Author's Note
I'm back! Real life and the internet are distracting! I meant to write this for like three different days, but stuff came up. Also, I hate moving furniture, it's so heavy!
One person guessed very close as to why Ichigo collapsed, and they are Guest. Also, only one other person guessed. Thanks Kira Tetsu No Chi for at least trying.
Anywho, on with the story! Enjoy!
Hearing Inoue-san shout Kurosaki's name as he collapses is a surprise. I might have gotten the relationship between the two wrong, but now's not the time to worry about such things. I rush over to my fallen rival. He's not exactly an enemy anymore, not after that stunt he just pulled. This fight may not have been finished, but, as much as I hate to admit it, he probably would have won, so I have to train and get stronger to beat him next time. He better not be dead, I need him alive so I can kick his ass later and prove that my strength is not something that can be brushed off. Kneeling down next to Kurosaki, I place my fingers against his jugular, like I learned when sensei taught me first aid, and check for his pulse. It's there, beating, if only a little fast. I quickly assure Inoue-san, "He's fine. His pulse is a bit fast, but he's alive." It seems to calm her down some.
I turn my face away from her as I continue the basic checks I've been taught, not wanting her to see the worry there. His breath comes in pants, never a good sign in unconscious people. His skin is hot and it seems he is starting to sweat. Something's not right. If I didn't know better, I would say that Kurosaki collapsed from something like heatstroke, but that's not possible. Kurosaki's a fire class yokai, they don't suffer from high amounts of heat unless it's a good bit above their level of power. The hollow may have been stronger than Kurosaki, but, from what I saw of his flames, it wasn't the heat that put them in separate classes, but rather the amount of power available to them. Trying to unravel this mystery, I hone my senses to study his reiatsu.
"Wha–"
"Maa, looks like Kurosaki-san's overstepped his boundaries."
I whirl around, forming my bow and rising to my feet, to face the speaker. He stands about a meter away staring down at Kurosaki, or, at least, I assume he is. It's hard to tell with the way his green and white striped bucket hat shades his eyes. He carries a cane in one hand and a fan in the other that covers his mouth, making it even harder to get a read on his expression. His black haori with white diamonds on it flutters as he walks forward, wooden geta clacking on the river stones. I tense, preparing for an assault from this stranger who seems to be ordering Kurosaki around if his words are anything to go by.
"Urahara-san! Did you come to help Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue calls out, stopping my brain in its tracks. She knows this guy? Why does she know this guy?
"Sort of, Inoue-san. I came to see who Kurosaki-san could possibly be fighting and, well, here I am!" he finishes with a goofy grin and a flutter of his fan. I keep my bow trained on him. "You can put the bow away now, Ishida-san. I'm not going to hurt anyone." He makes a shoo-ing motion with his fan. I don't budge a centimeter.
"If you were really already out here, why didn't you help us with the hollow? You seem strong enough to at least have been capable of assisting us." I question him, giving him the coldest stare I can muster. "I find it hard to believe you're an ally of any kind when you didn't help us when we could have used it."
"Hmm, well, you see, I like to let Kurosaki-san take care of himself, seeing as he's my student, and only step in when he asks me to or truly needs me to. I figured you and Kurosaki-san could handle a hollow of that level and that it would help Kurosaki-san adjust to being able to use his powers again. I'd be happy to explain more later, once we've gotten Kurosaki-san comfortable back at my shop, or did you forget his current condition." His sudden 180 to a serious tone shakes me, as well as the memory of what I felt when I checked Kurosaki's reiatsu.
"His current condition? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the shinigami that Inoue-san brought with her bursts out.
"All in good time, Kuchiki-san, all in good time." Urahara replies, bending down and slinging Kurosaki over one shoulder. He strolls away, Inoue-san immediately following him, Kuchiki follows her, keeping a wary eye on Urahara, while I bring up the rear, carefully watching Urahara and Kuchiki.
He leads us through the streets of Karakura to a shop tucked away in the Mitsumiya district, egotistically named Urahara Shoten. Seriously, it's a corner candy store, not a family owned restaurant. Urahara takes us to one of the back rooms where a small table and futon have been laid out and tells us to wait a moment while he gets Kurosaki settled in. That plan goes out the window when Kurosaki stirs after being placed in the futon and struggles to sit himself up.
"Lay down, Kurosaki-san. All your little friends are here and you need to rest. Don't worry, I'll explain it all to them, so lay down." Urahara admonishes while trying to push Kurosaki back down.
" 'm fine, Geta-boshi." Kurosaki mumbles, still panting and sounding barely awake. "Wouldn' be right… if I wasn't at least… conscious for this. I should be… explaining it myself." He forces his way into a sitting position, panting and covered in sweat. He looks sick and I have half a mind to try and force him to lay down myself just on principle.
"Kurosaki-kun, you should rest. You look really sick. We won't blame you for resting when you must be feeling so bad." Inoue-san gently tried to convince him.
"Thanks for the… concern, but… I'll manage. Just… let me do this." He gives her a faint, sad smile. Kurosaki is stubborn to the point of idiocy.
Urahara sighs. "I suppose there isn't much use in arguing with stubborn idiots." Kurosaki seems torn between a scowl and a triumphant smirk at this. "If Kuchiki-san and Ishida-san don't mind, would you two please move the table over here since Kurosaki-san seems determined to be a part of this explanation."
Kuchiki and I fulfill his request and move the table and cushions over so that Kurosaki can be at the table without leaving the futon. A large man with glasses then comes in and pours tea for us before leaving. We all look expectantly to Urahara and Kurosaki for an explanation about this "condition" of Kurosaki's.
After taking a long sip of tea, Urahara begins. "So, I believe you three are aware that Kurosaki-san is a half breed yokai, yes?" I blink in shock. Half breed? Half breeds aren't that strong. How is he a half-breed? "Ah, I see Ishida-san didn't but you two ladies did. Well, now you all know. However, knowing Kurosaki-san as I do, I'm assuming that he didn't tell you about his bloodlines." He waits and receives the nods of Kuchiki and Inoue-san's heads.
"I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with Kurosaki's condition?" I ask because, honestly, I have no clue why he figures the actual bloodlines behind a half breed are important. I figured he asked about the half breed thing because being a half breed creates his condition.
"Ah, that's a good question. I suppose I'm giving you this information so that you can understand how Kurosaki-san's condition has come about. Well, at least understand the theories that stand the greatest chance of explaining it anyways. People like Kurosaki-san are rather rare. I'm not sure that any others that are even close to his unique blend exist."
"Jeez, quit… pullin' their… legs and just… explain it already… or 'm gonna quit… restin' an' do it… myself." Kurosaki pants out. We all turn to stare at Urahara.
"Maa, Kurosaki-san, you have no sense for presentation." Urahara chides.
"Geta-boshi–" Kurosaki growls as a threat.
"Fine." Urahara sniffs. "Kurosaki-san's father was Shiba Isshin, head of the branch families of the great noble yokai clan of Shiba. The same Shiba clan that helped to create the first zanpakuto and still guards the secret of zanpakuto creation to this very day." I'm a little relieved at learning this. Being descended from a noble clan explains how Kurosaki can be so strong when he's only a half breed. Kuchiki has a strange look pass over her face as this information is revealed. One of sadness and surprise if I had to guess. "Kurosaki-san's mother was Kurosaki Masaki, last of the Kurosaki household of pureblood Quincies." My mind blanks. I can't process the fact that this yokai half breed before me is somehow related to me. It's rare enough for a Quincy to be in love with a yokai, but a pureblood Quincy, that's practically out of the question! "…so I suppose it would be more accurate to call Kurosaki-san a hybrid over a half breed considering the nature of Quincy powers."
"That's… nice and all," Kuchiki begins, "but how does it tie in to this?"
"I was getting to that." Urahara explains in a miffed tone. "Likely due to his bloodlines, Kurosaki-san is capable of absorbing most spiritual attacks to a certain degree."
"You mean that he can absorb almost any attack with a fire element to it, like he did with the hollow, right?" I inquire.
"No. Like any… attack made with… reiatsu. I can even… absorb reiryoku… if I can get… my claws… or sword… in them." Kurosaki explains, a smug grin on his face even as he sweats and pants, trembling in his effort to stay upright. I shiver as I piece together just what kind of capabilities Kurosaki has. It's terrifying to consider what kind of opponent that makes him. Someone who forces you into close range combat where if you're not careful, he'll hook you and suck you dry of your energy.
"But if you're capable of absorbing reiatsu based attacks, why'd you block my arrows?"
"Kurosaki-san may be capable of absorbing any reiatsu based attack, but he has a hard time doing it with attacks that aren't aligned with the element of fire. Most non-fire based attacks can only be partially absorbed by Kurosaki-san, leaving the attack weaker than it was before. The second reason would be that it's never wise for a person to absorb more than they can handle. You should know that, Ishida-san."
"Right, the two principles when it comes to absorption. One: it's like filling a bucket. All excess energy is forcibly released because it doesn't fit in the container. Two: it's like filling a balloon. When too much energy is taken in, the container will burst and be damaged, if not outright destroyed. So since you've taken the time to bring that up, I'm assuming that Kurosaki is suffering an overload of sorts where he's come dangerously close to his limit and is of the second type."
"Close… but not quite." Kurosaki says, a small, hoarse laugh slipping out of his throat.
"Huh?"
"You're very sharp Ishida-san. Kurosaki-san is an interesting case in that he is currently suffering from overload, however, he does not fit either of the types you've described."
"There's only those two types of overloads. What you're saying isn't possi-"
"Hollow."
That one word from Kurosaki makes me stop and think. As the implications of that one word sink in, I just stare at him. "But, how?"
"Whoa, whoa! Back up a second! I don't know about you, Orihime, but I'm totally lost right now." "Yeah, I'm lost too." "You're saying Ichigo's in an overload, but not like what Ishida described, is what I've got. Then you lost me when Ishida started freaking out. Care to explain that?"
"My apologies, Kuchiki-san, Inoue-san. What we're trying to say here is that instead of following the examples Ishida-san presented, when Kurosaki-san overloads he retains the energy, even though it's more than his container can currently hold. And, like a hollow, when his reserves are not large enough to handle the energy currently in his possession, Kurosaki-san's reserves simply expand to contain the energy." I shiver as Urahara confirms what I guessed at when Kurosaki said "hollow." I watch as horror spreads across Kuchiki's face when she realizes the potential consequences of such an overload.
"Will he be alright? It looks like it hurts him." Inoue-san asks, oblivious to the results of such a capability.
"I'm fine. It just… strains my body. It's best… if I just… sleep through it. Don't worry, it's not… usually this… bad." Kurosaki explains. He tries to give her a comforting smile, though it looks more like a grimace.
"Well~, to be more accurate, you're usually more cautious and don't take in this much energy in one sitting. Whether it's a side effect from not being an actual hollow or just part of how it works for Kurosaki-san, he tends to get slower and, in a certain sense, lethargic when he's been overloaded."
"There's a limit, right? To how far his overload expansion can go?" Kuchiki questions, looking a bit anxious over the answer.
"Theoretically, yes. In actual application…" Urahara shrugs, "We've yet to see it. Theoretically, Kurosaki-san has an absolute limit to how high his level of power can go. Something that would usually take decades, centuries, possibly longer, to achieve. Because of that, it should be technically possible for Kurosaki-san to reach that level of power prematurely and then experience the more common place overloads because he simply can't hold any more power. And while that would be mildly interesting to test, it's not very practical since the forced expansions tend to leave Kurosaki-san with abysmal control over his power."
"I'll admit it was rather poor, but I'm not sure I'd call it abysmal. It took me a while to locate him the first time, so he has some control." I reason out. There's no way I was getting beaten by someone who can't even properly control their powers.
Urahara just laughs. "Tell me, did he actually manipulate flames when he attacked, or did he just use them to enhance his physical attacks? After you found him the first time, couldn't you find him without even really thinking about it afterwards? Kurosaki-san uses a very crude and basic control over his powers. Where others could make great constructs and elaborate traps for their enemies with Kurosaki-san's reserves, he just uses them in the most basic manners to guard and enhance his attacks. His method for hiding his presence relies on people not looking for him, like how you'll notice a large building in the city but not really think about it unless you need to go inside. He just hopes that because his presence is large enough to cover a wide area that people won't differentiate it from the high amounts of energy naturally found in Karakura. No, Kurosaki-san's control is terrible. Sometimes he gets it to a decent level, but then he pulls some stunt and goes through a forced expansion, setting him back to square one."
"Ummm, I hope you don't mind me asking." Inoue-san shyly begins. "But why is Kurosaki-kun's control ruined whenever his reserves expand?"
" 'Cause it's like… going from trying… to pour a thimble… of water… from a waterbottle… to trying to… pour it from… a large bucket. The same exact… techniques… won't work."
"You still haven't answered my question as to how it's possible for Kurosaki to even have that type of overload."
"That would be… because of… this." With those words Kurosaki reaches up to his chest and pulls out a small glass orb with a flickering golden flame nestled in it. I stare from him to the orb and back again. He seems to get my unspoken question and nods his head slightly. That's his heart. His yokai heart. The amount of trust he's placing in the people in this room, in me, is overwhelming. Any one of us could steal his heart and hold it ransom or break it and turn him into a hollow. Me, I'm the worst. As a Quincy, if I were to destroy a yokai heart it would skip the hollow phase and just kill him. He's presenting me with a one-shot kill and trusting that I won't take it. That unwarranted trust is both humbling and terrifying.
"That's your… " Kuchiki asks, flabbergasted as I am.
"Yeah. My heart." he softly confirms. We both shiver at the confirmation of what he's showing us.
"Why's it cracked?" Inoue-san softly asks. I blink in surprise and look closer. She's right, there's a slim crack running about a quarter of the way around the orb. That can't be good.
"We're not entirely sure. It could be a defect due to Kurosaki-san's hybrid nature. It's uncommon, but sometimes half breeds have such defects. The other possibility is that the loss of his mother left a crack in his heart and his humanity keeps him from fully progressing into a hollow. Before you ask, the reason I say the loss of Kurosaki-san's mother is because the crack has been present for as long as his powers have been awakened, which happened before he lost the rest of his family. It doesn't particularly matter how the crack came about at the moment, just that it exists. My theory is that because of this crack and the borderline hollow state it leaves Kurosaki-san in, he is able to go through overloads similar in nature to a hollow. If the crack could be healed, it's possible that Kurosaki-san would have the more standard overloads, but until that possibly happens, there's no way of knowing."Urahara explains as Kurosaki sinks the orb back into his chest. "And that's Kurosaki-san's condition. Now that's all explained you lay down and rest, Kurosaki-san. When you're actually feeling better, we'll check your growth."
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry to… worry you guys." He says before practically flopping over into unconsciousness. Inoue-san scoots over and properly tucks him into the futon, wiping his bangs off of his sweaty forehead.
Urahara motions for us to get up and follow him. I suppose he doesn't want us in his shop any longer. He leads us out towards the front, but stops us all from leaving just yet. "There's one more thing I'd like the three of you to know. The crack in Kurosaki-san's heart grows and shrinks depending on his state of mind. When he lost his other family members that crack nearly connected and broke him. He's placed his trust in you and cares about you, so I'm asking that you look out for him and try not to get yourselves killed. He's suffered a lot already and I'm not sure if he'd survive going through something like that again." We all nod. It's hard to turn down such a serious request and, more than that, none of us want to see him become a feral monster, not even me.
"Thank you." It's sincere and softly spoken. We all file out of his shop, Kuchiki and Inoue-san head for the temple they call home and I turn to go to my apartment. I have a lot of thinking to do about what has happened today and what it means for the future.
As I sleep, I dream of the last time I had an overload this bad. Of the time I came the closest I've ever been to becoming a hollow. Of the day I was locked away for over one hundred years in the dark. The dreams torment me with memories of how I've failed. How I failed Kaa-san, Oyaji, Karin, and Yuzu. How I failed to bring down any of the monsters that killed them. In a moment of lucid thought, I make a promise.
I won't fail to protect them this time.
A little more advertising here. I just began to beta for the lovely AoNoBleachShoujo starting with the two most recent chapters of The Dark Side of the Blacker Moon. It's a great story and I suggest you read it.
Also, I'm considering starting another story, so I might just start a first chapter previews story-thing and let you guys tell me which one to go with. Keep an eye out.
Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did.