Okay- so since Ichigo can't tell people anything about being a former Soul Reaper- the official story of her...life, is a lot different.
Just roll with it.
They spent over three hours combing through the Death threats and Doom pile of stuff. Three un-fucking-believable hours of nothing but incredibly graphic threats of bodily harm, and death threats against Ichigo! After which, Kenichi wound up on his hands and knees on the floor over a mind bogglingly high pile of letters and stuff whining.
"How? How could this have happened?! She's supposed to be the normal one!" The boy said in disbelief.
Kensei let out a small whistle as he set aside the latest letter that he'd been reading, dropping onto the pile next to Kenichi as Hayato said.
"I admire these people's dedication in the single minded and wanton destruction of another human being... But even I find this more than a little bit ridiculous. I mean, just how many people did your sister upset Kenichi?"
Akisame responded autimatically. "Two thousand six hundred and ten." And the moment that he noticed everyone looking at him, he inwardly cringed and wondered if he shouldn't have answered the question at all.
"How the hell does a sixteen year old kid even piss off that many people?!" Sakaki asked in utter bewilderment as he slowly shook his head. Even he had never pissed off that many people.
And he was eyeballs deep in gambling debts.
"I'm not sure," Hayato said. "I've lived nearly seventy seven years and even I don't have that many people out for my blood. And that incudes some of the people who's families and friends I've had to kill."
"I'm not sure what impresses me more at the moment," Kensei said as he cast a weird glance at the pile of previously unread papers. "The fact that Ichigo is so young, and has apparently achieved more than I ever have in my lifetime. Or the fact that she has this many people actually hate her. Frankly I don't know what to do. Should I ask her for pointers? Take notes? Or simply sit back and watch the inevitable blood bath once it starts? What do you guys think?"
"Pointers." Shigure deadpanned with a nod of her head.
"Take notes!" Apachai said excitedly.
"I'd just be happy that I wasn't dragged into this cluster fuck. I mean seriously, man- who the hell did we even let come into the dojo?" Sakaki muttered as he lifted his beer to his mouth and took a swallow.
"That's my sister your talking about, you jerk." Kenichi growled at the man as he lifted his head to glare at him. The karate master looked slightly taken aback by the look on the boy's face and quickly said in a defensive tone,
"What?" Before then tacking on a hasty, "I'm just telling it as I see it."
Kenichi actually bared his teeth and growled at the master. Like a rabid dog.
Sakaki's eyes widened ever so slightly in shock and he took a small step back. After all, if the kid lunged at him while in a mood like this, he might actually manage to land a few honest to god hits on him before the man stopped him.
"Now, now," Miu said as she placed a hand on Kenichi's back and patted it a few times. "I'm sure that there's a perfectly good-" She shot the others a dark look and then said, "And reasonable, explanation for all of this." She patted his back a few more times in what she hoped was a comforting manner as she eyed the pile of threats against Kenichi's sister and couldn't help but wonder just how many of them were serious threats and how many weren't.
Those weird doodles of someone killing the girl were just...well, creepy. Also, they looked like they were drawn by a little kid. So it was really hard to take those totally seriously.
"Hmm. You know, I was thinking earlier about asking Nijima to look up some stuff about Ichigo. Perhaps we should go ahead and give him a call?" Akisame said.
Kenichi opened his mouth to snap, hell no, at the man. Because the last thing he wanted was Nijima looking into his sister's past and possibly finding something that he could use as blackmail material. But before he could even say anything, the elder and other masters were all agreeing with his suggestion.
Which just plain sucked, in Kenichi's opinion. But he supposed that there wasn't really any true harm in it since there was absolutely no possible way that Ichigo could have actually pissed this many people off.
It just wasn't possible.
It barely took Nijima thirty minutes to get to the dojo after Akisame called him. And when he finally showed up- he came prepared. He had his PDA, and a box of what looked like DVD's in his hands too.
He'd already gotten a dinner invite from Miu, so there was no real concern whatsoever about him overstaying his welcome for at least a few hours.
And no one had to worry much about Ichigo at present since she had locked herself away in her 'work' room to do stuff. So they had more than enough time to snoop and delve to their hearts content. Which was unfortunate- from Kenichi's point of view.
Even he knew that Ichigo had secrets. There wasn't a person alive that didn't.
However because she was currently staying at the dojo, the masters obviously felt that she wasn't entitled to keeping them. Just in case some of those letters she got were serious threats. He understood very well that they had a right to be...uh, concerned.
To be perfectly honest, he had some of his own after reading some of those letters.
However he really didn't think that this was the best way to go about alleviating themselves of those concerns. Especially when it was at Ichigo's expense.
"Alright, I'm here. What's up?" Nijima said as he walked into the room with his box of DVD's and PDA in tow.
"Thank you for coming over so quickly Nijima." Hayato said politely. "The other masters and I have a few concerns about Ichigo-"
The dark haired boy got a strangely worried look on his face and quickly asked, "Is she okay?"
"She's fine for the moment." Akisame said. "She's already holed up in her work room with some of the stuff that Kenichi brought over for her, working."
The look of relief that flitted across his face had Kenichi's head cocking in a questioning manner. Something in his brain already nagging at him before he realized exactly what it was. Nijima already knows everything. He wasn't really sure how to feel about that considering the fact that Ichigo was his sister and yet she hadn't spoken so much as a peep about anything.
Sadly, he wasn't the only person in the room to realize this fact. Akisame realized it too and promptly dropped the polite act to demand to know what the boy knew.
Nijima balked. Like physically balked at being confronted about knowing something about Ichigo that they didn't. And simply glanced from one face to another and then back at the door longingly.
"I understand your reluctance to tell us anything Nijima, however as long as Ichigo is here- if there's anything that we need to know- you should tell us. It'll end badly for everyone if something is suddenly sprung on us and someone gets hurt. Right?" Akisame said coaxingly.
Shockingly, Nijima snarled at him. Telling him to damn his logic.
Which earned him a startled look from the man as well as the others. Probably because they'd never been on the receiving end of his ire and frustration. Mostly because they had never asked him to tell them anything that would and could possibly put him in danger.
But they weren't putting him in a very good position here for a multitude of reasons that he didn't want to even bring up. But to simplify things a bit- On one hand, knowing stuff was literally his bread and butter.
And on the other- hello- loyalty. Ichigo had his unwavering loyalty, which was rare considering he didn't really like aligning himself with anyone. But then he also didn't like being asked to nark on her to others about her past.
He didn't give much of a damn if Kenichi hated him. But he didn't want her to hate him any.
He was about to turn around and stomp off to head back home when he heard Ichigo say tiredly from somewhere behind him. "Just tell them what they want to know, Nijima."
He turned his head to look at the girl over his shoulder, and narrowed his eyes at her. Noting that she looked far more exhausted then she probably should have at the moment. For god's sake, she looked as if she hadn't rested any in a month! How was that even possible?
She'd only been here for like two days now. She shouldn't look so damn worn down and weary! He thought with a vague sense of alarm as he turned and reached out and quickly wrapped his arms around her as if he were worried that she'd suddenly collapse or something and he just wanted to keep her from falling.
She stood totally still for a moment before sighing and resting her chin on his shoulder as he asked, "Are you sure?"
"No. Not really." She said honestly. Her voice hushed enough to sound like she was mumbling.
He nodded his head a little bit in understanding. After all, as crazy as the 'official' explanation for her past was, even he knew that a good portion of it was deeply rooted in the truth. However the unofficial version was much, much crazier. Even he wasn't certain if he totally believed it.
But then...Ichigo didn't really have any reason to lie to him about the actual events of her past.
"Alright," He sighed as he gave her a slight squeeze before slowly releasing her. "Alright. I'll tell them." She nodded her head, her expression one of grim determination before she then turned and left the room again.
Maybe to go somewhere quiet and hide?
Sighing, Nijima ran a clawed hand through his short hair and then turned to the others and muttered, "Alright. Let's start at the beginning." Walking over to the table, he seated himself at the very end, across from Hayato and then said, "Everything started with the death of Ichigo's mother, Misaki."
"Huh? I thought that Ichigo's mom died in a wrong time, wrong place kind of thing." Kenichi said with confused look.
"That's the official story, yes. However it wasn't what really happened." Nijima said with a sad shake of his head. Everyone got quiet and focused on him as he started talking. "Anyways, everything started with Misaki's death. Apparently the woman and her husband had caught the attention of a madman who firmly believed that some people were closer to being gods than others because they were born stronger or...just plain different."
"Anyways, he got it into his head that if Misaki and Isshin got together then they're differences would blend well and pass on to their children. He wasn't totally wrong. But he wasn't totally right either. Misaki had a form of psychic ability that allowed her to know things automatically. She even had documented cases of actual precognition based events. Isshin was a military man- special forces. And had his own abilities."
"And when they got together and had children...the madman was there. Secretly watching every single thing that each of them did to see if their children had the abilities that he believed they would inherit. Ichigo, wasn't just the first born to the happy couple. She's a literal manifestation of everything that the madman was hoping for."
"Huh?!"
"Look, Ichigo was born special like both of her parents. She possesses the naturally evolved abilities that her parents lacked."
"I'm sorry but what exactly does that mean?" Miu asked all of a sudden.
"I means that she was born enhanced, Miu." Nijima said as he rubbed at the spot between his eyes, feeling the ominous throbbing ache of a headache beginning to form somewhere behind his eyes. "Ichigo is far faster, stronger, and mentally able to solve problems and handle things that we- as ordinary people- cannot. When I say that she's enhanced, what I mean is that she can literally have a frigging mountain dropped on her head, and still manage to pick it up and chuck it somewhere away from her. All without breaking a sweat. It's ridiculous really."
"T-That's insane! There's no way that-" Kenichi started to say that he was lying to them but the look that Nijima sent his way quickly had him backpedaling. After all, why would he lie to them?
"I have literal proof that she can do it." Nijima snapped at him as he slammed the box of DVD's down on the table. Causing the clear plastic cases to clatter. "Those videos were pilfered from the madman's secret lab by Ichigo herself when she went to stop him. I've looked at all of them, and studied them, and even had them tested for CGI. I'm telling you- she can do it. And if you don't believe me, see for yourself."
"I believe that we'll do that Nijima," Hayato said as he reached over and collected the box and moved it to his side of the table before then asking, "Now, please tell us more about...the madman? Didn't you just say that he had a lab of some sort?"
"His name is Sosuke Aizen. Former militray- the same branch that Isshin Kurosaki served with. Science division. He was an inventor that branched out into weapons and chemical warfare. But in his spare time, he was a sociopath who delighted in not only ruining lives, but taking them as well."
"According to his records he was caught, after more than twenty years of mass murder, having affiliations to terrorist organizations, human experimentation, war crimes as well as crimes against humanity. He's currently rotting in the deepest darkest pit that the government could find to contain him, serving out several life sentences."
"Okay, so he was obsessed with Ichigo because she's different. How exactly did the guy get caught?" Miu wondered aloud.
Nijima gave them his evilest smirk as he said, "That's simple. He orchestrated an incident where your sister and a few of her classmates and friends were all almost killed. It was only a matter of time before Ichigo found him after that. The very second that he showed his face to her- he was a goner."
"She went after him with absolutely everything that she had and then some. Honestly, it's beyond mindboggling the lengths that your sister will go to to make an evil lunatic like Aizen utterly miserable. I have to applaud her dedication. Of course, I also hope to never wind up on her bad side. She makes the masters look like harmless little angels by comparison."
