Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach


Chapter Eighteen - One's Journey Begins

When Ichigo was sure that his father was asleep, he prepared to leave his body

"Ichigo, if you are gonna leave your body, leave it in a position where it appears to be sleeping." Zangetsu called out to him

'Huh? Why?' Ichigo asked

"Because if anyone decides to come into your room while you are away, ugh do I even need to say it?" White groaned in frustration

'But my door is locked. No one should be able to come into my room unless they bust the door down.' Ichigo protested

"Just don't take any chances Ichigo." Zangetsu said

'Alright. Fine.' Ichigo replied before going into a sleeping position and leaving his body

"You know, for someone who is supposed to be learning how to think his situation through, I can't believe you overlook something as sloppy as that. Makes me wonder if you really know how to think." White cheekily commented

'Shut up.' Ichigo complained which caused the hollow to laugh maniacally. 'Wait. I can still use flash steps while I'm invisible right?' he asked when he realized his situation

"Yes. The only restriction is that you cannot make any offensive action." Zangetsu answered him

"Alright then." Ichigo whispered before releasing black flames from his sword and flashed towards the direction of the spirit energy he felt

When Ichigo finally found his targets, they were in a rather simply house. Peeking into a window, he saw three people. One was a blonde kid playing a video game, a magenta haired girl and a dark skinned woman. It was three of the fullbringers

"Are you serious Yukio? Out of all the houses you chose this one? This house is so small." RIruka grumbled

Yukio on the other hand just ignored her and continued to play his video game.

"Hey. Are you even listening to me?" Riruka yelled

"Stop complaining Riruka." Jackie said while lounging on a couch. "This place is just temporary. Our only job is to scout this place for now. Which reminds me, hey Yukio."

"What is it?" Yukio asked

"We still need to decide which ones we should gather information about." Jackie answered

"Don't care. I'll go with whatever you two decide along." Yukio said while going back to his game

"Can you do something other than playing that damn game?" Riruka grumbled which Yukio ignored. "Hey. I'm talking to you." which was ignored again

Unbeknowst to them, someone was spying on them

'Who are these guys? Their spirit energies are completely different from a soul reaper or a hollow.' Ichigo asked

"I'm curious about that myself. I have never even heard about these types of beings." White said curiously

"Indeed. These are beings we have never encountered before. It appears their spirit energy signature is different yet similar to a hollow." Zangetsu said

'You think these guys are like us visored?' Ichigo wondered

"I do not think so Ichigo. Visoreds like you would have the spirit energy signatures of both a hollow and soul reaper. These people on the other hand are humans but somehow appear to be similar to a hollow." Zangetsu explained

'So we know next to nothing about them.' Ichigo pondered as he continued observing. 'I'm thinking to just keep an eye on them for now and figuring out who they are and what they're doing here. What do you guys think?'

"I agree with you Ichigo." Zangetsu said

'Although I have to say. We may never have encountered these types of beings but their spirit energy isn't all that strong.' Ichigo commented

"Don't go underestimating them Ichigo." White scolded him. "If they really are here just to scout then there is not telling who they are with."

'I know I know.' Ichigo said. 'I think I've seen enough here.' he said before leaving

"Ichigo, before you go home, go get some new clothes." White told him

'Are you for real? Since when do you care about fasion?' Ichigo asked in surprise

"That is not for fashion you dumbass. Think. What do you think will happen if someone sees an orange haired soul reaper? You are supposed to have lost your powers remember?" White said in frustration

"He is right Ichigo." Zangetsu joined in. "Just pick something that is not too fancy and make sure it is neither black or white."

'What's with the color picking?'

"If you are wearing either of those colors, one might think you are an arrancar or soul reaper. Also choose one that covers your hair."

'Alright. I guess I understand.' Ichigo said before heading towards the nearest store

When Ichigo arrived, he broke inside the store and headed to the clothes department. 'So how am I supposed to pay for these? The place is now closed.'

"Don't bother paying them Ichigo. Nobody ever checks if one is missing or not. Just make sure it is still arranged after choosing." White answered

'Hell no. I'm not some kind of thief.' Ichigo protested

"You have no choice Ichigo. It would also be to your benefit if you just took some. It is best for you if nobody knows you have new clothes." Zangetsu said

'And why is that exactly?' Ichigo wondered

"So that if you are forced to do something, no one will recognize it is you." White answered him

'Fine. But I don't like this one bit.' Ichigo said before looking through the clothes

"Also, get a mask Ichigo." Zangetsu added

After a few minutes, Ichigo finally picked out his outfit for laying low. He wore a camouflage colored track pants and hoodie along with black gloves and black boots. He also found a mask which fit him perfectly. It was a mask that what ninjas or assassins would wear in the movies

'I just realized something.' Ichigo thought as he walked to where he entered. 'How would I use this clothes in my soul reaper form? I mean won't it look weird if I was forced in the open wearing these? Normal humans would think there is a ghost around not to mentioned these aren't spiritual clothes or whatever you wanna call it.'

"To be fair there really is a ghost lurking around." White sneered at him

'Hey! I'm serious here.' Ichigo yelled at him

"Do not worry about that Ichigo." Zangetsu said. "Just mix your own spirit energy with it and after some time it will become a 'spiritual clothes' as you called it. Do it in a place filled with reishi Ichigo so the process will go a lot faster."

'Are you saying...' Ichigo was about to ask

"That's right. It's time to go back to the soul society." White cut him off

'Wait a minute. If I go there, won't it be suspicious if my body was just lying around?' Ichigo asked

"You know, I guess you really have a brain after all. Then again, you're probably only using half of it." White mocked him

"Use your flames on your body Ichigo. Just put it in a place where it is not likely gonna be bumped into then use your flames to hide it in plain sight. Since your soul will be separated from your body, it won't have any trace of spirit energy and since your spiritual pressure is undetectable, it would be extremely unlikely that anyone would even find it." Zangetsu gave him a reasonable answer

'Alright. But I still have no way to go there.' Ichigo said

"Don't worry about that. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to use the garganta. It's actually pretty simple." White assured him

'Fine then.' Ichigo said before using his flames to hide his clothes from the sight of normal humans. He then decided to flash back to his house

"Oh I forgot to mention. You might feel a little discomfort." White told him when he arrived back at his room

'What?' was all Ichigo said before he entered his body and felt a bit of pain surge through him although it did not last long. 'What the hell was that?' he demanded

"It is your new clothes Ichigo. Since they are still human clothes, it will cause a bit of discomfort until otherwise." Zangetsu answered him

'You could have warned me!' Ichigo yelled at them both to which White just laughed

-Silbern-

Candice was walking down the halls heading towards Bambi's room. When she got close she could hear cursing and some tiny explosions. She knocked on the door and there was no response so she decided to just let herself in. When she did, she was forced to dodge a random explosion that happened near her

"What the hell was that for?" Candice asked in anger before realizing Bambietta was blowing random unnecessary stuff up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm pissed." Bambietta snorted

"About what exactly? I thought having your mission delayed would make you somewhat happy?" Candice asked

"That's exactly why I'm pissed." Bambietta raged. "Tomorrow I leave for the world of the living. Just great. 'Have the one with the power to blow stuff up go on a scouting mission and be as subtle about it.' Damn it all to bloody hell."

"Well on the bright side maybe learning to be more subtle might be for your own good." Candice pondered

"And just what the hell do you mean by that?" Bambietta continued to rage

"Think about it. The both of us have pretty short tempers. Perhaps learning to control them might be good. I'm actually a bit jealous I don't get to go." Candice said

Bambietta was silent for a few moments, pondering what Candice had just said. "You may have a point Candi. I still don't like it." she continued to grumble before heading to her wardrobe and preparing her stuff

"Need some help with that?" Candice offered

"As long as it is not white, I'll bring it." Bambietta replied

-Karakura Town, the next day-

Although Ichigo was a bit late, breakfast proved to be quite the interesting affair for the Kurosaki family. As discussed, Ichigo and Isshin revealed to the sisters that they were soul reapers. Karin was not surprised to hear Ichigo was a soul reaper as she already knew it, but was shocked at how her dumbass of a father was a soul reaper as well. Yuzu on the other hand, was surprised out of her mind and she severly scolded the both of them at what they did. When Ichigo told her about how he is 'losing' his powers, it was finally enough to calm Yuzu down

Ichigo went to his room after everyone finished breakfast. A few moments later, Ichigo came down and headed for the door. "I'm going out." he said to whoever was in the living room

"Where are you going this time Ichigo?" Karin asked curiously with Yuzu popping her head from the kitchen

"Surprise Daddy Kick!" Isshin said coming from nowhere and kicked Ichigo, knocking him to the wall

Ichigo nursed his chest where he was kicked and slowly got up. "What the hell old man? What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo groaned before looking at his father and noticing he had a rather formal attire. "You going somewhere dad?"

"Oh he's going to a medical conference and he won't be back until a couple days later." Yuzu answered while heading to the living room to join the others

"Really? Why you didn't tell us before?" Ichigo asked

Isshin launched another kicked at Ichigo who managed to dodge it. "I did say it earlier. It's not my fault you don't know what time breakfast is." he yelled his answer. "You managed to dodge. I am a good teacher." he said while doing some weird pose. "Ichigo, take care of your little sisters alrighttttt!"

Ichigo was growing irritated with his father's stupid antics and grabbed him while he was talking. "If you're going then just GO!" he said before throwing his father out the door. "Damn old man."

"It hurts me to see you guys fight like that." Yuzu said after Ichigo threw their father out

"Hey don't blame me." Ichigo objected

"I'm with you on that Ichigo. It really makes me doubt if he really is a soul reaper." Karin said

"My dear daughter! How could you say that to your only father?" Isshin yelled while entering the house and running towards his poster of Masaki

"Just go already!" Karin yelled and kicked his father out the door

"Karin!" Yuzu gasped. "That was too much."

"Whatever." Karin just shrugged

After a few moments, Ichigo went to the door again. "Alright. I'm going out now. See you guys later."

"Have fun Ichigo!" Yuzu waved him off

"This has just been made a whole lot easier." White said once Ichigo was outside. "Seems like you no longer have to hide your body anywhere fancy."

"Indeed. We got lucky this time." Zangetsu agreed. "Just go back to your room when nobody is around Ichigo and don't go through the door."

'That's exactly what I was just thinking.' Ichigo said to them. He walked around the block to make sure no one was watching. When he was absolutely sure nobody was there, he climbed all the way up to his room and entered through the unlocked window. 'I really should have a habit of locking this thing.' he thought

"Yeah. You should." White agreed with him

Using his pesquisa once more, Ichigo checked if no spiritually aware being was around and found out he was safe. Separating from his body, he then hid both himself and his body from sight. 'Alright, so how do I open a garganta?' he asked his inner spirits

"Find some abandoned place first Ichigo. Do not open a garganta in the middle of a populated area." Zangetsu told him

'Alright.' he said before flashing away. Ichigo flashed to the top of a building to search for an ideal place. He then remembered the warehouse he was in when he first put Kon in his body and headed towards it. As expected, the place was still abandoned when he arrived

'Should this work?' Ichigo asked

"It will." White answered. "Now Ichigo, concentrate on reishi as well as the act of literally tearing the space apart." he instructed him

'Are you sure no one will notice?' Ichigo asked with uncertainty

"Nobody is going to notice Ichigo. A garganta being opened cannot be sensed by anyone, not even by other hollows. The ones you felt before were the arrancar's spiritual pressure being exerted. Since your spiritual pressure is undetectable, no one will notice it. It is also the reason we told you to go to a secluded place. While a garganta cannot be felt, it can still be seen." Zangetsu explained

'Alright I get it.' Ichigo told them before doing what he was instructed. His first try failed. Creating a crack in space itself was not so easy. His next attempts also failed. 'Damn it. This isn't working.'

"Yeah. You suck at it." White told him. "Ichigo, instead of doing what I told you, do this instead. Do you remember when that Ganju guy or whatever his name was taught you how to concentrate your spirit energy? Do what you did but this time, focus on a tunnel that connects the worlds and concentrating that tunnel to open right in front of you."

Ichigo did as he was told and surprisingly, it wasn't too hard. 'Now what?'

"Now concentrate that spirit energy tunnel into your hands Ichigo, then hold your hand out and release the energy." Zangetu answered him

Ichigo did what was instructed and a garganta soon opened in front of him. 'Alright. I did it.' he said before moving to enter

"You already know the drill right Ichigo? Just focus the reishi in the garganta to create your own pathways." White reminded him

'Yeah but will the garganta stay open for long?' Ichigo asked with slight worry as he made his pathway

"How long the garganta remains open depends on the one who opened it. So just have it close Ichigo." Zangetsu replied

'Alright.' Ichigo said before thinking about the garganta he opened closing. Soon enough, it closed

Unknown to Ichigo, someone entered Karakura town in a mysterious way just moments after he entered the garganta. The newcomer was none other than Bambietta Basterbine who arrived at the place she was staying, which was an ordinary house a good distance away from Ichigo's

"Damn it all. I hate this stupid mission. Why the hell do I have to do this?" Bambi grumbled. "At least I'm finally gonna get some peace and quiet." she said while laying down on the couch. 'So how do I keep an eye on any of Ichigo's spiritual activities?'


Since school has been cancelled, I have so much free time now so I will be making these sooner. I hope you enjoy that one. Stay safe everyone