A/N: To all muslim readers:

...
. ...人
.. ( ◎)_人
..║ ∩║_.-:'''"''";-.
..║ ∩║_(*(*(*|*)*)*)
..║ ∩║_. ║∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩║
...
Minal aidin wal faidzin Taqobballohu minna waminkum,shiamana washiyaamikum kullu 'aamin wa antum bikhoirin.


A/N: I Hoped, I did not made Ichigo OOC in my effort too made him more matured. :( Please let me know.


Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, The Avengers or (Sam Raimi) Spider Man. Any concept you do not recognise may or may not belong to me, however.


7.

Ichigo stepped into the apartment with a loud 'tadaima!' slamming the door shut behind him; he slipped his shoes off his feet and made his way to the kitchen. Throwing his bag on the counter, he opened the fridge and took out a bottle of green tea before sauntering over to the living room.

The redhead stopped his step in front of Ishida's room door. Staring at the door, his mind began to replay the conversation he had with the doctor five days ago.

Once, Ichigo's tempers had calmed down. The doctor who handled Ishida's operation took him to the side and informed him about one important thing that he had purposefully left out when he first informed the protector about Ishida's condition.

Because the news would certainty break Ichigo that time.

Nevertheless, it still broke him in the end.

One of the bullets had damaged Ishida's spines. He still can walk, but he needed a crutch to help him with the task. In addition, he can only move for a short period. Prolong movement will cause inconsiderate pain for the archer.

Yet, despite what the doctor had said, Ishida's recovery was nothing but a miracle. In less than three day, Ishida had managed to walk again like normal without any pain. Moreover, the bullet wounds in his body had started to heal completely within those three days, in a rate that was not natural for a normal human. This caused the doctor to assume that Ishida was one of the mutants. Fortunately, he was one of those rare open-minded individuals and — with a conspiratorial winked to Ichigo — he said that he would kept the mattered confidential between them.

Ichigo let the doctor go with that assumption. Because explaining about Ishida's Quincy heritage, went hand-in-hand with Shinigami and Hollow encyclopaedias. No matter how open-minded he was, the information will surely break the doctor's gripped on reality. Not to mention, it was not something he could shared freely to any normal human in the first place. The Gotei-13, and especially the Central 46, surely, will not be very pleased if he tells the doctor about them.

Ichigo was glad for Ishida's miraculous recovery. However, at the same time, it made his heart uneasy. Among many Quincy abilities, that Ichigo had witnessed Ishida performed throughout the years, healing factor was not one of them.

He summoned Ishida's reiraku to his hand and watched Ishida's now colourless reiraku intertwined with his dark red one, flowing together like two serpents in some kind of exotic dance.

Old man Zangetsu was the embodiment of his Quincy power; however, he and Tenma were two sides of the same coin. When he stabbed Ishida with Zangetsu, had he unwittingly infected the Quincy with his Hollow?

Considering what had happened to his mother that theory was far from farfetched. However, many battles that he and Ishida had went through together, had the archer absorbed his reiatsu — and the hollows they fought — to power up his Heilig Pfeil, and during those times, he never showed any ill side-effect from absorbing the impure reiatsu. What happened inside that crystal world was also different from the 'soul suicide' that his father had explained to him a few years prior. Then again, Inoue was with them. Her power might have 'rejected' the impure reiatsu out of Ishida's systems during their post-battle healing before it could did any damaged.

Then, there was the mattered of Ishida's reiraku. Red was for the Shinigamis, while the Vizards had dark red. White was the colour of humans and Quincies, and black is for Hollows, so, what was colourless reiraku stood for? If Ishida recovery truly tied to his Hollow, his reiraku should have turned black instead of colourless.

''Are you going to stand there all day Kurosaki?'' Ishida's voice suddenly rang out from behind the door, snapping Ichigo out from his reveries. He stared at the door for a moment, briefly debating whether he should go in or not, before reaching for the doorknob.

Slowly, he cracked the door open and peeked inside.

Clad in his hand-made, Quincy-themed pyjamas, Ishida sat on the single sofa that stood next to the window with his legs folded against his chest. His deep blue eyes stared at his left hand as he clenched and unclenched the limb in question repeatedly before bringing said hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose — only to scowl, because the glasses were not there anymore.

Tucking the white stripes alongside his dark hair behind his right ear, Ishida resumed staring down at his hand.

''So, how are you today?'' Ichigo inquired, entering the room, he made his way to sat down on the edge of the bed in front of the archer.

''I am fine now.'' Ishida answered. His voice was perfectly calmed; however, after years dealing with the Quincy, Ichigo had learned to pick up any hint of anxiety in his voice. Obviously, something was bothering him; however, coaxing the troubled out of the stubborn archer was harder than destroying the mountain.

''Yet, there was something making you uneasy.'' He remarked flatly.

Again, Uryuu made a gestured to push his glasses up — and scowled again at its absence. He sighed. ''Over the years, it was getting harder and harder for me to hide my thoughts from you.'' Ishida remarked.

A smug smirked made its way to Ichigo's face. ''You just realise that now?'' He said, earning him a glare from the Quincy, which he promptly ignored. Well, it seemed, this was going to be as easy as destroying the mountain.

''So, tell me then.'' Ichigo demanded.

Ishida stared at him for a moment before pointedly looking away. The black and white curtains obscured his countenance from the redhead. ''I am fine Kurosaki.''

Ichigo scowled deepened, and then, he sighed. ''Ishida,'' Ichigo started. ''Something is troubling you, and hiding behind that God forsaken Quincy-pride of yours will not make the problems disappear or solve itself. I am your friends — moreover, we are cousins. There is no secret in the families. If I could help you with your trouble, please let me lend my hand.'' Ichigo said, his voice, sounded both firmed and pleading at the same time. ''Let me lessen your burden.''

Turning his head back to him, Ishida held the protector's gaze for a moment that felt like forever. Then, he raised his left arm in front of Ichigo. The silver pentacle that dangled on his far too thin wrist glinted ominously under the sunlight shining through the window.

The air suddenly grew dense as Ishida gathered the reishi in the atmosphere. As the bright cyan light started to shape on the archer's hand, a strong, peculiar fragrance wafted into Ichigo's sense of smell. Sweeter than honey and fresher than cool water, a calm, peaceful feeling washed over Ichigo and he felt his taut muscles go sag. The scents brought him back to the memories of the happy times he had with his mother, and it was the first time he did not feel bitter or sad when he was thinking about it. In fact, it was oddly comforting.

''Kurosaki, look.'' Ishida said.

Ichigo opened his eyes that he did not realised he had closed.

He only had one way to express his reaction over the sight in front of him. He raised his brow.

Instead of the usual white and blue colour, the condensed reishi that formed the archer's bow now looked like a transparent glass.

''So,'' Ichigo started. ''What is the big deal?''

Ishida's sombre expression immediately shattered like a glass. ''Is that all you have to say?'' Ishida hissed.

''Your bow just gotten prettier, it is not as if it is the first time it happened.''

''You think my bow is pretty?'' Ishida inquired. His voice had taken a dreamy quality that Peter had every time he talked about Mary Jane.

There was a pause. All right, that was just… creepy.

Ishida shook his head. ''Anyway, my bow is not suppose to be like this, this is not normal.'' He said, giving said bow a forlorn look, as if giving it a puppy-eye would return it to its previous state.

''Are you sure about that?'' Ichigo inquired. ''Maybe it is just a sight of growth of your power that you do not know about. I think you should ask your fat— ah, Ishida-san about this.''

''I rather go to hell again.'' Ishida said coldly.

'I figure.' Ichigo thought, sighing internally.

''Beside, I do not think he or anyone could help me with this.''

A sudden feeling of dread twisted in his stomach, Ichigo scowled deepened. ''What do you mean about that?'' He inquired. He hoped against hoped that it was just a harmless Quincy weirdness, instead an omen of a bigger problem.

Knowing their luck however

Ishida sighed, lifting his hand up to his nose before stopping mid-way and sighed in resignation. Ichigo wondered how much glasses with clear lenses were cost.

''I do not know.'' Uryuu said, turning his gazed to the window. Once again, dark and white curtains hide his countenance from the protector. ''Whatever it is, I have a feeling this is just the beginning.''

TTT

''Is that the last one?'' Morgan inquired, cocking his Desert Eagle.

After checking their surrounding area with his senses and sight for any monsters left, Tsubaki replied. ''Yes, I believe so.'' Re-sheathing his oversize Dao sword on his back, Tsubaki turned his gaze on the half-moon hanging in the navy sky.

Despite his status as a warrior, Tsubaki loathed the path of violence. However, after spending five days slaying monsters without almost any chanced of respite. The thoughts of inflicting violence to one fox named Elliot Vos was looking more and more enticing.

He should be in New York City right now. Helping Uryuu preserving his humanity, but instead he was stuck here along with his partner; thirty thousand miles away from where his great-great grandson lived to take down the monsters that only he and Morgan could defeat.

More precisely, monsters made specifically for him and Morgan to defeat.

''Good'' Morgan said. Then, the longhaired man heard a solid thump from his direction.

Tsubaki turned to the sourced of the noised.

His heart skipped a beat.

''Mister Morgan''

TTT

Ben clenched his eyes tight before slowly opening them. The sight of his bedroom ceiling greeted his returned to consciousness. The sunlight filtered through the curtains painted the entire room in yellow hues.

''Ah, you are awake.''

''Obviously, do you want an award for your observation?'' Ben deadpanned. His voice sounded rough and his throat felt like Gobi desert.

Yadorigi chuckled. ''Ah, I see you are all right now.''

Propping himself up on his bed, Ben reached for the water jug on the table next to his Dessert Eagle. He poured its content into the glass before bringing it to his lips, sipping the water gingerly, he relished in the fresh, cool sensation washing over his parched throat.

''So, how is your great-great grandson now?'' Ben inquired, placing the empty glass back on the table and leaned his back against the headboard.

''…''

Ben frowned inwardly ''Yadorigi-san?''

''I was too late,'' Yadorigi sighed wistfully. ''It has been more than five days; there is no turning back now. Uryuu is no longer a human, I had fail—''

A loud bang rang inside the room followed by a pain-filled yelp and a solid thump hitting the floor.

''Mister Morgan,'' Yadorigi hissed on the floor, his face twisted in a grimace. His right hand clutched his left shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding. ''Why, did you shot me for?''

''Ishida Uryuu just simply lose his mortality, but you act as if he is dead.'' The blond man remarked flatly. Whoever made the saying 'the older, the wiser' must be drunk, his co-worker definitely did not receive the wisdom that came with his old age. ''It is a difficult time for him. He needs you now, more than ever to guide him through all of this. So put yourself together.''

''I agree with you, Ben.'' Both men turned their heads at the direction of the new voice. Their employer — Gerard Brimstone, stood in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest and his side leaned against the door framed. ''Wallowing in misery does not suit you Tsubaki.''

Yadorigi immediately stood up to his feet and bowed to him in greeting. ''Mister Gerard''

Brimstone inclined his head. ''I go to New York to check on your great-great grandson. I find out that Vos has manages to accelerate the conversion process ten times faster than its normal speed, so, even if you are there, there is nothing you could do to help your great-great grandson.''

Yadorigi went pale.

''Vos seem so sure that the Quincy have what he wanted to risk a shortcut like that.''

'Or he simply used the boy as a test subject.' Ben mused.

''However, you need not to worry Tsubaki.'' Brimstone consoled. ''The boy still quite human the last time I check on him.''

''How can he still quite human, if the process went faster than normal?'' Ben inquired.

''Well, we have to thank Kurosaki Ichigo for that.'' Brimstone smirked. ''Also, we need to thanks their Quincy heritages and their ancestor's action several hundred years before their massacres.''

Yadorigi's brow furrowed. ''But how he did it? I do not think it is possible even for Kurosaki Ichigo to stop the conversion.''

''That boy is just full of surprise I guess.'' He shrugged. ''But that is not our concern. Kurosaki Ichigo has no place in our world, so we have no use in talking about him.'' He said.

Yadorigi shook his head. ''On the contrary sir, he is now.'' Ben was not a mind reader, but he was sure that his co-worker had just politely, insulted their employer within his mind.

Brimstone's brow furrowed. ''Would you please elaborate''

''Before, if Uryuu refuse our offer, we will leave him alone. However, things are different now. Uryuu must join with us, he need to, and as his only anchor, Kurosaki Ichigo has to join as well.''

For the first time since Ben met with Gerard Brimstone, it was the first time he heard the Night Lord cursed.

''So, what is the matter with Kurosaki Ichigo joining us?'' Ben inquired.

''Kurosaki Ichigo is a very important asset to the Shinigamis.'' Brimstone answered. ''And as their property, they monitor him. If we do not careful, we might accidently unravel our existence to the Shinigamis.''

''Which is a bad thing because?''

''Because there is a chance the Shinigamis will slay us.'' Yadorigi said quietly. ''They thinks only about maintaining the balance of the worlds, nothing more nothing less.''

Ben frowned inwardly. When he first joined Naidruga, he given accessed to their library. From what he had read there, the beings that filled the ranks in Naidruga were a threat to the balanced as much as a marshmallow was a threat to the grizzly bear.

''The Shinigamis is a pile of stick in the mud.'' Brimstone said, pacing back and forth on his carpet. ''Their higher up are. Their subordinates consist of lazy fools that could not do their job right.''

''You seem to have a grudge against them.'' Ben remarked.

''No, I just hated their type of characters.'' Brimstone replied.

Yadorigi coughed. ''Is anyone have an idea of how to recruit Uryuu and his cousin without bringing an unwanted attention from the Shinigamis?''

Ben and Brimstone replied simultaneously. ''No''

Yadorigi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

''If the Shinigamis ever find out about Ishida-san, what will they do to him?'' Ben inquired. Yadorigi tensed.

Brimstone stopped his pacing. ''My guess is, they will send the black ops to kidnap him and from that point on, they may leave him in the Maggot nest to rot, or he end up at the squad 12 mercy or—''

''I would never let that happen.'' Yadorigi said firmly. Determination burned in his eyes.

''Tell them the truth.'' Ben stated matter-of-factly. ''We worry about the Shinigamis later. For now, letting Ishida Uryuu knows about his situation and gaining his trust is more important.'' Who knows? Once he managed to master his power. Maybe the boy could save them from the Shinigamis.

''That sound very reckless coming from you.'' Brimstone remarked.

Ben shrugged. ''That worked for me.''

''What make you think it will work for them too?'' Brimstone inquired. ''Different from the Quincy, you have no problem of losing your humanity.''

''Instincts'' Ben stated flatly.

Brimstone raised his brow. ''Fine then, but before we make our moves, give me time to gather more info. Until then, you two, just wait for my order.''

Yadorigi nodded. ''Please hurry up sir.''

Brimstone nodded before disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

''So,'' Ben started. ''What do we have for dinner?''

TTT

''Good afternoon sir, how may I help you?''

''Oh yeah, do you have glasses with clear lenses?''

''Why yes, of course. What kind of models would you like to purchase?''

''Umm, that one''

''Hmm, great choice sir, please wait a moment.''

''…''

''Here we go sir.'' Elliot said, smiling gently, he presented the redhead with the white box containing his purchase. ''That would be 100$ dollar.'' He said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Fishing out the wallet from his pocket, Kurosaki Ichigo laid out the moneys over the glass display before grabbing his purchase and leaved the shop without a second glance behind him.


Thank you very much for reading! *bow gratefully*

English is not my native language, my Deepest Apologies for any incorrect grammar and tenses you find. Please tell me what you think.