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.
Chapter 24: Of Pain, Love and Family
-X-
She had taken the rear while Lily guided them while the Hollow gave them directions now and then when they made a stop; and so far, they had stopped a few times, but by now they were already miles away from La Estrella.
"Alright," Lily looked past her and off into the distance. "We're far away now. I also didn't sense anyone following us. Where to now?"
The Hollow, or Sung-sun as she had introduced herself as, looked a bit shaken up. "I-I need a minute to catch my breath... and my mind."
No doubt that their choice of traveling made the Hollow feel like her brain was spiraling out of control. That was the least of her worries or interests right now. She looked at Lily and a slight smile spread across her face. The younger girl noticed her look and turned her head away.
She put her hands behind her back and animatedly hopped over to Lily, trying to see her face. Every time she would, Lily would move her face so she couldn't see her blush.
"So~!" the moment Lily turned her eye slightly to look at her, she looked back with a teasing smile on her lips. "It was really sweet of you to kiss Berry-tan like that."
Lily's blush spread down her neck and up to her hair. "Y-eah, ehm, um, I forgot you were there."
Poking fun at Lily rarely crosses her mind, usually she would only tease the younger girl by calling Ichigo her boyfriend or how cute they look as a couple. That only gets a blushing Lily to sprout out a wreckage of words from her mouth. That was before—from what she saw—their friendship developed into an actual relationship. She wonders if Lily's reaction will be more entertaining to watch now.
"Oh, I would forget too, ya know, if I was looking into my boyfriend's eyes for that long and getting lost in them."
The reaction was definitely better than she expected. No words came out as her mouth closed and opened in attempts to speak out words. Without realizing, Lily started folding the hem's of the oversize shirt she was wearing since she walked out of her apartment with Ichigo. Of course her flush had spread across her body too, and with her mop of green hair, Lily was resembling a strawberry...
Her smile's expressive attitude didn't drop as she opened her mouth to say, "Berry-chan and Berry-tan; a 'couple' of fruits." An awful joke but it was funny for her since Ichigo's nickname comes from plays of words, while Lily looked down right like one when she's blushing this madly; a fruity couple. Besides the teasing, she couldn't help but feel happy for Lily. She wrapped her arms around her little sister and hugged her as she swung her left and right. "Oh Kami, you two are just the cutest when you're been affectionate with one another!" She put her back down and held her from afar.
"Lily," Time for the serious question. "Did you confess to him first?" She needs to be sure she won the money so that she could rub it all over Ulqui-baka's face.
Most of the red hue across Lily's body vanishes with only the slightest tint across her cheeks, accompanied with the most heartfelt and fond smile she ever seen on the young girl's face. Her eye held such a faraway look, almost as she's reliving a cherished moment from her past.
"I didn't need to, Ichigo figured out his feelings before I could tell him."
Well, that sucked. She's happy for Lily, but she really wanted the money. Her smile didn't drop, but her head did. "I'm thrilled for you, Lily-chan, but you know how else you could have made me happier?" she looks back up and starts shaking Lily back and forward. "If you confessed to Ichigo first!"
"W-what difference would it make!?"
"I could have won some money from the stupid betting pool~!" She only whined for a second before remembering that Ulquiorra had change bets in the last minute. "Maybe I won't lose anything if Ulqui-baka shares some of his winnings with me." She looks back at Lily to see her lone eye spiraling with a goofy look. She may have lost but at least she's glad someone has won something—and she's not talking about her or Ulquiorra.
After Lily got her brain and eye to stop spinning, she looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about? What betting pool?"
Nothing wrong with telling her, she at least won something thanks to Ulquiorra. "Everyone got together after we heard Szayel and Urahara talking about betting on you and Ichigo's relationship. We all knew that both of you would get together, so we thought of having fun and seeing who would confess to who first." She sighed and dropped her head. "A lot of us bet you would have been the one to confess since Ichigo's a hard-headed guy that wouldn't know what 'loving' someone would mean."
She looks back up; Lily wasn't angry but looked annoyed before she started rubbing the bridge of her nose to calm herself down. "I hope the idiots that bet on me lose everything."
Ha! She basically lost nothing—Ulquiorra will share his win—but she had hoped to have won to take some of Starrk's money. She let out another long, high-pitched sound. "I wanted to take Starrk's money!"
"Wait. Did you say Starrk? That idiot was in it too!?" Annoyance was only visible for a couple of seconds before Lily looked at her with a puzzle look. "Just out of curiosity, did Starrk bet on Ichigo from the start, or did he change his mind around sometime?"
"From the start."
Lily went back to pinching the bridge of her nose. "That jackass," she started mocking Starrk's voice. "'Oh I knew something would happen between you two but I didn't want to ruin it.' That jackass didn't want to lose money! When I get back, I'm gonna shove my hand down his throat!"
"Ehm."
Both of them turned to look at the Hollow; and until now, she forgot she was even there.
"I understand if I'm sounding rude, but I have taken control of my senses again and I'm ready to keep going; Harribel-sama's life is in danger."
There was always a party-pooper. "Ugh, fine~~!" She looked at Lily with a stern, but not too serious look. "You better tell me later how you and Ichigo got together." Lily rolled her only vincible eye with an annoyed look, but with the smile across her lips, she didn't know what exactly the younger girl was feeling.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything later today." Lily looked at the Hollow, put a hand on her shoulders and with a small irritated voice she said. "How much farther away? I feel like we've gone too far away for my comfort zone."
Sung-sun raises a non-existing eyebrow at Lily's attitude. "Well, I'm sorry your Highness," the sarcasm wasn't missed by either of them. "But not every Hollow can travel around with your method; some of us have to walk literally through the sands." She pointed west with her tail still. "A few more miles away from here there'll be a narrow down valley. We must go through to find our camps."
Lily moved her hand away from the Hollow and took a few steps back with a narrow eye. "A Valley? Well now, doesn't that sound too suspicious for you, Mashiro?"
"Sounds like a trap to me." She said with a small frown on her face, preparing to retreat if this whole 'rescue' mission turns out to be a trap.
Again, the Hollow didn't like the tone they use and scoff at them. "Do you think we live in a fancy city like La Estrella? Do you honestly think our lives are equal or better than yours? We don't have any powerful fighters, food, or a decent refuge. We're barely hanging on to our lives. So yes, where I'm taking you may sound like a trap, but that's all we have. Since it's such a narrow down walk through, we're able to ambush any of Baraggan's Hollows. But an entire army led by Baraggan?" She shook her head. "That won't be good for us since Baraggan's abilities would demolish us."
The idea didn't sit well with her but the Hollow's reasons sounded solid. Still though, she looked at Lily and she looked back for them to share a quick look with one another; if things turn out to be a trap, then run.
"Alright." Lily said after a while of silence and put her hand back onto the serpent's shoulders. "Let's go."
Another few minutes later, they finally found the Valley. They stood right outside the entrance. Both of them share a worried look. She looked at the Hollow's back as she made her way through the narrow path and whispered to Lily. "Lily, I don't like this." They kept their feet rooted to their spots. "Some of Baraggan's army should be here, but I don't see anyone." She touched the cloak she's wearing and frowned. "Can you take off your cloak and search with your Pesquisa?"
Lily was about a second away from reaching the overgarment when a very unsettling voice spoke from behind them sending a wave of dread over their bodies as he spoke.
"Ya shouldn't listen to a snake, they tend to lie."
Reactions came first; she don her Hollow Mask and spun around with her leg out to kick the air and fire one of her Super Cero but then she heard another voice and this one hit her in the stomach since she recognized the speaker.
"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi." It was Kaname.
Ten seconds later, she lost all but one of her senses; touch. Or more precisely, her nervous system since it seemed to be the only thing working, and she knew that was the case because she felt a horrible pain. Then just as fast as it got taken away from, her vision came back, but that was only because a sword had impaled her through the stomach and pinned her against the wall which pushed her outside of Kaname's Bankai. She saw her vision becoming a blur, and she cursed quietly. If she had to guess why that was happening, it's because it involves her head slamming hard against the wall.
She tries to regain focus, tries to force her body to move, tries to stay awake after the head trauma and wound. She looks back at the black dome to see how the sword that still has her impale had stretched across and through the dome. Looking down at her stomach, she was slightly thankful that the wielder hadn't pulled out the sword because if the pain was a sign; the weapon had gone through her—front and back.
Looking back up, she noticed that the dome vanished and across her field of vision, she could see three men. Two of them she already knew, Kaname and Aizen—with Lily slung over Kaname's shoulders and the third person, the one that impaled her was a man that she could only describe as a snake with a disturbing fox-like grin.
"Ai-izen..." She tries gaining his attention just so her mind could keep awake.
Aizen gave her a coy smile, almost as a sort of mockery. "Seems like you miss a vital organ, Gin."
"Well what can I say, I have gotten a bit sloppy." Gin's smile, the one that sends a horrible shiver down her back, inch higher with bits of his white teeth showing. "I can always move Shinsō a little to the left and cut through most of her large intestines."
That caused Aizen to chuckle as if he heard a pleasant joke. "That won't do. I need Mashiro to send them a message."
She needed to stay up, only for a few more minutes. Gin's Shinsō had torn the cloak and if possible she could signal someone with her Reiatsu to come help her... but would anyone come? No one knows where they are, and she doesn't know how far they travel. Will Ichigo and Ulquiorra find her or...perhaps no one will because they didn't know where they were heading towards. When she looked up again, Aizen was leaning closer to her.
"You know where to go if you want the girl back."
Soul Society.
"I'll be waiting."
Then he turns around and luckily Gin hasn't removed his Shinsō, but she wishes he would. That way she could try to get Lily back because now, the only thing she was doing was watching Lily get carried off through a Garganta that Kaname opened up. Aizen follows behind the traitor and right behind Aizen, she sees Sung-sun. They took a glimpse at each other's eyes. She saw an empty and dull look in her eyes; which was fine by her, because she hopes the Hollow won't forget the cold fury in her eyes. She directed her gaze towards Gin and made sure he saw too, but then her fiery glare dropped as Gin's smile had slipped too and now he only had a sad look in him... Almost as if he's very apologetic about the whole incident.
The penitent expression soon vanishes as Gin flickers his Reiatsu, catching her off guard before seconds later he removes his Zanpakutō and walks into the Garganta.
"Moments later…. that's when…. Szayel…. found me." Mashiro took a long and shaky breath, trying to finish her next sentence without a pause. She looks around the makeshift hospital room to spot the orange mop of hair and as she did, she quietly apologized. "Ichigo, I'm sorry."
Starrk looked over at Ichigo and read his facial expression. He could see that the redhead wanted to do a lot of things at the same time; scream, rage, breakdown and possibly blame someone for what had happened. He looked at Mashiro and her conditions. She got rushed into the main room to the Science Division before Szayel moved her towards one of the empty rooms scattered around the building, but before Szayel did any of that, he had ordered his members to scatter across the Human World and collect as many possible surgical equipment. Minutes of searching and two hours of surgery later, with the help of Urahara and Tessai, they stabilize Mashiro.
He watched Ichigo march out of the room and slammed the door behind him. "I'll go talk to him." To make sure he won't do anything stupid.
Szayel wanted to correct Mashiro in one of her statements but held back in doing so since there was no reason to. He looked down at his clothes and sighed. Everything happened so fast that he didn't change into a scrub, and now plenty of Mashiro's blood was over his shirt. He looked at the small gathering of individuals and ushered them out. "Come now, all of you need to leave. Mashiro-san needs her rest." He turned around to Ulquiorra sitting in the chair next to the woman's bed. He figures there's no point in trying to kick him out right now. "Ulquiorra-san, 30 minutes only. She really needs to rest." The back of the green-eyed Arrancar nodded only once before he closed the door behind him.
"She's gonna be fine, right?" Shinji asked. "Gotta make sure I take some good news back to Kensei and Lisa."
The pink-haired man knows that not everyone could visit Mashiro right now since they were doing their jobs in trying to keep the chaos under control which broke out after some of his Division's members started spreading out the word about Mashiro's health... and how Lilynette never came back.
Forgetting those thoughts at the moment, Szayel answered Shinji's question. "She's stable right now but I need to recreate a special pill that could bring her back to, well, hopefully 100%." The blonde Visored opened his mouth, but he continued on. "I'd been working on them for the past few months, so a month-length of waiting won't happen. I only need to re-tweak a bit of engineering since I made these special pills for Hollows."
Shinji closed his mouth and nodded before leaving with a grimace look on his face. 'We'll get you back for this, Aizen.'
Starrk walked through the halls, following Ichigo's disturbed Reiatsu. 'He needs to keep himself in check.' He glanced over to a group of Hollows that were having a hard time breathing. 'Ichigo will kill someone if he can't control himself right now.' Following Ichigo didn't turn out to be a chore either. Just as he turned around in the next corner, the redhead was standing still with his back turned to him.
"I should have gone with her... I—You should have let her come with me instead. Maybe then none of this would have happened."
"Then what would have happened to Tier?"
"There was nothing wrong with her! EVERYTHING WAS A TRAP!" Ichigo turned around to glare at Starrk. "Now Aizen took Lily to Soul Society and instead of going off to rescue her, we're here doing nothing!"
The brunette watched as Ichigo clenched his fist and his knuckles turned white, 'Control your anger, kid.' He put his hands inside his pockets and leaned against the wall. "Who says we're doing nothing?"
Most of Ichigo's anger faded at his words. "Do you already have a plan?"
"Ofcourse I do. I'm going to ask Urahara to send Yoruichi to Soul Society to gather information for us."
"That could be a waste of time!" Ichigo interrupted but his yelled didn't make Starrk flinch.
"Ichigo," Starrk started calmly. "I know that you and Lily's relationship have grown. I understand that and we're all worried sick about her, but if you're thinking about charging head first into Soul Society to rescue her, then I'm going to keep you here by force." When Ichigo responded with a glare, he glared back. "That's not a joke, Ichigo. If you're thinking about doing something that idiotic then I will force you to stay here and not let you go to the rescue mission."
Having a feeling that Starrk will go through with his word, Ichigo took a couple of breaths to cool down his anger. "If you understand, then why are you holding me off? I need to go get her back. We don't know what they might do to her."
"They won't kill her." Starrk reassured him. "If they wanted Lily dead, then that's what their goal should have been, but they captured her and sent back Mashiro to give us the message. It's safe to say that Aizen is plotting the same Divide-and-Conquer strategy again... and that's why I won't be going to rescue Lily. I'll be sending you, Ulquiorra, Szayel and Yoruichi. I'm going to stay here, since I'm sure Baraggan will try to attack La Estrella when he notices my absence."
"Starrk, I don't want to say anything rude, but..." the redhead frowns. "This plan doesn't sound completely planned out."
Starrk sighed and rubbed his forehead. "That's because it is..." He then looks at Ichigo with a sad expression. "I'm worried about Lily too, believe me, I really am... but I also need to keep my head cool. I can't just order an entire invasion to rescue Lily because what if the Shinigami realize the trouble that she is? What if they kill her on the spot? What if the whole thing is a trap?" Again, he released another sigh. "There's so many 'What if' that we need to be careful with what we're going to do." He put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm going to go tell Yoruichi to head to Soul Society. Hopefully, in a couple of hours or less she'll bring us back some pleasant news, okay?"
Ichigo cast his eyes down to the floor and nodded back. He didn't look up as the brunette left with a Sonido. He kept staring at the floor and thinking about what he should do now. He'll listen to Starrk and wait until Yoruichi comes back, and hopefully by then Starrk would have an idea planned out. He turned around and started walking down the halls with his head still down, trying to figure out what he could do for the next two hours. `As a Captain, I have a bit more freedom compared when I was Ulquiorra's lieutenant.'
Also, remembering the conversation he had with Yoruichi, the redhead thought of visiting someone for a bit of advice and hopefully some clearings. 'Besides, it's been awhile since I saw my old man.' With that in mind, Ichigo coated himself with his white layer armor and opened a Garganta to the Human World.
Isshin stopped washing his hands as he sensed a Garganta open up. "That's the second one this week." His voice didn't come out sounding worried, but more so confused. It'd be rare these days to sense one of the Hollows' Portal Gates. After what happened two years ago at the park, Hollows used to come by in the dozens to feed on the wandering souls of the recently deceased and of course with Hollows, come the Shinigami.
Those were some rough times for him, well, not for his health. More in line that he'd become worried for his daughters as both of them at the time were Spiritually Aware, meaning that Hollows would seek them out and try to attack them.
Thankfully, no Hollow got close thanks to the Shinigami doing their jobs.
Those daunting days last for eight months before suddenly the Hollows were appearing less and less with each passing day when suddenly, they stopped and he couldn't figure out why. There were still plenty of Soul Plus roaming across the city for Hollows, but days went on without a single Hollow in sight. He even heard a couple of Shinigami question the disappearances of the Soul-eating creatures. Eventually Gotei 13 started retrieving back some of their Shinigami, but the Hollows didn't seem to care; they still refused to show their presence back in Karakura Town and deep down he wondered if that was the work of the Arrancar...
A sad smile slowly molded across Isshin's lips.
It's been two years since he heard of Ichigo and he wonders what his son has been up to. How much has he changed and if he has, are the changes physical or mentally? Besides the change, he was curious about what his son had been up to in Hueco Mundo for the last two years.
His thoughts got interrupted when his ears picked up the sound of someone knocking at the front of his house. 'I wonder who that could be.' He doubts that it was Karin, she wouldn't be back home until later.
"I got it!" Yuzu yelled, rushing across the kitchen to the living room to open the door. Since she was still too short to look through the peephole, she opened the door slightly only for her eyes to see the figure. You can't be sure if the stranger on the other side of the door could be potentially dangerous but, as she looks up to the young man's eyes, Yuzu opens the door all the way through and jumps to wrap her arms around, "ICHIGO!"
Ichigo in the meantime stumbles a bit back, caught off-guard with his little sister's action, but after remembering the fact that the last time they saw each other was two years ago and in a sour-goodbye, he hugs her back and smiles down at her. "Look at you, all grown up." He looks back into the house, expecting for his other sister to rush in too, but when she doesn't, he looks back to Yuzu. "Hey, where's Karin?" When he felt her arms loosen up a bit, he thought the worst had happened to his other sister.
"She's with Ishida-san. Training."
The redhead looks back to the door to see his father leaning on the frame with his arms crossed and a smile across his face.
"Look at you, Ichigo, grown up and looking like a man." Noticing the strange cape around his son's shoulders, Isshin couldn't help but think in how Ichigo looked like a Shinigami Captain.
Noticing where his father's eyes have landed, Ichigo couldn't help but grin behind his mask; he moved his shoulder for his father to see the Insignia. "Like it? Well, you're seeing the first ever Captain of La Estrella's Search and Protect Division." His sister lets go of him and stares up to him with stars in her eyes.
Isshin couldn't help but beam at his son. "Ha! You're a lot like your old man. Flying through the ranks and getting promoted into a Captain."
If the reason for his visit wasn't because of grim news, Ichigo wouldn't see a problem to sit down with his dad and talk about what had happened to him in the last two years. But the moment wasn't right. Before he could ask to come inside and chat, his old man finally questioned the obvious.
"So where's my beautiful 3rd daughter? You two are never too far apart."
The twirls of emotions that Ichigo was keeping locked inside had slipped out and caused his father to notice; his smile dropped and a more somber mood came over his facial features. His sister didn't need to be spiritually aware to know something was wrong. She took notice of the change in her brother's mood as their father mentioned Lily. Isshin figured the worst had happened, so he invited Ichigo inside.
As they sat in the living room, Ichigo—hesitating in revealing his problems, slowly spoke up.
"They took Lily." He clenched his fists. "They... Starrk... I..." It was someone's fault. Someone needed to be blamed... He just needed to blame someone. "If I have stuck to her side like I always did, then none of this would have happened and truthfully... I want to blame Starrk for it, but..." he breathes out and slowly releases his fists. "I honestly can't. Everything was already an awful situation and Starrk had to make calls fast, but things should be fine. Starrk's already planning a minor task force to sneak into Soul Society and get her back." His facial expression sharpens before directing it towards his father and says, "Honestly, this isn't the reason for my visit. Old Man, when did you feel you could finally say you love mom?"
Isshin slowly rears his head back and blinks a couple of times at his son's question before things start clicking for him. The pure distress of Lily getting kidnapped, in a rush to go rescue her and now asking the odd question of love. He wished the scenario wasn't as bad as it was right now so that he could jump around like a goofball while praising Masaki's pictures and all the while telling her how their family is finally getting bigger since Ichigo will now start working in giving them grandchildren! 'Maybe some other time.'
The Kurosaki patriarch sadly smiles at the old memories he had made with his late wife. "I didn't fall in love with her when I saved her life. That happened a few years later. I lost my powers to return to Soul Society, so I stayed with Urahara and worked for him while your mother lived on with Ishida for a while longer before she went off to university." He cupped his chin with one hand. "I worked for Urahara for around five months before I opened a clinic since with the little Reiatsu I had, I could use some Healing Kido to help people. Then one day, she came by and we started talking again. I guess something between us clicked because she would always come back and my heart would always jump when she did; and like many romantic movies, we dated and years later, we got married and had three wonderful kids." With a satisfied sigh, he said, "When she accepted me for what I was; a Shinigami—I grew a crush on her, then I started falling for her because of her personality. Then I fell in love with her because she never blamed me for what had happened to her because she told me before that if she let people die because of a custom her family upheld, she would never allow herself to live it down. She was such a selfless soul—made me question myself plenty of times in why she would settle down with a man like me."
Sheesh… to Ichigo, it sounds like his parents had the best relationship ever. "Kami. Lily and I sound nothing like that; we argue about the smallest things, we complain about each other, but we still live and sleep together, and we're always at each other's throats. Honestly, we don't have any normal moments in our lives—not like we're a normal couple, anyway."
"It's not like your mother and I had the perfect relationship either, we had our bumpy roads. A relationship shouldn't always be perfect and neither should your partner be." Isshin admitted and he could see that his son was happy to hear that. "A person has flaws; let it be something easy or hard to overlook. The fact is, you need to love that person very much if you're willing to accept them—flaws included."
"But what if that person had done something horrible, could you still love them?"
Isshin might have a clue to what Ichigo was possibly referring to. It could either be A) How he killed thousands of people two years ago, or B) That he hasn't let go of the burden that he had eaten Masaki's soul. He sighed and said, "I told you once and I'll tell you again; I still love you, even after everything you have done, and if your own father can overlook your flaws, then anyone can."
Again, Ichigo was relieved to hear that, and it got him thinking, beside what he listed, that's about the only thing he can complain about Lily, because everything else about her was what made her so great—petty flaws included. Finding a bit of inspiration from his father's words, Ichigo looked back to similar moments he shared with Lily. "There was a day when I was thinking about leaving them." He looked across the room to the poster of his mother. "But that's because I learned the truth from you. I don't know why I was thinking in doing something that stupid though. Maybe because I wanted to feel alive again and honestly, I would have done so if it wasn't for Lily. It was the night you helped me learn about my Zanpakutō. Lily saw my training, but she knew something wasn't right. When I told her my problem about my family, y'know what she said? To go live with them again."
Ichigo looked back to his father and sister; the former had his expression solid, no hit to see what Isshin was probably thinking while Yuzu looked sad about it. "She said how I was making the problem harder than it was and she tried making the choice easier by telling me to go live a merry life again but I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave them behind." He looked down at his lap. "So while I kept everyone; I sort of stayed by her side. Then when we got back to Hueco Mundo and Starrk beat Baraggan; Lily and I had another argument. She was nagging about how reckless I get when fighting Shinigami and how I could have died. She was really beating it into my head in how important I am to everyone around me and if something would happen to me, then everyone would break... and that got me thinking; If Lily knew something like that, then why would she tell me to go back to my old life?"
"That's when I figured out that Lily would sacrifice her happiness for my own and that little sign of selflessness was my first taste of a crush. Then my feelings started growing with each passing day. After what I did two years ago, Lily was never afraid of me, she was rather more concerned about me. Every time I seem to have a problem, she will always make me fight." Ichigo looked back to Isshin, "She was the reason I came that night to ask you about the truth about mom after I learned what happened to her. After that day, our bond just grew more and before I knew it, I was in love with her because she had been giving me these gentle pushes to fight through my problems."
Ichigo closed his eyes and took another long breath before going back into staring at his dad. "Do you think I'm in love with her? Or am I still going through my crush phase?"
"How couldn't you love her after all that?"
Isshin's reply came so fast that Ichigo thought his father didn't really bother thinking about it. "But is it safe for me to tell her 'I love you'? Because when I told Yoruichi, I swear I felt like she was scolding me since apparently I used the word too soon." He cocks an eyebrow when his father uncharacteristically snorts.
"Don't worry about what Yoruichi said, the only reason she would say that is 'cause of how Seireitei views the word 'love'. Well, I mean, it's not like they're wrong either."
"What do you mean by that, goat-face?" Ichigo asked back, a little interested in the topic.
Shrugging, Isshin says, "Seireitei thinks that 'love' is sacred. The famous "'til Death Do Us Part" plays an important role for us Shinigami since we tend to live for centuries, some of us reached a millennium before. Some Shinigami take the word too lightly when really it's rather something powerful. Imagine marrying someone but you don't love them, you're going to get stuck to them 'til death because that's the oath you had taken and Soul Society won't turn a blind eye if you break that oath. The only time 'love' doesn't get involved in a marriage is when the Nobles get involved, but who really cares for those farts with a stick up their asses." Remembering that Yuzu's in the room, he turned to her. "Never use that last word your daddy just said, sweetie."
With a more methodical mind, Ichigo stood up. "Thanks for the help again, old man."
"Don't tell me you're leaving already?" Karin said as she walks into the room with Ryūken behind her.
"You're back early."
Ichigo took note in the quiet voice as his other sister spoke to her twin, and he swore there was a strange tone in her voice too. 'What's that about?' Knowing when a talk needed to happen between him and Yuzu, he kept a mental note about it before answering Karin back. "I have to; long story short, Lily got kidnapped by Shinigami and we're planning on going to Soul Society to get her back."
"You're going to Soul Society?" Ryūken stepped forward. "Guess the moment couldn't be any better."
Karin, knowing what Ishida-san wanted to talk to Ichigo about, walked past them and towards her room. "I guess we can talk the next time you're around. So if you excuse me, I'm a bit exhausted so I'm going off to bed."
"Was your Quincy training harder than usual today?"
Yuzu asked again, and this time Ichigo figured it out. The almost muted tone that Yuzu was hiding was jealousy. 'Wait, Quincy training? Karin's a Quincy?' He watched as both sisters went off to different places; Karin went to her room without answering and Yuzu went to the kitchen from the lack of it. There's definitely a talk that needs to happen. He looks over at his dad and sends him—not a harsh glare, but a look that spells out 'Have you tried fixing this problem'.
Instead of sharing a look, Isshin said. "I already talked to her about it, but this is sadly something that Yuzu needs to let go." Then he remembers where his son was planning to go. "Wait right here for a bit longer, Ichigo."
He watched his father go off somewhere before looking back at his... step-uncle(?). "So, you sounded relieved with me going to Soul Society and the reason would be?"
Ryūken shifted his glasses up. "There's a Shinigami that I need to go talk to."
Yuzu learned that sometimes cleaning dishes, dirty or not, was becoming her only home remedy of stress relief. As she rubbed the same clean plate with a bit more force, her mind drifted to a selfish thought.
It was... unfair. Why is she the 'black sheep' of the family by being the only normal one? By no means was she an outcast or looked down upon by her father, in fact, he loves her just as much as he loves Karin. The only difference now between both of them was that Karin's a bit more special because she got to heritage something from their late mother.
Which brings her back to her envious thought. Why couldn't she be special?
Like her black-haired twin?
...
Is not like her sister asked for it. She was the most spiritually aware of the two. Also, the training that she's doing with Ishida-san doesn't seem to be the most exciting thing ever. She has seen Karin come home from her training sections with the older Quincy with small grazes around her shoulders, arms and legs; turns out to be, Ishida-san was not a gentle teacher. Besides, the training supposed to be for Karin to defend herself from Hollows and the Shinigami—although she has doubts about it since Ichigo and company are important in Hueco Mundo and if they order the Hollows to leave them alone, most would follow but maybe the few that won't are the one's Karin is preparing herself for? As for the latter, she doesn't know why the Shinigami would be after them but from what she heard from Ishida-san, just by been a Quincy, the Shinigami won't bother protecting you from dangers and sometimes the Shinigami will turned out to be the danger.
So perhaps being a Quincy wasn't something for her. Then, perhaps... a Hollow like her brother?
...
No, that's just wrong to think of any—unintentionally—envy thoughts towards her brother's fate.
Ichigo died. He had to die—literally had to die to be what he had become, and even then she didn't know if she couldn't possibly go through with it. Hollows, from what her father and Ishida-san had said, are souls that became corrupted and turned into monsters that feed upon other souls. Even though her brother was different, as were Starrk and Lily, from the brief conversations she remembers having with Szayel and Ulquiorra, their Hollow life was a test of survival, both mentally and physically. They had to eat souls and have to be sure the souls they devoured wouldn't turn on their mind and erase their existence. There's also no knowing if she would go through the same fate as Ichigo. He started out his Hollow life as an Arrancar and there's no telling if that's what'll happen to her. Maybe she'll start things as a normal Hollow?
And if she does, will she be strong enough to live through it?
Again, perhaps being a Hollow isn't the choice for her... then what about becoming a Shinigami?
Yuzu stops scrubbing to reflect the idea.
Thinking of becoming a Shinigami had never crossed her mind, she saw herself as a more gentle spirit that she seemed more associated with Quincies lifestyle, but she only thought of that because she just wanted to have a little piece of her mother inside of her. Karin seems to live that life instead of her though.
Karin got to be a Quincy.
Ichigo got to be a Hollow.
So, could she possibly get to be a Shinigami?
In how her father's stories go, Shinigami have all sorts of fresh jobs. So she could become a Shinigami and learn how to use Healing Kido so that in a way she won't have to do any sort of fighting—she'll still be too much of a soft-hearted person to hurt anyone, anyway.
… Is it possible? Could she possibly do it?
Yuzu's mental debate briefly lasted a few minutes before she steeled her nerves. She has to, and she'll not do it out of jealousy, she will do it because this is the only way she can help her family. 'Okay... but how do I actually become a Shinigami?'
Ichigo looked across the room and towards his uncle. "I get why you want to come to Soul Society, and I have no problem with it, but I got to convince Starrk first." He crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Also, you don't look ready to invade Soul Society."
Ryūken looked down at his attire and frowned. "You're right."
"Wait, where the hell are you going?" The redhead asked the Quincy as he headed towards the door. "I don't have time to wait for you, we need to leave already and see if Starrk has a plan ready for us."
Stopping at the door, Ryūken turned around and scowled at him, "I am heavily unprepared, I must fetch a few items. Also, I'll only leave for a few minutes."
"I will give you five minutes." Ichigo muttered as the older man left just as his father came back to the living room before standing next to him.
"Don't be like that Ichigo, Ryūken had been hoping for a day like this to happen." Isshin then handed his son a letter inside a close envelope with the Kanji symbols reading 'Shiba'. "I don't know if by any chance you'll be staying in Soul Society for longer than a week, but if you are, then you should give the Shiba Clan this."
"And this is what?" Ichigo asked as he eyed the envelope.
"Eh, don't worry about it, it's not important right now."
Did his old man not learn his lesson of keeping secrets from his family? Before he could question him about it, another thought about Lily came to him. "Hey, dad, umm, do you think that it's weird for me to date Lily knowing that she's possibly a few... years older than me? And by a few, I mean a couple of hundred years older than me. Do you think that's... odd or wrong?"
Isshin lifts one of his brows and says, "You know, I asked your mother the same thing. She was 25 at the time and I was already a little over 200 years old. When I asked her about it, she got a bit..." he sweatdropped as he said, "sassy with her reply. Actually, that's around the same time I started falling for her."
Before Ichigo could ask anything else, the faint sensation of his uncle's Reiatsu perked him up. As the door opens to reveal Ryūken, he notices the change in clothing with a few items around his waist. Gone were his work uniform, and he now wore a long, white trench coat over a white form-fitting, high-collared tunics with equally slim-fitting pants and shirt with a blue line running down the middle. Around his right wrist hangs a cross in the shape of a star-shaped pentagon, and around his waist were several thin, silver-colored weapons.
Ryūken looked down at himself again and couldn't help but to think how strange Fate seems to be. Here he was, wearing his old Quincy uniform, something that he promised he would never wear again. 'If my father would see me now, would he be proud?' Shaking his head, he looked towards Ichigo. "I'm ready."
Parent and child didn't speak until Ichigo was already by his uncle's side. "I'll get her back." He tapped the air to open a Garganta. "Then I'll properly introduce her to you."
Isshin got the hint that Ichigo was sending him. He grinned and said, "Then I can't wait to officially meet my 3rd daughter!" When his son and friend disappear after the portal closes, his grin lowers down into a simple smile. Ichigo's turning into an excellent man. 'And what have I been doing? Nothing. My daughters aren't talking to each other and I have done nothing about it.' He already talked with Yuzu about it once before, so perhaps a second time won't be too bad?
He turned around to go into the kitchen and talk with Yuzu again when he stopped upon seeing her walking out from the kitchen with an atypical scowl on her face.
"H-how... do I become a Shinigami?.."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... How—"
"How about I tell you about the birds and the bees instead?"
"Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Gerald asked the misfit group that includes Menoly, Loly and their new acquaintance Sora. Although Rudbornn and Zommari are part of this strange mismatch group, they were busy keeping things under control.
Loly clicked her tongue and glared over at Sora. "Guess you were wrong. This isn't Ichigo."
"But I was sure. I can sense a bit of Captain Kurosaki's Reiatsu." Sora argues back. He sensed some of Kurosaki's Reiatsu on the Hollow.
With Sora and Loly arguing in the background, Menoly's shoulders drop before sighing and explaining things to Gerald."This is Sora, he's rather good at searching people with their Reiatsu. We were hoping he could help us find Ichigo and asked him about Lily."
The guardian frowns before leaning closer to Menoly. Word got around fast, so there's no way that these two haven't heard about it. "Menoly-san, you don't need to ask Captain Kurosaki about it. You already heard about it, haven't you?" Her response came in a slow and shaky nod, which only made Gerald breathe out just as equally slowly. "Then the reason for Captain Kurosaki to not be here is if he went to Soul Society." He clenched the weapon that Ichigo left behind at Menos Park and when he saw that Menoly was curious about it, he opened his hand. "It's Captain Kurosaki's zanpakutō."
Sora looked over at the black blade in the Hollows hand before pointing it at it. "See. That's what I was sensing!"
Hearing them go back to their quarrel, Menoly excused herself from Gerald and started walking back to her sister, but before she could, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turns around to see Gerald handing over Ichigo's sword to her.
"If you're looking for Captain Kurosaki, then please give it back to him. I would do it myself, but I must return to Menos Park. Things are just as shaky down there as they are here." Gerald said before leaving.
Menoly watched him for a bit longer before turning to Loly and Sora. "Come on you two, we need to tell Starrk-sama."
"And tell him what, exactly?" Loly asked.
"Obviously that Kurosaki-san had left and is trying to bring back Lily—!" Sora looked up as he sensed a Garganta opening before suddenly he sensed Ichigo's Reiatsu. "He's back! And he's not alone!"
"You mean he got Lily back!?" Both sisters yelled out.
"... No, it's not Lily. It's someone else."
They wasted no more time; they started running back to Escudos.
Garganta closing behind them as Ichigo quietly guided Ryūken across Escudo, the Quincy couldn't help but take quick glances around him. Everything looks so modern and couldn't help but think how this couldn't possibly be Hueco Mundo, but of course it's not like he'd been to the Hollows' home world before. Though it doesn't take a genius to see how Hollows don't live with such comfort. He glances over a group of Hollows with humane features.
Hueco Mundo is really strange.
Ryūken kept quietly following Ichigo as he led him towards a room with the doors possibly reaching 10 meters.
With a mighty push, Ichigo burst into the room full of Escudo's Captains and Lieutenants, well most of the lieutenants. Starrk didn't have Lily, but Yoruichi was by his side. Szayel and Urahara represented their division without a Lieutenant and Mashiro was out of action so Kensei was alone but Ulquiorra had Zommari and Shinji had Lisa—whom was wearing a shortened, white, hakama resembling a skirt.
"Nice for ya to join us, Ichigo." Shinji looked over at Ryūken before pointing at him. "Ya don't mind tellin' us who that is?"
"Ryūken, he's my uncle, and he also wants to go to Soul Society." Ichigo answered the blonde Visored before looking at Starrk. "The fact Yoruichi's here means she has some news for us."
Getting called out, Yoruichi says, "You're right, and like I already told everyone here already; Lily's in Soul Society. The Shinigami aren't keeping their lips zipped about it. They're both happy and displeased with Central 46's answers after Lily's 'trial', so they have been openly vocal about it." She looked around the room. This was the part she was waiting for everyone to hear. "Central 46 plans to execute Lily in two weeks."
They're going to kill Lily. That was already obvious to Ichigo, but he had imagined they would have killed her the moment they brought her to Soul Society.
Yoruichi saw how everyone in the room was having the same thoughts. "After years of Central 46 telling the Shinigami to kill the Arrancar on sight, they gave Lily two weeks before her execution means two things. Either they're going to extract information from her or they're expecting us to go rescue her." She crossed her arms and smirked. "But that won't change anything now, or is it?"
"No, it isn't." Starrk looked around the room. "We have our team here, and with the Shinigami's choice to wait two weeks gives us plenty of time to get Lily back. Also, now that we have a volunteer, we don't have to send you, Urahara." Urahara covered his eyes with his hat and said nothing, making Starrk question why the ex-shop keeper wanted to go to Soul Society.
Ichigo had the same thoughts as Starrk but quickly dismissed it. "So we have a way of going to Soul Society?"
"That we do," Szayel moved forward. "It only happened to me once, and it was during my time as a Gillian, but I remember going to Soul Society before. But to where we may land is a different story. However, with the two weeks that we have, we'll get Lily in time."
"Then what are we waiting for—!"
The doors to the meeting room burst open with Loly and Menoly rushing in, Sora stopped just outside the door.
"Ichigo!" Both sisters called out to the redhead before they stopped to catch their breath.
Refilling her lungs faster, Loly spoke first. "We heard about Lily. You're planning on getting her back, right?"
Ichigo looked at Loly and then at Menoly. "That's what we're planning on doing right now."
"Right now?" Menoly said and looked up to see all the Captains of Escudos looking at them. Ulquiorra and Kensei were scowling at them, no surprise there, but the rest seemed more curious about their presence instead. From the doorway, she could hear Sora calling them out.
"This is why I told you to stop and knock first!"
'A little late for that.' Holding the zanpakutō in her hand tighter, Menoly looked at it and lifted it up. "If you're going to go rescue her, then you're going to need this."
Ichigo stared at his weapon with wide eyes. 'Shit, I forgot I dropped it!' He took it back and thanked her, which she smiled back and grabbed her sister's shoulders.
"Then we better get going! We gotta make sure your division is running smoothly since you're going to be gone."
"... Tell Rudbornn that he's in charge while I'm gone." The redhead turned around to see that everyone who would go save Lily had stepped towards the middle of the room. He could see that Urahara was talking to Szayel about something before handing a phone and some earpieces to him. He looked to his uncle talking with Yoruichi about another manner before looking at Ulquiorra, and that's when he noticed the strange fabric wrapped around his neck. One could see his chest and Hollow hole because of how the jacket's made to be slightly more open but as of right now an orange scarf hides his chest and his Hollow hole. 'Isn't that Mashiro's scarf?'
Again, his thoughts got interrupted as his eyes drifted towards the Garganta that Szayel opened. 'Just hold on for a bit longer, Lily,' Everyone was ready. He rushed in behind them, running towards the light at the end of the dark tunnel. 'I'm coming for you!'
When everyone left, they left Starrk alone.
Or so he thought.
'Starrk.'
Anna was calling him, and with how quiet and serious her voice sounded, there was something big that she wanted to tell him.
'I... think I'm finally ready to tell you... about Lily and I.'
Yeah... it was something serious.
The first thing Lily wanted to see after waking up with this killer headache was the orange bed sheets of her's and Ichigo's bed, but when she saw the cell bars and the very unfamiliar room, she thought she was having a nightmare before things slowly started coming back to her. "... crap..." Her voice sounded hoarse and she reached towards her neck and felt a strange collar. "What the hell."
She stood up and again, she noticed something different. She wasn't wearing her usual clothes and was wearing a silk white robe instead. "Great... I'm a prisoner."
"That you are."
When a woman's voice reached her ears, she looked towards the other side of the cell to see two Shinigami. She wasn't familiar with the woman, but she was familiar with her short-size acquaintance.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
When she glared at him, he glared back.
Tōshirō remembers nothing important about the girl besides the name that Kurosaki had used. "Good to see you again, Lieutenant Gingerbuck."
"You'll get to chat with her in a bit, Lieutenant Hitsugaya." Suì-Fēng moved to stand at the other side of the cell, inches away from Lily. She had to look up to the Arrancar since she was smaller than her. "But first we're going to move her towards a little more... comfortable room."
A shiver ran down Lily's spine.
Heaven is turning out to become her Hell.
-XX-
Omake
Set between Chapter 10&11
A Bat's Diary: II
'Hello.'
He wrote the word across the dirt in front of her with a stick. He was sitting at the ground cross-legged, a few feet apart from her as she sat on the ground on her knees. Since the last time, about a week ago, the only thing he had learned with Ichigo was simple head gestures to respond with and some few words that he can write now too.
'But why am I bothering to talk to her?' Why her? Was it because of what she said last time?
When he saw her lips slightly parting open, his head perked up and then her usual smile spread across her face.
"Look at you! You can finally write!"
He nodded, and her smile seemed to grow.
"That's great! You're not so clueless now, right?"
Well, that was a yes and no answer. There are still plenty of things that he needs to learn. He picked up the stick and answered her back.
'Yes, and No.'
His answer confused her for a moment only, but then she shrugged and smiled at him again. "Well, that doesn't matter right now! Ya wanna talk about something or you don't mind a friendly spar? 'Cause I'm still a bit jumpy from having my time cut with Starrk." She was up on her feet faster than he could spell out his reply, so when he did and she read it, she pouted before sitting back down. "You're no fun~! But fine, what ya wanna talk about?"
He'll not waste her time by making small talk. There was only one question in his mind that he wanted her to answer.
'You care, why?'
When he looked back up to Mashiro, she faced him with a dull and yet thoughtful look that she'd looked at him last week. She cocks her head to the side and he couldn't help but wonder what's going through her head.
"Are you asking me why I care about all of you?" She finally asks, her voice equally dull as her face.
She was questioning in the right direction, but she was slightly off. For whatever reason she cares for the others wasn't his concern right now. What he wanted to know was why she cares about him too. He wasn't like everyone else; he was a Hollow, and the Shinigami—and just like his own kind—had treated him differently; like a threat. Yet he has done nothing to provoke them besides being a little curious about them and invading their personal space. But the green-haired woman wasn't like that when he did that to her.
He leans his face closer to her. Checking her expression for any kind of change and as he was inches away from her, the only thing that changed from her was her facial expression; but she wasn't glaring at him or searching for her weapon with her eyes. Instead, she raised both eyebrows. She didn't try leaning back or try pushing him away.
So they stared at each other's eyes. He was looking for any signs of hostility in her orbs. Seconds turn into minutes before he even knew it. He backed away before he wrote back down on the ground.
'You're not looking for a reason to kill me. Why?'
"What?" She finally made an expression he could read; A frown. "Why would I try to kill you?"
'Because of what I am; a Hollow.'
Her frowns deepen, and she looks slightly hurt at his assumption. "I wouldn't kill you because of something like that." Mashiro stopped to contemplate her next words. "I... don't think that just because you're a Hollow gives me the right to just kill you and even though that would go against my job, I think I've seen enough to know that every Hollow is different." She read across the dirt as he wrote his next sentence.
'I may act differently from other Hollows, but I'm still that, a Hollow. I'm different in comparison to you.'
Now he wants to see what she'll say to that, and to his slight shock, she looked at him with a toothy smile.
"Ha! We're not so different either!" Mashiro jumped to her feet in a swift movement and leaned her upper body down to inch her face closer to his. "We're more alike than you think!" She gathers Reiatsu over her left hand and swipes it across her face.
He looked at the Hollow mask across the woman's face; strongly resembling a hornet.
"Do you know what I am? I'm a Visored; a Shinigami with Hollow powers." She dropped her focus and her Hollow mask shatter. "I'm not supposed to be so different to a regular Shinigami besides the gain of Hollow's powers, but Soul Society didn't think so. They thought we were different, and they tried to kill us." She then started pointing between them with a smile. "See? We're not so different and if you get to become an Arrancar, then you'll be a Hollow with Shinigami's powers! We'll both be different, but still similar at the same time!"
He couldn't help but ponder his head at her words. Is that her reason for treating him differently? Because they're basically the same thing? Or could it be that she doesn't want to treat anyone unfairly like Soul Society has done to her? He picked up the stick again but stopped. He was about to ask the same question again, but she had already answered it.
Why does she care for him? Because she's giving him the benefit of the doubt that he's different to the rest of the Hollows; and he was. That's why she never acted with a hostile behavior towards him. He must have lost track of time because before he knew it, Shinji had called out to her again and like last time, they were ready to go home.
Mashiro spun around and walked towards the blonde Visored with each step full of vivacity and spirit before she stopped to look at him.
"Hey... I know it's rude but, what's your name again?"
"..."
"..."
When he wrote again—slowly this time and finish, Mashiro walked over to him to read what he said.
'I'm supposed to have a name?'
Looking at her, he found a smile on her face again.
"You're a ready weird Hollow, y'know? Oh well, I guess next time you'll figure it out! Bye~bye!"
When she left, and he stared at the words he wrote, he couldn't help but feel another sensation again. Like last time, she was able to pull out a foreign emotion that he still hasn't figured out, but the one he's feeling right now was all too familiar to him. He reflected himself with this specific word because his baseless and non-communicated life-style had made him live through it for as long as he can remember; Nihilism.
Yo! Another chapter done! And in a month, too!
Sweet. Although this chapter was alot shorter than the last one.
I also have little to talk about this chapter either.
So, yeah, I made Karin a Quincy. An interesting twist since I don't remember reading any stories with Karin becoming a Quincy. Most have her be a Shinigami; and that also brings up the question to what I'm supposed to do with Yuzu when I thought... why not a Shinigami? Well, honestly I don't know if I'll have her be a Shinigami or... y'all know, possibly ruin her life when a certain traitorous Captain gets his hands on her. Heh.
I think I have an idea to what poor little Yuzu's fate will be.
Also, Lily is now a prisoner and sadly her life not gonna be very easy... She's gonna go through hell because of two Captains but fear not! She'll be able to make friends in the least expected places.
In another note, I think it's about time I sort of give Anna (OC) her story and how she's connected with Lily. I thought really hard about it and I have a delightful idea which I hope is solid. Hopefully, it won't sound too stupid.
Well, that's all everything!
-Ten: Out.