A/N: I'm alive!
Disclaimer: Did not own Bleach yesterday, do not own it today.
#21#
One of the first things that Ichigo noted, once the entire Ginjo fiasco had been wrapped up and he had finally had the opportunity to greet everyone in Soul Society, was that the Shinigami in general, and the upper hierarchy in particular seemed oddly lax now in days. Like if they were all just languidly enjoying life without a care in the world seemingly content to believe that now in days, the only terrors out in the worlds were hollows easily dispatched.
At the beginning, he had thought he was missing something. Maybe everyone was just taking it easy trying to catch up on the lost time since he had last seen them all. Maybe it was a slow season and they would pick up the pace soon enough. Maybe the trained like crazy and prepared for the battles to come when his back was turned.
They didn't.
They just… didn't do anything out of the ordinary Shingami duties and it was frustrating for Ichigo to see that they had gotten complacent. What in the world were they thinking?! Why wasn't the Captain Commander doing anything? Why were they all living life as if in blissful ignorance? And why was Ichigo having to worry over people who had centuries on him?
His answer came easily enough. When Ichigo finally got around to asking Rukia about any training plans for the future and only received a confused stare, then, and only then, did he realize that they didn't know.
Once he got rid of Rukia for the afternoon, he had made a beeline for the first division barracks, stared down the first Lieutenant for half a minute, before being granted an audience with the Captain Commander and then threw his grievance at him.
"The Sealed King," Ichigo didn't feel the need to beat around the bush. "Why haven't you been doing anything to plan for it?"
The Captain Commander had given him a narrow eyed gaze before picking up his tea and settling back into his chair.
"You are referring to the Quincy King, yes?"
Ichigo's frown only deepened before nodding.
Yamamoto sighed. "I fought him 1,000 years ago, I imagine you have heard. Once he failed to resurface, we have all concluded that he succumbed to his injuries."
Once it became obvious that this was all the Captain Commander had to say on the matter, Ichigo let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding before nodding to himself and trying to steady is heartbeat. He hadn't known all this until he had gone rummaging through his mom's old stuff this past year. But now with all the information together, now knowing that his mother was not a simple human, a lot of the things she taught him no longer seemed innocent.
"There is a story," He began ever so hesitantly. "A lullaby really, passed down generation after generation of Quincy. Mom used to tell it as a bedtime story; sometimes she would even just sing it, but it's the same message."
Yamamoto is gazing at him impassively, the only telltale sign to show that he had been momentarily surprised being the twitch his mustache made when Ichigo mentioned the Quincy. You didn't need to be a genius to know what he had been implying.
"After 900 years of being sealed, He would regain his pulse; after another 90, He would regain his intellect; and after 9 more years… He would absorb the power of every impure Quincy to make their abilities his own." Ichigo's jaw tightened as he said this last part, the "impure" part being decidedly spat. "That is when Auswählen shall fall."
"Auswählen." Yamamoto pronounced carefully, his accent thick and nowhere near as perfect as when Ichigo had said it. "You said it was a story." His tone reflected an assertion, yet Ichigo knew it was more of a question.
"My Mother died when I was nine." He explained over the small knot in his throat. "I was tricked by a hollow and she jumped in to save me. Any other day she would have been fine, she was a Quincy, and a talented one too. The Kurosaki Quincy Clan was one of the last surviving Echt at the time. She would have been fine against that hollow but the Auswählen happened, and I know it is also the reason why Ishida's mother died as well."
The Captain Commander looks just as impassive as he did at the beginning of the importu meeting, but there is now something weighing him down, as if he has suddenly aged another couple centuries before Ichigo's very eyes and he was at least partially responsible for it.
Even then, he rather bring the old man stress then let them continue to live in blind peace.
"Do we know when the Quincy King will be coming?" He puts his tea down and leans ever so slightly forward "And will you stand with us?"
Ichigo takes a moment to think about it. Not the first question, but the second. Because while a big part of him rages and aches over his mother's loss, a smaller, more calculating part of himself reels in that impulsiveness and makes him think more analytically.
The Sealed King was not only the beginning of the Quincy, he was the source, and if his mother's notes are to be believed, he may even have the ability to take his shared power on a whim and control his perceived subjects as he wishes. He would never join the man on his free will, but it's a good idea to stop and think of the possibilities.
Just in case.
"I won't stand with Him." Ichigo answers at last. "My mixed heritage should make it impossible for him to control me, but there is still a slightest possibility that he may be able to rob me of some of my power if he tries, though that is only an inkling, and not a certainty."
Yamamoto nods, seemingly pleased that Ichigo had stopped to think instead of just bulldozing over the issue as he is prone to do.
"And my first question youngling?" He presses.
Ichigo purses his lips before sighing. "We don't know. But when the time comes, we will know, The Kaizā Gezangu will play like a hymn for war, and We will all know the time is near."
"The lullaby?" Yamamoto guesses and Ichigo easily nods. "Then we must start preparations at once. The Quincy King was a formidable opponent and I barely survived when I was at the peak of my power, now, if he was gotten more powerful, we may have an issue."
Ichigo is momentarily surprised that the Old man is willing to show such weakness to him but quickly sobers up. If there is anyone who knows how formidable the King is besides Yamamoto himself, it would probably have to be Ichigo who pieced together the puzzle left by his mother and the blood flowing through his veins.
"I will try and isolate my blood to gain a better insight, but at the moment, training and growing stronger for the upcoming hurdles is definite a must." Ichigo agrees.
The Captain Commander nods regally before flickering his reiatsu ever so slightly in a quick double succession that has the lieutenant, Chōjirō Sasakibe entering the wide spread office almost instantly.
"Yes sir?" he asks promptly.
"Send out the runners." He orders "I want all captain and lieutenants assembled in half an hour for a meeting. No exceptions can be made, their presence is mandatory."
Sasakibe easily nods and flash steps away to go do as he was told. In the meantime, Ichigo turns back to the Captain Commander and wonders, if only for a second, whether he can get a raincheck.
The way the old man looks at him, one eyebrow ever so slightly raised and his eyes open the barest minimum to scrutinize him, makes Ichigo think that the Captain Commander has other ideas.
He finds it mildly terrifying, to say the least.
Not to be continued…