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Pop quiz! What is today?
The answer? Today it is exactly one year since I posted the first chapter of "Not Quite as Planned". A whole year. Man, that's incredible.
To be honest, when I started, I didn't think it would last this long. I figured I'd post a bit, people would tell me how terrible it was, and I'd lose confidence and post something else or give up entirely.
Instead, people seemed to like what they read, as amateurish as it was. Every chapter had more hits and reviews than the last. And when popular authors like Vathara, Nameless Flame Wielder, and others added it to their Favorites, the number of readers exploded. I've had a lot of people tell me NQaP is their favorite Arrancar!Ichigo story. I've had more than a few tell me NQaP is their favorite Bleach fanfic period. And given the awesome Bleach fanfics that I know are on this site, that is some seriously mind-blowing praise.
At the time of this writing, the NQaP stories have gotten a total of 271,193 hits, 856 reviews, 1505 favs, and 1196 alerts. That's awesome.
I want to thank you all. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and offered constructive criticism and encouragement. Thank you to everyone who put NQaP on their Favorite and Alert Lists. Thank you to the people that recommended it on TvTropes and gave it a trope page (which causes me to giggle like a little kid whenever I look at it).
And a massive Thank you to the readers who have been here since Day 1. Without you, I never would have made it this far.
Alarms blared in the RDI Monitor Room.
The door slammed open and Akon rushed in.
"Status report!"
"Four new signatures have appeared in Karakura Town! All are reading as Arrancar! They were intercepted by Captain Soifon and Yoruichi Shihoin. Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, and another Shinigami have also been detected in the area!"
"Reiatsu scan complete, sir!" another technician yelled. "Three of the Arrancar have a reiatsu density at Vice-Captain level! The fourth…" The tech's eyes widened in shock. "The fourth has a reiatsu density comparable to Ichigo Kurosaki! It's Captain-class!"
"Shit!" Akon's fingers flew across a keyboard, bringing up graphs and charts. "As if we don't have enough problems with the Valley of Screams…" This much high-density reiatsu in one area could have a profound effect on any human souls in the vicinity. If they actually started fighting… "Contact the Kido Corps! We need a barrier up ten minutes ago!"
-x-
Ichigo stared at the female Arrancar standing before him. His mind was working in overdrive, several trains of thought chugging away at the same time.
First, did she seriously just say that Aizen wanted him as a member of the Espada, supposedly the rogue Shinigami's strongest soldiers? Ichigo had thought that if Aizen sent anyone after him, it would be an attempt to kill him, not recruit him.
Second, was the offer serious or was it an attempt to drive him nuts trying figure out the motive behind it? According to the Vizard and from what he himself had seen, Aizen was a master of manipulation, so who knew what the actual purpose behind the offer was.
Third, what the hell was up with that outfit? It occurred to Ichigo that if she raised her arms over her head he might get a really nice view. Kon was going to be seriously pissed that he missed this.
He rapidly dropped a mental penny on the tracks of that last train, which derailed and crashed spectacularly, allowing him to focus on the first two.
After a few moments, Ichigo determined that the only thing wondering about it would do is cause his brain to overheat.
"Why the hell does Aizen want me? I'm pretty sure I made a bad first impression." Ichigo grinned at the memory of Aizen taking his first Gran Rey Cero straight in the face.
"Because you are powerful," the woman stated matter-of-factly. "You have proven that you are a match for Soul Society's Captains, and as strong or stronger than several of the current and former Espada. Lord Aizen would much prefer to have you on his side of the battlefield than against him."
"Sounds logical," Ichigo admitted, though if that was Aizen's criteria for joining, he wondered why they weren't asking Orihime. She was the one who got closest to killing the guy. "But I'm going to have to decline."
"What?" the blue-haired Arrancar yelled, "Why the hell would you not take it? To be an Espada is the greatest honor Lord Aizen can bestow! To be included in their ranks is the dream of almost every Arrancar in Lord Aizen's army!"
"Apache. That's enough," her superior ordered. Apache immediately fell silent.
"Yeah, that's it right there: 'Lord Aizen's army'," Ichigo said. "The guy responsible for the misery of several people I consider friends plus a violent monkey I consider an acquaintance. He's also responsible for Rukia nearly being executed. The day I bow my head to that man is the day I'm looking down on his corpse."
"You dare - !" All three Fraccion started toward him, hands jumping to their sword handles. Only a raised hand from their mistress kept them from leaping at Ichigo. "Lady Harribel!"
"Don't be foolish. You three were there when Ulquiorra showed us Kurosaki's battle with Kenpachi Zaraki. Do you truly think you could even scratch him if he took you seriously? An attack would only lead to your deaths." Harribel turned her attention back to Ichigo. "You will not be swayed from this decision?" She gaze swept the four Shinigami that stood in the sky with them. "You would choose to side with the Soul Society over your own kind?"
Ichigo snorted. "I'm not on their side. I'm on Karakura Town's side."
"And yet you keep the company of Shinigami."
Ichigo shrugged. "Rukia's a fugitive, Yoruichi has technically been AWOL for about a hundred years, and Senna's a weirdo who seems to have crawled out from under a rock."
"Hey!"
"And Soifon…" Ichigo stopped and turned to the aforementioned Captain. "Come to think of it, why are you here? "
"Personal invitation from Lady Yoruichi. She asked for my assistance in searching for the Shinenju. I'm not technically acting in an official capacity for Soul Society at the moment."
"Oh." Ichigo shrugged again. It wasn't like he could tell Yoruichi what she could and could not do. "Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that we're not buddy-buddy with the Seireitei. In fact, I'll tell you the same thing I told them. Leave us alone, we'll leave you alone."
Of course, Aizen probably still wanted Urahara's Hogyoku, which was stuck in Rukia, so that probably wouldn't happen. But he had to offer at least.
Harribel stared at him for a long moment. Then she nodded and started walking away. "I will relay your answer to Lord Aizen. My Fraccion and I will likely remain in the Living World for a short while. It has been sometime since I visited. I'd like to see what has changed."
Ichigo tensed. "No eating Pluses. I'm not going to say you can't hang out here because you're Arrancar, because that would mean I have to leave too, but if you need to eat, chow down on some Hollows." His hand twitched toward his Zanpakuto, ready to force the issue if she refused.
Harribel nodded her assent. "Acceptable."
"Now hang on!" Soifon yelled. "You're just going to let them wander around? What about the first objective she mentioned?"
Harribel barely paused. "We were asked to ascertain the situation on the Jureichi. Lord Aizen wanted to know if Soul Society would be using it as a staging area." She looked back at Ichigo. "Given the terms set by Ichigo Kurosaki, I find it highly unlikely for that to happen. Objective achieved," she stated. "Apache, Mila Rose, Sun-Sun, we're leaving."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The four Arrancar vanished, static crackling in their wake.
Yoruichi scratched her chin. "Well…that was interesting."
Senna's eyes narrowed and she glared at Ichigo. "Hey, how come you're letting them go off on their own, but you won't let me go anywhere alone?"
"Because they didn't start causing trouble the second they showed up. And once we let the Vizard know, they'll probably put a watch on them."
Soifon pinched the bridge of her nose. "I need to call the Seireitei. They're probably freaking out."
Ichigo slapped a fist into his palm. "Oh yeah!" He snagged Senna by her sash and – ignoring her indignant squawk – deposited her in front of Soifon. "Why is she here?"
Soifon blinked at the Shinigami that she had seen earlier but not really registered. "I don't know. As of forty-eight hours ago, there should be no Shinigami deployed in Karakura. What Division are you in?" she asked Senna.
"I forgot."
"Ridiculous. How could you forget what Division you are affiliated with?" Soifon asked incredulously.
"I dunno. Doesn't seem like that big an issue to me."
Soifon suppressed the urge to palm her face. She looked at Ichigo. "Has she been like this the whole time?"
"Yep."
"My condolences."
"Standing right here!"
Soifon sighed. "I'll make an inquiry when I call in. Seeing as I'm not actually on duty right now, do you mind continuing to keep an eye on her?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Not really."
"Then I'll make that call and get back to you as soon as possible."
Soifon and Yoruichi dropped out of the sky and reentered Urahara's shop.
-x-
Akon breathed a short sigh of relief when the four Arrancar left without a massive battle taking place. That would have meant a lot of tedious paperwork and memory modifications. Of course, there were still four powerful Arrancar other than Ichigo Kurosaki in Karakura, but the Jureichi had been declared a "no go zone", except under extreme circumstances. Four possible hostiles not causing mayhem did not qualify as a good reason to risk pissing off the Arrancar they knew without a doubt was capable of putting Captains in traction.
"Tell the Kido Corps to stay on stand-by. It doesn't look like we have to worry, but better safe than sorry."
"Yes, sir."
The door slid open behind him, admitting Nemu Kurotsuchi.
"Welcome back, Vice-Captain. A fruitful search?"
"Yes. We managed to procure the remains of several Arrancar and Hollows. I've already deposited them in the labs."
"I'll get right on that as soon I finish up here, ma'am."
"Very well." The Vice-Captain leaned in to look at the screen. "There was an altercation in Karakura?"
"A narrowly avoided one."
"I see." She pointed at the signature currently marked as 'Identity Unknown'. "Have you run this one through the database yet?"
Akon shook his head. "No need. It's a Shinigami, who according to current orders shouldn't be there. Whoever it is will probably be shipped back in an hour or two by Captain Soifon."
Nemu continued staring intently at the reading. "I have seen this reading in our archives before." She reached out and brought up a new window on the screen.
Akon blinked when he saw that what was displayed on the new window and the unknown reading were identical. "Ma'am?"
"This is the Shinenju."
Akon blinked again when it registered that the solution to the Valley of Screams had been standing within thirty feet of Captain Soifon. Then it registered that it was also standing within ten feet of Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Inform Captain Soifon of this," Nemu ordered. "Ask her to be tactful, please." With that she walked out.
Akon gulped. Whatever form the Shinenju was in, it seemed to be connected to Ichigo Kurosaki.
The last time Soul Society had taken someone from Kurosaki, there had been massive property damage and Captain Kurotsuchi had been eaten. The Vice-Captain was still having nightmares about that moment.
Being tactful would definitely be a very good idea.
-x-
Tatsuki stood there on the porch of the Urahara Shoten, staring up at Ichigo as he traded barbs with Senna.
"Tatsuki? Is something wrong?"
Tatsuki shook her head. "I'm fine, Orihime." She turned to look at her friend, who was pouting and staring at her with a look that said, "I know you're lying". Tatsuki groaned, unable to resist. "Okay. I'm not okay." She chewed on her lip. "It's just…you said it yourself, Hime. You've gotten used to being around Ichigo like this. But me? He scares the crap out of me." The martial artist shivered. "I think it's the eyes. They remind me of that Hollow that attacked us at the school." She sighed. "And the fact that I'm scared of him is driving me nuts. This is the same guy that I used to make cry at karate class. Even when he got a reputation for being a delinquent, I knew him too well to even consider being wary around him. That I feel this way about him now…" She trailed off.
Orihime leaned against one of the support beams. "You know, I was scared of Ichigo when I first saw him like this too. The first time I saw him after he changed… Well, he was eating a Hollow, Tatsuki. It was like…like…um…"
Tatsuki couldn't help but giggle when Orihime dropped down and assumed 'The Thinker' pose to try figure something to compare Ichigo eating a Hollow to.
"Aha!" Tatsuki jumped at the sudden declaration. "It was like in Neon Genesis Evangelion, when Unit-01 goes berserk and starts eating Zeruel! But a dozen times scarier because it was happening right in front of me for real!" Orihime jumped to her feet and thrust her fist in the air. "But once I got used to being around him, it was more like Evangelion 2.0, with death rays and force fields and AT Field rocket punches and – !"
And Tatsuki was pretty sure her friend had lost her train of thought by this point.
"The point I'm trying to make," Orihime continued, as if she had not just taken a trip to LaLa Land, "is that Ichigo is still pretty much the same as he's always been. He's just a little more," Orihime curled her fingers into claws and bared her teeth, "Grr. Arg."
Tatsuki smiled at her friend's antics. She reached over and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Dunno what I'd do without you, Hime."
Both of them looked back up at the sky to when they heard Ichigo yelling at Senna. They saw what looked like the purple-haired Shinigami sticking her tongue out before vanishing, leaving Ichigo and Rukia bound together by a glowing yellow chain.
-x-
"This is ridiculous," Rukia grumbled from her position against Ichigo's back. "She can't remember what Division she's a part of, or her seat, but she has her Shikai and can cast Bakudo #63 with enough skill to catch you in it. I'd think I would have heard of someone so skilled."
"Yeah, real impressive," Ichigo growled. He struggled with the chain for a moment before shattering it with a burst of reiatsu. "I'm going to punt that girl back through the Senkaimon."
"I'm gonna take some time to enjoy myself alone. Later!"
Spirit ribbons manifested around Ichigo. "There were people trying to kidnap her last night and she goes off alone. Does she have any self-preservation instincts at all?" Ichigo muttered as he sorted through the ribbons. After a few seconds he snagged a red one leading toward the mall. "I'm getting tired of hunting this girl down…"
Rukia smirked. "Would you like me to ask Yoruichi if she has a bell we can put on her?"
"Would you? That'd be very helpful," Ichigo said sarcastically. Static crackled and he was gone.
Rukia debated following him but decided against it. It wouldn't take the both of them to drag Senna back. Besides, Urahara seemed to have gotten some new Chappy manga while she had been gone.
-x-
Ichigo found Senna talking to the spirit of a little boy.
"You know, I wouldn't have said no if you wanted to go to the mall again."
Senna turned to look at him. "Didn't I say I wanted to be alone for a while?" She immediately started ignoring him again, returning her attention to the ghost in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll help you find your dad."
The kid nodded happily, but stopped abruptly when he spotted Ichigo. His screamed in terror and hid behind Senna.
Ichigo blinked at the reaction. "H-hey. There's nothing to be scared of."
"Don't let him get me, miss! I don't want to be eaten! I taste terrible!"
Ichigo felt as if the kid had just slapped him. "Wait a sec, I'm not gonna eat you…" The kid started crying, making Ichigo feel even worse.
Senna took pity on the Arrancar at that moment. "Don't worry, Tomoya. You don't have to be scared of this guy, even if he is a bit of a jerk." She pulled Ichigo down to her level and pulled his lips out into a parody of smile. "See? He's just a big teddy bear."
Ichigo shook her off and stood up, scowl firmly in place.
"Aw look, now he's sulking," Senna giggled. Tomoya wiped his tears and started to giggle as well.
And now his carefully crafted image was going to be taking a beating on the spirtual side of things as well… Ichigo sighed as he followed Senna and Tomoya. It was a small price to pay to not have the kid be absolutely terrified of him. Which really worried him. Tomoya was the first Plus he'd interacted with since his transformation. Would every Plus react to his presence like that?
-x-
"What do you mean the Shinenju was right in front of me?"
"Exactly that, Captain Soifon. I would assume that it was this mysterious 'Senna' that you were just asking about."
"Of course it was. Very well. I'll retrieve it. Thank you for the assistance."
"Our pleasure, ma'am. Also, Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi has asked that the retrieval be carried out with care, however we have gotten authorization for Gentei Kaijo."
"Hope that it doesn't come to that." She hung up the phone with a sigh.
"I'm guessing they told you something that is going to piss Ichigo off," Yoruichi observed.
Soifon nodded. "According to the data, Senna is actually the Shinenju."
"Whom Seireitei plans to sacrifice to get rid of the Valley of Screams." Yoruichi nodded. "Yeah, Ichigo's going to flip."
Soifon chewed on her thumbnail. "I can't think of any way to convince him to allow me to take the Shinenju without ending up fighting him."
Yoruichi tapped her chin. "Well, I can assure you that calling her 'the Shinenju' will definitely result in that outcome. Ichigo doesn't like it when sentient beings are referred to as objects. If you want an example, ask Urahara to tell you about the incident with Kon."
Soifon crossed her arms. "As far as I'm aware, while the current situation is unprecedented, the 12th Division doesn't seem to think there is any imminent danger. Perhaps with enough time the RDI could find a way to separate Senna from the Shinenju. We could certainly use any Shinigami we can get right now."
Yoruichi slapped her on the back. "That's using your head! It's better than going and picking a fight at any rate."
-x-
"Senna?"
"Um…yes?"
"Next time you decide to ditch me, I'm going to drag you back to the Vizards' warehouse and duct tape you to the heaviest rock I can find."
Senna stared at the army of Blanks surrounding them. "Sounds fair…"
On the bright side, Tomoya had been reunited with his father and the two had left together. Ichigo had seen that neither seemed to be suffering encroachment just yet, so there was no need to perform Konso and risk separating them.
On the down side, the area they were in was a fairly secluded temple with nothing around except for a festival.
Naturally, everyone at said festival turned out to be a Blank in disguise.
In addition, there was…
"This is for my arm, you pasty-faced freak!"
The nutjobs that had tried to kidnap Senna last night.
Ichigo blocked the crescent-shaped blade on his forearm then slugged Jai in the face, sending him flying into the crowd of Blanks, which tumbled like bowling pins.
Ichigo looked down at his arm and the shallow cut that had formed. "You've got to be kidding me…"
Jai laughed as he stood up. "We've learned to use the Blanks to increase our powers." To demonstrate, several Blanks around him dissolved and flowed around the arm Ichigo had broken last night. In an instant, the arm was fully healed. "We weren't expecting someone as strong as you in the cemetery, so we didn't bring that many Blanks, but now…" He lunged at Ichigo again. The Arrancar caught his wrists, but the force caused his knees to buckle. "We're ready for you this time, brat!" Jai put his foot against Ichigo's chest and shoved him back, away from Senna.
Ichigo dug in his heels and skidded to a halt, but was dog-piled by the horde of Blanks. Before he could fight his way free, a pair of massive clubs smashed down and the pile erupted in a massive explosion.
"Ichigo!" Senna cried, leaping at the two Shinigami. An arrow shot past her face, forcing her to pull up short.
"I'd worry about yourself, little girl," the purple-haired woman mocked, swapping her crossbow for the chain-scythes she had wielded before.
"Buzz off, hag!" Senna countered, pointing at her. "Hado #33: Sokatsui!"
The woman dodged the blast of blue flame. Her hair didn't fare so well. She fell to the ground, trying to put the flames out.
Senna snorted and turned back to help Ichigo.
And walked right into a green breastplate. A man with white hair smiled coldly at her before a fist buried itself in her solar plexus.
Senna collapsed, gasping for air.
The man picked her up with ease. "We have what we came for. We're leaving."
"The hell you are!" A bloodied Ichigo emerged from the crater the explosion had created and palmed Jai's face. "Cero!" Jai's headless body fell and Ichigo rounded on the masked club wielder, his Zanpakuto slicing the man in two from shoulder to hip. His opponents dead, he turned to Senna's captor. "Let her go."
The man scowled at him. "Riyan. If you wouldn't mind?"
Ichigo threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the rockets that peppered the ground he had just vacated. More rockets fired, keeping the Arrancar on the run. Ichigo grit his teeth, trying to find whoever was shooting at him while avoiding being blown to bits.
The white-haired man watched the bombardment for a moment before turning and walking away.
"Hado #1: Sho!"
The man's eyes bugged out and he collapsed to his knees, dropping Senna to clutch his family jewels.
Senna scrambled to her feet and stuck her tongue out at her disabled captor. "Next time you try to kidnap someone, make sure they're knocked out, moron!"
Remember, Ichigo and company only know about the "ascend to Heaven and become a god" part of Aizen's plan. Nobody knows about the King's Key yet. I think. Pretty sure I didn't have them find out about that yet. It's hard to keep straight what I have and have not done… Anyway, that's my reason for Ichigo extending the "live and let live" offer to Aizen and the Espada. He doesn't know Aizen plans to sacrifice his town and he has no desire for the residents of Karakura to get caught in a war between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
We'll be seeing a lot more of Harribel and co. in the future. And for those who have only seen the Bleach anime, you need to check out Harribel's appearance in the manga. The anime was censored. That black line on her jacket? That's where her jacket ended in the manga.
I'm sorry. Once I mentioned NGE, I HAD to throw in a reference to the truly epic scene in Rebuild where Shinji channels the spirit of Simon the Digger and completely pwns Zeruel. Even if you haven't seen the movies, you should see that scene. Go to Youtube and search for 'Unit 01 vs Zeruel Rebuild'.
There's also another reference in Orihime's little speech. Can you spot it?
I think more than one Shinigami probably ended up as part of the Shinenju, so I gave Senna some Kido skills.
That's all for now, folks. How's about in commemoration of the One Year Anniversary everyone goes back and leaves reviews on all the chapters they didn't review before?