He was being cautious as he ambled towards Takahati's ramen stand. Learning over the years to trust his gut feelings he was on guard. This feeling always came before something shitty would happen to fuck up his day. As if being kicked in the nuts by fate it happened, Inoue's reiatsu dropped off his internal radar. Eyes shooting wide open he turned in the direction he last sensed her and took off like an Olympic track star. He barreled through the crowded sidewalk knocking a few people off their feet… he could chastise himself later for his actions. Right now he had a single goal in mind 'FIND INOUE'. The phrase ricocheted around his skull repeating in a loop like a personal mantra.
Finally out of the crowded area and into an alley, he slipped into shunpo, a slight whisper was the only trace that he was ever there. He was nearing his destination as he dropped out of the signature Shinigami high speed technique. He could feel lingering traces of her comforting energy in the area. A horrible sense of nostalgia dug into his heart, it was happening again. She disappeared only leaving a trace of her essence as a clue. This time though the residual reiatsu wasn't on his hand, instead it resided on a cell phone. Not just any cell phone, it was shaped like a hamburger and shattered in the middle of the sidewalk. Cursing he stooped down to retrieve the pieces, before heading to the one person he trusted to help.
Rounding the corner into a small dirt lot that contained a small ordinary looking shop. To those that knew, this place was more than an ordinary candy store. It housed one of the greatest minds in three dimensions Urahara Kisuke.
"GETA-BOSHI" the frantic youth screeched as he bulled through the door. Not seeing him in the front of the store, he continued his visual and vocal search for the man hollering several times. Making his way to the back room where they usually held their meetings, he finally laid eyes on the object of his frantic search. Sitting across the table from the room's entrance, Kisuke calmly regarded his young apprentice with an unreadable expression.
Ichigo immediately knew he was all business. Forgoing his iconic hat and trademark fan they were resting on the table to his left, to his right sat a plain folder with no visible writing, and directly in front of him sat an ordinary chess board already set up to play. In ordinary circumstances one of them would have made a smart ass comment in greeting. Today was no ordinary day the tension in the air made that painfully obvious.
Maintaining eye contact with the bright haired hybrid, he began to cipher through the emotions playing across his face. Panic, worry, rage, and fear it was the last two emotions that he needed to eliminate. Rage could snatch victory from the greatest of warriors if left unchecked and at the moment Ichigo was an inferno. The fear was understandable, but none the less detrimental to success. Its ability to dull a blade along with reflexes was a recipe for death. The first two would abate on their own once he calmed down and got the information he was seeking. He had to reign him in before he even hinted at Orihime's whereabouts.
"Sit" the command was cold and contained immense weight.
Ichigo hesitated for a second while opening his mouth to demand answers, only to snap it shut and comply under the ex-assassin's stare. Taking a deep breath the hybrid tried to regulate his erratic heartbeat, it was working albeit slowly. The shop keeper made no effort to start a conversation, he only moved a single white pawn forward on the game board. Knowing better than anyone that the information would be revealed at Kisuke's own pace, he moved a black pawn forward with a shaky hand. His nerves were humming sitting still was a chore in itself. After a few minutes it was his turn to make a move again, no words had been exchanged at this point. Opting to move his Queen to get her involved in the fray, was when he heard the older man sigh.
"Tell me everything you know about Inoue Sora"
The question caught him off guard, of all the directions he imagined the conversation going this was not one of them.
Staring at his mentor he began "I really don't know a lot about him only meeting him briefly when he was a hollow. From what Tatsuki told me he seemed like he was a good person when he was alive. She told me that when he was eighteen he ran away from his abusive parents taking Orihime with him. Orihime told me once the he worked for a small firm in town and that he worked hard for very little money to support them when she was growing up. When Orihime was twelve he was involved in an accident where he received life threatening injuries, which he eventually died from at my dad's clinic. His spirit must have lingered in the world of the living for years watching over Orihime, before becoming a hollow like I said earlier. We had a brief battle in my room after he hollowfied before he went after Orihime. During the battle he was able to knock her soul free from her body. Another fight ensued during which he regained a semblance of his humanity and purified himself with my zanpakuto."
"That was very informative Ichigo, but also incorrect" the blonde haired man stated as he slid the folder across the table to the transcendent being.
-With Orihime-
Although she put up a strong front, on the inside she was terrified. She couldn't believe this was happening to her again, things like this were only supposed to happen in nightmares. Yet here she was reliving the hellish experience for a second time, this time though was completely against her will. She just sat quietly in the back of the van with the two men that plucked her from the side of the road. She couldn't believe how cliché the van was it had no seats or windows, the only unique attribute was the partition with a built in T.V. screen that separated the driver from the back.
At least the guards left her with peace and quiet once she stopped fighting with them. She let a small smirk tip up her lips at the sight of the larger guard tending to his bleeding nose. It was the result of a well-placed kick during the struggle. 'Tatsuki-Chan would have been proud of that one' the auburn haired girl chuckled mentally.
Even though they caught her off guard didn't mean she wouldn't put up a fight. Over the years since the war when she wasn't training with the large Visored known as Hachigen, she was with Tatsuki trying to increase her hand to hand fighting. The one thing she hated to do though was hurt others, it just wasn't in her nature. Even right now she was starting to feel a slight bit of sympathy for the abductor that met her foots fury.
That sympathy was crushed though when an image of the other assailant stomping her defenseless phone into the ground streaked through her mind. She loved that phone, it was a gift from Urahara-san. He even reassured her that it had special security to keep the little blue men out. It wasn't just the phone abuse that drew her ire, no it was a promise she made on her soul to Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki-Chan, to never again be taken away without a fight.
Regarding the men with her most disgusted look as her eyes began to burn with resolve, she was on the move again. She seen her target not paying attention to her, he seemed to be having too much fun mocking the other man for his probably broken nose. Quickly before the phone stomper could react she slipped the chain linking her cuffs under his chin. With an instantaneous yank the physically bigger human was on top of her with his back against her midsection. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his waist to somewhat control his struggling.
She didn't want to kill him, but if she could render him unconscious it would be a one on one fight with the other man. Maybe she could even lift a key to the bothersome bracelets adorning her wrists. She hissed as the edges of the restraints bit into her flesh drawing blood. A slight wince scrunched up her face when she felt the other man's fist connect painfully with her ribs. She had one advantage though her intended victim was starting to lose steam and his body was acting as an impromptu shield protecting her from the majority of the blows that rained down on her.
As if receiving a gift from above the van careened around a sharp corner just as her captive slipped into unconsciousness. The third combatant in the brawl lost his balance and slammed painfully back first into the side of the van, knocking the air from his lungs. Looking down on the man struggling to regain his breath, Orihime cringed at what she was about to do. 'Well Tatsuki-Chan always said that anything goes in a fight to protect yourself' she reassured herself as she brought her foot up only to slam it down at testicle shattering speed. She repeated the process several times before the van's brakes locked up sending her flailing into the partition at the front of the cargo hold.
She was winded and sore, she didn't even register when she was pulled from the van savagely by her hair and slammed without mercy into the ground. Keeping her eyes closed she waited for the end, a small smile gracing her cracked and bleeding lips. She could keep her soul and move on to Soul Society where she would find her beloved Onii-chan. 'Maybe Kurosaki-kun will come and find me' she thought as her smile became more serene.
"I would be smiling too after a fight like that, Orihime." came a smooth feminine voice that held a touch of equal parts excitement and bloodlust.
Cracking her eyes open, she could only squint due the bright sunshine, she could barely make out a faint outline of the woman standing above her. After a few more seconds her eyes began to focus giving a clearer image of the person that just slammed her around like a rag doll. The first thing she noticed was that her outfit consisted of a tight black leather top, a miniskirt and stockings, over her shoulders she wore a grey haori. What she noticed next was the women's light gray hair that was tied into a ponytail, the color of her hair she noted matched perfectly with her grey eyes. What troubled her though was the nodachi in her hands, normally seeing a sword wouldn't unnerve her, she's seen hundreds after all. No it was the women's posture that had her slightly panicking, she held a stance that seemed loose and relaxed. Orihime knew it was just a façade everything about her screamed 'experienced warrior'.
"Why are you doing this?" her voice sounded meek and a little strained even to her ears.
"I am not the person to explain that to you, but you will have your answers soon enough" the Black Sekirei stated as she reached down and hauled the downed teen to her feet.
"You would have already had them if you hadn't created such a ruckus" she chuckled with a slight amount of amusement shining in her eyes while looking at the mayhem the smaller female created.
Even in her situation she managed a small blush when the powerful individual in front of her seemingly praised her for her actions. This has got to be the weirdest abductions in history she concluded. 'One moment I'm fighting for my life and the next, one of the kidnappers is praising me for putting up such a good fight'.
"Can you at least tell me where we are going?" the question was met with an annoyed glance from the other sekirei.
"I will answer some of your questions as we start moving." She stated turning to address the men in the back "HEY numb nuts drag your sorry ass into the front seat, and you…" she started pointing at the other man with her sheathed blade "get your ass out of the van you're walking back to headquarters."
"What why?" the newly conscious man croaked, his voiced was a strained whisper the result of his recent strangulation.
"Why you ask? It should be self-explanatory, you are worthless and incompetent. If it wasn't for me this little powerless sekirei would have escaped!" she exclaimed her voice raising throughout the conversation in clear annoyance.
Looking around the empty park they were occupying, the belittled man made a last attempt to prove himself "Why don't you give me a little alone time in the bushes with that little bitch, I'm sure I can make her very compliant."
He knew he was fucked when the response he received from the Black Sekirei was a disgusted glare. Whatever he was about to say in his defense was lost forever as Karsuba disappeared from his sight. Startling Orihime when she reappeared behind the man a split second before his head fell from his shoulders and blood erupted from the wound. It wasn't that Karsuba held any fondness for her fellow sekirei, but she wasn't about to let what that bastard was implying happen though.
Seeing what happened to his colleague, the other guard was not about to make the same mistake. He just simply half limped and half dragged himself to the front seat, thankful for the little leniency that he was afforded. Seeing the other guard comply with her request Karasuba motioned for the busty teen to get back in the van. Once they were moving again the older female produced a small key from her pocket before leaning forward to remove her captive's bindings.
"Heal yourself." It was a simple command that left no room for arguments.
Orihime nibbled on her lower lip nervously, after the war Urahara warned her about using her Soten Kisshun in front of strangers. It was one of the reasons Aizen had initially took interest in her and later had her abducted for. "I don't know what you mean, I don't know how to heal myself." She replied with her head down auburn hair covering her face from view.
Sighing to herself the silver haired woman contemplated on how much she hated going on Minaka's stupid little missions, it was a far cry from the days of cutting down armies on Kamikura Island.
"I am not as foolish as you seem to think. We knew your name, we knew exactly where to find you, we know about all of your friends, and we know all about your powers." Pausing a little bit to let the information sink in she continued "So just heal yourself and to answer one of your questions, we are on our way to the capital Shinto Teito."
-With Ichigo-
"Ueda Sora" the unfamiliar name rolled of his tongue. He couldn't believe what he was looking at, the picture was definitely Inoue's brother, but the facts were all wrong. According to file Kisuke had given him Sora was a researcher of some kind at MBI, one of the biggest damn companies in the world, hell they pretty much own the whole capital if the news reports were accurate. The other thing that drew his attention was Sora's date of birth, it would have made him at least twenty eight when he moved to Karakura with Orihime! What the hell was going on this made no sense at all, all this provided was more questions than answers. Looking up at Geta- Boshi as he twirled his stripped hat on his finger lazily.
"What the hell is this!" he questioned with a demanding tone.
"That Ichigo is the truth about Inoue-Sans's brother. Well he is technically not her brother, not by blood anyway." Pausing to take a sip of tea that Tessai had recently brought in he continued "Inoue-san is more special than we first imagined Ichigo."
"Please don't tell me let me guess, Inoue is some sort of experiment created by MBI, another far more believable scenario she is a high tech alien, or maybe she is from the future to save the world." The unbelieving orange haired teen stated, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Wow you actually guessed it on your second try" the exuberant shop keeper cheered hat back on fan in front of his face.
He wanted to punch the childish bastard so bad at the moment, he hated it when he acted that way in serious moments. Had it been a few short years earlier he had no doubt that he would have at least elbowed him in the nose. He had to admit though his methods while strange were effective, he was definitely calmer than when he came in. He needed to keep him talking though, if too much time passed Kisuke would slip back into the chess game and the answers would stop.
"So what you're saying is that she is fact an alien"
"Yep an alien known as a Sekirei!" Looking at his protégé and the unsurprised look at his exclamation he asked "You're not surprised Ichigo, why is that?"
"Well I'm not, not really anyway I figured she had to be inhuman with some of things she ate." The teen chuckled recalling the odd combinations of food she routinely put together. It got to a point where himself, Chad, or Ishida regularly carried honey, wasabi, and red bean paste on them when the group went out to eat.
"Can I ask you where you got all this information Geta-Boshi?"
"A good informant never reveals his sources Kurosaki-san" the shop keeper sing-songed waiving his fan at his companion. Noticing the increasingly sour mood Ichigo was slipping into after that comment he relented "I always had suspicions about Inoue-san's origins, when I had time after the war I decided to look further into them…" He continued with a heavy sigh "I hit a road block though I couldn't find a damn thing, nothing about her parents and definitely nothing in Sora's background. So I took a long shot and gave her a special cellphone." Holding up a hand to placate Ichigo before he could fire off more questions.
"I never eavesdropped on her calls if that's what you are thinking, the phone merely collected samples of her reiatsu for me to examine and do further research with. It also had a secondary function that was quite clever if I say so myself, it alerted me if anyone tried to hack into the phone to steal information from it. Mostly it was horny high school kids probably hoping to find naughty pictures of her, but one alert was peculiar it was very well cloaked and I almost missed it. I didn't though and was able to trace it back to MBI, after using my extraordinary hacking skills…" he stopped to hold up two fingers in a victory sign before continuing "I was able to get into their personal files and happened across the name Ueda Sora. Apparently Sora was the adjuster of only one Sekirei number 90 Orihime, he was quite a sneaky individual though instead of merely adjusting her powers he sealed them inside of her. We both can guess why they were reawakened though."
He paused to stare pointedly at Ichigo, who because of his lack of reiatsu control caused several people to awaken powers. "After sealing her powers he left MBI in secret to live a normal life, he also went as far as to set up a trust fund for Orihime incase anything ever happened to him. The only condition he had on the trust was that the money dispersed had to seem like it came from a distant relative, to keep Orihime from becoming too curious about their past."
"Ok I get how you found out about Sora, but what about the Sekirei?" he asked rubbing his temples this whole business was giving him a head ache.
"Well it was the president of MBI Hirato Minaka that discovered the Sekirei species on Kamikura Island, when it emerged from the ocean depths. After finding the aliens and their ship he used their technology to make MBI into the powerhouse company it is today. It seems that he has another hobby that is unknown to the public. He is setting up a game involving the Sekirei, think of it as a deadly battle royal, with one Sekirei and their Ashikabi coming out on top to receive an undetermined prize…" being interrupted he stopped
"What is an Ashikabi?" the confused teen asked
"Right I figured you would ask that, an ashikabi is the equivalent to a soul mate as it were to the Sekirei. Normally a Sekirei will physically react to their destined ashikabi, it usually consists of an elevated temperature and maybe being extremely flustered in their presence. If the ashikabi accepts the sekirei they will form a bond by winging them, which is done with a kiss. Only certain people with specific genetic markers can become an ashikabi…" slightly annoyed with being interrupted again he waited for Ichigo to ask his question.
"You said normally they react, but what if they didn't react could an ashikabi form the bond anyway?" inquired the bright haired teen a little more than uncomfortable with the idea of someone winging Inoue.
"Yes they could it is called forced winging. It is a despicable act that is regularly practiced to gain an upper hand in the game. The worst thing is that once winged, the Sekirei is bound to their ashikabi for life Ichigo. Meaning if they were forced they become the equivalent to a slave for life." Eyeing the man across from him he hoped that he could keep his temper in check.
"Is there a way to break the bond Kisuke?" he was fuming he could handle Inoue finding her soul mate (barely), but he would murder anyone that tried to force her into servitude.
"Not that I have found, the bond is so deep that if you kill the Ashikabi the sekirei will die also, forced bond or not it doesn't matter."
"Where is all of this happening? Is it going on in the Capital?" the subsided rage from earlier was starting to resurface at a frightening rate he was done talking, it was time for action.
"Yes."
With that simple confirmation Ichigo was on his feet heading towards the door. She had only been gone an hour at the most they couldn't have reached the capital yet. Before he could make his exit though the shop keeper called out to him.
"Ichigo before you charge in blindly, I want to talk to you." The blonde haired man stated as he beckoned for him to sit again. "I know that you've already calculated the time she's been gone to the time it takes to get to the capital, so don't tell me that you don't have the time." He finished fixing him with a stern gaze.
He trusted Kisuke with his life, if wanted him to hold up to talk he would comply. It had to be important for the hatted man to stop his usual strategy, which consisted of rushing in, blowing shit up, and kicking some ass. So with no hesitation he reclaimed his seat at the table before claiming his own cup of tea to take a drink.
"What is the most important piece on a chess board Ichigo?"
Once again caught completely off guard by Kisuke's line of questioning he replied "The king is the most important followed by the Queen why?"
"They are important pieces to be sure, if your queen is so important why do you always allow it to get captured?"
He knew he used a double meaning in his question talking both about Inoue and the chess piece. It was true that in every game he played Kisuke would force his queen into a position where he was forced to surrender it.
"If they're not the most important pieces then which ones are?"
"The small insignificant pawns are Ichigo. They have limitless potential, at first they only have the ability to go forward. Albeit slowly one spot at a time, straight forward or diagonally, but forward none the less. For all their weaknesses it's their potential that makes them so dangerous. With careful guidance and support they can become very powerful taking on the characteristics of any other piece on the board." To further emphasize his point he slid the pawn he had been weaving through Ichigo's defenses into the last row, earning his pawn a promotion. To which he motioned to his captured queen, which he used earlier as bait to force Ichigo into surrendering his own. With a groan the Visored switched the pieces earning Kisuke an instant checkmate.
"It wasn't that long ago that you were a pawn in mine and Aizen's personal chess match, and look at where you are today a frighteningly strong qu…"
"Call me a queen and I will personally shove your Geta up your ass!" He knew the comparison he was making, but he would be damned if he let himself be called a queen!
"Fine fine no need to be violent, but you get my point these Sekirei are only pawns to Minaka. He seems to consider himself as a sort of game master. This time I'm not going to be the one playing the game against him, you are." He finished by pointed his fan at Ichigo.
"So you're saying I'm not even a piece on the board and you want me to guide a Sekirei to victory?" now he was confused Urahara's schemes were never simple.
"No nothing like that, well maybe a little like that" the overly enthusiastic man laughed once again brandishing his fan "What I want from you is to tune down your usual level of violence and be an observer."
"Fuck that I'm not going to sit back and do nothing!" he slammed his hands on the table proving his rising anger at the suggestion of not being able to protect Inoue in this sick game.
"I never told you not to get involved you thick headed brat! I was trying to subtly tell you not to use your powers to fight in this, I want you to listen to me and not just half assed listen like you usually do!" Calming himself down was a slow process, it was very hard to get him to lose his composure, but Ichigo's bull headed ways sometimes grated his nerves. "We both know what a mere swing of your Zangetsu can do, you destroy mountains if you don't keep yourself in constant check. Do I need to remind you of the forest you destroyed slaying your first hollow after the war? I know you have gotten a lot better at controlling your strength Ichigo, but it will only take one little slip to start a chain of events that I don't personally want to see." He finished solemnly
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Think about if you let your power slip in a populated area, what that would do to I don't know, let's say an elementary school or an apartment complex! The Soul Society would have no choice, hero or not they will hold you accountable for such an accident. They would at least try to strip you of your powers if not kill you outright." He had to make sure Ichigo understood this, he just sighed when he seen the defiant look in the teens eyes. "It would cause a civil war you know, an order like that would never sit well with those that support you. The Eleventh Division would probably outright mutiny along with Rukia, Renji, and several others, let alone the support from myself, Tessai, Yoruichi, the Visoreds, and not to mention Sado-san, Ishida-san, and Inoue-san. Would you really be so selfish to drag them into another war because you wanted to use your blade instead of your head?"
"No" it was a quiet response, he never thought of that. This wasn't a battle in Hueco Mundo or even in the outskirts of the Rukongai, the incident with the forest scared him so much he doubled his efforts to control his strength. If he let his power slip in the city it could be a catastrophe and he sure as hell didn't want to start a war. The ones that would suffer the most would be the innocent souls devoured by hollows, while their protectors were caught up in a war.
Cracking a small smile the teacher in him finally relented to give his student some hope. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad for you to fight, but I'm calling in the favor you owe me."
He knew that favor was going to bite him in the ass "What's the favor"
"You can use all of your powers, except for Zangetsu unless it is a dire need. You shouldn't have trouble without it. I know you are purely a Zanjutsu fighter, but your Hoho, Hakuda, and even Kido are captain class. This might be a good chance to utilize them in actual combat…" he was getting ready to send him on his way before a thought struck him "and absolutely no Ceros like Zangetsu you create too much destruction with them."
Clenching his fist he grated out "Is that all Kisuke" he favored using his zanpakuto that was no secret, but a close second would be his cero. After learning to control it he loved to use it in conjunction with his sword play.
"Yeah, that's all enjoy your trip Ichigo." He waved at him jovially, as if they hadn't even discussed the serious shit that transpired a few moments earlier.
"Oi, by the way call Ukitake and let him know I'm going to be gone for a while, he might need to assign a replacement."
"Already done Ichigo, now hurry up and get going."
He was glad to have Kisuke around, the man always knew how to get him focused. So without any more screwing around he tore open a garganta aiming to land just outside the city to start his infiltration.
A/N First I would like to thank everyone that reviewed, favorited, and followed this. I know the chapter was a little slow, it was a set up chapter. Can't have Ichigo ripping Minaka's head off in the second chapter after all. So the next chapter will take place in the capital, about a month or so before Minato arrives. For those of you that are worried I won't make Ichigo weak, but this won't be an Ichigo curb stomps the Sekirei universe either. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter.