Title: The lost Protector
Author: Lythanie
Beta: Crix Dorius
Rating: T (to be safe)
Warnings: plotbunnies on the loose? Dark and several character deaths. After the war against Aizen.
Disclaimer: Bleach and the characters belong to Tite Kubo. I'm just borrowing them for my crazy ideas.
AN: I'm pretty sure that the idea Soul Society abandoned Ichigo after the war isn't new. But this is my version.
I'm going to use a few Japanese honorifics like –san or –sama also the – for bleach typical – taichou; fukutaichou.
Ou-sama (king)
Kaitan = in my story it will be a title for the guardian who will be equal to the soul king. I looked it up in .com and .com according to the sites it's not an actual word. I made it up for this story.
Seishin (spirit)
Please read and review^^
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x-x-x-x-x The lost Protector x-x-x-x-x-x
It was cold - so terribly cold…
The rain was cold and hailed without mercy. With dead eyes Ichigo looked into the dark night. It didn't matter if he caught a cold or something else. Nothing mattered anymore.
The war was won.
He had hoped for the better but he knew better than hoping for sunshine anymore. He had fought. He had won. He had lost everything that he had been fighting for.
His human friends were gone. Ishida and Chad had died in Hueco Mundo. They had been in pain and all alone. Ichigo had been on the other side of the battle field in fake Karakura Town. He hadn't been able to protect them. He couldn't forgive himself. They had been safe as he had left them.
But it had turned out worst.
The shock had been too much for Orihime. Desperately she had tried to revive them.
In the end she had rejected her own life. No one knew whether she had committed suicide or it had been an accident.
Nevertheless his childhood friend couldn't bear the loss. Tatsuki had moved away, cutting any contact with him. No one of his friends was left.
He was alone. Not even his family was spared. They, too, had died in that godforsaken war.
Now the war was over and Ichigo sat in the dark night, wet from the rain. His home lay there in ruins. His human life lay there too.
In order to become strong enough to kill Aizen, he had abandoned his humanity. He became a perfect hybrid. He was human and the same time not anymore, shinigami and at the same time not, hollow but too human to be a true hollow.
He couldn't life amongst human anymore. He couldn't live in Hueco Mundo because he isn't hollow enough to survive there for long- and Soul Society?
Ichigo wasn't welcome there either. They had put it in nice words that he deserved his human life, not caring that he didn't posses one anymore.
Where were his friends when he needed them? Who would pick up the pieces of his shattered soul?
Suddenly the rain stopped torturing the usually bright orange hair.
Ichigo blinked. The rain itself didn't stop. With lifeless eyes he dared to look up. An old man stood there, holding an umbrella above their heads. His grey eyes were gentle but also a bit sad as he looked down at the teen. Ichigo saw a small smile through a long white beard.
"Come, Ichigo. I'll take you home."
.
Two years had passed since the faithful night after the war. Two years filled with recovering and rebuilding. Two years were still not enough to heal the forgotten hero. Ichigo settled back into his comfy divan bed and put the book down he was holding. His new home was bright and cozy. As the old man took him home, he had never expected to get more than a small room but he had gotten a whole apartment. To be quite frank it was only a small part of the building. The young man had gotten a bedroom together with an own bathroom, a living room and a mix of study and library. All of his rooms were large and connected to the gigantic garden where he was sitting. Study and living room were in the basement while he had to use the stairs in the garden to enter the other rooms. Ichigo didn't mind the stairs outside. In the two years he had been here it had never rained. The climate was modulated. It was always comfortably warm and rainless.
The garden was a piece of art itself. Huge old trees blended with a beautiful flower garden. Ichigo had here a corner that was created perfectly for training, another part contained an onsen. Here he could relax and talk and play with the many creatures because the main part of the garden was home of many living beings. Going with a stranger was usually a very dangerous thing to do. But he had been at a point nothing had mattered anymore. The old man had offered him a home, his soul had been shattered enough that he hadn't cared about the possible consequences. He was lucky that everything turned out well.
Ichigo looked over to the patio entrance of his study.
"How long do you intend to wait over there? It would be easier you come to me when you have a message."
A servant had knelt down on the patio and waited patiently.
"Our orders say that we're not allowed to disturb you in the garden, Ichigo-sama. Entering Ichigo-sama's garden is only permitted to serve you."
Ichigo got off his divan bed, sighing.
"Good old Yasu…sometimes he exaggerates with his orders. Let's go back to work."
.
It was now three years ago the forgotten hero of the traitor war had vanished into thin air. The soul king, an old man in an elegant kimono, sat in his office and looked at the petitions in front of him. They had kept arriving since last week. Now, three years after the war, the shinigami remembered their hero and wondered where Ichigo Kurosaki was. The new formed Central 46 had finally accommodated to the changes in law. They had even left the position of the fifth taichou unfilled, waiting for the substitute shinigami. No one had been able to find him. They had seeked aid, worrying about his whereabouts.
Three years too late.
Setting the petitions aside, the soul king called for his adjutant.
The adjutant was clad in the typical formal attire of the court. As he entered he bowed deeply.
"Bring these letters to the kaitan."
The king pointed to another stack of paper. The adjutant nodded and headed off to the wing of the palace where the kaitan lived and worked.
The second of four advisors waited silently next to him, looking over the petitions.
"Am I allowed to ask if you intend to bestow an audience upon the shinigami taichous?"
"Say Yamada-dono, is he ready to accompany us to the banquette?"
If the advisor was surprised by the sudden change of topic he didn't show it.
"kaitan-sama has improved quite well despite his short incumbency. Maybe it could be healing for him to know that his effort is appreciated. He would be able to face the formal banquette, if he didn't heal or protect beforehand. Ou-sama could…"
"We won't tell him. It's still his decision. Kaitan is the only one who can heal our realm. He's the protector and commands the guardian spirits. He will learn to arrange one day. Answer the petitions and schedule the audience before the banquette."
The advisor took the petitions. Yamada bowed in respect before walking to his own office.
.
The soul king awaited the banquette with mixed feelings. He still didn't know if the young kaitan was up to attend it. He prepared himself for the audience with the representatives of Seireitei, the taichous and fukutaichous of Gotei 13.
The giant doors to the throne room were pushed open and an adjutant announced the arrival of the representatives.
First Yamamoto-soutaichou entered. Kuchiki-taichou and his sister Kuchiki Rukia fukutaichou were hard on his heels, along with the taichous of the 13th and 8th division. Obviously they wanted to demonstrate the importance of their request by choosing the nobles. They acted how the protocol regulated the official audience. Stopping about ten steps before the throne, the shinigami bowed deeply and knelt down in front of the king.
The soul king nodded, allowing them to speak.
"Ou-sama, it is a major honor to meet you. We're here, because we need the help of your majesty in order to find the lost hero of the Traitor War."
As the soutaichou had started to speak, the king was very glad that he had followed the advice to change the protocol. After the change the petitioners had to come to the point of their request right after the greeting. It spared a lot of time and was less boring.
"Why are you looking for him now and not three years ago?"
The old man knew he had to ask this question. The same question Kurosaki Ichigo had directed at him. Their flinch was nearly not noticeable but he knew too well when he had to pay more attention.
"He deserved his human life without fights."
Yamamoto seemed to believe his own words. The soul king sighed.
"You left a human child with a war trauma alone to take care of the ruins our war had caused. Did you ever come across the idea that he doesn't want to be found anymore?"
Rukia bit her lips to stop herself before she said something unforgivable. The soul king closed his eyes and sighed.
"But this isn't my decision. My advisor Yamada will lead you to the kaitan."
He beckoned his advisor over and dismissed them.
"Yamada-dono, take the other shinigami who are waiting, too."
Yamada and the five shinigami bowed.
"Follow me."
In front of the throne room they met the rather new taichou of the third division Abarai Renji.
"How did it go?" He asked anxiously his childhood friend Rukia.
"We're going to the kaitan…" She whispered.
"Lord Yamada, may I ask since when the kaitan has returned?"
Ukitake asked carefully the advisor. He looked at the captain. His face didn't show any emotions.
"His majesty found him three years ago - a few months after the war had ended. Kaitan-sama is connected to the reiatsu of soul society and the living realm. The war has affected him very badly. Please don't stress him too much. He's still recovering and ou-sama is very protective about the young one."
"You're saying young?"
"He is compared to any of us still a little child. But you better don't tell him, he survived the war not less than any of you."
"Angering the kaitan is suicide… every child in Rukongai knew the stories about him giving or taking reiatsu." Renji muttered under his breath.
.
The advisor stopped in front of a set of marble doors. In the upper right corner a dragon was engraved and outlined with golden decoration. The bottom left corner showed a Pegasus and in the center a huge and very old tree which was divided in half as Yamada opened the door.
The shinigami followed him into a kind of foyer. They could see another two doors. One was similar to the main door but black marble, the other door was open and gave free a good sight into a well arranged study. In front of the desk a tall panther lay on a cushion. Entering the room, the deep black feline stood up and stretched leathery wings. Yamada bowed in greeting.
"Midnight-seishin, where…"
The feline guardian spirit looked pointedly in direction of another door and left the study through the open window of the glass side that led into a gigantic garden.
The other door was also open and led the way into a more private room. A young man was sitting on a divan bed, reading. He wore an elegant deep blue kimono. His bright orange hair glowed slightly in the sun shining through the panorama windows.
"Ichigo!"
Renji and Rukia ran over to the unsuspecting man.
"You big idiot, do you know how much you worried us?"
Rukia jumped to kick him as she was used to several years ago. She was stopped midair by another guardian spirit. The female spirit didn't say anything, just blocking the attack. She had fine red and blue feathered head and arms. A human face but wings were attached to her arms.
"What do you want?"
Ichigo's voice didn't reverberate simply through the room. The smooth voice radiated pure power through their whole being. Ichigo put his book aside and looked up, not leaving his position on the divan.
Rukia who was the nearest to him gasped. His former brown eyes had transformed because of the fusion with his hollow. They were neither yellow nor brown. The eyes that bored into their souls were amber, almost like molten gold.
Seeing that he didn't get an answer from Rukia he directed his gaze to the other captains.
"Well? Are you intending to answer my question? Why do you think it would be a proper idea to invade my life?"
"Kurosaki Ichigo, former substitute shinigami, in the name of the Central 46 and Gotei 13 we're here to appoint you as taichou of the fifth. Your division awaits your arrival."
"I decline"
Ichigo rattled the present captains with his emotionless answer.
"Have you really thought you can waltz back into my life, demanding me to become a captain, after you had left me alone three years ago?"
"Kurosaki-kun, don't rush things."
Captain Kyoraku intervened.
"I was hasty, taking Rukia's zanpakutou into my heart. I was hasty storming into Seireitei. I rushed into a godforsaken war. I…"
"Think about it, all your friends are in Soul Society."
Ukitake tried to smooth down the atmosphere.
"Friends. You have no right to call yourselves my friends. Friends don't leave each other behind. Friends don't stab you into the back. Friends don't abandon you when your life was ruined by a war. Friends don't do this to each other."
During his whole speech he didn't even raise his voice. His words were spoken coldly and emotionlessly. Ichigo got off his divan and headed into the garden.
"Ichigo-sama, will you attend the banquette tonight?"
Yamada stopped him.
"I've already promised Yasu that I will go."
With a last glance he walked off.
.
Rukia seethed with anger.
"FOOL! I will beat some sense into you."
She stormed after the former substitute. Again the silent spirit blocked her path.
"Out of my way, the idiot needs a good kick to the head."
"Rukia, restrain yourself."
The older Kuchiki interrupted her rage.
"Apparently, he holds quite a grudge…"
The female guardian spirit watched them silently for a while before vanishing into thin air. Rukia saw her chance and stepped through the door.
"The spirit garden is off limits. You're not allowed to enter."
She turned around to the advisor.
"Only kaitan-sama can give you the permission."
"But Kurosaki Ichigo could enter the spirit garden. Does it mean that he works for the kaitan now?"
Byakuya looked thoughtfully out of the panorama window.
"It has never swept across my mind that he could become a kind of servant. He isn't the type to bow and serve."
.
"Let me guess: the meeting with your old friends didn't go well?"
The kind voice interrupted Ichigo's rage. He had been about to punch one of the old trees.
"Three years ago, I would have done anything to go with them. But instead they threw me away like trash."
Ichigo didn't look up. He didn't need to. The kind voice of his savior was engraved into his memories. An elegant hand was put onto his shoulder and squeezed slightly to comfort him.
"Don't hold a grudge against them. Your servants are getting worried."
"Yasu, shouldn't you sit on your throne and listen to some petitions?"
The old soul king chuckled.
"On the banquette tonight you will have to wear your formal attire."
"You can't be serious… that monstrosity hinders any movement."
"Ichigo… it's like mine but I'll wear it too. Don't forget you have at least to greet me formally tonight. After the official greeting we can talk like usual to each other."
Ichigo sighed and felt like a child again who was told by its grandfather to behave.
"Yes, Yasu-jiji…."
King Yasuhiko chuckled at the childish answer and left after he had squeezed his shoulder again.
Ichigo watched him leaving.
"Ichigo-sama, your bath is ready."
A butterfly spirit told him. That little thing was responsible for the hell butterflies that shinigami used for communicating.
"Thanks Fu."
"Nervous about seeing them again tonight?"
The colorful butterfly sat down on a flower nearby. Ichigo saw a little scratch on its wings.
"Not really. As guests they won't be placed anywhere near me. Fu, you should have say that you got injured."
With a gentle hand he ran over the small wound. Warm golden light surrounded his hand, healing the little guardian.
"Thank you, Ichigo-sama."
He gave it a small smile and headed off to his bathroom. Ichigo hated the formal robe with passion. It was uncomfortable, unpractical and needed too much time to put on.
The bathroom was decorated exclusively. There was both a bathtub and a shower, simply because he loved to shower from time to time, and alone the tub could fit at least 3 people. In his bedroom two young servants were waiting for him, his clothes ready. The formal attire was out of the finest silk and he was glad that he was a male, tough they had tried to put him into a female noble kimono once.
Without a word they helped him dressing and left with a bow.
Ichigo stayed in front of the mirror, lost in thoughts. Would they try to convince him again? He snorted at the thought. The shinigami didn't even apologize for their behavior three years ago, why should it change, when they see where he would sit tonight?
"Ichigo-sama, ou-sama sends me to remind you that you have to wear your complete attire... with the tiara."
The orange head looked through the mirror at the speaker. Yamada didn't mind and walked over to the dresser and opened the jewelry box. He took out the modest, silver circlet and set it on Ichigo's head. In the middle of his forehead it held a blue diamond and below a white one like a tear drop. It rested right between his eyebrows.
"Are you ready, Ichigo-sama?"
"No, but I won't break a promise…"
The former substitute sighed and followed the advisor to the ceremonial hall.
.
Rumors wandered fast this night and soon the guests were whispering with each other. This night the kaitan himself would be present – the first time for five hundred years. Silence reigned when the doors flew open and the king entered the hall. Everyone bowed deeply. They were only allowed to sit down once the king himself. He stayed standing and looked to another door that was opening.
The advisor Yamada entered and stepped aside, bowing to the person behind him.
Several shinigami held their breaths. Rukia and Renji gasped openly and even Byakuya's eyes widened. Clad in formal attire and with a graceful gait Ichigo Kurosaki stepped into the room. His eyes focused on the king only. He stopped three steps next to the king who turned around to face him. The young man lowered his head in greeting.
"Ou-sama."
The king gave him a gentle smile and lowered his head in the same way.
"Kaitan-sama. I'm glad you decided to join us tonight."
x-x-x-x-x- END x-x-x-x-x-x