Chapter 21: Walking With Watchers

Ohetsu Nimaya watched as Ichigo disappeared into the portal. He pushed his ornate sunglasses up his nose.

"Ya' need to step yer game up, Ichigo-chan," he said, staring off into space. "Asauchi deemed ya' unworthy... Which means ya' came this far without an Asauchi in the firs' place. Ya' need t' crawl before ya' can walk. Ya' need t' start from the ground up... And if that means never comin' back here again... So be it."

Eric Koertig (Sternritter R) was deep in thought. He walked the streets of the Silbern, snow crunching against his boots. As usual, he wore his skull mask, and his almost luminous blue eyes shone from the sockets.

Eric was thinking about Uryu Ishida. About how he couldn't even stand to look at him, when Yhwach had revealed the boy. He felt so sorry for him. He had wanted to save him.

He began to tremble and shake with rage.

The display had dragged up old memories, he had long tried to banish from his mind.

Eric felt sick.

He paid no mind to where he was going; his mind lost in thought. Eric failed to notice the two women walking towards him.

Nina Redwing (Sternritter B) and Adelaid Gotshock (Sternritter X) were almost bowled over as the man strode into them. Their contrasting red and blue hair flailed wildly through the air.

Eric slipped on the icy floor and landed on his back.

"Sorry, sorry!" he hurriedly apologised.

"It's okay..." Nina said, reaching down to help him up, only to have her hand refused. "You need to watch where you're going, though."

Eric lifted himself back to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he said, attempting to brush snow from the back of his white trench coat. The damp had already caused it to go slightly see-through. "I was lost in thought..."

"What were you thinking about?" Nina asked; her natural curiosity surpassing her usually withdrawn attitude.

"I was thinking about Uryu Ishida," Eric replied.

"As are most of the Silbern, probably," said Nina, in response. Her deep brown eyes were gazing at the ice castle, behind Eric.

Stood off to the side, Adelaid kept herself to herself. She merely listened to the pair's discussion.

"I feel sorry for him," Eric said. "I wanted to save him."

"Some people didn't," Nina replied, stoically. "Did you see Balder's face? He wanted to finish him off."

Eric was about to say something, but thought better of it. Instead he said: "It was the first time I've even seen Balder in weeks. I think he was hiding during the first attack."

"I don't think so," Nina said. Her eyes narrowed. "Based on his abilities, he was probably participating from a distance."

"Yeah I guess so." His mouth, visible below his skull mask, twisted. "Now that I think about it, I think Balder's abilities are quite simple and effective... It makes a nice change from all these complicated monsters running around."

"You say that, but from what I've heard, your ability is quite complicated," Nina said, with a discerning smile.

"You've got me at a disadvantage," he responded. "You seem to know quite a lot about me, but I don't know anything about you."

"I like to keep myself to myself," she said, with an ever so slight smirk. "And I'm naturally curious."

"Give me a hint?" he asked, returning the smirk.

"It begins with a B."

"Who'd have thought?" Eric began to chuckle.

Nina involuntarily began to blush. Catching herself, she let out a quick breath and prayed that he didn't notice.

Watching the conversation, Adelaid's mood brightened. Her hair changed from it's usual bright blue to a deep crimson; matching Nina's.

"Well that's curious," Eric muttered, noting the colour change.

Realising that Adelaid's hair had changed, Nina began to blush even more furiously than before. She knew, through discussion with her sole friend, that Adelaid's hair only changed colour when she saw something cute. The prospect that she had found her conversation with Eric such, both horrified and intrigued her.

"Well, we had better get moving," Nina blurted out. Beginning to walk off, Adelaid followed her. Permitting herself a quick glance over her shoulder, as she walked, she eyed Eric. "I'll see you later."

Eric, apparently oblivious to what had just occurred, waved. "Yeah, I'll see you later."

Turning towards Nina as they walked, Adelaid whispered: "What did I just witness?"

"Nothing," Nina replied, defensively. "I don't know what you think you saw, but I was just talking to him."

"It was adorable," Adelaid insisted. "You like him; I know you do."

"Don't be ridiculous," came the reply. "I don't like anyone. Well; except you, of course."

"Have you talked to him before?"

"Well, no. But-"

"Then how do you know that you don't like him?" Adelaid smiled. "I saw that little back and forth. You were flirting with him."

"I don't even know what his face looks like," Nina persisted.

"Maybe that's what's doing it for you?" Adelaid responded, breaking into a laugh.

As Nina laughed at her friend's joke, she caught herself thinking about Eric.

Snow (The Yuki-Oni) was laying on his bed. Pale eyes, like chips of dirty eyes, lingered on the window as he watched the snow fall. From his forehead, two prominent horns had sprouted.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he grunted, lazily. Snow turned onto his side, so that he was facing the entrance.

Tomoko Stano (Sternritter E) walked into the room and placed her hands on her hips. Her short black hair hung down over her face as she tilted her head to the side.

Snow looked into her emerald green eyes and raised one eyebrow. "This is a surprise." His womanly face moved lazily. "I thought you didn't like me?"

Tomoko broke into a slight grin. "I don't."

"Then why have you graced me with your presence?" Snow asked, waving his arms half-heatedly around.

"What's that outside the window?" Tomoko retorted, annoyed.

Snow grunted and looked over his shoulder. "Snow?" he replied, apathetically.

"Because of you, Onmar is throwing a fit." She pointed at the horns atop his head. "I don't get why you insist on using your Schrift as much as you do."

He broke into a smirk. "I like watching Onmar squirm. I know how much he hates the cold."

"So you do it just to spite him?"

"Pretty much."

"That's all well and good," Tomoko said. "But you're not the one he runs to every time he gets so much as a shiver. You know my ability has a time limit, so he's a source of endless annoyance. And, by association, you are too."

Snow seemed to mull over the statement for several seconds. He retracted his horns, and the snow outside the window stopped. "Better?"

"Much," Tomoko replied. As she was about to remove herself from her comrade's living quarters, she stopped and continued to talk to Snow. "Why do you provoke him?" she asked. "You know Onmar could kill you."

"At this point, it's a game," Snow muttered. "If he does, then I win... And he knows that."

Tomoko began to chuckle. "You're a strange one..."

Snow rolled onto his back and clasped his hands behind his head. "So I've been told."

"I shouldn't be complaining, really," Tomoko sighed, folding her arms. "My ability makes me too hot. I should be grateful for you cooling me down."

Lost in thought for several minutes, the beautiful man all but ignored the girl that was stood in his quarters. What she had said about Onmar being able to kill him, had piquéd his curiosity.

"Who do you think is the strongest Sternritter?" he suddenly asked.

The question caught Tomoko by surprise. Her mouth and bright green eyes twisted. "That's a tough one..." She pulled a chair from beside a nearby table and sat down. Crossing one leg over the other, she began to ponder. "Of course there are the four elites..."

"But rank doesn't necessarily dictate strength, does it?" Snow grinned.

"I don't know about that..." Tomoko said, returning the smile. "Joseph Fehler is a monster."

"His Schrift is definitely tricky... Plus he's powerful to boot." The womanly man continued to stare at the ceiling. "But I wouldn't say that he's the strongest."

"Zeit?" Tomoko suggested, putting forward the name of the much-famed Sternritter O.

"Zeit is definitely in the running," he muttered. "But he's much too quiet to get a read on." Flicking one pale eye to the side, he watched Tomoko. "I'd say you're in the running."

"If you're including me, it would be rude not to include Knight." She smirked. "His strength is potentially unlimited."

Snow only hummed in response.

"I notice that you haven't included Onmar in your prospects for strength." Tomoko lifted one eyebrow.

"What can I say..." Snow replied. "I don't hold him in too high a regard."

Balder Blitzkrieg (Sternritter W) was spinning a knife around his fingers.

The light above him was shining down on his deep brown skin. Coal black eyes were fixed on the blade. His other hand was stroking the stylised goatee that adorned his chin.

Sat opposite him, was Zeit Mehre (Sternritter O).

"So, how was your time in Hueco Mundo?" Balder asked the young boy.

Zeit shrugged and smiled. He tapped against the table several times; morse code.

"You know, a lot of the other Ritters think you're mute?" Blader chuckled, taking his eyes off of the knife to look at Zeit. "I just don't have the heart t' tell 'em you choose not t' talk."

The boy snatched the knife out of the air and broke into a grin. Placing his palm on the table that the pair were sat at, he splayed his fingers.

The knife moved so fast that it vanished. Over and over he stabbed the gaps between his fingers, never so much as knicking himself. Once he was done, Zeit plunged the blade into the wood and left it protruding from the table.

Balder leaned over and inspected the pockmarks on the surface. In the spaces between and surrounding his fingers, Zeit had spelled out six words: "What they don't know won't hurt."

The black man chuckled and ran his hand over the top of his bald head. "You've got a point."

Zeit only smiled in reply. He titled his head to the side.

As he looked at the words, Balder couldn't help but feel impressed. Before he had been drafted into the Vandenreich, he had been a soldier. His old army friends and comrades had played the knife game, and never had he seen someone move so fast and so precise.

He and Zeit were two of the longest serving Sternritter. Gillaume DaVinci (The Friction) and Legion Longstride (Sternritter J) were the only two who had been enlisted as long as they had.

Balder had joined their ranks almost ten years earlier, before the Auswhälen had been conducted. Legion became a Sternritter a year later. Gillaume, on the other hand, seemed to have always been there. It was almost as if he were part of the scenery. Balder had heard a rumour that Gillaume was the one that designed the ice palace, that marked the epicentre of the Silbern.

Zeit, however, was a mystery. Balder knew that he had joined before him, but the exact time was unknown.

Another curious thing was that the boy never seemed to age.

Admittedly, Balder knew the curious boy a lot better than most other Sternritter; save Lenora Poultery (Sternritter C). But even then, there was still an almost ludicrous amount that he didn't know.

Just as he was about to say something, Balder's non-statement was interrupted by the sudden interference of Yhwach's voice entering his mind. From the look on the youth's face, Zeit could hear it as well.

"My dear Sternritter," His Majesty's voice said. "You are to gather in my Palace. The end is nigh. The final assault approaches."

Ichigo felt rain on his face.

He awoke, laying on the sidewalk. He no longer wore his Shihakusho; instead clad in the clothes that he had been wearing when he entered Urahara Shoten, the evening of the first invasion. Orange hair clung to his face, due to the moisture.

"What... Am I...?" Ichigo questioned, lifting his left arm to wipe his face. Despite being in a physical body, his hand was still missing. As he realised this, he gritted his teeth.

Light fell on his face. Squinting up at the sky, he saw the sign of the Kurosaki clinic. He was at home.

Realising that his human body must have been brought home by Urahara, he began to call after the store owner. "Urahara! Urahara?!"

He heard the door open behind him.

It's probably dad...

Ichigo's mind briefly flashed back to his father, clad in the uniform of a Shinigami.

How can I face him, after what has happened to me...? How can I face any of them? I've lost my Zanpakuto and my hand...

As he moved to run, Ichigo was grabbed around the top of his right arm. Turning back, he found his father's gaze.

"Dad, I..." he stammered, unsure over what to say.

It was then that he realised the Isshin was clad in a Shihakusho. Ichigo stopped in his tracks and broke into a somber expression.

"You... Came for me, wearing that..." Ichigo said. "So I'm sure you know what has happened..."

"Yeah..." Isshin said, releasing his son's arm. "Urahara told me all about your broken Zanpakuto. About your hand. And all about the Royal Guard." He looked into Ichigo's eyes. "Nimaya sent you back here, didn't he?"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open wide at the statement.

"It's to be expected..." Isshin closed his eyes and folded his arms. The rain continued to fall on the pair. "Your Bankai is beyond repair... And I doubt he would help you. Especially considering... You don't know anything about yourself."

Ichigo's right hand grasped the neck of his father's Shihakusho and he practically lifted him off of the ground. He was trembling with anger.

Isshin slowly reached up and removed his son's hand from his clothes. "Do you remember back in the fight with Aizen? When you said that I could tell you when I was ready... Well I'm ready." He placed one hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "You had better come inside and sit down... I'm going to tell you the truth about everything..."