Hey everyone! Sorry It's been so long but I'm back! I'm on a roll again. I don't have a lot of spare time at the moment but easter holiday is coming up! Yay! I'll post another chapter then.
Surprise
Ichigo blinked in wonder as the invisible wind blew Zangetsu's coat. The sword still looked the same but the last time Ichigo had seen Zangetsu in this form was way before his fight with Aizen. The last time he'd been here he was learning the last Getsuga tensho.
"Can you hear me now, Ichigo?" he asked again.
"I can hear you old man. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again." Ichigo's voice almost croaked but he kept strong. The sword spirit smiled at him slightly.
"I will always be here even if you can't see me. The question is do you still want me?"
"Yeah! Of course I do. I've been training two years to regain my soul reaper powers. Why are you only showing yourself to me now?" Ichigo questioned.
Zangestu held out a small sword in front of him. "You never truly wanted it until now. You are not driven by power or a need to succeed. What drives you is your urge to protect, whether that is a person or your belief. I think you're ready now Ichigo. Will you take this sword once again?"
Ichigo grinned and stepped forwards. He put him hand on the hilt. "I've got to ask, Old man. Why is Zangetsu so small? Looks like a normal zanpakuto." Ichigo commented.
"You've learnt to repress your spiritual power. This is what I look like when sealed." Zangetsu said. Ichigo stared at the sword in wonder and smirked.
"So, does this mean I'll regain all my power?" he asked hopefully.
Zangestsu chuckled slightly. "Yes. I already know you want to keep your identity a secret. I'll be limiting the spiritual pressure you admit along with the frequency. You'll be a new person. Ichirou."
Ichigo laughed. "I'll have to give you a nickname too, old man but that can wait. Those Shinigami need to learn some respect."
"Till we meet again."
The world around him changed back into the dusty streets of soul society. Ichigo rolled to the side. He thought he might have rolled over a tomato. Ichigo jumped to his feet with the sword in front of him. It felt really strange holding a sword that was the same size as his bankai but wasn't even released.
"Where did that sword come from?"
"Who cares? I doubt it's a zanpakuto and even if it is we'll knock him down again."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "What squad do you belong to?" Ichigo asked. He wanted to know for future reference but he already had a good idea.
"Squad 11, the strongest squad in the court guard squads. Are you rethinking pointing your sword at me? You can still run away if you want."
"I asked what squad you belonged to not your life story." Ichigo said sarcastically. He was about to unarm them both with a single strike when out of nowhere there was another flash of black. Ichigo found that a sword was being held to his neck but the soul reapers were in the same position as him.
"What do you idiots think you're doing?! Fighting a civilian for no reason" The angry voice shouted at the two soul reapers. Ichigo couldn't turn his head to look at the owner of the voice but he still knew who it was.
"If you fight him you'll ruin his beautiful kimono. I don't think I'd be able to forgive that."
Ichigo froze in what he was doing. He took the emotion off his face so that he looked harmless, he didn't want them to recognise his face. It made him realised that he didn't want the old life that he had. He liked his new life and he didn't want to lose it.
"He attacked us. We were just defending ourselves." The tall soul reaper claimed.
Ichigo glared at the men. "You disrespected the dead. That's something that I can't accept. I'm sure your superiors would agree with me."
"Hmm, and what were they saying?" Yumichika asked, Ichigo could almost see him preening his hair.
"We weren't saying anything. He's a liar, a ruffian that decided to attack us for our money."
Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't look like the type to be tight on money."
"What did they say exactly?" Yumichika asked.
Ichigo felt like a school child that had been found fighting on the playground. "He called my late brother weak and my older brother an idiot." Ichigo sighed. " Ganju is an idiot but I don't want to hear it from them."
"Ganju? Ganju Shiba?" Ikkaku asked.
"So that would mean your late brother would be…"
"Kaien Shiba." Ichigo said. He didn't know the man but he knew that his brother and sister had loved him dearly. That wasn't the only reason that Ichigo had gotten upset so quickly. He hated when people insulted others without cause. If they couldn't defend themselves it was in Ichigo's nature to step in.
The blade on Ichigo's neck disappeared. "Were you two there when Kaien Shiba died?" Ikkaku asked. "No, I don't think you were. You two were still in the academy drinking your milk and hiding behind your teachers."
"You called a lieutenant weak? You may be in squad 11 but I've never even heard your name before."
"Your actions will have repercussions. Get down on your hands and knees and apologise then get back to your station." Ikkaku ordered.
The two men glared at Ichigo with intense hatred and embarrassment. They looked to the 3rd and 5th seat, then got down and bowed there head.
"I apologise for my action. It will not happen again." They said in union then flash stepped away. For some reason Ichigo didn't think this was the end of it.
"So who are you really? Kaien didn't have two younger brothers." Ikkaku said.
"I'm a cousin that has been adopted into the main family." Ichigo explained. "Ichirou Shiba." That sounded like a good cover story.
"Your sword? Is that a zanpakuto?" Yumichika asked. I chigo nodded. "Do you know its name?" Ichigo shook his head. "Are you an academy student?"
" I'm not interested in going to the academy. Not for a few years." Ichigo said calmly. It sounded like they were trying to recruit him.
"Well, I'm sure you'll get a place easily. We leave you to your…shopping." Yumichika said as he looked around the floor at the dropped groceries.
Ichigo frowned at bit his lip. Kukaku said going to kill him if he had forgotten anything.
"Good bye Ichirou. Let's meet again." Ikkaku grinned.
Ichigo bowed respectfully and when he looked up again the two men were gone. Ichigo sighed in relief and proceeded to pick up his shopping.
~Time skip~
Ichigo was putting the shopping away when his sister walked into the room. He didn't see her come in, just felt the almighty wallop to the back of his head. "Ouch, what the hell was that for!" Ichigo exclaimed as he glared at her.
"Oh, I don't know. Ichirou." She said nicely. Ichigo froze and gave out a small nervous laugh. "What the hell are you laughing about? You started a fight in the middle of the shopping district. What the hell were you thinking?"
Ichigo's face darkened. "I didn't start it. They were talking badly about Ganju and Kaien. What would you have done in my situation?" he asked reasonably.
Kukaku sighed and rubbed her face. "I would have done the same but that isn't the point. I'm not the one in hiding."
"Neither am I." Ichigo said defensively. " Anyway, something good came out of this." Ichigo said. He clapped his hands together, twisted and grabbed. His hand glowed a light blue and out of his palm he pulled a long sword.
"Is that…?"
"Yeah, I finally heard him. This is Zangetsu. He isn't in a released form. It's a little strange."
"It's only to be expected. You've learned control over the past two years. I'm glad you've come this far." Kukaku said. "Now, you better start training your kido. If you want to get into the academies higher classes you have to be better then you are now."
Ichigo nodded and started to walk out of the room. "Where are you going? You still need to put the rest of the shopping away."
Ichigo sighed and walled back to do as he was told.
Four month later~
"I think I have this down." Ichigo announced as he held his hand out in front of him. He was sweating slightly and had a grin on his face. The wall across from him was blackened with the explosions from his Kido practice.
Ganju moved forwards and put a new target in front of him. "You better be sure. If I get sis and you miss she's gonna kill ya'" He chuckled.
Ichigo flexed his arms. "She'll shoot the messenger too. Don't think you'll get away with it, Sensei." Ichigo mocked. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" A red ball of flame formed in Ichigo's hand and shot at the target at high speed. The target was engulfed in flames. Once the smoke settled they pair could see that the target was completely destroyed.
Ganju laughed. "Fantastic! Now try it without the incantation. Then we'll get sis."
"I only did the incantation for your sake, because you're a moron." Ichigo formed his hands again and shouted. "Hadō, 31. Shakkahō" The red ball of energy shot of and hit the already destroyed target once more.
The sound of a slow clap filled the training room. The duo turned to see their older sister leaning against the far wall near the entrance. "That's great! Well done, Ichigo" She smirked. "Now, both of you better clean up the mess you made. Then come up for some dinner." She smiled and walked away.
"That scared the crap outta' me." Ganju admitted.
"Yeah, I didn't expect her to be standing their either. Glad I didn't mess up."
Half an hour later the boy walked up the stairs and into the dining room. A long table of food was set up. Kukaku sat at the head of the table drinking from a small sake cup. Ganju and Ichigo took their places on either side of her and picked up their miso soups.
"This looks really great, sis!" Ganju announced and started to dig in.
"Don't sound so surprised." She put her sake cup down and picked up her chop sticks. "The academy is recruiting again. So I signed you up."She said calmly.
Ichigo chocked and spluttered on his miso soup. The hot liquid dripping out his mouth. "You signed me up!?" Ichigo exclaimed. "What the hell, Kukaku? At least let me decide on my own."
Kukaku slammed her fist on the table. "This is what you've been training for. To join the Shinigami. I think you're ready to join the academy. I can't teach you everything. So man up and don't make a fool of yourself." She said angrily.
Ichigo was quiet for a moment. Where Kukaku may have sounded enraged he could hear the concern beneath her anger. "I'll do my best. I won't disappoint you." Ichigo said firmly.
"Good. Now finish your dinner. You have entry tests next week." She said.
Ichigo shook his head and did as he was told. He ate his rice and beef with a smile. He was excited for what the next week would bring him. He really hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself.