Chapter 7: "Till My World Crumbles Around Me..."
Late that night, Ichigo, Rukia, Yuichi, Yachiru, and Karin were up discussing operation hookup. "You want to run that by us again?" Yuichi asked as Yachiru started blushing at the idea.
"Well simply put we're going to need your help to get Byakuya and Yuzu together." Rukia replied simply.
"Okay, yeah I get that part, but don't you think it's a little weird? I mean being related to both Uncle Byakuya and Aunt Yuzu makes them related too right?" Yuichi asked and Karin nodded.
"Well actually Byakuya isn't really my brother, you see he was married to my sister Hisana and when she died he met me and adopted me into the family, so already there's a severed connection, also I married Ichigo which means that I'm obviously not blood related to Yuzu, in short there is absolutely no blood ties between Byakuya and Yuzu, so why shouldn't they get together?" Rukia asked with full color bunny pictures.
"Mom, why do you always have to draw such crappy diagrams?" Yuichi asked absentmindedly before getting smacked in the face by his mother. "I meant Chappy!" He cried prompting the others to shush him.
"Are you trying to wake everyone up?" Rukia asked after covering her son's mouth.
"So tell us about the plan." Yachiru stated with much interest after Yuichi's outburst.
"Well we thought it would be best if we conditioned them to be more like each other. Yuichi, you and your mom as well as Yachiru will handle Yuzu, while Karin and I help Byakuya... With any luck we'll succeed." Ichigo explained while Rukia drew diagrams making Yuichi nearly gag.
"Okay but what happens if we do this and a disaster occurs such as our group telling Yuzu to compliment him on his status, while your group tells him to be more humble about things?" Yuichi asked but Ichigo shot him a smirk.
"Don't worry, I have that already in mind, you see with Karin and I helping Byakuya, we'll keep him from making a move until we make sure everything's perfectly coordinated." Ichigo explained. "Not to mention that while working in teams, while one person is busy with the conditioning, another member of the team can relay information." He continued and Yuichi took a second to think before he gave a shrug.
"So when do we start?" Yuichi asked with a hint of curiosity on his face.
"Well we begin operation hookup tomorrow, Yachiru, you, and I will take Yuzu out of the house for the day to "show her around Seireitei" while Ichigo and Karin handle Byakuya." Rukia replied while making quotation marks with her fingers.
"Okay well can I go to bed for the time being, today's mission really wore me out." Yuichi asked as he rubbed his left shoulder.
"Well yeah, I just thought we should go over the plan while Yuzu and Byakuya were asleep." Ichigo retorted.
"Oh yeah that reminds me, our kids were placed in another room so tonight we'll be all alone." Yachiru whispered gently in Yuichi's ear sending a rather pleasant chill up Yuichi's spine.
"What do you mean by that?" Yuichi asked nervously with a warm smile and Yachiru gave him a seductive look.
"I'll let you use your imagination." Yachiru teased before licking her lips in a seductive manner giving Yuichi another chill.
"Oh god get a room, parents and aunt in the room, hello." Karin barked with a glare at her nephew and soon-to-be niece-in-law.
"S-sorry." Yuichi and Yachiru replied with a sorrowful bow before Yachiru took Yuichi by the hand as she dragged him up the stairs.
"So, what do you want to do tonight now that we have our room to ourselves?" Yachiru asked with a seductive smile making Yuichi fidget nervously.
"I want you..." Yuichi replied nervously as he reached out for Yachiru's hand. "I want to show you how much I love you." He continued before giving Yachiru a soft kiss.
"Well you said you would give me what I want right?" Yachiru asked before wrapping her arms around Yuichi.
"Anything, whatever you want I will give you." Yuichi replied as he backed up guiding Yachiru to his futon.
"I want you..." Yachiru replied with the same seductive smile before pulling apart the top half of Yuichi's kasode and shitagi exposing his broad chest. "I want only you..." She continued before pressing her palms firmly on Yuichi's chest before giving him a deep kiss. "And I want you to want me..." She continued before she began to kiss him more slowly before untying the sash around his waste causing his shihakusho to fall to the floor leaving him only in his boxer-shorts. "There we go, that's what I want." She continued with a satisfied smile before kissing him once more.
"Well if that's what you want I'll be sure to oblige your desires." Yuichi replied before before pealing Yachiru's kasode and shitagi apart exposing her small breasts before proceeding to kneed them gently forcing Yachiru to let out a moan that Yuichi had to stifle with a kiss. "Be careful, we don't want to wake the whole house do we?" He asked softly as he undid Yachiru's sash allowing for her hakama, kasode, and shitagi to fall to the floor leaving her in just a pair of booty-shorts. "Well I think we can loose these." He whispered before he pulled her underwear down gently exposing her body completely and Yachiru followed in suit exposing Yuichi completely before pulling him down onto the bed.
The two stared lovingly into each others eyes, but before they had a chance to get started, they heard Yuzu scream, though the two of them could easily tell, that it wasn't a scream of terror or pain, and they both began to blush. "No way, they wouldn't already be-" Yachiru was interrupted by Yuichi.
"I think they are... So much for operation hookup, here we thought they were asleep, but the two of them must have been getting busy the whole time." Yuichi replied and after a few minutes they heard rapid footsteps approach their door before a knock sounded.
"Yuichi Yachiru sorry if that woke you up." It was Byakuya and his voice was shaky to say the least.
"Oh, um, d-don't worry about it... Uh, these things happen?" Yuichi replied as he started blushing before turning to Yachiru who had an amused grin over her red face. "Anyway I'm a little busy perhaps we could talk in the morning." He called out before forcing himself to stifle a moan when Yachiru grabbed a hold of his manhood. "Oh-ho-ho, you." He grunted in a deep voice before bending down to kiss Yachiru, but they abruptly stopped when they heard lighter footsteps approach as Byakuya started to walk away.
"Byakuya come back to bed, I wasn't done yet." This time they heard Yuzu. "You don't need to be so proper all the time, we can apologize in the morning, so for now I'm not done with you." She continued and she sounded quite offended by Byakuya's behavior.
"Sorry Yuzu darling, I'm coming." Byakuya replied and once they heard the sound of footsteps fade away Yuichi and Yachiru couldn't help but chuckle at the awkward situation that just transpired.
"You know for a second there I thought he was going to try and come in." Yuichi stated with a chuckle and immediately following he heard the rapid approach of a few more footsteps.
"Ichigo, did you hear that?" It was Karin speaking now.
"Yes we heard it, I swear the made us nearly fall out of rhythm- I-I mean that scream sure did startle us." It was Rukia's voice they heard this time.
"Wow Rukia way to cover." Ichigo stated in a grunt.
"Man is right outside my room the family meeting place now?" Yuichi called out and when he heard the door begin to slide open he rushed to cover him and Yachiru with a blanket as Karin, Rukia, and Ichigo barged in before the three noticed the discarded clothing on the floor.
"Oh man you guys too? What is this the house of fornication?" Karin asked as she turned away while blushing.
"Get out." Yuichi and Yachiru replied in unison.
"Oh Yuichi you don't need to be embarrassed, it's perfectly normal for you two to want to do what you're doing." Rukia replied and Yuichi shot her a glare.
"Yeah I know this, but oh yeah, it's supposed to be done while there aren't any other people in the room." Yuichi barked, but the three were content with staying in the room. "Ugh, hado number one, sho!" He called out knocking everyone out of the room. "Now close the door and stay out!" He finished before a bewildered Ichigo shut his door.
"Well that was embarrassing." Ichigo stated as the three walked away.
"You're telling me." Yuichi uttered under his breath before turning back to Yachiru seeing the same seductive look in her eyes. "So where were we?" He asked before giving her a passionate kiss that seemed to make the two forget about the earlier interruptions altogether.
"Well I was about to tell me how you get me so excited whenever I see you like this." Yachiru replied as she ran her hands over Yuichi's chest scanning every last inch of it's surface.
The sensation of Yachiru's soft hands over his chest sent Yuichi into a state of pure ecstasy. "You know, I get much the same feeling whenever I see you like this too." Yuichi replied before kissing her neck. "I really do love everything about you." He continued as he ran his hands up her silky-smooth body causing her to tremble at the feel of his touch.
"You do?" Yachiru asked and Yuichi gave her a confused grin.
"Are you serious? Of course I do, your entire being has placed an enchanting spell on me since day one, and I have no hope or desire to break free." Yuichi whispered in her ear sending a chill up her spine before giving her another kiss.
After another several minutes of foreplay Yuichi proceeded to enter Yachiru once again, though this time it was as if they had a mental connection, he knew that even though she would wince occasionally in pain she also enjoyed the feeling as he held himself up caging her petite frame, and once again it was as if the world around them ceased to exist, and either of them wished that time would stay still. When they were in each others loving embrace nothing seemed to matter, Ikito wasn't an issue and the Quincies, what the hell was a Quincy at the moment, all they knew was each other and their desires as they both continued to satisfy the other over and over until they were completely exhausted.
"Yuichi?" Yachiru asked as she rubbed his chest with her right hand as she rested her head on the right side of his body.
"What is it Yachiru?" Yuichi asked as he looked down on her messy hair that was still moist from the sweat that had been produced as a result of their love.
"I just wanted to know how it was possible for you to make me feel happier than I've ever been one moment but the next you manage to make me feel even happier, how do you do it?" Yachiru asked as she started blushing.
"Well I don't know, I just do whatever I hope makes you happy, but of course I want to ask you the same thing." Yuichi replied and Yachiru looked up at him with her hair falling over her face obstructing the view they had of the others eyes.
"You're really happy with me?" Yachiru asked and once again Yuichi looked down at her with the same look as he started to rub her back.
"Whenever you that question comes to mind I want you to think of our children, think about how we're going to be married in a few months, and think of how these moments we share plunge us into a state of incredible ecstasy. I love you Yachiru, and I have for longer than I can remember, and we will always be together." Yuichi explained causing Yachiru to blush as she looked up at Yuichi with a beaming smile. "You make me the happiest man in Soul Society, and more than that, I don't think there's anyone in the human world or Hueco Mundo that is happier than I am when I see your face. Whenever I see you or watch as you move about the day it makes me feel like melting, and I-" He was interrupted when Yachiru could no longer restrain herself from kissing the man that she had fallen so deeply in love with. "Wow..." He uttered after their lips separated. "I don't think the phrase "I love you" can begin to explain how I feel right-" He had done it once again finding himself locked in her embrace as she gave him a passionate kiss that made the many before it pale in comparison.
"Yuichi you should stop t-talking, if I h-hear too much m-more I think I'll explode." Yachiru replied and Yuichi could swear he saw steam rising out of her head, but he silently obliged as he glanced over to see sunlight shine in through their window.
"Wow we were up all night." Yuichi stated in disbelief before he heard the patter of tiny feet running up to the door.
"Mommy, Daddy, wake up!" Kei and Kiyomi called out in unison.
"Give us a minute..." Yuichi called out to his children before getting dressed and Yachiru took the cue to get dressed as well.
When the two followed their children back downstairs they looked around the kitchen table, Byakuya and Yuzu were blushing as they sat next to each other occasionally stealing a glance from the other, Rukia and Ichigo were sitting next to each other as usual, and as for Karin, she continually shifted glances between the three couples as a disgusted look permeated her face. "Good morning mom, dad, Uncle Byakuya, Aunt Yuzu, and Aunt Karin. Did any of you sleep?" Yuichi asked with a cocky smirk and everyone other than the two children began blushing.
"Hey why do Kei and I have to sleep if none of you do daddy?" Kiyomi asked with her signature pout.
"Tell you what, when you graduate from the Soul Reaper Academy I'll let you stay up as long as you want, but there's a second condition, and that is that you have to learn your shikai." Yachiru explained to the miniature carbon copy of herself. "That's my promise to both of you." She continued as she looked over at Kei just as a knock was heard at the front door.
"Hey I heard from a good source that my two grand-kids were born yesterday, why didn't you tell me Yuichi?" Zaraki asked after a butler led him through the house and into the kitchen.
"Oh, well, I was a bit out of it yesterday, and when I finally got a grip on everything happening around me you were busy fighting that ridiculously similar-to-you Arrancar." Yuichi replied before picking Kei and Kiyomi up. "This little man is Kei, and baby girl here is Kiyomi. Kiyomi, Kei, meet Grandpa Kenny." He continued and Yuzu and Karin stared in horror of the idea of the giant of a man as the kids' other grandpa.
"Hmm Kiyomi looks just like Yachiru, and Kei looks like you." Zaraki pointed out as he took the two youngsters from Yuichi before letting them hang from his shoulders much like how Yachiru used to when she was younger.
"Wow Grandpa Kenny is huge!" Kei exclaimed as he marveled at Zaraki's massive figure.
"Yeah he's much bigger than Grandpa Ichi!" Kiyomi chimed in forcing Zaraki to chuckle, though with the exception of Yuichi and Yachiru no one had expected the children to warm up to Zaraki as quickly as they did.
"Well they seem to like you Kenny." Yachiru pointed out.
"Yeah they do, huh." Zaraki replied as the two youngsters began to flick the bells in Zaraki's hair.
"Cool, he has bells! Daddy can you put bells in my hair too?" Kei asked excitedly.
"We'll see." Yuichi replied as everyone sat down at the table. "Now hurry up and eat, you want to get big and strong like Kenny one day." He continued, but before long they heard a crash at the front door before several Soul Reapers dressed in all black entered the kitchen followed shortly by Soifon and Omaeda. "What's going on?" Yuichi asked casually as he looked on in anticipation of the reason for their sudden intrusion.
"Yuichi Kurosaki you are coming with us." Soifon replied with a scowl.
"What? Why?" Yuichi asked as a scowl spread over his face.
"It has been reported that you lashed out in aggression against a hero of Soul Society with the intent to cause severe injury. We are here to detain you." Soifon replied and Yuichi's heart nearly stopped when he heard that.
"Who?" Yuichi asked shakily as a look of fear covered his face.
"Shukuro Tsukishima aided Ichigo Kurosaki in defeating Aizen and yesterday you were reported to have cut his arm off, had a soul named Orihime Ishida not used her power to heal Shukuro he would have been permanently disfigured, and thus you have been deemed a danger to your fellow Soul Reapers." Soifon explained. "Now come with me." She continued before grabbing Yuichi by the collar of his shihakusho before shoving him over to one of the officers to be restrained.
"But this isn't right! Tsukishima never helped dad do anything, tell them dad!" Yuichi pleaded but Ichigo as well as everyone else were too stunned to respond. "Dad tell them!" He shouted once more as tears started to flood from his eyes, but still Ichigo couldn't find the words to speak up.
"Be sure to bring his zanpakuto, after Yuichi's powers are sealed we'll need to destroy it." Soifon continued as the officers began to drag Yuichi from the house.
"But this is wrong! Tsukishima is evil!" Yuichi shouted prompting Soifon to shout back.
"Shukuro Tsukishima is a hero in Soul Society and a dear friend to most of us! How dare you insult his good name and more than that how dare you turn your blade on him!" Soifon shouted.
Yuichi could feel his gut wrench, he could feel the world turning upside down as a surreal panic overwhelmed him. "No! I refuse to let him ruin my life!" Yuichi shouted and he proceeded to release a massive force of spiritual energy that knocked the officers away from him, and in turn he recovered his zanpakuto from one of the confused men before bolting out the door.
"You fool! You won't escape!" Soifon shouted as she ran after Yuichi. "Sting all enemies to death! Suzumebachi!" She shouted before embarking on a chase for Yuichi.
"Why, how, when?" Yuichi struggled to comprehend what was happening, the only thing he knew was that Tsukishima was going to pay dearly for this. As he ran through the streets of Seireitei he came to an abrupt stop when Soifon cut him off.
"Surrender before you leave me no other choice than to use deadly force!" Soifon shouted as she pointed at him and he could easily see that her shikai had been activated.
"D-damn, she's not joking about this!" Yuichi thought as his eyes widened before he drew Kaminari Tora. "Bankai!" He shouted before donning his claws once more.
"You fool, so you really do intend to die by my hand!" Soifon shouted before lunging at Yuichi barely giving him room to dodge.
"Kaminari Shisso!" Yuichi shouted before running past Soifon but not before getting nicked on the arm by her shikai. "Shit!" He thought as he looked down at the butterfly that appeared on his right forearm.
"Give it up Yuichi!" Soifon shouted as she cut Yuichi off breaking his pace. "You're fast I'll give you that but I know that for you to reach the full speed of your Kaminari Shisso you need to continuously move to accelerate, and I will not give you that opportunity!" She shouted before striking Yuichi just a little higher up his right arm than before.
"D-damn, she almost took me out!" Yuichi thought before vanishing using Kaminari Shisso, though as hard as he tried to get away Soifon was too fast for him to reach full speed with Kaminari Shisso. "Tch, at this rate I'll get myself killed!" He thought as he blocked a few strikes from Suzumebachi before getting a slight hit to his left cheek. "D-damn, why is this happening? How did Tsukishima get an opportunity to use his power on her?" He thought as he continued to desperately block Suzumebachi from striking him, but unfortunately for him he was struck a few more times, once in the chest, another on his right cheek, one at his forehead, and a few on his left arm.
"Yuichi, it is very well possible that you will die if I hit you again, please I will only tell you one more time, give up or you will die!" Soifon urged Yuichi, but he still held a glare as he resealed Kaminari Tora before returning her to the sheath. "A very wise decision Yuichi." She continued but then her eyes widened when Yuichi held his fist to the side and she could see the resolve in his eyes. "No, you wouldn't, if you continue by resorting to that I will end up killing you!" She shouted just before the top half of Yuichi's shihakusho was obliterated.
"I know I still haven't perfected shunko, and Soifon is more skilled in hakuda than I am, but this may be my only shot at surviving." Yuichi thought as he glared at Soifon. "I'm sorry Soifon, but I will escape and I will destroy Tsukishima, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me." He continued before Soifon lunged at him again, and Yuichi quickly ducked under her arm getting slightly grazed by Suzumebachi in the process earning him yet another butterfly, but he quickly sent his kido-charged fist into her gut knocking her back several feet before charging at her once more. This time it was a high jump-kick that Soifon blocked before striking Yuichi in his right calve. "D-damn, I can take too many more hits before I run out of room on my body." He thought before jumping back and going on the offensive once more, this time when Soifon went to strike with Suzumebachi he used his left arm to knock her attack away before hitting her hard in the chest with his right fist and following up by spinning around to deliver a powerful ax-kick with his left leg sending her flying into a wall shattering it on contact and kicking up a thick cloud of dust amidst the debris. "I will not stop until everything is back to normal, I'm sorry I had to go as far as I have, but I need to do this!" He shouted, but as he turned to walk away he heard a shift in the debris, and as he turned back around he saw Soifon lunging at him once more with Suzumebachi, but in an instant Yuichi reached up with his right hand catching her forearm before bringing her arm down and subsequently breaking her arm over his knee.
"Argh!" Soifon screamed as she cradled her mangled arm while she glared daggers at Yuichi. "You, you fool, there's no hope for you now! Attacking a hero of Soul Society was bad enough, but to resist arrest and attack a captain? You'll never find peace, you'll be running for the rest of your short life now!" She shouted at Yuichi forcing a few tears to come to his eyes. "You'll regret not submitting, you'll regret fighting me, and you will regret attacking Shukuro Tsukishima!" She continued as Yuichi turned to leave and the Onmitsukido had finally caught to the two as Yuichi vanished using shunpo. "What are you doing! After him!" She shouted and every officer present obediently nodded before following after Yuichi.
As Yuichi fled the Seireitei he was relieved slightly when the butterflies began to disappear from his body, but he knew that the situation was much more dire than he wanted to admit as he began to realize that Tsukishima was more than likely in the protection of the Onmitsukido. Yuichi had never felt the way he was feeling as his gut wrenched at the idea of the man being able to force him from his home while he sat in comfort while others did his dirty work for him. He Kept on running though as the Seireitei disappeared from view behind him, and he began to realize that there may not be any hope of returning to his home, and after what seemed like an hour, Yuichi finally came to a stop before slumping down at the base of a tree in the forest where he had engaged Tsukishima the day before. "Damn it!" He shouted as he slammed his fist into the ground. "Damn it! Why! Why does he even have that kind of ability!" He shouted as tears began to well up in his eyes as he sunk into a state of despair.
"Well look what we have here." A familiar voice stated as he approached Yuichi.
"Ikito go away, I'm not in the mood for your shit right now." Yuichi replied coolly as tears formed a river from his eyes.
"Well I want to know how you feel now that you're taking a walk in my shoes boy. How does it feel to have someone you see as inferior take everything you hold precious right in front of your eyes?" Ikito asked but Yuichi only shot him a glare. "Oh what's wrong? You can dish it out but you can't take it? Where's that holier-than-thou attitude huh? Your arrogance finally bit you in the ass when someone else played your game better than you, and its driving you insane isn't it?" He asked as he drew his zanpakuto. "How about I put you out of your misery, and as a bonus I'll take your place at Yachiru's side and even be your kids' daddy." He stated as he pointed his sword at Yuichi. "Pummel, Bakuhatsu Tebukuro." He continued in the same tone of voice as the glove appeared on his right hand. "Don't worry though, I'll make it quick." He finished but before he could react Yuichi was standing in front of him with his sword drawn and Ikito began to feel a sharp pain up his torso and across his chest.
"Don't you ever say that to me again, and on second thought I need to vent my frustrations and you're readily available." Yuichi stated before driving Kaminari Tora through a stunned Ikito's Face.
"Argh!" Ikito shouted as he writhed in pain making the damage worse. "My eye, what the fuck!" He shouted as he tried to reach up for Yuichi's sword but damaged as his brain was he couldn't move his arms.
"I've had enough of you, and the only reason I let you live this long is because I didn't want to become an outlaw. Well now that I'm already outlawed I don't see much reason in letting you live any longer." Yuichi replied before pulling his blade back out.
"Wait no please don't kill me I'm sorry." Ikito pleaded but his words fell on deaf ears.
"The thing about your apologies I've noticed is that they're never sincere and you just keep repeating your actions, well I am fed up with you and your antics! Now you die!" Yuichi shouted as he swung Kaminari Tora sideways decapitating Ikito where he stood before the man dispersed into reishi. "Good riddance." He stated after the last of him disappeared before sheathing Kaminari Tora.
Shortly following the death of Ikito, Ichigo had come up on Yuichi. "I must say that that was pretty brutal of you." Ichigo stated and instantly Yuichi drew his zanpakuto before pointing it at his father. "Hey what do you think you're doing?" He asked as a glare permeated his face.
"Well for one for all I know Tsukishima got to you too, and I'm not about to go out without a fight, and for two even if Tsukishima didn't use his power on you, you just sat and watched as I was being arrested on false charges! So either way you have betrayed me, your own son, and I'm not in a very forgiving mood!" Yuichi shouted before swinging on Ichigo.
"What the hell?" Ichigo shouted as he blocked the attack. "Yuichi come to your senses, if you attack me now things will never go back to the way they were before, stop this and I will personally help you destroy Tsukishima!" He shouted as he blocked another attack.
"Right, just like you helped to object to my arrest, oh wait that's right, you didn't!" Yuichi shouted as he continued to attack his father.
"Yuichi calm down! I'm sure you must realize that it won't be very long now before every Soul Reaper has been influenced by him, you'll need all the allies you can get!" Ichigo shouted.
"And to what effect! Everything is gone now, it's over." Yuichi replied as he dropped to his knees. "Even if I do have friends left in Seireitei, Tsukishima is just going to continue to do what he's started." He continued as tears started to flow once more. "Till my world crumbles around me..." He finished with a sob.
"Yuichi I'm sorry, I never wanted anything like this to happen to anyone, I know what it feels like to have everyone you care about turn against you and I left the human world because of it, but this time I'm not going to just sit by while you go through the same situation. Yuichi I don't care if it kills me, I will help you destroy that bastard once and for all." Ichigo replied as he reached his hand down to help his son to his feet.
"But how do we do it?" Yuichi asked as he looked up at his father. "How can we defeat him if he turns everyone against us?" He asked.
"You leave that to me for now, I'll go speak with Yamamoto I'm sure there's no chance of him getting influenced by Tsukishima, and he might be sympathetic of the situation and agree to order the immediate capture of Tsukishima as well as your amnesty in this matter. Just have faith Yuichi." Ichigo replied with a confident grin, and after Yuichi nodded Ichigo used shunpo to go speak with Yamamoto.
Meanwhile at the Squad Two barracks Tsukishima was discussing Yuichi's escape with Soifon when one of her many officers came in to report. "Captain, we regret to inform you that we have lost track of Yuichi Kurosaki, it seems that he has either been killed or is suppressing his riatsu effectively enough to completely disappear, we're beginning another sweep of Rukongai and we will report back when we have found him or finished the sweep." The officer stated before disappearing with shunpo.
"Forgive me Shukuro I failed to apprehend him and now your life is still in danger." Soifon stated as she bowed apologetically in front of him.
"Soifon you don't need to feel sorry for what happened, you were fighting for duty while he was fighting for his life, an endangered beast will fight more fiercely when his life is threatened rather than out of a need to capture a prey. Also in your hands I feel as safe as can be for you are the captain of Squad Two and I know I am in your capable hands so there is nothing to fear." Tsukishima reassured Soifon. "Still I believe Ichigo may know where his son ran off to, and that girl Yachiru Kusajishi bring her and their children in, I would rather enjoy a pleasant conversation with her and the kids." He stated with a soft smile making Soifon blush.
"Sure anything for you Shukuro." Soifon replied before vanishing.
"Well Yuichi the stage is set and the tables are turning quickly, can you achieve victory from the jaws of defeat or will you crumble into a pit of despair as your whole life is ripped from your hands?" Tsukishima wondered as a wicked grin permeated his face. "Though I think I might have a word with Yamamoto and see if he can help me find Yuichi." He thought as he stood up to leave.
Over at the Squad One barracks Ichigo was heading to speak with Yamamoto when he was surrounded by Onmitsukido officers. "Ichigo Kurosaki we need you to come with us." One of the officers stated causing Ichigo to scowl.
"That will have to wait, as a captain I do not follow orders from inferior officers, next time send Soifon and maybe then I'll listen, but in the meantime you're in my way." Ichigo replied as he channeled his riatsu making the officers collapse to the ground under the shear weight the force was producing as Ichigo walked right on past them before entering Yamamoto's office.
"Captain Kurosaki what is the meaning of your actions in the hallway just now?" Yamamoto asked in his booming voice.
"Well there seems to be a bit of confusion surrounding Squad Two for that matter, and it's a problem that I really need to speak to you about." Ichigo replied before a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in." Yamamoto called out and Ichigo felt his heart sink when he turned and saw Tsukishima walking through the doorway. "Ah, Tsukishima I was just about to send for you, it seems that there is a problem with Squad Two and I was hoping you could help Captain Kurosaki once again like when you two defeated Aizen." He stated and it was as if Ichigo's blood turned to ice. Captain Commander Yamamoto the most powerful of all the Soul Reapers had fallen victim to Tsukishima's fullbring.
"What the hell is this?" Ichigo asked as he turned to Yamamoto. "What is that bastard doing here, and since when did he help me defeat Aizen?" He asked as he alternated his gaze between Tsukishima and Yamamoto.
"It's in the history texts, he learned that there was a flaw in Aizen's power and gave you the information to exploit it." Yamamoto replied.
"Yes I remember the key I told you to defeat Aizen was none other than the final Getsuga Tenshou." Tsukishima added with a warm smile and Ichigo shot the man a glare. "Now, Ichigo if you would kindly leave Zangetsu here, I would like to have a chat with you in private, that is if it's alright with you Yamamoto." He continued and Yamamoto nodded.
"If I leave Zangetsu here, then you leave that damn bookmark here." Ichigo replied. "Or I don't go." He finished but without realizing it, while Ichigo was facing Tsukishima, Yamamoto had stood up before leaving the room and when Ichigo heard the door close behind him he couldn't stop himself from looking over, but the opening was more time than Tsukishima needed and in an instant Ichigo had been cut by book of the end.
"So Ichigo as I was saying, in an hour can you direct me to your son, I'd very much like a word with him." Tsukishima stated and Ichigo turned to the man.
"Sure, no problem." Ichigo replied with a confident grin. "I've been wanting to introduce you two for ages but he's always so busy." He added before the two left Yamamoto's office.
"Thank you Ichigo I can't wait to meet him, really I can't." Tsukishima replied with his wicked smile as the two left the Squad One barracks.
Back in the forest surrounding Rukongai, Yuichi was pacing back and forth as he waited anxiously to hear back from his father, but with each moment that past Yuichi could feel his gut wrench more and more as the anxiety began to eat away at him. "Oh I swear if Tsukishima does anything to Yachiru or my children I swear I'll kill him!" He thought in horror as he continued to pace, and shortly following he could feel a familiar riatsu coming his way. "Dad!" He thought as Ichigo appeared in front of him. "So did it work is Yamamoto going to help me?" He asked and Ichigo gave him a triumphant grin.
"Even better! Shukuro is willing to forgive you and he's even going to help get you out of trouble." Ichigo replied and Yuichi could swear that his heart had stopped upon hearing that.
"N-no way..." Yuichi replied weakly as he began to back away while his eyes widened. "Not you too." He uttered as his father reached out a hand beckoning Yuichi to go with him.
"Yeah come on, everyone's waiting." Ichigo replied but Yuichi drew his zanpakuto.
"No! It isn't true! It can't be! Why does this keep happening! Why can't he leave us alone!" Yuichi shouted.
"Yuichi what's wrong you seem upset, Shukuro isn't mad at you, he just wants to make sure there's no hard feelings, why are you so agitated?" Ichigo asked but Yuichi glared back at him as he reached Kaminari Tora into the sky.
"Bankai!" Yuichi called out and instantly he transformed. "Kaminari Shisso!" He shouted as he ran to flee from his father but Ichigo had fallowed in suit having activated his bankai he was now fast enough to keep Yuichi from reaching top speed.
"Yuichi what do you think you're doing? It's one thing to attack Soifon, but to attack your father is downright wrong!" Ichigo shouted and Yuichi gave him a confused look before staring down at his claws.
"But I wasn't making any attacks I was going to get out of here before I was tempted into attacking you." Yuichi replied with a glare but his eyes widened when he looked up and saw that Ichigo had brought his sword back.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted and Yuichi had barely enough time to brace for the impact. "Since you've attained bankai your riatsu and spiritual energy have gone up to captain-class, but you are nowhere near my level, now I don't exactly know what's going on inside that head of yours, but I will bring you back to Tsukishima, and I will use whatever force necessary to do so." He continued and Yuichi's eyes widened when Ichigo reached up to his forehead and when he swiped his hand down across his face Yuichi saw his hollow mask appear.
"N-no way, dad you have hollowfication too?" Yuichi asked in horror as his father's riatsu which was already substantially higher than Yuichi's skyrocket making it hard for Yuichi to breath. "How can I fight him? His strength now is impossible to match." He thought as a wave of overwhelming fear overcame him. "No! I can't get discouraged I need to stop Tsukishima, I need to free everyone from his control, I need to win!" He thought as he gathered his spirit energy in his hands. "Inazuma Myaku!" He shouted cloaking his claws in electricity.
"So even in the face of overwhelming strength you plan to defy me. Tch, I thought I taught you better than this. Oh well I guess I'll have to rectify that mistake." Ichigo stated before vanishing and instantly reappearing behind Yuichi. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He shouted making a direct hit that sent Yuichi flying before slamming through a tree causing it to fall over.
"Ugh, Okay, ugh, that really hurt." Yuichi thought as he struggled to climb to his feet. "Dad listen to me, how can you bring yourself to turn your blade on your family-on your own son, for somebody who isn't even related to you?" He asked as his legs wobbled from the shear pain he was going through.
"Shukuro is my brother, and I knew him longer so the choice is an obvious one!" Ichigo replied as he readied another attack and Yuichi's eyes would have widened if they weren't already open as wide as they could get.
"No way this can't be happening, how can this even be possible?" Yuichi struggled to comprehend how things had gotten as bad as they had. "Dad what would mom say about this, and Uncle Byakuya, and Yachiru? What about your grandchildren?" He asked and Yuichi brought his sword down.
"What are you talking about? I don't have any grandchildren unless there's something you're not telling me." Ichigo replied and Yuichi's heart skipped a beat.
"No, he didn't, not even he would be that ruthless would he?" Yuichi wondered as he began to tremble. "I'm referring to mine and Yachiru's children." He replied, but he could feel that his world was about to be completely destroyed.
"Is that a joke? You know that Yachiru is married to Shukuro, and that their kids are my niece and nephew." Ichigo replied, and there it was the one thing he never wanted to lose was gone, in an instant he had gone from being engaged and having two children to having them stripped from him, it was over, he had utterly lost to Tsukishima, everyone he cared about everything that mattered to him had been stolen by Tsukishima, and there was probably nothing he could do to change it.
"No, no no no no no no no no no. Please no, please god no, tell me it's not true, please tell me it's a lie." Yuichi stated as he began to crumble.
"No Yuichi their wedding ceremony was on Yachiru's birthday when you refused to go and instead went to have dinner at some restaurant with a few members of Squad Eleven. You know that it had hurt their feelings that you weren't there to help them celebrate. Though I don't know where you're getting the delusion that-" Ichigo was interrupted by Yuichi.
"Just shut your damn mouth you stupid son of a bitch, I'll kill you and Tsukishima and anyone that gets in my way!" Yuichi shouted and fueled by anger and by hate and by pain, Yuichi exploded in a furry of power as he went on the offensive. "I'll kill him for this I swear I will!" He shouted as he lurched forward catching Ichigo by surprise due to his son's sudden outburst, and in an instant Yuichi had ran his electrically charged claws through the right side of his father's chest, and in the process the hollow mask shattered. "Inazuma Tama Myaku!" He shouted and he fired his attack at pointblank range dealing considerable damage to Ichigo, but he didn't stop, he couldn't. "Inazuma Rasen Tsume!" He shouted and his father was heavily electrocuted as the two began to spiral out of control before slamming to a stop at a nearby tree. "He can take my friends, hell he can turn all of Soul Society against me, but Yachiru and our children was the most important thing in my life and I refuse to surrender them. Tsukishima is going to suffer before I kill him!" He shouted as he looked down at his battered father.
"Yuichi why did you attack me? What happened?" Ichigo asked weakly as he spat up blood.
"Like you don't know you piece of shit!" Yuichi snapped back with tears running down his face.
"No I don't know, I don't have any idea what's going on, the last thing I remember was being in Yamamoto's office before... Tsukishima, that bastard must have got to me!" Ichigo grunted and Yuichi's eyes widened.
"What did you say?" Yuichi asked in disbelief as he looked down on his father.
"I don't know what I did to piss you off just now but I'm sorry, but I got some bad news for you, Tsukishima got to Yamamoto." Ichigo stated as he sat up before using his own riatsu to recover his wounds.
"How are you doing that?" Yuichi asked as he watched the puncture wounds and burns from the electricity vanish before his eyes.
"One of the benefits of being a Visored, because I can use hollowfication techniques I have found out that I have the ability to slightly regenerate, it's not nearly as advanced as a hollows ability but I can heal minor wounds such as these. Though more to the point what did I say that set you off like that?" Ichigo asked after his explanation.
"You told me he got to her, that Tsukishima was married to Yachiru, and that mine and her kids were actually hers and Tsukishima's." Yuichi replied as tears continued to flow down his cheeks.
Ichigo was speechless, this went beyond simply turning everyone against his son, Tsukishima had destroyed the bond Yuichi had forged with Yachiru and worse than that, even taken his children from him. Ichigo couldn't even begin to imagine the new dimension of pain his son was experiencing and worse still, there wasn't much he could do or say to console his hurting son, what could he say? This was far worse than anything he ever went through and never imagined anyone could go through something like that. "Yuichi I'm sorry, really I am. Is there anything I can do to help?" Ichigo asked after a moment of silence.
"Well, maybe, I think I understand how I can restore someone to normal, you see it first happened with chad, I used Inazuma Rasen Tsume to attack him the other night but he simply blocked my attack with one hand, and then your sisters I had carried for a few seconds in bankai, maybe, and this is just a theory, but maybe I can counter his power with my electricity." Yuichi stated and Ichigo thought about it for a minute.
"You have a point, chad was exposed to the electricity you produce and so were Karin and Yuzu, and then me just now, but how do you explain Uryu and Orihime? Certainly they should be affected in the same way, yet they still seemed to be under his influence." Ichigo pointed out.
"Um, not quite." Yuichi and Ichigo nearly jumped before turning around to see Orihime standing in front of them. "You see, we had our memories restored after we both fought that man there, it's just that Tsukishima was our ally, but for him to hurt someone in a way like this, it's wrong. I thought he wanted to use his power to help people, but to do that and turn one lover against the other is horrible." She stated. "Honestly I don't know how things got as out of control as they did. Ichigo I'm sorry for everything that's happened until now." She finished as she bowed her head apologetically.
"Orihime, you mean Yuichi's power is the key?" Ichigo asked as his eyes widened and Orihime nodded.
"Yes, contrary to what he says, he can only insert his presence into the memories of a animated object, and he can only insert his presence into the past of an inanimate object, for example, he can cut a tree and make it to where he was the one that planted it, but in something like a human he can only influence, change, and or read one's memories, and that's why Yuichi's power is the key, because memories are nothing more than a thought process and every thought is an electrical charge that gets fired from one synapse to the next. So by lightly electrocuting someone influenced by Tsukishima you can restore their memories to normal." Orihime explained. "Of course that's only a theory." She finished and Yuichi and Ichigo widened their eyes.
"That's amazing and now we have a way to fight back!" Yuichi shouted as he clenched his fist. "Just wait Tsukishima I'll defeat you with my own hands and then I'll free everyone from your sick form of mind control!" Yuichi thought as the three began to march back to Seireitei.
Chapter 7 end – Whew pretty long chapter that one was, and I had some fun writing it, an honestly I can't lie at the part where Ichigo said that about Yachiru and Tsukishima, a tear nearly came to my eye, oh man that was an intense chapter if I do say so myself, well I think I may not put out a chapter tomorrow, but a chapter a day for a week straight is impressive in my book especially because these chapters are all close to 8,000 words a piece, anyway tomorrow I'll be taking a break, but be sure to come back the day after tomorrow, I'll try and put out the next one then. By the way I knew that chapter 7 was initially going to be called operation hookup, but this morning I ran the scenario of this chapter through my head and decided I liked this more, so yeah I had to change the name anyway catch you guys later R&R. (Shunpo to bed cause now I'm tired)
Disclaimer: I do not own bleach cause if I did that would really be how Tsukishima's power is, though for the sake of the story I tweaked it a bit