Chapter 26: A Single Step To Close The Gap

It's here, and almost 11,000 words written for the story. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did.

Protector Of The Fairies

A Single Step To Close The Gap

"Well?" asked Ichigo impatiently. "Seriously, I'm away three years and I come back to find you all trying to wipe each other out. What the hell is up with that?"

Each person looked at Ichigo differently, though all of them were surprised by his sudden appearance. For Natsu and Mystogan, they each had a smile on their face at Ichigo's reappearance, though Mystogan's was a bit less obvious when compared to Natsu's beaming one.

Gajeel meanwhile was staring intently at Ichigo. This was the so called monster who could wound Gildarts, an already well known monster that Fairy Tail had? How many monsters existed in the guild? Gildarts, Laxus, and now this Ichigo. He could already feel the power the man was emitted just from being in the same room as him.

He wasn't sure what it was like. On one hand, it was heavy and giant, almost threatening to swallow them all whole. Yet no one else seemed worried by the Magical Power that was being released unconsciously. But at the same time, it was almost like it was trying to wrap around them all, not to crush them, but to shield them. He could see what Levy meant when she said that Ichigo would likely side with them. The feeling from this Magic inspired such a thing.

And this man had just gotten past them all without a single one seeing anything and stopped an attack that would have sent them flying in a best case scenario. And he caught Laxus's fist with his bare hand.

Erza meanwhile was having a slight reminiscence. Her blade had been stopped but Ichigo hadn't even drawn his sword yet. He had simply reached out and grabbed the blade as it swung at him, just like when he first taught her the basics.

He had once explained to her how he could do such a thing. It was because it had been moving slowly from his perspective. It was something many Sword Users eventually learned to do against other Sword users when the gap in their skill increased enough, and it was a reason he could catch her blade even now. She was very skilled in a lot of weapons, her swords especially, but Ichigo and all other Shinigami dedicated themselves to one weapon. She could try and close the gap to avoid having her sword caught, and most of the time it was impossible unless the strike was right to catch it, but she wasn't a master at swords. From what she had heard, all Shinigami grew to become one, and she had no doubt Ichigo had probably done the same.

She examined him carefully, watching as his eyes glanced around the room in annoyance. He still seemed to be waiting for answers. She wouldn't be the one to give them though. She had just been fighting one monster after all, and she had no intention of risking a battle with another right now.

Makarov meanwhile was observing the burns along Ichigo's hands. He hadn't believed that Ichigo could catch those two attacks and come out unharmed. Erza's maybe, but only if she hadn't been using Magic in the attack. And right now he could see the burns on each hand healing at an incredible rate.

Was this what Gildarts's had told him about? A High Speed Regeneration Technique? But he thought it had been used by the one who took over Ichigo.

Was it Ichigo in control right now? It looked likely. The eyes were the same as before, not the odd colours Gildarts had explained to him. And his voice seemed normal. He was sure there would have been some kind of anomaly if he was being controlled or some speech pattern done incorrectly.

So how could Ichigo use this Magic? Was it possible that it was a part of him? That would certainly explain why the one controlling Ichigo had been able to use it. It sounded strange how a controller could use Magic in a body that didn't have it so this made logical sense to him.

Small burns from Magic like this didn't look to be hard to heal. Maybe because it was skin and that could be re-grown easily, hence why it didn't seem like it took a lot of Magic. Growing back bones, limbs, and organs must be much harder and more Magic intensive that something small like this.

From what he could see, the boy looked the same, though he wasn't really a boy anymore. Then again, everyone was one of his children to him if they were in Fairy Tail so it was hard to not thing of them as young boys and girls. Maybe it was his age. None of them were close to it after all, especially in the new generation.

Still, it was good to see the boy was doing well. Three years, no contact, and he seemed just the same as ever, except maybe a bit happier. Had his stupid mistakes really caused so many problems for the boy that the only cure was to leave for three years? He really had been stupid to not have seen Ichigo for who he was.

While he was thinking all of this, Levy had her own thoughts, one of which was whether or not to run up and hug her teammate. Three years! She kind of wished she had said goodbye thinking back, but then how was she meant to know that the mission he went on would take so long. He was meant to have only been gone a few months.

And that left another dilemma. She wanted to shout at him for not even writing or contacting them in some way or form. Three years and not a word or sign that he even existed. Nothing in magazines, newspapers, even rumours barely had anything on him. It was like Ichigo had vanished off the face of the earth, and now he sudden reappeared again?

He didn't look winded. Did he just walk here, despite seeing Fairy Tail Mages fighting one another? Maybe he didn't know much was going on though and was making this conclusion from the fight that was going on. It did look like such a thing, though right now it looked like everyone was ganging up on Laxus. Someone really should explain it to Ichigo soon before he got the wrong idea.

Finally was Laxus, the wide smile on his face. Ichigo was back too, and showing off too from the look of it. Appearing like that and blocking their individual strikes and not even looking like it hurt one bit would do it.

Ichigo had gotten stronger. He could sense it. The Magic around them was different from before. It was still Ichigo's, but it felt more complete than before. He wondered what the cause of it was.

As for Ichigo himself, he hadn't changed much. His hair was a bit longer and looked like it had just been cut off when it got too long. He must have been somewhere completely isolated to have had to resort to using a blade to cut his own hair, likely his Zanpaktou.

But there was something else too. Ichigo was wearing pretty much the same stuff as before, except that it was a bit more worn and damaged, but no one could miss the jacket around his shoulders. It was similar to one he had seen before, except for a few difference. For one, Ichigo's was dyed black instead of the traditional white. The shoulder gold sections looked like they had been dyed white instead and even some of the inside of the jacket looked like it was dyed white too. One the back of it, he could the one thing that stayed the same. The emblem that all of the Mages there knew of, though one knew of it more than the others.

This jacket was the same one he had seen his grandfather wear on occasion, and that emblem was one only ten Mages were allowed to wear at any one time. This was the mark of a Wizard Saint.

He laughed. He couldn't help it. It was simply uncontrollable. While everyone looked at the symbol in shock, he just let out a roar of laughter, and he wasn't the only one. He could see Levy was giggling from a similar reaction. She must have just thought the same thing he had. Meanwhile his grandfather was looking at Ichigo as if he already knew about it. The man probably did though, being a Wizard Saint himself. He had likely been there when they decided on Ichigo.

"What is it?" asked Ichigo, the old scowl Laxus remembered showing up on his friend's face.

"Oh nothing," he muttered. "Just, you go away for three years after not being an S Class and what do you do? You become one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Why am I not surprised? This is you we're talking about after all."

Ichigo glanced at his jacket in confusion. "You mean this old thing? Oh yeah, Juushirou did say something about the jacket being recognisable when I wore it. I thought dyeing it would stop people noticing but I guess the symbol on the back is a bit of a giveaway."

"You think? How did you even get that? No scratch that, what made you decide to become one? Wouldn't it be annoying at times?"

Ichigo scowled. "I only took the damn thing because of Juushirou's insistence. Something about his last request as Chairman. Didn't get what he meant till I found out the Magic Council had been dissolved."

Ichigo glanced back up to Laxus and shrugged. "At least there are some benefits to it. Juushirou offered a few little things if I took it."

"How many of them were for Fairy Tail?"

Ichigo blushed. "That's not important."

"They all were weren't they?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Well that and there was one other." Ichigo dropped the casual tone as he looked back at Laxus seriously. "That's enough about that. Tell me now. What is happening here?"

Laxus gave him a wide smile. "You're just in time to see it. Just give me a few more minutes and I'll be ready."

Ichigo frowned. "What will Laxus?"

"The rebirth of Fairy Tail."

Ichigo froze, his eyes scanning his friend for any signs of lies. He could find none.

"Laxus. What are you talking about?"

"Change! I'm changing the guild!"

Ichigo felt his fist clench but this went unnoticed by Laxus. "What… do you mean… by change?"

If anything, Laxus's smile got wider. "I'm doing a bit of housecleaning if you will. Getting rid of the trash that doesn't belong in the guild along with those who would cause the guild harm."

"Trash…"

"They've had enough time to run wild here. Fairy Tail doesn't need them."

Ichigo glanced backwards towards where the others, his eyes locking onto a few of them for a moment. "You are referring to people like Natsu, are you not?"

Laxus nodded. "It's time for change."

Ichigo paused for a moment as he struggled to make sure he could keep his voice in check. "I've seen some news on the way back to Magnolia. From what I saw, people have changed."

Laxus shook his head. "Not enough. And I've checked out the guild in these battles today. It isn't enough for most of them. I'll get rid of them all and start again from scratch."

Ichigo frowned before glanced back to Laxus. "Why are you doing this Laxus? Why are you hurting the guild?"

"Hurting them?" Laxus looked at him in confusion. "I'm making it stronger? You can see that can't you?"

"How is hurting them making them stronger?"

Laxus still looked confused. "Why are you so against this? Can't you see why I'm doing all this? I'm making the perfect Fairy Tail, one where you can belong."

Ichigo froze, his fist tightening. "What are you saying Laxus?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm doing this all for you? A place where you aren't rejected. A place where you actions can be appreciated. A proper home for you."

"You hurt the guild… our allies… for MY sake?

Laxus reached towards him. "Ichigo? Are you-"

He swiftly stepped backwards as a sword slashed through the air where he had just been. He followed the blade to the hilt to see the wielder only for his eyes to widen. The person who had just attacked him was Ichigo?

He didn't have a chance to think about it anymore before Ichigo charged straight towards him, his Zanpaktou lunging for his chest. Laxus spun round as he dodged, pushing away from Ichigo as he tried to work out what was going on.

"HEY! Ichigo! Why are you attacking me? What are you doing?"

"It's useless," Levy muttered quietly, speaking more for her benefit than anyone else's. "You just told him you did all of this for him. That isn't something he ever wants to hear."

Laxus dodged under another swing and coated his hands in lightning. As the sword came back round a second time, he lunged forward and clapped his hands together, holding the blade between his two palms.

"What are you doing Ichigo?"

Instead of answering, Ichigo just gave him a blank look and took a hand off his sword's hilt.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring."

Laxus swore, trying to pull back. As he did, he saw the blade inch closer. Wait a moment. Why was he afraid? This spell was a lightning one. He didn't need to try and dodge something he could simple eat.

"Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"

"It won't work!" shouted Laxus. Ichigo had to see it was futile to use a Lightning Kidou against him. He was a Lightning Dragon Slayer after all.

"What won't?" asked Ichigo, his chant interrupted as energy flickered to life around his blade. "I don't remember saying I was going to use a Kidou attack against you."

Laxus flung himself away just as the attack from the sword fired. So that was why Ichigo had chosen that Spell. He had been distracted by a Kidou Spell that wouldn't have worked in order for Ichigo to gather the energy secretly for a short ranged Getsuga Tenshou. He would have backed off quicker if he had seen it normally.

But he couldn't understand. Why was Ichigo attacking him? What had he done wrong? This had all been for his friend. Everything had been for Ichigo.

"Laxus," Ichigo said, glaring at his friend seriously. "If you truly mean to continue down this path, then I won't hold back. I will stop you."

Why? Why was Ichigo looking at him like that? Like he was an enemy to crush. Like they weren't even friends.

"I'm sorry," muttered Laxus. "I've gone too far down this path to turn back now. If you can't see what I'm trying to do… if you can't understand it… you will in time. It's too late for me to stop now."

Lightning intensified around Laxus's form as he entered his Lightning Form, this time preparing to attack Ichigo instead of simply running away from Ichigo's strikes. If he had to beat Ichigo into the ground and show him the truth, he'd do it.

As Laxus sped towards Ichigo, the orange haired Mage slashed his sword to the side, the form changing as his Shikai released itself without being called. As quickly as it released, Ichigo brought up the large flat side of the blade and used it to block Laxus's strike, lightning flickering around it harmlessly.

Laxus quickly shot around the blade and attempted to knock Ichigo off guard before Ichigo could get his Zanpaktou round. When he found his attack stopped by the same blade that had blocked his first attack, he had to avoid trying to show surprise. This kind of tactic had worked extremely well against Ichigo three years ago. It had been a weakness he had found in the oversized blade. But now Ichigo was swinging it around with greater ease than even before.

The sword flashed brightly as Ichigo swung at him, a sudden Getsuga Tenshou forming and blasting towards him. He brought up one hand in response and smashed it against the Getsuga Tenshou, breaking it into pieces.

That was certainly new. Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou had gotten stronger if such a fast and small one like this had this much power in it. Ichigo wasn't the only one who was stronger though. Ichigo would need to use a stronger Getsuga Tenshou if he didn't want it to be broken by lightning.

Ichigo shot forward, disappearing in a burst of Shunpo to appear right in front of Laxus. As his sword came round, Laxus ducked, the blade slashing over his head. In the moment it would take for Ichigo to bring his sword back round, Laxus shot a hand out and grabbed Ichigo by his head. Twisting his body, Laxus pulled Ichigo over his shoulder as he threw him across the room, sending the Shinigami flying through some of the building's supports.

Before even seeing Ichigo stop, Laxus shot towards him at greater speeds than before, moving as fast as he could in his Lightning Form. As he predicted, Ichigo grabbed onto the air as he flew, pulling himself upright and pushing against it towards him. The result was a sudden change of direction, the blade of Ichigo's Zanpaktou slashing towards him as he passed.

Laxus dodged to the side and shot back round it that missed moment, smashing another fist against Ichigo to send him flying once more.

This time Ichigo recovered much quicker, swinging his sword as he straightened himself in the air and released a large Getsuga Tenshou. As before, Laxus shattered it and continued flying through, completely unopposed by the attack.

As the two fought, the rest of the Mages quickly moved out of the cathedral. None of them wanted to be caught in the battle between the two right now. As they made it to the edge of the area near the rest of the city, Makarov frowned before turning towards the side of one of the nearby buildings.

"You can come out. We know you're there."

All the Mages suddenly turned to where Makarov was looking, each prepared to fight. Natsu lit himself on fire once more, Erza brought up her swords, Mystogan had his staves held defensively, Gajeel had an iron sword in place, and Levy had one hand to the side as if ready to create one of her words.

"Now there's no need for that," came a voice from behind the Master. They all shot back round to see a blonde haired man standing right next to them. The man however ignored them for the moment.

"Hey Toushirou. Stop hiding in the shadows already."

From where Makarov had originally sensed someone appeared a young white haired boy, a blade in his hands. A chain extended from the sword's hilt to some ice. And in the ice… was Bickslow?

"You actually bothered bringing the guy you beat along with you? Why'd you bother?"

"He had useful information," said Toushirou as he glanced towards his captured opponent. "I also didn't want to risk him running around again."

"Should have just left him. I've got this white haired girl watching my guy a few streets back. I was carrying him but…"

Toushirou glanced towards the cathedral. "You sensed Ichigo's Magical Power escalating."

"That guy really can't control it very well when he gets angry or confused. It seems I was too late."

"You came to the same conclusion as I did then?"

"Of course. Ichigo shouldn't meet this Laxus. Guess we were too late."

"Excuse me," interrupted Makarov, "but who are you two? And by white haired girl, do you mean Mira?"

"Probably," answered Shinji in annoyance. "I wasn't bothering too much with names of people who weren't relevant to the situation. She's safe so you don't need to worry at least. I saw a blonde haired girl approaching her as I left her with… Freed? I think that was it."

"So that's where the girl went," muttered Toushirou. "She said something about seeing if anyone else needed help so I let her go."

"That's all good and fine," said Makarov seriously, "but I asked you two a question. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"So suspicious." Shinji gave the old man his signature grin. "What's wrong? You afraid old man? Afraid we'll cause some trouble for you?"

He found a pair of swords at his throat in an instance with staves surrounding him on all sides. Shinji didn't bat an eyelash at the situation he was now it, taking it all in stride.

"Toushirou Hitsugaya. Shinigami."

Erza and Mystogan glanced towards the small boy in both shock and curiosity. Natsu meanwhile looked at the boy funnily. There was something off about him.

"You had to ruin the fun didn't you squirt."

Toushirou glared towards the supposed captive before Shinji disappeared and reappeared by Toushirou's side. Erza shot her eyes back to where Shinji had been held at their mercy, shocked how he had gotten past them.

"You really should pay better attention," said Shinji in passing. "I can slip right past you if you lose focus on me. I'm tricky to deal with."

Toushirou kicked Shinji in the shins suddenly. "Stop aggravating them."

"You brat," Shinji muttered, rubbing his shins. He moved one hand and brought their attention to the sword at his side. "I might as well fully introduce myself too. The name's Shinji Hirako. I'm a Visored."

"They have no idea what a Visored is," pointed out Toushirou.

"That's because they're idiots."

"No, that's because there's only two around."

"Fine then, I'm a better Shinigami that the kid is."

"Who are you calling a kid?"

"Let's see. Short size, young age, and have you even hit puberty yet? I don't hear any voice changes."

"I'll kill you."

"And I wish you all the luck… if you can that is."

"You haven't answered my other question." Makarov raised his voice as he spoke, the very aura he emitted trying to intimidate them into answered. "Why are you here? What are you planning? Whose side are you on?"

Shinji shrugged. "If you are asking whether we're you allies or not, then the answer is no. We aren't your allies here, despite what we may do."

"I see." Makarov clenched his fists and he could feel his Magic ready to respond. If these two were indeed threats, then he would crush them here and now.

"However," said Shinji before Makarov could do anything, "we aren't you enemies either."

Erza looked at them in confusion. "Then what are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shinji gestured towards the cathedral. "We're Ichigo's allies, and right now that's good enough for you."

Makarov let the Magic he had been building up disappear with those words, relief filling his system that he didn't have to worry about anymore enemies here today. He glanced towards the cathedral to see it was in worse condition than when they had left it. Half the building had collapsed and the rest looked like it would follow anytime now. Ichigo and Laxus really weren't holding anything back in there, despite their old reservations about causing collateral damage. But what could he expect. When two Mages with that much power clashed, they would inevitably draw on more and more of their power and focus more and more onto the fight. All that would matter would be victory.

"Shouldn't you be helping him then? You are his ally after all?"

Shinji shrugged. "Sure but he wouldn't like it. We tried to reach him before this fight happened but that's in the past now. This fight is personal for him. Trust me when I say that I heard a lot of great things about Laxus from him. I doubt this is the Laxus he wanted to return home to see."

"Ichigo's losing." Everyone turned suddenly to the quiet voice of Levy, her eyes glued to the battle they could see happening. "Why is Ichigo losing?"

"You've got to be joking," muttered Natsu as he saw what she was seeing. Every time Ichigo threw something at Laxus, it was either dodged or destroyed. Laxus kept getting more and more hits on him despite Ichigo's efforts. He really was losing against Laxus.

"We pushed Laxus so far," said Erza, "and he still was this strong in the end?"

Makarov watched the situation in concern. "Laxus is fighting at his full strength. Full power, full speed, full everything. He isn't holding back against Ichigo because he knows it would be a foolish to do. And while Ichigo may have a lot of power, Laxus has pulled ahead a small bit in that area. Add on that Ichigo's speed doesn't seem able to let him catch up and the result is this."

Shinji frowned. "That idiot. What's he holding out for?"

Levy looked at him in confusion. "Holding out?"

"You're Levy McGarden right? Ichigo mentioned you a lot too. Relax will you. Ichigo isn't the kind of guy people can defeat so easily. Keep watching and, when he finally decides he wants to actually act already, you'll see what I mean."

Back in the fight, Ichigo dodged to the side, blocking Laxus's first strike with his Zanpaktou only for Laxus to shot back around and send him flying once more. He felt like a pinball or something. Using Shunpo, he suddenly shot at Laxus only to find his target was gone. From above him, Laxus brought down a fist of lightning.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

Ichigo shot towards the ground from the strike, smashing into the ground with lightning flickering around him. The paralysis wasn't too bad at least. He could still move somewhat and it never lasted too long. It was only ever there for a few moments so…

So Laxus could follow up with an even stronger attack.

Laxus reached Ichigo before he had a chance to move away. Joining his hands together, Laxus brought them up above him and let lightning gather around them before smashing his hands down on Ichigo.

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"

Ichigo smashed back against the ground from the attempted standing position and for a moment, the ground held. Then it shattered, crashing down further as it was ripped apart to nothing more than a crater. Lightning shot out of cracks and smashed into further bits of land, even causing the remains of the standing cathedral to finally give up. The pieces slowly crashed down to the ground, some even crashing against Ichigo in the crater. Laxus simply dodged the strikes as we walked towards the others, a resigned look on his face.

"Who's next?"

A sudden blast of Magic shocked him into turning back round, just in time to see a massive burst of energy blast away the rubble Ichigo had been trapped under. Slowly, Ichigo brought himself to his feet, his wounds healing and his bruises vanishing. The moment it finished, Ichigo turned his attention towards Laxus.

"Thanks for that. I didn't really want to be the one responsible for destroying the rest of the cathedral so I'm glad you finished it off for us."

"Stay down," said Laxus, almost pleading. "You can win. You may be able to heal your wounds from my attacks but you can't stop them. You'll run out of Magic by healing before I do from attacking."

"I know." Ichigo looked back towards the remains of the church. "You've gotten stronger. Much stronger. Your physical attacks were actually stronger than my own, something I always excelled in between the two of us. And your speed actually is faster than my Shunpo and Sonido. I underestimated you Laxus."

The winds seemed to pick up before slowly gathering towards Ichigo and spiralling around him in their intensity. Was it Ichigo's Magic that was causing this reaction? Was the force so strong that it was pulling the air around with it? Why did he feel like something big was about to happen?

Shinji smirked. "Here it comes."

Ichigo glanced directly at Laxus and aimed his blade at him. Laxus could feel Ichigo's Magical Power skyrocketing from that simple action. What was going on?

"It would be wrong of me to keep fighting you as I am. I was foolish to think you could be beaten by just my Shikai. You are much stronger than that. So I'll let you be the first to see it outside of training. Let's see if you can still win against this."

Ichigo's other hand came against his sword arm and held it tightly. The wind intensified one last time as Ichigo said one word. "Bankai!" And then it exploded outwards.

Laxus quickly brought an arm up against the furious winds that had suddenly been expelled towards him, struggling to see through the storm of energy that had suddenly shot out of Ichigo. Slowly, the energy changed from blue to black, red highlights being seen around the edges of the black energy.

Something inside of him told him to run. That fear was from the sudden Magic Ichigo was releasing. It was heavy too. So much denser and heavier than it had ever been before. It was like Ichigo had taken all his Magic and packet it into an even smaller container than it was already it.

When it finally cleared, he could see that Ichigo looked different. For starters, the old stuff he had been wearing had disappeared. He still had a white shirt but it looked like it was a new one or something. A new overcoat type jacket was over it, though it resembled that old Shihakushou Ichigo originally wore when he joined the guild. The difference was that this one was left open and was held together by three straps, each shaped as an x. His trousers had been replaced with what had to have been a bottom of a Shihakushou but that was all speculation on his part. He had never seen Ichigo with a full Shihakushou after all. As for his hands, Ichigo had gained black gloves with a white x on both his forearm and the gloves themselves as bands or small armour of sorts. He wasn't exactly sure what they were.

The blade was the biggest change though. That oversized weapon Ichigo had been swinging around was gone, replaced by daitou. The blade's length was at least the length it had been of the blade before and it curved slightly like the old sword had. Near the tip of the blade, there were three protrusions along the sword's blunt end. As for the rest of the sword, its tsuba was in a manji like shape, though it was more curved and jagged than a normal manji shape. Finally, at the end of the hilt, a chain extended off from it and linked up to Ichigo right hand glove.

"Tensa Zangetsu."

Laxus frowned. "What did you do? From what I can see, you traded one sword for another. That isn't much different from just using Requip for a new weapon. What is a Bankai?"

"That's right," muttered Ichigo softly, just loud enough for Laxus to hear. "I never told you did I? I learned of it pretty quickly after my fight with Gildarts so I must have never gotten round to telling you."

Ichigo's gaze suddenly hardened. "I'll have to show you what a Bankai is instead."

Laxus shook his head and took a step towards Ichigo. "Listen. It won't work-"

"What won't?"

Laxus froze, his eyes dropping down to the point of a blade by his throat. That was impossible. It had to be. He hadn't even seen Ichigo move.

"Look," muttered Ichigo, his free hand pressing against Laxus's chest. "If I were to reach just a bit further in, I could touch your heart."

Laxus pulled his head away from the sword as he brought a knee up towards Ichigo, lightning dancing around it. Ichigo vanished just before it could reach him, reappearing a short distance away.

"Come on Laxus. Is that all you've got?"

Laxus forced himself to calm down. He had seen attempts like this before to intimidate him. Of course this was the first time one had actually worked but it was still nothing more than a taunt to make him panic. He had to focus. He had to watch Ichigo carefully. That speed he had suddenly gained was a massive leap from Ichigo's original level but he could still track him. He was sure of it. He just had to focus.

His Magic quickly came back under control from the panic and the sudden sparks of uncontrollable lightning he had been releasing stopped. He let the lighting around him intensify even further, pushing it to the max. Erza had done this, and so could he. Increase the speed that he received and sent his impulse signals through his Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic and, when combined with his lightning form, he wouldn't even have a single delay in using it at his top speed.

Lightning was fast. He could rarely control himself at such speeds because he simply didn't have the reaction time. It was easy to do outside of Dragon Force but everything always became harder when using this mode. With so much more power available in Dragon Force, he hadn't been able to use his speed to its greatest potential. Any why had he anyway? He hadn't ever found anyone able to keep up with it. But now, he needed to go faster. He needed to drop in and out of pure lightning for split seconds if necessary and then transform back. A moment too slow and he would be caught.

But first, he needed more space for this. Too much iron was on the ground and while it wasn't a big problem, it was a slight annoyance for him.

As quickly as he could, he shot himself towards the sky, leaving Ichigo behind as fast as he could. Ichigo watched as Laxus made it high into the sky, almost on level with the Lacrima in the sky. Then he made chase after him, kicking off from the ground and cracking it in the process and he sped upwards towards Laxus.

In midair, Laxus spun round and opened his mouth wide, lightning erupting from it. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Ichigo looked towards the lightning attack approaching him, noticing how wide the arc had been made and at the speed it had been fired at. It had taken his own speed into account and made sure it would force him to get hit even if he tried dodging it.

In response to the attack, Ichigo brought his sword back and the same black energy that everyone had seen before flickered to life around the blade like flames.

"Getsuga Tenshou."

With a sudden slash, the energy flew off the blade towards the breath attack. Laxus noticed the differences between the normal Getsuga Tenshou and this one the moment it hit. The black energy cut through his own attack with ease and only a sudden step to the side managed to avoid him getting hit by it.

Ichigo had created that in just a second. The last one he had seen had taken the same amount of time yet had been so much weaker. How much of a different in power had just happened when Ichigo changed appearance? What the hell was a Bankai?

Ichigo continued on his approach, slicing at Laxus. The Lightning Mage quickly dropped downwards under the strike and kicked up as he spun, lightning shooting from his feet as he struck out towards Ichigo. In response, Ichigo brought up his sword in front of him and blocked the strike with the flat side of the blade.

Another flick of it and Ichigo sent Laxus flying away, immediately kicking off the air to pursue him. Laxus quickly shifted in the air and opened one of his hands wide to expose his palm. Lightning shot around it before extending into a spear of Lightning.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

The attack formed just as quickly as if he had used two palms, the full power of Dragon Force increasing the rate at which he gathered the lightning into the spear's shape. Instead of throwing the weapon however, he used it to block Ichigo next strike.

"I understand now," said Laxus as he held his guard steady. "This is what a Bankai is. It's part of your Zanpaktou. It's a next level."

"Yes. And you won't be able to beat me against this."

"Big deal," Laxus roared as he pushed Ichigo back and shot forward with the spear. "You're faster but I can keep up still. You're stronger but so am I. I won't let you out of my sight or give you a chance to use anything else."

Ichigo smiled before charging back in. "Prove it then."

Back on the ground, most of the Mages there looked confused at the sudden change in development. Makarov looked towards Shinji for answers. They had just seen Ichigo getting destroyed and then he had suddenly become strong enough to force Laxus back easily. In the end, Shinji relented.

"It's called Bankai. Think Shikai but anywhere between five to ten times stronger. It's referred to a final release since a Zanpaktou won't change its form much after it has been released except in a few cases, mostly being ability related or because it wasn't complete in the first place."

"It sounds almost too good to be true."

"Well not everyone can learn it. It's why most Shinigami that people meet are normally ridiculously strong. Becoming a Shinigami isn't something many people do if they don't have much Magical Power in the first place. Have enough and it is almost guaranteed that you can learn Bankai. Just don't expect them all to learn it at the same time as each other."

Shinji gestured towards Toushirou. "Take this brat for example. He can learn it but he still isn't ready for it. Ichigo and I however are examples of those who were not only ready but who also achieved it."

"I see." Makarov let the words sink in for a second before his eyes widened. "YOU TOO!"

Shinji smirked. "Like I'd let him jump too far ahead of me. Besides, I got bored. Three years spent training does encourage you to try and learn stuff, else you'd get very bored very often."

"Still, I don't understand how there is such a dramatic change from before. Ichigo certainly doesn't look like he is anywhere between five to ten times stronger."

Shinji scowled before pointed up towards Ichigo. "Trust me, he is. Most Bankai, due to that tremendous power they emit, are simply overwhelming. They can't be contained so easy and spread out in a variety of forms in massive degrees, enhancing the abilities the Shikai had and added new powers while it is at it."

Keeping an eye on Ichigo's fight, Shinji waited till he saw the two suddenly shoot around at high speeds before continuing. "Did you see that? That is what makes Ichigo's Bankai so unique in comparison to any other that I have ever heard of. Instead of expanding, the power compressed itself, condensing inside that smaller blade in his hands. And that power spreads out to enhance the rest of his body. Right now, he has the entire power of a Bankai rushing though his veins. Strength, speed, reaction times, it all is enhanced. And that sword, while smaller than his old one, is likely one of the most powerful blades in existence while it is like that. It has to be to contain all that energy."

Makarov glanced to the left subtly to see Erza looking up in wonder at those words. It was like how she looked when she got Strawberry cake. She needed different hobbies instead of being a weapon junkie. "So what is your Bankai like?"

"Mine?" Shinji smirked as he raised his Zanpaktou lightly. "None of your business."

"You said Ichigo's without his permission."

"Because Ichigo won't care if I tell you what it does. Besides, the effects are obvious to anyone watching for more than a few swings. You'd have to be an idiot to not realise what it does. Why do you think Laxus is being more careful than before?"

"It's too bad that it looks like he is catching up to Ichigo in speed."

"What…" Shinji shot his head towards the sky to see the fight for himself. And as before, he saw Ichigo pushing Laxus back. Unlike last time however, Laxus had reacted faster. It was like the Lightning Mage was getting the timing of Ichigo's attacks down.

"Come on," muttered Natsu in annoyance. "How many times is Laxus going to get stronger?"

"He's not getting stronger." Erza glanced at Makarov who nodded as if saying she was correct.

"Then what is he doing?"

Levy was the one who answered. "He's getting the timing down. If you learn an attack's pattern, you can dodge it, disable it, or even destroy it completely. When faced by an unknown, you slowly gather data on it to understand it."

"Easier said than done." Gajeel scratched his chin as he observed them, both scared of the fight and wishing he could have been at the same level as them so he could join in. "Laxus is lucky in that he already has a good base of speed to catch up on and react with. Any slower and I doubt it would make a different in working out an attack pattern. Ichigo would simply be too fast for him to stop."

Levy turned towards Shinji. "Ichigo still has something up his sleeve right?"

Shinji didn't pay her much attention, instead focusing all his attention on Ichigo seriously. A small grin started to grow on his face after a moment as he muttered a single word. "Closer."

"Closer?" Levy glanced at Toushirou in hopes he would translate for her. The boy however had his eyes locked on the battle in the sky like Shinji. He did answer her at least.

"Watch them. Watch Ichigo. Don't let him out of your sight." Toushirou slowly gained a smile just like Shinji's as he kept watching. "You're about to see something impossible."

The Fairy Tail Mages assembled looked at the two Shinigami in confusion before complying, their eyes locking onto Ichigo and tracking him as best as they could. They could just about keep sight of him but he was still a bit of a blur to some of them.

Up in the sky, Ichigo blocked a strike Laxus had gotten as he had attacked and propelled a knee upwards at Laxus's stomach. Laxus quickly dodged, flickering past in Lightning form but not risking staying too close. He had already seen that Ichigo's sword could still hit him while in this form, and he wasn't risking being caught off guard.

He was getting it. He almost had the timing down on Ichigo's speed. Just a bit more and he would catch him. Ichigo shot around him and attempted to hit him with a strike from above but he was ready for this one, his spear blocking and using the end of it to smash against Ichigo as he let the blade force its way downwards. He knew that wouldn't have done much but he was almost there. He just needed one good hit. He was sure of it.

Ichigo shot towards him again but he countered it before the strike even came, throwing Ichigo back quickly. That was it. He had the timing down. He could tell Ichigo must have worked it out too so this would be the moment where he would have to make sure counted. It could have been passed off as luck to Ichigo, and he had to count on that guess.

And it looked like Ichigo had fallen for it. Like before, Ichigo charged towards him, taking a direct path in comparison to a curved one.

"Closer," muttered Shinji.

As subtly as he could, lightning gathered around his fist, making it look like a normal empowered fist. It would be different this time. This was one he was sure could take Ichigo down.

"Closer."

Ichigo was almost at him. As quickly as he could, he brought back his fist and the lightning ran rampant around it. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!"

"Closer!"

He had Ichigo now. All Ichigo had to block with was his Zanpaktou. He wouldn't even have time to use a strong enough Getsuga Tenshou or a Kidou Spell. His fist shot out towards Ichigo, everything seeming to move in slow motion to him from the tension he was feeling.

"Roaring Thunder!"

Meanwhile on the ground, Shinji let his smirk spread as wide as it could. "And caught!"

And suddenly Laxus saw his attack miss. No, it was worse than that. It hit exactly where Ichigo had been, lightning blasting from it with immense force behind it. But that one moment, the instant before his strike had been about to hit… It was impossible… But how?

Everyone except Shinji and Toushirou on the ground watching had a similar expression of confusion, all thinking what they had just seen was impossible to have happened. And that only made Shinji smiled wider somehow.

Laxus didn't even have time to reach before he was hit by a point blank Getsuga Tenshou, the blast connecting with his back and throwing him away from the sheer power behind it. After falling for a moment, Laxus changed to lightning and started moving once more, keeping his distance carefully. He hadn't managed to come out of that attack very well. It had hurt him a lot more than he wanted to show, almost bringing him down right then and there. Those attacks of Ichigo's… what exactly was this black Getsuga? It was far denser than any Getsuga Tenshou he had been hit by before. It was like the energy had been packed extremely densely into those blasts since each one felt like a dozen normal ones.

But that wasn't the problem right now. How had Ichigo done that just then? It had been just for an instant, just when Ichigo was right in front of him. He had been ready to attack, all his focus ready to predict any path Ichigo might have tried to take at the last moment, and then Ichigo had vanished, disappearing like he hadn't even been there in the first place. It hadn't been as if an illusion had been shattered or if the image had dissolve. Ichigo had just… vanished.

Back on the ground, Makarov glanced at Shinji expectedly. "You knew what was about to happen just then. What did he do? Did you see him move?"

"What do you think? Of course I didn't see him move. That's the whole point of this technique of his. If any old person could track him, it would be useless."

"Then what just happened?"

"Tell me, what happens when two warriors, who have a slight different in speed to one another, fight? Who wins? Is it the one who is faster?"

"Didn't we already cover this?" asked Natsu. "The slower one can still catch up if he gets the timing down."

"Good, you listen to people. Now tell me what happens when the faster one suddenly gets slightly faster? Can the other still react?"

"Yes." Erza didn't even hesitate in her answer. "If they got the previous timing down, a small increase won't do much more than allow a sudden sneak attack. After that, you adjust your timings to match the greater speed like the one before."

"Very good. And that is why you all didn't see Ichigo move."

Natsu frowned. "Huh? Surely by that logic, Laxus should have still managed to deal with it somewhat. That attack was more than a sneak attack."

"How do you deal with greater speeds? You focus on your opponent? Am I wrong?"

Levy's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

"You worked it out didn't you? Ichigo did say you were a smart girl."

Erza glanced at the blue haired girl. "Worked what out Levy?"

Levy glanced up at Ichigo and Laxus for a moment before looking back. "You need to always focus on those faster than you, else you risk losing track of them or them taking advantage of your distraction at the worst possible moments. And as you match their actions more and more, you increase your focus on them respectively."

Levy gestured towards Laxus slightly. "We just saw Laxus prepare a massive attack, all his focus going on hitting Ichigo at that actual moment where he wouldn't be able to miss. And for that last moment, Ichigo was right in front of him, not a single bit of his attention divided from him. We were all drawn in too, trying to keep track of who would come out on top."

At that, Levy shook her head. "We shouldn't have, but we did. And I doubt we could not look either. Could any of you stop focusing on Ichigo just then?" The others shook their heads. "It's because he wanted us to see him. Because the more we looked, the more we saw and focused only on him, the easier it was for him to slip right past our sight."

"And we only spotted him so quickly because we've down here," continued Levy. "And it took what? A second or two to refocus on him. For Laxus, he would have lost complete sight of him, as if he had vanished without a trace."

Levy looked at Shinji for confirmation and got it. "The girl's right. You can't stop it, even by seeing it once or knowing of it, because that would mean you would be able to deal with his speed. The only counter is to be at a level where the gap in speed isn't such a wide gap."

"But what is it?" asked Makarov. "What kind of technique is it?"

"One only Ichigo can use. The Phantom Step."

"Phantom Step?"

"Good name isn't it. Describes the effects quite well. He vanished like a ghost or a phantom, as if he had never been there in the first place." Turning his attention back to the sky, Shinji shook his head. "Laxus should give up now. Ichigo's been playing with him in his anger, slowly trying to crush any trump cards Laxus has left. That's why he used the Phantom Step. He wants to scare Laxus. To make him afraid and confused."

"That doesn't sound much like Ichigo."

"People change slightly, and Ichigo is not the best person to let get angry. The results aren't exactly the same as they normally are. When like this, he'll defeat his opponent with sheer power instead of sheer speed."

"Is there much difference between power and speed at the moment?"

"You saw how fast Ichigo moved at the very start. Does that answer your question?"

Makarov frowned. "So it will all be over soon."

Shinji nodded. "Laxus is trapped. He won't be able to win anymore."

Laxus swore as he charged towards Ichigo, stabbing forward with the spear in his hand. Ichigo dodged it but he seemed to move just as fast as before. Had the last time been a fluke? Had it been just by chance that he had lost sight of Ichigo?

Those hopes were dashed when he attempted to trap Ichigo only to find his friend vanishing from his sight once more and for him to get hit by another Getsuga Tenshou. He couldn't take much more of this. He was getting close to running on empty. He had to try and pull this back somehow.

As Ichigo reached towards him again, aiming to slash down at him, he shot and hand out and grabbed hold of the blade, ignoring the feeling of the blade digging into his flesh. With his other hand, he lunged forward with the spear, intending to try and score a hit against Ichigo.

Before it reached, Ichigo shot out a hand and grabbed the point of the spear, the lightning crackling across his hand from the point of impact. And then, in one single motion, he crushed the lightning construct, shattering into harmless sparks of lightning.

Laxus stared at it in horror and looked back up at Ichigo. Instead of seeing the same anger he saw before though, he saw something else. What was up with those eyes?

Ichigo pulled back and punched at Laxus, sending him flying across the sky before chasing after him. Laxus straightened himself and created two more spears of lightning, wielding one in each hand. As Ichigo approached, he saw him vanish once more and felt the pain from another Getsuga Tenshou a moment later.

Why? Why did he have to fight Ichigo like this? What was the point of it all? What had he been doing all this time if Ichigo was angry at his actions from them?

He wanted to make Fairy Tail strong. He wanted to get rid of the trash. Surely Ichigo should have been able to understand that.

But those eyes he was seeing now. When had Ichigo lost the anger in them? When had he started giving him that look? A look of pity, but also of understanding.

Why? Had Ichigo worked out everything he had done and tried to understand him? Had Ichigo tried to put himself in his shoes and see the world from his eyes? And even after that, had Ichigo decided that he would still stand against him?

Had the guild really changed? Could he have missed it? No, he knew they had. So why did he still persist at this? Why did he still try and force them to change when they no longer needed to?

Why was it that every time he thought of the guild, he had always felt anger? All this time, he had assumed it was because of them. First they didn't change. Then they did. But then why had he stayed angry? He knew why. They had changed quickly, but despite what he had wanted, he didn't want them to have changed as quickly as they had done. If they could change so quickly, then why had they never bothered doing so all those years ago?

It made him mad. It made him furious. But he had always directed his anger and pain towards the guild. He had never thought much about why he still hated them so much. But now, facing down Ichigo, he could see it clearly. This anger inside him, it wasn't ever towards the guild at all. It was towards himself.

If he had said something years before he had, would the guild have changed just as quickly? Could he have prevented Ichigo from feeling the pain he had? Could he have stopped his grandfather from looking at Ichigo the way he had done?

In the end, it all came down to that. He had wanted to create a Fairy Tail Ichigo would have been welcome in, but it seemed he no longer needed to try and create one. It already existed.

Was there any point in fighting anymore? Should he just give up?

No! He wasn't going to stop here. After everything he did, after all the actions he took, he couldn't just stop here. But he couldn't do the same thing. Right now, he was seen as an enemy of the guild.

So that left only one solution. Only a hero, one standing in the light, could defeat a villain such as himself.

He suddenly stopped his path in the air and raised a hand. Ichigo stopped himself to observe his actions but he paid him no heed. Slowly, each Lacrima lit up and lightning became crackling around them.

"NO!" Makarov swore and quickly began gathering Magic. Before he was done however, a sword was at his throat.

"Leave it," said Shinji seriously.

Makarov turned a furious gaze onto Shinji. "Do you not understand what those Lacrima will do? If we let them activate, thousands of innocents will die."

"Then they'll die. But to be honest, from what Ichigo told me of Laxus, I think something else is going to happen. Laxus was meant to be doing all of this for Ichigo after all."

Up in the sky, lightning continued to intensify around the Lacrima one by one. Finally, the lightning discharged, shooting from the Lacrima. Instead of firing downwards however, it shot towards the centre of the ring, colliding with Laxus with a large booming sound.

Laxus quickly opened his mouth wide and drew in the lightning, feeling himself getting reenergised from the meal. He felt like he had at least seventy five percent of his Magic back from all the Magic he had gotten stored in those Lacrima.

"So you put them there."

Laxus glanced at Ichigo. "Yeah. Expensive as hell to buy them all and then to get Lightning Mages to fill them with Magic for me. Everyone thought it was to rain lightning down from the sky but the Magic protecting them warded off any careless attacks."

"The Thunder Palace?"

"Yes. A common mistake people make is that they believe its only purpose is to do that. However you can repurpose it for other means."

"A recharge station for a Dragon Slayer."

"Exactly." Laxus stretched his right arm out to the side and opened his hand wide to expose his palm. "And it gave me back just enough Magic for this to work."

Lightning crackled around Laxus's palm, just like it had done when he created the Heavenward Halberds. This time however, the lightning quickly spread out along a straight path, Magic Seals forming along the new spear as it was created to act as stabilisers. Near his hand two pairs of wings like protrusions were attached to the lightning construct, the larger of the two being towards the point of the construct while the other pair faced in the opposite direction towards the back a bit further down.

It was hard to call the construct a spear because of its length. As it got further along, it became more blade like in its appearance, lightning crackling along all areas of the giant weapon. It was bigger than Laxus himself by far, the length stretching to at least five to eight times his height. And even now, the lance seemed to be enveloped in an aura of lightning, bolts of lightning flying off from all possible sides at random intervals.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Thunder Piercing Lance!"

Ichigo glanced at the lance impressed. "That's some spell. It's bigger than any Spell you've ever shown me before. How did you even learn another Secret Art?"

"I didn't," answered Laxus honestly. "I created it myself."

"I see." Ichigo changed his expression to one of curiosity. "Those Magic Seals are stabilising it aren't they, holding it together so it doesn't fall apart. How much Magic is in that Spell?"

"Everything I just got back."

Ichigo almost took a double take. "I'm sorry, but that's very risky. You do realise that it could be a hit or miss."

"You won't step out of its way," said Laxus, all expression gone from his face. He suddenly flicked his hand slightly and spun the lance round till the point of the lance faced downwards. "Go on. Stop it."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Laxus, don't do this. Do you mean to kill them all down there?"

"Why don't you stop me then? Let's see what wins out. Your Bankai, or my ultimate trump card."

Ichigo was already moving before Laxus released his grip on the lance, pushing himself as fast as he could go. He made it half way down from his starting position to the ground before stopping and altering his path, making sure he was exactly in the line of the lance's path. As quickly as the lance fell, Ichigo gathered energy himself, forming a massive Getsuga Tenshou around the blade to stop the lance with.

"It's not enough."

He heard his Hollow whispering in his ear and he knew the Hollow was right. He wouldn't be able to stop that attack like this. It was simply too strong. He could practically feel the Magic radiating off it. He could dodge it, he could weaken it, but right now he needed more power so he could crush it completely. There was only one thing to do.

Raising a hand to his face, he quickly gathered energy to his palm. And then he swiped.

Around his face suddenly formed a bone white mask, two red stripes on it. Each stripe went down from one side of the top of the mask to the nearest eyehole and then continued down under it towards the bottom of the mask to match the pattern the top did. And as the mask formed, he felt the energy he was releasing grow stronger.

Makarov shivered slightly as he suddenly felt the spike in Magical Power, recognising the same power he had felt from Ichigo's S Class Trial. "He's being-"

"Relax." Shinji didn't even look worried at the situation, despite the darker Magical Power they were feeling. "You're lucky. You're about to see Ichigo at full power, even if it is just for a moment. He won't be taken over by that thing."

The Getsuga wrapped around the blade suddenly spread out, Ichigo pouring more and more of his Magic into the blade. He needed more. He had to stop this attack.

The Getsuga slowly spirally outwards from Ichigo, blocking out areas of the sky as it extended further out. The others on the ground watched as the area around them became darkness as the black Getsuga began blocking out the sun from the sheer intensity around the area above them.

And then Ichigo rushed forward, the energy following behind him as he threw himself towards the lance. Laxus finally released his hold on it and Ichigo made sure he wasn't going to miss. He couldn't afford to now.

And then the two attacks collided. Blade met lance and the two energies fought for dominance, the black Getsuga slowly pushing back against the lance and trying to wrap itself around it.

Finally, Ichigo broke through, the lance cracking as Ichigo's blade forced its way along the lance. The energy behind him made short work of the remains of the lance, devouring the lightning as it ripped it apart. Not stopping however, Ichigo kept along his path, destroying the remained of the lance and shooting towards Laxus, despite the sudden drop in Magic he was feeling.

Laxus watched impassively as Ichigo approached. Inside though, he was smiling. Ichigo destroyed the lance just as he predicted and, as Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of him, he couldn't care less about the pain anymore. He felt Ichigo's sword slice across his chest, the attack draining him of any energy he had left and causing him to start falling. He didn't care though. Even the pain he felt when he hit the ground didn't bother him.

Up above him, he could see the remains of the Black Getsuga Tenshou vanished and Ichigo removing that mask of his. As the darkness vanished, everyone could see Ichigo standing there victoriously, the sun shining down on him.

A completely different method and outcome from what he had originally planned but it was okay. He wanted Ichigo to always be accepted, but he had to be certain. And if it was too late for him to be a hero, then he could easily be the villain who gets defeated. And with this, Ichigo no longer had to be their Ace in the shadows. From now on, he would make sure Ichigo got to stand in the light.

He let a smile appear on his face as his vision faded to black. He'd accept whatever happened to him now, and he would do it happily. He still achieved his goal, and he could deal with everything just as long as he had that.

Protector Of The Fairies

My god. I made it here. I made it to the big battle. And it was a giant one. Longest chapter in the series so far and packed full of stuff. Let's go through it.

You all guessed it. Ichigo's a Wizard Saint. The Fairy Tail stuff he got out of it is obvious but does anyone know what the last part was? If not, you'll find out soon enough.

Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Thunder Piercing Lance and the Phantom Step. What did you guys think of the two moves? Inspired by different manga/anime, I hope you liked their interpretation of them here. Laxus's technique didn't get much shown because it was destroyed, however consider how much Magic Ichigo would have had to have used to destroy it. This Spell is on the level with Levy's Kikouou, which you have yet to see properly fight too. As for the Phantom Step, two reasons it exists. First is that I watched too much of a certain move recently, and second because I wanted to show a new way his speed has developed. The mechanics behind this technique should be explained next chapter but ask if you can't wait. It may seem like it will solve all problems but it won't. No sooner had I finished working out the technique's strengths did I work out exactly how to counter it. Can't have it being undefeatable can I.

So we first saw Shikai, which Laxus was stronger with. Then Bankai with Ichigo taking the lead, and finally a little Hollow Mask glimpse for you fans out there. Not much time with that last part but a brief appearance.

Biggest change here was Thunder Palace. This isn't the same as canon after all. Laxus isn't willing to kill innocent people, especially because Ichigo would never accept him as a friend if he did such a thing. So instead it became a bluff and a recharge station for him. Clear right?

I hoped I managed to get a better glimpse into Laxus's mind. He's angry, and for so long he's been trying to point it at everyone else. And not many people could make him see sense with Ichigo gone. And when he realises, it's too late. There was only one choice left. He decided to take a risk and increase the hatred for him by trying to kill them so Ichigo can defeat him and be seen as a greater hero.

Finally onto other news. I've got one exam left on Wednesday which is good news so I can do some more writing after that. And who has seen the recent manga chapters? Renji's Bankai is pretty cool, and I look forward to seeing what has happened with Rukia. Though I really want to see Ichigo appear already. Does his Dual Swords have anything new to them? What is his Bankai like? I want to know desperately. As for Fairy Tail, it has been shown to us. Rise Nali! RISE! Wow… I feel like I isolated myself from all the Nalu fans out there. Sorry about that guys. We've all got out pairing preferences. The Elfman part at the end looks good though, and what is this Super Archive? No matter, we'll find out in the next chapter. I can't wait.

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.