Chapter 4: Home Part 1
Ichigo awoke later that morning to the sensation of yet another hollow nearby that once again vanished before he could react, not that he really felt up to fighting a hollow in his hung-over state, but it once again bothered him that for a second time a hollow had surfaced and retreated seemingly without anyone but him becoming aware of its presence. "I don't get it, how can a hollow show up and no one but me is able to sense it?" He wondered as he stared out his window, but a few seconds a throbbing pain in his head made him wince heavily. "Man my head hurts, but at least my hangover isn't as bad as Rukia's." He thought as he noticed a few puddles of vomit off to the side of his bed. "Well I guess I should be thankful she didn't do it on my bed." He uttered, but a moment later he felt as though his heart would stop when the door slid open. "Please if there is a god of fortune, let whomever that is not be Byakuya." He pleaded silently before turning around to find Byakuya very red in the face. "Damn!" He thought in horror as he watched Byakuya's gaze travel from him to Rukia laying in his futon.
Without another word spoken Byakuya merely left the room before sliding the door closed leaving Ichigo more than confused at his apparent lack of concern in this situation. Shortly following, Rukia also awoke complaining of a severe headache. "Oh, remind me never to drink wine again!" She grunted before rolling over and vomiting once again on Ichigo's floor.
"Still feeling sick to your stomach?" Ichigo asked as he sat back down on the futon.
"What do you think?" Rukia retorted bitterly as she massaged her temples.
"Yeah I guess that was kind of a stupid question. Um, would you like me to see if Unohana has some medicine you could take for a hangover?" Ichigo asked with a calm smile.
"Ugh, yeah that would be lovely." Rukia replied with a groan.
"Very well, I'll be back as soon as possible." Ichigo replied before putting on one of his spare shihakushos before leaving the room.
As Ichigo strolled along toward Squad Four's barracks he could sense a familiar reiatsu nearby, but the voice calling from above a wall behind him on the right gave away whom the reiatsu belonged to. "Hey! Good morning Ichigo!" Ichigo looked back just in time to see a kick coming allowing him to just barely dodge the attack.
"Dad! Wha-what the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo asked as his eyes widened.
"Well I was worried about you. You didn't return home after that situation, and when I brought your name up around the girls they seemed to have very mixed reactions to it, but none of them good." Isshin stated with a frown. "I even tried talking to them and admitting that I had no idea who this Tsukishima guy is, but imagine my surprise when Karin said that I was just brainwashed by Soul Reapers." He continued.
"So his powers are still affecting everyone then?" Ichigo asked as a scowl covered his face.
"Yeah, but it's not like it would matter much. Ichigo do you know why I'm here?" Isshin asked as he narrowed his eyes on his son.
"No, but why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be pleasant?" Ichigo asked.
"Well the human body is an amazing thing, but how long do you think even life-support could keep a soulless body alive?" Isshin asked and Ichigo's eyes widened. "Ichigo your body died yesterday morning at around five fifteen." He stated solemnly. "Even if things had changed back to the way they were, you wouldn't have been able to return to your life… I'm sorry." He finished as he hung his head low.
"Nah, don't worry about that, honestly there were a few times when I thought about making the change to Soul Reaper permanently, not that I was serious, but I just thought that maybe this was how I am supposed to be you know, or maybe it's more like I was going to become a full-fledged Soul Reaper one day anyway, but what I'm trying to say is this is alright with me. Dad I was place in a squad a few weeks ago and I've been making new friends, and I even took your advice and I'm seeing someone now." Ichigo explained as the two began to walk together.
"Really! That's amazing I always knew you would listen to dear-old dad and get a nice lady to keep you company at night." Isshin stated with a cheesy smirk.
"Dad it's not really like that, besides don't you even want to know what squad I'm in or even how I'm doing aside from the obvious?" Ichigo asked slightly offended.
"Well yeah, but I'm just pleasantly overwhelmed by the fact that you're becoming the man I always knew you'd become. Though as long as you're in a talkative mood tell me, how is old Ukitake nowadays?" Isshin asked with a satisfied smirk.
Ichigo stopped abruptly and gave Isshin a puzzled look before it dawned on him. "Urahara?" He asked and Isshin nodded. "Well he's doing fine on some days, but there are others where he doesn't even get out of bed. Aside from that I've been staying at the Kuchiki Manor, which has it's ups and downs." He explained.
"Ups I can understand. That girl Rukia seems nice and cute enough, and by manor I'm assuming she's a noble, but if that's the case where do the downs come in at?" Isshin asked.
"Well her adoptive brother Byakuya for one, he can be somewhat overbearing and at times I wonder if he's going to haul off and attack me, and then there's Rukia, she's the lucky lady, as you would put it, but don't get me wrong, it's just that well, being together is still a little new for both of us, and I just can't seem to get the hang of how to act in a relationship." Ichigo explained.
"Well you could ask Retsu for advice." Isshin suggested.
"Nah, I already take up more than enough of her time with my psychiatric evaluations and counseling sessions, and I feel like if I take anymore of her time I'll just be a burden." Ichigo replied.
"So you've been going through some hard times… Well just be thankful you haven't seen what I've seen." Isshin stated. "If he knew that his sisters were indifferent about his death yesterday I'm sure it would destroy him." He thought as Ichigo seemed to lose himself in his own thoughts.
"Say dad, how many of my old friends have been informed of my death?" Ichigo asked.
"Well your sisters and Orihime, Chad, and Tatsuki, they informed some of the other kids at your school as well." Isshin replied.
"Okay, but how did they react? I'm wondering if Tsukishima used his power to directly influence everyone's opinion of me then maybe my death would also be necessary to return them to normal, not just his." Ichigo suggested.
"I wish I could give you good news on that subject, but I'm afraid things went probably far worse than you initially expected… Your sisters have been invited to a party to mourn your life and celebrate your death." Isshin stated and he could see instantly that Ichigo's heart was breaking. "Don't worry though, there is no way I would let them go, and I even got Urahara and Yoruichi to agree to break up the party." He quickly added on.
"No, you don't need to do that… Granted Tsukishima's powers are unnatural even as far as we're concerned, this is my burden and I can't let you, Yoruichi, and Urahara alienate the others just for my sake. You are Karin's and Yuzu's father, and Urahara and Yoruichi were friends with the others as well, don't ruin the bonds for the hope of fixing one that's already shattered. Trust me, you don't want to be in my position anymore than I do. So if you want to do something nice for me and everyone else, let them have their party." Ichigo replied sternly as he turned away from his father.
"Ichigo these kids that you once gave your Soul Reaper powers to save are celebrating because you are no longer with them… They are glad you're dead, and you want me to believe that you would be happy with this?" Isshin asked with a hint of anger in his voice.
"No I am not happy with this, I'm simply saying I would be less happy if you put yourself in this same situation for a purpose that may very well be impossible, but trust me on one thing, Tsukishima won't stay a soul in the living world for long before he's sent here, and then I'll be able to exact my revenge, and maybe then I can get the answer to how to undo his ability." Ichigo explained. "So in the meantime just be the same goofy dad everyone knows and let everything run its course." He added. "Of course, why didn't I realize this sooner! Unless he goes to hell or is devoured by a hollow I will see him again, and even if the other two instances happen instead, well I doubt his power could still function beyond hell's gate, and if he's devoured by a hollow his power would also fade!" He thought as he continued walking.
"Well at any rate Ichigo I'll be leaving now, just make me proud here okay?" Isshin called after Ichigo, and when Ichigo responded with just a wave Isshin took his leave as well.
Before Ichigo could make it to Squad Four he ran into Isane. "Oh Mr. Kurosaki good morning, but, um, your evaluation was supposed to be yesterday was it not?" She asked timidly.
"Well yeah, but I was actually coming to see if I could get some hangover medicine for Rukia, she's got a really nasty hangover, but luckily mine isn't severe enough to keep me bedridden." Ichigo replied.
"Well you didn't have to go anywhere for that… Didn't Captain Unohana rest at the Kuchiki Manor last night?" Isane asked, but Ichigo gave her a blank stare.
"You mean to tell me that I went on this walk for nothing?" Ichigo asked as a wave of irritation overcame him.
"Well I could give you some medicine to take back with you, I mean there's a chance Captain Unohana is still asleep, and even if she's awake there's still the possibility that she doesn't have her medicine bag." Isane stated as she pulled out three capsules from a bottle she pulled out of her pocket. "One for you, and the other two are for Rukia. Now I need to get to work, just take care Mr. Kurosaki." She stated kindly before heading off.
Ichigo wasted no time in returning to the manor, and when he arrived he promptly gave Rukia the medicine before taking his own capsule, and within a half an hour the two were feeling perfectly fine. When the two entered the kitchen they found Byakuya sipping tea with Unohana. "Good morning, how are you two feeling?" Unohana asked with a warm smile.
"Great now that the medicine finally kicked in." Rukia replied as she took her normal seat.
"What medicine?" Unohana asked with a slightly confused look on her face.
"Well before I could find out that you stayed here last night I went to get some medicine for Rukia because her hangover was pretty bad, and that's when I ran into Isane and she gave me the medicine!" Ichigo exclaimed and everyone shot him an intrigued look. "What?" He asked bluntly.
"You seem to be in a rather good mood for only talking to Isane… Something happened between you two didn't it?" Rukia asked as she studied Ichigo closely.
"Huh? Oh, no, the reason I'm in a good mood is that I ran into my dad before running into Isane." Ichigo replied and Rukia nearly spat out her tea.
"You saw your father? You didn't have to fight him did you?" Rukia asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
"No, he gave me a few tidbits of information that has everything looking up as far as my situation goes." Ichigo replied.
"What did he say?" Unohana asked as she pulled her notepad out of her pocket.
"Well first, as of yesterday morning around five fifteen I officially died." Ichigo stated proudly, but the others didn't seem to share his perception of the event. "Well then he told me some things that made me realize some very great news about my friends back home." He continued.
"Your friends are remorseful that they pushed you away now that you have died?" Byakuya asked.
"Nope." Ichigo replied bluntly.
"Tsukishima's power finally wore off?" Rukia asked with a slightly excited smile.
"Ha, not a chance." Ichigo replied with his signature smirk.
"If you're going to tell me that you've decided to fight against your friends I must insist that it is a poor choice for the course of your future." Unohana stated sternly.
"You're joking right? Look the thing is my friends hate me because Tsukishima was killed, but the thing we haven't been paying much attention to is that he died." Ichigo replied, but his explanation was met with blank stares. "Well I thought I might have to spell it out for Rukia, but I thought two captains would pick up on what I was getting at." He stated, and the other three shot him a glare. "Alright the thing is Tsukishima was a living human, and what happens to a living human when they die? They become a soul, and now that he is a soul, he's either going to change into a hollow, get eaten by a hollow, sent to hell, or best yet, sent here." He explained and instantly Rukia looked horrified.
"But Ichigo how would Tsukishima coming to the Soul Society be a good thing?" Rukia asked.
"Simple, he comes here and I smack him around endlessly, or until he either tells me how to undo his ability or undoes it himself!" Ichigo exclaimed triumphantly.
"Of course! I see your reasoning, a direct confrontation against Tsukishima now may shed light onto the questions we have regarding his ability." Unohana added on, but shortly after Unohana noticed something different about Ichigo. "Ichigo I think the restrictions I gave you will no longer be necessary… I can see in your eyes that same passion I saw back when you were about to join the fight against Aizen, and I think I can safely say that you are perfectly fit for any and all aspects of a Soul Reaper's way of life. Congratulations Ichigo." She stated proudly.
Later that night there was a massive party at the Kuchiki Manor to celebrate that Ichigo's mental condition was officially back to how it should be. Ichigo found a new resolve, a new reason to keep fighting, and most importantly a new reason to want to see his friends again.
In the coming year Ichigo and Rukia had some ups and downs in their relationship, but after dating for eleven months Ichigo had saved up quite a decent amount of kan, and on the anniversary of his escape into Soul Society he purchased an engagement ring and proposed to Rukia. Following the announcement of the engagement things seemed to get a little rockier and Unohana suggested that Ichigo make a hard decision to transfer to a different squad, and three weeks after he proposed Ichigo transferred to Squad Nine, but that's not to say it was a bad choice, upon joining with Squad Nine he was given the position of lieutenant with Shuhei Hisagi as captain.
Eight months following his ascension to the rank of lieutenant, Ichigo began to sense the presence of more hollows that no one else seemed to notice, and quite frankly it unnerved him, and finally he went to see Unohana. "So tell me Ichigo, what seems to be the problem now?" Unohana asked with a warm smile.
"Well I just want to make sure my head is alright, I mean sometimes I can sense hollows that no one else can, but as soon as they show up they vanish… Has this ever happened to other Soul Reapers?" Ichigo asked as Unohana pulled out a device that Ichigo wondered if it came from Squad Twelve.
"Well let me take a look." Unohana stated as she put on what appeared to be a gold rimmed monocle with a red lens. "Oh my…" She stated in a sorrowful tone of voice.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Ichigo asked as his fear intensified.
"Well, I have to ask, before you lost your powers you could have been classified as a Visored correct?" Unohana asked, and Ichigo nodded his head. "Oh well then there's no major problem, but when you regained your power your hollow came back with it minus your control over it. Though if you're only sensing its presence while it's made no attempt to possess you, there could be a small chance that it is weaker or might not have an interest in you at all. Still I would like for you and Captain Kuchiki to take a small trip to the world of the living, I'm aware that there are others like you there that may be better suited to helping you regain control over your hollow." She explained, but a look of concern covered Ichigo's face.
"Would it be wrong of me to visit a few others while I'm there? I know I might be jeopardizing my own safety, but I want to see how everyone's doing." Ichigo explained.
"Ichigo I must advise against that, seeing your old friends might excite your inner hollow, and you told me in one of our sessions that the girl Orihime in her desperation forced you to become a complete hollow for a few minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happened again." Unohana warned.
"I understand your concern, but trust me, I know my body and my hollow well enough to know what my limits are, and I've noticed that in the past the less spiritual energy I expend the less active it is." Ichigo replied. "I know I can do this, but I need to know when I'll be leaving." He stated, and reluctantly Unohana signed off on his medical file before giving him a concerned grin.
"Be careful Ichigo, you may be strong even now, but you are only one person and your friends are strong too, if they outnumber you there may not be any reinforcements for days, so no matter what, stay on guard." Unohana stated sternly. "Now take this note to Captain Kuchiki and he'll take care of the rest." She finished as she wrote a note out.
"Very well, but I must ask, why Captain Kuchiki?" Ichigo asked.
"Well now that you mention it, you might as well bring your captain and Renji along with you, and I'm sure if you sent a request to Squad Thirteen for some aid in this they may be willing to provide substantial assistance." Unohana stated.
"Right so about the departure?" Ichigo asked.
"Well there are some changes that are currently being made to the positioning of various Soul Reapers in the living world, so once that's all over with you should be good for travel, but in about four months." Unohana stated and a smirk permeated Ichigo's mouth.
"Four months? How fitting." Ichigo thought as he left the Squad Four barracks.
For Ichigo four months passed in almost no time at all, and before he knew it he was standing in Urahara's underground training field. "Welcome everyone I trust you all had a safe trip down here." Urahara stated casually with Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu standing not far behind.
"Yeah it's all fun, but what am I doing here, and why is this little dork here too?" Sentaro asked irritably.
"Well if you must know he originally wanted Rukia to come, but Rukia was already busy with her own mission, and so you and I were sent in her place." Kiyone barked. "Also Rukia is going to be coming in a few days to relieve us, so just chill out okay." She continued as she got in Sentaro's face.
"Calm down you two, we have a very important mission here and we'll need to stay sharp." Hisagi stated before the group headed up into the shop.
"So let's get this over with." Ichigo stated irritably as Ururu set out some tea for the guests.
"Right well before we can get on to that I must say it's nice to see you again Ichigo." Urahara stated casually. "Now on to more disturbing matters… Ichigo Karakura Town has seen some drastic changes in the past couple of years. All in all the scenery is still the same, but this place has become a training ground to help humans harness and control their spiritual powers." He continued as he pulled the tip of his hat down.
"That's all fine and dandy, but what I'm here for is to see Shinji and the other Visoreds." Ichigo barked.
"Very well then Ichigo I'll let you see for yourself. You can find them where they normally live, but good luck reaching them." Urahara stated with a careless smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked as he stood up.
"Well in the past it was protocol to have at least one Soul Reaper stationed in various areas of the living world, but tell me Ichigo, in a spiritually charged area like Karakura, do you feel any Soul Reaper reiatsus aside from the ones in this room?" Urahara asked.
Ichigo concentrated for a second. "Across town I can feel the Visoreds, and then there's dad's and Karin, and Chad and Orihime too, and Uryu, but there are several more I can't recognize… Still other than us here, my dad, and the Visoreds, there are no Soul Reapers in the city." He thought. "No, there are no other Soul Reapers here that don't live here, but why is it like this?" He asked.
"Well I'll let you figure that out for yourself." Urahara replied just as Tessai brought in a few very large containers into the room. "Ah thank you Tessai, if you would take a look, I've developed new gigais for all of you, of course I've added a few modifications to these ones. Most notably when you enter the body it will generate an appearance that is different from your normal look, and these have the ability to completely suppress your reiatsu. Also to leave the gigai you no longer need a mod soul, simply say expel and you'll be forced from the body." He explained.
"Well those would be nice if we had to move undetected, but for now I think the others shouldn't be too big of a problem." Ichigo replied as the other Soul Reapers stood up.
"Very well, then once again good luck." Urahara finished before the group left the building.
Upon leaving Urahara's shop the group immediately could tell that a few unfamiliar reiatsus had changed direction and were heading directly for them. "Ichigo are any of them from any of your friends?" Byakuya asked as he gripped the handle of his zanpakuto.
"No, but then again they might be. If anyone here in the living world has developed a way to allow someone with out spiritual energy to acquire it, then it could be anyone." Ichigo replied as he drew Zangetsu off his back. "Though either way, there's almost a guarantee that whoever's coming this way is hostile." He continued, but as soon as he finished speaking, the group could sense that almost everyone else with a trace of reiatsu had diverted themselves to intercept the Soul Reapers.
"Captain Kuchiki, I think the actions taken two years ago has made us all enemies of the living. It may be best if we all split up." Hisagi stated as he drew his zanpakuto.
"Very well Captain Hisagi, though if a situation seems hopeless I want the Soul Reaper to run rather than fight." Byakuya stated, and with just a nod the group split up.
Byakuya and Renji wasted no time evacuating the area, but after only a few moments they stopped in downtown Karakura. "Captain do you feel that?" Renji asked before several arrows rained down from the sky.
After dodging the volley of arrows Byakuya looked up from their point of origin, but much to Renji's surprise the arrows were not shot from Uryu, but instead a girl slightly younger than Ichigo was aiming a Quincy Bow down at them. "So it seems Ichigo's old friends have been busy." Byakuya stated as he narrowed his eyes up at the Quincy. "Child I must warn you that your intentions of facing me in battle are ill-conceived, and will accomplish little more than hastening your death." He called up to the girl as she simply smirked at Byakuya before jumping down to the ground.
"Ill-conceived? You make it sound like I've already lost." The Quincy replied. "Though make no mistake, I know very well how dangerous Soul Reapers are, but I'm not worried. Judging on your appearance I'm going to say your Byakuya Kuchiki correct? Captain of the Court Guard Squad Six?" She asked and Renji's eyes widened.
"Captain it would appear that they know all about us." Renji stated.
"I see…" Byakuya stated as he drew Senbonzakura. "Renji I want you to proceed without me. Things will get out of control quickly. Now go." He continued before Renji nodded and fled. "Now then, you know who I am, I believe I at least deserve the courtesy of a name." He stated.
"No! The only courtesy a Soul Reaper deserves is a slow and painful death! Now prepare to die!" The Quincy shouted before firing another volley of arrows at Byakuya.
"I'll have you know child that whether you're alive or not makes no difference in the end. I will not fall to a lowly Quincy, least of all one with a laughable reiatsu. Scatter, Senbonzakura." Byakuya stated calmly, and for a few seconds the Quincy gave him a confused look, but a moment later the look turned to horror before a fountain of blood erupted from the girl's body. "Now one of your allies should be along momentarily, I suggest you stay motionless until they arrive." He finished before moving on.
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Hisagi had split up as several fullbringers chased them down. "This is ridiculous, how could things change this drastically in this short of time?" Hisagi wondered as he dodged a manhole cover flying at him like a Frisbee. "Well looks like I have little choice in the matter." He thought as he drew his zanpakuto. "Reap, Kazeshini!" He shouted. "Now to give these idiots a taste of what real power is." He thought, but before he could get in an attack, he was hit from behind by a flying bus that succeeded in swatting him through several buildings.
Several blocks down Ichigo could feel the reiatsu of Hisagi drop drastically. "Whew, he's still in there, but I know that Chad's reiatsu spiked significantly just now." He thought as he hid out suppressing his reiatsu. "Though seriously I recognize a lot of these people. Just what are they thinking though, surely Uryu and the others told them about the obvious gaps that would exist between our strengths." He thought as he let out a deep sigh. "Well I still have quite a ways to go before I meet up with Shinji and the others." He thought, but then his eyes widened when he felt the presence of a hollow all around him.
"Well look what we have here, you claim that your strength is superior, but if that's the case why are you hiding in some dingy alley?" The voice calling out from within Ichigo's mind was more than what Ichigo felt like dealing with amidst the chaos that was quickly consuming Karakura.
"So you really are back, well don't get too comfortable." Ichigo replied as he walked further down the alley. "Though this is bad, having joined one of the squads they put that seal on me, and while normally these people would be a joke to even consider fighting, with a limiter on my reiatsu I'm kind of struggling." He thought, but the sudden presence of an overwhelming reiatsu made his blood run cold.
"So you have the audacity to return here. Well I will not let you leave this place Ichigo!" It was none other than Orihime, but Ichigo couldn't react, he was a deer in the headlights, and he couldn't think. "Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun, I reject!" She shouted, and finally Ichigo snapped back to his senses and was able to just barely dodge Tsubaki.
"Orihime stop this! I don't want to fight, do you?" Ichigo pleaded as he dodged Tsubaki a few more times.
"Ichigo your excuse for friends killed someone that helped you to do amazing things in the past, or did you forget that you both took on Byakuya Kuchiki to save Rukia, or that he gave you knowledge of the final Getsuga Tensho? How can you defend those Soul Reapers after what they've done!" Orihime shouted.
"Orihime think about it! Have any of the Soul Reapers ever attacked any of you for no reason?" Ichigo asked.
"Well no, but they did bate several hollows to the house where Uryu's grandpa lived. They brought about his death mercilessly! How can any of us feel safe knowing your kind does what it does? Just because we haven't been hunted down yet doesn't mean you won't in the future… of course that must be why you're here!" Orihime exclaimed.
"No! I swear I would never hurt any of you! Why won't you listen to me?" Ichigo asked.
"Ichigo it's been quite some time so you must not be aware that this girl has gotten pretty stubborn lately." A familiar voice called from further down the alley. "So yeah talking's basically useless, allow me to handle her though, and then we can go somewhere else and catch up." The man continued and when he stepped out of the shadows Ichigo's eyes widened.
"Shinji!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"And here I was beginning to wonder if he'd ever be happy to see me." Shinji replied with a touched smile. "Now then on to more important matters, collapse, Sakanade." He continued. "Well pretty soon here this battle will be over, why don't you go on ahead and let the others know I'll be back shortly." He added on.
"Shinji, if you harm her you'll be fighting me next." Ichigo stated sternly.
"Don't worry, I'll have her quit early on." Shinji replied, and with only a nod Ichigo ran past Shinji. "Now then little missy why don't you just run back to where you belong, these Soul Reapers aren't here for the usual business, but what they are here for I doubt you'll want to be a part of." He added as Sakanade began to spin releasing a pink mist.
"What is this?" Orihime called out in fear as everything she was seeing was inverted.
"It's the inverted world, front and back, up and down, left and right, all of them are inverted for you." Shinji stated casually.
"For me you say?" Orihime asked as a smirk spread over her face. "Tsubaki, Koten Zanshun, I reject!" She shouted, and Shinji's eyes widened as he barely dodged the attack.
"How is this possible? You had to have been affected by the power of Sakanade's Sakasama no Sekai, so how can you still attack?" Shinji asked, but then he narrowed his eyes on Tsubaki as he returned to the hairpin. "I think I get it, those hairpins have individual spirits inside them, but how many are there?" He wondered. "Well there are other ways to end this battle in a nonviolent way." He thought as he resealed his zanpakuto before returning it to its scabbard. "Now let's see if I can remember correctly… Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo number nine! Geki!" He shouted and a red light seemed to envelope Orihime.
"I… I can't move." Orihime stated in horror.
"I'm surprised you can still talk." Shinji retorted. "Do me a favor girl, tell your friends to back down if they value their lives. I respect Ichigo enough that I agreed not to harm you because I know how good of friends you once were, but make no mistake if I come across another of you and I don't recognize them, I will attack with extreme prejudice." He warned before leaving Orihime behind.
Meanwhile Hisagi managed to give his pursuers the slip as he hid in an abandoned house. "Well it seems Ichigo has made contact with the Visoreds, but Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Abarai are still fending off attacks from humans, but where did the other two go?" He wondered as he peered out one of the front windows. "Damn there are just too many humans with power for me to go through… Maybe I should request a Gentei Kaijo." He thought as he pulled out his soul pager.
When Ichigo arrived at the warehouse where he trained nearly four years earlier he wasted no time in explaining the situation to the Visoreds, and immediately got to work on once again suppressing the hollow within him, though this time it only took an hour, and more to the point, Ichigo's body didn't even break free of the hold bakudo number seventy-five had on him. "Well you seem to have improved a lot since we last saw you Ichigo." Hachi stated calmly.
"Improved my ass! If that was the case he wouldn't have had to see us again for this!" Hiyori shouted.
"Well as much as I'd like to stay and catch up on old times, my teammates need me to get back out there!" Ichigo exclaimed before donning his hollow mask for the first time in nearly four years. "Right, now to get everyone gathered up and return to Soul Society." He thought as he sped across the city as fast as he could towards his captain. Though before Ichigo could close the distance he was cut off by a large fireball that he was barely able to dodge. "Great, more problems…" He uttered, but when he looked for the source of the attack his eyes widened when his sights fell upon his younger sister Karin.
"That's far… Wait what are you!" Karin shouted upon noticing Ichigo's mask.
"Wait, does she not recognize me with this mask on?" Ichigo wondered as he looked up at his sister.
"I said what are you, hollow or Soul Reaper!" Karin shouted down at Ichigo, but a second later Ichigo was blindsided by another attack.
"Ugh, damn I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice anyone else approaching." Ichigo thought as he climbed to his feet, and standing several feet ahead of him was none other than Chad.
"It's been a while Ichigo." Chad stated calmly.
Ichigo stood there calmly before noticing the black poppy on the back of his left hand vanished, and a second later he felt his own power surging up from within him. "So the Gentei Kaijo has been approved, well this makes things slightly easier, but fighting Chad is one thing, but adding Karin to the mix… Damn you Tsukishima!" He thought as he drew his zanpakuto.
"Wait you mean that thing is Ichigo?" Karin asked as she glanced between Chad and her brother.
"Chad, I want you to tell my sister to get as far away from here as possible." Ichigo stated sternly.
"Wait I don't have to listen to you!" Karin shouted, but Chad shook his head.
"Karin it would be wise to listen to Ichigo on this one. Whether or not you two get along isn't the issue here, Ichigo's power just skyrocketed and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to fend against his attacks, but if I'm concerned for your safety both of us will only get killed." Chad explained as his arms transformed.
"Fine, let me find Uryu and Orihime, and then the three of you can fight him together." Karin stated as she ran off.
As Ichigo held his ground he could feel several unfamiliar reiatsus fading against the overwhelming reiatsus of his fellow Soul Reapers, and while it didn't take long for Ichigo to feel Orihime and Uryu speeding towards them, Ichigo was relieved at the fact that Renji was also heading in his direction, but more than that, Ichigo no longer felt the presences of Kiyone or Sentaro, but instead he could tell that Rukia had just arrived. "Well Chad I'm ready whenever you are, but if you want to wait for everyone else to arrive be my guest." He stated calmly before tightening his grip on Zangetsu.
"So Rukia and Renji are also coming to join our battle. Well Ichigo I never imagined your jealousy toward Shukuro would push you this far that you would even subject yourself to influencing Rukia and Renji to betray him. I once respected you Ichigo, but it seems as though I was mistaken." Chad stated solemnly before the others arrived simultaneously.
"If that is how you truly feel then the time for talk is over… Bankai!" Ichigo shouted as he prepared to face off against the very people he at one time would have given everything he was to protect.
Chapter 4 end - So I know I said I would take a hiatus for a while but writers block made me reread everything I've ever written, I was searching for even the slightest ounce of inspiration, well I eventually reread the first four chapters of this fic and it got me motivated again so here it is, this is actually a two part chapter, so yeah… Reviews please, and I'll make the wait shorter next time.
(Shunpo back to work finally, whoo!)
Disclaimer: I do not own bleach except for the bottle that says Clorox on the side.