Chapter Thirty Three:
The next morning was a strained affair as the four Shinigami sat around the small dining table in Urahara's front room, eating breakfast together in almost complete silence.
Setting his chopsticks down, the strawberry haired Third Seat straightened slightly, deciding he had to shatter the uncomfortable peace, "I... Met another childhood friend last night." He stated calmly, noticing how the other three glanced at him.
"When you went to deal with the Hollow?" Yoruichi asked, slumping back on some cushions.
"Yeah." He gave a single nod, "He's a Quincy."
"A... Really?" Urahara was instantly more interested.
"Mm. Had his bow aimed at my face and everything." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, "We went to school together, never really got on but he said he was glad to see me. He's gonna join me and Orihime later today when we meet up."
"I'm glad you've made progress with your search." The blond Shinigami smiled faintly, "Have you worked out what you are going to tell them yet?"
"I have no idea. Ishida found me while I was out of my Gigai, so he will know if I don't tell him the truth. But there's no knowing how much I can safely tell Orihime." He shrugged, "I guess I'll know when I see them."
"At least the mystery of the denreishinki malfunctioning has been resolved." Yoruichi chuckled, sipping a cup of tea thoughtfully.
"Indeed," Byakuya mused, stirring his tea thoughtfully, "It would appear this town currently doesn't possess a Shinigami representative to take care of the numerous Hollows in the area, it is somewhat fortune that a Quincy of all things lives here."
Biting his lip as he listened to the raven haired Shinigami, Ichigo sucked in a breath, "Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san..." He licked his lips, "I wanted to apologise for last night. I was a complete asshole."
"You were under a great deal of stress." Urahara's response was immediate, as if he'd already forgiven and forgotten, "Think nothing of it."
"We truly are concerned for your well being, nothing more." The purpled haired woman smiled softly at him, "You've been through a lot, it's natural that something will sneak up and knock the wind out of you every now and again."
"Thank you for being so understanding... But, there is no excuse for treating you like I did. You've been kind to me, I owe you both a lot. I promise to do better." He smiled weakly.
"That is all anyone can do, Kurosaki-san." Urahara said knowingly, as if he'd had to do the same once upon a time.
Ichigo looked up as he felt Byakuya's hand rest on his knee, a comfortingly light squeeze applied, the strawberry smiled tentatively as his guilt faded away. Emotions really were tricky things.
It was late in the afternoon when Ichigo left the store, heading for Orihime's house. When he'd phoned that morning, she had sounded over the moon that he'd asked to meet up and had immediately invited him for his dinner. It was as nerve racking as it was exciting, part of him wished he had asked Byakuya to accompany him, but in all honesty he knew it was something he had to do alone.
Orihime still lived in the Sakurabashi district, about five minutes away from where she'd lived as a kid, it brought back some funny memories as he walked the streets, passing sights which had started to become familiar as more and more flickers of his old life came back to him. He thought he'd be distressed by it, but in fact each little fragment that returned filled him with warmth.
When he turned the corner and saw Orihime waiting outside her front door for him, he lifted a hand and offered a lazy wave, smile stretching across his face as she practically beamed at him. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw her stumble, almost knocked flying by two bundles of energy that flew from the house, vaulted the gate and sprinted towards him with a relentless speed which could only be described as 'childhood spirit'.
He was assaulted by a pair of arms wrapping around his left thigh, clinging tightly to him as another pair of arms coiled higher around his waist, two small bodies pressing against him happily. He was thrown, not having properly been around any children since his days in Rukongai, Yachiru was an exception.
"Goodness me," Orihime's voice was soft but full of amusement, "I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun! They've been excited to meet you all day!"
"I... It's fine... Really." He found himself unable to refrain from smiling as he looked down at the two children.
His friend walked over, giggling softly to herself, "The little one is my daughter, Kaida. And the other is my son, Hotaru."
Kaida was small, petite but had a huge confident smile that lit up her entire face like a sunbeam, her eyes were dark blue, but her hair was the same burnt orange shade as her mothers, currently pulled up into two tails which barely brushed her shoulders. A spattering of freckles splashed over her nose and cheeks in an asymmetrical pattern.
Hotaru was almost her complete opposite, already quite tall for his age and had some faintly defined muscle, his eyes were the same cinnamon brown as his mothers, while his cropped spiky hair was almost black. His skin was pale, without a hint of freckles or other blemishes.
"A little dragon, and a firefly huh?" He asked, amused by the meanings behind their names, "They're gorgeous."
"And twins, believe it or not." She mused, "But Kaida has always been a little smaller."
"Well, as long as they're both healthy that's all that matters right?"
"Ichi-ji!" Kaida released his leg and held her arms up, a hopeful smile on her face.
Ichigo blinked at being called 'uncle' but found that it warmed his heart in ways he'd never encountered before, he chuckled gently, stooping enough to scoop her up in his arms, balancing her on his hip as her brother grabbed his free hand.
"You are a natural, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime clapped her hands happily at the sight and hastily led them into the house.
Finding an easy smile on his face, Ichigo followed her merrily, the house was beautifully decorated in warm autumnal colours with occasional blasts of subtle cream, there were bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling in almost every room, with photographs of the children on every available surface.
It was comfortable as he found himself seated at the kitchen breakfast table, Kaida unwilling to be put down for a second, even when Hotaru ran off to return to the television. He was surprised by just how content he was holding the small Human, never having had that kind of contact with anyone before.
Scanning the kitchen counters, Ichigo could see an abundance of cake tins, tiers, boxes of fondant icing and bags of flour.
"You enjoy baking then?" He asked, "I remember you were quite... Experimental when we were kids."
She placed a cup of tea in front of him and sat around the other side of the bar, nodding slightly, "I run my own cake company now, mostly special event cakes like weddings, blessings, birthdays. I still like experimenting, but I toned it down a lot."
"Your own company? That's incredible." He breathed, sipping his drink gratefully, "How the hell do you have time to juggle that with two kids?"
"It's not been easy, but it makes it worth while to be able to take them on holiday and spoil them." She looked at her daughter fondly, eyes twinkling with delight, "They make everything worth it."
Ichigo felt his throat constrict, for the briefest of moments it was like he was staring at his own mother again. The same happy smile, the warmth in the eyes, the soft heart-shaped face. It knocked the breath from him and he found himself looking at his hands.
"I'm surprised you told them about me... It's been a long time..." He paused, "I didn't expect that."
"Of course I told them about you! Even if it was only for a short time, you had a huge impact on my life. Seeing how you stood up to the kids who bullied you about your hair gave me the courage to do the same! It's because of you and Tatsuki-chan that I was able to grow my hair again!" Her hands were gripping her cup tightly, "I'm determined to make sure my Little Dragon has the same courage."
Ichigo absent mindedly brushed the small girls hair, only noticing then that she had fallen asleep against him, "She seems so comfortable with a stranger."
"You're not a stranger, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime's voice was stronger, "Even if you have amnesia, even if you can only remember the basics... We never forgot you."
Swallowing, he wasn't sure what to say. His heart ached at the idea of the life he could have had, maybe by now his own son or daughter would be snuggled up into his side, asking for a story or to play a game. He'd lost out on so much.
He glanced around as he heard the front door open and blinked in surprise as Ishida strode into the kitchen like he owned it, setting a briefcase down on the counter before he walked over and kissed Orihime softly on the lips, glancing at Kaida with an eye roll before he brewed himself a drink.
"She really does trust anyone, just like her mother." The Quincy muttered, "Thank goodness Hotaru is more like me, and will look after her."
"Your..." Ichigo let out a breath as his eyebrows almost disappeared under his fringe.
A smirk toyed at the edges of the Quincy's lips, "Yes. Orihime is my wife, Kaida and Hotaru are my children." Ishida then peered towards the doorway, "Do you want tea or coffee, Sado?"
"Tea is fine." The deep voice of the giant man in the doorway took Ichigo by surprise.
He was huge, easily pushing six foot six in height, and his muscles were big enough for Ichigo to feel small in comparison to the dark skinned man. His hair was thick, brown and wavy, almost completely covering his eyes, and his large hands were holding the strap of a bass guitar case which was slung over his shoulder.
"Ichigo?" The man asked, eyes widening slightly.
The strawberry gulped, his head aching from a small barrage of memories which threatened to make his stomach churn, it was a feeling he felt he was experiencing all too often these days, and he kind of hoped he'd eventually get better at remembering his past.
"Chad." He smiled weakly, "It's been a long time."
Instead of replying, the man placed his guitar case against the wall and sat down next to him at the breakfast bar, accepting the cup of tea silently, his eyes never leaving Ichigo's face.
It was good to be in the company of faces which were becoming more well-known, titbits of information leaking into his mind as they fell into a comfortable pattern of chatter, none of which currently seemed directed towards where the hell he had been for the last twenty six years. He could only assume such a conversation would take place once Kaida and Hotaru had gone to bed.
He learnt, over a hearty meal, that while Orihime was busy running her cake shop, Ishida had become a doctor like his late father and specialised in general surgery, Chad was a world famous boxer with a sideline career as a bass player for a well known band.
"What do you do, Ichi-ji?" Hotaru had asked curiously, wiping his mouth on his sleeve as sauce went everywhere.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Orihime had scolded him with a frown which had faded just as fast as it had appeared.
"Uh..." Ichigo then found himself staring at Ishida, trying to find some kind of response that would be plausible, "Security." It wasn't exactly a lie.
A couple of hours after their meal, the kids were taken to bed and Ichigo was finally able to regain full function of his left hand side, though admittedly he was sad to say goodnight to Kaida. He couldn't place why, not until he considered she was a similar size and build to what Karin and Yuzu would have been if they had reached her age. It saddened him for a moment, but he pushed it aside, not wanting to colour the rest of the evening with a sense of sombreness.
When Orihime returned from tucking the siblings in, the four adults moved out into the garden, it was a warm night and a few spattered fairy lights illuminated the patio more than enough for them to continue talking without issue.
The drinks turned alcoholic and Ichigo found himself nursing a bottle of cool beer, watching as the back door was slid shut to give them some privacy. Silence fell between them, and slowly he realised it was coming close to him having to give some form of explanation as to his disappearance, and sudden return. He was no closer to knowing how to address it than he had been at the start of the day.
"Kurosaki, would you mind giving me a hand with this?" Ishida asked, apparently fighting with a collapsible patio chair.
"Sure." He muttered, setting his bottle aside as he hurried over to be of assistance.
He wasn't sure if it was a lapse of concentration, or the fact he'd felt no threat, but he couldn't react fast enough as the Quincy spun and slammed his hand into his chest, throwing him backwards with a strength he hadn't expected.
Gasping at the familiar sensation of being parted from his Gigai, he looked down, seeing the faux body crumpled on the floor, he clenched his teeth as he turned to demand an explanation, only to falter as he realised everyone's eyes were on him. Not the Gigai. Him.
"Oh my goodness... Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime's hands were over her mouth, "I didn't believe it when Uryū told me last night..."
Clenching his teeth, the strawberry folded his arms over his chest, glowering at the bespectacled man, "Was that necessary?" His eyes narrowing further as he saw the glove the Quincy was wearing, the flaming skull emblem more than a little familiar, "Where did you get that?"
Nudging his glasses up his nose, Ishida flexed his fingers experimentally, "Urahara-san has been most helpful over the years."
Hissing, "Of course he has." He had known the blond Shinigami had been holding something back from the start, but knowing just how deeply he was involved was infuriating, "So, how much do you already know?"
"Next to nothing." Chad murmured, the surprise fading from his features, "Only that... Twenty six years ago something happened at your house, your family were killed and you were missing. No one ever saw you again after that night."
"That same night, something happened to us as well." Ishida raised an eyebrow, "According to Urahara-san, we were afflicted by a run off of energy from something called the Hōgyoku."
Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, "It affected you? What the hell did it do?"
"Within me, it strengthened my Quincy powers and made them develop quicker than they would have done other wise." He jangled the cross shaped metal trinket which hung around his wrist.
Chad stood slowly, flexing the muscles in his right arm before a demonic blackness seeped from the very air itself and encased the limb, "For me, it gave me the power to strike down those who threatened the weak, and finally taught me why I was given such natural strength."
Orihime smiled sweetly before her hands lifted to her bright blue hair pins, "Shun Shun Rikka. I was finally able to protect the people I love."
Ichigo watched in fascination as the pins glowed orange and released tiny spirits from them, almost resembling fairies of a sort. Casting his eyes over his three childhood friends he rested his hands on his hips, head tilted slightly to the side.
"Well, shit." He chuckled weakly, realising now that the real reason Hollows kept disappearing so quickly across the town was because it wasn't just defended by a single Quincy, the three of them clearly worked together, "Get comfortable, this is going to take a while."
He told them everything. Everything he remembered. Everything that had happened. They listened without interruption, unless it was to clarify a term he'd used that they were unfamiliar with, however that was scarce as it seemed they'd been meeting and training with Urahara for quite some time and were more than a little familiar with the workings of Shinigami, Hollows and everything in between.
Ishida was the first to speak when he'd finished, "This Aizen guy sounds like trouble, a lot of trouble. It's not just Soul Society that is in danger if he carries on making those Arrancar. They'll filter through to the World of the Living as well."
"I know." He grumbled, nudging the Gigai on the floor with his foot, "But until we know exactly what he's planning there isn't a lot we can do. We can't just storm Hueco Mundo and overthrow him, if that was possible he'd never have been able to leave Soul Society to begin with."
"At least you put an end to that awful creature before he hurt someone." Orihime mused, tapping her lips with her fingers as she considered the story about the Espada called Yammy, "Kaida and Hotaru play at the park regularly, and from the sounds of it, I'd be hard pressed to overcome something that strong."
Sighing deeply, Ichigo folded his legs, sipping the beer which was now warm in his hands, "It's worrisome. I'm gonna make sure Soul Society sends a Shinigami here when I get back, there's no way a town this size should be undefended. Even more so when there's people like you around, your reiatsu must draw them in sometimes."
"Yes, on many occasions." The woman nodded thoughtfully, "We've handled everything ourselves so far, but once in a while Urahara-san has to step in if there's a Hollow that is too powerful."
"I can't believe he didn't say anything about you guys." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He knew you had to find us for yourself." Chad grunted.
Ishida nodded in agreement, "He said it was part of the journey."
"So... When did he tell you that I wasn't dead?" He asked.
"The beginning of the week." The Quincy shrugged, "He said you'd come back to find your past. But hearing it and seeing it... Very different things."
"I didn't believe it when he told us..." Orihime sniffled slightly, "It was so hard to imagine you survived what happened... You've had such a hard time, Kurosaki-kun..."
He swallowed thickly at the emotion in her voice, reaching over gently and squeezing one of her hands in his, "It sounds like you've all had it hard. I had no idea the energy from the Hōgyoku had spiked off like that, let alone affected anyone else. Hell, I didn't even know it had been used on me until recently."
"We don't regret it." Chad's voice was strong, "It made us who we are."
"I guess so." He hummed, sitting back slowly as he felt a wave of relief wash over him, "Heh... It really is good to know I'm not alone."
"You're never alone, Kurosaki-kun!"
"I don't care much for Shinigami," Ishida glared over at him, but the look softened slowly, "But I'm glad you're back."
"Thanks." He whispered.
"I do have one question though." The Quincy added, "Why do you use a Gigai?"
"Huh?" He frowned, "Well... So I can operate in the World of the Living, letting people without reiatsu see me."
"I know that," a roll of the eyes, "But if what you said is true and you were taken through that special Senkaimon you mentioned... You still have a Human body."
Blinking, the strawberry thought about it, "I... I guess that's true... If I were to come to the World of the Living through the Resishi Henkan-Ki I'd be converted back into my Human body instead of having to use a Gigai." He considered it for a long moment, "I'll have to try it sometime. I'm sure Division Twelve would have one to hand."
"When will you be going back to Soul Society?" Orihime asked.
"The end of the week," he answered softly, "Kuchiki Taichou and I can't be gone for too long, we've got important jobs to get back to."
"And this... Abarai Fukutaichou can't do it all by himself I suppose." She pouted.
Laughing gently, he shook his head, "Renji is good at being a second in command, but he's not ready to take the reigns yet. Any longer than a week and the place will go up in smoke. Especially if Rukia distracts him."
The woman smiled brightly, "It sounds like you have good friends there. I'm glad."
"Yeah... I do." He agreed, "It took me a long time to realise it, but... I owe them a lot."
"Maybe we can visit one day!" She said excitedly, "Surely there must be a way for us to do that! If you explain everything to the other Taichou."
"Maybe." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, "But it would take a lot of organising. Most of the Taichou aren't completely in the loop about me yet. We've been trying to work out exactly how to explain everything without landing me in prison."
"If anyone can find a way, its you." Ishida snorted, "You always had a silver tongue."
"I can't tell if that was a compliment or not." He scowled.
"If you don't know, I won't tell you." The other smirked.
"God you're an ass."
"Look who's talking."
They bickered for quite a while, but it felt almost natural, there was no real venom behind it, just habit. But eventually, as the night drew on, Ichigo had to make his excuses and carefully slipped back into his Gigai, flexing carefully as he stood up, muscles aching from where the faux body had been sprawled on the floor for so long.
"Please come and visit again before you leave!" The petite woman exclaimed, hugging him tightly, "Feel free to bring Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san and your Taichou next time!"
Patting her back as he pried himself out of her grasp, he simply nodded, "Alright, I'll call you. If you need me in the mean time I'm staying at the store."
"Later, Ichigo." Chad simply lifted a large hand in farewell.
"I'll probably see you later, Kurosaki." Ishida pushed his glasses up, "Something tells me that tonight will be a busy one again. I'll make sure to spare you some scraps."
Deciding not to rise to the bait, he rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to them as he headed off down the street, settling into a comfortable pace as he considered the evening's events, and just how content he felt to have a connection to his old life restored.
He was going to kill Urahara for tricking him, but he'd be sure to thank him first.
