Ok I'm going to point this out because 'fuck people' yo. The butthurt is over .9000 right now (So it's really only like 9 or 10 if you round it off)
It's annoying when your choices are criticized when they don't have anything to do with a screwed up OOC character, core rules of the universe being fucked to hell or some blasphemy against the sacred writing laws gifted by the literature gods. Flashbacks are not a sin people. Hell, I read a very nice story one time, it had a chapter that had NINE flashbacks in it, not a damn word about it in the reviews for that chapter. I do it four times as a semi-joke and people get pissy, especially a pleasant little reviewer by the name of Shinteo-5. let me ask you guys, would you really have made such a big deal about it had I not included the antagonistic "Flashback chapter of doom" thing at the bottom of last chapter? I'm thinking probably not.
Ugh I have a migraine. Today's 'nth of the day' will reflect my foul mood.
Fic o' the day: Reach Out To The Duke by Smash the Echidna A horrible 133 word trolly piece of shit that looks like it was written by a 5 year old who plays too much CoD, you want to complain about bad writing? There.
Song/vid of the day: The Finger add DBZ to the search to find it. by camron2342. Preeety self explanatory
Word/s of the day: I couldn't find a strong enough word for hatred. So here, have all the synonyms for it: abhorrence, abomination, acrimony, alienation, allergy to, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, coldness, contempt, detestation, disapproval, disfavor, disgust, displeasure, distaste, enmity, envy, execration, grudge, hard feelings, hate, horror, hostility, ignominy, ill will, invidiousness, loathing, malevolence, malice, malignance, militancy, no use for, odium, pique, prejudice, rancor, repugnance, repulsion, revenge, revulsion, scorn, spite, spleen, venom.
It's a pleasant surprise that there's more synonyms for the word 'love' though.
Ok, let's get this shit sorted.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Sekirei, Gokurakuin can blow Kubo for all I care. My meds haven't kicked in yet so it's not like I can really enjoy watching it regardless. Also, just found out that the Mangaka of Sekirei (Ashika Sakura AKA Sakurako Gokurakuin) is a woman... whoda thunk it? With all the naked women, ripped clothing and tits flying around its got the makings of a soft core porno and yet... Female Mangaka. I'd call her God's gift to the world but that spot's claimed by my waifu Halibel. FUCK OFF! You Otaku bastards can't have her *noms*
Ahhh there we go the meds kicked in... *call lost*
-ooo-
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flashback
Narration/machines talking
"Hollow talking"
'Hollow Thinking'
-ooo-
Chapter 4: Hammer Time.
A pair of cruel eyes watched the destruction of Ichigo's apartment with a wicked smile spread across his face.
"I thought you said this bitch hurt you guys?" He spat back at the four thugs behind him, the same thugs that Ichigo had taken care of two days ago.
"H-he did boss-Junichi." The one with the broken jaw mumbled through is bandages.
"Che." Junichi gnashed his teeth, "Pathetic, didn't even get a fight out of him." Just then an explosion from the roof of the caved in apartment mushroomed out, a small cloud of dust rising from the debris.
Moment's earlier.
"That's not good at all." Ichigo muttered, Leaping back into the apartment and grabbing Musubi. With a liberal application of his Kōra, Ichigo braced for the roof's impact.
Like the hammer that had caused it the roof smacked into Ichigo's tensed frame, pushing him down to a knee before he could get his leg back under him and stable.
"Hang on Musubi." He spoke to the girl, who looked up at her Ashikabi with sparkles in her eyes, the fact that her Ashikabi could hold an entire collapsed roof like it was only a minor inconvenience made her blood boil for combat.
"Right, Ichigo-sama!"
The muscles in the Fullbringer's leg's tensed, visible green lines tracing their way around his feet, then with a burst of energy Ichigo leapt up, touching a single finger to the roof as he did so. A small line of green appeared, weakening the integrity of the material enough for him to plow through it and into the air.
The dust and dirt billowed around them as the flew almost effortlessly up and out to land a dozen yards, as away from the group of five thugs that had watched the destruction unfold. Ichigo glared at the five men, Musubi still held in his grasp.
"Well now, ain't this interesting?" The leader and obvious Ashikabi of the group. "A bitch and her Sekirei?"
Ichigo blinked owlishly at that comment before remembering that he just leapt out of a collapsed second story apartment, fifty feet into the air to land in a crouch in front of them, so to them he must have looked pretty Sekirei - like. Well that made things a bit interesting, but first...
"Musubi, down." He dropped Musubi, who let out a squawk in protest before Ichigo hopped up into the air. Just in time as a massive hammer flew horizontally between them. The ball of one of his feet touched down on the hammer, a small green line of energy swirled angrily around the point of contact, sticking him to the hammer's head like Velcro.
With a slightly heavier than normal weapon, the woman behind him heaved the massive hammer around in it's arc, smashing it into the ground with excessive force, leaving a small crater in its wake.
Once the ride had stopped Ichigo spun on the ball of his foot, still stuck to the hammer's surface. Once he had lined up with the the girl holding the hammer he sprinted down the handle, little green lines of fullbring energy holding him to the shaft. The girl's eyes widened when she noticed that the Sekirei that she had been aiming for had dodged her attack and was now bearing down on her. Ichigo however was not a Sekirei, he was a Fullbringer. A fact he brought home when he sunk the tip of his shoe in the girls chin as he back flipped away from her, landing near the recovering Musubi.
The girl's hand left the handle of the hammer as she flew back towards Junichi. The power of the kick rattling the teeth in her jaw as Ichigo put far more force than normal into it.
Junichi scowled down at his Sekirei. "You're such a useless bitch." He kicked her in the side. "Get up." He kicked her again when she struggled to get to her feet. "I said get up!" He grabbed a hand full of her hair and yanked her to her feet. "I can't believe you're having such a hard time with these pussies." A rough hand snaked around the Sekirei's back, coming around the other side to roughly grab one of her breasts "Start chanting and finish the fuckers." He leaned in to kiss the girl roughly on the lips.
The girl barely had time to squeak out a "Yes" before her wings appeared behind her.
Ichigo watched all of this, his fingers digging little red lines in his flesh as blood started dripping from his palm. His first fight, his VERY FIRST FIGHT in the Sekirei Plan was against a guy like him? Having grown up around Tatsuki and living with two younger sisters he had a very strict view on how you treated women. This display was at the very bottom of the list of what you should do, he treated her as barely better than a possession, and what was worse... She let him, he realized. She wasn't putting up any kind of fight, she just took it. 'Like a good Sekirei' Ichigo thought in disgust. This bastard had probably forcefully winged her too. Ichigo's teeth grit angrily, unconsciously releasing a small bit of his spiritual pressure on the surrounding area.
For the four goons behind Junichi, if felt like their life was being pulled from their bodies. For Junichi himself it felt like a massive weight was being placed on his shoulders, like it wanted to push him into the ground and hold him there until he died. The four goons ran off, wanting to get as far away from the evil 'Sekirei' as possible.
"Junichi-sama!" The hammer wielding Sekirei reached down to help hold her Ashikabi up.
"Don't hold on to me Yashima." The man snapped at her, slapping her hand away. Vaguely he felt the pressure increase just slightly but maybe that was his imagination. "Just go kill those fuckers!"
"Right." She nodded hesitantly, turning to face Ichigo, who had a very angry glare pointed directly at her master. The girl rushed forward and grabbed her massive war hammer in a two handed hold. "The hammer of my pledge. Enemy of my Ashikabi, Shatter!" She chanted her Norito, continuing her attach by lifting the hammer above her head, ready to crush the enemies of her Ashikabi. "I-I'm n-number 84 Yashima. "
"Ichigo-sama" Musubi cried. "She's using her Norito, watch out. " Musubi ran to protect her Ashikabi who just stood there still giving Junichi the coldest glare any of the two Sekirei had ever seen.
Junichi scowled "Enough with the drama, hurry up and kill those bastards, dammit! If you don't finish this quickly I'll let the boys have their way with you again!"
Yashima flinched at her Ashikabi's words but nodded, bringing the hammer up and over her head. "Gravity Hammer!"
A single hand surrounded by angry, luminescent green lines rose up, the spiritual pressure doubling in an instant. Junichi fell to his knees, the two Sekirei started sweating and everything within a half mile radius felt the sheer anger radiating out from the epicenter of whatever had been pissed off. The religious among that group prayed for the soul of whoever had pissed the thing off because only a god would save that soul now.
"I-Impossible." Yashima breathed, her hands shaking around the handle of her hammer.
Ichigo stood there, one hand holding the hammer, the other holding Musubi back. All around Ichigo's feet were spider web-like cracks and a small crater where the weight of the hammer had driven him into the ground.
Yashima shivered at the absolutely cold look in Ichigo's eyes. It wasn't directed at her, no. It was directed at her Ashikabi, who was on his knees dry heaving up his guts.
"Musubi." Ichigo muttered to the girl beside him.
"Y-yes A-Ashikabi-s-sama?" The girl spoke quickly, stuttering her words. She could feel the intense hatred and anger through their link and to be perfectly honest, it frightened her.
Yashima's eyes widened as she looked from Ichigo to Musubi and back. She had been fighting an Ashikabi the entire time?"
"Keep her busy." He threw his hand to the side, flinging the hammer away like an insignificant toy. In a flash his body disappeared, several small green lines following behind the blur that he'd become.
That same blur appeared in front of Junichi and grabbed the man by his hoodie, lifting him half a foot off the ground to stare into Ichigo's hate filled eyes.
"Ashikabi-sama!" Yashima cried, only to catch a fist to her cheek from Musubi.
"Your fights with me! I'm Number 88 Musubi!" The eighty eighth Sekirei hopped from one foot to another in preparation for battle, it was her first real fight as a winged Sekirei and she was going to enjoy it, despite the feelings coming from her Ashikabi. With a roar the girl charged Yashima, slamming her fist against the girls hammer, which she had used as a quickly raised defense.
Yashima didn't seem to care about the girls designation, she just wanted to make sure her Ashikabi was safe. "Gravity Hammer!" She cried raising the weapon up and slamming it back down only to miss as Musubi leapt back several times, dodging the shockwave.
"Ashikabi-Sama!" Yashima yelled, rushing Ichigo now that she had an opening. She was stopped yet again when Musubi came up behind her and slammed her fist into the head of the hammer, sending it nose first into the ground and stopping the other Sekirei cold a dozen feet short of Ichigo and her Ashikabi.
Ichigo didn't pay attention to any of what was going on behind him, he trusted Musubi to do what he asked and keep Yashima busy. he didn't plan on this lasting very long anyway. Ichigo's fist lashed out, knocking several teeth from the man's jaw, breaking him out of his retching to groan in pain and look at Ichigo with intense hatred.
"Do you know who I am you fucker? I'm Junichi Tanigawa, your ass is mine you bastard." Another fist ricocheted off the mans face, knocking another set of teeth free. "Stchop dammi." He growled, the lack of front teeth giving him a lisp. "Ya cant attack me ya bashtard, it's gens the ruus." He spat out a wad of his own blood, his self assuredness getting the better of him. "Shekia cant attack shikabi."
Ichigo snorted at the man's stupidity. "You made three mistakes here today Junichi." He punched the man in the gut, forcing the man to hack up more blood from his mouth. Ichigo moved out of the way of the foul liquid and let him puke out what was left of his stomach on the ground.
"One." He slammed the man against a nearby wall. "You decided to try and kill me and Musubi over there."
Junichi gasped something out but Ichigo slammed him against the wall again.
"Two." A scowl crossed Ichigo's face. "You abused your Sekirei and threatened to gang rape her if she didn't do what you wanted as fast as you wanted." This time Ichigo kneed the man below the belt to punctuate his displeasure about that certain bit of damning evidence.
Yashima's Ashikabi released a gasp of air and would have thrown up more had he not emptied his stomach's contents twice before. As it stood the only thing that came out was a sickening retching noise.
"And finally, your third mistake." He brought the nearly cross eyed Junichi inches from his face. His brown eyes glowed a furious gold for a moment as he reached a hand into his pocket to grab his Fullbring. Ichigo held the Badge up against Junichi's chest and growled. "Was that you assumed I was a Sekirei. Protectors Honor."
*SHINK*
Junichi's eyes widened at first in surprise at the information, then even more in pain. He glanced down to see Ichigo holding a strange metal plate of some sort. A white cloth wrapped handle extended from the back, while a blade extended from the front. Only 2 inches of the blade were were visible though as the rest of it was buried deep into his chest. After a few seconds the mans face turned pale before his eyes followed, going dull and lifeless as his life blood flowed from the wound in his chest.
Dropping the body, Ichigo's eyes closed. Killing never got any easier. He had killed before, obviously. His first kill had been the hollow to attack his family. Sure, the hollow were monster's and he could rationalize them as such since their soul was sent to Soul Society after their purification, but below the mask they were still sentient creatures and he had ended their existence. Which was made painfully obvious when he killed the more human-like Arrancar. The Bount were also human and he had killed a few of them as well. The Fullbringer's of Xcution had been human too, but he had still cut them down mercilessly. Not to mention the lives he'd taken during these last ten years of his life.
His Hollow self had been right, he was a beast of killer instinct. He sought battle, he relished it... but at the end of the day there was still the blood of another sentient being on his hands. It never got any easier.
Ichigo sighed and deactivated his Fullbring, already wanting this day to end. After that blow up he felt drained more than normal, maybe he was getting old? Hah, fat chance. He still had a good decade or two before he was old spinach chin's age. With Junichi dead they could find a better Ashikabi for Yashima, maybe even-
"Ichigo-sama!"
The Fullbringer spun quickly at his Sekirei's distressed call. It was then he noticed the Yashima was lying on the ground, unmoving.
'No, why would she-?' Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked back at Junichi. 'The link... does it...dammit!' Ichigo ran over to Yashima's body, idly noting that the back of her clothing had been torn off during the fight. He could clearly see the girls crest disappearing, crumbling away like it had never even been there. 'Fuck! FUCKFUCKFUCK' Ichigo's grip on the girls arms tightened as he watched her essentially dying in his arms. 'I promised to protect as many Sekirei that I could, to prevent their cursed fate and I cant even free them from an abusive Ashikabi?' Ichigo's spiritual pressure started rising again unconsciously, though it was now filled with anxiety and anger directed at himself. He probably would have crushed the poor souls in the apartment complex behind him had Musubi not laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Do you want to save her?" The surprisingly mature voice of Musubi asked him.
The Fullbringer's eyes darted Musubi's way, before they widened in shock. Musubi's eyes had turned into a pair of Yin Yang symbols, and a large crest with the numbers 08 displayed on her stomach, which was no longer covered by her gi as it was mostly torn away.
"Musubi...wha-?" he tried to ask but she stopped him.
"It's Yume actually." She replied in a warm motherly tone. The looked of shocked recognition in Ichigo's face told her all she needed to know. "Yes, Musubi passed out from overexertion so I'm in control of her body at the moment, but we must hurry. Do you wish to save this girl?" She nodded to the rapidly fading crest of Yashima.
"Yes." Ichigo said almost instantly. "Why would you even have to ask?"
Yume frowned slightly. "What would you do if someone killed the only thing that mattered to you in life?"
Ichigo grimaced. That hit really, really close to home and there was really only one of two options for that scenario.
Kill the killer or kill yourself... or both. None of those options seemed pleasant at the moment.
"If you don't want either of those things to happen... you'll have to 'wing' her." Yume replied sadly.
Oh, Now Ichigo felt even worse. He would essentially be doing the exact same thing that junichi had done. Taking away her freedom of choice and forcefully winging her. But what was more important...? Life or freedom? He couldn't choose both and he was running out of time. A small warmth rose in his pocket, his guiding scale, his pride, his fullbring. Pulling it from his pocket he felt the reassuring weight in his hand and the warmth that permeated his soul.
Pride, it seems had chosen for him. But pride is often called a double edged sword, a fact he knew all too well.
And sometimes pride forced you to make tough decisions. For him, his pride forced him to save the innocent... even from themselves.
Ichigo took a deep breath before releasing it. "Do it, save her."
"Very well." Yume said solemnly, resting her hand on Yashima's crest. "You'll need to channel some of your energy into my hand here. " She pointed with her other hand at Ichigo's Fullbring. "I know you're more than you appear." At Ichigo's shocked look, she just smiled sadly. "I felt your power through Musubi's link. Quickly now or she'll die."
Reacting quickly, Ichigo laid his Fullbring over Yume's hand and channeled a large amount of spiritual power though it.
"There, that's good." She nodded, focusing her own power into the girls crest. After a few tense moment's Ichigo sighed in relief when the girls crest was restored.
"It's done. She'll be waking in a moment and you'll need to wing her then." She moved away from the two and watched the next few moments quietly.
"As-Ashikabi-sama?" The girl mumbled, her eyes opening slowly as she regained consciousness. "Ashi-" The girl froze when she locked eyes with Ichigo, her body going rigid as she remembered the look in his eyes when he had been staring at her A... Yashima's eyes widened as they searched frantically for Junichi, a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach as they finally landed on the body of her Ashikabi, already starting to lose it's color as the puddle of blood around the body grew.
The girl wrestled herself from Ichigo's grasp to drag herself across the ground, over to her dead Ashikabi. You could hear the girl crying, sobs wracking her body as she cradled the head of her dead love between her arms.
Ichigo watched the scene, torn between going through with the act or just-
"No." He stared back at Yume and could see the deep sadness in her eyes at the state of Yashima. She shook her head slightly. "Go. You chose this, finish it." She closed her eyes, as tears began to leak from them, she never wanted to see her fellow Sekirei see such heartache, it went against every fiber of her being.
Releasing a shuddering breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Ichigo approached the crying girl. It irked him that she would be crying over such a scum of a man, but he knew he was just looking for reasons to rationalize what he was about to do.
Reaching down, he grabbed the girls shoulder gently.
Yashima jerked slightly, turning sharply to face who would dare stop her from grieving. She froze again when she saw the eyes of her Ashikabi's killer. But what stopped her from attacking this man, the murderer of the man she had pledged her undying love and loyalty to, were his eyes.
The man's eyes held a deep sadness in it, as deep as her own, if it was possible. She would have said something, tried if she could. But what happened next shocked her to her core.
"I'm sorry" Ichigo muttered under his breath as he grabbed the girls shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Time seemed to stop for the both of them as their lips met, both their bodies freezing up as they could feel the bond beginning to form. A bright bluish white crest formed on her back, overwriting the previous one as dozens of petal like wings sprouted from it, forming a blossom like shape. Neither seemed to take notice. Ichigo put all of his effort into that kiss, he promised right there to make it up to the poor girl in any way he could.
After the deed was done and the light faded, their lips separated. As they both took a gasp for air Yashima stared into Ichigo's eye's, a curious expression on her tear stained face. She looked down to the head of Junichi still held in her lap, then back up to Ichigo's expressionless face. She repeated that motion several times before she tiled her head questioningly at Ichigo. "A-Ashikabi-sama?"
A small smile appeared on Ichigo's face as he nodded and drew the girl into a hug. "Forever and ever." He promised.
Yashima's eyes watered, though a smile was spread across her lips. "Ashikabi-sama" She muttered again, hugging Ichigo's body as close as she could, sobbing into his shoulder.
Sobbing, but a smile still remained. Sadness and happiness too equal for one emotion to overpower the other.
Another body joined the hug a moment later. Idly Ichigo noticed that it was Yume, or at least Musubi as the girls eyes were back to normal.
Musubi didn't need to know what was happening. You didn't need any reason to comfort someone who was grieving.
-ooo-
A slow clap echoed in the dark Room Minaka had watched the battle from. His joy apparent on his face as he watched the unfolding drama.
"Good show Ichigo Kurosaki and you as well Musubi." He spoke solemnly, continuing his slow applause for the two. "Every love story must have a tragedy, and what is the Sekirei Plan but a love story for the ages? Hnm, so too must there be tragedy for the ages."
"Director!" A Female scientist rushed into the darkened room. "Director, Something seems to be wrong with Number eighty-four Yashima. We picked up the death of her Ashikabi and her subsequent termination but... she's back online and just a moment ago she was wi... Director?" The woman stopped, taking a moment to registered the odd expressing on Minaka's face.
"You worry too much Takami-san." Minaka waved a dismissive hand her way. "I know what has happened, continue your study of the situation."
"V-very well." She nodded, it was these certain moments when Minaka was being serious that she could rationalize why she'd had a child with the man. Right now he wasn't the goofy Minaka that everyone knew. Right now he was the Director of MBI, one of the most powerful conglomerates on the planet. You couldn't get that powerful that quickly without being at least somewhat ruthless and Minaka certainly over qualified.
"Good night Takami-san!" Minaka sing-songed to the woman as she left.
And then there were times she hated the man's guts.
-ooo-
Some luck seemed to be on the Fullbringer's side that night, seeing as most of his and Musubi's clothing had been in the wash when the attack happened, they hadn't really lost anything of value in the collapse apartment, nothing that wasn't easily replaceable at least.
Ichigo had cleaned both Sekirei up after the attack using a small sink from the laundry room. He had then used his Fullbring on the still wet clothes to dry them quickly and get the girls into something more decent and less blood stained.
He would have spent more time searching the apartment but right now he just wanted to be as far away as possible from the area, he had already attracted too much attention to himself with that release of Reiryoka and it was sure to bring in any and every self assured half cocked Ashikabi looking for a fight.
They had to move and quickly to the only safe place that he knew of.
The North. Where only a single point was dominated by a Sekirei's presence. Very few seemed keen about staying around it long and none stayed within twenty blocks of the place.
If he stayed within that perimeter they might just be safe and if it wasn't safe, he only had to deal with a single threat rather than a dozen smaller ones.
Ichigo hated micro managing. One super powered threat at a time, that's all he needed. Hefting the bag of hastily dried clothing he motioned for Musubi and Yashima to follow him.
With a small luminescent green line of bringers light Ichigo hopped to the nearest roof top. The two Sekirei, having seen the strange power's their Ashikabi wielded already, didn't seem to shocked by it as the followed. The trio leaping from roof top to roof top as they made their way north.
Several hours later, they found themselves at street level again. It was close to dark now and the Ichigo was forced to carry Yashima after the near death experience had zapped most of her strength from her. She had cried along the way, clutching on to Ichigo's shirt as the mixed signals of her memories and feelings between her two Ashikabi collided. Ichigo couldn't devote any time toward comforting her at the moment, he wanted to be someplace warm and maybe even comfortable if he had the luxury. Hell, he'd start a campfire if he had to if it came to it. The brisk night wouldn't do well for any of them and the last thing they needed was to catch cold.
"Oh my!" The Fullbringer came to a stop at the sound of that voice, a bead of sweat spreading across his brow. How could he not have felt that presence in front of him?
Ahead and to the left, coming off a side street was a woman in her mid thirties carrying some shopping bags around her arm and her long violet colored hair blowing in the breeze. Though, it wasn't the hair that had caught his attention. It was the immediately overwhelming spiritual energy that Ichigo sensed within the woman that had given him pause.
It seemed that his luck really was shitty that day as he had apparently ran into the one thing he wanted to avoid in the North.
"Excuse me?" The women asked politely. "Is that woman injured?" She pointed to the exhausted looking Yashima in Ichigo's arms, who was still crying softly into his shirt.
Like a deer caught in headlights Ichigo was at a loss as to what to say, he really hadn't expected for the huge power source he'd felt on his first night after winging Musubi would be standing right in front of him like she was asking for the time of day. Then her question seemed to sink in and he shook his head.
"N-no," He replied quickly. "She's exhausted though and we don't have anywhere to sleep for tonight, we've been looking for a place to stay for awhile now but nothing's come up."
"Oh?" The woman covered her mouth with her hand. "That's terrible. You won't find many hotels or apartments on this side of town, most of those are in the residential and tourism districts in the South and West."
"We kind of figured..." Ichigo looked uncomfortable. Hell, anyone would look uncomfortable around the sheer presence the woman had. It was easily as powerful as a high ranking captain in sheer Reiryoka density. How he hadn't realized she was there before confused him, maybe she had dampened her spiritual pressure to where people couldn't sense it unless they were absolutely trying to find it or were so close you couldn't help but feel it.
"This simply won't do." The woman shook her head. "My name is Miya Asama and I run the Izumo Inn down the road from here. If you're looking for a place to stay, I have some openings for tenants." She frowned slightly at Ichigo's hesitance. "Of course I won't allow you to sleep on the streets on a night like this, you may stay there for tonight and leave in the morning if you wish."
Oh that sounded too good to be true for Ichigo's liking. "What's the catch?" Ichigo asked cautiously. "I can't expect you to house three complete strangers on a whim."
Miya's frown dipped down into a small sad smile. "My late husband was a man who never turned away people in need, his bad habits rubbed on to me when he passed. I've done my best to follow in his footsteps and helping people whenever I can."
Okaaay, that's a new one. Ichigo was used to people with that kind of Reiryoka trying to kill him by now. people with that level of power tended to stab first ask questions later and it showed in the general 'feel' of their Reiryoka. Miya's wasn't entirely unpleasant per se. In fact, she felt rather upbeat and even 'flowery' in a way. But, underneath that was a tiny fraction of sadness and regret that hit Ichigo square in the face. It was the feeling of someone who had spent a life fighting and killing to find their life hollow and empty at the end of their journey. Ichigo knew that feeling, he had fought too many people who had that mindset not to see it.
He felt it now, without even having to clash swords with the woman. Ichigo wondered idly what he would feel if he ever tried to read her Reiryoka? Or maybe if she was a Sekirei that used a blade, if he ever chose to cross swords with her...what memories would he dig up that cause the woman such sadness?
"Alright." He said finally, shaking the uncomfortable thoughts from his mind. "Lead the way."
Miya made a small sound of assent and started walking along the road that Ichigo had been walking, taking a few side streets several times until they ended up at a large, two story, traditional Japanese style home. It sat on a fairly large patch of land and the entirety of it was surrounded by a head high wooden fence. All in all it looked kind of cozy now that Ichigo had gotten a good look at it. Not that it make him lower his guard any around the powerful woman leading them there. But it was still a nice place to live if they did indeed choose to live there.
"I'm home" The woman spoke up. Her voice, while soft, carried through every room of the house. "I've brought guests."
"What? Really?" A brown haired head poked around the corner of one of the rooms to greet Miya and Ichigo. "Hey Miya. Who'dya drag home like a stray cat this time?" The girl eyed Ichigo up and down, noticing the girl in his arms and the one behind him looking rather oblivious to everything. "Wow Miya, did you decide to get yourself a boyfriend or something? He's actually pretty cute."
"Uzume." Miya's smile turned sickly sweet for a moment which had the desired effect of cowing the poor girl as she pulled back to where only her eyes and the top of her head peeked out.
"Please!" Uzume pleaded. "I'll be good."
"Hmn" Miya smiled that fake smile "See that you do, and please don't walk around without your panties on again, at least not while the guest are staying here." The pink haired landlady sighed again when Uzume's eyes widened slightly, muttering a quick "One Second" as she disappeared around the corner and several frantic footsteps could be heard heading upstairs.
Miya shook her head "That was Uzume" She pointed up at the ceiling. "She lives on the second floor. Room two oh three."
"Ah Miya, you're back." Another head poked out of one of the rooms, this one seemed to be a bedroom rather than the living room that Uzume had disappeared from. It was also crowned with the most silvery white hair Ichigo had ever seen and on a guy who looked about as old as he was. "I'm guessing Uzume forgot her panties again?" The androgynous looking man asked? At least Ichigo hoped that was a man, by the sound of his voice and the feminine features he could have passed off as a women if he wore a bit of drag.
"Yes." Miya replied evenly. "And we have guests tonight." She gestured behind her with the hand that wasn't carrying groceries.
The Silver haired men gave the three a once over, eyes sharpening slightly when they fell on the girl in Ichigo's arms. A look which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared as he let out a small smile. "Name's Kagari."
Ichigo had watched the interplay between Miya and the two other guests curiously, before something hit his senses right on the nose. BOTH Uzume and Kagari were Sekirei. It was hard to tell over the overwhelming power of Miya, but he definitely felt it. They were both easily low captain class Sekirei in power and it was probably only Miya's power that had hidden the two to his senses when he first scanned the city. And now he was on edge, not only was there one, but now three captain class Sekirei that he'd have to deal with if they proved to be hostile. Their interaction thus far hadn't had any ill intent in it, but you could never be too careful in situations like these.
"Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki." He nodded to the only other male there. "This is Yashima" He nodded to the girl in his arms who was near to falling asleep in his arms. "And that's Musubi."
"I'm a Sekirei." Musubi replied happily, waving to Kagari.
"Musubi." Ichigo sighed, really he needed to teach her some tact one of these days, she seemed to be really, really dense when she wanted to be. "Never mind."
Kagari snorted but said nothing.
"I think it's about time I started diner." Miya spoke up, cutting off the tense situation before it started. "I hope you'll be joining us this evening?" She turned to address the trio behind her.
At that moment Musubi's stomach decided to make itself known by growling loudly.
"Ufufufu, I'll take that as a yes." Miya chuckled to herself. "Make yourselves comfortable, it will be ready shortly."
-ooo-
After diner, Miya had shown them the room that they would be sharing, it was a tight fit for three people in one room but Ichigo had insisted for Yashima's sake. Miya looked curiously at Ichigo, but didn't press the issue. The girl hadn't said one word during diner, and had Miya been with Ichigo the entire time she would have known that the girl hadn't said anything but 'Ashikabi-sama' all day, and that was only two or three times before she had clammed up since then.
Thankfully Ichigo had the foresight to let the two girls sleep together, letting them take comfort in each others presence. He wouldn't be joining them just yet, he had seen the look Miya had flashed him when she had showed them their room. She wanted to talk to him and he'd be a fool to ignore her. So, following the energy to its source he found Miya sitting comfortably in Seiza, sipping tea while looking out into the yard.
Ichigo joined the woman in a similar sitting position and waited for her to speak first. It was only courteous as she had asked him here.
After around 15 minutes of almost total silence the woman spoke up, breaking the quiet of the sounds of nature around them.
"No." She replied simply.
"What?" Ichigo turned his head, almost surprised by the woman's abrupt words.
"No, I'm not a threat. No, I wont harm you and your Sekirei and no, I have nothing to do with Minaka and his Sekirei Plan."
"How did-?" He tried to ask but she cut him off.
"You tensed up the moment you saw me." She explained simply. "The same with Kagari and Uzume. You considered all three of us a threat and were ready to fight or run without knowing who we were. Either you are overly cautious or you knew that we were dangerous." She turned to regard the man, a look of blank curiosity on her face. "Not many people can feel a Sekirei's presence, much less my own like you can and those that do tend to stay far away in fear. From what I can see of the young girls condition I assume you were attacked?"
Ichigo nodded. "You've met people like me then?"
"I assumed as much." She sighed. "And yes, I've met people who could sense Sekirei, one in particular was a rather talented fighter and called me something along the lines of 'Hollow' before yelling something at me and running away as if his soul depended on it. Does that word mean anything to you?" She asked curiously seeing a look of recognition in his eyes.
"Evil spirit." He replied gruffly. "Chases after the souls of loved ones before devouring it, creating another Hollow. Some people like me are special, we stop them and purify the souls, sending them to heaven. Or hell, if they were evil in life." He felt oddly comfortable telling the landlady that for some reason. Maybe it was because she had been honest with him as well. His honor and pride demanded no less in the face of her sincerity
"That was about the gist of what the man said to me." She nodded, the idea that there were evil spirits not really bothering the woman. She knew that the Tama was essentially a Sekirei's soul, so why wouldn't human's have souls? And why couldn't they be evil or purified like stories say? Miya was a very open minded woman like that it seemed.
"There are two rules in Maison Izumo." She explained, setting her tea cup down to stare at him intently. "No Illicit behavior and no fighting. As long as I am here there will be none of either or their will be consequences, Understood?" She raised a single eyebrow in his direction, indicating for him to respond.
"Yes." He nodded. "So-"
"Yes, you can stay, it's fifty thousand yen per month. And no, harm will not come to any of you as long as you are under this roof, you have my word."
Ichigo stared at the woman for several long moments, his eyes searching hers for any deception, when he found none he nodded. "I...need to get some air...will you-"
"Yes, I'll keep an eye on them." She nodded.
"Thank you." He bowed lightly, grateful for the woman's hospitality. It was strange how he'd felt so on edge around the woman at first and now he was almost too comfortable around the woman after such a short conversation. Ichigo blamed it on his Fullbring reading the Reiryoka she was exuding. Everything he sensed from the woman was entirely sincere, there wasn't a single drop of deceit in her words. And when she had given her word, he could feel her conviction in keeping it.
His earlier tenseness all but gone, Ichigo went back to the room he shared with his Sekirei to check on them. A small grin spread across his lips when he saw that Yashima had cuddled into Musubi chest and was hugging the girl like an oversized plush toy, it helped that a shadow of a smile was on her face as well.
Turning away, Ichigo walked to the door leading out of the Inn. He really did need to get some air and sort through all that had happened that day and the best way he did that was through training or strenuous exercise, something he couldn't do in the relative quiet of the Inn.
Closing the door behind him Ichigo leapt out into the night, a single line of green light following after him.
-ooo-
Bet you didn't see THAT fucking coming now did you? I angered the HELL out of this chapter, then I saddened the HELL out of this chapter. Pulling something out of my ass that I've thought about using from the beginning. Yume restores Musubi's crest with that benehenhenhenhne bitch that I cant remember her proper name destroy's it. So why couldn't she restore a different Sekirei's crest if she had the extra Reiryoka to do so?
Like I said last chapter angst/comedy/angst/comedy. I just surprised myself this time that I made this sooooo tear jerky. I actually kinda cried a bit TT_TT
Also I hope you can all appreciate the semi-serious/semi-humorous AN at the top, I'm not trying to be a dick but I've had a shitty day and hatters gonna hat.
Fun fact: I channeled my anger into Ichigo's anger, could you tell?
Peace yo