As he looked around the table and seeing Rukia, Yoruichi, Urahara, Tessai-san and even his father struggling to process the possibility of him becoming the Soul King a part of him felt vindicated. It wasn’t just him who found the whole ordeal absurd. But then, that was his life in a nutshell, absurd to the point of horror.
Not that there weren’t good parts to the absurdity. Tiamat, Yasaka and Kunou being at the forefront of his new absurd life. And well, Ichigo had enough self-awareness to acknowledge the fact he could fight monstrous battles again. Because he did enjoy a good fight…
Nonetheless, the silence that settled over the room was thick and filled with uncertainty and even mild disconcertion, though Ichigo found himself paying it little mind as his thoughts drifted towards his own future.
Toward Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the wider Shinto afterlife that stretched across dimensions so vast that even Infernity was rendered insignificant beside them.
Somewhere within those endless expanses existed hundreds of millions of souls living out their lives, loving, grieving, hoping, and suffering much as the people of his personal Kingdom did. All the souls of Japan, the entirety of Soul Society and even the eldritch undead monstrosities in the bleak world of Hueco Mundo… he nearly sighed. What would he even do about the Hollows if he were Soul King?
Wipe them all out?
He briefly thought about Nel – that overly enthusiastic sweet girl… who was actually a Menos-class Arrancar that was the result of several powerful evil spirits going mad with hunger and cannibalizing each other. Idly, Ichigo wondered if the Soul King was already working on the issue of Hollows from the background. Hollows shouldn’t exist, they were aberrations, much like Devils.
Unlike Devils, however, Hollows actively hunted human souls and were a predatory species. Most Devils today rarely ventured to Earth anymore, preferring the far more suitable Underworld and its tailor-made magical ambience. And though Hollows were born from a cosmic tragedy, their malevolence was undeniable. It wouldn’t be wrong to finally end Izanami’s curse and remove their threat on humanity.
Certainly, it would bring about a permanent solution to the unbalanced Cycle of Souls.
All that being said, the prospect of one day bearing responsibility for all of these issues settled heavily upon his soul. He was already responsible for managing so much, an entire Empire that heavily relied on his existence. How could he possibly juggle being Satan and being the Soul King at the same time?
“Kurosaki-san.” Ichigo turned towards Urahara whose face was still hidden beneath the shadows of his hat, and even the man’s voice was thick with concern. “You said ‘the realm reflects the ruler.’”
“Yeah,” Ichigo nodded.
“While I am still but a neophyte on the Three Great Powers and lack true depth of understanding, most of my research points to one simple fact,” and here the eccentric shop-owner lifted his eyes and fixed Ichigo with a powerful and pointed stare. “Satan is not a kind entity.”
A certain gravity overcame Ichigo’s face, and he resisted the urge to sigh in resignation. “No, he is not.”
Urahara’s lips pressed into a thin line and all the others turned to look at Ichigo, their eyes widening slightly as the implications of Urahara’s words set in.
“How then, would it be better, for you to take the Throne from the Soul King?” Urahara asked shrewdly. “Would it not be even more disastrous if your very existence drew the Underworld into Soul Society, or worse, Hell itself?”
His father sucked in a cold breath, Yoruichi let out a hiss and Rukia turned to him with horror in her eyes.
Ichigo folded his arms and looked down at his own lap, a question he himself had been considering for quite some time now. But luckily, he had the sage words of his new friend Set to draw upon.
Who now shapes the role? You who bear the mantle, or the books writing the Demon of Yore’s story? What story then will future generations write of you?
Satan was a vile, wretched thing. An accursed creature filled with endless rage and hatred and a desire to bring all things to ruin in its unending loathing for existence. But that Satan was no more. Ichigo now held the title; his actions were the ones that would be recorded in history from now.
Satan was for him to define.
“Once upon a time, I would have agreed with you,” Ichigo said slowly.
“But something has changed?” Urahara asked perceptively.
Ichigo gave him a soft smile. “Everything changes. That’s the whole reason for all of this. I just need to control the changes.”
Those piercing, knowing eyes of the former Captain of Squad Twelve drilled into him, but Ichigo said nothing else, continuing to smile at the man. The man was a scientist at heart; he worked within the realms of laws and postulates. But the more powerful Ichigo became the more he became aware of one simple truth, reality cares little for absolutes.
All things were subject to change.
“Wait.” Ichigo looked down as Yoruichi stood up on all four legs, glaring between the two of them. “What are you two going on about? What? Ichigo can somehow prevent Soul Society from being sucked into Hell? If that’s the case, why can’t the Soul King do the same with Hades?”
Ichigo shrugged, but he acknowledged her words. “I don’t know the particulars; I’m not on that level yet. But I think whatever they did happened on such a fundamental level that undoing it would be even more catastrophic. They made their choice, the rest of us have to deal with it.”
“Wait, let’s rewind a bit,” his father said holding up his hand. “What is this Satan business? I’m no Christian, but even I know that nothing good comes about when you start to involve yourself in the matters of Demons and Hell. What on earth happened to you, Ichigo?”
He let out a sigh and said, “Look, dad, it’s a very long conversation. And there’s still quite a bit I need to say. If we get into that, we’re going to go on a whole mythic tangent.”
His father scoffed. “My son suddenly becoming some legendary evil is not a tangent!”
“Alright, tell you what,” he said with a tired edge in his voice. “When all this is said and done, we can go down into Urahara’s basement and I’ll show you. But until then, can we just stay on point?”
His father looked like he wanted to say several more words, but the man seemed to put away his stubbornness and instead, gave a short nod. Ichigo felt a brief respite of relief – while he wasn’t ashamed of his newfound supernatural status, he knew it was going to be one heck of a shock to his father, and everyone else, when they actually came to understand what being a Demon entailed.
Of course, explaining it verbally would never do the phenomenon any justice. No, it was best that he allowed the mask to slip for a second – but no more than that, of course. He was still in the human world and the risk for demonic contamination was far, far too high.
“But now I have another question, Kurosaki-san,” Urahara said, breaking Ichigo from his thoughts. “How does one become divine?”
Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he admitted, “I’m still trying to figure that part out. There’s a lot of metaphysical bullshit with this stuff, most of it doesn’t even make sense. But then, when you’re trying to sit on top of Eternity, I guess it’s normal for logic to fall apart. I think I’ll only fully understand it myself once it’s all said and done.”
Urahara scratched the stubble on his chin and nodded along. “I see, I see. Say, Kurosaki-san, would you be so kind as to donate a few blood samples to this humble shopkeeper? Oh! And perhaps be willing to spend an evening or two where I can monitor your soul?”
Ichigo gave the man a flat glare. “Fuck off, Hat-n-Clogs.”
But Yoruichi then took a few light steps on the table towards him and reached with one paw, poking him squarely in the chest as she asked, “All that aside, do you intend to take up the throne?”
Ichigo looked into her amber eyes, and, for a moment, he lost himself in thought. He wasn’t fond of the idea of going along with Amaterasu’s and the Soul King’s decades of machinations and plotting. He didn’t need to be Satan to rebel at the idea that his life was manipulated by some higher power. At the same time, was he really willing to allow every soul in the Shinto and Greco-Roman afterlives to lose their identities? Essentially being ego killed?
Weighing his words carefully, Ichigo said, “What I intend to do is become more powerful.” And even before his reincarnation, Ichigo had always strived for power. “So that I can live my life in peace, so that I can keep the people I care and love safe.”
Rukia studied him quietly before asking, “And if becoming the Soul King is the only way to achieve that?”
Ichigo met her gaze.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. No words were exchanged between them, and despite the years of little contact between them, she still knew him well enough to guess his mind. She had been there in those first few months, when he began wielding his newly gained powers for the same ideals he had just espoused. Rukia knew him well enough to understand that some answers never required words.
Ichigo fell silent and let out a weary sigh as he contemplated his next words. He had already dumped one significant, world-changing revelation on them, he wasn’t quite sure how it would go if he dumped another.
Frankly, they were still fully digesting his words and part of him really felt bad for his father and Shinigami friends. At the same time, he felt somewhat vindicated because this had been his life for as long as he remembered. For once, Ichigo got to enjoy being the one who held all the cards and got to do the climactic reveals.
Was he still carrying a grudge from when he was a teenager being manipulated by these people? Maybe…
Nevertheless, for several moments he simply sat there with his arms folded, turning over different ways to broach the subject in his mind before ultimately discarding them all. It was best to just be blunt and get it over with, he thought to himself as he flexed his fingers open and closed.
The movement drew Yoruichi's attention and the former Captain narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, having apparently recognized the expression that had settled across his face.
"What?" she asked. "Are you about to drop another existential bomb on us?"
A corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched upward.
"Probably."
The collective groan that followed was immediate, though it did little to ease the tension hanging over the room. Looking around the table, he found himself briefly wondering whether he should simply leave the matter for another day. The thought lasted all of three seconds before practicality won out.
At the very least, they needed to know for Yuzu and Karin’s sake so that they would be kept safe and protected.
His gaze drifted toward the table as he slowly twisted his mouth.
"Do any of you know who Tsukiyomi is?"
It was a dumb question, he knew – there was no way they wouldn’t know one of the most prominent deities of the Shinto, especially Yoruichi and his father.
And, unsurprisingly, it was Yoruichi who perked up and looked at him inquisitively.
"You mean Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto?" she asked slowly. "Amaterasu's twin brother? One of the Shinto triumvirate?"
"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "That one."
He rubbed at the back of his neck before continuing, still finding the entire situation absurd despite how serious it had become. Heaven, it seemed, was every bit as capable of creating pointless family drama as mortals.
"For reasons I don't fully understand nor particularly care about, Tsukiyomi has launched a rebellion against Amaterasu for control of Takamagahara."
The room froze.
Rukia's eyes widened. His father blinked several times. Even Urahara appeared momentarily caught off guard by the revelation. Ichigo simply remained seated with his arms folded across his chest, quietly watching them process the news.
And then the room exploded into chaos.
"What do you mean rebellion?" Rukia demanded, leaning forward in her seat.
"How is that possible?" Isshin asked at nearly the same time.
Yoruichi's tail lashed behind her. "Hold on, hold on! Are you seriously telling me one of the most important deities in the Shinto pantheon has declared war on Amaterasu?"
"And what exactly does 'control of Takamagahara' entail?" Urahara pressed, his fan snapping shut.
Questions crashed into one another from every direction as everyone attempted to make sense of the revelation. Only Tessai-san remained silent, his expression thoughtful as he watched the growing uproar from behind his sunglasses, though Ichigo noted the tightness of his clenched fists.
Ichigo let out a breath and held up a hand, and much to his surprise, the gesture actually worked and the cacophony of questions died down.
“I don’t know the details,” he said speaking carefully and deliberately, “all I know is that Tsukiyomi is an asshole who is throwing a tantrum and wants control of Takamagahara. He’s been amassing armies and allies and things are on the verge of a full-blown civil war. That’s it – that’s the extent of my knowledge.”
Of course, Ichigo decided to leave out the part where Amaterasu had essentially predestined him to be Tsukiyomi’s enemy and how the Golden Moon came uncomfortably close to assassinating him. Oh, and his personal decision to get his vengeance by throwing Tsukiyomi into the darkest depths of Hell.
There were some parts of his life that his friends and family didn’t need to be burdened with, in his opinion.
"There's something else to this war though.” And Ichigo made sure to bring steel into his eyes as he spoke heavily, doing his best to ensure the severity of what he was saying would be conveyed. "The war is spilling over into the mortal theatre of the supernatural world – it’s not just contained to Heaven.”
His father looked at him disturbed. “What do you mean?”
“Yōkai, nature spirits, human clans and mystics – a lot of the living are being dragged into this war, choosing sides between the Sun and the Moon,” Ichigo answered. “You all need to be ready, just in case things spill over into Karakura. Which, given how close we are to Tokyo and how dense the Reishi here is, there’s a fair chance the town will attract unwanted attention. Well, more unwanted than usual.”
Rukia’s eyes flickered side-to-side as she attempted to make sense of what she had just been told. “Is-is there some way we can stop this war?”
Ichigo snorted. “Not a chance. This is a spat between genuine divine beings, way beyond the paygrade of the Shinigami.”
“Speaking of,” Yoruichi then said, “What exactly is Soul Society’s role in all of this? Will the afterlife be affected?”
Ichigo shook his head. “I don’t know, that’s up to the Soul King to decide.”
For several minutes, they sat there in silence, each of the Shinigami attempting to digest all the information he had just unveiled. It was a lot – their entire reality was shifting and changing, and none of it in a good way. To make it worse, there was literally nothing any of them could do about it because Ichigo was right; these were the matters of the True Immortals, beyond the means of mortal souls and lives.
Yoruichi then slowly trod down from the table and jumped back into his lap, curling up and staring off into thought. With a pang of sympathy, he gently stroked her across the back.
Everything was changing.
=======
Back in Infernity
Rias let out a long groan as she collapsed deeper into the mattress, every muscle in her body protesting as she did so. Across from her, Akeno responded with a similarly miserable sound as she sprawled across the bed, her dark hair spread across the pillow like a blanket of silk. For several precious moments neither of them spoke, simply enjoying the rare opportunity to do absolutely nothing.
After the insane time-dilated week Rias had endured with her ancestor, she really deserved a long nap.
“So…” Rias turned her head to see Akeno peering at her through long and messy black hair. “What crap did you have to go through?”
She let out a huff and said, “I spent a full week in a way-too-colorful dimension with my Demonic grandmother. You?”
Akeno instantly winced. While her Queen never had the pleasure of meeting the original Gremory, Rias had shared enough stories to instill a healthy dose of caution and fear when it came to the ancient Demon. In all honesty, if Rias had it her way, none of her peerage members would ever be exposed to the horror that was her grandmother.
“That sucks,” Akeno said through a grimace. “What exactly did she do to you?”
She stared at Akeno for a full second, recognizing her best friend’s attempt to deflect from elaborating on her own training, but Rias was patient enough to wait and dig it out of her. And, well… she really wanted to vent!
“Urgh,” she rolled her eyes in frustration. “You have no idea what a slave driver grandmother is! I mean, on one hand I’m grateful. I can’t even begin to explain the sheer depths of her magical knowledge, on the other hand, she’s downright brutal!”
Rias then turned on her side and glared at Akeno, the mere memory of her grandmother’s means making her upset. “Do you know what her preferred method of teaching spells and curses is?”
Akeno blinked blankly. “Uh… no?”
“She cast them on me first!” Rias exclaimed in outrage. “Her own granddaughter! She cursed me! Again and again! Because, apparently, the best way to understand how to inflict pain is to experience it firsthand! She’s a complete psycho!”
Akeno reached out and patted her on the shoulder. “That’s rough, buddy.”
Rias gave her a withering glare before grouching out, “Bite me, bitch.”
They both then broke out into a series of giggles before falling silent. She always appreciated Akeno’s candor and ability to lift her mood while keeping things grounded. Rias had to admit that she sometimes had a flare for melodrama due to her years of consuming media and entertainment, especially romance dramas. Luckily, she wasn’t nearly as bad as her older brother, who took the word hyperbole to a whole new level.
“Still,” Rias said after a while, “I can’t be entirely ungrateful. My spell repertoire and versatility is significantly better than what it used to be. I have to admit, I really did neglect that aspect of my studies. I think I’m going to pursue further advanced arcane studies after the tournament. With a different teacher, of course.”
“Provided you have time,” Akeno said wryly as she raised both hands over her head and stretched her back. “We still have to work and make rent and pay the bills.”
And just like that, Rias’ expression fell once more. Right… she had completely forgotten about all that in the week she spent under her grandmother’s nonexistent mercies. She had a life to live outside of the fantastical; the completely mundane and soul crushing reality of financial instability.
“Well,” she started in a hopeful tone, “if we do well and win enough matches, we could gain sponsors and even earn prize money!”
Akeno’s eyes brightened at her words. “Oh yeah, I forgot that was even possible. But do you think we can do that? The Agares and Bael teams are all the rage currently, they’ve been putting up wins one after another. We only have one official match under our belt.”
That was true, as a competing team, her peerage only ever had that one match with her former fiancé Riser, which they lost.
But…
“I think the experiences Lord Ichigo has put us through have been more than enough to make up for our lack of competitive participation,” Rias said. “Do you honestly believe any of the teams in our age bracket can compare to Saviġuk?”
Her Queen shivered on the spot at the mention of Lord Ichigo’s Knight and its playful savagery. The giant wolf was at the extreme ends of Upper-class in terms of strength – easily rivaling entire peerages on its own. Even her extraordinary cousin Sairaorg, along with his entire peerage, wouldn’t be able to match up to the mythical wolf’s combat prowess.
And Lord Ichigo had repeatedly thrown them against his Knight to force them to work on their teamwork and strategies. And probably because he enjoyed watching them get trounced too…
“True…” Akeno said quietly but then turned to look at her sharply. “We’ll also be competing with Sona, though.”
Rias frowned as her thoughts drifted to her other best friend. “I know,” she said as her mouth twisted sourly. Sona was already incredibly dangerous with her adaptable and creative tactics, but the added pressure and mentoring offered by Lord Ichigo had sharpened that already hazardous edge into being downright lethal.
“But you’ve distracted me long enough,” Rias then said with a dry tone. “Spill it: what did you get up to?”
Akeno gave her an annoyed glare before letting out a huff and rolling onto her back. Her Queen stared at the ceiling with a neutral expression for several long moments, nearly stretching a full minute before saying, “I was mastering my Fallen bloodline and abilities.”
Rias abruptly sat up in shock.
She stared down at her other girl, carefully reading her expression as she fought to blubber out all of her astonishment and curiosity. But she reined herself in because of the sheer immensity of what her Queen had just confessed to her.
Because Akeno hated her Fallen Angel heritage.
Actual, genuine hatred. Not a cold disdain or passive dislike. True, unadulterated hatred that burned with a furious desire to unleash violence and annihilation. And that same hatred had extended to her father. A bitter resentment that had churned inside of her best friend for as long as she knew her.
Very slowly, Rias reached out and grabbed Akeno’s hand, and the other girl squeezed it affectionately.
“What convinced you?”
Rias herself had once tried to get Akeno to come to terms with her father’s blood, but back then, when they were just young teenagers, Akeno would have none of it. Rias had decided then to shelve the issue and allow her Queen to work through her own emotions – hoping she would have some semblance of inner peace once she reached adulthood. After all, they had centuries, millennia even, to move beyond the past.
Akeno met her eyes and gave a soft shrug. “I had a conversation with Lord Ichigo.”
And suddenly Rias’ insides went cold. Because the last time the inner darkness of one of her peerage members had been exposed to the Sin of Wrath, it had broken her heart. Even now, Yuuto’s enraged screams burned vividly in her mind.
Her horror must have been plain on her face because Akeno’s eyes widened and she began shaking her head quickly. “No! It’s not what you’re thinking! It’s nothing like what you told me happened with Yuuto. He… we just had tea and talked.”
“What did you talk about?” she asked softly.
Akeno opened her mouth to respond but quickly shut it. Her eyes dazing over as Rias could see her fall back into her memories. Akeno then let go of her hand and reached overhead, grabbing a pillow and hugged it with both arms to her chest.
“We talked about me,” Akeno admitted quietly. “And we talked about mom.”
Rias’ heart immediately fluttered and she felt a strong sense of melancholic sympathy for her best friend. It was bad enough she felt abandoned by her father, but Akeno would forever be marred by the memory of her mother’s heinous murder.
“He also talked about knowing what it’s like having a power you’re both scared of and resent,” she said quietly. “He also talked about his own mom.” Akeno then looked at her with an expression in her eyes Rias had never seen before from her. “Did you know he also lost his mom? Just like I did… she was taken from him.”
No, she didn’t know that.
In fact, there was a lot about Lord Ichigo that she didn’t know. But that went for most of the Sins – they were, unsurprisingly, very quiet about their private lives. She was well aware that the brother she knew at home was very different than the one outside of it. Sirzechs did not enjoy talking about his past, especially not his own childhood that occurred during the tumultuous years immediately following the Great War. Lady Serafall was much the same, according to Sona. And she knew virtually nothing about the other two Sins: Lord Falbium and Lord Ajuka.
Akeno then gave her a small glare and pout. “Don’t go spreading stuff about his mother.”
Rias rolled her eyes. “What am I stupid?” She knew better than to start spreading the private matters of the Crown Princes. That was a surefire way of garnering all the wrong attention in the quickest possible way.
But then, in order to lighten the mood, Rias reached out and playfully poked Akeno in the cheek. “But that’s surprisingly considerate of you. Feeling protective over your new crush?”
She would be stupid if she couldn’t pick up on the obvious hints of affection Akeno spoke their guardian’s name with.
What had once been a superficial attraction seemed to have become genuine fondness. Not that Rias could blame Akeno – despite his harsh and, at times, brutal methods, Lord Ichigo was exceptionally kind and caring. And he was a thousand times more mature than the boys she was currently living with.
Men who had their shit together were infinitely more attractive.
But her words made Akeno’s cheeks dust pink, and the girl hugged the pillow tighter to her chest.
“It’s not a crush,” Akeno muttered petulantly.
“Uh-huh,” she said disbelievingly.
“Rias.”
And it was in the near-hopeless, near-desperate tone Akeno said her name that made the teasing smile slip from her face. “I… I’m falling for him. Like, I’m seriously falling for him.”
She froze, staring down at the near fever-like red spreading over Akeno’s face and the depth of emotion in her eyes that nearly made them water.
“Lucifer,” she breathed. “You’re serious.”
Akeno nodded and then proceeded to hide her face under the pillow.
She stared blankly, struggling to find the words to respond to Akeno’s confession. Rias herself had a healthy crush on Lord Ichigo. But the emphasis there was on healthy. Yes, she fantasized about him and became flustered around him, but she was aware enough of her own feelings to know that she hadn’t fallen in love with him.
Devils were attracted to power, and Lord Ichigo was power. He commanded fear and adoration in equal measures and did whatever he pleased with a cavalier attitude. And, like she had said before, he was exceptionally kind. Even considerate. He would go out of his way to help others even when they didn’t deserve it. Case in point: herself, Sona, and both their respective peerages.
But Rias also saw the way the man was around the Dragon King, around Tiamat. And that woman was beauty personified. Even amidst the women who were supernaturally beautiful, the ancient Dragon possessed a quality and depth of beauty Rias had never seen before.
There was no competing with her.
And Rias still recalled the way, during that dinner months ago, where Lord Ichigo had, throughout dinner, attentively filled Lady Tiamat’s plate with food. How his eyes had always drifted towards her and their shoulders would constantly touch.
If Akeno knew what she knew, if Akeno saw what she saw, her heart would…
“Are you sure?” She asked gently.
“I-” Akeno’s voice came muffled from under the pillow and she pulled it away, revealing a shy face that had traces of some frustration. “I don’t know how to say it… but… he’s just everything I always imagined a man worth falling for is like. Whenever I think about our pasts… we just mesh, you know?”
Rias said nothing and reached out and placed her hand on Akeno’s arm, gently rubbing up and down in a soothing manner.
Akeno let out a sigh and said, “I know he doesn’t see me like that. Heck, despite only being a few years apart, he honestly seems to just view us all as kids. I guess from his vantage, we are kids but…”
Seeing her forlorn expression, Rias’ heart swelled with sympathy. “Oh, honey…”
But Akeno took in a deep breath, and a touch of resolve entered her eyes. “But I’m going to try either way.”
Rias froze for a moment. “What?”
Her Queen sat up and gave that mischievous smile she had come to love over the years. “I'm tired of regretting how things could have been, Rias. So I’m going to make that man look at me. I’m going to make him turn his head and reach out for me of his own volition. It may take years, it may take decades, but I’m going to snare him.”
Rias stared at her best friend in amazement, but then a tender smile crossed her lips, and she opened her arms in invitation. Akeno immediately embraced her firmly - and the two of them hugged each other lovingly on that bed, in that cramped room, in that dingy little house in Grevex.
Several quiet but peaceful moments passed for the two of them, both finding solace and strength in each other’s embrace.
“You should totally go for it too,” Akeno said into her ear, causing Rias’ expression to become perplexed.
She pulled away, but kept the other girl in her arms, even as she gave her a questioning look. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it!” Akeno said with an impish grin. “If you and I work together, we can easily steal him away from whatever women that currently have him in their clutches! We could totally be harem-sisters!”
Rias stared at her incredulously before letting out an amused snort. “Poor Issei would be devastated.”
And they both laughed their hearts out.
=======
Ichigo let out a quiet breath and gently lifted Yoruichi from his lap, ignoring the mildly offended glare she shot his way as he deposited her atop the table. Then, rising to his feet, he stretched his arms overhead and felt the muscles in his back and shoulders pull. Ichigo never considered himself the talkative type; quite the opposite, he was more than content sitting in the back and listening to others. And yet, it seemed, whenever he wound up in Karakura Town these days, all he did was talk for long periods of time.
Speaking of time. "I need to get back to the Underworld," he said as he stretched his neck back and forth. “I’ve spent long enough on the human side of Earth.”
His father immediately held up a hand to halt him. “Hold on, you still need to explain all this Satan business to me. Also, you can’t just leave without saying goodbye to your sisters!”
He rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t going to bail on them, goat-face.”
As for the Satan stuff, honestly, there wasn't an easy way to explain it. At least not without another long and exhausting conversation about the history of Lucifer, the Fall, the Pact with Hell and how Sirzechs and the other three had pulled him into their Demonic cabal.
Ichigo neither had the patience nor the time for all of that.
“But yeah, sure,” he said casually. “It’s easier if I just showed you what it means.”
And with that, Ichigo reached out with a finger and casually parted the separation of dimensions, creating a portal in the deepest depths of Infernity.
They all perked up and looked at the dark orange glow and the sudden heat coming out of the tear in the fabric of space – though Ichigo made a conscious effort in keeping the ambient magic and demonic energies of his personal domain from leaking onto Earth.
Urahara immediately leaned forward and began scratching his chin as he closely examined the portal. “Oh my! Is this some form of Garganta travel?”
“Not quite,” Ichigo said. “As you know, the Garganta is a void of chaotic Reishi made from the remnants of Yomi; with Soul Society and Hueco Mundo being infinite afterlives within that plane of existence. The Underworld is, in a weird way, deeper than the chthonic realms… if that makes sense?”
Urahara started rummaging through his robes, desperately looking for a pen and notebook, causing Ichigo to sigh.
“Well, forget all that, come on,” Ichigo said shaking his head, but then he gave Yoruichi a skeptical glance. “You, uh, might want to be in your normal form for this.”
About ten minutes later – because Yoruichi decided to take her sweet time changing, Ichigo led his father and the other Shinigami into the deep volcanic caverns beneath Infernity, near the font of his power, the Irameron.
Briefly, Ichigo cast his gaze over the environment.
The underground cavern was immense, its distant ceiling barely visible through the thick demonic miasma hanging in the air. Rivers of lava cut through the black stone while streams of magma poured from cracks high above, casting the entire cavern in a dull red glow. The ambient Demonic energies were so dense that they physically manifested in the immense and oppressive heat within the region.
“Did you bring us to Hell!?”
Ichigo turned around to see Yoruichi glaring outraged at him.
“No, but we’re as close as you can get without actually stepping inside.” He then frowned. “Well, metaphysically close, anyways. You can’t exactly be close to something that exists outside of time and space.”
His words didn’t seem to have any sort of calming effect as Yoruichi still looked around quite perturbed. The rest of the Shinigami had similar expressions… well, except for Urahara. Hat-n-Clogs was not so subtly grabbing bits of rock and dust from the ground and dropping them into sealed vials, much to Ichigo’s exasperation.
“It’s reminiscent of Hueco Mundo,” Rukia said, her expression one of utter distaste.
“What? This doesn’t look anything like that miserable place!” Ichigo said, mildly affronted.
Rukia fixed him with a flat look. “As if this pit is any less miserable. No, you fool. I meant the atmosphere – it’s equally repulsive and vile. Every inch of this place screams hostility.”
“But in a different way,” his father commented with a heavy grimace. “The oppressiveness of Hueco Mundo steals one’s vitality, like a voracious animal trying to hopelessly fill its unending hunger. But here… it feels like the very air wants to invade me, dig its claws and tear me our from the inside.”
“Yes,” Tessai-san said as he fixed his glasses and looked at the far-off darkness that covered the ceiling. “I had the very same impression as soon as we came here. It’s clearly not Reishi, but whatever energy is natural to this very unnatural place, it wants to infect me.”
Ichigo looked on mildly impressed, but then again, he really shouldn’t be surprised. They were both over a century old and former Captains of the Gotei 13 – they didn’t get those positions by not being the very best Soul Society had to offer. Sometimes he really did undersell the Shinigami.
Not for the first time did Ichigo lament his lack of knowledge about the Japanese afterlife. If he hadn’t been so consumed with training and raw power, he would have loved to learn the finer nuances and lore of the Shinigami and their methods.
Ah well, what was done was done. He could catch up on it all in the centuries to come.
“This is a byproduct of your power, Kurosaki-san?” Urahara asked as he grabbed another sample for himself.
“Yup,” Ichigo said. “And you’re both spot on, dad and Tessai-san. Hollows are all about filling an empty void. Demons, on the other hand, are all about corrupting and twisting what already exists in aberrations. Two different kinds of evil.”
“Both of which, you’ve become, Kurosaki-san?” Urahara said with a teasing hint, but Ichigo caught the cautious undertone, nonetheless.
Ichigo gave an assenting nod. “You all knew about my Hollow issues before even I did. As for the Demon bit – well, Demons are the ancestors of the Devils. In many ways, Devils are a form of magical de-evolution as, with enough power and intent, they can turn into Demons. But it requires inviting a bit of Hell inside of you and using its infernal powers to rewrite one’s existence. In my case, Hell was already there, quite a bit of it too. But Zangetsu always held it at bay, keeping it from consuming me.”
His father sighed sadly, looking away, while the others frowned heavily.
“My former boss, the Devil, used an immensely powerful ritual to use the bit of Hell to turn me into a Demon, and then pumped me with a specific piece of Hell that makes me Satan – which is as much a metaphysical station as it is a title and name.”
“And you just let him?” Isshin asked, a touch of desperation and confusion coloring his voice.
“He didn’t actually give me a choice,” Ichigo said sardonically. “To the surprise of no one, the Devil doesn’t care much for consent. Not so long as it gets him what he wants. Also, being manipulated and lied to seems to have been the core theme of my teenage years,”
His father and Urahara visibly flinched, while Tessai-san looked incredibly grim. As for Yoruichi and Rukia; they both gazed at him sadly, equal measures of regret and heartache reflecting in their eyes.
Though Ichigo stopped himself from sighing and he kept his expression neutral.
“In the long run, it worked in my favor,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m more powerful now than I’ve ever been. And, ironically, I’m now free of Sirzechs – the Devil guy; my former boss – and I no longer have to listen to him.”
They all continued to stare silently at him, their gazes filled with immense sadness and remorse. However, Ichigo merely rolled his eyes and fixed his father with a wry look, “You’ve met Tiamat: I’m fine. Hell – pardon the pun – I’m happy.”
Rather uncharacteristically, Urahara let out a deep sigh and said in a quiet voice, “And yet, I feel as if I have failed you, Kurosaki-san. And that I owe you a deep apology.”
“Yeah, that’s actually the demonic energy fucking with your minds and making you feel depressed,” Ichigo said dryly.
They all looked at him in surprise and Rukia asked, “Really?”
Ichigo nodded. “Yeah, it’s not actual guilt. The ambience is just fucking with you. Out of curiosity, do the Shinigami have any form of psychic protections and ways to guard the mind?”
He was lying through his teeth and deflecting, of course. They were all powerful enough to resist this much demonic corrosion on their own, but he really wasn’t in the mood for another pity party and a round of apologies.
“There are a few techniques,” Tessai-san answered. “Mostly meditative and chiefly used for communing with our Zanpakutō.”
“Right, remind me to send you more books,” he said scratching the back of his head, another thing to add to the ever-growing list for Meril.
“Circling back, Kurosaki-san,” and there was something dangerous glinting in Urahara’s eyes now, “that ritual you mentioned, for creating Demons… any chance I could study it?”
“Fuck no!” Ichigo exclaimed.
“Over my dead body!” Yoruichi shouted as she hit the eccentric shopkeeper on the back of his head.
“I would rather see you dead!” His father spat.
“I would immediately request your execution from Central 46,” Rukia said coldly.
“That would be ill-advised, Urahara-san,” Tessai said calmly.
Urahara deflated on the spot and poked the ground dejectedly with his paper-fan. “So mean!”
Ichigo glared at his one-time zanjutsu teacher, both horrified and outraged at the idea of Urahara of all people possessing the knowledge on how to create Demons by invoking Hell. It was literally counted amongst the most vile and profane dark magic in all of existence. The sheer pandemonium and crisis the over-curious and ambitious man could unleash with such knowledge…
“Okay, I think I’ve made my point and have done enough show and tell,” Ichigo said, beginning to regret bringing Urahara into Infernity. “Time for all of you to go back to Earth.”
“Wait!” Urahara immediately jumped up in protest.
Ichigo glared at him darkly. “If you think I’m stupid enough to trust your lying, manipulative ass with the level of forbidden knowledge that is-”
“No, no, no,” Urahara interjected as he waved his hands dismissively. “You’ve all quite rudely made your sentiments known! It’s just…” And the man trailed off as he began stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his haori only to pull out a large round-looking device.
Ichigo was surprised for a second before realizing that the man probably expanded space within his own sleeved for storage. Which was rather clever of him, he thought to himself. It was a common trend in the Underworld, especially with women’s purses and travel backpacks.
“I feel like I’m going to regret asking, but what the Hell is that, Hat-n-Clogs?”
“Why I’m glad you asked, Kurosaki-san!” He said merrily. “You see, ever since our last encounter, I’ve been trying to analyze your energy and properly document it! Alas, you never seem to leave much of it lying around! Much to your credit, you’re considerably better at controlling your power now than you were all those years ago!”
“Thanks… I think.”
“Don’t mention it,” he waved at him with a laugh. “But you see, this little device will help me get an accurate reading on your power. If you would be so kind as to indulge me and ‘flex your aura’ as the kids say, I would greatly appreciate it!”
Yoruichi dropped her head into an open palm with a dramatic sigh. “Sometimes it’s so embarrassing being friends with you, Kisuke.”
“Now, now, Yoruichi-san! Don’t be like that!” Urahara said jovially. “There’s nothing wrong with asking my protégé to help with an experiment!”
“I’m not your protégé,” Ichigo said in annoyance. Lucifer, Urahara and Sirzechs were so irritatingly similar in the worst ways.
However, Ichigo let out a sigh and began to walk away while calling over his shoulder, “You better put up a barrier, otherwise you will get hurt.”
Tessai-san immediately began moving his hands and started a long Kidō chant, and several seconds later, a large semi-transparent blue barrier surrounded all of the Shinigami. But then Tessai-san let out a surprised sound. “Oh dear, the demonic energy is already trying to corrode away at the barrier! Nothing I can’t handle, but it requires active reinforcing on my part.”
“And that’s why Demons aren’t allowed in afterlives,” Ichigo said loudly over the distance. “Souls and spiritual energies are uniquely vulnerable to our power.” Just as Demons and Devils were naturally weak to Holy energies. “Speaking of which, that’s not enough. You’re all going to have to reinforce that barrier.”
They exchanged surprised looks, but within seconds, all of them were actively channeling their Reiatsu into the barrier, layering it with their power and making it stronger by several fold. He looked on appreciatively, he wasn’t particularly talented with barriers and binding spells, but he always respected the versatility and flexibility that experienced casters had. And, if that plan of his he discussed with Yasaka and Tiamat worked out, it was an oversight and weakness that would be covered very soon.
Satisfied with the fortitude of their Kidō, Ichigo reached into his soul and touched Zangetsu and his Sin. Not too much, he told them warningly.
But they still roared to life, and Satan’s eyes bled red.
=======
And Kurosaki Isshin forgot to breathe.
His heart caught in his throat as dark fire exploded from the outline of his son, and an instant later a malignant pressure crashed down upon his shoulders, like a thousand searing knives slowly slicing across his skin. Every instinct he possessed screamed at him to flee, while something deep within his soul recoiled in revulsion and horror.
Abomination.
The thing standing in the darkness still wore Ichigo's face, yet Isshin found himself unable to reconcile the son he loved with whatever monstrosity stood there now, staring down on them all like some great evil beast sneering at a gnat.
And gone were Masaki’s warm and emotive eyes, replaced instead with baleful crimson fire that burned with a seething hatred.
And the monster wearing Ichigo’s face twisted; rose and writhed in shadows of black and red like some horrid abyssal serpent, and all the while it kept its loathsome gaze fixed upon them all. He could literally feel its murderous desire assail his mind and twist its way like worms through his thoughts.
The world trembled with a pained cry, the ground beneath his feet shook and cracked, letting out a hiss of dark miasma and burning fire. It was only the startled yell of Tessai that shook him from the thundering panic in his veins as he put his focus back onto the Kidō barrier so that it would also cover the space beneath their feet.
It comes from below.
And the words rocked his mind, his Reishi control momentarily slipping as the wretched imagery of some foul, fiery monstrosity crawling its way from the darkest depths of Hell to sink its talons into his soul suddenly filled his thoughts.
In his mind’s eye he saw the moon being cleft in twain and crumbling ashen, and all the world could hear the thing’s maniacal laughter, filled with slaughter and violence.
And all of, all of it, filled him with a deep abiding fury.
Because of Kisuke…
This was entirely Kisuke’s fault!
If that manipulative bastard hadn't dragged Ichigo into his schemes against Aizen, none of this would have happened! His son would have lived a normal life! He would have gone to university, gotten married, had children, and worried about ordinary things instead of being consumed by whatever freakish monstrosity this was!
Then the anger turned inward.
Because what kind of father had he been? He had hidden the truth and kept family secrets. Left Ichigo alone to stumble through the world that neither cared about nor understood that he was a heartbroken teenager. If Isshin had done better, if he had been honest from the beginning, perhaps then he’d still have a son.
Yet even that wasn't enough.
His gaze locked onto the burning silhouette before him and nausea twisted in his stomach. How could Ichigo have allowed this? How could he have been stupid enough to accept a deal from the Devil? No, this thing wasn't his son. It was just some vile creature wearing his son’s face like a mocking mask.
For one horrifying moment, Isshin's hand twitched toward Engetsu, and it was only the fact that he was still in his gigai and his Zanpakutō was still inside of his soul that kept him from drawing the blade.
He could do it; he should do it! He should cut down this unholy aberration masquerading as his Ichigo, if only to avenge his son!
And then just as quick, he would turn his blade on Kisuke! Lopping his worthless head from his foul neck! And all the rest! Everyone who ever harmed his family he would drown the streets of Soul Society in their blood and –
The pressure vanished.
The hateful whispers clawing through Isshin's mind fell silent and he stumbled forward and fell to his knees, sucking in a ragged breath as though he had just emerged from the ocean’s grip.
Isshin’s eyes fell on his hand, and he slowly lifted his right arm to see it shaking with violent tremors, his entire arm dripping with sweat. Around him, the others looked little better, all of them gasping and struggling to gather their wits. And only then, with the corruption gone, did the sheer horror of what he had just been thinking begin to settle over him.
Ancestors above… did I really just consider killing my own son?
A fresh wave of nausea and revulsion twisted through his stomach. And he wasn’t the only one, poor Rukia then vomited the contents of her stomach on the spot, and she quickly began to dry-heave and cough.
Unlike the rest of them, she didn’t have the raw Reiatsu of a captain-class Shinigami.
The soft crunch of footfalls made him look up, and he saw Ichigo slowly approaching them, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked at them mildly surprised.
“Gotta say, I’m impressed,” his son said lightly. “Mind you, I wasn’t going all out, but none of you were even in Bankai and you still stood through it all. The average soul would have gone insane with that level of demonic exposure.”
Isshin merely stared horrified and his words came out breathless. “Ichigo… what the Hell have you become?”
Ichigo just shrugged.
“I’m Satan.”
=======
A/N: As the title suggests, the core theme of this chapter is perceptions. Ichigo's perceptions of Satan (both as his identity and as a Mantle) versus everyone else who looking from the outside in. It's a continuation of Set's philsophical query of who defines the role: the actor or the audience?
One of the most vivid memories I have of Bleach was during the Las Noches arc and Harribel is watching from afar with her Fraccion as Ichigo and Grimmjow fight. She is genuinely perplexed that Ichigo is a human because of how sinister his reiatsu feels - she comments it was if she were watching two Espada fighting. Ichigo, as person, remains the same. But his power and the projection of that power feel dark and twisted and evil.
The closing scene with Isshin was exactly that. Satan projected onto the eyes of another - an unholy, monstrous abomination that corrupts the mind and souls, twisting thoughts into violence and barbarity. Nonetheless, Ichigo remains the same as ever: irreverent of his own station, casual and unbothered like it's just another day.
The scene with Rias and Akeno was bringing closure to Akeno's little character growth arc within DMAW. She's fallen in love - but she knows full well that the man she's in love with doesn't see her the same and his heart is set elsewhere. But she's a Devil, and Devils are greedy when it comes to their desires. Want-Take-Have. She's going to go for it - because she's tired of regrets and what ifs and could have beens. Besides, seducing a taken man and having an affair? She's totally in to that.
Hope you enjoyed, see you next week!