Author's Note: First off, I'll let you know that I got somewhat inspired to write this after reading a certain Bleach Doujinshi called Tripleberry.
WARNING: Yaoi (BoyxBoy, gay sex), Incest in future chapters (there won't be quite as much as there is in that Doujinshi I mentioned, but still expect a little bit of it), gore, and so on and so forth.
CAUTION: This story contains information about a few chemical reactions—nothing you can't just look up on Youtube, honestly—But I still want to remind you that this is a Fanfiction and I caution you not to try anything you read on here. Okeedokee, thanks~
UNBETA'D
Star Brothers
Chapter10: Your Doppelganger
Mugetsu – 21 years old
Shirosaki – 18 years old
Getsuga – 18 years old
Kon – 15 years old
Ichigo – 15 years old
Getsuga looked over to his left with dark eyes lidded in boredom and lips set in a slight frown.
His brother, Uryuu, was being unusually quiet—not that Getsuga really cared about him or anything, but it was strange. Normally he'd be screaming about the fact they were late to school, or he'd be complaining and whining about how unfair father was.
This new cold-shoulder-Uryuu was actually even more bothersome than naggy-bitchy-Uryuu.
Getsuga made his way closer to the teen and lightly prodded him with an elbow to get his attention. Once their eyes locked, he raised a thin, orange brow questioningly as if to say 'Are you okay?'
Uryuu got the message and looked away before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm fine, Getsu. I thank you for your concern, but this has nothing to do with you."
Ah… There's the snarky little shit that Getsuga was used to.
He gave the teen a reassuring pat on the shoulder before splitting off.
They were at the school now, but Getsuga wanted to walk around for a bit longer before heading in. Unlike Uryuu, who scurried off to his first class in a hurry so that he could apologize for being late and all that jazz, Getsu figured that he was already late… so why bother trying to please the teacher for the last 20 minutes?
It's the first day, so it shouldn't matter. And besides, he was a senor now—so he wasn't technically obligated to give a shit about class.
In Getsuga's opinion anyway…
He smirked to himself and then started bunching his long locks of orange hair into his hands so that he could twist a loose band around it. This kept it from getting too tangled.
He no longer paid any attention to where he was going, taking random turns and climbing up a sets of stairs, only to climb back down—anything to keep him occupied for the rest of the class.
As he rounded another corner, he noticed a group of students hanging around the open gymnasium doors; probably waiting to be released from class. Getsuga quickly adjusted his sunglasses to make sure his… unique eyes were fully covered, before strutting forward.
It wasn't that he felt self-conscious or that he felt a need to blend in… It wasn't even because he was scared of being teased or ridiculed. Honestly, he could give a shit about the other students.
The reason he kept the glasses on now was because there was that one time some asshole saw his eyes, and he had instantly targeted him. He would beat Getsuga mercilessly—to a point that Getsuga couldn't just shrug it off and ignore it…
Let's just say his foster father, Ryuken, had to pay the boy's father a loooottttt of money for hospital expenses.
The boy would be lucky if all of his skin even grew back properly.
From then on, Getsuga was ordered to cover his eyes in public until Ryuken said it was no longer necessary.
Getsu let out a huff at the memory while passing the group of students, but he paused when one of them caught his eye.
Was that blue hair?
The guy must've felt eyes on him, because he turned to look towards Getsuga. The orangette raised a brow when those blue eyes looked him up and down and then this large, feral grin was sent in his direction. Getsu scoffed under his breath and then flipped the guy off before continuing his journey down the hall.
He could practically feel the glare of rejection digging into his back, and it made him smirk.
He continued exploring until he eventually made his way back outside, but this time he used a small side exit. He found himself in a little courtyard of sorts. It was walled in so it was still part of the school, but it had no roof and it was circular in shape. A long ledge went all the way across the wall, and beneath it were bushes and flower beds, giving the area a peaceful, serene feel. There were a few benches along the side to sit while tables and chairs decorated the middle—complete with umbrellas for shade.
Getsuga tilted his head and shrugged before making his way towards the back. He plopped down on the ledge and plucked a purple flower from its lush, green nest. He pinched the petals and then fished out his lighter. He lit the flame and let the very tip of it lick at the petals, charring its purple color into a chalky black.
He never noticed the hooded male sitting at the table in the far corner—he was too engrossed in his little habit. Not even when the guy quietly stood and began making his way towards him.
So Getsuga jumped a little when someone suddenly sat down beside him. He dropped the flower and quickly stomped out the fire while stuffing the lighter back in his pocket. He frowned at the person, and they couldn't see it, but he also narrowed his eyes dangerously towards them.
But what the stranger said next had Getsuga pursing his lips and suddenly his emotions were split between laughing and punching the guy in the face.
"Hey, gorgeous. Ya know… That flower 'aint the only thing you're makin' hot~"
Instead, Getsuga quirked a brow questioningly and let a sinister smirk crawl along his pale lips.
This guy was interesting, he could admit that. Horrible taste in pick-up lines—but it definitely gets your attention.
Getsuga silently gestured towards the stranger's hood, to which the guy nodded and pulled off without complaint, and what he saw made his eyes widen and his heart clench almost painfully.
The strange male was quite handsome, but he had features that were so similar to Getsuga's own.
Extremely pale/white skin, sharp chin, straight nose, thin lips—everything except his short, white hair. The one part that had Getsuga's breath sticking to his throat was the man's eyes. They were exactly like his own.
It felt like Getsuga was staring into a mirror with bits of his childhood floating behind his eyes, and, as if he was somehow back in the past, he heard a small childish voice yelling out to him, 'Hey, Getsu! Let's go sneak inta the garage and find daddy's flametorchie thing!'
A name echoed across his mind and Getsuga felt like shouting in joy.
Shirosaki!
Just to be sure that he wasn't just seeing things, Getsuga quickly shot out his hand to grab the other's pale wrist, but it was instantly snatched away. Shirosaki jumped to his feet and took a step back. He had an incredulous look on his face and it slowly dissolved into a sneer—he looked about ready to start swinging, but Getsuga wasn't about to give up. He grabbed at the other's wrist again and tugged it forward so he could pull up the black sleeve of his hoodie, but he didn't get a chance to get a good look before a fist smashed against his cheek.
Getsuga landed hard on the concrete floor, but he'd made sure to cover his face his with his arms in time so he wouldn't face-plant right into the ground. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that his sunglasses had fallen off and skidded across the courtyard. Getsuga swiftly rolled onto his knees, ready to jump away. He looked up at Shiro as the older twin towered above him, but when their inverted eyes locked, Shiro instantly lowered his fists.
"Your eyes…"
Curiosity and confusion swirled across Shiro's face. He seemed stiff and hesitant, but he didn't pull away this time when Getsuga stood and tugged at his arm.
He grabbed the other's pale wrist and twisted it enough so that when he pulled up the sleeve, he saw under his forearm. Right below the elbow, hidden against that white skin was the star-shaped scar that Getsuga had been hoping to find. It had faded to a light grey and it was barely visible, but it was still there.
Getsuga suddenly felt emotional as hell, but he kept his face neutral as he lifted his arm to reveal his own scar. It was easier to find because of the tattoo covering it.
After a long moment, recognition seemed to flash across Shiro's face and, without any sort of hesitation, he pulled his brother into a tight hug.
"Getsuga! You fuckin' jerk!"
A happy, soft, rumbling laugh—which could only be described as a wildcat's purr—emanated from Getsuga's chest and he tightened his hold, squeezing his brother against him as if he was trying to meld them together so they could never be separated again. After a while they patted each other's back, signaling that the 'sissy hugging moment' was over and it was time to man-up.
They separated from each other and Getsuga quickly replaced his sunglasses before they sat at a random table.
There was a lot of catching up to do!
Too bad the bell decided to ring at that moment.
Kon groaned and sagged in relief as the bell finally released its call across the school, signaling their freedom. He slammed the dreaded math book shut and stuffed it back under the basket beneath his chair before standing.
Mr. Hitsugaya was a total hardass… And what he lacked in size, he definitely made up for in grumpiness.
Kon could tell that he was not going to be enjoying this class.
It's only the first day and they already have five pages of homework due tomorrow!
He tugged at his orange locks in frustration before he felt a hand at his shoulder. He turned to see that it was just Renji.
"Oh hey… This class is totally gonna suck…" He said with a pout and Renji chuckled a bit before patting the shorter male on the head, a friendly grin on his face.
"Well, me an' Ichi usually meet up after school to help each other with homework. He's a total wiz at Math, so he might be able to help you out if you want."
Kon's pout deepened before it spread into a frown.
"I'm not totally sure I wanna meet this guy… I mean, no offense, but he sounds like a real stiff. I don't think we'd get along."
Renji shrugged before tugging him forward so that they were making their way down the hall.
"Yeah, well, I'm not tellin' you that ya have to be friends. But you at least have to meet him! Seriously. It'll be worth it."
Kon raised a brow but shrugged and went along with him—it wasn't like Renji was going to be letting him off any time soon anyway, if the strong arm wrapped around his shoulder was anything to go by.
"So where's he now?"
"Well… I think I remember him saying he had PE first… so we'll head that way for now."
Kon shrugged and nodded before pushing Renji's arm away. He wanted to walk on his own, dammit!
Renji didn't seem to mind, and even gave the teen his space as they continued walking down the hall.
They had to push passed a few groups of students who just had to stop and start talking in the middle of the fucking hall—blocking everyone else's path.
"Yo! Keep it movin', jackasses!" He heard someone shout over the crowd, making some of the teens actually scurry away.
Kon silently thanked whoever said that before hopping forward and squeezing between two tall bodies so that he could catch up with Renji. They rounded a corner into a large hall where the gym doors were located, but there was barely anyone around—just a small group of guys standing by the locker-room doors. Renji looked around for a second longer, but when he couldn't spot his friend, he instantly turned on his heels and started dragging Kon back towards the hall full of classrooms.
Before they could disappear though, a voice shouted towards them.
"HEY! Berry~! That you?"
Kon heard Renji curse under his breath and figured he must know who the voice belonged to.
They both slowly turned to find the small group of guys from before making their way towards them.
"We 'aint got time for your shit, Bazz-B. Get lost."
The male in front, who Kon assumed was Bazz-B, snarled in the redhead's direction. His long, magenta (No… No it's pink) Mohawk practically bristled with rage.
He was tall and almost every part of him bulged with hard muscle—nothing too drastic, but enough to make Kon feel a little wary.
However… Kon still couldn't get over the man's choice in hair color.
Who the hell willingly dyes their hair PINK.
He must've lost a bet…. Yeah, that has to be it.
"Did it look like I was talkin' to you, pineapple-head?"
Renji bristled at the name and took a threatening step forward, but that just made Bazz's friends step forward as well, ready to defend the pink-haired male.
"That's right~ shut your big fuckin' mouth like a good boy, Red…" The guy snarled and Kon tilted his head curiously when Bazz's narrowed eyes switched back to him. "Heya, berry. Long time no see. I almost didn't recognize ya without my dick in your mouth." A large, shit-eating grin accompanied those words, and Kon felt laughter bubbling out of his throat.
Yeahhh! He knew he should probably feel a little more offended, but he also knew that those words weren't really directed towards him but at this Ichigo guy.
Ooo! He could have some fun with this~
Once his laughter died and he could look up into the jerk's surprised face, he let a playful grin spread across his face, practically splitting it in half.
"Sorry, sorry. What was your name again?" He took a step back and prepared himself to run as he let the next sentence slip out of his mouth, "All you roosters look the same to me."
That was just too easy~!
A fist came at him so fast that Kon barely had time to dodge, but when he did, he instantly spun on his heels and sprinted away. None of them even had time to blink before Kon was completely out of sight.
Bazz-B growled when he heard the teen's fading laughter.
"Get him." He snarled to his comrades.
Kon weaved and ducked his way past the thinning swarm of students as he sprinted down the hall. To them, he was just an orange blur that they would miss if they so much as blinked.
He'd always been the fastest person on his track team. He put even the professional athletes to shame with his record times and flawless form. If there was anything that Kon was proud of, beside his good looks, it was the infinite amount of strength in his legs. He could always depend on them because they'll never give out or grow tired.
Just as he turned and skidded to a slower pace in order to round the corner, someone came walking by at the same time. Kon couldn't stop fast enough before both of them went tumbling to ground in a tangled heap.
"What the hell!"
Kon heard a high-pitched squeal from above, but he ignored it when he felt a soft body trapped below his own.
"Ichigo! Get off of her, you clumsy oaf!"
Once again, Kon ignored the screeching bat from above when he slowly lifted himself onto his elbows, only to find himself staring down into large, beautiful pale blue eyes and a soft, round face.
Kon leaned back onto his heels, letting the girl sit up. That's when he noticed her long, light brown—almost orange—hair and the next thing he saw, and the one thing that had his heart and dick throbbing at the same time, were those large, luscious mounds resting against her chest.
Oh my~
Kon snapped out of his perverted thoughts when the girl's soft voice reached his ears.
"U-uhm… Y-you should be more careful, Ichigo…" When Kon didn't say anything, the girl started getting worried. "You're not hurt, are you!?" She panicked and got closer to him.
"Don't worry about him, Orihime! He's fine."
"Don't be so rude, Tatsuki!"
Kon finally tore his gaze away from the beautiful goddess to see the screeching she-devil, AKA Tatsuki. She had choppy, black hair and she wore clothes which screamed 'tom-boy', and, from the glare he was receiving, he could safely assume she was a lesbian and totally had the hots for the goddess before them.
Kon huffed out an annoyed breath and then brought his attention back to Orihime.
He jumped up, then slightly bowed and offered his hand to her.
"I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you, my dear." He said with a charming smile, and he couldn't help the swell of pride when a bright red blush devoured her entire face.
She shook her head and spazzed out for a second before hesitantly taking his hand. He could feel her whole body shaking through just the grip of their hands and he let his smile slip into a seductive smirk.
"I'll be sure to be more careful in the future… But why should I, when it means I could run into a beautiful maiden like yourself?"
Maybe it was too much, but Kon thought it was totally worth it when Orihime's face got even darker and her eyes dropped nervously to the ground. Her knees began to shake and she would have fallen over if it wasn't for Kon resting a hand on her waist to keep her steady.
"I-Ichigo." She squeaked when she noticed Kon leaning closer to her, their faces a mere inch apart.
"Yeah?"
All three heads turned to the new voice coming up from behind, and their eyes widened when they saw another orange-haired figure coming straight towards them.
Said orange-head paused and felt his own eyes widen slightly when he caught sight of the person holding Orihime.
"What the fuck?"
Just then, Renji decided to show up. He came skidding around the corner, much like Kon had, but at least he managed to avoid bumping into Kon and Orihime.
"Fuck! I lost him… Damn pink-haired bastard… I see those punks again and I'll show 'em what it feels like to get a real 'pineapple' shoved up their asses!" He huffed before standing straight and catching his breath. He looked up and let his gaze flicker to each person, taking in the entire situation before grinning like a madman. "Yo, Ichigo!" He wrapped his arm around the real Ichigo's shoulder before gesturing towards Kon, who had finally released Orihime in favor of staring at… his twin?
"Renji… What the hell's going on?" Ichigo whispered to his best friend urgently.
Said redhead had to stifle his laughter when he saw slight panic flicker through those deep brown orbs.
"This is Kon. He's your doppelganger."
There was silence for a moment before both orange haired teens exploded.
"I'M HIS WHAT!?"
"HE'S MY WHAT!?"
Renji couldn't hold in the laughter anymore. He let out a loud chuckle that quickly grew into an outright cackle which shook his whole body. He found himself leaning on Ichigo heavily, but the smaller teen was having none of that. He quickly pushed Renji off and then returned his attention to Kon.
"Who are you?" He demanded, eyes narrowing into a slight glare.
"I'm…. My name is Kon." Ichigo wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so he waited for this Kon person to continue. "Ya know.. Your friends kept telling me how much I looked like you, but I didn't really believe 'em 'til now. Holy shit…" Kon took a few steps forward so he could peer into Ichigo's eyes, making the other rather uncomfortable and he lightly shoved Kon to away from his personal space when said teen tried to reach up and poke his face. "Dude… Are we like, long lost twins or somethin'?"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow curiously at that but shook his head. "No way. This isn't some shitty 90's movie."
Kon's eyes lit up at that and he quickly grabbed the other's shoulders before exploding. "YES! OH MY GOD! We should totally do it!"
Ichigo tried to get away from the overeager male as he was suddenly pulled forward until their cheeks were pressed together. Kon held Ichigo firmly into his side and gestured dramatically in front of them as if he was painting a picture.
"We should do what they did in Parent Trap! Of course! We'll switch places and see if our parents notice the difference!"
Ichigo instantly snapped at the idea and pushed Kon away once more before glaring.
"Absolutely not."
"Aw c'mon! It'll be fun!"
"I said no."
"We could have code words and text each other if they find out, oh and—"
Renji finally decided to step in when it looked like Ichigo was about to blow up. His friend never usually got upset, but family matters always seemed to rile him up. However, instead of getting angry like everyone expected, Ichigo's face scrunched into a look of confusion and curiosity. His brows furrowed and his lips tightened as he reached out his hand. Kon instantly stopped talking when he felt his arm getting grasped gently.
Ichigo lifted it until he could get a good look at the little star-shaped mark on his arm.
Both teens have had the marks for as long as they could remember, so neither of them were really sure how they got there or why, but they've always felt that it held a strong connection to their past.
"Huh… Looks like we really could be related…" He chuckled softly and then a large grin split his face, making everyone who knew him take a step back in surprise.
Ichigo never smiled!
That one grin wiped away any angst and negativity that once cluttered the hallway and it seemed contagious as everyone else slowly began to smile as well.
Kon couldn't stop the giggle which bubbled from his throat and he bounced a bit as he gathered Ichigo into a hug. The younger orangette cringed slightly, not quite used to the gentle contact, but welcomed it anyway.
"So we're gonna switch places, right?"
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "That's still a no."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Dark grey eyes slowly blinked open and a long, pained groan escaped parched lips when the man finally awoke from his alcohol induced slumber.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Ginjou grasped his temples as the loud noise reverberated up the stairs and echoed painful inside his head.
He wasn't expecting company, and whoever it was… they were definitely not welcome.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
But it looked like they weren't going to leave…
Ginjou gingerly dragged himself to his feet, using the dresser beside him as a stable prop, and that's when he noticed that he was in Ichigo's room.
"Shit…" He cursed under his breath, remembering how he had raised his hand to the boy once again.
He knew that Jackie would be spitting fire at him if she knew what he was doing to the boy, but he couldn't help it. He knew that he got angry and aggressive when he drank, but if he didn't drink, then that horrible night would keep festering inside his mind—it would stay glued to front of subconscious, never to leave him alone.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Ginjou Kugo! I know you're in there! This is officer Shihōin! If you don't open this damn door, then I'll be forced to break it down!"
Said man quickly righted himself and felt his eyes widen.
Police?!
What were they doing here?
Deciding he shouldn't act suspicious, Ginjou quickly shuffled his way towards the front door, only stumbling a few times on his way.
"I'm coming! Hold your horses!" He called when he heard another round of knocking.
He hurriedly raked his fingers through disheveled brown locks and tucked in his shirt, trying desperately to make himself look presentable before opening the door.
Standing in his doorway was the most exotic looking woman he'd seen in a long time.
She had long, dark violet hair, caramel skin, piercing golden eyes, and the uniform she wore accentuated all her assets. Ginjou snapped his gaze away when he noticed several other people standing behind her, all of them male.
The one directly to her right wore a green and white striped hat which sat atop a mop of dirty blonde hair and did nothing to hide the mischievous grin stretching across his scruffy face. He wore a green overcoat and casual clothes beneath and if you kept looking down you'd find a pair of wooden clogs adorning his feet.
To Yoruichi's left was a tall man with shoulder-length black hair. His eyes were barely visible behind the strange sunglasses he wore across his face. Ginjou found himself sweating from just looking at what the man wore—he had on a thick black trench-coat which looked like it had been in much better condition at one point. And beneath that was a long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers.
Behind him was a regal looking man with piercing, all-knowing eyes, and slicked back, dark brown hair. One stubborn bang fell across his face, but did nothing to diminish his handsome features. He wore a dark suit that looked like it cost more than Ginjou's entire apartment, not including the shiny, leather shoes of course.
The last male was dressed just as expensively, only he wore lighter colors like white and grey. He also had sharp eyes which could pierce through your soul. He had wavy white locks and a pair of thin glasses that sat across the bridge of his straight nose.
"Ginjou Kujo." Said man looked back towards the officer when she called his name. "I'd like to introduce myself and my friends. My full name is Yoruichi Shihōin. The man to my right is Kisuke Urahara and to my left is Zangetsu. The other two are Sousuke Aizen and Ryuken Ishida."
Ginjou raised a brow at the courteous greeting, but he didn't move to welcome them in.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He wondered aloud. He figured they could smell the leftover stench of alcohol on his breath by the way Kisuke and Ryuken wrinkled their nose. Yoruichi and Aizen seemed unfazed by it, or they were just used to it.
"This is in regards to the child in your custody, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ginjou fought with every fiber of his being to not stiffen up when the kid's name was mentioned. It worked, for the mean time, and he kept a straight face when he looked between each person.
"I'm not sure what you mean. I can assure you that I don't have a child."
The officer smiled a little at that and Ginjou found himself getting uneasy when he got similar positive reactions from the others.
"We were hoping you'd fight to keep him secret." The hat-and-clogs guy spoke with a grin. "I guess that's why it took so long to finally find him, but that also means that it was just as hard for the others to find him as well."
Ginjou felt himself bristle at the choice of words. He didn't like where this is going.
"Look, if that's all you came here for, then you can just leave." He backed away and got ready to slam the door, but the long-haired one, Zangetsu, pushed his way inside and forced the door open completely, letting the others come in as well. "You are trespassing! Get lost! You're not welcome in my home!" Ginjou growled, clenching his fists.
Yes, he may blame the kid for everything that happened that night, but Jackie had died trying to save that boy and he'll be damned if she died for nothing!
"No need to be upset, Ginjou. We're on your side." Yoruichi chimed in with a grin, but when he didn't lower his fists, she slowly let her wrist rest against the holster of her gun, a discreet message to the power she wielded.
"What do you mean you're on my side?" Ginjou grumbled defensively, refusing to believe what he was hearing. He'd been so careful in keeping Ichigo hidden! How'd they even know that the kid's real last name was Kurosaki!?
"Meaning… We've each adopted one of the Kurosaki children and we're fighting to protect them just like you are with Ichigo."
Ginjou looked around at each person one at a time before finally lowering his fists.
"By children… You mean his brothers?"
Aizen's eyes seemed to light up with interest. "So Ichigo remembers them?"
Ginjou shook his head. "No. He spoke about them briefly when I first found him, but then he just sorta stopped. I assumed he completely forgot."
"Found?" Kisuke echoed, a look of intrigue crossing his face. "Yoruichi and I heard that he'd been adopted not too long after being admitted to the orphanage. The papers were signed with a fake name and they disappeared right after, so we assumed you were the one who pulled that off, since you're an ex-special agent and all."
Ginjou tensed at the surprising amount of knowledge these people had, but he slowly let out a long sigh before gesturing towards the living room—which was only clean because Ichigo and he rarely used it.
"I'm assuming this is going to be a long conversation…"
Each person looked towards each other and nodded before making themselves comfortable—either on the sofa or on the loveseat, and Ginjou found a chair in the kitchen which he dragged out. Zangetsu, however, chose to remain standing.
"Look…. I never legally adopted Ichigo. I found him in some alley near the borders of Karakura." Ginjou paused when he received a few strange looks, but then he continued, "The kid was freezing in the cold. I wasn't going to just leave him there, so I brought him home. My…. My wife, Jackie, instantly fell in love with the kid, and up until then, we were told we couldn't have children of our own, so we decided to take care of him like he was our own. At first he kept trying to run away, saying that he needed to find his brothers—but we always brought him back. He was especially worried about a kid named… Shirosaki?"
At this both Aizen and Yoruichi straightened.
"Shirosaki did the same thing for a while… Well, eventually he forgot all about Ichigo name, but he always had this feeling that he had to find someone…. That, too, went away with time—but I bet you he still feels a strange connection towards Ichigo." Aizen spoke thoughtful, half to himself, as he tapped his chin.
Yoruichi nodded and crossed her arms before speaking, "Sounds like him. I had to go looking for that punk a couple times when he ran from the orphanage. He was always saying that Ichigo was in trouble and that we needed to find him…" She paused when a sense of realization hit her. "And that was around the time Ichigo was adopted… If you found him in an alley, all alone—then we can assume something bad happened to him…" She clenched her fists in frustration at that. "Shit! I should've listened to Shiro! I figured he was just acting out because of the separation!" Kisuke wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and it was silent for a moment before Ryuken spoke up.
"There's not much we can do about it now. Let's get back to the task at hand."
Everyone's attention turned back to Ginjou.
"Did you ever find out who originally adopted Ichigo?" Zangetsu questioned, one dark brow raised.
Ginjou huffed and leaned all the way back in his chair as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Well… That's… I can't discuss that with you." Ginjou finally said.
These people were strangers that randomly showed up at his doorstep. Who's to say they didn't work for the person that was after Ichigo?
Not that Ginjou ever had much knowledge about it.
All he really knew was that some man was hiring people to find the Kurosaki children and capture them.
Kisuke seemed to understand what was going on inside Ginjou's head because he sighed and started rubbing at his eyes tiredly.
"We understand that you have no real reason to trust us right now. But we can promise that nothing you say will leave this room. Yoruichi hasn't read you any rights, and she is just as concerned as the rest of us for the safety of our kids—adopted or not."
Ginjou looked down at his hands and clicked his tongue in irritation.
"…." He let out another sigh. "Look… All I can tell you is that… You don't need to worry about that guy anymore."
The words were fleeting, but the meaning sunk down deep, and each person seemed to understand what he was implying.
"Did he tell you anything useful?" Before he died…
The hidden message at the end was said within Zangetsu's hard stare, so Ginjou couldn't miss it.
"All he said was that he wasn't the only one his boss had hired… And that, one way or another, his boss would have those children."
Yoruichi let out a low growl and then lifted her hands as if she was choking an invisible enemy.
"I'd like to see them get anywhere near those precious boys! I'll strangle 'em!"
Kisuke put a calming hand over hers before turning back to their host.
"Thank you for telling us as much as you have. We appreciate the help, and we'll make sure to keep in touch now that the boys should be reacquainted after today."
Ginjou felt a nervous sweat roll down his neck.
He really hoped they wouldn't find out about the things he's put Ichigo through, because—judging by Yoruichi's reaction before, he'd be shot full of holes before he could even twitch.
All at once, they all stood and readied themselves to leave.
"Wait!" They all turned back to Ginjou, who had jumped to his feet as well. "Isn't there more to this!? I feel like there're things that I should know! Did any of you find out who it is that's targeting them?"
They all looked between each other and eventually turned back to him.
"We'll discuss that at a later date. We're not entirely sure how many men he has working for him. So it's not safe to discuss anything now. Like I said though, we'll keep in touch." Kisuke was the one who answered, and with that, they all made their way to the exit.
Ginjou walked them out and he was about to close the door when Zangetsu suddenly turned and leaned in to whispered, "There's someone in this group who isn't what they claim to be… Watch yourself, Ginjou. And take special care of Ichigo."
And with that Ginjou was left alone at his doorstep, wondering, not for the first time, what his life would've been like if he had never found Ichigo…
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TBC
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Sorry to leave it on a sad note.
I actually wasn't going to have the parents meet so soon
BUUUUTTTT… I felt it might fill in a few holes
If only a couple
More will be explained later on, of course
Hrmmm
And, originally I was gonna have Ichigo and Kon's meeting be different
More comical I guess
Where they think they're looking into a mirror
Like in cartoons, ya know?
But when I started writing it, it just didn't seem right
-waves it off-
Whatever
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyway
And I really hope I'm not making this seem rushed at all