A/N: New chapter! For those that were hoping for some Starrk, there is some in this chapter.
"So you're awake."
"In some sense of the word," an ethereal voice sounded in his head. "I did not think I would ever be able to open my senses to the world again."
"I expect we have that astronomical reiatsu to thank?" he inquired, his tone questioning but somehow already knowing the answer. "I believe it was a Shinigami… why has it triggered your awareness?"
"I never took you for a fool, Hyōsube Ichibē. If you think it was merely Shinigami, then your senses have dulled." The voice reprimanded. Ichibē offhandedly wondered to himself why he had ever missed this snarky being.
"So you do know who it is. Do you need me to investigate?" Ichibē asked.
It spoke again, it's tone indulgent but patronizing at the same time. "No need. My connection to this childe is strong. So, so very strong. Send a missive as a warning, Ichibē. I must speak with him, with the catalyst of my reawakening. Shiba Ichigo."
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#23#
"Breath in slowly. Focus on the way your shoulders raise and your heart beating on the inside." Ichigo instructed carefully from where he sat cross legged in front of the two Arrancars. "Once you notice those, try and feel for the energy tingling under and over your skin, then look for how far out it goes."
Ichigo watched Starrk and Lilynette follow his words before he glanced back to see Shinji stepping into the heavy reiatsu radius with a slight grimace which made his grin falter a bit. The blonde gestured for him, and Ichigo swiftly clambered to his feet as he followed him back to where the others were.
"Is it a good idea to teach such a powerful hollow control, Ichigo-senpai?" Shinji asked languidly, his tone belying the seriousness in his expression.
Ichigo hummed, and his gaze settled on the two hollows who had, once upon a separate timeline been Aizen's Primera Espada, the Arrancar who had never really wanted to fight and only wanted company, the friends Ichigo had made and the comrades he had trusted. They belonged to him too, his to protect and cherish even if they didn't know it. Starrk had asked Shunsui once about it, and Ichigo had spluttered in mortification when the brunet had raised a sake cup without a lick of embarrassment and called it his Friend Collection.
"We've yet to receive orders from the Captain Commander." Ichigo reasoned. "Until then, we can do what we want."
Yoruichi sighed as she placed a hand on her hip before answering. "I think what you meant was you can do what you want, Ichi-ji."
Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned back to give his team a deadpan expression. "Don't be so melodramatic. Besides, Starrk is a nice guy, what do you think he's going to do?"
Everyone in the team gave Ichigo their version of incredulousness that the orange head pretended he hadn't seen.
"Shiba-Taicho," Those two words were packed with so much respectful disappointment, that Ichigo was honestly impressed. "Their reiatsu alone is crushing us, they can do a lot."
Ichigo huffed. "But they aren't." he stressed. "Trust me?"
The four of them shared glances with each other that Ichigo couldn't really decipher. All things considered, none of these people really meshed together on a regular basis, so they were comrades and acquaintances but nothing else.
With the exception of Kotetsu Takashi, the others knew him very well. He had been training Shinji for years now, and while the blonde was now as tall as Ichigo and a newly appointed Captain, he still turned to him for advice or guidance when he wasn't sure. Yoruichi had known him since she was very young, and while she still had a lot to go before she became the person Ichigo had met when he was fifteen, years and years ago, she was getting there, and saw him not as a student like they had been back then, but as a cherished uncle she looked up to. Love he didn't personally interact with much, but if there was one thing he was bafflingly familiar with, it was the fact his Clan loved him so very much, and the retainer families were no exception. Heck, the reason why Love had gotten as much recognition for his efforts, was because everyone paid attention to people associated with the noble Clans and Love had had a lot of potential to show.
"That's a given." Shinji drawled with a tilt of his head. "Hopefully you won't get in trouble after though."
"It'll be fine." Ichigo reassured, before his eyes skittered to the fluttering hell butterfly that suddenly entered his field of vision. "Hueco Mundo investigation squad; this is tenth Squad Captain Shiba Ichigo speaking, come in base."
"Base here, Twelfth squad captain Hikifune Kirio speaking. You are to report back to Soul Society in T minus thirty five minutes. We are opening a garganta at your location that will be recorded in our system; due to this, garganta will take longer to open."
Ichigo glanced around at the expectant faces before nodding which made them all scatter to pick up their impromptu camp. "Roger that base, we'll be prepared for transport by then."
"Base out."
Ichigo heard the crackle of the connection closing and he raised a finger for the hell butterfly to land on. The little insect settled with a content flap of his wings, and Ichigo was once again utterly confused by how they seemed to be such a mix of technology and sentience. "Stay here, you'll short circuit if you try to follow me again."
The little thing twitched one of its wings, likely remembering the instance in question before it flew off to land on a nearby rock. Ichigo took this as a response and made his way back to the Arrancar duo to check their progress. They had been able to dwindle their area of effect from twenty feet to eight, and Ichigo considered that a very good improvement.
"Is everything alright?" Starrk asked from his position on the floor which Ichigo quickly mirrored. "It looked like something had happened."
"Not to worry." Ichigo waved the concern off. "We've been asked to report back to Soul Society in person, so we need to pick up our things before leaving."
Lilynette gave a pout that she would likely deny if Ichigo were to point it out, and the brunet dropped a hand on her helmet instinctively like if he knew exactly what she was thinking -come to think of it, he probably did.
"You're leaving?" she accused, her voice prickly to hide her sadness.
"I am." He agreed. "But I'm leaving you guys a present."
Lilynette blinked in bafflement and even Starrk raised a brow at this weird turn of events. Ichigo stifled a smile as the girl blinked her big eyes at him and leaned in slightly in badly hidden excitement.
"A present? What?"
Ichigo reached into the folds of his shihakusho and pulled out another hell butterfly. This one had a white pattern on its wings, and it jingled slightly at the feel of oppressive reiatsu but didn't otherwise react. "This is a hell butterfly, and the little fellow in my hand is a Shiba hell butterfly. I usually keep her hidden when I have my Gotei 13 issued butterfly because the two like to quarrel and don't get along very well. I'm leaving an extra I have with me, if you need anything, or just want someone to talk, contact me."
The green haired girl squinted suspiciously at the little thing before turning up to give Ichigo the most incredulous expression he had ever seen.
"It's a bug." She deadpanned.
Ichigo paused before cupping his hands together so the little one wouldn't fly out in a fit of anger. They weren't meant to hurt people, but they could fly at captain level shunpo speed; even a small object like them would hurt at that velocity and his family butterflies had been modified to keep up with him.
"Putting aside that comment, she's a means of communication. All you have to do if you need to speak with me, is say Connect to Shiba Ichigo and it will get to me. If I'm busy, I may not be able to pick up, but I'll get back to you when I can. If it's an emergency and I don't answer, try to call me twice in a row so I know." Ichigo explained.
Starrk gave a pensive hum. "That's a convenient thing. Soul Society must be very advanced."
Ichigo snorted as he thought about all the amazing things that would be created in the future before giving the duo a sardonic smile. "Not as much as we should be. Hell butterflies, specifically these interdimensional and live communication ones, need to constantly be fed reiatsu or they will only last twenty four hours at most. As of now the only ones capable of supplying it with minimal repercussions are Captains. We need to keep them charged for when lower ranked Shinigami need to take one or we rely on messenger hell butterflies which deliver the missive."
"If you say so." Starrk responded, his tone doubtful.
Ichigo rolled his eyes and pulled out the dormant hell butterfly he had in case of emergencies and held it out to the two. "Because you're still giving off so much reiatsu, all you need to do is hold it in your hand and say the word a-c-t-i-v-a-t-e."
Ichigo extended his hand and dropped the dormant hell butterfly into Stark's palm. The Arrancar dutifully followed Ichigo's words and with a jingle and shivering shuffle the white patterned hell butterfly activated.
"The white pattern on the hell butterflies mean they belong to a noble clan in Soul Society. The Shiba are one of five Great Noble Clans, and our butterflies reflect it. See that little swirl on the wing? That's ours, no one else can use it, so if you do see other hell butterflies around, don't confuse them." Ichigo drew in a deep breath before poking the hell butterfly still on the Arrancar's palm to further mobility. It flapped a wing self-consciously, and Ichigo noted the white splotches in the form of a paw print on the left-hand corner. "The owner's reiatsu adds in a characteristic, it's why we don't confuse our butterflies. See how mine is slightly different?" Ichigo held up his butterfly and pointed at the white splotches that combined with the black backdrop, made it look like a Ying yang symbol -duality.
"Do you think they'll be trouble?" Starrk asked, only vaguely troubled as he dropped their butterfly in Lilynette's expectant hands.
Ichigo straightened and connected his narrowed eyes on the bored looking Arrancar so the man could see the determination reflected. "I won't let it." He promised- commanded.
Starrk nodded. "Alright."
#23#
"You're still not done with those files, Wataru-dono?" Daisuke asked with a disapproving frown, and Yasahiro instinctively looked up from his own pile of papers and shuffled self consciously in his chair. "I was coming to collect them for handout before the day was out."
Wataru looks up in stilted motions, almost as if he has forgotten how to properly move any muscle not belonging to his hand and then face plants into the desk. Some of the papers scatter to the floor, and a couple stacks even hover in the air for a quarter of a second due to the force.
"I can't do this!" the older raven head wailed. "These reports arrived yesterday evening, its physically impossible to have them done already!"
"Ichigo-sama would have completed them by now." Daisuke deadpanned, his tone unapologetic and his frown becoming more pronounced.
Wataru sat up from his desk with a speed that almost looked transcendent as he slammed his palms on the furniture. It was a wonder the wood wasn't cracked, then again, maybe they were made sturdy enough for specifically these situations.
"That's not fair!" Wataru bristled indignantly as if he were still a petulant child and not shy of six centuries old. "Ni-sama is Ni-sama, you can't expect me to do things as fast as him."
Daisuke pulled out a pad from seemingly no where which he handed to the lieutenant for peruse before straightening. "Putting aside your vague assurance of Ichigo-sama being Ichigo-sama, I have factored in your lack of knowledge with the Captain work, your slower paperwork speed, the likelihood of distractions, bathroom and food breaks. After subtracting all that, the files should be done by now."
"Woah," Yasahiro whispered almost venerably as he leaned to look at the papers Wataru was holding like if it were some foreign object. "You've really considered all variables."
"Of course." Daisuke nodded as if this were normal and expected of him. "I also have one for you Young Master, the ones for the vegetable fields are scheduled to be completed by tomorrow morning." He elaborated while pulling out a second pad which he brandished like a weapon.
As Yasahiro scooted back to his seat, he wondered if perhaps that analogy was very spot on. "How in the world does Ichi-ji do everything at the same time?"
Wataru turned to him so fast, he was honestly surprised he hadn't gotten a whiplash while Daisuke continued to stare at them impassively.
"That!" Wataru exclaimed in a high enough pitch that made him look insane. "I've been trying to figure that out for centuries now and I still don't get it!"
"What?" Yasahiro deadpanned as he moved his gaze to the younger raven head for some help. Daisuke looked completely and utterly unperturbed.
"I think he may be a Supernatural being." Wataru continued as if Yasahiro hadn't spoken. "Or maybe an Alien."
"Um," Yasahiro stammered. "You know, Shinigami are technically supernatural beings."
Wataru slammed his hands on the desk again, and the brunet jumped a bit at the motion. "That's not the point!" he refuted. "Maybe Ni-sama was made specially by the Spirit King. Or-" he gasped, the noise loud in the office as he completely ignored the expressions he was being given by the other two. "What if Ichi-ni is The Spirit King."
"Now you're just being ridiculous, Wataru-ji." Yasahiro cut in, so disapproving that Daisuke looked tame in comparison.
The older raven head opened his mouth, no doubt to debate some more but was swiftly cut off by Daisuke who completely bulldozed over his words.
"Besides the fact that Ichigo-sama is your elder brother, that would be improbable." The young attendant explained.
"Uh, why do you say improbable?" Yasahiro sweat dropped and was similarly ignored by the man.
"Ichigo-sama just got a letter from the Spirit Palace." Daisuke added as he shuffled through his organized papers. "But it's meant for him only so I'm holding onto it"
"Well that may take a while." Wataru sighed as he twirled one of his brushes. "Who knows when Ni-sama is coming back."
Daisuke raised a judgmental brow at the pair before sighing in resignation and placing another stack of papers on the desk next to Wataru's. "Ichigo-sama arrived half an hour ago."
"…what?"
#23#
"Why must you always make my life harder?" Yamamoto questioned in frustration as he paced up and down the length of his office as if that would somehow make things simpler.
Ichigo rolled his eyes and huffed a breath from where he stood watching the Captain Commander do his nervous cycle. "Don't be ridiculous Sensei, I've never done such a thing. Are you sure you're not confusing me with Shunsui?"
Yamamoto whirled to face him, an eyebrow twitching harshly on his face as he made a low tone that could almost be described as a growl. "All three of you impudent brats. I'm going to be all white hair sooner than I should!"
"Don't be all melodramatic Sensei. I did exactly what I was told. I went to Hueco Mundo, found the source of the power surge, concluded it wasn't a hostile character and began building a positive relationship for future positive association." Ichigo explained.
A blood vessel almost seemed to burst as the older man rose to his full height and whirled around to glare at the orange head. "I only asked you to do the first two!"
Ichigo shrugged, the movement casual and assured as a cocky smirk curled the edges of his mouth. "What can I say, I'm an overachiever."
Yamamoto twitched again, and Ichigo honestly thought the man was going to explode again before his shoulders slumped and he turned to sit back in his desk while he grumbled under his breath.
"Well since your such an exemplary of a Shinigami Captain, you must have a plan in mind." The Captain Commander drawled with such a heavy dose of sarcasm that Ichigo never would have expected from the man if he hadn't known him for so many centuries by now.
"Well," Ichigo began hesitantly. "I gave him a Shiba Hell Butterfly and we agreed to stay in touch."
Yamamoto sighed like this situation pained him, but asked anyways. "How long will the Butterfly last? A year, two?"
The orange head rolled his eyes at the resigned expression on the man's face but answered. "I mean, so long as they don't purposely break it, we're talking about twenty five years before repairs may be needed."
The old man seemed frozen in place, and the loud ticking sound in the background made things much more awkward. "Twenty… Five?!" Ichigo nodded. "Why do your Hell Butterflies last longer?"
"Well the Shiba Clan designed them based off of our normal in clan communication system and those last shy of one hundred years so the interdimensional ones are more-"
"That's not what I meant!" Yamamoto slammed his hands on the desk. "Why do the Clans have better butterflies than the Gotei 13?"
"Um," Ichigo stammered. "I think it's just us… probably."
He slammed his palms again, and Ichigo had to hold himself back from jumping. "That still doesn't make sense! Why haven't our Shiba members made improved versions or offered to sell the design to the Gotei 13? Why haven't you specifically?"
"Sensei." Ichigo began haltingly, with an almost frown on his face. "Do you think we Shibas are in any way pressed for money? That's ridiculous. Also, you should remember we Shibas are a Clan of genius, but only in what we want."
Yamamoto sagged back into his chair, the fight swiftly washed away as he stared incredulously at one his star pupils. "You're telling me, that so long as we give open invitation to do as they please, the Shiba will innovate?"
Ichigo shrugged, feeling self-conscious. "Kind of? I mean we already do. Shiba Suzuki in the Kido corps works on explosives but when she comes home she innovates with entrapment and containment kido which is very revolutionary. Shiba Sai in the fourth focuses on burn injuries but he has a very poisonous garden at home which he uses to make some innovative poisons. Shiba Miyuki in the second is in a speed-based squad but honestly her unorthodox kenjutsu is much more impressive."
Ichigo is interrupted from giving further examples when Yamamoto groans into his hands. "You Shiba are ridiculous. Always doing what you want in your own terms. Why can't you be straightforward like the Kuchiki?"
The orange head rolled his eyes at that comparison. "Sensei, every Clan has genius', and some are very troublesome too."
"But you Shiba are all troublesome!" Yamamoto exclaimed. "And you're the very worst of them all!"
"Me?!" Ichigo squawked indignantly. "I'll have you know I'm a normal-"
"Don't even finish that sentence." Yamamoto stopped him. "You're a brat." He scolded. "Fine, you Shiba do as you like. Keep me in the loop on what happens with the Arrancar, and since you Shiba are so insane, make sure to find a way to have stable gargantas for monitoring."
Ichigo spluttered at this turn of events. "Wait you're outsourcing that? I thought the first, seventh and twelfth were figuring something out."
"Well it's your problem now. "Yamamoto harrumphed. "Shibas are The GateKeepers anyway. You guard the way to the Spirit Palace and manage the Senkaimon log, might as well make our lives easier and cover the Gargantas."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll head this project personally. We should have a prototype by next week."
"Next week he says." Yamamoto grumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." He growled, hoping Ichigo never found out that the combined efforts of the three squads got them the Garganta they had with two hundred and fifty years of research.
#23#
"So how was it?" Shunsui inquired excitedly as the three of them walked towards the Shiba compound. "Found anything interesting?"
Ichigo hummed in agreement before elaborating. "Yeah, I suppose I did. Lots of hollows as expected, but it could have been worse. Besides, we were only gone for five days total and it hardly took us a day to find the evolved hollow."
Jūshirō smiled kindly as he watched his two best friends. Shunsui looked genuinely enraptured in the tale of how they found the two hollows and their enormous amount of reiatsu. Jūshirō was just happy Ichigo had come back quickly and safe. Missions like those caused him a lot of worry.
If Ichigo's team had been overwhelmed by the amount of hollows or unforeseen circumstances, it would take a while to either get back up, or be able to retreat. Even knowing Ichigo was very powerful and knew how to fend for himself didn't lessen his worry, because even if they had all come back pretty much in the same state they left, it could have been worse; one of them could have come back missing a limb or eye!
"-Ju-chan?" Shunsui's voice cut into his mental rambling, and he instinctively swiveled his head up to give the duo a placid smile.
"Sorry," he apologized. "I was a bit distracted. What did you say?"
Shunsui huffed, but obliged. "We should celebrate Ichi's return!"
Jūshirō hums and moves his gaze to Ichigo who is giving Shunsui's back one of his patented annoyed expressions that don't seem to hold heat. He nods in agreement, but for some reason his eyes are glued to their orange haired friend.
"Are you up to it Ichi? I mean, you just got back from Hueco Mundo." He adds just to make sure. "You're looking a bit haggard."
Ichigo sighs but motions them into the compound anyway. "It's fine. I need to eat anyway. I'm definitely sleeping in tomorrow though."
Shunsui laughs and Jūshirō quirks a smile but he's still observing Ichigo and his pale features. It's true that he needs to eat though, and its best if he eats before crashing for the night.
"You wake up every morning at six, I don't want to know what your version of sleeping in is." The brunet points out, his face stuck on a grimace that makes Jūshirō's smile widen.
"Don't be stupid." Ichigo rolls his eyes and then suddenly stops to bring a hand up to his head.
"Ichi?" Jūshirō asks with a frown once I notes the motion. Shunsui too, has a serious expression plastered onto his face as if he was not smiling and joking even half a second ago. "What's wrong?"
Ichigo takes a deep breath and drops his arm back to his side with a stilted movement. "Nothing just had a bit of pain. It's gone now."
Jūshirō finds his frown deepening and moves to step into Ichigo's space and place a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You sure?"
There's a weird expression on the orange head's face, almost like a woozy glower, and his worry only heightens when he doesn't answer the query.
"Ichi?" Shunsui stresses, the tone soft but demanding as he too moves to the other side of their friend.
There's a pause, and Ichigo blinks rapidly as if trying to clear his vision before slurring. "'m feelin' dizzy."
This comment makes Jūshirō's blood run cold, and he's about to call out for a medic to be called by the nearest retainer when Ichigo is falling over and he is preoccupied with catching his friend before he can hit the floor.
"Medic!" Jūshirō hears Shunsui call, but his eyes are glued to the unconscious orange head in his arms and his pale face.
#23#
Ichigo blinks the fogginess away from his eyes as he stares at this weird place he's in. The clear waters he is standing on reflect a kaleidoscope of colors, clouds and stars that has him lifting his eyes to confirm it really is a mirror image and not some eerie water before his gaze zeroes in on the structure he can see in the horizon. It looks like a great and olden castle surrounded by tall and otherworldly trees perched on the top of a cliffside, and when Ichigo looks down to check, he sees it's also reflected on the… lake he's standing on.
"Hello." A voice breaks the silence, the words ethereal and eerie as the resound all around this place in a way that has him looking around for the source. As he's done doing a full circle of his surroundings, he finds himself gazing back at his initial point but there is now a man standing on the lake with him a couple feet away. "I see you were able to join me in my mind palace. Welcome Shiba Ichigo." The person elaborated.
"What?" Ichigo hissed in bewilderment as he tried to comprehend where he was and how he was here.
"Or Kurosaki Ichigo, I suppose." The man continued as if Ichigo hadn't said a thing. "Both are right in the end."
Ichigo felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise and a chill go down his spine as his eyes widened in utter bewilderment. This was the Spirit King.
To be continued…
Decree# 3 of Shiba Life: Experiments are restricted to the south wing of the compound to avoid civilian casualties.
Decree# 12 of Shiba Life: Do not tell a Shiba something is impossible, or they will do everything possible to prove you wrong.
Decree# 34 of Shiba Life: Decrees where a specific person is mentioned will not be shown to the board for approval.
Decree# 86 of Shiba Life: Shibas that have friend collections are terrifying when they are threatened. Anger them at your peril for no one will help.