'I'm starting to sense a pattern,' Izuru thought to himself when the voice in his head ordered him to wake up and Gin was, once again, lounging in his room eating… he had to guess dried persimmons but they honestly looked like abominations to the food world.
"Ah, Izuru! Let's go for a walk together!" Gin declared that to be their morning activity.
Was Gin always this clingy to Izuru?
Sighing, Izuru got out of bed and collected his clothes, vanishing into the bathroom to dress for the day. This body was low maintenance, at least compared to his… his old body. Splashing the face with some water, a few sweeps of a hair comb, and slipping on the Soul Reaper robes was all that were needed to complete his morning routine. At least, from what he was able to gather after snooping around his new home when Gin left him last night.
All of the shower products Izuru had were going to change though.
He left his Zanpakuto as he followed Gin outside at the order of his internal Jiminy Cricket, munching on… some kind of protein bar. It had chocolate and that was all Izuru cared about.
As they walked, Izuru took to counting each persimmon tree on Squad 3's property, and by the time they had reached the exit to walk around the… uh… Seireitei- Izuru confirmed that Gin had issues and needed to widen his fruit palette.
Granted, this was coming from a soul that had an unhealthy obsession with grapes and Japanese melons.
The Seireitei was bustling with activity, at least from Izuru's perspective. Soul Reapers were running to and fro, many of them going out of their way to bow to them as they walked passed. Izuru felt his face warm up and he had to kill the urge to hide somewhere as the 10th poor unfortunate soul to pass us froze at the sight of Gin, bowed, then ran away.
"Wonder what got 'em so spooked," Gin mused humorously.
Jiminy Cricket was louder than ever. 'Don't say it. Don't say it! DO NOT SAY WHAT YOU ARE THINKING!'
"Your face?" Izuru slapped a hand over his mouth. Stopping to prevent himself from running into Gin's back, since the captain stopped dead in his tracks. He bowed. "Forgive me, Captain Ichimaru. I don't know why I said that!"
Gin looked over his shoulder with a face that Izuru could only describe as kicked puppy-like. "I know I asked, but did ya have to be honest, Izuru?"
"I'm not supposed to lie to my captain, sir," Izuru said through his mouth, praying that Gin didn't question the personality change. Ten years was a perfect amount of time to learn someone's personality inside and out. Who knows how much Gin manipulated the original Izuru to make him the gloomy mess from the manga?
"What happened ta the Izuru I remembered?" Gin asked, turning fully to face me.
Izuru froze in place. What could he say to that? "Sorry, your Lieutenant died the other day and I'm inhabiting his soul-body-thing. I'm Luna, nice to meet you!" Yeah right. He would get killed on the spot just for spouting that nonsense. But at the same time, what if Gin doesn't want a more expressive Izuru and tosses him aside at Aizen's orders? What if-
A hand was planted on top of his head.
"Just kiddin'~ Yer so high-strung, Izuru. I like this expressive side of ya. Reminds me of the cute lil' student from the academy." Gin let go of Izuru's head and continued walking. With a sigh of relief, the Lieutenant followed him.
Within minutes, Izuru felt… something. It was like the Menos, a pressure on his person that made breathing difficult. He had to pause to collect his breath and look up, his heart dropping to his stomach.
"Hey Cap'n Aizen, how're ya doin?" Gin greeted the captain cheerfully. From behind the ridiculously wide haori, a smaller figure poked its head out to the side. It was… rather surreal.
"Izuru! You've recovered!" A tiny girl moved away from the literal definition of god-complex -second only to Light Yagami- and stood before Izuru. "When Renji told me you were injured during your mission, I… I…"
The tiny girl is crying! There is a literal child crying! Jiminy Cricket, help!
'Say something to her, it's Momo!'
'I know it's Momo, who else is dumb enough to cry and follow around the dude that stabs her?! Why am I arguing with myself?!' Izuru released a breath. "Momo, I'm fine. I just needed to rest for a couple of days."
Momo wiped her eyes, sniffling. "I'm glad you're not hurt anymore. Don't worry me like that."
"Sorry," Izuru mumbled, rubbing his neck.
"Could ya not summon hollows near my squad, Cap'n Aizen? Ya nearly wiped out my entire seated officers."
Izuru tensed hearing Gin just casually say that. No way… it couldn't be.
"It was a necessary experiment. What was the largest sized hollow?" Aizen asked and Izuru saw the kind light leave Aizen's eyes and replace them with the coldness that he could remember seeing dozens of times in the manga and anime. Why were they saying this while Izuru could hear it? Why was Momo watching Aizen with such large, adoring eyes?
"Gillian, but Izuru wen' after it. I had to put it out of its misery 'cause Izuru wouldn' let it die," Gin explained, and Izuru felt a chill run up his spine.
Was Izuru not under Aizen's illusion… hypnosis-thing? He'll just call it a genjutsu. Could it be that by taking over this body, he was no longer subjected to Aizen's genjutsu? At least… until he saw the… uh… Great, what's Aizen's Zanpakuto called?
'Captain Ichimaru just said "Izuru killed a Menos all on his own last night!" for your information.' Izuru blinked in surprise at the voice. That was useful information.
"Really, Izuru?" Momo asked, eyes getting even larger than Izuru thought physically capable. She looked like if someone slapped her right now, her eyeballs would fly right out of their sockets.
"I mean… Captain Ichimaru finished it off," He inched away from the group, both trying to appear modest, and also because Aizen's eyes were starting to freak him out.
"That's amazing! Hey, Renji, Hisagi, and I all have this Saturday night off. Why don't you join us, Izuru?" Momo jumped a little on the balls of her feet.
Izuru paused and stared at the short girl. This… was Momo, right? Surely that bus driver wouldn't have put Tanner in Momo's body, of all people, not with him claiming she was more agreeable compared to himself. Why would Tanner be reborn as Momo, when she's Aizen's walking pincushion?
"Yeah… um… sure, Momo," Izuru agreed. Even so, he had to test her. What if this was Tanner? "Hey, have you drawn anything recently?'
Momo wrinkled her nose. "Draw? I don't normally draw."
"Oh, never mind," Izuru quickly said, backpedaling. "I've needed some inspiration for poetry lately, and- Okay, don't mind me."
"Let's go, Izuru," Gin chimed in and Izuru could have sighed in relief to get away from this situation.
"Yes, Captain Ichimaru. I'll see you Saturday, Momo." Izuru tailed after his captain, thanking whatever higher power out there that Tanner wasn't Momo. She could never go a day without doodling something.
But that begs the question… who was Tanner?
"Well, it's not every day we run into some of Squad 11's finest," Gin mused and Izuru looked to where Gin was watching several members of Squad 11 passing the courtyard. Most of them had large, barbaric grins on their faces and many had blood splatters across their clothes. "Mus' have had a big mission."
'Or they just spend the entire day weeding out the weaklings in their squad,' Izuru thought to himself, relieved when he didn't see Renji amongst the masses. He still didn't remember what squad he was supposed to be in, either with Aizen or Kenpachi by this point… Okay, why can he remember what squad people are in but he can't remember anyone's stupid Zanpakutou names?!
In the front of the group are the iconic duo, Ikkaku, and Yumichika.
Izuru's gaze locked with Yumichika and his mind was pulled back into the crevice of his memories. Memories of the arc where all of the zanpakuto had human forms, and Yumichika ensnared in beautiful, spiritual vines created by his equally beautiful zanpakuto.
And it looked wrong on so many levels. Why did they make one of the most flamboyant Soul Reapers have one of the most questionable-looking Zanpakuto abilities?
Kubo had to have done this on purpose.
"Hey, what are you smirking for? It's highly unattractive for someone who usually has a beautifully mournful expression."
Izuru blinked a few times to realize Yumichika was in his face. Besides Ikkaku standing a few feet away, most of Squad 11 had long since walked off. Wait, did Gin seriously just let him stand here like an idiot grinning at Yumichika?!
"Nothing," Izuru said while swallowing his laugh. Stop thinking about the vines! "I was picturing what everyone would look like if they wore different colors. I was thinking… wisteria, for you. It would compliment your features better than that gaudy orange thing you wear."
Yumichika's facial expression shifted from curiosity to a fearful glance at his Zanpakuto, to pure insult. "Looks to me like your taste is just as ugly as that smirk."
Izuru's mind reverted to his fight against that one Arrancar, Rose-something, and a snort escaped him. God, his Zanpakuto-! "Those that have to tell others they are ugly, usually do it to hide their own insecurities. I'm rather comfortable with my body. Are you?"
Yumichika bristled like a wet cat.
"Hey, Yumichika, let's go!" Ikkaku called, starting to walk away. Yumichika gave him one last dissatisfied glance then followed his friend with a huff.
"Wha' was that 'bout, Izuru?" Gin asked, fully turning to face him. "You usually don' inta'act with them."
Izuru let out another snort, then it turned into a giggle. Once the image of those vines wrapped around Yumichika's body, Izuru let out a full-on cackle and leaned forward. His head pressed against Gin's arm as he hugged himself and laughed. What a joke! This was the universe's sickest prank out there.
"I think I like this side of you, Izuru," Gin mused and patted his head, letting him laugh out his thoughts. "Wha's funny?"
Izuru moved away from his captain, wiping a tear away from his eyes. "Nothing, just thought of a joke." He cleared his throat and resumed a gloomy demeanor. "Forgive my rudeness, Captain Ichimaru. Shall we continue?"
"Yes, yes~" Gin all but skipped in his turn and began to walk.
Izuru started to follow but hesitated. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw Yumichika looming by an archway.
Yeah, neither one of them were Tanner. If Luna turned into Izuru by being a shithead, Tanner would be someone better.
At the very least, Tanner would be reborn as someone not scheduled to die.
(linebreak)
In the morning Izuru was supposed to go find Momo to meet up with Shuuhei and Renji, Gin was, once again, asking for a walk.
Did Squad 3 just not have any paperwork?
"Yer so diligent in the paperwork, Izuru that there's never any work to do!" Gin chirped as if he read his Lieutenant's mind.
'That's because Jiminy Cricket tells me what to do with the paperwork,' Izuru thought to himself as he got dressed. Despite his fears at first, the Soul Society was rather… mundane. Maybe it was because he was a Lieutenant, and thus him leaving the Seireitei was an uncommon occurrence.
'When are you going to stop calling me by that ridiculous name?' Jiminy Cricket asked in a huff.
'You never introduced yourself and you work as my conscience,' Izuru thought, grabbing the brush to work on his hair.
'You know who I am.'
Izuru paused his brush. "Izuru…?"
His mind was pulled. He found himself standing in a rocky mountain pass with high winds, jagged edges, and a night sky darker than space itself. Standing in front of him, was a gloomy mirror, and Wabisuke.
"Well, damn," Izuru muttered to himself. "This is awkward… um… could I call you Kira?"
"It's better than Jiminy Cricket," Kira said with a sigh. "I can't keep this up for long and Wabisuke wanted to meet you. I wanted to make sure you knew that I would be staying until I knew you weren't going to get this body killed, then I'm leaving to reincarnate."
"Oh… okay. Um, sorry that I hijacked your body."
"I was meant to die," Kira replied, stepping away from Wabisuke.
"You… I won't accept you as my wielder…" Wabisuke's voice was gravel on sand. "You lack despair."
"I literally died, left behind a whole life, and was tasked with trying to figure out where my friend is. How much more despair do you need?" Izuru snapped, taking a step towards the Zanpakuto. "Ha?"
Wabisuke was silent.
The scene returned to the bathroom, and the voices in Izuru's head were silent once more. He quickly finished getting ready and headed out, silently dreading what kinds of "fun" adventures Gin would take him today.
Maybe Gin will drag him to the Kuchiki manor and meet Byakuya and Rukia!
Ha! As if that'll actually happen.
…
That was half an hour ago before Gin had stopped in his tracks to converse with Byakuya about… something captain-related.
'It should be illegal to be this tiny,' Izuru thought as he stared Rukia down. She was taller than Momo. Well, everyone except for Toshiro and Yachiru are taller than Momo, but Rukia was a walking twig. What was Byakuya feeding her?
How much of the Kuchiki fortune is spent on fashion over food?
Tanner would have liked to be Rukia. Knowing Izuru's luck, she got reincarnated as Grimmjow or something stupid like that. Someone that forces him to break the beats of the plot just to find her.
His eyes locked with Rukia's purple eyes and she shrank away under his gaze, an expression that seemed to say she wished the floor would swallow her up. Izuru glanced at Gin to make sure it wasn't his face that was making Rukia look so petrified.
It would be beneficial to establish a positive relationship with Rukia. She is a main character, after all, and being more involved in the main plot a few decades from now would save him from constant boredom. Maybe he could find little Ichigo after Isshin leaves the Soul Society. Maybe save his mom? He could convince Isshin to let Izuru be Ichigo's... spirit father? Soul father?
Either way, make some new friends and stay alive. Win-win.
Izuru shook out of his thoughts. He needed to focus on Rukia before even thinking about approaching the other main cast. Didn't Rukia and Renji's relationship become tense and rocky after she got adopted into the Kuchiki clan? What if he nudged their friendship back in place and… Oh, relight the kindling of their budding love?
Izuru did ship Rukia and Renji together, they were cute together. If all else fails, he could push his luck and try to earn her affection himself.
"Kuchiki-san?" Izuru said quietly once the captain's conversations started to die down. It took the shortest of the group to realize that, yes, she was Kuchiki-san.
"Yes?" Rukia squeaked out and she seemed to be resisting the urge to hide behind her brother.
"Would you like to attend dinner with me, Lieutenant Hinamori, Lieutenant Hisagi, and Lieutenant Abarai?" Izuru pulled every piece of formal Japanese that he could think of, essentially taking twice as many syllables to ask. But Byakuya gave him a cold gaze with underlying approval. Plus, this was the Kuchiki manor.
… Why did Gin bring him here again?
"Oh, um, sure! If they won't mind," Rukia replied.
"Excellent. Lieutenant Hinamori will be meeting me outside of Squad 3 barracks at seven if you want to meet us there." Izuru just hoped Renji didn't get so wasted tonight that he couldn't trick Rukia and Renji into conversing. Maybe he should bring a game to distract them and interact?
He left with Gin, mentally patting himself on the back that he took his first steps in interacting with the story. If finding Tanner was going to, no doubt, take until the main plot started, then he was going to play matchmaker while waiting.
Izuru resisted the urge to sigh, 'I swear, if Tanner ended up being reincarnated as a human or an Espada, I'm skinning that bus driver with a butter knife that was used to scoop up chili paste.'
Tanner_Clark: So I helped very little in this chapter xD
Tanner_Clark: so to respond to reviews, and thank you for the reviews!
DecentBloodbornePlayer: Thank you so much for reading! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
dreadix: Thanks for the review! She wasn't all that concerned about it at the time. She was more "Oh shit I'm dead, well, what do I have to lose?". She should have totally asked what was in it for him though, I totally agree.