Disclaimer: Not mine, I can wish….but no :(

Setting: After Winter War

Chapter Two: Time is Ticking

It was four in the morning when Ichigo returned to his bedroom; it'd taken him 10 minutes to get home. According to those freaky kids, Ichigo had only 72 hours or so until he "Belonged to Hisa-sama" and he wasn't pleased with the idea, especially as he had school in 4 hours. Ichigo muttered profanities under his breath as he transferred Kon back to the lion plushi and jumped back into his own body. Sleep soon claimed him.

68 Hours Left

The alarm rang loudly in the silent room and Ichigo slammed his hand down on the snooze button and turned over in an attempt to get back to sleep.

"ICHIGOOOOO" the door banged open and Isshin ran through the door in a flurry and kicked Ichigo in the side. "IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!!!!"

"SHUT UP" Ichigo jumped out of bed, an angry mark pulsing over his head as he kicked his father hard in the stomach

"I have nothing left to teach you my boy!" Isshin beamed, standing up and brushing himself off as Yuzu came in and dragged him downstairs with promises of extra breakfast.

Ichigo changed in the silence after his fathers departure and looked at himself in the small mirror in the bathroom

"I don't feel any different…maybe those kids were joking" he said to himself, but knowing he was probably in denial. He sighed and took a last look at himself before wandering downstairs and eating breakfast before heading off to school.

At school Ichigo decided to wait for lunch before asking Orihime to see if she could heal him or find out what the silvery liquid was. All through the first lesson Ichigo noticed Chad, Orihime and Ishida glancing at him quite often, finally someone passed a note to him from Ishida, which he carefully opened under the desk and read quickly:

Ichigo

What have you done?

Your reiatsu is fluctuating, it doesn't feel like you. Why didn't you go to Orihime's last night if you got injured?

What happened with the hollow last night?

Ishida

Ichigo looked over and saw Ishida scrutinising him closely, Ichigo motioned that he'd tell him later and Ishida nodded reluctantly before facing the front again.

Ichigo sighed quietly and laid his head down on his desk. He could feel something…a twinge of longing, but Ichigo couldn't figure out what it was for. He hoped Orihime would be able to do something and he couldn't help thinking about what the kids had said about this 'Hisa-sama' her want of an army and protection. It sounded like she wanted a right-hand man.

Ichigo went into a doze and only woke up for 5 minutes at the beginning of the next lessons, he was thinking dazedly about what he would say at lunch to the other three.

64 Hours Left

The bell rang for lunch and Chad came over to Ichigo, shook his shoulder, and led him up to the roof with Ishida and Orihime in tow.

"What happened Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime said as she called her two healers out and made an oval over him.

"I killed this hollow and then this ghost came and I said I would give her a soul burial and she took me to this ally where two other ghosts like her were and then the next thing I know they stick this needle in my neck and tell me I only have 72 hours left" Ichigo summarised, leaving out the details of 'Hisa-sama'

"72 hours until what?" Chad asked

"Until I belong to this woman called Hisa-sama" Ichigo said unwillingly, trying to act nonchalant.

"It's like a poison, spreading through your system, it has its own reiatsu" Orihime said quietly "I can't reject it" she murmured a few minutes later and stopped her efforts. "I think that we need help with this"

The others nodded went downstairs and out of the gates towards Urahara's shop.

63 Hours and 30 Minutes Left

The Urahara Shop was being cleaned as usual by Ururu while Jinta tried to hit pieces of trash with the end of his broom. He stopped when the four approached them.

"Urahara-san is in the training ground" Ururu said politely and stepped aside to let them pass.

"Arigatou Ururu-chan" Orihime said as they passed into the small shop front. Ichigo walked silently with them deep in thought, that longing feeling was still there but a little stronger and he remembered that those kids had said he only had 72 hours until he belonged to that woman, was this longing he felt for her?

"Ahh Ishida-kun, Chad, Inoue, Ichigo…how can I help you?" Urahara said smoothly as he walked towards them from behind a rock. Ichigo ignored the others as they began telling the shop owner what he had told them, and began thinking again. Belonging to this Hisa woman meant that the silvery liquid must be something that controlled his actions…but those type of things didn't exist and even if they had found a way he was sure he could use his immense amount of reiatsu to stop himself…

Ichigo stopped when he felt eyes on him and looked at the others to find them all staring at him as though he was meant to be answering something

"What?" he frowned

"I asked you if these three ghosts said anything else of importance" Urahara said

"Urm…only that this Hisa woman wants me to join her and help her build an army of shinigami, Visored and a few humans" Ichigo summarised again. He looked at Urahara who seemed to be travelling through lots of emotions at once. Confusion was defiantly there, and interest, some fear…and was that…respect!

"This could be a problem" Urahara finally said "And I don't think I can help"

"Why is that?" Ishida said, pushing his glasses up his nose a little

"Because I know the woman that did this and it's not something I can reverse…but maybe Soul Society can…I'll open a portal for you" he said and stood up

"Wait a second, you know this woman? Then tell us about her" Ichigo said impatiently

"I am not qualified to do that, I'm sure the Captain-Commander will explain it all" Urahara finished and opened the portal which a black Hell butterfly flew out of to guide them, Urahara let the butterfly land on his finger and it sat there comfortably while relaying a message.

"It seems that your fluctuating reiatsu has caught the attention of Soul Society…they want me there also" Urahara said with a slight frown on his face. Soul Society had lifted the ban of Urahara and all of the Visoreds after the war but they all remained in the living world anyway, although now they were on good terms with the Shinigami. Ichigo understood Urahara's confusion at his requested presence because Urahara didn't go to Soul Society at all even with the lifted ban so this would be his first time back in a long time.

Ichigo used his Shinigami badge to pull out his soul and they went into the portal.

63 Hours Left

The five appeared near the centre of the Court of Pure Souls a little while later and found the 12th Division captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi waiting for them.

"Ahhhh, Ichigo-kun" the captain breathed as he swept forwards to inspect him quickly. "I'm here to escort you and the others to the meeting." He turned and swept off and a fast pace, but not shunpo'ing as Chad and Orihime couldn't do that.

Ichigo let his thoughts run around, mostly thinking about the scenery so he wouldn't start thinking about the problem at hand, he didn't like the look on everyone's faces from before when he dazed off thinking about it.

They arrived at the First Division a short time later and Kurotsuchi led them into the meeting room where all the other captains stood silently.

"So you finally arrived" the captain-commander said gravely "then we can begin…Kurosaki, you reiatsu has been fluctuating far beyond their normal parameters and we have found no reason why that would be seeing as there have been no hollows since yesterday…would you please fill us in on what has been occurring on earth?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Urahara who looked very serious.

"According to Ichigo he defeated a hollow yesterday and found a soul nearby, the soul took him to two others and they injected him with substance that seems to emit its own reiatsu. Ichigo also said that the souls told him he would 'belong to Hisa-sama in 72 hours.'" All the captains turned to face Ichigo once again and Kurotsuchi had a huge smile on his face that freaked Ichigo out.

"I see why you are concerned Urahara, her reiatsu was spotted on our metres which is why I called you" Yamamoto said to Urahara then turned to Ichigo "Can you tell us what the souls were like?" he asked.

Ichigo looked around, all the captains looked quite tense, and whatever was happening didn't seem very good if all the captains were this serious about it, even Kenpachi looked concerned. Why did the captain-commander what to know what the souls were like anywa-..

"Ichigo?"

"Oh yeah sorry" Ichigo said after a pause, forcing himself to stop before the captains thought he was going nuts. "There were three of them. Two girls and a guy, the one that led me to the others was called Kaori and the other girl was called Ami, the guy was called Nanami…and I think they were all family…" Ichigo said but was cut across by Byakuya

"Why do you think that?" he asked

"Oh because they all had black hair and silvery-grey eyes" Ichigo answered, getting annoyed with the consent interruptions. He took a deep breath to calm himself, being angry never helped in battle and wouldn't help here.

The silence dissolved into whispers and Ichigo was now under even closer scrutiny by ….well everyone.

A/N: There, Second chapter up. Hope you liked it, and sorry it took so long to put up, I couldn't think how to finish the chapter.