Chapter 17
CAN'T live without YOU, INSANITY born from LOVE.
000
Flashback
In the shadows of Ishida Manor, silence loomed heavy in the air. Moonlight streamed through the curtains, creating flickering shapes on the walls. Ichigo sat on the bed, deep in conversation with his inner world tenants.
"Yhwach-ossan..." Ichigo called, curious about something that bugging on his mind.
"Yes?" Yhwach-ossan replied, a hint of concern in his voice.
"How am I alive as Echt Quincy?" Ichigo asked, his voice curious.
"Elaborate, Ichigo?" Yhwach-ossan asked, his voice gentle.
"Well... How did my sisters and I became Echt? Shouldn't we become Gemischt because dad was a Shinigami?" Ichigo asking for clarification.
"A good question, Ichigo." Yhwach-ossan said. "What do you know about Gemischt?"
"They're mixed, right?" Ichigo replied, confusion reflected on his face.
"Almost, but not exactly." Yhwach-ossan hummed thoughtfully.
"I don't understand, Yhwach-ossan." Ichigo looked confused.
"Many people misunderstand Echt and Gemischt nature." Yhwach-ossan began. "Echt are pureblood Quincy, remember?"
"Yes...so?" Ichigo replied.
"Why do children of two Echt become Echt?" Yhwach-ossan asked.
"Because both parents are Echt?" Ichigo replied, still confused about it.
"On the surface, yes," Yhwach-ossan said. "But Quincy purity comes from Reishi. Imagine Echt as a plus (+) and Gemischt as a minus (-). When a plus marries a plus, they create another plus."
"So, a plus and a minus create a minus, which is Gemischt?" Ichigo said.
"That's the basic idea, but it's not the whole truth." Yhwach-ossan said, explained what most Quincy unaware of.
"There's more?" Ichigo asked, his eyes widening.
"Think of Kishi as a physical body, a material body that can't use Reishi—like a regular person." Yhwach-ossan paused. "When an Echt is born, their material body is full of Reishi. That's why Echt children of Echt parents are Echt; both parents give half their Reishi, making a whole."
"So, if an Echt marries a normal person without Reishi, their child inherits only half of the Reishi potential, making them Gemischt?" Ichigo asked, speculation running through his mind.
"Exactly, Ichigo." Yhwach-ossan replied. "A single Echt gives half their Quincy potential, but a normal person has no Reishi, effectively reducing the Quincy potential. This case happens even when an Echt marries a Gemischt. The Echt parent supplies half potential, but the Gemischt parent provides less than half Reishi potential—diminished by the Kishi—thus creating another Gemischt child."
Ichigo pondered. "So, Kishi weakened the Reishi potential, making them Gemischt?"
"Indeed. There's another case." Yhwach-ossan nodded slowly. "Quincy aren't resistant to Hollow Reishi. It's poisonous to them. It weakens the Quincy who's been exposed. That in turn weakens their Reishi potential—and their kids become Gemischt."
Ichigo tilted his head. "My mom was exposed to White. Did I get poisoned too?"
Yhwach-ossan shook his head. "No, Ichigo. You weren't poisoned."
"But why? Shouldn't I be Gemischt, not Echt?"
"Based on what I've observed, your mother should've been afflicted by Hollow's taint. A child born to her would likely be Gemischt. But something stopped it."
"Something?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "Do you know who stop it?"
"I don't." Yhwach-ossan sighed. "Maybe someone your mother knew. I don't know the exact way it worked. But this 'something' separated your mother's Reishi soul from the Hollow Reishi. It kept her Reishi soul safe, even when her soul was exposed to hollow Reishi."
"So, a kind of shield?" Ichigo asked.
"Exactly." Yhwach-ossan confirmed. "And then, your mother married a Shinigami. Not just any Shinigami, but a Shingetsu Shinigami."
Ichigo's brow furrowed. "A Shingetsu Shinigami?"
"Shingetsu Shinigami－a true blood Shinigami are born in Seireitei," Yhwach-ossan explained. "They're born with a lot of Reishi."
"So, my dad had pure Reishi soul," Ichigo said. "And my mom too. That means I'm born pure, both Shinigami and Quincy."
"Exactly," Yhwach-ossan confirmed. "Purity is all about Reishi, not Reiatsu."
"Wow," Ichigo said. "Everything's getting more complicated."
"It's part of growing up," Yhwach-ossan chuckled. "You have a lot to learn."
Flashback end.
000
The Shiba family name echoed darkly in his mind. They were the architects behind Adyneus's transformation into the Soul King. A chill slithered down his spine. Fear wrapped around him like a vice, squeezing tight, and a freezing grip settled in his gut. The very notion felt monstrous and twisted, like a nightmare he couldn't wake from.
Isshin's connection to the Shiba loomed large, a shadow that felt increasingly suffocating. Trembling, he fought against the dread that threatened to consume him.
Could it really be true? The closer he approached the truth, the more it gnawed at him.
Did Kurosaki－Shiba Isshin know about the Soul King?
Was Shiba Isshin capable of turning his own son into the Soul King?
Panic set in. The idea of being sacrificed by Shinigami or Isshin sparked terror. He envisioned losing himself completely. Becoming something unrecognizable. Broken beyond repair.
Help me. Save me.
The desperation clawed at him. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his heart raced uncontrollably. The fear of becoming the Soul King pressed down on him, each heartbeat echoing a silent plea.
He couldn't shake the thought that if Shiba Isshin had any part in this, it would mean betrayal. A family legacy twisted into something foul. There was no way out. Only a dark fate that trembled on the edge of his reality.
Ichigo raise his knees into his chest, trembling in fear. "Yhwach-ossan...." Ichigo paused, desperation engulfed his heart. "What made you want to protect me? You're someone I look up to, but I know so little about you…"
"Is this because of Aizen Sousuke's words weighing on your mind?" Yhwach-ossan inquire with gentle tone, patting Ichigo's back with his hand.
"I just....need answers, Yhwach-ossan." Ichigo voice filled with vulnerability.
"Do you remember when I said I'm Yhwach's fragment?" Yhwach-ossan said, voice laced with warmth.
"Yeah, why?"
"My last memory as the original Yhwach? It was my death at Yamamoto Shigekuni's hands."
"And then?"
"I didn't think I'd wake up in your inner world. Honestly, I had no clue what to expect." Yhwach-ossan's voice trembled.
"Deep down, I dream of a place where I can exist in peace. If such a place exists, then everything should be right in the world. No pain. No suffering. No harm. A paradise without death." Yhwach-ossan continued, "And yet, in your inner world, I thought I found my dream. It felt like my deepest wish had come true. Everything was so calming. So peaceful. There was no death. If I existed in a place like that, surely it couldn't be real."
"How do you know it was real, Yhwach-ossan?"
"It was you, Ichigo…"
"Me?"
"You were crying at that time." Yhwach-ossan mused.
"Crying?"
"You were just a baby, Ichigo. It made sense for you to cry. If you hadn't, I would've known it was just an illusion. Instead, your inner world welcomed me as part of you. A piece of your Quincy Potential. I felt no pain. No suffering. No fear of death. As long as you lived, I wouldn't experience fear of death again. For the first in my life I experienced peace like no other."
"If you were already in me as a baby, why didn't you reach out sooner?"
"It was gratitude."
"Gratitude?"
"You gifted me a world free from the fear of death. So, as thanks, I stayed out of your life until you needed me. I wanted you to live freely, without my influence. But then your mother died unexpectedly. You stopped crying. Instead, I felt your sorrow fall on me like rain. I sensed your sadness, your loss, your helplessness. To stop that rain, I chose to intervene. That's when we finally met."
"Oh... so you want to protect me out of gratitude? That's it?"
"You brought me hope, Ichigo. A future. A peaceful place I never thought I could have. To repay you, I want to be your strength."
"That's all you want?"
"Yes, Ichigo. I'm content. My heart knows no regret being with you. I want to be with you."
Yhwach-ossan lifted Ichigo, cradling him on his lap. He held him gently, but there was a desperation in his grip.
"Every time I see you, joy floods my heart. When you're happy, warmth spreads through me. Your successes make me proud. I don't want to hold you back; I want to stand by you at every turn, through each milestone." Yhwach-ossan continued, "As I watch you grow, my heart trembles. I chose to support you. Ichigo... being by your side is a blessing. What more could I want?"
"Yhwach-ossan?" Ichigo worries for his mentor unusual behavior.
"I'm greedy, Ichigo. I'm full of selfish desires. Eternity with you is one of them. Just us, forever. I won't care if the world burns. I won't care if people die." Ossan's hands trembled as he held Ichigo, his grip firm yet fragile, as if Ichigo was glass, easily broken.
Yhwach-ossan touched Ichigo's face, tears spilling from his eyes. Ichigo instinctively wiped them away, a child's tenderness.
"You won't end up like my father. You won't become the Soul King. You must live, Ichigo. You can't die. Stay with me. Don't leave me. Don't die, Ichigo..." His voice was desperate, each repetition of Ichigo's name like a plea.
Madness danced in Yhwach-ossan's gaze, a mixture of obsession and care. His voice was shaky, transformed into a prayer, a man lost in a desert clinging to a mirage of hope. He pulled Ichigo close, as if Ichigo was his lifeline, a source of life itself.
Ichigo wrapped his arms around him, feeling the weight of Yhwach-ossan's need.
"Yhwach-ossan, eternity with you isn't so bad. Let's live together..." Ichigo's voice was soft, tinged with childlike desperation, the longing for a father's love echoing in his words.
As Ichigo rested his head on Yhwach-ossan's chest, he listened to the steady thump of his heart, a rhythm that felt warm and safe. Time drifted away in that embrace, heavy with unspoken madness. Yhwach-ossan laid Ichigo's head on a pillow, covering him with a blanket, his touch protective yet possessive. He snuggled close, warmth wrapping around Ichigo like a shield, holding on tightly, guarding against the world outside.
"Promise me something, Ichigo."
"What is it, Yhwach-ossan?" Ichigo's voice wavered, caught between curiosity and worries.
Yhwach-ossan's gaze bore into him, eyes shining with an unsettling urgency. "If everything falls apart, you will never be the Soul King."
Those words sent a shiver through Ichigo. It was more than just concern; it was a deep-rooted fright for him. For what he could become. Yhwach-ossan's grip tightened, as if warding off a dark shadow lurking nearby.
Ichigo's pulse quickened. "I promise."
Relief mixed with dread. What was so frightening about being the Soul King? The thought gnawed at him, unsettling and relentless.
"Really, Ichigo?" Yhwach-ossan's tone dripped with desperation. The weight pressed heavily upon Ichigo.
"Yes, with my life," he assured, managing a brave smile.
Yhwach-ossan's face relaxed, a glimmer of hope in his expression. Yet, deep down, Ichigo felt that promise weigh heavily within him. The fear simmered, unshakable.
"I'm glad Yhwach-ossan doesn't want me to become the Soul King."
His heart craved just one thing: the unconditional love that filled the empty spaces of his soul. Just the warmth that made him feel safe. Yet, deep down, madness whispered—a longing for nothing less than Yhwach-ossan's love.
Would he shatter Yhwach-ossan's heart if he fail?
Yet somewhere within, a flicker of selfishness throbbed.
Wasn't it enough to just be held? To remain in this obsessive embrace?
The darkness of their connection twisted and turned, love warped into something almost mad.
Would he disappoint Yhwach-ossan?
Could he dare to call Yhwach-ossan 'Father'? Just this once, could he cling to that wish?
Was it wrong to want Yhwach-ossan as his father?
Just this once, could he be a little spoiled?
He wrapped the blanket tighter, comforted by Yhwach-ossan's presence, but his fear lingered. He craved that love—a desperate hunger gnawed at him.
But he stopped, emotions too raw to speak freely. In the denial of his own longing, Ichigo settled for, "I love you..." His voice trembled, a mere whisper, fragile and full of hope. He waited, heart racing, for Yhwach-ossan's response. His eyes shone with a storm of emotions, a blend of vulnerability and longing that clashed within him.
Ichigo wrestled with the ache for fatherly love and acceptance. He buried his selfish feelings, desperate for reassurance.
Yhwach-ossan smiled gently, "My love is yours for eternity." The words wrapped around Ichigo like a warm blanket—a promise he hadn't dared to believe.
Surprised, tears welled in Ichigo's eyes. Yhwach-ossan pulled him close, enveloping him in a tender embrace, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. Beneath that kiss lay an unbreakable vow—to protect this love and the warmth it brought fiercely. To shield Ichigo from despair, to guard him against the weight of becoming the Soul King.
"My beloved son... Ichigo..." Each word dripped with an obsessive affection that only a father could hold. A father's love intertwined with an unwavering possessiveness. A madness that came from love.
"Father...."
It was a love entwined with an unwavering possession. Love like this could drive one to madness but Ichigo embraced it.
It was this possessiveness that comforted him. In that embrace, warmth flourished. It was more than just care; it was everything he had yearned for all along.
Ichigo found solace in the embrace. Safety wrapped around him, filling the gaps that loneliness often carved. He craved this love-filled madness.
"Father…" His voice trembled with a child's longing. He searched the depths of his father's eyes, where he saw madness shimmering. Amid Yhwach's darkness, Ichigo felt no fear. Somehow, that chaotic love reassured him.
Even if his father sought to end the world or waging war, Ichigo couldn't imagine life without him. He yearned for this bond, this fierce loyalty born from such possessive affection. In the arms of his father, he felt safe.
"Ichigo... I'll protect you...." Each word dripped with a love that was both deep and suffocating. A father's love wrapped Ichigo in a cocoon of affection, blending tenderness with a fierce possessiveness. It was a madness stirred by love, yet it felt like a warm blanket on a cold night.
He saw the madness in Yhwach's soul. Yes, it was there—empty darkness mixed with ferocity. But that didn't scare Ichigo. He felt comforted in the calamity that engulfed his father's power. Ichigo felt that warmth flourish, nestled in the madness of his father's embrace.
Even if his father sought to challenge gods or descended into evil, Ichigo wouldn't waver. He would stand by his side. Life without his father was unthinkable.
"Goodnight Ichigo.... "