We're No Longer Ten
By Uchiha Xairylle

Part 10 : Conversations

Renji wanted to sigh but it just wouldn't come out as he stared at the bald, bearded man sat behind the large desk where several stacks of paper were resting. The old man was busily doing brush strokes as his Lieutenant stood behind him with a few folders in hand. Behind Renji was the large office door where the insignia for the First Squad was proudly printed. Renji looked at the papers he was holding. Ever since Byakuya left for the living world, he had to take care of all the signing, stamping and thinking in the office. Sure it was a little more comfortable moving around the office without someone looking at the details such as the small pieces of discarded paper on the floor, the ink blot on the corner of the page, the uncovered ink bottle, the disarrayed brushes on the side of the table, the partly open drawers and the little things that are out of order. Even though Kuchiki-taichou does not often speak, Renji felt like his Captain was thinking it.

"Abarai, how long do you plan on standing there like a stiff rod?" Yamamoto-sotaichou's thick voice snapped Renji from the image of the Sixth Squad Captain's office.
"Ah… S-sir, yes, sir." The Lieutenant fidgeted with the seemingly inappropriate answer but just as Renji was about to take one step towards the table, the large door behind him opened.

"YAMA-JII!"

From the vigorously opened door emerged another Shinigami who mercilessly and unceremoniously proceeded to shove Renji who fumbled forward, trying desperately to keep the stacks of paper in place but failing. The Lieutenant groaned in complaint as he watched the pieces of paper making their landing. With his intricate eyebrows making a frown, Renji turned towards the perpetrator to yell at him and perhaps make him eat his sandals when his sight came across the shade of orange.

"Ichigo!" Renji rushed towards Ichigo.
"Not talking to you." Ichigo was looking at Yamamoto who was still attending to the papers on his desk.
"Then I'm talking to you!" Renji growled as he blocked Ichigo, "What makes you think you can push me around!?"

"This!" Ichigo lifted his Shinigami Representative badge to emphasize the "rank-equal-to-captain" position he held. And as things stand, Renji was holding the "rank-below-a-captain" position and therefore had no audacity to even block Ichigo or question whatever business it was that he had with General Yamamoto. Renji grunted and shoved Ichigo's hand.

"I can rattle off a lot more but I'm really not a noisy person." Ichigo raised his head at Renji, "But I can be demonstrative. Now out of my way, red riding head."
"Why you—!"
"What me?"

"Are you seeing what I see, Choujiro?" Yamamoto was speaking to his Lieutenant as if they were alone and without lifting his attention from paperwork.

"You see the Fourth Squad being needed, sir?" Choujiro-fukutaichou replied as Yamamoto handed one paper to him.

"Yes. And two heads rolling." Yamamoto said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. There were moments of silence wherein Renji fidgeted randomly. Ichigo's eye was twitching and for the second time that day, Ichigo shoved Renji away from him.

"Yo, old man!" Ichigo stormed towards the First Squad Captain, "What's she doing at my place!"

The old captain did not answer.

"I'm talking to you." Ichigo was almost sounding threatening.

There was nothing from the old man.

"ANSWER ME!" Ichigo slammed his palms on the desk and the papers slightly wavered making Yamamoto pause but not remove his eyes from the paper he was attending to. He quietly lifted his brush and paused as if to think before resuming the swishing sound of the fibers against paper.

"Do not test my patience, Kurosaki. There is nothing for you to test."
"Then try explaining why the hell Aizen's daughter slash clone is alive and in my house!"

There was a surprised gasp from Renji and Yamamoto stopped writing. Choujiro Sasakibe-fukutaichou nodded at Renji and then at the door. The red-haired Shinigami nodded abruptly before rushing to the door and making sure it was closed. Yamamoto's eyes landed at Ichigo who was still frowning with palms flat on the desk. The old captain put his brush aside and lifted his head to finally acknowledge a conversation with Ichigo.

"Aizen Andjaliria."

It was no question. Ichigo had not moved from his pose as if a silent demand for the Commander-General to continue.

"So you've seen her."

"Yes, ossan. Seen her. Again." Ichigo leaned forward to stress his every intention and emotion. Yamamoto nodded at Choujiro and the Lieutenant nodded before going into a door somewhere to the left of the office table. Ichigo ignored the exchange.

"What is she doing in the living world? Why is she even alive?"

Yamamoto paused for moments of thinking but Ichigo was no waiting person.

"I want answers, Yama-jii!" Ichigo insisted, "That girl attacked my wife!"
"Rukia was attacked?" Renji cut in and slowly started towards Ichigo.
"Yes, as well as Uryuu's daughter and who knows what else she might do!" Ichigo replied while still looking at Yamamoto, "Someone better give me a very good explanation for this!"

"That someone is on the way."

No sooner than Yamamoto had spoken when the wooden door opened. Ichigo and Renji veered their heads to see a captain with dark make-up and a weird hat. His teeth were showing rather disturbingly as his slender, bony fingers scratched the side of his head.

"K-Kurotsuchi-taichou…!" Renji exclaimed and bowed in acknowledgement.
"Oho?" was Mayuri's only response.

Ichigo straightened, looked at the Eleventh Squad Captain for a while before looking at Yamamoto and said, "So he's the someone, eh?"

"A lot of nerve for a maggot to address me as 'he'." Mayuri said as he stepped towards the large, wooden table, "For all you know, I just happen to be the genius who managed to recompose Aizen's cl—"

"YOU BASTARD!"

That was all it took to tick Ichigo off.

Ichigo glowered as he grabbed Mayuri by the Captain's cape and hurriedly rammed him to the nearest wall. Renji gasped at the sudden violent movement from the Shinigami representative and looked at Yamamoto for any reaction but found the old man simply looking at the exchange. Mayuri's eyes widened only for a while as Ichigo glared at him.

"I suggest you remove your hands, Kurosaki-daikou." Mayuri spoke in a rather neutral threatening voice.
"I suggest you start explaining, Kurotsuchi-taichou." Ichigo pressed on him harder without breaking any eye contact, "I'm not happy."

"Ichigo, calm down for a moment, man…" Renji started towards the Shinigami Captain being assaulted by the Shinigami Representative when Ichigo glared at him to stop him right at his tracks.
"Calm down?" Ichigo growled almost menacingly at Renji, "The girl who caused big trouble for my family is alive. And she is in my house."

"Along with her father, I nearly lost my son, my wife… Heck, even my own life. All this time, we thought she was dead and now all of a sudden, she comes back! And to top that off, it seems to be all thanks to some people in Sereitei. Now tell me, Renji… How can you expect me to calm down!"

"True enough…" Mayuri said without moving from the position he was in, "It was a bit tricky but I was eventually able to revive Aizen's clone-daughter from her mere reiatsu with the technology and knowledge I used to create Nemu."

"And since when did you have the right to resurrect whoever you wish!?" Ichigo gripped the material harder.
"Perhaps I should be asking you that, Kurosaki." Mayuri was sneering, "After all, what is Kuchiki Rukia doing alive? Hm?"

Insult.

"WHY YOU FILTHY—!"

"Enough." Yamamoto cut off everything that Ichigo was supposed to say or do. Ichigo grunted and looked at the old man. Mayuri, getting tired of being harassed by the half-wit, orange-haired maggot in front of him, grabbed Ichigo's wrist and pried his hands off the Captain's cape.

"We need Andjaliria to track Aizen." The Commander-General told Ichigo, "The former captain is too dangerous to be left alone — dangerous enough that we resorted to take drastic measures to intercept whatever it is he plans on doing."

"Aizen Andjaliria will lead us to Aizen Sousuke."

Ichigo retained his affixed glare on the First Squad Captain as he suppressed a yell while mumbling out of the side of his lip, "How the hell do you plan on doing that?"

"It will be hard for me to explain but make sure you make your brain work hard to understand." Mayuri replied, earning an angry gaze from the Shinigami Representative, "Andjaliria, who was created from the exact reiatsu of Aizen Sousuke, did not die. She disintegrated, leaving remnants. Using that, my technology and the same concept as the King and his Key, we plan on constructing a key to lead us to Aizen's whereabouts no matter where that is."

"However, reiatsu in its raw form will become spirit particles and, in time, will be lost. Therefore, the reiatsu must be housed in a body or a soul. Thus, the resurrection of Andjaliria."

"Isn't funny, Kurosaki? Did you not use the same method in bringing your wife back to life? Seriously we must thank you."

The human-Shinigami grunted.

"I will let that unwanted comment of yours slide for now." Ichigo spoke in a threatening tinge, "Right now, I want that girl out of my house."

"That is not possible." Mayuri replied, "The specimen can not be in a place surrounded by spirit particles because of her innate ability of absorption, which might be randomly uncontrolled at this stage. If she remains in Sereitei, she might absorb too much and that may result to either her annihilation or ours."

"So it's all right for the humans down there to be in danger, isn't it?" Ichigo glared.
"Wouldn't humanity be in more danger if Sereitei would be the one to disappear?" Mayruri shot back, "Besides, are five Shinigami not enough?"

The aggravated look on Ichigo's face did not disappear as it mixed with the questioning expression that came across his visage.

"Kuchiki Byakuya and Kusajishi Yachiru had been sent with her." Yamamoto answered Ichigo's silent question, "And you are there, your wife and your son. The three of you, among all people, know best how to deal with her."

Indeed. In fact, they knew so much — too much that they did not want to have anything more to do with her. Ichigo had undergone every kind of trauma for every aspect to even begin to understand that saving the world was of greater priority than saving his family. That girl could tear his mask off as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Do these bastards realize how painful it is to have your mask forcibly pulled out of your body? That was enough reason for him to decline to let the girl stay in his house.

"Send her to Urahara's then!"
"Not possible."
"You resurrected her and your telling me this is not possible!?" Ichigo shouted, "Make it possible, then!"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, Aizen Andjaliria is a secret among the top ranks of the Gotei 13 and the higher ups." Yamamoto said a little louder than he had been speaking earlier, "And as such, if we send her to Urahara Kisuke's, it will only earn unwanted suspicion."

"Oh, so you can decide about who stays in my house without telling me, then! Is that it!?" Ichigo's hands were on his waist.
"Kurosaki-daikou, perhaps you should hurry back." Yamamoto said, returning to the piles of sheets of papers on his desk.
"Look h—"
"I have arranged a special gigai from Urahara Kisuke."
"But Y—"
"Do not test my patience. There is nothing to test…!"

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something again if Mayuri had not made a comment of his own.

"The specimen might attract Hollows… Would you like me to watch your children for you…?"

The scientist grinned and the representative glared.

It seemed that the latter was not going to win this argument... At least not now.

"Lecherous." Was the only thing Ichigo said before going out. Renji followed with his eyes, bowed in front of Yamamoto before following suit. Mayuri sighed, wanting to do the same as he watched the doors closed.

"Ichigo…!" Renji caught up with Ichigo who did not even look or stop to acknowledge him but Renji did not mind and continued anyway, "Ichigo, what do you plan to do now?"
"What's there that's left to do? Keep an eye on the girl, of course!" Ichigo grunted, "That while thinking of a way to send her back…!"
"Is Rukia okay with this?"

"Rukia? Rukia is worried as hell." Ichigo replied with brisk, heavy steps towards his very own portal to the human world, "After all that we've been through with that little girl, I have no idea how they think we could take this sitting down!"

"And what ticks me is that Byakuya knew the girl was coming!" the orange-haired Shinigami was almost gritted his teeth, "And he didn't tell me! It's my house, god damn it, and no one told me! And they say I'm rude!"

"It's not like the Captain was behind all this." Renji spoke a little lower, feeling a bit strange that he was orally defending his Captain.
"I don't care. He knew. He didn't tell me. That's it." Ichigo continued, turning left sharply when he came to a corner, "I'm going to have to make sure I give him a piece of my thoughts."
"How's your son, by the way?" Renji asked, changing the topic so as not to aggravate Ichigo any further.
"My son's fine. He's just in a bit of a mess, if you… Hold it." Ichigo stopped and looked with a raised eyebrow at Renji who blinked, "My son? Byakuya told you about my son?"

Renji blinked again before answering.

"He did mention something about his nephew being the reason for him to volunteer as escort for Andjaliria but no details." Renji shrugged. Ichigo looked at Renji skeptically and sighed before resuming his heavy steps. So Byaku-brat volunteered, didn't he?

"And Yachiru?" Ichigo asked, looking with only his eyes moving.

"Well…" Renji began as he thought while walking briskly like Ichigo, "Someone from the assault squad had to go and Zaraki Kenpachi wasn't quite… qualified… to come down. You know what I mean."

Ichigo only made a low sound of approval as he thought of the horrors trying to feed Zaraki and telling him "We can't fight here, you walking piece of murders!" Besides, Kenpachi was more likely to get lost than be of any help to any of them. He was incompetent and uninterested when it came to anything that had nothing to do with fighting, killing and swearing.

"How's the Lieutenant, by the way?" Renji asked, "It's her first time in the living world on her own, I think."
"She kissed Uryuu's son."

Renji gave off a low whistle as if to say, "Really now?"

"It was wrong for the Captain to go ahead of her, then." Renji said as if talking to himself as Ichigo felt like the strands of the Lieutenant's hair had become more vibrant than usual and that the tattoos on his forehead seemed to have changed.

"Oi, Ichigo. Here's my stop." Renji tapped Ichigo on the shoulder and pointed to his left as Ichigo started for the open door. Ichigo gave a curt nod before turning to go. Renji did the same, coming across Hisagi Shuuhei who had a pile of papers in his hands and Isane Kotetsu who was holding several folders.

"Yo, Abarai." Shuuhei nodded at Renji who greeted and nodded back. He acknowledged Isane who bowed in turn.
"Is that Kurosaki-daikou?" Isane asked, looking at Ichigo's back as he continued to walk away.
"Yeah, he's pretty worked up. Wouldn't want to be him." Renji put his hands on his waist, "What's up?"
"The usual." Shuuhei shrugged and pointed with his pouted lips towards the papers.

"As for me, I still have to make a report on things. Came here to get some official stamps." Isane sighed as if speaking alone, "Seriously, I wish I had an assistant when the Taichou is busy working on something strange."

"Strange?" the two men chorused.

"Yeah… A strange butterfly came out of nowhere." Isane said absently and she gasped, realizing she shouldn't have said that. Renji and Shuuhei had weird looks on their faces. And as Isane started to beg them not to tell it to anyone, Shuuhei muttered to Renji, "Those chaps in the living world come up with new butterfly species on their own, don't they?"

--

"Shit-ass." Ichigo grumbled as he walked out of the building, leaving Renji. He'd better get home quick in case some bad-ass Menos Grande start falling from the sky.

He just hoped things were okay back home.

And in a jiffy, Ichigo opened his phone for some comfort.

RING! RING!

This would cheer him up a bit.

RING! RI— CLICK!

"Haaaai! Moshi-moshi?" a little girl's voice came from the earpiece of Ichigo's phone.

"Hello, how is daddy's little munchkin doing?" Ichigo was sporting a weird, happy face as he strode, earning strange and random glances from the other Shinigami he came across.

Seriously, Happy-Daddy Kurosaki was a rather disturbing sight.

"DADDY!" the girl squealed and Ichigo sighed his "Aww-my-daughter-is-so-adorable" sigh, "Mai-chan is fine! Are you coming home, Daddy?"

"Yes, Daddy is on his way home… Is there anything my princess would like?"

"ARAAAAAAAAAA!" Mai-chan did her happy squeal and Ichigo could hear Hideki and Rukia talking in the background. Ichigo could also hear other voices but he could not distinguish them properly.

"Mai-chan wants stationary seeeeeeeeet!"
"Stationary set? My little baby wants to write?"
"Yes! Sensei told us to write letters to important people to us! Mai-chan will write to Daddy!"

If Ichigo had an inner self, it would've jumped out of his head, squealed, hugged itself and rolled around out in the open.

Until his little girl dropped an atomic bomb.

"And my boyfriend!"

It echoed in his head.

"YOUR WHAT!?"

It was more horrific than Hollow sounds, Yamamoto's Bankai, Aizen's intentions and Armageddon combined! Did he just hear his daughter say she had a boyfriend!

"Boyfriend!"

Positive!

Ichigo felt all his veins popping like hell. His daughter had a boyfriend!? Why didn't he know of this! Was he bound to be the last to know about everything!? That's it! He was speeding home for his sake!

"OkayDimpleBunsDaddyHasToGoLoveYou!"

If Mai was able to understand it or not, Ichigo did not know or care since he immediately dropped the call and shifted to Rukia on speed dial.

RING! RING!

Rukia looked at her pink flip top phone and saw Ichigo's name on it. She smiled inwardly, reminiscing how Ichigo had been rather sweet to her when they were alone these past few days. He had been teasing her as well as, calling her to say "I love you" and whisper little naughty things as if to hint for something. She had been waiting for him to make a move these past few nights. She was getting excited and a bit turned on especially after he had whispered to her that he was going to make her happy tonight. And with that thought, she giggled as she answered the phone.

What would he tell her this time?

"He—"
"RUKIA! WHAT IS THIS I HEARD THAT MAI HAS A BOYFRIEND!" Ichigo was hollering in the middle of huffing between flash steps.

So much for sweet!

"What?!" Rukia's voice was appalled and seemed to imply that she did not know whatever it is Ichigo was talking about. She had just finished bathing the children and powdering them before tucking them to bed. She was looking forward to some peace and quiet of her own… Or perhaps some private time with her husband when he got back.

"I SPOKE TO HER ON THE PHONE! SHE SAID SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"
"I don't know!"
"THAT'S SHIT! TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
"I said I don't know!"
"RUKIA! STOP LYING TO ME!"
"I'm not lying!"
"RUKIA!"
"ICHIGO, IF YOU CAN NOT TALK TO ME PROPERLY, TALK TO THE DIAL TONE FOR ALL I CARE!"

CLICK!

Beeeeeeeeeeep…

Rukia grumbled and threw the phone on the bed.

No love for you tonight, Ichigo!

- End of Part 10 -

Author: OKAY! Am I late!? Sorry it took so long! I had school to attend to. My school is fun as it is right now and I like it! Mingling with younger people is fun! As for the story, hope you haven't lost interest in it and I hope I still have your minds thinking. I know I'm not as fast as before but I have my reasons. Hope you guys understand…

Hope you guys still love me and the story.

Hugs and reviews, please?

-grin-

Uh… Someone's been noting me that I stole someone's story. Sorry, but for those who know, my OC Shun Shun Rikka fairies prove that I did not.

Cheerios, Cookies and a whole lot of Bankai love!