Not much else to say since the last chapter.
I still don't own anything you recognise.
Any views expressed in this story, especially by Hichigo, do not necessarily mirror my own views.
Also, I do not intend, in any way, to make light of people cutting their wrists.
Hope you enjoy the chapter.
-()-
Hollow Zangetsu talking: Spleens taste surprisingly good.
Old man Zangetsu talking: Do not hesitate.
Nejibana talking: Lonely people can swim, too.
-()-
Tessai; the former captain of the Kido corps', exiled Shinigami, and worker at Urahara's shop, was poking the downed Kurosaki with the toes of his boot. The boy still wasn't reacting, though. Surprising, since the large man had been nudging him for the past 5 minutes. It was almost like Ichigo was in...
"Jinzeeeeeeee-" A hand lashed out, and grabbed the big man's leg, before its owner stood up and, with a twist of his body, threw the Kido master upwards, and out of the pit; a high pitched scream accompanying the large man's flight.
"What the? Tessai?" Jinta wondered aloud. How had that happened? All that was in there with him was a plus soul. This thought was forcibly confirmed to be incorrect as a voice spoke from behind he, Ururu and Urahara.
"Was the shaft really necessary, Urahara?" A fist slammed into the back of the blonde's head, and he flew forward. The exile let out a panicked yell, which was quickly cut off as he, face first, collided with the wall of the shattered shaft.
"Darn." He uttered as he fell back, and down into the depths of the hole. Then, the shop owner was suddenly climbing out of the hole; having flashed up to the edge while out of the now-shinigami's sight.
"Well, that was an impressive punch Kurosaki-san. And I'm guessing from your attire that you have managed your task. This must be some kind of record." The bucket-hatted man grinned at his self-named apprentice. "Shall we begin lesson three?" He peered at the Zanpakuto that was, once again, taking up the majority of Ichigo's back. Or, more accurately, the sheath of the unnamed sword was.
"Fine. What's this lesson?"
"Simple. Knock the hat off my head." He tapped the rim to reinforce the goal. "And... begin." The boy drew his blade, and scowled when he noticed that the sword was still only a fraction of the length it had been previously. The quiet captain had snapped it when he and Pineapple head came to kidnap Rukia.
'Oh, well. I don't imagine that its a good idea to release so near the two kids.' He commented to himself, and the others that could hear his thoughts. 'I'll have to make do. Hopefully, since it's just knocking the hat off, I'll be able to accomplish it with the hilt.' He blurred forwards, in an impressive show of speed, and swung the broken blade at his opponent; aiming for his head and the hat resting on said man's scalp. But the eccentric man had moved, and his blade swished past his ear.
Kisuke, complete with a grin, took a hold of his cane and it separated into two parts. One, the far more worrying, was a shining blade, while he dropped the other, the disguised sheath, to the floor.
"I thought only Zanpakuto could harm Soul Reapers." Ichigo pointed out, eyeing the thin blade. "What do you hope to achieve with that?"
"Oh? I didn't expect you to remember that tidbit just yet, Kurosaki-san. Well, since you've asked: Awaken, Benehime!" The blade smoothed out and transformed into a medium sized, elegant blade with a slightly curved hilt and a crimson tassel dangling from the base.
"Hmm..." Ichigo huffed slightly. "Doesn't give away much about its capabilities, that." The boy scowled. Then his face turned to one of confusion when he noticed the pressure of the man's Reiatsu. "Hang on, how are those two not being crushed by your pressure? Releasing should have hurt them, at least."
"Ah. You don't really think I'd miss something so vital when I built my training area, do you Kurosaki-san? I'm insulted." He gave a rather pathetic pout.
"Eh. You seem like a bit of a dumb ass to me, so yeah." The teen shrugged, followed by a cloud appearing over the older man. "But that's good, at least. I can see what I'm capable of out here." He readjusted his grip on the large hilt.
'Any of you particularly want to take this guy?' He asked the residents of his mind.
'You gonna kill him?' Hichigo questioned.
'No.'
'Maim?'
'No.'
'Then don't waste my time.' The Hollow went back to doing whatever he did when Ichigo wasn't paying attention; the human was a bit wary to ask what exactly that was.
Following the sadistic spirit's hope of violence, Nejibana and the old man responded without any particular care either way; neither had any particular blood-thirst; unless their wielder was harmed, that is. Lastly, he heard a growl that could be taken either way, but had a general feel of anger and anticipation. Ichigo tended to understand his last Zanpakuto, and so assumed he had understood the spirit this time, too.
The orange haired Shinigami brought the remnants of his oversized blade to his left arm, and pressed it against his skin.
"Savage..." He ran the blade down his flesh, bringing forth blood that ran down his arm. "Tabigarasu!"
And a torrent of blue Reiatsu hid Ichigo from those watching's view. When he was uncovered, it left Urahara confused. What he saw was far from the norm for a Shikai form. Instead of the blade repairing itself and changing into a more obvious, and unique, weapon, there were two katanas, one being quite a bit longer than the average and the other a more traditional length, and a single wakizashi now rested on Ichigo's hips. While the orange haired boy was dressed in a sleeveless Kimono. While the attire was not weird, having such plain blades for a Shikai was rather ineffective.
"Where's your Shikai? It cannot be those Katanas, can it?" The ex-captain queried. He must be missing something.
"Right here." Ichigo stated, raising his hands. The captain was even more confused; he really shouldn't have missed that. Those... gauntlets were rather obvious. The crimson, clawed hands extended to cover his forearms up to the elbow, showing defensive capabilities, and had small distortions, implying that it had been moulded onto the forearms underneath and hastily dried. That suggestion was true; as Tabigarasu had taken a form he believed to be pleasant to Ichigo, and ended up taking the unfortunate metaphor of guilt that had since passed. Ichigo was actually quite fond of the weapon now. It allowed him greater freedom than the other Shikais, yet did not sacrifice fighting ability. Destructive capacity and elegance, for sure, but not fighting ability.
The human-turned-Shinigami darted forward with a burst of unrefined Shunpo and appeared in front of Urahara, swinging his, now clenched, fist in an uppercut aimed at the older man's chin. Urahara leapt back, avoiding the attack easily enough, and observed as a ball of, what looked to be, wind shot up before fizzing out a little before the top of the cavern.
"Sing, Benehime!" Urahara announced, and a wave of crimson energy shot towards Ichigo. It was weakened, of course, to reduce the damage that Kisuke expected when it hit. He did not believe that Ichigo knew any speed techniques, after all. So, he missed it when his opponent flash stepped behind him, and entirely missed the same boy drawing back his left fist and jabbing the blonde in his kidneys. He, too, reduced the force as he punched out at the man, and so the ex-Shinigami was only thrown forward a little bit.
"Oof!" Urahara grunted at the impact, but quickly climbed back to his feet once he stopped rolling. "Impressive, Kurosaki-san. But my hat is still on; you will have to do better than that to remove it." The bucket-hat had, indeed, somehow remained on his head.
"Sorry about that." Ichigo shot forwards, in another burst of speed, and swung again, this time aiming for Kisuke's head, in a punch that would have knocked the hat clean off his head, had the ex-captain not known Shunpo too. This time, the semi-transparent ball crashed into a medium sized rock and split it into two equal pieces.
Spinning, Ichigo raised his arm just in time to block a blow from Benehime to his side, the ramrod straight blade bouncing off his raised right arm, just as his left fist struck its wielder in the stomach in a stronger blow that threw him a half dozen feet into the air, allowing Ichigo to capitalize on the opportunity by swiping his fist again and catching the falling man on the head, smashing it, along with the rest of his body, into the rocky terrain below their feet.
As the man lay in a slight slump; not unconscious, but dazed, Ichigo leant down and plucked the hat off his head, leaping back as the other fighter rose to his feet unsteadily and gave a strained, wheezy chuckle.
"Well done, Kurosaki. That was... good. Very good." He waddled over to the human boy holding his hat, and the orange-haired newly-Shinigami handed it back to him. "May I ask how you seem so experienced already? By my reckoning you've had no training at all. Other than the brawling you are well known to partake in; but I doubt that that would teach you to use Shunpo."
"Not training exactly. But I've been talking with my Zanpakutos for... seven years, I think, now. I sparred with them sometimes, and that helped teach me to fight with them." Ichigo explained, with a shrug; not realising that this was abnormal, simply because he had no frame of reference.
"Hang on... Are you saying you have more than one? And how on earth did you speak with them while you were still human?!" The shop keeper exclaimed, losing his composure briefly.
"Yeah, I have three. And I just went into my world while I was asleep?"
"Three?!"
"Well... Three and a half, maybe. One has two swords." Technically, not a lie. Zangetsu did have two blades.
"Wow..." Kisuke said, before muttering. "You're a scary kid, aren't you Ichigo." His instincts were telling him to study the teen in front of him, but he resisted temptation; though he would certainly observe. "Well, let's get to training, shall we?" Kisuke asked, merrily. "After all, we still have ten days."
Two days later, Ichigo was entirely focused on the training he had been assigned. His fists were, yet again, clad in the crimson gauntlets, and he was stood 200 metres from a cliff face, targets lined up a few metres from said wall. His challenge was to hit the targets, and nothing else. And he was failing spectacularly.
He had never worked much on his aim. Especially not outside of a combat situation; where he would just rely on his well-honed, after such a long time of fighting opponents of a greater calibre than him, instincts.
Now, when he was calm, and able to over think what he was doing, he struggled to so much as get his shots on target, let alone have the perfect amount of Reiatsu in the shot to stop from carrying on the small distance to the wall behind.
Instead, the wall was scarred with cracks and craters, and, although several targets had been obliterated after Ichigo lost control of his infamous temper and sent more force at the dummies than he was supposed to, the points of significance in this particular task were largely untouched.
'Ichigo,' Nejibana spoke up. 'Focus on the result, not the action. You know you can hit them; you've done more difficult things before by far. And if that does not work, think about why you are doing this. That is your reason to succeed, and that is why you need this control. Who knows who you will go up against in the Soul Society; if you fail to defeat them, what will happen to your friends?'
And Ichigo continued.
"Well, I believe congratulations are in order, Kurosaki. I was beginning to believe you would never succeed. Let us move onto the next challenge." It had taken Ichigo longer than they had to spare, but at least this would be a valuable skill for his invasion of the Seireitei.
"Now, let us see your abilities with your sealed Zanpakuto." The shop-owner said, jovially, before lunging forward with no further warning; his cane-sword whipping through the air.
Ichigo brought his longest katana, representing Hichigo, up to block the thinner, smaller blade with a frustrated snarl; he could really use a rest.
"Fireworks festival! Fireworks festival! FIREWORKS FESTIVAAAAL! Isn't this exciting?! We're finally here at the FIREWORKS FESTIVAL!" Keigo exclaimed, as he danced around the crowd of Ichigo's family and friends.
"Wow, you're really enthusiastic." Mizuiro commented.
"Who wouldn't be?! We get to watch things EXPLODE!"
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Isshin Kurosaki interjected with a grin. "I camped out over there all night to get the very best seats!" He pointed at the pavement. A good spot, sure, but Ichigo really doubted that it was worth camping out for. After all, the point of fireworks is that they are visible from a distance, right? And this display was built for people as enthusiastic as Keigo; of course the explosions would be large enough to not require such close seating.
"All right! Let's go!"
"What about you lovely ladies?" Isshin asked Orihime and Tatsuki, with a goofy grin that understandably made the two look a little unnerved. "You wanna join us?"
"Umm, we'll come along later..." Tatsuki replied.
"Suit yourself." The eldest Kurosaki took off at a run, leaving the others, excluding the aforementioned girls, and his son, to take off in pursuit.
"Embarrassing." Ichigo commented. "But I might as well follow them." He turned to face the black haired girl. "Sorry 'bout that, Tatsuki. They're always like that."
"I know, Ichigo. I've met your father before, and I do go to school with Keigo." She replied, slightly amused at their antics and the lack of real reaction coming from Ichigo, who had built up an immunity to their idiocy over the years.
"Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to, y'know. I'm sure you'd enjoy it more without their... antics."
"No, no. We want to come, right Orihime?" She spoke, waving off the suggestion.
"Yep! It sounds fun!" The enthusiastic, though less so than the recently exited group, girl replied happily.
"We'll join you later, Ichigo." The lean girl smiled at her oldest friend, before he responded in kind.
"Okay, I'll see you later then. Congrats again on your tournament Tatsuki." He grinned at the girl, before taking off at a jog after his family, leaving two girls, one obviously happy to see that Ichigo was back out of his funk, and the other rapidly reddening at seeing her long-time crush with such a charming expression, in his wake. While he did see them later on in the day, he left them to their own devices; they had seemed to be discussing something private, and he made an incorrect assumption, based on earlier misconceptions. Ichigo did, however, walk them home; with not so subtle praises coming from his father at being 'SUCH A GENTLEMAN! I RAISED YOU WELL, ICHIGO!', at which the not-quite-human just pretended he had never met the crazy man before in his life.
They had been walking for only a few minutes before Ichigo noticed something strange.
"Umm... Inoue?" Ichigo asked, as he and Tatsuki noticed the very strange fact that Orihime was stood with her eyes closed and her head drooped back. "The hell?"
"I think she's asleep." Tatsuki commented, as she heard the steady and heavy breathing of her friend.
"Uh, right." Ichigo agreed, confusedly. "Does she sleep standing up often?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Tatsuki shrugged. "But I can't say I'd be shocked to find out she did." It would just be another addition to the list of Orihime Inoue's quirks.
"Well... should we wake her up?"
"No, she must be exhausted to have fallen asleep like this." The second strongest girl in Japan commented. "I'm sure that between us we can comfortably support her. If we go to her house first, it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes or so."
"We? Are you forgetting your arm, Tatsuki? I don't think you're in the position to carry anyone." The raven haired girl glare at the offending limb, annoyed with the disability.
"Fine, then you can carry her. It should be easy enough for you, after all." And she was right, Ichigo's strength was obvious by now; the training of the last week only the icing on the cake in regards to the boy's lean muscles.
"Uh, right. If you're sure." It was well known how Tatsuki tended to react to anyone who touched Orihime; one of the causes of Ichigo's confusion regarding the girls in front of him. The orange-haired male easily knocked Orihime's knees out from under her and lifted her smoothly into his arms; in the manner that one would carry a baby, or; as came to Tatsuki's mind, a bride. That was a thought that inexplicably aggravated the girl. The thought of Ichigo and bride in a sentence felt... wrong, somehow.
Moving on silently, so as to avoid waking the sleeping girl, Ichigo and Tatsuki quickly reached Orihime's apartment. Ichigo crept up the stairs to her door, following Tatsuki to the entrance, and addressed the still conscious girl.
"You have a key, right?" He whispered to her.
"Yes, it's just... here." She fumbled with her key ring briefly before finding the correct key. She unlocked the door and walked in with the confidence that came with familiarity, immediately finding the light switch and flicking it on.
'Not surprising that she know her way round Inoue's place though, is it?' Ichigo thought.
"Just put her in here, Ichigo." Tatsuki pointed at one of the doors, evidently Orihime's room, and Ichigo quickly crossed inside, pointedly ignoring the fact that Inoue seemed to have snuggled into him a little. He moved into the room and gently laid the smaller figure onto the comfy-looking bed.
He exited the room immediately, not wanting to risk the wrath of the still conscious girl, and found Tatsuki waiting back next to the light-switch she had turned on when the trio had entered. He frowned a little as he saw her attempt to stifle a yawn, and asked the question he considered to be obvious.
"Tatsuki, why don't you just stay here with Inoue?" The girl looked a little confused. "If it's about me telling anyone, you don't have to worry."
"Because... that would be inconsiderate? I've told my parents that I'd be home, and I don't want to impose on Orihime when my house isn't that far away to walk." She frowned, assuming he simply did not want to walk further out of his way. "But I don't mind if you'd rather head home; I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"No, that's not it." Ichigo reassured his friend. "I just thought it was weird that you two weren't staying together." He shrugged as the two left Orihime's apartment. "I'd have thought you'd want to stay with each other since Inoue's going to see her family, I think. Y'know, get some last time in together before you have to spend some apart."
"So?" Tatsuki asked. "Why would it matter that we're spending some time apart?"
"Um, I was just under the impression that would cause the two of you duress?" He half-asked half-said, not quite knowing how to phrase it. "'Cause you can normally... uh, see each other every day."
"O...kay?" Tatsuki responded, though she was very confused. It seemed like Ichigo was implying something, though she wasn't sure what. "But that's not exactly something that would cause us 'duress', is it?"
"I would have thought so, but I'm not exactly experienced in these matters." Ichigo said, feeling rather awkward with the conversation he was having.
"Not experienced? You have quite a few friends. More than me, at least." They hung out with a largely male group, after all. Maybe he didn't have more people that he considered friends, but Ichigo's odd charisma meant he had far more who considered him to be their friend than she. "I mean; I really doubt you would be particularly upset it you couldn't see Keigo for a few weeks, would you?"
"No, but that really isn't the same thing." Ichigo responded, with a shudder of revulsion at the thought.
"How do you figure that? Of course, me and Orihime are closer than you and Keigo; but there isn't that much difference. You two are still friends."
"Well, yeah... but I'm straight." Ichigo said, rather confused at the comparison. "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course." He added hastily. "It just means that mine and any guy's friendship couldn't be comparable to your two's."
"What do you mean? What does that have to do with..." Tatsuki's eyes widened as she trailed off. "Wait... Ichigo, do you think I'm gay?" She asked, shocked.
"Uh... Yes?" Ichigo responded, confused once more.
"What?! Why would you think that?!"
"...Because you're dating Inoue?" He, again, half asked.
"What?! No I'm not!"
"Really?" Ichigo looked thoughtful for a second. "Huh."
"'Huh'? That's all you have to say?!" She snapped at him.
"What else would I say?"
"How about an apology?"
"Okay. Tatsuki." He turned to face the girl. "I sincerely apologise if I caused you any offence by implying that you are a lesbian. I didn't mean to, and that type of thing would never change my opinion of you, or Orihime." Ichigo said, with an entirely straight face. "Is that good enough?" She nodded absent-mindedly.
"Wait... Is that what you meant by 'you wouldn't tell anyone'? That you thought we were sleeping together?!"
"Well... yes." He cringed at the slight look of horror on her face. "I'm sorry! I just assumed that, since you spent so much time together..." Both participants of the conversation were rapidly turning red at this point. "But, like I said, I would never condemn the two of you for doing something like that, so please don't think I was judging you. I mean it's not like-" He cut himself off. "I mean, I'm not one to- No, uh... You're both... I'm just going to stop talking." Tatsuki looked curiously, with a hint of amusement, up at Ichigo, despite her face still resembling his namesake.
"No, no. Please finish your sentences. What aren't you? What are we? And what is it not like?" The male's face was reddening even more as he mumbled something inaudible. "Pardon?"
"I was going to say that- Oh, look, it's your house. Here we are." He gestured to the home of his oldest friend and picked up his pace.
"Come on Ichigo; tell me what we are." She requested as she matched the new found speed. However, the two quickly arrived at her doorway, and he said goodbye.
"I'll see you soon, Tatsuki. Hope you have a good holiday." He began moving away, before the girl's voice reached his ears again.
"Thanks for walking us home, Ichigo. And thanks for what I'm going to take as a compliment." Tatsuki assumed that he had been implying, from the half sentences, she and Orihime were attractive. Maybe that he could not blame them for giving into that temptation?
"It was my pleasure, g'night Tatsuki." He called back. "And yeah, they were compliments."
The blue eyed girl fell asleep with a smile on her face. A contrast to Ichigo's fate for the night.
"Yo, Hat 'n' Sandals?" The orange haired, living Shinigami called out as he entered the store; looking for the man that had sent him a message to be here... well, now. "Anyone home?!"
"Ah, Kurosaki-san." A voice spoke from behind him.
"Bah! What the hell?" Kisuke was behind him. "How'd you do that?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets, young Ichigo. Remember that." He smirked at the obviously annoyed Soul-Reaper. "Now, come back out. I think that your friends will be arriving shortly.
"My friends? What do you mean?"
"A talking cat?! What the hell?! A cat just spoke to me!"
"His name is Yoruichi, and he's not an ordinary cat." Orihime, who the talking cat had gone to fetch, spoke up; cradling the shape shifter in her arms as she spoke.
"It's understandable for him to have trouble with it. A talking cat is certainly strange." Uryuu commented.
"Aye. I'm still having trouble adjusting to it myself." Chad agreed, in a rumbling tone.
"Right, right!" Urahara interrupted the conversation. "Let's take this inside, there are things we can't discuss out here, in the open!" He said, in his slightly childish tone.
He received grunts of agreement from two of the males, while Orihime and Ichigo both lagged back a little. Increased further by the orange-haired male speaking up.
"Inoue," The busty girl turned a little towards Ichigo. "Are you sure about this? It's going to be dangerous." He said, a concerned frown on his face.
"Don't worry Ichigo; Rukia is my friend too, I know what I'm getting into. I gave you my promise, and so I'm going with you." Orihime moved a little towards the shop entrance. "And I... I gave my promise to Tatsuki that I'd come back to her." She darted into the shop.
'And the Karate-girl was surprised you thought she was a dyke? When Tits goes around sayin' stuff like that?'
'Don't talk about them like that, Hichigo.' Ichigo responded. 'But I agree with the general message, sans insults. That sounds weird for a friend to say.'
The boy followed after his friends, and quickly crossed the door's threshold.
"Wooow!" Orihime exclaimed as the group reached the bottom of the ladder; now in the large cavern underneath the 'candy store'. "It's so cooool! So humongous! Awesome!"
"I guess." Ichigo commented, eyeing the busty girl worriedly at the look of awe she held. A look that increased as Tessai began thanking her profusely for the comment.
"Let's get down to business now, Kurosaki and Kurosaki's friends!" Urahara exclaimed, jovially. "Everyone look over here!" The man was stood in front of a large stone square. "This here's a Senkaimon, the entrance to the Soul Society. You need to listen closely as I tell you how to travel through. But first..." The green-dressed man raised his cane, butt pointed at Ichigo, and whacked the human-Shinigami with it, expelling the soul from his body.
"Oi! How about a little warning before you do that?!" Ichigo barked at Kisuke.
"Oh, wow!" Orihime exclaimed, once again amazed. "That was cool! So Ichigo, you're no longer inside this Ichigo anymore?!"
"I'm not a doll with interchangeable outfits, Orihime." Ichigo commented as she continually prodded at the still body.
"Alright, listen up. Unlike normal gates, this one has a spirit-particle conversion machine." At the questioning looks, he elaborated. "Ordinarily, only something in spirit-form can travel through the tunnel; simply because the Soul Society is a spirit world. The conversion machine will turn you three," He pointed his stick at Chad, Orihime and Uryu. "Into spirits as well."
"So you're saying that this gate will allows us to travel into the Soul Society without extracting our souls." Uryu clarified.
"Yes, and it will allow you to stay in your current forms." The group nodded. "But," He spoke again, with a Cheshire cat grin. "There's a catch... the window of time the gate can be kept open for you is only... four minutes long." The man said, pausing twice for dramatic effect. The group gained worried expressions.
"But... is that enough time?" Ichigo asked him.
"Ordinarily? No." The boy sweat dropped. "In fact, the whole scheme's a little shaky, but four minutes with the gate is all I can give you. Afterthat, the gate will close and any who have not made it through will be trapped forever in he Dangai; the precipice world between the Human World and the Soul Society."
"But... how will we make it?" Orihime asked, fearfully.
"Go forward. You must have no doubt, no fear, do not think of those you are leaving behind." The masculine voice of Yoruichi spoke up. "The will to go forward will be your guide. And don't look back. Only those who can do these things can follow me through the gate and survive."
"When do we leave?" Ichigo asked. "I know this. And am not afraid, I'm pretty sure these guys know it too, or they wouldn't be here."
"Do you understand that, if you fail in this endeavour, you will never be able to return to this world?"
"Then all I need to do is win." Ichigo said, calmly, and the cat responded with what seemed to be a smirk.
"Exactly."
"Are you all ready? Once it opens, you need to go immediately." Urahara was slightly more serious now, but Ichigo, for one was not concentrating. One of the voices had spoken up before Kisuke began speaking; Nejibana's logic was almost annoying; it was difficult, to say the least, to ignore. And he wasn't sure he wanted to ignore it.
'Ichigo... I don't understand what you are doing.' She told her wielder.
'What do you mean, Nejbana?' She had brought this up suddenly, whatever it was she meant.
'Going in to the Soul Society with your friends. I don't believe it will end well.' Ichigo's brow sank into a frown.
'I won't leave Rukia to be executed for helping me, Nejibana. For saving my sisters. Whatever you say, you won't be able to convince me to leave her to that fate.'
'I was not trying to, Ichigo.' She said, with a sigh. 'I know that would be a pointless exercise. What I meant, was that you may well be sacrificing one friend for another. Your friends are strong, but if they run into someone like the man that came to get Rukia, what do you think the outcome of that fight would be? I know you, Ichigo. If that happened, the storm would last for too long. You would never forgive yourself.' Ichigo heard Old man Zangetsu voice his agreement.
'You are strong, Ichigo. You will survive this with our help, but you would not survive the aftermath if you led those three to their deaths.' The spirit confirmed. 'We have plenty long enough to reach the girl; if you trust in yourself, then your friends' presence would make virtually no difference in the battle ahead.' He, along with the others, felt Ichigo prepare to interrupt. 'I know that they will be disgruntled by being left behind, Ichigo, but it is for the best. If you are so worried about their reaction, imagine the reaction of the rest of your friends and your sisters when they found out that you got them killed.' It was a harsh thing to say, but Zangetsu knew that that one statement would secure Ichigo's agreement, and, therefore, his future happiness. It was their job to protect Ichigo from himself, too, after all.
'... okay. Okay, I'll go without them.' This was going to be unpleasant when he returned; the three would not be happy. 'Do you think I should take the cat?' He looked down at Yoruichi.
'Yes. It seems to know the Soul Society well. Having a guide will, no doubt, be beneficial. It would be a great hindrance to your cause if you could not find Rukia, would it not? Besides, I have a feeling that there is more to the cat than meets the eye. It may be useful to have with us in the Soul Society if it somehow is capable in the ways of fighting. Or, as is more likely, stealth.'
'Alright then.' Ichigo said, blowing an audible breath out of his mouth in slight frustration at what he was to do next.
As Kisuke Urahara finished his speech prior to sending those in front of him through the portal-gate, his eyebrows raised as he felt the reiatsu of Kurosaki raise minutely and focus on his legs. Why would he need Shunpo? In a muted flash, Ichigo vanished from the spot he had previously been occupying, and the bucket-hatted man's eyes subtly darted around; searching for the boy turned Death God. Imagine his surprise when he found the boy.
Ichigo held a sheath in one hand, and his Wakizashi in the other, as he stood behind his companions. With two quiet thuds, the sheath and the hilt of the sword bonked into the back of Chad and Uryu's head, sending the pair of males to the ground unconscious quickly; not even giving them time to know what had happened to render them unconscious. Next, and with more hesitation than he had given the other two, Ichigo moved to Orihime, and the sheath swung again, whacking Inoue on her head. Ichigo, presumably in an attempt to rectify the situation, caught her before she had even started to fall and lay her softly, and cautiously, on the ground, and then placed a hand against her head; a green glow coming from the palm and a mild healing Kido being cast on the very small lump that was beginning to form on the back of the orange haired girl's head.
"Kurosaki-san? Why did you do that?" Urahara remained cheerful as he asked, though his left hand, which had previously been free for him to gesture extravagantly towards the gate, now joined his right on the cane-sword as a precaution.
"My Zanpakuto made a good point. It's stupid to bring them on this trip. There is a very real possibility that they would perish; and that's something that I want to avoid if at all possible." He frowned at the older man. "Don't worry; them remaining in this world won't hinder the mission. Whatever stakes you hold in her rescue; 'cause I don't believe that you are doing all this for a simple Gigai, you can rest assured that I'll still get Rukia back." Ichigo said, ignoring the insulted gasp that Urahara gave for his slight accusation. "Hey, whatever it is; I don't particularly care. You're helping me rescue my friend, and that's good enough for me."
"Well, I never... accusing me of deceit. I've been nothing but honest with him." Kisuke grumbled. "Fine, fine. I believe the gate is about to open." As he turned to look at the gate, the slight blue light that had been growing from it suddenly pulsed, and became a bright white light. "And off you go!" The shop owner's voice followed Ichigo as he scooped up Yoruichi and ran into the gate. "Goood luuuck!"
-()-
Just like to say; the Tatsuki-Orihime thing did confuse me when I saw it. It seemed... romantic?