Sigh, its been quite a while since I updated this, so its a pretty short chapter. I apologize if its not a good chapter. I considered updating this on my birthday when I turned twenty one,(old enough to drink, WHOO HOO!) but decided against it.
Review corner time!
Fangking2: New chapter for Under the Circumstances is here; hope you'll like this one.
Yakedomaru: I took some time to find the right jobs for the girls, but I'm glad I manage it to this extent. Hope you like the next chapter.
FearWolfXZ: That's because I have InhumanNexus beta reading my chapters. I still make grammatical errors by myself.
god: …You lost me at the second review. Sorry, but Ying and Yang couldn't have escaped cause they were already in an enclosed space before they could realize what the technique was (check out the Hell Chapter movie to see Gert Schneider in action). Plus, it used there own power for the technique, and couldn't power through it cause it'll also power the barrier. Even in their element forms, being shrunken to as small as possible, then exploding, isn't survivable like that. Sorry if your disappointed, but Ying and Yang are DEAD.
Darkmachines: Cirucci is dead, to be blunt. I can't see her surviving with no powers in Las Noches at all. As for Nell…read the chapter to find out.
Orichamus: I'll be honest, I never really did say who was going to be in the pairing, and it'll most likely only have Loly, Apacci, and Sung-Sun in it. I have nothing against the other characters, but I don't think i can write a decent story if I bite off more then I can chew. And I don't mind long reviews, but don't make them too long.
Darklink29: Ichigo does have stupid moments, considering he forgot Ginjo was also a Substitute Shinigami for a moment. Harribel isn't in the harem. Sorry about the wait.
Swordsman of Shadows: Glad you like the way its going. I'll try and get Ichigo more adult like, if it doesn't looked good feel free to give suggestions.
Cmcwiki: I do have an idea on how Ichigo will get his powers back, but it's not perfect. It's still in the planning stages.
Gringa: Yeah, he might've had a similar reaction like in episode 314 if I hadn't had her mention it.
The Sinful: Correct! You get a free internet. ^‿^
12DEHD: That is what I was going for, I'm keeping it at a steady pace before I can things going.
Desuse: There are some things I can't pull punches on, as you'll find in this chapter also. ¬‿¬
Without further distractions, on with the story!
"So, they have died." A commanding voice mused, sitting on his throne as the news from what transpired in the World of the Living from an Arrancar for their… cause. It was rather easy to take over Hueco Mundo with their squabbling to find a leader amongst them. There were a few loose ends, but it wouldn't hinder their plans in the slightest.
"Yes Sir! Both Yin and Yang died at the hands of Sado Yasutora and Uyru Ishida." The Arrancar answered respectfully, taking a slight bow after saying the information. It was silent for a few moments, making the Arrancar nervous with what their leader was thinking about.
"I see. Your job is over."
Suddenly, the Arrancar's head exploded, blood gushing everywhere as its lifeless body fell onto the floor. It wasn't long as a group of people came to clean up the mess that was made.
"Is it alright killing off Arrancars like this, since they don't need to be taught how to fight?" One soldier asked, observing the event that had transpired.
"I don't care." The leader brushed off, walking up step as they slowly disappeared as he ascended. "If I want Arrancars, I can get as many as like."
Moving the curtain aside at the top floor, it revealed a chained up Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck in her adult form, hanging from the chains that bound her hands. She was unconscious, only her breathing showed a sign of her still being alive.
"Hueco Mundo is already our territory, its just another foundation stone to invade Soul Society."
Karakura High School/Monday:
"IIIIIICHIIIIIIGOOO!"
*BAM! *
"Sup." Ichigo greeted Keigo Asano; just holding his hand straight across while his friend ran into it. The hyperactive teen had on the Karakura high school uniform, opening his brown eyes… and dusting off his black hair. You see, Keigo lost a Christmas party game, and Mizuiro made him go through with the penalty, which was getting a Mohican hairstyle. The next day after he got it, his teacher found out and forced him to shave it off, leaving him bald. After it grew out, the hyperactive teen decided to get a perm, much to his disgust. It got worse, when he, for some reason, dyed it black, making him seem emo-like with the style straight down.
"Morning Ichigo." Mizuiro waved at the orange haired teen, cell phone in his left hand from messaging. In the school uniform, his short black hair parted down the middle, the tips fanning out and with a stray bang in his face.
"Morning Mizuiro, be sure Keigo gets to class." Ichigo said, heading to his classroom.
"Ichigo! Why do you always do that to me, just after we see each other after the weekend? Aren't I your friend?" Keigo overreacted while standing up; going through the routine they go through.
"You practically asked for it. You think after running into my arm for so long, you would've learned to stop. It's not going to change by your persistence." The orange haired teen told the hyperactive teen, leaving the area to get to class.
"…Are you sure it's ok to leave Kurosaki-kun out from what's been going on?" The sound of Orihime's voice asked, stopping the former Substitute Shinigami to hear what's going on.
"It's better this way. What do you think Kurosaki will do if he heard a group of Arrancar tried to kill him for over a month? He'll do something that'll get him killed faster than a Shinigami can Shunpo." Uyru explained, adjusting his glasses.
"Ichigo knows better than to go after Hollows in his condition. It'd be better if he found a way to get his powers back." Chad piped in.
"Until that time comes, it's better to keep information about Hollow attacks to a minimum around Kurosaki. He's been getting better with a normal life, there is no need to ruin it for him now."
Conversation finished, the three friends head to their separate classrooms, not seeing the scowling orange haired teen, eyes downcast.
"Ichigo! We're going to be late for class at this rate, hurry up." Blinking, Ichigo looked to find Tatsuki Arisawa in front of him, waving a hand in front of his face. Her black hair was now longer, reaching past her shoulders in a spiky pattern. Her brown eyes looked concerned now, noticing the mood the orange haired teen was in. "Is everything ok? What happened?" She asked, leading Ichigo to class with her as they walked.
"…It's nothing." Ichigo tried to play off like normal, but the tomboy didn't buy it, if her narrowed eyes said anything about her thoughts.
"You're lying. You've been in a better mood for a while, and that deeper scowl gives your mood away too easily. What's wrong?"
"…Not the right kind of place to explain it." The orange haired teen said, gesturing towards their class. Seeing that it's relating to spirit activity, Tatsuki couldn't help but frown. While she didn't try and deal with the supernatural after having it explained to her, being informed from time to time wasn't bad either. After rekindling her friendship with Ichigo, they got back to telling each other things like old times. Her best guess at the moment might be it was because what Uyru, Orihime, and Chad had been so secretive about for over a month. Whatever it was, Ichigo must've found out and put him in a bad mood.
"Let's go to the arcade after school." Tatsuki suggested, bringing the orange haired teens attention to her with confusion. "It's been a while since we've been there, it'll be like old times there."
"…I'll have to ask for time off."
"You've gone to work regularly for a while now, and I'm on break today from the dojo. It shouldn't be much to ask for a break this once, now that you've took your job seriously."
Sighing, Ichigo agreed to go, knowing it was pointless to argue now that class started.
Unagiya/after School:
"What do you mean Ichigo isn't coming to work today?" Loly demanded, not happy about the development with what was happening right at this moment. Ikumi sighed, knowing this was going to happen. The boss of Unagiya was an older woman with raven hair with bangs that part to the left of her face held in a ponytail with a purple hair tie. She stared at Loly imperiously with her gray eyes. She is seen wearing a white t-shirt with long purple sleeves with 'Unagiya' written on it, tight black pants with a buckle belt, and black rubber boots. She also has a brown cap with goggles and work gloves.
"Ichigo-chan hasn't taken a break for a while, and he has been working hard the whole time, too. One day won't be much, I'll just have to help out some today also." The single mother said, going to see today's jobs they were tasked with.
Grumbling, the undercover Arrancar knew the only reason why the orange haired teen was working hard was cause it was to help her and the others to fit in with the normal lives humans must go through all their life. It just seemed out of nowhere that he'd suddenly call in today…
"Look at the bright side." Ikumi said, leaning in towards Loly's ear as she whispered, "It'll be a prefect way to show Ichigo-chan how mature you are at handling things yourself, I'll bet he will be impressed so much, he'll be more interested to ask you out on a date!"
A blush instantly showed up on Loly's face. She denied such things, grabbing a random request and quickly went out the door as the boss of Unagiya chuckled the entire time.
Arcade:
"…So Arrancar were after you this entire time, and Ishida decided to keep you out of the loop after they dealt with the situation." Tatsuki went over what was told, playing skee-ball against the former Substitute Shinigami. Ichigo nodded, rolling a ball up the ramp and got twenty points.
"I know they mean well, but the fact they're still keeping it from me says they don't trust me much with information about the afterlife, and I'd do something reckless if I find out the littlest information about bigger events."
"A year ago, you might've done something reckless." The black belt pointed out, getting thirty points. "I'd expected you to get your powers back a while ago."
"I don't know how to get them back, and if Urahara or anyone had an idea, they would've mentioned it a while ago and I'd have gone through with it already."
"Couldn't you just get your powers like how your first got them in the first place?"
He gave a chuckle, ten points gained cause of it.
"Giving your Shinigami powers to a human is a crime in the Soul Society. I doubt they'd break their laws just for a mere Substitute."
"You saved the world. Shouldn't that count for some kind of compensation?" Ichigo wasn't sure what to say, since he never really got anything for helping out. If someone offered a reward for anything he did, then he politely refused. It wasn't like he expected to get anything, but it just seemed rude to ask. "After everything you've been through, shouldn't there be something to get after all your hard work? You do have to pursue something to get what you're looking for, not stand around hoping it'll just come if you wait long enough." Tatsuki claimed, scoring fifty points and winning the game by thirty points.
Ichigo thought about it for a moment, this time getting ready to play air hockey. Anything he did was because either one of his friends or loved ones was in trouble, or because he thought it was right, not because he wanted something for his efforts. He didn't care about a reward, really. Though, it was true he was just waiting for an answer, and nothing came up for more than a year.
'I've waited long enough.' The orange haired teen thought. If anything, he was just standing still, not moving forward like Zangetsu told him. 'Move forward, never stop. You'll age if you pull back, you'll die if you hesitate.' Ichigo went over with a deep breath, determination showing on his face seeing a smirking Tatsuki staring back at him when exhaling.
"That's the Ichigo I know! Prepared to lose?" She asked, setting the puck down ready to play an exciting game.
"You should be prepared, I'm going all out."
Fifteen minutes later:
"I can't believe we tied, with no conclusion at all." Tatsuki muttered, heading for the exit to get home in time in order to keep her workout schedule in order. You see, the two friends were very good with hand to eye coordination, considering their fighting skills. The speed they were playing at was a confusing sight to the spectators watching in awe of their skills. In the end, time expired before either one could score a single goal.
Even after a few retries, the results where the same, and neither one could afford any more retries. Breathing lightly while leaning against a wall, Ichigo found the match a great way to keep his hand to eye coordination up without having to play video games.
"You seemed to have fun back there." Apacci made herself known, drink in hand when he looked towards the heterochromic girl. She had her sky blue blouse on, and a dark pair of blue jeans with it.
"I didn't think you were into games." Ichigo commented, grabbing the drink and took a sip after opening it.
"Not really, I happen to be coming around here when I heard a commotion. You just happen to be in the center of it, and I thought you might need a drink after you were finished."
"Well, thanks." The orange haired teen said, going in for another drink.
"So, who was the girl? Girlfriend?"Ichigo proceeded to spit his drink out, choking slightly. Getting things in order, a scowl appeared on his face when looking at Apacci.
"We were never an item. We've been friends since I was four years old, and that won't change."
"Sorry." The undercover Arrancar held up her hands, "You both seemed really close. It looked that way."
"It'd be too awkward to even attempt to have that kind of relationship, it'd end in no time."
"…Haven't you had any kind of those relationships?" Apacci asked, pure curiosity about how the orange haired teen trusts Arrancar, despite past relations, could go so long without some kind of intimate relationship. From her time here, she has seen many guys his age act out on their desire, sometimes even older guys hitting on her and Mila-Rose when they were working. They usually never bothered them in person again after kicking their asses. Ichigo seemed so…reserved, in an almost unnatural way. While he has reactions with her teasing, which where fun to see, he never went after her or the other Arrancar. While it was gentlemanly, he takes her teasing a bit too seriously sometimes.
"…I was too busy trying to get stronger," Ichigo confessed, "It seemed selfish to worry about it after getting Shinigami powers, then preparing for the Winter War. Even after it was finished, I didn't know where to start."
"Surely, some girls would find you interesting at this 'School' you go to."[1]
"Too scary, the fact that I appear to be a delinquent is a bad sign to them already." He sighed, getting depressed again. He couldn't help how he appears though. It's the way he was, and Ichigo had no intention of changing himself to make people like him.
'The fact he isn't interested in his childhood friend says he has no intention with Orihime either.' The Arrancar mused, her own scowl appearing on her face.
"At this rate, you won't get a girl at all." Apacci bluntly stated.
"Not helping." Ichigo replied dryly.
"So, we'll be going out on Saturday to make up for your time lost."
"…What?"
"You heard me. See you on Saturday!" Apacci smiled, heading outside while leaving a perplexed teen behind.
(Author notes)
Thoughts from InhumanNexus: [1] Don't call me Shirley.