Since the internet has been giving me a heck of a lot of trouble, fritzing out on me every evening and all the way to late at night every day for over a week, I decided it'd be better to update early from now on. So here we are!
For all of those who've been waiting for the confrontation with the Visored. The time has come! Enjoy!
Chapter 30. The Maskless Visored
Regardless of her grievous wounds, Rukia could hardly keep still as Chad carried her into the Urahara-Shouten, she was the only one with injuries such that she couldn't walk on her own. Even those with serious wounds, or low reiatsu had just enough to move.
"Ah, where's Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara asked when he noticed the missing leader.
"They took him!" Rukia yelled straight at the shopkeeper. "And it's all your fault!"
"My fault?" Urahara seemed confused by that. "If the Espada…"
"Not the Espada, the Visored!" Rukia corrected in the same harsh tone. "They took him away! From right in front of me! And there was nothing I could do!" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's all your fault, because you told the Visored about the mask in Ichigo's clothes, about the darkness in his reiatsu! They haven't left us alone! And now they've taken him!"
"The Visored would never hurt…" Urahara began.
"And how do you even know that?!" Rukia interrupted, still furious. "When was the last time you talked to any of them? Of anything that wasn't Ichigo at least? I'm quite sure you hadn't in a very long time. You don't know what they may be capable of, you don't know what they might try to do to Ichigo!" she took a deep breath to try and calm herself as best she could. "No, they won't do anything to him. I need someone to heal me. And then I'm going after them. I'm going after them, and I'll teach them to mess with my husband!"
"It's impossible to find the Visored." Urahara stated. "One of them, Ushoda Hachigen, is a prodigy at kidou, he has created the most powerful kekkai ever seen, there's no way you'll ever be able to track the Visored through that."
"I won't be tracking the Visored I'll be tracking Ichigo." Rukia said, as if it were obvious. "I may not be a kidou prodigy like that man, or Yuzu, but I assure you, nothing will be keeping me away from Ichigo! Not this time!"
She still hadn't gotten over what had happened when Ichigo fell into Hueco Mundo, the pain, the emptiness; there was no way she would ever allow such feelings to invade her soul again. This time, she was going after her husband.
"I still don't think…" Urahara began.
"No one was asking for your permission, or even opinion in this matter, Urahara-san." Uryuu stated in a hard voice. "The only reason we came here is because we're allies, and as such we guessed it might be a good place to get some assistance in regards to our wounds. If you aren't able to do that, we'll find another solution. Like Ichigo has said before, we don't trust you." He pushed his glassed up slightly, making them glint under the moonlight coming in from a window. "This whole situation we're in right now, we're in it because of you. Because you couldn't, or wouldn't, approach Ichigo himself with your suspicions about what may be going on with him. It's too late to say you're sorry on that regard. We understand you're used to being in control of things, but you should have realized you lost any control you might have had of things a while ago, and you never had any over us, to start with."
Urahara nodded, he didn't like admitting that, but knew it to be true.
"Now then." Uryuu turned to Tessai. "Tessai-san, if you could be so kind to give Rukia some assistance. She'll be going after Ichigo. If needed we can always track the two of them later."
Urahara didn't bother telling them such a thing was impossible, an instinct in the back of his mind told him that, even if it was, they would find a way, they were that resourceful.
"I have a better idea." Orihime announced. "Tessai-san, if you would be so kind to grant me some reiatsu, I should be able to pull-off a Souten Kisshun. That might be more effective than traditional healing. Rukia-san will be well enough to go after Ichigo sooner, in any case."
"Are you sure that's a good idea Orihime?" Tatsuki asked. "After your fight with that Arrancar…and you called on a new attack."
"I'm fine." Orihime replied.
Several brows were raised, it was obvious most of the Nakama weren't buying it.
"Alright, so I might lose consciousness if I use my Shun Shun Rikka again today." Orihime admitted flippantly. "But it's nothing to be worried about. I'll sleep, rest and recover. Really."
There were several nods. While most still didn't like Orihime pushing herself that much, they knew she just wanted to help; and it that moment, she was the one in the best position to do so.
In the end, it wasn't Tessai who gave some of his reiatsu to the girl, but Yoruichi. She of course couldn't fully refill Orihime's reserves, that would have been too shocking on her spirit, it might have damaged her, and/or her powers.
"Thank you Yoruichi-san." Orihime smiled and turned to Rukia. "Souten Kisshun! I reject!"
The kotodama acted as expected, it summoned the violet-gray eyed girl's powers, undoing any and all injuries the amethyst eyed shinigami might have gotten in the course of the day.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi was focusing on restoring Yuzu's reiatsu, with her she could actually do more, since the young Kurosaki twin hadn't been in as bad a condition as Orihime. That also would allow the young girl to help Tessai heal the rest of the Nakama, something the former captain of the Kidou Corps was already working on.
Orihime finally lost consciousness, as her technique finished its work on Rukia, Chad caught her and laid her down gently before anything happened to her.
"Now what?" Tatsuki asked, curious.
"Now I go track down Ichigo and show those Visored why it's a bad idea to mess with Kurosaki-Nagaken Rukia!" The shirt shinigami stated passionately.
"I was referring more to us." Tatsuki deadpanned.
Rukia actually blushed at that. She'd never referred to her own marriage so many times in such a short time, it was a good thing everyone in the room already knew about it.
"The Gotei must not know about this." Uryuu declared. "If they find out about Ichigo having that kind of powers…it would be a mess."
At that everyone turned to look pointedly at Renji, who was waiting his turn to be healed still while sitting by his girlfriend's side.
"Hey! I already told you, as long as I'm not asked anything directly, my lips are sealed." Renji reminded them in as calm a tone as he could. "If they were to ask directly…that would be an entirely new mess, I cannot exactly lie to my superiors without being called on treason…"
Everyone nodded, they had begun to understand the intricacies of Seireitei's politics. Letting Renji in on some of the Nakama's greatest secrets was a risk; but in the end, it wasn't fair to keep him in the dark when Tatsuki already knew. They had also briefly considered bringing Byakuya into their confidence, but in the end decided it wasn't a good idea to put the man in another possible conflict between his loyalty to his sister and his loyalty to the Gotei 13.
"So, what then?" Karin inquired, wondering if anyone had a plan at all.
"Renji." Uryuu called. "I need you to call either Kuchiki-san, Ukitake-san, or both. Tell them there was an attack today, in fact, they should already know that part. If we don't report something, they'll begin suspecting something's up. Tell them there was an attack, we won all our battles, and all but two of the Arrancars were killed."
"They will want details." Renji reminded him. "A full out report, preferably written, and if not, at least one like the one you gave through the phones the last time."
"We can work on a formal, written report while Rukia deals with the Visored." Uryuu stated. "Tell them we will give them a full verbal report on Sunday, that we need a day to recuperate, from our wounds and drained reiatsu." He nodded to himself. "It's perfectly normal and to be expected that we would need some time to recover after the battles that took place today."
Renji nodded, he had to admit it was a good plan. It would give time for most of the Nakama to recover, and for Rukia to track down Ichigo and get him back. The redhead just hoped there would be no more complications meanwhile.
"And of course." Uryuu went on. "Whatever you do, don't mention anything about Ichigo being taken or Rukia going after him."
Renji nodded again, that too had been obvious.
"Thank you Renji, thank you everyone." Rukia stated as she walked to the door of the Shouten. "I'll be back with Ichigo soon."
Without further ado, she vanished into shunpo.
xXx
A few minutes later Rukia stood in the middle of the warehouse district; the area looked completely empty, but despite this, she knew for a fact, Ichigo was in there, in the warehouse she was standing in front of, in fact. The amethyst eyed shinigami had been able to follow the pull she had to Ichigo to that very spot, however, when she'd tried to go in, she suddenly found herself turning and nearly shunpoing away instead.
"What the hell was that?" Rukia demanded out-loud.
It took some effort but she managed to reign in the strange influence and go back to standing in front of what she now recognized as a kekkai.
*That is one very particular kekkai, Rukia-sama.* Shirayuki informed her.
*Particular how?* Rukia inquired. *I can sense that it's nothing like other kekkai I've sensed before, but I cannot pinpoint what exactly makes it different.*
Since learning about the tight relationship Ichigo had with his own zanpakutou, and especially since that conversation they'd all had in Ichigo's Inner World, Rukia had striven to have the best relationship possible with Sode no Shirayuki. Thanks to that, she was now capable of talking to her zanpakutou mentally. At times Rukia couldn't help but wonder if that might even help her achieve Bankai one day. But in that moment, they had other priorities.
*The kekkai is attuned not to a number of specific reiatsu, but a kind of reiatsu.* Shirayuki stated. *It rejects whatever doesn't fill that specification. And it somehow influences whoever tried and failed to get in that there's no reason to even want to get in, and to go away; it's why you were so close to shunpoing away a minute ago. Only your bond to Ichigo-sama prevented this impulse from fully taking over.*
*That's a good thing.* Rukia said solemnly. *I need to get in, need to get to Ichigo. However, how am I going to manage exactly that?* she hummed as she considered the possibilities. *We can assume that the kind of reiatsu the kekkai is attuned to is that of the Visored, the mix of shinigami and hollow reiatsu. Yet, I am no Visored, and I have no access to any hollow reiatsu to even try and imitate the mix so then how…*
As Rukia spoke, her eyes suddenly laid on her own hand, or more precisely, the ring adorning her the third finger of said hand. She'd been wearing it the right way ever since Winter Break began, happy not to have to hide it all the time. At that point, anyone who saw it knew already about it anyway, most had even been there when Ichigo had proposed. Still, she could also remember one particular detail: both Ichigo and Shiro had placed fractions of their reiatsu in two of the diamonds in that ring…
"Shinigami, and hollow reiatsu…" Rukia whispered aloud. "I really hope this works. If my ring gets damaged I'll be really, really upset."
*For what it may be worth, I approve of your plan, Rukia-sama.* Shirayuki commented.
*Thank you Shirayuki-san, I always value your opinion.* Rukia assured her. *I'm sorry if we haven't always been close, but I promise I'll do my best to rectify that situation.*
*You already have, Rukia-sama.* Shirayuki assured her softly. *I'm proud to have you as my wielder Rukia…* her tone changed slightly as she added. *Now let's go get our men back.*
Rukia nearly sputtered at that. She knew Shirayuki wasn't talking about Ichigo, and while Shiro wasn't bad, the shinigami instinctively knew it wasn't him either, which only left… Zangetsu. When exactly had hers and Ichigo's zanpakutou gotten together?
As intriguing a thought as that was, in the end Rukia decided it wasn't a priority. No, priority was getting Ichigo back. With that, she took a deep breath and, holding her palm in, pressed her hand against the kekkai.
It took a few seconds, though for Rukia it seemed much longer, and then her hand began going through the kekkai.
*Ichigo!* Rukia called in her mind brightly. *Here I come!*
xXx
"I said let go of me!" Ichigo demanded hotly as he twisted and turned as much as possible.
He was furious, no, he was beyond furious. He'd been taken by two unknown men, a few feet away from his beloved!
*Rukia must be going nuts right now…* Ichigo muttered mentally. *And these bastards, who gave them the right to just…just…kidnap me?!*
*Easy Aibou, you won't gain anything by getting this mad.* Shiro told him, somehow more calm than his counterpart. *You must stay calm, and wait for the right time to act.*
*Shiro is right Ichigo.* Zangetsu offered his opinion. *They have placed reiatsu-dampeners on you, which means they know you're powerful. Even if their measures might not have worked under normal circumstances, right now you're tired, the fight against Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez took a lot out of you, out of us all. So you must try to stay calm now. Analyze your surroundings, the people you might meet, and then wait for the best time to act.*
*You're right Shiro, Ossan.* Ichigo nodded. *I'll stay calm, I'll focus and wait to act. I just… I hate to be the cause of my nakama worrying, especially Rukia. She had a hard enough time when we fell into that Garganta not too long ago…*
*We must be clever if we want to get away from this bastards and back to the snow-princess Aibou.* Shiro declared.
Ichigo had to admit his counterpart was right, so he would settle down, and wait.
He didn't actually have to wait that much longer, though it had still been quite a while. Ichigo wasn't sure if that meant they'd left Karakura entirely, which could potentially complicate things quite a bit; if Seireitei tracked him down to a place outside his territory they might wonder what was happening and investigate. That definitely wouldn't be good. On the other hand, it was also possible that his captors had been going in circles in an attempt to make sure the Nakama wouldn't be able to find them.
*Ha!* Shiro snorted loudly in the Inner World. *As if we need to be rescued. We're not some damned damsel in distress!*
Ichigo actually chuckled aloud at that, picturing Shiro in an elegant multi-layer kimono, the kind princesses of ancient times wore. Even Zangetsu couldn't contain his laughter at that.
*Ichigo!* Shiro pouted, he actually pouted.
That only made both Zangetsu and Ichigo laugh harder.
"What the hell is that brat laughing about?" A female voice demanded.
Ichigo could feel his body falling and, wrapped as he'd been in some reiatsu-dampening cloth, he could barely move enough to make sure he would fall on his side, so as not to hurt his face or any of his joints with the impact. He heard some muttering, and still remain in place until, eventually, he ran out of patience.
"Hey bastards!" He yelled. "Whoever the hell you are. You dare kidnap me, after I exhausted myself in a damned fight against the freaking Sexta Espada, in front of an injured nakama, and you don't even have the decency of taking this damned restraining cloth off me?!"
There was some giggling and more mumbling on the background, before someone, finally, had the decency of pulling the cloth away. Ichigo rolled several feet before he was totally free, immediately jumping onto his feet and lowering into a defensive stance, one hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou, the other by his waist, ready to begin gathering reiatsu, either for a kidou or a cero, depending on how things went.
"Quite some reflexes you have." A male voice commented from a side.
In few seconds, Ichigo took in his surroundings: the space was huge, which made him deduce he was on a warehouse or something like that, there were many crates, empty boxes and all sort of debris laying around and eight other individuals in the room with him, three women and five men, all dressed in modern clothes instead of shihakusho or any of the other more traditional clothing people from Seireitei seemed to prefer.
Ichigo's reiatsu sensing abilities were nearly none, unless it came to his nakama, obviously; but he knew, even without recalling Urahara's story, that all eight individuals were powerful, at least half of them even more than Ichigo himself.
"So, why am I here exactly?" Ichigo asked, not lowering his guard in the slightest. "Because I seriously doubt you kidnapped me just to stare at me."
"You stand on guard before us, do you really think you stand a chance against us, brat?" One of the women, a blonde one, demanded hotly.
"I don't know." Ichigo answered honestly. "Nor do I have any intention to find out, unless you leave me no other choice."
"You talk as if you're in control of the current situation, Ichigo." Hirako Shinji said in a low, cold voice. "Let me correct you on that matter, you're not."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, did the obvious leader of the Visored really think words would be enough to scare Ichigo? He'd attacked Aizen once, even after being nearly cut in two by the man, he was standing against the psycho and his army even after nearly being killed, several times in less than an hour…Aizen, and the Visored for that matter, might be stronger than Ichigo, but that still wouldn't make him fear them.
"So, let's start over." Shinji declared with a too bright smile. "Now that you finally made it here Ichigo, are you ready to join the crew?"
"If you call 'finally making it here' to being kidnapped after being exhausted while fighting an Espada…" Ichigo muttered sarcastically before turning dead-serious. "The answer is still no."
"What?!" The outcry was general from all around.
"Are you stupid, or just deaf?" Ichigo deadpanned. "I'm not joining you, not now, not ever, period." He ruffled his hair slightly. "Really people? You asked me before, and I told you no, what makes you think that kidnapping me, especially when I just finished a battle, when my nakama are exhausted and injured and I'm worrying about them, could somehow end up with you getting a positive answer out of me?"
"Mmm…he's somewhat right about that, you know?" One of the Visored, with long black hair, one of the ones who'd kidnapped him, commented.
"Ehm, people…" The biggest of them all called slightly.
No one seemed to pay attention, or really listen him, and before anyone else could say anything the blonde girl, Hiyori, interrupted.
"Idiot." She snapped at Ichigo. "You're going about this all wrong."
Ichigo arched a brow, wondering where she was going with that.
"We really were considering letting you join our ranks." Hiyori declared offhandedly. "But, you gotta realize…that doesn't mean it's ever been your choice."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, looking away, showing how little he actually cared for Hiyori's words.
"Hey…" The same big guy began, but once again, no one listened.
"Pay attention to me, idiot boy!" Hiyori yelled as she threw a sandal at Ichigo.
Still somewhat confused at her choice of weapon, Ichigo simply cocked his head sideways, dodging the sandal. He then turned half-lidded eyes in the blonde Visored's direction, showing she had his attention, even if not his respect. Not like Hiyori cared much about respect, particularly not when she was getting so angry already…
"Your joining our group or not, is entirely up to us." Hiyori informed him coldly. "We've been informed you might have the power needed, but until we've seen it…" she snorted. "The final decision in this matter isn't yours, it's ours. If you have the power, you become one of us. Then we'll teach you how to seal the hollow inside you…"
Shiro's scream echoed in Ichigo's Inner World loud enough to give the teenager a headache.
"Wha…?" He asked as he held his head. "Seal…? What?"
*No!* Shiro yelled. *No one's sealing me! No way! Nii-san!*
Ichigo calmed down, even as he heard Shiro becoming nearly hysterical. It was proof of how much the whole statement had affected him that he was even calling Ichigo 'brother' rather than just partner. And Ichigo agreed whole heartedly with him.
"You're absolutely insane." Ichigo stated stoically.
It was obvious the Visored weren't expecting that kind of response, as they all immediately looked at Ichigo as if they were crazy.
"Now I know I'm definitely not joining you, not now, not ever." Ichigo practically growled.
"And you still don't get it." Hiyori drawled as her reiatsu began rising. "I told you before, this isn't up to you!"
Hiyori threw herself straight at Ichigo, at the same time she drew her zanpakutou with one hand and her mask with the other. However, before she could actually reach Ichigo in the middle of the warehouse, somebody else did, changing everything, yet again, in an instant:
"Hadou # 73, Tozanshou!"
It took Ichigo a couple of seconds to realize who was suddenly in front of him, and had created the pyramid-like-shield that kept the Visored away.
"Rukia!" He cried out with a mix of relief and happiness.
"Yo…" Rukia muttered coyly.
He knew instantly what she was doing, imitating the way he'd spoken to her when they'd arrived to save her as the guards were about to escort her to the Soukyoku, and Ichigo and three of the Nakama arrived to take their place.
"So, it's my turn to be saved then?" Ichigo asked with a smirk.
"Something like that." Rukia smiled at him.
"Thank you for coming for me." Ichigo's smile softened.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Hiyori demanded. "How is that…that shinigami in here?!"
"That's what I've been trying to say for several minutes now." The big Visored commented. "I'd been sensing someone right outside our kekkai for a while, I could sense several attempts to bypass the kekkai. Then she found her way through…"
"How, the kekkai hasn't fallen, has it?" Shinji asked, not liking the implications at all.
"No, it hasn't. She managed to go right through it." The big Visored replied.
"How the hell did she manage that?!" Hiyori demanded hotly. "No stinking shinigami should be able to get through that kekkai! Hachi!"
"If you considered talking to me instead of just about me…" Rukia muttered between clenched teeth, she really hated people who did that.
"Very well shinigami, tell me what the hell you're doing here?" Hiyori demanded.
"It's it obvious?" Rukia answered in turn as she took one of Ichigo's hands in hers. "I'm here for Ichigo, and I'm not leaving without him."
Everyone could hear the low threat/warning/promise in her words; however, none of the Visored paid much attention to it, not believing her capable of much.
The Tozanshou broke off right then, leaving Ichigo and Rukia once again standing on the ground, in between all the Visored, and apparently confirming their own beliefs concerning Rukia's capabilities; though in truth the amethyst eyed girl had let go of it intentionally, wanting to save her reiatsu in case there was an actual fight.
"Your warnings, or threats, mean nothing to us shinigami!" Hiyori yelled, getting more and more angry by the second. "You stand no chance against us!"
"Really?" Rukia couldn't help the teasing tone in her voice. "Is that why, the last time we met each other, you were left hanging?" her voice abruptly turned dead-serious. "Karin warned you back then, and I'll say it now, for the last time. If you try anything against Ichigo, I will do everything and anything in my power to destroy you!"
Hiyori was still too angry to see to reason, and it showed as she leapt at Rukia, zanpakutou and mask at the ready, all too willing to attack the petite shinigami.
A loud clash echoed throughout the warehouse and the scene that caused it left more than one in a mix of awe and shock. The obsidian haired shinigami had managed to parry Hiyori's strike, and not only that; somehow, without saying a word, in just a fraction of a second, her sword had gone into shikai, the pristine white blade blocking Hiyori's still sealed zanpakutou, white ribbon twirling around her and even slightly around Ichigo.
"What are you scared of?" Hiyori demanded of the orange-haired, ignoring the fact that she'd been stopped by the girl. "Do you need a girl to protect you?"
Hiyori was trying to provoke him, they could all see that, Ichigo just rolled his eyes. Truthfully, if it had been anyone but Rukia who stood between him and the insane Visored, he might have felt somewhat offended, his pride hurt; but somehow, the fact that it was precisely Rukia, somehow made it all perfectly alright.
"This isn't about him needing me to protect him!" Rukia snapped, having no patience for the half-crazy Visored. "This is about me wanting to protect him!"
"Why?!" Hiyori demanded, trying and failing to push Rukia back. "He's not like you! He's not a shinigami, he's not a normal! He's like me, a freak, someone with an Inner Hollow! No one likes a person like that!"
"I do!" Rukia replied in the same tone, still holding against Hiyori. "I don't care about shinigami, hollows, or powers. I care about Ichigo! I love him! And neither you, nor anyone else is taking him from me!"
Ichigo for his part, was on an entirely different level, his eyes softened as he looked at Hiyori, as he finally began to understand where she was coming from.
"Is that really what you think?" He asked calmly, as he move to stand beside Rukia. "That no one can accept you, can like you, maybe even love you, because you're different, because you're a Visored?"
Hiyori and Rukia actually froze in place as they heard that, as it sunk in; the last because she finally understood and couldn't help but feel for the blonde; the Visored for her part, was livid.
"Hiyori, stop it." Shinji ordered.
Ichigo and Rukia turned as one, as they noticed the huge difference in Shinji's tone, and even the reiatsu he was releasing. In that moment the blonde man wasn't the happy-go-luck half-crazed clown he'd acted like since his infiltration into Karakura High School; no, in that moment he was acting like a fully-mature man, a warrior, a shinigami, a former captain, and the leader of what was probably the most powerful group of spiritual individuals.
Hiyori obviously didn't like the order, but didn't dare go against it either, so with some murmured curses she dismissed her mask and re-sheathed her zanpakutou.
"You know about the Inner Hollow?" He asked, focusing more on Rukia than on Ichigo.
"Yes." Rukia nodded finally lowering her blade, but not sheathing it.
"For how long?" Shinji wanted to know.
He, and most of the Visored, were ignoring the obvious signs that the petite shinigami refused to fully lower her guard, that she didn't trust them, it wasn't like they trusted her, or Ichigo either. But she had intrigued them, they both had. The orange-haired was supposed to be like them, he had an Inner Hollow, yet he was not afraid, his companion apparently knew too, and wasn't afraid either. Why? What brought that lack of fear? That acceptance? Were they absolutely insane or was there an actual reason for their trust, their faith?
"Since the summer." Rukia replied calmly.
Shinji turned then to Ichigo, signaling for him to answer the same question.
Ichigo actually hesitated, wondering what would happen when he answered; but in the end he decided that answering wouldn't really change anything, and maybe it could even help. He finally understood why those masks felt so wrong to him, why they were so different from the way he used the same kind of powers, Hiyori herself had said it, when she talked about sealing his Inner Hollow.
*They have sealed their hollows Ichigo, they understand nothing of the kind of partnership you and Shiro share.* Zangetsu pointed out. *They might not understand even if you try your best and explain. It just goes against everything they know…*
*There's no way they'll be sealing me.* Shiro stated seriously. *No way, not at all…*
*Of course not Shiro, you should know already I would never allow something like that.* Ichigo reassured him. *I won't let any of them hurt you, us, in any way, trust me nii-san.*
*I do.* Shiro nodded.
"I have known for quite a while." Ichigo answered with a sigh. "Since he came to be in fact."
"And when was this?" A Visored with long, wavy blonde haired asked suspiciously.
"Six years ago." Ichigo answered without missing a beat.
That statement just caused a totally new level of absolute mayhem.
xXx
Uryuu, Tatsuki and Renji were standing right outside the Urahara-Shouten when Renji hung up his denreishinki after reporting to his captain, as well as Ukitake in the manner they had all agreed. It had almost not worked, as both captains had worried about Rukia. In the end Ukitake had stopped asking for explanations and agreed to wait, while Byakuya had stopped asking the moment that Renji said Rukia was with Ichigo, didn't even ask where exactly the two were…Renji had no idea what to think about that.
"So it worked?" Tatsuki asked as she saw her boyfriend putting his phone away.
"It worked." Renji nodded, then sighed before adding. "For now."
"Let's just hope those two get back before Sunday." Uryuu said grimly.
As great a belief as they all had on the couple, they also knew the Visored were very powerful, likely more so than Ichigo and Rukia, and they were eight.
"What mess has that student of mine gotten into this time?" A voice asked from behind.
Renji actually flinched, he hadn't noticed anyone approaching until the man had spoken, a man he did not know; Tatsuki just rolled her eyes, while Uryuu turned to address him.
"Just more of the same tou-san." Uryuu informed him.
Renji actually did a double-take at that; the tall man with white hair in a white coat was actually Uryuu's father, which meant he was a Quincy, the current Master Quincy to be precise. Renji didn't know what he should think about that, aside from the fact must be quite powerful, and had he just called Ichigo his student?!
"The Visored took him from the site of the battle, right after his fight against the Sexta Espada was interrupted." Uryuu elaborated for his father.
"Took him…" Ryuuken repeated. "You mean to say Ichigo was abducted by this…former shinigami? Why did no one act?"
"As you can probably imagine we were all either injured, drained, or both, there was little we could do." Uryuu related. "Rukia was the closest and she had a set of deep slashes in her middle, making any movement impossible."
"What about the supposedly responsible adults, aside from myself?" Ryuuken demanded, because it was well-known he'd been busy keeping everyone in the hospital safe.
"Your guess is as good as ours." Tatsuki commented sarcastically. "There is a reason why we trust no adult except you, Ishida-sensei."
Ryuuken nodded, he'd known the teens didn't fully trust Urahara and company, they'd said as much more than once, but to think such a thing had happened and none of them had done anything at all about it.
"This whole mess is their fault in the first place." Tatsuki went on.
"What?" Ryuuken hadn't been expecting that part.
Uryuu sighed, he just knew things wouldn't go alright. His father was obviously upset already, and would only get even angrier when he learnt how far Urahara had gone regarding Ichigo's situation, and behind the own teen's, and everyone else's backs. The younger Quincy could only hope that regardless of how strong his father's protective instincts actually were, things wouldn't end up even worse than they already were.
They had enough trouble for one night, possibly even for the rest of the year…and they could only hope things would get better before Sunday, otherwise…they were all screwed.
xXx
It took Shinji flaring his reiatsu high enough for everyone in the warehouse to flinch, after asking the big Visored, Hachi, who apparently was their Kidou specialist, to add several layers to the kekkai so it could withstand the reiatsu, to calm everyone, mostly.
"Now, want to repeat that last statement Ichigo?" He asked the younger shinigami.
"Not really." Ichigo shrugged.
The last thing he wanted was for mayhem to begin all over again; still, that didn't stop Rukia from letting a giggle escape at the flippant response.
"Did you say you've had an Inner Hollow for six years?" Shinji asked, ignoring the orange-haired's comment easily enough.
"Yes." Ichigo sighed in resignation. "That's exactly what I said."
"But that…that cannot be…" The other blonde male Visored muttered.
"You would have been a babe when it happened…" A green haired girl in a suit stated with a teary-eyed face.
"Ten-years old, actually it happened before, a few days before my birthday, but it was only after it that I began hearing the voices." Ichigo stated, no emotion in his face whatsoever.
"What?!" Several of the Visored cried out at once.
"Idiotic!" Hiyori shrieked. "Absolute idiocy. You cannot think we will ever believe that a ten-freaking-year-old brat somehow ended up with an Inner Hollow. There's no way!"
"I don't care if you believe it or not." Ichigo declared still emotionlessly. "That won't change the truth. You wanted to know, I told you." He shook his head and then added coldly. "If you don't like the answers, don't ask the questions."
"We might not like the answers, but the questions need to be asked." Shinji stated, interrupting Hiyori's upcoming rant. "How did you end up with a hollow at ten?"
"My mother was killed by a hollow in front of me, a hollow who was after me actually." Ichigo declared. "The pain, the grief…it was all too much."
It had been too much, but not any longer, not since he'd finally made justice, had finally defeated the bastard once and for all. He still felt sad over his mother's absence, but he no longer blamed himself, and the loss no longer crippled him; he had moved on, finally.
"I…I don't understand." Shinji muttered, absolutely confused.
Ichigo sighed, there it was, the reason why he'd never wanted to come in contact with the Visored in the first place. More than all the trouble they had put him, or been trying to put him through since their arrival to Karakura…
"You cannot have had a hollow in your soul for six years with no one knowing, with us not knowing." The third female Visored, a dark-haired girl in a sailor-suit-style uniform stated.
"It wasn't even I who called you here, I never intended to do such a thing." Ichigo declared stoically. "Urahara was a bastard, went behind my back. Idiot…"
"You seem to really hate him…" Hiyori commented, surprised by that.
"Most people I've heard talk about him find him to be a genius, annoying, but still great." Shinji commented. "I've never heard someone actually hating him…except maybe Aizen, but we all know what kind of psycho he is…"
Rukia muttered a string of curses under her breath, but no one actually heard her.
"What was that?" A Visored with very short almost-military-style haircut asked.
"She insulted Urahara." Ichigo answered simply. "We really don't like him. He may be a genius, but that doesn't change or excuse his being a bastard. He tried to use Rukia to get rid of his greatest regret, offering her as a sacrifice instead of sacrificing himself, and he didn't even have the decency of giving her, or any of us a heads up of what he'd done, why, or what the consequences might be! Rukia was arrested, slanted for execution, gutted by Aizen and then nearly murdered by Ichimaru, because Urahara was too much of a coward to handle his problems by himself rather than using an innocent person as his scapegoat!"
The Visored actually blinked at that, not having expected those words at all.
"He didn't even ask." Rukia added, softly.
"What difference would that have made?" The green-haired Visored inquired, curious.
"All." Rukia assured her, surprisingly calm. "Like I told Urahara himself at one point, if he'd just told me what was going on, the sacrifice that needed to be made, and why, I wouldn't have refused. And even if things had still gotten as hard as they did, at least I would have known why it was all happening…" she shook her head. "That was the worst part, you know? Being in a cell, learning I was to be executed, and not even understanding why…If I hadn't known, without a sliver of doubt, that Ichigo and the Nakama would come for me, I'm not sure what would have been of me."
The Visored couldn't help it, what they had heard thus far was making them rethink so much of what they thought they knew…it was shocking. For years they'd hailed Urahara as their savior, as the man who'd helped stabilized them, who had given them the chance and the means to regain control of themselves, overpowering the hollows that had taken over and gaining at least a bit from the disaster that had become their lives. It was also thanks to him, Yoruichi and Tessai that they had all managed to escape when Seireitei had condemned them to execution. But in that moment, learning all Urahara had caused, the ways he'd hurt those two, it suddenly painted the former captain in a totally different light.
"Going back to the matter at hand." Shinji declared seriously. "If what you've said thus far is true…and I have a feeling it somehow is. That still doesn't explain how you've had a hollow inside your head for the last six years and haven't gone insane yet."
Ichigo sighed deeply, running both of his hands through his hands, at the same time Rukia wound one of her hands around his waist, showing her support through the touch, as well as her love-infused reiatsu, which enveloped him as if in a hug. It actually helped Ichigo a great deal, relaxing him enough for what was to come.
"I'm not like you." He said finally after a very long silence.
"Like us?" Several of the Visored asked, confused.
"You are so!" Hiyori snarled. "You have hollow powers, you are a Visored, you're like us! Or will you keep pretending to be a shinigami."
"I am a shinketsu shinigami." Ichigo qualified. "But I am also human, a living human, my chain of fate has never been cut, not even when I gained my own powers after the ones Rukia initially lent me were stripped from me by her brother."
"What does that have to do with anything?" The Visored with the black afro inquired.
"Everything." Ichigo answered, he took a deep breath before finally explaining. "Like I said before, I'm not like you. I didn't have a hollow pushed inside my soul by some maniac, nor was I possessed or somehow bitten, or whatever by a hollow. The hollow that resides in my Inner World, he's a part of me, of my own soul…"
"Oh Spirits…" Hachi muttered in shock, being the first one to understand the implications.
"What?" Several others had no idea what that could mean.
"Shiro, that's my hollow, is part of my own soul." Ichigo insisted. "We were one, until our mother was killed while protecting us, and then one soul split in two, one half remained as it was, but the other, the one that actually retains the memories of that event, as well as all the pain, the grief, the despair…became a hollow."
"What the hell is all that supposed to mean?!" Hiyori demanded, not fully understanding everything, but knowing it was something huge.
"It means his hollow and him are technically the same person." Shinji said seriously. "That's also probably why he hasn't gone insane… somehow his hollow isn't as insane as ours, and as most of the monsters we've met."
"Zangetsu, my zanpakutou, says we were once one soul, but since it happened so long ago, and since I am human; I have continued growing and maturing; the two pieces of the soul healed." Ichigo elaborated a bit more. "We cannot rejoin, if we did… who knows what would happen? What we would be…" he shook his head, pushing those questions aside. "I began hearing voices shortly after I turned ten, as I recovered physically from the attack that killed my mother. Then I began seeing them in my dreams, my Inner World, and those who inhabited it. I didn't know back then what a hollow was, how they were supposed to be evil, how I was supposed to hate him, how he was supposed to be like the monster who'd taken away my mom…All I saw was a kid who looked exactly like me, but much, much paler…"
"So you treated him like you would any other person." Shinji realized.
"Somewhat." Ichigo nodded, turning a bit wistful. "To be totally honest, I saw him as my brother, sort of like a twin, still do actually. I call him Shiro, though he's taken the name of Shirosaki Kamen for himself. Which is actually extremely funny since he doesn't wear any mask…not like a normal hollow."
"No mask?" That called the Visored's attention yet again.
"No." Ichigo shook his head. "Just a fragment. Over his brow, reaching his hair."
"Your Inner Hollow is an Arrancar?!" Several Visored cried out, yet again in shock.
"It appears that way." Ichigo nodded.
"But we were told about a mask…" The man with long blonde hair stated.
Ichigo cursed Urahara under his breath once more.
"There was a mask." Ichigo revealed. "But it was never on my face. Back when we invaded Seireitei to save Rukia from execution I had to fight Zaraki Kenpachi. It was the first time I'd ever fought a captain-level shinigami to the death, sparring really doesn't compare, no matter who it was against. Shiro manifested the mask in between the layers of my shihakusho to help deviate and slow slightly a stab that, otherwise, would have gone straight through my heart."
Absolute silence was the answer to that comment. The Visored had been in a mix of continuous shock, confusion and awe ever since the conversation had begun, but it had just been taken a step too far: a hollow that not only was part of the original soul, acted friendly, didn't try to take over his shinigami counterpart, but even protected the original soul…it was just too much for the Visored to deal with.
Silence broke after almost a full minutes, filled by disbelieving muttering as the Visored tried, and failed, to understand what was going on.
"They're not going to believe me, believe us." Ichigo told Rukia with a sigh.
"Then show them." Rukia stated with sudden confidence. "Show them the proof, the truth. Manifest Shiro, so they can see, so they believe."
*No way!* Shiro yelled immediately. *No, just…no.*
"Shiro doesn't seem to like the idea." Ichigo commented.
Shinji actually began paying attention at that point, realizing something else was being said, but somehow he wasn't hearing all the parts of the conversation.
*Tell the snow-princess that as great and beautiful as she might be, I'm not going to do it.* Shiro added stubbornly.
"He really, really isn't willing." Ichigo informed his beloved with a small chuckle.
"But why?" Rukia inquired. "It would be perfect. It would help them understand. And maybe then they would let us go back home before Yuzu and Karin worry too much."
Ichigo had to nod soberly at that, he knew his sisters, technically their sisters, would be worrying at their absence. If they didn't return soon…there was no way to know what they might do, especially if the rest of the Nakama chose to help. Yuzu was a kidou prodigy, probably even capable of getting through Hachi's kekkai, and Karin had already demonstrated how badly she could react to someone threatening her family and nakama in any way. One thing was for sure, the situation wouldn't be pretty.
*And they could also decide it's the perfect chance to try and kill me, kill us all.* Shiro muttered darkly. *So no, I'm not doing it. We have no idea what those so-called Visored might be capable of, though it's obvious at least one of them isn't fully sane. I'm not putting anyone at risk, especially not the snow-princess and you, Aibou.*
With a shake of his head, Ichigo relayed to Rukia what his 'darker twin' had just said.
By that point, all the Visored were paying careful attention to the couple; they were intrigued, not fully realizing what was going on, and even those who could guess didn't fully understand it. And then, Rukia responded to the last comment, and her words, but especially her attitude, deeply impacted everyone present, not just those she was actually talking to.
"Shiro, listen to me." Rukia actually held Ichigo's face in her hands, and looked straight into his eyes, and through them, as she spoke. "No one is going to hurt you, you hear me? No one, I won't let them. Whoever so much as tries to do anything will get a taste of my steel, or my kidou, whichever works better and faster, and Shirayuki-san agrees with me."
It was the truth, her zanpakutou had whispered as much into her mind right then.
"Shiro, you know you're someone dear to me." Rukia went on in the same tone. "You're as good as Ichigo's brother, you've protected him, time and time again. And I'm so thankful for that…especially last time, when he ended up in Hueco Mundo…" she shuddered slightly. "I don't know, nor do I want to know, what might have happened if you hadn't been there, with him…" she smiled softly. "You've protected Ichigo so many times, now it's our turn to do the same. Believe me, believe us, when we say no one will hurt you." Her tone of voice turned strong, passionate. "Like I said before, if someone so much as tries anything, against either you or Ichigo, I will make them regret it. Please believe me."
Ichigo didn't answer, but his eyes were slightly clouded, showing that a part of his attention was focused inwardly, obviously as Shiro, and probably Zangetsu too, reacted to everything she'd just said and responded accordingly.
Shinji was about to interrupt and demand an answer, since he hadn't been able to hear any thus far, when suddenly he, and everyone else, saw it. It was like a shimmer right beside Ichigo, and suddenly there was someone there. He looked like Ichigo's twin actually, only much paler, with white hair, eyes that had yellow irises on a black sclera and a traditional looking shihakusho, except with the colors inverted. On his back was a blade, also mostly identical to Ichigo's own sealed zanpakutou, except for the fact it was white. But what truly caught, and retained, every single Visored's attention, was the fragment of mask, like the upper corner, white bone with dark-red tribal-like marks on it, that seemed to be adhered to his forehead, going from right over his brow to the beginning of his hair, on the left side of his face.
"Everyone, this is Shirosaki Kamen." Ichigo introduced his white counterpart to the Visored. "My Inner Hollow, my counterpart, my aibou… my nii-san…"
Shiro looked around, from the half-shocked still-half-angry face of Hiyori, to Shinji's half-shocked half-contemplative one, to the rest, most who were either confused, surprised, in awe, or a mix of those, and sometimes more, emotions. He knew he ought to say something, but in that moment there was just one thing he could think of:
"Yo…" He greeted everyone with a hand raised.
xXx
The next morning Ichigo and Rukia woke to the craziness that was the mornings in the Visored hideout. In some ways, it wasn't as insane as mornings in the Kurosaki household, in others, it was much, much worse.
The previous night, after Shiro's appearance, and once the Visored were convinced that his appearance wasn't an illusion, Hachi actually used Kidou to make sure; the trio was coaxed into telling the story about Ichigo's unplanned trip to Hueco Mundo, since they had heard Rukia mentioning it and were intrigued about it. Learning about the kind of trust Ichigo had in his hollow counterpart, about everything Shiro was capable of, the rank of hollow he actually was, that not all hollows were bloodthirsty insane monsters and finally, that Shiro actually had a Resurreccion, was enough to finish destroying any and all notions the Visored may have had before about hollows, their powers, their mind (or lack thereof) and most importantly, all their long-held ideas about themselves as hybrids.
After the story was over it had been decided that it was exceedingly late already, and the couple was offered a room for the night, offer which they took. Though before actually going to sleep they made sure to call Renji, Karin and Uryuu, to let them know they were alright and would be back the next day, as well as asking them to inform the others they were fine and there was no need to worry about anything.
Ichigo and Rukia arrived to the room that doubled as kitchen and dining room to see Hachi and Lisa (the black-haired Visored dressed in the sailor-suit-like uniform) setting the plates with breakfast to the rest of the Visored who were already seated.
It had been a surprise for the couple to discover that the space where they had spent a number of hours the previous night wasn't where the Visored actually live, they had an underground space, below the warehouse itself, there they had bedrooms, several sitting rooms, a game-room a kitchen-dining room and a huge training area. It was actually quite nice, at least for people who obviously had been relocating quiet often for the last century.
In that moment, as the pair sat for their breakfast, which had already been served, they noticed the morose looks in every single Visored.
"What's wrong guys?" Ichigo asked after taking a sip of orange-juice.
After all misunderstandings were over, and the Visored began to accept that Shiro was alright, there was no need to seal him, and Ichigo wasn't going to be going insane any time soon; Ichigo and Rukia had actually begun liking the Visored. Shiro actually seemed to delight at provoking Hiyori into shouting and insulting matches as often as possible; though he hadn't actually done it for very long the previous night, as he claimed he was exhausted after the fight against Grimmjow and chose to go back to Ichigo's Inner World for a nap.
"What's wrong?" Hiyori asked sarcastically. "What's wrong he asks!"
"You probably don't understand Ichigo." Shinji stated seriously. "But after yesterday, after everything you told us, and showed us, you, your hollow and Kuchiki Rukia…everything we've believed for…well, pretty much our whole existence, it seems like trash. It's almost like we've lived lies since forever, and suddenly we no longer know what we're supposed to do, who we're supposed to be."
Everyone else at the table nodded.
Rukia opened her mouth several times and then closed it again; she wanted so much to help them; it was strange, considering how much she'd disliked them until just the afternoon before, but she just didn't know how to.
"It's true I may not know what you feel, and I have no idea how to help you." Ichigo admitted straight out. "But that's only because I had no preconceptions when all this happened to me. I told you before, I didn't know hollows were supposed to all be monsters, so I treated Shiro like I would anyone else; I didn't know zanpakutou should be forced to submit in order to gain their powers, so instead I befriended Zangetsu. I did the things I did, because I knew no other way and, from my point of view, things have worked out just fine for me."
"It's not necessarily too late to change." Rukia offered her own opinion, at least on the part she did know about. "Ever since learning about how Ichigo and Zangetsu get along, I've been trying to do the same with Sode no Shirayuki-san, and I would like to think it's working. I no longer need to be in Jinzen or try to materialize her to talk to her, and she sometimes helps make my attacks stronger, focus my reiatsu better." She sighed. "I don't know if that would work for your own zanpakutou, or your hollows, but you lose nothing if you just try. You might even surprise yourselves."
The rest of the morning was spent talking about the Nakama and their exploits, and the more the Visored heard about them, about Ichigo, and the group formed by a Quincy, several shinigami, and a group of spiritually empowered humans, the more they realized not only their lives, but the world itself, was much more complicated than they'd believed it to be.
They also learnt that finding out they'd been wrong, wasn't necessarily bad; they could still try again, they could still make things better, and that was what truly mattered.
The conversation extended long enough that Ichigo and Rukia ended up staying for lunch too, but it had also served to create bonds between the young couple and the group of Visored, bonds they hope would take them all far.
It was when were talking in detail about the battle of the previous night, first Rukia against an Arrancar and then Ichigo against the Espada who was leading him and others, that the next shocking revelation came:
"What do you mean you don't use a mask?" Kensei, the one with the military-like haircut said.
"Exactly like I just said." Ichigo replied. "We weren't lying when Shinji first approached us and we said none of us wore a mask; it was the truth, still is. Even when I'm using Shiro's powers, even when I let him share control with me and pretty much 'call the shots', there is no mask." He sighed. "The most is that my eyes change color, looking like Shiro's. The only time the mask has appeared was when Shiro called on it to protect me, like I told you before. Oh and, of course, the fragment that's on his face when he's an Arrancar.
"How can you call on Hollow powers when you don't have a mask?" Rose, the one with the long wavy blonde hair, wanted to know.
"Not sure." Ichigo admitted. "I have a theory though. During my fight with Grimmjow, there was a moment when Shiro began turning…well, I guess submissive is as good a word as any. He called me King, offered me his power. I felt something begin to appear on my face then, sort of like his mask fragment, but somehow different, it also felt wrong to me. So I told him I was no King, we're partners, Aibou…then the beginnings of that mask disappeared and we began doing our best to trash the Espada."
"It's so strange…" Lisa whispered. "The way you make it sound…"
"It's almost like his hollow powers, without the mask, are somehow stronger than the ones we call on with our masks." The one with the black afro, Love, commented.
"That's my assumption." Ichigo agreed. "At least as far as feeling wrong or right goes." His eyes clouded for a few seconds, and when they cleared again, Ichigo was nodding.
"What was that?" Lisa asked, interested.
"Shiro says the masks are important symbolically." Ichigo explained. "They show you have defeated your hollows, claimed their powers for your own, and thus, you can use such powers. But you can only use as much hollow reiatsu as you can process. If your hollow has any special ability, it's unlikely you'll ever get it, because you simply don't know to look for it."
"Special ability?" Kensei was really interested. "Like Cero."
"No, Cero is basic, it's why you all have it." Ichigo answered. "I mean things like Hierro, Garganta, Instant Regeneration, that sort of stuff." He shook his head. "And before you ask, yes I have all of those. Then there's also the Resurreccion. I don't have a mask, because I never forced my hollow to submit but, on the other hand, since we're partners, he has put all his powers at my disposal, which means I actually have more powers than you do."
"A Visored, without a mask…" Mashiro, the green haired Visored, announced brightly. "You're the Maskless Visored!"
Ichigo snorted slightly, a sound that was echoed by Rukia as well as Shiro and Zangetsu. The 'Maskless Visored' sounded a bit too much like a superhero in one of those American comics he'd seen some kids passing around at school; and it wasn't even a cool name. But somehow, Ichigo knew, it was going to stick. And of course he would be right.