Notes:

Thanks to my beta reader Ink and Blade! (He's also putting together summaries for all the chapters, so once those are done I think I might be done with the fic, and I'll upload it as a standalone chapter at the end, so if someone needs reminders for stuff it'll be there)

Mirrored on Archive of our Own

This chapter had a lot of technical stuff to work out, from past chapters as well as laying the foundation for future chapters, so it took awhile since once it's out there, take-backs are hard lol (Ink and Blade helped bunches) I've reread this chapter and edited it into the ground, time to let it go. One of the hardest chapters for me to write, for reasons above, and reasons you'll see about in a bit.

Cheat Sheet:

Reiryoku → reiatsu → reishi

die Königin (The Queen)

Aspect: Vengeance, Life

Location: Living World - Geisterwelt (Spirit World)

Physical medium: Die Augen der Königin (The eyes of the Queen)

Ability: Das licht (the light)

Kinder: Quincy (Manipulate reishi)

Quincy host: das Herz der Königin (The heart of the Queen)

Current Host: Kurosaki Ichigo

Previous Host: Adaliz

- xxx -

Reiō (Soul King) -Destroyed-

Aspect: Disruption

Location: Souru Sosaeti (Soul Society)

Physical Medium: Crystal

Ability: Kekkai

?

Kuriētā: Shinigami

Aspect: Balance

Location: Souru Sosaeti (Soul Society)

Physical medium: ?

Shinigami Host: ?

Current Host: None

Previous Host: ?

Shinigami

Aspect: Neutrality

Physical Medium: sekkiseki

Ability: Soul Filtration

Location: Souru Sosaeti (Soul Society)

- xxx -

Alteza (High King)

Aspect: Regret, death

Location: Hueco Mundo (Hollow world)

Physical medium: Las manos de Alteza (the hands of the High King)

Ability: La sangre (the blood)

Niños: Hollows (feed off of reishi)

Hollow host: El corazón de Alteza (The heart of Alteza)

Current Host: Kurosaki Ichigo

Previous Hosts: Aizen Sousuke - Mictlāntēcutli

Ganbari masu!

Keishō

"Let's make believe that things will stay this way

And that our hearts won't break

Cause we're not long for this place."

~Les Friction, Make Believe

- xxx -

Shunsui Kyōraku

Kyoraku wasn't certain why Kurosaki had given an absurdly unreasonable time limit. Was it based on necessity, annoyance, or ignorance? He could insist on the latter, but he didn't think that was the case. It was barely time to arrange a funeral, let alone deal with whatever breaking of the law he and the others had attempted, on top of choosing a new soutaichou.

No one was certain what Kurosaki would do if they didn't attempt to hold to his time limit, but Kyoraku was of the opinion the visored wouldn't do anything too violent. That opinion was only shared by a few, and for good reason.

Having the knowledge that Kurosaki's inner hollow had been the one to kill Yamamoto didn't reassure anyone, all it did was call into question Kurosaki's sanity. Again. More than a few captains believed it had something to do with the dagger used to dispel the Kido that bound him, and it was a solid guess, but still just a guess.

Kurosaki was more of a mystery than any of them wanted to admit. Those who might have been able to explain were too loyal to Kurosaki to spill, and Kurosaki himself barely trusted his own family. He was a tricky person to unravel, even if his motivations seemed straightforward enough.

While Kyoraku's own crimes were being assessed, he was named acting commander. It was temporary, but with a looming threat, a little bit of treason suddenly didn't seem so bad. He didn't want the job, he thought it should go to Unohana, or even Ukitake, but he knew why they had been overlooked too well.

As it stood, he'd ordered all of the captains gathered in one place for the past hour, not wanting to have to deal with the scramble Kurosaki kept throwing them into. However he managed to do it, he was bypassing the shield around Seireitei like it was rice paper. They were fast, but going from one place to another in the blink of an eye? That was ludicrous, but no less real.

No one complained at having to wait, not that he would expect them too. Kurosaki was at the center of a hell of a lot of problems, ignoring him just wasn't feasible.

The air in the captain's meeting room was both tense and solemn, despite the informality of the gathering. Soifon, Byakuya, Komamura and Hitsugaya kept relatively to their post, but the rest were scattered to the walls or corners. Kyoraku still stood at the head of the room, where Yama-jii should be, but was now conspicuously absent. It was daunting to stand in his place, even temporarily, to know how many more lives counted on him, and how easy it would be to make a mistake.

He didn't envy Kurosaki, even if the visored had willingly taken that responsibility onto himself in this timeline, from his understanding, in the past it was thrust onto him with little to no choice. Choice seemed to be a very sore subject for the visored, and Kyoraku couldn't say he blamed him. They say a good king served his subjects, but Kurosaki himself had shown his will was not his own, he wasn't shy about telling them that.

This meeting could go any number of ways, but it was clear to all of them that their old methods weren't going to work. They were essentially inviting a potentially rabid wolf into their house. Inviting was a strong word, it was more like their rice paper house was easy to tear down.

Since the prevailing theory was that Kurosaki seemed to be able to choose exactly where to go, the hope was to contain him in the first division. By 'contain', they meant to give him no reason to leave the area. The closer you were to Kurosaki, the higher risk you were at to being killed.

The first division barracks had been cleared out besides the captains that now stood in the meeting room, and the Onmitsukido patrolling the perimeter.

There was a sudden shift in the air, one Kyoraku instantly recognized. It was like fingers trailing up his spine and ghosting through his soul. Alteza.

His instincts rallied against the feeling, desiring nothing more than to go the other way, but he crushed his fear, it wasn't necessary. Every captain tensed, all pulled by the same strings. Some reached for their swords, others were deeply considering it.

Darkness lapped at the floor, swirling in a lazy circle, and everyone took a small, cautious step back. It surged like sparked gunpowder and fell away like surf to reveal Kurosaki, Harribel, and the arrancar that acted as his lieutenant, Grimmjow.

Both Kurosaki and Grimmjow seemed fine, but Harribel's legs almost buckled under her. Kurosaki's grip on her bicep and her own willpower kept her on her feet. Despite the seeming nonchalance in Kurosaki's demeanor, her brief weakness had the visored on high alert. If Soul Society had anything left up their sleeve, playing that card now would be fatal. Kurosaki might take risks when it came to himself, but not those he considered his own.

Despite everything, Kyoraku found that trait to be admirable. Others might not have had the power to back up such devotion to their subjects, but Kurosaki proved again and again that he did.

Kyoraku shot Toshiro a look when the captain's grip tightened on his sword, silently urging him to be still. He said, "Punctual. That's almost exactly 24 hours."

Kurosaki's eyes kept wandering, never settling. "It's more impressive given there's nothing but a moon; it's hard to keep track." The visored wasn't on edge to protect himself, not from the way he was standing. It was to protect the two with him. That just about said everything Kyoraku needed to know. Kurosaki's eyes flicked back over to Kyoraku. "Given your role in freeing me, I take it Central 46 put your trial on hold in lieu of-" he made air quotes, "-the threat."

Kyoraku's brows shot up. "You're well acquainted with Central 46?"

"Don't pretend you didn't already guess," chided Kurosaki. His grip on Harribel's arm loosened, slowly letting her take back her weight. "I spent a good amount of time on trial in Soul Society. Once I died, I was completely in your jurisdiction." He muttered, "Although, that didn't stop Soul Society when it came to the Quincy."

"On trial for what?" questioned Soifon. Kurosaki turned to face her, and he looked like he was surprised she had the balls to talk to him at all. Kyoraku had to admit, he was impressed too.

Kurosaki counted off on his fingers. "Lots of things. Obtaining illegal hollow power, disruption of the living world, attacking another captain-"

Soifon sputtered, "You-you can't mean you were a captain?"

Kurosaki talked right over her, but from the resolute look on his face, that was what he was saying. "Use of forbidden Kido, remaining in the human world, murder, yadda, yadda, it isn't important. The point is that I know how the Central 46 work. I don't want them involved."

That was a long list of transgressions, if Kurosaki was telling the truth. It was no wonder he knew how their judicial system functioned. Without meaning to, Kyoraku felt a grim smile stretch his face as the pieces clicked. "The sand. You were assuring martial law." Despite the unseated officers Kurosaki had killed on accident, the sand had been little more than a persistent nuisance.

Kurosaki's smile mirrored his own. "Call those old men necessary all you want, being put on trial for doing your due diligence is a waste of time."

Soifon had some choice words for that, but Kyoraku talked over her. "Pleasantries aside, what do you want from us?"

Harribel found her feet and her voice. "Kurosaki is here acting on behalf of the Gods. I am here solely for Hueco Mundo."

Kyoraku's eyes flicked to Grimmjow, and the Espada bared his teeth. "I'm here to stand around and look pretty." Lies it was; Kyoraku got the feeling Grimmjow was more necessary than they let on.

Harribel continued, "As you know, Kurosaki has the full support of Las Noches…"

Kurosaki finished her statement. "And Las Noches has the full support of Alteza."

"And the Quincy?" asked Byakuya.

Kurosaki answered smoothly. "Are mine. I clipped their wings. For now, they're removed from the picture."

Kyoraku wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but for Kurosaki to casually handle an invasion sized force was just a reminder that he was being exceedingly gentle with Seireitei. His eyes flicked to Harribel. "I imagine you want to negotiate terms and boundaries, but you," his eyes landed on Kurosaki, "I'm sorry to say, I still don't know what you want."

Frustration flickered through Kurosaki's posture and expression, but he had a better handle on it now than he had in the past. Kurosaki said, "Information. We don't have hundreds of years left to figure this out. We have years."

Toshiro said, "We? You killed the Soul King, that's on you."

Kurosaki looked back at him, his voice surprisingly level. "I didn't have a choice, but it is my fault, I can concede that. If I could fix it on my own, I would. There's only one of me, I can't do this alone."

Maybe it was the way he said it, but silence stretched in the wake of those words. Kurosaki wasn't lying, Kyoraku didn't expect that from him, but this was an honest truth Kurosaki didn't want to admit. For someone used to doing everything alone, asking for help wasn't easy.

Kyoraku said, "I'll be honest, I don't know anything."

"Not you." Kurosaki almost cut him off, turning to face Unohana. "You."

Her eyes widened, beginning to protest. "Me? I don't-"

Kyoraku blinked, and Kurosaki moved from one place to another in an instant, his hand tight over Unohana's mouth. Every captain present reached for their sword, but froze on account that Kurosaki was essentially holding one of their own hostage.

Kurosaki struggled with his rage, Kyoraku could see it in the blood that dripped from his clenched fist. The visored hissed, "There's no one left to lie for. Do not lie to me, Kenpachi." He spat the name like an insult, a name he should not know.

Unohana narrowed her eyes, some of her mask crumbling. There was bloodlust in her eyes that Kyoraku hadn't seen in a long time, there was no fear. With how strong Kurosaki was, Kyoraku was surprised this hadn't happened sooner.

She lifted her hand to Kurosaki's wrist, urging him to move his hand or risk starting a fight. If they fought now, she would die, and Kurosaki lost his chance.

The visored reluctantly let her go, clawed fingers uncurling from her face. Even though Kurosaki's eyes were locked on Unohana, Kyoraku had the impression he was watching all of them very carefully.

It had become clear to Kyoraku that the visored wasn't accustomed to dealing with multiple threats. If Kurosaki's story was true, and he didn't doubt that it was, his sole enemy for years had been Aizen. From the moment he'd made himself king of a ruined city, Kyoraku had seen the shift in his approach. To adapt so quickly and effectively to facing a group of hostiles was a bit frightening.

Kyoraku said, "If you would refrain from laying a hand on any of my captain's, it would do wonders to ease our concerns."

Kurosaki grit his teeth and growled, "Apologies." It looked like the apology cost him to say, but it was still genuine. Despite the front he held up, it was very clear that the aggressive, dangerous visored they had all come to expect was only hidden, not gone.

Unohana said, "That is a grave accusation. What leads you to believe I would withhold information?" Unohana didn't move, not cowed by Kurosaki's threat, in fact, she looked a touch too eager.

"You were here when Seireitei was built," Kurosaki said.

Unohana didn't deny it, it was true. "Who told you this?"

Kurosaki's lip curled in disgust. "Aizen."

She accused, "You trusted Aizen to tell the truth?"

He countered, "Sometimes." Kurosaki studied her expression, his own faltering into uncertainty. "Unless...you really don't know."

"Kurosaki," started Kyoraku. He didn't continue until he had the visored's attention. "Assume we're ignorant of everything. Until recently, I hadn't ever heard of these Gods, now I can hear them, and I'm not sure what to make of it. What seems obvious to you, may not be to us."

Kurosaki stared blankly, as if he hadn't considered that before, his head tilted in thought. He shot a look to Harribel, something unspoken passing between them, and Kurosaki raised his hand, clenching it into a fist.

Suddenly, half of his captains had their swords half drawn. The only thing that kept their swords in their sheaths was Kurosaki's apparent lack of aggression and Kyoraku's insistence on keeping his own sheathed.

Darkness swirled around Kurosaki's feet once again, sand filtering through with it, blown by an invisible wind.

Kurosaki said dryly, "You've all seen la sangre by now."

"The sand?" questioned Mayuri. Of every captain present. Mayuri was the only one that seemed generally unaffected.

"No...the darkness. The sand isn't really sand, it's bone; the dust of death and decay." The visored shot Grimmjow a look, holding the Espada's eyes as he fell out of hollowfication. It was almost surreal. Kyoraku had gotten so used to seeing the streaks of black on his face, to see him look human only served to remind him that Kurosaki had been dragged into this as a human teenager.

Kurosaki lifted his hand again, strips of the ground around him peeling away into pure reishi, absorbed into him as if it were his own reiatsu. Kurosaki said, "Then there's the other half of the spectrum. Die Konigin is life, reishi falls into its domain as much as light itself. Alteza commands the bones of the dead, die Konigin commands the blood of the living. On a smaller scale, blut vene and blut arterie. On the larger, life itself."

Kurosaki gestured vaguely. "I don't know much about Soul Society's part in this, but I know that die Konigin and Alteza can't affect sekkiseki. Only something created by or of the Gods can pull that off."

Admitting that aloud seemed to make Kurosaki nervous, and Kyoraku couldn't help but note that Kurosaki was taking a risk in trusting them with what might be his greatest weakness. Granted, they might have figured it out if they'd been given time to, but Kurosaki offered it willingly.

Mayuri said, "If that's true, why are you unaffected by the barrier around Soul Society?"

"What gave you that idea?" Mayri scowled at him and Kurosaki pretended not to notice. "I still feel resistance. I think it has to do with my reiatsu," he shrugged stiffly, "but that's just a guess."

Kyoraku wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but outside of his hollow form, Kurosaki seemed even more unstable than before. He held up a front of calm, but as before, it didn't go much further than skin deep, He hadn't forgotten what Kurosaki said about cutting out his own heart, and he wasn't keen on dealing with a version of Kurosaki with years and years of unresolved rage simmering just beneath the surface.

It seemed Kurosaki knew his own nature well enough to slip back into his hollow form. The visored eased visibly, as did the arrancar with him, which was curious to note. That meant this was common enough to become routine.

Kurosaki said, "Sekkiseki is important in the same way as the sands in Hueco Mundo and the blood of the Quincy. You figured that out on your own and constructed walls out of it. Help me fill in the blanks; I never lived here, I don't know Soul Society like you do."

The captain's exchanged thoughtful looks, no longer as concerned with Kurosaki being a threat as they were with this new problem.

Kyoraku mused, "Ano, Kurosaki-san?" The visored turned towards him and he continued, "The Hogu did more than consume the kido that bound you. Perhaps it's in bad taste, but could you tell me what else it did?"

Confusion reigned over Kurosaki's expression. "You didn't know?" The resounding silence that followed was answer enough. Kurosaki answered carefully. "That dagger was made from both das licht, and something I don't understand. I would be tempted to call it sekkiseki, but I think it was made from the source." His eyes widened in realization. "Is that the only relic you have?"

Ukitake spoke up. "If you had these relics in hand, could you tell what made them?"

Kurosaki looked down and away, thoughtful. "Maybe. Sekkiseki rejects the Gods, so it's possible if something similar played a part in creating them, I would take notice."

Soifon protested, "You would let this tyrant have access to our most prized possessions?!"

"Soifon," warned Kyoraku.

"Soutaichou…" Toshiro stumbled over the word, and for a shinigami that had grown up with Yamamoto as a legend in the backdrop, Kyoraku could understand his unease with the entire situation. "I agree with Soifon-san."

Kyoraku felt the urge to sigh, but he smothered it. This is never what he'd wanted. Becoming a taicho was regrettable, but soutaichou? Others were looking to him now, he couldn't laze his days away. He addressed his captains, ignoring Kurosaki for the moment. "Regardless of the circumstances that put us here, Soul Society is breaking. We've done what we can, but this goes beyond the scope of a shinigami. I didn't call you all here to smile and nod and accept my word as law. If you have a better idea, now is the time to share it."

More shared and guilty glances, but no suggestions were given. Kyoraku looked to Komamura. "Komamura-san, if you would send a Jigokuchō to retrieve the Shihoin Shield."

The captain stiffened, and even with his face covered, he looked seconds away from arguing. "Yes, soutaichou." The giant captain turned to the door, briefly stepping out to deliver the message.

The shield might still be in shreds after it had been used to destroy the Sokyoku, but there was enough of it remaining to serve their purpose. Of any item to let Kurosaki get his hands on, that was the safest.

Mayuri took the lull in conversation to ask a question. "If you truly are from the future, why not go even further back than you have?"

A stricken look crossed over Kurosaki's face, but this wasn't a new concept being presented to him, this was clearly something he'd considered. "No." It was a resounding no without room for argument. "No, I won't do that again, I don't even think I can."

"Why not? According to you, you made it back 11 years." From Mayuri's tone, he was fishing for confirmation for something, but what that something was, Kyoraku could only guess. Mayuri had been showing just a bit too much interest in the visored, enough that Kyoraku had begun to wonder just how many laws he'd broken without Soul Society's knowledge. He'd pushed to continue hollow research, and in lieu of the threat Kurosaki imposed and pure desperation for an edge, Central granted it to him.

Kurosaki offered up more information than Kyoraku expected he would give. "It cost me every ounce of reiryoku I could spare and I overwrote my own soul in the process. If I try to go back further, in a best case scenario, I'll erase myself from existence, or use up all my reiryoku and die."

Mayuri hummed, the sound a bit too interested to be thoughtful. "That does limit its uses, doesn't it? You couldn't send back someone else? Say...a captain?"

Kurosaki looked at him like he was insane. "Eleven years used up all of my reiryoku. I know you can't feel it, and not to brag, but that's a lot. If I tried to go any further, it would require an immense amount of energy I can't just take from Alteza."

Mayuri tilted his head too far to the side to look comfortable and suggested. "Say you had more energy at your disposal, what then?"

Harribel took enough interest to chime in. "What would that solve? You send back a captain and everything will change in ways you can't possible anticipate."

Mayuri lifted his arms in an exaggerated shrug. "The implications are immense, the possibilities endless, can you blame me for indulging in some innocent curiosity."

Grimmjow snorted at the word 'innocent' while Kurosaki shut Mayuri down. "I went back in time on accident and things are arguably just as bad, if not worse than they were before."

Toshiro asked coldly, "Then why come back in the first place?"

For a split second, grief clouded Kurosaki's expression, but it was quickly stamped out with fury. Tone clipped, Kurosaki responded, "If Aizen managed to kill Hinamori, are you telling me you wouldn't have done everything in your power to see her again?"

Toshiro blanched and countered, "I wouldn't let my grief come before-"

"What a load of shit," Kurosaki interrupted. He didn't let Toshiro argue, his patience just about halved by that one question. "Time travel is out, forget it." He dared anyone in the room to challenge him on it, and no one took the chance.

Gin broke the silence and asked, "Wha' happened to the Hogyoku?"

Kurosaki froze, watching Gin with a look of bewilderment. Something about that question caught Kurosaki off guard.

When Kurosaki didn't immediately answer, Kyoraku added, "I'm curious as well." There was a lot of confusion over what had happened with it and why Kurosaki had wanted it in the first place. He'd gone out of his way to steal it, but it didn't seem to any in Soul Society that he'd actually used it.

The visored looked between them, then answered slowly. "I gave it to Alteza."

Byakuya asked, "How did you do this?"

Kurosaki looked down and to the side, focusing on something only he was privy to. He finally chose to respond, returning his attention to Byakuya. "Just like I said. I gave it back." He held out his fist and pantomimed dropping something. "I let it go, and the darkness devoured it. I don't know where it is."

Soifon blurted, "How can you not know?"

"You might find it hard to believe," said Kurosaki, "but Alteza and I don't talk. I feel intent and coercion most of all, trying to talk to it gets me nowhere."

"Don't talk..." grumbled Toshiro. He gestured wildly around them, drawing everyone's attention back to the whispering voices. "Then what's all this? You're telling me you don't know what it's saying?"

Kurosaki frowned, stepping carefully around his words. "If I focus on it...that isn't the same as talking."

"What does it say?" asked Mayuri.

Kurosaki answered, "Gibberish, mostly." He paused. "Stories, memories, things I don't care to know."

No one got a chance to pursue that topic before the Shihoin Shield was brought in by two members of the Onmitsukidō. They set it down just a few feet inside and hastily retreated. The ropes to contain the Sokyoku were nothing but fibers scattered over Sokyoku Hill, but the shield was still intact. In fact, he could still feel the residual traces of both his and Ukitake's reiatsu. Kyoraku gestured towards it. "Be my guest."

Kurosaki gave the room a cautious look, then left Harribel's side to crouch before the shield. He seemed loathe to put distance between himself and the arrancar, but not enough to stomp on their pride and keep them close. He reached for the shield, resting his hand on the wood, and the instant he closed his eyes, la sangre was visible near his feet, a visible reminder he was still on his guard. With a room full of testy shinigami, Kyoraku truly hoped no one tried to take advantage.

A long moment passed, and Kurosaki jerked his hand back, his expression one of sudden realization and horror. Kyoraku noticed Grimmjow tensed in a mirror of Kurosaki's reaction. That was strange, given the two reacted simultaneously and Grimmjow was across the room. It didn't exactly inspire confidence, whatever Kurosaki felt, it startled the visored enough that for a split second, he'd dropped his guard.

Kyoraku asked, "What is it?"

Standing stiffly, Kurosaki looked ready to lie, thought better of it, then said, "I need to go."

Kyoraku said, "Kurosaki, if you want our help, you can't leave us out of the loop."

"You sensed something you recognize." Mayuri pressed.

Kurosaki ignored them, his eyes snapping to Harribel's. Again, no words were exchanged, but Kurosaki seemed to get the answer he wanted. He looked back to Kyoraku and promised, "I'll be back." He let out a heavy breath, not bothering to hide his distress. He asked, "What time is it in the living world?" He caught himself and corrected quickly. "Ahhhh, Karakura."

"Excuse me?" voiced Soifon.

Mayuri answered, "About twenty hundred hours."

Harribel announced, "Then while you're gone I can take that time to discuss what needs to be discussed with the soutaichou."

That was surprising to everyone present. Kurosaki couldn't argue without undermining her authority, but Kyoraku saw the urge in the unsettled scowl that settled on his face.

"Unless you can't accommodate a single arrancar." Harribel added.

Kyoraku decided he liked her. She was bold, and to willingly choose to remain in enemy territory alone spoke to a brand of courage Kyoraku respected. He said, "I think we can manage."

Everyone in that room knew she had Kurosaki's protection. Her decision to remain cost her nothing but perhaps her own peace of mind, no one here would be stupid enough to harm her, let alone capture or kill her.

Kurosaki gave her a look filled with too many emotions to nail down and repeated, "I'll be back." Darkness flashed through the space where Kurosaki and Grimmjow stood, and they were gone.

If their sudden disappearance stressed Harribel, she didn't let it show.

Kyoraku turned to the captains present and said, "I'd like it if all captains waited for Kurosaki." He couldn't make them do anything, but he could strongly suggest it.

- xxx -

Kurosaki Ichigo

Pacing in the air above Karakura, Kurosaki wasn't sure what to feel. There was no one to be angry at, it was what it was, and once against the futility of his actions was driven home like a stake in his heart.

"Talk to me, Kurosaki," growled Grimmjow. "The fuck was that?"

Ichigo ignored him, thoughts turned inwards. 'You had the dagger in your hand. How did you not notice?'

"I was a little preoccupied," Zangetsu snarked.

"Don't panic, Ichigo, this could mean any number of things."

"KURO-SAKI."

Ichigo turned and shouted back. "WHAT?!"

Grimmjow snarled, "Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on? The clown was right, you recognized something."

Kurosaki felt the pull on his reiryoku, clamping down on it, but Zangetsu pushed back, the implication clear; force me down and I'll take it as a personal insult. He let his hollow manifest, Zangetsu standing equal distance between him and Grimmjow. Kurosaki turned his ire onto him instead. "Don't."

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes, bypassing his wielder entirely to address Grimmjow. "It's the princess."

Grimmjow's brows furrowed in confusion, not in the least bit put off being caught in the middle, not anymore. "What do you- You mean the girl? What'sername..."

Ichigo swore and turned away, pacing with more determination. He supplied, "Orihime."

Grimmjow stared, still just as confused. "Maybe I'm just a dumbass, but I don't get it."

Ichigo wasn't going to explain, so Zangetsu took over. "Remember what the princess's power felt like when she healed you? Feels weird, doesn't it? Different." Grimmjow seemed to be following, if the thoughtful scowl on his face was any indication. Zangetsu said, "Cats and dogs are pretty much the same right?"

Grimmjow looked taken aback by the sudden shift. "What?"

"King smells like King to you, right? It ain't reiatsu, but ya know it, don' cha'?"

Narrowing his eyes, Grimmjow considered that. "Yeah, and?"

Kurosaki glared, his displeasure radiating off of him in waves. Zangetsu continued, ignoring his discontent as easily "That old hunk a' wood felt just like her. I guess the closest comparison would be if ya weren't smelling King, but a shirt he wore. We sensed a part of a whole. Get it, koneko?"

It seemed to slowly sink in, enough that Grimmjow turned his questions onto Ichigo. "I guess I get it, but why is that a problem?"

Ichigo felt his guts twist in unease before he even spoke. "I didn't know what I was feeling, I didn't know. Orihime's power is drenched in energy most people can't feel. No offense, but you just aren't strong enough." He paused, wetting his lips, stalling. "I didn't know it until I felt it again in the Shihoin Shield. It isn't reiatsu, it's something you can only get from the Gods. It isn't Alteza, it isn't die Konigin, it's something else."

Grimmjow's eyes widened, then he shifted to be skeptical, his tone deeply incredulous. "Wait...a human girl with the reiatsu of a basic bitch shinigami has the power of a God? You're joking."

Zangetsu snorted. "Did you forget King is only a few years older?"

"But how the fuck?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "What makes you think I know? I know what I felt."

"Sooo," Grimmjow started. "We're here to...do what? Talk to her? Get her?"

Zangetsu answered, "King is pussying out." He moved, suddenly before Grimmjow with a fistful of his shirt. A flicker of real fear shone in Grimmjow's eyes, but he squashed it before it could take root. "Don't let him. He would die for any of you if he thought it would fucking help."

"Zangetsu!" warned Ichigo.

"Am I fucking wrong?" Zangetsu called back. He pulled Grimmjow a hair closer and said, "Don't let him try to protect her."

Ichigo and Zangetsu both knew Ichigo had had enough of him, and his hollow was dragged back into his soul without protest.

Grimmjow stared into empty space for a second, then looked back at Ichigo. "You would let this slide? For what, her peace of mind?"

"For her life!" Ichigo gestured down at Karakura in a sweeping motion. "She's in school, she has friends, she's got her whole life ahead of her." Ichigo indicated all of himself with both hands. "She doesn't deserve this."

"You don't know it'll go that far," Grimmjow protested.

"Don't pretend you don't know how this will go. What have the Gods touched that hasn't gone to shit." Grimmjow stared back at him, his jaw tightening. "That's what I thought."

"She's already a part of this," said Grimmjow. "What are you buying? Time?"

Ichigo knew it was already done, there was almost no argument to be made; Grimmjow and Zangetsu were right. "I can't do it."

"I get it, Kurosaki, I do."

Ichigo grit his teeth, turning into the wind when his hair was pulled into his face. That meant he had to face Grimmjow fully, and from the look on his face, it was clear that Grimmjow did get it.

Grimmjow kept going. "I've seen enough of her to know what she's about. Zangetsu doesn't call her princess for nothing, does he?" His tone shifted, almost disgusted as he drawled, "She's a sweet girl with a bleeding heart and an innocent smile. Didn't last in the future, did it?"

Ichigo glared at him, but he had nothing to say, Grimmjow was right. Somewhere along the way, Grimmjow had caught up, he'd become easier and easier to read, even without the arrancar's connection to his heart.

"Yeah, I fuckin' get it," Grimmjow said, confident in his own words. "You don't want to be like him, you don't want to be the one to drag her down to your level. But yer right, the Gods bring nothing but trouble. You going to let her face it, or be trampled by it like the delicate little flower she is."

Ichigo tensed, watching Grimmjow in silent anger. He hated that he was right, there was no argument to be made. Keeping this from Orihime when she was one of their last and only real clues was selfish. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

Settling into a crouch, Ichigo let out a steadying breath. "Give me a minute." He wasn't eager about throwing himself unwanted into Orihime's life, nor was he eager to face his unfiltered pain.

The sky was a deepening indigo, streetlights already illuminating emptied streets. He didn't even know what day it was. Had Orihime gone to school? Had she gone to leave bread with Chad and Ishida? Maybe she was with Tatsuki. He had no idea, and regardless of what she was doing, giving her five more minutes of normalcy probably didn't matter in the end; he was still the one who was going to ruin her life.

Falling out of his hollow form, a chilly coastal wind was suddenly noticeable on the back of his neck, his wrists. He focused on that feeling, letting the breeze allay his fears. He straightened with a slow exhale, his nerves as settled as they could ever be, given the circumstances. "Okay, let's go."

- xxx -

To Kurosaki's dismay, Orihime was at Ishida's house. He was glad they were close, but he didn't like the implications. Explaining this to Orihime might actually be easy, but with Ishida around, it threw a wrench into his plans.

He couldn't do this as a hollow, not with the way she had reacted in the past and the future. He scared her, and she didn't know him well enough not to be.

He didn't need to knock, Grimmjow couldn't completely stamp out his reiatsu, and his friends were overly sensitive to hollow reiatsu, Orihime got the door before Ishida could stop her. She looked somewhat confused to see them, possibly even afraid. He was the harbinger of bad news, he couldn't blame her. "Kurosaki-kun? You're here to see Ishida?"

Ichigo's brows fell, his heart stinging at the knowledge that in this timeline, Orihime really was a stranger. "It wouldn't hurt, but I actually came here to see you."

Ishida appeared beside her in the doorway, bracing himself on the threshold with a grip tight enough to prove his strength wasn't nearly as sapped as before. "Leave, Kurosaki."

Ichigo sighed, looking out at the empty street behind him, then back. "I'm sorry, but I can't." He didn't mean to be so ominous, but if they both refused, he really would be the bad guy. "Please, I just want to talk."

"Leave," insisted Ishida. There was anger and enough fear in his eyes to make Ichigo start to second guess himself.

"Kurosaki," warned Grimmjow.

Ishida pulled Orihime back into the house, shutting the door, but in a single step of shunpo, Ichigo caught it, holding it open with a wince. The fear in Ishida doubled, moving to put himself between Orihime and Ichigo. This wasn't what he wanted. "Please, Ishida, don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"It's not hard," growled Ishida. He pushed the door, knowing how futile that would be, but it reinforced his point. "You can get out." He kept his voice lowered to an aggressive hiss, not wanting any nosy neighbors involved anymore than Ichigo did. Having to explain why he was shouting at thin air might be difficult.

Orihime spoke up from over Ishida's shoulder. "Ano...please don't fight. Ishida." She said his name in a firm plea, likely one carried over from many past conversations.

Ichigo didn't let him respond, practically begging. "Please, Ishida."

Grimmjow had wandered a few steps closer, addressing Ishida. "He doesn't want to be here any more than you want him here."

"That doesn't change the fact that I want you to leave," Ishida insisted.

Ichigo didn't think he was going to change his mind. "What would help? Do you want me to leave my Zanpakuto elsewhere, do you want me to sit in the floor? Help me out here, Ishida, this isn't a conversation I can avoid."

Orihime spoke up again, standing more to Ishida's side than behind him. "I know Kurosaki-kun won't hurt us. You saved Ishida's life." She said it like an indisputable fact, and it only made Ichigo feel guilty.

He'd already hurt Ishida, and he'd unintentionally estranged himself from the teen in more ways than one, he didn't blame him for thinking the opposite.

Ishida looked down at where Kurosaki's foot was wedged in front of the door, then stepped back from the door with a scoff. "It isn't like I can stop you."

"Don't be so dramatic," growled Grimmjow.

Ishida made an irritated sound and stepped back from the door, sarcasm thick in his voice. "Fine, by all means make yourself at home."

Ichigo hesitated, but Grimmjow's hand on his shoulder pushed him over the threshold into Ishida's house. The physical push helped when he wanted nothing more than to leave. He took a couple more steps inside without prompting, leaving Grimmjow enough room to shut the door behind them.

There was a lamp on in the corner, but the house was dark, quiet. Ichigo didn't think he'd ever been to Ishida's house before, it felt very...empty.

Instead of using das licht and prying, Ichigo asked Ishida. "How do you feel?"

Ishida crossed his arms, lifting his shoulders in a careless shrug. "Better."

And that was all he was going to get. Fine, at least he got a response.

Grimmjow pressured him. "Stop stalling."

Ichigo ran his hand through his hair and said, "Before I do anything, just in case I'm wrong...I want you to use Shun Shun Rikka on me."

A frown settled on Orihime's face along with a perplexed furrowing of her brow. "Are you hurt? I'm not sure I understand."

"I want you to try to reject Alteza."

She paled, fisting the edge of her skirt in her hands. "Kurosaki-kun...if I do that, I could really hurt you, I don't think-"

"It's fine," said Ichigo. "The alternative means potentially hurting you, and I'm not going to do that." He gave her a small, somewhat awkward smile. "I can handle a little pain."

Orihime slowly lifted her hand to her hair clip, uncertain. She summoned Sōten Kisshun, the oval of light hovering just over Ichigo. This made him nervous, but he wasn't going to tell Inoue that.

All of his fears were confirmed in a single instant. She concentrated and he felt her ability cut through his soul like a hot knife in butter.

He grit his teeth, feeling her ability indiscriminately shred through Alteza and die Konigin alike, as if the bond with his soul was held together with nothing but stitches. The pain was both more and and less of what he'd expected, but he couldn't deny that it hurt. He fell to a knee, gasping for breath, and Inoue stopped immediately.

His soul was pulling itself back together like he'd been cleaved in half. It had only been a few seconds, but it was long enough for Ichigo to realize if she'd wanted to, she probably could have killed him.

Looking up, Ichigo could see that Orihime had reached for him, only to be stopped short with Grimmjow's hand on her wrist. He was grateful for that, Grimmjow knew better than anyone not to touch him if he was in that much pain. In hindsight, Ichigo realized he probably should have warned her first.

Instead of trying to get up, Ichigo sat back, his back connecting solidly with the wall. The three of them were arguing, but it was hard to focus when Alteza and die Konigin were desperately retaking his soul, the noise more than double what he was used to.

He hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes until he felt Grimmjow's presence only inches from his face. Ichigo looked at him, struggling to understand what he was saying, so he read his lips instead. He made out something like, 'Are you okay?' Ichigo was still breathless. "Fuckers haaated that. I'll live." His vision still swam, so he closed his eyes, the back of his head resting against the wall. "Gimme a minute." Or ten.

"That was stupid, King."

'I'll live,' he reiterated.

"Ya don't shoot yourself in the head just to prove you've got instant regeneration." Zangetsu was making some sense, but putting himself at risk answered a lot of questions. How did she get the power of a God, if the shinigami's God was missing? Why was a human girl connected to the shinigami at all?

He finally caught his breath, the agony inside him slowly curbed as the Gods settled back into his soul. He opened his eyes, noting that Grimmjow was almost touching him he was hovering so closely. He couldn't read Ishida's expression, but he seemed uncomfortable with the fact that Grimmjow felt the need to protect Ichigo, like he expected the Quincy to kick him when he was down.

Orihime asked timidly. "Kurosaki-kun...what happened?"

"You did it," said Ichigo, tone bitter with disbelief. "You rejected the Gods." He let his head fall back again, sighed, then leaned forward to push himself up. Grimmjow offered him a hand, letting his fraccion pull him to his feet. "Turns out you can't isolate them from my soul enough for me to come out on the other side alive if you actually went through with it."

Which would have taken more than a few seconds, it would have been an agonizing hour, and if Orihime were an enemy, she never would have made it through those three seconds alive.

Ishida caught on faster than Orihime, or she was too stricken by what she'd done to consider it. The Quincy took a step forward to stand beside her and said, "Inoue did something she shouldn't be able to do. How? If you didn't know, you wouldn't be here."

Ichigo stared at him, then shifted his gaze to Orihime, trying to decide how to break it to her. "I'm sure you're aware at this point that there exist two Gods. One for the living world, die Konigin, and one for the dead, Alteza. That leaves the inbetween, the shinigami. You may not be aware of it, but when I fought Adaliz, if we used the power of the Gods to buff our attacks, we cut through each other like rice paper. That Sōten Kisshun could affect the Gods means that some part of your ability is connected to the Gods."

Inoue stared at him with the same heartbreaking look of distress that she'd once leveled at him in a future that never was. Ishida put himself between them again. "You have to be wrong."

"Inoue...I don't know how, but you're showing the signs of a host."

"Fuck that!" shouted Ishida.

Grimmjow growled, "You can't deny reality, glasses."

Ichigo said, "We don't even know the name of the God that's missing, Inoue, you're the only clue we have."

Inoue took a step back into Ishida, a startled gasp slipping past her lips, and very deliberately kept still. "I don't….I'm not really sure what that means, but I can help somehow...right?"

"I'll admit," said Ichigo. "I'm not the best to approach this." Of anyone, he was the one that was biased. He hadn't realized until now, but Orihime's power hadn't touched him in this timeline. In fact, she hadn't physically come into contact with him at all, it was no wonder he hadn't noticed. "Can I see your hairclips." He added, "Please."

She lifted a hand to her chest, still uncertain. "Why?"

Ichigo gave her a reassuring smile, or at least, he tried to. "Rather than put either of us through something like that again, I just need to touch something dense in your reiatsu."

After a moment of uncertainty, she removed one and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed, and she jerked her hand back, her cheeks reddening in shame at her reaction. Ichigo wasn't sure if it was fear or remnants of her crush, but he didn't want to look too deeply into it. He took her hair clip, closing his fist around it and focused.

Her reiatsu was present, but Alteza and die Konigin reacted badly to the actual make of the hair clip. At its core, it reminded him of the Gods; it was crafted from something that should not exist.

Ichigo opened his eyes, uncurling his fingers. It looked like a basic metal hair clip, but his senses told him otherwise. He frowned at Inoue, asking, "Where did you get these?"

"My brother gave them to me...why?"

Her brother? He became a hollow and he'd been killed by Ichigo himself. Any hope for figuring out the origin of the hairclips might be lost.

Grimmjow looked between them, clearly confused. "Why don't you ask him?"

Orihime tensed, and Ichigo saved her from having to respond. "He's dead."

"Oh."

Yeah, oh. Ichigo handed her hair clip back, careful not to touch her this time, and asked, "Come with me to see Kisuke?" Gingerly, she took it, still uncertain. "He's been looking into this more than anyone. If anyone would know anything, it's him."

Ishida said, "You can't mean now?"

"I do," said Ichigo. " I'm not going to force you, but I won't lie and say sooner isn't better."

Distress clouding her expression, she asked, "How bad is it? Something must be wrong, you really don't want to be here at all." Inoue wasn't normally so perceptive, but sometimes she saw straight through him. She read his answer on his face and nodded, coming to a decision. "Okay, let's go see Kisuke." She turned to the front door, not allowing herself time to change her mind. They all watched her stiffly move past them to sit and pull on her shoes.

Ishida protested her choice. "You can't be serious?"

"If something's wrong, I want to help," she repeated. Her tone was forcefully light, but Ichigo noticed the lack of grace behind her actions. Her hands were shaking; she was scared, but she was acting on her own anyway.

Ishida shot Ichigo a hostile look, then crouched beside Inoue, whispering something to her. Ichigo didn't try to listen in, but he saw her shake her head. He did his best to ignore them, turning to Grimmjow instead.

The arrancar was watching him too closely, and now that Ichigo really looked, there was fear present in the arrancar as well. Not fear of him, no, fear for him.

"Three seconds was all it took to completely immobilize you, and you're still in pain. I am not surprised he's afraid."

'He knew this would happen.'

"It shakes people to see that the strong are mortal too."

Ichigo thought he could understand that. If at all possible, this was staying between as few people as he could manage. It was bad enough that the shinigami knew sekkiseki was such a weakness to him.

Ichigo took a step, struggling to keep steady, and caught himself on the wall. That hit him harder than he wanted to admit, but despite the risk, there was no arguing with the results.

He considered his options, noting the look of concern on both Inoue and Grimmjow's faces. He could pride himself on how well he could take a beating and hide pain, but at a certain point, it was too much to conceal. He told Inoue. "If you're serious, I'll see you there."

He grabbed a fistful of Grimmjow's jacket, pulling them both through la sangre to the outside of Kisuke's house. Without that contact, he wasn't sure he could have managed it, his grip on Altea was still slippery at best, and it aggravated his already wounded soul. Grimmjow got a handful of his kosode before he could fall, giving him a desperately needed moment to get his feet under him and keep them there. It was effort and a half to use la sangre when Alteza was still retaking his soul, but his pride wouldn't stand for letting anyone help him more than a few feet.

Grimmjow ignored that momentary weakness and growled, "Why give her an out?"

"She'll be here," Ichigo insisted. Maybe this wasn't mercy and he was just a manipulative bastard, but sometimes even the illusion of choice helped. He would know. He added, "Besides, there's no telling how her soul would react to something like la sangre, I wasn't about to bring her with me, and a child could outpace me right now."

"Solid points," muttered Grimmjow. He slowly let Ichigo go, still uncertain if he could hold his own weight.

Kisuke slid the door back, leaning on the threshold. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Kurosaki-san?" The shinigami was creepily observant, all it took was one look for the gears to start turning, Ichigo saw it in his eyes.

Ichigo took a small step away from Grimmjow, unsteady, but determined. "It's Inoue." Kisuke tilted his head, and he continued, "I never noticed because I never had any contact with her. She has all the signs of being a host, but…"

"She's not a God," finished Kisuke. "I see." He looked down, thoughtful, then spun his cane, crossing over to him with concealed caution. He leaned in, studying him and mused, "You look minutes away from soul suicide."

Ichigo let out a breathless laugh. "Close enough."

" What happened?" Kisuke asked.

"Dumbass had the princess try to reject Alteza," said Grimmjow.

Kisuke's eyes widened. "Ah...that explains that." He asked curiously, "How did it go?"

"How do you think it went?" groused Ichigo. "She barely had to try, she tore through Alteza like it was wet paper."

"I take it this had a negative effect on you as well," said Kisuke.

"No shit," said Grimmjow.

"Where is she now?" Kisuke asked.

"She'll be here," said Ichigo. He could still sense them across town, but he had faith she would be there, it's just who she was.

Kisuke searched his pockets, came up empty, then turned for the shop. "Can you walk, or is that a bluff?" He called back.

Grimmjow gave the visored a look and Ichigo huffed, "A bluff."

Grabbing his arm, Grimmjow half draped him over his shoulder to help him inside and muttered, "I should just leave you here, you masochistic shithead."

Now that he had the support, it was clear how necessary it was. Ichigo snorted, but took the concern for what it was. "I wanted proof, I got it."

Kisuke rummaged for something, distractedly chiding him. "Next time, Kurosaki-san, perhaps employ a touch more caution."

Grimmjow dropped him against the wall without decorum, ignoring Ichigo's complaints, and looked to Kisuke. "The fuck are you looking for?"

Kisuke let out a sound of revelation and turned to face them. "This!" He held up a small black candy, something that looked suspiciously like a mod soul.

"What is that?" asked Ichigo.

Kisuke came up to him, crouching before him to give him a closer look. "Given your peculiar predicament, I've been working on a solution."

Grimmjow leaned in, frowning at it. "Candy?"

"A solution to what?" asked Ichigo.

"The imbalance in your soul. Orihime-san tore a rift in your soul." Kisuke answered. He held up the black candy. "Compressed souls and reishi will mend that rift faster."

Ichigo was skeptical of anything Kisuke had never tried before, the man was a risk taker. "That seems too simple,"

"So it is! It's a bit more complicated than all that, but do you care enough for me to explain?"

Ichigo scowled, giving the candy a skeptical glare. "I'm not eating that."

"If Kurosaki-san can afford to sit around, then I guess you really don't need it." He closed the candy up in his fist, holding it out of reach.

Ichigo grit his teeth, not intending to take the bait at first, but from Kisuke's tone, he wasn't going to stop harping about it, and the man was right. He snapped, "Fine, hand it over."

Kisuke tossed it the short distance and Ichigo caught it, swallowing it before he could second guess himself.

For a split second there was nothing, then his soul lit up in agony, a mirror of what he'd felt only moments earlier. He doubled over in pain, sweat dripping to the wooden floor. His vision blurred and he squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear Grimmjow voicing his concerns to Kisuke in a flurry of swearing and what had to be bodily violence.

The sudden agony Ichigo felt in his soul was suddenly gone, his breath coming back to him in pants. He actually felt...pretty good, by comparison.

Ichigo tuned back into Grimmjow's voice, it wasn't like it was easy to ignore. "How the fuck is that helping?!" He let out a steadying breath, looking up at them both. Grimmjow had Kisuke by a fistful of fabric, but Kisuke looked far from concerned, hell, he looked ecstatic.

Ichigo pushed himself to his feet. "I second that? How?"

Grimmjow abruptly dropped Kisuke, interest lost, staring at Ichigo with considerable skepticism. "You're okay?"

"I feel...pretty good," said Ichigo.

Kisuke didn't respond, letting him come to his own conclusions. Ichigo looked down at his hand, at the lines of reishi that flowed through his veins, and tried to pinpoint exactly what it was he was feeling. It was a jolt of power he remembered well. Even if it wasn't his strong suit, he had a moment of clarity. "You fed Alteza and die Konigin."

Kisuke smiled broadly, genuinely pleased with himself. "Bingo! Alteza craves the dead and die Konigin craves reishi, it wasn't so difficult to make a condensed version." He lifted a splayed hand, two more of the "candies" appearing between his middle, forefinger, and ring finger. "I only managed to make three, including the one you tested."

Kisuke tossed the candies at Ichigo and he caught them, looking down at the black beads in his palm with a frown. Kisule said, "Do try not to lose them, they're a hassle to make."

Ichigo closed his fist around them and asked, "Why bother?"

Kisuke spoke breezily. "I can think of three occasions where they would have come in handy. You have high speed regeneration, but it's limited to your hollow form, and even more limited in Vollstandig. Healing the core of a soul isn't easy; might as well let the Gods do the heavy lifting."

Ichigo considered that, wondering if the outcome would have been any different if this existed when he'd become die Konigin's host. Maybe a bit, but Kisuke had casually offered him something that must have taken plenty of time and energy to figure out. He pocketed the candies and said, "Thanks, Kisuke."

"Well, it seemed as good a time as any to test them. I take it the pain was from the rapid mending of your soul, and not the overload of reishi and souls itself?"

"I think so," said Ichigo. It happened fast enough for him to be uncertain, but Kisuke's guess seemed sound.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes, asking, "Where did you get a buncha souls?"

Kisuke flipped open his fan, hiding a smirk. "Hollows, Grimmjow-san. Ururu and Ginta are skilled enough," Kisuke shot Ichigo a look, gauging his reaction, "even without your sister's help."

That wasn't a surprise. Ichigo knew she was taking down hollows; it was a distant brand of anxiety for her wellbeing that kept reminding him she was throwing herself into danger. That her efforts, in the end, helped him, was a different dynamic than he was used to. He wondered if she knew. If she did, he could only imagine it would be a source of pride.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his face, and changed the subject. "So can you tell me how Orihime ended up with hair clips infused with the power of a God?"

Kisuke frowned. "Why do you think I would know?"

Raising his brows, Ichigo hinted at the obvious. "Isn't it forbidden for shinigami to "mingle" with the living?"

Kisuke frowned. "Well...Kurosaki-san exists, so clearly that rule is only enforced if Soul Society knows about it."

Grimmjow looked between them. "Wait, what? The girl is a shinigami? Isn't she's alive?" He worded it like a question now that his reality was challenged.

Ichigo sighed. "I was alive once too. Her potential is there, and it was drawn out by those hair clips."

Kisuke asked, "They were made by a God?"

"By a host, at least," Ichigo said. "It reminds me of the Hogu, in a way."

Grimmjow said, "I don't see you making stuff."

"Las Noches counts," Ichigo answered flatly, then expanded on that. "I'm not that creative, and I don't see a reason to."

Grimmjow ignored that and asked, "Could ya make a weapon?"

Ichigo frowned. Grimmjow sounded a little too excited. "Do I look like a blacksmith?"

Kisuke steered the conversation back. "Do you know where she got the hair clips?"

Ichigo ran his hand over his face and sighed. "Her brother." Kisuke already knew he was dead, he'd been keeping tabs on him since he stumbled into his shinigami powers. "Assuming he didn't make them, that leaves her parents. She doesn't talk about them much, but I think her father is a drunk and her mother was a prostitute."

Kisuke made a thoughtful sound bordering on disappointment. "I see." This late in the game, finding Inoue's real father was nothing but a fantasy. Kisuke was good, but finding a shinigami that didn't want to be found was nearly impossible. If they were even alive to begin with.

Leaning up against the wall, Kisuke tapped his fan on his shoulder, thoughtful. That was fine with Ichigo, he let him think, blinking back an encroaching headache. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the rush that came from having das licht thrumming in his veins.

Grimmjow took advantage of the silence to ask, "Was it really okay to leave Harribel?"

Ichigo answered, "I know, I don't trust them either, but I know Kyoraku enough to know he'll avoid bloodshed when he can, and I don't think he's willing to tempt fate." It would be a stupid move to try to capture her, he hadn't removed any of the sands from Seireitei, though he was planning on it. Killing her would be even stupider, so at least he could try to relax on that front.

He could sense Inoue was still inches away from Ishida, and nearly to Kisuke's, so Ishida must have finally failed in convincing her to keep away.

Once bitten, twice shy, didn't seem to apply to the Gods. Where Orihime was concerned, he felt nothing but an eagerness to crush her. No, eager didn't come close to describing it...the Gods were simply acting in their respective nature. If he wasn't the only one around who could sense the Gods, he might have put distance between them. A lot of distance.

- xxx -

Inoue Orihime

Ishida trailed behind Orihime; close enough to offer support, but far enough to make it clear he wanted to turn back. They walked in silence, because each had said their part, and neither was happy about it. She held her hairclips in her hand, her questions stinging in her chest as much as the metal prongs against her palm.

Inoue hadn't given her parents a second thought, not when she was small, and not when she was old enough to understand. Her brother had been enough.

She knew her and her brother looked different, people made sure she knew she looked different. She had grown to pride herself on the color of her hair, she'd stopped wondering why.

Now, she wondered.

Approaching Kisuke's shop, her steps faltered, her instincts warning of a danger she couldn't see. She willed herself to move. Whispers...distant screams...things she told no one about. Not even Tatsuki, or Ishida.

She was scared of Kurosaki, and that feeling had quickly deepened into paranoia when his fingers brushed against hers. Sudden voices. Quiet, but close, whispered against the back of her mind. They clouded around Kurosaki like fog, and she couldn't be sure if the voices were guiding her closer to him, or trying to scare her away.

She turned the corner, approaching the shop, and froze when she finally caught Kurosaki's eyes. Her breath caught, her instincts urging her to run. Normally soft, brown eyes burned amber, his pupils blown black in predatorial interest.

That wasn't the Kurosaki she knew, that was something else.

Her grip tightened on her hairclips, heart pounding in her chest. She opened her mouth, sucking in a sharp breath of cool night air, and before she could speak, Grimmjow cut off her line of sight, purposefully stepping between them.

She blinked at the back of his head, that murderous feeling cut short, and Kisuke appeared to her left. She let out a squeak of surprise, backing straight into Ishida. He caught her shoulders before her head could connect with his nose, as Kisuke apologized, "Maaaa, I didn't mean to startle you, Orihime-san."

Ishida took a step to stand between her and Kurosaki and asked, "What was that?"

"You mean Kurosaki-san? It seems the Gods are a good deal more interested in Orihime-san than we expected."

"It felt an awful lot like he wanted to kill her," hissed Ishida.

"And that's why Grimmjow-san intervened," explained Kisuke. He didn't elaborate, and while she still couldn't see Ichigo, her instincts told her the situation hadn't changed.

Kisuke looked to Orihime and asked, "You must have noticed something?"

She had, and it was too late to lie. She still couldn't see Kurosaki, but she still heard those voices, clinging, tarlike to her senses. "A bit ago, minutes ago, he touched my hand. And I…" she paused, unsure how to voice her concerns. "The voices noticed me...I think."

"Voices?" said Ishida. She could feel his eyes on her, sense his concern, and she pretended not to notice. Disagreement or not, he reached for her hand, their fingers lacing together, her palm damp with fear against his.

She squeezed his hand, grateful for the support, and tried to explain. "I've been hearing them for awhile. Usually just when I was training with Shinji and the others. At first, I thought I was imagining it."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ishida's anger had evaporated, leaving behind confusion and self-doubt.

Inoue wished he would shout, accuse her, but he just sounded heartbroken. A small, petty side of her reveled in it. He kept secrets from her, didn't she deserve to do the same? But that wasn't fair, and as soon as she thought it, she was ashamed of it.

Her grip on his hand tightened, her voice soft. "I thought you would try to talk me out of training again." Maybe that was a really stupid decision, but she couldn't help that urge to be selfish. She didn't want to be powerless anymore, she didn't want to be protected, or have people look at her like a liability.

Kisuke glanced towards Grimmjow, then turned back to her, his front of calm unraveling. "Orihime-san, I don't mean to scare you, but I think we're running out of time."

"What does that mean?" Ishida demanded. The fear in his voice was buried, but she knew him, she could hear it.

"It means I miscalculated," said Kisuke. "We don't have time to test my theory anymore. The Gods see you as a threat because you are a threat." Inoue's eyes slipped past him to Kurosaki. Grimmjow had him up against a wall, and Kurosaki let him do it, his unblinking attention still on Inoue. Kisuke stepped between them, blocking her view. "Orihime-san, you are a host, you have just as much power as Kurosaki."

That couldn't be right. She swallowed and asked, "What do I do?"

"Your power isn't limited to those hairclips. Use it." There was an urgency in his tone she couldn't recall ever hearing before. It only made the situation feel real. She could feel the hungry want of the voices in her mind; she was scared.

What do I do? Why me? "How?" she asked.

Suddenly she wasn't looking at Kisuke, she was staring into Kurosaki's eyes. No, those weren't Kurosaki's eyes; they were black, there was nothing there but pinpricks of light. Too close. She gasped, and then his hand was around her throat, tightening, crushing.

Those voices crawled over her skin, louder, louder, louder. She wanted them to stop. Stop. She couldn't breathe.

Her hand tightened around her hair clips, her free hand reflexively trying to lift her weight off of her neck by his wrist. It hurt. The dark touched her soul and it ached. She didn't want to hurt Kurosaki again, she just couldn't do it. Even if it would save her. Not again.

She saw light in the dark of his eyes. It was so slight, it was like staring at a distant sun in the void of space.

Stop.

STOP.

'I reject…'

- xxx -

Grimmjow

Whatever it was Alteza had done to remove him from its path, he was down for the count. He could barely move, it felt like his very soul was being torn apart. If this is what Kurosaki felt, he could see now why standing hadn't been a priority.

They should have known better. Alteza protected its precious host, and Kurosaki had just revealed to it a major threat.

He blinked blearily at Kurosaki's back, noticing the princess's feet were no longer on the ground. Shit. She couldn't die, he could already feel Kurosaki's heart breaking.

He tried to get up, but he just couldn't move. What could he do anyways? He'd already tried, and he'd failed. With Ishida's reaction, the kid hadn't recovered his power yet, and Kisuke wasn't even trying to intervene. Too smart for his own good, the shinigami knew there was nothing to be done.

And then everything changed.

Grimmjow blinked, and it was day.

The sudden brightness made him squeeze his eyes shut in pain. That's didn't make sense, he wasn't in agony anymore. But why?

He blinked against the glare, turning his head away. He raised his arm to block the sun, casting his senses out in paranoia when he heard raised voices. His hand shot towards Pantera, tightening around the hilt as he staggering to his feet.

Grimmjow sensed reiatsu, one foreign, and one belonging to Kurosaki. His vision was shot, so used to darkness, but he could make out Kurosaki's silhouette, crouched with his hand on his sword. He called out. "Kurosaki!"

"Conscious," was his only reply. Kurosaki sounded...pained, distracted, but he was present. He couldn't ask for more.

That unfamiliar but powerful reiatsu began to close in. Grimmjow skipped the space between Kurosaki and himself with sonido, keeping his back to Kurosaki. "Can you move?" No response, but his vision was becoming clearer by the second. "Kurosaki."

Forced into an answer, Kurosaki growled, "Yes."

Grimmjow interpreted that to mean 'maybe.' He saw people backing away, scared of their sudden intrusion. The pair only had seconds before that unfamiliar shinigami was on top of them. "What the fuck happened? Where did you send us?"

"I didn't do anything," Kurosaki confessed.

That sent an uneasy flutter through his guts. Instead of focusing on why they were where they ended up, he focused the where. He took in their new surroundings now that he could see; Dirt road, wooden shacks and thatch roofs, dense reishi...Grimmjow asked, "Are we in Soul Society?"

The visored grappled with exhaustion, but managed to stand long enough to back straight into Grimmjow's back. He stayed there, breathing sharp and fast. Ichigo answered, "Definitely."

Grimmjow wanted to ask how, but they had more pressing matters.

Kurosaki announced, "The shinigami approaching us, I don't recognize them."

"Congratulations," growled Grimmjow.

"You don't understand," Kurosaki hissed, "I know every shinigami above a captain. This guy is way above that, and I don't know him."

That was still sinking in when their shinigami friend showed up. He blurred out of sonido, hand resting on a sword strapped to his hip, a telltale white haori fluttering to a stop near his ankles. His voice was light, but tinged in attitude. "I don't think we've ever met, how did you get here?"

Kurosaki's grip tightened on Zangetsu, letting out a bark of breathy laughter. "How? If I knew, I'd probably tell you."

The shinigami looked somewhat young; fair-skinned for the country, short, unruly red hair reminding him of Kurosaki. The hair was where the similarities stopped. While Kurosaki was all sharp angles and hard lines, this shinigami was all rounded edges and delicate curves.

The stranger shrugged, and drew his sword with casual nonchalance. "Mighty fine sword for a weakling. Where'd you get it?"

Grimmjow almost laughed. Even exhausted, Kurosaki could wipe the floor with this shinigami.

The visored ignored the jab and asked, "What district are we in?"

"District? You're in Kiso. What happened?" he smirked and drawled, "Did you get so drunk you forgot you won a Zanpakuto right off a shinigami?"

Kurosaki stiffened, taking a swift step back. Grimmjow swayed on his feet when Kurosaki ran into him. The visored was genuinely scared, but why was still a mystery.

Kurosaki asked, "What's your name?"

The shinigami's smile broadened. "I don't hand out my name to every wannabe swordsman in the streets. Maybe I'll tell your hollow friend once I kill you."

Grimmjow's eyes shot to Kurosaki. The visored's brows were drawn in fear and thought. "I don't know you," said Kurosaki.

"Enough talk," said the stranger.

He disappeared, Grimmjow's eyes widening in shock at the unexpected speed. He couldn't track him at all.

The shinigami's sword was stopped just short of Kurosaki's neck by the back of his wrist. Grimmjow flinched back at the sudden proximity, his depleted reiatsu flaring in reflexive defense.

"I still have questions," Kurosaki said softly. His voice betrayed how frustrated he was, he wasn't in a mood to play games.

The shinigami whistled. "A block like that deserves one answer." He drew his sword back from his neck and spoke his name with some degree of grandeur. "Reizei Nakayama."

A pause, then Kurosaki said, "Never heard of you."

"Seriously?" He sounded surprised, but clearly unconcerned with whether or not Kurosaki was actually a threat.

Kurosaki ignored his shock and asked, "Are you a member of the Gotei 13?"

The smile returned, stretching languidly across his face. "Gotei? Never heard of them"

Kurosaki stiffened, and Grimmjow felt a flash of fear in the visored's heart. Kurosaki demanded, "I want to speak to Yamamoto."

Reizei shifted into a ready stance, ultimately ignoring Grimmjow. "Uh huh, sure. Beat me, gaki, and maybe we'll talk."

That implied Yamamoto was alive, but that was impossible; Grimmjow knew he was dead, he saw it. He glanced to Kurosaki, and saw the dread darkening Kurosaki's expression. Kurosaki dropped his voice until it was barely above a whisper. "We shouldn't be here."

"Soul Society?" Grimmjow ventured.

"There is no Gotei 13...not yet." Kurosaki said.

Yet. Grimmjow stared at him, trying to work out what he meant, and hoping he was wrong.

Kurosaki drew the trench knife at his waist, his feet shifting apart into a low stance. His voice was low, careful to keep his words between the two of them. "This isn't our time...this is the past."

- xxx -

Ichigo's desire to protect people fucked him again. I gave Orihime's current role a lot of thought for the past few chapters, and even if I don't like her in the show, I'm doing my best to write her so I do like her, without changing her. Most of what held up this chapter was all my stresses over all the above, so let me know what you think.

I agonized over this, and I promise this isn't a random 180, but out of the two paths I could take, this seems to serve the story best. Also, this isn't a reset button, this isn't permanent, to any that are nervous it is.

DejaVuDejaVu : I gave it a lot of thought, and with as much pent up anger Ichigo has towards Soul Society, seeing Yamamoto, the cumulation of all that, actually die would be more cathartic than he would want to admit. No guilt here, just loads more frustration. As for Zangetsu being stronger: Ichigo is mentally weaker on a whole, especially since the shenanigans with the Gods don't affect his inner spirits the same way they affect Ichigo. If you mean in this particular chapter, then it was das licht and an unknown aspect of the shinigami's God that gave Zangetsu an edge to take control. Hope that answers your question!

Bleached One: Hello! It has indeed been awhile, and hearing from you at all is always nice; thanks for taking the time to write, especially when you've been busy! You caught me, I'm definitely more comfortable writing male characters, although I try to do female characters justice when they're in a scene. My bias over Starrk is mostly that as far as character motivation, I concluded Starrk would be more motivated than Lilynette. It seems that they support the other, but that they were always meant to be together. Naturally, the one that took most of their positive emotions wouldn't be as motivated to change. At least, that's how I see it, so for the moment, she hasn't been as necessary to have around, but she'll be back.

As far as Souls Society's backstory, I'm slowly filling in the blanks, but I'm trying to keep it canon-ish, so the research is slowing me down again. I don't want to make up anything if I don't have to, or at least anything that isn't necessary.

I'm convinced KamiKageRyuuketsu is a troll, but he's not even fun because he disabled PMs, lame.

Thanks for reading!

Current Espada Ranking

King Strawberry

Fraccion: Grimmjow, Nelliel

0 - Harribel

1 - Ulquiorra

2 - Starrk & Lilynette

3 - Grimmjow

4 - Zommari

5 - Szayelaporro Granz

6 - Shawlong

7 - Cyan, Mila Rose, Apacci (Quimera Parca: Ayon)

8 - Yylfordt Granz

9 - Edrad Liones

10 - Pesche