Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I have a crippling addiction to Cherry Pepsi. I cannot work without it. By the way, still not getting paid for these statements. Why are disclaimers required when the U.S. fair-use policy says that if I put something else for purpose of satire or comment, it's legal not to have permission from the owner?
Author Note: So, I ran out of my personal fuel last weekend and didn't write, but that will not stop me again. A big thank you to banesith777, amir26r, Mexican ninja1996, Darkaggie, hornet07, Acolyte of the Blood Moon, Rosco Peeko Trane, Vincent, pyrohellgunner, Damaio The End, DT-ER, 8579, Xearthes, insomniac1970, Jake, Henrik, lobos, and the guests that reviewed. To answer the question of the guest, no. Ichigo will believe that the omake was a dream and does not know that Yoruichi is a person. Moving on, time for drama, action, suspense, romance, and whatever else I can throw at this thing!
It had been three weeks since the Menos had fallen at Ichigo's hands. Hollows were becoming rare in Karakura, and Uryu was helping Chad, Orihime, and Tatsuki with their new powers. Really just Chad and Tatsuki, as Orihime showed no trouble calling her powers up, she just needed to practice and build her relationship with the fairies.
"Tatsuki, there's something that I've been considering ever since you told me about your powers." The tomboy looked at Uryu, frustrated that she hadn't been able to recreate her abilities. Chad had managed after about a week, but she just couldn't reactivate hers. "Well, I use a focus to run my power through, and I'm thinking your power might be similar. You said that you were wearing your karate gi, which is something filled with memories and has been in your presence during many periods of heightened stress. Maybe you need to wear your gi to channel your power like I use my cross."
Tatsuki looked over at her backpack, where her gi currently was. If the solution to her problem was that simple, she would be very upset. "I'll try it out, Ishida-san, but if this works I'm gonna be very upset with the last three weeks." She went someplace private to change, and came back wearing her gi. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and clapped her hands together. She felt that same energy she had been brushing against since the third day of training, and forced it through her and into her gi.
The failure she had been expecting didn't rear its ugly head this time. Instead, she felt an odd tingling that covered her body, making it feel as though she had poured a bottle of lemon juice on herself. When she opened her eyes, she saw that everyone had stopped their training to watch her. She looked down and saw the same combined armor/battle dress she had worn when she attacked that Numb Chandelier.
"Yatta! Oh you did it, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime might have been a good student, and a joy to be around, but her situational awareness was almost non-existent. She threw herself in for a hug on her best friend, but immediately backed away when one of the shoulder spikes dripped a small amount of green acid on her. "ITAI! That really hurts!" Little tears hung from Orihime's eyes as Tatsuki shut off her armor and helped Orihime through her pain.
"Tatsuki, good job activating your powers. Orihime, try to be more aware of your surroundings. Knowing what's going on can save your life." Orihime nodded somberly with Uryu's warning, while Tatsuki powered herself back up. "Now then, according to Orihime, you referred to this ability as 'Acid Heart', and you used a technique that fired the spikes on your knuckles out?"
"Yeah. What are you wondering about now?" Uryu nodded to himself a little and wrote something in the clipboard that detailed everyone's progress and abilities. He was attempting to form strategies for combating Hollows using all these statistics, and sorting further to determine what the best teams would be. Chad was fine on his own for now, but he would need speed training to truly become a threat to the more powerful Hollows. Tatsuki was an experienced and balanced fighter, but she was not as strong or durable as the big man. Orihime's powers were ridiculous as far as he could tell, simply blocking attacks by being determined not to be hit.
So far, the real power in their group was Ichigo, with himself as second best. They were perfectly capable alone, as was Chad if he was honest. Orihime would need someone with her though, and Tatsuki looked to be the best choice. Unfortunately, Tatsuki had a major tournament coming up this summer, so she wouldn't be in town soon. Uryu hoped that they wouldn't need any help from her immediately, but he knew that the Gotei 13 were going to be coming for Rukia soon. He sighed as he watched everyone practice, before forming his bow and joining them. He would need to do the Sanrei glove training soon, if he wanted to take on any fukutaicho or taicho level Shinigami.
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Ichigo looked at his two swords in irritation. Ever since the Menos fight, he had been unsuccessfully trying to change their shape like he did against that monster. He knew that he had been a Shinigami long enough that removing Rukia's reiki from him would do nothing to limit his strength, but he had no idea how to go about doing such. He had tried talking to his Zanpakutou like Rukia had told him, but a fiercely cold presence always interrupted anytime he got close to his inner world. He knew that Rukia's power was now a hindrance, but there was no easy solution.
"Rukia, hurry up and get your power back, I want to talk to my Zanpakutou already!" The little black cat that his sister had renamed 'Yoruichi' stirred from her position on his lap. He had realized a while ago that the cat could see him in his Shinigami form, and it had begun following around on his patrols. "You know, it is dangerous for you to try and nap on me while I'm on my break. What if someone sees a floating cat when they come to the roof for a smoke, eh?" Talking to Yoruichi had become a kind of habit ever since she started following him, even though he knew that she couldn't answer back with anything but a meow.
"Ichigo! There's a Hollow, let's go!" Ichigo sat up slowly enough that he didn't send his pet flying, before turning to Rukia. He nodded and jumped off in the direction that Rukia pointed, hoping that doing something so routine would help clear his mind. Rukia watched him go sadly, knowing that she would be picked up very soon. Ichigo had become her friend in her time here, whether he acknowledged it or not. She would leave tonight, no sense letting Ichigo or his family come to harm because of her.
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Ichigo didn't even bother with a blade or spell against the rubbish Hollow that Rukia had sent him after. He just punched it in the mask and it exploded. Thankfully, Hollow essence didn't stay long, or else he would need to clean his Shihakusho. *Sigh* "I Hope that Uryu is having more fun training the team then I am right now. Releasing Hollows from their eternal torment is one of my favorite activities, but it isn't a challenge anymore. My poor Zanpakutou rarely gets any exercise anymore."
Ichigo went home to regain his body and spend some time on his guitar. Lately, his love of raw, fast paced music had been begrudgingly allowing slower, calmer music a place in his heart. Maybe it was because of the violence that day-to-day life was, or maybe it was the feelings he had been having since he had avenged his mother. Either way, his dad was grateful that he didn't have to listen to nothing but punk anymore.
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Yoruichi sat on Ichigo's bed, having finished up the most recent Skype call with Urahara. Kisuke had been getting upset with her recently, even arguing about how she had let the youngest Kurosaki see her. He had agreed with her plan to live in his home and follow him to view him more closely, even modified it so that she didn't have to come back to report to him, but now he seemed upset that she wasn't satisfied having lived there for over a month.
She stretched and purred as Ichigo returned, once more in control of his own body while Kon went back to living in his lion plushie. She sat up as he scratched her ears and picked up his guitar, something she was rarely around to see. She had been here long enough to know that if it was a fast song, he was just in the mood to play, and that if it was a slow song, he was deep in thought about something.
She nearly sighed when he began playing a slow, happy acoustic tune from a band that had broken up years before his own birth. She imagined that Shinji enjoyed it, open as he had been to new ways to experience the senses. Her ears perked up as she noticed that Ichigo was humming the vocal melody for the song, something she enjoyed even though he rarely did so. "-Here comes the sun/ Here comes the sun/ And I say.../ It's alright-" Yoruichi flicked her tail from side to side with the music, imagining that she might have been the only person ever to hear Ichigo sing. Given how breathy his speaking voice was, she was surprised that his voice was so clear when he sang.
When the song ended, he sat by her on the bed and started talking to her. It made her feel guilty that she couldn't respond, or let him know that she understood him somehow. He wasn't talking about anything much at first, just how his day had been when she wasn't around and how he was almost enjoying how bored he'd been lately, as it meant that the town was peaceful. He moved on to how he was worried what would happen to his friends when the Gotei 13 came for Rukia, as he wouldn't let them just take her, and they wouldn't let him fight alone.
Yoruichi just nuzzled her face into one of his hands purring, hoping to comfort him even if only a little. She remembered how Kisuke had said that he might end up the next Kenpachi from how brutal he had been against Grand Fisher and Shrieker. It still irritated her that Kisuke was willing to believe that Ichigo would be the one to finally end the fight against Aizen, and also maintain that he was doomed to be a bloodthirsty barbarian like Zaraki, or that oaf that came before him. Even though she told him just about everything in her reports, he still seemed to think rather poorly of Ichigo, and she didn't get why.
"Well, guess it's about time for dinner, eh, Yoru-chan? Maybe Yuzu made some grilled fish tonight!" Sometimes, she found the attention that Ichigo showed her as a cat adorable, especially since his affection was saved for his sisters and her. Other times, it irritated her that she couldn't just transform and show him that he had been treating an amazing woman like her as a pet. Still, no sense turning down dinner, as Yuzu was an excellent cook.
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Rukia looked up at the light in Ichigo's window before turning and walking away. If she was lucky, she would be far enough that he wouldn't be able to sense her before he found her note. It was her fault that he had to work like this to begin with, and she wasn't going to let him or any of her other new friends get hurt for her sake. "So long, Ichigo. Maybe I'll meet your mother in the cycle of reincarnation." She left dry-eyed with squared shoulders, accepting what she believed fate had in store for her.
About halfway across town, Rukia felt a familiar presence weighing on her. She looked around before noticing a reflective glint and a mass of red on top of a streetlight. "Renji? They decided to send you after me?" The Shinigami on the light pole didn't say a word, instead leaping down and putting a cut on Rukia's face.
"I'm not the one they sent, Taicho just brought his new fukutaicho along for the ride. I don't understand though, how could you be willing to betray Seireitei?" Rukia backed up and saw another figure behind Renji, one with black hair, elegant facial features, and a white haori.
"Onii-sama… why were you sent? Surely the report mentioned that I don't have the ability to fight back anymore? I wouldn't even if I could." Byakuya looked down on his adoptive sister, disappointed. There had been fairly high hopes for her based on her Academy scores, being above average in every category and excelling in Kido.
"I have come for two reasons. First, is that you are my responsibility, having brought shame to the house of Kuchiki. Second, it was believed that only a taicho could defeat the false Shinigami you gave your power to without dropping the Gentei Kaijo. Where is the one you betrayed us to anyway?" Rukia backed away and gulped down her fears, until a voice came and shocked her once more.
"So, two armed men attacking a schoolgirl in the dead of the night? You Shinigami really don't mind looking like villains, do you?" Uryu walked into the light, arm raised and reishi gathering. "The Gotei 13 have been bullies for a long time though, so I guess this is nothing new. Maybe you'd like to see what one of the few Quincies you bastards have deigned to let live is like?"
"Heh, don't bother, Taicho, I'll take the small fry." Byakuya nodded to Renji, who disappeared momentarily, before a shout of pain came from Uryu.
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Ichigo had just returned to his room, Yoruichi riding his shoulder. When he opened the door to his closet though, Rukia was nowhere to be seen, instead a note with one of her terrible rabbit drawings was left on the shelf she slept on.
-Ichigo, if you're reading this then you know that I have left. I won't risk endangering your family by staying there when they come to collect me. Thank you for being my friend, and for forgiving me the curse of duty I laid on your shoulders.-
"Well, Yoru-chan, looks like I've got a midget to rescue now. This fight is gonna be dangerous, so just wait here with Kon until I get back. I'll g-" A flux in a familiar reiatsu stopped Ichigo flat. He had felt Uryu's powers flare momentarily, before dropping out of his sensing range.
"No… not Uryu. BASTARDS! I WON'T LET ANYONE TAKE MORE OF MY FAMILY AWAY!" Ichigo grabbed Kon from his resting place and threw the pill in his body, rocketing out of the window at incredible speeds in the direction he had sensed Uryu's reiatsu.
Yoruichi waited for him to pass out of view, before changing form and following him discretely. 'Ichigo, you aren't ready for a taicho, not even one in the world of the living. I don't care what Kisuke says, I'll help Ichigo if I think he won't make it.' Thought finished, she continued to follow Ichigo's bright trail, looking like a shooting star as he flew to his cousin.
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"Wow, that guy sucked even worse than I thought he would, Taicho. So, are we gonna just take her and leave, or do I get to kill the fake that stole her powers to?" Byakuya ignored Renji's questions, looking in the direction that he felt a large reiatsu approaching. If this was the fake, then he sure felt like the real deal. He must have had more reiatsu than Renji, even in Seireitei.
"-Ugh- You think you're so strong, don't you Fukutaicho-san? Heh, Ichigo is gonna shred you to pieces. -Oooh-" Renji looked down with a grin at the defeated form of Uryu, only barely clinging to consciousness. He finally noticed a massive reiatsu behind him where his captain was looking, just in time to roll out of the way of a sword blow.
"Be glad that my cousin lives, Punk, otherwise there'd be more Shinigami than yourself dying today." Renji turned and attempted to focus his vision on his enemy, only to be blinded by looking into what could have passed for the heart of the sun. "Trash like you aren't worthy to even look at my friends, I'll burn your eyes until you can never see them again." The already great Reiatsu coming from what could only have been the boy that Rukia had empowered grew even higher, astounding Byakuya that someone that bore power for so short a time could be so accustomed to it.
"We'll see who's trash, Hoero, Zabimaru!" The basic katana in Renji's grip reformed in a red light, shifting into a segmented sword with large saw-like teeth. He swung his released Zanpakutou at Ichigo, who simply raised his wakizashi to block the attack.
"I thought that fukutaicho of the Gotei 13 were supposed to be strong, you are nothing but a joke!" Ichigo fired a silent Byakurai at renji from the tip of his katana, burning a hole in his Shihakusho as he barely dodged. "No one threatens my friends, understand?" Renji barely recalled his sword and blocked Ichigo's blade as it came crashing down toward his head. He disengaged and jumped back to avoid the follow-up, looking surprised at his foe.
"How can you stand up to my Shikai? I might have the limiter on, but you are nothing but a fake! You are far too powerful to be human, what else has happened to you?" Ichigo felt tempted to mock and humiliate Renji more, but Uryu needed this to be quick. He dashed straight at Renji, too fast for Renji to guard with the limiter on. Just as one of Ichigo's blades would have reached his shoulder, another blade rose to intercept.
"This is enough, Kurosaki. Renji may be a fool, but he is my fukutaicho and I can't allow you to trounce him like this. Prepare yourself for the blade of a taicho, child, and be honored to die on your feet." A devastating series of slashes came at Ichigo, all of them parried by the two blades of the Substitute.
"You, unlike the pineapple over there, are a challenge. I take it you have a limiter on as well?" Byakuya simply nodded as Ichigo began increasing his power again, impatient for this battle's end. "I'm afraid that I'll need to go to maximum then, no sense in giving you the chance to increase your abilities like the other one." As Ichigo began to reach his current peak, he felt an incredible pain in his spine and his stomach, like ice and electricity rolled into one sensation. He collapsed holding the new wounds in his spirit, barely able to look up at his opponent.
"You might survive those wounds, though it is a testament to your toughness that you aren't already dead. You will never feel what it is like to have power again, you won't look upon this world not meant for your kind. Farewell boy, you have earned this small mercy." Byakuya grabbed Rukia and left with her and Renji. Just before falling unconscious, Ichigo saw the woman from his dreams again, with tears in her eyes as she looked at him.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo. I promise, I'll help you and your cousin regain your abilities and make sure you are healed." Yoruichi took off with both men on her shoulders, bringing them to the one place she was sure could help.
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Ichigo was in his bed with his guitar again, singing for the beautiful woman that he had seen twice now as he played her a song. Ichigo didn't sing much, he preferred the way he could make his guitar sound to the way his voice just naturally flowed. The Goddess had asked him to sing to her though, so he would. She was fully clothed this time, in a black bodysuit with an orange top over it. Her figure was still easy to recognize, but she was far easier to look at without fear of exsanguination with the clothes on.
"Thanks for singing for me, Ichigo-kun, but we can't stay here for long. You have important work to do, remember? You have to fight, you need to get your strength back. You have to save Rukia!" Ichigo looked at her confused for a moment, before he felt something wet on his stomach. He looked down and saw the open wound that the taicho he fought had left, bleeding rapidly. "It's time to wake up, Ichigo-kun. I'll see you again, sooner than you think."
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Ichigo awoke with a start to see a man's face inches from his own. He reacted the way any sane person would, by throwing the man through the nearest three walls. "Urahara-dono, young Kurosaki has awoken." A blond man in a bucket hat and traditional geta walked up to Ichigo through the hole in his wall, shaking his head slightly as he gazed at the boy.
"Now, now, Kurosaki-san, no reason to destroy my house. Tessai-san was just keeping you warm while you slept. It's good to see you up though, poor Yoruichi was beside herself." Ichigo looked around confused, remembering eventually that he had been stabbed before a hallucination had dragged him to safety. Well, not a hallucination, but it couldn't have been what he saw.
"Erm… you are, Urahara-san, correct? Tell me, is Uryu alright?" Kisuke nodded, before he motioned for Ichigo to follow him as he left the room. "Wait a minute, how do you know about my cat?" Urahara's only response was a chuckle as he kept walking to a trapdoor in the back of his shop. Ichigo followed Urahara into a basement significantly larger than the establishment above it, completely speechless by the astounding view before him.
"You think this is great, my other one has a hot spring that heals wounds. As far as knowing your cat, well, you'll see later, I'm sure. Anyway, we are here because you want to restore your powers, yes?" Ichigo nodded, still confused about what his cat had to do with things. If Yoruichi had followed him against his request, she wouldn't be getting any milk for months.
"Very well, you will take this headband and these gloves, and shout 'behold the grandest warrior of love and justice, apprentice to the outstandingly genius and handsome Urahara Kisuke-sama, Kurosaki Ichigo!'" Ichigo stood completely still as the apparent madman stood in a silly pose, waiting for him to laugh and say that this was a joke. When the silence stretched into the lengths of awkward, Ichigo grew irritated.
"There is no way that headband or your stupid phrase will restore the Soul Sleep or Soul Chain, so don't even say it might. If you need to pull me from my body so that my soul can once more be accustomed to itself, so be it, but I am not going to parade myself for your amusement." Kisuke began fanning his face, giggling as he saw the anger on Ichigo's face.
"Very well, just clip the headband on like normal and prepare yourself for violence." Before Ichigo could speak, he felt the familiar sensation of being separated from his body, though instead of feeling powerful and weightless, he felt himself struggling to breathe under his own weight.
"Ururu will be beating the piss out of you until your Soul Sleep is recovered, then I'm gonna throw you in a hole until you either become a Hollow or Shinigami. Have fun!" Ichigo was dodging heavy blows from a tiny girl the next second, both furious at this man and glad that he knew what to expect. Something with this high of a reward, the risk made sense.
"I swear Geta-Boshi, I'm gonna stab you eighty ways from Sunday when I get my powers back!" Ichigo was far too focused to do any further threats or complaints. Hopefully, he'd survive long enough to make good on his threat.
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"So Ichigo is going through Hell to get his powers back, and the rest of us need to step up our training to go with him? You do know how odd that sounds coming from his pet cat, right?" Yoruichi sighed as Uryu, Chad, and Orihime looked at her, Orihime with little hearts in her eyes at the talking cat.
"Yuzu-chan told me and Tatsuki that you are a Goddess, is that true Yoruichi-sama?" Yoruichi shook her head at the odd behavior of the excitable young girl in front of her. Ichigo needed back up, and this was all they had. Tatsuki had left for her tournament earlier that day, and wouldn't be back in time to be of help.
"I'm just a mystery, and please don't call me that. Anyway, yes, you will need to train up and help Ichigo. I will take care of Chad and Orihime, Uryu, I believe you have a special training of your own to do. In ten days, we leave for the Seireitei. All of you will be ready by then, and Ichigo will be more powerful even than he was before."
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"Congratulations on surviving, Ichigo. Time to go in that hole I mentioned." Kisuke's wide smile should have tipped Ichigo off that something terrible was about to happen, but he was tired from avoiding all of these rock-crushing punches.
"So, where is it? And why are you smiling?" Ichigo saw his Soul Chain get cut off as a hole opened under his feet, his last words before striking the bottom being: "DAMN YOU GETA-BOSHI!"
Endnote: Have I mentioned that I love reading fluff, but that writing it is painful? Because it is, especially fluff where only one character realizes what is happening. In perspective here, Yoruichi is essentially a stalker. Ichigo just doesn't realize that, and neither does anyone else. Yoruichi herself feels insanely guilty that she is unable to speak with Ichigo for real, but that he tells her all of his secrets unknowingly. Anyway, next time be prepared for Ichigo to have a Shikai, and for the gang to crash Seireitei. Except Tatsuki, she will actually still be in her Karate Tournament. Don't worry though, she will get some more screentime in the later arcs.