Disclaimer: The usual; don't own Bleach, but I own my OCs. Don't use 'em without asking me first.
Author's Note IMPORTANT: We finally reach the point in this chapter that meets up with the very first scene of the story. Problem is, some things have changed since I wrote that, so a few of the elements might be different. The most important change is that it hasn't been three months in story time since the first chapter; that was sort of an arbitrary amount of time I put in there. The second change is that the person attacking Ichigo is no longer fighting with a sword. OK, that's out of the way. Sorry 'bout that; now let's get on with the show.
Love Conquers All
Chapter 14: Kenpachi
The next morning brought a gray dawn, and Saika could feel a sense of foreboding in the air so thick it hung like a fog. Looking over, he saw that both Zaraki and Byakuya's beds were empty, which was a good sign. Getting up with a groan, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood, wincing as his muscles protested with as much force as they could. He was still sore from his time with Yoruichi the day before, but the orange-eyed prince forced the discomfort from his mind.
When he did that, though, Saika found that there was a doubt wriggling in the back of his mind like a worm that he had ignored until now. With nothing else clouding his thoughts it surged up at him like a wave, and his eyes widened slightly. Flashing away, Aron went to the one place he knew he could go to be alone and think, as the sun began its arduous climb through the haze.
Yoruichi Shihoin wasn't used to feeling lethargic when she woke up in the mornings, but the combination of fatigue from yesterday's activity and the odd sensation that it was going to be a bad day made her want to just cocoon under her sheets and go back to sleep. She was shocked out of her complacency, however, when she felt Saika's reiatsu not that far off. It was unusually turbulent, and the golden-eyed princess knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep as long as his presence was nagging at her.
"Damn it…" she grumbled, forcing herself away from the comforting warmth and into the chill breeze of the dawn. Throwing on her usual clothes, Yoruichi blinked away to join her former Lieutenant.
Saika felt her reiatsu behind him and sighed.
"I thought I made it obvious I wanted to be alone," he said, and Yoruichi walked across the roof tiles over to him before taking a seat beside her former Lieutenant and smiling.
"We both know that if you really wanted to be alone, Saika," she said, "the last place you would have come was here."
Aron sighed, realizing how predictable he'd been.
"Fair enough."
"So," Yourichi rejoined, "what brings you up here so early?"
"Something I can't get out of my head," he replied. "So far, we've fought and defeated Death, War and Pestilence… but where was Famine?"
"Good question," the Shihoin princess said, her eyes narrowing as she followed Saika's gaze out into the horizon.
"If I may speak, sir," a voice said from just out of Yoruichi's peripheral vision, "I may be able to provide you with an answer."
The golden-eyed woman was on her feet and facing the new arrival in an instant, but Saika flashed upright and put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. Not turning his gaze from the horizon, he spoke.
"You sure took your time, Balthazar."
The figure bent down on one knee, his head bowed.
"Forgive me, my Lord. While under Callos' watch, there was only so much I could do."
Aron chuckled, turning to face his adjutant.
"I was joking, Balthazar. Jesus, people need to stop thinking I'm Dracula or something; I'm not about to impale you because it took you two days to break into the Seireitei. Speaking of which, how the hell did you get over the wall?"
Balthazar flashed a rare, toothy smile.
"I jumped it, and melted through the barrier."
Saika returned the expression.
"Nice."
Yoruichi could only watch the odd exchange with confusion, wondering just what was going on.
"Sai, who the hell is this?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, and Saika turned to face her.
"This is Balthazar, my chief messenger. Callos took him into his command after I fled Hell, but now that my brother is dead, he is released from that obligation."
"I see," Yoruichi said, keeping a wary eye trained on the strange demon anyway.
"I take it you bring news, Balthazar?" Saika asked, and his messenger nodded.
"Of course. As you realized, Famine was not among the Horsemen who assaulted the Gates of the Seireitei. That was because Callos sent him on a separate mission, to the Human World."
Both Yoruichi's eyes and Saika's eye snapped open at that, coming to the same realization simultaneously. Unleashing a Horseman on Soul Reapers was bad enough, but to let someone like Famine run rampant in a world full of defenseless, corruptible souls would lead to nothing short of a catastrophe.
"Yoruichi, tell the Captain-Commander to call a Captain's meeting right away," Aron said urgently, and the Shihoin princess nodded sharply before flashing away. Sighing, the orange-eyed prince turned to his adjutant.
"Balthazar, I need you to go back to Hell and gather information. Most importantly, figure out whom my father is going to appoint as leader of the invasion now that Callos is dead."
The demon rose and bowed.
"At once, my Lord," he said, melting away.
Saika let out a thunderous curse as he wondered why peace was doomed to always be so fragile, especially when the happiness it brought with it was so calming and tranquil. Shutting the good memories out from his mind, Aron flashed away to join the swiftly gathering mass of Captains congregating in the First Division Headquarters.
Ichigo hoped that Rukia wouldn't be too angry with him for leaving her to wake up by herself, but this was something he had to do alone. All it took was a few quick flash-steps before he was at the Gate, and the looming figure of Jidanbo looked down at him with a gigantic smile.
"Why, hello Ichigo," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"
"I need to get outside of the walls for a bit, my friend," Kurosaki replied. "Do you think you could open the Gate for me?"
Jidanbo let out a chuckle that rattled Ichigo's ribs.
"Of course. It'll just be a moment."
Ichigo moved through the gap as soon as it was tall enough, waving his thanks to the gigantic guard as the iron slab closed behind him. Scanning his surroundings for a good perch, Ichigo picked a smooth, broken pillar of rock and sat down cross-legged, pulling on his Vizard mask and closing his eyes as his reiatsu skyrocketed. But the orange-haired Soul Reaper wasn't here to fight, and soon enough a swarm of Spirit Ribbons sprouted around him like a forest.
Ichigo was here to look for someone. His sister, to be specific. He had already failed her once, and he was damned if he was going to let her wander the blasted wasteland of Rukongai for all eternity. He was going to find Karin, bring her to the Seireitei, and start his penitence by getting his sister enrolled in the Soul Reaper Academy. Giving her a future here was the least he could do to atone for robbing her of the future she should have had in the Human World.
Kurosaki filtered through the swarm of Ribbons at an almost blinding speed, feeling for the elusive red one that signified Soul Reaper potential, but even after five draining minutes of nonstop searching he'd come up empty. His heart skipped a beat as Ichigo realized that this meant Karin was deep in the high-number Districts, somewhere between 75 and 80. Fear clawed at his insides, but he controlled himself and remembered just how tough Karin had been as a human; if she had even a fraction of the spiritual energy Ichigo did, she'd be more than capable of taking care of herself. She had believed in him, after all, and it was only fair that he return the favor.
Another round of searching still yielded nothing, and the fact that he was in his transformed state only increased Ichigo's frustration. He was about to fire a cero into a nearby building when he felt a shrouded presence behind him, recognizing it as a runner from the Second Division.
"What?" he barked out, a little harsher than he had intended to. To his credit, the only physical hint the messenger gave to his fear was a tightly controlled flinch.
"A Captain's meeting has been called, and your presence is requested, sir."
Ichigo growled, but nodded all the same, pulled his mask off and eased out of his bankai. The runner flashed away and Kurosaki followed suit, forcing his anger down into the pit of his stomach for the moment. As soon as he had a chance, he was going to find his sister. If he had to rip the edge of Rukongai to the ground to do it, then so be it.
The orange-haired Soul Reaper pushed the doors open and walked through, his eyes focused on Yamamoto as he bowed.
"You are late, Ichigo Kurosaki," the old man rumbled, but Ichigo shrugged it off.
"I was attending to a personal matter, sir, and only just received your summons. Forgive my impertinence," he finished, walking over to stand by Rukia.
"Since when were you so polite?" she asked in a whisper, and Ichigo shot her a half glare.
"I can be civil if I want to, short-stack."
Rukia smirked.
"That's Captain short-stack to you, idiot."
Kurosaki was about to reply, but Yamamoto's powerful voice rumbled through the room and demanded attention.
"You have been called here today to be made aware of a new threat that has emerged to threaten the tenuous balance we strive to protect. Saika Aron, please make your findings known to us."
Aron, who had replaced the cloth around his eye with a eye patch, stepped forward.
"Earlier today, I received a report from a trusted source that the Fourth Horseman, Famine, was let loose upon the Human World by my brother shortly before the assault on Seireitei. He is currently accompanied by three legions, and for all we know is rampaging unchecked."
"This cannot stand," the Captain-Commander rejoined as Saika stepped back, pounding his cane against the floor for emphasis.
"I am hereby ordering that a special detachment be sent to the Human World to quarantine and annihilate this threat. Captain Rukia Kuchiki, Lieutenant Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki will comprise this detachment; I expect you to be in the Human World by this afternoon."
Rukia nodded solemnly, but Ichigo looked like he had just swallowed a bunch of habenero chili peppers.
"With all due respect, sir," he said quietly but firmly, "I ask that you allow me to remain here in Soul Society."
"Ridiculous," Yamamoto snapped back, ignoring the look of barely-contained rage that crept over Ichigo's face.
"Whatever personal matter you have to attend to here, it pales in comparison to the stability of potentially the entire Human World. You are one of our strongest warriors, and your familiarity with the workings of the Human World would prove invaluable on this mission. I deny you permission to remain here while a battle rages elsewhere, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Those who could see Ichigo's face in that moment reached instinctively for their zanpakuto, the look of fury on his face making a hurricane look like a passing drizzle in comparison. It lasted but a moment, though, and the orange-haired Soul Reaper bit back his wrath and bowed.
"Very well," he said, his voice unusually hollow. The meeting was adjourned and Rukia went off to grab Renji, but not before pulling Ichigo aside.
"What's wrong, Ichigo?"
"Nothing," he shot back, trying to wrest his arm from her grip. Rukia, however, was having none of that and held firm.
"Damn it, Ichigo," she growled, the tone of her voice catching Kurosaki off guard, "tell me what's bothering you. I have the right to know that much, don't I? You don't have to bawl your heart out to me or anything, but after last night I assumed you trusted me enough to let me past your fucking armor!"
Ichigo's eyes widened at Rukia's curse—she never cursed—and then a wave of shame swept over him and drowned his anger as he realized she was right. The night before they had shared something amazing, and for once in his life Ichigo had felt completely open and free, utterly vulnerable… and that had terrified him. So he had stepped back into his shell, his final line of defense that was now rapidly cracking in the face of his loved one's rebuke. Sighing, he let the barrier slough off of him once and for all and stood before Rukia not as Ichigo Kurosaki, stoic warrior and Soul Reaper, but as Ichigo Kurosaki, the teenaged boy who felt the weight of insecurity and inadequacy, who knew failure and fear and loneliness.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, pulling her into a strong embrace and just holding her there.
"You're right," he continued. "I do trust you, I was just… afraid, afraid of being so exposed. I promise you, from here on out, no more secrets."
Rukia almost sighed as she felt his warmth encompass her, protecting, comforting and sincere.
"Thank you," she said, pulling away from him and staring deeply into those brown eyes she knew so well. "Now tell me what's making you so morose, carrot-top."
Ichigo gave a weak smile at the nickname, but it faded as quickly as it had come.
"I was trying to find Karin this morning," he explained, "and I couldn't. I looked through every soul from here to District 74, and I came up with nothing. She's in the worst part of Rukongai, Rukia, and I can't find her; I can't protect her. What if…?"
He left the question unspoken, but Rukia knew what he was thinking and her eyes softened.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ichigo," she said. "I'll admit that I don't know Karin that well, but I know she's strong-willed and won't go down without a fight. Besides," she added with a smile, "if ludicrously strong spiritual energy runs in your family, those thugs in the upper Districts won't stand a chance."
Ichigo smiled, giving Rukia a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Thanks, midget; I needed that."
The young Kuchiki was about to respond to the epithet, but chose to brush it off and flashed away, seeking out Renji.
Byakuya had observed the exchange between Kurosaki and his sister from the shadows, and his hand gripped around Senbonsakura so tightly his knuckles turned white. It did not escape his sharp eyes how relaxed his sibling had been, and he could tell just from the way she carried herself, no longer the guarded, reticent girl she had been the day before, but now a confident, proud young woman, that something big had occurred between her and the orange-haired peasant the night before.
Ichigo was about to return to his room and get ready when he felt a coil of tiny, shimmering blades wrap around him like a python, the end of the coil resting pointedly against his jugular. Far from being intimidated, he smirked.
"Yeah, Byakuya?" he said, wishing he could have seen the look on the noble's face when he had kissed Rukia.
"Remember what I told you before, Ichigo Kurosaki," he said with an even steelier voice than normal, "and know that if I was not completely convinced that what happened between the two of you was Rukia's desire as well, you would already be dead."
"I would expect nothing less," Ichigo answered, his voice serious. "And for the record, it was entirely her idea," he appended.
"It does not surprise me in the least that someone such as you would lack the strength to initiate such an act, Ichigo Kurosaki," Byakuya said with a hint of a smile in his voice, retracting Senbonsakura. Ichigo turned to face him and frowned, but then his look gave way to a sly grin.
"I didn't finish," he said. "The first time was entirely her idea."
Enjoying the look on Byakuya's face immensely, Ichigo tallied up another point for Team Kurosaki on his mental scoreboard.
"See you around… dad," he said, not waiting to see Byakuya's reaction to his parting shot. The elder Kuchiki stood frozen in shock for a moment, but then he did something Ichigo would never have expected.
He smiled.
"In the end," he said to himself, "I guess it could not be helped. Keep her happy, Ichigo Kurosaki, and you have my blessing."
Byakuya's smile faded as he thought of having Isshin Kurosaki as his father-in-law, though; the man had been eccentric enough as a Captain, and Kuchiki shuddered to think what fatherhood had done to him.
"Now, this is interesting," Ichimaru said, stopping his journey down the dirt road. Karin stopped as well, raising an eyebrow.
"What's up, sensei?"
"This cloak I'm wearing blocks my reiatsu from being sensed by others," he explained, "but I can't feel yours at all, and as far as I can tell you're doing nothing to suppress it consciously. Is this one of your zanpakuto's abilities, Kurosaki?"
'He's a sharp one,' Raitori's voice spoke up in Karin's head. 'Years of emotional repression rubbed off on me, you know. No one'll be able to sense us unless you want them to, kid.'
"It sounds like it is, sensei," the young Kurosaki replied, a little upset that she didn't even know that power that rested within her own soul.
"That's quite a useful talent to have, Karin," Gin said, resuming his former pace along the road as the dark-eyed Kurosaki hastened to follow him. The sun was finally beginning to peek over the horizon and illuminate the gray sky, and Karin felt like she was about to faint. Needing something to keep her awake, she spoke to her teacher.
"So, what's your story anyway, sensei?" she asked, more than a little intrigued by the enigmatic, silver-haired man who had taught her so much but revealed so little about his reasons for doing so.
"It's complicated," Ichimaru said at length, "and besides, you'll find out soon enough. Once we're done awakening your powers, we're going to go right to the heart of Soul Society, the Seireitei."
"Is that where my brother is?" Karin asked, her previous curiosity about her teacher suffocated by the desire to see her brother again.
"Most likely," Ichimaru said, about to continue when the rooftops of District 80's shanties came into view.
"Get your zanpakuto ready," he cautioned. "Things are about to get dicey."
The 80th District of Rukongai, Zaraki, had earned its reputation of being chaos incarnate. Crime and lawlessness were so pervasive that it took the most appalling offenses to even raise an eyebrow, and sympathy was non-existent. It was the district that never slept, and not in a good way, either.
Almost immediately Karin saw a young woman getting mugged, and moved to dash to her aid. She was stopped cold, however, by Ichimaru's hand gripping her shoulder with far more strength than his thin frame suggested he possessed.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. "That girl needs my help!"
"Think about what you are doing, Karin," Gin said, his voice completely calm. "If you go to help her, the thugs assaulting her will turn on you. If you really want to help her, you must be prepared to kill them."
Karin's stomach plummeted down to her toes as she realized what the purpose of this 'field trip' had been: to force her to hone her killer instinct. Her teacher was trying to prod her into the final step of truly becoming a warrior, and as much as she was repulsed by the idea of taking a life, Karin was finding it hard to restrain herself. When the thugs started clawing at the young woman's clothes, something inside the young Kurosaki's soul clicked into place and she drew her sword.
"Let me go," she growled, and Ichimaru obliged her with a smile.
Karin charged forward without uttering a warcry; she wanted to keep the element of surprise. There were three of them, big and nasty, but she could tell from the way they carried themselves that they were completely undisciplined.
Disgusting.
"Flash, Raitori!"
The jian crackled to life and instantly speared one of the attackers, killing him far too quickly. The warm blood on Karin's dirt-ridden kimono didn't bother her at all, and rage combined with indignation smoldered in her eyes as she rounded on the other two attackers. A shred of fear could be seen in their eyes, but they did not run. Karin didn't give them a chance to make the first move, crouching slightly and lunging forward with the grace of a dancer. Twisting her blade at the last moment, she wrenched the club out of one of the thug's hands and completed the strike, relieving him of his right hand. Whipping her sword back across her body and carving a slash into his chest, Karin looked on in satisfaction as her enemy crumpled to the ground, defeated. As she felt the presence looming behind her, though, Kurosaki realized bitterly that she had left herself wide open to getting flanked, and now she would pay the price.
'Give yourself more credit than that, Karin', Raitori said, her voice scathing. 'This punk's blood isn't worthy of decorating me, anyway. Now, repeat after me…'
Karin spun around to face her last opponent, blocking his mace's strike and calling out the true power of her zanpakuto.
"Kuro Shiden!"
A bolt of black lighting arced from her sword, lancing through the thug's body and turning it to ashes. A smile grew on Ichimaru's face; now, she was finally ready.
Karin helped the shaking woman to her feet, and she looked up at her savior with fear and awe.
"Are you a… Soul Reaper?" she asked, and Karin shook her head.
"No," she replied. "Not yet, anyway. Are you all right?"
The woman smiled.
"Yes, I am. I should be fine, at least for the morning," she replied, bitterness seeping through her relief. Zaraki was never peaceful, and if it wasn't today that tragedy struck it was probably going to be tomorrow.
Karin rooted around in the pockets of the dead prowlers, finding what she was looking for. Holding the pouches aloft with a grin, she tossed them to the woman.
"Use that to find a place to stay," the young Kurosaki suggested, "and if you know how to use one, I'd recommend buying a sword, or at least a dagger."
The woman nodded hastily in thanks, brushing herself off and sparing the corpses of her attackers one last hateful glance before she hurried off.
"Well, that sure was nice of you," Ichimaru said, stepping forward. "Most people would've kept that cash for themselves."
"I'm not most people," Karin snapped back, re-sheathing her zanpakuto after wiping the blood from the blade and resealing it. Her eyes fell upon the jacket one of the thugs was wearing, and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the surprisingly good-looking cloth, black as night with the character for 'demon' stitched on the back in red.
"That is a really nice jacket, though," she said, and soon her dirty, torn up kimono had been replaced by the infinitely more comfortable jacket.
"To the victor, the spoils," Gin said with a smile in his ruby eyes. "Shall we go?"
"Why not? What else is there to do, sensei?" Karin asked. "I'm officially a murderer; wasn't that the point of bringing me here? To make me into a killer?"
"Close, but not quite, Karin," Ichimaru replied, a smile on his face. This kid was much sharper than her brother; he'd give her that.
"This was supposed to rid you of your fear of death, and of taking the life of another. You have not become a murderer, Kurosaki. Rather, you have taken the final step towards becoming a warrior. A true warrior is at peace with death in all of its forms, and does not shy from battle, nor flinch when their blade is graced with blood."
"Poetic," Karin replied, "but I'm not interested in living and dying by the sword."
"Then why were you so quick to strike down those reprobates?"
"I wasn't trying to kill them, I was trying to save that woman."
Gin's smile widened.
"Call it whatever you like, Karin," he said, "but do not deny that in the heat of battle, the fate of that woman was the farthest thing from your mind. I saw you fight, and I saw the thrill of battle in your movements. You can lie to me until the sun goes down, Kurosaki," he finished, "but I wouldn't advise lying to yourself. Come on, we need to find somewhere to eat. I'm starving."
With that, Ichimaru turned and continued walking down the road, leaving Karin lost in thought. Part of her rebelled against the feeling racing through her, the high that had resulted from her victory, but the greater part of her reveled in it. She had crossed blades with another, and had lived to tell about it. Her strength had been challenged, and she had proven herself the stronger. She had fought, and she had won.
And it felt glorious.
Suppressing her turbulent emotions for the moment, Karin shook her head and ran after her teacher as flies began to circle the corpses of her fallen enemies.
Ishida felt his arm begin to tire as the strange creatures kept on coming and coming, with no signs of slowing down or stopping at all. It was like they didn't even feel pain, and the Quincy had never fought anything like them. They were truly demons, in every sense of the phrase.
Chad was faring little better than his friend, his shoulders beginning to ache under his armor despite himself. Blast after blast of blue energy ripped through ranks of the ravenous creatures, but it felt like for every one he incinerated, two more would rise to take its place.
Orihime had run off to Urahara's shop to gather some reinforcements, but she hadn't returned yet and part of Uryu feared the worst. Beating back his doubts, the Quincy turned his full attention back to the battle at hand. Orihime would be fine, he told himself; she had managed to survive Hueco Mundo, after all.
The archer saw a demon lunge for an oblivious bystander and sink its fangs into the man's neck, drawing all of the essence from his soul and leaving nothing but a dry husk. Uryu noticed that the demon grew slightly and its reiatsu increased, and he realized that it was going to be an even harder battle than he thought if he was going to have to keep an eye out for innocent bystanders. Looking over at his friend, the Quincy called out over the din of battle.
"Chad! Can you protect the non-combatants? It looks like these monsters draw their strength from absorbing souls!"
The giant teen just nodded and flashed a quick thumbs-up, turning his attention to a group of monsters that were creeping up stealthily on a pack of schoolchildren and annihilating them. The kids looked up at Chad with awe, but when he told them to go somewhere safe they scattered to the four winds. Ishida was glad that he didn't have to split his attention two ways, but the downside to that was that now he was the only person actively trying to stem the tide of monsters pressing down upon them. His hands were now bleeding, and he wasn't sure how long he could keep up the attack before he was too tired to fight…
Suddenly a trio of cyclones materialized out of thin air and tore through a huge chunk of the demons, and Uryu looked up in surprise. Standing on a nearby rooftop, backlit ethereally by the midday sun, was Senna. The former Memory Rosary looked down at the Quincy and flashed a brief smile.
"Hey, Ishida," she shouted. "Less staring, more shooting!"
The Quincy was galvanized back into action by her sharp words and the fact that he had been given reinforcements at the best possible time; soon his blue arrows flew fast and thick through the air once again. He wasn't about to be outdone by some pseudo-Soul Reaper, after all; not when his Quincy Pride was at stake. Eventually the tsunami of demons began to crest, and then slowly, agonizingly recede as the black wave was repulsed by a combination of blue spirit energy and crackling, viciously sharp tornadoes. Just when they thought the scales had tipped in their favor, though, the true enemy decided to show himself.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Famine crowed, dismounting his midnight-black steed and brandishing his spear.
"It looks like some children thought they could stop me. How laughable. Nonetheless, perhaps your souls will slake my hunger, if only for the moment. Prepare yourselves!"
The spear whirled through the air with a shrieking sound that put banshees to shame, swallowing up even the air around it in a mad grab for sustenance. When he was satisfied that enough energy had been gathered, the Horseman unleashed a blast of gray energy that nearly took Ishida's arm off.
"Slowing down already, Quincy?" Famine taunted. "I'm just getting started!"
The Horseman stuck out his palm, which began to glow with the same gray energy his spear had spewed forth. Instead of resulting in a blast, though, Uryu felt all of a sudden like his body as being devoured from the inside. And in a sense, that was exactly what was happening.
Only it wasn't his body, it was his soul.
"Yes, yes, you feel it; don't you?" Famine hissed. "That's what it feels like to have your very essence devoured while you still breathe. Feel the void spread within you, Quincy. Know my eternal hunger, and embrace your doom!"
Uryu was in the depths of an agony so intense it bordered on perverse ecstasy. His eyes were going blind, his mouth drier than blasted desert sands. All he knew was hunger, the need to replace the rapidly spreading blackness that was creeping over his soul. He felt it push past the final obstacles, and his limbs began to slacken as the world slipped into darkness…
But the end did not come. Rather, the world became suddenly sharp and clear again, life flowing back into his body. A dark object blocked out the sun, but when two yellow eyes turned to face him through a mask, Uryu put aside his fear and gave a weak smile.
"You're late, Kurosaki," he quipped, and Ichigo chuckled.
"I don't know about that," the Vizard said. "Looks like I'm right on time. What did I tell you about dying on me, Ishida?"
"Don't worry," the Quincy shot back, his pride returning with his strength, "I'll be more than happy to humiliate you in a duel, once this is done."
"Oi, morons!" Renji yelled. "Stop flirting and help us out!"
Ichigo frowned and turned his attention back to the Horseman, while Ishida scoffed and rose, shaking his head while wiping the dirt off of his uniform before flitting away to rejoin the battle. Kurosaki saw that Famine had finished regenerating his amputated hand, and he was furious.
"You impudent bastard! You dare scar one of the Four Horsemen?"
"I already killed your partner, Death," Ichigo hissed in his deadly Vizard voice. "All you are to me is another dead demon walking."
Famine's eyes widened as he took in what the orange-haired Vizard had said, and then they narrowed again to murderous slits.
"You… you killed Death? She was the best of us, you maggot! Prepare to pay for your crime with your life!"
The Horseman struck with his spear and Ichigo jumped to dodge it, only to discover too late that it had been a feint. As the barbed spearhead raced towards him, Ichigo braced himself for the pain until a figure jumped in front of him and blocked the blow. All he saw was a red ribbon nestled in a head of dark, blue-black hair, but that was enough to make his breath catch in his throat. It couldn't be her, could it?
"Senna?" he breathed out, and the figure glanced over her shoulder and smiled, her burnished orange eyes twinkling with mischief even now.
"Long time no see, Ichigo," she said, forcing the spear and its wielder backwards with a shove. "I figured it was about time I repaid you for saving me."
"But… how are you here? I thought you ceased to exist when everyone forgot who you were!"
She smiled then, and it was almost like she'd never disappeared in the first place.
"You never forgot about me, Ichigo," she said simply, before turning her attention back to the staggering Horseman. Famine glared at her with a bloodthirsty hunger in his sunken eyes, and bared his teeth.
"Worthless cur," he hissed. "How dare you stand between a hunter and his prey?"
Rather than strike with the point of his spear, Famine twisted his wrist and sent the blunt end of his weapon smashing into her chin. Caught unawares by the uppercut, Senna was sent flying into a concrete wall and crumpled like a rag doll, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
"You bastard," Ichigo growled, lunging at the Horseman. Famine side-stepped the strike, parrying another vicious thrust by the wrathful Vizard before lunging with the spearhead aimed at Ichigo's heart. Kurosaki narrowly blocked the attack, and Famine leaned in to leer at his enemy as he put more pressure on the spear-point.
"Interesting," he jeered. "You don't fight to avenge that girl; you're just fighting to kill me. Who here really cares for you, I wonder? Let's smoke them out, and then I'll devour them and even the score between us."
The Horseman pushed the point of his spear past Ichigo's blade and slammed it into his sternum, drawing a pained howl from the wounded Vizard. Rukia's head snapped in his direction at the sound, his name tearing itself from her lips in shock and anguish.
"Ichigo!"
Famine's eyes lit up in perverse glee.
"Ah," he sighed. "There she is."
Pushing the spear tip further into the Vizard's chest, he smiled with both rows of teeth.
"How does it feel, boy?" he crowed. "How does it feel to die?"
"Pretty much the same as every other time," Ichigo shot back. "What, do you want a cookie or something, you asshole?"
Famine actually paused for a moment at that, his eyebrow rising ever so slightly.
"Actually, one of those would be… wait, are you mocking me, you wretch?" he hissed as he caught on, applying more pressure to his spear and forcing Ichigo to bite back a scream.
"I guess I was," he replied, "but it's no fun if you're too stupid to get it in the first place."
Famine decided he had taken enough from this whelp, and yanked his spear out of his enemy's chest before holding it above his head, spearhead pointing down like the fang of an abnormally large and very hungry wolf.
"Once you're gone, she'll belong to me, boy," he taunted as he brought his spear screaming down through the air. Rukia screamed something with all of the strength left in her lungs, but before the lethal strike hit home there was a flash of blinding white light, forcing Rukia to close her eyes.
Karin looked at herself in the mirror on the wall across from her barstool and could barely believe her eyes. The girl looking back at her was sporting longer, more jagged hair than she was used to, and there was a thin line across her left cheek gradually fading from purple to white. Shinso had been a hard teacher, to say the least. The young Kurosaki could also swear she'd gotten taller, but she was probably just seeing things.
"What can I get for ya, miss?" the barman half-growled, and Karin was at a loss for words. After all, she'd never been to a place like this before. Gin let her stew in awkwardness for a few beats before stepping in, keeping the hood of his cloak over his head to avoid recognition.
"She'll have a cup of sake, as will I," he spoke smoothly, and the barman just nodded before slinking off. Karin looked over at her teacher apprehensively.
"Are you sure that's okay?" she asked, and Ichimaru just chuckled.
"You'll be fine; most Soul Reapers have high tolerances by nature. Besides, if anything it'll make focusing your spiritual energy easier; a calm mind always works better than a stormy one."
Kurosaki paused to consider that and eventually shrugged, taking a sip of the rice wine when it was placed in front of her. Gin took a heavier pull from his, leaned forward slightly, and began to speak.
"Do you want to know why I really agreed to train you, Karin?"
There was something in his voice just then that compelled her to listen; he had never been open like this before now, so she reasoned that it must be something important.
"I wasn't lying when I said it was to repay a debt I owed someone," he explained. "Truth is, though, that I didn't owe your brother anything.
"The person I had to repay was your father."
Karin's eyes went wide at that and she was glad she wasn't holding her cup of sake, or she would have dropped it on the bar and broken it.
"What?" she sputtered, sure that she hadn't just heard that. Karin could feel Gin's eyebrow rise up beneath the hood.
"You mean to tell me you don't know about your own father? He used to be a Captain in Soul Society, Karin. He was the one who first found me, and put me into the Soul Reaper Academy."
"No way…" Kurosaki mumbled, trying to make sense of what she was hearing before giving up and having another pull of sake instead. Ichimaru just nodded.
"Before Sosuke Aizen even knew who I was, your father had found me and seen through my mask like no one else had before, except for Rangiku," Gin continued, and Karin thought she heard his tone shift two shades closer to heartbroken when he said the name 'Rangiku'. Karin had the distinct impression all of a sudden that she'd heard that name before somewhere…
"He saw my power for what it was," Ichimaru said, "but he also know what could happen if I grew up in the wrong place, or learned about my powers from the wrong people. Trying to keep me from turning into a villain, he enrolled me in the Academy as soon as I was old enough. If he'd known about Aizen then, though, I do not know what would have become of me.
"Nevertheless, I rose through the ranks quickly and was scorned for it, my hope and optimism rotting over time into contempt and hatred. I tried to seek out Isshin for guidance, but he had left to go live in the Human World; apparently, he had fallen in love with some woman named Masaki."
Karin bit her tongue to keep from interrupting as her mother's name was mentioned, and let her teacher finish.
"I was desperate for guidance then, for a father figure to do what Isshin had done, to fill the gap in my life. But no one came, and I slipped even further into sociopathic rancor until I met a kindred spirit: Sosuke Aizen. He also saw me for what I was at that point, a monster, but he did not ostracize me. He took me in, as your father had done before him, but rather than keep my killer instinct at bay he nurtured it, made it stronger and stronger until the mask I had worn to conceal my true face became the only face I knew.
"I owe what little humanity I retain to Isshin Kurosaki," Ichimaru finished as he polished off his cup, "and if I have to teach you how to become a fighter to repay him, then that's what I'll do."
Karin thought about her sensei's words for a few moments before realizing that a lot of what she already accepted as normal was weirder than the idea of her father having a secret serious side, so she chose to give her teacher the benefit of the doubt. There was something she didn't understand, though.
"So what happened to your mask?" she asked. Gin just shrugged.
"Its usefulness expired with Aizen."
"So you're free now, then?"
Her teacher gave a sad smile she could feel without needing to see it.
"I don't think I'll ever be free, Karin," he replied.
Kurosaki suddenly remembered that the strawberry-blonde woman who had been Toshiro's subordinate had been named Rangiku, but before she could say anything a huge voice rumbled behind her.
"Demon, huh? Care to show me the skills that earned you that name, little one?"
Karin saw the big man's reflection in the mirror and her first impulse was to be afraid, but she squelched that immediately. She was a warrior now after all, right? Besides, she had fought toe-to-toe with Gin Ichimaru; what was this punk compared to him? She smirked.
"What makes you think I'd waste my time on scum like you?"
Gin smiled as he heard Karin's provocation; she was getting good at this, and quickly turning into the perfect ally for when the time came for his 'homecoming'.
Kurosaki closed her eyes as she saw the fist cock back, realizing that this was as good a time as any to test out her powers. Letting the energy flow throughout her body, Karin felt out through her reiatsu and pulled herself to the area behind her attacker. It was her first conscious use of flash-steps, and when she found herself staring at the thug's back her smirk widened into a smile. Raitori was at his throat in the blink of an eye, sealed but still sharp enough to end him at a moment's notice.
"Those are the skills that got me that name, punk," Karin hissed, and the man blanched with fear. Kurosaki slammed the flat of her wakizashi into the side of his head and watched him crumple with satisfaction, assuming the fight was over.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
"So you're a Soul Reaper, huh?" one man said, rising from his seat and cracking his knuckles.
"Someone should'a told'ja, we don't appreciate your kind coming around here," another man continued, this one missing a few teeth.
"We don't appreciate it at all."
Gin smiled to himself, waiting to see how Karin would react to this. Would she be calm and strategic, like her father, or brash and headstrong, like her brother?
The young Kurosaki scanned the growing crowd of barflies, looking for the biggest, meanest, nastiest one she could find. When she saw him, standing tall like Goliath, she muttered a quick prayer for forgiveness and readied her attack.
"Flash, Raitori!"
As soon as her zanpakuto was unsealed, Karin vanished, willed herself behind the gargantuan man…
And shoved her sword right through his heart. She withdrew the blade as she felt his body go limp around it, wiped the blood off of the blade as silence settled in around her, and waited. Her strategy had been simple; eliminate the strongest threat, and cause the weaker ones to lose the will to fight. She convinced herself that she drew no pride or warrior's pleasure from so soundly defeating her enemy, but Karin did allow herself a bit of glee for having executed such a perfect flash-step without leaking any reiatsu in the process.
"Most impressive, young Kurosaki," Ichimaru chimed in once all of the other brawlers had tucked their tails in between their legs and fled. "I daresay that was a beautiful combination of brute strength and cold logic. You father would be proud."
"No," Karin said, shaking her head, "he wouldn't."
"Oh, really? Gin asked, his voice amused. "Would it change your mind to know that your father was once the Captain of Division Eleven, the foremost fighting Division in Soul Society?"
"He was what?" Karin half-shouted, incapable of seeing her father as a berserker.
Ichimaru smiled.
"That's why Kenpachi Zaraki was able to defeat the Captain of Division Eleven so easily; once your father left so suddenly, the Thirteen Divisions had to scramble to find a replacement. Needless to say, they didn't do a very good job."
Karin didn't know who this Zaraki guy was, but she was still reeling too much over this newest revelation to worry about that.
"My father… was a butcher?" she said half-to-herself, bracing her weight on the nearby wall to keep from fainting. Gin's smile faded completely at that, and he regarded his student with the coldest stare she had ever seen.
"Do not demean his memory, Karin," he hissed icily, and the young Kurosaki could feel traces of her teacher's reiatsu reaching out to coil around her despite the shroud.
"Your father may have been the greatest warrior in Soul Society, but he was not a butcher. He fought with a sense of virtue, and only drew his sword when there was no other possible outcome."
Ichimaru's reiatsu relaxed, and Karin slumped against the wall. Turning his back to her for a moment, Gin looked over at the barman.
"Do you have anything to eat? I'm famished."
"You're G—Gin Ichimaru," the barman said, looking like he was staring at the boogeyman. The silver-haired Soul Reaper looked at him evenly, the red in his eyes shifting like pulsing blood.
"Is that going to be a problem?" he asked coolly, and the man shook his head frantically.
"No sir," he replied, "not at all. Let me get you some bento."
"Don't forget one for the girl," Gin called out, before sitting down and finishing his sake. Karin stumbled over and joined him a few moments later, downing her cup, refilling it and downing the full one with surprising rapidity.
"Make sure you can still fight, Kurosaki," her teacher said. "We're leaving for the Seireitei as soon as we finish up here, and we have quite a walk ahead of us."
"I understand, sensei," she said, her voice detached. Right then, Karin just wanted to be home, to sit on her father's lap and look up at his goofy smile and know that everything was going to be all right.
But everything isn't going to be all right. She knew things now that she could never forget, and even if her father had been a virtuous warrior like her teacher had said, that didn't change the fact that he had killed people, cut them down and robbed them of their lives. So had she, of course, but this was different; he was supposed to be a huge goofball, a kind, loving man, a doctor; not some walking, talking Soul Reaper killing machine.
Then again, she told herself as the sake began to soothe her troubled mind, there was no reason he couldn't be both a warrior and a father at the same time.
The flash of white light cleared, and Ichigo found himself looking up at the last person he ever expected to see in a Soul Reaper uniform.
"Dad!?"
"Hey, Ichigo," Isshin Kurosaki said in a voice that was much more serious than his normal flippant tone. "I thought you might need some help dealing with this bastard."
"You're a…. a…"
Before the orange-haired Soul Reaper could finish his sentence, Famine's howl of anger drowned him out.
"God damn it!" he shouted. "Must you pesky Soul Reapers always interfere?"
"I was going to let Ichigo fight this one out on his own," Isshin said calmly, "but this has gone beyond a simple matter of pride. I hope that he will forgive me for interceding on his behalf, but I am your opponent now, demon."
Isshin pushed forward with a mighty thrust, sending the Horseman as far away from Ichigo as he could. Sparing a quick glance at Rukia, the elder Kurosaki gave her a small smile.
"You're talented with kido, right, Rukia?"
She could only nod dumbly, nearly as shocked as Ichigo by this turn of events.
"That's good to hear. Keep him alive, Kuchiki," Isshin urged her, before flash-stepping away to confront Famine. Standing tall across from the Horseman, the former Captain unsheathed his zanpakuto and held it out point-down, parallel to his body.
"I see you're using a spear, demon," he said evenly. "In that case, it's the least I can do to even things out. Rage forth and herald the inferno, Enen Ohtori!"
Isshin's zanpakuto glowed red and elongated into a spear, the shaft of which was ash-black and etched with molten orange markings that shimmered in the light like flames. The spearhead itself was sleek, sharp and golden, the light reflecting off of it and giving it the appearance of a live flame.
"Blazing Phoenix?" Famine asked mockingly. "Where's the fire, Soul Reaper?"
Isshin smirked and clenched his fist tightly around his Zanpakuto before slamming it into the ground, sending a wave of lava roaring up from the ground at the shocked Horseman. Barely dodging the blow, Famine got back on his feet and began to speak.
"Ravage all that breathes, Kas—"
"Too slow!" Isshin shouted, sweeping his zanpakuto across his body and sending out a searing wave of flame at his enemy. The Horseman stopped his release and dodged yet again, but the elder Kurosaki didn't let up on the pressure.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to allow you to release your sword?" he asked. "They didn't call me Kenpachi for nothing, demon."
Isshin pressed forward with a blindingly fast series of spear thrusts, keeping Famine literally on his heels and slowly but surely wearing him down.
"Man, this feels good," the former Kenpachi said, delighting in the feeling of adrenaline flowing through his veins once again. "I haven't had a fight like this in a long time. Still, I can't let this go on any longer, monster," he said with a smile,
"I promised Yuzu I'd help her with her homework."
Isshin spun his zanpakuto around and checked Famine in the gut with the shaft. Once the Horseman was staggering backwards the former Kenpachi went in for the kill, slamming the golden spearhead straight through his enemy's skull. Kurosaki resealed his zanpakuto as he watched Famine's body melt into thin air and he sighed, sliding Enen Ohtori back into its sheath before turning to face his now fully healed and awestruck son. Ichigo had shed his Vizard mask, and his shock was reflected in his deep brown eyes as plain as day. Isshin chuckled.
"Don't just stand there looking like an idiot, Ichigo; say something."
"You're a Soul Reaper?"
"Looks that way, doesn't it?" he replied, enjoying the look on his son's face immensely. But as much as he was loving this chat, he really did need to get home.
"How's Karin?" he asked, and Ichigo sighed.
"I haven't found her yet, dad. I'm—"
"Don't apologize, my son," Isshin said gently but sternly. "What happened to her was not your fault in the slightest. It was inevitable, and you beating yourself up isn't going to solve anything. Besides, she's a strong kid; I'm sure she'll do fine. Hell, maybe some day Karin will keep up the family tradition, and become a Captain like I was."
"So, you were the Captain of Division Eleven, Kurosaki-sama?" Rukia asked, and Isshin smiled.
"Sure was. Kenpachi Kurosaki, they called me. But that was a lifetime ago; all I have to remember it by is this piece of my old haori," he said, jerking one of his thumbs back at the piece of white cloth that flowed behind him, bound to his shoulder.
"Well, I should be going," he said, but before he flash-stepped away Isshin saw Uyru standing there and paused.
"Oi, Ishida," he said, and the Quincy seemed shocked that he knew who he was.
"The next time you see your father, tell him he still owes me for that one time forty years ago. He'll know what I mean."
Looking one last time at his son, the elder Kurosaki gave him his warmest smile.
"I'm proud of you, Ichigo," he said, and then flickered away.
With that Isshin was gone, leaving a plethora of shocked faces and unanswered questions in his wake. The sound of Orihime panting as she crested the horizon running at full tilt gently broke the awkward silence. Tessai, Ururu and Jinta were behind her, but when they looked around and saw the devastation, Tessai chuckled.
"Well, it looks like we're not needed here after all," he said, and Jinta kicked the dirt angrily with a scoff.
"Man, and I was really looking forward to busting some heads…"
"Let's go, Jinta," Ururu said meekly. "We have cleaning to do, remember?"
"This is bullshit…" the red-haired boy growled, but the three shopkeepers left anyway. Orihime could only look at her friend's expressions in confusion, wondering what had happened while she had been gone.
Sosuke Aizen opened his eyes and smiled.
The battle with his Inner Hollow had been long and grueling, but in the end it was the beast's uncontrolled rage and emotions that had allowed the infinitely more calculating Aizen to claim dominion over his soul, and complete the final step in his evolution.
He was now a Vizard, and there was nothing that could stop him from wielding this new power and enacting the ultimate revenge on Soul Society. Nothing stood in his way, except perhaps Mortos, but he would soon cease to be a problem. When he felt a tingle off in the distance, Aizen's smile widened. As the small orb of his exiled reiatsu merged with him once again and his soul cried out in jubilation at its wholeness, Aizen's smile widened even further into a smugly murderous grin.
Yes, Mortos would cease to be a problem very, very soon.
Byakuya and Saika were sitting in silence on the Kuchiki Mansion's porch facing the miniature orchard of Sakura trees, lost in thought and every so often breaking the silence to talk, as they had done on several occasions during calm times when they had both been Captains. Byakuya had enjoyed Saika's company because it allowed him to relax from the strict persona he had constructed so flawlessly, and Saika valued Byakuya's friendship because he reined him in, keeping the orange-eyed Soul Reaper from succumbing to his more impulsive instincts. And now here the two friends sat once again, Byakuya silently pondering how little things really changed over time. His reverie was interrupted sharply, however, when Saika's eyes snapped open and he cursed.
"What's wrong?" Kuchiki asked, his voice as still as the nearby fishpond.
"Sosuke Aizen just murdered my father," Aron said numbly, not wanting to believe Balthazar's report that had just come through their reiatsu bridge, but knowing it to be true.
"Aizen sits on his throne."
Author's Note: Whoo, that was fun to write. That whole Isshin scene had been nagging me for a long, long time, so I hope I pulled that off well. And I hope the further adventures of Gin and Karin were satisfying… things will really come to a head for them next chapter, though. Hope you enjoyed it, and Please Review if you would be so kind; it does wonders for my morale. Oh, and I'm sorry I left Grimmjow and Ulquiorra kind of hanging, but I didn't want to cram this chapter with too much stuff. I'll get back to them next installment, I promise.
P.S.—Thanks to Blekmedelninjan, XxIceFurXx, Beyond Flight, Split To Infinity, Revived Sin, MatsuMama and everyone else who has reviewed my story in recent memory or in the past… I'm deeply appreciative, and I'm past the 60-Review mark, which is beyond awesome. Thanks again for your feedback!