9. Interlude III – Inherit Tense
The Vizard, Chad and Kon were not in their underground home, though they were still in the ruins. Why would anyone willingly let someone as unstable as Ichimaru into their own home? (The anomaly known as one Urahara Kisuke was omitted from such things, on the other hand.) A pair of footsteps instead neared another of the stable rooms within the ruins, where the company sat and stood about within.
Chad and Kon spoke softly to one another, one less aware of what had been happening in the past two years and the other entirely unsure what to expect, now. But they were both concerned for their friend, especially after what they had seen last night.
From up a staircase, Ichigo and Ichimaru entered a broken hallway, but the occupied room was visible to them. Ichigo stepped inside first, followed by Ichimaru, his eyes tightly slanted and a smile on his face, per the usual.
They weren't even entirely inside the large room when Ichimaru waved at the group. "Long time no see, everyone," he greeted, though his gaze was focused more on the Shinigami hybrids. "Nice ta see y'all again, healthy-lookin' and...alive." He smiled pointedly towards Hiyori in particular.
She scowled deeply at him and reached for her katana, whereas Ichigo rolled his eyes closed with a deep inhale, but Shinji's outstretched hand prevented things from worsening.
The de facto leader's at first unreadable expression slowly turned calm and aloof. "Long time no see, indeed, Ichimaru," he said, lowering his hand when Hiyori turned away, fuming. "We hear you've been in the...area for a while. What brings you here, where you're unwanted?" he asked, forsaking to bat around the bush.
Ichimaru merely shrugged. "Seein' my ol' pal, Ichigo-kun, o'course," he responded, ignoring the sudden dark glare turned on him by the teen in question.
Ichigo then muttered something under his breath, grumbling as he moved to sit near Chad upon upturned, indiscernible wooden furniture.
A blond eyebrow rose at this. "I see. How's that going?" he asked, cordial, though with a hint of something else.
Ichimaru hummed, tilting his head to the side. He was being asked what his intentions were with Ichigo. "I'd say it's swell. Jus' lettin' 'im know 'bout some things he forgot, helpin' 'im get his fightin' spirit back," he explained. "Simple things like that. Sometimes the visits are okay, an' sometimes my illness gets in the way. I'm kinda sick, ya know."
Shinji nodded in understanding, whereas some of the others shifted, their gazes darkening and focusing on the ailing man. "We do know, actually. That's primarily what all of this is about..." To Ichigo, he said, "Oi, Ichigo. Mind if we talk to your...friend...in private?"
The teen slightly startled. He was only slightly following the conversation, still a bit lost within himself, but this rubbed something within the wrong way. His brows furrowed, but he nodded and stood up. "It's not up to me..." he said, then glanced at Ichimaru before making his way to the doorway. "Come on, Chad, Kon."
"Right behind you," Kon said, all too eager to leave the steadily tensing atmosphere. He and Chad silently left the room as well, following Ichigo down the staircase.
-:Edth:C:-
Kensei lowered his previously folded hands. "So what are you really up to, Ichimaru?" he asked, none too friendly.
"We know you've been teaching Ichigo," Rose added, "and you are correct about his fighting spirit—"
"But don't think we're fucking stupid," Hiyori interrupted, moving down from the windowsill. "That thing's inside of you. You're up to something."
Ichimaru's smile grew wide. "Aw, now. Gangin' up on me like that's not fair. I'm more than willin' ta explain everythin', if ya give me a chance," he said, "though...I know ya probably know the gist of it."
"It can't be true, what you told Kisuke and the others," Lisa said tersely. "It can't be."
"And then there's what's going on with Ichigo, now," Love commented, almost to himself, shaking his head with a sigh.
The former traitor almost looked affronted, but mockingly so. "Now, that's got very little ta do with me. I only gave 'im a boost, but the rest's all him."
"Bull...shit." Shinji stepped forward, causing the others to go quiet. He took his hands out of his pockets as he approached the younger man. "Even if it's true you 'boosted' his powers, he was never like that before. Not once. Not ever. Because he feels like you."
The Cheshire smile didn't falter.
"And you feel like something 'else' enough as it is." Shinji faced the erstwhile traitor with a dark, serious expression. "What is the bridge that connects him to you, and why?" he demanded.
Ichimaru slightly opened his eyes, enough for their dual hue to just barely be seen. "...Ya know, Kisuke asked the same question. I think...I kinda wore 'im out from all the things I told 'im. Horrible, horrible things, ain't they?"
Brown eyes blazed with impatience and anger. "Answer the question, Ichimaru."
A deep, slow sigh escaped pale lips. Slowly, Ichimaru raised his hand to place over his chest, his head slightly lowering to glance at it. "...I'm merely a host...fer it. It's tryin' ta make itself whole, and it's usin' me ta do so, so it can go to its master," he softly explained, his smile steadily dropping. He couldn't hide behind his mask about this even if he wanted to.
"Ichigo," Hachi said softly, closing his eyes."
"Yea. Ichigo." Ichimaru shook his head. "I can't fight it. Tried, an' it started messin' with my head, I think."
"Wait," Mashirō began, her expression unusually grave, "and Kisuke knows this?"
"Why the hell'd he let you out of his sight?!" Kensei demanded, taking some steps forward.
"Ya already know the answer," Ichimaru sighed, head swaying. "I'm still needed, here. I wanna help y'all, ta get ya ready fer the future."
"The future?"
"The end of all this." Ichimaru glanced away. "...The end of this eleventh hypnosis."
For a few moments, the room was silent as this information settled. Shinji blinked, momentarily looking past the man before him. Unease was what finally settled within the room's occupants.
Suddenly, Lisa once again snapped, "That can't be true."
"What if it is...?" Hachi softly asked, causing Lisa to purse her lips, but she look away.
Ichimaru sighed, turning away and moving towards the nearest wall. "Fine, then...'if' it is true, then we all have unfinished business." With his back to them, he pointed upwards. "Up there."
All of the room's occupants balked. "Up there?!" Hiyori shouted. "Why the hell?!"
"'Cause the Soul Society's gonna find us, eventually," he explained, leaning against the wall. "They're lookin' fer us every day, every moment. An' when they do find us, the big boys're gonna be on us, too. Yoruichi already went ahead ta get things ready, an' Kisuke an' Tessai're on the roll with things, too."
"I can't believe this..." Love covered his face with his hands. Several of the others were mirroring his reaction with various differences.
Ichimaru shrugged. "Believe me...or not. Couldn't care less, 'cause I'm only doin' what I gotta do."
Mashirō frowned. "But how does Ichigo fit into all of this...?"
Once more, eyes of suspicion settled upon him.
"...Ichigo...?" Ichimaru tilted his head to the side, his smile steadily returning. It really wasn't their business about his new...budding relationship...with the carrot-top. Slowly, he turned around. "...Ichigo is the most important person in all o' this. Forget me. Forget it. Once they find 'im, there ain't nothin' any o' us can do 'bout helpin', even if we wanted to." That wasn't entirely true, but with his ailing condition, there was no way he could help. Otherwise, he could.
Shinji's expression had steadily worsened to near distress as the conversation progressed, like the others'. "...But why Ichigo?" he softly asked. "He's only a kid, and he sincerely wants nothing to do with this."
Shaking his head, Ichimaru softly chuckled, "Yea, well that kid was never supposed ta exist. Several entities have bones ta pick with 'im." He again pointed upwards. "...Especially that one."
The occupants shuddered. "So then how come they haven't found him yet?" Lisa asked, though the second after the words left her mouth, she realized what the answer was. Realization dawned on her face, and she slowly looked at him.
His Cheshire smile had returned. "You're welcome~"
Ichigo, Chad and Kon returned to where Ichimaru had been resting, up on the higher floors and looking out as late afternoon crept over the town. Of the three, Ichigo was the only one standing, and he stood at the very edge of the broken wall with his hands in his pockets.
"...I have a feeling something's going to change," he suddenly stated.
"Huh?" Kon glanced from Ichigo to Chad, who shared a glance with him. "What makes you say that, Ichigo?"
Orange hair swayed. "...I don't know. Just...a strong feeling. I'm learning to trust these feelings..." His expression then changed into slight wistfulness. "...Chad?"
His friend looked over to him, repositioning so he was facing him entirely. He met the ocher gaze that suddenly seemed so sad.
"...How's my family doing?" Ichigo asked, turning around. "How is everyone—Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo...Inoue?"
Chad nodded, recalling the last conversation the five of them had together. "...Your family is alright. They are under surveillance, but no moves had been made against them, last I checked. All of Karakura Town is under surveillance, in a way, because it is your home. I think they believe you'd try to go back to your family," he explained in his soothing baritone. "As for the others, they are worried about you—about us. But they understand, Ichigo. They only hope we fair well."
Managing a sincere smile, Ichigo moved away from the deathtrap that was the ledge. "So how did you get out of Karakura, anyway...?" he asked, moving to sit near his friend. He stretched his legs out, leaning back on his hands.
Crossing his legs, Chad beckoned towards Kon. "Kon got me and Ishida out. We had to move away from Karakura-chō before we could use the...portal, I suppose, to get here, though."
Ocher eyes turned to the smug-looking Gikongan. "...Portal...?" he murmured. He meant to say more about the subject until he realized something Chad had said. "Wait a minute, where the heck is Ishida, anyway?" he asked them, brows furrowing.
Kon opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted.
"I've been here for a while, actually, Kurosaki."
From the ceiling, Ishida himself landed onto the floor between Ichigo's legs and Kon, who was a bit further away from the two teens. Ichigo yelped what he appeared, pulling his legs back, and then sat upright. "Ishida?! How long have you been here, exactly?!" he demanded, looking from the magical ceiling (this was the second time someone did that) to the young Quincy.
Uryū adjusted his glasses as he stood upright, calm as always. "I saw you all at a distance and decided to hop over," he said, evading the question altogether, yet speaking as if that answered all and any questions.
"Don't evade the question!"
"Obviously, if I saw you three, it wasn't very long ago."
"Huh, then you lied."
"It was an exaggeration, Kurosaki."
Kon sat back, crossing his arms with an amused smile, glancing at Chad, who was also smiling, as the two opposites went at it. He noticed Uryū's mannerisms were...different, however. He was calm, calmer than he would normally be when confronting Ichigo in any form. He wore simple, casual clothing, blue slack-like pants and a short-sleeved shirt with a vest over it, and his Quincy cross was worn around his right hand, which wasn't unusual. But there was something different about him.
He seemed more tolerant, for one...
His painfully calm temperament caused Ichigo to eventually calm as well, and he waved the Quincy off. "Well, good to see you again, regardless. Where have you been?" he asked, crossing his legs and leaning back again, though he scowled at no one. "It's been over a day since you arrived here, right?"
Uryū tilted his head side to side, moving to sit down. "Somewhat. I've been busy settling in," he responded, only to smile at their expected reactions of surprise.
"What do you mean, settling in?" Kon asked, voicing the question on the tip of Ichigo's tongue as well. "You're staying?"
Glancing away, Uryū nodded. "I have my reasons...though they have everything to do with you, Kurosaki," he said, turning his gaze onto the carrot-top.
"Eh?" At first surprised, Ichigo suddenly chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down. "Eh, well, join the party..." he muttered with a small smile.
Kon caught those words, and cracked a grin. The teen was surrounded by close friends again...
Uryū continued, "I suppose you're aware of your heritage, now?"
Ichigo looked back up. Undoubtedly, he was talking about his Quincy blood. "Yeah."
"...Heritage?" Chad inquired.
Managing a small smile, Ichigo simply said, "I'm half-Quincy."
Both Chad and Kon expressed surprise, with Kon's a bit more extreme as he practically threw himself forward and closer to the semi-circle they had formed on the floor. "What?! Sheesh, Ichigo, next you're going to say you're part-Hollow!" he said, laughing aloud.
Slightly joining in with nervous laughter, Ichigo glanced at Uryū, scratching the back of his head. His friends quickly got the hint, and Kon's laughter ebbed.
"What?!" they cried in unison, leaning forward.
Uryū was the first to recover, looking off in thought, a hand under his chin. "That may explain some things...such as why the Vizard had such a hard time with you, in the beginning," he considered.
"Yeah..." Ichigo leaned back again. "I'm a literal hybrid, I guess...Hollow and Quincy from my mom and Shinigami from my dad."
To Uryū's surprise, Kon reached over and placed a hand on Ichigo's forehead, and the teen didn't seem bothered, only confused. "Are you sure you're okay, Ichigo?" he asked, his tone changing to that of a worried older sibling's. There might be things going on inside of you that aren't right, ya know." He moved his hand away when Ichigo felt normal.
"Tell me about it." Ichigo reached up to touch the rim of an eye, considering what Ichimaru had said about everything happening to him being nothing to worry about.
"Your reiatsu has changed, as well," Chad added.
"Yeah, the guys were going on about that," Ichigo acknowledged, recalling the day they were talking outside his door.
Tentatively, Kon said, "Well...you've been training with Ichimaru..."
Ichigo actually considered it, no change of attitude. "You might have a point. His power isn't normal anymore, either, I can just tell. I'm thinking maybe his reiatsu is rubbing onto me."
Crisis averted, a small smile spread on Kon's face that was shared with Chad. Uryū looked between them and realized something must have been happening between Ichimaru and Ichigo.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, if what Shinji and them said is true," Kon continued, resting his head on a palm propped upon a raised leg.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's be honest, Ichigo, they seem like they haven't really been caring about the things you do. In honesty, we've been taking turns looking out for you since you got here. Mostly, I do that. But they look into the...other things," he said, slightly trailing off.
Ichigo shifted, and each of them could tell he didn't like where this was going. "What do you mean, Kon...?"
The Gikongan slightly tensed, but remained nonchalant. "They've known you were training with someone, though they never actively looked into who, like I said, because they were respecting your privacy and space." He shrugged. "None of us even had an idea it was Ichimaru because his reiatsu has changed so drastically."
Ichigo thought about what he overheard Kisuke say about Ichimaru dying. "...Drastically?"
"Yeah...In any case, we made sure you were okay, physically, after Ichimaru did...whatever with you, but your reiatsu kept changing. It started getting darker and darker, and now it's also just...weird." Nods were made by Chad and Uryū to back up Kon's words. "Entirely weird."
"Weird how?"
Taking a moment to look the teen over, Kon squinted his eyes. "Dunno, it's hard to put into words," he admitted. "It's just slightly like Ichimaru's at times, and at other times, it's another type of weird altogether."
Ichigo almost rolled his eyes. "Very helpful."
"I tried, guys."
On the topic of Ichimaru and Ichigo, Uryū took the chance to bring up one of his reasons for being there. "Speaking of Ichimaru...Ichigo," he began, "was there anything that Ichimaru gave you recently?"
The hybrid scoffed. "Aside from headaches, no. Why?"
The expression that overcame Uryū's face was dark, but he remained calm. "He took a Quincy cross from my father, after attacking my father," he explained, glancing around as if looking for the sly man himself. Before anything else could be said, however, he focused back on his fellow Quincy. "It was your mother's cross, Kurosaki."
Before the eyes of his friends, once Ichigo's ocher orbs turned ebon and white in mere seconds. "Ichimaru," he growled, his warbling voice causing them to physically recoil in shock.
"...Do you feel that?" Mashirō asked, looking down at the floor. "Feels like..."
"Ichigo," Shinji finished, frowning. "What now...?"
Ichimaru tilted his head to the side, letting his hair cascade over his face. "...He's mad."
"Ya think?"
Nonchalantly, he sighed, "Well, since that Quincy kid's up there, I wonder if he told Ichigo 'bout that cross o' his mother's that I took..." He placed his hand to his mouth. "Ooh, that is borrowed..."
A moment of silence.
"...What. Did you. Do."
Rose and Love exchanged exasperated glances. "This is not gonna work," Love sighed, shaking his head as he looked away.
"For now," Shinji sighed, just as exasperated, "you should go back to Lancashire. We'll deal with Ichigo."
Ichimaru had no problems with this. "Mm, okay, but ya sure?" He walked towards the same old furniture Ichigo and Chad had been sitting on earlier. "He's just gonna scold me fer takin' somethin' that wasn't mine ta take. Nothin' ta get all—"
He abruptly collapsed to his knees, clenching his chest as familiar pain spread through his body. He didn't hear anything more than his last words, eyes tightly shut, and the soft vibrations of the device around his neck signaled that it was chirping. As abruptly as it happened, the pain stopped, and he gasped in shock from the sudden relief.
He glanced back at the Vizard, some of whom had collapsed from the barrage of reiatsu that assaulted them just seconds ago. "...On...second thought...maybe...I'll go," he said, a dreary smile upon his face. The pain had been angry, almost. The entity was reacting to its master's rage.
Definitely not good, considering his track record of annoying people.
But why now?
-:Edth:C:-
Chad, Uryū and Kon lifted themselves from off the floor, yet again horribly shocked for the second time in just minutes. "What the hell was that...?" Uryū asked, looking up towards the strange, receding reiatsu he sensed just above them. He picked his glasses up from the floor. "It felt like..."
Ichigo was the only one who hadn't reacted anywhere near as badly, though he did stumble and was held in place. He shook his head, leaning against the wall at his right, just before the staircase. "Wha...?" His eyes were normal again, and he placed a hand to his forehead. "I felt that one..." he muttered, glancing back at his friends.
"Are you okay?" Chad asked him, rising from the floor and helping Kon up. "You were..."
"I still am," the hybrid admitted, leaning back against the wall. He looked up the stairs, scowling. "I'm gonna kill him, one day."
Kon was still gasping for breath, grasping onto his friend for support. "That...that was Ichimaru. One of his attacks," he explained to Chad and Uryū. "God-awful, aren't they? He...he can kill someone with that reiatsu!"
It didn't go unnoticed to the three of them that Ichigo was still able to stand through that. Was barely even winded...The reiatsu, in fact, had trace similarities to Ichigo's.
Ichigo then approached his friends. "...Sorry about that," he apologized, his expression deeply remorseful. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. I don't know, I just..."
"No need to apologize." Surprisingly, that came from Uryū. Such surprise upon Ichigo's face caused the Quincy to smile knowingly. "Kurosaki, you're part Hollow. Not artificially created, but born with this capacity within you. It seems to be manifesting this way, now, meaning you only need to work towards controlling this part of you," he said, calm and precise.
Kon nodded, looking at Ichigo. "That's a way of looking at it," he said, placing a hand on the carrot-top's shoulder in support.
Chad, of course, stood as the silent pillar of strength and support, nodding at his best friend.
Glancing at each of them, Ichigo couldn't fight the small smile that grew upon his face even if he tried. "Thanks, guys," he said earnestly. He placed a hand on Kon's. "But we're not done, yet."
He smirked at his friends' confused expressions.
Kisuke was feeling pretty good about himself. Things were rocky in the beginning, confusing, trying, with great trial and error, and he and his companions hurt from it in more ways than he considered. More than once, he felt that he should have done things differently, or wondered if he had done the right thing. But now, he felt that he did okay. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad leading up to the horribly inevitable, after all...
He finished the last touches to Ichigo's improved device, along with some aesthetic changes desired by the teen himself. He closed a small panel on its internal side with a slender tool, and then stood up from the messy table, slipping the collar into his pocket. At another table, he lifted an equally improved prosthetic arm for Ichimaru into his hands and left his workspace, but not before flicking off the lights.
As he approached the infirmary, he passed Ururu returning from the kitchen with a tray of tea for their guests. He smiled at her, a pep in his step as he entered the infirmary. Ichimaru lay supine under the sheets, deeply asleep. This time, however, the several devices that were once near the bed to monitor Ichimaru's condition were gone. Honestly, they were more for Kisuke's convenience and study than any real purpose, anymore, so they were otherwise useless. There wasn't much more to know about Ichimaru's condition, in any case.
Ultimately, there was nothing that could be done for him. And everyone knew it...
...or so Kisuke hoped...
He approached the bed from the right side, then gently pulled the sheets down just enough so Ichimaru's missing arm was visible. He reattached the prosthetic, the process virtually painless, particularly considering Ichimaru's threshold and tolerance for pain. He then gently bent the arm, testing it out, and rapped at the knuckles, causing them to slightly twitch. Perfect.
Lowering the arm under the sheets, he observed Ichimaru's peaceful expression. Peaceful. The younger man's sleep was rarely so. He silently wished him more peaceful rest before turning to leave. He stayed in the doorway for a moment before flicking off the lights and left.
Alone in the darkness, Ichimaru's lips spread into a small smile.
-:Edth:C:-
"There you go, Ichigo. Brand new," Kisuke said, handing the collar to the teen. "It will work this time," he assured, watching the teen eye it warily.
Ocher orbs scanned the harmless-looking device. It looked more like a normal, simple black band-styled collar, complete with a buckle in the back. Well, he asked for a clam clasp, but at least this way it looked less like a necklace. He put it on, enjoying how easy it was to wear. "Thanks, Urahara-san."
"My absolute pleasure. It's always fun to tinker with things related to you," the storeowner tittered, hiding his face behind his fan, looking particularly creepy. "Especially wh—"
"Stop being weird!" Hiyori barked, kicking him away. He yelped and went into corner.
"I miss Yoruichi-saaaan," he wibbled, curled up and rocking back and forth. "She wasn't so mean to me."
"So she was still mean to you!"
"Not like you are!"
Entirely unimpressed, Ichigo simply took a drink of his tea. "...Anyway...you said you had something to tell all of us?" he asked, ignoring Kon sniggering beside him.
"He still does this?" Uryū whispered to Shinji.
The Vizard nodded with a sigh, also taking a drink of tea. "Gotta stay young somehow," he merely commented, as if that was the answer to everything they did.
Tessai suddenly lifted Hiyori by her shirt, and she tried to punch him, only to injure her hand. "What are you MADE of?!"
Instead of answering, he sat her down at the table and came very close to her face, causing her to move back in disgust—and maybe a dash of fear. "Shh," was all he said.
Kisuke cleared his throat, standing up from the corner and stepping over to the table. "Thank you for allowing me this pleasure to see you all again," he began, nodding at each of them. "So I'll get right into it: we have an upcoming crisis on our hands. Kurotsuchi and Suì-Fēng are working together in the Soul Society, which means it's only a matter of time before they find us."
Mashirō raised a hand, and upon acknowledgement, she lowered it and asked, "Why didn't they do that sooner? Are they all dumb up there or what?"
Kensei nodded at his former lieutenant, and focused his gaze on Kisuke with the same question in mind.
Kisuke merely shrugged with both hands up. "I couldn't tell you. Though there are some possibilities, none of them are savory."
"Such as?" Uryū asked.
"...Well, they found us already."
Everyone tensed, eyes widening and murmurs rising.
"But!" Kisuke raised a finger, bringing their attention back to him. "That is highly unlikely. We all know how...unwise and erratic they can be up there."
"And if they have found us?" Rose asked, evidently concerned. "Shouldn't we truly consider this possibility?"
"I agree," Kensei echoed.
"Seconded," Ichigo added.
Several other similar statements arose, and Kisuke nodded, briefly lowering his head.
"Very well, then. In that case, we may have to face the inevitable: a full-scale battle between us and the Gotei 13." He looked upon each of his friends—his family, really—with a grave, yet somber expression. He then elaborated, "Whether it happens sooner or later, we will face the Gotei 13 one day—each of us here in this house."
Jinta and Ururu listened attentively, sitting between Hachi and Tessai.
"...And Yoruichi-san, of course," Kisuke continued, moving around the tables, "as well as possibly our friends in Karakura—" he pointedly glanced at Ichigo, who tensed in his seat "—but that is a worst-case scenario. Nonetheless a possible one."
Lisa heavily sighed, "What's the lesser scenario?"
"Simple," Kisuke stood at the center of the empty space between the tables, staring off at nothing in particular. His expression darkened, and the intensity and solemnity of it took the younger members—from Ururu to Chad—by surprise and a very real touch of fear. "We bring the fight to them."
-:Edth:C:-
After that remark, to Ichigo's surprise as he watched this all unfold, several of the others agreed with the idea. The Soul Society couldn't quite be called "enemy turf", and in the case of Yoruichi, Tessai and Kisuke, they were aware of places the rest of Seireitei were not. Furthermore, the impending battle would not have to reside in Seireitei, but perhaps one of the Rukongai districts? The Soul Society wouldn't expect another invasion so soon, though they would be more prepared for it. And so would they, as the invaders.
As he listened, Ichigo's heart grew heavy. He was dreading all of this. He hated all of this. Another war; it felt too soon, as if the Winter War happened so recently. Why did he and his friends have to fight for their lives, after all that they did for the Soul Society, after everything they had been through with the entire Gotei 13. He glanced at his friends, young and human, and saw similar expressions dawning upon their faces, though they hid them well.
And then, of all the thoughts rapidly passing through his mind, one stood out: what would happen to Ichimaru? The man was dying already. If they were attacked, who would protect him?
His brows furrowed. Where were these thoughts coming from...?
Suddenly antsy, he softly excused himself and stood from the table to leave the room. Kon shifted in his spot, but Chad shook his head, wordlessly telling him to let the hybrid be.
-:Edth:C:-
Soft footsteps echoed through the hall as Ichigo found himself heading towards the infirmary. His hands were loosely in his pockets, his head lowered, as he went through more of his angry, depressed thoughts.
His friends didn't deserve this. They didn't do anything, nothing except help, even when they shouldn't have, such as in Uryū's case. A Quincy, helping all of the Soul Society militias! He was certain nearly all of their—his and Uryū's—Quincy ancestors were rolling in their graves at that. At that thought, he suddenly paused and raised his right hand, forming a ball of energy in his palm.
This time, he saw the faint light. He smiled. His powers were returning, slowly but steadily...
He let the energy disperse, and continued sulking towards the infirmary. He then stood in the doorway, looking into the darkened room. Ichimaru was still in his bed, sleeping soundly. Leaning against the doorframe, the teen considered his thoughts once more.
An impending battle meant he needed to get his full power back as soon as possible. Cutting into his thoughts was the faint sound of someone loudly shouting in the meeting room, something about him, actually, and...Chad? He stretched his senses out, and heard the spoken words almost too clearly.
"—are in the most danger, here!"
It was Uryū.
"Don't think I haven't figured out that if they got their hands on them, they wouldn't kill them, they'd experiment on them!"
"Ishida-kun, please—"
"Death would be preferred, I assure you, and I'm not willingly letting my friend and fellow Quincy go through something worse!"
"Fellow—?"
Quickly, he said, "I've considered something horrifying, everyone. If what you said is true, Urahara-san, that they might know where we are, in two different parts of the world—and Kuna-san, you asked why they haven't done anything yet...They could be biding their time for—"
Ichigo shook his head with a shudder and stopped eavesdropping. He really wished he hadn't heard that. At first, he was disturbed, but his expression steadily eased.
It was nice of Uryū to make him family, in a way, by calling him that...It felt nice, too, to know he shared blood with someone other than his biological family. It made him and his sisters part of something...huge. Half Shinigami, half Quincy...
He shook his head with a sigh and quietly walked into the infirmary towards the window inside. The blinds were closed, but he opened them.
Despite being called "back-alley", the Shoppe wasn't quite inside of an alley. It was down a hilled road, off to the side, and was in a somewhat small, cozy spot all to itself. The window had a good view of the town further off, and he smiled.
He then closed the blinds and turned to walk towards the occupied bed. All at once, his thoughts began to race back to the topic at hand.
He needed to get his powers back. How long would that take? What would it be like? Would that mean Zangetsu and Shirōgetsu would come back, too, or would he have a different type of power?
And if they went into battle now, would Ichimaru be safe? Kisuke seemed to like him enough, right? But if there was a battle, he would have to protect his sisters, not Ichimaru. Wait, why was he thinking about protecting Ichimaru? The man could hold his own...Or maybe not, since he was worsening...
Not worsening, dying, which was really sort of fucked up, (why?) because he was trying to put a claim on the man (what?) because despite everything, he was really freaking powerful, which was very attractive, (huh?) in a strange way, but a good way—but if he was dying, that would mean he was going to get weaker, which was entirely unattractive, (was it?) but it wasn't because he wasn't powerful, it was just because he was dying—
"Yer eyes are real nice, like that, ya know."
Blinking out of his regurgitating, run-on thoughts, Ichigo blinked down at the man. He couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not, damn his tightly slanted eyes. "...My eyes?" he asked, head tilting slightly to the side. His voice was warbling. "What about them?"
"Yer all Hollow-like, again." Slowly, Ichimaru opened his eyes a bit, just enough for Ichigo to see their color, even in the darkness. "...Havin' bad thoughts?" he asked, slightly smiling.
An orange brow rose. "...Define 'bad'..." Instead of waiting for an answer, Ichigo leaned forward. "You have to tell me what's going on with me."
Ichimaru adjusted himself on the bed, looking up at the teen. "I did tell ya. Yer interested in me. Not in a human way, but in a Hollow way. I wonder why..." he mused aloud, his smile widening at the scowl thrown at him.
Ichigo's expression remained a scowl, until he recalled something. His eyes then slanted, and he leaned closer, the whites of his irises becoming a stronger color. "You took something that was mine," he said, just above a whisper. "And you hurt someone to get it."
"That I did, Ichi-kun~"
Hands were roughly placed at the sides of Ichimaru's head, and Ichigo leaned closer. "Don't. Call. Me. That. For the last time," he growled, his voice low and menacing.
Ichimaru seemed impressed, but at what was beyond the teen. "...Then what do I call ya?"
"Kurosaki is fine."
"Kurosaki it is."
"Give me the cross."
"Aw. I was hopin' ta surprise ya with it."
A scoff, and it was strangely high-pitched, not the teen's own voice, but another's, almost. "Before or after you ran me through with your sword?"
He pretended to think about it. "Prob'ly after."
"Tell me what you would have done."
A silver-white brow rose. "Ran ya through, watched ya heal, hit ya harder, let ya bleed, tell ya ta get stronger, show the cross."
"And I would have had no idea what it was for."
"Mm, most likely."
Ichigo chuckled. In the dual-voice that was his, and warbled, at that, it was eerie. "Fine. You can keep it...for now. The next time we fight, you'd better give to me." It sounded almost like an order.
It probably was. "Sure thing, Kurosaki-kun."
Ichigo smiled, and then moved back, removing his hands from the bed to slip them into his pockets. He then looked away. "...So we might go to another war. The others are talking about it now. Everyone's here—everyone from Akazuki-chō, and Ishida, too. It's nice...but it's not for a good reason." This time, he could feel his eyes bleed back to their natural color, hear his voice return to normal.
"I suppose after this, everyone's gonna start takin' trainin' more seriously," the man hummed, slowly sitting upright in the bed.
The teen watched out of the corner of his eye. "...Yeah. I know I will. So I'm gonna need you to play sensei a little while longer."
"So long as ya play seito correctly," Ichimaru retorted.
A lopsided smile pulled at the teen's lips, and then he nodded. "Sure. I can do that. Outside of training?" He scoffed, "No way."
A long-suffering sigh. "It's kinda always been that way...So disrespectful."
A strand of orange hair was tugged. "Delinquent."
They shared a soft laugh at that.
A/N: Commence the third interlude. You can ignore if uninterested.
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Firstly—guys. GUYS. I got this chapter pumped out in a single DAY after uploading the previous one! This was entirely written from scratch in ONE SITTING! GUYS I AM SO HAPPY I COULD CRY. I wanted to upload it right then and there, but I couldn't. I needed a backup chapter in case the next one evaded me for...you know...A YEAR.
*Ahem*
So, I just want to point out again that the first...oh...five chapters, or six, if counting by my standards, also known as Up Until That Damned Chapter Called "Snake Tongued Beast", are really screwed up. They're sort of outdated, confusing (even to me) and seriously old...I'm talking seven years old, guys. Yeah. I started this story a long while ago, but never got any further than STB. Hence, everything after it is more "current", but that doesn't mean they're free of editing errors out the wazoo. Grammatical, typos and my god-awful time placement in this bleeding story...no matter how hard I try.
What I'm trying to get to is, I'm sorry for my piss-poor time placement in the earlier chapters and all of this nonsense is the reason I will eventually reupload the first five, six chapters. Rereading this story until chapter, say, half of six makes me cringe so badly I want to skip them. I don't know how anyone got past them, and I am being fully serious. Though I try to remember I was at school and working and going through all sorts of bad things at the time, so I didn't have the mental capacity to work the way I can work, now.
Furthermore, I didn't have the internet, hence the reason why, to this day, I hate using honorifics in Bleach fanfiction. There are too many damn characters and too many different g-damned ways characters are addressed by other characters. I can't get them right, at the moment, so please, bear with my horrendous affronts to their characters, as far as correct usage of honorifics is concerned...SO! To make it easy on myself, and, again, I apologize, but I'm just going to have either very little or only the obvious honorifics. If any at all, for certain character interactions. I am really, truly sorry...
*Ahem*
Ichimaru's elusive eye color(s) have finally been revealed~ Now you see why I wanted to give them a grand introduction. He does not only have albinism in all my stories he features in, but also has heterochromia, inspired by his true eye color in the manga ("bright sky blue" in the anime, more like ice blue in the manga) and his incorrect eye color in the early anime (blood red). So give red and blue eyes ruby pupils... and you get some fucking uncanny eyes, there. It's not meant to be realistic.
Yes, I know Ichigo saw, or must have seen, Gin's eyes in the canon during their second confrontation in the canon, but in this deviated and altered storyline, Gin didn't open his eyes; in fact, he never fully opened them both, not even once. That is, not willingly to anyone except three: Aizen, Rangiku, and Ururu, and inadvertently to Kisuke, Tessai, Jinta, and Yoruichi. If you haven't realized, there are reasons for him to not open his eyes completely. Have you figured them all out?
As for all of this attention to eyes, if you noticed it...I have a fancy for eyes and making them special or bringing attention to them, you see. And this fancy shall continue throughout the series...
As you can see, I decided to get back into these mysterious things Gin said to Tessai, Kisuke, and Yoruichi, who in turn told the Vizard...So uh...I wonder, uh...what this eleventh hypnosis thing is...Yeah, sounds, uh...a bit like something to do with *COUGHSŌSUKEAIZENCOUGH*...But then again, those of us who have read the manga suuuure know who those up there could be...
How's my take on Ichigo and Ichimaru's steadily growing relationship? Not what you expected, huh? I know...You should've seen what I had planned seven years ago...HOO, boy...
Yeah, it wasn't pretty. And rather stereotypical. I like this better.
Thank you for reading~!