Well, all good things must come to an end… temporarily. This is the 'final' chapter of my story HP and the BOotP. You've all been great, thanks a billion! The reason I say 'final' is… read the end note! I don't want to put too much stuff in the beginning AN, since I know you're all eager little beavers to just get right to it.
As always I do not own HP or Bleach. They are the exclusive properties of their authors. I only own the books, DVDs, figures and the liquid under my sink that I have paid good money for. Support the artists and don't pirate, yada yada yada. I also own this story, which is the product of my warped imagination.
:Zangetsu talking:
:Hichigo talking:
Chapter 48
"Aizen."
Ichigo and the former Captain stared at each other for several long moments before Aizen spoke.
"I see they gave you my old position, boy."
Momo made a noise, as if she was going to respond; Ichigo said softly, "Don't. Don't give him the satisfaction." She nodded, and glared at her former Captain instead. She was happy with the way things were now; Ichigo had gained her respect, both as a Soul Reaper and as a friend over the last few months, and he was more than worthy to be a Captain with the Gotei 13.
Ichigo debated his next move; he was not up to a hard, prolonged battle with Aizen. In fact, he was not up to a fight with him at all at the moment. And the only ones able to fight Aizen, aside from himself, were Uryu, Chad, Tatsuki, and Mizuiro. Everyone else had seen his released zanpakuto. Orihime wasn't sure if she had or not… so they figured they were better off if she stayed away from anything having to do with him. So it was up to Ichigo to settle the matter, or find a way to stall, and quickly… he vanished suddenly from where he was standing, surprising everyone, and causing Rukia to cry out his name as a reflex habit; as he charged forward, he wordlessly called forth his Bankai, nodding once at Zangetsu's warning that they could not hold it for long, because even he and Hichigo were still recovering.
Aizen took a step back as their swords clanged together. "You're weaker than you were the last time I saw you, Kurosaki…"
"I decided I didn't need that much power to handle you," Ichigo retorted, swinging his sword again. And again. Aizen blocked both times, but he frowned at Ichigo, almost with disappointment.
"Your mistake. However I am curious as to what this new kido of yours is…"
Their swords clanged again, creating a shock wave. "As if I'd tell you," Ichigo smirked at him, "You know, I can still pull off Mugetsu…"
:Ichigo!:
:King!:
Don't get your panties in a twist! I'm bluffing!
Aizen took a wary step back and stared at him.
"Are you going to turn tail and run, again?" Ichigo asked him, seeing the way he had tensed up at the mention of his Final Getsuga Tensho. "Like a scared…rabbit?" he smirked at the two hollow rabbits that were running rapid circles around the rooftop. Aizen frowned at him, his irritation obvious.
"You are becoming a nuisance."
"Well, if I were to believe you – I am only because you made me one." If anything, Aizen's frown grew deeper. He appeared about to respond when one of the Espada howled with pain and dropped his zanpakuto as smoke wafted up from his palm; Uryu smirked with satisfaction as he adjusted his glasses. It was one of the ones whose zanpakutos he'd cursed. Toshiro coughed, and called out to Ichigo,
"Kurosaki –"
"Hm?" Ichigo was currently debating what he wanted to do; they obviously couldn't stand around and stare at each other all day. He also didn't want to reveal too much to the enemy; he had Zangetsu pointed at him in such a way that he wouldn't realize he was also holding something else. His mind was running through various scenarios; he finally decided to test the waters, first – if it didn't work, he would try something else. He took a leap back, so Aizen would not be able to hear him… "Tarantallegra," he murmured quietly.
It started with a twitch; Aizen blinked, puzzled, as one of his legs twitched again, and then a moment later, jerked violently. Soon, both legs were going as wildly as Neville's had been in the Ministry. Ichigo put Zangetsu over his shoulder and walked away, letting his Bankai fade away. He could hear Zangetsu and Hichigo laughing in his inner world, and was trying not to emulate them.
"When you decide to stop dancing, give me a shout. We'll have a rematch," he said off-handedly. Aizen cursed at him, and the rabbits that had been racing in circles stopped to stare at him, wide eyed with shock.
Having rejoined the others, Ichigo turned to snicker quietly at him, and he heard Toshiro cough, and Renji try to hold back a laugh; Gin's smirk grew even larger, if that was possible as he draped an arm around Matsumoto's shoulders; she was using Gin to stand, she was laughing so hard. He was about to say something more to Aizen when he noticed something moving behind the traitor. Something very fast… and coming closer… closer…
"What…." Was all that he had a chance to say before whatever it was blew past Aizen, out of the Garganta, and plowed into Ichigo, knocking the wind out of him, and driving him back, off the roof and onto the rooftop of the next building. Rukia and Momo both stared at the area where he had been standing, stunned, before they both dove for the spot: Momo for his wand, and Rukia for Zangetsu, both of which he had inadvertently let go of.
"What the hell…!" Tatsuki couldn't help exclaiming, whirling around to stare at the scene unfolding in front of her.
"Um…" Orihime blinked, looking over at the other roof; she and Gin were actually the only ones who recognized the person who had just mauled their friend. Renji was looking right and left, at Ichigo, who was frantically waving his arms for help, where he was being smothered by a very large breasted, green-haired Arrancar – so large she rivaled Rangiku – back to the Garganta, where a blue haired second Arrancar was strolling out at a much slower, more sedate pace. Him, they all knew. He paused to sneer at the tap-dancing Aizen.
"Loser!" he snarled, kicking the former Captain back into the Garganta, and closing it with a snap. He then walked at a leisurely pace to examine the remaining Espada. The one that still lay on the ground because of Mizuiro's spell, he quickly decapitated, causing him to vanish in a cloud of dust. The two who were stuck together – he howled at with raucous laughter.
"Who did that?" Grimmjow turned to the assembled Soul Reapers and asked.
Momo timidly raised her hand, not sure what to make of the Espada laughing so uproariously in front of them.
"This is great! You couldn't have picked two Espada who hated each other more if you tried!" He actually doubled over with laughter, holding his sides as if he were going to pull a few muscles from laughing so hard. "I'm gonna leave 'em like that – it's better than killing 'em!"
"Grimmjow!" one of the Espada growled at him. Grimmjow just sneered at him. Then he looked down – and saw the rabbits. If anything, he laughed harder. So hard he had tears pouring down his face. For those that knew him, had faced him in battle… this image of him was hard for them to swallow.
"Okay – now where's Kurosaki?" he asked, once he had gotten a hold of himself. "I thought I sensed him here…"
"Why do you want to know, Grimmjow?" Gin cocked his head to study him. Grimmjow studied him back.
"Got something to ask him." He looked around, and finally spotted the struggling Soul Reaper. He sighed. "Shit – forgot about that. I guess I should have tied her up or something." He shook his head. "Hey – Nell!" he bellowed, "Don't suffocate him until we can talk to him!"
"Nell?" Rukia yelped, "That's Nell?" She had been standing, gaping at the scene in shock. Nell was a – she was just a – and that was a full grown…
Grimmjow looked over at her, puzzled. "Yeah – didn't he tell you?"
She slowly shook her head, her shock beginning to turn to anger.
"Um – don't be too angry, Kuchiki-san," Orihime said hurriedly, "We only saw her as an adult for a brief amount of time before she turned back into a child…"
There was a guilty look on the expressions of his friends, the Captains – and Renji.
"I'm sorry, Rukia," Renji said hastily, "We all knew about it… The Head Captain had him write up a report… I think it must have been something like fifty pages…"
"Seventy," Byakuya corrected stiffly before reluctantly admitting, "It was actually very well written."
"Er… seventy pages and it did mention Nell's transformation. I guess I didn't think about the fact that only Captains and Vice-Captains got to read it…" his look was extremely apologetic. "And when you think about it, it was so long by the time he got to see you again Nell was really the last thing on his mind…"
Rukia only looked slightly mollified by that fact – however, she was highly irritated by the fact that there was a very big-busted, gorgeous female smothering her boyfriend in her cleavage. Yes, he was waving his arms frantically for assistance… and those arm movements were slowing down… slower… and slower… and slower… almost getting – spasmodic…
Grimmjow's shoulders were shaking. "I can't believe I have to go save him…I am so not going to let him forget this one," he chortled as he leaped over to the other building. The others hastily followed, wondering what the hell this pair was doing here.
And they were definitely concerned over Grimmjow's presence… although - he was acting as if he'd had a - personality adjustment.
"NELL!" Grimmjow wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted, pulling her off the teenaged Captain she had been enthusiastically greeting and nearly hugging to death. Ichigo gasped frantically for air, and the others were fairly alarmed to see his face had actually started to turn blue. It was Chad who started waving air in his face, trying to help him catch his breath. When he could finally speak again he looked over at the pair of them.
"What," he asked, wheezing a bit as Chad helped him stand, although he was a bit wobbly, "Are you two doing here?"
Grimmjow and Nell looked at each other; and everyone noted with some interest that the pair had clasped hands tightly together before Grimmjow cleared his throat, and said one word that shocked the hell out of everyone present:
"Sanctuary?"
#
Ichigo yawned as he stood on the train platform, once more waiting for the train into Tokyo. Whoever had decided they had to get up at the ungodly hour of five am, in order to be at the station for the six o'clock train, needed to have their head examined. Not only that… they were in full dress kimonos. Kimonos! He only wore one when he went to the temple on New Year's Day… maybe. If he felt like it.
At least he'd been able to beg out of the situation with Grimmjow and Nell the day before, citing this as an excuse. The Head Captain would have to countermand his previous orders to the contrary, and even Byakuya had been unable to argue with that logic and had been forced to take charge of the situation; eventually deciding that until Yamamoto made a decision, the pair would reside with Shinji and the others. Ichigo didn't even have to guess how well that decision went down, even though his father had been gleeful in reporting it to him – when he interrupted his last minute study refresher with Rukia. He could just guess how well the Vizards reacted to being tagged as glorified baby-sitters to a pair of former Espada.
This had irritated his son, because if Ichigo wanted to go back to Hogwarts next year – and at this point, he and the others needed to because the threats of Voldemort and Aizen were still there – then they all needed to pass this exam. He yawned again, and was a bit surprised to hear a slight snore coming from Ishida – who was apparently also able to sleep on his feet.
Orihime would be joining them this day – she needed to take the test as well, if she wanted to be able to make any purchases – and she admitted she was rather interested in learning more about Herbology, as she did seem to have a knack for growing magical plants – and that was about the extent of her talents. She simply shrugged and smiled and said she would be happy to supply the others with whatever they needed. In fact, she now had the beginnings of a thriving garden in Urahara's underground. Even he and Tessai were rather interested in what she was growing. Tatsuki's mother had been teaching her while the others were away, and while she knew all of the basics that they did… she wasn't quite as good at them as they were.
"That's our Orihime!" Tatsuki said, hugging her.
"Our own Neville Longbottom," Rukia said softly, smiling at the big...hearted...girl.
So they had left Byakuya and the others to handle the Arrancar, after hearing them say they were the only two left – Aizen had hunted down and eliminated Nell's Fracción, to the surprise and sorrow of both Renji and Uryu, and had also found and killed off the one remaining Privaron Espada as well. He had kept Nell and Grimmjow on the run, and the only reason they had survived was because they had stayed together (and apparently hooked up, as well, from the way they were acting). It was Grimmjow who had gotten the idea of looking for Ichigo the next time someone opened a Garganta. They didn't dare risk opening one up themselves for fear of getting caught.
Momo reported sleepily that the Vizards had taken them in and were keeping an eye on the pair while the Captains reported the situation back to the Yamamoto. Grimmjow's fate was iffy; although, Ichigo said, he did have his own rather strict, if peculiar sense of honor, which Orihime agreed with. He was violent, antisocial, and amoral; but if he said something and swore to it – he'd keep his word. If he owed something to someone – he would make sure he paid it back. Again, his own peculiar honor system. Orihime told the others how he had saved her from the two lower ranked Arrancar because she had restored his arm and his rank, and he had wanted to pay her back. He was not being nice – he had simply owed her one and wanted them to be square.
Nell on the other hand had a much better chance simply because of the assistance she had given Ichigo and the others. There was also the fact that she despised violence, and was much more of a pacifist. The fact that the two had actually paired up… in that way… stunned Ichigo and Orihime; they were the two who knew them best.
"Nell?" Ichigo had said, baffled.
"And Grimmjow?" Orihime had added, just as confused.
Opposites attract, they supposed.
Everyone – except Mrs. Arisawa – fell asleep on the train. Tatsuki's mother watched them all with an amused expression, before she pulled out her novel to read during the ride into Tokyo. She let them sleep until a few minutes before the stop they had to get off, and Ichigo wished he could ignore the looks they were all getting… especially him. A group of teenagers, in dress kimonos… boy, did they all look rather conspicuous. Luckily, they only had a block to walk to the ministry building, and by then they blended in with a bunch of other teens, also wearing dress kimonos. Well, everyone except Orihime and Ichigo blended in. Orange and auburn hair did rather stand out, and they got rather pointed stares.
A Ministry worker was at the door, greeting them; it was the one they had met the first day they had come to register. What was her name again? Ichigo scowled at his feet, as he tried to remember.
"Ah! You made it back!" she greeted them, smiling. "I was afraid you wouldn't get back from England in time, when I saw the dates the classes ended!" She was also dressed in a kimono.
"Ohayo, Miko-san!" Momo smiled at her, "We got back two days ago!"
That's right, Miko….Thank god for Momo, he thought, giving the smiling woman a nervous smile.
"You are so hopeless," he heard Tatsuki mutter. He shot her a glare, and heard Mizuiro snicker as they slowly queued into the building. He felt Rukia's hand slip into his, and he squeezed it briefly once.
"How many of us are there?" Uryu wondered, looking around. He hadn't thought there would be so many – but there were at least as many as a full two years worth of Hogwarts students cramming into the building… Ichigo's head was starting to ache, and he just wanted to sit down…
"Are you okay, Ichigo?" Rukia looked at him, worriedly. He shook his head.
"Head's starting to hurt a bit," he admitted. He really wasn't fully recovered yet, he guessed… maybe he had done too much yesterday and the day before. Of course, the attack by Aizen and his Espada hadn't helped. He figured, however, that Aizen had shaken off that rather minor curse, but would hesitate to come back, because he wasn't sure what the Gotei 13 was up to… he hoped. He needed to learn more before he could fight Aizen again.
Rukia was looking around, and soon found what she wanted: a row of chairs along the wall, which she dragged him towards. Tatsuki saw her intent, and beat her to it. She stared down at the boy on the end chair.
"Move," Tatsuki ordered, cracking her knuckles in a threatening manner.
He looked at her, surprised. Orihime gave him a puppy dog look.
"Kurosaki-kun has been very ill – he really needs to sit down. Please?"
No one – except maybe Yamamoto – could resist that look for very long. That combined with the fact that Ichigo's face was starting to look a little gray made the boy move. Ichigo sat down with a sigh and leaned back against the wall; it was going to be a good half hour or more before everyone was checked in and they were in the room and given their exam papers. And then they still had to take a practical…. He stifled a groan.
It was going to be a long, long day.
#
"That… was a test?" Rukia said for what had to be the millionth time as they walked slowly back towards the train station. They had all been afraid that Ichigo was going to pull a Potter – and collapse in the middle of the exam – especially when the practical consisted of the proctor calling them up one by one, and having them perform one very hard spell in each subject. So at least he'd be able to pick a hard charm. However, as the proctor whispered to them each, just do the hardest one that they could, and they would consider the student to be at that level in that subject…
When it was Ichigo's turn, one of the boys who had been giving him a hard time in the waiting room jeered at him as he walked up to the front, and he found himself missing Hogwarts, if just for the fact his hair was no big deal. It was at that point that Ichigo had had enough; he'd clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached, trying not to hit the other boy, who, to make matters worse, had made multiple passes at Rukia and Momo all day, and had said one or two derogatory things about Orihime as well, causing them to have to restrain Tatsuki. So, when it was time for him to perform a Transfiguration spell… He couldn't resist.
"He isn't going to…" Mizuiro had gasped when they saw Ichigo slide a calculating look at the other boy. Knowing Ichigo the way they did, this particular look boded ill for whomever it was aimed at. And as it was now time for him to do Transfiguration...
"Yep, he is," Tatsuki had nodded with a grin. Orihime had watched, baffled, while Rukia, Momo and Uryu just shook their heads as Ichigo raised his wand, silently pointed it at the jeering student… and then they had all watched with some satisfaction as the other boy's friends scurried around trying to catch him. Ichigo really hadn't cared if he passed at that point, although from the amused expression on the proctor's face, he had a feeling he had. He was the only one who had done a wordless spell so far, and his defensive spell, curse, and yes, even his charm had been harder than anything anyone had done except Uryu up to that point. Apparently going to Hogwarts had been a good thing to do.
"Someone just tell me that I can go home and sleep for a week," Ichigo muttered, slouching down in the train seat after they had boarded.
"You should be able to; I can come over tomorrow and work on you some more, if you'd like," Orihime offered, looking at him with some concern.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble…"
"Oh no! Not at all!" the bubbly girl assured him, "It will give me some time to hang out with Rukia-chan!"
"I won't be going home for a few days," Rukia confirmed, "Although I think Momo has to…"
The other girl groaned and stared out the train window. "I'm dreading the paperwork…"
Ichigo winced with sympathy. He'd gotten a glimpse at the amount of paperwork that had built up over the year… he leaned over.
"Check with Yamamoto… if there's anything I can sign at this point, even though I'm not 'official' yet, go ahead and send it over… I saw the stack – it'll take you a year to get through it yourself." Momo gave him a grateful look, even if it was also mixed with dread. She nodded.
"I'll do that – thanks. I know you aren't official, yet."
#
"Well, now," Dumbledore sighed as he sat back in the chair that Yamamoto had provided for him and sipped his tea. "We somehow managed to get through the year."
"Barely," the Head Captain agreed. Although he preferred to do things the old fashioned Japanese way, his meetings with Dumbledore were usually a mix of old and new. Traditional tea with comfy stuffed chairs, partially due to the fact that both of them were having trouble getting up off of the floor, these days… or rather, Albus was having difficulty getting up off of a cushion. The chair was Yamamoto's concession to his long-time friend's age.
"That boy of yours certainly exceeded all expectations," the Professor admitted, "Although it got a little dicey at the end."
"Yes, Kurosaki has a habit of doing that," Yamamoto nodded his agreement, "Although pulling rabbits out of hats does seem to be his – specialty."
Dumbledore chuckled at Yamamoto's play on words. "Literally and figuratively, it would seem." The two conniving old men had a laugh over that, clinked their cups together in a silent toast, and sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their tea, before Sasakibe interrupted.
"Pardon me, Captain – but Masaki Kurosaki wishes to speak with you," he bowed.
"Ah, go ahead and send her in," Yamamoto nodded, setting his cup down on the small table that sat between their chairs.
A moment later Masaki entered the room, carrying a stack of papers. She smiled when she saw Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore – how are you?" she bowed in his direction after she greeted the Head Captain. The Professor smiled fondly at one of his favorite students.
"Quite well, Masaki – and you appear as if you've been busy," he indicated the papers. She nodded.
"I have a copy of the report you requested, Head Captain – I have a copy for Professor Dumbledore, as well," she said.
"A copy for me?" Dumbledore queried.
"The preliminary report for teaching magic at the Soul Reaper Academy," Yamamoto explained, "Masaki and the Potters have been working on it."
"Well…" Masaki rolled her eyes as she let her voice trail off.
Dumbledore chuckled at her expression, knowing exactly what she hadn't said. "I take that expression to mean that you and Lily have been working on it?"
"James started… until Sirius arrived," Masaki sighed and gave a soft laugh, "Then he got sidetracked. So it's just been Lily and myself with some assistance from Diggory-kun and Ollivander-san."
"Ah, you found young Cedric? And one of the Ollivanders?" Dumbledore appeared to be quite pleased by this.
"Actually, Professor, Diggory was already enrolled in the academy and found us; and Ollivander – I think he's the current wand maker's great-great-grandfather – heard about what we were doing, and wandered in to check it out – so at least we'll have a wand maker and won't need to go looking for one, or kidnap the current wand maker ourselves. He's investigating woods, and he thinks the best cores for a Soul Reaper will be Thestral, considering that all four Soul Reapers aligned with one…. It's all in the report. We made a copy for you because we wanted your opinion."
"And I shall be most happy to read it," Dumbledore accepted the report, "and to proffer my, ahem, expert advice. Although I doubt you and Lily need any help – unless it's assistance getting work out of James and Sirius."
"Thank you, Kurosaki-san. You have been most industrious in getting this done. And please thank Potter-san for me, as well," Yamamoto inclined his head. Masaki smiled and excused herself, leaving the pair alone again.
"I do adore that girl – one of my favorite students of all time…" Dumbledore sighed, "I really had wanted her to be the Potions Master after Horace retired– but she turned me down flat. At least now I understand why."
"You also understand why I needed you to come and drag young Kurosaki back to Hogwarts…" Yamamoto frowned, "He would have stayed here, just for her. Of course, the fact that Miss Kuchiki herself resides here would have been the icing on the cake for him. With the two of them here – we needed to use a crowbar to get him back to the world of the living."
"Will you ever tell him the truth?" Dumbledore eyed his old friend over his teacup.
"I've been waiting for his idiot father to do that," the Head Captain complained, "The only good thing that boy ever did was marry Masaki."
"Well," Dumbledore raised his cup in salute, "here's hoping our secrets don't come back and bite us in our, um… respective backsides."
"They always do, my old friend," Yamamoto sighed, "They always do."
Author's End Note:
And… that's the end of Part 1 of the Trilogy! Sorry if Grimmjow appears to be a little - OOC here, but put it down to Nell's influence!
I have one more "special" chapter to do, as I promised – the wands, cores, and Masaki's spells/potions that I've come up with. I'll be updating it as time goes by, especially during the course of the next book, I don't want to give TOO much away now! I'll also add class schedules and OWL results; if you favorite/bookmark the page, you'll be able to refer back to it as a sort of reference.
I'll also use it to announce the imminent arrival of Part 2. I'm on Chapter 26… However, some of the best stuff in this wasn't added until my third FULL read through, and I've already gone back and changed a few things.
So as I've said in the past – if there's something ACTION-WISE you'd like to see – not including pairings, because I've already got those for most of the MAIN characters (if there's a side character you'd like to see, I don't have anything major planned for some of those….) I'm open to suggestion. And like I've said in the past – I have BIG plans for Draco… and Cedric… but especially Draco. Bwahahaha (rubbing hands gleefully)…
