DISCLAIMER: I do not own BLEACH or any of its characters

A story rated M for LEMON Explicit LEMON

Beta by- DeviantHollow

Different take on current manga story line- Ichigo has found out Isshin is a shinigami and is not to happy having been lied to all his life. He has distanced himself from the Gotei 13 and ALL shinigami.


UNAVOIDABLE Fate of the Black Cape

chapter 3 - Heaven's Wilderness

Ichigo smiled listening intently while Yuzu went over her day by day experiences since the last time she had seen him. She was careful not to bring up their father. She was a light, happy girl but still perceptive in her own way. She didn't know why her father and brother weren't talking. She had asked her father repeatedly, he had only said that Ichigo was angry with him and it was up to Ichigo to forgive him. Isshin assured Yuzu that it was all up to Ichigo because he still loved her brother as much as ever.

Ichigo had refused to talk about it. Yuzu had given up, she was just happy to be by him now. In her tales Yuzu had also left out the fact that she and Karin had taken to sleeping in his room every night now. Just to be close to his things since they couldn't be close to him.

Everything felt normal, again. Their evening was going along nicely, after eating dinner, they had spent time talking, then played some video games.

Ichigo was sitting on the sofa now, with his sisters on either side while they watched the DVD that Yuzu had picked. Ichigo had his arms around each of them. His head hadn't been hurting since just after they came over. They always made him feel at peace.

Urahara's words were filtering in his thoughts.

"Your father's missing."

Ichigo hadn't said anything at the time, his face revealed nothing. But in the back of his mind he was jolted. He didn't know if it was happiness or fear.

He hated the guy. He wanted to be as far away from him as possible. But he didn't want him dead…or did he?

He looked at Yuzu smiling and giggling at the images flashing on the screen. She looked up at him seeking his agreement. He smiled at her, squeezing her closer to him giggling with her, tickling her ribcage, causing her to cry out louder in wild laughter.

Karin had been trying to stifle her laughter. But hearing Yuzu laughing instead of crying, Ichigo between them; it was like old times. Seeing her twin being attacked by their big brother she jumped on his back.

"You leave her alone, you big bully!" she said playfully pulling his shoulders.

"Oh, you want it too," he said reaching for her and pulling her over his shoulder and tickling her ribs as well. She laughed fully, quickly hiding her face behind her hands. She wanted to cry she was so happy.

.

Orihime was at Ichigo's door, with a raisin and cinnamon candy cake she had just finished baking. Her hand was lifted to knock on the door, but she heard them laughing.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun." she smiled, her heart aching at hearing him laughing with his sisters, his family. She wanted to share in it, be a welcomed part to it, but he had told her he wanted to spend time with them alone. She was just going to drop off the cake then leave. Hoping in the back of her mind that Yuzu or Karin would invite her to stay.

She sighed heavily, with a forlorn smile; she turned going back to her apartment.

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"Yare, yare." Yamamoto said looking out from Squad One barracks. It was in a shambles. Unfortunately, it wasn't new. But this was no accident. He had been directly targeted but none of the attackers had been ferreted out yet.

The clean up was almost done and rebuilding was beginning in some of the lesser hit areas.

"Do we have any word on who has done this?"

"If anyone in Rukongai knows, they're not talking. We hit almost all the districts but nothing yet. "

"How about the causalities?"

"There are about a dozen or so shinigami that were killed in the initial blasts but other than that a lot of the injured are back up and on duty." Chojiro Sasakibe said with a slight bow.

"Any word on Lieutenant Abarai and Officer Kuchiki," Byakuya said coming up beside Yamamoto.

"We sent Kurosaki out after them just after they disappeared and we haven't had any word from him either, that was over two weeks ago." Chojiro replied.

"I see…" Byakuya said.

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Tokaji Hotta grabbed his jaw with one hand, and caught his fall with the other. The Captain was very powerful though she still looked like a teenager; she had held back or else his jaw would have been dislocated.

"After all this! All this planning and now the very object we had wanted to procure, YOU LOSE IT!"

Tokaji looked up at Yuugure Arashi. Her lips were curve into a snarl. Her big plum colored eyes squinted into slits as she tried to hold her temper. All the years of planning had been disintegrating in front of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Captain," Tokaji looked back at Lieutenant Hironobu. Hironobu nodded for him to get to his feet. Tokaji looked back at Yuugure, standing up straight, bracing himself for any other punishment she may have for him.

Yuugure's presence was daunting though she was barely 5' tall. Her silver bangs hung just below her eyebrows sweeping across her lashes and her long flowing silver hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. She was wearing long leggings that ended at her ankles and black flats. She wore a top that laced up the front covering her proud breasts. Her cape draped over one shoulder and then tied under her opposite arm.

The mission wasn't a complete loss; they still had a way to get the object back. She looked back glowering at the shinigami that had been caught.

"Where are the other ones?"

"This one helped them escape but we're close to finding them." Jia Hironobu said stepping up next to Yuugure; he bowed slightly, his cobalt hair falling in his face. His amber eyes watched her, waiting for her next set of orders.

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"Can't we come back next week big brother?"

"He doesn't need us around bugging him, besides, dad'll be back," Karin said. She hated saying good-bye to her brother, so she didn't. She was heading out of Ichigo's apartment to Urahara who was waiting outside.

"See ya', Ichigo," Karin said waving at him as she left. In a lot of ways they were alike, Ichigo's heart sunk realizing it.

"I guess you're right," Yuzu said, before Ichigo could say yes or no. Yuzu accepted it right now, not wanting to be a burden to Ichigo, but if their father wasn't back yet then she would be spending next week with Ichigo even if he did have to cram school.

Yuzu gripped Ichigo's waist, hugging him fiercely. Then as her eyes filled with tears she ran from his apartment. "Bye, big brother."

"Yuzu..." he called after as she ran from his apartment. Deciding to follow after her, he ended up running into Orihime instead. Ichigo looked down the staircase as Yuzu ran to Urahara.

Urahara stroked her back cooing to her that everything would be okay. He looked back up at Ichigo, tipping is hat and heading off with the girls.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?"

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She tried to listen. Was she still being followed? She hadn't felt Renji's reiatsu for quite a while now, but that didn't mean anything. She was on the farthest most outskirts of Rukongai, farther than she'd ever been. There was hardly anything living here. The landscape was barren, nothing but sand and dead branches. Scorched earth, where there weren't mounds and hills of sand. It was reminiscent of Hueco Mundo, though the real cloudless sky was visible. Tengoku No Mugen Arano (天国tの 無限 荒野/ Heaven's Infinite Wilderness) had a way of distorting things,…or was it the heat?

Renji.

Rukia thought back to their last run in with their pursuers.

"GO RUKIA!"

"I can't leave you, Renji!"

"It's not helping anything if we're both here. GO!" He winked at her, being his overconfident self. He rushed headlong into the pursuers, with Zabimaru extended. She had no choice but to run and keep running.

She tried to take a breath, grabbing her heaving chest. Her lungs were burning, her mouth bone-dry. The heat was oppressive when she wasn't sucking in dust it was just plain hard to breath. Sweat poured from her, she tried to resist tasting the salty liquid, it only made things much worse.

She had faith in him. He had promised not to die. She'd kill him if he lied to her. So, she kept moving.

Her tongue running over her cracked lips, wincing at the stinging pain. Her eyes were stinging as well; they couldn't even water any more. She had run almost constantly over the last few days.

She had to get to the Seireitei to tell them, warn them. But warn them about what? She, herself, still didn't understand what was going on. She somehow knew they'd be watching, though.

She had put off the idea but things were getting desperate. If she could get to Urahara's she could get some help, rest even, and then get back to the Seireitei by way of the Human world. It still didn't feel like the best of ideas because of who she didn't want to run into...But there were more serious things bigger than that now.

She took a deep breath raising her fatigued arms to open a Senkaimon. She would have to be fast and careful, with no Hell Butterfly she would be at a disadvantage. Her arms were shaking, she could barely stand.

She decided she'd rest a few hours to gather some strength because if she went through the Senkaimon the way she was now, no Hell Butterfly, the Dangai would make quick work of her and it would be all for nothing. She felt around in her pocket feeling the cool pearl-like sphere. This is what they were after; she pulled it out rolling it in her hand and over her forehead. It was always cool to the touch no matter how long it was in her pocket or how ever long she was in the heat.

When she had first seen it she thought it was the Hogyoku, but realized it was much smaller and the cherry rich color it was now, made it look like a small piece of candy.

She rolled it over her forehead once more then put it in her pocket.

She huddled in a sandy ravine while pulling dead branches over her, trying to calm her mind and while also trying to suppress her reiatsu, in case any one she didn't know came looking for her. Fatigue took her instantly.

.

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to be continued