Demonic Infection
By: Amethyst Ichigo
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Warning: N/A
Summary: Unohana trust Ichigo, three parts of Ichigo discover something about their king, Ichigo becomes a mystery, Isshin wants to kill something, and a Soul Society meeting.
/Yo./ Hichigo talking
/Hello./ Rei and Zangetsu talking
Chapter 7-Training is Hell on any World
Unohana waited till the two regular visitors of Kurosaki-kun left before visiting him again.
"Kurosaki-kun," She said walking into his room.
"Unohana-san? Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked noticing the something was wrong with the calm 4th division captain.
Unohana nearly gulped at Ichigo's question, was she really that obvious? Was her mask slipping? She resisted the urge to put her hand to her face.
"Oh, nothing." She calmly said, but she wasn't so calm. "Your reiatsu has been unstable recently and-."
"You don't have to lie." Ichigo said emotionlessly cutting Unohana off.
Unohana looked at him in surprise, lost for words.
How did he know?
"Rukia and Renji are my nakama but they are horrible liars. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on, and then your unwillingness to do what you've going to do clued me in." Ichigo said answering her unsaid questions. He looked up at her with unreadable eyes.
Unohana was beyond shocked.
If he knew then why…?
"I may not like being stuck in Soul Society, but if it means protecting my family and the people I care about, then I will do everything in my power to protect them. Regardless of what it may be." He vowed.
Unohana was blown away by Ichigo's answer.
"But why reveal yourself to me?" She asked. "Kuchiki-chan, or Abarai-kun are your nakama so why not them?"
"They are my nakama but this is something they can't be involved in this. There's more going on then anyone realizes, and they're in enough trouble as it. I trust them, but I can't trust Soul Society not do another execution because they know something."
Unohana nodded.
She could understand those reasons. Ichigo couldn't trust Soul Society not to execute Rukia again for knowing information she shouldn't have, or make her life harder. The same could be said for Renji. Unohana felt pity for Ichigo, he was sacrificing everything for the people he cared about. Besides the only reason Ichigo was revealing himself to her was because regardless if anything happened, one could actually point out that she had any connection to the orange-haired teenager.
The four division captain had new respect for one called Ichigo Kurosaki.
"I see," Unohana said smiling at Ichigo. "I shall keep this conversation between you and me. Though I still have to put this neck brace on you, or they'll be suspicious."
She didn't have to say who 'they' were it was evident she meant the Soul Society.
"I understand." Ichigo replied letting Unohana place the brace around his neck.
"Its from twelfth division so be wary, it seals most of your reiatsu and constantly monitors your location."
She smiled and walked to the door then was about to leave when she turned to Ichigo.
"Thank you for trusting me, Ichigo-kun." She said walking out. She added the honorific to his first name as both a sigh of respect and endearment. Ichigo was now a part of division family.(1)
Ichigo watched her vanish though the door before closing his eyes and laying back, entering his inner world.
(0o0)
Unohana wasn't the only one blown away by Ichigo's answers and his calm demeanor, all three inhabitants of Ichigo's inner world were too.
/What the fuck did you do to him?!/ Hichigo yelled at Rei not liking the drastic change their King went though.
It was one thing for the King to be his usual self and kick butt then ask questions later, but it was quite another thing for him to be logically like this. Just how much was Rei affecting him?
/Its not what I'm doing to him./ Rei enlightened Hichigo. /It more what he's doing to us./
/Just say it already!/ Hichigo yelled.
/We're all parts of the same soul, so its that as Ichigo accepts us, he incorporates some of our personalities into his own and vice verse./ Rei pointed to himself. /Notice how we're slightly different from how we used to be?/
Hichigo didn't say anything and simply glared.
/I rest my case, as you just glared at me in a manner very similar to Ichigo-sama./ Rei pointed out. /Before you constantly complained about fighting, but now your more mellow, not to mention more blunt./
/I have not changed!/ Hichigo argued fighting a losing battle.
/Yes you have Hichigo-kun, and so have I, so stop yelling. Ichigo-sama is here./
Ichigo was going to say hello, but the fighting between Rei and Hichigo was earsplitting.
Ichigo instead turned to Zangetsu.
"What's with them?" He mouthed.
/The merging of your soul has altered all of our personalities slightly./ Zangetsu explained.
"Oh, that makes sense."
/What training do you want to do?/ Rei asked quickly ending the fight with Hichigo.
"I get a choice?" Ichigo asked. Usually Rei and Zangetsu decide for him.
/Only for a couple of days, until you master everything we've taught you./
"So intense training on Kuroishoshi, reiatsu control, master sealed state, and long distance Shunpo?" Ichigo asked remembering all he learned since the start of his training.
/Right./ Rei told him. /But you'll be fighting against Hichigo-kun, and Zangetsu-san at the same time./
Ichigo groaned.Talk about unfair,it was two against one.
Both opponents circled around Ichigo and took care to be facing him from opposite directions.
/You better put up a good fight, Aibo,or this wouldn't be fun otherwise…/
"You say that now, Hichigo. But we'll see after I defeat you." Ichigo said.
Hichigo rolled his eyes, making everyone think Ichigo influenced him the most.
/Start./ Rei said.
The figures of Hichigo and Zangetsu rushed and striked. Ichigo knew this was coming and started using long distance shunpo to attack Hichigo from behind using his sealed Zangetsu, which was a medium sakabato.(2)
Hichigo countered using his own sword.
Zangetsu copied Ichigo and attacked his back…or would have.
Ichigo sped away from them and jumped into the air.
He pressed one hand along the edge of the blade.
"Kuroishoshi." Several sets of black slashes rained down on the two below.
Hichigo casually dodged the attack while Zangetsu cut the blades of reiatsu down dispersing them.
Hichigo followed Ichigo into the air.
"Getsuga Tensho." He aimed at the shinagami.
Ichigo refused to dodge sending the same attack.
The reiatsu slashes collided as well as exploding sending a blinding black light everywhere.
/Nice try, Ichigo-sama./ Rei said knowing Ichigo probably wouldn't hear him.
When the light vanished Ichigo and his challengers could barely be seen as they clashed at shunpo sped all over the inner world.
One moment they were in front of Rei the next they were behind him being plowed though one of the skyscrapers.
What astound Rei the most besides the fact Ichigo was keeping up with Hichigo and Zangetsu was the fact they he was counterattacking them instead of being forced into defensive mode by them.
Ichigo was up against two equally powerful opponents and was keeping up.
/Has he really gotten that strong?/ Rei whispered watching the fight continue.
Ichigo just slammed his blade into Hichigo's zanpaktou throwing him into building, and let Hichigo fly while he turned to Zangetsu and let loose a Getsuga Tensho.
Zangetsu scarcely managed to dodge before sending a Kuroishoshi of his own at Ichigo.
The attack bread into Ichigo's body and he was thrown in the direction of a blue skyscraper.
Hichigo blurred as raced after him.
Ichigo crashed into the structure as Hichigo swing his blade down on the figure of Ichigo.
It looked like he got him,but looks can be decieving...
"Looking for me?" Ichigo said reappeared behind Hichigo,bring his blade down on the hollow cutting him on the shoulder.
/Basterd./ Hichigo hissed jumping back from Ichigo, glaring.
Zangetsu joined the fight once more as he raised his blade high above his head and came down on Ichigo.
Ichigo evaded the slash as best he could but he still ended up sliced arm.
/Ichigo-sama you still haven't used Reiatsu control./ Rei told him as the battle got heated again.
"I know," Ichigo managed to say only just avoiding the blades of Zangetsu and Hichigo who were now fighting in unison.
/Faster Zangetsu, I'm going to beat the crap out of Aibo./
Zangetsu nodded, making the pace of the fight speed up once more.
Rei watched in suspense as the fight started to get bloody.
Zangetsu and Hichigo shared a look before shunpoing to opposite sides of Ichigo.
/Getsuga Tensho./ They both said combining their attacks leaving Ichigo no room to dodge and even less time to think.
Ichigo saw the Getsugas coming and acted on instinct and drew his blade across the reiatsu, his vision warped drastically and then it clearing… the Getsugas that were approaching him were gone.
Leaving only a mystery of why.
/WHAT THE FUCK!?/ Hichigo voiced for the collective four, abet a bit more foul mouthed.
Rei give him a look that said if-I-knew-I-would-tell-you, before walking over to Ichigo and healing his wounds. Ichigo couldn't return to his body with wounds lest someone suspect something.
/What happened?/ Hichigo asked again shunpoing in front of Rei and pulling him up by his collar.
For some reason Hichigo seemed to have this notion that the answer would just appear for him if he kept asking.
Rei looked just as confused as the others, and Ichigo was looking at his blade trying to figure out the same question.
/I don't know…/ Rei said still perplexed at what had taken place. /I just don't know…/
/Enough Ichigo./ Zangetsu ordered banishing his sword. Ichigo followed suit and did the same.
/Zangetsu's right, it very clear that you've mastered phase one of your training./ Rei told Ichigo smiling.
Ichigo took it for what it was and thanked them.
"Thanks."
/We'll resume tomorrow, go get some rest Ichigo-sama./ Rei directed trying to field some of the confusion still circling after what Ichigo did.
"See you later." Ichigo told them vanishing from his inner world to do just that.
(0o0)
Isshin Kurosaki was usually a very patient man, but patience went out the window when his oldest son was kidnapped by the very organization he himself abandoned.
It had only been one day since his long time friend Urahara Kisuke started working on an alternate way to enter Soul Society, and still Isshin couldn't sit still.
He was very worried for Ichigo and what the twelfth division could be doing to his son.
Normally, he'd let Ichigo handle whatever mess that came up…but if he lost Ichigo, he'd never be able to look Masaki in the eye when he finally did die.
To lose the son, his wife had saved would be more then Isshin could bear.
No, that wouldn't happen, Ichigo was strong.
"Hold on Ichigo…"
(0o0)
"Vice-captain Abarai, Kuchiki Rukia could you tell everyone what transpired when you met Kurosaki Ichigo?" Yamamoto sou-taichou asked.
"Hai, Yamamoto-taichou," Both said but Rukia actually explained.
"When fuku-taichou Abarai arrived at Kurosaki Ichigo's hospital room, he was already awake and started talking to us. We spoke of casual conversation for fifteen minutes before Ichigo asked about training." Rukia looked at Renji and let him continue for them.
"Rukia simply replied that it hadn't been decided, and that it would probably included Kido and reiatsu control. Kurosaki Ichigo merely nodded started a slight argument with Abarai-fuku-taichou. About ten minutes later, Unohana-taichou came to get us so Ichigo could sleep." Renji said.
Rukia and Renji shared a slight look.
Ichigo seemed distracted throughout their whole visit.
Was something wrong?
"Training, will be a difficult issue. Unohana-taichou did you put the reiatsu brace on him?"
She nodded calming, not showing a hint of the anger she felt at doing what she did.
"Kurosaki Ichigo should train with a kido master, to gain the skills needed." Unohana said plotting. "I wouldn't mind teaching him."
Yamamoto nodded.
"Reiatsu control, I could take over." Ukitake said.
Kenpachi looked sour.
"Ichigo should stay in the eleventh division barracks," Kenpachi said. "We wouldn't want his skill to rust…"
Rukia sweat dropped. Renji just gave Kenpachi a disbelieving look.
Like that was all he was going to do…
Surely Yamamoto-taichou wouldn't agree with that…?
"Then its decide, Kurosaki Ichigo will stay in Eleventh Division's barracks and train with Ukitake and Unohana-taichou. Zaraki-taichou you are not allow to fight with Kurosaki Ichigo. " Yamamoto-taichou said deciding.
Renji felt his mouth drop to the ground.
Yamamoto-taichou just agreed to send Ichigo to Eleventh division.
Had Soul Society lost its mind?
Renji wasn't the only one questioning this,several other people were wndering this too…
(0o0)
Orihime, and Tatsuki arrived in front of the Kurosaki Clinic with worried faces as they rang the door bell.
(0o0)
1)A division family is not a real family but they do care about each other like brothers and sisters.
2)A sakabato is a reversed blade sword. Ichigo's a pure white with a chain looking exactly like his bankai.
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PREVIEW FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
Yamamoto tentively picked up the file marked Kurosaki Ichigo and started to read.
His eyebrows rose at what he read...
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