Twins Stick Together
Chapter 2
Urahara Shop
Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Renji, Rukia, and Urahara knelt around the coffee table.
"When was the last time you saw him?" questioned Rukia. "Did he say or do anything unusual?"
Orihime shook her head.
Uryu pushed up his glasses. "Not at all. He did nothing out of the ordinary. Usually I would assume this to mean that he was taken against his will, but other than an unexplained hollow killing the same night there are no signs of a struggle or fluctuating spiritual pressure. As unbelievable as it is that Kurosaki could outwit us, it seems to be the case."
"What are you saying?" asked Rukia, eyes narrowed.
"I believe Kurosaki left of his own free will."
Orihime blurted out, "Why would Ichigo leave?"
Chad voiced his thoughts. "He didn't say anything, but he has been really tense lately."
"Any idea why?"
"No. "
"He started doing parkour about a year ago and that seemed to make him happy, but..." Tatsuki's voice trailed off.
"What?" Rukia jumped on the possible lead.
"About a month ago, he started hanging out with this girl." started Tatsuki. A pang ran through Rukia.
"I thought maybe he'd gotten a girlfriend finally, but when I teased him about it he looked really confused. He denied it after I explained, but-"
Rukia was startled by the overwhelming relief that washed through her, and berated herself silently. She shouldn't be thinking like this. She hadn't seen him in a year and a half. Moreover, she was a Kuchiki. Mentally slapping herself for her lapse in attention she turned back to Tatsuki.
"It was obvious they were spending a lot of time together, but they didn't really act like a couple. He started skipping school a lot. She does too, judging from the fact she always eats lunch on the roof with him when he bothers to show up."
"There's a good chance that this girl is responsible for Ichigo's disappearance. I think-"
"No!" Orihime interrupted, almost angrily.
Everyone stopped and stared. Orihime was a very sweet girl and she never yelled at anyone.
"I- I mean..." Orihime stuttered before continuing sheepishly "Aki would never do anything like that. Her and Ichigo are really close. "
Renji's eyebrows went up. "You know this girl?"
"Ichigo introduced her to me one at lunch the first day she showed up to eat with him. When he skips school he's doing the same for her."
Urahara snapped shut his fan, a huge smile on his face.
"My, my. Ichigo's not one much for depending on people. Wonder what he's up to, concealing his reiatsu and all."
"NANI!" Six voices yelled in shock.
"B-but, I thought Ichigo lost his spiritual pressure!" Rukia sputtered in shock.
"He did. He also seems to have taken some dangerous measures building it up again."
"What do you mean?" questioned Uryu, pushing his glasses up.
"All living humans have a minute amount of reiatsu. So did Ichigo. He just also happened to have the ability to communicate with his hollow and zanpaktÅ. And a mind-boggling disregard for risk. And ridiculous determination. And amazing regenerative abilities. And-"
"Okay, we get it! Ichigo did something stupid and insane to get his powers back, right?"
"Close. He didn't just regain the powers he lost. He gained new ones and combined them with his old ones. When I tried to guage his reiatsu, he made the device self-distruct."
"How much reiatsu would that require?" questioned Uryu.
"Normally? The head captain in Bankai."
"NANI!" even louder than the last time, six voices raised in absolute astonishment.
"That's impossible! There's no way Ichigo could be that strong, let alone suppress his reiatsu that well. Even when he was a human he leaked reiatsu! With control like his, and reiatsu like THAT, he would probably kill us all!" Rukia shouted.
"She has a point." added Uryu.
Just then, a massive spiritual pressure crashed down on them.
"What is this?" cried Rukia.
"One of Ichigo's friends, it would appear," answered Urahara cheerfully. "His reishi compostition is quite similar. Perhaps you should see what he's here for."
Everyone glared at him for a minute.
"What, you don't trust me?" he exclaimed, feigning astonishment. Placing a hand over his heart he said, "I'm hurt!"
"Spill, Urahara!" ordered Rukia.
"Ichigo seems to have joined a rather dangerous group of individuals," he stated. "I don't have much information on what's going on here, so I believe it would be best to investigate." He snapped his fan shut and pointed at Rukia and Renji in turn. "You two should probably stay here, though."
"Is this group a threat to the Soul Society?" demanded Rukia.
"No, Miss Kuchiki, but they may be a threat to you," he answered, suddenly serious. "If they are Ichigo's friends, they may know his past."
"Why would they target us then?" she asked, baffled. "We're his friends."
"They may not see it that way. Ichigo may not even see it that way anymore. The Soul Society has persecuted hollow-hybrids, Ichigo included, but they always seem to "forgive" him when they need his help. And when he lost his powers, the Soul Society abandoned him."
"No we di-" Rukia started.
"He's right," interrupted Renji. "We did kinda ditch the poor kid. Most of us never even said goodbye, and not even you visited. And he probably blames himself for it, too. He blames everything on himself. "
Rukia looked downcast. "I thought it was better this way. I didn't think he would regain his powers-"
"And you're back to his powers again," snapped an angry voice.
Whipping around, they noticed a black-haired girl with purple streaks and silver eyes standing in the doorframe. Beside her stood a boy with spiky neon green hair and yellow eyes.
"Better this way? For you, you mean. If you knew him half as well as you think you do, or even stopped to think about it, you would know this wasn't better for him!" she hissed.
Renji cursed quietly. The spiritual pressure had come from these two.
"How did you get in here?" asked Urahara curiously.
"We just walked right in," answered the boy. "Ichi's been here, so it was easy to find. Slipping through the Kido was easy. I have a special ability, and she's a Quincy."
Uryu jumped. "A Quincy?" he asked.
"You're one too, so you should know," she answered.
"Ichi?" asked Orihime. "Do you mean Ichigo?"
"Uh-huh. Ichi's staying with us. Can't tell ya much, but something big's going down, something that makes Aizen look as harmless as a kitten," warned the green-haired boy. "The Soul Society has always persecuted those with power. They like playing God, it seems. The Quincy and the Mod Souls suffered for it. Aizen was power-hungry and manipulative, but he was lonely, too. Ichi forgives him, and that's good enough for me."
"We'll be going now," asserted the girl. "We only came to let you know he's not coming back. Later."
"Hey! Wait!" demanded Renji, jumping up.
The two disappeared with a ripping sound.
"There goes our link to Ichigo," sighed Rukia. "Now how do we rescue him?"
"Sounds to me like Ichigo doesn't want to be found," stated Urahara playfully. "Let alone rescued."
The group let out a collective sigh of defeat.
"BESIDES," shouted Urahara cheerily. "Ichi-chan is making such good new friends!"
Review, so I know what you think and what to improve. I will try to update this more frequently because its more of a suspense story. Ideas? I stink at coming up with goals and stuff for them, but I can write a decent villain. Hotpockets appreciated, but not required.