章節 2: 2. Scene Change: Mindscape

"Where am I?" Ichigo thought. Looking around, Ichigo quickly realized that he was in his mindscape, but this time, the world looked completely different. No longer was it the underwater Karakura Town Ichigo saw last time he came here, instead, the skyscrapers are right-side-up and there are trees and mountains all over the place. "What the" Ichigo pondered.

"Welcome back Ichigo," Tensa Zangetsu stated. He was still in his fusion form when Ichigo learned the Final Getsuga Tenshō.

"Tensa Zangetsu. What happened here?" Ichigo asked.

"Well that question should be addressed to them," Tensa Zangetsu replied, pointing off to the distance. Looking at where his partner was pointing at, Ichigo saw two other beings walking towards them. One was a female about 5 feet and 11 inches with green eyes and long green shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a traditional green kimono with blue waves decorate the bottom and tied up with an obi that showed her amazing curves. The other woman looked like a mirror copy of the first lady, but her eyes and hair were purple instead of green. Her kimono is also purple and decorated with white butterflies.

"Who are you, ladies? How did you get here?" Ichigo questioned.

"You're a silly boy. Understandably, you do not recognize us." The lady with the purple hair replied.

"Unfortunately, we were just used by your recent foe." The lady in green stated.

"Wait… used by my recent foe… you're Kyōka Suigetsu." Ichigo concluded as he looked at the lady in green. "And you must be the Hōgyoku." He added while looking at the lady in purple.

"You're smarter than I believed. That's a surprise," Kyōka taunted.

"So, how did you two end up here?" Ichigo asked, ignoring Kyōka's comment.

"Well, when Aizen was hit by your attack, I realized that he did not deserve my power, so I decided to leave him. I then saw that Kyōka's bond with him was severed and asked her if she wanted to come with me." Hōgyoku explained.

"And I said yes," Kyōka added.

"Ok," Ichigo sighed. "Now then, what is going to happen now?"

"Well. You are still going to temporarily lose your Shinigami powers, just as planned. However, all of us are going to retrain you for three years. During that time, no one will be able to sense your reiatsu at all." Hōgyoku stated.

"Wait, if I don't have any reiatsu, how will I talk to you?" Ichigo asked.

"Normally, that is true, you should not be able to talk to us. But when have you ever been normal? Additionally, you will also be able to train here, in your mindscape." Hōgyoku explained.

"Ichigo we want you to tell no one that this is happening." Tensa Zangetsu asked of his King.

"Why Tensa?" Ichigo asked.

"There is a lot of reasons why," Tensa started. "The first is that, when the Shinigami find out that you still have your powers, they might capture you, or worse, kill you. The next reason is that no Shinigami has ever had two different Zanpakutō spirits. If Soul Society finds out that you have two different Zanpakutō spirits, they will do whatever it takes to capture you, especially if the other Zanpakutō is Kyōka Suigetsu." Ichigo's eyes widen with Tensa Zangetsu's words. "It would get even worse if they discover that you possess the Hōgyoku as well. Finally, if anyone else discovers your heritage, they will order your destruction." Tensa concluded.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Ichigo yelled in shock. "EXPLAIN!" Tensa Zangetsu then slowly separated into the younger version of Zangetsu and the bleached version of Ichigo.

"Ichigo, please allow me to fully explain before you ask any questions." Tensa Zangetsu asked before explaining himself. "Your heritage is special; it's practically a miracle that you're still alive considering what you are. As you have seen earlier, your father was a Shinigami, a Taichō whose family can be traced back to the founding of Soul Society. Your mother, on the other hand, was a pureblood Quincy. Yes, Ichigo you are related to your friend Uryū." Tensa revealed, much to Ichigo's further shock. "Your mother was attacked by a hollow named White and got infected with Hollow reiatsu. It was killing her, so your father stepped in and stopped it from killing her. However, when you were born, it passed down to you. You, Ichigo, are the perfect hybrid of Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow." Tensa Zangetsu finished.

"So… if you are not Zangetsu then, who are you and where is the real Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked.

"Silly King. Who do you think is Zangetsu?" Ichigo heard behind him. He turned and saw his Hollow.

"What do you mean?" he questioned.

"Remember what I told you when we first met, King!" The Hollow stood there as he recalled what his hollow told him long ago.

"That 'Zangetsu' thing you're talking about... aren't you holding it right there? Or maybe... could it possibly be the one... that I have here?"…"I am... Zangetsu."

"So, during all those times, you have been trying to tell me that you are my real Zanpakutō. So, if you're Zangetsu, then who are you?" Ichigo asked to 'Tensa'.

"Well, Ichigo, I am the manifestation of your Quincy powers. My name is Yhwach. I will teach you the ways of the Quincy since it is your heritage." The newly dubbed Yhwach stated.

"We'll talk more later, Ichigo. You are needed back outside, now." Kyōka said.

"Alright, then. I'll talk to you all later." Ichigo promised.