Ichigo was bored. Completely, utterly, insanely bored. He had been deemed well enough to return to school after proving to his father that his reflexes – and his punches – were as keen and sharp as ever, but the other shinigami in town had refused to let him return to Hollow hunting duty. And to make certain that he didn't do anything foolish, they had sent a babysitter to tag along with him to school, making sure he didn't ditch and transform.
Ichigo turned and glared at the shinigami sitting behind him in a gigai. Renji just smiled back at him, completely unaffected by Ichigo's lethal stare. Apparently, since Renji had done such a good job guarding him in his own damn house, the others felt that he would be the perfect babysitter. Ichigo nearly growled, but refrained from doing so when he realized that the other students were starting to whisper, wondering what he had against the newcomer.
Gritting his teeth, Ichigo turned back around, but couldn't bring himself to listen to the boring lecture. With the return of his strength and the healing of his injuries, Ichigo's enthusiasm for fighting had returned, and he practically vibrated with the excess energy. Sitting in school was not helping him, but he was banned from becoming a shinigami and fighting Hollow.
Hmm…that gave him an idea. Just then, the school bell rang, and Ichigo sighed in relief. It was lunchtime, which meant that he could make his escape. He couldn't imagine that Renji was any happier than him to be stuck in this classroom, so it was time to ditch.
Moving up the stairs towards his usual place on the roof, Ichigo was aware of the shinigami following him, but he didn't slow his pace. He was tired of school, but he couldn't go back home yet, or Rukia would be all over him, demanding to know what he thought he was doing. If he wasn't on a mission, he shouldn't be skipping class.
Slipping onto the room, Ichigo moved towards the edge of the building and sat down, his back against the chain-link fence, tilting his head up towards the sun. A few times, in that dark room, with only a sliver of sunlight peeking through, Ichigo had wondered if the demon would kill him. He had wondered if he'd ever feel warm again. So now, rather than seek the shade as he usually did, Ichigo found himself drifting towards the sun.
A silent presence, Renji settled down beside him, comfortable and at ease on the roof, away from the rest of the students. Tilting his head back, Renji let the sun bathe his face, and Ichigo just watched quietly. Seems like he wasn't the only one that had missed the sun. The teenager wondered idly just how long Renji had been possessed before he had come looking for Ichigo. He couldn't imagine that it was too long, or else somebody would surely have noticed that Renji wasn't himself.
The two men sat in companionable silence for a while, not thinking about anything in particular, as they waited for their lunch hour to be over. After classes had started back up, Ichigo planned on sneaking out of the school and going for a walk, probably to the park or somewhere. No doubt Renji would follow him, but at least the other boy wouldn't try to talk him into returning to the school.
A large shadow fell over them, and Ichigo looked up to stare coolly at Chad, Ishida and Orihime not far behind him. Lifting a single eyebrow, Ichigo didn't move from his spot, and so the others sat down instead. Chad sat to Ichigo's left, with Ishida in front of Ichigo, and Orihime sat next to Renji on their other side.
"What's up?" he asked, hoping that perhaps there were a lot of Hollows hanging around and he'd get to go fight anyhow. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly that lucky.
Ishida was the one that spoke, as Ichigo had known he would. "We're just checking to see if you're okay. And making sure you're not doing anything you're not supposed to be," he admitted. Ichigo just chuckled; apparently, Renji wasn't enough by himself.
Shrugging, Ichigo leaned back and closed his eyes, not bothering to reply. Besides, what would he say? "Sure, everything's fine, I just have constant nightmares and can't sleep unless Renji's in the bed with me?" He could just hear them now, telling him that his fixation and need for Renji wasn't healthy, and that he only felt that way because Renji was the only one locked in that room with him, and even if he was hurting him because he was possessed, it still wasn't a good idea to depend on the other shinigami.
Ichigo knew all that, and found that he didn't care. Renji hadn't stopped fighting, no matter what had happened, or what the demon had threatened him with, and Ichigo appreciated that more than he'd ever admit. After all, both of the men had their pride, and both had been threatened with the safety of their friends, but neither one would give in to the demon's demands. And so, their respect for each other had grown. Ichigo could see it in Renji's eyes sometimes when he caught him staring; a look that clearly stated that he held a great respect for Ichigo.
The guilt was there as well, but over the past several days, and especially after Ichigo had whacked him one, it had started to fade. Besides, he had been violated just as surely as Ichigo, regardless of whether or not he saw it that way. The demon had possessed his body, and had hurt Ichigo, but Renji had not helped him. It was only the demon, in the guise of a friend.
In their minds, they both knew that, but their pride still stung with the humiliation of being overcome like that. It would take time – and probably a lot of fighting, Ichigo mused – before they were comfortable and confident enough to rely only on their power again.
The warning bell rang, and Ichigo's friends stood. "Are you coming back to class?" Ishida asked, although judging by his tone, he already knew the answer, and was asking because it was expected, not because it was necessary.
Ichigo shook his head. "Naw. I've only got one more class to go, and the teacher probably won't even notice I'm gone," he shrugged, standing as well, but waiting for his friends to head back to class. One last glance from Chad and Orihime, and they were gone. Ichigo sighed.
"They mean well," Renji said, staring after them, "but they really are a pain, aren't they?" Ichigo just smiled and shook his head. His friends were worried, but they were quite well aware of how he'd react if they started asking him questions about what happened while he was missing. He didn't feel like telling them anything; it was bad enough that they had seen him after his near-death experience and subsequent rescue, when he was all bandaged and bruised and weak.
The class bell rang, and Ichigo headed back to the stairwell. Time to sneak out of school. Pity he wasn't allowed to shift into his shinigami form, or else he would have had Kon take his classes for him, and he'd just jump from the roof. Bad idea in his human form, though, he thought cheerfully.
Ten minutes later, they were walking through the park, with no particular destination in mind. Renji was a silent figure walking beside him, and Ichigo started talking. "I used to come here a lot when I was younger," he started, gesturing at the trees and plants around them. "Even as a kid, I'd get into a lot of fights, and I'd usually come here afterwards for a little while before going home, trying to cool down and make my injuries less obvious. It never did fool my mom, though," he murmured ruefully.
Rounding a corner, they left the wooded area of the park and found themselves walking parallel to a large lake. Ichigo stopped and stared, talking almost to himself as he watched the water glitter in the daylight. "One night, when I was walking along here with my mother, I saw a little girl drowning," he continued, the story detouring with his scattered thoughts.
"I ran to save her, and my mom, who didn't see anything, ran to save me. I survived. She drowned," Ichigo's voice was soft, his companion forgotten for the moment. "I later found out that it had been a Hollow, baiting those with enough spiritual power to see the vision he provided of the little girl. He was after me, not my mother."
Shaking his head, trying to banish the memories for a while longer, Ichigo turned to look at Renji, who was staring back at him neutrally, no pity in his eyes, which was good, because otherwise Ichigo would have had to hit him. "The demon…it was after me, too, right? You were just a convenient way for him to get close to me, and so you got hurt, too."
Renji sighed beside him. "Not…exactly," he admitted, obviously realizing the parallel that Ichigo had drawn, whether intentionally or not. "The demon came after me because I was alone, and because I was vice-captain level. He needed no more reason than that. He came after you only after searching through all of my memories. He was looking for something to play with, and you…intrigued him," he murmured, his voice as soft and honest as Ichigo's had been just moments before.
"You were something new. A human that was also a shinigami and a Hollow. A human that only gets stronger with each new fight, with every new enemy. Most people have a certain plateau that they can reach in power, and then they can't go any further. You haven't found that limit yet. Perhaps you never will," he admitted, curiosity and a little bit of envy finding its way into his voice.
"Once he found you, he was intrigued, and he deliberately searched for all of my memories and evaluations of you. He saw our first meeting all the way until the week before he came hunting for you, when we were working together in Sereitei," he admitted ruefully. "And so, he came here, to Kurakara Town, to find you. I believe that he wanted to both break you and fight your shinigami and Hollow forms, but wasn't completely positive that he'd win a fight if he didn't weaken you first. Although if he broke you, I don't know how he thought he'd get a good fight out of it. Unless he figured that Hollow would come out when you broke," he frowned, the thought just occurring to him.
Ichigo shrugged. It didn't matter what the demon's reasoning was any more, only that he hadn't succeeded. Still, the fact that a demon had invaded Sereitei and taken over a vice-captain level shinigami didn't bode well for the rest of Soul Society.
"How did that demon get in, in the first place?" he asked, only now realizing that he should have thought of that before. He was a lot brighter than most people tended to give him credit for, but even he was aware that he tended to live in the moment, and left the theories to other people. His job was to fight, and he excelled at it.
"They aren't sure," Renji admitted, reluctantly. "Although before now, there were no safeguards against demons in Soul Society, either. We were only worried about Hollow. Demons and angels tend to muck about with humans, but the shinigami are considered a neutral party, so they leave us be. I don't know what this one was thinking, or even if he was the only one."
Ichigo froze, turning his head to give Renji a hard glare. "Are you telling me that there might be more of those things possessing shinigami that we don't know about?" he demanded, and Renji flinched, shaking his head.
"No. Once we knew what we were looking for, Captain Kurotsuchi started testing all shinigami for demonic possession," he hurriedly reassured the murderous teenager. "But we aren't sure about the other souls in Rukongai and other areas outside of Sereitei. There are just too many people to check them all. It would take years, and from what we're guessing, the demons can transfer from person to person, so even if we check somebody, they might be possessed later, and we'd miss it."
Ichigo sighed, pissed but able to see where Renji was coming from. "What do they suspect?" he asked, knowing that there was more.
Renji frowned, but answered his question. "They're guessing that the demon was a scout of sorts, and that he took possession to see how easy it would be. They also believe that the demons have no interest in the souls that aren't strong enough to become shinigami," he added, hoping to smooth over the bad news. Ichigo just scowled at him, not allowing himself to be consoled.
The two friends fell silent again, turning away from the water and heading home. School would be out in a few minutes, and then things would get noisy again, when everybody arrived at home. No doubt Rukia would also stop by, wanting to know that Ichigo hadn't done anything he wasn't supposed to. The only reason that he had his pendant still was because Renji had convinced her that leaving Ichigo helpless to shift in case of an emergency was not going to help him heal.
Seeing Ichigo, unconscious on the bed, bandages covering the majority of his body, Rukia had reluctantly agreed, but only on the condition that Renji keep an eye on the smaller teenager and ensure that he didn't do anything "stupid or reckless," as she had phrased it. The redhead had agreed without hesitation, and so Ichigo was allowed to keep the pendant.
Unlocking the front door, Ichigo and Renji slipped inside and headed for Ichigo's room. Upon entering, they were surprised to see only Kon in the room. Perhaps Rukia was out chasing a Hollow?
Glancing down, Ichigo stared at Kon, and he smiled. The poor modified soul had been feeling so downcast since he realized that he hadn't really helped Ichigo at all, and that his friend had been hurt badly in the meantime. Ichigo didn't think it would take much effort to convince him to do something for him, and then perhaps Kon would realize that Ichigo really didn't hold anything against him.
"Hey, Kon. Will you buy Renji and me some time?" he demanded cheerfully, grinning broadly when he was met with two suspicious glares. "What? I've been restricted from fighting Hollow. Nobody ever said I couldn't change into a shinigami to spar and get some practice in."
He could see the hesitation on both their faces, and he sighed, deciding to be honest. "Look. I can't take this anymore. Either I'm no longer needed by the shinigami and will be forced to remain human the rest of my life, or I'm still a substitute shinigami and am to be treated like one. I'm not broken, I'm not fragile, and I'm not helpless!" he snarled, angry now, although his anger wasn't directed at anyone in particular. It was more generalized; couldn't the other shinigami trust him? Was he really that unreliable now?
A small sound behind him, and Renji spoke up. "He's got a point there. Just because he was caught and hurt doesn't make him useless. His injuries are healed, and he's not flipping out on us. He should at least be granted the freedom that his shinigami form gives him." Ichigo smiled at him gratefully, and got a small smile in return.
Kon sighed. "All right. I'll buy you guys a little bit of time, but you know as well as I do that Rukia will know it's me as soon as she arrives. The best I can do is to tell her that I don't know where you two went," he offered.
Ichigo nodded; that was all he could ask for. "Thanks, Kon!" he cheered, excited and eager now. Quickly, he pulled Kon out of the stuffed lion and swallowed the small pearl, which shot him out of his body, full dressed in his shinigami outfit.
Renji shed his gigai as well, and then the two of them were off, pulling their reiatsu tightly to their bodies. It would do neither of them any good to announce their location to the whole town. Turning right, Ichigo took off, exhilarating in the feel of the wind as his feet flashed from roof to roof, carrying him wherever they felt like going. With no particular destination in mind, Ichigo just enjoyed his momentary freedom, his ever present watchdog hot on his heels.
Maybe later, Ichigo would be able to convince Renji to spar with him. But for now, he grinned, kicking up his speed a notch, he'd just enjoy the freedom he had been granted.
