Hi everyone! Long time no see. I swear, i've been trying to type something Bleach related since the new season started airing and nada. Now that i had "given up" this spontaneously comes out of nowhere. Like, what? Anyway, not complaining so here you all go!
I am... so... sorry
#53#
Ichigo doesn't get time to obtain much information from his -what the fuck- future self even though he's definitely been trying to. First, there's injuries to take care of, and criminals to apprehend. Once no one is dying or in danger of potentially dying, they obviously can't just stay in the barren sogyoku hill and so everyone shuffles along to either the fourth division where he's told people will receive further care, or the first division where it seems like things are gonna go down.
He may have been injured from his battle with Byakuya earlier, but Inoue has healed him enough that honestly, short of another full on, no punches held back fight, he will not let anyone even consider asking him to go to the fourth instead of the first where he'll have an opportunity to not only keep his eyes on the once Kurosaki Ichigo, now Shiba Rai, but also, that's his best bet to get some fucking answers.
Anyone not contained to the fourth is shuffled into a long room that has the present Shinigami captains shuffling into positions that seemed practiced and Ichigo finds himself floundering as to where to stand without seeming awkward before he's waved over by the taller orange head which has Ichigo shuffling over with only half a second thought.
"This is the official captain's meeting room." His older self explains without prompting. "Those with an even number stand to the left, and the uneven numbers stand to the right."
Ichigo takes a moment to glance around the room and notes that this is definitely an accurate descriptor. He had previously thought the placements were just randomly assigned, but now that he's paying attention, he can see it. This also makes him wonder, why they are standing on the end of the right side of the room while facing the Captain commander instead of literally anywhere else.
"Visitors or people that are only here to listen stay at the very back closest to the wall." Rai continued, likely seeing Ichigo's confusion. "The center end is left for non-captains attending and participating."
All very informative so Ichigo grunts in acknowledgement but hedges on when he notes his older self isn't explaining further. "Why are we at center right?"
The older orange head hums at the question and lets his eyes flicker to the Captain commander before returning to Ichigo. "It's to do with my position in the Gotei 13; I'll explain later."
Ichigo feels his scowl deepen as he adds yet another item to the 'I'll explain later list' he's been mentally making. Honestly, why can't he just get a straight answer?
"You're placement is deliberate then, young man?" The Captain commander interjects as all the captains settle into their place and Rai has shifted his attention back towards the old man.
Rai rolls his eyes at the Captain Commander and Ichigo finds himself grudgingly admiring the gall when the old man looks about ready to burn them where they stand if they stayed firmly planted where they were without just cause.
"Of course it is." He agrees languidly. "I'm young, not stupid."
Ichigo snorts at this. Young? What in the world is he on about. The orange head besides him is supposed to be eighty-two years older than him. That is not young.
"It is." Rai reiterated besides him and Ichigo finds himself startled and wondering if he had said that out loud but everyone else looks confused at the non sequitur. "I'm eighty-two years older than you brat, that means I'm shy of a century. When you're surrounded by people who're at least a century and a half, that means you're young. Hell, the captain commander is over two millennia."
Ichigo finds his eyes widening as he looks back at the old Captain Commander and hopes for a rebuttal. When none is forthcoming, he winces and skitters his eyes around to take in all the impassive and amused expressions.
"Regardless," The Captain commander intones. "we'd all prefer if you began from the top. Name?"
Ichigo watches as Rai almost scowls at this request and is a little confused at why this question has invoked such a reaction.
"I already introduced myself to Ukitake-san." Rai deflects.
The old man narrows his eyes and grumbles a bit before conceding the fact. "Yes, but not fully it seems."
That's definitely a scowl, and while Ichigo is used to seeing that expression on himself, it's a bit odd to see it on his doppelganger if only because it seems a bit out of place on this older version of himself.
"You are asking me to give you my name. Not only my public names, but those which were bestowed upon me by an otherworldly entity." Rai growls out. "You have a lot of nerve to ask that of me."
Ichigo is honestly a bit scared of himself when sparks of black on red reiatsu crackles at the older man's fingertips like lightning. It's a bit unnerving, but Ichigo has never ran from danger, and now is no different, so he plants his feet and instead marvels at the fact that he's apparently aptly named what with Rai being thunder and lightning.
The captains around the room are tense, but Ichigo quietly marvels at the fact that the Captain commander is just as cool as when the meeting started. "That is a name you were bestowed in the future. Besides, all zero division's titles and names are of public knowledge, young Shiba."
Rai grinds his teeth almost loud enough that Ichigo wonders if the nearer Captains can hear him, but before he can even think to check, the older orange head gives a deep breath and calms his agitated reiatsu.
"Reiō-sama had yet to announce me. I'm sorry if I seem defensive, but I was on my way to the celebration when I fell through the cracks in the dangai and landed yesterday." Rai explains, not at all actually apologetic even though he claimed he was.
The Captain commander hums at the turn of events and threads the hand not holding his staff through his beard as if deep in thought. Ichigo sees the façade for what it is and finds his scowl deepening at the duplicity. "Is your contact with the palace still open?"
"Of course it is." Rai deadpans as if the answer were obvious. It seems it's anything but obvious for absolutely everyone except the Captain Commander and Ichigo is so happy he's not confused alone this time. "My titles and names are still active even though we're in the past; Ichibē has assured me of that fact."
"Has he been able to confirm if your future Soul King released the secret on your titles and names before you disappeared?" The old man inquired shrewdly.
Rai rolled his eyes but answered nonetheless. "He's working on it."
The old man hummed in acknowledgement before moving forwards. "So what may you tell us about your circumstances, young Shiba?"
Rai nodded as if answering a question unheard before elaborating. "As I said earlier, our-" his eyes flickered briefly to Ichigo and he finds himself perking up at the term. "-Dad was Shiba Isshin, captain of the 10th division. There was an incident with a modified vasto lorde level hollow released by Aizen which had him at the brink of death. Our mother, a Quincy, helped save him but inadvertently injured her soul with hollow reiatsu which made our Dad stay in the living world to keep her soul stabilized."
What?
Just… WHAT?!
"They fell in love, had us and our sisters, and the rest, as they call it, is history." Rai continued on, almost as if he hadn't just destroyed Ichigo's entire identity in the span of a few sentences.
The Captain commander merely nodded at this before inquiring. "I imagine Aizen was not stopped as easily as he was today?"
Rai snorted. "Yeah, no. Last time we had a full on war that got pretty nasty though nowhere near as bad as the next one was. Which, by the way gramps, you and I need to talk about one of my ancestors if you catch my drift."
Yamamoto opened his eyes to stare the older orange head down before seemingly finding what he was looking for and nodding. "We will."
"Oh!" Rai perked up and Ichigo almost found himself twitching at the honest to God smile on his older self. "Ichibē confirmed we're in the clear."
"Ah." The Captain commander also found himself straightening up. "Then I believe it is time you properly introduce yourself, familiar stranger."
Ichigo almost flinched at the feel of the reiatsu surging just below his skin and was not at all surprised when he glanced up to see the older orange head stepping forward with reiatsu crackling along his fingertips and an almost otherworldly edge to his shape. He found his eyes widening in shock when the older man's shadow extended across the room and shaped itself into a bigger version of itself with an added pair of wings that the man did not physically have on him and a second, bigger shadowed figure hanging behind them all that Ichigo did not dare look back to see if they were actually there or not.
"I am Rai Ichigo of Shiba." The older orange head began in a deep and almost transcendental tone that had Ichigo thinking and feeling that everyone across the realms would be given this knowledge even if they didn't know it. "Wielder of they who cleave the heavens asunder, Zangetsu and Keeper of the pathways and Gates leading to them."
Ichigo felt those words echo inside him, and wondered, if only for half a heartbeat why this older version of himself would call Zangetsu a they before his knowledge flipped and he somehow knew.
"I am Son of Asa Isshin, Son of Gou Hideaki, the first of three, first of two, first of seven and Chosen Heir to Shiba." He'd said this before with Ukitake already. The wording may be slightly different, and yet it's all the same. Ichigo knows and knew there was something missing and now understands.
The older orange head lowered his head slightly and his voice lost some of that deep resonance but retained the absolute otherworldly edge to it which made it seem more of a murmur than a proclamation. "I am of the Royal Guard, Divine General of his majesty Reiō-sama and titled God of Balance. I am their sword and shield, their shadow and light, their Human and Quincy, their Shinigami and Hollow, their ending and beginning." The orange head paused, and for a moment the weight in the room felt heavier, almost as if there was a pressure in Ichigo's lungs that had him wondering how he could be so daring as to stand in the presence of a being such as this.
Before the feeling got to be too much for them to handle, it peaked and began shrinking down to wherever the hell it had come from as the older Ichigo held out a hand and a small crystal shaped item materialized out of nowhere, floating above the palm and almost fluttering excitedly in place.
"For I am their salvation and damnation."
Not to be continued…
Artwork for this chapter on my deviantart.
arelia22/art/Tea-for-Three-plus-One-pt-2-940867302