Chapter 2 – Aggressive Negotiations
Mood Music: No Regresar– Sagisu Shiro (Conversation to end of Short Battle)
Ichigo rolled over a little in bed to try to make himself more comfortable, to no avail. Today his bed felt like it was made of stone, and his sheets felt like large, thick spider-webs that did little to warm him and tangled his limbs up.
"Ah, geez," he moaned to himself. "Why the hell can't I fall asleep?"
He sat up in his bed, rubbing the fatigue out of his eyes. He grabbed his Shinigami badge from its place on the desk beside him and squeezed once. With a pop, he came out of his human body, leaving it lying in bed as if he were there sleeping. He flexed his limbs and leapt out through the window.
The night air was cool on his skin, and he leapt on top of the roof of the house to enjoy it. Everything was quiet, with only a few chirps breaking the nighttime silence. Ichigo laughed to himself softly, appreciating the solitude. He rarely got chances like this to just sit back and relax without being distracted or disturbed. Being a Shinigami made his life more hectic when he went Hollow-hunting, tensing his muscles up and putting his mind on edge. Being a normal, human high-school student pitted him against thugs and forced him to put up with the silly antics of some of his friends.
He sighed heavily and looked up. He had never fully appreciated the night sky, and how beautiful it could be.
"Amazing…" he whispered to no one in particular.
Ichigo hadn't heard him step onto his roof, and was duly shocked when he heard Mathis's voice: "You seem to be enjoying yourself."
Ichigo leapt off the roof and reflexively pulled Zangetsu out from his cloth sheath. He spun to face Mathis, who hadn't moved from the spot.
"Relax," he said dismissively, sweeping the surrounding buildings with his gaze. "I didn't come here to fight you."
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo demanded, Zangetsu still at the ready.
Mathis gestured at the town around them. "To clarify some things with you, seeing as you belong in this town." Mathis cricked his neck and locked eyes with Ichigo. "If you want to go at it again, however…I won't say no."
Beads of sweat formed at Ichigo's temples. He couldn't fight Mathis here, not directly over the clinic. His family could get caught in the crossfire. He reluctantly lowered Zangetsu and straightened, but didn't loosen his grip.
"What do you mean by clarify?" he asked slowly.
Mathis swung his arm around him. "Everything. I've only just moved back to Japan from Europe, and having no intel in what appears to be some sort of warzone is suicide. Tell me about this place. Give me a lay-down of everything I should know about in this town, including those strange creatures you seem to be familiar with."
"You should explain yourself first," Ichigo snapped at him. "You came here without warning and attacked me with little to no provocation. Why the hell should I help you?"
"Trust me. What I'm here to do is for the greater good."
"For who? You?"
Mathis irritably replied, "No, for humanity."
Ichigo and Mathis glared at each other, before Mathis spoke past clenched teeth. "I came here under a flag of truce, after I wiped the floor with your ass. Don't think I won't do it again."
Ichigo bared his teeth in response. "Fine. I'll tell you what I can. But after that, you better tell me your story."
"I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding here; I didn't ask you for your help. I'm telling you to give me information. You are in no position to make demands of me," Mathis intoned.
"Way of Destruction #33: SOUKATSUI!" cried a voice.
Mathis turned and raised his hand reflexively to stop the blast.
The explosion was loud, and Ichigo was thankful that humans couldn't detect spiritual energy or hear reiatsu-related commotion. Smoke enveloped Mathis and Ichigo saw Rukia hurtle towards him through the side of the smoke cloud, Zanpakuto at the ready.
"Are you ok, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, eyes quickly scanning Ichigo for injuries.
Ichigo responded slowly, "I'm fine…but I think you might've pissed him off." He nodded towards the smoke cloud.
A deep thrum had begun to distort the grayish cloud, and Ichigo felt vibrations course through the air. He braced himself, with Zangetsu at the ready. He wouldn't miss Mathis's movements this time.
To his surprise, Mathis did not try to rush at him with his blinding speed, but had chosen instead to leap out of the smoke cloud in a simple frontal charge. His hands were flattened into open palms and poised to strike. Ichigo swiped at him with his weapon with all his might, trying to slow him down or alter his course.
The blade collided with one of Mathis's hands and clanged off, vibrating uncontrollably. Mathis's other hand reached out and impacted flatly against Ichigo's chest, and he felt a powerful vibration spread from the point of contact, followed immediately by a deep, throbbing pain, like he'd been socked in the stomach with a sledgehammer.
"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. Ichigo snapped out of the momentary daze Mathis's attack had left him in and landed clumsily on the ground. He rolled to break the awkward drop, and then just as quickly leapt back up to re-engage Mathis, who had already entangled himself in a fight with Rukia.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo cried, sending a burst of blue-white reiatsu hurtling towards Mathis.
Mathis spun in the air, blocking Ichigo's attack with one hand and grabbing Rukia's sword with another. He flew backwards, unable to fully stop the force of the Getsuga, and heaved Rukia towards Ichigo.
Ichigo flash-stepped up and appeared behind Mathis, ready to cut him down while both of his arms were occupied. He swung hard and succeeded: Zangetsu cut into Mathis's back and drew blood.
The Getsuga Mathis was trying to hold back finally detonated, smothering the trio in a suffocating cloud of smoke. Ichigo felt a rush triumph wash over him.
His heart plummeted, however, when he heard Mathis's voice through the dark cloud. "Now I've got you right where I want you."
Mathis's bandaged right hand came flying through the smoke and struck Ichigo flat on the chest. The impact was painful, but the burst of kinetic energy that followed was even more painful, causing a pulse of agony to spread throughout his body yet again. He flew backward, unable to control his momentum. He ground to a halt on a building several yards away, and righted himself just in time to see Mathis holding Rukia by her neck with a single hand. Her Zanpakuto was lying on the pavement below, and she weakly clawed at the hand at her throat.
"Now, do we have a deal?" Mathis asked, irritably.
Ichigo clenched his teeth. He no longer had a choice; if he disagreed, Mathis could potentially hurt Rukia.
"Alright…I'll tell what you want to know," Ichigo said angrily. "Just let her go first."
With no apparent concern for Rukia, he simply dropped her from where she was and allowed her to hit the pavement by her Zanpakuto.
Ichigo sped forward to go to Rukia, but was stopped by Mathis, who instantly appeared in his path and raised his hand to Ichigo's forehead. He murmured, "Memory, recall."
Ichigo felt chunks of his life in Karakura town being relived in the connection between his mind and Mathis's hand. Mathis stuck to facts he seemed to deem appropriate, like the number of spiritually-aware people in the town, as well as empty areas and densely populated areas. He seemed to dwell on the memories of Hollows from all of Ichigo's encounters, including his own inner hollow, which had been relatively silent ever since he'd returned from Soul Society.
When Mathis was satisfied with the memories he'd extracted, he removed his hand from Ichigo's forehead and struck the top of his right shoulder with a hammer blow. Ichigo fell to the ground and cracked the pavement, the same way he had at the conclusion of his first fight with Mathis earlier that day.
He lay there, exhausted and unable to muster the will to fight. Dammit…I should've gone Bankai…he thought.
"I had not wanted to fight with you."
Ichigo opened his eyes and saw Mathis standing there next to him, hands in pockets.
"Not initially at any rate," he muttered. Ichigo saw his gaze flick over to Rukia's prone body. "She was the problem." He began to walk away.
"Wait…" Ichigo rasped.
"She could've gotten your family hurt," Mathis said bluntly. "Keep that in mind."
"You're wrong. She was trying to protect them," Ichigo said angrily.
Mathis turned to look at Ichigo, and Ichigo saw a vicious, harsh glint in his eye. "By putting them at risk? I think not."
With a cold burst of static, Mathis vanished.
Ichigo crawled into his room, Rukia's limp body draped over his shoulder.
He set her on her back on the bed and locked his door.
She seemed to be hurt badly. He knelt beside his bed and brushed her hair out of her face. Her usually stern expression was marred by agony. Her breath came in slow, labored bursts. Ichigo felt a vengeful explosion of hate grip his heart, and knew his instincts cried for him to hurt Mathis as much as he possibly could for what he'd done to her.
He stood up abruptly and balled his hands into fists. He was angry at his own weakness. How complacent had he gotten since his return from Soul Society? After months upon months of nothing but killing regular Hollows, Ichigo had not trained himself at all. Even when Rukia returned to the real world, he did nothing.
He would've flown out the window at that moment had not Rukia's voice stopped him.
"Ichigo…watch out…" she murmured.
Ichigo's tense shoulders relaxed, and he let his fists unravel. Even though she was the one hurt and knocked out, she still looked out for him. The anger in Ichigo's chest subsided and was replaced by a deep affection.
Then, out of nowhere, Ichigo doubled over. His blind rage had momentarily numbed his own wounds, and now that it was gone, the pain came rushing back. His shoulder and stomach burned from Mathis's odd strikes. They were too strong to be normal punches, even if he was some sort of monster.
Ichigo distantly remembered Zangetsu oscillating when Mathis blocked it with one of his arms. It has to be another trick. Electricity can't be his only power…Ichigo thought.
With the last dregs of his strength, Ichigo pulled Rukia into his arms and placed her gingerly into the bed in his closet. This simple task of walking three paces with a lightweight girl in his arm was tiring, and Ichigo fell asleep the instant his face hit the pillow.
He felt granules of dirt and asphalt pressing into his face.
I'm on the floor.
Where am I?
I don't know.
"Run! Protect your mother!"
Wait. Mom's alive?
Ichigo opened his eyes and saw he was in an alleyway. Fire licked the brick walls on either side of him, and he could hear a man yelling in pain.
Who is that…?
I don't know who it is.
But I have to help him.
I know it.
"Ichigo!"
He's calling me.
I must go to him.
"Ichigo! Wake up, goddammit! Ichigo!"
Ichigo's eyes flashed open and he gasped. Sweat ran down his face, and he struggled to catch his breath, as if he'd just run a marathon.
Renji and Ishida stood at the door, while Rukia straddled his stomach. Judging by the position of her hands and the stinging sensation in his cheeks, she'd been trying to slap him awake.
Ichigo's curiosity ate away at his conscious mind. What had that dream been about?
"Again?" Renji asked incredulously. "And he beat you both?"
"Yeah. I got one hit in, but he completely ignored it," Ichigo said, tearing a piece of his bagel off with his teeth and chewing slowly.
Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Ishida were in Ichigo's room, solemnly discussing the predicament they were faced with over breakfast. An odd combination.
Ishida adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Maybe, Kurosaki, you lost because you didn't even go Bankai."
"I didn't have time, you idiot," Ichigo snapped. "By the time he'd knocked me away, he was fighting with Rukia, and he would probably have seriously hurt her. I figured two on one would be good enough."
Renji let out an irritated noise and picked at his teeth. "Maybe we should all take him on. There's no way he can beat us all."
"No," Ichigo quicly said. "I don't think it's a good idea to pick a fight with him."
"Ichigo, just because you lost—."
"Not because I lost, Renji," Ichigo replied irritably. "Trust me, I'd love the opportunity to hurt him. It's just because I don't think he's trying to pursue us."
"Even so…" Rukia said slowly, "he didn't seem all too reluctant to fight you."
"Wouldn't you be willing to fight with someone after being blindsided?" Ichigo asked pointedly.
Rukia scowled at his reference to her sudden attack, which had started the battle. She crossed her arms and turned away with a huff.
"Either way, I think it'll be wise to request reinforcements from Soul Society," Ishida said coolly. "Just in case he does intend to attack us, we should be ready."
Renji got up off of Ichigo's bed, preparing to exit his gigai. "I'll head to Soul Society and request additional Shinigami to be sent here. For now, you'll have to wait with what you've got."
Ishida nodded. He got to his feet as well, just as Renji popped out of his gigai in Shinigami form and hurtled out the open window. "I'll rally Sado-kun and Inoue-san. We could probably use their help if the time comes."
Ichigo nodded in agreement and saw him out the door. When he closed it, he remembered what Mathis had said the night before.
"What I'm here to do is for the greater good."
"What do you think he meant by that?" Rukia asked when Ichigo told her what he and Mathis had been discussing before she'd intervened.
"I don't know." Ichigo scratched his head. "What I don't know is whether we should be helping him or trying to stop him. For all we know, his idea of the greater good might be like Hitler's idea of exterminating Jews like insects. He could be completely insane."
"We'll figure out what to do once we figure out his motives," Rukia said. "Did he say anything else?"
Ichigo paced back and forth, racking his brains for anything else that Mathis said that could be helpful.
He had been looking for something…for someone.
"Do you know a humanoid demon called Pride?"
"Pride," Ichigo said loudly, as the memory struck him like a physical blow to his gut. "He was looking for some humanoid demon-thing called Pride."
Rukia looked confused. "Pride? I've never heard of anyone with a name like that. Maybe it's a hollow?"
"Maybe," Ichigo said. "But we don't know enough to start making assumptions. We'll just be on our guard from now on. Just in case."
Rukia nodded in agreement and got up from his bed. Almost immediately, she stumbled and clutched at her side. Ichigo swooped in and braced her against his shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Rukia gritted her teeth in pain and nodded. She tried to pull free of Ichigo's grasp, but he held her tightly, knowing full-well that she was nowhere near ok. Last night's battle had obviously taken a heavy toll on her.
Ichigo helped her lie down on the bed, despite her protestations.
"You need to relax. You haven't recovered yet," Ichigo said. "Stay here for the day and rest up."
Rukia glared at him. "You know I can't do that, Ichigo. What if he comes back looking for a fight?"
"I'll have Chad, Ishida and Inoue backing me up," Ichigo reassured her.
Rukia let out an irritated huff and speared him with an icy glare.
Ichigo snorted and turned to leave. Before he took three steps, he felt Rukia dig her fingers into his arm and pull him back.
"Rukia, what the f—."
"Be careful."
Ichigo looked at her, surprised at the sudden concern in her voice following her death-glare. But she had already thrown the covers over herself and rolled over so she was facing away from him.
He remained where he was for a few moments, and then abruptly turned and left. "Weirdo," he muttered under his breath.
"Renji. I brought your request for reinforcements to the Commander General. He has agreed to send a reconnaissance squad to Karakura Town—," Kuchiki Byakuya began.
Renji slammed his fist onto his Captain's desk. "Captain! I told you, we need at least two or three Lieutenants to deal with this situation! We might as well throw rocks at the bastard if we're just going to send in a scouting party!"
Byakuya surveyed Renji's angered expression and calmly replied, "I have no say in this. The Commander-General's orders are absolute."
"BUT CAPTAIN! HE DEFEATED ICHIGO!" Renji bellowed.
Byakuya sat there impassively, unmoved by Renji's anger.
"I care not if that brat was defeated in combat. That is his fault, and his fault alone," Byakuya replied icily. "Soul Society is not going to sacrifice its resources to pay for his incompetence."
Renji opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to produce the words he so strongly desired to say.
"This discussion is over, Renji. The reconnaissance squad will meet you in front of our barracks in six hours. You are dismissed," Byakuya finished. He returned to his paperwork, and Renji knew that his Captain wouldn't listen to his arguments any further. He turned and stormed out of the office, fists clenched with rage. Why couldn't his Captain understand the nature of the threat?
"Ichigo…I'm sorry, but you'll have to hold out for a little longer on your own," he muttered under his breath.