This is an mighty bleach crossover with all things Doctor WHO! (laughs insanely)
Aizen sends Hollows to Cardiff to scavange alien tech, with a reluctant Ichigo tries to stop them only to be laid low by Grimmjow! As Aizen's forces spread over the Brittish Isles, they come nose to nose with the Doctor's companions. Can Jack save Ichi? And will Orihime be the next Companion?
I'm leading into something with Orihime being rescued by Rose waaaaay back when the 9th Doctor was around!! Don't worry! If you think this fic is worthy of more AWESOMENESS then REVIEW! You will get hot smexy ByaIchiRenji action!!
Ichigo sputtered irritably when the Commander General handed him the tiny sealed bit of parchment. "We have to troop ourselves all the way out to Cardiff. REALLY??" Ichigo sputtered, with severe difficulty controlling his outrage.
"Aizen has sent Gin out to investigate an interdimensional phenomena in the City known as Cardiff. There are ESPADA coming with him Ichigo." Yamamoto said sharply. "We need a guide to the world of the living, and Aizen will be desprate to build up his forces after the Rescue of Orihime. Your human friends need to rest from the ordeal. Rukia and Renji are fully healed and looking for a change of pace. Others will be coming to help you."
"I'm not going. My sisters need me to protect them, my father too. In case you haven't forgotten, there's a WAR this winter! And Aizen is going to blow up my home TOWN." Ichigo ground out.
"I assure you Kurosaki, if there is the chance that Karakura will be taken, we will do our best to evacuate your family AND your friends. I assure you that your success has caused considerable collateral damage, but I fear you fail to grasp the enormity of your actions. With just FIVE men, including yourself, two of them humans, you did almost fifty percent damage to Hueco Mundo. The Captains that removed you and your friends were able to raise that ratio to 75 percent. Aizen is minus his 9th, his 7th, his 5th, his 8th Espada. FOUR out of the ten are dead, GONE!" Yamamoto emphasized this with a tap of his staff. "Your talent is exceptional!" He growled. "Rest assured that your efforts have pushed Aizen's progress back considerably. You recover a lot faster than your human partners, frankly your healtime /scares/ Unohana. You were torn to pieces three times during that battle, and only underwent healing magic once during the entire siege."
"I'm NOT your lapdog." Ichigo declared, glaring defiantly at Yamamoto. He turned around and prepared to storm out. "In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not in any division, and as long as I'm still ALIVE you're not my keeper!!"
"your father said the same thing." Genryuusai said quietly.
"What?" Ichigo stopped at the door.
"Right before he stormed out and away, and went to marry a beautiful woman named Masaki. When he had a son, and two gorgeous daughters..."
"Are you telling me, that my father knew this entire time? He KNEW about hollows??"
"He tried desperately to forget. He couldn't take it anymore. When you were born he sealed his shinigami powers away for good. He swore, never again. He's a good father. By the time you met Rukia, he couldn't even see hollows anymore, let alone shinigami. And then he heard that you had confronted Grand Fisher. He could smell hollow on your riatsu a mile away, it took Urahara to convince him to get his powers back."
Ichigo listened, silent.
"He made a BIG sacrifice for you, he will take care of your sisters in your absence. Sado will take over for you when he's recovered."
"You lay a claw on Chad and I will KILL YOU." Ichigo glared angrily. "I'll go. Make sure they're shinigami that I know." Ichigo glared. "But I am not your slave. I am not your servant. I work independantly from you. You do NOT own me and I am NOT your lapdog." (1)
"Alright... Ichigo Kurosaki." Smiled Yamamoto. "Your team awaits outside. I'm sure you won't have any trouble with them."
Ichigo growled, turning as the door opened.
"Ichigo." Rukia said with a warm smile. Ichigo ran over to them, throwing his arms around Renji. Rukia muttered quietly, rubbing the substitute's back in comfort. "Its okay, Ichigo. He's not used to strangers, we haven't had a deputy as accomplished as you in centuries. He wants you on his side, he just has a strange way of asking it." Ichigo let go, nodding. Taking a deep breath, he took in the company, Rukia and Renji! Matsumoto was a good choice, she was very interested in human culture.
"BYAKUYA??" Ichigo groaned. "Oh its going to be a long trip."
"Is there a problem Kurosaki?" Byakuya growled.
"Yes... there is." Ichigo's face turned red, and started to twitch. "But I suppose I'll have to deal."
"Come on Kurosaki!" Grimmjow growled, another punch hit Ichigo in the gut. "Not so TOUGH now that you're in the living world are you??"
On assignment in Cardiff, dark night, teeny alley. It was misty and cold and drizzling. It was the worst possible of nights to be caught by a randy Espada in a dark alley. Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo by the jaw, hauling him into a kiss that Ichigo thought was going to break his head in half.
When he was released, Ichigo gasped out. "RUKIA!! RENJI!! HELP!!"
"Your puny friends are a MILE away! You feel their spiritual pressure, they're GONE! Oooooh, and I'm going to show you EXACTLY what it feels like to lose a FUCKING ARM!" Grimmjow punched Ichigo, this time sending him flying out of the alley.
Ichigo screamed. "RUKIA!!"
"RUKIA, RUKIA!!" Grimmjow mocked. "Your prissy little girlfriend can't help you NOW!" Ichigo found himself kicked to the ribs. "Who's so powerful /now/ Kurosaki?" Ichigo felt something slice his pants off.
Not here, not so far from home... "Oh hell... RENJIIII!! RENJI HE..." HURK! Leg, he stomped on Ichigo's leg. Ichigo screamed in agony.
Then suddenly...
"Where is it Tosh?"
"This way, to the right! Gwen are you reading this?"
"We're coming up from the other direction..." A woman's voice said. "Owen and I are armed."
"You lucked out human... I was told to avoid being seen. But I'll leave you... with a parting gift." Grimmjow sneered. Ichigo screamed as Grimmjow raked his claws down Ichigo's back in a universal hollow claim mark. The mark claimed Ichigo as Grimmjow's property, for mating or for hunting, as the Espada wished.
A kick and Ichigo went flying backwards. "See you later SUBSTITUTE!"
Ichigo collided with something soft, then he blacked out and Grimmjow fled.
It is not every day a half naked man is flung into your arms. Bloody, battered, broken, but half naked. If only he'd been conscious. But the flaming oranghaired young man was flung, bodily, into his arms. "Hooooo boy!" Jack braced the young man's fall. "Owen! OWEEEEN! OVER HERE WE'VE GOT INJURIES!"
The medic ran over, checking pulse and breathing. "He's alive, we can treat him at the hub. But he needs someplace safe." Owen and Ianto manuvered Ichigo into the truck. Owen sat with him. "its a miracle he's still alive. Leg crushed, crap beaten out of him by who knows what. The bruise from being punched is the size of a small ham. And those clawmarks are going to leave permanent scarring."
"Renji..." Ichigo groaned. "Renji... please..." His breath hitched. "G... Grimmj... ow... die... espa...da." He fell into deeper unconsciousness. "Z... zanget... tsu..."
"Hang in there..."
"Zangetsu, that's a Japanese name. Not one I've ever heard though." Toshiko was in the passengerseat. "When we get him back I'll Search in the database."
"We've got a better lead than that Toshi. Grimmjow, die." Jack repeated. "he just named his attacker."
Gwen was at the wheel. "Something tells me though, that this wasn't done by your run of the mill weevil."
Owen yelped in alarm and pointed. "JACK!"
"What just happened?"
"Dunno, but his outfit changed. Look." Ordinary clothes had faded out of exsitance. It was, unknown to Ichigo's torchwood rescuers, a new trick by Urahara. It would, if mastered, allow Ichigo to use his shinigami powers in his human body. "Doesn't look like your run of the mill kimono, but Tosh was..." Owen broke off. "oh hey now..."
Deep dark black energy wreathed Ichigo's form, which dissipated just as quickly. Jack /did/ catch it in the rearview, turning around to see the last of the black and red glow disappear. Owen moved in the instant the last of it was gone. "Amazin..."
"What is it?"
"His wounds just closed over, just like that. The broken bones and internal damage is still there but... his body is repairing itself." Owen eyed Ichigo carefully, taking pulse and breathing. "Exept for the clawmarks on his back, his wounds have closed over."
"Then we need to get back to the hub quick."
It was cold, it was dark. But he was in a bed, that much he could feel. "Renji?" Ichigo croaked out weakly. "Rukia?"
"Sorry, they're not here." Ichigo recognized the accent, American. A man's voice.
"Wonderful. I wake up expecting Unohana's hospitality or Szayel's torture chamber, which is crazy cause Szayel's dead..." He drooped. "Sorry, i'm too tired to move much..."
"Its no problem." The voice above him told him. "Who's Grimmjow? You were calling for him while you were unconscious."
"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the guy who beat the crap out of me." Ichigo groaned.
"I'll say, raked his claws down your..."
"SAY any of that to my friends and I'll rip out your voicebox." Ichigo hissed. "He tried to kiss me and nearly broke my jaw. If you hadn't come along I'd probably have been... ravaged and beaten to death." He kept his eyes closed, too tired to move very much.
There was a pitying silence. "The Espada, who are they?"
"Its completely crazy, you wouldn't believe me." Ichigo said quietly. "Most people I have to actually show them proof for them to believe me."
"I promise, I'll believe you." A reassuring hand touched the top of his head. "I deal with the paranormal. Its my job to believe it."
"You can't beat Grimmjow..." Ichigo groaned. "You need to find my team. Rukia will be worried sick."
"We'll look for them, what's going on? Please, tell me." Jack said gently.
"I am a shinigami, well, a half breed shinigami." Ichigo explained. "We exist for two purposes, to help the souls of the dead pass on, and to defeat hollows and other evil spirits. Our biggest enemies are hollows, the souls of humans whos attachment to the living world transformed them into monsters. By slaying a hollow, it passes on to the next life. Because of that we're also known as balencers, we balence the souls of the living and dead.
"The shinigami military is divided into 13 divisions, each with a captain and a lieutenant, but recently 3 of our best captains committed treason and stole a powerful weapon known as the Hyougyoku. Their escape and defection caused heavy damage to the Soul Society, where the shinigami live and the souls of the dead gather. Aizen wants to ascend to heaven and kill the King of the shinigami, but in order to do it he needs to make the King's Key, which requires 10,000 souls and the reishi infused in 10,000 spirit acres. He wants to slaughter my entire hometown just to make one key." Ichigo groaned. His head hurt, and he didn't want to explain all of this right then.
"Aizen thought that he could kidnap my friend Orihime, she has a healing ability unmatched by any medical shinigami ever to practice in Soul Society. He figured out how to use it to amplify the Hogyouku, it would have allowed him to create the King's Key sooner. The leader of the shinigami, Yamamoto Genyuusai was willing to leave her there. He thought that Orihime had betrayed us. I couldn't believe it, I convinced my friends Uryu and Sado, and two of my shinigami friends Renji and Rukia to help me rescue her. When they heard what was going on, Yamamoto sent four shinigami captains to come rescue us. In the ensuing melee four of Aizen's strongest underlings, the Espada, died. Aizen's army is made up of arrancar, evolved hollows. The ten strongest arrancar are the Espada. Aside from weird hair and eyes, masks or armor plates on their bodies, and the hole somewhere on their torso, the Arrancar look human. By killing 4 Espada and causing massive damage to Aizen's fortress we put him way behind schedule. But he still possesses the Hogyouku.
"Yamamoto discovered that Aizen had found an area with a history of strange phenomena, here in Cardiff. Aizen had sent his mate Gin and three of the remaining Espada to the area to investigate. They're looking for any kind of technology that might help Aizen recover the strength of his army and speed his progress in creating the King's Key. Yamamoto picked me and four others to come help drive Gin and his Espada away." Ichigo finished his story. "I went out for air and Grimmjow tried to... errrr..." Ichigo blushed furiously. "Please! If you can find Rukia, and Renji, can you tell them where I am?" he asked desperately.
"Sure." Jack said cheerfully. "I'll need to brief my team too."
"You'll hurt yourselves trying!" Ichigo protested. "Gin will slaughter you! He's sadistic, he'll torture you and kill you!" Ichigo shivered. "And not just anyone can take down an Espada. I don't know what kind of powers your team has, some humans possess the ability to kill hollows, but NEVER arrancar. Sado tried, Uryu tried, both of them got their butts kicked. Uryu nearly got his organs crushed from the inside because of the magic one of the Espada used when it caught him! Rukia almost died slaying Arleri! And Ulquiorra... Ulquiorra stopped one of my techniques with two fingers. They'll slaughter you!"
"I'm kinda hard to kill." Jack said with an impish grin. "Its our town! We have a right to defend it." He said fervently. "Don't worry, we're tougher than you think." He said with a reassuring smile. "Your friends, how do we find them?"
"Aaaah, Rukia has short black hair and deep blue eyes, she's Byakuya's little sister. She's very petit, but she's got a hot temper. You'll know Renji right off, he's got surfer boy style tattoos all over him, face, neck, body. And his hair is red, I mean /scarlet/ red. It makes him look kinda... well... hot." A smile curled Ichigo's lips. "Byakuya is tall and quiet, black hair and deep blue eyes. He's got a really unique hairpiece, its a sign of leadership in his clan. Its kinda silver and ties on the left side of his head. Matsumoto is... REALLY hard to miss. She's got this long curly honey blonde hair, and REALLY big breasts. And she's a bit of a flirt, she enjoys taunting her captain. She's the kind of woman that smothers you when she hugs you. It drives her captain Hitsugaya crazy. Once she actually tied pink ribbons in his hair. (2) She was teasing him but... heh, ever see snow in July? Aaaah... and she loves shopping for human clothes. You'll probably find her near the mall with Rukia." Ichigo felt his strength starting to ebb.
Ichigo, you need to rest more.Zangetsu warned him. It will be awhile before you're back to full strength, your rescuers are trustworthy.
Jack was standing to go. "Alright, I'll see if I can find them. A bunch like that should be hard to miss." He said with a chuckle.
"Wait!" Ichigo said quickly. "If you find a hollow, if you're eaten, you'll become a hollow too. They have only ONE weakspot! The mask on their face. If you break their mask, you'll slay them and they'll go over to the other side." Ichigo told Jack quickly. "I don't know if that'll be of any use to you... I don't know how strong your weapons are but..."
"Thanks... I'm Jack, Jack Harkness, you?"
"Ichigo... Ichigo Kurosaki. and it DOESNT mean strawberry." He added hurriedly.
"And he's been gone for two days?" Karin asked worriedly over cellphone. "That's not like him Rukia. Ichigo disappears all the time, but he wouldn't just run off on something like this."
"I know, that's what worries me." Rukia and Matsumoto were at the mall with Renji. Rukia had called Karin. After learning that Karin could see shinigami, Ichigo decided it was better to introduce her to some of the shinigami closest to him so that she could ask them for help if a hollow came. Karin and Rukia made fast friends, already knowing each other very well from Rukia's previous stays at the Kurosaki household. "He was seriously pissed off at Yamamoto for making him come out here, but its not like him to just disappear."
"If I hear from him, I'll call you. But something is definately wrong." Rukia hung up and sighed, moving over to where Matsumoto was eyeing the dresses in one of the stores. "RUKIA! You NEED to get that one! You'd look so cute in it!"
"Yeah, but Uryu made this just for me." Rukia pointed out the dress she was wearing. "Its good luck to wear a gift someone made for you." The dress was pink and red. Rukia liked red, but not pink, and that dress was, to her, HIDEOUS.
"Oh come on! Hey Reeeennjiiiiiii! Look at that outfit! You'd look so much better in that!" Matsumoto squealed. "COME ON!" She tugged on Renji's arm. "When Ichigo comes back you'll look SO cute! You'll be completely irrisistable."
"Oh fine!" Renji rolled his eyes. Matsumoto had her way, and pretty soon Renji had exchanged his hawaiian shirt for a burgundy cotton button up shirt and tight black jeans. Matsumoto added another surprise, a long black leather trenchcoat with scarlet lining.
"I look like a... a... a..." Renji stammered as he looked over the coat, tugging the edges curiously here and there. "I look like a dork!" He whined, turning back and forth. "This is like a captain's coat. It even flows like one!"
"you do not look like a DORK." Matsumoto hissed. "Rukia how does he look."
"its not an outfit that says Renji, though it is attractive." Hint hint, maybe she could say she had to go to the restroom, then run. Rukia LOVED Rangiku, in a friend way, but she needed to stop dressing people up like dolls.
"Hmph," Renji huffed, nose in the air.
Matsumoto looked desperately around for some form of vindication. She found a pair of women and a rather, drawn faced man gathered near one of the soda machines. "Excuse me, my friend here doesn't believe me... ladies does he look hot in that outfit?"
The gaunt faced man grimaced. "I'll back out of that." Renji quickly turned red and waved timidly.
"You should dress him in something from Pacific Sun." One of the women, with a local accent and short black hair, replied.
The other chuckled, her japanese accent plain to Matsumoto. "He does look kinda cute, but it would look better on Owen over here."
"Ooooooooh, are you taking him shopping? I can't convince my friend Rukia here to get a new dress. Renji at least was willing to try the new look." Matsumoto batted her lashes, and her winning grin was turned on Owen. "She needs a new dress right? I can't get her to..."
"I don't care." The man, Owen appearantly replied.
"Owen's a little shy." The woman with the Japanese accent said with a smirk. "I've been dating him for weeks, he's far too much a gentleman."
Rukia and Renji had joined them. "My friend Uryu made this for me. Its good luck to wear it." Rukia insisted. Anything but the pink monstrosity Rangiku wanted her to wear.
"It would be rude then not to..." The Japanese woman replied. "I'm Toshiko, these are Gwen and Owen. Its nice to meet you."
Rukia sighed and Matsumoto squealed. "Your boyfriend has such a cute name! I'm Rangiku, these are Rukia and Renji." Renji seemed to have very little interest in the coversation. Rukia was shyer than Rangiku, and just let her work out her flirty, gossipy... girly... business.
Gwen edged closer to Owen and whispered. "You think these are the ones Jack was looking for."
Owen replied, as Toshiko kept Rangiku busy. "Dunno, they do stand out a lot."
Renji's beeper went off. "Rangiku! Rukia!" He called, indicating the cellphone. "We need to go! Its an emergency, and a big one."
Rangiku all but bubbled as she tugged Rukia off. "We gotta go, we're in town on business and we just got paged by our boss. See you!"
Gwen was surprised at the speed with which all three ran off into the crowd. "We'd better follow them."
"Yeah..." Owen dialed Jack on his cellphone. "Jack, we think we may have found Ichigo's team members. But they just got a text on one of their cellphones and ran off."
"Follow them, they're probably going after a hollow. If they are, try to clear the area as best you can. Don't make a move on it unless it seems like they can't kill it. This is our town, we have to do our duty, but its their fight, they know the bad guys. We need to try and make friends with them as best we can."
They made it to the parking lot, and they met the oddest sight they'd seen yet, and for Torchwood that's big. "Its not just a hollow, its an adjuchas." Renji groaned. "Those are cropping up everywhere at Karakura lately, but here in Wales?"
"A hollow is a hollow wherever it is." Rukia readied a small object in her hands. "On three."
"yeah!" The adjuchas was a massive black monster. It looked like a low slung bull, even snorting smoke out of its bonelike white mask. It had a hole in about the middle of its chest, but its tail and back were the oddest parts about it. Its tail resembled a dinosaur's, complete with spiked club. It had razor sharp spines along its back as well.
"hmmmmm, well well well... I didn't think I'd find some soul reapers out here... you guys should make a yummy snack. I was expecting slim pickins, but it seems like most of the humans in this town have a pretty yummy flavor."
"Jerk." Matsumoto snorted. "I was enjoying my trip."
"Then lets get together baby, you can be lunch." The hollow growled, charging.
"NOW!" Rukia roared, flicking what looked like a candy bottle open. All three swallowed something, there was a 'bong' noise and suddenly it looked like there were two of each of them. "Chappy, take our gigai out of range of the battle and clear as many civillians as you can from the immedaite area. We're visitors here, we need to be respectful."
"Looks like great minds think alike." Owen muttered as the trio pulled out of sight. "Doesn't look like there are any people around either, aside from trucks coming in with frieght this part of the parking lot is abandoned."
"I think I figured it out... those bodies we saw, they were shells." Gwen whispered. "They used whatever that was they swallowed to leave their shells, but they had to leave something behind. Probably some kind of autopilot."
"LOOK!" Rukia raised a long, delicate looking sword, "Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!" The blade changed, it was subtle, but it lengthened and a bell on a ribbon appeared on the end.
"ROAR! ZABIMARU!" Renji also drew a sword, which changed into a segmented weapon with several fanglike protrusions.
"GROWL HAINEKO!!" Rangiku yelled. Her blade simply disappeared, dissolving into a white ashlike dust that sparkled as it shifted and flowed around her.
Toshiko dug into her bag, pulling out some kind of camera. "I rigged this to take video. It will hold up to 30 minutes without having to save the footage to another storage device and its calibrated so that I can analyze the footage back at the Hub." She handed it to Gwen. "Owen and I will split up and take a look around. FILM THIS!" She insisted.
Rukia leapt into battle. "Second Dance! Hakuren!" A spire of ice shot towards the adjuchas. The hollow snickered, swatting at the ice with its tail. A little got stuck on the end, but her attack was almost completely negated.
Renji made a whipping motion with his sword, which extended like a whip and slashed at the hollow's forelimb, knocking it off. "RUKIA NOW!"
"I'll tie him down!" Rangiku added, the sparkling dust flying forwards to grind into the hollow's eyes, then formed a noose around its neck.
"FIRST DANCE, Tsukishiro!" A wave of white spread out from the area around Rukia. Renji and Rangiku leapt out of the way just in time. The ice froze up the hollow's legs, engulfing most of its body.
Renji began to attack in earnest, lashing out at the hollow's mask. "Its not working."
"Hey, stupid soul reaper. My head is hard as a rock! You can't break me as easily as you would your average hollow!" The bull hollow thrashed trying to get free. Shards of ice flew everywhere, it shook its head, trying to clear the dust from its eyes. "Ow, now that really hurt little kitty... where did you go?" The hollow started to stumble, shaking its head. Half blind it charged, but it went the wrong way. "THERE you are!"
Gwen realized that the confused hollow had thought she was Rukia. "Stupid little." Gwen bolted, though she had enough wit to keep the camera focused on the battle. "This had better be worth..." She tripped.
"GWEN!" Toshiko darted out to try and reach her before the hollow.
WOOOOSH! Suddenly Gwen was being carried, "You really shouldn't have stayed that close to the battle." A quiet voice said in her ear.
Her rescuer was moving so fast, Gwen thought she was going to be sick. "NIISAMA!" Rukia cried in relief.
"SIT there and don't move." Byakuya growled irritably as he set Gwen down. He raised a sword as well. "Scatter, senbonzakura." The blade broke into a hundred tiny pink pieces, almost like blossoms floating on the wind. Almost as if these had a mind of their own, they shot fowards, surrounding the hollow. Then all at once the cloud darted in. SKKKKCCCCHHH! The hollow was torn to pieces. Ichor splattered everywhere, there was no more hollow. The monster dissolved with a soul splitting keen.
The pink petals returned to their blade. "You humans should stay out of this. You're going to get yourselves killed."
"This is our city!!" Gwen protested, getting to her feet. "We have a right to defend it!" Toshiko and Owen had joined her as well, glaring defiantly at Byakuya.
"No, not against hollows. Those are the province of shinigami. You have no defense against what we have been sent here to kill." Byakuya said cooly. "Only a very few humans are capable of fighting one on one with a hollow and winning. The quincy were the only ones who could do so with any consistancy, and only two of their number remain. A few scattered humans do have psychic abilities strong enough to slay a single hollow. A precious few in the world have the ability to defeat a number of hollows. And I have only three names who are capable of fighting the arrancar, the evolved hollows, that we have come to slay on equal footing and hope to survive, let alone win. You are outclassed in this battle. You should leave it to those who are strong enough to survive." Byakuya said coldly.
"Niisama." From where Gwen stood it was clear that the blackhaired girl, Rukia, was going to defer to the older one. Niisama, it sounded like "Oniisan" Japanese for brother. But wasn't 'Sama' master?
"Shimatte kudasai!!" Toshiko hurried forwards, taking her chance to get their attention. She spoke in Japanese, though Gwen and Owen couldn't understand all of it. "I understand that you have fought a long battle, and that you are used to fighting alone. Without guidance in unfamiliar territory you will be the ones who are killed! There are threats here in which YOU are the ones who are outgunned. Tell me, shinigami, your friend Ichigo Kurosaki. Have you found him yet?"
"How do you know Ichigo?" Rukia asked, turning to regard Toshiko with suspicion. The shy girl was gone, Rukia's expression was now more like a hawk. In many ways it reminded Toshiko of Gwen.
"My name is Toshiko Sato, Computer specialist for Torchwood hub 3. Your friend Ichigo Kurosaki was brought into our infirmary 48 hours ago after sustaining serious injuries from an attacker he identifies as Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Espada number 6. Our medical officer, Owen, discovered that his superficial wounds healed on their own, but he is still recovering from internal damage. He is extremely weak, fading in and out of consciousness. And there was a wound on his back, a long vicious clawmark that looked like it had been burned there, that has not yet healed on its own. He was extremely weak, and I didn't hear what it was he said to our Captain, except for the last phrase, he said 'They have only ONE weakspot! The mask on their face. If you break their mask, you'll slay them and they'll go over to the other side. I don't know if that'll be of any use to you...'"
The shinigami listened carefully to her words. Rukia, Renji and Rangiku looked extremely relieved, but she'd said EXACTLY the wrong thing if she wanted Byakuya to listen to anything she had to say on Torchwood's behalf.
"He wasn't sure how strong we were, he wasn't sure if we would survive the attempt, but he was willing to let us try! This is OUR home! We have a right, we have a say in what happens to it!"
Byakuya turned his back and walked away. "Tell Ichigo, that we will send Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai to retrieve him this evening. Unless you wish to die an untimely and vicious death, Sato-san, you and your team will keep away from hollows. Or you will be eaten."
"Niisama..." Rukia looked crestfallen. She had really been hoping she could get to know the three from Torchwood better. And Byakuya's response was a serious disappointment. She had been able to tell, after the incident in which she was almost killed, that Byakuya was trying to be more social. She understood that he was trying to keep the humans from getting hurt but his reaction was still a disappointment.
"Rukia, I'll see you back at the safehouse."
"Sama, you are nobility yes?" Toshiko asked. "I wasn't disrespectful to him was I?"
Hai, Niisama takes a while to warm up to people. I think he, Renji and Ichigo are up to something romantic wise. Poor Ichigo, he didn't want to come. He only came bacause the Commander General promised his family would be protected while he was gone. I have... heard Niisama speaking with Captain Ukitake. Ukitake is hoping to invite Ichigo as his Lieutenant, and several of the Captains think that he is Captain Material. They think that he will save us from Aizen, but Ichigo's rebelliousness, he will not make Captain for a long time.
"Toshiko what are you saying to her?" Gwen demanded.
"I'll tell you when we have returned to the hub." Toshiko promised. "Our Captain, Jack Harkness is also a rebel. Perhaps he and Ichigo will have much in common. I must ask, these hollows, why would this Grimmjow leave a mark down Ichigo's back. It looks as if it were smouldered there, its raw and red and it won't heal. Owen has used every trick he knows to try and make it go away. And we have some GREAT healing technology at our disposal."
"That isn't good. Its a hollow possetion mark." Rukia said, switching back to English. "Hollows, Arrancar in particular will leave a possetion mark for one of two reasons, either they are marking a target as their personal kill, and no hollow of lower ability will dare attack. Or they are marking a target they want as their mate. My big brother, I apologize, he's an aristocrat, and not particularly good at dealing with outsiders. I'm more than willing to go with you. Ichigo will need me, and my big brother was correct in thinking that you are unprepared to deal with hollows."
"Come with us then." Gwen offered, then eyed Rukia suspiciously when she called to their 'doubles' that had run off. "Chappy, I need me gigai back."
"Sure going!" Chappy skipped up. Rukia pulled on the gigai's hand, there was a SHLOOP and a tiny green pill fell into Rukia's hand.
As the other shinigami reclaimed their gigai, an intelligent remark from Renji became an ill omen for the ride to the hub. "ROAD TRIP!"
Despite the grim mood, the car ride was amusing. Matsumoto and Toshiko joked with each other, with Owen between them. Toshiko whispered something in Japanese to Rangiku, Rangiku giggled and whispered back. Owen started inching away from the two females. Then suddenly Matsumoto was smothering him with what Renji called "The super breast smusher", cackling all the while. Owen's face was priceless, his expression screaming 'help me!' Then Rukia punched Renji. "YOU BLOCKHEAD!" She snapped. "You and Matsumoto have done smarter things while DRUNK!"
"I'm TRYING to drive!" Gwen protested. "Great mother of..."
"Hey Gwen, can I drive? Can I can I?" Renji asked, leaning over the divider between seats. "I've never driven a human vehicle before!"
"And its STAYING that way!" Rukia shoved Renji's head back over to his side.
"She showed you Renji!" Matsumoto cackled. "Rukia! Way to kick some."
"DONT MAKE ME PULL THIS CAR OVER!" Gwen shrilled. "Oh thank goodness, the HUB!" Torchwood Hub had several entrances and exits. There was one in the courtyard of the convention center it was under. That was used when dealing with someone you didn't want to know the locations of the other entrances OR if they wanted to make an entrance. There was another in a store several blocks down, that was where the garage was and where most visitors tried to enter.
Ianto was sitting at the desk reading a book, "Sorry we'r... Gwen welcome back." Ianto stood, "You brought friends."
"Yeah, we found Ichigo's team." Gwen sighed. "One of them didn't want to come, but the other three."
"Dont' worry about Niisama, he's very formal. Shinigami are not, as a rule, accustomed to working with humans. Matsumoto, Renji and I know more about your society. Niisama volunteered, I don't know why, though I suspect that he wanted to keep an eye on Ichigo."
"In that case, why isn't he here?"
"GWEN!" Jack Harkness was a LOT for Rukia to take in. First of all, she had to look UP to see him. Then there was the grin. Rukia thought for the barest moment that Kaien was back from the dead and donned the coat that he'd so coveted when he was still alive. Jack was in his usual button up shirt, slacks and suspenders. The look in his eyes, that friendly welcoming grin that sparkled with life. And his coat, flared in the exact way a shinigami captain's jacket does. "wow, you brought visitors..."
"We found Ichigo's team." Gwen explained. "Ianto, can you get some coffee? I think these three could use some."
"Iiiiiii'm Captain Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood hub 3." Hand extended in greeting.
Rukia took it. "Rukia Kuchiki, unseated officer of Shinigami Division 13. These are Lieutenant's Renji Abarai and Rangiku Matsumoto." they were headed down a passageway towards Torchwood's control room. They had just barely entered the control room. Rukia thought they might have escaped it but...
"Oh my such a dashing young man!" Matsumoto squealed, leaning in with a cute look on her face. "Its such a pleasure to meet you... Jack-taichou!" The last two sylables were said in the singsong voice reserved for two people, Hitsugaya and a sake bottle.
Rukia dragged Matsumoto back. "DOWN Girl! Before you pop your kimono, hell..." Rangiku was straining against Rukia's attempts to keep her away from Jack.
"Oooooh, but he's cuter than my Taichou... why can't Shiro-chan grow up a bit?" Rangiku pouted. "When this is over, you... me, and a bottle of sa-ke?"
"uuuuh..." Ianto watched Matsumoto's antics, edging away carefully.
"Sure." Jack grinned. "Want me to buy? Its not every day I see someone as... pretty... as you. Normally I have to flirt, I don't have girls throwing themselves at me."
"Liar." Gwen muttered, watching the tableu in amusement.
"Sake, and a cute guy paying for it. We'll never get her off your captain now now." Renji groaned as he eyed Rangiku, who threw her arms around Jack and clung. And yes, she attempted the breast smothering hug, the very one that annoys the hell out of Hitsugaya.
The expression on his face had Owen laughing. "I didn't think I'd see the day when he'd get annoyed by a girl." Owen snorted. "Look at his face Tosh..."
Toshiko was doing her best to ignore the attention Rangiku was paying their leader, but she had a huge grin on her face. And she didn't look in the slightest bit annoyed at Rangiku.
"Rangiku, I have an idea." Rukia said, after watching for a few minutes. "Why don't you help us nurse Ichigo back to health huh?"
"Oh that's right! Ichigo." Rangiku cast one last flirty look at Jack before finally letting go. "I was having fun Rukia. Do we have to get back to business so soooon?" She crooned, eyeing Harkness sidelong.
"Is she always like this?" Ianto asked Renji in a low voice.
"Every single day." Renji replied dryly. "Eat, drink, party and be VERY merry. The worst part is that her captain is short enough, she can smother him with one hug." He laughed. "And no man or woman is safe either. I've seen her sneaking out of Nanao's once. And mooning over Izuru."
"Renji, you've been the only one immune." Rukia pointed out. "Coooome on, its a guy isn't it. You're either head over heals or..."
"LETS go see Ichigo!" Renji said cheerfully, heading for the infirmary.
"oooooh, Renji is it Kuchiki Taichou or Kurosaki?" Rangiku inquired innocently.
"Oooooh, I think he's waking up." Renji was out the door at a run, blushing furiously.
"Do you think that's a 'both?'" Rukia asked innocently. "Look at us Rangiku, the three R's. Rukia, Renji and Rangiku."
"I never noticed that. But Rukia-chaaaaan, can you imagine a three way?" Rangiku's eyes started to sparkle.
"It wouldn't surprise me, those three are already close. Do you think that's why niisama wanted to go?"
"he /asked/??" Rangiku asked with a girly squeal.
"Why is this anything unusual?" Toshiko asked them as the team tailed Renji to the infirmary. "And how do you know where our infirmary is? You've never been down here."
Rukia sobered, shrugging. "Spiritual pressure. Everything has it. The same way I can sense that you have three aliens in your holding cells and a large repository of supernatural artifacts." Rukia said this as if it were the most commonplace thing in the world.
They entered on. "Ichigo! Ichigo wake up!" Renji shook the unconscious shinigami, hard. "ICHIGO!"
A hand jutted up from the bed, grabbed a bedpan, and hit Renji in the head. "I've got a HEADACHE Dumbass!" Ichigo groaned.
"Well SO-RRY for being concerned!" Renji scolded. "I thought you were hurt!"
Ichigo struggled to sit up, and that's when Rukia saw the clawmark down Ichigo's backside. "Ichigo..." She said sharply. "Your back."
"Yeah, Zangetsu healed my body, all except for this. And for some reason I'm really tired and have a supersized headache."
"No kidding." Renji immediately got serious. "Grimmjow left that Ichigo?"
"Among various broken bones, painful bruises and ruptured organs. Right now it hurts to sit up."
"I'll say..." Renji pulled up a stool, gesturing for Ichigo to turn around. "Rukia is this what I think it is?"
"I'm not sure. Ichigo, did Grimmjow do anything to you when he attacked you?"
Ichigo groaned, "Yes, he kicked in my ribcage and punted me like a football!" Ichigo snapped irritably. But his face was white and something didn't quite seem right.
"That's not what I meant..." Rukia said gently. "Everybody but me and Renji, and Jack, out." She hissed. "This is sensitive."
"whatever you say." Rangiku sighed. "Alright, come on, nothing to see here." She told Toshiko, Owen, Gwen and Ianto. "All four of you. Bring me up to date with your territory and I'll bring you up to date with ours." She hummed happily. "And this coffee, does it taste good?"
"Why, what did Grimmjow do?" Owen asked as he was pushed out.
"What is it, Rukia you look like you've seen a ghost?" Jack asked, looking from Ichigo to Rukia and Renji.
"Ichigo, I need you to be honest with us. If you lie in this case it could cost you your life." Rukia said quietly.
"Its nothing." Ichigo said coldly. "And its none of your business." He refused to look Rukia in the eye.
"Ichigo, did Grimmjow do anything sexual to you?" Rukia insisted. Bedpan number two flew in her direction.
"FUCK YOU! I got beaten up! How is none of your business! When I see Grimmjow again I'm going to get some PAYBACK!" Ichigo yelled. "I have a big fucking CLAWMARK down my backside! He wanted payback for Aizen! That's all!"
"Jack, if this is what I think it is and Ichigo doesn't come clean he could die. Did Grimmjow do anything sexual to Ichigo when you found him?" Rukia ducked a sharp object flung at her, then a bottle of something by the bedside. "Before I get beaned in the head."
"FUCK YOU RUKIA! FUCK YOU!" Ichigo sputtered, but then his wounds got the better of him and he screamed, falling backwards onto the bed. Tears trailed down his cheeks. "Fuck you..." He said weakly.
Jack was watching him pityingly. "Grimmjow tried to rape him. When we interrupted him he kicked Ichigo. Sent him flying." Jack said grimmly. Ichigo refused to look him in the eye. He and Harkness had made friends in the couple of days he'd been stuck in the infirmary. Ichigo hadn't had anybody to talk to, since he was so weak.
This time it was a second sharp implement from the nearest bedside table. Jack caught it calmly. "I"m not so easily harmed Ichigo. I'm sorry, I know it hurts to talk about. But this sounds too important for you to..." Ichigo rolled over, ignoring him. "I'm sorry, I know you didn't want to talk about it, but Rukia seems to think this is important. And you shouldn't have to suffer silently." He said quietly, warmly.
Rukia thought, not for the first time, that Harkness reminded her so much of Kaien. "Ichigo, what Grimmjow left was a mating mark. He MARKED you. You might not have noticed it right now, but that isn't just a mark, its a spell." Rukia said sharply. "There are two kinds of matemarks. The Mark of Partnership and the Mark of Subjugation. The Mark of Partnership is a bite or claw to the shoulder. That is a promise or declaration of loyalty. The Mark of Subjugation is down the lower back to the thighs. Its a sign of humiliation, of possession. The Mark of Subjugation doesn't just mess with your body, it messes with your MIND."
"no fucking kidding its humiliating." Ichigo was crying. "Just leave me alone... just..."
Renji's expression was grim. "Hey, Hey Ichigo. Its okay, you're going to be okay." He leaned down to pull the hysterical deputy into his arms. Ichigo growled, shoving uselessly against Renji. He struggled for just a few more seconds before he leaned against Renji and just cried. Just melted.
"Messes with his mind how?" Jack asked Rukia quietly. "Is he in any danger?"
"More than you know." Rukia gestured that they move to the other side of the infirmary. "The Mark of Subjugation is one nasty spell. It... a normal rape is hard enough to deal with, even an ordinary attempted one. Ichigo is a vaizard, a shinigami with an inner hollow. Because of that the Subjugation Mark is especially potent. He won't be able to raise a hand in his own defense, psychologically. Every time he faces Grimmjow, angry or not that inner hollow will be screeching in terror. Its the strength behind Ichigo's bankai, his strongest attack. Right now I need to speak with that inner hollow, here's what I need you to do..."
Ichigo sobbed uncontrollably, he knew what had happened wasn't his fault. Grimmjow had caught him by surprise, he'd escaped getting raped by the skin of his teeth. And Grimmjow was going to come back for more. Ogichi was nowhere in sight. Zangetsu had watched over him, but the old man was silent as well. Renji was so comfortable, he smelled of cinnamon and sunshine and sake and Ichigo didn't want to move.
"Rukia what are you?" Renji blinked in surprise. That was all the warning Ichigo got.
"Sorry Ichigo." There was a prick in his back shoulder, a needle, Ichigo screamed, falling limp.
"What the hell were you doing??" Renji demanded.
"OY Hollow! I'm talking to you!" Rukia snapped. "Answer me dumbhead, if you don't answer me your Human is going to get beaten up by grimmjow a..."
"You are a bitch aren't you?" Ichigo's voice sounded gargled, warped, even if it was muffled by Renji's chest. "You need to learn to leave me alone, but I didn't think you'd have the balls on you to call me out this rudely." Ichigo turned around, and Jack recoiled.
What Jack saw made him tense, there was an eerie feeling coming off of Ichigo, one that frightened something in the deepest depths of his soul. The boy's features had turned a pale, pale ivory white. So had his hair. The whites of his eyes were black, and the irises were a vivid, warning shade of gold. Owen had lent Ichigo a pair of sweatpants to wear while he was recovering, and these were now a crisp, skeletal white.
"It looks like the Immortal is actually afraid of me." Ogichi snickered. "I am the thing that lurks beneath his skin. The phantasm that invades his dreams. I am the one who heals his wounds when he falls to the ground bloody and the one who makes sure he doesn't run home with his tail between his legs. My mask is his shield, my fang his blade."
"Lurk huh, that doesn't sound to good." Jack commented. "Do you know anything... what exactly are you? You don't seem very nice."
"The mate mark, humiliating isn't it?" Ogichi hissed, "I'm sick as a dog and I'm not in a good mood. Trust me, it is VERY hard to make a hollow sick. But Grimmjow laid /my/ King low. He won't get away with it. As soon as I get my talons into his eyeballs." The inner hollow seethed in outrage.
"You're not happy about it." Jack observed. "Why isn't Ichigo's back healing?"
"Its a mark of subjugation, why would it heal." Ogichi hissed. "Its a brand, my /king/ is the property of an Espada INGRATE!"
"How bad is it?" Rukia asked bluntly.
"How bad is what Kuchiki-bitch?" Ogichi asked mockingly.
"How bad is the rain?" Rukia asked with a low growl. "Is the sky clear or is it pouring?"
"Everything is drenched. Buckets and buckets. Its as cold as ice and nothing has escaped it. And I feel like screaming /kuchiki-bitch/. And you... Surfer boy Renji. Do you know what King did when Grimmjow was trying to fuck him? He screamed for help over and over and you never came. He even asked for you by name and what were you doing? Drinking and laughing with the Kuchiki bitch and captain noble tight ass icicle." Ogichi mocked. "The man who cannot die over there, he heard King screaming in panic and pain. And he actually DID something about it!"
Jack growled. "How did you..." He had never said anything to Ichigo about his appearant immortality.
"Know that you can't die? Simple, I'm a hollow and a soul reaper. When there's something wrong with a person's chain of fate, I can feel it. Yours is so tightly anchored to your heart not even the Hogyouku could rip it out. Your spiritual pressure is pretty big too. That chain is probably the only thing between you and being a shinigami like Surfer boy and Kuchiki bitch." Ogichi snickered. "I can read your soul Harkness, there's something in you that screams for death." Ogichi sneered, "Too bad, so pretty and so young. Hats off to you cutie."
"I'm flattered." Jack's expression was as wary and suspcious as it ever got. "A creature from beyond the grave is interested in me..." He said sarcastically. If it weren't for Ogichi's tone, he really would have been flattered.
"Mm, better bending over for you than for Grimmjow. King likes you, did you notice? So what did you want to know, Kuchiki?" Ogichi snickered. "The arrancar bastard?"
"Yes, how much damage did Grimmjow do?"
"Besides tearing my King apart?" Ogichi snarled. "He made me his BITCH and now I can't shake the image of him out of my hormonally craved head. And King is no better. The mere thought makes him stir with an unwanted lust. That is how bad the matemark has become."
"So what would happen if he came after you?" Rukia asked, watching him warily.
"Kuchiki bitch, do you know the difference between instinct and free will? Its a seperation my King doesn't appreciate. If Grimmjow were to return to try and claim me, as his instinct will now prompt him to, my sex crazed hollow mind won't put up a fight at all. I hate him for hurting my King, that is my free will, but I want him to throw me to the mattress and nail me there so badly that I doubt King would be able to put up much of a fight." Ogichi hissed. "That is my instinct. It will confuse the hell out of King." Ogichi shivered. The look in his eyes as they met Rukia's was true fear. "Make no mistake Kuchiki, this is as devastating a blow as you think it is. Everything I stand for terrifies King to his very core. My instinct over the next couple of weeks will be iffy, Grimmjow's antics have me horny as a hounddog and trust me I want some kind of relief. I might not be able to help myself. But I'll tell you a little secret, one I doubt even King realizes yet. He loooooves the surfer boy and the Captain Noble Icicle. He adores them, he'd much, much rather have either of them than Grimmjow, or better both. Hell, I wouldn't mind either. There is a way to do this that is... mutually beneficial. But it would require Renji and Byakuya to take on Grimmjow and win."
"HOW?" Jack demanded, he didn't like the idea of Grimmjow breaking into the Hub just so that he could finish off Ichigo. And he didn't like people getting hurt when he could prevent it, period. And this whole affair already had him on edge.
"Find somebody that King likes so much, he'll sleep with them instead of Grimmjow. Grimmjow will be pissed off when he smells somebody else on his mark. When hollows get into a pissing match over a mate, they fight, and the stronger of the two gets whomever was in dispute. The other runs home with his tail between his legs. If your surfer boy and pretty boy Byakuya get their claws into King first, then beat off Grimmjow, the mate mark will fade and King will heal. Until then, his body will take its own sweet time in healing. Old Man Zangetsu and I won't let him die, but it is a strain on us to fight the energy left behind by that mark. Complete healing of him will take us awhile. Only Renji and Byakuya will be able to do that, because he loves them so deeply in the darkest recesses of his mind, where hope and fear and all that crap come from. And be carefull, Kuchiki brat, Ichigo's bankai isn't going to work very well until this is fixed, worse, I can't heal Ichigo and come to his aid against enemies at once. He is as laid low as he was when he first met Bya and Renji, months and months ago when he was wet behind the ears." Ogichi sneered back at Rukia. "Does that answer your question Soul Reaper? I'm exhausted, and every second wasted here is an hour I could have spent healing King. I can't do two things at once."
"Fine, Ogichi. You told me exactly what I wanted to know." Rukia said coldly. "I do wish Niisama had come."
"Hey, he's an icicle, they have a little trouble melting." Ogichi closed his eyes, falling back into Renji's arms. The white faded from his face, orange returning to Ichigo's hair.
Rukia eyed Jack for a moment. "Renji, stay with Ichigo. I need to bring Jack and his team up to date on the... relevant, points of the conversation and call Niisama."
"Alright, I'll keep an eye on him."
It was raining in Karakura, Orihime running through the mess, soaking wet. Her long ago words ringing through her head...
Sometimes, I wish I could be like the rain, if I were, would I have a way to connect two hearts together? The way the rain connects the earth and the sky, even though the two never touch?
"WHY!!" Orihime screamed. "Why am I... always the one who needs to be protected..." There was a smiling blonde woman in the barest edge of her memory, and a kind faced man with little hair and a look, a look in his eyes that reminded her of Ichigo and Sora at once. "Brother protected me, Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki-chan, Kuchiki-chan, Ishida-kun, Sado-kun. They're all stronger than I am... I'm always left behind... there's never anything... anything I can do to help them."
She closed her eyes, raising her face to the sky, focusing as hard as she could on the memory. The day Sora died, /they/ came. Orihime was so scared and hurt so badly. They stayed for a while week to make sure she was alright. /She/ held Orihime back from getting run over too.
Orihime heard her younger voice chiming. "Thank you for staying with me Tyler-chan..." Twelve year old Orihime clung, sobbing to the woman she barely remembered from years ago. "Niichan... Niichan would be glad... somebody came to help me... I know you had somewhere you wanted to be... I'm so sorry I took you two away..."
And waving goodbye in the rain as the two walked away. "Thank you Rose! Thank you Doctor! I'll get big and strong just like you Rose! You just watch!" The two disappeared across the street, all Orihime heard to mark their absence was a peculiar sound, sawing out of existance and fading, like a bad car or a broken machine. It wasn't that long later that Tatsuki came into her life, and the memories of the blonde woman and her kind faced Doctor faded to the back of her mind.
Orihime couldn't remember very well, that was a part of her life she wanted to forget. The very first people who protected her. And since then she'd been so helpless. Unable to help friends who desperately needed her.
"I'll get big and strong just like you Rose! You just watch!"
Orihime screamed in frustration and helplessness.
1. I saw the episode "Fragments" Torchwood 02, I wanted to draw a parallel between Jack and Ichigo.
2. My all time favorite piece of Hitsugaya fanart. Poor Shirochan!
