Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. All rights belong to the creator Tite Kubo.
This is an AU story with some OOC.
And with nothing else please read, enjoy and review.
Chapter 12: Too Soon
-X-
When was the last time that he felt this good when sleeping? The answer was never. There was just something about it right now that made Ichigo feel so safe and relaxed. As if his mother is comforting him. Maybe it had to do with the arm that seems to wrap around his bare chest and the light breathing that he feels on his neck. Seeing no reason for waking up soon, he releases a sigh and shuffles back—the arm around his chest tightening a bit. He was going back to falling unconscious when a couple of voices reached his ears.
"You know, it is usually the guys who are the 'Big Spoon' when couples sleep together."
"Indeed. It looks like Ichigo-kun likes to feel like the 'Little Spoon'."
"Why are you two calling him a 'spoon'. Ichigo does not look like a spoon."
Hearing that dull voice, the teen opened his eyes and spotted three people at his door. Yoruichi, Szayel, and Ulquiorra.
Ichigo was looking over at both men. They have settled a rule down to the Hollows that have been living in the 'URAHARA SHOP' residence and that rule is simple. You can't leave the underground base without being inside a Gigia. They made that rule so that no one could forget that the moment they leave the basement, any spiritually aware beings would pick up their Reiatsu; in another word the Shinigami.
Szayel's Gigai was, like any other Gigai, a replica of the man. The pinknette was wearing black scholar glasses, a way too tight white jean pants, gray color espadrilles, a pink dress shirt with a few buttons off, and a white shirt underneath that.
Looking at Ulquiorra, Ichigo noticed that Urahara made one difference on his Gigai. Ulquiorra's Gigai, while not pure white, was close to a snowy pale skin shade. The green-eyed Hollow was wearing very... interesting attire. Ulquiorra's clothes were mostly one color. He was wearing black derby shoes, black formal pants, a black formal vest with a white dress shirt underneath it, and even had a green bow tie. 'Who the hell taught them how to dress...' Ichigo doesn't understand why Szayel dressed himself in such a colorful outfit while Ulquiorra seems to be dressed like some kind of bartender.
Forgetting about the way they are dressed, the redhead sends them a glare. "Can you three get out of my room?"
The werecat replies with a teasing smirk on her face. "Rather go back to sleep with your girlfriend?"
Ichigo releases a groan before answering Yoruichi with an irritated tone. "Damn it, don't you think it's too early for me to hear those stupid teasing? Besides, Lily is sleeping over—" The amber-eyed teen stop once he remembers Lily's stupid dilemma last night. Because his friend couldn't sleep, she decided that the only option left for her was to sleep with him. He froze upon hearing a small groan behind him. Looking down at the very slender, feminine arm, he turns his head slowly and finds out it was actually Lily who has one of her arms wrapped around his chest. As he tried to get out from the very awkward position, the young man found out that some time during last night their legs had intertwined.
Hearing a small snap, Ichigo turns around to find Szayel with a camera out taking a couple of pictures. "What the hell are you doing!" Ichigo whispers in a harsh tone. If Lily wakes up and sees how they ended up, she would kill him. Or worse, if Starrk finds out about this little incident... 'Oh Kami...' The colors of his skin washed away and was now pale white.
"Don't know when I'll have another opportunity like this Ichigo-kun, so might as well take advantage of it." Szayel kept taking more pictures. "Besides, this is some good blackmail material."
"Uh~!, let me have a couple of those pictures now." Yoruichi said.
Ulquiorra just kept staring at the scene in front of him. He had read about this situation before from one of those books that Yoruichi had been so kind enough to lend him. Frowning towards the boy, he said, "Do you not think it's too soon for you and Lily to be sleeping in the same bed? Only married couples should sleep together. You two barely even turn into teenagers."
Everyone stopped what they were doing, from Ichigo trying to get himself loose from Lily to Szayel and Yoruichi taking more photos before both of them started laughing.
Ichigo was gaping towards the pale Arrancar before closing his mouth. "What are you talking about!" Realizing that he just yelled, Ichigo shut his mouth again and turned around to Lily, who was still sleeping with all the noise everyone was making. Releasing a sigh, he turns back towards his brother and whispers to him. "Where the hell did you read that?"
Answering his question, Ulquiorra pulled out a book from inside his vest. The book has a simple red cover with a title that read 'Yours', however, one thing that stick out to Ichigo was the basic warning sign of the book been an Erotic Novel. It had "Only 18+" on the bottom right corner.
Ichigo blushed thinking about Ulquiorra reading such a thing while knowing nothing of it; not like he knew what's written in it. "Don't read that anymore!"
Seeing how the redhead teen might be in a 'cranky' mood, Ulquiorra looks from Ichigo to Lily before sending the former a 'nod of understanding'. "I see. Are you in a bad mood because the sex wasn't good?"
That comment only made the duo laugh harder and made Ichigo turn redder. Before anyone could say anything, Lily—having enough of the laughter—sat up and sent everyone a glare. "CAN Y'ALL JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!" Seeing that everyone got quiet, she gave herself a nod before resting back in the comfortable position that she was in. Resting her cheek on Ichigo's back, Lily let out a satisfying sigh before going back to sleep. 'On Ichigo's back, on his bed, with my arms wrapped around his bare chest...'
1...2...3...4...
Finally realizing what she was doing, she pushed the redhead off from the bed. Not knowing about the way they intertwined their legs, Lily fell right behind Ichigo—with the amber-eyed Arrancar falling on his back and Lily falling right on top of him.
"Damn it, Lily! Why the hell did you push me off MY bed?!"
"Y-yeah, well," Seeing the way she couldn't blame Ichigo for the awkward position she woke up in since she was the one who slept with him, Lily did the only rational thing for her to do. She hit Ichigo on top of his head. "Shut up, Menso!"
Seeing the position that both teens were at, Ulquiorra decided that it was around the time for him to leave. He has a clue to what Lily and Ichigo might try to do. Before leaving though, he decided to at least warn them first. "If you two are planning on having 'Morning sex' then please be considerate of using protection. You do not want to make Urahara-san change the name of the store to 'URAHARA'S DAYCARE'." With that last comment, the bartender-stylish Arrancar left.
Before any of the teens could reply to Ulquiorra, they both heard a snap. Turning their heads, both Arrancar noticed the way Yoruichi was taking pictures.
Satisfied with the blackmail material that she got, she sends the teens a smirk. "If you two don't want a certain lazy guy to see these pictures, then come and catch me!" With that last comment, the dark-skinned woman headed towards the underground training ground.
Fearing for his life, Ichigo pushes Lily off. "Wait! Yoruichi please don't do this to me!"
Sending her friend a mocking glare as he chases after Yoruichi, Lily huffs before standing up and dusting away the dirt on her. "Berry-baka." She doesn't understand how Ichigo could get so easily baited, she means, it's not like Yoruichi would really show Starrk...
Releasing a sigh, she rubs her forehead before turning around and following behind Ichigo.
Szayel watches as both teens follow Yoruichi down to the basement in their sleeping garments. "What a nice way to start a morning."
With all the noise, Starrk couldn't go back to sleep. With a quick yawn, the brunette looks at the clock on the wall and notices how early it is. 'It's not even 7:00 am...' Seeing that he won't be able to go back to sleep with all the ruckus, the man decided that he should just wake up already and go back to practicing the 2nd part of his training now.
As he headed downstairs after a quick breakfast that only contained rice, he headed towards Urahara first. There were a couple of things he needed to ask the shaggy blonde.
Walking towards Urahara's lab, he spotted Lily and Ichigo using Sonido to chase after Yoruichi in basically their underwear. Only releasing a sigh and ignoring them, Starrk decided that it wasn't his problem right now. It's too early for him to be dealing with any of this.
Finally reaching the lab, he spotted the shopkeeper doing work on his computer. "Now what are you working on so early in the morning."
"Oh, nothing much, Starrk-san." The shopkeeper replied, not even turning around towards Starrk. Feeling the way he could still feel the brunette, Urahara turns around to see the serious look on his face. "Something you want to say, Starrk-san?"
"Arrancar... you didn't make the term-up, did you?" Ever since he heard Gin call him an Arrancar on his last trip to Hueco Mundo, it has been making him think about it. How can someone else know what to call them? The only solution that he came up with was that they weren't the first Arrancar the Shinigami ever encountered before. He narrows his eyes towards Urahara. "What aren't you telling me, Urahara?"
The shaggy blonde kept staring at Starrk's eyes for a while before giving up, he rather not keep lying to the man. "What do you want to know?"
"Where did you get the term from?"
"That's simple." Turning back to the computer, Urahara opens up a couple of files. "There was already information about Arrancar."
Starrk walks closer towards Urahara, able to see what the 'information' says about Arrancar. As he kept reading through the information, which really wasn't much, he turned towards the blonde, a frown on his face. "Is that all? You already told me about all this." Looking back to the computer again, thinking maybe he missed something, Starrk re-read everything again.
Arrancar are Hollows who remove their mask, gain Shinigami-like powers, and seal their powers into an object.
He looks back to Urahara. "Where did you even get this information from, anyway?"
"If you mean where I found these files at, then that's simple." Urahara turns to Starrk. "The previous 12th Division Captain was the one who collected this information." Looking back to the files, he frowns at it. "There seems to be a bit of information lost, however."
"What do you mean by that? This looks like simple information. I don't think there's much else," Starrk asks while raising an eyebrow.
Turning back to him, Urahara says, "I think there's much more, Starrk-san. As a Captain myself, I never have seen or heard the word Arrancar throughout the Gotei 13. You would think if someone had been alive for over 200 years someone would have spilled the word, but no. It was only when I became Captain of the 12th Division and going through the previous Captain's file, did I learn about Arrancar. But as you can see," he said while looking back to the computer. "This is all I got."
"Why would the previous Captain just leave something like this lying around?" Starrk said.
"I don't know."
"Where would you go to find information like this?" Starrk question.
Taking a couple of minutes to figure out Starrk's question, the shopkeeper looks back at the man. "To the library... and Soul Society has a library for just that kind of information."
"How does this library have information about Arrancar? Have Soul Society had encounters with them before?"
Urahara just shook his head. "I don't know the answers to those questions, but this is the closest guess that I can think of." He looks at Starrk. "It could be possible that someone had a close encounter with one before."
Done with getting that out of the way, Starrk addressed Urahara with another of his thoughts. "So they aged."
Understanding who he was talking about, the shaggy blonde nodded. "They did."
"Why at the same time? Was that necessary?"
"Not really, but I did it to see what the reaction would be." Urahara brought one of his fingers up. "Remember what I told you about the way Ichigo connected with Lily? He connected their souls, but we didn't know in what way he could affect Lily. But now we know. He's connected to Lily the same way you connected yourself with her."
A bewildered look ran across Starrk's face. "They're really connected with each other's souls? Wait. How come Lily never aged when we were one? With the amount of power I had, why didn't she age or gain strength?"
"And that's what I was trying to figure out, Starrk-san." Opening up the files that he was looking at before showing Starrk the ones that he has about Arrancar, the shaggy blonde said, "I was able to gather some data between the previous months with Ichigo and Lily's training and with the events from yesterday."
Looking at the scales that he was seeing on the screen with a blank stare, Starrk turns towards Urahara. "I have no clue what I'm looking at."
Releasing a sigh, Urahara explains. "I came to a conclusion as to why Lily never aged with you. The 'cable' that you used to have your soul connected with wasn't 'big' enough for any power to go to her. You were basically keeping a one-way connection. Lily was just your 'tool', your way to keep your powers sealed, Lily would never achieve her own strength. However, now, with the way Ichigo connected with her, things are different, she can finally get stronger. Their 'cable' at first was about the same size as yours, but that was before the transformation. After the transformation, the 'cable' didn't just get bigger; it also turned into a 2-way connection. Ichigo has some of his powers stored in Lily, and she has power stored in him. That's why they were both able to age. With the powerful increase in their Reiryoku, their bodies only did the most natural thing to do. So they wouldn't feel any sort of 'restraint' with having a child-like body, they aged to a more perfect 'setting'."
"Why would Lily store power into Ichigo?" Starrk asked and the blonde only shook his head.
Finally getting his questions answered, Starrk started heading out before Urahara stopped him. "Have you been able to do it?"
Understanding what the ex-captain was talking about, Starrk released a sigh. "No, I just don't understand the way I should be able to achieve my 'Shikai.'"
When Shinji upped his training all those months ago, the bob-cut blonde gave something to learn and that's figuring out how he could activate his 'Shikai'. Well, it's not like the Visored didn't give him any kind of hints. Throughout the months he has been training with the Visoreds, Starrk could safely say that he's on friendly terms with most of them, the only exception being Sarugaki Hiyori.
Starrk could still remember the conversation that he had with Shinji; the Visored had mentioned how the captains of Gotei 13 have two forms of a power-up. Shikai, which would make a Captain-class Shinigami twice as strong and then there's Bankai, which would then make their power increase to 5-10 times stronger. For Starrk to achieve his 'Shikai', he needs to learn the name of his Zanpakutō, then he must be able to communicate and harmonize with his Zanpakutō effectively, which requires being able to speak to the spirit within his mindscape.
A frown reaches his face. Something tells him that the method that he's using won't do any good. He's an Arrancar, not a Shinigami. But then something came to him. Looking at Urahara, he says, "This 'Zangetsu' that Ichigo can hear... is his Zanpakutō spirit, isn't?"
"Most likely."
Before Starrk could ask any more questions, both men watched as Szayel walked into the lab, muttering to himself before heading to his side of the lab.
Watching the way his apprentice seems to write something very important, with the way he could see how fast the pen was running across the paper, Urahara says, "So what did you learn today, Szayel-kun?"
Not even realizing that Urahara and Starrk were here, he says, "How long have you two been here?"
"We have been here for a while." Answer back Starrk with a deadpan look.
Coughing in his hand for getting so easily distracted from not taking in his surroundings, Szayel says, "Well, I was following behind Ichigo-kun and Lily-chan for most of the morning and the Hōgyoku didn't just age them physically but mentally, too."
That was interesting information for the shopkeeper. "Oh~? Let me see how you came up with that conclusion." Urahara moves in closer to see what Szayel has written.
Watching the way both scientists were getting lost in their own little world, Starrk decided that he should just leave and get back to achieving Shikai.
Both teens' stamina impressed Yoruichi. They have been chasing after her for the last hour and a half. When they were only 13, both kids could only last 30 minutes of training before calling it quits, however now they seem to be able to keep going past the 30 minutes mark.
Dodging Ichigo, the dark-skinned beauty sees the way he doesn't even seem tired, not a sign of sweat on him. Sensing someone behind her, she jumps up and watches as Lily crashes down with Ichigo on the floor. Unlike the redhead, Lily shows some signs of exhaustion. She was breathing heavily and had some sweat down her forehead, but still, she was chasing after her.
Seeing how the teens were arguing again, Yoruichi decided that it was enough morning training for them. "All right you two lovebirds, that's enough." Seeing the way she gains their attention, she pulls out the camera from her pockets before throwing it to Ichigo. "Here you go, you earn that with the way you could still keep up with me." Yoruichi took her leave, rather she saved her energy when it's Starrk's turn to train. The brunette has gotten faster and faster with each passing section. In another few weeks, Starrk would become faster than her. 'Slacking off for 100 years has made me sluggish.'
Sending a glare at the back of Yoruichi's head, Lily watches as the woman leaves before turning around and snatching the camera from Ichigo's hands before throwing it down on the floor, breaking it. "Stupid waste of time." She released a breath before looking down at her shirt, now covered in dirt and sweat. "And now I need a shower."
"Tell me about it." Ichigo commented.
She turned to her friend before sending Ichigo an annoying look. "You know she was probably messing around with you. Is not like she would have shown Starrk." She said while heading back upstairs for a nice shower.
Following his friend, Ichigo put his hands inside the pockets of his shorts that he was wearing to sleep. "You never know that. You know the way Yoruichi-san can be."
Lily sent her friend a sigh. "You're too predictable, Berry-baka."
"Shut up midget."
Hearing that stupid insult from Ichigo, the pink-eyed teen turns around with her cheeks puff out. Lily doesn't understand why Ichigo got such a huge growth boost. They used to be at an equal height before. Both used to be around 4'8 but now she has to look up to the redhead which stood around 5'9 while she only seems to be around 5'2...
"Jerk." Lily's reply. As they were both heading upstairs, Ichigo was the 1st of the 2 to recognize a little dilemma. "What are we going to wear now?"
Stopping at her tracks, Lily looks back at Ichigo. "What are you talking about? We have clothes, remember?"
"Idiot, do you think those clothes will fit us now?"
Finally, understanding what he meant, Lily released a groan. "Great, so now we need to go buy clothes."
Ichigo would have mentioned that maybe instead of buying clothes, they can do the same trick they did the first time coming here, but there's just a couple of problems with that. Ichigo's Capa Cero is not in the first version. He can't cover anyone in a 30 feet radius and they can't just leave without being inside their Gigais, who don't have any clothes, Shinigami are still around and probably still looking for them.
Spotting Starrk, who was staring at his Zanpakutō, the redhead started walking towards him.
Seeing the different direction her friend was going, Lily said. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna ask Starrk if he can lend me some clothes, once we're done showering then we can go over to the shopping district of Karakura Town," Ichigo said before turning his head to Lily. "You should ask Yoruichi-san if she has clothes for you."
"Why would I ask her?"
"What other girl lives here?"
"I can always ask Mashiro-neesan for clothes."
Sending Lily a deadpan look, Ichigo says. "Are you really gonna wear the same suit as her?"
Lily blushed at the thought of wearing such a tight bodysuit. "I guess I can ask Yoruichi for something to wear."
Watching her leave, the redhead started walking towards Starrk. Once he reached the man, Ichigo said. "Hey, Starrk."
"Morning Ichigo." The brunette replied, not even looking back to the teen.
"Still trying to figure the whole Shikai training?" Ichigo was around when Shinji had explained the next part of Starrk's training and he was excited about it. If he could learn Shikai, then he would have the power to protect them. He just needs to wait for Starrk to learn it first. Seeing how he's the one with a real sword and all he has are just grips. 'C'mon Zangetsu, stop giving me the silent treatment! Tell me what happened to my sword!' Ichigo doesn't understand why Zangetsu has stopped talking to him since the events of yesterday. Seeing how Starrk was staring at him. Ichigo said, "Sorry, did you say something?"
"I said, why are you only wearing your shorts,"
Choking a bit, Ichigo thought a quick lie. "Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. Do you think you can lend me some of your clothes right now? Lily and I are planning on going shopping." Ichigo won't tell Starrk—Lily's, basically, older brother—the way they woke up. He doesn't want to die... twice.
"Okay? So why were you chasing Yoruichi in your shorts then?" Starrk questions back. 'Now, what are you not telling me, Ichigo?'
With another quick lie, Ichigo says. "What else am I supposed to wear for training? All the clothes I used to have no longer fit me and Urahara-san hasn't given me any clothes to wear outside the Gigai yet."
Seeing how those were some solid reasons, Starrk sends Ichigo a nod. "Guess you can use some of my clothes."
Glad that Starrk believed his lies, Ichigo turns around and starts heading towards Starrk's room before the brunette stops him in his tracks.
"Ichigo."
Freezing, Ichigo slowly turns around. Did Starrk see through one of his lies? "Y-yeah?"
After a minute of silence, Starrk finally said something, "Have you been able to figure out your Zanpakutō?"
Blinking a few times at the question that Ichigo wasn't expecting, a frown decorated his face. "No. I have been trying to talk with Zangetsu, but he's been quiet lately."
Sending Ichigo a nod and watching the teen leave, Starrk looks back to his sword. He had hoped that Ichigo could ask Zangetsu, who's Ichigo's Zanpakutō spirit, a way for him to learn 'Shikai'. But now Ichigo has his own problems to solve. The only thing that came with his transformation was the Hollow mask and the two grips, even Lily came out from her transformation with a Zanpakutō.
Now that Starrk thought about it. Maybe he can take a visit to Isshin, maybe the man knows something that Urahara doesn't know. With that in mind, Starrk put back his gunblade on his back, held by a black sash, and started heading towards his Gigai.
Finally getting back to their room after a quick visit to Starrk's room for some clothes, Ichigo opens the door and stops upon seeing his friend.
Ichigo has already seen Lily naked before. The first time was when she had to move into her Gigai and then the events of yesterday but he had always looked away. But now, however, there was just something so charming about her and he couldn't look away. Maybe it had to do with the way some drops of water run down her lime-haired, smooth stomach and between her breasts—seen that she had the towel wrapped around her shoulders and was drying the right side of her hair instead of covering herself properly.
Done drying herself, Lily released an irritating sigh with what Yoruichi gave her to wear. Opening her eyes, she froze when she saw her redhead friend staring at her naked. His facial expression was telling her that he was seeing 'the most beautiful thing ever'... or maybe it had to be with the way she was naked before him. Blushing from anger, she hit Ichigo with her hardest punch.
"GET THE FUCK OUT YOU PERV!"
Ichigo didn't even bother dodging Lily's punch. He was trying to imprint this moment into his head.
With Ichigo thrown all the way outside, Lily slams the door shut and locks it—sending him a glare through the door. What was it with the stupid way he was looking at her? Just forgetting about him, she turned towards the clothes that Yoruichi gave her. She kept staring at it a good minute before releasing another breath. "Stupid cat..."
After a few minutes and done dressing up, Lily looks at herself from the mirror in their room. She was wearing a sunny-yellow A-line dress that stops at her knees, black and white high-tops and to her great annoyances, white Lilies decorated the bottom hem of the dress.
She glares at the dress.
The limenette just knew that this was another one of Yoruichi's ways of pranking her. Forgetting about the werecat, Lily opened the door and looked to her right to see Ichigo waiting for her. "You can go in now, Menso." She said while heading towards the kitchen, seen with the way she misses breakfast, her stomach was demanding food. "Knock next time."
Lily didn't need to look at Ichigo to know that he was blushing madly. Soon as she went into the kitchen, she started looking around for anything to eat. Seeing that all she found was rice, Lily filled herself a bowl before sitting down and started eating. After a few minutes passing by, Ichigo finally joins her.
Taking a quick look at her friend, Lily found that Ichigo was wearing Starrk's V-neck white shirt, black jeans pants, and his gray scarf; goggles no longer on his head. Swallowing her food, she questioned her friend. "So we're only going shopping?" She pushed her leftovers to Ichigo, which the redhead took and started eating.
"Pretty much, after that, I want to come and try to figure what the hell happened to my sword." Ichigo replied with a mouthful of food.
Ignoring his poor table manners, the pink-eyed girl asked a bit about that tiny detail. "What's wrong with it?"
Finishing the food in his mouth, Ichigo says, "It's not perfect. I saw how it's supposed to look like, and it's not like it. I only got the grips." He releases a sigh. "If only Zangetsu would tell me what happened."
"Is he not talking to you?"
Ichigo shook his head. "Ever since my transformation, he has been real quiet." Done eating, the redhead stood up. "C'mon, I wanna try coming back early."
Standing up, Lily started heading back to their room first. "Wait, I need to get our money." She was happy to know that working for Urahara wasn't such a waste of time. The shopkeeper was actually generous enough to pay them.
Ichigo just waited for Lily by the door when he saw Starrk heading out. "Where are you going?"
"Just gonna take a walk around town." Starrk lies as he passes by Ichigo, not going to tell the redhead that he's going to go visit his father.
Hearing Lily coming back, he opened the door for her and both started heading towards the shopping district of Karakura Town. Taking a peek at his friend, Ichigo gave her a compliment. "I like the dress, it makes you look pretty." After realizing what he said, Ichigo went back to looking forward, hiding his blushing cheeks from Lily.
Also blushing from Ichigo's words. Lily looks down as she returns the compliment. "T-thank you, you look very handsome."
Lily's words did nothing better for the teens' faces; they were both sporting a heavy red now.
'He thinks I'm pretty.'
'She thinks I'm handsome.'
While taking longer than last time, Starrk was happy that he was able to find the 'KUROSAKI CLINIC' by himself. Spotting the 'closed' sign on the clinic's door, he decided to knock on the house door instead.
*Knock* *Knock*
Waiting only a couple of seconds, the Arrancar heard a simple 'coming'. Having the door open, Starrk looks down to see a young girl with short light blonde hair and short bangs hanging over the right side of her forehead. She was also wearing a red hair clip on the left side of her head.
Starrk raises an eyebrow when he sees the young girl wearing an apron. The girl didn't even appear to be 10 years old; the girl looks like she was barely 8, a little too young to start cooking.
"Umm, how can I help you." Said the girl as she slightly closed the door.
Before he could reply, he heard another voice, another feminine voice. "Who's at the door, Yuzu?"
Hearing that name, Starrk finally understood who he was looking at. "You're Ichigo's sister." He whispers to himself quietly, but not quiet enough.
"Did you say Ichigo?" Yuzu asks with some tears gathering in her eyes. How can this man know who her brother was? She was sure that her parents didn't have any relatives.
Cursing for the small slip off, Starrk said. "Isshin, you're Isshin's daughter, right?"
"That's not what you said." Yuzu replied, before she could ask the stranger, her sister appeared.
Her sister had dark grey eyes and black hair that was straight and cropped to hang around her face, just above her shoulders. Unlike Yuzu, who's wearing a dress, this girl was wearing shorts and a shirt with a soccer ball.
Looking at the man and then at her sister, the raven-haired girl released a sigh. "You know you're not supposed to open the door to strangers."
"Sorry, Karin-chan." Yuzu replied to her sister, her tears long forgotten. Looking at Karin, she said, "He knows about I—"
"Is Isshin here?" Starrk interrupted. "I have something that I wish to speak to him about."
"Are you one of goat-face's patients?" Karin asked.
Right as he was about to reply, Isshin interrupted him this time.
"Who's at the door girls—" Isshin was taken back to see Starrk; it has been months since he last saw the brunette. "Starrk-san, it's been a while."
Looking at the girls first before going back to Isshin, Starrk says. "Think we can go somewhere private to talk about some... business."
Understanding what the Arrancar might want to talk about, Isshin said, "Come in Starrk-san." Isshin nods his head towards the door that connects to the clinic. "Just go through that door over there." Watching the Arrancar go inside his office, the Kurosaki patriarch turns towards his daughters. "Excuse me real quick. I know I promised that we would go shopping today but I told Starrk-san before to come to talk to me if he started showing new symptoms." He hates to lie to his daughters but for Starrk to come to him means that the Hollow either learned something new or needed information.
Following Starrk inside and making sure the door was closed, Isshin turned to the brunette. "So what happened since last time?"
Before Starrk could start, he looked at the door. "Don't you think they might eavesdrop?"
Isshin released a sigh. He didn't want to raise his voice to them but they were not ready to hear any of this. "Girls, please! This is a private matter!" Hearing as footsteps faded away, the Shinigami looked towards Starrk. "Well?"
"Well, here's some basic information."
The scenario that Ichigo found himself in made it feel like the first time they came to Karakura Town. Lily was dragging him by the hand everywhere and it was not like she couldn't help herself. Seven months have passed since the last time they had come to this part of town, usually it was Yoruichi or Tessai that came here.
While on their way here they saw a couple of Shinigami, but they had nothing to fear. Urahara's Gigai have been doing their jobs since they haven't gotten found yet and it also helps that the Shinigami are searching for kids and not teens.
Feeling a pull and seeing the way Lily was walking towards a candy shop, Ichigo decided that he should remind her of their reason for coming here. "You do remember that the whole point coming here was to get clothes, right?"
Lily just waves off her hand. "I know, I know. It's just... once we return to Hueco Mundo, we won't be able to see any of this again." She turns to Ichigo and smiles sadly.
Ichigo almost forgot about that, he was getting used to having a normal life again. Well, as normal as he could have. Gently giving Lily's hand a squeeze, Ichigo sends her a smile. "C'mon now, we can always come here now and then." Seeing that her smile seems to brighten up a bit, Ichigo started dragging Lily to a random clothes shop. "The sooner we finish getting clothes, the more time we have looking around."
They finish in just an hour, Ichigo was actually glad Lily didn't turn out to be so 'girly' that she would take hours for her to find something she likes to wear. As they left the shop, Ichigo, who was carrying their bags, was thinking of a place for them to go eat before he stops.
She was ready to ask what was wrong when she was able to sense it. Three Shinigami's Reiryoku and they were coming their way. Freaking out a bit, Lily turned to her friend. "Why are they coming our way! Are the Gigai's not working now?!"
"Shhh, they're near, just pretend you don't see them." Ichigo told Lily as he was able to see 3 Shinigami coming into view. One was a strawberry blonde with a huge pair of breasts, a petite woman with black hair, and the last one was a man with long crimson hair and tribal tattoos.
As the Shinigami were getting closer, both Arrancar heard their conversation.
"Kami, this is so boring. Why are we even doing this! Those Hollows haven't appeared for months and we're still doubling our patrols. Wish Zangetsu would just appear already." Said the man covered in tattoos.
The petite woman sends the man a glare. "Don't say that, Renji. You weren't there when Zangetsu first appeared." Goosebumps started running down Rukia's skin as she remembered the Hollow's Reiatsu. "None of us have a chance against a monster like Zangetsu."
"If that's the case, then why are we even here?" Renji replied.
"We're here for in case someone spots the Hollows, then we're to report to the captains who are stationed here." Rangiku spoke with an all too tired voice.
Looking at one another with concern, Rukia says, "Is it true that Captain Hitsugaya has been on every tour?"
The strawberry blonde released a sigh. "He has, I already asked him to take a break from trying to find Zangetsu. Every time we go back with no clues to where the Hollows are hiding, he goes back to training. He's at the point where he's asking Captain Kenpachi for his turn around Karakura Town and the only way he allows it is by having Tōshirō promise him a spar which he accepts and every time he comes back to the division, he's cover in bandages after a quick visit to the 4th Division."
"Why do you come with him?" Renji asked.
"Because he's my Captain." Rangiku said.
Watching them leave and the conversation fading away, Lily turned to Ichigo. "Zangetsu? How could they know his name?"
"I don't know." Seeing that they won't be able to spend time around this side of Karakura Town, Ichigo turns to Lily. "C'mon, we need to go back to Urahara's place."
Hating to do so, Lily knew that they had cut their little day off short. "Fine, let's go."
"Now, you two wouldn't be talking about Urahara Kisuke, right?"
Lily and Ichigo froze upon hearing another voice. They turned around to see a Shinigami Captain.
Shunsui was looking between both teens. He spotted both of them an hour ago. There was nothing unusual about them, but then that's when he noticed some very easy traits from Captain Hitsugaya's report about the Humanoid-Hollows. While children no more, the girl still has her lime-haired and pink eyes; the boy, while not having white skin or Hollow eyes, has orange hair. Sure it was stupid to suspect anyone for just having those small little details but Captain Kyōraku was just testing his luck and if they were normal humans, then they both wouldn't have heard him and by the looks of it, see him.
Looking at Ichigo, the 8th Captain sent him a smile, "Well, quite the 'honor' to meet you, Zangetsu-san."
Both teens didn't know what to do; they weren't ready to take on a Captain-class Shinigami.
Ichigo started looking around and noticed that there weren't any more Shinigami. The only one in sight is the one in front of them. 'What the hell do we do!' Ichigo started thinking. As long as they're inside the Gigai, then Shinigami shouldn't be able to sense them. So how did this Captain find them?
Before the redhead could say anything, Lily was the first one to speak. "How did you find us?"
Looking at the girl with the smile still on his face, Shunsui said, "I will be honest with you, little lady, but this was all but pure luck. Now, you two won't mind taking this somewhere private?"
Puzzled from Shunsui's comment, Ichigo looked around him and noticed the way people were staring at them with a weird look on their faces. It took a couple of seconds for Ichigo's brain to click. 'They're all looking at us like that because to them, Lily and I are talking to thin air.' Grabbing Lily's hand, Ichigo started dragging her the opposite direction of Urahara's Shop. It'll be stupid of him to bring the Shinigami back to where everyone's at.
As they kept running down the streets, Ichigo tried recalling his memories around his old town. Where could they go for them to hide? And that's when he remembers. He can always open a Garganta. Looking back, the redhead was able to see the Shinigami still following them. 'Why hasn't he called the rest of them?' Spotting an alley, Ichigo took a quick turn around the corner and was ready to use a Sonido to get rid of the Shinigami. But just as he made the turn, Captain Kyōraku was already there.
"C'mon now Zangetsu-san, I mean no harm, I just want to chat." Seeing the way both teens were ready to make another run for it, Shunsui uses a quick Shunpo to appear in front of them. "Can't you spare a minute of your time, Zangetsu-san?"
Tired of hearing the Shinigami keep calling Ichigo by that name, Lily glared at the man. "His name is not Zangetsu."
"Then what is it?" Shunsui asked, actually curious to know what the Hollow's name is.
Before any of the teens could respond, another person made themselves known.
"Don't worry about it."
Lily has never heard that voice before and as she looked behind the Shinigami Captain, the limenette was sure she had never seen the man behind him either, but that doesn't mean that Ichigo or Shunsui have never heard it before.
It was around 30 years since the 8th Captain had heard that voice and as he turned around to see the owner; he was a little surprised to see the man alive.
As for Ichigo, it was only around 4 years ago since he heard the voice of his own father.
Looking behind Shunsui and seeing not just his dad, but Yuzu and Karin again made Ichigo's throat tighten. But it still didn't stop him from saying one word.
"D-dad?"
- Flashback, 30 minutes ago-
Isshin just kept thinking about everything that Starrk had told him while walking towards the shopping district with his daughters.
Arrancar. A Hollow with Shinigami powers. How the hell has he never heard that word before? How was it possible for Urahara to have such information?
Then there was the subject of how to get Shikai. He was a little shocked at the idea, while being half Shinigami, that Starrk could achieve something like Shikai. As they both chatted for a bit and made some theories of how he could achieve it. They both made it to a simple conclusion. The Shinigami method won't work for an Arrancar.
Isshin follows the girls inside one of the many shops before thinking about the next topic with a sad smile. Ichigo has found himself a 'big brother'. To think that his boy could see a Hollow as a brother figure was laughable, in a good way. Then there was the sad thought that Ichigo is training to fight now. He knew that his son was no longer a child, a normal child, but he never wanted for his boy to fight.
The Shinigami released a sigh.
That was a lie. Isshin knew that eventually he had to tell Ichigo about his heritage, which would then lead his son to train for his powers.
Looking at his daughters, the Kurosaki patriarch released another sigh. The girls are showing early signs of spiritual awareness now. He has seen the way Karin seems to stare at nothing, but as he looks towards the same direction as her, Isshin could see the spirits that she's looking at. Yuzu at least came straightforward with him. She has told him before that she could 'feel' things around her. Isshin understood why they're showing early signs of finally being spiritually aware. His Reiatsu, while not at Captain-class in the moment, was still strong enough for it to affect his daughters. With Masaki dead and his powers no longer having something to connect with, it was only reasonable for them to return to him.
A sweet smile came to his face. Looks like Ichigo was a lot more like him. To think that his boy saved Lily by connecting their souls? Isshin laughs at the irony. Like father, like son!
Watching Yuzu drag Karin to one of the changing rooms, Isshin started looking around the store for Ichigo. Starrk had told him how the Hōgyoku had changed Ichigo. His son was no longer a boy now; he was a young adult. Not spotting any teenage redhead with a lime-haired teen, Isshin releases another tired sigh. 'So much for hoping.'
Done shopping, the Kurosaki family left the store and headed towards a quick restaurant to eat.
"How did you find us?"
Turning towards the voice, Isshin went motionless upon seeing a teenage redhead and his lime-haired companion. Looking at the redhead almost made him cry. It just has to be him. His parental instincts were telling him that the young man he was seeing was Ichigo. Looking at who the limenette was addressing, Isshin's heart seems to stop upon seeing Captain Kyōraku.
Watching Ichigo grab Lily and start running away from Shunsui while said man follows them, Isshin almost makes a run after them when he remembers about Karin and Yuzu. Turning around to look at them, Isshin spotted the heartbreaking look on Yuzu's face.
The death of Ichigo and Masaki hit them all hard. But not as hard as Yuzu. While their deaths hurt, Isshin at least knew of the afterlife. He always had told himself that Ichigo and Masaki are living in Soul Society now, safe and sound from any Hollows. So that was his way to cope with their deaths, but Yuzu didn't know that. Sure, Karin took it hard, but she was a lot stronger than Yuzu and while hiding it better than her sister, she kept the pain to herself. But Yuzu is a more fragile girl, and she doesn't know that there's more after death.
The Kurosaki patriarch decided. It was time for him to stop hiding so much from them.
"Girls, follow me."
- End of Flashback-
Shunsui looks back at Zangetsu as he hears him. "Dad!?" That was a shocker to him. Isshin is the father of Zangetsu?! A Hollow?!
Lily was looking at both Isshin and Ichigo. She could see some similarities between both of them. Turning to her friend, she whispers to him. "That's your dad?" The only response she got from him was a shaky nod.
Looking at his son, Isshin sends him a nod. "Go back to Urahara and take the girls with you. I'll handle the situation from here."
Ichigo didn't move. He doesn't understand. How can his dad talk to him so casually, why isn't he showing any expressions that he misses him? Looking at Karin, at least he could see some kind of expression on her face. He could see a bit of shock and confusion on her. Looking at Yuzu, Ichigo's heart broke. He could see tears leaving her eyes.
With another shaky nod, Ichigo runs towards his father and stops in front of his sisters. "C'mon we're going somewhere safe."
"Nii-chan, is that you?" Yuzu spoke with a quiet voice.
Sending Yuzu a sad smile, he nodded. "Yeah... it's been a while, huh?"
Throwing herself at Ichigo, Yuzu started crying.
Ichigo would have tried to comfort Yuzu but with the current situation, it would be better off to take them to Urahara first. Turning to Lily, Ichigo says. "C'mon we need to go." Getting a nod back from her, she moved close to Karin, who seems to still be in shock from the news, and both were ready to use a Sonido when Ichigo remembered the situation his father was now in. His old man is going to fight a Shinigami Captain! 'Wait... he can see him?' A million thoughts ran through his head. "H-how can you see him..."
"Just go, I'll answer everything to you at Urahara's place." Isshin replied, not even turning around to look at Ichigo.
With that said, the Kurosaki family disappeared with the static sounds of Sonido.
The alley was now dead silence, Yuzu's cries no longer echo. Both Shinigami stayed quiet for a full minute before Shunsui finally said something.
"You're alive."
Isshin raises one of his eyebrows. "What made you think I was dead."
Captain Kyōraku replied with a smile. "Well, you never came back."
The ex-Captain shrugs. "What can I say? Found a girl that I fell in love with and stayed here."
"And had a happy family by the looks of things." Shunsui said before his smile dropped upon seeing Isshin's sad expression.
"Not really, just today I got them all back." Losing the gloomy attitude, Isshin sends Shunsui a hard glare. "I won't allow anyone to break my family apart again, not even you." Isshin knew it was stupid for him to fight off someone powerful like Shunsui when he neither has a Zanpakutō nor enough power.
Seeing the way Isshin took a fighting stance, Captain Kyōraku raises his hands in front of his chest. "Wow there now, I never came for a fight, Isshin-san. I honestly just came to talk to Zangetsu."
"And what business could you possibly have with my son? From what they told me, Gotei 13 has put a mark on them." Isshin lost his stance and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"For starters, Ukitake and I just wish to have a peaceful meeting with them."
"And how can I be sure about that?" Isshin replied.
With his smile back on his face, the ponytail captain says, "Notice the way I didn't flare my Reiatsu when I found Zangetsu? If I did, I would have warned the other two captains that are stationed here."
Well damn, that's a good answer. Before Isshin could say anything more, he saw the way Shunsui turned around and was ready to leave. "You can't tell me that your only reason for coming here was to meet my son."
Captain Kyōraku turned his head and sent the Kurosaki patriarch a smile. "Trust me, it really was my only reason for coming here." Before leaving, Shunsui tried his luck. "Could you perhaps talk to them about wanting to have a peaceful meeting?"
Not saying anything for a couple of seconds, Isshin says, "I'll talk with them."
"Isshin-san, don't take this as a threat but as a warning. But tell your son to change his hair color, not a lot of redheads living here in Karakura Town." With that last comment, Captain Kyōraku left, leaving behind Isshin in the alley alone.
The ex-captain just kept staring at nothing before turning around and started walking towards URAHARA'S SHOP, getting his thoughts together about what he should tell his children and his 3rd daughter. A goofy expression came to his face. 'Did you see our new daughter, Masaki? She's such a beautiful young lady!'
Not to waste any time, Isshin looks around before using a Shunpo. Rather not wait for the reunion that he has wished for so long now.
- Urahara's Shop-
Urahara was at the front of the store with Starrk, talking to the brunette about his visit with Isshin before a rushing Ichigo and Lily interrupted them. Turning around to see what was wrong, Urahara was more than a little shocked to see that both teens had brought with them two guests.
Starrk instantly recognizes the two girls. 'Karin and Yuzu!?'
"What's going on, what happened?" Urahara asks, did something happen to Isshin that he would go find Ichigo and have him bring the girls here?
Before anyone could say anything. Isshin finally appears.
"A lot has happened, Urahara." Before he could say anything about his encounter with Shunsui and the odd request he asked for, Isshin turns to his son first. "How have you been, Ichigo?"
- Unknown Location-
Deep inside an isolated area by the woods that surround Karakura Town was a young teen with straight, chin-length black hair framing both sides of his face, and is fair-skinned with blue eyes.
Ishida Uryū let out a slow breath before focusing on creating a Kojaku (Arc Sparrow) when he turned around and fired an arrow at the spot he was able to sense a powerful Reiatsu.
The Quincy looked around him before talking out loud. "I know you're there. Come out now!"
"The only reason you knew I was there was because I let you sense me."
Turning towards the voice, Uryū spotted a Shinigami Captain with a face full of make-up. Uryū sends a scowl at Captain Kurotsuchi. "What do you want, Shinigami?"
"You." The 12th Captain replies with a toothy smile.
-X-
Annnnnd done! Hope this chapter wasn't in bad taste :D
So what to say about this chapter. Hmmm well, for starters this chapter was originally going to force Ichigo and company back to Hueco Mundo to finally face Baraggan and we would have the start of the Hueco Mundo arch. But I rather wait for that.
Also, I had a couple of PM about the topic of pairings, well for started while we will see pairings in the story, they won't be the most main focus. BUT I will be adding a couple of chapters to built up those pairings. However, the main pairing in this story will be Lily x Ichigo. (Sorry no Harem :v) As to why that pairing? Well is simple really. Is a very, very rare pairing and I think it's unique and it could work out.
Okay now, let's talk a bit about this chapter. Why did I have Urahara have information about Arrancar? Well, it has always bugged me the way they just got that name. We don't have any information as to how the word Arrancar came to be. So I felt it would be reasonable for the previous 12th Captain to have some form of information.
And yes, their transformation actually aged them both mentally and physically.
Added some cute scenes with Ichigo and Lily.
Ichigo could no longer 'hear' Zangetsu.
And now we have the Kurosaki family into the mix with Isshin finally coming clean and is going to tell them everything. I always found it a bit dumb on Isshin's part for not telling Ichigo about what he is. He could have helped him train for his powers early on.
And Mayuri found Uryū. Oh, the horrible things I have for him. Also, did the anime or manga explain as to where Uryū trains at? I mean, it has to be very far away for him to not gain the attention of any Hollows.
-Ten out.