"Breakfast is ready! Come and get it!" Orihime's chipper voice echoed throughout the house as she scrapped a healthy serving of bacon off the sizzling frying pan. It was bright and early morning for their first day of a new high school, and the weather acted as if it reflected a new dawn, as the sounds of birds singing into the air and the neighbors getting ready for their daily commute to work.
Inoue had gotten up an hour earlier than the rest of her friends to prepare them and herself lunch for their exciting new day at school, and a good breakfast to start their day off as well. If there was one thing that Orihime was decent when it came cooking food, besides her chocolate chip cookies and red bean paste, it was breakfast. It wasn't the greatest, but it was much better than her idea of lunch and dinner.
She smiled at her work as she stared down at the long kitchen table and admired her work. Whenever she had cooked breakfast, she had almost always stuck to the traditional Japanese style breakfast that her home country was known for; however, she wanted to mix it up a little today and try something new and found a recipe for an American style breakfast on her phone. Instead of the usual Natto, Grilled Leeks, and fried fish, the table was instead filled with Bacon, Eggs, Waffles, Toast, Pancakes, Strawberries, and Orange Juice.
She nodded happily as she wiped her hands onto her apron, then proceeded to take the apron off and expose the female Kuoh Academy uniform underneath. It was form fitting around her body, and much more breathable compared to the constricting uniform of Karakura High. However, she felt her face turn a slight shade of red when she looked down at her breasts. Maybe it was the fabric, or maybe it had something to do with Urahara, since he had tailored their uniforms to suit their likings, but the upper portion of her school shirt was much tighter than it should have been. It wasn't uncomfortable to the point she didn't breathe properly but was enough to make her breasts much more pronounced and bigger than usual, like that of her battle clothing that Yoruichi and Urahara had made for her and Chad for the blood war.
The sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs brought her out of her staring as Uryu had turned the corner. He was perfectly dressed in his uniform, but she noticed the Quincy emblem that was stitched onto the left side of his breast pocket. His hair was slicked back with some sort of hair oil, with a portion of his hair overshadowing part of his right eye, and his glasses slightly reflected off the sunlight that gleamed through the window. Currently, his Quincy book was clutched tightly in his hand as he was buried within its contents as he sat down a chair, muttering to himself quietly as he extended his right arm into the air. Orihime was going to ask what her friend was doing, until she heard the familiar humming noise as darkness began to coil around his hands. It was a slow process, as the shadows covered his hand and began to take the shape of a dark, ornate sword. His veins began to glow a bright blue hue as he softly grunted in concentration, with the hue began to go up his hand and disappear up his sleeve as the sword materialized in his hand.
"Still not fast enough." Uryu sighed dejectedly as he made the sword vanish back into the shadows. "The fact it took me that long to bring out that blade was something else entirely. Though, I wonder if it's the reishi density in this town." He continued to mutter to himself as he left his hand extended and began to form his bow. It was quick, quick enough that it felt like Orihime barely had a second to blink before it was formed in his hands, and it was quickly dispersed into particles. "Interesting. Gathering reishi isn't the issue. I believe it is because it is an ancient Quincy ability that I have not been aware of. It will take me a while to learn the rest of the Quincy spells."
"I think you will get it in no time, Uryu. If anyone is good at that Quincy stuff, it's definitely you!" Orihime smiled happily at her best friend as she sat down in the open chair and poured herself a glass of orange juice. The Quincy nodded as he pushed his glasses up his face and hid his look at annoyance.
"Thank you, Orihime." He began. "But it's more of the fact that the spells in this book is simply beyond me. I mean, I never even heard of these abilities before, and I'm sure my grandfather never heard of them either, unless he deliberately kept them from me." He huffed out a slight sigh of annoyance as he bookmarked the page and slammed the book shut.
"Wow, how many books did you get from the library?" Orihime asked. She didn't see much of Uryu during the final stretch of the war and was only able to see him fully after they had won against Yhwach and it was officially over. When she did see him, she noticed the satchel that hung around his body, and slightly filled with things that she couldn't see.
"It wasn't just books that I was able to take before Wahrwelt was destroyed, Orihime." He corrected her with no real venom in his voice as he manipulated the shadows and placed the book back in the murky darkness that soon vanished. "His library was actually some sort of vault, that Yhwach kept things inside. Ancient textbooks, spells, and weapons. Before I left to help Ichigo fight him back in Soul Society, I took whatever I could carry and the rest I hid back in the Seireitei." He replied. After his fight with Haschwalth, he needed to be prepared against the mad Quincy King, for what might be his final fight that would most likely cost him his life and ran as fast as he could into the vault before he left Wahrwelt. He felt the shockwaves from the raging battle that was occurring from the battle in a different dimension. Due to his reserves and his power being massively upgraded with the blood of Yhwach coursing through him, he was able to feel Ichigo, Renji, and even Aizen of all people holding their own against Yhwach and destruction of the world.
When he had arrived at the vault, he was pleasantly shocked by everything that was inside of it. Things that showed ancient Quincy spells and techniques that he had no prior knowledge of, and weapons that would radiate power the moment he got near them. As much as he wanted to sit and skim through everything, he knew he had no time, and only took what he was able to carry before rushing back to help his cousin and used Licht Regen to destroy the vault completely and bury the contents inside forever. He took over seven books that looked the most important and two short swords before he ran back to head to Soul Society. Even after getting the arrow, it took him over an hour to get back to the Soul Society with the constant use of Hirenyakku pushing his terminal velocity to the limit with his freefall off the destroyed area, something that genuinely surprised him for the fact it didn't tire him at all. When he had arrived at the Soul Society, he made sure to hide whatever he could before rushing to help his cousin, and quickly got them back before leaving the area after the wall was finally over and the survivors could regroup.
Call it paranoia, but he wasn't letting the Soul Reapers get ahold of his history, no matter how bloody it maybe to the average onlooker and after he learned about the truth of the Soul King. No, it would be hypocritical of him to hate the Soul Reapers for their past, even though the Sternritters were just as evil in their acts against them in that war. Was he a big fan of them? No. He still hasn't fully gotten over the death of his grandfather and Mayuri holding his squad members back to observe him, but he didn't outright hate them anymore. After all, he was friends with several of them now. No, what he didn't trust was Squad Zero, specifically Ichibe Hyosube. He didn't know the ancient Shinigami like Yhwach did, but what he learned from Haschwalth made his skin crawl in unease. There was something about the ancient Shinigami that he didn't like, but he couldn't figure out what it truly was, so to make sure he and the rest of Squad Zero didn't take the items in the vault, he made sure to destroy it completely.
Inoue was about to speak until she and Uryu heard footsteps coming down the stairs, as Ichigo turned the corner and walked to the group. He was fully dressed in his school uniform for Kuoh Academy, without the black ribbon on the collar and the first two buttons undone and revealed a part of his chest. "Hey guys." He smiled at them as he sat down beside Orihime and looked at the dinner table in front of him. "Whoa, you outdid yourself Inoue. This looks good." Ichigo smiled as he readied his plate and began to help himself to a portion of pancakes.
"Thanks Ichigo! I thought we could try something new since were in a new town after all, so why not with a good breakfast American style!" She replied with a smile to her crush before sipping on her orange juice. It was something small and insignificant to the ordinary person who wasn't close to Ichigo, but when she always felt her heart flutter and her smile grow wider whenever she Ichigo smile. It was rare, since he usually had his scowl plastered on his face whenever he was going somewhere, but she knew he was a big softy inside. It was one of the things she loved about him.
It was one of the reasons she loved him.
"I'll say," Uryu began as he poured himself a glass of juice and began to fix his place. "This looks absolutely good." He said as he slid on three strips of bacon and toast. After swallowing a few strawberries, Ichigo looked around the area and noticed there were two people missing from the table.
"Hey, Where's Chad and Bazz?" The substitute asked his friends.
"Bazz got up this morning and left to help open the shop before heading to the college campus. Apparently, Menina's wanted him there and wouldn't stop spam calling him until he agreed." Uryu began. It was five in the morning when he heard his subordinate yell on the phone, he had given him after coming to the human world, to Meninas and Candice. If there was one thing that he had learned quickly, it was that Candice was able to push his buttons in the right way for him to agree, although he wondered if it was something else going on between them. He soon stormed out the house, wearing the college version of Kuoh Academy's uniform without the jacket and the shirt's sleeves rolled up and used Hirenkyaku to leave the area completely. "Chad on the other hand, told me that he was going for a run and for training at his new gym, and said he will meet us at the school's entrance."
"Wow, he really is taking this boxing thing seriously." Orihime said out loud before taking a bite of her toast. Beside her, Ichigo nodded as he finished taking a bite of his bacon. He knew that Chad was someone that was the most athletic out of his friend group, even from the time he had met him, and the only person that took athletics more seriously than him was Tatsuki. While he did Karate lessons when he was younger, Chad lived and breathed sports.
"Yeah, no doubt." The Strawberry said as he finished his third strip of bacon. "I mean, if this is what he want's to do, then I support him fully." He smiled before looking at his cousin. "So, what do we do when we get to Kuoh Academy? I know you have it fully planned out." Ichigo grinned. If there was one thing was consistent with his cousin, it was the fact that he was an excellent planner.
Uryu wiped his mouth with a napkin and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He slid his thumb against the screen and unlocked the phone entirely. A few seconds passed as he opened the email section on his phone. "From what I seen, it looks like we must go and see the student council of the school to get our transcripts and schedules for our classes." The new King of the Quincies said as he scrolled through the email to read it more.
"Why them? Wouldn't this be more a faculty thing?" Ichigo asked. Normally, stuff like getting their schedules ready was something that the principal and secretaries would handle for new students, since it was the same way, he got into Karakura High when he graduated from his middle school. 'Then again, this is a private school. They might do stuff differently compared to public schools like Karakura High.' He thought to himself with a shrug of his shoulders. He remembered the brochure when he was talking to his family about the idea of moving, and the school was simply massive compared to Karakura High. His old high school was nothing to scoff at in size, but the fact they had three separate buildings, and a full-sized tennis court was simply absurd in his eyes.
"From what I see, Souna Shitori, who is the student council leader, handles the introduction of new students. Apparently, her family is well connected with the headmaster of the school." He replied before clicking on a link and turning his phone over to his cousin and friend. It was an image of four people in front of the tennis court with a ceremonial ribbon in front of them, two teens and two middle aged men to be exact. The first was a man with broad shoulders and blood red hair that reached to his shoulders and wore a sleek black Armani suit, completed with his beard. The second was a teenager that even Ichigo would admit was beautiful in a European sense. If he had to guess, the teen was related to the man with the same hair color, most likely his daughter, and was wearing the school uniform.
The last two was a man with a cold look on his face that in his opinion, reminded him a lot of Byakuya. He wore a pure white suit, with a pitch-black button up shirt that was finished with a white tie. His raven black hair was done into a ponytail and his purple eyes stared back into the camera with a cold expression. The teen beside him looked nearly identical to him, with hair in a bob cut and her eyes behind a pair of purple thin framed glasses and was also wearing the school uniform.
"Oh wow, they are pretty." Orihime said as she stared at the teens in the photo.
"No kidding, they both look like they're from Europe. More so the red head than the dark head." Ichigo said as he leaned back in his chair and fished his phone out of his pocket. Clicking the button on the side, the screen turned on and showed the time "7:30" before he clicked it back shut and slid it back into his pocket. "Well, Kuoh Academy is a few blocks away from here. We should finish up eating before heading out and meeting Chad on the way there." He finished before picking up his fork to finish his breakfast, and the other two followed soon after him as they began to talk amongst themselves with small talk.
It was the first day of a new school, and they wanted to leave a good impression.
Soul Society
Kyoraku Shunsui sighed as he rubbed his eye with the ball of his palm. It was late, and he was still sitting in his office doing paperwork for this year's financial reports for the divisions in the Gotei 13. It was ridiculous how much paperwork that came out of Squad Ten for their annual financial reports, and majority of it was being spent in the human world by Rangiku. His desk was stacked into thirteen piles of paper from each squad, detailing the amount of money they needed and manpower that was going through their squads for the repair of the Seireitei, and each stack was just as big, with a special pile dedicated to Rangiku's insane amount of spending in taverns and in the Human World.
"How the hell did you finish this all in one sitting before the routine captain meeting, Old Man?" He muttered to himself after taking a sip of sake. If he were being honest, he didn't know if Yamamoto slept at all during his years as Captain Commander, as the amount of paperwork was simply endless to some degree. If one stack was done, then another would soon take it's place just as fast, and sometimes the new stack would be even bigger than before. Yet, somehow Yamamoto was able to do it all and be done before the morning meeting of captains commences.
He sighed as he leaned his head back and slumped back in the leather chair of his office. While it was the paperwork that made him tired, it was not the full reason he was procrastinating on the matter. If he really pushed himself, he knew he would be able to do it and be done for the day, even if it wasn't nearly as fast as the old man. No, his mind was still on the meeting of Central 46 that happened a day prior.
A whooshing noise erupted through the air as Kyoraku appeared in front of the main building of Central 46. The once ornate building that shined throughout the Soul Society had lost its beauty after the war, and the pond that surrounded the building entirely was empty and devoid of life. His kimono swayed in the gust of wind as he stared at the large yellow doors in front of him. It had been nearly a month since he last been in this building, and his being back here was setting him on edge. It wasn't fear, nor was it his instincts about the place entirely. It was his paranoia about the place entirely.
He didn't like dealing with the government in the Seireitei, even during his time as the Captain of Squad Seven. After he became the leader of the Gotei 13, the first thing he knew what needed to be done was to have Kenpachi learn his shikai, and five days after, release Aizen from Muken. While he understood their fear about Kenpachi becoming stronger and Aizen running around free, they had no other option, since they barely survived the first invasion of the Quincy War. He felt a sigh escape his mouth as he stared at the doors in front of him, and wondered what sort of headache they were going to give him.
"Fancy seeing you here." A smooth voice chuckled to him as the sounds of traditional Japanese sandals echoing off the wooden bridge. Without moving his head, Shunsui turned his gaze to the newcomer that flash stepped beside him. His black haori swayed in the wind and over his dark green samue, and his shaggy blonde hair was underneath a black and green bucket hat. Although his gray eyes poked through the dark shadow the hat cast over the upper portion of his face. His face was stuck in an ever present, shit eating grin as he looked at Shunsui in the eye, and the captain commander chuckled back at him. "Though, I wish it was in a better place than that." He pointed his cane at the doors of Central 46.
"Wouldn't doubt It," Shunsui chuckled as he turned his gaze back to the door in front of him. "I still remember the day you got screamed at by the committee after blowing up the lab." He chuckled, and Urahara gave a slight grimace from the mention of that day. Back when he was experimenting with different explosives with Tessai, he had accidentally overloaded a machine that caused the entire lab to blow up and leave a giant hole in the Seireitei that was the size of a football field. Originally, Kyoraku believed that the man was going to get a tongue lashing by Yamamoto that day and a decrease in funding. However, it went straight to the Central 46 headquarters, and he was given an even worse tongue lashing and a warning, that if he continued any sort of experiments without proper authorization, he would be banished to the human world.
Before Urahara was able to say something, Byakuya and Mayuri flash stepped beside the duo. The former's eyes were closed, and his scarf elegantly swayed in the wind and his hair along with it. Mayuri on the other hand, was dressed in the usual captain attire, but with his own flair for it of course. His face was mainly painted black, with white serrated-like fringes on both sides. Golden cones were over his ears, and a crown on his head that looked like a horizonal, insect antennae, as well as an orange vest sectioned into multiple, pedal like pieces with large black dots in the center. The mad doctor of Squad 12 grinned like a maniac until his eyes landed upon Urahara, and just like that any sort of happiness was gone from his eyes and was replaced with annoyance.
"Urahara." He growled through clenched teeth as the former Squad 12 captain gave him a shit eating grin. While Byakuya stayed silent, Shunsui sighed as he knew what was about to happen between the two scientists. "I believe you owe me either me seven hundred thousand yen or my computer back." The doctor growled and clenched his fist tightly. Even after taking his toilet paper and the left shoe of all his shoes and sandals, the cheeky bastard didn't budge in the slightest. Instead, Urahara felt his grin widen fully and jovial mood increase.
"My my, what's with all the hostility, Mayuri?" Kisuke chuckled at the annoyed captain. "I believe our original deal was for me to share the research I had gathered about the Quincie's in Hueco Mondo. I told you that I might need another computer for the finishing product." Urahara grinned.
"And I told you, that you either buy it or don't bother and let me finish it." Mayuri argued. However, Urahara simply waved it off with a smile.
"Mah, details details." He waved off the murderous intent from Mayuri. "You know I'll give it back."
"Just like you "gave back" Abarai's van last year?" Mayuri argued. "The same van that had it's bumper missing and the taillights broken?" He chuckled. That got a reaction out of Urahara as he smiled more, but a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his forehead.
"The bumper fell off when I got the van." Urahara deflected the accusation. However, Mayuri wasn't finished. Just before he was able to speak, Shunsui decided to jump in the fun.
"Or the time you said you were going to pick up Ichigo from school in his dad's car? Only to have it end up in the lake?" The head captain chuckled. Urahara began to sweat more as he gave the look that screamed "why man?" to Shunsui. However, the fun was over as Byakuya spoke.
"If you three are done." The head of the Kuchiki clan sighed as he glared at the three beside him. As usual, his cold gaze stared back to the three and turned his gaze to the now open doors of Central 46. "We may now enter." He softly spoke and began to walk inside the building. Mayuri offered a quick glare to Urahara who only winked at the man and walked beside Shunsui. Mayuri kissed his teeth in annoyance as he walked inside the building after, and the large doors of the building closed behind them with a loud bang.
The four Shinigami walked in total silence as they treaded down the large flight of stairs to reach the lower levels of the main building. Each step loudly echoed off the stone and concrete walls of the room as they continued to walk down the stairs. Shunsui felt the presence of the forty members of Central 46 a floor beneath them, no doubt talking about the meeting that was going to commence when they reached the auditorium. He just hoped that it was nothing serious, and it was their stupidity that was blinding them to a matter that could be solved within an hour. Though, knowing his luck, they were bound to find something that would make them act like morons.
After a few more minutes, the four landed on the basement floor, with a light source beaming through the dark corridor. Wordlessly, they piled into the auditorium and stood in the middle of the room. High above them, a good ten feet into the air, were four rows that ascended in height, with Shinigami sitting behind a piece of paper that showed a number in front of them, with the leading member sitting the lowest.
"This meeting will now commence." A voice boomed throughout the room and instantly silenced the rest of the committee in the room. Almost instantly, the room was cast in total silence and the members of Central 46 stared at the four Shinigami that stood in front of them. Shunsui sighed as he took off his straw hat and clutched it underneath his right arm, just above his right zanpakuto. "Captain Commander Kyoraku Shunsui, Squad Six Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, Squad Twelve Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and Former Captain Kisuke Urahara. You are all gathered here today to discuss the recent developments within the Soul Society, and throughout the World of The Living." An elderly voice gravelly spoke into the open.
"If this is about financial drop of the Research and Development department of the Seireitei, I have no idea about any missing technology." Urahara quickly covered his own butt. He was already kicked out of Soul Society for the forseeable future, the last thing he needed was the stealth force breaking his door down to his candy shop.
"SILENCE!" A voice yelled into the room. It was old and gravelly, as if someone was dragging sandpaper across a rusted pipe. "WE ARE NOT HERE TO DISCUSS YOUR TRIVIAL NONSENSE URAHARA! YOU ARE LUCKY KUROTSUCHI WROTE IT OFF! OTHERWISE, YOU WOULD-"
"ENOUGH!" The original voice shouted over the old man. The room was cast back into total silence once again for a few seconds, before the speaker coughed into his hand. "It is not that, Urahara, although you have three days to return the equipment Kurotsuchi had given you for the war." The man said, and said Shinigami pouted. "No, what we are here to talk about this..." The voice said as the lights dimmed and a hologram of Earth, Soul Society, Hueco Mondo, and Hell's doors appeared above the four Shinigami. Several black dots appeared through Japan, and more were popping out in spades throughout Hueco Mondo and Soul Society. They were as black as tar and reacted to anything and anyone that got near them.
"What am I looking at?" Shunsui asked as he stared at the black dots on the hologram. Several pop ups soon appeared and showed videos of the black ooze within the world.
"Interesting." Mayuri chuckled as he held his hand out and grabbed the hologram of Karakura Town. "It seems like it reacts like a symbiotic nature, going after anything and anyone it touches. It doesn't act like Reishi, but it is nothing I have ever seen before."
"I agree," Urahara added, as his jovial and happy tune was gone and replaced with the look of an analyzing scientist. "But look at this.." Urahara zoomed his hands out and expanded the video of the black mass in Karakura High. Although it was clear to them, he could see several students walking past it as if nothing was there. "It seems to be naked to the human eye." He added. Byakuya too stared at the black mass in front of him. The video soon scrubbed over to the doors of hell. It was something that Shinigami had a slight fear over the dimension that they didn't look over. As he was about speak upon the black mass, something had caught his eye, and it was something that made his blood go slightly cold.
"Wait." The Kuchiki clan head said to the three Shinigami beside him. Looking back to Urahara, who was busy analyzing the video but stopped when Byakuya spoke and looked at him. "Go back." He ordered and his eyes slightly narrowed. Urahara used his left hand and swiped away to rewind the footage. The video scrubbed at a fast rate, before Byakuya held his hand up to get him to stop. "Enlarge and enhance." He said and felt his suspicion grow. When the image cleared, he felt his eyes narrow. "Kyoraku... What does that look like?" He asked.
The head captain narrowed his eyes at the video, with Mayuri and Urahara following suit. It had only taken them a single second. But it was long enough for them to notice it. They had enlarged the hologram of the doors of hell, and perfectly enhanced the portion that Byakuya told them to enhance. When they had noticed it, they felt their eyes widen.
"Son of a bitch." Urahara muttered, as he was genuinely shocked. Even Mayuri, someone who found anything in the world that he wasn't knowledgeable upon in the world. However, this time, his smile was long gone, and his eyes were narrowed in the upmost seriousness.
"Holy shit... that... that can't be possible." Shunsui muttered. He rubbed his eye with the ball of his palm to see if he was indeed seeing things, however what he had seen was indeed real.
An eye.
Not just any eye, but it was an eye they had seen recently within the war.
It was the eye of one of Yhwach's monsters, after he had absorbed the Soul King and Mimihagi. It should've been impossible for such a thing to even exist. Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, and Sosuke Aizen were responsible for making sure the mad Quincy was killed. But the eye within the large black mass was the same as the monsters that invaded the Soul Society from the Royal Palace.
"I see..." Mayuri chuckled darkly, however it still wasn't enough to get his smile back on his face. His mind still replaying the battle between him and the monstrous hand within the Sternritters, Pernida, and the death of Nemu, his "daughter". His usual attitude would've been ecstatic at such a development, since he wasn't present during the final battle between Yhwach and Ichigo, but all he felt was emptiness. No, all he felt was pure anger. He wasn't one to get angry and let his emotions run wild, but he couldn't help it no matter how hard he tried, as Nemu's body exploding in front of him was replaying in his mind like a broken record. The remaining Shinigami had various expressions on their faces, from anger, to shock, as they stared at the eye that was ominously staring back at them, as if taunting them for their efforts.
"He's back." Was the only thing Byakuya muttered, and his eyes sharpened to the image on the screen. While his voice was calm and collected that one knew the Kuchiki for, Central 46 and the Gotei 13 members that were present heard the ice-cold anger within the head family members' voice.
"We don't know that for sure." Another voice, a female's voice, spoke to the four Shinigami. "With Yhwach dead and the original Soul King along with him, we have no idea what the ramifications will affect throughout the universe." She said with a sigh.
"We need to mobilize now!" An elderly man screamed into the arena as he slammed his hand down onto the wooden table. "The Soul Society has suffered a tremendous loss these past two months! We have no knowledge on what the future hold for us with the death of the Soul King will, and as the will of the Soul King, we must honor the tradition if we wish to survive!" The man screamed.
"Correct!" Another one shouted. "Kisuke Urahara! We demand you to get Ichigo Kurosaki on the line now!"
"That won't be necessary." Shunsui sighed as he felt a headache begin to pound at his temples. He knew that their fear was going to cloud the judgement of the further picture and was one of the reasons why he hated the nobility and Central 46.
"You dare deny a command from us Kyoraku!? This is treason!" The same man agreed.
"Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends are not aligned with us officially." Byakuya started. "We only brought him in to the war because we were out of options, and his distinct family lineage was enough for the Quincie's to not steal his Bankai and turn the tides of the war."
"Also," Urahara chuckled. "Even if he was a part of the Gotei, the kid deserves some time off. He saved your asses more times than we could count and is the sole reason why we are still alive whether you like to admit it or not. The kid deserves to take a break and relax." He finished with a sigh. Ichigo was the sole reason why they were even alive right now, not just with Yhwach but with Aizen and his rebellion as well.
"Yet you dare to let him run wild when we need him the most!? Even after agreeing to the demands to let the enemy go free with him!? And you go so far as to sign a peace treaty with Uryu Ishida!? The same Quincy who took over the empire from Yhwach!? You have gone mad, Kyoraku!" A different woman screamed, and the rest of the committee agreed loudly. However, the Shinigami in the middle of the room just shook their head, before their shouts of agreement was silenced by Mayuri, who let out a twisted laugh that silenced them almost instantly.
"Tell me," The Captain of Squad Twelve laughed as he stared at the committee in front of them. "If you have such an issue with Kurosaki vouching for his cousin and the Quincies I had let go, then I highly suggest you go speak to him yourselves." He laughed more, and an evil glint gleamed into his eyes. "Just to warn you, he takes family very seriously, and just recently learned that Uryu Ishida, successor to the Quincy Empire, is indeed his cousin. How well do you think that conversation will go if you tell him his cousin will have to be killed to satiate your fear?" He laughed. Their loudness and cheers of agreement was soon silent, and Mayuri could audibly hear the sweat rolling down their heads, which only fueled his grin more.
It was no secret that Ichigo loved his family and friends, and would go above and beyond if it meant his friends and family is safe. The fact that they were asking them to essentially kill the relationship that Kurosaki had built with them is laughable.
"Thought so." Mayuri grinned. Kyoraku and Urahara had to hide their grins under their hats as they relished the silence of Central 46's silence, before the head captain began to speak again.
"Is it crazy that I want to build an alliance and good relations with an empire such as Uryu Ishida's own?" Kyoraku began. "The loyalists of Yhwach's army were killed within the war, while the rest of the members had agreed to serve under Ishida. I say that building an alliance with an empire, with the leader of such empire being related to the same Substitute Shingami that was the reason we even survived the first invasion." Shunsui sighed before he looked around the audtiorium. "Times have changed. We needed Kenpachi Zaraki to learn his Shikai, and we need good relations with Uryu's empire to strengthen Soul Society. Call it crazy, but we can no longer hide within the shadows anymore, as the first invasion of the war proved that we have become stagnate. By having Zaraki learn his Shikai and Bankai, and Uryu's empire alongside us, we will bring Soul Society to new heights and will be better prepared for whatever threat that comes next. This also further strengthens our relationship with Ichigo himself. Unless..."
"...You want Kurosaki's help away from us?" Urahara finished Shunsui's sentence with a smug grin on his face. Byakuya closed his eyes and kept his head down, while the remaining Shinigami stared at the committee with a grin on their face. They knew from the silence; they got them thinking and using their heads without fear clouding their judgement. They knew they were right, and a coup was something that no one needed. All the Gotei had good relations with Ichigo and his friends, while Rukia, Renji, Hisagi, and several others had even stronger relations with him, and that wasn't counting his unspoken alliance to Queen Hallibel and her kingdom of Los Noches in Hueco Mondo. He knew that she would mobilize her army, along with Grimmjow, Nel, and Dordoni to his aid. A fight between them all would be suicide, over a point that could've been resolved in an hour. After a grueling ten seconds, they head an old man sigh after they were finished talking amongst themselves.
"...And you sure you think this is a good idea?" The man asked.
"Certain of it. If we wish to survive and keep the balance, we need to open ourselves more." Kyoraku chuckled.
"While the reiatsu situation..." Urahara said as he stared at the hologram. "I'll get Yoruichi to grab samples with Tessai in the World of the Living, that way we can see what we're dealing with."
"While I will get Akon to accompany me to the signatures in Soul Society." Mayuri grinned before looking at Urahara. "Care to place a little bet, Kisuke?" He grinned at Urahara who only gave him a shit eating grin as a response.
"Byakuya and I will keep the Gotei on standby if Yhwach's power fully reforms." Shunsui said before looking at the speaker in front of him, the same speaker that spoke to him and the rest of the Shinigami when they first got here. "In the meantime, ... Did you secure what I asked you to do?"
"Yes... We already secured your request for Ichigo Kurosaki's future... Now, that will be all, and you are dismissed." The man finished as the chairs in the room scrapped across the wooden floor loudly as the members of Central 46 began to file out of the room. Taking that as their cue to leave, the four members of the Gotei 13 flash stepped out of the room and appeared back at the top of the building. The intense sun rays of the sun beamed down on their bodies as they stepped back outside and onto the main streets of the Soul Society.
"I must leave, as I need to prepare the Kuchiki clan and Squad Six's reserves for standby." Was the only thing that Byakuya said before he vanished away with flash step, with Mayuri going in the opposite direction. He wasn't letting Urahara get one up on him in their bet and was already contacting Akon to get his books and tools ready.
"Well, better get started on this situation we have here." Urahara chuckled as he took his zanpakuto out of his sealed state and opened the senkaimon with the blades edge. "Last thing I need is to have Yoruichi be mad at me during her naps... She still isn't happy with her cat form situation..." Kisuke chuckled.
"Are we going to inform Ichigo?" Shunsui asked. It was a stupid question, but a question, nonetheless. Ichigo was someone who couldn't help but help anyone that was in need, regardless of if they deserved it or not, and would defy the odds in the process. As the sliding doors to the candy shop opened, Urahara turned and gave him a grin.
"Naw, let him live a little. If the time comes when it gets outta hand, then sure. But right now..." Kisuke grinned as he turned his body back to the senkaimon and began to walk through. "...The kid needs a life outside of fighting." Was the last thing the exiled Shinigami said before he walked through the Senkaimon and had it closed behind him. Shunsui sighed as he was the only remaining person on the road near the main headquarters.
He grabbed onto his straw hat with a sigh before flash stepping away.
He hoped that it was wrong, and it was nothing but an amalgamation of reiatsu that formed after the war, but the eye was something of a dead giveaway that he couldn't deny its existence. However, there was gnawing at the back of his head, as he looked to the ceiling of his office, as if staring at the Royal Palace above him. "Why isn't the world crumbling?" He muttered in a whisper as he stared at the ceiling.
It was a fact that the Soul Society and the remaining worlds were balanced from the Soul King, a being that is no more after the war. Without the Soul King, the world and the universe itself were supposed to collapse and revert into a nightmarish universe. However, nothing happened. There were no earthquakes, or tears within reality. Everything was fine. He narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at the ceiling above him and kept replaying the words in his head from the Central 46 committee. No one knew the ramifications of the Soul King's death after Yhwach was killed, and that's what was scaring him the most, and the reason why he made sure the new Quincy empire was on their side. As he continued to stare, he only had one question on his mind.
"What are you planning up there?"
Human World
"Whoa, are they new students?"
"The tall one looks pretty hot!"
"Did you see the muscles on the big one? I'd let him bench press me anytime he wants~"
"The one with glasses looks cute in a sophisticated way... like the prince of Kuoh!"
"Do I see more princes coming in!? Kya!"
"Fucking pretty boys!"
"Dude! Shut up! The orange haired guy looks scary! And the big one looks like he would snap you in half!"
"Bro! Did you see the tits on that one there!?"
Ichigo felt his annoyance begin to skyrocket and his scowl began to deepen. His fists clenched into his hands as he felt his anger spike from the last comment that was said about Orihime, and gave a scowled look to the two teens who shrunk away in terror. It was nothing like Karakura Town, as everyone kept their business to themselves while the jocks and bullies would do their stupidity somewhere else and would keep away from Ichigo and his friends after kicking their asses daily. However, the moment he had his friends finally arrived at the school, that was the first thing he heard, and it only grew worse as they walked.
He got it to some extent. Kuoh Academy was originally a private school for girls only, up until a few years ago when it finally became coed and lowered their grade requirements to let in male students. But that didn't mean he was open to the idea of sexual misconduct and open words of lewd to the opposite sex from people of his own gender. It was like someone was giving him the middle finger and tossed his idea of any sort of calm and collected school out of the window.
He guessed that the only good thing that came out of living in Kuoh Town for a year, was that the dark and twisted reiatsu that was known from Hollows wasn't nearly as thick and dense compared to Karakura. Normally, they wouldn't be able to get through the full day without hearing a scream of a hollow or their reiatsu somewhere near them. However, when he extended his field of spiritual pressure, he felt nothing but clean and positive energy return to him, and felt his muscles relax somewhat.
'Feels weird... to not have to worry about a hollow or someone that is spiritually aware around me... maybe dad and Kyoraku was right... this might be good for us.' Ichigo thought to himself as he felt his scowl lessen considerably. He wasn't stupid and knew that they had a point. They were slacking a little bit in school due to the Fullbring situation and the war that happened soon after. If there was one thing that he took just as seriously as being a protector to those who can't protect themselves and those in need, it was his studies.
The Kurosaki group began to walk faster to the door and wanted to get away from the cat calling and the new students from harassing them with meaningless words to them. Although red faced from the male students, Orihime looked to her crush and seen the anger on his face getting more prominent by the second. Before she was able to calm him down, they heard something.
"DAMN IT ISSEI YOU PERVERT!" A girl screamed after the metal door was slammed open from the west side of the school grounds, with a mob of girls dressed in white robes rushed a teen with kendo sticks in their hands. The teen they were chasing was dressed in the Kuoh Academy uniform, without the jacket and the T-shirt open that exposed his red shirt. He looked like an ordinary teen, someone that Ichigo wouldn't look twice at when walking around Karakura Town, with a mess of shaggy brown hair that was done into a small ponytail in the back. He fell onto the ground after tripping onto an open portion of the walkway, before quickly scrambling to his feet and sprinting away from the area with the mob of girls running after him.
"Some private school." Uryu deadpanned as he watched the girls run around the corner and out of sight. "I was expecting an ultra-strict and serious atmosphere, but that severely changed my mind on it." The new King of Quincies sighed as he pushed his glasses up his face.
"No kidding," Ichigo said with a frown. "It's like watching Rangiku picking a fight with Kenpachi and running away after."
"Isn't he still looking for you?" Uryu asked with a grin, while Ichigo paled from the mere memory of Kenpachi chasing after him five days ago.
{Play Maggots Dance OST}
Five Days Ago, Soul Society
"DAMN IT KENPACHI! I TOLD YOU I GOT SHIT TO DO BESIDES FIGHT YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Ichigo screamed as he was sprinting for his life.
"STOP BEING A PUSSY AND FIGHT ME ICHIGO!" Kenpachi screamed with a wide smile on his face as he swung Nozarashi at Ichigo.
"NO! I'M NEVER FIGHTING YOU AGAIN YOU CRAZY BASTARD!" Ichigo screamed louder as their chase around the Soul Society played out like a comedic scene from a movie. Kenpachi swung again and Ichigo dodged and continued to run for his life, all the while the Captain of Squad 11 laughed maniacally as the chase went on for a full twenty minutes. Meanwhile, Rukia, Ikkaku, and Yumichika watched the interaction with a deadpanned expression.
"We stopping them?" Ikkaku asked with a dead tone in his voice.
"Nope." Was the only word that escaped the other two mouths, while an explosion echoed into the air with Ichigo screaming for his life, while Kenpachi's laugh echoed soon after.
"Don't remind me." Ichigo muttered with a haunted expression. No matter what he did that day, it was not enough to get away from him, and eventually had to end up hiding in Soi-Fon's house to lose him entirely. He liked Kenpachi, and thought of him as a good friend, but when he was in his battle state, he wanted to stay away from him as far as possible. While the moment of relief for his surroundings was gone, it was soon replaced with an even angrier scowl as another comment to Orihime made her face go red. However, he felt himself calm down considerably when he felt her grab his hand and hold it tightly. He took a deep breath and sighed before the bells rang off into the air.
"We better get going to get our schedules." Chad said softly before walking to the school with Uryu followed behind him. Ichigo sighed as he looked down at Orihime, and smiled at her when she looked back at him in her eyes. He seen the embarrassment in her eyes fade away and gave her a big smile back to him, as they spoke to each other with their eyes alone and followed their friends into the school.
It had only taken them a few minutes to find the student council's office, and during the walk they looked around the school in wonder. It was much bigger compared to their old school in Karakura Town, and the floors were made from polished marble as they reached the Student Council's door on the second floor.
"This is it?" Ichigo asked his cousin who nodded after locking his phone back in his pocket. He was still holding hands with Orihime, while Chad silently stared at the door as he stood behind his friends. Uryu gave a soft smile as he straightened his jacket and knocked on the door with his hand.
"Come in." A feminine voice responded to the knocking on the door. Uryu looked at his friends, and shrugged his shoulders before grabbing onto the brass doorknob and opened the door wide, and he and his friends shuffled through the door, with Chad closing it behind him. It was a large room, with the carpet being a dark purple color and the ceiling being a dark stained mahogany. Two black leather couches sat in the middle of the room, with a coffee table in the middle and an Oxford dictionary sitting on the top of the table. At the far back, a dark mahogany desk was perfectly aligned with the rows of bookshelves that held various books, that ranged from science, math, and mythology, and even the art of war by Sun Tzu.
Behind the ornate wooden desk, the teenager, Souna Shitori, was sitting in a leather chair. An Apple laptop was on the desk in front of her in its closed state, with several files sitting neatly on the right-hand side of the laptop and a brass lamp with a green shade on it. Her fingers were interlocked with each other as she began to look over the group that filed into her office and analyzed them as if they were a rare specimen that was just newly discovered and brought into the world. Her purple eyes looked over to Ichigo, who frowned at her as he knew the look from anywhere, as it was the same type of look Byakuya gave him when they first met.
Her eyes soon roamed over to Orihime and Chad, who showed no signs of being aware of the girl's analytical gaze towards them, before it landed onto Uryu. It was just for an instant, but it was enough to see her eyes widen a fraction when she stared back into Uryu's own, as his own eyes were analyzing the girl in front of them. His eyes were hard as steel, as he didn't back down from the unspoken contest between the two, before she looked down to his uniform. It was for an instant, but Ichigo and the gang saw her eyes widen by a mere fraction, almost as if she was shocked at what she was seeing.
Orihime stared down and towards the area where she was looking at, and noticed Souna was staring at her friend's Quincy emblem that he stitched into the breast pocket. Ichigo looked as well, and back to Souna who was still staring at the emblem displayed on his cousin's pocket. She looked almost... skeptical when she saw the emblem, and it confused him. He had already scanned the school for anyone that was spiritually aware, or not fully human, and all that he had gotten back was humans and normal amounts of spiritual awareness, not enough for them to see a simple hollow. But the way she reacted when seeing the Quincy cross was something that caught him off guard and decided to test the girl. Normally, when someone is spiritually aware, their power would react to the one near it, while someone who wouldn't feel it unless it was directed to them.
He began to leak the smallest amount of his reiatsu in the air, to see if Souna would react to the power or at the very least, see if she was either aware of the supernatural or not fully human. Just as quickly as he leaked it out, he instantly pulled it back in, as her power not only didn't react to his own, but she came back as a normal human to him. He looked down and noticed Orihime was staring at him, no doubt feeling the power he leaked for a single instant before pulling it back and clutched onto his hand tighter to calm him down, and her eyes alone spoke all that he needed to know that he was safe, and no one was here.
"Is there something wrong, Souna?" Uryu spoke calmly as he knew she was staring at his Quincy badge. While he knew it was a risky idea to expose the badge of his race and empire to the world like so, he was proud of who he became after the war, and already came up with the excuse that he came from a wealthy family of doctors, which was indeed true. However, he wasn't expecting her to have that sort of reaction to the badge. It wasn't as if she had seen it before, since the Quincy emblem on the jacket wasn't around much, but it was like she was skeptical and downright afraid of it somewhat. His voice caught her off guard, and she softly shook her head to get her mind straight and gave them a small smile.
"No no... sorry. You must be the new students that was told that were coming today." Her voice was elegant and smooth, as if she was a lady from the Renaissance, as she pushed her glasses up on her face with her index finger and middle finger. "I wasn't expecting a religious man coming into our school." She gave a smile to him. "Although, Kuoh Academy welcomes all, regardless of their religious beliefs." She continued as she looked over at the group in front of her. Uryu raised his eyebrow in minor confusion as he stared at her. The last thing he was expecting was to say he was a man of faith.
"I'm sorry?" The new Quincy King asked the student body president.
"Don't be so modest." She said with a sigh. however, Chad felt his eyes narrow at her, as he knew something wasn't right with the girl, but decided to keep his mouth shut until later when he and his friends were alone. "It takes courage to show your faith to the biblical god and stitch the cross onto the jacket, while Japan is a Shinto based country." She finished. However, Ichigo noticed when she said the word "god", she clutched her fists tightly for a single instant before they went back to normal.
'Does she not see the Quincy Cross?' It was the group's collective thought process as they listened to what she was saying. The Quincy Cross was nothing compared to the cross of Jesus, and Uryu wasn't someone who believed in Christianity and the other religions that were talked about in various books and mythologies. He knew it was a stupid belief, since he held the power to destroy literal souls, but he had a hard time believing gods such as the biblical one, Poseidon, and Amaterasu existed.
He expanded his reiatsu one last time to see if the girl in front of him was someone that wasn't fully or if at all humans, or was just playing games with him, but once again, she read back as a normal human. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, the last thing he needed was for people to run around with his "emblem" around town and get themselves into danger from a hollow or a threat and decided to roll with it.
"Yeah... Well, a man who has no faith, isn't a real man at all." Uryu said with a chuckle as he pushed his glasses up on his face. However, he didn't notice the deadpanned expressions on his friend's face as he tried to act cool in front of Souna. Judging by her face, Ichigo could see her internally roll her eyes at him as she sat back in her seat and began to open the files on her desk. The sounds of paper being moved was echoing throughout the quiet air as she began to look over the files on her desk.
"Ichigo Kurosaki... Uryu Ishida... Inoue Orihime... and the last one is... Yatsutora Sado, correct?" Souna asked the group who nodded, with Chad giving a quick 'hmm' in approval when she looked at him when calling his name.
"Excuse our friend... He doesn't really talk much." Inoue sheepishly said as she gave her best friend a playful smack on the arm, and instantly recoiled back and shook her hand to get rid of the throbbing pain, as it felt like she smacked pure steel.
"I see," She muttered as she read of the file. 'He and Koneko would get along just fine.' She mentally noted as the image of the first year popped into her head before sighing. "All of you are third years, and are transferring from Karakura High in Karakura Town..." She began to read off the notes that were left on her desk from the headmaster before looking over the personal details of the group. "Says here that you and your cousin," She began as she looked at Ichigo over the upper half of the file. "... were in the honor roll for two consecutive years until this past year, when you both dropped off in grades by a large margin." She said with a frown before looking back at Ichigo and Uryu. "Care to explain?"
"We were out working during these past few months." Uryu began as he mentally prepared for this battle of wit between the student body council and himself. "As you see, medical records would prove that I was hospitalized for several weeks due to a mugging gone wrong, and my cousin had to help in his father's clinic for his sisters, and my slack of work while I was recovering." Uryu finished.
"I see," Souna began. "While that does explain the stellar recommendations from both Dr. Isshin Kurosaki and Dr. Ryuken Ishida." She said with a frown, although it was less forced and prominent on her face than before. "We take education at Kuoh Academy at the utmost serious here. On good conscious, I can't allow a part time job to interfere with your studies and would have to ask you to not take one during your time here. I am sure your third cousin, mister..." She muttered as she flipped through the pages of Uryu's file and nodded when the one she wanted was in front of her. "... Bazzard Black, who is currently in the College Division of Kuoh Academy, can take over the Café in Kuoh for the time being."
'That's if Bazz doesn't kill Giselle and Meninas first... or worse, if Askin comes by.' Ichigo and Uryu sweatdropped at the thought. It didn't take a genius to realize that Bazz was easily annoyed at the girls in the café, and worse if Askin would annoy him with his constant ramblings. It was made especially worse when Bambietta severely beat Giselle after having her zombified state undone by Mayuri. Then again, no matter how much he would deny it, Bazz only went to the café for Candice, and would get defensive whenever someone joked about it, and almost vehemently say that they only bonded because of their annoyance to the girls and Askin.
"Yeah... Bazz wouldn't mind." was the only thing Ichigo said as he tried to stifle a laugh in his throat. He could see it on his face now, that he was stuck dealing with the girls and the café. Souna continued to stare at the files in front of her and landed on Orihime's own.
"Inoue Orihime... While your grades are above average, you do show promise for classes such as English and Japanese History." Souna said with a small, closed lip smile. Unlike Ichigo, whose file was filled with flucuating marks, Her's was as clean as a button. The only infraction that was even on her school record was missing a day of school due to illness, and she made up for it the next day with the help of a student in her class, Tatsuki Arisawa. She wasn't going to bring up her brother, as it was not needed, and she didn't want to interfere with her first day of school. She closed the file and moved onto the last one, Yatsutora's own, and opened it. While the grades were above average with music being the highest, her eyes widened like saucers when she moved to his athletic records both in and out of school.
It was massive and filled with accomplishments, ranging from swimming to boxing, to basketball, to soccer. Even track and field was not safe from him, as he crushed the school record the first year he tried out for the 100-meter dash, shot-put, discus throw, and pole jumping, and held the record ever since. To make it even crazier, she looked over the teen's picture with him not wearing a shirt and had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing anything. The teen in front of her was built like a tank, and his muscles were so ripped and defined that she could swear that she could grate a full wheel of cheese on his abs alone.
"Have you ever thought about joining the basketball team here, Mr. Sado?" Souna asked the teen. While the school was known for their academics, their sports department was severely lacking in that regard. To make matters worse, the boys division of basketball was worse to their female counterparts due to low numbers. However, if she was able to get this behemoth onto the team, they would no doubt go to the finals.
"Not really," His deep voice caught her by surprise, as it sounded like she was talking to a grown man rather than a teenager. "Though, I am training for boxing in a gym not too far from here." He said before going silent once again.
"I see," Souna began before looking at the rest of his file and filed away to get him on the team for later. As she read through his file, she frowned when she came across a portion. "We are almost done here, but my last question." She said with a frown as she stared back up at the group and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers that were supported by her elbows on the table. "I see you and Mr. Kurosaki here..."
"Just Ichigo, please. Mr. Kurosaki is my dad." The strawberry said with a scowl back on his face which caught Souna off guard and made her slightly flinch.
"...Ichigo, here." She coughed into her hand. "Have gotten into trouble a lot and fights with delinquents around your school, going as far to that you both are said to be "junior Yakuza"." She said with a frown, and Ichigo was just waiting for this to be brought up. "We wouldn't have an issue with that here, right?"
"No," Uryu began. "I can assure, that my cousin and best friend have merely defended themselves against the delinquents who started it over their hair or his race." Uryu said with the utmost serious tone and look in his eye. "If my friend here is in trouble, I will personally make sure he is safe."
"And I'll definitely keep Ichigo in check." Orihime smiled and clutched onto her crushes hand tight. Ichigo sighed and felt his body relax and his scowl fade away as he registered, he was still holding onto her hand. It was just wide enough, but Souna filed away how the only female in the group seemingly calmed down the scowling teen considerably.
"Good," she said with a sigh of relief as she opened the drawer into her desk and pulled out four small pieces of laminated paper and handed it to them with a greeting like smile, one that everyone knew was nothing more than a simple greeting and was forced by the person who did it. "Then I welcome you all into Kuoh Academy." She said as she gave them their schedules for the school. Wordlessly, Ichigo, who Souna considered to be the "leader" of the group, walked forward and took the cards out of her hand and muttered a quick thank you to her before he, along with the group left the office.
The bi-spectacled woman sighed in relief as she sat back in her chair, as she listened for the sounds of their footsteps to disappear completely. Her persona of a human now dropped, Sona Sitri, heiress of the noble Sitri house, hardened her face and began to spread out her magic to the area to make sure no one was around. It had taken her a few seconds before she sighed in relief and cast a spell near her ear. The rune pulsed three times before it turned a blood red hue.
"After school, we need to talk, make sure your peerage is there."
An Hour Later
It was finally lunch, as Ichigo and Uryu stepped out of the geography class together. They had two classes together, with the final class had all four of them in the same classroom for science. If he was being honest, it was much more concise compared to Karakura High's teaching, nor was the class loud as usual from the antics of Keigo and Tatsuki, so it was a win in his book. However, he did miss Mrs. Ochi's way of teaching her students.
Currently, he and Uryu were walking beside each other towards their lockers, bypassing the mob of students that stared and muttered to themselves about them. Apparently, he and the rest of his friends already adopted nicknames for each other. He was considered the "scowling prince", while Uryu was called the "dashing knight". On the other hand, Chad was now known as the "handsome giant" and Orihime was the "sweet princess".
How they all got the names was something that he didn't know, and if he was being honest, it was starting to annoy the absolute hell out of him. He was used to people being terrified of him and stayed away from him at every chance they got. Sure, it was his own fault that he burned bridges that could've been something, but he was happy with who he was now, with friends both in the World of the Living, and in Hueco Mondo and Soul Society; and had finally let go of the pain of his mother. However, this was a stark contrast of what he was used to back in Karakura Town.
"I wonder if Souna would like a game of chess one of these days." Uryu muttered as they turned a corner and began to turn a corner with Ichigo beside him. "While I was in there, I had seen a chess board and good pieces on the board itself."
"What, fancying over the student body president?" Ichigo teased his cousin with a grin on his face. Uryu scowled at his own but had a slight blush on his cheeks as he stared bloody murder in his cousin's eyes.
"No, you idiot." The new Quincy King growled through clenched teeth. He would admit that the girl was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone he laid eyes upon, but he didn't know her like that, and even if he did, she wasn't spiritually aware. After all, his goal was to rebuild the Quincy Empire into a full-fledged kingdom, one could people could flourish and thrive, and protected those who were in need and couldn't fight themselves; and it would be a hassle to explain the spirit world to a human. To make matters worse, he cast away his humanity when he had ingested Yhwach's blood when he became a Sternritter. His aging was slowed considerably, to borderline stopping along with the rest of the Sternritters, and because of that, he along with the rest of the Sternritters would live for thousands of years. He wasn't going to bring an average human into his world, and watch her die in front of him, nor was he going to try and figure out a way to replicate the longevity that the Schrifts gave him and the Sternritters to a random person.
"Dude, you can find love Uryu. I mean, look at Renji and Rukia. One's a midget and the other one has a bad hairline. If they can find each other, you can too." Ichigo said with a smile and with no real venom in his words.
Soul Society
Renji felt his eyebrow twitch and his anger suddenly spike as he glared out into the rising sun from the second story of his house. His shirt was off and exposed his bare chest and torso to the cool air as he stared out into the Seireitei.
"Mmm..." Rukia stirred in her sleep. Her hair was slightly messy, and she was currently wrapped in her blanket to cover her modesty as she stared at her boyfriend's back. "What's wrong... Renji?" She groaned out.
"For some reason..." He growled. "I have the urge to kick Ichigo's ass."
Human World
The strawberry ignored the shiver that ran down his spine as he arrived at his locker with his cousin and began to unlock it, with Uryu doing the same to the one beside him.
"So, If I find love, will you finally confess your feelings to Orihime?" Uryu shot back at his cousin as he took his bento box out of the locker and slid his binder back in. Upon hearing that, Ichigo froze and felt his cheeks heat up instantly, as if he was near the former head captain's flames.
"F-F-F—Feelings!?" Ichigo nearly shouted and began to stumble upon his words. His normal calm and collected state were gone as he was fumbling to get his binder back in the locker. "I-I-I mean... I like Inoue l-l-l-like that but... How do I even-"
"Hey Ichigo!" Orihime brightly beamed as she was now behind him. Said teen jumped, as it not only did slightly catch him off guard, but the person of topic was literally in front of him. Beside her, Chad offered a simple wave as he clutched a small brown bag in his hand with his name written on it with black marker. In Inoue's hand, was her own bento box, and a grocery bag with a loaf of bread, something that she was known to munch on during school. It sucked that they couldn't get lockers beside each other, but on the bright side, Orihime and Chad's locker was in the next hallway over.
"H-h-h-Hey Inoue!" Ichigo nervously chuckled as he stared into the teens eyes. Meanwhile, Uryu had to stiffle his laughter, as his usual calm cousin looked like a nervous wreck. "When did you get here?"
"Just now!" Orihime replied. "Our teacher is so cool! He listens and gets us to answer and when we didn't know the answer, he was super helpful!" She beamed with a smile, and Ichigo felt his nerves calm down as she didn't hear what Uryu was saying two minutes ago. "So, whatcha guys talking about? I saw you look a little nervous." She thought outloud before her eyes widened. "Wait, Did you sense a hollow? Or did Mr. Kenpachi or Grimmjow find you?" She asked.
And just like that, his nerves shot back up again. He would rather take dealing with Kenpachi's need to fight him after they got more power and Grimmjow's insane need to attack him randomly because in his words, "they still had unfinished beef". Then again, he knew that Grimmjow meant well in his own way, and they were actual good friends. There were even times that he came to the Human World just to see what's what and to hang out when he was bored. However, after he entered a relationship with Nel, his surprise attacks stopped by a large margin due to his girlfriend keeping him in check, though it would still happen at the odd time or two. Before he was able to come up with a lie, something happened.
"KYAAA! ITS THE GREAT ONI-SAMAS!" A girl shrieked into the air gave him the perfect out for the situation, as it took the attention away from his words and gave him and Uryu to see where they were, follwed by Chad and Inoue. As if time stopped, the Substitute and Quincy King stared out as two teenagers walked towards them. They knew the first one from the brochure, the red headed teen that the students at the school, both the girls and boys, quite literally wouldn't shut up about whenever there was a second of freedom. Her eyes were a light blue, and her hair went down to her lower back.
The second one was arguably just as beautiful as the red head, with her raven black hair tied into a ponytail that also went to her lower back, and her assets were just as big as the red-haired teen, not that either teen was looking. It was more of the fact that they were pretty much out there. The two teens walked by, without anyone else moving around them. However, The Substitute and Quincy sighed as they were both hungry, and closed their lockers and began to head to the roof.
"HEY! YOU CAN'T ENTER THE GREAT ONI-SAMA'S ZONE YOU PRETTY BOY!" A teen boy yelled at Ichigo and the rest of his friends. However, Ichigo merely rolled his eyes and continued to walk to the roof.
"YEAH! ONLY THAT HOT ONE WITH THE GREAT ASS CAN WALK BY!" Another shouted at pointed at Orihime, who blushed and hid her butt with her hands. However, that instantly got a reaction out of Ichigo as he stopped and glared daggers at the two boys. It was a bald boy with big ears, and another one who had large glasses. His face was set into a deadly scowl, and his eyes were cold as ice as he felt his anger grow tenfold.
"Wanna repeat that again, you little shit." Ichigo growled through his teeth as he protectively stood in front of Orihime. Everyone froze in fear as they stared at the three boys and felt anger literally coming off their bodies in immense outrage. Uyru felt his anger grow higher as he kept replaying the words in his head. Never had he felt so disgusted with someone, and this was after he dealt with Pesche and Dondochakka's farts that could clear out a room within a second. Chad was silent, but even he could see the anger in his eyes, while Ichigo stared at the two boys.
Even the two "great oni-sama's" of Kuoh Academy was shocked at the anger rolling off the three boys, mainly Ichigo, as he clenched his fists in anger.
"J-J-J-Just.. You can't walk I-in front of the two o-oni-samas like that." The bald one, the one Ichigo heard him yell about Orihime, timidly said to him. The crowd turned their gaze to Ichigo and his friends to see their reaction.
"So?" Ichigo began. "Who says I can't?" He argued with his scowl back on his face.
"They are goddesses desceneded above the heavens!" The glasses one shouted. "No one is worthy of being near them!"
"There just teens, like us." Chad said with his deep voice echoing off the walls.
"And I doubt that they like to be treated like objects rather than human beings." Uryu said with a frown. He had seen it before, this type of behavior around Karakura town with the bullies and delinquents that Ichigo would constantly fight. He hated it more than anything, regardless of who started the cat calling. He was classy through and through and loved the connection with someone on a personal and emotional level; and he viewed the idea of looking at the female body as an object rather than talking to them is not what a Quincy would do in his own opinion.
"And if you ever," Ichigo growled. "And I mean EVER, talk to my friend like that." He growled, and missed the frown that was on Orihime's mouth when he called her a friend. "I will personally end you." He spat as he took Orihime's hand into his own and held it gently but with an air of protectiveness to it, which wiped her frown off her face and replaced it with a smile of gratitude as they turned around and marched away, not caring for the shocked silence of the crowd whatsoever as they disappeared from view.
Three Hours Later
"Are you sure?" Rias Gremory asked her best friend, Sona Sitri, as they convened in the Old School Building, an hour after school was over. To the average onlooker, it was an afterschool club that focused on finding the paranormal activity around Kuoh Town. However, to those who are in the know about the Supernatural, knew it was a front; As the old school building was nothing more than a front for something much greater.
That two of the most prominent members of Kuoh Academy, were not human. No, they were devils, a mythological being that existed only within the Christian bible. A being that outlived humanity by several thousands of years. Not everyone in the world was aware of the world 'underneath' humanity, but that didn't mean that several others didn't know of their existence.
Rias Gremory, one of the third-year students of Kuoh Academy, was the heiress to the Gremory noble family, and youngest sister to one of the leaders to the entire devil race, while her best friend, Sona Sitri, was the heiress to the Sitri noble family, and the youngest sister to the other leader of their entire race.
"I am sure..." Sona sighed as she took off her glasses and began to wipe them with her handkerchief. "I had assumed that he was a man of the church when he had arrived in my office along with his friends. But I discovered no holy aura in him or any of them. Even when I gave him probing questions about the cross, he brazenly stitched onto the uniform, he looked almost... confused." The sitri heiress sighed as she slid the glasses back on her face.
"Isn't this a good thing then, pres?" Issei Hyoudou, a member of Rias Gremory's peerage, asked his master. "I mean, if they aren't here for Asia or anything, maybe they are just here to study? I mean after all, Sona said there just humans, so they probably don't know about the Supernatural." Issei said to his group of devils. It was true that they were only humans, even after both Rias and Sona pushed their power to get a read on their biology, but they didn't sense any sort of magic or power radiating off them.
"While it is a good start, Issei." Akeno Himejima, the Queen of Rias' peerage said with a slight frown on her face. Normally, she would tease him or call him an endearing name to rile up her master, she instead had a stoic and serious expression on her face. "That doesn't mean he is just a follower in his beliefs, that could also mean his family is aligned with the faction entirely, and he doesn't have the magic power yet to cast spells."
"Want me to tail them then?" Koneko, the other member of their peerage, asked the queen.
"No," Rias sighed. "It's too risky. We just finished dealing with Riser, and the old school building is cleaned tomorrow. We can't waste any time on such a thing." she said with a frown as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts.
"Agreed." Sona said as she looked at her friend. "If we move now, we risk an average human learning about the supernatural and must wipe his memory, something I'd rather not do to a new student. But on the other hand, we do have an in." She said before tossing a file onto the desk. Rias and her peerage huddled around each other as Rias opened the first page. It was a file containing the details of a young adult that was on the college campus, with a loud red mohawk and piercings around his ears and eyebrow.
"I had Tsubaki contact the college for his file." Sona said as they continued to read the file. "His name is Bazzard Black but goes by the name "Bazz" or "Bazz-B" and is the cousin of Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida." She said as they continued to read the file and found a picture of him, taken recently as he was leaving the campus with his jacket and shirt off and exposing his muscular arms. In the picture, Bazz was walking to the entrance of the school, and was greeted by a woman with light green hair and was dressed in denim short shorts, black air converses with a green lightning bolt etched on the sides, and crop top that exposed her stomach and pushed her cleavage up more and exposed more of her breasts.
"JUMPING JIGGLE SACKS! THOSE TITS LOOK SO DIVINE! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT ICHIGO IS PULLING THAT FINE GIRL AND HIS COUSIN IS PULLING THAT! WHAT IS THEIR SECRET TO SUCH SUCCESS!?" Issei screamed out loud before he was smacked into the ground by Koneko, who muttered pervert as the Red Dragon Emperor pulled himself back up. Even Rias and Akeno would admit that the girl was beautiful in a bad girl, rogue sense, that perfectly fit with Bazz's Badboy look.
"There cousin runs a small café in town with that woman, which I can only deduce is his girlfriend." Sona said to her friend who closed the file.
"I'll go and keep an eye there, act as a sort of regular there to see if it's a front." Kiba Yuuto said before looking at his master. "Don't worry Rias, if things go wrong, I'll get out as fast as I can."
"I'm going too." Koneko jumped at the chance, and blushed as everyone knew the reason why she wanted to go, as it was no secret the girl loved sweets.
"You better." Rias said with a worried sigh before looking at Issei and Asia. "I want you two to befriend Ichigo and his friends. If you feel like they aren't apart of the church, then you are fine and can pull away. However, I can't stress this enough that you are only seeing if they radiate any sort of magic power that Sona, Akeno, and myself didn't pick up on. Since you two have the aura of a dragon and was a former nun, you might have a better chance. There is no fighting needed. If you sense anything wrong or feel like you are in danger, get away as fast as possible and call me." Rias told the two who nodded, with Asia, a blonde teenager with green eyes, clutching onto Issei's hand to calm her nerves down.
"Y-Y-Y-you can count on us, big sis Rias." Asia said with a smile, which everyone smiled back at before Rias turned her gaze to Sona.
"We should investigate the family. If they are indeed members of heaven's faction, then it is indeed a violation of the ceasefire agreement, as they were supposed to notify me, or you if a church member is coming to our town. If they are just believers and have no knowledge of the hidden world, we leave them alone." Rias said.
"I'll look into Uryu Ishida." Sona said with a sigh and left no room for arguments.
"Ouuh, have a little crush on him, do we?" Akeno teased. Rias had to grin as no matter how hard she tried to hide it; she could see a tiny bit of red on her cheeks.
"No," she said before coughing into her hand. "I am also going to investigate Ichigo Kurosaki and Inoue Orihime as well. We can't leave any stone unturned."
"Okay, Then I guess it's settled." Rias said with a sigh of finality in her tone before looking at her peerage. "Well, everyone," she said with a smile. ", We need to prep the building for tomorrows deep clean, so let's get to it!"
"OH, COME ON!" Issei shouted before he was dragged into the cleaning hell. They all had jobs to do and had no knowledge of the future that was in store for them after involving themselves with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, and the way they viewed the supernatural would change forever.
AND FINISHED.
Okay, so let me get a couple things clear here so people don't assume stuff. This isn't going to be the Gremory group finding out who Ichigo and his friends REALLY are within the span of a few chapters. I made it clear here that Ichigo and his friends don't feel anything wrong with Sona and see her as a normal human right now, and the same goes for Sona, Rias, and Akeno; Ichigo and his friends can't sense magic right now, while Rias and the devils can't sense Spiritual Pressure. So, right now, all they are doing is making sure that Uryu and them isn't apart of the church due to the Quincy Cross on his breast pocket, since right now, Sona can only see it as a regular cross, and yes, I put Uyru with the Quincy Cross on his jacket for a reason. Think of it like people in the canon series of Bleach can't see his badge and would see him holding like a banana or something when he takes it out. Bonus points for someone that figures out WHY Sona and the devils are seeing the regular cross and not the Quincy Emblem.
Second, this is the last time were gonna see some stuff from the Soul Society for a while until the big reveal in the height of the Kokabiel arc, which this chapter is the start of said arc. While it may seem like padding, it actually isn't. It is a plot point that is going to be VITAL for the reveal and the story going forward. Next chapter, it won't hop to Soul Society at all, and if it does, its just for a comedic scene and thats it.
Lastly, Ichigo isn't going to be OOC at all here. The reason why he acted like that when Uryu asked him when he is going to confess is because he doesn't know how, remember this is the same guy who freaks out when Yoruichi shows up butt ass naked to him or Rangiku teases him. He does love Orihime, and she loves him, its just they don't know how to confess, but TRUST ME, they will confess to each other in this story. Also, when the group got infront of Orihime when Matsuda and Motohama said Orihime had a nice ass, and Uryu said Rias and Akeno don't like to be treated as objects, for the love of GOD, don't assume that's a hint where Uryu is going to be head over heels over the two or hes going to be at their every beck and call. He just doesn't like that sort of behavior out of the two, thats it.
Anyway, with that being said, how did you like it? We got some more info on what happened after the war, and Uryu is now officially the new ruler of Quincies, and got some new moves after drinking Yhwach's blood, one of which, is his extended life span. After all, canonically Bazz is over a thousand years old. Shunsui has something cooking up for Ichigo in the near future, and Uryu and Sona finally meet! Grimmjow and Nel are actually dating now and before you ask, i'm not forcing it at all, i'm going more indepth with it when they make an appearance in the end of s2, and hey, Grimmjow is my guy from day one and deserves a baddie like Nel, sorry not sorry. Lastly, Yhwach's power that leaked into the Human World after he died, and the gates of hell, is going to play a MASSIVE, and I mean, MASSIVE part for the story moving forward.
Also, I am not going into the story with pairings in mind, as I already have an idea on how this story will go and where it will end, so the pairings are just secondary thoughts, since again, I know how the story is going to flow so as long as it doesn't affect arcs from DxD and Bleach, then its okay. I already said that Ichigo and Uryu aren't people who would be in harems, since it's not their style, and at the most, would be in a three way relationship, without affecting the Issei's harem, since. So, I ask you, dear viewer, on who do you think who should be with who? I mean there is a BUNCH of girls in the DxD Universe, so I'll leave down a list for who down for who, and what ever girl gets the most will win!
Ichigo x Orhime x ? (Akeno, Kuroka, Rosswiesse, or Yasaka)
Uryu x Sona x ? (Roygun, Jeanne, Yubelluna, or Ingvild)
BTW, would interaction would you think be the funniest or most intriguing between DxD characters and Bleach Characters? Since after all, the BIG REVEAL of Soul Society and Hueco Mondo happen in the Kokabiel arc! Like what if Mayuri and Urahara met Azazel and Ajuka? Or Kenpachi fighting Vali? Or Sirzechs meeting Shunsui? I wanna see your guys ideas in the comments below!
BTW, bonus points for those who figured out what Renji and Rukia were doing in his house ;)
So, leave a comment! Criticism is critcism as long as your not a dick about it lol and I wanna hear some theories on what could happen next! What is Squad 0 up to that stopped the realms from falling apart? What is going to happen with Yhwach's power and the gates of hell? What the hell is going on with Bazz and Candice? What did Shunsui do for Ichigo and his future? How is the Gremory and Sitri Group going to react when Ichigo and his friends reveal themselves? HELL, how is the THREE FACTIONS, KUROKA, AND VALI going to react!? I WANNA HEAR SOME THEORIES DOWN IN THE COMMENTS PEOPLE SO COMMENT BELOW!
SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME IN "SCHOOL DAYS II"