Octavian was sitting on a couch in his principal's office in between Renji and Rukia while his parents, Ace and Harmony talked with her. Harmony had thought it'd be a good idea once they had gotten to the city for them to see Octavian's school. Renji had come simply because he wanted to get on a plane. The entire time he and Rukia were super excited. Both kept looking out the window and pointing things out, like a cloud (O had wanted to kill himself when they started going crazy over clouds). Unfortunately Octavian had to sit in between them so you can imagine what he went through. Remy got lucky and ended up sitting with Harmony and Ace. A light snoring brought him out of his thoughts. He felt Rukia's head against his shoulder. For a moment he wished he could've gone with Remy who once the plane had touched down, had to go with his dad. That had been a couple of days ago. Octavian smiled as he remembered the party. The younger ones in the Kuchiki family started to talk to him. In fact he became friends with several. Remy seemed to like Renji well enough. The two spent most of the time talking and from time to time made comments about how immature O was to which the younger boy vehemently denied but it didn't matter. Rukia had questioned Octavian on Masaru then raced back to Ace and Byakuya. O watched as his uncle walked up to his cousin and put an arm around him then started talking to him. By the time Ace finished, Masaru was so scared that he actually left the party. O then spent a good deal of the time running from Capatain Zaraki, who wanted to fight him, and his mom's crazy sisters. Ichigo at one point tried to hide him but both ended up being chased. Zaraki wanted to fight both of them and O's aunts thought Ichigo was cute enough to have his cheeks pinched. Though he was banished, Yamamoto allowed it to be lifted temporarily so Kisuke and Tessai could attend which made O's aunts stop chasing him and go after the blond who all three thought was husband material, never mind the fact that two were married. The rest of Ichigo's friends were also allowed to attend. The party ended somewhere in the early morning with Octavian being officially named a Kuchiki. He remembered falling asleep next to Remy who was playing a game on his iPhone (O found out that one of their friends had hacked his phone so it could get service anywhere, seriously anywhere). When they left it was decided that they would go back to America. They were all staying at Ace's home and now Octavian was listening to his principal babble away. He sighed and gave a glance over to Renji who was also half sleep. That's the way it would've continued had a certain shaggy, brown haired boy not popped his head into the room.
"Mrs. R, some kids are fightin in the hallway…" His eyes fell on Octavian who grinned "OH SHIT! O's BACK!"
"DREW!" He screamed just as loud. Jumping up (which caused Rukia to wake up with a start). He hugged his friend.
"Andrew you can see I'm in a meeting" Mrs. R said impatiently.
"He hasn't seen him in weeks" Ace said casually "You always look like you just woke up"
"Most of the time I have" Drew put an arm around Octavian "Whose your friends?"
"My brother, his father" Ace point to Byakuya "His mother" He gestured to Yoruichi "You already know Rukia and the red head is just some slacker we picked up"
"I 'm not a slacker" Renji stated annoyed.
"Andrew, he'll be able to see you in a minute now please…." Mrs. R was interrupted by the soccer coach popping in
"My star player is back! Mrs. R why didn't you tell me?!" He grabbed O's arm and dragged him away. Drew followed. So did Rukia and Renji who thought anywhere would be better than staying in that office. Yoruichi tried to go to but Byakuya grabbed her wrist and gave her a look that said "If I suffer, you suffer". She sighed and sat back down.
Thanks to a fight in the hallway, Octavian managed to get away from his coach who ended up having to referee (referee not stop) the brawl. Octavian made it outside to the school steps and plopped down. Renji sat down next to him while Rukia listened intently as Drew tried to explain what the yellow and red looking robot on his shirt was.
"You've never heard of Ironman? Seriously?"
"No, is he made of iron?"
"Dude" He said to Octavian who simply smiled "The world is gonna end right?"
"That's not as bad when I tried explaining who Batman was"
"A man dressing up like a bat doesn't make since" Rukia placed her hands on her hips "Is he clinically insane or something?". Drew smacked his head while O shook his.
"Superman is better" Renji stated
"Superman is a punk!"
"How?"
"I could give you a fuckin laundry list" Drew motioned with his hands "Who the hell gets weakened by a green rock?!"
"And dressing up like a robot is better? Tch, yeah right"
"Everyone knows Wonder Woman would kick all of their asses" Jazz playfully punched Drew then hugged Rukia "O, who's your friend?" She asked referring to Renji.
"Like you could get him, you scare every boy. You look like you got into a fight and lost" Angel walked up and kissed Rukia's hand, well was going to but Octavian promptly pulled her away.
"You're such an asshole" Jazz tried to kick him but he dodged it, laughing the whole time. O introduced the rest of his friends to Renji as Remy walked up.
"There he is! The man that keeps us all in check!" Angel jumped on his back "Lets go get food!"
"Good, Im starting to get hungry" Rukia's stomach chose that moment to growl. Angel jumped off his friend and went to take Rukia's hand. Renji, Jazz and Drew struck up a debate on whether comics were better now or in the past. Remy and O trailed a little as they all moved to go back inside.
"Where were you?" Octavian stuffed his hands in his pockets
"We'll talk about it later man"
"That serious huh?"
"You have no idea"
Yoruichi may have looked relaxed but she wasn't. A hell butterfly had just informed them that Aizen apparently wasn't waiting until winter to spring his attack, he had already struck and now all reapers were ordered to return. Yoruichi was going, so was Harmony and Ace. Though none of them lived there they still considered the place home and had people they wanted to protect. All of them sat in Ace's living room as Byakuya explained the situation to Octavian who wasn't taking it too well. He would stay with Remy and his family for the time while Remy's father would run Harmony's business interests while she was gone. Yoruichi had honestly thought he'd be upset about them leaving like this but instead what he had said was
"Why cant I go?"
"That is out of the question" Byakuya stated
"Why? Ichigo will get to"
"He is different"
"How?"
"What your dad means is that you'll be safer here" Ace said
"Uncle Ace you know I can fight, why do I have to be here? You guys may need my help!". It was true, unlike his brother or Yoruichi, he knew exactly what his nephew was capable of but he didn't want to go against Byakuya's decision. It was his choice to make.
"So Im supposed to stay here and wait to find out what happens right?"
"You'll understand why we're doing this one day" Rukia tried calming him down, he was definitely a hot head.
"Is this because you guys cant sense my spiritual pressure?" Glances were exchanged
"Of course not" Yoruichi lied. Because they could barely sense it, she didn't think it would be a good idea for him to come with them. It was one thing to fight a group of humans without it but other reapers and hollows? No way was she going to let that happen.
"But that's it isn't it? Since Ichigo has this great amount, he gets to fight but since you cant really sense mine I have to stay here"
"You could get yourself killed" Renji finally spoke up "This isn't a game Octavian"
"Who's treating it like one?"
"This discussion is over. You will remain here" Byakuya said sternly
"Dad…"
"I will not talk about it anymore, do you understand?'
"Yeah" Octavian mumbled. He got up and left the room. The entire time Harmony had watched, not saying anything. Now she silently stood and went after her nephew. She found him in his room, lying on his back on his bed. She sat on the edge of it
"You know I can fight" He whispered after a few minutes
"Yes I do but they don't"
"Cant you tell them?"
"Octavian, I seriously doubt that now would be the best time. We'll have to leave soon. There's no time for that"
"I should've mentioned it before"
"What?"
"Back in Japan this weird hollow guy tried to grab me but I pushed him onto an electrical current and made Renji promise not to tell. I thought they'd freak out". Harmony smiled and ruffled his hair
"It doesn't matter, whats done is done" She moved to leave
"Come back alive ok?" O called after her
"And why would I come back any other way?" She blew him a kiss before leaving.
It was later that night when O felt a gentle breeze blowing into his room. He heard the gentle breathing of Remy on the floor who had come with his dad for the night. In the morning they would go back to his home. He rubbed his eyes. He hadn't even remembered falling asleep or his best friend coming in. A soft fabric against his cheek caused him to sit up. He grabbed the material and realized it was his father's scarf; he'd left it for him. A few tears ran down his face.
"Should I go to them?" A female voice asked from the foot of his bed
"You were probably going to anyway. If you had been here they would've been able to sense my spiritual pressure"
"Yes so its good that I wasn't. Now go back to sleep, you will see everything will be fine" She laughed softly as she climbed onto his bed. Clutching the scarf in one hand, he rested against the warm body. A single feather fell onto his cheek as his eyes closed. Had anyone walked in at that moment they would've seen a large lioness with wings being used as a pillow. It would've been a strange sight to those who didn't understand what she was.
Ichigo was in pain. Not regular 'oh it'll go away pain' but the kind that seems to get worse every minute. He groaned, opening his eyes. He tried sitting up but that was out of the question.
"What happened?" He asked himself as he tried to remember "Shit!" He said as the memories came back. Turning his head to the side he saw desturction. Buildings crumbling, smoke coming from some, bodies scattered on the ground. A sharp pain made him hiss. He clutched his side but brought his head away when he felt a wet substance. He didnt have to look to know it was blood. Determined to at least sit up, he pushed himself slowly off the ground into a sitting position, ignoring how he felt. Once up he was able to get a better picture of the mess around him. Somewhere in the distance he heard a roar. Thinking it was a hollow he tried to stand but was too weak. He fell back down.
"Damnit!" He hit the ground in anger.
"Whats wrong?" A voice asked. Thinking it was another reaper Ichigo said
"Help me up, I gotta see what happened"
"You're in no shape"
"Can you just help me?!"
"No"
"WHY?!" He turned to face the new person but was shocked out of his mind when he instead saw a large lion with wings sitting there. "Im dreaming, lions dont talk"
"And why not?"
"Its impossible" Ichigo was even more freaked out by the fact the lion (technically lioness) didnt open her mouth to speak.
"Lay back down" She ordered. Still in shock he did as she commanded "I didnt think you'd take it this way. As someone whose seen many stange things I really didnt expect this reaction but its better than when I called to Byakuya. He walked away" She walked over to him.
"Byakuya....wait, what are you gonna do?"
"You'll see" She placed a paw on his chest. Suddenly it felt like electricity was running through him but it didnt hurt. His eyes widened in surprise
"Who are you?"
"Hmmmm....how to explain this....I am similar to your zanpakuto"
"So you're like a spiritual thing?"
"Something like that. You see I am the combination of electricity and spiritual pressure"
"All people who control the elements have one of you?"
"To an extent. For instance all those who control electricity have a lion while those that control ice have a fox. Our personalities are different , while I decided to help you there are other spirits who couldve cared less if you died. As soon as our person realizes what they can do, it is then that they see us"
"Wow, so uh...where's your 'person' at?"
"Around here somewhere" She answered vaguely
"When a spirit animal is away from their person its impossible to have a clear picture of how much pressure they have since we ourselves are made up of it. We contain much of their pressure then when they need it we go to them. In many cases we change into weapons"
"Like Zangetsu" He gestured to the sword next to him
"Yes, I change into a pair of swords"
"So basically you and your person need to be together in order for anyone to sense exactly how much pressure they have, right?"
"You catch on fast" The electricity then stopped "How do you feel?". He moved his arms experimentally.
"Much better" He felt his side, it was no longer bleeding. He sat up this time with no pain.
"Be careful now, you're still slightly weak". He nodded. Some noises caught his attention. He looked around to see men in dark suits walking around, speaking into earpieces. The lion followed his gaze
"What are they doing?"
"Looking for their men they had undercover here and checking the damage"
"Are they government guys too?"
"Yes". Without warning a hollow appeared. It came running at Ichigo. He tried to get up but was still too weak
"You'll pay for what you did to the others!" It screamed. Before it could strike however, the air became heavy. It felt like he was suffocating. He looked at the hollow. It had was frozen to the spot, also unable to move. In the next instant it was cut in half by the person in front of him.
"This is HIS spritual pressure?!" Ichigo asked in amazement. Octavian stood in front of him with twin swords. Both had a bright, whitish handle and a lioness carved into the steel. O smirked as he threw them into the air. Instantly there was another bright light, the swords became the lioness once again. As the pressure let up, Ichigo took in some deep breaths then glared at Octavian who simply stared back with that dumb smirk on his face.
"Arent you gonna say 'O that was so cool' or 'O you're sooooo great' ?" The older boy said the last part in a high pitched voice
"No you smart ass! Why didnt you tell us about that before? And the lion, she's yours?"
"Didnt know how my parents would take it, you shouldve seen Uncle Ace's reaction the first time and the lioNESS, emphasis on the -ness part, has a name. Its Leona"
"Octavian who gave you permission to be here?!" One of the agents yelled at him
"Your mom"
"Ha ha very funny, just remember we're outta here in a couple of hours"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" He waved them away then held a hand out to Ichigo who took it. Leona landed next to them "Want help in finding the others?" He whispered. Ichigo could tell he was worried despite the cocky attitude.
"Sure"
"It seems really bad, did you beat Aizen?"
"No" He shook his head "I remember going at him. Rukia and Renji were right there. They picked up on something I didnt. Renji used Zabimaru to push me away then there was this blast" He ran a hand thru his hair "I woke up here. I cant sense anyone Octavian. Did we even win?"
"It depends on what your defintion of that is. If this is what you call a win then it cost many lives" He replied, for the first time Ichigo could remember O was actually sounding mature and older. "On top of that I heard from some other guys that the hogyouku thing or whatever you call it is missing. They dont know what he did with it"
"Great"
"We'll take it one step at a time though, alright?"
"Ok, this is amazing"
"What?"
"You're acting your age. I need a to tape this!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
"And how are we gonna do this?"
"Ever been on a flying lioness before?" He grinned. Leona gave a bow.
"NO WAY!"
"Come on, you wont regain your full stregth for maybe another ten minutes or so and I know you dont want to wait around here for that, get on her back". Hesitantly Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu and got on.
"What about you?" He asked Octavian
"I prefer to run". Ichigo's only warning was a slight static shock as his friend disappeared.
"He moves faster using the electricity now hold on" Leona said as she flapped her wings and took off. Ichigo threw his arms around her neck. It took a few minutes but he gradually became used to the feeling.
"So boy what do you want to do?" She asked Ichigo as they moved thru the air
"Make sure Aizen is dead"
"We can do that but what if he isnt?"
"Hey Octavian's following us right?"
"Yes"
"Good" Without another word he jumped off of her. For some reason he wasnt scared. Any other person would be. Just before he could hit the ground, a bluish light stopped him allowing him to safely land on his feet.
"That was stupid, how'd you know I'd be able to catch you" Octavian cocked his head to the side
"I just did. I wanted to say something"
"What?"
"I can still sense Aizen". There was a pause before the other answered
"So can I"
"You gonna help me fix that problem or what?". O grinned
"Of course, cant let you have all the glory. Leona come here please!" In the blink of an eye the two swords appeared in his hands.
"Lets get moving then" Ichigo gave a smile instead of a scowl for once and the two raced off. They knew for a fact they'd beat Sosuke Aizen, losing wasnt even a thought in their minds. Atop a crumbling building James stood with some agents behind him. A large wolf-like creature sat next to him
"You want me and my people to help?" It growled
"No"
"They may die"
"They know that"
"And you will allow that? They are still children"
"They wont die"
"You sound like you have confidence in them"
"I do"
"Tell me something, did you ever tell Octavian's family exactly what kind of creatures you keep in check?"
"I did not"
"Then these reapers do not know of our existence, how very interresting"
"Indeed"
"Well then we're off to get rid of the rest of these wretched hollows" It howled before jumping off the roof. James sat down. Somethings were better kept secret.
a/n- i did it! i finished the story! hope you all enjoyed it. at first i wasmt sure how to end it, im still not quite happy with the ending but i couldnt thinkof any other way to write this without continuing the story. when leona mentioned that she called out to byakuya, she's referring to the last chapter when a voice was calling him but when he looked no one was there. james did mention before how there are other creatures that his agency has to monitor, anyone want to take a guess at the one who was sitting on the roof with him? sorry if you feel i let it end on a cliffy but like i said i couldnt think of any other way. thanks for reading and all the reviews and alerts. maybe ill write a sequel but i have no idea of what itd be about. anyway thanks again. :)