Okay – now, keep in mind this will occur AFTER the events in Part 3 of my series, when I finally get around to it, so I am trying very, very hard not to give anything away. If you're very eagle-eyed, you may notice a few hints of what I have planned… I've also broken it up into two parts, as I'm rewriting the ending a bit, but I didn't want to keep you waiting for it.
Sorry this took so long, but I got sidetracked with a short IchiRuki western I started, and is almost completed, loosely based on the Marty Robbins song "Big Iron" (gotta love those old time folk/western songs – they're practically whole plots in themselves). On the other hand, I have exactly – 1 page of Bleached Hallows written. Yea, I know (smacks hand). Bad me.
And as always, I do not own Bleach, HP or in this case, Spirited Away.
Chapter 4
Head Captain Yamamoto stared at the calendar and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Who did the inspection last month?" he finally asked his Lieutenant, who was standing nearby waiting patiently.
"Captain Unohana."
"Ahh. That would make this month the Fifth Division's turn."
"It would be Captain Kurosaki's first inspection. He may not even be aware that the bath house even exists."
"It is customary for an experienced Captain to accompany a first time Captain to explain the procedure to them," Yamamoto said as explanation. "Do you think Captain Unohana would agree to go again this month?"
"Ahem, well – The Fourth is somewhat busy right now," Sasakibe replied, "Apparently Squad Eleven had one of their infamous training practices…"
Yamamoto winced over how busy that would make the Fourth, and what Unohana's reaction would be if he asked her to leave at this time. "Say no more," he sighed. No, Retsu would not like it if he asked her to accompany his grandson to the bath house. Neither would Byakuya Kuchiki, who would be going next month, and Ichigo would have to accompany him as well. While Captain Kuchiki would go, as he would consider it his duty to train the younger Captain – who was also his brother-in-law, he would not be happy to have to go two months in a row, and might see fault where there was none. The problem was, to fully understand what was required of him Ichigo should go with another Captain at least three times before he would be able to go on his own. The Head Captain mulled over the problem, and which Captains were available to him for this inspection. Yamamoto also thought about his grandson's relationship with those same Captains. Another possibility: sending for help to the World of the Living; all of the Vizards had done this, as had Yoruichi, in their time as Captains, so they would all be familiar with the process…
"Send all of the files I've notated to Ichigo for review," Yamamoto instructed his second, "And then have Captain Ichimaru come and see me immediately."
#
Ichigo sighed and put his pen aside as he finished the last of his paperwork. After being forced to use a quill at Hogwarts for three years, he had put his foot down and purchased a large supply of pens the last time he had been in Karakura Town to visit his friends and Karin. Momo and Cedric had both stolen several boxes of them when they saw how quickly he was able to finish his work with them. Another two boxes were available for general usage by the rest of the squad, but he was pretty sure several had grown legs and walked off, never to return (and he meant figuratively, not literally – although that was also a possibility, as well). Momo had complained that Nemu had had stolen hers at the last SWA meeting, beating Matsumoto to the punch. He knew Rukia kept swiping them as well; of course, if hers walked off, there would be hell to pay: hers were all Chappy pens, so anyone seen with a Chappy pen was going to be visiting the Fourth Division with a severe case of frostbite.
He looked up when Momo entered the office, several files in her hands.
"More paperwork?" Ichigo groaned when he saw them.
"Yes and no," she replied, putting the files on the desk. "The Head Captain sent these for you to go over; he wants to see you as soon as you finish with them."
Curious now, Ichigo looked at the name on the file. "Yubaba's Bath House? What is that?"
"I'm not entirely certain; I do know Aizen went once a year when he was Captain," she replied, "So I checked the files and pulled what was there. They look to be – inspection reports. I also went back through the archives, and there are inspection reports as far back as when Shinji was Captain."
"Inspection?" Ichigo blinked at her. What the hell were they inspecting a bath house for? His curiosity piqued, he opened the first file and began to read.
#
Yubaba was in a foul mood. She could not believe that she had yielded and given that child a job! What on Earth had she been thinking? She must have been out of her mind! All she could do now was hope the brat failed so miserably Yubaba was able to turn her into a piglet and end it.
She tapped her fingers with agitation on her desk, having the feeling that she was forgetting something important; something very, very important. Her gaze drifted over to the calendar, and she stared at it with agitation, trying to remember what it was she had forgotten…tomorrow was circled. Actually, it was not circled – it had a triangle drawn around it. A black triangle.
Yubaba blinked as she stared at it, a sense of dread growing as realization dawned on her. Her eyes widened and she groped for a bell pull with a shaking hand, and when she had grasped it, she yanked on it. A loud klaxon rang out, causing all of the employees of the bath house to scurry about with shock and some concern. They all gathered below a walkway and waited nervously for the boss to appear to tell them what the emergency was.
Yubaba hurried down and came to a stop, where she stared down at everyone.
"The bath house will not be opening for business this evening," she announced, slightly out of breath, "The train and ferry have already been notified. Today and this evening we need to spend scrubbing this place from top to bottom! It must shine! Sparkle! I don't want to see a speck of dirt anywhere!
Tomorrow is inspection day!"
The bath house suddenly turned into a beehive of agitated, nervous activity as the employees all raced for their assigned duties, some running in circles first, as they panicked over the word 'inspection.'
"Sen, come with me!"
A ten year old girl struggled to keep up with the woman who had just summoned her, weaving in and out through the mob of agitated, chattering workers who would have knocked her down had she not avoided them.
"Come on, keep up!"
"Lin, what's an inspection?" She panted when she came to a stop.
"Once a month a Captain from Soul Society comes to make sure we are following regulations," Lin explained as she filled two buckets with soapy water. "Here – you do the railings, I'll do the stairs."
"What's 'Soul Society?'" the girl asked as she bent to her task.
"The afterlife, I suppose would be the best description," Lin replied, frowning down at the stairs as she scrubbed. "Soul Reapers are the military, the peacekeepers, guardians of the souls that pass over, and they protect both the living and the dead from Hollows."
"Hollows?"
"Souls that don't cross over in a certain amount of time become Hollows – murderous, mindless creatures that feed off the souls of others. Soul Reapers purify them and send them on their way. The most powerful Soul Reapers become Captains – and each month, a different Captain comes here to inspect the bath house and make sure that the seals and protections that we need to avoid attracting Hollows are properly in place."
"Are Hollows really that dangerous?" Sen asked, pausing in her cleaning.
"Well, they devour souls in order to become stronger. The stronger the soul, the tastier it is to a Hollow; and all of the spirits who come here are usually strong," Lin replied grimly, "That's what Yubaba is going to be doing all day – checking all of the seals and protections to make sure they are up to strength."
"And if they aren't happy with what they find?"
"A fine equal to a month's income, and she'll get dragged in to face the Head Captain himself – I understand he's a fierce old dragon. The boiler man told me she had to face him once before, and she came back blithering like an idiot. She doesn't want to do it again."
Sen gulped and started scrubbing harder. Hollows sounded horrible, and terrible, and she never wanted to see one, especially with the descriptions Lin was giving her of them.
The Head Captain however, sounded far, far worse.
#
Ichigo stood in front of Yamamoto, a scowl on his face. He'd read everything in the files that Momo had pulled – having gone back as far as when Shinji had run the Fifth Squad. The idea of having to inspect a freaking bath house for spiritual misfits irritated the hell out of him, and he could sense a bit of irritation from Gin, as well, but the Third Squad Captain managed to hide it underneath his usual grin.
"You'll leave at daybreak; Captain Ichimaru knows the way," Yamamoto ordered. "You'll also accompany the next three Captains in rotation: that would be Captain Kuchiki, Captain Komamura, and Captain Kyoraku – to ensure you are familiar with the procedure. Next year you will be going by yourself."
"Tomorrow?" Ichigo asked, surprised, "So soon?"
"Is there a problem with tomorrow, Captain?" the Head Captain asked, opening his eyes slightly to look at him.
Ichigo sighed internally – he didn't think his grandfather would accept his answer. "Ah – no Sir."
"Well then, you had best prepare yourselves," Yamamoto ordered, dismissing them.
Ichigo grimaced. "At least it's only once a year," he muttered to Gin as they left.
"Unless you are training someone, and then you get lucky and get to go more than once."
"Sorry," Ichigo threw his friend an apologetic look.
Gin shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Seriously, the only other people I'd rather you go with on your first trip would be First's Vice Captain or Captain Ukitake."
Ichigo frowned slightly. "What are the requirements for going? A Captain's rank?"
"Bankai. Renji did fill in a few times, but since he was the only Vice Captain with a Bankai that we knew about –"
"Ikkaku and his secrets," Ichigo muttered. Well, that secret was out of the bag – Kenpachi had spilled it after ordering his Third Seat to "use his full power, dammit, and stop being a wuss."
"Exactly. He and First's are the only ones. And First's always does the Squad One inspections for Yamamoto."
"I wonder…" Ichigo mused, "If magic would be a sufficient replacement for a Bankai."
Gin gave him a long, appraising look.
"It's a thought. It would give us an extra two inspectors, especially since Captain Ukitake can't always make it. And the Head Captain does not want Tenth doing inspections yet."
Ichigo coughed to hide his laugh. "I'm sure Toshiro likes that."
Gin smirked. "Of course not. Hopefully soon I'll have Ran-chan achieving hers, and we'll have another body."
"Rangiku? Really?" Ichigo was surprised as he knew her zanpakuto was on the lazy side. He would have to speak to his grandfather about magic being a substitute, since it did not appear as if Momo would be achieving hers any time soon. She just didn't have the reiatsu for it. Cedric, on the other hand…
"You don't realize what happened – when you destroyed the Hogyoku the way you did, all of the stolen reiatsu returned to its original owners, if they were still alive, so Rangiku got hers back. She's strong enough now to achieve it."
"I'm glad," Ichigo said softly. Gin had told him and the Head Captain why he had joined Aizen. It's why the two felt such a bond with each other – it's something that Ichigo would have done, with no hesitation, had it been Rukia who had been the one who had been attacked the way Rangiku had been.
And he hadn't hesitated to say so, either, when Yamamoto had broached the subject of giving Gin his title back. In fact, he had even had a nose-to-nose confrontation with Soifon over it, to everyone's amusement, while Matsumoto had sobbed all over Gin, getting him soaking wet.
"He's a traitor and should be executed!" Soifon had shouted.
"Why? Because he didn't follow the rules?" Ichigo had shot back at her.
"Yes!" she had nearly flown at him, to stand barely an inch from him.
"Well, too damned bad!" he had glared down at her. "I'd have done the same thing – hell, even more – if it had been Rukia."
"We all know what lengths you are prepared to go to for the Kuchiki girl, Kurosaki; you're nothing more than a lovesick –"
"Have a care with your words, Captain Soifon," Byakuya had cut her off, his tone cool, "and think about what you would have done if the victim had been Yoruichi Shihoin." His words had caused a snicker or two – as everyone knew the extent of Soifon's hero-worship of her predecessor.
"Enough," Yamamoto had banged his cane on the floor ending the argument, although from the expression on his face he had been rather enjoying the scene, "Shall we vote on it?"
From that point on, Gin had been very cordial to Ichigo, and the two had eventually become friends.
"Get some rest – I'll meet you at the Gate at dawn." He paused as he was leaving. "Hopefully if we can get this done quickly enough, you'll be back in time to be able to take Rukia-chan out for your anniversary. I'm surprised the Head Captain forgot that that is tomorrow."
Ichigo gave him a sickly expression and went back to his division to inform Momo and Cedric he would be gone most, if not all of the next day.
And after that, he still had to tell his wife…
#
"Sen, wake up. Wake up, Sen," Lin shook her young friend awake the next morning.
"Eh?" Sen blinked blearily up at her, "Is it morning already?"
"Yes, we need to get ready, have breakfast and be prepared for when they arrive."
Sen yawned. "Oh, right."
Everyone was on edge, and it did not take much to cause a fight to break out. Nerves were on edge, and the workers of Yubaba's bath house fidgeted and continuously watched the area where the gates were to open.
It was finally a frog spirit that raised the alarm; he had been put on watch for the simple reason that he was able to detect their arrival a few minutes ahead of time.
As Sen watched, a glowing set of doors appeared, and two black butterflies flew out, followed by two men, one silver haired, the other with bright orange hair.
Lin gasped, and there were murmurs in the crowd, while Sen stared at the younger man, the one with the orange hair, wide-eyed.
No, she thought, it couldn't be –
"Ichigo?" she whispered.
"What are you muttering?"
"The orange haired one – I know him –"
Lin scoffed at that. "How can you know a Captain?"
"I'm telling you: I used to live across the street from him. His sister Yuzu was my babysitter – his name is Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."
Lin gave her a doubtful look, but turned to listen what was being said once the two Captains had reached Yubaba, who had bowed deeply in front of the two Captains.
"Captain Ichimaru, I had not expected to see you again so soon," she was saying. There were rolled eyes at the tone of voice she was using, and from the fleeting expression on the face of the orange haired Captain, he was not fooled by it.
Captain Ichimaru waved a hand negligently. "Ah, we have a new Captain at the Fifth Squad, and of course that means one of us needs to walk him through the procedure."
"Oh, of course!" Yubaba turned to the scowling young man. "I am Yubaba, the owner and proprietress of this establishment."
"Ichigo Kurosaki," was the brusque response.
Lin and several others around Sen, who had heard what she had said about her babysitter's brother, gasped, while Yubaba bowed even more deeply.
"It is an honor to meet the hero of the Winter War and the Savior of the Spirit World!"
For a moment, Kurosaki looked like he had eaten something particularly distasteful as he shared a look with his companion, before the pair followed Yubaba into the bath house.
Sen watched them leave, a sudden feeling of sadness overtaking her. "This means that he's dead, doesn't it?" she said, feeling tear slide down her face, as she turned back to look at Lin. Some of the workers who had been excited at having a hero in their midst, quieted down when they heard what she said.
"Oh, Sen," Lin whispered, taking the girl in her arms to comfort her. A few of the others also gave murmurs of consolation to the girl, who had rather quickly endeared herself to them, despite being human.
"His father was a Soul Reaper, his mother was a witch," a new voice interrupted them.
Sen looked behind her. "Haku!" Some of the others looked at him resentfully, and left them. Haku was not a favorite among the workers of the bath house, and despite Lin's warnings to stay away from him, Sen continually sought him out as he had been the first one there to help her.
"He was born a spiritual entity, and one of their researchers put him in a special body that turned him fully human," Haku continued, ignoring the reactions of the other workers. "He became able to use his Soul Reaper powers when he was fifteen, and when he was seventeen, he started to attend a school for witchcraft and wizardry in England – his mother's heritage. It was while he was studying there that he was offered – and decided to accept – the offer to become Captain of the Fifth Squad."
"How do you know all of this?" Lin demanded to know, suspiciously.
"I was ordered to research the war, and I found him to be – interesting," Haku replied, looking away.
"What's this – war – you keep mentioning?" Sen looked between the two of them.
Haku frowned. "Three Captains of Soul Society betrayed the others, although one of them was a double agent – Captain Ichimaru. Their leader, Sosuke Aizen, the previous Fifth Squad Leader, wanted to overthrow the Spirit King. Ichigo Kurosaki was the only one powerful enough to stop him."
Sen was having trouble seeing her old neighbor as some unbeatable powerhouse. Granted, he'd been getting in fights for as long as she'd known him, but still – he was only what, twenty years old or so?
"Sen, do you think he'd remember you?" Lin asked her.
"I don't know; his sister used to complain that he was horrible with faces and names."
"It doesn't matter; she's human. And that's against the rules," Haku said in an undertone, "Once they see her, Yubaba is going to be in a world of trouble. The truth will be out."
"They won't hurt Sen?" Lin asked, still suspicious of Haku's intentions.
Haku shook his head. "Kurosaki? If even a fraction of what I've heard about him is true, he'd level this place to the ground before he'd let anyone hurt her, whether he remembers her or not."
They decided then that Lin would take Sen down to Kamaji in the boiler and have her wait there, as Yubaba never escorted the Captains there, and always left it to Haku. She hated going down to the boilers, and always turned them over to someone else at that point. Kamaji had nodded when Lin asked him if this was true; it was a rare day that brought Yubaba down to his boiler room. So now all Sen had to do was to wait…
Yep, you'll have to wait a bit for part two, sorry. Like I said, I'm rewriting the ending a bit.