WARNING!
This chapter includes: child abuse, forced feeding, implied/referenced eating disorder.
The child abuse is the first scene.
The forced feeding is inside the first scene! If it is particularly triggering, the specific part starts in bold at: "I'm sorry. I-I just..." and it ends at: "A gentle touch..."
You have been warned!
It was completely silent around the dinner table. Yuzu pushed around her barely eaten food, eyes momentarily glancing up towards her twin sister. Karin was slowly chewing her third bite, now going on for five minutes, and gives an almost non-existent shrug before glancing over at their big brother.
Ichigo sat to the right of their father, food still untouched while Isshin was eating his second plate. His smile was plastered on his face despite the pallid color and his twitching fingers.
This wasn't meant to happen, but Isshin forced them all to have one more "family" dinner before Ichigo leaves for his "trip". Kisuke hasn't given the sign to head to the shōten yet, but Ichigo wants to leave this house. He needs to.
"Ichigo, what are you doing? Eat your food!" Isshin exclaims loudly, his food filled mouth not even hindering the warning in his tone. The flinch couldn't be completely stopped and Ichigo pales even more as he forces his eyes to stay downcast.
"I... I'm not hungry, Goat Face," Ichigo answers calmly, voice pitched to be cheerful. And he really isn't hungry.
He knows that tasting the food will just make him sick from the sour taste and even the thought of food makes him feel ill. Normally he struggles to eat normally and he can usually force himself to eat something, but it doesn't help that he's feeling anxious about what will begin tonight. The start of the mission to save Rukia.
"Eh? What do you mean? Yuzu slaved over this dinner and you're just gonna let it go to waste?! What a big brother you are!" Isshin states loudly, placing down his plate and his chopsticks.
Yuzu and Karin both tense, heads snapping up. Yuzu swallows and slowly turns her head towards their father.
"Goat Face... It's okay! I can save it for one of us tomor–"
"Don't defend your big brother! He can't be wasting the food you cook and I pay for!" Isshin interrupts with a deepening frown.
"...I'm sorry Goat Face, Yuzu, but... I'm just not hungry!" Ichigo restates before he finally forces himself to look up at his father. His eyes remain pointed at Isshin's nose, refusing to even see any hint of the anger in his eyes.
"Eat your dinner."
The smile freezes on Ichigo's face as his stomach rolls. "I'm... I'm not hungry..."
"I told you to eat your fucking dinner!" Isshin shouts before reaching a hand forward.
A cry is ripped from Ichigo's mouth before he could prepare for the hit that makes him fly out of the chair. He bites his cheek and a stab of pain hits his lower stomach. He's gonna pay for that...
"Kill 'im! Gut 'im like a fish!" Kazuki screeches loudly, pushing up to the front of Ichigo's mind. Ichigo keeps him back with a wince as a headache forms.
"G-Goat Face! R-really, it's okay!" Yuzu cries out, but carefully keeps herself seated. Isshin stands up and grabs Ichigo's hair from the scalp to lift him up. Ichigo swallows a whimper as his hands instinctively reach up to hold onto Isshin's wrist.
"I'm sorry. I-I just... I don't feel hungry," Ichigo speaks quietly, almost pleading.
Ichigo's stomach lurches when fingers are forced into his mouth before food is shoved inside. His hands reach over to try and push Isshin away as he gags. He chokes on the food as his head is forcefully tilted upwards by the grip around his hair and his jaw is held shut. Tears form a glassy film over his eyes at the pain and the sudden gut-wrenching nausea.
Ichigo tries to gag, only to make the food go further down his throat. He instinctively swallows, even when bile rises up in his throat. He swallows all the food inside his mouth whole before gagging.
Isshin rips his hand away from Ichigo's jaw, making the gagging echo in the room. The air is kicked out of Ichigo's lungs when a foot roughly slams into his stomach. Ichigo curls over his stomach and vomits up the food he was forced to eat and the bile he was forced to swallow back. The grip around his hair forces him to throw up all over Isshin's leg instead of the floor like he wanted too.
"Rebellious little brat! You just ruined our family dinner! Can't you just listen to your elders for once? I'm getting sick and tired of your attitude in this house!" Isshin shouts before grabbing another fistful of more food. "Eat it all, you brat!"
"Goat Face! Stop it! You're making him sick!" Karin screams while she stands up.
Isshin forces more food into Ichigo's mouth and almost forces it shut before Karin kicks him away. The grip around Ichigo's hair is ripped away and he uses the sudden freedom to fall over the ground. He spits out the food still in his mouth before heaving.
A gentle touch on his back makes Ichigo flinch away instinctively. An invisible touch, cold and rough, presses against the back of his neck while Kazuki purrs quietly in Ichigo's mind. Mirai drags his hand up into Ichigo's hair and eases the aching from Isshin's harsh pull.
The familiar sense of spider lilies attempting to claw out of his lungs and the scent of a wisteria mist. Ichigo leans into the gentle touch as it clicks, heaving up more bile.
Yuzu carefully pulls back the loose strands of Ichigo's hair before rubbing her hand up and down his back. "It's okay... we know you're nervous..."
Ichigo pants for air as he hangs his head. He forces the smell and the sight of the bile out of his mind.
"Nīsan..." Karin slides up on the other side of Ichigo. "Let's get you in the bathroom. I locked the bastard outside."
"...l-language..." Ichigo opens his eyes to give his little sister a small look before he starts to stand up. Yuzu and Karin help him up when his knees buckle and help him towards the bathroom.
"Of course you'd worry about that!" Karin states with a small eye roll and a forced smile.
It doesn't ease the tension or the fear, but it helps them all pretend. Pretend that they were safe inside this damned house.
Ichigo traces the edge of his swollen cheek, running through the empty streets of Karakura Town. He was almost at the shōten and his face only just started to swell.
He was clean of any other evidence of what usually happens during Isshin's "family" dinners. He wore a fresh set of clothes, a black long sleeved turtleneck crop top, a sarashi wrap around his stomach, black baggy jeans, three belts with only one keeping the pants up and the other two hanging off his hip, a pair of black clogs, and his butterfly haori. Rukia's sword was strapped to his back inside its cloth bag, waiting to be unsheathed.
His hair was pulled back into a ponytail with his butterfly clip, a few long strands already falling out and conveniently in front of the swollen side of his face. It won't do much in terms of a distraction, but it's better than purposely trying to hide it and making anyone suspicious.
But, it's fine! Just a lucky punch from some gangster. Yeah. Just that!
"He don't deserve t' be ignored! Let me out. Let me kill 'im, King!" Kazuki hisses, completely denying Ichigo's lie about his injury. Ichigo takes a deep breath and ignores Kazuki, pushing away the thoughts of what happened earlier that night.
"Ichigo." Mirai makes his presence known inside Ichigo's mind, making the teenager clench his fists at his sides. He continues to ignore both parts of Zangetsu while he walks up to the shōten.
"...ere he is! Kurosaki-kun! You were almost..." Orihime lowers her hand and stares at the clearly forced smile on Ichigo's slightly swollen face. "Kurosaki-kun... what happened?"
"Moshi, moshi! Sorry about my delayed arrival. There were a few... gangsters wanting some revenge from their last beat down with me!" Ichigo greets cheerfully, voice still hoarse from his vomiting earlier that evening.
"My, and I was worried you had gotten chicken feet!" Kisuke states with just as much cheer, making Ichigo laugh.
"Ara, ara! Insulting the one you trained is not a nice thing to do, Geta-bōshi-san! You might get kicked where you don't want to be kicked one day when you insult the wrong person!" Ichigo folds his hands into his haori and walks further into the little group. He purposely ignores Tatsuki's hardened scowl pointed at his swollen cheek.
"Now then, are we going? We don't have much time to waste!" Ichigo continues brightly, diverting the attention from his swollen cheek.
"Come in and I'll explain it to you guys. How to get to Soul Society. Please listen carefully, otherwise you guys might die before you arrive," Kisuke states, quicksilver eyes peering from beneath his bucket hat.
"Ara, ara. You're much too dramatic for one in the morning, Geta-bōshi-san," Ichigo teases as he walks forward to follow the shopkeeper into the shōten. "It makes you seem even creepier than your normal creepiness!"
"Me? Creepy? Kurosaki-kun, you hurt me so much!" Ichigo just smiles at the statement and follows Kisuke towards the entrance of the basement. His hands twitch when Tatsuki comes up from behind him, careful to walk slightly in front.
"You're worrying over nothing, Tatsuki," Ichigo speaks softly, making shoulders tense and fists clenched.
Tatsuki whirls around once they reach the entrance to the basement and pokes a finger against Ichigo's chest. Orihime and Chad lead Uryū around them and follow Kisuke down into the basement.
"Don't you dare. Don't you dare say it's nothing! You–"
"–me nothing! It was just some gangster!" Ichigo hisses defensively. "Let it go, Tatsuki! Now is not the time to worry about me! Rukia's more important right now!"
"Ichigo! Ichigo!" The orange haired teenager reaches over the tatami and jumps down the hole into the basement. His stomach rolls once he starts to fall, swallowing back the resurging nausea. His feet hit the ground with barely a sound as he lands in a crouch.
Ichigo closes his eyes and breathes deeply to try and hold back his anger for the entire situation unrelated to what he was about to attempt to accomplish. He stands up and sighs before forcing a smile on his face. He starts walking the group standing in the middle of the basement once he hears Tatsuki slide down the ladder behind him.
"Kurosaki-kun! Don't do that again! You scared me!" Orihime exclaims loudly, bounding up to her fellow ginger with wide eyes. Ichigo blinks before his mouth twitches into a genuine smile.
"Ara, ara! Don't worry about me, Inoue-san. A fall from that height won't hurt me easily," Ichigo reassures brightly, making Orihime frown. Ichigo blinks at the obvious discontent surrounding her and opens his mouth to speak again before he's suddenly pushed forward.
His body crumples to the ground while he whirls around, a hand gripping around the end of the cane that had pushed him out of his body. Ichigo's eyes stared into quicksilver eyes, wide and distrusting. He quickly releases the cane and steps back, blinking away the fear that clawed at his heart.
"Oh!" Uryū, Chad, and Orihime surround Ichigo's body with Tatsuki leaning over her best friend from behind, looking at it in interest.
"He's been completely separated," Uryū comments offhandedly as if it was some sort of science fair spectacle.
"Hey, then Kurosaki-kun, you can't enter this Kurosaki-kun over here?" Orihime asks brightly, turned to face Ichigo while pointing at his body.
"Of course! You're saying it as if I'm Kintarō's candy!" Ichigo's smile tightens as he hides his hands inside his haori. "Ara, ara. I don't appreciate you all freely touching my body. It can send the wrong message, you know!"
"That's right! That body will soon be temporarily mine! You guys should not just touch it!" Kon's voice shouts from Ichigo's shoulder, making him glance over.
He smiles brightly with a hum and grabs the crow plushie by the scruff. "Oh? Kon-kun, I didn't expect you to be here! I thought I had left you with Eda-kun to play!"
"Play?! Play?! That bird wants to kill me! Look!" Kon shoves his pierced wing in Ichigo's face. "He stabbed me with a knife! Through my wing! And! He tried to bury me alive!"
"Oh, he just loves to play fight with knives!" Ichigo exclaims with a wave of his hand. He doesn't notice the gobsmacked expressions of Orihime or Uryū. It never really hit him that a talking toy could bring about some questions.
"Play fight?! Why you–" Kon screeches as a large hand lifts his from Ichigo's grip. He turns around and squawks in fear as Chad stares at him with a small blush. He always liked cute things.
"Okay, look over here! I'm starting the explanation of this door!" Kisuke brings all attention back to him.
"What door?" Tatsuki asks with a furrowed frown.
Kisuke grins before he raps his knuckles against plain air. A warbling noise echoes through the basement before four paper-mache-like pillars appear in the form of an entryway.
"This is the door to Soul Society. Senkaimon... usually the door is made by adding reishihenkanki to the top of the senkaimon and the use of ketsugōfu to cover it up so it stays together."
"Reishihenkanki?" Ichigo perks up in his curiosity.
"Yes. As you know, Soul Society is the world of souls... In order to go there, you have to be a soul. But as you all know, the only one who can move around as a soul is Kurosaki-kun, who is a Shinigami. For others, even if their souls are separated from their bodies, they're still chained by the Chain of Fate. Not to mention, to go to Soul Society, it's even hard to move," Kisuke continues calmly before holding up a finger with a smile.
"That's why there's a need for a reishihenkanki! This thing changes the kishi–which makes up the things in the living world–into reishi, which is the main components of souls!"
"...so it means we don't have to separate the souls, we just have to go through the door," Uryū summarizes as everything starts to make sense.
"Right! You guys can go to Soul Society in your original form!" Kisuke affirms cheerfully.
"Alright then! Let's get to it!" Tatsuki cracks her knuckles with a grin and walks forward. Kisuke uses his cane to give Tatsuki's side a harsh poke.
"Fuck!"
"Ara, ara! Tatsuki, always as brash as usual!" Ichigo teases his childhood friend as she leans against a rock wall with a hand over her side. She flips the teenager off with a glare, making Ichigo smile just a bit wider.
"Arisawa-chan is correct! There's no problem with going through this door. Reishihenkanki won't bring pain, and as long as you go forward, you can go to Soul Society." Kisuke's expression becomes serious while he holds his finger in front of his face. "The problem is time. The time allowed to go through the senkaimon to Soul Society... is only four minutes."
"Ara, ara... that's quite a short time frame..." Ichigo comments casually, a finger tapping his chin in thought.
"Once the time is up, the door will close, and you guys will be forever locked... inside the Dangai," The shopkeeper continues as if Ichigo never said anything at all.
"Such a menacing name!" Ichigo comments again.
"Plus, inside the Dangai, In order to prevent enemies such as Hollows, it's filled with a current called Kōryū, which can stop souls from moving. Just one foot caught by it, the chance of leaving the Dangai in time is almost impossible." Kisuke ignores Ichigo's comment once more.
"Then... what should we do?" Orihime asks slowly, concern and worry battling in her expression.
"Just walk forward."
Ichigo's hands twitch as a cat walks forward from in between his legs. He forces a smile on his face and crouches down.
"Neko-kun! I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't walk up from behind me!" Ichigo exclaims as he pats the black cat a few times.
"Didn't I tell you? The heart and the soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks." Yoruichi stops before the reishihenkanki and sits down. "Only those who can do it may follow me."
"Inspiring," Tatsuki states sarcastically with an eye roll.
"Ara, ara. Such a dramatic cat! And such a useless warning!" Ichigo exclaims brightly while he stands up. He tenses minutely at the constant presence of his friends behind him.
"We all chose this on our own. And we are all determined to follow it! It's quite disrespectful of all the training you both put us through, you know!" Ichigo lightly admonishes the cat, smiling brightly.
"This isn't something to be taken lightly with smiles and little quips, kid. If you lose, you will never return," Yoruichi retorts harshly, giving the teenager a slight glare.
Ichigo hums as his smile grows wider. "Ye of little faith! Rukia-san is waiting for us, so we are going to win! And I'm not taking this lightly. I've even prepared a... gift of sorts!"
Ichigo walks over to his physical body, not noticing the blinks and blank stares of surprise and confusion everyone gives him. He grabs Rukia's sword and straps it to his back once more before digging through his pants pockets. He holds up his hidden tantō and five cases, each wrapped in a different colored ribbon. Apricot, sunny yellow, sky blue, lavender, and orange.
"Of course you'd pick a time like this to hand out presents. At least we aren't being held at gunpoint like last time," Tatsuki states with an exasperated sigh. It's nowhere near the first time and certainly will not be the last.
"Tatsuki-chan? What do you mean, held at gunpoint?" Orihime voices he immediate alarm everyone else was silently exhibiting.
"Something's not right with this entire thing. And I'm absolutely positive this entire thing is actually a framing of Rukia-san. So, I've prepared a case for each of you." Ichigo pretends Tatsuki didn't speak as he walks back over to the group.
He hands his friends each a case, keeping the orange one. Ichigo unties the ribbon before opening up the case, revealing six small modified syringes filled with a purple tinted clear liquid. Three had a red label, another two had a black label, and one had a blue label.
"I don't know who we will be up against, and I don't know if any of us will manage to defeat our opponents without killing them, so I wanted to be prepared." Ichigo takes out one of the syringes with a red label. "Rukia-san had told me that both Shinigami and Hollows have a... sensitivity to wisteria. So, I made some wisteria poison for each of us."
"Kill? Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime trails off with a pallid face and wide eyes.
Ichigo smiles reassuringly. "That's why I prepared non-lethal wisteria poison. The red labels are paralytic. I don't know how long any of this will last in a Shinigami's system, but it will at least give you some amount of time to run or knock them out."
"...and the other colors?" Tatsuki asks slowly, her expression grim and accepting as she stares at the apricot ribbon wrapped around her case. She knew better than anyone else that this was Ichigo's way of easing some of his anxiety.
"The black labels are a normal wisteria poison. It's enough of a dosage that it'll likely just cause a severe illness... of course because it is a sensitivity, some Shinigami may be more adverse to the effects. Which is why underneath the false bottom of the cases, there are three dosages of an antidote. They won't have a label," Ichigo answers calmly while putting one of his paralytic poisons back into his case.
"What's the blue one then if it's not the antidote?" Uryū asks after he grabs Ichigo's blue labelled syringe out of the case. Ichigo's smile disappears for the first time during this meeting. Tawny eyes glare at the syringe in Uryū's hands before Ichigo gently takes it back.
"...one that I hope none of us will have to use, even if we are likely going to fight to maim or fight to the death. I only made one for each of us and this specific antidote will not work on it, so I advise you all not to use it unless there is no other choice. I don't know what the ramifications will be against Shinigami, but... it will not be good no matter what happens. Like I said before, something weird is going on and I would prefer that we don't kill or maim anyone. Do you all understand?" Ichigo stares into each of his friends eyes to show how serious he is about this.
"Of course," Tatsuki answers almost immediately with no hesitation.
"Yes," Chad follows after with only a few moments to think about it.
"I... understand," Orihime hesitates, but doesn't let it ruin her genuine answer or her determination.
"Of course I understand!" Uryū states haughtily while pushing up his glasses. Ichigo kindly doesn't mention the reddening ears.
"Thank you," Ichigo sighs as his shoulders relax in his relief, "and don't worry about them accidentally breaking. I make sure that these syringes are made durable and I had these cases custom-made to be able to stop a bullet."
"Well then, what an interesting gift," Kisuke states with a smirk before it disappears. A loud noise echoes through the basement before a light slowly starts to form inside the reishihenkanki.
"Are you ready? The moment it's opened, you guys will dash in there."
"Yes, yes! And avoid the current from trapping us for eternity in the Dangai," Ichigo states brightly as he puts up his case of poisons.
"Kon-kun! Please take care of Yuzu and Karin. And avoid the clinic if you can. Goat Face believes I'm going on a trip," Ichigo calls over his shoulder with a wave towards the tied up Mod-Soul.
The reishihenkanki flashes brightly and Ichigo steps forward. "Let's go!"
Rukia
Rukia, we're coming.
Protect. Save. Save. Save. Protect. Protect.
A heavy thickness, invisible but dense, smothers and suffocates Rukia. She instinctively coughs in an attempt to clear her throat of any non-existent blockages. The smell of petrichor and the heaviness of the imaginary dusty fog surrounds her throat like a noose. Another cough manages to escape her throat, hoarse and scratchy, as she chokes on the smell and taste of wisteria.
Rukia falls to the ground and braces herself against the cold floor while heaving for breath. It felt like thousands of blades were pointed at her neck, inching closer and closer with each passing second. Tears fell out of her eyes and a sob escapes her throat next. She's never felt this presence before, but her soul immediately knows whose it is.
"Ichigo... Ichigo, I'm here. I'm waiting. Thank you... thank you!" Rukia curls over the ground and covers her mouth to muffle her sobs.
She–she can hear Ichigo again. She can feel him again! This... she's going to be saved and she's going to prove she was framed... even if she has to fight her way to the truth.
Rukia didn't expect the... bond to affect her this way. She was a whole person; her entire soul was whole, but... this bond. This soul bond. It made it feel... hollow–like an endless void while she and Ichigo were separated.
Relief washed over her, both her own and Ichigo's, increasing in an almost endless feedback loop to the point where Rukia was almost weeping in her hands. Ichigo must be crying too then.
"Rukia-san?! Rukia-san! What's wrong?!" Yamaha Hanatarō's voice and a clatter of something falling to the floor brings Rukia back to the present.
She laughs through her tears and looks up. "He's... he's here. Ichigo's here. I can–I can sense him..."
"Rukia-san..." Hanatarō trails off with wide eyes, watching Rukia dissolve into more sobbing. She shakes her head with her hands clasped to her chest where the center throbbed in phantom pain.
Loud alarm bells echo loudly throughout Seireitei, even in the barren cell of Rukia's. Hanatarō snaps his head up as Rukia laughs once more.
"Western outskirts have received an unusual reaction! Issue warnings from District 3 to District 8!" The announcement is repeated once more before being overrun by the muffled panicking footsteps from the 6th Division.
"I was... I was hoping I had more time... I have to get a message to Ukitake-taichō..." Rukia rubs her eyes, furiously wiping away her tears. How foolish is she? She can't let hope drive her now. Not when she hasn't tried everything to at least help Ichigo in some way.
"H-Hanatarō... Hanatarō, I need you to do something for me." Rukia looks up with wide eyes and crawls forward towards the bars of her cell. "Can you do something for me? Please. It's very important."
"What... what do you need me to do?" Hanatarō asks anxiously. He fidgets with his shihakushō at the somewhat hysterical determination on Rukia's face.
The imprisoned Shinigami breathes a sigh of relief before grabbing the end of her white kimono. Her face scrunches up with the effort as she rips a strip of cloth from the kimono. She turns it over and looks back up.
"I need you to deliver a message to Ukitake-taichō. And no one can know that it's from me. Please," Rukia pleads with the healer.
Hanatarō stares at her for a few long moments, the alarms still ringing loudly. He glances back towards the hallway before he kneels to be eye level with Rukia.
His face, despite being pale with fear, was set in determination. "Okay. I can do that for you."
Rukia huffs out an incredulous laugh before looking down at the strip of cloth. It still throws her for a loop that Hanatarō of all people believe her, even when her grace period before her execution is when they first met. It still may be impossible, but maybe less so than what she first thought.
Rukia nods her head to herself before using her thumbnail to dig into the back of her other hand. She winces at the pain as she forcefully digs deep and slices up.
"Rukia-san! What–"
"We don't have time for you to get me some paper and something to write with. You have to give this to Ukitake-taichō as soon as possible. He probably won't believe it, but that's a chance I'm willing to take," Rukia cuts Hanatarō off as she starts to write on the ripped cloth with her own blood.
Ukitake-taichō,
There is something wrong with this. There was no choice, but to transfer some of my powers to Ichigo. He did not steal them. Someone framed me. I was never given a trial. Someone wants me dead.
Believe me or not, please don't kill Ichigo and his friends at least. Hanatarō only agreed to give this to you and doesn't know what's written.
If Ichigo doesn't manage to save me and I am killed, Ukitake-taichō you were an amazing captain to me and I am forever grateful for what you have done for me. Please take care of yourself.
Do not trust the walls with this until everything has been fixed,
Rukia
Rukia takes a deep breath and stares down at the blood written note. She nods her head before she starts to roll it up.
"Take it to Ukitake-taichō. He usually takes medicine around noon, so use that to give this to him," Rukia speaks in a hushed tone, holding out the rolled note through the cell bars. Hanatarō grabs it without hesitation and hides it within one of his sleeves.
"I understand. I'll get it done." Hanatarō stands up and walks over to the fallen broom that he had dropped earlier in his worry for Rukia.
"Hanatarō... thank you. For believing me despite how crazy it all sounds," Rukia speaks sincerely, still sitting on the ground. Hanatarō looks over his shoulder and smiles awkwardly, not used to being praised.
"The entire situation is crazier than your story. I'll believe you any day." Hanatarō leaves with that, hunching over in his usual timid posture.
Rukia stares at the empty room past her cell, breaths completely silent and trained. She ignores the blood slowly dripping from her hand as she closes her eyes.
"Ichigo... be careful."
Don't die... please don't die...
A shiver wracks through Ichigo's very bones as he falls. His entire body felt completely and utterly numb from a deathly chill and wouldn't respond while he crashed onto the paved ground. His breath stutters out of his mouth and gets stuck in his throat, stopping the sob from escaping as well.
Non-existent snow gently rained down on him, weeping with joy as it melts into something past nothingness. Ichigo starts to continuously shiver as he brings a hand up to his mouth. He bites his cheek to try and stop his sobs from being audible, rolling over to curl over the ground.
Relief. Joy. Hope. Joy. Joy. Relief.
I'm here. I'm here.
I'm waiting.
"Rukia..." Ichigo shakily breathes through his nose as he lifts his hand up to his eyes. Hot tears fell past, stinging against his freezing cheeks.
This soul bond... it hits like a spear through the stomach. Ichigo didn't expect any kind of repercussions to being separated from Rukia. At least nothing this severe.
"Save her. We have t' save her. Now! King, now!" Kazuki paces in Ichigo's head.
"We'll save her... We'll save her and bring her back home," Mirai agrees and reassures both Ichigo and his counterpart with the same sentence. Ichigo nods his head as he gasps for air through his silent tears.
"...Ichigo? Are you okay?" Ichigo hears Tatsuki's gentle tone and laughs wetly, finally lowering his hand from his eyes as he sits up.
"A-apologies. I just... I..." Ichigo laughs again as he wipes away his silent tears. "You know how in-tuned I am to the presence of others. I... I can sense Rukia-san. I didn't expect to be so... sensitive to it."
Tatsuki stares at him for a moment, making Ichigo smile through his tears. He barely inclines his head towards her, answering her silent question. Another lie about another secret.
"Ouch... I really... didn't think we would be this pathetic... totally unexpected..." Uryū slowly sits up with a hand pressed to the side of his head. "I didn't think I would have to use the backup cape so soon..."
Ichigo blinks at the statement before glancing over at Chad, who had stood from his crouched position. They both stare at each other before glancing back towards Uryū. He brought backup capes? For an invasion?
"But it's great! Looks like no one is hurt!" Orihime exclaims brightly while clapping her hands.
"What's so good about that?!" Yoruichi slams his head against Orihime's eye, making Ichigo blink once more. Orihime falls back with a hand over her eye and an expression of utter betrayal.
"Did you even listen to what I said? Good thing it's only the shield that was touched by the Kōtotsu! If it was the main body of Rokka, you would have been dead by now!" Yoruichi continues loudly in his scolding.
"Oi, you damned cat! Don't go hurting Orihime like that!" Tatsuki stalks forward and grabs Yoruichi by the scruff of his neck, lifting him up.
"Put me down, you cretin!"
Ichigo walks over to Orihime and gently grabs her hand to lower it. "Ara, ara. Inoue-san, let me take a look. Neko-kun, you should know better! If Inoue-san didn't pull up her shield, we all would have been killed anyways, you know!"
"You seem as if you don't understand the current situation!" Yoruichi growls before clawing at Tatsuki's hand, making the teenager drop him with a curse. "And I told you to let me go, you cretin! Have you no manners?!"
"Hey! The smoke is clearing!" Uryū cuts in loudly before any fights could break out between Tatsuki and Yoruichi... again. Everyone looks over as Uryū points towards the dissipating smoke.
Buildings and barren streets are revealed once the smoke disappears completely. Ichigo blinks at how abandoned everything looked. Do people live here...?
"...is this Soul Society?" Ichigo questions, standing up to look around at his surroundings. "It looks like it's been... abandoned for quite a while."
"It's not abandoned. This is just the outskirts. The Rukongai. The place where souls live when they first come to Soul Society. It's located around Seireitei," Yoruichi informs solemnly, also looking at the surroundings.
"Rukongai is the poorest and most free area, but at the same time holding the most souls."
"Ara, ara! Let me guess. Seireitei is where the Shinigami live... and where all of the money goes to hm? Do the corrupted bureaucracy and nobles live there too? I wouldn't be surprised," Ichigo states brightly with a smile. He hates bureaucracy.
Ichigo blinks when he notices much nicer and more modern houses across from where they all stood. Ichigo's smile grows wider at his guess being correct.
"And I'm guessing that's where they live, hm?" Ichigo points towards the empty nicer streets. "Strange how there's nothing keeping us out from just walking over there."
"Don't be foolish. You can't pass the gate without a pass. The border falls into place once you get close," Yoruichi states harshly. Ichigo blinks before humming brightly. Interesting.
"That just means we have to run faster than the border falling... right?" Ichigo hides his hands inside his haori. Everyone, excluding Tatsuki who had the same thought, blinks before looking over at Ichigo like he was crazy. Which, to be fair, he was.
"That is the most impulsively idiotic thing I have ever heard someone say," Yoruichi speaks dryly, making Ichigo pout.
"Please. I'm quite swift on my feet." Ichigo turns towards Tatsuki and smiles once more, this time in excitement. "Would you like to try it out with me, Tatsuki?"
"A race? What's in it for me?" Tatsuki finally glances over at her childhood friend with a raised eyebrow.
"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime scolds loudly.
Ichigo grins before he walks forward to be next to Tatsuki. "How about a week's worth of Yuzu's cooking if you win. Hm? And if I win, you have to go on three shopping trips with me."
Tatsuki doesn't even bother to think about it after Ichigo mentions Yuzu's cooking. She slides back her foot and faces towards the Seireitei side of the street.
"On three."
"One... two... go!" Tatsuki races forward with Ichigo dramatically gasping behind her as he almost immediately sprints after her.
"Don't you dare! You'll get killed!" Yoruichi shouts loudly, but it was already too late.
"And you said "on three"!" Ichigo laughs loudly. He glances up when he notices a faint displacement in the air. It's starting to fall now.
Ara, ara. Racing with possible death on the line is so fun!
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! WE'RE FINALLY IN SOUL SOCIETY! WOO! And I have no idea how much or how little things will change! We'll figure it out as we go! Woo!
And we have one of my favorite UNDERRATED characters showing up! Our boy Hanatarō! Woo!
Also, please note that there will be no romantic relationships UNTIL much later. And even then, Ichigo's and Rukia's is PURELY PLATONIC for this entire story.
And no, I won't tell any of you who I plan to put with Ichigo. Or any of the others either. So, stew in the plot driven story first.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye!
WhovianWhoudini