Disclaimer: I do NOT own bleach. But you already knew this so why bother.
"Normal speech"
'Thoughts'
#1#
Heavy eye lids slipped open very slowly, almost as if something were preventing him from doing so but he was to stubborn to care. His amber eyes were completely open and the first thing he saw was a wooden roof, he was lost in the wood like if he wasn't even seeing it when his eyes were very much staring straight at it. His thoughts were all jumbled up and he couldn't form coherent conclusions.
He was very much lost in thought as he didn't move an inch from the soft surface he was lying on. He heaved out a slow breath to straighten out his thoughts, letting eye lids slide closed once more to try and think slowly and with all the logic he could muster.
His thoughts wondered to the last thing he remembered, the rain drops, the numbness… he had died, hadn't he? He felt like he was going in circles, every single thing he tried to remember to try and make a logical conclusion drove him to a sole one… he was dying at that moment.
He opened his eyes once more and this time turned his head to look at his right. A shoji door. He blinked to try and get the illusion out if his head but it never left. He turned back to look at the roof before returning to his thoughts.
'Okay, there are no shoji doors after death… well if you die as a human and go to soul society yes but that's not the point. I died in soul society as a… shinigami?'
He was thoughtful to himself before nodding to no one in particular.
'Yes, a shinigami. That would mean I would be reincarnated into the cycle of souls. So what am I doing he-… Where am I?'
As he glanced this time to his left he saw a beautiful garden, the doors on that side were open so he could see perfectly clear a green garden with some flowers here and there. Once he had stared rather intently at the garden he just couldn't reject it any longer. He just hadn't died. That was the answer, so now the next question.
Where the hell was he?
He carefully stood up with a groan, clutching his abdomen as a slight pain shot up through his system. He straightened himself up and tried to look at the whole room to find anything that might give him an answer as to where he was. His eyes stopped on a very familiar nodachi, reclined on one of the walls.
He strode to his sword with much care, one hand still clutching his abdomen where he knew he had been fatally injured before and the other hanging rather limply at his side. When he was right in front of the sheathed blade he let out a small, very insignificant smile and brought his free hand to grab it with much kindness almost as if it were a living thing; that in a way he did consider them to be a living thing.
"Oh so you're awake!"
He was startled out of his trance like state and quickly turned around at the fastest speed he could muster, he let go of his abdomen to grab the black hilt of his sword with a strong grip, in a defensive position ready to strike any second.
Eyes narrowed and tangerine colored brows furred together in a menacing scowl that would make the bravest man waver under his gaze. His eyes fell on the form of a man, taller than himself that also looked like he was double his own age. The man had long black hair tied together in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, the little amount of hair that was too short to be tied was spiky. The new intruder also happened to have piercing green eyes that in his current situation were as wide as saucers.
"Woah!"
The older man lifted his arms so that they were in sight, trying to show he meant no harm. He had a slightly panicked look on his face but still held a half smug smirk.
"I won't hurt you so calm down okay?"
The orange head never wavered in his stance even though the pain was almost unbearable. He stayed in a defensive position not trusting one bit the others innocence even though he had his hands in sight.
"What makes you think I can trust you enough to let my sword down?"
That had been the first time he had talked in some time now and his voice came out as raspy as he expected it to be, he held back a cough that wanted to come out as a consequence and settled to stare at the man.
The mystery man just let his hand drop to the side and made his smirk widen ever so slightly. But the thing is, it didn't have an ounce of malice in it he only had a nice and warm feeling to it.
"You don't have to trust me. But just to mention I happened to be the one that got a healer in time before you died and this also happens to be my house so if you can at least relax that would be great."
The man's smirk never wavered even if he had a sword ready to be drawn right in front of him.
Seeing that he would never get any answers from the black haired man with a zanpaktou ready to butcher him he let out a shaky sigh before lowering his hand from the hilt, moving with much care to try and clutch his abdomen that felt like it would rip open if he stayed in the stiff stance he was. The pain shot throughout all his nerves and his knees gave out under him, falling into a crouching position hand still grasping earnestly his zanpaktou and stomach.
"Ah fuck, I knew this would happen."
The black haired man went to the other side as quick as the other had fallen, supporting him back into the futon and making him sit in the best way possible so as to not worsen the injury that -as he realized just know- still hurt like a bitch. Once the apparent owner of the house finished his task of setting the orange head with much care, he sat down at the side, a smile still plastered very confidently on his face.
"So, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Shiba Ryōtarō, 2nd head of the noble Shiba family and captain of squad 10."
The orange head that had held no emotion what so ever throughout the whole situation couldn't help but feel surprised, he was so surprised that his surprise flowed out into the open before he could put a lid onto his emotions, but as quickly as it decided to flow out it just disappeared
He struggled with the pain to shift lightly in his place to notice that the man indeed did carry a captains haori on his back, something he hadn't noticed earlier since he was too busy being wary of his situation which for the record, he still was. He never dropped the stare, thoughts going rapidly in his mind trying to connect the dots of the mystery that had started the moment Kisuke had thrown him into that Senkaimon.
He closed his eyes trying to let it all sink, his head hurting thanks to the major overdrive it had gone into. He let out a deep breath and slid eye lids open, the others smirk still very present on his face and not even slightly disturbed by the orange heads stoic face.
"Would you mind telling me your name?"
Amber eyes lost eye contact with green as he looked at his hands that were gripping the futon with force he never intended to use. He thought of all the possibilities and outcomes of telling this Shiba his name and found no reason to not be able to. He was feeling way better in his presence now that he knew who he was and even more that he was apparently family even if the other didn't know.
"Ichigo… my name is Ichigo…"
Ichigo never looked up from his curled fists even when he heard the other shift in his place, now sitting cross legged in a comfy and informal manner, something very normal only for the Shiba nobles.
"Number one protector, huh? That's a good name."
"No…"
Ryo barely registered the whisper that came out of the orange head, he was shocked by how dead and void his voice had sounded even when he had just said one word.
"That name does not suit me, I might as well be Strawberry."
The raven heads eyes softened ever so slightly at seeing the other in such a broken state, he was really worried for him, why wouldn't he be, finding him in the middle of the woods half dead and then waking up in such a tense state making him discover how broken the boy looked.
'Boy…?'
He thought about that, he hated how in soul society it was so hard to tell age but in his current situation he couldn't care less. Sure the orange head looked no older than 18 but he might as well be his own age; even so he didn't care, he was only a boy in his eyes.
Ryo couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped his lips as he stood up, leaving the boy still sitting on the futon with a tired expression on his face.
"I have to go check some stuff out but I'll be right back. If you need anything just call out, there is bound to be a servant around so don't hesitate to speak up."
He barely saw the nod he was given in response as it was almost unrecognizable, he let another sigh out as he strode out the wide open door and into the hall leaving the other in his own musing.
Now that Ichigo was left alone to his thoughts he was finally able to concentrate on his theory. He lifted his gaze to look out the peaceful garden as memories flooded his very mind.
"You have to get out of here now!"
The explosions almost prevented the words from reaching his ears but he was still able to make out what the 12th squad captain had yelled at him. He felt anger bubble up from the pit of his stomach, stomach that had a giant hole in it thanks to that bastard's cowardly move.
"I can still fight damn it I'm a captain not a child!"
The blonde only shook his head, glancing back at the youngest of their captains and couldn't help the darkness that crept into his eyes at seeing the state he was in.
The orange head had supported a deadly blast that would have killed any other. The newest of the captains had outdone them all by being able to endure that attack but he knew that even being who he was he would not last much longer. He had acted as a shield and now the shield was slowly crumbling
"There is no time, it's not stable enough to last any longer, I'm not even sure it will work. Be careful and promise me you'll find a way to fix this mess."
He held hope in his voice, hope that was very much heard by the other even if his thoughts were a mess.
"B-but Kisuke, what are you talking about?"
Amber orbs widened at the panic reaching into his mind. Panic that was slowly but surely making the pain in his abdomen and in so much other places even more painful. He tensed when he felt the former shop keeper place a firm yet gentle hand on his shoulder as he helped him support his mangled body.
"Ichi… just… promise me you'll try and prevent this tragedy…. Please…"
Ichigo just looked deeply into gray dull eyes trying to find an explanation but quickly lost eye contact as another explosion shook the blood stained floor they were standing on.
"A-alright, I don't understand but I promise."
He saw Kisuke's warm smile but couldn't believe it, couldn't believe the smile that had disappeared after Yoruichi died resurfaced even if just for a second. His breath hitched in his throat and he barely registered being pushed into what looked like a senkaimon as he tried not to break eye contact with the others sad gray eyes.
"Thank you…"
The sheer thought of that made him want to break down in that moment not even caring but he knew he couldn't, even if he wanted to, even if his heart constricted in pain the tears never fell. He knew now what Kisuke meant in that moment, the sorrow that was held in his eyes as it was the last thing he saw before appearing in the middle of the woods.
He connected the dots once more. Kisuke's promise… the senkaimon that was never a senkaimon since there isn't one that would just change your location in soul society… the man… Shiba Ryōtarō. He had said he was the 2nd family head but Ichigo knew that the last head to ever have existed in his own family- the Shibas- was the 32nd head Shiba Kukaku.
There was only one explanation to his current situation but he still wanted to test his theory out. If he was right Kisuke's senkaimon had sent him into the past, and way into the past if the difference between 2 and 32 was something to say.
He heaved out another slow but dreadful sigh as he pondered over what to do now. The man… Shiba Ryōtarō hadn't said anything about him leaving so he still had some time even if he didn't want to take advantage of the kind man. He was going to do something about the future that was for sure but for now his top priority was healing up enough to be able to move without pain and finding out how back he had gone.
All of a sudden his senses went haywire and he noticed a strong yet steady reiatsu just outside the room he was in, he didn't turn to see who it was nor did he show he knew someone was there, he just stood still as the other also did the same. When the reiatsu never left nor did it enter the room he couldn't help the sudden urge he had to yell at the person; he instead settled with just voicing out his thoughts in a stern yet normal voice.
"I know you're there."
He never turned from looking at the garden but he was able to hear the small squeak that came from the other side of rice doors. Suddenly he heard a small distinctively click symbolizing that whoever was outside was now inside.
"I didn't mean to spy I was just… curious."
Ichigo still didn't turn to look at the new comer as her voice -since it was obviously feminine- flooded his hearing. He raised an eyebrow at the last word and couldn't stop himself from voicing out his own thoughts.
"Curious?"
This time the timid voice seemed to gain confidence upon noticing his voice didn't hold any annoyance or malice.
"Y-yeah. Chichiue (1) said you had woken up so I was sorta curious… sorry."
As he heard the apology he felt the sudden urge to face her and deny it. His head turned and his amber eyes fell on equally amber ones. He was glued to her eyes that held the same spark his had a long time ago, not being able to move from the innocent orbs that stared right back at him. He finally noticed what he was doing and cleared his throat to grab her attention as she was also mesmerized in his own eyes.
"T-there's nothing to apologize about. I wasn't doing anything anyways."
When he looked back at the girl he was finally able to look at her appearance. She had black silky hair that reached her hips, it had a red brioche on her left side that was neatly keeping her hair from her amber eyes. She was at least 1.60 m (5' 2") not as tall as his 1.81 m (5' 11") but tall in her own way. The girl -since she looked no older than 17- had white silky skin that now that he noticed was lightly tinted pink in her cheeks, a discreet yet very visible flush.
"O-okay… um, my name is Shiba Haruka."
He nodded before realizing she was waiting for his reply and opened his own mouth to speak.
"Ichigo, it's nice to meet you Shiba-san."
She instantly brightened up and broke into a wide smile before finally registering how Ichigo had called her and quickly changing it into a scowl.
"You can call me Haruka, it's confusing with more than one Shiba in the house."
He nodded once more taking in the new piece of information that this girl that looked similar to his age had provided. Apparently there was more than one Shiba in this house, he at least no knew there were two, who knew how many more there were.
"And you can call me Ichigo…"
He quickly noticed his own mistake and went to follow his sentence, stammering slightly since he was in a hurry to not mess up and give unnecessary information.
"S-since I only have that, you know."
Her smile returned as she laughed at his obvious mistake thinking he had forgotten he only had one name. Ichigo only stared at her with an eyebrow raised thinking how she could laugh so easily and how she seemed to be too relaxed in a room with a man she barely knew when said man had a zanpaktou right beside him.
He was about to inquire about that when the door slid open revealing the first person he had actually met and had apparently saved his life with someone else he was never expecting to see towing right behind.
"Hey Ichigo, sorry to interrupt but I brought the healer I told you about in the beginning. The best of the best, captain of squad 4 Kirinji Tenjirō."
Ichigo was about to be somewhat nice and respond instead of just staying quiet like a bastard that had no manners or ignores people but he was cut off by none other than the current captain of squad 4.
"Hey Ryōtarō ya forgot that I'm also called Lightning speed Tenjirō!"
The orange head only blinked in surprise when the head of the Shiba clan gave Tenjirō a hard slap on the head.
"Stop being so rude you're scaring the poor boy!"
"Me?! Yeah well maybe it's you that's scaring him, crazy Shibas and their crazy antics!"
"What you say you're the one that started to yell out of nowhere! Why would he care of your self-proclaimed title!"
"How many times do I have to tell you it's not self-proclaimed, it's a fact!"
Ichigo didn't let his eyes leave the scene that was playing out right in front of him, thinking how friendly they were with each other and how it reminded him so much of the past when he would argue like that with Renji or Ishida. He was suddenly startled when a stern and annoyed voice was heard.
"Quiet you two!"
The two adults quarrel was cut short by the person Ichigo would never expect it from. He turned his gaze from the two men that had each other held by the collar of their shihakushos, frozen in place, to the source of the yell which had been none other than Haruka.
"You two are acting like babies, when will there be a single time when you won't fight over every little thing."
The two now held a sorry face, Tenjirō rubbing the back of his head sheepishly mumbling under his breath something about unfair and Ryōtarō pouting trying to look as innocent as possible.
"But Haru, he started."
The person in question only gave a glare as a response before turning to look at the orange head, expecting him to be freaked out or at least startled by the sudden scene that happened right before him only to find Ichigo as neutral as ever. She raised an eyebrow gaining the two elder men's attention when they realized that he had indeed stayed quiet and calm the whole time.
"What?"
Ichigo only tilted his head slightly to the side to prove his point and show he really had no idea why they were staring at him when he suddenly remembered that those kinds of antics were only normal for Shibas.
'Damn.'
"No it's just that I thought you would be freaked out or something."
Thinking as fast as he could and grabbing onto the first thing that came to mind he responded in an equally normal and not even bothered tone.
"Well you see a lot of crazy things in Rukongai."
Hoping it was enough of an answer he brought his attention back to the man he had only met thanks to the war and hardships that had even made the zero squad intervene.
Said man was calmer now that Haruka had put both of them in their place but he still held a cheeky smirk on his face, he was also younger than he remembered but of course that was a given since Tenjirō was one of the first to join the original gotei 13. This gave him a clue as to how back he had really gone so he thought it was a useful fact.
"It's nice to meet you Tenjirō-san. My name is Ichigo but you probably already know that."
Tenjirō's smirk only widened now that the attention was back on him, and realizing that Ichigo had made a pretty accurate comment he couldn't avoid it either.
"Yup, this guy here told me what he knew on the way back but what I'm really here for is to check how your wounds are coming along since this idiot here also mentioned you were in pain."
"Who are you call-!"
The Shiba's protest was cut off in mid-sentence when he was hit rather hard in the head by Haruka, said person still carrying a rather menacing gaze that showed just how annoyed she was, trace of the shy girl Ichigo had seen mere minutes ago nowhere in sight.
"Behave yourself Chichue."
Her father only crossed his arms over his chest grabbing onto a rather childish –in Ichigo's opinion- face that showed how he really was. He thought of how lucky Haruka was that this Shiba didn't wail and cry like his own idiot of a Shiba father.
Ichigo turned back to the healer and nodded standing up so that hewould have better access to his abdomen where the pain was worse. He opened up the white shitagi (2) he was wearing and waited patiently as Tenjirō got closer, thumb rubbing thoughtfully on his chin and looking at his bandage covered abdomen.
"Hum… well I usually punch my patients to see if their completely healed."
Ichigo saw Haruka scowl once more, about to open her mouth to protest with a terrified look on her face when the 4th squad captain held a hand up stopping her.
"But since most my patients are shinigami that are pretty strong in my opinion I really can't do that with you so I'll have to do it the old fashion way."
He nodded, not even fazed by the mere thought of being punched by an expert in hakuda (3). He watched carefully as the bandages were slowly removed from his chest and the injury came in sight. It was still pink, barely sticking itself together. He looked at the rest of his upper body so full of scars, some that looked as nasty as they did when they had barely been healed and others that looked old and barely there. Ichigo also knew there were thin scars running all over his back, clearly made by a whip but if anybody realized it they didn't comment on it.
He felt a new bandage being wrapped in place after the injury was cleaned and checked, noticing how all the other injuries he had sustained were gone and couldn't help but feel curious.
"What happened to my other wounds?"
He received an incredulous look from the healer in question as he finished the last procedures. Tenjirō stared directly into the depths of amber eyes until he gave out a sigh and shook his head.
"They healed two days ago, ya were out of it for at least a five days."
Ichigo kept on staring into the others eyes letting the news sink in his mind. He had been out for five days… five days had passed since then and he still felt like shit. That just shows how bad the injury really was. He was brought back from his musing when he heard the others voice once more.
"Let me tell you I didn't think you would make it but seeing you as well as you are now… it's seriously a miracle you survived."
The orange head looked down at his wound that was already covered in bandages, deciding to pull back his shitagi. His thoughts brought a certain conclusion to mind and he realized he should have thanked Ryōtarō a long time ago.
"Ryōtarō-san I forgot to thank you earlier… and also thanks to you to Tenjirō-san."
Both men in question looked at each other before breaking into a small fit of laughter finding something funny where Ichigo could find no such thing.
"Sorry 'bout that kid, no need to thank me it was Ryō that found ya not me, I only healed you."
"Your thanks are accepted but there really is no need. I did it 'cause I wanted to and that's all!"
Ryōtarō now had the largest grin Ichigo had seen on the man, one of pure happiness and no alternate meaning to it and seeing this Ichigo couldn't help but compare the Shiba before him with his own dad, very similar but still different. Thinking about his dad brought a small smile to his own face, but even as it held sadness in it there was still a small warm trace.
The smile did not go unnoticed by the three even if it did go unnoticed by the owner of it and a similar thought passed through their minds as they thought of how that smile was the closest thing the orange head had showed as a sign of positive emotion.
#1#
"So what do you think about the boy."
The two captains were walking through the halls of the Shiba manor, making their way to the head's private courters to try and get more privacy with a cup of tea or even sake.
"Ryōtarō… that's no boy you got yourself…"
Said captain only nodded as he opened the shoji door into one of his rooms. This one in particular only holding a low table, cushions and some sake bottles with their cups on a counter. He sat down, placing a cup of sake in front of both and a bottle in the middle of the table before finally speaking up.
"I think so to… his eyes hold a haunted feeling to them and it breaks my heart to see such a young person with that sort of expression. I just… I just wonder what happened to him to make him like this."
Tenjirō had already served them both a full cup of sake. The 4th squad captain only took a sip before looking at the other with the most serious face he could muster.
"You saw all those scars right?"
Upon seeing the other nod slowly he closed his eyes briefly only to open them again, gaze hard and in the depth of it all, pissed.
"Some of them are obviously the work of torture."
Ryōtarō's breath hitched in his throat and he hissed at the mere thought of it, opening his mouth to give a response but not being able to find one at the same time.
"The ones on his back are whips… there's some scars on his wrists that have shackles written all over them… he has even more scars but if they're all from torture or battle I don't know."
Tenjirō never wavered from his sudden serious gaze and Ryō could only stare before taking a sip of the sake, trying to let this newfound information sink in as best as it could.
"He's that bad?"
The other's only answer was to grab the sake bottle and fill up his cup once more before gazing up and looking directly into green eyes.
"With all this I can tell you he did not over react upon seeing you."
Ryōtarō tilted his head showing off his obvious confused state.
"What do you mean? Do you think almost having a sword in the gut was not over reacting?"
"That's exactly what I mean. Being in the state he was, having had hardships we couldn't hope of knowing… it's a real mystery why he's more at ease now, I would have thought him to be more untrusting."
The head of the Shiba clan gave out a long sigh before gripping his cup and completely downing the sake, placing the cup back on the table with force enough to back up his somewhat pissed off state.
"I was going to let him stay here as long as he needed and as long as he wanted, but now… now I just can't find it in myself to let him leave."
He gave out another sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes lids sliding closed to hide green orbs behind before opening them once again.
"It all makes more sense now… his obvious distrust, how weary he was even though he looked like he was sitting calmly on the futon, the haunted look in his eyes and the way he seems to space off sometimes… I can't believe how much I want to thank who ever put him in my path that rainy night."
The captain of the 4th squad took another sip of his sake, trying to savor it at the best of his possibilities.
"What are you thinking of doing…?"
The other only glanced up to look at his comrade, a fierce determination burning in his green eyes as they didn't waver for a second.
"I think you already know…"
Tenjirō only smirked as he downed the last of his cup trying to look as serious as possible with a smug smirk on his face.
"Maybe I do."
#1#
"Are you sure you don't need to rest, I mean I can leave."
"I don't have anything to do so I really don't mind if anything I bet you'd be bored with me more than anything."
Amber eyes glanced worriedly at the orange head that was sitting right beside. She couldn't get her eyes off him for some reason and her curiosity wasn't helping one bit.
This boy had been a mystery from the moment he had been dragged into the manor on her father's back, Tenjirō right behind with a palm illuminated with green lingering as closely as possible to the worst injury that was visible thanks to the tattered clothing the orange head wore. In that moment she couldn't avoid freaking out feeling a dread at the sight of all the blood and hoping her younger brother wouldn't wake up or he would be traumatized for life.
She glanced back at the other, the curiosity getting the best of her and not realizing until she had spoken up.
"How did you get that injured…?"
She quickly noticed her mistake and panicked slightly, trying to form a coherent sentence to avoid making him bothered by the rather intruding question.
"I-I mean i-if it's okay to tell me."
Ichigo didn't let the thought bother him on the outside even if in the inside he felt almost broken. He tried to heave out a silent breath to get the pieces back together, sticking and gluing shattered and broken pieces of his own soul.
"We were attacked… and I tried to be a shield."
That was the best answer he could muster no matter how hard he tried, after all, an explanation of how an evil master mind had tried to kill the majority of the future captains that had yet to even exist and that he had gotten badly injured taking in the blast was not one he thought she would believe.
In return Haruka only nodded her head, realizing it was a very painful topic and cursing at her own stupidity, after all why would the orange head even talk about such things to someone he had just met hours ago.
She glanced back rather nervously to look at him, noticing how the soft breeze of the garden flew into the room and moved gently his very slightly, long orange locks. She looked at the bright hair thinking how he didn't seem bothered when his hair was sometimes obstructing his vision and how it might even tickle the nape of his neck when it was moved.
She looked away from the boy that looked no older than herself and went back to gazing at the peaceful garden that had, for some reason never left the others eyes. The sun was starting to set and the night started to enhance the peaceful sight, engulfing them along with it.
She heard footsteps and looked up noticing a servant carrying none other than her little brother.
"Sorry to bother you Ojou-sama (4) but I'm turning on the lanterns before tucking in young Wataru to bed."
The sound of a new voice brought Ichigo's attention as he looked away from the garden that helped him find peace, only to see a normal everyday servant carrying a boy with soft black hair just like Haruka's, piercing green eyes and an innocent and very childlike expression in place. The child in Ichigo's eyes looked no older than 4 years old but he knew that looks were not always the truth in the matter of age; take him for example, he was already 38 but he still looked like someone in his senior year of high school.
The little boy, Wataru gave him a wide smile that reminded him so much of himself when he was that age, he blinked before realizing that not responding would scare him and gave the little boy a small smile in return.
Haruka all of a sudden stood up to ruffle the black tuff of hair that Wataru had before speaking up in a calm and warm voice, not in the least demanding or annoyed like one would expect from a noble family.
"It's okay you weren't interrupting. How's Wataru-chan behaving?"
Said boy only gave a cute pout in response, big green eyes staring right into Haruka's amber ones.
"I'm a good boy Haru-ne."
Haruka only gave out a chuckle in response, not halting her soft caresses as she smiled rather warmly at the boy.
Big green eyes flickered their attention back to Ichigo as he seemed rather interested in the guest and his bright orange hair.
Realizing this Haruka took a step to the side to have Ichigo be in complete sight, said person stood up from his place on the wooden porch trying to be as friendly as possible for the young boy.
"Wataru-chan this is Ichigo he'll be staying here for a while so be nice okay."
Said boy only nodded rather earnestly wiggling his way out of the servant's way to stand up right in front of Ichigo, a serious and determined gaze that just looked ridiculous on the boy. This made Ichigo's smile even more genuine as he couldn't seem to be able to hold his stoic demeanor in front of the young Shiba.
Said boy only nodded before giving out a tiny hand to shake Ichigo's, noticing the gesture Ichigo knelt down and gave his own hand in response even if Wataru was only able to grasp three of his fingers with his hand.
"Hello Wataru-chan."
"Umu, you will be Ichi-ni from now on."
Haruka and the servant that was still there watching the scene with curiosity blinked in surprise, Wataru being way straighter forward than ever before. Haruka was about to tell Wataru how rude it could be for Ichigo and that he should first ask if he can call him that only to stop on her tracks.
Not only was Wataru being friendly and not acting shy like he always did but Ichigo had a genuine warm smile that spoke of much kindness and how fond he had already gotten of the small boy.
"I don't mind."
Wataru beamed into a wide smile as he seemed very pleased with himself and his current achievement. He let go of the bigger hand and went to grasp the servant's smaller one, surprising her if only for a moment.
"Thank you, bye bye Ichi-ni!"
Ichigo could only wave at the small boy as he left through the corridors trying to pull on the servant towards the opposite direction. The lady only turned as fast she could to give a shallow bow before voicing out her excuses.
"If you excuse me Ojou-sama, Ichigo-dono."
As the two disappeared into a corridor Ichigo stood up once more, wincing under his breath at the sudden movement and trying to avoid Haruka from realizing. He glanced to his side when he noticed a stare being directed his way only to see it was none other than Haruka.
He raised an eyebrow about to inquire on why she was staring at him when she beat him to the punch, surprising him by what came out.
"In the three hours or so you've been awake you befriended my shy and somewhat anti-social little brother… just what the hell did you do?!"
She raised her arms in an exasperated way to prove her own point, glaring ever so slightly into Ichigo's direction and trying to squeeze an answer out of him if he tried not to answer himself.
Ichigo in response lifted his hands in a way to defend himself from the girl's harmless inquiry. He honestly didn't know himself so just stood thoughtful, hands still raised in front of his chest as to prevent anything Haruka may throw his way.
"Well… I really don't know… it was just instinct I guess..."
He shrugged the feeling off, knowing the real reason why but not wanting to even admit it to himself since it would only bring back painful memories, memories that at the moment are not welcome even after so much time has passed.
Ichigo gave another quick glance to the shorter girl to see her sighing and actually accepting his response as an answer, Ichigo knew she was only being considerate since she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable and he couldn't be more grateful. His own soul was still very much locked up, not even close to being able to open up to another even if that person were someone Ichigo trusted with his life. So now it didn't even matter because there were no longer people that fell in that category with him.
Pushing the thought aside he noticed how the winds flew gently, rustling the trees giving the gardens view and even better beauty in a whole new level.
"What do you see so much in that garden?"
He was startled when he heard Haruka voice out her thoughts only a little bit behind him. He turned from the garden only to face her, a neutral and very much practiced voice in place, when that was void of any emotion that didn't betray any of his inner feelings.
"Memories…. Memories that will always be there no matter what…"
Once those words were muttered she never spoke up again opting to stay silent and gaze at the garden with him and sometimes steel a glance or two his way. It stayed that way until she excused herself stating she had to sleep or else she wouldn't be able to wake up the next day and Ichigo acknowledged her point with only a swift and slow nod, never speaking up that night only gazing at the moon lit garden that held its own mystery behind it.
Neither of the two noticed that the Shiba head was standing rather silently in the shadows, a somber expression held in place and reiatsu kept neatly but completely suppressed. He had been there since his youngest came out and showed much comfort with the orange head but he never knew how to make his presence known, and then with the somewhat awkward silence left it had ended up worse. So when her daughter decided to retire for the night he couldn't help but take hold of the opportunity at hand.
He came out slowly from within the shadows and at the same time making his presence known little by little so the boy wouldn't be startled by his sudden appearance. He was actually surprised that the moment he started to let his reiatsu flow was the moment Ichigo turned around to face in his direction.
When he saw this he couldn't help but feel curious as to how much the boy knew of reiatsu and how to feel people's presence. He concluded that since Ichigo hadn't turned when he had his reiatsu muted the most accurate conclusion would be that he really didn't notice him until now.
He decided to act like that was the case, casually walking towards him and getting in place right beside him as Ichigo turned back his gaze towards the full moon that happened to be out tonight.
"Can't sleep?"
Ichigo only nodded thoughtfully as he comprehended the complete meaning of those words and thinking that Ryōtarō might as well want to hear a reason as to why.
"It's been hard to sleep for some time now so I don't even bother trying when I know I won't be able to succeed anyway."
The captain gave Ichigo a questioning but brief glance before returning to watch the moon in its full beauty thinking that the night was spectacular and that if it were any other day he would have invited Tenjirō to stay and have some more sake under the light of the moon.
"Then do you want to eat, I mean if you're not going to sleep than maybe you'd want to eat something you haven't really eaten at all since you were unconscious."
Ichigo pondered for a second, placing a hand over his stomach and thinking that he wasn't really hungry. He shook his head rather intently to prove his point that he really wasn't in the mood for food even if he knew he should at least feel some sort of hunger, but of course food wasn't something his body needed to continue functioning in some time so it was reasonable that his body didn't really feel like it, food wasn't easy found in the middle of the desert or the battlefield.
Ryōtarō let out a slow yet somewhat depressing sigh, gaining the orange heads attention in the process.
Hearing the other Ichigo turned to look at him, tilting his head to the side in a moment of honest confusion. He was about to inquiry on the fact when he was abruptly cut off.
"You don't have to be so shy about it you know, my home is your home."
The Shiba head broke into a small warm smile to prove his point and the orange head pondered over the fact before turning back to the present 10th squad captain, a serious and honest expression in place.
"I really am grateful and I couldn't ever hope to repay you… but I'm not being shy. I may have lived through hell, hardships and seen many awful things but I'm not helpless, I can take care of myself."
Ryōtarō blinked in surprise, taken aback by how determined and riled up he was. This was not what he was expecting but it didn't disappoint him for even a second, quite the contrary actually.
'This boy has guts.'
He broke into a wide smile, clearly showing his comfort at Ichigo's reaction and not in the least offended by his words. He grasped tightly the orange heads shoulder to give him a warm squeeze gaining his full attention once more.
"I was just making sure but I'm glad."
Seeing the older man's expression Ichigo returned a small smile, eyes flickering from dull amber to fierce bright amber for just a second, surprising the clan head even if just a little.
They stayed like this, in silence, one that was calm and not awkward, both gazing into the night sky with a smile –even if Ryōtarō's was bigger- on their face.
The silence was only broken after time passed as the older of the two shifted in his seat to stand up, a pop being heard showing how sore he was. He stretched to relieve the soreness and Ichigo just looked at him curiously wondering what he was doing.
"I think I should go rest myself. You should try and get some as well, don't want you passing out on us from exhaustion."
Ichigo nodded, standing up as well and thinking that it wouldn't help to try even if he just slept a few hours. He was about to enter the room he had woken up in when Ryōtarō grasped his shoulder and shook his head.
"We have a new room for you. We had this one for convenience since it's close to the entrance and it was hard to move you when you were unconscious. But now that you're awake you can use the real guest room."
"Alright. Lead the way."
The Shiba head gave one of his smug smirks, motioning Ichigo to follow him into the endless hallways. They walked in silence until the raven head stopped just outside a pair of shoji doors, more into the manor but still facing the garden in a different area. He actually liked this area more.
"This will be your new room."
He opened the doors to reveal a normal room that actually held furniture. Furniture being a dressing table, a bigger futon, a low table with zabuton (5) stacked neatly at the side and some decorations that made the room look livelier. In the same room were two other smaller doors, doors that he could only guess as to what was behind.
Ryō entered the room, Ichigo towing right behind as he strode directly to one of the doors that Ichigo had just wondered about.
"This door leads to a bathroom and this other one… goes to a closet."
The current 10th squad captain opened the closet door, surprising the orange head when a rainbow of clothing came in view from the other side.
"Wow…"
Ryōtarō looked back to see Ichigo's surprised expression, having a smug smirk himself as he was very much enjoying the others expressions. He just loved how Ichigo would drop his barriers even if just a little if he was either comfortable or just plain distracted.
"Use anything you like that actually fits, we receive a lot of presents from other noble families and some just don't fit so suit yourself."
"Thanks, I think I'll take a bath before trying to sleep."
The raven head only widened his smirk obtaining a small but real smile from the other. He turned to leave the room, letting Ichigo prepare himself for bed and hope he could rest when he stopped, one foot in the hallway and the other still inside the room. He turned around, a serious expression where a smug grin was mere seconds ago and he called out, voice firm but not a trace of demand in it.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Ichigo turned slightly, just enough to see the man from the corner of his eye but not facing him completely. The raven head just stood there and Ichigo did the same, a neutral expression plastered in place until he found the courage to speak up.
"Go ahead. You deserve an answer, it's the least I could do."
Ryōtarō never hesitated in his hard gaze, eyes full of hope and respect, not an ounce of pity in sight -something Ichigo was silently grateful for-.
"How long… how long did this hell of yours last?"
The orange head was taken aback by the simplicity of the question. A question that brought down all his plans and the back story he had created in his free time.
He turned, completely this time and fierce amber met determined green.
A sudden tense atmosphere was created but not in the least awkward as both stood in silence, one waiting for an answer and the other running through his mind.
Ichigo's fierce gaze never wavered, it never left as memories of the war passed through his thoughts, it never trickled away like it did most of the time to be replaced by dull amber when the corpses of his friends, family, comrades and subordinates crossed his mind.
He held his gaze as he made a silent promise to himself that he would prevent the tragedy no matter what, and as he finally found the courage to speak up his answer he never chocked on his words, only strength and determination was found.
"Twenty years."
And as the two words were voiced out a burden of guilt was lifted off the poor broken soul, guilt that no matter what was said to him he had always believed to be legitimate. But the sad part about the lifted guilt was not in the fact that it was misplaced guilt, no, that would be too simple for a man of impossibilities like Ichigo, the sad part was that the only reason it left was to be replaced by pain. Deep and very much fictitious pain… pain at being toured apart and glued back together with only himself as support.
Something that would sooner or later make it too much of a burden as memories would flood in with all the time he had.
To be continued…
(1) Father
(2) Inner robes
(3) One of the shinigami arts. Hand to hand combat in this case.
(4) My lady
(5) The cushions Japanese use to sit on.
Okay, thank you for reading and anybody that left a comment on the epilogue I updated. I hope I don't disappoint and that you don't lose interest in this just because not much has happened or has been reviled of the past but let me tell you, there is a reason it's called MEMORIES OF A BROKEN SOUL , what do I mean? That everything will be revealed little by little in the form of memories.
The three Shibas are part of the original Shibas, Ryōtarō being the second head and all. The Ocs will slowly but surely disappear over the chapters advance I assure you but for now they are really necessary.
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Mata na! (また な!)
