The moment that the door closed behind the blond, Yoruichi released Ichigo. Finally allowing the girl to breathe again. And not a moment too soon either. Ichigo had been temporarily debating on freeing herself by motorboating her tits before she finally simply suffocated.

Motorboating would have been weird since Yoruichi had come in calling herself her step mother. But then again... Nah- still weird.

"Okay, I've bought us a few minutes." The woman said before then shifting her attention back to Ichigo. She had noticed it upon arriving, but hadn't been able to say anything in front of the strangers- but Ichigo was still in her final Getsuga Tenshou form. Concern flitted across the woman's face as she asked, "Ichigo, why haven't you reverted back to your original form?"

"Because I can't." Ichigo said tiredly as she reached up to scrub her face with her hands.

The shock that those simple words wrought was mindboggling. Nearly as mindboggling as the unsaid implications of being able to hold and maintain the form for extended periods of time without breaking down or blowing herself to pieces.

Without thinking, the woman reached out and framed the girl's face and took a moment or so to study her. Really, really study. Her heart swelling and breaking at the same time.

Ichigo had come such a long way from the time she'd spent as a simple substitute soul reaper as a teenager. She'd grown so impressively powerful. Yoruichi was simultaneously proud and utterly horrified by what she and the others had done to the girl.

"How many others are left?"

The question should have caught the woman off guard, but it didn't. It was such an Ichigo-like question that it gave them both a sense of normalcy that they had been lacking of since the Winter War started. However... Ichigo didn't know about some of her friends dying.

Uryu, and Orihime... Nor did she know about Tatsuki and Keigo.

She also didn't know that Kenpachi had been killed. And Chad had taken up his name as the new Kenpachi in order to keep a promise that he'd made to the man in his dying moments.

She didn't know about Karin's death. Or Yuzu's disappearance...

Taking a moment to steady her nerves, because she knew that this was going to be difficult to tell Ichigo just as she knew that it was going to be painful for the girl to hear, she reached into one of her jacket pockets and pulled out a small kerchief that she'd used to wrap Uryu's Quincy pendant and Orihime's hair clips when she'd found them.

She hadn't really been thinking at the time but now- now that she had a little bit of peace and quiet, grabbing the pendant and hair clips simply made sense.

After all, Ichigo was part Quincy, and had the ability to use the pendant.

Just like her power had helped to awaken Orihime's own, making the Soten Kisshun- and their abilities- a small extension of herself. Which meant that she should be able to use them. Though Yoruichi had no idea how taking Ichigo's power would change the little fairy like beings any.

She might make them stronger. And at the same time she might make them more like weapons.

Kisuke would have a better idea of how things might go. She'd be sure to ask him about it later as she held the kerchief out to the girl and waited for her to take it.

The look on Ichigo's face as she took the kerchief spoke volumes without her having to say a word. She knew. She knew that her friends were gone without needing to be told.

"Who else?" Ichigo asked, the look in her eyes promising swift and painful retaliation if she so much as sensed a lie from her. Yoruichi understood the girl's feelings, so she didn't bother to try and lie to her in an effort to make her feel better or make things easier. It wasn't as if she needed to anyways.

Ichigo was a protector and warrior first and foremost. And she needed to know, the losses suffered on their end and take the time to mourn.

"Karin," She could see that the mention of her younger sister's name had dealt her a crushing blow. But Ichigo was nothing but strong. She would grit her teeth and bear the pain. "Tatsuki, Keigo, and Kenpachi."

Toshinori was well aware of the fact that the woman claiming to be Ichigo's step mother, wasn't. He was also well aware of the fact that she had lied to his face about the girl's ranking.

But not about her being the sole heir to a clan.

The two were hiding something, and though he was willing to give them just enough rope to hang themselves with- his bullshit-o-meter was going crazy at the moment. And he couldn't help but feel curious about what was really going on here.

Especially since most people wouldn't keep such a strangle hold on their children like the woman had on young Ichigo. Not only that but most people would have recognized himself, Nezu and Midnight. Yet the two hadn't. There had been no recognition, no shock, surprise- just...nothing.

It was as if they were total strangers to them.

Which was just a tad bit...confusing to the blond since his name, at the very least, was literally everywhere. Along with pictures of his face, information on his pro-hero status, what he was doing daily... Honestly meeting people who seemed to know nothing about him threw him a little bit.

Because he was so used to people knowing who he was. So he didn't really know what to do with these two. But he sort of liked the idea of just being an average Joe to them. This way he could honestly get to know them without using his hero status to make an impression.

Ichigo was sitting on the small bed with her head in her hands. The crushing weight of her failure as a protector, nearly suffocating her.

Why? Why was it always her and her loved ones? Why were they the ones who always had to step in and fight other people's battles? Clean up their damned messes? And save their stupid lives at great cost to themselves?

Why couldn't they just be left alone?

She knew that it was selfish to think this way, but dammit- after every battle that they had fought, every bit of pain and suffering and blood that they had spilled- their own, and their enemies. Didn't they at least deserve to be a little bit selfish?

To have the world ask them for their help and finally be able to say, 'Nah. This is your mess. Clean it up yourself.' Was that so wrong?

For fuck sake, they had been children when all of this nonsense had started!

Children should never have to fight the battles of grown men. They should never have been forced to carry the overwhelming burdens that others had placed on their young shoulders.

She closed her eyes for a moment in an effort to force back the urge to cry as Yoruichi finally asked, "What do you want to do about those people? I mean, they seem very intent on-"

"We take the blond's offer."

"Are you sure?"

"No." Ichigo said honestly. "But we still don't know this world, or the people. If we can utilize some of their resources...and better educate ourselves on everything."

"Then we'll be able to navigate everything easier. Hide better out in the open. I get it." Yoruichi said soberly before tacking on, "You'll have to play the part of an emperor."

"Fine." Ichigo said, grimly. Not entirely sure how she was supposed to pretend to be royalty when she wasn't.

"I'll contact Kisuke and Rukia then and let them know what's happening." Yoruichi said softly. Ichigo merely nodded her head without bothering to lift it or look at her.

The older woman understood her reasons, and merely reached out and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before then walking over to the door and telling the people outside that they'd take their offer. If only for the time being. And then asked for a few moments to contact the 'family' and let them know what was going on.