Bleach own don't I

Chapter 24: Memory Infiltration

"Welcome back." Yukio greeted after releasing Ichigo and the others from the game world, while still playing. "Congratulations. It only took you ages. You took so long that I that I thought the batteries on my console would be fried by now."

"Yeah. Thanks for everything." Said Ichigo.

Yukio looked at him for a while before standing up and headed towards the door, eyes still glued to his console.

"Well, get going already. Go home to your sisters. You didn't even call so they're probably worried."

Ichigo stared at him for a while and blinked his eyes for a few times, before understanding what Yukio meant.

"Holy Crap!" Ichigo blurted out. "I didn't call my family or the school at all! How many days was I even in there!?"

Yukio pointed at the clock, momentarily confusing them.

"Five minutes past one in the morning…" Nozomi commented, taking out a huge thorn on Ichigo's side.

"You were in there for only 90 minutes. You should be more grateful, since it's all because I used the fast forward option." Yukio said, showing the fast forward button on his console to Ichigo and the others.

"Oi, Ichigo. Let's get going, your family must still be awake by now." Nozomi said to him.

"Oh yeah, sure." Ichigo replied before turning to Chad. "Hey, Chad. See you later."

…

"We're ho-" Was all Ichigo managed to say before he was abruptly cut by Yuzu.

"Welcome home! Thank god! You're finally home!" Yuzu greeted while running towards the door.

"Er… yeah, sorry we're late." Ichigo apologized, trying to figure out why Yuzu was a little more enthusiastic than usual.

"We were waiting for you! We've got a guest who's a blast from the past!" She informed him.

Ichigo tried to guess who might the guest be, but to no avail so he just decided to ask.

"A blast from the past? Who?"

"Guess!" Yuzu cheerfully answered.

"Come on gimme a hint."

Yuzu thought for a while before looking at Ichigo again. "Well, okay! Here's a hint: He's a cousin!"

"… Cousin?" Ichigo was now completely befuddled. No cousin seemed to come to his mind no matter how much he digs up in his memory.

"Onii-chan's home!" Yuzu ran towards the living room calling for their "cousin", with Ichigo and Nozomi following suit.

But upon reaching the living room, jaws dropped and eyes widened. Everything went blank as cold sweat trailed on their backs before they finally processed what was happening. The person sitting on the couch, the cousin Yuzu was referring to…

"See! I bet you're surprised, Onii-chan! It's Shuu-chan! But I'm pretty sure Nozomi-san hasn't met him yet!" Yuzu cheerfully declared to the frozen and speechless Ichigo and Nozomi. "We haven't seen him since Rin-jii's funeral, so it's been years right? This sure brings back memories!"

… Was Tsukishima Shukurou.

"Why hello, Ichigo, Nozomi. It's been a while." Tsukishima politely greeted, furthering Ichigo and Nozomi's anxiety.

"Oh, you've already met him, Nozomi-san? Well, that's a surprise!" Yuzu said to the still frozen Nozomi before turning to Ichigo. "He came here in the evening so we ate dinner all together! It was fun to eat together again after so long!"

"Shuu-chan came here suddenly without even telling us beforehand. I swear he hasn't changed at all." Karin said while going down the stairs.

"Sorry. I guess I annoyed you" Tsukishima apologized to Karin.

"I-I didn't mean that…" Karin replied sheepishly.

"Say, Onii-chan, you should say something to-" Yuzu tried to get Ichigo to speak but was forcibly interrupted when Ichigo charged towards Tsukishima and grabbed him by the collar.

"You bastard! What are you doing here!?" Ichigo angrily demanded, but Tsukishima remained completely calm.

"Onii-chan!? What are you doing!?"

Karin and Yuzu attempted to calm him down, but Ichigo was blinded by anger so much that he didn't hear them at all.

"What did you do to Yuzu and Karin!?" Ichigo demanded, his loud voice snapping Nozomi back to reality.

Nozomi instantly and stepped in front of Yuzu and Karin and before heightening her guard.

"Is this his Fullbring' ability? Just what did he do?" Nozomi thought while trying to figure out what Tsukishima did to Ichigo's sisters, beads of cold sweat appearing on the sides of her face.

"Nozomi-san? What's wrong with you two?" Karin asked her as she attempted to approach Ichigo, but she was blocked by Nozomi's arm.

"It's ok, you two. Ichigo's a serious guy. Maybe he's just angry that I'm still here even though it's so late." Tsukishima explained to the two young girls but was met by an angry demand from Ichigo to answer him.

Nozomi got ready to enter her Shinigami form at any moment while Ichigo reached for his badge but was momentarily interrupted when the door bell suddenly rang.

"Ah. Yuzu, will you?" Tsukishima said while pointing at the door, completely unfazed by the threatening glares of Ichigo and Nozomi."I think it's Keigo and the others.

That was the last straw. Ichigo was just about ready to snap when Yuzu opened the door and exchanged greetings with their visitors.

"We're here, Shuu-san!" Mizuiro called out to Tsukishima but was slightly surprised upon seeing Ichigo and Nozomi.

"Uh? Oh you're here too, Ichigo, Nozomi-san." Keigo said while placing a bag of groceries.

"Hey, Ichigo! Aren't you having a bit too much fun at night, lately? And you're taking Nozomi with you too!" Tatsuki entered last after changing to the slippers Yuzu lent them.

"I called them." Tsukishima revealed, drawing in Ichigo and Nozomi's frightened faces. "It's been so long… so I wanted to see them. Don't make such a scary face. I'm sorry I called you in the middle of the night, but tomorrow is Sunday so I guess it's okay."

"What are you playing at!?" Nozomi asked him, her patience nearing its limit too.

Tsukishima's only response was a smile, before reaching for his phone.

"By the way… maybe I should call Orihime and Chad too."

Tsukishima conversed with Inoue on the phone, pretending to be oblivious to the anger about to explode within Ichigo. It only took a few more moments before Ichigo finally lost it and punched Tsukishima right on the face, sending him crashing to the wall.

Everyone was shocked greatly, even Nozomi, who was supposed to have seen this coming. Only the surprised gasps and light screams was heard until Ichigo approached the fallen Tsukishima.

"What the hell did you do to everybody!? Tell me!" Ichigo angrily demanded, all rationally was now gone.

"Are you okay, Tsukishima-san!?" Tatsuki asked worriedly before kneeling down besides Tsukishima.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered while wiping the blood on his lips.

"You're not! You're bleeding!" Keigo said as he and Mizuiro approached Tsukishima as well.

"Ichigo! What the hell!?" Tatsuki angrily reprimanded him, shocking him to no end. "I don't know why you're so angry but how can you do this to a relative you haven't met for so long!? Apologize, now!"

"Tatsuki, everyone, you're wrong… I…"

"What do you mean I'm wrong!? Just apologize!"

"Ichigo/Ichi-Nii/Onii-chan…" Everyone just stared at him as he frantically looked around, his sight blurring. It only took a few minutes before he started to hyperventilate.

"You're acting so weird."

"What are you doing?"

"Apologize!"

His friends and family's voices started to echo in his head. He lost the ability to think straight and he looked liked as if he was about to pass out at any moment.

"Ichigo, calm down!" Nozomi attempted to approach him, but was stopped short when Ichigo suddenly jumped towards the window and ran away as fast as he could. "Oi!"

Everyone else tried to call him back but he was already out of sight so they just directed their gaze towards Nozomi.

"Nozomi-san… what's wrong with Onii-chan?" Yuzu asked her, while everyone asked similar questions.

"I don't know…!" Nozomi took a step back as everyone approached her. "I don't know…" She took more steps back until her back was touching the wall. "I DON'T KNOW!"

She snapped and ran out the door.

"What's happening!? What did Tsukishima do!?" Nozomi thought as she ran away as well. Ichigo was probably several meters away now, but maybe she could catch up. That was the last rational thought in her mind as she headed in the same direction Ichigo did.

…

Ichigo stopped to catch his breath after running what seemed to have been a mile. He slumped his back on a wall as he panted heavily.

"What the hell… Tsukishima's ability…?" Ichigo tried to puzzle the pieces together but there was always a few pieces missing. His thoughts were interrupted though, when a white van pulled over beside him.

"Oh, Ichigo. Something wrong?" The van's window lowered to reveal Ikumi

"Ikumi-san… did Tsukishima affect her too?" Ichigo thought as he stared at her.

"Your clothes are dirty and you're not wearing shoes. What's happened?" Ikumi asked him, before suddenly retracting her question. "Wait, don't answer just yet. Let's go to the shop first." She said before unlocking the van's back door.

***Unagi Shop***

"Here, drink." Ikumi gave Ichigo a glass of water before sitting down beside him. "Fell free to stay until you've calmed down. You can talk to me about what happened if you want."

"Yeah… thanks, Ikumi-san." Ichigo said before taking the glass.

The door bell then rang and Ikumi headed to the door immediately.

"Hey, make sure you don't send the visitor falling down the stairs." Ichigo jokingly teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Ikumi answered before continuing her way towards the door. "Yes, who is it?"

"No way I can talk about it… She doesn't know about Shinigami or Fullbring. I'd just make her uncomfortable if I told her…"

"Ichigo! How lucky! Someone came to pick you up!" Ikumi immediately informed him.

"Pick me up? Nozomi? Ginjou? Chad?"

Ichigo raised his head to check who it was but the familiar feeling of mixed anger, fear, and anxiety returned upon seeing Tsukishima enter the door.

"It's your cousin, Tsukishima-san!" Ikumi happily informed him, but upon looking at where Ichigo was supposed to be, he was already gone. "Ichigo? Where are you?"

...

Ichigo was back to running away again, ignoring his body's pleas to rest. Paying no heed to the bewildered looks of civilians, he continued run as fast as his exhausted body could handle.

"What's happening!? Someone…! I need someone in their right mind!" Ichigo shouted out.

His incessant screaming was interrupted though, when he heard successive footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Ginjou running towards him.

"Ginjou!"

The man in question stopped to catch his breath for a while before looking up at Ichigo.

"They fell for it!" Ginjou exclaimed, heavily panting. "Riruka, Kutsuzuwa, Jackie and Yukio…! They all fell in Tsukishima's trap!"

Ichigo stared at him in utter disbelief. Not only his family and friends, but Xcution was brainwashed too. He took several seconds to process the sudden news, before finally snapping in realization.

"What!?"

Hey guys, it's been a while. Here's Chapter 24. Hope you guys like it. Read, share your thoughts, and keep being cool. Ja ne.