I'm not the best with computers so I'm sure a lot of you got a bunch of emails

about this story updating. Sorry for that.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything. Please enjoy.

Amaterasu let out a frustrated sigh, and within the luxury of her own private quarters in Yasaka's palace allowed her head to drop and bounce against her desk. Her strict in front of others attitude was stripped away now that she was alone and her head rolled over so she could glare at a rather large pile of crumpled paper next to her.

She was trying to find the best way to word her letter to Yamamoto and his Central 46. It would reduce the fallout if they were informed rather than if the Seireitei found out themselves. Her tension in dealing with the man who was equal to Vishnu the Preserver at number three on the Top 10 list was through the roof.

Luckily for her the fact was the young Kurosaki upon his spiritual powers leaving him was technically a human when he was reincarnated as a Devil gave her a bit of breathing room. She honestly didn't think the old fossil would care that much about that distinction but she would use it.

"Damnit!" she flung her head back with a very unladylike growl, "Why must my precious Son be entangled in so many problems?!"

XXScene BreakXX

Unaware of the suffering of the Sun Goddess, Ichigo was walking leisurely through a garden behind the palace and simply enjoying the cool morning air as he spoke with his Spirits. He had requested to hold any further talks from last night until this afternoon. He reasoned that primarily there was a mother who needed to go and be with her child, and a secondary reason was to give them all a chance to calm emotions and get some rest.

Yasaka was quick to accept and then left with another small bow of thanks to do exactly as the young man suggested. The other two women also graciously accepted his hint of his tired state. Ameterasu had forced him to bow a little bit before giving him a small kiss on the forehead and telling him to sleep well. That moment reminded him of his mother Misaki so much he nearly cried, but with a nod he simply thanked her.

Having seen the shortest occupant of the room look a little unsure of herself he had offered her a small smile. Serafall had relaxed then and returned the gesture before following the Goddess out of the room.

Now he was taking the morning to organize his thoughts and very soon he would be calling the Shoten. They needed to know of the development and he would much rather they heard it from him than anyone else.

'You have grown much in our time away Ichigo.'

'I'll say! I thought you'd a lost it with all the boobs last night.'

'Well considering I was so tired, one of them reminds me so much of mom, and well…'

'Oh, that's righ! Kingy's a booty boy!'

'While I'm also proud of his growth in his comfortability with procreation,' Zangetsu instantly started muttering about nerds sucking the fun out of things as Juahbach simply ignored him 'I was more speaking about his ability to remain calm and think through his situation.'

Before Ichigo could comment on any part of that last transaction he was distracted by the sound of someone rushing towards him. Turning he quirked an eyebrow at seeing the young Kunou approaching him looking concerned. He hadn't had time to appreciate the beautiful and intricate kimono she had been wearing last night, but he appreciated how comfortable she looked in her Miko outfit.

"Ichigo-sama, I was so worried. I thought you were dead and it was my fault and, and," the girl had pushed open the yukata Ichigo had been loaned to wear, dark blue with wave designs on the edges, and was running her hands over the large scar on his chest, "I was afraid I wouldn't get to thank you. I was afraid you had died and it was my-"

She was silenced by a gentle hand caressing her head, and she looked up to see a kind smile and caring eyes. "Don't go blaming yourself for any of that. Everything turned out to be alright in the end," his smile slowly turned into a smirk, "I am a little concerned on how bold Kunou-hime is acting. Opening a man's yukata and feeling up their chest? And what happened to the fancy speak from last night?"

So Ichigo had come to enjoy teasing others, could you really blame him with the people he still hung out with? Yoruichi, Kukaku and Kisuke would be so proud. It helped he wanted to take the child's mind off her negative thoughts and watching her entire body turn red as she stammered switching between her royal and casual speech was incredibly funny to him.

"Relax Kunou-chan, I'm happy you can be carefree with me," Ichigo took a moment to readjust his clothes before continuing to enjoy his morning walk now with the Kitsune at his side, "The truly important question now, is are you alright Kunou?"

She wanted to blurt out that she was fine, that the overall situation had been nothing to her, the daughter of Yasaka, leader of the Kyoto Yokai faction and acolyte to Amaterasu-sama herself. She wanted to, but couldn't. The tone in which he had asked it left no doubt that he would not accept any blustering and so she truly considered her thoughts.

She had nearly been kidnapped last night. She had watched as two guards who had always been kind and understanding to her had been controlled and murdered and a man who had saved her had a spear of ice lodged in his chest. Finally, even though it was in self defense, she had killed someone.

Ichigo watched the emotions that played out on the girls face. Watched as her tails and ears appeared, only to sag and droop in sadness. It was when a single tear started to form in his eyes he moved. He knelt down and pulled the girl gently into his arms. Within moments he felt her body wracked with sobs as she clutched onto him.

He held her firmly and though it was only for a few minutes he knew she had exhausted herself when she stopped crying. For Kunou she felt relieved and safe yet again in this man's arms. She didn't feel as though she was being judged and while she had been quick the night before to placate her mother with words of strength so as to not burden her more than she already had she felt unable to do the same here.

"Kunou-chan, let's go talk with your mother," Kunou wanted to laugh at how he yet again seemed to read her mind, "You're the opposite of me when I was a kid. I was a crybaby who ran to my mother even with the smallest of things. I can't help but think you probably but on a brave face for her last night, but what happened is significant enough that you need to be truthful with her."

"Alright," though she agreed with him she didn't let him go and was rewarded when he picked her up, "Thank you Onii-sama."

Ichigo felt himself tense for a moment before he simply hummed in response and began walking back to the palace. Along the way of the path he saw many palace guards and servants who switched between giving him suspicious glares and giving worried glances to the girl in his arms. They must have sent word ahead as he found the older Kyubi was awaiting them when they reached the palace."

"Yasaka-sama, I believe Kunou-chan would like to talk with you more about last night," Yasaka gave a loving smile as her daughter was quick to latch onto her when Ichigo passed her over, "I need to get in contact with some people before we sit down and talk this afternoon, please excuse me."

"Of course Kurosaki-dono," the mother paused before entering the palace, "And thank you... for everything you have done for Kunou."

Ichigo simply nodded and watched the two leave for a moment. With a sigh he pulled out his phone. It had only been one night in Kyoto but everything had changed and he was man enough to admit that he needed help.

XXScene BreakXX

Urahara Kisuke stood outside his shop with a proud look upon his face. Breathing in deep he gave a happy sigh as he allowed the sun to warm him for a moment. Feeling the buzzing of his phone in his pocket he pulled it out and glanced at it. His good mood evaporated instantly upon recognizing the number of his former friend Isshin.

Ignoring the call he took another deep breath, this one trying to calm himself and return some semblance of his cheer. He felt he was a least calm when he pulled his mind back from the thoughts of the man who turned out to be a coward. Isshin refused to talk with his son about anything going on since Aizen and had for all intents and purposes avoided Ichigo. Furthermore he still demanded that Kukaku and Ganju not be informed about him being alive.

The eccentric shopkeeper almost let out a growl when his phone rang again. Before he could simply ignore the call again he noticed that it wasn't his least favorite person for the moment this time, rather it was his favorite student. Kisuke felt happy for all of two seconds before he became rather nervous that he had already been discovered.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, did you miss me already?" with ease that came with significant practice the blonde kept any hint of his former mode or nervousness out of his voice, "It has only been one day."

"Urahara, I need help," Kisuke became serious at once and a tiny flare of his reiatsu had a black cat running out of the shop, "Something happened last night and I'm now in a world much larger than I have ever been before."

"I see," Kisuke had multiple theories running through his brain, "We will be there as soon as we can. Where are you located?"

"Honestly I'm not entirely sure," the lack of worry in the teen's voice kept Kisuke from panicking, "Tell me if you feel this?"

Before he could even register that he was confused by the statement the scientist found himself stumped by the sudden presence of a very familiar power. His head snapped towards the direction of the source and he knew that the cat was looking in the same place.

"How-" with a shake of his head he banished his own question for the time being, "Ichigo, we will be there soon."

"Thank you."

The line went dead and he simply stood there looking at his phone for a moment in contemplation. It was only when the black cat landed on his shoulder that he was pulled from his mind. A wistful sigh gave way to a lazy walk into the Shoten.

"No, I do not know how his powers are back. No, I am not entirely familiar with the underlying new presence within it," he spoke before the questions could even be asked, "He has requested our help and we will depart as soon as I leave a note for Tessai for the likely case we won't be back before he gets here."

On his shoulder the cat merely stared for a moment. If anyone were to be around they would have found it a very odd sight. Finally it simply nodded and waited.

XXScene BreakXX

Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle nervously as he looked at all the Yokai that had suddenly rushed to the area looking ready for battle. Within moments almost one hundred warriors had seemed to appear and quickly after them appeared Amaterasu wearing battle gear instead of her normal elegant kimono.

"Ah, my bad," when every set of eyes in the area turned to him Ichigo felt a bead of sweat roll down from his forehead, "I was, um, just letting my mentor know where I was."

The Sun Goddess couldn't help the twitch of her eye in that moment. With an inaudible sigh she dismissed the palace guards and walked to the source of her frustration. She maintained her annoyance for only a moment longer before favoring him with an exasperated smile. In a quick flash of light her warrior armor was gone and she was in a kimono more fitting one of her status.

"Am I to assume you will always have me running around worried my son?"

"Sorry Amaterasu-sama."

"Please Ichigo, you have no need to be so serious with me."

"I see," Ichigo gave the Goddess a smirk, "Does that mean that you will be more relaxed around me?"

A look of surprise crossed the young looking woman's face. It wasn't often she would allow someone to have an informal relationship with her, however it also got a little boring never being able to just talk with someone. With a mental nod she made a decision.

"Follow me Ichigo."

She led him on a quick journey through the palace and into her private chambers. After he entered the door closed behind him and a glowing seal activated to ensure no one would just rush in. Ichigo watched with a raised eyebrow as the Goddess before him let go of all decorum and simply fell face first into a very large pile of pillows.

"Interesting, this wasn't exactly what I meant," a pillow flew across the room and hit him in the face, though he was far from phased, "This is pretty soft."

"The casing is made from spider silk and it is filled with hyper compressed beads of sheep's wool both from Takamagahara, it doesn't get much softer than that," Ichigo eyed the woman who was now sprawled out on the many pillows and looking exhausted, "I'm giving you my trust Ichi. It's hard to be a Goddess because we are expected to be weak, and harder still since our for those of us from the Shinto Pantheon only have followers really in Japan."

"I understand."

"Do you?"

Silence reigned for a moment before Ichigo casually tossed the pillow back. He walked across the room and Amaterasu merely watched him from her comfortable spot. When he also allowed his body to just fall into the mass of comfort she couldn't suppress a laugh at his groan. She marveled as tension seemed to melt off of him that she would never have noticed otherwise and she was quickly reminded of just how young he truly was.

"I at least understand the need to seem in control all the time," Ichigo burrowed into the pillows allowing some to cover him, "I absolutely sucked at it a few years ago and I guess you're right that I don't have it so magnified as you do, but I at least get it a little."

"I feel so conflicted my dear Ichi," he rolled his head to the side to look at her, "There is an extraordinarily large part of me that is happy to have someone I can talk to like this. I show very few people this side of me."

"I'm grateful," the boy gave a relieved chuckle, "When I saw you last night I was afraid I'd always be walking on eggshells around you to behave."

"You are a very respectful and mature young man," a bitter smile crossed her face, "And that is where my inner conflict lies. Everything you had to deal with in order to defeat that horrid man. At least I can take comfort that you have been well since then. I wish that fossil Yamamoto would have let me continue checking on you."

"What?"

Amaterasu could feel the shift in the atmosphere between them. All of the tension and then some had returned to his body and his customary scowl had returned. Slowly as if dealing with a dangerous animal, she sat up and observed him.

"I have the ability to watch over any of my children of Japan and you attracted my attention the moment your mother died," her gaze fell to the floor as she bowed her head in remembrance of Misaki, "It was awful that Auswahlen happened that day, but I would periodically check in on you from time to time."

Ichigo sat listening to her though his mind was grabbing at and storing specific details. He could feel as the old man reacted to the word Auswahlen and felt as the promise of information was given. He focused as she continued on.

"It was when Kuchiki Rukia gave you her powers that I started to keep you in my sights and had I known the things I do now I would have intervened before the Seireitei actually became aware of you," with a huff she pouted like a child, "I wish I was one of those Gods that could boast Omniscients. Anyway when you defeated Aizen I informed Yamamoto and the Central 46 that I was claiming you as True Hero of Japan, and while they accepted that they used the fact that you were allied with the Seireitei to have me no longer look in on you, despite the fact your powers were gone."

"Amaterasu I am not an ally of the Seireitei, nor have I ever officially been their ally," that statement almost sent the Goddess into a torrent of questions, but Ichigo's strained tone and increased tension had her holding off, "Can we… talk about something else."

She was quick to agree, especially seeing the vulnerability in his eyes. She knew that as a mother she would eventually pull the story from him, but right now he wanted a friend. The two resituated themselves on the pillows and for several hours they just talked. It was about nothing in general but a bond of trust was formed between the two in that time as they became comfortable with the other.

Their time was brought to an end when someone knocked on her door. With a sigh, Amaterasu (now Ama to Ichigo in private) gave a wave of her hand cancelling her spell and causing the door to open. A small smile returned to her face at the sight of Yasaka and Kunou, the younger of the two's eyes lighting up seeing Ichigo.

"My Lady I believe it is time," Yasaka bowed her head to the other woman before turning to Ichigo, "Both Leviathan-dono and two Shinigami that stated you contacted them have arrived."

"If one was blonde and looked untrustworthy and the other was either a black cat or a flirtatious woman with purple hair then yes," he almost laughed at her hesitant nod to Kisuke's description, "Those would be Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi respectively, my mentors and the ones I turn to when I feel out of my depth."

All three females gave varying degrees of flinches but he simply waved them off, "Don't think on any of it personally, but to me, I have once again had my perception of how big the world is shattered and I really wanted and needed the advice of those I trust with my life."

XXScene BreakXX

Serafall really just wanted to go to her home, crawl into her bed, put a pillow over her head and sleep. If she blocked out everything that was related to war in her life then she could absolutely declare that this was the worst week she had ever experienced. It was only Tuesday… morning.

After accidentally, but not really because it was a rescue mission, killing a human the night before she had come to find out it was a True Hero of Japan. Couldn't just be a normal Hero of Japan, nope that would be easy, just patch things up with one Shinto God. Instead she had narrowly avoided pulling the wrath of the entire Pantheon and the freaking Kyoto Yokai Faction.

She knew that Devilkind could win that war, but it would be costly. The potential repercussions alone were too much. Plus you can't make a TV show while fighting a war, and worse you can't stalk your baby sister. No sir, Serafall did not want war! To many things to do.

Of course she had also reincarnated him in order to save him. In retrospect, yes she knew it was a horrible idea with that old decrepit hot head still running the Shinigami but she had been running on wild emotions so who could blame her. Obviously the freaking Shinto Goddess of the Sun and her new/ex-new friend the leader of Kyoto.

Luckily the man who she had impaled with her frosty spear (and after getting a good look at him she wouldn't mind if he wanted to repay the favor in a manner of speaking) had come to her rescue of verbal abuse AND gotten them to not declare war. She swore by Satan that if he didn't hate her she was gonna fuck him crazy as a thank you.

That had been her Monday afternoon. Her evening had the wonderful sensation of paperwork and begging for favors, arguably much worse but she had a debt to repay. While her three best friends and an overly strict maid tried to grill her on why she needed these favors she was able to get them to at least give her time as she tried to avoid inter-Pantheonic catastrophe.

Now, on mother fucking Tuesday morning upon teleporting back to Kyoto for the sit down she was going to have with the Goddess, the new/ex-friend and the stud she gets a cane, that spoiler alert is actually a soul cutting sword, pointed in her face. Even worse the blonde guy pointing it at her looks shady as all Hell and his cat is glaring at her.

"This may seem a little forward," Urahara allowed some of his power to collect in Benihime, "But please tell me what you did to Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Killed him, then brought him back to life," the completely candid way in which she stated it through even the Shopkeep off, "How did you know I had done something to him?"

"He flared his power so we could find him," seeing as things were not proceeding as he initially expected the blonde lowered his blade, "There was a strange addition to it that I sensed, and I felt your power just now as a match."

"Makes sense," turning on the spot the magical girl started walking away carefully handling a box and several documents in her hands, "If you're here for him just follow me. I have a meeting with him in the palace."

It was only a moment before the Shinigami was walking alongside her, Zanpakuto once again hidden as a cane. It was a short walk before two guards intercepted them at the main gates. One took a step forward and observed them.

"Leviathan-dono, and a Shinigami?"

"Ah, two Shinigami actually," both guards and Serafall were suitably creeped out at the sudden appearance of what they would come to learn was his signature fan, "We are here for our student, Kurosaki Ichigo."

With a nod the guard raised a hand in the air and the three guests felt one of the hidden observers head off to the palace interior. They waited calmly for about five minutes before the presence returned and the guards simply nodded and stepped aside. With a casual thanks the trio moved forward.

With practiced ease the Devil of the group maneuvered the long halls of the palace towards the meeting room she knew was to be used. As stuffy as Amatarasu and Yasaka liked to act, they were canines and canines loved pillows. As she entered the room she saw the aforementioned women sitting with Ichigo and Kunou and enjoying tea. Just like the previous night, when her eyes met his she froze and all of the confidence she had built nearly shattered as her sleep deprived brain started to focus in on guilt.

"Well," and again he was the one to break the silence, "You look like shit."

She couldn't help it. She gave a very unladylike snort before bursting out laughing and nearly dropping everything in her hands. When she finally calmed down her nerves were forgotten and she strode forward to set her cargo on the table and take a seat on a large pillow.

"I had some apology errands to run so I didn't get any sleep," an amused smile refused to leave the Maou's face, "What's your excuse?"

"Foolish," all present watched as the cat on the blonde man's shoulder jumped off kicking him in the face and sending him to the ground, "My favorite student looks absolutely delicious in that outfit."

"It's creepy when you use that voice Yoruichi," despite his words his hands started rubbing her ears as soon as she jumped in his lap, "Thanks for coming you two."

"Of course Ichigo," Yoruichi paused in shock when her student bopped her kitty nose with a finger, "What was that for?"

"I know that tone of voice and what you are planning to do," he lightly pointed at the youngest in the room, "Don't go setting any bad examples, clothes."

"You are no fun sometimes," the cat maneuvered behind her student and was engulfed in smoke, "We're both girls and I'm sure I don't have anything she hasn't seen before."

Kunou herself was suddenly very red at the sight before her, even as her mother covered her eyes. The smoke had given way to a beautiful woman who had wrapped her wandering arms around Ichigo, a beautiful woman who was very clearly naked. Her mother had only covered her eyes in time to stop her from seeing those arms still and a very dangerous look settle on the woman's face.

"Ichigo-"

"Later," Kunou's ears flattened, the woman's voice was dangerous, but Ichigo's voice was much more so, "Now put on clothes."

There was the sound of rustling wind before her mother's hands moved from her eyes. The purple haired woman was still sitting close to Ichigo but there was a scowl on her face and a glare directed at the only Devil in the room. Ichigo looked exasperated but he grabbed the woman's hand and gave a gentle squeeze along with a small smile. She simply huffed and leaned back on her pillow.

"Kurosaki-kun, I believe you are the most connected here," Kisuke waved his fan lazily in front of his slightly bleeding face, "Why don't you handel introductions?"

"Sure, the cute one," throwing a mischievous look at Yoruichi who was suddenly smiling, "Is Kunou-hime of Kyoto."

His mentor sputtered as the youngest in the room lit up with a blush. Amaterasu and Yasaka smiled at the child and Yoruichi punched the teen in the arm. The tension in the room finally dissipated fully.

"The other cute one is my mentor Yoruichi while the shady one is Urahara Kisuke, someone to be watched," the scientist chose not to dispute that, "We also have Yasaka the leader of Kyoto Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun and Serafall, one of the Four Great Satans of the Underworld."

"Ah, Ichigo-kun," Kisuke's felt even his smile strain a little, "One day I'll train you on how to be a little more elegant with your words… that was simply terrible."

"I kind of liked it, short and simple!" Serafall's voice was filled with false enthusiasm, "In fact, that's the lead I'll follow to deal with the rest of this meeting 'cause I'm already done with this week."

Serafall delved into the story of the previous night keeping it short and simple, giving just enough detail to have Yoruichi try and lunge over the table only to be pulled back by her student into his lap. As Yasaka and Ichigo added their perspectives to the story, each doing a bit to defuse the tension that was growing in the room the dark skinned beauty finally calmed down with an extracted promise for all the details later. After a moment of silence the senior Devil in the room decided to continue the meeting.

"Alright, we've aired out most of the past. It's time to move to the present and then we may as well talk about the future," Serafall slid several documents, a pen and a small ornate box to Ichigo, "You have been reincarnated as my [Knight] and a Low-Class Devil. As far as I'm concerned, that's kind of bullshit."

"Ya think?"

"As such," Serafall wisely chose to ignore the purple haired woman, "I pulled a crud ton of favors and falsified a lot of paperwork in hopes of trying to return your life to a semblance of normalcy. I would ask that you please sign the top document, it is an acceptance letter to promote you out of the Low-Class echelon."

Taking a moment Ichigo read through the document in the silent room. Most were curious about where this was going, though Amaterasu had a feeling she knew. The Maou was simply pleased that he was wise enough to not just trust her off face value. With a grunt of acknowledgement Ichigo signed his name.

"Congratulations on becoming a Middle-Class Devil, some of the falsified paperwork shows 'proof' that you are the 'third fastest' to acquire the rank," Serafall gave a polite clap of applause, "If you will sign the next document it will be your acceptance letter to promote out of Mid-Class echelon."

"Leviathan-dono, not that I have very much say in this but are you sure this is ok?" Yasaka gave a nervous look at the documents as Ichigo read through this one as well, "I believe I may see where this is going, but won't this cause some problems for you?"

"Like I said I called in a lot of favors and I now have documentation that Ichigo-kun has been my [Knight] in secret for a few years now."

"Hold up dammit!" a fist slammed on the table causing cracks as Yoruichi just barely remembered to reign in her strength, "What is happening?"

Serafall stared at the woman who clearly cared deeply for Ichigo and sighed. "I understand that I have messed up royally. In one careless emotion filled moment I brought my Faction to the precipice of war with three other entities and I stole the life of an innocent man. First and foremost I have no way to undo what I've done. Congratulations by the way." The woman gave another polite clap as Ichigo moved his High-Class paperwork away.

"The only thing I can do in the short term is give Kurosaki Ichigo the rights and benefits of a High-Class Devil," her eyes turned to Yasaka and Amaterasu next, "I will begin working with these two next as I'm sure that despite appearances, just under the surface they are still just waiting to declare war."

When neither woman spoke to dissuade that notion the magical girl sighed again. "Anyway, some of the perks that come with your new station in life is your own set of [Evil Pieces], with them you can do as I did and reincarnate others into your [Peerage]. A [Peerage] has a wide variety of definitions in the underworld as it is an individual idea on how they are treated despite the work myself and my fellow Satans have tried to put in."

Ichigo opened up the box in front of him as Serafall took a moment to organize her thoughts. Inside were sixteen pure white chess pieces. They were beautifully carved and as he picked up the [King] he felt them draw in his power. Every eye in the room stared at Ichigo as his power spiked for a moment. Urahara and Yoruichi were instantly reminded of the teen's fight with Aizen while the others in the room felt shock at the feeling for a moment. In a flash of light the [King] was gone and the once pristine [Pieces] now sported a new look. Each one had a unique design though they all shared a red, black and blue color scheme.

"Right, now I just wanna go sleep even more," Serafall grumbled for a moment, "Anyway, the understanding of a [Peerage] range from the disgusting outlook of slaves of some, to the closest of friends and family of others. I happen to prescribe to the latter of the two, even though technically you are only my second [Piece]."

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Yoruichi's head was flinging back and forth between people, "What was that? Are we just ignoring that?"

"For the moment, I'd like to finish with what I am already prepared for before I try and tackle that light show," the Maou took the small victory that the woman only gave a small nod and sigh and didn't return to glaring, "Anyway the last two pieces of paperwork are to give you full access to my bank accounts as a member of my [Peerage] and to assign you here to Japan in order to improve relations. The last one is just covering my bases to have you here, the tension is my fault so I'll be working to fix it but this way no one should bug you about being here instead of anywhere else."

"So you're saying what exactly?" Ichigo spoke even as his eyes roved the documents, "Do I have responsibilities now? Do I have to go somewhere else, or I don't know?"

"Officially you have just had a lot of responsibilities thrust upon you," Several glares landed on her from around the table though when her eyes met brown ones there was only a neutral look asking her to continue, "Unofficially I have everything set up so you can continue the life you were preparing for, only with some extra spending money on the side."

Silence settled in the room then. Kunou looked nervously between the orange haired teen and black haired Devil. Yasaka took her hand and gently squeezed mentally reminding herself to train her daughter how to better hide her emotions. Amaterasu and Yoruichi feigned aloofness as they thought about everything that was discussed. Urahara kept his serious look hidden by his slowly waving fan.

"So you plan to just sweep this under the rug in regards to me?" There was no accusation in his tone, instead it seemed like an honest question and to someone who had been through what he had in his short life it may have sounded like a good option.

"I would hope to still get to know you so that one day we could call each other friends," Kunou was the only one in the room who couldn't see the sadness and loneliness that crept into her eyes, "Plus there are quite a few things I'm going to need to teach you in order to ensure that your life can be as pleasant as it can be, but I suppose in a sense that yes I'm trying to sweep this under the rug."

Ichigo closed his eyes and kept his face carefully blank. He let his mind run over everything that had happened in the last few days. Then it roved back to what happened only a few short years ago, to what he didn't want to see again. Finally he let out a tired sigh before opening his eyes. He signed the last two documents as he spoke.

"It was short, but I've already been through a war and it's something I never want to experience again. It's something I don't want others to experience." setting the pen down he looked up and stared the Leviathan in the eyes, "My number one priority has been, is and always will be to protect all that I can. My second priority will be school, a lot of people helped me and I worked hard to get into University so I won't be neglecting that. Don't mess with those two things and we should get along fine."

His mentors couldn't help but grin at the teen in pried while Kunou looked relieved that the tension seemed to simply disappear. Yasaka and Amaterasu shared a look but remained silent knowing that there was more to be said. Serafall herself simply gave a serious nod.

"I won't be swept under the rug, if I have responsibilities now then so be it," his attention turned to his current hosts, "I hope to work with the two of you to improve relations between the factions. I hope you will forgive me at times because I have no training in this and I am known to be blunt. I'm serious that I never want to see a war again so I will work to ensure such a thing doesn't happen."

"You may lack experience as a dignitary, but your passion is to be commended and is appreciated," Yasaka gave a smile and a head bow to the boy, "The Kyoto Yokai Faction welcomes you and is agreeable to working with you."

"Kurosaki Ichigo, my Son," Amaterasu looked conflicted for a moment before she steeled her resolve, "If you can look me in the eye and tell me with the utter truth that you are alright with this then I and Shinto Pantheon shall accept it."

Ichigo gently moved Yoruichi from his lap, ignoring her pout. He took the Goddesses hand in his own, his callused hands fully covering her soft and delicate one and gently squeezed. Staring her directly in the eyes he gave his answer.

"Of course I'm not fully ok with this, my life has just been drastically altered.," a frown crossed her face but he continued before she could speak, "But just like when my Mother died, just like when I first gained powers, and again when I lost them, I will adapt and move forward. In time I will come to accept what has happened and I will allow it to hopefully make me better."

Amaterasu felt like she was going to cry as he spoke of the scars of his life. She wanted to take him and shelter him away but knew he would never allow it, so instead she would help raise him to greater heights and support him, "The Shinto Pantheon welcomes you and is agreeable to working with you."

"Thank you."

Serafall let out a sigh of relief, this day was definitely going better than she had expected. She could and would support Ichigo with his priorities and knew that his support would help to greatly ease the tensions she had caused. 'Now I just need to worry about that old flame brain.'

And then she saw the butterfly.

END

I'm going to keep to a rule I have where I don't read any reviews until I start editing a chapter.

Thank you for those who did review the only thing that I wouldask is that if you see spelling, grammer or any other such errors, please be

specific (SomethingAncient) becuase I like to go back and fix those.

I had originally planned on ending right before the little meeting but someone *COUGHCRIMSONGREENFLAMECOUGH* kind of saw where I

was going so I added a little more. I know that there has been zero real action so far in this story but I do plan on picking that up next chapter.