Chapter 11

"Shirosaki Zangetsu, please take the stand."

Shiro grunted as he was forced to his knees, a sword put to his throat. He didn't dare struggle, his one unswollen eye looking around to the many people who surrounded him.

"Shirosaki Zangetsu, creator and sire of Ichigo Kurosaki, are being charged of treason, not only against the court, but for threatening to destroy the balance of life. How do you wish to respond to this?"

Shiro held back his growl, looking to each of the Royals who were seated around him. He could simply say he had no part in it, that Ichigo was ill, but then they would kill him. Shiro knew making promises was just bullshit, but there were those whose promises he would never break.

"Though I am the creator, I was unaware of the power he held within himself."

The Royals seemed disbelieving, mumbling between themselves before returning their attention to Shiro.

"From the first time you tasted his blood, he had not seemed out of the ordinary?" One of the Royals asked, Shiro thinking back to it.

"He was a man who had been bred with love. He knew right from wrong. The thing you have heard about was hidden behind a barrier."

The room broke out with whispers and accusations, the Royal seated just before Shiro slamming his hand down to regather their attention.

"How are you aware of this?"

Shiro looked to Ichigo, another growl, but of possessiveness, building in his chest. He was encased in a cage of water, the slight twitching of his eyes the only thing telling Shiro he was still okay. He was pale though, his veins as plain as day. The water was slowly drawing on his life force. If he tried to struggle it would increase the pressure around him and squeeze him to certain death. He may be resilient, but he wasn't as immortal as he had seemed.

When threatened, the Court did not hesitate to destroy all those in their path. Not one of them could risk exposure.

Shiro lowered his head, unable to look at Ichigo's unconscious body any longer.

"I was the one to break that barrier. But I did not do so with the intention of destroying everything we have worked so hard for. It was an unknown mistake."

Whispers and grumbles of disbelief rang through the room, Shiro closing his eyes.

"Then explain to us, the abomination you have created."

Shiro took in a breath, closing his eyes.

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki. And he is not an abomination."

"He killed many of our prey, and not only that, almost exposed our existence! He could easily wipe out all of us with his monstrous light!"

Shiro understood their concern, but he didn't want to agree with it. He had not known of that barrier, had not known that he possessed the ability to shift forms and use the very light their kind feared as a weapon.

No doubt, he was uncontrollable, but he wasn't what they accused him off. Shiro witnessed him fight his darkness and win. He witnessed him use love as his weapon. He may have had little control, but he wasn't the worst thing they should fear.

Each other is who they should have feared.

"How can you prove his innocence?"

Shiro looked up at the sound of that voice, a deep fear running through him. Yamamoto, the eldest and founder of the court stood before him, his seat abandoned. The other's whispered in disbelief, but Yamamoto's eyes held a single line of light. Right then, Shiro felt hope.

"If you can prove he has control over himself, he will be set within our academy to continue further training to access and understand his abilities. But, if he shows he can not control what he harbors inside, I will have him executed before your very eyes, along with his family. Your right to sire another creation will be taken from you, and you will burn alongside them."

Shiro gulped, looking to Ichigo.

"You have proven to only have the ability to create beings that lack control. We cannot have another mistake like this repeated."

Shiro lowered his head, the guards releasing him, the sword removed from his throat. Shiro slouched, closing his eyes.

'Ichigo. If you can hear me, open your eyes.'

'Shiro?'

Yamamoto was back in his seat by the time the water was released, Ichigo falling to the ground. He coughed up water, gripping his throat.

"Shiro," Ichigo called weakly to him, Shiro rising up from his kneeling position. Shiro was at a loss. He didn't know how to activate Ichigo's other side. He looked Yamamoto, fear rising into his throat and threatening to throw out his heart.

He kneeled next to Ichigo, rubbing a hand over his back.

"Did you hear what he had said?"

Ichigo nodded his head, his hand gripping his.

"Do you know how to release him?" Shiro was hoping he would say yes, but Ichigo shook his head.

"I don't know… He only came out to protect me. I… I know I have control but…"

Shiro withheld a sigh of defeat, putting a hand to Ichigo's chest.

"Did your darkness tell you anything? Did Satan?" he asked, Ichigo taken aback.

"Satan? Why would he…" Then it dawned on Ichigo, a sudden frozen chill sliding down his back.

'Do you, Ichigo Kurosaki, want what your soul has offered to you? Not only the power, but do you swear that you shall cherish it, what little you have left?'

Ichigo closed his eyes, the words that had been clear as day slowly fading from his memory.

"He said something about… about my soul. He said it was offering me something," Ichigo recalled, Shir frowning.

"Vampires do not have souls Ichigo. Those are taken from us-"

"But that is what he told me!" Ichigo growled, thinking hard.

"My soul-I-I didn't have much left of it but it's still there. That's what he told me."

Shiro was very disbelieving. But he knew he could do very little besides ask random crap, so he tried to take it from his point of view.

"So love is your light, and the thing is…"

"His name is Getsuga."

Shiro was taken aback.

"The light is his power, and his name is Getsuga."

Shiro grabbed Ichigo's chin, forcing him to look at him. It took decades for anyone to figure out the name of their beast.

Shiro's was Zangetsu, which he substitutes for a last name. It took him nearly two hundred years to find that out.

"We are losing patience," one of the Royals declared, Shiro looking to him before back to Ichigo.

"Ichigo, who told you that?"

"I did."

Ichigo erupted with light. Shiro covered his eyes, everyone else in the room screaming in agony as it burned them.

"Monster!"

Shiro managed to open one eye, shock running through him at what he saw. Something black was being pushed from the light. Something big.

A loud howl pulled in everyone's attention, eyes looking to the dark thing as it was pushed from the light.

"He's going to try and kill us all! Kill him! Kill him!" a royal screamed, Yamamoto raising a hand. He was seeing something it appeared no one else was, his eyes, which normally remained mostly closed, finally opening.

He stood up from his seat when another howl rang, a clawed hand erupting from the light. Shiro was thrown back, but Yamamoto didn't even seem affected. A large foot erupted from the light, it's claws digging into the tiled ground and creating marks across it.

Yamamoto stopped a few feet from the light, outstretching a hand.

When his hand touched Ichigo's electricity shocked him, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he gasped.

...

"Isshin!" A man turned to face a woman, his grim features lighting up with happiness.

"Masaki," he greeted, catching her when she ran towards him. He breathed in the scent of her hair, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

"Masaki…"

The spirit of a wolf emerged from his body, and a vampires fangs showed when she grinned, the two disappearing into dust.

"I have every right to love this man!" Masaki yelled, Isshin standing in front of her, vampires of an extinct tribe screeching their disagreement.

"He's a werewolf! An Abomination!" Other werewolves howled, attacking the vampires. A war of bloodshed and pain disappeared into dust.

"What should we name him?" Masaki ran a hand over her stomach, the life inside of her thriving.

"I was thinking of Ichigo," Isshin replied, Masaki giggling, running a hand over her stomach. Inside, a boy was covered with fur, sharp fangs beneath his lips. He too disappeared into dust.

"Masaki!" her hands were trembling as she held Ichigo to her, Isshin tearing off the vampires head, Ichigo unconscious.

"I-It's O-okay," she whispered shakily, running a hand over the bump on his head. It had already begun to heal. She pressed her hand to his heart, smiling shakily.

"Thi-is will p-protect yo-you okay?" she whispered, light slowly pouring from her hand into his body.

With her last breath, she had given him her power's. And with a dying wish, sealed away his soul.

Yamamoto pulled his hand away.

Standing in front of him was something he had only ever heard about in stories.

He touched a hand to his cheek, the eyes everyone in this room learned to fear, scared themselves. Ichigo made a small whining noise, closing his eyes for a brief second.

'I may not posses the control you search for, but I am anything but an abomination.'

Yamamoto closed his eyes, searching through all of his memories.

He pulled his hand away.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, I do not approve of calling you innocent. But, you have shown to me that what you are is in fact unique. I will send you to my academy where you shall receive proper training. We cannot have our eyeballs burned from our sockets everytime you turn."

Ichigo couldn't help but crack a toothy smile at that, Shiro standing up. His shoulder had been knocked out of place, his hand clutching it for dear life.

Ichigo looked to him, his red eyes apologetic. His tail swished as he walked towards him on all fours, his claws scratching the tile loudly. Shiro flinched when he stopped in front of him, Ichigo towering above him.

He turned around, almost seeming to protect him from the other's in the room. He stood up on his hind legs, sucking in a bunch of air. He released it with a mighty howl, the Royals flinching but calming down.

In Shiro's mind, he heard his words.

'Next time you assholes mess with me, my claws will be the least of your worries.'

Shiro grinned, touching his uninjured hand to his side, feeling his soft fur.

They were going to be under twenty four hour surveillance, and death will always be lingering around the corner, but at least old Ichigo was back.

The Royals began to fill out, one of them looking to Ichigo with a small smile, their eyes hidden.

'Remember, whenever you need me, I'll be right here. Don't you ever forget that.'

Ichigo took a step forward, but then they were gone.

"When do you want me to drop him off at the academy?" Shiro asked Yamamoto, his shoulder finally put back in place.

"Tomorrow when the sun goes down. It seems like he's going to need a lot more work than I thought. He doesn't even know how to change back," he accused, Ichigo snapping his teeth at him. He yelped when he was hit by his cane on the nose, licking his nose to try and make it feel better.

Shiro laughed, Yamamoto turning to leave.

"Get him cleaned and fixed up. We can't have him stinking anymore than he already is."

Ichigo snapped at him again, feeling triumphant since he couldn't hit him with his cane. Shiro did that for him.

Ichigo put a paw over his nose, growling low at him. The fur shed off of him, blew away by a soft wind. Smoke rose from his body as he shrank back to his normal self, slapping Shiro across the back of his head.

Shiro chuckled, Ichigo covering his private areas with a hand.

"You're a fucking douche bag," Ichigo grumbled, Shiro grinning widely. Yup, old Ichigo was back.

Author's note: Our journey is almost over. But don't worry, we still got a little way to go!