Yo, we're back with another chapter. I'm really glad the story has been well received considering it's something new I've tried. Truth be told, I think this is the best story I've written and arguably the most fun to do right next to the hxh story. Shoutout to Butdile on the discord server for helping me with ideas and Beta'ing the chapters before I post. Anyway just one more chapter before we see some stuff from canon. As always if you wanna join the discord to chat, feel free to do so. The link will be right below this.
PQbtuRsTKx
The following morning Tsunade woke up to the warm rays of the sun landing directly on her. Her face scrunched up in annoyance as the light did its best to wake her from her slumber. Tossing around in an attempt to shield herself from the light, she pulled the thin covers over herself but it was no use. Any hint of sleep she felt began to disappear and her eyes slowly opened to their regular state. She stayed in a curled up position away from the window for five minutes before giving in and rolling onto her back once more.
She turned her head away from the direction of the sun to look at the second bed in the room. Tsunade mentally cursed at not having selected that bed the night before. She had been given the choice and had gone with the one near the window and now she was awake at five thirty in the morning. Shizune meanwhile was still far from any rays of light potentially hitting her.
The young woman was sleeping peacefully with a serene smile on her face. Whatever she was dreaming about was clearly something she was enjoying. Ton ton was laying on the foot of her bed snoring lightly, moving just a tad bit to get more comfortable atop the blanket.
Giving it one more go, she pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes, hoping they wouldn't open for another two to three hours at least. Her efforts yielded no results however and her eyes opened after only three minutes. Huffing in annoyance, she pushed the blanket down so that only her lower half was covered. Adjusting the shirt she wore to sleep, she sat up with her back against the headboard and stared straight at the opposite wall.
She stared boredly, mentally kicking herself for the last second decision to come to Yugakure. Unlike most of the towns she frequented, this one had no casinos to keep her occupied. The thought of the casinos made her think of Ichigo and the conversation they'd had on the way to the village about her losing money. Thinking back on it now she found it kind of funny to see him so worked up.
Her small smile faded shortly after the thoughts entered her mind however. The events of the night before crept up on her. She had stayed with him for well over twenty minutes in silence, keeping him within her embrace. Her concerns had vanished for the moment as the empathy she felt for the man compelled her to do what she did. Tsunade didn't regret comforting him in a time of obvious need, but she also realized it had paused her ability to think clearly at the time.
Now with nothing to do and possibly a few hours until either Shizune or Ichigo woke up, she could think over everything carefully. The doubts and suspicion she had as to his story were still present but she couldn't clearly explain why. Ichigo's story so far had checked out but something in her mind lingered, telling her it wasn't right. There was a certain feeling she got whenever she spoke to him that told her he wasn't being completely honest.
That could've just been the paranoia that develops in most seasoned shinobi, she reasoned, but it felt like more than that. The one thing she knew for certain was that what he'd told her about his family was very real. One couldn't fake the kind of pain she saw in his eyes.
The way he got around the village however was what had her suspicions going off once more. The way he traversed the village didn't give off the impression that someone had lived there for a long period of time. Sure, he knew a few shortcuts and some decent places to eat but she'd kept her eyes on him.
More than once had she caught his eyes wandering around the village. He had the same look that one would have when seeing something for the first time. There was no one he greeted like an old friend or even acquaintance and while the reasoning for the recommended hot spring made sense, she was iffy about that as well.
'Then comes the issue of his speed,' She thought to herself. Tsunade knew of and had encountered some of the strongest shinobi alive and their speed paled in comparison to what Ichigo claimed. Even someone like the fourth Raikage who was considered the current fastest shinobi didn't measure up. Minato could be compared but he used markers and her grand uncle's signature jutsu.
'To go to Ame, Konoha, and then back to us after a bounty…that would take hours and he did it within one.' She continued mentally, frowning at the wall. If he was really that fast, he would be the fastest shinobi alive. Someone that fast would've been known to some degree but yet neither she nor Shizune had heard of him prior to their meeting.
Shinobi with notable skills tended to have their names drift along through the nations. So how was it that the man was almost a complete unknown? Even if he was from this village someone would've known of him.
"Is everything alright Lady Tsunade?"
The blond snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look at the younger woman who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Just fine Shizune. Go back to sleep if you're tired, not like we have much to occupy ourselves with." She replied with a bit of frustration.
"Well it was your idea to come to Yugakure." The young woman shot back. "Did it live up to your expectations?"
Tsunade hummed and shrugged. "I suppose it did. The hot springs were amazing I'll admit to that but maybe Ichigo was right, there really isn't much else." She added. It was surely a coincidence that his words about not much to do were proving to be true.
"You mean you can't gamble and waste hard earned money."
"You've been letting his words corrupt your brain, Shizune. I don't lose money, the casinos just cheat me out of it." She huffed.
The younger woman smiled and nodded without the faintest trace of belief. "Whatever you say. So what's the plan for today?"
The older blond didn't respond for a minute. What could they do? She wasn't in the mood to hit another hot spring, especially since they would surely have to share it with a number of tourists.
"We'll get breakfast and see if Ichigo has any ideas. We're in his home, let's see if there's something he wants to do before we leave. If he doesn't we'll leave today."
"That's a great idea. This is the first time he's been back in a while, I'm sure there's something he wants to do."
'I doubt it.' Tsunade thought to herself. Glancing back at the wall that separated them from the man in question, she stood up and headed to the bathroom to prepare for the day.
While the women were beginning their morning routine, Ichigo was wide awake in the next room over. Like Tsunade, his own thoughts had been riddled with the memories of the night prior. Now that he was in a better state of mind, he still couldn't think of a good reason why he'd told her about his family. Up until now, he'd been able to fabricate almost every aspect of his life, but he couldn't bring himself to lie about his family.
Sure, there were some discrepancies since other than his mom, his family wasn't dead but with his current situation it wasn't much different. He hadn't said exactly what had happened to them and how they were just in another plane of existence apparently but it wasn't a complete lie. The revelation of what had happened to his family led to yet another surprising moment. In his time of vulnerability, Tsunade had offered him comfort. He didn't keep track of how long they stayed in the admittedly comfortable embrace but it must have been twenty minutes at the very least.
He couldn't help the small grin that made its way onto his face at the thought. Tsunade had unknowingly held him in the same manner Ikumi had a while ago. If he was being honest with himself though, he had to admit that he enjoyed it this time a bit more than the last time. He wasn't a perv by any stretch of the word, and most could vouch for him, but it was undeniable that Tsunade was a looker.
Had the situation not been as depressing as it had been, he would've enjoyed the feeling a bit more.
The shinigami groaned silently to himself and palmed his hand to his face as another thought came to him. The two were always at each other's throats and if there was something he knew about Tsunade, it was that the woman was petty. To a degree he was too as he didn't mind bringing up old events to get a point across, nor did he ever back down from a bickering session.
He only hoped that she wouldn't bring up the look on his face while she held him. There was a moment where her hand had begun to run through his hair and she once again apologized for bringing up a sensitive topic. His eyes had begun to close on their own due to how soothing it felt.
'She wouldn't use the family against me, she wouldn't stoop that low.' He thought to himself. 'The embrace and my reaction? I can definitely see it.'
Sighing to himself, he sat up and let his legs rest off the side of the mattress. Tsunade's potential teasing aside, there was another issue that had taken root within his mind. This one however, wouldn't be as easy to maneuver as it was to memorize the layout of the village.
After their trip to the hot springs, he'd guided them around the village acting as something of a tour guide. He took them from place to place detailing what place sold certain goods and which places were cheaper than others. Shizune hung on his words and would ask questions about some of the places, most of which could be answered rather easily. Others took a bit of brain power to come up with something believable but it had been done.
The whole time they walked, Ichigo could feel Tsunade's eyes on him as he walked ahead of them. He didn't believe for one minute that it was because she had some sort of admiration for his form. The looks she gave him were scrutinizing as if trying to find some sort of flaw within him.
He compared it to the looks he used to send Ginjo, though very much toned down. It didn't seem like she didn't trust him, he doubted she would've offered that he join them if that was the case, but she was definitely on the fence about him. She wouldn't be completely wrong either as he had withheld information from them but nothing that would put them in danger.
'I'm going to have to be more careful.' He realized. 'If she does distrust me, I can probably expect non close ended questions. Things that'll make me answer in a very specific way. Damn it, why couldn't Urahara have taught me how to lie better or something?'
The only thing he could hope for was that they wouldn't be in the village for much longer. Once they were gone, the questions about the village would cease and he'd be in the clear. Hopefully it would stay that way until they made it to Konoha. He needed Tsunade to trust him, the chance to learn about or meet someone who could potentially know the teleportation technique depended on it.
Of course, there was the chance that no one knew it but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, that was his best bet and he would do whatever it took to get there.
Figuring it would be best to get up and start the day, he walked over to the bathroom, grabbing his clothing as he did so. Closing the bathroom door, he glanced at the clothes he would be wearing and wondered if perhaps it would be a good idea to get some new clothing. He was sort of attached to the standard Shinigami clothing but eventually he'd need to have them replaced.
'It can wait a little longer. I haven't seen any clothing I've liked.' He reasoned, ignoring the fact that he hadn't bothered to look at clothes except for the time he bought the top portions of his current clothing.
A couple of minutes later after filling the bathroom with steam from his shower, Ichigo emerged fully dressed and refreshed. Making sure he had everything he needed, he stepped out of his room and took five steps to his left. He could feel movement from within the room so he knew he wouldn't be waking anyone up. After three knocks, Shizune opened the door and greeted him kindly.
"Morning, we're just about done getting ready. Come on in." She told him. Stepping inside, he placed Zangestu along the wall next to the door and took a seat on what he presumed was Tsunade's best. He couldn't see her within the small room which meant she was probably in the bathroom.
"We're just waiting on Lady Tsunade to finish applying her makeup, she should be done any minute now."
Nodding in understanding, he let himself fall onto the bed in a similar fashion that the blond had done on his. The two didn't have to wait very long as Tsunade emerged from the bathroom just three minutes later. Her eyes noticed the new addition to the room but made no indication that she was bothered by his lounging on her bed.
"Good morning. You seem to be doing better." Tsunade noted.
"Much better. So what's on the agenda for today?" He asked.
"Nothing actually." She replied simply. "As it turns out you were right when you said there wasn't much to do around here. After our little tour yesterday there doesn't seem to be much else to see."
He nodded and inwardly thanked whoever was looking out for him for this development.
"I did a bit of thinking and figured since I dragged us all the way out here, we might as well let you decide if there's anything you'd like to do." She continued.
Shizune nodded. "That's right. This is your home village after all. Is there anything you wanna do? Anyone you'd like to see before we go?"
He shook his head. "Not exactly….well besides eating at a specific ramen stand that's nearby. They have some pretty good tonkotsu."
"That's fine with me. Shizune?" She asked. The woman was quick to agree. "I haven't had a good bowl of ramen in a while, if it's anything like the last place you took us to I'm sure it'll be good. So there's nothing else you wanna see while we're here?"
Ichigo looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a look that she mirrored as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. He'd already told her that there was nothing left but she continued to ask as if he'd change his mind.
"Thanks for taking me into account but it's ok. There's nothing else I really want to do here. So if none of us have anything else to check out, what are we doing?" He asked, trying to veer the conversion in another direction.
"Well if it's all the same to you we're leaving Yugakure after breakfast. There's another town I need to head to." She informed him.
The Shinigami grinned. "You really couldn't go long without gambling could you?"
Tsunade could feel a vein in her head bulge at his comment. To think she'd gone out of her way to make him feel better the night before. "I'll have you know I wasn't thinking of going to a gambling town, but since you wanna be a smart ass I think that's exactly where we're going."
Shizune snickered at the interaction but covered her laugh with a cough when a stern glare was sent her way.
"We're ready. Lead the way." She ordered.
Standing up, he headed towards the door, snatching his blade along the way. He quickly stopped by his room once more to give it a final look over to make sure he hadn't accidentally left any money. Once he was certain everything of value was on him, he locked the door and went downstairs to check out.
"What was Yugakure like before it became a tourist destination?" Shizune asked curiously.
Ichigo hummed but didn't break his stride. "Almost exactly the same. Some of the hot springs you see here hadn't been made yet and some didn't look the way they do now. The academy has since been demolished and replaced by a shopping center. The one we were at yesterday." He lied. There was no way to confirm his words so they would have to take it at face value.
Tsunade stared at him with that same look she'd given him the night before and he felt a sudden nervousness build within him. He'd already said most of what he knew about Yugakure, anything from this point on would need to be remembered so that he wasn't caught in a lie.
He was saved from further questions as they arrived at the stall. The owner was barely opening up but welcomed them with a smile on his face, very much pleased to have their business. The ramen was good, better than anything he'd had back home in a long time.
Just over thirty minutes later, they were back at the torii gate that stood at the front of the village. Ichigo gave one last look back and mentally exhaled, he'd made it with only a few close calls.
Tsunade didn't say the name of the next town they would be staying at, only that he had better be ready to make some cash. At this point, Ichigo felt more like a tool than a traveling partner which was ironic considering the two women were shinobi which historically were just used and discarded.
They walked for the better part of an hour and a half, making small talk about whatever came to mind. During a rather interesting conversation with Shizune about how exactly she came to possess a pig, he stopped when he saw someone familiar up ahead. On the path, there was a large tipped over tree with a silver haired man sitting on top of it.
The man wore a white shirt underneath a black unzipped jacket. His pants were dark blue in color and were tucked into his shoes which were some sort of modified sandals. In his hand rested a large three pronged scythe. Sensing their arrival, the man opened his eyes and glanced at the party of three.
"Well what do we have here?" He asked with glee in his voice. "One of the Sannin and two others, it's my lucky day."
Tsunade placed a hand on her hip and looked back at him uninterestedly. "Great, another one who thinks they can beat me and make a name for himself." she muttered to herself. "Who are you anyways?"
"Hidan." Ichigo replied without thinking. "He's an S rank rogue from Yugakure worth 10 million ryo." He finished.
"Only 10 million? What a joke." Hidan complained while resting the scythe on his shoulder. "I guess it doesn't really matter. Money isn't important to me. The only thing I care about is the sacrifices I'll make to Jashin. One of the Sannin, he'll be very pleased."
Tsunade looked to Hidan and then Ichigo. "You're not as bad as him but it seems like both the Yugakure shinobi I've met have a tendency to start off on a bad foot with me. Why is that?" She asked him.
"Eh? You're from Yugakure too?" Hidan asked Ichigo.
"What of it?" He replied.
Hidan grinned. "I didn't think there were any left. I'll deal with the Sannin after, let's see what you've got." Having said his piece, the man leaped into the air and came straight towards him. Tsunade and Shizune hopped back a considerable distance in order to watch the battle. Shizune looked slightly worried with the information that the man was an S rank shinobi.
Tsunade meanwhile was interested in seeing how this would play out. This would be the first time she would see Ichigo in action and gain a little more information about him.
Bringing Zangetsu up into a horizontal position, he easily stopped the longest blade just an inch away from his face. There was decent force behind the attack, much more than there was with Rokusho Aoi at least. Slashing to the side, he opened Hidan's guard and slashed horizontally only for the scythe to swing around and deflect the blade.
Spinning the scythe above his head, Hidan rushed forward swinging in what seemed like a wild pattern. Ichigo dodged and weaved around most attacks and brought his zanpakuto up to deflect those that he couldn't maneuver around. Even though it looked like wild uncoordinated swings, each slash transitioned into the next smoothly.
Sparks flew as the metals clashed against one another and wild laughter could be heard from the silver haired Yugakure native. Jumping high into one of the branches of a tree, Ichigo pushed off the trunk to come at the man with a bit more momentum. The scythe came up to block the blow and while it managed to do it, the force behind the attack sent the shinobi crashing through one of the trees nearby.
'I could have finished this already but I can't show too much just yet. I can feel Tsunade's eyes on me.' He thought to himself.
"Fuck that hurt." Hidan cursed. Stepping out from the rubble he'd created, Ichigo noted his jacket was missing and part of his shirt had been torn but other than that looked fine. The man disappeared and appeared in front of him with another downward swing. Side stepping the attack, he watched as Hidan did an entire flip using the momentum of the swing to lead into his next attack. Zangetsu lodged itself in between the upper two blades and pushed against them. Hidan was now only inches away from him with their weapons acting as the only barrier between them.
"You're not half bad. You're a shinobi of Yugakure, yeah? When did you graduate?" Hidan asked, not letting off the pressure he was applying.
"During the villages last year using shinobi." Ichigo replied, doubling the force he was using. Hidan was pushed back but flipped in mid air, landing safely on his feet.
Not waiting for Hidan to initiate once again, Ichigo flashed in front of him with Zangetsu already mid swing. Despite not going full speed, Hidan was able to tilt his head back and watch the tip of the blade fly by his face. Bringing it back, the blades clashed once more. The pangs of steel colliding and the sounds of trees tipping over was the only thing to be heard in the distance.
"You're good, I'll give you that." Hidan commented, jumping back to create some space between them. "What I don't understand is how I don't know you. I graduated three years before Yugakure had the dumbass idea of abolishing our shinobi forces. Not once do I recall seeing anyone that looked like you around."
"Maybe you were too busy with this Jashin person you mentioned." Ichigo replied quickly. This wasn't good, he knew Tsunade and Shizune would be listening to everything being said.
Hidan shook his head. "Nah, I knew almost everyone in the academy. I'm surprised you're this good though. Almost everyone who graduated during the last year is already dead. That's what Yugakure gets though, abolish the shinobi program and a shit ton of kids die. They're asking for the same thing to happen now that the academy was turned into a shitty regular school."
Ichigo felt his blood run cold. He had no idea exactly what had happened to the academy, only that it wasn't there anymore. For it to be repurposed would mean it would've most likely remained in the same spot. He remembered seeing one large school during their tour and it never occurred to him that that building was the same one that used to produce their defenses.
Flashing in front of Hidan, Ichigo easily swiped away the scythe attack and kicked the man in the chest. Hidan was unbothered and righted himself in the air in order to continue their battle.
While their fight continued, Shizune and Tsunade kept themselves off to the side watching with differing degrees of intensity. Shizune was focused on the fighting, making note of Ichigo's fighting style and trying to discern what strategy he was going for.
"You look like you have something on your mind, Shizune." Tsunade commented, her head turning quickly to the right as two bodies flew past them.
"I was just making note that Ichigo is a rather competent swordsman. I figured he'd have some skill to carry the blade he does but seeing him in action really gives a better idea as to his skills. That and I'm wondering if I could match the speed he's moving." She admitted.
Tsunade hummed but didn't respond for a moment. Instead, she kept her eyes on the fight, or rather, she kept her eyes on Ichigo. She still vividly remembered his claim about his speed after capturing Rokusho Aoi and so far she wasn't seeing anything that would prove that claim. She narrowed her eyes in his direction and wondered when he would show something useful.
Even as a swordsman, at least one bit of ninjutsu would've been thrown by now to create an advantage for oneself. Yet Ichigo had done nothing but clash over and over with the occasional kick or punch. That led her to one conclusion.
"You could potentially match him as he is right now…but I feel that he's holding back. A substantial amount in fact."
Shizune looked towards her and then Ichigo. "Holding back? They seem to be pretty even as it is. Why would he hold back against an S rank shinobi?" She asked.
"I'm not sure. There's a few reasons. Either he's been without a challenge so long that he's been dying to find someone worth his time." She said, holding up a finger. "He doesn't want Hidan to know what he's capable of." She lifted another finger. "Or he doesn't see him as that big of a threat."
Shizune looked back at the fight to see Hidan being cut across the chest two times consecutively in an x pattern before being blasted away into the forest. The ground shook slightly from the impact of the trees.
"Something tells me it's option number three." She commented dryly.
Ichigo stayed rooted in his spot for a minute staring ahead in the direction he'd shot Hidan. That was the longest he'd stayed down. Knowing the fight was over, he turned around to ask either women if they had any rope or wire on them to tie him up when he felt Hidan move.
Tsunade and Shizune's eyes shot upwards letting him know that man was on the move once more. Tired of the battle, he decided to step it up just a bit. Taking a page out of Aizen's book he began to Shunpo from left to right at immense speeds, leaving visible after images of himself in place.
The sound of flesh being cut through rang out across the area leaving both spectators in shock. Hidan's left arm flew high into the air, having been cut all the way at the shoulder. Ichigo stood behind Hidan with his back to him and his zanpakuto extended out and away from him.
"You fucker!" Hidan yelled furiously. As if having felt no pain the man rushed forward again only to have to pick between a copy of lined up images of the man.
"Is that a clone jutsu combined with substitutions?" Shizune asked in shock.
Tsunade shook her head equally surprised and also impressed. Maybe he wasn't lying about his bounty time after all. "No. That's just him moving from left to right. He's moving at such a high speed that he's leaving after images of himself. Maybe fast was an understatement." She said, muttering the last part.
Hidan swung at what he believed would be the target only for his scythe to cut through the air and for his opponent's blade to cut through one of his legs. His right leg was cut above the knee, dropping onto the ground.
Ichigo, knowing Hidan would continue as he readjusted the grip on his scythe, took a deep breath and steadied himself. As expected, Hidan hopped over to him with a crazed look on his face, yelling and laughing about Jashin helping him or something.
The two swung at the same time, only for Ichigo to righten himself up and Hidan to slump onto the ground with his head detaching itself from his body. The shinigami closed his eyes at the sight and put the zanpakuto away. This was official kill number three but it didn't feel like the first two. This one felt different, Hidan hadn't wronged him in the same way Ginjo and Tsukishima had but from what he'd seen he definitely needed to be put down.
Shizune appeared next to him with a scroll in her hand. "What a gruesome display." She commented. "Grab his body parts. I'll help you seal this up."
Ichigo did as he was instructed and looked up at the tree branch to see Tsunade with her eyes closed and her head turned away from the scene. He found it a bit strange, he would've thought that as a medic she would have seen scenes worse than the one in front of her.
"There's a bounty station nearby." He commented.
"Yeah, it's not too far from here. I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't mind stopping by to drop him off, and if she does it's nothing a few ryo can't fix." The black haired woman commented.
That was true, he supposed. After sealing all the body parts and scythe into a scroll, Tsunade joined them, landing a few feet away from them and walking away without turning back.
"I assume you want to turn him in, right? Then let's move quickly before it gets dark. I'd rather not have to camp out." she commented.
Catching up to her, Ichigo stared at the woman's back and wondered what was going through her mind. She hadn't commented on anything Hidan had said so maybe there was the chance it had flown over her head.
Unfortunately for him, it hadn't. She'd made note of everything that had transpired and she was certain her gut feeling was right. He was lying about being from Yugakure. He didn't seem to have nefarious motives for joining them but he was definitely hiding something. All she needed was a bit more evidence to support her hypothesis but at the rate things were going, the two would need to have a chat soon.
The walk to the bounty station was a quiet one, with the only conversation coming when they had made it to the station. The entrance was hidden behind one of the urinals, something normal people wouldn't have been able to find without already knowing about it. It was a good thing he could feel someone nearby and after a little investigating, he'd found what he was looking for. After stating his name and business, things progressed smoothly.
The bald man who ran the bounty station had unsealed the man and whistled in amazement at who had been brought to him. Counting the money had taken a few minutes even with the large denomination of bills but eventually he was on his way. Unbeknownst to him, the moment he had left the room, Hidan's eyes had snapped open.
xxxx
So I take it we're going to scam these guys in cards too?" Ichigo asked in a bored tone as they walked through the front gate of the town they'd arrived at a few hours later.
"We're not scamming. We're just using a mental edge to give us better odds." Tsunade reasoned. That was the most she'd said to him since the battle. Ichigo felt a bit nervous, not that she might be mad at him but because she might suspect something. The looks she'd sent him and the trip to Yugakure had him on edge. He would need to do something to keep her mind occupied.
"Right. So we doing this now?" He asked.
To his surprise she shook her head. "No, you've had enough on your plate today. Feel free to enjoy yourself for the rest of the day. Same goes for you Shizune, I'm going to get warmed up on some machines." She said, leaving them alone.
Shizune sighed. "Looks like we're setting up accommodations at the inn." She said.
As they walked, Ichigo glanced back to where Tsunade had been. "Shizune, who exactly does Tsunade owe money to?"
Shizune paused for a moment. "A few people but I think the largest sum is to a gang in the land of tea. Bunzo is the person that usually looks for us to try to collect." She informed him.
Ichigo made a mental note of the name and handed her a few bills to take care of things. He needed to find a map. Shizune watched him leave with a puzzled expression but continued on to secure their rooms. She was sure they'd find out exactly what was up with him soon enough.
