Disclaimer: Bleach is still owned by Kubo.
A/N: Hey! Sup? Well…I just would like to thank all those favorites, follows and alerts I've been receiving for the story. Honestly, I'm still in a transition phase with living in a new city away from my family and with the training that I'm in for my employment—I could barely keep my eyes open when I get home so I think it's a bad thing. That's also the reason why I'm getting slow in updating the story (and please add the lack of inspiration and the separation anxiety I'm undergoing). Well, that's just about it. I think many of you have been waiting for this part unless of course I'm getting over my head again. Haha…Read and Enjoy! And don't forget to review!
P.S: No rereads and edits done so pardon the errors.
54. Chapter 15: Of Name and Power [Kurosaki Ichigo]
" We'll talk properly tomorrow Rukia. That, I promise you. I'll tell you everything."
His room was dark. He went straight into his room once he had returned and didn't turn on the lights. Darkness was comforting once in a while. From his room, he could hear his father acting out goofily again. And his mom's laughter had even reached the closed four-corners of his room. His sisters were out in a camping trip but still their presence lingered in this place he called home. To everyone's eyes, his family was perfect. He thinks so too. All he needed was there.
He sighed as he pulled himself to sit up on his bed. Despite the darkness, he managed to snatch his other phone from the top of the night table and began browsing on the pictures he took from the eco-park.
They were nice pictures. Great even. So candid. So fragile.
Black and amethyst.
Innocent and pure.
Beautiful.
That was the word that came into him mind to describe the images in front of him.
Then for a moment, his mind hazes as he began to wonder.
Why everything seemed to be messed up right now?
Then, all leads down to one name.
-000-
Shiba Kaien.
He remembered that name. His dad had mentioned it several times before. This Kaien was coming meet them. Today was his family's reintroduction to a nobility that his father had come from. He was nervous and excited at the same time.
" Ichigo, I want you to behave yourself okay?" His mom was kneeling in front of his ten year old self, fixing the black hakama they made him wear for this very occasion. They were in a fancy building he had never sat foot before. It was luxurious, executive looking and tall. People had been gong-ho in trying to keep up with their needs, going extra-miles just to accommodate his family. It made him feel like they were important—really important.
This kind of treatment to his family, and to him in particular, was very foreign to him that it made him wary instead of becoming cosy and comfortable.
His mom, Kurosaki Masaki, was wearing the same garments as his as well. Though despite the plainness of the black garment, she looked like a queen in his eyes—and she was fitting that image. " You look beautiful mom." He complimented, finding the necessity to do so.
The smile on his mother's face gave was the only thing he needed to push through anything that might come his way. Ever since he was a child, never had he seen his mother's smile fade from her lips. And it made her glow. Always.
A knock on the door broke the spell that had bounded Ichigo to only see his mother that moment. Both of them looked up and found a male teen, a few years older than him with jet black hair and green eyes, leaning on the door frame. He was dressed in the same way as them so Ichigo surmised that they were attending the same event. " Masaki-san." He courteously acknowledged with a boyish smile.
" Kaien." Masaki stood erect and came near the teen, who for some reason, looked very uncanny to Ichigo. " It's so nice to see you again. You've grown to be very handsome."
This Kaien grinned and blushed at the compliment. " How long has it been? Four? Five years?"
" Five." Kurosaki Masaki humoured before stepping out of the teen's sight. " This is Ichigo." She introduced, holding out a hand towards his son, inviting him to come near them. Ichigo obediently followed, standing beside his mother while demurely looking at the fellow.
" Wow! He's grown." Commented Kaien before levelling his face with the orangette. " Hi, I'm Shiba Kaien. Your cousin…well, third-cousin basically." His words sounded cheerful and welcoming that Ichigo immediately felt at ease.
" I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." The boy affirmed, holding out a hand which Kaien cordially took.
After that friendly gesture, Kaien ruffled his orange mane before pulling himself straight, fixing his own hakama in the process. " Well, I'm glad that after everything that's happened, you're finally welcomed back to the family."
Ichigo didn't miss the sudden glint in his mother's eyes, one that would identify as anxiety. Her lips slightly twitched nervously before it erupted into that timid smile she always had. " Yes. Isshin had been very glad to reconcile with his own family. Even if he didn't say anything before, I am aware that it hurts him to think that his own family had forsaken him."
" All of us feel the same way." Shiba Kaien empathized. " Well, everything's in the past now." Then he glanced at my direction before saying. " I guess I could just step down from my future title and let Ichigo-kun have it. It is rightfully his after all."
" That would be an honor but I don't think it's necessary Kaien. You're more than capable of being the clan's leader." Masaki remarked.
For a moment, the teen was thoughtful and slightly nodded. " Aside from the fact that it will probably stir unneeded commotion. But I would totally wager on giving Ichigo what's rightfully his. It would also make your standing in the family better." The Shiba male told Masaki meaningfully.
Ichigo's mother simply offered the teen another smile. " Or worse." She added. " I don't think we want to figure out which one it would be too soon."
" No, we don't. Not just yet." Kaien immediately conceded and ended the topic with a good-natured laugh. " Well, it's time for us to introduce little Ichigo to Gotei. Brace yourself young man. Girls may swoon your way after they get to know whose cousin you are." The Shiba clan's future leader jested with goofy grin and winked at the young Kurosaki's direction before turning around and exiting the room.
" Let's go Ichigo?" His mother asked, her hand held out to him.
Kurosaki Ichigo nodded and gladly held her mother's arm. It was slightly trembling, he could tell. He looked up with a concerned look on his face. " Mom?"
" Yes?"
" I'll protect you so don't worry." The child assured as he tightened his grip on his mother's hand and offered her a toothy smile.
Masaki's tension visibly diminished as she offered her child a smile of her own. " Thank you. I know you will."
-000-
Being ten years old, he no longer was oblivious with his surroundings. His mother had joined his father, the two having a serious talk with some people he had only seen for the first time since he had developed his sense of sight. The air was stuffy and his young self didn't like it. But not as much as the moment they had entered the hall. People had their eyes on him and his mother. He felt his mother tense again as a nervous smile sprung on her lips. Whisperings had immediately ensued as those around sent scrutinizing stares at their direction. Temperature had drastically dropped and he could almost feel the repulsion of others jump in front of him. They weren't welcomed here. Neither him, nor his mother. And he didn't like feeling that way. He hated it—he hated seeing his mother like that.
" Masaki."
Gladly, his father had come out of nowhere, breaking that freezing spell that almost made the ten year-old child's skin crawl. Masaki had obviously lightened up at the presence of her husband.
" Isshin." She greeted with a welcoming smile. " How is your family?" She queried with genuine interest.
" Great! Really great!" Kurosaki Isshin remarked with genuine joy. It had been a long time he had celebrated with those whom he labelled as 'family'. Even without uttering a word about it, perhaps the once exiled Shiba had been very sad being rejected by his own family—those who should have been supporting him in the first place. He kept it hidden within himself not to upset anyone in his own family, especially his wife whom had been the primary case of dispute.
The wife simply replied with an understanding smile as she continued to gaze at her husband with fondness.
Ichigo now felt slightly contented seeing his mother no longer wearing that anxious look but tugged her arm when the boy realized that something was amiss. " Karin and Yuzu. Where are they mom?" He asked as he peeked around trying to find a glimpse of his five year old twin sisters.
It was his father who answered, kneeling down to level his head with his son. " They're in the playroom together with the other children. Don't worry son, your Isane-nee is looking after them so there's nothing to worry about." A thumbs up followed the reassurance.
" Ishiin-san!" Called out that familiar teen from earlier, the one called Kaien. " I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Ichigo's father had that pleased look as he went to shake hands with the dashing teen from earlier. " Kaien-kun! So great to see you again! It's been so long since we've talked face to face like this."
Though in the slightest, the young Shiba heir had that regretful look on his face. " Yeah. I would have loved keeping in touch with you if not for my father's strict order. I'm sorry Isshin-san."
" Nothing to fret about boy!" Kurosaki Isshin reassured cheerily as he patted the other male at the shoulder good-naturedly. " Let's put those things behind us."
" But I'm happy to have you back into the family Isshin-san. At least, the stuffiness of the elders would certainly decrease with you in the meetings to lighten the mood."
Isshin's cheeriness diminished by half as he replied to the expectant teen in a thoughtful manner. " Well, I couldn't certainly agree that much with you. My position in the family is a little fragile so I'll have to be careful. And I wouldn't want my family to be put in a difficult position."
" I see. I understand." Shiba Kaien replied with understanding. There was a pause before Kaien said, " Well, I'll have to go greet everyone now." Then he glanced at the young Kurosaki boy's direction. " I'm looking forward to have a chat with you soon, Ichigo-kun! I'm sure the two of us will be great buddies in the future."
.
.
.
" Do I really have to attend this party?" Asked the young Kurosaki Ichigo as he loosened the tightness of his dark shikahusho. He was compelled to attend another ball, something that the nobility called Gotei Ball. It was the first time he was attending such a party and the fact that none of his parents were to accompany him but instead he will go with Shiba Kaien as representatives of the main branch of the Shiba Clan. Why he was chosen to do the task when so many wanted to have an appearance so badly, the boy with orange hair had no idea.
His companion whistled beside him as the neared the entrance of the hall where the ball was being held. " You're a Shiba so of course you have to."
" I'm a Kurosaki, not a Shiba." Answered Ichigo whose creases on the forehead seemed inerasable.
Shiba Kaien simply shrugged " Well, you are your father's son so you're a Shiba by blood even if you refuse to change your name into Shiba. Besides, what's so bad with this party anyway? You'll get to see lots of pretty girls…if you know what I mean." The teen winked suggestively and disappeared into the crowd the moment they had entered into the hall.
Ichigo peeked and peered to find the Shiba teen but gave up when he realized that it was useless. Instead, he decided to stay in a corner in hopes of catching a glimpse of his cousin sooner or later. Being new to the world of nobility, he knew no one and only entertained himself by observing. So far in his assessment, the party was simply for people who likes to flaunt their status. And he was not enjoying it at all. He had somewhat began to get used to his solitude when an unexpected voice called upon him.
" Yoh, Kurosaki!"
The boy with orange hair and amber eyes looked up to the voice, eyes grew a little in size when a familiar face greeted him. " Grimmjow." He muttered, uncertain what exactly to feel about the development that had come his way.
With a confident and cocky smirk, the ten year old Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez came closer until he was already face to face with the boy a little shorter than him. " I never thought I'd see you here of all places. This is the last place I thought you'd show up."
The young Kurosaki scowled. " Shut up. It's not like I wanted to be here anyway." He leaned back on the wall, slouched himself, placed his hands inside his pockets and kicked in the air.
" Griiiiiiiiiiiiim…" Came a whisper from behind the older boy. Ichigo caught a glimps of a young girl with raven hair just about his age.
" What now Senna?" He asked the girl with slight irritation.
" Introduce me to him." The girl answered straight to the point as she grinned widely.
Rolling his eyes, the eldest of the three sighed in exasperation. " Oh Kurosaki. This is Kuchiki Senna." The blue head jabbed his thumb in the air, pointing at the girl behind him, speaking with actual disinterest as he introduced. " Senna, this is Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo's face lightened up a bit at the name. " Kuchiki?" It rang a very familiar name to him.
" Y-yeah." Senna replied, looking somewhat uneasy.
" Do you have any relatives in Rukongai?" Ichigo asked with earnest curiosity, eyes having that unnamed glint with them.
The Kuchiki girl blinked several times before answering, a little mesmerized by the young boy asking the question. He was looking at her intensely that it made her conscious of him and brought a blush on her face. " Uh...none that I think of."
" That snotty brat not related to this chit, Kurosaki." Grimmjow interjected casually, looking at the boy with knowing eyes.
" Ohhhh." Kurosaki Ichigo looked a little dejected but immediately wiped it away from his features. " Uh sorry. I'm being rude. Nice to meet you Kuchiki-san." He held out a hand.
The girl was hesitant for a moment but took it hand and shook it. It was a start of a new friendship between the two of them.
.
.
.
It's been several years since the Kurosakis had been accepted back into the Shiba clan. Ichigo is now in his first year of middle school. The discrimination towards Ichigo's family was still blatantly obvious despite it being unspoken, as ordered by the newly appointed head of the Shiba clan—Shiba Kaien. Out of all of them, only he and his father are given attention. The clan seemed neutral about his sisters but it was his mother who actually suffers the most. And it's not that they were simply ignoring this fact. Not when the beloved mistress of the Kurosaki household is the one being affected the most.
" Masaki-chan, you know we could just leave the clan again. I can't let you suffer like this." Said Kurosaki Isshin to his wife one Saturday morning when they thought that all their children were upstairs. However, Ichigo who happened to be passing by overheard the conversation. " We've been fine without them from the very beginning. You don't have to suffer just because of them."
Ichigo could almost see his mother's gentle smile as the woman answered her husband. " Isshin-san, what kind of a woman am I if I let petty things like these destroy the family relations of my husband? Besides, Ichigo and the twins had already gotten used to the Shiba clan. I don't think it will be healthy if we suddenly leave again without a word to the children."
" Just tell me if you need my help…" Kurosaki Isshin answered seriously at first but then his goofiness came a split second later. "…this is why I wuv you so much my dear wifey! You're the best wife in the world. And the most beautiful and the most loving and cari—"
Deciding that he didn't need to hear the rest of his father's sonette, Ichigo made his way out of their house discreetly only to be welcomed by the sight of Shiba Kaien about to knock on their front door.
"Ichigo-kun!" Greeted the Shiba leader, startled by the sudden opening of the door.
" Kaien-san!" Ichigo acknowledged. " Why are you here? Are you here to see Dad? He's actually inside. I'll go call hi—"
" No." Kaien cut him off as he shook his head. " I'm actually here to see you Ichigo."
" Me? Why?"
There was a short span of silence before Kaien answered. " I actually have a proposal to make."
The young Kurosaki gazed at the visitor with quizzical eyes. " A proposal? What proposal?"
" This is not the right place to talk about it. Come, we'll go to main house and we'll talk there."
With Ichigo agreeing immediately with Kaien, the two drove towards the Shiba mansion in silence. The atmosphere between them was a little stiff. The clan leader led his visitor to his private study, taking his swivel chair and offering Ichigo the couch across his desk. " Would you like some tea or anything that you may want?"
It was obvious that the Kaien wanted to lighten the mood between the two of them. However, Ichigo simply gazed at him with a neutral look. " I just need you to tell me why you brought me here. About the proposal that you wanted to make." The Kurosaki teen answered flatly.
Kaien allowed a look of dismay flash across his face for a moment before regaining his usual carefree-stance. He cleared his throat several times before talking. " Well, Ichigo-kun…this is actually regarding about your mother."
" My mom? What now? Are you going to reject her as well?" Ichigo roared with a start, his brows tightly knitted together as he stared at Kaien with burning passion. " She doesn't deserve what you're doing to her! We were completely happy on our own!" He told the leader with spite.
" Calm down, Ichigo-kun. That is exactly the reason why I wanted to talk to you. Please sit down." Shiba kindly offered, overlooking the uproar of the teen earlier. " Please. Sit down." He said again firmly in a commanding voice—one he doesn't often use with Ichigo.
Startled by Shiba's change in deportment, Kurosaki Ichigo finally calmed down and sat back on his seat. " Speak." He told Kaien impatiently.
" You do know that if your father hadn't abdicated from his position as heir to the Shiba clan, you would be the one sitting on this chair instead of me?"
" What are you going on about?"
Leaning slightly forward towards Ichigo, Kaien explained. " I want to give back what rightfully belongs to you Ichigo." He said without hesitation.
Shiba's words perplexed Ichigo—the directness of his words and the way he had simply said it. It could have been passed on as a joke if only Kaien didn't have that intense look on his face.
" I will give you the Shiba leadership as how it should have been ever since you came back to the clan."
Ichigo shot up from his seat the second time and looked at Kaien with contempt. " You only want to run away from your responsibilities! And how is that supposed to help the position of my mother?! That will only cause more problems! They covet that position and they will only hate us more if I accepted!"
Kaien looked surprised as he stared at teen with orange head in amazement. " Y-you're surprisingly smart Ichigo-kun. I never thought you'd realize something like that. I thought that you'd blindly accept under the assumption that your mother will be saved from despair." Nodding with satisfaction, he remarked as he sprung up from his seat as well. " Impressive! I can be rest assured if I leave the leadership in your hands."
" Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" Ichigo growled.
" Of course I'm listening but there is nothing you can do once I decided to pass the leadership on you." Shiba Kaien simply stated. " But of course, such a thing takes long to be accomplished. So instead, I'll have to leave your mother to the care of the elders." He walked towards a door in one corner of the study and swung it open. He then looked at the boy with orange-head expectantly, coaxing him to come with his eyes alone.
Seeing no choice in the matter, Ichigo carefully approached the open door and when he was directly in front of it, he felt Shiba pushing him in roughly and closing the door behind. It took him a moment to regain his balance and the moment he looked up, he was welcomed by the sight of the three elders of the Shiba clan—as he had recognised them from several occasions—sitting around a round conference table looking at him with assessing eyes. The young Kurosaki Ichigo was familiar with their faces but failed to retain their names in his memory, given that he had been bad at remembering names in the first place.
The gap between these five and Ichigo were miles apart and that fact itself was what made the atmosphere stuffier than it should have been. There was no common thing that could be pointed out among the five. They consisted of people coming from the left to right side of the spectrum if appearances and aura were to be taken into account.
" Kurosaki Ichigo." One elder man addressed him in a gruff shaking voice. From what it looked, he was the youngest among their generation—owning that dark hair and green eyes trademark of the Shiba clan. " Take a seat."
The young male looked around the room which seemed like a conference room and only found one empty seat—the one in front of the five elders. Having no other choice, he took the seat without qualm and endured the weight of their gazes on him.
" We apologize for Shiba Kaien's rough treatment on you. That boy seemed to do whatever he pleases and no one can actually tell him otherwise. A clan leader like that is actually bothersome but we have no choice but to put up with him and pick up the pieces he leaves behind." Another elder, a strict looking woman this time, told the young boy.
" You do know that I could hear you from here loud and clear right?" Came Kaien's voice from the other side of the door.
" Never mind him." The last elder said, the one sitting in the middle and who appeared to be the eldest of them all with the grey beard he was sporting. " I suppose that you are well aware of what we are to the clan but you don't know our names. Introductions are in order then. I am Shiba Toru. The one on my left is my cousin, Shiba Arisa and this friendly gentleman over here is Shiba Sato. A pleasure to finally meet you son of Isshin, Kurosaki Ichigo."
With all the curtesy he was getting, Ichigo wasn't able to respond immediately. But when he regained his ability to think coherently, he managed a respectable reply. " T-the pleasure is mine." He dipped his head down to show respect. They somehow earned it because of their unexpected courteousness.
It was Arisa-san who then took over the conversation. " We very well understand that you have no idea why you were summoned here today."
Ichigo immediately nodded in agreement. " Yes, about tha—"
" But I must interrupt for a moment. I've been meaning to tell you this but I suggest you dye your hair back to its original colour young man. That shade is too flashy for a Shiba." Shiba Arisa commented.
" This is my natural hair color." Ichigo defended.
" So, I've heard." Agreed the eldest in the room, Shiba Toru.
" Is that so?" Asked the old woman as she stared at Ichigo's hair a little longer then dismissed the subject the statement, " How peculiar. If that is the case then nothing can be done."
" If there are no other concerns then let's get down to the main point and spare our precious time." Was Shiba Toru's prelude before he stared at Ichigo straight in the eye and with a firm voice, he told the young teen. " We don't want to sound so sudden but…Kurosaki Ichigo, you shall be wed with the Kuchiki heir, Kuchiki Senna."
-To God be the glory!-
A/N: I'm sorry I couldn't do my usual segment 'reply to reviews' but I sincerely thank all those who reviewed for the last chapter. And advance Happy Halloween! Consider this as my treat for you. My turn now. TRICK OR TREAT?!
