Bleached Wings Chapter 3
I OWN NOTHING AND NEVER WILL! I only own the ideas I come up with and both series belong to their respective owners.
Spoilers for Bleach and Ichigo's history! You have been warned.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH WORD DELETED 5,000+ WORDS FROM THIS CHAPTER AND I AM SO GAAAAAAAH
I CAN'T EVEN
SOMEBODY HELP ME FROM GOING ON A MASS WORD MURDER SPREE
*Breaths in* ... *Breathes out* ... Okay. Now to go and REWRITE all of that. It's cool Word. It's totally a favorite pastime of mine to rewrite over half of my chapter. We're cool. We. Are. Cool...
NOT! *flips Word a thousand times over*
Sorry about the html thing. I have no idea how that happened.
BW – B/MR
Ichigo looked out the window to see the sun about to set, it's last sliver sending reds and pinks across the clouds. Max and her mini flock were off meeting up with her lost three and they should be back soon. He looks to the kitchen where the last of the food for tonight was cooking. Thankfully he had Maya and Ari, well as best as a seven-year-old can do, helping him or things would be going a lot slower. They had to make quite a lot, enough for Uryū to man up and go out and help buy some food. If Angel herself could put away three meals worth of food and still be hungry, Ichigo knew that they would need more food then what Orihime still had from last night.
At least when Ari wasn't in the kitchen, he was keeping Orihime occupied so she wouldn't try and help. A small shiver ran down his spine. That's exactly what they all needed. Orihime in the kitchen. As much as Ichigo liked Orihime, he could go without her cooking.
He looked out the window to see the sun vanishing.
Just as he returned to the kitchen to relieve Maya of her duties, the front door opened. Ichigo peeked out to see Max and her mini flock return with three new people. The first was a fourteen-year-old with black hair and near black eyes with a bored expression on his face. The second was another fourteen-year-old with light brown hair and unseeing pale blue eyes being led in by the third, an eight-year-old with blonde hair and blue eyes.
He must be Angel's older brother, Ichigo thought idly as he noted the similarities.
The black haired teen and the eight-year-old both froze and stiffened when they saw Maya, who was now standing next to the couch on the other side of the apartment. The room became tense.
"What? What is it?" The blind teen asked. No one spoke up.
"It's Max's clone," the one leading the blind teen whispered, as if the whole world would crumble if he spoke any louder. At this the blind teen tensed as well.
As the younger one spoke, the oldest of the three boys narrowed his eyes, broken out of his trance and moved toward her.
Before anyone could blink, Ichigo stood between Maya and the black haired teen. Ichigo was only a few inches taller than the teen, but he used that height to his advantage to glare down at the younger teen. The other narrowed his own eyes in a glare of his own. Ichigo's brown eyes lightened to a gold as an echoing growl escaped him.
Everyone else stopped what they were doing to stare wide eyed as it felt as if the room's temperature dropped a few degrees. The unspoken threat clear to all in the room.
Touch her and lose a limb.
Uryū and Orihime shivered as old memories resurfaced.
The teen's eyes widened slightly as he took a step back. Ichigo glanced at the other two new guests to see the little boy's other hand clutching Max's hand, shivering, and the blind teen staring unseeing at him, a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek. Seeming satisfied that no one else threatened Maya his eyes returned back to their original amber.
"Dinner is done," was the only thing he said before returning to the kitchen, Nudge, Ari, and Angle following to bring the food out.
The rest of the night was filled with tension. At dinner no one spoke and when they did it was in hushed whispers.
After dinner Ichigo set to work cleaning up from diner with the help of Maya. With both of them out of the room, he could feel the tension slowly melt away, but when one of them entered the room, Fang, the black haired teen, would tense and glare at them while the other two, Iggy, the blind one, and Gasman, the younger of the three, would tense up and watch Ichigo and Maya warily.
Around midnight, sleep claimed all but Ichigo, who stayed awake to keep watch over everyone. He may not be a huge fan of Fang, but that didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on him while he slept.
Outside he could feel hollows prowling around. Luckily Uryū understood his need for keeping low and took care of them with no argument. To say Ichigo was surprised there were so many hollows out right now would be a lie. He fully expected it with how much spiritual pressure everyone but him and Orihime were unconsciously releasing.
The only reason he wasn't releasing anymore then he already was, was thanks to his hollow -which still surprised him- into getting him to learn control.
It was around when the sun was rising on a new day when Ichigo drifted asleep and Max and Fang were stirring awake.
BW – B/MR
Night fell and the city slowed.
Steeling his nerves Ichigo walked toward his home. He could have easily flash stepped there, but he wanted to take his time.
He began created scenarios for what could happen and how he would react. As he did the worries of his imprisonment surfaced. Would they accept him? Or would they shun him? Would they love him? Or would they hate him?
His hollow was being oddly quite. Usually he would speak up by now or destroy enough buildings to make his vertigo act up to distract him. So why was he being so quite? Did it have something to do with what he had said about Yuzu and Karin being his sisters since they were Ichigo's? Unfortunately, Ichigo had no way of knowing without asking and he wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon.
The walk was neither short nor long. It was however long enough for the moon to shift overhead to a noticeable degree.
When he got to his home he stood on the sidewalk and stared. It still looked the same as it did the day he was kidnapped.
The small family owned clinic with small bushes in front of it stood in front of the actual house, three parking spaces in front of the actual home. A wall, with six tree shrubs behind a metal fence making up part of it, separated the house from the small parking lot serving as a privacy fence.
Finally gathering his courage, Ichigo walks to the front door next to the side of the house and knocks. Soon after footsteps could be heard. As soon as the door swung open his breath hitched at the sight of Yuzu, who's smile disappeared as soon as she saw who was at the door. All scenarios he came up with over the week of what he would do fled from his mind as he stared down at her.
"I-Ichi-nii?" She manages to squeak out after a second of staring wide eyed.
Ichigo smiles, eyes stinging. "Hey, Yuzu."
Just then Karin comes around the corner, "Hey, Yu, who is... it..." Her voice trails off as she too stares wide eyed at Ichigo.
"Hey, Karin," Ichigo greets her as well.
As one the twins jolt forward to wrap their brother in a crushing hug, tear streaming down both of their cheeks. Not being able to hold his own in at the sight of them, Ichigo began crying as well.
"We made it, King. We made it..." His hollow whispered, not wanting to break the mood.
Ichigo's legs gave out and the three fell to their knees. He buried his face in Karin's hair as she cried into his neck, Yuzu into his chest.
"What's going on out here..." Isshin asked, coming around the corner only to stop mid-step at seeing his three children. He had to do a double take at this. He stood there frozen, staring with wide eyes at the head of orange hair, unable to believe what he was seeing much less what he was sensing. It was only when the owner of the orange hair lifts his head to reveal all too familiar brown eyes. Isshin walked forward on unsteady legs and sank to the ground in disbelief. He slowly reached forward and hugged all three of his children close.
His son... His only son who he thought he had lost forever was back. He was home.
Ichigo put up no resistance and just fall into his father and let the older man hug him. They both needed this, even if neither wanted to admit it.
Eventually they stopped crying, something Isshin hadn't realized he was doing until the tears were already falling. They stayed there for a while, not paying attention to the time and not caring if anyone saw them.
It wasn't until Ichigo felt one of his primary flight feather twist into an uncomfortable position did he move. His dad and Karin let go of him while Yuzu kept hugging him, not wanting to let go of her big brother in case he might disappear on her again. He was fine with that.
"Why don't we take this inside." Issing says, standing up. Picking up Yuzu in his arms, Ichigo and Karin follow their dad inside.
Once inside Ichigo set Yuzu on the couch, much to her displeasure. However, a simple hand ruffling her hair silenced her as she sniffled, trying not to cry again. Isshin and Karin join Yuzu on the couch while Ichigo grabbed a chair from the dining table and sat in it reversed with his arms resting on the back of the chair. He pressed his mouth into his forearms and frowned, eyebrows scrunching together.
He knew his family wanted to know what happened to him, but he wasn't sure how to approach the subject.
"Ichi-nii?" Karin spoke up, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?" He hums.
"What's that?" She asks, pointing to something near his feet.
Looking down to see what she was pointing to he saw it was his wingtips. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get it cut, he thought absently.
"Really? Yer focusin' on yer hair right now?" His hollow said exasperated. "Want me ta break the ice?"
No, Ichigo hissed.
"Dad, can you call Hat-and-Clogs and have him gather everyone in his basement? I'd rather not explain more than I have to. Also Orihime will be bring some friends of mine along."
Isshin nods and takes out his phone, moving into another room.
"Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asks this time.
He sighs and looks to where their dad walked off to. "Look, something happened to me. Something bad..." He looks back at them to see their worried faces. "I don't like leaving you in the dark, but can you wait until everyone is gathered?"
Yuzu was hesitant in nodding, Karin even longer.
"Can you at least tell up what that is?" Karin presses.
Ichigo rubbed his eyes, again thinking of how to approach this. "It's, uh... It's a part of my wing." Silence fills the room, only the muffled voice of their dad filled the air. He waited.
"Your what?" Karin finally speaks up.
"My wing." He moves the primary feathers as an emphasis. Both of their eyes widen at this and suddenly Yuzu is next to him, lifting the hem oh his trench coat to get a better view. Karin came over at a more sedate pace. Both of their eyes widen even more upon uncovering more feathers.
"What?" Karin whispers as Yuzu gasps when he shifts his entire wing.
He looks away, preparing for them to never want to see him again. It came as a surprise when he suddenly had a pair of arms wrapped around his neck.
"Wings or no wings, you'll always be my big brother," Yuzu says into his shoulder. "Right, Karin?"
Karin only nods while still looking on with wide eyes as she slowly reaches out to touch the feathers. He makes sure to hold still.
A heavy weight lighted off his chest at their words. Ichigo leans his head on Yuzu's. "Thanks you two."
His hollow chuckles. "Told you so."
Shut up.
Isshin came into the room, putting his phone in his pocket. "Alright, Kisuke is calling the others, they shou-" He stops and stares at the scene in front of him. "What? What did daddy miss?!"
Ichigo straightens with a sigh. "Shut up, Old Man. If there was one thing I didn't miss, it was your childish antics."
"Wha-what? How can you say that to your dear old dad?" Isshin cries in mock hurt.
"It's because you're my dad that I say that." Ichigo sighs. "Couldn't I have been stuck with a less childish parent?"
"Waaah!" Their father ran crying to the wall memorial of their mother. "Masaki, dear, our son finally came home, but he doesn't love me!"
Ichigo deadpans. "Nice to know some things haven't changed."
Yuzu pulls away with a pout, putting her hands on her hips. "Ichigo! Be nice to daddy! He missed you. We all did..." Her voice trails off, a sad look crossing her features.
Not liking that look, he smiles and ruffles her hair once more just to mess with her. "I know you did. I missed you both too." He looks to Karin to see her smiling softly.
"On a more serious not," Isshin spoke up, interrupting the moment. "I need to talk to you about something important. Karin, Yuzu, I want you both to listen as well." He sat down on the corner couch and leaning forward he rest arms on knees and his knitted fingers to his lips, looking at the floor. When his daughters sat down on the couch as well he looked up and looked Ichigo straight in the eyes. "Ichigo, do you remember when you said I could spill my guts when I felt the time was right?" At Ichigo's hesitant nod he continues. "Well... Get ready for some gut spilling. The thing is you're not really a soul reaper."
Ichigo's eyes widened at this. What the hell was he getting at? Not a soul reaper? Then what has he been this entire time?
Isshin continued. "But you aren't a mere human either," he looks to Yuzu and Karin to see their confused looks, "neither are you two. Your mother was a Quincy."
At this Ichigo tenses. His mom was a Quincy? Why was he never told this before?
The twins look at each other with confusion. What was a Quincy?
"As you may have already figured out, I was a captain. In fact, I was the captain of the tenth squad and my name was... My name was Isshin Shiba."
"Shiba? Like Kukaku and Ganju Shiba?" Ichigo's brows crease. His father nods. "If you were a soul reaper and mom a Quincy, then how did you meet her? I thought they were enemies."
"We are." His eyes became distant as he recalled his past. "It was about twenty, almost twenty-one years ago when there was a hollow attack. All soul reapers who were sent disappeared, however no plus souls had been eaten. Without telling anyone except my lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, and third seat, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, who stayed behind."
Hearing Tōshirō's name Karin perked up, recognizing someone in this story.
"Whatever the thing was, it was targeting soul reapers and only soul reapers. So I flared my energy only it wasn't going after power. Instead it went after one of the lower ranks and killed them. It was only then did I get a good look at it. It was a black hollow with a white face and forward facing horns." Ichigo's eyes widened. "It was about as tall as me with no hands, only swords. What the weird part was that the hole was filled in. I engaged it. Not long after Aizen appeared and cut me across the back, the damage was bad enough I couldn't use my bankai. The hollow soon began to overpower me thanks to the wound, then your mother came in. She shot arrows at it, drawing its attention to her." He fell silent, atmosphere tense. "It closed in and bit her shoulder where she shot it in the head. However, there was a failsafe in case it did die. I saved her from the blast and took the damage myself. After that I returned to the Soul Society for a few days.
"When I came back it was to find Ryūken Ishida carrying Masaki, who was in the middle of hollowfication. Kisuke found us and took us back to his shop where I entered a gigai that I wouldn't be able to leave as long as Masaki and the hollow were... Were still alive. As you can already guess, it was a success. Shortly after Masaki was allowed to leave to leave the Ishida household after graduating high school. Since her soul had been tainted with that of a hollow, it wasn't a hard decision for them to make. From what I was told, Ryūken had final say in the matter. Perhaps... I was the only way for him to make a clean and total break from his feelings towards Masaki.
"As for your old man, the only subject I paid attention to at the Academy was medicine which is why I thought it best to open a clinic. I was still wet behind the ears, but with some coaching from Kisuke I was able to manage. While Masaki attended the University, she would come by often to make fun of my new, white outfit. I told her I was stripped of my soul reaper powers and exiled from Soul Society for violating the rules. Between us though, even as I spoke those words, I think she knew it was all a lie. Apparently your old man is a horrible liar, and she could read me like an open book. But not once did she ever hold that lie against me. Truth be told, I don't think she ever cared whether that story was a lie or not. The thing is, when we were together, those types of things never matted. Maybe it was because she was always able to see right through me.
"One day we went to watch some random movie. The old man in it said this line about how his wife, even all these years later, reminded him of the sun. The movie itself was a total snooze fest. The only thing I remembered about that movie was how Masaki bawled her eyes out from start to finish. And that line from that old man because that was the moment I realized that she was my sun." By now silent tears ran down Yuzu's cheeks. "She drew me in, was merciful, guided me with her light. She did all of this without even trying. I was simply happy to be in her orbit. Before I knew it, Ichigo, you were born. And, well... You know the rest."
Ichigo stared at his dad then looked to his sisters. Yuzu was hugging and crying on Karin's shoulder, who didn't seem to care much at the moment as she stares at the floor blankly. He turns back to his dad to see him staring at him a little harder than he had been a moment ago. What was that look for? Was it because his dad needed to tell him more but couldn't with his sisters here? It was possible. He was rather surprised he even shared what he did with Karin and Yuzu here. He understood they had a right to know, but Ichigo figured his dad would wait a while longer.
He looked back towards the twins. Or was it because one of them started showing signs of either soul reaper or Quincy powers? If that was the case, then he had a guess as to it being Karin. Yuzu was always the weakest of the three of them when it came to being spiritually aware.
Isshin sat up straighter with a grin on his face. "What I'm trying to say is that daddy loves you no matter what happened to you."
Ichigo deadpanned. Way to ruin the mood, Goat-Face.
Just then Isshin's phone vibrated twice, alerting him to a message. Reaching down and picking up his phone from off of the table, he flipped it open and read the message. He stood up. "The others are at Urahara's; they're just waiting on us."
Nodding Ichigo stood and moved to walk out when his dad laid a hand on his shoulder and let the twins move outside to the car first. Once they were alone, Isshin squeezed Ichigo's shoulder, but not letting go.
"I meant what I said. Your sister's are the same way." With that being said, Isshin left Ichigo alone.
Ichigo stood there silently for a moment before he reached up to grab a fistful of his hair and clenched his eyes shut. He grinned as once again tears threatened to spill. A stone he hadn't felt until just now being removed from his heart as relief once again flooded him. He didn't care if none of his friends accepted him, well he did, but his family's opinion just mattered more at the moment.
BW – B/MR
Ichigo touched down in a swish of feathers and a crunch of gravel underfoot. Folding his wings in he put his coat back on not a few seconds before his dad pulled into the gravel parking lot that made up Urahara Shop's front.
"Ichigo-kuuun~," a voice called to him as his family stepped out of their car.
If Ichigo was being honest, that was one voice he could go the rest of his life without hearing again.
He turned to see its owner as annoying as ever with his bucket hat over sandy blond hair and fan waving at him.
"Ah! Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan!" he called as soon as he saw them. "Would you like some candy?"
"No thanks, I don't take candy from creeps," Karin says with a bored look.
"Karin! Be nice to Urahara-san!" Yuzu scolds her twin before turning to Kisuke. "I would love some."
"Great! Choose anything you want, it'll go on your brother's tab," Kisuke says behind his fan. Ichigo's shout of protests went unheard as Yuzu perks up and darts inside.
"Karin, my lovely daughter, why don't you get some as well? I'm sure Ichigo won't mind paying," Isshin adds.
"Well if Ichigo is paying..." With that she follows her twin inside.
"What the hell?!" Ichigo shouts in frustration. Again he goes ignored.
"Urahara." Was all Isshin says, serious.
"So you told him?" said man asks, all play dropped from his tone.
"All three, but not on how."
At this Kisuke nods before turning his back on the two. "You're probably wondering what we're talking about, right?" Ichigo doesn't say anything, already getting a feeling Kisuke already knew the answer. He usually did. "Unfortunately we don't have time to explain right now, but know that it wasn't a hollow that killed your mom that night." With that said Kisuke flicked his fan open and returned inside.
Ichigo whipped his head to look at his dad to see him almost glaring at where Kisuke disappeared to inside.
"What..." Ichigo starts, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Isshin sighed and ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to look his son in the eyes at the moment. "Unfortunately that's a conversation best left for the two of us when there aren't others waiting for your own explanation to things." With that said he too went inside, once again leaving Ichigo alone.
Ichigo stared after his dad with wide eyes, mind whirling. What had Kisuke meant by it wasn't a hollow that killed his mom? What else could it have been? If it wasn't Grand Fisher responsible for his family's pain, then who was it? Who would dare take away his family's sun?
Ichigo grit his teeth and followed everyone inside. He would definitely be demanding answers after all this was done and over with.
Down in the basement, Ichigo let his eyes wander. Yup. Still looked the same from that giant boulder slightly on his left a small distance away to the twig of a tree to his right and the fake sky high above, not including all the countless rocks he couldn't see in the vast underground training room.
Not far in front of him stood an awestruck Yuzu and a bored Karin with his dad and Kisuke. To the left of them sat Maya, Ari, and the flock on some rocks and to the left sat his friends from before his kidnapping to the Vizard sitting not far in front of him on various sized rocks.
To say he was surprised to see the Vizord would be an understatement, but he supposed they would be here as well since he was technically a Vizord as well.
Before anyone could react to him being there, one of his childhood friends decided to make herself known with a sharp punch to Ichigo's jaw making a loud crack as it hit, making him stumble. His hair covered his face as he lifted a hand to gently touch the broken bone, his hollow already working to heal the damage.
"You bastard!" Tatsuki shouted. "Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?!" She reared a leg back and kicked him in the gut, making him drop to his knees as saliva and a little blood came up.
He held his stomach with his forearms as his hollow also worked on the damage there. He heard a growl from his inner world.
Just as Tatsuki was about to go for another kick, Ichigo's giant of a friend, Chad, held her back. It was just enough time to realize why her attacks hurt him the way they did. She was using her spirit energy to hit harder.
"Do you have any idea what we all thought? Or how we felt? Huh?! Answer me, dammit!" she struggled against Chad, but it was useless.
Reaching up, Ichigo wiped the blood and spittle mix from his chin. "Sorry, but I don't." He says as he stands up to look at her, the only thing left from her punch was a disappearing bruise. "This might not make it up, but I'm sorry. If I could have, I would have been back sooner." He glances to Maya and Max before looking to where Tatsuki was still struggling against Chad. "Will you let me tell you all why I wasn't? Or are you going to punch me again?" he says with a hint of humor. He watches as she calms down, but still glares at him.
"Fine, but you had better make it fast." She grits out.
With a nod from Chad, he took Tatsuki back to their friends and set her down where she crossed her arms and glared at Ichigo.
Sweat dripped down Ichigo's brow as he felt the stares of everyone there.
Right... Where to begin...
For the rest of the night Ichigo retold of his story. Of how he was kidnapped on his way home from work to being experimented on. For his sister's sake more than anyone else's, he brushed over the actual experimenting part, not wanting them to worry on what exactly happened. If any of the others asked, he would tell, but not his sisters. Never his sisters.
He explained how he regained his powers, but not that it was just his hollow. That was better left unsaid.
When he got to how he discovered what they were doing to him, it was then that he took off his coat to reveal his wings and tail. Most who saw it gasped, while the rest went wide eyed with shock. The only ones who didn't were those who already knew of his... new additions.
He told of how he met Maya and the others and how he escaped. Much to his displeasure he had to explain how he was able to materialize his hollow in order for them to actually get out of there in one piece, something the Vizord demanded him to do again, which he absolutely refused. Mostly for everyone's safety, but mostly his sisters. He didn't want to scare them. And thanks to Kisuke, he had to summon his zanpakutō as proof he really could summon it while in his living body. After that he could practically see the cogs rolling in Kisuke's head.
He ended his story there, with them escaping, not wanting to reveal the other's secrets.
Unfortunately for him, there was one of Soul Society's greatest mind as his audience and he brought up the question of if they had wings as well. It was then that Max decided to fill in on how they got here, but as soon as Kisuke started prying into their past, that was when her lips sealed shut. That was something she hadn't even told Ichigo yet, not that he really tried.
Then began the questions, not including the technical ones that Kisuke decided it was necessary to ask at that moment.
Did it hurt? What is it like to fly? Why not just blow a hole in the wall sooner? How did you know you could summon your zanpakutō in your physical body? How heavy is your zanpakutō? And of course Yuzu and Karin demanded him to fly them around.
The questions kept coming and Ichigo tried to answer them to the best of his abilities, but when it came to questions about the flock, he revealed nothing.
It wasn't until Yuzu yawned, her candy stash having been long eaten, did anyone bother check what time it was. It was already well into the next day.
Still having to go to school, Chad and the rest left, leaving the vizord and flock as well as Ichigo's family behind. Yuzu curled up against Ichigo and fell asleep while Karin fell asleep against a rock.
Soon after the Vizord left as well, but Ichigo had a feeling they would be paying him a visit again, mostly Shinji and Hiyori.
Max and her flock with Ari and Maya stayed in the underground training room while Isshin took his daughters home, Ichigo telling him he would come by later.
Once everyone had either left or was sleeping, Ichigo flew in the basement for a while, stretching and relaxing his muscles he hadn't realized were so tense. He enjoyed the feeling of the air over his feathers as they gave him lift. He enjoyed his hair whipping about, the ends stinging his face as they whipped around. The way his tail and flight feathers controlled where he went with just the slightest of twitches. The burn of his muscles as they worked to keep him aloft.
He let a relaxed smile spread across his face.
He loved it up here. It was a freedom he couldn't explain. He could just leave his troubles on the ground and disappear for a few hours.
Unfortunately, he had to touch down eventually because even birds needed to land and rest. Not that he needed to rest, he could have flown for much longer, he was just tired and in need of some sleep. Not to mention hungry. He would have to ask someone about that. Definitely not Kisuke, he didn't want to end up owing that man any favors.
Landing, he kept his wings spread to let them cool off as he walked back to his flock. He stopped.
His?
Yes, that sounded right. They were only children on a quest to save the world from something and they needed a protector.
He turns and look up the latter to the entrance of the underground training room with a frown. But his family needed him as well and he couldn't just leave them. He looked back to the sleeping flock. But they needed him as well.
Oh the choices, what was he to choose?
If it came down to following the flock, Ichigo was sure he would go. As much as he hated the thought, his family and friends survived without him this long, he was sure they would survive a little longer without him. With that thought in mind he laid next to Maya with his back to her and fell asleep.
BW – B/MR
Other than being forced into training by Kisuke and showing off his flying to his friends, Ichigo's day was fairly boring.
"Oh, Ichigo-kuuun~!" An annoying voice disturbed Ichigo's sleep. He lifted and draped a wing over his head, blocking out the light and hopefully the voice as well.
That's when the poking started. Not just light poking. No. This was hard and painful poking right between his wings. Of course the nice thing about wings is that with one stretch of his other wing still folded in, Ichigo was able to push Kisuke away from him.
"Aww, that wasn't very nice, Ichigo-kun." Kisuke called with mock hurt.
Ichigo grit his teeth with annoyance. Rolling to his other side Ichigo glared at the shopkeeper. "Since when the hell have we been on a first name basis?"
That annoying fan was out again and in front Kisuke's face, hiding his grin. "Why since you came back from the dead of course."
Ichigo growled and moved to punch him but stopped. It wouldn't be a good example to Angel, Gasman, and Ari for him to punch someone just because he was annoyed with them. Granted they already fight for their lives so why should he care.
Lurching forward faster than any besides Kisuke could see, Ichigo punched Kisuke through his fan. Kisuke lurched back as faux tears streamed down his face.
"Ow! My nose, my beautiful nose!" He said in a slightly nasal voice as he holds said appendage. "I think you broke it!"
"Good. Serves you right for waking me up." Ichigo grumbles.
From the sidelines the flock was staring at them with confusion. Nudge leaned over and whispered to Angel.
"What are they saying?" she whispers.
Angel's only answer was a giggle.
"Now..." Ichigo asks in English as he stands up, working out the kinks in his neck. "What do you want?"
Nose forgotten, Kisuke practically jumps up and waves his broken fan. He looks at it and throws it to the side. "Right!" He becomes serious. "We're going to fight."
Ichigo scrutinized Kisuke. He let out a silent sigh. Of course he wasn't joking. Before he could give his answer he was forced to dodge back or else risk losing his head. He growled in annoyance. And of course it was like Kisuke not to give him a choice and to dive straight into a fight.
By the next swing of Kisuke sword, this one going to gut him, Ichigo had Zangetsu out and blocking the swing. With a growl he didn't retaliate, instead letting Kisuke swing at him while he backed away. He didn't want any of the flock to get hurt by what was about to happen. Once he deemed them at a safe distance he released a small Getsuga to put some space between him and Kisuke.
Dust erupted from the impact, surrounding him, making him squint as he tried to find his opponent. The dust settled to reveal a small fissure from his attack and Kisuke with his Blood Mist Shield, a hexagon-shaped crimson barrier in front of his released blade. Ichigo smirked at Kisuke's widened eyes as a part of the barrier collapsed.
"Haven't you learned by now," Ichigo calls as he holds Zangetsu in front of him, ready for anything his opponent might throw at him, "Not to underestimate me?"
Kisuke smirks and hides his eyes in the shadows of his bucket hat. "How silly of me to forget."
Kisuke blurred out of existence as he flash stepped to Ichigo's left. Seeing it coming, Ichigo parried the blow and retaliated with his own slash, forcing Kisuke back or risk getting wounded across the chest. But Ichigo was far from done.
Not giving Kisuke a chance to recover Ichigo swung his cleaver with all his might in a horizontal swing. Kisuke blocked it, but was forced back from the power of the swing, dust flying up from his landing and where the wind picked up loose dirt.
"Sing, Benihime!" A red slash erupted from Kisuke's blade as he swung his blade.
"Getsuga Tenshō!" Ichigo shouted as he too slashed down, releasing a large wave of blue spirit energy to counter the red energy coming at him.
The two forces collided only to explode and send dirt and debris in every direction. Flash stepping away Ichigo stood on air just outside of the larger dust cloud, wings slightly unfurled in case of an attack. The dust was beginning to settle when Kisuke came flying out of cloud, aiming at one of his wings. Seeing it coming Ichigo twisted out of the way to land lower down and let the older man fly by him, but not without trying to cut him.
Kisuke was quick in dodging midair and released another red slash. Flaring open his wings, Ichigo created a platform out his spirit energy and shot up out of the way of the attack before diving at his opponent. With a shout he brought Zangetsu down with all his might, trying to cut Kisuke down. Said man grunted as he caught the blade and redirected it, but was surprised when Ichigo managed to bring his sword back and deflect his own blow that would have pierced Ichigo's chest if he had not been fast enough.
Kisuke delivered another quick strike that forced Ichigo back.
It was enough time to see that, even in his living body, Ichigo was able to wield his zanpakutō with little effort, as if he was using it in his soul form. Of course this intrigued him as Ichigo was also able to use that giant cleaver with his large wings as if they had been there his entire life.
Oh the many things he wanted to know, but so little time to actually figure it all out. Oh well, this is what this fight was for.
On the ground, the flock, Maya, and Ari looked on with amazement, and slight worry in Maya's case, as Ichigo fought this eccentric man. None of them could keep up with the battle with their eyes. All they could see were the blur of movement, flashes of sparks that came from their swords colliding, and the echoing clangs of their swords meeting in a dangerous dance of death. Fang grew to respect Ichigo as the battle drew on for hours.
If there was one thing each one would get from this battle, it was to never get on Ichigo's bad side. Or this Kisuke guy.
Ichigo panted as he stood up from where he fell to the ground, sweat dripping from his brow, the large bleeding gash on his wing already knitting closed and feathers regrowing. He didn't have a single scratch on him, but that couldn't be said for his torn clothing. His hollow might be able to heal grievous wounds that would kill any man, but unfortunately clothes were a bit too far out of his range. Also another downside to the constant healing was that it was taking a toll on his stamina. While his hollow left bruises alone, he healed all scratches. He wasn't sure why when normally the smaller ones that didn't hamper his movement were left till the end of the battle to heal or on their own. Was this some kind of training his hollow was doing to him to strengthen his stamina? If so, Ichigo would kick his ass next time he saw him.
Kisuke landed next to him. "Don't tell me that's all you have, Ichigo-kun." Kisuke himself wasn't looking too good himself with the numerous scratches littering his body. Sometime during the fight Kisuke lost his bucket hat showing his messy hat hair matted and clinging to his skin from sweat.
"Oh yeah? What about you, Old Man?"
"Old Man? That hurts Ichigo-chan." Kisuke mocked.
Ichigo stood and wiped drying blood away from the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, but it's true."
Ichigo grunts as he blocked a downward swing of Kisuke's zanpakutō, causing him to slide back a few feet, small dust clouds rising up from the shallow grooves his feet made in the dirt.
They resumed their battle.
Both swung their zanpakutō. A shower of sparks erupted from the blades each time they hit.
Left, right, up, down. There was no pattern to the attacks, only that they had to attack. There was no aiming to injure. There was only the intent to kill with each stroke of the blade, each slash, and each jab. There was no half attempt to kill. It was full attempt and only full attempt. If there was anything less, then the other would die.
This was a dance of death. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Their fight ended when Ichigo slumped against Zangetsu the next day, falling asleep, his healing wounds crawling to a near stop. From the distance they looked as if they weren't healing, but if Kisuke looked hard enough he could see that they were in fact still healing faster than a human could.
"You're one scary kid, Kurosaki." With that said, Kisuke lifted the surprisingly light Ichigo onto his shoulder and moved to pick up Zangetsu only to stop and stare as it disappeared into blue spirit particles. He watched curiously until there was nothing left to show it was ever out, only their battle was the only evidence of the sword being there in the first place.
Turning away he flash stepped back to where his young student's friends were and carefully laid him on the ground.
"What the hell did you do to him?!" One of the clones shouts, Max, he thinks.
He waved her off. "Oh, just had a friendly fight is all."
"You call that friendly?" The other clone speaks up, Maya.
"It looked like you were trying to kill each other," Fang inputs.
"That's because we were," he says a little too cheerfully.
"You what?" Nudge squeaks out from where she knelt next to Ichigo
"The only way for him to learn something is for him to put his life on the line, it's perfectly normal." Kisuke waves his hands at them, sweat dripping down his brow as he tries to calm them. Not having much luck if their angered faces were anything to go by he takes a step back. "I'll just go get Tessai and he'll heal Ichigo right up."
Before any of them could say anything, Kisuke blurred out of existence and disappeared, leaving them alone with an unconscious Ichigo in a destroyed underground training room.
"Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Hurting Ichigo like that and then just leaving without leaving anything for us to at least stop the bleeding? I can't believe he would do that.
"But he said someone would come and heal him," Gasman argues.
Max rolls her eyes. "That's beside the point. Just another reason not to trust adults."
BW – B/MR
Ichigo is about 18 ½ years old by now, give or take a month.
Who do I love? Kisuke. Why? I have no idea. I fell in love with his character the moment I saw him. -Not like that ya idjits!-
Explanations:
Fight scene: I'm not a huge fan of the fight scene, but I was trying something different. I read somewhere to not add in a whole bunch of details when it comes to fights and blood and gore and instead add minimal details so that the reader's mind can fill in the space with how they see things. I don't know how well I put that across up there, but I hope well enough. Oh and then there's the fact I had a bit more written there, but Word DELETED IT ALL. *ahem* Anyways, don't worry, not all fight scenes will be like this. Tell me what your thoughts on it are and let me know how I can improve. (In case you haven't figured it out, I love to improve my writing. If you read my work from a few years ago you would understand why.)
Ichigo and Fang: I just see their personalities clashing every time I imagine them meeting. Add Maya into the mix? Definitely going to have issues there. However, I can also see Fang growing to appreciate Ichigo and what he can do after seeing him fight nonstop for a day.
Ichigo growing tired too fast: Our favorite hollow was at work here. It might have been in the background, but it played a major part in the outcome of the fight between Kisuke and Ichigo. Why? Because it takes up a lot of stamina to constantly heal injuries, especially ones that go to the bone. Normally Ichigo can go for days without tiring, but put under the strain of constant healing? Even Ichigo is hard pressed to do that. Also his hollow did it to get Ichigo to work harder into getting his stamina up for when there are those times when he will have to fight for days on end with no rest. I mean, just look at the fiasco that is the Winter War.
Ah... What else...
I can't really think of anything else to explain at the moment. If something confuses you or you have any question, don't be afraid to ask.
Terribly sorry if I messed any Japanese things up. I'm trying to learn the language and the culture, but it's a slow go when I can't afford any proper learning material and am stuck to Google.
Please review and tell me what you thought. Remember, don't be afraid to ask. All flames will be fed to Natsu.