'Think ya can handle this?' I mentally sighed, sitting on a bench right outside the captain's meeting with my leg bouncing with nervous energy. They were waiting on me, though I'm sure Yamamoto was getting everything else out of the way while they waited.
'I was gonna have to explain at some point. The longer I go without telling anybody, the worse things will get for everybody. This is the best for everyone.'
'While I agree that explaining everything to everyone early on is most beneficial, going through your memories before you are ready will do more harm than good for you.'
'I'll manage. The longer we go without telling them, the less time we have to prepare.'
'King/Ichigo…'
'I'm probably gonna manifest one or both of you while I talk.' There was a moment of frustration-filled silence from my zanpakuto.
'Fine.' The Old Man's silence was one of disgruntled agreement. Focusing on my breathing, I nodded to myself a few times before getting up and pushing open the doors of the meeting hall without giving myself the chance to psyche me out. Everyone turned to face me, some bored, others irritated, and some concerned, but all expectant. I focused my gaze on Yamamoto, and scanned the room with my reiatsu sense instead of looking around. Orihime was next to Kenpachi, the two had this weird relationship I would never get the chance to understand. Anytime I got near Kenpachi to ask, he would chase me down for a fight, and Orihime was Orihime, so it was a lost cause. Chad was near Kyoraku, seeing as the two shared different versions of the 'don't fight unless you have to' mentality. Uryu was beside Nemu, as he became violently protective of the I-don't-know-what-she-is once he saw how Kurotsuchi treated her. Yoruichi and Kukaku were on Byakuya's right, opposite Renji, and I could feel how pissed off the nobleman was from how close the werecat was to him. Ganju was next to Unohana, he probably realized she was the Captain of the division Hanataro was in. Rukia was beside Ukitake, and I had to remind myself that she was unseated right now. Gin was gone, probably in jail for like a day or so because he hadn't technically done anything wrong yet.
"Ryoka." I pulled in my reiatsu sense to focus entirely on Yamamoto. "We Captains have discussed all other important matters in this meeting. Some of those discussions remain unresolved, I trust your input will help resolve some of those matters. Begin whenever you are ready." Straightening my back, like I was about to give a report, I opened my mouth before blinking. I didn't know what to say. Or, more accurately, I had too much to say. My mouth slowly closed and my breath escaped me. My gaze fell down to the ground in front of Yamamoto before I looked the old man in the eyes.
"I don't know where to begin." The oldest Shinigami in the Seireitei stroked his beard once before lowering his hand again.
"We've time. The beginning." That narrowed it down a lot, but there were a lot of beginnings to explain. The beginning of Aizen's experimentations, the beginning of my existence, the beginning of the upcoming war. It took a moment, but I made a decision. Right or wrong, that is what I was going with.
"When I was nine, my mother was killed by a hollow. That wasn't my first experience with spirits, but it was the first time I realized what they were. From then on, I vowed to live up to my name, 'Number One Protector'. For six years, I defended spirits whose graves were disturbed and myself from those who thought I was some punk that wanted to be big on the street. Then, one night, a Shinigami entered my room looking for a hollow. She, of course, didn't think I could see her. At least, until I called her a burglar and planted my foot in her ass." Kyoraku attempted to hide his laughter with the least amount of effort possible. Yamamoto glared at him to silence him, but it did crap. "She informed me of Shinigami, the Seireitei, and Hollows, but I didn't believe it until a hollow attacked my home. Before you all go off on her for not realizing a hollow was about to attack the building she was in, my at-the-time uncontrolled reiatsu muffled her reiatsu sense, forcing her to rely on sight and sound to track the hollow." Yamamoto glared for a moment, before nodding for me to go on.
"The hollow knocked out my father and captured one of my sisters with the intent to devour her, which is about when Rukia tied me up with Sai so I wouldn't interfere. I managed to break out of it, and gave myself up to the hollow under the belief that it would stop if I got what it wanted. Rukia injured herself knocking me out of the way, and realizing that she couldn't stop the hollow in her condition, offered her powers over to me. We both believed I would get Shinigami powers for a day at most and things would go back to normal, but I screwed that up. Not knowing what I was doing, I accidentally took all of her powers and was forced to cover for her while she recovered. Then Byakuya and Renji came to return her to the Seireitei and kill me. Byakuya nearly did the job, but I was saved at the last minute by Urahara Kisuke." The room turned cold at that name, around half of the Captains instantly recalling his exile. "Byakuya did, however, succeed in destroying the Shingami powers given to me by Rukia. Urahara informed me that I had Shinigami powers of my own and sent me through ridiculous and irritatingly vague trials to unlock them, as well as my Shikai. During that time, Yoruichi trained my friends as much as she could to prepare them for invading the Seireitei. Clearly, albeit barely, we succeeded.
Thanks to Kukaku and Ganju Shiba, we entered the Seireitei. Through sheer determination, we fought our way to Rukia's execution, and by pushing my limits farther than Shinigami thought possible, I learned Bankai in three days. I stopped Rukia's execution, barely beat Byakuya, and was on my way out with my friends when Aizen revealed his plans." Soi Fon rolled her eyes.
"You have given us no useful information, Ryoka. I thought you had proper backing when you announced you would explain something. It seems I was wrong." I glared at her out of the corner of my eye before continuing, now wasn't the time for her assumptions.
"Aizen monologued like the arrogant ass he was, acquired the Hogyoku, nearly killed Renji, Byakuya and I," I made sure to look at Soi Fon before I finished my sentence. "And then escaped with Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru to Hueco Mundo." The room went dead quiet.
"…Excuse me, Kurosaki-san? That's not what happened." Unohana, as polite as ever, softly corrected. I turned my head just enough for the healer to see my eyes.
"He fused the Hogyoku he removed from Rukia with one he had built himself, and used that to create an army of Arrancar. In light of this, a team consisting of Captain of Squad 10 Toshiro Hitsugaya, Lieutenant of Squad 10 Rangiku Matsumoto, 3rd Seat of Squad 11 Ikkaku Madarame, 5th Seat of Squad 11 Yumichika Ayasegawa, Lieutenant of Squad 6 Renji Abarai and 3rd Seat of Squad 13 Rukia Kuchiki was sent to the World of the Living. They encountered several of Aizen's arrancars, and confirmed that the strength of the enemy was lieutenant-level at weakest. Approximately a week after the team was first stationed, Orihime Inoue was kidnapped for her powers. Once brought to the Head Captain's attention, he ordered that no one enter Hueco Mundo to rescue her, as the life of a single human was not worth such an endeavor." A few of the captains frowned, and I could feel the nervousness radiating from where Orihime stood. "I didn't listen, and entered Hueco Mundo with Urahara Kisuke's help alongside my friends Uryu Ishida and Yasutora Sado." I could feel supportive satisfaction from Chad.
"Kurosaki-san?" Kyoraku voiced. I tilted my head in acknowledgement. "You've been speaking in past tense this whole time, are you implying something by that?" I blinked in pseudo-thought, before straightening my head.
"No, I was asked to describe everything that occurred leading up to this, so I am." There was silence for a moment, but I could hear the gears turning in many of the captains' heads.
"None of what you are describing has occurred. Yet, if I'm following what you're saying." I turned my head and locked eyes with Kyoraku, but otherwise didn't respond. I shifted my gaze back onto Yamamoto, who was leaning forward in his chair, a grim look on his face.
"Continue." Was all he said.
"Against orders, Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai entered Hueco Mundo to assist my friends and I in rescuing Orihime Inoue. We entered Aizen's palace, a fortress named Las Noches, and split off to cover more ground. We each defeated many lower-level arrancar, but encountered his Espada, the ten strongest soldiers in his army. The weakest was captain-class in strength. Sado was defeated, but fortunately not killed by the 5th ranking Espada, Nnoitora Gilga. Ishida and Abarai were incapacitated by the 8th rank, Szayelaporro Grantz, while the 9th rank, Aaroniero Arruruerie and Kuchiki's battle ended in mutual defeat." I sighed at what I was about to recall, shifted on my feet, and continued before it could get to me.
"I was killed by the 4th rank, Ulquiorra Cifer," I distinctly heard the sound of Orihime choking, "Resurrected by the 6th rank, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques with Inoue's help, and then bested Grimmjow in battle. Nnoitora entered the battlefield before I could recover, and nearly killed me had it not been for an arrancar I befriended that turned out to be the former 3rd rank, Neliel Tu Odelschvank. She, however, failed in defeating Nnoitora for complex reasons. I was then saved a second time, but by Zaraki Kenpachi. He was part of a small task force sent to eliminate as many arrancars as possible before they could enter the World of the Living, made up of himself and Captains Unohana, Kuchiki, and Kurotsuchi. Kenpachi killed Nnoitora, Kuchiki killed the 7th rank Zommari, and the 8th rank pissed off Kurotsuchi because he was screaming about achieving perfection. I still don't know what happened to the 8th rank." I heard an approving grunt from Kurotsuchi. "Kuchiki and Kenpachi took on the Zero rank Yammy while Unohana healed those wounded, while I took on the most powerful Espada, the 4th rank. Before any of you argue that Zero is above 4, Ulquiorra possessed a secret form that not even Aizen knew about. I know from experience he was able to perform feats the Zero Espada was unable to match. In our fight, Ulquiorra killed me a second time, which was witnessed by Ishida and Inoue." I heard a barely restrained sob from Orihime.
"Ulquiorra attempted to kill Ishida and Inoue, but was stopped by my hollow possessing me. I proceeded to fatally injure Ulquiorra, and nearly massacred Ishida had it not been for Ulquiorra breaking me out of my form. After Ulquiorra died, I dropped off Ishida and Inoue to a squared off area where several healers resided. Throughout all of this, Aizen entered the World of the Living alongside Ichimaru, Tosen, and the rank 1, 2, and 3 Espada. What awaited him was the whole of the Seireitei, who switched out Karakura Town for a false city. After all of the arrancar with Aizen were defeated, all of the captains assaulted Aizen, only to become trapped within his Shikai. Realizing that his illusions would make it nearly impossible to properly fight him, and that I was unaffected by them, the captains begrudgingly entrusted me to defeat the megalomaniac. Unohana joined me in traveling to the battle to heal me and restore my reiatsu. The first two times I took Aizen on, I failed, the second at the cost of both Gin Ichimaru's life and my powers. Kisuke, at the Head Captain's request, worked hard to find a way to return me to the battlefield, as the Seireiei couldn't find a way to immunize themselves from Aizen's Shikai. He succeeded, finding a way for nearly everyone in the Seireitei to transfer their power into a sword that would be used to re-ignite my powers once again.
Upon my return to the fight, many arrancar switched to our side. Those include the previously mentioned Neliel, Grimmjow, current 3rd rank Halibel, and the 1st rank Starrk, as well as all of their subordinates. In addition to every Shinigami exiled in the past 100 years." I breathed in and out heavily. "For the next three years, we mostly fought against Aizen's increasingly powerful army of arrancar, rarely getting the opportunity to fight him directly. Then after an assault in the middle of the night that resulted in many deaths and many more permanent injuries, I alone rushed into Aizen's fortress. I destroyed the fortress, most of the arrancar in it, and after nearly three days of constant battle, Aizen himself. It was only thanks to the combined efforts of Inoue, Unohana, and my own powers that allowed me to recover fully." I felt the literal heated glare of Yamamoto fall upon me.
"You traveled back in time to undo a few deaths and injuries?! How im-" My eyes stung with tears as I cut him off.
"Two days after I killed Aizen, a group of five invaded the Seireitei and declared war with the death of Chojiro Sasakibe." All of the old man's smoldering rage was gone. The temperature raised by no less than 20 degrees in the span of a couple of seconds, and an old voice so enraged it was freezing growled.
"Explain." He was so demanding, I wasn't even sure I could've refused him if I had to.
"A small squad for the purpose of sending a message appeared in the Seireitei without any warning and without setting off any alarms. They entered the 1st division barracks and pinned Lieutenant Sasakibe to your office wall declaring war, and announcing that they would return after seven days with the whole of their army. They did so, with a Quincy spear, and wearing Quincy clothing." I could feel Uryu's shock permeate the room. "Before they left, they announced that they were part of Yhwach's new army." Yamamoto's cane splintered.
"I killed him."
"'The confined Quincy King regains his pulse after 900 years, his mind after 90 years, his strength after 9 years, and the world in 9 days.' A Quincy prophecy, one that is mostly true."
"Impossible."
"My mother was a pureblood Quincy. 6 years ago, her power was stolen right before she was able to kill the hollow that attacked us. In three years, the Quincy attack, and they leave nothing left. That is why I came here. At the time, I wasn't strong enough, and I couldn't get strong enough fast enough. I'm strong enough now, but even I understand that I can't take on an entire army of captain-class fighters by myself. I'm here to give us the time and knowledge to train and prepare that we needed before." The amount of reiatsu and heat Yamamoto was expelling was enough that anyone who wasn't captain-class was leaning on someone that was, and just about everyone was sweating.
"You claim that the Quincy leave nothing left. You speak as if they won." The Head Captain snarled. I swallowed the lump in my throat, but something must've stayed because I was still ready to throw up.
"Nobody won." I blinked away my tears as best I could. "Kisuke Urahara and I survived. That's it. Hueco Mundo was in pieces, several cities in the World of the Living w-were destroyed, e-everyone in the Seireitei was e-eviscerated, a-and i-i-" I fought through my emotions and the urge to just curl into a ball. "I'm all that's left."
Something dark settled over the room. The blistering heat of Yamamoto's rage was switched out by a nauseating cold neither Toshiro nor Rukia could ever produce. It took everything I had to not vomit from the emotional overload. In front of me, Yamamoto somberly rested his forehead on his knuckles. To his right, Soi Fon was clenching her fists, biting her lip, and failing at hiding the glances towards Yoruichi. Next to her, Unohana had her hands in her sleeves and had a downcast look on her face. From my position, I couldn't see anyone else, but I could certainly feel the storm of depression and loss behind me. A warm body embraced me from the side, and I looked down to see the form of Yoruichi, slightly blurry from my tears. A gentle heat, like the warmth of a hearth, settled into my body, sent from Zangetsu.
"I believe you, Kurosaki. There are some questions I pray you can answer, but those can be saved for another time." Yamamoto's tone was halfway between guilt-filled self-hatred and colossal mental and emotional exhaustion. "For the training and preparation, we will hold a meeting next week at this same time and day. Are there any more matters to discuss?"
"…The Ryoka mentioned both Quincy heritage and hollow powers." Soi Fon brought up.
"…Do you have them under control?" Came the fire-user's tired response.
"Yes."
"Then they can be discussed later. Anything else?"
"…I request permission to assign myself as Kurosaki-san's personal nurse." Unohana asked. I flinched.
"State your reasoning, both his need for a personal nurse and the need to assign yourself."
"War can damage the mind worse than it can damage the body, and none in my squad is properly equipped to deal with the trauma Kurosaki-san has described."
"Describe how he has displayed being affected by such trauma." Unohana turned to me, and I flinched again. I didn't know how she would point it out this time, but she was always able to see through me.
"Kurosaki-san, since returning to the past, who have you properly looked at?" I swallowed the bile burning its way up my throat.
"…Yoruichi Shihoin and Renji Abarai."
"Why have you only looked at them?"
"…Yoruichi was the first person I saw when I returned. Renji would have screwed up my opportunity to kill Aizen."
"Why have you not looked at anyone else?"
"…I couldn't."
"You couldn't bring yourself, or you couldn't while maintaining your composure?"
"…I had to keep going. I couldn't run the risk of falling apart until Aizen was dead."
"I see. Head Captain, I believe I have presented all the evidence I need?"
"Indeed. Captain Unohana, until you determine him to be mentally healthy, you are assigned as Kurosaki's personal nurse. Meeting adjourned, you are all dismissed." Soi Fon and Toshiro were out the door immediately, their intention to train obvious. Most of the other Captains left at a more sedated pace, while everyone else remained to gather around me. Yoruichi tightened her grip on me, my friends all rushed to my sides at their own paces, and the Captain's I ended up having the strongest emotional attachments to kept just far enough to give me breathing room. Unohana stood in front of me with a gentle look, and Kyoraku and Ukitake hung next to each other on my right. Orihime joined Yoruichi in hugging me, but from behind. I felt her tears create a wet spot on my back.
"Kurosaki-kun," Her voice was muffled by my top. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that."
"It won't happen again. That's all that matters." I soothed. Unohana's gaze hardened, but still mostly remained gentle. A large hand grasped my shoulder firmly, and I could instantly tell it was Chad's. His unyielding support was something I missed.
"You…mentioned your mother was a Quincy. And a secret faction of Quincy under the rule of someone named Yhwach." Uryu dazedly brought up. I nodded.
"My mother was Masaki Kurosaki. A pureblood Quincy, one that was supposed to marry your dad, but neither wanted it, so they made sure it didn't happen." The following silence more than spoke of everyone's shock.
"I-I see."
"As for Yhwach," I swallowed the lump in my throat that wouldn't stay down, "that can wait until later."
"…Can-can you use Quincy techniques?" I sensed Kyoraku and Ukitake perk up at that. I heard the shocked gasp of Uryu, as well as the awed squeak from Orihime as the crystalline blue of Blut Vene highlighted my veins. It would be easier to show rather than tell them, I told myself. No other reason. I was choosing not to speak.
"B-but-" Uryu choked on his words, but I already knew what he was gonna say. I can't do that yet…
"If you don't mind, Kurosaki-san, you mentioned having hollow powers." Ukitake asked.
"I did."
"And you wield Quincy powers as well." Oh, I knew what he was getting at.
"My zanpakuto, Zangetsu," I decided to cut to the chase, "Is an amalgamation of all my powers. My hollow and Quincy abilities fused with my Shinigami abilities, which is how I'm not in a constant state of dying." Those who weren't aware hollows and Quincy were poison to each other gasped in shock.
"D-dying?! Kurosaki-kun-!"
"I just explained that I'm fine, Inoue. Hollows and Quincy normally can't directly interact with each other, their reiatsu kinda act like poison to each other. Same should be happening to me, but the Shinigami part of me makes it so that I'm fine." I heard five simultaneous sighs of relief. Was Ganju still here? Yeah?! How has he remained quiet this whole time?! An arm slapped itself across my shoulders. From the shifting of her feet, Unohana noticed the effort I put into not attacking at the sudden and unexpected contact.
"No more depressing stuff today!" Shit, I jinxed it. "Before we left, you denied drinking with Big Sis and I because you cared about those stupid human laws! But you're of human drinking age, aren't you?!" He cut me off the moment my mouth opened to agree. "Doesn't matter! You, more than anyone else right now, need a drink! So come on! Drinks are on me!" Having arranged all of that without anyone agreeing to come or not, my boisterous cousin turned me around and pushed me out of the meeting hall. Yoruichi was still clinging to my side, her feet off the ground and a mildly shocked look on her face. Wait.
"Oi, Ganju, you lying asshole! You said you could barely lift me earlier, now you're pushing me along while I'm carrying someone?!" The pushing stopped, and my sandals stopped squeaking along the hardwood floor.
"Shit, you're right. Ichigo, you're too heavy! I can't push you to a bar!"
"You piece of-" The green-clad man stepped out from behind me and took off in a dead sprint, clearly just banking on my old hotheadedness to have me chase him to a bar. Luckily for him, I actually really did need a drink, so I played along. "Yoruichi, get on my back, I'm gonna beat the shit out of that asshole when I get him!" Cackling in excitement, the werecat swung herself around so her hands were gripping my shoulders and her knees were locked at my sides. Luckily, I had formed the habit of keeping Zangetsu in a sealed state purely because of the antics of her and a few others, so she didn't have to weave around my hollow blade to get comfortable. I charged with a grin on my face, keeping my pace equal to Ganju's. "Get back here, you liar!"
"Get'im, Berry-kun!" A laughing goddess of flash cheered as she pointed towards my 'target'. I sensed Kyoraku, Ukitake, Unohana, and my friends all leave the 1st division before they began rushing to follow my reiatsu. Luckily, Ganju's favorite bar in the Seireitei was relatively close to the meeting hall, only about half a mile or so. He had first heard of it from Kukaku reminiscing over all the drink's she had with Yoruichi over the years, then he had snuck in to steal a bottle during the invasion and practically fell in love. Every time it was his turn to pick a place to relax or celebrate, to The Yellow Flag it was. It was where Squad 11 members hung around whenever they weren't on duty, so you usually had to pay attention else you got stabbed, punched, or worse, but it was a fun place. Ganju slid to a stop in front of the open sliding doors, a smile spread across his face. He was unprepared for my dropkick to the face. Yoruichi was, though, whooping in excitement as I twisted to land on my feet. As per usual with a Shiba, Ganju got up immediately.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, CARROT TOP?!" Oh, I missed this.
"FOR CALLING ME HEAVY SO YOU COULD GET OUT OF WORK, YOU LAZY BASTARD!"
"MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE HEAVY, YOU OVERSIZED OAF!" I heard Rukia's voice call out as she came closer, clearly missing our old 'fights' as much as I did. Yoruichi began laughing.
"I AIN'T HEAVY, BUT YOU CLEARLY CAN'T TELL SINCE EVERYTHING IS HEAVY TO YOU, YA MIDGET!"
"I AM NOT WEAK!"
"YOU NEEDED HELP OPENING A JUICE BOX!" Her face erupted in an embarrassed blush. Yoruichi wheezed.
"IT WAS A COMPLEX OBJECT WITH A CONFUSING OPENING PROCESS!"
"YOU STAB IT! IT TELLS YOU!" I noticed the Captains and my other friends interacting with each other, so I focused my attention on that while Shiro took control of my mouth to keep the game going with Rukia.
"Does this happen often?" Ukitake asked Orihime and Chad. The gentle giant nodded silently while Orihime hummed happily.
"Yup~. They're not really angry, I think it's just how those two show the other that they care."
"I see." The silver haired man chuckled.
"Kurosaki-san is quite lively." Kyoraku mused, a tilt to his voice that displayed his doubts. Next to him, Unohana's unraveling gaze was locked onto me. She seemed to have noticed the tilt.
"Indeed." Was all she said.
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY DRAWINGS?!" Rukia kicked me in the shin, before immediately hopping around and cradling her foot.
"Ow! What are you made of?!" I smirked.
"Hierro and Blut Vene."
"I don't even know what those are!" She screeched. I laughed. Ganju boomed with laughter to my left.
"I'm liking this older Ichigo! Now hurry up, I wanna get plastered!" He burst through the doors and I followed his lead, sensing the rest of our group filtering in silently. Yoruichi shifted on my back, and her face was suddenly in front of mine, upside down.
"I'm disappointed in myself, I didn't even ask what your drink of choice is!" I shook my head and gently pushed her back before my gaze zeroed in on the bartender.
"Ganju, you said you're paying, right?!" I shouted.
"Hell yeah!"
"Then Barkeep, gimme the strongest you got!" An ecstatic snicker sounded behind my ears.
"Oh, I'm getting in on this!" The dark skinned beauty cheered.
"Make that three! I can out drink that orange-headed chump any day!" Renji bellowed.
"Is this a contest? No way will I miss this!" Rangiku popped out of nowhere. Oh yeah, this was her favorite bar, too. Though that was because it was hell for Toshiro to scour the thick crowd in search of her. He would give up more often than not and she would manage to put off paperwork for a day.
"I'm joining in too!" Ganju grinned.
"Now, I'm normally one to sit back and relax, but when things are this riled up, who am I to refuse?" Kyoraku exclaimed with a carefree smile.
"I think I'll just stick with the children for this one." Ukitake announced, leading to Uryu, Orihime, and Chad to flock to him. Everyone participating in the contest slid into a seat at the bar. The line went with Ganju at the far left, then Kyoraku, Yoruichi, me, Rangiku, and Renji. Six huge mugs manifested in front of us thanks to the weirdly fast bartender. A wide smile was on everyone's faces, and a happy mood filled the room, with the Shinigami not participating hyping everything up with their near-perfectly synchronized shouts of 'CHUG, CHUG, CHUG!'. In silent agreement, all the glasses lifted as one. The alcohol tasted sweet, had a maple hint, and would've made a human see double from a single gulp. As expected, Yoruichi's mug slammed against the bar an instant before mine, with Rangiku's following. Kyoraku gently set his cup down, Renji damn near broke his from the force he used, and Ganju fell backwards, half of his mug spilling onto his crimson face.
"Whoo! That's some strong stuff, Barkeep!" Kyoraku praised.
"We got that from this brewery over in East Rukongai, Boar's Hat. Great stuff, but most people can't stay awake long enough to enjoy it."
"Mos' people're WEAK!" Renji slurred, gripping onto the bar like his life depended on it.
"Whose ready for round 2?!" I yelled. Yoruichi and Rangiku cheered, before they were drowned out by the screams of damn near everyone else in the bar. I blinked, and the five mugs left were filled to the brim. Should be impossible, but I stopped questioning how the Bartender was so fast 8 years ago. Once again, the glasses were lifted, and a hint of maple greeted my tongue. Renji's cup was the first to drop, slipping from his fingers as he collapsed to the right. His shirt got soaked, his body rolled to the ground, and his snore filled the air. I finished my cup first, with Yoruichi and Rangiku slapping their cups on the bar at the same time after me. Kyoraku leisurely slid his empty mug onto the polished wood, a soft blush on his face that both Yoruichi and Rangiku mimicked. He chuckled well naturedly.
"Seems those two should wait to try the adult drinks. Luckily I managed to find some friends that can hold their liquor." I smirked, Yoruichi bouncing in her seat as she met my eyes.
"I didn't know you could drink this well, Berry-kun! I thought you would drop at the same times as Renji!" I barked out a laugh.
"Are you kidding? That pineapple couldn't stay sober if he drank grape juice! Now come on! Round 3 is waiting!" A deafening roar of approval from the crowd behind us, and the glasses were raised again.
It took four more rounds for Kyoraku to exit the contest, reasoning that Nanao would do worse than whatever hangover he'd have if he kept going. By that point, I was starting to get tipsy and Yoruichi and Rangiku were slurring their words. The busty blonde crashed at the 11th round, but I had enough of a clear head to be able to catch her. I made a mental promise to carry her to her apartment after I beat Yoruichi. That took another six rounds, because the chocolate skinned woman cheated by subtly using her Shunko to burn away the alcohol. I still won though, to the approving uproar as the purple haired woman's head fell to the counter.
Shiro used our high-speed regeneration, as weak as it was in our sealed state, to get the alcohol out of our system as I picked up Yoruichi and Rangiku. Holding the goddess of flash up by the back of her collar, I maneuvered my hand to lift her off the stool and onto my back. Automatically, the busty woman's arms wrapped around my neck and her legs wrapped around my stomach. She nuzzled the back of my neck, my body warm from the high-speed regeneration. Rangiku I swung up into a bridal carry, her head resting on the right side of my chest as she slept. Ukitake had left when Kyoraku did, taking Rukia and my human friends with them. Knowing the sick man, he probably offered them a place to sleep at the Squad 13 barracks. Unohana was waiting for me, sitting at a noticeably empty table. Someone probably tried to hit on her and then didn't get the message when she said no. She stood as I walked up to her, then gestured to the open door with a look in her face I wasn't supposed to be able to decipher. She wanted to talk about something, mostly likely privately. Nodding, I left the building and began on my way to Rangiku's home. The raven-haired medic walked by my side, and we both absorbed the night atmosphere as we continued our unhurried stroll.
No matter how many times I saw it, the night sky of the Seireitei was breathtaking. The stars shone brilliantly, unlike in the World of the Living. It had a certain warmth to it that Hueco Mundo desperately lacked, although the small crescent hanging in the sky of the Soul Society couldn't hope to compare to the magnificent orb that watched over the endless desert. It was mostly quiet, but the soft rattling of lanterns from passing patrols, and the distant conversations that passed through the air created this soothing atmosphere I was never able to put a name to. Orihime had fixed that, though. She once absentmindedly called it 'lived in', and we had all unanimously decided it fit perfectly.
"Kurosaki-san." I grunted softly in acknowledgement. "Out of all the Captains, you have given me the most respect. Why is that?" I turned my head to see her curious eyes locked onto me, before smiling softly and looking forward.
"My father was a doctor, and my home was part clinic, so it started off as general respect for your job. After Aizen escaped, I woke up in the 4th division, and I both began to fear you and respect you more when I attempted to disobey your order to remain in bed." A soft giggle sounded from where my nurse was. "The more I got banged up, and the more time I spent in the 4th division recovering, the more the fear faded and the respect grew. I began to respect the patience you had for everything, especially since I couldn't hope to match it. How, in your own way, you protected those you cared about as well. A year into the second war, the Thousand Year Blood War, you assigned yourself as my personal nurse." I could tell the woman next to me raised an eyebrow at that.
"From then on, my respect just kept on growing. Since it was during war time and all, you had to cut corners you otherwise wouldn't, but you would stop me whenever I was pushing myself harder than I absolutely had to. Mid-fight, even, you'd just throw me off to the sideline and fight for me. Once, I was so dead set on joining a battle when I was injured, you knocked me out by punching me in the face." I chuckled at the memory. "I couldn't even tell you when, but at some point, we stopped being patient and nurse, and evolved to partners. It went from you making sure I don't push myself too far to us taking care of each other. We'd fight back to back, hold each other back from doing something stupid, heal each other's wounds." I felt it, as my smile turned sad.
"Keep each other from falling apart from all the death." I shook my head to rid myself of the emotions.
"W-whenever there'd be a break in all the fighting that wasn't spent recovering, we'd spar with each other. Sometimes Kenpachi would join us, but he'd always end up disappointed because he couldn't last as long as us. He had the power to make it fun, but he couldn't recover on his own, so he'd just drop at some point unless we stopped to heal him, and that would just ruin it."
"…So you know?" Unohana's voice was barely above a whisper. I sighed.
"I know a lot of things. I know you were the First Kenpachi, I know the Bankai's of Kyoraku and Yamamoto, I know some things about Toshiro's Bankai even he doesn't know, all the Zero Squad members and their specialties. I know what zanpakuto, Shikai, and Bankai truly are, I know how the exiled Shinigami from 100 years ago dealt with their hollowfication, why Aizen turned traitor, and that Gin was a good guy all along. I know that Hanataro's brother is a dick, that Zaraki thinks two handed sword fighting is a waste of a hand, what Kyoraku's alcohol limit is, everything wrong with Ukitake. I know what half of the Seireitei looks like devastated, what it feels like when everyone's lost hope, and what extents people will go to when they're only fighting to survive. I know that it feels like when the desperation sets in, what it feels like when you give up on trying to win, when everything settles and you realize the only thing you've been fighting for is gone. I know what it feels like to be the last one standing, the pain, the loneliness, the utter emptiness you get that you don't even think will stop when you die. I know what it feels like to watch your friends die, what it feels like when you've been told your friend died, to see your permanently injured friends find a way to just perform basic acts without difficulty." Unohana's hand rested against my shoulder, and I realized I was crying. I felt the warmth of Zangetu's support fail at warming my body in the way they want it to, and the frustration from them at their inability to protect me from what's already happened.
We were standing at Rangiku's door, so I fished her key out from her pocket and entered the room. Walking through the place with the knowledge of someone who's been inside countless times, I gently laid the blonde down on her bed before continuing with a ritual that had been ingrained into me. I slipped Haineko out from her belt and rested it next to her nightstand, so she could quickly grab it in the case of an intruder. I carefully slipped her scarf from her neck and folded it, before placing it on top of her nightstand, right next to a cup of water I grabbed. Remembering how much she drank, and of what, I also opened the door to her bathroom and placed the bucket in her hall closet next to her in case she couldn't make it. I pulled up her blanket, making sure to keep her arms above it, before double checking everything and walking out.
"You're well acquainted with performing such a duty." Unohana frowned.
"I'm usually the person designated to make sure everyone gets home safe, because I can drink everyone under the table and still think clearly."
"I see."
"Alright," I sighed, "I don't have an official place to stay yet, so where do we go?"
"What about Shihouin-san?"
"When she drinks, she stays the night with whoever her drinking buddy is. Usually, that's either me, Kukaku, or Soi Fon."
"I thought Captain Soi Fon doesn't drink?"
"She usually doesn't, but she worships Yoruichi, who uses that knowledge to try to get her to become less stiff." Unohana giggled softly.
"I see. Then we shall spend the night within my room."
"Sure." It was far from the first time that I stayed the night in Unohana's room, even farther from the first time the two of us shared the same room period. She never minded, and actually kept a couple spare futons for that purpose.
"I believe I don't have to warn you of Isane's nightmares?"
"It took her a while, but she got used to it. I usually just fall back asleep once I see it's her anyway. Last time, you got another spare futon because you didn't want to deal with Isane and I trying to force the other to have the bed."
"I guess I'm going shopping tomorrow, then."
"I'll do the heavy-lifting."
"My, how gentlemanly of you."
"Honestly, you're the only one that doesn't make me regret being so. Yachiru, Rangiku, and Yumichika each buy enough to make me carry double my weight." The raven-haired medic's laughter filled the air.