Tamashi no Kiri
Chapter 4: Arrival
Paths cross only to separate
Sometimes they long to cross again
Other times they long to never meet again
When paths cross again
It can be so bittersweet
Ichigo Kurosaki woke earlier than usual. He stretched and yawned and looked at his clock. He was surprised to see that it was only 5:34 AM and wondered why he woke up so early. As he got up, a wave of nausea struck him and he dashed to the bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet before he began to vomit.
He knelt before the great porcelain god, panting. Sweat poured over his face and he felt a chill run through his body. Ever since he started losing his abilities as a Soul Reaper, he had moments like this. Sometimes he would even collapse to his hands and knees. When Yuzu and Karin first saw this he was able to dismiss it as a case of the flu, but his dad knew better.
When Isshin lost his own spiritual powers he went through moments like that. He knew that as his son progressed in losing his abilities, the physical ailments would only get much worse. This was one aspect of losing his abilities that Ichigo hated. Not only was he becoming powerless in the Spiritual world, but now he was beginning to become powerless in the physical world.
"Damn it," he muttered as he began to cry.
"Ichigo," Rukia called out, knocking on the bathroom door. "Are you alright?"
"I'm…I'm fine," he gasped.
"May I come in?"
"No, don't come in," Ichigo said. "I'm…I'm just finishing up."
He reached up and flushed the toilet. He got to his feet and maintained his balance by leaning on the counter until he got his knees under control. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw that he was extremely pale. Dark rings were beginning to form under his eyes, which were becoming more blood-shot. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with the ice cold water.
"Keep it together," he whispered. "I gotta keep it together."
Sure ya do. Ya wouldn't want to look weak now would ya?
"Go away," he whispered.
Even though he could no longer hear Zangetsu, he could hear that voice. He could imagine his reflection becoming completely white, like bone. Black and yellow eyes gazing out at him filled with hatred, hunger, and insanity.
I'll never go away. I'm as much a part of you as your own skeleton. Sure, your power's going, but I'll always remain because there's no way we can be torn apart. Besides, there's always a possibility that you'll regain your power. Until then, I'll just grow stronger and wait. Oh yes, I can wait.
Then the voice was gone. Ichigo felt relieved, but the fear still remained. It was true. His darker self could wait and grow stronger. He thought of how when he was at his most desperate, when Ulquiorra killed him for the second time and Orihime cried out to him to save them, he allowed his darker self to take over. As a result, he had almost killed Orihime and Uryu.
"Never again," he muttered. "I'll never let you gain control."
In the deepest and darkest part of his mind, he thought he could hear laughter.
Captain's Meeting Hall
Ulquiorra stood at attention in the midst of the other Captains. The three other former Espada who graduated stood with him.
"You will be leaving for the World of the Living," Yamamoto said. "You will be staying with Kisuke Urahara who has been kind enough to offer you a place to stay and give you special training. You will disguise yourselves as students at Karakura High where you will meet with Rukia Kuchiki and Sachiko Amaterasu. Shortly after, the team led by Captain Hitsugaya will follow in order to help in tracing down the mysterious Reiatsu. Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah," Starrk said. "What should we do if Ichigo or one of his friends recognizes us?"
"Then you are to explain the situation with them. Those who had close contact with Ichigo and his friends are to keep as low a profile as possible."
"That would be me," Ulquiorra said. "Ichigo will immediately recognize me, but not so with the others."
"He might recognize me," Starrk said. "So I better be careful as well. I think that out of all of us, only Lilynette didn't have any direct contact with them."
"I talked with Orihime once," Lilynette said. "It was when she first arrived at Las Noches. I was curious so I went to see her."
"At any rate," Yamamoto said. "You are to make sure that if they do recognize you that you make the situation very clear to them. That is all. You will be escorted to the Senkaimon Gate. May fortune smile upon your endeavors."
Urahara Shop
"You didn't," Kisuke said, shocked.
"Oh yes I did," Yoruichi said, grinning.
"You mean to tell me that to make sure that they passed their Hoho exam, you had a bunch of rabid fan girls chase them down. That's…that's priceless."
"I know. I told them to ignore the others, but only go after the former Espada. I was surprised that they actually did that. I knew that they would chase after Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Starrk, but I was worried that they would chase after Findor or Ggio as well."
"Okay, so, what did you promise them?"
"I promised that if they caught any of the former Espada men, then they could keep a souvenir from that Espada. However, if they chased after any of the former fraccion men, then they would not get to keep any souvenirs. However, I made an exception since Harribel had her friends throw Ggio to them. It took him a few days to make a full recovery, although he's still terrified whenever he sees a group of girls coming towards him."
"You're still as cruel as ever," Kisuke said, grinning. "So, they're coming here sometime soon."
"Yes, they should be here pretty soon."
"Do they know Shikai?"
"Not yet, but they are familiar with the overall basics."
"At least as far as a Soul Reaper understand it," Kisuke said. "We don't exactly know if the former Arrancars' methods are the same as ours."
"I suppose that is a problem. So, have you discovered anything about that strange Reiatsu?"
"Rukia came by earlier and asked me that same question. So far, it's nothing that I've come across. I contacted some people in the International Soul Reaper Research Center, but they don't know what it is. Although…"
"What is it?"
"Well, I'm thinking I can contact someone in the Alchemical Division. It's considered a fringe division within the ISRRC. Maybe they've heard something about it."
Kurosaki Clinic
"See ya later, Dad," Ichigo called out. "I'm going out for a bit."
"Hey, wait, Ichigo," Isshin said. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I just need to get some fresh air. That's all."
"Son, you know you can talk to your Old Man about anything. I'm here for ya."
"Thanks, but…I'm fine."
"Well…if you insist. But make sure you're home before dinner. Otherwise I'll have to beat ya up."
"Whatever," Ichigo said as he walked out.
He didn't know where he was going. It was as though he was back where he started: lost and afraid. He allowed his feet to go wherever they wanted to and before long he found himself looking into a familiar hole. He was in the park where the Arrancars first showed up. It seemed like years had passed since then.
He didn't know why this particular spot had lured him. He would have thought of places like Urahara's Shop or the school, but not this hole. Ichigo sighed and walked through the cluster of trees until he arrived at the main park area. He sat on the bench and paid no heed to the people walking by or the children laughing as they played on the playground.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" someone asked.
"Huh," Ichigo muttered and looked up.
A thin man wearing a black coat over a blue t-shirt and khaki pants looked at him. His shoulder-length golden-brown hair framed his face. Ichigo noticed that the man held a bag with what looked like a loaf of day-old bread and a book.
"Oh…sure…I'm sorry. I'll just get going," Ichigo said and started getting up.
"Oh…no need," the man said. "Please stay a bit. You look as if you need to talk to someone."
"No, it's alright," Ichigo said, somewhat uncomfortable.
"Oh…don't worry, I won't try anything," he said, laughing a bit. "I just came here to feed the pigeons while my nieces are having fun," he said and pointed to the large cluster of pigeons. "I see that I made it in time for their daily conference," he said smiling. "Have you ever fed the pigeons before?"
"Not since I was a kid," Ichigo said, somewhat taken aback.
"Oh…well, there's no time like the present," he said.
He put his book onto the bench next to him and opened the bag. He took out the wrapped pack of day-old bread. He ripped the packaging from the bread and broke it in half. He held out one half to Ichigo who hesitated before taking it.
"Please, sit down," the man said as he tore off a chunk of bread from his half of the loaf and tossed it at the pigeons.
Ichigo watched as the pigeons gathered around the bread and some even made their way closer to them. He smiled at the memories it brought back. He looked at his loaf of bread and remembered when he and his mother would come to the park or down to river to feed the birds. He sat down as he tore a piece of bread from the loaf and tossed it at the birds.
"So, what brought you here today?"
"I don't really know," Ichigo said. "I guess…I just had a lot on my mind."
"That happens to all of us. I find that when that happens to me, doing something so silly and yet so simple as feeding the birds can be very relaxing."
Ichigo was beginning to become comfortable with this stranger. It was rather odd when he thought about it. He tore off another chunk of bread and broke it into smaller pieces before tossing them at the pigeons. A part of him wanted to thank this stranger and then be on his way, but another part wanted to stay and tell him exactly what was bothering him.
"You know, you never really answered my question," the man said. "What did bring you out here today? I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but I really want to know."
Ichigo looked at the man and saw that he really meant it. That made Ichigo afraid. A part of him wanted to run away or yell at him that it was none of his business. However, another part of him wanted to tell him. He knew that he could talk to Chad or Uryu or his Dad, but he felt that none of them would truly understand what he was going through. However, for some reason he didn't know, he felt that this man would.
"I guess it's because I don't know where I'm going," Ichigo said. "I mean, before I thought I had it figured out, but now…now I feel powerless. I want to be able to protect my friends, but…I just don't know how to do it anymore. The more I want to help them, the more I realize that I'm powerless."
"I see," the man said. "You don't really know what your raison d'être is."
"My what?"
"Your raison d'être," he said. "It's your purpose in life. You thought that you knew what it was, but now you don't because something must have happened that caused you to lose all sense of control. Am I on the right path?"
"Yeah, you are," Ichigo said, shocked.
"You don't have to worry about it," he said. "It happens all of the time. At some point in their lives, everyone feels as though they have no control over their lives. It's part of growing up. But, you have a good idea of what your raison d'être. It's the core raison d'être in all of us: to protect others. However, you can do that in any number of ways. Protection is not just about fighting for them, but it's also about being there when they need a friend. Do you understand?"
"I…I think so," Ichigo said.
"Look, you're allowing your fear to blind you to ways that you can be there for your friends. In the book that I'm reading," he said and showed Ichigo the book. "The author makes a very bold statement. In one of the stories, he writes, 'There was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves.' Do you understand what he was saying?"
"Not really," Ichigo said.
"He was saying that everyone is afraid. Our fears are usually based on things that we have no control or very little control over. However, the root of that fear lies within each and every one of us. The external fears are nothing more than manifestations of what we fear about ourselves."
"Sounds like a load of crap," Ichigo said.
The man only laughed at that and smiled. He shrugged.
"Well, that's what I think anyways," he said. "Here, you can keep it," he said and held out the book.
"What, are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. I have another copy at home and I must have read that one at least a thousand times."
"Thanks," Ichigo said. "By the way, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," he said and held out his hand.
"I'm Milton Dante," the man said and shook his hand. "I have to warn ya, the book's in English. Can you read English?"
"Yeah, in fact they teach us how to read English alongside Japanese. Since Japan has a lot of relations with the States."
"That's a relief to know. Anyways, I'm sure we'll see each other again, Mr. Kurosaki."
"Yeah, I'm sure we will," Ichigo said.
"Hey, Uncle Milton," a girl shouted.
The two turned and Ichigo saw a young girl, who looked to be about the same age as his sisters, rushing towards Milton. Another girl, who looked to be about Ichigo's age, was coming up behind them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Ichigo and she smiled and waved at him. Ichigo didn't know what he should do and so he just lifted his own hand and gave a little wave in return.
"Did you two have a good time?"
"We did," Harper said as she hugged Milton.
"Was she on her best behavior?" he asked the teen.
"Yeah, Harper was a good girl," the teen said.
"Does this mean we can get ice cream?" the girl asked.
"I don't see why not," Milton said.
"Oh, Harper, Emily, this young man is Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo, I would like to introduce you to my two nieces. The blossoming young woman you see her is Emily," he said, gesturing to the teen who blushed. "This other beautiful young lady is Harper. Now, please say hello to Mr. Kurosaki."
"Hello," Harper said a bit shyly.
"Hey," Emily said, getting close to Ichigo as if examining him.
"Emily, please back away. You're making Mr. Kurosaki a bit nervous," Milton said, chuckling.
"So, where do you go to school at?" Emily asked.
"I go to Karakura High School."
Emily looked at Milton who looked at Ichigo.
"My, that's an odd coincidence," he said. "Emily will be starting classes at Karakura High School next week and Harper will be starting courses at Karakura Middle School."
"Really, that's where my sisters go," Ichigo said. "You might meet them. Their names are Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki. I'm sure that they would enjoy meeting you."
"Did you hear that, Harper?" Milton asked as Harper looked at him smiling. "You see, I told you it wouldn't be so scary and that you would make some new friends. Well, Mr. Kurosaki, it was nice to meet you, but we should get back before my sister and her husband start worrying."
"Alright, thanks Mr. Dante," Ichigo said.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Kurosaki," Milton said as he and the two girls left.
Ichigo sighed and looked at the book that Milton gave him: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
As soon as they were far enough to where Ichigo couldn't see them, Milton stopped and turned his head to look over his shoulder. He frowned slightly and then looked at the two girls.
"Tell me," he said. "Did you feel his Reiatsu?"
"Yeah," Emily said. "It was like the Soul Reapers', but not quite the same."
"He didn't seem scary," Harper said.
"I know, and he didn't show any sign of feeling our Reiatsu. However, we have to be careful. Harper, I have a very important assignment for you."
"What is it?"
"When you start school, I want you to stay close to Ichigo's sisters. See if they have the same kind of Reiatsu that Ichigo has and report back to me. Can you do that?"
"Sure, but…"
"Don't worry, if they invite you over for something like a sleep-over you may go. I won't forbid you to have a social life, but I would like you to be careful though."
"Thanks, Uncle Milton," she said, hugging him.
"What about us?" Emily asked.
"We'll be in a position to where we can monitor Mr. Kurosaki and his friends," Milton said. "I'll also have Howard come in to pose as my brother-in-law from time-to-time. That way we can get accurate data."
"I just hope that they don't pose too much of a threat," Emily said. "It would be a pity to have to get rid of him."
"I know," Milton said. "But we have to be careful. Right now, I don't think that young man has any idea of what's going on. I hope that it remains that way."
Under Urahara's Shop
"WOW! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE SUCH A HUGE TRAINING GROUND RIGHT UNDER MY STORE?" Urahara shouted.
"I must say, I find myself…puzzled," Ulquiorra said as he looked around him.
"Uh…how did you make such a space under your shop without anyone noticing?" Starrk asked
"That's the boss's little secret," Tessai said as he folded his arms across his chest.
"WOW! THIS IS SO COOL!" Lilynette shouted.
"Oh…thank you young miss," Tessai said, beginning to cry. "It's nice to know that my work is appreciated."
"So much for 'boss's little secret'," Harribel said, knowing full well that Tessai was once head of the Kido Corps.
"Alright," Urahara said as he flipped open his fan. "Enough of that, let's get down to the business at hand. I've received instructions from Old Man Yama and I'm not about to disobey them. You four will be staying here and you will be training. However, we'll start your training tomorrow since I'm expecting someone else coming here very soon."
"Is it Aunt Nel?" Lilynette asked, excited.
"Nope, I'm afraid it's not her. Why did you ask?" Urahara asked.
"Well, we heard rumors that Nelliel Tu Odelschwank, the former Third Espada, would be allowed into the Soul Society," Starrk said.
"Oh, yes, that's right," Urahara said. "But, she'll have to take courses at the Academy before she's allowed to go on any missions."
"So who're you expecting?" Lilynette asked.
"Someone from International Soul Reaper Research Center," Kisuke said. "I asked for them to send someone to consult with us on the matter at hand. They should be arriving…" he said and raised one finger. "…any…" he lifted the finger higher. "…moment…NOW," he dropped the finger as they heard a loud crashing sound coming nearby.
They turned and saw that a large pile of training gear tumble over and a huge cloud of dust rose into the air. They could barely make out a figure getting up. As the dust cleared they saw a young woman in her mid-twenties standing. She wore a pair of small-rimmed purple-framed glasses and a long white lab coat over a violet dress shirt and a knee-long dark purple skirt that showed off her lovely figure. Her short blond hair stuck up in places while a strand that was dyed purple hung out in front of her face. She wore a silver charm bracelet on her right wrist that had a single charm dangling from it: a gold tiger.
"Ouch…that hurt," she said and winced a little.
"Ah, you must be Dr. Flower," Kisuke said, grinning.
"Actually, it's Dr. Fleur," she said. "You must be Kiss-key You're-a-hottie? Did I pronounce it right?"
"You sure did," Kisuke said, smiling even wider. "And thank you, I think you're a hottie as well."
"He better hope that Yoruichi didn't hear that," Harribel whispered to Starrk. "Otherwise she might send Sui-Feng to kick his ass."
Starrk nodded in agreement. Dr. Fleur however only looked puzzled. Ulquiorra found himself thinking that her eyes had the glazed look of a complete airhead. He thought that it would have been better if someone else had been sent.
"So, these must be some of the former Arrancar you mentioned," Dr. Fleur said.
"They are," Kisuke said. "The little girl is Lilynette."
"Hey, who are you calling 'little' Bucket-head?"
"Lilynette, don't be rude to our host," Starrk said. "Sorry about that, she can be a handful sometimes."
"Oh…it's alright…uh…"
"Starrk," he said and held out his hand.
"Starrk," Dr. Fleur said and shook his hand.
"I'm Tia Harribel…and you better think twice before you even think about hitting on him," she whispered.
"Oh…don't worry. I already have a girlfriend," Dr. Fleur said, smiling as she eyed Harribel. "Hmm, too bad…you have a very lovely figure."
"Uh…okay…awkward," Harribel said, her eyes wide.
"Ha ha, I'm just joking," Dr. Fleur said, laughing. "Sorry, I always do that whenever I meet someone's jealous girlfriend. It's a bad habit I picked up at school."
"This is most interesting," Ulquiorra said. "It would seem that I still have much to learn about such customs."
"Oh…who's the Emo?"
"What do you mean by 'Emo'? I am not familiar with the term," Ulquiorra said.
"It's a term that people use to describe someone who is depressed. I don't know why since it was originally used for punk-rock bands in the mid-1980s and stood for 'emotional hardcore'," Tessai said.
"Huh…funny how time changes things," Dr. Fleur said sounding like a complete airhead.
"Hmm, fascinating," Ulquiorra said.
"Anyways…" Urahara said. "This is Ulquiorra Schiffer."
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Samantha Beatrice Fleur and I represent the Alchemical Division in the ISRRC."
"Dr. Fleur was sent because she's a specialist in a very obscure branch of Alchemical Research," Kisuke said.
"Actually, it's more of a taboo topic for all of us in the ISRRC. The only reason they sent me was because I was the only one who would go on-and-on about it. Based on the information that Kisuke sent us, they pretty much agreed that this is a case of…" she stopped and swallowed; all traces of the airhead gone.
"Well, go on," Urahara said.
"They reached the conclusion that this is a case of Spiritual Evolution."
"What...what's 'Spiritual Evolution'?" Lilynette asked.
"Spiritual Evolution," Dr. Fleur said, "is when a soul reaches a new level of potential. Normally there are two types of Spiritual Evolution that is within the limits of maintaining the Balance between this world and the Spiritual Worlds: either entering one of the Soul Societies or becoming a Hollow. However, there is a third type of Spiritual Evolution that defies the Balance."
"What is this third type?" Ulquiorra asked.
"This is where the spirit evolves in the World of the Living by either devouring a Hollow or a Soul Reaper. When this occurs, normally the Spirit breaks apart because it can't handle the strain of the Reiatsu that it's consumed. Now, what I'm about to tell you is just a theory that has been formed based on past incidents where this happened.
"Those who study Spiritual Evolution theorize that on rare occasions, the Reiatsu of the spirit will rejoin itself and gain powers to rival those of Hollows and Soul Reapers. As a result, they cannot be devoured by a Hollow or cleansed by a Soul Reaper because their very Reiatsu will not allow it to happen. The spiritual atmosphere in any area where at least ten of them who are fully developed gathers can become the equivalent of the pressure at the bottom of the ocean. As a result, those who have any traces of spiritual abilities will die and the area itself…is destroyed."
"It would be the same as if Aizen had succeeded in creating the Oken," Urahara said.
"Yes," Dr. Fleur said. "However, while the creation of the Oken would only affect the area, the affects of the Spiritually Evolved is much…much more devastating. Instead of merely destroying the area, it will cause a ripple-effect that will spread throughout the World of the Living and the Spiritual Worlds. We're fortunate that the Reiatsu that was discovered was not fully developed, however, if we don't act soon…
"Let's just say that their very existence is a threat to the Balance."
Soul Reaper Academy
"This sucks," Grimmjow moaned as he and the rest of the former Arrancars made their way down the hall.
"No shit," Nnoitora groaned. "We already know how to kill a fucking Gillian."
"The way the instructor went on-and-on-and-on, really reminded me of some of Aizen's Assemblies," Nirgge said.
"EXACTA!" Findor exclaimed.
"Lady Harribel's lucky that she doesn't have to go through this anymore," Apacci said. "That had to be one of the most boring classes ever."
As they walked down the hall they saw a familiar face approaching them.
"GGIO, did they let you out already?" Mila Rose asked.
"Yeah, but I had to go through some serious therapy before Unohana allowed me to be discharged. She said that as long as I don't see a horde of fan girls coming at me, then I should be alright," Ggio said.
"It's good to have you back, Ggio, darlin'," Cuuhlhourne said and gave Ggio a hug.
"AAAAAGH! CUUHLHOURNE, LET ME GO!"
"Oh Ggio, did I hug you too tight? Did I reopen old wounds?"
"No, it's just that you're freaking me out."
"EXACTA!"
"Hey Apacci, I've been wondering about something," Ggio said. "How come you didn't feed Findor to those fan girls? I mean he and Avirama have gotten plenty of looks, so why did you choose me?"
"Because," Mila Rose said. "By the time Mistress Harribel gave the order to feed somebody to those fan girls, Avirama and Findor already ran for cover. You were the only one available."
"WHAT? Findor, you and Avirama ran?"
"EXACTA!"
"Hey, I may not be afraid of Shinigami, but I sure am hell of afraid of rabid fan girls," Avirama said. "Only an idiot would think that they didn't need to be afraid of that crowd."
"EXACTA! Besides, it's your fault for not realizing what was about to happen."
"Oh shut up, Lobster Boy," Ggio moaned.
"Now now, no fighting you two," Sung-Sun said. "We need to get to our next class."
"Yeah, and Nnoitora and I need to get down to the practice yard," Grimmjow said as he and Nnoitora separated from the rest of the group.
"Shit, we have to practice that fucking Kido again, don't we?"
"Damn right, now stop complaining. If we improve quickly then we can join in whatever fun that Ulquiorra and the others are having."
"Good point," Nnoitora said, grinning. "They did mention something about problems in the World of the Living."
"There you go. They're having fun while we're stuck with classes. I say that we start kicking ass in Kido. That way we can join in the fun before it's over," Grimmjow said.
"Ya know, as much as I hate to say it…FUCKIN'-A, let's do it," Nnoitora said and laughed. "We'll show these pussies that we're not a couple of push-overs, well…at least I'M not."
"Are you trying to start a fight, Twiggy?"
"Aw, did I hu't the poo' widdle Gwim-Kitty's feewings?"
"That's it, I'm gonna fuckin' kill you," Grimmjow snarled.
"Well, I see that you two are getting along…as usual," someone said.
"That…that voice," Nnoitora said, his eyes grew wider.
"It…it can't be," Grimmjow muttered.
The two turned their heads and saw a woman with familiar long green hair and a red mark across the bridge of her nose. She wore a girl's academy uniform, but the kosode was slightly tight in the area of the chest, although not as tight as it had been on Harribel.
"Hey guys, it's good to see you again," she said, waving at them.
"NEL!" Nnoitora and Grimmjow shouted at the same time.
Urahara Shop
"So…these are our Gigais?" Starrk asked as he looked at the four empty bodies that were leaned against the wall.
"What's with the uniforms?" Lilynette asked.
"Well…for starters, these are your uniforms," Kisuke said, grinning. "The uniforms are there because starting tomorrow, you'll all be students. Starrk, Harribel, and Ulquiorra will be students at Karakura High School. However, I think that it would be best if Ulquiorra doesn't start for another couple of days. So tomorrow, Starrk and Harribel will become students. Lilynette, you'll be a student at Karakura Middle School, which is right next door."
"I do not understand," Ulquiorra said. "Why do we have to be students? I would think that we would look too old to be High School students."
"Because, that's what Hitsugaya's advanced team posed as when they came here and they'll be doing the same this time around," Kisuke said. "Also, it makes it easier for ya to keep an eye on Ichigo and his buddies."
"Plus, Kiss-key here didn't know what else you could pose as," Dr. Fleur said as she dragged her own Gigai out of one of her suitcases. "Man this thing was a hassle trying to smuggle through Customs," she said.
"Wait, weren't you wearing your Gigai when you went through Customs?" Starrk asked.
"Oh, well…yeah…but…this is my back-up Gigai. I…uh…I have a tendency of losing at least one per trip," she said and gave a nervous laugh.
"This woman is too much like Orihime," Ulquiorra muttered. "Why did she even need to take an airplane to travel when she could have just traveled here by using the Senkaimon?"
"Let's hope that she has better taste buds," Starrk said. "In case she decides to cook something for us."
"KISUKE!" Harribel shrieked.
"What is it, my dear?" Urahara said, only to meet with Harribel's fist. Starrk and Ulquiorra winced as the fist made contact.
"Why…the Hell…is my uniform…SO LOW CUT?" she shouted.
"Ouch," Urahara said, clutching his nose.
"Oh boy," Starrk said.
"I would have thought that she would be used to showing that much skin," Ulquiorra said.
"What did you say?" Harribel asked, glaring at Ulquiorra.
"I only meant that when you went into your Resurrección, you showed off much more skin than that," Ulquiorra continued in his monotone voice.
"That's not the point," Harribel said. "The point is that all of the teenage pervs will be STARING AT ME if I wear that thing."
"Bel," Starrk said. "I'm sure that it won't be that bad. Besides, if any pervy kid tries to make a move on you, I'll be sure to knock them into next week for you. Also, I think that uniform will look really great on you."
"Starrkey," Harribel said, smiling and blushed.
"Aw, how romantic," Dr. Fleur said looking as if she would just melt into a puddle.
"This is most unusual and yet very intriguing," Ulquiorra said. "I must research this 'romantic' thing a bit further."
"Uh…excuse me," a soft voice came from beside them.
They turned and saw a little girl with her black hair in pig tails. When Harribel looked at her she couldn't help but notice that her large eyes had a sleepy look to them. That look reminded her a little bit of Starrk whenever they had to go to one of Aizen's meetings. Next to her stood a red-haired boy who was about her height and Harribel thought that the expression on his face was similar to one that Grimmjow would wear.
"Ah, Jinta, Ururu," Urahara said. "I take it that the new shipment of soul candy arrived."
"Yeah, it did," Jinta said and looked at the former Espada. "So…these are the newbies that the Soul Society sent over?"
"Yeah, they are," Urahara said, grinning. "Ururu, what do you think?"
Ururu got closer to the former Arrancar and looked at them in turn. She got closer to Lilynette who only smiled at her. Ururu's expression didn't change for a while and then she burst into a sunny grin.
"I like them," she said. "Especially her," she pointed at Lilynette who was beaming.
"I thought you would," Urahara said, grinning. "Now, they need to get some sleep, because tomorrow they officially begin their assignment and training."
Inner World
Ichigo felt himself falling through water. For the first time since he learned how to do the Final Getsuga Tensho, he was back in his inner world. But this world was a land of ruin and decay. Everything was covered with water, but he could see how the buildings, which once stood tall, were now piles of rubble. The glass of the windows were broken and gleamed in the dim light that reached them.
"What…what happened?" Ichigo asked, feeling grief and terror fill him.
"That should be fairly obvious," a voice, which sounded like nails grating on a chalk board, said.
"No…no…not…not you," Ichigo moaned as he turned to his Inner Self.
"I see," White Ichigo said, licking his ice-blue lips with his black tongue. "So, you're still afraid of me. Why should you be?"
"Where's Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked, not wanting to answer him.
"Oh, Zangetsu's not here at the moment. Would you like for me to leave a message?" his Inner Hollow asked and burst out laughing. "Fool, Zangetsu's not in control here anymore. Oh sure, he comes back every now-and-again, but he's not as strong as he used to be. In fact, he's fading away. But I…I'm always solid here."
"How is that possible?"
"Because, this is MY WORLD!" the creature shrieked. "I warned you that if you ever showed signs of weakness then I would devour you. YOU SHOWED WEAKNESS, ICHIGO KUROSAKI! You allowed that weakling to kill you and you allowed me to take over. All of this was mine, and it would still be mine if that weakling hadn't attacked you from behind and caused me to lose control."
"This world was never yours," Ichigo said, but he knew that wasn't the truth.
"Mark my words, Ichigo," the creature said, his black and yellow eyes glittered with malice. "I am you and you are me. I AM THE KING…and you are my steed. I will never submit myself to you again if you continue to make yourself weak. If you ever regain your power and yet are not strong enough to wield them, then I will trample you to the dust and take them from you. However, if you prove yourself strong enough to tame me, then I will have to relent. But, until then…GET OUT OF MY DOMAIN!"
Ichigo felt himself being pulled back by some great force. He screamed as he felt the force crush him.
Kurosaki Clinic
Rukia rushed out of the closet when she heard Ichigo scream. She saw Ichigo on the ground, his body covered in sweat. He was trying to make his way to the bathroom, but he couldn't make it. He vomited before he even reached his door. Tears streamed from his tightly shut eyes and his face was filled with agony.
"Helpless…I'm so…I'm so fucking helpless," he moaned as though half-asleep.
Rukia looked at him, her eyes wide in shock and horror. She had never seen Ichigo like this before.
Footsteps came from outside and Isshin rushed in. He looked at Rukia and then at Ichigo's shivering figure as he lay in vomit.
"He'll be fine in the morning," Isshin said as he lifted his son from the floor. "Rukia, I want you to perform a Kido healing spell on him after I clean him up."
"Alright," Rukia said. "Mr. Kurosaki, what…what happened?"
"He had a nightmare," Isshin said. "That's all."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Come morning, he'll be up and about and able to go to school. But for now, he just needs to get cleaned up. After I clean him up, I'll clean up that mess. Oh and Rukia…"
"Yes?"
"Don't mention this to anyone, especially to Yuzu and Karin. Understand?"
"I understand, Mr. Kurosaki."
"Thanks," Isshin said and left the room.
Rukia looked out and watched as Isshin carried his son to the bathroom. She could hear the sound of running water and Isshin humming a lullaby to his son. She turned and looked at the puddle of vomit on the floor. She sighed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She took one of the large mixing bowls and filled it with hot water and soap and she took a roll of paper towels from the pantry. As she returned upstairs, she felt her heart ache for Ichigo. She never saw him in that much pain and suffering before.
"Rukia, what's going on?" Yuzu asked from her doorway. She was clutching an all-too familiar stuffed lion to her. While Yuzu called it "Bostov", Ichigo and Rukia knew the thing as Kon. Kon looked at Rukia and then looked up at Yuzu.
"It's fine," Rukia said, trying to put on her best smile. "Ichigo just couldn't sleep and he had to take a bath and I spilled some juice."
"Are you sure everything's fine?" Yuzu asked.
"I'm sure. Now, go back to sleep, Little One," she said.
"Okay," Yuzu said as she shut the door to her room.
Rukia went back into Ichigo's room and looked at the vomit. As she got on her knees and began cleaning it, she began to cry.
Karakura High School, the Next Morning
"So…this is it," Starrk said as he looked at Karakura High School.
"Yeah," Harribel said as she pulled up her school vest to try to hide more of her bosom. "I wonder why he thought it best if Ulquiorra didn't start classes for another couple of days."
"I think it's because he had more contact with Ichigo and his friends than either of you," Dr. Fleur said, adjusting her uniform to show off more of her bosom. "Too bad it's not in purple," she moaned.
"What's with you and purple?" Harribel asked.
"Purple's the best color," Dr. Fleur said as though it should have been obvious.
"Wait, why are you here?" Starrk asked.
"Oh…I don't know," Dr. Fleur said and gave a sly wink.
"Wonderful," Harribel sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."
They went inside and saw a flight of stairs that led to the upper levels. Starrk looked at the slip of paper that had their class number on it and then at the flight of stairs. He shrugged and started to walk up with Harribel and Dr. Fleur behind him. As they made their way up the flight of steps, Dr. Fleur's clumsiness decided to take over and she went sprawling on the steps. Her school bag still clutched in her hand.
"Owee," she moaned as she got up and began to rub her chest. "That really hurt," she pouted.
She leapt off the ground as though and beamed. Starrk and Harribel looked at each other and shrugged as they made their way into the school. Dr. Fleur rushed up the rest of the stairs and skipped into the hall.
Starrk and Harribel were amazed how whenever she talked about Spiritual Evolution, Dr. Fleur sounded like a professional and intelligent expert. However, on everything else she sounded like a complete space cadet. This contradiction of personalities made them even more uncertain about her.
"Let's see here, we're supposed to go to class 1-3," Starrk said.
As they continued to walk down the hall, the other students in the hall looked at them. There were a rather large number of boy students walking into opened lockers as they stared at Harribel and Dr. Fleur. Some of the girls giggled among themselves and stared at Starrk.
"This will never work," Harribel said. "We don't look anything like High School students."
"I thought that Kiss-key said that he made sure that your Gigais looked like High School students?" Dr. Fleur said.
"Well it worked with Rangiku and Ikkaku and Yumichika and Renji," Starrk whispered, remembering the videos that Urahara showed them of Hitsugaya's advanced team in their Gigais. "If those four could get away with it, then maybe we could."
"WOW, they're all looking at us," Dr. Fleur said, grinning. "We must be like celebrities or something."
"Oh boy," Starrk said as he rubbed his head while Harribel rolled his eyes.
The bell rang and the students in the hall rushed to their classrooms. The three looked around, trying to figure out where they were supposed to go. However, they didn't know to look at the plaques above the doors.
"Well…what do we do now?" Starrk asked.
"Hey!" someone shouted from behind them, causing them to jump. "You must be three of the new students, right?"
"Yeah, I'm Coyote Starrk and the other two are Tia Harribel and Samantha Fleur," Starrk said.
"Hmm, then I guess that Ulquiorra Schiffer must be ill. Oh well, hopefully he won't be ill too long. I'm Miss Misato Ochi, and I'll be your teacher," she said grinning. "Oh…a piece of advice: most of the boys are a bunch of troublemakers and nice girls like you," she said as she put an arm around Harribel and Dr. Fleur, "should stay clear of them. Understand?"
"Uh…sure," Harribel said, a bit stunned.
"I got it," Dr. Fleur said. "After all, most boys are a bunch of creepy perverts anyways. But I guess that's what adds to their charm."
"You got that right," Miss Ochi said, laughing. "As for you…" she said and turned to Starrk. "You seem like a nice enough young man, but…if you cause me any trouble…"
"Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble," Starrk said. "I would rather stay out of trouble."
"Good boy," she said and patted his head as if he was some kind of dog.
Harribel giggled and Starrk glared at her, but that only made her giggle even more.
"I don't get it," Dr. Fleur said. "What's the joke?"
"I'll…I'll tell you later," Harribel said, finally suppressing her giggles.
"Alright, just follow me," Miss Ochi said and they entered the classroom.
In the classroom, Ichigo looked out the window. He knew that something must have happened last night, but neither his dad nor Rukia would tell him exactly what happened; only that he had a bad dream. However, he knew that it was more than just a bad dream. He could only remember…
"GET OUT OF MY DOMAIN!"
He shook his head.
No.
"I AM THE KING…and you are my steed."
No. I'm in control.
"I told you that if you that if you ever showed signs of weakness, then I would devour you."
I'M NOT WEAK!
"Yes you are," the raspy said from right next to him.
He turned and saw his Hollow self sitting where Rukia usually sat, looking at him.
This is a dream.
"Oh no, it's no dream," White Ichigo said, grinning. "I'm becoming your reality."
Ichigo closed his eyes and opened them. White Ichigo was no longer sitting next to him. Instead he saw Rukia, who had been talking with Sachiko, look at him. Her eyes were filled with concern for him.
"Ichigo…are you alright?" Rukia asked.
"I…I guess I just dozed off," Ichigo said.
"Alright class, may I have your attention," Miss Ochi said from the front. Everyone focused to her and Ichigo was glad for the interruption. "I want to introduce you to three new students who will be joining our class," she said.
Ichigo took notice at that. The last time they had new students come in was when Toshiro Hitsugaya came just after Ulquiorra and Yammy invaded the World of the Living. He noticed that whenever they got new students, something always seemed to come up and he began to have a bad feeling about it. He heard people whispering to themselves and he looked at the three new students. Two of them were rather attractive girls who looked to be in their older teens or early twenties. The third was a brown haired boy who looked about the same age except for the faded goatee, and Ichigo felt as if he saw him somewhere before.
"Man, I must be really tired," Ichigo muttered, ignoring that feeling of déjà-vu.
"No way, it can't be," Sachiko whispered.
"What is it, do you know them?" Rukia asked.
"First let me introduce Miss Tia Harribel," Miss Ochi said from the front and gestured to the darkly-tanned girl with short blonde hair and sea-green eyes who bowed to them. "This young man is Mr. Coyote Starrk," she continued and gestured to the boy who only yawned as he gave a polite wave. "Finally, Miss Samantha Fleur," she said and the other girl waved wildly to them, her smoky blue eyes glittered from behind her small-framed purple-rimmed glasses. "Now, I would like for you to make them feel welcomed. Mr. Starrk, you can take the seat behind Miss Kuchiki, who is right over there. Miss Harribel, you can take the seat next to Miss Arisawa, over there. Miss Fleur, you can take the seat next to Miss Amaterasu, over there."
As the three made their way to their seats, whispers broke out from the other students. Ichigo noticed that most of the other guys were busy ogling Harribel or Dr. Fleur, which was no big surprise. Keigo looked as if his head could explode and his eyes could fall out at any moment. He could hear bits and pieces of the other students' conversations with each other.
"Did she say that his name was Coyote Starrk? What kind of name is that?" one student asked.
"Oh man, looks like we got a couple of more hotties," another said.
"Yeah, check out the rack on the dark-skinned babe."
"That guy looks kind of cute."
"Oh man, check out his eyes…oh God I could just die in them."
"What's with the goatee, though?"
"Oh boy, it's sure getting' hot in here."
"Oh man, Orihime's gonna have some serious competition in the Best Rack contest."
As soon as Ichigo heard Orihime's name mentioned he suddenly became aware that she wasn't there. Uryu and Chad were present, but not Orihime.
"Hey Tatsuki," he said.
Tatsuki, who was sitting a couple of rows behind him, looked up.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Where's Orihime?"
"When I called her this morning, she said she wasn't feeling too well. I guess she just caught the flu or something," Tatsuki said.
"Oh…is she alright?"
"Yeah, I'm sure she's fine. She probably finally got a case of food poisoning from her own cooking."
"Well, that wouldn't surprise me one little bit," Ichigo said and turned back.
He saw Starrk coming closer and the feeling of déjà-vu struck him again. Then he took a look at his blue-grey eyes.
I've seen those eyes before, he thought. Orihime…Las Noches…blue-grey eyes...
Las Noches, Before the Invasion of the Fake Karakura Town
"Woman," Kenpachi said.
"Uh…yes sir," Orihime said, jumping to her feet.
"Come and heal my wounds."
"Right away," she said and started running towards him.
She was almost halfway to Kenpachi when the man stood in front of her. Ichigo's eyes went wide in absolute shock. Kenpachi turned around, a slight look of surprise was on his face. The man put a gloved hand on Orihime's shoulder.
"I'm really sorry to have to do this," he said. "I don't like these kinds of assignments, but I have my orders."
Ichigo and Kenpachi charged towards the man, their Zanpakuto ready. The man frowned slightly and looked at Ichigo.
"Gotta borrow her for a bit," he said and then as Kenpachi and Ichigo swung their swords, the two were gone.
Karakura High School, Present
"It's…it's you," Ichigo whispered.
Starrk stopped and looked at him. His eyes did not show any sign of surprise. He only sighed and rubbed his head as he sat in the seat behind Rukia. Rukia looked surprised at Ichigo's reaction. She looked at him and then at Starrk.
"I remember you," Ichigo said. "What…what the Hell are you doing here, Arrancar?"
Rukia looked at Ichigo in surprise and then at Starrk. She looked ready to get out of her Gigai and into her Soul Reaper mode if she had to. Harribel and Dr. Fleur looked at what was going on as if they would step-in if they had to.
"Oh boy," Starrk said.
Karakura Park
Orihime Inoue was not sick.
She felt as though she needed some time to herself. She needed some time to let go of the past. She thought that the best way to do that was to go back where it began. She stood at the edge of the pit where she first saw Ulquiorra and then later on she stood at this exact same spot to be taken to Hueco Mundo.
She heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't turn around. She figured that it was only someone taking a walk, but then she heard the familiar monotone voice speak into the softly blowing breeze.
"Are you scared, Little Girl?"
Her eyes widened, but she didn't turn around.
"I'm not afraid," she whispered.
"Why aren't you afraid?"
"Because my heart is with my friends."
"What is this 'heart' that you speak of? If I tore open your chest, would I see it? If I cracked open your skull, would I see it? Once again, I will ask you. Are you scared, Little Girl?"
She turned around and the tears came into her eyes. Ulquiorra stood there, not as she last saw him. He still had the same emerald-green eyes and turquoise markings like tears below his eyes. His black hair moved with the breeze, but he no longer had the half-helmet mask. He stood before her dressed in black shoes, dark jeans, an emerald-green shirt and a long black coat. His right hand was extended to her.
"I'm not afraid," she said again as she reached out with her own hand.
She half-expected for the vision to fade or for Ulquiorra to crumble into dust to be blown by the wind. However, their hands touched. They both looked at their hands touching each other and then into each other's eyes.
"I see…" Ulquiorra whispered, tears coming into his own eyes. "Now I see…"
"What do you see, Ulquiorra?"
"Your heart was always there…in my hands."
End of Chapter 4
Shinigami Cup:
"What are you doing here?" Nnoitora asked.
"Well...duh...Nel's going to class," Nel said.
"I meant what are you doing here in the Soul Society?"
"Oh Nel's here because I was invited. Pesche and Dondochakka are here too."
"Wait a minute," Grimmjow said. "I thought that you only referred to yourself in the third person when you're in your child form; not your adult form."
"Nel's confused," she said.
"He's wanting to know why you're doing such a stupid thing as refer to yourself in the third person, you stupid bitch."
"Nel always refers to Nel this way."
"God, this was the main reason why I cracked your mask in the first place," Nnoitora growled.
"I thought it was because she was ranked higher than you and a woman," Grimmjow said.
"If that was true, then why do you think I never tried it on Harribel?"
"Good point," Grimmjow said. "Was it because she showed pity on you and you hate pity?"
"That's a good reason, but not the main one. The main one is because whenever she referred to herself as 'Nel', it was FUCKING ANNOYING!"
"Are you sure it wasn't because you loved Nel?" Nel asked.
Grimmjow looked at Nnoitora who only looked stunned.
"Ooh, does the Spoon have a crush on Nel?" Grimmjow asked, smirking.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Nnoitora shouted.
A.N.: Wow, I got done ahead of the deadline and so, this chapter will be up a little ahead of schedule. I'm sorry that it took me a bit longer than I usually aim for with chapter releases, but I got stuck at a certain part and then found a way to get unstuck. A lot has happened in this chapter and much more has yet to happen.
I thought that "Arrival" was an appropriate name for this chapters because there are quite a few of them and all of them are important to the story. Here's a quick count of the arrivals:
1. Starrk, Lilynette, Harribel, and Ulquiorra arrive in the World of the Living
2. Dr. Fleur arrives in the World of the Living
3. Nel arrives in the Soul Society
4. Ulquiorra arrives back into Orihime's life
5. Ichigo arrives to his Inner World, only to find out that...
6. White Ichigo arrives back into his Inner World (if he even left)
7. Milton Dante arrives into Ichigo's life (yes, their conversation in the park is VERY important in more ways than one)
I felt that now was the right time to break Ichigo down a bit further. In the previous chapters, he's been feeling the emotional agony and some of the physical agony. However, after getting White Ichigo involved, he's going to feel an even more painful agony, which I'll get more into in future chapters.
Likewise, now that Orihime is reunited with Ulquiorra, it's going to have a variety of affects on her and her friendships. I decided that the right moment was when she was prepared to truly let go of what happened and the place would be the crater in Karakura Park where Ulquiorra and Yammy arrived. Also, I felt it appropriate that they become reunited through the last bit of dialogue that they had with each other and that Ulquiorra could actually tell her what he wanted to. If it turned out too fluffy, I don't really apologize for it. For me, it seemed the best way to reunite them.
Also, I noticed while writing it that both Ichigo and Orihime were drawn to that crater for different surface reasons, but the same core reason. Ichigo believes that it was probably some kind of instinct, but Orihime went in order to say "Goodbye" to Ulquiorra. The core reason though is that they both have emotional scars and a crater is essentially a scar in the land, and they both went there to find healing. In a way, they do find healing, but healing never comes easy and it never comes without a cost.
As for the former Espada, let's just say that I have much more in store for them.
Next actual chapter will include some more significant events, so I better get started. Also, I updated my profile to include some information about Dr. Fleur and the Amaterasu sisters
Thank you for reading and please review or comment.