Chapter Seven:

Ichigo stretched widely as he finally left Division Four behind him. It had been a a week since he'd woken up, and despite his fast healing Unohana had insisted upon keeping him in to monitor his condition, just in case of a relapse.

He really hated hospitals, something about the sterile smell and clinical atmosphere made his skin crawl, he wasn't sure why but it had always been that way, at least for as long as he could remember.

But now, he was free again, and the sun on his skin was a welcome sensation as the gentle breeze fluttered his hair around his face. Walking in something of a daydream, he made his way home, pausing as he passed Division Five, he hadn't seen Aizen at all while he was in hospital, it made him wonder if he had somehow fallen out of favour with the man, but at the same time he believed if that was the case he would know about it.

"He's probably just busy..." He muttered to himself, continuing his stroll and greeting the gate guards who were on duty outside of Division Six.

With a sigh he let himself into his room, allowing the door to slide shut behind him. It was good to be back. It seemed like someone had been keeping his room clean during his absence, and for that he was... Grateful.

The strawberry haired man headed for the bedroom, but stopped suddenly as something caught his eye; he looked towards the kitchen and blinked as he saw a small plastic container sitting in the middle of his dining table.

"Huh?" He padded over and picked up the box, prising the lid off and gasping as he was struck by the aromatic smell of fresh sushi. He had to stuff the lid back on to stop himself eating it all right there and then.

Ichigo blinked, seeing a small note on the table where the box had been, he plucked it up and opened it swiftly, his breath catching in his throat, "This is Byakuya's... I mean... Kuchiki Taichou's writing?" He read the note and swallowed hard, feeling heat rise in his face as he ingested the warm words which summarised themselves as a 'welcome home'.

"I-Idiot." He muttered, putting the paper back down and popping the lid back off the treats.

If this was from Byakuya then there was only one conclusion he could make, this wasn't just sushi... This was Kuchiki sushi! He'd heard from Rukia that it was the best in Soul Society, the skills of the household's staff were renown right across the Seireitei.

Unable to resist, he tried some, flopping down at the table as the most delicious explosion of flavours and textures rendered him speechless. He couldn't think of anything that he had ever eaten which could beat this. As expected, he couldn't resist eating the entire supply in one sitting, and when he had finished he let out a long satisfied sigh.

Letting his head fall back so he could stare at the ceiling, he patted his full stomach and let out a soft sigh, he really should take the walk up to the man's office. There were things that they needed to discuss, things which were unrelated to Aizen, unrelated to training... It would make a change to actually have a reason to talk. Instead of the icy silence he had been receiving before the Hollow attack.

He wanted to know what he'd done to earn that ire, even if things were fine now, he needed to know.

Stretching the tendons in his fingers, he dawdled for a moment long before flying from his chair and leaving the room like a miniature hurricane, jogging up the slight slope which came to a dead end in the form of Kuchiki's office. He could sense the man was inside, and alone.

Ichigo's hand came up to the door to knock, but he froze before his knuckles could make contact.

What was he doing, being so eager to talk to the Byakuya Kuchiki? He was meant to be spying on him, not checking in on him to assess his personal well-being. There was no reason for him to do so.

Closing his eyes, the Third Seat glanced in the direction of Division Five, he could sense Aizen's reiatsu linger in the area. It was like a cruel game, on the one hand there was Kuchiki, and in the other... Aizen.

He was loyal, he had always been loyal.

This was a ridiculously dangerous path to tread.

The young man's hand fell back to his side and he looked at his feet, the thoughts spinning through his mind were tremulous, desperate, and if Aizen ever discovered a single one of them he was well aware that a swift death would be easy to conceal as an accident.

Shaking his head, Ichigo turned away, letting out a soft huff as he walked away; flinching abruptly as he heard the door behind him slide open by itself.

"Kurosaki." The dulcet tones of his Taichou's voice froze him to the spot.

Glancing over his shoulder hesitantly, the orange haired Shinigami gulped, chestnut eyes meeting steel ones, "Taichou ..."

Byakuya was in the midst of pulling his fingerless gloves on, unusually his Taichou's coat was absent from his attire and he looked incredibly different with out it, Ichigo found it hard to believe one item of clothing could make such a difference to someone's appearance, but apparently that was the case with the Kuchiki heir.

"You'll not find answers by running away." The noble stated, his eyes knowing.

"I wasn't running... I was going to walk, quickly in the opposite direction." He muttered awkwardly.

Byakuya released a small chuckle and stepped over the threshold, sliding the door shut behind himself, "Your sarcasm never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, your presence is fortuitous, I was about to travel to Rukongai, you will be accompanying me."

"I... Will?"

"Yes, I believe it is time the two of us spoke frankly to one and other, and should it come to blows I'd rather we did so in a remote location, where others from the Division would be safe." The raven haired man met his gaze evenly, there was no humour in his eyes as he spoke, only deathly seriousness.

Ichigo faltered slightly, his skin prickling at the idea, and the words tumbled from his lips before he could stop and think about them, "I don't want to fight you."

"Nor do I wish to fight you. However, I have no way of knowing how you will react to what I have to say, and unfortunately for you... I witnessed just how destructive your power can be while we were in Karakura." Byakuya tilted his head slightly, "Will you come willingly, Ichigo?"

He was silent for several long minutes before he finally answered, "Yes."


The journey to Rukongai was tense, uncomfortable and silent, possibly the longest period of time Ichigo had spent in the presence of his Taichou without the two of them conversing in some way or another. Had he been equipped to feel anxiety he was certain his stomach would be doing somersaults, rather than the pathetic twinges he was getting instead. Nerves were okay, they were instinctive, they could keep him alive. They didn't count as actual emotions.

He watched as the tattered huts and houses blurred under the speed of their movements, he was almost as fast as Byakuya now, able to trace his movements much easier than in the past, he wasn't sure if that was a sign of progress or if in fact the noble was going easy on him. Ichigo wanted to believe it was a sign of his own personal growth, that he could keep up with the fasted Shunpo in Seireitei.

There was confusion, however, as they showed no signs of having reached their destination even as they went deeper and deeper into the Rukon districts, further away from the crisp whiteness of all things Shinigami related. Things grew darker, more morbid, more desperate. The houses grew more worn, the people more withered, thinner, it was easy to see the souls who possessed even an ounce of reiatsu, as their faces were gaunt and their eyes spoke only of the unimaginable hunger caused by having power.

Ichigo remembered it well. He remembered these roads, these paths, these people, they were growing closer to the District in which his life had restarted after the loss of his memories. He'd spent a few years there before managing to migrate into District 78, Inuzuri, where he had found Rukia and Renji.

His original residence, on the other hand, was Fugai. He couldn't remember the number of it, it had been so long since he had even bothered to consider it. With a sickened lurch, Ichigo came to realise that was exactly where they were heading. Byakuya was taking him home.

They arrived atop a cliff, looking down over a vast spread of tall trees, the darkness within those branches was incomprehensible; Ichigo stood on the edge of the cliff-face overlooking that forest with his head hung. There were so many bad memories of this place, so many things he had wished had also been wiped when his memories had vanished. He'd never received that wish though, this forest; these trees... They were the first memories he possessed, if he tried hard to reach back as far as his mind would allow, all he could ever grasp was the sight of the branches stretching above him, blotting out the sky and the full moon, enshrouding him in darkness. There was nothing before that memory, just empty blackness.

"Why have you brought me here?" He whispered, shoulders tight as he balled his hands into fists at his sides.

"Because this is where everything began for you, isn't it?" Byakuya replied, carefully peering down into the forest below the cliff.

"Yeah..." Ichigo swallowed hard, "The earliest memory I possess... Was given birth to beneath this canopy. I should have been afraid of the darkness around me, the howling wind cutting through the branches like a screeching Hollow, the lack of life around me but... I wasn't. I didn't feel anything. No fear, no worry, no anger... I was a blank slate, indifferent, uncaring. I wasn't even disturbed by the fact I was drenched in blood."

"Blood?"

"Mm." Ichigo's eyes were glazed over, his expression unreadable, "From head to toe, there was so much blood on me. I didn't even know if it was mine or not, it... It wasn't mine, in the end... But I still remember... It was still wet, still fresh... Clumped in my hair and slowly drying on my skin and clothes. I could taste it, that heavy metallic taste... It made me sick. I didn't know who's blood it was, I was alone, there were no bodies, no corpses, no traces of any battle."

Byakuya watched carefully, it made his heart ache to see Ichigo so consumed by the little of his past he remembered, but he had to bring him here, it was the only place in Soul Society that could bring some closure to this... Facade.

"I couldn't remember my own name, or where I'd come from. All I knew was that I awoke looking up at the branches. I was just a kid... But even then, I couldn't actually recall my age. Everything was so... Blank, so empty. It should have been frightening, but it wasn't..." The Third Seat looked at his Taichou slowly, "I couldn't feel fear, at the time I don't think I even knew what fear was... Because there was just... Nothing. I was empty, barren, disconnected. I didn't know why, and I didn't care, it didn't seem to matter all that much at the time."

"How did you eventually remember your name?"

"There was a name tag in my shirt." He replied, looking back at the trees, "The people who found me discovered it."

"You were found by strangers?" The noble asked.

"Yeah... I wandered out of the forest by myself and stumbled across their camp. Scared the life out of them." He chuckled humourlessly at the memory, "They were a group of five men, wearing little more than rags and eating a rat they'd caught after cooking it over their fire. They took me in, fed me, helped me wash and gave me new clothes."

"So they were kind to you?"

The strawberry blinked and looked at him sharply, "Are you stupid?" Ichigo frowned, "You don't get this far away from Seireitei and still find good people... Byakuya."

The noble faltered at the look on the other's face, surprised to hear his name from his subordinate's lips, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows, the further away from Seireitei you get, the rougher the Districts become. Eventually, it reaches a point where you're surrounded by villains, violent and vulgar alike." Ichigo murmured, folding his arms over his chest.

"So... These people... Weren't good to you?"

"Not at all." He agreed, "Unless, of course, you consider rape to be good."

"What?!" Byakuya gasped, his eyes flying wide.

"Mm, you weren't expecting that, were you?" Ichigo closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly as a soft sigh escaped him, "I spent so long pretending this part of my life never happened. It's... Kind of cruel to be brought back here."

"Ichigo..." The noble swallowed hard, taking a step towards him.

"I don't require your pity, it is one of the benefits of not feeling anything... I was able to blot out what happened because it didn't mean anything to me." He clenched his teeth, looking at the man sharply, "Did you really bring me here to talk about the good old days? Because if so... I'll take my leave. I have no desire to relive my entire life story for you."

Byakuya hesitated at the apparent flare of annoyance from the strawberry, he glanced towards the trees and then back at Ichigo, "No... I didn't. I brought you here because I wanted to know something... Something I can't ask you within the walls of the city."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"I want to know why you had to be so brutal when you murdered my Third Seat. You could have killed him and been done, but you took the time to make it painful, so that he suffered alone." His eyes darkened as he spoke, "Was it Aizen's idea? Or yours?"

It was Ichigo's turn to look shocked, his eyes widening as he stared back at his Taichou, a chill creeping down his spine, "How did you..."

"Believe it or not, Aizen dropped some hints himself. I'm not sure why he would want me to know what you'd done, maybe he believed it would make me less inclined to help you if you wanted to escape his grasp." The noble answered, "But I do expect the truth from you now. No more coyness, no more vague hints."

'Why would Aizen drop me in it like this? What's he thinking?' The strawberry couldn't believe his ears.

The current Third Seat swallowed heavily, turning his back on his Taichou as he considered his answer, "I told you once... The only time I feel alive is when I'm having sex or fighting. But that was never entirely true. I feel alive when I'm having sex or... Killing. The feeling I get is overwhelming, like being born again... It turns into a craving... I lose control."

"So you butchered him because you couldn't help yourself?" The noble hissed.

"I butchered him because I was ordered to do so!" He bit back, swearing under his breath, "I simply lost control of my senses."

Byakuya stared at the man's turned back, anger that he rarely showed anyone creeping up from where he'd buried it years previously, "I wonder if perhaps you spoke the truth when I first asked you about your involvement with Aizen, at the bathhouse."

"Huh?" He glanced over at him.

"You told me that Renji was a fool for not being able to see when someone was beyond saving." The nobleman hissed, "I think perhaps... You may well be correct."

Ichigo's expression dropped at that, a momentary flicker of pain passed over him before it was quashed by disinterest, he looked down, letting out a weak chuckle, "Well, I suppose if you feel that way then... Your offer of help is no longer extended?"

Byakuya took slow, measured steps towards the younger man, hand coming to rest on the hilt of his Zanpakutō, "Do you know what Aizen's been doing in this forest, Ichigo?"

"Doing?" He frowned, his body tensing.

"Souls have been disappearing from all areas of Rukongai with little sign of stopping, for an extended period of time," the noble stopped a few feet from Ichigo, eyes almost blazing, "Aizen... Sōsuke Aizen has been conducting illegal experiments on them, the results of which have seen the souls become Hollows!"

"What?" He breathed.

"That... Is what you have been helping him do, Ichigo. You've helped him torment souls that came here to rest in peace after their deaths, the bonds between a soul and a Hollow being decomposed by his... Meddling, resulting in agonising transformations, and death."

"No..." Ichigo shook his head, "That's not right, it can't be. He would have said."

"Would he?" Byakuya snarled, "Tell me, Ichigo... Why would he confide such a thing in you?"

"Because-"

"Because what? Because you sleep together? Because you obey his orders? Because he gave you a purpose?" The noble snapped, "You don't tell a lab rat what you've done to its cage mates, Ichigo."

"Lab rat? Cage mates?" He repeated, "What are you talking about?!"

"The only experiment that ever succeeded, the only subject ever to survive..." Byakuya clenched his teeth, "Was you!"