N9R had suggested that I introduce birthdates to the OC characters I've created. Well, after some scrambling I've finally figured it out. With their personality that I've written about them and the age difference of the three of them, it was a process. I haven't said Yumiko's birthdate in this chapter, just know it's in December and she's a Sagittarius (get it she's an archer). So from there, I picked the other two. I always wanted Miume to be a Pisces (Not because I'm one and its the best zodiac LOL) it just fits her character. Her birthdate you will see is my birthday also. The reason I picked it because in some ways it fits with Ichihime/ Tanabata. Born in the month of love February and day 27. We know that two-7s is July 7th which is the Tanabata Festival. (But angelesewe, you're so full of it, you just wanted your character to have your birthday =P)
Tatsunari I picked him to be a Scorpio, easily misunderstood symbol. Picking his birthday was a piece of cake. His father is born on April Fool's day. I thought it be cute if he was born on October 31st on Halloween. The age difference is that Tatsunari is the oldest being 5 months older than Miume and two months older than Yumiko. Yumiko being 2 months older than Miume and two months younger than Tatsunari. Leaving Miume to be the baby of the group. Judging by the months that their mothers were pregnant with them from the cupcake incident LMAO.
Please Enjoy this Chapter and Review!
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Small Edit 5/6/01: Changed the FlashBack from 10 yrs ago to 9. Tatsunari is supposed to be 17 in current timeline and Miume being 16, the year didn't match with it being a ten year flashback.
Nine years ago
October 31st
Miume used her small fingers to strut the little guitar in her hands, strumming the notes to Happy Birthday. After ending on chord C, she looked up at the tall man she came to know as an uncle to smile at him. She sported a missing tooth as her baby teeth were starting to fall. For Halloween, Yasutora donned a Resident Evil inspired Chris Redfield costume, proudly smiling at the seven-year-old girl beside him.
"Good job, Miume," she giggled as he brought his guitar closer to him. "Now together, just a bit faster, you think you could do that?"
She looked a bit nervous, but her face looked determined as she mimicked his actions. He watched how she attentively glanced over in his direction, waiting patiently. He smiled, looking so much like her father with her determined expression. They began to play. Once he began to pick up speed, she gradually followed close behind. After the last chord, she grinned ecstatic, proud of her accomplishment.
"I did it, Chado!"
"You've been practicing," his deep voice stated as she aggressively nodded her tiny head.
"I wanted to make sure that it was perfect for Tatsu's birthday. When I played for Daddy and Mommy's birthday, I wasn't that good."
"You've excelled so much for such a short time, and you just received your guitar last year. In no time you'll be playing like a pro." He began to play a familiar melody, one he always played because she enjoyed it so much and it was a personal favorite of his. He was silent for most of the song, but when he got to the chorus, he began to sing.
"Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me-"
He nudged the little girl beside him to sing with him.
"And after all, you're my Wonderwall," she yelled the last part and giggled. He put the guitar down beside him as his smile disappeared. He was quieter than usual, that was saying something for someone who only spoke when it was relevant.
"What's wrong, Chado?" she gave a concerned look, still gripping her small guitar, staring at him.
"I'm leaving Karakura for a while to visit my family back in Mexico," he explained to the girl and already saw her eyes begin to water.
Before he retired from boxing, he would visit his Karakura friends on his much-deserved breaks from fighting. He relinquished his undefeated title and settled in Karakura for two years. The girl beside him so used to having him around so often thought it would be indefinitely.
"I thought we were your family," she sniffled as she whipped her tears.
"You are Miume, but you have to understand that I do have some relatives I haven't seen in a while. If Kazui grows up to go to college someplace far away, wouldn't you want him to visit you?"
She looked down at the ground and nodded her head. Yasutora patted her auburn head when her small little voice spoke, "I'm sorry. I'm acting selfishly."
"No, you're not. This is hard for me too, Miume. I'm going to miss everyone here. It's not easy leaving a place that's been my home for the longest time."
"How long will it be for?"
The questioning gaze she gave him, with tears still in her eyes broke his heart.
"I'm not sure, to be honest."
Her face seemed to brighten up a bit, "Whenever you come back, you're gonna be surprised at how many songs I'll learn to play."
Ichigo entered the room, wearing zombie make-up and a bloody shirt. He glanced at the guitar duo with a soft smile. "Miume, you better get ready, or we'll be late."
She stood from her small seat and rushed to hug and kiss the tall giant. "Bye Chado, see you at the party," She hung her little guitar on the wall and ran to her father, kissing him on the cheek. "Hi, Daddy! I've gotten at playing Happy Birthday."
"Really? I thought you were great when you played for me," he gave her a confused look as she shook her head.
"Well... I became 10x better than great," she giggled as she jetted out of her room.
Ichigo looked at his best friend. He had noticed his daughter's tearful eyes. "Looks like she didn't take it so well at first."
The taller man nodded, holding his guitar in his hand. "She was sad and a little upset at first, but you know how Miume is. Once you explain things, she tends to grasp it more naturally."
"She also keeps things inside, not to upset the other person she cares about."
Yasutora placed his hands on his friend's shoulder and smiled, "Wonder where she gets that from?"
The substitute Shinigami eyed his friend and gave a smug grin, "She gets that from Orihime."
They both laughed as they patted each other back in a hug. "We're all gonna miss you, Chad. You better visit."
He nodded as they made their way out of Miume's room.
They made it to the kitchen to see Orihime wearing a Claire Redfield outfit as she finished wearing her maroon jacket. She was making the little finger foods for Tatsu's party. She already went above and beyond what a godmother would do by creating his cake.
"Oh, Ichigo and Sado. Can you please help put these into the trunk? I have to stop by the bakery to pick up the cake and then head straight to Tatsuki and Keigo's home. Make sure Miume doesn't take too long getting ready," she eyed Ichigo who began to pick up the aluminum trays of wrapped food.
"Yes, Orihime!" he smiled as she bit her lip nervously and then kissed his lips. Once Yasutora and Ichigo help fill the trunk, she blew kisses to both men as she drove off from the Kurosaki clinic. She drove slowly amongst the traffic of little trick-or-treaters heading to doors. When she made it into ABC bakery, she opened the closed store, making her way to the back of a huge fridge. She carted the black dragon cake with intricate detail of flames surrounding the creature, and carefully placed it into a massive box before bringing it to the car. She made sure to lock up the store again before she drove like a turtle to the party's location.
There were already several cars at her best friend's place of residence. She called her cell to notify them that she was here. Keigo came running out, giving the healer a much-deserved hug. He dressed like a knight, while he placed his shield behind his back, lifting his helmet to look at her.
"Thank you so much, Orihime. Tatsu is going to be thrilled with the food and cake, knowing it was from you."
"No problem, anything for my godson/nephew," she laughed, as Keigo was having a bit of trouble picking up more than one tray. She told him that it was okay and that she would help. Keigo told her to stay while he managed to bring several bins in, coming back with his nephew who smiled thoughtfully.
"Hello Orihime," the younger boy told her, hugging her, dressed as Neo from The Matrix.
"Michio! You've grown so handsome," she patted his chin as he began to redden. He rubbed his light brown hair and headed to her car — Michio was Mizuho's first son from her first failed marriage.
There was also an older gentleman with a bald head behind him that waved politely, as he headed for the van.
"It's great to see you too, Koizumi-san," Orihime smiled at the man who had a hard time, picking up one of the trays. He wore a matching outfit as his stepson, since he was bald, dressed as Morpheous.
"Likewise, Kurosaki-san," he mentioned, with great difficulty managed to bring the item into the house. The gentlemen had been Mizuho's second husband, a sweet man, whom she adored.
After several more trips, they finished as Keigo grabbed the cake box.
"Where's Tatsuki?" She questioned, wondering why she hadn't come to greet her yet. The men in the room looked at each other with nervous expressions before they avoided the auburn-haired women's question.
"Umm ... she's a bit tied up," Keigo answered nervously, placing the cake down onto the table. Before Keigo could explain what he meant, she heard the loud voices coming from another room, down the hall.
"Mizuho, I told you specifically not to get him that."
"He's a strong boy. What's the harm in getting him that gift, he likes it."
"Of course, he fucking likes it. That's not the point, Dammnit. Keigo and I told him that he's too young to have a Beebee gun."
"He just turned eight, that's not too young. Michio never had any issues when he received his at eight."
"Really, that scar on his chin then?"
"Not from the Beebee gun. He accidentally shot a plate, and the shards just nicked his chin. It gives him character."
"It's pointless talking to you."
They heard the door swiftly opened as the men around Orihime went about their business like they weren't just listening to the two women's argument.
Tatsuki saw her best friend, unwrapping the plates of food. She walked up to the women and hugged her with a sigh. Tatsuki was wearing a cute Wizard's attire with a staff in hand, something she only wore to keep within her son's birthday dragon theme.
"Thanks so much for doing this. The party hasn't even started, and I'm already stressed out."
"It's no problem, Tatsuki," she hugged her friend tighter.
"Hello, Orihime." Mizuho came from behind, wearing a skin-tight leather outfit of Trinity. "Don't mind your friend she's always stressing out."
"Mizuho, I swear if you don't-"
"Hey, Babe! Can you help me put up the rest of these dragons," Keigo took Tatsuki by the waist as she glared daggers at his sister.
"So how is my nephew's godmother?" she directed her question to Orihime, still eyeing Tatsuki with a smug grin. She knew Mizuho was secretly upset that Tatsuki chose her and Keigo wanted Mizuiro to be the godparents of Tatsunari.
"I'm doing great, the kids are well, Ichigo is happy, and the bakery has-"
"That's wonderful," she interrupted the girl as she picked up a quiche and put it into her mouth. "Hmm a little salty for my taste."
"Oh, umm I didn't even put any salt," she provided as the woman coughed and smiled. She was about to say a retort when Tatsunari came barreling into the living room. He wore a dragon outfit that covered his whole body, only showing his small chubby face, while his tail dragged behind him.
"Oba-san!" he ran into Orihime, hugging her tightly, "Can I have one?" he pointed to one of the quiche trays.
"Sure!" Orihime smiled, bending down to his height and playing with his spiky black hair.
"Mmmm yummy. Thanks, Oba-san." Holding her tighter and giving her a big kiss on the cheek. They both heard a cough above them as they looked to the older woman.
"Awww, Tatsu. Don't you want to give a kiss to your favorite Auntie?" the woman pouted, as the little boy looked at her confused.
"I did Oba Mizu," hugging Orihime tighter, that only made Mizuho more upset. He then proceeded to jump on his Aunt giving her several kisses, "I was joking Oba Mizu, I didn't want to upset her," he whispered into his Aunt's ears, and Mizuho couldn't help but tear up. Tatsunari winked at Orihime when Mizuho wasn't looking and used his index finger to his lips to signal to stay quiet.
"Oh Tatsunari, you've grown so big and just as sweet." she hugged him tighter, "I swear if anyone breaks your heart, Oba Mizu will hunt them down and scar them for life."
"I won't let that happen, Oba-san," he said as his Aunt proceeded to plant his feet to the ground. "Can I take a look at my cake?" He looked at Orihime.
"I'm sorry Tatsu not until the party starts," the auburn-haired girl ruffled his head, once she saw his sadden features.
"He can take a quick peek right, Orihime?" Mizuho stared at Orihime with her arms crossed.
"I'm afraid not, Tatsuki specifically said Not until the party starts," she said firmly, covering the cake with her body. Mizuho raised her brow at the younger woman's defiance, using another tactic, Tatsunari. She squeezed the solemn expression of her nephew.
"Aww look at his expression, Godmother. You'll let your godson feel bad on his birthday?" she said the word 'godmother' in a mocking tone while she hugged and squeezed the poor boy. Orihime couldn't help but stare at the melancholy look of the small boy.
"Orihime don't listen to this manipulative witch. I said no cake until the party."
She let go of her nephew who ran away, to turn on her sister-in-law, "Witch? You got some nerve you loud-mouth bitch."
"First of all, watch your fucking mouth around my son. He doesn't need to hear that filth from you."
"Don't worry mommy. I know never to say anything bad that comes out of Oba Mizu or your mouth," he proudly exclaimed, popping another quiche into his mouth.
Suddenly another boy came into the kitchen, five years older than Tatsunari. Mizuho's younger son from her recent husband. He wore dark glasses and was a tall, lanky child while he carried the Beebee gun in hand. His costume completed the Matrix family as the villain Agent Smith.
"Tatsu it's out of pellets," he informed the little boy who continued to chew his food.
"AHH Seiji," Mizuho grabbed the gun from her son's hands and placed it on the kitchen counter, "What did I tell you about handling this? It's dangerous," she held the boy tightly, rubbing his head. "You could have gotten hurt."
"But I didn't, Mom," the boy pouted, struggling to get out of his mother's grasp.
"What did I say about talking back, young man? Don't you dare think about taking food without washing your hands."
The lean boy walked out of the kitchen, feeling embarrassed.
"You hypocritical bitch!" Tatsuki yelled.
"Woah Woah! This is a kid's party. Could we please refrain from swearing." The Substitute Shinigami shouted.
Ichigo walked through the door, holding Miume's ears while the little girl looked at everyone with a smile. Ichigo made sure not to ruin his daughter's zombie make-up or ruffle her wings. The girl was intent-on dressing as a fairy zombie. His eleven-year-old son, Kazui, expressively looking wide-eyed as he stood beside his father. He was nervously playing with the pockets of his Leon S. Kennedy apparel.
"I totally agree, Ichigo. I warned my younger brother from marrying such a foul mouth girl, especially with the amount of guy's she was with."
Mizuho looked at her nails while she spoke and looked up to find everyone eyeing her, "What?"
"That's it. You're fucking dead, Mizuho." Tatsuki climbed over a chair to fling at her sister-in-law. Keigo grabbed his wife before she could do any more harm by choking his sister.
"You animal!" she coughed out, grabbing her neck.
"Mizuho, Enough! You're going to stay quiet from now on. I don't want to hear a damn word out of your mouth unless its to say something nice. If you can't do that, I'm afraid you'll have to leave," Keigo stressed.
Mizuho looked at her brother in shock as she straightened herself out.
"Please, dear. You don't want to upset Tatsu on his birthday," her bald husband came to her side, kissing her on the cheek and hugging her. She instantly melted into his arms as she smiled and nodded.
"We're sorry. I'll make sure she's on her best behavior."
"Thanks, Shin!" Keigo breathed a sigh of relief and patted his brother-in-law on the back.
Ichigo entered the home along with Chad behind him. When Miume noticed everything begin to settle, she ran to Tatsunari.
"Happy Birthday, Tatsu. Daddy did my zombie make-up, looks scary right?" she hugged him, he was five months older, but she was still an inch taller than him.
"Yeah! Thanks, Miume. Want some quiche?" he proceeded to hand over the quiche he bit into but sheepishly laughed when she gave him a grossed out expression. "Sorry!" he handed her a new one as she accepted it with a smile.
"Hey, Tatsu, Happy Birthday!" Kazui said, snatching a quiche as well while he patted the boy on the head.
"Thanks, Kazui," he frowned, Kazui was tall for his age, and it didn't help that his dad was tall too. He looked at his parent's, doubtful of the growth spurt his mother claimed he would get when he reached puberty.
"I have a big surprise for you, Tatsu!" Miume giggled, catching his attention.
"What is it?"
"Nope, not until later. Let's play!"
"Cool! Want to see my new Beebee gun?"
"What?" Ichigo stopped the little boy, dead in his tracks.
"A Beebee gun?"
Ichigo looked at Tatsuki with an irritated look as he reached to grab the gun off the kitchen table. "Who the hel-Who got this?"
Tatsuki pointed to a smiling Mizuho who was giggling with her husband on the couch. Ichigo rolled his eyes as he put the gun on top of the fridge.
"That's not fair. I'm getting taller you know," Tatsunari crossed his arms, sulking from his new toy being taken away.
"That's great! When you're able to reach that without any help, you can have the gun."
"Seriously?" he looked at the orange-haired man who nodded his head. It was then that small wings spread out of the boy's back as he flew up to grab the gun. "Thank you!"
"AWESOME!" Kazui shouted.
Ichigo was too shocked to say anything as the little boy ran away with the Beebee gun.
"Great! Nice going Ichigo," Tatsuki eyed her friend.
"When the hell were you going to tell me he has wings?"
"He ...ummm we just found out last week. Apparently, he's had them several months ago. I kept on blaming Keigo for eating all the cookies when the little shit was flying up to get them. Keigo caught him in the middle of the night when he woke up to pee."
"Scared me half to death."
"It was so funny. Daddy screamed like a girl, I almost dropped the cookie jar, but I caught it with my fast reflexes," Tatsunari twirled the gun in his hands.
Tatsuki took the gun from his hand, "Well, no more shooting pellets from this gun. Miume is here, and Yumiko will be here shortly you don't want to hurt them accidentally. Right?"
The little boy looked at Miume, who glanced at him while he flushed from embarrassment. "No."
"Good, now play in your room until all the guests come."
He nodded and grabbed Miume's hand to have her follow him into his room. His cousin Seiji followed the two into the room as he settled himself near the cars while the birthday boy settled next to him, watching as he created a new obstacle course for his vehicles. Kazui entered the room as well, ending up near the bed while he glanced around the room, then at Tatsunari.
"Does it feel weird when it comes out? Your wings?" he pointed at his back.
"Nope, it feels like it's a part of me, like a normal body part." Kazui seemed satisfied with the younger boy's answer.
"You said you were going to tell your parents about your new powers," Miume asked her friend, settling herself near the two boys.
"I know, I was going to wait till today, surprising them but then I got caught," he snickered as she looked at him with a scowl.
"You knew Miume?" Kazui looked at his sister, who nodded, ignoring her brother's confused look.
"I promised Tatsu to keep it a secret, and you," she pointed at Tatsunari, "just wanted to wait until you ate all the cookies."
"That too."
"I think it's cool to have these powers, almost like a superhero," his cousin stated, "instead of being weak and pathetic."
"Seiji, your not weak. You're a genius and build cool stuff," Kazui exclaimed.
"I build legos."
"That's just the start, Seiji. You can be the next Iron Man or even better Batman. They didn't need special powers to make them awesome. They even created a group for other special humans to join." Tatsunari exclaimed proudly.
"Whatever!" his cousin, connected the last of course as he placed the black car at the top of his creation. Tatsunari cheered watching the car speed down the ramp, zigzagging until it reached its final destination into the rest of the pile of cars.
"Awesome!" Kazui and Tatsunari said in unison.
"You can be an awesome leader Seiji," Miume told him, causing the older boy to chuckle as he reddened nervously.
"Thanks, Miume."
Tatsunari watched as his cousin began to blush from embarrassment, and felt like he didn't like him getting his best friend's attention.
"Unless of course, he's the next Lex Luthor. Using his technical genius for evil intentions," he glanced at his cousin who looked at him, confused.
"I wouldn't be a villain."
"Tatsu stop being mean," Kazui said.
"You're just jealous because your cousin can do cooler things," Miume added. Tatsunari eyed his friend and avoided her eyes. He was jealous, but it wasn't because of his cousin being smarter and cooler than him. Miume was the cause of his angry feelings, and he wasn't sure why.
"Sorry, Seiji. I didn't mean to say that," he apologized to his cousin, who chuckled.
"It's okay."
"Tatsu! You can come out now. Everyone has arrived."
They heard Tatsuki voice yell out as Tatsunari was the first to jump up onto to his feet to run out of his room.
Miume followed close behind and stopped short when she saw her other friend Yumiko. The Young Quincy dressed up as a ballerina while her father dressed as the Phantom of the Opera while her mother dressed as Christine Daaé. Miume saw that she was holding a violin, and her heart plummeted into her stomach.
"Hi...Hi Yumiko," she leaned in to give her best friend a hug. She eyed the instrument in her hand. She felt someone hug her and noticed her attention diverted to her Aunt Yuzu, smiling at her. Next to her was Jinta with their two-year-old cousin Ichiro. They were a family of baseball players while Yuzu dressed up in a cute umpire outfit.
"How's my niece and nephew?"
"I'm fine, Oba-zu," Kazui smiled, kissing her as he ran towards Yumiko, to provide her with a big hug. Yumiko's eyes widened, as her cheeks turned red while she sheepishly said hello to Kazui. Miume saw Yumiko stand near her parents, who were talking to Tatsuki and Keigo. "Want to hold your cousin?"
She nodded her head to her Aunt as she sat on the couch. Yuzu placed the chubby child onto her lap. His blonde hair curled at the ends. Miume smiled at her cousin, holding his small hands, playing with the little toy he showed her.
"Toy!" he shoved into her hand.
"Wow, a squishy strawberry doll," she giggled, she knew her Aunt had a thing for strawberries. Jinta had to prevent his wife from going overboard and having their son's room filled with strawberry wallpaper.
"Karin is currently overseas and apologizes for not making it," the others in the room nodded in understanding, how busy the famous blogger was.
Mizuiro was saying his hellos, wearing a vampire costume, hugging his best friend Keigo, while having his godson dangle on his arm. Miume saw Mizuiro hand Tatsunari a magazine before Tatsuki grabbed it and hit the godfather over the head.
"It's just a Victoria Secret's catalog," Mizuiro whined, as Tatsunari shrugged and showed his godfather his new wings. He high-fived the little boy as they continued to joke with one another until his mother separated them.
"Now you sit beside Miume, Tatsu. Yumiko has a special gift for your birthday," Tatsuki mentioned as birthday boy sat beside Miume, patting her little cousin on the head, causing him to smile.
Everyone sat down as Yumiko held the violin under her chin. Miume bit her lip as the young Quincy began to play the beautiful melody of Happy Birthday. Everyone cheered at the black-haired girl who shyly bowed and blushed at the compliments. Miume remained in her seat, trying to ignore her hurt feelings while playing with her cousin.
"That was awesome, Yumiko. Miume had a special gift too." Tatsunari boasted. She watched as her friend stared at her and she couldn't say anything, only shaking her head.
"F..Forget it, Tatsu," she mumbled, looking at the birthday boy who looked confused, then her eyes met her father and then Chad. Her tears started to fall down her cheek. "It was stupid anyway."
Jinta picked up Ichiro from the crying little girl as Yuzu hugged her niece.
"What's wrong, Miume?" Yuzu asked her, as the little girl shook her head, looking at her small hands.
"She learned how to play, Happy birthday on her guitar too," Kazui said.
"Why did you tell them, Kazui?" Miume yelled, jumping from the couch, mortified she ran to the bathroom, locking herself in.
She felt like an idiot for making it such a big deal. She heard a light tap on the door.
"Miume!" she heard her friend Yumiko say in a small voice. "Can I come in?"
Miume unlocked the door without saying a word. Yumiko entered the small, confined space to look at her crying friend.
"I'm sorry, Miume. I didn't know you were going to do that for Tatsu."
"It's okay." she whipped away the remaining tears to smile at her friend. She hugged the girl, "Don't worry about it. You played the violin beautifully, Yumiko."
"Thanks! Dad suggested that I play at the party. If I knew you were going to, I would of never."
"It's okay, Yumiko."
They both smiled at one another and then heard another tap at the door.
"I know I'm not supposed to enter the bathroom when girls are in there, but my mom said it's okay just this once. Is it okay to come in?"
They both giggled, listening to Tatsunari explaining himself and asking for permission.
"Okay!" both girl's said in unison. The little boy entered and found both of them smiling at him, but his features looked worried when he saw Miume's teary face.
"I...I still want to hear you play, Miume. That's if you still feel like it?" he fiddled with his dragon apparel as he stared at her.
"You sure? I'm not as good as Yumiko."
"Miume! Don't say that. We're playing two completely different instruments," Yumiko chided her younger friend.
"Besides you know how classical music makes me fall asleep," Tatsunari jested, receiving a look from his friend Yumiko.
"My father always said classical music is not for a feeble mind."
"I don't know what feeble means, but my father says whatever comes out of Uryu's mouth you don't understand is usually mean."
Yumiko shook her head as she folded her arms, "My father is not mean."
"What does feeble mean than?"
Yumiko bit her lip as she eyed her friend. "Weak."
"Exactly."
"Come on, you two. Let's not fight," Miume looked a little better as she tried to prevent her friend's from fighting any further.
"So you'll play?" Tatsunari held the door, "cause if you don't play, I'm going to trap us here until you do. I've eaten a lot of quiches, and I don't think you want to find out what type of farts eggs can produce."
When the girls looked at him horrified but didn't say anything. He closed his eyes, trying to release gas. Then there was a distinct noise of a fart.
"Okay, Okay, Tatsu. I'll play. AHHH let us out," Miume screamed, along with Yumiko as he opened the door. He chuckled, seeing them run out.
"It was just this," he hollered as he held up a small whoopie cushion he took out of his pocket. The girls both angrily glared at the birthday boy.
"Tatsu I told you that fart jokes repel girls away," he heard his father, cry out.
"Miume and Yumiko love my jokes. I don't see them ever leaving my side," he held the two girls by the shoulders. They both rolled their eyes but didn't object to his comment. Miume asked her father to get the guitar from the car. Once she received it and plugged the electric guitar, she began to strum her pink guitar making sure that she hit every note. Tatsunari hopped onto his parent's couch and started headbanging his head along with the melody.
"Awesome!" he yelled, causing the girl to blush considerably. Yumiko smiled and nodded in agreement that she indeed played well. Orihime and Tatsuki decided to light the candle on the cake that looked like fire. Tatsunari looked at the dragon cake with so much awe that he forgot he was in a room full of his family and friends. The boy began to cry.
"What's wrong, Tatsu?" Tatsuki began to ask her son as she placed the cake in the middle of the room. Orihime looked on a bit worried. Tatsunari rushed to Orihime and held her tightly. The healer looked down at the crying boy and rubbed the back of his head. Then she heard him mumbling but couldn't make up what he was saying as his features were hidden against her stomach.
"What was that, Tatsu?"
He looked up to smile at her, "This is the best birthday ever. I'm so glad Mommy stayed friends with someone like you, Oba-san."
Orihime couldn't contain the tears that began to fall at looking at the small boy who she came to love like a son.
"Thank you, Tatsu. I'm glad you like the dragon."
The moment instantly shattered when they heard the loud, boisterous voice of Isshin Kurosaki enter the home. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE TATSU."
Everyone could only see the man's legs because he was holding a giant stuffed black dragon. He made to move but not realizing he was heading to the direction of the cake. Ichigo reacted as he grabbed the large cake out of the way. Isshin stopped walking after everyone told him to stop.
After everyone sighed, they began to smell something burning. All eyes glanced at the giant stuffed animal, as Isshin yelled out, dragging the enormous dragon out of the house. After a few moments, he came back with the head of the dragon's face half scorched and wet from being drenched with the hose outback. His Superman costume soaked as well.
"Ummm I'm sorry Tatsu," the older Shinigami, held out the ruined dragon.
The boy began to laugh so much that he held his stomach. "Are you kidding me that was Awesome. Besides," he took the dragon and held it up to his flaming birthmark on his face, "I think he looks cooler that way."
x
Miume woke up, smiling at the memories of that Halloween that fell on Tatsunari's birthday. She stretched and glanced at the more massive bed beside her that only had her father, who was still sleeping. Her mother was always an early bird while she took after her father, in wanting to sleep late, especially on days when they didn't have to wake up so early. Kazui took after their mom, waking up before the sun rose. Thoughts of Kazui instantly brought back the terrible memories of her last moment with him, seeing him injured and protecting her. She knew her parents wouldn't lie about stating that they saw him in good health. It still didn't help how much she missed him. He was in a different world, with enemies that could hurt him, while they patiently waited for the gate to open so they could help.
She lifted herself from her small bed to sit on her parent's large one. Giving her father a chase kiss and hug. "Morning, Daddy!"
He rubbed his eyes and sat up to kiss his daughter on her forehead and hug.
"We slept late again," he chuckled, noticing his wife's absence. "It's a good thing you woke me up instead of Tsubaki."
"I think you threatening to tear his wings off yesterday, makes me think the small guy doesn't want that to happen," she giggled. She laughed at the memory of Tsubaki pulling her father's hair, yelling at him to wake his lazy ass up. She had still been a little tired when she saw her father snatched the ninja fairy and threatened him.
"Well, good. I'm not bluffing either. I know that little bastard's wings can be healed."
"That's mean Daddy," she chuckled as she got out of bed, taking her Shinigami pink apparel she cleaned yesterday, to head to the washroom.
"Well, so is pulling my damn hair," he growled out, sliding out of bed. "Wait, Miume."
"Hmm?" she turned around before she exited the room.
"I didn't want to say anything because it may not be my place, but I noticed you'd kept your distance from Chad ever since he's come back."
Miume chewed on the inside of her lip as she avoided her father, "I... I was planning on speaking with him. It's just with everything happening and with him spending time with his son. I didn't get the chance. I promise to speak to him today."
Ichigo walked up to his daughter, studying her features as he nodded his head. "Okay, I'll see you later we'll work on your guard."
"Like you did with Daichi?" he watched his daughter raise her brow and gave her father a knowing smirk.
"First, your mother giving me the third degree, now you?"
"I was just asking a question?" she innocently clarified as he rolled his eyes.
"Sure, go get ready you liar."
Miume skipped out of the room and before her father could fully close the door, she spoke, "Aww is daddy grumpy from waking up? If I had wings, would you tear them off too?" she gave a mocked horrified look before she began to laugh.
"Ha Ha very funny. You know who's wings I could tear off," her father gave a devious smile insinuating about her boyfriend's dragon wings before he closed the door.
"That's not funny, daddy."
"I love you too," she heard her father call out from the door. She exhaled loudly making sure her father could hear her as she made her way to another room that housed running water and toiletries. After wearing her cute, pink, and father disapproved Shinigami outfit, she headed to the one person she been avoiding.
She headed to the direction of where she could feel the giant Fullbringer's reiatsu. She could hear guitar playing and stopped when she found him playing his guitar with his son, Jacinto. Everyone brought something that would help with their sanity once notified that they'd be staying here for a while. Most of them could have gone back to the Human World or Soul Society, but none of them did. They didn't want to miss the off chance that the gate would open and they wouldn't enter in time, not knowing if the gate itself might be fragile and not hold in time.
She didn't want to spoil the father and son bonding. The picture of them playing together was sweet but felt her heart hurt at the display. She made to turn back when she heard his deep voice call her.
"Miume?" Yasutora called out, setting his guitar to the side as he walked out the door, to find the young girl outside.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she stated as he shook his head to smile at her.
"Not at all. Come in," the tall giant moved aside so that she could enter. She saw Jacinto glancing at her with a smile and a wave while he strummed the guitar.
"Yumiko plays the violin, right?" the younger man asked her as she saw his cheeks instantly flush. She already could tell Yumiko had an admirer, he was always talking to her, and when she was training with Uryu, he wasn't too far behind. It was adorable, and it seemed he wanted to know everything about the Quincy princess.
"Yes, the cello, flute, and piano."
The boy's eyes widen as his grin grew more comprehensive, "Wow, seriously. She's- I mean that's amazing," he reddened as he coughed in embarrassment.
"So how you been Miume?" Yasutora asked her. She had a feeling he knew that she was avoiding him, but him not flat out asking her about her distance, caused her to feel guilty for doing it in the first place.
"With everything that's going on, I'm doing okay. I'm second academically behind Yumiko, not entirely sure what I want to do but I dabble a bit in everything," she chuckled, she was her father's daughter at being indecisive. Also being born on February 27th, she was a Pisces girl who was naturally gifted in anything she did. That too was a curse. Talented with so many things and yet struggling to decide on a possible future. A future that they were now fighting to keep.
Yasutora pointed to his guitar and asked a simple question she'd hope to dodge. "You still play?"
She glanced at the familiar guitar, the same black and white one he played all those years ago. She fought the tears that she felt were coming and turned to leave. "I'm sorry, I thought I could do this."
She felt his strong hand on her shoulder, "No, I'm sorry. It's okay if you don't play anymore."
"I do," she began to cry, looking at the tall man in front of her, "I wanted to show you how much I improved when you came back-"
"Oh Miume," he saw her tears begin to trickle down as he hugged the girl, soothing her back with his large hands.
"I was upset with you for a long time, and it wasn't fair to you. Family is important, and it was wrong of me to be jealous of the life you acquired in Mexico." She hugged him, venting all her frustrations to him, finding that she felt much better.
"You don't have to apologize. I missed Karakura so much, and it's the reason why I came back. So no more tears about the past, okay?"
He looked at the girl, who whipped away her tears as she nodded.
"Okay," she made her way back to the room and sat beside Jacinto. She felt embarrassed for him having to witness that, but he sensed her awkwardness as he held out his guitar to her.
"When I lost my mom, my dad taught me an English song that helped with the pain. Do you know this one?"
Yasutora handed his guitar to her as his son began to play the familiar chords. He began to sing the words with ease with a slight hint of an accent.
"Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now."
Miume began to play the chords as Jacinto glanced at her amazing skill with the guitar, as she began to sing along.
"Backbeat, the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt.
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now."
Miume felt the tears come again, but they weren't tears of sadness but happy ones as she glanced over at Yasutora to smile. Jacinto continued to play but refrained from singing as he let Miume sing the words instead.
"And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I
Would like to say to you but I don't know-how
Because maybe, you're going to be the one that saves me
And after all, you're my Wonderwall."
She stopped at the last chord and glanced at him, "How did I do Chado?"
"Perfecto!" he smiled as he came closer to hold her and reached for his son in a group hug.
x
Miume felt like a whole new woman. She reminisced with Yasutora and listened to his time in Mexico along with his son. After eating a bit, she decided to make it to the training area to find her father. She found him again, training with the King of Hueco Mundo. She noticed her father's attention divert to her as he held out his hand to the blue-haired Arrancar for a time-out.
He made his way to her as he stared at her for a moment before she began to laugh.
"What?"
"So everything okay with Chad?"
"Perfecto!" she giggled as she hugged her father while he kissed the top of her head.
"That's my girl."
"So when do you want to start with training, after your spar with Grimmjow?" she avoided the Arrancar but sensed him staring at her.
"Nah, you could start now with your daddy, princess," Grimmjow said beside her, as she screamed at his abrupt invasion of her comfort zone.
"Do you mind not being so close," she reddened as she stepped away. He ignored the girl's protests as he eyed Ichigo.
"What are you teaching her today?"
"Strengthening her guard."
Miume heard the cackles of the King, the laughs became even louder as the blue-haired Arrancar looked at both familiar scowls from both the father and daughter duo.
"Both your fucking looks are priceless."
"I don't understand what's so funny?" Miume voiced something Ichigo apparently was not quick enough to say.
"Relax, princess,"
"It's Miume!"
"Excuse me?"
"My name it's Miume, not princess."
She saw how the blue-haired Arrancar looked at her in confusion before he grinned.
"The reason why I find this whole thing of Ichigo training you, Princess. Is because he'll go easy on you."
Ichigo glared at Grimmjow as he glared right back.
"No, he wouldn't. He's been training me my whole life."
"Okay, so let me test your shield."
Miume summoned her shield but felt her father stand between them.
"Wait!" He expressed avoiding his daughter's stare, Grimmjow couldn't help but grin at the young girl's confusion.
"Daddy?"
"He's right."
"So you haven't been taking my training seriously?"
"I have .. I" the words wouldn't come out as he looked down at his daughter's hurt expression. "I've been training the best I could without hurting you. It's easy to train you on how to defend yourself but to spar seriously. I just couldn't."
Miume's anger dissipated watching her father's guilt-ridden confession and how much this had bothered him.
"Okay!" she walked up to her father and kissed his cheek. "Please don't get upset," she whispered.
Before he could register what she meant, she ran up to Grimmjow and placed her time dome over them. Her father wouldn't even realize what she had done before it was too late. She made sure that she grabbed Grimmjow's arm before she let go, so he could walk around the sphere that she decided to make a little larger.
"What the hell is this?"
"I'll explain everything later, right now my father doesn't realize what I've done. I can't hold this sphere for long. I need you to attack me with my shield in place. I want to understand what I'm up against."
Grimmjow looked around the orange sphere and then shrugged his shoulders before he did a fighting stance.
"I know you're stronger than that."
Grimmjow grinned as he eyed her, "You want the Kitty form?"
"An Arrancar's Resurrección or Whatever," she looked irritated as she brought up her shield, with a determined look.
"Okay, Princess," he pulled out his sword clawing near its hilt as Miume began to form her shield, concentrating hard on putting all her strength. "Grate, Pantera."
He formed into his panther-like form, and she felt the intense pressure and still held both her shield and the sphere.
"I'm ready. Go!"
Grimmjow looked hesitant for a moment before he swiftly used most of his strength to hit the shield with his claw. He was surprised at the young girl's sheer power as it held without shattering. She looked up at him, shocked as she smiled. It only took a split second before her strength began to wane. Her shield shattered as his claw dug right into her shoulder blade.
The pain hurt as she glanced in horror at the wound. Grimmjow looked just as shocked. He saw her eyes begin to lose focus.
"Whoa there, Princess. Stay with me."
The walls of the sphere fell, and so did the auburn-haired girl as Grimmjow held her from falling to the sandy floor.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?" he heard the powerful voice of Ichigo. Grimmjow looked at Ichigo, who pushed him off his daughter. The Arrancar hit the side of a rock hard as he looked up, only seeing yellow irises and black pupils with an intense glare.
Ichigo stared at Grimmjow for a while but felt a hand touch his cheek. "Wait, Daddy. I ...I told him to do it." She pushed off of him to steady herself, still grasping her with one hand. "I made the mistake of distracting myself. It's not his fault."
Ichigo's eyes lost the dark coloring, but his features continued to stare daggers at the King. Ichigo wasted no time in picking her up to shun-po to his wife. She knew his daughter could heal her own wounds, but she had already used most of her strength.
Orihime was using Tsubaki on Daichi's shield when Ichigo's presence came beside her. She glanced down at her wounded daughter and looked to Ichigo who seemed to be beating himself up internally.
"What happened?" she instantly made her shield go over their daughter. They watched as her pale color, returned to a healthy pink tone.
"It's my fault," Ichigo stated as Miume looked at her father.
"No, I asked Grimmjow to spar with me. I used my time dome before Daddy could stop me."
"Miume you didn't."
"I needed to know," she began to form tears as she began to hug herself, feeling better as the wound closed and her strength returned under her mother's warm healing sphere.
"What?" Orihime questioned, worried at her daughter's tears. Before she could answer, Ichigo did.
"She wanted to know if she could contend with someone stronger. Especially since I've been holding her back by not training her properly."
"Stop being so fucking dramatic, Ichigo." They heard the voice of the blue Arrancar, "So you held back. You're a father. But she does not lack in strength, and the girl held her shield against my Resurrección."
Orihime looked at Grimmjow and then at Ichigo who nodded. They heard someone swoop down next to them and listened to the familiar voice of Tatsunari.
"Hey, what's going on?" the young boy's wings dissipated as he ran up to them. He watched as his girlfriend's arm began to heal, and the blood evaporated from her clothing. No one seemed to want to answer the boy, but that didn't stop Daichi.
"Miume decided to spar with Grimmjow."
Tatsunari glanced over at the Arrancar, questioningly, and then at Miume, "Are you okay?"
She avoided her boyfriend's eyes as he bent closer to her, looking through the orange sphere. "Yeah, the wound wasn't that bad. I just used too much of my powers." She smiled as he nodded.
"Wound wasn't that bad? I fucking saw a hole through the left side of her shoulder."
"Would you shut the hell up, Daichi," Ichigo growled out, still staring at his daughter.
"Why because I'm telling the truth? Great job of protecting your daughter. Father of the year, right here." Daichi shouted out. Ichigo stepped only to be stopped by Orihime.
"Ichigo now don't you dare attack a student of mine. Daichi that's enough."
They heard Grimmjow's abrupt laughter, "I suggest you listen, pretty boy. That fucker will tear your tongue out your mouth and shove it back in your throat."
"Says the fucker who tore through his daughter's arm like it was paper," Daichi laughed, "that's rich. Why aren't you getting your balls shoved down your throat?"
"The fuck did this prick say?" Grimmjow wasn't laughing anymore, as he sped and stood in front of Daichi. The younger man stood firm even though he was shaking from fear of what this man could do to him.
"Are Arrancar's deaf too?"
"Oi Grimmjow!" Tatsunari stood up to walk towards the Arrancar. He stood between Daichi and Grimmjow, as he bowed.
"Could I spar with you in your Resurrección form?"
Grimmjow stared at the young fae hybrid and then at the young fullbringer. "Is this to get back at me due to injuring your girlfriend?" he looked at the spiky black-haired boy. Tatsunari looked at Miume and then at the King of Los Noches and winked while he whispered.
"What would it look like to have my girlfriend sparring with the King of Los Noches. While her boyfriend twiddled his fingers on the sidelines."
"Oi Tatsu! Your mother is going to rip me a new one if you do something stupid like this." Ichigo came from behind the full bringer.
"Don't worry Ichigo. If this kid wants to play with the big boys, who am I to deny him? Besides, you can't protect him forever. Sooner or later he's going to have to contend with these Fae Fuckers."
Ichigo sighed as he looked to Tatsunari, who smiled at him.
"Tatsu?" He heard Miume say from under her mother's dome.
"Stay out of this, Miume," Tatsunari shouted. Grimmjow still in his Resurrección form waited until the boy prepared himself. The younger boy changed, covering his whole body into his dragon armor, while his wings spread.
"Ready when you are?"
"Okay, Go!"
Grimmjow darted so fast, knocking the boy to the ground, slamming his claws into his shielded arms, trying to break through the hard dragon scales.
"You're a tough son of a bitch."
"I don't think my mother would appreciate you calling her that. Even though she's called herself that on a few occasions," he struggled to stand up as he felt the impact of the strong Arrancar's fist ram into his chest. Tatsunari manipulated a scale to grow into a makeshift shank. He tried to plunge the sharp object into the shoulder of his opponent, but Grimmjow only smiled and blocked it by the blades protruding from his forearms.
"That would have tickled if that connected. Let me show you how my blades pierce through."
Tatsunari watched how two blades fired from his forearms and lodged into his arm and the right side of his wing.
"FUCK!" Tatsunari shouted ramming as hard as he could against the Arrancar. He got a few shots in with his left hand, but none caused any damage to the highly skilled fighter. Tatsunari felt Grimmjow grip his wounded arm and squeezed until he heard a snap. The younger boy cried out in pain.
"That's enough, Grimmjow."
The blue-Arrancar stopped squeezing to glance at the younger man, "You're going to have train harder than that, in order to protect her. Cause this was just pathetic."
Tatsunari glared hard at the Arrancar, with determined eyes, before he spewed out a fire that scorched the hand that was grabbing his arm. Grimmjow's appendage began to catch flames as the heat started to melt away his arm.
"What the fuck?" He yelled out and clawed off his arm to prevent the flames from eating through to the rest of his body.
"Sorry, I really should have brushed my teeth. My breath can be lethal, my bad," the fullbringer chuckled and winced in pain, holding onto his wounded arm.
Grimmjow held what was left of his arm to glance at the boy in front of him. He began to grin and then started to laugh.
Daichi looked at both Tatsunari and Grimmjow with a confused look, "Yeah, you fucking people are insane." The blonde left the group to train elsewhere.
Orihime had finished with her daughter for quite some time as she stared at the fight between the boy she helped raise as he contended against the ruthless Arrancar. A few times, she wanted to shield the boy, but she knew what Grimmjow said was right. The Royal Fae was currently their enemy, and it was a war they were entering.
As soon as Miume saw the injuries of her boyfriend, she left their presence to head somewhere to keep calm. Seeing his bruised face and his arm violently marred from Grimmjow's attacks, she became immediately upset.
She used her shield to fly herself outside of Los Noches and head to the top of the dome. She found abandoned and destroyed pillars that surrounded the area. The only place that looked restored was the sky ceiling of Los Noches or in this case, the floor she stood upon.
"So is this where the hole Ulquiorra created used to be?" she heard her boyfriend's voice out from afar, as he swooped down beside her.
"Yeah," her answer was short and to the point, and all he could do was smirk. She looked at him with a glare and then looked away, glancing at the white pillars that reflected off the glow of the distant moon.
"Can I just acknowledge that your mad and skip the arguing and head straight to the make-up sex."
She instantly turned red and stared at him in shock, "What the hell?"
"I meant to kiss and make-up. I'm sorry I confuse those two expressions." Tatsunari scooted closer to Miume, as she pushed him away, not a beliving a word uttered from his mouth.
She bit her lip to contain her laughter, "Whatever," she glanced at him and looked at his arm that been healed perfectly. "Why are you being reckless, again?"
"I'm not," he watched her fingers lightly brush his healed shoulder.
"You were sparing with Grimmjow. You're not strong e-," she stopped her words before she could say them.
"Say it. I'm not strong enough."
"Tatsu, I'm sorry," she pleaded, looking at her boyfriend. He didn't seem affected as he stared at her.
"You and Yumiko have always been stronger."
"So what are we making you feel less of a man?"
"Jeez, Miume it's not about that. I want to get stronger so that I'm able to fight alongside you guys. Seeing Yumiko helpless on that ground and seeing your brother motionless while I couldn't do a damn thing. That Mitsuhide guy is powerful; he was messing with Kazui when they were fighting. I know you can handle yourself and contend with a lot of these powerful fighters because of who your parents are. I ... I don't want you to do it alone, but I also don't want to hold you back," he looked at the floor at nothing in particular when he spoke.
Miume held his hand as she moved closer to him, not saying anything she leaned in to kiss his lips.
"This place is something my parent's don't like to mention. Most of the stories I've learned from my father's fight with Ulquiorra are from Yumiko and even then Uryu like my parents like to give the PG version. I know my mother almost lost my father here and whatever happened traumatized them to the point of learning from their mistakes. My father decided to fight someone stronger than him alone. His decision led to him losing his life and leaving Uryu and my mother to deal with an enemy alone. Then when he lost his powers, it was devastating to him because the people he cared about were in a dire situation that he couldn't help them from, going so far as to trust an enemy to receive the power back. With Ywach, my father, through trial and error, found that you can't do everything by yourself and its ok to seek help from others. I'm sorry for being upset. I hate seeing you hurt," she pouted as her boyfriend slide his fingers against her cheek.
"I don't want to see you hurt through training either, but I know it's necessary. Its better than seeing you in that asshole's arms. Promise me something," Tatsunari looked at her thoughtfully, while holding her chin to face him.
"What?"
"If I'm in a situation that I can't get out of or captured again. Don't let them use my life as a bargaining chip. You tell them to fuck off, and you leave me."
"to die?" she looked at him, pushing his hands away, "No! We're going to save you."
"Miume! If I have to slit my throat to prevent you from doing something stupid, I will," he angrily shouted as she looked at him offended. "If he takes you because of me, I don't know what I'll do. He's going to violate you and not give two shits if you're not enjoying it. I could see in his eyes how sadistic that piece of shit is. I wouldn't put it past him that he'd hurt you in front of me."
"Do you not have faith that-"
"It's not about having faith, Miume. I believe everyone here is strong enough to handle whatever the Royal Fae throws at them but if-"
"I'm not going to promise you that I'm going to leave you."
"Can you promise me, Ichigo then?" she heard him ask when she felt her father's spiritual pressure. She had been so focused on arguing with Tatsunari; she didn't notice her father's presence.
"I'll make sure she's not within a hundred yards from that guy. Even if I have to drag her away," he looked at his daughter who scowled at him.
"You can't stop me from protecting the people I care about," she stood up, pointing at her father. He looked at her with a raised brow as he crossed his arms.
"So then explain to me Miume. Who's going to stop me?"
She shut her mouth and bit the inside of her lip, tasting the blood. She stared at her father one last time before she floated on her shield and angrily zoomed away.
"Thanks, Ichigo-san! She's so stubborn," the spiky-haired boy chuckled as he patted the shoulder of the older man. Ichigo looked at him with a concerned expression before he spoke.
"I'm not going to let them take you either."
The younger man's face instantly fell, "If it comes down to sacrificing my life to save hers. I won't hold it against you for choosing your daughter's life instead of your best friend's son. I mean sure you'll have to hear my mother's mouth but-"
He felt Ichigo grab his head to slam it against his. He didn't have time to process the pain when amber eyes glared into his black ones.
"You're not just Tatsuki or Keigo's son. You're Tatsunari Asano, a pain in the ass I've come to love as a son."
Tatsunari felt his eyes begin to water when he suddenly felt strong arms wrap around him, patting his back. "I...I'll hate myself if I was too weak to prevent him from hurting her."
Ichigo heard the younger boy say through tears. He thought of himself when Ulqiorra first arrived with Yammy and how Chad and Tatsuki lay there in the park almost lifeless. Then the feeling of hopelessness when his hollow prevented him from saving Orihime, watching her getting injured. Then always put into situations so the enemy could use her against him, to hurt her to get to him. He understood the boy's pain. He also wasn't going to let that happen to his daughter if he had to bring out his power in destroying everything that got in his way, he will. For his loved ones, he will.
"We'll deal with Mitsuhide together and the rest of them together. I promise you. Now, go back down and eat something," he ruffled the boy's head as he nodded.
He watched the boy's dark wings expand as he looked around the familiar scene around him.
'Save us, Kurosaki-kun!'
He could still remember her faint calls like it was just yesterday. He walked up to the crater that was still there, a crater created by him. The hole he created with his Cero, now sealed as well as Ulquiorra's hole. Those were the only things that looked fixed; the destruction of their fight was still there. Remanents of accumulated sand covered most of the demolished pillars and broken rocks.
'We'll do it together, Kingy' hearing his hollow's voice and he couldn't help but grin. In that aspect, he agreed with his hollow. Separated their power was useless, but together. Together they could destroy anything.
x
Aww wasn't the birthday party so adorable, isn't Tatsunari so adorable and isn't his Auntie Mizuiho a bitch. LOL! I wanted to desperately have Chad who's also an intricate part of Orihime and Ichigo, not just Tatsuki or even Uryu who came in much later. Some people forget that Chad has been with Ichigo's friend for a long time and even became close with Orihime when they first got their powers. I wanted their children to have a close relationship with him too. Why I thought of the guitar since I know in the manga Chad being an avid player.
I had to show how much Miume and Tatsunari were serious about fighting in this upcoming battle. In recent chapters, we caught a glimpse of Uryu realizing his mistake on handling his daughter with training. I needed Ichigo to realize that too, except talking doesn't really get Ichigos attention unless its from Orihime. We needed it to be rammed in his face and Miume does a good job doing that.
I loved writing the scene between Miume and Tatsunari, placing them in the centerpiece of the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra. I already had Miume as a child placed in the area where Grimmjow and Ichigo fought, it was only fitting to have her grownup and be at a crucial fight in her parent's lives. Because that fight was no joke. Ichigo, Orihime, and Uryu character developed drastically after Hueco Mundo and I wanted to show its effect, especially the way they still haven't told their children the whole truth of what happened that day.
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and again Please leave a review.
