The Soul God

Summary: The Hogyoku, the orb that grants wishes of the heart. Aizen fusing with it only subdued it's abilities to the wishes of others as his power and will was superior to theirs. However, Ichigo Kurosaki has plenty of both. So when crossing blades with Aizen, it grants the greatest wish Ichigo had...and its own. The results are startling, to his allies and enemies. Hybrid/Transcended/God Ichigo. Probably Harem.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Regular speak

Thoughts

Demonic or Animalistic speak

Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts

Ichigo stared stonily at Aizen's monstrous form as the black reiatsu surrounded him, forming the Final Getsuga, Mugetsu. Ichigo had been holding off on using this a bit. Partially to see if he could beat Aizen without it, of which he was doubtful, and partially just to unnerve Aizen, since Ichigo felt the man deserved to have the tables turned on him. Mostly though, Ichigo just wanted to experience this power for a bit. It wasn't the power itself so much as the peace that came with it, even as he fought. He, Zangetsu, and his hollow all working as one to defeat their enemy. So rarely had he felt an inner peace like this. If he had to give up his powers, no matter how willingly he would do it with these stakes, then he wanted just a few moments to enjoy this tranquility.

However, that hesitation would be the final undoing of Aizen. The Hogyoku heard Ichigo's heart more and more the longer the two titans clashed. The Hogyoku had a will, in a way. It chose what wishes to grant, how to grant them, and what master to ultimately obey. For the Hogyoku was a lonely and distorted soul. Aizen had exposed hundreds of souls to it, ultimately granting it awareness. However, it too had a wish. A wish to feel complete. That was why it allowed itself to fuse with Aizen. When Aizen had presented the two halves, he only completed their awareness. Fusing with Aizen, it believed it could be alive, in a sense.

However, then the orb sensed HIM. Aizen's enemy, the boy that had power beyond any normal shinigami or vizard. It had felt the human's heart and was in awe. This peace...this was what the Hogyoku had wanted! Then it listened to the heart. A single word rose above all others. Protect…the simplest and most complicated request of all. A request that gave the Hogyoku much leeway to grant its own wish...

When Mugetsu's attack enveloped Aizen, he never even realized that the Hogyoku shattered in his chest. The sheer pain from the annihilation his body was going through numbed his mind to everything. He never even noticed himself dying. For his world was already a void of black before his soul was extinguished...

Ten Minutes Later

Urahara narrowed his eyes as he headed towards the battlefield where Aizen and Ichigo had been fighting. He had been waiting to feel Aizen's reiatsu rise back to its unnoticeable levels after Mugetsu weakened him and for Ichigo's to start to decline…however, neither had happened. In fact, Aizen's had been the one fading away, bit by bit. Even if Ichigo had, by some miracle, killed Aizen, making the kido he had implanted in Aizen pointless, he should have started to lose his powers by now. Something wasn't right, it seemed.

He looked down into a small crater with shocked eyes. There was Aizen's corpse, face down in the ground. Half of it was mostly intact with some remains of the wings from the transformation, and his face was back to normal. However, his entire left side had been destroyed, with some disfigured flesh, or half-done regeneration, replacing it. No skin, just muscle and bones and veins that weren't fully healed or in their proper placement. It made even him a bit queasy for a second.

The body soon started to dissipate into spirit energy, much to Urahara's relief. That meant Aizen wouldn't be coming back in any shape or form, excluding reincarnation, 'Still, where is Ichigo?' He wondered as he lifted his eyes from the body...and got his answer on the opposite side of the crater.

There he stood, his eyes staring right into Urahara's gray ones as Aizen's remains dissolved in front of them. His outfit was like his normal bankai except his clothes were silver gray instead of black, the red underside now blue. Both arms were in his pockets, but Kisuke could still see some kind of gauntlets or guards on his arms made of black metal with purple-blue edges. On the outfit's sash was not one, but two Tensa Zangetsu. One the normal black, but the other was pure white. Not snow white, bone white.

Then there was the mask. Two tribal marks going from the top-down over the eyes and over the mask's teeth. The markings themselves were blue while the rest of the mask was ash grey. The two horns on it just made him all the more intimidating. The thing that caught the exile's attention the most was the eyes though. Though they were black in the whites like a hollow, they weren't yellow. They were still those same brown eyes Urahara remembered; right on back to the day he had met the boy, officially at least. Ichigo never remembered the odd man with a cane that use to stop over with his cat when he was little.

"Ichigo?" Kisuke called, not sure if this was good or bad. Ichigo had changed; he could feel it in the air, some presence washing over everything. Almost unnoticeable, but once you starred at its source, you couldn't miss it.

The masked being tilted its head at the question, as if confused or not sure how to answer. It shrugged in the end, and then walked forward over the crater as if there was a glass walkway over it. Urahara mentally prepared himself to draw his blade if he had to, but was surprised by the creature calmly strolling right by him. Urahara opened his mouth, but closed it as he saw Ichigo's friends approaching from the town, straight to what Urahara had to assume was Ichigo.

Rukia smiled as she saw the very familiar cloak of Ichigo's bankai. He had won, just like she knew he would. She blinked, as did the rest of them as they took in the rest of the approaching figure. That looked like Ichigo's bankai and like his new hollow mask from Uryu and Orihime's description, but the coloring was all off...and he had two swords.

"Ichigo, is that you?" She called in surprise. He never stopped in his walk, making them all a bit on edge. However, he also never made a single aggressive gesture, his hands staying firmly in his pockets. Uryu, knowing full well what Ichigo's hollow side was capable of, prepped his reiatsu to start attacking him if he had to…that got a reaction.

Ichigo stopped suddenly and looked at Uryu, making him stiffen. Then, Ichigo blinked and looked at the group as if he just now noticed them; which, in reality, he had. He locked eyes with Orihime and saw the slight fear she had for him in this form, seeing what the mask had made him into before. Orihime didn't need to see his mouth to tell he was smiling at her though. He still had those kind and vibrant eyes that spoke more than his face ever did.

"Ichigo?" She asked softly, hopefully. He cocked his head again, but this time, she got a different response. The group all stumbled, Urahara included, as they found themselves in another part of Karakura. Just as if nothing had happened, Ichigo started walking again.

"...Did he just flash step us all at once?" Renji asked in shock, "And healed us?" He asked, noting that everyone's injuries were gone, as was Rukia's cast and her arm looked fine.

"...I think he just teleported us, actually." Chad commented as he starred at Ichigo's back, 'Ichigo, is that still you?' He wondered, mirroring everyone's thoughts.

Rukia blinked, having been moving her arm to adjust to it's sudden repair, as she realized where they were, "Wait...this is near his hom-!" She exclaimed with wide eyes before she was interrupted by another voice in the distance.

"Ichigo?" Yuzu asked as she starred with wide eyes at the strange figure before her. She had almost screamed until she saw the eyes…her brother's eyes. "Brother, is that you?" She asked timidly, taking a step closer. Ichigo starred at the girl for a moment and smiled softly as he knelt to her level. No matter what he was, he couldn't forget his sweet little sisters.

Yuzu slowly approached him and touched the mask, shivering at the odd sensation it gave her. It wasn't cold, but it was...strong. That was the only way to describe it. As if she could feel all the energy of a sun in that mask. She gently grasped the two horns and pushed the mask up, before smiling and hugging her brother with happy tears in her eyes. He returned it with one arm while the other fixed the mask.

"...Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's Ichigo." Rukia said with a smile.

"Well, that's a relief." Kisuke said, making them all jump, no one noticing him standing behind the group. "I thought we'd have to face down another nightmare for a second there," He said with a small grin.

"Mr. Urahara," Orihime spoke up softly, getting his attention, "What exactly happened to Ichigo?" She questioned worriedly.

"For once, I have no real idea. The fact that his sister is still alive right now is almost impossible." He said as he observed the transcended hybrid.

"What do you mean?" Uryu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, Ichigo's Reiatsu is on the same level as Aizen's was, and he destroyed souls just by getting near them." He explained as they went wide eyed, all of them not privy to that fact yet.

"He's leaving." Chad said suddenly as they turned and saw Ichigo walking away, Yuzu waving goodbye to him.

"Yuzu, are you okay?" Rukia asked as they approached her.

"Yeah...what happened to Brother, Rukia?" She asked, not a worry in her voice right now.

"...We're not sure. You know where he's going?" Rukia responded gently.

"He said he was going to go fix everything," She said looking at her oddly, "You couldn't hear him?"

"No, should we have?" Renji asked in confusion.

"But he was...," Yuzu started only to blink and look at her retreating brother's back, "Ohh...he says hasn't figured his new powers out yet." She said after a moment.

"...Did he just speak into your mind?" Urahara asked as they all looked stunned.

"...I think so." She said unsurely. It was odd, like his voice echoed a bit...and it made images appear in her mind. When he was telling her how everything would be okay, she saw all of her family happy, together again. When he talked about fixing everything, she saw weird people fighting and a man turning into a white monster-butterfly...and her brother's new form floating above the city before the sky exploded with something purple.

"Ummm, guys?" Uryu called, "We better go. Kurosaki is getting very far away now." He said, sweatdropping at how Ichigo seemed to have sped up when they weren't looking.

The ascended being looked over the street with solemn eyes. The street was littered with bodies, the soulless husks from when Aizen just strolled through it, destroying the very souls of all those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of the traitor. He looked and saw the body of Gin Ichimaru, probably dead or near so. Rangiku Matsumoto sat nearby with her face in her hands, tears long since run dry.

"They're dead...," Orihime said softly as she and the others stood a few feet behind Ichigo, taking in the depressing sight.

"Worse, I'm afraid." Urahara said sadly, the ex-captain tilting his hat out of habit, "Their souls were completely destroyed by Aizen's presence. His reiatsu was just too powerful for them to survive in any shape or form." He explained as they starred in somewhat more horrified fashion, not realizing the full extent of what Aizen's transformation had done. He watched Ichigo solemnly, expecting that he was grieving over the lives he couldn't save.

Urahara, however, had no idea what he was messing with any more. Ichigo removed his hands from his pockets and revealed that his arms were covered by a pair of medieval gauntlets with a protruding X design on the guards. The fingers were pointed menacingly, as if to tear through metal and flesh, and the purple-blue edges glowed hypnotically around the black metal. Ichigo raised his arms and held his hands out like he was holding something.

The group watched in wonder as the area was covered in a blue mist, the empty bodies glowing purple. The shop keeper's eyes went wide as he felt it, "That's...impossible." He said in shock and awe as he walked forward numbly. Ichigo lowered his arms as the mist dissipated, the shop keeper never stopping in his stride past the masked being. Ichigo turned his attention to Matsumoto who was staring at him in confusion and fear. His eyes moved to the body of Gin Ichimaru.

"Urahara, what is it?" Uryu asked as they approached his kneeling form next to one of the bodies.

"They're alive...," He said distantly.

"But you said-," Rukia started before blinking, "Ichigo brought them back." She realized, not sure how that was possible.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Uryu asked, getting the sense that they didn't think so.

"In itself, yes, it is. A miracle, in fact," Urahara said in a serious tone, "However, the fact is what he just did with a wave of his hands is impossible." He explained, "He restored souls that were destroyed, spiritually disintegrated. That's not possible. And yet, here they are. Unconscious but alive," He said neutrally, his scientific mind taking over as the others stood in shock. It was becoming more and more obvious what had happened to Ichigo, partially,'The Hogyoku wasn't destroyed...It's not in him...It's a part of him.'He realized as he glanced at the Horned God and saw him starring at something. He followed the line of sight and his eyes went wide.

Gin Ichimaru looked at his new arm in shock, remembering how Aizen had removed the original. Rangiku stared as well and they could both feel it, his reiatsu being restored, his life stabilizing as his body was healed. Ichigo never moved this time, just stared. That didn't make it any less obvious that it was his doing. Rangiku smiled and hugged her oldest friend desperately, sending the former human a grateful glance as Gin returned her embrace.

Ichigo nodded and turned away, heading towards someplace else. He stopped and looked at Urahara and the others as they looked cautiously at Gin. Their eyes went wide as their minds were assaulted by images. Gin betraying Aizen, a young Gin seeing Aizen exposing souls to the Hogyoku, Gin's wounds healing just moments ago, and more they couldn't understand. All they got was the feeling from these images that they shouldn't attack the supposed traitor.

Rukia glanced at Ichigo and met his gaze, 'You think we can trust him?' She thought in confusion.

'For now.' His voice vibrated in her mind, deep and confident. Despite her shock, she nodded as a bit of nervous sweat formed on her brow. This was just too weird right now.

Urahara took his hand off his Zanpakuto, getting the idea Ichigo was trying to convey. He'd let Soul Society take care of Gin. Right now, he had to keep any eye on Ichigo. Worst case scenario was that he was unstable, mentally or physically. Best case scenario, he was the same as ever...hard to tell with Ichigo's apparent inability to speak normally.

Everyone was brought out of their thoughts as a Garganta formed in front of transcended being, who turned around, the wind from the blue sky in the portal billowing his cloak dramatically as he stared at them. Every memory of them entering one kind of portal or another forced their way into the front of their mind, "I'm guessing he wants us to follow him." Chad summarized.

Rukia nodded, "Yeah, I think so too." She said before she started walking, the others sharing a look before they followed.

The horned lizard looked at the silver haired fox and the orange haired cat, cocking his head as if to ask, 'Are you coming?' Gin and Rangiku shared a look before nodding. Hopefully, this being would help them out just a little more...

Ichigo walked into the portal himself as well, to the fake Karakura town. He still had a bit more work to do before he brought his home town back where it belonged...

End of Chapter

There's the first chapter of what I believe will be one of my favorite stories. Hopefully you all enjoyed this piece, and Ichigo's new outfit, as I'm sure it's a bit confusing- or maybe not. Any way, Ichigo and the Hogyoku have combined in some fashion to create a new being, with 'impossible' powers. And can't speak normally for one reason or another, it seems. Now he's heading back to the fake city to finish things up. Tone in next time to see how every takes the new Ichigo. R&R!

Questions to Ponder: How much has Ichigo changed, mentally? How much power does he really have? What will he do next, both short term and long term? How will Soul Soceity take this new creature? How will his friends? Why did he save Gin? What is Ichigo now, really?...And why can Yuzu see suddenly everyone?