Ch 13
Ichigo was resting at the Hitsugaya residence, the brute sitting at his side dragging his fingers through soft messy orange hair. Kenpachi's lips tilted a smile, as he chuckled. "To think you've become so powerful without me noticing. You never cease to surprise me Ichigo," Kenpachi said softly before resting himself against the wall. At the sound of the brute's voice Ichigo's eyes twitched a little, though they did not open and a barely visible smile painted his face in his sleep.
Ichigo was dreaming, but no dream could keep the voice of his lover out, no one could. Whenever and wherever he would call from, Ichigo would hear. Ichigo flinched in his sleep, and fisted his hands into the sheets before snuggling up against the thigh of Kenpachi, making the brute smile at the affection he was showed.
Ichigo was walking in dark muddy streets, the stench of burning bodies and smoke filling his nostrils making him sick to the bone. There wasn't a single house left standing and reiatsu that lacked their hosts were flying in the air lighting up the streets.
Ichigo's heart was throbbing, he could feel everyone's pain as if it were his own, and the dark sinister aura that surrounded him made him want to creep inside a hole and stay there. As he stepped into something that probably had been a market place, he caught a glimpse of a figure in the middle. He called out to the person, but he got no respond. Shortly after the figure started running, and not knowing what to do Ichigo followed.
Ichigo felt as if he'd been running for years when the figure finally stopped. It seemed as if they had left the village and they were now standing in an open field, the grass being covered in thick red blood. The stench of iron made Ichigo wanting to vomit, but he somehow managed to keep it in. In the distance he heard shouting, rooting and screams of pain and he figured someone must be battling.
The person he had been following seemed to hear it as well, and set off in the direction the sound was coming from. Minutes later Ichigo could see the person barging through a crowd entering the middle to stand protectively in front of three other persons. As far as Ichigo could see everyone were shinigami, and it looked like a regular street fight to him. But that theory was soon erased as Ichigo noticed a pile of something behind the now four men in the middle.
Behind them laid a pile of dead shinigami. Ichigo had a terrible feeling; it was as if he knew each individual in the pile, as well as those standing in front of it. He watched in terror as the three already blood covered shinigami were brutally attacked by the rest, and being exhausted as they were they soon dropped to the ground.
Ichigo watched as the three individuals struggled for survival, and gasped when the person he had followed there let out a fierce roar. His body changed and a huge pair of black feathered wings unfolded. The face of the person was covered by a hollow mask, and Ichigo found it to be shockingly similar to his own. "Kurosaki Fushichou, stand down and I'll spare your life," a voice called.
Wait a minute, Kurosaki? Ichigo thought, how come that shinigami, hollow or whatever it was had the name of Kurosaki? Ichigo turned to where the command had come from, and watched as the former head captain Genryusai stepped into the circle.
"Do you really think I will stand down after you massacred my whole clan?" The black winged person said. "The annihilation of the noble Kurosaki clan is unavoidable, you are far too dangerous to let live," Genryusai said. The winged man snarled before raising his voice shouting at the captain. "Why? Why must we all die? We have never harmed soul society; we have existed only for its protection. Why do you fear us so much that we have to die for you to feel safe? It makes no sense!"
Genryusai didn't answer; he simply released his sword in an attempt to catch the remaining 4 shinigami of the 5th noble clan. But his flames were engulfed by black ones.
Golden eyes were shining brightly as the winged one sighed. "In the end you shinigami became so obsessed with your power, our very existence became a threat. It pains me to see you end up like this; we were supposed to live in harmony from the very beginning. But that one person's actions started all this, and now look what has become of soul society."
With those words the winged man spread his wings and roared fiercely, while he surrounded him and his three sons with the black flames erupting from his body. When the shinigami broke through the wall of flames the remaining shinigami of the Kurosaki clan had disappeared, the pile of dead bodies with them.
"This is not good," were the last words Genryusai spoke before he proceeded to return to the seiretei.
Ichigo couldn't believe what he had just seen. Somehow he knew that he had just witnessed the death of his entire family. He understood where his powers came from; he understood why there resided a hollow inside him. Everything was revealed to him in mere seconds. He also knew there were at least 4 survivors and that they were probably still alive and was waiting for him somewhere out there.
A green eye filled with worry was watching the young shinigami that thrashed wildly around in his bed, sweat running down his features while panting heavily. A large hand was placed on the orange hair's shoulder and gently shook his body, in an effort to try and wake him up.
"Ichigo?" Kenpachi softly called. He was startled as Ichigo shot up into a sitting position staring straight at the wall in front of him with eyes wide open. When he didn't move Kenpahi grabbed hold of Ichigo's arm squeezing it lightly. It somehow managed to snap Ichigo out of it, and he collapsed back into a pair of waiting comforting arms.
Tears were running down Ichigo's face as he quietly cried his grief for his dead clan, while a worried Kenpachi hummed a soft tone in order to calm the confused, scared and trembling shinigami down. Kenpachi bent his head down and rested it on Ichigo's shoulder as he felt the shinigami calming down, and locked his arms around the young man's waist hugging him.
As Ichigo's body went into a completely relaxed state again, Kenpachi realized he was sound asleep again. He just sat there holding his lover firmly through the whole night, keeping an eye out for any change in the shinigamis behavior. Kenpachi watched Ichigo's pained features as he slept through the night, and it left him worried to no end.
Everyone were walking around, the air thick with anxiety. Ichigo had been called in for a trial by the central 46. He was probably being grilled inside there for destroying his seals. Byakuya was also going to be trialed for undoing the last seal on Ichigo. Inside Ichigo was being asked several questions and being bombarded with accusations.
"Hitsugaya Ichigo, you have been found guilty in intentionally going against the will of the central 46 by breaking the seals placed on you." A voice sounded from the backside of one of the plates. Ichigo snarled, he was not happy being there and damn would he say a thing or two to the people that were settled in a circle around him.
"Well, sorry for breaking a seal no one informed me about. Do you have any idea how dangerous those seals made me?" Ichigo growled. "That's nonsense; those seals were placed there to make sure your powers wouldn't come out of control." A feminine voice said.
"That's a lie. You placed those seals on me so that I wouldn't be able to rebel against you. You feared my power and such you decided the safety of your own asses should come in front of the shinigami of the Gotei 13," Ichigo spat back.
"Watch your tongue young one! How dare you accuse and insult us in such a way!" A deep baritone voice growled back.
"Oh don't you dare talk down on me like that. Those seals that were meant to keep my powers in control, only made me lose control of my power. Whenever I engaged in battle those seals were the reason I always came back severely injured. Due to those god damn seals of yours I couldn't control my power or my attacks. My attacks would stray from their path and they have even ended up hurting my fellow squad members. As well as they were hurting me physically. Those seals have been a strain on my body and I was near the edge of breaking down until I got rid of them!" Ichigo snarled.
He could hear several members of the central 46 gasp loudly. "You're spouting lies young one, how dare you accuse us for such things?" One voice shouted.
"Oh would you quit your whining you know it is true! If you want it confirmed you can ask my elder brother whom experienced the effects of the seals personally!" Ichigo was becoming fed up with this band of proud elders and his eyes were practically glowing. A loud chattering was heard as the members discussed the situation and the words of the one in trial.
"That still doesn't defend your actions. You went against us on your own free will, and no matter why that is enough to have you executed brat!" The feminine voice called again. "So I should die because I removed some god damn seals that were putting me and my friends in danger? I should just die because I am of the Kurosaki clan right?"
Once again a loud gasp came from the members, and they all began wondering if the young shinigami knew something of his ancestors.
"Yeah, you're right." Ichigo said. "I know everything. About how you ordered the ruthless massacre of the 5th noble family of soul society, the Kurosaki clan. The cursed Kurosaki clan that possessed the power of the hollow as well as the power of the shinigami. You bloody elders were responsible for the death of my entire family. You even drove my father out of soul society once he became too powerful for you to control. Well, your little secret does not exist anymore, and I don't plan on obeying anyone whom murders a whole clan only to ensure that they keep their power," Ichigo growled, his blue reaitsu engulfing him now.
"How? How did you know? Did your father tell you, no that's impossible!" A masculine voice shouted.
"It is possible. The people of soul society might not remember my clan, but you certainly do. And so does the hollow inside me, and he showed me a vision. I personally witnessed the massacre of my own family. I saw my grandfather saving my cousins, while Genryusai tried to kill them all. But they escaped, and my grandfather had kids. Isshin was one of them, and he had a twin brother. His brother had his kids, and died shortly after. His kids though are still very much alive. Did you know some hollows are immortal?"
Ichigo had begun grinning, and as the central 46 fell into turmoil he began laughing hard.
As a dark and vicious aura filled the trial room the central 46 stopped chattering and turned their attention to the victim in the middle. In the middle the shinigami had been replaced, and the number zero shone brightly above the hollow hole of the arrancar.
"Impossible. No known Kurosaki have ever had that much amount of power!" The feminine voice shrieked. "Deny it all you want. Watch the power you fear so greatly. The power of the half breed clan of the Kurosaki!" Ichigo's distorted voice cackled.
A gust of wind filled the court room and smashed the plates to pieces revealing the faces of the elders, and Ichigo grinned like a maniac when he saw the frightened eyes directed at him.
"Look at yourselves, you're shaking in your boots," Ichigo laughed.
"Neither I or my clan have ever done anything wrong. Still you lock me up in an effort to control me, but in the end karma turned on you. And now you don't see any other way to deal with the problem than to kill me. You planned to kill me all along, ever since you heard that I broke the seals. Now that I know everything you might think I want a silly revenge hmm? Well, you can stop shaking. Hatred breeds war, and war breeds fear. That is not what I seek. I only seek justice for my clan, and until you've made up for everything you did to my family I will continue to go against you with all my might. You disgust me; I despise you so much that I will never shed a tear for you. You're worse than scum; you're just trash to my eyes. I love my friends more than anything else, and I want to protect my squad. But you've made it perfectly clear that I cannot stay here any longer. So I will leave, I will find my cousins and restore the Kurosaki clan mark my word."
Ichigo growled before he returned to his shinigami form and left the room even though he hadn't been granted permission, leaving a stunned council behind.
They could do nothing but watch, as an infuriated Ichigo came out of the court room. A scary and mind wrenching aura surrounded him and everyone could feel it, especially Kenpachi. Instead of going to Hitsugaya's house Ichigo went to his own. He ripped off his lieutenant badge, tears flowing down his face as he put it on top of the cupboard.
He just realized everything he would lose now that he had to leave. He would have to leave all his friends behind, and he would have to leave the one that meant everything to him.
He would have to leave Kenpachi.
Ichigo grabbed random items and thrashed them around in the room in anger and agony as he cried out his emotions. He sent his fist flying into the nearest wall cracking it up like dried clay.
He slid down with his back to the wall and put his head in his hands, as he began sobbing quietly. He was being forced to leave everything he had fought to protect, and he was being forced to leave the one person that was the sun of his world.
He stood up and went into the hallway. As he stared back at himself in the mirror he remembered the first night he had slept with the brute. It had been the most wonderful experience he had ever had, and the presence of that man was the only thing that had kept Ichigo from breaking down. Ichigo had become a grieving man after he died, he had the chance to meet his living family but he was being denied the chance to visit them.
It hurt Ichigo so much that part of his heart would never be revived again. Though he grieved on the inside, he smiled and acted happy on the outside. Just the kind of man he was, shielding everyone from his problems so that he would not burden them.
Ichigo froze as the warmth of a well-known body engulfed him. He grabbed the hands that were placed on his stomach and leaned back into the warmth off the brute's chest. He tilted his head back and caught Kenpachi's gaze.
Kenpachi was overwhelmed by the sorrow and grief that showed. Tears began running down his face as he could feel the emotions of his lover, he could read the story behind Ichigo's sorrow in his eyes.
"So we're being forced apart once again," Kenpachi said before squeezing Ichigo tightly. "I don't want you to leave me Ichigo," he continued.
"I can't stay here any longer. The central 46 made it clear to me. Either I leave or they execute me," Ichigo sobbed.
Kenpachi growled deep in his chest, it angered him so much. They were punishing someone whom had committed no crime against soul society, forcing Ichigo into exile. Ichigo's body whole body shivered as he began crying again.
"I don't want to leave you; I don't want to leave my home. My place is by your side, yet I can no longer stay because of what I am," Ichigo sobbed. "Then at least let us create a wonderful goodbye before you leave Ichigo. Let me love you and feel your warmth once more," Kenpachi said as he dug his face down into Ichigo's shoulder, he too grieving for the loss he would experience within a short time.
Ichigo was soon given a kiss so full of passion it would be branded into his body and mind forever, and he let himself give in under the last display of love he would get in a long time.
In the dark of the night Ichigo was back at his little hideout. Barely being able to keep his tears in, he hugged Rukia and Hitsugaya. Both of them were not able to refrain from shedding tears and it made it even harder for Ichigo.
In the shadows of the trees a green eye was glowing, and Kenpachi soon stepped out in the moon light. Ichigo went over to him and caught him in a long sorrowful kiss, and as their lips parted he whispered "Wait for me, and I will return."
A tear rolled down Kenpachis face as Ichigo's back was turned on him. Ichigo took a final glance at his family and couldn't help but let a tear roll down his face. He lifted his hand and did a wave like swing, opening a garganta.
"This is goodbye."
Whoa… Such a long chapter. Anyway Ichigo realizes the truth behind his family and his powers. He bites back at the central 46 and makes a difficult choice. In order to not stir up a war Ichigo is forced to leave his home and his love behind, and exiles himself.
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