#IMPOTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 1 : I THINK MANY OF YOU HAVE NOTICED THAT I CHANGED THE RATING FROM T to M. THE REASON IS THAT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN SOME GORE AND WHEN THE STORY CATCHES UP WITH DXD, AKENO AND ISSEI WILL AUTOMATICALLY RAISE THE RATING. TELL ME IF I AM BEING OVERLY CAUTIOUS.
#IMPOTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 2 : I AM OPEN TO ALL THE IDEAS FROM MY DEAR READERS IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS YOU WOULD LIKE IMPLEMENTED IN TO THE STORY FEEL FREE TO REVIEW OR PM ME.
#IMPOTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 3 : MY COLLEGE IS RE-OPENING FROM 17TH SO I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE WEEKLY UPDATE.
Chapter 9:
Ichigo stirred as he opened his eyes. He was in his bedroom or what was left of it. Everything was a mess, many familiar and unfamiliar things were splattered on the floor broken. As he took in the surrounding he noticed his sisters, his dad, and a stranger looking at him wide-eyed.
Before he could say anything two blurs slammed into him. Hard.
"Nii-san!"
"Nii-san!"
Yuzu and Karin hugged him tightly as they bawled their eyes out. Ichigo's heart ached to see his precious sisters crying. He bitterly smiled as he patted their heads.
"Here. Here. I am fine now, aren't I?" Ichigo asked trying to soothe them and it worked as their crying stopped but they didn't stop hugging him.
"Are you really okay, Ichigo?"
His dad, Isshin asked in a concerned tone
"Yeah I am okay" He tried to assure him but he clearly wasn't believing him. Intending to change the topic Ichigo asked " Who's this, by the way?" pointing at the stranger with his eyes.
The man had been eyeing him ever since he woke up with curiosity, interest, and many emotions of similar nature. This crept Ichigo a little.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Azazel, Governor-General of the Grigori" The man, Azazel introduced himself.
'Governor-General, huh..he must be the leader of this Grigori. Anyway'
"Azazel.." Ichigo repeated the name on his tongue as he frowned " I think I have heard that name before"
"That's natural. My name is written in the Bible after all" Azazel calmly replied
Ichigo noticed how he said his name is written in Bible not being named after Azazel of Bible. No Human could live that long. Not to mention Ichigo could feel Danger oozing out of this Person even though he had perfectly concealed it. Ichigo's new senses were sharper than ever.
"Are you an Angel?" Ichigo asked narrowing his eyes. That was the only option as his energy seemed very similar to Ichigo's Angel powers and before the man could reply he was cut off by Isshin.
"Ichigo you know about Angels?!" Isshin asked his eyes wide in shock. Yuzu and Karin also stared at him and Azazel wide-eyed. While Azazel regarded him with the same calculating gaze as Urahara.
"Explaining everything is gonna be so troublesome" Ichigo muttered as he took some steps back making some room between him and his sisters "It's better to show rather than tell"
Ichigo usually wouldn't have introduced his sisters to the supernatural if he could help it but seeing the state of room it was obvious that they were already somewhat aware of it and only other choice was to make them forget everything and he definitely wasn't gonna have anyone mess with his sister's mind.
Taking a deep breath Ichigo released his new/true form.
*Flap*
Three sets of beautiful Blood Red Wings appeared behind Ichigo's back.
Then from the left side of his head a long, white, curved horn, which Ichigo dubbed Horn of Salvation appeared, and then tribal markings appeared on his chest and arms.
And Instead of Oni(Kishin) horns or Angel Halo, a Crown the same color as his wings appeared, floating above his head.
As far as Ichigo knew this should have been the end but then he felt a prickling sensation between his eyes and then his eyesight became a 100X better.
Looking at a shiny piece of metal Ichigo noticed that he now had a Third Eye as well. The Eye, itself was vertical and looked a lot like White's eyes.
'Molten gold Pupil in a Pitch Black Void'
'Where did this come from? Did Soul King's eye give me this? or...' Ichigo wondered as he looked around. Everyone except Azazel had their eyes and jaws wide open, if you wanted you could probably fit a baby elephant in there. Even Azazel appeared stunned. Meanwhile, Yuzu had stars in her eyes for some reason.
Adding the fact that his orange hair now reached the floor and his tattered clothes gave the impression of a cape. He certainly DID look like a power-up for some anime protagonist.
As Ichigo opened his mouth to say something someone interrupted him.
"Growwlll"
It was his stomach. Well, he hadn't eaten anything in a while, and becoming a God was a tiring process.
*Giggle* Everyone in the room started giggling at the expense of our newborn God.
"Nii-san would you like some Strawberries (Ichigo)?" Karin asked with a smirk, making everyone laugh even louder.
"Why you..."Ichigo got a frown on his forehead as he (playfully) glowered at his sister
"I will go make Dinner " Yuzu said as she walked away with a smile on her face. Her shoulders were far more relaxed than earlier.
'No matter what happens, Nii-san is still Nii-san'
"Well, we can discuss everything after dinner, right Azazel?" Isshin asked, "You are staying too, you just NEED to see how good of a cook Karin is."
"Ohh?" Azazel raised one of his eyebrows" If you say so. I also need to create the bill for all my damaged equipment as well" He said pointing towards the junk metal on the floor.
"Ahh! Can you please give me a discount? In the name of our friendship. Please." Isshin begged Azazel
"Nii-san, you need to get changed too. And Go take a bath as well. Your 'clothes' are barely covering your privates" Karin reminded Ichigo though the last part contained both Sarcasm and Embarrassment.
It was now Ichigo's turn to get embarrassed as he turned beet red. Karin was right. His clothes had been reduced to 'Underwear' and 'Cape' state after all.
With that done Karin left to help Yuzu. Isshin and Azazel also left with later flashing Ichigo a smirk before leaving the room.
Ichigo was now left alone in his bedroom in his 'Superhero' state. If someone were to see the current Ichigo, they would definitely think he was some cosplayer.
As Ichigo stood there awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Sound of Snickering reverberated in Ichigo's mind. Ichigo's mind froze for a second.
'This-'
-Hehehe, King-y tried to act cool and all but it all came crashing down (White)
A voice Ichigo worked so hard to hear again. But. But why did he have to annoy him immediately after waking.
"Shut up! I was just hungry!" Ichigo hotly said
-Yeah~ and what a way to make it known
"So what! It was instinctive and since you are my instincts, it means your stomach growled as well" Ichigo replied with a smirk on his face
-Anyway Ichigo, this distraction gives us enough time to think about what to say and what not to
Ossan's provided some wise words
-True! King, we were asleep till now so we don't know much but WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!
White's voice was solemn at first but then devolved into yelling. Well, it was understandable.
-Yes, Ichigo. As much as I would like him to tone down a little, I share the same sentiments Ossan added
Ichigo sighed in frustration as he rubbed his forehead. It was going to be a long night.
"Ichigo! Bath is ready!" Karin's yelled from downstairs.
"OK!" Ichigo yelled back as he started searching for some usable clothes and undergarments.
"You two. Just see for yourself." Ichigo replied as his memory of everything that had transpired replayed itself in his Inner World.
-Woah! Since when could you do that? White asked shocked.
Being a Zanpakuto spirit didn't mean that one had access to the Wielder's memories. From the time they were born they only had the basic knowledge of themselves and their Identity and nothing else. They were their own person in that regard.
"A new power. Just watch it and you will understand" Ichigo replied as he took a towel and other garments and headed towards the bath.
He needed to cool his head as well. Too many things had transpired in a short amount of time. He needed to sort it all out. A new world. A past life. New powers. Old powers. A curse was placed on his mother. Godhood and TRIAL.
He remembered what the mysterious being had said about the TRIAL before leaving.
"Ohhh! Before I forget, be ready for the TRIAL?"
"A Trial?"
"Yes, a test if you may. Right now you have achieved Godhood and have the domain of Souls and Moon. But your body and soul haven't completely synchronized with the domains yet. Hmmm... Roughly after 3 months, you will face a test by the world itself to see how compatible you are with your domain. If you are capable enough you may one day enter Top 10 as well"
This was the last piece of advice by the voice as Ichigo's consciousness was returning to his body.
Even after waking up, Ichigo tried calling out to the voice but there was no response.
'It seems they left' Ichigo mused
As he took the stair down, he almost fell down but managed to stabilize himself. The culprit? It was his long hair getting stuck in his legs.
Ichigo groaned as he held a bunch of hair in his hands.
"I need to get a haircut as well"
In an Underground Base
There was a flash of light as CaoCao appeared, however, his complexion was very bad and his eyes were bloodshot and he stumbled as he moved.
"Leader!"
There was a commotion as two people rushed to CaoCao supporting his body.
"What happened?" The girl wearing a school uniform asked concern visible in her voice
"Were you ambushed? But still-"The well built young man trailed off as he stared seriously at CaoCao
CaoCao waved his hand signaling them not to worry as he sat down on a sofa.
"It's all my fault" CaoCao softly sighed "Unknowingly, I became too reliant on my sacred gear and it cost me"
"Ah!" The young girl gasped but then frowned " What's that supposed to mean? You aren't the type to underestimate your opponent too much"
The man beside her nodded in agreement but CaoCao shook his head.
" .The prey this time was indeed stronger than expected but that's not the reason for... My current state"
"Then?" Heracles asked curiously
"The reason for my Injuries is my sacred gear, True Longinus"
Once again the duo gasped and then another voice joined in the conversation, it was another young man this one wearing glasses.
"How did that happen?"
CaoCao bitterly smiled at his friend Georg's question
"I don't know" CaoCao admitted" As I was about to deal that beast final blow, Longinus started acting strange, It suddenly transmitted Extreme feelings of Joy and Fury."
"Transmitted you feelings!? Does that mean you used-"
"No, I did not need to use Truth Idea, but yeah that was the only other time I felt HIS emotions. Anyway, The two extreme and conflicting emotions caused problems with my Energy circulation resulting in Internal injuries."
"Will you be okay, boss?" Jeanne asked with concern-filled eyes.
"Yeah. I will be fine after a night's rest." CaoCao casually waved away her concerns
"But even though that werewolf managed to get away, I learned an important lesson"
"Oh? What's that?" Heracles asked curiosity sparking in his eyes while the other two nodded similarly curious
Standing up CaoCao declared
"We have become too reliant on Sacred Gears And Weapons. If our enemies find a way to seal our we would only be sitting duck"
"But.. but.. something like that is Impossible" Jeanne blurted out
"There is nothing impossible in this world infested with Gods and Demons"The glasses kid narrowed his eyes as he said so "From some of the surviving records, I know for a fact that my Ancestor Faust, was strong enough to wound even a Top 50 level being".
"He is right. Not to mention the fact that we don't know if what happened to me was just a problem with Longinus or it could happen to others as well."
"Then ?" Georg asked
"I have some Ideas" CaoCao smirked "Enough about me. Did you find anyone useful in Magician Association?"
Jeanne and Heracles also turned towards him. Georg had been acting as a spy in MA trying to find suitable recruits. But it was not going well, they hadn't found anyone suitable enough to join their ranks yet.
"Maybe" Georg gave a noncommittal kind of sound " I found someone but I don't know if he is a half-blood or sacred gear user"
All of their noses immediately wrinkled at the mention of a Half-blood. To them, they were worse than trash for they weren't human or even prey.
"Hmmm" CaoCao hummed " Keep an eye on him. Since even you are not certain then either he is hiding it or has a unique Sacred Gear. We would just have to test it in combat then."
Georg nodded in agreement. He had a similar Idea.
"So, what's his name?" Jeanne asked with excitement in her eyes. Excitement for what? That was difficult to decipher. For a new comrade? For battle? No one knew.
" Hmm... He has a codename Serpent but after some snooping around I found his real name. Sora Inoue."
Kurosaki Household
As Ichigo opened the shower, he couldn't help but notice that his skin looked tanner and glossier than before. And. His hair was f*cking annoying.
"Should I just cut it?" This thought came to his mind many times but he decided against it as he was worried it will make a mess of his now ...silky smooth hair!.
But enough was enough! Ichigo summoned katana slashing at the waist level, removing the excess hair. This size should be enough to be styled into any design he preferred.
Turning off the shower and dismissing the sword Ichigo held the hair and wondered
"What should I do with this?"
-The best action would be to destroy the hair.
Ossan replied his voice coming off strange.
"Zangetsu, is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.
-Nothing's wrong King! We just got a power boost. Hahahaha. Now I will be able to fight you to my heart's content.
White's voice sounded
"Ehh?! What do you mean? Never mind. Ossan, what were you saying about destroying the hair?"
-Oye! Don't Ignore me, you f*cking bastard. I know how much you missed me. Hehehe.
Ichigo decided to ignore White Zangetsu once again especially the last part and shifted the mental concentration to Ossan.
-Now that we know we are in a new world and you became a god. We don't know what limitations or powers you possess. Even something as simple as hair or blood could be used against you.
"Really!?"
-Yeah, although my memories from Yhwach are very fuzzy I remember one incident where a young Yhwach fought against a member of Western Soul Society. The person there...
"Hang On a minute!" Ichigo stopped Zangetsu mid-sentence " Western Soul Society ! How come I don't know about it!?"
-Soul Society just didn't tell you~
White said in a sing-song voice
"They didn't tell me."Ichigo muttered "Of course Why would they tell me. I just saved their asses multiple times." He grumbled.
*Ahem *
Ossan coughed to get Ichigo's attention and stop his grumbling
-As I was saying, the Western Soul Society deals with Dragons. And Instead of Shinigami, they have Witches and Wizards. The wizard was defeated easily but he wanted revenge so using Yhwach's hair he casted a curse on him. Yhwach even had to pay a heavy price just for removing the Curse. That's why I suggested you destroy it rather than let it fall in the wrong hands.
"I see. You are probably right." Ichigo said as he lighted the hair on fire. It was one of the new abilities he had obtained, Pyrokinesis.
And then went back to Bathing.
After bathing, Ichigo exited the bathroom in a new pair of Shirt and Pants.
As he went to the Dining Room, he saw his dad and the stranger... Azazel were chatting about something in a hush manner. Even with his new enhanced hearing Ichigo could not hear their whispers properly but could sense Reiatsu in the air.
'It must be some kind of sound blocking technique' Ichigo thought 'Pretty Useful'.
As he looked at them Azazel seemed to have sensed it and canceled the charm.
"Yo!" Azazel said waving his hand and calling Ichigo
"Hey" Ichigo replied in a dull tone as he went toward them.
"Dinner is ready!" Yuzu's voice sounded.
Moving, the three went to the Dining table.
There Karin and Yuzu were waiting having set everything up.
"Ah!" Looking at Ichigo, Yuzu pouted "Mou! Why did you cut your hair? You were cooler earlier,nii-san."
"Am I not cool anymore?" Tilting his head Ichigo asked
"No." Yuzu shook her head "It's just that earlier you looked like a Super Hero"
"Ahh... C'mon Yuzu don't be such a bro-con" Karin said from her seat making Yuzu blush red in embarrassment.
"I...I am NOT!" Yuzu shot back the best retort she could muster but her face was beet red.
" . Children. Don't Fight." Azazel said intervening making Karin and Yuzu both glare at him. But he just ignored it as he seated himself.
"You didn't answer my question earlier?" Ichigo asked sitting opposite to Azazel as he poured himself some rice.
"Yeah..." Azazel said separating the chopsticks "I am the leader of Fallen Angels, Azazel"
"Fallen Angels like Lucifer?" Karin asked curiously
"No." Azazel hesitated " They became Devils. A different race."
"Oh"
"You know, you are pretty lucky. I have seen some other people go through body reconstruction but most of them lost their hairs but yours grew longer instead" Azazel suddenly remarked as he looked at Ichigo
"Oh?"
"Yeah. So, what did you do with the discarded hair"
"Burned it." Ichigo said as made a small flame appear above his index finger. A brief look of disappointment flashed in Azazel's eye but Ichigo caught it.
'hmmm' it was definitely something to think about.
"And Dad" Ichigo turned towards his father and narrowed his eyes "What are you?"
"What do you mean? Hehehe" Isshin tried to play the fool but it didn't work.
" Cut the crap, Goat-face. I know you and mom are not Humans...at least not fully"
"What!?"Karin and Yuzu exclaimed at the same time, their dad had just told them their mother was a fallen a while ago, but their brain seemed to have pushed that particular information at the back of their mind.
Azazel just raised an eyebrow.
Meanwhile, Isshin was panicking, he had decided to tell them everything earlier but now that Ichigo was fine he wanted to keep everything a secret for a while more. Not wanting his children to be involved in the dangerous world.
" How do you know about that!?" Isshin asked flustered
" I am... a god now." That was the excuse Ichigo had decided to use for things he couldn't explain.
What? If he were to tell others that he talked with his powers people would worry about his sanity instead.
"Eh? This stranger was right?!" Karin asked surprised
Now it was Ichigo's turn to raise a brow, he didn't think this person would know about gods and that Ichigo was becoming one. But considering that he was a former Angel he must have known about other gods.
"I am a researcher and just sensed your divine energy." Azazel casually replied as he ate some rice.
"Why are you acting all cool now?! You were laughing and acting like some mad scientist!" Karin pointed at the Fallen as she said so.
Azazel faltered for a moment but quickly composed himself and continued ignoring her.
"Well, aren't you going to tell us?" Ichigo asked his father. If he thought he could escape from this without telling the truth he was dead wrong. In the past life, Ichigo was in too much pain to bring us the matter with his father but this life was different and he needed to know the past first before he could track down and Kill, his mother's killer.
Isshin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"All right. All right. I will tell you but Azazel will have to fill in some blanks as well." Isshin said as everyone on the table looked toward the Leader of Grigori.
" problem. But." Azazel stopped at but and looked at Ichigo " As I said earlier, I am a researcher. So how about this, I will fill in the gaps of Isshin's story and in return, you will tell me the meaning of the chant which echoed right before you woke up"
Ichigo frowned at the offer and thought for a while before agreeing " Fine." He nodded.
He still wasn't completely sure whether or not to trust this man but he believed that his father won't just casually trust anyone. At least he hoped so.
"So It all began when I ran away from home...
Meanwhile
*Kaching*
Tatsuki jumped back as her crescent moon blade collided with the blue spear.
She didn't know why this bastard was attacking her, was he some kind of monster hunter?
Apparently No, because the bastard was a self-proclaimed hero with a goal of eliminating other races. She called it Bullshit. That man was nothing more than a racist piece of shit.
Ever since witch-burning times, the world had changed a lot. Nowadays, Humans and other races lived in Harmony.
Yes, there were still some bastards who hated and tortured humans but there were entire organizations just to deal with this kind of people.
"Ouch" That bastard managed to pierce her shoulder through her fur and it burned. What kind of weapon even was that?
She was at her limit now, looks like she couldn't keep her promise to Ichigo.
She closed her eyes trying to at least memorize the face of the person who saved her from loneliness. Ichigo.
But the expected blow didn't come.
What she saw however horrified her. Ichigo stood in front of her, his arms spread out and his back facing her. However, there was a disturbingly large hole near his heart.
She stood there. She couldn't move. Her legs were jelly. This couldn't be happening. .NO.
Ichigo slowly turned his head towards her.
And.
And.
Gave a blood-stained smile.
*Puke*
His warm blood landed on Tatsuki's Face.
!. NOOOOOO!
Arisawa Residence, Tatsuki's Room
Tatsuki woke up with a start. Breathing heavily. Her face was completely stained with sweat and tears.
"Ouch" Her sudden movement caused her immense pain in her left shoulder.
This sudden pain helped clear her mind, the latter part was just a nightmare.
Looking at her shoulder she realised she hadn't even given herself basic first aid and now her bedsheet was ruined with bloodstains.
*Groan* It was a good thing her mother was still at Walpurgisnacht. Otherwise, She would have had her hide for, going to roam and getting attacked. And then she would fuss over her injuries.
After thinking for a while, She pulled out a small palm-sized red bottle. It contained diluted Pheonix Tears for non-life-threatening injuries but was still very costly.
She had no choice but to use it because even with her advanced regeneration the wound hadn't closed yet.
"It must be because of that strange weapon" she realised
She watched as her wound wriggled as it closed.
Thinking about it, why did she have such a strange nightmare? Why was Ichigo in it? Was it really just a simple dream?
"It's best I separated from Ichigo and Orihime. I don't want them getting involved with dangerous people because of me"
She was able to live a rather normal life thanks to her innate ability to her aura but now that people like CaoCao were after her she needed to think about it carefully if she really wanted to associate with her Human Friends.
She didn't know what to do at all. So, clasping her hands together she prayed to her father, hoping he would provide some guidance.
"Dad, It's me. I don't know if you can hear me but please help me I don't know what to do" She sobbed for the first time in a while " I don't want to leave my friends ...and Ichigo behind but I don't want them getting hurt either"
In the clear sky outside Moon shone and Stars twinkled in an enchanting manner.
TO BE CONTINUED