Chapter 02

Eye of the Beholder

Now—

Ichigo broke through the barrier and arrived on scene just after the wolf captain gave her battle cry…

He immediately sent his well-known attack against Aizen Sousuke's backside twice without going into his bankai mode yet. The attacks alone allowed everyone to know a 'Kurosaki Ichigo' had arrived on the scene, but they were yet aware that it was the male version, and not the female version they expected. After he threw one last attack at the woman's backside, he sharply watched the blue and white lights surround the betrayer as she began to speak.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Sousuke hummed with interest. "Kurosaki Ichigo." She disappeared, and reappeared in front of him who was already sending the next attack, which she quickly had to dodge. It was then did she notice that this was a man. "You, who are you? I'm surprised I mixed you up with—"
"There is no mix up, Aizen." Ichigo stated firmly. "I decided to drop by from a different world." He then casually smirked. "But before you start rambling about how I'm thinking I should have been in bankai or have my mask on, save it. I wanted to test your imperfect body and have a little bit of fun while I can."
Sousuke lightly glared at him before looking him up and down. "Another world, is it? One where our genders are the opposite of what they are in this word?" She chuckled lightly with amusement. "To think that there was such a useless world such as yours. But, very well, attack me with all your might, Kuro—"
"Not so fast," the carrot top interrupted. "You're not worth my time in your present form. Because your blade cannot reach me." With that, he turned to look at everyone as the opposite genders. "Wow, a lot of you look different, I'm curious to see what Byakuya and Renji look like… but then again—" He sighed.
Taking this opportunity, she appeared in front of him, about to place her hand on his chest. "You see—" Ichigo grabbed her wrist, breaking it in the process. It forced her to grit her teeth in pain as she tried to escape his tight grasp on her. "You… bastard…! Release me!" With ease, Ichigo obeyed without a care.

"Also, before you go raving on about hatred. I have no need for such a petty thing." He turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder. "The hatred you placed in Toushirou's heart is unforgivable. Though I may feel responsible for this battle, I alone, can defeat you." His hand came up to scratch his head lightly before looking around again. "Hey, Unohana-san, can you help heal Hiyori first? She—he, needs it."

Retsu agreed nicely. "Yes, but I wish you would take this a little more seriously, Kurosaki-kun."

"Ah… don't say it like that. Since I'm here, I'm going to alter things to prevent less pain for everyone that's on Soul Society's side!" He placed his hands on his hips. "Seeing the field like this is nostalgic though." As he looked around he saw a small female captain that looked to be in bad shape. 'Wow, Toushirou looks a little cute as a girl.' Ichigo then cringed as he remembered. "Man… Toushirou's going to kill me if I don't get back to the correct world." His right hand reached to his left side where the thin Zanpakutou was placed. "Well, so long as I use Hyourinmaru, he'll know that I'm in a bad predicament."

"Are you implying that Hitsugaya-Taichou gave you possession of her Zanpakutou?" Aizen chuckled.

"I don't think that's any of your business." He focused his mind and soul into the Zanpakutou that heard his plea, turning it into shikai mode. "But I'll have to make sure I give Toushirou a lot more training sessions when I get home." With that said, he started to charge forth—the wolf captain interrupted him.

The furry captain told him not to let the opponent get to him—that he needed to keep a sharp mind in order to fight her. Ichigo looked at her in confusion; he was going to attack in order to warn the Toushirou in his world that something bad happened. Before he could explain what he was going to do, Komamura Sajin looked at him, telling him that she knew why the captains allowed him here first. Again, he tried to explain, except this time he wanted to explain that he arrived after the Arrancar war, but everyone began appearing in front of him.

"We will fight to protect you." The female Toushirou stated firmly as Ichigo sheathed Hyourinmaru.

"Been awhile since I heard that." Ichigo chuckled. "But you don't have to protect me, I can take care of Aizen by myself. Don't be crazy." Just as the female Hirako Shinji began to look at him, he stated firmly. "No, it's not crazy to let me fight him by myself, I know what he's capable of. I don't care about your damn grudges, none of you are strong enough to defeat him—her!" This was starting to get a little more than just confusing. "If you—" Wait, he could save another life then… "Fine, do what you want then."

With that, their battle started as Sajin thanked him for coming when he did in order to stop her from most likely committing suicide. Then the others began to have their say before all heading into the battle once he heard them all out, and then he went over to Ichimaru Gin for a talk. The silver-haired woman did not look pleased to see him, but they would have this talk no matter what happened. All that Ichigo had to do was make sure he stopped the others in time before Sousuke makes the switch.

"Ichimaru, are you willing to tell them the truth of why you supposedly betrayed Soul Society?" He asked softly, earning a surprised look. "I know why you joined forces with Aizen, and I will speak on your behalf to those of this world that you are not the enemy. Ichimaru died at Aizen's hand three years ago in the real Karakura Town, and watching Rangiku-san cry was hard for me to watch." Everything was true.

Gin smiled weakly. "My… ain't ya a frightening child." Her attention went to the healing man, Rangiku. "I guess yer telling the truth, why did I join Aizen-Taichou?" She turned to him again. "Answer that, and—"
"You became a Shinigami to retrieve what Rangiku-san lost. All I know is that you will die in a few hours if you do not change sides. After all, you haven't harmed anyone. But I need your answer, now."

"You are a scary person." She shrugged casually. "I guess if ya knew all that. Then I got no choice."
"As soon as I prevent Toushirou from stabbing the illusion, you will chip your Zanpakutou inside Aizen."
"Now I know yer from the future." Her lips curved widely in a smile. "Yer other self ain't so dangerous."
"Do you understand?" Ichigo asked warningly, and the other nodded. "Thank you then, Ichimaru."
As soon as he vanished, she thought aloud to herself. "His eyes are really strong, I can believe in him."

For the split moment, he had forgotten that there were casualties before Toushirou stabbing Momo, and he had to hurry things up a bit. With a quick flash step, he appeared before Sajin to protect her and her bankai from losing an arm before telling her to get back. Outoribashi Rose then suddenly jumped into the commotion, and Ichigo had no choice but to attack the blond-haired female to stay away. Doing so prevented four casualties in one minute flat, and Sousuke glared at Ichigo bitterly for this now.

"They don't see it yet, but I do." Ichigo raised a hand to snap his fingers, but Soi Fon shoved him out of the way to stab the woman with her shikai as Toushirou froze Aizen's arm over. "H-Hey, Toushirou, Soi Fon, what—" Suddenly, Kyouraku Shunsui stabbed Aizen through the chest. "Wait, stop!" No one was listening to him as Toushirou flew in for the kill because Ichigo was 'new,' and it annoyed him. "Bankai!" The summons alone of Tensa Zangetsu created a gust of strong winds caused everyone to halt at his supposed 'stupidity' of choosing bankai now. "Stop acting blind!" He raised his hand up and snapped his fingers loudly, disarming the illusion, and Momo appeared with a bloody chest from the most recent attack. As the lieutenant fell forward, Ichigo caught him. "Easy there Hinamori, I got you."

Toushirou stared in absolute horror; she was only yards away from doing something she would have regretted for the rest of her life. They were all beginning to realize that, if this woman was really Momo, then the young man down below was the real traitor. As soon as they all turned to look at the woman for her devious problems, witnessing Gin stab her in the back with her Zanpakutou in the distance.

Ichigo then called out. "Ichimaru, do it now!"
"Ah," Gin replied. "Kill her, Kamishininoyari."
"G-Gin, you bastard!" Sousuke gritted in pain.
"Don't take it—it's too late!" Ichigo warned.

The silver-haired female looked up at him before appearing at his side. "You sure can be bossy. Why can't I take it, it was the only thing I was trying to obtain." Obviously, she was unhappy, but obeyed.
"It's already merged with Aizen," he answered loudly for every. "He may already be immortal. Take Hinamori to Unohana-san." Toushirou immediately came over to argue. "She's not the enemy!"
The captain was slightly taken back. "How can you say that after everything she's done to Soul Society!"
"Because I'm from the future! Shut up and be grateful, in my world you nearly kill Hinamori, got it!" As he predicted, Sousuke came back. "Damn…" He looked at her. "Here, hold this Hyourinmaru for me."

Confused and surprised, Toushirou held onto it.

Ichigo then appeared in front of Sousuke, "although I have no reiatsu, my sheer power and bankai mode will substitute for my doing this." With his right arm attached to his Zanpakutou, he used the same exact kidou routine that Urahara Kisuke used in order to seal her once driven into a corner. "Although I did want to play around to test my strength, it looks like looks like I'm a little late for it this time." With that, Ichigo began to swing his Zanpakutou at her, knocking her around like a ragdoll. "What's the matter Aizen, is this too much for you? Or are you that surprised that Ichimaru betrayed you so easily?"

Despite saying this, Aizen Sousuke was driven to her limits quickly without having to use the final move, and she was sealed quicker than Ichigo expected.

"…I think last time was more entertaining." He mumbled under his breath. "Well, not really, he was never a real obstacle after I trained." Ichigo sighed softly before returning to Gin and Toushirou. "I'll take Hinamori, thank you for driving… her, to reform so quickly. Pressure on her incomplete form allowed us to quickly—" his eyes widened. "Where's Wonderweiss?" He looked around to find the crazy Arrancar.

Before he knew it, said Arrancar appeared behind him to strike him down, but he vanished in a second to set Hinamori down. The sudden disappearance confused the Arrancar until Ichigo reappeared and kicked her in the head instantly, shooting him across the fake city, hitting against a pillar. Everyone stared at him in disbelief; their female Kurosaki Ichigo was not that strong, and it scared everyone because they could see him, but not sense him. They watched him look towards Gin with a hand out to her with a few words before she handed something over to the carrot top male.

"Guess I kicked him too hard, I'm so used to training with Toushirou that I guess I wanted to use more power than I expected." Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Oh… that's right, Toushirou's going to kill me if I don't warn him that I'm in a bad predicament." As he was about to grab the Zanpakutou from the female Toushirou, Margera Wonderweiss appeared, covered in blood. "Wow… you managed to survive that…" He scratched his head. "Mm… if I don't deal with you, Jii-san—Baa-chan will, and she'll lose an arm…" Only now did he realize that he had everyone's attention on him. "…guess I should finish this."

"Not gonna use the Negation Box?" Gin asked curiously. "I thought ya'd use it on 'er."

"The odds that she can return are possible despite little to no intelligence—" as he was talking to her, Wonderweiss attempted to punch him in the face, but Ichigo was not shifted. "Hmm, the cut Toushirou gave me is starting to bleed." Irritated, Ichigo took one swipe with his Zanpakutou. "It took an hour to get it to stop bleeding." With an expressionless face, the Arrancar looked at itself before trying to attack again until Ichigo brought his hand out. "I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice but to use it…"

Using the soul within Wonderweiss, he crushed her from inside quickly before managing to throw her to the ground down below. Instantly the Arrancar was destroyed, yet everyone saw the irritation course through him as he wiped his bloody cheek clean. He reverted from his bankai form without much thought as he came over to Toushirou to claim the Zanpakutou from her. The captain backed away with cautious; this man was not their Kurosaki Ichigo, he just finished off Sousuke without batting an eyelash, and killed the Arrancar with a simple hand motion.

"Please return Hyourinmaru to me, I have to let the Toushirou from my world know that something bad has happened to me. If I don't… I don't know what he'll do." Ichigo was patient and content; he could see the confusion as she made sure to keep it from his grasp. "Stubborn in this world too, huh? Fine."

Gin watched the scene take place. "Ya know she's gonna attack me, right?"
"You did what you had to for Rangiku-san's sake. You were also against Aizen."
"Don't know how you know that still—even if you are from the future."

"In my world, you tried to kill Aizen by yourself before I could arrive, but the bastard came back and cut you down. You were able to see Rangiku-san and me before passing away, you told me everything first… telling me that you were pleased." Ichigo thought about it a little more. "After that, I came back to the field and collapsed in so much pain as I was losing my Shinigami powers. But, I didn't have to go that far this time… I'd hate having to retrieve my powers a third time." He then saw Shinji rushing over to attack.

"Oh… she'd wanna kill me to for hurting the boy." Gin stated as if just remembering.

Ichigo stepped in front of the woman and got the blade, "the fights over. Ichimaru is not your target."
"I don't care who you think are, but I'm not letting her get away with stabbing Hiyori!" Shinji roared.
In a blink of an eye, he accidentally broke the blade of the Zanpakutou. "Sorry, I almost got angry."
"Are you truly Kurosaki Ichigo." An old female voice called out seriously, a meter in front of him.

All Shinigami officers appeared to the sky with their hands on their hilts cautiously in case they were going to be told to attack. Ichigo felt déjà vu from this as it was not the first time Soul Society was after his head, there had been at least two or three occasions. However, there was no particularly way to prove that he was who he claimed he was because they were expecting him to be a female. He tried to think of a way to prove that he was Ichigo, but deemed it useless because Ichigo was Ichigo, that was it.

"Yes, I am. Although I don't understand how I came here, but…" He looked away quietly. "I'm still me, and everyone here are the people that are important to me in my world. Those in my world suffered more from the war, including yourself. In our world, you lost an arm because of the Arrancar I killed." It took a moment to think of things. "Just don't ask me to fight you. I still have trouble restraining myself."

Something caught his attention though, the badge that he kept with him at all times now, was speaking to him loudly. "Ichigo—where—you—?" There was static; the world complicating things. "N—home—?"
"Renji, can you hear me? Renji!" It went dead. "Damn… too much interference, but I'm not surprised."
"If you're Kurosaki Ichigo, tell us something that only she would know." Shinji demanded firmly.
"You helped me control my Hollow powers, Jii—Baa-chan probably likes to sneak in a hot bath at ten on the spot, Rangiku-san's stash of sake is in Toushirou's office in a desk in the second draw on the right."
"I didn't know he told anyone about that stash." Gin complimented; clapping her hands as well.
"What happened to the Kurosaki Ichigo from our world?" Sajin asked firmly to no one's surprise. "Do we have any idea what happened to her?" Everyone looked towards Ichigo suspiciously for this now.

"Look, I want to leave just as much as the rest of you do, but I don't know how I ended up here! I trained Toushirou all day today, had a meeting with Baa-chan—Jii-san, came back for more training, had a bath, and headed home through the precipice world! The next thing I knew, Unohana-san was a man!" Ichigo wanted to go home and go to bed, was that too much to ask for? Not having the chance to rest in so long, he swayed a step back."I need to find a way back before I pass out in exhaustion." He then thought about it. But I have to help Ichimaru against Soul Society… which means I have to crash in Soul Society for while in order to be at your hearing to vogue for you. Then again… I don't have my own quarters for another two years… meaning that I have nowhere to stay while I'm stuck in this world… how annoying."

"Judging by the situation, and hearing everything you had to say, I will permit you to come with us." The old woman was hesitant in her answer, but obviously being considerate for once. "Ichimaru Gin, on the other hand, will spend time in confinement until her hearing. Are these terms agreeable then?"

"Yes," Ichigo nodded tiredly before glancing at Gin. "After all, you did cause trouble."
She shrugged for being guilty. "Helping defeat Aizen-Taichou will help my case."
"Rangiku-san should be stirring." He announced. "Why not go talk to… him."
"Mighty nice of ya, Kurosaki-Taichou." Gin teased for him being demanding.
The carrot top took it lightly though. "Just don't call me Sensei, please."
"Now I know this isn't Ichigo-chan, he has manners!" Shunsui laughed heartily.

Ichigo looked at her, blinking. "Ah… well," he was stumped, so he crossed his arms in thought. "I'm from three years ahead of you guys… I finished high school last year and began training Shinigami officers at the start of last year." His body leaned to the side. "I think Hinamori rubbed off on me when Toushirou forced me to talk with her…" Remembering that time a while back, he placed a hand to his chin to think more on it. "I forgot to tell her I'd be back in a month… I hope Toushirou tells her for me, good grief."

"Everyone," Shigekuni called out. "Gather the wounded, I'll prepare the Senkai gate."

They did as told; Ichigo went over and picked up Momo to take with them while Toushirou was watching him from behind. It was a little annoying to know that her trust was very little in him, but this was still Toushirou, and so it did not surprise him. He wanted to chuckle though since there was really nothing that different between Toushirou's genders, her eyelashes were slightly thicker and her waist a little smaller. Ichigo had a feeling that this Toushirou would look just as slender as the male version, but would have slight curves to match a female description. His eyes closed before his cheeks could dare redden at the thoughts; he may be a healthy teen, but Toushirou was his pupil! Then again, this one was not training under him, so it meant that she was not actually his pupil—but it was still wrong! A quick shake of his head to clear the thoughts, he jumped towards the elder with the little captain following.

"The three of you go first then," Shigekuni demanded, already having the gate open.
Ichigo looked at her, "if you kill Ichimaru behind my back, you will regret it, Baa-chan."
"Hn… " Despite not fearing him, his threat was taken into great consideration." Go."

"Now then, who would like to take this Kurosaki Ichigo in until we can settle things?"

There were only four captains available for the moment—excluding the Commanding-General; Ukitake Juushirou and Soi Fon were being treated, and the other three captains were still in Hueco Mundo. They knew that the one male captain left could not keep him in the fourth division because he had to attend to many injured officers due to the war. Shunsui immediately offered with a grin; the Shunsui that Ichigo knew was a womanizer, so no doubt this one was a man killer. That left Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya Toushirou, and frankly, Sajin would be too depressed upon what had happened during the war.

"I will," Toushirou called out quietly. "I won't allow this man to obtain this Hyourinmaru, so bringing him under the tenth division's barracks should be fair enough." Liar, Ichigo thought. "Will this be alright?"
Ichigo shrugged nonetheless, too tired to care. "Fine by me, I'll sleep in the back room like always."
"Very well, everyone, get some rest. You all deserve it." With that, the group was dismissed, sort of.
Shunsui hopped over, wrapping her arms over his shoulders. "So, Ichigo-kun, what am I like in your world? Am I handsome?" She grinned widely; trying to dig her hooks into him already. "Come on…"
"I suppose you are," he answered. "You chase the girls everywhere, so please don't chase me here."

"That's enough for now, Kyouraku." Toushirou stated. "I'm retiring for the night, and I would prefer if this Kurosaki Ichigo would do the same so I don't have to keep an eye on him." She glared.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you were never this menacing. Coy, yes. A brat, definitely. But here you are barking orders like I've never seen before! Did someone forget to give you sweet fermented beans?"
Hearing him mention her weakness for such candy made her blush before quickly kicking him in the knee as her revenge. "Now I know you're Kurosaki Ichigo! Stop talking nonsense and get going already!"
He growled unhappily, but knew that her foot hurt from kicking him. 'With Toushirou being a girl, that means she goes on her period. If I'm here long enough to endure that, there will be no God in my life.'

"Well, you can always stay with me." Shunsui smiled.

"Let's go, Toushirou." Ichigo grumbled under his breath. "I'm tired, so I'll meet you there." He vanished.
"Why are you being so rough with him Hitsugaya-Taichou? He's Kurosaki Ichigo as a man!" She frowned.
"Which is why I'm being rough." Toushirou scowled. "The Kurosaki we know would've panicked by now."
"Well, this one has three years on us, so we don't know how much he's changed since then, am I right?"
Her attention went away, "I suppose so." The little captain turned away. "Goodnight Kyouraku."

She was tired from the hard day's work, so going to bed was the best cure for her aches and pains that should have been healed by the fourth division. As the captain came upon the barracks, she saw a group of her officers crowding around the carrot top man that was not her lieutenant. His eyes were calm and mature, but they were holding a lot of pain within them—the second Hyourinmaru began to shake. Her attention went to it at her side; holding it in place in case it decided to venture toward the man who was being too crowded. It was late, she wanted to go to bed, but before she could call the man to their quarter, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika came over to attack him.

Ichigo stared at Ikkaku for the longest time before bursting out in laughter and tears when seeing that she had a head of hair whereas she was shaved in his world. He scared the tenth division officers a few yards away with his laughter while he stumbled back a bit, still trying to adjust to the sight before Ikkaku tried to attack him with her Zanpakutou. It was only then did he stop laughing and became serious when blocking the attack from the blade and the sheath with it. This caught everyone by surprise, and Ikkaku did not like being showed up, so she brought her Zanpakutou into shikai mode to fight. Although, before she knew it, the man had left her sight and she was out cold; Ichigo hit her nape from behind, carefully.

"You just returned from war Ikkaku… you need to rest." He looked to Yumichika. "Can you take her?"

With a slight nod, she grabbed her friend, and left quickly.

'At least he's decent.' Toushirou thought with a slight smile, and Hyourinmaru materialized immediately.

The ice dragon shot into the sky to create clouds and rain to deter all officers to their quarters to leave the man alone finally. It returned to ground level once the others fled the rain, and brought itself to the carrot top contently, placing its large chin in his hand. This caught Toushirou by surprise; to see the very difficult beast to be so considerate of this strange man that it had entered this world with today. As she watched the two interact, her mind pictured the moment as a man with a pet ice dragon, but shivered.

"We need to tell Toushirou that we're in this world, do you think you can return to him to let him know?" The dragon shook its head. "You can't cross the worlds to get to him, can you…" Ichigo watched the Zanpakutou lower its head to be petted. "We'll find a way to him, alright? I promised that I would be back by the new moon, so we have a few weeks to figure things out." He grinned softly. "Be patient…"

"That boy will not be pleased if you do not make your deadline, Kurosaki Ichigo." Hyourinmaru stated.

"I'm not going to break my promise, alright? Toushirou's had enough betrayals in a lifetime, now go get some rest. We'll try to contact him in the morning." The dragon did as told by returning to the blade. Only then, did Ichigo see the young woman looking at him; she had been caught watching him. "Sorry." He jumped to the second floor. "Seeing me talk to Hyourinmaru must've been unsettling for you."

"Not at all, with you, nothing surprises me. Not even your change in gender." She slid the door open.
His eyes rolled at the lie, "I'll keep it in mind when I go to the bathhouse with you next time."
"Excuse me?" The captain turned around and slapped him. "I would never bathe with the likes of you."
"Jeez! I didn't mean you! I meant the Toushirou in my world!" He looked. "Now I'm bleeding again!"
"Serves you right! And no matter what universe we're in, I, would never, go to the bathhouse with you!"

"What are you—" It then dawned on him. "The self-conscious thing," he hit his forehead. "I completely forgot about that because of my world." Ichigo gave a light sigh as he covered his mouth to think of things a little more carefully. "Okay," hopefully this would work. "I apologize for what I said. I wasn't thinking. My relationship with the Toushirou in my world is a bit stronger than the relationship you have with the Ichigo in this world." She flinched at his niceness. "I can't force my relationship I have with him on to you because it isn't fair to you." He smiled softly. "Will you forgive my outburst, Toushirou?"

"It's Hitsugaya-Taichou to you." The captain stepped aside, "get in, you're soaking wet from the rain."

"That's one thing that will never change in any world I enter." He chuckled before walking in and peeling his upper clothing off. "Do you have that bandage kit in your closet? I need to patch my face up already."
"Yes, I'll get it." It did not take long for her to return with the kit that Ichigo had mentioned. When she returned, she found him wringing his clothes dry before also returning to the room to take— "I'll do it."
"A-Ah, thank you." Her offer made it easier for him since he could not be able to see what he was doing. "Sorry for the trouble." He sat down to make it easier for her. "It's funny, I do this for you in our world."
"Why, do I get wounded a lot when I'm around you?" Although she was curious, she made sure to sound like she did not care. "Or do I get injured a lot when you're training me—which, I don't believe at all."

"You can cut the act," he whispered as she cleaned the wound on his face. "It's alright to be curious. I train him hard so he can get stronger. He wants to be able to protect Hinamori with everything he has to offer." His finger pointed to the scratch on his face. "Toushirou was so proud when he cut my face today during our training." Ichigo grinned. He was obviously proud of his student… and it made Toushirou smile lightly at the thought of it. "You know, you're cute when you smile like that. It's nice…"