Chapter 43: Foundations of Justice (Collateral consequences)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner spirit speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
Unlike the trip itself, the visit in the library was long but uneventful. After listening to the parting words of the Captain of the 8th Division, Ichigo spent around a minute pondering about all meanings hidden in them. However, once the sixty seconds of intense thinking passed, he let go of his thoughts with a slight shake of his head. Instead, he focused on the task at hand and as he returned the works of Shakespeare, his eyes fell on the books in a nearby section. The name of the section itself made him raise both his eyebrows as he considered the knowledge he could draw from it.
"War." He whispered.
He stood motionless and his eyes narrowed to tiny slits as he realized that borrowing books from that section could benefit him in many ways. There were no cons, only pros. A split-second decision later, he bent in his waist and closed the gap between his face and the books in the section. Humming to himself, he crept along the large bookshelf and read all the titles with his inner voice, pausing only when he reached something that caught his interest.
'Hm, that's an interesting selection they have here.' He thought when he reached for the first book.
'Ah, the classic. The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Yeah, I'm getting this one.'
After plucking the small book from the shelf and getting a firm grasp on it, he moved further along. But only a few seconds later he made a second stop.
'A History of Warfare. Hm, this one looks modern. I wonder who got it from the World of the Living. Whatever, sounds good.'
Looking further to the side, yet another book caught his eyes.
'Vom Kriege.'
He took the book out of the shelf and looked inside. For several long seconds, he flipped through the pages and read through multiple lines of text until he was sure he knew at least a raw summary of the book.
'Written by Prussian general, post Napoleonic wars. I'm sold.'
He closed the book and put it on the top of his pile. Then his eyes caught another title. It didn't fit the theme of the section but, if only to see the twisted beliefs of one of the worst criminals in the history of mankind, he took it. Feeling conscious about its title, he pushed it to the middle of his pile. Then he took a step away from the bookshelf and looked at the books he had chosen so far. One of his eyebrows shot upwards while the left corner of his mouth twitched in the opposite direction.
'Yikes. That is an interesting selection. Quite a leap from Shakespeare but I think the librarian won't mind. After all, these are just books. Nothing suspicious about borrowing them.' He thought and glanced back at the bookshelf, filled with dozens of other books.
'Though I should stop here. There's no point in borrowing any more. I still want to visit the library in the Academy.'
With that in mind, he tightened the hold on his chosen books and made his way towards the entrance, where the librarian sat with his face glued to a thick, large scroll of unknown origin. Without uttering a word, Ichigo placed all of his books on the counter and waited until the man raised his head. A man of a few words, the librarian threw only a fleeting gaze on the titles. With a few taps on the computer keyboard next to him, he entered the necessary information and then placed a scrap of paper on top of Ichigo's books.
"Borrowing period on these is one month." He grunted.
Shrugging, Ichigo accepted the terms and grabbed the books. A minute later, he was breathing the chilly air of the outside world.
…
Returning to his room just to drop the books, Ichigo made one more trip outside, to the Shinigami Academy, where he took a few more books he intended to read; all with ridiculous names but containing important data. Now that the reserve of his spiritual energy seemed to be at its lowest point possible, he knew he had the best shot at mastering the one side of Shinigami arts in which he still lacked proper finesse.
Kidō.
When he closed the doors to his room and sat on the bed, evening was already in full flow. Grabbing all the books he had borrowed that day, he tentatively placed them around him. Even though he had an abundance of free time, all of a sudden, he found himself unable to choose what to read first. Low noise coming from the outside world felt like a lullaby and he had to shook his head to stay focused. Leaning backwards into the wall behind him, his eyes drifted along the titles in front of him as he tried to make the final decision. With each tick of the clock, his mind fought the war against the loss of concentration until, with a quiet grunt, he reached for the sword placed near his bedside table. He straightened his back, crossed his legs, assumed a meditative pose, then placed his zanpakuto over his lap and closed his eyes. They called the pose "Jinzen" and it served Shinigami as a method of communicating with their inner world.
Mere minutes later, his eyes opened. A miniscule smirk which grew bigger during his stay in his inner world dissipated and his earlier indecisiveness fell from both his shoulders and mind.
"At the very best, less than a month of this facade, huh? Thanks, that will be plenty." He said, apparently to no one, and put his zanpakuto away. With a few lazy movements, he put most of the books to the shelf above his bed, leaving only one available.
"Academic theory on the arts of Kidō, their construction, usage and application. Well, that's a boring title if I ever saw one." He muttered when he glanced at the cover of the remaining book. Yet he didn't let himself get discouraged and, his eyes almost glowing with determination, he flipped through the first introductory pages. Skimming through the text, he reached the contents page and tapped his finger on the desired page number.
"Page 112, section - Hadō spells. Hadō #1. Shō (衝, Thrust)." He muttered to himself and flipped the pages. Squinting a little, he looked at the picture which accompanied the notes explaining the spell and shook his head.
"Already know this one well enough."
He skipped the next spell as it didn't catch his interest and slowed down on the one after it.
"Hadō #3. Atsukyū (圧球, Compression Ball) - Practitioner points his open palm at the target and discharges a ball of compressed air that is powerful enough to dent a moderately hard surface." He read along and hummed to himself. Moving his eyes, he looked at the picture, in which a faceless Shinigami showed the stance and practical application of the spell, and narrowed his eyes, deep in thoughts.
'I could use it to surprise an opponent and push him away without straining myself. All right.' He mused and reached into his bedside table, from which he took out a new, empty notebook. Picking up a pen, he made several short notes and then brought the upper tip of the pen to his mouth. Satisfied, he nodded to himself and flipped the page.
"Hadō #4. Byakurai (白雷, Pale Lightning), essentially a concentrated bolt of lightning. Hm, kind of flashy. Next."
Tapping his lower lip with the tip of the pen, he browsed the pages for anything interesting while mentally reading through the spells' names.
"Hadō #5. Shakkadan (赤火弾, Red Fire Bullet). Hadō #7. Futtōjōki (沸騰蒸気, Boiling Steam). Hadō #8. Onpasen (音波閃, Sonic Flash). Hadō #9. Hirameku (閃く, Flash). Hadō #10. Tsuchikizu (土傷, Earth Scar). Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden (綴雷電, Bound Lightning). Most of these either require a preparation period or are useless to me. Although number 8 looks quite interesting. Hmm. To use this spell, the practitioner pushes energy through his mouth and, with his voice, generates a sonic wave capable of causing pain in his opponent's ear canal and deafening him." Pushing air through his nostrils with a thoughtful expression, he lowered his hand and made another set of notes in his notebook. Once the ballpoint of the pen stopped making scribbling noise, the only sound in the room was the rustling of pages and Ichigo's occasional humming.
"Ah. Hadō #17. Benichimori (紅血銛, Crimson Blood Lance). Usable in situations when the practitioner has access to his own blood. When I'm already bleeding, basically. Gathering blood in his hand, the practitioner makes a throwing motion while channelling his energy into the blood and turning it into solid matter. Then he throws the created lance at his opponent. Hm."
Another note appeared in his notebook.
"Hadō #21. Nekoutsu (猫打つ, Feline Swipe). Making a swipe motion with his hand, the practitioner focuses his energy into the tips of his fingers, discharging a strike in form of feline claw, capable of tearing the skin and muscles of his opponent. Frequently used in combination with Hakuda."
For a few moments, Ichigo imagined himself using the spell in a spar with Sui-Feng and a smirk found its way to his face. Whether it was just his good imagination, the shocked expression on the imaginary Captain's face seemed worth the effort of learning the spell. Saying nothing, he made a note in the notebook. Then he moved back a little and looked at the scribbles he had made so far with a critical eye.
"Four mostly lower-level Hadō spells. I don't think it's viable trying to learn more for now." He mumbled and leaned backwards until the weight of his upper body won over the strength of his back muscles and forced him to lie down with his eyes facing the ceiling.
'I'm not even sure training is a good idea. If I'm not careful and tap into deeper levels, I may pull out more energy than they think I have and that would spell trouble. So, until I'm ready, I have to train in secret. Obviously, that renders ninety-nine percent of Seireitei unusable. The remaining one percent represents the secret training area within Sōkyoku Hill. It is a good location and the only people who know about it that are in Soul Society are Yoruichi Shihōin and Captain Sui-Feng. However, these two are also superb at sensing reiatsu and, since the area isn't shielded, they could easily recognize my energy signature. So, if I want to train within the bounds of Seireitei I need an enclosure shielded with Sekkiseki mineral… shielded area… Sekkiseki…'
As his brain worked in overdrive, his eyes began to narrow until the image of the ceiling above him blurred. Not even aware of what he was doing, his eyes moved from side to side in an attempt to find the answer to his problem. Strangely, his mind felt blank, as if somebody took an eraser to the canvas of his brain and wiped it clean. Silence filled his consciousness and only occasional noise of distant thoughts forced the air within his mind to vibrate. Was he that tired or was he going at it from the wrong end?
Tilting his head to the side, he relaxed his eye muscles and then brought his right hand to his head to massage his temple.
'I'm most likely focusing on a wrong detail. I don't need to think about places shielded with Sekkiseki. What I need to think about are places that could contain reiatsu. Most training areas in each Division's barracks have a layer of Sekkiseki built into one wall. That is not enough. Buildings of Central 46 contains some of it for sure but that area is out of my reach. So, what else is there? Maggot's Nest. Laboratory of the 12th Division. Some parts of Noble Clan's housings. Maybe Underground Prison. But none of these are helpful. Come on, Ichigo. You didn't borrow these books on Kido for noth… '
His train of thought halted, coming to a crash in the middle of a race with no warning. An answer popped in his mind almost as if it teleported from the outer parts of the universe. Yet, it made perfect sense and Ichigo groaned in exasperation. Why didn't he think of that sooner?
'Of course! The freaking Shinigami Academy has few small training areas designed just for this purpose! I'm an idiot!'
Rolling over to his stomach, he raised his head only to plunge it downwards, so it hit the firm, yet soft surface of the mattress. With his face still embedded in it, he released a deep sigh.
'Now, the only thing I need is to come up with a believable reason that will get me into using one of those training areas without raising suspicion.'
…
Standing in a middle of an empty hallway, Ichigo stared down the man in front of him with an expression that seemed to have been a mixture of multiple emotions; disinterest, irritation and exasperation but also urgent honesty and anticipation. Almost a whole minute had passed since the two of them entered this staring contest but so far, there was no clear victor. Neither of them moved an inch and their eyes remained in a fixed position. However, Ichigo had one advantage.
He knew the man.
The staring match was just a pretense, a charade to uphold a sense of pride and to establish the respect they would have towards each other. Ichigo had realized the Academy would grant him his request as soon as he had found out with whom he would have to deal. One glance at the face of the older man was enough to convince him that his second visit to the Shinigami Academy in the past two days would not result in failure. It wasn't in the man's nature not to help him.
Gengorō Ōnabara just wasn't like that.
"It still doesn't feel right, you know. Not being able to sense your reiatsu." The Academy instructor finally spoke and, with a short nod, ended the staring contest.
"Tell me about it." Ichigo muttered and nodded in return. Right after that, Gengorō led him through a hallway, a steep staircase and another hallway, towards a small door plastered in the middle of a cold rock-like wall.
"I mean, I understand. Many first-years face the same problem. It's difficult for somebody with little spiritual energy to live and function around those who have several dozen times more of it. From what I know, it is like a condition known in the World of the Living as 'seasick'." The instructor said before he opened the door.
"That's one way to put it. It makes me jittery and unable to focus on anything that's not a menial task." Ichigo retorted with a grunt. Led into the middle of the dark room, he waited until Gengorō turned on the light.
"Though it surprises me you said nothing for the past two weeks."
Ichigo closed his eyes and shrugged.
"Didn't want to bother anyone. I can sleep fine, it's just during the day, when I'm wandering Seireitei that it gets uncomfortable. I spent most of the time reading in my room but, well, I thought a change in the layout would be nice. It didn't work out as well as I hoped it would." He said, adding one more shrug at the end. Gengorō snorted and patted his shoulder with few light slaps.
"Yes, I can see that."
Then he walked away until Ichigo heard him closing the door.
"Anyway, this room gets no use nowadays so drop by anytime you want. If, perchance, it isn't available, just stop by and we can find an alternative. Just don't forget to leave by nine o'clock and lock the door after you leave. I put the key on the shelf over there." The instructor said and pointed at the far side of the room. With a grateful grin, Ichigo nodded to him and watched him leave.
Once the sound of footsteps turned inaudible and was replaced with comfortable silence, Ichigo let out a short, relieved sigh. Right after that, he shuddered. While the walls made from Sekkiseki had a somewhat different, altered composition and structure compared to those used for keeping prisoners, being in the middle of a room with walls made of the mineral felt disconcerting. But unlike rooms for prisoners, the training rooms in the Academy, such as the one he was in, were finely tuned and made breathable so well, not even a longer stay could rob the trainees of their reiryoku or their spiritual senses.
But it was still a weird sensation.
'This could take a while to get used to.' He thought.
"Still better than nothing." He added out loud after a moment of thinking. Taking a deep breath, he dropped the bag filled with books on the floor and moved away from them to create a bit of space. The next few minutes were filled with calm, regular breathing as Ichigo went through several stretching exercises to galvanize his stiff body, warm up his unused muscles, unblock his creaky joints and rattle his dead bones. A groan of an old man escaped through his mouth but a loud cracking noise coming from his joints masked it well enough.
"Oh man, that almost scared me." He said with a snort and then walked back to the bag. Halfway bent down to reach into it, he stiffened and thought about his intentions. With a thoughtful expression, he straightened his back and took a step back. His eyes moved from the bag to his hands and he formed a contemplative frown.
'Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Ichigo. You still haven't tried to pull back any of your energy.' He berated himself and, closing his eyes, plunged into his mindscape, where he found his carefully carved out canals that had used to overflow with reiryoku arid. Though there was a tiny, to the naked eye imperceptible stream, it flowed through only one canal. Ichigo's expression didn't change, but the sight saddened him.
'Ouch.'
He shook his head.
'Eh, I chose this myself.' He thought and looked towards the location where a ball of energy that represented his reiryoku reserves used to be. He blinked in honest surprise.
The ball looked bigger than he remembered it.
Aside from that, the rest of its appearance didn't surprise him. Not even the fact that unlike before, it was no longer emitting any form of glow or light and, instead, something akin to a thick membrane of impenetrable void that seemed to connect with something further away through a single thick string of indescribable energy covered its surface.
"You two did a fantastic job. It feels like there's nothing there. But I guess it's time to take a tiny portion" He stated expecting no reaction. Then he crouched down and placed one of his fingers into the only not dried up canal and used his mind to form a mental link to the energy contained within it. Once he did it, he left his mindscape.
Back in the training room, he raised his right arm and pointed his index finger forward. Focusing on the bit of energy within him, he pictured the desired effect.
"Hadō #1. Shō."
A tiny smile, almost a grin, formed on his lips an instant later.
"Alright. I can do this."
…
Three days after he started his daily routine of visiting the isolated training room and just as he was leaving the Academy compound, he encountered the person he most likely should have spoken with a lot more; his father. Though it wasn't as If he had been avoiding the man. There was no personal vendetta going on. But he didn't feel the need to talk to him either. Whether it was because he was becoming a grown-up man, a man of his own, or because of a different reason he himself wasn't aware of, he wasn't sure. But once he heard Isshin's greeting, he realized his emotional turmoil must have shown on his face.
"Hey Ichigo, is something wrong?"
Ichigo shook his head and tried to form a friendly expression.
"Mhm, just thinking. What's up, dad?"
He saw Isshin's face soften, and the man took a step closer only to place a hand on his shoulder.
"I was talking to Kūkaku an-"
"Say no more." Ichigo cut him off with an amused snort. He still recalled the day after he had woken up from coma when the explosive family member made quite the scene by bursting through the entire 4th Division compound like fireworks. The irony of the observation made him chuckle even now.
Isshin mimicked his reaction and snorted too.
"Ha! Don't worry, though. Nothing embarrassing happened this time. We discussed something I have been thinking about for the past few days though. Well, longer than that. Actually, ever since you woke up." Isshin said and the corners of his mouth fell turning his happy face remorseful. Seeing that, Ichigo sighed and prepared for the worst.
"Okay, let's hear it."
Isshin patted him on the shoulder.
"She, and by extension me, wants you to come and live with her in the Shiba mansion."
Before he could stop himself, words came out of Ichigo's mouth nothing short of a desperate whine.
"Hell no!"
He felt the hand on his shoulder stiffen for a moment but then Isshin erupted in a hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! Don't let Kūkaku hear you say that!"
Though confident there was no way she could have heard his shout, Ichigo still shuddered when he imagined it. He took a deep breath and sighed but before he uttered a single word, Isshin was already talking.
"It doesn't have to be permanent. But you're still recuperating and so we thought living with the family would be nice. You know, since we have a lot of catching up. All of us."
From the corner of his eyes, Ichigo noticed Isshin's faraway stare.
"You're coming as well?"
Isshin's eyes returned to the reality, and he gave a short nod.
"Yeah. Kūkaku's been pestering me for months now. I mean, I vanished for over twenty years so I understand her feelings. But I didn't feel comfortable going there by myself."
"So, you're using me as a safe boat?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow. When Isshin turned to him with a frown, he couldn't help it and he had to stifle a chuckle threatening to escape his lips.
"Cheeky. You're not wrong, though. It may shock you but I know how overbearing Shiba family can at times be. It always was. Still, both Kūkaku and Ganju are my family and I love them." He stated, causing Ichigo's second eyebrow to shot up.
"So? What do you say?"
Ichigo turned away from him and lowered his eyes to stare at the ground he was walking on. Thinking about the offer seriously, for a moment his eyes lost their focus.
"A few days ago, I made a deal with the Academy about using one of their rooms to relax and I don't want to back away from that."
"You don't have to. Just try to spend some time with us too that's all we're asking." He heard Isshin say.
With that out of the way, he couldn't find any reasonable reason not to say yes. Aside from her affectionate and overbearing nature, he liked Kūkaku. Without another objection, he shrugged.
"Okay."
…
Sitting down in the middle of the training room, Ichigo reached into his bag and took out all the books he had brought with him. At a leisure pace, he placed them on the ground and sorted them into groups based on the importance of information in them but also on their thematic class. Once he finished, he leaned backwards and looked at the pile in front of him with an exasperated stare and with his eyes opened as wide as possible.
"Well, shit."
An echo of a distant voice called out to him in his mind and he nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I should slow down. Or, better yet, create a schedule." He muttered and adopted a thinking pose with his legs crossed and both arms supporting the weight of his upper body that was bent backwards.
"I won't rush my Kido. Unless I'm convinced I mastered the spells I decided to learn, I won't read further. I could, however, stop bringing books on war and strategy. There's nothing in them I could train in. It's all but a theory I have to carve into my mind by reading it repeatedly." He said out loud for the words to echo within the room. He remained in the same pose for several more seconds and stared at the wall in front of him with unfocused eyes. Then the newest additions in his book collection entered his field of vision and his eyes regained focus. Straining his back muscle, he leaned forward and grabbed the books and placed them in his lap.
Both were general encyclopedia containing data on multiple topics though there was no connection between them. There was nothing impressive about the books, not the titles, covers, writing style nor the art of images. Yet he had chosen them for one simple reason. They were both the thickest encyclopedia he could find anywhere in Seireitei and, thus, contained as much information as a book could contain. Even information relating to topics other books didn't touch on.
Information such as detailed knowledge on Hollow physiology, their habits and instinctual behavior. Not to mention that one of the two books included a short chapter on something he hadn't seen in any other book.
Quincy.
There wasn't much data about them. It was a lot less than he had hoped for but, beggars can't be choosers, and so Ichigo decided it was enough.
"Hollows first." He said in a determined voice and opened the larger encyclopedia. After a moment filled with him flipping pages, he found the desired topic. He leaned closer to the book and read.
"Hollows (lit. 'hollow beings') are a race of creatures born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long."
He hummed to himself and looked lower.
"Included in this chapter are: Overview (comprising subtopics like Transformation Process, Tendencies, Appearance, etc.), Destruction, Demi-Hollow Overview, Menos Classifications (comprising subtopics like Gillian, Adjuchas, Vasto Lorde), Hollow Powers, Special Classifications, etc..."
A thoughtful, yet content, frown formed on his face. Gently, he placed the opened book on the ground next to him and put a bookmark in it, so that the pages wouldn't flip by themselves. Then he grabbed the other book and rummaged through its pages.
"Quincy (lit, 'monk of destruction') are human mediums that have the ability to detect the presence of Hollows." He read and then glanced several lines of text lower.
"Included in this chapter are: Overview (comprising subtopics like Reishi Manipulation, Spirit Weapon, etc.), Appearance, History, Danger to the Balance, Quincy Philosophy, Recognized type of Quincy Combat and Recognized Quincy Items."
His frown deepened but not because he was discontent with something. It was quite the opposite. He felt relieved the books he had found turned out to be a wellspring of information he was looking for. Placing a tiny bookmark in the book, he flipped through almost half of its pages, until he reached another topic he wanted to learn about.
"Time to form combat strategies against anything and anyone." He muttered and looked at the title of the chapter.
"Shinigami."
…
"So, how's the life of those on a vacation?"
Facing the question which could have been an insult but was really just a good-hearted jab, Ichigo rolled his eyes and shook his head. Instead of giving an immediate reply, he shifted in his seat and cracked his neck joints while giving the one asking him, Hisagi, a relaxed smirk.
"I'm tempted to say I'd be happier to be back but when I see that stack of documents you have to read through… I think I'm good."
Hisagi looked up from the paper he was reading through and let out an odd whimper of a wounded animal.
"You have no idea. These past few weeks have been an administrative nightmare. So much papers to sign, so many things to approve or reject, so many obituaries to write…" Hisagi trailed off with an expression that quickly took a turn for worse and caused Ichigo to wince.
"Yeah." He muttered in agreement, not knowing what else he could say. For a few seconds, the only sound stopping the silence from overwhelming the room was the noise of Hisagi's pen scribbling down signatures with an occasional flip of a page.
"I read your article." Ichigo said after a moment. Hisagi's hand stopped moving and the scribbling of his pen died down. The Vice-Captain of the 9th Division looked up and allowed Ichigo to see his neutral gaze.
"And?"
Ichigo smiled a little.
"I liked it. I thought it was a hard truth many needed to read."
Reacting in an atypical way, Hisagi gave out a quiet snort.
"I knew you would."
Raising one eyebrow, Ichigo looked at him with an unspoken question written all over his face. Hisagi put down the pen, leaned into his chair, grabbed a nearby glass of water and took a small sip. Then he sighed.
"You are the reason I wrote the article in the first place. Your actions, your story and your character."
Taken by surprise, Ichigo blinked and blindly reached for his own glass of water. Before putting it to his mouth, he spoke.
"Uh-huh."
"I spoke to some people who know you better than I do and, looking at everything I learned about you with the eye of a journalist, I think I understood certain sides of you. Your motivations, goals and hatred."
A bit of water got caught in his windpipe and Ichigo fought against the urge for a coughing fit. Forcefully clearing his throat, he hit himself in the chest and looked at Hisagi with a frown.
"My hatred?"
Hisagi nodded.
"You don't like Shinigami." He said in a flat tone, causing Ichigo's frown to vanish and get replaced with a surprised expression. He took a while to regain his composure. When he did, he shifted in his seat once again, as if looking for a safe spot from which he could speak undisturbed.
"It's not that easy, Hisagi-san. For example, I don't dislike you. I don't dislike Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku-san and some others too."
Hisagi stared at him with a thoughtful gaze.
"You mean you don't like Shinigami as an institution?"
Freezing on the spot, Ichigo felt like his brain pulled on a mental brake and his train of thoughts came to a screeching halt. His eyes widened, and he had to blink to regain his focus. He looked at Hisagi with a snort that came out of nowhere.
"You are a dangerous person, Hisagi-san. Good, but dangerous. Yeah, you're right. I don't like the way we Shinigami operate. We should be the guardians of the souls, the governors of the Afterlife, yet every time I look further than the walls of Seireitei, I see nothing but grief, sorrow and a great deal of misfortune. Sure, life in the first few districts on Rukongai is not that difficult, maybe even satisfactory, but these districts are nothing short of a minority. What about souls living further away? The worst thing is, Shinigami know about the state of affairs there, yet we do nothing." He finished in a strong voice that filled the room with its intensity like an expanding heat of an exploded bomb. Then he realized what he said and bit his tongue. After everything that had happened so far, even he knew some things were better left unsaid. Concerned but also bitter, he looked at Hisagi, only to see the man looking back at him with something he felt to be a look of understatement.
"That was another reason I wrote the article. Don't worry, Kurosaki. It may come as a surprise to you but I agree with you. It is why I followed Captain Tōsen in the first place; because of the sense of justice that is missing here."
"Oh."
Hisagi's head made a slight turn, and he and looked through the window, at the cold morning of the new week.
"Believe it or not, I may not be the only one who agrees with you, Kurosaki. It's just that none is willing to risk his life for his conviction. Seireitei can be an ugly, dangerous place for those who are recusant, disobedient and those who don't agree with the system. It is this frustration that made me write that article. My anger at the injustice, pointless death and dominance of those behind the masks." The Vice-Captain said in an even tone that betrayed the bitterness pouring out of him. It was the tone of a voice that was no longer deaf and it made Ichigo's insides shine with an honest sympathy.
"Mhm." Ichigo mumbled.
"Even though Captain Tōsen died in the war, things he taught me are still with me and I shall keep it that way. If only because right before his death, he realized the errors of his way and wanted to make things right." Hisagi continued, surprising Ichigo with new information.
"So, he didn't believe in what Aizen preached?"
Looking away from the window and back at Ichigo, Hisagi shrugged.
"Hard to say. I think he truly believed Aizen could change the ways of Soul Society but he probably didn't agree with all of his methods."
After that, Hisagi returned to the work at hand and flipped through the pile of papers saying nothing else. For almost a minute, Ichigo just watched him work. Deep in thoughts, he stared at his Vice-Captain with an almost hopeful gaze. The gears in his brain spun for long seconds until he reached a decision and opened his mouth.
"You know…" He began and waited until Hisagi glanced at him. Then he pointed at the pile of documents.
"… I could help you with those."
…
It was the middle of the week and Ichigo was slowly adapting to the fact that he was now living in close quarters with a group of people most would call a family but in reality, were a gathering of what he got used to call a 'bunch of social embarrassments'. They were all awkward, loud, obnoxious to the point of being hysterically pushy, loud and silly. He had to emphasize the loud part twice, seeing that the Shiba family truly were like that. Loud. Especially in the morning. Or at lunch. When drinking. After drinking. Before going to sleep. For Ichigo, somebody who enjoyed the melodic sound of silence, it was a torture. But that wasn't even the worst part. They wanted to talk to him about pointless, ludicrous, mundane and uninteresting topics all the time. Topics which would cause a normal person to commit a seppuku with sake or any other alcohol only brought joy to their faces. Listening about his everyday life, about all details of his boring routine of the past, present and future made them laugh merrily like a crew of drunken sailors, rum-filled pirates. At regular intervals, they invaded his personal space with tight embraces, light slaps or one-arm hugs. It had been only a few days yet Ichigo already lost count of how many times he felt Kūkaku's breasts on his cheeks, nose, forehead or any other part of his face. At first, he tried to push her away. But the more she did it, the less he fought against it. Then he recalled something Rangiku had told him during their first session and realized the pleasant truth.
Albeit unknowingly, acting the way she did all the time, without altering her personality or behavior even one bit and without treating him in a special way, Kūkaku was a natural in demolishing the remnants of his mental trauma and she did it better and faster than he thought to be possible. He surmised that soon, she may even reach one of her goals, which was to use her 'sex-appeal', as she called it, to make him blush.
At that point, a revelation that made his heart ache his Ichigo with the strength of Atlas.
'I actually love these idiots.'
Social embarrassments or not, the Shiba Clan were his family, and they did their best to make him feel welcome, to feel like a part of a functional and warm family. The sheer ridiculousness of such notion almost made him laugh. And though, in reality, he did not laugh, he remained in a remarkably good mood for the rest of the day. At least, until he met a certain white-haired young Shinigami whom he suspected could use one of Kūkaku's famous hugs or Ganju's rough shoulder slaps; the replacement Captain of the 5th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya.
"Kurosaki… do you have a moment?" The small Captain asked in such a tired, defeated tone, Ichigo dropped the happy-go-lucky expression in a blink of an eye. The corners of his mouth receded back to their usual position, the wrinkles on his forehead became more profound and his eyes stopped twinkling with joy. With his regular frowny face visage complete, he nodded.
"Sure."
They walked for a while in complete silence. It seemed the Captain wanted nobody to hear what he was about to say and so he led Ichigo towards the outer parts of Seireitei and then through the borders, all the way to Rukongai, where he finally spoke again while also raising and pointing his index finger at a nearby entrance to a dark cavern.
"There."
With his head full of Shakespeare's tragedies, war strategies of the ancient philosophers and tactics taken from the pen of modern generals, for just a short interval that lasted the entirety of two seconds, Ichigo thought and believed he was being herded towards a lair of traps. But the thought went away almost as fast as it came. However, the small Captain noticed the slight hesitation in Ichigo's steps and spoke again.
"It's about Momo."
Crossing the threshold between light and darkness, the two of them entered the massive hollow that seemed even bigger on the inside. While his eyes got used to the lack of light, a faint sound caused by a stream of air from his sigh briefly activating his vocal chords crawled through Ichigo's half-way parted lips and surprised him enough to form a reaction to the uttered words.
"You must give me more than that, Captain. About whom?"
They passed a field of thin, wet, plastic-looking stalagmites and entered a realm of pointy and deadly stalactites long with a whole minefield of water puddles. Then they reached a part of the area where ice covered the stony walls of the cavern, greeting Ichigo with mild coldness.
"Cool." Ichigo muttered, though the irony of his statement went over the Captain's head.
"Hinamori Momo." Toshiro spoke like a librarian who was stating a fact, though Ichigo's only reaction was a raised eyebrow. Seeing that, the tiny Captain rubbed his temples.
"How much did they tell you about… well, about yourself? About what you have done and what you did?"
For a short moment, Ichigo looked away from him and walked to the nearest wall covered in ice. Mindful of the sharp edges, he pressed the palm of his left hand against the frost and enjoyed the pleasant sensation.
"As much as Captain Unohana allowed them to. She seems to be afraid my condition may turn worse if I hear too much of my past at once. Something about relapse. So, while I can't assign the memories they have told me to almost any of my emotions, I do have a rough outline of what I've been doing since my birth and then after I died." He said after a moment. Slowly withdrawing his hand from the cold layer of frozen water, he glanced at the Captain with a neutral gaze.
"Do you know about your last mission?" Toshiro then asked and Ichigo nodded.
"I know I was to play a spy to gather any information on a man called Aizen and I know some things I did during that mission but, since most of it happened in Hueco Mundo, away from the prying eyes the rest is just a guess."
Once the words came through his mouth, Ichigo watched Toshiro pace around with a barely visible sympathetic gaze.
"I see. I suspected as much. Still, it doesn't matter. The important part is that during your mission, you uncovered a spy in our own ranks. Her name is Hinamori Momo. She was a Vice-Captain of the 5th Division."
Even though nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Ichigo suddenly felt a chill crawling in his skin. It was as if the temperature within the cavern just dropped several degrees Celsius. It reminded him of what he had felt while walking towards the cave entrance. He took a slow, deliberate step backwards.
"You know, if you wanted to kill me, you didn't have to drag me all the way here." As soon as he said that Toshiro stopped walking and turned to him with a shocked, even scared gaze full of horror.
"W-What? What are you talking about, Kurosaki?"
Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo stared him down a few seconds. Then he relaxed his body and shrugged.
"Eh, nothing. I just thought you may be looking for some kind of revenge."
"What? No! How could… oh, right. This does look weird." Toshiro exclaimed but as the words flowed out of him, his temper faded. The small Captain shook his head while releasing one of the deepest and longest sighs Ichigo had ever witnessed.
"No, this is not revenge. Honestly, it's the opposite. I want to thank you, Kurosaki."
It was Ichigo's turn to stand still and staring in shock.
"What?"
With a start, Toshiro returned to pacing around and the temperature in their vicinity returned to its earlier value.
"Momo is one of my oldest, truest friends. She's the sister I never had, a member of my family that never existed."
His fingers twitching, Ichigo broke through the mental paralysis but continued to stare at the Captain with an incredulous gaze.
"And you want to thank me for uncovering her as a traitor?" He asked in disbelief.
Toshiro cringed a little but the pace of his pacing remained the same.
"No. I want to thank you for uncovering her before she could have done something that would brand her as a person who has no chance of ever seeing the light of the day. I want to thank you for allowing us to apprehend her without resorting to violence and without creating a chaos amidst our ranks. Thanks to you, only the Captains know about her true crime, what allows the 5th Division to remain somewhat functioning." He explained and Ichigo noticed that as he spoke, the tiny Captain looked centuries older than he was.
"What happened to her?" Ichigo asked, his voice but a whisper.
It was then when Toshiro slowed down his movement and, in a matter of a few seconds, his steps came to a halt. He turned to Ichigo with an expression so sad, Ichigo had to fight the battle against the cold hand trying to squeeze his insides.
"I… I wasn't there for her and so I didn't notice. Aizen's defection worried me but she looked like she took it well but… after we apprehended her and after what happened during the skirmish with Aizen she… she had a mental breakdown accompanied with a complete loss of mental faculties." Toshiro said before his legs shook and he plopped on the ground in a heap. He gave Ichigo a desperate look.
"She doesn't know me anymore. She doesn't know her own name. She doesn't even speak our language. The few times she does respond to any words, she just mumbles gibberish. It's like… she's not there anymore. Like her body is just an empty shell."
Standing still, it took all of Ichigo's strength to continue looking at Toshiro but when the small Captain reached his limit and tears flowed out of his eyes, he had to turn away. He couldn't bear the sight. It was improper, and he felt dirty. Like he was invading on the small Captain's most intimate moment of honest sorrow.
'This is not like I imagined my day would end.' He thought bitterly.
Still, he didn't walk away. He prevailed against the battle of his own emotions and stayed with Toshiro until the droplets of salty water flowing down his face froze into human ice and until the Captain forced himself to get up.
"So… we're back to what I wanted to say. Thank you, Kurosaki."
There wasn't a way to reject the gratitude and so Ichigo accepted it with a nod, not trusting his voice yet. But as they stood there, facing each other, he had to say something.
"She… can she get better?"
Toshiro looked down and shrugged but his expression, though still sad, looked livelier than before.
"It doesn't feel like she can but Unohana-san is optimistic and says with enough care and time, Momo could come back. However, chances are she won't remember most of her life."
Ichigo raised his hand and pointed at himself.
"Amnesia like me?"
However, Toshiro shook his head.
"No. According to Unohana-san, it's different. Like a complete reformatting of the mind and brain, whatever that means. Still, memories or not, she would still be Momo."
Another long-lasting silence fell upon them but this time, it wasn't nearly as painful as it had been a few moments ago. It broke only after Toshiro turned to walk back towards the entrance of the cave. Ichigo followed right after him. The beautiful garden of stalagmites and stalactites served as a brief distraction.
"With that said, I'm taking a leave from my duties. It's just impossible for me to do them right now." Toshiro stated as the bright light of the entrance increased. Ichigo raised one eyebrow in surprise but said nothing.
"I spoke to Captain Commander and, under several conditions, he allowed it for two months."
When the violent rays of sun blinded them with their winter intensity, Ichigo rubbed his eyes and turned to him.
"Do you have a substitute?"
Toshiro shrugged.
"I'm working on it… but you know, if you didn't lose your memory and your spiritual energy, I'd ask you to do it, Kurosaki."
Just thinking about the possibility made Ichigo shudder.
…
The encounter with Toshiro left a bitter aftertaste in his taste buds and so, after returning to Shiba mansion, he debated with himself whether to go back to his books or join Kūkaku for a bowl of strong alcohol. It was but the middle of the week and, in Kūkaku's own words, it was only natural to celebrate the such a milestone with a night filled with booze and long slurred conversations. He was half-way convinced but then Kūkaku's regular alcoholic partner, Yoruichi, arrived on the scene. In that moment, he realized joining them would end up with him in an embarrassing scene and so, after politely accepting one shot of booze, he made his leave.
However, the idea of reading through any of his books felt oddly repulsive. Taking a shower instead, he decided the culprit behind his conflicting emotions must have been the shot of alcohol and certainly not the bit of guilt that tried to poison him right after he had said his goodbye to Toshiro. Either way, since he was certain he couldn't read a single line of text, he chose the only other way to spend the time before sleep he knew; a long stroll around Seireitei.
Fresh air of the coldest season did its thing and improved his mood as soon as it touched his hair, still damp from the shower. It also made him shiver, but he welcomed the sensation with opened arms. Anything was better than returning to his old ways of brooding, self-doubting and moodiness. Only half an hour in his stroll, though, Wednesday decided he wasn't allowed to take a break from unpleasant encounters.
It happened right after the main building of Central 46 came into his view. At first, it was just an uneasy feeling crawling up his spine, but it soon culminated and transformed into a serious case of goose bumps. At that point, Ichigo already knew what his instinct was trying to tell him.
"What do you want?" He asked the meekly illuminated space around him. Despite seeing nothing, he knew somebody had been watching him.
True to his hunch, something akin to an illusion shattered on his right and he became wary. Illusions had a bad habit of being the domain of one Aizen Sōsuke and they rarely spelled good intentions. A trio of different men appeared in his vision. Cursing, his right hand shot to his sword.
He cursed again. In his hasty retreat to the coldness of the late evening and early night, he had left his zanpakuto back in his room. With clenched jaw, he took several steps away from the newcomers.
"Jumpy, aren't ya?"
Ichigo narrowed his eyes but then remembered his role.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
The same man who spoke first, spoke again. He tilted his head to the side and a wide grin that showed a set of impressive, symmetric teeth played on his mouth.
"First you almost run away and now you act like you don't know us? Either you are bipolar or an impressive actor and, seeing as you played a spy for Aizen for several weeks, I have an urge to go with the latter."
It was the leader of Vaizādo, Hirako Shinji. Standing next to him were two other members of the group, Muguruma Kensei and Ushōda Hachigen.
Ichigo kept his previous facial expression though the tiny muscle hidden beneath the tissue right below his left eye twitched.
"Considering you are leaking reiatsu filled with not so friendly intent all around you, coupled with the fact that you were hiding in some illusionary spell, I think it's safe to say I'd be downright retarded not to be cautious of you; whoever you are." He stated in a low voice.
For a minute, nobody spoke nor moved. Locked in a staring match with the still grinning, albeit dangerously so, the leader of Vaizādo, Ichigo waited. Then the plump one of the three, Hachigen, patted Shinji on a shoulder while gently shaking his head. In response, Shinji scoffed but his body relaxed.
"Tch. Clever brat. Fine. Maybe you deserve a second chance."
Ichigo returned the favor and relaxed his stiff defensive stance too.
"Right, whatever you say…" He trailed off and threw an expectant gaze at the men in front of him, until they caught the message and introduced themselves.
"Still, I'm not buying this whole amnesia thing. I'm convinced I saw a glint of recognition in your eyes, Kurosaki." Shinji said in a firm tone while staring at him with a penetrating gaze that made Ichigo squirm. He reflexively bit his tongue and spun the gears in his brain, forcing the grey matter in his head to work as fast as it possibly could. Trying to look innocent, he cleared his throat. By the time he finished doing it, an answer formed in his mind.
"Like I said, your reiatsu is suffocating me so it's easy to spot the hollow taint in it. You are wearing Shinigami clothes. Someone told me several things about Soul Society and my past and so it wasn't that difficult to guess your identity." He explained but saw a look of disbelief crossing two of the three faces in front of him.
"Then why were you afraid? If you heard of us, you must have also heard we joined your side in Hueco Mundo against Aizen."
It took an effort, but he contained a snort threatening to come out.
"Heh, and that should calm me down how? You fought because you wanted a revenge on Aizen and, last I heard, I denied you the chance. What else would you want from me if not revenge for not giving you a chance for revenge?" He countered. Watching the reactions, he saw Kensei rolling his eyes all the way to the back of his head, Hachigen scratching his head in puzzlement and Shinji rubbing his face.
"I'm getting far too old to deal with this kind of crap." Shinji muttered and glanced at Kensei. The brawny man shook his head.
"Not a chance, Shinji. You're the one who wanted to talk to him. Not me."
Shinji turned his head and glanced at Hachigen.
"I agree with Kensei-san."
Ichigo watched Shinji rub his face one more time, then the man looked him straight in the eyes.
"When we first met, I thought you were a likeable kid. Now… now I'm not so sure. It almost feels like I'm talking to that snake, Ichimaru."
"Fuck that coward." Kensei muttered and Shinji nodded in agreement.
"Yes. His good intentions aside, I hope he'll go to the prison for at least a century. I don't trust him. Same with you. I don't know if you have an amnesia and if you really don't know what happened with Aizen but I don't trust you the same way I don't trust Ichimaru."
Not breaking the eye-contact, Ichigo scoffed with as much indifference as he could muster.
"That goes both ways, Hirako Shinji. I don't trust you as well because I feel that the second I try to and show you my back, you'll try to kill me with your zanpakuto."
He saw all three of them flinch and mentally grinned. The irony of his words had the effect he wanted it to have.
His good mood returned.
…
The few days following his chance meeting with Vaizādo, everything was quiet on the Seireitei front. His initial worries about living with Shiba family dispersed in a cloud of regular socializing that he soon came to enjoy. Still, his routine comprising reading and visiting the training room in the Academy remained; it engrossed him in soaking up the new information way too much to just let it go. Slowly, but steadily, he bit chunks of his books with the vigor of a teenager that just discovered the joys of reading. Despite having just enough spiritual energy, even his proficiency in Kido spells was rising. It was a pace of a snail slithering through sticky mud filled with crumbling gravel but it was better than not moving at all.
However, he was waiting for the day that would mark the end of the peace. It was inevitable. Ichigo was self-aware enough to know he had an uncanny ability to fall into foreign affairs with ease of a child jumping under the wheels of a running car while picking up a stray ball, but he realized he didn't mind it that much. Not anymore. After everything he had gone through, he had a strange feeling he was getting used to such things.
After helping Hisagi with his never-ending pile of paperwork; an activity he now did in regular intervals, despite being on a leave, he received a shock in a form of Rukia waiting for him in front of the 9th Division Barracks with her arms crossed but with her expression friendly. It was a mixture of contradictory body language signs, which was never a good sign.
Especially with Rukia.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Kuchiki-san?" He greeted her, barely hiding a cheeky smirk. Just as he knew she would, her friendly smile dried up and was replaced with a sour grimace. With three quick steps, she closed the distance between them and kicked him in the shin.
"I told you not to call me that! For you, I'm Rukia."
He exaggeratedly rubbed the lower part of his leg, in his mind noting her kick stung, and faked a blush on his cheeks.
"Oh, wow. That sounds lewd."
In exchange, Rukia went through several phases of different reactions. First, she froze and her brain seemed to shut down. It was as if she was not used to deal with a new Ichigo. Then she blinked at a furious pace in an attempt to restart her mind. After that, blood rushed into her cheeks and colored them with a moderate tint of pink. Last, her mouth opened, and she stuttered gibberish. The whole transformation took about ten seconds and at the end, Ichigo found mercy in himself and laughed.
"Ha! Look! A spluttering tomato!"
His voice was like an antidote and cured Rukia from her stupor in just under one second. The next thing he knew, he was hopping and bouncing around her feet that were trying to hit him in what looked like a dance of frenzied living sticks.
"You're such an ass, Ichigo." She spat once her dignity calmed down enough for her legs to stop moving. In response, Ichigo shrugged as innocently as he could, as if telling her 'what can you do, you still like me'. But it was obvious she didn't come all the way to just meet him for pleasantries and so he quickly schooled his expression and entered his serious mode.
"Alright, what's up?"
Still very clearly miffed about his earlier behavior, Rukia crossed her arms in the same way as before the whole ridiculousness and looked at him with an intense gaze.
"Nii-sama is inviting you to join us for a dinner in Kuchiki Manor."
Imperceptibly, his eyes narrowed.
"Is he now? Is this just a social call or…? He asked, trailing off in the end with a raised eyebrow. Rukia, slowly allowing her crossed arms to uncross, shrugged her shoulders in a way that clearly meant she was not sure.
"Well, before your amnesia, on a few occasions, we did have just a dinner. But I think there is something going on. Something he needs to talk to you, specifically, about."
"What makes you say that?"
She glanced at her surroundings and shook her head.
"I'll tell you on the way. Go get changed into something that doesn't smell of sweat and we'll talk."
…
An hour later, the two of them were walking down the aisle between the gate to the Kuchiki compound and the actual manor. Since there were no uninvited ears in earshot, Ichigo slightly bent forward and spoke near her face.
"So? You said you would tell me but you never did."
He felt and saw her flinch. Whether it was because his breath reached her skin or because of the contents of his question, he didn't know for sure. Though he noticed the pace of her breathing increased.
"Ever since yesterday, after he came from the meeting with Clan elders, Nii-sama looked… upset."
"You mean more than he normally does?"
The sole of her foot silently squashed his big toe. It hurt.
"I mean visibly upset. I hear him rummaging through the books in our library and later found some of them scattered all around his office. Nii-sama always puts books back in the shelves. Always. He didn't even eat his dinner. It was the first time I have seen him miss it in years. I also heard him arguing with himself just before he went to sleep. So, yes, he's upset." She explained and ignored his glare as he rubbed his toe. As he listened to her, Ichigo quickly forgot about the pain. Instead, his brow creased in a deep frown.
"If it's that serious, then I don't know what he wants with me. I still can't recall anything past the point of waking up in the 4th Division. Heck, I barely even know him!"
In a surprising bit of action, Rukia reached for his shoulder; since he was crouching it was easy for her to do, and gave it a light squeeze.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll understand. Nii-sama knows about your current state and so he wouldn't want to talk to you if it wasn't necessary."
Once her hand left his shoulder, Ichigo straightened his back and released a deep sigh.
"Fine. Let's go then."
Another hour later, after a pleasant and delicious, yet monotonous and boring, dinner the Captain of the 6th Division, Rukia's brother, Kuchiki Byakuya, motioned Ichigo to follow him deeper into the manor and to his office. There, the two of them walked to the exquisite table and Byakuya nodded to Ichigo as a sign to sit down. Ichigo did just that but noticed Byakuya remained standing and the man walked over to a wooden cabinet on the side of the room, squeezed between shelves filled with embellished and old-looking books. The sound of glass clinking against each other was the only clue about the man's actions. When Ichigo saw him turn around, he saw two crystal clear glasses filled with a golden, yet also bit brownish, liquid.
"Whisky?"
Caught by surprise, Ichigo could only nod. A moment later, he was holding of the glasses in his right hand. Only then Byakuya walked around the table and sat down, opposite of him.
"I don't drink much and often but when I do, I only like particular flavors of alcohol. This one meets many of my criteria." Byakuya stated and took a small sip. Mimicking his actions, Ichigo did the same.
It was bitter.
'But not that bad.' He added. It was his first time sipping on whisky and he found the experience not as bad as he thought it would be. Still, he didn't voice his opinion and instead waited for Byakuya to continue. Which the man did after placing the glass on the table and looking Ichigo straight in the eyes.
"I know about your medical condition, Kurosaki, but I also know your father and a few others have filled you in on several things from your life."
Ichigo nodded once.
"Among the things they told you, was there a mention of a certain topic of things that happened in Rukongai after your death?"
"A broad mention."
Byakuya sighed and leaned into his chair. He brought the glass to his mouth and too another sip. Ichigo did the same.
"Did they tell you we used to discuss this particular topic intending to change things so that something like that wouldn't happen again?"
Ichigo let the fiery liquid wobble within his mouth for a moment before swallowing. He wanted to know if savoring the taste could change the experience. It did. For worse.
"Not explicitly but I put the pieces together."
For a moment, Ichigo thought he saw a hint of delight in Byakuya's eyes but concluded it must have been because of the whisky. The fact he drank less than half of a glass of it was not important. But then, Byakuya's expression darkened.
"I'm afraid that our agreement about this subject is officially coming to a close. By the order of the council of Elders I'm prohibited from looking into it ever again."
End of Chapter 43.
Another chapter done. This one was a bit on the longer side. Things are moving a bit slower than usual but we are steadily crawling towards another important point in the story. More info in the next chapter.
To be honest, I'm not sure how I managed the Toshiro's scene. I tried to write in a way that would bring a sense of Pyrrhic victory and a lone tear escaped my eye while I was doing it but that's me. How did you like it?
To reviews:
syphiralae - I can tell you he did not absorb his zanpakuto. Anything else would be a large spoiler that I'm for now unwilling to share -_- .
the god wolf - the fact that Ichigo liking Shakespeare is canon makes it even better (because it's not just a random addition). Godlike... well, the Devil won't appear if only because Hell in this story will be based on a combination of Buddhist Hell Naraka/Jigoku.
Drew86419 - sorry to hear that, though to be fair these few chapters are supposed to feel a bit slow, filled with less action and more of characters interaction.
WhoFeedYasuo - funnily enough, I haven't played any Fallout (yet!).
OldManZenny - no problem! 1. yes, it would but, then again, she really wanted to get out of her. 2. again, yes, it's a double-edged sword and, as shown in this chapter, not everybody is buying it. 3. without going into medical specifics, complete amnesia is actually possible. 4. Isshin's spiritual energy and the familiar feeling it evoked. 5. wasn't explicitly stated but by Commander's order, lower ranked Shinigami are prohibited from bothering Ichigo until he regains memory or is back in service. Good points though, thank you.
MugetsuIchigo - since when were you under the impression he truly has lost his reiatsu?
kaxipoptos - sometimes, we forgive but are unable to completely forget. Though they now know his reason, the sheer possibility he truly did betray them wasn't an easy pill to swallow. At least that's how he sees it. I like Kyoraku and I love using him as means of criticizing or judging Ichigo's character. Last part is no comment :D.
As always, thanks for all reviews and thanks for reading this story. There's still so much I want to show in this story so, please bear with me.
Next chapter: Chapter 44 - Endless knot of poison (A friend in high places) - will be published around 2nd August (this may change depending on some stuff - in that case I'll inform you in my profile)!