12 year old Ichigo yawns loudly as he stretches his arms above his head. He rubs a thumb over his forehead markings, making them disappear.
His head snaps up when he hears someone rapidly ringing the doorbell. Ichigo stares through the walls, watching the swirling tempest of a panicking soul. He tilts his head as he watches the soft blue soul swell.
Ichigo walks over to the door and cracks it open. He stares down with wide eyes at what he sees.
"Help–help–Nīchan! Please help–" A 12 year old girl hyperventilates through her stuttering, barely able to stand with the heavily bleeding man carried over her back.
"Poppa, POPPA, I need help!" Ichigo shouts into the house as he stumbles towards the girl. She sobs as she completely collapses underneath the weight of her brother.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll try our best." Ichigo helps lay down the unconscious man on the ground. "What's his name? What's your name?"
"Inoue–Inoue Sora. I'm–I'm O-Orihime. Please–please–"
Ichigo looks up when Isshin races out of the house. Ichigo focuses back on Orihime and grabs her arm.
"He looks pretty bad... but we'll try our best. Poppa, I'll call the hospital," Ichigo states calmly, carefully helping the distraught girl stand up. Isshin nods his head as he carries the unconscious man onto his back.
"Karin! Yuzu! Get my equipment ready," Isshin orders loudly, entering the house first. Ichigo watches his father go, mouth set in a grim line.
Inoue Sora was already on his way to passing. Ichigo, for once, wishes he could do something to keep him alive.
Watery "thank yous" and stuttering breaths leave Orihime's mouth as she grips Ichigo's arm like a lifeline. Ichigo shakes off his instinctive apprehension of a stranger seeking comfort from him and lets her keep her hold.
"I hope you'll have some time left to say goodbye."
"Hime? Hime, look out!" Ichigo breaks into a sprint when he sees the car speed right towards an unaware Inoue Orihime.
"Vello!" Ichigo hisses the word as he reaches out his hand. His markings flash towards the world before disappearing again as Orihime is wrenched through the air. The car misses most of her, only grazing her side before it swerves into a lamppost.
Ichigo catches his fellow orange haired teenager before she could fly through the air from his spell and quickly sets her on the ground.
"Sweetheart, are you alright? You need to be paying more attention! That car could have killed you!" Ichigo scolds, checking over the slightly overwhelmed female for any major injuries.
She blinks before a bright smile covers her face. "Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing here? Oh! Hi, Kuchiki-san, Ishida-kun!"
"Inoue-san, are you okay?" Uryū asks, crouching down across from Ichigo with a hard scowl. Orihime giggles and nods her head while she lightly raps her knuckles against it.
"I'm okay! I was just dozing off again! The car just hit my side," Orihime states as if she wasn't almost run over by a car.
"Does your side hurt though?" Ichigo asks for clarification, staring down at the other orange haired teenager.
Orihime looks down at her body and shakes her head. "Not as much as my leg."
Ichigo sighs heavily, still giving Orihime a look before checking over her leg. All three pause when they see the incredibly dark mark completely encompassing the entire limb.
"Hollow..." Kazuki snarls loudly in Ichigo's mind, growling at the mark. Something is encroaching on Ichigo's territory and harmed one of his in the process.
Ichigo bite backs an audible growl, not able to stop his lips from pulling back into a snarl. Uryū lightly raps his knuckles against Ichigo's arm with a small look before focusing on the mark.
"We should get you to the Kurosaki Clinic just in case. That looks pretty nasty," Uryū states in his usual distant mask. Orihime smiles brightly and nods her head as she stands up.
"I haven't seen Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan in so long! Yes! Let's go!" Orihime grabs Uryū's and Ichigo's hands before racing towards the direction of where Ichigo's home was located.
"W-wait, sweetheart, slow down! You don't know what happened to your leg! You could've broken something!"
"Ichigo, what about our–our studying?" Rukia asks with a furrowed expression. Ichigo shrugs, still being dragged by the orange haired female.
"We'll drop Hime off at her home before heading that way. She lives on the way," Ichigo says with a smile.
Rukia nods her head, glancing back down at the mark on Orihime's leg. Ichigo chuckles and waves a hand in the air to dismiss Rukia's thoughts.
"She'll be fine." I have protections around her home.
Rukia blinks before nodding her head in understanding. Ichigo focuses back on Orihime and gently forces her to a walk.
"Sweetheart, Yuzu and Karin won't be going anywhere. I don't want your injury to get worse," Ichigo partially lies, making Orihime sigh with a slight pout.
"Fine... but what if they're suddenly hypnotized by an alien to walk to the store and steal ramen?!" Orihime asks with wide eyes of genuine fear.
Ichigo doesn't stare at her incredulously like Rukia, or raise an eyebrow like Uryū. His mouth twitches into a slight smile before shrugging.
"Pretty unlikely. I mean, I don't think aliens will want to touch us and deal with the chaos," Ichigo states, making Orihime sigh in relief.
"That's right! But, will that stop them from not probing your brains for information?" Orihime asks curiously.
"I'd hope so." Ichigo scratches the back of his head while looking up at the sky. "I'd rather not have my brain probed for information. Sounds like it'll hurt."
"I guess it would... hey! We should make some foil hats! It'll attract the aliens!" Orihime exclaims brightly, making Ichigo huff out a laugh.
"I'm pretty sure they're meant to keep away aliens."
"Hm... No, I think they attract them!"
"...are you sure this is the right place?" Uryū asks, staring up at the worn sign of the Urahara Shōten. Ichigo just grins and lifts his foot.
He kicks open the door and walks in. "Kisuke-san~! I'm back!"
"...Ichi-chan! What do I owe the pleasure of?" Kisuke asks from where he sat in his shop. Ichigo grins even wider as Uryū and Rukia walk in after him.
"I'm sure you've met Rukia before," Ichigo waves a hand towards the horribly indifferent Uryū, "but this is my cousin. Ishida Uryū. Quincy, as I'm sure you'd already guessed, sweetheart!"
"Good to see you again, Kuchiki-chan, and nice to meet you, Ishida-kun! I am Urahara Kisuke, owner of the Urahara Shōten and dealer of Shinigami goods!" Kisuke introduces himself in his cheerful shopkeeper persona.
Uryū doesn't even bother to give the exiled Shinigami a glance, let alone a greeting. Rukia just stares at him dubiously before turning towards the orange haired teenager.
"I will forever doubt your judgement if this was just a joke," She states, making Ichigo chuckle.
"Is there something this humble shopkeeper can do for you, Ichi-chan?" Kisuke opens his fan and hides his wide smile.
"We need to use your training grounds. I'm sure you've already realized that I'm working in Rukia's place right now," Ichigo says coolly, smile sharp and eyes dark. He catches the minute tension in Kisuke's hand.
"...hm. There are many places much closer to your home compared to my old shop," Kisuke answers with practiced ease.
"The Hollow trespassed Poppa's wards. It's why it caught me and Rukia off guard." Kisuke's eyes turn steely at the statement.
He snaps his fan closed, eyes suddenly shadowed by his hat. "Ah."
"We'll be on our way then, sweetheart! Rukia, Uryū, this way please," Ichigo goes back to his mischievously cheerful tone, walking towards the back of the shōten.
"Do try to keep the damage at a minimum, Ichi-chan!" Kisuke calls after the orange haired teenager, waving his closed fan towards his backs.
Ichigo waves a hand, keeping his face forward. He frowns thoughtfully, stuck on Kisuke's sudden tension. He did something... he did something to either him, Rukia, or Uryū...
"Ichigo?" Rukia's voice startles the teenager out of his thoughts. He glances down at stares into Rukia's worried eyes.
He smirks and leans forward, making the Shinigami lean back. "Yes, sweetheart?"
"Nevermind. I don't even know why I was worried," Rukia states with an eye roll and pink ears. Ichigo smirks even wider and stops before the entrance to Kisuke's hidden training grounds.
"You? Worried about me? Rukia, I'm touched!" Ichigo teases, easily dodging a punch to his stomach. He grins before he opens the hatch towards the training grounds.
"Try to keep your mouth closed. You might catch flies." Ichigo raises a hand, signalling for his two temporary teachers to climb down first. Uryū glares at him behind the gleam of his glasses before he climbs down first. Rukia rolls her eyes with a huff and climbs down next.
Ichigo's grin disappears from his face as he stares at the hatch. His back straightens when he feels someone staring at him from behind.
"I trust you more than enough to not ask about it," Ichigo slightly turns his head, eyes flickering between gold and licorice, "but if whoever you messed with dies because of whatever you did... I won't forgive you. I expect answers eventually."
Ichigo jumps through the hatch, leaving a silent shopkeeper behind. Kisuke pulls down his bucket hat further over his eyes, face carefully blank.
"Ichi-chan... you're still as strange as ever..." Kisuke hums, mouth quirking into a smile. He taps his cane against the hatch door and lets it fall closed.
His gleaming eyes hide behind the shadows of his bucket hat. "If Kuchiki-chan and Ishida-kun are training Ichi-chan together... he knows that someone is pulling the strings..."
Kisuke sighs as exasperation tinges his smile. He chuckles to himself with a shake of his head.
"The Kurosaki and their penchant for throwing a wrench into my plans... or completely bulldozing them..." The blonde mutters to himself, fondness overtaking his tone. He chuckles again and silently ambles towards his lab.
He'll need to start planning a training regime for Ichigo, the Quincy, and the wayward Shinigami now. Looks like he has to put himself in a more apparent role to them now...
Ichigo rolls his bandaged shoulder with a wince, purposely ignoring Rukia's smugly indifferent expression. He does glare at his incredibly smug cousin with a scowl, watching as the black haired teenager pushes up his glasses.
"Hm... As long as you take it easy, your injuries should heal quickly. I'm curious though, how did you get this injury?" Kisuke asks, feigning ignorance as he smiles innocently. Ichigo covers a wince as the shopkeeper tightens the bandages around his stomach.
"A rogue arrow," Ichigo answers in a tone that clearly states it wasn't a rogue one. Uryū's smirk is quickly hidden as he drinks from the tea Tessai had made for them all after their training.
"Oh? Well, at least you were alert enough to dodge getting impaled," Kisuke says, making Ichigo scowl even more. Rukia snorts before quickly covering it up with a cough and chugs her tea to hide her silent laughter.
"I'm surprised you didn't dodge it completely. You're clearly slacking in your regular training if you can't even dodge a rogue arrow," Uryū comments offhandedly.
Ichigo growls under his breath and kicks his cousin underneath the chabudai. "I would probably be... if that arrow was actually a rogue one!"
Rukia couldn't stifle or cover her laughter, trying so with her hand over her mouth. She laughs even harder at Ichigo's half-hearted glare pointed her way.
"Hey! You had your chance to laugh when I almost got impaled, sweetheart!" Ichigo lightly kicks Rukia's foot in retaliation. A shock travels up his foot and makes his back straighten up from the pulses of electricity that end around his heart. Rukia closes her eyes while she rolls them, ignoring how shocks shoot up her leg like a bullet.
"Should I expect you three to come after school for the next upcoming weeks?" Kisuke butts in, lightly fanning himself as his hat hides his eyes. They were glancing between Ichigo's and Rukia's feet.
"Yeah. We have three months to cram everything I need to know from both Shinigami and Quincy." Ichigo glares at Kisuke before he could speak. "I'll have to slice my own fucking hand in solo training before I accept your offer of training, Urahara Kisuke."
"Ichi-chan~! You always hurt my feelings!" The quirky shopkeeper whines, hiding his pout behind his fan.
"Sweetheart, your training involves a decent percentage of your students dying. I'll take my chances by bullshitting through my own training." Ichigo smirks at the slight twitch in Kisuke's hand.
"He's embarrassed~!" Kazuki cackles loudly, making Ichigo stifle a chuckle.
DANGER. DANGER.
Ichigo feels his hackles rise at the warning, his eyes flashing gold and dark velvet. He faces west with his hands clenched into a claws.
"Danger. Why is there danger? Where–"
"Kuchiki, don't go–"
"Ichigo?! Ichigo, what's wrong?" Rukia's worry snaps the orange haired teenager out of his thoughts. He instinctively grabs her wrist before she could touch him. Electricity buzzes right beneath the skin of his hand.
"Safe. Uryū's safe. Twins 're safe. Poppa's safe... Safe... safe..." Ichigo glances between Rukia's eyes with an unnerving intent while he thinks.
"...Ichigo...?" Rukia calls his name out softly, not even attempting to move her hand away as his grip tightens.
DANGER. DANGER.
"Hime!" Ichigo snarls out, releasing Rukia's wrist. He jumps up, ignoring the wrenching pull in his stomach.
"Ichigo!" Kisuke tries to grab Ichigo's elbow, but he's out of the room in a flash.
"Ichigo?! What–what just happened?!" Rukia asks with wide eyes, her hand covering her wrist. Blood drips onto the chabudai, falling from where Ichigo's nails pierced Rukia's skin.
"...he said Inoue-san's nickname," Uryū states, his glasses glinting in the light and his hand wrapped around his Quincy Cross. "We have to follow him. Inoue-san is in danger."
"What?! Didn't he say there's protections around Inoue-chan's home?" Rukia stands up, expression cold and solemn. Uryū and Kisuke both blink before staring at the black haired female.
"He never said–nevermind. We have to hurry! To make Ichigo react like that, it has to be the Hollow that left that mark on Inoue-san," Uryū says, running out of the room. Rukia quickly follows after, not sparing the shopkeeper another glance.
Kisuke closes his fan with a snap. He stares at the drops of blood on his chabudai. His eyes narrow as his instincts slowly calm from the amount of Hollow that seeped out of Ichigo's reiatsu.
"This shouldn't have happened," Kisuke mutters under his breath before pressing his fan against his lips. He was absolutely sure he had correctly predicted the side effects of a Shinigami transferring power to a shinketsu hybrid.
Kisuke frowns, his eyes darkening. There's an outlier. Or outliers.
"Why does the Kurosakis have to be the humans that I'm so fond of?" Kisuke sighs heavily and rubs his hand over his eyes. It's always the Kurosakis that cause the most impossible things to happen.
The shopkeeper stands up and calmly walks out of the living room, not before swiping his hand against the blood. Ichigo can handle whatever is happening right now. Kisuke has some tests to run on the wayward Shinigami's blood.
Not again. Not again. Not again. Not again!
Ichigo sprints down the street, head clouded with ice cold fury. Not even Plus Souls walked aimlessly around his vicinity.
Someone is playing with a maelstrom, going after his people. He's going to make them pay when he finds them.
Ichigo feels his lips pull back into a heavy snarl. He slides to a stop in front of Orihime's apartment complex.
"Kill it! Kill the fucking bitch! Make him suffer!" Kazuki screeches, pushing against Ichigo, but not trying to take control.
"–chigo! Ichigo! Wait! You'll die if you go in!" Rukia is quick on Ichigo's tail, grabbing his arm before he could barge into the complex.
Electricity seems to get stuck in a feedback loop between Rukia's hand and Ichigo's arm. A growl reverberates out of his chest, making Rukia startle. She stares into gold eyes, flickering between dark velvet and licorice, when Ichigo whirls around to face her.
"If you go in, in your physical body, you'll die," Rukia reiterates softly, holding up her gloved hand and slowly pressing it against Ichigo's chest. Her muscles spasm in almost pain as she wraps her arms around Ichigo's body before it could fall to the ground.
Ichigo gives a small nod towards the Shinigami before he leaps up towards the window. He phases through the window right as the Hollow wraps its hands around Orihime's throat, Tatsuki laying limp on the ground with blood pouring from her shoulder. The air stills around Ichigo when the familiar soul–supposed to be a Plus Soul–washes over his senses. He snarls loudly and grabs the hilt of his zanpakutō.
"SORA!" The air seems to crackle and fizz at the loud exclamation before the arms of the hollowfied Sora are completely sliced off.
The Hollow screeches loudly in pain before snapping his tail towards Ichigo. He doesn't even budge at the slice through his side as he bares his teeth at Sora.
"You! Kurosaki Ichigo! The one to steal Orihime from me!" The Hollow spits out in acidic fury. Ichigo growls back, canines almost appearing sharp like an animal's.
"How dare you?! How dare you hurt your own sister?! My people!" Ichigo hisses in a shrill tone, lifting up his zanpakutō to slam it back down.
"ORIHIME IS MINE!" Sora roars before he pounces towards Ichigo. Ichigo ducks under Sora's unhinged jaw before he holds up his zanpakutō to block the tail from hitting him. It pushes him back though, and throws him against the wall.
"K-K-Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime struggles to speak through her hoarse voice. A hand is gently wrapped around her throat where dark red marks were already starting to swell up.
"Hime..." Ichigo easily climbs out of the wall, eyes flickering between piercing shades of gold. "Hime is mine!"
He should have known the mark was from Sora. A Hollow only ever leaves a mark like that on their loved ones who were still alive. But... Orihime became one of his people–became his–the moment Tatsuki became her friend. Like fucking hell is Ichigo going to let this dead bitch take her from him.
Ichigo feels something spread out from the left side of his jaw. He doesn't even think about it; he doesn't even notice it, not until an electric blue arrow pierces right through his right shoulder–in the same exact spot as the "rogue" arrow from training.
"Kurosaki Ichigo!" Uryū sounds even more smug when he's scolding the orange haired teenager. "Control yourself, you piece of shit!"
"I-Ishida-kun...? Ku-Kuchiki-chan?" Orihime chokes on a cough, staring at Uryū floating in the air outside of her apartment window while Rukia jumps through and lands on the ground.
"Don't try to talk if it hurts, Inoue-san. And... we'll explain everything after we deal with this Hollow," Uryū states in a half-hearted attempt to sound reassuring. He steps onto the windowsill as Sora howls loudly.
"You will not take Orihime away from me! She's mine!"
"O-Onīchan–I–I-I'm–please! This–this isn't you!" Orihime shouts past the obvious pain she was feeling from almost being choked to death.
"'Onīchan'?" Uryū glances over at Ichigo for clarification.
Ichigo glares back as whatever was forming on his face completely disappears, completely unnoticed. "Inoue–Inoue Sora. Orihime's dead brother. The only possible person who could have given Orihime that mark on her leg."
Uryū makes a noise of realization, not even surprised. Ichigo rolls his eyes at the complete brush off of his clarification.
"I'll hinder his movement. Will that be enough for you to send him to Soul Society?" Uryū questions haughtily. Ichigo grabs his bleeding shoulder and snorts quietly.
"Like I needed help in the first place!" Ichigo retorts, the corner of his mouth attempting to twitch into a half-smile. "Rukia, take care of Tatsuki's injuries. Hime stay near your body, okay?"
"Don't let your guard down again, Ichigo!" Rukia rushes over towards the still unconscious Tatsuki and kneels next to her injured shoulder. Her hand glows a faint, flickering green before she presses it against the wound.
Orihime shakes like a leaf while nodding her head. Ichigo smiles reassuringly towards her before he releases his shoulder to grab the hilt of his zanpakutō with both hands.
"Let me out! Let me kill him!" Kazuki screeches in both impatience and delight. Ichigo shakes him off with a low chuckle. Not now. Not for a while.
Someone is able to get past his protections–no. Someone has help from Ichigo's domain and is using it to test his patience, his kindness. Ichigo's going to find them, whomever it may be, and make sure they suffer for messing with what's his.
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! Over a year since I last updated, but here it is!
I sincerely apologize for the long wait! I got hyperfixated on the stories I had posted after this one and then life has just been so incredibly busy for me.
I don't know when the next time I will post the next chapter. This Spring has been incredibly busy and I've barely been able to keep updating the stories I'm more focused on.
I appreciate each and every one of you for waiting patiently for this chapter! And apologies if my writing style suddenly changes at the end of this chapter and afterwards. It has been a year after all.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini