Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
AN: The premise for this story is a different Ichigo going through the events of the Bleach storyline. I aim to make him more cool headed, logical and just generally not a brash teen that rushes mindlessly into things. I would say that he will not become over powered, but then again, in a world where beings redefine landscapes with the swing of a sword, what is overpowered? Anyway, BAMF Ichigo
Ishida flexed his fingers to soothe the ache which had set into the delicate bones of his hand from hours of uninterrupted knitting. With the ease of long practice, he packed away his sewing kit and placed it where no one would accidentally step on it…again.
He was stalling, and he knew it.
Sighing to himself, he got up from his seat by the door and entered the room which already contained two people, only one of whom was conscious.
Silently, he came to stop beside the person sitting by the bed, and only then did he allow his eyes to fall onto Ichigo's unconscious form.
He bit back another sigh.
In a move that only someone like Ichigo could pull off, they had stormed Soul Society to rescue a friend they had only known for a few months, and ended up uncovering an elaborate plan of treachery which had been in the works for decades.
And then Ichigo had gone and passed out into a semi-coma, one he had been in the grip of for the past five days.
At least Ichigo's reiatsu had stopped fluctuating wildly.
Once more squashing the urge to sigh anew, Ishida placed a hand on the small shoulder next to him and said,
"Come on, it's time for the meeting, Kuchiki-san."
Nodding to herself, Kuchiki Rukia rose from her seat, and after one last glance at her friend, followed Ishida out of the hospital room.
The Captain Commander was waiting.
Inoue hesitated just as she reached the door, and it was only the knowledge that Chad and Ishida were standing with her that fortified her enough to be the first one through the massive doors.
Once she was through, her eyes immediately sought out the serene blue gaze of Unohana Retsu and she felt the last of her nerves settle.
Coming to stop before the gathered captains she reflexively bowed her head and chirped a greeting before she could even think about it.
A low chuckle from somewhere to the side prompted a blush to splash across her cheeks, before she raised her head with a vaguely sheepish expression.
Behind her Ishida observed keenly how Inoue's actions effortlessly lessened the tension which had been rife in the room.
Without further delay, the sudden sound of a cane slamming into the floor had everyone refocusing on the matter at hand.
The ancient gaze of the Captain Commander swept across the gathering, picking out and then discarding the three vacancies which existed in his ranks.
Zeroing in on the three teens standing before him, and the white clad girl standing beside them, he opened his mouth to speak when he was uncharacteristically interrupted.
13 pairs of eyes watched in uncomprehending shock as Kuchiki Byakuya nonchalantly stepped away from the lineup of captains and glided on silent feet to stand behind the stunned form of Kuchiki Rukia.
And there, with the expression of someone reading a newspaper in the park, he gazed back at the Captain Commander as though to say, next page please.
Yamamoto, closed eyes and everything, continued his speech since nothing had happened.
"The recent events have thrown Soul Society into a state of war."
It was a simple statement really, but its effect was profound.
The faint sensation of danger which was inevitable with a gathering of so many powerful people suddenly sharpened into something a little more definitive as the Captain Commander's words made real the tribulations on the horizon.
From his place in the lineup, Zaraki Kenpachi allowed his lips to stretch into a macabre grin as his steadily rising bloodlust added to the miasma of reiatsu already present in the room.
Continuing on, Yamamoto spoke,
"With the death of the Central 46 and in accordance with Soul Society Law during a war, legislative, judiciary, and executive powers now rest with the Gotei 13."
What went unsaid but heard by all was the 'rest with me'.
"Before we address the issue of what we will do about Aizen, we must first address the issue of the Ryoka who invaded soul society."
Chad straightened and shifted subtly as the attention of the entire room came to rest on him and his friends.
He stared back placidly while he felt the scrutiny of so many powerful people.
Now was the defining moment.
Prior to the meeting, they had all spoken with Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san on how they were to handle the inevitable inquisition.
Their advice had been unanimous; be completely truthful.
What the teens didn't know – though Chad suspected – was that Urahara had carefully kept them ignorant of the real happenings in Soul Society in a bid to keep the Gotei 13 from exterminating the teens as was their wont whenever they came across anyone who displeased them.
The voice of the Captain Commander boomed, drawing his attention back to the room and causing the teens to tense,
"You are all young'uns, but you can no longer be treated as such. Explain yourselves."
Taking in a deeply fortifying breath, Chad began to speak.
He told them what he knew about the meeting between Ichigo and Rukia, with Rukia filling in parts of the story where needed, as well as the events following Rukia's illegal transfer of powers to Ichigo.
With the help of Ishida, Inoue, and Rukia, he detailed all that he could remember about the days they had all spent together, leaving out things like the training he and Ichigo had undergone together, as well as glossing over Ichigo's encounter with Grand Fisher – he saw no need to give them such ammunition against his best friend.
Finally, he got to the part everyone wanted to know about; the invasion.
At this juncture, Ishida picked up the narration.
He spoke of their entrance into the caverns below the Sōkyoku with a bland and unreadable tone. He explained that they had obtained Shinigami uniforms as well as dyed Ichigo's hair brown since, as experience had taught them, the first thing people usually sought when looking for him was his bright orange hair.
Next Ishida talked about the distraction Chad provided as well as his getting waylaid by the Captain of the Eighth Division, before he was interrupted by Suí-Fēng who mentioned her own encounter with Ichigo – helping to put the timeline in perspective.
Ishida carefully ignored the tension seeping out of the Kuchiki Clan Head as he spoke about their foiled rescue attempt.
"…ran into Captain Ichimaru. I don't remember much of the fight, except the feeling of his reiatsu before I blacked out, only to wake up in the Fourth Division with Inoue next to me."
Taking it as her cue to speak, Inoue told them about meeting Unohana-taichō and following her in her duties at her Division. Then she mentioned how she had been healing Ichigo after his fight when they had both felt Ishida's reiatsu vanish. Ichigo had taken off leaving her to track down Chad and Yoruichi to offer whatever healing was needed.
After she had healed Chad, she had elected to return to the Fourth Division, assuming – and rightly so – that her friends would be taken there after their encounter with the former Captain of the Third Division.
It was here that her tale faltered.
The people listening to her watched as she gazed at her hands in confusion while she tried to make sense of the events she was about to report.
"Ishida-kun was lying there, and I knew he wasn't breathing. He had that injury on his chest and I wanted it to go away, because…because without the injury it would look like he was only sleeping. So, I tried to heal it…to reject the injury but there was something else; another's person's reiatsu was hiding inside his body and when I removed the injury, I removed the reiatsu, and Ishida-kun woke up."
Blinking as they processed what they had just heard, most of the Captains politely turned their eyes away as they allowed Inoue recover her composure after reliving such a trying memory.
It was Unohana Retsu who broke the silence,
"When I was seeing to the Ryoka boy I suspected that he was under the effects of Hakufuku."
Nodding to themselves as they saw reason in their words, the Captains then moved on to the next question of why Gin had not simply killed the boy. Once more, Retsu was the one with an answer,
"Not long after, I ran into Kurotsuchi-taichō though I never found out what he was doing there."
Scoffing as the attention of the entire room came to rest on him, Mayuri actually considered not responding before his sharp gaze caught the suddenly placid smile on Unohana's face. Flicking his hand dismissively, though the sudden tension in his shoulders gave him away, he said,
"Some low level grunt informed me that a living Quincy had been one of the invaders and was in the Fourth Division. Obviously, Aizen was trying to get me out of my laboratory so he could access the records he needed."
No one mentioned the obvious fact that the ploy had worked.
Chad cleared his throat to show that he would be continuing the tale.
"Yoruichi-san retrieved Ichigo from his battle with Zaraki-taichō and then treated him. When Ichigo woke up, we spent some time catching each other up before he finally came up with a plan for us to use."
Here, the attention of the listeners visibly sharpened as they finally sensed an answer to their long held question of just how the teens had accomplished what they had.
"Ichigo believed that even if we succeeded in rescuing Rukia, it would not be over since Soul Society would chase her and us until we were caught. So, he asked Yoruichi to run as fast as she could to Urahara-san, and retrieve the modified Gigai Ichigo was going to ask him to make. Ichigo planned to put a Gikon into the Gigai and switch it for Rukia. Then, while Rukia makes her way to the Human World, we would try and fail to save the Gigai, making it seem like Rukia was killed."
Eyes widened as Ichigo's plan was finally revealed.
Kyōraku exchanged a meaningful look with his white haired friend while a lot of other people rapidly revised their opinions of Kurosaki Ichigo.
Behind the teens, Yoruichi let her feline smirk shine through as she watched people boggle at the simplicity of her part time student's plan.
Deciding to continue, Chad spoke up,
"However, there was a complication. The failed rescue attempt caused increased security around Rukia-san, thus we couldn't get her out as we had planned. So we agreed that we would do the switch during the actual execution, meaning that Ichigo would have to interrupt it. Using the cloaks Yoruichi-san gave us, we were able to pull it off."
Exhaling once he finished speaking – the most amount of words he had ever spoken in one go – Chad settled back in place while he waited for them to process what he had just revealed.
Dragging the wondering of attentions of his captains back to the matter at hand, Yamamoto slammed his cane to refocus the meeting,
"Very well, if that is all you have to say in your defense, and since Kurosaki Ichigo remains unable to give his own statement, you may go while we decide what will become of you."
Inclining their heads towards the adults, Inoue, Chad, and Ishida prepared to leave before they were halted by a final question,
"Wait a minute…since you succeeded in rescuing Kuchiki Rukia, what did Aizen extract from the Gigai?"
Blinking in confusion, the teens exchanged befuddled looks, before shrugging in answer.
Ulquiorra blinked in barely there surprise as Gin blew past him in a blazing fast shunpō. His sharp hearing picked up on a faint boom as the traitor captain accelerated even more in his bid to escape the vicinity.
Wondering at just what had prompted the man to flee, he turned his catlike gaze onto the open doorway and his poison green eyes came to rest on his lord and master.
Aizen was deathly still.
Ulquiorra followed his gaze to the small pedestal in the center of the otherwise empty room and his eyes just managed to make out the object resting merrily underneath Aizen's outstretched fingers, which were still held in a facsimile of deathlike stillness.
At the boundary of Las Noches, Gin sighed in relief even as his knees crashed into the floor, leaving him digging a furrow due to his previous momentum.
He had managed to clear the blast radius.
It was only then – lying with his face pressed into the bleached white sands of the Hollow Realm – that Gin gave into the urge that had been bubbling inside him ever since Aizen had unsealed the retrieved Hōgyoku.
Thinking back to the expression on the man's face as the form of the purple orb had wavered before sliding off like steam off a baked bun, Gin let loose.
Great peals of laughter erupted from behind his vulpine grin while Aizen's murderous reiatsu blanketed the entirety of his fashioned kingdom, leaving more than half of his forces passed out from the overload and even a few vaporized from the storm of power.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Ulquiorra grit his teeth while he strained to maintain consciousness as Aizen strode past his prone form, carrying with him the raging maelstrom of death death death.
On the pedestal, a single strawberry mockingly glowed red with the freshness of life.
Ichigo's return to consciousness was smooth and unhurried, probably because of the hand carding its way through his hair in a repetitive and soothing motion.
Opening his eyes revealed his position lying with his head in Zangetsu's lap.
At that thought he paused…no…not Zangetsu…Tensa.
It all came rushing back; the desperate struggle, choking under the seemingly endless fear buried by determination and focus, before finally seeing the fruit of all their labors.
And the best part of it all…finding himself.
"Waking up like this might just be becoming a habit."
A deep chuckle was his only response before he once more felt the sensation which had woken him in the first place; fingers combing through his short orange locks.
Closing his eyes with a sigh, Ichigo allowed himself to sink into the feeling of their bond, floating in the soothing ocean of serenity that surrounded them.
It was only now, after all the madness was over, that he could fully appreciate what learning and mastering his Bankai had done.
He could already tell that the experience had greatly changed him.
Where before he might have had to work to achieve his current state of relaxation, now he found that it came easily to him.
The easy stoicism that he had only ever found in Zangetsu now thrummed through him, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Accepting Tensa Zangetsu as he had done had blended their very essences even further than when he had learned his Shikai all those weeks ago.
Ichigo wouldn't have it any other way.
He was about to ask how long he had been out for when a chilling voice interrupted,
"Che…how cute"
Ichigo was moving long before he had consciously made the decision.
A resounding clang rang through the air as a blade slammed into the ground where Ichigo's neck had been seconds before.
On either side of the new assailant, Tensa and Ichigo stared at the newcomer.
Ichigo felt the breath freeze in his lungs as his own whited out face leered at him, his own mouth pulled into an expression that could never exist on his face, his own eyes glinting yellow and black and so filled with playful malice that the very air seemed to quiver in terror.
He felt a shudder start at the base of his spine and begin to make its way up to his head, but it never got there.
A motion in his periphery drew his gaze and he locked eyes with Tensa and felt his earlier calm fill his soul, leaving no room for the rising terror that had been threatening to drown him.
Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, he let go of the last of any lingering discomfort and then he spoke,
"Who are you?"
Before the sound of his voice had even died down, Ichigo knew that he had made a mistake.
The playful air that had previously surrounded his bleached doppelganger drained away, leaving behind pure lethal malice.
With barely a thought, Ichigo materialized his sealed blade in time to block the downward slash aimed at him.
For the duration of a breath, the twins faced off across their locked blades, and then they were off.
Tensa Zangetsu's piercing gaze took in the still battling duo and he felt something vindictive and possessively pleased unfurl in his core, like a great beast stretching after a deep slumber.
Ichigo was standing tall a few feet away from his assailant with only his slightly elevated breathing as proof of his recent exertions.
They had been battling for about three days – outside world time – and while looking at Ichigo wouldn't reveal that fact, looking at the pale doppelganger would.
The whited out figure sported numerous cuts, tears, and the fading bruises of recently healed injuries. The only reason the battleground wasn't painted red was because the albino healed at an unbelievable rate.
Yet the outcome was certain, and Ichigo knew this, but that wasn't particularly relevant for It would seem that Ichigo was fated to forever learn about his opponents every time he clashed blades with them.
Well, he would take his victories where he could.
"You know…in the civilized world, we don't try to viciously murder people who ask for our names."
Surprisingly, his opponent actually paused and cocked his head in visible contemplation.
Not even daring to hope, Ichigo was still on guard as he watched his doppelganger drop out of his combat stance and rest his blade on his shoulder, before responding,
"Well then you fuckers been doing it wrong all along"
Carefully ignoring the manic grin and the oddly double toned voice oozing with bloodlust, Ichigo got to the point,
"How long have you been here?"
The faint suggestion of a smile which had been on the other's face bloomed into a real and macabre thing as the white figure began a slow mocking applause,
"Not bad…not bad at all. Tell ya what, just 'cause you ain't asking a dumb question I'll answer…I've been here as long as he's been here."
Ichigo's steady gaze followed the thumb pointed behind his opponent and rests on the figure of Tensa Zangetsu standing calmly in the background.
He quietly considered the answer, added it to the idea steadily taking hold in his mind all the while fighting to ignore the steady thrum of panic winding its way underneath his thin veneer of calm.
Nodding his head, he finally said,
"You can't beat me."
Immediately after he spoke, and while his doppelganger was absorbing his words, he felt Tensa Zangetsu's sharp amusement at hearing Ichigo use the words that had once been aimed at him.
Then suddenly he no longer had time to ponder anything that was not the white specter of death rushing towards him with the Shikai version of his own blade.
In the instant before they clash, Ichigo actually considered unsealing his sword, before he buried all his uncertainties under the confidence he could feel from Tensa Zangetsu – a confidence that had not flagged since it first came into being after he learned Bankai.
He met the falling cleaver with a katana that was still sealed and felt a surge of slightly vindictive pleasure when his arm managed to absorb the impact without any visible strain.
The frustrated confusion in the black and yellow gaze was just a bonus.
As one, they sprung apart only to meet once more in a cyclone of silver and metal death, leaving the sound of steel on steel as the only evidence of their passage as they flitted from place to place.
They went on like that for a few more minutes until it was clear to both of them that while Ichigo was now having to put in his all to keep up, he was still keeping up.
Then without warning, the battle changed.
It was only Ichigo's anti-ambush reflexes honed from getting batted about by Tensa Zangetsu that kept his head on his shoulders.
In an impressive display of lightning fast multitasking, the white assailant lunged forward with a quicksilver flash of cutting fury while maneuvering Ichigo into position for his attack to do maximum damage,
"Cero"
Once the smoke cleared and the crashing sound faded away, Ichigo was left lightly singed from catching the fringe of the sudden attack, while his attacker gained a few seconds of respite…long enough to kick it up a notch.
"Bankai"
Ichigo stilled as the wave of hunger-tinged power washed over him and rapidly reconsidered his options; there was confidence and then there was arrogance.
He moved.
After achieving the perfect state of understanding with Tensa Zangetsu – and by default, with Zangetsu himself – Ichigo found he no longer needed to speak what he was about to do.
And so, with a faint pulse of subtly powerful blue reiatsu, his katana fluidly shifted into the form of his Shikai, and this time, he was the one who took the initiative.
The Bankai clad doppelganger met his forward rush with a sword that was rock steady, but before the mocking grin could fully form on the assailant's face, Ichigo spoke,
"Byakurai"
The surge of lightning actually managed to catch the other off guard long enough for it to pierce through his left arm as opposed to his torso.
The speed of Ichigo's Bankai was not to be underestimated.
Still, as Ichigo watched the wound seal shut with a hiss of steam, he knew that his battle was far from over.
The sword planted into the ground was the only reason Ichigo was still standing.
He was battered, bruised, and bleeding and yet in this instance, 'you should see the other guy' was the apt response.
Pained gasping coming from just in front of him revealed the location of his adversary, and the sight was not pretty.
Sometime during their exchange, his evil twin had begun trash talking in a bid to throw Ichigo off his game.
Having already been trained to ignore such things as a child, Ichigo had put the vitriol from his mind; until his opponent had threatened Ichigo's sisters.
He had snapped.
If his opponent had not possessed the phenomenal high speed regeneration that he had, he would have died at least twice.
Granted Ichigo was only marginally better off, but that was because he had still refused to go Bankai when facing the other.
Now, he slowly straightened from his hunched position and staggered towards the prone figure, being careful not to slip on any of the puddles of blood along the way.
Having long since depowered from Bankai state on account of the grievous injuries he had suffered, the whited out figure couldn't hide the slight traces of fear in his eyes as Ichigo came to a stop before him.
For a few seconds they merely stared at each other in silence, before Ichigo moved.
The other flinched as Ichigo thrust his sword straight down at his head causing him to clench his eyes shut in preparation for the fatal blow.
After one or two moments without pain, he hesitantly opened his eyes and stilled completely as he felt his eyelashes brushing against the tip of Ichigo's blade.
With a weary sigh, Ichigo dismissed the sword in his hands and fell backwards, straight into Tensa Zangetsu's steady grip which lowered him to the floor where he could rest with his back against the other teen's legs.
The white figure haltingly rose up into a sitting position as well still slightly wary of any attacks from Ichigo, though that caution was being slowly supplanted by anger.
Preempting whatever the albino was going to say, Tensa said,
"Do you know why you lost, Hollow?"
Keeping his attention on the Hollow, Tensa was still aware enough to notice the lack of reaction on Ichigo's part indicating that Ichigo had already deduced the identity of his assailant – granted, with his black and yellow gaze, that wasn't ever in question.
Huffing in annoyance, the other merely responded with a,
"Tch"
Continuing on, Tensa spoke,
"While it is certainly true that you have existed as long as we have, it also true that you have not been present for nearly as long. You awoke a few weeks ago."
Seeing that his words were being listened to by both Ichigo and the Hollow, even if the latter was trying not to show it, he continued,
"So while Ichigo and I trained together, you did not; while we grew stronger together, you did not. You could never hope to defeat my wielder."
Leaning forward slightly as something occurred to him, Ichigo chipped in,
"And that's not all. Since we've established that you're a hollow, it means that you'd probably be all for inner darkness and anger and hate. So, I'd imagine that if I hadn't already worked through most of my issues, especially surrounding my mother's death, you would have been stronger."
Seeing the other teen clench his jaw as he spoke let Ichigo know that he was correct in his thoughts.
For a moment the three teens were silent as they absorbed all that had happened since Ichigo had fallen unconscious, before the hollow finally spoke in an aggressive tone, though both Ichigo and Tensa could pick up the undercurrent of unease,
"So what, ya gonna lock me away again 'til I break out ta challenge ya once more?"
Casting a lingering glance at the white teen and keeping all he had learned from crossing swords with him, Ichigo allowed the silence to stretch on until the other's aggression faltered enough to show the anxiety hidden behind it, before he took a deep breath and – while hoping he was doing the right thing – said,
"Why would I do that? Tensa has already shown me that bad things happen when I try to reject parts of who I am. And as much as I would prefer it to be otherwise, you belong here, with us."
Even as the barely visible tension drained out of the hollow's shoulders, Ichigo felt Tensa's hand brushing his hair as well as a surge of approval from their bond just before the Spirit spoke,
"Ichigo is correct. Humans have the potential to be good or evil, and in this case, both aspects are simply given form. That doesn't make you inherently bad, it just simply means you have the potential to be bad. What you do with that is up to you."
Having initially bristled at being called evil, the hollow relaxed as Tensa Zangetsu continued speaking. When he was done, Ichigo added his final piece with a challenging smirk on his face,
"Still, you obviously have a long way to go if you don't want us to leave you behind; you can't be weak if you want to be a part of us…partner. "
Eyes widening at the implied offer in Ichigo's words, the hollow took a moment to just accept that he wasn't going to be locked away in the dark again, before a slightly shaky yet matching smirk came to his own face as he responded,
"Just don't complain when I leave ya in the dust."
Chuckling at that, Ichigo hummed to himself before reaching his hand out while meeting the other's eyes.
After a moment, a white copy of his own hand clasped the outstretched hand and in a smooth synchronized motion, they both pulled the other up, leaving them both standing face to face with their hands still clasped.
Ichigo smiled to himself while the hollow just smirked – though it was noticeably lacking in malice.
Releasing the other, Ichigo turned to Tensa Zangetsu and aimed a silent question at him; their bond, being much more stable than the fledgling bond slowly forming between the two of them and the hollow, easily allowed Ichigo to convey his question without words.
Nodding to Ichigo, the other teen confirmed for him the final piece in the puzzle he was currently assembling, prompting him to let out a low breath as the full implications of what he had just learned hit him.
Putting it from his mind for the moment, Ichigo turned so that he could see the two manifestations in his soul and waved his goodbye while slowly fading away,
"Catch you later Tensa."
"…and you as well, Zangetsu"
Just before he fully vanished, he was able to catch the startled look that crossed his white copy's face.
The being now named Zangetsu was left faintly gaping at the spot where Ichigo had once stood, before he suddenly noticed the amusement on Tensa's face, causing him to scowl as he fought down an embarrassed blush.
Turning to Zangetsu, Tensa reached out a hand and materialized a blade in his deceptively gentle hold.
Zangetsu only had enough time to notice that it was the Bankai blade before he was flying through the air on a collision course with the side of a skyscraper.
He crashed into the building, cackling delightedly all the way.
With a quiet sigh, Ichigo opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, before movement to the side drew his gaze to the feline eyes staring straight at him with an unreadable look in them.
"Yoruichi-san?"
Shaking off the look, Yoruichi cast one more lingering glance at Ichigo before grinning widely at him and saying,
"Finally up huh?"
Grunting in reply, Ichigo levered himself up into a sitting position and it was only then that he noticed his various aches and pains. While half of them could be explained by his Bankai training, the more recent ones evoked no memory for him.
Touching a bandage running diagonally across his chest, Ichigo's suddenly recalled the biting pain of Zangetsu's sword slicing into his side as he dodged a cero aimed at his face.
He immediately shot a questioning look at Yoruichi, who only shrugged in reply and said,
"They said you suddenly started bleeding for no reason."
Ichigo watched her a moment longer as her eyes shone with a knowledge he could not decipher, before letting it go for now.
Just as he was about to speak, the door slid open to reveal his friends on the other side, all staring at him in shock.
Rukia was the first to move.
In five quick steps, she was by his bedside inhaling in preparation to shout at him when she was cut off by the swish of a captain's haori.
Glancing behind her revealed the figure of the Fourth's Captain obviously intending to check up on her patient.
Let it not be said that Rukia didn't have self-preservation instincts because she promptly vacated Ichigo's bedside to give Unohana all the space she could need.
As the healer silently checked Ichigo over with her hands glowing green, the other occupants of the room took the time to settle themselves while they waited.
Once she was done, she said,
"You're healing nicely Kurosaki-san, and should be fine to leave in a day."
Here, she aimed a small serene smile at him and continued,
"However, please refrain from any strenuous action."
Not even thinking to rebel, Ichigo simply nodded in understanding and replied,
"Thank you, Unohana-taichō."
Pausing for a moment as Ichigo addressed her by name, she inclined her head in response to his gratitude and silently drifted out of the room with a calm and unhurried gait.
Having had her temper cooled by the Captain's interruption, Rukia slowly moved back to Ichigo's side and then they both just spent a few seconds staring at each other in silence, before she softly said,
"You idiot."
With a soft smile on his face, Ichigo spoke,
"Yeah, yeah midget"
Puffing up in indignation, she was about to burst out when Ichigo cut her off,
"I'm glad you're okay."
Sighing as she deflated, she ignored the slight burning in her eyes and stared pointedly at the numerous bandages covering Ichigo's skin.
Rolling his eyes to himself, he dropped a hand on her head, inwardly smirking at how easy it was to reach even with him sitting in bed and her standing, before saying,
"I would do it a hundred times over with no regrets."
And knowing that he had spoken nothing but truth, she merely bowed her head and let the tears falls silently.
After Rukia had recollected herself, Ichigo then turned his attention to the rest of his friends,
"It's good to see you guys are alright, I was worried."
Shaking her head, Inoue replied,
"No, we're all fine, even Ishida-kun."
Turning a questioning gaze on the archer, Ichigo silently asked for an explanation, which the other gave with a falsely exasperated sigh,
"Ichimaru Gin left me alive, but under some form of Kidō which made it seem like I was dead. The other captains believe that he used me as bait to get the Twelfth Division Captain out of his office so that Aizen could access something there."
Eyes darkening at the mention of the traitor, Ichigo turned to Yoruichi to ask about him when they were once more interrupted by the door opening, but this time with two captains there.
Ukitake Jūshirō and Kyōraku Shunsui ignored the way Chad and Ishida subtly shifted to guard both Ichigo and Inoue the moment they stepped into the room, and merely offered gentle smiles to the people gathered in the room, as well as nods to the former Captain standing with the teens.
Moving forward as he spoke, Jūshirō came to a stop on the other side of Ichigo's bed before taking a seat in a chair conveniently placed there,
"It is good to see you up Ichigo-kun."
Nodding in thanks for the sentiment, Ichigo remained silent as he was subject to scrutiny by the two new arrivals.
A little worried that his friend would be distracted by Ichigo's startling resemblance to Shiba Kaien, Kyōraku spoke up,
"Well, you're friends have explained to us what happened after you arrived in Soul Society, so instead of having to bring you before all the Captains for your own side of things, we thought we'd drop by and see if you there was anything you wanted to add."
Ichigo took the time to think about anything that might have happened to him while none of the others was present, before he suddenly recalled,
"Is Suí-Fēng alright? And Kenpachi too?"
Blinking in surprise at the cause of Ichigo's concern, Shunsui smiled faintly when he realized that the kid before him actually cared about people who had once upon a time been trying to kill him and his friends.
Beside him, Jūshirō smothered a grin at seeing another similarity to his deceased Vice-Captain, before choosing to set Ichigo's mind at ease,
"They are both fine…"
And because he just couldn't help it, Shunsui tacked on with a,
"…although last I heard Zaraki-taichō was try to discharge himself without Retsu's permission."
It took Ichigo a scant moment to match the first name to the Captain of the Fourth and when he did, he aimed an amused smile at the Captains and said,
"So, that would be a no, then"
Shunsui merely chuckled at his words, before preparing to leave the teens to catch up after seeing that Ichigo had nothing further to add.
As they both were on their way out, Jūshirō suddenly remembered a question he had,
"Rukia, I don't think you mentioned it, but what happened after you left with Yoruichi-san?"
Momentarily startled at being addressed, she hastily blurted out,
"Umm…Urahara Kisuke removed the Hōgyoku from me and then I came back for my friends."
The ease with which she claimed the others had Jūshirō smiling in relief at the fact that she had managed to find friends to cherish, and he could only hope that their friendships would survive the trying days to come.
Although, he thought to himself looking at Ichigo watching everyone with his steady hazel eyes, I don't think I need worry about any of that.
With words of goodbye, the two captains departed, finally leaving the teens the chance to catchup.
Kuchiki Byakuya didn't so much as twitch when his ears picked up on the approach of the person his honed senses had been tracking for the past few minutes.
He maintained his position before his wife's memorial as his adopted sister knelt beside him and bowed her head in respect to a woman she had no memory of.
Somehow, knowing that Rukia was paying her respects to someone she saw as a stranger, Byakuya quickly found his mind being made up.
"Hisana was…"
Rukia, who had frozen at her brother's first word, found herself tense as she wondered if her brother would finally tell her about the woman who wore her own face.
"…Marrying Hisana was the first decision I made, not as the Kuchiki Clan Head but as myself, with no hesitation or regrets."
Swallowing as she took in the weight behind those words, Rukia waited for her brother to continue. And when he did, she found tears springing to her eyes,
"Finding you and claiming you as my sister was the second."
They were words that she had always hoped for but never expected.
Her breath hitched in a small gasp as she felt a hand gently rest on her bowed head.
She could feel, in that gentle hand, the unyielding strength of the Kuchiki Clan Head, but for the first time she also felt the warm love of an older brother; a love whose vastness took her breath away even as it sheltered her.
And then, with her heart filling with joy and finally knowing that her brother had always loved her as his sister, she began to listen as Byakuya spoke,
"Hisana was from Inuzuri and she was the kindest, gentlest, most caring soul I had ever met…"
There, under the Cherry Blossoms of the Kuchiki Clan, the Kuchiki siblings connected fully for the first time since they had become a family.
The sleeping dragon of Soul Society watched his Captains bicker amongst themselves as they all deliberated on what to do with the children who had invaded Seireitei.
He didn't know why they felt the need to discuss things, but he supposed he would allow it, even if he had already decided on what to do.
After a few more minutes of pointless discussion, he finally slammed his cane into the floor, garnering instant silence.
He waited a few seconds more just to be certain that he had everyone's attention, before he began to speak,
"By his actions, Aizen Sōsuke has declared war on all of Soul Society. Therefore we must begin to focus our efforts on preparing to meet him. For too long he was able to move undetected, learning our strengths and weaknesses and planning accordingly. If we meet him in battle as we are, then we will suffer unacceptable losses."
Some of the Captains shifted in discomfort at the stark reality set before them.
Every single one of them knew that though Aizen came off as mild mannered, he was still a brilliant tactician. And now, knowing that he might have been underplaying his brilliance as part of his act just makes them all the more aware of how precarious their position was.
"That is why Kurosaki Ichigo and his companions will be important in our countermeasures."
Shunsui's resigned sigh and Jūshirō's faint grimace made it clear that they too had come to the same conclusion.
Suí-Fēng, still bearing bandages from her encounter with Ichigo, shot a sharp glance at the stoic Captain Commander, before subsiding into inscrutable silence.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō spoke up into the contemplative silence, his genius mind easily grasping the intricacies of their situation,
"I understand how Kurosaki might be a hidden ace against Aizen, but wouldn't that be too much for a kid."
Ignoring how funny it was seeing the small statured Captain referring to Ichigo as a kid, Shunsui added in his own two cents,
"Well, we know Aizen has taken interest in Ichigo-kun and his friends, and we can't expect someone as stubborn as Ichigo-kun to sit by and do nothing while Aizen threatens people he cares for. This way, we can support him and make sure he gets through this better than he would if he were alone."
With a sardonic smirk on her face, Suí-Fēng chipped in,
"And if it so happens that in the process our problem gets taken care off, then it's all good huh?"
In response, Jūshirō merely gave her a resigned look which just about screamed, what can one do?
Sighing faintly to himself, Kuchiki Byakuya questioned,
"Then what will be our course of action?"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni took a fraction of a second to gird himself, and then he made his decision.
Chad released an uncharacteristic sigh as he continued to trudge along, absently noticing how the various unseated Shinigami around him moved out of his way.
Word of all the Ryoka had already had spread throughout Seireitei.
Still, Chad's gait was somewhat listless as he continued his impromptu one man tour of what was meant to be the afterlife; somehow, it was a little more underwhelming than he had hoped it would be.
His thoughtless wandering eventually found him in Rukongai watching a group of children playing a game of chase.
The sight tickled something in the back of his mind, and before he knew it, his feet were leading him on the trail of an elusive feeling that was somewhat familiar –
Oh…that's what it was.
Shibata was squirming in place with a scowl on his face while a woman was trying to untangle countless twigs and other things – yup, that was a bug – from his hair.
Chad took in the way Shibata acted like he was trying to escape while subtly leaning into the firm but gentle touch, as well as the ease with which the woman worked around the little boy's attempts to frustrate her efforts.
He just spent a while watching them interact and felt the indescribable – yet ugly – feelings he had been dealing with ease a little.
Finally, after Chad must have stared long enough for the weight of his gaze to become a physical thing, Shibata's eyes rose until they rested on the hulking figure of the dark skinned youth close by.
Even though Ichigo had explained it to him, Chad still took the lack of recognition in the still innocent eyes like a fist to the gut.
But then,
"Chad!"
With a start, he aborted his earlier attempt at turning away before he got called out for staring, only to turn back in time to catch the airborne child.
His usually stoic face had fallen into a mask of barely there bafflement, which for him meant that he was passed the stage of goggling and cursing in shock.
As he struggled to regain his bearings, he was bombarded by a steady stream of babble from the young boy, and only his long experience with Inoue allowed him catch even a tiny sliver of the verbal flood, enough for him to get the gist of it.
Apparently, while Shibata had indeed lost almost all his memories, he had still somehow ended up finding his mother after only a few days of aimless wondering.
Anyway, Shibata had been talking about someone called Chad for so long that his mother had just assumed that he was an imaginary friend, and after having arrived at that decision, merely indulged her son's imagination.
Shibata, who wasn't actually sure why the name Chad rang familiar to him was nevertheless elated to finally be able to match the name to the face and as he locked gazes with the towering giant currently holding him up, the floodgates opened and he was abruptly reminded of their shared history.
Too overwhelmed to express the gratitude that was welling up in him, all he could do was wrap his arms around Chad's neck with a ceaseless mantra of,
"You came…you came…you came…you came."
And Chad, ever since he had embarked on his journey through Rukongai, felt himself settle and his doubts and self-recriminations slide away into mist.
Ishida finally let the scowl he had been fighting down appear on his face as he was forced to dodge out of the way of another patrol from the Eleventh Division which seemed to be in such a rush to be seen doing something that its members wouldn't care who they trampled on their route.
A few minutes later, he found himself walking into a clearing which had numerous trees bordering it as well as a few convenient rocks where he could perch and continue his knitting in peace.
Nodding in satisfaction at the lucky find, he wasted no time in setting up on one of such rocks and getting down to it.
Some time after he had resumed, he picked up the sound of someone making their way noisily through the underbrush, snapping branches and grumbling as he continued towards Ishida's present location.
Narrowing his eyes as he debated between leaving his ideal location and scaring off whoever came out of the trees, he hoped it was not another one of those apes from the Eleventh Division
Although, knowing my luck so far…
An eye catching flash of red heralded the newcomer's arrival and in a fraction of a second, Ishida took in the plethora of tattoos decorating the Shinigami's body, the belligerent set of his jaw, and the discontent – bordering on furious – glint in his eyes, and then slowly began to put away his equipment while preparing for a confrontation.
Renji startled to a stop when movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention to a black haired skinny teenager guardedly staring at him.
Adding the fact that he hadn't noticed the other to a long list of things that were getting him down, Renji prepared a biting retort which died a premature death before it could roll of his tongue.
Ishida's already piercing gaze had sharpened with the keen edge of lethal intent the moment he took in the redhead's angry expression and slightly parted mouth.
He felt a trickle of faintly malicious pleasure as the Shinigami's mouth snapped shut on what was undoubtedly going to be confrontational garbage.
For a few tense seconds, both men eyed each other before, almost as one, they subsided with identically forlorn sighs and turned away from the other.
Ishida returned to his seated position and resumed his work, while the redhead took a seat beside him.
A few minutes into the still slightly tense silence, the Shinigami tilted his head at the Quincy and inquired idly,
"That difficult?"
The Quincy gave a halfhearted smirk and said,
"Nah"
He then flicked his eyes to the tattoos which were visible on the other's skin and asked,
"They hurt?"
Shaking his head, the Shinigami replied,
"Nah"
With that said, they continued to sit there in an unexpectedly comfortable silence, each occupied with his own thoughts.
Inoue bit her lip in concentration as she felt bone, flesh, and skin mending under the pale gold light of her healing energy.
The sweat on her brow went ignored as she continuously wrestled the healing power away from the other parts of the patient's body, fighting to keep it from spreading throughout the patient's body and healing everything that was amiss.
That was not the point of the current exercise.
The Fourth's Captain was trying to teach Inoue precision healing, assuming – rightly so – that focusing her efforts on one injury would save her energy and make the healing process even faster.
An all-round win
Finally, she felt the absence of any abnormality in the area under the focus of her senses, and with a sigh of relief, released the hold she had maintained on her power for the past half hour.
Turning to the Captain in question, Inoue felt herself redden at the muted yet very visible smile on her face.
Shaking off her mild embarrassment, she focused on the next task, placing her hand on the new patient's head and letting a pulse of her reiatsu sweep through the person's body like she had been taught.
A part of her mind was finishing up cataloguing the final injury – a sprained ankle – while the rest of her was already beginning on the fairly long list of injuries starting from the cracked skull.
Her focus was absolute…her will, unshakeable
She was determined to learn as much as she could in the short time they had left and then take those lessons and build upon them once they got back home.
So the next time they ended up in a scrape, she would be there to patch them up quickly and completely.
Hinamori ignored the whispers and furtive glances that followed her as she made her way towards the Tenth Division.
Tōshirō had already spent hours getting her to understand just what Aizen had done, and the consequences that she would be forced to bear.
When she had stepped into Tōshirō's hospital room, she had come in with a tentative hope that it had all been a misunderstanding.
Tōshirō's labored breathing and bandage swaddled body had crushed any and all denials in her mind.
She respected and admired her captain, yes, but she had loved her little brother for far longer.
The past few days had taught her that while she knew Aizen-taichō, she did not know Aizen Sōsuke…but she knew both Hitsugaya-taichō and Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
That was enough for her.
It took her a few seconds after stepping past the doors of the Tenth Division to notice the absence of the hushed whispers that had erupted in her wake.
Casting a surreptitious glance around her, she felt momentarily discomfited as she took in the way everyone was simply going about their daily lives as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the past few days.
A motion from the doorway leading to Tōshirō's office drew her eyes to the emerging figure of the Tenth Division's Lieutenant and in the moment that they locked gazes, Hinamori knew just why she had encountered the sea of serenity that was the Tenth Division in a place all too eager to find a scapegoat to blame for the treachery that had rocked them recently.
Taking in a fortifying breath, Hinamori continued towards Rangiku, carrying in her arms the paperwork Tōshirō had offered to help with until the Fifth Division's lack of captaincy could be addressed.
She normally wouldn't have accepted the offer, not wanting to burden Tōshirō with something that she should be able to take care of.
However, after thinking about it for a moment she decided that if Tōshirō was stuck doing paperwork then he wouldn't be training like she knew he wanted to, which in turn meant that he could heal better.
Besides – and here her face took on a dark cast that had never crossed her innocent features before, causing Rangiku to pause in her approach and silence to descend upon those around her – it was about time she showed people that despite her petite and deceptively frail appearance, she had earned her lieutenant's position through merit regardless of what Aizen had made it look like.
With the kind of silence that comes from the abrupt cessation of a heartbeat, the void-black scythes ghosted through the air, keeping true to their name; Kazeshini (Wind of Death).
Hisagi Shūhei ignored the burn of his over taxed muscles and his sweat blurred vision and continued the intricate dance of death, never once losing control of the chains controlling his lethal zanpakutō, knowing that if he faltered for a moment, it could be deadly for him.
He carefully ignored the burning pit of betrayal mixed with rage which fuelled his motions, threatening to jar him out of the trance he was in.
Instead of letting the black feelings consume him, he fed them to his zanpakutō, feeling the way the feelings faded into nothingness in the face of the inevitability that was the Reaper called Kazeshini.
He continued in this vein for a few more hours until his mind and heart were both empty and tranquil. Only then did he allow his limbs to slow down to an eventual stop, leaving him standing alone in a field that looked untouched.
After a few moments spent just breathing, Hisagi opened eyes which shone with an unshakeable determination.
He would confront his wayward captain, and get to the bottom of things. But in the meantime, he had a division to run.
Turning on the spot, he vanished in flurry of crisp Shunpō.
Back at the clearing he had just occupied, a breeze blew past, bringing in a few loose leaves, when with a sudden splintering crack the trees that had ringed the clearing fell into pieces as the paper-thin damage left behind by Kazeshini was made apparent.
Kira sighed while he absentmindedly signed off on another report.
Honestly, he thought to himself, Gin-taichō could have at least finished his backlog before going off like he did.
With another forlorn sigh, he refocused on the numerous sheets of paper cluttering his desk, while outside, the other members of his division cast him worrying looks as they observed him going about his daily tasks as though nothing had happened.
Everyone in the division knew that Kira had been particularly close with their captain, being just about the only Shinigami other than Rangiku who not only tolerated Gin's antics, but actually felt any sort of fondness for the lavender haired prodigy.
With that in mind, they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Kira's continuing normalcy was making them edgy since they had expected him to fall apart spectacularly once Gin's betrayal had been brought to light.
Seated at his desk, and completely ignorant of the numerous Division Three members who twitched nervously every time he sighed, Kira placed his finished paperwork in his out tray, glanced at the still towering stack left to be tackled and then promptly sighed again.
The sudden sound of something breaking had him looking up listlessly.
His gaze took in the frozen tableau outside his office as everyone present stilled under his attention. He glanced from the shattered cup on the floor, to the pale sweating visage of the unseated Shinigami currently trembling like a wall in the path of Zaraki Kenpachi, before he turned his attention back to his work with yet another sigh.
The Shinigami who had dropped the cup, slid to the floor on boneless legs and whimpered faintly.
Ichigo, Chad, Inoue, and Ishida stood together before the gate that would be returning them to Karakura Town.
Rukia, Byakuya, Ukitake, and surprisingly, Suí-Fēng were present to see them off.
Jūshirō stepped forward first with a small smile on his face and spoke to Ichigo,
"Ichigo-kun, before you leave, I was asked to let you know that the Gotei 13 has decided to officially recognize you as a Substitute Shinigami. It's more or less just a fancy title to make things a little easier for you if you ever run into any Shinigami in Karakura Town. Whenever a Shinigami is deemed beneficial to Soul Society, we award them this badge of office. In addition to making their post official, it also helps release them from their Gigai – or in your case, your body – as well as helps to detect the imminent arrival of Hollows in the area."
Having said so, Ukitake stepped forward and presented Ichigo with a wooden badge bearing an emblem of a skull and crossed bones.
Blinking in surprise, Ichigo stretched a hand out and accepted the badge.
The moment he came in contact with it, he had to fight to keep his expression from changing as a veritable storm of fury erupted from inside his Inner World.
For a brief instant, Ichigo feared that his reiatsu would spike out of control from the sudden onslaught of murderous intent coming from Tensa, before the tempest suddenly vanished without a trace.
Not even a second had passed in the outside world.
Regaining his equilibrium, Ichigo cast a considering eye on Ukitake, before inclining his head in gratitude.
Since his job was done, the Thirteenth Division Captain bid the teens farewell and took his leave.
Next, Suí-Fēng stepped forward with a stern look on her face and spoke briskly,
"Once we clean up the mess here, we will be dispatching a team to help you fortify Karakura Town's defenses. Hopefully before Aizen makes his move on the town."
Abruptly turning once she had delivered her brief message, she prepared to leave before hesitating for a moment.
By the time Ichigo had absorbed her words and noticed that she hadn't actually departed yet, she was already speaking one more time.
Like laser sights, her fierce gaze landed on him and she bit out,
"Try not to die before then, Kurosaki."
And then, not giving him any time to respond, she vanished with speed worthy of the leader of the Onmitsukidō.
Shaking off his surprise at her departure, Ichigo couldn't help but let loose an exasperated smile which – though he was unaware of it – was tinged with mild fondness.
Seeing that he was next, Kuchiki Byakuya rested the full weight of his gaze on the orange haired teen, and with Rukia's widened eyes looking on, he bowed his head to Ichigo and murmured,
"Thank you, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo ignored the voice of the Captain of the Sixth Division thanking him for his help in ruining Aizen's plans.
He ignored the voice of the Kuchiki Clan Head thanking him for saving the life of one of his Clan members.
Instead he listened to the voice of a big brother thanking him for saving his little sister's life when he could not.
And with that understanding, Ichigo looked at the proud man who would bow his head in gratitude for Rukia, and said,
"Anytime, Kuchiki Byakuya."
And Byakuya listened to the promise in those words and closed his eyes in shared understanding.
Turning away from Ichigo, he allowed his usually blank façade to recede a little and aimed a warm look at his sister and said,
"I will see you later, Rukia."
"Yes, Nii-sama"
Once Byakuya had departed, Rukia was left with her friends.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she wondered how to tell them that she would not be returning to Karakura Town for some time.
Just as she raised her head to say something, she found herself engulfed in a warm hug.
The soft skin and long orange hair let her know who the culprit was and she was only able to stutter out a broken,
"I – I – Inoue?"
Before she was cut off by Inoue's voice,
"Don't worry Rukia-chan…"
And here, she drew back enough for Rukia to see the smile on her face and the shininess in her eyes – which she suspected was mirrored in her own, and then Inoue continued,
"…we'll be waiting for you, and when you get back, we'll eat lots of red bean paste and drink lots of juice and have sleepovers with Tatsuki and – "
"Inoue"
Blushing at being caught rambling, Inoue, subsided into silence before mustering a slightly watery smile for Rukia who was herself fighting back the tears in her own eyes.
Looking over the redhead's shoulder, Rukia took in the small smile on Ichigo's face, as well as the ones on Chad's and Ishida's faces, and it was in that moment that she realized just how lucky she was to be able to count these teens as among her friends, and to be counted in turn, as among theirs.
Wordlessly, she tightened the grip she had on the back of Inoue's shirt, and nodded her head in agreement, not trusting her voice at the moment.
With agreeing nods from the others, they all separated and Rukia watched as the teens leapt into the Senkaimon with a black cat leading the way.
None of them once looked back, and it was fine, since this wasn't a 'goodbye', but merely a 'see you later'.
Allow me to start by wishing you all a Happy New Year, and here's to hoping that this year is better than the last. But remember, if you spend your whole life just hoping, dreaming, and believing in yourself, you'll still lose out to the people who actually go out and work hard.
Now that my obligatory life lesson is out of the way…this chapter.
You know that expression, "Like pulling teeth"? , well, take it from me, writing this chapter was way worse.
I'm exploring a few things, making minute changes at the top of the mountain and seeing how they snowball going down.
I tried to keep from making this a filler chapter by stuffing in some plot relevant things in there…so…happy hunting.
And finally, this is the last I will say on the issue of pairings:
In my understanding, the concept of a pairing is one which involves the character in question having a romantic significant other and having that romantic relationship affect their development and growth, the choices they make, and consequently, the plot which they bring to the story. In that sense, Ichigo will not have a "romantic" significant other who could influence his development based on their romantic connection.
Prince Mikhail here, and as always, thanks for reading.