revealed and his promise to return and destroy soul society and BAM we’re led into another amazing arc : hueco mundo. now if you pay attention THIS is a continuation where we see ichigo sort of confronting himself more but also denying himself in this arc ( he did a lot of soul searching in the first arc do not get me wrong homie jilted a 10+ year process in three days ) but in this arc we see how far he really goes for the ones he calls family ( i.e orihime getting nabbed + ichigo DYING & returning in that one fight , to him agreeing to split his soul to achieve final getsuga ) which just leads me to feel like after / during this arc we see ichigo really come alive meeting people who are like him? ikkaku? renji? ganju?? like it’s so. . . . idk ! seeing him continuing to fight for a society like their attack dog that ( albeit made some changes ! ) is still so stagnant ?? forever ? his whole arc after soul society + hueco mundo is him dealing with his depression which i actually enjoy bc at least it’s touching on ? his ptsd ? pain? loss of HALF HIS SOUL. i think this is such a powerful moment in his life? idk what i wanted done with him but then we hit the fullbring arc and it was so unsatisfactory to me bc ?? he regains his soul reaper powers ONLY because they needed him to defeat ginjo on their behalf. they didn’t pool their power into a zanpakuto BEFORE ??? it’s just,,, idk !

and anytime after that all ichigo does is fight for soul society, all side plot non canon movies , all filler eps , thousand year blood war? ichigo is not even 18 ?? and soul society once again asks him for his help, it’s just unsatisfactory to me! i miss the first arc and maybe the second one where we take more of a psychological look at ichigo , his motivations , his pains and how that makes him act around the people he loves. where do you take a character like that after he’s gotten his friend back? does he continue to change the society from the inside out? does he quit ? does he stay? that’s sort of the catch 22 with him, you CANT realistically say ichigo would give up his power and carry on as if nothing ever happened bc that’s not who he IS , he has a savior complex / survivors guilt + ptsd. he’s obsessed with making sure EVERYTHING is okay and safe because he’ll make it ok and safe but he won’t tell you whatever’s going on with him bc that’s just too much and he can handle it. i’m getting ahead of myself

tdlr; ichigo loses his mother who he loved more than anything -> ichigo pulls into himself and keeps friends who he can relate to close but not too close, not ever too close -> he meets rukia and undergoes massive change to save his family , he lets her in -> rejects the responsibility over everyone at first but then is convinced that he can’t half-ass the job , all souls need him -> his new friend who he sees himself in ( and someone who taught him the ropes ) gets kidnapped and imprisoned and sentenced to death for ‘ helping him ‘ / saving his life / doing her fucking job -> his friends who love him so much were empowered just by being around ichigo and train to help him -> they all go to get their new friend back and save them from a grim fate, fall into a world with so many personalities , backstories, motivations, rules , fuckery that they can’t help but make friends and garner allies -> he lets people in, he has motivation and a goal and a reason to push past boundaries and overcome the odds and blow people away -> he fails and gets back up and wins and fails again and carries on , who is he if he can’t save his friends even at the cost of his own well-being -> cue his friends ready to push it to the limit too bc they love him and he has to realize he can’t be self sacrificial and expect his friends to not do the same -> eventually they save rukia and bring attention to oddity of her DEATH SENTENCE -> ichigo achieves his goal but can’t help but feel anger as aizen reveals his betrayal and plan for the world at large , he lives in the world and takes it SO personally -> MORE growth for ichigo as he literally plows through enemies without really going through proper inner channels , but needs the power so he has quick meetings and sheer force of wills himself through situations -> eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of others and his family / friends , splitting himself away from himself. he’s harshly cutting away the piece that has made him feel alive, useful , for the first time in a long long time. and his father encourages it. where does that leave him? where would that lead you? after everything ? all the adventures, adversaries, people you met? you must say goodbye bc this was never a choice for you? this was like breathing, you’d cut yourself into smaller pieces if it met you could fill the bellies of those you loved. ichigo’s arc makes me fucking crazy because it’s like a snake that eats itself, it’s never ending , and tite tried to end it? he tried to say that there ‘ is no zanpakuto spirit , you’re always fighting alone , it’s self acceptance and love that’s the answer. ‘ and he gets another power up and everything’s wrapped up ( it’s not , lots are missing / dead but hey kubo was sick so ) and ichigo married and had a kid , he could finally rest and give up reaping — like WHAT

FFXIV x Bleach Crossover HC’s

I don’t usually write headcanons. Anyone else like crossovers or is it just me? Just me, okay.

FFXIV x Bleach

🔷 Somehow you find yourself reincarnated into the soul society, anew but memory intact. You remember everything of your life as the WoL/WoD/Azem

🔷 Perhaps your memories are etched upon your soul because of your convocation stone, which incidentally enough is still on your person. To what extent it can be used though, you don’t know.

🔷 You have ‘moments’ where it’s clear you need to learn to control your reiatsu in this new world.

🔷 Your echo, once again, comes randomly. (at least until you get your reiatsu in check)

🔷 When you’re unconscious you have vivid dreams or nightmares. The worst of them you wake surrounded by damages you caused unintentionally. The tamer of them you wake with a racing heart beat, soaked in pools of sweat, anger, or crying out of loss.

🔷 You try to meditate and train until you get accepted into the Spiritual Arts Academy (in attempts to get yourself in check).

🔷 You would think acceptance would come quick- afterall, you’re the WoL of Eorzea! But applications pile in like crazy and you’re just a grain of sand on a beach. It’s not instant. You’re also humble and don’t run around displaying your skills like an idiot, drawing attention to yourself. You help where you can, if you can, as you always have.

🔷 Finally you receive your acceptance letter and attend the Academy. You’ve also been given a Uniform and an Asauchi- that you wield for your entire duration at the academy.

🔷 You are now around peers, there’s no need to suppress yourself too much anymore, but there’s also no need to show off (unless that’s your style).

🔷 In-class exercises are a cinch for you. You’ve already seen it all in Eorzea.

🔷 Kido comes naturally with just about any class (caster, healer, MNK, NIN, BRD, etc). How many battles have you fought already, champion? The mastery is etched upon your soul. Don’t even need to recite the entire spell chant to cast a kido, but you do it anyways to simply know it and put on a performance of sorts. In real battle of course, you would do no such thing. Every second in battle is valuable.

🔷 If you were a Healer/RDM, healing comes naturally to you.

🔷 Danku comes naturally if you were a class with barriers - SGE/SCH/RDM - yes even GNB (there’s one built into their skillset). Give that some thought.

- I’m missing a lot here but you get the idea. You’re the WoL, get creative 🙃

>>> Fast Forward a bit

🔷 Unlocking your Shikai comes easily. Unlocking your Bankai requires protecting something or someone important to you, with every ounce of your willpower. But you don’t know that until the moment comes.

🔷 Your Shikai is similar to Venat’s. You have the ability to swap around your class kits at will. For example; I’m currently in RDM. I see a massive blast heading my direction and 2 of my allies are behind me. Shikai! -changes to PLD- I now have the entire PLD skill kit and I can now use ‘Passage of Arms’ and shield them.

🔷 Your Bankai is Limit Break and charges similarly to Ikkaku’s. The more time spent in battle, the more charge it has, meaning it can become LB1, LB2, or LB3. Hehehe~

🔷 Hydaelyn’s Blessing? (a friend wants it added) I’m not sure how I want this thrown in here. Perhaps it prevents enemies from mind hi-jacking you to their side. That’s the best I can come up with here.

🔷 And a new glamour with each Shikai class change, or no? Like Ichigo’s Bankai. Up to you or not, as well. Personally I’m going to go the simple route with the standard Shinigami Shihakusho garb and some accessories to spice it up. I will say however, my WoL-Shinigami will get some fancy weapons.

🔷 I like the idea of either having Ardbert or Fray as your Zanpakuto. More-so the latter (as much as I love Ardbert- there’s a reason for this). Ardbert is a part of you, as is Fray. It makes sense to me, that both could fit the role perfectly. But if you’ve completed the DRK questline, you know well that you try to keep that defined line between yourself and Fray just as much as you accept them.

 - "In your darkest hour, in the blackest night... think of me... and I will be with you. Always. For where else could I go? Who else could I love but you?"

(I have more reasons & more HCs but this is getting long, lol)

I don’t even remember where I was going with this except that the Dangai would toss them into an alternate universe and it’s supposed to end up Shinji/Ichigo/Kisuke, but other than that, it was as much a surprise to me as anybody else when I found this tiny random snippet in my docs lmao. I figured I’d just toss it up over here and maybe I’ll get around to making something out of it one day.

-0-

Shinji is pretty sure that they’re the only ones left in Soul Society now.

Every plane of existence - the entire fucking universe because their latest madman is even more batshit than Aizen was - is collapsing around them, what little remains of Soul Society is burning, and of all the people Shinji thought would survive long enough if the war went south - which it has, in the worst way imaginable - to flee anywhere, he and his… less than cooperative companion had been at the bottom of the list.

Speaking of which-

Shinji yanks, hard, and doesn’t dare relax his grip even once Kisuke’s staggered forward and drawn level with him again. This is the seventh time he’s had to do this because the bastard keeps twisting around and digging his damn heels in, struggling to free himself from Shinji’s grasp.

“Stop it!” Shinji shouts, all out of patience as he hurries on to the best of his ability while dragging what might as well be deadweight. “What d’ya think you’re even gonna go back to, huh? We’ve lost. We can’t even get back up to the Palace anymore. So get a fuckin’ grip and quit fightin’ me!”

Kisuke, of course, doesn’t even seem to hear him. There’s a wild look in his scar-bisected eyes that Shinji’s never seen before, something that teeters between desperation and insanity, and for someone bleeding from at least three different major injuries while on the brink of reiatsu exhaustion, the shopkeeper’s still almost stronger than Shinji can handle.

Then again, it’s not like Shinji’s feeling great either. He’s pretty sure he has a concussion, and he definitely has at least five broken ribs. He’s running on bullheaded stubbornness and very little else.

But he promised. When it became clear to everyone - everyone who was still alive anyway - that the Quincy were going to win, that Yhwach was going to win, and that this time, this enemy was one they would not be able to beat, Ichigo had asked, and Shinji had promised, because it was the only thing left he could do, and he’ll be damned if he fails that too.

“Let me go!” Kisuke practically shrieks, and Shinji would never admit it but seeing Kisuke like this scares the shit out of him.

Even back before their exile, Kisuke had always been relatively collected. Inexperienced as a captain, yes, especially at the beginning of his tenure, and you can’t exactly say he’s good with people even nowadays, but when it really counted, he kept his shit together, no matter if it was squaring off against Aizen or being accused of treason or getting eight Hollowfied Shinigami dumped at his feet without so much as a by-your-leave. As expected of Shihouin Yoruichi’s former left hand.

So Shinji has no idea how to deal with an Urahara Kisuke half out of his mind with grief, especially when Shinji’s not exactly in the best frame of mind himself either. But one of them has to keep functioning, or neither of them are going to make it out alive.

(Would that really be so bad though?)

“I need to go back!” Kisuke cries, and this time he almost wrenches free before Shinji gets a better grip on the front of his shirt - they’ve both lost their respective haori - and hauls him onward again. “Ichigo is still-”

“He’s dead!” Shinji snarls, mentally pushing past the tightness in his throat and the way even just breathing hurts like someone’s punched him in the chest. He’s injured. It’s to be expected. He ignores all other possible reasons for it and focuses on glaring at Kisuke instead. “And if he’s not dead, he soon will be! We can’t get back to him anyway! The Palace was already collapsin’ in on itself— if Yhwach doesn’t kill ’im first, the disintegration of an entire dimension will, an’ Ichigo was sacrificin’ himself to give us a chance to get away, so fuckin’ pull yourself together cuz I promised him I’d do my best to make sure we survive at least long enough to try and save his sisters, an’ so help me if ya make me a liar-”

He chokes, and for a second, his lungs don’t even seem to be working anymore. Then he sucks in a much-needed breath, tightens his hold on Kisuke, and dares a Shunpo in the vague direction of the Senkaimon even though the reiatsu drain of it sends him staggering the moment he lands again.

(He wants to give up. He’s exhausted down to his bones, his Zanpakutou’s gone, shattered beyond repair, and what’s even the point of running away if all his allies and friends and the people he considers family are already dead?

But-

“Hirako! Can you get up? Can you run?”

“If ya think I’m gonna leave ya-”

“What’s the point in all of us dying here?! Look, I’ll hold him off! You grab whoever you can - I know Urahara-san’s still back there somewhere, he came up after me, and Yhwach hit him pretty hard but I think he’s still alive - so get him, get whoever else you can find, and get the hell outta here! If you can get to my sisters… If you can, promise me you’ll try to save them too!”

“Ichigo-”

“PROMISE ME!!”

“...Fine, damn it, fine! But ya can-”

“I’m the only one left with a sword and enough reiatsu to do anything against this bastard! So stop arguing and just run! Try to find somewhere safe! I’ll give you guys as much time as I can! Now go!”

He promised. He regretted it the moment he did, because if the world’s going to end, then Shinji would much rather die fighting at Ichigo’s side than- than abandoning him.

But he promised, and because Shinji knows Ichigo doesn’t love anyone or anything as much as he loves his sisters, at the very least, he has to try.)

Just Let Go

Rating: T (Ichigo has a potty mouth... again)

A few weeks ago @creativepromptsforwriting posted a weekend game and I got prompt #401: "Just let go." "You know I can't."

Anyway, this happened. Minimally polished and not connected to anything else I've written.

His suit collar itched fiercely and beside him Inoue beamed as Ichigo took pictures using the girl’s new camera. A murmur arose from the back of the room; the bride and her brother had arrived. Ichigo swallowed heavily as the guests around him stood and turned to watch the bride walk down the aisle. This was really happening.

Rukia was getting married.

To Renji.

Today. Right now.

It took only a moment for her to come into his view, and an ice-cold bolt shot down his spine. She was wrapped in white silk, tiny in the heavy layers, and the veil over her head obscured her face. All Ichigo could see was that day on the bridge, when she’d been helpless in white cotton and a red collar.

Inoue hissed at him cheerfully to take pictures, but Byakuya caught Ichigo’s eye. The older man looked at him before his glance slid down to Rukia.

He knew what Byakuya was asking him to do.

Ichigo shoved the camera into Inoue’s hands.

“Just let go!” They were different words but the same sentiment, each time she asked him not to follow her, not to rescue her, not to worry about her. Each time she asked him to let her sacrifice herself for him, for his friends, for Soul Society.

For the world.

“You know I can’t,” Ichigo growled low in her ear. His arm tightened around her shoulders, the other beneath her knees, pressing the side of her body against his broad chest. He sprinted through the dangai as though the Kushanada of Hell were after them.

After all, he’d basically kidnapped her. And on her wedding day, no less.

The strawberry flower-embroidered veil fluttered behind them, and when the benighted thing got caught in the walls of the dangai Ichigo spared half a second to tear it from Rukia’s head, leaving it to be absorbed into the dark walls surrounding them. Damned thing, he thought as he put on more speed. He’d pricked his fingers sewing flowers into the veil, flowers that bore his name.

“But Renji…”

“Will forgive us both eventually.” Ichigo tried to sound more confident about that than he felt, but then – Renji hadn’t looked thrilled about the wedding either.

The larger of his two blades banged against his back as he ran. Sode no Shirayuki slapped against his thigh; in the chaos of tearing off that ill-fitting polyester suit in favor of his shihakusho and stealing Rukia from Byakuya’s side he thought maybe Kiyone had shoved it in his obi.

Not that he knew why the blonde had it.

“Nii-sama…” Rukia yelped as Ichigo sped up again.

“Would have stopped me if he’d wanted to,” he bit out. Though they’d been first enemies and then uneasy allies, Ichigo had learned to read Byakuya’s expressions since that first fight when he’d stabbed Ichigo and called him slow.

Stop this, Byakuya had been saying with that look. Stop my sister from making this mistake.

“But he planned the whole wedding!” Rukia protested, and smacked him in the chest, trying to get him to let go.

Ichigo only squeezed tighter. “Stop that, we’re in the fucking dangai,” he growled. There was a light ahead of them, but he could hear the cleaner behind them, could practically feel it breathing down their necks.

Zangetsu cackled in his head. Bankai, the zanpakutō said, and Ichigo took a breath. He hadn’t tried to use his bankai since defeating Yhwach – and what a shitshow that had been. But his zanpakutō usually knew better than he did, about these things.

“Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!” he roared, and instead of the heavy white bands and red scaled pauldron, instead of the heavy, black fabric that had weighed him down three years ago, Ichigo wore the sleek, open coat of an earlier transformation, the one that – thank kami – made him fast. He roared, putting on a last burst of speed and reaching the light at the end of the long tunnel.

They burst into the nighttime sky of Karakura, no one there to break their fall. Ichigo landed hard, falling to one knee with Rukia still clutched close in his arms. Zangetsu’s blade and Sode no Shirayuki’s sheath scraped against the pavement.

“You idiot!” she cried, but when Ichigo met her eyes he saw relief in them. “I told you—”

“And I told you, all your opinions are rejected,” Ichigo growled down at her. “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself, not ever again.” She was so light in his arms, even with the heavy, white silk wrapped around her body; Ichigo was sure she hadn’t been eating enough.

Yuzu’ll fix it, he thought. She’d take one look at Rukia and make the older woman’s favorite dishes every night for a month.

She looked away from him. “It was for the best. And he’s been in love with me for almost fifty years,” Rukia mumbled into the cool night air. A car, headlights on high beam, drove past them without noticing either of the shinigami.

“Do you love him?” Ichigo asked quietly. If she did, if she really did…

“…No. I tried to,” she whispered. “No.”

“Hn.” He started walking, feet finding the path to Urahara’s shop unerringly. She needed a gigai, and the ex-captain would probably be expecting them soon. The man always did know too much.

“And when Soul Society comes after us?” Rukia demanded as Ichigo let her geta-clad feet touch the pavement just outside the shop. Ichigo had been right – even though it was the middle of the night, a light still shone from the open doors in welcome. He straightened up and she followed, taking in the black markings – like bindings – that once more wrapped around his wrists and streaked over the backs of his hands. He wondered what it meant that Zangetsu had changed yet again. But the zanpakutō was silent.

“Tch. I’ll beat all their asses,” Ichigo said easily. “But I don’t think they will, since they’re not here already. Byakuya wants you to be happy.”

“And you think you know what would make me happy?” Rukia demanded.

Ichigo’s expression softened, and he brushed fingers feather-light over her cheek. “Don’t I?” he asked gently.

“Ah, Kurosaki-san, Kuchiki-san,” Urahara’s voice reached them from his place in the doorway. His good eye raked over Rukia. “I have a gigai and some more comfortable clothes ready for you, Kuchiki-san.”

“How does he always know?” Rukia grumbled, but she allowed Ichigo to escort her into the bright light of the shop. “I won’t thank you for this,” she whispered. But her hand slipped into his.

“Yeah, yeah.” Ichigo's hand squeezed hers, and the door slid shut behind them.

I’m done! Whew! I may go back and watch some of the filler arcs I missed but I finished all the canon episodes. Man that was a roller coaster. Pretty good ending though. I’m left with good nostalgic feelings. That’s the best kind of ending! Several thoughts on this awesome show:

1) Tsukishima or whatever his name was needed to die. No ifs, ands or buts. In fact I was less mad when I found out Ginjo was behind the whole thing. Which is weird… but whatever I loathe Tsukishima and I really wished he’d perished, and if not for a contrived message he would have. I mean come on even Ichigo died from a fist sized hole in the chest.

2. What is happening with everyone’s hair?! I love it! I love it too much actually because Kenpachi is rocking this hairstyle that seems reminiscent of Byakuya’s style and let me tell you I could noooot! Every time they panned to him I was like wait hold on? Am I seriously diggin Kenpachi right now? That’s a definitely yes, so crushing on him! Don’t get me started on Byakuya’s little style change. He’s so attractive it’s a little annoying. They should throw a mask on him like Kakashi so girls don’t swoon when he walks down the street for goodness sake.

3. Anybody else get some serious broship vibes from Kenpachi and Byakuya? Cause I did and MAN I really need some broship fic of them now! Like Byakuya finally made a friend and it’s not AT ALL anyone you would think he would go for. But then again maybe it is, because it’s unbearably clear that while he can be an arrogant terd that whole icy front is just that. A front. He totally enjoys his rivalry with Kenpachi and he respects and dare I say even admires Ichigo. I mean let’s just highlight this bit of paraphrased gold, “I appreciate you, but if your Ichigo’s enemy I’m cutting you down no matter who you are”… this said under a form of insane hypnosis, past manipulation, whatever. The short of it is he loves that kid for whacking him upside the head and letting him know it’s okay for him to love his sister… but I’m getting off point here. I really wanna see some fics where Byakuya and Kenpachi just reek havoc on soul society during one of their challenges, or get drunk together (curtesy of a little experiment of Mayuri) and destroy a section of soul society with their newly discovered drunken fists and have to do the hangover, beaten up bloody and so undignified walk of shame to Captain Yamamoto the next morning 😂

4. What is WRONG with Isshin?! Why does he have ZERO communication with his children?! It would be different if he didn’t know, but the first time he saw his kid walking around as a shinigami he didn’t think “hey maybe kid needs to know some things”. He couldn’t give the kiddo a bit of warning about Ginjo BEFORE the guy completed his goal and/or had Isshins daughters memories rewritten?! I just feel like with a short convo or two Ichigo could have been saved hours of worry, despair, and fighting through cluelessness of the enemies motives. Sheesh!

5. I feel like I missed Kenapchi’s bankai. Didn’t he get one? I have a half memory of seeing it on the cover of a random bleach manga volume but did it ever make it on screen? I hope it wasn’t in any of the filler arcs I skipped 👀 but why would anyone put something like that in a filler arc? Maybe it was fan made…. Guess I’m going to have to do some research on that one cause if it’s onscreen it’s definitely something I need to see!

6. This whole rewatch started because I watched the teaser for the new Bleach movie and so of course YouTube took it upon itself to rec a fmv about all of Ichigo’s forms and I got to Vasto Lord before I had to pause and pull up the show cause I wanted to see it lol! I just now unpaused the video and finished it and now I’m DEFINITELY going to have to go back and watch the filler (and movies???) because I missed whatever form Kushinada is, and also the True Zanpkato and Horn of Salvation looked really cool! .... So here’s a salute to the video that rekindled the Bleach flame!

GrimmIchi Weekend Challenge #4: When time comes

Words: Impact, Silence

Genre/Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Word count: 2793

Warning: canon typical violence, some language

Challenged by @m34gs

Summary: (5+1 - Enemies to lovers) - 4 times they were enemies and 1 they weren’t, then everything changed.

(1)

Seeing Rukia dying right in front of his eyes was the most terrifying thing he had experienced up until that day. The enemy had pierced her body like it was nothing. Ichigo was petrified for a couple of seconds and when the world started to make sense again he launched forth, clashing with that blue haired devil, who was laughing and enjoying all too much the blood shed. He launched with all his might at the maniac in front of him, swinging his sword at every opportunity. Yet, that bastard kept dodging and toying with him. Ichigo felt the lacerations in his skin gushing blood, and he could feel his inner hollow slowly and steadily trying to take control of his body. But before that happened he was on the ground, the enemy towering him and ready to swing a final blow. Ichigo was ready for the impact, but it never came. When he could focus again he saw Tosen right behind the blue haired man. Despite the adrenaline still running through his body, Ichigo didn’t know what to do; he didn’t have the strength to fight at the moment. Then, he heard a displeased sound coming from the blue haired man, and the next thing his mind focused on was the garganta opening and both of them stepping inside. But before it closed completely, the devil spoke:

“I’m the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez! Don’t forget, shinigami!”

-x-

(2)

Training with the Visored wasn’t as easy as Ichigo had first thought, specially not with that sly annoying smirking guy. Still, after everything, Ichigo was confident that he could tap into his hollow powers for at least a few minutes now. Fear wouldn’t be the one thing that could make him hesitate in his next battle. The memories of losing control to his hollow were still fresh but he was certain that he was on the path to master its power. He just needed to keep fighting. Fighting with—

“He’s here.”

Ichigo was never good with sensing others reiatsu but for some reason the powerful presence of Grimmjow drew him in like a moth to fire. So, as soon as that spiritual energy hit his senses, he took off.

Facing Grimmjow again was a matter of… something. Ichigo wasn’t quite sure the reason behind his need to square up with him, yet, he knew he wanted to clash blades with the Arrancar again and beat him.

“What happened to your arm?”

“I discarded it. I don’t need it to defeat you, shinigami!”

They clashed and Ichigo decided it was time to test his new found power. The surprised expression on that ever scowling face stirred a dangerous feeling of pride and satisfaction in Ichigo. He was going to show the other that he was strong.

He swung a getsuga tensho.

Grimmjow clashed with him again.

Everything was exhilarating, he felt alive and in control, everything was going well and Ichigo knew that with just one more blow Grimmjow would be the one on the ground. It truly would have been his win if his hollow mask hadn’t cracked. If his time limit hadn’t been reached.

The opportunity to prove that he could take the other was gone. And Grimmjow laughed victoriously as he took his chance to get Ichigo on the ground.

Another victory to Grimmjow.

Ichigo would be finished for good now, if the maniac smile on the other was any indication. However, another Arrancar got in the way. He saw disappointment in Grimmjow’s features, but before he was engulfed by the endless darkness of the garganta, a promise to battle again in Hueco Mundo was made.

Ichigo’s whole body shivered in anticipation.

-x-

(3)

When Ichigo set foot in Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime he knew deep down in his gut that Grimmjow would be waiting for him. He was stepping inside his lair, right into a trap - or so he thought. However, something stirred inside him when he saw that his enemy had rescued his dear friend from the clutches of whichever monster she was held captive. Seeing Orihime somewhat safe was a relief, a weight - he didn’t know he was carrying before - seemed to have lifted off of his shoulders, and now the only thing left to do was to proceed on wining the next battle.

Grimmjow was waiting for him, expectantly.

Ichigo could hear the drums of a violent battle soon to be unfold, his heart thumping in his chest fast and his whole body trembling from the prospect of seeing the blue-haired Arrancar. He was excited but terrified at the same time as he knew the high stakes of the battle he was fighting. Still, Grimmjow triggered something visceral that was consuming him little-by-little from the inside. Ichigo dared to say he felt pride for being noticed by the other, but the foreign, aching feeling that crawled even on the surface of his skin was— a craving.

Ichigo’s thoughts swirled his mind, still, he tried to keep his usual facade, burying any improper emotion deep down. That proved impossible as every single feeling increased tenfold the moment he saw Grimmjow standing close to him. And when that boisterous voice told him it was time to fight, Ichigo felt like he could let go the trigger of an invisible gun. So, he blurted out:

“Not here”

Grimmjow and his never ending devious smirks got the message loud and clear, both of them sprinting away from the spectators.

They clashed.

Swords lacerating skin.

Gushing wounds painting their skin red.

Grimmjow used his resurrection.

Ichigo released his bankai and hollow mask.

The thrill of battle was something that Ichigo knew all too well, and he wouldn’t admit that the feeling wasn’t all that unpleasant - specially for Grimmjow, who would never let him live in peace if he discovered it.

Then, Grimmjow’s rough voice from exhaustion reached Ichigo’s ears, “You came here to fight me, admit it, Kurosaki!” He laughed as their powers collided in another furious attack.

Ichigo felt a surge of panic as he realized Grimmjow could so easily read him, which made him wonder what faces he was making for the other to get to such conclusions. He wanted to counter, to tell the other that he was wrong, that he was fighting not because it felt good but because he had an obligation to… some greater good or something. In any case, he did have a purpose, he needed to protect the people who he loved. And if that meant fighting enemy after enemy so be it. But instead of denying the accusation, Ichigo chuckled and copied that same smirk the Arrancar usually had on the lips:

“I’ll always fight you.” Ichigo didn’t wait for a reaction from the other, and launched a getsuga tensho.

They fought with claws and teeth, almost literally. And Ichigo couldn’t avoid the thought that if they weren’t in opposite sides, they could have developed some sort of friendly rivalry. Grimmjow and his incessant thirst for the battle field and defeating strong opponents had spiked Ichigo’s interest as he had never seen someone so convicted on battling him. The Arrancar didn’t want to rule worlds, he didn’t care about others, the blue-haired beast just wanted a good fight and to be the king of whatever he thought he should be king of.

Ichigo’s thoughts ran wild and even though his focus was on the battle before him, Grimmjow had almost clawed his face off. Luckily, Ichigo’s quick reflexes saved him. A missed attack didn’t discourage Grimmjow one bit, as another powerful attack reached Ichigo, who kept blocking. For a split second, Ichigo noticed an opening as Grimmjow’s movements started to get sluggish and predictable. He lunged forward, releasing a getsuga tensho right on Grimmjow’s face.

The battle ended not long after.

Out of respect, he held Grimmjow by the wrist preventing his imminent fall on hard sandy ground. He left the unconscious Arrancar there, and shunpoed back to his friends. But, not long before Ichigo had reached them, Grimmjow was back at him, ready to fight - demanding him to fight. Ichigo lunged forward with Grimmjow, but this time Ichigo dropped his sword. He wanted to make a point. Grimmjow and his fight didn’t have to end there with one killing the other, they could go on and on forev— Ichigo paused for a second at the thought.

When Grimmjow barked some insults, demanding him to pick up his sword it was then that Ichigo was sure that they could keep fighting forever. And Ichigo knew he could persuade the other, make a some sort of contract, he was almost convincing Grimmjow that they could meet again at another time. And if it weren’t for the devil Arrancar number 5 to interrupt their exchange of words, perhaps they could have come up with an agreement where they could fight again.

Ichigo would take Grimmjow at any time, anywhere, and he was sure Grimmjow would too. The what ifs in Ichigo’s head kept flooding his mind as he saw Grimmjow on the ground, blood covering every inch of his neck, drenching his clothes.

They’d have been excellent partners. Ichigo thought as he prepared himself to not only defend his friends and himself but also avenge a fallen Arrancar.

-x-

(4)

With everything going to hell as per usual, Ichigo still kept fighting, an obligation to end another battle crawled through his very soul as he knew it was the only way to protect the people he loved. In the middle of all the crisis, Urahara contacted him to update him with some vital information regarding Soul Society and the Quincys. Urahara was in Hueco Mundo, and Ichigo still wasn’t sure what he was doing there, but it didn’t matter Ichigo was sure it had something to do with collecting data and finding a way out of the current situation. What Ichigo wasn’t expecting to hear was a well known voice, a voice that he had wished to hear for a long time now. It had to be HIM shouting in the distance.

“This voice… Is it…?”

He heard some more yelling and cursing before the call went silent for a second and then Urahara kept explaining… something. Ichigo didn’t pay that much attention, his mind was still swirling over the fact that he was sure he had heard Grimmjow’s voice. To think that maybe the Arrancar was alive and doing well stirred something in his very soul. Excitement and anxiousness ran through his body like wildfire, and Ichigo wished that he could see Grimmjow again.

-x-

(5)

Hell went loose. That was one definition of what was going on. Yet, Ichigo was ready to launch into a messy bloodied battle field once more. Another fight that in all reality wasn’t Ichigo’s but somehow he got dragged once more into it. He had fought too many “gods” and tricksters already, one more wouldn’t make a difference now. The only difference was his surprise to know that the remaining Arrancars would help. Even more surprised he was when he saw a Garganta opening and a very familiar blue haired Arrancar appeared before him.

“Grimmjow!” Ichigo gaped, suddenly the air he breathed wasn’t enough and he felt a knot forming in his throat.

Eyes immediately locking in Ichigo’s figure. Those electrifying blue eyes were as mesmerizing as Ichigo remembered them, and that scornful face hadn’t changed a bit. Grimmjow didn’t waste time, closing the distance between Ichigo and himself ready to have a quick fight. They stood in front of each other, eyes trained observing and waiting for any movements, any remarks, anything that could trigger them clashing their swords.

They probably would’ve started fighting already in any other situation, but another familiar green-haired Arrancar crushed him in a hug. At that moment, Ichigo not only heard but saw Grimmjow's annoyance. And for a second Ichigo thought he saw a glimpse of possessiveness in the other. After that, Ichigo got too involved with all the new people arriving and asking questions to really pay attention to Grimmjow. When he finally got the chance, however, he sat down next to the other and tried to talk. Grimmjow mostly scoffed and replied with dry and sarcastic remarks, nonetheless, listening Grimmjow bickering with others and hearing his hoarse deep voice directed to Ichigo affected the substitute shinigami in ways that he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. It wasn’t like they were friends, they barely even had anything in common - as far as a Ichigo was aware of. Yet, Ichigo was excited and glad to see Grimmjow again.

“Why are you helping us?”

“If Hueco Mundo is gone… Where else would I fight you?”

Right then Ichigo was sure that their bickering wasn’t only because they were enemies. Something had changed, the Arrancar Ichigo was looking at wasn’t his enemy anymore. Grimmjow was an ally but more than that the blue haired man was Ichigo’s rival, someone who brought to the surface Ichigo’s true nature; someone who understood Ichigo; who showed their feelings through actions more than words.

Which was why Ichigo panicked the moment Grimmjow lunged himself in the enemy's territory, chasing his opponent. And Ichigo’s heart skipped a beat when he had lost Grimmjow from his sight.

Despite Grimmjow’s reckless actions, Ichigo could see it was his usual pretend game of ‘I don’t care’ to cover the truth behind it: to have Ichigo advancing faster to the final battle. To have Ichigo unscathed as possible.

-x-

(+5.5)

Ichigo wasn’t sure what he expected after the war was over, after they defeated a God. However, he wasn’t expecting to not find Grimmjow. His heart sunk when he didn’t hear from the Arrancar. And even though the days passed by in a blur, Ichigo still felt an emptiness inside of him. Ichigo’s life went back to a mundane pace, he didn’t have anything overly difficult to handle, perhaps the most difficult thing now was his collage classes but he still aced them anyway as if they were the easiest thing he’s ever done. Still, it didn’t matter what he was up to during the day, once his head hit the pillow at night silence and peace wasn't something he had. Ichigo's mind wouldn’t quiet down, Grimmjow still haunted his thoughts night after night. By now Ichigo had realized what was going on with him. Not fulfilling the one thing he wanted long ago had made his mind swirl with thoughts of ‘what if’.

What if he had let his hormones talk when he noticed he had indeed a crush on Grimmjow.

What if he had kissed Grimmjow when he had the chance.

What if Grimmjow came back.

That thought alone branched a thousand more scenarios in his head. And even though no one had ever said anything whether or not Grimmjow was dead made everything worse. Because that gave Ichigo hope. A hope that kept growing day after day that Grimmjow would appear out of thin air in front of him.

Ichigo sighed. Another night he was having trouble sleeping. He had tossed and turned in bed a couple of times by now. Yet, the only thing he could think of was strong arms that could be embracing him if Grimmjow was there.

Ichigo turned around again, facing the wall. The window's curtain open, letting the moonlight dimly lit the room. Ichigo’s eyes glanced up to the night sky. He stared for long minutes, watching the bright stars flicker. He was almost closing his eyes, almost falling asleep when a shadow loomed in front of the window. He jumped out of bed fast, immediately grabbed his shinigami badge and without a second thought he let his body fall flat on the bed and he was in his shinigami form.

Just then he took a good look at the figure at the window.

He gaped.

Mouth slightly open in surprise.

Heart beating fast, feeling like it would burst out of his chest.

He swung the window open, and before the man hovering outside could say anything Ichigo drug him inside and crushed the other in a tight hug; face buried on the other’s neck, hands clutching a white jacket.

“So you missed me.” The man’s hoarse voice came out low and right at Ichigo’s ear.

“Fuck you, Grimmjow!” Ichigo blurted out, but he didn’t release the other from his arms.

“Eh? Took you long enough to tell me that.” Grimmjow laughed, as he nuzzled Ichigo’s neck.

Ichigo had a thousand and one questions for Grimmjow. And another thousand and one curses to be directed at the Arrancar too. Yet, all he could think of now was to have that man in his arms and not let him go; not to let him out of his sight ever again.

Does she ever change her opinion on something? 👀Or like, how stubborn is she (or actually not)?

The short answer is that not really, she does not. Hiyori is an extremely loyal person and she finds change very, very difficult. She has lived a very long life and judging by how Soul Society is still stuck in the Sengoku period of Japan, it’s a society that is steeped in tradition and conservatism with the idea of noble houses still being very pervasive to their ideology.

Hiyori also found it very difficult to accept Kisuke. She actually tried to get a rise out of Kisuke, to see just what kind of man he was when he became a captain by dissing his old division and calling them out as being sneaky murderers. She was very shocked when Kisuke did not react and actually pointed it out to him.

His answer did not please her. Her loyal ass couldn’t understand how someone could just switch their ‘feelings’ like that. How he couldn’t become offended when she dissed his old division when he doesn’t know anything about the twelfth and became a captain for a literal day? This did not sit well with Hiyori at all. She knew that if someone ever dissed her division or her friends, she’d ram Kubikiri Orochi up their ass!

Every time Kisuke attempted to try and get her to warm up to him, she reacted with violence, stating that she would never accept him!

Hiyori isn’t one-dimensional. Of course, she’s smart and can make her own decisions and can change her opinion when she gains new information- - such as her getting to know Kisuke, reluctantly accepting his mad plans to incorporate the science and research development… but also getting casually shunted away from those roles because Mayuri became the head of the lab. She knew that her importance as a lieutenant was diminishing and it crushed her and she scrambled to try and make sense of her new environment. She probably helped out in the lab the best way she could but all her efforts only made things progressively worse (and just made Akon shine brighter lmao!). But still, she clung to her position that she’d worked for and couldn’t let it go.

It takes a very long time for her to accept someone or let go of someone. Her heart is very stubborn. In that same heart, she carried a hatred for Aizen for over a hundred years because he made her hurt her precious friends, whom she dearly loved with all her being. And she paid the price for her stubbornness until the end.

She is also one of the few vizard that have not returned canonically to Soul Society until they needed her. Her hatred for shinigami is still intact. She cannot forgive them. Her opinion has not changed on these 'people' and even if her friends have returned to serve the Gotei, she hates the organisation. Because once upon a time... she really loved it. She thought it was her home and was kicked out of it for what she became through no fault of her own. So, she's still a vizard and does not understand, just as she did not understand Kisuke on that day. How could anyone switch their mind like that? If the Gotei did not want her then as a hollow-hybrid, how could they want her now? They will not accept who she has become.

That is why we get such a heartbreaking panel of Hiyori putting her old uniform back on. It's a painful reminder of the home she has lost and will never regain because she can never go back to who she was. And she won't fool herself into thinking she will be accepted in that society again.

But I also think… after such a long time and coming into contact with Ichigo, who is just as stubborn as her – but happens to be a human, a shinigami and a vizard – that these things can coexist. That loving her friends does not mean she has to see shinigami as enemies. Or Humans as inherently evil parasites. She’s learning to change and accept that change. And learning to appreciate that even if she has lost a lot, she still has her life. I believe that she became a lot more appreciative of things once she woke up from her bifurcation because it was a shinigami like Unohana that saved her life.

And not only that- her friends have returned to Soul Society and choose to ally themselves with the shingami too. She can’t really turn her back on her friends. She’d rather die before that happens.

Bleach -Recuerdos Mundo Find part1-5 here https://saki-sk.tumblr.com/post/649896229806997504/bleach-recuerdos-mundo-part-5-the-orb-day-zero-it  #recuerdos mundo next part https://saki-sk.tumblr.com/post/654541839264776192/bleach-recuerdos-mundo-part-7-lost-moon-previes 

Part6 Blinding Moon Finally we are back home. We split up and went to our families, Yachiru and Ichika went back to the Soul Society, Hiyoshin went back to his family and I…. I stood in front of our house imagined how everyone went back and everyone was full of joy seeing us again.  I looked to the ground, …that’s not the moment… I whispered to myself and passed by….(?) …~Kazui Kurosaki Back home I havn’t even tried to be quiet and then I ended up being overjoyed by all my siblings and mom and dad, asking where I and the others  went how it come we were still alive and all safe and sound. I told them a short story what happened and everyone looked so surprised and proud. Specially dad, that’s what he always does when one of us is doing something cool. I really like that on him. He also put out the old Futons that we all coul sleep together. Dad loves to protect all of us, mom too but she can’t show it like he does. But I love when she looks at him and smiles like no one is noticing admiring him for this attitude. Sometimes.. I guess.. dad wish himself longer arms so he can hug all of us, me,my siblings and mom at ones. … Man I hadn’t noticed how I missed this, I feel so tired and happy… ~Hirako Hiyoshin Lieutenant Yachiru was quiet nervous when we separated and she went to her old barrack, she was barely listen when I said bye. I walked off to my home at the Kuchiki Mansion, jumping over the wall and landed in the garden. Of course one of uncles  Shinigamis noticed me but with a >>shhhhh and keep quiet I want to surprise my parents!<< He shut up. So I sneaked into my parent’s bedroom…. But my dad was quiet noticing some stranger walking into the room so he stood up protectively in front of mum and was holding Zabimaru. Back then I hadn’t noticed our spiritual pressure was different from before. But that’s some other part! Now they looked at me like they saw a ghost, then tears and all that cheesy*sob*>>my baby is back home<<*sob…stuff…you know all that stupid thinks, all crying and hugging…*sob*  of course I said everything is fine! And that I was tired and talk tomorrow to calm them down but…  I was happy to be back. What a comfy feeling. ~Abarai Ichika Many years I thought I would never see all of this again… Ken-chan… as near I get as slower I walked… everything felt so wrong, I shouldn’t be here… I thought…. What when Kenpachi-san wouldn’t know me anymore what if he hated me for some nonsense reason? I was so afraid….. I stood in front of the house not knowing what to do now. I had this moment so often in my mind back in the past and now I’m standing here shaking with my heart in my hands, crying like a child. >>Ken-chan…<<   >>Yachiru it’s you<< It wasn’t me who found him, he found me this time. >>Ken-chan<< First a whisper then louder,  I run to him hugged him tidily hoping this wasn’t a dream again. I run so tired from that wrong memories I often had, waking up and everything I had was gone. >>It’s you…really you.<< I heard his voice through my sobbing and whining >>…yes…<< I answered shortly >>…I’m home…<< I finally was. together with Ken-chan I went to the first division barracks on the next morning. I was still confused where I had to go and I was so nervous. Then I stood in front of everyone, they looked at me puzzled. First Captain Isane talked  to me. >>Is that really you? Yachiru<< >>How is this even possible?! Where is she coming from?<< Mayuri wondered >>Calm down everyone she will tell us.<< When I watched at Captain Kyorakos face I was so confused why is he at the first division captains place? Where was old Yamamoto? And where was Captain Unohana? Tears were running over my face again, knowing that so much time had passed but in my live it was even more. full of tears I told them what happened: …I remember that I fought that person, I don’t even know if it was a woman or a man or what person he was anyway… I just remember that I wanted to safe Ken-chan so badly. Then there was light, everything was only light, when I woke up again the world was collapsed. I walked around but no one was to be found anymore… I walked for many days till I lost the knowing of time, but I noticed the buildings  I saw. Places from the living world mixed up with the places at Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society… First when I walked through the memory world   I saw mist like a mirage showing the past often. Sometimes I watched them, talked to them till one day when I noticed I forgot who I was and where I came from…. Near insanity I saw a memory of my past friends and I remembered my name I carved them on my body..my name..who I was and what I was…and everytime I was on forgetting I looked at me saying ..that’s my name don’t forget it…one day you need to know him you need to know you are Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi Shinigami at the 11Division…. I cried when I talked, I hadn’t noticed when the others started crying, too. Izane and the other woman were looking away sobbing while the man looked pale with a stonily look. >>where you the only one there?<< I heard Mayuri again, and some whispering about experiments like he always did. I told them about the Hollow like creatures who appeared short after the collapse. But instead of hollows who still had a will to live they were real hollow. A empty body just existing to eat reishi* and letting it go ones they dissapear… I told them about the world full of  reishi*, that I never had to eat or drink and about the amnesia of mine that I could barely remember everyone of them. Ken-chan helped me at the past night but it was still difficult.  I told them about the Seretei and I told them about the kids of Ichigo, Abarai and Hirako who saved me. Captain Kyorako told Mayuri and Isane to take care of me till they had more informations. I was just happy to be back with all of them still hoping I wouldn’t lay down at the ground having  a flashback from some kind of mist again… ~Kusajishi Yachiru (*don’t be mad at me when I wrote the wrong word xP) …. >>You are back!<< I was quiet surprised when I saw Reina Ishida holding her bow right in front of me. >>First I thought you were some kind of enemy so I walked of the house to attack you but what are you doing here? When did you  come back why aren’t  home with your family?<< We sit down on the riverside and I told her it felt wrong. As much as I walked nearer, as much I thought about my returning friends as much it felt wrong to walk to mine. Of course she gave me that ‘What kind of nonsense is that shit’ look. >>But you have to, everyone was so worried of you. You don’t know what everyone was gone through.<< I looked at the moon while listening to her and then I told her what happened to us, what we found and saw and that everything was fine but. She noticed it, my spiritual pressure was different, like it wasn’t me who returned but someone else. Back then I hadn’t known that the others had that kind of phenomena, too. Back then I thought it was because of him… So I told her from it, the thing I swallowed and the voice of the man coming from it. Maybe it was because I couldn’t hear him anymore since we went back. Reina was looking at me worried…. It felt strange I don’t like her becoming worried so I told her I was fine and I should probably go home now. … We said good bye to each other and went different ways till I was home again. I stood in front of the door, my finger at the bell. >>I’m back!<< ~Kurosaki Kazui