Hey everyone! Here's chapter two, hopefully coming not too long after chapter one. Bleach muse is vibing, and I already had bits of this written from v1.
Also, important message at the bottom!
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Chapter II:
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Three months had gone by since that fateful day and Ichigo was now officially thirteen. Laying in his bed and watching the sun peak out over the horizon, he could still hardly believe how his life had changed, knowing what he knew now. Every time he saw a gas main blow on TV or any weird events happening that involved random destruction, he could no longer help but assume it to be the work of Hollows. They probably had nothing to do with it half of the time, but Ichigo still couldn't help but wonder. Thankfully, he had yet to be attacked a second time, but he was assuming that it could come at any moment now.
In his household, things had changed as well. With both his little sisters able to see spirits (or at least their heat-hazes for Yuzu), Ichigo couldn't help but fear that they would be attacked as well. He had taken to walking them to and – when he could – from school again, much to their hidden (and not-so-hidden) pleasure. But the biggest change of all was how Ichigo looked at his goof of a father. Every time a spirit popped up, Ichigo couldn't help but glance at the man, looking for any sign that perhaps he could see them as well.
Of course, Kurosaki Isshin didn't so much as twitch whenever it happened, and the not-so-hidden glances had ignited battle in their household more than once when the man-child assumed his son was raring to go.
Inwardly, his nights had changed drastically. Every single night, he returned to his inner world as his body slept and did one thing: train. Thor was an utter slavedriver, and as always, completely hands-on. Ichigo wasn't certain he would ever reach the man's sheer size and bulk, but Thor sure was teaching him as if he would. Already in the waking world, Ichigo had started needing to actively suppress his power. Since the day he had first used them, his living body had strengthened to the point that, when he had allowed one of his usual delinquent idiots' punches to land just out of morbid curiosity, the idiot's hands had very nearly broken.
He did feel slightly bad about that, honestly.
And Tatsuki had been growing more and more frustrated as well, though thankfully not at him. She quite simply had stopped being able to keep up with him, and it showed. She was strong. Extremely so. Ichigo had little doubt that she could sweep nationals when they popped around, and could probably do so even in the male bracket. But what was a human girl compared to his Zanpakutō?
Still, it wasn't all daisies for Ichigo. Quite simply, the only things he could actually use were the instinctual abilities, or the ones that required very little other than spirit power to learn. His iron skin, the regeneration, those cool glowy veins, and his electricity. Even within his own Inner World, Ichigo couldn't seem to manifest his physical Zanpakutō. Something which frustrated Thor immensely, as he could get no training with his most powerful weapon. And even more infuriating was the fact that he couldn't help spirits move on without it! Some fucking Death God he was!
So, Ichigo trained to fight unarmed instead, learning wrestling from Thor, unlearning things Karate had taught him that Thor laughed off as "showy," and continued to refine himself…
He awaited the day he could knock Thor's smug smirk off just once. But his early morning introspection was cut off, with a shout of, "GOOOOOOOODDDDDDD MOOOOOOORRRRRNNNNIIINNNNNGGGG IIIIIICHIGOOOOO-"
His eyes snapped open, and he flung his leg up, subconsciously reinforcing it with a tiny amount of Reiryoku. He smashed his foot into his diving father's chest. The comforter shot up with his leg and almost gagged Isshin as his trajectory changed and he started to sail out the window. Ichigo whirled around and grabbed his dad's leg before he could completely fall out, leaving the man precariously suspended on the side of the house, "What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo roared angrily, "Do you want to annoy the neighbors?!"
"Ack!" Isshin coughed as he got the comforter off of him, "My son… to be able to defend in such a manner… I truly have nothing more to teach you." Ichigo stared at him pokerfaced, "Good job son!" He flashed him a thumbs down – still upside-down of course – and his teeth pinged even in the dim light of dawn as he smiled. Ichigo's eye twitched, "…You can pull daddy back up now, you know?" He said when Ichigo did nothing.
Ichigo gave his dad an evil looking smirk, making him start to sweat, "Oh, I can huh?" He reached down and yanked his comforter, chucking it back onto his bed.
Isshin's face turned purple, "W-wait! You wouldn't really-"
"Have a nice trip, goat chin!" Ichigo cackled as he let go of his dad's leg and turned around to walk out of his room.
He didn't notice his dad's impressive display of acrobatics. He caught the ledge of his window with his foot and pulled his way back up to the room. He had a much sharper, more calculating look in his eyes as he stared at his son's retreating back as the door closed. The sun was just now starting to truly rise, making the shadow on his face look a bit more intimidating, "Ichigo…" he murmured to himself, "What's going on with you, boy?" After a moment, he shook himself and smirked, before letting himself fall. When Ichigo got downstairs, he was back to his usual antics and playing up the injury their mean son had given him to the giant blown-up poster of Masaki.
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"Sup?" He threw out lazily at Tatsuki as they met up, "How has practice been?"
"Boring." She groaned, "They're starting to be as afraid of me as they were of you."
He snorted, "Maybe you should find a new dojo then? We know that one we went to wasn't exactly the greatest."
"Nah." She grinned and put her hands behind her head as she walked, "I'll just make it the best if that's what it takes." She suddenly remembered something, "Oh right! Make a turn here."
Ichigo blinked in confusion, "Eh? Why? School is in the opposite direction."
"Oh, we're picking someone up to walk with us." She replied cheerfully.
Ichigo blinked again, this time in light shock, "You made a friend?" he grinned as she predictably slugged him. It didn't hurt at all at this point, but he started playing it up regardless, "Oww! Violent woman!"
"Asshole!" She shot back, before smirking, "Yeah, I made a friend last Friday after class, and she's real cute. Try not to stare too much, hentai."
He groaned. She never let him live down the fact that he had been staring a bit at that girl's bum. Damn Thor. A few minutes later, he was forced to bite back a growl as he was introduced to Inoue Orihime. 'Odin's Beard…! What the hell does she feed those things? Boy, you should totally give 'em a squeeze!' Ichigo's eyebrow twitched as Thor's voice rang in his head, spitting nothing but the truth.
As much as he hated to admit it, Thor was right. For a thirteen-year-old she was pretty…stacked up top. Of course, the man's suggestion was summarily discarded. She was dressed in their school uniform, same as them. She had bright orange hair like him – though a darker shade than his – cut to about her neck and brown eyes. She wore two bright-blue hairpins shaped like six-petal flowers and let her hair fall in bangs.
"H-Hello!" She said cheerfully. She really hoped to put on a good impression for the tall, scary-looking boy with bright orange-hair. It was the bullying she received because of her hair-color that had allowed her and Tatsuki to meet, so she really hoped he wouldn't be a hypocrite. "I'm Inoue Orihime. Nice to meet you." She gave a little bow.
He inclined his head and allowed a rare smile to cross his features, "Nice to meet you, Inoue-san. I like your hair."
She blushed beet red, and he blinked as she immediately spaced out and started having a daydream. 'H-he likes it? He likes my hair?'
"You alright there?" He raised an eyebrow in amusement.
She snapped out of it with a shake of her head and squeaked, "F-fine!"
"Come on!" Tatsuki chuckled, having already been exposed to Orihime's propensity for spacing out and daydreaming, "We have class soon!"
"Oh!" Orihime gasped as she started following, "We shouldn't be late!" Ichigo caught up quickly, and the three started talking about any little thing that came up. As they walked and talked, Ichigo's ever-expanding Reiatsu quickly began covering Orihime as well, quite outside his control or even awareness. Even with him actively trying to suppress his growing power, what he leaked unconsciously was enough to start wrapping those he considered friends or soon-to-be friends. Almost like a protective blanket.
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"Isshin!" Kisuke Urahara was not a man easily surprised, but the sight of his old friend standing inside of his shop was certainly something he hadn't been expecting. He had very pale blonde hair and gray eyes, which were shadowed by the green-and-white-striped bucket hat he wore. He was waving a paper fan around, which he snapped shut, "My, oh my, I certainly wasn't expecting to see you. What can my humble shop do for you?"
"We need to talk." He said seriously in return, "You may want to get Tessai as well. Yoruichi too if she's here."
"…I'm afraid Yoruichi-chan isn't here, though I'm sure you knew that." He stared at the man, before smiling widely, "Shall we?"
…
The three men smiled at cute little Ururu as she poured them each a steaming-hot cup of tea, "Thank you Ururu-chan. Be a dear and go keep Jinta out of trouble, will you?" The black-haired girl with a weirdly shaped hair-bang nodded, before meekly leaving the room.
"Still a shy little thing, isn't she?" Isshin commented softly.
"Can't be helped. You know how some kids are." Urahara chortled to himself. He snapped his fan open and hid part of his face with it, "So, what brings you here?"
Isshin let out a sigh, "It's Ichigo."
"Has he been hurt once more, Isshin-dono?" The tallest in the room (a dark-skinned man by the name of Tsukabishi Tessai) asked in a deep, rumbling voice.
"No, he's fine. It's his Reiatsu that is worrying me." Isshin said with a groan, "He's always had high Reiatsu. Even from the day he was born, Masaki and I wondered how he could possibly have enough Reiatsu for either of us to feel. You know that. We had you two check him."
"Indeed." Kisuke waved his fan with a lazy grin, "He's always had a lot of potential. Far more than I've ever seen if I'm frank. I imagine Soul Society would be green with envy if they knew he was born with more Reiatsu than half of their academy applicants."
"That's right." Isshin crossed his arms with a very serious look on his face, "He had enough to actually make us worry. As he grew, so did it. But it was natural growth. There weren't any abrupt jumps in the amount of Reiatsu he emitted unconsciously. And more importantly, it was slow enough to not attract Hollow attention."
"I'm guessing that changed?" Tessai asked, while Kisuke was also staring at him with greater interest.
Isshin seemed to suck his teeth for a moment, before replying, "You know my powers aren't fully back yet. They were very much slower in returning compared to Masaki's. But I have enough that I can sense my kids' Reiatsu as long as they're within a block of the house. Well, one night Ichigo went to bed with enough spiritual power to fight evenly with a half-decent unseated officer. When I woke up that morning, he felt like a Shinigami that had just been on the cusp of unlocking Shikai."
Both men stilled at the new information, "That's… abrupt." Urahara said, slowly.
Isshin nodded, "After that night, there were no more large bumps for a while. He went back to growing naturally… if a bit faster than he had previously." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment, "But then it happened again, about three months later. Another large jump, to the level of a seated officer, even if a low one." Isshin took a deep breath and stared hard at Kisuke, "And it kept happening. Again, and again, with increasing frequency. Three months ago, he came home (shirtless, according to Yuzu) and had such a large jump that I would have been happy to have him as one of my Senior Seated Officers just off of sheer Reiatsu alone. It's gotten to the point where in the house, he's almost completely drowning out my weaker senses. Hell, I'm pretty sure I started recovering faster too." Isshin let out an exasperated chuckle, "My boy is thirteen, and if a 5th Seat challenged him today, I'd sell tickets to the ass kicking."
Urahara Kisuke was not a man to be struck dumb, but even he would admit to being completely dumbfounded by the words coming out of his friend's mouth, "That's impossible…" Came out before he could bite it back. He knew full well that very little was impossible in this world.
He was shaking his head when surprisingly, Tessai agreed with him, "No boss, you're right. Reiatsu doesn't grow like that. Not without training. We're all over two hundred years old-"
"Speak for yourself!" Isshin smirked, "I'm still in my youthful 140s!"
Tessai bit back a snort, "Regardless, it takes decades to build power up. It is a slow process for all of us, and most Shinigami do not have the potential or die before they can achieve that potential."
"Right." Isshin agreed, "Even Tōshirō never grew this fast. He was five times older than Ichigo. It's just not normal. He had a high seat in my division, but at least part of that was his administrative skills."
"Do you believe he was attacked?" Urahara asked, "The soul being put in extreme danger and surviving is one of the few things that could explain such rapid jumps."
Isshin grimaced, "I do. I'm like 85% sure he was attacked by a Hollow, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how he could have survived it if he did." He said gravely, "I've kept as close an eye (metaphorically speaking of course) as I could on Ichigo since his Reiatsu started growing like this. He's not met with anyone to train with. Not even Ryūken's boy. I even set a very light Kidō alarm in his room to see if he's been leaving while everyone is sleeping. He never leaves his room. I just don't see how he could be learning how to use his power, nor who could be teaching him."
Urahara was silent, and for once he had no jovial smile on his face, "I have a theory… You said it has mostly happened at night, correct? Has anything else happened? Any weird things?"
"Yeah?" Isshin said questioningly, not entirely sure where he was going with that line of thought, "I suppose I've seen him with a couple bruises too in the mornings. Though that stopped after the incident from three months ago."
"Does that not seem familiar?" Kisuke had a gleam in his eye. The quest for knowledge was getting him excited, "Jinzen ringing any bells?"
Isshin's eyes widened. He hadn't even considered that possibility. After all, while spiritual power could most certainly pass on from parent to child, Shinigami powers normally would not. That was something that normally had to be taught. "But how? We know for a fact that Ichigo couldn't possibly have gotten his hands on an Asauchi!"
"No, of course not." Kisuke said slyly, "But that Hollow that attacked Masaki-chan was certainly not a normal one. You also started regaining your Shinigami powers long before you were ever supposed to. Just a few months after your son was born if I recall."
Isshin stiffened, "You think that thing infected Ichigo when he was born?"
Urahara shook his head, "Infected? No, that's the wrong word to use."
"You think it acted like an Asauchi." Tessai exclaimed in realization. Isshin clenched his fist, having come to the same conclusion. He was about to ask if he thought Ichigo was in any danger, but Kisuke continued.
"Yes, I certainly wouldn't put it past Aizen to create something like that. We know he was doing experiments on Hollowfication. Initially, I thought it was just an experiment that got loose. One that he didn't bother corralling. Now I'm not so sure. It infected Masaki-chan, but that isn't something that Hollows do." Urahara's voice was quite serious, and his mind was whirling, "What if it did that, not as a last resort, but to fulfill its design? What if it was made to begin Hollowfication, and Masaki just so happened to have been the being closest to it when it sensed it was going to die? It is not out of the question that he created it through an amalgamation of Souls. Shinigami Souls in particular. He was behind the disappearances after all. That would make it… remarkably similar to an Asauchi if his experiments stripped away all of what made each Shinigami… well… them. Their personality. Their souls. All that would leave are their essences, amalgamated together into pure Shinigami Reiryoku."
"Which he then twisted somehow and put into that unnatural Hollow." Tessai spoke gravely.
Isshin clenched his fist, "That damn bastard…" He punched the tatami mat under him.
"Don't be so angry, Isshin." Urahara grinned lightly, "If I'm correct, then his actions have borne unexpected fruit. If he has been learning from it then it is clearly not hostile. If it were, then we would already know it. It would have tried to devour him by now." Isshin blinked as he realized that Kisuke was right. That was a weight off of his shoulders. "The question now is… what do we do about this?"
What indeed?
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"Oof!" Orihime fell to the dirt as Tatsuki stood above her. The summer was waning now, and they'd had a cool day or two already. The two girls were with Ichigo in their standard training spot, hoping to get some more practice in before it really started becoming too cold to spar outside. "Owie!" Orihime had a quivering pout gracing her features as she rubbed her backside. Unlike the other two, she was the only one wearing protective gear.
"You're doing much better, Orihime!" Tatsuki said happily. It hadn't taken more than a week of knowing the girl before the black-haired tomboy had started bringing her with them to practice. A week of grinding her teeth as the boys already eking into puberty leered at her friend had been more than enough, and she became determined to know Orihime would be able to protect herself. Especially after she was forced to knock one particularly ornery boy out when he wouldn't take no for an answer.
"T-thanks." Orihime responded softly, taking off her red helmet and revealing her hair. It was now longer, reaching closer to her shoulders.
"Hmm?" Tatsuki wondered what she sounded so down about, "Are you alright, Orihime? I didn't hurt you did I?"
"Wha!" Orihime raised her hands and started freaking out, waving her head side to side with a silly face, "No, no, no! I'm okay!"
Ichigo's lips quirked upwards a little at her antics, "What's wrong? You're usually a lot bubblier, Inoue-san."
The girl blushed right to her roots, "B-bubbly?"
"Aaaand, we lost her." Tatsuki snickered, sitting cross-legged, and catching the water bottle thrown by Ichigo. When Orihime came back to reality, Tatsuki jumped on her case again, "So what's bugging you, Orihime?"
"It's just…" Orihime hesitated. She enjoyed having friends. After her brother's death, she had been so lonely for so long. She didn't want to lose either of them, and she was afraid that they would lose touch if they didn't continue seeing each other like this, "…I don't like fighting very much…" She mumbled out, looking at her knees.
"And?" Ichigo shrugged, dropping a hand onto her shoulder. She looked up, surprised to see them not shunning her the way she had expected, "We're not exactly expecting to have you knocking teeth out with me and Tats when the idiots come knocking, Inoue. We just want to make sure you can protect yourself, and protect others, if you're ever in a situation where you need to." He raised an eyebrow at her disbelieving face, "What, did you think we would just leave? Don't be stupid, Inoue-san. We're friends aren't we?" She sniffled in return. Ichigo leaned back, "We don't exactly like the gangs that jump us, you know? We'd much prefer if those assholes would just leave us alone." He sighed, "It gets really fucking annoying, but I'm not about to go dye my hair just because of some idiots and their insecurities."
"B-but!" She sounded amazed, "But you both are so strong… and you really get into it when you spar and when you fight!" She had seen them before. They both had smiles on their faces!
Tatsuki snorted, "I like fighting and I love competing." She told the orangette, "I could do without the getting-jumped-on-the-street part."
Ichigo lay back and put his arms underneath his head, staring at the sky, "Yeah, I do as well, but it's fucking boring, honestly. The idiots who keep jumping us are no challenge at all. I keep training because I've got people to protect." Nothing he'd said was false, but it wasn't completely true either. He'd definitely started growing a love of battle through Thor, and those spars were never boring.
"P-protecting?" She sounded confused.
"I'm an older brother, you know?" Her eyes widened, having forgotten that fact, "And the older brother is always born first, so he can protect his siblings." She stared at him, completely enraptured by his words. Immediately, her beloved, dearly departed brother's face came to mind, "I'd love it if I knew my sisters would always be safe…" he snorted, "But we all know that isn't the case. People like those idiots that jump us don't exactly grow into fine, upstanding citizens after all." She winced in response, "So I train hard, so at the very least I can protect them if they need it."
Tatsuki sounded somber, "You remember the news a few months ago, Hime? It was horrible…"
"The news?" Orihime questioned, not sure where her friend was going.
"I remember." Ichigo growled, sounding absolutely furious since he knew exactly what she was talking about. Just the idea of his sisters being targeted like that had put him in a foul mood to say the least. He had needed to leave the living room, and had immediately laid down to enter his Inner World. He hadn't needed to say a word before he and Thor had been squaring up so he could bleed off that rage. "Three years ago, a Serial Killer was found dead near an apartment complex. Blood was pouring onto his corpse from one of the verandas above, the mother's. Her child catatonic… A few months ago, that story made the news again, because the child who had survived was inexplicably found dead, with signs of strangulation." He and Tatsuki had been brutal on the gangs that attacked them for a few weeks.
Orihime clapped her hands to her mouth, looking entirely horrified, "…!" Tears started leaking from her eyes as she almost felt her gorge rise.
"Not everyone is a good person." He said darkly, "Some people get off on things like that."
"Yeah…" Tatsuki said, "And you know that Orihime. How many mugs did I have to bust because they were bullying you?" Orihime winced again, "Or worse." She trailed off darkly.
"You're in the same boat as me with your hair." He clenched his fists, "Only they don't want to beat you up. They want to take advantage of you instead." He took a deep breath as her face flamed red, understanding his meaning. "It's fine if you don't like violence. Like I said… we're not expecting you to start knocking teeth out with us. Everyone has their own reason for fighting. Either you'll find yours, or you'll at least be able to defend yourself and we'll be happy."
"I… I see…" She trailed off, seeing sides to her friends she hadn't truly known before. She tried to smile, but it came out more as a grimace, "Thanks you two…" She finally succeeded. As they went home, she was silent and introspective. She had a lot of things to consider.
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"Hoh…" Ichigo perked up in class for once. "Damn he's big." He blinked somewhat owlishly for a moment, before going back to listening to the introduction,
"…know it's rare to have a new student so late into the year, but please treat him kindly. Please introduce yourself." The teacher (a balding, middle-aged man) finished his introductory spiel and gave the floor to the newest student.
"My name is Yasutora Sado. I am from Okinawa. Nice to meet you." He was by far the tallest student in the class, and also the most muscular. You could tell that even through the uniform he wore. Moreover, he was even taller than the teacher. Ichigo immediately knew he would be singled out by bullies and delinquents alike, and not just for his height. While he had dark hair and eyes like most Japanese people, he also had fairly tanned skin. He was assigned his seat (next to Kunieda Ryō) and whatever entertainment the morning offered was gone, in favor of getting on with classes.
"Great." He mumbled to himself, "Starting the day strong with civics. How exciting." He heard Tatsuki snicker lightly to herself, and Orihime bit back a giggle.
…
Ichigo was walking home alone today, Tatsuki having declared a 'girl's day' for her and Orihime. Ichigo didn't really mind, though at this point he wondered if he shouldn't have some guy friends as well. He had loosened his school's jacket and had it hanging from his bag. It was a warm day, and it was a bit stuffy for him otherwise.
Then things changed, and Ichigo's senses blared out at him. He moved so quickly he almost vanished, reappearing about twenty feet in front of where he had been. Where he had been standing, the concrete shattered. He turned and got his first glimpse of the first Hollow he'd seen since that time all those months ago. It was vaguely toad-like in appearance. Its mask had bulbous eyes and its limbs were spindly with large hands and feet. It was a lurid green color, and its extremely long tongue was lolling out of its mouth, "Damn you're ugly." Ichigo snickered momentarily, before catching a whiff of it and grimacing, "And you smell horrible. Got the shit end of the stick, huh?"
"Hohoho, you can see me? What a surprise! You must be delicious!" The toad greeted, and Ichigo blanched again.
"The fuck?! You can talk?!" He pointed at it, "Uh, uh, that's not allowed toad face!" He was summarily ignored as the beast started laughing and congratulating itself on its stroke of luck.
'I told you some were intelligent, didn't I?' Thor chuckled inside of him, 'Though I can't say much for its actual intelligence if it's coming after you. Make it fast, boy. Or don't. Up to you.'
Ichigo snorted as the toad continued to yammer on about which limb it was going to start eating him from while slowly prowling towards him, "Well, you going to sit there and talk yourself up, or are you actually going to do something?"
"Oho, the tasty bug likes to talk trash, huh? You're going to be so delicious I'm drooling!" The Hollow crowed, "Since you can see me, I think I'll play with you first. Run, little bug! Run and know that the one who will devour you is called N-"
Ichigo vanished with a thunderous boom, and his arm pierced the center of its mask. "I think I like you idiots more when you're quiet." It immediately fell limp, hanging from his limb. It slowly broke up into Reishi and vanished. He snorted and walked over to his bag and jacket, hauling both over his shoulder once more, "They're just like these dumb gangs." He shook his head, "They bark louder than they bite."
…
Ichigo rubbed the side of his head in exasperation, "Man you guys are cool. How many is it this time, Genzo?"
A vein bulged up on the delinquent's forehead, "It's ICHIRO! I-CHI-RO!" He roared, spittle flying from his maw, "And ya called me Hideki last time! Can't you even get the wrong name right?!"
Ichigo smirked lightly, "Sorry, I don't do well with names. Especially not side characters."
"Why you little…!" His face turned bright almost puce, before he calmed himself and started to chuckle, "Bravado ain't going to get ya anywhere this time, Kurosaki!" He cracked his knuckles menacingly, "I got twenty boys here ta beat yer ass and yer bitch ain't here ta save yer hide this time!" The gang of thugs were holding everything from knuckle-dusters to bike chains in their hands. The mass of idiots roared in approval.
"I'll make sure to tell Tats that you called her a bitch then." He grinned, hands still in his pockets with a singular lack of concern, "I'm sure she'll love hunting your dumb ass down and tanning your hide." He cracked his neck, "So twenty-one of you total huh? Good to know. I was wondering how many ambulances I'd have to call." The entire gang immediately saw red and charged. Ichigo didn't even take his hands out of his pockets. Before they could even blink three of them were down and Ichigo was pressing his heel into Ichiro's nose. He ducked under a swing of a chain and dropped a haymaker into the brat's jaw, sending teeth clattering before his head smashed into the grit. He dropped into a handstand and pushed off with his arms, performing a somersault in the air and crushing another one with a heel-drop. That was five down in less than five seconds, and the gang was suddenly skittish, "Man, if you'd like to run, go right ahead. This is boring." He said airily.
"You bastard…" One of them ground out. He rushed forward and started cocking a fist back before he was thrown ass-over-teakettle by the skull of another of their compatriots.
"Huh?" Ichigo blinked, before looking back.
Sado was walking towards him, hand just now dropping to his side. His school jacket was open revealing some of his chest as well as a golden medallion hanging around his neck. He clearly had grabbed one of the thugs surrounding Ichigo and thrown him bodily across the road into the other thug, "Are you alright, Kurosaki-san?"
Ichigo grinned and clasped hands with the taller boy, "Hey Chad. Nice to see you. You're as strong as I thought you'd be."
The newly christened 'Chad' blinked, "It's Sado."
"Oh, is it?" Ichigo casually caught an arm and launched a crushing punch with his other arm into the thug's ribcage, "My bad, my bad." He waved it off as the thug wheezed and fell to the ground. "Thanks for the assist."
Sado wasn't a very expressive person apparently. He'd been quiet and stoic in classes too. Even still, he gave him a little smile and a thumbs-up, "No problem. Doesn't seem like you need much help though."
"Yeah, these guys do kinda suck." They both leaned back as another went flying in between them and crushed his head between their fists.
"Th-these guys are monsters!" One of them yelled before turning tail and running away.
"Coward!" Another yelled at his retreating back. A hand clamping onto his head from behind made him stiffen, and he felt lightning race up his spine as a tremendous pressure on his skull made him cry out.
"You should follow his example!" Ichigo roared and threw him straight through the wooden fence.
Two minutes later, Ichigo was clapping his hands up and down as though he was getting dust off of them, "Three minutes and forty-six seconds. Damn… too slow." He chided himself.
Sado blinked even as he gave him a thumbs-up, "…I would say that's pretty fast."
"Nah, Tats and I have done way better before." He chuckled to himself, making Sado raise an eyebrow, which was hidden by his somewhat long, wavy hair, "Anyway, thanks again for the assist, Chad." They again high fived, and this time bumped their shoulders together, and Ichigo again was unaware of his Reiatsu beginning to envelop the other.
"It's Sado." He repeated himself, though he was quirking a smile, "And no problem."
"See you in class tomorrow!" He waved over his shoulder, Sado doing the same and walking in the other direction.
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And after that meeting, Sado had become a friend. He was usually stoic and cool, contrasting nicely with Tatsuki's fiery temper and Orihime's bubby, imaginative glee. It was an eclectic group which confused most of their peers. They simply couldn't see what most of them had in common.
And if their regular peers were just confused, the delinquents were outright furious. Ichigo had been a hundred percent correct when he assumed they'd be picking fights with Sado all the time. Only that was where his own confusion started, down at the riverside.
"Man, what the hell were you doing?" He had a clueless look on his face as he stared at the tall, tanned boy. His clothes were scuffed. He had scratches on his body. And most importantly of all, Ichigo just had to save him from being brained from the back by a rock bigger than his head. "Why the hell were you just letting those two morons beat on you, Chad?"
Sado had laid down on the grass, and was fingering his medallion, "It's Sado."
Ichigo's eye twitched, "Yeah, yeah. Enough of that man. You were lucky I was around! Even you would get hurt with a rock to the skull." He walked over and sat beside him, Sado as calm as ever, "You're strong. Really strong. So why the hell were you just letting that happen? Why didn't you fight, like when you helped me?"
Sado looked up at the sky, and clenched the medallion with his hand, "A vow." He said simply, "To not use my fists for myself. It was a promise to my Abuelo."
Ichigo blinked, "Abu… Huh?"
"Abuelo. It means grandfather." Sado let out the barest of smiles, "His name was Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa."
Ichigo blinked multiple times, "And he's from… where exactly? What ethnicity?"
"Mestizo. He was from Mexico." He let go of the coin, "I lived with him before coming here."
"You said you were from Okinawa when you introduced yourself." Ichigo deadpanned.
"Oh, did I?" Sado questioned, hiding a little amusement.
"Oh whatever." Ichigo waved it off, "Let me guess. Born in Okinawa, and then moved to Mexico?"
"That's right." Sado agreed easily.
"I'm assuming that coin is important then?"
"Yeah… sure is." Sado sighed as he closed his eyes, "My most precious possession. Maybe more precious than my life…"
Ichigo was about to say something when a cloud moved out of the way of the sun. A little flash near their feet caught his attention, "Eh, the hell is this doing here?"
Sado sat up a little and eyed the phone, "Oh, it must be theirs. Bit of a hassle, but I'll get it back to them."
"Don't bother." Ichigo replied and crushed it with his foot. Neither of them noticed that the phone had been on and in an active call. "Anyway, you haven't exactly explained why you were just standing there. Not kicking their teeth in is one thing, but why were you just taking it? I don't like seeing my friends get beat up!"
Sado let out a rare, nostalgic smile, "I was a terror as a child. Worse than those guys from before." He admitted, much to Ichigo's shock. "I was always big. Always strong. Bigger than most and stronger than anyone I ever met, even when they were three or four years my senior. Now that I think of it, I probably got it from my Abuelo. Both of my parents were tiny. And I had a temper." He shook his head, "Constantly got into fights just for being bumped into. Stole things…" Ichigo simply gaped, simply unable to reconcile the Sado he knew with the one being described, "My Abuelo tried to teach me to be gentle. Tried to teach me to be kind… I always ignored it."
"…I'm guessing something went wrong then?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah…" Sado breathed out, "Beat up the wrong kids, and their parents came for revenge. My Abuelo stood in front of me and took every bit of the punishment. Even at his age, he could have beaten all three with one arm tied behind his back… but what example would that have been?" He questioned humorlessly, "It was that moment that changed everything for me… and it was then that he gave me this coin."
Ichigo was silent for a moment, before he clapped him on the shoulder, "Look man, I'm happy that you learned what your grandpa was trying to teach you, but I think you took it a little overboard."
"How so?" Sado blinked.
"What he was trying to do was to teach you to use your strength for the right reasons, not to let yourself get the shit kicked out of you, you dumbass." He laughed as Sado sweatdropped, "Retaliating when you're threatened is entirely different from beating someone's face in because they bumped into you. He didn't retaliate then because he wanted to teach you a lesson. Because he could take it. But that doesn't mean he would have wanted you to allow yourself to get your skull smashed with a rock either! He wouldn't want to see you dead, Chad! At least dodge the idiots until they get tired."
"…I…"
"You were born strong for a reason. You just have to find the things you want to protect." Ichigo straightened up and cracked his neck, "Anyway, I'll let you think things over. I have to get home, yeah?" Ichigo held a fist up, which Sado bumped with his own after a little while, "I better not see you letting yourself get beat up anymore!" He threw a wave over his shoulder as he walked away.
Sado relaxed, thinking over his words. Ichigo's words and his grandfather's words were warring in his head. Only… as he thought more and more, he realized that they weren't warring at all. His Abuelo never claimed that he should be a saint. Only that he be a good man, and not use his fists for his own gain. Maybe defending himself when needed wasn't going against his teachings. He clenched the coin, remembering his Abuelo's words, 'Those big and strong fists of yours… for what purpose were you gifted them? Learn about that, Sado. This amulet will help you.' He breathed deeply, before letting it out slowly, 'Thank you, Abuelo… and thank you, Ichigo. I think… I think I may understand now…'
Only he never got the chance to apply his new resolve.
…
Sado had a blistering headache when he awoke, '…I was careless. Far too careless.' He thought to himself immediately once the grogginess wore off. He practically ignored the fist that crashed into his stomach, barely feeling it. The last thing he could remember was walking home with his headphones on before a sharp pain and blackness. Clearly they had caught him flatfooted. He took stock of himself. He was tied to a chair and had thick rope wrapped around his wrists behind his back, around his torso, and around his legs. He opened his eyes, revealing that he was surrounded.
"Well, well, awake are we?" The man speaking was one of the most… delinquenty-looking delinquents he had ever laid eyes on. He had a nose ring with a gaudy golden chain connecting it to an earring for crying out loud! His dark hair was styled in cornrows too.
Sado flexed, and while the ropes strained momentarily they didn't budge. "They're awfully thick. I don't think I can break free."
"Yep." His captor was lounging on a sofa looking like he thought himself a king, "Looks like this is the end of the great Chad of Mashiba Middle School. How does it feel? Does it hurt enough that you need to piss?"
Sado wasn't shaken. He tilted his head in confusion, "So if it hurts I should piss? It'll be a while then. Sorry."
"Oh yeah?" He grinned and stood up, "How about this then?" Sado's eyes bulged open as the man grabbed his medallion and yanked it off his neck, "This thing's more important than your life, huh? Then I guess if I destroy it, you gotta die, right?" He took his other hand out of his pocket revealing a small set of shears.
Sado immediately flashed back to that day. He could see his Abuelo's face clearly in his mind's eye, holding his hand closed around the coin. He let out a deep, feral-sounding growl and the ropes around him audibly started to strain. He was gritting his teeth, all of his pearly whites in full display. Had he not been friends with Ichigo, then strain was all he could have done. But because of Ichigo, the seed of spiritual power had started to grow inside of him, and it now strengthened him. One of the ropes frayed and then snapped and whiplashed one of his captors in the jewels. He went down, screaming himself hoarse. The one holding his coin jumped back, visibly looking terrified at the sheer strength that would have required. The others started punching and kicking him, and he ate every hit without caring. Another rope snapped, whipping another in the face. "Kill him!" The head delinquent roared, raising the shears to his coin.
And then Ichigo showed up. Sado finally stopped straining as Ichigo practically materialized in front of him, his heel digging into the side of the man's face. The two went flying, throwing up a dust cloud, "Yokochini!" One of them yelled.
Even he himself blinked and said, "Ichigo?"
The cloud dispersed, revealing Ichigo holding his coin and grinning at Sado, who sagged slightly in relief. The orange-haired boy pocketed it and then stomped Yokochini's face in a couple more times for good measure, before bending down and searching his pockets, "Oi! Kurosaki Ichigo! What the hell are you doing fishing in the boss's pockets?!"
"Hello? 119? I'd like to call an ambulance." Ichigo ignored them, revealing that he was calling emergency services.
"An ambulance!" One of them stuttered, "Are you so worried about Chad that you're ignoring us? We'll kick your ass!"
"Yes, I'm at the second block, under the bridge. You should probably send a couple ambulances…" He kicked Yokochini again as he started to try to get up, sending him back into unconsciousness with a gasp, "Let's see… one… two… three…" He pointed towards each of them, making them quake in rage as they realized what he was doing, "Six. Six ambulances!" He threw the phone away and then Sado watched in awe as Ichigo beat the ever-living hell out of every single one of his captors, without ever taking a single hit in return. The final one he knocked out with an absolutely beautiful German Suplex into the ratty couch in front of Sado. Finally, Ichigo clapped his hands for a job well-done and walked over, "Man, what am I going to do with you, Chad?"
"It's Sado." Sado replied automatically, as Ichigo casually reached down and tore his ropes like tissue paper. He rubbed his arms before accepting a hand up, "And to be fair, they knocked me out from behind. With a rock."
"Tch. Damn cowards." Ichigo spat on one of them, directly in the eye. He sighed, "Let's get out of here before the ambulances pop up."
"Yeah…" Sado quirked a small grin in amusement at his friend's audacity.
"Anyway, did you think about what I said at all?" He asked once they were walking away from the incident site.
"Like I said… they got me from behind." Sado responded with a slight smile, holding a hand out expectantly.
"Good." Ichigo clapped him on the back, "But if you're still uncomfortable with it, then lend your fists to me!" He took the medallion out of his pocket and put it into his friend's hand, "You protect me and those I care about, and I'll protect you and the things you care about!" Ichigo grinned, holding up a fist, "If you'll stake your life on that coin and your grandpa's teachings, then I will as well. Ya got that?"
Sado let out a genuine smile, "Yeah… it's a promise." They bumped fists. As they parted ways, Sado was lost in his own thoughts. He idly waved to a little girl waving at him, never noticing that to anyone else watching, she wasn't really there.
-]|[-
The skies had started turning orange with the setting sun. More than a year had passed since that day, and Ichigo was now fourteen, along with his friends. Next to him, Tatsuki was cheering Orihime on as she sparred with Sado. The orange-haired girl had grown leaps and bounds over the year he'd known her, and that pep talk had really helped her grow a lot. Tatsuki had quickly gotten her up to the point where she could give Orihime a black belt just like her. As predicted, the girl wasn't going around busting heads with them, but Ichigo had just been so proud when a guy in their class had been harassing her (and even snapped her bra strap one day!) and Hime had laid him out.
Hime dodged some of Sado's punches, smiling all the while and having fun with it. She launched a roundhouse kick at him, which he blocked with a good-natured 'oof.' Of course, merriment must always come to an end.
BOOM!
The earth rocked, throwing Orihime and Sado to the ground from what felt like an earthquake. A massive explosion had thrown up a cloud of dust nearby.
Tatsuki shook her head, "What the hell? An explosion? HOW?! We're not near any-"
A shadow started shimmering in the smoke cloud and Ichigo hurried to his feet, biting his lip, and wondering how he was supposed to keep his friends from seeing this.
"What is that?" Orihime gasped, and his eyes widened as he snapped his head to her.
The three of his friends had also gotten to their feet, mostly in case they needed to run from whatever was exploding. But they froze, eyeing the beast that had just erupted from the smoke. It was massive. By far the largest Hollow Ichigo had ever seen, by about a factor of five. Just its hand was as big as Sado. Its mask was draconic, and its body looked something vaguely out of a horror movie. Slender, lanky, and inky black. It let out a roar that legitimately shook their surroundings.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" Tatsuki looked terrified and was trembling as she squared up in front of Orihime. Sado himself had his arms up, but he also looked scared. How couldn't he when it made him look small?
Ichigo couldn't help but blurt, "Wait, you can see it?!" Orihime was rapidly nodding her head to his question, and his other two friends merely said so, not daring to risk taking their eyes off it. "Fuck!"
'Fuck indeed.' Thor sounded grim, 'The hell are we going to do? There's not much we can fucking teach 'em.'
'Kill it first. Worry about them later!' Ichigo said, but before he could act, the Hollow grinned… and vanished. Ichigo's eyes lit up with lightning as a BOOM echoed around him. He vanished and appeared in front of Tatsuki and Orihime, roaring in anger as he punched its paws. A bolt of lightning shot from his hands, knocking it back and crackling on its form. He yelled at his friends, "Stay behind me!"
"Ichigo what-" Sado started to ask, but Ichigo cut him off.
"Not now!" he yelled back, as the Hollow stood.
"My, my…" It hissed in a sibilant tone, "Aren't you special." The Hollow started to laugh, "That was a good punch, brat. I even felt that one!" A forked tongue slithered from its masked teeth, "Oh, you're going to be delectable, aren't you? Even your little friends smell like wonderful little snacks." It hissed, and the fear in his friends ratcheted right up, enraging him. "Struggle all you want, children. Your souls shall FUEL MY ASCENSION!" It suddenly yelled, before jerking its hand forward and sticking its pointer finger at them. Before any of the teens he was defending even realized what had happened, a small ball of energy had charged for a bare moment at the tip of its claw and then rocketed at Ichigo. Ichigo saw it clearly and easily and could have dodged it without a problem… but then his friends would ALL get hit.
Ichigo raised his arms and crossed them in front of his torso, tucking his head in and bracing for impact. The rapid attack smashed into him and exploded, drawing a pained scream from him. "ICHIGO!" His friends yelled in terror.
The smoke cleared, revealing Ichigo's shirt had been blown off and his shorts singed. His arms and parts of his stomach were very badly burned, and his muscles were spasming. "Ehehehe!" the Hollow crowed, "You're even dumber than you look, morsel. Tanking my Bala was a bad move. It might have hit your friends, but you could have still fought. Now, I'll eat you and wash you down with them right after." It hunched over, prowling slowly toward them.
Ichigo smirked, "You talk too much." Clenching his fists once more, that familiar heat haze engulfed him as his wounds rapidly closed and turned to nothing.
"WHAT?!" The Hollow froze and then jumped back, "High Speed Regeneration?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! EVEN I DON'T HAVE THAT!"
"FUCK YOU, THAT'S HOW!" Ichigo's lightning erupted around him, and a boom made his friends flinch as he disappeared. His fist crashed straight into the beast's gut with a sound like a thunderclap. It completely masked the sound of its ribs cracking, though even that couldn't hide the shockwave that erupted from its back. It gagged, vomiting out gallons of saliva as it was forced back.
It staggered and threw another Bala at Ichigo, who dodged it this time with ease, another thunderclap echoing in the clearing. The Hollow rasped, "S-Sonido too?! What are you?"
"Sonido?" Ichigo stalked forward, "You got a name for it? I just call it WALKING!" He vanished again, appearing above it with his fist raised.
The Hollow opened its maw and its tongue shot out at supersonic speeds, aiming to spear through Ichigo and reel him in to be consumed in one fell swoop. The tongue struck him in the chest, and screeched as it skidded right off his armored skin. Frankly, it would have been better off using Bala if it was trying to harm him. Ichigo merely spun like a top, allowing the tongue to shoot past him. He grinned viciously as his leg shot out, cracking down on its mask with crushing force. "GAAAAAHHHHHH!" The Huge Hollow roared in agony as not only did its mask start hairline fracturing, but the impact had forced it to bite its own tongue off.
Rivers of blood splashed onto the ground as it continued to scream. It desperately swiped at him with its claws, trying more to knock him away than to really hurt him, as it was intelligent enough to realize it had bitten off more than it could chew. Its wild swing connected, and again just created sparks against his steel skin. Ichigo reared up, preparing a Double Axe Handle, and pounding it into the ground. A series of shockwaves erupted from the impact point, breaking the ground, and smashing into the beast, knocking it off its feet and onto its back. Ichigo leapt up, and came crashing down, putting his entire arm through its mask. His fist went clean through its head and struck the ground, rocking it with another mini quake.
It let out a death rattle, before starting to break apart into particles. A Hollow as old as it had been, had already gone a not-insignificant distance towards its next evolution. Ninety odd years of first eating souls, and then graduating to other Hollows had turned it into a Huge Hollow. A few more years or so (or eating Ichigo) would have turned it into a Menos. That meant that as it was purified, thousands of souls were sent to the afterlife. Ichigo almost staggered as he felt it, "Wow…"
'Not bad, boy.' Thor definitely had a hint of pride in his voice, 'Not bad at all. If that thing had been active for less than fifty years, I'd eat my boot. That's a LOT of souls you just saved.'
'Thanks.' Ichigo smiled, 'Now please save me from that!' He nervously eyed his three rapidly approaching friends in dread.
'Ha! You're on your own for that, boy!'
'Fuck!' Ichigo cursed, "Oof!" He grunted, before being knocked onto his back by a ballistic Orihime.
"KUROSAKI-KUUUUUN!" She wailed, "Oh my gosh that was so scary and cool! You were all WHAP and BAM and BOOM and-"
"Ichigo, what the FUCK was that?!" Tatsuki was as pale as he'd ever seen her.
Sado merely stared at him questioningly, "Can't say I'm not wondering too, Ichigo."
He sighed, "Let's go somewhere else." He mumbled, sitting up and casually holding Orihime in his arms. The girl blushed in his arms as he started to walk, "Before people show up and ask questions we can't answer."
"R-right." Tatsuki took a deep breath, "Right. Let's go."
-]|[-
"So, let me get this straight." A vein above Tatsuki's eye was practically trying to beat itself out of her head, "Your mom was a spiritual magical girl, and your goof of a dad might actually be a crouching moron hidden badass."
Orihime jumped in eagerly, "You have a magical sword in your soul that you still don't know the name of, but who's been calling himself Thor!" She was practically vibrating out of her skin from excitement!
"The afterlife actually exists, and you're a Shinigami now." Sado looked like he wanted to take a nap.
"Which means you have all sorts of fantastical powers straight out of mythology because your magic sword is Thor, but you get attacked by soul eating monsters because of it." Tatsuki finished, "That about right?"
"Yeah, just about." Ichigo said nonchalantly.
"WHEN THE FUCK DID LIFE BECOME AN ANIME?!" Tatsuki flipped poor Orihime's table, revealing a note taped to the bottom reading 'for gags only.' She froze, "Hey, wait a minute!" She glared at him, "Is this why I can't keep up with you at all anymore?!"
Ichigo winced, "Kinda, yeah. Sorry Tats, but even if I'm suppressing my spiritual power, I can punch through solid concrete and not feel a thing. And I fight Thor every night when I'm asleep sooooo…"
"BULLSHIT!" Tatsuki raged, punching the carpet. She pointed a finger at him, "Teach us!"
Ichigo sputtered, "What?!"
"We can see those fucking things too!" Tatsuki didn't lower her finger, "Which means we have spiritual power too, doesn't it!?"
"Oooh that's right!" Orihime smiled, starting to bounce in place on her knees.
"Waitwaitwait!" Ichigo rapidly shook his head, "Thor and I barely know how to teach ME!" He protested, "I wouldn't even know where to start or WHAT you could learn! I'm not exactly normal!"
"But if you don't and we get attacked when you're not near, then we'll be helpless." Sado said softly, making Ichigo flinch. "You said it yourself. Souls with high spiritual power attract those things, and just being able to see them means we're above the baseline."
Ichigo ground his teeth together, "God damn it…" He took a calming breath, "Look, I mean it. I have no idea what I can teach you or if I even CAN teach you. So I'll try…" He looked at all of them seriously, "But don't blame me if it ends up being a waste of time. And if you're in, and it works, then you guys are ALL in, got it?" He said sternly.
"Got it!" Orihime cheered, throwing her arms into the air with a giant smile on her face.
Sado merely raised a fist with a smile, before giving him a thumbs-up, and Tatsuki punched her fists together with a smirk, "Stop trying to change our minds!"
Ichigo's grin turned sinister, "Oh no, there's no more backing out now." Orihime, Sado, and Tatsuki felt a chill, "You guys are committed." He cracked his knuckles, "So how about we go raising that Reiatsu and see if we can make something happen."
'I've made a mistake.' The trio thought to themselves in complete and utter apprehension as they remembered just how Thor trained Ichigo.
-]|[-
And that's a wrap! Hope you enjoyed!
NOW, would you guys like get early (and in some cases, exclusive) access to all of my works? Well, that is now possible, as I have create Pat r oN. I just kind of realized that my writing just wasn't sustainable. I've had occasions where I haven't been able to get a damn thing out for many months at a time. As such, some of you might have noticed that I already switched to one chapter per month a while back, while I started building up a backlog.
There's already a LOT of content there, despite only being a few days old. You can find everything from the last remnants of three of my old stories, a couple of bunnies of varying lengths (including a couple that are over 20k), and soon will have some content I've never released. Most importantly, the next chapter of Monkey God, the next two chapters of Thunderous Soul, and the second chapter of my MHA/DxD crossover are all available.
It really would mean the world to me if you joined, but if you're not interested, don't worry. I'll obviously still be posting on FF and Ao3. It's just that now I'm going to try for 'once a month' rather than 'whenever it's ready' and then nothing for months. LOL
You can find me at Pat r oN under the same username: Primordial Vortex.
Next chapter uploaded will be Monkey God ch3. See you all in March! And again, hope you enjoyed this, and don't forget to review!
Edit: Okay, since ff . net sucks and apparently I'm not popping up on google searches, you can find a link on my twitter. my handle is PrimordialFics.