It had been 3 months since I started going to Hakoniwa; and by extension helping with Thirteen Party. I had made quick friends with everyone, even Naze. Takachio and I would hand out by doing sporty stuff, soccer, boxing, American football. Munakata and I would spare with swords, and go to arcades. He seemed to have a natural talent for fighting games, but that may be Killing Impulse. Naze, Koga, and I always hanged out together, though mostly I just carried stuff for them while they went shopping. To be honest the two sort of reminded Soi Fon and Yoruichi, they were that close. It was really weird.
Part of my contributions to the plan was essentially a guinea pig. Naze would do a new experiment on me, and then I would test out whatever happened to me on Munakata, Takachio, or Koga. It was hell, but I had been through worse.
On a regular day like any other I was walking down the hallway. I was on my break time, when I ran into him, the small kid from my first day. As we walked past each other he started to scream. He was falling down, but I had caught him. He was passed out, and I didn't understand why. Suddenly the spikey haired blonde guy caught him.
"What have you done to Yukuhashi?" he asked.
"Nothing, I was just walking by and he fainted" I replied.
"Then stay away from him" he threatened.
"Hey man no need to get all worked up, I don't even know what I did" I responded aggravated. I mean what the hell did I do? The worst part is the guy just left. I was really pissed off now.
"Just ignore him, the guy is kind of a jerk" a voice said behind me. I turned to see no one, but then I looked down. It was a kid with messy silver hair, thick eyebrows, and red maniacal eyes. He wore an insane smile, and heavier version of the school uniform, which if I remember was the uniform of the Disciplinary Committee.
"Wait who are you?" I asked. "Aren't you a little young to be here?"
"I skipped a couple of grades, I'm a genius" he responded, and I could tell he was a little mad. "But ya, the little one Yukuhashi, his abnormality is one that receives the electric signals from people and machines. He must have read your emotions. Looks like you have been through a lot my friend."
I really had been through much as a kid, but I didn't realize it was enough to make a guy faint though. "By the way, are you a member of the 13 parties?" I asked.
"Yes I am. I am Unzen Myouri, code name Monster Child, and am the only one in the group Only One."
"Wait what is the Only One?" I asked.
"You don't know? My God you are an idiot!" he laughed. I was really starting to hate this kid. "The Thirteen Party is divided into 3 parts. The Front Six, the Plus Six and the Only One. You my stupid friend are part of the Front Six, which is you, twiddle dumb and dumber, and the other guys. The Plus Six are just a group of ruffians that skip school, and do nothing for the plan."
"Then why are they part of the plan?" I asked.
"They're abnormals, they we all look after each other. I don't, but the rest do" Unzen replied. What he said really hit me, about abnormals. I felt like I had finally found a place where I belonged, well other than the Shinigami. "Well Ichigo, I have to get going. Don't get any dumber or you'll be put in a special home." He walked away, and all I wanted to do was punch him.
(O)
I had been going to Hakoniwa for five months by now. I had been undergoing many experiments, most of which were inhuman if you ask me. I had huge gashes across my torso, most of which were from Naze-san's experiments, and more.
In all honesty, I hated the Flask Plan. It was inhuman, and impossible. I was one of those people that thought a perfect human was impossible, that flaws made us who we are. That mostly came from my encounter with Aizen, seeing him strive so far only to fall in the end. But here I was, essentially doing the same thing he did, maybe even worse. The only thing that makes this whole thing worthwhile is getting my powers back, and becoming friends with the rest of Front Six. I felt terrible for participating in the Flask Plan, and felt terrible I was only doing for powers and friends. Even though I could see spirits again, and had new friends I felt even worse.
I would go about my days feeling sadder and sadder. I felt like I was in the wrong, I felt like I had turned into Aizen. I know I would never be as bad as him, but just how similar the Flask Plan was to his own plan, was enough to make my stomach churn.
Sadly I was thinking about this at the wrong time, as I was in the middle of training with Munakata. Then I was stabbed in the shoulder.
"Ichigo, why didn't you dodge that strike? With your speed you should have been able to dodge it."
"Oh, sorry Munakata I was distracted" I replied. The wound wasn't that bad due to me possessing the durability of a Shinigami. Hell, it was already healing.
"What about? That girl again?" he asked. Orihime was a popular topic for me to talk about. Everybody had a different answer. Munakata suggested I do what my heart says, Takachio suggested I remain friends in order to prevent anything weird from happening, Koga suggested I go all in because she liked Orihime's photo and the description I gave, while Naze thought that love was useless because it was a chemical reaction. This somehow made Koga sad though, I don't know why.
I'm getting off tangent though. "No, I just don't feel well."
"Want me to get Naze?" Munakata asked.
"No, not that kind of not feeling well" I responded. "I was just thinking about the Flask Plan."
"Really what about it?" I asked.
"Well it's kind of a long story" I answered. I hadn't told anyone the real story about my time as a Shinigami. I felt it would be too heavy for all of them. Plus it was painful for me to look back on those times as a substitute Shinigami.
"Ichigo, I will not claim to be an expert when it comes to friends, but I do know when one friend is bothered by something the other friend should be there to take anything" Munakata said with the same blank expression.
Then it hit me again. I had never really talked to anyone about my problems, and I had never asked them about their own problems. I had always left them alone, mostly because I thought I would make things worse. I was never really good with those type of things. "Well it involves going into my time as a substitute Shinigami."
"Good, we had been wanting to hear about that from you for a while" a voice came from behind. I looked behind and saw the gang, Naze, Koga, and Takachio.
I was shocked at first, but then I felt happy. I don't know why though. So I told them everything, Rukia, Soul Society, Aizen, the Arrancar, and how I lost my powers. The looks on everyone's faces were a mix of horror and shock.
"I can't believe you went through all of that" Koga exclaimed.
"I'm jealous" Naze continued. I knew of Naze's philosophy of greater pain equals greater brilliance, but it still pissed me off.
"I would have killed myself if I had to go through all of that" Takachio chimed in. That did not make me feel any better.
"I can see why you are so upset. The Flask Plan is everything Aizen stood for" Munakata added. "Is that what has been bothering you."
"Yeah, I just started to feel like I went back on everything I fought for" I answered. "Plus everything about the plan makes me sick. I mean we are just means to an end. We are probed and dissected like we were test animals."
There was a silence among everyone after that. Deep down they all knew that, but wanted to deny it. Naze was probably the only one who joined the Flask Plan for the whole 'catching genius in a bottle' thing. "You pathetic weaklings!" a voice bellowed.
From behind was the blonde guy with the yellow aura, along with the little kid that passed out the other day. "Hey kid are you alright?" I asked concerned.
"Yes, I am fine, thank you for asking" he replied.
"But seriously, are you so pathetic as to think the Flask Plan is not for the good of the other subjects!" I really hated this guy. He talked like he was above everyone, and it really pissed me off. It brought back memories of Grimmjow. "The Flask Plan is for our benefit."
"What do you mean?" I asked pissed off.
"We Abnormals joined the Plan for a specific goal. Munakata, you joined the Flask Plan to make friends and meet Ichigo. Takachio, you joined to find an equal and found Ichigo. Koga, you joined because of Naze, and Naze you joined in the pursuit of scientific advancement: and made more than enough progress in the field."
"How did you know all of our reasons to join the Flask Plan Miyakonojou?" Naze asked.
"I didn't Yukuhashi did, he just told me" the guy, whose name was apparently Miyakonojou. "As the king, I have a right to know."
I was starting to hate this guy more and more. The thing was though, he made sense. "Also there are thousands of people who have put their lives into the project" Miyakonojou added.
(O)
With Miyakonojou's speech making me feel better I devoted my fullest into the Flask Plan, but for my own benefit. Over the next couple of days I had learned of the exploits of Medaka Kurokami, the woman who made the speech on my first day. The Medaka Box had made a huge buzz; a suggestion box that accepted any request. Made me wonder what would happen if someone used it for the wrong reason.
But what I had learned today was by far the biggest news concerning Kurokami. She had apparently fought against Myouri, and went on a full rampage. Unzen was now completely incapacitated, and he could not participate in the Flask Plan, so a replacement was needed. I still don't see why though, we were still 13 members including me. So the Front Six and I decided to analyze Kurokami.
There we were, in the Chairman's office. We were hidden from here, though I was still confused on how we stayed hidden. From everything she did, I could tell she was special. Maybe even more than myself. Wait, that sounded wrong, though I was a little more special than the others, but that just doesn't sound right. Then I saw the dice test, and I was shocked. They were stacked, she threw them and they just stacked! Then there was Takachio tried to kill her! Several times! And she dodged them! She was incredible.
After Kurokami left we reappeared. "So what do you guys think?" the chairman asked. As everyone went over what they thought I zoned out. Maybe it was my Getsuga Instinct, but she seemed dangerous. I could tell she was trouble.
"Kurosaki-kun, what did you think of her?" the chairman asked. I snapped out of my trance.
"She's dangerous, we should get her to come to our side."
(A/N): And done, what up bitches! Sorry that was uncalled for. Either way what do you guys think? I know this was a long time coming, but hey I was in Hong Kong and Japan, and I my computer broke, so yeah. But after a couple of days of rest we will continue, and with the 4th best arc of the series! And from now on the chapters will be even longer! Because 2000+ words is pitiful.