So on to the rest of the story. The next chapter or so may not have as much action as the previous ones for the simple reason that the team isn't trying to kill Soul Society anymore. The next few chapters will mainly focus on Kuroda's return and the team's recuperation.
As such, you get to meet some new OC's in this chapter; three actually. I think you'll enjoy it.
I don't own Bleach; it is property of Kubo Tite
Chapter 21
Family reunion
Ichigo felt strange. Not bad strange, or good strange, just…strange. In his dreams, the battle he'd fought with Byakuya Kuchiki, the Captain of the 6th, kept playing over and over again. He remembered Byakuya entering the final stage of his Bankai, his overwhelming power as they fought; how his own power slowly crushed him.
But most of all, he remembered being just inches from death. His body had become immobile, blood seeped from at least three wounds, and Kuchiki's sword descended down upon him. Then, that thing inside of him clawed its way out and took over his body.
Most would have been pleased at the results that his inner hollow had given him in the short time he'd possessed Ichigo's body. But Ichigo himself only felt a sense of dread. After such an ordeal, he needed answers.
Which is why he found great comfort, that when he woke up, he woke up in his inner world with Zangetsu silently watching over him.
"Old man Zangetsu," he said as he woke,
"Ichigo," acknowledged the spirit,
Ichigo pushed himself off of the ground and gave himself a good stretch.
"Um, why am I here?" he asked,
"Why do you ask me?" replied the spirit, "I only bring you here, for your benefit. Was it not you that wished for something?"
Ichigo's eyes widened slightly.
"You, know?"
"You and I are one Ichigo, I know all that rests in your heart," lectured the spirit,
"Right, I remember that," assured Ichigo, "well, during my fight with Byakuya. I got myself backed into a corner. Then, I think that, that thing that you summoned earlier when you saved me from Kenpachi, it broke out and took over my body."
"Yes," said Zangetsu, "I remember."
"I was just wondering, do you think it may become a problem in the future?"
"It will one become one if you allow it to be," replied Zangetsu,
"What's with the cryptic answer?" whispered Ichigo,
"It is to make you use your own mind instead of mine," said Zangetsu,
"Uh, but-"
"I will answer, this time."
"Oh, okay, good," sighed a relieved Ichigo,
"Your hollow will only appear if you let it. When you feel despair, when you are unable to stand up, that is when it can find its way into the cracks of your soul. The most often that happens, is when you face an opponent that is greater than you. Such as when you fought Kenpachi."
Ichigo nodded, he'd remember how fighting Kenpachi was like forever. That initial feeling of fear, how he'd felt so overwhelmed and could only care about how to survive. He'd felt the same way just seconds before Byakuya's blade had touched his throat.
Sure, he'd screamed in his head that he needed to win. But he, like everyone, bowed down to the fear that gripped his heart just moments before death.
His hand balled into a fist. He needed to get stronger. The truth was that he had not actually defeated Byakuya. Had it not been for that thing, he would have lost.
"But how?" he asked aloud,
"Perhaps, Kuroda could help you," suggested Zangetsu,
"Kuroda?"
"Though you do not know it, that man has more to do with the rise in your power than anyone else."
"Really? I'll have to thank him later," decided Ichigo,
Zangetsu grunted in agreement, "it is time for you to wake Ichigo, you've slept long enough."
Ichigo was suddenly and violently sucked out of his inner world and thrust into the real one.
His eyes shot open.
The first thing he noticed was that he was in a bed and that there were windows on his ceiling, not on any of the walls or where you'd usually find windows. Next was the soreness in his shoulder and sides, but when he pulled off the covers there were no wounds to speak of.
"Orihime healed your wounds,"
Ichigo whipped around to see Kuroda, sitting down against the room's far wall.
"But your body still needs to recover on it's own," Kuroda continued as he stood up and walked to a table with a tea set on it, "although, she is much better at doing that thing of hers, then she was a week or two ago."
"Kuroda," said Ichigo, "where are we?"
"Drink this first," said Kuroda and handed him a cup full of tea,
Ichigo graciously accepted, realizing he was indeed very thirsty. He quickly glugged down the warm heavenly brew; letting out a loud satisfied sigh when he finished it.
"Man, that was some good tea," he said,
"Really? She'll be pleased to hear that," said Kuroda as he took the cup from Ichigo,
"Oh, did Yoruichi make that tea?"
"No," was all Kuroda would say,
"Oh, so, um, where are we exactly?" he asked,
"Seireitei's black operation headquarters," replied Kuroda,
"This," he said gesturing to the room, "used to be my division's guest room,"
"Really? Wow, wait, what do you mean 'used to'" asked Ichigo,
"Well technically I'm not part of the black ops divison anymore, remember? I'm in exile"
"Oh yeah," said Ichigo, "what's with the sky lights?"
"The entire division's barracks, is underground," explained Kuroda,
"Eh?"
"That's right, we're underground. We're a very secretive group. As such we keep our division in a place no one can see. Very few outside of the group know where it is."
"Wow," was all Ichigo could say, though he noticed that despite his friends claim that he was no longer part of the division, he continued to refer to the division and him as "we".
"Do you feel well enough to walk?" asked Kuroda,
"Yeah, I feel pretty good actually," said Ichigo,
"Alright then," said Kuroda, he opened up a closet and grabbed Zangetsu, then tossed it to Ichigo.
Ichigo caught the oversized blade and strapped it to his back, glad to have its familiar weight on him again.
Kuroda opened the door, "come on, your friends have been waiting for you to wake up."
Ichigo followed his friend out and down a rather dimly lit hallway.
"Why is everything here dark?" asked Ichigo, "how do you get sunshine?"
"We have a few windows scattered throughout the barracks to bring in sunlight," explained Kuroda, "but since the barracks is at least 10ft underground, the windows have to be sparse and far between. We mostly use torch light, it doesn't light things up very well but it works."
"Is there any part of this barracks that isn't underground?" asked Ichigo as they continued,
"A small part of it is secretly in the back of the 1st division barracks. We keep it hidden by disguising it as a part of the barracks that's used for storing top secret files."
"Eh? Is your boss okay with that, the, the, the, uh-"
"Captain Commander Yamamoto?"
"Yeah, him, the old man."
"He was the one who thought of it in the first place."
"Oh"
Kuroda stopped them in front of a door and pushed it open.
"Guess who's awake," he called as he walked in,
Ichigo followed after and saw that Kuroda had taken them to what looked to be a mess hall. Though it wasn't much of a hall, it was about the size of two of Ichigo's kitchens put together. A large sky window decorated the middle of the ceiling, overlooking a long table that could probably seat a dozen or so people. Around five torches lit the room, giving it a bit more light.
To the far right was what looked like a large kitchen, there, all of Ichigo's friends were located.
"Ichigo!" Orihime called joyfully from chopping some sort of vegetables.
"You got up quicker than I thought you would," chirped Uryu,
Chad gave a simple sound of greeting, then turned back to cooking something. Ichigo happily went to meet them all.
Kuroda, being who he was, hung back at let Ichigo mingle about.
"Woke up already did he?"
Kuroda turned to see Yoruichi approaching him from the right, a smile on her face.
"Orihime did a good job in healing his wounds," replied Kuroda, "it shouldn't be surprising that he got up when he did."
"Perhaps," she replied.
Throughout the entire yesterday and last night, Yoruichi had not once brought up the topic of Kuroda's seals or his horrific episode on the Soukyoku hill. Something that Kuroda was very thankful for. If she had asked, he truly wouldn't have known how to respond.
He knew though, that eventually he would have to tell her. When that day came, she would never see him the same again, that much was certain.
Unintentionally, he let out a depressed sigh.
"Hey, why so gloomy?" she asked,
"Huh? Oh, nothing," he replied, "just, thinking."
There was a brief pause between the two as they watched Ichigo talk with his friends. Kuroda, though he did not know it himself, looked on with a bit of envy. Yoruichi however, could see it. She could see his longing to be like Ichigo, one who could be both strong and have friends.
She considered herself a close friend of Kuroda's, but that didn't mean he considered her one.
"Kuroda,"
"Hm?"
"You know you can talk to me if you need to, right?"
A brief pause before he said, "yeah, of course."
Yoruichi stepped in a bit closer and place her hand on his bicep. Kuroda turned to face her, a small bit of pink on his cheeks.
"Just making sure," she told him before going to join the others.
'I command you to slow down' he told his heart.
"Morning Commander,"
Kuroda turned around to see Kaito and Rajin entering the mess hall.
"I thought I told you not to call me that anymore,"
"Hey, you'll always be our Commander," teased Kaito, "even if you don't want to be."
"I second that," commented Rajin,
Kuroda rolled his eyes.
"Kuroda!" called Yoruichi, "come on over here."
Kuroda let out sigh, "come on guys."
"Hey since when is she your ball and chain?" asked Kaito,
"She's not my ball and chain,"
"Girlfriend?" asked Rajin,
"No"
"Lover?" asked Kaito,
"No"
"Friend with benefits" suggested Rajin
"No"
"Sex buddy?" decided Kaito
"God No"
"Good Friend?"
"N-,uh, well"
"What are you boys talking about?" asked Yoruichi as they reached her,
"Uh, nothing," replied Kuroda,
"Guys," he said calling over the group, "you haven't been properly introduced to my division yet."
"This is Rajin Takeda, Lieutenant of the Black operations division, also known as Rakurai" introduced Kuroda,
"A pleasure," said Rajin, giving a small bow
"And this, is-"
"I'm Kaito Shibata!" interrupted Kaito, "3rd seat of the Black operations division."
"Don't let his appearance fool you, he's relatively well mannered," quipped Rajin,
"Hey!" Kaito called in protest,
Rajin held up his hands in mock surrender.
"A pleasure to meet you too, I'm Orihime Inoue"
"Uryu Ishida, Quincy"
"Yasutora Sado, but people call be Chad"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami,"
"Oh! You're the Commander's student," realized Kaito,
"Student?" asked Ichigo,
"Yeah, he taught you how to fight and all right?"
"Pretty much,"
"That makes you a fellow student," explained Kaito, "the Commander taught us all how to fight too."
"Oh, so you're a teacher Kuroda?" decided Orihime,
"Not exactly Orihime,"
"Let's get breakfast started huh?" interrupted Rajin, "I prefer not to starve in my own barracks."
"Okay!" said Orihime "I'll start finishing my chocolate peanut butter and wasabi omelet"
Neither Rajin nor Kuroda seemed very keen on that idea. But Kaito seemed intrigued and said "That sounds good! Better make a few more cause I eat a lot!"
"Okay! Let me just-"
"Hm? What's the problem?" asked Kaito,
"My knife, I was using it to cut the chives but it's gone now."
"Are you sure you left it here?"
"I'm sure"
"Hey, where did my sewing kit go?" Uryu suddenly asked,
"Sewing kit?" asked Rajin
"I always keep a sewing kit with me wherever I go, just in case, but it's gone now."
Kuroda sighed, "For the love of all that's magical. Keiji! Give back their stuff!"
As if by magic, Keiji suddenly appeared before them.
"Heh, sorry about that" he said, a hand rubbing the back of his head nervously, from his robes he produced both Orihime's knife and Uryu's sewing kit.
"I believe you've met the Black op's division's 6th seat before."
"Yes," said Orihime as she took back her knife, "you sent him to save us right?"
"More or less" replied Kuroda, "you'll have to forgive him. He has an insatiable need to steal everything he sees."
"Oh that's okay" said Orihime as she went back to cooking.
"You" said Kuroda as he turned to Keiji, "starting helping out."
"Of course sir," said Keiji,
"Oh, and Keiji," called Kuroda, he held out his hand expectantly.
Keiji sighed and produced Chad's golden coin necklace, then handed it back to Kuroda.
Kuroda nodded then gave it back to Chad.
"Sorry about that,"
"No worries," replied Chad before going back to help.
After breakfast, Kuroda decided to give the group a small tour of the barracks.
First showing them training area which contained a dueling ring, obstacle course, and gym, then going on to show them what was once his office.
Orihime commented that the place could use more natural light and that this must be why Kuroda was so gloomy all the time. Kaito got a kick out of that.
After the tour of the barracks, Yoruichi convinced Kuroda to then give the group a tour of Seireitei. Rajin and Kaito left, saying that they had some business to attend to and would catch up later.
"I haven't been here for a century," he had protested.
"One year or a hundred, doesn't make much of a difference here," she had replied.
And so Kuroda found himself leading the group around the streets of Seireitei.
"Where are we going now?" asked Ichigo,
"8th division barracks, I've got someone I need to see while we're in the area," replied Kuroda,
"Oh, you're going to see her already?" teased Yoruichi,
"I haven't seen her in a long time," replied Kuroda, "I'd be wrong of me to not visit when I have the chance."
"Who do you think they're talking about?" Orihime asked in a hushed voice,
"Well, since Yoruichi is bringing it up, perhaps it is an ex-lover of Kuroda's" reasoned Uryu,
"Really?" said Orihime, "poor Yoruichi, she must feel so depressed."
"I can hear you back there!" reminded Kuroda, prompting the group to break there little discussion.
They soon found their way to the gates of the 8th division, a pair of tall and wide wooden doors with the number 8 above it. Kuroda knocked on the gates; a shinigami quickly opened the gates for them and told them that they were expected.
"Why are we expected?" asked Ichigo,
"She probably knew that I'd be coming," explained Kuroda.
"Who? Who are we visiting?"
"Well," started Kuroda as they entered the courtyard, "if I know her at all. Then we should be seeing her right about-"
The ex-commander was suddenly interrupted when a figure shot out from the sky. Kuroda sidestepped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a powerful kick.
But the figure quickly spun around and lashed out with another kick. Kuroda easily stepped out of its range but found that the figure's real intent was to buy time to draw it's blade and lash out with it in an attempt to decapitate him.
Kuroda dodged under the blade, the figure struck out again and again with deadly precision. His attacker jumped up and lashed out with a kick to his head, he raised his arm and easily blocked it. But the figure suddenly thrust out its blade at his face.
He quickly flipped his blocking hand around and grabbed his attacker by the ankle, then tossed them away before it could skewer his brain.
The figure landed on its back but immediately jumped back up, only to find Kuroda nowhere to be seen.
Finally staying still, the group got their first look at the newcomer.
The attacker was very slender and obviously female. She wore a form fitting shihakusho, very much like that of 2nd division Captain and Yoruichi, though her hakama had been replaced with tights and her uniform was not sleeveless.
Her face was covered by a black scarf and a hooded cloak wrapped around her neck.
She was not very tall, perhaps a head shorter than Orihime but she held herself like a warrior, well trained and always on guard.
Then there were her eyes. They were cold as steel, in fact they bore an almost identical look to Kuroda's eyes.
Which was why it was very surprising that she suddenly began to cry out in pain when Kuroda rematerialized behind her and grabbed her by the ear like a parent would a child.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" she cried as he none too gently held on to her ear,
"Is that anyway to greet me?" he questioned as he continued punishing her.
"Ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried, "I give up! I give up!"
Kuroda let out an exasperated sigh and released her from his grip, then pulled off the girl's hood, revealing her face and rather peculiar hair style.
Judging from her face, she'd be about 16 by human years. She was pale, very pale, but at the same time seemed to be quite pretty, like a porcelain doll. The only imperfection on her face was a thin scar that cross across down from her right brow down to her left jaw bone.
Her sky blue hair was cut short enough that it could almost be considered boyish. The only part of her hair that was long, was a part of her bangs, which stretched down passed her chin.
The girl turned to face the much taller man and looked up at him with almost indignant eyes.
"How have you been, Mei?"
"Good," she mumbled,
"You've gotten better since last time," commented Kuroda,
Mei's indignation was replaced with a sudden giddy happiness.
"R-really?" she asked hopefully,
"Mmhmm"
"I've been working on my hakuda," she admitted sheepishly,
"I noticed, your kicks were much stronger than before and you've definitely gotten faster"
Mei squealed in a giddy girlish way.
"Uh, who is that girl?" whispered Ichigo,
"Not sure" replied Uryu, "but they seem to be real close."
"Oh my, I had no idea that Kuroda was, into such things," blushed Orihime,
"Guys," said Kuroda as he walked over, "this is Mei, 3rd seat of the 8th division"
"Nice to meet all of you," bowed Mei,
"Nice to meet you too" said Orihime,
"Uh, Kuroda, just who is this girl?" asked Ichigo,
"She's-"
"He's my Dad!"
The group's jaws hit the floor as they took in the new information. Never in their life, would they have imagined that Kuroda would have, a daughter!
"Mei, I told you not to-"
"Kuroda! You have a kid" yelled Ichigo,
"Well actually-"
Orihime squealed, "Awwww! That's so cute! Who's the mom?"
"No you see-"
"Well, this certainly changes my perception of you Kuroda," said Uryu,
"But she's-"
"My best wishes," said Chad,
"OKAY STOP!" roared Kuroda,
Everyone immediately stopped talking, lest they bring down the man's wrath upon them.
"She's not really my daughter," he finally said, "she's just some kid I pulled off the streets one day."
"Yeah, but you treat her like a daughter," teased Yoruichi, "remember how you taught her how to fight? Just like a Dad teaching his kid how to walk, it was so cute."
"Not, helping" growled Kuroda,
"Awww, that's sweet," said Orihime, "it's like a novel that I read somewhere but can't remember the title."
"So, how'd you find her?" asked Uryu,
"I'll tell you while we continue the tour," replied Kuroda, "Mei, do you want to come?"
"Okay!"
Flash Back
"It is decided then!" yelled an official of Central 46, "District #80 of the North Alley of Rukongai, also known as Zaraki, shall be liquidated."
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
"You have your orders, Commander, now go and carry them out!"
Kuroda, Commander of the Black Operations division, knew only one reply, "yes sir"
That night, Kuroda gathered his division and marched them to Zaraki to carry out their dark orders. With all of them running at top speed, they reached Zaraki in only a few hours.
Kuroda, with a steely look, surveyed the district under the pale moonlight. An ominously cold wind blew through, chilling his bones and heart.
He took a moment to take in a deep breath, then let it out.
He turned to his subordinates and nodded, simultaneously, they all went off to carry out their assigned tasks.
Before Kuroda could turn back, he noticed a lone figure still present.
"Is there a problem, Lieutenant?"
"No," said Rajin, "but sir, why are we doing this?"
Kuroda raised an eyebrow before saying, "the local gang bosses are out to induce chaos. They want to move up into the high districts and take over. We cannot allow such a thing, criminals belong in Zaraki."
"We, used to belong to Zaraki," reminded Rajin,
"So we did, but not anymore," replied Kuroda, "you have your orders, go to it."
"Yes sir"
The plan was simple. So as to not arouse suspicion to the sudden extinction of hundreds of people in a single district, a cover story would be needed. And like all cover stories, this one would have at least a little bit of truth in it.
So, what was the cover story? The oldest one in the book: A hollow attack.
The members of the division swept across the district like shadows through the night. Soundless, invisible, untouchable. Not a single person in that district would have found anything out of the ordinary that night. Not even as the members entered a house every ten meters and planted hollow bait, not even as they surrounded the area with a kido barrier, not even as Kuroda flipped the kill switch and let loose Central 46's judgment.
First, there was the heart seizing howls
Then the terrified screams
And finally, blood
The effects of the bait were instant. Hollows swarmed out of Hueco Mundo like bees out of their hive. Everywhere across the district, they leapt into the streets and began finding the nearest souls to devour.
Most in Zaraki, were armed with crude blades or other makeshift weapons. Some were even decent fighters.
But they would never be prepared for hollows.
These monsters were something only shinigami truly knew how to handle.
Slews of men were destroyed by the masked monsters, screams echoed into the night as one after another were devoured.
Some would call this a nightmare, for the members of the Black Operations division, it was life.
A full half an hour passed, and most of the citizens were dead. Some hold outs had managed to take down a dozen or so hollows but would soon fall.
"Sir," said Rajin as he appeared by his Commander,
"Move to the next phase of the plan," he ordered,
"Yes sir"
Kuroda drew his blade.
The next phase of the plan, was clean up. The Hollows had been efficient in destroying the majority of the thugs, but some of the citizens had such little reiatsu that the hollows would never be able to find them, in addition, hollows that had feasted on so much blood would most likely try to press their luck and continue on.
This, was what they were here for. Clean up.
The shinigami descended down upon the hollows and remaining citizens like hawks upon their prey. Kuroda almost felt sorry for the citizens, to believe that someone had come to save you only for them to turn around and kill you too, was something that would churn stomachs.
But Kuroda didn't bat an eye as AnShen sliced through hollow and human alike, he felt nothing as blood splattered on his clothes, or when he was forced to run after a fleeing man or woman, sometimes even a child.
No, he felt nothing.
He simply acted.
He walked through the blood drenched streets, searching for something else to kill.
He was about to call the pull out when he suddenly caught wind of a reiatsu signal, mixed with several others. It was small by his division's standards, but quite large for a citizen of Rukongai, almost shinigami level.
This warranted further investigation.
Sheathing AnShen, he made his way towards the signal. As he got closer, he heard the distinct sounds of hollow, along with the sound of a sword swinging through the air.
Someone was fighting against the hollows.
He made his way closer and closer, until finally he stumbled upon something unusual.
A hollow, though not extraordinary in itself, this particular hollow intrigued him as it's right arm and both legs were bleeding badly, to the point that the hollow could no longer use them.
Whoever this person was, must have been quite handy with a blade. Kuroda ended the hollows life with a single swipe of his blade, and moved on.
Eventually, he stumbled upon the source of the reiatsu signal. As he turned a corner, he saw a flash and watched as a hollow stumbled back, it's arm bleeding along with several other minor wounds.
Kuroda looked up and saw, much to his surprise, a young girl, perhaps only ten years old, armed only with a jagged katana, standing her ground against three other hollows.
Kuroda's eyes widened ever so slightly.
The girl was bleeding from a cut across her forehead and her left leg was limp. She was obviously tired, panting like a dog with sweat drizzling down her face. But still, she held up her blade.
A hollow jumped at her, she growled and lashed out with her blade, cutting it across the palm of its clawed hand. It recoiled in pain, she pressed the attack and slashed at its leg.
The hollow fell to the ground on its back, before she could try and finish it off, another jumped at her.
This time she was too slow and it smacked her away, sending her crashing into a wall.
'She's finished' he thought,
But amazingly enough, she wasn't. She stubbornly pushed herself up and raised her blade.
The hollow, apparently frustrated, slashed at her with his claws. She rolled under the attack, dashed between its legs and cut at its Achilles tendons, bringing it down.
The hollow she'd pushed back earlier, was now up and charged at her with like a wild animal. She quickly raised her blade as the creature slammed head first into her.
Kuroda thought that for sure the girl would be dead this time. But no, instead, the hollow let out one last scream before disappearing.
The girl was still alive, but obviously inches from death.
One hollow wounded, and one still healthy. Not very good odds.
But the fire in the girls eyes made Kuroda believe that perhaps, she could win.
The last hollow who'd wisely hung back while it's companions were killed, now jumped on the opportunity to take the kill for itself.
Her body slowed from blood loss could not stop the hollow from scooping her up in its hands and slowly bring it to its mouth.
But the girl stubbornly refused to accept death. With the last ounce of her strength, she bit down on the hollows fingers.
While it did not necessarily wound the hollow, it surprised it and hurt it enough to make it let go. But the girl had no intention of dropping back to the ground. Instead she clung to its hand and swung herself at the beast's face.
Her blade flashed and the hollow dropped the ground, dead.
The last hollow, still on its back, could do nothing as the girl finished it off with a stab between its eyes.
The girl, with no more energy in her body, fell to her knees.
Kuroda walked out into the alley, sword drawn.
The girl looked up, with much effort; she pushed herself up and raised the sword or at least tried to.
Still intrigued, Kuroda tested her with a few harmless swings. She blocked them or stumbled out of the way, mostly the latter.
"A shame" he whispered when she finally fell to her knees in exhaustion, "you have some real potential."
With a halfhearted swing, he ended her life.
Blood splattered on the ground, he sheathed his blade and began to walk away.
But suddenly, he stopped.
'Impossible' he thought to himself, he whipped around to see the girl, still alive, and crawling away.
The katana that she had held had been cut in half, she had thrown it up at the last second, saving her life from his blade. Instead of death, she had received a thin cut from her right brow down to her left jaw bone.
He walked over to the girl and roughly flipped her on to her back, then knelt down bringing his face down to hers.
"Do you want to die girl?" he asked her softly,
She looked up at him with dead eyes and whispered, "No"
"I can save you," he whispered back to her, "but if I do, you have to do something for me."
She looked up expectantly.
"You'll have to become a shinigami,"
Her eyes widened.
"I offer you your life, in exchange you dedicate your life to the servitude of Seireitei. I suggest you think about it before you answer."
She seemed to give it some thought, with her hand she motioned for him to come closer. He lowered his ear down to her and listened.
Rajin soon arrived on the scene, just as Kuroda was finished listening to the girl's answer.
"Sir, all targets have been eliminated," reported the blonde man.
"Good," replied Kuroda as he turned back to his Lieutenant,
Rajin looked down and noticed the girl, still breathing.
"Sir, the girl is-"
"Get the 5th seat over here and have her perform emergency care," ordered Kuroda,
"But sir, our orders are to eliminate all citizens of Zaraki"
"And so we did,"
Rajin opened his mouth to protest but quickly thought better of it.
"Yes sir, I'll do as you ask."
With that he shunpo'd away.
Flash Back end
"That's basically how it happened," finished Kuroda,
The entire group, save Yoruichi and Mei stared at Kuroda with bewilderment. The idea that he had initially left Mei to fend for herself, then tried to killer her, then rescued her was almost too much to take in.
"She's been under my care ever since," he continued in a monotone,
"Yup," said Mei in an equally monotone voice, "best day of my life."
"But, he tried to kill you" Ichigo protested,
"So?"
"He tried to kill you!" repeated the Substitute,
"He tried to kill me a few times after that too," she pointed out, "it was good training."
"Uh…so, where are we going next?" asked Uryu in an effort to change the subject,
"Well, it's noon and we have a lunch appointment,"
"We do?" they all asked,
"We do," he answered, "let's go"
"I used to think I knew Kuroda pretty well," said Ichigo as they followed after the man, "but now, I feel like he's a total stranger."
"I'm personally not all that surprised," said Uryu,
"Eh? Why?"
"Kuroda has always been distant, those who are distant usually do it because they have something to hide," explained Uryu, "can you ever recall a time when you or any other person spent more than an hour with Kuroda, just hanging out?"
"Uh, well…no" admitted Ichigo,
The orange haired teen looked at the tall dark haired ex-commander of the Black Ops division. Mei, his self-proclaimed daughter, was talking to the man comfortably, while Yoruichi threw in a comment every now and then.
'I really don't know you do I?' thought Ichigo, 'but you've always helped me out regardless, I guess not much has really changed.'
"We're here," announced Kuroda,
They'd come to a large restaurant, the entrance was well decorated with a vivid red and gold theme. Red and Gold Koi flew next to a sign that read "The Koi Pond"
Yoruichi's eyes noticeably lit up when she saw that they were going to this particular restaurant.
"You chose this one on purpose didn't you?" she asked,
"I like it too you know," he reasoned,
"You don't have to lie, I appreciate it," she assured, "it's very sweet of you."
Kuroda simply opted not to respond, as he knew that would only encourage her.
They entered into the restaurant where they were greeted by a hostess.
"Welcome to The Koi Pond," she said politely, "how many?"
"We have a reservation for 9," replied Kuroda,
"Oh yes, you are…Kuroda Ryou?"
"That's me,"
"Very good, please follow me to your table,"
The hostess led them to a private dining room. In it was a long table, capable of seating ten and carved with numerous intricate patterns.
"So pretty," commented Orihime as she sat down in one of the comfortable chairs.
The hostess handed them a set of menus, then left them to their deciding.
"I love this places sushi," said Yoruichi as they looked through the menus, "best I've ever eaten."
"I think we should try these noodles," said Chad,
"Wow, they have octopus here!" said Orihime,
A knock on the door interrupted their conversations.
"I'll get it!" said Orihime,
The girl stood up from her seat and walked over to the door.
She opened it and found Rukia waiting on the other side.
"Rukia! It's so good to see you!" said Orihime giddily,
The shinigami offered the orange haired girl a smile, "it's good to see you too Orihime."
Rukia was currently out of uniform as she still had not the strength to return to active duty. So instead she wore a pink kimono with a lovely red flower design.
"Oh, you must be one of Kuroda's new friends"
Orihime looked to see a new face behind Rukia, a woman. She had long lavender hair propped up in a tight pony tail with a few wavy bangs flowing down her beautiful face, a very detached look in her deep brown eyes, and dark red lips.
She was about Orihime's height and wore the same uniform that Rajin, Kaito, and Keiji wore, though hers was noticeable less tight and the ends of her sleeves were not bound shut.
But even so, Orihime could tell that she had a very curvaceous figure.
"Well aren't you a cute little girl!" observed the woman,
"Oh, thank you," Orihime replied sheepishly, "uh, please come in!"
The two followed Orihime into the room,
"Hello everyone," announced Rukia,
"Rukia!" called Ichigo, surprised to see her already, "you're up already?"
"You're one to talk, after that thrashing you took yesterday," she joked,
"Hey now, come on,"
Rukia smiled, "I'm well enough to walk around, but I still need a bit until my powers return to full."
"Cool," said Ichigo,
"Oh, are you Kuroda's friend?" he asked, noticing the woman behind Rukia,
"Yup," she said, "my name is Itsumi, 5th seat of the Black operations division."
"Hi, Ichigo Kurosaki,"
"Uryu Ishida"
"Yasutora Sado"
"Nice to meet all of you," she replied,
"Hello Yoruichi, long time no see!" she called when she saw the other purple haired woman,
"Hi! Itsumi, it's good to see you again!"
Finally, she turned to Kuroda.
"Hello Kuroda," she said sentimentally,
"Hello Mother,"
(&&*$&%(*#%^)&_#%)#*%(Y)#^%)%)#)#*(%&#()%)
In Hueco Mundo
"Are you sure you will be alright, Tosen?" asked Aizen,
"Do not worry about me Lord Aizen," replied Kaname, "more importantly, has your own wound healed?"
"Yes, do not fear for my life Kaname," assured the man, "Kuroda's blade did not strike as hard as he believed."
Aizen stood upon one of the many strange pillars that were for some reason scattered across the sands of Hueco Mundo, with his two subordinates: Tosen and Gin.
Suddenly a new figure joined them.
"Tyran, what have you found?"
"It looks like Baraggan is still the King around here, he's to the north, he's got quite the army with him too. I didn't want to get too close, he still hasn't forgiven me for kicking his ass all those years ago."
"I see, anything else?"
"There's another much stronger presence farther away, must be a vasto lorde or something else. There's also a female vasto lorde nearby, she has three adjuchas under her command."
"Very good, they will make good additions to my army," decided Aizen, "but, what else?"
"Hm?"
"I can tell something bothers you Tyran, what is it?"
"I agreed to be in this little army of yours because you gave me power," started Tyran, "but so far I haven't gotten to do anything fun"
"Disrespectful cur, I'll cut that tongue out of your-"
"Restrain yourself Tosen," commanded Aizen,
Tosen seemed reluctant but eventually obeyed.
"I want to know," continued Tyran, "they shinigami that attacked you while escaping. What's his name?"
Aizen smiled, "Kuroda Ryou, ex-commander of Seireitei's Black Operations division."
"Is he strong?"
"A century ago, he was considered Soul Society's greatest warrior, someone who could rival those of the Royal Guard or even the Captain Commander. Even now, I believe there is truth to that."
"And what is he like? Personally?"
"He is the kind of man who'd toss his own men into the fire and abandon all bonds of friendship, just so that he may become more powerful. He was even once known as; The Bloody Shadow"
"Bloody Shadow huh? Sounds like someone, that's a lot like me," whispered Tyran as a smile spread across his face, "just you wait Shadow, we'll see how you hold up against me."
(&*#%(%^(#))#%)(*&%)#^*%)#)(#%&)#()
"EH! Mother?" screamed Ichigo, "Just how many family members have you been hiding?"
"More importantly," said Uryu, "I don't see any familial resemblance."
"Oh I'm not really Kuroda's mother," she explained, "I'm actually terrified of giving birth. He's really just some kid me and my husband dragged of the streets one day."
The entire group gave Kuroda and his mother a strange look.
"I'm sensing a pattern here," mumbled Ichigo,
"But no sense talking about the past on an empty stomach," said Itsumi "let's order and eat!"
And so the rest of the lunch was spent eating and talking about Kuroda's mother. In the case of Itsumi and Yoruichi, it was eat, talk, and drink. A lot of drink.
Kuroda let out an exasperated sigh as his mother downed her fifth sake bottle.
"You shouldn't drink so much, it's bad for your health," he reminded her,
"Your father said the same thing, you're so much like him my little boy," she teased as she none too gently ruffled his hair.
Ichigo restrained laughter out of fear that Kuroda would murder him if he didn't.
"So Yoruichi, are you and my boy an item yet?"
Kuroda, who'd been taking a sip of water, nearly choked.
"Oh not yet, but I feel we're getting there," said a tipsy Yoruichi,
"M-Mother!"
"Well, if he's anything like his father, I'm sure he'll make you very happy," said Itsumi "The first night I spent with my husband was the greatest of my life and it only got better from there!"
Just about everyone blushed from hearing that.
"She's nothing like Kuroda," Ichigo whispered to Rukia,
"Yeah, it's hard to believe that she ever raised him," she whispered back,
"Are you two making out over there?" Itsumi suddenly asked,
Both Ichigo and Rukia blushed a deep red as they quickly pulled away,
"No!" Ichigo shouted, "We were just talking!"
"Oh? But you were awfully close to each other."
Kuroda for his part, try to keep as quite as possible as Ichigo continued to try and explain things. He honestly wished his mother would stop acting so goofy, but he had long ago decided to just ignore it.
Truth be told, he was enjoying himself. The food was good, the drink was good, and everyone was having fun, so he just sat down and let things roll on.
After lunch, Mei and Itsumi parted ways from the rest of the group but not before Itsumi reminded Kuroda to "visit his father."
Yoruichi broke off mid-way through the rest of the day to go hang out with some of her shinigami friends.
Night came quickly after that. Everyone retired in the rooms that the Black Operations division provided for them.
Kuroda walked through the halls quietly after showing everyone where they'd be sleeping. Eventually he decided to go to bed himself.
"What a day," he mumbled as he lay down on his bed, "at least nothing bad happened."
He was just about to blow out the candle light when someone suddenly flung open his door. He looked up to see Yoruichi, who literally stumbled into his room.
"Yoruichi? What are you doing here?"
"I'm gonna go to bed," she said in a slurred voice, "I think I drank a little too much."
"No kidding," he said as she reeked of alcohol, "are you drunk?"
"hehe, maybe?" she teased as she walked closer,
"Uh, hey, you're room isn't here its-"
He was cut off as Yoruichi flopped down on top of him.
"Oi! You can't sleep with me!"
"Why not?" she asked with her face in his chest.
"Do you really need to ask?"
"But you're so comfortable," she protested as he tried to push her off.
Kuroda blushed, "even so, you can't just-"
Again he was cut off when one of her hands plopped down on his head, ruffling his hair.
"Ooooh, you're hair is pretty soft" she observed tipsily, "I thought it'd be a bit spikier."
"Ugh," he groaned as he slipped out from under her,
"Now I feel cold," she complained,
Kuroda let out a sigh, gently he scooped her up bridal style.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he carried her through the halls,
"You're room,"
"Are we gonna do something fun?" she asked,
"No, but I can't just let you walk around in the dark while your drunk."
"Oh, that's okay, I can see in the dark," she said,
"You can?"
"Yup!"
"Oh, right, of course," he said, "okay, your room should be right-"
"Commander?"
Kuroda turned his head to see Rajin and Kaito, staring at…him.
"Is that, Yoruichi?" asked Rajin,
"Uh, well-"
"We'll leave you alone," said Kaito, grabbing Rajin by the collar,
"Sorry to disturb!" Rajin called as he was dragged away,
"But I-, oh jeez, I'm never going to hear the end of this," he muttered as he carried Yoruichi into her room.
"Okay, now stay here and sleep it off," he ordered as he lay her down on her bed.
"But I don't wanna go to sleep right now," she whined as he turned to leave,
"Why not?" he growled,
"I still have my clothes on," she said, "they're too uncomfortable to sleep in."
"What do you want me to do about it?"
After a brief pause, "undress me."
"Wha-NO!" he yelled, "Just turn into a cat or something."
"But I don't want to turn into a cat," she said,
"Why not?" he muttered,
"Cause you like me better this way, don't you?" she asked cutely,
Kuroda's face inevitably turned bright red.
"I-I, don't' be weird," he growled, "Why would you stay in human form for me?"
"Cause I like you,"
"I-I-I, you're crazy, just sleep it off,"
"But I'm suffering," she whined childishly,
"Ugh," the bad thing about her was that she could actually make him believe that she was suffering.
"Fine," he conceded,
Hesitantly he forced his hands towards her and started by carefully taking off her orange shirt, leaving her in her pants and black undershirt.
'Okay, so far so good' he thought to himself,
"Now take off my pants," she ordered
The sound of cracking glass was heard somewhere in Kuroda's head.
By some unexplainable force, he managed to move his hands to her waist and by some means managed to pull off her pants without fainting right on the spot.
'I can't believe I'm doing this!' he screamed at himself, 'how did I get into this situation!"
Managing to get past his discomfort, he reached behind her neck and untied the knot that held up her black under shirt. This pretty much left her in her underwear.
Kuroda turned away.
"Good enough?" he asked, though he immediately berated himself for asking it in the first place as he knew what the answer would be.
"Can you take off my underwear?"
"HELL NO!"
"This pillow is uncomfortable."
"ugh, hold on a sec. I have to untie your pony tail," he muttered,
Lowering himself to his knees, he carefully untied the piece of string and cloth that held her hair up, letting it spill out onto the ground like splash of purple water.
"Happy now?" he asked, still sitting beside her prone form,
"Mmhmm" she mumbled cutely as she closed her eyes and snuggled against her pillow.
"You're such a handful," he mumbled, without thinking he reached up and began petting her head.
Strangely enough, a low almost rumbling sound came up from Yoruichi, was she purring? Like a cat? Seriously?
Kuroda began to retract his hand but was foiled when Yoruichi's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed him by the wrist and placed his hand back on her head.
'This is so weird,' he thought to himself as he continued petting her.
"Kuroda," she whispered,
"Hm?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name,"
A half an hour passed until Yoruichi finally fell asleep. When she did, Kuroda stayed for a few more minutes, just stroking her lovely long hair until he forced himself to stop and finally leave.
He found it surprisingly hard to return to his own quarters.
But like every other feeling, he ignored it, and fell asleep.
(#$%*()#(%^*))#%(#%()%^)#*%^()#(*%)
The next morning, Yoruichi woke up, not surprisingly, with a hangover.
"ugh, how much did I drink last night?" she wondered out loud, she rubbed her temples and swore, "never again."
But the memory of Kuroda carrying her to her room and putting her to bed, then staying with her until she fell asleep made it all worth it.
A small smile touched her lips.
"Well, maybe one or two more times," she decided,
Quickly getting dressed and taking care of all her morning needs, she hurried over to the mess hall. If she was lucky, perhaps she could get in Kuroda's daily teasing a little early.
But when she arrived, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Uh, where's Kuroda?" she asked,
"He's out!" Kaito replied loudly,
"Argh," groaned Yoruichi, her already splitting headache taking a turn for the worse.
"Keep it down," she ordered, "I had a lot to drink last night."
"Here, have some of this," suggested Itsumi, handing Yoruichi a cup of tea, "it'll help"
Yoruichi appreciatively took the cup and chugged down its steamy contents.
Amazingly her headache disappeared completely soon after she finished the brew.
"Wow, that stuff was great! What was it?" she asked,
"My own special brew," replied Itsumi, "I'm the medical expert here, so I know quite a bit about herbs and what not. Kaito gets drunk a lot with his friend Rangiku, so one day I just decided to make something that got rid of his hangovers."
"Oh, that's a good idea," said Yoruichi,
"It also helps that I go out drinking every week or two,"
"Don't you mean every day or two?" pointed out Rajin,
Itsumi shot him a dark glare, Rajin just held up his hands in mock surrender. Despite his higher rank, he did not wish to anger the 5th seat, she could poison his food.
"Did Kuroda say where he was going?" asked Yoruichi,
Rajin and Kaito glanced at each other, then simultaneously said, "nowhere."
Yoruichi of course, was not satisfied by this answer.
(%#&*(%)(#*(%^)#%)#%*()#*()%&)*(#%^)*%#())(*&)
Kuroda walked through the streets of Seireitei's commercial district. Small stands selling food, trinkets, and other such things were all lined up and down the walk ways. Shops providing various services were also spread around the streets, though he found it strange that there was no convenience store.
"Maybe I should submit the suggestion to the 4th division or something, they don't have anything better to do," he mumbled to himself,
Eventually, after wandering the streets for a good half an hour, he finally found what he was looking for, a flower shop.
From behind the corner of a street, Yoruichi, Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Chad, and Uryu all watched as Kuroda walked into the shop.
"So Kuroda does have a sensitive side," said Orihime, "I never would have thought that he'd be a fan of flower arranging."
"Why are we doing this again?" asked Ichigo,
"Come on, don't you want to know why Kuroda's gone off all by himself?" said Yoruichi,
"It's not really our business," reasoned Ichigo, "Kuroda can do whatever he wants to, right Rukia?"
"I think we should adopt some disguises," she said, "moving around in such a large group isn't very effective."
Ichigo fell to the floor.
"Don't worry, I always bring extra clothes," said Uryu, taking out a dozen or so hooded cloaks,
"Where the heck were you hiding those?"
A few seconds later and Kuroda walked out of the shop carrying a bundle of purple daisys.
"He's going, lets follow," ordered Yoruichi,
The group tailed Kuroda for quite some time, following him through alleys, spying on him from roof tops, and using the disguises that Uryu had provided.
Eventually, Kuroda led all the way back near the Black Operations barracks but made a turn towards a nearby forest instead.
"Where's he going?" Orihime asked aloud,
"Let's keep following and find out," said Rukia, "something tells me we're close."
Stealthily, the group followed Kuroda into the forest.
As they did, Kuroda ran his hands across the trees while he walked, almost as if they bore some sort of personal importance to him.
He led them up a flight of pure white stairs up a steep hill.
Finally, Kuroda seemed to arrive at his destination. The top of the hill.
"This is where he wanted to go?" Rukia asked,
"What's that over there?" Orihime pointed out,
"That looks like a…tombstone," answered Ichigo,
Yoruichi's eyes widened as she realized that they may have just intruded on sacred ground.
Kuroda kneeled down to the tombstone and laid the bundle of purple daises down in front of it. He raised a hand and placed it down on the tombstone's head and lowered his eyes in respect.
"Hi Dad,"
End
A/N
Wow, that was actually longer than I thought it'd be. So, I hope you like the chapter. You got to meet Kuroda's family and I managed to sneak in a moment between Kuroda and Yoruichi.
I had fun writing that part, after all, you can't have a romance without at least one awkward scene where one person is drunk. Sorry if it seemed a little pervy, my teenage brain is weird.
Mei and Itsumi will have big parts later on.
Character submissions are still open
See ya later
Please review, subscribe, favorite, etc
Omake time!
"Oi!" screamed Tyran from behind a door, "Oi!"
"What!" shouts Kuroda,
"Let me make my appearance already!" demands the character,
"You've already made your apprearence," points out Kuroda, "you blasted me with a cero, isn't that enough?"
"But they still don't know what I look like!" Tyran screams even louder, "why can't they see what I look like already!"
"Maybe DB84 hasn't decided what to make you look like" suggests Yoruichi,
"WHAT! !"