Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 7

Jūshirō knocked on Shunsui's door, entering when called, smiling at his best friend before taking a seat beside him.

"I heard Unohana-taichou summoned you, are you alright?"

"She gave me this and said to keep an open mind," he pulled out a note and opened it, the two Captains instantly recognising Kisuke's hand writing, asking both of them to visit, without anyone else knowing. "What do you think?"

"I think they found young Kurosaki alive but too badly injured for them to deal with." There was no other reason to have called on the Captain of the Fourth herself. "And perhaps, not unaltered." What would Aizen have done to the boy when given the chance? They now knew he had been behind what had happened to Lisa and the others, what ideas had he come up with since?

"Join me at Ugendō this evening?" Jūshirō offered and his best friend smirked.

"Of course," he got up and pulled Jūshirō to his feet before they left the Eighth for the Ukitake family estate. Once there they opened a Senkaimon and headed through.

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He stared around in confusion, he didn't know where he was but…if felt safe, right. He looked down and around, a building, he was standing on a building…sideways? He blinked and looked down to find he looked like he did outside his body but the clothes, he remembered them, they were what a Shinigami wore. He touched his chest, feeling his Hollow hole, still there. "Hello?" he called out, hearing his voice echo and he shivered, it was cold here, empty, but it wasn't meant to be, he knew it. "Please…." He closed his eyes, letting instinct guide him, soul crying out.

"Ichigo," a voice called, and his eyes snapped open to find a cloaked man, watching him from behind dark glasses. "Can you hear me?"

"Who are you?" he asked shakily, moving slowly towards the man standing on some sort of pole. He was drawn to him, unable to stay away and then the man was in front of him but Ichigo felt no threat.

"Do you not remember me?" he asked sadly and Ichigo frowned, fighting to remember, not wanting to make him sad.

Ichigo reached out and touched his glasses, and the old man let him….old man. "Old Man?" he whispered, and the serious expression softened.

"Ichigo," he greeted, not stopping the curious touch, relieved to not only still exist but that Ichigo had called him back from the depths were he had been forced to hide, even if the boy hadn't realised what he was doing. He had thought he would spend the rest of his existence in that strange, unaware state but then he had felt the pull of Ichigo's power and had let it pull him up, back into the inner world. He knew now, for Ichigo's safety there could be no more lies or omissions. He would have to learn the truth of who they were.

"You were gone," Ichigo whispered and there was a small amount of accusation in his tone, not that the Old Man blamed him, as far as he could tell, they had abandoned him to the agony of his change.

The embodiment of Ichigo's Quincy heritage smiled sadly, studying how Ichigo had been changed by Aizen. He would rip that monster apart with his bare hands for what had been done to the boy if he could. His inner world was proof of how much he had been changed, many of the once towering buildings had crumbled, areas of dark nothingness, flood waters higher than ever. Despite that Ichigo had survived and he was proud of him. "The power used to change you would have destroyed us, we could not stop it. So we hid deep within your soul to try and survive."

"We?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side, curious and confused. They hadn't abandoned him? They? Yes, someone else was still missing.

"Hey King," a new voice called and something in Ichigo relaxed at the sound.

Ichigo turned to see a figure standing nearby, a large sword across his back…a sword that called to him. It was a Hollow, like him, he knew him. "Zangetsu."

Zangetsu, normally called Shiro, grinned wildly as he was finally recognised for who he truly was. "Welcome back." He held out the blade and Ichigo wrapped his hand around the hilt, their hands touching.

Ichigo smiled slowly, yes, he was back. He'd never be who he was, his memories still disjointed, but now he was also whole. He accepted the blade, settling it on his back and then he looked at the Old Man and held his hand out.

He hesitated, knowing if he took Ichigo's hand, there would be no going back. He had never wanted Ichigo to be a Shinigami, he had wanted to keep the boy safe…and he had failed. Now Ichigo was something very different but he had not become a monster. He was a part of Yhwach, should be awaiting the day he came and took Soul Society, but Ichigo would never bow to him, would never allow Soul Society to fall, not when he had friends there. He took a deep breath and took Ichigo's hand.

All three gasped as power raced through them.

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Kisuke blinked and then dashed down the ladder, looking around to find Isshin pulling his daughters away from where their brother lay, seemingly asleep, even as Shinji was scrambling up and over to the boy.

"Ichigo?" Shinji called, hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder before shoving himself backward as power exploded around the teen.

Kisuke frowned, that looked an awful lot like what had happened when he had emerged from the Shattered Shaft.

Everyone was awake now, staring at the column of light where Ichigo had been sleeping only for it to suddenly vanish. Ichigo was lying peacefully on the futon he'd been given, as if nothing had happened and bewildered looks were exchanged before Shinji approached again.

"Ichigo?" he called softly, hand on his shoulder and amber eyes blinked open, slowly focusing on him.

"Shinji? Is something wrong?" He sat up and looked around. "What happened?"

"Was hoping you could tell us."

Ichigo blinked, "Oh." He reached back and they all stared as a blade appeared on his back and he pulled it free to stare down at it. "Zangetsu," he whispered in awe, running his fingers down the blade. He frowned, something wasn't quite right, yet. He focused on the blade and the spirits inside and the blade shimmered, shifting, becoming two and Ichigo smiled, one for Zangetsu and one for the Old Man, his Quincy, like Uryū. His smile became a grin and he looked up at Shinji who couldn't help smiling back.

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Shinji smiled back at Ichigo, seeing the utter joy in his eyes, even though he was shocked by the massive blade becoming two. Seeing Ichigo with his Zanpakutō was a relief, they had all been so worried. There was no doubt that sooner or later Aizen or Soul Society would come after him and now his ability to defend himself was back.

Ichigo laughed joyously and then Shinji was steadying himself due to an armful of happy Arrancar. "I can hear them," he whispered, and Shinji hugged him.

"That's great Ichigo," he told him and then the others were crowding around, all happy that his Zanpakutō had returned.

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They dropped down from the ladder to see the group obviously happy about something, surrounding…Ichigo. It was a relief to see him, neither had liked that a rescue attempt had been denied, considered too risky. Jūshirō still felt guilty over giving the kid the badge and a small part of him wondered if that was why he had been captured, had someone activated the power limiter in it? But why would they? Though there were many who thought Ichigo's powers should have been sealed away, his memories of them erased. So why had Urahara asked for them to come and do so quietly? And then the ex-Captain spotted them and quickly made his way over. The crowd parted and they froze as they recognised the extra people….Isshin? Shinji….

"Lisa-chan," Shunsui gasped out in shock. He hadn't seen his lieutenant since she had left to join the investigation team. He had argued to be allowed to go after her when they had disappeared but had been told very sternly she was no longer his concern, that those being sent were being sent to hunt them down and kill them, to free them from the Hollows they had become. She didn't look like a Hollow to him.

Jūshirō glanced at his friend before looking at Urahara, he had changed a lot in the last century. He felt bad for how he had been falsely accused and put on trial, he had never believed the young Captain was responsible, but no one had been willing to consider other options, he know understood why. Aizen had wanted him out of the way of his plans.

"Welcome to my humble shop," he swept his hat off in a theatrical bow.

"I see you rescued Kurosaki and he looks healthy, so why call on us?" Jūshirō asked, unable to look away from the others. Shinji had been a good friend for many years, the one he had known best of the group, with Lisa coming in next due to being Shunsui's lieutenant.

"Thanks to Unohana-taichou's help," Kisuke informed them gravely, glancing back at the gathered group. "Perhaps we should go back upstairs to talk."

It was easy to see the worry in his eyes and that had them both concerned so they followed him up, reluctantly. That had definitely been Isshin Shiba, but he had been reported killed on a mission in the Living World. Another plan of Aizen's? Between Kaien's death and his assumed death, the Shiba's fall from grace had been easy. Was it paranoid to see the traitor behind it as well.

They settled down at the table, Tessai quickly serving tea to the three of them. the two captains sipped the beverage, watching Kisuke who tipped his hat forward, sighing, before beginning to explain. Learning Ichigo was a Shiba didn't surprise them, not with how much he looked like Kaien. The fact that Isshin had deserted for love, as Captains they didn't agree with that but as men they did. It really helped explain Ichigo's crazy learning curve and growth rate.

"If you had been the ones to harm them, Shinji would have gutted you by now. What really happened?" Shunsui demanded, the silent demand to know what had happened to his lieutenant was obvious.

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Kisuke just nodded and began explaining how he had found the team, what Aizen had said and then how he had worked to reverse it and when he couldn't, he had stabilised them. Without prompting he moved on to events with Isshin, leaving out the fact Masaki had been a Quincy which took some quick thinking, and then on to Ichigo's birth, the twins, and Masaki's death at the hand of Grand Fisher. That got a shocked reaction from the two Captains, that Hollow was well known for killing quite a few Shinigami. The fact Ichigo had survived…Kisuke just smiled sadly and admitted he had been too slow to save her. He brushed over Rukia's arrival but then had to go into detail of how Ichigo's powers had been restored, getting shocked and then angry looks. Finally, he moved on to more current events, Ichigo's training with the Visored and then his capture and their frantic search for him before finally finding him. Then he stopped, thankful Tessai had refilled his cup. He stared down into the liquid, finding it harder to tell the story again than he had in telling it to Unohana. Perhaps because he had relied on her need to heal to overcome her feelings towards Hollows? Sitting before him were the two oldest and most powerful Captains outside of her and Soutaicho himself. If they reacted negatively….

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"Ichigo appeared well, from what we could see, and yet you are hesitating. What happened to him?" Jūshirō asked softly, gripping his tea cup firmly. He was one of the oldest Captains, he had seen much, including his lieutenant's body being taken over by a Hollow and used to attack Rukia and himself. Yet something tells him Aizen has gone beyond that now and that a child who should have been left to live out a mortal life has paid the price for their negligence in not seeing what Aizen truly was much sooner.

Kisuke looked down at his tea again, this was why he had sent for them, in the hope they would understand and see the truth. Yet now that the moment had come he was unable to form the words.

Shunsui did not like this at all, what could be so bad that Urahara was having trouble speaking of it? The boy had appeared unharmed….his eyes widened slightly, he had been in his body, that would hide a lot. Had he been mutilated, permanently damaged in some way?

Kisuke took a deep breath and began speaking of their rescue and what they had found, hoping this was the right thing to do.

TBC…