Chapter Fifth-Teen: Surprises
*One week later*
In the week had passed a lot had to be processed by everyone and the seireitei as a whole, in the wake of everything that had happened.
The biggest concern was Aizen had turned traitor, murdered a bunch of high ranking members in seireitei. Had taken a very powerful item called the "hogyoku" that had been secretly hidden inside Rukia by Urahara. Then he had ran off to hueco mundo allying himself with the hollows and declaring war on the soul society.
The gotei 13 suddenly found themselves down three captains, two gone to hueco mundo and a third dead at the hands of one of the ryoka. Though said captain had been revealed to be a traitor by the other two, so it left a question hanging as to whether the one responsible for the killing should even be punished. Those who had seen the worst of the fighting due to Aizen's scheming, were held up in either in the fourth or thirteenth divisions.
The ryoka and those few soul reapers that assisted them had been forgiven for their transgression. Ultimately the captains voted to not punish the ryoka who killed Tosen, in light of everything. Seeing how everything had happened due to Aizen. Most of the ryoka were housed up in the thirteenth alongside Rukia. Many of them having healed up just fine, Rukia even began regaining her powers in earnest finally. Even Ichigo despite the severity of his wounds had healed up well in only a few days. Thanks to a combination of Unohana's and Orihime's healing abilities.
However one member of the group was still noticeably absent, Takeshi Kurosaki. He had yet to recover at all from what Aizen had done to him. his fate hung heavily on his friends and loved ones, like a looming shadow of despair. The hollowfication process forced upon him, had broken the boy for the time being. The day after it had happened was proof enough of that.
*Fourth division, the day after Aizen's betrayal*
It had been almost a full day since the betrayal. Everyone was still reeling from it all understandably. However for a few there was an even more pressing matter in their minds at the moment. What would become of Takeshi, after what Aizen had done to him?
This was the question that ran constantly in the minds of the three people in the fullbringer's hospital room. Kayda Takagi, Yoruichi Shihoin and Retsu Unohana.
Kayda out of motherly concern for her long lost son.
Yoruichi as Takeshi was someone, she considered a friend and someone she held strong feelings of affection for.
Unohana out of her duty as a doctor and wanting to provide the best help she could give the young man who had suffered so greatly. At the hands of a mad man.
Ichigo and the others would have been there as well, but they're were all still being held in quarters for atleast another day for most of them. Ichigo would require atleast a few. Kayda was allowed since she was the boy's mother and Yoruichi since she had gotten by just fine in her fight with Sui-Feng.
"any developments?" Yoruichi asked.
"none at the moment I'm afraid." Replied Unohana. "while physically his condition has become stable. His mental and dare I say even his soul state are still in question."
Kayda said nothing and simply sat on a seat next to the bed. Watching her unconscious son sadly as she held one of his hands with hers'. The only thing she could do was hope he would pull through it. she wasn't sure if she could handle losing her son in some way after having just rediscovered him. Then she saw movement from Takeshi.
"I think he's waking up!" Kayda spoke catching the attention of the other two women in the room.
All three women watched in anticipation as Takeshi began to stir. They saw movement form his lips and eyebrows as he began to come too. Then his eyes suddenly shot open widely.
"AAAHHHHHH! NOOOOO! STOP IT! STOP! STOP!" Takeshi screamed as he began thrashed about in his hospital bed. Even beginning to claw at himself like he did when it all first happened.
"Restrain him quickly!" Ordered Unohana.
Yoruichi and Kayda quickly acted and held down his arms and legs as best they could. Unohana quickly moved and placed her hands, glowing with kido, against the sides of his head.
Takeshi had continued to scream and try to thrash about the whole time. soon his screaming died down, his thrashing stopped as Unohana's kido took hold. Soon enough he had fallen back asleep.
Once that was over with, Kayda immediately fell to the floor, her head in her hands, as she began to sob quietly. She had hoped that when her son had awoken, he would be better. Instead the worst seemed to of happened, he was worse than ever.
Yoruichi moved over and knelt next to the crying mother, wrapping an arm around her as a means to console her. she had always known Takeshi to be one of the absolute strongest people she had ever met, all things considered. It pained her greatly to see him broken to such a degree.
Unohana finished setting the restraints on Takeshi and looked to the two women on the floor.
"we'll need to keep him restrained atleast until he won't try to hurt himself." The captain spoke softly to the other two, who could only nod their heads in response.
*Two days after the Aizen incident*
Needless to say once the other's found out about that, they didn't take it well. They knew what Aizen had done to him had been traumatic but for it to reach that level was hard for all of them to accept. They felt horrible about the whole situation, even Uryu. While the quincy and fullbringer never really saw eye to eye that much. Uryu never would have wished what was done to Takeshi on him or anyone else for that matter.
Granted no one seemingly took the news harder than Ichigo did. Once he found out about his older brother's condition, he immediately began blaming himself. He also wanted to immediately jump out of bed to go see Takeshi, despite how injured he still was at the time. however a stern glare from Unohana, quickly knocked that notion out of his head.
The next day Unohana suggested to ease him awake and be prepared to calm him once he awakens. So they could then try to mend his fragile mental state. They made sure to keep him strapped down when they attempted it.
"alright I'm going to gently wake him up with kido." Spoke Unohana as she stood over Takeshi, as he laid in his hospital bed. "expect him to most likely to start screaming again like last time. he's restrained so he won't be able to hurt himself or anyone else by accident."
Kayda and Yoruichi stood on around the hospital bed, opposite to each other. they simply nodded in response, ready to move when they had to. Unohana gave a slight nod as well, then her hands glowed with kido. She placed a hand on both sides of Takeshi head. Soon enough he began to stir awake and as expected began screaming Immediately upon awakening.
Kayda was the first to act when she moved to herself face to face with him.
"Takeshi, it's ok." She spoke in as much of comforting motherly tone she could muster. "Aizen is gone, he won't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt you anymore. Please calm down. We need to help you."
Takeshi seemed to hear her through his screaming as his screams died down, but he was still wide eyed and had panicky look on his face. Kayda stepped back and allowed Yoruichi to speak to him next.
"everything is going to be fine; I promise." Yoruichi said as soothingly as she could, placing a hand gently on Takeshi's face. "we're going to help you get through this. Me, your mother, Unohana and everyone else here who cares for you."
Takeshi's eyes went to normal and he lost his panicky expression. However, he now had the look of someone who seemed empty on the inside. Like all the good things about him had been ripped out.
"I… I…. I…. I don't….. I don't feel like I use to anymore." He choked weakly with a hoarse voice.
"we know." Replied Yoruichi. "but we're going to help feel like your old self I promise."
"can… can I…. can I please be untied?" Takeshi asked.
There were a few tense moments but Unohana agreed to do so. soon enough, all the restraints had been undone. Once they were, Takeshi immediately curled himself up and meekly laid there like that.
*Present time*
In the time that passed since then, things had only seemingly gotten worse somehow. He didn't really talk to anyone; he barely ate and drank. Now when he slept, he had nightmares about the whole ordeal. People would find him the next morning quivering beneath his sheets. He held a constant expression of someone who seemed completely dead on the inside.
Ichigo walked out his brother's hospital room. He had been with him every day, since he was allowed to visit trying to turn Takeshi around. However, no matter what anyone seemingly tried to do it wasn't working. Takeshi remained a broken wreck more or less from what Aizen had done to him.
It pained him beyond belief seeing his brother in such misery. It also made him angry all the same towards the one responsible. He was frustrated that there was seemingly nothing he could do to help. Ichigo missed the way his brother was, and he wanted him back to that.
Ichigo turned to notice Yoruichi, Kayda and captain Unohana in the hall waiting for him.
"hey everyone." Ichigo spoke approaching them.
"any change to Takeshi's condition?" asked Unohana.
"no" Ichigo said sadly. "he's still the same as he's been since he woke up out it all." Ichigo grit his teeth for a moment and had to resist the urge to punch the wall. "Dammit I hate this!" Ichigo yelled. "my brother is suffering, and I can't seem to do anything to help!"
Everyone remained quiet for the moment, after all what could they possibly say? What Ichigo had was the general feeling away the around at this point. Everyone had been trying to do everything they could seemingly think of to help but it wasn't working. They shared the same fear they didn't want to admit.
Takeshi was steadily slipping away, and he could slip to a point to where he couldn't come back.
Kayda simply leaned against the wall and held a hand to her face. doing her best to keep her composure. A few days earlier she had been called back to help with duties around her division. She wound up having an interesting talk with captain Komamura and Vice-captain Iba.
*Seventh Division, a few days earlier*
Kayda faced the door to her captain's office. She had tried to make herself more presentable, though she knew she still looked like hell. She had barely slept well and had spent almost all her time at the fourth division. Trying to help with her son's recovery. She had figured though once things settled a little this was going to happen. She took in and let out a deep breath and knocked on the office door.
"Enter." Spoke the voice of her captain.
She opened the door and walked in, she saw captain Komamura sitting behind his desk, he was no longer wearing a helmet that hid his face. She saw vice-captain Iba standing next to the captain. As she walked towards the desk, her captain gestured for her to take a seat. Which she did.
"captain I hope you're doing well… all things considered of course." She spoke.
"I am fine." Komamura replied in a sage like tone. "the arm is still a bit stiff, but that will pass after a few more sessions with captain Unohana."
"I imagine this meeting is too discuss all that happened during the Aizen incident?" she asked.
Komamura nodded his head. "indeed it is. I understand you wound assisting your son in trying help rescue Kuchiki towards the end of it all."
"yes. Captain I understand what I did went against everything I swore to uphold. I will accept any punishment you deem fit for me. Due to my actions."
"hmmmm" hummed Komamura. "you think I called you here to punish you? I'm afraid you are mistaken."
"huh?" was her simple response. Then Iba spoke up.
"Kayda" Iba began. "me and the captain have already discussed this between the two of us. we've decided you're not to be punished for what happened."
"why?" she simply replied in wonder.
"Because" spoke Komamura. "all that happened during that time was a result of the traitor Aizen's plotting in one form or another. If anyone is to blame for the mass chaos that engulfed seireitei, it is him."
"I see captain." Kayda replied, she couldn't help but be relieved at that news. Though then a new question crossed her mind. One she dreaded even more.
"Captain." She began. "do you plan on seeking any sort of retribution towards my son?"
Komamura was quiet as he thought to himself. He leaned back in his chair, brought his hands together and closed his eyes in contemplation. This lasted for what seemed like forever to Kayda. Then the giant dog like captain took a deep breath, exhaled, opened his eyes and gave his answer.
"No, I do not." He spoke calmly "As I said before, all that happened was in one way or another due the Aizen's plotting. And before you ask about your son being the one having killed Tosen. Normally, I would have been furious, but due to the fact it was revealed Tosen was a traitor in secret. Just as much as Ichimaru and Aizen were. I suppose his fate was deserved in a sense, while your son wouldn't have known at the time. he merely did what the law of soul society would have done to Tosen eventually. Should he have lived and revealed himself a traitor alongside the other two."
Kayda let out a huge breath of relief she wasn't even aware she was holding in.
"thank you, captain." She politely spoke.
"it's no problem at all." replied the captain. "tell me how goes your son's recovery? I'm already aware of what Aizen has done to him."
A sad expression crossed her face at that. "not very well, I hate to say. His mental state seems to be slipping more and more due to the trauma that was inflicted. We fear that unless something is figured out soon, he may never recover." She explained.
"I see" Komamura replied solemnly. "you have my sympathies Kayda. As his mother this must be difficult beyond what words can explain for you. I will pray that your son manages to come back around. I will grant as much free time as I can for so you may help him. unfortunately, the madness caused by all that has happened, requires you to work some jobs here at the division I'm afraid."
"it's perfectly fine captain I understand, thank you."
"should your son recover, I would like meet him under more peaceful circumstances. If possible, of course."
"I'll see what can be done should we reach that point captain."
*Present time*
Kayda was brought out of her internal thoughts as the talking between everyone in the hallway continued.
"what are our options at this point?" asked Ichigo.
"that's difficult thing to answer even for me. Medical kido can heal physical trauma just fine. What's happening with Takeshi is mental, it's something that he himself has the most control over. The only thing I can think of is by introducing a new event to force him out of his current state and onto a better one." Stated Unohana.
"can you clarify what you mean by that?" wondered Ichigo.
"well" Unohana began. "the idea is to introduce an experience that brings about enough of a positive mental, emotional and biological response. It would essentially pull him out his current downtrodden mental state and onto a more positive one. That we then could nurture and ensure a proper and stable recovery."
"what kind of experience exactly?" pondered Ichigo.
"That's the difficult thing to figure out." Explained the captain. "every person reacts differently to things. What one person finds joy in; another could detest. Not only that but also figuring out whatever imposed event would have the desired impact to achieve what we're aiming for. Do you have any thing you could recommend Ichigo? As his brother, I imagine there must be something that comes to mind."
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "somethings do but it's nothing he's currently capable of. we don't wanna try anything that could be too much after all."
"I see, if you think of anything that would work please inform me." Replied Unohana.
They all remained silent in the hallway, still thinking about what could be done.
*With Takeshi that night*
Takeshi laid in his bed curled up like he had been for the most part all week since he had awoken. He knew he must seem pathetic for how he was acting but he couldn't help it. what Aizen had done to him was something that was never meant for those who still belonged to the world of the living.
Takeshi felt as though his entire being, his soul, body and mind. Had been against is will perversely twisted, bent and broken in the most violating sort of way. He felt hollow in a way, ironically enough one could say. Like he didn't feel human anymore, like he was now a monster in the guise of person.
Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered the pain, the screaming voices in his head. The cold look of sick curiosity on Aizen's face as he pressed the hogyoku against his chest. It was an awful recurring nightmare that played in his head, over and over and over again. Seemingly without any kind of end.
Then there was the implications of Aizen's mentioning of Halibel. He had been told that Aizen had fled to hueco mundo, which only meant he was allied with the hollows there. Did that mean Halibel, Apacci, Sung-Sun and Mila, all worked for Aizen? If so, did that mean them finding him Karakura and everything they had done in that time. was it all just simply the following of Aizen's orders?
He hoped not, he didn't want to think some of the people he trusted most. Had essentially played him for a fool this whole time. the mere thought of that, made his already terrible state even lower. Sadly, it was one of the thoughts that ran on loop in his mind.
Then there was arguably an even bigger issue on hand, that was concerned around Reaver. He knew from what happened during the turning process, Reaver had been affected as well. The issue at hand was that Reaver refused to talk to him at all. that certainly didn't help his mood at all, Reaver was an extension of his self. If there was anyone who could be able to help him fully realize just what exactly the deal was, it was her. yet for some reason his own fullbring had completely blocked him out.
He wasn't totally blind to those who were actively trying to help him. his birth mother, Yoruichi, Unohana had visited him every day. Ichigo once he had been given clear to move about visited him as much as possible.
While Takeshi did appreciate it, it just wasn't enough to make him get over how traumatic it all was. He felt alien in his own skin. he wasn't even sure what he even was anymore. He felt like a freak that had no place. He felt absolutely terrible.
Even though it had all happened only a week ago. It felt as though he was wallowing in his misery for a lifetime. Sometimes he found his mind wondering if he shouldn't sneak out and disappear somewhere away from everything.
He was so caught up in his thinking he didn't even notice the opening and closing of his room door.
Takeshi suddenly felt a weight on his bed, like someone sitting on the edge of it. he uncurled himself so he was lying flat on his back and looked to see who it was.
"what are you doing here so late?" questioned Takeshi.
"oh, I just came by to lend you some more help." Spoke a certain dark skinned and purple haired woman.
Yoruichi was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at him. the moonlight shining through his window showed that she had her hair down. She was also wearing one of the white robes that patients in the fourth division wore.
"you shouldn't be here right now." Spoke Takeshi.
"there's a lot of things in my life I was probably shouldn't have done or been at but I did it anyways." Retorted the werecat.
"why are you here?" questioned the fullbringer.
"as I said, I am here to give you the help you need." Yoruichi chimed. "me and the others had a talk about what we could to help you. Unohana recommended doing something that could give enough of a positive system shock to knock you back on track to your old self."
"what exactly is that?"
"Unohana didn't give any specifics in truth, so I came up with my own idea." Replied Yoruichi as she then stood up and then dropped her robe to the floor. Revealing her fully naked body.
Takeshi was completely blindsided by this. To such a point he didn't even register it all until Yoruichi was sitting on top of his lap.
"now before you say or try to do anything, allow me to explain why I'm doing this." Began Yoruichi. "let me make it perfectly clear, that this is not me taking advantage of you. if you want me to stop at any point, I will. We all know that you're steadily slipping away from us. that's something I simply refuse to let happen. When Unohana talked about her idea, I felt that maybe this was only thing that would work. I also figured I'm the only person around actually willing to do it. I'm well aware I could catch all sorts of hell for doing this later on but as long as this works, I'm perfectly ok with accepting that. so please….. allow me to help you." she finished explaining as she leaned over, putting her face directly in front of his.
Takeshi could only stare directly into her golden cat like eyes with his violet ones. He could smell the strawberry scented perfume she was wearing. It was… nice, even good to him.
Feeling good about something hadn't occurred in what felt like forever. He only realized in that moment how much he desired to feel good again in some way after all that had happened. The only thing that now ran through his mind was his desire to feel that sensation even more. He felt an instinct well up inside, no, rather a hunger of sorts. more powerful than he had ever felt before in his life, he found himself forgetting about everything else. His only focus now being on the purple haired woman sitting in top of him.
Takeshi brought his head up and pressed his lips against Yoruichi's. it was soft and gentle but soon became strong and a bit rough. Their tongues wrapped around another, trying to gain dominance over the other. their mouths parted needing air to breath and Takeshi brought his arms around Yoruichi. He pulled her in close to him as he then flipped around. So she was on her back in the bed and he was on top of her.
He then sat up and quickly removed his own hospital robe and whatever else he was wearing before he positioned himself back over the top of the goddess of flash. He spread her legs apart and then positioned them, so they were resting on his shoulders. He leaned down and they embraced in a strong passionate kiss and then the night seemingly drifted away without a care in the world to the two of them.
When the morning came Yoruichi awoke first. she opened her eyes and once the grogginess left them. she noticed Takeshi sleeping soundly and peacefully, a slight smile adorning his face. Yoruichi couldn't help but smile in return as it seemed her idea had worked.
Soon enough Takeshi began to stir awake. Propping himself up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He opened his eyes to see Yoruichi laying right next him, looking up at him.
'he has life in his eyes again.' The werecat mentally noted.
"morning Yoruichi." He said with a small smile on his face.
Yoruichi sat herself up as well before speaking. "so how do you feel?" she asked.
Takeshi thought to himself, after a few moments he spoke. "like a lot of the weight of my troubles as of late have been lifted off of me. I'm not gonna say I'm perfectly ok, that would be a lie. But I feel like I can actually work towards trying get over and come to terms with all this completely. Thanks for snapping me out of my mental funk Yoruichi and sorry for being so much trouble."
At that comment Yoruichi cupped her hands around Takeshi face and stared directly at him. "you have nothing to be sorry about. What happened to you was awful beyond measure. I was just wanting to help someone I and many others care a lot for before it was too late."
"thank you Yoruichi."
"anytime Takeshi. I imagine there are somethings about all this between us we should talk out." Chimed the werecat.
"yes, but that can wait till later. For the moment I just kind of want to bask in the afterglow of this." He replied.
"fair enough, we'll talk about this when you're ready." Replied the Shihoin princess as she rested her head against his chest.
"I see you took my suggestion to heart Yoruichi." Spoke a new voice.
Both quickly turned their heads to see captain Unohana standing in front of the room door.
"good morning Unohana." Replied Yoruichi, not even bothering to try and cover herself. her being the exhibitionist that she was.
"good…..good morning captain Unohana." Sputtered Takeshi as he quickly covered himself with a blanket to hide his nakedness from the captain.
"no need to be so shy Takeshi. it's not like I don't have experience with naked men." The fourth division captain replied a bit slyly. "regardless, I'm glad to see you're making a proper turn around at last."
"I honestly wouldn't have thought of sex as the answer." Retorted the fullbringer.
"it's not surprising that it would work." began Unohana. "you see, the body by nature is designed to react positively to sex on all levels in a strong way. It being the thing to forcibly and safely knock you out of your previous mental state makes sense."
"sounds like you've done that sort of thing before for people in the kind of shape Takeshi was in." chirped Yoruichi.
"that's because I have." Replied the captain. "granted I have only done so a small handful of times and it was for those who had conditions as severe as Takeshi's was."
"lucky guys." Spoke Yoruichi.
Unohana chuckled at that. "now, now Yoruichi I never said that they were all men." She finished giving a playful look at the werecat.
Both Yoruichi and Takeshi shared a surprised look at that remark. Which only proved to make the captain chuckle some more.
"that all aside, I'm glad to see Yoruichi's initiative worked. I'm sure the others would be glad to see finally making a proper turn around."
"for sure captain Unohana. Do you know where they're all at right now by chance? I'd like to go see them all and surprise them if it's alright?" asked Takeshi.
"probably all at the thirteenth division mess hall for breakfast. I can show you the way." Cut in Yoruichi.
"I don't see an issue with that, but I must ask that you return here once done. I need to run a few evaluations on you."
"thank you." spoke Takeshi. "also I'd like to keep what happened here on a strict need to know basis for the time being."
"certainly, that's not an issue." Said Unohana.
"my lips are sealed on it until further notice." Chimed Yoruichi. Well then, I better go and get dressed in my usual cloths to avoid arousing suspicions."
With that said Yoruichi disappeared in a flash out of the room. Takeshi then proceeded to get up and dress himself as well. Yoruichi walked through the door just as he finished.
"alright, follow me." Stated the werecat and both left off towards the thirteenth division.
They casually took their time on the way. Takeshi used the moment to take in the sights of seireitei properly. He had to admit it was very pleasant looking place. He actually felt kind of bad for destroying parts of it. soon enough they had arrived at the thirteenth division. Yoruichi lead him into what was the mess hall, it didn't take him long to spot everyone. Ichigo's orange hair was very hard to miss in a crowd. He silently crept up on them not giving away his presence, once he was close enough, he spoke.
"so, how's it going everyone?"
He saw everyone freeze up in their seats immediately as then heads whipped around towards him. everyone held a look of shock on their faces by what they were seeing. None more so than Ichigo, who quickly jumped out of his seat, ran over to his older brother and embraced in a hug. Takeshi returned the gesture as well, Yoruichi and the other's watched the display with approval.
"your back on your feet again." Said Ichigo as he pulled away. "how?"
"I'll tell you in private later, for now I just want to enjoy being back on track with you and the others." He replied.
Suddenly the doors of the mess hall burst open loudly, revealing none other than Kayda Takagi. She immediate spotted her son and practically flew across the room. Then proceeded to grip her son with a motherly embrace.
"you're okay, you're okay." She kept muttering, as she kept her grip.
"yeah I'm doing a lot better now." He said softly. "sorry to have made you and everyone worry so much. I'm past the worst of it now and want to go forward."
"we'll all be here to help you." Kayda replied back.
After that everyone sat together and simply enjoyed each other's company. Everyone told Takeshi about what they had been up to in the week that had passed. This continued on for hours it seemed before eventually Takeshi had to return to the fourth. He didn't want to risk invoking the wrath of Unohana.
Ichigo offered to walk him there since Kayda and Yoruichi were busy discussing something amongst themselves. As the two brothers walked along the way back to the fourth all by themselves. Ichigo decided to address his brother.
"since it's the just the two of us. care to tell me what happened exactly that knocked you back on track?" wondered the orange haired teen.
"long story short, me and Yoruichi had sex." The violet eyed teen casually replied.
Ichigo immediately choked on air and went flush in the face. "What!" he replied once he found his voice.
"like I said. We had sex, fucked, knocked boots, made the beast with two backs. Need I continue?" retorted Takeshi.
"sweet kami Takeshi." spoke Ichigo as he ran a hand through his hair. "you do realize just how huge a problem this could cause once we get home?"
"there's a lot to address about a whole bunch of things at some point once we get home little brother. When the time comes."
Ichigo could only sigh as he knew his brother was right. He knew all too well that Takeshi was referring to how Aizen somehow knew all about them, Halibel and tres bestias.
"for now let's just keep this all between us. we don't anyone finding things out for the time being. I'm sure it will all have to come out at some point but let's try to make sure when that time comes. It all happens on our terms as much as possible." Stated Takeshi.
Ichigo simply nodded his head in agreement as they arrived at the fourth.
"I'll catch you later little brother, I need to go and do something." Chimed Takeshi.
"what would that be?" asked Ichigo.
"I need to talk to Reaver. She's been completely silent to me ever since everything happened and we need to talk sooner than later." Replied the fullbringer.
"alright, I'll leave you to that then. If you need me at all, you'll find me at the thirteenth." Said Ichigo before he turned around and walked off.
Takeshi strode inside the fourth and was met by Unohana. After a quick check up in his hospital room and given a clear by the captain. Once that was settled, he propped himself cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed and holding onto his fullbring. He tried contacting Reaver but received no answer. Realizing he had no other option; he focused more and entered his inner world. if Reaver wasn't going to speak willingly, then he had no choice but to force a conversation. With all that had happened, there were too many questions hanging in the air to simply leave alone till further notice.
Takeshi opened his eyes and found himself in his inner world. what surprised him was the fact it had changed. it was still the same area but now it was nighttime, giving the place a similar feel to hueco mundo. complete with a full moon up in the sky. as he looked around, he noticed many of the small structures around the place were destroyed.
"okay I wasn't expecting this and where the hell is Reaver?" he wondered.
"I'm right here." Spoke a voice suddenly. The voice had a distorted sound to it, similar to the voice of Ichigo's inner hollow. except this one had a much more female tone. A female tone Takeshi automatically recognized. He turned his head to the direction he heard the voice. His jaw almost hit the ground from what he saw.
Sitting on top of the ruins of what had been one of the structures was Reaver. But she looked different. While her outfit and hair had remained the same as before. Her skin had changed to a jet black, her eyes while still silver the pupils were vertical like some kind of predator. the sclera of her eyes was also a jet black in color. The claw marks over her one eye were also a silver like color now, that contrasted heavily with her jet black skin. As did her eyes and hair.
"glad to see you finally decided to show up." Spoke Reaver in her new distorted hollowish voice. She flashed a grin as she did so, showing her teeth were now all pointed and sharp looking.
Takeshi stared at this sight and could only mutter two words that immediately came to mind. "Holy shit."
"holy shit is right war pup." She replied.
"just what exactly happened in here? What happened to you?" questioned Takeshi.
"the hollowfication that asshole put you through is what happened." She spat.
"I….I need whatever details you can give me on all this." Asked Takeshi.
She simply nodded her head in response. "no problem, first and foremost you remember all those different hollows and such you consumed during all your travels in hueco mundo and patrolling Karakura?"
"yeah."
"well" she began. "when you did that they didn't simply disappear after you consumed them. they in a sense remained inside you, simply in a dormant like state. Hence why your inner world had all those huts, they were always there to act like storage for all the souls of the beings you consumed. Not just them too you see, since you ate almost exclusively hollows. You also technically gained whatever souls they had eaten as well. From the base hollows all the way up to the adjuchas you had. Then when that prick Aizen used the hogyoku on you, it essentially woke them all up at once."
"hence the head splitting screaming of thousands of different sounding voices in my head."
"exactly war pup. When they awoke, they blew out of the huts that were holding them and began to try and merge and form into a full blown hollow from inside you. in a split second decision, I sort of chose to willing fuse myself into the mass collection of souls as means of keeping you safe. And preventing a whole separate new being from coming in existence inside you."
"hold on a sec." cut in Takeshi. "is that why, all the voices dwindled away into the one you now have. You fused yourself with them all and underwent some weird form of hollow evolution?"
"more or less." She replied.
"how?"
"remember war pup, as a fullbringer you yourself have always been to a small degree part hollow in way. And me in turn being your fullbring, was also as well. Which means that I could become a part of the fusion. Since I was already so powerful it was pretty easy to gain complete dominance over the others. Even if it did hurt like all kinds of hell during the process."
"why put yourself through that? you suffered practically as much as I did because of that?"
"it was the best course of action. The only other outcomes were to allow them all to form into a full blown inner hollow of your own. Which could have very well turned out as a complete asshole like the inner hollow your brother has for some reason. the only other likely outcome is that your body could have wound up rejecting the whole process and suffered soul suicide as a result."
Takeshi had a grim look come onto his face at that news. "fucking hell." He cursed out.
"yeah, so as you can see. What I did was honestly the best option." She stated.
"next question Reaver." Began Takeshi. "just what am I now exactly? Just what are you now exactly?"
"if you're wondering if your still human, the answer is yes. You're just less human now is all. if you want ratio's I'd say it's a solid 50/50 split. Comparing your human and hollow sides to one another. As for me I'm now both your fullbring and inner hollow more or less. I'm still the being you've always known, since I became the dominant personality from the fusion. Though I will exhibit more hollowish like traits from now at points. So will you as well, now that you're half hollow. though you may have already recognized that."
Takeshi thought for a quick moment what Reaver had said. The previous night with Yoruichi immediately came to mind.
"that's why I went wild for Yoruichi last night. it wasn't just because I was desperately wanting to feel good again in some way. I was also being influenced by my new hollow like nature."
"you got it war pup." She chimed. "hollows are at their core are being's more or less ruled by their instincts. Few things are more instinctual than sex."
"so in essence I'm more susceptible to my instincts, desires and urges."
"correct."
"so am I gonna be able to learn and use actual hollow powers now?" he asked.
"yes you will." Reaver stated. "however I have to feed you this new power you have at a gradual pace. Too much too soon could lead you going wild in a sense. What exactly that would entail I'm not sure but nothing good that much I am sure."
The idea of training up and learning this new aspect of power he had available to him was an interesting notion. When he thought about who could possibly teach him. that in turn brought a whole different thought to his mind.
"you know, I would probably just ask Tia to train me in my new powers. however I don't even know if I can trust her and the others at the moment." He announced.
Reaver was silent, not exactly sure to say to the one that wielded her. she was aware of Aizen's unsettling realization about Takeshi's hollow friends. There were a lot of question marks hanging in the air about that one.
"for the time being, you can't trust them Takeshi." she spoke. "you'll have to address this once you return to the living world. just make sure to be extremely cautious when you approach them. be ready to fight them if it comes to it."
Takeshi took in her words and thought deeply about it. while he hated the idea of having to fight his second family, especially Mila. he couldn't deny the truth in her words unfortunately.
"let's hope it doesn't come to that." he replied solemnly.
"you should return to the real world. you've spent enough time in here for one day I think." Said Reaver.
Takeshi simply nodded his head, he focused on leaving his inner world. he noticed it was already nighttime. With nothing else to do, he settled himself into bed and went to sleep.
*One week later*
Another week had passed since Takeshi with Yoruichi's help, snapped out of his deep depression filled funk. He still remained in the fourth but that was ok to him. his brother and friends visited him. Unohana also gave him permission to visit the rest of seireitei.
Him and Yoruichi still hadn't talked about what had transpired between them but they were both ok with that. they both felt it would be discussed once the time was right. He got a surprise visit the day after he got over his depressed state, from captain Komamura.
To his relief the giant dog like captain held no ill will towards him. despite the whole Takeshi slicing his arm off thing. Komamura actually brought him a get well basket to the fullbringer's amazement. They proceeded to spend most of time talking and telling each other their own life stories. by the end of it all both held a newfound respect for the other. especially Komamura for the eldest Kurosaki sibling. The seventh division captain was quite surprised once Takeshi told him about his four years spent in hueco mundo.
In fact him telling people about the four years spent hueco mundo was one of the things he spent a lot of time telling. His mother had insisted and taking him all around seireitei. which included visiting many of the other divisions. unsurprisingly he wound up meeting a few of the remaining captains. Now that they weren't all trying to kill him, they actually wanted to get to know him better. After all it's not everyday someone waltzes into seireitei and knocks down four captain level soul reapers.
Everyone who listened to his story found it quite intriguing to say the least. Especially the whole bit with him befriending some hollows. Up to and including a vasto lorde. Granted he purposely left out the bit of him fighting Ashido for obvious reasons. He also left out the part with Mila and all the others coming to find him in Karakura after becoming arrancar. Again for obvious reasons.
He also took the time to actually get to know his birth mom better. Once he really got to know her, he realized just how alike they were. His mother discussed with all that she could remember from her human life in Karakura. Takeshi in turn told him about his life growing up with Masaki and Isshin as his parents and having Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu for siblings. A lot of mother and son shared hugs and tears went on during these talks.
Takeshi also shared his tale of being in hueco mundo to his mother. she became noticeably conflicted about it. she made no secret for her dislike of hollows. She couldn't help but be worried over her son being so seeming so close with a group of hollows. She definitely didn't like it when she was told that the vasto lorde hollow woman had seemingly come take a very mother like role to her son. Granted she made sure not to voice or show her displeasure at that, such talks would be had at another time.
After that week was up, he was finally cleared to head back home. He and the others were all gathered at the senkaimon to take them back to Karakura town. His mom, Rukia and captain Ukitake were there to see them off.
"before you all head out, I have something to give you Ichigo." Spoke Ukitake.
The polite captain pulled out a badge with the soul reaper symbol on it.
"this badge officially marks you as a substitute soul reaper, you can use to knock yourself out your body and into your soul reaper form." Explained Ukitake.
Ichigo took the badge and looked at it for moment for putting it inside his uniform.
"thank you captain Ukitake." Ichigo simply replied.
"I wish I could go back with you all, but I have to stay here for a while still. Until my powers finish coming back fully and not to mention helping with preparations against Aizen's next move." Said Rukia.
"don't worry too much about it, I'm sure will see each other again soon enough I'm sure." Retorted Ichigo.
Kayda then walked up and hugged Takeshi. "you watch out for yourself and your family in the living world. I'm gonna try to get stationed in Karakura." She said before turning to Ichigo. "Ichigo I assume I can count on you to help look after him and continue to be good little brother for my son?"
Ichigo chuckled a little in response. "no worries, you can guarantee on me doing that."
With that stated, everyone gave their final good-byes and then Takeshi, Ichigo, Yoruichi and the rest of the rescue team entered the gateway back to Karakura. Sadly they all had to outrun the damn sweeper again, this time they managed to escape. Without Orihime almost accidentally killing them all with her powers. they all jumped clean out the exit and immediately started falling from the sky. Thankfully Urahara, had been waiting to catch them, with a giant flying carpet of all things.
Once everyone was situated on it, Urahara apologized for keeping so much hidden from them. he also apologized directly to Takeshi; the shopkeeper having heard what Aizen had done to the fullbringer. As much as Takeshi wanted to kick Kisuke's ass, he honestly just wasn't in the mood for it. he and everyone else just simply wanted to go home and relax until things heated up again.
Soon enough Urahara flew them around and started dropping everyone off at their respective homes. With Ichigo and Takeshi being the last ones to be dropped off. The two brothers gave a quick good-bye and walked back into their home for the first time in what felt like forever. Ichigo immediately went upstairs to get back in his body. Takeshi noticing the time of day and figured his dad was probably in his office in the clinic. Walking over to the clinic portion of the house, he knocked on the door.
"come in." came Isshin's voice.
Takeshi walked in and saw his father behind his work desk going through paperwork. Once Isshin saw it was his eldest son, he immediately got a somber look on his face, he got up out of his chair and embraced his son in a fatherly hug.
"I heard about everything that happened from Kisuke. I'm so sorry you had to suffer through what you did." Isshin spoke sadly.
Nothing was said between the two for a while. Eventually the broke apart and Takeshi told him everything that happened from his end of things. Isshin simply listened carefully to what had to say about it all. once Takeshi finished talking, Isshin went into deep thought about it all.
"well son." He said speaking up. "you went through hell and back no doubt. I should tell you right now, be wary of trusting soul society too much. You've proven very powerful and unlike your brother. You're not a soul reaper, so they technically have no authority over you. soul society doesn't take kindly to people with such power that they technically have no control over."
"so what? They only let me walk because I'm too valuable as a war asset against Aizen?" Takeshi asked his father.
"more or less." The Kurosaki patriarch replied.
"so what happens when the war is over and Aizen is stopped?"
"I'm honestly not sure son and that's what scares me. In all likely hood it will come down to you what exactly happens between now and once Aizen is defeated."
"well…..fuck." the fullbringer simply spat.
"no matter what happens son. You'll have me here to help you in whatever situation you find yourself in." spoke Isshin.
"thanks dad. I'm gonna head up to my room and relax. I need to after everything that has happened. It probably won't be too long before things go wild again." Stated Takeshi.
Isshin gave a nod of understanding and Takeshi left the office and up to his room.
*Four days later*
It had been a quiet four days since the return to Karakura. While Takeshi was thankful for that, it also worried him. the more time passed without any word from Mila and the others. The more his fears became more and more prominent in his head. Then the jewel in the bracelet Mila had given him began to glow orange. They had arrived back in town at last.
Knowing this had to be done, Takeshi let out a deep sigh and went to grab Ichigo. He walked into his brother's room and showed the glowing bracelet. Ichigo saw it and nodded, he stood up and grabbed his substitute badge. It was the middle of the day as both brothers walked out of the door and headed up to the usual meet up spot.
Yoruichi was making her way towards the Kurosaki residents not in her cat form for a change. She felt it was finally time to talk with Takeshi. it had to be done sooner or later and she felt it was better to be done sooner, for a multitude of reasons. As she neared the home, she noticed the two brothers walking out of the house, though they failed to notice her.
Yoruichi couldn't help but notice they both had very serious and grim expressions on their faces. Something was clearly bothering the two of them, they were also talking to each other as they walked. Yoruichi felt something odd was up, so using her years of skill from the stealth force. She tailed to the two brothers close enough so she could hear what they were saying, without giving herself away.
"you just as nervous about this as me Takeshi?" wondered Ichigo.
"more than you can possibly imagine little brother." Replied Takeshi.
The next thing that came out of Ichigo's mouth threw the Shihoin for a loop.
"I just hope our suspicions of Halibel and the other's working for Aizen is wrong."
Yoruichi nearly froze in her tracks at those words. She recognized the name as the name of the vasto lorde that Takeshi traveled with in hueco mundo. plus, there was the mentioning of Aizen as well. This raised all sorts of questions at once for the purple haired woman. She knew what she needed to do, she decided to secretly tail the brothers to wherever they were going. In order to learn more about what the hell exactly was going on.
The two brothers took a steady pace as they walked to the area of their destination. Eventually they found themselves at the usual meet up spot and as they figured. All four arrancar women were there waiting for them.
The four women saw the two Kurosaki brothers approaching they couldn't help but feel happy about it.
None of the six individuals there knew that they were secretly being watched by a certain werecat.
"you returned to us. I'm glad to see that." announced Halibel.
"well you know how we hate to disappoint people." Retorted Takeshi.
Mila immediately made a move to embrace her lover but was quickly stopped when he brought up a hand to stop her before she even got two steps towards him. it hurt but she understood why, they all knew that this sort of thing was going to happen when they came to see them.
"so I take it you understand we're on opposing sides of a growing conflict." Said Mila.
"Be straight up with us about this." Said Takeshi. "do you all work for Aizen?"
"Yes, we do." replied Halibel.
That news hit the Kurosaki brothers like a ton bricks just dropped on them. Takeshi and Ichigo both had to take moment to reel in their emotions before speaking again.
"for how long now?" asked Ichigo.
"since before we came to Karakura. About half a year after Takeshi left. We were attacked by an arrancar. The four of us were still normal hollows at the time and we nearly died at the arrancar's hands. Aizen stepped in and saved us, he offered to make us powerful arrancar with his own hogyoku. In return, all he asked is that we serve him in his ambitions." Explained Halibel.
"tell me….tell me this" started Takeshi. "was all of you coming to find me in Karakura…agreeing to train Ichigo, to train me. Mila getting romantically involved with me, Sung-Sun getting romantically involved with Ichigo. just simply you following orders from Aizen?"
The four arrancar women realized they were treading on thin ice with the two brothers and for good reason. in their eyes it seemed as though they had manipulated and deceived them in the worse way.
"Takeshi" cut in Mila. "I swear to you…. I swear that Aizen has absolutely nothing to do with us coming to find you. nothing to do with what we've done here. He has nothing to do… nothing to do with what is between me and you. or what's between Sung-Sun and Ichigo." She finished saying tears of emotion welling up in her emerald eyes.
Both brothers stood in silence for a few moments before Ichigo broke the silence.
"you think she's telling the truth?" He asked his older brother.
Takeshi let out a sigh before speaking.
"yeah, she's telling the truth. Mila is many things, but a liar isn't one of them. mainly because she the worst person in the world at lying to others."
"I agree, that and I could tell there was no hint of deceit in what she said." Replied Ichigo.
At that notion everything seemed to calm down a bit. Mila once made a motion to approach Takeshi, this time he made no move to stop her. Sung-Sun also moved towards Ichigo. Who also allowed her to approach.
Once they were close enough both brothers embraced their respective lover and gave them an affectionate kiss. Yoruichi nearly broke her cover from the shock of what she was seeing.
"so how the hell does Aizen know about of all this anyways?" wondered Takeshi as he pulled away from kissing Mila.
"we're not sure in all honesty, we've always taken caution when coming to see you. however someway he did find out, he made that quite clear. A few days after he arrived in hueco mundo after gaining Urahara's hogyoku. He called a meeting between me and the rest of his army's top warriors." Stated Halibel.
*Los Noches, a few days after Aizen's defection*
Halibel sat at a table surrounded by the other nine most powerful warriors of Aizen's army. This meeting came as no surprise to any of them. now that he acquired the other hogyoku to complete building his army. Aizen would want to discuss the next stage of his operation, with his head troops.
Soon enough Aizen walked in now dressed in more arrancar like fashion. He shed his Shinigami attire for a mostly white outfit with a red sash around his waist. His hair was slicked back except for a strand of that sat across the middle of his face. he had also done away with his glasses. He took his seat at the head of the table, his right hand man Gin Ichimaru right behind him. however, all the espada noticed the lacking presence of one particular person.
"greetings my dear espada, I hope your all doing well." Said Aizen.
Ignoring the greetings of the man he hated so much. An elderly looking arrancar with one good eye. The former ruler of hueco mundo, Barragan, spoke up.
"why is Kaname Tosen not present alongside you? he has not been seen by anyone since your return." he asked.
"I'm afraid Kaname met an unfortunate end during our final phases to acquire the other hogyoku. That is one of the topics of this meeting amongst other things." Replied Aizen never breaking his calm demeanor.
The news that Tosen had been killed came as a genuine surprise amongst the espada. Halibel for her part though kept her stoic face as she always did. Inside though she suddenly had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to like where the meeting was heading for some reason.
"first I'd like to address the status of the numeros that come under the care of some of you." Spoke Aizen as he then turned to Halibel. "how goes the training of your subordinates Halibel?"
"me and my subordinates have kept up training diligently in preparing for the battles with the soul society, lord Aizen." She replied in a respectful tone.
"good to hear and what of your work in training the Kurosaki brothers?" Aizen smoothly asked.
"yes their training has gone ju-" Halibel's words suddenly died in her mouth and her eyes went wide in shock. As she suddenly realized what had been said to her.
The other espada suddenly found themselves staring very intently back and forth between Halibel and Aizen. Some of them already thinking there might soon be an open spot amongst them.
"Lord Aizen I'm not entirely sure wha-" Halibel began before she was cut off by Aizen.
"not sure what I'm referring too? Allow me to refresh your memory Halibel." Spoke the traitor captain as he snapped his fingers. At that, two large looping videos appeared side by side on the massive wall of the meeting room. One video was of her training Ichigo in the woods just outside of Karakura. The other of her in her release state training Takeshi in hueco mundo after he achieved his latest form with his fullbring.
Halibel realized she had been caught red handed in a very bad way. Not only was she caught associating with the enemy but also actively training them as well. The rest of the espada looked at Halibel. All believing she was for sure a dead woman where she sat.
"My…my lord I can explain." An unusually and noticeably worried Halibel spoke.
"no need to explain Halibel." Aizen replied calmly. "the truth is I'm actually quite pleased by all of this."
'WHAT!' was the singular thought shared by all the espada in that moment. Aizen then went on to explain himself.
"you see, I've been interested in the potential that Ichigo holds within him for quite some time. in two months of your training, he has grown far stronger faster than otherwise could have happened. His brother Takeshi Kurosaki I will admit was mystery to me at first but figure him out I did. He has had roughly over two years of your teachings. Counting the time he spent under your wing before you entered my service. Despite not being a soul reaper or arrancar, he has shown just as great of potential as his younger brother." Spoke Aizen.
"do these two truly hold such great potential lord Aizen?" wondered a bone white skinned arrancar, by the name of Ulquiorra.
"indeed, in fact just recently the Kurosaki brothers alongside some of their other allies successfully invaded seireitei. Ichigo learned bankai in only three days and then defeated captain Byakuya Kuchiki with it. Takeshi on the other made the gotei 13 look laughably weak. For he defeated no less than four captain level soul reapers. those being our dear Gin Ichimaru, Sajin Komamura, Kenpachi Zaraki and lastly Kaname Tosen." Explained Aizen.
"so this human is responsible for killing Tosen?" asked Ulquiorra.
"correct."
This sent another wave of surprise through the espada. It wasn't often you met someone, let alone a human. who had the strength to knock down four soul reaper captains. Such a feat wasn't something to scoff at even amongst the ranks of the espada. Some of the more battle hungry espada, were already relishing the idea of being able to fight such a strong opponent.
Aizen continued. "You see these two are a valuable opportunity to potentially have new and powerful allies on our side." He then turned back to Halibel. "that is where you and your subordinates come in Halibel."
"yes…. lord Aizen?" Halibel had remained quiet since the revelation in fearful thought of what may become of her and her friends now the truth had been uncovered.
"once the Kurosaki brother's return to the world of living. You and your subordinates will go to see them. using the close emotional ties you have with them, try to convince them to join our cause against soul society. should they refuse, bring them to me by force and I shall…. persuade them in a sense." Aizen finished with clear malicious intent.
"yes lord Aizen, I shall see it done." Halibel could only meekly reply in return.
*Present time*
after hearing all of that both Ichigo and Takeshi became very on edge. If a fight broke out as strong as they were it was still doubtful, they could handle Halibel. Never mind the fact that they would find it very difficult to attack with any real harming intent.
"so… are you gonna drag us to Aizen? We won't go to him willingly." Stated Takeshi.
"Takeshi, Ichigo we-" Halibel's words stopped when someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere and forced themselves between the two teens and the arrancar.
She was dark skinned, had purple hair and golden cat like eyes. The brothers knew who she was right away.
"Yoruichi!" yelled the two brothers simultaneously.
"what are you doing here?" wondered Ichigo.
"I could ask you two the same thing." Snapped back the werecat. "but that will have to wait, for now I need to make sure neither of you fall into Aizen's clutches."
"step aside at once! you don't know, what your involving yourself in." ordered Halibel.
"not a chance, arrancar! If you want them, you'll deal with me first!" retorted Yoruichi.
Realizing the situation was reaching critical mass, Ichigo and Takeshi did the only reasonable thing. They quickly put themselves between the werecat and the arrancar.
"what the hell are you two doing!?" roared said werecat.
"let's hold things up here for a moment. Let's not start any fights that don't need to happen." Spoke Takeshi as he turned his attention to Mila and the others. "do you honestly plan on taking us to Aizen?"
"we have no intentions of doing so." answered Halibel. "Aizen may have saved us and we may have sworn loyalty to him for doing so. however loyalty is not what binds us to him. we are well aware of the sort of person Aizen truly is. in truth few arrancar hold any true loyalty to Aizen. Most are kept in line by him through the fear of the power he possesses. Even if that were not the case, we still would not do it. we care about you too much Takeshi, you have been a part of our odd little family. Since our days of traveling to hueco mundo. while yes, we are essentially damning ourselves as traitors to the rest of hueco mundo. we fear what Aizen may do to you or your brother, more than any fear we hold of the soul reapers."
Everything was dead silent before it was broken by Takeshi. "that's a fear rightfully assumed. Considering what the bastard already did to me." Stated Takeshi as he proceeded to raise his reiatsu.
The moment the feeling of his reiatsu hit the four arrancar women. Their eyes immediately widened at the feeling of it.
"what the fuck, your energy never felt like this before." Spoke Apacci.
"Takeshi, what exactly happened to you?" asked Mila worriedly. "your energy now feels something akin to an arrancar in a sense now. Like you somehow became more like a hollow. how is that possible?"
Takeshi ran a hand through his hair and looked solemnly towards Mila. "it's a bit of story but it's one you all need to hear. To summarize for the moment, you can thank that prick Aizen and the hogyoku for my sudden unwanted change."
"wait one second here!" cut in Yoruichi. "I'm not buying your story yet. This could very well be a ruse on your part."
Halibel narrowed her eyes at the woman but ultimately, she couldn't deny that she had a point. When one took everything into consideration. Without saying a word she grabbed her blade, still in its sheath and tossed it at the werecats feet. Before tres bestias could get a word in she spoke.
"you three do the same." Halibel ordered with a tone that left no room for argument.
While tres bestias felt uneasy about this. They wouldn't dare disobey an order given to them by their mistress. So one by one that took their weapons and also tossed them at Yoruichi's feet.
"if that's not good enough, as one of Aizen's top warriors I have plenty of knowledge on Aizen's army and base of operations. I'm willing to exchange this for protection." Spoke the espada.
"you'd really sell out your fellow arrancar just like that?" questioned Yoruichi.
"I care little for most of the other arrancar, many of them are beings that care little more than spilling as much blood as they can. They only ones I truly care for are my friends and those I consider family. all of them are already here with me." Finished Halibel.
Yoruichi kept her ready stance for a few more moments before finally relaxing. "fine, I believe you for now."
"However, you two still have plenty of explaining to do." Yoruichi spoke looking at the Kurosaki brothers. Her gaze then focused directly on Takeshi and softened. "me and you really need to have a certain talk about things."
"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" spoke Mila as she approached her lover and the Shihoin princess.
Takeshi took a deep breath and exhaled. "might as well get out of the way now. Let me tell you what happened exactly."
Takeshi then began to explain everything that happened in soul society. from his fights, to his breaking out Rukia and then ultimately what Aizen had done to him. he didn't leave out any of the details about that terrible experience.
When Mila and the others heard what exactly Aizen had did to him and what the whole experience was like. They all felt both horrified by it and guilty. Guilty because they knew had they told them of Aizen before he left. Then maybe he could have avoided such an awful thing.
"the hollowfication process left me in a broken mental state. I literally woke up screaming the day after, clawing at myself due to the trauma. I didn't get much better as time went on for a whole week. My mental steadily slipped more and more away." He explained.
"but you snapped out of it though looking at you." stated Mila.
"only after some rather extreme measures had to be taken. I was in such a bad way, only something that had big enough positive system shock on me on all levels. Was able to knock me out of my unstable state."
"and what was that?" the lioness questioned.
Takeshi and Yoruichi both became a bit sheepish at this. Knowing he couldn't hide the truth he simply admitted it.
"what knocked me back on track was sex with Yoruichi." The fullbringer announced.
Everything went deathly quiet as all eyes turned to Mila as to how she would react to that news.
"you know." She began "I should be really angry about this, but I can't bring myself to be. In a way I feel like this is karma's way of hitting me for all the lying and hiding of information, me and the others did over the last few months. Especially considering what that all caused you to ultimately suffer through."
"I'm sorry Mila I-" his words were cut off by the lioness.
"don't be sorry Takeshi. I know you would never cheat on me on purpose. You're not that kind of person. You were in real bad place and needed something extreme to knock you out of it. she helped by doing what she did, so I won't hold it against you or her. this time around anyways." She finished.
"thank you, Mila." he said softly
Mila gave a soft smile in return before turning to Yoruichi. "I need to know just what your stance in all this is?" she questioned.
Yoruichi gave a soft look towards the arrancar woman. "I'm not the type to have sex with someone who's already in committed relationship. Not unless both people give consent to the idea anyways. Takeshi was an exception due to the nature of his situation."
"I can understand that. however I need to know one thing. Do feel anything at all towards Takeshi?" Mila asked.
'oh damn.' Takeshi thought mentally.
Yoruichi took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking. "in all honest truth, I would be lying if I said I didn't have any attraction to Takeshi. he's a very wonderful person and has done nothing but impress me since he arrived back in Karakura."
Mila said nothing and simply turned to Takeshi. "do you have any kind of feelings for her as well?"
As nervous as he was about this situation, Takeshi knew he couldn't lie about it.
"if I'm being completely honest here Mila. Yoruichi has done a lot for me when she had no need once I arrived back in Karakura. During that time I will admit that yes, I developed feelings for Yoruichi. Though I wasn't really aware of them, since during that time I was focused on the unsure feelings I held for you. Hell, I didn't figure those out until came to me that night a few months back." he finished.
"so being around her on the rescue mission made you realize that then?"
"yes… it did." Takeshi admitted. "At the core of this all, when I think about you and Yoruichi. While this will probably sound selfish and greedy on my part. I love both of you. I've shared some great memories with both you. you both have helped me in ways can never fully repay. If you want me to pick between the two of you, I will."
"when did I say you have to choose?" piped up Mila.
Takeshi's brain had to take it's time processing what he had just heard. "did I hear that correctly?"
"I said you don't have to choose you fool. I'm willing to share. The fact that she's pretty hot certainly helps in my book." Said the lioness.
"now that' a turn of events I didn't even see coming." Chimed Yoruichi as she walked up to Mila. "you're quite the adventuress kitty like me."
Meanwhile Takeshi was still trying to fathom what was happening.
"plus." Started Mila as she suddenly became rather nervous. "it… it will be good to have an extra set hands for down the road."
That comment caught Takeshi's attention. "what exactly does that imply?" he questioned.
A few yards away Ichigo and Sung-sun stood together. They had already talked things out amongst themselves about everything. They two had agreed to stay together. Seeing what was about to go down. Sung-Sun couldn't help mutter out.
"so she's about to break the news to him. I wonder how he'll handle it?"
"what do you mean?" asked a curios Ichigo.
"you'll see soon enough my dear strawberry." Sung-Sun simply replied.
"well, something very unexpected has happened Takeshi." said Mila. you see….. the thing is….. I'm pregnant."
Those two single words caused Takeshi world to completely freeze. He didn't even register the yelling in total shock in the background from his brother.
However before he could even completely process what Mila had just told him. he was immediately hit by another giant bombshell.
"seeing how she's bringing up her pregnancy." Yoruichi said as she placed her arms around her belly in a cradle like manner. "I'm pregnant too."
Everyone yelled in shock at that news except for Takeshi.
He on the other hand promptly fainted.