A little piece of Heaven

by mlickko

The first time Ichigo met a Shinigami, he died. Quickly realizing that Soul Society is no heaven, he aims to make it into one. However, turning a dream into reality is a long and difficult journey, especially if you are Kurosaki Ichigo and you stand in the center of everything. A long story of adventure, drama, conspiracies but also action.(Pairings not a main focus)

20. Chapter 19: Instinctive Undead

Chapter 19: Instinctive Undead (Slippery Slope)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

'Inner Quincy/Yhwach speech'

'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'

xxx

Stuck in a dark room illuminated only by flashes of faint light coming from the computer screens he was staring at, Urahara Kisuke rubbed his tired eyes and pressed the same button again. A complex diagram popped up on the central screen. It looked like a picture taken from a sci-fi magazine but it seemed that the scientist had no troubles reading it. However, after a brief moment, he released a deep sigh.

"…it still doesn't make any sense." He muttered quietly and one of the tiny muscles within his left lower eyelid twitched.

Urahara Kisuke hated not being able to understand and comprehend a phenomena that had happened right in front of his eyes. Such a feeling was like a small flesh-eating worm slowly eating him from inside out. Extremely annoying and irritating. An itch he couldn't scratch. A rash beneath his skin.

"..ah." Frustrated by his lack of understanding, he pushed himself away from the table and leaned backwards, as far as his chair allowed him to. A mild cracking sound coming from his backside caused him to groan in content. For just a few seconds, he allowed himself to close his eyes and to relax his brain. He had no idea what time it was but, at the same time, he was fairly sure he had been in the room for far too long.

However, he was not allowed to relieve the stress for long. A beeping noise coming from one of his pockets forced him to open his eyes and reach for the phone.

"Yes?"

"Kisuke."

When Urahara recognized the voice coming from the speaker, he hastily sat upright and forced his brain to work again.

"Hello."

"Kisuke… do you remember telling me about this boy? The one who is supposed to be like us?" The voice asked.

"Yes. Of course I do." Urahara's answer was instantaneous.

"Then why aren't you keeping an eye on him, you bloody idiot?!" The man speaking to him quickly increased the volume and his yell caused the scientist to jump on his chair.

"What?" Urahara shifted his attention to the computers and furiously began to pound on the keyboard.

"Right now, the kid is on a rampage! Move your ass over to the Karakura Community Park! Right now!"

Urahara finished tapping on the buttons only for a still image to appear on the central screen. He paled.

"…not good."

"Yeah, no shit. His reiryoku is slowly spreading across the whole city and if he's not stopped soon, hollows won't be the only thing to worry about. Hurry up!" The voice said and then its owner hung up, leaving Urahara alone with his thoughts. For a split-second, the scientist remained silent and still. Then he jumped from the chair and grabbed his cane. Once he opened the door, he called out to the shop.

"Tessai-san! We have a situation!"

In an instant, a large man with a muscular build appeared in front of him. He stuck out one of his hands.

"Yes Boss, I'm ready."

Urahara took the hat from the man's hand and put it on.

"Let's roll."

…

Seven minutes later

'I really didn't want to intervene. My preferable position is always on the sidelines.' Urahara thought grimly as he stared at the person in front of him. The person, whose face was partially covered with a hollow mask was also a source of a hostile spiritual pressure. Ichigo.

"Tessai-san." He whispered to the man standing next to him. It looked like the teen still hadn't noticed the two of them and Urahara wanted to keep that fact true for a bit longer. He wanted to observe the teen first, engage him later.

Next to him, Tessai quickly got to work and began reciting a long incantation. Leaving him be, Urahara circled around the scene.

'What is he doing?' He mused. As far as he could see the teen seemed to be standing still and just pointedly staring at something in front of him. Curiosity getting the better of him, Urahara took another step forward.

'He was supposed to be on a rampage so… oh.' After he got closer, Urahara saw the thing that Ichigo was so intently looking at and his grimace deepened.

On the ground, in front of the teen, there seemed to be charred remains of a body but it was impossible to tell who they belonged to, as most of the corpse was missing.

'I see.'

Urahara understood. Despite seeing the destruction, so obviously caused by Ichigo, and the gore in front of him, there wasn't even a speck of disgust on the scientist's face. He was well aware he was in no position to judge the teen.

'Now then. What to do? It doesn't look like he's in control and that means he's probably acting solely on his instincts. Which means that if I show up, he'll try to kill me. On the other hand, we have to stop or at least subdue him, else there is no telling how much damage he can cause. Either to the Human World or to himself. Still, it looks like the mask isn't fully formed. Which opens a whole bag of different questions…ah, I'm rambling again.' Urahara thought. Slowly and with a regretful expression, he squeezed his cane.

'This is going to hurt… but I guess I deserve this. It's probably karma kicking my ass again.'

He chuckled.

'Yoruichi-san would have wanted to see this.'

In a swift motion, he pulled a moderately long blade out of the cane, leaving the curved part of the cane to act as a hilt of a sword. Resolutely, he began walking towards Ichigo while steadily releasing his spiritual energy.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san. It seems our meeting is long due."

At first, the teen did not react and Urahara slightly narrowed his eyes. However, when the scientist released more of his spiritual energy, Ichigo turned his head and pinned him with a fierce glare. Then the teen seemingly vanished from his sight.

'Behind me.' Urahara thought. Turning around, he raised his sword and parried a silent slash with a calm expression. However, the power behind it caused him to blink in surprise. Immediately, he was blasted backwards.

"That surprised me. You're a lot more powerful than I expected, Kurosaki-san." He stated after reappearing in front of Ichigo, his sword hand raised and his sword horizontally aimed at the teen.

"Hadō #32. Ōkasen!" He exclaimed and fired a wide arc of yellow energy. Being this close to his opponent, the spell hit Ichigo dead-on and engulfed him in a small explosion. Not even a second later, the scientist leaped backwards and watched as a tip of a large sword cut through the cloud of smoke and the place where he had just stood.

"Whew, that scared me." He muttered in surprise. When he caught a glimpse of the teen, he grew silent.

'Barely tickled him, huh?'

There was a bit of smoke coming from Ichigo's slightly burnt torso but, while Urahara stared at it, the wound was already healing.

In that moment, a translucent barrier rose from all sides and sealed both of them inside of it. Urahara smiled a little. If the barrier was up, then it was time to really start working.

"I don't want to drag this on, Kurosaki-san, so you'll have to forgive me if this gets rough." Urahara stated and burst forward. Getting close to the teen, he crossed blade with him and pointed his index and middle finger at this hands.

But before his Kido could take any effect, Ichigo vanished and blood spurted from a cut on the scientist's upper arm.

"GYAAAAAAAAH!"

Urahara hastily flashed away and narrowly dodged a powerful blast of black energy. The attack continued flying until it hit the barrier. For a few seconds, the black energy pushed against it but then it dispersed. Still, the crack on the barrier it left behind worried the scientist.

'He's not just a lot more powerful. This partially hollowified form exceeds my calculations.' Urahara thought, bewildered. Spinning around, he blocked a vicious strike that was followed by a series of fast but heavy blows which forced him to focus only on defending himself.

That didn't sit right with Urahara but, as soon as he tried to use the short timeframe between Ichigo's attacks to use any of his Kido spells, the teen instantly flashed away. The scientist's left lower eyelid twitched again.

'He's… gaining the upper hand?' He thought, momentarily unable to accept the notion. Only thanks to his reflexes that thought didn't cost him his left arm. The twitch in his left eye infected even his right eye and in that moment, he released more of his spiritual power.

"It seems I have no choice. Awaken, Benihime!" He exclaimed, causing his zanpakuto to change its shape and turn into a sleek, medium-sized sword. In response to seeing that, as well as Urahara's increased spiritual pressure, Ichigo released another roar and slashed the air in front of him once again.

"Not this time, Kurosaki-san. Nake, Benihime!" The scientist shouted and fired a crimson-colored energy blast from his zanpakuto right into the way of Ichigo's black Getsuga. The two attacks met right in the middle of the park and their energies, rather than exploding at the moment of contact, clashed and mashed together. Not even a moment later, they both dissipated into thin air.

"Now, are you going to try it again, Kurosaki-san?" Urahara asked calmly. In response, the fragment of a hollow mask covering Ichigo's face grew bigger. Even more energy burst out of the teen and yet another Getsuga shot out of his blade. This time, though, it was different. Bigger

Seeing that, Urahara cursed and quickly pumped his reiryoku into his blade.

"Nake, Benihime!"

'So the more complete his mask is, the more powerful his attacks get? In that case, I have to end this as soon as possible.' Urahara thought while watching the two blasts negate each other again. In the moment they did just that, he prepared to move forward only to be greeted by yet another Getsuga.

'A second strike hidden within the shadow of the first one?!'

Not having enough time to counter the blast with one of his own techniques, Urahara opted for the simplest solution and simply jumped sideways. However, that meant the Getsuga continued flying forward until it crashed into the translucent barrier.

This time, the barrier couldn't contain it and shattered.

"Tessai-san!" Urahara yelled frantically. From a distance, a figure leaped into the air, right above Ichigo's Getsuga and pushed the black energy into the ground. The part of park around it shook from a suppressed detonation.

Shifting his attention back to the fight, Urahara felt something cold and sharp running down his backside and hastily flashed away. But the damage had been done and he felt as his blood spurted from a deep gash.

'He's incredible. He used the split-second I wasn't paying attention not to simply rush at me straightforward but to sneak around me and deliver an attack before I knew what was going on.' Despite the pain, Urahara was impressed.

A large man landed next to him.

"Sorry, Boss. I couldn't keep the barrier up. I was focusing on something else. What now?" Tessai asked in a serious tone.

Urahara suppressed a groan and raised his zanpakuto.

"Prepare your strongest Bakudō. We need to stop him. Now."

…

Elsewhere

Pushing herself from the ground, Rukia tried to lessen her panting as much as she could but the amount of reiryoku she had been forced to use to defeat her opponents had been too much and she swooned. Her knees hit the ground but before she could fall down, a pair of strong hands caught her.

"Kuchiki-sama!"

It was Kenryū. Giving him a weak smile, Rukia dug out her own voice.

"Is he dead?"

Kenryū glanced in the direction of her opponents and nodded.

"I think so. There was a flash of light and the one with the weird reiatsu completely disintegrated. The rest of them, too weak to continue fighting, simply killed themselves in small explosions." He stated and slowly propped her against a trunk of a tree.

"Thank you… Yoruichi-san?"

Kenryū tensed. He was still trying to get over the shock of discovering that he had gained one additional ally and that the ally was none other than the Goddess of Flash from the Shihoin Noble clan.

"The last time I saw her, she had gotten rid of half of her opponents."

"Ichigo?"

After a brief moment of silence, Kenryū apologetically shook his head.

"I didn't see him ever since we got separated, Kuchiki-sama. I'm… I'm sorry."

Rukia felt something cold touching her heart but it passed as soon as the image of the teen's stubborn face popped up in her mind. She smiled.

"Don't worry. He's fine."

Kenryū blinked dubiously.

"I apologize if I'm being rude but how can you be so sure, Kuchiki-sama?"

Rukia couldn't help herself and chuckled.

"It's simple. He's Ichigo."

Clearly not being able to understand the cryptic answer, Kenryū blinked again. Then a loud silence fell upon them, causing them to stand up.

"Enryū, come closer." He muttered. Immediately, his large partner dropped down from the treetop above them. Rurichiyo was still on his back, now sleeping soundly. Kenryū looked at her with a sad smile.

"I'll apologize for knocking you out, Rurichiyo-sama. Just trust me." He whispered.

A lone person landed in front of them. All of them tensed.

"It's me."

"…please don't scare us like that, Yoruichi-sama." Kenryū said with a hand placed on his torso.

"Are you ok, Yoruichi-san?" Rukia asked when Yoruichi walked closer. In return, Yoruichi offered her a smile.

"Yeah, it will take more than second grade assassins to kill the Goddess of Flash. I could use a bit of rest though." She replied and formed a grimace when she touched a sore place on her left side. She was covered in cuts and gashes but most of them looked only superficial. However, there was a slight pause in her steps, causing Rukia to purse her lips. It was obvious that the horde of assassins that Yoruichi had taken away from them had caused her more damage than she was willing to admit.

'Still… she knows her body better than anyone.' Rukia thought and released another sigh.

"Rukia, do you think you can stand up and walk?"

After a brief pause when she repeatedly tried to form a fist, Rukia nodded.

"Yes."

Yoruichi helped her up and then turned to the right. There was an unreadable expression on her face that prompted Rukia to open her mouth.

"Is something wrong?"

Yoruichi bit her lip.

"The reiatsu of your Bakkōtō-wielding opponent must have overwhelmed your senses and so you probably haven't noticed it, but I think something happened to Ichigo. Not to mention, I also felt Kisuke's spiritual energy at his location." She answered in a serious tone. Immediately, she felt Rukia tense and so she quickly continued.

"But I'm sure he's okay."

Ignoring the last part, Rukia stomped the ground with her left leg in an attempt to stop her muscles from shaking any further and then took a step forward.

"We should go."

Yoruichi inaudibly smirked.

"Alright. Follow me."

…

A few minutes later

"Ichigo!"

Rukia pushed her tired body and used her Flash Step to cover the remaining distance between her and the teen. Kneeling down, she put one hand on his forehead and then glared at a man with light-blond messy hair.

"What did you do to him, Urahara?"

The part of the park where Rukia and the others had finally found Ichigo was completely devastated. Trees were obliterated, ground was covered with deep and wide craters, benches were shattered and more. It looked like a bomb had exploded there.

When the group had arrived, the first image they had seen was a pair of men, Urahara and Tessai, staring at Ichigo's motionless body that lay on one of the few untouched parts of the ground.

'He's burning up…' Rukia thought and shifted her attention from Urahara back to the teen.

The scientist, covered in injuries, tiredly sighed and finally sealed his zanpakuto back into its cane form. He glanced at Tessai and, after a brief moment of silence, sighed again.

"Me and Tessai-san accidentally came across Kurosaki-san's fight just right after it ended. Safe to say, young Kurosaki was not pleased to see me and insisted on fighting me. And that's, well, that's all. He exhausted his spiritual energy and fainted only moments before you arrived."

Rukia stared at Ichigo's closed eyes and pursed her lips.

'I'm not blaming you for that but… you chose the worst possible time for this, Ichigo.' She thought. As her stare was still pointed at the teen, she completely missed the silent exchange of glances between Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Well, it looks like all of you are fairly exhausted so it would be best for you to come to my shop and rest for a bit. What do you say, Kenryū-san, Enryū-san?" Urahara said and looked at the two men standing in the background. Both of them jumped in surprise and blinked. Then they turned to Rukia with pleading eyes.

It was their first time meeting Urahara Kisuke and they were clearly confused. When she felt their stares, Rukia looked up and nodded to them.

"You can trust… well, don't worry. We will be safe with Urahara." She said, changing her wording in the middle of her sentence.

Urahara immediately noticed that and appeared to have some sort of remark for it but before he could open his mouth, he received an elbow to his right side.

"Yes, we should rest for a while. At least until Ichigo wakes up. Nobody will attack you while you're with Kisuke." Yoruichi said convincingly. Once both Kenryū and Enryū agreed, she turned back to Urahara.

"Say, you didn't happen to find a weapon of the man that Ichigo fought?"

Urahara raised one of his eyebrows.

"A weapon?"

"Bakkōtō."

The scientist blinked. A moment later, a bit of a glow appeared within his eyes, causing Yoruichi to groan.

"Don't even think about it, Kisuke. Now, did you see it or not?"

"No…" He lowered his voice so Yoruichi leaned closer to him.

"…actually, young Kurosaki obliterated everything but a small part of the man's body. If the Bakkōtō survived the onslaught, it was nowhere around when we got here." He continued quietly.

Yoruichi grimaced.

"Damn it…"

"Yoruichi-san?" Rukia asked from the ground. In response, Yoruichi shook her head.

"You didn't get any Bakkōtō from the one you fought, right? Because I didn't either. I hate to admit it but they got me good. I didn't expect them to jump at me like living bombs whenever I tried to grab one."

Hearing that, Rukia lowered her head in disappointment.

"That means we are back to square one."

"…well, I'm not completely sure what is going on here…" Urahara began, only to receive a deep scowl from both Rukia and Yoruichi.

"Alright, I do know. Nevertheless, I think I have an idea."

…

Urahara's shop – early morning

As if returning from a long trip to the oblivion and beyond, Ichigo felt his senses slowly turning on. One by one, each sense sent a pulse into his brain. First, he felt the fingertips on his hands touching something smooth, yet rough, like a blanket of sorts. The second thing he felt, was the air he breathed into his lungs. Its smell. Then his ears picked up on distant noises, followed by the drought within his mouth, the unpleasant, bitter taste of his own tongue. The last thing that also finally allowed him to fully wake up was him opening his eyes.

What he saw was a ceiling he did not recognize. Confusion briefly settled within his mind. He tried to move his head, to glance around, only to feel like somebody kicked him in his neck, hard. His neck muscles, along with every other muscle in his body, were sore and incredibly tender.

"Ugh…" Unable to stop himself, he quietly groaned. And as soon as he did so, his memories flooded his mind like a tsunami, smashing and swallowing everything in their path.

'I… fought Hanza. He put me in some sort of a nightmare and then… and then…' Forming a grimace, he raised his left hand and put it on his forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A single image appeared within his mind and stung him like a bolt of lightning. The pupils in his eyes dilated.

'I… I…'

'You lost control.'

Ichigo felt his throat constricting. The disappointment in the voice of his zanpakuto spirit was palpable. Ichigo felt as if somebody smashed his gut with a concrete block.

'I'm… I'm sorry, Zangetsu, but… I couldn't stop myself. Did you see…?'

'Yeah, I saw the nightmare. Like I told you before, I'm always with you. Indeed, what you were forced to witness was cruel. Very cruel. However, both me and Yhwach warned you to work on your trauma, to learn how to live with it. As you saw, your enemies will not hesitate to use your every weakness against you.'

Ichigo gritted his teeth and his other hand formed a tight fist.

Zangetsu was right. He always was. Ichigo had put off resolving his issues as much as he could and now it came around to bite him in the ass.

'You are incredibly lucky that there was somebody to stop your rampage. Do you realize how many people, innocent humans, you could have accidentally killed? How may allies you could have hurt beyond saving? And, most importantly, how much you could have hurt yourself?'

Feeling the pain flowing from his zanpakuto spirit's words, Ichigo fought against his own emotions.

'However, even if you killed countless innocents, it wouldn't matter to me. Fuck them. But I know that it would matter to you. It would destroy you. Do you realize now, just why it is important for you to accept your power gradually and not in one turn? I told this to you once before but I cannot control the hollow part of me, of us. If it gets out of our control, there are only so much Yhwach with his Quincy abilities can do to help. You are one of the most powerful beings, Ichigo. But at a terrible cost. One misstep and you could accidentally wipe out this world.'

For a long while, Ichigo remained silent. He was unable to find words to say to his zanpakuto. He was unable to fight the self-loathing coming from his spirit's voice. Zangetsu's words cut deeply. They stroke at the most vulnerable place in his soul. At the one thing his hollow part yearned for.

His heart.

However, he understood. He was going to learn from his mistake.

'Yeah.'

'Good.' A bit satisfied with his answer, Zangetsu's voice grew less harsh.

'Still… wipe out this world? I think you are overestimating me, Zangetsu.' Ichigo thought as another image popped into his mind.

'At this moment? Maybe. But even with only this much power you fought on par with somebody like Urahara Kisuke and his assistant and both of them possess powerful spiritual energy. Which reminds me… I know this is hard to hear, especially from me, but I think you should thank them for stopping you.'

As soon as the words played over within his mind, Ichigo gritted his teeth once again.

'…I don't think I can do that, Zangetsu. That man… he's the reason for so much shit in my life. He's… damn it!'

However, his zanpakuto spirit didn't say another word, causing a vein to pulse on the teen's forehead.

'Fine, I get it! I will thank the son of a…!' He shouted mentally and thus missed the sound of footsteps nearing his side.

"How are you feeling?"

Ichigo's head snapped to the owner of the voice. The sharp movement caused him to groan. Only then he managed to reply.

"Oh, Rukia, you're all right… oh. Oh! What happened with the others? Where are they? And, actually, where the hell are we?" As soon as he noticed the one talking to him was Rukia, the teen realized that while he was musing about his own thoughts, he completely forgot about the fate of the rest of the group. Almost instantly, he grew agitated.

"Calm down. We're fine. All of us." Rukia quickly said and put a hand on his shoulder, to prevent him from standing up.

"But?"

She sighed.

"None of us managed to get ahold of a single Bakkōtō. However, Urahara has an idea… yeah. Right now, we're in Urahara's shop. Since you were out of it, we decided to rest here for a while." She said and intently watched his face, to gauge his reaction.

Ichigo's expression turned sour and bitter but he managed to suppress the urge to simply shake off her hand, stand up and go kill the scientist. His zanpakuto words still echoed within his mind. Despite all of that, a quiet growl still escaped his mouth.

"…fine. So? What is his 'ingenious' idea?"

Door to the room opened and Yoruichi's head popped in.

"I can answer that."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. After his fight with the woman, the anger he had felt towards her cooled down a bit. He wasn't entirely sure whether it was because he had managed to vent his emotions or whether it was because of the sense of shame that came with his defeat.

"Go on."

Yoruichi formed a tiny smirk and entered the room. Before she started talking, she leaned on the wall.

"It's actually really simple. I sent a memo to Sui-Feng, the Captain of the 2nd Division that I have a valid concern about illegal weapons, such as Bakkōtō, being used by members of Seireitei society."

Ichigo sharply sat and threw a glare in her direction.

"The Captain of the 2nd Division? Damn it, we've been asked not to bring the Gotei 13 into this!" He exclaimed, displeased. In response, Yoruichi calmingly waved her hand at him.

"Gotei 13 as an organization won't have anything to do with her investigation. I asked her for a favor as a former heiress of a Shihoin Noble clan. It'll be strictly off the records. Moreover, she won't touch the Kasumiōji clan at all. Only if she gets ahold of a Bakkōtō that she'll inform the Gotei."

With narrowed eyes, Ichigo stared at her for a full minute before sighing heavily.

"Fine. I hope it works because yesterday, we all have failed spectacularly. None of us… hm, wait. What about the Hanza guy? My opponent? I don't really remember the end of our fight but I'm… fairly sure I did beat him. Right?"

"You don't remember?" Rukia asked with confused eyes, causing Ichigo to blink. From the corner of his eye he saw Yoruichi shaking her head a bit.

"Uhm…"

Seeing his unease, Yoruichi came to his rescue.

"He almost completely exhausted his reiryoku reserves. A small memory loss isn't that unusual, Rukia." She said to the raven-haired shinigami and then turned to the teen.

"You beat your opponent soundly but there was no sign on the Bakkōtō anywhere on the scene. Somebody probably took it when nobody was looking."

"Oh… okay." Ichigo said and tried to focus on his memories. Despite his best attempts, his memories were full of holes and he couldn't recall the ending of his fight with Hanza. Only what followed afterwards. Even that was extremely hazy. Still images popped within his mind in a completely random order and confused him even further.

"So, how is our guest feeling on this lovely day?"

Ichigo stiffened when a man's face appeared in the door. Despite never seeing the man before, the teen recognized him on the spot. His breathing, along with his heartbeat, accelerated and blood rushed into his head. For a moment, his sense of hearing decreased, while his sense of sight increased and he saw the man through a tunnel vision. As a response to his body's distress, some of his reiryoku began to leak.

Only through sheer force of will and his inner spirits' calming words he managed not to leap forward and plunge his sword through the man's skull.

The change of mood was more than obvious and Urahara Kisuke quickly lost the mask of nonchalance. Rukia and Yoruichi both put their hands on Ichigo's shoulders but the teen shook them off.

"I'm fine."

He pinned the scientist with his stare.

"Urahara Kisuke, I presume."

With a completely serious face, Urahara nodded.

"Yes, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo slowly got up and met the man face to face.

"Is there something we could talk… without having to worry about our surroundings?"

"Of course. Follow me, Kurosaki-san."

…

Underneath the Urahara Shop

In a giant room below the main building of the shop, Ichigo stared at the scientist with a glare that could kill. Urahara met it without flinching. Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

"You have my thanks for stopping me." Ichigo hissed through gritted teeth.

Urahara just nodded.

Rolling his tongue within his mouth, Ichigo almost tasted the bitterness of his own thoughts. He had promised his zanpakuto spirit to thank the man and that was it. He did it.

"That doesn't mean we are good." He continued. Unable to control his energy any longer, his black reiryoku gushed out of him like a mist of fate; inevitable and irreversible. Still, Urahara did not flinch.

"No. I didn't think we were, Kurosaki-san."

"You aren't going to apologize, are you?"

"Would it change anything? Because if your answer to that is yes, then I will apologize." The scientist replied instantly, causing Ichigo to chuckle humorlessly.

"Of course not. Nothing will change the past." He stated.

"Do you want to fight, Kurosaki-san?"

"Yes. I do. I want to pummel you into ground. I want to break your bones, to grind your flesh and to crush your very being. I want to beat you to the brink of death and beyond, then grab the hand of oblivion and yank you from it so I can repeat all of that again. Words are not enough to state just how much I want to hurt you."

"What's stopping you, then?"

Ichigo scoffed and a weird grimace formed on his face.

"There are two things and two things only. First, you are useful. I know enough about you to see that you are an incredibly smart bastard. While you are on the good side, I can use that brain of yours to actually make a change. I can use it to save a lot of lives." He paused and gave the man an odd glance.

"The second reason is the most important one. You saved my mum when she was dying. I could never face her again if I just killed you."

"I see… thank you, Kurosaki-san." Urahara said after a while, prompting Ichigo to grimace once again.

"Don't thank me. It's making me sick." The teen muttered with a disgusted sneer.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke. They just stared at each other. Then Ichigo took a deep breath.

"A few more things."

"Go on, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo briefly closed his eyes and tried to overcome his own feelings.

"Did anyone… did I harm anyone after I lost control?"

With his eyes closed, Ichigo waited for the answer.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that with complete certainty, Kurosaki-san. I don't want to sound cruel but it would be a miracle if no human had lost his life. We have been fighting, after all, in the middle of a park and during the day. I will check today but… don't get your hopes up, Kurosaki-san. Your power is very vast."

Forming fists with both of his hands, Ichigo gritted his teeth so much, he felt like he was pushing them back into the bone. His shoulders shook.

"I see."

Opening his eyes, he took a step towards the scientist.

"You didn't tell Rukia. Why?"

Urahara's face relaxed a little bit.

"I wasn't sure whether Kuchiki-san is or isn't aware of the nature of your powers and so I decided it would be best if I said nothing about it. As you have heard, right now, she thinks we simply fought until you ran out of fuel. It is fortunate that she had been overwhelmed by her opponent's reiatsu and so she had been unable to sense your reiryoku. Otherwise, I don't think I could have lied to her like this." He explained.

In that moment, a male's voice called out to the teen.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. I need to speak with you."

Ichigo dedicated one more second to stare at the scientist before he left the underground area and ran after the owner of the voice. Once he climbed up the ladder, he was met with a worried face of a Kenryū.

"What happened?"

Kenryū shook his head.

"I have just received an information from within the Kasumiōji clan. It seems that Gyōkaku Kumoi has allowed Shū Kannogi-sama to ascend to the throne of the Kasumiōji herald."

…

Later that day

It was almost noon when the group consisting of Ichigo, Rukia, Yoruichi, Rurichiyo, Kenryū and Enryū was finally ready to leave the Urahara Shop. Before they left, Urahara took a few strident steps towards the teen.

"One thing, Kurosaki-san. I know that you don't trust me. However, I'll tell you this. Whenever you appear in Human World, I will be keeping an eye on you. I will not spy on you. I will not intrude on your life. But we both know that there are… certain situations when you may need my assistance." The scientist said quietly but firmly and Ichigo threw a hard stare at him.

"I know. Do whatever you want. What happened yesterday will not happen again, though. I won't allow it."

"I sure hope so, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo watched the man step back. He looked at his group.

"Let's go."

With those words they rushed forward and, in a matter of seconds, left the shop far behind them. This time, nobody tried to attack them and so they reached their destination in no time. When the small apartment building they had been looking for came into the view, they all slowed down.

Walking up the stairs, Ichigo reached for the bell. He rang it. Not even a second passed before the door opened and a fairly young-looking woman appeared in front of the teen.

"Ah, you must be Ichigo. I've been expecting you guys yesterday but I guess you ran into some troubles. Come on in."

"Thank you." Ichigo said and glanced at the rest of his group.

"Well, come on. For some time, this will be your home."

…

Soul Society

Sui-Feng scrunched up her nose at the most unpleasant smell that seemed to surround her from every side. The smell wasn't just bad, it was outright disgusting. It vaguely reminded her of rotten corpses mixed with a distinctive odor of various chemicals and something she couldn't put her finger on. It caused her to gag and roll her tongue in repulsion.

'I expected his laboratory to stink but this is just nasty. Can't he just open the damn windows once in a while?' She thought while walking forward.

Led through the numerous rooms of the 12th Division barracks, Sui-Feng had to fight the urge to kick some windows open. What boggled her mind even more was the stoic expression on the face of the one leading her, the Vice-Captain of the 12th Division.

'It's almost like she has no sense of smell… well, I wouldn't put it past him to modify his Vice-Captain like that.' Sui-Feng mused.

"Mayuri-sama will be with you shortly, Captain. Please wait here."

Watching the Vice-Captain leave, Sui-Feng allowed herself to groan. The smell was really getting to her. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long as the doors on her right opened very soon.

"Captain Sui-Feng. To what do I owe this… pleasure? I'm kind of in the middle of something." Mayuri greeted her with an obvious sneer. Sui-Feng ignored his tone and turned to face him.

"Don't worry. This won't take much of your time." She stated, prompting him to give her an expectant stare.

"Well, then? What is it?"

Sui-Feng crossed her arms.

"I came across an information that a certain class of illegal weapons is being used by individuals within Soul Society. Have you ever heard of the term Bakkōtō?" She asked. When Mayuri didn't answer for several long seconds, she rolled her eyes.

"This conversation is completely off the record, of course." She added.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Mayuri changed his expression and formed a wide smirk.

"In that case… yes, of course I have heard about them. Who do you think I am?" He paused for a moment and put a finger to his chin.

"Used by individuals within Soul Society you say? Interesting…"

Sui-Feng narrowed her eyes.

"You noticed something?"

"Hmm, maybe I have, maybe I haven't. Are you sure you want to know?" Mayuri retorted with a wicked smile. Sui-Feng hardened her gaze.

"Don't play games with me, Kurotsuchi. You know very well that I'll do anything for the sake of the Soul Society's security."

Unexpectedly, Mayuri chuckled.

"For the sake of the Soul Society, huh? Well, when you put it that way… follow me." He said and motioned her to walk with him to the room on the far left. When they entered it, Sui-Feng was welcomed with a sight of multiple large screens, all showing something else. Before she could ask anything, Mayuri walked up to his computer and pressed a long sequence of buttons. A moment later, all of the screens flashed.

A single image appeared on every screen.

Sui-Feng frowned.

"What is this?"

Mayuri began to press more buttons.

"I'm sure you still recall the Captain's meeting during which I mentioned several impossible incidents. One of these incidents involved the members of the 3rd Division and their encounter with Gillians within the Precipice World."

"Yes, I recall that." Sui-Feng replied.

"Now, let's ignore the Gillians and most of the 3rd Division entirely and focus on the newly appointed Captain, Amagai Shūsuke. Here, listen to this." Mayuri said and, after he pressed one more button, a mixture of voices came out of the large speaker on the right side of the room.

Sui-Feng closed her eyes and tried to listen through the background noise.

"…we can't make it!"

"It's too late!"

"…wait, Captain Amagai?"

"…said I will protect you. Aaaaaargh!"

The recording ended and Sui-Feng opened her eyes to look at Mayuri with confused stare.

"What was that?"

Mayuri pinner her with a contemplative look.

"During the 3rd Division encounter with Gillians, my men stopped the Kōryū, the Wresting Flow, so nobody would get caught in it. However, it started to flow by itself soon after that. I suspect the imbalance of Valleys of Screams are the reason. Nevertheless, the Kōryū was followed by an appearance of the Kōtotsu, the Cleaner. Of course, it began to sweep the Dangai and quickly caught up with the members of the 3rd Division. That's when Amagai Shūsuke comes to the scene and stands in the way of the Cleaner as he vows to protect his men. Tell me, Captain Sui-Feng, what do you think happened next?"

Sui-Feng blinked.

"You don't meant…?"

Mayuri's contemplative look changed into one of deep interest.

"Amagai Shūsuke was able to not just repel but also completely destroy the Cleaner. Obviously, it repaired itself soon after that but the point stands. The Cleaner is not something a shinigami is supposed to touch without repercussions. A shinigami can't repel or damage it. It is an entity beyond reason. Yet Amagai Shūsuke somehow did it." He explained, causing Sui-Feng to go silent.

"Of course, I don't have any proof but I suspect there is something odd about the new Captain. I noticed he always carries two swords yet only one is his zanpakuto."

"You think he possesses a Bakkōtō?" Sui-Feng asked all of a sudden. Mayuri shrugged.

"Who knows? All I'm saying is that he did something impossible. Coupled with the knowledge of Bakkōtō that I possess, I think it would make perfect sense. After all, a zanpakuto cannot harm the Cleaner, while a Bakkōtō potentially could, seeing as it doesn't use just its wielders spiritual energy but also his life-force, or a part of his own soul, if you'd like to put it that way."

Sui-Feng didn't respond immediately. She immersed herself deep into her own thoughts to think about the whole thing.

"Thank you, Kurotsuchi… I'll see myself off." She said after a while with a blank look. Turning around, she walked out of the room and soon disappeared from Mayuri's view.

Once he was left alone, Mayuri pressed another button and an image of a grid with a label 'Human World' appeared on the central screen. Inside the grid, there was a large, pulsing dot. The date on the top right side of the screen was the day before. Staring at the dot, Mayuri formed a disturbing smile of elation…

…

Soul Society – Shin'ō Academy

Heavily panting, Ichigo dragged his sweaty body to the bathroom. With the last ounce of strength, he plopped down, next to the toilet, and leaned over the seat. His mouth were hanging open and he tried to take deep breaths. He managed to take one before his backside arched and he desperately grabbed the edges of the toilet seat.

The silence of the room was filled with gurgling, wet sounds of retching as Ichigo couldn't hold the contents of his stomach any longer.

When he was finished, he spit the rest of his saliva into the toilet and shifted his position so he could lean against the wall. He closed his eyes.

'That was a… most unpleasant nightmare, Ichigo. Breathe.'

Through the sense of helplessness, the teen managed to snort.

'Yeah, who would have guessed they were going to get worse, huh?' He replied mentally and formed a fist with his left hand. He was tired. So very tired.

Before he had returned to the Soul Society, he had received a message from Urahara Kisuke that confirmed his fears.

Several humans had lost their lives. They had died at the same time as he and Urahara fought against each other, when he had lost control over his own being. The scientist had gone on to tell him that he had been unable to determine the exact reason behind the deaths and that maybe they had been unrelated to their fight. The only thing he had been able to discover was that the humans had died in the nearby area of the Karakura Community Park.

Ichigo opened his eyes.

Ever since he had received that message, he had been unable to properly fall asleep. Nasty thoughts and feeling of guilt tormented him viciously and relentlessly, like a barrage of irritated hornets. Painful at first but deadly in a long run.

Ichigo didn't want to die. Not yet, at the very least. There was still too much he had to do before that. But the plague of his mind and of his soul was paralyzing, preventing him from moving forward and preventing him from doing things he had set up to do.

'…there is only one thing I can do.' He thought grimly.

He had to stop trying to run away from his fears. He had to stop trying to escape from the demons of his past. To move forward, he had to face his past. To live on, he had to kill his fears. To complete his journey, he had to trace his steps back and erase the moments he wished they never existed.

He could just surrender, to yield to the dark emotions and thoughts swirling within his mind and to let out the instinctive demon of his bloodthirsty self.

But he wasn't going to.

"No more wasting time over things I can't change." He stated firmly.

Still, the task of ridding himself of the bad and rotten was above his own power. To heal, he had to get hurt once more. To never mention his fears again, he had to talk about them at least one more time.

…

When Ichigo woke up again, it was no longer dark in his room. He hadn't gotten much sleep and so it took him a few moments to open his tired eyes and to get used to the glow of the morning. Strangely, the first thing he noticed was the clock on the opposite wall. Maybe it was because of the thick sunbeam that was stubbornly hitting it but Ichigo felt like seeing the clock should have some sort of a deeper meaning. It was only once his brain caught up with the rest of his body that he realized the absurdity of the situation.

It was time for him to prepare for the lessons in the Academy.

'…I've been so caught up with everything else that I almost forgot I'm still a student. Isn't that funny?' He mentally deadpanned and glanced at the clock once again.

"I guess I should get up." He muttered.

In fifteen minutes, he was already on his way to the Academy and it was then, when he dimly recalled hearing something about the current day.

'So it's today, huh? Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that they reacted to the situation so quickly. Well… quickly.' He thought as he walked by a small group of Gotei 13 shinigami. Making a sharp turn, he glanced at the label, to make sure his sleepiness didn't carry him to the wrong classroom, and opened the door.

It took several more minutes for the rest of the students to take their seats. Until then, the teen just stared at their instructor and tried not to fall asleep.

"Good morning, everyone. As always, welcome to the Practical Shinigami class. Now, there is announcement I have to make but I'm sure none of you will be surprised, considering the rumor that has been flying around the corners for a while." The instructor stated energetically and then nodded to his assistant. The other man immediately walked to the door and opened them. A moment later, two regular shinigami walked inside.

"Starting today, the Shin'ō Academy is to undergo certain changes. Considering the situation the Soul Society is currently in, the Gotei 13 is convinced that there is a need to increase the level of education and the level of practical exhibits. With that said, as of today, several members of Gotei will regularly attend any and all of your classes to guide you in your studies. In light of that, I want all of you to act respectfully." The instructor said and pointed his stare at Ichigo. The teen rolled his eyes.

"On a rare occasion, you might encounter a high-ranking officer or even a Captain of the Gotei 13, so be on your toes. Despite the fact that they all consciously hold back most of their spiritual energy, coming into close contact with a Captain can be overwhelming. Do not let that interfere with your studies." He continued.

"Oh please, if we got used to Kurosaki, then we can handle the Captains!"

Ichigo's head shot high and he tried to locate the owner of the voice while the rest of the class laughed.

"Oi!" He growled. To his surprise, even the instructor chuckled.

"That's true. Still, be careful. Now, these two gentlemen will take the mantle for a while and they will tell you what it's like to be a shinigami from their point of view…"

Ichigo sighed. He was unable to determine which student made the joke.

'…ah, screw it. I'm too tired to care.' He thought and placed his head back on his table, hoping the things he was about to hear were going to be useful and new to him.

Otherwise, he really was going to fall asleep.

…

It was a lot later when the classes of the day finally ended and Ichigo was on his way to the barracks of the 4th Division. After a brief and uncomfortable conversation he had had with Yuno during lunch, Ichigo had discovered the one place he had to visit.

However, it wasn't as easy to do so as the teen had hoped it to be. His palms were sweaty, knees weak and arms heavy. He was nervous on both the outside and the inside. Yet he continued to convince himself that he was ready. The thing pushing him forward was his spirits' pride. Pride in his decision to finally do it.

He entered the 4th Division compound while averting anyone's eyes. Somehow, behind all the resolve, there was a sense of shame and he didn't want to be seen. He wanted to turn invisible and make his steps inaudible.

As quickly as he could, he made his way through most of the buildings until he reached the room he had been informed about. He stopped right in front of the door and tightened his jaw. A several deep breaths later, after the thoughts of escaping the building receded into the back of his mind, he reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open.

"…and I want all of you to remember this. It was not your fault. It… Ichigo?"

The teen froze when a large number of stares pinned him down. All of them belonged to females and so he had to increase the grip on the doorknob in order not to flee. But what truly shocked him was noticing the owner of the voice.

"Matsumoto-san?" He asked numbly, causing several women to stiffen and back away from the door. The one in question, the Vice Captain of the 10th Division, quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but could you leave? This is a-"

"A therapy for… rape… victims?" He interrupted her in a low voice, causing Rangiku to blink.

"Yes, so… oh… OH!"

Seeing her expression change almost instantly, Ichigo briefly closed his eyes and fought the urge to flee once again.

For a moment, there was an unbearable silence within the room. It was obvious Rangiku was struggling with a solution for the problem. All of the women surrounding her were still pinning the teen with frightened stares and so Ichigo made a sharp decision.

"I'll… I'll wait outside until you finish here." He muttered.

"That would be probably for the best, thank you." Rangiku replied.

Turning around, Ichigo walked outside the room and quietly closed the door. Once he did, he leaned against the opposite wall and slid down to the ground.

'Look at me… I just came here and I'm already sweaty as hell… Pathetic.' He berated himself mentally.

'You are not pathetic, Ichigo. On the contrary, you made me and Zangetsu proud by not fleeing. Don't blame yourself for this sweat. We all knew it was going to be hard. Just take it easy.'

'Yeah… what he said.'

Closing his eyes, Ichigo brought his legs to his chest. In one swift movement, he enveloped them in a tight hug and placed his head on top of his knees.

'…thanks. I'll try.'

He remained in this position, snuggled up to his own legs, until he heard the door in front of him slowly opening and a concerned voice called out to him.

"Ichigo? You can come in now."

In an instant, his eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah, just… give me a moment."

After a brief pause, during which the teen felt Rangiku's intense stare, Ichigo heard the voice of the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division again.

"Alright. I'll wait inside. Enter when you are ready."

When the door clicked and closed, Ichigo released a long, unsteady sigh. Then he rapidly took several short breaths and stood up. Forcing himself to take a step forward, he opened the door one more time.

Inside the room, only silence and a strange warmth awaited him. He couldn't see any of the women he had previously seen. Instead, there was only Rangiku. In the center of the room, seated in a comfortably looking chair, the Vice-Captain nodded to him with a sad smile.

"Hello, Ichigo. Please, take a seat."

Accepting the offer without a word, Ichigo sat down a bit on her right side, so he didn't have to look her directly into the eyes, and swallowed down a lump within his throat.

"So… how do you do this?"

As he was looking everywhere but the Vice-Captain, he was unsure of what expression she made, but the tone of her voice cleared that for him.

"Ichigo, the first thing I would like you to do, is to look me in the eyes. I realize it may be difficult, as I am a woman, but I believe you can do it."

The gentleness of Rangiku's voice surprised him so much, Ichigo found himself gulping and slowly doing as told. At first, he took just one glance but, when he noticed the tightly closed clothes of the woman, he managed not to avert his eyes again.

"Yes, that's it. Very good." She said with an honest smile, causing Ichigo to stare at her with confused eyes. The difference between Rangiku's usual behavior and the current demeanor was like a night and day.

"How is it that you are the one leading this therapy practice, Matsumoto-san? I thought..." He asked and trailed off when a distant look formed within Rangiku's eyes.

"I volunteered for this a long time ago. I thought I could connect with the victims better than an ordinary therapist could."

An unpleasant thought formed within Ichigo's mind.

"You were r-?"

"No." She quickly cut him off and shook her head.

"At least I don't think so."

Taken aback, Ichigo blinked.

"You don't think so?"

Rangiku released a sigh, which was accompanied with a short and humorless chuckle.

"My past… there are things from my past which I can remember and things which I can't. I definitely went through a bad thing but, for some reason, I have been unable to find the memory of it anywhere within my consciousness. For more than a hundred years, I've been trying to find the truth… but that's enough about me. This is not about me but about you, Ichigo." Rangiku said quietly, causing Ichigo to tighten his jaw and briefly look away, at the door.

"You can leave, if you want to."

"No!" Jumping on the seat, the teen angrily exclaimed and instantly turned to face her again. Not even a second later, he cringed.

"Sorry… I just. No. I don't want to leave. I can't. I want to get rid of this. This… whatever this is."

Rangiku just continued to look at him with an honest smile.

"Alright. Let's begin then." She said and straightened her back so she could look at him better. It made Ichigo shift uncomfortably. Just that small action caused him to realize the reality.

'This is it.'

"I'll start with telling you that everything you'll say in this room remains confidential. It will not leave these four walls. I'm not your enemy and so I would like you to trust me at least so much that you will never try to lie to me. The only thing I ask from you, is the truth. Do not worry about your words or your emotions. Let them both fly wild. Anything is good as long as it helps you. Understood?"

Ichigo took a deep breath.

"Understood."

"You can also call me with whatever name you want to."

"Okay."

Rangiku then placed her hands on her legs and pinned him down with a gaze so firm, it caused him to squirm.

"Let's just dip into the problem. I want you to revisit the terrifying experience that brought you here. Tell me what happened, in as much detail as you can. Do not leave anything, any emotion or any thought, out. Let it all out, raw and rough."

Without him noticing it, Ichigo quickly moved his hands and tightly gripped both armrests. A barely audible whimper escaped his mouth but he instantly masked it with a groan.

He had been afraid of this. That before he could heal, he would need to overcome the road to perdition.

A personal hell.

His own mind.

"Don't think about it. Just do it. I promise you it'll get easier once you start."

A hot wave washed over his body and he felt like sweating again. It had been so long since he told anyone about his experience and now, after all those months, reliving the memory seemed twice as frightening. Coupled with the fact that he was going to relive it with an intention to get rid of it only made things worse. When the second hot wave came, his breathing increased and he forcibly closed his eyes.

The sooner he would get it out, the sooner he could heal.

"…it happened not long after I died and woke up here, in the Soul Society." He finally began in a quiet tone. It was a shy attempt and his voice trembled a little but he did it.

He managed to find his voice.

It may have looked like a small step but, for Ichigo, it was a giant leap forward.

…

A few days later

"Okay class, today we have two extremely special guests. They are waiting for us at the Training Grounds No.7. Let's go."

Ichigo, as well as the rest of the class, exchanged curious glances between one and another. It was a rare thing, to see their instructor have an expression that was a mixture of joy, worry and annoyance all at once. With that said, they all obediently followed the man to the outside area. There they understood his mixed emotions.

Although, most of the class, aside from Ichigo and a few others, paled even before they took one step out of the building. The reason behind it was quite simple and the closer they got to the training grounds, the more obvious it became.

It was a spiritual pressure.

But it wasn't an ordinary one.

Not just powerful or dense, the spiritual pressure that was literally radiating from the training grounds felt like something cut out from a Lovecraft's book. Evoking all sorts of emotions and fears, it was hard to describe.

Haunting.

Daunting.

Ominous and egregious.

Ghastly and savage.

Those words and many more popped in Ichigo's mind when he tried to characterize it. But from all of such words, only one truly managed to grip the underlying tone of the spiritual pressure, the very essence creeping deep within it.

The word was simple and yet it echoed not just within his mind but also his soul, as it was the word that could also describe his own instinct.

Bloodthirsty.

Ichigo felt the hair on his neck bristling. Almost instinctively, he reached for his zanpakuto to try and raise it in front of himself because the closer to the training grounds he got, the greater the feeling of having an invisible sword pressed against his neck became.

Something behind him hit the ground and he barely stopped himself from cleaving the air behind him. Still, he twisted his body around in case something happened.

His expression hardened.

Several of his classmates were on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

"To hell with that guy, I specifically asked him not to do that!" The instructor angrily exclaimed and quickly ordered the small group of students who were still standing to help the ones on the ground. After that, he hurried to the training grounds.

Ichigo watched him go with narrowed eyes. He didn't miss the beads of sweat on the man's forehead. He wanted to follow after him but it soon turned out he didn't need to.

"HOW MANY TIMES DID I ASK YOU NOT TO RELEASE SO MUCH OF YOUR SPIRITUAL ENERGY?"

As the training area wasn't that far anymore, the instructor's yell easily reached the students left behind, shocking them with the honest anger within it. Ichigo, too, was surprised. Not so much at the anger within the yell as at the yell itself. If the instructor just yelled at the owner of the immense spiritual pressure, then Ichigo had to admit one thing.

The man had the balls bigger than a watermelon.

A short moment later, Ichigo, as well as the rest of the class, heard another yell.

"COME HERE, CLASS!"

Ichigo grimaced. The man's first yell clearly worked but not as much as he had probably hoped. While the insane thirst for blood decreased, the pressure did not. The teen glanced at his classmates and then kneeled down. He grabbed the closest one that was still on the ground and carefully helped him stand up. Mirroring his action, the others did the same thing and soon, the whole class was on their feet once again.

However, it took them more than five minutes to cross the rest of the distance.

The instant they reached the training grounds, Ichigo looked around and quickly pinpointed the two extremely special guests. When he did, he felt like cursing.

The first extremely special guest was a man he had met before, the newly appointed Captain of the 3rd Division, Amagai Shūsuke. So far, Ichigo had no problem with the man.

It was the second special guest that made him feel like cursing.

'…you have got to kidding me. Of all people we got him?'

The one standing next to Amagai Shūsuke with a bored expression and the one ignoring the obvious rant of the instructor was a tall, muscular shinigami with a wild and aggressive appearance, a long thin scar running down the left side of his face and hair styled into stiff strands. Unlike the regular clothes that Amagai Shūsuke wore, the captain's haori the tall shinigami was wearing was sleeveless and quite ragged.

"You know who he is, Kurosaki?" The student Ichigo was supporting asked quietly.

Ichigo quickly glanced at him. His own thoughts must have shown on his face for the boy to notice it.

"Yeah." He said with a nod.

"That's the Captain of the 11th Division, Zaraki Kenpachi."

…

Several minutes later, once every student got to the Training Grounds no.7 and the instructor calmed down his emotions, the class finally started.

"For those who don't know, our special guests today are Captain of the 3rd Division, Amagai Shūsuke-san and Captain of the 11th Division, Zaraki Kenpachi." The instructor said, not even bothering to hide his distaste for the latter. Amagai nervously greeted the class with a wave of his hand, while Kenpachi simply grunted.

"Amagai-san came here today to talk about the life of a Gotei Captain, about his duties and responsibilities and about the dangers such a position holds. After that, as this should be a Zanjutsu class, we will have a practical demonstration of the power of a Gotei Captain. To see and feel the difference between you and a Captain, you will be allowed to spar with Captain Zaraki." The instructor continued, causing every student to stiffen.

The silence that followed was so loud, it allowed for the sound of gulping and the sound of increased heartbeats to reverberate around the area like a cold breeze.

"Well… with that said, I leave the rest to you, Amagai-san."

Amidst the silence, the Captain of the 3rd Division stepped up to the students but didn't lose his nervous smile. Looking around, at the faces frozen in fear, he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

"Captain Zaraki sure is scary, isn't he? I remember that the first time I met him, I immediately had to check whether my underpants remained dry." He stated shyly, eventually earning one or two snorts.

"So don't worry about it, it's perfectly normal that you feel scared. Now, how about you lot concentrate on your own spiritual energy and use it to create a protective shield around your body? I'm sure you have already learned about this use of reiatsu. You just have to overcome the fear."

Staring at the Captain from among the other students, Ichigo subconsciously formed a respectful expression. It didn't take long before he felt his classmates' reiatsu slowly expanding all around him.

"Good." Amagai said with a nod.

"You'll have to excuse Captain Zaraki for this but his reserves of spiritual energy are so great, it makes it really hard for him to control it properly." He quickly continued.

Standing in the back, Zaraki's only reaction to that was forming an even more bored expression.

"Now we can start talking about the things your instructor mentioned. However, before that, let me start by shamelessly promoting my Division." Amagai said and his nervous smile was slowly replaced with a determined gaze.

"There is no doubt in my mind that all of you know about what happened a few weeks ago. Three Captains of Gotei 13 defected and became traitors. One of them was my predecessor, the previous Captain of the 3rd Division, Ichimaru Gin. I won't talk about him. Instead, what I want to talk about, are men he left behind. Men he betrayed and men he disappointed. Men, who became my men. I consider it very important that every single person within the walls of Seireitei learns about them. About their strength, about their loyalty to the Gotei and, most importantly, about their determination to keep the Division together. Because, unlike Ichimaru Gin, they are not traitors. They are victims. Yet they don't see themselves as that. Why? Because they are strong. Sure, insecurities and doubts do float around the division. However, those men will not falter and will not fail. Same with me." He cleared his throat and further strengthened his gaze.

"I want you to know that the 3rd Division, unlike most people seem to think, is not all about despair. Marigold, the division's insignia, does not mean we accept despair as the only thing worth in our lives. No. We live along with it, use it to instill fear into the hearts of our enemies and treat it as our additional member. What the 3rd Division is truly about, is loyalty. If you choose to enter our ranks, I promise you this. As your Captain, I will protect you at all costs, because that is the role of a Captain." He finished firmly.

Before he could even take another breath, a sound of clapping quickly filled the training grounds, causing him to squirm in embarrassment.

Ichigo couldn't help but to shake his head.

'I don't get it. Sometimes he looks like he's ashamed of his own self then another moment, he says such good stuff.'

'…he's growing on you, isn't he?'

Zangetsu's words forced him to blink.

'You know what? I think he is… he sounds like a good person. There may be more to him than meets the eye but, right now, I think he's okay. At the very least, it seems he honestly cares about his division.' He mentally replied to his zanpakuto spirit.

Over the course of the next hour, the teen, same as his classmates, intently listened to the Captain's every word. While most of what the man said wasn't very new to Ichigo, it cemented his opinion of the man. It also showed the man's other attributes.

Amagai Shūsuke was, without a doubt, very charismatic and ethical. It took him only minutes before he sucked the students into his stories. His voice was friendly and there was a strong sense of justice within it. Even when he talked about his previous duties, where being harsh and ruthless was basically a requirement, it still didn't sound like he enjoyed it.

For all intents and purposes, the Captain of the 3rd Division seemed like a man from a crowd, an ordinary person and a Captain that was definitely needed in Gotei.

"Thank you for your time, Amagai-san. I'm sure my students learned much from you. Here's to hope that you will grace us with your visit sometime in the future again." The instructor thanked the Captain of the 3rd Division with a clap, prompting the class to do the same.

After the brief applause ended and Amagai took a step back, silence fell upon the area once again. The students dared to look in Kenpachi's direction and were nervously awaiting the inevitable.

When he noticed the glances, the Captain of the 11th Division finally changed his expression.

"I'm Zaraki Kenpachi. Let's cut the polite crap and get to the fun part. I'm here only because the old fart ordered me to and so I'm not really in the good mood. I was told, however, that there is a kid who could amuse me for a minute or two." The man announced in a deep and lazy tone, completely ignoring the glare coming from the instructor.

"Your order is to spar with students to show them the dif-"

"Yeah yeah, yadda yadda. Like hell I'm going to do that. I'm interested only in fighters, in people who can give me a good fight." Kenpachi cut him off scoff and took a step closer to the crowd of students. Immediately, the closest to him backed away. The spiritual pressure freely pouring out of him almost instantly squashed their feeble reiatsu shields and caused them to cower.

"Either way, I asked you, Captain, not to needlessly scare my students!" The instructor said loudly. In response, Kenpachi formed a terrifying grin.

"And why the hell would I listen to you? This is the best way to find the person I'm looking for."

It took only a few seconds after his statements that students began to whisper among themselves.

"…he must be talking about Kurosaki Ichigo."

"…yeah, I think so too."

"…of course it's Kurosaki."

"…who else could stand up to such a monster?"

"…he's the only one strong enough."

Clenching his fists, Ichigo couldn't help but to scowl deeply.

'To hell with you guys! I don't want to fight this guy any more than you do!' He thought and prayed that the tall Captain didn't hear the whispers.

Obviously, he was wrong.

"Huh, Kurosaki? Is that the kid's name? Hey, Kurosaki! Don't be a pussy and show yourself!" Kenpachi exclaimed.

Ichigo didn't move an inch. Trying to look as innocent as possible, he simulated being scared as the rest of his classmates but, that day, he was out of luck.

"If you won't come out, I'll just start going through everyone here and t-"

"Him!"

"That's Kurosaki!"

"Over there!"

As soon as Kenpachi's threat came out of his mouth, several students raised their arms and pointed their fingers directly at Ichigo. The teen's scowl deepened even further and he tried to flee but as soon as he twitched, more students began to point at him.

"Ah, so you are Kurosaki!" Kenpachi yelled with an eerily excited grin.

In the last resort, Ichigo looked at the instructor but the man shamelessly avoided his gaze by turning away.

"…oh for the love of… screw you, cowards." Ichigo muttered in disgust and reluctantly stood up to face the Captain of the 11th Division with his deep scowl.

Kenpachi looked him over and narrowed his eyes.

"Wait a minute… you're the guy Ikkaku has been telling me about. The one with whom he, along with Yumichika, spar sometimes… hmm, yeah. You could do." He said. Turning around, he walked to the area where spars were usually held but was stopped when the instructor stood in his way.

"I hope I don't need to remind you that we are not interested in a slaughter. So, you will not use your own sword but one of ours, a wooden one. You too, Kurosaki." The instructor said and handed the Captain the sword for training. Kenpachi grimaced but then shook his head.

"Tch, whatever. As long as I get a good fight."

Back in the crowd, Ichigo slowly made his way through it and was almost out when he heard several quiet whispers. They were all the same.

"We're sorry, Kurosaki…"

A bit surprised at the honesty in the whisper, ichigo glanced at the faces of his classmates. What he saw was only one thing. One emotion. They were all truly terrified at the prospect of fighting somebody like Kenpachi Zaraki and, deep inside, he knew he couldn't fault them for that. He had, after all, more experience in dealing with strong opponents than they had. He was the perfect candidate for fighting Kenpachi.

He just wished they didn't sell him so cheap.

On the other hand, at least they apologized. That was something new.

"…whatever. Don't expect me to do it again, though." He muttered and then, without looking back, he walked away, towards the Captain of the 11th Division. On the way, he snatched the wooden sword from the instructor's hand and gave the man a stink eye. Then he stood in front of the Captain and looked him over.

'Yeah, I really don't want to do this.' He thought. To his surprise, his zanpakuto spirit disagreed.

'I think you do… but I'll let you realize that by yourself. Unless you decide to play possum.'

He wanted to retort to the spirit but the man towering over him didn't give him enough time. With an eerily happy laughter, the man raised his wooden sword.

"Do me a favor and last at least a few seconds!" He yelled and, in the next moment, brought down his weapon with such force, it created ripples in the air around it.

'Oh, fuck me!' Ichigo mentally exclaimed. Having no time to jump away, he put both his hands on his sword, widened the gap between his legs, brought the sword up and braced himself for impact.

*BOOM*

The air between the thick wooden blades became so compressed that the following clash resulted in a shockwave powerful enough to force the instructor back.

"Kurosaki!" He shouted worriedly.

However, as soon as he noticed what happened, he stared at the teen with his mouth wide open.

Ichigo felt like both his arms just broke and he was visibly struggling against the weight of the Captain's sword but, nevertheless, he was still standing. He ignored the sweat that instantly formed on his forehead along with the numbness in his hands and glared at the Captain.

He shouldn't have done that.

Seeing him fight back, Kenpachi's grin got even wider.

"Very nice! Keep it u-"

*CRACK*

Both Ichigo and Kenpachi froze and glanced at their swords.

It seemed the first contact had been too powerful and, despite being from a very durable wood, the training swords were simply too frail for the power of a Captain. Both of them cracked from the very center all the way to the hilt.

"Tch, I warned them this would happen." Kenpachi muttered and then glanced at the teen with a renewed grin.

"Don't worry. We both still have our zanpakuto, right, Kurosaki?!" He shouted and grabbed the hilt of his real sword, tucked to his waist. Without warning, he unsheathed it and jumped towards Ichigo with an intent to slash him.

"STOP!" The instructor yelled but he was far too slow to reach them and before he could even cross half of the distance between them, Kenpachi's sword was already descending.

However, Ichigo was ready. He already threw away the cracked wooden sword and unsheathed his own zanpakuto only to parry Kenpachi's slash with its blade. Right after that, he jumped back.

"THIS IS MADNESS!"

Once again completely ignoring the instructor, Kenpachi laughed with satisfaction.

"Of course it is! The best kind there is! It's called a FIGHT!" He yelled. At the same time, Ichigo shuddered. It seemed the happier the Captain of the 11th Division got, the stronger his bloodlust became.

'…Rukia was right. This guy is insane.'

'Still don't want to fight him?'

'Not a chance. He kind of reminds me of you when you're being influenced with the hollow part.'

To Ichigo's confusion, Zangetsu chuckled.

'I wonder why…'

'What does that…? Oh, crap!' Ichigo had to cut off the conversation with his zanpakuto spirit as his opponent decided it was time to attack once again.

"Come on, Kurosaki Ichigo! Don't tell me defending is all you can do!"

Almost buckling under the pressure of the strike, Ichigo subconsciously released a quiet but angry growl. For some reason, Kenpachi was getting under his skin. It reminded him of his fight with Yoruichi.

Only when he realized that, Ichigo truly began to feel annoyed.

"It's not!" He exclaimed and let his spiritual energy loose. Using it, he strained his muscles and pushed the tall Captain backwards. Immediately after that, he switched his sword-hand and slashed at the man's torso.

Kenpachi lowered his gaze and glanced at the sword digging into his chest. A bit of red liquid trickled down its blade and fell on the ground. The sight momentarily surprised him. Then his elated expression returned in full force. The grin on his face was so wide, all of his teeth were visible. Along with that even more spiritual energy began to pour off him.

"What's this? You can even cut me?"

Standing only inches away from the man, Ichigo couldn't help but the grimace. The pressure on his shoulders was slowly becoming the second most powerful that he had ever felt so far. Only reiatsu of the Captain Commander that he had felt on the Sōkyoku Hill had been more powerful.

'…a lot more powerful.' Ichigo corrected himself and quickly backed away.

"This is amazing. It's been so long since somebody managed to cut me, so keep that spiritual energy sharp, Kurosaki Ichigo. The real fun is just beginning!" With a leap, Kenpachi closed the gap between them and sliced the air where Ichigo's head was.

Yanking his body to the side, Ichigo felt the tip of the man's blade cutting his cheek. He scowled and retaliated with a spinning slash.

Not moving an inch away, Kenpachi let him slice his torso for the second time and repaid him by giving him the same wound.

"HAHAHA! This is amazing! I almost can't believe it!"

Ichigo's scowl deepened. The cut on his chest stung and his opponent's reiatsu seemed to be still increasing. The fight was shaping to end just like his fight with Yoruichi. With him losing it.

He gritted his teeth.

Flashing around the Captain, he attempted to slice open his backside but the man's reaction was fast enough and his strike was blocked from below. In the next moment, Ichigo watched the man reach out with his free hand and grab the end of his zanpakuto as if he was grabbing a wooden stick. Despite cutting his own hand, the man rotated the teen's sword and forced him to spin his body along with it.

'This guy!'

In the air, Ichigo hastily leaned backwards to avoid getting his shoulder pierced and kicked the man's hand away from his blade. As he was landing, he felt a temptation to use a Kido spell. However, against his best judgement, he scrapped the idea as fast as it came to him.

He cursed. While he was thinking, his opponent slipped away from his radar and was no longer in front of him.

'Behind me!'

He leaned to the side and deflected the sword that was brought upon him by letting it slide along the blade of his zanpakuto.

"Good! Your reactions are very good!"

Ichigo ignored him. He realized that he was beginning to pant.

Over the course of the next five minutes the two of them exchanged various blows. Their swords clashed with unprecedented power, releasing it to their surroundings in a form of a strong wind. Cuts began to increase on both of them.

Ichigo's panting got worse.

'…but I'm not tired. Is it because of his spiritual pressure that is trying to crush me?'

As soon as Kenpachi's sword finished sliding along his own, Ichigo rolled to the side and cut the area just above the man's knees.

'You need to release more of your reiryoku, Ichigo. If it goes further, maybe you'll even need to use my Shikai.'

Ichigo groaned when a sudden attack made a carved into his lower backside.

'Gh… not a chance, Zangetsu!'

Swinging his sword around, he managed to shred the front part of Kenpachi's clothes and create another gash in the man's chest but the tall Captain didn't even twitch.

'…is it because of what happened the last time?'

Ichigo momentarily stiffened and it cost him a cut on his outer left thigh.

'Not now, Zangetsu!'

'Yes, Ichigo, now! You're acting like an idiot! I know that you are afraid of repeating the same mistake. That you'll let your emotions get the better of you! Fuck that!'His zanpakuto spirit yelled, completely turning his demeanor in a matter of a second. It surprised the teen so much, he messed up his feint and almost allowed Kenpachi to chop off his fingers.

'You're letting your hollow part influence you!'

'I am aware of that. And what was your reaction as soon as you noticed it? Panic. Despite what you said, you still have problems accepting the hollow part of you. You're going even so far as to deny that you were actually looking forward to fight this man!'

A burst of reiatsu escaped Ichigo's body and unexpectedly aided him in an attempt to push his opponent away.

'I was not looking forward to this! I didn't want to fight this guy!' He argued but his zanpakuto spirit retorted almost instantly.

'Really? Then how come you noticed the similarity between me and this man right away? You instinctively knew that he's a being just like me. Just like us. A being of instinct. He's like your mirror image, only without certain attributes. It makes no sense that you wouldn't want to fight him. You are practically fighting yourself!'

Ichigo froze in place. It was a lot to swallow. Fortunately for him, his opponent stopped attacking in the same moment.

Bloody but ecstatic, Kenpachi laughed with his face turned to the sky.

"I don't know how are you doing it, but you are slowly matching my own reiatsu. You are strong, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Staring at him, Ichigo momentarily shifted his attention from his conversation with Zangetsu and grimaced.

'This guy… I cut him so many times yet it feels like it's only making him stronger. What is he, a zombie?'

"I can feel it. I can feel that you are not that different from me! We both like to fight! Still, you don't enjoy the carnage and the pain as much as you should! Hahaha!" Still in an ecstasy, Kenpachi's laughter seemed to be endless. Eventually though, he lowered his head and glanced at the teen with a crazed glint in his eyes.

"And that means I'll just have to show it to you!" He stated and raised his free hand, only to place it on the eyepatch covering his right eye. For some reason, as if sensing danger, Ichigo stiffened. His mind returning to the words of his zanpakuto spirit, he reluctantly dug into his reiryoku reserves. Whatever his opponent seemed to be planning, it was leaving him with no other option but to completely stop holding back.

"But before that, I have to thank you. I don't even remember how long it has been since I had this feeling. That you are an opponent worthy of going all out!" Kenpachi shouted and grabbed the edge of his eyepatch with a clear intention of ripping it away. Standing opposite of him, Ichigo prepared himself to release his zanpakuto.

"ENOUGH!"

Before either of them could push their fight further, a loud yell reverberated across the training grounds and Ichigo felt a hand on his wrist. Similarly, Kenpachi felt a grip on his own wrist that prevented him from taking his eyepatch off.

The one who stopped Ichigo was the instructor.

The one who dared to stop Kenpachi was the only other Captain in the area, Amagai.

"Enough of this! Look around you! Didn't you cause enough damage already?"

Blinking at the man in front of him, Ichigo turned his head to look to the distance, at the rest of the students, and cursed. Not only were his classmates crawling, with some of them even clearly being unconscious, but even the training ground itself looked like a tornado made its way through it.

In the heat of the battle, he never noticed what the clash of every attack or what every missed strike did to his surroundings. An amused voice called out to him from within his mind.

'Yeah, you really didn't want to fight him.'

…

For endangering the well-being of his fellow classmates, Ichigo had been swiftly punished.

The teen was dimly aware that maybe he kind of deserved it but, in the corner of his mind, it bugged him. Especially since he had been literally pushed into the fight. Obviously, the principal outright ignored that part of Ichigo's reasoning and simply threw him out of his office.

Only once he was outside Ichigo realized that his punishment wasn't that harsh. He had expected to be banned from the practical Zanjutsu classes but, in light of recent development within the Academy's education system, such a punishment was currently considered to be too much. When every student needed to get as much skills in order to survive the upcoming years, such a thing would have been counterproductive.

Because of that, the only penalty Ichigo had received was a regular detention for the next week, what he easily accepted.

And so, for the next five days, Ichigo could return to his room only after moon reached its highest point in the sky. During that time, he noticed the renewed amount of stares pointed at him. The rumors about his fight with Kenpachi Zaraki spread faster than a forest fire and, from time to time, he managed to overhear parts of them. Every time he did, he was torn between grinning in satisfaction and sighing in exasperation.

Ichigo Kurosaki versus Kenpachi Zaraki reached the status of being legendary in only twenty-four hours.

'…so childish…' Ichigo muttered as he passed through another empty corridor on his third day.

'Yeah, just like the smirk on your face.'

Ever since that innocent remark, Ichigo stopped thinking about the rumor as something annoying in fear of getting teased again.

When the fourth day of his punishment came, Ichigo was surprised to see the Academy's corridors empty even during the day. His confusion didn't last long, though, as the reason behind it became clear enough.

Another Captain came to the Academy to offer his knowledge to the students.

This time, it was the Captain of the 2nd Division, Sui-Feng.

Unfortunately for the teen, he found about it too late and the only thing he managed to see or hear, was the fluttering of air after the strict Captain left the class using a Shunpo so fast, even he had troubles seeing more than a blur.

Aside from that bit of excitement, the five days passed uneventfully. The very next day, he was called to his father's office where he awkwardly greeted Rangiku and where he received a free pass to the Human World for that evening.

"Why?" He asked Isshin. The Captain shrugged.

"Why not? Don't you want to see the Kasumiōji girl?"

Ichigo didn't need more convincing and left the office before his father could change his mind. He felt a bit bad about leaving Rukia behind but that feeling passed soon enough.

'…a bit of freedom can never hurt.' He thought.

He was wrong. He just didn't know it yet.

End of chapter 19.

---

Gee, another long-ass chapter behind me. You want to know the funny part? It should have been even longer but I decided to cut it here. It makes for a good cliffhanger and if I continued to write words into this one, it would end too long. Yep, a chapter can be too long. I think even this is too long but...meh.

After all the crap irl finally good news. I got a new job. A video-game developer. Proud as fck... but it means less time to write. FML.

Back to this story. Ichigo finally confronted Urahara! Ichigo finally confronted his own self! Ichigo finally got to meet Kenpachi! Ichigo... okay, enough. You read it yourself. I'm just hyped. This chapter was so full of information, it actually deserves its length.

Seems you enjoyed Shiba antics from previous chapter. I'm glad :).

*reality_deviant - a bit of that is here but I'll include more in the future.

*NieveDrop - nope, still no sample sword. Not Ganju, somebody else ^^. Well, Ichigo and Rukia are a "dynamic duo" of sorts so... you know :D.

*Dinner - it is difficult to keep track of stuff but, so far, it works. From here on, it will only get harder.

*19Teardrop94 - I rly want to react to that but... I can't. In a good way.

*Struggle_is_Real - got that right bruh. 200k words and still so many ideas in my head. Dayum.

btw: just to let you know, every single chapter title has some sort of a deeper meaning. Sometimes, it can help you understand the chapter better. I don't just think of cool words.

Many thanks to every single reader! I know what I want to write in the next chapter so, hopefully, I can do it soon. But don't expect it sooner than the later part of September. On the other hand, it will be worth the wait. I can promise you that. So, look forward to that day!

P.S: I noticed questions about the identity of the person in the illusion Ichigo saw in Hanza's void space. I'm sorry it wasn't as clear as I tried to make it but, without spilling it you outright, I'll tell you this: The part with Ichigo's mother and part with his rape merged into one. Since the Boss (the woman who originally raped him) was replaced in the illusion, take a guess into which woman from Ichigo's life she morphed.

Yep, you got it right. Nasty and cruel, right? Enough to make him lose control, right?

See ya next time! R&R.