Bleached

Chapter 22

Bleached

Chapter 21: War part 3

Disclaimer: pretend there is one.

Without further ado...

§Central 46, a couple of days before the invasion§

Ichigo fought hard not to sigh in frustration. As expected the Central Idiots had began running like headless chicken at the first mention that, for all intents and purposes, they were at war. Of course, it wasn't as bad as it could've been without Ichigo's influence, but still. Ichigo didn't want to deal with cowards who were only looking out for their own hide. Finally getting tired of the sulking and scared old farts, the orange haired captain let loose a bit of his reiatsu, which brought the now quiet room's attention to himself. Ichigo took a deep breath.

"Are you done panicking? No? Well, guess what, it doesn't matter. Get over it. The Gotei already have a plan which will, ah, allow you to sit this one out. You'll be transported to Hueco Mundo along with the rest of the civilians. Don't worry, there will be shinigami soldiers there to protect your miserable behinds. The Gotei will deal with the Quincies and clen your mess, as we always do." the insults seemed to have no impact, as they were used to it, but the old farts did calm down considerably, although they didn't look totally placated.

"Why haven't you called the Royal Guard? Are you that sure that you'll be able to stop them?" one of the few women asked. Ichigo stared at her.

"The Royal Guard is there to guard the King, if you've indeed forgotten, Lady Miko. And we've been training for this for the past 150 years. We'll be just fine." as he said this, Ichigo could still feel some doubt. He braced himself.

"What exactly is the battle plan, Captain Shiba? We know from what you've told that the Quincy King gains power from the death of his...children. How exactly do you plan to deal with that?" Ichigo sent an appraising look towards the Head of Council for the actually competent question.

"Juuhabach, as we know is barely hanging on to sanity. In the previous timeline, we noticed that the more powerful he became, the more reckless his actions became, until he was completely gone. He was the most powerful man in the Universes, yes, but he couldn't control that power. And the fact that he didn't realize how insane he was allowed us to take him down. So the plan is to kill the Vandendreich and the Sternritter except Haschwalth, and drive Juuhabach insane with the power boost. Trust me, a powerful but insane Quincy King is far less dangerous than a sane and slightly less powerful one. Of course, it won't be easy, as he will be the strongest man in the Universes, but it's our best bet." The Head of Council looked troubled by the answer, but seemed to accept it readily. A curious look overtook his wrinkly features.

"Why spare Haschwalth?" the old man asked, causing Ichigo to smirk slightly.

"Killing Haschwalth would give some semblance of sanity back to Juuhabach, as he is a genius several times over. We can't have that. Also, Haschwalth is already questioning his choice to follow Juuhabach. " the old man didn't seem satisfied.

"And after that?" Ichigo shrugged carelessly.

"We kill him. Or imprison him."

§Seiretei, battleground, where we left off §

They were standing near Soukyouko Hill, and Ichigo thought that Fate's sense of irony was shining through- after all, this was where it all started in many was for Ichigo, and today, it would end. Ichigo regarded Juuhabach with a calmness he didn't actually feel. The orange haired man was wary, and he knew that with the recent death of the Vandendreich, Juuhabach would be as strong, if not stronger than him. But he was determined to fight, to protect every one of his friends ,until the last of his breath. The fact that Juuhabach obviously knew something about him didn't matter to Ichigo. The past rarely mattered when you were trying to save the universe. But it did pique his interest for how much the Quincy King knew. Regardless, there were other things that needed to be taken care of. With that thought in mind, the orange haired man shunpoed towards the clique of Captains and Vice-Captains that were standing on the Hill. Nodding in greeting, he explained what they needed to do.