What's this? A chapter?! After how many months! Yeah... let's just say this year has been a mess. Got married, got pregnant, got a new job, had to get my laptop fixed... it's been a whole other level of crazy. Baby is due in four weeks so I was determined to get this out before I started maternity leave. I also have deleted and rewrote this chapter around ten times because I just could not vibe with it. I realized while writing that there may be a handful (if not more) of my readers that know MHA but not Bleach. I've been writing more from a Bleach perspective because Ichigo is the main character with Izuku as a second main character. Would people like me to include some break downs of the Bleach characters that get mentioned when they are first introduced? Let me know. As always - THANK YOU for reading and please feel free to leave any feedback.
Chapter Two
Faux-Reishi
Izuku didn't have a dad - he had an aunt. Of course he had a biological father; but he died shortly before he was born and thus he was raised by his mother and his aunt. Being fatherless didn't seem to be a big deal to him or his friends until he was diagnosed as quirkless. After he was diagnosed as quirkless, being fatherless was just another thing for his bullies to make fun of him for. In middle school being fatherless became less of an issue, but being quirkless continued to remain the one thing that made him a pariah compared to everyone else.
Despite the bullying, not having a dad didn't bother Izuku as much as it probably should. He loved his parental figures and he genuinely meant that. He didn't mean it in a "I love my parents but -" sort of way. His mom and his aunt were amazing. They did everything for him and when he looked into their eyes he could feel how much they loved him. He just couldn't stand the pity and sadness in his mother's eyes. Emotions she held onto since he was diagnosed quirkless. He couldn't stand the unsure worry in his aunt's eyes. Emotions she held onto since he asked her when he'd get his soul reaper powers. He wanted his mom to stop apologizing. He wanted his aunt to stop saying "we'll see." He just wanted one person - just one - to tell him that he could be a hero. That his dreams weren't just flights of fancy, but instead, something attainable. So when All Might, the world's number one hero and Izuku's favorite hero, said the empowering six word sentence: "You too can become a hero," Izuku did what he always did when his emotions spiked - he cried.
That night he went home with the biggest smile on his face. That smile stayed on his face throughout the night and he woke up with sore cheeks the next day. The smile of course vanished from his face and was replaced with terror when his aunt Ichigo called to "ream him a new asshole" after she saw him on the news running into danger to protect Kaachan. Judging by Kaachan's scowl and murderous glare, he got the same phone call.
It had been a couple of weeks since Izuku had begun All Might's "Aim to Pass! American Dream Plan!" and Izuku was just making his way home after a long day of moving trash. With a loud yawn he opened the front door and made his way towards the kitchen to drop off his bento box. His mom was going to be home late that day due to an upcoming trial that she was lead attorney on. She likely made dinner for him and left it in the fridge for him to warm up. He'd do that after a shower though.
"You're home late." It didn't matter that Izuku had seen dead people all his life. It didn't matter that he had almost been suffocated and killed by that slime monster. It didn't matter that one of his uncles was the most fearsome soul reaper in all of the Soul Society. None of that mattered because Izuku was supposed to be home alone and there was an intruder in the home and they just spoke to him.
As any reasonable person would, Izuku screamed and jumped away from the direction the voice came from. His heart pounded in his ears as he made eye contact with his amused aunt. His amused aunt who was not supposed to be in his home. His amused aunt that just smirked at his near heart attack and simply took another sip of her wine.
"Auntie Berry!" Izuku hissed, clutching his heart. "What are you doing here?"
His Aunt Ichigo, or Aunt Berry as he had called her since he was a small child, was an intimidating woman to say the least. She was taller than most women of asian descent which made her stand out. She had curly red hair and striking green eyes. She held herself in a way that caused people to look at her. She had the confidence of a warrior - because she was one. She earned many titles, decorations, and classifications during her years as a shinigami agent. His grandfather had once explained to him that his aunt had the ability to gain people's respect. Even her enemies respected her. It's how she was able to turn the Soul Society's enemies into their comrades in arms. Even disguised under her hero cloak where people could not see her - she gained their respect. Izuku understood why people respected his aunt. He had seen her fight and had witnessed her discuss important matters with soul reapers. Still, all the respect in the world, did not forgive her from scaring the living daylights out of him.
"Well someone traded shifts with me for the week so I figured that since we just finished Sherlock, we could start Stranger Things. Thought we could use a bit of science fiction after experiencing the drug addicted detective."
"Because those go hand in hand," Izuku snorted which caused his aunt's grin to widen. He turned on the living room light so that they would stop talking to each other in the dark like a couple of weirdos. In the light he could see that his aunt still wore her hero uniform. Izuku had pages dedicated to his aunt and her uniforms in both his Hero Analysis notebooks and his Shinigami Agent notebooks. His aunt had two different uniforms - her soul reaper uniform and her hero uniform. It was her hero uniform that consisted of a large black cloak.
He knew her cloak was made by a fabric created by Kisuke Urahara - Aunt Ichigo's teacher and friend. The fabric not only concealed her spiritual pressure but was also amenable to all sorts of movement - allowing her to fight while also concealing her identity. Under her cloak, Ichigo wore a pair of tight fitted black pants tucked into a pair of calf-high black combat boots. The pants fabrics alternated between thick fabric and sheer fabric - making it appear like she was wearing bandages to cover her legs. A black sleeveless high necked shirt covered her chest and her torso. The sleeve holes were actually really loose, making it so that her white chest wrappings were viewable. As his aunt had explained to his mother one evening - regular bras have a tendency to break in a fight and sports bras get a bit stuffy under a cloak. Best to just wrap your chest and move on. White bindings formed an X over her chest. Sheer white fabric hung from the bottom of the X, separating down the middle to billow loosely at her sides. She had a bright red utility belt and black gloves. She'd alternate between fingerless gloves and regular ones. Black armbands adorned her lower arms to add some extra protection while she was fighting.
His Aunt Ichigo was a diverse fighter but wasn't recognized as one in the World of the Living. As a hero, his aunt used her Fullbringer and Quincy powers. Her Fullbringer powers enabled her to create blades out of spiritual energy. Sometimes she used her own spiritual energy and other times she used her surroundings spiritual energy.
She was able to create two types of blades, soul blades and corporeal blades. The corporeal blades made it possible for her to be able to cut a person without completely damaging their soul and forcing them into the reincarnation loop as she would a hollow. Yes, if she succeeded in killing someone - as one does in hero work - they would have cuts along their body but their soul wouldn't be damaged beyond repair. Instead, their souls would be able to move on to the Soul Society or hell just like any mortal that died of natural causes. Her quincy powers she had to develop to incorporate the same idea and after much practice she was able to develop arrows that would injure people but not damage their soul. All that mixed in with her fighting training and speed from being able to use flash step made the Black Cloaked Guardian a great hero. She focused primarily on close range fighting and dealt mostly with underground work. Underground work made it easier for her to handle souls when she doesn't have the press after her.
As a soul reaper she took on long range hits. With Zangetsu she was able to take out numerous targets all at once. Her versatility made Izuku eager to analyze and learn from her. If she'd teach him.
"You can't just analyze. You've got to incorporate it too."
"What?" Izuku jerked up to meet his aunt's knowing gaze. Ichigo had finished her glass of wine and had set it down on the coffee table while she leaned against the arm of the coach. "Was I mumbling?"
"You're always mumbling, Bunbun." Izuku felt the recognizable warmth of blood rush as a blush decorated his face. Ichigo folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head as she analyzed him. It was a bit unnerving to be under that gaze. Kaachan said that his analyzing habits were creepy - but his aunt's were intimidating. She didn't have to mumble - and he wished she did. Then he'd know what she had found and what she was thinking. "If your stunt with that slime guy was anything to go by - then Yuuei is still the goal, correct? You want to take the hero path?"
Izuku's chest tightened. He couldn't look his aunt in the eyes anymore so he turned his gaze towards the empty wine glass. Smudges decorated the rim from the trusty chapstick she wore.
After Izuku started training with All Might he had decided that he would tell his aunt and his mom after he took the entrance exam. That way they couldn't try to talk him out of it. He didn't want to see his aunt's hesitating gaze and unsure smile. It was enough to crush his spirits. Now, the issue was being addressed so he couldn't ignore it. His aunt stayed silent. Waiting for him to respond. He knew she did that to encourage him to talk but it just unnerved him more. She wasn't going to let this go. It was now or… now.
"I-I know you don't think I can do it," he whispered as his eyes started to fill with tears. "My spiritual energy is still too low to use in a fight and…" He trailed off when he realized he didn't know how to explain how the quirkless issue may no longer be a quirkless issue. It was Ichigo though - so he could focus more on the spiritual energy aspect of it. Instead he shook his head. "I'm still going to be a hero."
Silence. Only the ticking of the kitchen clock assured Izuku that time was continuing. He fought down the urge to continue talking in order to fill in the overwhelming silence. He kept his eyes directed on the uneven flooring where the living room met the kitchen.
"Izuku," his aunt's voice trailed off with a frustrated sigh. Izuku cringed as he pictured her disappointed face. Soon her fingers were lifting his face by his chin as her thumbs brushed away his tears. He turned his gaze to her furrowed brow. He'd worried her. "I have never doubted that you would be a hero."
"B-but, I-I don't have-"
"Quirks be damned. Spiritual powers be damned. You have always, always, had the spirit - the heart - of a hero. The very determination that turns a person into a hero. Everything else," she shook her head and flicked her wrist as if fanning a fly out of her face. "Dandelion fluff."
"But you never said," Izuku cut himself off. Too shocked at this new information that his aunt was giving him. She'd never said this to him before. She was always so worried and uncertain.
"You're only fourteen years old - I haven't said a lot of things to you yet." Aunt Ichigo ran a hand through her rambunctious curls. "I didn't realize you took my silence as uncertainty."
"But you were uncertain, Auntie," Izuku cut off - an uncomfortable heat filling his chest. He was angry with her. For years she was uncertain. He knew. He saw it. He saw her uncertain eyes. Her uncertain words. Her inability to give him a final answer. How could she say that she wasn't uncertain that he could be a hero? How could she play with him like that?
"Uncertain of how you would become a hero Izuku, not if you would become one. You don't have a quirk and you don't have the spiritual energy to make yourself a soul agent - yet."
"You never said anything."
"Because I didn't want to force you down a path, Izuku. Yes, you have always wanted to be a hero ever since you were little - but I wanted to be a zoo keeper when I was ten years old and look at me now." She gestured to her clothes and Izuku laughed despite himself. "You needed to pick your own path and I wasn't going to force you down the soul reaper one, or the hero one, or the zoo keeper one. I wanted you to choose your path - I want you to choose your path. But I wasn't going to let you pick a path until you were old enough to make that decision. You're almost fifteen now and it's time you make that decision. That's why we had our birthday agreement in the first place, remember?"
"I thought that was just a placeholder to give you time to figure out how to let me down gently."
"You think I don't know how to let you down gently?"
Izuku rolled his eyes.
"You convinced me my dad was All Might for three years when I asked you where he was because you didn't know how to tell me he's dead," he deadpanned. His aunt rolled her eyes and reached for the empty wine glass and the open bottle near it.
"You still don't know that you're not All Might's secret love child. We were hiding our family bonds behind our hero personas."
"When I finally called you out on his eyes being blue and mine being green despite you telling me I have his eyes - you said my dad was at the dad farm with all the other dads."
"I thought you were color blind."
"Kaachan has never let me forget how I asked why Uncle Masaru wasn't at the farm with all the other dads."
"Uncle Masaru isn't cool enough for the Father Farm. Have you seen his mustache?"
"Auntie!" That got Izuku to really laugh. A laugh from deep in his stomach. His tears have since dried and the pair made their way to sit on the couch together while they bantered back and forth. "Then you really think I can be a hero?"
She met his gaze head on. A sheer look of determination - a look that was dedicated towards her enemies, her comrades, and chocolate cake - enveloped Izuku. "I know you can be a hero, Izuku."
There were the tears. They burst out of him like a newly unkinked hose. His aunt gave a warm smile as she moved forward and gave him a hug. Izuku gripped the back of her shirt tightly in his fists. He could feel the fabric scrunch up between each finger. As usual, one of Ichigo's hands was wrapped around just below his shoulder blades - holding him to her. The other hand was sunken in his curls on the back of his head, holding his head to her neck. He could smell her perfume. His aunt's hugs made him feel like he was her most important treasure.
"It's just going to be a harder path to take, but we can take it together," she murmured in his ear. Auntie Ichigo had a rule to not stop the hug until he let go. Izuku was going to take advantage of that fact and continue hugging her until his tears stopped. "Your grandpa started me on martial arts training early because he's insane - but I think I've figured out how we can get you to the point where you'll be on equal standing with those who have quirks. We'll start with you training with me on my days off of patrol and then you'll spend a year in the Soul Society once you've finished up with Aldera. I'm sure Urahara can get you transferred into Yuuei for your second year of high school. I think we should start off with your hand to hand before we start incorporating weapons. Get your weight up too. How much can you lift? Do you know?"
Wait a minute. What did she just say? Izuku pulled away and Auntie Ichigo dropped her hands to his shoulders. Not completely letting him go, but giving him space. Her eyebrows were pinched together in concern. "Transfer in?"
"I know this is your dream school, Izuku, but I don't think you'll be able to get into the hero course where you're at now. I'd also not like you taking on villains without having been approved by your Aunt Karin and Uncle Byakuya. Hmm - I suppose we could have you train with your Uncle Kenpachi too. He's crazy but he is the best swordsman. We could ask your Aunt Kuukaku to help keep him tame until she's deemed you ready. Oh, I'm sure your Uncle Toshiro would be happy to help too. You know he was pretty short for a long time too because his age of maturation was so much earlier than most others. Karin says that his bankai had an adult version of him at all times but let's be real; her and Byakuya are just trying to get away with cradle robbing."
Izuku's head felt like he was sitting on one of those tea cup rides at the amusement park. Wait, wait, wait - transfer in? So his aunt intended for him to transfer into Yuuei. Why wouldn't he just take the entrance exam? Unless he instead started high school somewhere else. Soul Society? The Soul Academy? No, he couldn't do that. Sure he had enough spiritual energy to see the dead but he didn't have enough to actually attend the Soul Academy.
"Auntie, no." Izuku cut off her considerations. She may not mumble her observations but she did have a tendency to go on rants when given the chance. "I'm going to take the entrance exam and start with everyone else."
Auntie Ichigo blinked and tilted her head. "You know the entrance exam has a battle royal type of situation right? It's not just the written portion you have to pass. You need to go out and kick ass."
"I know. I researched it."
She stepped back and gave a deep breath. She did this when she needed to give him difficult news - like when the store sold out of the limited edition Gold Age All Might figurine with changeable hands. "Izuku, you don't have the skills to-"
"No. Auntie, I need you to listen to me." He had rushed in and cut off her beginnings of telling him how he could not pass the exam. "I met someone. A trainer. He's been training me to help me pass the exam." Not technically a lie. "I'm even on a special diet now. He said that the rate that I'm going, I'll be more than prepared to pass." Okay, that part was a lie.
This time, his aunt really shook her head. Violently. Her curls bounced against her forehead. She did that when she couldn't form words to voice her discontent. Soon her hands were being raised in the air. If his grandfather were there, he'd likely be being punched as Ichigo took her frustration out on him. They had a weird relationship. "Where did you meet this trainer?"
"The day Kaachan was attacked by that villain. He followed me home and offered to be my personal trainer because of how impressed he was by my running in."
"Okay, okay, okay." Ichigo pinched her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. "So you're telling me that some random adult man saw you on the streets, followed you home, offered to personally train you for free - as your mother would have told me if she were paying training fees- in order to help you accomplish your dreams, and you're just putting all this blind trust in him?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... well?"
"You make it sound bad."
"Oh for fuck's sakes. Izuku, have you been alone with this man? Has he taken pictures of you?" Izuku thought back to All Might taking pictures of him while he dragged a large piece of metal earlier that week.
"Well, I mean yeah." Let it be known, Izuku was not the best communicator.
Izuku can count the number of times he'd been in the room when his aunt released large amounts of spiritual pressure on his hand. She'd only done it when she was really upset or when he was in danger. He would say that this instance was her being upset. Izuku struggled to inhale as the spiritual pressure surrounded him. If his aunt were a cruel or untrained person, Izuku would be on his knees but his aunt was neither of those things. Her spiritual pressure was overwhelming him, but not disarming him. Items around them shook under the pressure. Some small items like the salt and pepper shakers started rising in the air. His aunt...his aunt looked murderous.
"I'll have his arms and legs removed from his body. I'll drag him through the streets of Tokyo and put his head on a pike. I'll drag his soul to Hell myself." Aunt Ichigo seethed. Her left eye was starting to turn golden to indicate the use of her hollow.
"W-wait! No Auntie! Auntie Ichigo - STOP!" Izuku cried as he grabbed his aunt's shaking form. He could have explained that better.
Across town All Might shivered while handing a bank robber over to the police. He couldn't understand why a bank robber with a cat mutation quirk would make him feel scared, especially when he'd already caught him. What kind of villainous acts has this man been up to?
Let it be known that Ichigo Kurosaki was not an idiot. Temperamental? Yes. Stubborn? Absolutely. Selfish? From time to time. Oblivious? Occasionally. Stupid? Never. So when Izuku claims that All Might's employee has been helping him "bulk up" in order to pass the Yuuei exam - Ichigo called bullshit. Just not to his face because he was already crying from her claiming she was going to draw and quarter the man. Izuku had promised that nothing bad or inappropriate had happened but Ichigo still wasn't convinced that this "trainer" had good intentions.
Ichigo had seen how the world treated Izuku after he was diagnosed quirkless. Hell, they had diagnosed him. Like he had a disease. He was looked down on by people in the community. People chose not to interact with their family at all. Friends were lost. Acquaintances were cruel. Inko had to sue at least two businesses for quirk discrimination. Thankfully, those in the family's community of "supernatural" beings were more than understanding. A majority of those that lived in the World of the Living didn't have quirks either. Those in the soul realms like the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo didn't have quirks at all. It got to the point where Ichigo and Inko discussed moving to the Soul Society but elected not to. Given that they had told Izuku that his father was dead, they couldn't risk someone slipping and informing Izuku that Hisashi was alive and imprisoned in the Maggots Nest. Maybe they chose wrong and they should have moved, but Izuku seemed to thrive in the World of the Living. Instead of moving they took steps to fight against quirk discrimination and encourage Izuku in any way they could. That's why it was so concerning to Ichigo that someone was interacting with him without meeting with Inko or herself. It worried her that someone would want to train him for Yuuei when so many others including his teachers had stepped on him. What was the motive of training a quirkless boy with the current view of quirkless youths?
Ichigo was ready to order Izuku to introduce her to this "trainer," but she couldn't. Izuku had just told her that her behavior caused him to think she didn't believe in him. If she ordered him to meet this trainer he would think that she didn't believe in his ability to make his own choices. She didn't want to see that look of distrust again. No, she couldn't make demands. She'd need to trust him.
Giving an aggravated huff, Ichigo threw her pen down and pushed away from her desk. She was at Candy Shop - the agency run by Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihouin, Tessai Tsukabishi, and herself. It was Tessai that the public believed ran the agency. He was the head of Candy Shop and answered all questions directed to him. Ichigo was believed to be the main hero of the agency and Tessai's second-in-command. Whereas Kisuke was a simple S-hero that dawdled in inventions from time to time and Yoruichi was the friendly office cat that could be seen from time to time. Little did the public know that both Kisuke and Yoruichi were R-heros as licensed by the Soul Society. Kisuke worked with the Hero Commission and played the always tired ambassador between the mortal realm's hero commission and the soul realm's hero commission. Yoruichi did what she did best, she gathered information, spied, and kicked ass from the shadows.
Due to her position in the agency, Ichigo had a rather large and spacious office on one of the higher floors. It was easily the size of her apartment. Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Tessai had the same size office.
Floor to ceiling windows overlooking Karakura Town made up one wall. There was a glass door that led to a small balcony that allowed Ichigo to immediately leap into the air and head towards a villain fight or hollow attack. Small shelves and cabinets were decoratively placed in various places in front of the windows to allow for storage while not taking away from the grandeur of having an entire wall made of glass. From time to time, Ichigo would move the knick knacks on one of the low shelves or cabinets and simply sit against the window and look out at the city.
The wall directly across from the windows was completely covered in book shelves. Various well placed ladders and a much appreciated suspended platform made the wall a clear work space for Ichigo. She was often found sitting on a ladder rung with a book in her hands murmuring to herself. Numerous chalkboards and whiteboards were suspended from wires in random places of the large wall. It was clear the person who designed the set up of the book wall had it in mind that Ichigo did much of her research and work on her feet.
Her desk was in the center of the room with filing cabinets and regular sized shelves behind it. Two chairs sat on the opposite side of her desk to allow for people to visit with her formally in her office. Behind those chairs sat a seating area of couches, chairs, and a nice coffee table for informal meetings. Random knick knacks, pictures, plants, and decorations decorated her office. While it was a place for work, any visitor could see it was also a second home to the woman. It represented her. Usually, her office made it easier for her to think. She was able to go into a work mindset the moment she stepped into the comforts of her office but she was unable to consider a drug ring causing quirks to go haywire today. Instead all of her attention was on her nephew.
Ichigo leaned back far in her chair with a groan and pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes until red flashed under her lids. She needed to trust him and focus on trigger. She had a meeting in the next town over tonight and needed to be prepared.
"Your morning patrol was that bad?" Tessai's deep voice broke through Ichigo's mental typhoon. She pulled her hands away from her face and opened her eyes to see Tessai staring down at her from the other side of her desk. He was only just getting some strands of grey in his black hair as he entered into "middle age" for a soul. He still wore glasses that prevented anyone from seeing his eyes and maintained a full mustache.
Ichigo gave a noncommittal hum. "No, patrol was fine. Parenting has just gotten to the point that I'm considering running back to Hueco Mundo and leaving everything in Kon's capable hands."
Tessai gave an unamused raised eyebrow. Ichigo sat up and pulled herself towards the desk. "At the very least throw myself into the nearest volcano."
"I was under the impression you have already done that."
"No, I threw my body into a volcano. I have not actually thrown myself into a volcano. I think it's the best solution for me. Then I won't have to worry about teenage boys who have no self preservation skills."
"Sounds like someone else I know."
"Don't."
Tessai gave a chuckle and sat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. "You could always call your father for some parenting advice."
Ichigo gave a deadpan stare towards one of her oldest teachers. "Yes, because he did so well with us."
"His eldest daughter is considered the Symbol of Hope throughout the realms and an esteemed member of the Gotei Thirteen's Council. His second youngest daughter is the Lieutenant of the Second Division and the Stealth Force. While his youngest daughter is the fourth seat of the Fourth Division. Karin is in a healthy relationship. You and Yuzu lead fairly healthy lives. He did fairly well in raising you."
"I know we pretend my brother is dead, but you really can't say that and ignore my villainous brother."
"Hisashi had his faults to be sure, but he still was one of the greatest minds of the Twelfth Division and he did have good taste in women. Also-" he raised an immaculate eyebrow cutting off Ichigo before she could counter. "Despite Izuku being Hisashi's son biologically, he is very much your boy. He takes after you, and you know it too. I'd say take some advice from the one person who actually raised a child that lacked any self-preservation skills."
Ichigo gave a small tilt of the right side of her lips and turned her gaze on Karakura Town. She could see the river though it looked small. There had been so many bad days experienced at that river. So many good ones too. "I guess he did do pretty well."
"At the very least he made sure you could manage a sneak attack," Tessai teased with his usual no nonsense face. Once upon a time, Tessai wouldn't have even said a joke in front of Ichigo. Through the years the two had become close enough for Tessai to open up his serious facade. It was still a bit surreal.
Ichigo snorted and turned back to Tessai completely as she pulled herself back to the desk. Talking to her father wasn't a bad idea. At the very least it will give her a sound board. She'd send a message to see if he could take a video call this evening. She needed to focus on work now. She nodded to the file Tessai had brought with him. It was fairly thick and hopefully contained some information on the drugs that had been found in last week's villain turned victim from last week.
"Is that my drug analysis?" Tessai nodded and handed the file over to Ichigo. She flipped it open and started reading Kisuke's analysis of the drugs that were found on the victim. Last week Ichigo had a nasty run in with a drug gang that had been stirring up trouble in her streets. They had been using teenagers to transport and collect. When Ichigo had located a few teenagers with drugs in their backpacks, Ichigo had immediately jumped in to apprehend the kids and take them to the police for questioning. No, it wasn't the kids faults - not overall, but the kids would lead them to the big fish.
The three had run down an alley and Ichigo pursued them. Within minutes Ichigo had the kid with the slimy skin quirk incapacitated. She had him hanging a good ten feet off the ground against a brick building with her soul blades holding him up and preventing him from leaving. The other two kids were swearing up a storm now that "Kenji" had been taken out so quickly. Ichigo intended to apprehend the kid with the emotional quirk next. She could tell that the queasy feeling she had been struggling with since she had begun pursuing the group came from him. Kenji - as his friends had called him - had yelled at the emotional kid to turn off his quirk because it was leading her to them - it wasn't- but he had snarled back that he couldn't. Seemed the kid could turn it on quickly but turning it off wasn't so simple a task. The third kid had a mutant quirk that had him looking like a beatle. Sharp pincers protruded from his jaw. If Ichigo hadn't fought against hollows most her life - she may have been taken aback by his appearance. Beatle dude yelled in a panic and grabbed a needle from his bag and swiftly jammed it into his leg like an epi-pen. That's when the situation went haywire. It was like he was on steroids - his entire body got larger. His pincers went from framing his face to taking up his entire face.
It took a larger blade, a fair amount of property damage, an abundance of bruises and scrapes, and the cops finally showing up to get Slimeboy and Nausea Dude out of the way for Ichigo to finally apprehend the beatle kid. By the time the effects of the drug had worn off the poor boy was sobbing. He couldn't remember a thing - he just woke up to flashing lights and destruction. Ichigo was sure that out of everyone that had witnessed or been a part of the disaster - he was the most scared. After hauling his buddies away for questioning, he was taken to the hospital.
It turned out that the boys had been told that the syringe had a type of drug that made one's quirk stronger but they didn't mention the lack of consciousness. For this reason, Ichigo had been contacted by Mustafu police. The case was similar to the trigger case from a few years ago. Kisuke had agreed to look into the leftover syringes that they had taken off of the kids to get a breakdown of the drugs. Ichigo hoped that he would find traces of trigger in the drugs, just to have a solid connection between the cases.
"Kisuke delivered it to me this morning on his way out. He wanted me to go over the results with you personally. It's not trigger."
"So it's not connected to the Mustafu case at all then, huh? This will be a short meeting then." Ichigo flipped through a few pages. The information on the page was enough to make her blood chill. The speed in which she raised her head to meet Tessai's hurt her neck - but she ignored the twinge of pain. "Is this? Am I reading this right."
Tessai nodded his head gravely. "I'm afraid so. The drug contained large traces of faux-reishi."
This information led to even more questions. Questions that Ichigo could not turn over to an underground or above ground hero - no. Ichigo needed to get the answers herself. "What the hell did we just find, Tessai?"
Ichigo was late. She had spent the last few hours on call with the Soul Society getting permission to inform small groups of mortals of the truth behind…well…everything. She'd received the permission to give the information conservatively and use the memory modifier liberally. The S-department in the police had been informed and were working on having more people join the team of those that keep an eye on informed mortals to prevent widespread information. Despite the good news, the process had dragged understandably so now Ichigo was late going into the very meeting she needed to attend so that she could inform the mortals of the faux-reishi. The only reason Ichigo wasn't currently running through the police headquarters was because it would quite honestly scare the crap out of everyone in there. Despite her not running like a teenager late for class - or in her case a teenager running from the police because she knocked a wannabe gangster out on his ass in front of them -she still got weird looks. Screeching to a halt in front of the designated door, Ichigo took a breath and opened the door.
"All we've got is a whole lot of nothing," Rock Lock complained as he leaned back in his chair. He, along with everyone else, looked towards Ichigo when she entered. Rock Lock sat in the back of the conference room next to Fat Gum. Rock Lock was a good hero, but he also had an 'I'm better than all of you' attitude. There were a few times Ichigo had run into him and wanted to push him off a building. Especially the time he had the audacity to question if she were a hero despite having just been introduced by Tsukauichi. Fat Gum on the other hand was an absolute sweetheart that Ichigo would go to war for. He was an honest good hearted person that just wanted to help people. He was loved by civilians, sidekicks, and hero's alike. He even did some work with rehabilitating villains. The first time Ichigo had met him he'd offered her some mochi in the middle of a fight.
Nighteye, predictably at the front right side followed by his sidekicks Centipeder and Bubble Girl and a few other trusted cops and detectives. Nighteye and Ichigo got along. Upon first meeting him years ago, she had recognized him as All Might's previous sidekick after years of having Izuku fanboy over the sunny side up hero. To be honest Ichigo loved his stick in the mud attitude next to the overly cheerful number one hero. He didn't speak about his time with All Might around her - or at all from what she could tell. Ichigo had visited his office and upon seeing his own collection of All Might merch decided to label the tension as a bad break up and did not bring any attention to it. Her own father still keeps a poster of her mother in every property he owns - who was she to judge?
Across from Sir Nighteye sat the scandalous due and their grumpy babysitter. Midnight, Present Mic, and Eraserhead. Midnight was a delight to work with. She got a bad rap for being the R- rated hero, but Ichigo knew just how serious of a hero she was. Her persona hid a brilliant mind, terrific fighter, and kind heart. She reminded Ichigo of Lieutenant Matsumoto - and that alone gave her reason to not underestimate her. Sure enough their missions together ended with a one hundred percent success rate that Ichigo was eager to maintain.
Present Mic was….loud. Excitable and loud. Ichigo wasn't too proud to admit that she had underestimated him at one point. The man wore leather to a fight for crying out loud - of course she thought he wasn't a serious fighter. Witnessing him take down an entire group of villains with one well timed scream impressed her. Witnessing him take on twenty villains without his quirk had her swallowing a slice of humble pie. He was showy - but he was ruthless.
Then there was Eraserhead. Ichigo knew who he was before they had met the same way she knew who Sir Nighteye was - Izuku. Izuku had raved about this underground hero for weeks when he had found a sliver of footage of the man taking villains down on the internet. A hero that fought mostly quirkless. Unheard of in this day and age. His arrest and closing records alone were impressive. Ichigo had a great deal of respect for him as a hero and enjoyed his straight to the point attitude. She also appreciated his ability to reign in the scandalous duo.
Detectives Tsukauchi Naomasa - also known as Truth Man - and Sansa Tamakawa took up the front of the conference room. (No, Ichigo did not have to fight the urge to pet Detective Sansa. She had years of experience dealing with Yoruichi. She only thought about it like five times.)
Overall, Ichigo felt confident in this group and had specifically made a request for every member in this meeting to be informed. A chair had been left open for Ichigo to take next to Present Mic towards the front.
"So nice of you to join us, Guardian," Sir Nighteye drawled. Yes, the stick up his ass was still in place. Fantastic. Ichigo fought the urge to flip him off and instead turned towards Tsukauchi.
'Sorry, authorization took some time,' she signed. Present Mic, bless his loud mouth heart, translated for her immediately. Ichigo nodded and took her seat next to Present Mic and pulled the pre-prepared files Ururu, Kurodo, and Ririn had handed her on her way out the door. Sansa slid over a file for her that everyone else had already had.
"Authorization?"
'One minute.' Ignoring Rock Lock's frustrated sigh, Ichigo quickly flipped the files open and read the reports. Similar to her own with more information on the various trigger cases along with trigger past. She flipped through them making note to go through them again later that night and made it to the drug break down page. As she thought, the report looked exactly like the one Urahara had gotten her this morning but where hers listed faux-reishi, theirs listed a highly probable unknown substance that could not be proven nor determined. She pulled the report out and slapped it, getting everyone's attention. She pointed at the part of the report that had probable unknown substance written in bold.
'I know what it is.'
"Wait - what? But we haven't even proven that there is an additional substance to the new strain," Monika Kaniyashiki exclaimed.
"Wouldn't this substance be entirely new? How would you even know what it is if it's that new to the market?" Fat Gum asked and Ichigo shook her head.
'I took samples when I had a run in with the kids that were distributing and using in Karakura. Soul Candy's team ran a diagnostic and was able to get me a full breakdown this morning. Your teams wouldn't have the equipment or the knowledge to classify this substance. It's not new, in fact it's rather old.'
"You're saying this is a supernatural substance? Something you've worked with before?" Eraserhead asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Exactly.'
"You can't be serious." Well now Ichigo was offended.
'I'm incredibly serious.'
"Look, you want the world to think you're some ghost hunter chasing down poltergeists; that's fine. But this is actual real life and is putting people's lives in danger. Focus on the actual hero work you do and not trying to bring up supernatural propaganda."
"Eraser, my guy," Mic trailed off looking between the two. Everyone respected the Black Cloaked Guardian and what they did in the underground circuits, even if some people didn't understand or believe in the whole supernatural connection. When brought up in discussion Eraserhead was the first to say that they were a good hero that took their job seriously. Still, playing the "it was supernatural causes" was illogical. Mic, on the other hand, didn't know what to believe. He'd watched some of the videos of members of Xcution and Soul Candy taking on a ghost but there were a lot of explanations that could account for them. Logical explanations as Eraserhead would say.
'The hell is that supposed to mean?' Mic didn't even have time to translate for the rest of the group before Eraserhead was spouting off.
"Come on Guardian. It's illogical to continue playing this game. You weren't one to shove the stupid supernatural agenda down our throats before, why are you doing it now? This drug is killing people. You can't blame this on ectoplasm." Usually, Ichigo would give him kudos for a pre-quirk reference but now she wanted to kick his ass so… no kudos for him.
'Exactly! People are dying! It's not trigger that's killing them, it's what's in it,' Guardian signed quickly and efficiently. Some in the room stared wide eyed as the two more straight laced heroes, barring Sir Nighteye of course, began arguing. Both Eraserhead and Guardian were standing now. Fat Gum, being the friendly guy he was, also stood up and tried to get between the two in case it got ugly.
"And you want us to believe that it's some supernatural substance causing their death? Be logical!"
'I am being logical! This isn't an agenda! I'm telling you the truth.'
"Sure, there's some voodoo witch lacing the drug to make people stronger, huh? We've got some soul juice coming in to finish what the drug doesn't, is that it? Oh but we better not worry because the Black Cloaked Guardian's going to be leading the poor souls to the pearly gates." Eraserhead was straight laced and loved everything logial. Ichigo knew this. Despite this she hadn't anticipated he would be her loudest critic and down right refuse to listen to her before she could even explain. The outright refusal to even consider had something bubbling in Ichigo's stomach.
"No, you unmitigated prick! It's a fucking hollow coming, tearing their souls out, and eating them. News flash - they aren't going to be making it to the Soul Society; their souls are gone! You can't bring a soul back once it's been eaten by a hollow."
Sansa had let out a shocked "mrow!" that was followed by a shocked silence. It took Eraserhead raising an eyebrow and Present Mic freaking out for Ichigo to figure out exactly why those in the room had extreme reactions. She hadn't signed - she had spoken. In her defense, it had been a long day and Eraserhead was a stubborn ass that managed to push all the right buttons. Yeah… it was a shitty defense. Despite maintaining her silence for the last thirteen years to protect her identity as best she could, Ichigo spoke as the Black Cloaked Guardian.
"Y-you're a girl?" Mic exclaimed.
With a deep sigh, Ichigo hung her head. Her day just couldn't get better, could it? No hiding it from them now.
"You're shocked the Guardian is a woman versus the fact that she can talk?" Midnight asked her friend bemused.
"I thought she was selectively mute, yo," Mic attempted to whisper. Attempted being the key word. Ichigo decided it would be best to ignore and move forward. She trusted these people enough to tell them the secrets of the afterlife, might as well trust them with a part of her identity.
"While I'm sure my ability to speak and gender are great conversation topics, you all need this information."
"Of these 'hollows' you mentioned?" Sir Nighteye asked. See, this is why Ichigo respected the guy. Sure he had a two by four up his ass, but he at least kept to the important subjects. He also wasn't Eraserhead - which was a bonus at this moment in time.
"Yes. I can explain everything - if that's okay with you Eraserhead?" Ichigo grabbed her laptop out of her bag and held it up. "Unless you would like to take more time to claim my entire existence is nothing but a movie plot gone wrong."
"As you're able to speak, I guess we can use Tsukauchi to verify your information," Eraserhead returned to his seat with a tired expression. Besides her, Tsukauchi cleared his throat.
"Right, please continue Guardian."
"Feel free to call me out if I lie about anything, Detective," Ichigo opened her laptop and started typing in the passwords to access the soul network that would allow her to present videos and other proof of soul reapers and hollows.
"The reason I was late was because once we received the reports, I needed authorization to tell any of you. In order for you to understand the importance of this additional substance you need to understand exactly what it is we're actually dealing with. Which means, you get to know exactly what I and all other S-heros deal with on a daily basis. What I'm about to tell you is completely classified and cannot be shared." Ichigo looked up from her computer and turned around the room to look at each individual. "I'm entirely serious about this. If this information got to the public the balance of souls would be shattered. Suicide and murder rates would increase by at least ninety percent. If anyone isn't comfortable knowing this information or does not feel that they can keep this a secret, then please let us know now. Your memory will be erased and you can go about your day."
"Memory erasure, really?" Rock Lock scoffed disbelieving look.
"Quirks, heroes, and villains are a new evolutionary standpoint in mortals. Souls were always here. You think we didn't figure out how to deal with people finding out some of the greatest secrets of the soul process? Please." Finding what she needed, Ichigo unplugged Tsukauchi's laptop from the HDMI cable and plugged hers in. On the screen showed the first lesson taught in the Soul Academy: The Soul Process. "Now then, is there anyone that would like to walk away?"
"Wait - wait," Bubble Girl waved her hands frantically. "How do we know you're telling the truth? Or even that Detective Tsukauchi's quirk will work on you? No offense Guardian, but we didn't even know you could speak until today."
"That's an easy enough solution. Everything she's said so far has come up as a truth. Could you give me a few lies to run through first?" Tsukauchi asked.
"The table is white, I'm a natural blonde, gravity does not exist," Ichigo listed a few and rolled her eyes. "I was late because I stopped off to get a latte. Is that enough or do you need me to keep going?"
"You're good. They all rang as lies."
"Great. Am I good to proceed then?" Various nods around the room. "Perfect, Detective Tamakawa, please lock the door. I only got approval for the specific people in this room. I'd rather not have to deal with any more messes than necessary if I can prevent it."
Nodding Sansa made his way over and locked the door.
"Right, let's begin."
"T-that all rang true," Tsukauchi stuttered once Ichigo finished her presentation on the soul process. The group in front of Ichigo sat in shock. Ichigo felt for them - this information wasn't easy to swallow. Hell, she'd thrown a table at Rukia the first time Rukia explained it and she had seen spirits since she was a baby.
"So how does all of this connect to trigger," Sir Nighteye asked after clearing his throat. At the question Ichigo finally was able to pass out the files she had had prepared for this discussion.
"The additional substance is called faux-reishi - just as it sounds - it's fake reitsu, or spiritual energy. It's extremely concentrated. We will need to do more research on it but my guess is that whoever is using this substance is using it as a steroid to heighten the user's spiritual pressure and thus having an effect on the user's quirk."
"Why would that affect their quirk?" Eraserhead asked now taking the matter seriously. Ichigo felt a bit smug having made Eraserhead realize that souls, were in fact real. During the presentation he kept asking questions making the process longer than necessary with his logical and not logical bullshit.
"Again - quirks are a new part of evolution but spiritual energy is not. When a soul passes on they have to regain their abilities and it comes in the form of spiritual powers - not quirks. For instance when you die - you won't be able to use erasure until you've become a soul reaper or heightened your spiritual energy enough to access it."
"M-maybe don't use an example of Sho dying," Present Mic - who had paled since the first few minutes into the presentation - stuttered.
"Right," Ichigo winced. "Sorry. Normal for me, not for you. Anyways, the state of humans has a connection between their spiritual energy and their mortal body. The feux-reishi opens up that ability and lets the user access more. While this hasn't been proven yet, I'd say that it also opens the user up enough to be able to see wholes and hollows after they've taken the drug. Unfortunately, we have so few victims left I haven't been able to prove that theory yet as the others were eaten by hollows."
"How can you be sure they were eaten and it wasn't a simple drug overdose?" Sir Nighteye asked.
"I'll be able to know for sure once I've looked into each case, but I know at least three of them were consumed by hollows. That's the other reason I'm bringing this to your attention - faux-reishi is used as hollow bait. It's how new soul reapers, quincies, and soul bringers - "
"What?" Fat Gum interrupted. Oh yeah the different kinds of soul entities besides soul reapers and hollows haven't been touched yet.
"Right - sorry that's for a more advanced class. It's how we're taught to kill hollows once we've reached a certain level. It can also be used to draw hollows out that are particularly skilled in hiding."
"That's…disturbing," Poor Present Mic looked more sick. Ichigo would need to get him something sweet after this.
"It's certainly not for the faint of heart."
"So essentially - they are injecting themselves with hollow bait and making themselves said bait," Sir Nighteye hummed.
"Exactly."
"Why?"
Ichigo sighed and reached a hand up to rub her face. It had been a very long day. "That's the question of the day, isn't it? There are a few theories I'm running. It could be an accident - they don't realize the faux-reishi is still active even when in the user's blood stream. Perhaps it's their way of taking out the witnesses without getting their hands dirtier. They could be using these as test subjects with a bigger goal of using the chaos of someone going on a rampage to push civilians into a group while we take on the users and have hundreds of hollows descend on the city - killing mortals and eating their souls." Ichigo looked around the group. A grim look appeared on everyone's face as they took in what Ichigo was saying.
"We can't let that happen," Present Mic said with an uncharacteristic glare on his face.
"No," Ichigo sighed. "We really can't."
Ichigo stepped out onto the roof of police headquarters after speaking more with Tsukauchi when the others had left. She had provided him with all the phone numbers for those in the supernatural department of the police force. From there he'd be getting even more support. Before they had left Present Mic and Fat Gum assured their silence about Ichigo's non-muteness and gender. Not that they needed to, she knew she could trust them. It just took the slip up for her to let go of the silliness of remaining silent around them. Tsukauchi had been kind enough to give her the same assurances about himself and his officers. It had been too long of a day for Ichigo to care. It was nighttime already and Ichigo needed to head out to patrol for the next four hours before she could finally go home and sleep. She missed her bed. To think her main concern this morning was Izuku - shit - Izuku. She needed to get on that too.
"I need coffee," Ichigo murmured to herself quietly and prepared to jump into the air so that she could shunpo back to Karakura Town. Energy levels be damned - she wanted to be in her home town now.
"Guardian," the gruff voice of Eraserhead nearly - nearly - made her jump. Turning Ichigo watched as the grumpy hobo appeared from the air conditioner's shadows.
"Eraserhead," Ichigo greeted. "Thought you'd have left by now."
"You can sign if you're more comfortable," Eraserhead made his way closer to Ichigo. She raised an eyebrow and scoffed.
"Don't start being courteous to me now, Eraser. I'll think you actually give a shit about me." He didn't respond. In a way he was just like Byakuya Kuchiki - except Byakuya wouldn't be caught dead in his hero uniform and facial hair. Though, both men did have an affinity for scarves.
Oh my lord, he's just a homeless version of Byakuya. How did I not see this before?
Ichigo pulled herself away from finding Byakuya's long lost twin - that could wait for another day - and waved her hand dismissively through the air. If he really was like Byakuya, he wasn't going to talk until she did.
"It's honestly not that big of a deal. If I had spoken on television or around someone with a camera, I'd probably be erasing memories, but I didn't. The people we work with aren't the kind to throw me under the bus for shits and giggles and it's not like my entire identity was exposed. No need to worry about it."
Eraserhead nodded and drew his head back. Surprisingly he managed to make eye contact beyond Ichigo's large hood.
"I'm sorry about what I said back there. I let my preconceived notions guide my judgment." Okay, not like Byakuya, this one actually apologizes.
"Thanks," Ichigo huffed and started to look anywhere but at Eraserhead. So she wasn't good with apologies from people she worked with - sue her. "But no worries. When I first was introduced into this world I threw a table - and I'd been seeing dead people all my life. It's a hard pill to swallow. Plus, I overreacted to your understandable disbelief. The faux-reishi mixed with trigger had me already on edge as it was. Having to disclose it and people not believing me right off the bat pushed me over the edge." Ichigo gave a dry laugh and pulled at her cloak. "I suppose I should say sorry for calling you an unmitigated prick."
"I've been called worse."
"Now that I believe. We don't exactly have a job where people are nice to us, now do we?" Ichigo gave an actual laugh and turned back towards the direction of Karakura Town. "If that's everything I'm going to head back to Karakura. I still have some patrolling to do and would like to see my bed sometime before tomorrow morning."
"Actually," Eraserhead stretched and rubbed the back of his neck while looking anywhere but at Ichigo. "I'd like to talk to you about taking on some patrols in Karakura Town."
What?
"Why?"
"You're moving to take on patrols in my area to assist with the higher numbers of trigger being here. I get that you're focusing more on the soul aspect but that's taking away from your patrols in Karakura that are used for criminal activities with…"
"Mortals."
"Mortals," Eraserhead sighed and shook his head as if he couldn't believe they were having this conversation. "You're the main underground hero for Karakura Town. I know the community depends on you a lot. I want to help shoulder the burden since you're taking on mine."
"Eraser," Ichigo trailed off. "You know you're not being logical, right? We're not the only underground heroes in our areas."
"Exactly. I've got enough people covering my patrol routes, but your situation is different. From how you explained it, the majority of heroes in Karakura are S-heros. They're going to be sent out to assist other cities with hollows. You'll be taking on patrols out of Karakura, so who's going to be looking out for the mortal problems? Let me step in and assist - you could use the help."
She could use the help. The number of heroes that would actually use their abilities - not just their unlicensed and licensed spiritual ones - could be counted on one hand. They maintained the daytime patrols because they liked being seen. Usually Ichigo would be working with Nobu and Jinta to form teams for the underground but Jinta will be needed close to the police department and Nobu will be sent to another city. Ichigo's hope was to get one of the daylite S-heros to take on some night patrols. If she needed to get Xcution involved she would. Even with all of that, the town would definitely feel the effects.
"Karakura Town isn't like everywhere else. There are things you won't be able to see or understand that everyone else will. It's a nesting ground for the supernatural. Things won't make sense to you - they won't be logical," Ichigo warned and threw in his favorite word for good measure.
"I'll have to figure it out then," Eraserhead surmised with a nod. "Get to know the new logical."
Ichigo conceded with a sigh. She really could use the additional help. More mortals were taking an interest in Karakura Town and with it came idiots thinking a life of crime would solve their problems. "We should do patrols together for the next few weeks to get to know each other's patrols. I'll be able to guide you on some of the weirder things you'll see during your patrols. I'll give you my personal phone number too in case something comes up that you can't understand."
"That would be appreciated. We can compare schedules tomorrow to figure out how we'll handle this transition."
The two pulled out their personal cell phones and traded them to add their numbers. Eraserhead's personal phone had a sticker of a cat with bat wings pouncing on a ball of string. Ichigo bit her lip to stop herself from teasing him about how the cute sticker fit his personality but wasn't expected at all. She couldn't exactly talk - her phone had a bunny sitting in a top hat with sparkles everywhere. Izuku had given it to her a few weeks ago and she had immediately put it on her phone.
"Just text me tomorrow and we can meet up. I'll be in the area anyways," Yes, Ichigo would be stalking her nephew tomorrow. She couldn't let this faux-reishi business get in the way of her taking care of Izuku.
"Until then. Have a good night Guardian."
"You too Eraser." With that final goodbye, Ichigo took to the sky and shunpoed home.