The time for war was approaching fast. Seeds of hate sewn long ago had grown into thorns and thistles. Now they sought to destroy the sun, and bit by bit they'd grow until they accomplished their goal.
"Ichigo Kurosaki must be found and eliminated at all costs!" Yamamoto shouted to the lieutenant that dared to speak up against him. Rukia bowed her head, stepping back behind her captain while he murmured apologies for her sake.
How quickly had it taken for these rumors to spread? She didn't know, but she wasn't happy at all that they grew as fast as they did.
In a world of lies the truth reaches deaf ears. In a world of truth lies spread like wild fire. What does that say of this world where the judgement of one man rules them all? Well, the ruler has been lied to, and the source is the true King behind this army.
She was told to leave and that's exactly what she did. Rukia said goodbye to her brother and left the room as fast as she could. She slipped a pen from… her person hiding place, and took notes quickly on everything that she'd heard. It was pretty much the usual stuff, death threats placed on Ichigo. However, she had a feeling that only the Captains were allowed to know all the details.
"Daddy…"
Ichigo shifted in his sleep, resting further against Shiro and coiling around his lover for more comfort.
"Daddy…"
Shiro's nose twitched as his hair fell into his face. He blinked his eyes open, shifting onto his side.
"Daddy!"
Ichigo groaned and rolled over. He lifted his head from his pillow, glancing at the source of the sound that disturbed his slumber. His eyes fell on Yakeru, a soft smile splitting Ichigo's lips as he asked, "What's up Yakeru?"
"I'm hungry…" Yakeru whined.
Ichigo chuckled and sat up causing Shiro to stir and wake. The hollow groaned in annoyance before pushing himself up on his hands and knees. He looked up at Ichigo, a smile instantly overriding his tired frown. "Mornin' Ichi," he said before placing a soft kiss on Ichigo's pink rose-petal lips.
"Morning Shiro. Are you hungry? I'm getting some leftovers out if you want anything while I'm at it."
"Okay," Shiro sighed tiredly. He stretched out and lay back down, resting his head on his pillow and taking a few minutes to stare up at the ceiling.
Ichigo climbed out from under Shiro's Shihakusho and slid into his own. Tying it up, he got dressed to a decent standard just mere seconds before Kisuke intruded their privacy. "Ichigo-san~!" Kisuke called, "I've got an update for you! Apparently the Soul Society discovered you left Hueco Mundo, though they haven't found any evidence to suggest that you came here. Our inside sources are making sure of that."
"Alright, thanks Urahara." Ichigo turned back to his earlier mission, finding Yakeru some food. He dug through the duffle bag, having to pull out a few things, before he reached the food he had packed for Shiro and Yakeru. They each had their separate bags due to their different preferences, but for the most part everyone ate the same thing: hollow.
It had taken Ichigo some time to get used to it, eating souls, but by now it had become a daily ritual, so much that he barely thought about it anymore.
He opened the cheesecloth that held Yakeru's food, picking out just the right amount to get Yakeru through the day. He handed it off to Yakeru who thanked him and took to eating it straight away. Ichigo then took out Shiro's food, placed one end in his mouth and crawled back over to Shiro.
Shiro chuckled, "You're just asking for it now."
"I donm know wha you're halking abou…" Ichigo slurred with the mouthful of food. He leaned down and placed his lips against Shiro's, the hollow eating his way through his meal until he got to Ichigo's lips. They chuckled at hearing Yakeru's 'Daddy, that's gross!' and couldn't resist deepening the kiss afterwards.
Life is such a precious thing. To Ichigo, who'd been living on nothing but survival instincts for ten years, he knew everything there was about life. Or so that's what he believed.
It wasn't until something precious to him, until his life was taken from him, that he truly understood the universe.
It wasn't until he sat in a pile of his son's ashes that he felt the sting of defeat. It wasn't until bitter silence met his ears that he felt true hate. It wasn't until he met the man that killed Yakeru that he realized just how sweet revenge tasted.
"This will be the last time I say it. Ichigo Kurosaki is to be found and is to pay for his crimes. I will not tolerate any more casualties!" Yamamoto shouted out, making the room shake.
Shunsui and Ukitake gave each other a nervous glance. They sighed and mumbled along with the rest of the Captains, "Hai Yamamoto."
Shunsui, Toshiro, Mayuri and Soi Fon were chosen to seek out Ichigo, and that's what they did.
Rukia felt cruel and sick. She knew what the Soul Society was planning, and even though she knew protecting Ichigo was the right thing to do, she felt like it was wrong. It was natural, of course, that she felt this way… after all, all Shinigami were brought up this way, right?
Or was there really something wrong with what she was doing?
She shook off the feeling and smiled happily at her friend.
"You're getting slow, Ichi, and lazy." Shiro commented, cackling lightly as Ichigo wiped away the blood from his forehead.
He panted heavily. "Well… if someone hadn't of been babying me all these years…"
"Are you accusing me of something?" Shiro asked. He smirked, jumping towards Ichigo.
They'd been fighting for about half an hour. They'd fight for a straight ten minutes then pause so that Ichigo could catch his breath. Rukia was watching from below, Kisuke beside her.
"I don't see the point of watching this…" She muttered.
Kisuke slowly approached her, just as Ichigo and Shiro crossed blades. He gave her a knowing smile and said, "It's about to happen soon." In his right hand there was a camera, and he aimed for the two sparring. This brought Rukia's full attention back to the two lovers.
Ichigo blood sprayed through the air. He panted heavily, but refused to back down as he and Shiro fought. They're eyes met as they brought their swords together, black sparks flying. A black and red aura flashed around them, and suddenly it seemed they were both on perfectly equal terms. They slashed at each other, both of them blocking the other's attacks as if they knew it was coming.
In a few seconds it was gone, and both Shiro and Ichigo dropped from where they stood in the air and collapsed against each other on the ground.
"There's… my Ichi…" Shiro panted. Ichigo chuckled and kissed Shiro's neck, then slumped into his lap.
"What just happened?" Rukia asked.
Kisuke held up his camera. "Let's go find out."
The battle was being played in slow motion on the screen. The sudden switch between normal and balanced was repeated constantly, but even the fifth time Rukia couldn't spot it.
Kisuke sighed in defeat, muttering something about her closed mindedness. "Right there!" He shouted, pointing at the screen. "Look closer, Rukia! It only happens for an instant."
Rukia watched. This time Kisuke paused it and pointed to a figure. "Don't you see it? C'mon, tell me!"
"I… I don't understand… what am I looking for?"
"Alright, it took me two years to first see it, so I don't blame you if you can't spot it within the first two weeks…" Kisuke replayed the video. "Watch, right here, as Shiro-san swaps places with Ichigo-san."
There was a flicker in the video. Just as the first spark flew between Ichigo and Shiro, they swapped places for no more than a tenth of a second. It wasn't a deliberate swap, though. Neither Ichigo or Shiro seemed to be effected by it, other than their sudden 'all knowing' intellect of each other.
"What happened?"
"Shiro-san and Ichigo-san are traditionally two of the same soul. What you say there is their ability to reconnected their minds and become one being. Of course, you will always see two of them because of how they're hearts are separated, but to them it's a surge of pure survival instinct."
"Survival instinct… like, fight to the death?"
Kisuke grinned. "Now you're getting it! Humans are animals, Rukia, never forget that."
"So this is why Orihime was killed…" Rukia said as she finally grasped the cause of the nearly forgotten memory.
"Yes." Kisuke began to put the screen and video away.
"But how is this going to help me… or help them fight the Soul Society?"
"Well," Kisuke hummed, "a free wolf can easily slaughter a caged pig."
"There's a hollow, can you feel it's spiritual pressure?" Ichigo murmured to Shiro. He was on his lap and back in their room. Shiro was playing with Ichigo's hair.
"I can," was Shiro's response. He made no move to get up.
"Should we do something about it?"
"Nope, we've got plenty of food and they've got plenty of reapers that can handle it."
Ichigo nodded. "Good, because I didn't really feel like getting up anyways."
Shiro smirked and tugged on Ichigo's hair. Ichigo slid up further on Shiro's lap. "You don't wanna move because I'm babying ya, right?"
"Mmm… shuttup and keep doing what you're doing." Ichigo closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure while Shiro massaged his scalp.
"Yer ass…" Shiro groaned into Ichigo's ear, gently rubbing his awakening arousal against Ichigo, "…is right where it should be. Seriously, ya've been asking for me to fuck ya all day…"
"Have I?" Ichigo murmured, "I didn't notice…"
A strong spiritual pressure interrupted their playful talk. It woke Yakeru, who'd been sleeping happily beside them, and he whimpered. Ichigo stood and closed his eyes, concentrating.
"Who's is it?" Shiro asked.
"Not someone on our side."
Shiro frowned, and even more so when Yakeru leapt into his lap and hid himself in Shiro's arms. "Shh, sweetheart, it's okay," he hummed. Yakeru went silent, and kept himself hidden away.
"You stay here, then…" Ichigo said gently, Shiro nodded. "I'll go see what's up. Maybe Kisuke knows what's going on, or Rukia knows who it is."
While Ichigo was gone, Shiro was left to care for Yakeru. He soothed the boy to sleep, chuckling at the way Yakeru's brows scrunched up in worry like Ichigo's did when he was scared. "Daddy loves you, sweetheart. You don't need to be scared. We won't let anything happen to you. You know that…"
Yakeru yawned and nodded. His eyes fell shut and he slept with his arms around Shiro's neck.
The hollow that had plagued the town was easily taken care of. Soi Fon had no need to waste her time on petty things, but she knew it was part of her job. Thus, the hollow was destroyed and now she was able to move on to her more important job; catching Ichigo Kurosaki.
Soi Fon, though she wouldn't admit it, had led a secret investigation into the background of Ichigo's so called crimes. She'd found out many things she wished she hadn't, like how everything around Ichigo's recent crimes kept bringing up one name.
Fifteen, Soi Fon recalled, Fifteen Shinigami were killed every year for the past ten. What bothers me is that these deaths happened only after Ichigo was named traitor.
"The only thing I can do is find him and ask for myself..."
"Who are you looking for, Captain? Would that be me?"
Soi Fon turned around. She put one hand on her Zanpakuto.
"Come on now, you don't really need that. I can't kill you, and I don't really want to…" Ichigo's blade flashed threateningly in the sun. "However, if you really want to fight."
A hand was placed on Ichigo's chest. "Stop."
"Yoruichi…" Ichigo mumbled.
Soi Fon fought the urge to get down on her knees.
"We're all in this together. Soi Fon is with us, Ichigo, she's aware of the Soul Society's lies." As Yoruichi gave her explanation, Soi Fon frowned. "Go on then, Soi Fon, ask Ichigo your question."
"How many people have you killed?" She asked.
"Two. Orihime and Renji. That's all." Ichigo answered. His eyes held honestly, yet no regret.
She nodded slowly.
No sooner that they brought Soi Fon back to Urahara's did the other Captains arrive. However, it wasn't just the ones who were assigned; six Captains surrounded the shop, each calling for Ichigo to come out.
"To Hueco Mundo, go!" Kisuke ushered Ichigo, Shiro and Yakeru. They left their things behind and ran for it, Yakeru barely awake in Ichigo's arms. They arrived in Hueco Mundo and were met with another ambush. Their home had been burned to the ground.
"Surrender, Ichigo. There's nothing left for you."
"What'd I do wrong, huh? What did I ever do to you!?" Ichigo screamed. His Spiritual Pressure rose, breaking through its barrier of ten years confinement, and sent out its protective intent around his family, a death threat to anyone who got too close.
"Back down, now," Byakuya insisted.
Shiro frowned. "Ya, Kuchiki, got brain wash by all this crap too? Why don'cha back down or I'll kick yer ass again." Ichigo had to bite back his smirk. He covered Yakeru's ears as Shiro swore.
The fight began.
Floating, invisible, asleep, drowning…
Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. He glanced around. He was in his world, underwater and still.
"Ichigo… do you see it?"
Ichigo slowly turned around. "Zangetsu…?"
"Do you see what I've been trying to tell you?" Upon seeing Ichigo's confused face, Zangetsu frowned. "I see, you're still blind."
Ichigo was brought back just as he was struck down. He panted hard and stood up, body stinging everywhere. He felt Shiro pick him up, his wounds slowly closing over as Shiro's presence helped heal him.
"Daddy!"
Ichigo's blood went cold. He turned around and saw nothing but terrified, young eyes before a flame engulfed them all. He heard Shiro scream, never before filled with such terror, "YAKERU!"
"Ichigo…" Zangetu's voice called him again.
Ichigo was determined to wake this time. He looked straight into the eyes of his Zanpakuto… Yeah, it was him, but the younger eyes of Tensa Zangetsu.
"Have you watched enough? Do you see the path you must choose?"
"Choose? Watch? What?"
Tensa frowned in annoyance. "I told you before that you have two choices, Ichigo. You may chose the possibility of that life, the one you are watching unfold before you, or you can chose the life of blind solitude."
Ichigo shook his head. "I still don't know what you're talking about! Zangetsu, where have you been for these past ten years? Please, we need help!"
Tensa shook his head. "Ten years… if it's still not enough for you to see, then you can continue to suffer."
"Wait! Don't go! TENSA!"
It was quiet again, the Captains gone away. Ichigo held Yakeru's delicate form in his arms. He saw the lifelessness in his body, felt no power, no pulse. His entire body trembled. Ichigo pulled Yakeru close to him. Before they embraced, Yakeru shattered into dust.
"No… No!" Ichigo repeated the word several times, like it'd bring his song back. He watched the dust fade into the wind. He looked at the ashes in his hands. He leaned back, punching the sand beneath him and letting out a deep and empty scream.
He felt Shiro's Spiritual Pressure behind him, its anger cracking apart the ground as he walked.
"I told you…" He mumbled to no one in particular, though as he continued it was obvious he was talking to Ichigo. "I told you that they couldn't be trusted!" Shiro screamed, sending Ichigo into tears. "You didn't listen! How many times did I warn you-?"
"Shut up!" Ichigo hissed, shoulders shaking, cheeks drenched in tears. "Shut up Shiro or I swear I'll make you shut up! This isn't my fault, don't you dare put the blame on me!"
Shiro let his anger fade and his glare turn into an emotionless stare. He stared down at Ichigo, who was a mess in a pile of ashes, and he held out his arms. "Come to me, Ichigo. Get up."
Ichigo sniffled and did as he was told. He stood and walked, slowly, towards Shiro, each step was thick and heavy as if he were carrying a hundred pound. Ichigo buried his face in Shiro's shoulder and sobbed softly, comforted by strong arms wrapped around his waist.
"We're going to get through this, right? You and I are strong, and we'll show the bastards in the Soul Society that we won't be faltered by this."
Ichigo shuddered. "Sh-Shiro… I don't think I can… I c-can't do this…"
"Shh… of course you can. Haven't they put you through enough?" Shiro tilted Ichigo's head up to look at him. His eyes swirled hypnotically and a savage grin appeared on his lips. "I'm sorry, Ichi. I've tried to let them in, for your sake, but I'm done…"
Ichigo fell half limp in Shiro's arms. "Shiro… what're you doing?"
"I can't let them destroy what we've worked so hard to create…"
"N-No… Shiro, not like this, please…" Ichigo whined.
Shiro frowned. "My horse…" He took Ichigo's hand and gave him a gentle kiss. "I'm sorry Ichigo, but I-I can't… I just can't let them take you; you're the only thing I have left."
Ichigo blinked slowly, eyes glowing in a strange yellow similar to Shiro's gold.
"You understand, right? Why I have to do this…" Shiro leaned in close to Ichigo. "You know."
"Yes… King."