Chapter 9 – Resist the God (Moving forward)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
Strolling past the myriad of students, Ichigo quietly made his way back to his room. He was deep in thoughts, what the Captain of the 5th Division implied heavily pressing onto his mind. What kind of dark secret could have Rukia's Captain been hiding? Ichigo didn't know.
No matter how much he pressed, Aizen had refused to further elaborate on his words ever since he had mentioned them. That irritated the teen. Knowing that something was there but not knowing what it was really rubbed him in the wrong way. Was Aizen making fun of him, was he mocking him?
As he threw himself into shower to cool his head off, he recalled Rukia's words.
'The man gives me bad vibes.'
Certainly, on first glance, Aizen Sōsuke truly looked just like an ordinary, well-mannered and respected Captain who treated all of his subordinates kindly. Even Ichigo had to admit it. On first glance, no one could claim the man was anything else. But the weird feeling of having a knob twisting itself in his stomach every time he looked at the man's bright smile caused Ichigo to be wary of the Captain.
"Maybe I'm just paranoid…" He muttered and immersed himself in the cold water. He almost jumped out of his skin, though, when a familiar voice rang within his mind.
'Or maybe you're not.'
"Goddammit!" Ichigo yelped when he poured a bit of shampoo in his eyes, too surprised by the sudden words of his zanpakuto. The hysterical laughter only added salt to the wound as the teen desperately tried to get rid of the burning sensation with water.
"Shit… you bastard, couldn't you wait until I was done applying the thing? And since when you can talk to me like this?" He cursed and suppressed the urge to rub his eyes. They felt a bit itchy.
'Couldn't resist. Well, I could talk to you ever since you first came to your mindscape to meet me but I just thought 'fuck you' and decided to just laze around. I don't know why are you so surprised, though, you dimwit. Weren't you the one who whined for days because you were able to hear me laughing all those weeks ago?'
While he listened to the voice of his zanpakuto, Ichigo finished showering and stepped out of the shower with a scowl. An eerie chuckle filled his ears.
'Ha, you really didn't connect the dots.'
"Shut up. I just had many things on my mind." Ichigo muttered, a bit of red color creeping on his cheeks.
'Yeah, I saw. You met a MILF and a tight shorty. I mean, they weren't ugly but they're not your style either.'
Ichigo blinked and dried himself in silence. Only after lying down in bed he opened his mouth again.
"I don't think I want to have this kind of talk with my zanpakuto." He said shortly. Maybe the zanpakuto spirit felt the undertone in his voice because he replied really quickly.
'Fair enough. To return to the original point: Fuck this Aizen guy. He gives me the creeps.'
The teen turned around to lie on his side and sighed.
"Yeah, there's something… yeah, he gives me the creeps too. And I don't even know why. But I have to attend his classes or god know what kind of nonsense will principal make for me as a punishment."
'Sure, just don't get swallowed by his sweet nonsense. You're kind of okay so I'd hate to be forced to take some drastic action.'
…
However, truth to be told, even though Ichigo had claimed to feel some sort of a distaste every time he was in Aizen's presence and, despite his own zanpakuto words, it was really hard to resist losing that distaste. Captain of the 5th Division may have been suspicious, but his intelligence, the clever use of word plays, honest-looking confessions made it easy to become accustomed to him. While the man's smile still looked fake to Ichigo, the teen found himself subconsciously getting dragged into his statements and long explanations about the filth and dirt within Soul Society.
At first, Ichigo found it quite weird that a Captain of the Gotei 13 had such an opinion about the system, not to mention voicing it loudly, without fear of being prosecuted but, seeing all those students' glowing eyes whenever the man spoke, it became quite clear to him. Not a single student attending his seminar was ever going to betray Aizen's trust by reporting him to the higher-ups. They truly resembled, as Ichigo had felt during his first attendance, an occult. An occult circling one single entity, in this case called Aizen Sōsuke. He was their idol, the center of their universe.
Ichigo raised his eyebrow while walking through the Seiretei and shook his head.
Nah, he was exaggerating. But truly, there was a certain amount of unity between those who attended Aizen's seminar. It was probably just Ichigo who thought it was a bit creepy.
Nevertheless, Ichigo had learned many things from him. While he had heard something about every Captain of Gotei 13 from Rukia's mouth all those long weeks ago, it was refreshing to hear an option of somebody else. And Aizen gladly told him bits and pieces. Actually, Aizen gave him his opinion on almost anything he asked him about. Ichigo looked forward to discuss it with Rukia, once she returned from yet another trip to the Human World.
"Oh, Ichigo-kun."
"Captain Kyōraku." The teen replied automatically without even turning to the owner of the voice. It wasn't needed. There was only one person in the Soul Society who called him like that.
"I'm on my way to meet Captain Ukitake for a cup of… tea. Would you like to join us?" The Captain asked cheerfully and cautiously put a piece of paper into his pocket before Ichigo turned to face him.
With a thoughtful expression, the teen refused.
"Uh, no thanks, I'm actually on my way to train."
"Hmm, I see. Well, I can't object to honing your skills but don't overdo it, Ichigo-kun. Being too perfect can be scary." Kyōraku said in an honest tone. Ichigo blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden statement but it didn't last for long.
"I'll keep that in mind, Kyōraku-san. I'll be on my way." Ichigo said, not noticing the small hint of worry in the Captain's gaze.
As he was slowly walking away from the man, Ichigo remembered something.
'Speaking of Captain Ukitake.' He thought and spun around.
"Captain Kyōraku?" He called after the man in flowery haori. The Captain of the 8th Division stopped and glanced back at him.
"Yes, Ichigo-kun?"
"Do you know where is the Daireishokairō and how could I get in there?"
Ichigo couldn't see it from the distance separating the two of them but Kyōraku actually paled a little after hearing the question.
"The Daireishokairō?"
"Yeah, the Great Spirit Book Gallery. I heard it contains all and every information the Seiretei possesses."
For the first time since he had met him, Ichigo noticed that Kyōraku appeared to be more than reluctant to answer him. The Captain's brow creased in a frown as he stared at the teen with a meaningful gaze.
"I'm afraid it is impossible for you to go there, Ichigo-kun. The Great Spirit Book Gallery is an area with a restricted access. Even Captains need permission from the Central 46 to enter it."
Ichigo raised both his eyebrows.
"Oh… I see. Never mind then."
…
Watching the teen leave, Kyōraku's frown deepened. That couldn't have been just a coincidence. There was no way Ichigo would ask him such a question precisely at the time when Kyōraku was coming from the Great Spirit Book Gallery himself. Touching the paper safely secured within his pocket, he shook his head. He needed Ukitake's input on this matter. Increasing the tempo of his steps, he shortly arrived to the office of the Captain of the 13th Division and knocked on the door.
"Jūshirō, it's me."
A cough later, he heard a gentle voice.
"Come in."
Inside the office, Kyōraku muttered a short incantation and only then joined the other Captain. Ukitake raised his head from the stack of papers with an alarmed expression.
"A barrier? Shunsui, what's going on?" He asked when he recognized the words his friend had mumbled seconds before. Kyōraku settled down in a small comfortable chair and looked at the white-haired Captain.
"Jūshirō, remember when I told you I was going into the Daireishokairō to gather some information?"
With a worried expression, Ukitake pushed the stack of papers away so he had a clear view on the other man's face.
"I do."
"Well, I just met Ichigo-kun and do you know what he just asked me?"
"No idea."
"He asked me how he could get in the Daireishokairō because he heard he could find any information in there."
Ukitake leaned to the side with a confused expression.
"I don't see the problem. He is a smart kid, it's only natural he'd want to study."
Kyōraku shook his head.
"Jūshirō. He asked me the question just as I was returning from the place. And now he has been forced to attend 'his' seminar. Because he 'caught his attention'. The timing and everything else is just… too convenient." He said urgently. Ukitake frowned.
"You think…"
"That's not all, Jūshirō. I think what I have found in the Daireishokairō confirms our suspicions. Ichigo-kun's story now makes more sense than ever." Kyōraku stated and took out a small piece of paper from his pocket. He showed it to Ukitake, who read what was written on it.
A violent coughing fit attacked his body. With painful expression, Kyōraku quickly moved around the room and handed him a glass of water once the fit stopped. Ukitake took a few calming deep breaths and gulped the contents of the glass down.
"Do you still think it's all just a big coincidence, Jūshirō?"
"Shunsui… how, how did you find this?"
Satisfied that his friend now believed him, Kyōraku moved back to the chair and sat down.
"Well, do you remember how Isshin-kun came to you shortly before he disappeared?"
Ukitake nodded with a sad smile.
"Yes, it was quite funny to see a member of Shiba clan so embarrassed. It took him full two hours to get comfortable enough to tell me about the girl. I think it had something to do with me being the only person he ever talked to about her." He chuckled softly. Kyōraku pressed further.
"Her name was Masaki, right?"
"As far as I remember."
Kyōraku stopped talking and made himself and his friend a tea. He waited until it was cold enough to sip and only then he continued talking.
"So, after I met Ichigo-kun and had a conversation with him, I became quite convinced that what you said about him may be true. That he may be a reincarnated Shiba. However, after putting some facts from his story together, I changed my mind and made a wild guess. What if Isshin-kun didn't die and disappeared to the Human world? What are the chances he would have gotten together with the girl? You know how Isshin-kun was, if he liked the girl he was going to come after her until she surrendered to him. So, maybe, just maybe, they got together and had a son. Not only he would have Shiba genes, making his appearance quite noticeable, he would also be a new kind of soul. A hybrid. Somebody worth of 'his' attention." He talked for a few minutes so he took a short breather. Ukitake was intently listening.
"But it was just a speculation. So, I asked for a permission to enter the Daireishokairō. If Ichigo-kun's name is Kurosaki and if my hunch was right, his mother's name was Masaki Kurosaki. Because of that, I searched every entry on the name Kurosaki for days and guess what I discovered?"
He took another sip of tea.
"Two hundred years ago, before the regrettable purge, Kurosaki was a name of a prominent Quincy clan."
His statement was followed with a long and heavy silence, interrupted only by occasional sipping of a warm tea.
"Of course, this doesn't prove anything. It is still just a theory. However, looking at every fact, it all makes perfect sense. Kurosaki Ichigo is actually Shiba Ichigo, a hybrid offspring of a Shinigami and a Quincy." Kyōraku said.
"And 'he' is interested in him." Ukitake added grimly. Kyōraku nodded.
"Yeah… that's what's bothering me the most."
…
It was an early Sunday morning when Ichigo walked down the Seiretei with Rukia on his side, the Kuchiki explaining the new information about the mysterious group of enemies she and the others had encountered.
"…I've never seen Captain Kurotsuchi so aggravated before. Not that I'm surprised. Whoever erased all of his data about these 'Bounts', must have been very bold. I almost pity the poor officer who was in charge of security." She said, synchronizing her steps with Ichigo's large leaps with a frown. He was doing them too large just to annoy her. She was sure of it.
Shrugging the sudden irate kick to the shin with a smirk, Ichigo squinted his eyes.
"Truth to be told, I've never even seen the guy but from what I've heard, he must be one hell of a nutcase."
"Shhh!" She kicked him again and this time the kick resulted in Ichigo's watery eyes.
"Ow, crazy woman what are you doing?"
Rukia glanced around and then sighed in relief. She rounded on him soon after that.
"Ichigo, I'll teach you two most important rules about Captain Kurotsuchi. Rule number one, you do not talk about Captain Kurotsuchi. Rule number two, you DO NOT talk about Captain Kurotsuchi!"
"Uhm… what?" Ichigo blinked twice to clear his confusion. It didn't help. Motioning him to lean over so she could whisper into his ear, Rukia tiptoed to reach it.
"Every once in a while, when somebody badmouths Captain Kurotsuchi in a broad daylight, that somebody disappears for a few days only to return with no memories. The rumor is, Captain Kurotsuchi picks such poor souls and conducts experiments on them. Trust me, you do not want to let him conduct experiments on you." She shuddered cutely with a grimace. Ichigo almost laughed.
"Right. Nevertheless, there hasn't been a single person that could tell me anything good about him."
Rukia abandoned the grimace and shrugged.
"Well he isn't particularly… nice." She said after a moment of hesitation.
"But now you at least now who you are going up against. Even that must be somewhat helpful, right?" Ichigo asked after they made several quiet steps.
"I guess. As far as I'm concerned, until Captain Kurotsuchi repairs the databanks, I have gained some days off. That's nice. Gives me time to… socialize." The last part was said in a slightly strained tone and, for some reason, she refused to meet Ichigo's reason. The teen said nothing to that. He learned not to.
For a while, they walked in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the sunny, yet quite cold beginning of the day. However, when Ichigo noticed the path they were taking, he raised an eyebrow.
"Are you purposely leading me somewhere?"
"Yep."
"…and you're not going to tell me where."
"Yep."
"Should I be worried?"
"Nope."
"Could you talk like a normal person again?"
"Nope."
Ichigo sighed. Every once in a while, when Rukia had a particularly good mood, she grew to enjoy teasing him with a slightly changed behavior. It was a bit eccentric but that wasn't what was irritating the teen. It was the notion that she looked like an ordinary and carefree teenager when she did that. He did not like that. He did not like that because it made the worries she was hiding behind those big, gentle eyes, stand out more jarringly. But, for her sake, he had never said a word. It would have been pointless. He knew she was aware of what he could see and that she appreciated his silence on the matter. Their long conversations in the evenings at the bar near the academy allowed for such a sentiment to develop.
It didn't take long before the road Rukia had chosen ended, leaving the two of them standing in front of a gate with a sign for 11th Division. Recalling everything he knew about this division's Captain, Ichigo felt a bead of sweat tickling the skin above his right cheekbone.
"Rukia? Why the hell are we here?"
Perhaps recognizing the slightly uneasy tone in his voice, the female shinigami offered him a comforting smile.
"Don't worry about Captain Zaraki Kenpachi. He's not here at the moment. We're here because there is someone who stubbornly insisted he wants to see you."
"That someone could have just visited me at the Academy."
Ignoring his grumbling, once the gate opened, she led him inside. Maneuvering around the various buildings, they headed towards one that stood a bit on a far side.
"Ah, Kuchiki, thanks for bringing him."
A strong voice reached them as soon as they reached the veranda. A bald shinigami, Ichigo remembered to be Ikkaku, greeted them with a wave of his hand.
"Ikkaku-san." Rukia nodded in response.
"I don't mean to be rude but what did you want from me?" Ichigo asked impatiently. Ikkaku snorted and pointed backwards, at the door leading to the office behind him.
"It's not me who wants to see you. Hey, Yumichika, he's here!"
From within the building, the shinigami with a slightly feminine appearance peeked at them and, noticing Ichigo, he quickly made his way out.
"Oh, good. I just finished making my hair. Here." Yumichika stepped to Ichigo and nodded to him.
"I asked Kuchiki-san to bring you here because my pride as a member of the 11th Division is telling me I should thank you for your help during our mission in the Human World."
"Uhm…" Ichigo just stared at him without blinking as he didn't know how to react. Fortunately, he managed to recover in a few seconds' time.
"Yeah, sure. It was nothing. I only helped a little so I don't really think this is necessary."
Yumichika took a sharp intake of breath.
"No, no, no. You don't understand Kurosaki-san. It would be very ugly of me not to thank you properly and I really hate ugly things. You saved my pride by knocking me out there, you know?" He vehemently shook his head and motioned Ichigo and Rukia to sit down at the veranda. Seeing the lack of understanding in Ichigo's expression, Yumichika elaborated on his words.
"I'm sure you have heard of our division. To die in battle is our honor. We believe that if we are going to die anyway, we have to go down gloriously. Under normal circumstances, I would have no qualms with myself if I have died that day. However, to die while my will and my body was being manipulated, to die in a fight against a comrade… that would have been a nightmare. A hideous death. It makes me shudder to even think about it." Yumichika said and, to prove his point, shuddered exaggeratedly.
'He's a… bit of a drama queen.' Ichigo mentally sighed. On the other hand, Yumichika Ayasegawa also didn't look like a bad person.
"I see."
"How can I repay you?"
Ichigo almost spat out in surprise. He turned to the man and rapidly shook his head.
"It's okay, really."
"I insist. Repaying one's debt is a beautiful thing. I know, how about I make your hair?"
Alarms ringing in his head, Ichigo scooted a bit away from the smiling man and put his hands in front of himself.
"My hair is fine as it is!"
"I'm not saying it is not but I see room for improvement."
Ichigo desperately glanced at Rukia, only to find her staring at the ground with clenched fists, fiercely trying to stifle a laugh. She had tears at the corners of her ears and she was biting her lips.
'Bitch!'
"Just pick anything because he is not going to give up, you know." Ikkaku, so far silent, spoke and took a gulp from a jug that was placed next to him.
Turning back to Yumichika's expectant face, Ichigo wanted to groan. In the last moment, his zanpakuto came to his rescue.
'Just ask him for a spar.'
'Huh?' Ichigo reacted by blinking. He no longer got surprised at suddenly hearing the voice in his head.
'I'm saying ask for a spar. He's a member of the 11th Division and they are known to be good fighters, right? And since he went on a mission with the pineapple and your ice queen he's probably high-ranking officer too. It'll also do you good to try fighting somebody else than me. Hell, you may even surprise me after this… I hope, at least. You've been falling into a routine lately.'His zanpakuto said in a bored tone.
'…screw you, you almost bisected me the last time I tried something new!'
'And who's the drama queen now?'
'Bastard.'
'Dumbass.'
"Um, Kurosaki-san?"
Ichigo snapped to the reality when he noticed Yumichika staring at him from a close distance. He leaned backwards and took a deep breath.
"Call me Ichigo. I'm not really a fan of honorifics. To the point, if you're so hell-bent on repaying me in some way, I think I have something in mind."
Yumichika tilted his head but didn't respond. Eagerly, he simply waited for Ichigo to continue.
"How about a spar?"
"!"
Next to them, Ikkaku spat a large amount of whatever he was drinking from the jug and coughed several times to get a hold of his breathing. Wiping his mouth, he looked at Ichigo with incredulous stare.
"A seated officer offers you anything and you ask for a spar?"
The teen shrugged.
"What's wrong with it?"
Ikkaku kept his gaze on Ichigo for a while longer. Then he burst into laughter.
"Haha, I like you, kid." That was all he said as he continued to laugh until tears came out of his eyes and his body bent over. Ichigo didn't understand what was so funny and tried to glance at Rukia for support for a second time. This time, she offered him a sympathetic smile.
"What?" He threw his hands in the air, exasperated.
"Are you serious?" Yumichika, unlike Ikkaku, stared at him completely serious. Ichigo briefly nodded.
"Yeah, it's the only thing that I could come up with. I don't really prefer having people feeling they owe me something and this, the spar, could help me in the long term. It would be nice to try and fight somebody else than my zanpakuto."
At that, Ikkaku finally stopped laughing and gazed upon him with clear interest in his eyes.
"You can already materialize your zanpakuto?"
"Huh? No, we do it in my mindscape. I don't even know the name of the guy, yet."
"I see."
"Why don't you ask one of your classmates to spar with you?" Yumichika asked, still miffed about the request.
"Uhm…" Ichigo went quiet, prompting Rukia to roll her eyes at him.
"Because he's too strong to spar with a simple student. He's just too shy to admit it." She said with a sigh.
"Hey, woman, I told you I'm not shy! It's called being modest. Modest!" Ichigo exclaimed and sent her a dirty look. In return she simply waggled her tongue at him.
Before Yumichika could react to that, Ikkaku lightly slapped him on a shoulder.
"I think I have no problems believing that. Not after feeling your reiatsu back then."
When Yumichika silently turned to look at him with a question in his eyes, Ikkaku pointed at Ichigo.
"You were unconscious at that time, Yumichika, so you may not know this but this guy, he definitely isn't your average student. Now that I'm saying it, I think I want to see you two spar. Maybe I'll even join you."
Since things were settled with that statement, it took only a short while for Yumichika to prepare. He took the teen to a nearby abandoned training ground, where he told Ikkaku and Rukia, who eagerly followed them, to watch from a short distance.
"Okay, since I'm a 5th seat, it would be humiliating to give you, an academy student, any handicap. And humiliating is ugly. So you can use whatever you want."
…
Half an hour later
"You have got to be kidding me." Ikkaku said after the cloud of dust settled down. He and Rukia hurried towards the place where the two combatants crossed their blades last time to find them both panting heavily. Yet still, both of them stood their ground. They sported several minor injuries and even a few droplets of blood were scattered across the whole training ground but ichigo and Yumichika were mostly fine. The only thing damaged was their stamina.
"Unbelievable." Yumichika panted and shook his head.
"I was still unable to win." Ichigo said and groaned when he tried to stretch his back. The elbow hit to the kidneys he had received was already forming a bruise.
Ikkaku laughed but, unlike half an hour ago, this was a controlled chuckle.
"Ichigo, you don't probably realize but I don't think I have ever seen an Academy student who could fight somebody like Yumichika to a stalemate with just Zanjutsu and Hakuda. Damn… you have just earned my respect."
Seeing the teen was still not really convinced of his achievement, Ikkaku continued.
"Moreover, don't think of this match as a spar with a 5th seat. Yumichika may be just that and I'm physically stronger then him, but ability-wise? He's a better fighter than even I am and I'm a 3rd seat."
"Really?" Ichigo turned to look at Yumichika, who chuckled.
"Well, Ikkaku likes to overrate me but the truth is, I'm 5th seat only because he already claimed the 3rd seat and I thought the kanji for number 4 looked ugly. So I settled for the number 5."
The revelation surprised the teen but, as he thought about it after he and Rukia left the 11th Division area, it wasn't really that surprising. The spar with Yumichika felt completely different than any fight he had so far. Truthfully, he was mostly sure the spiritual pressure he could generate at full power was stronger than Yumichika's but skill-wise? The 5th seat was loads better than him. Sure, he could overwhelm him with pure raw power and strength for a while but having a worse skill-set prevented him from winning.
He was glad he decided to listen to his zanpakuto and ask for the spar. He could now differentiate between shinigami.
Those at the academy were below him. Unseated officers of Gotei 13 were below him. Most of the seated officers were mostly below him now. With every passing week, every passing day, he was getting better, stronger, faster and more powerful. But the upper echelon of the Gotei 13 was still in the distance. They all held one large, difficult to bypass, advantage over him.
Battle experience. Most of the high ranking seated officers had lots of it. Years under service. Decades, some of the Captains even centuries.
So, at the Academy, he was maybe a 'monster' but compared to the best of the Gotei 13? He was an ant to be squashed by an elephant.
Surprisingly, such an epiphany did not discourage him in the least. On the contrary, it only poured further strength and resolve into his veins. He was getting there. Slowly but inevitably. He was going to catch up. And then, he was going to change things.
In the process, he gained two new associates with the potential to become comrades. Ikkaku emphasized the notion when he told Ichigo to stop by the 11th Division barracks once in a while as he, too, was interested in a spar with him.
Funnily enough, from that point onwards, Rukia refused to look at him and appeared to be sulking. He had resisted the urge to talk to her for a while, but since the silence between them was less than comfortable, he gave up halfway to the academy.
"Okay, spill it. What's bothering you so much?"
Instead of replying, Rukia pouted and turned her head away. Dramatically, Ichigo sighed and threw his hands in the air.
"Fine, fine, what is on your mind, oh, great Rukia-sama?"
A kick to the shin later, he massaged the sore place.
"Idiot." She said but he could see the corners of her moth twitching. She fought it but, after a minute, she closed her eyes.
"If you wanted a sparring partner, you could have said something. I'd have been happy to help you, you know?" With her gaze pointed to the side, she mumbled.
Her expression was a bit gloomy and Ichigo noticed it. He heard her words but could not respond to them immediately. Because he did not expect hearing such a thing from Rukia, he didn't know what to say to her. It took a few seconds till his brain caught up with his sense of hearing and reacted to it with an overflow of, for Ichigo, confusing emotions. Three times, he opened his mouth to say something but stopped before any actual sound came out of his vocal chords. All of the responses he came up with sounded too awkward and just not good enough. He settled for the simplest thing he could.
Honesty.
"Sorry."
Rukia's head snapped one hundred and eighty degrees to the left and she stared at him with surprised eyes. Ichigo almost chuckled.
"Don't look at me like that. I can say sorry sometimes, you know? You are right, I could have asked you to spar with me."
Despite being obviously happy with his reaction, she couldn't help herself but to mumble accusingly.
"So why didn't you?"
"Honestly? Because I never thought about it. I just became accustomed to sparring with my zanpakuto and sparring with another person never came up in my mind. I just asked Yumichika-san for it because my zanpakuto spirit actually recommended it to me in that moment. Now, I'd say it would be really helpful if I could sometimes spar with you too. You know… trying to go against people with different fighting styles." He answered lengthily.
After that, Rukia was silent for a while and looked as if she was talking to herself. However, in time, a small smile appeared on her face. It grew wider and wider with every single step and before long, she was grinning widely. She smacked Ichigo on his back and jumped forward, while facing him with her grin.
"I could do that, strawberry."
…
'Again… damn, why do I feel this inexplicable emotion whenever I look at this symbol?' Ichigo mentally cursed as he glared at the kanji for moon he had written on a paper in front of him. There was definitely something wrong with him. What surprised him was that not even his zanpakuto spirit, always so happy to take a verbal jab at him, said anything in response.
"Is something the matter, Kurosaki-san?" Aizen asked politely. With a sigh, the teen shook his head.
Once again, he was sitting next to Aizen at the man's seminar of calligraphy, forced to survive the stifling atmosphere. Although, there was no real need for him to force himself to attend the class. Actually, he had been looking forward to it. Just a little bit.
Not because he liked the class or calligraphy at all. It was just his piqued interest that was causing him to come here without a deep scowl. The Captain of the 5th Division rarely ended the class without telling something interesting to Ichigo.
"I wonder, you've been drawing this same symbol ever since you came here for the first time. Is it something that has been on your mind lately?" The Captain asked another question. Still staring at the paper, Ichigo shook his head for the second time.
"I just get this… unearthly feeling every time I see this symbol. It seems I've begun to draw it rather subconsciously and I have no freaking idea why." He said with a frown and put the brush down. Mimicking his action, Aizen smiled.
"May I offer some input on that?"
Ichigo leaned backwards and supported his back on a wall.
"Be my guest."
Making sure the rest of the class was doing what they had been instructed to do, Aizen went silent for a moment.
"Am I correct in assuming you have not yet achieved your Shikai release, Kurosaki-san?"
"…yeah."
"Very well. In that case, I do think it is your soul trying to give you a hint of what is one of its own traits. Communication is necessary for a shinigami to achieve the initial release of his zanpakuto. Be it direct or indirect. Whether you are already able to interact with your zanpakuto spirit or not, I think it is attempting to send you a signal." Aizen explained in a kind tone.
"Uh, you mean my soul or my zanpakuto?"
"Aren't they the same, Kurosaki-san?"
Ichigo puffed out some air and closed his eyes.
"You kind of like talking in vague terms, don't you?" This earned the teen a brief chuckle that came from the Captain.
"Maybe."
Ichigo snorted.
'Didn't expect any other answer.' He added mentally.
The class continued slowly, with breaks either for a cup of hot tea or a cup of hot coffee, based on the students' preferences. Ichigo did not join most of the conversations between the students and, instead, opted to just listen to the various opinions that differed from person to person. They did not talk about anything serious or that much interesting for his tastes, so he just continued drawing. It took almost an hour before he used his voice again.
"You still didn't tell me what you meant when you mentioned Captain's Ukitake dark secret." He asked quietly. Since the question came all of a sudden, it caused the Captain to abruptly stop drawing. Humming to himself, he didn't answer immediately.
"I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place. It was quite rude of me to insinuate that my colleague has some 'dark secret'. I do apologize for that, Kurosaki-san. Could you please forget about it?"
Scowling at him, Ichigo crossed his arms.
"I hope you're not serious." Finally, the Captain decided to talk about this matter but the teen had definitely not expected such a reaction.
Aizen sighed.
"I guess I am not. I should have known you wouldn't let it go so easily. Very well, Kurosaki-san, I shall tell you what I can. Though I do think you will be disappointed, it's not really a dark secret. It's just something Captain Ukitake is not very proud of."
Leaning forward, Ichigo stared at him.
"I'm all ears."
Aizen allowed himself a tiny smirk that disappeared sooner than the teen could have noticed it before he opened his mouth.
"I'm sure you have heard of the tragedy that affected the 13th Division a few decades ago, when its Vice-Captain, Shiba Kaien so regrettably lost his life."
Ichigo blinked and, for a moment, hesitated. Every single time the name Shiba Kaien was mentioned, it also came with Rukia's name. By now, he was certain this incident had created some sort of a great issue within the female shinigami. Now it seemed he was getting very close to the truth behind that day. Was he allowed to know without Rukia's consent? He wasn't the person who would trample over the feelings of the others and would carelessly pry information about them when they obviously weren't ready to share them.
Although, he asked Aizen about Captain Ukitake so there was a good chance Rukia wasn't going to be mentioned. He chose.
"Yes, I've heard."
"The truth is, Shiba Kaien caused his own death that day. However, what plagues Captain Ukitake is the fact that he could have prevented it but failed to do so because of his weakness."
Staring at him for a while, Ichigo absorbed the information with a confused expression.
"…that's all?"
"Kurosaki-san. That is all I can tell you. There is more, a lot more to that incident but it's a matter too personal for Captain Ukitake and one of his underlings. I can't say it for them. It would be unfair to their pain."
Blinking, Ichigo had the decency to look abashed. Vaguely hearing the Captain's words, he grimaced.
'…so I was right. That underling can't be anyone but Rukia. This Kaien is the greatest source of her anguish.'
"I understand."
…
Having nothing else to do during a cold evening, Ichigo was standing in front of the large Senkaimon gate, waiting for Rukia and her group to return from their another trip to the Human World. Normally, he wouldn't have known about their arrival, but it seemed Captain Ukitake was very pleased with effect Ichigo's presence had on Rukia and so, recently, he often gave him a timetable of her workload. Of course, he did it privately, without Rukia's knowledge. Ichigo had protested the first time the Captain tried to give to him, as he didn't really felt he should have it, but then, after he received a few words from his zanpakuto, he accepted it. Later, he thanked the spirit for that because it had proven to be a great teasing material. It irritated Rukia immensely, to find him playing a role of a bored and relaxed individual near the Senkaimon whenever she had to go to the Human World for work.
Doing such a teasing scene, however, left his mind for now. It seemed Rukia's group had encountered some troubles so he just waited with a serious look on his face. The information proved to be true as soon as the female Kuchiki walked out of the Senkaimon and the teen got a good look at her eyes. The rest of the group came out along with her and, seeing their state, Ichigo grimaced.
"You guys look like shit."
"Not just look, I feel like that too." Renji said and groaned. Putting one of his hands on his ribs, he gritted his teeth.
"…damn I think they really are broken." He muttered and spat on the ground angrily.
"Captain won't like this…" Ikkaku muttered behind him, supported by Yumichika, both of them heavily bandaged.
Stopping in front of Rukia, Ichigo leaned lower and asked quietly.
"What happened? You alright?"
Rukia nodded and tried to smile but she was visibly in pain, so it came out as a grimace.
"We came across a former member of the 11th Division. Along with these Bounts, they gave us quite a beating. Renji even had to ask permission to release his limiter. If he didn't… I'm not sure we would have escaped."
While she was speaking, Ichigo looked at her with an unreadable expression. After she finished, he nodded to himself and maneuvered around her. With a quick grab, he picked her up on his back, making it a piggyback ride.
"I-Ichigo, what are you doing?" She spluttered, extremely embarrassed.
"Just shut it. You guys obviously need to visit the 4th Division. I'm just speeding up the process." He retorted with disinterest. Hearing a light cough behind him, he turned around to see Renji staring at the ground and Ikkaku openly smirking at him.
"You sure work fast, Ichigo."
The teen smirked back.
"I would have picked any of you but, being a midget, she's the lightest. Don't make such a big deal out of it. Or are you jealous that Yumichika-san isn't giving you the same treatment?"
"Oi!"
"Hey!"
"I'm not a midget!"
Being on the receiving end of a set of glares and a punch to the head, Ichigo just grinned.
…
"Yes, I've heard about this case. Bounts, wasn't it?" Aizen replied and took a sip out of the steaming cup of tea. Scrunching his chin in an attempt to further increase his focus, Ichigo swung the brush downwards and then put it away. He raised one eyebrow, satisfied with the kanji he had drawn and turned to the Captain.
He was, once again, attending the calligraphy class. Two days had passed since Rukia and her group returned, beaten up and with some bad news. Since it seemed this case was looking more and more difficult, Ichigo decided to look for some information. He was still cautious when around the Captain of the 5th Division but, during the past few weeks, the man had done nothing else then politely talking with him and so Ichigo decided to lower the amount of suspicion he felt towards him.
"Yeah, Bounts."
"Hmm." Aizen hummed and put the cup back on the saucer. With one finger on his mouth, the eyes behind his glasses twinkled.
"I don't know much about them. This is mainly Captain Kurotsuchi's area of expertise. The only thing I know is that the first mention of them predates the current Shinigami Research and Development Institute. I think it predates even the Captain Kurotsuchi's predecessor, the previous Captain of the 12th Division. However, Captain Kurotsuchi should have all the data there is on these Bounts. You should talk to him."
Ichigo made a wry face and shook his head.
"Nah, I don't think I want to meet this guy… uhm, Captain Kurotsuchi." He said in a sour tone. Then he blinked.
"Did you just say the previous Captain of the 12th Division? Do you know who that was? I read about the history of Gotei 13 but some parts, along with this name, have been either erased or made unreadable."
Aizen mysteriously smiled.
"Oh yes, I knew him."
…
Like a hurricane, Ichigo was storming through the Seiretei, his anger causing him to release the full weight of his reiatsu on his surroundings, the seal tattooed on his skin already unsealed. He was gritting his teeth, his fist were clenched and his anger didn't seem to be decreasing. He was just so angry. Irrationally but also unstoppably. Since some of the members of the 13th Division knew him from his visits, they didn't even think of stopping him when he blitzed past them. Only the reiatsu that hit them caused them to worry a bit.
The teen only stopped in front of the office of Captain Ukitake. He banged on the doors.
"Captain Ukitake! I need to speak with Rukia!"
Maybe feeling the emotion within his reiatsu, Ukitake was silent for a minute. Then the doors to his office opened and the wide-eyed Rukia peeked out of them.
"Ichigo? What is going on? And please lower you-"
"Come with me." Ichigo didn't even let her finish talking and grabbed her by the hand. Using Shunpo, he disappeared from the area of the 13th Division and, after several more jumps, he landed on the outskirts of the Seiretei, at the edge of a small meadow. Rukia painfully landed on her butt.
"What the hell, Ichigo?!" She jumped back up but the pressure from Ichigo pressed on her with all of its might, making her go silent.
"You…" He said, his voice shaking from the anger. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself at least a little bit down, he continued.
"Tell me, Rukia. Did you really mean what you said back then, when Kazumi was still alive?"
The sudden question caught the female shinigami really off-guard and she blinked.
"W-what?" She stuttered, completely confused. Aggressively, the teen punched the tree right next to her, toppling it down with a loud rumble.
"I asked if you really meant those words… 'I wanted to help you, to save you'. Did. You. Fucking. Mean. It?"
Rukia yelped and scooted backwards. With a horrified gaze, she raised her finger and pointed it at him.
"I-Ichigo, y-your eye…" She said, pointing at his left eye, in which the white color of his sclera was slowly being replaced with black. Growling, he slapped the hand away.
"I asked you something!"
Rukia gulped and backed away, her limbs trembling with fear. She had never seen Ichigo so mad, so… furious. Even his reiatsu felt different. Animalistic. Threatening.
"I-I… of course I meant it."
"LIAR!"
He punched the air next to her, causing her to pale considerably. Whatever was making him angry, she just hoped he would explain it to her before he possibly killed her.
"Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihōin! Two of the biggest traitors of the Soul Society and you had one of them 'helping' me? That damned cat is a former Captain, god fucking damn it! Why didn't she save Kazumi!? She easily could have! FUCK!" He yelled and dropped on his knees. Angrily, he punched the ground strong enough to create a crack in it.
Completely white in face, Rukia blinked.
"I…I… I didn't know. I mean I've heard about Yoruichi Shihōin but I never thought the cat was her. Now that you mention it, she came to me because Urahara Kisuke sent her. Yeah, that makes sense. But I never put the two and two together and so it never occurred to me it could have been her in that cat form and..." She began to ramble, staring in front of her. Her eyes were not focused on anything. She just stood there completely frozen. Only her mouth was moving.
On the other hand, Ichigo was burning with anger. Nothing Rukia said could have extinguished it. No, he was too… hurt for that. He needed somebody to put the guilt into. He needed to have somebody to be angry with.
"Shit!" He punched the ground again. This time, his strike was weaker.
"...I always knew Urahara Kisuke has been labeled a traitor but he's always been so helpful. Whenever I was in Human World and in trouble, he would give me a helping hand without wanting anything in return. He treated me well, even when I was buying merchandize from him he was polite and kind. Shady, yes, but polite. So I have never thought of him as a criminal. And Yoruichi-san. I should have realized who she was…"
He was enraged and bitter but he couldn't tune out all those words that had begun to pour out of Rukia's mouth like a waterfall of confessions. He wanted to punch her, yell at her again but… she looked so pitiful. So weak and vulnerable. Those large eyes filled with tears were not fair. Looking deep into them, Ichigo felt he was losing the fury within his veins.
The cloud covering his logic was ever so slowly dispersing and allowing him to think with rationale.
She truly didn't know. She hadn't lied to him back then and wasn't lying to him right now, too.
Minutes were passing painfully slow, the air filled with silence, occasionally broken with Rukia's never-ending rambling. The reiatsu, heavily pressing on the surroundings was deflating. Anger was still there but it was now controlled.
Pushing himself up, Ichigo moved towards Rukia and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you really, really telling the truth?"
As soon as she felt his touch, she broke out of trance and stared at him with watery eyes.
"…Oh god I'm sorry, Ichigo. I'm so sorry." She hugged him and began to openly cry.
He just patted her on her back and glared at nothing in particular with a powerful gaze.
'You better have a fucking fantastic reason prepared next time we meet, Yoruichi Shihōin and Urahara Kisuke.' He thought but then bit his lip.
'No, fuck that. As soon as I see you, you're dead. Both of you.'
End of chapter 9.
Back with another chapter. Hope you liked it. We're progressing smoothly through the story and, as you can see, many 'keikkaku' are already happening.
Shunsui, you sly bastard, you have already figured out Ichigo's identity? Did not expect less from you. Aizen, you smooth bastard, you are trying to manipulate Ichigo rather nicely. Rukia, your relationship with Ichigo is growing steady. Ichigo... you dumbass.
We're moving towards some rather big plot points, hence the subtitle of this chapter.
*Mr_Crimson_Fucker - (cool name btw :D ) yes, I know quincy zangetsu can't be dominant and he won't be. I have plans for Ichigo's powers. I do plan exactly that with Aizen and Ichigo, see this chapter. Yes, Isshin powers are back and he will return to Soul Society... in time.
*Takei_Daloui - indirect manipulation is the best manipulation! :D
*Harbinger_Of_Kaos - well, it is obvious for us and, moreover, Aizen is making sure ichigo will think otherwise. Sui-Feng... i don't really want to spoil anything but let's just say that Shunsui didn't share his suspicions of Aizen with her. But she was pointed to certain facts.
*The_Keeper_of_Worlds - strap on, cause this ride is going to be more than just a bit bumpy! Seriously though, I wanted to create the illusion that Ichigo my be the main hero but he's just a pawn in manipulations of multiple people.
*Amentiae - thank you, I do try ;). My only worry is whether Ichigo didn't break into ooc this chapter.
*MayumiRose - thank you and, yes, I am aware of that. However, all of the beta I had either don't respond after a while or don't do anything at all. I'm trying to up my grammar in free time so some improvement should be visible...no?... okay...
Okay, that's all for now. I thank all of you that support this story in any way. I hope I'll be able to update at least one more time before this years ends. Stay tuned as things are going to turn ugly. Nope, not telling in what way.
See you next time.