I own nothing of this story, all Bleach characters and stories belong to Tite Kubo and the Norse gods/myths belong to absolutely no one.
Blood spurted out of Ichigo's mouth as he crashed into the side of a mountain, a trail of broken trees left in his wake. He spat the remainder of the blood out of his mouth before cracking his neck, "What was that bullshit about before with the whole, 'something in my inner world ever harming you'?"
"It was not the environment that injured you Ichigo, it was a god."
Ichigo's eyes widened as his Zanpakuto appeared to his left, barely having enough time to glance at the elder before he was backhanded across the snowy forest again. As he skidded across the ground like a stone across water One-Eye flew above him, unimpressed with the young boy.
"If you hope to not only invade but conquer this Soul Society, you must be ready for enemies that are faster than you," He appeared next to Ichigo, grabbing one of his legs, twisting around and bringing Ichigo over his own body, slamming the boy into the ground with enough force to forge a crater. "Stronger than you," He threw Ichigo into the sky, the orangette's screams echoing across the world.
One-Eye stood still, watching Ichigo leave even his vision. He grunted and turned, taking several steps away from the crater he had made using his wielder. Flicking his wrist, the many broken trees and stones surrounding the area flew before him, turning themselves into a mighty throne so he may sit and sat he did waiting for Ichigo's return to the surface. He didn't have to wait long as Ichigo's screams reached his ears once again before he crashed back into the earth, sending snow and stone flying. One-Eye rested his head on a fist watching as Ichigo recovered from his injuries.
"And smarter than you." One-Eye continued. "These Soul Reapers have hundreds if not thousands of years of experience more than your mortal self."
Ichigo, laying flat on his stomach, turned his head to look up at the elderly soul.
"You're lucky I have several millennia. They are nothing to me. To us. We are gods boy. True gods, not these souls that have the slightest bit of power calling themselves gods."
The sky turned darker as the sun began to set, and with the setting sun, Ichigo's injuries began to heal. Every broken bone, cut and gash, no matter how deep, was mended and closed. Ichigo stood tall, his sealed sword still in his hand, as he stretched. "I'll never get used to that."
"A perk of being my chosen," One-Eye replied.
"Yeah, yeah. You've mentioned it before."
"Hmph, you remind me of my son sometimes. Headstrong and short-tempered, if your hair was a few shades darker and you were born European you'd even look like him."
"You never did explain to me why a Norse god is in my head, Jii-sama."
"You ask the wrong questions boy. Come, you have completed your training for now. You have improved much these last nine days, now let us celebrate this last night and eat and drink before we go a viking!"
As the words left One-Eye's mouth, they were in Valhalla. Ichigo sat on his own smaller throne next to One-Eye who was already consuming the meat off of a boar's leg. Ichigo looked out into the dead hall, watching as the inhabitants of his soul also feasted, sang, and fought with each other. It was a spectacle that even after participating in the events for nine long days he still could not get used to much less understand.
"Old man," Ichigo turned his attention back to his sword
"Hmm?"
"Why did you choose me to wield you?"
"I suppose that is as close as I'm going to get to a proper question from the likes of you. Very well, I shall indulge you in some knowledge," One-Eye offered Ichigo a horn, golden liquid overflowing the curved keratin. Ichigo accepted it, taking a long drink from the offered drink. The burning sense of alcohol overtook his mouth followed by the sweet taste of honey overpowering his taste buds, before the finale of warmth that cinnamon and cloves offered.
"You are an interesting being Ichigo, and as a god of knowledge, I had to learn more. And what better way to know a spiritual being, than imbue myself into your soul?"
Ichigo took another gulp of the godly mead. "Doesn't that seem, excessive?"
"Boy, I've done worse for knowledge. I hung myself from the Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights as I bled into Ginnungagap from a wound inflicted upon myself with my own weapon. I pulled my eye out and sacrificed it into Mimir's Well. I've killed many to state my thirst. Do you really think I wouldn't go to such lengths to learn more?"
"I mean when you put it like that."
One-Eye grinned before going back to his feast, but Ichigo wasn't done with his questions.
"What makes me so interesting though? I'm just a human turned Soulreaper, I'm sure it's happened plenty of times before."
"Right you are my boy, but those are questions for another time and you will receive such answers when I deem you are ready for it."
"How am I not ready for it now?"
"In due time lad, for now, focus on the feast and recharge before tomorrow's invasion."
Ichigo looked to the full plate of food before him: roasted meat, fresh berries, bread, and an assortment of vegetables were laid neatly on a wooden plate before him. He sighed before indulging himself in the feast.
-Urahara's Training Ground-
"He's strong, stronger than anyone I've ever met," Urahara said, taking a sip from the tea Tessai had prepared for him.
"Isn't that a good thing? Aizen won't expect, the young Kurosoaki kid to be at a Captain level this quickly, might make him slip up." A deep guttural voice exited out of a black cat that sat on the opposite end of the table from Urahara. The cat had piercing golden eyes that watched as the shopkeeper drank from the cup calmly but she knew the man before her unlike any other could possibly hope. He was nervous. Scared even. Scared of what though?
"One would think that yes, but you need to understand Yoruichi when I say anyone, I mean anyone. The Captain Commander included. It doesn't help he's a scary kid. For the last nine days, he has trained non-stop, never resting, never eating as if he doesn't need it." Urahara pauses for a moment, considering his words. "Well, I suppose I can't say he doesn't rest. After he finishes training with Tessai and I, he meditates in a similar fashion to Jinzen but he calls it 'Battle Meditation' instead. But who knows what goes on in his inner world, I certainly don't. And that's just it! The moment the sun sets, without fail, all of his wounds heal as if nothing happened! It's nothing like the regeneration of Hollows."
So he isn't scared, thought the cat, he was just frustrated at not knowing something much less understanding it. Though it drew her own curiosity, being able to heal yourself of every wound at the end of each day would give a distinct advantage in a battle, especially if it takes all day.
"And his Zanpakuto Yoruichi! His Zanpakuto is incredible, unlike anything I have ever witnessed and we've seen plenty in our lifetime." Urahara continued.
"What makes his Zanpakuto so special?"
"Now, now I wouldn't want to spoil it for you but believe me you'll love it!"
"You ass! I need to know these things before we leave!"
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It'll give you quite a shock when you see it and I want to hear you freak out about it when you get back after witnessing such a spectacle."
"You make it sound like he's not going to be using it that often."
Urahara merely smiled and took another sip of tea. "My dear friend, I don't expect him to release his sword until a Captain uses their Bankai."
-The Day of Invasion-
"A talking cat. Really?" Ichigo said, looking down at the black cat that stared back up at him with piercing golden eyes.
"Really Ichigo? That's what you take notice of?" Ishida asked, annoyingly adjusting his glasses on his nose.
"No, what I originally noticed was your weird 'holier than all' cosplay but I tried to be polite and not say anything."
"Says the one dressed as a northern barbarian!"
"That's rich coming from a fucking colonizing wannabe!"
"Colonizing? The hell are you talking about Strawberry!"
"Uh, guys, shouldn't we be focusing on saving Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked, attempting to deescalate the confrontation between the Quincy and Soulreaper as they physically butted heads. Chad decided to take things into his own hands, grabbing the scruffs of their clothes and lifting them from the earth. Ichigo and Ishida stopped arguing in that instant as the gentle giant moved them away from each other.
Urahara cleared his throat, "Your friend is right Ichigo, Quincy-san. Time is of the essence, time you cannot afford to waste arguing amongst each other," He gestures behind him where Tessai stood next to a hollowed rectangle of cracked marble. "This will get you to the Soul Society through what is known as the Dangai. Time works differently in there, the walls are an ooze that will trap you if you even graze your finger on it. We can open the pathway from here to the Soul Society for only a couple of minutes so once you enter, run."
"And that's why I'm here," The Black cat continued. "I will be your guide not only through the Dangai but through the Soul Society itself. I will lead you all to Kuchiki but you must follow everything I say. In the Soul Society, there are beings faster, stronger-"
"And smarter than you," Ichigo finishes. "Yeah, I've heard that plenty of times the last week. We, or at least I, fully know the risks and I doubt anyone here is gonna back away just because there'll be some assholes in our way."
The cat scoffed, "That train of thought may just kill you boy."
"Somehow, I really doubt it."
Urahara and Tessai took their positions, kneeling on either side of the structure. "Once we open the gate, sprint forward and don't stop!"
"Right!" All the younger beings in the training grounds exclaimed, getting into proper sprinting positions.
The hollow portion of the standing rectangle was filled with blue light as Tessai and Urahara channeled their power into it. The moment the light solidified, the group moved forward and didn't look back.
Well, damn. I wasn't expecting this story to pick up so much traction this quickly. Though I suppose it isn't as much as other stories that have been written. In only a week this story had over 260 views, 20 follows, and favorites. Keep up on the reviews as well, the feedback will evolve this story to be better, and as much as I'd like to give a proper schedule for this story I'm afraid I can't do that reliably. I'm a full-time student and work part-time so I'm pretty busy as you can imagine. I'll update when I can and please do leave suggestions. Until next time.