It was only at this moment that Ichigo found his voice, "Wait a second captain, shouldn't we allow Kye a while to recover from being in the dungeons, we agreed to treat her like another member of the soul society, we would never send someone to Mayuri's lab so easily."
Everyone stopped to look back at Ichigo who held firm to his usual scowl and defiant attitude, even Grimmjow stared back at him with a hint of smugness across his face. Yamamoto had just risen from his seat and glared at Ichigo before he let out a sigh, "You're right Captain Kurosaki, I will allow Kye until noon to recover, but since you spoke up Ichigo, you will be responsible for keeping an eye on her until then."
Ichigo nodded his agreement to the head captain's words, then everyone began to file out of the meeting room to go about their usual duties. There was still a bit of tension in the air since no one trusted Kye, but the tension was lighter than before the trial so no one bothered to look over their shoulder at their new guest as they left. Grimmjow remained by Ichigo's side staring at Kye as if she was still just a ghost. Her stance was casual and relaxed, but Grimmjow and Ichigo stood their bodies shaking from the nerves of either one of the happiest moments of their lives or a painful truth that would crush a hope they've held onto for so long. Kye remained unmoving allowing everyone to leave the room before turning towards Ichigo and Grimmjow waiting for them to speak.
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Chapter 5 Who Are You?
The room around Ichigo was beginning to spin as he looked at Kye while his mind raced through all the emotions that had been flooding through him over the past hour. His breathes were short and quick rapidly increasing his heart rate to where he thought he might pass out from the shock. He shook himself slightly trying to regain his grip on reality enough to where he could hold a conversation with the person in front of him. Taking a couple deep breathes to calm himself seemed to stop the room from spinning. After taking one last deep breathe with his eyes closed to focus on his heart rate, Ichigo opened his eyes to direct his attention to Kye.
The morning light gleamed through the open doorway of the exit shinning brightly on the once shrouded figure. The sun seemed to radiate from her body into a warm and subtle glow as she looked at him with a blank face. Her body was completely relaxed and her breathing was even, if Kye was feeling any of the emotions Ichigo was, she did a spectacular job hiding it. She was facing both Ichigo and Grimmjow with little interest, her face showed no sign of emotion and her eyes seemed to peer through Ichigo's soul without so much as a small reflection back. Ichigo wondered what would be the first thing he would say to his beloved daughter, was this even the same girl he once knew? The girl who used to run into his arms and hug him like he was the greatest person in the world. The little troublemaker who always seemed to know just the right prank to make him crazy.
While Ichigo seemed to be lost in his thoughts Kye began to walk towards the both of them, ever so casually, almost as if greeting a couple of old friends. When she stopped right in front of Ichigo, who pulled himself out of memories to question what he should say first, she held out her right hand in a gesture of thanks.
"I guess a thank you is in order," her alto voice vibrating through the air so delicately. Ichigo shook her hand, feeling her subtle warmness for the first time in ages making the room once again rapidly spin around him. All he could do was nod his head awkwardly in response. "But it really didn't matter to me, in truth the sooner I can get this done and get out of here the better."
She returned her hand to her sweatshirt pouch and sighed as her head turned to face the sun, allowing it's gentle heat to spread across her face. She seemed distracted in the way she viewed the morning sun, but did not let her thoughts distract her from the present conversation. Grimmjow, who had been experiencing the same roller coaster as Ichigo, found his words before Ichigo could ask his first question.
"Kyler, do you know who we are?" He asked his voice gentle. Ichigo hadn't heard that gentle voice since…well since Kyler had disappeared. Hearing it now only reminded Ichigo of more memories when he would watch Grimm and Kyler play soccer outside, or the times in which he tried to teach her how to fight…
Kye returned her gaze to the two of them before she answered. "Yeah I know who you are. You're Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez former sixth espada during the war with Sosuke Aizen now lieutenant to Ichigo Kurosaki who was once substitute soul reaper during the time you met, fought, and eloped."
What little glimmer of hope had shown in Grimmjow's eyes completely faded in that moment when her response didn't include the word Dad or Blue. His face fell just barely before he quickly recovered, "That's not what I meant, I meant do you know who we are to you?"
"You referring to the fact that you are my parents."
Grimm and Ichigo's faces lit up as Kye spoke that sentence. There faces delighted to know that their daughter did, in fact, remember them. Kyler's tone and body language however, had not changed since the conversation started.
"So…you really do remember us Kyler?" Grimmjow asked making a move forwards to wrap her in a big hug, which he thought would last forever. As Grimm stepped forward Kyler backed away her face showing a brief sign of curiosity before resuming it's normal pose of indifference.
"Woah there, just because I said I remember you doesn't mean a thing."
Grimmjow looked at her as if she had just spoken like some nut job who had no idea which way was the sky or the ground. His arms dropped to his sides as he stood looking at her as being a fool not to want to be in his arms.
Kye dropped her gaze sighed out a deep breathe and then returned her gaze to give her explanation that they both desperately desired. "To me, we simply share the same DNA…and just because we share that DNA does not make either of you my parents and it doesn't make me your daughter either…You both lied to me, kept me in the dark, and then…"
Her words shook Ichigo to the core, she didn't think of Ichigo or Grimm as her parents. It was a dagger to the heart that he did not expect. Then she had found out about both of them being soul reapers, and not even from them, that must have been a big slap in the face. Ichigo could only imagine what it must have felt like, even when he had found out about his parents, it was still a shock. Despite her words, Ichigo did not sense any hurt from her, their was no grief or anger to her voice, she was simply telling them truths regardless of her feelings, which he had no idea what they were.
"Kyler who told you about us," Grimm asked with a pained voice his eyes now seemed cold and distant.
"No one did, I knew when I was 5… You guys would come by the school to check on me randomly or when I was at a friends house one of you guys would pop in, but you guys didn't realize I could see you and you never said anything about it, so I just assumed you would tell me when you were ready…" she huffed a small laugh, "I guess that day never came."
"Kyler what happened?" Ichigo's voice pierced through the room causing Grimm to chance a glance at him in surprise as he stepped forward. "What happened to you, tell us,"
"Hmph, the question is more what didn't happen" she let out a sigh of annoyance, "I guess one of the first questions that needs answering is what happened on the day I disappeared…let's just say that day my abilities manifested to which I had zero control and, well, you saw what happened."
Surprise spread across both their faces at the realization of a question they had asked themselves thousands of times.
"You mean you started that fire?" Ichigo asked, more or less as rhetorical rather than directed at her. They all stood quiet for a moment letting the conversation sink in before Kye turned and started walking towards the door.
"I won't explain anything else, at least not until I talk with this Mayuri character, I don't want to be repeating myself over my…condition, I guess you could call it that."
"Kyler why didn't you come home?" Ichigo asked as him and Grimm followed behind her towards the exit. "And don't be in a rush to go to Mayuri, his methods can be cruel, don't let him go too far."
Kye let out another small chuckle at Ichigo's remark. "First of all stop calling me Kyler, that little girl died a long time ago. Second, I couldn't come home, and third: Mayuri's experiments don't bother me."
Ichigo and Grimmjow looked at her with puzzled expressions to her list of answers she had given them. The cryptic message scraped the surface required to answer the question laid before her, but failed to reveal any personal opinions about them.
They followed her through the maze of structures placed like puzzle pieces leaving just enough room for the pathways. She wound her way through the labyrinth at a casual pace every so often pausing to look at the sky as if deep in thought. Kye seemed lost in her thoughts mindlessly wondering the streets, while Grimmjow and Ichigo were still digesting the conversation from earlier.
Citizens were growing louder and louder with each passing minute of the day performing their usual routines. Kye continued walking past the people not paying any mind to move out of the way, everyone else seemed to keep their distance as she passed. Her feet slid across the paths leaving no foot print of her progress. Ichigo and Grimmjow watched as every so often she would pause during her stroll, look up to the sky, and closed her eyes taking a deep breath as if enjoying the fresh air and sun's warming rays. Despite all the people dodging her path, she looked more at ease the further they kept their distance. Kye's facade might have been completely blank, but Ichigo seemed to notice a tiny cringe creep it's way through her shoulders any time someone brushed too close, now what that meant he had no idea, he could only form more questions to which he so desperately wanted answers. Kye had promised to tell everything she knew when she was asked a question, but she did not feel the need to give out her answers multiple times, once it had been said there was no need to repeat it.
Kye's stroll had taken her outside the edges of the city walls far from the people of the Soul Society. She stopped her stroll in an open area looking off into the distance of the mountain range. The grass was thin beneath her feet with loose dirt sifting across the ground with the light breeze. Grimmjow and Ichigo stood off to the side just watching, waiting patiently for time to pass. Ichigo looked over towards Grimmjow, he wondered just what the blue haired lieutenant could be thinking right now. Grimmjow's expression at first glance seemed to be completely blank, but Ichigo knew better, behind that carefree facade Ichigo could see Grimm was being torn in two different directions beneath the surface, he had seemed to come a conclusion Ichigo had no idea of what it would be though. His face bounced back and forth in expressions as one could tell him contemplating out the conversation in his mind. Even in deep thought Grimmjow still had his moments where he was nothing but adorable, it made Ichigo smile with appreciation at the adorableness standing right in front of him.
Kye stood still as stone. The light breeze blowing her soft ponytail of blue hair behind her, eyes closed to the world. She knelt down slowly to the ground, from a catchers position she gently gathered a handful of the dirt in one of her hands and alternated pouring it from one hand to the other until her hands were covered in the dirt. Grimmjow and Ichigo both looked at her with a puzzled glance wondering just what in the world she was doing playing with the dirt. A couple minutes of playing in the dirt Kye stood and turned back to Grimm and Ichigo and with a deep sigh, "Well, let's go see Mayuri, I've got nothing better to do."
Grimmjow gave a long sigh and nodded his head turning back towards the city to guide them to Mayori's laboratory. Kye began to take a step to follow behind Grimmjow when in a sudden flash she had crouched into a defensive stance left arm flexed by her hip as her hand was engulfed in red flame. The flames danced at the edges of her finger tips flickering in the breeze greedily waiting for it's target.
Ichigo and Grimmjow both reached for their zanpakuto gripping them tightly in preparation for the oncoming attack…that didn't seem to come. Kye stood still as a statue eyes closed, just listening for any signs of an oncoming attack. Ichigo and Grimmjow held fast to their katanas but puzzlement spread across their faces, what was going on, they had no clue. Kye opened her eyes yet remained in her defensive stance as the flames continued to spark along her outstretched hand. Her left eye that was once two thirds gold, was now two thirds deep red which made the silver third sparkle even brighter. Her breathing was calm, Ichigo was taken aback by the sudden change but he waited just trying to understand what attack she was waiting for. Then Ichigo felt a coldness encompass him. The frost like feeling crawled from the edges of his limbs towards the center of his being. His lungs began to scream for air, but the cold held him still, he was beginning to lose consciousness when he felt a sharp jerk pull him from his spot releasing him from the choking grip of the icy abyss. Almost immediately the world snapped back into reality causing him to heave quickly to regain the air he had lost. Crouched over with his hands on his knees looking at the ground, he felt Grimm wrap a comforting arm around him. He peaked through his bangs up to where Kye had shifted her stance and was now examining the place Ichigo had once been standing.
"What…what was that?" he asked regaining his breathe well enough to fully stand. Grimm looked at him, concern written across his face then he looked over to Kye waiting for her explanation.
She circled the small area of no more than four feet wide, wiping her hand across an imaginary surface. "That Captain, is a realm tag."
"What is a realm tag?"
"It's how people with my abilities are able to move across realms. This is where your intruder came into this realm from. Usually these tags don't last very long, for this to still be glitching here means he had an extremely high amount of energy stored in his body when he realm jumped."
"You want to explain that a little bit better, like why it almost killed me?"
"Judging by the type of energy left behind he came either from somewhere very cold in the land of the living or Perdidit Regnum. What you felt was your body being pulled through that space gap, which it appears, your body can't handle."
"Uh what are you talking about?" Grimmjow interjected gripping onto Ichigo to make sure he was still ok.
"My abilities allow me to break down energy around me at a molecular level, if I pull the energy apart in a specific manor I can pull myself across the different realms. Depending on how much energy I have stored in my body when I cross realms will leave a vacuum space for either a split second or a few days…this one in particular is flickering in and out meaning that it's about to dissipate, I thought someone was about to come through when it flickered…" she turned looking back into the city, "this is a good access point, infiltrating the soul society would be easy…I'm impressed, he's more the brawn to doing things."
"Woah woah woah hold on a second here. Your ability is to break down energy? Explain that."
She turned back to face them a smirk gracing her lips, "I will only explain it all once, so I think it would be better to explain it so your scientist can take notes."
Ichigo looked back at her with an annoyed scowl plastered across his face, Grimm's on the other hand was frustration, he looked like he would explode if she didn't start explaining herself soon. "You know she does have a point."
"Yeah I know…and it pisses me off how easily she can state a point to get out of explaining herself to us."
Ichigo nodded his agreement, but none the less they restarted their journey to Mayuri's lab.
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Hey guys sorry for taking so long to update, I will be in and out for the next few months because I am traveling...I am going to try to update as much as I can as I work so some chapters might be short some long. Hope you guys enjoyed this update and I will get the next one up soon! To my reviewers you guys are awesome thank you! Love hearing your thoughts!