The Heart [Ichigo, Komamura]

Following this terrible war which instilled fear in hearts came a massive armored fist which fell upon Ichigo like the Heavens themselves. The earth shook as a towering figure suddenly appeared in front of the two-time interloper, one armored practically head to toe in thick and heavy tan plates which only added to the incredible weight pressing down on him.

"You would raise your blade against the same Soul Society you fought and bled to save?!" Sajin Komamura's wrath exploded, his Reiatsu slamming into the much smaller man like a raging river. "I recognized your Reiatsu, but I could not believe your heart had blackened so, Ichigo!"

Knowing his enemy was not fragile in the slightest, Sajin swung his other anvil-sized fist directly into Ichigo's skull. Though the strange heart that beat within him often bestowed upon him a serene calmness, in times such as this it beat harder and stronger, filling him with fire and rage. But it wasn't just wrath in his furious roars, sorrow and regret permeated his words. He had come to vanquish Soul Society's enemies, not an old friend.

There was no doubt in Sajin's mind what was coming as Ichigo separated from him and spoke those famous, now infamous, words aloud. When the oceanic wave of energy split the sky and threatened to crash into him, Komamura brought his hand to the sword at his hip and drew it, slashing through the air. Above him a translucent arm of colossal size swung an even larger blade at the Getsuga Tensho, colliding with it and sending forth a shockwave that cracked the earth and Heavens.

"You may be fighting for a friend, but to let you live here is to damn others to death. Ichigo Kurosaki, let it be my hand that strikes you down so we may both repent for our sins!"

The ambient energy from Ichigo's attack had traveled past Sajin's Shikai and slammed into his armored body, cracking his helmet and creating a fissure in his breastplate. He removed and discarded his helmet, revealing for the first time in a century his identity to Soul Society. His eyes told the story of a man grizzled by experience and time, but there was no hatred in his gaze.

Stepping forward, Sajin raised his sword arm high into the air and swung it down in a brutal arc, the gigantic spectral arm and blade following suit in order to slam into Ichigo with force enough to level a section of the Seireitei.

The height from which Ichigo Kurosaki had fallen was nearly unfathomable to Sajin, or at least it would have been had he not already experienced such betrayal from a long time friend, a man he once called brother. He, too, believed what he was doing was the correct course; and just like him, Ichigo would have to be brought to justice.

It wasn't fear that permeated Sajin's heart as a mask appeared across Ichigo's face, but even still he felt the seriousness of such an evolution. The air grew still, like a living soul unable to stand against the weight of the pressure set upon it. Komamura assumed a battle stance, his weapon held at his side to guard against whatever this foe threw at him; but not even he could follow the Arrancar's movements as he felt Ichigo's presence appear behind him, and he knew it was too late.

Searing pain radiated through Sajin's back as the world grew dark around him, his body overwhelmed by the torrent of all-consuming energy. Dust filled the air, mixing with ash and heat to choke his lungs; but they were nothing to him. Pain and destruction were simple distractions.


From within the catastrophe, a roar bellowed out which could be heard for as far as the Cero Oscuras had devastated. A torrential gust blew away the billowing smoke, a consequence of the mere act of a building sized foot falling upon Ichigo to crush him into nothing. The entire Seireitei was shaken to its very foundation, a powerful earthquake opening great chasms across the battlefield around the duo who's might touched the Heavens.



Though blood drenched his back, and his armor lay in ruins, Komamura's Reiatsu and gaze only grew in ferocity from these clashes. He would wear every injury, no matter their severity, as proof of his penance.

Perhaps his strength surprised his enemy, or perhaps Ichigo was just playing it safe. Either way, Komamura knew against a man like this he needed to press any advantage he held, lest he find himself on the back foot. The field of static in front of him made clear the gap in speed between the two, but there were ways for him to fight people like this; after all, Tosen had always been faster, but he has his own strengths.

Even as the first slash dug through his flesh, Komamura raised his Zanpakuto in defiance. The colossal titan standing over him did the same. As Ichigo struck Sajin with his sword, he may notice with each slash it's blade would find the wounds marked upon the Captain's body more and more shallow. And if he was attentive enough, he may even notice the subtle effect of ambient Reishi being pulled into Sajin's chest, precisely where his heart was located.

The consequence of such monumental attacks like Getsuga Tensho and Cero Oscuras was made clear as Sajin swung his Zanpakuto into the ground in front of him, first opening a chasm in the Seireitei that extended for a hundred feet, the air pressure in front of his blade enough to blow away buildings. Then came Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō's titanic sword, splitting the earth as if Hell itself was rising to the surface. In a blink a canyon as grand as any was cut from the ground of the Seireitei, its length further reaching than any eyes could behold. Every remaining building and road, the Senzaikyū, all of it was rent from the Seireitei as if none of it had ever been.

Komamura knew he and Ichigo were maybe irreparably changing landscape that had existed for thousands of years, but Soul Society could rebuild as it always had. If it survived.

Whatever would be said of this battle afterward, it would be said amongst desolation, for as the sky darkened above Komamura it was as if the world was ending. What could be done in the face of such power? What did Yamamoto do when staring his own defeat and demise in the eyes as he faced down the greatest enemy both the living and dead had ever seen? He stood his ground, and he fought to the end no matter the consequences.

And so did Sajin Komamura.

Thank you, Tenken.

A pulse would be felt across all of the Seireitei, as if the city itself held its ear to Soul Society's chest, it's heart beating a singular time. Flames erupted from the shadows of the titan's sunken eyes, its colossal body seemingly brought to life as it swung its blade upwards to meet the ever-growing black falling towards it. Though silence had fallen upon the air, a terrible thunder-like CRACK would be heard all across the Seireitei and beyond as steel met Oscuras. The dome of shadow that resulted would be cataclysmic in nature, but the bulk of it did not reach the ground; Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō and its blade struck with such world-shaking power, catastrophe enveloped it and the sky and not the thousands of souls still in the Seireitei.

As dust settled, a crater would be revealed with Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō at its center. Its armor had been shattered in multiple places leaving it in tatters, its horns cracked and fallen to the ground at its feet. Another second or two of standing was too much as the titan fell to a knee, the resulting quake a mere blip compared to what had already befallen the city. Komamura himself should also be kneeling at its feet..yet, he wasn't. He was nowhere to be seen.

A Spiritual Pressure alien to all, both a combination of Shinigami, human, Quincy, Hollow, and yet at the same time unlike any of them. To Hollows this Reiatsu would feel as if their very antithesis had been brought to life, a life which they would know is their enemy from the tips of their fingers to the back of their necks to where their heart should be. It was purity to their corruption, and at its epicenter stood Komamura Sajin, elevated far above the battleground so he could look the creature who was once Ichigo Kurosaki in its eyes.

Wrath and sorrow filled Sajin, only now there was no sorrow left for his enemy. This was not the young man who once shed blood in defense of friends and strangers alike, he was an enemy who needed to be felled for the good of Soul Society.

Sajin's bond with Tenken was so great they shared in victory and defeat, their pain reflected upon each other as proof; only this time Ichigo forced this bond to become one of sacrifice. As his eyes met Ichigo's, ambient Reishi in even greater amounts than previously flowed into his chest. His beating heart could be heard and felt for miles, each beat stronger than the last.

In a display of speed, which may not have matched Ichigo's own abilities but was a shocking departure from anything Sajin had shown thus far, his hulking body blitzed the Arrancar and swung his Zanpakuto with the fury and might of all those who had been victimized by Ichigo Kurosaki and those he let rampage across Soul Society. Whether his foe defended or attacked back in kind, Komamura did not care; his fist fell upon Ichigo as a meteor. Either of these attacks would be dangerous enough on their own, but the crushing weight of air from them would feel as if Ichigo was trapped at the bottom of an ocean.