A Black Heart

Right first thing's first. Thanks to everyone that read, reviewed, fav'd, followed the last chapter and sorry for not replying to any reviews/PM's. For some reason all 's reviews, PM's etc. were getting dumped there and I was getting the Story Alerts to the one I check. Odd, but again, my apologies and I'll be addressing your messages as soon as I can.

Second, my thanks to Walrus Flavored Pizza (I love that name), for pointing out an error I made in the lyrics. To my ears that's what it seemed like and not double checking my facts was a mistake on my part.

And finally, his zanpakuto's description. My apologies for not being completely descriptive.

In its sealed state, it is the size of a wakizashi (short sword) with a silver blade and obsidian hilt. The hilt itself has several red diamonds embedded in it. When released, its colour changes to a blinding white, similar to the dragon it summons. Below is an excerpt from the edited chapter with the Dragon's description.

As the light began to die down, Kisuke's ears pricked up to the sound of hysterical laughter, originating from within the inferno. Frowning he gazed through narrow eyes at the blaze in front of him as a pair of flaming white claws emerged from it, crushing several stones under their immense weight with ease and scorching the ground from the immense heat they radiated. As the inferno began to recede, it revealed the immense behemoth hidden within. Its body was over thirty feet tall with a wingspan the size of half a football field, its muscular front and back legs showing that it could crush anything below them with ease. What made it even more frightening though was that it seemed to be composed entirely of fire, the flares along its body waxing and waning evenly. Even as Kisuke stared up at it, a pair of poisonous yellow eyes stared back at him, while a tail of writhing flame flicked to and fro in an almost playful manner. And there nestled between its front legs stood Ichigo with a twisted grin on his blood-stained face.

That's all folks, now on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto Attacks/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto speech/Inner Power"

"Hollow speech"

XXX

Chapter 14:

To Yoruichi Shihoin the sight of Kisuke passed out was not an unusual occurrence, especially given her friend's penchant for becoming so absorbed in his work that he forgot niceties such as personal hygiene, sustenance and sleep. What was unexpected though was his thoroughly scorched appearance. From slight burns to his singed hair and eyebrows, she had to assume that it was some toy of his that had blown up in his face; otherwise he wouldn't be sleeping on his dining room table. As much as she wanted to let him recover though, he had woken her from her cat nap, begging her to come to the store urgently. So raising her paw up high, claws exposed, she slashed him across his face, leaving four small furrows across his nose, relishing his yelp as he was startled awake.

"Yoruichi-san," he whined nasally, clutching the now bleeding appendage. "Wub was thab for!"

"Don't be such a baby, you called me here for something urgent," she groused, licking her paw delicately.

"Well you didn't have to be so harsh," he muttered, glaring down at her, before he sighed and settled his head down on the table again. "How was Inoue-san and Sado-san's training?"

"As well as I expected it. Inoue's powers are…different, while Sado's certainly emphasise his strength." Watching him nod his head absently, she felt her irritation increase at being kept from her own rest. "What of Ichigo? You certainly look worse for wear."

"Training Kurosaki was…different," Kisuke muttered, turning his head to face her. "I changed the plan Yoruichi. I put him through the Onmitsukido initiation."

"WHAT?!" she screeched, her eyes widening in surprise at his statement. "How could you do that? Even if he was a prodigy out of the Shino Academy, we only go through with it if it was the wish of the individual to become a nameless killer. I highly doubt that's what Isshin would've wanted for his son!"

"I know that, believe me I do Yoruichi, but evidence of the past few days has convinced me that if we send Sado-san and Inoue-san together with Kurosaki they won't make it back alive!" he snapped, shooting up and slamming his fist down on the table. "He'll sacrifice them without a second thought if it means he'll live." Taking a slow shuddering breath, he continued. "In light of that information, I decided that the best course of action was to give him the tools to be able to complete this mission on his own."

Still slightly stunned from his outburst, Yoruichi relaxed slightly and tried to understand his point of view, an incredibly hard feat since she had only vague memories of the boy and all of them were from the time when his parents were still alive. "Fine Kisuke, I'll trust you that it was necessary, but why did you call me here then?"

"I…" he faltered slightly as they finally came to the crux of the matter. "I want you to keep an eye on him. If he proves that he is a threat to either yourself or the others…I want you to eliminate him immediately."

"You want me to… what?" she asked gobsmacked. "He's just a boy Kisuke, a boy that you've clearly pushed far beyond the bounds of what was needed! And now you want me to kill him the moment he breaks?! Killing a child…this isn't something my friend and long-time companion would even ask me to do!"

"I agree I would never have asked you before, but you must understand Yoruichi, the boy you seem to think he is died nine years ago! What's left…is nothing more than the hollow I sealed within his mother over two decades ago."

XXX

Unaware of the Kill Order hanging above him, Ichigo leaned back against the cold metal of the elevator of their apartment building, his entire body and mind beyond exhausted at this point. He was so glad to be free of Kisuke's grasp, that he barely paid attention to the instructions as to how he would be contacted when it was time to begin the mission.

Now as he sluggishly slotted the key into their apartment, he stumbled in, in a dreary state and promptly froze. All around him there were several brown cardboard boxes, filled with their possessions, as well as the bare minimum of their furniture. Dropping his bag, he shuffled forward, intent on getting some answers from Tatsuki. Hearing a soft bark, he turned to the passageway in confusion and found a predominantly black and white puppy with brown spots staring back at him, its tail wagging back and forth. Frowning, he made to approach it, only to spook it and cause it to yelp and scurry away from him. Following it, he was able to catch a glimpse of its tail entering Tatsuki's room. Annoyed at both the cat and mouse game and the disruption to what he considered his normal life, he pushed open the door fully and immediately regretted it.

There kneeling down clad in only a pair of hot pink panties was his adoptive sister, her matching bra half away on as she snuggled with the puppy. When the two finally became aware of his presence, the entire room seemed to freeze. Well at least until… Tatsuki shouted "OUT!" at him, the puppy adding its own high-pitched barks in for good measure as he hastily stumbled out of her room, slamming the door behind him.

'What a way to come home…' he thought morosely, before shuffling towards his bedroom door and pushing it open. Seeing that none of his stuff was there though, he sighed and scratched his head. 'Maybe it's all a dream,' he thought as he shuffled back to the living room and collapsed onto the sole remaining sofa they had.

XXX

Ten minutes later he felt her shaking him awake. Groaning, he pushed himself into a sitting position, his eyes at half-mast as he stared up at her tiredly. Seeing the puppy was held firmly in her arms, he supressed the growl that was forming in his throat and merely asked, "Where the hell is my bed?!"

"What? You're gone ten days and the first thing you say isn't "Oh hi Tatsuki, how've you been? What's with all the boxes?" Nope you just want to know where your bed is" she snapped at him, the puppy barking in agreement with her.

"Okay fine, new question. What the hell is a dog doing here?" he growled, glaring at the offending pup, who if his eyes were correct, glared right back at him.

Sighing, Tatsuki sunk into the couch next to him. "I wanted them to be here when you found out, but it looks like I'll have to do it," she said with a huff, the puppy sensing her discomfort and whining piteously. "She was a belated birthday gift from my parents. They took me to go get her while you were gone," she explained, scratching it behind its ears. "As for the rest of the furniture and your stuff…well it's at our new home."

"Our…new home?" he asked in confusion. As far as he knew, the lease for this place was nowhere near close to expiry.

"Yeah. Ever since we told them that you were moving out, they've been working to have your family's home released to you. They got the paperwork for the transfer completed just last week." Looking up, she found him frozen in place, his previous exhaustion wiped away.

"My…home…" he stuttered out, cradling his head in his hands as he digested her words.

"The clinic has been leased out to someone else since the accident and doesn't expire for a few years, but otherwise, it's all yours."

"Why? Why would they do this? Why now?" he muttered. He'd left that place behind, along with all the memories it contained. He'd gotten this place specifically so that he'd never have to go back there.

"Officially we're both minors and they are responsible for us. As for why now, they wanted it ready for your birthday, but the paperwork took longer than they thought." Placing the puppy down on the ground, she draped her arm over his shoulders, pulling him into an awkward hug. "I know this is difficult for you, but I'll be there to help you every step of the way." As the seconds passed in silence, she sighed and stood. "Mom and dad should be over soon to help move the rest of the stuff today. Please…please don't hold this against them until you see the place."

XXX

It was an eerie experience for Ichigo to walk through his old home now, so long after it had lain empty. The feeling certainly had gotten worse as he saw ghostly images of his parents and sisters in nearly every room, their expressions happy and carefree. Even his child-like self was present with them, beaming up at his mother no matter the scene. Opening the door to his old room, he was surprised to find nothing in it.

"Ichigo…" he heard Tatsuki call him, prompting him to shut the door and turn to face her with a guarded expression.

"Hmm?" he asked, causing her to pull up short at the blank look in his eyes.

"Uh…it's just they've been putting your things in the master bedroom," she answered hesitantly, seeing a flash of something in his eyes before it disappeared.

"Guess I should have expected that," he mumbled, sparing his door one last glance, before making his way towards the master bedroom. Stopping outside it, he hesitated as he touched the door handle, some part of his mind reluctant to enter the same room that had belonged to his mother.

"It's yours…" he heard his zanpakuto whisper to him, whilst a ghostly apparition of her hand appeared above his. "…take it!" As the door swung open, he spotted several boxes, as well as an unfamiliar Queen-sized bed placed prominently in the middle of the far wall. Shuffling inside, he poked around the boxes, unsure of where to start. Finding a particularly dusty one, he was surprised to see that it was full of old mementoes from when he was younger. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he plucked an old photo album out and started to flip through it, a ghost of a smile on his face. 'Things were so much simpler back then,' he thought with a sigh, placing it back in the box and kicking it to a corner of the room, before returning to the task of unpacking.

XXX

It was little over a week now since Ichigo and Tatsuki had moved back into his old childhood home and for the most part, everything was going normally. Well normal if you considered Ichigo spending every waking moment he had outside and away from the place and returning only to sleep and recover.

Now though, he sat at his desk, his lamp the only source of light in the room, carefully rolling a joint, while a tumbler of whiskey far older than him was placed next to a letter addressed to Tatsuki. Lighting it, he took a slow, deep pull, before leaning back in his chair and setting his feet on the desk. Sitting there for a few minutes lost in his thoughts, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts. Finding the right one, he hit the call button. Listening as the line rang; he stared forlornly at two photos next to him. One was of him and Tatsuki, taken about two weeks after he had joined her dojo and another of his family from when they were still alive.

"Kurosaki?" a gravelly voice spoke, drawing him out of his musings.

"Oleg," he calmly replied, setting the joint down in an ashtray for a moment. "I wanted to make arrangements regarding the account you oversee for me." Hearing silence on the other end of the line, he assumed that he had permission to continue. "If, after two weeks from today, you do not get a call from me implicitly telling you otherwise…I want ownership of the account to transfer to Ms Tatsuki Arisawa."

"Sounds like you're about to do something dangerous," Oleg commented thoughtfully. "Nothing too difficult I hope?"

"Nothing an expert couldn't handle," he replied back. He left it unsaid that he didn't consider himself an expert at all.

"Will you require any aid on your trip?"

"No…it's a one-way trip until I've found what I'm looking for. I wouldn't want to drag anyone else along with me."

"That makes it sound even better…" Oleg grumbled, causing Ichigo to chuckle. "It's not like you to do this though, so what's in it for you?" Not hearing an answer, he grumbled. "Kurosaki?"

"Remember the first time we met?" Ichigo asked hesitantly. "You warned me that I'd one day bite-off more than I could chew."

"And so far you have proven to be an incredibly lucky fool."

"That I have," he agreed with another chuckle. "But I think the day when you can tell me 'I told you so' has finally arrived." They both sat in silence as Ichigo allowed him to digest his words. Hearing a loud splat behind him, he frowned as he watched a message in a sticky red substance appeared. "I need to get going now…remember my instructions," Ichigo muttered, before ending the call and staring at the mess in his room. To his surprise, it seemed like words were forming from the gunk.

You are summoned to
The Urahara Shop.
Proceed with haste.

"And I suppose calling me was out of the question," he grumbled, grimacing at the thought of having Tatsuki come in to find this waiting. Still, it seemed that it was finally crunch time. Crushing what was left of his joint, he downed the glass of whiskey, hissing slightly as it burned his throat. Shaking his head to clear it, he grabbed his jacket and the letter, folding the latter in half.

Sneaking down the hallway, he paused outside Tatsuki's room, the twin's old room, and opened the door as silently as possible. Peering into the room, he spied her with her back to him, the puppy curled asleep at her feet. Shuffling over to her as quietly as possible, he was unsurprised to see that the puppy had awoken and watched him with unwavering eyes.

Ignoring it, he slid the folded letter under Tatsuki's pillow, freezing as she rolled over to face him. Seeing her eyes still closed though, he breathed a sigh of relief and tiptoed out, shutting the door behind him again. "For what it's worth…I'm sorry Tatsuki," he whispered, aware that she wouldn't hear him, but saying it made him feel better nonetheless.

XXX

Waiting outside his shop, Kisuke stared up at the moon, his brow furrowed as he waited for his first guest to arrive. Only once he was here, Tessai would send the rest of the summons out. The idea being that it would be easier to control the situation if they didn't all arrive at the same time. Hearing a scuffing of feet, he looked up to see Ichigo approaching him, the teen's shoulders hunched slightly. Sparing each other a nod, they retreated inside the store, where Kisuke helped Ichigo eject his soul with the use of his cane.

"I have a gift to help you avoid some unwanted attention," he explained, gesturing to an outfit folded up by the counter. "The spare room is available for you change in. Unsurprisingly to him, Ichigo merely scoffed and inspected the new uniform in front of him, before heading down the hallway. Minutes later, he now stood garbed in the signature uniform of the Onmitsukido, his face completely covered, barring his eyes. It was slightly unnerving to Kisuke how well Ichigo wore the uniform. In fact if he hadn't been aware of it, he would've considered him just like any other member of the Onmitsukido. "Come on, we need to get going."

Descending into the familiar underground training room, Ichigo was surprised to see a massive square of stone seemingly floating in mid-air.

"This is the portal that we'll be using to infiltrate the Soul Society. I could explain to you how it works, but suffice to say it would allow even a normal human to pass into the realm of spirits, without making it a one-way trip."

"Normal human? Why would you need…?" Ichigo tried to ask, before he was cut off by a disturbance behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to see Orihime and Chad making their way towards them, a black cat and a figure in white trailing behind them. As the figure in white's features became clearer though, he hissed and stormed towards him, lifting him up by his collar with ease. "I've been looking all over for you, you piece of shit!" he growled through his mask, the words coming out slightly grumbled.

"And you are?" Uryu asked, the haughtiness in his voice infuriating Ichigo even more. Reaching for his mask, he tore it from his face, causing the Quincy's eyes to widen in alarm, before his expression morphed into a feral snarl. Before either teen could escalate the situation the Quincy was dropped unceremoniously, as Kisuke rapped them both sharply on their heads with his cane.

"That's enough you two," he snapped, glaring at them both. "You both owe me a debt for saving your life and I'll consider it repaid if you manage to complete this mission successfully."

"Well so far you've left me under the impression that I would be working on my own here!" Ichigo growled back at him, still staring at the Quincy. "What do you even want with them though? I'm the only Soul Reaper here anyway."

"My that's cocky of you, considering yourself a Soul Reaper that is," Yoruichi finally spoke, drawing Ichigo's attention towards her. "Your friends may not be Soul Reapers Ichigo, but they each have a power of their own. You should be thanking them instead of questioning them."

Normally Ichigo would've scoffed at such a frivolous notion as friendship, but his mind was currently preoccupied with the fact that a cat had just spoken to him.

"That and I'm not willing to bet that you could accomplish this task on your own," Kisuke added, shaking Ichigo out of his stupor. "Yoruichi will lead them and their main task is providing support for you. And should you fall, they will continue with the mission in your stead."

"Oh wow, I can just feel the love right now," Ichigo muttered sarcastically under his breath, not really caring whether Uryu got himself killed or not. Orihime though…her death would hurt Tatsuki deeply. Well…maybe not so deeply if he replaced all her memories of the ditzy girl. And Chad, well he had confidence in him that he wouldn't die so easily.

"Now then, we've wasted enough time. I should warn you, as soon as I open this gate; you will have little more than four minutes to make it to the Soul Society. After that, well you'll be trapped within the space between the two worlds and lost for all eternity, so no pressure," he explained, missing the looks of dismay on the teen's faces.

"Is that even enough time for us to make it?" Orihime asked hesitantly, voicing the others concerns.

"Whether it's enough time or not is irrelevant," Yoruichi spoke, striding forward. "If all we have is four minutes, then we're just going to have to make do with it. Just concentrate on succeeding and ignore the possibility of failure."

'Great even more words of fucked up wisdom, from a fucking talking cat…I think I'm beginning to think that I have a better chance of just outrunning the cops at this point,' Ichigo thought with a sigh. 'That or rotting in jail is beginning to sound attractive.'

"Well then everyone," Kisuke said, drawing their attention back to the Gate as it acquired a bright purple glow, "I wish you the best of luck and I hope to see you all return safely. Now hurry, the portal won't stay open for long." Dashing forward, the four teenagers and cat leapt into the portal, causing it to emit a blinding flash of white light, before it faded away to its previous state. Staring at the portal, Kisuke sighed and settled down on a small outcrop of rock to wait. 'It's all in your hands now Yoruichi. I can only hope that you prove to be a better guide to him than I have.'

XXX

Argh I hate these kinds of chapters. There's nothing that happens really, but it needs to be done so that we can finally get to the juicy bits. *Sigh* Thanks for the continued support guys and girls.