Ichigo walked down the road, nimbly avoiding a running child and dodging a few street vendors.
He was walking through one of the better sections of the Rukongai, with Sojun in his sling across his tummy. Byakuya probably wouldn't approve, but Ichigo wanted to see something new, and Renji had told him that this part of town was quite safe in daylight. Besides, he was a half-demon. Really, how many things in the Rukongai could pose a serious threat?
Maybe a young Zaraki. Ichigo smiled to himself as he remembered their sparring. It had been great fun, although he had badly hurt himself at one point. Ichigo wasn't going to blame Kenpachi for thought, though. It had been his own fault for forgetting that he no longer had bone plates protecting his organs. If those plates had been there, the oblique angle of Kenpachi's strike would have skittered off them and left him completely undamaged. So Ichigo had taken the hit, expecting it to hardly hurt at all, and had been quite surprised when Zaraki's sword had gone deep into his gut. But the wound had healed, and that was all that mattered.
It wasn't likely he would meet an up and coming Zaraki in the Rukongai, though. Ichigo thought the towering captain was probably just as rare as a hybrid. So he walked through the streets without fear, pausing to examine a small tray of jewelry a woman was carrying in her arms, a strap around her neck and shoulders to hold it up more easily.
"Pretty." Ichigo said appreciatively. One particular piece caught his attention, a little bracelet clearly meant to go on a baby. It was silver with pink stones. "Aw! How much is that?" She named a price that Ichigo thought was quite reasonable, and he paid without trying to bargain. Bargaining was not his thing anyway. "Can you help me put it on him?" Sojun was awake and looking at everything, quite entertained.
"Certainly!" The seller carefully put the bracelet on Sojun's wrist, as Ichigo held his arm still for her. The baby cooed at his new adornment and Ichigo grinned as he tried to eat it. The woman laughed, clearly enchanted by the baby. "He's adorable. Please, enjoy!"
"We will!" Ichigo assured her before going on, smiling. Sojun meeped hungrily and he paused, leaning against a wall and cutting his arm to feed his baby. No one seemed to notice or care, and the feeding was done quickly as Sojun took in his reiatsu swiftly. Ichigo winced as an odor began to rise and sighed to himself. "Diaper time." That was the less pleasant aspect of having a baby. He found an adequately clean step to set his child on, and began the process of diaper changing. He carefully packaged up the used diaper, packing it into his baby bag. He would clean it later.
Lifting up his baby, Ichigo kept wandering through the Rukongai. It almost felt like a festival here, with numerous street vendors and plenty of buskers. He paused to listen to a trio of musicians, finding a great pleasure in the music. Smiling, he tossed a few coins in the hat. Then he watched a fire eating display, which left him less than impressed. Ichigo could do something similar with focus, if he cared to, and it would be vastly more interesting. He started to walk again, then paused as a powerful reiatsu touched him.
"Hm?" He turned to find a stranger at his elbow. He recognized the man, of course. There were only thirteen taichou. But he hadn't really spoken to him before. "Hello." He said a touch shyly as the man smiled at him before gazing down at his child. Sojun was sucking his thumb and looking quite adorable. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."
"I'm Aizen Sosuke, Ichigo." Aizen had a very nice voice and Ichigo smiled as he gave Sojun a finger to hold. The baby was more than willing to go along with that. "And this is Gin Ichimaru." Ichigo transferred his smile to the other taichou. He was a slender man with silver hair, and very sharp, foxy features. "I couldn't help but notice you and the baby. What a lovely child. What is his name?"
"Sojun." Ichigo pinked with pleasure at the compliments. He couldn't help it, anyone who said nice things about his baby had a warm place in his heart. "He's named after Byakuya's father." He planned to name the next baby after his own father, if it happened to be a boy. If not, perhaps Byakuya's mother or grandmother would have a nakesake. "Thank you so much, I think he's adorable but I'm rather biased." He admitted, making the taichou laugh.
"May I touch him?" Gin asked and Ichigo noticed he hadn't opened his eyes much. That was a little odd, but he nodded. Sojun cooed at the touch, sensing that he was the centre of attention. "He is adorable, and you can hardly tell there's any demon in him at all." He sounded approving and Ichigo smiled, not taking offense. He wasn't exactly proud of his heritage, and would prefer Sojun to be free of it.
"Well, Ichigo, it's been a pleasure to meet you. Take good care of him." Aizen nodded towards Sojun and Ichigo nodded, a little surprised. Of course he would take good care of his baby. He watched the two taichou walk away and, on an impulse, he focused his attention on a small dog not far from them.
"Way of Entrapment 16: Lend me Your Ear." Ichigo whispered, cupping a hand around his ear. If he'd tried to use it on Gin or Aizen, the focus would have been as pathetic as it was futile. But it worked quite well on the little dog and Gin and Aizen didn't notice at all as they passed on by.
"…Seriously?" Gin was saying and Ichigo listened intently. It was a bit hard to hear, he was discovering that dogs were pretty different from people. He'd really had no idea. Demons didn't keep pets at all. "You want him?"
"Please, Gin. I wouldn't lower myself to touch him." Ichigo grimaced at that, offended. He knew plenty of shinigami thought he was disgusting, and that Byakuya was a pervert for marrying him and having offspring with him, but it was always a difficult attitude to encounter. "However…" Then they were out of range of the dog and Ichigo sighed as he broke off the connection.
"Jerks." He muttered to himself, making a mental note to step on Aizen's foot at the earliest opportunity. Putting the whole thing out of mind, he began adventuring again. Walking slowly through the Rukongai was a strange pleasure to him. It was like being in a demon hive, and it made Ichigo feel oddly safe and content. Demon hives had always been strange for him. On one hand, they constantly spoke to him of danger, but his demon instincts craved the company of other demons… or shinigami, it didn't really matter which. He'd been alone for far too long and the crowded, dirty streets of the Rukongai were a balm on his soul.
Perhaps that was why he lost track of where he was. He was making his way into a much worse part of town, a place Renji would have recognized as the Inuziri. Ichigo didn't care, particularly when he found an open air food market. He wandered through the stalls, buying fruits and sampling them, feeding tiny pieces to Sojun. He took care to infuse them with reiatsu before he gave them to his baby, feeding him more than mere food could give. To make up for it, he bought plenty of fruit for himself.
"You are an exhausting little thing sometimes." He told his baby as he sat down on the steps of a building, sinking his teeth into a fresh mango. "Mmm… mm." He closed his eyes in bliss at the taste. Demons had nothing that tasted of sweet, so candies and cakes were far too sweet for him. Fresh fruit, though, was wonderful, glorious. Sojun meeped happily as he senses his parent's happiness. Ichigo smiled down at him, savoring the mango.
"S-Sir?" He looked up, surprised, to find a little girl tugging his sleeve. There was a small boy with her and they were both looking at him tearfully. "We're both so hungry, sir. Could you spare an apple?" Ichigo let his senses range over them and winced to himself. They had spiritual talent, and needed to feed it with food, but clearly didn't have enough. He nodded and handed them each an apple. "Thank you sir!"
"Wait, hang on." The girl paused, clearly frightened. Ichigo fished through his pockets before handing her a few coins. "Get yourselves some meat, too." Fruit was nice but his body knew it was vastly inferior to a good piece of meat. He was sure that was true of shinigami, too. The girl bowed to him before scampering off with her brother and Ichigo smiled to himself, patting Sojun with one hand.
It was starting to get late, though, and Ichigo frowned as he glanced up at the sky. Perhaps it was time to get back to the Seireitei. Renji had told him that the Rukongai got far more dangerous at night, and while Ichigo was quite confident in his ability to defend himself, he did have Sojun along. He could enwrap the infant in a field of spiritual force, but still. It was better to just go home and come back some other time. Ichigo finished off the last of the fruit before heaving himself to his feet, beginning the long walk back. He wasn't sure how long it would take, but he could always finish by flash stepping back.
He was passing through an alleyway when he felt something… strange. Ichigo paused, glancing around uncertainly. Power sensing was not his strongest talent and it had felt very weak. What had that been? Frowning, he prudently enclosed Sojun in his reiatsu shield. Weak or not, he would not take chances with his baby. Ichigo decided to flash step back to the Seireitei. As soon as his feet moved in the steps, though, something hit him. It felt like a heavy weight to the back of his head, oppressive and painful. Ichigo fell to his knees, shocked out of his flash step, and gathered his power to retaliate. But then something else struck, a binding, and to his shock and surprise he realized it was tailored to his demonic reiatsu. This was not a chance attack, it was a calculated ambush.
Ichigo could have broken free. He could have, but as he began to summon his power he heard Sojun cry. Looking down, he realized to his horror that the trap was bearing down on his child as well, even through the shield. His eyes widened as he saw the damage the power could inflict and put all his power into the shield around his baby, screaming in pain as the binding bit into his flesh and spirit. Blood trickled down tanned skin and Ichigo's hands shook as he placed them protectively over Sojun. Dark forms slipped out of the shadows and Ichigo could only watch, caught like a fly in a web, as they gripped the edges of the binding and began to wrap it more securely around him. Sojun screamed and the sound ripped his heart.
"Little Flower…" Ichigo whispered his pet name for Sojun as more blood slid down his skin, staining the baby sling. "I'll keep… you safe…" Darkness was eating at his vision as they were lifted up, but his world had narrowed into a simple obsession. The shield around his child would not fail. Not until he was dead.
That thought comforted him as the binding dragged him into darkness.
Ichigo wasn't sure of how long it was before he woke up.
There was nothing to tell how much time had passed, in this dark and cold place. Ichigo shivered, sitting up and glancing around. He blinked as he realized Sojun was still with him, still in his baby sling and whimpering in hunger and need for changing. Grimacing, he glanced around and saw that someone had thoughtfully tossed in the baby bag. He always kept plenty of clean diapers, so he opened it and began to tend to his child.
"Zangetsu?" Ichigo whispered, reaching out to his zanpakuto. But he could feel nothing, except a horrible wrongness from the walls around him. Looking at them a hard shiver ran down his spine. They were seki stone and he knew that if he so much as brushed them, the pain would be blinding. "…" Tears brightened his eyes as he looked down at Sojun. "Who has done this? Why?" He whispered, his thoughts going to all the nobles who were unhappy with his presence in the Kuchiki family. Could it be one of them? He couldn't bring himself to believe it was Mayuri. Sure, the scientist could run more tests on him unwillingly, but why would he risk it when Ichigo was already perfectly willing? Could Aizen and Gin be involved? But Ichigo couldn't see the motivation there. It was probably pure coincidence that they had spoken to him before this had happened.
Ichigo knew one thing, though. Whoever had done this meant him and Sojun ill. They were trapped in a dank cell that smelled of stale urine and pain. There was no food, no warmth, nothing to indicate that they were valued at all. Ichigo gently fed the baby, trying to decide what to do.
The seki stone blocked most of his focus. Most, but not all. There was one particular focus that would still work, and tears brightened Ichigo's eyes as he thought of it. He'd told Shuhei that demons didn't love, and that was mostly true, but there was one part of demon life that made it a lie. Demon lord babies were precious. Female demon lords could sometimes manage to mate with a male demon lord, ensuring a lord baby. But male demon lords had to settle for vast harems of greater, breeding type female demons. They almost always gave birth to greater demons, only sometimes carrying a coveted demon lord baby. A greater demon who had given birth to a demon lord would do everything in her power to preserve that child. Was it love? Or just a kind of obsession? Ichigo didn't know, and it didn't matter. What mattered was the Way of Mercy. Ichigo was no master at that way, largely because he didn't have minions. But he didn't need to be to use the focus that was more a cry from the heart than true focus.
There was a cost, though, and Ichigo agonized over it for a moment. If he used that Way, the price would be severe and unpredictable. His very soul could be torn apart, his memory lost, his life taken. He might be teleported far away, even sent between the worlds. He could end up back in the demon sands. There were no guarantees about the effects on him, but for Sojun he would dare anything. Did he dare to do this?
"I don't have a choice." He whispered, running a hand through dark hair. "I will protect you." Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let his tears fall. Gently setting his baby on the ground, Ichigo leaned over him and breathed the words of the focus, channeling all his power through his heart. "Way of Mercy 99: Mother's Wish." He stroked his baby's hair with a trembling hand as pain began to roar. "Be with Byakuya, Sojun. Right now." Ichigo gasped, choking on a cry of pain as blood exploded from his chest. Sojun screamed, but even as he screamed the baby was fading away as the Way of Mercy did what he had asked it to do. And then it exacted the price from him.
Ichigo was aware of a horrific suction on his soul, and felt the moment it broke, shattering into slivers of pain. He could hear Zangetsu's scream and a different, stranger scream that sounded like himself but not quite. And he felt the power lash over his mind, shocking him into numbness and filling his heart with ice. Memories seemed to snuff out, candles blown away by a massive gust of wind.
Mercifully, he lost consciousness before the backlash was done. He was not aware of his own body fading away, and for the ones who had captured him it was too late. The door to the cell flew open just as he vanished from view.
There was nothing left but bloodstains on the floor.
"Holy shit!" Byakuya turned at Zaraki's exclamation, about to chastise him for the language. Not that it would make much difference to the towering taichou. But then he froze, shocked, as he saw the globe of golden light.
"Ichigo." He whispered as he felt the reiatsu radiating from it. It was filled with demonic power, some form of focus, yet it felt strangely pure. The bubble abruptly burst and he jolted forward, catching Sojun at the same moment as Zaraki. He looked up into the other taichou's eyes, shocked by the fury he saw there. But then he glanced down at Sojun and felt his heart clench. The baby was covered in blood and screaming in terror.
"Who did this?" Zaraki snarled and Byakuya had no answer. They'd become aware of Ichigo's disappearance only a few hours ago. The hybrid often went for late night walks, so no one had suspected anything untoward until he hadn't appeared for breakfast. Since then they had been trying to investigate, but the last shinigami to see the hybrid had been Aizen and Gin. They'd had nothing useful to add, except that Ichigo had been in the Rukongai.
And now this. Byakuya could not imagine what focus had been used to do this, but he felt a chill as he considered the Way of Mercy. So much of it called for self-sacrifice, and was technically forbidden kido. Sojun's appearance and the blood practically screamed of that Way. Byakuya quickly began cleaning off the baby, checking to make sure it was not his blood. It wasn't, but that was a cold comfort because there was only one other person it could be from.
"I will get him to Unohana. Please, Zaraki taichou, continue to search for Ichigo." Byakuya said softly, making his decision quickly. Ichigo would want him to make sure Sojun was safe, and nothing could be safer than Unohana's Division. No one would be stealing the boy from them. Zaraki stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, I'll go meet up with Soifon and see what she's got. You get him to safety." Byakuya smiled slightly at the honest concern in Kenpachi's voice. It was no surprise that he had a soft spot for children, of course. Yachiru was a clear enough sign of that. But he still appreciated the concern. "That damned demon better be alive, or I'll kill him." That mutter made his heart freeze, and Byakuya swallowed hard before flash stepping away.
There was a lot of blood on Sojun, and he had no idea where it had come from. It could have been Ichigo's hand… or his heart. He prayed it had been something non-lethal, but he couldn't know.
And not knowing was a torment.
He's covered in blood!
Someone call an ambulance!
Get out of the way, Yuzu. Huh. That's strange. He doesn't seem to have any injuries at all.
Then where did the blood come from, Karin-chan?
I don't know. Maybe he was butchering a deer or something?
Maybe he's a serial killer!
Don't be silly, Yuzu. He can't be much older than, oh, seventeen? He might be fifteen. He's just a kid.
Well, okay. When will the ambulance be here?
The boy on the ground groaned as warm hands carefully moved him, laying him out on a stretcher. Eyes opened, blinking stupidly at the people above him. Karin noticed his eyes were warm brown. She frowned at him, tilting her head at the orange hair. It was about the same shade as Yuzu's.
"Hey. You okay?" She asked, trying to keep him awake. It didn't look like the blood was his, but if it was he'd be in danger of going into shock. The boy looked at her, dazed, glancing around.
"Yeah, I – I think so." He shifted, trying to drag himself to his feet. Karin quickly caught him and pushed him back down.
"Hey, stay still. You're covered in blood." She ordered and he looked down at himself, seemingly surprised to see the blood. "What's your name?" She asked as Yuzu kept fluttering about the ambulance. The boy had to really think about it, but he finally came up with an answer.
"I'm Ichigo. Who are you? Where am I?" He asked, glancing around again. "Never seen anything like this before… I think?" He muttered, resting a hand on his head. "Ow. My head hurts." Karin gently examined his head, finding some very tender spots.
"I think you might have taken a head injury. Stay still." She instructed the young man, who nodded, closing his eyes. They could hear the sirens now. The ambulance would arrive any minute. "You're going to the hospital, they'll take care of you." She said encouragingly. He nodded, opening his eyes just a bit.
"Who are you?" He asked and she gently patted his shoulder.
"I'm Karin Kurosaki and this is my sister, Yuzu." She said and the young man opened his eyes again, blinking.
"Kurosaki? That's strange… I'm Kurosaki Ichigo… I wonder what that means…?" Karin blinked, surprised. But then she shrugged as the boy gave her a puzzled glance.
"Probably nothing. It's not that uncommon a last name." She said. It wasn't a super common last name, either, but not uncommon. Then the ambulance arrived and she watched as they put him into a gurney. "Can I go with him?" Karin suddenly asked. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to be around the boy. And besides, the police would probably want to question her and Yuzu anyway. It wasn't every day that a boy showed up covered in blood in Karakura town. The paramedics clearly thought the same thing.
"Of course. The police will want to talk to you." One of them said, echoing her thoughts, and Karin jumped into the back of the ambulance. Not to her surprise, the paramedics confirmed that Ichigo had no injuries aside from some tender spots on his head. But that left everyone with a burning question.
Where had all the blood come from?