Slightly longer chapter this time to make up for last week, as always enjoy!
Kyoraku's bar of choice was a musty old shack just outside of the seireitei walls, despite its questionable apearance from the outside it was actually surprisingly well-kept on the inside. It was small, and not very busy, but it carried an odd sense of comfort about the place. The place was mostly empty other than a few occupied tables at the back, a few people sitting by themselves at the bar, the bartender and a waitress cleaning tables. The bartender's face lit up as he saw Kyoraku drag Ichigo into the bar, with Ukitake close behind.
"Shunsui! My favorite customer, I'm so glad to see you!" The bartender called.
"Satoshi, it's been a while. I hope you don't mind me bringing a few friends."
"Of course not! I'm always overjoyed to serve new customers. To whom do I owe the pleasure?" The bartender asked kindly.
Ukitake stepped forward and introduced himself. "Jushiro Ukitake, pleasure to meet you."
"Ah the pleasure is all mine sir." He replied with a courteous bow.
Ichigo took the chance to introduce himself. "Ichigo Kurosaki, how's it going?" He said casually as the man rose from his bow.
"Wait... Is it possible that you are the famous Ichigo Kurosaki? The hero who defeated Aizen."
Before Ichigo had a chance to blush, a slender blonde girl sitting at the bar spoke up.
"Did you say Ichigo Kurosaki?" She said as she turned and looked at the three captains approaching her.
Shunsui recognised her immediately and cried out her name in a gleeful tone "Oh, Matsumoto, what a nice surprise to see you here!"
Matsumoto replied politely "Well, it's a lovely day for some sake don't you think?" Kyoraku nodded in reply as Matsumoto noticed the orange haired boy accompanying him.
"So it's true then, I thought it was just a rumor. You really are back, Ichigo." She said.
"Yeah." Ichigo replied as he followed Kyoraku to take a seat next to her.
Matsumoto was about to speak when something caught her attention. 'Is Ichigo wearing a white haori?' She blinked a few times as she tried to dispel the illusion she thought she was seeing, she assumed she had drunk a little too much.
Ichigo noticed her eyeing him and spoke up. "You're not imagining things." Was all he said.
She looked up at his face and stared at him blankly for a few seconds before a small smirk appeared on her lips. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"You shouldn't?" Ichigo questioned.
"Are you kidding? You defeated Aizen when nobody else could! Captains are supposed to be the strongest of all the shinigami, obviously you deserve the position." She said with a warm smile.
"Yeah... I guess I never really thought about it that way." Ichigo muttered in return.
"Which squad?"
"Three."
A short flash of sadness crossed Matsumoto's face as she remembered the old 3rd squad captain. "I'm glad someone like you is in charge of Gin's squad, Ichigo." She said quietly.
"Someone like me?"
"All I'm saying is that you're a good guy, I'm sure Gin would be happy that his squad was passed onto someone strong, like you. I'm sure you'll be a great captain." She gave him one last smile before turning to down her cup of saké.
Kyoraku noticing the mood of the room was taking a turn for the worst, spoke up "How about a drinking game?!" He yelled joyfully.
The other three shinigami turned their attention to the 8th squad Captain.
"Whoever can drink the most sake in the next hour gets all their paperwork done by the other 3 for the rest of the week."
Ichigo paused and considered the proposition for a moment. 'No paperwork for a week?' He decided that after what he experienced earlier that day, no paperwork was too good to pass up
"Your on, Shunsui!" Ichigo said. The bartender jumped up and down in joy as he served the four their first round of drinks.
"I'm already drunk but I'm far from done!" Matsumoto said as she tipped her cup back. Ichigo saw Kyoraku and Ukitake do the same and he followed shortly after. As the sake tickled his tongue he gaged slightly at the strong taste. He was about to spit it out when he remembered what was at stake, 'NO PAPERWORK FOR A WEEK.' He downed his entire cup in one huge gulp.
"I WIN!" Ichigo slurred as he looked around at the three drunken figures passed out around him. He looked up at the bartender in his drunken state and showed him a massive grin.
"Well done, looks like you can really handle your alcohol." The bartender praised.
Ichigo was about to say something in return when he suddenly felt his head get extremely light. All he heard was the sound of the bartender chucking as his head hit the table in front of him.
As light began to pass through his closed pupils, his senses began to return to him. Along with those senses came a nasty headache, pounding in his mind. He felt his face laying against a cold surface and as he opened his eyes, he remembered where he was. His head shot up and looked around. He spotted the bartender in front of im polishing a glass.
"Did I win?" Was all he could think to ask. He didn't remember
"Oh yes, it was quite entertaining if I do say so myself." The bartender snickered.
Ichigo took note of his surroundings and saw that the bar was not deserted, he was the only one still there.
"Where did-"
"They left about fifteen minutes ago. They asked me to tell you that they will keep their end of the deal, and do your paperwork for a week."
"Oh..." Was all Ichigo said, even though he felt the joy rising inside of him. He had a hard time conveying happy emotions with his head pounding as hard as it was.
"Now if you don't mind, I would like to close my bar. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The man said in a kind voice.
"Oh yeah sure... uh, sorry i didn't catch your name?"
"Just call me Satoshi."
"All right, See you later Satoshi." He waved goodbye as he walked out of the bar and dashed back to his barracks.
Ichigo's week passed rather quickly, he was deeply saddened when he awoke one morning and saw a stack of paperwork sitting on his desk. He didn't have much to do all week, so he frequently found himself out in the quiet forest behind his barracks. There he trained up his shinigami skills, he was rather rusty at first, but after the week was over he was in peak fighting condition as he once was. He also found time to re-aquaint himself with Zangetsu, who helped him in his training. The news of his captaincy was now spread all throughout Soul Society and it didn't take long before Renji found him. They spent a considerable amount of time training together. Renji was frustrated at first that Ichigo had been given a Captain's position and he hadn't, however after Renji got his ass whooped in a spar with Ichigo he remembered just how strong Ichigo truly was.
The orange haired captain sighed in frustration as he made an effort to mae it through his paperwork. He was nearing the end of the pile. That was when a small, black hell butterfly flew in the window of his office and perched itself on his desk.
"All Captain's are to immediately report to the first squad for a mandatory meeting."
Ichigo watched as the butterfly lifted off and left out the window it came in. Quickly, he finished the report he was currently reading and placed it in his 'finished' pile. He stood and walked out of his office. He rapidly dashed across the rooftops towards the first divisions meeting chamber.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the large meeting hall, he wasn't the last to arrive. He took his place at the front of the line of captain's, to the right of Yamamoto and beside Urahara. The Captain-commander seemed eager and distressed, he clearly was not keen on waiting for the rest of the captains to arrive.
After a few minutes of silence, all the captains had assembled and were waiting to be addressed. Yamamoto cleared his throat with a loud growl as he stood to speak
"Three weeks ago, Rukia Kuchiki was sent to the world of the living to investigate a recently discovered abnormality of spiritual pressure." Ichigo and Byakuya both immediately became more attentive as they heard Rukia's name.
Yamamoto continued. "She had been sending us daily reports detailing her investigation up until yesterday, when her report never came. We assumed she had simply not been able to send it due to some sort of manageable circumstances. However, we also did not receive one today and after searching for her spiritual pressure, we could not find it. Rukia Kuchiki has been officially deemed missing in action."
Byakuya's eyes widened at this. "Sir, how can this be possible? Are you suggesting that something has happened to Lieutenant Kuchiki?" He made an effort to rid all emotion in his voice, but it was clear that he was rattled by the situation.
"I do not know, Captain Kuchiki. But we must realise the possibility that such a thing has happened. The strange spiritual pressures she was sent to investigate have also disappeared along with her." Byakuya grew uneasy as he thought about Rukia missing. The entire room was void of conversation for a few moments. The whole time Ichigo was fighting the urge to speak out-of-place.
"It has been decided that something must be done. Due to the severity of the situation I have decided to send Captain's Toshiro Hitsugaya and Ichigo Kurosaki along with Lieutenants Isane Kotetsu and Momo Hinamori to investigate." Ichigo silently cheered to himself as he heard his words. He was glad he got to be the one sent on Rukia's 'rescue' mission. "Captain's," Yamamoto looked to Ichigo and Hitsugaya, "Your objective is to locate Rukia Kuchiki and neutralise any possible threats as you see fit. You will be sent without limiters due to the high possibility of strong enemies on this mission." The captain-commander paused for another short moment. "Captain's Unohana and Urahara I ask that you inform your lieutenants of their assignment. You will depart at dusk, Kurosaki, Hitsugaya. You are dismissed.
With that, the captains began to file out of the room. Urahara wished Ichigo some 'fake luck' before he left.
Before turning to leave Ichigo turned to Yamamoto and asked, "Why me?"
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow at the young captain. "Not only are your abilities in combat above that of a normal captain, but you are also the captain who is most familiar with the world of the living, and Karakura town."
"Wait... Karakura town?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.
"Yes, your mission is in Karakura town. Due to it being situated on the jūreichi the spiritual pressure in the area is extremely high, therefore increasing the chances of spiritual abnormalities, such as the one Kuchiki was investigating to appear."
"I see... Thanks, Captain." Ichigo turned and walked out of the building.
Ichigo left for the senkaimon gate early, he was there an hour or so in advance. He sat down and closed his eyes by the gate to kill the time. He thought about his memories in Karakura town, his friends, his family. Then he thought about his new life in Soul Society, his shinigami friends. His mind continued to wonder, he thought about what if he never got his shinigami powers? What would his life have been like? Would he even have a life, would Aizen have been stopped? All these questions he pondered momentarily before snapping back to reality. 'Bah! Who cares about all that stuff, I'm here now and this is my life!' He thought as he scoffed at himself, dwelling on the past. He didn't even realise Hitsugaya standing right beside him until he opened his eyes again. He was startled by the small white haired boy, sporting a serious expression as he gazed into the distance. 'Someone should paint a picture of this kid.' Ichigo joked to himself.
"Hey... Toshiro." He said.
"It's still Captain Hitsugaya to you, Kurosaki." The boy replied, he knew Ichigo would continue to call him by his first name no matter what he said.
"Why are you here so early? We aren't scheduled to leave for at least another hour."
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Eh? I just got nothing better to do. You know? Being a Captain is pretty easy." Ichigo teased.
Hitsugaya didn't appear amused, he just responded stoically. "fair enough." The two continued to sat there in silence, Ichigo felt like he started to doze off slightly. The hour passed quickly, not another word was said between the two captain's. Though they both wouldn't admit it, they didn't mind each others silent company in the slightest. As the sun finally left view and descended down from view on the horizon, two figures approached quietly from the deserted street. They were walking side appearing to be chatting quietly with each other. Until they spotted the two boyish looking Captain's patiently waiting in the distance beside the senkaimon gate.
Ichigo's eyes fluttered open as he felt the spiritual pressure of the two female lieutenants arrive. He continued to sit comfortably in his position, leaning against the senkaimon.
"Yo." He called out as they neared.
The 4th and 5th squad lieutenants looked at each other, then back to the captain's before Hinamori spoke up. "My apologies, Captain Kurosaki for our tardiness."
Ichigo grinned back, "Why is everyone around here so goddamn nice? Toshiro? How come you aren't that nice?"
Hitsugaya just rolled his eyes, and stood up straight. "You guys ready?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Yes, sir."
"Sure."
"Alright let's go then." Hitsugaya said. Ichigo lazed off his ass and stood to his full hight as he stretched his arms and legs out. Hitsugaya placed his sword into the senkaimon gate and twisted it like a key, opening the path to the precipice world.
As they stepped out of the gate on the other side, the cool summer air of the living world entered their lungs. Ichigo took a huge whiff of the fresh oxygen, It smelt like home to him. Their gate had appeared in the middle of what seemed to be a forest, beside a calm, soft flowing river.
"So how do we find Rukia." Ichigo asked.
"We don't really know anything about Kuchiki's disappearance other than she was here investigating a strange spiritual pressure and that she hadn't found anything." Hitsugaya replied. "This senkaimon has opened at her last known location before her disappearance."
The two captains just stood still for a few moments as they silently went over how they were going to search for Rukia when Isane spoke.
"Is it just me or does anybody else feel the extremely heavy spirit pressure in this area?"
"I feel it as well." Hinamori replied.
Ichigo looked down at the girls beside him and noticed they were both sweating and breathing heavily. "I can too." He said nervously. He looked at Hitsugaya who just shrugged.
"It's minor, but I can as well." A puzzled look grew on his face.
"Can either of you tell where its coming from?" Ichigo asked.
The female lieutenants looked to each other and silently agreed, they pointed deeper into the forest, following the river. "Over there." Ichigo immediately turned in the direction and began to travel that way.
"Kurosaki!" Hitsygaya called. "We don't know anything about this reiatsu or where exactly its coming from! You're just going to run into it?!"
"There's only one way to find out isn't there." Ichigo turned back and continued at a swift pace, "Don't tell me you're afraid? Toshiro?"
Hitsugaya's face became a light shade of pink at Ichigo's remark. "It has nothing to do with fear, Kurosaki! It has to do with having some sort of plan, not just barging in there!"
"Alright, you stay here and make a plan while I go find Rukia." Ichigo continued on his way.
"Hitsugaya sighed deeply, "This guy..." He said as he motioned Isane and Hinamori to follow him, as he set off after Ichigo.
It didn't take long before both girls stopped dead in their tracks, hardly able to breathe.
"This reiatsu, it's so heavy!" Isane cried out. Hinamori nodded in agreement. Ichigo and Toshiro once again glanced at each other, they both agreed that it was indeed, extremely heavy reiatsu.
"What could be causing this?" Ichigo wondered out loud.
"I don't know, but we're turning back." Hitsugaya said.
"Yeah, we shouldn't keep going if half of us can barely stand." Ichigo agreed. With that they turned to head back and Ichigo noticed the strain Isane and Momo seemed to be under as they struggled to move their feet. As Hinamori attempted to take a step forward she lost her footing and began to fall over. Hitsugaya was there immediately to catch her.
"Hinamori!" He said, concerned.
"S-s-soo, he-heavy." Was all she managed to stutter out as she fell into his arms.
Hitsugaya looked up to Ichigo, who was staring blankly off into the trees. "Kurosaki, we have to leave now!" He yelled at the boy, attempting to make him focus.
"We can't" Ichigo muttered back.
"What do you mean, we can't?" Hitsugaya yelled back, he was growing more distressed as he felt Hinamori go limp in his arms and he saw Isane drop to her knees, covered in sweat.
Ichigo simply raised his hand and pointed in front of him. Hitsugaya looked up in awe, he spotted what, or rather, who Ichigo was pointing too. In front of them stood seven cloaked men, smirking menacingly.
"Who are you!?" Hitsugaya cried out at the man.
One of the cloaked figures stepped forward and spoke. "Who we are does not matter. What does matter is whether or not you value your lives." There was a long pause as Hitsugaya gazed fiercely at the figures.
The cloaked figure spoke once again. "Do you wish to die, shinigami?"
"Where's Rukia." Ichigo said with a deadly glare. Another silence as the men stared at each other.
"Are you talking about that Kuchiki bitch? I already sold her." The man said as he chuckled softly.
"Sold her?! To who? WHERE IS SHE?" Ichigo yelled.
"It wouldn't be very good for my business if I told you that." The cloaked man sighed as he lifted the side of his cloak to reveal a sheathed sword. "I wonder what kind of price you will go for?" He said as he reached to draw the sword from under his cloak. The six figures behind him reached to do the same. Ichigo was faster. Before the man got a chance to fully unsheathe his sword, Ichigo was in front of him and Zangetsu was at his throat.
The faces of the six behind the man, who appeared to be the leader, all gained a new look of shock.
The man's grin now disappeared. "You're fast. But do you honestly think I would be that easy?" He said calmly.
"I hope not." Ichigo responded seriously. The man then disappeared before Ichigo's eyes, only to appear behind Ichigo and slash his sword at his back. His sword was met with the steel of Hitsugaya's cold zanpakuto.
"I'll repeat myself." The young white haired captain said. "Who are you?"
` "I have no intention of sharing that with you." The hooded man responded as he withdrew his blade. Ichigo and Hitsugaya now stood back to back, as the remaining six figures surrounded them.
Ichigo didn't waste any time as he charged at the one nearest to him. He aimed a slash at his chest. His sword was parried by the man who twisted his sword to the side, leaving Ichigo open for an attack. He felt the pressure of one of them behind him and ducked just in time to avoid losing his head. He pulled Zangetsu free and turned to deal with the second assailant. He went for a stab at the man's stomach. He heard the soft sound of his sword puncturing the mans abdomen as the shocked cloaked figure fell to the ground, dead. 'One down.' The man who was behind him was not aiming a strike at Ichigo's neck whilst another figure ran in to assist. He blocked the attack with the hilt of his sword and kicked the man hard in the stomach. The attacker recoiled a few feet and gave Ichigo a moment to deal with his other attacker. The mans sword flew past his ear and into the ground. Ichigo capitalized on the chance as he placed his foot on the mans sword, driving it into the ground. He then smacked him dead center in the face with the hilt of Zangetsu, knocking him unconscious. Ichigo then turned to face the assailant he had knocked back earlier. Ichigo had made short work of the man as he swiped his feet out from under him. The man fell onto his back and received Ichigo's sword in his chest.
Ichigo looked back to where Hitsugaya stood and saw that he had dealt with his attackers as well. Now only the leader of the group remained.
Before Ichigo had a chance to attack the man, Hitsugaya spoke. "Who are you working for?" He called out.
"I already told you, I have no intention of giving you any information." The man said calmly.
"Then I guess I'll just have to force it out of you." Ichigo cried as he charged the man.
This time, the man did not hesitate to dash out-of-the-way. He jumped to a branch on one of the nearby trees. He stood tall and threw off his cloak revealing himself. His hair was a bright red color, down to his shoulders in length. His face was slender and sharp, with bright yellow eyes. Perhaps his most distinguishable feature, was the small, black hole centered on his collarbone.
"An arrancar?" Ichigo growled.
The man's grin grew even more sinister as he sheathed his sword and said, "Resurrección." The wind picked up as the man's body became encased in a white, bone-like substance. His left eye and hair were the only things that weren't closed in. His fingers grew sharp and pointed and a large double sided, black sword erupted from thin air, into his hand. His sword was long and stretched out slightly in two directions at the end. The man entire being seemed to resonate the powerful, strange pressure.
Ichigo looked to Hitsugaya. "I'm going to have to end this fast, they can't take any more of this pressure." He pointed to Isane, who was on her knees, and Momo, who was passed out beside her. Hitsugaya nodded in agreement, then jumped over to where the lieutenants were kneeling. Ichigo turned back to the mysterious arrancar. He placed Zangetsu straight out in front of him with his right arm and placed his left hand on top of his right forearm.
"Bankai." A swirl of deep, black reiatsu exploded in the area. Isane was crippled to the ground by the overwhelming force of his reiatsu. She felt as though she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders as she attempted to breathe.
Hitsugaya jumped in front of her, and attempted to shield her and Hinamori from some of Ichigo's spiritual pressure. "Don't worry, Kurosaki will end this fast." He said softly as he tried to ease the pressure she felt with his own reiatsu.
As the smoky black cloud dissapeared, Ichigo's bankai became visible. "Tensa Zangetsu."
Just as Isane felt like she was going to lose her conciousness, Ichigo's reiatsu disappeared entirely.
"Sorry, but I can't afford to screw around with you." Ichigo said to the hollow. Then, in the blink of an eye Ichigo was in front of the arrancar, with Zangetsu through his chest.
The arrancar coughed up a small amount of blood and gasped for air. "H-how?" He managed to cry out.
"Now, tell me who you're working for." Ichigo demanded.
The arrancar gave in. "H-he said his name, was..." He coughed up another small portion of blood. "G-g-Grimmjow..." His body then went limp as he fell to the ground.
"Bastard."
Boom, dropped a bit of a cliffhanger there, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? You'll just have to wait to find out :P
So this chapter is the start of the first major story arc. Finally some action too! I've never really wrote fight/action scenes before so I hope mine aren't too confusing, I'll get better i promise :D
Reviews:
Crimson Dragon Devil: Yeah, that was one of the main problems i thought about with this story, Oh well... It's just fanfic after all, isn't that kinda the point?
Phantom Claire: Heyo bonjour! Je suis content que tu continue d'aimer l'histoire. Au sujet de la situation en Rukongai, oui il vas faire quelque chose eventuellement. Je suis pas encore comment je vais incorperer Ganju et Kukkaku, mais il vas pas avoir la relation de famille car l'histoire arrive avant ca. So... yeah, merci j'espere que tu a aimer la chapitre!
IchigoMoonCutter: Trust me, if i do decide to go with pairings etc... I won't cause it to be too dramatic. This is mainly an adventure story and i don't plan for it to be too romance focused if at all.
Thanks to those who reviewed/fav'd/followed, see you all next week!