AN: So hi people! Sorry Ive been a little late with the updates. Im a few days behind on Love is Unstoppable and Kakashi Sensei, but Ill be updating them soon. As for this story Im glad im only a day behind, but Im still upset I didnt get it out yesterday, but whatever.
Here is the second chapter of Strawberry Assassin, please review and thank you to those that did last chapter!
Cyan: a moderate greenish-blue to bluish-green color.
Ichigo felt like throwing up as soon as he walked off the plane he had been on for almost three hours. Karakura Town was so much smaller and old looking than the city where he had been living in. There were no bright lights and skyscrapers blocking the sky. The orange head sighed as he grabbed his bags along with Kisuke and Yoruichi and made their way to a limo already waiting in front of the airport.
"Urahara where are we going to be staying at?" The teen asked as they sat down on the leather seats and got comfortable. Urahara gave Ichigo a creepy smile before answering.
"There is an underground base here called 'Las Noches' where a lot of people like us seek safety and shelter." the blond said while scratching his unshaven chin.
"So it's basically like a base camp for assassins? How do you even know about the place?"
The older man laughed and elbowed Yoruichi who scowled at him, irritated.
"The man who owns the place was a college associate of mine. He let me and Yoru-chan stay there when we were first starting out as assassins." He said giggling a little. The old man must have been remembering things from the old days or something of the sort, because all of a sudden he had a smile on his face and was staring out into space. Weird old man.
Ichigo looked over at Yoruichi and nodded towards Urahara. "Does he do that every time he gets near Las Noches?"
The woman sighed and closed the magazine she was reading. "I sure hope not."
Ichigo laughed and sat back in his seat so he could look out the window to pass time. There were trees here and lots of other green things unlike in the city. He kind of missed all the grass and being able to see the open sky, which were both rare because of all the building in the city. Ichigo sighed and crossed his legs.
He gazed out of the window and was a bit surprised to see he actually knew where they were at the moment. They were on a street Ichigo remembered playing on when he was a kid. They passed some swings where a few children were at and Ichigo could remember when he was five, and his dad would always take him there to play. With that memory Ichigo felt uncertainty surge through his body and he slowly turned his head to his mentor.
"Hey, old man."
Urahara blinked and looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "Ichigo, for the last time I'm not old!" The blond man frowned and fake cried while Ichigo just got more worried.
"We're not going to my house are we?" The teen asked worriedly, while playing with his fingers on his lap. Ichigo most certainly wasn't expecting to see them anytime soon. After all these years, what would his dad think? Ichigo was getting anxious just thinking about his old man and two little sister who he abandoned.
Kisuke pulled out a yellow fan with a snap and fanned the warm air around him. "Of course we are my dear Ichigo! We couldn't come all the way out here and not see your family, now could we~?"
"Urahara..." Ichigo said with pain in his voice. His family was very important to him and the orange head had always tried to keep them out of Tensa's business. It wasn't really safe to involve his two little sisters and slightly crazy dad in his murderous affairs, was it? Ichigo had successfully avoided his family for years with Urahara's help. Ichigo scoffed at the thought, traitor.
Ichigo felt like throwing up when the limo pulled up into his old driveway, that feeling within thirty minutes was less then pleasant. The house was still the same as Ichigo remembered from his childhood. How old were Karin and Yuzu now? It had been four years since he left, so that would mean they were twelve now. Ichigo was pained to even think about his little sisters growing up with a mass murderer for a brother.
The driver walked around to the door and opened for it the three assassins to get out. This was only going to be a brief visit anyway; Kisuke and Ichigo had things that gauged more important at the moment.
Ichigo led the walk up to the front door, Urahara and Yoruichi following behind the hesitant teen. The young man sighed and drug a hand though his orange hair nervously before gently knocking on the door. He waiting a few moments before footsteps could be heard coming towards the door, Ichigo started to panic as he heard the steps coming nearer.
What will they think of me now? Do they hate me? Did they miss me? Am I going to be a bother to them? Should we leave before they answer the door?
Ichigo realized it was too late to back out when the door slowly cracked open to reveal a small blond haired girl yawning tiredly. She looked at the three people standing there while rubbing the sleep out if her brown eyes.
"How can I help you?" The little girl asked in a polite voice. She was wearing silk pajamas, with a robe tied around her small body tightly.
"Yuzu?" Ichigo asked in a timid voice. He could hardly even recognize her from his memories. Behind the teen, Kisuke smirked. Ichigo was always brave and never shy about anything, except when it came to his family. It was weird how Ichigo could change from scowling and being grumpy to being scared and nervous.
"I-Ichigo?" Said orange haired teen looked up to see his dad standing in the doorway with wide eyes and a very confused expression.
"Hey Dad. Can we come in?"
The older man scratched his beard and moved to the side, a silent invitation for Ichigo and company to come inside. Isshin Kurosaki looked at Urahara as his old friend made his way inside with a smirk followed by an also smiling Yoruichi. Soon the group was sitting in a nicely furnished living room, with Yuzu and Karin sitting on Ichigo's lap with big smiles and wide eyes.
"Onii-chan, we missed you!" Yuzu squealed and her dark haired twin nodded her agreement. Ichigo laughed and ruffled the girls' hair causing them to giggle in delight.
"I missed you guys too."
"Where have you been Ichi-nii?" Karin said. The small girl adjusted herself on Ichigo's lap to get more comfortable, while the other occupants in the room listened intently. Ichigo was feeling weird emotions inside of him from being around his family. They were still the accepting and loving family he left four years ago...
A cough came from the other side of the room and Ichigo looked up to see his dad watching him with curious eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking his mind.
"Yeah, where have you been son?"
"I moved to the city with Urahara and Yoruichi-"
Truth.
"So I could help them with Urahara's candy business-"
Lie.
"Because I've always thought being a business man would be interesting-"
Lie!
"And Urahara picked me up so suddenly I never had time to say goodbye since you and the girls were gone-"
LIE.
"And by the time we made it to the city, I had remembered that I didn't have your phone number and neither did he-"
LIE!
"So we looked in the phone book, but you weren't in there either and we didn't have enough money or time to fly back with school and all."
So many fucking lies.
Urahara smirked from where he sat. Ichigo really did have the lying thing down. It was so easy for the teenager to spill lies from his lips without even thinking about it. It was a new story every time he told someone about his past or about where he came from, but most of the time Ichigo told the story that had just been spoken to his family.
"Oh, well that's interesting! How is the candy business going for you Urahara?" Isshin causally asked, apparently buying Ichigo's story.
"Maa, Maa~ it's all fine Isshin-san~ Tons of our delicious candies are being sold all over the world." Urahara grinned at his old friend. He didn't actually know much about what was going on with his business; the older man left that certain job to Ishida-kun, who was one of Kisuke's most trusted employee.
"Glad to hear it. How long do you plan on staying in town?"
Yoruichi decided she didn't want to be ignored, and casually answered for Ichigo and Urahara. "Only about a month, tops."
A very very long month away from home, away from the safety of their own base, and away from the easy life they all had back in the city. What a bother.
Isshin frowned deeply and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "Only a month?"
"Certainly."
Ichigo's dad sighed again. After crossing and uncrossing his legs, the man looked at his son once again, serous, intelligent eyes locking onto the young man's form. It had been four years since Ichigo had been in Karakura Town and Isshin had to admit, it was hard not having his son around. Although Ichigo had seemingly left them, his love for his only son had not wavered, and the twins and he had been awaiting the day Ichigo returned. He knew why Ichio had to leave even if he played the idiot at times, it was the reason he knew Kisuke and Yoruichi.
"Where will you all be staying?"
Urahara answered this time. "One of my dear friend's house." He gave Isshin a knowing look, which the brunette understood.
"Oh, I see." He answered with a nod.
"Don't worry dad," Ichigo said with a slight smile on his usually scowling face. "I'll be sure to come visit you and the girls."
"I'm looking forward to it, son. You've been gone for a long time; Karin and Yuzu have really missed you."
Ichigo smiled sadly and looked down at the now sleeping girls on his lap. They were both gripping a piece of his white dress shirt with little hands, and their small lips were parted in their deep sleep. It was five in the morning after all.
The dark haired man stood up and popped his back before walking over to his sleeping daughters and sweeping them up in his arms carefully. The twins didn't even stir as their father picked them up; instead they cuddled into his broad chest. The man disappeared upstairs quietly and returned a few minutes later without Karin and Yuzu, who were now peacefully sleeping in their beds.
Urahara and Yoruichi followed Ichigo and his dad to the front door. Outside the sun was starting to dimly light the morning sky, and Ichigo was feeling more than tired. He had been up all night on the plane because of his fear of heights, but thankfully Urahara had stayed up with him. Although the older man had proven himself crazy on more than one occasion, Urahara was a very important person to Ichigo.
"Come back and visit soon Ichigo, and maybe next time it could be at a more appropriate hour."
Ichigo turned around and smiled slightly at his father. Seeing his family was something Ichigo had avoided for many years, but now that he had seen them again Ichigo wasn't really ready to let them fall from his grasp again.
"Don't worry dad. I'll be back soon."
Driving down the road in the city was always entertaining. You could always see colorful lights and people who did stupid things at any time from dusk till dawn. Driving down the road in Karakura Town...was well...
Boring.
No one was walking around and there were no lights anywhere except for the now rising sun and the street lamps that lit up the road. Ichigo had fallen asleep soon after his departure from his dad's house and had awoken half an hour later to find that they were still driving.
Driving, driving, and driving.
The teenager was quite tired of being transported around. He hadn't been able to actually rest since he left The Shoten, which had been almost a full day ago. The orangette sighed. He just wanted to have a nice rest and a soft bed, which Ichigo was hoping this place Kisuke was taking him, had.
"Kisuke~" Ichigo whined. The older man shook his head to wake up a little and looked at his student with drooping, red eyes.
"Don't whine at me so early in the morning, Ichi!" He whined back. Ichigo scoffed, it wasn't his fault he was whining like a kid. The teenager was tired and was on the verge of getting motion sickness.
"It's your fault, stupid! How much farther is this place?"
The man looked out the window and inspected the surroundings, which mostly consisted of trees and small hills. Where the hell were they?
"Ahh~" The blond man sighed happily. "We're nearly there."
Yoruichi snored lightly from where she was sleeping against a small pillow pressed to the window. The tan woman had passed out as soon as the trio had got into the car after leaving Isshin's house, and neither Ichigo nor his teacher had the balls to wake Yoruichi up after a long and eventful day.
After fifteen minutes of silent riding, the limo halted and Ichigo felt himself become more awake by the second. Urahara drowsily looked out the tinted window and Ichigo followed his example, looking out the window to find endless amounts of trees littering the area around them.
"Is this the right place?" The teenager asked while stepping out of the vehicle cautiously. The sun was midway up the sky now, signaling it was probably nearing eight or nine in the morning. Yoruichi was shaken awake by Kisuke, who feared for his life.
"Kisuke!" Yoruichi shouted causing the older man to stumble out of the limo and frantically scramble towards Ichigo. He stood behind Ichigo and used the tired teen as a shield while his friend stepped out of the car with a scowl and a dark aurora surrounding her.
"Maa Maa, Yoru-chan! I simply wanted to notify you that we have reached the wonderful Las Noches~!"
She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Really?"
"I am one-hundred percent sure. The entrance is," He pointed to an empty space in the sea of trees, "over there!"
"I don't quite understand Urahara." Ichigo muttered looking around for any kind of entrance, but nothing except lush trees filled his sight. The teen couldn't even spot an actual road, so Ichigo guessed the driver had actually driven out here on the grass.
"Let me lead the way~!" the eccentric man sang in an overly cheerful voice. The blond looked at the driver who was still standing near the limo with a blank expression. This was Kisuke's favored driver, and one of his most trusted friends. The driver would never think of uttering a word about his long time friend's, and employer's, actions.
"Tessai-san~" The slightly crazy blond spoke in a sing-song voice, addressing the tall, dark skinned, driver.
Tessai is his name, huh? Ichigo thought while watching Urahara softly converse with the other male. Ichigo didn't really get to know Urahara's employees nor did he care about what they did after they were done servicing them. All that mattered to him was that the people working around him kept Ichigo and company's activities to themselves, and never spoke a word of them to anybody.
Tessai looked to be about the same age as Kisuke, seeing as Kitty looked much younger than what she was. He was wearing a fancy black and white suit and his hair was styled in cornrolls that reached down to his shoulders. The two were acting so familiar with each other, causing Ichigo to get suspicious.
He was about to ask Urahara about what was going on, but Yoruichi's voice sounded out before he could.
"Ne Kisuke, what are you whispering about?" She asked while eyeing her two friends intently.
"Introductions, introductions!" He said while fanning himself with a small white fan that seemingly popped out of nowhere.
"This is Tessai Tsukabishi, my top quality and most trusted driver and one of my dear friends. Tessai-san, that woman is Yoru-chan but you already knew that, and the scowling teenager is Strawberry-chan."
"Stop distorting our names, baka!" Ichigo yelled while he beat Kisuke on the head with his fist. The orangette angrily pouted and crossed his arms like a child while Urahara stood up slowly shaking his head.
Yoruichi walked up to Urahara and slapped him across the face, knocking his back onto the grass groaning. She then walked over to Tessai and gave the man a bright smile.
"Nice to see you again Tessai." Yoruichi told the man, while giving him a loving hug.
"It's always a pleasure to see you again Yoruichi." she stepped away from the tall man allowing Ichigo to walk over to the driver. He stuck out his hand to shake, which the bi-spectacled man took with another large smile.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, don't listen to that old man." The other man chuckled causing Ichigo to furrow his brow.
"What?" He asked while the other man was still silently laughing. His brown eyes were shining behind his glasses in the new sunlight, and Tessai was starting to freak Ichigo out.
"Nice to meet you… Strawberry-sama."
Oh. Hell. No.
Before Ichigo could properly punch the laughing driver, he was pulled back and away from him by none other than Yoruichi. Kisuke was back on his feet now, and waltzing over to Tessai lazily with the usual grin in place.
"Tessai-san, we shall be fine for now. Please leave until I request your services again."
Tessai bowed deeply and muttered a 'yes Urahara-sama' before getting into the limo and carefully driving back the way he came through the grass.
A sigh of relief came from Ichigo as his random new enemy disappeared from sight, and the teenager found himself noticing his eyes drooping from lack of sleep.
"Urahara, let's go already. I'm sleepy."
"Yes, yes! Follow me, my young fellow!"
Yoruichi was sticking close to Ichigo, practically leaning all her weight on him as they walked. She slung an arm over his shoulders and whined into his ear.
"Ichi, carrrrry me~" He pouted and tried to move aside but instead Kitty tightened her grip and he sighed.
"But I'm tired too~" He whined back. "Yeah, but I'm more tired, I'm on those days and I'm pissed we had to leave in the first place. So carry me!" Ichigo sighed in relent, too tired to deal with it all and decided it was easier to just carry Yoruichi. He nodded and the woman clapped her hands in joy, quickly hopping onto his back and sighing in content.
When Kisuke pulled to a halt in front of them Ichigo was left to wonder what the hell the man was thinking.
A tree. A normal tree, with brown bark and luscious green leaves that fluttered noisily whenever the wind picked up, that's what Ichigo found himself looking at. It was a single tree in the clearing Kisuke had previously pointed to, but how was this Las Noches? Whatever Urahara was doing, Ichigo hoped it was good, otherwise he was going to be royally pissed off.
Kisuke knocked his knuckles twice on the tree before backing away and gazing at the supposed 'assassin's base' he had proclaimed it was. Nothing happened for a moment, and Ichigo was on the verge of either passing out or getting so irritated he would kill his teacher right here and now.
"Ichigo, watch this." Yoruichi muttered into his ear while resting her chin on his shoulder and keeping her eyes glued to the tree just like Kisuke was doing. So he did what she said and let his gaze fall on the part of the tree Urahara had knocked on, and it lingered there for an excruciatingly long minute or two before something actually started to happen. He blinked in confusion, and by the time his eye had reopened from the blink, there was a hole in the tree with a hidden staircase concealed in the darkness.
Ichigo groaned at having to carry Yoruichi down the staircase and he realized that it was the reason she asked him to do so. He threw a accusing look at the women he saw as a mother figure and only received a grin for his attempted glare.
Slowly the three made their way down the long spiral staircase, with Urahara leading and Ichigo with Yoruichi coming up behind him. Motion sensor lights came on as Kisuke walked past them, watching the stairs carefully in case something unexpected was to happen. Ichigo groaned loudly as the stairs seemed to keep going and going. He was practically sleep-walking with an almost asleep Yoruichi on his back for crying out loud!
After torturous minutes of nothing but the sounds of shoes hitting the metal stairs, a bright light poured into Ichigo's vision and blinded him for a moment. It jerked Kittty awake and had him staggering a bit before he rightened the both of them. He looked up to see Urahara in the same blinded state, since they were all so use to the dim stair lights they had been following for several minutes now. The stairs ended in a large lobby; with a ceiling so high it made Ichigo dizzy just to look up at it. The room was empty, save the five people standing in the middle of it. Some were smiling while the others were openly frowning at the newcomers, with hatred blooming towards Ichigo and his friends.
Urahara walked towards the small group of people while Ichigo followed silently behind without question while Yoruichi eyed them all warily from her perch on Ichi's back. The room was white. Very white, with no dust or dirt anywhere to be seen. The ceiling was white with white walls and a matching white tile pattern to match it all. Ichigo was actually surprised to see that the edges of the room were lined with black, the only other color besides white.
How boring.
Ichigo watched as a man stepped forward with a warm smile on his face that seemed very deceiving to Ichigo, to shake hands with the blond man when they were in touching distance. The other four men standing in the room just watched the small group of three. It was all really rather weird to Ichigo.
"Sousuke-chan, how nice to see you again!" His voice was oddly chipper considering their situation. Ichigo was more than nervous and uncomfortable, which weren't really normal emotions for the assassin. He was kneading his hands into the bottom of Yoruichi's thighs, just wanting to rub his hands through his hair instead-which Urahara claimed was his nervous habit. The violet haired woman looked down at the teen and started to run a hand through his hair to sooth him, which worked on some level.
"Kisuke, it's a pleasure to see you again after all these years. We have much to catch up on."
"Yes, I agree!"
"Yoruichi, it's nice to see you again too. You look even lovelier than you did when you were young." Urahara's brown-haired friend commented on the woman still on Ichigo's back. Well wasn't he the charmer.
"Nice to see you also, Sousuke." She nodded with a serious expression on her face. She hopped off of Ichigo's back then and walked over to Aizen to greet him properly. He grasped her hand and layed a gentle kiss on her tanned knuckles, she giggled a bit and bowed slightly.
"And who is this?" Sousuke said while letting his sharp brown eyes graze over Ichigo's form. Ichigo almost gasped when brown eyes locked together. Sousuke's eyes were piercing and Ichigo wanted to cower under his intense gaze. This man sure was something.
"Ichigo Kurosaki." The teenager said, finally gathering his wits.
"I am Aizen Sousuke, the creator and owner of this establishment." Aizen said with his deep voice. A piece of hair that was dangling in Aizen's face distracted Ichigo momentarily, with his ADHD and all, but wasn't really a visible change to the others in the room.
"Let me introduce you all to my some of my dear Espada, my regulars who stay here often and follow my rules diligently." Aizen pointed to a man with flamboyant pink hair and glasses perched upon his nose. He was wearing some sort of uniform, which looked almost the same as all the other people, including Aizen himself.
"Szayel Aporro Granz." Said man nodded and waved his hand in a child-like manner. He had pink hair...? How odd.
He then pointed to a man with his hands tucked into his sleeves and squinted eyes. Ichigo couldn't help but compare the man to a fox as the teenager looked at him.
"Gin Ichimaru, my subordinate." Gin smirked at Ichigo, and for some reason it caused unpleasant chills to run up his spine. What a creepy guy...
"Kaname Tōsen, my other subordinate." A nod was received from Kaname, a dark skinned man with an orange collared shirt.
"And the youngest member of Las Noches, who is now officially nineteen." Aizen pointed his finger at the last person standing next to Gin with a scowl on his face. He looked like he really didn't want to be here right now. The man's hair was a baby blue color, which Ichigo was interested in since it was abnormal like his own orange hair, Yoruichi's purple hair and Szayel's pink hair. The man's eyes were a bright cyan color with small blue tattoos under his eyes, of the matching color. How peculiar.
"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
"Yo, berry-head."
