Ok, feeling good about this chapter and it let me crack it out in record speed, let's see if you guys (and girls) feel the same.

Fic o' the day: Devil Summoner Naruto by Terra Ace. This is a curious story that follows SMT Devil Summoners Lore. Basically Naruto becomes a Devil Summoner. Yeah, that's about it. I haven't read too far into it but its a good read so far. Enjoy.

Song/vid of the day: AMV - Mindless Vindication 720p Yeah it's an AMV. Yeah it has music from MSI in it. Yes I'm awesome like that. If you don't know who MSI is... shame on you. Look up Mindless Self Indulgence and educate yourself in the fine 'lead singer's self-titled' genre of Industrial Jungle Pussy Punk.

Word/s of the day: Industrial Jungle Pussy Punk YOU WILL LEARN THE MEANING OF THESE WORD BY CTHULU. D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Sekirei. Bleh, don't feel like saying anything witty today.

-ooo-

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Flashback

Narration/machines talking

"Hollow talking"

'Hollow Thinking'

-ooo-

Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin

You fear that which you do not know. I fear that which I know of, yet cannot escape from.

Blood pumped wildly through Ichigo's veins as the lightning twins, true to their name launched a pair of supercharged bolts of electricity. Thanks to his enhanced reflexes and senses due to his Kōra he was able to push Musubi onto her back, while at the same time turning ever so slightly allowing the bolts of electricity to pass harmlessly by him to slam into a kiosk down the road, sending debris and civilians flying through the air. Ichigo's eyes widened as he got a good look at the lightning the two were using as it passed him by.

'That attack just now...it was made of Reiryoka...' These people were just like him. 'This just got a lot more dangerous.' He grimaced, ignoring the screams from the crowd as they ran for safety, he instead focused on the women in front of him, mainly the ones who were charging another attack.

He wouldn't give them that luxury. Rushing forward with a speed that surprised the two Sekirei, Ichigo dodged another pair of bolts, leaning so far left at one point that it was a miracle that he hadn't fallen as the next set of bolts passed over his right shoulder. Little did the two know he was using his fullbring power to attach himself momentarily to the ground as he ran, using his sheer leg strength to keep himself balanced.

The two girls eyes widened as Ichigo got in their personal space. Targeting the older looking girl first Ichigo delivered a wicked right cross to the woman's face sending her to the ground and easily blacking an eye despite the girls Sekirei durability.

"Sister!" The younger Sekirei yelled, coming to the defense of her sibling. She threw a relatively weak punch (For her species at least) at Ichigo's head.

The orange haired Fullbringer swatted the offending attack to the side, grabbing the woman's arm with his other hand and twisting his body half way around to throw her over his shoulder and into the hard concrete ground.

Normally, with the way he had thrown her along with how hard she'd hit that would have killed a regular human, but with the Sekirei it just knocked the air from her lungs. No, Ichigo had to do something a bit more drastic as he punted the woman in the head with a debilitating kick, knocking the poor woman out cold.

Let it not be said that Ichigo didn't fight to win, regardless of the damage he inflicted on the opponent and he'd long since realized that even women could kick his ass if he let them, so he held no qualms about beating these two up. Their lightning attacks only sealed that line of reasoning.

The older of the two twins shakily got to her feet, cursing the orange haired man as she charged another one of her lightning attacks. Ichigo dodged that as easily as the first. It really was an easy thing to do when the attack struck in a straight line with a very small angle of attack. It was basically like fighting someone wielding a gun, keep out of the line of fire and you were essentially given free reign to kick their ass.

And kick her ass he did. As soon as she launched the lightning attack Ichigo had dove forward into a roll, letting the attack pass harmlessly overhead while at the same time moving forward back into the older Sekirei's personal space.

With a calm efficiency he broke through her meager guard, blocking the relatively weak punch though he still grunted in effort from the heavier than normal blow. Once he had moved the limb out of the way he focused Reiryoka into his fist, the small charge making it vibrate slightly, producing a low hum. The older lightning twin didn't realize until too late that trying to block that punch with her one free arm was a very bad idea as the attack plowed into and around her arm, landing squarely in her abdomen, dumping the spiritual attack into her body like a sledgehammer.

It was an attack that he had devised from witnessing Chad's fullbring, it wasn't nearly as powerful as his friend's attack but it certainly left an impression on people.

The older of the sisters buckled under the strike as the back of her clothing blew off, nearly exposing the woman to the world. As she slid off of Ichigo's fist and fell to the ground in pain, her insides rebelled against her and emptied the contents of her stomach.

Yeah, having your internal organs scrambled like that tended to do that to people.

Now that his job was done, Ichigo turned back to Musubi who had sparkles in her eyes.

"That was amazing!" She gushed, her eye's lighting up like diamonds. She rushed forward to tackle the young man but was stopped by an unmoving hand.

"You can thank me later." Ichigo grunted, already hearing police sirens in the distance, he wanted to be well away from the scene before any authorities showed up. The two left, Ichigo dragging the poor girl behind him unfortunately not seeing a figure step out of the shadows of an alleyway, watching the two leave then glancing down at the two downed Sekirei. The figure was dressed in all black with a mask that covered their face except for their red eyes and spiky silver hair.

"Well, you certainly got your asses handed to you." The person chuckled.

"H-Homura...you bastard" The older of the two twins gasped, still holding her aching stomach.

The now named man snorted at the insult. "Like I've told you before Hibiki if you continue to go after unwinged Sekirei you'll get hurt, hmm I always thought I would be the one hurting you." The man glanced from the twins back the way Ichigo and Musubi had left. "However..." His eyes narrowed as several thoughts crossed his mind, turning back to see the state of Hibiki's clothing, which was torn around a circular hole, like she had been impaled on something and the wound had simply healed over leaving a perfectly round rip. "Hibiki." His train of thought broken, he instead focused on the two girls. "Take Hikari back to your Ashikabi, this is no place for you two to be when the authorities arrive, I doubt Minaka likes throwing out hush money every time a Sekirei is found by the police."

"Fuck you Homura." The girl groaned, gabbing her sister, her stomach still swirling. After she had steadied herself she hopped up to the roof the two had been on before leaping to the next, disappearing from Homura's view.

The silver haired man ignored the two injured Sekirei to stare after the one who had injured them. To think, a human who could defeat not one but two Sekirei in quick succession. And that final attack he used, it reminded him of a fist type Sekirei attack.

Homura shook his head at that thought, no human could use an attack like that, he had probably just been imagining it.

Turning away, the Guardian of the Sekirei leapt to the top of a nearby building, leaving the same way the lightning twins had left. Moment's later a patrol car would pull up to the scene to find untold destruction and not a soul in sight.

-ooo-

Musubi had been having a rough day. Not only did she have to run from the lightning twins but now she was being dragged behind a man who was easily as strong and fast as she was. She could feel the man's power and since he was still in front of her he was just as fast if not more so than she was. Only her constantly positive attitude kept her chipper in the current situation.

It was nearly dusk by the time Ichigo stopped. He had put as much distance as he could between himself and the two lightning twins as possible, ending up on the west side of town. Now that he had time to really take a breather he glanced over his shoulder at the girl he had saved, who surprisingly had remained behind him at an equal speed. He assumed that whoever those two lightning users were that this girl was one of them as well, which would explain why they were after her. Maybe Musubi was a traitor to their group, or maybe it was some kind of death game. Ichigo remembered clearly that Musubi said she wouldn't fight them 'yet.' Which meant that she would be willing to fight them after a certain condition had been met.

Ichigo's surprisingly sharp mind began formulating several possibilities for what that condition could be. What most people forgot when they fought the ex-Shinigami was that the man was surprisingly bright, consistently scoring top marks in school even during his time as a substitute soul reaper. He was a very analytical person even then, picking the brains of every fighter he'd come across, which showed in his potential which even Aizen had complemented him on. He had the intelligence and the skills to fully nurture that potential. It had only come to a screeching halt when he had lost his soul reaper powers. Sure, he missed his Shihakusho and the reassuring weight of Zangetsu, but his new abilities as a Fullbringer made up that lacking and it had helped him in the long run these last ten years on his own, where his mind had been honed to a razor edge.

But, try as he might, he couldn't come up with a reason that would fit the situation he was just in. It was a frustrating feeling, not having all the clues but he had to make do with what he currently had. A trait he had picked up from working with some less than savory characters in his past, the only upside to that kind of dirty work was the he protected a few innocents in the process.

Now it was getting dark and he sure as hell didn't want to sleep outside any time soon. He'd had to do that for an extended period of time when his last job literally died on top of him. Pissing off a gang of Yakuza tended to end his employment and employer very quickly. Digging through his pockets, he pulled a dozen or so thousand yen notes, all that was left of the money he had swiped from his previous boss on the way out. Hey, the guy was dead, he didn't have any use for it anymore.

Twelve thousand yen could probably rent a decent room in a substandard guest house for a week tops, but this was Shinto Teito, a popular tourist trap and consumer magnet. He'd be lucky if he could even find a vacancy, which left him with hostels and an apartment.

Personally he'd need an apartment since he never trusted hostels after watching that damn movie as a child...(*)

Ichigo shivered a bit as he continued to walk through the streets, Musubi still behind him. Several minutes later he'd found a newspaper that had some listings for apartment vacancies, if he played his cards right, he could probably get a temp job there while he looked for a more permanent solution.

Scanning the listings he found one that was nearby and was relatively cheap in the west part of town. Dragging the girl behind him he made his way to that section of the city.

A few hours later found Ichigo sitting in a small second floor apartment just big enough for two people. It had really been a lucky break on his part. The manager of the apartment complex was renting it out for a fair price, but Ichigo didn't have enough money even then. That's when Ichigo noticed that there was graffiti on the outside of the walls and that many of the appliances and vending machines around the place had been busted open and trashed.

When questioned on this, the elderly manager said that there was a local street gang that used this part of town as their turf. The tended to tag and destroy vending machines to steal the money out of them.

That gave Ichigo the perfect excuse. He had offered his services as both a security guard to keep the apartment complex safe while he stayed there and a repair man if things ever did indeed get broken into in exchange for staying there.

The man had been skeptical at first about Ichigo's ability but when Ichigo had proceeded to lift Musubi up off the ground with one hand in a show of strength the man had been both surprised and ultimately convinced. Ichigo later apologized to the Sekirei girl when they had finally settled into the new apartment.

Now that Ichigo had a place to stay he wanted to get settled in as quickly as possible. The apartment provided regular amenities like bedding, kitchen, bathrooms etc. The laundry rooms were on the first floor so it was only a minor walk for that. Not like he had anything more than the clothing on his back regardless. He'd need to do some shopping tomorrow and get a few things for himself.

He blinked when he realized that Musubi was technically staying with him as well. He'd need to get her some new clothing as well it seemed.

Speaking of Musubi, he had been burning with questions all day about the girl. Now that he wasn't in battle he could indeed feel Reiryoka coming from the girl much like it had been from the lightning twins. When he asked her about that he was surprised by how straightforward she was.

"So you're a Sekirei." He asked at length, with the girl bobbing her head in agreement, the quick motion doing wonderful things with her cleavage. "And you're looking for your Ashikabi?" He continued, drawing another nod from the girl. "And what exactly are those two things again?" The way she had explained things had confused him more than they had answered his questions.

"A Sekirei is the one who is destined to guide their Ashikabi to the higher sky above." Musubi replied, a slight blush on her face. "And an Ashikabi is the person who we Sekirei are born to serve, our special one that we're supposed to find." Musubi's face fell. "I've been searching so long for mine, I just wish I could find them."

That was a more definitive answer for Ichigo. So these Sekirei were a servant race of some sort, and they had to find their master somewhere in the world, the one who would essentially be their mate.

Curious, Ichigo reached a hand out to Musubi, touching her shoulder lightly while filtering a little bit of his Reiryoko into her body, not enough to really do anything but enough that he could get a feel for her own Reiryoka. It was something of a habit he'd developed when he fully embraced his Fullbringer side. Since he was now using hollow power's he could essentially leech Reiryoka from things and make it his. He didn't doubt that if he had been at full Fullbringer power he could have absorbed the lightning attacks of those two other Sekirei girls easily. But this was more of a sensing technique to find out more about the feel of a person's Reiryoka. Their emotions, basic thought's and just the overall 'feel' of that person in general. It was so he could grasp just how people felt about what they were currently thinking, and Ichigo wanted to find out more about these Sekirei, particularly what kind of relationship she had with her Ashikabi.

He had promised to protect her, a promise not made lightly and if she was to be with her Ashikabi, he had to know exactly who and what that was.

The feelings he was leeching from Musubi surprised him. The girl was pure, overly so. She had a pure white soul, not a single taint on it at all and her innocence was beyond even that. She was so innocent it bordered on idiotic. But above all that, the feelings this girl had for her unknown Ashikabi stunned the man. Almost all her love was directed at this person, even if she didn't know who they were. For a Sekirei, her Ashikabi was basically her soul mate. A person that could do no wrong in her eyes. Strangely enough If he had to compare her to someone he would have said she was like an even more innocent version of Orihime, the same ditzyness and unconditional love applied to them both in slightly different ways.

Thinking of his distant friend caused a pain to shoot through his chest which in turn broke the connection between himself and Musubi. He would have apologized for his rude touch had Musubi not initiated an even more intimate contact.

Ichigo was genuinely surprised when he felt the girls hand on his chest. Looking up the orange haired man nearly gasped at the girls condition.

Musubi's eyes were wide, her pupils dilated and her breathing ragged. Her cheeks were a bloody crimson blush that stood out heavily against her peach colored skin. The girl swallowed sharply, her lips opening just slightly. "W-what was that...just now?" She stared at Ichigo's hand, the one that had just been on her shoulder, in open shock.

Ichigo's mind was moving a hundred miles an hour as the busty Sekirei proceeded to shove him onto his back, straddling his legs in a way that both scared and aroused the man. He would have pushed her away had she not said what she did next.

"My Ashikabi, I finally found you."

Ichigo froze, his muscles locking up in shock. He was this girls chosen person? She was destined to serve him? A deep warmth rose from his pocket as his fullbring flared to life. Almost seeming to agree with those thoughts.

He didn't notice the girl in front of him lick her lips, swallowing heavily as she moved in for a kiss. He didn't notice the girl plant her lips on his. He only noticed what had just happened when he felt a large surge of Reiryoka pass between his lips and past hers which culminated in the the girls back exploding in a bright flash of light as a strange crest appeared, hovering over a spot just blow her neck.

Then it happened. A pair of ethereal pinkish white wings appeared behind her, flowing out like sentient things to crash against the walls of the room. Only, instead of it destroying the walls, the wings seemed to bend and conform to them, flowing around the edges of the room.

Musubi's lips broke contact with his, her body arcing back in ecstasy while she held her shuddering body. To Ichigo it looked like the woman had just experienced a mind blowing orgasm or something of the like, but it was what he felt from his Reiryoka still in her body that shocked him to his core.

Love. Unconditional and unquestioning, this woman loved him with every ounce of her being. He had seen the love that she held for her Ashikabi when she hadn't known who they were. It was almost like a childish crush compared to the feeling of love she held for him now. It was...humbling in a way... Just what the heck had he gotten himself into?

When the light died down and Musubi came down from her high, she got within inches of Ichigo's face, grabbing his cheeks in her palms. "I am your Sekirei and you are my Ashikabi." She kissed him on his forehead before placing her head on his chest. "Forever and ever."

Ichigo meanwhile was just trying to get his brain back in order from the massive emotional discharge Musubi had dumped on him. Shaking his head slightly to let the lingering ghostly feelings of love escape him he focused his attention back on Musubi... who had passed out on top of him.

Then a rumbling so massive it nearly shook the walls of the room erupted from the young girl's stomach.

Ichigo sweatdropped at that, it wasn't so much that she just made the noise, it was more along the lines of how the hell he was going to feed her when the place was only stocked with appliances and furniture?

It took Ichigo a minute to remember that the apartment manager mentioned that there were vending machines on the first floor and another minute to get out of Musubi's vice like grip. Even when she was unconscious she was unusually strong, hell she had nearly ripped his arm out of socket when she had tried to run off with him during his fight with the lightning twins.

Once at the vending machine he was surprised how fully stocked several of them were, most of the food in them was junk food or stuff that could stay in an un-refrigerated place for long periods of time. That really didn't bother Ichigo as he stuffed a few hundred yen through one of them. Grabbing a bunch of snack cakes and rushing off to feed what he assumed was a black hole by the sound of her stomach.

Fifteen minutes later Musubi was happily mulching on one of the last few snack cakes as Ichigo went over what the heck had just happened to him.

Ok first he had to sift through the emotion dump she had given him, then go over the thoughts and memories that had come with them. 'Simple enough.' He thought to himself. Ok, apparently he just became this girls Ashikabi. An Ashikabi is basically a Sekirei's destined person. From what he could gather from the girls emotions and a few of her thoughts during the 'Winging' as her thoughts called it. He had essentially just became this girls 'mate.'

Ichigo shivered at that thought. 'Did...did I just get into some sort of crazy marriage ritual or something?" Ok calm down, one step at a time. He HAD made a promise to protect the girl and from what she said about her fighting other Sekirei and Ashikabi him being her Ashikabi would allow him to protect her that much more easily. Ugh, this was happening too fast. He had just met the girl for god's sake.

His Fullbring began to heat up again, seemingly chastising him in it's own subtle way.

Ichigo sighed as he felt the vague emotions coming from his Fullbring. He still had something of his inner hollow left over after he had lost his powers and those manifested in the power of his Fullbring during his fight with Xcution. So maybe since his hollow had survived, a small piece of Zangetsu might have survived in his Fullbring as well and was guiding him even now. It would explain why he could still use his Getsuga Tensho and still send souls to the Soul Society via Konsō. He wasn't a Soul Reaper by any means but he definitely had some powers left that were bleeding over into his Fullbring, and whatever was connected to those powers were pushing him to do this.

But to have such a powerful and unconditional love practically given to him, to be someone's special person, practically destined to be with them...

I curse you Ichigo, to live your life hated, that your destiny be stopped here

Tsukishima's words echoed in Ichigo's mind. A tense swallow forced it's way past a lump in the ex-Shinigami's throat as his eyes widened. 'Unconditional love, given to me.' Ichigo grit his teeth. He had tried in the past to create a relationship with people. But every time Tsukishima's curse seemed to follow him. Women never seemed to be interested in him and he could never make friends because he spent just as much time working as he did running from his past. Whether by their hand or his, people always seemed to be at arms length with him.

But now... Love had been forced on him, pushing it's way past Tsukishima's words. Even now he could feel the connection he had to Musubi, he could feel the love and affection she had for him. She wasn't at arms length. No, she was sitting right next to him, the radiant and loving warmth basically pouring off of her.

A small part of Ichigo hoped that this feeling would last, that it wouldn't fade like the rest of the relationships he had tried to start. After ten years of superficial human contact, it felt good to have this connection, it was this feeling along with the badge in his pocket rising and lowering in temperature, almost as if it was agreeing with his revelation that kept him from freaking out about the whole situation. For the moment he was just basking in the feelings he was experiencing and hoping that this wasn't some cruel joke on fate's part, because right now he wasn't in any mood for her shit.

"TADAAAAH!"

Ichigo's heart nearly leapt from his chest as the TV behind him switched on and fanfare music began playing. Snapping around quickly he was treated to the sight of a middle aged man in a white suit and cape staring back at him, his glare covered glasses concealing his eyes from the Fullbringer. Moving closer Ichigo inspected the TV, thinking that maybe it had just turned on by itself. That thought was soon squashed when the man addressed him.

"Hello Dear boy, You've just become partnered with a Sekirei I see, Congratulations!" The white haired man nodded a greeting ever so slightly at Ichigo... Speaking of hair.

"Dude." Ichigo deadpanned. "What the hell is wrong with your hair." seriously who the hell wore their hair like that? It looked like his hair had just exploded from his head is random directions

The white haired man blinked, or at least Ichigo thought he blinked as he couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses. "I don't see why that should be an issue Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly at the man. "And just how do you know my name, who are you?"

"Professor!" Musubi leapt over to where Ichigo was sitting in front of the TV.

Ichigo glanced over at Musubi cautiously. "You know this guy?"

Musubi flashed one of her smiles that seemed to light up the room. "Of course! He's my professor and the company president.

"If you don't recognize who I am." The white haired man replied smugly. " You should really watch the news more often."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed further at the blatant disrespect the man was showing him. 'Let's see, Ability to use a regular TV in ways that I've never seen before, company president, aloof wise ass who's thinks he's better than everyone else, Shinto Teito.'

"You're Minaka Hiroto, President and CEO of MBI." Ichigo glared at the man. Yeah, he'd heard of him, how could he not when he was looking for work in the man's city. "Just how did you find me so quickly?" Seriously, he had only winged Musubi like 20 minutes ago.

"There's nothing that I don't know dear boy." He replied smugly, chuckling a couple times just to really get on his nerves. Yeah, these kinds of people just pushed all of the wrong buttons for Ichigo. He reminded him too much of Gin and Aizen to be a good thing.

"The Sekirei Plan." Minaka continued. "That's the name of the game that you've become a major participant in."

Oh great and he want's to play a game too. This wasn't filling him with untold amounts of dread or anything... "Are their any rules to this so called game?" That was one thing Ichigo wanted to know about right from the get go.

"Ah, straight to the point I see." The man adjusted his glasses. "Yes, there are several rules that you have to follow. First, do you know what the two of you are?"

A twitch appeared on his brow. "Apparently, she's a Sekirei and I'm an Ashikabi and this is some sort of tournament that pit's Sekirei against each other" Ichigo growled, his hatred of the man growing by the second. He was treating him like a small child when he was anything but. The Fullbringer would have bet his left nut that the white haired bastard hadn't even seen what true combat was like, to stare down an opponent as you took their life. To watch as the light left their eyes and their bodies grew cold. And the bastard had the audacity to call him a child? He wasn't innocent enough for it. Musubi maybe, but him? Not a chance in hell.

"Ohh so the grades from your old school weren't lying, you do have a brain up there."

Ok scratch that, he didn't hate this man, he loathed him with every shred of his being. The bastard actually insulted his intelligence even when he knew... Ichigo frowned. If Minaka had records from his time in school then he probably knew about his reputation, false construction though it was and that left a bad taste in the Fullbringer's mouth. Not only because the man was connected enough get that information but thorough enough to get those records in less than an hour. That made him dangerous, more dangerous than Ichigo gave him credit for.

"One other thing." Minaka spoke evenly, a barely hidden threat in his voice. "The Sekirei Plan is a highly confidential project." He steepled his fingers as he leaned back in the gaudy chair that Ichigo had just noticed the man sitting in. Continuing, the man's voice rose slightly and it took on a more threatening tone as he spoke. "If you tell anyone who isn't apart of this anything about the Sekirei plan, MBI will come after you with all of it's resources."

Ichigo openly scowled at the man. "Is that a threat?"

"No my dear boy." The man chuckled, his voice changing to a jovial laugh, that laugh turned deadly serious as he fixed his gaze. "It's a promise."

A tense silence filled the air as the two glared at each other, Ichigo was the first to break the staring contest. Not that he lost the will to glare at him. No, he would have continued wrestling wills with the uppity bastard all night if he had to. Right now he had better things to do with his time. Now he wanted to know the one question that had been bugging him since Minaka had called his Sekirei Plan a 'Game'

"One last question."Ichigo spoke smoothly, ignoring his rising urge to strangle the bastard. "You called the Sekirei Plan a 'game.' From what I've seen this is some sort of tournament or battle royal. Those types of 'games' usually have a prize awarded to the winners." Ichigo's eyes grew calculating as Minaka's eyebrows rose.

"That's quite perceptive my boy." The man grinned, the whites of his teeth showing. "Yes there is indeed a prize. It is the destiny for the Sekirei to fight and once you've fought and fought and fought until you're the only one left, Only then will you be given permission to ascend to the heavens with your Sekirei. The Ashikabi who ascends to the heavens with their Sekirei will hold the fate of the entire world in their hands!"

Oh, that didn't sound completely insane or anything now did it? However two words caught Ichigo's interest from that entire spiel.

Destiny and Fate

His Fullbring started heating up again, almost as if it were nodding to him. A small change in temperature gave him the impression that it was being deadly serious. As deadly serious as a spiritual paperweight could be anyway...

It was destiny for Sekirei to do battle, those that ascend would have the fate of the world in their hands. Ichigo remembered his promise to protect Musubi, something that his pride wouldn't allow him to go back on, now that he was her Ashikabi his pride in her defense had only grown.

Then his mind wandered to the other of the two.

Fate. In his mind, there was only one thing that could defy fate like what Minaka was speaking of... "Is the prize some sort of wish then?"

Minaka's eyebrows rose. "I've never heard it put that way before but essentially yes, you could call it a that. A wish that defy's fate."

A wish. Something that would fit the desire of the one wishing it regardless of fate's whims. Allowing him to control the fate of the world if he so desired. Gears started turning in Ichigo's head, if the prize at the end of the Sekirei plan was a fate defying wish, then...

I curse you Ichigo, to live your life hated, that your destiny be stopped here

Ichigo's face hardened, his eyes set in determination. He was tired of running, tired of living in the now rather than hoping for the future. He had reached his breaking point then went past even that years ago and now he had something that just might piece that life back together in the palm of his hands. The bones in his knuckles cracked and popped as his hand clenched. 'Fuck fate and fuck destiny. If the Sekirei are destined to fight then I'll just protect as many as I can and if my fate is cursed then I'll just defy it. Challenges like this haven't stopped me before' He thought back to the previous battles in his life. Fighting against his first hollow, Grand Fisher, his first Gillian, all the Soul Reapers he faced during Rukia's rescue, The Bount, The Arrancar, The Zanpakutō Rebellion, Aizen, Xcution. 'They haven't stopped me yet and they sure as hell wont stop me now!' Ichigo felt the temperature of the badge in his pocket skyrocket, warming the lower half of his body as it gave off a slight hum of approval.

There was a chance for him to get his friends and family back, he'd be damned if he let this chance slip away.

"Well, that's all the time I have, more important business presses." Minaka let out that creepy grin again, waving cheerfully to the two people in the room. "Goodbye No.88 Musubi and you as well Ichigo Kurosaki. Goodbye and good luck." The TV turned itself off, leaving the room in silence.

In that silence the words of advice Zangetsu had given Ichigo back when he was still unsure of himself floated back to the forefront of his mind

"Ichigo. Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate."

Ichigo sighed, closing his eyes. He'd been running from his problems for too long. Staying bitter at the past, he knew he had to face it sooner or later and now was as good a time as any. 'Abandon my fear. Move forward and never stop. Don't pull back. Don't hesitate.' Taking a deep shuddering breath and exhaling, the Ex-Shinigami calmed himself. Then, with an almost audible snap his eyelids flashed open, revealing the calm calculating gaze of a man who had a goal in mind and the iron will to complete it. His fate may be cursed but he sure as hell wasn't going to let it stop him from moving forward. Not anymore.

-ooo-

My creative juices are just flowing ALL OVER this story muahahahaahaaa.

(*) The movie Hostel, if you've watched it you know the reason why ANYONE would be... hesitant to stay at one of them. I watched it when I was 13 *Shiver* Fuck Hostels, fuck them with a Space Marine chainsword. ...There's also a reference to SAW in the conversation with Minaka

Speaking of Minaka. I wanted him to seem a bit more sinister in this chapter than in canon since that is the first impression of the man that Ichigo get's. He'll be insane and goofy as the story progresses but I wanted to stress that Minaka is just as much a threat to Ichigo as everyone else is in the Sekirei Plan.

I feel happy about this chapter. I think I channeled the return of Ichigo's fiery will into this chapter rather well. I hope I made it read as epic as it felt to write it. And I know I'm going to get messages for this so I'll point this out now.

The reason Ichigo is overcoming his ten year old funk so quickly is *because* it's a ten year old funk. He's still gonna be really bitter about it but time heals all wounds as they say. Or in this case it dampens them enough to allow for an empathetic Fullbring that's keyed into his very soul, A winged Sekirei with a 'Warrior of Love Complex' dumping her emotions through their link which is also keyed into said soul, and a possibility of him regaining his friends and family pushing that 'ten year old funk' aside in the face of overwhelming fuzzies. Since he'll be getting more Sekirei as the story progresses, he'll become a bit more assured with himself and his decisions as time goes on.

However, that doesn't mean Ichigo won't still be reminded from time to time about his curse, Minaka or someone else who's in the know and wanting to get at Ichigo's craw will see to that. But I never really started this story with an angsty Ichigo in mind. The whole point of multiple Sekirei for him is to drown out his bitterness. Hell I just can't see Ichigo as angsty for long periods of time. He canonically jumps back from practically everything, he just needs one shred of hope and he comes back like a badass. Which is basically what's happening here. If you came here to see angsty Ichigo then wait a few chapters, let the high wear off for him and let a few of his good fortunes go south and he'll be brooding again trying to figure out how to get out of the jam he's found himself in. After all you can't have a semi-godlike character injected into another series without throwing the guy a few curveballs and limiting him here and there.

For example. Since Ichigo, when using his Fullbring's FULL power (Including his Fullbring 'sacrifice') is on par with his initial Vizard Bankai self he's definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with but he'll be limited to using that in dire straights or special circumstances since he doesn't want everyone and their mother realizing he's not quite as normal as the boy/man next door should be, Hot Bodacious alien harem aside...

So, like his fight with the lightning twins, he'll be using his Fullbring to do crazy stupid things because that's one of the main reasons why I made this story. So I could explore all the wonderful ways Ichigo could fuck with the laws of nature, That and to set him up with a bevy of bodaciously big breasted babes... in BIKINI'S, BABY! BOOYAH!

Ok...I'm out of sensible B words for describing sexy sistahs in sequence...

Ok, Now I'm just being an idiot -_-

Till next time

Ciao