"Kurotsuchi Mayuri went crazy last night and fled Seireitei with Nemu."
Ichigo struggled to open one eye, only to come face to face with Rukia's iron gaze. He jerked backwards, still absorbing what she'd said into his sleepy brain.
"What?" he asked stupidly, scratching his head. "What time is it. Why are you even in here?" Blinking blearily around at his bedroom, he finally located his clock. It was only four in the morning. "Dammit, Rukia, don't wake me up this early for anything that's not a hollow." He flopped back down into bed, and yanked the covers back up.
Rukia yanked them right back down. "Idiot!" she accused. "Did you even hear me? Kurotsuchi has gone crazy."
"Not my problem," Ichigo replied flippantly. "Ask me again-" he yawned midsentence, "-in an hour or two when I've actually gotten some sleep."
"Not your-" Rukia's voice choked off in rage. The next thing Ichigo knew she'd grabbed him by his hair and yanked him up. His Shinigami soul left his body laying in the same, inelegant position he'd been in. Rukia smirked at him smugly as he yawned again.
"Dammit, Rukia, I just got to sleep an hour ago because I was out fighting those damned hollows. How the hell do you expect me to be any use now?" Brown eyes flashed against grey as the two Shinigami stared eachother down.
To Ichigo's surprise, it was Rukia who looked away first. "We don't have time for this. Kurotsuchi could be anywhere."
"Why'd you come to me with this?" Ichigo asked after a long moment of silence. It wasn't as though there weren't eleven other captains to be requested. And it wasn't as though he'd wanted captaincy in the first place. Yamamoto had shoved him into the position of fifth division captian shortly before the war against Aizen had ended. That had been nearly a year ago, and he still hadn't adjusted. Running a clinic part time with a full time job as big brother and Shinigami captain was exhausting, and he still spent much of his time in Karakura, to the great dismay of the other captains.
He'd worked it out for himself, however, that while he was in Karakura, he was simply Shinigami Ichigo, the way he'd always been. His captain's haori resided in his unused quarters in fifth division; he only ever used it when he had to go to Soul Society for meetings and such, which were few and far between.
Rukia, for her part, had finally convinced her brother to allow her into vice-captaincy of the thirteenth, though he still drew the line at allowing her to apply for full captain status. She wore her insignia proudly when in the Seireitei, but, like Ichigo, discarded it when she came to the ningenkai. Renji and Hanatarou had also been appointed captain positions, after war casualties stripped the Gotei 13 of many of their former leaders. Ichigo had the sneaking suspicion that Yamamoto was allowing his friends to be moved up in rank simply because they were his friends, and if Yamamoto did him this favour of granting power to his friends, he would do the return favour of granting more of his power to the Gotei 13.
Ichigo still lived with his dad and sisters in Karakura, just to spite the scheming old man.
It had been five years since Rukia had first appeared in his life, and the time had alternately flown by and crept past at a snail's pace. Orihime and Tatsuki had officially announced their engagement, and Ichigo, for his part, couldn't have been happier for either of them. Ishida had been miffed; Ichigo knew the Quincy archer had harboured a bit of a flame for the busty girl for several years, and that it was an affront to his manhood to be passed up for another girl. Ichigo'd known Tatsuki for what seemed like forever, though, and he knew that the two girls would be good for one another. She often visited with her brother in one of the cleaner sections of south Rukongai, and he'd given his full blessing, something Orihime still hadn't quite gotten over being happy about.
"So what's the big deal about Kurotsuchi?" Ichigo asked finally, rolling the memories of the scientific taichou around in his brain.
"He's vanished! His entire lab is gone, and the entire twelfth division is in absolute chaos. There was one..." she trailed off, averting her eyes. Ichigo felt his own narrow. If Rukia wasn't looking directly at him, then there was something else going on that she hadn't mentioend.
"Out with it, fukutaichou," he demanded. She snapped to attention, forgetting who she was with for a moment.
"Yes, Kurosaki-taichou. There was a conspicuous notebook left behind with detailed plans for some sort of bracelet. Your name was mentioned several times, and I was sent here to make sure you hadn't been attacked." She glowered at him for pulling rank on her; she'd been a Shinigami for far longer than his grandparents had even been alive! The fact that he even had the power to pull rank on her grated. If only Byakuya had relented about the captaincy...
"My name?" Ichigo was finally starting to look more awake. He scowled. "There's no way he could get past the barriers around the house," he decided with finality. The barriers had been a joint effort between Ichigo, Urahara, and Yoruichi - they provided a shield of reiatsu that fed off the spirtual energy in the air and put off by the members of the family. It was at its strongest when both Isshin and Ichigo were at home, but it would survive most hollow attacks even if Yuzu were there by herself. They'd specifically made sure that not even a menos grande would get through it, no matter who was home. If Ichigo was going to stay in Karakura, his reasons for being there would be well protected.
The only failsafe way to get through the barrier was to be invited - and they'd been very careful about who was 'invited' inside.
"You really ARE an idiot!" Rukia screamed. "You gave permission to all captains and vice captains shortly after the shield went up! He's still a captain, even if he did run wild. I have orders to place you in protective custody at Urahara's shop."
"With the Geta-Boushi?" Ichigo felt both eyebrows meet his hairline. "What could he possibly do for me that I couldn't do for myself?"
Rukia felt her eyelid twitch. Memories of Ichigo's recklessness in the past flitted through her mind. Storming Soul Society as a Vizard, and kicking the shit out of everyone who stood between him and rescuing her. Storming Hueco Mundo with just a handful of people to rescue Inoue. Storming Las Noches to deliver the final, killing blow to both Ichimaru and Aizen. "Keep you from running off half-cocked to fight Kurotsuchi yourself, dumbass!" She shouted, and pressed him into a kidou binding taught to her by Yamamoto himself.
'We cannot have Kurosaki-taichou running after Mayuri himself. He will trust no one else within his home at night, not with the recent upswing in Hollow attacks.' The soutaichou had looked pleased with himself. 'Kurosaki-taichou is extraordinarily powerful; it is the reason I entrusted him with fifth division, which still falls under negative rumours thanks to Aizen's betrayal. With Kurosaki at it's head, the rumours will stop. However, it is that very power he wields that makes him believe he is invincible. Kurotsuchi has gone mad; there is no telling what he is planning. You are hereby commanded to retrieve Kurosaki-taichou and deliver him to Urahara, who will prevent him from being targeted and also from doing anything typically rash.'
Ichigo glowered at her from under the binding spell, but found his efforts to break it useless. She picked him up easily, and used shunpo to cross the distance between the Kurosaki clinic and Urahara shop with two steps.
-
Kisuke was already waiting outside for them. "Ichigo-kun!" he said cheerfully. Ichigo, unable to speak under the binding, simply glared. "Welcome back, Taichou. Yamajii has told me everything. Don't worry, Yoruichi is on her way to warn your family to be on edge. You probably passed her on the way here."
He snapped his fan open, smiling idiotically in typical Urahara fashion. "Don't worry about school tomorrow. You will still be allowed to attend, but don't be surprised to find a bodyguard tailing you. Due to the nature of the, ah... notebook in question, the Soutaichou decided it would be best if you allowed us to protect you for once. Consider it returning the favours!"
Rukia released the kidou, and Ichigo rounded on her, swearing. "I don't need to be protected, dammit!" he yelled. "I'm perfectly fine on my own!"
"You obviously don't remember what happened to the last person who was targeted by Kurotsuchi!" Rukia yelled right back. "This isn't because we think you're weak, but because we like you better in one piece!"
He scowled, but didn't argue further. Urahara watched the discourse silently, hiding his smirk behind his fan.
-
"Why are you here?" Ichigo demanded the next day, glowering at Rukia who had once again appeared in her gigai - a proper one, this time, she'd assured him - and clad in the school uniform of the college he attended. Ishida, Keigo, and Mizuiro were gathered in front of the gates to the university they were all attending, waiting for Ichigo who was normally a little on the late side.
"I'm waiting for your bodyguard to show up," Rukia said stiffly. Ichigo scowled harder.
"Don't need a bodyguard," he muttered, but it was nearly drowned out by the deafening "ICHIGO KUUUUN!" from behind them.
He turned to see who was bellowing, when an arm hooked around his neck and tugged him forward, smashing his face and lips into those of the other person.
They stayed perfectly frozen for a full five seconds before Ichigo sprang backwards, sputtering and spitting and wiping his mouth. Hirako Shinji smiled pleasantly, as though he hadn't just kissed another man in full view of God and everybody.
Several feet away, Ishida Uryuu watched the exchange between Ichigo and Rukia impassively; it was commonplace for the two to bicker like siblings. When the cheerful shout from behind the pair of Shinigami segued into an impromptu kiss, he felt his bow flicker into his hand.
A strong hand on his shoulder surprised him into letting it go. He turned to find Chad standing behind him.
"Ishida-kun, have you told him about it yet?" the larger man inquired passively. Ishida felt heat rising into his cheeks.
"There's nothing to tell," he assured brusquely.
"I see," came the quiet rumble. The blush on Ishida's face darkened.
"There is nothing to see," he insisted. Chad simply smiled, and turned his attention back to Ichigo, who had somehow degraded the shouting into a rolling-around, in-the-dirt wrestling match while Rukia looked on from out of range and shouted at both boys to knock it off, they were dirtying their uniforms.
They finally separated, Shinji springing up like some demented jack-in-the-box and sailing over to Mizuiro and Keigo.
"My friends!" he said gleefully, and all three of them started talking at once. Ishida felt a headache coming on.
He stalked over to Kurosaki, who was still sitting angrily in the dirt, staring at the vizard who had kissed him so unexpectedly. "Get up, Kuroski, you're a mess," he demanded. Ichigo glared up at him petulantly.
"Not until he apologizes," the redhead said. Ishida scowled, then yanked the captain-level Shinigami up by his collar and began dusting him off.
"This isn't high school any more you freak," he admonished. "Black uniforms show dirt a lot more than grey does, and you don't have enough time to go home and change." Ichigo was content to cross his arms over his chest and glare daggers into Shinji's back. It wasn't until Ishida shoo'd his hands away so that he could fix his tie that Ichigo even seemed to notice Ishida in front of him.
It was at this time that they realized they were in the middle of a spectacle, and leapt apart. Shinji was collapsed against Keigo, laughing hysterically. The vizard thought the lot of them were there for the sole purpose of his amusement, Ichigo thought mutinously to himself.
Said vizard called out to them. "Ishida-chan, I think my tie is a little crooked too. Couldn't you come over here and fix it for m-OI!" The streak of blue light followed by a charred and smoking hole in the gate scant millimeters from Shinji's head prevented any further teasing that morning.
---
Later that afternoon, the entire group trekked back to Urahara's for a midafternoon snack, and also just to continue hanging out, though none of them would admit it like that even if pressed.
Shinji seated himself as close to Ichigo as he could get without being in his lap, and laid his head on the Shinigami's shoulder. "It's so nice being here together like this," he sighed. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. Across from them, Ishida tried to pretend like he wasn't watching every move Shinji made towards his charge and wishing that he could simply call down an arrow into the stupid vizard's head.
Urahara beamed like a proud father. "Since you're all having so much fun, why don't you stay here for the night, too?"
"I get to sleep with Ichigo!" Shinji immediately called. Ishida felt the chopstick in his hand snap in two.
"What?! HELL NO! I'm sleeping alone!" Ichigo immediately started another fight. While the two vizards bickered, Ishida felt eyes on him. Surreptitiously glancing around, he realized it wasn't any of the people gathered. His eyes slid to the left. Urahara was smiling at him innocently, and wordlessly passed him another set of disposable chopsticks.
Later that night, Ishida was laying awake, thinking about his recent behavior. There was simply no excuse for it, he realized. It was just a little crush. It wasn't as though Ichigo would ever allow him to act on it - his reaction to Shinji's utterly innocent kiss that morning proved that even at twenty years old and an experienced Shinigami, Ichigo was just too innocent and prudish. Orihime had gotten over her crush on Ichigo and moved on. He'd gotten over his crush on Orihime and moved on.
Just to run headlong into the brick wall that was Kurosaki Ichigo.
A soft noise from the futon next to his caught his attention. To his annoyance, it was Shinji, and based on the gentle but rapid motions beneath his comforter, the vizard was engaged in a commonplace - but generally private - mission with his hand.
"Oh, Ichigo..." the vizard moaned so quietly that Ishida wouldn't have heard it if he'd been breathing any louder. An angry glance at the hollowed Shinigami revealed that the older boy was doing it on purpose; the blond had a shit-eating grin on his face as he caught Ishida's eye. Disgusted, Ishida got up and dragged his futon as far away from the vizard as the small room would allow.
As he was laying down again, he felt it. The merest tingle of foreign reiatsu. Senses on edge, he listened, but the only sounds in the room were Keigo's snoring and Mizuiro's shifting on his futon. And the horrible noises from Shinji's futon, but Ishida tuned those out.
-
In the spare bedroom next door to the one the other boys were sharing, Ichigo flopped over onto his stomach. The small amount of sleep he'd gotten the night before should have ensured that he was asleep the moment his head touched his pillow, but something was keeping him from relaxing fully.
He wanted to blame it on the softly buzzing reiatsu shield surrounding the room, but that had become a soothing noise over the past few months, since the shielding had gone up at his own house.
Turning the days events over in his mind, he decided it was the kiss.
The kiss.
The unwanted, unexpected gesture of affection from Shinji - the person Urahara had contacted to tail him and ensure that Kurotsuchi and his minions came nowhere close to Ichigo. He'd never thought about such things as gay or straight, guys or girls. For a long time he was too unpopular because of his hair colour, and then he became too busy. He liked Rukia well enough, and he wasn't as oblivious to Orihime's old crush as he pretended to be. Finally, he decided the kiss wasn't so much that it was another guy, but that it was Shinji. The single most irritating person Ichigo still had regular contact with.
Then he wondered if that made him bisexual. Just because he'd never found himself attracted to guys, didn't mean he couldn't be, did it? He found himself thinking about the men who surrounded him in a new light.
Urahara was admittedly attractive. The crazy hair, wild hat, and constant light-heartedness was refreshing. Urahara also had the bad-ass fighting skills to back up his good looks, and that was important to Ichigo. He lived for protecting his friends and family, but it was nice to be able to take a break, to be able to have a day, or even a moment, in which he didn't have to protect everyone.
He immediately decided that that would be a factor in who he chose to date. He couldn't date someone who was weak, or unable to fight. He would spend all his time worrying about them, and then gradually hate them because of their uselessness.