In the 7th Division Barracks…
Isshin grumbled to himself. The paperwork from the last war never ended, which did not sit well with the laid back man. "When will it end?!" he whined.
Just then a small device on the table buzzed. It was the same sort Urahara had shown Ichigo, but a little bulkier. Urahara's voice resonated through the divice, "Hello Isshin. Come in Isshin!"
Isshin picked up the divice. "Yes Kiskue, what is it?"
There was a pause before he continued. "We can't reach Ichigo and…ah…he's in Hueco Mundo…"
Another span of silence occurred. "WHATTTT?! Why is he in Hueco Mundo?! He shouldn't even have any spiritual pressure!" Isshin screamed.
Outside his office doors Rangiku and Hitsugaya stopped and slowly backed away, realizing their impromptu visit was ill timed. "Do you think that was about Ichigo?" Hitsugaya asked
"I think so…" Rangiku replied as the two meandered back the way they came.
Back inside the office Isshin held his head in his hands. Normally he wouldn't be super concerned for Ichigo…but he wasn't responding, and he was in Hueco Mundo, and he had grown more distant to him ever since Isshin left.
Kisuke sounded more serious than his usual self. "His spiritual pressure has been returning. Both of us thought it best to be kept secret from the Soul Society. I'm sorry that included you. He was only supposed to be gone until I found a permanent solution for his body falling apart."
"So my son's body was falling apart and no one even told me?!"
"My friend, I'm sorry this is how it turned out but right now we should focus on finding him. He has been fine on his own in Hueco Mundo for about a month before he disappeared. Yoruichi was in regular contact with him before he disappeared."
"This is a mess…I need to go looking for him now."
"Wait, if you suddenly disappear others will become suspicious. Besides, there's still no easy way in and out of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was able to open a garganta to get in."
Isshin was getting more frustrated at not being told anything, and then not even being able to do anything about it. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. His son wasn't a kid anymore, though he never seemed to look older than 19. "Please, just tell me whats going on. I want to help." Isshin said solemnly.
"I will." The device cut the connection, leaving Isshin alone in this office.
xXx
Several Days Later, Back at the Academy…
In their room, Ichigo and Nagi were chatting about events that had happened that day.
"-and it went WOOSH! And just like that the sword was knocked out of my hand!" Nagi said emphatically, falling behind on his bed.
Ichigo chuckled. "We got our asauchi today."
"Really?! You cool advanced students, carrying around real blades. Can I see it?" Nagi sat forward on the bed.
Ichigo walked over to his wardrobe and held up the sheathed katana that was leaning against it. He unsheathed the blade, looking at his own reflection in the polished metal. "I'm supposed to start meditating in my free time, concentrating on the blade to embed my spirit in it." Ichigo frowned. He hadn't had a pleasant exchange with his zanpaktou since he and Shiro fought before class.
"I think I'll practice that now," Ichigo said quietly.
"Alrightie, I guess I'll be leaving ya to it then," Nagi said cheerfully.
Ichigo huffed quietly and entered his inner world. There waiting for him were his two spirits.
"Your blade continues to dull Ichigo. You have become complacent in your own demise," the old man said. Over the course of the week he requested Ichigo no longer call him Zangetsu, and instead they came up with Stahlmond.
"I'll have to take over soon. You've become pointless." Shiro snarled.
"Come on, what do you suggest I do?" Ichigo hissed, getting pretty annoyed at the condescending tone his spirits had taken.
"Well that's easy. I would raze the Soul Society to the ground." This earned Shiro a look of annoyance from both Ichigo and Stahlmond.
"None of that."
"Well we should start from the root. Why are you going to the academy?" Stahlmond asked quizzically.
"Because Roku sent me here?"
"Why did Roku send you here?"
"Because…because he has a job for me to do?"
"And what is the job?"
"To protect."
"And why weren't you already doing that?"
"I was powerless." This got an eyeroll from Shiro. "But besides that, the Soul Society doesn't trust me."
"So, become someone they trust. You are a normal Soul Reaper now."
Shiro interjected, "Yea, they don't know you're a walking nuke."
"So I'll become a trusted Soul Reaper, one who protects…" Ichigo drifted off in thought. "I'll work up the ranks as quickly as possible. I need to flesh out my backstory more before I encounter anyone who might know me. I should dye my hair too…" Ichigo smiled. He had a path again, as shaky as it was.
Shiro grinned in his characteristic way. "Alrightie King, show me you have the drive to go through with this. I won't let you use my blade until you do, so you better be hurryin up."
Ichigo exited his inner world. He exhaled in a slow and calm way, much like a beast ready to strike. His eyes opened and they were sharp, clear, and devastating.
Nagi, who was unfortunately sitting directly in front of Ichigo, felt a chill run up his spine when he looked up from his comic. "You ok there buddy…?"
"Better than ever." Ichigo stood up and attached the asauchi to his belt. "Do you know where I can get black hair dye in the Soul Society?"
"Uh, yeah. There are plenty of shops. The Shinigami Womens Society made sure of it. Why?" Nagi asked.
"I get a lot of looks because of my hair. People peg me as a delinquent and its annoying. The noble brats in my classes are the worst at it," Ichigo half lied.
Nagi looked at the clock in their room. "We have time today. We don't have class tomorrow so we could head out now. Wait, do you have any money."
Ichigo suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had forgotten about that tiny little detail. "No…"
"You may look scary, but you're really just an airhead, aren't ya," Nagi laughed playfully.
"One could say. Do you think there is a way I could make some quick cash? The outer districts are a little…isolated in that regard," Ichigo said, barely covering up how little he knew about Rukongai.
Nagi tapped his finger to his chin in thought. "Well, you could do labor, that's quick, but not easy. It doesn't pay the best since anyone can do it. Say…youre pretty good with a sword, right?"
"I would say so, yeah," Ichigo replied.
"That's the understatement of the century," Shiro scoffed in Ichigo's head.
"Well sometimes noble families hire upperclassmen as escorts or something. There's job listings in the upper commons. Anyone can take a flyer but it isn't really worth it for us underclassmen since there is a screening anyway, and your buddies in the advanced track are mostly nobles themselves."
"So I can just waltz right in and take a job offer?"
"Yep," Nagi said, popping the "p".
"So Nagi," Ichigo began mischievously, "I wouldn't want to appear like a delinquent in front of nobles, now would I. You seem to be a man with money," Ichigo eyed Nagi's comic collection. "Would you take pity on a poor soul from Rukongai?" Ichigo made a horrible attempt at a guilt trip face.
"Dude stop. If you stop that creepy face I'll give you enough for some shitty black hair dye, but you have to pay me back."
"Deal," Ichigo said definitively.
Nagi handed over a few bills. "Knock yourself out. I'll be here reading my rich kid comics." Nagi leaned back on his bed and reopened his comic.
Ichigo opened his wardrobe to change into casual clothes, only to realize all he had was from when Roku sent him flying through dimensions. He definitely could not wear that. With a sigh and a wave, Ichigo made his way out of the dorm.
"Now, shops catering to shinigami women would be in the seireite, probably in the shopping district." It was at this moment that Ichigo wished it was normal for an academy student to walk on air, but alas it was not.
After about half an hour of searching, Ichigo finally made it to the shopping district. It wasn't hard to find a shop that catered to hair products after that. He picked up the first black box dye he saw and went to pay for it using Nagi's lent money.
Before he was able to exit the isle he was on he overheard a very familiar voice. Rangiku.
"Yeah so I heard he went missing. Do you think he's dead?" she asked.
"I don't know Rangiku, he could just be on vacation. It's not like we've been monitoring him since he disappeared off the face of the earth. And as much as I would never admit it to him, hes not stupid." And Renji was her shopping partner.
Ichigo stifled a snicker. Poor Renji, but this created a new problem for him. Roku said his disguise was too weak to work on those he was close with, and he was unfortunately friends with a good portion of the lieutenants of the Gotei 13. They weren't going to leave anytime soon, but he needed the dye.
In his stupor, Ichigo didn't notice the two of them wandering over towards his isle. In his panic he shunpoed to the end, raising an eyebrow from the cashier. A moment of brilliance struck him. "Uhh, hi. Any chance you could ring me up before those two get around here?" he asked her.
"Sure, but you have to tell me why," the cashier snickered as she typed in the number.
He forced a smile. Thinking fast, he replied, "She's overbearing, and I accidentally overstepped my bounds. And she's ah…" he looked behind him to make sure she was far enough away, "scary."
The cashier laughed again. "I get it. She likes to drag poor souls like Renji down here for her own entertainment. See ya, stranger," she said with a smile.
Ichigo rushed out the door, missing the last part of Rangiku and Renji's conversation.
"So Isshin is looking around for him, but keep that on the hush hush. I suspect he'll ask Rukia and his family first," Rangiku said with concern.
Renji raised an eyebrow, "So how did you find out if its all hush hush?"
She sighed. "I accidentally eavesdropped and then got caught."
xXx
In the Dorms
Ichigo slipped on the gloves and began lathering his hair in black dye. He scrunched his nose at the weird smell.
"Gotta say," Nagi began, "You look pretty good with black hair. Much less of a carrot."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."
"No, I mean it. It matches your face."
Ichigo thought for a second. "My dad's hair is black. Maybe my face is built for it." He shrugged.
An hour later, Ichigo washed out his hair and opened the door from the bathroom. "Ta da, how is it?" he asked Nagi.
Nagi slowly nodded. "Nice. Now the ladies are sure to be after you."
"Not my goal," Ichigo replied. He looked back in the mirror and couldn't disagree with Nagi's assessment.
The next morning, Ichigo marched up to the job wall. He was expecting the usual looks, but to his satisfaction, he blended right in. There were lots of guard duty options, but they were all regularly occurring with a paycheck after two weeks, not what he wanted.
One job did catch his eye. "Explosives escort…" he read out loud. It was paying more due to the volatile substance. Ichigo smiled, making note of the start address and the note at the bottom.
"Substance will be transported as soon as a guard is acquired. Sooner is better."
"This just keeps getting better and better," he thought to himself. He made note of the address and began on his way there. Once he was outside the school grounds, he shunpoed. "Its really clumsy now that I don't have access to all of the extra riatsu to help me correct." Ichigo noted to himself and his spirits.
"That's why you're here." Stahlmond said.
With that note, Ichigo sped up slightly, still pacing himself so he would have plenty in reserve for when he was tested. When Ichigo finally came to the address, it was a manor in the woods, clearly surrounded by an estate. He slowed his pace to a walk when he approached the building. Once he reached the front gate, he knocked.
"State your business," a gruff voice came from the other side as a peep hole opened.
"I'm here for an escort mission listed at the academy." Ichigo lifted the paper to be viewed.
The man opened the gate and let Ichigo in, shutting it immediately behind him. "Continue to the front door. The lord will see you there."
Ichigo nodded and continued to the entrance. The door opened for him. "Some sort of kido I would guess," he thought to himself. The hall was large and grand, but not extravagantly so. A servant directed him to a hall to the right. It led to a study where a man, clearly the lord of the estate, was seated.
Ichigo bowed in respect and the servant introduced him. "He is here for the escort job, Narobi-sama."
Narobi looked up from his work. "What is your name?"
"Ichigo."
"What year are you at the academy?"
"First year."
Narobi gave him a quizzical eye. "So, why do you think you are qualified for this?"
"I am the best at zanjutsu in my year, and I have experience in combat from before I entered the academy," Ichigo replied professionally.
Narobi looked him over once more and stood up. "Alright, please take him to the examination room."
In the room, there were three guards dressed similarly to the guard at the front gate. There was a crate in the center of the room.
"Please do not let my guards touch the crate at the center of the room," Narobi said.
Ichigo walked to the center and entered a calm stance.
"Begin!"
The three guards all rushed him. Two had swords, and one was stronger, using his fists. Ichigo drew his asauchi. He struck at the two sword wielders so they moved towards the bigger guy. Having three people was a challenge, and Ichigo wasn't confident enough in his abilities of Kido to create a barrier (that wouldn't explode).
After Ichigo knocked the two sword wielders back, he launched himself at the larger one, landing a kick similar to how he would kick his dad into the wall. The man went flying back and Ichigo felt a little sorry for him. He forgot his dad wasn't normal.
He stood in front of the box once again and leveled his sword against the two remaining. They approached him at the same time. He blocked one with proper swordplay, but resorted to kicking the other. He didn't really have another option without revealing his other skills.
He ended up disarming one of them and using their own blade to pin them to the ground, and eventually got the other at sword point to their neck.
Narobi clapped a bit. "Alright Ichigo, I will send you to be the escort to the Shiba Manor."
Ichigo's thoughts grinded to a halt. "Did you say Shiba Manor?"
Narobi waved his hand, misplacing the fear in Ichigo's voice for shock. "Oh yes I did. I apologize for not putting it on the listing but if I put any noble household on the description, it attracts a crowd just trying to worm their way into a clan's good graces."
"Oh yea, of course." Ichigo forced a smile.
Ichigo thought of dropping the mission. How could he get out of this? "I'm sorry sir, I must just be unnerved by the mention of one of the four noble households. I think I should decline the job. My apologies," Ichigo said with a bow.
Narobi chuckled, "Nonsense. The Shebas are the nicest of the four. That's why we do so much business with them. You should go young lad. If you're training to be a soul reaper, you shouldn't run from those with fancy titles."
Ichigo grimaced to himself. "It was all there! Who else would need explosives in the Soul Society. I'm so stupid! I can't get out of this without being suspicious. This guy is just trying to be nice, and he doesn't know my problem." Eventually, Ichigo finally responded out loud, "Alright sir, I suppose I should get over myself."
"Wonderful! The package is already on the carriage. I will alert the driver of your departure," Narobi exclaimed.
"I mean, how bad can it actually be? I hardly know Kukaku, so all I have to do is look out for Ganju and I should be in the green."
xXx
Alright here we go. I'm pretty happy with the direction I'm taking it. You'll be in for a bit of a treat for chapter 5 in my opinion.
-SK