(no subject)
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS:
Ikkaku went to Hueco Mundo and lived. I do believe it would have been impossible for Ikkaku to traverse Aizen's domain unnoticed. If he chatted with Aizen face-to-face, I think his saving grace was his natural wit and charm--in other words, he probably acted retarded enough so as to be utterly disarming before fleeing for his life. Bleach's favorite antagonists might have decided that he wasn't important enough to be killed by the likes of the Arrancar, or that he'd get killed quickly enough without any expenditure of effort on their part. At any rate, he escaped with a useless arm, far fewer functional ribs than he had before, and enough lost blood to bloat a small crowd of vampires.
I don't think he wanted to die there. He said some things to Ryuuken about how death by "sticking [his] head into the lion's mouth" wouldn't have been his style, and it wouldn't have been, because he doesn't think there's any honor in that. He was trying to go to Soul Society--a fight or several in Hueco Mundo would have been unavoidable, yes, but that wasn't exactly what he was looking for. He didn't intend to die, easy as that.
Of course he probably ran from some confrontations. It's pretty impossible to challenge Aizen to a fight at Ikkaku's level and expect to win, for example. And in canon, Ikkaku barely survived his fight with gillian-class Arrancar Eduardo Leones. But now that he's safely back at camp and able to think about what he's been up to, he's pretty upset and disappointed. Canonically, Ikkaku prides himself on his fearlessness, on never running away from a fight. He lived, which is alright because he intended to live, but he only lived because he ran, which is anything but alright. He's conflicted about that--anxious and depressed and actually angry with himself, but, rather alarmingly, he doesn't know if it's because he lived or if it's because he ran.
There are a few things he's got to do now, like buy Youji and Natsuo knives--he's the worst parental figure ever, yes--and talk to George. He is happy to be back. He would be surprised to admit to himself that he's glad he's alive and relatively well. Some of the things that Yumichika said to him startled and bothered him, and he started getting prickly when the topic of Gojyo came up, but then he forcibly restored his own equanimity. Ikkaku will adhere to the terms of their partnership as he views it. If he's bothered by the fact that Yumichika and Gojyo kissed, then he'll refuse to consciously realize it, and if it tries to show he'll stifle it.
His sword's broken. Of interest is the fact that Ryuuken picked up the pieces and sorted them on his desk. I'm only going to say this once: canonically, Ikkaku hates it when other people touch his sword. Any part of it. He gets tense and snarly and angry and loud. Yes, Ikkaku froze when Ryuuken started picking up the shards, but no matter now much pain he was in, he wasn't immobile. He probably could have leapt out of bed and attempted to throttle Ryuuken, and he might have if Ryuuken wasn't Ryuuken. Instead, he let it happen. This is probably a testament of sorts to the fact that Ikkaku trusts Ryuuken, in his quirky way, more than he trusts pretty much anyone else at camp. They're special. Yes.
Ikkaku went to Hueco Mundo and lived. I do believe it would have been impossible for Ikkaku to traverse Aizen's domain unnoticed. If he chatted with Aizen face-to-face, I think his saving grace was his natural wit and charm--in other words, he probably acted retarded enough so as to be utterly disarming before fleeing for his life. Bleach's favorite antagonists might have decided that he wasn't important enough to be killed by the likes of the Arrancar, or that he'd get killed quickly enough without any expenditure of effort on their part. At any rate, he escaped with a useless arm, far fewer functional ribs than he had before, and enough lost blood to bloat a small crowd of vampires.
I don't think he wanted to die there. He said some things to Ryuuken about how death by "sticking [his] head into the lion's mouth" wouldn't have been his style, and it wouldn't have been, because he doesn't think there's any honor in that. He was trying to go to Soul Society--a fight or several in Hueco Mundo would have been unavoidable, yes, but that wasn't exactly what he was looking for. He didn't intend to die, easy as that.
Of course he probably ran from some confrontations. It's pretty impossible to challenge Aizen to a fight at Ikkaku's level and expect to win, for example. And in canon, Ikkaku barely survived his fight with gillian-class Arrancar Eduardo Leones. But now that he's safely back at camp and able to think about what he's been up to, he's pretty upset and disappointed. Canonically, Ikkaku prides himself on his fearlessness, on never running away from a fight. He lived, which is alright because he intended to live, but he only lived because he ran, which is anything but alright. He's conflicted about that--anxious and depressed and actually angry with himself, but, rather alarmingly, he doesn't know if it's because he lived or if it's because he ran.
There are a few things he's got to do now, like buy Youji and Natsuo knives--he's the worst parental figure ever, yes--and talk to George. He is happy to be back. He would be surprised to admit to himself that he's glad he's alive and relatively well. Some of the things that Yumichika said to him startled and bothered him, and he started getting prickly when the topic of Gojyo came up, but then he forcibly restored his own equanimity. Ikkaku will adhere to the terms of their partnership as he views it. If he's bothered by the fact that Yumichika and Gojyo kissed, then he'll refuse to consciously realize it, and if it tries to show he'll stifle it.
His sword's broken. Of interest is the fact that Ryuuken picked up the pieces and sorted them on his desk. I'm only going to say this once: canonically, Ikkaku hates it when other people touch his sword. Any part of it. He gets tense and snarly and angry and loud. Yes, Ikkaku froze when Ryuuken started picking up the shards, but no matter now much pain he was in, he wasn't immobile. He probably could have leapt out of bed and attempted to throttle Ryuuken, and he might have if Ryuuken wasn't Ryuuken. Instead, he let it happen. This is probably a testament of sorts to the fact that Ikkaku trusts Ryuuken, in his quirky way, more than he trusts pretty much anyone else at camp. They're special. Yes.