A/N: Happy Halloween!
Masaki had taught Ichigo everything about their craft from a very young age. Once upon a time, this would have been frowned upon and the elders would have encouraged her to maybe start a bit later, when he was at least ten or so. The younglings weren't taught real witchcraft until then, but Masaki had never been conventional and there were no more elders left for them to scold her.
So Ichigo learns from the moment he was in the crib about magic, and that changes things.
He grows up with little charms that bring luck, happiness, and sunny days. The garden in the back is varied and so saturated with magic that the vines and leaves come to life and tickle him or vie for his attention when they are out tending to the crops -every other plant looks so dead in comparison. The silver mirrors show him images, flashes of the things he will get to experience throughout the day -when Masaki does it, Ichigo is always amazed at how much farther she can see in the future. The songs they sing together with intent are fantastical and he's always mesmerized when the plants get bigger with voice alone -he is outright enamored when he chases away a rainstorm all by himself. The runes they trace in the air around the house or sew in their clothing give protection, health, strength so they always know they are safe in their home. The potions they brew in the kitchen whenever Isshin is out are amazing in their range of colors and complexity.
Ichigo also learns about the curses he can weave with the right ingredients. The way he can bewitch someone into following his instructions with a careful and intoxicating hum. The jinxes he can cast with a wave of his hand and a want that has his magic spurring forward to comply. He learns so much that sometimes he's surprised his magic isn't coming out of his ears.
Masaki doesn't necessarily teach him everything, but she does teach him how to reach his magic and how to mold it to cast all these different types and branches of witchcraft. Ichigo's glad he's being homeschooled and that the only other activity he has is Karate, because otherwise he would have taken so much longer to learn all these mesmerizing spells.
When the twins are born, they get to undergo through the same adventure until Masaki dies. After that, Ichigo takes over, he's the oldest now and it's his responsibility to train and teach these new little witches.
Now that Masaki is dead, Ichigo takes over all the responsibilities she had. He cooks for the family, does the laundry and keeps the house clean. Ichigo also keeps up the wards in the house, makes teas that will soothe a stomach ache or calm the nerves, he tends to the garden and also journeys into the forest around Karakura that has all the other ingredients they need that Masaki used to get for them.
It's scary at first, being in the forbidden woods of Karakura Town. No one is allowed entry because people always disappear and no one has been able to figure out who or what had been the cause of it so instead it's now a place you just don't enter if you value your life and it's been that way for over three centuries. There is a reason behind this, all the supernatural beings had settled in that section of the forest, and no one likes it when others invade their territory.
Knowing the why does not make the excursion any less terrifying, but after a few close calls with a Chimera, a Hydra and a couple Minotaurs later, he establishes quite firmly that he is not up for grabs and definitely not to be trifled with.
Instead, they start to recognize him and acknowledge him, fairies will bring him herbs in exchange for a luck or protection charm, some werewolves -which they don't all live in the forest- bring him pelts and ask for runes that will keep their territory safe so their young can roam, the mermaids in the lake give him water plants or fish which he eagerly accepts for enchantments that preserve their beauty.
After he has established himself as someone strong and recognizable, he even begins to bring the twins on certain small excursions that don't bring them into dangerous territory but gives them experience.
After Masaki died, he started going to school -because Isshin obviously couldn't home tutor him- and somehow manages to make friends. He already knew Tatsuki from Karate, but now that he's in actual school, he meets her best friend Orihime who now sort-of-kind-of is his friend too. Chad is a friend he gains on his own though, after he saw the half-Mexican getting beat up because he would not fight back, he found his feet taking him towards the mob of delinquents and beating the shit out of them -he didn't even need his magic, it would have been wasted on these idiots. Later on he meets Mizuiro and Keigo who also become close friends even though he always brushes off Keigo because he can get very annoying. Uryū comes only slightly after, and while he can be standoffish and a cold hearted bitch, Ichigo has been trying to cajole him into joining because the ass is family and Ichigo does not abandon family.
They hang out together, sometimes it's just him and Chad, sometimes it's Tatsuki, Orihime and him, and other times it's all the boys and without Ichigo even making a conscious decision about it, he starts to show a bit more of himself to these people little by little.
He tells Chad he will walk home with him on a random day because he knows some punks will try and jump his friend two blocks away.
He gives Orihime a threaded bracelet with some carved runes on the quartz that he tells her will give her a little extra luck to tone down her clumsiness.
He manhandles Tatsuki to the clinic after school for no particular reason and is rewarded with his idiot father noticing in the x-ray scans that Tatsuki is pushing herself too much and needs to rest for a week or deal with a broken arm.
He brews a thermos full of tea that he hands to Keigo when he's sick and knows the boy will be back in school tomorrow against all odds.
He flicks a bit of misfortune at Uryū's dad after the teenager comes to school in a sourer mood then ever and is gratified to hear him tell Ichigo all about how Ryūken had fallen down the stairs and while he didn't break anything, he was still bruised and his ego more so.
He makes sure Mizuiro doesn't call a new 'lady friend' and is told later on by a pale faced Mizuiro how she was arrested for having murdered twelve underage boys.
After all the things he has done and not so subtly done, it is very obvious that there is something odd about Ichigo, but it isn't until two weeks after his latest bit of 'protecting his friends' that Uryū uncharacteristically blurts out in a hush in their conversation.
"You're a witch."
Everyone looks on in confusion as they move their gaze from Ichigo to Uryū as if that would answer the questions they probably have on the tip of their tongue.
"I am." Ichigo agrees without fanfare because he knew Uryū had finally set his pride aside and had asked Ryūken about what kind of Quincy the Kurosaki had been -bad ones had probably been the answer, the Kurosaki were always Witch first and Quincy a vaguely oh-yeah-it-exists second.
His friends have questions of course, but Ichigo already knew this would happen so he isn't overwhelmed with their barrage of questions as he probably would have been had he not been expecting it. He is very prepared.
When Rukia arrives, he is so unprepared that later in the privacy of his room after this clusterfuck has somehow resolved itself, he pulls at his hair and growls low. Stupid.
Being a Shinigami is not really that crazy when he compares it to the rest of his life. Rukia in turn is baffled at Ichigo's eccentricities but soon notices the entire family is nuts and puts it down to genetics -she's not wrong exactly. Ichigo finds it so amusing to see Rukia progressively loosing her shit whenever things diverse in how they should probably go.
Orihime and Tatsuki know what he is and what he does -they are not scared.
Chad finds the strange parakeet and the first thing he does is bring it to Ichigo and tells him all about the horrible luck he's having so Ichigo whips up some very strong protection runes that he sticks to his person.
When Grand Fisher arrives, Ichigo takes one look at the hollow that killed his mother, takes out a slip of paper he has been caring with him for six years and burns it. The hollow doesn't stand a chance and he dies screaming as he is eaten alive by what seems like flesh hollow eating beetles.
When Rukia -his new friend, she's now part of his convent, his to protect, his to cherish- is taken by that asshole redhead and her fucking brother, he does not think twice on his next course of action.
Urahara Kisuke, the crazy candy shop owner helps him get his Shinigami powers back, and while training and learning how to battle more effectively as a Shinigami is awesome, he is not putting aside his heritage no matter what. He's a witch first, Shinigami a grudging second and Quincy an oh-yeah-I-have-those third -he's being petty here, he wants to avoid the most association with that power stealing asshat Ywach.
Ichigo makes sure to sew runes into his shihakusho for health, protection, self-repair and luck. He makes extra pouches with the same attributes for each of his friends and tells them how important it is to carry them around. Chad, Uryū and Tatsuki are the ones that are coming with him on this mission and they know the should heed his warnings.
He doesn't really use his magic out in the open because he's keeping a somewhat low profile, but more discrete things like curses that cause bad luck on his enemies, healing charms that help close their injuries within minutes or hours depending on the wound are fair game.
Saving Rukia is easy in the end. Not dreadfully so, but probably easier than what Yoruichi was expecting since she looks very constipated when things somehow slot into place for Ichigo like a well scripted play.
The three captains turning traitors is unexpected, but in the end he finds that its none of his business and leaves it at that.
It becomes his business, when those son of a monkey Arrancars start popping into Karakura like they own the very air around them. Ichigo becomes more and more frustrated, and as the time goes by, Ichigo, Yuzu and Karin are tired of sticking runes on people or brewing bad luck for their enemies.
When Orihime is taken, he snaps.
"Where are you going Ichigo?" Tatsuki hisses at him as she angrily follows him out the door of Orihime's apartment after the Captain Commander had told them to stay put. "We have to save her!"
"We are." He grounds out through clenched teeth as he makes his way towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Urahara's shop is in the opposite direction! If anyone has a way to get to Hueco Mundo it will be him." She points out with barely concealed anger as she waves in the general direction of the Candy Shop. The rest of their group is following behind them, confused, angry and very upset on different levels.
Ichigo stops, takes a deep breath to avoid snapping at Tatsuki because while he's irritated -often- angry -happens- he hardly ever rages and that is what he is doing right now. He takes another breath, just in case and turns to give his convent a stare that probably looks more than a little terrifying with how some of them tense and even seem to want to take a step back.
"I am done playing nice." He almost whispers, the words such a finality that they might as well be prophecy. "I am going to make sure no one responsible for this mess remains to do further harm, and for that I need some ingredients I need to go pick."
Keigo gulps in an almost but not quite fear -not quite because he knows Ichigo would never do anything to them, but he's just now noticing how utterly terrifying he can be when genuinely angry. Mizuiro and Tatsuki shift somewhat anxiously at that while Chad and Uryū only stare on.
When no protests come forth, Ichigo turns back to continue his walk but his friends trail behind him and don't interrupt while Ichigo runs the ritual he will do though his head. As the enter the edges of the Forbidden forest, there is more unrest because everyone in Karakura knows to stay away, but Ichigo also seems at ease here, as if he were just waltzing into his backyard.
"Ichigo." Keigo calls out as he huddles somewhat closer to Chad's bulky form when he sees the many pairs of eyes staring at them from bushes and trees. "Should we really be here? I mean, I heard there are many scary things here that…"
Ichigo merely hums in acknowledgement as he turns to give the pairs of hungry eyes a powerful glare that has them backing off. "A Witch ought never be frightened in the darkest forest… because they should be absolutely certain in the depths of their soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was them."
When Ichigo is done with his ritual, he has what feels like gold and power running through his veins and he's certain that one by one, as he infiltrates Hueco Mundo and takes a step forward, his enemies will begin choking with a lack of air, their skin will become pale and then blacken with rot until they whittle into nothingness for the crime of threatening his territory home.
When he meets Aizen, the asshole sitting in his throne like the overconfident idiot he is, Ichigo stares at him head on and watches as he screams and crumbles to ashes in his seat.
He hadn't thought he would ever need to use this power, this branch of magic that all witches know they have but hardly ever feel the need to use.
Ichigo smiles.
mASAkI HAd TAuGhT iCHiGo EVeRYtHInG ABOuT ThEIr cRAfT fROM A VErY YoUNg AGe. .
Not to be continued…
A/N: So this is my Halloween special, hope you guys enjoyed it! I know, Walpurgisnacht is in April, but I liked this name more than Samhain and Walpurgisnacht is the Witches night so I thought it apt.