A.N.: Hey everybody! I'm back with an all new story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Overlord.
Chapter 1: A New Path Part 1
Ichigo was walking into a world of destroyed buildings covered in darkness. He guessed this might have been his inner world...or what was left of it. It was very dark and difficult to see, but he can still see the ruins of what was left of the fallen skyscrapers that once stood proudly. It was very disheartening to see what his inner world had become. The once bright sky turned into an endless rainy storm and the tall skyscrapers crumble down in ruins. The only thing Ichigo could do was walk through the destroyed city and feel the endless cold rain pouring down on his body.
"This must be this endless despair Ulquiorra was talking about before." Ichigo sighed with a heavy breath.
Then Ichigo suddenly saw something. Ignoring the rain falling on him, he tried looked around to get a better sight through the rain. Looking far away a small light floated towards him. It looked like a firefly of how it moved.
As it got close to him, Ichigo looked at it strangely. "Um, what exactly are you supposed to be? Some kind of firefly?"
The small light just flew around him in circles and for some odd reason, he felt...warm?
"Huh?" He looked around his body and saw he was starting to glow as well. Ichigo didn't understand what was happening, but it felt like he's felt this somewhere before. Not just the warmth, but he also felt his soul strengthen. As he looked back to the small ball of light still circling him, he asked it a question. "Are you...Zangetsu?"
Just when he asked that, the small ball of light stopped and started flying away.
"Wait!" Ichigo yelled out and chased after it.
"Zangetsu! That's you, right?! Come back!" He continued to run after it. "Dammit! How fast can something so small move so fast?"
The slick wet ground made Ichigo trip and land on his face. Quickly picking himself up while rubbing his forehead from the fall, he looked around and saw the small light was right at his face. He jumped back in surprise. "Are you playing with me?! Are you Zangetsu or not?"
Suddenly the small light stopped and flew right at Ichigo. Before he could react, the small light hit him in the chest and felt himself leaving his inner world.
Real World
Waking up silently without disturbing the class while the teacher Ms. Ochi was giving her lessons. Ichigo was currently sitting at his desk in school and turned to look outside the window with an empty expression yet hints of anger in his eyes. 'That dream again...' He mentally sighed.
Ichigo couldn't help but think back to why he was feeling the way he is now.
It had almost been a month since that horrible night with the Fullbringers. How they used him from the start and used his friends and family against him like puppets.
Uryu came to help, but Ichigo wasn't sure who's side he was on until it was too late. The power he worked so hard to obtain to stop the madness that was happening around him, only for it to be taken away so easily. Ichigo hasn't felt so helpless since his mother died as a kid. The heavy rain that fell on that night didn't help at all either. It was like he was reliving that painful past in his childhood, but so much worse when everyone he knew and cared about were used as pawns against him.
The only few people who could help him were beaten, laying on the ground in their own blood. Ichigo knew somehow Uryu and Riruka were still alive, but barely. The orange-haired teen racked his brain if there was anything he could have done.
Before Ichigo came to that mansion he ran everywhere in town but found nobody! The Vizards were gone somehow, Kisuke and his father were nowhere to be found. Hell! He would have thought Yoruichi was around?! Ikumi was his last hope to where he could run towards, but even she was already under the same spell as the others. Ichigo ran again having nowhere else to go and almost lost his mind. Then Ginjo caught up to him and he had the same expression of distraught as he did. Ginjo explained what happened and they tried to come up with a plan, but Yukio found them and lead them both to a mansion. It was the same place where the Bounts made their base in and an all new mansion took it's place. Ichigo knew extremely well that going to the mansion was obviously a trap. But it was the only place where he could go to end the root cause of all that's been happening.
Upon entering, all his friends including his sisters were there. All of the people he held close to his heart demanded apologies from him to Tsukishima, and that was the last straw. After Ichigo had the bastard finally cornered with the man losing an arm from his complete Fullbring, Orihime and Chad attacked the orange-haired out of nowhere. Orihime healed Tsukishima's missing arm and revived it, all the while Chad was shielding them from Ichigo with a disappointing glare towards his best friend.
Ichigo could barely watch having learned his two best friends were brainwashed as well, almost made him fall apart inside. Having been led up to the roof of the mansion and unable to react in his emotional condition, Uryu shortly came to help. However, he was ambushed by Tsukishima and couldn't move. The leader of Xcution out of nowhere pierced Ichigo with his blade and the young teen could do nothing but feel and see his new power being stripped from his body. When it was over, all Ichigo could do was look at the ground where the raindrops hit the ground in despair.
He didn't know what to do anymore. Uryu was down on the ground struggling to get back up. Riruka and surprisingly Shishigawara were brought up to the roof beaten and barley alive. The rest of the Xcution members brought them up saying they were traitor's having a change of heart trying to help Ichigo, but failed. The rest of Xcution threw their former comrades next to Uryu's downed form.
Still thinking about that night made Ichigo clench his fists in anger, but not too hard to draw blood. Not wanting his teacher to explain why he did that. Calming down some with a small sigh, Ichigo's mind still replayed towards what Ginjo told him on the roof.
One month ago...
Ginjo wanted to have some final words for Ichigo before he decided to leave town with the others. "Your all alone, Kurosaki. The one thing you had left to fight back is now mine, you're just a regular human. Isn't this what you wanted? To be a normal teenage kid?!" Ginjo's says while laughing at the last part.
Ichigo was trying to regain himself after being stabbed by Ginjo's blade. This guy who Ichigo thought had his back despite the short time he knew the Xcution leader, was all a big lie from the start! He tried to think of something, anything! Then one person came to mind that filled him with some hope. The one person who came very deep in his heart.
Standing up on his feet with his badge in hand despite the pain from stabbed and having his Fullbring stolen, Ichigo eye's burned with hope. "I'm not alone, Ginjo! A personal friend of mine has been keeping an eye on me for a long time. When she comes here with the others from the Soul Society, you're finished!" He looks back to Tsukishima and the rest of the Fullbringers, "All of you!" he roars out.
After a moment of silence, the young teen got a reaction he didn't expect from the masterminds of their scheme...they laughed?
Tsukishima walked up to Ichigo. "Sorry to tell you this, Ichigo. I'm afraid to say that this 'personal' friend of yours which I'm guessing your referring to, Rukia Kuchiki, yes? She's not been here or around town this whole time, even before all this happened."
Ichigo wasn't going to listen to someone who manipulates people's mind's for enjoyment. "Like I buy that crap you bastard!"
"He's not lying, Kurosaki." Ginjo states calmly while Ichigo looked at him with a glare. "Think about it. When you still had your Fullbring, you could have sensed Rukia's spirit energy from miles away, right? So why do you think you couldn't detect her before?" he says with a smirk. "It's simple really, she abandoned you! Just like the other Shinigami's your close with. That includes Kisuke Urahara as well."
Hearing this made Ichigo's eye's widened. "T-that c-can't be..." He stuttered and was about to dismiss it further, but what could he say? Were these bastards actually telling him the truth this time? 'No, they have to be fooling me again!' Accepting something that's far from easy to believe made his stomach tighten. It was almost like being stabbed by Kenpachi in the chest again, but far worse. When he really thought of it despite his emotional state of mind, he knew he heard Rukia's voice from his badge. Didn't that mean she knew what was happening from his Combat Pass the whole time somehow? If that's the case...did she really abandon him? Just thinking that crushed his heart. He tried to mentally dismiss it again. 'No! Rukia would never do that! I know she would never do that!' he screamed in his mind
"Still having trouble of believing in your friends betrayal. Well then, kid. What if I were to tell you about the true purpose of that badge your holding tightly in your hand?" Ginjo spoke again, making Ichigo look towards him.
"It's true...purpose?" Ichigo asked out loud.
"That's right. Those from the Soul Society higher ups knew what its real function was the entire time you've had it with you. But none of them had any real reason to tell you, despite what you did for them. You probably already knew it was useless while you had your Soul Reaper powers." Ginjo chuckled a bit. "The whole reason for having that Combat Pass, or I guess you can call it a leash...was to control and monitor you, Ichigo."
Hearing this made Ichigo's mind race backwards. Remembering how some of the low-ranking Soul Reapers like Imoyama laughed at him when he claimed his authority with his badge.
Ginjo grinned, "You've never asked those questions about the badge before because it didn't matter at the time, right? That piece of wood is sort of like a walkie talkie in a way. But it's meant to control your spiritual pressure and they would analyze it back in their research facility. In case if you were to go against them, they would kill you without a second thought. Regardless if you saved them from Aizen. You were nothing but a tool for them to use and discard when you had no more use for them. Why else do you think they never came back to this town to visit you and your friends?" his smirk grew. "Because you are not worth their time anymore! They would rather fight hollows then dealing with you, Ichigo."
Ichigo was breathing heavily while his body was shivering. Not from just the rain, but also listening to this made him sick to his stomach. While falling back on his knees from realization his grip on the badge dropped, making the small object fall out of his hand with a small clunk on the ground.
Tsukishima walked back to Ginjo's side when he saw the look on the young teens distraught face. "Such a shame. I was expecting another refusal from you," He sighed. "But your mature enough to see the truth."
"Well that's good. It would have been a bother to waste more time with this kid." Ginjo turns to his Xcution group. "Everyone, time to head out!"
Jackie walked towards her boss. "What about our deal of having his powers too, Ginjo? Don't tell me you were having too much fun with this brat's misery that it made you forget?"
Ginjo was too good in the mood to deal with her. "I was going to wait after we left town. But fine, here's your reward for getting his power to rise for us, Jackie."
The ex-substitute didn't hear any more of their conversation as the rain fell harder. His sight was getting blurry while still breathing hard. He caught sight of bright lights of his line of vision, but he didn't care anymore. He felt like he lost everything. His newfound powers, his sisters, his friends, the people he thought were looking out for him! The young orange-haired teen couldn't take it anymore and started hyperventilating with tears of sorrow and anguish.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" he yelled in sadness towards the stormy sky and he blacked out.
Back to the present...
Ichigo still glaring at the window remembering all that and what happened afterwards. After he woke up in his bed in his room, he felt like he wasn't in pain anymore from his injuries, which was strange? What was even stranger was on his study desk. He found his Combat Pass broken in two. He didn't understand why he was even here until his dad came in to talk with him. Long story short, after his father confirmed the truth of the badge it ended up with Ichigo cursing him and claiming he was never going to trust him or the Shinigami's again! That went for Kisuke and everyone else who knew the Fullbringers presence in town and didn't do a damn thing about them.
His so-called Shinigami companions he helped and saved nearly two years ago turned their backs on him. If he were to ever see them again, he wouldn't except their excuses either. Especially with what he and the others been through.
After that night, everyone that was under Tsukishima's spell were back to normal...but not the same.
Even though the spell was broken from everyone, they could still remember what happened and they were very upset afterwards. Not at Ichigo like they were before, but at themselves for how they acted towards him.
Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro couldn't believe themselves for not trusting Ichigo and calling him out for a complete stranger. They would sit next to him for company, but they couldn't talk to Ichigo during the first week. They didn't trust themselves enough to speak to him without saying something that might bring back those horrible memories that happened in his house.
Yuzu and Karin were just as bad. They locked themselves in their room and only came out to eat for a whole week. Their school was told that they were sick and couldn't come to class during that time. They might have stayed in their room longer if their big brother hadn't calmed them down. Ichigo succeeded in bringing them out of the house and back to school, but they were still very hurt inside. Not physically of course, but emotionally for how they were used against their brother by a madman. They shared Ichigo's hate for their father and Kisuke for not doing anything at all while that event happened. It would still be awhile before they were in good spirits again...at least that's what Ichigo was hoping for...
Chad and Orihime were another matter. They worked extremely hard to fight and protect Ichigo from Tsukishima, only for them to fight for the man and against Ichigo. They remembered all of it. Orihime was keeping a long distance from Ichigo, which was not very helpful. Chad fell into a coma of feeling so much guilt for hurting his best friend. Right now he's in the Ishida Hospital being treated. Ichigo goes to visit him often, but his best friend has yet to awaken.
'I am done with Soul Reapers. They've used me for the last time. I'm never going to get involved with them, or they're bullshit ever again! Hell, even in the next life I'm finished with them.' Ichigo thinks angerly while still glaring at the window.
While Ichigo was having those thoughts and flashbacks. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro were sitting on the other side of the classroom with very worried expressions.
Tatsuki seeing him glaring hard at the window with a mixture of anger and sadness was hurting to watch. She wanted to go over to his desk and try to not only comfort him but to also make him snap out of it but couldn't and she hated that. What could she possibly say to her oldest friend to make him feel better?! She's his oldest friend damnit!
Thinking back to what happened that night a month ago was painful. What she said and yelled at him about things she shouldn't have while defending a lunatic. Under a spell or not it was no excuse. She was in control of her own actions and did things she deeply regretted to her oldest friend. After being filled in of what happened, she couldn't help but blame not only herself, but to others who might have known about the Fullbringer's from the start in Karakura town. Like the creepy shopkeeper and Ichigo's father. Where the hell were they during all of that, playing cards?!
Then one came to mind that really made her upset...Rukia.
The person Tatsuki thought she could call a real friend despite knowing her for only a few months. She really felt a strong friendship with the petite Shinigami. Even though Tatsuki doesn't truly understand a Soul Reapers responsibilities but only the gist of it. She can understand of having duties is one thing, but even after what happened...where the hell was she?!
'Some friend you are, Rukia. Your the real reason why Ichigo's suffering inside.' Tatsuki thought bitterly.
She noticed ever since Rukia came into everyone's lives, especially Ichigo nearly 2 years ago. She made a big impact on his life and Tatsuki was very grateful for that. Not just because of the powers Rukia gave him from what Ichigo told her, but by being there for him. Tatsuki remembered seeing him expressing himself more than usual and actually seemed happier whenever he was with Rukia, even if the stubborn scowler tried to hide it.
She even recalled how Rukia freaked when one of the girls in her class asked if she liked Ichigo. It was hilarious back then. Even if Tatsuki knew Orihime liked Ichigo too, it was still nice to see the small raven-haired Shinigami get her old orange-haired friend to open up more.
Then Tatsuki's thoughts went back to the dark. Despite the short time she's been in town, the petite Soul Reaper was like a sister to her, It really felt like Rukia did abandon everyone in Karakura. It really hurt Tatsuki and the others thinking of that.
Speaking of hurt, she noticed Orihime was keeping a distance from Ichigo and would not saying anything to him. It's been like that the whole month and Tatsuki is getting sick of it. When she confronted Orihime about it, the orange healer walked out saying she couldn't.
Tatsuki put a hand on her forehead in frustration. 'Orihime, what the hell are you doing? Can't you already tell Ichigo is still hurting and you're not helping at all?!'
Sitting next to Tatsuki was Mizuiro. He could easily feel Ichigo's and Tausuki's rage and sadness being so close to them. He felt hurt too from being abandoned by those he thought had their backs after the butterfly man attack. He was still upset sure, but not as greatly like his other friends. Ichigo and Tatsuki were easy to read given how too much alike they are.
Mizuiro sighs. If they weren't problems that were part of the supernatural, then he would have done whatever it took to help his friends feel better. He didn't stop trying to figure out ways to help the few friends he has in school. Mizurio might have to get Keigo and Tatsuki together to come up with a plan.
Speaking of Keigo, he was in a similar state as Mizuiro trying to think of ideas to help Ichigo. 'Aw man, this sucks! My life stories aren't lighting the moods anymore. There's got to be something exciting I can lift Ichigo's spirit with. But what?' Keigo thought. He considers himself to be the positive guy and thrill seeker in school. Though even he has limits. Like how Ikkaku dragged him into a Kendo tournament just to be the fall guy. "Yeah, wonderful memories with that bald psycho." He muttered sarcastically.
Keigo looked back to Ichigo who was still glaring at the window. Seeing him now really didn't set right for the party animal teen. 'Hang on there Ichigo. I don't know right this second, but like hell I'm letting my pal stay like that any longer!' he thought determinedly with resolved eyes.
After class and during lunch hour, Mizuiro asked Keigo and Tatsuki to meet up on the roof. The said three were on the school roof with their lunches and asked what Mizuiro wanted.
Mizuiro started. "Guys, we need to do something now or Ichigo might be too far gone to help." he said with concern.
Tatsuki glared at him, "Don't you think I haven't already tried! A few days ago, I had to force him to listen. But when he looked me in the eye, I saw that same look from that night at his house when we were brainwashed. He was afraid I would say something that will kill him. It's pretty damn obvious he's still suffering that hellish night."
Keigo nodded. "Yeah, He doesn't sit with us, hardly talks to us, he won't even put me in a headlock like he used to when I charge at him in the halls for the past weeks."
"So, you admit you do that on purpose more often lately to make Ichigo feel better. I was starting to think that you liked getting slammed to the ground like a mad masochist or something?" Mizuiro said calmly with a grin while opening his lunchbox.
Keigo shot a glare at his pal. "Yo! That's not funny!"
"Actually...I've been having the same thought too." Tatsuki agreed with Mizuiro while digging into her lunchbox.
"Tatsuki!" Kiego cried in anime tears while taking out his own box out and scarfed it down.
After the three finished eating they continued where they left off. "But seriously guys. We need to come up with some ideas to make Ichigo get over this. The longer we take, the worse he'll be." The young woman sighs. "Anything?"
The three thought hard. Mizurio was thinking of introducing Ichigo to lots of his beach girlfriends he made on vacation, but decided no since Ichigo's not exactly looking for girl interest's after what happened with Rukia's absence and Orihime's poor choice of action. Tatsuki was debating on taking Ichigo to an arcade or seeing a boxing match, despite if she has to force to snap him out of it again.
Keigo was surprisingly thinking the hardest out of the three. He was picturing of all the cool places in Karakura he and the others could take Ichigo to. Someplace Ichigo's never seen yet or least expects it. Then a massive brainstorm lighting bolted his brain with massive results. That was it! Something his scowling buddy would never expect!
"THAT'S IT!" Keigo cheered out of nowhere, causing Mizuiro and Tatsuki to jump in surprise.
"What the hell Keigo?!" Tatsuki yelled out while regaining her baring's. "What's it?"
Keigo was jumping around like a kid that had too much sugar. "It's perfect, it's perfect, it's perfect!"
"Will you tell us this 'perfect' idea, Keigo?" Mizuro asked. He hardly see's Keigo this excited in a while before the night incident. It made him want to know what his friend had in mind.
"I'll show you my incredible idea at my locker after school. Trust me guys. This one is one of the best idea's I've ever had in my cool young life." the scrawny teen says with fire in his eyes. Seeing this made Tatsuki and Mizuiro even more curious as to what Keigo had planned.
After School...
The final bell rang, signaling school was over for the day. The small gang of three gathered at Keigo's locker to see what this big plan was going to snap their orange-haired friend's raging depression.
"Alright, Keigo. Let's see it." Mizuiro said in excitement.
Tatsuki was excited too. But she didn't want to expectations too high if this big plan was legit or not. But she was still hoping it was.
Grinning while digging into his backpack he got from his locker, Keigo pulled out a poster and showed it to Tatsuki and Mizuiro. Judging from their shocked faces, Keigo was proud of himself that seeing them like that said it all.
Tastuki felt like her breath was taking away. Seeing what was on the poster made perfect sense, it really was great idea! "Kiego, I'd never thought in a million years that I would say this, but your a pure genius. This can actually work!" she says with a big smile.
"Gotta hand it to you Keigo," Mizuiro nods at his pal while patting his back with a big smile of his own. "You really came through. All we need to do now is show Ichigo this and dive him in. But which one of us?"
Both boys instantly looked towards Tatsuki. Getting the message from them, she voiced her opinion. "Um, I'm not sure I would be right?" she says while rubbing the back of her head in shame.
"Why not? You know him better than the two of us. What's the problem?" Keigo asked.
The raven-haired girl was nervous to replay, but told them anyway, "The problem is...well. Remember when I freaked out in school when I couldn't find Orihime nearly a couple years ago?" Both boys nodded as she continued. "And when I kind of punched him in rage and it caused his head to break through the glass window..."
Keigo and Mizuiro cringed clearly recalling that event.
Tatsuki still felt a bit guilty doing that and sighed. "That's why having a heart to heart conversation with him would not be a good idea. Plus, I'm not a tech wiz like you two. So, you guys would have a better time getting Ichigo interested in it."
Mizuiro put a hand on his chin in thought, "I could talk to him, but we only have small conversations and don't talk much outside of school." Then he turns to Keigo. "What about you, Keigo?"
"Um, well...um. Me and Ichigo don't talk much outside of school either..." Keigo says while staring to the side.
"Come on Keigo. You're on a good roll today so far. Try and extend it." Mizuiro says while giving him a thumbs up.
However, Keigo didn't buy that innocent pose his buddy gave him. "So that I can be on the receiving end of one of Ichigo's smack down moves if it goes south...try again." he replies while crossing his arms.
"Keigo," Tatsuki says getting his attention. "Do it for Ichigo, please." she says sincerely.
Hearing the toughest girl in school or in Japan say the "P" word to a guy like him made Keigo go wide-eyed. Then realization hit him. She was Ichigo's oldest friend. So, hearing how far she was asking him to do it made him feel like an asshole. Here he was, worried about getting hurt while the very person they were trying to help made him feel worse.
After a moment of silence, Keigo nodded with a straight face and headed out to find Ichigo. Leaving Tatsuki and Mizuiro hoping that he can do it.
Shortly later...
Karakura Bridge
It didn't take long for Keigo to find Ichigo at the bridge. He noticed his old pal was coming here often for the past month, which was depressing.
"Hey, Ichigo!" Keigo waved and grabbed Ichigo's attention.
The scowling teen looked towards him, then just looked back to the river.
Keigo almost dropped at that. "Come on Ichigo!" He ran down the small hill and stood behind Ichigo. "We're chums, buddies, pals! Why do you always have to be so cold, huh?" he whined.
Despite the fuss the shaggy brown-haired teen was making, Ichigo still didn't look back towards Keigo.
Having enough of this, Keigo grabbed his shoulder and made Ichigo look at him. "Stop tuning me out, Ichigo!"
This time Ichigo did respond and knocked Keigo's hand off him. "Would you get the damn picture already, Keigo! I want to be alone!"
"That's what you've been doing this whole month dude!" Keigo yelled back. "All you do anymore is just come to class and leave without talking to any of us. Can't you see everybody's worried about you?!" Keigo yelled back.
Ichigo grabbed Keigo's shirt to make him look closer at his angry scowl. "Of course I do you dumbass! You know extremely well why. Every time, every time I see you guys, it brings back those fucking memories of how that bastard Tsukishima used everyone against me!"
"It was never your fault, Ichigo! Those Fullringer guys were going to use us no matter what happened anyway. Why do you keep blaming yourself despite us telling otherwise?" Keigo asked despite his shirt was still in Ichigo's grip.
"Because I was an idiot, that's why." Ichigo lets Keigo go and grabs something from his pocket and showed it to him. It was his Combat Pass, but it's been split in two, "Because of this stupid thing, not only did I find out that the Soul Society was not only spying one me this whole time, but they didn't bother to help us!" Ichigo takes a deep breath to calm down and pocketed his broken badge. "I'm was a real idiot for not wondering more about the pass. I could have asked Rukia or Kisuke about it, but I didn't when I realized it was a piece of junk when I showed it to the other Soul Reapers." Then he was beginning to look angry again. "But I guess they all knew that I was just some pawn they could use whenever they wanted."
"That doesn't seem like something Rukia would do though, Ichigo. I mean, remind me again what exactly makes you think Rukia betrayed us?" Keigo asked.
"Like I told you and the others, I heard from the combat pass without a doubt was Rukia's voice while I was training my Fullbring. I didn't understand how that was even possible. But if that bastard Ginjo was actually telling the truth, Keigo. Then it would make sense she already knew about the badge from that start. It was her own captain who gave me the damn thing, so of course she knew what it really was."
Kiego nodded as Ichigo continued.
"The last thing I wanted to do a month ago was believe that bastard Ginjo words. But after rethinking over some things and add the fact that no Soul Reaper from the Soul Society even bothered to show up afterwards, only proved it was all true." he concluded with hints of anger and sadness in his voice.
Keigo knows Ichigo was trying to keep his usual scowling face straight, but his friends voice showed otherwise. In his gut, Keigo didn't want to believe Rukia really betrayed them. He might have thought Ichigo deep down he might have felt the same too. But it was crushing how nobody came from the afterlife to rescue them, or at the very least showed up afterwards. Like Ichigo said, since she never came back after what happened, it just made what he was told true.
Keigo decided now was the time to talk again. "Ichigo, I know you obviously still blame yourself from that. But that's not something you should be held responsible for." Ichigo looked back towards him. "I mean, come on dude! Here you are blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault at all. If anything, it was the Soul Reapers and the Fullringer guys who put you through that."
'Fullbringers.' Ichigo mentally corrected.
"It really pisses me off how you not only saved Karakura from that butterfly monster guy, Ichigo, but those guys too!" Ichigo was taken by surprise by Keigo's anger. He's never seen him like this before. Keigo continued "How do they repay you dude? By leaving us to those wacko's. That includes the creepy shopkeeper too. They had lots of chances of helping us before it got worse, but they didn't. So, Ichigo. Why are you still hurting yourself?"
Ichigo didn't answer right away. After hearing Keigo's words, he was feeling like an idiot. Of course his other friends were trying to tell him the same as well, but he was too caught up in his own pain and reliving those horrid memories to really hear them. 'He's right. I've been blaming myself for something that wasn't my fault. What the hell am I doing?' he thought to himself.
Seeing his friend's expression of coming up with a response Keigo sighed. "Ichigo. Sorry about this, dude."
Before Ichigo could respond, Keigo suddenly punched him in the jaw. Knocking him back a few steps. Ichigo was staring wide eyes at Keigo while rubbing his sore check in bewilderment. 'Did Keigo really just punch me?'
Keigo was huffing from the punch and his fist stung a bit. It was totally worth it to make Ichigo wake up. "You...see that...Ichigo?" he breathed out.
"More like felt it, Keigo." Ichigo grumbled.
"Good, because you've been totally out of it and needed a wake up, buddy. If I guy like me can caught you by surprise, you definitely need something to get you back to your old self again."
Despite the punch, Ichigo was surprisingly grateful for it. He's spent too long feeling angry at himself and being betrayed by the SS. Don't get him wrong. He still felt anger for the SS, but he was now done being mad at himself now. Then he caught onto something Keigo just said.
"You sounded like you might help with that on that last part?"
Keigo grinned and pulled something out of his school bag. It was the same poster he showed to Tatsuki and Mizuiro. "Ta Da!"
Looking at the poster, Ichigo wasn't sure what to make of it. It didn't look like much. The poster was all black with golden writing called "Yggdrasil" at the center.
"Um? What the hell is Yggdrasil?" Ichigo wondered aloud.
"This here Ichigo, is one hell of an awesome game. It's an online game that's really popular in Japan." Keigo explained while still holding the poster in front of Ichigo.
"And you think this game can help me?"
"Damn right, Ichigo! Yggdrasil is really fun to play online with multiple players. I know you're not a big gamer, but this is something you'll really get into." says the brown-haired teen while putting the Yggdrasil poster away.
Ichigo was still unsure about this. Like, how can an online video game possibly make him feel better? Then he heard Keigo speak again.
"I can hook you up to the game, Ichigo. Meet me at my apartment in a couple days and I can patch you up. Whadda say, Ichigo?"
Putting a hand on his own chin, Ichigo was in thought. 'I'm still not sure how a game will help me, but I guess I can give it a shot.'
Ichigo nodded.
"Awesome dude!" Keigo jumped in victory. "I'll go ahead and get things setup for you." he runs down the sidewalk in a hurry. "See yah in a few days, Ichigo!"
And he was gone, leaving Ichigo by himself. "What did I just get into?"
Two days later...
Keigo's apartment
It was during the weekend in the middle of the day and Ichigo was standing in front of the door of Keigo's home. Thinking about the last time he was here, he kind of dropped Ikkaku and Yumichika off on Keigos lap. 'Guess I did leave the poor guy in a tough spot with those guys?' There really wasn't much he could do back then because he was tired of the other Soul Reapers thinking they could just crash at his house without his permission whenever they wanted. Just thinking about it pissed him off, but quickly shook his head of those thought's. He didn't want to dwell on it like he had been for the past few weeks. That's the main reason he's here, to help get over his deep anger he has for the Shinigami's and their betrayal.
Taking a deep breath, Ichigo decided that just standing in front of the door wasn't going anywhere. He raised his hand and knocked on it.
(knock, Knock, knock.)
"Hang on!" came a voice on the other side of the door. "Give me a second!" The door opened and Ichigo was surprised it was Keigo's sister who answered the door. "Oh, so your my dumb brothers friend? Ichigo, right?" she asked.
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I don't think we actually meet before? Other than Keigo mentioning about you a few times at school."
Keigo's sister snorted. "Of course that wimpy brother of mine is too scared to talk about me much." Then she gave Ichigo a straight look. "Nothing bad I hope?"
"Nah. Just a few mentions of how you two live together and something about a kendo tournament."
Then something Ichigo didn't expect happened. For some reason Keigo's sister had a dreamy look on her face that almost made Ichigo take a step back, which he sorta did. "Yeah, that tournament was really cool. He looked so awesome in that outfit!" Then she snapped out of her daydreaming and pointed her thumb at herself. "Anyway. My name is Mizuho Asano. So, what brings you here?"
Not sure what just happened, Ichigo just waved it off. "Keigo invited me here a couple days ago. Did he say anything that I was coming over?"
"News to me. I asked him to go get me a soda awhile ago and-" before Mizuho could finish her sentence a voice suddenly came out of nowhere.
"More like forced me to, again!"
Both Ichigo and Mizuho who peeked out of the door saw Keigo glaring at his sister with two soda's in hand. "I told you yesterday, dang it! Ichigo was coming over today and I was getting things setup for him in the guest room!" Then a sudden thought came to him which made him frown. "Were you tuning me out while watching TV again?"
Mizuho shrugged and went back inside to watch more television.
Seeing his sister just waving him off made him sigh in frustration. "Jeez."
"Rough day?" Ichigo asked.
"Pretty much." Then Keigo shacks his head. "Soda aside. I have everything all set up in the guest room. Follow me my good pal." He leads Ichigo inside the apartment after closing the door on their way in.
Stepping in the guest room, Keigo lead Ichigo in and gets something from the closet. He takes something out and shows it to him. "This is it, Ichigo. The game helmet."
"A game...helmet?" Ichigo thinks outload, never seeing that kind of game equipment before.
Keigo nodded excitedly. "Yeah! This little number here will bring you into the world of Yggdrasil." gesturing to the helmet. "Like I said a few days ago. Yggdrasil is the most popular virtual online game in Japan. It has so many places to explore and lots items to find and craft." he says while having a grin, really pumped to have Ichigo play the game. He hands the helmet to Ichigo. "The game came out a long time ago, and I'll admit I didn't think much of it at first. But then my sister roped me into it and that's how I started liking the game."
Ichigo still wasn't sure about this 'Yggdrasil' game. Remembering the cover he saw from Keigo a few days ago didn't look very interesting. "So...can you tell me again what exactly is this game all about. It's a fantasy game obviously, but what's the objective and goal of it?"
"Hmm. Well in some way it's kind of like a super evolved Minecraft kind of game, but with major differences. Since your new to this kind of gaming stuff, I'll try to explain without losing you." Keigo took out the game manual and showed Ichigo a few pages. "You know the word Yggdrasil, right?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, something I think we went over in Norse Mythology in class last year. Something about a large tree that connects nine worlds together?"
"You got it buddy. This game has those nine areas in it. It's a wide and has lots of activates. I can say more, but I'll explain more when were in it. You'll get a better picture of what I mean when you're in it." He guided Ichigo to the guest bed. "First, you're going to have to lay on the bed while you're doing this. When your logged in through the game helmet, your mind will be sent into the game network. When you see the icon of Yggdrasil on your screen you tap it and enter the game. I already patched you up an account, so your already good to go. You will get to choose what race you want and your own character design. It can be Human, Inhuman, or whatever you want."
While Keigo was excitedly explaining the details Ichigo noticed how really pumped up his friend was. Ever since what happened with the Fullbringer bastards he hasn't seen one of his friends this happy in awhile, which was great to see. Seeing this made him crack a small smile and decided to see what this game had to offer. 'Guess this game might be worth a try? I'm not much of gamer, but what the hell. Not the first time I've been into another world.'
"Alright. But you got a clue where I might end up at when I log in? You said the virtual world was a pretty big place, right?"
Keigo put a hand on his chin in thought. "You will most likely end up at an area around Midgard. That's the center realm of Yggdrasil where new players come in. I'll meet you there." he puts the game manual down on a small desk and walks to the door. "I'll go ahead and log in to meet up with you. See yah on the other side, Ichigo." he waves and heads towards his room.
"Got it. But if it's like that anime where I get trapped in this damn game, I'm blaming you!" He raises his voice so Keigo would hear him, he was received with a laugh.
"Didn't peg you for a sense a humor, Ichigo!" Keigo continued to laugh down the hall.
Ichigo was left sitting on the guest bed staring at the helmet in his hands. "Well, let's see what my friends want to show me." He puts the helmet on and lays down on the bed. Turning it on, he closed his eyes and felt his mind and body starting to relax. It was almost a similar sensation to when he was pulled into his inner world or like when he swallow's a soul candy.
When Ichigo opened his eyes, he found himself floating in a empty white room. "What the hell? Is this the virtual world?" he looks around and doesn't see much. Then he noticed the Yggdrasil icon Keigo mentioned. "He said to tap it, I think?" he told himself and pressed it. Then suddenly the white room darkened. Before Ichigo could wonder what else was going on, a menu popped up with a keyboard and screen.
[Welcome to Yggdrasil]
Ichigo looked at the screen with a scowl. "Okay...guess I'm adding this to my list of weird experience's that's happened to me in my high-school life?" he mumbled as he hit the processed button on the menu. The screen asked him to choose his race. And it seriously had a massive list! "What the bloody hell is this?! Dwarves, Goblins, Trolls, Elves, Insects, Vampires, Lycanthropes, Demons, and Angels. Damn, how many races can there be in this crazy game?"
For the past twenty minutes he's been scrolling through the race menu...and he couldn't pick a single damn one! Ichigo was scratching his head in frustration. "Seriously! What the hell kind of race is a Lycanthrope? Better yet, what the heck is a Lizardman? For crying out loud, how hard is it to pick?!"
Then a certain race on the list caught Ichigo's eye. "A ghost? There's seriously a ghost race on the list in this game?" Ichigo thought about going with this one. He shrugged and clicked on it.
[Are you sure you want this race?]
Ichigo not hesitating hit the confirm button, not wanting to go over that ridiculously long list again. The screen took him to his avatar design. It was pretty much him wanting to select an appearance for his avatar character, which included coloring. "Great. It took me forever to pick my race and now it's going to take me more time figuring out what to make my guy look like." He says while looking at the blank ghost avatar.
He never really cared about outward appearances before, but he wanted this avatar to look good. Something solid and fierce he can use. While thinking hard on ideas, an image from his memories popped into his head. "No, way." he said in disbelief. "I never thought I would think of that. But it can work I guess." Being direct with his choice, he made his avatar into exactly what he wanted. The appearance he chose made him laugh a bit. One time he said it looked ridiculous, but it was the opposite to Ichigo. He secretly thought it was really cool, but never admitted it out loud. After finishing his character design, he was given the same response if he was sure this is what he wanted. Pushing the continue button again, he saw the last step he needed to do, to create his avatar name. Ichigo closed his eyes in thought. What name can he give himself?
He recalled some things during his Soul Reaper days. How he always swung his sword and all the clashes he's done in the past. He my not want anything to do with Soul Reapers anymore, but doesn't mean he's forgotten the few fun times he's had when he was one himself. Opening his eyes, Ichigo typed up the name to give himself.
[Avatar name: Soul Blade]
Once again, he hit the continue button for the final time. After the click, everything started to swirl...like a tornado?!
"Ahhhhhh!" Ichigo yelled out while he and his avatar body were being warped somewhere. "Keigo! What kind of a game did you drag me into?!" then he noticed his body glowing and also saw his avatar glowing too. Ichigo was suddenly seeing dark and felt like he landed on something.
When he started seeing light, Ichigo found himself laying on the ground and looking at a nice sky...wait, what? Ichigo in a split second got up on his feet and looked around. Obviously, he wasn't in the guest room anymore. Looking around, he was really amazed by what he was seeing. He was standing next to a never-ending ocean and was captivated by the breathtaking sight.
"Is this...Yggdrasil?" Ichigo wondered.
"Damn right it is! And wow Ichigo, your character looks badass!"
Ichigo turned wide-eyed and saw something completely random. He saw in front of him some kind of humanoid birdman with four large wings with long black hair, while wearing golden armor pieces around his form, which includes a golden mask and his clawed gauntlets. But he knew that voice anywhere. "Keigo?"
Keigo wagged his clawed finger, "Ichigo, here in Yggdrasil, I'm not Keigo. I go by the name, Peroroncino!"
To be continued...
A.N.: So, what do you guys think? Surprised that Peroroncino is Keigo's Avatar body in this story? More surprises are coming next chapter.
If some are wondering about what happened to the Fullbringers? It will be explained among other things in the next chapter.
I also wanted to thank Whackybiscuit, Vertius, and ImGoingSSJ for the advice and encouraging me during my writing of the chapter.
Catch you guys next time!