Author's Note
Haha! I have finished the chapter before the month ended! Needless to say things have been a bit busy, but I'll keep this short. This month's distractions were a local Con (won the anime portion of the cosplay contest as dual blade Ichigo, Whoo Hoo!), Deadpool movie (funny, but very dirty), Bleach (S) Abriged (even more funny, you should all watch it), and coloring Urahara's initial bankai panel (link to my deviantart on my profile page).
Anywho, enough of my distractions and on to the chapter! Enjoy!
Once breakfast was finished, Ichigo set the kids to clearing the table and washing the dishes while he chased Mrs. Weasley upstairs to her room for some much needed rest. Ichigo spent the rest of the morning herding the kids around to keep them occupied so that they wouldn't wake Mrs. Weasley to go visit Mr. Weasley. There was no doubt in his mind that as soon as she woke up the kids would pester her about it until they were going, even if the trip had to be made in their pajamas seeing as all their things had been left at the school. The Weasley children were resistant to his distractions, of course.
"Why are we cleaning everything? Why can't we go see Dad?" George complains.
"Mum said he was in good enough shape that we could visit." Fred adds.
"Because your mother needs rest after staying up all night." Ichigo explains, annoyance starting to color his tone. "I just thought that having you actually do something would make the time pass faster, but if you want to sit around and be bored, fine, be my guest."
"We don't necessarily need Mum to take us. You could take us, couldn't you, Ichigo?" Ginny begs.
"Iie. Tsurete ikenain. Doko ni byouin ga wakaranai shi– (No. I can't take you because I don't know where the hospital is and–)"
"Whoa, back up mate. We can't understand you." Ron says as Ichigo's annoyance had led to him slipping back into his native tongue.
Ichigo huffs out a sigh, trying to have patience with the Weasleys. This was probably the third time in the past hour that they had tried to bug him into going to the hospital, or at least to stop giving them more chores to do.
"I said no." Ichigo replies, holding up a hand to forestall any protests. "I don't know where the hospital is, even if I was willing to take you. I also really doubt you want to go out in the cold in only your pajamas, and even if you did, I wouldn't take you because you'd catch a cold or something."
There were no more protests after that, simply because once Ichigo had pointed it out, they had realized that none of them actually knew how to get to St. Mungo's. So they stayed busy to pass the time and it wasn't until Ichigo was serving up lunch that Mrs. Weasley awakened and rejoined them, thanking Ichigo for keeping the kids occupied when Sirius turned down her thanks and pointed her to him.
As they were eating lunch, Harry noticed that Ichigo wasn't eating or drinking anything again. It was strange, Harry thought, because he had never seen Ichigo consume anything since dinner the night before. He was about to comment on it when there was a knocking on the front door.
"I'll get it." Ichigo says, already moving for the door. "It's probably Inoue and Ishida along with all our stuff. You guys can stay and finish lunch."
Harry's eyes narrow as Ichigo seemed rather impatient to get the door himself and telling them to stay made it seem like when he did, he wanted no one else around. Was Ichigo trying to hide something? Suspicions rising, and since he wasn't feeling all that hungry, Harry waited until he heard the door open before going after Ichigo, giving the excuse that he was done eating and was going to help move their trunks upstairs. Harry did indeed have his suspicions confirmed, though what Ichigo was trying to hide left him feeling very confused.
Standing in the entryway were two Ichigos, one in those black Japanese robes and one in normal street clothes, bundled up against the cold. The black robed Ichigo was holding the casually dressed Ichigo by the wrist and dragging him towards the stairs with what was presumably Ichigo's trunk in the black clad one's other hand.
"What's going on? Who is that?!" Harry exclaims, pointing to the casually dressed Ichigo since that one was obviously the new arrival.
Both Ichigos freeze while Orihime and Uryu look over as they bring in some of the trunks, then the second Ichigo smiles and gives Harry a friendly wave. The Weasleys and Sirius come out of the kitchen and gather behind Harry just in time to catch the wave.
"I'd say the cat's out of the bag now, Ichigo." the second one happily trills, leaving the others stunned. It was weird and almost wrong to hear such childish glee in Ichigo's voice as well as hearing it spoken in unaccented American English. The easy going facial expression and lack of knitted eyebrows only adds to the oddity of seeing the second Ichigo.
The original sighs, looking less than happy about the current developments.
"You didn't tell us you had an American twin." George accuses with a devious grin.
"He's not my twin." Ichigo states through gritted teeth, obviously insulted by the notion.
"Yeah, there's no way I'd be brothers with a grouchy sour puss like him!" the second says in a much more animated fashion.
"Then who, or maybe what, is he?" Sirius asks.
"I'm the great Kon-sama!" Kon answers, striking a pose and grinning proudly.
"Self-important bugger, isn't he?" Fred quietly comments to George.
"Cone-sam-uh? What kind of name is that?" Ron asks.
"Kon! K, O, N! And it's not my fault that's my name. It's his!" Kon objects, pointing at Ichigo.
"Why'd you name him that?" Ginny asks.
"He's a Kaizou Konpaku, so I picked Kon for short." Ichigo explains off handedly.
"Wait, that's why?" Kon screeches. "I thought you picked it as short for Gikongon. You bastard, why didn't you call me Kai?!"
" 'Cause that sounded way too cool for you." Ichigo answers with a deadpan expression.
"Gikongon? Kaizou Konpaku? What are those?" Harry asks.
"They're a type of being that are meant to stand in for those of us who are responsible for hunting monsters. Kon is mine and he stands in for me when I have work during normal school hours." Ichigo says.
"Kaizou Konpaku are a special type of Gikongon," Kon explains, taking on a more serious and somber air, "and there aren't very many of us left."If there even are any others. "What sets us Kaizou Konpaku apart from the regular Gikongon is that we all possess an enhanced ability." Kon continues, seeing the question on the tip of the wizards' tongues. "For example, whatever form I assume will have increased leg strength, allowing me to jump further, run faster, and kick harder than what the original could. We have those abilities so that we can help our shinigami fight if need be."
"Shinigami?" Harry asks once more, half liking that all these new terms are being used since it's more material to use to unravel the secrets and mysteries that surround the Japanese and half hating it because he doesn't understand it.
"It's the title held by those of us who use swords to hunt monsters." Ichigo explains and by the way he says swords, Harry and Ron understand that to mean Zanpakuto.
"If he's your stand-in, he's not very good at it." George says.
"Yeah, he's much too cheerful." Fred adds with a grin.
"Well screw you too!" Kon shoots back. "You think it's fun to walk around with a grumpy look on your face all the time? I'm not going to pretend to be Ichigo if I don't have to."
"Still doesn't change that you don't act a bit like him." George goads.
"I'll show you!" Kon shouts back. He closes his eyes, takes a breath, and when he opens his eyes his expression and posture changes, matching Ichigo's point for point. "Still think I can't stand-in for him?" The accent and tones are so perfectly mimicked that it's like they are facing an annoyed and exasperated Ichigo.
"Woah…" is all they can say. Kon's skillful mimicry was unexpected simply because his shown personality was so different from Ichigo's. What they didn't know was that it was skillful even for a Gikongan. Most of them couldn't do anything beyond their set personality parameters, but Kon was different. He knew this, though he didn't know why. It could be because of all the time he had for introspection while waiting to be destroyed, studying himself and looking at what it meant to exist, in the same way that he came to the self-realization that made him decide never to kill. Or maybe it was part of the programming of a Kaizou Konpaku, to allow greater combat skill by learning to mimic other more proficient fighters. He didn't know, but it allowed him to play his part better than any other Gikongon.
And in a blink Kon was back to his cheerful self. "See? Told you I could pass for Ichigo."
"Alright, enough showing off." Ichigo says, sounding annoyed. Seeing that Kon could actually mimic him, but knowing that he rarely did was a discovery that really annoyed him. "Come on, Kon." And with that, he drags Kon up the stairs.
Before any more questions can be asked, the kids are distracted by Uryu and Orihime with the delivery of their trunks and the now available clothing within them. Knowing that all they need to go visit Mr. Weasley is now within their grasp, the Weasley kids quickly finish their lunch and rush upstairs to switch into regular clothes.
Harry, being less than enthusiastic to see the man he (no, it wasn't me) almost killed, moved slower and with less energy than the Weasleys. Instead, he let his thoughts meander over the oddities around Ichigo and the newly introduced Kon, glad for the bit of distraction those thoughts could provide. Ichigo had come down a minute or two after his departure with Kon wearing the same clothes that Kon was wearing with the addition of a small lion plushy hanging off his shoulder. That had been a real shock, to see the walking, talking plushy that was Kon. Harry also noticed that when Ichigo rejoined them he actually had lunch instead of just sitting there as he had earlier. As he watched, it occurred to Harry that Ichigo must have switched with Kon before he got to Dumbledore's office. It would certainly explain the odd behavior that Harry had barely noticed in his distraught state.
And too soon, at least to Harry, Moody and Tonks showed up and they were off to St. Mungo's. It turned out that the magical hospital was hidden in the heart of London disguised as an old department store that had been "closed for refurbishment" for at least ten years, if the clothes on the dummies in the window were any indicator. After Tonks stated their business to one of the dummies, they walked through the glass to find what looked like most any hospital reception room, except the patients, whose magical injuries were colorfully varied and strange.
A short wait in line to talk to the Welcome Witch, who was certainly less than pleased to help, got them the room number for Mr. Weasley. At Tonks's discretion, herself, Moody, and the Japanese waited while the Weasleys and a reluctant Harry went in to see .
Harry was quite relieved that Mr. Weasley seemed to be doing just fine, which the man affirmed himself, stating that the only reason he couldn't leave was that the snake's venom was keeping the wound from closing or letting the bleeding cease. Fred and George were quick to fish for information as to what Mr. Weasley had been doing when he was attacked, sure that it was related to the weapon mentioned that summer. Mrs. Weasley would have none of it, still bent on keeping her children as out of the Order as possible, and sent them out into the hall so that Moody and Tonks could visit Mr. Weasley.
Once out in the hallway, Fred and George pulled out their Extendable Ears, intent to know what was going on.
"You don't really respect privacy, do you?" Uryu pointedly asks, causing Fred and George to jump. They had forgotten about the Japanese teens and it hadn't occurred to them that the foreign trio might rat them out until then.
"Ah, but this is about our dad's life, which Harry saved, so I believe we do have a little right to this conversation." George reasons, trying to lay it on smooth.
Uryu raises an eyebrow.
"Aw, lay off, Ishida." Ichigo says, giving the Quincy a small shove. "We're in a public place. Do you really think they'll say anything that important where a stranger can overhear it?"
"… fine." But Uryu still doesn't look happy about it.
The twins quickly pass ears around before setting them to wiggling under the door. Once they've heard the conversation within, Harry wishes Uryu had stopped them.
Harry was being possessed by Voldemort.
That was what Moody had said, the reason Dumbledore had been avoiding him. It was a terrible knowledge to be burdened with. Harry had seen the horror on the Weasley children's faces, the deep pity in Orihime's eyes, and the guarded looks from both Uryu and Ichigo.
All the way back to Grimmauld Place, Harry's thoughts swirl with this knowledge of the taint within him. Mrs. Weasley asks Harry if he's alright when she notices his withdrawn state, but Harry couldn't say that he wasn't and probably never would be again, so when she offers that he hadn't slept properly and needed more rest, Harry took the proffered answer. As soon as they arrived at Grimmauld Place, Harry isolated himself in his and Ron's room. Upon further meditation on what it meant to be possessed by Voldemort, Harry realized that he could be giving the Dark Lord all he needed to know about the Order of the Phoenix just by being there and decided that to prevent Voldemort from learning more he must leave. However, his noble departure was cut short by Dumbledore's message via Phineas Nigellus to stay put. Phineas was by no means gentle about how stupid and insufferable he found Harry's youthful mindset about the matter to be, but the harshness and plain logic of it at least convinced Harry to listen and stay at Grimmauld Place.
The next day Harry begins to studiously keep away from everyone, keeping to the empty rooms of Grimmauld Place. If he was being possessed, he didn't want to be anywhere close to where his friends were. He wouldn't attack someone he cared about, not again. This resolve leads him to hiding all day, moving from the empty drawing room up to Buckbeak's when Mrs. Weasley came calling for him around lunch time. It was around dinner time that Harry hears the doorbell go off, but he ignores it, believing it to be some Order member or other to be passing through.
"You know hiding away doesn't really help anything."
Harry spun around to find Ichigo closing the door to Buckbeak's room behind him. He leans back against the door, blocking any attempt Harry could make at exiting the room and continuing his avoidance of everyone.
"You should leave." Harry mumbles.
"Why? Afraid you'll attack me?" Ichigo asks. "Please, I could take you with my hands tied behind my back."
"If I'm really possessed, you won't be fighting me, you'll be fighting Voldemort." Harry growls, annoyed and scared that Ichigo doesn't get it. Voldemort was one of the most powerful dark wizards ever and the last time he had been possessed, Harry had become a snake. He would be very dangerous when possessed and Ichigo didn't seem the least bit concerned.
"But Borudemoru will have to fight me and you. Unless you intend to let him have his way with you." Ichigo counters, calm confidence in his eyes. "You are you. The only way someone else makes you do something is if you let them, and I don't think you'll just let someone make you hurt your friends."
"You make it sound easy." Harry huffs out.
"I never said it was. You have to have a will made of steel and even then you'll still have to fight. The important part is that you don't give up. To make it simple: when you protect someone, you don't let them die." Ichigo replies with a shrug, giving Harry a piece of the advice that he continued to hold in his heart when he went into battle: No fear, just doing.
Harry lets Ichigo's words soak in. He can hear the conviction, the strength and experience of living by those beliefs. It explained a lot about Ichigo. He never backed down from his convictions and always fought for his beliefs and the safety of his friends.
And then something more about the chord those words struck occurred to Harry.
"Um, Ichigo," Harry nervously asks, "you haven't ever been… possessed before, have you?" The words are hesitant as Harry worries about bringing up bad memories.
"Not exactly." Ichigo replies and seeing Harry's look of confusion, continues, "What I went through is different than what you did. You remember Zangetsu?" Harry nods, still nervous. "He's taken control of my body before to fight in my place." Harry's eyes widen at the confession. "It was always to protect my life, but I can't say that I ever really wanted or welcomed it since I don't agree with his methods." Ichigo lets out a dry laugh. "I had to fight him to keep him from stepping in again like that, prove that I didn't need him to fight my battles for me and that I wouldn't let him do it. Looking back on it now, I can see that he always got the better of me when I felt like I might not win. He took control when my will wavered and I had to fight to get back that control and solidify my will to win as me."
"Why didn't you just let him fight for you?" Harry asks, regretting it almost immediately as Ichigo gave him a sharp look.
"Partially because his idea of protecting me is to mercilessly kill the other guy." Ichigo says. "Just because I'm fighting someone doesn't mean I want to kill them, which Zangetsu would without any hesitation."
Harry gulps at the thought. "An-and the other reason?"
"My own stupid pride." Ichigo replies, looking away, and it takes Harry a moment to realize that Ichigo is embarrassed about it. "They were my fights and I didn't want someone else to fight them for me. It wouldn't have really been my victory if Zangetsu was the one in control when the battle ended."
"I see, I guess." Harry says, sounding dejected. "But that doesn't really help me. I won't be attacking my enemies."
"No, but you'll be trying to protect something even more precious than someone's life. You'll be fighting for control to protect your friends' lives. And I think that's something you'd want to do with all of your heart and soul." Ichigo says, pointing at Harry's chest, his heart. "So stick with them. That way you'll have more memories to help remind you what you're fighting for."
Ichigo pauses to let that sink in, then clears his throat. "So now that you know that staying away from everyone is just stupid and does nothing, come back downstairs. Your friends are worried about you, you know."
"Um, yeah." Harry says, meekly walking out the door that Ichigo has opened. He pauses in the doorway. "And Ichigo… thanks."
The pair descend the stairs just in time to meet Hermione on her way up. As Hermione guides them down to the room Harry and Ron were sharing, she explains that she wasn't all that fond of skiing as had been her family's plan for the break and that Orihime and Uryu had told her where Harry was hiding after exchanging pleasantries.
"I don't know why they couldn't just tell me where you were, Harry, because they certainly seemed to know." Hermione says with a sniff.
"That would be my fault." Ichigo replies. "We figured I could get Harry to quit isolating himself, but we also figured that it wouldn't go so well if someone else interrupted."
"Oh, um, no, that's fine." Hermione says, looking slightly embarrassed for being upset over good intentions. "I was just worried with what Ron and Ginny were saying about Harry isolating himself and what they overheard on the Ears yesterday."
"Well, I'm feeling better now." Harry offers with an apologetic smile. Ichigo had been right, they were worried about him and he felt guilty for making them worry.
When they enter the bedroom, they find Ron, Ginny, Uryu, and Orihime waiting within. Harry looks into the eyes of the room's occupants, ready to face and apologize to his friends. The eye contact seems to relieve Ron and Ginny, as both let grins of relief split their faces, Orihime beams at the lightened mood while small smirks form on both Ichigo and Uryu's faces.
"It's good to see you've quit being stupid, Harry." Ginny says. "Especially since I'm the only person you know who's been possessed by you-Know-Who and can tell you if what you experienced really was that."
Harry's jaw drops. He had totally forgotten that Ginny actually had been possessed by Voldemort back in his second year at Hogwarts. It had also, incidentally, slipped his mind that he was theoretically being possessed by Voldemort. This meant that Ginny could help him discover if that theory was right or, better yet, wrong.
"So do you think I'm being possessed, then?" Harry feverently asks, letting that hope burst to life.
"Well, can you remember everything you've been doing?" Ginny asks. "Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?"
"No." Harry replies after searching his memories for things that didn't line up.
"Then You-Know-Who hasn't ever possessed you." Ginny states matter-of-factly. "When he did it to me, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing for hours at time. I'd find myself somewhere and not know how I got there."
"But that dream I had –" Harry says, trying to tame his hope before it was possibly shot down.
"Harry, you've had dreams like it before. You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year." Hermione reasons with him, wanting him to accept that he wasn't the threat he had spent the past day believing himself to be.
"This was different." Harry explains, shaking his head. "I was inside that snake. It was like I was the snake… What is Voldemort somehow transported me to London?"
"One day you'll read Hogwarts, A History, and perhaps that will remind you that you can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts." Hermione says with great exasperation. "Even Voldemort couldn't just make you fly out of your dormitory, Harry."
"You didn't leave you bed, mate." Ron says. Harry looks to Ichigo and Uryu who nod in confirmation of Ron's words. "I saw you thrashing around in your sleep about a minute before we could wake you up…"
Harry starts to pace as he considers his friends' words. Discounting the comfort they bring to them, the logic to it all is sound. He is not being possessed by Voldemort.
Harry gives the room a wide grin and they all return it.
"We've missed them again, Kisuke." Yoruichi complains from her perch on the desk in the little shack of a house their latest lead has lead them to.
"Patience, my dear Yoruichi-san. I know tracking down elusive prey has never been your favorite thing to do, but it is necessary." Urahara gently chides the previous Onmitsukido commander as he scans the area with a small device. "Besides, these trips haven't been completely fruitless. We have confirmed that our enemy numbers two shinigami, one arrancar, and one fullbringer from the traces they've left behind and that none of them have reiatsu levels any higher than a lieutenant."
"I know, but it's just annoying how they always get away." Yoruichi pouts.
"We knew it wouldn't be easy to catch them unless them enemy deployed them. That's one of the troubles with running a double-double agent." Urahara patiently explains. It's all things he knows Yoruichi is already aware of, you don't head the league of ninjas without knowing stealth ops of all kinds, but her fickle personality often means she throws those teachings out the window as her mood dictates.
"How do you think the kids are doing?"
"Fine, I'm sure. They've held out just fine the other time we left for a couple of days. We're not fighting Aizen or Yhwach, and for any organization headed by less, they're more than capable of holding their own." Urahara calmly placates. "You'd just be sore that you didn't get to bash in the enemies faces for giving us all this trouble."
"You know me too well, so why don't we go do something fun?" Yoruichi purrs.
"We're on the job." Urahara reminds her.
"A boring job."
"Still a job."
"Party pooper."
"Hmm?"
Yoruichi perks up immediately. "Find something interesting?"
"In a manner of speaking. Some of the trace hollow reiatsu here is oddly mixed with the fullbringer's signature." Urahara replies, curiosity evident to Yoruichi's trained ears.
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know yet, but I'm sure we'll find out, sooner or later."
Author's Note
I screwed with the HP timeline a bit here as Hermione rejoined the day Hogwarts term ended, but by the time I realized this I'd already written the Kon bit and didn't want to rework it. Speaking of Kon, I do think as far as personalities and social skills go, he is differentiated from other gikongon by more free thought. Trust me, they only show Chappy on screen, but in the bonus material from volume 25 Kubo goes over the rest of the advance team's gikongon and they're just as weird. Kon is more on his feet in thought and, for lack of better term, human. He doesn't just do as told, but thinks through ramifications and such. And remember, Kon has been shown to pull off being Ichigo back during vs. Grandfisher, but he also expressed a great dislike for doing it.
And on the note of my interpretations of characters, I made a new one-shot about Hollow Zangetsu and his relationship with Ichigo. If you like how I've characterized that in here, I highly suggest you go check out An Unanswered Call. It's reaaaaally gooood~
Please comment/review to tell me how I did.