Not Only A Soul Reaper
Bleach
Ichigo lost his Soul Reaper powers sure enough, but he didn't loose everything.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's characters
Not Only A Soul Reaper
Ichigo sighed as he stared at the river from his place on his hill, resting his chin on his palm as he stared at the setting sun.
"There you are Ichigo." Uryū's voice made Ichigo tilt his head to the side, but not moving any more as Uryū settled on the hill next to Ichigo.
"What is it Uryū?" Ichigo asked, voice smooth and deep as he had finally hit puberty.
"I figured you would be here, so I came to get you. Knowing you would forget about our meeting tonight." Uryū sounded fond instead of annoyed.
"Thanks Uryū." Ichigo flashed him a smile making the Quincy relax and lean against Ichigo's side no longer afraid of physical contact. Ichigo smiled and rested his own head on top of Uryū; feeling settled as the Quincy's spiritual pressure weaved around them.
"How's your head?" Uryū asked concern in his voice as he titled his head a bit to peer up at Ichigo.
"They got tired, so it's finally quiet." Ichigo said, looking down at Uryū his right eye bleeding black and gold while his left eye glowed bright blue briefly.
"Good, you need some peace and quiet every now and then." Uryū nodded his head not phased by the different eye color any longer.
"Try telling them that." Ichigo chuckled fondly before the two sat in silence for a bit longer before Uryū slowly stood up, cracking his back before looking down at Ichigo with one hand on his hip.
"You ready to go or not?" Uryū asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready. Any special guests coming tonight?" Ichigo asked as he hauled himself up to his feet, brushing his pants off as he did so.
"The usual I think." Uryū said as he and Ichigo headed towards Chad's place where the meeting was taking place that week.
"You seem more uptight than normal." Ichigo observed, eyeing Uryū out of the corner of his eye.
"There's something going on, I feel like I am being followed. Chad and Orihime have been feeling this as well, we didn't want to involve you until we were sure." Uryū admitted, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
"And your sure now?" Ichigo asked softly as they approached Chad's apartment.
"Yes, but we can deal with that tomorrow. Right now we are going to do what we always do." Uryū said sternly.
"Alright, but we are talking about this." Ichigo gave in, knowing that was one of the rules of their weekly meetings.
"Alright Ichigo." Uryū gave in before opening the door to Chad's apartment, the scent of food hitting their noses and laughter and loud voices echoing in their ears. Almost right away Ichigo felt himself relax and an easy smile spread across his lips as he shut the door behind him and Uryū.
"Ichigo!" Orihime grinned, waving at him from her place by Tatsuki who was keeping Chizuru away from Orihime.
Keigo and Mizuiro were talking by the entrance to the kitchen where Hiyori was shouting at Shinji while trying to make the food for the night. Yoruichi and Lisa were curled up in a corner, giggling over a manga that Lisa had brought with her. Kisuke was lazing around by the table; he waved his fan at Ichigo and Uryū. Uryū nudged Ichigo's shoulder before going to help Chad who was silently trying to save his kitchen along with Tessai and Hachi.
Ichigo settled onto a cushion next to Kisuke who eyed him with an interested look from under his hat.
"What is it beta-boshi?" Ichigo asked as he picked up an unopened can on the table in front of him.
"Just making sure my favorite student is still sane." Kisuke said cheerfully and Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"Your concern is overwhelming and if you're so worried then you can take it out on Shinji, he's the one who is responsible for all of this." Ichigo used his index finger to circle around his face.
"And damn I'm proud of that, even the great Kisuke Urahara didn't think of it." Shinji plopped down next to Ichigo, stealing the teen's drink only to get an elbow in the gut for it.
"I didn't look into it because of Isshin." Kisuke tried to defend himself only to be whacked over the head by Shinji who was baring his teeth at the name of Ichigo's father.
"That's no excuse idiot." Shinji scolded and Ichigo felt something inside of him settle at the obvious protectiveness he was feeling from the two men, their spiritual pressure wrapping around him on reflex.
"So are they still butting heads?" Shinji asked poking Ichigo in the side of the head.
"Knock it off idiot and yes they are. They've been more active lately and it's giving me a headache. I haven't had a chance to go in and kick their ass's." Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"Do it now, you know nothing will happen to you while we're here." Shinji ordered with Kisuke humming his agreement.
"Alright, but if I wake up with drawings on my face I know who I'm coming after first." Ichigo said pointedly looking at the two of them before closing his eyes to focus and enter his inner world.
~~/~~
"Oi! Would you two cut it out?" Ichigo cupped his hands around his mouth as he hollered across his sideways inner world.
"Oh lookie here, Kingy has come to play with us!" Shiro appeared in a blur, hand already wrapped around the hilt of his zanpakuto.
"I've come to see why you two seem to fight all the time. It's giving me a headache and many people have offered to kick both your asses if you don't stop soon. I do need some sleep you know." Ichigo scolded noticing the Quincy side of him appearing on his usual pole, watching him through his glasses.
"We apologize if we caused you any discomfort Ichigo." Zangetsu rumbled and Shiro huffed his agreement.
"Why are you fighting this time?" Ichigo rubbed his forehead as he leaned backwards to avoid a swipe of Shiro's sword making Shiro pout annoyed that he missed.
"I'm yer real Zanpakuto so I should get to be your main power source." Shiro shouted in outrage and Zangetsu merely closed his eyes as he dropped off the flagpole he was stationed on.
"The usual then, honestly I thought we fixed this issue a while ago?" Ichigo sighed feeling much like a babysitter.
"I don't wanna be a dual Zanpakuto King." Shiro whined as he clung to Ichigo's side knowing the Quincy wouldn't attack him if he were by Ichigo.
"That's what we are now, so deal with it. You're just upset that I didn't want to stay in my Arrancar form." Ichigo bopped Shiro on the top of his head amused by the childish way his Hollow was acting.
"We were strong like that King and we looked damn good." Shiro huffed rubbing his head.
"My point is will you two please try to get along? There are only so many headaches I can handle." Ichigo pried Shiro off before letting himself out of his inner world leaving his two spirits behind to deal with things themselves.
~~/~~
"There ya are." Shinji gave Ichigo his classic Cheshire grin when the teen slowly sat up, blinking slowly.
"What did I miss?" Ichigo asked, clearing his throat allowing Shinji to help him up into a seated position. Apparently he had been moved into a lying down position while he had been in his inner world.
"Hiyori nearly burned down Chad's house again." Shinji deadpanned.
"So nothing new huh?" Ichigo smiled fondly, spotting Hiyori sulking on her cushion while Kisuke started to pester his ex-Lieutenant.
"You know on my way here today I passed Toshiro, the kid looks like death warmed over." Shinji said his head tilting to the side as he inspecting Ichigo.
"How bad do you think it is?" Ichigo asked quietly, he always liked Toshiro. Ichigo saw him like a little brother and he knew that the Capitan always worked himself to the bone.
"Pretty bad, the bags under his eyes are larger than yours were at the start before I showed up. No one outside those here know about what happened to ya and some in the Soul Society are taking it pretty hard. Toshiro is the worst off I think, Renji and Rukia have each other so they are managing but Toshiro has no one." Shinji leaned back on his elbows, explaining what he has been witnessing from his place as Captain of the 5th Division.
"I trust Toshiro, but he is more military inclined than you are." Ichigo mulled over ideas in his mind.
"He won't tell trust me he likes ya too much. I even heard him asking Renji and Rukia if they had been to check up on you lately." Shinji waved his hand dismissing the idea.
"Oh?" Ichigo hummed in interest. "Perhaps next time you should bring him along, he needs a break before he breaks."
"Oh it'll be my pleasure." Shinji grinned sharply and Ichigo laughed softly.
"Ichigo! How are you feeling?" Orihime dropped down on the free spot next to Ichigo, her hands twitching like she wanted to cover Ichigo in her protective barrier.
"The best I have in weeks Orihime, thank you." Ichigo smiled at the girl next to her; pleased she had gotten over her bad habit of rambling, blushing and stuttering when around him.
"Good! I was worried when Uryū told us that you were having headaches again." Orihime clasped her hands together.
"Of course he did, stupid future Doctor. He worries far too much." Ichigo grumbled good-naturedly.
"You're just annoyed that he uses you as a practice dummy." Orihime giggled making Shinji snort into his drink, mind conjuring up some interesting mental images.
"An unwilling one I remind you." Ichigo smiled playfully while whacking Shinji's back.
"So are we adding another stray to our group?" Chad asked as he settled next to Orihime after placing down the food for the night.
"Yeah, Toshiro." Ichigo smiled as Chad draped his arm around Orihime's waist on reflex.
"Hm, I like him." Chad voiced his opinion and Uryū made an agreeing noise from across the room, clearly listening in on their conversation.
"Then we're in agreement, Shinji convince Toshiro to come to town on his own would ya?" Ichigo peered at Shinji who was getting pummeled by Hiyori's wooden sandal.
"Gotcha." Shinji yelped as he got hammered in the face while Hiyori gave a triumphant cry.
~~/~~
"You can stop stalking me now Toshiro." Ichigo spoke up as from his place where he was leaning against the railing that lined the roof of the High School.
"You can see me?" Toshiro started from his place a few feet above Ichigo still in his Shinigami form.
"That is a long story, so did you want to get a Gigai or do you want me to look like a crazy person talking to thin air?" Ichigo pushed off the railing, stretching his arms above his head.
"I'll find you after your school is finished." Toshiro turned on his heel and took off in a blur making Ichigo grin before he went back down to class, the lunch period almost being over.
"What happened?" Chad asked as Ichigo slid back into his seat, the gentle giant's low voice grabbing Uryū and Orihime's attention making them twist around in their own seats.
"I'm meeting with Toshiro after school is finished." Ichigo reported softly.
"Do you want us with you?" Uryū asked adjusting his glasses while Orihime waved off concerned looked coming from Tatsuki and Mizuiro.
"Would you? Plus it lets me keep an eye on you guys since you're being followed and didn't bother to tell me." Ichigo gave the three a pointed look making Orihime laugh nervously while the two guys avoid Ichigo's look.
"We can use my place." Orihime offered knowing that Toshiro knew her place the best after the time he had spent there leading up to the Winter War.
"I'll cook." Chad said quickly making Orihime pout and Ichigo to muffle his chuckles while Uryū smiled slightly.
School ended rather quickly after that, but mainly because the four were busy making plans and passing notes to each other to confirm said plans. Ichigo slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and walked out of the school grounds flanked by the other three. The other students gave the four a wide berth as per usual, but the four hardly even noticed the way the sea of students parted for them.
"Toshiro!" Ichigo raised a hand when he spotted the white haired pre-teen leaning against a nearby wall already in his Gigai.
"Kurosaki, are you going to explain what is going on now?" Toshiro pushed off the wall to approach the four teens.
"We'll talk when we get to Orihime's place, it's kind of a long story." Ichigo gave his friends a soft smile when they all rolled their eyes.
"It was far too dramatic and wouldn't have been such a hassle if Ichigo had talked to us to begin with." Uryū gave Ichigo a pointed look as the group headed towards Orihime's place.
"You're just annoyed it was Shinji who figured it out first, I think Kisuke is still sore about that." Ichigo said fondly while Toshiro silently listened to the exchange trying to understand what was happening and how could Ichigo see him in his Shinigami form?
Thankfully they arrived at Orihime's place and settled down while Uryū and Orihime puttered around in the small kitchen while Chad started to gentle massage Ichigo's shoulders knowing from the way he was hunched up that he was in pain again.
"Where do you want to start?" Ichigo turned is full attention to Toshiro while relaxing under Chad's familiar touch.
"What did Captain Hirako do?" Toshiro asked, racking his mind for what Shinji could have done.
"First thing is first. What we tell you here today is totally off the record and if we hear that the Soul Society has gotten wind of this we will find you." Uryū said a warning very obvious in his voice.
"I promise I won't speak a word of this, it's no ones business but those who you choose to tell." Toshiro said automatically.
"Told you guys that Toshiro was on our side." Ichigo rolled his eyes while Orihime hugged Uryū smiling at the way his protective side came out just then.
"So as you know after Aizen I lost my Soul Reaper powers, but the thing is… I've never really just been a Soul Reaper. Actually to be more accurate I'm a Vizard and a Quincy. It's kind of complicated, but I was never really just a Shinigami to start with." Ichigo said letting one of his eyes bleed black and gold and his other eye glow a bright blue for a moment.
"…Things are starting to make sense now." Toshiro squinted at Ichigo, observing the dual colored eyes. "How else are you this powerful? Even Hyorinmaru spoke of your power with respect."
"Huh, I'm flattered." Ichigo laughed thinking back to when the Zanpakuto's materialized and he had to fend off Hyorinmaru's ice attacks, those were crazy strong and that was when Ichigo knew what potential Toshiro had.
"So Zangetsu and Shiro were trying to break through the barrier that had formed in my mind, but because I thought I had lost all my powers it didn't budge, something to do with will power and what not. Anyways Shinji appeared out of nowhere one day and just starting attacking me, shouting at me to stop being a stubborn idiot. H reminded me I was more than just a soul reaper, that I was a Vizard. It took a while and more help but that barrier broke apart and I was unconscious for a solid week or so while trying to figure things out in here." Ichigo explained the best he could, tapping the side of his head as he finished his short version of what happened to him.
Toshiro stared at Ichigo with flat eyes before heaving a loud sigh. "Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to you Kurosaki."
"Thank you?" Ichigo decide to take it as a compliment even as Chad softly snorted at Ichigo while Uryū rolled his eyes causing Orihime to giggle from the kitchen counter.
"So what is your plan? I'm assuming you have one Kurosaki, or at least one of your friends do?" Toshiro laced his fingers together as he looked at the four.
"Of course we have a plan." Uryū huffed sounding offended.
"Our plan is to live our lives, we're just teenagers Toshiro." Ichigo gave a small smile and Toshiro hummed in understanding.
"I'll keep the Soul Society off your back, you don't deserve to be pulled back into a world and a fight that isn't yours." Toshiro promised causing Ichigo's shoulders to slump in relief.
"We have little parties I guess you can call them every week, it's us plus the Vizard, Kisuke and our friends from school. You're welcome to join us, in fact I insist on it because honestly Toshiro… You look like shit and a break wouldn't be a miss. If you don't show up I'll send Shinji to kidnap you." Ichigo was completely serious and Toshiro gave a twitch of his lips as he inclined his head.
"Well we don't want that, he is a menace." Toshiro stated seriously causing Ichigo to snicker and beam in agreement.
"I'll see you around Kurosaki, thank you for trusting me with this." Toshiro nodded at the others before he left the apartment.
"Well that went better than expected." Uryū stated as he placed a cup of tea down in front of Ichigo.
"Told you so Uryū!" Ichigo smirked as he sipped his tea, relieved that Uryū obviously made it because Orihime is improving but she can still somehow burn tea.
"Yeah, yeah now let's talk about our weekend plans." Uryū waved his hand as he and the others joined Ichigo at the table.
"Mt. Fuji! Oh I'm so excited!" Orihime clapped her hands together as she bounced in her chair.
"You do know we are going to be meeting the others there right? The most relaxing time we will be getting is the train ride there." Uryū pushed up his glasses.
"Isn't your dad coming with us?" Ichigo looked at his cousin who heaved a sigh.
"Yes, he is trying to make amends I suppose… It's something and I hope our relationship will get better." Uryū admitted quietly.
"We'll be right there and we are excellent at making excuses if you need to get away." Ichigo reminded the Quincy who nodded silently.
"I have tons of books we should look at right now in preparation!" Orihime rushed to her room and returned with an armful of books that had colorful sticky notes sticking from the pages. The three boys exchanged knowing smiles before turning their attention to her and their weekend plans, finally focusing on being the teenagers that they are and living their lives without wars or death.