AN: This was kind of rushed, so review with any thoughts, or corrections that need to be made.
"Dad…it's trying…escape…kill…me." Masaki was standing in front of him, her hair wasshort and messy resembling a female version if Ichigo's hair before his Bankai incident, she was around 17. Her mask fragment that only covered her eye and nose started cracking and flaking, once it was completely gone, the white substance that Ichigo remembered coming out of him started flowing out of her right eye and mouth she was writhing in pain on the ground in front of him. Ichigo coughed up some blood onto her face, and he took his zanpakuto off his back and slammed it into her neck. He noticed his hands were black claws and he saw wings to his sides.
"FUCK!" Ichigo shot up screaming in his bed, this woke Orihime and the twins. He just saw the future again. The twins started crying, Orihime and Ichigo both got up and took one of them; Ichigo had Masaki, holding her close. Her mask fragment has been present for a week, it stopped fading and became stable, she was more arrancar than Ichigo, and her mask was permanent. Orihime held Tatsuki close and turned to Ichigo.
"What happened…?"
"N-nothing…Nightmare…about Masaki…I."
"You don't have to tell me." She leaned over and kissed him. He got up and gave Masaki to Orihime and he got changed.
"Alright…You know…I think I want to take up that offer to teach at the academy."
"That's great! Have you got that other soul taken care of yet?" Orihime was concerned since for the past week he sat on the roof trying to tame the soul of Ulquiorra. It wasn't easy since they shared the same strength. Ichigo didn't tell her about who the soul was.
"I'm going to see Urahara; maybe he could help me by sealing him, if I can't kill him." Ichigo finished getting dressed and kissed Orihime.
"Okay, maybe he can help that way, yeah." Orihime put the twins back to sleep and she went back to sleep.
…
"Of course I can do that!" Urahara didn't have any hesitation when Ichigo asked if he could seal Ulquiorra.
"You're kidding right; you just knew immediately that you could?" Ichigo was annoyed at this man more than usual.
"Ulquiorra is at the same level as you, is that right?" Ichigo just nodded.
"It seems that way, our fights don't get anywhere but somehow I slip or something and he impales me in the chest."
"Okay, since he is at or above your level of power, the longest time I could seal him would be around twenty years. Unless your will falters, in which case, it will break and he will return, probably mad that you sealed him."
"Do it." Ichigo demanded as he stood up.
"Follow me…"
…
"And it's done! Have a nice day!"
"What the hell? All you did was put your hand on my head and hummed!" Ichigo was ready to punch Urahara in the face.
"I used the other souls you have and used them as a 'wrapping' around him. Don't worry I didn't use any zanpakuto for it. And you should stop killing so many Shinigami. You have like four different zanpakuto bound to your soul somehow, and a few other souls that I can't even tell what they are."
"I don't care as long as they aren't trying to control me." Ichigo opened a Senkaimon and stepped through, he came out in the private Senkaimon in his mansion. He sat down off to the side and entered his inner world. He was shocked by what he saw.
"Ichigo, I see you had help with this, it isn't the ideal situation but it works." Zangetsu spoke from behind him, Uchiakeru was there again too. Behind her was a large orange bird with flames on its beak and its eyes were blazing purple. When it flew black flames fell from it's wings.
"Did I absorb a bird?" Ichigo asked as he pointed to the large bird perched behind them.
"She has been with you since you saved Rukia, but today she deemed you worthy of seeing her." Zangetsu said and the bird flew forward and landed a few feet from Ichigo. And it spoke.
"My name is Houou-Kyu, and I recognize you as worthy to wield my power." It lowered its head and made a screeching noise, Ichigo held out his right hand and pressed it to the birds head.
"What does she mean, worthy to wiel-" Ichigo was cut off by the bird turning to flames and flowing onto his hand, eventually the flames died down to reveal a black dagger with a purple stripe on the blade. "What the hell? I don't want another weapon! I'm fine with Zangetsu!" Ichigo yelled at the dagger, hoping for a response.
"Ichigo. That is a piece of the Sokyoku." Zangetsu appeared next to him with Uchiakeru on the other side.
"Sokyoku…that giant phoenix that was used to try and execute Rukia? Wasn't it destroyed?"
"It was split into shards and one of them imbedded itself in your soul and due to the Hogyoku granting you the power to protect, it has been slowly awakening and taking form." Zangetsu was talking normal again, much to Ichigo's joy.
"Wait…Hogyoku…that thing Aizen used!? Why did it help me!?"
"You are its new owner!"
Ichigo was removed from his inner world to find the black dagger in his right hand, in a small dark purple sheath made for daggers. It looked like it was supposed to go around an arm, so he pulled back the left sleeve and put it on his left arm, pulling the sleeve over it so nobody could see it. He stood back up and went through the Senkaimon again. This time to ask about Aizen's Hogyoku.
…
"Listen to me you idiot! How do you not see the problem here!?" Ichigo was yelling at Urahara who was hiding behind his fan.
"Because it only obeys your will, I tapped into it to bind Ulquiorra for you, that was the only way I was so sure that I could seal him…It only started to help you once you killed Ginjo. I really should have told you about it when it happened."
"When did it happen!?"
"When you killed Aizen, as his zanpakuto faded, it wasn't because it deemed him as not needing one, it was deeming him unworthy to survive, and after you collapsed, it embedded itself in you." Urahara had his rare serious face on.
"So, what…Am I going to turn into what he was?"
"No, no, no… you are far surpassed him. He only went through those transformations because he didn't have his own power to achieve transcendence. Even the Hogyoku didn't provide this power to you, well…not completely."
"What do you mean not completely?" Ichigo had to restrain himself from slamming his head into the wall.
"Well, your spiritual pressure bordered on the level of transcendence. And when you were able to use your zanpakuto to its full power, it pushed you over that hill. At first your body wasn't ready for it, and failed, so you had that seal placed in you to keep you at a manageable level. When you used it against those two Eletera, and you undid all your seals, the Hogyoku picked up on your desire to see your family, and made your body able to handle such power, and helps you keep it at a level that doesn't kill anybody next to you."
"I still don't like this! And apparently I have the Sokyoku under my control now!" Ichigo withdrew the dagger from his sleeve and presented it to Urahara.
"As I said Ichigo, you have multiple zanpakuto spirits within you, this just happened to be the first of the others to reveal themselves to you."
"I really don't like this! Wait…if I have more of these spirits showing up and seeing me as worthy for them will I end up covered in zanpakuto? I really was fine with two!" Ichigo set the dagger on the table between them.
"Well…There is one way to remove all of the extra souls…" Urahara spoke quietly from behind his fan.
"And that would be?"
"To kill you."
"I'll take my chances with the extra weapons. I have a question…Is there a way to de-manifest my zanpakuto and manifest it at will, like Koko?"
"Yes, just will it into your inner world, and when you need it, will it back. Use the Hogyoku if you have to, but normally that's how you would do it." Urahara took out his zanpakuto and held it up, slowly it started to dissolve into his hand, and then it dissolved back into his hand after a second.
"Like this...?" Ichigo picked up the dagger and closed his eyes, and it shattered into pieces, then the pieces started to dissolve.
"Nice touch! And yes, that's how. I can't exactly remove the Hogyoku, without killing you, or turning you into a human…again…so just deal with it. Is there anything else I can confuse you with today?"
"N-no…" Ichigo was trying to process everything he just learned, and how it was going to affect him. "Thanks Urahara, I'll be back if I need some more help."
"Wait! Before you go…take this!" He held out a small white ball, around the size of an orange.
"What is it…?" Ichigo picked up the ball and examined it.
"Give it to Masaki when she turns 17, I'll be there to explain then. Now go, go, go…I'm sure they're worried!"
…
"Kurosaki." Ichigo heard Byakuya's voice from behind him, Ichigo was on his roof watching Yumai and Izuru swim around in the lake.
"Yeah?" He responded.
"I respect that virtue." Byakuya sat down next to him which surprised Ichigo greatly. "Rukia told me she was pregnant. I was about to forbid her from having the child, then she said 'If you make me abort this child, Ichigo is going to kill you with no remorse.' I was surprised and I approved of her pregnancy. I respect that you will protect her and her interests."
"Of course, I'm not going to stand there and let her brother dictate her life completely. So what if she shames the Kuchiki name? It can't be much worse than the clan head losing in a fight with someone who had no idea what Bankai even was a week before the fight." Ichigo added a chuckle at the end and he could tell by Byakuya's face that he struck a nerve.
"True…"
"So, do you like my mansion?" Ichigo asked in a sarcastic tone.
"It is magnificent, as much as it pains me to say that." Byakuya gave a chuckle and then stood up. "I have to be leaving now, I just wanted to thank you for watching over my sister."
"Anytime." Ichigo watched Byakuya speed off in the distance. He was waiting for the word from Shino academy about his teaching position. He suddenly felt hands on the top of his head.
"Hello Ichigo." Nel was standing behind him with her hands on his head.
"Nel, why are your hands wet?"
"I don't really know." She removed her hands and sat next to him.
"Do you think they will stay together?" Ichigo pointed to the two in the lake, Nel stood up to get a better look.
"I think so!"
"Yeah? What makes you say that?"
"She looks at him the way Orihime looked at you."
"Is that so."
"You seem on edge, what's wrong?" Nel sat back down and rest her head on his lap, looking up at him like a child, even though she was in her adult form.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"If you say so…I'm tired, Captain has had me on midnight patrols for a week, mind if I take a nap?" She asked as she yawned on Ichigo's lap.
"Can you do it not on my lap? I need to go somewhere."
"Fine…" She got up and went down the ladder into the large room that was a library, she usually spent her time in there, she walked to the couch that was there and fell asleep on it.
…
"Ichigo, what a pleasant surprise." Shunsui spoke as Ichigo found him at his favorite bar.
"Nanao said you were out 'prowling' so I figured she meant alone in a bar." Ichigo joked with him and he just sighed.
"Nanao-chan is so mean sometimes! Well is there a reason you were looking for me?"
"I'm going insane." Ichigo pointed to his head and twirled his finger around his ear.
"Again?" Shunsui had no surprise in his voice.
"Well…I learned that I control the Sokyoku, the Hogyoku, and at least three other zanpakuto, safe to say, my inner world is turning into a veritable shit storm." Ichigo took Shunsui's sake from him while he was busy looking at Ichigo like he was crazy.
"So…you're basically a god now. Is that it, what's the problem?"
"I don't know the problem, I just needed to tell someone, you're the only captain who knows my other 'situation' so I felt I could tell you this."
"That's…interesting…can you show me said…Sokyoku…?"
"Fine…watch." Ichigo held out his left hand and a black fire sprouted from each finger, and then they combined into a bigger fire and then it died down and revealed the dagger.
"Huh…why…is it a dagger instead of that giant spear thing?"
"Don't ask me things that require Zangetsu explaining it. He is as cryptic as possible with the explanation of these souls."
"Well, how goes it with the inner espada?"
"Right, I forgot to tell you, he's sealed for around twenty years, at which time the seal breaks, I can use the Hogyoku to reseal him, that is, if I learn to control it."
"Right…" Shunsui removed his hat and set in on the floor next to him. "So…you're basically a soul hotel?"
"Oh shut up!" Ichigo laughed as he shattered the dagger away.
"Even through all of this, you're still in a good mood!" Shunsui laughed as he continued his drink. "Ichigo…how long are you going to make me wait before you let me try this goose drink you have? Sui-Feng said she took two shots and was out."
"I guess now if you want, I'm in need of a stronger drink than sake." Ichigo and Shunsui made their way back to Ichigo's mansion and found Yumai and Izuru in the bar.
"Oh, hello Captain Commander." Izuru spoke from the other side of Yumai.
"Please, we're all guests in the least formal person's house, call me Shunsui." Shunsui took a seat next to Yumai and Izuru nodded.
"I was wondering how long it would be before you appeared here." Yumai chuckled behind her glass.
"So, are you sure you want that?" Ichigo asked as he pulled out a medium sized glass.
"Not really, but I'm up for a challenge." Shunsui joked a little and Ichigo started looking for the bottle but couldn't find it.
"Yumai, did you see someone take the bottle without a label?"
"Yoruichi and Sui-Feng took it down to the lake." Yumai shuddered when she said it, Ichigo, Shunsui and Izuru all let out a simultaneous sigh.
"Well that ruins the plans. Shunsui, I'll make you something you'll like." Ichigo pulled about ten bottles down, and started mixing various amounts of them, pouring in peach nectar and cherry juice.
"The hell is it, why is it grey?" Shunsui asked as he eyed the suspicious grey liquid.
"It looks like it would hurt to drink…" Izuru mentioned as Shunsui took a large gulp.
"Holy crap…That-burn-horrible! I love it!" Shunsui had started coughing heavily. Yumai and Izuru looked at the coughing man next to them with mixed looks.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to kill me!" Ichigo put all the bottles back and pulled out a different bottle and poured the rest of them a drink.
"Captain Kurosaki! We found someone in your kitchen; he is not one of the approved guests!" A member of the stealth force had appeared beside him.
"Who is he?"
"The man refused to tell us his name; he insisted that we tell you that your 'favorite evil scientist' has something for you."
"Bring him here, and he is allowed in whenever he does appear."
"Very well." The stealth force member disappeared and a few seconds later Urahara came through the door.
"Kisuke." Shunsui spoke as he recovered from his coughing.
"Sup, Shunsui! Ichigo! I forgot to tell you, you can use the you know what to make your hair shorter."
"I doubt that's what you broke into my house for?"
"Not entirely, do you mind if I talk openly in front of your guests?" Urahara took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of the room.
"Fine, just don't use the name of my…inner guest."
"It has nothing to do with him! It's about training for your second Bankai!" Urahara was smirking behind his fan, the three at the bar had a very confused face, not Shunsui though, he was too busy coughing again.
"Do I have to learn it?" Ichigo whined at the man from behind the bar.
"You might aswell, she isn't going anywhere, Houou-Kyu is very powerful, remember she was the Sokyoku. And I'm not sure you noticed, but she is a constant release type."
"I'm not going to do that three day technique again, I'm going to find out alone. Now I assume the thing about my hair was a total lie."
"Completely!" Urahara gave goofy grin and waved his fan at him.
"Wonderful…" Ichigo manifested the dagger and looked at it, Yumai and Izuru were still confused about all the souls inside him, and the thing about the Sokyoku didn't help the case.
"How long have you had the Sokyoku with you?" Izuru asked as Urahara ran out of the room.
"Remember when I broke in and stopped the execution? Yeah, that was when it imbedded a piece of itself in my soul, and it just recently accepted me as its master."
"I'm not even surprised at this point by anything you do or say." Yumai said and Izuru nodded quickly. Shunsui had taken a bottle of tequila when Ichigo wasn't looking and left.
"Exactly, well, I have to go to my squad, and I heard that you decided to take the position at the academy, Ichigo. Congratulations, just try not to kill your students." Izuru gave Yumai a kiss and left.
"Oh, what class will you be teaching?" Yumai asked curiously.
"If I remember, they said I would be teaching advanced Zanjutsu and midlevel Bakudo." Ichigo sighed at the kido class.
"Maybe I'll end up in your class before I graduate!"
"Well, if you don't like Zanjutsu like you say, then you won't. Maybe you will be in my Bakudo class since you are focusing on kido."
"Speaking of which, I heard a rumor that you were given the title of 'Kido Master.' Is that true?"
"Yeah, since I use full power kido without speaking at all. I've also been titled as 'Zanjutsu Master, God of Flash, and Godlike.' Can't say I'm crazy about the last two."
"But they're fitting."
"Can't deny that, as much as I detest being called a god, I'm going to have to deal with it." Ichigo got up and grabbed Yumai's arm and dragged her out of the bar.
"Where are we going?" Ichigo didn't answer and instead took her outside and flashed to his barracks with her, he took her to the battlefield and let go.
"Show me the kido you have learned. Don't hold back, don't worry about hurting me or binding me."
"Remember how I said I didn't like Hado? I lied!"
"Great!" Ichigo continued to dodge her Byakurai and Sokatsui, sometimes bringing up Enkosen to block them.
"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo no.61 Rikujokoro!" The six pillars of light slammed into Ichigo and he stopped moving, she started the incantation for Sokatsui, but Ichigo broke out and bound her.
"Bakudo no. 63 Sajo Sabaku!"
"Aw, you snapped out of my Rikujokoro." Yumai whined as he released her.
"As a Kido Master, I know the composition of most of the Bakudo. I just broke out normally though."
"I guess I have more to learn! One day I'll out do you in kido!"
"I look forward to it."
The two of them started walking back to Ichigo's office talking about controlling her spiritual pressure when they ran into Yuze.
"Captain! I found that Eletera you were talking about!" She was frantic in her voice. Suddenly Ichigo felt a familiar power in the battlefield.
"Is that so…Take Yumai to my office, go inside and wait." Ichigo ordered as he ran back to the battlefield.
"Nice of you to join me, captain." The Eletera who killed himself was standing in the middle. Ichigo started moving closer to him.
"Why are you just showing yourself, instead of trying to assassinate like the others?"
"I just wanted to tell you…The first one…you kill…Masaki Kurosaki!" The Eletera drew his zanpakuto and charged Ichigo, Ichigo didn't say anything, but instead manifested the dagger of Houou-Kyu.
"Say Konagona Ni Natta Kaen, use my power…" Ichigo heard the voice of Houou-Kyu speaking in his mind.
"Konagona Ni Natta Kaen!" Suddenly the dagger erupted in a black flame and turned into a sword of similar size to that of his Shikai, the blade was dark purple with an edge of black flames, there was no guard and the edge of the blade extended down past his hand. He then released Zangetsu's Shikai. Holding both of the similar swords he charged down the Eletera who seemed to have stopped when he saw the dagger.
"You're getting closer…" The Eletera split itself and there were two of them, a man and a woman.
"Enyoku, say Enyoku and use it along with Getsuga."
"Getsuga-Enyoku!" Ichigo slashed the two large blades in an 'x' shape and a black flame wrapped around his blue Getsuga, the ground was splitting along the path of this attack. The two Eletera didn't move.
"Thank you, Master." And then the attack hit them, leaving only blood on the crumbled earth.
"Well that's new…" Ichigo turned to see Ukitake standing there with a surprised face.
"Jushiro, what are you doing here, you hardly ever come here."
"I've been feeding your koi…and I ran into Yumai and Yuze, they said you were dealing with the Eletera on the battlefield, I got here to see that attack."
"Yeah…meet the Sokyoku." Ichigo sealed his Shikai and then the second sword didn't do anything.
"Kesu." Houou-Kyu's voice rang in his head again.
"Kesu, Houou-Kyu." The flames returned and shrunk until the dagger remained.
"I'm not surprised. At all."
"I didn't expect you to be, you know more than you let on, as I remember. So, you've been feeding my koi, don't you have your own to tend to?" Ichigo and he walked back to his office; he sheathed the dagger under his sleeve, feeling like he might need it again.
"I like feeding fish, it helps me relax. And plus, your garden has a calm feel to it."
"Well, I thank you for feeding them…" Ichigo noticed a messenger kneeling before him.
"Captain Kurosaki! You have been accepted as the newest advanced Zanjutsu and midlevel Bakudo instructor, you start tomorrow! Shino Academy extends its welcome!" The messenger relayed the message and left.
"Oh, that's nice! Be sure that you don't kill them!"
…
"Hey, who's the new teacher?" There was a large group of students holding their katana either to the ground on their shoulders or sheathed.
"No clue."
"I heard it was a captain!"
"Don't be crazy!"
"Well I'm sure we'll know who it is when they get close…if they're instructing an advanced class of any kind, their spiritual pressure must be massive."
"I hope our new teacher is Koko Kurosaki! She's so cute!"
"No! Hell no! She's scary as hell! Didn't you hear that she broke someone's hand, from them touching her?"
"Don't forget who her father is! Didn't you hear that he literally ripped someone's arm off because they touched his little sister!? Imagine what he would do if you touched his daughter!
"Class should be starting soon, maybe ten minutes…"
The students were talking among each other, they were told that tey were getting a new instructor but they were not giving any hints to the identity. The students were talking and making jokes among each other until they heard the door open.
"Hello, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Captain of Squad Five, I'm your new teacher…" Ichigo spoke nervously to the dumbstruck group of students.
"Isn't he insane!?"
"I heard he's a lecher!"
There were various whispers back and forth from the students. Ichigo simply raised his hand and snapped his fingers a few times.
"I appreciate the gesture of not running from me, yes, I am insane, and I acknowledge that. No, I'm not a lecher; rumors can be started from the smallest of gestures."
"What do you prefer us to call you, Captain?" A tall girl with black hair in a ponytail came forth and bowed her head.
"Anything you want, just don't call me anything along the lines of 'Godlike' I'm growing tied of that idiotic title." At this the students started whispering back and forth.
"I like how you are all friendly, but let me warn you…This is not going to be an easy class, you will probably be seriously injured, and I have limited knowledge of healing kido, and if you don't listen to me, you will probably die. Understood?" The class was silent. "My god…do you take everything so seriously? This is going to be a fun class for you, and I should tell you that you will only see me every other day unless you're taking my kido class." Ichigo laughed as he leaned against the wall next to the desk at the front of the large combat hall.
"Kurosaki-sensei!" The tall girl from a minute ago ran up to him and bowed her head.
"Yes…what's your name?"
"Chizuza Mitetsu! And I'm taking your kido class too! Is it true that you're a kido master too?"
"I am, among other things…" Ichigo began listing off all the titles he's been given, even the hollow related ones.
"So it's true that you're a hollow and two of your daughters are aswell!?" The voice of a boy called from the group of students .
"Yeah…well, Koko is only my adopted daughter."
"Captain, why can't I feel your presence?" Ichigo recognized the girl from her running out of Koko's class in the past, she had moved up to advanced Zanjutsu.
"It's for your own safety, if I were to allow you to feel it, other classes would be interrupted."
The entire class started to beg him to release it after a few minutes of refusal he agreed.
"Only for a second." He lowered his level until he saw they were effected, every student fell to their knees and Ichigo raised it back up.
"Holy shit…" half the students said at the same time.
"Gather yourselves." Ichigo chuckled as he walked to the group of students.
"That was monstrous!" Chizuza yelled from the ground. Ichigo could tell she was the teacher's pet.
"I've been told…Chizuza, and…you! Come here." He pointed at Chizuza and the redhead from Koko's class.
"Yes, captain?" the both responded.
"Fight each other, I want to know if you really are top class as you claimed to be when you hit my daughter." He was speaking to the tall redhead, Chizuza looked shocked that her classmate would do something like that.
"How did you know I did that!?"
"I'm not going to repeat this, I see everything."
"That's creepy…and she was in the wrong, she broke my hand!"
"She was being nice, if I was in the room when you did it, student or not, I would have destroyed your arm." Ichigo held up his claw and smiled at her. "Begin!" within seconds Chizuza had her on the ground, blade at her throat.
"How was that?" Chizuza had an obvious tone of accomplishment in her voice.
"I'm starting to like you, maybe I'll have a spot in my squad for you. The rest of you, partner up, and do what they just did." The student's obeyed and started pairing and fighting, Chizuza was following him as he walked by the students. They were evenly matched, Mina was horribly losing in her fights, she kept holding her sword with one hand, reminding Ichigo of Kenpachi.
"Captain, your eye…is bleeding…" One of the students pointed out and Ichigo wiped away the blood, his eye was bleeding in the form of tears.
"Damn…why now, keep going for a few minutes and stop, I'll be right back." Ichigo opened a garganta to his barracks; he learned how to pinpoint his destination. He stepped through into his office and pulled a small red box out of the drawer in his desk and he opened another garganta back to the classroom, he went to his desk, wiping his eye every few seconds, and he opened the box. He pulled out a white eye patch, one that Unohana and Urahara made for him, his eye bled like this in the past, and they made these eye patches to stop it. This was the first time it bled like this when he was near people.
"What was that?" Chizuza asked from the front of his desk.
"My body can't deal with the amount of souls I have that don't like me. Don't worry, it will take much more than a bloody eye to make me stop doing anything."
"If you say so…"
"Mina! And three of you come here!" the red headed girl and three random students approached him and stood next to Chizuza.
"What do you need, Captain?" Mina asked.
"All of you, the five of you…fight me. You're going to support each other against a vastly more powerful opponent. Mina, don't hold it just on your injured hand. Let's go. Clear some space!" Ichigo got up and made his class make a small little area for them to fight, the five of them charged him and slashed at the same time. He drew his left sword and blocked three of them and managed to catch one of them with his right hand and got hit on the chest with one of them, it couldn't cut him because of his hierro that has been apparent for a while now.
"Mina! Go for the right arm, do not let him grab the second one!" one of the students ordered, Mina grabbed his right wrist and brought the sword down on his shoulder. Ichigo spun around and hit them with the back of the left sword, knocking them all back, Chizuza and Mina were the first to get back up and charged him from both sides, he dodged both stabs and hit them each with the hilt of his zanpakuto, he wasn't paying attention and barely dodged a stab of his face. He started dodging slash after slash, stab after stab, eventually the two girls got up off the ground and simultaneously swiped at his legs and brought the swords up in a follow up stab at his left shoulder piercing all the way through, the combined power of the two swords, and the fact that he was restricting his hierro was enough to go through.
"Captain!" Chizuza screamed, releasing her sword, Mina did the same, all the other students gasped. Ichigo just smirked.
"It takes much more than this to stop me." Ichigo manifested the dagger and slammed it into the training katana snapping them off at the hilt. He dissolved the dagger than pulled the blades through his shoulder. He rematerialized the dagger and did a quick spin slashing at each of the students.
"What wa-" One of the students he slashed at was speaking until he felt a small cut on his forehead and his katana fell in two pieces. This happened to the other two, and not the two girls in front of him, they were unarmed.
"Take every chance you get, to disarm or subdue, kill only if necessary. End of lesson one." Ichigo was standing in a group of dumbfounded students.
"Where did that dagger come from!?" complained one of the students he cut. Ichigo hid the dagger back to his inner world
"I don't know what you're talking about…" Ichigo made a clueless face to him
"I don't get it, did we pass or fail that test?" Chizuza asked from behind him.
"You passed. That final blow you and Mina gave would have stopped most targets. But I'm not most targets." Ichigo gave a small smile and then had the students run drills until the class switch, for his next couple of classes he did the same thing, but nobody managed to get the final hit. His eye stopped bleeding during the second class and he removed the eye patch.
…
"Hey, Captain!" Ichigo heard a familiar voice from behind him.
"Chizuza, do you need something?" Ichigo called over his shoulder as she caught up to him.
"No. I just am looking forward to tomorrow's kido class!" She had a big smile on her face.
"Glad you're eager."
"Hey, that dagger you used earlier…it looked like a zanpakuto Shikai. But your two swords were sealed."
"Once you graduate, I'll tell you about that. Don't expect to see that dagger much more. I have to go see my daughters. Goodbye." Ichigo spoke slowly and as he got outside, once he said his goodbye he was gone.
"He is really fast…" Chizuza didn't notice him gone for a second. Someone who was nearby approached her.
"Well, Captain Kurosaki is the God of Flash." Nia Kujokuza was standing before her.
"Oh, hey, your sister and I stabbed him earlier."
…
"Captain Kurosaki, there is nothing to report out of the usual, sir!" one of the stealth members gave the report to Ichigo and was dismissed. Ichigo continued from the gate to his door. Once he got inside it was quiet, Yumai wasn't back yet, Koko was still either at the academy or with the squad. The hollow girls were out somewhere.
"Hi, Masaki!" Ichigo whispered as he noticed she was the only one awake. "Did they leave you alone while they sleep?" Masaki made a noise and grabbed his hair as he walked out of the room with her.
"It's not fair that you have to deal with this…" Ichigo spoke sadly as he ran his fingers over her mask fragment, it changed slightly, now it covers half her nose and over her entire eye pointing up from the corner.
"You're going to be a great woman one day…going to have a boy that you love, and he's going to be clueless. Just like your father…" Ichigo was walking in a circle; Masaki was looking up as him with her big ash colored eyes.
"If anyone is mean to you, just tell them who your dad is, okay? They would have to be pretty dumb if they keep being mean when they know whose daughter you are."
"You're such a good father…" Orihime spoke up from behind him, she woke up to see him walk out of the room and she had been watching him from the top of the stairs.
"Hey…you're awake now! Masaki was lonely when I got here."
"I'm sorry Masaki-chan; I was so tired from you and your sister keeping us up last night!" Orihime came down the stairs and ran her hand over the girl's cheek. Masaki grabbed her finger and Orihime couldn't hide her smile.
"She's really grabby today, she really likes my hair…" Ichigo mentioned as Orihime took her daughter.
"Well, I can see why, it's slightly darker shade of orange than hers."
"You know, I've seen so many weird hair colors in the soul society, blue, green, red, purple, white, silver, but out of that, almost no orange." Ichigo needed this happy moment to distract him from the constant bickering of Zangetsu and Houou-Kyu in his mind, something about which hand holds who in the double release.
"Well that just makes her all the more special!" Orihime started to rock her back and forth and she soon fell into sleep, she told Ichigo to wait and took her back upstairs, she came back down alone saying they were both out for a few hours at least.
"Well, do you want to do anything, Yumai is being 'tutored' by Izuru, Koko is talking to the squad about complaints I received about her patrol schedule."
"I think you need a shower…Mind joining me in mine?" Orihime said quietly as she took his hands and grasped them tightly.
"I-I…yes. Let's that." Ichigo was surprised by her sudden invitation, they haven't shared a shower since that time Yumai interrupted them. Now they had their own rooms, with their own showers, and nobody other than him or Orihime had the key to their room.
…
After a 'shower' Ichigo and Orihime were collapsed on their bed, heavily breathing. Ichigo was on his stomach since Orihime scratched up his back and managed to draw blood this time, Orihime had bite marks on her neck and so did Ichigo. Orihime healed his back after a few minutes of lying there.
"I hope the day never comes when I have to explain all the claw marks on my back to our daughters." Ichigo joked as he was being healed.
"I hope the day comes when I do have to explain the scars on my back." Orihime shot back at him.
"And why is that?"
"You haven't forgotten have you, during one of our first fights, you dodged my attack and slashed my along my back, leaving a massive scar. It reminds me of how much I love you, every scar you gave me after that, only added to my love." Ichigo sat up and pressed his lips to hers, cupping her cheek with his left hand. With his right hand he traced the scar on her back the went from her left shoulder to the right side of her waist.
"I remember that day…that slash ended the fight, and it put you in squad four, for a week, I might add. You couldn't move because you lost so much blood, it was there that I decided that if you died, I would join you in death, because the pain of death would be a wonderful feeling compared to having to be without you. Now I will protect you from any and all harm, I kept working myself, training, getting stronger, you did too, so that you could keep up with me and follow me, I did it so I could protect the girl I fell in love with."
"If I died, don't you dare leave these girls. You had a mother for only nine years, and you still are devastated over it, imagine how the two of them would feel, living their entire lives without me, they would need you to stand by them and console them, help them, love them."
"Well, I guess that you just shouldn't go and die than, huh?" Ichigo kissed her again before getting up and getting dressed in a pair of boxers and sweatpants. He threw Orihime some underwear and sweatpants, a blue tank top and she got dressed.
"When they get old enough, we're taking them to see your mother's grave and Tatsuki's grave. They deserve to know who they were named after."
"Yeah…I want to do that too…Oh, did I tell you, that I went to the restaurant that she worked at, and the boss recognized me, even though my gigai had a massive burn on the left half of the face and long hair, he blamed me for Tatsuki's death, I nearly killed him, it took all my power not to kill him…but I made him cry, and that was worth it." Ichigo lay back on the bed next to Orihime.
"I really wonder about things like that sometimes, how can people be so horrible…" Orihime was with a sad tone in her voice and she laid her head on Ichigo's chest.
"He was a horrible person." Ichigo started stoking her hair, and she made a small yawn.
"I'm so tired, I think that was the best shower I ever took."
"I'd be surprised if it wasn't a good one." Ichigo chuckled and shut his eyes for a second.
"Hey just because I'm tired doesn't mean you get to sleep!" Orihime noticed his closed eyes and she started to poke his chest.
"Well…what do you want to do than, hmm?"
"Round two?"
"I'm still human, I can't do that again so soon." Ichigo complained at his still turned on wife.
"Doesn't feel human…and I never finished…" She said slowly into his ear.
"Like hell you didn't! You had at least two orgasms…"
"Third time's the charm?" Orihime giggled at him and he just sighed.
"You're abnormally aroused, are you feeling okay?" Ichigo joked and put his hand on her forehead.
"I'm not entirely sure…but if you won't help me, I'll do it myself."
"You really want to go again, that badly?" Ichigo groaned as she shook her head for yes, without further questioning, Ichigo flipped her over, pinning her to the bed, he started kissing her neck and biting her lip.
"Ichigo…don't be so gentle…" Orihime whispered into his ear, which froze him on the spot.
"W-What do you mean b-by that!?"
"Assert your dominance, lead the dance, be aggressive, do you need any more clarification?" Orihime joked at him.
"If that's what you want, I'm not going to stop when I start, so if you have anything to say, say it now."
"No anal." Ichigo was shocked that she even brought that up; he avoided that on his own normally.
"A…Alright…" Ichigo literally yanked her up and drug her to the shower, turning the water on to the coldest it could go. Orihime flinched at the sting of the cold, they were still in their clothes. Ichigo pressed her against a wall and started biting her bottom lip, he peeled her shirt off and threw it to the ground, he started feeling her and squeezing her, he reached his claw out and ripped her bra, Ichigo was doing what she wanted, being aggressive. He started to feel her breasts with the claw, she liked how the claw felt, it didn't hurt like she originally thought it would. He started to press his tongue to her mouth and she let him in, his tongue attacking hers. Eventually he pulled away and removed the heavy sweatpants he was wearing, and did the same to her, he tore her underwear with his claw in the same fashion he did her bra. He switched his right hand with his claw in their positioning, his claw, now around her waist, and his right hand, rubbing on her wet entrance, quickly. She started to moan and make noises as he moved two fingers in and started moving them around in a hectic fashion. She would command him to go faster and he did. After a few minutes of the sporadic hand movements he pulled his fingers out and put them in her mouth. He started to remove his boxers and then he threw them off to the side, Ichigo took her by the back of the head, grabbing her hair, and pulled her into a kiss, shoving his tongue into her mouth, she was moaning into his mouth as he used his claw where his right hand was, he only did that once to her, he didn't do it usually with the claw because he thought it hurt her, but since she commanded him not to be gentle, he let loose his claw upon her. After three of his fingers from his claw were moving violently around inside her, she started to moan louder, still muffled by his tongue. Ichigo picked her up after pulling the claw out and she made a loud moan as he lowered her onto his erection, pushing far in until he couldn't he then pinned her to another wall, he used his free hand to turn the water up to a higher heat, the burning sensation was drowned out by the pleasure they were feeling, steam filled the room as he started to pull out and push back in hard. He started like this slowly and eventually made his way up to a rough fast pace with her facing the wall, she was getting what she asked for, rough and aggressive Ichigo.
"I…This…Amazing…Keep…!" Orihime was speaking between her moans and was interrupted by Ichigo lifting her leg in a way she didn't know what he was going to do, he spun her around to face him without pulling out, he pressed his lips to hers and started to bite her bottom lip, this time he drew blood, neither of them cared. Ichigo shoved his tongue into her mouth, silencing her. Ichigo felt that he was nearing his release, he quickened his pace, despite the fatigue of another hour. He wrapped his arms around Orihime and pulled her from the wall, still thrusting inside her. He was about to finish, so he pressed his face next to hers.
"I'm not…finished yet…!" he mumbled into her ear and pressed his lips to hers and with one massive thrust he came inside her, stopping for about thirty seconds and then continuing without pulling out or releasing her lips, she was now very loudly moaning into his mouth, Ichigo heard a knock on the door, but he didn't even acknowledge it, he was pretty sure Orihime heard it because she pulled away from the kiss and turned her head to the door. She now had no control over her body, her legs clung to his waist and her arms wrapped behind him, clawing her nails into his back again. Ichigo flipped her around again, this time slamming her into the wall a bit harder, and started thrusting harder but slower. Orihime was in heaven, her face was painted with her pleasure, and her moans kept coming, louder and louder. She was against the wall with her feet on the ground so Ichigo reached around her and started to pinch her nipples, when he started this, she let out a high pitched yelp, Ichigo of course, keeping his word, did not stop. He kept twisting, pulling, pinching, and thrusting her faster now, he resumed that rough pace he had from before and once he got as fast as he could go, he pulled out and replaced it with his claw, three fingers started violently writhing around, her moans of pleasure started growing silent as he put a fourth in, he continued trashing his fingers around for another ten minutes before pulling them out and thrusting in again, his claw was covered in a mixture of both of their fluids, he reached his claw around and put it in her mouth and she licked them clean, which surprised Ichigo, he noticed that she was arching her back and her loud screams of pleasure came back, he recognized that she was about to orgasm, he felt the familiar feeling that he was going to finish again, not twenty minutes later from the first. She stopped her screaming for a second and twitched a little and held her head down a little, Ichigo kept going for another minute, he was going to finish again, and inside her again, he gave one last thrust and expelled his supply into her, much more than before. With a quick motion he pulled out and she made a small yelp. He let go of Orihime and she fell to her knees panting heavily.
"That…" Orihime couldn't speak; she got what she wanted, and then some.
"You asked, you received, you might want to rinse out…before, you know…it dries…" Ichigo knelt next to her and started panting himself.
"I think…I'll need help with that…I can't…stand…" Orihime tried to stand but her left leg wouldn't hold her.
"I didn't think you were one to like it rough like that…" Ichigo helped her up and rinsed out his fluids from her, which took much longer than it should have, there was much more than normal, Ichigo thought to himself.
"You were still being gentle…" Orihime's comment made Ichigo flinch.
"The hell do you know about rough sex? Not that I know much about it, but that was rough!" Ichigo asked as he helped her to the bed.
"Rangiku said that if there isn't slapping, biting, choking and bruising it isn't rough, at least you got the biting part down." Orihime held up her finger like she was a teacher instructing a student.
"She is not a healthy person…Remind me to not let her talk to our daughters." Ichigo started helping Orihime get dressed after he got dressed, his comment about her not being allowed to talk to the twins mage her giggle.
"That would be wise! And I hope whoever was knocking didn't hear us…"
"I HEARD EVERYTHING ORIHIME-CHAN!" There was a shout from the door that Ichigo immediately recognized as his perverted old father. Ichigo walked to the door and slammed it open.
"YOU PERVERTED OLD GOAT!" Ichigo delivered a kick to his face causing him to fall backwards. "Why are you here? And why did you not have the decency to NOT LISTEN!?"
"Can't I visit my granddaughters? And my son is now a man who roughly loves his wife!" This earned him another kick to the face.
"Come in, Isshin!" Orihime shouted as Ichigo tried to push him away from the door.
"Thank you my wonderful daughter in-law!" Isshin roared as he walked past Ichigo.
"They're still asleep somehow, so be quiet." Orihime asked him as he walked over to the twins.
"Dad, are Yuzu and Karin here too?"
"Karin is with Toshiro and Yuzu is with Rukia." Isshin responded as he focused on Masaki's mask fragment. "They really are going to be beautiful." He spoke in a rare fatherly tone.
"Thanks, dad." Ichigo said as he sat next to Orihime and took her hand.
"Hey Tatsuki-chan!" Isshin whispered as she woke up and stared at him. She made a small noise and held her hands out to him, he picked her up and held her close. She started making noises that sounded happy.
"She's so quiet normally, she must really like you!" Orihime said as she managed to make her way over to him and rub her cheek with her left index finger.
"Ichigo, if you ever need any advice in raising the twins, don't hesitate to ask, remember, Yuzu and Karin are twins aswell." Isshin handed Tatsuki over to Ichigo and sat on the bed next to him. Orihime was watching Masaki sleep.
"I will probably have a lot of questions when the time comes."
"Does Orihime know about…your visitor…in your soul?" He whispered in Ichigo's ear.
"She knows that there is someone there, but I haven't told her who yet." Ichigo said quietly.
"Told who what yet?" Orihime was sitting behind him on the bed.
"I really was hoping you wouldn't ask, I wanted to keep his identity from you for as long as I could…"
"What, is it someone I knew?" she asked clueless, making a face of confusion.
"Ulquiorra…The espada who guarded you, the one who killed me…The one who took my physical heart." Ichigo was saying that one of Ulquiorra's attacks destroyed his physical heart. As he delivered this news he could see that Orihime was trying to comprehend this, and not succeeding.
"I…don't understand…He died…he died at my fingertips…"
"He did not die, he simply latched on to the soul of the one you trusted the most, the one you gave your heart to. During one of my attempts to tame his soul, he told me that he didn't die, and latched on to me because you entrusted your heart to me. But do not worry, please, it hurts to see you cry…" Ichigo wiped a tear from her cheek and continued. "He is sealed away right now, for about twenty years…and actually I should explain everything, what Urahara told me at least. I have about four or five zanpakuto spirits inhabiting my inner world, only two of which, including Zangetsu acknowledges me as its master. The other one that does is a fragment of the Sokyoku, the execution instrument that was for Rukia. I also have Aizen's Hogyoku embedded into my soul, for it chose me as its new master and is the only reason my body can handle this power output without having to transform massively."
"I understand a little about the Ulquiorra thing…and the Hogyoku situation…but why do you have all these zanpakuto latched to you?" Orihime spoke up from her sobs and held back her tears.
"Urahara said it was because my power had an influence on the owner's soul as I killed them. He also mentioned that one of them might be Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen's zanpakuto. I really hope he isn't right." Ichigo took Orihime's hand in his holding it tightly.
"Do all of these souls…and the Hogyoku mean that eventually you will not be you…?" Orihime said slowly not making eye contact.
"If Ulquiorra breaks his seal and succeeds in absorbing the other zanpakuto that have acknowledged me as their master, he is free to get to my soul and control me. Although, Zangetsu and Houou-Kyu are powerful enough together to beat him down. But I had Urahara seal him for twenty years, I have that time to master each of these zanpakuto and control the Hogyoku, with that, I can eliminate him from my inner world, and force him to manifest outside, and I would have to completely kill him then, so he cannot latch on to anything again." Ichigo explained as he pulled Orihime close.
"I believe you can do it, after all, you achieved Bankai in three days." Orihime forced herself to smile, which made Ichigo smile, Isshin was holding Tatsuki and was dumbfounded by all the problems his son is having, Urahara told him about Ulquiorra's inhabitance, but not about all the other things.
"Yeah, he also said there were a few that he couldn't even categorize, which worries me a little… but no matter, I'll tackle it when the situation arises." Ichigo pulled Orihime close and gave her a soft kiss.
"Ichigo, you said Houou-Kyu…who is that?" Isshin asked as Orihime took Tatsuki.
"Right…for some reason its name isn't Sokyoku. It's Houou-Kyu." Ichigo held out his hand and the dagger formed in a small fire. Isshin reached out to touch it but when he touched it; his finger had a sharp pain go through it.
"Damn! That burns! How can you hold the blade like that!?" Isshin screamed as he looked at how Ichigo had it flat on his palm, the blade touching his skin.
"It's similar to Ryujin Jakka, in the heat it gives off to others, unless I actively make it not burn, I didn't know you were going to try to grab it. Sorry." Ichigo exhaled slowly and held it out for his dad to hold. He slowly reached out, touching it a few times before feeling it safe. He picked it up and examined it.
"I always imagined the Sokyoku to be…bigger."
"Tell him to not insult my appearance, I do not want him thinking less of me." Ichigo heard the Sokyoku's voice in his head, she sounded mad.
"Careful dad, she said not to insult her appearance." Ichigo chuckled and Isshin quickly set it down on the bed. It shattered and dissolved.
"Did I make her mad!? Is she mad that I dropped her?" He was frantic thinking he just got on the bad side of the Sokyoku.
"Ha, dad, no, I returned it to my inner world, I materialize it when needed, and send it back when I don't, or I'll keep it sheathed under my sleeve." Ichigo pointed to the arm sheath on the desk in the corner next to his zanpakuto.
"Can…my…is…" Ichigo heard an unfamiliar voice fade in and out of his head; he was hearing another zanpakuto spirit.
"Did you hear me? Hello…Ichigo…!" his dad was waving his hand in front of his face.
"Hmm, sorry what?" Ichigo replied, returning his attention back to his dad.
"I asked how is Koko-chan doing?"
"She's an alcoholic I think…I always seem to find her under a bottle of something, but I never see her drunk…it's strange, and also, we're both Zanjutsu instructors at Shino Academy, although I teach the advance class, and a midlevel Bakudo class, I rotate every other day with each."
"That's great, what about Yumai, is she happy?"
"Yes, she's dating Izuru Kira. Her Kido teacher…"
"That's nice, and a bit weird."
"They've been together since around my wedding."
"That long? They must be pretty serious!"
"I think that she needs someone like him, he makes her really happy!" Orihime spoke up as she played with Tatsuki's hair.
"I saw that Yoruichi is staying here now…must be a challenge…" Isshin snickered.
"Orihime said she could, if it was up to me, she would still be your cat." Ichigo said crossing his arms. He noticed Masaki was awake and he got up and took her. "Hey, did you have a nice nap?" Ichigo asked softly.
"Ichigo, she's going to be a fine girl, both of them." Isshin stood up and walked to the door.
"You leaving now? How long are you staying in soul society?" Ichigo asked as he walked to him.
"I promised Retsu I would visit next time I came, and for a few days, we're staying in your barracks, if that's okay with you?"
"Yeah that's fine, need anything don't hesitate to ask." Ichigo turned as his dad shut the door.
"Ichigo, I'm going to join the SWA, when the girls…Come in!" She was speaking and then there was another knock on the door, it opened and Ukitake came in, shutting the door behind him.
"Jushiro, is there a problem with my Koi?" Ichigo joked, earning a laugh from the sickly captain.
"No, no, they're fine, I just remembered that I gave you false information, a long time ago, when you asked how children develop here. I said for fifteen years, they develop like normal humans, I misspoke due to the confusion at the time."
"Well, what is the correct information?" Ichigo asked as he saw Masaki waving her hand at Jushiro who smiled and waved back.
"They develop at a normal human rate for around one year, than for the next fifteen years they rapidly develop, physically and mentally, then when they turn sixteen the development slows down. Sorry for the misunderstandings." He bowed his head slightly but enough for Masaki to reach over and grab his hair.
"Masaki, don't pull his hair!" Ichigo helped him get free from her, Jushiro just laughed.
"Ukitake-san, you seem to be popular with Masaki!" Orihime spoke as she pushed Tatsuki's hair around.
"Children always seem to like me." He gave a smile and stood up. "If I'm thinking right, your twins will be able to speak and walk within…ten…months."
"So soon?" Orihime sounded surprised at this news.
"As I said, after the first year, which is over in about seven months, the growth rates, physical and mental are accelerated for fifteen years." He turned and started to walk to the door and stopped. "I can tell that they are going to be powerful Shinigami." He continued out the door.
"Well, that's some good news, Masaki and Tatsuki will be talking soon!" Orihime leaned in to Ichigo and planted a kiss on him.
"Yeah…" His sentence was interrupted by the same voice from earlier.
"Ichigo…can…me…Kurosaki…Name…tsu…" Ichigo couldn't make out its full name but the voice was a little more clear to him.
"Are you okay? You spaced out for a second." Orihime put her hand on Ichigo's forehead.
"I'm fine, just another zanpakuto decided to reach out to me, although I can't hear its name…"
…
"Zangetsu! Houou-Kyu!" Ichigo called as he enters his inner world, the two appeared behind him, Zangetsu on his pole, and Houou-Kyu was considerably smaller and perched on his shoulder.
"Are you here about the third voice?" Houou-Kyu asked as she flew up to Ichigo.
"Yeah…I couldn't fully hear his voice, though…" suddenly Houou-Kyu pecked his forehead.
"You fool, there is no point coming here if you couldn't hear his name." She flew back over to Zangetsu and rest on his shoulder. He started speaking.
"Ichigo, just because Houou-Kyu reached out and acknowledged you as her master without much hassle, does not mean the other souls will reach you as easy. The owner of the voice is behind you, I will not reveal his name." Zangetsu shifted his eyes from Ichigo to the figure behind him.
"Can you tell me your name?" Ichigo turned to the man behind him, who was wearing a white mask with no eyes or mouth, had long white hair that covered the mask, his robe was a soft blue with a white sash, Ichigo could see his hands had purple lines on them over each finger.
"My name is…tsu…" Still, the name was not fully heard.
"I can't hear you!" Ichigo shouted, getting closer to the man.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, my name is…tsu" Again, his name could not be heard.
"It's no use; you are not ready for his power Ichigo." Zangetsu spoke and the man in the blue robe disappeared as if sinking into the building he stood on.
"Well then why did he reach out to me?" Ichigo questioned as he returned to the two zanpakuto before him.
"He thought you could hear him. He was only half right." Houou-Kyu answered.
"There is no need to hurry…you have twenty years to achieve Bankai with the four others. Houou-Kyu and the three you do not know. This should be no problem to you since you are accepting what is happening. The only difficult part would be getting the zanpakuto spirit to trust you. However, keep your soul calm, notice how there is not a single cloud, you are composed and calm, but I shudder to think what the rain would do to Ulquiorra's seal." He turned his head to a small coffin wrapped in a black fabric and a golden spear through it vertically.
"If you say so…" Ichigo sighed and then felt himself back in his garden at the barracks, it was near midnight, maybe later. He heard some rustling in the tree above him, Yuze was sitting there watching him again.
"That one took a long time, did you learn anything?"
"…No…And do you watch me every time I do this here from that tree?"
"Yes, I like to be in this tree, it's taller than the others, and I usually sleep in this tree. I like high places." She started to look at the sky and hum something. Ichigo felt the tune was familiar.
"That…humming, where did you hear that tune…It makes me feel, nostalgic, for some reason…" Ichigo stood up and jumped up into the tree and sat next to her.
"I don't remember, it's been stuck in my head for years…" She answered smiling at the sky. Ichigo was staring at the yellow ribbon in her hair, as if he was stuck trying to answer the hardest question he had to answer. "You like my ribbon?" She said, as she noticed he was looking at it. He didn't respond and she untied it, handing it to him.
"This ribbon…" Ichigo spoke slowly.
"You can have it; I prefer the red one better."
"I remember giving someone a ribbon like this one, but red. I can't remember her name…I remember her taking it, I can't remember her face or name…"
"Maybe that's how we know each other, maybe you gave me the red one, who knows…"
"No…it couldn't have been you, this was in the World of the Living…a long time ago…"
"Probably wasn't me then, I'm like eighty something." She laughed and took the ribbon. She unsheathed his left zanpakuto and tied it around the hilt so that it hung down for most of the length.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, examining the new addition.
"So you keep your promise."
"Which promise would that be?" Ichigo asked with a smirk.
"The one to protect everyone."
"How does this ribbon symbolize that?"
"As long as that ribbon is there, you should have the strength to go on. It's stupid, I know, I like charms too much!" She laughed at herself and then felt a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not stupid, I accept this gift thank you, Yuze."
"You're…crying blood…What's wrong!?"
"I don't even care anymore, let it bleed." Ichigo felt his cheek and saw the blood on his finger, sooner or later, he's going to have to deal with the blood, and it stops on its own eventually.
"Why is that happening, and why aren't you worried?" She sounded concerned that her captain has just slipped into insanity.
"The souls in me are arguing, this happens when they can't get along."
"I can't even try to imagine what your inner world is like right now…"
"Crowded." This earned a laugh from Yuze and she fell out of the tree.
"How are your daughters?"
"They're okay, growing fine, as far as I know, no murderous tendencies are apparent yet, and Koko, is still…Koko." Ichigo jumped down out of the tree and saw her looking up to him from the ground with a smile, he froze and had a flashback for a split second of a girl with the same face looking up at him.
"What's wrong? Something on my face?"
"No…it's nothing…I need to go back to Orihime now, enjoy your tree!" Ichigo flashed away leaving her confused under the tree.
"Who is she!? I know her!" Ichigo spoke at himself as he was about to open the door to his mansion.
"Ichigo!" Nel shouted from behind him, as she lunged at him grabbing him into a tight hug.
"Ne…Nel. Cant…Bre…breathe." His words were struggled and then she released him.
"I'm sorry! I just got back from my midnight patrol…Captain is working me to the bone…"
"That sounds tough…are you coming in?" Ichigo stood in the open door waiting for her, she quickly ran in and to her room.
…
It was two days before the twins turned one. Ichigo and Orihime were with them down by the lake with Yumai, Izuru and Koko. Ichigo hadn't heard from the mystery zanpakuto since that night when his eye bled with Yuze. Orihime left the twins with Ichigo and got in the water with Koko.
"Koko-chan, it's nice that you actually agreed to do something with us!" Orihime called as she swam up to her.
"I needed a distraction from everything; I never realized how fun it is to just swim around in the lake." Koko sounded really happy instead of the monotone she usually spoke in.
"Hey, Ichi-dono!" Yumai had come up behind Ichigo and place her hands on his head and leaned over him, looking at his face.
"Yes Yumai?" Ichigo asked as he looked up at her to see her smiling.
"You have new scars on your back!" she said in a playful tone.
"Well, that's not my fault…" Ichigo said quietly while looking at Orihime.
"Right…Tier looks like her fingernails could do that." She teased and ran away and hid behind Izuru.
"THAT HAPPENED ONE TIME! ONCE! AND WE WERE DRUNK!" Ichigo shouted at her, making Koko turn to him with a disgusted look.
"What happened once…?" Koko asked slowly to Orihime, hoping she knew.
"Well, it turns out…he did have sex with Tier, during that party Yoruichi threw him. Tier found out when Unohana noticed she was pregnant, and she had a miscarriage the next day. Ichigo is sorry about it and had no idea that it even happened until Unohana told him. It seems if a gigai gets pregnant, so does your soul form."
"No wonder she was limping for a week. As long as he was drunk you are okay with it!?"
"He was horribly drunk, and let his dick take over." Koko was shocked at her mother's choice of words, she never talks like that.
"Are you okay, you're talking weirdly."
"I'm fine; I guess I've been talking to Rangiku too much!" Orihime let out a laugh and Koko just sighed.
"Speak of the devil…" Koko looked up at the path from the house and Tier was coming down in a blue bikini bottom, she didn't wear a top because her mask fragment covered her chest.
"Oh calm down, just because she had sex with him doesn't make me like her any less. They were drunk, and nothing came out of it." Orihime told Koko to calm herself and swam to land and ran up to her and gave Tier a hug.
"Hello, Orihime. Is Ichigo still bothered about the whole thing…it's been months."
"He's fine, just probably feels guilty, but you were both drunk. I don't care!" Orihime had a huge smile as she drug Tier to Ichigo who was yelling something at Yumai he had the twins on his lap.
"Hi…Ichigo…" Tier said sheepishly, not making eye contact.
"Tier, have you been avoiding me? Every time I see you, you either run the other way or ignore me."
"I'm just really sorry about that night!"
"It's fine, plus, you must have had a good time if you limped for a week!" Ichigo chuckled, and this earned a loud laugh from Yumai and Orihime.
"It's not funny! I was pregnant!"
"Well, considering you came back here and drank 'an abortion in a bottle' I guess that didn't matter much." Ichigo retorted, he was talking about how Tier came back after learning of the pregnancy and took a huge gulp of the strong Russian Vodka he had, she made it to her room and into the shower before passing out.
"If you put it that way…but I need to know, Orihime, does it hurt you? I was drunk and can't remember, I just want to know if I was in pain or in pleasure."
"I'm used to it now…but yes. A lot." Orihime sat down next to Ichigo and took Tatsuki. Tier made a worried face.
"I just hope that nothing ripped…" Tier made a small whimpering noise and Ichigo had to actively hold back his laughter. Orihime just nodded quickly, Yumai and Koko made a curious, yet disgusted face. Izuru just had a blank expression, not really caring if Ichigo ripped Tier a new one. Literally.
"Well, mine didn't so you should be okay." Orihime giggled a little, Ichigo was still surprised how well she was dealing with it.
"Oh…and you two should try to keep your showers…quieter." Tier mentioned as she walked into the water. Yumai followed her in, dragging Izuru.
"Louder? You got it!" Ichigo shouted and Orihime sighed.
"You got to step up your game if you want me louder." Orihime whispered in his ear. Lately Orihime had been much more aggressive and forceful when they had sex.
"You still taking to Rangiku about rough!?" Ichigo accused her and she looked away.
"Yes, which you still have yet to accomplish!"
"I'm not going to choke you…" Ichigo sighed, he was okay with giving her some bites or an occasional slap, but he didn't want to choke her.
"I might reward you if you do what I want…" She spoke softly into his ear then kissed his neck. This caused him to widen his eyes.
"R-reward…w-what do you mean?"
"It's…A…Surprise…"
"I got a surprise for you…" Ichigo chuckled earning a small giggle from her.
"How about…" Orihime whispered something into his ear quickly and he stood up. Masaki in his arms and Tatsuki in hers.
"Everyone! We're going back now!" And the two of them started making their way back to the mansion quickly.