It's Easter, I have nothing to do for two weeks. Procrastinating necessary revision and overall just suffering aside.
GODDAMMIT IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS I AM GOING TO MAKE MYSELF WRITE THIS.
Yeah. There's my overall take on this – AMV's do seriously help inspire to write sometimes.
So if you want to appreciate someone for me finally getting off my ass to write some more of this story, thank Primordial Paper and his AMVs.
The following is a disclaimer:
Disclaimer
There, happy legal rights BS?
God I've missed writing sarcastic and dumb author's notes.
Volume 2: Chapter 5: A Burden Shared
Hmmm… Maybe she could -
Nope, she'd already tried that.
How about -
Tried that too.
Nora sighed in frustration, contented to continue banging her head against the table until she thought of a reasonable new scheme to convince Ichigo to get out of his training frenzy and attend the dance.
She sat at a table with Ruby on the edge of the hall the school was using for the upcoming dance, and it definitely seemed like it was set up to scream 'ballroom' or something like that, what with overlooking balconies and wall-sized windows shielded with drapes. Various half complete decorations dotted about the room, signs of Yang and Weiss' ongoing work to decorate for the dance (Team CFVY was originally assigned to do it but their mission went over the planned time, so Team RWBY was brought on. Though with the absence of Blake and the depressed mood of Ruby at Blake's recent attitude and behaviour it was really just Weiss and Yang doing all the work).
Ren had been around to stop her from bruising herself – or breaking another table – but he had since returned to the dorm and left her in the hands of Team RWBY, who hopefully would've stopped her. Had Yang and Weiss not been busying themselves setting up decorations and such for the dance while Nora sat at a table off to the side with Ruby, who seemed trapped enough in her own thoughts of getting Blake to attend the dance.
Once more Nora found herself interrupted from scheming when a hand invaded her vision and prevented her forehead from impacting the table again, leading to Nora raising her gaze to the slight glare from Weiss (who had long since given up trying to convince Nora to stop, so instead just intervened whenever nearby). Nora pouted and leaned back in her chair, well aware Icey-Weissy (a nickname the heiress very much wasn't fond of) would only leave after finishing whatever she came to say – which she wouldn't start until she was sure Nora wouldn't continue to abuse the table while she was speaking.
In response to Nora's momentary agreement to stop damaging furniture, Weiss placed two pieces of completely (as far as Nora could tell) identical pieces of cloth on the table, enquiring to Ruby "I need you to pick a tablecloth." All the while smiling – Weiss enjoyed planning events to the point that it baffled Nora, wasn't the fun meant to be at the event and not the setup for it?
Ruby released her head from her hands with her expression becoming confused at the sight of the cloth, questioning "Aren't they both the same?"
Nora agreed "Yeah, same shade of boring old grey. Why not try pink or green or something, go for a dazzling pizzazz? Plus, those both look a little too small to be table cloths" the first two thirds of her statement were honest, the final comment was purely in good humour and because Nora realised sometimes people thought she was being genuinely serious when she was just joking.
Weiss just scoffed in disappointment at the two (Nora assumed the sigh meant something along the lines of why did she expect less cultured people to find any difference), responding "I don't even know why I asked." Before walking off to continue with setup.
The heiress gone, Nora saw it fit to continue her earlier endeavours into thought – so she went back to banging her head against the table. She'd figure something out eventually – or get brain damaged trying.
Just as Nora had returned to her early actions so had Ruby gone back to slumping against the table dejectedly, still unable to think of a way to convince their absent teammate to at least consider attending the dance – or to at least get some sleep.
Yang strolled over, an oversized speaker held over her shoulder as easily as one would hold a chair, or perhaps an overfilled bag, before unceremoniously dropping it to the ground uncaring of the loud noise of impact. Satisfied at her work, she dusted off her hands and meandered over to the table and addressed the less active girls "So, have you picked out dresses yet?"
Nora raised her head from the table to nod vigorously, a satisfied grin adorning her face – before she promptly continued the epic battle between face and table.
What if she hit him over the head with a hammer and locked him in a room until he started complying?
Well, she had done that before when he'd refused to comply with her eager training regimen in preparation to join Beacon – though afterwards he never trusted her enough to be in a room alone with her without a weapon again.
Still, it could work…
"What's the point?" Ruby responded, her unhappy tone carrying through "Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" So Blake was being just as off recently as Ichigo was – Nora could feel her evil plan solidifying.
"Oh, don't worry. She's going." Yang replied confidently, convinced she would without doubt be able to convince her teammate to attend.
In Nora's mind, that may have covered Blake's recent refusal for socialisation and at least temporarily break Ichigo's continual training it didn't solve the fact the two scarcely spoke and Blake seemed to make an effort to even avoid being around him altogether recently.
If Ichigo saw not having a date as a valid excuse not to go – and if Blake didn't plan on going and thus didn't have a date. Yep, Nora was definitely going to need to steal Yang away for a little scheming session, even if the two didn't attend as a couple the aim was to at least get them back on civil terms (setting them up wasn't the aim of her plan but would serve as a bonus if it happened).
Before Nora could grab Yang to begin execution of her master plan, Yang called out "Weiss! I thought we agreed, no doilies!" 'Doily' was a weird work (and Nora had absolutely NO idea what it was, though it sounded like a fancy rich person thing, so it figures Weiss would know what it was).
Weiss retorted "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines." Nora was about to start making bets to see if it would turn into a ballroom decoration catfight, but the intervention/appearance of Sun and Neptune put a halt to any escalations the argument may have taken.
"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune questioned. Nora surmised that meant the dance would have fog machines now, seeing as Weiss definitely had an obvious crush for Neptune to the point her personality almost seemed to one-eighty around him (it was funny to watch at least).
As quickly as Neptune appeared, so did the smile on Weiss' face as she replied "We were thinking about it." Nora considered that a win on her prediction abilities.
"That's pretty cool." Neptune responded.
"You ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun questioned the girls present (with finger guns to go with it, which Nora at least found amusing – Sun was like the funny friend you could always trust to have a joke around with).
Ruby snickered "Pffft, yeah right."
"Laugh all you want," Yang replied "I'll be turning heads tomorrow night." Nora at least thought it would be amusing to watch Yang if she'd be flirting with anyone – usually anyone who tried to flirt with Yang got a kiss – from Ember Celica, and Nora wanted to make a game about how far they'd usually fly.
Nora would want to talk about the awesome dress she and Pyrrha picked out – it was pink and that was all she really cared about though, and fashion tended to bore her immensely.
"What are you two wearing?" Weiss questioned the boys in response.
Sun made a total sound that would synonymise with 'DUH!' before saying "Uh, this." No wonder Sun and Ichigo got along – neither had fashion sense and would stick to one outfit if at all possible (though Ichigo wouldn't mind other clothes as long as the colour was white or black).
Though much like Ren had gotten a suit for Ichigo (even though the latter still believed they had a choice about going or not), Sun seemed to have Neptune to cover for him when the blue haired teen stepped in front and held an arm in front of Sun's face and said "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." Which Nora chuckled at – Neptune sounded like he was trying to be a priest of fashion or something.
Sun recovered quickly, stepping in front of Neptune's arm to retort "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a 'shirt-and-tie' kinda place." Though the smile holding on Neptune's face confirmed this was usual banter for the two.
Sun's 'well justified' statement however simply drew deadpan looks from the others present and Yang acted in a unified voice to reply "Yeah, we've noticed."
"So, uh… what does Blake think of all this?" Sun brought the conversation back to more current matters – Nora hadn't gotten over the fact he still seemed regretful for telling Ichigo about Team RWBY's plans that led to Ichigo fighting against Ginjo again, which he had been forgiven for by all of Team RWBY bar Blake, who at least talked to him sometimes – more than could be said for Ichigo.
"She still being all, ya know… Blake-y?" Sun finished.
"Obviously." Weiss responded simply, though Nora wasn't sure if it was out of hostility to Sun or wanting to keep team matters specifically to her team.
"I still can't think of a way to change her mind. We've had just as much luck convincing Blake to go as Nora's had convincing Ichigo to stop training." Ruby's statement brought Nora away from the distraction of conversation and back to her current reality.
"While I'm not sure about Ichigo," Yang looked to Nora "I'm telling you Blake will be at the dance tomorrow." Time for some convenient conspiring.
Some of her usual endless energy returning, Nora slammed her hands against the desk for emphasis before standing, grabbing Yang and running off – yelling "How about a two-for-one deal?" which the others were left to assume either Nora had an idea but needed Yang or the school would be blown up within the day.
Neptune simply confusedly pointed between the spot the two girls had once occupied and the now already slammed doors, wondering how anyone without Ruby's Semblance could have gotten from point A to B so fast. Looking to Sun for guidance or explanation, Sun shrugged non-committedly as if saying 'Yeah, shit like this happens, whaddaya gonna do?'
Content that the biggest threat to a proper ballroom setup would be temporarily indisposed, Weiss decided to use the opportunity to retrieve the doilies Yang had tried to remove previously.
Ruby was left hopeful that her friends would be back to acting normally and interacting like the used to soon – and then came to the dreaded realisation that the dance was the following day and she'd have to wear heels.
Ichigo wished he was capable of regretting the various life decisions that had led to this point – then he realised he couldn't because he hadn't made any of the decisions, in fact he had been given no choice in the matter at all.
He was going to give Nora hell after this, though.
"That's your fault for not payin' any attention to your body while we're training, dumbass" Zangetsu supplied, thoroughly amused by his wielder's discomfort in his current situation. Zangetsu had conveniently chosen not to tell Ichigo when Nora had made use of his essentially unconscious state to drag him from their dorm room to one of the unoccupied classrooms (it was late in the day, classes were done anyway) before chucking him in and locking the door.
In much the same fashion the scheming witches had conveniently, at the same time dragged Blake away from her ongoing research into activity involving Torchwick and the White Fang and brought her into the room, before rushing off and locking the doors behind them. The two were no doubt waiting outside, responding to Blake's demands to be released by telling her to talk out her problems or that they wouldn't be let out until they started acting normally again.
Ichigo had no delusions of the level of this betrayal – Jaune and Ren had been in the room with him! Pyrrha might've been too, and none of them had stopped her from dragging him across campus?!
Hell would be payed – after he waited until Nora gave up. Blake hadn't bothered sparing him a second glance after entering the room, instead sitting on the desk and occasionally walking over to the doors to bang on them and demand Yang unlock them before being denied and returning to her previous position.
Ichigo, for his part, wasn't sure what he was meant to say. Blake had been ignoring him for weeks – ever since he last fought Ginjo – and he'd tried talking to her, but he'd just gotten brushed off or outright ignored repeatedly.
Once more after Blake was denied exit Ichigo spoke up "Believe me, you might be able to trick or convince Yang into letting you leave, but Nora's a whole other basket case" he sighed in realisation that this was the same as her crazy training regime all over again "Nora won't give up until she's satisfied with the results of whatever crazy crap she wants you to agree to – or until she's convinced she's left us too long and one may have starved and died."
No response. Nothing to acknowledge she'd even listened to a word he said, just the continual sight of the front half of the classroom in front of him from his spot sitting on one of the desks further back – the sight of the front half of the classroom and Blake's back as she continued to stare at the board and ignore his existence.
"So are we pissed off yet? Because I think we should be pissed off by now." Zangetsu supplied.
Well, if there was one thing Ichigo had learned from Zangetsu other than fighting – it was pissing people off. "Jeez Blake, I know you usually aren't the most talkative person but this," even if she couldn't see it he raised his hand at her in a general gesture "is a new level even for you."
"Word of advice," he continued "ignoring people for long enough doesn't make them stop existing – trust me, I know from experience." 'I'm talking about you, Zangetsu' he added silently.
"I resent that!"
'Well if it counts I've stopped doing that now, I just used to when I thought you were a sign I was going crazy'
"I still resent it though" Zangetsu mumbled in response.
"Are you trying to make a point?" Blake responded, and Ichigo was relieved he'd event gotten her to talk to him – those were more words than she'd spoken to him in at least a week or so.
He shrugged "Maybe, or maybe I'm just trying to get you to look away from White Fang related research long enough to have an actual conversation," he intended to make that his point but in his frustration at the situation continued "maybe so I could potentially build up to the point where I could ask you why you've avoided me since the docks or outright ignored me since the night you guys fought the Paladin." It hadn't left Ichigo's memory that Blake had been acting off with him before his last fight with Ginjo – it just got worse after the fact.
At this point Blake had fully turned to him – and he figured he'd get a normal excuse. Perhaps 'she hadn't been acting weird at all' or 'she'd been too focused on trying to get a lead on the White Fang to stop them' but Ichigo was more focused for a moment on how stressed and tired Blake looked. Black bags outlined her eyes and, if that didn't go to show her sleeplessness, her eyes that only seemed to stay open due to immense willpower did.
"Wow, and to think the only reason you don't look like as much a zombie as she does is because you have Jinzen for training." Zangetsu commented.
"You want to know why I've ignored you and avoided you?" Blake questioned – and Ichigo subconsciously acknowledged he'd just lit a powder keg that was about to blow up in his face "Should I start with when you almost died the first time? Or should we start with the second time?"
'Damn, I thought she'd gotten over that after the docks' Ichigo thought he'd managed to help her worries about his near death back then and didn't even consider it as reasoning for her actions towards him now.
"And you don't acknowledge the fact she started avoiding you after you nearly died the first time – dear lord of Hueco Mundo how many meanings of the description 'Dense moron' apply to you?"
"I thought if I could avoid you that you'd stay away from the situation instead of trying to fight a battle you can't win!" Blake's patience seemed to have had it with him at this point, he guessed.
Ichigo replied "Fighting battles I can't win, huh? If I say the words 'overworked' and 'non-stop' and 'White Fang' or 'Roman Torchwick', would any of those words have similar meaning to you?" she couldn't seriously be talking about him fighting impossible battles when she was trying to find information to take on the White Fang when she looked like she'd barely be able to take on a Boarbatusk.
"That's different, and you know it." Blake responded.
"Do I?" he questioned rhetorically "I don't think it is. You think you get an all-out excuse to work yourself to death to stop the White Fang because you used to be a member? Ginjo makes it personal to me every time we fight. Me and nobody else – that's why I have to beat him." Blake should've understood this – she was one of the people Ginjo was taunting and trying to break while Ichigo lay bleeding on the floor.
Both of them were angry and exhausted to their breaking points – it was simply a matter of which box broke the horses' back.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be a metaphorical box that Blake would respond with freely "And maybe it isn't about you being selfish and rushing off to get yourself killed at every opportunity!"
Silence.
That was all Blake received in response to her last remark – and she could assume based on the lack of sound or response from outside that Yang and Nora had previously left, probably assuming things would be fixed by the time they returned.
Ichigo might've had his reasoning, but he didn't understand what she –and all of their friends – felt every time he'd barely survived an encounter with Ginjo. Ichigo may have been enraged at how easily the Fullbringer had toyed with them – but none of them failed to remember he was the first one to be on the ground, bleeding out.
It was another one of her reasons for continuing her work without stopping. Roman Torchwick was using the White Fang as toy soldiers so he could continue his thieving. That wasn't the White Fang her father once led and it wasn't the White Fang she fought to sustain the ideals of. She wanted to beat Torchwick in hopes it would bring the group closer to the peaceful group it had once been.
The fact stopping the group would also bring a stop to Kugo Ginjo was a certified bonus in her mind – and the reason she didn't want Ichigo's help, no matter how freely he offered it.
And by this point she was just wishing he'd say something – anything, even if it was insulting or berating her for her decision to protect him when he didn't wish to be protected.
Instead, he simply stood there, leaning against the opposite end of the desk she was with his hands gripping the edge of the desk behind him. His scowl was set firmly in place and she couldn't read much from him when his eyes were closed.
And after what felt like far too long he spoke. "Selfish? You think I'm being selfish, maybe that I don't understand what it's like to be powerless or some kinda bullshit like that?" his grip on the desk must've tightened at some point, all Blake knew was when it had exceeded the limit of pressure the wood could take when the edge of the desk had splintered and broke under his grasp.
When he opened his eyes, Blake expected the rage that accompanied his words, but was instead frozen to the spot at what she saw. Honey brown orbs with the white sclera befitting any ordinary human were gone, replaced with sickly golden irises and black sclera.
"Don't say shit to me about selfishness!" The double toned voice that broke the unbearable silence was not Ichigo's at all.
Blake took a step back – due to the sudden change in everything from body language to facial expression and those eyes – she couldn't even call it an involuntary one. If 'Ichigo' noticed her reaction or not, he didn't show it as he continued "You think you're the only one that knows what it's like to be powerless? Think back to the initiation – Ichigo having to watch all of you fight an uphill battle there was only a small chance of you winning, and what could he do?!"
Blake was taken further back by the confirmation. This wasn't Ichigo, yet spoke as if it had been there. Personally she'd never asked too much about the events after the initiation – but that had been the first event of erratic behaviour or events that occurred around Ichigo specifically. Unfortunately in her shocked state the only response Blake could form was "What are you?"
It stopped walking towards her – which it had been doing to keep up as she edged herself away – and laughed. A grin spread across Ichigo's face that so blatantly disagreed with everything she knew about Ichigo, and endless, almost maniacal laughter escaped his lips. The high pitched noise only served to cement Blake's fears, however – she'd edged towards the door and tried to open it. The door was still locked, and Nora and Yang hadn't returned.
When it finally noticed her position its laughter died off completely, as did the grin. As Blake stood opposite him once more in damnable silence she'd wished she'd had her weapon on her when Yang had dragged her off to 'talk'. Whatever feeling of hostility and potential for attack, however, died off when he simply turned from her and returned to his spot leaning against the desk.
"Figures." It spoke again "You'd be my best bet for someone to help get this lesson across to the idiot, and all you serve to do is justify his fears." All previous emotions and attitude were gone, but Blake still continued to stare at him in realisation when he gave his ultimatum.
"Choice is yours, I guess." He started "I've seen enough and know enough to know you're smart enough to figure it out if you told anyone else what you've seen, so I guess I'm leaving it in your hands." He clasped his own hands together in waiting, and it didn't escape Blake's notice of the small white shards he seemed to be fiddling with in his hands.
Slowly, she edged away from the door cautiously. "What are you talking about?" she asked after a moment of trepidation.
"I'm talkin' about whether you're gonna run off and tell all the others. I figured you'd be the easiest person to have this idiot" he lazily raised a hand and gestured to himself "talk to, seeing as he's done it before. It's your choice whether you want to talk, or if you want to be the one to hand over the kid with a Hollow inside him." He finished, watching Blake's eyes widen.
At her change in expression he laughed humourlessly "Jeez, spoiler alert I guess. I kinda thought the eyes and voice gave it away, if this didn't," he raised the object in his hands, and the shards from before formed together – a larger fragment of bone or shard with a hole, and a crimson stripe that crossed over it down to the beginnings of what seemed to be jagged teeth – it was part of a possibly Grimm, though with what it had said it was almost certainly a Hollow mask.
Without pause he continued "Well I guess this is where you go through the usual stages of reaction, what were they again?" he paused in thought before snapping his fingers as if a lightbulb had turned on above his head "Fear, then possibly denial coupled with some anger – whatever that crap was, you'd know it better than I would after all. S'why I figured you'd be easiest for him to talk to." Blake had caught on halfway through his statement. She couldn't deny the truth behind the Hollow's words or its existence – there was no way her sleep deprived mind would come up with something like this.
The rest of his statement however – "You're likening having you inside him to being like a Faunus." She responded in surprise.
"Maybe not in as many words" he shrugged "But I'm likening the struggle, after all, you of all people would understand why nobody else knows about this. Some humans hate Faunus and spread that hate so that people suffer undeservingly." He paused, allowing her to take in the similarities between Ichigo's secret and her own.
"Difference is, only a fraction of people hate Faunus." She didn't need to hear his next statement to know what he was going to say Everyone would hate someone with a Hollow inside them, especially considering there aren't any others in existence."
He seemed to let Blake stop to mull this over, and mull it over she did. Ichigo had kept something like this secret from them for so long, and –
No, she couldn't even bring herself to be angry at this point. He was in a position she understood all too well. Beyond that, her lack of sleep and the overall shock from what she'd just had revealed to her left her far too drained to try and be angry.
Still, to know he'd kept a secret like this to himself for all this time, to the point that it seemed even Ren and Nora, his two closest friends, had no clue or indication to it. It also explained a few questionable events involving Ichigo on the side as well.
After several minutes her sleepless mind managed to sort through enough to decide the easiest approach first. "Why would Ichigo want you to tell me this? Why not Ren or Nora or someone closer to him?" she questioned.
He laughed nervously "Couple of misconceptions you got goin' on there. First of all, he didn't want anyone to know this – you pissed me off so I forced him outta the driver's seat," Blake gave him a surprised look that he was capable of that and he interpreted it as something to be explained before she took it as an action against Ichigo. "The amateur's been working himself to near death and nobody notices because nobody sees him doing it. He's had me working him to the bone non-stop but fails to make any significant progress because of the current crap you're all involved in" he paused for breath – or because he'd chosen to stop himself before going off topic "I know the idiot better than anyone else in existence. When he gets in a rut like this the only thing that'll get him out of it is a wakeup call from one of his friends – that's where you come in."
Blake shot him a look "That didn't answer the question as to why you're telling me."
He shrugged, a repeated action that made Blake think this Hollow didn't think its own plans through well enough "Ever since he got to this place you were always someone he could talk to – someone that would understand secrecy or being too afraid of how people he's known almost half his life will react – to see those people looking at him like a monster," he gesticulated for a few seconds before the word seemed to appear in his mind "Someone he can trust – you say about talking to others closer to him but you know how he values his friends, and I'd say comparatively you're closer than some of the others you think I coulda been telling this to. Plus to me it looks like you could use someone to talk to as well."
Blake sighed, realising the shocking parts of the conversation had receded and this was still the situation she'd been in ten minutes before. When she made no move to speak about it, the Hollow responded to her silence "Well, if you don't wanna talk to me, I'm all the better for it. I'd just say be careful when he comes to – he won't be expecting anything good if he wakes up and realises I took full control with you around."
Before Blake could realise what he meant the now half-mask in his hands shattered and Ichigo's eyes returned to his natural colour.
Then said eyes closed and he promptly collapsed backwards against the desk.
When Ichigo came to, it took him all of five seconds to realise what had happened. Zangetsu took control. In front of one of his friends.
'What did you do?!' he screamed internally, to no avail. Zangetsu didn't respond. Ichigo didn't know how he should be reacting – had anyone else shown up? What had Zangetsu done while in control? This wasn't like simply controlling his movements in class – he hadn't been conscious at all, almost like his Zanpakuto had forced him to sleep and then taken control.
'Abandon your fear. Abandon your fear. Abandon your fear' he had to repeat it to himself like a mantra before he could finally muster the courage to open his eyes. Blake stood against the desk casually – as casual as she once would've been when they still hung out normally.
Upon seeing him open his eyes, she joked "Well suddenly you talking to the voices in your head make a whole lot more sense now."
'What?'
Ichigo couldn't formulate words. She knew about Zangetsu, but she wasn't afraid – or treating him like a monster? So he gaped. His jaw may as well have not even been attached.
A few minutes – and a few internal panic attacks – later and Ichigo finally managed to say something. "You know about Zangetsu." His voice was beyond quiet, reflecting his – dare he say it – fear. The only indication that Blake heard him was that her ears twitched beneath her bow, probably only just able to hear him.
Unfortunately the universe seemed intent on continuing to shock, scare or surprise him. What he expected was probably anger or fear or questions, or even for Blake to continue ignoring him as she had before. What he didn't expect was the blunt question of "You named your Hollow half?"
Ichigo wasn't sure how his brain worked any more so he just started talking "He's not really a half – he's more like an inner Hollow, like inside my soul. I didn't name him either, he already had a name." at the end of his response his brain finally caught up with his mouth "How are you so damn calm about this?"
She shrugged at him "You never really did qualify as normal in my eyes – now I just have a definition for why."
Well this was definitely ranking on one of the weirdest days Ichigo had ever had at Beacon. Grasping at straws, he asked "So what happens now?" even he wasn't really sure in what context he was asking – that Blake knew his secret or that they were having a normal (by standards for them) conversation.
She sat down against the desk, sitting next to where he'd stayed leaning after Zangetsu had dropped his control. She responded "You need to slow down. You look ready to drop any second." There was no hostility, no anger – just concern of a friend.
That didn't stop Ichigo's immediate response however. "I'd call that total shock, to be honest. You've got it written all over your face too, and you already looked like coffee was the only thing keeping you awake before. And I'd definitely be the one to say I'm not the only one that needs a break." Blake looked even more exhausted than she had when they were first locked in the room – though he guessed that was to be expected when she'd just gone through discovering about Zangetsu – something he'd no doubt have to fully explain at some point.
She sighed and turned her head – practically refusing to meet his gaze. "I can't" she answered "Torchwick is still out there, and somebody has to do something about it."
Blake turned back to him at the sound of his palm hitting his face. Removing the appendage from his face after the facepalm reaction he commented "And after all that crap you said about me running off to get myself killed." He turned to Blake fully "I never said I'd stop training – but I know I need to take a break before I work myself to death, so the next time I face Ginjo it can be on my terms and I can be at full power." He waved his hand for emphasis, watching the black Reiatsu outlined in red dance in flickers from his fingertips before continuing.
"You, on the other hand – or I guess, the same hand, need some sleep. I don't care if you need or want protecting, I'm not willing to let my friend go out and risk her life if she isn't at one hundred percent." He watched Blake's emotions conflict in response – and decided he'd save grilling out Nora and Zangetsu for after he'd slept. Sleep sounded like the best thing in the universe right now.
"Okay" Blake finally answered "But on two conditions."
"And that is?"
"Promise you aren't going to get yourself killed. You said once you always keep your promises" true enough he had – he liked to be a man of his word no matter what. He'd never expected something like that from Blake though – Blake, the realistic one – but he guessed everyone could do something out of the ordinary every once in a while.
"And the second condition?" he asked.
"An explanation," she said "to make more sense out of all of this. How is it even possible for someone to have a Hollow inside them? Is there even a term for it?"
He didn't respond and instead stood and offered her a hand up and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "It's a deal. But as for the questions half of them even I won't know the answers to. As for a term for what I am, Zangetsu once used the term 'Visored'." He responded. She gave a small smile in response – and Ichigo finally got to register that Zangetsu had actually managed to get something right without it blowing up in his face.
'I resent that, too!'
"Yeah, well I resent you – you could've given me some kind of warning you were going to take over in the middle of a conversation!" he responded aloud – Blake turned to look at him momentarily before dismissing him arguing aloud with his Zanpakuto.
Blake experimentally knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds before turning to him "I don't think they've come back, and the doors are still locked." She supplied.
"Great, just great" Ichigo muttered, stating aloud "Well I originally intended to go easy on them but seeing as I'm having to break school property because they got bored of standing around I guess Zangetsu gets to decide how those two pay for this." He chuckled, and Blake smiled while shaking her head – though he didn't take that as objection for revenge against their teammates.
Well, he'd finally been coerced into agreeing to get some sleep and had managed to repair his friendship with Blake – so today hadn't been that bad a day. Now there were just any more plans Nora had for trying to force him to the dance to worry about, and he swore he'd been forgetting something.
"Damn!" he cursed aloud, turning to Blake who was giving him a questioning look "Sun wasn't the one who told me about you guys staking out the White Fang meeting – I found out and told him."
Blake paused for a second, registering his statement before her eyes narrowed "How did you know that without specifically eavesdropping our dorm room?" she questioned with a warning tone in her voice.
The warning tone definitely put him on edge – he'd just managed to get her talking to him again and seriously didn't want to go back to levels of 'pretend you don't exist'. "It's like this other plane of existence" he supplied "I've travelled there unconsciously before – it's how I knew your team found out your secret" upon her glare he realised that had been the wrong example – and one she hadn't known about "It's how I knew about that Gillian before it appeared!" he exclaimed with hands held up in surrender. Deciding further explanation would be necessary, he continued "When I'm there it's like nothing is real – all I can perceive is the energy and Aura. Even Zangetsu doesn't have a damn clue what it is, and I swear he was the one that dragged me there to hear what your team was saying in the first place!"
'Traitor! And after all I did for you in fixing your friendship!'
Blake sighed "Things aren't going to get any more normal if I keep hanging out with you, are they?"
Ichigo sighed in relief and followed it with a smirk, responding "Nope. Everything around me is crazy and it makes life interesting. Plus it makes hanging out on the roof and just talking while away from the insanity that much more enjoyable." He joked, referring to how much he'd escaped his usual dose of insanity when hanging out with Blake.
"Figures" Blake bluntly responded.
"Weird" Zangetsu stated simply from his perch, his legs casually dangling over the edge of the building.
"What is?" Ichigo questioned while lying on his back, content to watch the clouds roll past in his inner world.
"This!" Zangetsu yelled suddenly, throwing his arms in an expansive gesture. "Over twenty-four hours and you haven't done a lick of damn training! Not a single time have you asked what you're training for and frankly it's both confusing and terrifying!"
In response to the spirit's outburst, Ichigo sighed "I agreed to get some rest and take a break, didn't I?"
"Well, yeah" Zangetsu fumbled for his point "But you're being so un-you-like that it's creepin' me out. Did Emo-Kitty break your brain or somethin'?"
"Hell if I know," Ichigo responded "I think I stopped understanding how my mind worked when you popped up." He smirked at the spirit, chuckling at their normal back-and-forth of insults.
"Well you're less interesting if I can't beat the crap outta you, y'know?" Zangetsu responded "Either way, if you ain't gonna train then why didn't ya just go to the dancey-party-whatever thing in the first place?" Zangetsu gestured at the teen's attire, more specifically the shirt and trousers he was wearing that essentially made up half the suit Ren had gotten him for the dance.
Ichigo awoke from his inner world but made no effort to move, content to lie in his hammock. "I'm not the kind of guy for stuff like that," he responded "You know as well as I do that the only thing that would happen if I tried to dance is you'd end up laughing your ass off."
"Exactly!" the Zanpakuto replied "Staring at clouds and the dormroom ceiling aren't nearly as entertaining as your inability to dance."
"Plus," Ichigo continued, ignoring the spirit "I'm not a fan of… well, anything that dances entail, really." He was lucky he'd been able to play off tiredness as an excuse to avoid attending, even if he'd slept most of the night before – either way both his team and Team RWBY seemed content towards the change in attitude from himself and Blake and that they were talking again (and no questions were raised as to what happened that would involve lying or skirting around Zangetsu).
"I find that hard to believe." Zangetsu responded, sounding unconvinced.
"Really?" Ichigo started (he needn't bother keeping his replies in his head, pretty much every student was attending the dance bar perhaps a few – but they were nowhere nearby, so he had free reign to talk aloud). "I don't dance. I don't have much of a music interest and if you never noticed I'm not the most social person in the world." He paused "And frankly I fit the cliché for the guy who shows up only to end up getting into a fight."
"First of all," Zangetsu retorted "I don't see how that last one was a bad thing."
"You wouldn't." Ichigo muttered.
"Second of all," Zangetsu paid no heed to Ichigo's muttering, continuing in stride "The dance has the one thing that matters to you most, which is why I'm confused as to why you're sitting on your ass alone in a room when all your friends are over there!" Zangetsu reasoned, choosing to abandon the subtle persuasion entirely. If he got Ichigo thinking on the topic enough the amateur might actually understand the second lesson himself without having his hand held the entire way.
Ichigo shrugged, understanding Zangetsu's logic. "I guess I'm just not that interested in going. The others have been hyping themselves for the dance for a while now because they either organised it or had plans for it. I just didn't really have a reason to go." He inspected the rest of the suit Ren had gotten him – the same most of the boys would be wearing to the dance.
"Ugh!" Zangetsu groaned "Idiots. Can't live in their soul and can't go too long without having to force yourself to avoid giving relationship advice or advice on not being a dense idiot. What would you be willing to do to protect those you care about?" Before Ichigo had a chance to interpret whatever nonsensical (and completely random) crap his Zanpakuto was spouting this time the Hollow quickly finished "Reason to go, six 'o' clock, figure out the lesson and I might go easier on ya, bye!"
"Wait, wait, wait" Ichigo responded, thoroughly confused "What the fuck are you talking about?!"
That was when he heard a knock at the door.
Ichigo sighed. The dance had started just under an hour ago and most students were in attendance, meaning one of two things in his mind.
Option A (the one he hoped most for) was that one of his teammates had gotten tired and left early or come back to pick up something they'd forgotten (why the hell had Jaune come back and rushed back out with a bag that Ichigo was at least seventy-eight percent sure contained a dress he would never understand).
Or Option B, being the one he dreaded.
The thoughts of what he was (potentially) getting himself into firmly plastered into his mind – along with prayers of it being either Option A or a new option he hadn't thought of – he opened the door.
Blake stood in the hallway wearing a short, purple, asymmetrical, halter neck dress with a black collar and a teal bow replacing her usual black one.
'Well,' Ichigo dryly thought to himself 'Didn't cover that possibility in A or B.'
"Hey" Blake greeted – at least she looked like she'd spent as much time as he had catching up on lost sleep (and he wasn't past considering her not glaring at him as a bonus).
"Yo," he greeted "What's up? I thought you'd be at the dance by threat of Yang." He stated – happy for the return to joking about their teammates usual tendencies.
"Well Nora said you weren't interested in coming," Ichigo cursed silently – Option B was Nora taking a final attempt to get him to show up at the dance, and it seemed that prediction had come true – "and you agreed to give explanations wherever you could."
Ichigo sighed, wishing Zangetsu would stop choosing inconvenient times to abandon him (he imagined the spirit did this to sit back in his inner world and watch him squirm, possibly with imaginary popcorn). "Keeping that promise overrides any objections I have about going to the dance, doesn't it?"
Blake laughed "She did say I was allowed to use any means necessary to get you to go, but I can just tell her you were asleep." So she hadn't completely betrayed him to the side of the scheming teammates he still had to plan revenge against.
Unfortunately in his current situation the win still seemed to go to Nora "No, its fine." He objected, making a grab for the dress shoes by the desk "Besides, I've been cooped up in here doing nothing all day anyway so I might as well get some fresh air."
After hastily pulling on the shoes he grabbed the tie from his bundle of clothing, tying the piece of cloth to the best of his ability before undoing the uppermost button (he wasn't choking himself for the sake of formalities) and making to move for the suit jacket. At the last second he decided against it and instead headed for his nearby bag.
"And I thought Weiss took her time getting ready" Blake bluntly stated, no doubt smirking at him.
"Ha-ha, very funny, good to see your sense of humour has made a comeback." He retorted "Sorry I was raised to act like a gentleman, so if I'm going to show up to a ballroom dance – where I am definitely unable to actually dance – I ought to make up for it by at least looking like I haven't been thrown out of bed and forced to attend." Hopefully the irony wasn't lost on Blake. While technically not being forced to attend he had agreed to give Blake explanations and it seemed like a good time and he'd conveniently thrown himself out of bed just before she'd shown up.
As for the 'acting like a gentleman' part, he blamed his mother. While he'd never met his grandparents his mother told all sorts of anecdotes that made them seem like a prim and proper family that his mother was adopted into – it was definitely a 'Kurosaki' thing to not get along too well with people like that, but he'd learned a few things.
His thoughts aside, he'd finally found what he'd been searching for in his bag. Pulling it out, it had at least stayed in remarkably good condition. "Your old coat?" Blake enquired "I thought it got wrecked at the docks?"
Ichigo gestured to the plastic coat over his trench coat as he removed it "I like this coat, so I may have gotten a bit sentimental and payed to get a new one made." Now removed from the cover, he pulled the trench coat over his shoulders. He'd probably stand out in the dance – nobody else would walk in wearing a white trench coat, but he figured it'd be better to wear it out for something social where it wouldn't get wrecked like its predecessor.
He presented himself to Blake, enquiring "So, how do I look?"
She gave him a dry look and a smirk "Like you're showing up for a dance an hour late."
He shrugged with a laugh "Good, that's what I was going for."
He stepped into the hallway and she locked her arm with his. As they walked Ichigo realised how quickly the situation he was in had changed. He had someone he could trust with what he knew, maybe even someone who could make sense of the stuff he couldn't.
Then his thoughts traced back to Nora's scheming and the fact she'd asked Blake to come get him instead of coming herself (though he chose to use that opportunity to make a joke at her and Ren's expense later on).
"Dear lord he has half a functional brain cell! Give this kid a medal!" Zangetsu roared with laughter in his mind. After the laughter reduced to fits of laughter that slowly decreased in volume Zangetsu spoke up again "I don't even know why I bother – ask her you damn moron!"
Ichigo used his free hand to scratch at the back of his neck before he decided he could feel like a moron later if he was wrong "Is this a date? I've been told – several times – that I'm a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to stuff like that."
Blake sent him a glance and a smile in response "Something like that, maybe. We'll just have to see how the evening goes."
'Why is everything in my life ambiguous or confusing?'
"Buddy, that isn't just your life. Sometimes women are confusing too – it just doesn't help that you're a moron, have a confusing life and that you're in a situation like this."
'I hate you sometimes'
"You'll thank me one day"
'The hell I will!'
Well, the evening was going to be interesting at least.
Ichigo stood at the edge of the ballroom, a punch glass in his hand as he looked among the room full of his peers. Truly it hadn't ended up being as bad as he'd thought. He totally wasn't biased because he'd taken at least a dozen pictures of his team leader dancing with Pyrrha while wearing a dress. Nope, totally not.
Zangetsu still hadn't stopped laughing enough to form a coherent sentence.
Overall, fun was had, drinks were drunk and laughs were shared. And Ichigo had left the room at least three times to slip into his inner world and kick Zangetsu to quiet him down (the Hollow didn't resist much, what with being on the floor laughing and crying). He and Blake had acted as if it wasn't even a dance – it had been like any other day. They'd hang around, talk, joke and enjoy the company of the other – simplicity at its finest.
Though that still didn't mean Nora wasn't going to make jokes about it or insinuate things later on, of which Ichigo had no doubts.
Blake had wandered off to refill her drink and speak to her teammates, leaving Ichigo to (once more) attempt to stop Zangetsu's laughter to no avail. It seemed to be an endless cycle that always ended with more laughter than before.
"Tranquillity at its finest," until his efforts were promptly ended by Ozpin scaring him shitless.
"Got-Batman'd" were the only two words Zangetsu strung together among fits of laughter that Ichigo could make out.
Acting as if he hadn't almost thrown punch over his new coat Ichigo caught himself "I guess that depends on whatever your definition of 'tranquil' is." The headmaster was always interesting for conversations that seemed philosophical, so Ichigo chose to prompt him.
"I would refer to it as the lack of evil," Ozpin responded "where young warriors can be exactly that – young. Where none bear the weight of the world quite literally."
"Isn't that what we fight for though?" Ichigo responded "To protect that right for others – isn't that what gets preached to any kid who wants to pick up a weapon in hopes of fighting the monsters?" he understood why some Huntsmen were cynics; he'd seen it from their point of view. Others like him and his friends had been fighting the same battle for years – centuries, even.
"Indeed," Ozpin replied "many have watched those who would defend the people of this world rise and fall over centuries. Perspective like that makes you wonder why we continue to fight a seemingly hopeless battle, doesn't it?"
"What would you do to protect what you care about most?" Ichigo found himself saying in response. Something about Ozpin's words made him question a lot – as it always was with the professor. He always put Ichigo on edge – a man that seemed to know everything, like nothing could take him by surprise anymore.
Ozpin chuckled "Indeed. Perhaps it was that the people of this world resolved themselves long ago that they would be willing to fight and perhaps kill to protect what is good in this world. To see past all the evils and spot the light in the darkness and do anything in your power to protect it; that is what it is to be a Huntsman."
Ichigo let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "So do you get payed by the hour or per inspirational speech? I'm pretty sure I left my wallet in my other pants." He joked, but he understood. If someone as experienced as Ozpin saw that as the job of a Huntsman then he guessed the cynics he'd seen were just men without the strength to continue hoping.
"That won't be necessary," the professor replied, glancing across the ballroom at a rather… giddy looking Professor Port. "Oh dear," he said "It looks as if I will have to resolve that situation before it gets out of hand." He turned to Ichigo "If you wish to repay me; then never give up. Honour the legacy of all who came before and perhaps one day instead it will be harder to find the darkness than it is to find the light."
Ichigo sat down after the professor left, crossing his arms in front of himself and interlocking his fingers in front of his face, holding a contemplative gaze. "What would I do to protect what I cared about?" Ozpin's statements gave him a pause from the evening and instead gave him thoughts he'd never acknowledged before – how long he could – and would – fight the endless battle against the darkness for the sake of others and the fate it would lead to.
The same thought plagued him – how far would he go to protect what mattered to him?
… Which was probably why Blake surprised him so much when she returned with her punch (and Ichigo thanked whatever deities existed that he'd long since placed down his drink for the sake of his stainless coat (fixing the rather large and plentiful tears and cleaning out the blood had cost him a fair amount of Lien that he'd rather not have to fork over again).
"Are you sure you don't need more sleep?" she questioned upon seeing his state.
He shook himself from his too-philosophical thoughts. He glanced to Blake, then to Nora and Ren and then to the rest of his friends.
"No, it's nothing – Ozpin just gave me some stuff to think about is all." He replied, deciding his thoughts where a bit strange to share and completely unrelated to the current situation.
"When doesn't he do that though?" Blake questioned in response, chuckling when Ichigo couldn't create an adequate response.
"I guess so," he said, offering Blake his hand. At her surprised look, he supplied "Once in a lifetime opportunity, watch me make a total fool out of myself because I'm feeling generous." She took his hand and led him toward the dance floor. He restated "I'm warning you – I can't dance worth shit." She laughed and started to dance anyway.
He could safely say he made a total fool out of himself that night. Could've been worse though (in his eyes), he could've been the one wearing the dress. That would've been total insult to the gaping wound that was his inability to dance.
Things he did decide that evening however. His friends meant everything to him, and the thoughts invoked made him acknowledge one crucial fact:
'I'll do anything to protect the people I care about. No matter what.' He told himself.
"Correct answer. Now the real training begins"
The other thing he realised was that if he ever danced with Blake again he wanted to actually learn how to halfway decently dance first – the first time was way too embarrassing, but at least Blake and everyone around them got a laugh out of it.
So I started writing this chapter on the Seventh of April. I finished it on the Seventh of May. Jeez, what's with the sevens? Who am I, Hiro Mashima or something?
Anyway, can I start profusely apologising now – for several reasons, to the point I'm gonna do a bullet point list without even being sure it'll show up once put on the FF website.
Sorry it took so long to get a new chapter done. Inspiration was lacking but I hope that hasn't cost any quality.
Sorry it'll still take longer for new chapters to get written – I think I've gotten back some inspiration to write this but the problem is mostly upcoming exams.
Sorry to any account using reviewers that I didn't reply to from the last chapter – I seriously lost track of everything and now I don't know who I replied to and who I didn't.
And for those who have actually been here long enough and gone back and noticed it – I AM SO SO SORRY I NEVER WENT BACK AND PROPERLY REDID THE FIRST SEVERAL CHAPTERS LIKE I PROMISED I WOULD – honestly, I look back and realise how much my writing has grown since then (my original chapters now fall under the same category as shit I wouldn't consider reading based on the first chapter). I can't promise I'll ever get around to actually doing it but I want to at some point, who knows when. So many of my story ideas and concepts have changed since I first explained them in those first few chapters that will most definitely get pointed out when they come up in the story in future.
Okay, I'm done with the apologetic crap now, happy?
If anyone has noticed a somewhat small change in the writing style of this story I'd say blame the books I've been reading. Before in this story I'd always try to cover every character's individual thoughts in a sort of generalist perspective and now I've finally changed that to third person perspective following an individual character (which I did have a couple of times before in this story).
Other than that, I feel like I've gotten my inner rant out – usually I'd go into a long and uninteresting rant detailing my thoughts and whatever may have changed or been affected in this chapter but I don't really think it's necessary any more TBH (I guess it was a sense of fear people wouldn't like what choices I made and hate on my story for it).
Just to repeat one point - Sorry to any account using reviewers that I didn't reply to from the last chapter – I seriously lost track of everything and now I don't know who I replied to and who I didn't. Any and all reviews on this chapter and the coming ones I'll make my best effort to reply to with the best of my ability.
If you hadn't guessed it by the note of reviews –
GUEST REVIEWS:
Kestes (Or as I'd introduce them – The dude, the legend – KESTES)
Hey hey! Great chappy this time. Sorry, no clever comment atm. Ate like a kilo of bbq'd beef (good god it was good..) and im positively stuffed (and sleepy) hahaGood job,Kes
Well I hope that beef you had three months ago was good XD Always happy to see you pop up in the reviews.
Guest:
New chapter! Finally!Still the best crossover on here. I still hope we see a masked Ichigo lose a bit of control. Maybe during the fall of Beacon? ;)Keep this going. It's great.
Thanks for the praise, you are too kind. As for the second point, I shall reveal nothing as to my (probably) still changing plans for how events will go then. As for the 'Finally!' jeez I feel that much worse for taking so long XD
Guest:
The chapter was great but I have a single issue with it. When you Shunpo you don't "buzz" that's Sonído. Shunpo is more of a swishing sound. But, again, other than that great chapter. Keep up the good work and write at your own pace.
Well, thanks for the input – I was never really sure how to describe the sound. As for my pace – hopefully I can pick it up again after exams or when Volume 6 drops this fall :P
Guest:
I'm going to guess that ichigo's sembalance is going to be his mask or the final you know what or something you make up.
DINGDINGDING - It's option number three, folks!
Rick:
Question if this ichigo were to kill a certain full bringer could he steal his old powers back from him in the form of his full bringer basically get the body suit back
I have no such plans for that – again though, those plans are still in fluctuation in regards to later volumes as I get closer to them.
Guest:
Is ichigo going to be this weak for much longer? Seems like he cant put up a decent fight against anyone atm.
Keep in mind that (thinks about it for a second) – shit, pretty much EVERY fight I've stuck him against has been against stronger opponents. Though I wouldn't worry about this 'always losing' malarcky – it'll get better :P
Well, that's that for reviews. Honestly I will never be able to thank any single person who gives this story the time of day enough for how far it's come. On a September day when I was bored and procrastinating I never thought I'd create the (albeit not very good) beginnings of something that would become this popular and I know I have all of you to thank for it.
Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long – See ya next time :D