Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction (obviously..) that I wrote for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I own nothing related to Bleach (except for a nifty keychain that I got with one of the dvds), and can only claim the plot as my own.
==Chapter 3==
Urahara led Tessai and Ichigo into his workshop which was hidden in another underground space and was accessed from the main training area under his store. Tessai had of course been in here many times before, but it was somewhere completely new for Ichigo to examine. Anything and everything that he could imagine (and many things he couldn't begin to imagine even if he tried) being of use to the apparent mad scientist that Urahara was, could be found within. Modern computers, monitoring and sensing equipment, bubbling beakers filled with many different colored liquids and other high-tech looking devices could be found beside shelves filled with numerous books and scrolls. In one corner was something that drew Ichigo's eye - a complete smithing forge and anvil setup with all of the tools needed to make any type of metal implement imaginable.
"Welcome to my workshop Ichigo," said Urahara as he noticed the teen was observing everything with an amazed expression. "I may appear the foolish candy shop owner, but I assure you, I do know how to do things."
"Of that I have no doubt, Urahara," Ichigo answered as he moved to join Urahara and Tessai standing by a workbench near the forge. "What do we need to do now?"
"Place the pieces of the blade on the workbench, and arrange them so they will form the proper shape please," directed Urahara as he donned a pair of heavy gloves. "Once they are arranged, Tessai and myself will need to replace the remnants of Koga's spiritual power trapped within the pieces with your own spiritual power."
"If you would," Tessai added as he moved to stand on the opposite side of Ichigo from Urahara, "could you place your Zanpakuto on the workbench as well, but not in contact with the pieces of the broken blade?"
Nodding and doing as requested, Ichigo placed the wrapped blade of Zangetsu upon the surface of the workbench above the pieces of Muramasa and was surprised when his blade vanished and old man Zangetsu materialized behind him.
"I guess that kind of acts like the device Yourichi had me use to attain bankai?" Ichigo asked and received a nod from Urahara. "Good to see you again, old man," he added.
"Thank you for joining us Zangetsu," said Urahara almost absentmindedly as his focus was completely on the broken blade. "You should know instinctively how to help and if it will be needed, so I will leave that to you. Ichigo, place one hand on the tip of the blade and lay your other hand over the hilt. I don't want you to do anything, but if you feel something, please do not fight it."
Nodding in silent acknowledgement, Ichigo did as instructed. He felt Zangetsu place both of his hands upon his shoulders as well, and felt reassurance at the contact. Urahara stood to his right and Tessai to his left, both with their gloved hands held over the workbench and broken Zanpakuto. Slowly, a faint purple aura surrounded the pieces of the sword, and Ichigo let out a gasp as he felt his own spiritual power be drawn into them. Maintaining the contact as directed, he didn't fight the draw on his power. Neither did he do what he usually did and force his power into the blade he had contact with. Instead, he instinctively opened the pathways of his power as wide as they could go, and allowed the Zanpakuto to draw as little or as much spiritual power as it wanted.
"Come, Muramasa," muttered Zangetsu quietly as he watched his wielder approvingly.
Slowly, the purple aura began to fade until finally, with a bright blinding flash, it was completely gone. Suddenly, Ichigo felt another faint and tentative draw on his spiritual power, and fought his instinct to either shut it right down or give it everything he could. Slowly, the pieces of the blade began to emit on a light blue aura that matched the appearance and color of Ichigo's spiritual power when he released it. The draw on Ichigo's spiritual power continued for many long minutes, much to the surprise of both Tessai and Urahara, and as it continued the faint aura solidified and seemed to become a more dense and steady glow.
Finally when he could feel no further draw on his power, Ichigo looked to Urahara questioningly. Receiving a silent nod, Ichigo removed his hands from off of the pieces of the Zanpakuto, which were all surrounded by a solid light blue glow rather than the previous fain aura. Looking at Urahara and Tessai, Ichigo was amazed at how tired they both appeared to be.
"That is quite the impressive volume of spiritual power you possess Ichigo," Tessai observed tiredly. "Thank you for following the directions Urahara gave you. Not having to fight against that volume of power made things much easier."
"Indeed," agreed Urahara as he continued to observe the pieces of the Zanpakuto with a critical eye. "And I think that the blade will repair itself given some time now, just like any other broken Zanpakuto would. All that will remain is for you to communicate with the Zanpakuto's spirit, and then if he is agreeable, to bond with the blade. But, as you've already done a fair bit of communication and defeated Muramasa in combat, I don't think you will have too many problems with proceeding from here once the blade is completely reforged."
"When the blade is whole, take it to a quiet place and call me," Zangetsu instructed his wielder before vanishing and reappearing as a wrapped blade back on the workbench.
"Indeed," added Urahara as he removed the heavy gloves, "all that is needed now is time. Although, judging by the amount of spiritual energy that the Zanpakuto took from you after we had purged it of Koga's, I believe that it will not be long before you can attempt what you want. Likely tomorrow."
"Thank you Urahara, Tessai," a sincerely grateful Ichigo thanked the two older men. "And yes you can observe Urahara, I know you want to ask if you can."
"Well, I wasn't going to ask," Urahara admitted sheepishly as he hid his smirk behind his ever present fan, "but thank you for the invitation."
"Bastard!" muttered Ichigo, resisting the urge to hit the man in the face. "That is exactly the reason I have a hard time liking you as a person."
"But I am so good at what I can do though!" Urahara quipped cheerfully, waving the fan through the air as he spoke.
"And that is the only reason that anyone will tolerate the way you behave," added Ichigo as he quickly snatched the fan from Urahara and snapped it closed before tucking it away inside his shihakusho. "Now if that's everything, I'm going to head home. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"Very good, Ichigo," Tessai spoke, seeing Urahara unable to do so since he was just staring at the hand that had held his fan. "Until tomorrow then."
"Bye Tessai, and thank you again," replied Ichigo, who replaced Zangetsu on his back and turned to leave the workshop.
Walking out of the workshop and back into the training area saw Ichigo ambushed by Yourichi. Pouncing on him and again fingering the new red scarf he was wearing, she practically purred in appreciation at how the material felt. Grasping both ends of it, she tugged and led him back to where they had been sitting and discussing things earlier.
"So Ichigo, what happened with Byakuya when you went to visit?" a grinning Yourichi asked. "I know he doesn't like unannounced visits, so I'm surprised he was as receptive to you as he appears to have been."
"I think you're forgetting one thing Yourichi," Ichigo replied, snatching the scarf out of her hands and straightening it out again. "You know Byakuya, yes, but you really only knew him when he was a child and as he was growing up."
"Did you forget that souls in the Seireitei age much slower than they do in the real world?" pouted Yourichi as she tried to regain the upper hand in their conversation. "I might have only known him when he was a youth, but we had hundreds of years to get to know each other while he was a youth."
"I know that, idiot," smirked Ichigo, taking the sting out of the insult, "but you haven't really gotten to know him now that he is a fully grown adult and since he became the Head of the Kuchiki Family, have you?"
"I.." faltered Yourichi as she considered Ichigo's words. "I guess I don't know him now, not really. When did you get so smart, eh Ichigo?"
"Zangetsu told me last night that I am not unintelligent when I take time to consider things," answered Ichigo with a small grin. "And even though it may take a lot longer to happen in the Seireitei, people do change as they get older."
"Hmm," Yourichi muttered as she considered the teen's words. "I see what you're saying. But, that doesn't explain why Byakuya helped you as much as he did and in the way he did."
"No it doesn't," agreed Ichigo. "How much do you know of the interactions Byakuya and I have had?"
"Well, you first encountered him and Renji here in the real world when they came to bring Rukia back to Soul Society for punishment," Yourichi recounted. "Then you went after him on the bridge after your fight with Zaraki before you finally fought him after attaining bankai and preventing Rukia's death."
"I've fought with him, I've fought alongside him, and I've fought as he's observed me fighting," explained Ichigo calmly. "We might not exactly like each other, but there is respect there from both of us towards the other. And as you pointed out, he has lived in Seireitei for quite a few hundred years, so he understands that some patience is needed on his part in regards to me, since I have only lived for fifteen years now. Compared to him, I'm like a baby."
"That's surprisingly insightful Ichigo," praised Yourichi proudly, agreeing with what the youth was saying, "but still doesn't explain why he helped you as much as he did."
"I see that living for hundreds of years doesn't always mean that a person develops patience," Ichigo quipped again, poking fun at his one-time teacher. "He knows that I originally acquired my Shinigami powers from Rukia as a means to protect my family. He knows that I regained my powers using Urahara's unreliable method out of a desire to protect Rukia. He knows that I attained bankai so I could fight him for the same reason. We've crossed blades in honest battle Yourichi, he knows me as much as I know him."
That statement caused Yourichi to blink in surprise. What she had just heard Ichigo describe was something that only very powerful and very experienced Shinigami could only sometimes experience - getting the feel of one's opponent and coming to know them when their blades crossed in deadly battle. If what he said was true then it was no surprise that Byakuya would offer the help and support that he had. Even if it was to a mere teenaged human who happened to be a substitute Shinigami.
"He trusts that I will not misuse what he gave to me," continued Ichigo, "and I'm sure he only gave me this scarf that you seem to like so much as a way to prevent future problems for me in Soul Society."
"Well, I agree with that," Yourichi answered his unasked question, "but I don't know if you fully understand just what it signifies for a noble, a Head of a noble family no less, to give you a visible sign of your affiliation with his family."
"No, I don't understand, not really," agreed Ichigo. "Will you explain it to me, so I'll not make him regret his choice?"
"By him giving you that scarf which is a known and recognizable sign of the Kuchiki Family, he is basically saying that if you should ever do anything that requires you to be punished because of him giving Muramasa to you," Yourichi explained seriously, "then he will also have to take responsibility for your actions, because it was his direct action of giving you the broken blade that would have caused the need for the punishment."
"Oh," a stunned Ichigo replied, "I didn't realize that. Thank you for explaining it to me Yourichi."
"Don't worry about it Ichigo," Yourichi said lightly as she reached out and ruffled his orange hair. "I might not know Byakuya as well as I used to, but I know he wouldn't lightly do anything that might make the Kuchiki Family look bad. He does have his pride after all."
"Yeah," agreed Ichigo with a chuckle, "he can be a stubborn bastard at times."
"So what are you planning Ichigo?" Yourichi asked, honestly curious as to what the human teen was thinking. "And is there any way I can help you?"
"Well once things get resolved with Muramasa tomorrow," began Ichigo, only to be interrupted.
"Tomorrow?" an astonished Yourichi asked. "You think everything will be completed with Muramasa tomorrow? Ichigo, it usually takes years for a Shinigami and their Zanpakuto to bond."
"When have I ever done usual, eh Yourichi?" Ichigo joked, half seriously. "But if you are willing to help, I will need to learn and practice with Muramasa's abilities and it would probably be best if I had someone I can trust who is also somewhat familiar with his abilities to practice with. And maybe if you wouldn't mind, could you help me with my shunpo and hakuda as well in between that practicing?"
"I'd be willing to do that Ichigo," replied Yourichi with a proud smile, "but you will have to work at it. I won't go easy on you."
"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy Yourichi. If you don't work for something you want, then you don't really deserve it do you?" Ichigo stated more than asked.
"Well no sense wasting time then is there Ichigo," an excited Yourichi said as she bounced up from where she was sitting. "Shall we begin right now?"
"No," Ichigo answered simply as he too stood up.
"What do you mean no?" exclaimed Yourichi. "After everything you just said.."
"I know what I said Yourichi," Ichigo explained calmly, "but Muramasa took a lot of my spiritual power, so I wouldn't be able to train to the best of my ability and would just be wasting our time. I'm going to head home, eat a good meal and rest for the remainder of the day so I'll be ready for tomorrow. I'll maybe see if I can talk with Zangetsu some more, and maybe spar with him a bit if he'd like. Since it would be in my inner world, it should be easier on me than if I was physically doing that sort of thing, right?"
"Damn Ichigo, remind me again which one of us is only fifteen and the other is over a hundred years old?" quipped Yourichi with another good natured hair ruffle.
"See you tomorrow then Yourichi," called Ichigo as he started heading towards the ladder that led up to the store.
"It's a date then," purred Yourichi just loud enough for Ichigo to hear.
"Damn it Yourichi!" Ichigo yelled after he tripped on something as he was walking away and she had said that last bit.
Grumbling loud enough for Yourichi to hear, but with a small grin on his face unseen by the woman, Ichigo made his way quickly up the ladder and back into the store proper. Finding Ururu was easy enough and she quickly directed him to where his body was lying. The slight tinge of redness on her cheeks had Ichigo curious until after he spotted his body and saw that it had been well taken care of by the girl - placed on a comfortable looking mat with numerous pillows around it. Easily slipping back into his body Ichigo left the store but not before thanking Ururu and giving her hair a bit of a ruffle, much like Yourichi had done to him twice earlier, causing the younger girl to really blush.
Making his way home he could only hope that his Dad was out somewhere, or if not then he hoped that he would leave him alone and not do his usual violent greeting.
A/N: Two chapters of decent length in two days.. amazing. But, the idea for this story (and it's sequel!) is bugging me to get it written down. I don't think I'll maintain this pace, but I will try for a chapter every week or so. I'm not planning on this being a really long fic, maybe 5-7 chapters, but like I said, I do have a sequel already in mind. So, hopefully aiming for quality more so than quantity will be alright with anyone reading.
Here's a little something that wrote itself last night:
=Omake=
The landspeeder was stopped before it could enter Mos Eisley by the Imperial troopers standing guard outside. A pair of the white armored soldiers approached the speeder.
"Halt! We're looking for a pair of Kuchikis," the lead trooper said as he examined the occupants of the vehicle. "Those two look very familiar."
"These are not the Kuchikis that you're looking for," Ichigo said from under his hood while waving his hand across his body towards the trooper.
"These are not the Kuchikis that we're looking for," repeated the Trooper.
"We can go about our business," Ichigo continued with another wave of his hand.
"You can go about your business," repeated the trooper again. "Move along."