Welcome to another update for Reading: Unexpected Visit. I hope you have been enjoying the story so far. Make sure you head down to check out the original story as well as the traded fic for this one over on AizenTheGoat's page.
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Ichigo's eyes opened slowly on the morning of the next day, flinching at the warm golden light that bore down on him. He wet his lips, bunching the covers around him as he took a moment to remain laying down. He could hear the birds chirping outside, and from the amount of sunlight still entering the room from the window, he could tell he'd slept longer than he usually did. He pushed the covers off his body after ten minutes, just enough time to get rid of the remaining drowsiness he felt in the mornings.
Rubbing his eyes softly, he stood up and made his way into the bathroom to begin his usual routine. A quick brush of his teeth and a shower took up twenty minutes of his time but soon, he was redressed in similar clothing as the day before. He still felt rather uncomfortable seeing himself in the new clothes, and he stretched his limbs around him, but until he could make a trip to the land of Iron, his preferred clothing would have to wait. Perhaps one of the shops could custom make them? It wasn't as though he was short on money.
"I think your new clothes are fine." Shizune commented.
"Yes, you look good in them." Tsunade said calmly, clearly trying to not include any kind of innuendo.
Putting that thought aside for the moment, Ichigo made his way to the kitchen. The house was quiet with the only noise coming from the animals outside and the soft breeze hitting the trees. Tsunade was gone no doubt. The thought of the blond brought up the memory of their dinner the night before, and he couldn't help but smile fondly. Their chat had been nice and he hoped that maybe she would rescind her ban on him using the training ground if he asked once again, though something told him that was wishful thinking. If he was being honest with himself a similar incident would be more of an inevitably than a possibility.
Tsunade's glower toward him made Ichigo sheepishly chuckle.
Pulling out a plate from the cupboard, Ichigo served himself some leftovers from last night and placed his dish on the table. Before he could go back for a drink, he paused mid step as he noticed a small note on the center of the table. Removing the salt shaker that acted as a paper weight, he brought it up to eye level.
Ichigo, after you've had breakfast come to the tower. We have something important to discuss.
-Tsunade
Ichigo froze. There were three things that this could be referring to. The mark on his chest that he'd received from Momoshiki, the scrolls he'd given her, or information regarding his situation. While the first two were definitely important, something inside of him told him the only thing that made sense was the final option. His heart began to pound just a bit harder at the thought.
He shook his head as he put the note back on the table, and reminded himself to not get his hopes up too high. That would only set him up for disappointment if he didn't get good news. Focusing on the food in the meantime, he ate as calmly as possible, though the silence that permeated the estate didn't help one bit.
His thoughts all revolved around finally getting home. He could see everyone again. His sisters, goat chin, Urahara, and everyone from the Soul Society. Closing his eyes momentarily, he forced the thoughts away once more and took a bite of his breakfast. Even though he felt the emptiness in his stomach, his appetite had all but disappeared after reading the note.
"Other me really should have left more information so he wouldn't be so upset." Tsunade groaned.
Anxiety flooded his body. His right foot tapped the ground repeatedly, and he could feel slight jitters crawl up from his toes to his fingers. Forcing his foot to stop its movement, he continued eating for the next few minutes until nothing remained on his plate. It wouldn't help him at all to go hungry.
Not wanting to leave a mess, he quickly washed his dish along with the ones they'd dirtied the night before and grabbed Zangetsu before he made his way to the tower.
"Since she left me the note, should I just walk into the office?" Ichigo thought, stewing to himself as he made his way onto the main road leading to the tower. He could have sworn there was an actual secretary now that dealt with appointments to see the Hokage. Did Tsunade give him clearance to just enter or would he need to check in first?
"Oh I want to see what happens if you just walk in. Maybe you can…spar with the ANBU." Naruto said with a devious grin.
"Why do you want to see the ANBU get beat up by Ichigo?" Shizune asked.
"Who do you think stopped most of my pranks or jokes before I graduated? They have it coming." Naruto said grimly.
If he simply strode in, but no one had been informed, it could cause a small scene. If there was one thing he knew about Tsunade, it was that she had a very short fuse. Even though something like that could be attributed to her lack of clear instructions, Ichigo could definitely see her getting mad at him causing her problems regardless.
He scowled to himself as he thought about the alternative. He'd experienced long wait times back home whenever he'd needed to see certain people like dentists or the optometrist, sometimes they would be hours. With the thought of potentially going home hanging in the back of his head, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stay put that long.
Ichigo sighed, his feet unconsciously increasing their pace, as his mind ran at breakneck speeds. His hands quivered slightly, and he clenched them tightly. None of that mattered. Hope swelled in his chest, but his mind tempered it with fear. He was avoiding the real issue, like he always did.
A mocking cackle echoed in the back of his mind.
The readers all frowned at that. The presence of the Otsutsuki in Ichigo's head was still fresh in their minds.
His thoughts were interrupted a moment later as he felt himself being shoved forward before a sudden light weight was felt on his back. Arms wrapped around his neck and two pale hands smooshed his cheeks. What felt like twin orbs, soft and squishy, could definitely be felt pressing against his back, and a pair of legs quickly wrapped around his body, locking themselves in place just above his waist. Without thinking, his arms moved to support the person, grabbing onto the person's thighs, his hands easily finding purchase as he squeezed their supple skin.
Glancing over his shoulder, his frown disappeared and was replaced with a flat stare when he saw a familiar purple haired woman grinning down at him with a dango skewer hanging out of her mouth.
"Yo! What's the rush?" She asked, her hands falling from his face as she draped her arms around him in a lazy fashion. Her head rested on his left shoulder in an attempt to make herself more comfortable, and she shot him a curious look. Anko ignored the one he was giving her, as the fact that his arms were supporting her and she hadn't been shaken off yet told her he didn't seem to mind much.
"Uh-oh. Competition." Shizune teased Tsunade causing the blonde to whirl around and glare at her student. Shizune simply giggled at the reaction causing Tsunade to huff and turn her attention back to the reading.
She was getting tired of the incessant teasing about a relationship that didn't exist. The fact that Shizune was getting in on it made it even worse.
"Any reason you're on my back?" He asked flatly. Ichigo wouldn't say he minded, but it was definitely a strange way to greet someone first thing in the morning, let alone someone you only met a couple days ago. Normally, he would have shaken anybody else off by now, but her carefree attitude reminded him somewhat of Yoruichi. Anko's grin wasn't exactly as cheshire, but he could definitely see the woman doing something similar when she was in one of her playful moods.
The thought made his lips curl upward slightly but he quickly caught himself. Though not quick enough to escape the notice of the woman on his back.
"Well, you don't seem to mind." Anko shot back, misunderstanding why he'd smiled. She wrapped her legs further around him, grinning as she felt his hands squeeze against her thighs tighter. "No, you definitely don't mind. Anyway, you still haven't answered my question."
"I'm on my way to see Tsunade. She needs to talk to me about something." He replied honestly.
Anko smirked at his answer and with her right hand, poked his cheek. "You think you're in trouble? You did cause her quite a bit of paperwork, I'm sure."
"I doubt it has anything to do with the training ground." Aizen commented.
"More likely to do with the girl on his back in my opinion." Urahara chimed in.
Ignoring the prodding at his face again, he shook his head. "I don't think so. I haven't done anything to warrant her being upset with me this early. Probably." He replied. There were the events of last night, but that had already been cleared up.
"Except destroy a chunk of her training ground, you mean." She replied in a cheeky manner. "What if she went to survey the damage herself? I'm sure seeing it with her own eyes would be enough to put her in a bad mood."
"That was an accident." Ichigo huffed. "I'm all clear on that front. She's having Kakashi and his team take care of that, remember? Besides, since Naruto was beginning to annoy her I technically did her a favor since he has something to do now." He replied with a nod. "And you still haven't haven't answered my question, you know? Any reason you've decided to make yourself comfortable on my back?"
Her arms tightened around his neck and her head wiggled further onto his shoulder. "Because it's comfortable. Why else?" She asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"She really likes you. Obvious given that you freed her, but her emotions of gratitude might be making her feel more attracted to you than she normally would." Isshin commented.
He was a bit stuck in his thoughts. On one hand he liked the idea of his boy and Tsunade winding up as a couple. On the other hand he liked the attitude and general nature of this Anko girl.
His son was really doing him proud right now.
Ichigo gave her an unimpressed look and held his gaze even as she stared back at him with a happy look on her face. Soon, however, seeing no change in Ichigo's face, she huffed.
"Fine. We want to invite you to have breakfast with us." Anko finally admitted, jerking her head to the left. Following her line of sight, Ichigo noticed Kurenai standing a few feet away, shaking her head and rubbing a hand down her face. He saw her lips move and even though he couldn't hear what she'd said, it was obvious it had to do with Anko's behavior.
The raven haired woman made her way over to the pair and shot Anko a look before turning her attention toward her friend's new object of interest.
"Good morning." She greeted amicably. "Have you had breakfast? Anko and I were planning on checking out a new place that's recently opened up."
Ichigo felt somewhat bad that he would have to turn them down. He wasn't sure if this was both of their ideas or Anko's, but regardless he felt grateful that he was being included in something. Unfortunately, the issue with Tsunade was far too important to put off any longer.
"Sorry, but would you mind if I joined you some other time?" He asked politely. "Like I told Anko, I need to speak with Tsunade about something, and she isn't exactly the type of woman you leave waiting."
"I doubt they will blame you for that. I think they all kind of realize that when she says jump, you say how high." Shizune said.
"I have never heard you complain." Tsunade grumbled.
*Really? She complains like all the time. Do you just ignore her or what?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade didn't answer, she just scowled at the boy.
Kurenai nodded in understanding. Though the Hokage hadn't been in power for long, she had already heard of the woman's fiery temper. A part of her mind reminded her that said temper seemingly didn't apply to the young man in front of her, thinking about the training ground incident yesterday and his lack of punishment, but she didn't voice it. Instead, she glanced at her friend and pointed down.
"Soft spot." Shizune said simply getting a roll of the eyes from her teacher.
"It's no problem at all. We won't keep you any longer. Anko, down, he needs to go." She ordered as if commanding a child.
Playing along, Anko pouted but released her hold on him.
"Fine. Don't forget I still expect that dinner." She told him with a pointed look.
Ichigo frowned, wondering what she was talking about but soon remembered the dinner he'd made for Tsunade. Anko had figured that he had made it for them, and he'd never gotten the chance to set things straight. Knowing he couldn't exactly tell her the truth, he simply muttered something along the lines of 'of course' and continued on his way.
"Oof, you can never tell her the truth." Isshin told his son.
The two women watched his retreating form, neither speaking until he was out of ear shot.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest and raising a well done eyebrow, Kurenai stared at her best friend. "Want to tell me what that was all about?"
"I was just inviting him to eat with us. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" She asked rhetorically. Not allowing her friend the chance to respond, Anko continued quickly. "Besides, there's something wrong." She added in a serious tone of voice.
Kurenai blinked at the sudden shift in demeanor and stood up a bit straighter. Her eyes darted back to the quickly shrinking shape of the young man walking toward the Hokage tower. Had she missed something? Other than annoyance, there wasn't much she could read on Ichigo's face.
"What's the problem?"
Anko remained quiet for the next few moments, her face scrunching up in concentration as she tried to find the correct words.
"There's something going on between Ichigo and the Hokage." She finally revealed.
"Wow, even strangers have you two pegged. How long until you can figure it out?" Urahara asked.
Kurenai's shoulders sagged, and she mentally berated herself for believing her friend had something serious to say. She should have anticipated something like this.
"There's nothing going on between him and the Hokage, Anko." Kurenai replied slowly. "He isn't even one of her shinobi. I've heard he traveled with her and Shizune before returning to the village. It isn't strange that she would want to speak with him."
Anko shook her head. "Then why'd she get so mad seeing us together last night?"
"Anko is raising some good points, why did you get so mad, Granny?" Naruto asked with a shit eating grin.
"Because I probably had a long day dealing with bratty Shinobi just like you." She growled.
"Awe come on, I'm the highlight of your day. Unless you are trying to say you like all that paperwork." Naruto pressed on.
The Hokage actually had no rebuttal for that. He even made a good point. He was a nice break from her paperwork. Plus it was hard to actually be angry with him even if he was a bratty kid.
"From what you told me, you were basically hooking up with a guy in her own home. I'd be pretty upset if I had a housemate do that too." Kurenai replied without hesitation.
"He lives with her." Anko tried again.
"There's nowhere else for him to go. All the hotels are booked, and she's got more than enough space."
"He destroyed a training ground and got off without so much as a slap on the wrist. You think that would happen to anyone else? You don't have a soft spot for someone like that unless they really mean something to you." Anko replied.
"At this point it feels like Kuelrenai is just in denial." Urahara said.
"I don't see why. Ichigo is strong and a good man, just like I raised him to be, and Tsunade is a beautiful, strong, and honestly kind woman. It's a match made in heaven." Isshin announced.
"God dad. We aren't together. The other us are not a couple. This joke has gone on too long." Ichigo tried to lay down the law.
"Ichigo…I haven't been making any jokes really." Isshin said simply.
The young man just slumped in his seat at that.
Kurenai opened her mouth to retort but no words could escape her. As much as she believed nothing was going on, it was difficult to find a reasonable answer for why he hadn't gotten into trouble. They'd expected a fine or something but he walked away having only been yelled at in a hushed tone of voice.
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's romantic anyways. You don't have any proof either, and no, that's not a challenge to get it." She said before sighing. "Let's just go get breakfast and you can tell me why exactly Ichigo is suddenly so important to you. Don't think I didn't notice how you were all over him, more than your usual teasing. You've been pretty vague about why you were there with him last night, too."
Anko's hand subconsciously moved to her shoulder where now only bare skin resided and she smiled brightly. "Kurenai, you're not gonna believe what I'm about to tell you." She said, pulling the woman into a half hug and leading her away.
While Anko and Kurenai were discussing the events leading up to her curse mark removal, Ichigo had finally made it to the tower. Pushing the doors open, he walked down the corridor, nodding to the few people who made eye contact with him. Just as he was about to enter the circular corridor that would lead to the office, he locked eyes with a rather young blond haired woman sitting behind a large desk.
"You must be Kurosaki Ichigo." The woman said in a professional tone. Her eyes lingered on his orange hair, and he knew that was how she would know who he was. "The Hokage is expecting you. Be sure to knock and wait for permission to enter before actually heading inside."
"Easier than I expected. Like I kind of thought I would get patted down or something I guess." Ichigo said.
"If a Shinobi could be caught through a simple pat down…they really don't deserve the name." Jiraiya replied.
That was all she said to him before her attention was captured by a document in front of her. Mentally cheering that he wouldn't have to wait, he walked past her and into the corridor. Ichigo could feel his anxiety beginning to flare with each step. Now that he was only a few feet away from his destination, the beating of his heart increased. As much as he wanted to quell it, it was a task easier said than done.
His hand pressed up against the door when the secretary's words echoed back in his mind. Removing his hand, he knocked three times until Tsunade's voice shouted at him to enter.
Pushing the doors open, his eyes landed on three other men who were standing at attention in front of her desk. They wore the same uniform that most of the older shinobi wore consisting of the blue long sleeve shirt and pants along with the green jackets. However, there were varying distinguishable traits on all three, despite the similar clothing.
The first had a bandana over his head styled backwards, with the knot decorating his forehead. Along with that, a single senbon needle was sticking out of his mouth as if it were a toothpick. The brown haired man shot him a lazy wave and a nod of acknowledgement.
Next to him was another bandana wearing shinobi, though he wore his in the proper style. He seemed as average as they came, and the only distinguishable thing about him was the small black goatee he sported. Like the man next to him, he also gave him a short nod.
Finally, the last member of the trio. He wore a standard headband but on the left side of his face, from the bridge of his nose all the way to his cheek, Ichigo could make out a noticeable scar. It looked as if his skin had been pulled or stretched somehow.
"Ah, of course. Those three know the hiraishin…kind of." Jiraiya said.
"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise.
"What do you mean kind of though?" Ichigo asked.
"I'm sure we will learn from the story." Jiraiya replied.
"Ichigo." Tsunade greeted in what he believed was her 'leader' voice. "Take a seat. We'll be finished momentarily." Her eyes pointed to one of the few seats along the walls near the windows. "Genma. Continue."
Ichigo noticed Genma, the one with the makeshift toothpick, gave him a side glance, as if wondering why he was allowed to be here, but soon gave an almost unnoticeable shrug. "As we were saying, the Hiraishin works the same way with us as it did with the Fourth Hokage, with the only difference being it takes three of us to perform it."
"So, you still need a marker?" She asked, pointing to a series of characters that had been placed on her arm.
"That's not sounding good." Isshin said as he realized Ichigo really might be trapped for good.
Genma nodded once more. "Correct. In order for us to teleport to anyone, the object in question must be marked. Likewise, if we want to teleport somewhere, we can only go to where a marker already exists. We can't simply go anywhere we please."
Ichigo felt his heart drop at the revelation, but he did his best to conceal it. If it really did require a marker, his chance at going home was basically non-existent. Taking a moment to calm himself, he began to think of an alternative. Every sort of travel required some form of bridge that connected two separate spaces.
"Zangetsu. Yhwach." Ichigo called out. He could see another one of the men speaking, but the words no longer reached his ears. Tsunade glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, no doubt knowing this wouldn't be what he wanted to hear.
"What is it, Ichigo?" Yhwach replied from his mind, though Ichigo was sure the man knew what was going on.
"Would it be possible to somehow link a garganta to the space they use when teleporting?"
The next voice he heard wasn't that of Yhwach, but of his Zanpakuto spirit.
"I'm not sure. We've never been in a situation like this, and we don't know how this teleportation works or nothin' either. We're in a completely new universe, and even the Garganta ain't workin' right. It wouldn't hurt to try, but don't get your hopes up." Zangetsu replied in his usual straightforward way.
"It's still a possibility though." Shizune said.
Ichigo knew the chances were slim, but he needed to do something. He couldn't just let an opportunity slip by, no matter how small the chance was. Focusing back on the people in front of him, he managed to catch the tail end of the conversation.
"...that's about it. Unless the Fourth found a way around it, that's all we can manage." Gemma finished.
Tsunade rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward the bottom half of her face behind her interlaced fingers. She eyed the jonin in front of her before taking another glance at the young man who she was doing this for. To her surprise, he didn't seem as dejected as she imagined he would be. Even she would be somewhat crushed if she were in his situation.
"What's going through his head?" She thought to herself with a frown.
"Well, Ichigo, having heard all that, what do you want to do?" She asked out loud. Instinctually, all three men turned to look at him with confusion written clearly on their faces.
Ichigo remained silent and tapped his left knee with his fingers repeatedly. He hadn't expected her to put him on the spot like this.
"I'd like to experience the technique a few times." He replied much to everyone's confusion. "If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like to be teleported from here to Training ground 44 and back a few times."
"Already thinking on alternate ways. Good, don't let defeat keep you down." Isshin said proudly to his son.
The trio turned to look at their leader who nodded. "That's acceptable, am I to assume you have the funds for this assignment?" Ichigo recognized the formality, as she knew he had more than enough.
"I do."
"Good." She replied. Looking back to the trio, she spoke again. "Is the training ground marked?"
"No, but we can do so immediately." With an incline of her head, the three disappeared from their spot, leaving the two alone once more.
Tsunade pulled out a blank scroll and told him how much it would cost for this mission. It was a hefty sum for the average shinobi, but it was next to nothing for him. Placing the money on the scroll, Tsunade added a bit of chakra and sealed the money away before wrapping the scroll with a red band and stuffing it in one of the drawers.
She wanted to ask how he was feeling, and to make sure he was alright. Worry and care flooded her chest, but she wasn't given the opportunity when the trio reappeared in a triangular formation, just as her hand was about to dart to Ichigo's. The three's fingertips touched, forming a specific hand sign on each hand, no doubt part of the technique.
"You really are caring underneath it all." Urahara chuckled.
"The hell do you mean, underneath it all. I'm a fucking ball of love and compassion. I am a doctor after all." Tsunade barked.
"Sure, sure." Urahara replied.
"Whenever you're ready." Genma told him as he broke the formation in order to let Ichigo stand in the center. Taking his place in the center, the men soon closed the formation once more.
Ichigo locked eyes with Tsunade and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the same spot where he'd attempted Kurohitsugi. There had been no form of bridge between the two areas, one moment they were in the office, the next they were in the forest. There hadn't even been a second in which he could try to figure out where he was.
"Again." Ichigo ordered.
The three guys shared a glance amongst themselves, no doubt wondering what this would achieve, but shrugged once Genma made the proper hand signs.
"Sure thing."
Like the first time, Ichigo soon found himself once again staring into the eyes of the blond haired Hokage. Frowning at the lack of any useful information from the trip, he ordered the technique be done once more. Tsunade hid her look of concern well, but Ichigo could see her eyes soften the moment she heard his stern tone give the order.
The readers didn't tease them this time. The other Ichigo was definitely going to be upset if he couldn't get anything useful from this.
Sixteen times. That was the number of round trips he'd made from the training ground back to the office in the span of a few minutes. The effects of the technique were instant, and faster than he could react to. Honing his senses to their utmost, he felt and watched in slow motion as the three jonin readied to do the technique. The slightest twitches of their fingers, the most minute of eye movements, and the shortest of inhales as they prepared. Their chakra built to a swell, in perfect tandem, in less than a second, yet Ichigo sensed and watched its rise as if it took an eternity. But then, nothing. He was back in the Training Ground, not having felt a thing but the disorientation of his displacement. It was simply too fast for him to glean any information from. Or rather, there was no information to glean in the first place. Unlike the Garganta or Senkaimon, there was no passage one would walk or run through to emerge on another side. There was nothing he could connect to in order to potentially work something out to get home. It was over.
"Again?" One of the Jonin asked him, sweat building on their brow.
Ichigo shook his head and his shoulders sagged ever so slightly. "No. That was more than enough, thank you." He tried to keep his voice even, not wanting to let any of his true feelings be felt.
"I'm sorry Ichigo." Tsunade said quietly.
"There's nothing for you to apologize for. Even if there was, that's him, not me." Ichigo said easily.
He gave the team a small bow before giving a slightly lower bow to Tsunade. "I know it must have seemed like a strange request, but thank you. If there's nothing else needed of me, then I'll be going."
Once he was out of the office, he walked down the hall with his feet almost dragging behind him. He felt tired, as if the weight of the world was crashing down on him. The thought of going back to Tsunade's house wasn't all that appealing at the moment so, rather than make the trek back, he simply wandered around the village. Anything to keep his mind from wandering.
It wasn't until much later in the night that he returned to a home so much larger than his family clinic, and to a room so much more desolate than his own. His father was not there to make a fool of himself, and his sisters were not there to watch fondly. Gently placing Zangetsu up against the wall near the bed, he let himself fall onto the mattress and covered his face with his arm. His teeth grit together in a mix of anger and frustration. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair.
The readers were again silent. The feeling of loss and depression he was likely feeling at the moment we're almost palpable for the rest of them. Especially the Ichigo that was reading. He felt terrible for his other, but he didn't want to lose hope that the other him would see his family and loved ones again.
"Ichigo." Yhwach called out. "Join us for a moment." He requested before Ichigo could give into the despair he was feeling.
For a moment, Ichigo considered ignoring the request, but ultimately complied. With a defeated sigh, he picked up Zangetsu and placed it over his lap while he sat on the bed. Closing his eyes, he focused and soon found himself within his inner world. The first thing he noticed was the heavy rainfall that covered the entire area.
Feeling the presence of his two spirits behind him, he turned to stare at them with a dull look in his eyes. Zangetsu's gold eyes narrowed while Yhwach looked stoic. Neither of them looked particularly worried about the situation they were in.
"What is it?" Ichigo asked, his voice quiet and his eyes low.
The two spirits glanced at each other momentarily, silently debating which one of them would speak first. After a moment of silence, Yhwach sighed inaudibly and began.
"I know it may seem as if all is lost at the moment, but you need not despair, Ichigo, for there is still hope." He began. "Do not forget, there is still another possible way."
Ichigo frowned, there wasn't anything he could think of that could help him at the moment. That technique was the only shot he had. "Really? How?"
Though he didn't mean for his words to have a sarcastic undertone, he was unable to stop some from seeping in.
Zangetsu rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Do we really gotta spell it out for you?" He asked in an annoyed voice. "We aren't the only people here anymore, remember?"
Ichigo blinked in confusion, but soon realized who he was talking about. His hand came up to the center of his chest where the diamond shaped mark stained his body. Momoshiki.
"Oh shit. That might get complicated though. Those guys seemed pretty far into the spectrum of not good people. That Momoshiki looked to be the worse of the two as well." Jiraiya said.
"I see you've realized it." Yhwach confirmed. "He and his partner were already on that planet, and that means they had to have a way to get around somehow."
That was true, the planet they were on was barren as far as he knew, his spiritual senses detecting nothing, and all the remnants of civilization being old enough that a simple touch would turn them to dust. Even in the end when he'd gotten a clear view from high above the ground there was no sign of life other than them. That meant they had to have a way to travel. The chances of it being similar to a Garganta or Senkaimon were slim, but it was possible, though there was still another problem.
"Something tells me he won't exactly be cooperative with us." Ichigo pointed out.
Zangetsu smirked at the comment, his hand gliding over his white blade as he nodded as though that were a good thing. "He felt high and mighty when he arrived, but I made sure he learned his place. Momoshiki is struggling even now to break himself free from his new prison."
The Shinigami looked around but failed to see any place Momoshiki could be held in. Perhaps in one of the buildings? Not even his presence could be sensed, but he knew the man was there somewhere. What exactly had the two done to keep him down?
"We would like to know too. Chances are we will have to deal with them eventually." Tsunade said grimly.
"Unfortunately for you I doubt whatever method Ichigo and his companions use can be used by your people as well." Aizen said.
"Momoshiki will not cause any trouble. However, it is also doubtful he'll be cooperative for the moment. In time, he will understand the reality of his situation,and that is when we will truly press for answers." Yhwach concluded.
It sounded like a decent plan. If he was fighting against whatever restraints had been placed on him, it was unlikely that he would want to help him in any way. Even though there was now a new avenue he could pursue, that also had its own issue.
"How long could that take?" Ichigo asked. "We've been here for a while now and have no idea how things are back home. Time passes differently in the Dangai. Have we been missing for the same amount of time? Less?…More?" Ichigo asked rapidly.
The readers flinched slightly at Ichigo's words. That was a very good and worrying point that he was making.
Neither spirit replied, they didn't have to. Ichigo knew they didn't have an answer for him. Hanging out with Tsunade and Shizune in the time he'd been here had kept his mind away from the time issue, but now it was all he could think about. He rubbed his face in exasperation, unlike the issue with returning home, this was one thing he couldn't control.
Taking a few calming breaths, Ichigo focused on his breathing. Around them, the heavy rain finally began to lighten until it was down to a light drizzle.
"Alright, I guess it's a waiting game now." He conceded.
Yhwach nodded. "We don't know how long it will take for our guest to give up. In the meantime, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to make some friends, Ichigo." The visage of the Quincy King lifted a hand when he saw the young man about to interrupt. "Though you are not technically alone, you will still feel the sting of true solitude. It might be some time before Momoshiki is ready to help us in any capacity. Get to know people, make connections, and make the best of this situation."
"Or do you wanna whine and mope around for who knows how fuckin' long?" Zangetsu chimed in. "You're the king right? Go out and show this new world who you are!" He finished with a crazy grin.
"Good to see you have a strong support base." Shizune commented.
Ichigo's lips curled upward at the pep talk. He'd rather keep to himself, but he couldn't deny their words. There was no guarantee that Momoshiki would give in soon, and living a life with next to no companionship wasn't the least bit appealing. It would hurt having to leave everyone when the time came, but that could be a problem for his future self. He already had a few people being friendly to him, it wouldn't hurt to get to know them more. Maybe he could even see more of the villages. It might take some time, but he would see everyone again.
"I guess you guys are right. Just be sure to let me know when he wants to make a deal." Ichigo said with a smile. His two spirits nodded back at him and watched him disappear from his inner world.
Zangetsu's smirk vanished the moment Ichigo was gone and Yhwach's encouraging look followed suit, leaving both of them with serious expressions on their faces.
"Old man. You know we're probably never getting back home right?" Zangetsu asked.
Yhwach nodded solemnly. "It's most likely that we will be stuck here for the rest of our days. I am certain that, deep in his heart, he knows this, but he's holding onto any shred of hope he can get."
Any good mood the pep talk had supplied was immediately gone now that those that had encouraged Ichigo were expressing their own doubts of success.
"So that's why you told him to make friends. You want him to have people around him when he finally admits to himself that we aren't going back. A support, or somethin'."
"We will be there for him for sure." Naruto chirped.
"He pulled my other out of her rut, I doubt she stands by to let him wallow in one of his own." Tsunade said with a grin.
Yhwach didn't respond, his silence spoke for him. Zangetsu looked up at the cloudy skies above them and raised his hands, palm sides up. No raindrops landed and the smallest of holes was beginning to pierce through the clouds. A ray of light hit one of the many skyscrapers.
"I really hope that thing isn't so bitchy when the time comes." Zangetsu muttered to himself, looking in the direction where they were keeping Momoshiki. He could only imagine what this place would look like in the near future, and he was not looking forward to it.
xxxx
"Ichigo." Tsunade called from the other side of the door. Said man blinked in confusion, how long had he been in his inner world? "I know you're in there, Ichigo."
Standing up, he slowly walked over to the door and opened it. Tsunade stood across from him, one arm hanging loosely while the other gripped her forearm. She stared at him with concern written clearly on her face. Her eyes focused on his own, trying to see if she could spot puffiness or any signs that he might have been crying.
Her duties as Hokage had kept her away for the day, but once she was free, she had used the shunshin to race home..
"Tsunade." Ichigo called back, noticing that she seemed to be staring. "Did you need something?"
The woman stepped into the room with Ichigo following closely behind. "How are you feeling?" She asked, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "I know you were hoping the Hiraishin would be able to help you, and when you left you looked so… I just want to make sure you're ok, or whatever else you need."
"Thank you, Tsunade." Ichigo murmured ignoring the smile of his father.
"Of course….I mean it's what good friends do. Comfort one another and stuff." She awkwardly replied.
Ichigo took a seat next to her, brought one knee up and rested his arm on it. "I'm good." He replied honestly, and he couldn't deny the warmth in his chest that bloomed from her worried words. Other than rare occasions, Tsunade was all wit, sarcasm, and annoyance when things pertained to him, most of it earned if he was being honest..
"You're taking this a lot better than I would have thought. Holding things in doesn't help, you know?" She commented, leaving that it was him who taught her that lesson unsaid, still believing that he was keeping his true feelings back. Had she gotten home at the same time as him, this conversation would have probably played out differently.
"I admit, I was…down, for a little while after I left."
"What changed?"
"There's still one more straw I can grasp. I don't know how long it will take, but there's a chance." He said with a strong though slightly conflicted look.
"Conflicted feels like an understatement here but sure." Jiraiya commented
Tsunade stared at him in slight confusion. Other than the Hiraishin, she didn't know of any other techniques that could possibly help him. It couldn't be something in his own repertoire either. The last time he tried something like that, he'd ended up on some unknown planet fighting against aliens.
"Thank you, by the way." Ichigo suddenly said, breaking her train of thought. "Even though it didn't work, the fact that you still went out of your way for me to try it means a lot."
"Idiot." Tsunade scoffed as red dusted her cheeks, before reaching over. Ichigo felt himself be pulled into a familiar sideways embrace until his head was pressed up against her. "After all we've been through you think I wouldn't help you?"
Ichigo smiled and wrapped his own arm around her midsection to reciprocate the hug. Yhwach's words from earlier came back to him, and that feeling of isolation still stirred inside him, but it did not rear up like it had earlier.. Maybe no one like him existed in this world, but when he was with Tsunade it didn't feel as hard to bear.
"You two just keep getting closer." Shizune said happily.
"What of it Shizune." Tsunade grumbled.
"Nothing, I'm just happy that you two are happy." She replied. Causing the blonde woman to deflate slightly and smile faintly at the image of her other and Ichigo's other embracing.
The comfortable embrace lasted a minute before Tsunade released her hold on him, prompting Ichigo to do the same. Tsunade stood up and stared down at him with her own small smile in place. It softened, and she glanced away as she began to speak. "Getting all sappy over something so small, you really are a fool, aren't you? When I think about where I would be if you hadn't come to this world…No matter what comes I'll be there for you, Ichigo."
Like their moment in Tanzaku Gai, Tsunade lifted his head up with a finger and planted her soft lips on his forehead for a fleeting moment before pulling back. "Come on, let's have dinner. After the day I've had dealing with some of these people I could go for a nice meal."
Most of the readers sent the blonde woman a knowing smirk as she blushed faintly.
xxxx
Kisuke hadn't walked through the halls of the Squad 12 barracks in over a century. Despite the amount of time he'd been away, he found he didn't miss this place at all. His life back in the world of the living was much better, but unforeseen circumstances had forced his return. An oversight on his part had brought him back to his old barracks. He had allowed Ichigo to travel to Soul Society by himself without alerting him of the changes within the Dangai.
Thanks to Aizen having destroyed the cleaner, the Dangai needed a new way to keep people from taking advantage of the time distortion it created. To that end, a series of explosions would occur while the path expanded rapidly to stop anyone from escaping. However, it was rather volatile and the amount of power Ichigo radiated had caused the power of the explosions to increase.
The former Captain of Squad 12 bit his bottom lip in worry, though he hid it behind his fan. Ichigo had been caught in the blasts, of that he was certain, but he was strong. He had survived a transcendent being's Hado #90 without taking a scratch. Ichigo should have still been able to make it to Soul Society, but he never arrived.
"At least we are aware you are missing and are trying to reach you. If you can't find a way home maybe we can find a way to you." Urahara commented.
The fact that he no longer had the strength he did then was conveniently ignored to soothe his frantic mind.
Guilt began to eat away at him for his oversight. Ichigo had just gotten his powers back. He'd just gotten through the nightmares that Ginjo and Tsukishima had put him through and was allowed to see his friends again, only to disappear.
Pain erupted in his skull, the hilt of his cane growing hot, and Kisuke calmed himself. He had never achieved anything through panic or dismay, and his thumb glided over wood in thanks. . He strode past the few unseated shinigami that were in his path, not paying them any mind, as he made his way to the elevator that would take him down to where he knew Mayuri would be. No one attempted to stop him as he stepped inside and made his lift whined and creaked on its way down, going much more slowly than he recalled. His grip on Benihime tightened as his senses honed around the lift.
There.
Muttered words and hand motions accompanied the increased pace of the elevator, his mouth a grim line and his eyes narrowed in frustration. Doors opened and Kisuke was greeted by the sight of multiple shinigami sitting in front of screens, each monitoring a different area. At the very end, standing in front of the largest screen in the room, was the third seat, Akon. The man heard his approaching footsteps and turned to look at him with surprise written on his face. Clearly, Mayuri hadn't informed anyone of his arrival.
Urahara frowned ever so slightly. He was beginning to think perhaps some other issues were coming at the same time as Ichigo's disappearance. Which was definitely going to be a headache.
It must have been tuned to his reiatsu, then.
"Akon, how have you been?" Kisuke greeted happily, his countenance the picture of joviality.
"It varies from day to day." Akon replied blankly. "Are you looking for Captain Kurotsuchi?"
Kisuke nodded, quickly hiding the downturn of his lips behind his fan.
Akon pointed to a rather nondescript door, and it swung open as his eyes turned, revealing a brightly lit screen with an orange display. Mayuri's hunched figure blocked the bottommost half of it, as he typed rapidly whilst turning dials in what must have been a new experiment. Brushing past Akon without another word, he strode towards his former subordinate.
"Urahara, to what do I owe the pleasure? I didn't quite appreciate your changes to my elevator." Mayuri asked rudely, not looking away from his screen.
Kisuke merely closed the door behind him as he mentally hummed. Mayuri must have gotten a sample of his reiatsu when he met with the Head Captain, right before he and Isshin restored Ichigo's powers. Truly fitting of this fool to use it for such a petty reason as slowing his arrival. Not paying any heed to the Captain's obvious displeasure, Kisuke smiled and closed his fan while leaning down to stare at the screen, making Mayuri scowl. "I need to know what happened in the Dangai. Ichigo should have been here by now, even if he was caught in the new cleaning system."
"So we don't know exactly what happened then." Isshin said with mild worry.
"We will figure it out." Urahara said confidently.
Mayuri sighed in annoyance and began typing away, prompting a new window to appear with what looked to be data from the Dangai. Scrolling for half a second, Mayuri stopped and muttered the report to himself. He didn't bother explaining them to Urahara as the man was surely smart enough to understand what he was looking at.
"Hm, so he's been spit out." Mayuri commented.
"Where? When?" Urahara said, iron seeping into his words.. "Rukia and Renji both reported negatively to me. I listened in on the other Captains as well."
Mayuri scowled, not batting an eye at the security leak Urahara had just implied. He was watching all of them too, after all. Still, annoyance brewed as Urahara looked at all of his things, but he kept his temper in check. The sooner he could get Urahara out of here the sooner he could get back to his work.
"You two sure are invasive." Tsunade commented.
Urahara simply smiled her way.
"Here." He said, scrolling down to a set of data points. "The Dangai went off 31 minutes ago, and Kurosaki's reiatsu disappeared 30 minutes ago. He could have been spit out as far as District 80. His uncontrolled reiatsu massively increased the power of the explosions so there's a chance he's asleep somewhere in the Rukongai. Other than that, there's nothing else. Now leave me to my work." He ordered, bringing up his last screen once more.
"Are you sure about that?" Urahara asked.
"He seems pretty sure, as far as I can tell anyway." Naruto replied getting the man to blink and stare at him briefly.
Urahara said nothing, reading the screen for himself and committing it to memory. Not sparing Mayuri a glance, he turned around and made his way back to the elevator. He didn't say goodbye to Akon, despite noticing the man's concerned stare, as the doors closed. There was a chance that Ichigo had made it after all and could be unconscious, but something in his mind told him that wasn't the case. His hands tapped at his cane rhythmically.
Logic and the data Mayuri showed him told him Ichigo was likely in the Rukongai, probably in one of the farthest districts. His gut told him something else. Something had gone wrong in the Dangai, and Ichigo was in some form of trouble. Once he made it out of the barracks, he looked up at the bright sky and let out a tired breath. He would give it an hour, and in the meantime he would prepare for all eventualities. If Ichigo was here, then that would be enough time to wake up. His speed was fast enough to make it back to the Seireitei in no time. If after an hour there was still no word, he'd go into the Dangai himself and investigate.
One way or another, he would find Ichigo.
"I appreciate that." Ichigo said.
The man nodded before blinking at the book appeared in his hand.
And that is a wrap. Hope you liked it.
Till Next Time