Chapter 9:

Contrary to what they originally thought, it wasn't going as smoothly as they were expecting. Though Byakuya tended to change back rather quickly to his childhood self, it was taking far longer this time around. So far he had been an adult for the past two and a half hours. Soon it became clear that he wasn't changing back.

"Maybe it wore off?" suggested Renji. "I mean, who says that the transformation and switches are going to keep happening?"

"Everyone else is! Toshiro's still changing and he got zapped first!"

"Good point…"

The three men stayed in Byakuya's office waiting for a change to occur. So far, nothing had happened. Byakuya remained the same age. They were beginning to wonder if he was going to change at all. Of course, Byakuya didn't mind the change or lack thereof. He was pleased to remain in his proper age for longer than a few short minutes. However, they needed the information his toddler self held. They needed him to change back and soon.

"Maybe it has to be triggered..?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"I thought you said that it happened at random," said Byakuya.

"Yeah, but maybe we can trigger it somehow."

Byakuya looked at him crossly. "Meaning what exactly?"

Ichigo thought about it. "Maybe… Just maybe we could get you to transform by triggering your toddler self."

"I understood that part. That's not what I'm asking, though."

"What I mean is…" Ichigo tried to word it as best he could. "What if you thought like a toddler? Maybe by stepping into their shoes you would be able to change."

"Just what are you suggesting?"

"Byakuya, try thinking like a toddler."

The captain stared at him and his ludicrous theory. "What?"

"Think like a toddler. Try thinking about what it's like to be a toddler. Like how you were when you were little. The things you liked to do and play and how you acted."

Byakuya scoffed and shut his eyes in annoyance. "Hardly. How ridiculous."

"Come on, just try!"

He faced the other way, his eyes still closed. "It's easy to do when spoken like that. However, it's quite another to perform when you can no longer remember what it's like to be at that age."

"So?" said Renji. "No one remembers what they were doing when you're transformed."

"What I mean…" Byakuya growled in annoyance. "… is that I cannot remember my childhood. Transformation or otherwise."

Ichigo tilted his head slightly to one side. "You… can't remember your childhood?"

"It was so long ago. I was so young. Can't be helped."

Renji frowned. "I can remember my childhood. Some parts more than others, but still…"

"Your toddler years and younger?"

His lieutenant looked down. "Well… no, not that far back."

"Then you see my point."

Ichigo slapped his knees hard and moved closer to the couch where Byakuya was sitting and knelt at his feet. "Well, then let's get started."

"Started with what?" Byakuya asked. "I already informed you that I cannot remember…"

"True, so I came up with another idea. What if you were surrounded by things a toddler would like?"

"I'm not following."

"If you can't remember being a toddler and can't understand how they think, then maybe we have to make you think like a toddler. Try acting like one."

Byakuya's expression changed, now staring at Ichigo in a way he never had before. Even Ichigo couldn't read his expression. "Just what are you suggesting?"

"Act like a toddler. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

He stared at him. "I don't see that happening."

Without a word, Ichigo extended something out to him in his right hand. It was a child's pacifier.

Byakuya looked from it back to Ichigo. "You're kidding."

The look on Ichigo's face told him different. "Just put it in your mouth and…"

"I will do no such thing!"

"Please? Just for-"

"Absolutely not!" There was no way he would do something so demeaning. Why on earth would a man his age put a binky in his mouth? It was unbecoming of a noble. Even if his life depended on it, a man had to have his pride.

Seeing this going nowhere, Ichigo tried something else. "Hey, Byakuya, watch." He sat at Byakuya's feet and covered his face with his hands. Three seconds later, Ichigo removed his hands quickly and gave Byakuya a big smile.

The captain just stared at him blankly.

He did it again with the same results. His face never changed. Ichigo started to make funny faces the next time he covered his face.

"What in God's name are you doing?"

Ichigo frowned. "Playing peek-a-boo."

"… Why?"

"Kids love that stuff. I figured that if I did it, you would react somehow."

"If you continue to do that, the only reaction I'll give you is punching you in the face."

Ichigo sat back with an angry sigh. "Look, I'm trying here. So far nothing's working. I just figured that if you started to think or act like a child, you'd have a better chance of turning into one."

Byakuya sat back, resting his head on the backrest. "I fail to see how this will work. Just stop trying. It's pointless."

"I refuse to give up. We have to do this before it's too late."

"Yeah, for all we know, half the Soul Society will be babies if we don't get a move on."

Ichigo looked at Renji. "I was talking about Checkers and what will happen to him."

"That guy, too."

Byakuya frowned. "I can't do this. I can't even understand why kids are the way they are. Why can't they just keep still and be quiet? Why all the noise and running around? I don't understand that."

"Your toddler self seems to find it fun."

The captain raised a brow at him. "Indeed? I don't see how. I suppose it is a toddler thing. Must have outgrown it."

"No kidding…" muttered Renji.

Ichigo had another idea. "Then how about this... You were married, right?"

Byakuya looked at him. "… Yes."

"Didn't you ever think about having kids of your own with her? You know, raising a family?"

He looked at the ceiling. It took some soul searching but he managed to find the answer. It came easy. Mostly because he had thought about it before. "Yes. We did want a family. To be honest, I wanted to have a son of my own to carry on the family name and to follow in my footsteps."

"Did you ever picture what it would be like to have a child? What you would do together?"

"Like what?"

Ichigo remembered his own childhood. Given that like so many others he had a difficult time remembering his early past, the things he did remember were either fussy or stories that his parents told him later on when he was older. "For example, I did sleep in my parents' bed every now and then. Mostly if I had a nightmare or felt scared for some reason. Having baths together and dinnertime. Dinner was always kinda fun, I think. Like when they gave me something new to try." He chuckled to himself. "Actually, there was a time when I didn't want to eat ice cream. I didn't know what it was. It was new to me and I didn't want to try it and thought I would hate it. Mom made me eat it. I really don't remember this very well, but they told me about it later and we all laughed. My mom said that I was crying real hard and said that I didn't like it even before I tried it. Then after one lick and just inhaled it. I got it all over my face and hands and I begged her for more, saying how much I loved it."

Renji laughed. "You said you hated it before you even tried it? Dude, everyone likes ice cream."

"I was a little kid. It made sense back then. Now that I'm older and can understand better, I don't know, it just seems silly, I guess. But yeah, that really did happen." He turned back to Byakuya. "Anything like that come to mind?"

Byakuya just watched him.

"What did you picture it would be like to have a son? Or a daughter? What did you want to do?"

He pictured his life as a calm, happy family, living peacefully. Now that Ichigo mentioned it, he had pictured something he was looking forward to. He had pictured him and his wife sharing a bed with their child and waking up together in the morning and watching the sunrise. He even pictured them sleeping in and waking up with the sunlight in their room, illuminating everything. He pictured feeding his child and watching him eat it all up with a smile. His son playing in the snow in winter, eating water melon in the summer. Even if it was going to be a pain chasing his son to bed, he had a feeling that he was going to enjoy it anyway. Kissing his son goodnight and then his wife and settling down for the night, child between both parents. It seemed nice. He did picture his life like that. It never turned out the way he planned, unfortunately, but he had hopes.

"Captain?" Renji was staring at him. "What are you thinking about?"

Though Byakuya didn't realize at the time, he was starting to smile at his own thoughts. It was faint, but didn't go unnoticed by his lieutenant. "It's nothing…"

Ichigo sat back. "Well, either way we need you to change as soon as possible before something bad happens to Checkers."

Renji rolled his eyes. "I know I've said this before but what the hell kind of name is that anyway?"

"What kind of name is Renji?" he muttered back.

"Hey! It happens to be a very good name and it's something to be proud of! Unlike 'Ichigo'. There's so much fun you can have with that, you know."

"We're getting off topic."

Ichigo agreed with the captain. "Right, right, sorry." He clapped his hands together and stood up. "Ok, next option since nothing else is working…"

"Are you just gonna go in circles and tell him he needs to act like a kid?"

Ichigo shot a look at Renji. "Think, act… What's the difference?" He looked back at Byakuya. "How do you feel about tickling?"

Byakuya's eyes narrowed. "I'll break your hands if you so much as try."

"Then here." Ichigo shoved something soft into Byakuya's arms. "Hold that."

Looking down, Byakuya could see that it was his Seaweed Ambassador plush. What was it doing here? He was always sure to keep it hidden. "Just what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Just hold it or cuddle it or something."

"Why?"

"It might trigger something."

Byakuya just stared at him.

Ichigo scratched his head. "Hm…"

"This is going nowhere, Ichigo. We should just give up."

"You're only saying that because you don't want him to change back."

"Of course not! He's such a little brat! I wanna wring his neck." Renji noticed his captain glaring at him. "… And I mean that in the nicest possible way, sir."

"Then how's this sound?" Ichigo stepped off to the side. "Byakuya, get down on the ground and crawl around like a baby."

Once again Byakuya gave him a look that wasn't encouraging. "Forget it."

"If it's embarrassing, I'll do it with you."

"No way." He faced the other direction.

"Come on, it's easy! Look." Ichigo got down on all fours. "See? That's all you have to do. Maybe this'll trigger something. I'll do it, too, ok?"

"Not happening."

"This pride thing with you is getting pretty old fast, Byakuya. Just do it. It'll just take a second."

"No way."

"Please?"

"No way."

"It's for a good cause!"

"No way."

"For me?"

"No way in hell."

"It'll just take a second."

"I said no way."

"Come on!"

"No way!"

"It's not as demeaning as you're making it out to be!" Ichigo crawled in a circle. "See? It's not that bad! If I can do it, so can you!"

"No way."

"Stop saying that! Watch!" Ichigo crawled on his knees, pacing in front of Byakuya's legs. "This is all I'm asking you to do. That's it! It's not like I'm asking you to make baby sounds or something. Just do it for a minute!"

"What are you doing?"

The trio looked up and saw Rukia standing in the doorway with a baby bottle. She was staring at Ichigo on the floor. Ichigo's face turned slightly pink.

"We're helping Byakuya get in touch with his inner child."

"… Uh-huh." She looked at her brother. "Is there anything I can do for you, brother?"

"No thank you." He looked at Ichigo and had second thoughts. "Then again, it would be nice if you could convince him to kindly vacate my office for a while."

"I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't want to change!" Byakuya snapped back. "I agree with everything Hitsugaya mentioned before. It's embarrassing and demeaning and I won't stand for it. I refuse to be seen like that for any period of time. It's not becoming of a noble or a captain. If I never change again, it would be too soon."

"A man's life is on the line here!"

"I doubt he'll be killed. Just imprisoned for a while…" Byakuya looked away. "At least, I believe that's all he'll have to endure."

"See? That's doesn't fill me with confidence. It's not the guy's fault." Ichigo sat on the ground and tried to think. There had to be a way to get Byakuya to change. This couldn't be permanent. "Is there anything else? What are we missing?"

"It's at random, Ichigo," Rukia told him. "I doubt you can trigger it."

"It was worth a try."

Rukia moved into the office and took a look at her brother. He was an adult. Nothing was different about him that she could see. There couldn't have been a way to trigger it, could there? She didn't think so but maybe there was a way and she wasn't seeing it. It was possible. He'll change back. He wasn't cured and she believed it. He would change. They just had to wait a bit longer.

Renji slid down the book case on his back and sat on the floor with a sigh. "Why don't you ask him to suck his thumb while you're at it?"

"There's an idea!"

"I was kidding!"

Byakuya held his plush in his arms and stoked the softness with his thumbs. He suddenly had an urge to press it against his face, but resisted. Still, he felt like doing it. Why? What had come over him? Maybe Ichigo was onto something after all. The next thing he knew, Rukia was sitting beside him, looking into his face, trying to read him. He glanced at her and then to the floor.

"Rukia."

"Yes, brother?"

He hesitated. "Was there… anything my child self would… enjoy? I mean, anything that would make him… me… react? I'm not quite sure how to explain this."

She thought she was following, but wasn't sure what he was asking. "Like holding hands or..?"

"Yes. Things like that…" He shot a look at Ichigo. "… Which aren't embarrassing to perform!"

He shrugged. "I was trying to help."

Rukia tried to think if there was anything like that. "Um…" She thought harder. "Well… you like to snuggle with that toy you have there a lot. And, um… you like to run around a lot, but that's not quite… Oh, you do seem to like cuddling a bit. Am I helping at all?"

Byakuya kept his eyes forward when he answered. "Yes, a little." He sighed. There was no way he would ever do those embarrassing things as an adult just to trigger a transformation. Without thinking about it, he drew his arm around his plush toy and pulled it into his chest. So soft. He really liked the feeling. No wonder he loved this thing so much when he was a child. Even now he still had an attachment to it, though the pull wasn't as strong. He pulled the doll into his lap and gave it a small hug. The way it squished against his stomach and arms felt really nice.

He shut his eyes for a moment and there was a pop.

Byakuya sat on the couch with the plush still in his lap, only now it was sitting at eye level with his tiny toddler body. He blinked in confusion.

Ichigo rushed to Byakuya at once and bent down. "Byakuya."

He blinked and looked at Ichigo. "Yeah?"

He wasted no time. "Where did you see Yurima?"

Byakuya gave it a moment's thought. "Uh… Oh, yeah! I amember! There was a buncha doctors around. Unohana lady was talking to him and told him to do something for her and stuff."

Ichigo jumped to his feet. "He's in Squad 4! Let's go!" He turned and ran out the door.

"Wait! Ichigo!" Rukia grabbed Byakuya and dashed after him. Ichigo was far ahead but she managed to catch up to him in good time. "Ichigo, hang on! We don't know if he is a member for that Squad. He could have just been one of the many Soul Reapers there asking for help."

"But Unohana was giving him orders so that must mean that he's a member of that Squad."

"Not ness-"

Ichigo flashed down the hall and then outside. He was in a hurry to reach the Division before he could leave, it seemed. Rukia had no choice but to follow.


Ichigo reached the door to the sickbay in a flash, Rukia and Byakuya right behind him and knocked loudly, sticking his head inside the room. "Captain Unohana! Are you here?"

The captain shushed him. "Please keep your voice down. We have people here who are trying to rest."

"Sorry." Ichigo lowered his voice and moved inside. "I'm trying to find someone named Yurima. Is he a part of your Division?"

"Yurima?" Unohana smiled. "Way, yes. He's right over there. I'll get him for you." She turned her head to the side and called. "Yurima, would you come out here, please?"

A young boy came out from the next room. "Coming, ma'am!" He pushed his hair back with both hands and hurried over. "Yes?"

"Ichigo here is looking for you. Do you know what this is about?"

He shook his head.

Ichigo got his first look at the very person Checkers was trying to find. This boy looked very average. He wasn't much bigger than Hanataro or much stronger, although he did seem more confident.

There was no time to waste. "Yurima, my name is Ichigo. Do you know a guy named Checkers?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We knew each other. He's a friend of mine. We don't get to talk a lot, though. Why?"

They found him. It was a huge relief.

"Listen, you know all the strange things that have been happening lately?"

"Yeah. They say that it's on account of a stranger that broke in. Why?"

"… That stranger is Checkers."

Yurima's mouth fell open. "What? What are you talking about? How could it..?"

"I'll prove it to you. He's in a cell right now. Come on-"

Yurima held back. "I- it's not that I don't believe you or anything but… How could he have done this? He has no talent. No powers. That's why I became a Soul Reaper and he did not. I don't understand this. Why would he do such a thing?"

"He didn't mean to. He told me that this didn't start happening until after you came back to see him once you became a Soul Reaper."

The boy was silent.

Ichigo took a step back, hoping that Yurima would follow without having to be pulled. "Let's go. He came all this way to find you and now he's being treated like a criminal. You have to see him. Please."

He didn't move.

Unohana put a hand on his shoulder. "Please go with them, Yurima." She smiled when he turned to face her. "Sounds like they need your help. Won't you help them out, please? Hm?"

He couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. Nodding, Yurima agreed to follow them.


They weren't allowed to visit the prisoner, but Rukia was all the permission they needed. She managed to convince the guard to let in the boys and have them speak for five minutes. Ichigo grabbed Yurima's arm and pulled him inside with Byakuya on his shoulders. He pulled Yurima over to the cell where Checkers was sitting, his back facing the bars.

"Yo, Checkers! Look who I got." Ichigo bent in front of the bars and shoved Yurima forward. He fell to his knees before the cell.

Checkers turned slowly. Upon seeing his friend, he scurried over to the bars and leaned in close. "Yurima! Thank God! I was searching everywhere for you!"

"Why were you trying to reach me so badly?"

Checkers pulled away from the bars, realizing how close he was and didn't want to perform what he was about to explain to his friend. "You see… ever since you became a Soul Reaper and visited me… I've been able to turn people into infants. And I have no control over it. I don't understand why this is happening to me and I want it to stop. It didn't start happening until after you came by. Remember? Then this started happening so I was trying to find you and fix this. Please help me."

Yurima looked at the ground and then back at his friend. "… I don't know how…"

"What?" Ichigo and Checkers said at once.

"I- I don't understand what's happening or how I could have caused it. I don't know what to do! I want to help but I can't." His head tilted down in what appeared to be shame. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do."

Byakuya climbed over Ichigo's shoulder and slid down his back like a slide and then proceeded to climb on the metal bars of Checker's cell. He didn't understand or care about the situation they were in. He just wanted to play.

Ichigo remembered what Rukia had mentioned and had an idea. "Wait. What about your Zanpakuto? What if it has a leak or something and it's power rubbed off on him somehow?"

Yurima looked at the sword strapped to his hip. "You mean my Fukki?" He took it off his belt and looked at the sword still in its scabbard. "All its power entails is causing reversions in living things. I can make a full-grown tree revert back to a seedling. But I've never used it on humans before…"

"What you're describing seems to be exactly what's happening to Checkers."

He kept his eyes down. "I still don't understand how this could have happened. It's my Zanpakuto. And yet…"

"Is it possible that it has a leak or something?"

He shook his head. "I doubt it. To tell the truth, I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm not really sure how to use it yet or how much power it has. I only just got it."

Byakuya slammed into Ichigo's back, slipping and falling from the metal bars behind him. "Ouch! Would you stop that? Sit down for a minute, ok? Please?"

The tiny captain ignored him and ran off to try something else. The prison was his playground. Now Byakuya was on his knees, trying to squeeze between the bars of Checker's cell. At this age, squeezing wasn't an issue. He could fit easily through the bars. Once inside, he stood up and faced the cell bars with a smile. This was cool! He was in a big cage like an animal. He started rattling the bars with his fists and made loud animal noises, pretending to be some horrible beast.

Ichigo returned to the issue at hand. "Then never mind about that stuff. Can you at least change the people back using your sword's power?"

Yurima shrugged. "I- I don't know. Like I said, I've never used it on people before. I'm not even sure how it works."

The door to the room opened and they feared that their time was up. Instead of the guard or Rukia coming through the door, the lieutenant of Sqaud 4 came in instead.

"Isane..?" Yurima grew timid, still getting used to being a Sqaud member, it seemed. "Ma'am, I mean… Um, what are you doing here?"

"Captain Unohana told me where you'd be and asked me to come." She looked into the cell they were crouched in front of. "Is that him?"

He nodded. "That is my friend. But I swear he's not a bad person. Far from it! In fact… you could say this whole thing… is…" He looked down shamefully. "… is my fault."

Before Isane could ask him anything, he thrust his sword forward.

"My Zanpakuto is out of control! Lieutenant, it gave him this ability which he cannot control. The fault is mine and I don't know how to fix it!"

"Slow down! Calm down a second… Now what's this about?"

Ichigo explained. "Long story short, Checkers and Yurima are friends. After Yurima visited him, Checkers started to display the same powers his sword possesses and can't control it. He came here to ask Yurima if he could help him out but everyone thought he was a threat and started chasing him around and as a result, started to turn people into toddlers because he can't control it. You guys locked him up so I brought Yurima to him and now he says that he can't help him because he doesn't know how is sword did it and is still unsure of its power. And here we are."

Isane blinked. "Oh. I see."

"Can you please help me?" Yurima begged. He was already on his knees, but now he had planted his face to the floor and was begging her for answers.

She bent down and touched his back. "I can't help you fix this, but you can."

"I don't know how! I don't even know how this happened! And what about Checkers? He's not going to be killed or here the rest of his life is he?"

She shook her head. "I have a feeling that if we explain our situation then everything will be fine. In any case, once everyone's back to normal, there'll be no reason to keep him."

"But I don't know how to change them back! I don't understand how this happened!" Yurima looked close to tears.

Isane patted his back and looked him in the eye. "Your sword will tell you. Ask it."

"Huh?"

"Your Zanpakuto is still developing, but it can talk to you if you try. It's always been with you, but not always in this form. Try talking to your Zanpakuto and see if you can't help get each other stronger and get the answers we need. Understand?"

"… I think so…" Yurima still looked unsure.

Ichigo patted his shoulder. "You can do it. I know you can. It'll be easy once you get started. I bet your zanpakuto's dying to talk to you, too."

Yurima sniffled and nodded slowly. It was worth a shot. "Ok." He started to smile. "Ok, I got it. No problem."

"Awesome."

"Awesome! Awesome!" Byakuya echoed his words as he bounced around the cell happily and then started to squeeze through the bars again. "Awesome!"

"See?" said Isane. "It's not a problem. "Everything's going to be ok."

There was a loud pop and everyone turned.

Byakuya blinked, turning around. It wasn't him this time who changed.

It was Ichigo.

The sudden pop signaled the sudden change in the teen and he flopped over on the hard ground with a plop. The orange hair on his head was the only giveaway on who this tiny toddler was. His tall well-toned body had shrunk and his muscles were replaced with baby fat and soft peach colored skin. He sat up, looking around. The look on the two-year-old's face showed everyone that he was terrified of this strange new place. That terror disappeared once he found another toddler about his age. He got to his feet and toddled over to Byakuya.

"Hi!" he greeted.

"Hi!" Byakuya greeted back with a big welcoming smile. "I'm Byakuya!"

"My name's Ichigo!"

Byakuya tilted his head to one side. "Cool! Now I know two Ichigos!"

Isane raised an eyebrow. "So he still doesn't get what's going on around here?"

"Lucky…" muttered Yurima.

Ichigo looked at Byakuya and his silky outfit up and down. "Cool cwoves." He tried so hard to say clothes but failed at it cutely. "Can I touch 'em?"

"Sure!" Byakuya held out his sleeve. "Nice, huh?"

Ichigo rubbed his thumbs against the hem of Byakuya's clothing then pressed it to his face, loving the soft, smooth feeling. "Oooh! Awesome cool! How come you get such cool stuff to wear?"

Byakuya puffed out his chest proudly. "'Cause I'm a noble!"

Ichigo blinked then smiled. "Neat." He closed one eye and held up a curved hand. "I'm a pirate."

"I mean it!"

"So do I! See?" Ichigo slashed at Byakuya's clothes with his hocked hand. "Arr! Give me your booty!"

Byakuya protected his clothing from Ichigo and ran away from him playfully. "No! Bad pirate! Bad!"

They chased each other around the prison, shouting playfully all the while. Isane looked back at Yurima. "You might want to put a rush on that communication thing."

"No kidding."

The door to the room opened and Rukia stuck her head inside. "What's going on in here? What's with all the yelling?" She jumped back in time as Ichigo and Byakuya came tumbling forward and landed between her and the guard. Ichigo sat on top of Byakuya and spanked him with his hooked hand, laughing.

Byakuya cried out between laughs. "Ahh! No! My booty!"


What little darlings ^-^

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