Does Man Make the Monster?

Chapter 11

Time to Adjust

(A/N Oh, looky-ooky another chapter! NO! I am not done with this story! People, please! I'm still here. I'm just having a lot of issue right now but I hope this chapter makes up for it.)

SOUNDS/sounds

Thoughts

Inner Voices

(Last Time)

Ichigo replied with his own laugh. Ryoko liked seeing Ichigo smile like this for the first time. It was a truly happy smile compared to all of the other ones she had seen. This was the real Ichigo, the Ichigo she had never seen until now. She was happy for him. It looked like he had found his place again in this cruel world. She wiped her eyes again, feeling a few tears trying to build.

"He's something else, isn't he?" Toshiro said, looking up at her. "You should have seen him back in the day. He was truly something. There is no one else like him because he's truly is one of a kind."

"Yes, I can tell and I'm glad to have met him," she smiled back at the young captain, before turning back to Ichigo as he talked animatedly with his father and Urahara. "Like you said, he truly is one of a kind."

(Present)

Akane sat at the counter of busy bar with a hand tucked under her chin, holding up her head. Another sugar rimmed glass was sat in front of her. Amon was sitting next to her lightly tapping his beer bottle on the wooden bar. Mado had left a good while ago, leaving Akane and Amon to their thoughts. The old investigator wasn't feeling the same as them given that he wasn't actually close to the late Kurosaki Ichigo. He didn't feel like being dragged down with them.

Amon finished off the last of his beer and looked down the neck of the bottle. He sighed and set it back down on the bar. He looked over at Akane as she lazily ran her finger over the rim of her glass, knocking off the blue colored sugar. He turned and looked around the small but packed bar. He remembered doing some bar hopping with Ichigo and others friends back in their academy days. They cut it out almost completely after graduation. He shook his head and lifted up his bottle as the bartender came by.

"Another one, please," Amon said as the man looked at him.

"One more but that's it," the bartender said, taking the empty bottle. "I want you to make it home and not end up in the back of a police cruiser."

"Yeah, yeah," Amon said, waving the man off before he turned to look at Akane again.

She had pretty much brushed all the sugar off the rim and was just playing with the free grains on the polished wood surface. She was still blaming herself for not reaching Ichigo in time. Honestly, if he had been there in her shoes he would be beating himself up, too. A moment later another bottle was set in front of him. He picked it up and barely put it to his lips when he saw Akane crying again. She had been doing it off and on the whole time they'd there. He set the bottle down and rubbed her back a little trying to calm her again.

"We'll get through this," he leaned into her ear.

"I-it's just not fair… I-I was right there and I c-couldn't stop him…" she cried, rubbing her only good eye. "H-he wouldn't even turn to look us. He j-just—stepped off and then…"

She started to cry a little harder and Amon wrapped an arm around her small, shaking shoulders. This was something she was going to carry with her for a very long time. He had seen the videos from those that were there on the bridge but it wasn't the same as actually being there in that moment. He couldn't imagine the energy and emotion of the crowed when it happened. That was something that only Akane and Mado had felt. He gave her one last tight hug before letting her go.

"I-I just wanna go home," she said, still picking at the blue granules on the wood bar.

Amon sighed and took a couple big squigs of his beer before motioning the bartender for the bill. He pulled out his billfold and paid for the drinks. He helped Akane to her feet and out of the bar. The pair stumbled outside into the cool night air and bright neon lights. It was about closing time for the bar as it was and other people started to file out behind them. They stumbled down the sidewalk for a block or two before realizing they may actually need to take a cab to get from point A to point B. Amon hailed a taxi and the two climbed in and shut the door. Akane mumbled her address to the cabbie and off they went. The two sat in relative silence for a couple of minutes.

"It's weird…"

Amon turned to look at her as she stared dull out the window.

"What's weird?" he asked.

"Don't know but th-that night… That ghoul child we chased…" she said, slowing turning to look back Amon.

"You mean Grimm?"

"Yeah, him… Th-thinking back on it h-he seemed to only attack us t-to… To get our attention."

"Get your attention?"

"Yeah… We ch-chased him and ended up at the bridge. He—he disappeared after that and n-no one has seen him since."

"You think he… He led you to where Ichigo was?"

She nodded her head and looked down at the cab floor.

"Why he would do that, I-I don't know… But th-that's just how it felt… To me anyway. Like—like he wanted us to s-see Ichigo."

Amon scratched the back of his head. He hadn't even thought of such a thing. He thought of it as a strange coincidence and nothing more as did the rest of the CCG. Yet, maybe she was on to something.

"I-I don't know why he brought us th-there… Was it to see him j-jump or did he guide us there t-to stop him? I'd like to th-think it's… It's the latter. That m-maybe he wanted us to h-help…"

She started crying again at those words. The ghoul had led them there? If that was true he could only hope that Akane was right in that he wanted them to stop Ichigo. He wanted to think that too even if it did come from a ghoul. He shook his head and sighed again. There was just too much going on and the alcohol wasn't helping with his head.

The taxi came to a stop at Akane's apartment building. Amon decided to walk her up to her floor, given that she wasn't too steady. Not that he was either but… She unlocked the door and turned on the living room light. She just threw her purse to the floor, walked over to the couch, and flopped down. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she threw her head back, looking up at the ceiling. She realized she had way too much to drink.

"Well... I'll, uh, see you later," Amon said, turning the lock on the doorknob.

"Stay, I-I don't care. You're not much b-better off than I am," she grunted, kicking her shoes off and stretched her toes. "We just did make it up those… Those damn steps."

"It wouldn't look right if I…"

"We're not d-doing anything. God!"

"Still… I-I don't think…"

"Shut the damn door!"

"Okay…"

It was getting close to the lunch time rush and Kaneki just finished bussing a table. Ichigo's death was still a fairly hot topic but he couldn't keep ditching work because of it. He set the dishes down in the kitchen sink and walked back out. It had actually been a fairly slow day and he wasn't wishing for the lunch time rush. He heard the bell over the door ring and he gave a small greeting to the new customers as they took a seat. Kaneki sighed, grabbed a couple of menus from behind the counter, he put on a smile, and walked out onto the café floor. If he kept his body busy maybe he would keep his mind busy, too.

"Hello, welcome to Anteiku," Kaneki smiled, handing out the menus to the two men.

"Yes, hello," a blond man said, taking off his oddly striped hat and set it down in his lap. "This is very a nice place you have here."

"Thanks, I'll let the manager know," Kaneki said, turning to look at the other man with black hair that was starting to grow grey around his ears. "What can I get you to drink? We have a really good espresso here."

"I don't doubt it," the black haired man said, looking up a Kaneki. "Um, by chance… You wouldn't happen to be Kaneki Ken, would you?"

Kaneki blinked. He scratched the back of his neck a bit nervously.

"Yes, I am," Kaneki nodded. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, not really," man said, pulling out his billfold and held out his ID.

Kaneki looked at it for moment and noticed the family name. He took a step back in surprise. Kurosaki? The man's name was Kurosaki Isshin. Could he be Ichigo's father? Uncle maybe?

"You're his…?" Kaneki choked out.

"His father, yes," the man nodded and tucked his billfold away again. "I understand you two were neighbors."

"Y-yes… I live just a few doors down from him," Kaneki said, looking rather nervous. "I'm really, really sorry about… I know it must be quite hard for you."

"Death always is, especially when it's sudden. I hate that it came to this. He was my only son and my eldest child," Isshin said, looking back at the menu with a mournful expression. "The last few times I talked to him he didn't seem too happy but he never really said anything about his troubles. However, he did mention you a few times."

"H-he did?" Kaneki asked a little curious.

"Yes, he said you were a very bright young man with a gentle soul," Isshin said, putting on a weak smile. "Just looking at you I don't really see a mean bone in your body."

"I, uh, thank you," Kaneki felt a little embarrassed. "I never really got to know him too much. We had talked a few times but…"

"Doesn't matter. You left enough of an impact on him that he would actually mention you," Isshin answered. "I think you were one of the last people he had made friends with."

"I really…" Kaneki stopped himself. Ichigo had thought of him as a friend? He fought back a couple of tears. "I really like h-hearing that. Thank you."

"I thought you would," Isshin sighed. "Now, about our drinks."

Kaneki snapped back to attention and took their orders. He hurried off and quickly got to work making their coffees. Touka walked around the counter with her own dirty dishes. She noticed Kaneki had an odd expression on his face. It was sadness and happiness all wrapped together. She tapped him on the shoulder as he turned briefly to look at her.

"H-hi, Touka," he said.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No! No, nothing's wrong," he answered and looked back over his shoulder again. "It's just… Those two over there."

"Yeah, what about them?" she asked, drily.

"Well, the man with the short black hair is Kurosaki's father," Kaneki said as Touka turned to focus on the pair by the window. "He found out I was his neighbor and wanted to see me."

"Are you serious?" Touka choked out.

"Shh! Not so loud," Kaneki shushed.

"Does he know you're a…"

"I don't think so but he did tell me that Kurosaki did think of me as a friend."

Touka lost a bit of steam hearing those words. Hawk saw Kaneki as a friend? She wanted to scoff at it but… She felt that it was true. Given that it was Kaneki's note that ended up sending Kurosaki to that fight at the church. She wanted so much to write Kurosaki off as a villain when in the end he was anything but. She lowered her head and walked into the kitchen with her tray.

Kaneki put the two hot drinks on his tray and walked back over to them. He set the cups down and took their food order. He ducked back into the kitchen, passing Touka as she stood behind the bar. She drew in a deep breath and walked around the counter to Ichigo's father and his friend. She felt she had to say something to Ichigo's father. She stood beside the table as the pair looked up at her.

"M-Mr. Kurosaki?" she choked out.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I… I wish to convey my condolences to you and your family," she said, biting her lip a little and pulled at the hem of her skirt. "Your—your son did me a favor a couple of times and I-I never thanked him. I-I had been rather rude to him in the past and I… I would like… I mean… I-I would like it if you… If you took my thanks in his pl-place…"

She bowed deeply to the Kurosaki patriarch. He looked at her a bit surprised as did the man across from him. She was shaking a little as she kept her head down. Isshin just smiled at her.

"If that's the case I'll accept your gratitude," he said as she slowly stood up straight. "I'm not sure what he did but it must have meant something to you."

"It did… I just… I-I was being selfish at the time and I'm sorry if I bothered you," she quickly bowed again and almost ran from them.

Kaneki stood in the kitchen doorway as he watched Touka hurry away from the table towards the woman's bathroom. He let out a long breath and walked over to them again, setting out their food. They had inquired who the young woman was and Kaneki told them. He didn't go into detail but he did tell them that Ichigo and Touka never really saw eye to eye and well… Isshin understood that it must have taken her a lot to say just that much to him.

Between tables Kaneki would come over and talk to Isshin and his friend Urahara. The lunch rush was coming to an end and it was about that time that Isshin and Urahara decided to leave. Kaneki decided he'd ring up their bill. It was actually nice to talk to Mr. Kurosaki and his friend. His friend seemed rather flighty at times though but he was nice enough.

"Here," Isshin grabbed a napkin and pulled out pen from his shirt pocket.

He wrote down something on the white paper napkin and handed it to Kaneki. He looked at the number scratched out in blue ink.

"If you need anything give me a call. If you're one of my son's friends I'll help you out anyway I can," Isshin said, putting the pen back in his pocket.

"I-I will, thank you," Kankie nodded and folded the napkin up and put it in his own pocket.

"Take care of yourself, Mr. Kaneki," Urahara waved as he opened the door.

"I will, thank you for stopping by," Kaneki waved good bye to them.

Kaneki pulled out the napkin again as Touka walked up beside him.

"What's that?" she asked, snatching the napkin from him.

"Hey! Touka!"

"A phone number?"

"Yeah, Mr. Kurosaki gave it to me… He said if I needed anything I could call him."

"Well, leaving it on a napkin you will most certainly lose it. Here."

Touka pulled out her notepad and a pen. She quickly rewrote the number down on the paper and even made a copy for herself. Kaneki folded the paper up and put it back into his pocket. Touka put her copy into her skirt pocket. A second later the doorbell rang again and they turned to see a man walk in.

"Welcome to…" Kaneki was cut short.

"Is the manager here?" the man asked, staring down at Kaneki.

Kaneki looked up at the towering man in front of him. He certainly was intimidating. He was a rough anda gruff sort of man with dark hair and a fancy little swirl of fuzz on his chin.

"The manager? He stepped out…" Kaneki stated, feeling uneasy around the large man.

It was close to dusk when Urahara, Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin finished cleaning out Ichigo's apartment and loaded everything into the truck. Just little pieces of trash remained here and there on the floor. Isshin locked the door up and handed the key back to the manager along with the last of the rent money. Isshin got into his rental car along with the girls. It was now time to pick up Ichigo. Isshin had warned his daughters not to be alarmed when they saw him. Karin seemed the almost chill about it, while Yuzu was a complete wreck.

Isshin put the car in gear and started towards the location with Urahara and his truck right behind them. They arrived soon enough just as it started to get really dark. They pulled up as close as they could to the house and made it look as those they were checking stuff in the back of the truck. Urahara gave a sign to move and Ichigo and Toshiro quickly exited the ramshackle old house. They climbed into back of the truck. Everything was checked to be fastened down before the door was closed again.

Yuzu and Karin only got a brief look at Ichigo before he was ushered out of their sight. The twins looked at each other a little nervous. From what they could see Ichigo he was certainly a far cry from what he should look like. Isshin got back in the car and started it. Karin and Yuzu sat quietly as Isshin pulled back out into traffic with Urahara in tow.

The girls had actually wanted to see him and talk to him but that wasn't possible given that they were basically smuggling him out of Tokyo. They sat in the back and pulled out their phones to keep themselves occupied. Suddenly, Karin got a call and noticed the number was her father's but that wasn't… She looked up at her dad.

"You going to answer that or not?" Isshin asked.

"Oh, right," Karin hit the button and brought it to her ear. "H-hello?"

"Hi, Karin."

"Brother!"

"What? I want to talk to him too," Yuzu pouted, clambering for Karin's phone.

"Hold your horses, Yuzu! I'll put him on speaker if you'd get off me," Karin said, pushing her sister back. "Honestly!"

Karin quickly put the phone on speaker and held it out.

"Yuzu, are you giving Karin a hard time?"

"When doesn't she?" Karin joked.

"Don't be mean! Hi, Ichigo! Are you okay? You're not hurting anywhere, are you?" Yuzu panicked.

"I-I'm fine! Calm down! The worst is over with."

"Are you sure?" Yuze asked, pulling on her long braid in worry.

"Yes! I'm perfectly fine… Well…"

"He's healthy if that's what you're worried about," Toshiro interjected.

"Thank you—Toshiro," Ichigo snapped sarcastically.

"Hi, Toshiro, I saw you were as short as ever," Karin teased. "You still look like as elementary brat."

"Don't even start that," Toshiro's angry voice snapped over the speaker.

"So you still got your soccer skills?" Karin asked.

"I haven't played in quite some time."

"Awe, man, that sucks. I'm actually on a really good soccer team. I'm hoping to make it to professional status someday soon," Karin boasted quite proudly. "If you can hang around a little longer I have a game in a couple of days if you want to see it."

"I'll think about it." He's reply was rather dry.

"Oh, c'mon don't be that way," she huffed

"I do have other things to do, need I remind you? Given everything that's happened I'm pretty sure both of you are perfectly up to speed with everything past and current."

"Yes," the sisters sighed.

"I've been gone from my post for long enough. I need to return some time soon. Most likely when we reach Karakura Town."

"Hmph! I just wanted you to stay for one game," Karin grumbled.

"Karin, don't push the matter," Isshin finally broken. "He's stubborn to the core. Always has been."

"I don't need your input, thank you," came Toshiro's sharp reply.

"Okay, fine. However, it really would mean the world to Karin if you did attend the game," Isshin added. "I mean she is my daughter after all."

"I see what you're doing and it's not going to work. You no longer have authority over me."

"Yeah, about that… Why didn't you tell me you once captain of Squad 10?"

"What? Is he serious?" Karin choked out.

"I didn't know you were a captain, Dad," Yuzu said.

"Yeah… It's been quite some time though…" Isshin said, nervously.

"Why did you quit?" Yuzu asked, leaning forward to look at her dad better.

"Long story… But mostly because I fell in love with your mother," Isshin answered.

"Is that even legal?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Toshiro answered.

"So you got kicked out?" Karin asked.

"Yes, and no. I left on my own because I gave up my powers to be with her," Isshin sighed. "However, that has a tenancy to cause expulsion. I fell in love with a person from the living world and so I became human but it's a little more complicated than that."

"How did that even happen, by the way? Are you in a gigai or something?" Ichigo inquired.

"No, I'm in an actual human body."

"I'm still not following. I mean… How did you become a living person?"

"On one hand you have Aizen to thank for that and on the other you have Urahara. It's a very long story but I became human to save Masaki."

"Even I don't really know what happened. You went to the living world and then vanished from your post. We looked all over Karakura for you and finally found you with your future wife. Needless to say you were given a dishonorable discharge for your actions. Only a couple of months later I filled in your spot as head of Squad 10."

"Wow! That was quick," Isshin sounded bit surprised. "I knew you were a little powerhouse back then but… Wow!"

"Yes, well, a lot has happened since you skipped your post," Toshiro snorted. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting your return. I thought you had given up everything."

"I thought the same for many years but my powers slowly came back to me. That had been a surprise," Isshin answered. "It was just before Ichigo became a Shinigami for the first time. I noticed that I could see spirits again but the buildup was slow. I had to reserve everything until I knew I could actually return."

"So you faked being unable to see spirits?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You are such an asshole!"

"But you love me."

"…I hate you."

"You love me."

There was a rather long uneasy pause right after that.

"Awkward…" Toshiro drawled under his breath.

With that one word tension finally broke.

"So you're saying at one time you actually had power over Toshiro? Wow that's awesome, Dad!" Karin exclaimed, happily. "Soooo… Toshiro, how about doing your former captain's daughter a little favor?"

"She's not going to quit until you say yes," Ichigo sighed. "You only have one guess where she gets that from."

"Seriously?! Karin, I don't have time to waste on a soccer game I need to get back to—"

"I have dirt on you a mile long. You agree to come to my daughter's game or I dump everything. And I mean everything," Isshin warned.

"Yoouu… Ugh! FINE! I'll come to the game but I'm leaving right after that. Am I clear?"

"Like crystal! Thank you, Toshiro!"

"Hitsugaya."

"Toshiro," she laughed.

"Dad, there's still the matter of why you left your post. I get it, you did it for mom but… Can you give us the full story as to how you two met and why you had to save her?"

"I'd like to hear this story, too. I've never really heard how you two met," Yuzu chimed in.

"Yeah, so spill it, Old Man," Karin snorted.

Isshin let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It all had to come out sooner or later. Now that the family was back together it might be best to just to get everything out in the open. Not to mention it would help Ichigo understand why he was the way he was now.

"Well… It's not a pretty story and, like I said, it's a long one," Isshin answered with a serious tone.

"We've got time. We're still a long ways from Karakura Town. I know we haven't even left Tokyo yet."

"This is true. All right. I'll tell you how everything got started. Ichigo, I want you to pay the most attention to this."

"Okay, I'm listening."

It was a good long 4 hour drive back to Karakura town. During that time Isshin finally told the real story of how he and Masaki met and what happened during that time. Like Isshin had warned, it was not a pretty story but it did bring some things to light, and in some cases, closure. It was finally made clear as to why Ichigo had hollow powers and where they had come from. It wasn't all because of the Shattered Shaft when he was training to regain his Shinigami powers.

No, it really came from his mother and that it really was a part of him from the very start. The hollow named White had tried to take over Masaki and with help from Urahara, Isshin was able to seal the hollow away within her. This also led to Isshin becoming human. However, the hollow that they thought was permanently locked away had basically been reborn as Ichigo. Or at least his essence had.

Many questions were asked and many were answered. Isshin really did give up everything for Masaki and clearly it paid off in the end as he ended up with a family. He said he had no regrets about what he did when he left Soul Society and that he wouldn't change anything. He'd even do it all over again if he had to.

It was also a bit of a shock when the Kurosaki children found out that their mother was a Quincy like Uryu. And that she was originally supposed to marry Uryu's father. They were happy that didn't happen. It was also brought to light that Kurosaki was their mother's family name. Isshin was actually a relation to the main Shiba clan as Kukaku's and Ganju's uncle. Ichigo felt a little uneasy about actually being a cousin to those two but at the same time that explained a few things about his father's odd personality.

When they arrived at Urahara's shop it was getting close to midnight. The area was dark and it would be easy for Ichigo to leave the safety of the truck. Urahara rolled up the door and out stepped Ichigo and Toshiro. Yuzu and Karin quickly ran around the truck to greet them. They wanted to see Ichigo more than anything.

Tessai stepped outside to assist along with Ururu and Jinta. Ichigo still kept the cover up over his head as he had a look around the property. It honestly felt good to be back here after all this time. He liked the feeling of nostalgia and remembering everything that once was. A bit of a smirk slid across his face.

"Ichigo," Karin said as Ichigo turned to look at her.

She paused seeing his gold eyes from up under the dark shadow of the thick blanket. Yuzu seemed to stand behind her twin a little nervously. He didn't want to scare them but he wasn't doing himself any good to hide either. He pulled the blanket off his head and shoulders. They just stared at him in total surprise and shock. They weren't as prepared as they had thought they were but they held their ground. This was not a monster but their big brother.

"At least you're not running away," Ichigo said, putting on a weak smile. "When you two were younger you would have bolted."

"That's not true," Karin said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, it is," Yuzu replied.

"For you maybe."

"Oh, don't even start that!"

The two squabbled for a couple of moments before turning their focus back on Ichigo. They had come to talk to him not argue with each other.

"So, uh… You, uh… L-look… Good," Karin choked out, putting on a smile and jabbed Yuzu on the ribs.

"Oh, yes, of course," Yuzu added, putting on the same smile.

Ichigo sighed. He knew what they were trying to do. They didn't know how to respond to his transformation and they didn't want to sound like they were being rude or mean. This was something he was going to have to adjust to.

"You know… I don't really care about all this… I am what I am so there is no point in trying to tiptoe around me," he answered, scratching the back of head and then lightly touched the side of his horn. "Let's face it. I know I'm ugly!"

He winked at them as they gave half-hearted laughs. He just wanted to lighten the mood.

"It's just going to take some time for all of us to get use to this," he added, gesturing to his whole body. "Easiest way I think is to just let it all out in the open. Like I said there is no point in tiptoeing around me. If you're not comfortable with me just yet I will totally understand."

The twins bit their lips, unsure how to respond. They wouldn't say they were uncomfortable around him but this just wasn't… This wasn't really normal, not even for them. They missed how their brother used to look and well… He was right. They needed time to adjust to things as they are now and will most likely stay.

"Well, it's just that… We know you're still our brother and all…" Yuzu said, playing with a stray lock of her blond hair. "And that's good enough for us."

"Oh, yeah, totally. We're just glad to have you back home after all this time," Karin added. "We've missed you and I know your friends have, too."

Ichigo smiled a little at the girls. They were really trying to keep everything in good spirits. A moment later his sisters were handed boxes from their father. It was hard to imagine his little sisters as young adults now. They had both grown well and were actually quite pretty. Yuzu was still the girly type and Karin was still the tomboy. Karin was trying to become a professional soccer player and Yuzu was in culinary school. They had also grown and now stood about the middle of his chest.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in. You finally came back, huh?" Jinta asked, walking up to Ichigo and slammed him extra hard on the back. Ichigo turned to look at him noticing that they were now at eye-level with each other. "Took you damn long enough, Carrot Top."

"Wow… Jinta, I see you finally got some height," Ichigo said, gaging the young man before him.

"I know, right?" Jinta said with a sassy grin. "I'll have you know I'm doing quite well for myself too."

"Yeah?" Ichigo said with an unsure grin.'

"Totally! I also happen to be quite the ladies' man," he boasted.

"He has never had one date," Ururu said flatly as she walked by with some boxes in her arms.

"Oh-ho?" Ichigo turned to look at the redhead with sarcastic smirk. "Ladies man, huh?"

"I, uh… Ururu! Don't do that," Jinta snapped, chasing after her.

"It also doesn't help that Ururu chases off just about every girl that comes within a 15 foot (4.6M) radius of him," Tessai added as he stepped up beside Ichigo, his arms loaded with boxes. "He seems to be rather oblivious about it though."

"Really? I'm glad I wasn't ever that dense," Ichigo laughed as Tessai looked at him and shook his head.

"Pot calling the kettle black," Tessai mumbled under his breath.

"Hm?" Ichigo asked.

"Uh, can you take the one off the top? I think it's about to fall," Tessai quickly answered as Ichigo reached up and took it off the pile. "Follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Ichigo nodded and followed Tessai inside. This was certainly going to take some adjusting to. Even thought this was his home town he knew a good bit had changed since he really last visited. Tomorrow Orihime, Chad, and Uryu would come over and talk to him. It would be nice to catch up with everyone.

The night ended soon enough and Ichigo was awoken by a bit of sunlight coming in through the curtains. What sucked was that he could only lay on his right side or his back. He grumbled and tossed the covers over his head instead. A little stuffy but at least the light was out of his face. He was just about to fall back asleep when someone knocked on his door.

He sat up and sleepily rubbed an eye. What time was it anyway? He looked at the clock. Damn it was nearly 11. He pulled off the covers and opened the door. He saw Ururu standing outside his room.

"Morning," he said, looking down at her. She was just little shorter than his sisters.

"Morning," she replied, nodding her head. "You wanted me to cut your hair this morning. You're an hour late."

"I'm… OH! Right, right! I just overslept," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Ururu. You should have checked on me a bit earlier."

"Your hair looks like a bird's nest," she said flatly, looking at his messy locks.

"I'm pretty sure it does—"

"Mixed with a train wreck in a tornado."

Ichigo pulled some his hair over his shoulder. It really was a tangled messed.

"I wouldn't go that far," Ichigo huffed.

"You should have braided it from the start," she said, opening the door and pushed passed Ichigo. "Find a seat."

"Can I get something to eat first?"

"Find a seat."

"It won't take me a moment."

"Find. A. Seat."

Ichigo suddenly felt very uneasy given her cold voice and equally cold glare.

"Right… Finding a seat."

Ichigo quickly hurried over to a large cushion and promptly sat down. Ururu walked up behind him with a large pink case in hand. She set it down and opened it. She pulled out a small cover and wrapped it around him. Now that his hair looked like it finally reached its growth limit he wanted to see if he could at least get it cut and styled a little. Ururu quickly got to work bushing it out and removing the tangles. To be honesty he hadn't brushed it all that much as it felt awkward to have so much hair and it would be even more awkward had he asked Toshiro for assistance. So the young woman had her work cut out for her this morning.

She brushed and picked at the thick mane of orange hair. She nearly used up every drop of her new bottle of detangler just to get all the knots and mats out. Ichigo sat patiently as she pulled on his long hair. It took a while and a lot of perfumed product but his hair was finally primed for cutting. They briefly discussed how short he wanted it and what style he preferred.

She quickly got to work just getting rid of the excess that was most certainly not needed. Just getting rid of that much was a great difference on Ichigo's head, neck, and shoulders. His hair now sat on the top of his shoulders. She brushed it out again and started to get to work on actually styling his hair. He had no idea what she was doing but he had to trust her. He sat still as he watched the clippings of his orange and white hair fall into his lap and the floor.

She then pulled out an electric razor and got to work on cleaning up around the back of his head, neck, and around his ears. She had a little bit of challenge working around the base of his sharp horn. She put the razor down and put a bit of gel in his hair at the top and spiked it up. She dusted the shavings off him and undid the drape. Ichigo reached up and felt his new haircut. It was certainly different. She pulled out a mirror and he took it. She had actually done a damn good job.

The sides and back were cut pretty short and tapered down to a close shave. The top of his head was still a little long giving it a bit of a shaggy spiked look. He was honestly impressed with her work.

"Do you like it?" she asked, collecting her things.

"Oh, yes, definitely," he said, turning to look at her. "You did really good, Ururu."

"Thank you," she nodded and flushed a bit as she grabbed the last of her things. "Urahara wants to see you once you're dressed. I'll let him know you'll be out shortly."

"Okay, thank you again," he handed her back the mirror before she walked the door.

Most likely she'd be back to clean up the clippings. He picked up a large clump of his hair and studied it. He had no idea just how long it really was until he was looking at it like this. He dropped it back to the floor and stood. He dusted off his clothes and quickly went about getting dressed. Today was going to be a rather full day. His friends were coming over and Urahara also wanted to see what Ichigo was capable of in his new form. Yep, this was going to be a very long, full day.

Ichigo adjusted his jeans and out the door he went. It was nice to finally have a short hair again. Well, hopefully things will turn out okay. Ichigo made his way down to the living area and slid open the door. He was surprised to already see Chad, Uryu, and Orihime. He also spotted a small dog sitting her lap. He shook and started bark as he walked and sat down. So she got herself an ankle bitter. One of those with the long body. What were they called? Dachshunds or something like? A moment the little dog jumped from her lap and instantly went for the horn on his head. The dog's teeth just did scrap one of the smooth sides.

"What the hell?" he choked out the dog landed in his lap and then went for another strike at his face this time. "Get him off me! Off!"

He went to shove the dog off when Orihime scooped him up instead.

"Jelly Bean! No, no! You don't do that to people! Ichigo is dear friend," Orihime said holding onto her dog as he squirmed in her hands. "Hold still, Jelly Bean! I'm really sorry about this, Ichigo. I think you might have startled him a bit. He gets this way around new people!"

The dog slowly calmed enough to sit in her lap but remained lightly growling at Ichigo. Ichigo glared back down at the ankle biter and dog growled a little louder.

"Ugh! What is that?" Ichigo asked, scooting back a little.

"It's my dog, silly! I'm sorry about him but Jelly Bean is only a one year old and he's still learning to behave," she grinned, scratching the dog behind his floppy ears. "He's still just a puppy! You can't stay mad at him."

"I can," Uryu held up in right hand wrapped in some gauze. "I just sat on your couch two days ago, nothing more."

"I think those dogs statistically actually bite more than blacklisted dogs such as the Pitbull and the Akita," Chad pointed out. "I looked it up."

"Jelly Bean is not that bad. He's never bitten me, have you?" she said, happily with a baby voice. "No, you haven't. You're a good boy."

"I hate to tell you this, Orihime, but that's not a 'good boy,'" Uryu said, looking at the dog lick Orihime's fingers. "That—is a hotdog with teeth. He's a terror!"

"Oh, but I'm just a widdle baby, aren't I, mama? Uncle Uryu is just being mean," she baby talked the black Dachshund , playing his front paws. "I know he is it's okay!"

"Ugh, I'm going to be sick," Uryu groaned, pushing up his glasses.

"How are you doing, Ichigo?" Chad asked, turning his attention to the former substitute shinigami. "It has been a while since we last saw you. Or even spoke for that matter."

"Yeah, it has been a good while, hasn't it?" Ichigo said, rubbing his lower back a little.

"I would say you look good but, uhhh…" the large man said, scratching the side of his head.

"Yeah, well… I can't do anything about it," Ichigo sighed, looking at his hands and his bare feet. "I'm sort of stuck this way. Like I keep telling people it's something we're all going to have to get adjusted to."

"Though, it is good to see you again, Kurosaki-kun. It's been so long since we last saw you," Orihime said, putting on a smile. Ichigo could tell she was a little apprehensive about him. "We all missed you a lot while you were in Tokyo. It's just nice to have the group back together again after all this time."

"Hm, yes, this is all rather nostalgic," Uryu mused, crossing his arms and looked over at Ichigo. "It's just a shame it took all this to bring you back to us. You shouldn't have left in the first place. We never thought you were useless."

"I never said I that I—" Ichigo was cut short.

"Didn't have to. The way you acted told us that," Chad answered. "You distanced yourself from us. We just didn't realize just how much until you left for Tokyo."

Ichigo looked at him rather surprised and then mentally hit himself. They were his closest friends and partners. Of course they would know something was wrong with him.

"Honestly, you just being a cop was helpful as you got us out of some troublesome spots with the law," Uryu added. "We've had trouble keeping the law off of us at times since you skipped town. It's gets hard at times. Thankfully, Soul Society thought it wise to send a couple more Shinigami to help take the burden off us. More or less we're just the backup when things get a little out of hand or if we just happen to find a hollow at random."

"So… You don't… Purposely go out looking for hollows…?" Ichigo inquired.

"Not like we used to. Patrolling isn't really our job anymore," Uryu said with a long sigh. "Just like I said we are just backup or we just deal with random hollows that find us. We are human after all. It's only fair that we try to live a normal human life. Orihime works at a pastry shop, Chad of course is a heavyweight boxer, and I'm an apprentice at a shop for men's tailored suits. We are living, for the most part, pretty mundane lives."

"So all of you are just…" Ichigo's voice trailed off.

"There hasn't been much need for us in a while," Orihime said, touching one of her hairclips. "The local Shinigami have been doing their job quite well."

"Perhaps a little too well. Basically, Ichigo, even our glory days are well behind us," Uryu said, shaking his head. "Urahara still lets us train in the sublevel but we haven't needed to use our full powers in years. Honestly, you were the only one among us that still had a burning desire to fight."

Ichigo sighed at this. He really had lost contact with everyone; way more than he first thought. They had chosen to live out their lives like every average Joe. They had become content with the way things turned out and were enjoying the peace and quiet that came with it. The Winter
War was long over and done with. There was no reason why they shouldn't enjoy their victory and live in the peace that followed.

They had given up their glory days to live like everyone else. It was almost ironic in a way. He finally had a chance to quit fighting but his life would be anything but mundane. They just slid into their "normal" lives without too much trouble and, yet, he could not. Life really could be a true piece of shit. He really was stuck in the middle like his hollow had warned—

"J-JELLY BEAN!" Orihime screamed.

"OWWW!" Ichigo yelled, trying to push the puppy from his horn. Jelly Bean had suddenly decided that Ichigo's horn would make a good chew toy. "Get off! Off! Oww!"

He just hung there wiggling his little legs and put a strain on Ichigo's neck. Chad quickly got up before Orihime could and pulled on the small dog, hoping he'd let go of Ichigo. No such luck.

"Let go! C'mon, now," Chad said, pulling on the dog but was only taking Ichigo with him. "Orihime, this is your dog fix this."

"I am so, so sorry about this, Kurosaki-kun! Jelly Bean, drop it! Drop it," she ordered as the dog only looked up her. "Let go! Drop it!"

"'Drop it…?!' " Ichigo snapped.

"Well, that's what the trainer told me to say when he has something in his mouth that he shouldn't," she quickly answered. Then something clicked. "Ohh! I-I'm not saying you're an 'it!' You're not! Uh… Uh… L-let me rephrase that!"

Uryu groaned and finally got up and grabbed the dog by mouth to pry it off Ichigo. The dog finally let go of Ichigo still trying to wriggle out of Chad's strong grip. Urahara walked in a moment later and he looked rather worried after hearing the yelling from down the hall. He saw Ichigo on the floor nursing his drool covered horn, Chad was holding the fur-ball of hate, and Uryu was shaking his sore drool covered fingers. Orihime was promptly handed her dog back. The store manager sighed not sure if he wanted to know what happened.

"I'm just taking a wild guess here but, uh… I'm going to say, Jelly Bean," Urahara hummed, looking at the wriggling puppy, trying to lick Orihime in the face.

"Oh? What was your first clue?" Uryu snapped bitterly, wiping his hands off on his pants. "Ick! Ugh… Nasty…"

"Jelly Bean still needs more lessons, Orihime," Chad said, still holding onto the titan–sized puppy. "I know you wanted Ichigo to see him but now may not be the best time, given what just happened. You should leave him at home next time."

Urahara looked back down at Ichigo as he sat on the floor looking rather undignified. It didn't take much to put this mystery together.

"Well… In Jelly Bean's defense your horn must look like a very—Eep!"

"Finished that! I. DARE. YOU," Ichigo growled, getting up to his feet and got right in Urahara's face.

"—like a very tasty bone… Attached to your… Uh," Urahara dared with a sarcastic and yet worried grin. Ichigo was not amused. "Think of it this way; tomorrow this might be hilarious. I mean, it is a little ridiculous right now when you look at this from the outside—I'm just saying…"

"You're not hurt, are you? I had no idea he'd actually do that," Orihime said, looking like she could start crying at any given moment. "This is terrible! Please don't be mad! I'll make sure that won't happen again! I honestly had no idea something like this would happen! Oh, I feel like such an idiot!"

This really wasn't funny—at least not right now. Ichigo knew this was an accident but that still didn't help. He was still trying to adjust and the dog made it quite clear that he wasn't as adjusted as he wanted to believe. Not only that, but that hurt like a bitch. Grant it, the dog left no damage but his pulling and pawing at his head hurt regardless.

"The only real difference between that thing and an Akita is that you can't punt an Akita," Uryu growled, looking at his red fingers

"Please, stop saying that! I know you don't like him but that is really mean, Uryu," Orihime whined.

"If you ever ask me to watch him I'll give him some flying lessons."

"URYU!"

"That's how much I really dislike the dog."

"Ahem... Well… Moving on... Let's say we all head downstairs," Urahara said breaking up a soon to be argument, watching Orihime bring Jelly Bean with her. "Let's just leave him up here, okay? Tessai will look after him for now."

Orihime instructed Jelly Bean not to move from the room and shut the door behind her as Urahara escorted them deep into the subterranean training grounds. This place hadn't changed much Ichigo noted. They dismounted the long ladder and followed right behind Urahara. The shopkeeper came to stop around the middle of the area. He then turned to face Ichigo and the others.

"Well, let's say we get down to business, hm?" he said with a long breath. "What I want to do is quite simple. I want to test out your strength and weaknesses, Ichigo. I understand you did that a bit of that during the far earlier stages. So… I believe you mentioned something that… Your skin can stop the damage of an average steel blade. It cannot cut you?"

"Uh, yeah… Basically, my skin has the same characteristics as a ghoul's skin," Ichigo said, rubbing his bare arms. "It can't be cut by basic weapons like knives and glass and blunt forces have to be excessive to do damage."

"What about bullets?" Chad questioned.

"Wasn't brave enough to test that…" Ichigo grumbled. Or stupid enough.

"Hmmm? You said that a ghoul's kagune cut you so that stands to reason that quinque can do the same damage," Urahara said, scratching his chin. "Then you also said that zanpakuto also have the ability to cut you."

"Yeah, but there is a large difference. When I'm cut by a kagune or a quinque the damage heals up rather quickly without complications," Ichigo said, touched his face and then touch his chest. "Zanpakuto on the other hand… The wound takes a very long time to close and if it's deep enough I run the risk of bleeding out."

"And you know this how?" Uryu asked.

"One of Toshiro's men and I had a little bit of a skirmish," Ichigo grinned awkwardly. "He didn't believe who I was and well… He cut me open damn good and when I returned to my apartment—I nearly bled out… On the floor."

"How?" Chad asked.

"How…what?" Ichigo shrugged.

"How did he not know who you were?" Chad clarified. "You are you after all. I would think every Shinigami would know who you are."

"Yeah, that's a little weird," Orihime added.

"Toshiro did make it seem that whatever-his-name-is had some issues before about acting before thinking, among other things. I think he's a few apples short of a bushel," Ichigo hummed. "Needless to say he caught hell for it when Toshiro found out. That was an odd phone conversation."

"Okay… We'll talk more about that later. Now, back to the original topic," Urahara said, walking up to Ichigo and circled him a little bit. "Now that you have completely transformed, do feel like testing your durability?"

"I-I guess so," Ichigo shrugged a little unsure.

"Good. Thanks to some connections I managed to snag this," Urahara pulled out a small quinque knife from his pocket. "See if this quinque can still be damaging to you."

He handed the blade over to Ichigo and he looked at it. It was designed like a hunting knife. A usual rookie weapon. He had one in his belongings somewhere. It was the one he got straight out of the academy. He held up his left arm and pressed down with a bit of force. He hissed a little as the blade went through his skin but quickly started to heal not long after.

"I see. So it stands to reason that zanpakuto can still be devastating to you," Urahara held up his walking cane and pulled out Benihime. Ichigo's eyes grew real wide as he looked at the uncovered blade. "Oh, now what is that look for? You act like I'm going to kill you."

He held the end of the blade out so the tip was facing Ichigo.

"I have some serious trust issues with you," Ichigo quickly blurted out.

"Yes, yes… This is simple. Just run a small part of your arm over the edge and see how long it takes to heal compared to the quinque," Urahara instructed.

A little unsure, he pressed the top part of his lower arm on the blade and swiped it across. He looked down to see skin bleeding and wasn't stopping like the with the quinque. It was starting to sting a little.

"Keep an eye on that. Now… Let's see how you do in a fight," Urahara said, taking the quinque from Ichigo and sheathed Benihime. "These three will be your opponents. This will most likely be the quickest way to showcase and bring to the surface all of your abilities. Just keep in mind that your friends, too, have changed and evolved a bit since you left. Even without actually having to fight they still haven't let their skills slide."

"Wa… Wait… You want me to fight them? Barehanded?!" Ichigo asked, looking rather flabbergasted at the former captain.

"Hm… Yes," Urahara nodded, straightening his hat. "Think of this as… A dry run… Like when I was trying to restore your Shinigami powers and I had you fight Ururu."

"That is exactly why I have trust issues with you," Ichigo snapped, pointing a finger at him. "You do shit like this!"

"He is right," Chad agreed. "You aren't always that up front with people."

"Thank you, Chad," Ichigo snorted.

Urahara sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Ichigo was still a skilled fighter, no doubt, given his former standing in the CCG. So why was he acting like that towards the others? Clearly he was completely unsure of what he was capable of. Either he was scared of not living up to expectation or maybe, just maybe, he was scared he might hurt them? Honestly, the only ones that had actual weapons were Uryu and Orihime. Chad's powers were more of a natural ability. His weapons were body parts. He might be the best one to get Ichigo to show his potential. Chad was also a much hearty fighter than the others. His stamina and durability made him a better combatant.

"Chad, you and Ichigo, one on one," Urahara suddenly blurted out. "Since Ichigo wants to whine about not having a weapon I think you will be the better pick. As technically you don't have a 'weapon' per say. Your ability is strictly from your own body. You need no items to help you. No hairclips and no Quincy Crosses. Sound good to you? Sounds good to me."

"He does have a point. I would be the better opponent against you rather that Orihime or Uryu," Chad agreed, looking at a stunned Ichigo. "I will also be able take more direct hits."

Ichigo barely got his mouth open when Urahara spoke again.

"Don't like it, I can always have you fight Ururu again. And you thought she was scary then…"

Ichigo looked at Urahara and then back at Chad.

"Hm, y-yes, Chad, I'll take you on… Yes, that sounds fine! You and me…"

Chad nodded in agreement as the others gave them room to fight. Ichigo was still unsure about this. He knew Chad wouldn't do anything to really hurt him but Chad had control over his powers. Ichigo did not and that scared him. In battle how much power he could produce was unknown and would his hollow instincts kick in? Could he accidently lose himself like when he fought Ulquiorra? Was that even still a possibility? His mind was racing trying to think of all the what-ifs. He knew better than that but he couldn't help it.

He shook his head trying to clear it. He needed to focus on what he did know which of course was sonido, his enhanced strength and durability, hand-to-hand combat skills, and recently his talons. Hopefully he could call his mask like he once had for an added boost. He hadn't tried it yet so now was his chance. This was a test and nothing more. It was a test to gage strength, durability, along with current, budding, and dormant powers. If he didn't try anything he'd never learn anything so…

Ichigo quickly got into a combative stance as did Chad. Ichigo was quick to learn that even this was friendly combat Chad wasn't going to go easy. Both Brazo Derecha de Gigante and Brazo Izquierda del Diablo where formed and ready to go. The goal wasn't to end this quick but draw it out.

"All right! Get ready," Urahara called out, noting those not evolved were far enough away. "FIGHT!"

Chad charged first and came down with a hard fist. Ichigo managed to jump up and avoid it. The hole it left in the ground could have been a bit costly. Ichigo landed on his feet and used sonido and threw Chad off his feet. The large man managed to catch himself. Ichigo went for another kick only to discover Chad had his ankle. Ichigo barely had time register he was now being thrown through the air. He hit the ground, rolling but quickly got back up and went after Chad again.

Urahara and the others watched from a bit of a distance. It looked more like they were doing warm ups than anything. Hopefully things would heat up soon. The shopkeeper's eyes watched Ichigo closely. Ichigo knew sonido clearly and he was still using his hand-to-hand combat skills. Basic stuff. The goal was to get him to react and really show what he was capable of. He reflexes were as sharp as ever and was doing pretty good on countering Chad. But still…

"Is something the matter?" Uryu asked, looking over at Urahara. "You look disappointed."

"Aren't you? I was hoping Ichigo would try out something new but he's staying stagnate," Urahara sighed. "He knows Chad won't really hurt him. He's not… He doesn't have that sense of urgency from a real fight. He knows this is mock battle."

"Want me to throw in a little something extra?" Uryu asked.

"No, no… I'll do it," Urahara said, taking off his hat and handed it to Orihime. "He knows better with me. He knows I don't play."

"You're not really going hurt him, are you?" Orihime asked as Urahara started to walk off.

"That's what you're here for," he replied in a-sing-song voice. "I won't kill him, of course. He might turn a slight shade of red though when I'm done though."

Orihime turned to look Uryu with worry. Was Urahara serious? Ichigo just came back home after all this time and he was going to pull a stunt like this? She took a couple of steps forward when Uryu blocked her.

"Uryu?"

"He's right. Ichigo isn't reading this as a true battle so he's not really trying. Let Urahara do what he needs to. If it makes you feel any better considerate it as a form of tough love."

Orihime watched worriedly as Urahara approached an unsuspecting Ichigo. She could do nothing right now but watch and pray for the best. Something had to be done to really get Ichigo to show what was he capable of and Urahara Kisuke was that right person for that job.

Urahara stopped a little distance away from Ichigo and motioned Chad to move. Chad quickly moved as a large shakkaho nearly missed his head. The large red ball the ground with a large blast, making Ichigo stumble just a little. He turned to see Urahara holding out Benihime once again. A look of shock and fear marred his face. What was going on? Urahara wasn't replacing Chad was he?

"Oh, what a look. You know shit just got real," Urahara grinned, charging at Ichigo.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ichigo asked, dodging the lightning fast blade. "What the hell! Seriously, what are you doing?!"

"Just what it looks like. Consider Chad as a warm up and I'll be your opponent from here on out," Urahara answered as the shape point of Benihime clipped Ichigo's left shoulder. "There was no real battle spirit coming from you. You need that urgency, that sense of danger, that adrenaline, that hard push to knock you over the edge. Basically, Ichigo… I am going to make fear for your life."

"I'm not going to like this…"

"Not one little bit."

Ichigo quickly turned and ran. This wasn't good. His zanpakuto, as he learned, could do serious damage but he had no way to block a full on strike from Urahara. Given that Urahara is captain level that blade will cut through damn near anything. All he could do was avoid the blade and that was getting harder and harder. Urahara was reading and learning how Ichigo avoided attacks. He had learned stuff from the CCG that altered his fighting style. No doubt Urahara wanted to see how much Ichigo could dodge before he made a critical mistake. It was either fight back and get cut up into mincemeat.

Ichigo was never good at concentrating energy. He thought about maybe trying one of those Balas he saw the arrancar use or maybe even a Cero. He had to try something before Urahara actually did some real damage. Maybe his mask? Could he call on that to give him that added boost? There had to be something.

Ichigo soon discovered he was in the literal corner of the vast underground space. So was it do or die at this point. Urahara would never kill him but he would gladly maim him severely. That was something he didn't want to experience.

"Well, you're stuck between a rock and hard place. You're clearly out of places to hide now," Urahara hummed, pointing Benihime at Ichigo. "C'mon now. I'm not giving you a choice in this, Ichigo. Show me something other than sonido. If you can use that and see ghosts clearly you have much more to give. A cero or a bala? Your mask? Have you even tried? Whatever you're so damn scared of just let it happen."

"I don't know what I can—AAAGH!"

Urahara drove the blade into Ichigo's shoulder.

"Wrong answer. I'm not playing and the same should go for you," Urahara said, yanking the bloodied blade out. "Try something. Anything you think you might know. If you don't act I'll just keep this up like you're pin cushion. Next strike might be a leg to slow you down. It's your choice."

"Damn you," Ichigo growled.

"Get mad. Hollows are instinct driven so what are your instincts telling you to do?"

"I don't kn—"

Benihime's tip was shoved right under Ichigo's chin.

"Don't even. Something in the back of mind must be nagging you. Something that could get you out of this situation. You are a trained fighter both as a Shinigami and a CCG investigator. Certain things are second nature to you now. Things you don't even think about normally in a fight because they have become habit, instinct in a way. If you were pinned like this while fighting against a ghoul what would you do to get of this mess?"

"If I had my weap—"

"The ghoul took your weapon, what is the next course of action?"

"Find an opening and use hand-to-hand to least get out of the corner if nothing else."

"Well…? Fight me, you idiot!"

Risking it, Ichigo swung an arm up, knocking the blade out of his face, before kicking Urahara in the stomach. He jumped over Urahara and got out of the corner.

"That wasn't so hard but still nothing that I'm looking for."

"Then what are you looking for?"

"Other than sonido and a few added body enhancements you still fight like a human. Get out of that habit or it'll get you killed."

"What difference does that even make? I am still human."

"Fundamentally, yes. Physically, no. This change has to be more than cosmetic. I can sense it in you and I know you sense it, too. You say you're all right with this but clearly you're not. Just let go of what you're scared of and do what you need to do."

"I'm still adjusting to everything! What do you want from me, dammit?!"

"I told you, I want to see what you are fully capable of. I want to see your potential!"

Urahara took another swing, cutting Ichigo clean across his chest. Ichigo stumbled back and held onto the large bleeding gash.

"Stop hesitating," Urahara snapped as he gave chase to Ichigo once again. "Are you trying to buy time or are you really that incompetent in your powers? Are you scared of something, perhaps?"

Ichigo ducked behind a large rock and looked at the wound in his chest and shoulder. They were deep but not life threatening. Urahara wanted to see his full potential? Why was the shopkeeper so dead set on seeing what he could do? Couldn't they just take their time and learn little by little? He needed time to adjust and this really was not helping.

"Stop hiding behind that rock and fight me," Urahara ordered but Ichigo still didn't budge. "I didn't hurt you that bad. At least not yet. The more you do this the more forceful I'll become."

Urahara swung Benihime, sending a red blast of energy at the large boulder. Ichigo jumped out of the way just in time and rock exploded. He turned to look back at Urahara, Benihime still aimed at him.

"Look… I am just going to throw this out there and you can correct me if I am wrong, but if I am right, I want you to at least try to form your mask and fight me proper," Urahara said sternly. "You are contradicting yourself. You have accepted you are a hollow and yet you want to deny it at the same time. It's not your body that you deny but your powers, your basic instincts. You're scared to use them fearing you might hurt others or you're scared they might even consume you. You're going to fear what you don't understand, and if you don't understand yourself, you can't accept yourself. I think you are fully aware of what you can do but you don't understand how to control them. To sum up everything… Hiding your abilities will only hurt more if you can't even show and master them. You have to understand yourself before can become stronger. Hiding is for the weak and you should feel no shame for what you are. You need strength to control power. I'm not seeing that strength in you."

To a degree this all sounded familiar. Perhaps, a little too familiar. Dammit! He mentally hit himself. He still was a fool. His hollow had pointed all this out a good while ago. How could he keep trying pretending that…? His counterpart's old words echoed in his head.

"Use your instincts! It's time to start thinking more like a hollow!"

"Are you that damn scared of what you will become that you can't accept I'm actually a part of you? You used my power so openly as child and now you're trying to hide who are while using them as an adult. You're not my king. You're nothing but a cheap jester and I will not be the horse of a fool…"

"You won't even look at me? Are you that damned ashamed of yourself?"

"Power is one thing but strength is another. It takes strength to wield a great power. One is nothing without the other."

"I am the power, the horse. You are the strength, the king. A wild horse will not obey a weak master. Where you lack physical strength, you have the control and drive. I clearly lack the control and the drive. I'm wild without someone holding the reigns. If you can't control yourself, how do you expect to control me?"

"Do I really have to spell it out for you? It's just one word. A-c-c-e-p-t-a-n-c-e. Acceptance."

It was just different wording but it was pretty much the same lecture, give or take. He was still making the same mistakes and choices. Urahara really was reading him like an open book. He took in a long deep breath and slowly let it back out. Urahara took a step closer.

"Well, am I correct? You're awfully quiet so I am guessing I hit the hammer on the nail," Urahara grinned and then waited a beat before speaking again. "Are you going to answer me?"

Ichigo snorted as Urahara took one more step closer. The former captain was waiting for confirmation. Either way, Ichigo wasn't going to be able to avoid a fight but he had to give himself "a fighting chance." Urahara was indeed correct and Ichigo had to uphold his end the agreement. It was time to see if he could summon his mask like he once had. Not to mention a little something else he hoped his could summon again. It was that strange blade he used on the Gourmet. It was the first time he tried and I work. He just needed to remember how he called upon it. He tried a couple of time when Toshiro wasn't around but... He still really couldn't get it form like it had the first night. Maybe it was fluke but he still had to careful with it.

"You're correct. Like usual," Ichigo finally spoke, bringing his right hand to the top his face. Urahara smiled and gripped Benihime's hilt harder. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good, good… I want you to try what you know for now," Urahara answered and Ichigo nodded. "So please, if at all possible, stop running and do your best against me."

He could do this. He was the king of his powers and he needed to stop playing the cowardly fool. This time he really had to mean it and stick to all his promises. Urahara was right. Not knowing what his powers were capable of could be damaging. Control was a necessity. He drew in a large breath and recalled the feeling of when he had used his vizard abilities. He quickly swiped his clawed hand over his face.

"Huh! Well now… That's more like it," Urahara smiled, looking at Ichigo's masked face. "Looks the same but the markings mirror what's on your face."

"Not really caring what it looks like. I kept my end of the bargain so let's get this over with," Ichigo stated, getting ready for Urahara's next move. He flexed his right hand a little. How did I manifest it the first time? I don't really remember. I have to learn it some how...

"I am more than happy to oblige," Urahara answered and charged right at Ichigo, sword ready to swing.

Ichigo just needed to focus on his hand and manifesting the blade. He called the blade out of necessity against Tsukiyama and this was a more direr situation. Urahara went to bring his zanpakuto down but was surprised to see it blocked. Even Ichigo looked a little surprised behind his mask. Out of sheer habit, or perhaps instinct, Ichigo had raised his arm to guard his body from the attack and manifested his new zanpakuto. He pushed against Urahara and the man landed back a little way onto his wooden sandals. His eyes studied at the strange item in Ichigo's fingers.

It looked like a sword but at the same time it wasn't an actual physical blade. It was super clear and looked like a distortion of the air that was lightly tinted black. In the dark this blade would be completely invisible. It was a large cleaver, similar to Zangetsu but the shape was a little bit altered but not by much. It was thinner and uniformed in shape and the curved point of the blade had large serrated edges.

"Now that is interesting…" Urahara mumbled, getting a little closer to study it.

"I started to remember this a little while ago. I used it against the Gourmet ghoul after he went after Toshiro. But I couldn't remember how to summon it back, studying the bizarre blade. "When I was pulled into my inner world, that one and only time, my hollow had me fight him. This was the sword I was given. He said this was my own creation and only I could wield it."

"Really?" Urahara questioned.

"Yes, but it looked like a regular zanpakuto, nothing like this," Ichigo clarified. "Huh…? Looking at its shape, it does look a lot like my quinque."

"Your quinque?"

"Yeah. It was kokaku based and it was called Tsume… Not over originally, I know, but given my former street name, Hawk, it sort of worked. It's pretty much the same in size and shape."

"That is quite interesting. It's not a zanpakuto in the typical sense but… See if it has any powers of its own."

"I know it does and I'd rather not use them again," Ichigo said, looking down at the shadow blade in his hand. "I didn't end when I used it the first time and... Hell, when we learned what it could Zangetsu went full out trying to erase from existence. Instead it negated Getsua Tensho and whatever it hit was reduced to this strange dust. When I would battle in my inner world over time the surrounding would eventually repair itself. But when the blast hit one the building it just turned to dust and as far as I know it never was restored."

"It negated the Getsuga Tensho?" Urahara looked fascinated to see this in action. "Do you think it could negate Benihime as well?"

"Well, I... Personally, I don't think it would be a good idea," Ichigo answered him. "I don't want to use it."

"Stop acting all scared like. I just want to see what that can do," Urahara point at the new zanpakuto. "If you keep hiding what you can do..."

"I know, I know... Stopping being a broken record... Before I use this I want you know something important and maybe you'll think differently before we proceed," Ichigo sighed and glared at his weapon. "The reason why that building never repaired itself is because this sword was forged out my self-destructive ways. It's made out of everything bad feeling had about myself, every bad thought about others, and my own selfish actions to achieve what I wanted. This is in no way meant to protect but to destroy everything that gets in its way. I promised Zangetsu I would find a way to remake this into something better. It's going to take a lot of time though and I'd rather not use it if I don't have to. Just being like this... It's like any other plain zanpakuto so I don't fear it in this state but this is as far as I'll go..."

Urahara let Ichigo's words sink in as he really scrutinized Ichigo's newest weapon. It really wasn't a physical blade but a manifestation of Ichigo's dark thoughts and habits that ahd accumulated over the years. That clearly wasn't something Urahara had expected to hear. The shop keeper walked closer to get a better look. It really was strange blade as it did look like a dark distortion in the air. Regardless of what Ichigo wanted Urahara still wanted to see just how destructive this new type of zanpakuto could be. Ichigo will not be happy with it but Urahara needed to see this first hand. It might help give Ichigo a better understanding of it if another set of eyes watched it.

"I see and I can understand your concerns but regardless of what you want I still need to see this new sword in action," Urahara replied bluntly. "I want to see your control over it and if it will negate a blast from Benihime. I also want to get a sample of this dust."

"I said I'm not going to use it," Ichigo snapped.

"You are fearing what you don't understand and you need to understand what it's capable of so you can properly fix what created it," Urahara clapped back. "You more than anyone knows just what that is a manifestation of. You're scared of what that blade represents. You need to understand why it was created so you can properly deconstruct. It's a reflection of you these last few years. You pretty much stated that yourself."

Ichigo clinched his teeth under his mask. Sometimes he really hated Urahara for being so perceptive about things. This blade really was a reflection of every self-destructive thing he did. If he took Urahara's words to heart he might as well just say that he was scared of himself. Which he was, given what he was now. Just to dropped the subject he'd let Urahara see it. It would hopefully quell the man's curiosity for a little while.

"Aim a blast at me but make sure you're not in a direct line of fire," Ichigo said, gripping the black hilt with both hands. "It's a one time deal, you got that?"

"Once is better than nothing. Alright, I'm ready when you are," Urahara said, positioning himself better.

Ichigo let the energy flow through the strange weapon as it was completely covered in a dark, thin smoky aura. Just looking from where he was Urahara was have be having some second thought about this. Ichigo agreed so there was no backing out now. Urahara swung Benihime straight at Ichigo as sizable blast came at him. Urahara quickly got out of the way moment the red energy left his zanpakuto. Now it was Ichigo's turn. Ichigo swung his arms up and came back down with large blast of his own. It came out a dark distortion of the air as he raced towards the opposing energy. The two energies connected with each other. Soon enough Ichigo's attack completely reduced Urahara's attack to nothing and continued on, cutting into a large rock right across from him. The area was destroyed as an odd white dust covered the area.

Urahara stood at distance as he watched everything unfold before him. Sure enough Ichigo's new zanpakuto, if he could really call it that, totally nullified Benihime and did reduce the boulder to dust. He had never seen such a thing before. Just what kind of negative thoughts and actions had Ichigo made over the years? Uryu, Orihime, and Chad hurried over to check it out what they just witness from a distance. It seemed surreal to them.

"What is that stuff?" Uryu asked as Urahara reached down and went to pick up a white rock but it just turned to a gritty dust in his fingers.

"It's like a fine white sand in texture but it leaves an ash like residue," Urahara rubbed his fingers together, looking closely at the dust on them. "That is most certainly something new."

"It sort of reminds me of the white sand in Hueco Mundo," Orihime said, reaching down and grabbed a handful to look at it. "It has about same feel to it even."

The others also also grabbed a handful of strange gritty substance.

"She's right," Uryu said, looking at Urahara.

"It's also surprisingly cold to the touch," Chad added, looking at his hand full. "I was actually expect it to be warm at least."

"How don't really understand why it reduces everything to this ashy subtance," Ichigo said, looking at is own handful of white sand. "Getsuga Tensho never did this. This new zanpakuto just went right though Zangetsu's attack like it did Benihime's"

"Orihime… Just on whim do you think you can reject at least a part of the damage done?" Urahara asked, turning to look at her.

"Okay…" Orihime hummed. It was an odd request but she'd do it.

She called up Soten Kisshun and focused it on a small area. The dust didn't even move. That was odd. Rocks and such should be a cinch to fix but nothing happened. The white sand remained unchanged. She recalled them and Urahara examined at the area. It was still cold, white, ashy sand.

"That can't be good," Chad spoke up.

"She can't reject the damage that's been done?" Ichigo asked as Urahara took his hat back from Orihime. "Zangetsu mentioned that might be the case."

"Apparently, he was right. That can't be a good like Chad said," Urahara mused, putting Benihime away. "We will have to study that new power of yours very closely."

"I'm not doing anymore demonstrations," Ichigo said and Urahara groaned. "I don't care if you beg me."

"For now... I'll work what you have shown me. But I would use that blast as your very last resort," Urahara said as Ichigo dispersed the weapon. "If Orihime can't reject the damage done to a boulder that could be troubling. That new sword of yours has some real serious firepower."

"No need to tell me," Ichigo said, removing his mask.

"I do believe we've done enough for today," Urahara said, looking at everyone. "I'm going to study this and see what I can come up with. Ichigo, do stay a moment longer. The rest of you can head on topside."

The others started towards the ladder that led back up to the surface. Ichigo stayed behind as ordered. He watched Urahara pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and filled it with the fine sand.

"Why do you think your blast reduces things to this ashy substance?" Urahara asked and Ichigo shook his head.

"This is only the second time I've use this attack. At the time I fought my last ghoul I just sort of called it up out of desperation. I never tried to use its attack," Ichigo said, still looking looking at the sand in his hand "I had no idea that it would produce an attack like that when I used it against Zangetsu."

"Well… As you can see this is why I wanted you to be up front with your powers. To prevent something like this. You may have other abilties simular to this and not know it," Urahara state much to Ichigo's disliking. "Imagine if you did something like this in a crowed city not knowing that Orihime couldn't reject it. Think about the problems that would cause. Over this week, regardless if you like it or not, I want to spend some time just studying that new sword alone. I have never seen anything like it before. I want you to be fully aware of its capabilities before we put it into practical use."

"I'm not going to put it into pratical use," Ichigo dumping the sand out his hand. "Only when I have no other options."

"That's fine but you still need to know what it can do even if you only use it one other time. For now though... Go get bandaged up and get some lunch. I'm sure Ururu and Tessai have finished making it."

"You going to stay down here?"

"Yes, I just want to really get an idea about what happened."

"Catch you later then," Ichigo waved.

He turned and started towards the long white ladder. This was not helping him any. If Orihime couldn't even… No! He didn't need this right now. He finally made it home and he needed to focus on his personal life right now. He needed to focus on his friends and family when he wasn't down in the training grounds. He started up the ladder and got a better look at the damage done and it was a good amount. He didn't even put that much power into it. This new sword was certainly different from Zangetsu and he really had to understand it before a real disaster happened like Urahara had warned.

(A/N Oh, so long. So very long… So tired. I will get back to TG group next chapter. As anyone that follows TG you know what's going to happen. So I need to get Ichigo ready to return for that. I am also sad that the Bleach manga got cut short by the studio. That pissed me off. It was to run into September but nooo… Damn assholes… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Oh and bouns read at the end too.)

The Day After

"Ugh… Wh-what time is it?"

"Don't know, don't care…"

It was mid-afternoon before Akane and Amon started to wake. Somewhere somehow they managed to share the same small sofa to sleep on. She was at one end and he was the other, their bodies streched out on the other.

"Ow… I hurt," she moaned, trying to stretch out a little moe. "Ohhh, my head."

"Seriously, what time is it?" he asked again.

"It's daytime…" she groaned.

"Oh, okay…" he answered, dully. "Wh-when did we fall asleep?"

"I don't even remember the trip home and why are you even in my apartment?"

"You said I could stay the night."

"I have no memory of this."

"You yelled at me to shut the damn door."

"Oh… That I remember… Sort of…"

They sat quietly for a moment or two, just staring up at the dull ceiling.

"How hung over are we?" Amon asked.

"Very…" she drawled.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"Absolutely nothing…"

The air became quiet again before Amon laughed a little.

"Heh! That sounded like a meme…"

"I think you're still drunk…"

They both groaned and tried to stretch out to find space for their legs. They stopped and tried to settle again.

"One of us has to give up their spot," she said, lifting her head to look at him.

"I can't even lift my head much less a leg," he groaned. "I'm unable to move. You move."

"It's my apartment."

"I'm your guest."

She turned her head towards the coffee table. There was a bottle of pain killers sitting there. She reached out trying to grab them but was coming up way too short.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I can't reach it."

"Reach what?"

"The pain killers on the table."

She tried to scoot over a little more to get to them. Her bare feet kicked Amon in face.

"Hey, watch it," he pushed a foot out of his face along with the rest of her.

"I almost have them—Umph!"

She landed face first into the gap tween the sofa at the table. Her face was buried in the carpet.

"You know… I think I'll stay right here. Here is good," she muttered into the floor.

"Ha! I win."

"Win what?"

"All the sofa," he quickly took full advantage of it too.

"Damn you and all your… Forget it… Just fucking forget it…"

Millie M. Banshee