As always, muchos gracias to EternalDream for being my beta!
And I'd like to take this chance to say that Ch 12 was edited, I didn't write it well enough to show who the two Aizens were.
So as not to confuse you is you don't want to read back, It's Aizen from the past and the future who are working together. There is a reason why I have the two of them together, but I can't tell you yet!
In saying that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Standard Disclaimers Apply
The Ties That Binds
Chapter 13
Byakuya Kuchiki listened to his second in command explain about what they'd discovered with interest. He knew that the council was still sorting through Aizen's belongings, looking for any clues to see if he'd had any more supporters within Soul Society or to find out any more secrets he may have been hiding. So far, no one was able to find a thing.
"How did Hinamori-fukotaichou describe the book?"
"It was old and grey, with a red butterfly on the cover."
"Nii-sama, what do you know of the Taira clan?"
Byakuya looked at his young sister-in-law for a moment before he responded. "There is not much known about the clan. There seemed to have been considerable efforts to wipe away their existence in our history. Everything we know would've been passed down through word of mouth. If Aizen had some of their books, there is a possibility there may be more scattered around Soul Society—ones he may have scattered himself, or ones he never found to begin with."
He knew the elders were getting restless. News of a time travel machine had not been well received, and with Kisuke Urahara no longer under the jurisdiction of Soul Society, it was hard for them to grasp how to deal with the situation at hand. The threat of the Taira also did not sit well to those who'd had a hand in their exile.
Byakuya stood up, and was followed by Rukia and Renji.
"I will speak with the council."
"Thank you, Nii-sama," Rukia bowed, feeling confident her brother-in-law would come through for them.
"Rukia."
"Yes?"
"Are you feeling well?" he asked directly. He had sensed something different about Rukia for a few days now. He was still unsure of how to broach his suspicion, but figured this was as good a time as any.
Rukia shrugged. Apart from feeling sick a few days and getting easily tired, she was fine. She hadn't been sick in a long time, but she had gotten sick often as a child living in the slums of Soul Society, so she hadn't really been too concerned with her condition. "I am. The Taira clan just worries me, that's all."
Renji, on the other hand, put a hand thoughtfully on his chin and watched the clouds pass by as he spoke. "Actually, you have been feeling a little more tired lately that usual, plus you seem to be eating a whole lot more." Rukia turned to glare at Renji, who missed her reaction. "You also look a little heavier—ouch! Fuck!" The redhead glared down at Rukia, momentarily forgetting who they were with. "What did you do that for? I was just concerned!"
"Shut up, Renji! I'm getting heavier?"
"I said you were just lookinglike you were getting heavier!" Renji defended himself.
As the two of them continued to bicker, Byakuya wrote a quick note and neatly folded the paper before he sealed it with a wax bearing the Kuchiki seal.
"Rukia, please bring this to Unohana-taichou."
Rukia grabbed the letter from him, bowed in respect whispering a quick thank you, and kicked Renji in the shins with a glare as she walked out.
"Abarai."
"Yes, taichou?"
"Go with her."
As the two disappeared from his sights, Byakuya sat down. If he suspicion was correct, this could be the only good news he would receive until they had resolve the issue with the Taira clan.
He'd recognized the book that Renji had described, and he also knew where it was located. Convincing the council would be the stumbling block that could prove difficult to overcome—possibly even fatal if they refused to cooperate. He was aware of how members of the council feared the power of the kidou wielded by the Taira clan, and to give access to that knowledge to someone such as Momo may be something they were not prepared to do considering her unfortunate past infatuation with Sosuke Aizen. It was going to be difficult, and unless they could find someone else who could unlock the kidou, the council would either need to trust Momo or leave themselves unprotected against the soul poison.
If worse came to worse, and the council could not be reasoned with, Byakuya was prepared to disobey orders once again for the first time in years. He would never leave his family unprotected ever again.
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"Never overextend your thrust. It leaves you vulnerable. And you're off balance!" Ichigo instructed just as he swiped Kakei's Zanpakuto sideways with his own, causing the young boy to stumble.
Kakei's hands clenched the dust beneath him as he stood up. He remembered a time when all he wanted was for his father to train him, so he could be like him. Now, all he wanted was for him to shut up.
On the sidelines, Kisuke watched the training with interest. Ichigo still hadn't told them where he went exactly when he disappeared, but there was something more mature about him now.
"He seems to have much better control of his emotions. He's not that quick to anger anymore," Renji observed as he sat next to Kisuke. "Then again, Orihime isn't in danger, and that's usually what throws everything out the window."
Kisuke agreed with a nod and a slight grin. As impressive it was to see Ichigo patient and in control, the real test would be if he could retain that control should Orihime and his family be put in danger right before his eyes. He peered at Kakei carefully. He was quite certain that he knew the real identity of this Kakei. The hair color had thrown him off, but the more he observed the boy, the more he was positive his assumption was correct.
"Has Kuchiki-taichou provided you with any help?"
Renji nodded. "He said he'll look into it, he seems to know what I'm talking about and didn't ask too many questions." Renji replied before he frowned for a moment. The head of the fourth division seemed eager to get rid of him earlier, but since the woman was smiling, he didn't think anything would be wrong.
Kisuke turned his attention back to Ichigo and Kakei and waited for a few moments before he called Ichigo's attention.
"Ichigo." Ichigo turned around to face Kisuke, who instructed him, "Fight him like you mean it. You do him no favors by holding back."
"Are you insane?" Ichigo cried out. "He'll get hurt!"
"Hey! I'm not as weak as you think I am!" Kakei retorted.
"You didn't reach the level that you did because we took it easy on you. You want to teach him how to fight? Then do it properly. It is better for Kakei to be hurt in the training grounds than in a real fight where he could be killed."
"Kisuke has a point," Isshin added. "You've said that he was out of his depth fighting Mamoru. This is the best opportunity for him to improve."
"Fine," Ichigo muttered as he looked at Kakei.
Kakei barely had a chance to prepare himself when Ichigo attacked. His fast reflex saved him as he dodged his father, but could not regain control fast enough and found himself sprawled to the ground again.
The fight continued on, but every time Ichigo began to get aggressive, he would pull back. Deciding it was time to put his theory to the test, Kisuke looked at the red-headed man who'd shown up beside him.
"Renji, perhaps you can assist?"
"Is that a good idea?" Renji asked as he looked at Kisuke.
"Probably not," Kisuke admitted. "But if Ichigo won't push Kakei, then we will."
Renji looked at Isshin who nodded his head. "Alright," he agreed with some hesitation.
He hated to rain on Ichigo's parade, but the kid needed to be trained right. He walked carefully to the side and slowly unsheathed his Zanpakuto as he watched Ichigo move away from Kakei.
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
As soon as Ichigo heard Renji, his head snapped towards his friend, and he watched as Zabimaru's blades head straight for Kakei who looked unprepared for the attack. Just as Kakei made a move to block the attack, Ichigo used shunpo to reach Kakei and deflected the attack from his son.
"What the hell were you thinking, Renji?" Ichigo snapped as he glared at his friend.
"I could've taken care of it!" Kakei angrily cried out from behind Ichigo. He walked to his father's side and pushed him. "You always do this!"
"Ichigo! If you don't start training Kakei, I willtake over his training," Kisuke threatened from the sidelines, and in an instant, everyone felt a dark burst of reiatsu.
"There's no fucking way I'm letting you train my son!"
His words were met with silence, and Kisuke nodded his head, his suspicions finally confirmed. "Just as I thought. No wonder you've been going easy on Kakei..."
Kakei stared at Ichigo's eyes. As soon as he felt the strange reiatsu, he was quite certain that for a moment, he saw a flash of amber in his father's brown eyes.
"SON?" Renji practically shouted as he started to see the resemblance between the two. "The hell, Ichigo! He even has your frown!"
Kakei suddenly became worried, and he looked at his grandfather who was making his way towards them.
"I'm sure we can keep this between all of us, right?"
Renji and Kisuke nodded in agreement and Isshin gave his attention to Ichigo.
"Ichigo. He needs to learn how to fight. If you don't do it, somebody else will."
"Before you begin, may I ask you a few questions?" Kisuke motioned to Kakei, who nodded. "Would you mind showing us your Zanpakuto?"
Kakei handed his Zanpakuto to Kisuke. He looked at it curiously. "Hmm...strange."
"I don't like that tone that you're using," Ichigo muttered, and Kisuke just handed it back to Kakei.
"What is the manifested spirit of your Zanpakuto?"
Kakei just shrugged. "Not exactly sure. I didn't care about all this until that bastard Seishiro showed up."
Isshin looked at his grandson. Despite not knowing the grown-up in front of him, his intuition was telling him Kakei wasn't exactly being truthful.
"There's no spiritual manifestation?" Kisuke asked, intrigued.
"I'm not sure if this counts. Tsubaki!
Everyone looked as Kakei's Zanpakuto glowed before a familiar spirit appeared before them.
"Isn't he supposed to be a part of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka?" Renji asked with wonder as Tsubaki glared at Ichigo.
"I was a part of Orihime-sama's Shun Shun Rikka. After Sora was born, I was separated from the others. Orihime-sama was so focused on bringing up this boy that we were just drifting in our spirit forms until the attack," Tsubaki explained. "Before that, there was never any need for us to show up. There were still hollows, but nothing a Shinigami fresh out of the academy couldn't handle."
"How did you become separated?"
"No one knows, and no one tried to figure out why. Not that we have any time to now. I'm guessing it's because Sora would not hesitate to fight while Orihime-sama does. Sora can't call Ayame and the others, the same way Orihime-sama can't call me anymore."
"No wonder," Kisuke murmured. "Now that I've had a closer look, his Zanpakuto is like nothing I've ever seen before. Well, now that we know the truth about Kakei and his Zanpakuto, we might be able to devise a way to train him. Nothing dangerous, just enough for Kakei to learn how to defend himself properly."
Ichigo looked conflicted when Kakei spoke.
"This is my decision to make, not yours!"
"Now, now. There's no need for a squabble," Kisuke interrupted. "I'm going to need everyone to cooperate for this to work. Perhaps Isshin and I should discuss my plan for the moment?"
Renji, Ichigo and Kakei nodded their heads in acceptance as Isshin and Kisuke walked away.
"I can't believe I didn't see it earlier!" Renji muttered as he openly stared at Ichigo and Kakei, even after Kakei began to look a little uncomfortable. "I can't believe you're little Sora!"
"We get it, Renji. You can't believe it," Ichigo said dryly as he looked at Kakei. For the first time, he noticed a strange birthmark at the back of his neck, and he looked closer. Renji, seeing Ichigo did the same.
"That looks like Orihime's hairpins!"
Kakei rubbed the birthmark self consciously. "Kaa-san said it just appeared one day. I must've been five. I thought Tsubaki was more of a playmate than anything else."
Above them, Tsubaki glared at the young Kurosaki.
Renji snorted and nudged the younger man playfully. "I bet that didn't go down well."
"No, it didn't," Kakei smirked.
As Ichigo observed the two, a strange feeling settled in his stomach. He noticed right away the ease with which Kakei spoke with Renji. Clearly, he was the only one his son hated.
Isshin and Kisuke walked back to the trio. "Renji, perhaps you can spar with Kakei? I will call Ishida-kun in a while and ask him to help. While Kakei is fighting Renji, Ishida will use distractive maneuvers and try to hit Kakei with his arrows."
Before Ichigo can protest, Isshin spoke up.
"You know full well that when you fight, you are not necessarily fighting one opponent alone. We need to train him in every aspect we can, Ichigo." Seeing that his wayward son wasn't going to agree and keep protesting, Isshin gently maneuvered Ichigo away from the others. "When you became a substitute Shinigami, I stayed away. Not because I didn't care, but because I knew, no matter how much you need to learn to fight, I could not teach you. Because deep down, I knew that I could never be what you needed to learn. And I would have went too easy on you, just like you're being too easy on Sora. I wouldn't have been doing you any favors; I would have killed you."
Ichigo remained silent and Isshin placed both of his hands on his son's shoulders.
"I trusted in your ability to be able to learn quickly to save Rukia's life. I trusted that you would learn how to defend yourself and others. I trusted that no matter how much pain you were going through, you would succeed and learn what you needed to be able to, in order to protect the ones you cared about. You need to show that trust in Sora, Ichigo. He may not say it, he may not act like it, but he needs it. Especially from you."
Ichigo finally nodded. "Okay…I understand. I hate it, but I understand."
Isshin placed his hands on Ichigo's face at patted his cheek. "I've always been proud of you, Ichigo." With that, Isshin walked away, and Ichigo followed behind at a quiet distance.
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A big thank you to everyone! Please continue to join me in this wacky journey I created in my head! Comments and Reviews are much loved!
Cheese Maiden: I could not leave Aizen out! Too good of a material!
SnakethZero: There is a twist coming around, I hope I can deliver exactly what is in my head, and you are right, it is Seishiro. There is a reason why he calls her Hime, but you'll have to wait a little while longer! And there will be an Ichigo interlude that will explain further why he left. I am just a bit slow with how I am bringing this story around.
Robin Aries: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next ones I have planned!
KawaiPanda: Thank you!
Xtremefairy: Ta! Well... you're gonna have to wait for the next (and the next one after that) to see what Seishiro has planned.
melnel: Thank you, and yes! He is a very good villain, to good to leave out of the story!
Ermilus: Thanks! and I hope I clarified the other Aizen, apologies that I didn't indicate it previously!
Ichihime Supporter: Ta :) All will be revealed! Soon (ish!) and love ya back!
DeathBerryLover1995: lol! I am planning on making lives a little more difficult for Team Kurosaki! They are Aizen from the past and the future, and apologies that I didn't write that in the previous chapter. It seemed clear in my head, and I forgot to actually illustrate that in the previous chapter. You can try and guess what happens next, and I hope I can surprise you!
Nypsy: Mamoru won't be happy in the next chapters! And yes, they need to prepare for double trouble! Ta! I got the idea from my friend who posted a facebook pic of all the different ways a baby can make sleeping difficult for the parents!
Thanks everyone for your comments! I really do appreciate them!